Story Notes:
I will try and keep a chapter word count of around 1,000 but this will fluxuate depending on my mood. I would also like to warn people that I am dyslexic so please ignore any bad grammer or obvious mistakes you see, my spell checker should catch most of them but the most glaring ones have a habit of falling through the netDisclaimer: I do not own pokemon or any of the realted characters however I do own all of my OC's so mitts off unless you have my permissionNote: This story is also posted at Fanfiction.net, do not report this as stolen it is my story I am just posting it in two places to get a larger reader base.I would also like to inform readers that although this story has got several warnings it starts very light maybe Pg13ish but it does however get much darker as the plot progresses
Chapter 17
Ember couldn't help but chuckle at the irony of the moment as she helped Simon administer the burn heal to his back; Nurse Joy had arrived moments ago handing a large tub to Simon along with instructions to slather his back with it. Simon cringed as the thick yellowish paste stung his back "Vuul piix vuuuul pix" Ember said caringly stealing Simon's favourite phrase when he was caring for her. Simon started laughing but it turned into a coughing fit, Ember pulled back and waited for the convulsions to stop before returning to her task. Phoenix and Nuri somehow managed to sleep through Simon's coughing fit; then again according to Nurse Joy none of his Pokemon got much sleep recently. "vuul" Ember said stepping back to admire her work and check for any patches she might have missed.
"Good" Simon let out a sigh of relief "That stuff hurts!"
"piix vul piix pix" Ember said unimpressed
"Well your stronger than me and you know it" Simon replied "Besides if you don't want to battle you can just tell me and I will pull you out" Simon reached out a gently stroked her head.
Ember smiled and leant into Simon's petting "Vuul pix vuuul?" she asked
Simon shook his head slowly "Nah I'm fine thanks" he sighed to himself, he could see that Ember was making herself ill by staying awake for so long "But you should get some rest" he finished
"vuuul piix vuul pix pix vuuuuul!" Ember said
Simon gave an encouraging smile and tousled the hair on her head "I care bout you too and I refuse to let you make yourself ill over me; you come first"
"pix vuul piix" Ember disagreed sharply
Simon smiled sadly "Please Ember just do it for me; I promise nothing will happen"
Ember nodded slowly "vul piix" she said softly she padded over and licked Simon on the face before curling up into a ball on his pillow and quickly falling asleep.
Simon lay on his back letting then burn heal do it's work; as he lay there he began reflecting on this strange burning sensation he had been feeling and why he had been able to understand Phoenix that one time.
Simon's quiet reflection was interrupted by Holly arriving just as she had said; she came into his room whistling to herself and walked over to his bed "Morning Simon" she said happily trying to make up for yesterday she had decided not to bring Pokemon into the conversation at all
"Morning" Simon said his voice a little muffled by the pillow
"Why are you on your back?" Holly asked "And what's this stuff?" she gingerly poked Simon's back
Simon winced as she touched a tender area "That's burn heal, so please don't touch it" he spoke up
Holly smiled "You sound a lot better today"
A small smile appeared on Simon's face "Well apparently I heal fast; the only reason I'm in here anymore really is that burn"
Holly frowned "How did you get that burn on your back anyway and what about those bullet wounds?"
Simon sighed quietly but elaborated "The bullet wounds were cauterized anyway so they won't cause much of a problem there is some major bruising and soft tissue trauma around the entry point that makes it painful to move but it's that burn on my back that makes it unbearable to move" he smiled sadly "Of course I can't let Ember know that"
"Huh? Why?" Holly asked
"She was the one who gave me the burn in the first place, it's killing her inside already that she did it and if I told her that it's the injury she gave me that kept me in here I think she would feel unworthy of me"
"Wait Ember burnt you" Holly said shocked "yet you still care about her?" she mentally cheered; she had found a piece of ammunition for use against Ember and she already had one for Nuri all that left was the Quilava
Simon nodded "Of course I do; she got me by accident when she was defending me from the Arbok"
"What Arbok?" Holly asked confused
Simon sighed again "It was one of the thugs Pokemon" he explained "It isn't really important"
"Oh.." Holly smiled "So how much longer are you going to be in here for?"
"About another four days maximum" Simon replied happily "but according to Nurse Joy if my body can cope with the burns as well as everything else I should be out of here tomorrow or the day after" he smiled
"Wow; that's really fast" Holly said surprised "..So are you heading off to after you recover?"
"I'm going to sign up for the Pokemon League Challenge" Simon said "so I would be heading down to Sandgem Town and Professor Rowans' lab" he smiled
Holly frowned a little; she hadn't expected Simon to be the type to go in for the League challenge, but she quickly replaced the frown with a smile "I hadn't pegged you as the battling sort" she said simply
Simon shook his head "I'm not" he sighed a little "But Ember and the others enjoy battling and they come first" he smiled "It was Ember's idea really I'm just going along with her"
Holly sighed softly; she hadn't expected Simon to be this close to his Pokemon, oh well no matter she thought "I've always wanted to see Sandgem Town but I was too afraid of wild Pokemon to go by myself" she lied smoothly with practiced ease "Do you think I could tag along with you for the trip?"
Simon smiled "I don't see why not" he smiled "but you'll have to bring your own camping gear my tents' already kinda full with the four of us" he smiled
"Okay then it's settled" Holly smiled "I'll come see you in two days time to see if your up for release" she winked flirtatiously "See you then" then she walked out of the door. Holly made her way back to her large house muttering to herself "So he sleeps with them too; Arceus if I didn't know better I'd swear that boy was in love with those stupid animals. But still there's no way he could pick those stupid things over a gorgeous girl like me"
Back in the hospital Nurse Joy had come back into Simon's room to check up on him "Wow you've done a great job with the burn heal" she paused "but how did you manage to cover your back?"
Simon smiled proudly and gently touched Ember's head "I did nothing Ember applied it for me" his face fell "I think she felt duty bound to do so since she but the burn there in the first place"
Nurse Joy caught the drop in his mood "Well she did an excellent job, make sure to congratulate her on it when she wakes up" Nurse Joy dropped her voice slightly realising that all the Pokemon were asleep
"Simon laughed wincing at the pain but not descending into a coughing fit "I don't think you need to worry about waking them" he reassured her "I know for a fact that nothing at all will wake Ember unless she smells breakfast" he smiled
Nurse Joy giggled "I'll keep that in mind, so do you have any more questions you'd like to ask?"
Simon smiled "Just one. How long will it be before I can laugh without my chest hurting?"
Nurse Joy closed her eyes for a second in deep thought "Well the pain is from the soft tissue trauma around the bullet wounds" she paused "So with your increased healing rate I would imagine the pain should recede with every passing day and be gone completely within a fortnight at the most" she smiled
"Ok thanks" Simon smiled back "I guess I'll see you around tea time"
Nurse Joy laughed "I'm sure you will, now get some rest it'll help your recovery"
Simon nodded and closed his eyes joining his Pokemon in the land of dreams.
"Good" Simon let out a sigh of relief "That stuff hurts!"
"piix vul piix pix" Ember said unimpressed
"Well your stronger than me and you know it" Simon replied "Besides if you don't want to battle you can just tell me and I will pull you out" Simon reached out a gently stroked her head.
Ember smiled and leant into Simon's petting "Vuul pix vuuul?" she asked
Simon shook his head slowly "Nah I'm fine thanks" he sighed to himself, he could see that Ember was making herself ill by staying awake for so long "But you should get some rest" he finished
"vuuul piix vuul pix pix vuuuuul!" Ember said
Simon gave an encouraging smile and tousled the hair on her head "I care bout you too and I refuse to let you make yourself ill over me; you come first"
"pix vuul piix" Ember disagreed sharply
Simon smiled sadly "Please Ember just do it for me; I promise nothing will happen"
Ember nodded slowly "vul piix" she said softly she padded over and licked Simon on the face before curling up into a ball on his pillow and quickly falling asleep.
Simon lay on his back letting then burn heal do it's work; as he lay there he began reflecting on this strange burning sensation he had been feeling and why he had been able to understand Phoenix that one time.
Simon's quiet reflection was interrupted by Holly arriving just as she had said; she came into his room whistling to herself and walked over to his bed "Morning Simon" she said happily trying to make up for yesterday she had decided not to bring Pokemon into the conversation at all
"Morning" Simon said his voice a little muffled by the pillow
"Why are you on your back?" Holly asked "And what's this stuff?" she gingerly poked Simon's back
Simon winced as she touched a tender area "That's burn heal, so please don't touch it" he spoke up
Holly smiled "You sound a lot better today"
A small smile appeared on Simon's face "Well apparently I heal fast; the only reason I'm in here anymore really is that burn"
Holly frowned "How did you get that burn on your back anyway and what about those bullet wounds?"
Simon sighed quietly but elaborated "The bullet wounds were cauterized anyway so they won't cause much of a problem there is some major bruising and soft tissue trauma around the entry point that makes it painful to move but it's that burn on my back that makes it unbearable to move" he smiled sadly "Of course I can't let Ember know that"
"Huh? Why?" Holly asked
"She was the one who gave me the burn in the first place, it's killing her inside already that she did it and if I told her that it's the injury she gave me that kept me in here I think she would feel unworthy of me"
"Wait Ember burnt you" Holly said shocked "yet you still care about her?" she mentally cheered; she had found a piece of ammunition for use against Ember and she already had one for Nuri all that left was the Quilava
Simon nodded "Of course I do; she got me by accident when she was defending me from the Arbok"
"What Arbok?" Holly asked confused
Simon sighed again "It was one of the thugs Pokemon" he explained "It isn't really important"
"Oh.." Holly smiled "So how much longer are you going to be in here for?"
"About another four days maximum" Simon replied happily "but according to Nurse Joy if my body can cope with the burns as well as everything else I should be out of here tomorrow or the day after" he smiled
"Wow; that's really fast" Holly said surprised "..So are you heading off to after you recover?"
"I'm going to sign up for the Pokemon League Challenge" Simon said "so I would be heading down to Sandgem Town and Professor Rowans' lab" he smiled
Holly frowned a little; she hadn't expected Simon to be the type to go in for the League challenge, but she quickly replaced the frown with a smile "I hadn't pegged you as the battling sort" she said simply
Simon shook his head "I'm not" he sighed a little "But Ember and the others enjoy battling and they come first" he smiled "It was Ember's idea really I'm just going along with her"
Holly sighed softly; she hadn't expected Simon to be this close to his Pokemon, oh well no matter she thought "I've always wanted to see Sandgem Town but I was too afraid of wild Pokemon to go by myself" she lied smoothly with practiced ease "Do you think I could tag along with you for the trip?"
Simon smiled "I don't see why not" he smiled "but you'll have to bring your own camping gear my tents' already kinda full with the four of us" he smiled
"Okay then it's settled" Holly smiled "I'll come see you in two days time to see if your up for release" she winked flirtatiously "See you then" then she walked out of the door. Holly made her way back to her large house muttering to herself "So he sleeps with them too; Arceus if I didn't know better I'd swear that boy was in love with those stupid animals. But still there's no way he could pick those stupid things over a gorgeous girl like me"
Back in the hospital Nurse Joy had come back into Simon's room to check up on him "Wow you've done a great job with the burn heal" she paused "but how did you manage to cover your back?"
Simon smiled proudly and gently touched Ember's head "I did nothing Ember applied it for me" his face fell "I think she felt duty bound to do so since she but the burn there in the first place"
Nurse Joy caught the drop in his mood "Well she did an excellent job, make sure to congratulate her on it when she wakes up" Nurse Joy dropped her voice slightly realising that all the Pokemon were asleep
"Simon laughed wincing at the pain but not descending into a coughing fit "I don't think you need to worry about waking them" he reassured her "I know for a fact that nothing at all will wake Ember unless she smells breakfast" he smiled
Nurse Joy giggled "I'll keep that in mind, so do you have any more questions you'd like to ask?"
Simon smiled "Just one. How long will it be before I can laugh without my chest hurting?"
Nurse Joy closed her eyes for a second in deep thought "Well the pain is from the soft tissue trauma around the bullet wounds" she paused "So with your increased healing rate I would imagine the pain should recede with every passing day and be gone completely within a fortnight at the most" she smiled
"Ok thanks" Simon smiled back "I guess I'll see you around tea time"
Nurse Joy laughed "I'm sure you will, now get some rest it'll help your recovery"
Simon nodded and closed his eyes joining his Pokemon in the land of dreams.