(Chapter 2)

When Jessie found James he was in a very in depth conversation with Kate that he didn't even notice she was there. It was Kate that noted Jessie's existence.

"Oh, hi Jessie," Kate said with a smile.

James quickly turned around and gave Jessie a look that seemed to say, "What do you want?"

"Need to talk to you," she said to James and pulled him away into a clearing by his ear.

"Ow… OW!" Kate could hear him scream.

"Stop acting like such a baby," Jessie snapped at him, when they were out of Kate's hearing range, "Now what in the hell is all this?"

"What?" James asked, "Me talking to Kate?"

"We came here to do some good for this town, not for you to fall in love," Jessie reminded him.

"Jessie you knew when we left here for the first time I was into Kate. Now let me go," said James.

"You just want her because she'll be there for your every need," Jessie said trying to think of something to say to make him stay a bit longer.

"What?" he asked confused by her statement.

"You know it's true," replied Jessie, "She'll be like a leach on you."

"Why would you think that?" James asked, getting a little angry at Jessie for assuming such things about Kate.

"That's what every woman you meet does. Just wait until she finds out that you have money," Jessie snapped.

"Jessie, leave it, okay?" James said before walking back off to Kate.

"Traitor!" Jessie yelled after him and stormed off in a huff.

James had heard Jessie call him a traitor, but he didn't pay any mind to it. He kept walking and soon ended up where Kate was waiting for him.

"What was that about?" Kate asked when he approached, "Hero business or something?"

"Yeah," he lied quickly.

"Oh," Kate replied, "Well if you need to go or something, don't let me hold you back."

"I'm not going anywhere anytime soon," he replied.

"Are you saying that you're taking a hiatus?" Kate asked crossing her arms.

"Yeah, you could say that," he said.

"I could kiss you after that," Kate said letting a smile break across her lips.

James said nothing, but smiled back. He really wouldn't have minded the kiss one bit.

He saw Kate uncross her arms and soon felt her hands grip his. She was looking into his eyes. He found that he couldn't say anything. All he could do was stare back and smile.

Before James knew what hit him he felt Kate's lips locking with his. His private wish of Kate really kissing him had come true and had caught him off guard. Instead of freaking out about it, he calmly kissed her back.

From the bushes nearby, Jessie and Meowth were watching. Jessie's eyes were flaring like burning embers.

"Might wanna calm down, Jess," Meowth whispered to her, "Someone might get de idea dat you're jealous."

"I am not jealous," Jessie snapped quickly at Meowth.

"Riiight," he replied not believing her for a second, and then feeling some pain from the hit Jessie had planted on his head, "Ow!"

"Now who's jealous," asked Jessie.

Meowth didn't say anything, he just walked away from her. There was no way he was going to be Jessie's personal punching bag.

"Hey, you get back here," Jessie yelled at him.

Meowth ignored her and kept walking.

"Meowth!" she yelled.

Meowth still kept walking, pretending not to hear her.

"Okay, okay…" Jessie admitted, "You're right! You're right…"

Meowth paused and turned around thinking to himself, "Huh?" He saw Jessie plop down on the ground staring into her own lap.

"Jessie?" he said to her.

When she slowly lifted up her head, Meowth noticed that her blue eyes were staring to water.

"Uh…" he said not knowing what to do. He had never seen Jessie look so down before.

"I guess I mean nothing to him after all," he heard Jessie say softly.

"He's in love with Kate, you know dat," Meowth said walking back over to her.

"He thinks he's in love with her," Jessie corrected him, "He's never mentioned her since we left here the first time…. I mean he came to me and we…."

Jessie broke off her sentence. She hung her head again and started to shake. Meowth even noticed that she was straining to keep her eyes closed around her tears. He was shocked at seeing her like this. He watched as she pulled her knees close to her body and began to finally allow herself to cry. Meowth had no idea what to do, but put a paw on her leg as a sign of comfort.

Jessie put her hand on Meowth's paw and looked up at him, tears still filling her pretty blue eyes. Meowth gave her a weak smile.

"Don't you go and abandon me too," she said to him.

"I won't," Meowth promised her.

Out of nowhere, Jessie picked Meowth up and hugged him close to her chest. Meowth almost panicked but didn't. He understood that Jessie just wanted someone she would be close to at the moment.

Jessie wiped her eyes and they headed back into town. It shocked Jessie that as they approached people began falling over themselves just to talk to her. Men were ogling her and little girls were telling her how much they wanted to be like her when they grew up. Meowth was receiving just as much attention from the children. They were petting him and saying just how cute he was. Jessie couldn't help but smile at how happy he was.

"Hey Meowth," Jessie said to him, "Looks like you finally became top cat somewhere."

"Heh, yeah," Meowth agreed with her.

Jessie flashed him her smile once more and then went back to talking to a farm boy. He was blushing at the attention Jessie was giving to him.

Meowth was reveling in the attention, until Jessie snapped him out of it.

"You realize that we don't have a place to stay, right?" she asked him.

"Now I do," he replied.

"Well, we have the tent," she reminded him.

"Dat's good," he said.

"Heroes don't sleep in a tent, though," she said thoughtfully.

"Yeah," he agreed.

But before they could say anymore even more people started to approach them, including the manager of the local inn. He pushed his way to the front and was panting breathless when he reached Jessie and Meowth.

"Ms. Jessie, we have a place for you and your heroic Meowth at the inn," he said.

"Oh really? Well, we don't want to impose," Jessie replied with a blush.

"It's no problem," the manager insisted.

"Well, thanks," she replied with a grin.

"Come on, I'll show you two to your room," he said smiling back at her, "Wait, where is your other member?"

"Oh, I'm sure he'll find us somehow, now come on," Jessie insisted.

The manager of the inn took Jessie and Meowth to their room. When he opened the door to their room, Jessie felt her jaw drop. It was nothing like she'd ever seen before.

"Well, this is it," the manager said showing them inside the room.

"Nice digs," Jessie forced herself to say, still in awe.

"If you need anything just tell me," said the manager, "I'll leave you to get settled in."

"Thanks," Jessie said watching him leave the room. As soon as the door was closed she quickly turned to Meowth, "We hit it big this time, Meowth!"

"Oh yeah," he replied looking around their enormous suite.

"Two big beds all to ourselves and we don't have to share it with James," she said quite happily.

"Tank god," Meowth exclaimed hopping up on one of the beds.

"You know what? Let's order a bunch of room service and eat ourselves silly," she suggested.

"Alright," he agreed.

Jessie picked up the phone and ordered a ton of food for both her and Meowth. She then called shops in town and ended up getting new clothes, jewelry, and a soft fluffy pillow for Meowth, all complimentary.

As Jessie and Meowth were living the suite life at the inn, James was still in the company of the beautiful Kate. He was holding hands with her and flirting.

"I'm so glad I came back," he admitted to her.

"I am too," Kate agreed.

He smiled at her blushing a tiny bit. After dealing with Jessiebelle and Jessie he had turned a little shy around women.

"I didn't know that heroes blush," Kate said pointing out the obvious.

"I do," James replied.

"That's because you're different," said Kate.

"I am?" James asked.

"Mm hm," she replied.

'Good to know," he said.

"It shows that even though you do heroic things that you're still human," Kate explained to him. She always had a knack for putting a smile on people's faces. And it had worked since James was now smiling at her.

"I see," he said.

"Have you missed me while you were gone?" Kate asked him.

"Very much," James admitted.

"I didn't know I was that memorable, but I'm glad you said that," Kate said with a smile and her cheeks reddening a bit, "There wasn't a day that went by that I didn't stop and think about you, even if it was only for a few seconds. I mostly just wondered how you were doing and where you were. But I did believe that one day you'd find your way back. I felt that if I just kept hoping and praying you'd come back just like you came the first time."

"I did," James said smiling again.

"Would it be too much for me to ask you to stay this time?" she asked him looking completely serious.

"I'll try," he promised.

"Oh James!" Kate exclaimed and threw her arms around him all happy like, forcing a chuckle from him.

He was starting to like the new found attention from Kate, but above all that he was starting to like her a lot….

Kate backed up and smiled at him.

"I really should let you get back to you friends," she said feeling as if she was almost stealing him from them.

"I'm sure they're fine," James insisted.

"Are you sure?" Kate asked.

"Yeah. They're probably enjoying the attention from the town," he replied.

"I see," Kate replied, "I'm such a doof. With all this excitement about your return I hadn't even thought about how tired and hungry you must be."

"Why don't we eat together," James suggested.

"Are you asked me out to dinner?" asked Kate.

"Yes," he replied.

Kate smiled and grabbed his arm.

"Come on, I know a place," she said.

Kate led him out of the forest and back into town. There she took him to the little diner where she had been sitting when she first heard the news that their super heroes had returned.

"This is a nice little place," Kate said walking in with him, "And I'm on really good terms with the owner."

'Sounds good," said James.

"See, look around at the walls. There are pictures of you guys. This town hasn't forgotten all the good you guys did while you were here," Kate said smiling and sitting down in a booth.

James sat down across from her, taking in the surroundings around him. He then noted that a waitress was coming towards them. She approached the table and began to speak with Kate.

"We were wondering where you ran off to," she said to Kate, "You had your father worried sick."

"Ohm well I apologize," said Kate, "Is he still here?"

"Yeah, in the back," the waitress replied.

"This is your father's?" James asked Kate, a little stunned.

"Yeah," she replied, "Told you I was on good terms with the owner."

"Wow," he replied.

"Did Katie also mention she works here?" the waitress asked James.

"Don't call me Katie," he heard Kate mutter at her.

"Did you run out on your job to come see me?" James asked turning back to Kate.

"It was my day off anyway," she replied.

"Oh okay," he replied.

They quickly ordered their dinners and the waitress walked away. James started to look around again. For some reason the surroundings were comforting to him.

"Nice restaurant," he said trying to make conversation with her.

"Thank you," Kate replied. "Daddy decorated it with a sort of homey feel for when trainers come to this town and want to stop in for a bite to eat."

"Good idea," said James.

"Well, he was a big trainer in his day," Kate started to explain about her father, "And then when he got tired of the long journeys he came to this town and since his heart wasn't into farming, he wanted to set up a restaurant. He always said that when he was a trainer all he ever wanted was a home cooked meal, and that's what he's doing for today's generation."

"Oh," said James.

"He's got a really big heart," Kate said with a smile. She always did like to speak highly of her father.

"I see," he replied seeing that she obviously admired her father a great deal.

From out of the backroom approached a man with short brown hair and eyes like Kate's. It was pretty obvious that this man was Kate's father. He came up to the table and his attention fell on her.

"So there you are," he said, "Finally you come back here, Katie."

"Oh hi daddy," she said quickly, "Um, well you see…."

"Yeah I know," he said, "Perfectly understandable. Well, what do we have here? Hero boy, aren't ya? Nice to meet you, name's Bo. I'm Katie's father…"

"Kate, dad," she corrected him.

"Yes, Kate," he replied.

"Hello sir," James said to her father.

"Well, y'all have a nice meal," Bo said looking at his daughter first and then at James, "And if you and your friends need anything to make ya feel right at home, just come on in and I'll take care of ya."

"Thank you," James replied.

"Not a problem," Bo replied back before giving his daughter a smile and walking back towards the back room.

"He seems nice," James said to Kate after her father had left their presence.

"Mm-hm," Kate agreed, "And he seems to like you too."

"So it seems," he replied.

Kate smiled at him from across the table. She ended up resting one of her hands on the table top. James took this as a hint and placed his hand on top of hers and smiled back. He had to admit that this was the first time in a long while that he was actually happy. Jessie and Meowth had always treated him like crap and Kate was just as sweet as sweet could be. He found himself leaning across the table and kissing her. He intended the kiss to be short and sweet, but Kate ended up holding him there and deepening the kiss, letting her lips part turning the kiss into the open mouth kind. James felt his eyes grow a little wider, but he liked the kiss.

He broke it off and sat back with a smile. He watched Kate sitting there smiling as if nothing was wrong. It soon dawned on him that she was quite naïve.

Kate on the other hand felt as if something was coming over her. She was quite young and inexperienced but something in that kiss had opened her eyes to see that maybe she was ready to make a move on him.

Kate didn't have time to act on her move, though, because the food was coming to them. She sighed and sat back in her seat. So much for wanting to plant a very deep kiss on the man across from her.

They sat there eating their meals and making conversation while the other patrons of the restaurant looked on and smiled. It was obvious to them that James and Kate had the new couple look and smell. Some even whispered about how great it was that one of their hometown girls had caught the attention of a hero.

After they had finished eating, they still sat and talked for awhile. Kate was curious to know what it was like being a hero and she would pry all night if she had to getting James to tell her.

"So, you never told me anything about your past," said Kate, "I know that you've been gone with your friends, but that's about it."

"It's a lot to talk about," he replied, trying to get her off the subject yet again.

"We've got time," Kate said with a smile.

"Well," James started, "I work with Jessie and Meowth, and we work for a man who is studying rare and ancient Pokemon. We left when he wanted us to go out into the field for him again. While we're out there we do our best to help the people we come across when they're in need."

"Wow, sounds interesting," said Kate, who was hanging on his every word.

"It can be," he replied.

"So, you just travel around and help people and study Pokemon?" Kate asked.

"Yeah," James replied hating himself for having to lie to her.

"And what do you do when you aren't busy out saving the world?" asked Kate curiously.

"Nothing to tell you the truth," James answered.

"Sounds to me like you're in need of a long overdue vacation," said Kate.

"And I think I'm getting one here," he replied.

"Good," replied Kate.

James smiled at her. He really didn't know what else to say.

"Well, I hope you enjoy it here," she said.

"I think I will," he said to her.

"And how do you know that?" Kate asked.

"Because I'm here with you," he replied, causing Kate to blush.

James smiled at her yet again starting to realize that he didn't want to leave Kate or the town again.

The hours started to go by and suddenly Kate caught a glance at the clock above the counter.

"I hate to have to cut this short, but daddy needs help closing up for the night," said Kate.

"Alright," said James, "I'll see you tomorrow, right?"

"Of course," she replied.

"Good," he said before leaning over and kissing her.

She kissed him back and smiled at him.

"Goodnight Kate," he said as he stood up and headed for the door.

"Goodnight," she said back, watching him walk out of the diner.

As soon as he got out on the street a local man stopped him in the street and told him where he could find his friends. James really didn't want to go back with them, but he felt he had no choice and slowly made his way toward the inn.