Notes: I know, oh my god, I'm updating this story. It's been a while and I definitely apologize to any readers I did have. I've started writing for this again and I can't promise I won't end up on another hiatus, but I do have a few ideas floating around in my head for it, so we'll see how things turn out. I will definitely have another chapter after this one (most of it is already written so I can promise it sometime soon). Thank you thank you thank you to my readers and reviewers from the last three chapters. I hope at least a few of you will get to read this one.

"Are you sure Jessiebelle won't mind me wearing this?" Jessie asked Wanda, looking at the dress nervously. They were in a different bedroom, another which looked as though it hadn't been used by anyone in quite some time. Wanda had searched through the closet for something for Jessie to wear, and had finally pulled out a dress for her. The last thing Jessie wanted to do now was make Jessiebelle hate her even more by wearing her clothes without her permission.

Wanda waved her hand. "She won't even know it's gone."

"Won't she recognize it if she sees me wearing it?"

"I doubt it. Lady Jessiebelle has a lot of clothes, and this she hasn't worn in years, which is why it's in here instead of the master bedroom. She probably doesn't even remember owning it." Wanda was still searching through the closet, looking for a pair of shoes and anything else she thought Jessie might need.

"Well… okay," Jessie said, hoping Wanda was right. The dress was a pretty dark blue colour that fell to about knee height. It was more of a casual summer dress, but Jessie wasn't going to complain. Wanda must have noticed the look on her face.

"Don't worry. If you have to go anywhere we'll find you some warmer clothes. We don't want you freezing like last time, right?" Jessie nodded. James must have told Wanda already about how she had shown up on their doorstep. Wanda finally pulled a matching pair of flats from the closet and set them on the floor, then smiled at Jessie. "I remember you, you know," she said suddenly.

Jessie looked at her. "You do?"

Wanda nodded. "I've been working for this family for years. Since James was a little boy, actually. I missed him terribly when he ran away, but I understood his reasoning." Wanda lowered her voice. "His parents were rather pushy with him, as you probably know. We never quite knew what had happened to him until that day he showed up again, with you."

Jessie listened. She didn't remember ever seeing this woman, but she had to admit that back then she hadn't paid much attention to anything besides the fact that James's parents were rolling in riches.

"I have to say I didn't much approve of this Team Rocket he was running around with, but I suppose it was a job and he probably didn't have much choice back then. Besides, that was where he met you. I knew as soon as I saw you two together, along with that strange talking Meowth, that he would be fine."

Jessie smiled. "Were you surprised when he came back, all those years later?"

Wanda's smile faded. "I was. I was happy to see him again, but I knew something had happened. He was never really the same when he came back. He accepted everything his parents told him to do – his marriage, taking over the business, his inheritance – and he never tried to leave again. Not the same boy I knew from before, who would have put up quite a fight."

Jessie's smile had faded now. "It was my fault," she said quietly. Wanda raised an eyebrow at her, and Jessie sunk down onto the end of the empty bed. "I left him alone to pursue my own goals, without him and Meowth. It was after a fight we had, a stupid fight for a stupid reason that I don't even remember now. I regretted it after about half a day on my own, and I went back and tried to find him, but he was gone and I had no way to contact him again. I've felt guilty every day of my life since then. I'm surprised he doesn't hate me."

Wanda sat down beside her and rested a hand on her shoulder. "James isn't like that. He may not admit it to anyone, but he has missed you terribly. You've only been here a day so far and already his mood has improved greatly. I'm sure there are some things between you two that you'll need to talk about, if only so you can both heal. Catch up, spend some time together, and things will work themselves out." Wanda stood up. "Now, you can go wash up in the bathroom. I know Master James told me to go home for the day, but I'd really rather stay, so if you need anything you just let me know."

Jessie stood up. "Thank you, Wanda, I will."

"You're welcome, Miss Jessie."

…

Jessie made her way back to her guest bedroom on her own. It was only down the hall from the room she was in now. When she reached it she grabbed the door handle to the bedroom and swung it open. There was a loud yell from inside and Jessie slammed the door shut again. "I'm so sorry! I didn't know someone was in there!"

When there was no answer to her apology she tried the door handle again, slowly opening it this time. She almost fell backwards when the door was pushed into her and something ran out into the hallway, waving its arms at her. Jessie blinked and turned around to face it. She couldn't help the grin that spread across her face.

"Mr. Mime?"

The Mr. Mime stopped waving his arms and stared long and hard at her, which made her slightly uncomfortable. Jessie tilted her head at him, and noticed when he mimicked her. She tried tilting her head the other way, and the Mr. Mime did the same. There was no doubt about it; this Mr. Mime was the same Mime Jr. that James had had while they were travelling together.

"Long time no see," Jessie said to the Pokemon. The Mr. Mime smiled largely at her, finally recognizing her, and he ran back into the room and jumped onto the bed to bounce around. A laugh escaped Jessie's lips and she put her dress and shoes down on the bed, then grabbed the Mr. Mime by the hand, guiding him off of the bed. "Come on, we don't want you to get hurt. Were you in here jumping on the bed by yourself?"

The Mr. Mime nodded quickly at her, running back out into the hallway. He waved at her and then happily pulled himself along on an invisible rope until it was down the stairs and out of sight. She watched him go, her eyebrows raised, then shrugged to herself. It was good to know that James had gone back to retrieve his Pokemon from Team Rocket headquarters before he came back home. She shut her bedroom door and locked it, and then went into the bathroom and ran the water for the tub. She found some bubble bath on a shelf and poured some of that into the water too.

When the large tub was finally filled, she stepped into it and sank down until the water came up to her chin. She sighed and leaned back against the porcelain. The heat from the water relaxed her and the bubble bath had turned out to be lavender scented. She lost track of time as she laid there, eyes closed. When she noticed the water starting to cool off, she sat up and spent the rest of the time scrubbing herself and washing her hair. When she was finished the water was almost cold, and she stood up, grabbed a towel from the rack and wrapped it around herself, and then grabbed a smaller one and wrapped her hair in it. She stepped out onto the mat and dried herself off, then made her way back into her bedroom.

The dress was on the bed where she had left it, and she slipped into it. It fit her nicely, though she wished she could fill it out a bit more. Jessiebelle was obviously more well-endowed than she was, and Jessie was also skinnier than ever, finding it harder and harder to afford food recently. When she was dressed she made her way over to the vanity, where all manner of hair products sat neatly lined up. She opened the drawers, looking for a hair dryer. When she finally found one she plugged it into the wall and unwrapped her hair from its towel, then spent a few minutes drying it.

Her hair was shorter now, so it didn't take too long to dry. She couldn't afford to maintain her long hair anymore, let alone the hair style she had loved so much, so she had made the difficult decision to cut it off. She had done that a few months ago, and it was growing back in, already down to her shoulders again. She finally decided on simply braiding it at the back of her head instead of leaving it down, and when she was finished she was actually happy with her appearance in the mirror.

She jumped when there was a knock on her door, but she stood up to answer it all the same. Wanda was on the other side of it. "Are you alright, dear? You were in there for quite a while."

"I'm fine; I was just enjoying it, that's all."

Wanda smiled at her. "I'm glad. You look lovely."

"Thank you," Jessie said, trying not to blush.

Wanda motioned for Jessie to follow her. "Master James isn't home yet, but he will be soon. I figured I'd give you a tour of the rest of the mansion for now, since you'll be staying with us for some time. You might as well know where everything is!"

Notes: Couldn't resist adding in Mr. Mime. There will be more Pokemon showing up eventually, though none of them really have anything to do with the story. I just enjoy adding them in.

Thank you in advance to any readers/reviewers!