Fated
Summary: Jessie finds herself in exile, forced into captivity with a mysterious stranger. With nowhere to go and seemingly no hope of escape, they share the stories behind their miserable fates. Hers is filled with questions. His is filled with answers.
Chapter 28: On the Road Again
Little boy, 6 years old
A little too used to bein' alone.
Another new mom and dad,another school,
Another house that'll never be home.
Young mom on her own.
She needs a little help, got nowhere to go.
She's lookin' for a job, lookin' for a way out,
Because a half-way house will never be a home.
At night she whispers,
"Someday we'll find our place here in this world."
This is our temporary home
It's not where I belong.
Windows and rooms that we're passin' through.
This is just a stop, on the way to where we're going.
I'm not afraid because I know this is our
Temporary Home.
...Carrie Underwood - Temporary Home
Jessie woke early, listening as Jack snored softly on the other side of the room. In the faint morning glow, she could make out Jack's precious picture of Miya sitting on his nightstand. It was proof that at one point in time, she had had a mother and that she was loved.
"Mom, what happened to you?" Jessie wondered, staring at the smiling woman in the photograph. Jessie's father had been exiled by his brother…had her mother been exiled too? Or had she been killed by Jack's mother? Either option was possible, give what she had learned the previous day.
"You should have been there…for all of it…" Jessie sighed before her eyes closed once more. She had a strange dream. She was standing in the doorway of a small shack, watching as two figures trudged through the snow. One turned back to look at her. He was unshaven, with messy red hair. His face glistened with moisture as tears fell from his blue eyes as he retreated into white fog.
Jack opened his eyes a little later, only to see the photograph on his bedside table. His breath caught in his throat as his eyes feasted on the love of his life as she laughed and kissed their beautiful daughter. He tore his eyes away as he sat up. Then he looked over at the girl laying in the corner. There was something about Jessilina that he found familiar. She reminded him of Miya in so many ways. Perhaps that was why he was so willing to share the story of his greatest downfall.
But why did the story affect her so? That was a question he had been pondering for a while now. Was it possible that his brother…no, surely not! And yet…
Jessie fluttered her eyelashes open and found Jack staring at her.
"Morning, Jack," she said, "Sleep well?"
He nodded, though in truth, his sleep had been fitful at best. The photograph held his gaze once more, and with a sigh, he picked it up and returned it to the box of keepsakes he had revealed the previous night. They were a cruel torture. Giovanni knew those mementoes affected Jack like a knife to the heart.
"So I see you were right about the blizzard," Jessie said, gesturing to the window.
"Yeah. I'll be lucky if I can get the door open after this one," Jack replied, moving to retrieve some coffee from the pot by the stove. He filled two mugs and handed one to Jessie, "Merry Christmas."
"Christmas? It's Christmas?" Jessie questioned, frowning.
"The twenty-third," Jack confirmed, "Time all kind of jumbles together up here."
"I'll say. I was hoping to be home for Christmas," Jessie admitted sadly.
"I know that feeling," Jack sighed, "Wasn't it getting close to Christmas time in your story…you know, the one where you were going into labour?"
Jessie smirked as she took a sip from the steaming mug, "Actually…"
I was laying on the bed in Dr. Plant's clinic, waiting impatiently while an ancient-looking machine beside me beeped slowly and regularly. James was beside me, sitting in a chair bouncing his legs nervously, his feet rapidly tapping on the tile floor. I hadn't felt anything in a while, but what did I know about labour?
"What's taking so long?" James asked after a moment, running his hands through his hair and standing to pace the floor.
"If you start that, I am going to get angry," I warned him.
"Something could be wrong and we're waiting on some old doctor-OW!" he yelped, rubbing the spot on his head where I had just smacked him.
"Sit down, shut up, and don't make me do that again!" I snapped. Seeing him so uptight made me uptight, which I was sure was not a good thing. Still rubbing his head, he sat and looked sufficiently chastised. Maybe I would be good at this mom thing after all.
We waited in silence and a few moments later Dr. Plant entered the room. Plant was an old doctor, even older than Professor Oak. He was the only people doctor in the small town. He even delivered the twerp. He said nothing when he entered, just walked over to the machine and studied it for a moment or two.
"You are not in labour, Mrs. Logan," Plant announced, "What you experienced was Braxton-Hicks contractions. They're your body's way of preparing itself for the birth. Nothing to worry about."
I seriously doubted that. Why else would a spasm of fear shoot through me at his words?
"Are you sure?" James squeaked from his chair.
"Positive," Plant said, sitting down on the roller chair, "The birth will likely not come about for another couple of weeks. If you should start feeling regular contractions, then we should begin to prepare. While we are on that subject, let's talk preparations," Plant said, jotting down something on a piece of paper, "I think it would be wise for you to deliver in a larger center."
"But Mrs. Ketchum said-"
"That I have no problem delivering here, yes," Plant cut across James impatiently, "but multiples are a different matter. I ask all of my multiple birth parents to deliver in Viridian Hospital. They have a wonderful facility. The gym leader in Viridian is quite generous with-"
"No," I said quickly, panicked. The doctor looked at me, his bushy eyebrows scrunched together.
"It would be safer for your babies," he said to me, his piercing ice-blue eyes boring into mine, "Viridian City will be the best choice."
I couldn't think straight or form words. The thought of going to Viridian and risking running into the man who had tried to have us killed terrified me.
"We'll think on it," James came to my rescue. Plant frowned.
"I assure you, Viridian's obstetrics ward is one of the best in Kanto."
"We like to keep our options open," James said.
"Quite," Plant said, making a note on his clipboard. I surveyed the doctor and suddenly felt very uneasy.
"Giovanni donated to the hospital?" Jack asked, frowning, "Somehow I don't see him parting with his money."
"Who knows?" Jessie shrugged, "I just knew that I wasn't going anywhere near Viridian."
"I don't like this," James announced as we walked back to Delia's house, "We won't go to Viridian, Jess. I promise."
"So what do we do?" I asked, wrapping my arms around my stomach as we walked side by side.
"I don't know," he admitted, then let out a shaky laugh, "I mean, we'll go back to Delia's and get you off your feet and then we'll figure it all out."
I stopped a walking and stared at James who had jerked to a halt. Suddenly I had trouble breathing.
"Jess?"
"Don't," I told him, glaring, "Don't do that."
"Do what?" he asked, dumbfounded.
"This!" I cried, "Don't go all psycho, crazy mother-hen dad on me! I'm pregnant, not dying!" I shouted, frustrated as I stared at James, fluffy white flakes falling around us.
"Jessie, you and the babies-"
"Seriously! James, stop! I know all about me and the babies, okay? I know that they're inside me. I feel them all the time. I know that they will be here soon. I heard the doctor. And I know that there's about a million things that could go wrong. Preeclampsia, fetal injury, umbilical cord problems…I know all about it! I read those goddamn books!"
"Jessie-"
"And it scares the hell out of me!" I admitted, feeling warm tears spill from my eyes. Stupid hormones.
"I don't want any of that bad stuff to happen, but I'm so scared that it will! I'm terrified that something will take you, or them, from me. I'm scared of Viridian City! And I'm scared of what'd going to happen in a couple weeks. I don't know if I can…and…"
"Jess-" James stepped towards me, but I had found my second wind.
"And you freaking and worrying about every little thing just makes me worry!" I told him, "I need you to be there for me; not smothering me!"
I wiped away the tears only to see the look of hurt on James's face. I immediately felt bad.
"I'm sorry," he murmured. The low, sad tone of his voice just shattered me and I flung my arms around him and started bawling. I felt him hold me tighter as I cried and that just ate at me more. He was so damn good to me and I was such a bitch to him. I took a minute or two to calm myself down and regain what little composure I had left. I looked up into those beautiful eyes of his, bright and shinning as he gently brushed away my tears with his thumb. I wanted my babies to have his eyes.
"James, I'm so sorry," I breathed, "Don't ever stop caring James. You're the first one who did and I don't want to screw it up."
"You never could, Jess," James whispered back.
"But I'm so unreasonable and bitchy and-"
"You're allowed to be," he said gently, "You're carrying my children. I can take it."
"How? How can you just take it and stay with me?"
"Because I know that underneath all the toughness and the temper, there's a beautiful, smart, caring woman that I want to spend the rest of my life with. I decided a long time ago that I would love you forever, Jessie. Through the good, the bad, and the ugly. I'm never going to stop," he declared, "Now what can I do for you?" he asked.
"Tell me it will be okay?" I requested.
"It will be," James assured me, taking my hand as we walked together towards Delia's, "We'll stay out of Viridian and it will all be okay."
"I did read the books, you know," I whispered, biting my lower lip.
"I know," James sighed, "You're as freaked as I am."
The books were freaky. They made me think about things that I could not put off any longer. Aside from the labour itself, there were the complications. And then what were we going to have to put the babies somewhere afterwards. We had a car and Delia`s guest room. Seriously, who in the world decided that the two of us should be parents?
"Seriously, what are we going to do?" I asked, "James, what if something goes wrong? What if I can't…do it? What about after? And-"
"We need to get our stuff together," James said, "We have to figure out a plan and find a way not to drive each other crazy."
"I'll be better," I declared, "I'll try not to fly of the edge."
He chuckled as we walked up the front step, "I won't hold you to that, Sweetie."
I scoffed at him as we walked through the door. Immediately, there was an onslaught of people gathered around us.
"Is everything alright?"
"What did the doctor say?"
"Come on, sit down!"
"When's da buns comin' out of da oven?"
"Give us some air, here," James chuckled, "According to Plant, everything's fine. It was Braxton-Hicks," he explained.
"I remember those," Delia sighed as she gently rubbed my arm, "I'm just glad it wasn't something else. You've already been through so much."
"So it's nothing to worry about?" Misty asked.
"No, it's just practice contractions," Dr. Olivia explained.
"She's so smart," Brock gushed, grabbing her around the middle and kissing her neck, causing the blond doctor to giggle in his arms.
"So no rugrats yet?" Meowth asked, hopping up onto James's shoulder.
"No," I replied, rubbing a spot on my stomach where one of the twins was moving, "but it should be in a couple weeks, and if Plant has his way, it will be in Viridian City," I revealed, shooting a meaningful look at Delia. Understanding dawned on her face, but before she could say a word, her darling son beat her to it.
"Scared of running into the cops?" Ash shot at us, "Scared of owning up-"
"Hey, I warned you Little Boy-"
"Get out of my-"
"Get off your high-horse, Twerp-"
"Make me-"
"Ash Ketchum!" Delia scolded, "How on earth could you be like that?"
"Mom, they're criminals!"
"Ash, Jessie and James have helped us out in the past," Misty said, "They've-"
"Don't say they've reformed! They were thieves-"
"I knew some thieves," Delia said slowly, causing her son to stop short, "and they were the best friends I ever had. Had it not been for two of those friends, you would not have been born, Mr. Ketchum."
"Mom…"
"You were early and there were so many complications. Had my friends not been there to take me to Viridian, both of us would have died. They had made some questionable decisions in their lives, but they were there for me when I needed them. They aren't so different from Jessie and James."
"But how…" the twerp looked like he was going through his own mini-crisis as he mulled over his mother's words. His entire worldview was challenged…by his own mother, no less.
"Ash, Sweetie, please put aside your grudges against Jessie and James. People grow and change and it is important that we forgive, despite their pasts. Can't we just enjoy a lovely Christmas with all of our good friends?" Delia beseeched him. He said nothing, just nodded while staring at the floor.
"So what's so bad about Viridian City?" Olivia asked, clueless as she looked around the room.
"Er…" James faltered.
"Um…"
"Just issues," Meowth explained, "So whatta we goin' to do?"
"I don't know. We might have to be on the move again," I answered, biting my lip as I sat on the sofa. Teddy sat next to me and looked very interested in the adult talk. I didn't have the heart to send him out of the room.
"The thing is that we are going to need a hospital. I do agree with Plant that if anything goes wrong, we'll need the assistance," James said.
"I don't trust Plant," I announced.
"He is a little strange, but he is a very knowledgeable doctor," Delia said.
"But-"
"You could come to Pewter City with us," Olivia chimed in. That stopped me cold in my tracks. Go to Pewter City with the perpetually perky blond and the squinty, lovesick bozo making goo-goo-eyes at her? I think I'd take my chances with Plant in Viridian.
"'Livia?" Brock questioned curiously.
"Oh, Brock, I know you wanted to tell your parents first, but oh, I'm just so excited! Can't we tell them?" she pleaded.
"Tell us what?" Misty and Ash asked together, looking at their friend.
"Well, Olivia and I…we're engaged," Brock announced sheepishly.
"He asked me last night! We were going to take a trip to Pewter to tell his parents," Olivia gushed, snuggling against Brock's chest.
"Congratualtions!" everybody chorused. Meowth was snickering.
"Looks like I won da bet. Remember, Jess, when we were in da Sinnoh hospital?" he whispered. I shook my head. He'd never let me live that one down. The times when he was actually right about something were few and far between.
"So when's the date?" Delia asked kindly.
"We don't want to wait too long," Olivia said, "I just want to do it as soon as possible."
"We were thinking of maybe January 2nd. A new year to start our new life," Brock explained, making goo-goo eyes at his fiancé. It was too mushy, even for me.
"But that's just a couple weeks away," Misty observed.
"Oh I know and there's so much to do," Olivia sighed, "but I just couldn't bear to wait any longer. We're going to Pewter City tomorrow. Oh, I just can't wait to meet his family!"
"And Olivia is right," Brock said, turning to us, "If you need a place to stay, you're more than welcome to come. My parents have an unused apartment over the gym you could use and Pewter has a great hospital. All my brothers and sisters were delivered there."
"It sounds great," James said. Say what?
"So do you want to come?" Brock asked.
Apparently mine and James's usual telepathy had taken a break. It seemed we were headed to Pewter City.
"Is this Olivia still alive?" Jack asked curiously.
"Yeah, why?"
"Well, obviously you survived your stint in Pewter," he said, smiling over his mug.
"Barely," Jessie deadpanned melodramatically.
The next day was an exercise in my patience. James, Teddy, Brock, Olivia, Meowth, and I crammed into our vehicle and made the drive to Pewter City. Good thing James had got a vehicle with extra seating and that he had Growlie's pokeball. I sat in the front seat, glaring at James every time I caught the pair making out in the rear-view mirror. Teddy sat as far away from them as he could, silent as he stared out the window.
"Can we stop for a moment?" Olivia asked as we drove through Viridian, "I want to get Brock's parents a little something."
"Liv, you don't need to-"
"I want them to like me, Brockie," Olivia cooed back.
"Can't we wait?" James asked, "Viridian-"
"Oh, James just stop the damn car!" I snapped. I needed some air.
"Yes, dear," James muttered, easing towards a small shop on eighteenth avenue, one that we knew had little Rocket presence.
"Eighteenth and what?" Jack suddenly asked.
"Tenth street," Jessie replied, "Why?"
"Is there still an old apartment building on the corner?"
"Yeah. It looks pretty sketchy, but..." she trailed off, seeing the look on his face. One of misery.
"It was Miya's building," he said quietly, "I pretty much lived there."
"Wow," Jessie breathed, suddenly feeling strange. She had unknowingly wandered along her old street where she had lived with her mother. Had it changed much in the twenty or so years?
The street was one of the older ones in Viridian. Little shops were dotted along the streets and the lone apartment building stood tall if a little worse for wear. James and I wandered to a small park with Teddy and Meowth while we waited for 'Liv' and 'Brockie'.
"Greenery Park," Jack said, "Jessie used to love watching the Goldeen play in the stream."
Jessie felt another pang of longing for a place she couldn't remember.
It was snow-covered, but the paths had been plowed away, allowing us to walk with ease. There was a bridge, but the stream under it was frozen. I expected that once we let Growlie out of his pokeball, Teddy would liven up, but he simply walked slowly ahead of us, even as Growlie yipped beside him. James hovered next to me, but he was checking his behaviour. I smirked, knowing that my chat with him had done a lot of good. Paranoid though he was, he gave in to any demand I gave him without question.
"What's up with your brother?" I asked as we walked together.
"He has been a little off, huh?" James agreed.
"I think..."
"Jess?" James asked, concern creeping into his voice. He followed my gaze, where I saw the devil himself sitting at a bench under a pine tree. We froze. Giovanni was less than twenty feet away. Next to him sat a beautiful woman with deep auburn hair and red eyes.
"Thank you for meeting me," Giovanni said to the woman.
"I still fail to understand why all the secrecy, Van," the woman said.
"We need to do some restructuring and I could think of no one better than you, Ari. You've been by my side since the beginning."
"Restructuring?" the woman called Ari snorted, "You mean after that whole fiasco involving Jessie and James and Butch and Cassidy?"
"I admit I was wrong in assuming that I could simply let them be. I thought it was enough to have them in the organization," Giovanni said.
"It is still salvageable, you know," Ari said softly, and at his disbelieving look, she continued, "Jessie and James will resurface. They never were that smart. You'll have another chance. As for Cassidy and Butch, you still have an opportunity there. Let them live and Team Rocket will continue to grow...for generations more."
"They broke my rules," Giovanni growled. Ari laughed.
"They were archaic rules anyways, Van. Very reminiscent of a certain Madam Boss."
Giovanni's eyes flashed dangerously, "I can't have a bunch of brats to feed. It's bad enough I have to support the agents I have."
"Van, you're failing to see the bigger picture. Your brother had the right idea...raising Rockets."
"My brother-"
"Oh don't even go there!" Ari groaned, "All I'm saying is that you can either make this a bigger deal than it needs to be and go on exterminating anything that pisses on your parade or you can welcome a new chapter of Rocket history, one to restore the glory and unity to the organization."
Giovanni let out a long sigh, "Do not think that I will be swayed by your flowery words."
Ari smirked widely, "Speaking of flowers, Van, I have heard an interesting factoid of information revolving around Laurel Domenica."
"Just rumours!" Giovanni spat, grinding his teeth together.
"Hardly," she snorted, "Sweet little Laurel came to me just the other day, asking for advice. Never thought I'd see that girl looking fearful of anything, nonno."
"Enough, Ariana!" Giovanni hissed, balling his fists together.
"Tell me, Giovanni, what are you going to do to her? Kill her? Imprison her? I don't think you would have to worry too much about the young man involved. Most of the Rocket boys know she's like a praying mantis, disposing of the unsuspecting male after-"
"We're done here," Giovanni snapped, getting to his feet and storming away. Ariana just laughed. Apparently, she was one of the few safe from Giovanni's wrath.
"Ariana Georgia," Jack said, "She was friends with him back in their school days. Joined Team Rocket because of him. Her and a bunch of others."
"It was a pretty veiled conversation," Jessie replied, "James and I didn't really take much out of it at the time, but they did talk about you mother and you, didn't they?"
"They did," Jack confirmed, "Rocket Daycare and raising Rockets. If I didn't know any better, I'd say Ariana was trying to convince him to open his own special 'child-care'. It seems your friends Butch and Cassidy were the idea that spearheaded her campaign."
"So he did knock her up," Jessie breathed. Jack rolled his eyes.
"Possibly," he allowed.
"And who was that Laurel Domenica?" Jessie asked, the name foreign to her.
"No idea," Jack replied, "but from the sounds of it...well...nonno," he smirked and shook his head.
"What does that mean?"
"It means that my dear brother has at least one other heir besides Silver. And apparently she's like a praying mantis in bed," Jack smirked some more, "Wonder how big brother reacted to that one."
"And..."
"And please continue," Jack ordered, still silently laughing at his brother while Jessie looked on in confusion.
James and I grabbed Teddy and Growlie and pulled them back to the car. Meowth was on James's shoulder, uneasily staring in the direction the Boss had gone.
"What's going on?" Teddy asked, folding his arms over his chest as he looked at us from the backseat.
"That was a very bad man," I told him, "From Team Rocket."
I could have never predicted what happened next. The sweet, quiet little boy exploded.
"I hate Team Rocket! I hate them! They made us leave Silver Shoal and then they made us leave Pallet Town! I hate them!"
"Easy dere, kid-"
"I wanted to stay in Pallet Town! I didn't want to go!" Teddy yelled, tears leaking from his eyes.
"Teddy, why didn't you tell us?" James asked.
"'Cause you were scared of them! We're all scared of them!" he cried.
"Ted, you should have told us. We could have found another way," I tried, awkwardly reaching back to him.
"It doesn't matter," Teddy whispered, curling up and ignoring my reaching hand as more tears fell. I looked at James and gestured for him to get out of the car. He did and I followed.
"I didn't know," James said, incredulous.
"He's right," I replied, "I know exactly how he feels. It seems we just get settled and then we're forced to leave."
"What are we supposed to do?" James asked, sounding as helpless as me.
"I don't know, but this has got to stop. We need a permanent place, especially once the babies get here," I said.
"You don't think Pewter will be that place?" James questioned. I shook my head.
"It's going to be the place where we have our babies, but after, we need a place to lie low so we can figure out where the hell we're going."
"We could go to Nanny and Pop-Pop's after. They'd have some ideas," James suggested.
"It's a start," I agreed, "It's a start."
Then instead of hopping in the passenger's seat, I opted for the back to sit beside Teddy, even if he shrugged me off. Then we waited for Brock and Olivia to return. James had Olivia take the front so she wouldn't bother me. Then we continued onward to Pewter City, another temporary home.
"And then we were on the road again," Jessie sighed.
"Did you ever find than permanent place?" Jack asked, his smirk fading in concern for her. Sadly, she shook her head.
"No. Never."
TBC
AN: Um wow...been awhile. Sorry. Had a hard time churning out this chapter, but apparently I've found that muse again, so yay! Drop me a review to let me know how you feel about this so far!
Songs that inspired this chapter:
-Temporary Home by Carrie Underwood.
