"Good morning, Delia," Professor Oak smiled as he rode up on his bicycle. "What are you doing out here in the garden? At this time of the morning, you're usually hard at work cleaning up the house."

Delia, who was in mid-sip of a glass of lemonade, patted the place next to her on the bench and scooted over to make room for her visitor. "Actually, Brock is the one's who's busy cleaning up the house right now. Muffin?" She held out a plate of freshly baked blueberry muffins. "Brock made them. I think his recipe is better than mine, actually."

"These are delicious," Professor Oak remarked, stuffing a bite of still-warm muffin into his mouth. "But I don't understand why Brock is busy cleaning up the house. The boy needs to get some rest."

"I tried telling him that, Samuel, but he said that he was feeling better and insisted on helping me out around the house. He said that it was his way of thanking me for all I've done for him. He told me that I should just relax and be a lady of leisure."

Brock, who was dressed in a frilly pink apron and matching kerchief, poked his head out the door. "I thought I heard you out there, Professor." He handed a glass of lemonade to the surprised-looking professor. "Here. It's fresh-squeezed and ice-cold. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got to get back to vacuuming the living room. Mimie keeps fighting me for the vacuum."

"That's the happiest I've seen him since he got here," Professor Oak said, taking a sip of the lemonade. "And this is fantastic lemonade."

"Brock enjoys taking care of the house," Delia smiled. "Almost as much as I do. It's like therapy to him."

"Maybe it'll assist with his recovery," Professor Oak said. "Speaking of which, I've been doing some thinking about that."

"Did you come up with any ideas?" Delia asked, interested. "Is there some way we can get an investigation into what that woman did to Brock?"

Professor Oak shook his head. "Unless Brock comes out and tells them what Professor…I mean, that woman did to him, there's not much we can do."

"But I don't understand. Why can't you tell the university authorities about what she did? They believed you before."

"Delia, even though I'd like to think that the university believed me based on my reputation, the real reason why they didn't fire me when they thought I was having an affair with you was that they didn't want to lose their cash cow."

"Cash cow? I don't understand."

"I was one of the top researchers at Celadon University. I brought in a lot of grant money to the university, and they didn't want to lose me. So they said that they believed my side of the story so that they could keep me on and keep the money flowing. And that's where the problem lies. Professor…that woman is also one of the top researchers in the world of Pokémon biology. The university certainly wouldn't want to lose her."

"So you're saying that even if she did do something wrong, they won't do anything to her?"

Professor Oak nodded. "Yes. It's all about politics. Even though the university said publicly that they believed my side of the story, they stopped sending me female research assistants after that." A light bulb clicked on in Professor Oak's head. "Wait a minute. That's it!"

"That's what, Samuel?"

"I know what to do now. The dean of the department of Pokébiology at Celadon University is a friend of mine. Perhaps I can persuade him and some of his colleagues to stop sending male assistants to Professor…the lab on Valencia Island."

"Do you think that will work?"

"It's certainly worth a try. I'll head back to the lab and give him a call."

"But what about Brock?"

"Like I said before, Delia, Brock has to be the one to make accusations of improper behavior against that woman. And unless he does, there's not much else we can do."

"I tried to get him to talk to me about it yesterday, but he wouldn't tell me what happened."

"Based on how he reacted yesterday, I'd say that he's probably too traumatized to discuss it with anyone. But keep trying and see if you can help crack his shell."

"I will."

"I'd better be getting back to the lab. Oh…almost forgot." He reached into his pocket and handed Delia a spring and a tube of glue.

"No, Mimie! I want to do the dishes!"
"Mime-mime!"

Delia sighed and stood up. "Guess I'd better get back inside. It sounds like Brock and Mimie are fighting over who gets the clean the house." Delia took the spring and tube of glue from her companion. "Maybe I'll let Brock fix the screen door and let Mimie repair the cup."

---

Several days later, a healthier-looking Brock and his friends headed down the road to begin a new adventure in Johto.

"Did he ever tell you what happened on Valencia Island?" Professor Oak asked Delia as they headed back up the road to the Ketchum house. Professor Oak had already sent his new assistant Tracey on ahead to start getting acquainted with his lab.

Delia shook her head. "No."

"At least I was able to persuade a couple of my friends at Celadon University to think twice about sending male graduate students to Professor Ivy's lab," Professor Oak said. "But there won't be a formal inquiry into her conduct unless Brock speaks up."

"Maybe someday he'll tell Ash and Misty," Delia said. "He's lucky to have good friends to help him through the hard times."

"He's lucky to have you to help him through this tough time, Delia," Professor Oak smiled. "That young man seems to think a lot of you."

Delia blushed. "I think he developed a bit of a crush on me while he was here. But I told him that he needed to spend time with girls his own age."

"Well, he certainly took your advice. I caught him making eyes at my granddaughter the other day," Professor Oak chuckled.

Delia smiled. "That's good. I was afraid this whole situation would have made him afraid to have a relationship with a girl. That he couldn't trust women ever again."

"I think you did a lot to restore his trust in women, Delia. You're a pretty amazing woman, you know."

Delia blushed again. "Thanks, Samuel."

As the three youths disappeared around a bend, Delia's forehead creased with worry. "Do you think he'll be all right, Samuel?"

Professor Oak gave her a reassuring smile. "As long as Brock has good friends like Ash and Misty – and you – by his side to help him through the tough times, I think he'll be just fine, Delia."

Delia reached for her companion's hand. "That's true. After all, I had a good friend to help me through a tough time long ago. And I don't know what I would've done if he hadn't been there for me."

Samuel's fingers entwined around hers. "I'll always be there for you, Delia. Don't ever forget that."

"I know. And thank you." Delia leaned over and kissed him softly on the lips. "Now you'd better get back to your lab and help out that new assistant of yours."

Even though he would've liked to have remained at Delia's front gate the rest of the day, holding her hand and kissing her, he did have to get back and get Tracey oriented with the workings of his laboratory.

"Go on," Delia smiled, giving him a gentle push in the direction of his house.

Samuel watched as Delia turned and headed back up the sidewalk to her front door. With a wave, she disappeared inside the little white house and shut the door.

Reluctantly, Samuel began the brief trek up the road to his house. As he reached the bridge at the front gate of his property, he looked back down the path and caught sight of Delia, wearing her favorite gardening hat, in her backyard. With a smile, he began to whistle a little tune to himself and started up the stairs to his front door.

Yes, with a good friend on your side, everything would be all right.

THE END