Confrontation
A rented Hyundai pulls up at 25 Exeggutor Lane and a striking woman with blonde ponytails emerges from the driver's door. Cassidy waits as Butch slides into the driver's seat. She is wearing a sleeveless royal blue dress with a red belt, and white boots with red trim at the top. Butch is, remarkably enough, wearing a slate blue sports coat that looks good with his teal hair. She leans in the window, "You go ahead and drive around the block a couple of times. I'll see if I can talk to her for more than five minutes."
She watches the car go down the street, sighs, tosses her hair, feels the old triangle earrings brush her face and realizes it is exactly what she did the last time she stood outside the house fifteen years ago. "Déjà vu," she murmurs. She squares her shoulders a bit and strides up the walk feeling her heart pounding in her ears.
She presses the doorbell and waits, biting her lip and tapping her toe. Joy opens the door and cautiously peers into her estranged daughter's face. Her face has aged a bit, but her hair is still strawberry blond and her eyes are still kind and blue, if anything, the laugh lines make them sweeter. She inhales sharply. "Oh my!" she exclaims, "Cassidy!"
Neither woman is sure how to react, Cassidy can't stifle a nervous giggle and says, "Uh, Hi...mom," she collects herself, stifles her giddiness, and continues, "I heard about dad, I decided it was time to drop by. I should have done it before..."
"But in spite of no fear of the law, you couldn't face your disgraced and deserted parents. Perhaps you can explain how we failed you."
Cassidy has no snappy answer to that, she sighs, "I understand how hard this is for you, If it's any consolation it's hard as hell for me too. I am a stubborn woman. I think I'm smarter than most. I thought that gave me special privileges, that I was entitled to more than others...I guess I still believe that, may I come in?"
"I suppose so. I have company," Joy says warily.
Cassidy enters the house and freezes upon seeing the tall, slender woman in the chair across the room from her. She's elegant with a long sweep of red hair curling behind her, she has bright blue eyes, and a small, ironic mouth. She wears large, round green stud earrings, a black turtleneck with a dark blue vest, a wine red skirt, and tall black leather boots. She has an emerald ring on her left hand. Cassidy can't suppress a wave of resentment, frustrated competitiveness, and invidious anger from washing over her, nearly drowning her with its force. "Jessie!" she hisses vehemently.
Jessie flushes crimson, she shoots an anxious look at Joy, and stares with icy fire at Cassidy. "I'm surprised you had enough human feeling to show up here after all this time. Care for a snow roll? I made them fresh from ice shavings."
For a moment Cassidy is speechless, "What are you doing here?" she finally sputters, forgetting she herself is a stranger in this house.
"Not long after I got hitched to James I came down here to let the Yamatos know I'd left Team Rocket. I hoped we could be friends after all the years. Joy and Geoff were happy to see me. They've been the closest thing to family I ever had. Besides I was able to tell them that you were alive and a 'successful' criminal in Team Rocket."
"But," Cassidy says.
"No buts," rejoins Jessie, "I've tried to be the daughter Geoff and Joy lost years ago. You have no business being territorial about the turf you so willingly vacated. To tell the truth, this is the most impressive thing I have ever seen you do Cass. You do have some real courage after all."
"I still hate you Jess! You've been a thorn in my flesh ever since I met you. You went after Butch, you disfigured me, you spoiled my best Rocket operations, and you brought Jessiebelle to Rocket Headquarters."
"I'd love to set the record straight point by point Cassidy, but for you it would be pointless, pun intended. I couldn't defend myself in your eyes Cass. Stop being so dramatic and deal with me and I'll try to deal with you," Jessie says with remarkable self-control, but fire in her eyes.
Cassidy's face is still warm, but she takes a deep breath, "I...I didn't come here for a catfight. I don't know what to say," she pauses, "I have some news, and I guess I needed to talk to you, especially since dad's...not around anymore."
"I can leave," Jessie says.
"No, please stay," Joy insists, "I'm not going to banish you to please Cassidy again. If she can't talk to me with you here, I'm not sure I want to know about it."
Cassidy looks resentfully at Joy, "Jessie can stay...I guess," she sighs, "she'll probably derive indecent pleasure from it."
Jessie softens a little, "I don't take any pleasure from someone else's discomfort these days, even yours Cassidy. People laughed at me when I was down way too much for me to get any kick out of it myself."
Cassidy looks doubtfully at Jessie, "First of all, losing dad hurt more than I expected it would. I tried to forget you and dad, I admit it, but you did raise me when I was little. It hit me I wouldn't live forever when I read that big strong man who used to carry me on his shoulders couldn't do it."
"Geoff would have been happy to hear you admit that Cassidy. What is the news?" says Joy.
Cassidy clears her throat, "I have an, ummm...intimate relationship with my partner Butch..."
"This is news?" Jessie can't help herself. "Jessie!" hushes Joy.
Cassidy looks sharply at the redhead and starts again, "We can't buy health insurance anymore and well...you know...we couldn't exactly...take precautions like we used to," she stops, collecting herself and looks pleadingly at her mother, "Mom, I got pregnant."
Jessie responds more quickly than Joy, "Do you want congratulations or pity? There was a gang rumour years ago that this isn't your first time around. I heard you let the gang make it go away."
Cassidy gets a little moist around her eyes, "No, it isn't my first. I obeyed gang protocol and hoped it wouldn't bother me, but I never stopped wanting that child in my arms, and it hurt my career too. Do you think I'd come here if I was gonna end it again?"
"Huh, you're human after all," muses Jessie, "Oh, never mind..." and she turns her face away. She wants to comfort Cassidy, but she can't.
Joy crosses from her chair to sit on the sofa next to her daughter, "I'm so sorry you let Team Rocket force you into that. I'm glad you won't let it happen this time."
"I recall the Rocket Gang's rules about having kids Cass. You have no choice. How are you going to fake it until you have this kid? They're not going to give you any vacations and you'll show," Jessie states softly but matter of factly.
Cassidy's head dips to her chest, she flinches as Joy's arm encircles her shoulders, "You think I don't know that?" She raises her head looking woeful, "It's hard coming here after all the years on the run. I wanted to be reborn, I was gonna be a master criminal, feared, footloose and wealthy. But everything has gone to hell, and here I am in this house as if nothing ever happened since I was thirteen. Do you have any idea how I feel?"
Jessie looks a little sadly at Cassidy, "I think I know exactly how you feel. I had that feeling every day I spent chasing the Ketchem kid's pikachu," she says quietly, "When I was little I was was abandoned by my mom in favour of a career in Team Rocket. I can't stand by and see that happen to another kid. I'll help you get out of the gang."
Cassidy looks darkly at Jessie, "Who said I was quitting Team Rocket? And even if I wanted to, I wouldn't take the help of Jess the Mess!"
Jessie colours and purses her lips, pinning Cassidy with ice chip eyes, "As if you had a choice."
Cassidy ignores this and turns to Joy, "Look mom, what I wanted from you was this...could you raise the kid for me?"
"I'm not a kid myself Cassidy, I'd ask for Jessie's help, whether you like it or not," Joy sighs.
"Look Cass, for once you're not thinking clearly, it must be the hormones. If you try to get through a pregnancy in the gang you'll be found out and lose the kid or your own life along with it. Besides, how can Butch help you in the last couple of months if he's got to do all your missions without you?" Jessie insists.
"Dammit Jess, I'm not a quitter!"
"You quit your family Cassidy," reminds Joy bitterly.
Cassidy looks stunned, her mouth goes slack, and her face flushes pink, "Yeah," she mutters, "I guess that's true. Y'know the gang hasn't been like family for a long time. The boss put that psychotic control freak Jessiebelle in charge of everything. I can tell she hates me. Maybe I could get out. But that's not possible...is it?" she trails off plaintively.
"I'm proof that it's possible. We need a plan, something to make the boss feel comfortable about letting you leave. Is Butch around?" says a suddenly businesslike Jessie.
"He's driving around the block waiting for me to give a sign. I bet he's getting impatient."
"Well, we need his input now," Jessie replies.
"OK, I'll go get him."
Cassidy steps through the door and steps onto the front walk, takes a deep breath and scans for the Hyundai. After about half a minute the car turns the far street corner advances slowly up the street. She waves her arms, and walks briskly down the walk to the idling vehicle. Butch rolls the window down, "What's up?"
"Come in and you'll see," says a vaguely exasperated Cassidy.
Butch pulls into the drive, eases out of the car, and saunters up to Cassidy, "Did you tell her?"
"Not just her." "Oh yeah? Who else is here? Her chansey?" "See for yourself."
As soon as he enters the room Butch understands Cassidy's reticence. He whistles softly, "Long time no see Jess."
"Not long enough, but you do belong here. Have you ever had any thoughts about leaving the gang Butch?"
"Except for in a pine box? No, not really."
"I was afraid of that. Tell you what, we need to talk with James and Meowth about this," Jessie is in charge.
"Why?"
"Look, if Cassidy really wants to have this baby you really ought to skip the gang.
Cassidy admits you guys aren't advancing anymore either, how long do you think that
would last before some mission kills you?"
Butch eyes the grim Jessie, then looks at his glum partner, "Ok, so I'm not stupid. But
there's nowhere to go if we leave is there?"
"Who knows? You won't know if you don't try. You have some talents, maybe you could go into repo or something," Jessie offers.
"Guess there ain't much choice, what do we do?"
"Let's take the train to Pallet and meet with James and Meowth. The five of us should be able to come up with something and pull it off," Jessie says.
"Optimistic, aren't you?" Cassidy says snidely.
"Look if you haven't got any ideas yourself, you'll have to live with it."
"Yeah, like living with asthma. But I've run out of choices," grumbles Cassidy, "Where's the station?"