A/N: This one-shot has been on my mind a lot lately. I found the opening moment between the TRio in Throwing the Track Switch! to be amazingly cute and sweet for some odd reason. It wasn't even shippy, but I just thought it was incredibly sweet (and kind of silly) of Jessie and Meowth to try and get James back in the game with food. And this was supposed to be up like...two weeks ago...but alas. I think it's fluffy enough yet left open enough to be sweet, so I hope you can enjoy!

I do not own James or Jessie or Meowth or Mime Jr. or Carnivine or anything of much importance. I especially don't own anything in the Poke world.

"Drastic times call fah drastic measures," said Meowth, nodding slowly.

She could make out James making some horrid noise that seemed the embodiment of depression and watched his shoulders droop. She frowned. If the twerps' Pokemon didn't pull him from this funk, she'd be driven insane. While it was comforting to talk to Meowth, she longed to hold a conversation that did not revolve around food. She had just narrowly escaped jail time stealing James's beloved fruit and was hardly in the mood for complaints about the lack of fries or cookies or gum. Especially when she'd have looked just a tiny bit too bulky in the breasts if she had swiped the jelly donuts she had been eyeing in the market.

Somehow James's depression left her unable to even lick the top of the can. Thrusting out the fruit to Meowth, she sighed when he returned her sad look with a shake of his head.

"Someone has to eat," she reasoned. "We can't all starve."

The cat scratched the back of his head. "I don' wanna eat widout Jimmy. It's his fav-oh-rit."

Jessie bristled. "It'll go to waste, Meowth. It's not like we have a fridge to stick it in."

Though Meowth's expression did not change, he stood and wobbled over to a small patch of grass right beneath the nearest tree. "Night, Jess. Night, Jimmy."

Her insides curled. Thieving should never go to waste. And yet the harsh tone she usually took with James seemed caught in some prison right in the middle of her throat where it wriggled and writhed and caused a general sense of uneasiness to spread throughout her entire body. Straightening her shoulders and flicking her head back into a confident pose, she stood and sidled over toward her human partner with the can of pineapple slices in tow.

"You haven't had anything since this morning, James. Here," she said, holding the can out in front of him. He shifted away from her and her mind reeled with the memory of that first night the three of them spent together beneath the stars. He had refused her bread then. She smiled softly. "Come on. I nearly snapped my heel running from the manager. That's gotta count for something, right?"

Even without seeing his face, she knew he was frowning.

"Okay…I'm just going to lay it here beside you. Eat up…Meowth and I have already had plenty." Shoving the can closer to his side, she watched him for a moment before turning and shuffling over to the most comfortable patch of grass she could find.

After settling down and fingering off her gloves, she dared to cast a look toward James and was startled to find him holding out the pineapple to Mime Jr. and Carnivine. The two Pokémon were nibbling sadly at the food and snuggling up to James's side with small whimpers.

"Car…Carnivine…"

"Mime! Mime!" exclaimed Mime Jr. The little Pokémon quivered in an attempt to stifle its tears. It was as if someone had punched Jessie in the stomach. He had to have seen James do the exact same thing.

"I know. I miss him too. I just can't eat…not like this. Please. Eat up. I know you love the juice, Carnivine. Just like Cacnea…" James's voice was small and fragile and if Jessie lifted her arm just right, she was sure she could crush it against the cool night air.

"Carnivine," said Carnivine in an apologetic tone. The Pokémon's large head swayed from side to side and even Jessie, who was not known for noticing much of anything that did not have to do with herself, could not help but note the utter sadness in its eyes.

Sighing heavily, James examined the now empty can and chucked it carelessly into the dark beyond the small overhang on which he and his companions sat. "It's time you both rest. Did you both get enough to eat?"

Mime Jr. nodded slowly and Carnivine waved its amorphous limbs in the air.

She could imagine a small smile playing at his lips as he reached for his pokéballs. "I'm glad. Goodnight, you two. I'll see you in the morning. Get plenty of sleep now."

The flash of red light had her squinting and she quickly turned over to her opposite side as James rose to his feet. Her ears rung with every step he took and her entire body seemed to clench when she felt him not a yard away from where she lay. It felt more than a little bit awkward to lay there under his gaze with her own eyes shifting from one blade of grass to another. She could feel her heart thumping in her chest like a drum being beaten far too fast and she let her hands clutch her elbows. He sighed and she nearly jumped.

"Goodnight, Meowth. Goodnight, Jessie."

She said nothing. The words she had so longed to hear only moments ago seemed offensive to her now and her head felt dizzy and diluted of all intellectual thought. She made out the sound of him unzipping his jacket and felt her heart flutter when he let out a small umph as it went over his head and fell to the ground as his new pillow. Shifting, she mentally cursed as he went silent before shuffling to the ground at least twenty paces behind her. She couldn't recall the last time they'd slept so far apart and she frowned.

Speak! It's just James, for crying out loud! She opened her mouth and promptly closed it. But that's just it, isn't it? It's James.

Though she could not recall the exact moment when she realized it, Jessie had to admit that she was desperately attracted to James. It wasn't anything silly or serious like love, but it was enough to make her job difficult. She'd had trouble focusing on anything but his eyes when he talked lately and it had resulted in more than a few blast-offs. But her bluff was stiff. Neither of her partners seemed to object when she walloped them for her delayed line in the motto when James's hands clutched her waist. Or when she screamed at them for allowing her to hit the button just a second too soon in their latest mecha and allowing Pikachu to scramble out of the mechanic arms. That one had to be the worst of all. James had scratched his nose. But he had a way about doing it that just made him look so darn cute and her finger had slipped with a schoolgirl giggle from her lips.

Okay, so maybe her condition was a little serious.

She sighed into the night, her mind unable to focus properly. All she could think about was James's face heavy with grief. Though she was not one to offer consolation to anyone under any circumstances, she felt a sudden and urgent need to help him. Tomorrow seemed too far away and the twerps' Pokemon suddenly seemed completely inadequate tools to quell the sweltering sorrow hanging above the entire group. She felt like doing something crazy, although she was not sure exactly why. Her entire body burned with the desire…the desire to do something.

But what?

Growing agitated, Jessie shifted restlessly and found herself lying on her back with the cool air biting at her cheeks. She turned her head just enough to see James's blue hair falling carelessly into his face. Rarely did she see him in the simple black t-shirt he wore beneath his jacket. It was a welcome change and one that allowed her to study his thin arms that were now huddled against his face as if warring off an attack. She longed to protect him from his worries and from the entire world if need be. She longed to be by his side again and see the light in his eyes and the clumsy smile on his face. And a part of her, a small and scared and silly part of her, longed to be with him with no boundaries or blast-offs or bickering.

The absolutely absurd, blatantly bizarre, categorically crazy, and drastic desire found a voice. She breathed in the night air, afraid to move. James let out a soft snort in his sleep that had one of his gloved hands crumpling to the ground. By the way his fingers were splayed, she could delude herself into believing he was reaching for her.

She could even…could maybe…

Minute upon minute crept upon her as her mind spun in a thousand different directions. And then, almost as suddenly as the chaos had begun, she felt a calm wash over her. Standing proved a difficult task with her legs weighing her down like cinder blocks. She took one step and then another toward him before halting and attempting to shake sanity back into her head. What was wrong with her? This was James! He was not her prince…he could not be her savior…and yet…yet…

"He needs me," she finished, looking down at her partner with a sharp and steady gaze. The idea made her high on her own ego and she smiled to herself. What a fool she'd been! What a mistake she had almost made! She was doing this for James, not to James. There was no need for silly sidestepping or nervousness. This was James. He collected bottle caps and wrote poetry and used shampoo that smelled like strawberries. Jessie was a big girl. She could handle it.

Laughing lightly to herself, she shook her head ruefully and carefully laid herself down on the grass beside James. She stretched her limbs tiredly and yawned before scooting over to take her partner into her arms. His body clenched before suddenly relaxing and letting an arm wrap about her waist. James's head buried into her neck to rest just beneath her chin and she smiled as the scent of strawberries wafted into her face.

"Jess?"

"Yeah?" The hand that had been resting on his shoulder reached up to shift through his hair.

He was silent for a while and Jessie was just about to look down into his face when his voice broke through the night. "I miss him."

Pressing her hand against the back of his head until she felt his nose bump her neck, Jessie sighed. "I know you do, James. But unless you want us to go back for him, you're just going to have to be strong."

His head shook heavily and he sniffed loudly. "No…no. He deserves more than I can ever give him. He's better off without me."

Scrunching her nose, Jessie frowned and stilled her hand on the back of his head. "Don't talk like that."

"Why not? It's the truth!" James sniffled.

Jessie had the irrepressible urge to growl. What was whining going to do? She felt her fingers grow stiff in her partner's hair. They had both had to let go of Wheezing and Arbok, the latter of which still haunted her thoughts on a daily basis. And though she could not bear the thought of parting with her beloved Dustox, she knew that being a member of Team Rocket meant taking losses in stride. Her mother's face came to her mind and she took in a deep breath. What did he know of loss? What did he know of pain? Nothing. He hadn't the slightest inkling of what this world could throw at him. Her body clutched him closer to her as if such thoughts alone would call out some foul demon. He never would know that pain. Not while she was around.

His shallow breaths hit her neck in pants and she jumped ever so slightly when one of his legs slid up and over her own. Faint drops of fresh tears meshed between his cheeks and her neck and she patted his head.

"He was happy with you. Why else would he nearly rip your neck in half whenever you called him out?"

James let out a weak and watery laugh and the sensation of the sudden warm breath on her skin made her shiver. "I'm going to miss that so much. So…so much…"

The hand on her waist shook and his breathing became broken and ragged. The walls he'd placed so carefully to keep her out came crashing down in an instant with a small and strangled cry from his lips. Without hesitation, she steadied her hand on the nape of his neck and rocked their bodies ever so softly back and forth as the sobs wracked his body. Jessie attempted to recall some word of comfort for her partner, but it was all in vain. What could she say to him that she had not said to herself a thousand times before?

Seemingly aware of her inner turmoil, James breathed in deeply and used her body to stop the shaking in his own. "Jess?"

His voice was so much like that of a child's. She smiled softly and paused before pulling back and allowing him to lift his head to meet her eyes with his own. "Yes, James?"

She was never the type of girl to wax poetically about anything but at that moment his eyes turned her mind into a whirl of adjectives. He had a gaze as sharp as a thousand emeralds with eyes that could only be described as having the color of a Politoed. They were glossy and shimmering from the moonlight raining down on them. And large. Too large.

And so close.

"Thank you," he breathed.

Nodding, she attempted to look away and found herself drawn back to his eyes as if in a trance. "You're welcome."

It was the twin thin stains on either side of his face. It was the soft dimple creasing as his lips tugged into a fragile smile. It was the single strand of hair that always seemed to be in his face. It was a million little things and a million larger ones that led Jessie's hand to James's shoulder and her lips down onto his right cheek.

She waited long enough to ensure that the action had registered in her partner's woozy mind and pulled away with enough time to keep her heart at a distance. His skin had been moist and seemed to come alive under the warmth of her lips. Turning her head, she mumbled something even she did not comprehend and brought her fingers to her mouth. James squirmed beside her and though her heart cried for her to look at him, she sat frozen.

"Jess…Jessie?"

His voice was like a magnet to her very soul. She cursed underneath her breath and clenched her eyelids close before turning her head to face him again. It was only when James tugged her closer to his chest and his mouth was brought down on her own cheek that her eyes flew open wide. James kissing her. James kissing her. James kissing her. James kissing her. The information simply did not compute. Nor did the flutter of his eyelashes on her skin. Nor his fingers tentatively tying themselves into her hair.

As he pulled away, she felt the heat rise into her cheeks and she met his eyes with trepidation. He looked…like James. Like her happy-go-lucky, silly, optimistic partner of the past few years. A small and sheepish smile had developed on his face and though a sadness still lingered in the air about him, she could not help but feel her heart rise at the softness in his look and the joy in his eyes. There was nipping thought of his hands ruining her hair that simmered in the back of her head, but she pushed it to the side. He was back. He was back.

"Good…so…goodnight. I guess," she said, letting her eyes fall to what little space remained between them.

"Yeah," he returned, awkwardly slipping his leg back to his side and letting his hand fall to grasp one of her own. She watched his fingers massage her own and she marveled at his ability to be so gosh darn caring when he had just lost one of his beloved 'babies.' His pointer finger rubbed against her knuckles and she allowed her mouth to twist into a smirk.

Grasping his fiddling fingers in her hand and giving them a slight squeeze, she smiled at him. "Night, James."

The tight compression on her hand made her feel giddy and light. "Sweet dreams."

It felt like she had looked into his eyes for days before she let his hand slip from her own and turn to let her back face him. Without a second to let her mind process the strange shift in her nearest and dearest friendship or a moment to raise her defenses once more, she felt his arm wrap about her stomach and his fingers splay across her bare belly. His hot breath hit her neck and she closed her eyes as if memorize the feeling. Yes, her James was back.

She smiled to herself and looped her fingers with her partner's. Buizel and Aipom are going to make those green eyes just dazzle, she thought before allowing her eyes to close and sleep to overcome her tired body.