Chapter Forty Seven – A Moment's Peace pt II

Hailey stood in her back garden, carefully looking at the three Pokémon in front of her with her Bellossom, Eric standing on her head. Josh, Hailey's green-eyed Swampert, looked particularly nervous with the silent cross-examination, while Dexter and a Volarona with an unusual red ember-shaped birthmark on its forehead appeared to show little to no regard for the looks Eric and Hailey were giving them.

"Bellossom?" Eric asked as he bounced down to Hailey's shoulder.

"I dunno, Eric...it's so hard to choose," Hailey said quietly as she allowed Eric to hop onto her palm before jumping onto the grass. "Hmmm...I guess I could let Josh have a turn this time."

"Swah?!" Josh was rattled.

"C'mon, Joshie, you haven't had a turn in ages!"

"Swah?!" Josh asked as he shrugged.

"Then again, Flint hasn't had a go for a while either..."

"Volcaaaa," Flint said laxly as he hovered in place.

"You're never bothered about anything, are you, Flint?" Hailey asked in a sigh.

"Rona," Flint shook his head in response, leading Hailey to groan slightly.

"How am I supposed to make my next Contest appearance if I don't know how to make it?!" she complained. Ultimately, she looked over at her Jolteon and frolicking Bellossom. "Dexter, Eric, what do you think?"

"Swampert, swam-swam?" Josh wondered.

"Because Eric made his appeal last time and Dexter appeared the time before that," Hailey said in response to her Swampert's query. "I'm trying not to be redundant if I can help it."

"Jol-jol, Jolteon."

"I know some Co-Ordinators have a signature Pokémon, but I have half a dozen of them," Hailey said with a sunny smile. "As much as I like having a team of stars, it's always difficult to choose which one will shine. Which brings me to reiterate what you and Eric think; who do you think should shine this time?" Dexter and Eric exchanged perplexed looks before ever so slightly turning their backs on Hailey as they quietly discussed their thoughts in low murmurs. After a few seconds, the pair faced Hailey again.

"Bellossom," Eric grinned.

"Jolt," Dexter said bluntly. Hailey was baffled.

"So Eric says Annabelle and Dexter says Brie...this helps me because...?"

"Bellaaah," Eric apologised sheepishly.

"Jol-teon?"

"I kind of expected a more unanimous agreement," Hailey pouted. "Mainly between Josh or Flint; I didn't expect Annabelle and Brie to be thrown into the mix! Now I have too much choice!" she complained. Dexter sniggered just as Hailey's Xtransceiver suddenly emitted an upbeat piano tune. Hailey lifted up her arm and accepted the incoming transmission from Hayden; his smiling face appeared on the central screen while the hidden screen shot out of the device's left hand side to reveal Harvey's grinning face and his Aipom's usual playful smirk.

"Hey, good to see everyone!" Harvey laughed.

"What do you guys want?" Hailey asked in a chuckle. "I'm in the middle of a Contest conundrum."

"I just thought I'd let you know; Alexa's back," Hayden said joyfully.

"Ah, really?!" Hailey asked with glee. "Aw, Hayden, that's great!"

"When did that happen?" Harvey asked curiously.

"This morning," Lily explained as she leaned on Hayden's shoulder to view the Xtransceiver herself; Hayden wrapped his arm around her. "We were heading out to the Pokémon Centre when she just...walked in, I guess," she chuckled. "Now we're all spending the day together."

"Humilau Water Gardens, I take it?" Hailey presumed, noticing some of the flora behind Hayden's head.

"Yep," Hayden nodded. "But Alexa's not here right now; Cheryl went with her to the Mistralton Pokémon Centre to see Xavier – he's awake."

"Oh, thank Arceus!" Harvey sighed with heavy relief. "Is he okay?"

"All we know at the moment is that he has the usual head injury side effects; limited movement and slight speech problems," Hayden replied.

"I shouldn't think he'd be allowed to battle for quite a while after his discharge," Lily added with mild concern.

"That doesn't surprise me," Hailey agreed.

"The important thing is things are finally starting to look up," Harvey said optimistically.

Harvey stood outside the Nacrene City limits with Naomi at his side with a solid white carrier bag in one hand; like Harvey, Naomi, too, wore an optimistic smile on her face, having heard the relieving news of Alexa's return and Xavier's recovery.

"Here's hoping I don't regret saying that later on," Harvey chuckled nervously.

"Let's just enjoy what peace we have," Lily laughed.

"I second that, Lily," Hailey beamed.

"Anyhow, I should go; Naomi and I are on our way to see Troy."

"I should go as well; I'm trying to get my head around planning my next Contest appearance," Hailey said with slightly less enthusiasm.

"Don't know what to do?" Hayden queried.

"No; too much choice," Hailey groaned.

"You're always spoilt for choice, so what else is new?" Harvey teased. "I'll let you get on with that, though, and I'll let you enjoy your day, Hayden."

"Thanks, Harvey," Hayden and Hailey said simultaneously.

"Take care, bros," Hailey grinned.

"Bye, Hailey," Harvey and Hayden said in unison as they disconnected at the exact same moment. Harvey lowered his arm as he and Naomi began to walk further down Route 3.

"I'm glad that everything's worked well for Hayden."

"Hey, c'mon...did you really think Chick would leave her family at the drop of a hat?" Harvey laughed.

"I don't know her very well," Naomi said bashfully. "I actually think I know Keith better than I know Alexa...which is actually kind of sad in a way; I know my niece's boyfriend better than I know my niece herself!"

"Don't exaggerate, angel," Harvey chuckled as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Besides, I don't doubt that you'll get to know Alexa – as well as your other nieces and nephews – a lot better from this point on."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Naomi giggled as she and Harvey saw the Daycare Centre not too far away. From afar, they saw Troy looking over at something in front of Michael, though they couldn't see what it was Troy was looking at because of the Ninetales in front of him. However, as they approached the fence near the main building itself, Daniel and Rhonda were coincidentally passing the exact same spot.

"Hey, Daniel!" Harvey greeted with a light laugh. "How're you doing?" From the paddock, Troy looked up as soon as he heard his father's voice and suddenly lit up even more.

"I'm okay, Uncle Harvey," Daniel said courteously as he crouched down to lift his Umbreon off of the ground and hold her in his arms. "I didn't like what Daphne had to say, but I'm trying to get over it."

"Why, what'd she say?" Troy asked as he walked over to the fence. Laddy looked over at the paddock and saw Michael carefully nudging the egg over to Purugly, who smiled warmly as she accepted her yet-to-hatch offspring.

"Nobody in the school told Adelina about Two-Tone," Daniel said bluntly.

"How odd..."

"Don't worry about it, Naomi; remember what we agreed on," Harvey smiled.

"I almost didn't," Daniel admitted. "Anyway, what brings you out here?"

"Oh, yes, that's right!" Naomi faced her son and handed him the white carrier bag. "Here; I thought these would be nice for your Pokémon." Troy accepted the bag and looked inside; he saw an assortment of Pokémon treats, including Pokémon chocolate bars, biscuit bites and dental chews.

"Thanks, but I'm already well stocked on-"

"I said YOUR Pokémon, baby," Naomi laughed.

"Oh! R-Right...thanks!" Troy laughed bashfully. "Oh, yeah, Alexa called me a little while ago; she-"

"We know, sport; she's back and Xavier's awake," Harvey grinned.

"Hold on, Alexa's back? What does that mean?" Daniel asked in confusion.

"She spent last night in Driftveil," Harvey said quickly. "She...well...let's just say she wasn't a happy Buneary when she left..."

"Was that because of Adelina's blackmailing?" Daniel wondered.

"Eh?" Harvey raised an eyebrow.

"Keenan called me and told me she threatened Alexa with something."

"No, the reason she left wasn't really down to that bi-"

"Harvey!" Naomi snapped quietly, cutting off his profanity. He quickly gave Naomi a sheepish smile before looking back at his nephew with concern.

"She ran off because we kept something hidden from her for too long after Hayden called her out on keeping something from him for too long."

"So she called you out on your hypocrisy?" Daniel asked bluntly. Troy was about to snap at the teenager.

"Yep," Harvey nodded. "Turns out she spent the night at the Driftveil Star Hotel...with Keith," he added with a sly wink.

"Huh; I wonder how that went," Daniel muttered curiously to himself.

"ZORR!" Suddenly, everyone looked towards the paddock just in time for Purugly's egg to shine in a divine white light. They watched with fascination as the egg divided into two separate lumps that formed into two different Pokémon; after the glow faded, one of the Pokémon was a Glameow with its front paws being completely pale grey and the other was a Piplup with white toes. The twin newborns looked up at their mother Purugly as soon as she nuzzled both of them, happily purring as she felt them nuzzling back at her.

"...what is it with this family and twins...?" Harvey asked quietly. Troy chuckled, but Naomi, Laddy, Daniel and Rhonda watched the bonding between the mother Purugly and her offspring quietly.

Xavier lay on the surprisingly soft hospital bed in a Pokémon Centre patient recovery room with a bandaged wrapped around his bald head, looking at the regretful Alexa pitifully. Phoenix stood just behind Alexa, a comforting hand resting on her shoulder. Jollie sat on Xavier's chest, looking just as sympathetic as her surrogate little brother. Ryder and Layla stood on the opposite side of Xavier's bed, holding onto one another as they rather anxiously kept their eyes on Alexa; Ryder looked equally as guilty as Alexa while Layla was almost devastated. However, the Luxray, with the tips of her short mane coloured blue, that sat next to Layla appeared relatively indifferent to the tense atmosphere in the room.

"And that's...that's what you got hurt over," Alexa sighed.

"I knew it was bad, but damn..." Xavier's speech, though perfectly normal in pitch, was somewhat slower than normal. "I...dunno how to respond to that..."

"I'm sorry, Xavier...I didn't say anything to anyone else about it when I should have and you paid the price..."

"Eh...?"

"Alex, c'mon, it wasn't your fault," Ryder said gently.

"Maybe...but, on the other hand..."

"The mutant calamari," Xavier concluded. Alexa nodded sadly.

"You got hurt because Carter tried to attack me...I'm so sorry...!"

"C'mon, girl..." Xavier raised his arm shakily and almost slapped his hand on the Alexa's other shoulder. "Don't blame yourself for what the mutant calamari was told to do..."

"But you-"

"Hey...who else was going to bail you out?" Xavier asked with a frown. "I was the fastest one on the battlefield; I was the only one who could get to you in time..."

"B-Buneary...!" Jollie whimpered. Xavier smiled comfortingly at the little rabbit sitting on his chest.

"I dunno, sis... You're strong, but the Muk-muncher's a fully evolved Pokémon..."

"Buneary..." Jollie sighed submissively.

"I just wish it didn't take you almost dying to finally tell my parents about Sinnoh..."

"Everything's okay now, though, right...?" Xavier said kindly. "Isn't that the important thing...?" Ryder was perplexed, especially when he saw Alexa's slightly bashful smile.

"Yeah...everything worked out well in the end..."

"Glad to hear it..." Xavier suddenly swallowed quite forcefully, much to Alexa's alarm.

"What's wrong?"

"I hate dry throats..."

"I'll get a nurse," Ryder offered.

"No need to; I stocked up on supplies yesterday – I have some Fresh Water for you," Alexa beamed as she immediately spun her belt bag around her waist and sat the pouch on her lap before opening it. Xavier chuckled.

"You're an angel..." However, as soon as the bag was fully unzipped, Alexa saw something that baffled her and pulled the alien item in question out of the bag for all six of her Pokémon to see; a snow white gift box wrapped with an emerald green ribbon.

"When did you get that?" Ryder asked as he saw Alexa blindly handing Xavier a bottle of Fresh Water from her bag.

"I didn't," Alexa replied quietly. Seeing the gift, Layla and Jollie suddenly smiled excitedly.

"Bun, bun, bun!" Alexa looked at her Buneary in confusion.

"What, now?"

"Nyah, nyah!" Layla said keenly.

Alexa placed the box on the edge of Xavier's bed and carefully pulled the ribbon off of the box. Kayla walked over to Alexa as she placed the ribbon to one side and pulled the lid off of the box; inside the box was a jet black foam insert that was moulded to the shape of the product inside – a pair of Gracidea flower hair clips made with high quality felt. Alexa was completely speechless as she saw her the accessories, but a huge smile swiftly made its way onto her face. She took one of the clips out of the box and examined it; she couldn't tell whether they were an officially manufactured product or hand-crafted – they looked incredibly well-made! Ryder, however, was now confused in more ways than one.

"What are they?"

"They're hair clips!" Alexa said with sheer delight. "Oh, they're beautiful...!" Layla scurried over to Alexa's left hand side to get a better view of the hair accessories.

"Are you sure you didn't get them yourself?" Ryder asked as Jollie took the remaining clip from the box.

"Trust me, I'd remember seeing something as amazing as this..." Jollie and Layla glanced over at one another with slightly mischievous smirks.

"Bun!"

"Whuh?!" Without warning, Jollie and Layla each grabbed the locks of hair that hung down the side of Alexa's face and pulled them towards the back of her head. Before she knew it, the two Gracidea hair clips were placed on either side of her head just above her ears. Baffled, Alexa touched the sides of her head and felt the two clips in place. Layla and Jollie looked at Alexa directly and their already wide smiles grew even wider as they admired what they did with her hair. "Uh...thanks?"

"Nyaaaaaah~!" Ryder smiled as he saw how the clips looked on Alexa.

"Hey, that actually makes you look pretty!"

"You mean she wasn't before?" Xavier jested.

"You know what I mean," Ryder jeered. "But, seriously, where did you get them from?"

"I dunno, I-" Alexa suddenly remembered the only moment where she left her pack unattended. "Keith!"

"What about him?" Xavier wondered.

"He must have slipped it into my pack when I went to get dressed!"

"What the heck are you talking about?" Ryder asked.

"I, uh..." Alexa felt herself blushing and smiling rather timidly. "...I visited his hotel room last night and...I...ended up sleeping with him..." Ryder's eyes widened with surprise, but was left speechless. Kayla, once again, appeared indifferent about the matter, but Layla and Jollie grinned widely with excitement. Phoenix, however, appeared to be curious about the whole thing.

"Does that mean you're expecting an egg now?" Xavier asked with a wide grin. All of a sudden, Alexa felt immensely embarrassed and hid her face from her Pokémon, burying it in her hands.

"Urgh! Xavier! That's not even the right term for it!"

"Rhrrgh?"

"NO!" Alexa snapped immediately as she looked up at her Charizard. "We fell asleep before we could get that far!" Phoenix chuckled at her embarrassment. "DON'T LAUGH AT ME!"

"So you don't like that you slept with him?" Xavier wondered.

"I didn't say that!" Alexa retorted.

"So you do?" Xavier asked, slyly raising an eyebrow. Alexa recoiled slightly.

"I dunno, it... ...I don't know..."

"Bun-buneary?" Jollie asked curiously.

"It-it's like I said to Keith over breakfast; it felt kind of wrong, since we didn't resolve anything about our relationship while I was at his room, but...I enjoyed it at the same time..."

"...do you even HAVE anything to resolve at this point?" Ryder asked suddenly.

"That's what I asked him!" Alexa exclaimed in bafflement. "...he just told me to ask myself that question..."

"From the sound of it, I don't think you have anything to resolve," Xavier said kindly.

"Rhrrrgh," Phoenix growled in agreement, smiling dotingly with his hand still on Alexa's shoulder. Alexa saw Layla, Kayla and Jollie shaking their heads, agreeing with Xavier's opinion. She looked over at Ryder, who ultimately smiled warmly at her as his tail began to wag slowly. She smiled shyly as she touched one of her new hair clips again; she truly did love and appreciate her gift and practically accepted it without a hint of hesitation – maybe Xavier was right.

To be continued...