Author's Note:

So, realistically I should be finishing my other fic that's been sitting her unattended since last summer...but I can't get any inspiration on where to go with it. Instead, my brain has wandered off on a new tangent with this story...and I'm sincerely hoping I'll be able to finish this one too.

One of the complaints on my other fic is that I tend to write OOC. I am going to apologize for that ahead of time. I try my best, but I tend to have this picture in my head of what I imagine Jessie and James to act like as adults...and I feel as if James would end up the level headed, more calm one, and Jessie the flighty, untrusting one. Somewhat similar to canon, but not perfect. That said, if you dislike OOC, read at your own risk.

Another note...I figured in the series that Jessie and James were in their late teens, if not early 20's by the end of the current series, so I averaged it out and assumed they quit around 19-20 years old. That puts them at 28-30 in this fic. Misty and Brock are considerably younger, early to mid 20's. Ash at this point is not intended to be in this fic, but he may make an entrance or quick cameo at some point just for authenticity's sake. Ha. Anyhow, I'm also a tad rusty on my writing skills, so please disregard any grammatical errors. I'm guilty of the occasional run on sentence.

I hope you enjoy this fic, and please review! I will do my best to get chapters out in a timely manner, but I have a young child and don't have as much personal time as I'd like. Yes, gasp, an adult still into Pokemon. LOL. Helps that the kiddo loves the show. Re-sparked my interest in everything.

On that note...Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or anything about this. My writing, but that's all.

Prologue

It had been nine long years since Jessie, James and Meowth had quit Team Rocket. It had been a mutual decision between the 3 of them that things just weren't working out. They were tired of putting all their efforts into capturing that blasted yellow rodent and having nothing to show for it. They were tired of not having real food to eat. They were tired of having worn out clothes. They were tired of all that junk, and it all came to one fiery head that day. After an explosive argument where some awful things were said...thanks to another failed pitfall trap...the 3 villains parted ways. None of them were particularly sure if any of the others had ever really submitted a formal resignation, but no matter, they hadn't been bothered since. Luckily for them, no one at headquarters really cared that they were gone and stopped checking in. In fact, they had pretty much just slipped under the radar. Bonus, ultimately, because no one "quits" Team Rocket and lives to show for it. At least not in Giovanni's Team Rocket.

In the long run, it was no matter. Jessie rarely ever thought about it anymore, and if she did, she would quickly try to stuff those heated memories back down. It was almost hard to remember any of the good times after that final argument. Fortunately for her, Jessie's determination had carried her far. Right off the bat, despite the fresh wounds she was nursing, she shook it off and decided that she refused to let it hold her back. Their fight had happened outside Vermilion City...and James and Meowth had headed in the opposite direction. She headed back into Vermilion. At first, fear quickly surfaced, and she wondered what the hell she was going to do now. No money, no place to stay...nothing.

The next few months passed slowly as she worked random odd jobs for people. Cleaning houses, tending yards, kitchen work...you name it...it was nothing that she really enjoyed. One day, she spotted a sign on the local research lab. It read: "Wanted: Resourceful, intelligent and determined individual for a paid internship at the Kanto Oceanography Lab and Rehabilitation Center. Room and board included." For a moment, she turned up her nose in distaste. Her...a researcher? No. But the more she thought about it, the more she realized that sometimes the world wasn't about show business and fame. Perhaps it was time to put those dreams aside. She was on her own now, and she really needed to figure out a way to support herself. She shoved down her pride and went inside. That was the day her new life began. She made fast friends with the Pokémon Researcher, Lana, who was surprisingly one of Misty Waterflower's cousins. Jessie studied hard and worked her way up to becoming head of the Cerulean City research and rehabilitation team. She also, despite her "better" judgement at the time, through Lana, sparked a close friendship with Misty. Even though she was still rough around the edges, with age her personality had mellowed out a bit. It certainly made things a bit easier to be more level headed.

Misty no longer traveled with Ash, and had married Brock in a lavish ceremony a few years after her and Jessie had become friends. Jessie had stood by her side at the wedding, along with her 3 sisters. Her and Misty had taken over running the Cerulean City research and rehab team, and Brock was directly in charge of the rehabilitation department. Brock and Misty had a large house just outside the city, with a small apartment above their detached garage. Misty had offered the apartment to Jessie, who gratefully accepted the offer. It had been a long time coming, but she finally had a good job and a place to call her own. In her spare time, she went back to her roots, dancing and singing at a local club, The Silver Dragonair. While she couldn't be in the spotlight directly, this gave her the opportunity to express herself, which she thoroughly enjoyed. Everything was going great, and she had fallen into normal life. Little did she know, things were about take a blast back to the past.

Chapter 1

It was a beautiful evening in Cerulean City. The water glistened under the golden hour sunlight just prior to sunset, it's light casting shadows on the stone building that was The Silver Dragonair. A young woman in her late 20's leaned up against the wall, sipping on a mocha. She checked her watch, and then quickly brushed a strand of her brown hair away from her face, revealing streaks of aquamarine color beneath the brown. She was tall and curvy, a very beautiful woman, no doubt. She smiled at the sun in the distance, enjoying it's warmth, before disappearing inside the building.

Not a moment later, from the shadows in the alleyway a block down, a sleek golden cat Pokemon darted out and entered through the still somewhat opened door before it closed. It darted into the dark side of the club and disappeared. The young woman made her way to an "Employees Only" door on the opposite side, and she too disappeared. The cat observed from it's hidden location beneath an empty table as the evening went on. He was watching the brown and aquamarine haired girl...he had wondered...could it be? In his past life...he wasn't sure how many he had already gone through out of the allotted 9 cat lives...he had been a member of Team Rocket as a talking Meowth. This girl...she reminded him of someone, although her appearance didn't match what he remembered. However, as she had stood outside the building, he had caught her scent from the alleyway, and his senses were thrown back into memories of their earlier days as thieves. At first he though to himself, there's no way...but he realized that when he had evolved into a Persian a few years back, his senses had heightened even further. The scent is right...he though to himself. He had nothing better to do at the moment, so he followed her into the building to see if he could confirm his suspicions.

He watched her dance through the evening with various other women coming and going from the stage, but the moment she stepped up to the microphone to sing...that's when he knew it was her. He carefully made his way out of the club, so as not to be seen by anyone, and decided to wait outside. An hour or so later...he wasn't quite sure, the woman and a few others exited the club, their laughter resonating in the now moonlit streets of Cerulean City. They walked down the street together, eventually splitting off, heading in their own directions. The woman was now alone. As the cat pokemon followed, he made it a point to knock down a garbage can, creating a loud noise that startled her from her thoughts. She quickly whirled around.

"Who's there?" She said, voice raised, moving her body into a defensive position.

A shadowed figure moved out from behind the toppled can. She could barely make out the form, save for a red charm on top of the creature's head. A flashback hit her...of Giovanni's Persian coming to find her. For a moment, she panicked. Her heart skipped a beat, and her breath caught in her throat. After all this time? Then, the cat spoke.

"Is dat how youse greet an ole friend, Jessie? Jeez, I'm hurt!" it said, feigning surprise and sadness.

As if her heart had already skipped a beat, she wasn't quite sure how many it had just skipped when she heard the Persian speak. "Wait...no way...Meowth? That can't be you, can it? How did you recognize me?" She said, her mouth agape.

"Well, I dunno, how many udder Pokémon do youse know dat can speak human? Of course it's me. I jus evolved into dis here Persian a few years ago in hopes of learnin payday. Still no luck. I'm jus doomed. And I recognized youse by your scent. Evolvin did a number on my senses...I swear I can smell noises and hear smells, hehe..." he said, being his dramatic old self. Jessie briefly chuckled, and then looked at him skeptically.

"What are you doing here? I thought you said you were going to Kalos and never coming back," she said, immediately taking the defensive. All those old feelings from their fight had resurfaced all at once, overwhelming her emotions. She bit her lip and looked at the cat.

"Welllll...youse see, Kalos jus wasn't a good place fer me. Eider people wanted me cuz I can talk human, or dey just saw me as a nuisance. So I came back to Kanto a few years ago. Now, I just run da streets here. It works for me..." he trailed off, as it was a bit of a lie. He and James had stuck together after Jessie had left. By her quick jump on the defensive, he assumed she wasn't quite ready for that tidbit of information yet. "I jus happened to catch youse scent down by dat club, and tot I'd folluh ya and see if it really was youse...I mean, lookin different an all."

Jessie nodded curtly. "Got it. Well, now you know. I changed some things to break away from my past, and despite that, you seem to have one upped me." She paused, clearly troubled. "Uhm, It was nice seeing you again, Meo...er, Persian."

Persian, taking the hint that she really didn't want to continue the conversation, turned and began to walk the way he had come. "Alrite Jess...nice seein youse too. Hope loife is treatin youse well," he said, his voice carrying a saddened note. And with that, he bounded off into the darkness.

After he had gone, Jessie stood motionless on the sidewalk. She glanced up at the moon, her mind and emotions reeling. That was one of the very last things she had ever expected. All that time had passed, she figured her Team Rocket days, and teammates, were long gone. Clearly, she had been very wrong.

The evening had picked up a bit of a chill...she pulled her jacket a bit closer, and continued walking home. When she arrived, she went straight inside, took a hot shower and then went immediately to bed.

-X-

Persian bounded down the streets, he too with emotions sky high. He hung a right at the last intersection in town, headed out toward the forest between Cerulean and Pewter City. A mile or so further, he took off up a long dirt road that snaked it's way up a large hill. At the top of the hill sat a large cabin, overlooking the city and the water. There was a large cat flap door on the side of the house, and he slipped inside.

He was startled to see his best friend asleep on the couch in the living room, instead of in his bed upstairs. The lavender haired human was snoring lightly, still in his daytime clothes, and a book resting on his chest. Persian padded over and nudged the man's hand gently. The man stirred, and slowly sat up.

"Persian...ugh, I must have fallen asleep here on the couch. What time is it?" he asked, rubbing his eyes with the back of his hands.

"Youse dun wanna know, trus me...it's late," Persian said, as he jumped onto the opposite end of the large, cushy couch.

"I guess I'd better get up to my bed to finish out the night...however long that may be," he said, getting ready to stand, despite his unsteadiness from being awoken rather abruptly.

Persian quickly put a paw on his arm and said, "Wait, Jim. I tink I've got sometin youse might want tuh hear." His voice was raised a bit, and it was obvious to James that he had something exciting to share. The man nodded at the cat, through a yawn.

"Go ahead, tell me."

Persian grinned, showing his sharp incisors. "Youse'll neva guess who i'se bumped inta tonite!"

"A big, fat, juicy raticate?"

"Nono youse silly. An ole friend of ours! Can ya guess?" Persian exclaimed, though he turned up his nose at the thought of a raticate. "But really Jim...a raticate?! Those tings are mangy and full uh fleas!"

James chuckled and ruffled the cat's fur on the back of his head. "I'm just kidding. I know how much you hate those. But really, I don't know." He had a fleeting thought that it might have been Jessie, but he quickly pushed it away. There's no chance he could be that lucky.

"Jim...it was Jess. She looked totally different...but it was her. Ise caught her scent outside a club in Cerulean, followed the goil inside, and watched for a bit. At foist ise wasn't sure if it really could be her...but moi Persian senses are much better den when ise was a Meowth...so ise trusted my gut. She was dancin with some udder girls, and den when she started singin, ise jus knew it really was Jessie. Ise followed her after she was done an got her attention. Wese talked fer a minute and she realized who ise was. She didn't seem too happy to see me doe..." his excitement quickly faded as he came to the end of his explanation, his ears flattening back sadly. He hung his head down.

On the other side of the couch, James' voice had caught in his throat. Ok, so maybe he really was that lucky. Or...perhaps not, he thought, after Persian had explained what happened. He had always wondered what would happen if they ever reconnected. Would she hate him for what he had said when they parted ways? His heart hurt for a moment, as he feared the worst. In truth, he had said some pretty nasty things to her. But, she had also been vicious with her words to him as well. All of them had. He wondered if it was something that could ever be remedied.

"Wow."

That was all James could say at the moment. He took a quick minute to gather his thoughts, and Persian kept silent as he observed James' response to the news. The cat could sense that the human's emotions were flying a million different directions. He could sense elation, fear, sadness, and hope...all in one. James then spoke again.

"Well...I guess it's for the best. I am glad to hear that she is doing well, though. That does settle some unease and unanswered questions at least."

Persian smiled a soft smile. Then, the soft smile morphed into a classic Persian grin. "Perhaps. Jim, I tink youse should try and talk to her. Ise dun know if anyting would come from it, but it's woith a try. Hey...we can even put youse in a disguise fer ole times sake! Maybe feel her out and see if youse tink she'd want to talk to her ole pal James! No one knows Jess bedda den youse!"

James got excited for a moment, but then forlornly looked at Persian and said, "Well, I used to know her. Who knows how or what she's like now."

"But it's woith a try at least, doncha tink?" Persian replied in excitement, as he jumped toward James, his big paws landing on the human's chest with a thud.

James coughed out a bunch of air as the paws impacted his chest. Out of breath, he responded..."Fine...I'll try it. With a disguise. Just for you, buddy. But...can you let me sleep and we will discuss the details in the morning?"

Persian nodded, removing his paws from James' chest. "Shoire, Jim. Ise will hafta see when she's woikin next, I don't know where she lives. "
James responded with his own nod, and then rose and headed for the stairs. "Night, Persian. See you in the morning." He went up, changed into boxer shorts and a tank, and crawled into bed. He quickly fell asleep.