A/N: October 2021- Here we are, last story in this series! Yeah, it was totally rushed just to be done with it and that doesn't do this story justice at all...and it's been 20 years since I wrote it. Fixed typos, formatting issues, even took out my real name (whoops). Anyway, it had its good points. I was really proud of this series at the time but I can do so much better now!
Don't Cry, Cassidy
James offered Jesse his hand as he climbed atop a nearby rock. It was a cold day; New Year's Eve, and the next day would be the start of their first new year as a married couple. Meowth was home, babysitting Lavender Rose, and while it was still light, they had decided to climb Lantern Hill, a large hill near their house in Avery Town. It was somewhat cloudy, and they hoped to be home before dark, or at least before the snow was supposed to start.
Jesse looked off in the distance. From this point she could see about twenty miles- the ocean in one direction, and Norwich Town in the other. As they neared the top, however, she could have sworn she heard sobbing. James looked at her, his brows drawn together. "Did you hear that?"
She nodded. "Should we-"
He cut her off. "We have to. You never know up here, too many people have committed suicide in the past."
As they advanced toward the top, the once-faint sobbing became much louder. Bracing herself, Jesse followed the worn path out to the cliffs. A woman stood there, her blonde hair, which was loosely braided, sharply contrasted with the grey background of dormant trees. She wore a thin beige corduroy jacket which wasn't zipped, and was oblivious to Jesse. Despite the fact her appearance was a bit more sloppy than the last time she had seen her, Jesse would recognize her anywhere. "Cassidy?!"
As she turned to face her, Jesse gasped; Cassidy was expecting a child. She ran to her and embraced her, "God Cass, what's wrong?"
"Can't you see?"
Jesse only hugged her more tightly as she once again became a sobbing mess. "It's ok Cass..."
-R-
As they stepped into the warm house, Cassidy immediately could hear Meowth talking. "Shhh- Listen, I have an idea! If ya do not toin any pages, we will neva get ta da end of dis book. And dat is good, because there is a pocket monster at da end of dis book. So please do not toin da page!"
She peered around the corner and saw Meowth reading to a little girl with lavender hair. She had to be nearly two years old-could this possibly be the same child Jesse gave birth to?
Meowth looked up and a smile spread across his face. "Cassidy! Long time no see!"
She smiled slightly and waved. "Hey Meowth."
His face turned serious, "What's goin' on, guys? You're back early." The girl pointed at the page and squealed.
"We'll fill you in after Lavender goes to bed," Jesse said, "Cassidy is staying with us tonight, so we're going to set up the room downstairs for her."
He nodded and returned his attention to the girl. Jesse turned to James and asked him to get sheets, blankets and pillows while she and Cassidy went downstairs into the family room.
As Jesse struck a match to light the fireplace she asked, "What happened Cass? You were reluctant to tell on the way home."
She sighed. "It's a long story- we have a lot of catching up to do."
"I know, and we have a long time to do it."
James came down and piled the blankets and piled them on the couch. "Do you want anything else?"
Jesse nodded. "Hot cocoa for both of us!"
As he left the room, Cassidy turned back to Jesse. "I knew you're curious about the baby."
"Yes...Giovanni didn't do this to you, did he?"
She shook her head. "No, it wasn't that at all.- This baby was conceived exactly seven months ago tonight.- the last night I saw Butch."
Jesse's brows drew together in a frown.
"He's dead, Jesse."
She gasped. "I'm so sorry Cass..."
"Well," she took a deep breath, "some days I can deal with it more than others. Today was obviously not one of those days..." She stared into the hypnotizing flames of the fire. "I loved him so much, Jesse..."
"How did it happen?"
She sighed. "Do you remember hearing about the Team Rocket compound that exploded a while back?"
She nodded solemnly.
"That was the night my child was conceived."
James came down with the cocoa, and sat beside Jesse. As she sipped the drink, Cassidy said, "I'm unsure of what I'm going to do- Mom hasn't heard from me in a decade, and in the state I'm in- I can't go back to Collinwood either."
James frowned. "Where are you living now?"
"Oh, it's not far from here. Have you heard of the old Wauregan Hotel in Norwich Town?"
He nodded. "My father funded the project to renovate it. $16 million went into that place."
"Yes," Cassidy said, "that's where I live."
Rising, James said, "If you want, I can drive up there and pick up some things for your stay."
She fished her keys out of her coat pocket. "That would be nice, James." She tossed the keys to him. "It's apartment 307. Third floor. I'll make a list for you."
-R-
The elevator door opened, and James stepped out into the hall. Trying to avoid eye contact with another man who was in the hall, he scanned the doors. 301, 303, 305-
He came to a stop next to the man, and when he did look at him, he couldn't believe his eyes.
-R-
"I wonder what's taking James so long?" Jesse asked as Meowth came downstairs. She and Cassidy had both changed in the time since James had left- Cassidy having to borrow some of James' pajamas.
"Hey Cassidy!" Meowth said, "Glad ta see ya again!"
She smiled. "It's good to see you too, furball!"
"Hey!" Jesse said, pointing, "Only I get to call him that!"
Meowth smiled, "Gosh guys, I feel so loved!" his expression then became serious. "Cass, if ya don't mind me askin', but where's Butch?"
Jesse shook her head, "Meowth, this isn't the time."
"No, it's alright,"
"Well, it's- "
Cassidy raised a hand to silence her protests. "I want to tell him." turning to Meowth, she said, "Meowth, Butch was killed seven months ago."
Meowth's jaw dropped slightly. "How? Were ya tryin' ta escape?"
She nodded. "That was partly it- if I hadn't been trying to escape I wouldn't be alive right now. Butch was delayed when we were trying to escape..."
Suddenly, the whir of James' car could be heard in the driveway. Jesse smiled. "James is back!"
Cassidy looked at her, smiling slightly. "I'm envious, Jesse- you're so in love with him!"
Jesse nodded, still smiling. They heard the door upstairs open, and James said in a very low voice, "She's downstairs," followed by the sounds of two people coming down the stairs.
Cassidy looked to Jesse curiously. "What the?"
James appeared in the doorway smiling, but then stepped aside. Talking to someone out of view, he said, "She's in there."
Her heart started pounding, and as he stepped into view, she got up and ran to him. "Butch! You're alive!"
He smiled, hugging her tightly. "Butch, not that tight-"
He laughed, "my god Cass, it's been so long and look at you!"
Cassidy gasped. "Your voice! It's normal again!"
He nodded. "Getting away from all the Team Rocket compounds gave me a chance to finally heal."
Jesse got up from her place on the couch and dragged James and Meowth out of the room. Butch watched them leave, then turned to Cassidy. "Look at you," he whispered in awe, "You're all baby!"
She smiled, "How do you feel?"
He tenderly placed a hand on her abdomen. "It's hard to believe-I mean, that last night we saw each other-little did we know what we started..."
She caressed his cheek and kissed him. "I thought you hadn't survived the blast-" she whispered.
"I could say the same for you..."
"I was outside the perimeter of the compound- I saw it go." She gazed deeply into his eyes, her own welling up with tears. "How could you have survived?"
He led them to the couch, where they sat down. "Remember the knock on our door, just as you slipped out the window?"
She nodded as he continued. "They were Rocket Members. Giovanni thought we might try to escape that night, and he wanted to get you no matter what. They took me from our quarters immediately, and searched for you. I tried to delay them a bit, but then, as they brought me to Giovanni's office, the place blew sky high.
"I remember feeling the floor disappear beneath my feet, and then being propelled through the air. When I landed, I blacked out immediately. It was very much like what happened to us on Mandarin Island...
"When I came to, I was in a cell. Luckily I wasn't hurt, just bruised and banged up. The cell I was in was in the next compound of the chain- that bastard Giovanni actually survived the blast as well. He demanded to know where you were, and what you had told the FBI, and what part I had in it- day in and day out he interrogated me, but I gave him no response. The first day, when I didn't give him the answers he wanted to hear, he tried to beat me. We got in such a fight, that when I was done with him, it looked like his face had been turned sideways. I beat the shit out of him. Then he had his friends came along... and after that I was interrogated while tied up. " He grinned. "You know, even though I couldn't beat him every time, just that once was enough for me.
"He kept me prisoner until our New Serenity City compound was raided. You know what Cass? Officer Jenny freed me this time instead of locking me up!"
She giggled. "That was in September, if I remember right."
He nodded, "Yeah. The rest of the time I spent looking for you. I went back to Collinsport first-"
Her eyes widened. "Did you go to Collinwood?"
"My first stop. I hope you know your entire family is worried sick about you..."
She grimaced. "I can't go back like this-"
He smoothed her hair. "I think they'll understand. Now that I've shown up without you, they think the worst."
"But I'm unwed, and pregnant, Butch."
He laughed. "Do you think I don't know that?"
She laughed as well.
"They won't care Cass, it happens all the time nowadays."
"I guess you're right- tell me, how is everyone?"
"Your parents and Pidgeot are still alive. Most of your cousins are married, and have children as well. You've got to go back and see," he said, meeting her eyes before continuing,"After I went to Collinwood-I headed north of town- out to my old house. Or rather, what was left of it. It's been broken into several times, people have had parties there, broken glass is everywhere. Nothing remains, Cass. I asked around town, and they said my grandfather disappeared one day in 2000. Some hikers in the woods later found his skeleton in 2003. I had been expecting that he was dead..."
Cassidy rubbed his back. "I'm sorry, Butch.."
"Yeah." he looked at the ground, then quickly continued. "After being in Collinsport for about two weeks, I began my search for you. I worked backwards from the compound that blew-some people said someone they thought was you stuck around a little while, and took off. After that, I had no clue where to look. I asked the police, and they couldn't help.
"Believe it or not, I ran into Quentin just after I came to Avery Town. I found out Jesse and James had moved here, but I wasn't sure what to do. I wanted to ask them if they had found you, but when I showed up here, they weren't here. So, hungry and tired, I decided to stay in Norwich Town and see if I could find a job at one of the local casinos. On my way there, Quentin spotted me. We ended up going for a couple drinks, and I told him part of what happened with Team Rocket.
"You know what he told me? He said that if we were meant to find each other, that it would happen. He said that when he was younger, he loved a girl named Amanda, and he lost her. Then years later he found her again, he said he just wandered around, and there she was. Come to find out, she was looking for him too. That gave me hope, Cass.
"The next day, just for the hell of it, I checked my the nearest phonebook for your name. There were quite a few Fillmore's, but when I saw "Fillmore, C.F." I knew I had to check it out.
"When I was at your door, that's when I ran into James. It's the most unbelievable thing, but it happened!" He kissed her, and pulled a small violet velvet box from his pocket. Opening it to reveal an amethyst, surrounded by emeralds, he said, "Marry me, Cassidy. We can go back to Collinsport and start our new life."
She kissed him fully. "After everything we've been through, I can't pass up a chance like this to be finally happy!"