Hi everyone! First of all, thanks for the faves/follows/reviews, you're all awesome! Secondly, I apologise for the delay in this chapter. When I started this story I was recovering from surgery and so had plenty of time to dedicate to this. But now I'm back to work and all those pesky responsibilities have to be taken care of again, well, the chapters aren't going to be flying out as quickly as they did. Anyway, here's a slightly longer chapter, and thanks for reading! :)

Chapter 5 – Old Scars, Future Hearts

James awoke first, the chirping of Pidgey sounding through the forest bringing him slowly to his senses. As he sat up, he inhaled sharply and rubbed his neck, cautiously turning his head to see the extent of his stiff muscles. He had been planning on bunching up his jacket to use as a pillow, however Jessie had stormed back in to camp and promptly got in to her sleeping bag without saying a word, still wearing James' jacket, and he had resigned himself to a night with little comfort. Unable to turn his head fully, he shifted his body in order to view his team mates. Meowth was curled up in his sleeping bag, his face just poking out of the top. Jessie lay on her side facing the camp fire, eyes closed and face calm, with no trace of the previous night's anger. She looked so peaceful. James found it hard to tear his eyes away as he quietly got up to make coffee, and as he poured the still-hot water from their thermos his eyes kept wandering back to his sleeping team mate. She really had blossomed in to a beautiful woman, although she was still that headstrong impulsive girl he knew back then. He frowned as he stirred the coffee, unable to put his finger on what he was feeling.

Jessie squeezed her eyes tighter as she heard someone softly say her name, not wanting to wake up just yet. The voice said her name again, slightly louder, and she felt a hand on her shoulder. As she started to come to her senses, she realised the voice belonged to James and she detected the delicious aroma of coffee. For a few moments, she felt like she was back in Pokémon Tech. Peeking through her long lashes she saw James smiling down at her, but instead of their Tech dorm room they were surrounded by a sea of greens and browns.

James held out the steaming travel mug. "Good morning Jess. Would you like some coffee?"

Jessie sat up with a groggy smile as he handed her the drink. "Excellent. Just what I need." She sipped it gratefully, instantly noting that he remembered how she liked it – black with half a sugar.

James gently woke Meowth then addressed them both. "We need to get going shortly, it's still a couple of hours walk until we reach the cabin, and we'll require some rest before our assignment tonight." He turned to Meowth. "Meowth, would you like some coffee first? I wasn't sure if you drank it or not?"

Meowth rubbed his eyes. "Nah I'm good tanks Jimmy."

James nodded at his feline team mate and moved to sit on his own sleeping bag. He sipped his coffee and thought about tonight's mission, although in the background some small part of his brain was still trying to identify the feeling from earlier.

Meowth took a long drink from his canteen, smacking his lips with a satisfied 'ahhh.' James, still deep in thought about the mission, turned his head at the sound without thinking, causing him to yelp and clutch at his neck.

"You ok dere Jimmy?" Meowth asked as both he and Jessie turned to look at James.

"Yes, fine." James replied, gingerly pressing his fingers in to the side of his neck and his shoulder, unsuccessfully attempting to massage and loosen the stiff muscles.

Jessie finished her coffee and rummaged in her rucksack for a mirror. "Meowth, be a dear and rinse the cups, and fill up the canteens whilst you're at it." she said sweetly.

"How comes I gotta do it?!" Meowth cried.

"Because James is busy giving himself a sensual massage and I have more important things to do, like my hair and make-up." She said, earning herself a glare from each of her team mates. "It's not easy being beautiful you know."

Meowth muttered "how would you know?" under his breath as he collected the things, causing Jessie to throw a rock at him, murder in her eyes. He quickly left the clearing and headed to the stream.

"Mangy furball!" Jessie yelled after him, then continued rummaging in her rucksack for her make-up and hair brush, and of course her usual can of super-strength hairspray, and proceeded to style her hair.

James glanced at Jessie out of the corner of his eye. He thought her hair looked nicer when it was free from all that hairspray. He carefully rolled up his sleeping bag and packed away his things, trying not to move his neck too much, and as a favour to his team mate he packed away Meowth's things too.

Meowth returned a short while later expecting to find his team mates ready to go, but to his surprise Jessie was still in the midst of her beauty treatment. "You nearly ready dere Jess?" he asked, eyebrow raised.

"You wouldn't rush an artist working on a masterpiece now would you?" she replied as she blotted her ruby lips, admiring herself in the mirror as James and Meowth exchanged eyerolls.

Jessie packed away her toiletries and stood to roll up her sleeping bag, momentarily confused when she noticed her jacket which she had used as a pillow and the identical (although slightly larger) jacket she was wearing. Realising she was still wearing James' from the night before, she shrugged it off and threw it towards James.

"James! Jacket!" she called as she threw it.

James abruptly snapped out of his bored state and turned to look, and clutched at his neck as the jacket landed on his head.

"Gee, thanks Jess." muttered James, hoping she wouldn't detect the sarcasm under the jacket. He pulled it off and ran a hand through his dishevelled hair before folding it and packing it in to his rucksack as Jessie finally finished packing up her things, and the trio continued on their way to the cabin.

xXx

Whereas their trek through the forest yesterday had been a cheerful one, with a skip in their step and the odd bit of out-of-tune humming courtesy of Meowth, today's walk was more subdued – the weight of their first mission on their shoulders and for one member of their party, a poor night's sleep behind him. Jessie clenched her teeth at the persistent whining of her team mates as they followed her; Meowth who was not permitted to ride on James' shoulder was complaining about his tired feet, and James grumbled every time the uneven ground jolted his neck. Forcing herself to focus on manoeuvring through the undergrowth (Meowth's idea of a short-cut) she tried to block them out. She hated whining.

"Heh, I told ya it was a short-cut!" Meowth boasted as their feet finally found the path. "Cabin's just up dere." He gestured up the path with his paw.

James examined the map, blowing the strands of hair from his eyes. "He's right, we should arrive shortly." He said gleefully, thankful their journey was nearly over. "First thing I'll do is take a nice hot shower, I'm sure that will help ease the pain."

Meowth fell in to step with James as they headed up the path. "Foist thing I'm gonna do is find a nice sunny spot for a cat-nap." He grinned a big toothy grin.

"Wrong." They both stopped and turned to look behind them. "The first thing we will do is plan for our assignment." Jessie said as she cut between her partners and walked in front. "We can't leave any of tonight to chance. Now let's go!" she ordered.

"Yes sir!" Meowth and James both chimed with a mock salute as they followed her towards the cabin.

xXx

An hour later, the three Rockets were stood around a table in the dusty cabin (or, two were stood around the table and one was stood on the table) poring over the Pokémon centre blueprints. They guessed the cabin hadn't been used in a while, a thin layer of dust covered the furniture and rose from the floorboards as they walked, the sunlight streaming in through the blinds catching the swirling puffs with each step. Still, it contained beds and half-stocked cupboards, and was secluded from prying eyes.

"This is where we'll enter the building," Jessie poked at the blueprints, "Meowth, you're sure you can get us in?" she questioned her team mate.

Meowth extended a claw. "With dis bad boy? No problem!"

Jessie nodded and dragged her finger along a corridor, "and this is where we'll split up. Meowth you head left to the office," she pointed at another room on the map, "go through the drawers, see if there's anything worth stealing. You'll be going past Joy's sleeping quarters, so you need to keep quiet. Any problems, just pretend you're a stray Meowth. Got it?"

"Leave it to Meowth!" he nodded.

"James, you and me will head to the other side of the centre," she indicated another part of the map, "and collect as many Pokéballs as we can."

James followed her finger and nodded. "From the intel provided, we'll have an hour between Chansey's rounds." He added, looking up at her.

"I don't want to risk it," Jessie replied, looking at each of her partners, hoping they couldn't detect any signs of worry on her face. "I think we should give ourselves 40 minutes max to get in, get the loot and get the hell away."

James and Meowth nodded and murmured in agreement, before the three of them looked back down at the blueprints.

"And around here," she prodded the table next to the map, "is our rendezvous point – a small wood just outside the Pokémon centre. I'll point it out on the way there. Any questions?" James and Meowth shook their heads. "Ok, so James, what's the equipment situation?"

James reached for his rucksack and set it on the table. Jessie and Meowth crowded round him as he began bringing items out.

"Three sets of binoculars, a large super-strength bag to collect the Pokéballs, three sets of ear-pieces and microphones – the latest models, some torches…" He continued to rummage in his bag.

Jessie picked up one of the tiny ear-pieces and inspected it. "That's great James, that's everything we need."

"That's not all!" he cried excitedly, pulling more things from the depths of his bag and placing them on the table. "We have lots of other things too, this handy toolkit, walkie talkies, rope and a ball of string…" Meowth's eyes lit up at the last one, "plenty of smoke bombs, and provisions too, chocolate, sweets..."

"Where on earth did you get all this?" Jessie asked, neither of them noticing the ball of string slowly moving across the table and out of sight.

"I struck up a conversation with the boy in the supply room, Mondo I think his name is. He's a good kid, he was very eager to assist." James said fondly.

Jessie set aside the equipment they needed for that night. "So we're all set?" she looked up at James questioningly.

"I believe so. We need to be ready to leave here at 1am, which means we have the whole evening to rest. I'm going to have a shower and then hopefully get some sleep." James said, rubbing his neck. "I need it after last night." he added glumly.

Jessie rolled her eyes as they both turned away from the table, and they stopped short at the sight of Meowth batting the string ball across the dusty floor. They both pressed their hands to their lips to stifle their laughter, eyebrows raised in surprise and amusement. James wiped a tear from his eye and they fell against each other, still attempting to supress their giggles as they watched him bound after it, a look of pure bliss on his furry face.

xXx

Meowth lay curled up on an old armchair, the warm rays gleaming through the window on to his fur, worn out from his feline activities. Jessie clutched a steaming mug of coffee as she pored over the blueprints, etching the layout in to her mind. James had excused himself and entered the bedroom, scanning his eyes over the two single beds. The cabin was far from luxurious but his aching body relished the prospect of a comfortable sleep.

James entered the en-suite bathroom, tugging off his shirt and t-shirt and hanging them on the door hook. He had been looking forward to this all day, anything to relieve some of the pain in his neck and shoulder. He tenderly pressed his fingers in to his shoulder with one hand, turning on the taps connected to the old shower hose with the other. James looked up in annoyance at the pathetic deluge of water. He turned both taps on full blast, relieved to see the shower spurt to life, however this was short-lived when he ran his hand under the lukewarm stream. Sighing, he turned the cold tap down and waited, desperately trying to detect an increase in temperature in his fingers, closing his eyes in despair when nothing happened.

"Perfect." he muttered, grabbing his clothes and storming back in to the bedroom, throwing the garments on to the nearest bed in frustration and jarring his neck in the process. "Oh for Arceus' sake!" he yelled, clutching at his neck. Sighing in defeat, he sank on to the foot of the bed and gingerly rested his head in his hands. He didn't notice Jessie approach the doorway and lean against the doorframe, sipping her coffee thoughtfully.

Jessie had come to investigate to source of James' distress and found her partner shirtless with his face obscured by hands and hair. "What's wrong?" she asked.

James didn't look up. "No hot water." he replied mournfully.

Jessie studied her team mate as she sipped her coffee. As much as she was fed up of him whining about his neck, she understood his concern - tonight's mission would require them all to be in top physical form. An idea popped in to her head and she chewed her lip as she toyed with it. 'Would it be weird?' she thought to herself, watching as James removed his hands from his face and pressed his fingers in to where his neck met his shoulder. 'Ah, screw it.' she decided impulsively, striding back in to the other room to retrieve something from her rucksack before returning to the bedroom.

Jessie removed her boots and flung them in to the corner, and walked over towards James who looked more and more confused as Jessie climbed on the bed and knelt behind him.

"Um, Jess…? What are…" James tried to turn to look at her but winced when he couldn't.

"Keep still James." Jessie ordered, squeezing some moisturiser on to her hands. She'd never done this before but how hard could it be? Making sure her fingers were suitably covered in cream, she placed her hands on his shoulders, moving her fingers in circles down towards his collarbone and gently pressing her thumbs along the base of his neck.

Jessie couldn't see James' face but she could tell he was anxious and could feel how tense he was. "I need you in tip top shape for tonight. You're not gonna be much good if you can't even turn your head properly. Now do us both a favour and relax, would you?"

James took a deep breath and lowered his head, allowing her fingers to knead his aching muscles. He closed his eyes. This felt good.

"You ought to be grateful," Jessie continued in a mock-serious voice, "do you have any idea how expensive this moisturiser is?"

"And how much did you pay for it Jessie?" James retorted with a smirk.

"That's not the point!" she snapped, though a playful smile tugged at her lips.

Jessie continued to work her fingers over James' neck and shoulders. This was easy! Nothing to it! 'Just another thing that I'm amazing at.' she boasted to herself as she firmly slid her fingers over the base of his neck, then back over his collarbone. He had a really nice collarbone. 'What? Where did that come from?' Jessie questioned. 'It's just a collarbone, honestly Jessie!' she chided herself.

"Where does it hurt?" she asked James, focussing back on the task at hand.

James slowly opened his eyes, her voice bringing him out of the trance he'd fallen in to. "Left side, neck and shoulder blade."

Jessie touched her fingers to the left side of his neck, James tilting his head to the right as she did. "Here?" she enquired.

"Mmm, a bit lower."

"What about here?"

"Not quite." James reached up his hand and caught her fingers in his own, and this time it was Jessie's turn to be puzzled. "May I?" he offered, and he pressed her fingers in to his skin, inhaling as he did so and tilting his head further, stretching out the troublesome muscles.

Jessie took note of the course his fingers took, and she imitated them.

"That's it, just er, harder, if you wouldn't mind?" James asked hesitantly.

Jessie firmly massaged her fingers where James had indicated, smiling at the soft moan that escaped his lips. She must be in the right place.

James closed his eyes again, his aching muscles relishing the pressure of Jessie's fingertips. He had never been touched in a way that brought him this much pleasure, his previous experiences with women had been awkward, or humiliating and painful… he banished the thought from his mind, he wouldn't think about that right now. He was just going to enjoy this. He wouldn't allow memories of her to tarnish this experience. James focussed on the way Jessie's fingers moved over his skin, unable to stop another moan as she added more pressure.

"Mmmm, this… ahhh, this feels good. Really good" James sighed.

Jessie felt a blush creep on to her face at the sounds he was making, and couldn't help the smile on her lips, knowing that she was the source. She was extremely glad he couldn't see her face. He moaned again as she moved her fingers downwards towards the top of his shoulder blade, using his reaction to judge location, rhythm and pressure.

James hung his head down as her hands moved lower. The way she kneaded him in just the right place was sublime. He was no longer in control of the noises he was making. He hoped he wasn't making her feel awkward or embarrassed.

Jessie tried to ignore the heat in her belly as she worked her fingers downwards. 'I'm sure everyone makes these noises during massages, hell even I'd be making them if it were me.' she assured herself as he grew louder still. 'This isn't weird, it's perfectly normal…' her thoughts were interrupted as her fingers found an ever-so-slightly raised line of smoother skin, and she looked down at his back, eyebrows knotted in confusion. Keeping her fingers moving, she glanced back up at his head, but he showed no sign he was aware of her distraction. Slowly moving her upper body back, she took a proper look at his skin. Her fingers had found a long thin scar, snaking its way across the bottom of his shoulder blade. Her eyes darted across his back, and to her horror she discovered multiple crisscrossing scars distorting his skin.

'What the hell?' she wondered, shocked. 'They must be pretty old, they're barely visible. But he didn't have them when I knew him…' Her heart plummeted as she finally understood why he never changed his top in front of her when they were younger, and tears pricked at her eyes. 'This happened when he was a KID?' Jessie could feel the rage bubbling up inside her.

"Um… Jess?" James opened one eye and raised his eyebrow, briefly wondering why she had stopped. And then it hit him. He had forgotten. Well, forgotten wasn't exactly the right word. He could never forget. But although he hoped he would maybe one day be able to come to terms with the mental scars, he had at least learnt to accept he would always bear the physical scars of a tortured childhood, and so was much more comfortable not wearing a shirt than when he was younger.

James tentatively turned his head from side to side, relieved when he found the pain had lessened significantly. He scooted sideways on the bed and leaned against the wall, now facing Jessie. Her fists and teeth were clenched and he could see the rage in her eyes threatening to spill over her cheeks. He looked down, almost ashamed that his history was upsetting her so much. He didn't ever want to cause her pain.

Jessie's breath was shaky. "Wh… Who?" she managed to get out.

James would have found it funny that Jessie was pretty much speechless, had it not been for the fury emanating from her.

"I hope you understand when I say I can't talk about this right now," he said darkly, not looking up at her. "I know we've technically known each other forever, but we've only just met each other again, and this… this is something I'm still dealing with myself. " He sniffed, a single tear falling on to his chest. "I don't know if I'll ever be able to talk about it. But it was a long time ago. Please don't let it upset you." He looked up and met her gaze.

His eyes were so full of pain that it broke her heart, and Jessie couldn't hold his gaze for long. Her eyes flickered down to his chest, and her stomach churned when she noticed similar scars on his torso. She choked back a sob as a few tears spilled down her face. She was too proud to cry, that was true. But this was different. This was pure anger at the thought of someone hurting someone she cared about.

James, not wanting to cause his friend any more anguish, leaned over to grab his t-shirt from further up the bed, and he stood and moved away from her. As he was about to put it on, Jessie grabbed his arm and he suddenly found her in front of him. Jessie gently placed a hand on his chest as she stared up at him, before pulling him in to a hug. James wound his arms around her and stroked her head, and became aware of two things: She smelled like strawberries. And surprisingly, it didn't hurt quite so much in her arms.

James gave her a gentle squeeze. "Thanks." He murmured in to her hair.

"What for?" she sniffed.

"For the massage. It really helped. Thank you." Although it felt to James like all that pleasure occurred eons ago.

Jessie released him. "Don't mention it." She smiled up at him.

James returned the smile. "I should get some sleep. I'm pretty tired." He yawned as soon as the words left his mouth, as though his body was agreeing with him. "Ready for our big night tonight."

Jessie nodded, and grabbed her boots and made her way towards the door, pulling the curtains closed as she walked past the window. "Night James."

"Night Jessie."