Chapter Forty Five – Amends
"That's my girl," Hayden said endearingly as he gently wiped Alexa's tears away before they could fall. He took a deep breath and exhaled silently as he smiled. "What do you say we head down to the Pokémon Centre?" Alexa glanced up at her father from the comfort of his chest in confusion.
"Y-You mean to meet Nidoqueen?"
"Yeah, but mostly to meet up with Keenan and your mother," Hayden chuckled. Alexa lifted herself from Hayden's chest as he finally released her.
"What about afterwards?" she asked.
"What do you mean?" Hayden wondered curiously.
"N-Not just with Nidoqueen, but...in general...where do we go from here?" Hayden smiled sweetly at her.
"What Nidoqueen decides to do will be up to her...and we can decide what we do after visiting the Pokémon Centre once it's over; there's no rush, Lexie." Alexa was perplexed at how placid Hayden had become all of a sudden, but, knowing that she was welcomed back into her family with very open arms, she soon smiled warmly.
"You're right." Hayden placed a hand on her cheek as he smiled at her; he had no idea how she found some of her old confidence again, but was immensely pleased to know that she had it back. He pecked a quick kiss on her forehead.
"Well, then...shall we?" Alexa nodded as she and Hayden stood up from the sofa. To his confusion, Alexa instantly made her way inside her bedroom and ran back to him faster than he could count to five; Alexa sheepishly placed Purukin and Chutney's Poké Balls into the pockets of her jeans.
"Heh, sorry...I want to get my Pokémon looked at while we're at the Pokémon Centre..." Hayden chuckled.
"I'll do the same thing, pumpkin," he said as he and Alexa left the hotel room together, Hayden wrapping and arm around Alexa's shoulders as they walked. Alexa held onto his hand as they began to head for the elevator.
"Dad?"
"Hm?
"I love you." Hayden was initially astonished at her sudden and relatively needless declaration. However, he smiled at the sentiment as he drew her slightly closer to him.
"I love you, too, Lexie. Always have, always will."
"Thank goodness you arrived when you did," the young blonde nurse said shakily as she escorted a baffled Lily and Keenan to one of the Pokémon Centre's recovery rooms; looking through the window looking into the room, Lily and Keenan soon understood the nurse's panic – they saw Nidoqueen glaring angrily at a doctor and another nurse in the room who were attempting to calm her down and avoiding anything Nidoqueen threw at them. Oddly enough, the black fabric that was torn off of Lily's skirt remained around her forearm. "She's been acting like this since she woke up a few minutes ago...!"
"In her defence, she was practically staring death in the face before she was caught," Lily said worriedly. Keenan looked at the Drill Pokémon with worry.
"She's scared and angry; that's a bad mix..."
"Poreon..."
"Let me talk to her," Lily insisted. The panicky nurse nodded.
"O-Okay...y-you are her Trainer, after all..."
"We'll see," Lily muttered as she made her way into the room. "Stay here, sweetie."
"O-Okay," Keenan nodded, obeying his mother's instruction. He and Iara watched Lily and Nidoqueen through the window as the intervention began.
"Nidoqueen?" Nidoqueen stopped herself from throwing a medical dressings trolley at the doctor as she looked over at Lily in bafflement. The pause allowed the doctor and other nurse to relax as Lily slowly began to approach the aggravated Nidoqueen.
"N-Nido..."
"Yes, it's Lily," Lily said kindly.
"Nido, ni..." Nidoqueen's stance relaxed as she faced Lily properly. However, she was as grumpy as ever and was less than pleased to see Lily again. "Nido...?!"
"To talk to you." Lily stopped in her tracks, keeping a reasonable distance between her and the cranky Nidoqueen. "A-About your capture..."
"Niiidooo..." Nidoqueen snarled furiously.
"I know...I know it's not what you wanted, and I'm sorry..." Nidoqueen raised a cautious eyebrow at her. "It was my husband's idea...it was either that or we let Crawdaunt kill you in cold blood."
"Doh," Nidoqueen huffed.
"You don't have to stay as 'my' Pokémon, you know..."
"Doh?!" Nidoqueen faced Lily in horror.
"The choice is yours; I only caught you because we were desperate to save your life. And, now that we have...there's no reason to force you to stay if you don't want to." Nidoqueen stared at Lily with overwhelming surprise. "I promise I won't be offended either way."
"N-Ni... N-Nido...?"
"I'm a firm believer in letting Pokémon think for themselves; it's how I've been raised, how my husband was raised and it's how he and I have raised our children." Nidoqueen spotted the boy and his Vaporeon looking into the room with slightly less anxiety.
"Nido?"
"He's my second-born." Nidoqueen looked at Lily again, appearing to be more relaxed than before. "I promise you...nobody in my family would hurt you any more than they'd hurt any of their Pokémon. That is, if you decide to stay with me; like I said, the choice is entirely yours – it's your life, and I have no right to control it." Nidoqueen looked over at the tiny Vaporeon on Keenan's shoulder and was surprised when Iara waved at her with her paw. Nidoqueen saw how happy Iara looked with Keenan as she waved nervously back at her. Lily waited patiently as Nidoqueen lowered her head in thought as she contemplated her near-death experience and her options; she remembered Lily's kindness towards her and how she essentially sacrificed her skirt to treat the wound on her forearm, but she also recalled how Hayden's Pokémon fought hard against Crawdaunt. The more she thought about the Pokémon she was forced to fight alongside, the more she began to respect their efforts to aid her. Eventually, Nidoqueen faced Lily eye to eye.
"Nido," she nodded confidently.
"Are you sure? I can easily release you and return the Dusk Ball to Hayden-"
"Doh," Nidoqueen said affirmatively. "Nido." Lily smiled.
"If that's truly what you want, then I'd be happy to take you in." Nidoqueen cracked a little smile.
"Nido." Lily momentarily poked her head out of the room and allowed Keenan and Iara to enter, much to Nidoqueen's curiosity.
"Seeing as you'll be staying with us, it's only fair to introduce you to my family, right?" Lily asked as she smiled happily. "This is my son, Keenan."
"Hello," Keenan greeted politely. Nidoqueen smiled at the boy.
"Nido."
Hailey, Colin, Harvey and Naomi sat around Hailey's kitchen table, each with a freshly brewed mug of cappuccino. Colin's Delcatty, Hailey's Jolteon, Harvey's Aipom and Naomi's Flareon were all present in the kitchen, each enjoying a bowl of different coloured poffins. Dexter lay next to a blue and shiny white Sylveon with a red collar hanging from her neck as they shared their poffin bowl; Dexter appeared to be completely content with the Sylveon's company.
"You two are certainly looking chipper this morning," Hailey said observantly. Harvey grinned as he took hold of his cappuccino mug.
"About that...well... Naomi and I have been talking some more last night."
"Oh, really? What about?" Colin asked curiously.
"Initially about everything that happened with Alexa, but...after a while, we started talking about us," Naomi said with a timid smile. Hailey and Colin were startled.
"We're...actually, we're planning to give it another go."
"Really?!" Hailey asked hopefully. "Aw, that would be so sweet! A real life love story!"
"If you like, sis," Harvey chuckled as he took a drink.
"But what made you decide that?" Colin asked. "Not that I'm not pleased for the two of you, but-"
"It's out of left field, isn't it?" Naomi asked in a giggle.
"Pretty much," Colin laughed nervously.
"We HAVE been spending a lot of time together recently, and...I guess we just clicked," Harvey said sheepishly. "So, last night-"
"And this morning," Naomi added sunnily.
"We decided to consider getting back together."
"That really would be so AMAZING I can't even tell you!" Hailey said gleefully.
"Yeesh, who poured chocolate milk in your cereal this morning?" Harvey laughed. "I mean, we heard about the girls from Troy and-"
"The detentions were expected, but a week of them...? We're not so sure," Colin said with uncertainty. "Sounds a tad unfair, if I'm honest..."
"The girls accepted it all the same, though," Hailey smiled. "But, for the most part, my worries must have disappeared overnight; pardon the language, but I have run out of fucks to give Adelina." Her additional response alarmed Harvey.
"Yesterday, you were wondering if any of US told her about the Two-Tone issue...how come you're so calm about it all of a sudden?" he wondered.
"I'm not sure how to explain it...I mean, I went to bed with that worrying me, but...when I woke up this morning, it was like...I dunno, like none of it even happened..."
"You slept like a Togepi," Colin said sweetly. "Heck, you were STILL sleeping as such when I woke up this morning – it was adorable." Harvey smiled.
"Sleep makes everything better."
"Yay sleep!" Hailey rejoiced playfully. Harvey and Colin chuckled, but Hailey spotted Daniel and Rhonda walking down the stairs. "Daniel?" Daniel and Rhonda made their way into the kitchen; Rhonda made her way over to Dexter and the Sylveon as they nuzzled one another affectionately.
"We're just on our way to Striaton Academy, that's all."
"To talk to your sisters?" Colin asked. Daniel nodded.
"Are you sure it's not something you can tell us?" Hailey asked with concern.
"I asked Daphne to ask around to find out if any of the other kids told anyone about..." Daniel pushed his glasses up his nose. "Two-Tone..."
"Aw, baby...don't worry about how she-"
"I-I just need the closure!" Daniel snapped. Rhonda, Dexter and Sylveon looked up at Daniel worriedly. "Once I find out whether or not someone has spread the 'news' outside of the Academy, I'll feel better about it...probably." Colin left his seat and walked over to Daniel, looking squarely into his dual coloured eyes and placing both hands on his son's shoulders.
"We're not going to give Adelina any satisfaction. Regardless of what you find out from Daphne, don't let her knowledge of the incident bother you – it's what she'd want." Daniel sighed and nodded.
"Thanks, Dad." Colin smiled and nodded.
"Off you go, then; before they go back into class for period three." Daniel smiled a little, nodded at his father and looked down at his smiling Umbreon.
"C'mon, Rhonda."
"Umbreon!" Rhonda cheered as she ran alongside Daniel as he sped out of the kitchen.
"Bye, Mum, bye, Dad!" he called quickly. Once the front door slammed behind him, Colin returned to his seat.
"I still can't believe she knows about that," Naomi said worriedly.
"It is unnerving, I'll admit, but worrying about it won't help anything. Until we can't ignore her any longer, I, personally, intend to do just that," Harvey said boldly.
"As will I," Hailey grinned.
Hayden and Alexa entered the Castelia Pokémon Centre, Hayden's arm still wrapped around Alexa's shoulders, just as Lily and Keenan entered the main lobby with the discharged Nidoqueen. Alexa was surprised to see the Nidoqueen so soon, but Hayden was relatively alarmed to see her so content with his wife.
"Hey, you two!" Lily greeted.
"What's going on with Nidoqueen?" Hayden asked as he and Alexa walked over to her and Keenan. Lily smiled joyfully as she looked over at Nidoqueen.
"Hayden, Alexa...this is Roberta."
"Roberta, huh? Heh; good to have you in the family," Hayden said kindly. Roberta nodded at Hayden before looking at Alexa curiously.
"Roberta, this is my daughter, Alexa," Lily said nicely. "Alexa, this is the Nidoqueen I don't doubt your father told you about."
"How do you feel, Roberta?" Alexa asked courteously.
"Nido-ni, Nido," Roberta answered coyly.
"That's good to hear," Alexa smiled kindly. "It's nice to meet you."
"Hey, Alex, maybe Roberta would like to meet Nando!" Keenan suggested. Roberta looked down at the boy in confusion.
"He's my Nidoking," Alexa explained in a light chuckle. "But I think she should meet her own teammates before anything else."
"Yeah, I guess," Keenan laughed nervously. Roberta observed the interactions between her new Trainer and her family with wonder.
"Speaking of which, I want to get mine medically examined," Alexa said quickly as she headed to the reception desk. Lily quickly approached Hayden and pulled him slightly away from Keenan and Roberta.
"How were things up there?" she asked quietly.
"You saw how we came in, Lily." Hayden grinned widely as he tried to hide his excitement. "I have my little Lexie back...!"
"We all have, Tiger," Lily chuckled. "I told you so." Hayden smirked as he playfully pressed her nose with his finger.
"Many times, my dear," he chuckled as he and Lily walked back to Keenan and Roberta as Alexa also returned to the group. "Hey, Lily, do you want your Pokémon looked at as well?"
"Oh, yes, I'd better had," Lily nodded as she and Hayden walked over to the reception desk. Confused, Roberta followed Lily, leaving Keenan and Alexa alone for a little while. Alexa watched Roberta and chuckled.
"You can tell she's never had a Trainer before."
"H-Hey, Alex...?" Alexa looked down at Keenan, worried about his sudden mood change. "I'm sorry..." Alexa crouched down to his level and faced him eye to eye; her kind demeanour did nothing to comfort him.
"For what?"
"If I hadn't asked for your opinion on that photo...m-maybe Xavier would've been okay and...and you wouldn't have had to tell us about Sinnoh..."
"Keenan...if you think you're at fault for asking me what I thought about that photo...then I'm at fault for giving you my thoughts..." Keenan was puzzled and alarmed. "As for the Sinnoh thing..." Alexa sighed. "It had to come out sometime...my biggest regret is keeping it from you, Mum and Dad for so long..."
"...at least...now I know why you were so scared of Pyrex and the Dark Dragon..." Alexa laughed as she pulled Keenan into a cuddle.
"Of all the things to say...!" Iara hopped over to Keenan's other shoulder for the sole purpose of giving Alexa a cuddle herself. "...I'm just sorry you had to find out about my...recklessness like that..." Keenan nestled himself in Alexa's arms.
"I can't judge you...not when I was reckless a few months ago..."
"Please, don't remind me..." The two siblings soon smiled at one another.
"So, are we cool?"
"Of course we are," Alexa said happily as she stroked his hair while she stood up properly. "But let's both promise to try and think before we act, okay?"
"Yep!" Keenan nodded in agreement. Just as Hayden, Lily and Roberta returned to him and Alexa, Keenan spotted Keith entering the Pokémon Centre with Reese, Robbie and Ava through the corner of his eye and drew Alexa's attention to him. Alexa looked over at him and, with a huge grin on her face, dashed over to him and literally flung herself at him before he even noticed she was in the building!
"Whoa! H-Hey, Alexa..." Though caught entirely off guard, Keith held onto the overjoyed girl. "I didn't think you'd be here so soon..." Keenan watched the interaction with his parents and Roberta; Roberta was completely confused, Lily was touched to see Alexa so happy with Keith and Hayden watched somewhat nervously.
"I wanted to have my Pokémon looked at anyway," Alexa said simply as she pecked a quick kiss on Keith's cheek.
"W-What was that for?" Keith chuckled.
"To thank you for convincing me to talk to my Dad." Hayden excused himself from Lily and Keenan's company as he began to approach Keith. "Seriously...I can't thank you enough..."
"You can start with your Xtransceiver number," Keith said playfully as he managed to free himself from Alexa's huggle. He held up his right wrist and showed her his brand new Xtransceiver; it was black and sapphire blue with a blue and dark blue strap that looked like a beautiful underwater abyss – Keith rotated his wrist slowly to allow Alexa a proper view of the strap's design. Alexa's eyes seemed to sparkle as she saw the Xtransceiver.
"You got one!" Alexa practically squealed with joy as she hugged Keith again. "Finally!" Keith laughed, but soon saw Hayden stopping just behind Alexa and looked at him nervously. Noticing his mood shift, Alexa looked up at Hayden worriedly.
"Hello, Keith."
"H-Hi..." Despite how docile Hayden looked, Keith felt timid around him. Robbie in particular felt worried for Keith. Hayden smiled gently at Alexa.
"Would you mind if I borrowed him for a little while?" Alexa returned his smile and nodded in compliance before she carefully escorted Robbie away from Keith. But not before she whispered into the boy's ear.
"He's not angry." Keith nodded nervously as Alexa moved Robbie away from him. Ava tried to leap into Keith's arms, but Alexa caught her instead and whispered something to her to calm her nerves; Ava settled in Alexa's arms as she introduced her, Reese and Robbie to Lily's new addition. Hayden escorted Keith to the quietest part of the waiting area of the Pokémon Centre and sat next to one another on one of the two-seater sofas in the area.
"H-Hayden, I'm-"
"I'm sorry, Keith," Hayden said quickly. Keith was puzzled. "I was...indescribably harsh to you... It wasn't a good day to say the least, but...that was no excuse for how I treated you OR Alexa..." Keith clenched his jeans out of anxiety.
"It...it's okay...I wasn't any better with her myself...and I'm sorry that hearing about that hurt you." Hayden looked over at Alexa; she was happily conversing with Lily, presumably giving her more details about what she got up to in Driftveil.
"Lexie told me you took care of her."
"Of course I did; I love her," Keith said as he felt brave enough to look up at Hayden again. Hayden smiled as he saw Alexa laughing.
"I don't doubt the feeling's mutual." Keith was taken slightly aback when Hayden looked back at him with his gentle smile. "I also wanted to thank you, Keith...for taking care of my little Lexie..." Keith nodded, but his frown grew a little as he looked away from Hayden, worrying him. "I know her overnight stay wasn't planned, but-"
"I got upset," Keith admitted.
"Hm?"
"I...I told her how I grew up with a Dad who barely acknowledged me...until my Mom died, at least..." Hayden felt crushed as he heard about Keith's family matters. "...I used that to make her realise that she's blessed t-to have both of her parents...who love her, no matter what..." Keith was alarmed to feel a sympathetic hand on his shoulder; he looked up at Hayden and saw a look of pity in his eyes.
"...I'm so sorry for your loss... I know what it's like to lose a parent before their time..." Keith felt slightly at ease; he briefly recalled Alexa mentioning her grandmother passing away before she was even born.
"...I'm sorry..."
"Keith... I want you to know that...I want to consider you as a part of this family." Keith was overwhelmed with shock. "And I want you to feel like you're part of the family, too. As such...I want you to promise me that you'll speak to me and/or Lily if anything is bothering you or if you have anything on your mind." Keith felt incredibly touched; despite everything he said and did to Alexa, Hayden was willing to accept him into his family. The idea of being invited to share Alexa's family completely made him tear up.
"H-Hayden..."
"Keenan already does so as and when he feels he needs to and I had Alexa make the same promise recently...so, now, it's your turn to make it if you so wish." Keith could not believe how Hayden was talking to him; the day before, Hayden was ready to tear his head off, but now he was talking to him like his own son! Keith wanted to smile, but he couldn't; he was completely moved to tears by Hayden's sentiment.
"...t-thank you..." Hayden smiled warmly as he pulled Keith into a hug, the last thing the boy was expecting. Nevertheless, Keith held onto him as he tried not to let his despair consume him any more than it already had. While Lily and Keenan were distracted, Alexa looked back Keith and Hayden just in time to see Keith flinging his arms around the back of Hayden's neck. Both Alexa and Ava smiled warmly at the embrace and were themselves almost moved to tears.
To be continued...