fanfiction Lovesick Chapter 4: In Sickness And In Health

[ArdillaVerde93]

  *Chapter Four: In Sickness And In Health*

  *I apologise to any Australian and/or British people who may be offended by the content of this chapter.*

  *This chapter includes depictions of profuse vomiting, as well as blood. Reader discretion is advised.*

  *Location: Miller residence, Goldenrod City, Johto.*

  As whatever terrible affliction Shaymin was suffering from continued to worsen, despite Tyler's best efforts to keep it under control, so did her hallucinations. More than once, Tyler had been tempted to add antipsychotics to the laundry list of medications he was already giving her. What stopped him was a combination of a few things. First and foremost, of course, was that she wasn't mentally ill, so antipsychotics likely wouldn't have any effect. That isn't to say that her brain was unaffected, though. Quite the opposite, in fact; as often as she had been drifting from reality, something, she thought, was certain to be wrong in that area. She just wasn't... well, psychotic. What she was having at that moment was a dream. An honest-to-Arceus dream; not another hallucination. It was hard to tell the difference sometimes, but, as she laid in Tyler's guest bed, her pearly-white fur and green quills drenched with sweat, she knew she was asleep. Shaymin possessed an uncommon gift; she could lucid dream on command. Having such a gift not only made for lovely dreams, but it also made it much easier to differentiate dreams from hallucinations. Nonetheless, just as her subconscious meeting with her beloved Tyler was cut short by an unwelcome noise, so was her dream. Granted, the offending noise this time wasn't nearly as shrill and grating as what brought her to her senses earlier. To her, however, it was far more unwelcome; so much so that her first thought when she heard it was to lash out at the source. "Oi! Rise and shine!"

  Eleanor Miller. Wife of Doctor Tyler Miller, and mother of Ruby Louise Miller, who tragically passed away at the age of 3 from poisoning. Shaymin didn't like the word "hate," but, when it came to her feelings toward the Aussie who was currently in the bedroom with her, few other words would suffice. Rather than last time, when she awoke with a start, her return to reality was slow this time around, as if her dream itself wanted her to stay as long as possible. Eleanor's voice penetrated her mind again, and she finally realized she wouldn't be able to stay asleep any longer. "Are ya deaf, mate? Up and at 'em!" There were a few things Shaymin wanted to say to her, but she thought better of it. Among those things, however, were such gems as "if you scratch Tyler up again, it'll be the last time you use your hands," and "if I weren't so sick, I'd be tearing your fucking throat out right now." As drowsy as she was, she very nearly thought she was supposed to have the same accent as Eleanor. If she hadn't repressed that thought, she would've said "bloody Hell, mate! Can't ya see I'm sick?! Bugger off, wanker!" Instead, though, her response was a bitter and drowsy "what?". Clearly unaware of Shaymin's desire to brutally mutilate and/or kill her, Eleanor's words were far more cheerful. "G'day, mate!"

  On that day, Eleanor sported the same outfit she wore most other days. A blouse with a simple design of horizontal stripes, which alternated in colour between spring green and white, covered her upper body, and a matching green skirt covered her lower body. On her feet, she wore jet-black shoes with buckle fasteners(as opposed to laces or Velcro.) over plain white socks. Her admittedly lovely blonde hair was done up in medium-length pigtails, which were held in place by basic, emerald green hair clips. Shaymin hadn't even opened her eyes by this point, but she would've been willing to bet that Eleanor was wearing her standard outfit. She was, of course, correct, which she discovered when she finally decided to open her eyes. She opened her mouth to say something(likely a harsh insult.), but her voice failed her. All at once, she was overwhelmed by nausea. She scrambled to her paws in the nick of time, leaving her with only a precious few seconds before she lost an internal battle, as well as the contents of her stomach, all over her side of the bed.

  Even Legendaries get scared. Shaymin, at that moment, was terrified. Of course, she had every right to be; she was alone(Eleanor ran off when Shaymin threw up a second time.), waylaid by a possibly fatal disease, and violently emptying her stomach, which, at that point, burned as if she were being branded from inside. Worse yet, Tyler was nowhere to be found. That was what was at the front of her mind at the moment. She wasn't afraid of loneliness, and, honestly, she would rather be alone then have Eleanor in the same room. She felt terrible, and thought for sure that her disease would either take her life or sanity, except that she had unconditional faith in Tyler, and knew that he would figure out how to cure her. Her sudden, very painful attack of vomiting took her by surprise, but it certainly wasn't the first time she had thrown up, and she knew it would eventually stop, which it did very soon afterwards. But being without the only one who could offer her comfort, companionship, and, hopefully, relief, was the primary contributor to once again reducing her to a blubbering mess.

  Meanwhile, in the living room, Eleanor had her cell phone up against the left side of her face, and one would think she was discussing a murder, rather than the sight of Shaymin vomiting. "...All over the place!... Bloody Hell; what're ya feeding her, mate?... Oi! Don't snap at me!... I dunno, hun; I ran for it when she tossed her cookies a second time." She walked up to the door separating the living room from the guest room. "Well, I think she's empty, but she's crying now. Should I give her something?... Well, alright; I'll tell her. See ya soon, mate!" She made a kissing noise before hanging up. It was good, for Shaymin's sake, that Eleanor wasn't still in the room with her; the sight of Eleanor kissing the air would likely have made her throw up again. Since she was no longer nauseous, she laid on the pillow she slept on, curled up again and shaking with emotion. That's how Eleanor found her a few seconds later. "Good news, mate!" Shaymin was too distraught to give much of a response, but she nodded to show she was listening. It didn't matter what Eleanor had to say to her; nothing could make her feel better, except... "That was Ty; he's on his way home to give you a check-up. He sounded worried, so get ready."

  *Shortly beforehand, directly outside of the Goldenrod City Pokémon Centre...*

  Kevin, Tyler, Prudence, and the Gardevoir Kevin used in the battle stood outside the Pokémon Centre. They had been teleported there by the Gardevoir, who Kevin returned to her Pokéball once the group had found their bearings. "Close enough," Tyler mused, looking back at the reinforced glass double doors that made up the front entrance to the Centre. "It's been a while." "That actually brings up a couple of questions," Kevin said. "Don't you have other patients?" Tyler shook his head. "I cashed in my vacation days for this." "Dude, that SUCKS!!!" Kevin groaned, putting a hand on Tyler's back. "I know how much you wanted to go to Mintale Town(a town on the outskirts of the Kanto region, in close proximity to several tourist destinations, including Cobalt Coast and Viridian Forest.)." To his surprise, Tyler recoiled, then glared at him intensely. "Shaymin is infinitely more important to me than a vacation from something I already love doing. What about you? Don't you have bad guys to catch(Kevin worked in law enforcement. That was one of the main reasons Tyler hadn't hit him in retaliation for his assumptions and accusations; assaulting an officer is a serious crime.)?" Kevin responded with a laugh. "I got a couple of days off, too, but damn! Giving up your entire vacation?!" Tyler didn't respond immediately; a few seconds went by, during which time, he looked up at the sky with a dreamy expression, which matched his tone of voice when he finally did speak up. "Shaymin's worth it. I'm surprised; someone like you should recognize love when you see it!"

  It wasn't exactly a secret that Tyler had feelings for Shaymin, or, at least, that the 2 of them got along extremely well; in the time that they had known each other, they had spent a great deal of time together. They laughed together, and they cried together(this was very rare, as years of experience with medicine, and, frankly, with Eleanor, had left Tyler very reluctant to cry.). Shaymin had all but leapt into a Pokéball for Tyler on multiple occasions, though Tyler vehemently refused all of her offers, on the grounds that he couldn't possibly bring himself to capture her. Kevin had suspected for quite a while that they were a couple, even after Tyler got married(something which, ironically, Kevin and Shaymin had warned him against.), such was the kind of relationship they clearly had. After Tyler and Eleanor got married, though, everything changed; Shaymin couldn't, as she had implied after waking from her fever dream, even get a kiss from him, and not for lack of desire, asking, and even begging him for one. Nonetheless, Kevin was happy to hear confirmation of Tyler's feelings. He was about to say so when the chorus of Owl City's "Fireflies" stopped him, as well as causing him, Prudence, and Tyler to jump. Tyler's PokéGear(an all-purpose device commonly used by Johto-dwelling trainers.) was to blame.

  "Dammit, Ellie!" Tyler swore, clutching his chest, as if he were having a heart attack. He knew Eleanor was on the other end because he had programmed his PokéGear to play that song(which was important to both of them, as their first dance as a married couple was to that song.). He assumed that the only reason Eleanor would bother him was some sort of emergency, so he wasted little time in removing the ringing device from his pocket, tapping the screen to answer the call, and putting it up to his ear. "Hey, Ellie.... What is it?... She did WHAT?!... Mew Christ; she just keeps getting sicker.... Damn you, Ellie! This is no time for jokes! This is a serious matter!... Well, why - Forget it; is she alright now?... I need you to check on her.... Not until we know what made her do that. Just tell her I'm on my way home, and don't scare her.... Love you too, sweetie." Kevin didn't even have a chance to ask what was discussed over the phone; Tyler took off at a full sprint the moment the call was over, leaving Kevin and Prudence standing outside the Pokémon Centre with shocked expressions.

  *Meanwhile, back in Tyler's guest bedroom...*

  Shaymin's expression brightened immediately, though her tears didn't stop, and her body still shook. "He's coming home?!" Eleanor nodded. "Yep! He's on his way now. He's probably gonna look you over again, so I'll give you some time alone to get ready." With that, she left, shutting the door behind her. Shaymin's stomach still burned, which, for most Grass-Types, is especially painful, but the thought of seeing Tyler again in reality, as opposed to in her dreams(and illness-induced daydreams.) was enough to give her a second wind. With a wide grin, she laid back and stared at the ceiling fan. She, like the others before her, could change her form and achieve flight. However, she had very rarely been able to do so ever since she learned of the abuse Tyler was suffering. As she lay there, she doubted she'd be able to transform, even if someone shoved a Gracidea(a lovely flower, usually pink, that causes the transformation.) down her throat. It didn't matter to her anymore, though; Tyler was coming back, and that was all she cared about. Tyler, before he had left for the tournament, told her that, if he won, he'd be able to get her help with her debilitating illness. Shaymin obviously hadn't seen Tyler suffer defeat, so she was hopeful she wouldn't be sick much longer. "Oh, Tyler; please hurry back! Good news or not, I can't wait to see - urp!"

  As if her bodily functions were controlled by switches, she was once again stricken with dizziness and nausea, completely out of the blue. Like last time, she managed to right herself before retching. This time, however, nothing came out. For all of 15 seconds, Shaymin stood, shaking and dry heaving, intense pain shooting from her stomach up to her esophagus, and way up into the back of her throat. Finally, to Shaymin's great, but short-lived, relief, she managed to vomit a bitter, yellow substance. She collapsed, wracked with pain, but the dry heaving didn't stop. If she had been able to speak, she would've prayed for mercy, so horrid was the pain she felt. Again and again, her own body seemed to betray her, and she continued helplessly throwing up what was, in actuality, bile. This torture continued for several more seconds before, suddenly, Shaymin began howling in pain. She felt something tear just past the back of her throat and looked down to see that the puddle of her bile was flecked with bright red blood. She retched one last time and vomited a good bit more blood to add to the mess she had made. Whimpering pitifully and shaking as if she had been submerged in ice water, she collapsed once more, immediately bursting into heavy sobs.

*Author's Note*

  Aww! Poor Shaymin! I wish I could reach through the screen and hug her! By the way, Mintale Town is where Hey You Pikachu and Pokémon Channel take place. Well, that's Chapter 4! This is sort of the exposition chapter; so much comes to light here! Eleanor's appearance(by the way, if any of you get the reference, don't post it in the comments; send me a PM if you want.), Tyler's vacation plans, what Kevin does for a living, why Tyler isn't at work, a glimpse into his and Shaymin's relationship, the fact that Shaymin can't fly,... Backstory for days! XD Anyway, this chapter was originally called "Adventures In Shaymin-Sitting," then "Best Laid Plans." Also, vomiting bile isn't uncommon, but it hurts like Hell, and Shaymin wasn't exactly in good condition as it was. Oh, and the reason that Ruby became the Johto League champion, but died at the age of 3, is because Celebi changed her age, then changed it back. Finally, for those of you who were wondering, I have decided on an ending. So, what do you think? Have I overstayed my welcome, or do you think you could bear a fifth chapter?

[SMFoxy]

If you end this in only one more chapter, I will find you and end you. lol
Just kidding of course. I'm really looking forward to more of this, though.

On an unrelated note, I was wondering about Mintale. Thanks for explaining at the end.

[ArdillaVerde93]

Oh, there's more to talk about before the ending. Will Shaymin survive? Will Tyler come to his senses? What does Shaymin even have? Will Tyler be able to find out before it's too late?

You're welcome! A lot of other people hate those games, but I love them!

[Neptune]

As usual, an awesome chapter X3 I can't wait to read more. I don't mind it being dragged on a little longer, but I do wanna see how things end X3

[ArdillaVerde93]

As usual? That's an amazing compliment! I have to admit, I can't believe how many views this chapter has. Rest assured, I'm gonna see this through to the end!