Chapter 7

The Morning After

The single dart game that evening ended up becoming five games. A single beer and a shot become another two shots and a few more beers. Cassius realized that he was beginning to enjoy Darren's company. He was a funny guy who took pleasure in the simple things. The smile on his face when Cassius was teaching him how to play darts was nice to see. It had been a while since anyone last smiled on the job.

Cassius began to realize that time was passing a lot faster than it should have and began to shoo Darren out to the car. Darren wobbled whimsically out the door with Cassius following behind. But before he left, Cassius made sure to leave a big tip for his waitress in the tip jar.

Cassius saw Darren trying, and failing, to stay upright on his way to the car. Cassius sighed in surrender and threw Darren over his shoulders. Cassius could drink with the best of them so tonight's drinking was light for him, but obviously wasn't for Darren. After reaching the car, he placed his ward in the passenger seat and closed the door, walking his way around the car to his own side. He saw Darren silently sleeping away as soon as he was in his own seat. Cassius shook his head.

The guy talks big game, but he can't handle his own alcohol, he scoffed.

Cassius reached over and buckled Darren in, then proceeded to drive to their hotel. The sound of the engine churning away didn't even phase Darren's restful sleep. Cassius looked over at the clock and saw that it was two in the morning.

"Crap, tomorrow is gonna suck."

Their evening excursion had gone on too long. Waking up in the morning was going to be hell and time was already of the essence.

The sooner that this is over, the better. I can't be wasting time working like a bodyguard when my father may very well be out there.

Cassius looked back over to Darren to find that he had turned his back away from him in the seat, still silently snoring away the night. Cassius smirked a little bit then focused back on the road ahead of them.

After a couple of minutes on the road, Cassius could see the hotel. He pulled into the parking lot. He stepped out of the car and proceeded to scoop Darren out of the car to take him back to his room. Cassius didn't have Darren's room key and didn't have the heart to wake him up for it. He strode through the lobby and up the stairs to his room, opening the door.

The room was painted in a multitude of greens, ranging from pastel to forest green. Green was a color that resonated with Cassius, especially emerald green.

The queen size bed lay in front of the entertainment system and television, the dark green blankets of the bed complimented by the dark wood finish of the frame. Off to the side was a couch stitched with patterns of falling leaves and a coffee table of a lighter, rustic wood before it. The room was calming, soothing. Cassius was glad to get this room.

He strode over to the bed and laid Darren down. He pulled off the young doctor's shoes and placed the watch Darren wore on the coffee table. Cassius pulled the sheets over Darren, tucking him in like a father would his child. Cassius went into the bathroom to change and clean himself up before he went to bed. Time would be limited in the morning, so shaving and brushing teeth needed to be done.

All I'd have time for would be a quick shower tomorrow morning.

After all hygienic habits had been taken care of, Cassius changed into his pajamas and grabbed one of the spare blankets kept in the small closet. He hopped onto the couch for a good night's rest.

-.-.-

"Go away, Bob, and give me another hour," Darren moaned as he pulled the blankets over his head.

Bob (Big Orange Ball) was shining brightly through the curtains, sending shooting pangs of sunlight into Darren's skull. Hangovers were never pleasant for Darren. Not now, not ever.

"Rise and shine, Sleeping Beauty. It's already past seven and we need to hit the road soon."

Darren's heart skipped a beat at the sound of that voice. That voice wasn't supposed to be in his room. That voice should have been in the room across the hall.

Slightly panicked, Darren ventured his head out from underneath the blankets to find that he wasn't in his own room of ocean and sky blues, but of varying shades of green. Realization struck Darren as hard as the train wreck hangover.

Did I sleep with Cas last night?

Darren swiveled his head around to find the glistening form of Cassius stepping out of the bathroom in only pajama pants. Darren blushed violently. What was worse is that Cassius seemed to notice Darren's minor panic.

"You were conked out last night from all the alcohol, Darren. You were already passed out by the time we got back here. I didn't want to wake you up for your room key, so I just plopped you on my bed while I took the couch."

Darren didn't realize that he was holding his breath until after his sigh of relief escaped his mouth. Darren quickly recomposed himself as much as he could in front of a man of muscle and nodded.

"Thanks for that."

Cas flashed a quick smile in response and nodded.

"I'm gonna wash up my Pokemon before I pack. I planned on leaving no later than nine. It's already seven, so you've got two hours to do what you have to before we ship out to Shalour City."

Darren nodded in response and proceeded to try to calmly leave the room. As soon as he was back in his own room, he let the cool guy façade disappear. Darren went over to the bed and began to shake his Pokemon awake. Rhea was the easiest to rise since she was so young, but Totem, his Sigilyph, was ever so resilient to early mornings. Kuina, his Braviary, and Mekhos, his Rotom, woke with only minor issues.

"Alright, guys, it's time to get ready. I've got two hours to make myself look human, clean you guys, and pack up. Everyone up and into the shower!"

The brood of Pokemon rushed into the bathroom, stampeding over Darren like a herd of Bouffalant. All his Pokemon were sitting around the tub, waiting for them to get clean. Darren shook his head at them all and began washing his Pokemon.

Kuina was the simplest to clean. All Darren had to do was take a damp washcloth and wipe down her feathers. Kuina cooed while Darren ran the warm cloth over her soft down. Once he was done wiping her clean, Kuina hopped onto the toilet seat to preen her feathers, her beak clacking away at the loose feathers.

Totem was just as simple to clean up. Use a warm, damp cloth to wipe down the feathers and let Kuina preen him since he didn't have a discernable mouth to do so. It was an odd bonding experience for the two of them, but Kuina was a very motherly sort of Pokemon. She always wanted to help clean and take care of the younger members of the team.

Mekhos, being living plasma, wasn't allowed to be washed in water due to the risk of electrocuting everyone. So he was wiped down with a static inhibiting cloth to keep him clean without shocking Darren.

Rhea, on the other hand, was a bit more complicated. She was a cold-blooded Grass-type Pokemon, so even lukewarm water was intolerable to her. She was very picky about the water temperature. Once Darren got the water to the right warmth, Rhea jumped right on in. She splashed water everywhere, nearly soaking Mekhos and short-circuiting him. Once Darren got her to calm down, he scrubbed her clean. He made sure to pay a little more attention to her tail since she made a habit of letting it drag in the dirt so see the shapes she could draw.

Darren lifted her out of the tub and towel dried her. She squirmed in the towel, making life a little more difficult than it should be, and then jumped out of his arms. She ran around the room after flinging the towel off. Darren grabbed the towel and chased her down to finish drying her off. Once that was done, he got the "kids" together and gave them their marching orders.

"Alright guys, we're going to be leaving soon so I need you all to do something for me. I need you to pick up this room and pack up as much as you can while I take a shower. We've now got about an hour and a half to meet Cas for breakfast," he said while looking at the clock on the wall.

Who is this "Cas" that you speak of?

Darren looked back at Totem to give him his answer before he heard a knock on his door. Darren looked over, surprised at the early morning intrusion. He walked over to the peephole to see Cas standing outside. Darren composed his flirtatious and outgoing façade before he answered.

"Hey there," Darren smiled, "I thought that I had a bit more time before I had to see you again."

"Yeah, I just wanted to let you know that I was gonna pack up my stuff in the car. I thought that I should tell you to meet up in the lobby when you were ready so that we could get some breakfast."

Darren's heart skipped a small beat. He shouldn't be this elated to have breakfast, especially with a man that was only there to guard him and nothing more. But Darren's imagination was always running rampant.

Ever the romantic. Why am I even falling for this guy? Sure he's gorgeous, caring, and downright likable but he's probably not even interested in me!

But all Darren could do was respond with a nod and a smile. The word "yes" seemed to be caught in his throat at the moment and refused to become unstuck.

"Great. See you at breakfast." Cas smiled, again making Darren's heart flutter with that handsome grin.

Darren closed the door and turned back to Totem.

"That was Cas," he said flatly.

Did you stay with him last night?

The bluntness of the question and the sheer implications behind it caused Darren to splutter out of shock. Then Darren looked straight into Totem's eyes and responded.

"We went out for a few drinks last night. I drank a little too much and apparently passed out on the way back. He didn't want to wake me up so he just tucked me into his bed. That's all."

Alright. And Totem just left it at that. No interrogation, no prying. That was what Darren grew to love about Totem. Once you answered the question, he left it alone and that was what Darren needed.

"Alright everyone, you know what needs to be done. Once I'm finished cleaning myself up, I'll help you guys out."

Everyone responded with sounds of acknowledgment and went to work. Darren stepped into the shower that he had been longing for all morning, ready to enjoy the scalding hot water to relax his nerves and his returning headache.

-.-.-

Darren got out of the shower to find that his Pokemon had actually finished packing without him. They packed up everything, including the clothes that Darren laid out for himself before they went to the bar last night.

Beggars can't be choosers, I guess.

Darren rummaged through the packed luggage, looking for some clothes. In his haste, he pulled out some clean underwear and his brown corduroy pants. After pulling them over his legs he set out to find his favorite burgundy sweater. He hastily shoved his head through the collar and his arms through the sleeves. He went back into the bathroom to grab one of his hair ties to pull back his wavy brown mane of hair. He looked in the mirror for a quick once over and realized that his father's watch was missing from his wrist.

"Shit!"

That watch had been a gift from his late father. It was a nice watch. It wasn't incredibly flashy, but classier. The feel of the leather band wrapped around his wrist made him feel that his father was still around. The watch brought him the same comfort that his father could do with a smile or hug.

Darren rushed out into the room, frantically running around to find the watch. He dug through his luggage. The poor linens were ripped off the bed and shaken down more than a suspected shoplifter. He got down on his hands and knees and couldn't find it anywhere.

I lost it. I lost my father's watch.