On a roll! Never put out two chapters one after the other before so am happy! :D But no reviews :(
Have NO idea whatsoever where this is going so I welcome helpful suggestions. Rating may go up in future chapters but I doubt it will be anything too bad. There is a reference in here about James being carried down a mountain which I don't actually know where it came from. I actually dreamed it but whether it was based on an episode that I had seen previously or on a fic written by someone else I don't know. I have looked for it but have been unable to come up with any references to it so I am assuming that my subconscious mind is just a freak. If it sounds like something you wrote please do let me know. If anyone is curious about it I will write it as a little side thing.
James slept badly that night and woke early. He lay there for several moments trying to get his head around his situation. Looking round in response to a sound from the other side of the room he smiled as he saw Chimecho watching him.
"I'm completely screwed, aren't I?" He asked it. It chimed softly in sympathy and drifted across the room to wrap its tail around his head, covering his eyes playfully.
Olivia woke to the sound of James laughing and Chimecho delightedly avoiding his hands as he tried to squirm out of its hold. She grinned watching them and wondered how on earth her husband could ever have become involved with an organisation like Team Rocket when part of him seemed to be stuck at the age of ten. Try as she might she couldn't conjure up the image of him stealing Pokemon, treating them as property, not when she watched him playing with Chimecho, treating it with such gentleness and affection. It was obvious with all his Pokemon how much he loved them.
James had worked his way free of Chimecho, grabbed hold of it and was tickling it mercilessly as it wriggled happily and tried to wrap around his eyes again. Olivia smirked, grabbed a pillow and whacked the pair of them with it, sending Chimecho bobbing out of the room, making odd little noises of mirth which they had learned to interpret as laughter.
James turned back to his wife still smiling from his Pokemon's antics. She gave him a sympathetic half smile.
"How did you sleep?"
"Badly." He replied with a sigh. "I keep thinking of all the ways this could possibly go horrendously wrong."
"You're worried they'll find her here?" She asked.
"A little. More worried about them finding her at all. She wasn't exaggerating when she said Meowth saved her life. The Boss has a nasty temper, always did have. If he finds her, he will kill her. Probably both of them. He used to have a bit of a soft spot for Meowth but I think that bridge is burnt."
"You still care about her then?"
"Of course!" James was shocked, "She was my best friend for more than 8 years, of course I still care about her. You don't just stop loving someone like that!"
"All right," She soothed gently. "I was just making an observation, no need to get defensive. I don't know what Team Rocket was like, do I?"
He drew a deep breath and tried to calm down. She was right and she wasn't to know. How could she know? Even he didn't really understand the bond he had with Jessie and he was pretty sure Jessie didn't really understand it either. They just accepted it for what it was. They had never even really acknowledged it. They just knew that the other would always be there.
"We take care of each other." He said after a moment. "Always. No matter what."
"Even if one of us was a total bitch?" The shaky question came from out in the hallway and he looked up to find Jessie stood there, Chimecho hovering next to her with its tail draped over her shoulder.
He rubbed his palms over his face tiredly.
"Haven't we always?" He asked. "Besides..." He cracked a smile. "I still owe you for that thing with the Gastly and the flame thrower."
Jessie looked for a second as though she might burst into tears again but settled for launching herself at him and hugging him so tightly that he wondered if he might suffocate. Returning the gesture, he idly wondered if he did suffocate how they would explain that to the paramedics. Although he supposed that suffocating in bed with two women wouldn't necessarily be considered the worst way to go.
Noticing that Olivia was looking distinctly uncomfortable with the emotional display happening next to her; he gently eased Jessie away from him, giving her a second to compose herself before letting go.
She sniffed and wiped her face.
"Sorry," She muttered. "But now we're even for that time I had to carry you down a mountain."
With that she got up and left the room, touching Chimecho lightly on the head as she passed it, leaving James wincing at the memory and Olivia looking confused.
"Why did you have to be carried down a mountain, honey?"
James hurried downstairs after hurriedly glossing over the mountain incident which had involved an argument, a terrifying fall, a bloody head wound, an awkward piggyback and an extremely embarrassing collect call to the Boss. To say nothing of the conversations they had apparently had while he was heavily concussed and hypothermic. Conversations which Jessie had found hilarious once James was no longer in immediate danger of freezing or bleeding to death.
Entering the kitchen he was met with the familiar sight of Jessie threatening Meowth with a rolling pin, devoid of her trademark mallet, she was having to improvise. Meowth was cowering but still seemed unable to shut his mouth and was apparently cruising for a bruising if the look on Jessie's face was any indication.
"You knows I'm right, no matter how much you deny it!" Meowth howled as he dodged blows.
James hastily stepped in and divested Jessie of her weapon, ducking a blow himself in the process.
"Jess, he's still recovering, maybe you shouldn't be hitting him just yet."
"Yeah! You shouldn't be hittin Meowth! Don't ya know I almost died, saving you!" He yelled from behind James, who, sensing an impending explosion of temper, positioned himself between them and attempted to separate the two.
"Jess, STOP!" Everyone froze at his raised voice. "I know you're wound up, we all are but PLEASE stop fighting! Its not helping anything."
She was about to snap at him, lash out in anger but forced herself to stop. She took a deep breath and when that didn't help took another. She forced herself to keep breathing deeply and not look at Meowth because just seeing his smug face, thinking that he knew everything, was making her angry.
Finally calming down, Jessie ran her hands through her hair and resisted the urge to kick something in sullen temper.
"Sorry, James," She muttered. "I think all this is getting to me a little."
"You're not the only one. We need to talk, Jessie, I need to know what happened between you and the Boss."
She hesitated not wanting James to know exactly what had led up to that desperate fight for her and Meowth's lives. Meowth however didn't seem to have any such issue.
"The Boss got fed up with us always failin, see, so he pulled us in and said if we were no use to him in the field then Jess, better earn her keep in other Mpffff!"
He was cut off abruptly by Jessie's hand clamping over his mouth and she promptly let out a yelp as he bit her and continued.
"He wanted to use Jess for...OW! MEEEEOWTH! What was that for?!"
"Shut your big Meowth!" She snapped. "I told you before, I don't want James knowing about that!"
"Knowing about what, Jessie? What did he want you to do?" James was starting to dread the answer but he had to know.
"He wanted to use her for sex!" Meowth screeched, sidestepping Jessie's furious lunge. "Sorry, Jess but you got to tell him! He's gonna find out anyway!"
James grabbed Meowth and thrust the cat behind him, well out of Jessie's reach.
"Jess, is that true?" He asked her softly. "Please, Jessie, just tell me. Its me, you don't have to hide anything from me."
"Not just for him." She whispered after a moment. "He wanted to use me as some kind of reward for others. Do a good job and you get to..." She couldn't finish. "So now you know. And you can't protect that damn cat forever, I swear, when I get hold of you, Meowth...!"
Shaking her head she stormed out of the room, cheeks blazing red in humiliation and anger.
James just turned and stared helplessly at Meowth, not knowing what to do.
"Now I see why you fought for her. I knew it must be big for you to turn on the Boss like that but I never thought..."
"I couldn't let that happen ta her, Jimmy" Meowth's accent was thickening as it always did when he was stressed. "She's gonna kill me for tellin ya that ya know. But you'se two always told each other everyt'ing and it ain't right that you'se protectin us and ya don't even know what from!"
"You did the right thing." James reassured him, still trying to take it all in. "And she won't kill you, just steer clear for a bit and I'll talk to her when she calms down. Just apologise to her later before dinner. You know she never lets a fight last more than 5 minutes into dessert."
"This ain't no ordinary fight." Meowth replied glumly.
James didn't answer him, too busy trying to work out what the Hell he was going to say to Jessie. He knew he had to talk to her but had no idea what to say. She was clearly embarrassed to have James know what the Boss had intended and he had no idea how to put things right with her nor how to repair their rapidly deteriorating relationship. He had thought that morning that they were starting to repair the damage to their friendship but now he wasn't sure. He sighed. This was going to be one Hell of a day and they hadn't even had breakfast yet.
"Come on." He said resignedly, looking at Meowth. "I'll make us pancakes."
So...Review? Just a little one? I luffles them ;p Go on, you know you want to! Pretty, silver button...
