A Scarlet Past
By Someone who is not Ami
Warning: this story has been given a PG-13 rating. This story's problem is mostly adult content. Use your own discretion (Anti-shippers WILL be offended). I know it's a kid's show, but you've gotta admit that these two have some of the screwiest childhoods I've ever seen. This story takes place nearly six years after the show, with a few flashbacks to some stuff that happens immediately afterwards. This story is most definitely not acknowledged or endorsed by Nintendo.
A knock sounded on the door, and the pretty red-head turned to it. Who could it be, at this hour? She rose to her feet, turning off the television. There was silence for a moment, then the knock came again. She walked to the door.
"Hello?" She called softly, looking through the peep-hole. There was no one there. She checked again, then turned to the coat rack hanging next to the door. She wrapped herself in her coat, it was frigid outside in the snow-covered yard. Jessie slowly pushed open the door, wincing as a gust of freezing wind hit her fragile body. No one was there...But she was sure she had heard the knocks...It was too cold and too late at night for pranks. "Is anybody there?" She spoke up, trying to keep the fear out of her voice.
She took a deep breath, then stepped totally out of her house, closing the door behind her. "Hello?" She repeated. Suddenly, a flash of red caught her eye behind her. She turned around and gasped.
A brilliant red rose, barelly more than a bud, hung halfway out of her mail slot. It seemed to glow against the pure white of the snow, taking her breath away. Not so much for it's beauty, more for the person who had left it. It couldn't be...not after all this time. Who else, though? Who else could it be?!
"James." She whispered. So he'd found her. After all these years, she had been so sure he'd given up. Part of her still hadn't believed that he had ever started looking. She grasped the rose, yanking it out of the mail slot. It's sharp thorns pierced her finger, drawing blood that fell into small drops on the perfect snow. She spun around, her bright blue eyes desperately scanning the street for the man who had left it for her. The street was totally empty, everything seemed dead. Jessie pressed her back against the door, continuing her futile search. She was shivering horribly, the sudden fear made her blood go frozen much more effectively than anything the weather could hurl at her. James, her past, everything...There was so much she didn't want him to know, so many things he couldn't know. She ran inside and slammed the door, locking it tightly.
In some nearby bushes, a young man reluctantly lowered the binoculars from his eyes. This was his first time in this city, and he had certainly never seen this house before. And yet, it all seemed almost familiar to him. He certainly wasn't a stranger. His name had gone without mention in that house for years, but it seemed to loom in the air, just out of reach. He may have been out of sight, but he was far from out of mind. After all, one need only to look in the bottom of a forgotten cabinet in the upstairs hallway to find a whole box of pictures, all of him... Almost. You see, while his face was, in some ways, like the pictures Jessie kept hidden in the drawer, there were several noticeable differences. His once-sparkling eyes had gained a harder, more aged look to them, a look that seemed to fit his more distinctly masculine face. James was a man now, there was no denying it. Few remnants of his bubbly, childish, younger self betrayed the serious gaze he now had.
Suddenly, his thin lips parted in a smile, the first smile they had seen in quite some time. Her. It was her. After nearly six years of tailing her, all the years of bitter searching for the stunning girl, finally. He had seen her. He found himself shaking, but if it was cold outside, he still hadn't noticed. "How's it feel, Jess?" His eyes glittered with the sheer joy of finally finding her, his Jessie. However, there was an undeniable tinge of sadistic insanity to them, the sort that you would expect from a man who had devoted some of the best years of his life to following a woman. Now, finally, he had her. She was stuck, she wouldn't be able to vanish this time. The only thing she could do was wait, wait for whatever he had planned for her.
His grin darkened as he considered all the things he could put her through. He had endured so much, she must know that. She knew he would be expecting payback. But what? She had no idea. He had no idea. She was, for the first time, at his mercy. They both would soon find out if he had any left. "Sweet dreams, Angel." He whispered to the house.
He closed his eyes, savoring the moment he had seen her, replaying the few seconds her eyes had nearly met his over and over. He had come expecting to see the perfect woman who had haunted his dreams for years, the most beautiful woman in the world. She had not disappointed him. He rose to his feet, turning to go. Suddenly, a rustling movement from the house caused him to turn.
He found himself staring straight into her eyes, sparkling blue eyes that widened in fear when they met with his. She froze, like a deer caught in the glare of headlights. Their gaze, although in reality only a few moments long, seemed to last for an eternity, with neither able to break it. Her gaze calmed slightly as she decided seemed to realize she wasn't in any danger. He wouldn't, he couldn't hurt her. At least not now. In fact, her eyes seemed to haze with a strange sence of longing. Suddenly, Jessie turned away, apparently responding to an unseen voice. She moved her lips in an answer, then turned back. She gazed at him again, allowing her eyes to caress the man she had cared for so deeply for a precious few more seconds before she finally turned away.
James blinked in surprise. Those eyes...He had forgotten her eyes. But how? How could he have forgotten the reason he was here? All these years had made him bitter. They had caused him to believe that while she had left him, she had left him whole. Now, here, the truth made itself painfully obvious. He wasn't here for revenge, he wasn't capable of revenge. Was he?
"No...not yet..." His mind protested. "After what she did, you must still be mad. You can't still love her." The rest of him didn't listen. His heart, his body, his entire soul seemed to welcome her back as their master. She had always treated him like dirt, but he would never protest. It was a labor of love.
Memories his anger had repressed rushed back to him, he hardly managed to stumble back to his car before collapsing into the driver's seat. "Jess..." Had she always been that beautiful? Would he ever be free of her spell? Did she love him? Had she ever?
Even now, his mind was full of her, of them, of the past. Of the seven years they had shared as friends, of those precious few months they had shared as more. He need only to close his eyes to remember that night. She was incredible, she truly had always been that beautiful. Images of that one night, the night that had killed James the boy and rung in his new life as a man ran through his head, so intense he still began to blush when he recalled them.
James leaned back in his seat and let the memories flood over him, consuming him. Of course he had fallen to her. In the harsh reality of a Team Rocket member, there was no time to search for love. And yet, there was Jessie, she had always been there, standing next to him, supporting him, even (in her own violent way) caring for him. At 17 years old, he had been at the age when he had the emotions of a man, yet hadn't been mature enough to fully understand or control them. Then, at a party at headquarters, some spiked punch had shattered the fragile line they had managed to keep for so long, the line between partnership and love, between friendship and passion.
After that night, things had gone relatively smooth. Jessie had admitted her feelings for him as deeply as he had for her, and had accepted a ring. In fact, what would seem to an onlooker as grossly superficial and shallow was the deepest, most intimate relationship either of them had ever had. Even with all the troubles they had faced, he had been sure they were headed for marriage. Hadn't he loved her? Hadn't she loved him? He had always thought so. But then, why?
He could still remember that horrible morning. He could still feel that moment he had reached for her arm in her sleeping bag, the way his life had shattered when he had realized it was gone. She was gone
For weeks, he had tried to convince himself it was a mistake, that she had gotten up early, that she had gotten lost, gotten kidnapped, gotten in an accident, anything but that she had left him by her own free will. However, he had quickly learned the harsh truth. She had voluntarily switched jobs to be a secretary at headquarters. No one, least of all Jessie, had even bothered to tell him. He hadn't found out until a performance review had brought him back to base. Sickened, he had quit, leaving much the way she had. By the time he had come to his senses, within months, she had quit as well, leaving no trail. No one knew where she went. Or, if they did, they certainly weren't saying anything.
So he had searched, for years he had looked for her, but the closest he had ever gotten to her was the glance he'd just received. All the years of searching and suffering seemed to melt away just from her eyes. He had missed her so much.
And yet, while that one look had saved him, it had destroyed him as well. He would have to be with her, or die trying. He couldn't live without her again. Yes, all those years were gone from his mind now, but that just meant he was still desperate. He swore he wouldn't last a week without her. Seconds counted.
"Tomorrow." He finally convinced himself. It was way too late tonight. Tomorrow he would see her. Tomorrow he would get her back. He put the seat all the way back in his car so he could sleep. His car had been the closest thing to a house he had been in since he had left his parents. It was the only way he could be able to look for her.
"Jessie..." He whispered aloud, a slight grin playing a cross his face. For the first time since Jessie had left him, sleep came easily. It left him with visions of his darling. He could already feel her lips against his, the sweetest lullaby he could imagine.
Jessie walked home from the store, glancing over her shoulder every few seconds. Was he there? Was he after her? He must be, you don't just leave a rose at someone's door and lie in wait so you can leave and never see them again. Was he mad? How could he not be? After what she'd done, even she had hated herself for several months.
A gust of wind hit her, yanking up her coat and freezing her body. She clutched her groceries closer to her, she hated to be cold. She always had. The winter, more than any other time of year, was when she missed him most. She missed his kindness, his warmth. She still woke up some nights swearing she felt his arms around her. Could it work again?
"Come on, Jessie. Pull yourself together." She chided. There were more important things to worry about. She had people depending on her now, they needed her. Her own feelings could wait. Forever, if necessary.
"Hey, Jess." She went numb. "It's too cold out here. How about a ride?" She spun around to face him. He grinned back, leaning against the door of his car. It was James all right. What was he up to?
"Thanks, but I...I, I can't...I have to, have to...to..." She stammered, stepping back slightly. "I need the exercise. I..." She cleard her throat, backing up more. She couldn't think of any good excuses.
"Get in the car, Jessie." He said, with just a hint more force. She gulped slightly, but nodded obediently. "Good girl." She stepped nervously forward, and he took her shoulder, leading her to the other side of the car. Then, in an odd, chivalrous gesture, he opened the door for her, taking her bags. As she sat down, he closed the door for her, then walked around the back, putting her groceries in the trunk.
"So, how are you doing?" He asked with slight sarcasm as he sat down in the driver's seat. She just stared straight forward, her arms folded stiffly in front of her. He stared at her for a moment, waiting for an answer. She turned away. "Well, I'm doing very nicely. "He informed her as he pulled back into traffic. "In fact, I.. Put on your safety belt, please...I'm feeling better then I have in quite a few years.
She gulped slightly but kept silent, turning farther away as she pretended to look for the other side of the belt. They reached a red light, and he leaned over her to grab it, fastening it for her. She shuddered slightly from his touch. "You know." He was smiling slightly as he spoke. "Nearly six years ago, a woman left me. She broke my heart, Jessie. She left me totally crushed."
Jessie turned back to the window. She got a little more nervous as she realized that he was headed out of town. "So, James, where are you taking me?" She asked, her voice tinged with fear.
"Hush, dear, I'm talking" He said, ignoring the question. "Anyway, I've been looking for her ever since. Now, I'll admit it. I got pretty steamed with her. In fact, for a while there, I wanted her dead." She gulped again and looked straight at him, her eyes full of fear as he pulled onto a dirt road.
"James, you can't be serious." She said nervously, trying to reason. "I mean, I..."
"There you go, interrupting again." He interrupted. "But, you see, I've had a change of heart. And I think I would be satisfied..." He came to a stop on a deserted stretch of the lonely road, taking her face in his hand. "If she would tell me why." He finished.
Her fear faded slightly, and she looked at him sadly. "Can she tell me that?" He asked, releasing her face. She looked away, rubbing her arms nervously. He turned the heater on. "Well?" he pushed when she remained silent.
She cleared her throat, then slowly spoke. "James..." she said quietly. "We were young. We were stupid. We were a lot of things. But we weren't ready for that sort of commitment. Things...Things just couldn't stay like that." She looked into his eyes, hers were full of tears. "Please, don't do this. I loved you, you loved me. Let's just leave it at that."
"Leave it at that? I can't leave it at that! Jessie, I can't just walk away from this. You've got to be joking." He touched her cheek. "Jess, I can't replace you, I don't want to replace you. Yes, we were young. I know we were stupid. But if you really think we weren't ready for that, then give me a chance now. Let me try to do things right." She shook her head. "I need you, Jessie. I love you."
"It can't be like that. It just can't be that way again." She whispered through her tears, shaking her head.
He sighed with frustration. She turned totally away, taking off her safety belt so she could curl up in the chair. He wasn't sure, but he thought he heard her cry. He reached out a hand to try to hug her, and she pulled away. "James, take me home."
"You're not being fair about this, Jessie." she heard a clink as he popped a tape into the cassette player. A song began to play, and she looked up. He smiled back at her, and their eyes locked in a mutual understanding. She remembered this song. She would never forget it. His eyes brightened when he realized she remembered, and he walked to her side of the car, offering her his hand. She nervously took it, and he lifted her out of her seat, hugging her against him.
"Jessie, can't you feel it?" He said, slowly spinning her around to the music. "We were so happy together. Can't we be like that again?" She shook her head weakly. "But you remember." He dipped her back slightly, kissing her neck. She shuddered slightly.
"We used to dance like this after Meowth fell asleep." He checked her face. She was disturbed, obviously struggling with memories. He smiled. "This was the first song we ever danced to. It was so sweet, you were always nervous that Meowth would find out and tell the Boss, and then he would separate us. Remember how that used to scare you? The Boss didn't like couples in his team, they were too loyal to each other to be totally loyal to him." He grinned at her, and his eyes sparkled slightly at the memories. "But then, you would always beg for a second dance, and a third dance, a fourth, a fifth...You would have danced all night if you could. Then, you would put your sleeping bag so close to mine we would have been sleeping farther apart if we had separate ones. Then..." His eyes dulled. "You just disappeared. What happened?"
"I had a lot on my mind. I felt so alone. I needed your support. Things were changing...I wanted things to stay that way, too. But they could never be, I just had to go." The song ended, and he sat down on her side, pulling her into his lap. "It's different now." She was on the verge of tears again. "James, I'm trying to save you some pain. We can't be together anymore. How I feel isn't important. Why can't you just leave it?"
"I can't. I don't even want to." He ran his arms along her back, massaging it gently. "Jessie, whatever it is, we'll get through it. I promise. All I want is to be with you again. Why won't you give me a chance to prove myself?"
"Promise?" She asked, and he nodded. "You want one chance?" He nodded again, with more excitement. "Take me home. Now." She commanded, in her snotty way.
"Home? Now?! But, I.." James protested, caught off guard. How could she have changed so much, yet stayed exactly the same? "I, I..."
"Stalking is a crime, James." She reminded him. "But kidnapping is a federal offense."
"Oh no. My perfect record." James snickered slightly. "What will my parents think of me now?" She pouted at him.
"Okay. That was your chance." She informed him, standing up and taking a few steps away from the car.
"No, wait! Wait!" He yelled, hurriedly struggling to his feet and grasping wildly at her. He couldn't let her leave, not now...They were doing so well. He caught her around the waist and spun her around. One fearful look from her was all he needed to realize he was going about it all wrong. Way to go, Romeo. He loosened his grip. "Wait." His voice was more earnest now. "I'll take you home. It's too far to walk." She eyed him suspiciously. "Please?"
"Straight home. Nothing else." she finally agreed. "If you stop for anything that isn't red, I'm calling the police." she warned. "Although, knowing the way you drive, going with you is probably the fastest way to contact the police."
"Nice." He managed to keep it at that. "Well, come on then." He opened the door for her, and she sat down. "I'm not that bad." he commented as he sat down on his side. To prove his point, he managed to go the entire way home without going more then seven miles over the speed limit.
Jessie remained quiet throughout the trip, apparently lost in her thoughts. She didn't speak until her had pulled into her driveway. "Thank you." she said, quickly stepping out of the car.
"Jessie, wait." That was it? He stepped out of his side, and she turned to look at him. The moment her eyes met his, his mind froze up. She had that effect on him. "Well, I, uh." he stammered, looking for a reason to spend any more time with her. "Your groceries!" he finally remembered. "I'll get them for you!" He grabbed the bags out of his trunk and headed for her door. "At least let me bring them inside." He said when she protested. Grudgingly, she opened the door.
"Okay, you brought them in." She said rather gruffly. "Now you can go, right?" He set the bags down and looked around, obviously in no big hurry.;
"This is a really nice place." He commented, admiring the living room. "How on earth did you afford this?" He looked at her, suddenly nervous. "You didn't marry some rich guy on me, did you?"
"I hardly think that's any of your business." She turned to him, he was deathly pale. "I mean how I got the house. No, I didn't get married, although that's none of your business either. Besides, didn't I tell you to leave?"
"Yeah, but I figured you didn't mean it. You lie to me a lot." He shot back.
"James, you're being childish about this." She said angrily. "Why do you have to be such a jerk about all this?"
"Why did you leave?" He countered. "Why didn't you talk to me about it first? After all this time I've spent looking for you, you should realize that I'd have done anything to stay together. I still would. Why won't you talk to me about it?"
She kept her back to him, and made no response. He cleared his throat and repeated the end, but it was like talking to a brick wall. On an impulse, he grabbed her by the arm, spinning her around. She gave a little squeal of surprise, looking at him fearfully. Her eyes locked with his as his bright green eyes searched hers for a moment. "Jess, do you think there's anything you could have done that would make me stop loving you? Anything at all?"
"I can think of one thing." She said, looking away.
"So you do still care. Otherwise, why would it matter what I think of you?"
"Trust me, James. I really am just trying to help us both. You won't be able to love me anymore, I know that. Neither of us want that to happen. So please, leave now, and save yourself some heartache."
"That bad, eh? Let me think. You're not married...You've got a jealous boyfriend who's going to rip my head off." She shook her head. "You killed someone?" She shook her head again. "Let's see... You've got a horrible drug addiction?" He guessed. She shook her head one more time. "I'm stabbing in the dark, Jessie. Give me a little hint."
She looked at him. "Would you forgive me for all of those?" He nodded anxiously. "How about all of those together?" He frowned slightly, thinking about it. "Now you're getting there."
Almost on cue, the door burst open. "Jessie, honey, are you home?" her aunt walked in.
"Hi, Auntie." Jessie said uncomfortably. She turned to James. "Here's your answer. I told you so ahead of time."
"You live with your Aunt? That's the big, unforgivable secret?" He asked, shocked. Suddenly, a young girl with deep, almost black purple haired girl skipped into the room. She paused for a moment, looking around, and her eyes brightened as she saw Jessie.
"Hi, Mommy!" She yelled, apparently ignoring the man hugging her mother. "I had a really fun time in school today, and then me and Auntie Mary made cookies!" She held up a small sack of odd-shaped, slightly burnt cookies. "I made these for you, Mommy!"
"Oh, honey, that's wonderful!" Jessie exclaimed, pulling out of James's frozen grip. Ignoring him for the moment, she bent down to hug the girl. "And were you a good girl for your aunt?"
"Of course I was. I always am!" She replied, giggling little. "I'm a good girl!" She pulled out of Jessie's grip, running up the stairs. "I'm gonna go play!" She disappeared quickly.
"Jasmine, wait..." Jessie said, then sighed. She watched as her daughter ran off, then looked down to her feet. "How's that, James? You hate me, don't you?"
"But Jessie..." He said, numbly. "You, I, but... You said you weren't married, right? She just calls you mommy, she's really a niece, right? You're just taking care of her?" He pleaded, like she could change whether or not it was hers.
Jessie turned way. "There was no marriage." She said, bitter tears welling in her eyes. "But she is my daughter." She heard him gasp, his face was sheet white. "I tried to warn you, James. You wouldn't listen. Are you happy now?"
"No..." He grabbed her wrist harshly and jerked her to her feet. She looked into his eyes, terrified. "No, no!" He grabbed her by the other wrist, and she began to cry. He ignored her crying and shook her. "Jessie, you bitch!" It came out louder and angrier then he had meant for it to sound, but he didn't apologize. "Jessie..." Now he was crying too. "Jessie, how could you do this to me?" He released her just as harshly as he had taken her, stepping back as if she had some sort of plague. She looked into his eyes, they were filled with more pain then she could comprehend.
"Wait..." She said quietly. "I can explain." He shook his head, backing up a little more. "Wait..." She said a little more earnestly, putting one hand up. He turned abruptly, running out of the room. "James." She took a few steps after him, then stopped. "James..." She stood numbly in the doorway, watching as James pulled out of the driveway. He didn't even look back.
Mary, her aunt stepped up next to her. "That was him, wasn't it?" Jessie nodded. "I didn't know he was here. I'm sorry." Jessie nodded sullenly, her eyes glued to the spot where his car had last been. "Are you okay?" Another nod.
"Mommy, is something wrong?" The little girl asked, walking up to her mother. "Did something bad happen? I thought I heard that man yelling at me." Jessie turned to face the little girl, then dropped to her knees.
"It wasn't you, honey. People used to call me Jessie, too." She explained as the girl gave her mother a hug. "He was mad at me, Jasmine."
"But you only call me Jessy when I've been bad, Momma. Does he think you did something wrong?" She asked.
"Yes, Jazz." Jessie whispered, hugging her closer. "I've done something very wrong. I was a bad girl." She pulled back. "But I'm okay now, Jazzy. Run along and play. He won't yell at you again, I promise." Jasmine nodded and ran back upstairs, giggling.
"You're taking this awfully well, Jess." Her mother commented, watching the girl run off. "I thought..." She looked over at Jessie, her expression was cold and stony. "Jessie...." Her mother whispered, putting one hand on her shoulder.
"Just like all the others." She whispered, her voice cracking slightly. "I tried to warn him. It's his own fault." She choked a little. "I knew he wouldn't be able to handle it." Her eyes went back to the empty driveway. "I don't think I'll ever see him again.... He's just not ready for this."
"Ohhhh, Jessie..." Her aunt whispered, unsure of what to say. "You don't know that." Jessie jerked away to glare at her mother, then thought better of it and threw herself into her mom's arms.
"Momma, I'm scared..." She gulped. (Jessie had taken up calling her 'Momma', whereas her real mom was always 'Mommy') "It's not supposed to be this way. Jazz needs a daddy, I owe her a daddy." She looked up. "I know what I did was wrong. I shouldn't have left him, either... But that's not Jasmine's fault." She added, firmly. "If he can't handle that, he can't be her dad. And he certainly can't have me." Jessie pulled away and started into the house. "It doesn't matter to me."
"Jessie... You don't mean that." She said quietly. Jessie had left. Mary gave a shuddering sigh. She had failed.
"Take care of Jessie for me. Please, Mary. if something goes wrong, promise me you'll make sure Jessie is cared for. I don't want her like me."
"Don't worry, sis. I'll never let that happen. Jessie is like my daughter, too.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
At the time, it had seemed so innocent, almost a joke. Zerelda Miyamoto, Jessie's mom, had been working for Team Rocket since before Jessie was born. She was, quite possibly, the best member the Team had ever seen. . Zerelda was invincible, everybody knew that. She had been in lots of dangerous assignments, and she had always come back. But then, even 'always' doesn't always happen. When the news came back, everyone was shocked. And there was no body, no trace of the woman Jessie had loved with all her heart.
Almost imediately Robert Miyamoto, her father, collapsed into heavy drinking. For an almost unlivable half a year, Jessie had lived with her now-abusive, drunken father. However, the loss was too great, and he took his own life on the six month anniversary of his wife's passing.
Doubly heartbroken, Jessie faced another horrible problem: No one wanted her. For weeks she bounced from relative to relative to foster home, but no one wanted the daughter of a member of Team Rocket. Finally Mary, although still coping with the loss herself, agreed to take the poor child.
She loved Jessie like a daughter, she really did. It's just, she had no idea how to raise a child. She, too, had been a member of Team Rocket, and thus had been disowned by most of the family. She didn't even have a husband to help her. And she had no money, no job, and nowhere to get one.
The entire time she had been raising Jessie, Mary had prayed that Jessie wouldn't make the same mistakes she and her mother had made when they were younger. By eight years old, she knew she would. She had tried so hard to raise her right, reminding her that love was more important then wealth, trying to make games out of their problems... She still cried when she remembered the way Jessie had looked forward to snowgasborgs ( a tradition her mother had started during a particularly poor winter). The poor thing actually had considered it a treat to eat what most people walked on.
However, Jessie had always hated other people. She had no friends at school, and was often sent home for fighting. When she had asked Jessie why, she would always complain that the children had called her names and teased her for not having a family. She would cry about how it wasn't her fault that she couldn't afford pretty clothes like the other girls did, and ask why they didn't like her just because she was different.
Despite her noble efforts, Mary soon realized Jessie was headed down. She hadn't realized how far she had to go. The minute Jessie had turned ten, she had run off to get her Pokemon license. Her mom didn't hear from her for years. Finally, after what had seemed like an eternity, she had caught part of a news broadcast. What she had see on that screen made her heart break.
There was Jessie, her little girl, wearing one of the kinkiest 'uniforms' she had ever seen. She was yelling some strange poem with a boy about her age, and stealing pokemon. Or rather, trying to steal. Her little angel, her darling, her Jessie had been reduced to being a common thief. She hadn't even gotten to wear the 'elite' uniform her mother had worn.
The only good thing about her 'daughter's' bizarre fixation with that motto of theirs was that it gave her time to start the VCR. She would leave the television on almost constantly, and every time she heard the words 'Prepare for trouble', she would race to start a tape. She had dozens of tapes of every news broadcast she had ever had the good fortune of catching that even had the slightest thing to do with her niece. Those relatives that had offered her support when she had been raising Jessie would often tape them as well, sending her at least a tape a month just in case they had seen one that she hadn't. The rest of the family had long ago disowned her and her adopted child.
Mary would often sit, on lonely nights, watching her daughter on TV. Well, Jessie had finally gotten the attention she had always needed. She would appear in the news at least three times a week. Sometimes, Mary would watch until her eyes were too blurred with tears to see, then cry herself to sleep. All with 'to protect the world from devastation' echoing through her head.
The boy, James, was always with her. Jessie was often cruel to him, (She often recognized Jessie's anger at men in general and her abusive father in particular in Jessie's oppressive attitude) but he never seemed to mind. On occasion, he protest to the undeserved blows, but he would never strike her back, no matter how angry he was or how much she deserved it. Mary had come to accept this boy, even respect him for his kind treatment. It seemed that if either of them were going to change their ways, it would be him.
Then, one day, something had changed. Jessie had been unusually nervous, she seemed to cling to James. He, in turn, seemed overly protective of her. It didn't take a genius to figure out what happened. It took a mother. And Mary was close enough to one to know.
For several months, the relationship continued in much the same way it had been, as she saw through the almost daily news blips. Jessie had seemed wary of the whole thing, but Mary had earnestly hoped James would be able to make her settle down. She had been almost certain he would when Jessie had vanished.
It had been so sudden. One day, Jessie had been nervously hanging off of James's arm as they said their motto. The next, a rather pale James appeared in a half-hearted heist. Halfway through, he had given up and walked off. That was the last time she had seen him until today.
For nearly a year, Mary had been plunged back into the darkness of not knowing what her precious niece was doing. During this time, she had relied almost fully on the tapes she had, wearing out some of them until they broke.
Suddenly, out of the blue, Jessie had shown up. It was late one November night, and Jessie was has shivering, clutching a large coat around her. When her 'mom' had asked what was happening, Jessie just began to cry. She pleaded to be let in, and of course her Mary had agreed.
Soon, Jessie was sitting in front of the fire with a cup of hot coffee. Mary sat down next to her, asking again what was wrong. Jessie began to cry again, but released her grip on her jacket to reveal the baby balanced on her hip.
"Momma, I screwed up." She sobbed. "Look what I've done now." She set down her mug to hold the sleeping child better. Her Mary reached out, and Jessie handed it to her. "It's a girl. Her name is Jasmine." She informed her, still crying softly
"She's adorable." Her mom cooed, hugging her softly. "She looks like you." Jessie blushed slightly and looked at her feet. "Is she James's child?"
Jessie looked up, shocked. "How do you know about James?" She asked suspiciously. The little girl began to cry, and Jessie took her back.;
"Do you have any idea how often you two were on the tv? Of course I know about you two. You were...Together, right?"
Jessie looked back at her feet. "Yeah, I guess we were. It was an accident, it just happened... I don't know why. He was gonna marry me, but things got went crazy. I left him...I tried to fix things on my own. I failed. Things got so tense when I found out I was pregnant. I tried to find him again, but I couldn't. Now, I'm not sure if he'd take me back.;"
"Then it isn't his? Who's is it?" Her mother asked, shocked. Not James? There were others, too? She really had failed as Jessie's mom.
"I can't tell you who the father is. I promised I wouldn't tell anyone. They paid my hospital bills, they're helping me get a new house, she's paying me child support...But I can't tell anyone. She'd kill me."
"She? Who are you talking about?" Mary asked nervously. "Who's threatening you?" Jessie looked up.
"His...The father's mom. She scares me, I didn't want to tell her...I didn't have a choice. I needed to go to the hospital, there were checkups to go to, I didn't have any money. Then she offered me everything else if I wouldn't tell." Jessie sniffled again. "They're a proud family. They don't want their reputation smeared like that."
"Still, that's really horrible. What does the father say about all of this?" Her aunt questioned.
"I don't think he knows about the threats." Jessie replied. "I haven't seen him since, since, since..." Jessie gulped slightly, but continued. "I haven't seen him in a long time."
"And James. What about James? Does he know about it?" her Mary pressed.
"No...I left him a long time ago. It was stupid, I know it was, but I was, I just, I...I don't know." She sniffed. "I did try to find him afterwards, before she was born. I think it would have been easier then. But he had quit already. He never wanted kids anyway." The baby started crying again, and Jessie hugged it gently. She looked to Mary. "I'm scared, Momma. I don't know what to do."
"I'm sorry, Zee." Mary whispered through her tears. "So very sorry."
Jessie walked into her bedroom, closing and locking the door behind her. She took one more deep breath, then sat down on her bed. "I'm okay." She said aloud. "I'm not going to let him get to me. It's his fault, anyway. He shouldn't have followed me."
She leaned back against her bed. "Jasmine and Aunt Mary. That's all I need." She leaned over, taking a picture from her bedstand. "We're happy. Me and James are through. Through forever." And for a few seconds, she could have convinced you it was true. Then, the tears came.
"Damn it, James, why? Why'd you do this to me? How could you?" As she sobbed, she slid off the backing of the picture to reveal a second one. One of her and James. "It's taken me six years, James. Six years to get over you! How could you ruin it, and drop me like that? How could you do this to me?"
She hugged the two photos to her chest, sobbing until she had nothing left, until she felt totally drained. As she drifted off to sleep, she said one last thing:
Jasmine's my favorite of all the characters I've created. ^_^ We'll see more of her later. Let's see; Zerelda was Jesse James's cousin/wife (who I named Zee from my ongoing after), but his mother's name was also Zerelda. That's why I named Jessie's mom that too. I know It's confusing. Mary was Jesse James's daughter, but I didn't find that out until I'd already named Jessie's daughter Jessie Lynn and then Jasmine. I wasn't going to rename her again. I think by now, most of you know about Miyamoto. Since I've been using that as her last name for some time, I'm pretending she was always reffered to by her last name. I'm a little lazy ^_^ Reviews (at least, constructive ones) are highly accepted.