"You've come a long way together." Mark said, half in awe after hearing Simon, Jade, and Ruby's story. Simon had told most of it; however Jade would chime in to fill in the parts where Simon had been unconscious.

Simon nodded, "Yeah, I'd do it all again with twice the broken bones though." He said, half joking.

Flare let out a long yawn, and Jade looked over at him. "You three should probably go to bed soon, I can sense how tired you all are." She said frankly.

"You've been reading our minds?" Clara asked, sounding concerned.

"Yes." Jade said, looking to Clara "I take it you have a problem with that."

"Well..." Clara started.

"Listen," Jade interrupted, "You may have an issue with poking around people's heads without permission, but I don't." She explained.

"Isn't that a bit rude?" Clara asked defensively.

"Maybe," Jade responded, "but I don't really care, it's proved too useful to give up."

Clara went quiet and Jade seemed to return to her meditation. After a while, Simon broke the awkward silence, "I'll go get you guys some pillows and blankets. Do you mind sleeping on the couch? I'm afraid I don't have a guest room set up."

"That's fine, thanks for having us over." I said, trying to sound cheerful.

"Will you and Clara be okay cramming on the couch together?" Simon asked.

Clara nodded. "We sleep pretty close as it is." She said.

Simon smiled and fetched us our bedding for the night. We took a moment to get situated before Simon and Jade bid us goodnight, and headed further into the house with Ruby close behind. Clara and I snuggled close to each other and Flare laid down next to the couch, providing ample warmth from the heat he radiated.

We were woken up early by Ruby the next morning and after a brief chat with Simon in which we exchanged cell numbers. Flare, Clara and I headed out for the police station. Carol greeted us as we walked in and explained the chief wasn't in yet. Seeing no other work to do in the meantime, Clara and I set to work on the massive pile of papers to be filed once again. It was about an hour before Ramsey arrived at the office, and he was pretty surprised to see us already there and working. He apologized for not having proper work for us today again, so we spent the rest of the day filing. Flare was not amused to be sitting in the corner yet again with nothing to do; I made sure to give him a pet or two every time I took a shipment to the filing cabinets so he wouldn't get too bored. Evening came and we were dismissed, and to my surprise Simon, Jade, and Ruby were waiting outside for us.

"Hey Simon, what's up?" I asked, curious why he was here.

"Nothing much," He said, "got off of work early and was wondering if you wanted to do something this weekend?"

I blinked, surprised by the offer. "Sure, what did you have in mind?" I asked.

"Was hoping you'd have an idea," Simon said, chuckling. "I've never been good at organizing these kind of things."

"What he means is he walked down here spur of the moment without picking something out first." Jade explained, causing Simon to blush.

Clara and I couldn't help but giggle. After we calmed down I took a moment to think, and an idea hit me. "Say, would you have a problem going on a road trip?" I asked.

"Uh, not really but where would we go?" Simon asked.

I grinned, "I have a friend from the academy that lives not too far from here, her name's Sarah." I explained.

Simon looked nervous, "Another officer?" He asked.

"Yeah," I said, "but she's pretty awesome. She's the friend that helped Clara get ready to join the academy."

"Oh," Simon said, looking relieved, "Sure, I'd be glad to tag along to meet her then. How far away is she?"

"Well, she said her hometown was Catallia City, which was near Cherrygrove if I'm remembering our conversations right." I said.

"That's right, just outside of Cherrygrove." Clara confirmed.

"All the way to Cherrygrove in a weekend?" Simon asked, looking doubtful, "We'd have to leave Friday night, and it'd be Saturday afternoon by the time we got there, it's half way across the continent."

I grinned, "It'd be worth it," I said, "Besides, doesn't sound like you've got a better plan." I said, poking fun at him.

"Well, you got me there." Simon said, chuckling a little. "What the hell, why not." He said, now smiling.

Clara beamed, "You won't regret it!" She exclaimed.

"I'll call her when I get back to my uncle's place and let her know we're coming." I said, smiling.

After that we chatted a bit longer before saying our goodbyes, and I called a taxi as Simon headed home. After a short ride, we paid the driver, thanked her, and headed inside. Ted was apparently still out working, as the house was deserted, and Clara and I used the time to sneak a quick shower. Once we had toweled off and I got dressed again, I grabbed my cell phone and dialed Sarah's number.

"Sure, I'd be glad to have you and this friend over!" Sarah exclaimed after I had explained the situation to her, "I'm actually surprised you'd want to come visit so soon after moving, have you found a place yet?"

"No, I'm still staying with my uncle." I said, "You living back with your family or have your own place now?" I asked

"I actually have my own apartment now." She said, sounding proud.

"That's awesome!" I said

"How's your internship been so far?" She asked.

"It's been okay, the station's tiny and there isn't much to do outside of filing, but the chief seems nice enough." I explained.

"Yeah it's about the same here," She said, chuckling, "Though everyone here has a Spinarak like me, it's a little jarring coming fresh out of the academy."

"I'll bet." I said, nodding despite knowing she couldn't see me.

We chatted a little longer before Ted walked in and I had to hang up. I filled Ted in on what had happened, censoring the story so as not to raise suspicion. He congratulated me on making some new friends so quickly. After that, Clara and Ted made dinner together and we went to bed early.

The rest of the week went by slowly, but was more interesting overall. Chief Ramsey slowly put together a daily schedule for us as he found more ways to fit us into the office's routine. Every morning and afternoon he had Flare and I head out to the school for crossing guard duty, since the school had been in need of one for a while. The children were afraid of the massive canine the first few days we were there, but by the third day Flare's friendly behavior eventually won them over and he got all the petting he could ever want. I got to know the recess supervisor we had seen the other day too while we waited. She explained the reason she had a Hoot-hoot was because of its extremely keen eyesight; it really made keeping track of thirty-some students at once easier. Another thing we were in charge of was taking out the trash every evening, which was also scrub work but was a welcome break from filing.

Clara was put in charge of sorting and delivering everyone's mail inside the office, and every day at noon we would run the out-going mail from the office down to Simon, who was always happy to see us. We learned Ruby and Jade were in charge of sorting the mail in the back, and Simon would make the rounds to deliver everyone's mail in the little government car they gave him.

We also would often run personal errands for the other officers; which usually entailed getting lunch from one of the restaurants in town. Other than that, we were usually filing the massive pile of papers; though it was bearable now with the frequent breaks we were given.

Friday finally came and Simon met us at the door of the station at the end of the day; his little government-issued car was revving quietly on the curb. I had packed some clothes for the trip in a backpack beforehand; which was now slung over my shoulder.

"Day's finally here, you ready to go?" Simon asked. Jade was standing behind him and Ruby waved to us from the car happily. She had been shy around us for a while, but the more she got used to us the friendlier she became, and now she seemed to look forward to seeing us every day.

"Yep," I said as I called Flare back to his pokeball. "Been looking forward to this all week."

With that, we piled into the car and we hit the road. Simon drove, since he was the only one with a license, and Jade rode shotgun. I sat in the back seat with Clara and Ruby on either side of me. We didn't get far down the road before Ruby insisted on getting pets from me; which was met with chuckles from Clara and Simon, and indifference from Jade. Ruby murred happily as I stroked her fur and stared out the window and after a while she fell asleep, still murring. The sun began to set as fields and forests rolled by, and soon Clara had fallen asleep against my shoulder as well. I managed to keep awake until about three in the morning before I started nodding off.

"Need some help?" Jade spoke up, snapping me back to attention.

"No, I'm fine. Thanks though." I mumbled. Clara nuzzled closer to me at the sound of my voice.

"You sound like you could use it." Simon said, sounding fully awake by some miracle.

I sat up straight, "Have you been juicing on caffeine or something?" I asked Simon,

Simon chuckled, "No, you know that psychic type pokemon will share their pain with people they're close with," he started, "That link goes both ways."

"What do you mean?" I asked, not sure what he meant.

"They can take pain away for themselves as well, or at least that's what the basic idea is." He said.

"So Jade's been taking your sleepiness?" I asked, not sure if I understood.

"Yeah, she doesn't need much sleep anyway," Simon explained, "Usually she only sleeps about an hour every night, so she's fine taking on the extra fatigue."

I blinked, surprised this was the first I was hearing of this kind of ability.

"You'd be a bit tricky to work with," Jade said, "But I've poked around Clara's mind enough to have a good idea of how to share minds with you."

I raised my eyebrow and looked sleepily at the Medicham. "You've been reading Clara's mind?" I asked.

"I don't go anywhere private!" She asserted, getting defensive, "She's dreaming about you right now but I'm not watching." She said, trying to prove her point.

I looked down at Clara, who was snoring lightly with a small smile on her face. I sighed, "Might as well give it a shot." I said with a sigh.

"Close your eyes." Jade said.

"Isn't that counterproductive?" I asked.

"Just do it. It helps calm your mind down so I can access it easier." She responded, sounding a bit annoyed.

I shrugged and did as she told, and after a moment I felt a slight tinge between my eyes before my tiredness seemed to melt away. I opened my eyes, surprised at my sudden alertness. I looked over to Jade who let out a long yawn.

"You okay?" I asked.

"Yes." She said plainly, sounding the same as before, "I won't be able to constantly drain your fatigue like I can with Simon, but let me know when you're starting to pass out and I'll take what I can."

I nodded, "Thank you, Jade."

"Don't mention it." She said.

The rest of the ride was pretty boring, as it was hard to see anything outside the car at night. By the time the sun started rising, Jade had to help me out twice more, and now was yawing regularly. The sun climbed higher in the sky, and Ruby woke up with it, murring happily as she licked my cheek in greeting. Simon told her good morning as she stretched in her seat and she yipped her own greeting to him. It wasn't long before Clara woke up as well, and mumbled out her own sleepy good mornings to everyone.

It was about ten in the morning when we finally reached Cherrygrove, and Simon pulled over to ask for directions to Catallia City. Another hour down the road, and we reached it; though it wasn't exactly big enough to be called a city. It seemed about as big as the town I was working in, though it was more centralized rather than laid down along one road. Simon found a public parking lot and pulled in.

"Everybody out!" He said cheerfully, cutting the engine. We piled out of the car and stretched our legs. I couldn't help but stare at Jade and Ruby, as their preferred method of stretching seemed to be some form of tai chi, which they performed in unison.

"She learned it from me." Jade remarked, not looking up, "She's a fighter like me but she hasn't done any formal training outside of what I've taught her."

I nodded, and pulled out my cell phone; quickly dialing Sarah's number.

"How far away are you?" Sarah asked cheerfully from the other end as she picked up.

"We're actually in town right now." I said.

"Really? Where are you?" She asked.

I looked down the street from our lot, looking for any sort of street sign. "We just pulled into the parking lot on Eden Street." I said, "How far is that from you?"

"That's right next to my station!" She exclaimed.

"Cool, but doesn't really answer the question." I said.

"Don't worry, I'll be there in five minutes." She said.

"Alright, We'll be here." I said and hung up. I watched Jade and Ruby continue their stretching exercise while we waited, surprised they were still going.

"They do this every morning," Simon explained, seeing I was staring, "they'll be at it until your friend gets here."

I nodded, and looked over to Clara. "How'd you sleep?" I asked.

"Pretty good actually," She said smiling, "I'm excited to see Sarah again."

"Me too." I said. I remembered Flare was still in his pokeball and quickly called him out, but I had to laugh when I saw he was still sleeping after the flash receded. I walked over to the massive dog and gave him a gentle push, but he was snoring heavily and gave no response.

"I can get him up." Jade remarked mid-stretch.

"Might be better to let him wake up on his own." I said, pretty sure I knew how she planned to wake him.

It was a little while longer before a familiar face came jogging around the corner towards us. "Hey Mark!" Sarah yelled, her Spinarak clinging to her shoulder.

I waved back at her, and Flare snapped awake at the sound of her voice. Before I knew it, Flare had rushed past me and was sprinting towards Sarah. I was about to call out to stop him, but before I could even react Sarah's Spinarak had flung itself at Flare and landed on his face, making a series of clicking noises and stopping him in his tracks. Sarah laughed and tackled the massive dog herself, showering him in hugs and pets as he made his happy dog noises. Clara and I jogged over to meet her as she got back up, her Spinarak mounting her shoulder once again as Flare sat panting happily.

"It's good to see you!" Clara said happily.

"You too," Sarah said, "How do you like your station?"

"It was weird at first but I like it a lot." Clara said, smiling.

Simon caught up with us with Jade and Ruby close behind; though Ruby made sure to keep Simon between her and Sarah.

"Sarah, this is Simon. He's the friend who works at the post office I told you about."

Sarah smiled, "Good to meet you Simon, I'm Sarah." She said cheerily, "Mind if I ask how you and Mark met?"

"Sure," Simon said, "Though would you mind if we did it over lunch? I haven't eaten since noon yesterday, I'll buy." He said chuckling.

"That's a good idea actually, I know just the place," She said, then turned to me, "You remember the restaurant we used to go to back at the academy? There's one just like it here!"

"That's awesome!" I said, grinning.

Sarah led us to the restaurant and we chatted along the way. Once inside the place, we were ushered by the waitress to a large booth at the back. We spent the first few minutes picking out our meals, and the waitress took inventory of our pokemon so the cook would have a good idea what to make them. We chatted while we ate after the food arrived, and I noticed that Jade was struggling to stay awake; and sure enough she seemed to pass out halfway through the meal. We let her sleep for now and continued talking until the conversation eventually came back to Sarah's original question for Simon.

"Well," Simon started, "Mark had to run some mail up to my office and we started chatting, next thing we knew he was running an hour late." He said half joking. I was impressed at how easily he convincing he made the lie sound.

"No..." Jade spoke up groggily.

Sarah turned to her confused, "Wait, she's a psychic type?" She asked.

"Mark walked in on us in the bathroom." Jade mumbled, looking up. She was struggling just to keep her eyes open.

I looked over at Simon and saw he was frozen.

"You were in the bathroom with Simon?" Sarah asked, confused.

"Yes." Jade mumbled.

"Were you washing up?" Sarah asked, her discomfort visibly growing.

"No, we were together..." Jade said, yawning.

"Together how?" Sarah asked flatly after a long pause.

"Mating." Jade mumbled.

A chill fell upon the table, and Sarah's glare slowly shifted over to Simon. Her Spinarak was making a low chittering noise in response to her mood. "Is this true?" She demanded.

"I-It's not what it sounds like!" Simon stuttered.

"Bullshit!" Sarah growled, "I'm not an idiot!"

"What's your problem?" Jade asked, looking sleepily up at Sarah.

"My problem is the rapist across the table from me." Sarah snapped.

Jade looked over at me, looking panicked, "I thought you said she was your friend?"

"Y-yeah, but she never knew about that!" I stammered out.

Sarah Glared at me before looking around the table, spotting Clara blushing and covering her face. "No..." Sarah mouthed.

"I'm sorry..." Clara whimpered.

Her gaze shifted back to me. "I can't believe you." Sarah growled, "You graduated the academy, why would you betray your pokemon's trust like that after spending so much time learning to prevent it!?"

"It's not what you think!" I stammered out.

"Then what is it?" Sarah demanded, "because right now I'm looking at two sex offenders and their victims, and I'm having a hard time not arresting you on the spot."

Jade stood up on her seat, glaring at Sarah. "I am not a victim!" She gowled.

Sarah looked at the pokemon, taken aback.

"Everything I've done is because I wanted to," Jade continued, "If you take my Simon away from me I will make you regret it." She threatened. I noticed Ruby was cowering behind Simon.

"But the Pokeball makes you do what he says," Sarah said, "How can you say you were willing when he can control you!"

"Because I've run away before." Jade said flatly.

Sarah growled, "I can't believe this..." she said, "Clara, how could you let him do that to you?" She asked, turning to the Gardevoir.

Clara looked down at the table, seeming to brace herself. "I was the one that wanted it..." She said quietly.

Sarah blinked and stared at her, "B-but the pokeball-" She stammered.

"It was before I had a pokeball." Clara said, looking up at Sarah with tears in her eyes.

Sarah stared at her in disbelief, and her Spinarak slowly calmed down. After a long pause she mumbled to herself, "I can't believe this..."

Simon spoke up, "We never meant for anyone to find out."

"Well no shit," Sarah snapped.

"I'm sorry." Simon said quietly.

"You shut up." Sarah said, "You too Mark, neither of you say anything. I need to think..."

We sat and stared at her for a long time, too afraid to move. I could feel Clara's fear and Flare was crouched low with his ears down. Ruby still hid behind Mark, whimpering softly. Sarah's Spinarak would switch which shoulder it sat on frequently as we stared across at the half eaten meals covering the table.

"Alright, here's what I'm going to do..." Sarah said after a long time, "I'm going to pretend I didn't hear anything."

"Thank you." Simon said, relieved.

"You say nothing." Sarah growled, "If not for Mark and Clara being here, I'd have thrown your ass in jail so hard they'd need a crowbar to get you out of the cell."

Simon went quiet and looked down.

"You're lucky to have Mark here. I trust his judgment, he may be a slacker but he's still a damn good officer." She said.

The table was quiet for a while after that. Eventually I broke the silence, "So what now?" I asked quietly.

Sarah looked at me quietly for a while before sighing. "Go home, Mark." She said, "Take your friend with you too."

"But-" I started.

"Now! get out of my sight before I change my mind." Sarah growled, her Spinarak resumed its angry chittering.

I sat frozen for a moment before Sarah shouted for us to leave again. We shuffled out of the booth and out the door, unintentionally leaving Sarah with the bill as we retreated. We all but ran back to the car in silence, feeling shame slowly set in along the way. We piled back into the car without saying a word and left. We got as far as Cherrygrove before Simon pulled over. I didn't understand why at first, but as he killed the engine I hear it: quiet sobs coming from the passenger seat. Simon leaned over and wrapped his arms around Jade, holding her tightly.

"I'm so sorry..." Jade whimpered as Simon rubber her back slowly.

"It's all right, Jade." Simon assured her.

Clara and I sat quietly as they held each other. It was a long time before Jade calmed down, and we started driving again. Jade eventually passed out, leaning against Simon as he drove, and as the sun set we pulled into Violet City.

"We should probably get a room for the night here." Simon said.

"Yeah." I agreed quietly.

After a couple minutes we had found a motel and paid for the night. Simon carried Jade inside as Clara and I carried our bags out of the car. Ruby stayed close at my heels as we finished unpacking. Inside, our room was a simple two bed affair, but otherwise very similar to the one we had stayed in in Saffron. We set the bags down by the door as Simon laid Jade down on one of the beds and sat down on the other one.

"Look, I'm sorry about what happened..." Simon said quietly.

"Don't worry about it." I reassured him, "If she was going to do anything about it she would have." I said.

"Still, it's our fault you lost a friend today." Simon said.

"No," I said resolutely, "that's not for sure yet."

"But-" Simon started.

"We don't blame you for anything that happened today." Clara interrupted as she walked over to Jade. She checked the Medicham over before lifting her up telekinetically and pulling the sheets back, then gently tucked her into bed. We turned on the TV and watched quietly as Clara tended to Jade. Ruby sat in Simon's lap, taking comfort in the pets he was giving her. The night wore on and Clara eventually passed out on the bed next to Jade while Simon, Ruby, and I were still wide awake.

Suddenly, Ruby looked up at me from Simon's lap.

"What's up?" I asked the Mienshao.

She gave a short yip and looked up to Simon, seeming to communicate with him silently.

Simon suddenly blushed, "Are you sure?" He asked her.

She gave a happy nod.

"What does she want?" I asked, curious.

"Well, I don't exactly know how to put it." Simon said, blushing more.

"Just say it?" I suggested.

"You." He said.

"She wants me?" I said, confused. I looked down to the pokemon in Simon's lap, seeing her licking her chops. "Oh." I said, now blushing myself.

"Would you be okay with that?" Simon asked.

"I guess," I stammered, still taken aback by the suddenness of this, and before I could say anything else Ruby happily jumped in to my lap.

Simon chuckled as he stood up, "I think I'm gonna go take a shower then." He said.

Ruby let out a low growl and a yip, stopping Simon in his tracks. He turned to her and saw her tail raised, presenting him with her round ass. "Wait, you want me too?" Simon asked, unable to keep from staring at his mate's hindquarters. A happy yip and a wiggle of her rump was all the answer he needed. "Alright, I'll give it a try." He stuttered, blushing even more despite the slight bulge in the crotch of his pants.

I scooted back on the bed to give Simon some room, and Ruby skillfully unzipped my fly and freed my now growing member. I was impressed how quickly she could do this despite having paws for hands, but my surprise evaporated with a quiet moan as she took my member in her mouth and ran her tongue all around it.

Ruby let out a happy murr as I quickly grew to full mast in her mouth. She jumped a little as I saw Simon reach down between her legs and start rubbing her slit gently. Letting out a happy murr, she set to work bobbing up and down my member as Simon got her ready. I sighed in pleasure as she gently kneaded my sack with her warm paws. I had a moment to ponder just how skilled she was before Simon was getting into position behind her. He unzipped his fly, revealing his own stiff member before pressing it against her pussy gently, rubbing it up and down to tease her. I could feel her shudder at the sensation, but she kept working my shaft diligently. With a gentle push forward, Simon was inside her, and her murr became louder as she redoubled her efforts pleasuring me. Simon began thrusting into her slowly at first, then gradually picked up speed as they got into a rhythm together; she would take me into her maw every time Simon thrust forward, using his momentum to make her job easier. I grit my teeth, feeling my climax coming soon, but Ruby seemed to sense this and immediately pulled off of me. She reached up with her delicate paws and gently stroked my member, keeping me on the edge but never quite pushing me over as Simon continued thrusting into her.

"Ruby I'm getting close!" Simon grunted as I dripped pre all over his pokemon's face. Ruby murred even more and started slamming her hips back into his thrusts until Simon let out a moan and began filling her pussy with his seed. Ruby tensed up, seeming to cum as well; while I sat still rock hard in her grip. Simon's moan subsided and he pulled out of her with a wet noise, and before I could act Ruby had climbed into my lap, lining her cum filled pussy up with my shaft before sitting down on it. I moaned as I suddenly slid into the wet warmth, feeling her clench tightly around my member as she came again from the penetration. It was too much and I began cumming almost instantly, adding my own seed to the mess inside her. Ruby let out a low murr at being filled so well and collapsed between us, panting. Our fatigue caught up with us then and we laid down with her, almost in unison.

"Mark?" Simon said from across the bed, "What do we do now?"

I looked over at him. "Same as we did before," I said, "I don't think Sarah will make trouble for us, though it's gonna take a long time to patch things up with her, if it's even possible."

"I'm really sorry it went down like it did." Simon said.

"Don't blame yourself for it," I said, "I'm actually kind of glad she knows now in some weird way."

"Why's that?" Simon asked, looking at me, confused.

"We both know our relationships with these pokemon aren't wrong," I said, "And from the way she reacted, she just might agree with us given some time."

"You really think she will?" Simon asked.

"She's smart and open minded, so I'm almost certain I could convince her with enough work." I said, "Not saying I could get her to do it herself, just have her understand it." I added, chuckling. Simon chuckled with me and thanked me before passing out holding his mate close to his chest as our combined seed still oozed out of her. I couldn't help but smile at the happy couple and soon fell asleep myself, feeling up to the new challenge in store for me.