Here's another installment. I'm really getting into the characters. Another shout out to my darling Zeke for his care and support (and that I'm going to crush him next time we play cards...). Also a shout out to my little brother, Jed, who seemed enthusiastic about my story ideas, which means a lot to me!
Cassidy gasped as she exited headquarters, letting the cool air sting her lungs. She knew she was safe for the time being, but knew she needed to leave the area soon. Killing Giovanni had not devastated her, like she often thought murdering another human being would, but it brought panic, as Cassidy knew further blood would probably spill before all was resolved. Pulling off her white jacket and turning it inside out so the tell-tale red R would be hidden, she made the journey back to her apartment with unsteady legs. She needed to talk to Jessie, James, and Butch soon, but right now her body screamed for rest.
Butch looked in the cracked mirror at himself. "There's no way I'm going to be able to check into any hotel," he said with a sigh. Although he had washed most of the blood off his neck and wrists, he couldn't hide the crimson stains covering the upper part of his yellow polo. Even after scrubbing out the clotted pieces, the shirt still looked horrible, and Butch knew he actually didn't look much better. This led Butch to a conclusion; he had to return to either his or Cassidy's apartment for the night. Although he had no clue where Cassidy would be, he knew that Jessie would probably be in their apartment, and Butch desperately wished to find someone to pick shards of glass out of his arm that his fingernails failed to dig out. Hoping he wasn't making a bad decision, he began to limp toward Cassidy and Jessie's apartment building.
James couldn't sleep. Even worse than that, he couldn't move. Jessie's arm was draped over his chest, and he didn't want to take the chance of waking her up. Before Jessie had become too intoxicated for conversation, she had spilled most of her knowledge concerning recent events. Apparently, she had received notice that both he and Meowth were dead. It was funny to think of the possibility he might be dead, even if he knew it was completely preposterous. Since Jessie had not read the article on James after reading the one about Meowth, James had wondered if she was reading a blurb from his father's obituary. His father was his namesake, after all. That situation paled in comparison as to why Cassidy would dress up like Jessie and try to seduce him. According to Jessie, the two unlikely roommates had gotten along well enough in their time together, so James failed to understand why Cassidy would feel the need to do such a thing. He feared the reasons ran all the way back to Team Rocket, and he shivered. He did not want to be involved with those creeps again.
"Butch!" Cassidy cried out. She saw him leaning against a tree and ran to his side. She was filled with joy that he was alive, but worried about the extent of his injuries.
Butch hated looking so pathetic. He had tried to make it to Cassidy's apartment, but the constant throbbing in his head had messed up his balance enough that with each step, it had become harder and harder to stand upright, until his body had collapsed on the cold pavement. Butch had since drug himself to a nearby tree and attempted to calm the violent pains in his skull. "What happened, Cass? How bad is it all?"
Cassidy wrapped her arms around the man she loved and flashed him a smile. "We're alright for the short term. Giovanni won't be bothering us anymore. I don't think we'll be able to stay in Viridian very much longer, though," she finished. Judging that it was going to be quite an effort to get Butch anywhere, she added, "I know I have more medical equipment at my apartment, but yours is much closer. Let's focus on getting you there and I'll see what I can do about taking care of you."
Butch gave her a grateful smile before wrapping his arm around her shoulder so she could help him get up.
Domino had heard the gunshot. At the time, however, she simply thought it was Jessie getting what should have come to her years ago. She had smiled at the time, proud of Giovanni for finally getting rid of her, even if she was his daughter. It wasn't until she had returned to the lab that she realized something was wrong. Her prisoner was gone. Remembering the gunshot, she ran full force back to Giovanni's office, her hands flying over the input pad to type in the correct number code to get in. As the sickening sweet smell of blood engulfed her nostrils, she noticed she couldn't see a body. Walking farther into the room, however, she saw blood splattered on the leather chair behind the desk. A few more steps brought Giovanni's body into view. "That bitch!" Domino explained while futilely checking for a pulse on the corpse. Knowing that Giovanni had probably died instantaneously, she reached for the blood-splattered gun and removed his still warm hand from it. Wrapping her own hand around it and letting the sticky handle rest in her palm, she lowered her right finger tenderly over the trigger. "I'll find you, you two timing whore. And all your little buddies, too." She began to search the premises for her targets.
It was a struggle to get Butch back to the apartment, and Cassidy wondered if she would be better off calling an ambulance and getting him some proper medical treatment, but she knew risks were something she couldn't afford to play with. After preparing a warm bath for her partner, she had run to a convenience store and picked up tweezers, gauze, and rubbing alcohol. After Butch had scrubbed the offending dirt and blood from his body, Cassidy attempted to remove glass shards from his arm. He winced with every prick from the tweezers, but didn't dare speak out. He was happy to be alive and with the woman he loved more than anything else.
Cassidy noticed Butch was asleep before she had finished wrapping the cuts on his wrist. She knew sleep could be dangerous with a concussion, but she also knew Butch's body was so exhausted there was no way of avoiding it. Making her way to the living room, she tried to call her own apartment. It was horribly late, but she needed to talk to Jessie as soon as she could. Once the answering machine clicked on, Cassidy hung up. Jessie wasn't at the apartment? That was strange. She knew Jessie had a few friends around town, but she had never heard of Jessie mentioning spending the night with any of them. Too tired to care, Cassidy grabbed the spare set of clothes she kept at the apartment, and went to take a shower.
Jessie grunted and moved her hands to her head. 'Must have a headache,' James mused to himself. Taking the opportunity while her arms weren't on him, he slipped out from under the covers as quietly as he could and dug through one of his suitcases to see if he had had the foresight to bring any sort of pain reliever. Finding a small bottle of ibuprofen, he poured two out into his hand. He then went to grab a bottle of water from the fridge before returning to Jessie's side. "Jess," he said quietly, placing his hand on her shoulder.
Jessie slowly opened her eyes. She knew she was in James's apartment, and knew she had a hangover. Her childhood and teen years in Team Rocket had always taught her to assess a situation before jumping into anything. "Hmm," she mumbled, still holding her hands to her temples.
"Why don't you try taking something for your headache, Jess," James said with his eyes full of compassion. "I hate waking you up, but you looked like you were in pain." He sat her up against a pillow and handed her the pills and bottle of water. "You should probably try drinking all of that to help with dehydration," he added.
"Mmhmm," she mumbled in agreement, she swallowed the pills and sipped at the water. She sat the rest of the way up and looked at James. "Thank you," she said. Realizing that she probably wasn't going to be able to get back to sleep, she turned to look James in the eyes. "I don't think I asked you anything about how you've been in the past two years. I see you still have Growlie." James smiled and sat cross-legged on the bed beside his former partner. It didn't take long for him to give a brief description of what he had been doing the past two years, and Jessie listened intently.
"Wow," Jessie began. "I really don't know what to say. Your parents never really did change. I always thought that they would really see how great of a person you were at some point."
James didn't know what to say to the compliment Jessie had paid him and settled on a mumbled, "It's alright." Once again, he was at a point where he could turn into a total sap and say something like 'the past doesn't matter know that I'm with someone I care about.' He laughed inwardly at the thought of admitting something like that to Jessie. Instead he tugged a loose string on the hem of his sleep pants. "Does your head feel any better?"
"A little," Jessie answered. "I'm really grateful for the water right now, though. That seems to be helping some." She finished up the last of the bottle and gave a sheepish grin, "Do you think I could have another?"
"Of course," James said jumping up to return to the kitchen. He tiptoed through the living room, trying not to wake Growlie, and grabbed another bottle from the fridge. Thinking they might be up a while, he also grabbed a box of donuts and a second water for himself.
"What is this, a slumber party?" Jessie said with a small laugh when James returned.
"Well..why not?" James responded with a grin. "I'm sure we still have much more to catch up on, and it looks like neither of us will be sleeping soon."
Cassidy stepped out from the shower, glad she was finally finished. It seemed like it had taken forever for the water and shampoo to run clear from her scalp, as the red dye released its grasp from her hair. After four rinses with her clarifying shampoo, the water finally ran clear, and that was good enough for the exhausted Cassidy. Carelessly throwing on her bedclothes, she examined her hair in the mirror. It definitely wasn't red anymore, but it looked like her gold locks weren't there either. "Hmm. Strawberry blonde can't be that bad," she mused while combing out the tangles in her hair before heading to sleep.
Since I left the last chapter fairly dramatic, I decided I'd let this one be a little more laid back. It's the calm before the storm, perhaps?