Saturday, March 31st 2001

      Jessie woke up first with a great sense of surging excitement as opposed to the nerve-wracking fear she'd initially expected herself to feel. She moved her hand down along her front until she reached her stomach, her enjoyment absorbing every ounce of pleasure at touching the obvious swell of her pregnancy. No, their pregnancy, she corrected herself. Fortunately for her, James' hand was lower on her anatomy than hers, so she could span out her fingers to the maximum without the fear of waking him up; she just wanted this time to reflect on how she felt on certain aspects of her life, as it would hopefully be the last morning she'd have as an unmarried woman. Was she settling down too early, and was she merely doing it as a method to make her unplanned and, at the beginning, almost unwanted pregnancy more acceptable to the general eye of the public? No, she told herself, I love him and we'd have eventually done this at some point, just not quite so soon with regards to their lives. She saw the pregnancy as just another reason why they should love each other and make things work, not an excuse for a pathetic relationship with no passion or love of any kind. She'd slept with enough men to know their true feelings and thoughts during sex and other activities she'd degraded herself for to ensure her baby's safety, and James had never acted like the others had done—no sense of boredom, intolerance or hatred. But with reference to him hiding his past for years from her, he could just be one of the world's most convincing actors and could resent her, feeling no love to her at all, feeling like she'd trapped him. Her worst enemy at the moment was her conscience, as it was niggling at her, tearing possibilities she'd never even considered out of the abyss just to torment her with.

      She then became aware that it looked like she'd trapped him into a marriage with which he felt no interest or love because of their child, and it was this thought that made her afraid the most. She could handle him not loving her, but she wasn't sure if she could deal with the possibility he'd hate her for this, or worse again that he wouldn't love their daughter. They hadn't even lasted a month as a couple during the last time they were together, and would getting married really solve all their fidelity problems, or would it have any effect on their attitudes at all? The fact he was never keen on marriage kept visiting her head, and she seemed incapable of seeing any solid comforting thoughts with the notion of him being the one to propose. It could have just been a sympathy offer, as he felt with her attitude nobody would want to settle down with her (she'd thought it constantly for years as she accepted rejections and hurtful remarks from past boyfriends). She felt cold when she followed this part of paranoia through, as he probably was hating her for making them get married just days after learning of the death of his previous fiancée.

      She had no comforting thought stored away in her worried head to counter that, so she returned to questioning herself as a person if she was doing the same thing his ex had done to him to the point of his leaving home. Maybe he was being too considerate of her feelings to tell her he wasn't interested in it merely because he knew how much it would mean to her if they went through with it. Even though there hadn't been an ounce of doubt visible on his face when he took her measurements for the dress (there'd been little other than desires to procreate to tell the truth) he certainly had been far from amused when she'd stepped through the door on her return. The reason why he suffered from distaste could easily be suggested as her brief encounter with Butch could have done little for his enjoyment, yet it could have been the perfect opportunity for him to allow some of his true feelings to escape. She still couldn't justify the reason for her betrayal anyway; she'd decided it must have been the risk factor, as although she found Butch attractive in his own way, there was nothing sexually appealing about him, nor did she like his personality enough to seriously consider a future of anything other than bare acquaintances with him. In fact, she'd easily forget it ever happened were it not for her committing it within twenty-four hours of her devoting her life whole-heartedly to another man.

      She was snapped involuntarily from her thoughts as she felt her fiancé pulling her closer to his body and planting a kiss on her cheek whilst wishing her a good morning. She giggled as she turned around, sliding into his embrace to kiss him properly, enjoying the slight pressure he applied as he tried to hold back his body weight as opposed to squashing her stomach with it. It was apparent they both wanted more, yet their daughter did not and delivered a kick to her mother's stomach to stop their offensive passion from blossoming further. James reluctantly pulled away from his wife-to-be, silently hoping their child would learn when its actions would be considered obtrusive to their sex lives when it was born.

      He tenderly ran his fingers over her body, and in-between kisses along her body, he playfully complained he hadn't had a stag night like other bachelors had, just to see what her reaction would be. She tried her hardest to ignore what he was doing to her body for her pleasure as his movements were having the effects he desired her to have yet she didn't want to admit it, and to aid her arduous quest she asked if he thought she hadn't been a good enough stripper for him. He increased the level of skill he'd been using on her to gain enjoyment from the face she made halfway between pouting and pleasure and he insisted she'd been good, but pointed out that you weren't meant to marry the person you hooked up with for one night, nor were you supposed to spend your last night as a free soul sitting in with your girlfriend having good clean fun. She gave up trying to convince him he wasn't having any particular effect on her (partially because not even she believed anybody could fall for her inexcusable acting at this point, partially because she saw that she'd win in a sense whether or not she pretended he wasn't doing anything spectacular) and told him there'd been nothing remotely clean about what they'd done the night before. The grin that immediately sprouted up on his face made it evident that he agreed with her on that count.

      She pushed her idea a little too far as she declared her hen night hadn't been very good either and she'd just tell other people she'd decided against one so she wouldn't need to give details about how boring it was. He withdrew his fingers and watched her with an amused expression upon his face, as he enjoyed the pout that obviously was supposed to convince him to change his option. She half-growled out that her stripper hadn't even been half-decent, and she'd had to show him a few tricks so she'd at least be able to get some enjoyment out of it. He moved his hand back altogether and replied, with mirth detectable in his voice:

      "Excuse me honey, but I believe you're forgetting that I beat you in a stripping competition. If I'm truly as terrible and not even 'half-decent' as you put it, then what exactly does that make you?"

      "It makes me a fool for being the lover of a cheater"

      "I've never cheated in anything in my life to win it, so I think you should rethink that accusation. Unless of course you were referring to…"

      "Don't you dare mention her name on our wedding day, so shut up now"

      "Sorry"

      "Apology accepted. The only thing is this: I don't remember a thing about that night so you must have cheated. If you didn't do it in the competition itself, you must have done it before I woke up. I know what you did, you swapped the medals!"

      "I did not! I'm not that desperate to beat you in things, although you pull the cutest face when you're in the mood for making love and I won't assist you, there it is now! Besides, I know for a fact I beat you that night, I've seen the footage"

      "No way, what happened in it?"

      "It's interesting to say the least about it, and it definitely rings of our style when we're sober…which is perhaps what frightens me the most"

      "What do you mean? And when did you see it?"

      "I saw it every night I stayed at Elora's—the room above the pub itself. Some nights I'd be too tired, or simply too drunk to walk to my apartment so I'd stay with her, and of course she loved teasing me with it"

      "But you said you'd stayed faithful to me"

      "Sorry?"
      "You said you didn't sleep with anyone in our time apart"

      "Oh I didn't, not in that sense anyway. I stayed on her couch, or if I fell asleep anywhere else with her I swear we didn't do anything like that, as much as she wanted me to. I told you it would have felt like betraying you too much so yes, I've still only slept with two women, one of which I'm marrying in a few hours"

      "You never marry your mistress, that's why people aren't meant to have sex before marriage, so why are you marrying me?"

      "You don't marry your mistress, but you're left free to marry your soul mate, correct? That's how I see us. We're serious, and I love you. Plus if I don't you'll kill me"

      "You got that right anyway! So tell me more about your times with her, I want to know exactly how much better than me you were"

      "In my opinion, you should have won that night. Actually, I don't think either of us should have"

      "Was I really that unappealing? How did we still win?"

      "Let's just say we were the only ones to enter it, and our acts were useless"

      "Watch who you're calling useless!"
      "Jessie, you couldn't take your own clothes off and fell off the table you were standing on, twice"

      "No I did not! You lie!"

      "I wish I was. I fell off one as well, only I grabbed a huge, muscle-bound guy who wasn't too amused with the concept on the way down, and he ended up straddling me. I'm so glad he was straight"

      "Did I do anything else that was bad?"

      "You tried to kiss a barman and ended up head butting him in the eye. He still had a bruise when I started working there three weeks later. At least you didn't make matters worse by showcasing how awful a singer you were when drunk"

      "What do you mean? Your voice was fine then, and you used to be an amazing singer so what are you referring to?"

      "One word Jessie: drunk. I started singing 'happy birthday' to the girl we met in the pharmacy the next night, and from the job I did, trust me you wouldn't have admitted to anyone that you came with me"

      "Why are you still surprised people assume you're gay when you go and act like this when you're let out into the open?"

      "I know it's terrible. I'd say I'll never drink again, but I think I will—the ring can be my proof from now on!"

      "James, is this just going to be a sham wedding to make people assume you're straight is it? If you've got a guy on the side you might as well tell me, because that way I'd know when not to ask you what you'll be doing when you go out on your own at night"

      "How did you work it out? I've been working on this plan for years; I thought I'd finally convinced you!"

      "Well, it is your brainpower in question here…How come everyone else was onto the truth too in that case?"
      James decided to tease her again and positioned himself above her without applying any pressure to her stomach and kissed her neck, before starting a pattern leading down her body.

      "Obviously I didn't try hard enough, but now I mean business with it. And this way, I don't have to pretend to like having sex with you anymore"

      He paused mid-air as he was about to deliver the final kiss, but instead decided to linger above her so his breath could tantalise her further as it hit against her wet skin, and they knew it was another challenge to see who could hold out the longest. Jessie cracked first and whispered 'please', feeling that she could lose this one and still gain something from it, but her fiancé had other plans. He chose to display his dominance by getting up without going down on her, then he walked out of the room, calling out he was going to have a shower to use all the hot water, and then for when he was out of it, he advised her to take a cold shower to clean her thoughts. She shouted back he'd regret doing that when he wanted a honeymoon night to remember as she said he wasn't going to get one, to which she received a truthful 'neither will you'. She released a scream of frustration to vent her denied needs, and they both started laughing in their different locations, knowing that their honeymoons being uneventful was as likely as them taking pleasure in rejoining Team Rocket and not getting paid for their work—even their pathetic salary had been a whole lot better than nothing.

      Tyra awoke with a sudden rush of misery flooding her system, feeling it must be the aftermath of following James around for his own safety over the last week and then with her betrayal losing any chance of ever being his friend again. She knew they'd fall for the fake marriage competition so now he'd be permanently off the market, since the only times he'd been unfaithful was with her and now that was not a feasible possibility. Tears coated her aqua violet eyes as she thought about how she'd always followed him around, willing to do anything for him and she was suddenly glad that he had a sensitive nature, otherwise he could have made her do anything, and she'd have been glad to comply with it.

      She toyed with her necklace, the opaque triangular piece of quartz resting on a black string he'd given her when they were secretly together in the bicycle gang; whenever anyone asked it had been a gift from home and no questions were asked, as one golden rule was to never mention their pasts. He was extremely different to all the other guys in the gang; whenever they got the shack to themselves he'd always ask her permission to touch her, regardless of how much he personally wanted to do it. They could have easily had sex countless times during those times alone, but he'd insisted he wanted to be married first and she'd never really felt ready, even though it seemed tempting from the things he'd do to her. He always made her feel good about herself, even though he didn't have to hold or kiss her; in public he was different from the other guys by not bothering to hide his consideration and compassion towards others. She'd even tried to copy his hairstyle in her own small way by creating a wisp that refused to move into the rest of her emerald-grass coloured hair.

      She'd never known such heartbreak as the day he left the gang, with the exception of most of the last year, so when he returned for one more day a couple of years later she was overjoyed, especially when she learnt that he was still single. He'd been very angry with her that night when he'd rendezvoused with her in secret after the way they'd meant to steal the pokémon from the twerps instead of giving them honorary biker's names, especially when he was still in pain from being hit on the head with a tandem then immediately struck by a passing barge. She felt terrible when he'd left and convinced Deryck to join her in a quest to be accepted into Team Rocket, hoping that if she became successful he'd be impressed, respect her and forgive her momentary disobedience against his wishes, but she'd messed it up and allowed herself to be gracelessly discharged even though it saved his life.

      She sighed and exited the room with depression lingering in her veins, haunting her soul, mercilessly stapling unwanted memories to her concentration when she thought of how complete she'd felt the second time she'd shared her bed with him, then how hollow when he'd discovered she'd bugged him—she was the key to her own undoing and her own worst enemy more than half the time. Marriage was never something she'd planned from an early age, mainly because her energy was devoted to finding food for her and her gang, yet she wanted to be able to say he was her husband, and they'd always loved each other. Misery sank in again when she realised she had nobody she'd be able to say that too either; Lindsey had been a close enough friend but she'd spoilt the opportunity of enhancing that friendship the day she'd walked out of that office. If she killed herself to make a clean, final break from her wretched daily torture, would anyone care? Would they even realise she was dead?

      Giovanni awoke with a pounding headache, the result of drinking too much to get Lindsey out of his mind, which was rather pointless since he'd slept with her anyway. He hadn't wanted too, he'd just received the sudden urge to shut her up and prove his dominance, yet afterwards he felt like she had more control over his life than previously thought and he feared for the state of his sanity. How did he go from being untouchable and one of the most feared leaders of the most prestige outlaw corporation to being afraid of a powerless woman, who didn't even pose any threat; it was all psychosomatic. He threw the bed clothing off him, snarling as he snapped free of her underwear that bound his wrist to the bedpost, a minor game he'd insisted on to make him feel more powerful. He fumed over his inability to decide what to do with his emotions and stormed out of the building without being truly aware of his surroundings, all he knew was he had to get away from her before she distracted his thoughts further by being awake at the same time.

      He wandered around the city angrily without his concentration being firmly affixed on anything other than his search for the reason behind his incredible dislike of a mere worker, one that offered no desires to prematurely end his life. People stared at him as he walked by, wondering what reason must a man of obvious wealth must have to wander around unaccompanied in what looked like an expensive designer suit. Some stared at him simply because of the marks left upon his face as a result of the explosion that took place in his office the other day. The eventual conclusion of her being too much of a cumbersome nuisance with her actions and abilities made her too dangerous to live and too intelligent and beautiful to die crossed his mind, which infuriated the man further as he was displeased with the idea of her existing in this world or the next. Yet something else bothered him, an emotion he could not quite place his finger on; was he perhaps falling in love with her for the first time in his cruel life?

      James entered the bedroom to see Jessie walking out of it, so he caught hold of her wrist and held her by the hips as he kissed her lovingly. She walked free from his grip and headed out again, grinning to herself as she'd felt his manhood pressing against her in their kiss so this would be her payback. He took her against his body with more playful force and smothered her lips with his, making her want more even though she knew it would mean throwing her plan out the window. She reluctantly pulled back with the explanation she was ordered to take a cold shower so she'd have to follow her instructions lest she be punished. He guided her back to the bed and placed her down on it whilst maintaining his passionate kisses, then he positioned himself over her when he heard no more objections. She jerked him forwards suddenly and he was inside her without meaning it, yet she'd intended it as she said she wasn't letting him leave before she was ready again. He grinned and complied with their hormonal bodies' demands willingly, and he made sure that she achieved the pleasure she sought at least once.

      After sex, she decided she would take a shower to make sure she was as clean and virginal as she could get for their wedding ceremony, feeling relief when James told her he had left a lot of hot water for her as he suspected she'd want to clean up too. She felt a tight contraction in her womb and her immediate fear sprung to the life of her child, but it passed in a moment and she assumed it was just her body's reaction to the water hitting her skin unexpectedly or something. She ran her fingers through her hair, wondering if her husband-to-be wanted to be just that, or maybe once she took the sex out of it, as she'd have to do in a couple of weeks anyway, he may not be interested anymore. She shook the thought away and smiled as she realised that could hardly be much further away from the truth.

      Questions rushed through James' head fast than the water falling from a fifty foot waterfall as he buttoned up his shirt, as memories of Jessie Belle hit him hard now that he was about to get married. He'd loved her only as a friend would, yet it seemed like an intolerable crime against her memory to defile her memory via complying with what she'd wanted more than anything from him and by doing it with someone that other people thought looked similar to her. He'd always wanted to be with Jessie, yet why was he persisting in hiding things from her now, from both his past and present? She still had to find out about the other woman he'd considered marrying when she'd asked him. The only reason he hadn't gone through with it was he'd had to have told the girl everything regarding his desire for drugs and things he'd done for them before he could feel comfortable settling with her. He felt discomfort from not telling Jessie the full truth either, but if she knew more she'd think of him as little more than a pathetic waste of matter, of that much he was easily certain.

      As he was applying the finishing touches to his dickey beaux (he had no problem with putting them on from all the times he'd done that from an early age), Jessie literally took his breath away as she entered the room. She looked extremely nervous as she stood in her wedding dress, which fitted her perfectly, and somehow it concealed her pregnancy even though it wasn't loose on her in any way. The cut and style suited her perfectly, the working on the seams flawless, but most of all the material of the dress appeared to make her look very much alive but delicate even though she seemed as fragile as a porcelain doll in it. She could tell from his expression that he was pleased with it, but the detail that completed the look though it was not originally meant to be worn with it was the locket; it rested neatly in the point of the 'v' of the dress' neck. He went over and rested his fingers tenderly on her waist without any perverted intentions apparent to her, as he wanted to make sure they both felt strongly but without the teenage desires they generally suffered from when next to each other.

      She caught his gaze but her heart stopped when he asked her if she was positive this was what she wanted to do, and that she didn't feel pressurised into doing it. She nodded but her eyes laced themselves with salty liquid in case he said he was only doing it to please her, but she calmed herself down when she heard him say he loved her and tenderly touched his lips to hers. He pulled back and told her she shouldn't cry and that if she did he wasn't going to accept responsibility for whatever state her make-up would be in; then he received a push backwards from him along with a sarcastic remark making it clear she hadn't done her make-up yet. Suddenly her eyes widened when she realised something she hadn't considered before then.

      "I know we weren't going to go through with this as traditionally as other couples would, but I haven't got anything old, new, borrowed or blue"

      "I never thought of that, erm give me a second to think please. I know; the dress is new since it was finished yesterday, but the material is old—it's what we made the last one out of when we were in Team Rocket"

      "Really, are you serious? How did you get it?"

      "It's a long story, which we're not going to talk about right now. Something borrowed…here, take my watch and put it on your ankle so it's not on show"

      "Thanks, but will you put it on for me?"

      He obliged her request and strapped it around her left ankle whilst she waited until he was fully done before pulling a stray hair from his head. He shot up and his hand instantly covered the top of his head as he asked why she did that. She placed the hair in her cleavage and out of view as she said it was something blue. As he pulled her into another embrace she opened her locket and said she wished Meowth could be there with them, the threatening tears fell freely.

      The cat-type in question sat in the reception area of the registry office they'd booked, ordering the workers to follow his demands without question, which they did as their manager had given similar instructions the day before, owing to the feline's menacing phone calls made to all in town. He told them that they were to give the couple a bottle of complimentary champagne that he'd provided, yet he'd slipped a few drugs into it as it was only common sense Jessie wouldn't drink any because of her pregnancy whereas James would, making it look like he'd slipped back to his old habit. His tail twitched to show his irritation, knowing that the holy matrimony would come collapsing around them in a few hours of its existence if all went as planned. He jumped down and ran into the registering room, hiding in a place where he could see all going on yet not be seen by anyone unless they knew his location.

      The registrar gritted his teeth and wished he hadn't listened to the threats delivered to him the day before, yet he felt it wiser to refrain from declining the pokémon's demands, for both his safety and the business'.  They'd cancelled all of their morning appointments without any consideration for the consequences to ensure this one wedding ran smoother, and the sooner it began the sooner they could reclaim their customers. He held his breath as the couple in question entered the room; they looked so perfect together that he wondered if their gods had created them merely to compliment how well the other looked when they were together. This was one time where he genuinely didn't mind performing the tedious task of reading marital vows out even though he usually did it fifty times a day, six days a week.

      After the nerve-wracking ceremony took place, the newlyweds kissed in a corner like there was no tomorrow for them, adrenaline kicking in and obliterating any doubts or second thoughts in the process. Both had been deathly afraid of messing up their lines but it had run relatively smoothly up until now, with the exception of Jessie getting tongue-tied as she said her full name a bit too quickly. They were interrupted when the registrar offered them the complimentary champagne but James politely refused, thinking of his baby's safety and the potential damage alcohol could do to her, then thinking how Jessie could be hurt if he took some and she couldn't. Jessie then said it was okay and asked them to bring it over, but also requested a glass of water for herself, but only if it was readily available. The registrar bowed politely and went for the drinks, wondering what was so special about the alcohol since it was the most expensive brand in existence, yet it was to be given as a wedding present for nothing, yet the donator made it clear he didn't want his presence known to them.

      James' body absorbed the drugs as easily as a fish breathes through its gills in the purest water around. Even someone who can't handle alcohol, especially when they haven't eaten anything prior to drinking would be affected less than he was; because it had been so long since he'd taken anything, his body swallowed it up in case it was another unbearably long period until it received another sample of it. Jessie noticed he was acting more easy-going than usual, but she just assumed the alcohol was quite strong and went straight to his head, and made her water look rather boring. They were told to take the remainder of the bottle with them as they left the office, and again Jessie accepted when James refused, as she thought it could be quite fun watching him if he was going to finish a bottle by himself.

      Butch was still in bed when Meowth returned from the ceremony, seeing no need to get up when there would be very little work involved in their day's pre-arranged agenda if the couple had followed the wedding scam. His boss seemed to have no problem with this and even spoke to him as an equal rather than a subordinate for once; maybe seeing his friends getting married had altered his philosophy on life. Maybe he'd be allowed to see Cassidy sooner than he thought, if this good mood help up that was. As if by some sort of telepathy or another kind of equally baffling magic, the feline said he could see his potential girlfriend later that night, but only for ten minutes. The conversation ceased unexpectedly, when Butch could see his boss had suddenly immersed deeply in thought, and he decided it would be best not to disturb him. He turned over and vividly imagined Cassidy's face on the pillow next to his face, looking at him after they'd made love for the first time. He hoped she was a virgin; it was always good to be the first man to make an impact, and he got a sort of sadistic pleasure whenever he felt a hymen bursting as a result of his power, the flowing blood afterwards being the only drawback to this hobby.

      James' mother fingered the precious piece of paper in her hands, wondering when she should use it to achieve maximum devastation to the couple, if they chose to listen to her. They'd have to; what she knew was true, and with her shell of a son being such a weak and unconvincing liar, she knew it would take minimal effort for this plot to take effect. Of course, her clever worming of false information had already taken effect on them without them suspecting a thing—then again by the time anybody realised even a remote aspect of her true motives she was in the process of aiding their journey from this world. A smile depicting pure iniquity crossed her daintily decorated lips as she sipped at her first class cup of tea, knowing that there was no possible way for the marriage to continue in any sense when she played her trump card, the very page in her hand. Children's doodles and scribbles were sometimes worth cherishing, and she was glad she chose this in advance all those years ago. It was probably the only thing James had done that she ever bothered to look at, and it was the part that he hadn't done that attracted her attention; then again he was always a failure so she was expert at looking around him and counting all of his efforts as null and void. She knew this as a fact; she didn't have to bother checking his work at any point to verify it, an action which had hurt him irreparably whilst growing up. Well, that was the price he needed to pay to make up for his untimely birth, and the improper events that led to his conception.

      Jessie began to regret giving the rest of the alcohol to James as they nestled in bed together in the five-star hotel from the voucher that offered them the incentive to get married on the spur on the moment. His performance had been better than what he'd done the night before, mainly because nerves towards the wedding had thrown him slightly, yet there was something not quite right about it. He was obviously in a completely relaxed state; drained from both ejaculating as well as feeling mellow from the strong LSDs Meowth had spiked the drink with, making him liable to say anything to her at this moment, which he'd regret at a later state. Now was the opportune instant for one of those sentences it seemed.

      "I've never felt this good before. Actually, there have been two stages where I've felt this good in the past, not with you though"

      Jessie stiffened up in the bed and hardened her glare at him, feeling like he was talking about the two times he'd slept with Tyra, and she knew immediately who was better in bed in his opinion. She wrapped the covers around her breasts to deny him anything of a visual nature that he might enjoy, half-heartedly noticing he wasn't looking at her but at the ceiling.

      "By stages, I of course meant in two different circumstances and not twice in my life…oh they certainly happened more than twice anyway…she's so sexy, I wonder how she's getting on now"

      "Who the hell are you talking about James? And why the fuck did you just marry me if you think another woman's so fucking hot?"

      "Chill Jess, I can't marry her, she's too special, too close to me for that. Talented she was as well, pity she's not here now so I could show you"

      "Forget any ideas of me swapping sides for your stupid ex, though why you didn't stay with her if she's so great is beyond me. I want you less by the minute"

      "Don't be jealous of her Jess, even though she knows how to use her tongue properly in more than one place on my body, and not afraid of a little dirtier fun when we're out in public either. Pity you're not as well-endowed as she is, it'd make sex a lot easier if I had a bit more to look at"

      She bit her lip and refrained from hitting him with more force than she'd ever summoned in the past, hurt at the remark about the other woman's talents and body, when she'd always thought James found no complaint with her oral skills and felt like her cup size was bigger than the average woman's anyway. She didn't know why he was acting like such a jerk on their honeymoon when they were supposed to be happier than ever and he was deliberately trying to hurt her. He still looked at the ceiling with a calm expression which only acted as a source to infuriate her more.

      "We couldn't be together, it was never proper and we'd be killed if anyone knew the truth about us. She was my shelter, she took me in when I left home and whilst I grew up quickly by learning to survive independently, she assisted me in growing up sexually and would always do whatever I wanted when it came to dirty fun. It was nice learning facts from her, most have come in handy especially when I've done them to you. She showed me how to enjoy other people gaining enjoyment, so it's never once seemed like a chore when I make you come outside of sex. Sasha, I'd be entirely lost were it not for you"

      Recognition flickered in Jessie's mind at the sound of that name, then she remembered where she'd heard it before; it had to be the same one, how many of the other women he knew were likely to have the same name and have the same uplifting effect on him when he thought about her?

      "Hang on a second, your aunt? You were doing all these things with your aunt?!"

      "Yeah, she's a special woman to me. You could probably ask her super nicely and she'd probably do something to you to give you the best orgasm ever, and trust me when I say that"

      "When else have you felt so good then, aside from sex favours from your whore of an aunt? Getting a blowjob from your uncle maybe?"

      "Don't be so vile, jealousy's an ugly trait to possess, an even uglier one to apply Jessie. The other times, to answer your poorly posed question, were when I used to test a drugs supply and get a good batch for once. Made me high as a kite and let me forget about why I was there and what I had to do in the event of failure. It's why I appreciate your willpower whenever you suck me; I find the process disgusting to the thought, not to mention the taste when you do it. Especially when you're doing it to a man you despise; it wasn't so bad when I did it to Deryck. That bastard, however, left me for dead; he didn't care if I died when I subjected myself to his willpower for a couple of my vital years. He cut me to ribbons and acted like it was nothing to him, after all I'd done for him, all the humiliation and self-loathing and he didn't care for one second. That bastard left me for dead Jess, he left me to die. He left me for me to serve at least one purpose in life: to make sure rattata food was plentiful for a month or so. Then I'd return to being totally useless. I'm worthless white trash, that's what I was to him and it's all I am to the rest of the world. I've got to kill myself, solve everyone's problems. Where's my razors Jess?"

      She felt sick to the pit of her stomach as he poured his history out to her, and she suddenly realised what a mistake it was to have let him drink the rest of the champagne; it had obviously been spiked, with something highly illegal by the sounds of James' sudden mood change and from the information he'd previously divulged. He was asking her for something to kill himself with; this was a possibility she never thought she'd face, and never in a million years would she have thought it would happen on their honeymoon night. She tried to convince him he'd imagined his past as he became more fitful, but then she made a discovery she'd never wanted or expected to make. He slapped his torso viciously for a few seconds until his skin became a burning scarlet from his neck to his groin.

      Scars showed up on his skin, a myriad of jagged, horrific shapes marking truth to his story of being cut to ribbons, and they'd eventually faded to almost invisible silver or something, being the reason why she was unable to see them, even when she studied his body in the rare mornings where she was awake first. The worst one was a diagonal line leading from one shoulder to his hip on the opposite side, and it looked nastier and more potentially fatal than the others as they all stayed in their illuminated areas, yet this one seemed to move menacingly as he breathed, as if it was being gauged out by a knife again. How had he hidden these from her?

      He unexpectedly started scratching at his arms, telling something to stay away from him as he was clean and didn't want their filth to contaminate his veins again, and she realised he was hallucinating syringes attacking him or something, so she grabbed his wrists and twisted them behind her own back to give him a chance to calm down. He tried to pull his arms back from her but started whimpering when he saw the blood sliding down his arms from where he'd scratched a little too successfully. She smacked him with all the strength available for her to muster when he freed one hand, hoping it was enough to calm him down or to at least snatch a grasp of reality. He looked so different to the husband she knew, or the friend she'd worked with as a partner for years that she felt like she was straddling a stranger. She removed his glasses while he was taken aback so he couldn't see the blood or raw skin anymore, wondering how long it took someone to come down off drugs, and whether this would last for a few minutes or weeks.

      She massaged his shoulders to soothe him a little, then she leant down to deliver a kiss that was supposed to bring him to his senses, but it sparked something else off in him she hadn't expected. He pushed her away and shouted for her to leave him alone, that he'd had enough ghosts wanting him to last a lifetime, and it was too painful to see her after so long. She was confused by this until she remembered Jessie Belle was dead and he probably couldn't tell the difference between them when he wasn't wearing his glasses. She tried to say who she was but he seemed to be too delirious to comprehend her properly so she unlocked the handcuffs they'd used for their first time as a married couple and locked both his wrists to the bedposts, covered his arms up with a sheet and in spite of his struggling she put his glasses back on him. He calmed down a bit when he could see it wasn't her, and broke out in a full, cold sweat across his body without warning, shivering erratically as he did. She held him, trying her hardest to ignore the still violently red skin showing off his scars like they were some sort of trophies he was extremely proud of. He sighed and his breathing became easier, and she thought he was coming out of the drug's control until he said 'you looked the image of your mother then Jess', and she realised it wasn't his ex-fiancée that he'd mistaken her for. Tears welled up in her own eyes and she asked him how he knew what she looked like when she'd never shown him a picture of her or mentioned what her physical appearance was like.

      "I've seen what she looks like from working in Team Rocket's filing system, she looked very beautiful. I cried when I found out what happened to her, and felt the pain you must have felt when the truth hit you"

      "What do you mean by truth? James, what the hell are you talking about?"

      "When you found out she was executed for her disobedience, not simply lost in the mountains during a particularly heavy avalanche as you'd previously been told"

      "What happened to her?"

      "Giovanni's mother silenced her when it seemed like she was becoming a threat to the society, and the only reason you weren't killed simultaneously was because her son had a crush on you and wouldn't let her kill you. She'd hit the menopause and needed a family member to pass the corporation onto in the future so she couldn't displease him, and instead sent you to the school where we met. She was going to leave everything as it was then without telling you anything, but again it was his pleading that stopped her from leaving you to your own devices, so concocted a story about her not reporting in to the office after a tough mission in snowy mountains. It was really…"

      His sentence tailed off and she realised he'd fallen asleep without prior warning, which was probably for the best as it could hopefully eliminate the remainder of the drug inside him. Jessie's face was adorned with trails where tears flowed along repeatedly, wondering how many secrets her husband held from her, and how long he'd known what happened to her mother when she hadn't. Her hormones were up enough as it was with her pregnancy, making this news all the harder to cope with; her mother had been killed as unloving and as mean as it was whenever someone swatted a small organism flying around their faces. She knew that he was not lying, as not only did it seem cruel but probable enough since it involved ruthless members of Team Rocket, but he'd given her a slight insight into his harsh past that he'd never shared with her before, clearly true from the scars she'd seen. She took his glasses off again and viewed him for one last loving time before she turned off the light, wondering if he intended hoarding hurtful secrets within for the duration of their marriage, just to save her feelings. Or was it shame that made him keep quiet about a lot of information that would be useful for her to know? In any event, she wanted to start the day all over again so she wouldn't voice her opinion that he should take the expensive champagne when it was on offer for nothing; someone had done this deliberately and it had spoilt their honeymoon.

      Butch stood impatiently at a bridge, facing the slow water with as much enjoyment as he could muster, as he knew that within five minutes he'd be reunited with the woman he loved, even if it were only to be for a short while. He was promised ten minutes alone with her, so as long as she didn't tell him to leave her alone and to never see her again for the remainder of his life, he felt like nothing could go wrong with this. He was naturally unaware it was all a cruel jest plotted by Meowth to be a little sadistic in response to his friends getting married without him there. The cat-type had also shown his sadistic nature by doubling the amount of poison and nebulous thyroproxine for Jessie when she slept, knowing that between James returning to drugs and the threat of child-loss would make for an entertaining morning after for him.

      The ditto was a perfect form of Cassidy after her operation; even going as far as to make a few alterations to its appearance to show time had passed, such as a cut on her cheek being partially scabbed over. It touched him on the hips, and when he turned around it stood on its toes and kissed him, making him forget his former discomfort at not feeling her breasts any longer when they embraced. Meowth wasn't doing it really to gain amusement at knowing the wrongness of the situation, but Butch was becoming harder to control and needed something to keep him in check. He'd said ten minutes and with him nearby in case he planned to escape, when it was easy for him to gather another mindless worker—the reality was he didn't want the ditto to suffer anything along a bestial nature. The cat-type smiled to himself as he watched the couple; everything was going as planned, and soon his former partners would learn a very tough lesson.

                                                               AN

Yep that sure took a long time to get written! On the other hand, I have been working on other projects and had various stints that delayed me one way or another in my life. Depression swung its miserable old way back into my life, and a later chapter of this is fully written and edited; I needed some form of ventilation. Anyone who wants spoilers for the plot can head to my website where the chapter's posted, though I'd greatly appreciate feedback on it if you intend to do it, via email or by signing the guestbook. It was hard to write since it is based on something that happened in my family, so it was very difficult to write it as an author without getting too affected by it. It hit me hard. This chapter is dedicated to whoever's stuck around this long waiting for an update!