Nurse Joy claimed to have found the story about my trip amusing. She said it would have been wise to spend some time with my daughter. She kept the staff room out of bounds, so Spiritomb's family and his trainer could have this family talk that I suggested. I was hoping I'd be on duty, but Nurse Joy insisted that I joined in. Listening to Spiritomb's family affairs didn't seem right to be. Nurse Joy was vacant as if she was invisible and we both looked out of place.

Little-Wit cried next to her father. She remembered the bag floating games with Minerva when they were young. But on that occasion, Little-Wit got hit by Minerva's hypnosis, so when she was slipped into the bag, she had no idea what was going on. When someone questioned her about it, Minerva told everyone that Little-Wit was sick so she was taking her to bed. She just managed to escape everyone when she was near the edge.

Spiritomb forced himself to smile. He told Little-Wit that everything was going to be fine and that he wouldn't let anyone harm her again. But it all seemed a little fake. He looked as if he wanted to cry.

He tried to act as if he wasn't surprised about the child. He sounded as if he was expecting it to be his and tried to tell us that Minerva had a disgusting sense of humour. Although judging by what happened last night, Minerva wasn't laughing. He must have been horrified too, but couldn't bring himself to inflict pain against his own children.

He knew he was losing touch with reality, but he wanted to keep strong for his children.

Looking back, I think I could have handled things much better than I did. I couldn't stop thinking about my daughter, but I could have at least been a lot more compassionate. We all agreed to call my daughter Lavender after the town she was born in. Lavender was adorable. I really had to get back to work, but I couldn't help but stare at Lavender's chirpy face.

"You could always release Minerva," Nurse Joy suggested to Agatha. "The stress from working at the home and her personal life is obviously getting to her."

"It sounds tempting," Agatha bitterly admitted. "I don't want to let her go. Minerva needs help. I must have made some mistakes somewhere along the line."

"If you release her now we can give her the help," Nurse Joy persisted. "Once we feel she's in a good state of mind, we can take her to the GTS. She'll be in a loving home in no time."

Before Agatha got a chance to speak, I said, "Have a think about it." It was rude of me, but I don't think Agatha should just release Minerva on the spot and then regret it later. I've met many trainers who released pokémon regret it. Releasing Minerva would not only effect you, but it will also effect all your pokémon who've befriended her over the years."

"Matron," Nurse Joy said. "I was wondering if could I have a word with you in the office?"

"Sure," I said. "What's it about? Can't it be discussed here?"

"It's not related to this meeting," Nurse Joy replied. She seemed defeated. "It's confidential." She stood up and looked at Agatha. "I'm sorry for leaving early, but if it's something urgent. Give us a call if you need our assistance."

Nurse Joy and I left Agatha with the shaken family and retreated down to the office. The desk was actually tidy. The computer wasn't decorated with paper notes on the wool and all of the cabinets were protected with key-locks. I was left amazed. I had never seen Nurse Joy's office so tidy unless there was an inspection. The hospital wasn't due for another inspection until October, but I think these people will come in whenever it suits them.

"You must have been working hard while I was away."

Nurse Joy chuckled. "Well it's not been the same without you and Spiritomb, but we managed."

"So you brought me here to show you what you've been up to while I was away?"

"Not quite." Nurse Joy frowned and sat down on her desk. "I've been hiding something for a long time. You're the only one here who I can tell."

"A secret?" I was expecting this was going to be a murder confession or maybe it's something petty as an affair in her personal life. After Minerva's attempt of trying to kill her sister, I felt as if I lost some of my faith in society. Speaking of which, I've never heard Nurse Joy mention her personal life that much. She always became reserved whenever someone asked her. I guess I'll finally get to know.

"It's important you don't let anyone from higher management know about this," Nurse Joy whispered. I gulped, then nodded. I just knew that this was going to be no laughing matter, whatever it was Nurse Joy wanted to say.

"I know that you used to work for Team Rocket, so I hope this doesn't come as too much of a shock."

I blinked, Did I hear that right? Human resources assured me that no one would know that I worked in one of Team Rocket's clinics. "How did you know?"

"I've known you since you were a chansey."

"But I was a Blissey when I joined the hospital." I raised my eyebrow and found myself in a state of confusion. I had a feeling I knew where this was going, but I still found it weird.

"Matron," Nurse Joy hissed. "It's me... Domino." The Nurse Joy removed her hat. Her pink wig attached fell off in the process to reveal locks of curly blond hair. I was nearly there. When she mentioned my past so bluntly like that, I had a feeling that Nurse Joy must have worked for Team Rocket at some point. I always thought that this Nurse Joy reminded me of someone, but I never thought that she could have been Domino.

She was my original trainer's best friend until Smogon University. The pair of them broke contact with each other, but while I was working in Kanto, Domino was one of my regular patients. She started off as one of their grunts and eventually went up to becoming an elite officer.

"So why are you telling me this now?" I asked. Domino could have told me this a long time ago, but I guess she wasn't sure when the right moment would be.

"Because the boss is here," Domino responded. "He knows we're both here."

"You still work for him?" I asked. Even though Red defeated Team Rocket, they still hadn't completely finished. Even when Giovanni disappeared, the executives had worked together to bring him back. Of course some of the old workers for Team Rocket went on to join other teams like Galactic, Magma, Aqua and Plasma, but none of them ever had as much of a strong following than Team Rocket.

"I've always worked for Team Rocket," Domino confessed. "I love what they do. I know we haven't got as much members as we used to, but we're slowly getting the numbers back. Matron, I'm earning tons of money. Working in the hospital has given me a stable wage, but the money I get from Team Rocket... now that's just an epic bonus."

"You've not given any of our staff any Action Replay pills have you?" I sighed, lowered my head and frowned. Humans and their money...

"Of course I haven't," Domino replied. She laughed as she clapped her hands. "That would have blown my cover completely."

"So how did you get this job as a Nurse Joy?" I asked. "You would have needed a lot of qualifications for your role."

"I forged them," Domino replied in the most blunt and careless voice. She spoke of it as if it was no big deal. She no longer sounded like a Nurse Joy any more.

"You could have been arrested by now," I gasped. "If anybody finds out about this, it could ruin the reputation of our hospital."

"You won't have to worry about a thing." Domino grabbed onto my arms and tried to reassure me with a hug. She snatched her wig and hat from the table and slumped it on her head. I carefully pinned her hair under the wig so it kept Domino's identity concealed. "Matron, how would you feel about me being your trainer?"

"I don't think it will be necessary," I admitted. We see each other nearly everyday and she's pretty much my manager.

"It would be great," Domino claimed. "I'll get a top up on my income and Lavender will have a very happy life."

"If I'm going to have someone be my trainer, then I want them to love me. Not just use me for their own desires."

"You'll still get to work in the hospital, just things will be a little more easier."

You know that somebody is a bad liar when they tell you working at a hospital will be easy. If things were so easy, then it wouldn't be so rewarding.

"Have a think about it," Domino requested. "I want you to go to room 8. Giovanni and Persian are expecting you. Oh and take this first aid kit with you." Domino gave me a green box with a white cross on it. I opened up the kit to check if there wasn't any illegal drugs in there. I felt that I couldn't trust Domino right now.

"So..." I tried to pick up the conversation. "What happened to the gardevoir?"

"Which gardevoir?"

"The one that was a prostitute."

"She went on a life support machine, but it wasn't enough."

"Poor thing," I said.

"Horrible way to die," Domino muttered. "I'm a member of Team Rocket and I wouldn't dare touch a pokémon in a sexual way like that."

"You lot look like saints next to poképhiles."

"What do you mean 'you lot'? You never got sacked or resigned from Team Rocket, so you're technically still one of us. You're one of the best pokémon we ever had." Even though Domino was trying to be nice to me, I was still personally offended that she would say something like that. It was as if she was trying to say that I was one of the best criminals around. "There were many times we should have listened to you," Domino pointed out. "Like the time when all of Mew's children died before they were even born. Only two of Mew's children survived."

"We can't tell Giovanni about Swiss," I snapped. "Mew and Swiss are in danger. They need to be transported to another hospital at once."

"I don't think Giovanni will have much interest in Mew and Swiss right now..."

"Domino... Giovanni loves collecting rare hybrid pokémon. Mew and Swiss are just the kind of creatures he loves."

"Matron, Persian is sick. Seriously, he needs that medication now!"

"What's wrong with him?"

"Some weird dude with green hair and a cap brought Persian into the hospital," Domino explained. "He said he stole it because he thought it was what was best for Persian. Apparently it's the holy Arceus' will. The guy disappeared. On the healing machine, Giovanni's trainer details popped up on the screen... the most important thing is now that Persian gets better and that he's back with Giovanni. So you better be quick."

Domino made it look as if it was a life or death situation. Persian was Giovanni's cherished pet. He would have sent someone else on his behalf if it was any of the pokémon he used for battling. If Persian really is in a critical condition, then she's at risk of losing the respect of her Team Rocket peers. Many of Team Rocket worshipped Giovanni like a god.

I found it ironic that Giovanni's Persian was in room 8. Team Rocket's original hideout was in the eighth Kanto gym in Viridian City.

Then I thought about Minerva and Lavender. Right now, Minerva would be much better off with Agatha. I'm beginning to suspect that Domino was involved with Lavender's birth too. A pokémon wouldn't have been able to have performed an artificial insemination by herself. A nursing home wouldn't store fertility drugs. Someone must have trained her to specifically perform artificial inseminations. I think that there's a great chance that person could be Domino. I forgot to ask Domino about it, but why was she so eager for Minerva to go to the GTS? Either she's trying to hand Minerva to Giovanni, or she's trying to keep things as quiet. Either way, I can't think about it now: Giovanni and Persian were expecting me.

When I marched into room 8 with the first aid kid, the first thing I saw was Persian hustling around the bed. His tail was trapped in a ball of wool and his nose was buried in a pillow. He appeared to be blushing. From the distance it didn't sound like anything serious, but I had to check him out.

Just as Domino said, Giovanni was there, with a bottle of brandy. Alcohol of any kind was not the be consumed anywhere in the hospital, let alone near a patient. Giovanni thought that he was immune to the rules; well not when I'm in charge.

Giovanni was the last person I wanted to talk to, but since he's Persian's trainer, I've got no choice in the matter.

"You do know that alcohol is banned from the premises?" I asked Giovanni.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Giovanni said. He ignored me and drank it anyway. "You're here to cure Persian, am I right?" I nodded and marched closer to Persian. Persian didn't speak, but he purred and licked my arm. "He's just had some catnip so he's in a playful mood."

"Nothing illegal in the catnip I hope."

I opened up the first aid kit again and found a screen at the bottom of the box. It was a slim screen that would scan for any drug caused illnesses. It's been proven to be accurate in most cases. The medical term for the screen was Hozucheck. It was named after the man who invented it in Pokécommunity College. The Hozucheck scans the body and can be used to detect the Hacked Syndrome very quickly. The GTS uses the machines as well as the hospitals. After scanning, the screen will change colour.

It was the colour red we had to look out for. One red dot means that Persian has the Hacked Syndrome and would need to be operated on before he develops bad eggs. Amber meant inconclusive, which means we would need to examine him further whilst green means clean.

I hoped that Persian would be green, but I doubted it. The Hozucheck was plugged in, and I was ready to scan Persian.

"I'll need you to say still for a moment," I asked Persian. He smiled and closed his eyes.

I walked up and down with the Hozucheck and hovered it over Persian so it could scan all of his body. Within a minute, the Hozucheck pinged, which meant it was ready to reveal it's analysis. I pressed the enter button and the screen was completely green.

"You look happy," Giovanni commented. "Does that mean Persian will be safe?"

"The Hozucheck screen is 100% green," I announced. I couldn't believe this myself. I was expecting it to be a mixture of all sorts of colours including red. "This means that we can rule out the Hacked Syndrome." I've never seen the Hozucheck so green in my life. It's a sign that the pokémon is living a healthy and active lifestyle free from illegal substances. Giovanni must have looked after Persian well.

"So my Persian is very healthy," Giovanni presumed with pride. "The bellossom nurse said that everything was fine other than his fever."

"I'm going to check his temperature again," I told Giovanni as I got the thermometer out. I stroked Persian's head until he woke up. He enjoyed the fussing. "Okay Persian, I need you to put this in your mouth. I'm going to check your temperature."

The glass tube fitted into his mouth perfectly, but he frowned. I don't think he liked the sharp coldness on his tongue. He sneezed not so long after I removed the thermometer. I'd say his temperature was around 34.9 Celsius, which was roughly the equivalent to 103 Fahrenheit.

"Persian's just above the average temperature," I told Giovanni. "I think he'll be better soon. The fever might have been caused by trauma or an infection. The medication I'm about to give him should fight any infection left." I cleaned the thermometer and then handed Persian two brightly coloured pills. The yellow one was paracetamol whilst the green one was a full restore in a pill form.

Persian licked the pills from off my hand, and then walked over to the silver bowl near Giovanni's foot. He gulped what was left in the bowl, then Persian looked at me with big eyes.

"Was that nice Persian?" I asked. Persian purred and nodded at the same time. I took Persian's bowl and filled it up. Persian crawled over to Giovanni and lifted his head ready to be stroked.

"They can knock us down as many times as they want," Giovanni said out of the blue. "But you know more than anybody here that Team Rocket will always bounce back."

"And what if I were to ring the police and tell them where you are?"

Giovanni chuckled as he finished his drink. "The Data Protection Act says that you must preserve confidentiality. You wouldn't go and do a thing like that, now, would you Matron?"

Maybe I could and maybe I couldn't.

If I reported Giovanni to the police, it meant that I would break my work contract. Domino would lose her job. Justice would be served, but that wouldn't take the paranoia away. On the other hand, if I let Giovanni stay, I'd put everyone in danger whilst they carry on with their day-to-day lives. On the plus side, though I'd be keeping to the work's contract and Domino would still have a job.

The hospital's reputation was at stake, but both choices sound as equally as bad as each other.