Quick shoutout to @Milkandlucaya for making me want to update early, even though @garretslilbro2 did have some influence on this decision!

Ben quickly pushed the stroller, as well as the majority of other baby items we bought, into the foyer and ran back out to where I had set up a blanket for us to sit on. My Pokemon surrounded us. Jet chose to sit right up against me, even though I know he would've loved to take a dip in the ocean like Yuka, Gizelle, and Gale were doing. I brushed the coarse fur on the back of Jet's neck. "I'm sorry, but I'm still worried about your leg. I just don't know if it's broken or not, and I'm tired of guessing. This was just the best thing I could think of." I muttered to him. "And I couldn't let you just pour salt water in your cuts. That would be horrible."

"It's not your fault." Jet grumbled, setting his head on my kneecap. "I'll be fine, though. You need to stop worrying."

I sputtered. "S-S-Stop worrying?! Jet, we have no idea if you've broken your leg or not!" I repeated. "We don't have the luxury of going down the road to the nearest vet and asking if you're alright!" I exclaimed, my voice wavering slightly. "You've been here to help me ever since I met Nema and I can't just let you get hurt because you think you can just walk it off! And that's why I've been so adamant that you not go on major missions with us!"

Ben shifted in his seat, petting Evelyn uneasily. We hadn't even touched our food yet. Jet turned even more to look at me.

"But how am I supposed to protect you if you don't let me come with you? You're so sincere and always wanting to help, but you never accept help. It's maddening." Jet mumbled. "How do you expect to protect others if you leave yourself so wide open?" He gave Ben a side glance. "But I guess you just don't need me anymore if he's here, and I've let my need to protect you overshadow what was really best. I'm causing you unnecesssary emotional strain in the state I am in, aren't I?"

I looked down at him, looking as if I had just been slapped. "H-How can you... How can you say something like that with a straight face?!"

Ben looked around at my hurt tone. The playful splashing of Yuka and the duo of Kirlias stopped, looking back at us from our place on the beach.

"I can't but feel like you're holding back because of me. Maybe I should leave until I become stronger and assist you better. Someday, I might even be able to help you instead of hinder you."

"A-Are you telling me that you're going to leave unless we find some way to help you?"

"I'm saying that your attempts to help me may be in vain and that it may be better to come back after I've settled this annoying leg issue." Jet answered in an even voice.

"No." I responded firmly. "I'm not going to let you leave under the false pretense that I'm better off without you."

Jet looked over to where Yuka and the Kirlia couple were walking up from the ocean. "Let's talk about this later. Right now, I think we're all tired and need some rest."

I didn't argue with him there. If we were going to talk about it, we should do it privately. After all, even though I wanted him to stay, I wanted it to be because he knew he was a valued member of our team and not because we pressured him into it. All I could do is pray that Jet gets himself out of this slump of his and keeps moving forward.

Ben, trying to lighten the tense mood even though he didn't have a clue about what was going on, exclaimed, "All right! Who's hungry?"

Ben had gotten all of the Pokemon a bunch of different poffins. They were all mixtures of different colors and I was slightly confused. "Why?" I suddenly asked.

"By 'why', do you mean 'why poffins'or 'why didn't you just get them regular food like us'?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Yes."

"Welp, I have no explanation. I just wanted to do something nice. Sue me."

I let out a laugh, but it felt harder to get out, as if I was forcing myself to laugh to lighten the mood. The atmosphere was tense and I could feel all eyes on me, as if I was supposed to be able to push through this situation. But I never thought that my close friends would want to leave. Sure, there was when Yuka was contemplating leaving me for her friends... And the inevitable departure of her after we saved Oblivia. But it never seemed to sink in until the thought of them leaving became a very real possibility. That might happen sooner than expected.

I was torn and confused. What was I supposed to do? Tell him to stay because I needed his help and support more than ever in these recent trying times, or respect his decision to leave? Do I tell him that I'm concerned for him and his leg, or would he just brush it off again?

"Summer... You okay?" Ben asked, looking concerned.

I blinked, realizing I had been staring at the ground with a stupidly helpless look on my face. I looked at everyone's expressions. Everyone looked worried and Jet looked pained, as if he thought that it was his fault that I was in such a funk. They're expecting me to be strong for them. If I stop moving forward, then everyone will be wasting their time on me. I think they may need me just as much as I need them.

I slipped into a facade, letting a gentle smile spread across the surface of my face, even though what I really wanted to do was scream endlessly into the abyss until my heart stopped hurting. "Yes, I'm fine." I softly rubbed Jet's back. "I'm sorry for spacing out. I do that a lot, huh?" I gave out a laugh, surprised at how sincere it sounded despite it being anything but. "Now let's eat, okay?"

After studying my expression carefully, Ben nodded. "Alright," He said, unwrapping his sandwich. "Then let's eat!"