Fated

Summary: Jessie finds herself in exile, forced into captivity with a mysterious stranger. With nowhere to go and seemingly no hope of escape, they share the stories behind their miserable fates. Hers is filled with questions. His is filled with answers.

Chapter 12: Growing Up

Another story bout a boy and a girl
growing up in different worlds
but if i could i wouldn't change you
I may be crazy or i may be cursed
another chapter another verse
If you turn the page i wouldn't blame you.

But every word is true.

I'm gonna give you, give you a storybook
give you, give you a story book ending
but you've gotta trust me.
give you, give you a story book ending
but you've gotta trust me.

A blank novel but i see the plot
well I'm the author and your all I've got
I found you in the words i wrote down
when all the characters have said goodbye
I'll be the one standing by your side
so let me write forever with you.
...A Trip To Paris - Storybook Ending

Jessie lay back on her makeshift bed and stared up at the ceiling as Jack tidied up the dishes. She felt a little guilty that she couldn't really help him considering that she could only move six feet from her wall. That guilt ebbed when she thought of what he did to Miya, leaving her alone to deal with their unborn kid. How anyone could knowingly abandon their kid was beyond her. Parents should not leave their kids unless they have a damn good reason, she thought to herself. That was why she often told herself that her parents were dead. It didn't make her feel as bad as when she thought about the alternative scenario where her parents abandoned her.

She sighed heavily and looked at Jack's back. He looked tense and she could tell that it was either anger at his past mistakes or anger over her last comment. She had basically said that she was better than him, that she had stepped up under pressure and made the hard choices. True though it was, he probably didn't feel so hot having it shoved back into his face. Once again, Jessie had opened her mouth without thinking.

Of course she could apologize to the older man, who had finished with the dishes and was glancing out the window at the looming mountain almost longingly, but Jessie rarely apologized. It just…didn't sit right with her, admitting that she was wrong. She watched as Jack sighed and retired to his own bed, still not saying a word as he stared up at the ceiling. Finally, Jessie couldn't take it anymore.

"Okay, maybe I shouldn't have been so judgemental," she admitted, "It's a tough thing to go through."

"Don't worry about it," Jack shrugged, "I've said the same things to myself over the years. One thing I can say for the isolation is that it gives you a long time to think."

"That can either be good or bad," Jessie said.

"Usually it leads me to consider walking past my two-mile boundaries," he said candidly. Jessie frowned over at him, wondering if she had just caught him in one of those moments.

"Suicide?" she asked quietly. There was a wry smile on his face.

"You see my life, Jessilina," he replied, "I live on a mountain away from everyone I've ever cared about. I can't communicate with anyone but Giovanni or his grunts. It's a miserable existence. I'll die on this mountain anyways."

The words made Jessie ache. Would that be her in twenty-two years? Would she be longing to end her own life like he just admitted to? Would she succumb to that severe depression that made him look weary and old?

"So what keeps you alive?" she questioned.

"Just one thing," he said softly.

"And that is…" she trailed off, waiting for him to fill in the blanks.

"Tell me, Jessilina, what will keep you alive when you're in my position?" Jack asked, "What would you live for?"

The answer flashed into her mind in an instant, leaving an acute pain in her chest. She knew exactly what she would fight for; she had been fighting for it since that day she fell from a cliff.

"The answer to that is in the next part of my story," she revealed, "Wanna hear it?"

"Absolutely," he agreed, "It's kind of nice having the option to escape into someone else's life."

Two things saved me when I fell from the cliff into the raging water of the river below: James, who never let go of me, and Meowth's alley-cat tendencies. Sometimes when we passed through a new city or town, the scratch-cat would regress to his own days as a street-meowth and wander the streets at night looking for some kind of trouble. James and I never questioned it. Meowth took great pride in being able to act like a human and I think he was a bit embarrassed when he succumbed to the pokemon side of him. Despite this, his midnight wanderings gave him an excellent sense of direction, which is pretty useful when you have to rush to a hospital.

When we fell, a rock ended up hitting the side of my head, knocking me out and causing a very nasty gash. James managed to get me back to the river bank and then Meowth led him to the nearest hospital. It took me a while to wake up, but when I did, it hurt like hell. The bright lights of the room nearly blinded me and my head was throbbing. It actually felt like I had a heartbeat in my head. It didn't help that the hallways outside were bustling.

"Son-of-a bitch," I moaned, wincing a little as I slowly sat up. I had to stop part way when I felt stars come to my eyes.

"Jess! You're awake!" Meowth chirped from my side. I flinched as the sheer volume of his voice brought on a new wave of pounding in my head.

"How long have I been out?" I asked, my voice a little hoarse.

"Couple hours," Meowth answered, tilting his head curiously at me, "We was worried about you!"

I frowned. Worried? Then I remembered falling and the rocks and Butch, Cassidy, and Domino. I looked around the room, but only Meowth was here with me. Fear gripped me as I turned back to the cat, "Meowth, where's James?" I asked.

"I dunno. He left a little while ago. Said to tell ya that he'd be back," Meowth answered. I frowned and nodded, leaning back against the pillows. The dizziness was returning.

I hardly noticed that Meowth had crawled closer to me until he asked, "How're you feeling?"

"I'll live," I shrugged, staring at him. It wasn't like Meowth to ask questions like that or come that close to my face. Talk about an invasion of personal space.

"I know," Meowth said, "But what about da baby?" he asked. I started. What the Hell kind of question was that?

"What baby?" I asked, looking at him as if he had grown another head.

"Yours and Jim's," Meowth answered. I sat up real fast.

"WHAT?" I exclaimed, my own voice painful to my ears as I was forced to lay back down. It took me a moment to regain my senses.

"Excuse me?" Jack exclaimed in bemusement as he sat up to look over at her. Jessie sighed and shrugged.

"We were too broke to eat, let alone worry about birth control and we spent nearly two months sneaking off for a quick screw at every opportunity. It was bound to happen," Jessie replied.

Meowth's furry face knotted in confusion.

"Da doctor said that you was having a baby and James went inta shock and…oh yeah, da doctor said dat you probably wouldn't know yet," comprehension dawned on Meowth's face. I shook my head. Not happening. No way. I couldn't be having a kid.

"I'm not having…I can't be…not possible…" I stammered to convince him, struggling to sit up and get out of the bed. I couldn't even convince myself, because thinking about it…well, it was possible. James and I hadn't exactly been careful. Oh, God, James. I paled, realizing that he knew. That was probably where he was, freaking out about the…baby. There was no way he was ready to be a dad. I wasn't ready to be a mom. I KNEW that, but James…he was probably ready to go back and jump off that cliff or something. That thought hurt to think about. I wasn't an idiot. Back when I was part of a bridge bike gang, a friend of mine got knocked up after sleeping with this guy. She told him about it and he told her it was her problem. I shuddered. I don't know if I could handle it if James left. I was suddenly short of breath.

"F-fuck. Shit. Dammit!" I swore, burying my head in my hands, "Ouch!" I winced in pain when my hands brushed the bandage on my head. Most of the damage appeared to be along my left temple near my hairline.

"Easy dere, Jess," Meowth reached up with a paw to touch my hand, concern in his vivid blue eyes. It was lost on me.

"Easy? How…where's James?" I managed.

"He said he'd be back Jess. I tink he just needed some air. He was pretty upset-"

"Yeah," I ejected clenching my eyes shut as I struggled to breathe, "Of course…who wouldn't be…dammit!"

"Calm down, Jess. Jimmy will be back and dis will all be okay," the cat tried to reassure me. I shook my head.

"N-no…he'll go and…" I trailed off. I had to find James. I grabbed the edge of the blankets to move them aside and get out of bed. Probably not the best idea considering that sitting upright made my head spin.

"Don't you get out of that bed," James's voice ordered from the doorway. I looked over at him and gasped. He had a cut over his left eye and his right was already beginning to swell. His lip was cut and there were tears and burn marks on his clothes.

"What da heck happened to you?" Meowth asked the question I had been wondering. James ignored him and approached the bed. He took the blanket from me and looked from me to the bed, his eyes uncharacteristically firm. I found myself obeying him. He gently tucked the covers in around me and sat at the edge of the bed. Suddenly I felt calmer now that he was back with me. He was still here, alive and well…though maybe a little worse for wear.

"How are you feeling?" he asked me gently.

"Like I fell off a cliff," I muttered and to my relief, he cracked a smile, "How about you?" I asked. He shrugged.

"I'm fine, but we're in danger," he told me, taking my hand. I remembered being chased by Domino, Butch, and Cassidy, "The boss is going to come looking for us as soon as he gets the chance."

"Then let's get out of here," I said. If the boss was looking for us, then why did he just force me back into bed? He shook his head.

"The doctor said you needed to rest…and get checked out," he said, glancing nervously down at my stomach, "I…Do you…know…"

"Meowth told me," I answered, saving him from stammering the words.

"We're having a baby," he said it anyways, sounding a little winded. I couldn't blame him, really.

"Scary," I commented, my voice shaking a little. He nodded in agreement.

"Crazy."

"Terrifying," Meowth agreed with us, though in his case I think it was sarcasm. James took a deep breath.

"So…uh…what do you think?" he asked.

"Um…well…I…dunno…" I murmured, not meeting his eyes, "Uh, you?" I asked. He shifted uneasily and I felt fear well up within me. I imagined him bolting.

"Uh…well…" he hesitated, "I…maybe…I dunno…you?"

"Oh, for Mew's sake!" Meowth cried in frustration, "Dis is what I get for bein' saddled with da humans dat didn't pay attention in health class!"

"Shut up, Meowth!" James and I said at the same time. Apparently neither of us were ready to deal with our feline partner in crime. Meowth glared at us.

"I tink I have a right to say something 'bout this!" he argued, "Dis all affects me as much as youse guys! I know youse didn't tink of me when youse got yourselves inta dis mess, but now I tink it's time I got a say! I'm part of dis trio too, ya dig?"

I gritted my teeth in response and James crossed his arms and looked annoyed at Meowth. He just crossed his arms and looked firmly at us.

"Now it would be an understatement if I said dat I was very disappointed with ya both," the cat began, "I mean it's one ting shackin' up like dat, but youse coulda at least told Meowth," he said reproachfully. For a moment, James and I exchanged identical looks of disbelief.

"Dat bein' said, I can understand why youse didn't say anything. I understand dat we all have needs and dat we all have to act on dose needs from time to time, but our actions have consequences."

"He sounds like the patronizing parent of the pregnant teenager," Jack snorted. Jessie laughed.

"We've grasped that fact, Meowth," I told him. He sighed.

"See, I don't tink dat you have 'cause otherwise youse two would have tought of dis before youse jumped each other out in the woods," he replied. I felt my head throb as I tried to control my temper.

"Meowth, what's your point?" James asked, frustration in his voice.

"My point is dat these decisions are important and will affect da rest of your lives. You can't just let tings happen. It's high time dat youse two grow up and start tinkin' about these sort of tings," Meowth told us, causing both me and James to gape in shock as if our friend had just fury-swiped us.

Sure, what he said actually made sense, but hearing it was like a slap in the face. James and I did have to start thinking about our futures, especially now. It wasn't enough anymore to just live in the moment. We couldn't continue on the way we were, clinging to those teenage years that had long since gone. It meant everything had to change and that was scary.

"Now from what I understand with humans is dere are three options in dis situation: have da kid, not have da kid, or have da kid and give it to someone else," he said, "Now I'm gonna go over to dat window to pretend to give youse guys some privacy while youse decide which of da three makes sense," he stated, hopping down from the bed.

"Did he really just tell us to grow up?" I asked James, trying to make sure that I wasn't hallucinating. He chuckled nervously and ran a hand through his blue hair.

"I think he did," he confirmed, and after a beat of silence, he added, "And he may be right."

"Don't tell him that," I whispered, causing James to smile as we shared a glance at the cat-type pokemon, who had made himself comfortable in the windowsill. I looked back at James and sighed.

"I don't wanna grow up," I pouted, laying back against the pillows, still holding his hand in mine.

"Me neither," he admitted softly, "but I guess we've got to. We have to think about the future now," and at this his eyes drifted back to my flat stomach, which was suddenly doing flip-flops. I felt the fear well up again over my present situation. For a moment it had been abated when James returned, but now it was back full-force.

"Yeah," I managed to get out. James's emerald gaze lifted from my stomach to my eyes and with his free hand, he gently caressed the side of my face.

"Can I…I wanna…" he stammered and then took a breath, "Jessie, I love you," he said and my eyes widened at this declaration, "I love you a lot and whatever choice we make, I want to be with you. I want my future to be with you. Always," he stated. It was the first time either of us uttered those three words out loud and I was amazed by the power they had over me. Hearing him say it made it real, permanent and knowing that he wanted to be with me, no matter what, suddenly made the fear lessen.

"I love you too, James," I echoed, meaning it. He smiled and leaned in to kiss me. I would have happily deepened the kiss had the meowth in the window not chose that moment to cough. I gritted my teeth and James sighed wearily.

"Well there's one grown-up decision about our future," he said a little louder than necessary, more for Meowth's benefit than for mine.

"Now for the harder one," I murmured.

"Yeah," James nodded, "Three options."

"Two," I corrected, "I'm not having a kid and then leaving it with strangers and then spending the rest of my life wondering," I stated, thinking of my own childhood.

"So two options," James said, "Have a baby or not."

Two options. A or B. Be a parent or not be a parent. Choice or life.

"Could we really be someone's parents?" I asked, unsure and doubtful in my own abilities.

"But could we live with ourselves if we choose not to?" James asked the other question what was bouncing around my brain. I bit my lip and fidgeted as I contemplated the details of our situation.

"But what kind of life would we have if we did have a baby?" I questioned, my eyes meeting his. He shifted on the bed so that he was no longer across from me, but beside me, my hand still clasped on his.

"We'd need a place to live," he said softly, "and a crib and diapers and bottles and all that," he listed. He had forgotten something, though.

"And money," I added, "which we don't have a lot of."

"Yeah," Jack snorted, "Not enough to put into a vending machine to get a condom."

"We were in the middle of a forest, There were no vending machines," Jessie growled, "Keep up."

"I could get a job," James said, "or two or three."

I blinked in surprise. In all the years I'd known him, he had hardly wanted to work one job let alone three. I shook my head, "I couldn't ask you to do that."

"I'd have to," he replied, "We'd need money and you would be home taking care of the baby."

I frowned, "I can't work? That's a little sexist, James," I shot at him. He turned crimson.

"Well you'd have to…uh…feed it…" he trailed off, glancing down at my breasts. Oh. That made a bit of sense.

"Okay, didn't think about that," I shrugged off, "which reminds me…I don't know the first thing about babies."

"We'd have to learn. I'm sure there are books and doctors and stuff," he said, and then he looked at me shyly, "I think you'd be a great mom, Jess. You could keep the kid in line."

I raised my eyebrows at him, "Oh? And just what is that supposed to mean, huh?"

"You'd be a good disciplinarian," James shrugged defensively. I snorted.

"Yeah and you'd be a good doormat," I scoffed, "The kid would know that it could just run to Daddy to get its way," I told him. James and I looked at each other for a moment as the words washed over us both. I could almost see that future in my head, us in some small, cluttered apartment with a little bald, green-eyed toddler. It would have James's eyes. I'd spend the day covered in some sort of gooey baby food and then James would walk through the door and the little toddler would stumble as it tried to run to him. He'd be exhausted, but he'd still pick it up and hug and kiss it and then he'd cross the floor and kiss me as well.

Suddenly, I wanted that future. I wanted it badly, but just as the image came to my head, so did one that scared me, one where I was knocked to the ground as Rocket grunts charged into that apartment to grab me and James with the baby screaming in the background. I knew that that wonderful future was impossible because, inevitably, the boss would find us.

"We can't…" I croaked as the image of that green-eyed toddler faded away, "Team Rocket…and the cops…"

"We could run somewhere-"

"He'd find us. I know he would…James, we can't…we're broke, homeless, wanted by Team Rocket and the police, and we don't know a thing about kids," I summarized, "We don't have anybody to turn to for help, not family or friends…we can't…" my voice broke and then I felt his arms around me, pulling me close to him. I clung to his shirt, taking in the scent of burnt cotton and listening to the steady beat of his heart. A couple tears leaked from my eyes, caused by a mixture of pain from my head and pain from the loss of that future. It had seemed so good, filled me up with something I hadn't felt in a long time, but now it was gone, replaced by a life of running away.

"I'm sorry," Jack said, bowing his head. He suddenly understood why she had been so outspoken against his decision to leave Miya. She had lost a chance that he had walked away from.

"Don't be," Jessie replied softly, a smile playing on her lips, "I love James for a lot of things, but most of all, for what he said next."

"What if we could make it happen?" James suddenly said after a moment. I froze and raised my head to look at him. He was half-smiling as some great realization washed over him. If it had been in a cartoon, there would have been a light bulb over his head. He looked down at me and continued, "What if we could change that?"

"James, how would we ever change that?" I asked.

"You said before that we have no one that would help us, but we do," James told me, "My family."

"Your family?" I asked doubtfully, remembering a brief encounter with his parents, a wealthy couple who wanted to marry him off to this bratty, stuck-up, whip-happy, money-hungry broad, "Why on earth would they help us?"

"They've always wanted me to settle down," he shrugged, "and this is their grandchild."

"But what about dat fiancé of yours?" Meowth asked, abandoning his post by the window. I noticed James flinch horribly at the word 'fiancé'.

"There won't be any need for an arranged marriage now," James said stiffly. Meowth shot James a doubtful look.

"James, you do realize dat goil's willing to chase you down to da ends of da earth, don't ya?" Meowth questioned.

"He's right James. She won't just walk away," I added, "and I'm pretty sure your parents would rather it that way."

"This would be their grandchild," James argued, "That's got to mean something."

"Sure, a grandchild who was conceived before marriage. Hardly the heir they had in mind," I scoffed, "James, they won't help us."

"They might."

"James!" I moaned in frustration. He knew better than anyone that his family just wanted him to be the proper little rich boy, follow all the rules, and marry the pre-approved little rich girl that they selected for him. I couldn't understand what he hoped to prove by going back to them.

"I have to try, Jess," he pleaded, "They have the money and the resources to make it possible for us to have this baby and I want that. I want to have this baby with you. I think it could be the greatest thing ever to have a family. My parents can make it happen, so I have to try to talk to them. Even if they don't help us, and we have to…not have the baby, at least I won't spend the rest of my life wondering."

I couldn't argue with that, so I sighed and smiled at him, "Then let's try," I said simply, "Where do we start?"

"Let me think?" he requested.

"We could be here for a while," Meowth muttered, hopping into the empty chair by the bed. James glared at him and I smirked. I reached up and brushed a strand of blue hair our of his face. His right eye was swollen and dark red.

"Gonna tell me what happened to you?" I asked. He flushed.

"Not important. Actually, I'm gonna go clean up," he said, pointing to the hospital bathroom. He hopped off the bed and I watched quizzically as he disappeared behind the door.

"He didn't look like dat when he left here," Meowth supplied, shaking his head.

"That's what I was afraid of," I muttered. I had a good idea of what happened to James, even if he wouldn't say.

"So do ya tink dis plan of his is gonna work?" Meowth questioned. I shrugged.

"I doubt it, but stranger things have happened," I said, "So have we grown up enough for you?"

"Youse guys are tryin' to make a mature decision for a change," Meowth observed, "I gotta applaud ya for dat."

"Thanks," I said, laying back. It felt good to rest my head. All this talking and planning was exhausting and all I wanted to do was sleep.

"You look pale," James commented when he re-entered the room and sat on the bed.

"Fell off a cliff," I reminded him, a little irritation seeming into my voice. He leaned in to kiss the side of my forehead near the bandage.

"Rest," he murmured. If only it were that easy. At that moment, a doctor entered the room, his blond hair cropped close to his head. He didn't look that much older than me, actually.

"Hello, Mrs. Logan, how are you feeling?" he asked as he approached the bed.

"Fake name," James whispered quickly in my ear.

"Tired," I supplied, hoping he'd get the hint. He smiled.

"Well this won't take too long," he said, "I'm Dr. Chase. Do you remember what happened to you, Mrs. Logan?" he asked.

"Well…we were walking by the edge and…some rocks…they gave way, didn't they?" I made a show of pretending to think while looking over at James.

"That's what happened," James agreed.

"Okay, so we've determined that you've been concussed and probably won't be feeling too hot for the next few days," he said. Thank you, Captain Obvious.

"So what does that mean?" James asked.

"It means that your wife," my eyebrows shot up at this one, "will need to remain here for a couple days, just to make sure that she hasn't sustained any major damage. Also, it will give us a chance to keep an eye on that gash on your head," Dr. Chase said, now talking to me, "And I'm assuming your husband has told you that you're expecting?" he asked. I nodded my head and winced as the motion brought on a new wave of pounding.

"I'm just going to quickly give you a quick assessment and then a little later on, we'll have someone come and talk to you about your pregnancy," Chase continued. He shone a little light in my eyes, which hurt; made me try to pry his fingers apart, which hurt my pride when I couldn't; and then he talked a bit about how I should rest and under which circumstances should I call a nurse. All in all, I was happy when he left and I could drift off.

"It sounds like you got lucky," Jack observed.

"Very," Jessie agreed.

A couple hours later, I awoke to James and Meowth arguing about something.

"I'll be coming right back. I just have to get that suit costume from the balloon," James was saying.

"No way, Jimmy. Da last time she woke up and you weren't here, she freaked out," Meowth argued.

"That also could have been because you just told her that we were having a baby," James pointed out.

"Dat's not da point. When Jessie wakes up, you can continue with dis crazy plan of yours," Meowth said firmly.

"Meowth-"

"It's really hard to sleep when you two boneheads are making enough racket to wake the dead," I murmured, looking around the dimly lit room to make out James and Meowth's forms. James chuckled and moved closer to the bed.

"Sorry, Beautiful," he whispered. I smiled and held his hand.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"I have a plan," he announced, "but it means I'm going to be gone for a couple days."

"Can't it wait?"

"Afraid not. There's going to be doctor's bills and all that to take care of. Besides, the sooner we can get out of the area, the better," he explained.

"So what's the plan?" I asked.

"I'm going to go to one of my parents' summer homes and take their private jet back to Kanto so I can talk to them. It won't be easy, but I think I can convince them," James said. So that was his master plan? Well, no one ever said James was a criminal mastermind or anything.

"I hope you're right," I murmured.

"I will be," he said, "I'll find a way, Jess. Do you remember when we were just kids and we always said that someday we would have everything? I'm going to give you that. I'm going to go to my parents, get the money, and then I'm going to come back and ride off into the sunset with you. Just trust me."

"I do trust you," I admitted. He grinned and placed a gentle kiss on my lips. We parted and I continued, "But James-"

"Jess, promise me that you will stay in this bed and do everything the doctors tell you to do until I get back," he pleaded, cutting across me.

"But-"

"Please," he begged, raising a hand to cup my face, forcing me to stare into his eyes. Low blow. That was like me hitting him in the groin. I felt myself caving.

"Fine," I grumbled. James smiled before turning to Meowth.

"Meowth, you're going to stay here and keep an eye on Jessie. Try to keep out of sight," he said. I gritted my teeth in annoyance. I didn't need anybody, let alone the CAT, to keep an eye on me.

"Gotcha," Meowth saluted, taking the opportunity to crawl under the blankets. I groaned. James smirked.

"Alright, I should go. The sooner we get you out of here, the better," he said, pecking me on the lips. And then he was gone and Meowth and I were left alone.

"Hey, how long ago did all this take place?" Jack asked, giving her a strange look. Jessie laughed.

"Don't worry. I'm not knocked up right now," she assured him. He sighed in relief.

"Good. I'm not going to deliver a baby."

"I don't blame you there," Jessie agreed, laying back and staring at the ceiling as the sun faded from the sky and shadows filled the room.

TBC

AN: Well there's a little curve ball for you. Am I the only one who thinks that it would be utterly hilarious to see Jessie and James with a kid who would cause as much mayhem as they do? I doubt it. I love Meowth in this chapter, especially his 'Grow up' speech. Seems like him, no?

Songs that inspired this chapter:
- Storybook Ending by A Trip to Paris.
- Do You Remember by The Summer Obsession.
- Inevitable by Anberlin.