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After several days of the same nightmare, Tania had come up with a solution. She just wouldn't sleep. The sky was beginning to gray with the first signs of night's coming; so it was probably around eight, but the sun was still holding out. The shadow mew was dragging along Declan; the poor oshawott was certainly unhappy with this arrangement.

"Come on, you can meet the rest of our family," Tania reasoned. Maybe they'd be willing to give him a sandwich too, so he'd keep his mouth shut. "I don't want to go home yet, and if I can convince Eilam, maybe he'll help me make some coffee. I don't know why the barista suggested milk instead."

Declan frowned. "Tired!" he complained.

"You can sleep," she said. "We'll go home in a little bit. But I'm not going to!" She knocked on Dea's door.

Tania stared. Well. This wasn't Eilam or Paian. In fact, it was someone she didn't know at all; but fortunately, she had adjusted to her older sister's habit of adopting every stray pokemon she came across. "I'm Tania," she said, "and this is Declan. I came to see my nieces and nephews," The majority of whom were older than she was, at least physically. "This is Declan," she added. "He doesn't talk much yet, but he's getting better."

"Sammich?" Declan asked, looking to Aure. He was sort of colored like Cake, wasn't he? Pinkish. Yes, the oshawott decided, he liked this person!

Tania shifted from foot to foot awkwardly. The guy didn't seem to believe her, at least not yet.

Tristan looked up from his paper; he had been busily sketching out his next painting. "Let her in, Aure. She's momma's little sister." And his, too, but that might confuse the new kid. What a complicated family tree they had. Timmy was his Uncle, but now also his brother, Krissy was his cousin, but now also his niece. Tania was his sister, but now his aunt as well. "Hi Tania," he called, and waved.

Could this boy not talk? Maybe he was just shy. Tania walked in and immediately looked around. Failing to see Eilam or Paian, she hesitated. She turned to Tristan questioningly.

"I think they're helping Momma with something," Tris said. He studied Tania for a moment before standing and putting a hand to her forehead. "You're clammy. And pale," he observed. He looked concerned. He looked to Declan, but the younger boy seemed in perfect health.

"Tania, what's going on?" He beckoned Aure over.

"I don't know, maybe. She doesn't have a fever." Tristan still looked concerned. Why was she out?

"Do you think coffee will keep me awake?" Tania asked.

"You haven't been sleeping." Tristan scowled. "Tania! You'll get sick if you don't sleep."

Tania looked up at him. "You wouldn't sleep either, if you saw what I see."

Nightmares. That's what Tania meant. She was having nightmares, and she feared they'd return. And if they were making her want to stay up, they were bad ones. Tristan reached to Tania and pulled her close, stroking her hair. "I know nothing can hurt you when you're home," he said. "I'll take you."

"Not recently," Tristan said, looking up at Aure. He hadn't released Tania.

"Sure you can," Tristan agreed, giving Aure a thankful smile. Whether he showed it or not, his siblings had told him about team rocket's most recent mischief. They'd kidnapped maybe hundreds of Pokemon and--people! It worried him to go anywhere alone.

"Yeah, we can go tell her," he said. "She won't mind is heading that way, we can say hello to Grandpa if he's still there."

Tristan followed Aure to the kitchen, leading Tania by the hand. "Yeah," he agreed, looking to Aure. Dea didn't need anything else to upset her. She had enough to deal with. "Momma, we're going to walk Tania home, alright?" He looked to Dea. "It's getting late, and she shouldn't be out by herself. Do you want us to pick anything up?"

From a nearby store, or maybe from the lab.