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Description
WARNING - From now on, if you haven't read the rest of the chapters yet,
I suggest reading those first. There are important events coming up in the story,
and reading those before the rest of the story just isn't as much fun as the other way around.

Counterbalanced - Chapter 29

"…Glad to see you're finally awake, dear."

Alex quietly studied the elderly woman, who was filling a hot water bottle next to the bed.
The sound of pouring water was the only thing to be heard in the room, and soon, her eyes started straying.
Two doors – one to a bathroom, the other one leading to unknown places.
A wooden floor, some family pictures on the wall, a window on the right, a cozy seat in the corner…

…This was not a hospital. And the woman was not a nurse.
Alex went back to observing the gray-haired lady, who did her best to strike up a conversation.

"You gave us quite a scare, honey. We were afraid you weren't going to recover."

She paused, maybe hoping Alex would speak.
When that didn't happen, she asked:

"What's your name?"

Alex eyed her suspiciously. This could be a trick.
She pressed her lips together, and the woman continued:

"You can call me Edith, dear. Can you remember anything that happened to you?"

Alex looked away, and Edith took the hint.

"I'm going to make you some hot chocolate, to help you warm up. Here…"

The woman lifted one corner of the warm, woolen blanket on the bed, and put the hot water bottle near Alex' left upper leg.
She removed the one that had already been there, that had cooled down.

"…that's the last one, nice and warm. I'll be right back, dear."

She shuffled out the room, slowly closing the wooden door behind her.
Alex could hear her making her way down the creaking stairs, talking to someone as she reached the lower floor.

Her mind still slow, Alex looked around again. Where was she?
She decided that looking out of the window would be a a good start.
But as she tried to sit up, her body simply refused to move.
Breathing faster as she started to panic, she tried a little harder, eventually managing to slightly shift her arms and legs. She discovered there were more hot water bottles placed around her body, radiating a constant and pleasant heat. Slowly pushing them aside, she edged towards the bed's headboard a bit at a time, until her back was leaning against it.

As she pulled her arms from underneath the bedding, she discovered she was wearing a wide, dark blue nightgown, with a couple of cute, sleeping Pokémon printed on the front. She moved her legs again, and discovered the garment barely even reached her knees.

Feeling exposed, Alex growled. What was it with people and taking clothes from her…?

She shook her head, then tried to glance through the window from her elevated position.
The orange sky outside told her the sun was setting, but that was all she could figure out.
Frustrated, she leaned back against the headboard, trying to relax as she sat up.
Her thoughts soon started going around in circles.
…What happened? What was this place? How did she get here?

Her memory was still foggy, but as she concentrated, some things started to come back to her…

Running through Castelia City…

Finding Nicholas' note with Yena's ribbon…

Screaming at her brother from the Cruise Dock pier…

Watching Yena disappear into the waves…
…
…
Diving, swimming…
…
…
The strong currents, the cold water…
…
…
Cold. Cold. Cold.
…
…
…

---

She was shivering as she dreamt about roaming through windy streets, when a sound in the room woke her up.

Her eyes flew open, and it took her a couple of seconds to find her voice back.

"…You!"

The person standing at the end of the bed frowned as he looked at her.

"You shouldn't be sitting up like that. You should stay under the covers.
My grandmother isn't running up and down the stairs with hot water bottles for nothing."

"Your grandmother…"

Quinn nodded. After a moment, he angrily stated:

"You're an idiot, did you know that?"

He stepped forward, placing the cup of hot chocolate he had been carrying on the nightstand, next to the bed.
Looking down on Alex' pale face, he continued:

"Walking around with wet clothes, on a cold day, in an alley that no one visits. It's stupid."

Silence. He studied her for a moment, but all she did was return his glare.

"You're too lucky for your own good. If I would've found you one hour later, you would've been dead."

Quinn paused, but Alex still refused to respond to his taunting comments.

"So… you're a girl, huh?"

Feeling uncomfortable, Alex put her arms back under the bedding, and pulled the blankets closer to her chin.
She glowered at him.

"What difference does that make?
…Or are you feeling bad about beating me up in Striaton City now?"

He tilted his head as he thought about it for a moment.

"…Not really, you deserved it."

Alex produced a small grin.

"Well, then it must be the fact that you were punched in the face by a girl. It bothers you, right?"

Her grin annoyed him, and she knew it. Quinn pulled a face, and growled:

"If I knew you were going to be like this, I would've left you lying in the cold."

He paused.

"You know, I couldn't believe it at first."

"…Believe what?"

Quinn's eyes twinkled.

"You being a girl. I just had to check for myself.
…And you were unconcious anyway."

Alex breathed in fast.

"You didn't…!"

Quinn threw his head back as he laughed, happy to have the upper hand again.

"Of course I didn't. My grandmother changed your clothes, not me."

Alex muttered some obscenities under her breath, angrily glaring at him.

"…It's not funny."

He shrugged, still smiling.
Then he gestured at the hot chocolate, on the nightstand.

"Drink it. You'll feel better."

Her muscles still not recovered from her ordeal earlier, she clumsily reached over, and took a small sip of the warm drink.
Quinn was calmly watching Alex' attempts to get her usual dexterity back.

"I'd offer to help you with that, but I have a feeling you'll scratch my eyes out if I come any closer."

She glanced at him over her beverage.

"You guessed it."

He snorted, then continued watching her drink.

Alex soon got impatient.

"…What? Don't you have something better to do?"

His expression was more serious now.

"…They say you're wanted for murder."

He looked at her for a moment.

"Just to be on the safe side, I'm holding on to Tauros' Pokéball for you.
Now that you're staying at my grandparents' place, I need to know if I can trust you around them."

Her eyes narrowed, Alex looked ready to throw the hot chocolate in his face.

"You're keeping my own Pokémon from me…?
…Don't you dare treating me like some raving mass murderer!"

Quinn was equally irritated, leaning forward and raising his voice as he insisted:

"Then tell me something! Anything! Give me a reason not to take you to a regular hospital!"

A moment of tense silence went by as they stared at eachother.

Then, a question from Alex:

"…Why didn't you take me to the regular hospital in the first place…?"

Working hard to stay calm, Quinn sat down on the edge of the bed, near Alex' feet.

"…An answer for an answer. Truth for truth.
Let's trade, and take turns in asking questions."

Alex leaned back.

"…Fine. Then you go first."

He sighed, then shrugged.

"Some guys were looking for you. If I were them, and knew about the state you were in, the hospital would be the first place I'd look to find you. This was the only safe place I could think of. There. Now it's your turn."

Alex slowly breathed out through her nose.

"What do you want to know, exactly…?"

He asked, directly:

"Are you a danger to my grandparents?"

She growled.

"Of course not…!"

"Then why are you wanted for murder?"

Alex moved her legs under the bedding, pushing him off the bed.

"That's another question. It's my turn again."

She did not await his approval, and asked:

"Did you hear anything from Yena…?"

He settled on standing near the bed instead, his expression worried.

"No. My turn. What happened to Yena?"

Alex hesitated, then decided it wouldn't hurt to tell him.

"She fell from the Prime Pier."

Quinn's eyes widened as he pictured the scene.

"…But she can't swim!"

Alex growled.

"I know that…! I was the one who dove after her!
Why do you think my clothes were wet when you found me…?"

The mug was still half full, but she put it back on the nightstand anyway.
Her voice grew stronger as she demanded:

"Now does that sound like I'm a criminal on the loose?"

Quinn looked slightly taken aback.
He opened his mouth to reply, but was interrupted by the sound of creaking stairs, and his grandmother returning to the room. Oblivious to the tension between them, Edith beamed at Alex.

"Look at you, full of energy!"

Humming, the elderly woman shuffled through the room, inspecting the cup on the nightstand.
She pushed it back into Alex' hands.

"Finish it."

Sensing there'd be no discussing this, Alex quietly took another sip, carefully supervised by Edith.

"That's better. You need to warm up from the inside out, dear."

Quinn's voice sounded from behind his grandmother.

"Her name is Alex."

Edith tilted her head as she looked at Alex.

"Alex…? From Alexandra, surely?"

Alex shrugged, and Edith placed her hands on the sides of the girl's face.

"Still so pale… You were so cold when Quinn brought you in here, dear. We were worried.
Did you fall into the ocean?"

To Alex' surprise, Quinn replied:

"She jumped in to save a friend, gran."

An admiring smile appeared on Edith's face.

"Oh, such a brave girl! Is your friend alright?"

Alex leaned back, pulling away from Edith's grip, trying to hide how she feared for Yena's safety.

"I hope so."

Edith said something to Quinn, but Alex suddenly felt too tired to listen.

She looked up as the mug was pulled out of her hands.
The wrinkles around Edith's eyes went up as she smiled.

"You're tired, honey. It's been a crazy day, so you should rest.
Let Quinn help you lie down."

Alex' dark eyes advised Quinn against that idea, and he was wise enough to not come any closer.

"I don't need help…!"

To prove her point, Alex edged away from the headboard, grinding her teeth as her sore muscles protested.
With a frustrated sigh, she finally let her head rest on the bed's pillow.

Edith's hand gently went through through her messy hair as sleep immediately started to overtake her.

"Looks like you were right, you didn't need help. But it would've made things easier, dear.
Go to sleep now. I'll prepare some breakfast and a nice hot bath for you in the morning."

Description
WARNING - From now on, if you haven't read the rest of the chapters yet,
I suggest reading those first. There are important events coming up in the story,
and reading those before the rest of the story just isn't as much fun as the other way around.

Counterbalanced - Chapter 29

"…Glad to see you're finally awake, dear."

Alex quietly studied the elderly woman, who was filling a hot water bottle next to the bed.
The sound of pouring water was the only thing to be heard in the room, and soon, her eyes started straying.
Two doors – one to a bathroom, the other one leading to unknown places.
A wooden floor, some family pictures on the wall, a window on the right, a cozy seat in the corner…

…This was not a hospital. And the woman was not a nurse.
Alex went back to observing the gray-haired lady, who did her best to strike up a conversation.

"You gave us quite a scare, honey. We were afraid you weren't going to recover."

She paused, maybe hoping Alex would speak.
When that didn't happen, she asked:

"What's your name?"

Alex eyed her suspiciously. This could be a trick.
She pressed her lips together, and the woman continued:

"You can call me Edith, dear. Can you remember anything that happened to you?"

Alex looked away, and Edith took the hint.

"I'm going to make you some hot chocolate, to help you warm up. Here…"

The woman lifted one corner of the warm, woolen blanket on the bed, and put the hot water bottle near Alex' left upper leg.
She removed the one that had already been there, that had cooled down.

"…that's the last one, nice and warm. I'll be right back, dear."

She shuffled out the room, slowly closing the wooden door behind her.
Alex could hear her making her way down the creaking stairs, talking to someone as she reached the lower floor.

Her mind still slow, Alex looked around again. Where was she?
She decided that looking out of the window would be a a good start.
But as she tried to sit up, her body simply refused to move.
Breathing faster as she started to panic, she tried a little harder, eventually managing to slightly shift her arms and legs. She discovered there were more hot water bottles placed around her body, radiating a constant and pleasant heat. Slowly pushing them aside, she edged towards the bed's headboard a bit at a time, until her back was leaning against it.

As she pulled her arms from underneath the bedding, she discovered she was wearing a wide, dark blue nightgown, with a couple of cute, sleeping Pokémon printed on the front. She moved her legs again, and discovered the garment barely even reached her knees.

Feeling exposed, Alex growled. What was it with people and taking clothes from her…?

She shook her head, then tried to glance through the window from her elevated position.
The orange sky outside told her the sun was setting, but that was all she could figure out.
Frustrated, she leaned back against the headboard, trying to relax as she sat up.
Her thoughts soon started going around in circles.
…What happened? What was this place? How did she get here?

Her memory was still foggy, but as she concentrated, some things started to come back to her…

Running through Castelia City…

Finding Nicholas' note with Yena's ribbon…

Screaming at her brother from the Cruise Dock pier…

Watching Yena disappear into the waves…
…
…
Diving, swimming…
…
…
The strong currents, the cold water…
…
…
Cold. Cold. Cold.
…
…
…

---

She was shivering as she dreamt about roaming through windy streets, when a sound in the room woke her up.

Her eyes flew open, and it took her a couple of seconds to find her voice back.

"…You!"

The person standing at the end of the bed frowned as he looked at her.

"You shouldn't be sitting up like that. You should stay under the covers.
My grandmother isn't running up and down the stairs with hot water bottles for nothing."

"Your grandmother…"

Quinn nodded. After a moment, he angrily stated:

"You're an idiot, did you know that?"

He stepped forward, placing the cup of hot chocolate he had been carrying on the nightstand, next to the bed.
Looking down on Alex' pale face, he continued:

"Walking around with wet clothes, on a cold day, in an alley that no one visits. It's stupid."

Silence. He studied her for a moment, but all she did was return his glare.

"You're too lucky for your own good. If I would've found you one hour later, you would've been dead."

Quinn paused, but Alex still refused to respond to his taunting comments.

"So… you're a girl, huh?"

Feeling uncomfortable, Alex put her arms back under the bedding, and pulled the blankets closer to her chin.
She glowered at him.

"What difference does that make?
…Or are you feeling bad about beating me up in Striaton City now?"

He tilted his head as he thought about it for a moment.

"…Not really, you deserved it."

Alex produced a small grin.

"Well, then it must be the fact that you were punched in the face by a girl. It bothers you, right?"

Her grin annoyed him, and she knew it. Quinn pulled a face, and growled:

"If I knew you were going to be like this, I would've left you lying in the cold."

He paused.

"You know, I couldn't believe it at first."

"…Believe what?"

Quinn's eyes twinkled.

"You being a girl. I just had to check for myself.
…And you were unconcious anyway."

Alex breathed in fast.

"You didn't…!"

Quinn threw his head back as he laughed, happy to have the upper hand again.

"Of course I didn't. My grandmother changed your clothes, not me."

Alex muttered some obscenities under her breath, angrily glaring at him.

"…It's not funny."

He shrugged, still smiling.
Then he gestured at the hot chocolate, on the nightstand.

"Drink it. You'll feel better."

Her muscles still not recovered from her ordeal earlier, she clumsily reached over, and took a small sip of the warm drink.
Quinn was calmly watching Alex' attempts to get her usual dexterity back.

"I'd offer to help you with that, but I have a feeling you'll scratch my eyes out if I come any closer."

She glanced at him over her beverage.

"You guessed it."

He snorted, then continued watching her drink.

Alex soon got impatient.

"…What? Don't you have something better to do?"

His expression was more serious now.

"…They say you're wanted for murder."

He looked at her for a moment.

"Just to be on the safe side, I'm holding on to Tauros' Pokéball for you.
Now that you're staying at my grandparents' place, I need to know if I can trust you around them."

Her eyes narrowed, Alex looked ready to throw the hot chocolate in his face.

"You're keeping my own Pokémon from me…?
…Don't you dare treating me like some raving mass murderer!"

Quinn was equally irritated, leaning forward and raising his voice as he insisted:

"Then tell me something! Anything! Give me a reason not to take you to a regular hospital!"

A moment of tense silence went by as they stared at eachother.

Then, a question from Alex:

"…Why didn't you take me to the regular hospital in the first place…?"

Working hard to stay calm, Quinn sat down on the edge of the bed, near Alex' feet.

"…An answer for an answer. Truth for truth.
Let's trade, and take turns in asking questions."

Alex leaned back.

"…Fine. Then you go first."

He sighed, then shrugged.

"Some guys were looking for you. If I were them, and knew about the state you were in, the hospital would be the first place I'd look to find you. This was the only safe place I could think of. There. Now it's your turn."

Alex slowly breathed out through her nose.

"What do you want to know, exactly…?"

He asked, directly:

"Are you a danger to my grandparents?"

She growled.

"Of course not…!"

"Then why are you wanted for murder?"

Alex moved her legs under the bedding, pushing him off the bed.

"That's another question. It's my turn again."

She did not await his approval, and asked:

"Did you hear anything from Yena…?"

He settled on standing near the bed instead, his expression worried.

"No. My turn. What happened to Yena?"

Alex hesitated, then decided it wouldn't hurt to tell him.

"She fell from the Prime Pier."

Quinn's eyes widened as he pictured the scene.

"…But she can't swim!"

Alex growled.

"I know that…! I was the one who dove after her!
Why do you think my clothes were wet when you found me…?"

The mug was still half full, but she put it back on the nightstand anyway.
Her voice grew stronger as she demanded:

"Now does that sound like I'm a criminal on the loose?"

Quinn looked slightly taken aback.
He opened his mouth to reply, but was interrupted by the sound of creaking stairs, and his grandmother returning to the room. Oblivious to the tension between them, Edith beamed at Alex.

"Look at you, full of energy!"

Humming, the elderly woman shuffled through the room, inspecting the cup on the nightstand.
She pushed it back into Alex' hands.

"Finish it."

Sensing there'd be no discussing this, Alex quietly took another sip, carefully supervised by Edith.

"That's better. You need to warm up from the inside out, dear."

Quinn's voice sounded from behind his grandmother.

"Her name is Alex."

Edith tilted her head as she looked at Alex.

"Alex…? From Alexandra, surely?"

Alex shrugged, and Edith placed her hands on the sides of the girl's face.

"Still so pale… You were so cold when Quinn brought you in here, dear. We were worried.
Did you fall into the ocean?"

To Alex' surprise, Quinn replied:

"She jumped in to save a friend, gran."

An admiring smile appeared on Edith's face.

"Oh, such a brave girl! Is your friend alright?"

Alex leaned back, pulling away from Edith's grip, trying to hide how she feared for Yena's safety.

"I hope so."

Edith said something to Quinn, but Alex suddenly felt too tired to listen.

She looked up as the mug was pulled out of her hands.
The wrinkles around Edith's eyes went up as she smiled.

"You're tired, honey. It's been a crazy day, so you should rest.
Let Quinn help you lie down."

Alex' dark eyes advised Quinn against that idea, and he was wise enough to not come any closer.

"I don't need help…!"

To prove her point, Alex edged away from the headboard, grinding her teeth as her sore muscles protested.
With a frustrated sigh, she finally let her head rest on the bed's pillow.

Edith's hand gently went through through her messy hair as sleep immediately started to overtake her.

"Looks like you were right, you didn't need help. But it would've made things easier, dear.
Go to sleep now. I'll prepare some breakfast and a nice hot bath for you in the morning."