Hello :P It is not Wednesday but I am finally back with this new chapter. It feels like I'm late by so many days! I had a pretty major family thing happen which is the reason why I just couldn't do normal things like uploading. But I'm back down. And maybe there will be a story come out of the things that went down! This is something I've wanted to tackle for a while - more into Gary and his family. This heavily focuses on his parents and their names and how they died and his sister too. It's the same sister mentioned in the manga. At least I think anyway. Truthfully, I haven't come up with her character yet the way I have his parents. But I hope you enjoy this!

Disclaimer: I own the story, Lynne and Gary's parents too :P

I nuzzled Lynne's shoulder and as she raised her hand to knock on the large Oak door, the sound of familiar voices on the other side filled our ears. The sounds caused us both to hesitate, our ears to prick and to glance at one and other in confusion.

The older male let out a sigh before speaking to the younger male and though I couldn't see either of them, I imagined him rubbing his creased brow. He would have looked at his grandson gently.

"Please will you just calm yourself? Let's talk about this like adults."

Upon hearing these words, I could clearly imagine Gary's expression judging from the sound of the scoff that came from his mouth. I was certain that he was running his fingers through his hair before folding his arms. His nose would have stuck in the air.

"Calm? I am calm. How am I not calm?" he insisted before asking the silver haired male, most likely with a shake of the head. We both knew it was wrong but Lynne and I lingered outside the door and listened. Both our eyes were wide with confusion and our stomachs were tingling at the obvious tension.

Professor Oak let out another sigh and he took a step closer towards his grandson, judging by the squeaking noise of the kitchen floorboards. It was then that the orange haired female from my side of the door nudged it open so we could both see inside.

I know what you're thinking. And yes we both knew it was the wrong thing to do. But it was a natural human and Pokémon curiosity. Besides, we really were worried.

It was then when the gap in the door was created that both of us but especially I could see the softness on Samuel's expression.

"How are you calm, Gary? I can see it in your face. And I can hear it in your voice." He told his grandson softly and we both saw him take back the step that he had previously taken forward. He rubbed his forehead wearily once again while the auburn haired male's head lightly jerked like he'd been slapped.

But he breathed out stubbornly, his eyebrows knotted together as he shook his head.

"Well what do you expect, Pops?" Gary asked his grandfather and slowly met his eyes with a gaze and a tone of voice that I hadn't heard before. It was a shuddering mix of hard and broken. "Do you really expect me to be calm right now? Am I meant to be perfectly okay with out of the blue hearing from a sister I haven't seen or heard from in twenty years?!"

Gary's tone getting louder with each sentence until he was finally shouting with his last caused Lynne to jump and take a step backwards. But I didn't. I stayed watching, my eyes shaking. I really had never seen him like that before.

Of course I had seen him mad. I had seen him hurt. I had seen him upset. But he was a guy who liked to keep it all inside and he rarely showed off a side other than composed. And in that moment, he was far more than mad. He was far more than hurt and he was far more than upset. He was all those things. But just way more.

Upon hearing his adult grandson yelling at him, the normally composed Professor Oak took another few steps back. But he wasn't scared, nor was he offended. He was just upset. He knew him more than anyone and knew he had every right to feel anything that he felt inside. And Gary could read all this when he looked at his Grandfather, so he tried not to.

Samuel tried to compose himself and he tried to reason with the younger Professor. He breathed out shakily.

"Gary, please…" he began in a trembling voice but it was that tone and it was his telling expressions on his face that made it too much for the auburn haired male to bear. He shook his head fiercely before his eyes filled with tears and he turned away.

"No!" he insisted in a voice louder than his normal talking voice but it still wasn't yelling. He tried to continue as bravely as he could. "Please, I just do not want to talk to you right now." He told his grandfather before that was it. He tugged the large Oak door open and he barged past us both, sprinting out into the evening air to cool down.

For once, it was Lynne who lost her cool when she saw Professor Oak leaning against the kitchen table to steady his shaking bones after his ordeal with his Grandson. She swallowed, her hand still close to her mouth after it previously flew to it hearing Gary yelling.

"I-I-I'm so sorry, I'm only here because I think little James left his Pikachu plush in your living room." She truthfully blurted out to the older male and I was forced to nod. It was true, that was why we were there. But in my mind, I wasn't there for that reason anymore. I wanted to see if my best friend's best friend was okay.

Professor Oak, like his Grandson, was a man of composure and a man who kept his emotions inside. So it didn't surprise me when he just distantly nodded his head at Lynne's words and ran a hand through his grey hair. He just breathed out through his nostrils. His silence caused the orange haired female to speak.

She approached him, her fingers playing with each other as she held them over her abdomen for comfort. She looked at him with a mixture of shyness and concern.

"I… I'm sure Gary will be alright." She told him automatically and tried to give him a smile but her brow was still furrowed. She hadn't really had any experience dealing with Oak's before. But still, she continued and forced a smile. "In fact, maybe I should go and have a word with him. I could-"

"No." Professor Oak interrupted her quickly but not rudely as he wearily took a seat at one of the kitchen chairs, rubbing his knee worriedly. He shook his head after doing so. "Gary just needs space to think. Besides, he hardly knows you."

What Samuel meant by this is that Lynne hardly knows Gary like she knows Ash. Although she didn't, I couldn't help but wince and glance at her as I stayed sitting on her shoulder. That wasn't really fair. She had made an effort to have some sort of bond with everyone.

But for once, this didn't seem to deter her, oh no. Actually, it seemed to fuel her. She nodded her head respectfully and understandingly and almost curtsied as she pushed her hair from her eyes.

"Well, I think that might be true but that might actually also be helpful to him." She told the older male and with that, she scurried along the hall in her homemade dress to follow where Gary headed into the garden.

While she did this with me on her shoulder, I couldn't help but shake my head fondly. I had always figured that Misty's passionate side was a trait all of her own. Sure her father was passionate. But he was also very reserved. Lynne was reserved too. But the way her eyes were showing concern but a desperate need to help taught me knew things. Maybe Lynne and Misty were more similar after all.

Lynne had been to Professor Oak's Laboratory quite a few times on some of her visits to earth but I knew it was her deep intuition that caused her to know exactly where she had to go. She followed her nose towards the hill that had the large Oak tree on it while I held onto her hair as she scurried. Some would say her intuition was something she was born with, or perhaps something she gained since becoming a mother. But I knew others would disagree. I knew someone would say that she was that way because she was an angel.

The orange haired female slowed down her pace when she saw Gary's silhouette sat up against the trunk of gnarly Oak tree like she thought she might find him. She almost tiptoed towards him and we both took the time to study him before we sat down with him.

Despite his previous outburst and almost yelling, he had gone back to the way we always had known him. Seemingly cool and composed. But I knew him almost as much as anyone else through Ash, and Lynne could see it too. She could see he was suppressing things. He was hiding things. And he was pretending too.

He pretended to be okay as his hazel eyes wandered to the other trees all around him. His smart brain thought of profound things. He was noting how most of the trees surrounding his favourite one had shed all of their leaves because it was the middle of winter. But his one didn't. It stayed standing there, proud and green. Aside from the name, maybe that was why it was his favourite. Maybe it was a consistent thing in an inconsistent life.

Lynne sat down on the frail grass next to Gary with a mixture of clumsiness and grace after she too had been studying him. She offered him a smile which he didn't return because he wasn't looking at her right away. But when he finally was looking at her, he looked at her briefly before mainly raising an eyebrow. He spoke to her before she had a chance to explain herself.

"Look, I heard what you said to my Grandpa about just being here to find little James' toy. So why don't you both focus on that and leave me alone, huh?"

I blinked as I was too involved in his stubbornness but I couldn't really get offended. He was obviously upset and on top of that, his tone wasn't exactly rude. But it certainly wasn't welcoming either.

But Lynne didn't seem to mind. She just shrugged and followed his gaze, looking at all the trees around them herself. She almost hummed.

"Well if you continued eavesdropping then you would have heard him telling me that I barely know you." She informed him and continued looking at him even though his head wasn't facing her. In the darkness, I could see his pupils were to the side of his eye and he was watching her. She continued. "And he's right. You don't know me. Maybe I did want to just sit here with you."

I hopped down from Lynne's shoulder and sat on the fraying grass myself and cocked my head on one side. Gary's shoulders couldn't help relaxing. He really didn't feel like talking. But he had had facts thrown at him. He couldn't deny them. He really didn't truly know Lynne. He didn't know her intentions.

It was clear to me that her intentions were to help him out. But he didn't know that. He wasn't shown any evidence to prove otherwise. He decided to let her stay and sit. He even gave me a brief and gentle pat on the head. I breathed out. It was okay for me to stay too.

It was chilly in the mid-January air and Lynne pulled her dress as near to her feet as possible as she sat on the grass with her legs tugged to her chest. As she did so, she stayed looking at the trees, talking allowed to herself.

How old are they all, she pondered. I wonder if they really can feel things, she asked no one in particular. Do you think they like their leaves, she mused.

And it was Lynne being exactly herself that caused Gary's true self to tumble out. His true feelings too. He knotted his brow as he tried to hold them in. He tried not letting his eyes prick with tears when the winter wind hit his face. Eventually, he breathed out and went with it.

"My Grandpa sure has some nerve telling me to calm down. Like he wouldn't react in the exact same way as me if his older sister out of the blue got in contact with him after over two decades."

Lynne furrowed her brow and listened as Gary couldn't deny himself the urge to talk to her while I really listened. I blinked and breathed out slowly. I had heard Gary and Samuel's words when they were arguing but they hadn't really sunk in. and the more I thought about it, the more I blinked to myself. Sister? I had never heard him mention a sister.

It was times like those where it was particularly wonderful to have someone like Lynne around. Like she had told Professor Oak, her having a distance with Gary might have worked to his advantage. And on top of that, she was so gentle and open minded. She just listened to him.

"I can't believe him. And he has the nerve to hint to me that I wasn't acting like an adult too. He clearly doesn't know me. I've had to deal with very adult stuff since I was eight years old, thank you very much."

Lynne's eyes were naturally very big and very blue but Gary didn't really know this about her. When he saw her orbs, he thought she was looking at him questioningly. When he realised, he furrowed his brow and shook his head at himself.

"Let's just forget it." He breathed out and this caused my heart to thud yet slow down at the same time. I shook my head sadly. I didn't want Gary to shut off and bottle it all up all over again. But I needed to have more faith in angels. I needed to have more faith in Lynne.

Seeing his mixed up expression, Lynne couldn't help but feel an affinity for him. She moved closer to him and tilted her head on one side.

"Just… Just talk to me, Gary. It doesn't matter if I understand. It doesn't matter if I don't get it. Please. Just talk."

Upon hearing this, the auburn haired male bit his lip and he looked over at Lynne more vulnerable than I had seen before. And because he was in the presence of someone warm and inviting, he couldn't help doing just that. He couldn't help just talking. He talked eventually. After pausing and breathing out.

"Well… Where do I begin?" Gary began. He spoke briefly. But it was a start. "My parents died when I was seven years old. My grandfather didn't tell me the truth about their death. He didn't tell us the truth. So my big sister left. And then it was always just me and my Gramps."

Lynne nodded her head slowly as she listened and I did too. But my mind raced far more than hers. I simply had never had an idea. I didn't know about any of that. I knew that it hadn't always been just Gary and Samuel. But I didn't know any of the details.

As my own mind begged for more answers, Lynne finally stopped listening and asked her own question. She asked it gently, speaking in a soft voice.

"Why… Why did your Grandfather not tell you the truth?" she asked, a question that I feared would be too complicate to have just one answer to. But luckily or perhaps unluckily, Gary knew exactly what to say. And he found himself edging closer to her as he told us both. But he mainly told her.

"Because it was brutal." He began quietly, staying close to her but looking down and his brow furrowing as he focused on his fingers in his lap. "They died so suddenly. So harshly. And because of other people. I was so young. My sister was so young. So he lied."

Lynne nodded her head slowly as she listened, her own fingers playing with each other. She glanced at Gary, putting her own idea together in her head.

"They died because of other people…? Was it a… Car crash?"

Upon hearing this, Gary did a strange thing. He chuckled. I saw the tears in the corners of his eyes and forming at the edge of his nostrils. But he laughed before breathing out.

"That's exactly what we were told. But that wasn't the truth." He mumbled and because she looked at him with accepting and questioning eyes, the answer came rolling out of him. He dug his nails into his palm. "They were killed because of Team Rocket."

My eyes widened upon hearing this and my nostrils flared but it was a different reason than Lynne's one. I glanced at Gary, my own eyes threatening to prick with hurt. I had heard about that a few months after he and Jayme began dating. When he began dating the daughter of two Team Rocket members. But like I said before, Lynne reacted differently to me. Her eyes didn't hesitate to fill with tears as her hand went to her heart.

"Team Rocket? You mean…? Not…?"

She couldn't even say it. But Gary could. He had been brave and strong by opening up to Lynne prior. But upon speaking the organisations name, he couldn't help but feel a wave of bitterness. He smiled sourly.

"Yep. The same Team Rocket which the James you're so fond out came crawling out of." He said simply and Lynne's reaction to his words made him say no more. Her eyes filled with hurt and confusion. She just shook his head. I couldn't help but give him a sideways glance. I disliked that trio and their organisation far more than the next person back in the day but times had certainly moved ahead. Him being the level of bitter that he was left a taste in my mouth. A bitter one.

I didn't know if it was my look or Lynne's long silence that made more thoughts pop into Gary's mind. And because they went into his brain, he found himself speaking them. He breathed out.

"I'm being unfair." He mumbled quietly but I was proud that he pushed away his stubborn streak. He cleared his throat thoughtfully. "I put all that behind me a long time ago. I mean, I had to. I'm son in law to two members of the squad. But yes. It was Team Rocket.

Though the entire discussion and the mood was very much on Gary and his troubles, Lynne couldn't help but speak aloud her own thoughts. She was concerned. She was confused. She didn't get it.

"So you mean… That organisation is really evil? I mean really evil? It wasn't just taking Pokémon?" she asked almost naively and Gary found himself shaking his head. But his head moved slowly. Like he wished he had a different answer for her. He remained truthful.

"Who is to say what is evil? They're just words. As for Jessie, James and Meowth, they were just the tip of the iceberg, if you can imagine. They were doing harmless enough stuff. Most of them were doing harmless enough stuff. But the more you look into it; there is some very dark stuff at its core."

Lynne appreciated Gary being so truthful and factual in a difficult time so she gave him a smile. But it was a sad one. A sad one that there was evil in the world and that he had to suffer because of it. She moved closer still to him, her brow furrowed.

"Evil… Like… Like… Murder…?" she asked, almost whispering the intense word that she had said. But she didn't need to. Gary had heard. And he winced. He winced and his eyes pricked with tears again. But he nodded, his own brow furrowed.

"Yes." He told her and that's all he could tell her about his parents death on that occasion. He was beginning to shiver because of the cold and because of all his opening up. He felt so raw. He felt so uneasy. But released at the same time. Like a part of him was dead. The part of him that had kept things bottled up for so long. He quietly changed the subject. Almost. "I've never told anyone this."

This got Lynne's attention. At first, she smiled, as if she felt really special that he had been telling all that to her and only her. But then she felt sad for him. She almost reached for his hand. She blinked. But before she could ask him, he answered her.

"I've told Ash, of course I have. Well, I never really had to tell him. He lived it with me." He shrugged truthfully before smiling wanly, his fingers playing with his hair on top of his head. He mumbled. "And I've told Jayme. Here and there. But I've never told anyone… Like that."

Lynne nodded and she gave him a smile and his arm a squeeze too. But she could no longer just feel special that he had told her. She felt sad for him. She really did feel sad. She could see and she understood a lot of the things that he had been bottling up. She viewed him as so young. He was an adult and he was slightly older than her daughter. But she viewed her daughter as her baby. So she viewed Gary as a slightly older baby. So young. Definitely too young to go through things like that.

Her fingers lingered on his arm.

"So… Your sister." She stated simply as she looked at him and tilted her head on one side. Before he could repeat the words back to her, she continued. She clarified. "What are you going to do about her? You don't seem the happiest that she's got back in contact."

Gary couldn't help but smile slightly at her being so truthful and honest with him. He appreciated. His eyes flickered and they met hers. But like always, only briefly. He shrugged before Lynne continued still.

"What is it? Were you not that close?" she asked him, finally breaking her hand away from his arm to push the hair from her eyes that the wind had splayed in front of her gaze.

For one of the few times that session, it was her who wasn't understanding. But I was. I had remained rather silent that whole time. Not overthinking too much. Just listening and being in the present. But before Gary even told her, I knew.

"It's not that…" he spoke almost silently to her, his breath hitching in his throat and wincing as he had to speak through the tightness of his vocal chords. He looked rather in pain. More so than he had that entire time. I really did know. "We were close. I mean, as close as brother and sister that age could be, I guess. We teased each other rotten but we didn't mean it. Well, mostly."

Lynne listened to all this but she couldn't help but furrow her brow. She wasn't getting the answers that she wanted. She took a chance by taking the direct approach.

"What's making you so mixed up over the idea of seeing her?"

The auburn haired Pokémon Researcher almost flinched upon hearing this, getting used to her delicate ways and surprised by her new approach. But he couldn't help but respect it. He remained quiet for a few moments but then he spoke. After breathing out.

"I wasn't mixed up over her getting in contact exactly. I guess firstly having Gramps telling me she wrote a letter brought back old feelings involving him hiding the truth from me." He began by admitting and because Lynne was silent and just listening, his answers came tumbling out. "And on top of that, I really don't know how my sister is going to make me feel."

Once again, although she listening, Lynne didn't understand right away. She blinked and felt almost protective of him.

"Will she say mean things?" she asked innocently and this made Gary feel even braver. When he was talking to her, it was like he was talking to a journal. He was talking in a space so safe and free and open. I knew he would never admit it or say it with words, but it was cathartic.

"It's really not that." He insisted with a frown, his fingers picking at a hangnail on his thumb and almost making himself bleed. He mumbled almost achingly. "It's just… It's easy for me here. My Gramps doesn't like talking about what happened with her and my parents. He likes talking about it even less than me. So there's barely any reminders of the past or reason to keep bringing it up. But I don't know what she's like now. Maybe she'll want to talk about it. And then I'll have to deal with it. Really deal with it. It'll be so painful."

Gary told us both so much of his truth that Lynne needed a moment before she was ready to speak. She wasn't worried about picking her words. She was just so touched that he had been so open and honest to her. She really wanted a reply that was as good as his raw emotions.

"Oh, Gary…" she began almost tearfully but with a smile as her hand went back to squeeze his arm. She didn't feel the need to let it go as she spoke to him. "Everybody needs to face up to something at some point."

I didn't know if it was her almost motherly touch or her caring tone, but I saw his hazel eyes pool with tears. He wiped them away but for once, he didn't for a minute pretend that they weren't there. He nodded his head.

"I know, I know. And I will. One day." He told her and she believed he was telling the truth. He contined nodding and smiled sadly. "Just not today. Just not right now."

And because of his answer, Lynne believed that he was done for the day. And she appreciated and respected that. He had already been so honest and deep with her in ways that she couldn't have imagined, even though she told Professor Oak that she thought she might be able to help.

I hopped on the grass in between where Gary and Lynne were sat together. The orange haired female reached to stroke her fingers down my back. It took a few minutes but then the auburn haired male gave me a pat.

I didn't know if it was my contented noise or, once again, it was Lynne's silence that made Gary's opening up not be over just yet. He looked up at the sky wistfully as he spoke. He shook his head.

"I've thought about my parents every day. And I've thought about them coming down every single day." He told her and he didn't know it, but she was looking at him. He knew it when he briefly looked back towards her and gave her a teary but brave smile. He chuckled. "Well, I've thought about them coming down at least every time you and Jordan have come down."

I smiled sadly back at Gary but Lynne couldn't bring herself to do that. And because of this, Gary went back to looking at the stars. The orange haired female breathed out sadly and almost with guilt.

Her and Jordan coming down from 'up there' was always a joy for everybody. The pain was in when they had to go back, she believed. She couldn't have imagined that her coming down could cause pain for someone who was waiting for their own little visitor.

Gary could sense that Lynne was feeling guilty. But he wasn't feeling bitter at all, just sad. And he allowed himself to feel sad. And he allowed her to feel guilty. They were normal emotions. He thought maybe he should keep quiet, but she had helped him speak his thoughts. He couldn't stop himself.

"I wonder all the time. I wonder why they don't come down. Why haven't they come down? Is it something they've done? Is it something I've done? Should I be doing more? Should they be doing more? Should…"

Gary was forced to trail off when his voice cracked and he almost winced at his display of emotions. He had been okay with all of his feelings before, but that one crossed a line, he felt. But Lynne didn't feel the same as him.

She smiled tearfully yet reassuringly at him as her hand moved to squeeze his shoulder.

"Oh, Gary…" she said again but not with a hint of pity in her voice. She shook her head and continued just as warmly as ever. "You know, I don't think I've ever seen a photo of them. If I knew what they looked like, maybe I could look out for them both when I go back."

While Gary sniffed back his emotion and didn't hesitate to reach into his pocket for his phone where a photo of them lurked, I couldn't help but tilt my head. I shut my eyes and I found myself imagining. I imagined his parents' faces, before we saw them for ourselves. Unlike Lynne, I had seen them before. But I had mostly heard about them. Through Ash more than anybody. Their faces were coloured by the beauty of how their personalities sounded.

I opened my eyes and scuttled closer to them both to watch when I heard Lynne breathe out quietly and take the phone off Gary. He moved closer to the orange haired female and softly pointed out, though of course he didn't need to.

"There they are. That's them. That's my mom on the left and my dad on the right." He told us and though he looked at Lynne, he didn't mind me hopping onto her shoulder to look for myself. He smiled bravely. "That's Edward and Rebecca Oak."

I looked at the photo on Gary's phone and felt a pang inside my stomach. They were so young. They were so smart. They were someone's parents and they had been killed. That filled my heart with pain. But on top of that, my brain couldn't help but fill with wonder.

How was Lynne going to react? Would she shed a tear at the thought of people dying, like she too had faced herself? Would she give Gary a big hug realising he didn't have a mother around? Would she compliment how happy they looked in the photo? I should have known something far different would have happened.

Gary looked at Lynne's face as she studied the faces of both his parents. Her eyes fixed on one of the parents but he couldn't tell the way I did. I watched and felt my stomach go from sinking to fluttering.

Along with Lynne being kind and gentle and open minded and how she made people unable to resist opening up to her, she had another quality too. Her face gave away everything. And in that moment, I saw on her face everything that was going through her mind. And I smiled. Gary really would end up rewarded for opening up to her.

But she didn't want to get his hopes up. So instead, she just smiled and she just emotionally handed his phone back to him. She squeezed his arm again, and said for the third time.

"Oh, Gary…" she breathed out, her mouth can't helping but smile as her blue orbs blinked back the tingling tears. She nodded. "I really think I might be able to help you out."

She told him and the auburn haired male just smiled back, his own eyes shining with tears and gratitude. And it was in that moment that I was so glad I could see his thoughts on his face too.

Lynne was telling him that she believed she was able to help him out. But the truth was, she already had.

The End.

There you go! Thanks so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed :3 This was a special one for me to upload. I really like writing Gary's character when I do and I like trying out new interactions. I don't think I've mentioned it on here before but Rebecca and Edward, Gary's parents, die at the hands of Team Rocket. I headcanon that they were both renowned Professor's and Team Rocket manipulated them into helping them out. And when they refuse, they end up killed. Pretty tragic. It's also sad that both of them don't visit Gary but there is a reason for that. All in good time. I'll write about it eventually, hopefully! I've also got a chapter written about Gary's grandmother aka Professor Oak's ex wife. I've got all of the Oak's in development :P Thanks again and I will be back next Wednesday to update The Diary of Baby Rey so see you then!

AmyBieberKetchum signing out :3