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 13: Keep Running

Yesterday is a wrinkle on your forehead
Yesterday is a promise that you've broken
Don't close your eyes, don't close your eyes
This is your life and today is all you've got now
Yeah, and today is all you'll ever have
Don't close your eyes

This is your life, are you who you want to be
This is your life, are you who you want to be
This is your life, is it everything you dreamed that it would be
When the world was younger and you had everything to lose
...Switchfoot - This is Your Life

Jessie was cold, her frozen fingers reaching for the figure who was being dragged away as she stood at the entryway of the small shack. She knew him. She loved him. So much that the thought of being parted from him made her chest tighten and stomach churn. Then she felt numb all over as that figure faded from her mind, becoming nothing more than a shadow. She tried to fight it, start forward into the cold, snowy night and grab that figure by the hand, but suddenly her hands were bound by heavy steel and she was brought to her knees in front of her worst nightmare: Giovanni.

But he wasn't looking at her. He was looking at the young girl standing in front of him. She felt her blood freeze in her veins as she recognized the familiar heart-shaped face and sapphire eyes. She was looking at her teenage self, only something was off about her. The image was distorted and blurry, like they were part of a video that needed to be focused. Then Giovanni said the words:

"How far would you go for Team Rocket?"

"Sir?" the young girl questioned, but there was an echo behind it.

"How far would you go for Team Rocket?" Giovanni repeated. The image of the girl was coming into focus as he approached her. Jessie gasped as she realized why the girl only resembled some of Jessie's features. Her heart hammered in her chest and all she wanted was to rush to the girl and pull her away from the crime boss, but she was held back by those shackles on her wrists. Then screaming filled Jessie's ears, part her own and part a high-pitched, almost child-like scream.

Jessie woke up with a start, drenched in sweat, and to her horror, there were tears on her face as she gasped for breath.

"Are you alright?" Jack's voice from across the room was soft and concerned. Jessie took a shaky breath and gritted her teeth.

"My ankle," she said and it wasn't really a lie. Her ankle did throb, but it was manageable. The nightmare that had shaken her awake, however, was not. She could still see…she shuddered.

"I'm not surprised," Jack murmured and in the shadows, Jessie could just make out his dark form reaching for a flashlight, "You've been thrashing in your sleep for the last fifteen minutes."

"I do not thrash in my sleep," Jessie refuted, rolling onto her side, hoping that he would leave it alone and go back to sleep.

"Yes, you do," Jack said, "Chains, Jessilina," he reminded her. She scowled as he flipped on a flashlight. She made an odd movement, as if wiping her cheeks as he approached and sat down beside her. Those telltale chains rattled.

"So," he said, "These are the nightmares you told me about, then," he said conversationally. She sighed.

"Something like that," she said quietly, glaring at the shadows on the wall.

"About James?" he prodded. Jessie hesitated.

"Somewhat," she finally answered, biting down on her lower lip to stop the trembling.

"Somewhat?" Jack asked, frowning.

"Never mind," Jessie said softly, turning her head away from him when she felt his piercing blue gaze on her.

"It's my brother, isn't it?" Jack questioned. Jessie tensed.

"It's nothing," she said.

"Can I ask you a question, Jessilina?" Jack asked after a moment. Jessie groaned. She hated it when someone asked permission to ask a question.

"What?" she snapped.

"My brother…what did he do to you?" he asked. Jessie froze.

"What?"

"From what I gather, both you and James feared Giovanni, but you feared him a lot more, more than you let on. You were terrified of him and what he would do to someone you loved. That kind of fear only comes from knowing just what he's capable of," Jack explained, "What did he to you to make you fear him so?" he asked gently.

"It's not important," Jessie shrugged, trying to sound nonchalant and failing.

"It is," Jack said softly, "You don't have to keep running, Jessilina."

"You sound like James," Jessie snapped.

"Well, like it or not, you need someone around to take care of you and since he's not here, I guess that falls on me," Jack replied. Jessie shot him an icy look.

"I can take care of myself," she told him, crossing her arms stubbornly.

"It sure didn't sound like it," Jack commented, "What did Giovanni do to you to affect you so much?" he asked.

"Seriously, leave me ALONE!" Jessie growled.

"I know he's capable of anything," he continued, "Lies, thievery, murder…torture…assault…"

"Okay, fine!" Jessie huffed when it was apparent that Jack wouldn't give it up, "Yes, your fucked up brother assaulted me when I joined the Team! It was his scare tactic and obviously, it worked, so can you just let it go? Just because I have a nightmare from time to time doesn't mean that I'm still harbouring anything! I got through it on my own and I'm stronger for it, alright?" Jessie shouted, frustrated beyond her breaking point. Jack bowed his head.

"I'm sorry that he hurt-"

"Don't you apologize for what he did!" Jessie snapped.

"Is there anything I can do?" Jack asked, "I know that I can't take back what he did, but I can at least do something to make amends."

Jessie gritted her teeth and counted down from ten, when she realized that there was something that he could do.

"Distract me," she requested, "Get my mind off of the nightmare. You said yourself that sometimes it's nice to escape into someone else's life. What happened next in yours?" she asked.

"Pidgeot, help Arcanine!" Catherine shouted, and her large bird-pokemon picked up my arcanine and hoisted it high out of Lana's wartortle's range.

"Woa!" Heath and Lana cried in awe as they watched, as Pidgeot dropped Arcanine behind the tiny turtle.

"Arcanine, Take Down!" I ordered, and the attack connected, sending Wartortle flying into Heath's ivysaur. Both pokemon fainted.

"How could you not see that coming?" Oak snapped at his partners in disgust.

"You wanna get in here, motorcycle boy?" I snapped and the brown-haired boy crossed his arms and shot me a haughty look.

"Motorcycle boy?" Jessie asked, raising an eyebrow.

"He had a bike and dressed like a Harley spit up on him," Jack explained with a chuckle.

"Yeah, Motorcycle-cycle boy," Lana shot at him reproachfully.

"I bet we could take them, Ted," Heath piped up eagerly. Oak raised an eyebrow. Before I could tell him to get off his high horse, the doors to the gym burst open and Miya and Daphne walked in. Catherine looked surprised. I clenched a fist. I could still feel the sting of Miya's slap. Now what?

"Laps," I barked at the three recruits, "Now."

"What are you two doing here?" Catherine asked as the recruits groaned and started jogging. I crossed my arms and retreated to the wall. She could deal with them.

"We've been reassigned," Daphne spat bitterly, "We are now on babysitting duty with you."

My eyes widened in shock and I looked over at Miya. Her face was impassive and she refused to look my way.

"What? Why?" Catherine questioned, looking between her partners.

"Ask Miya!" Daphne growled. Miya gave her a tired, withering look.

"What?" Catherine asked, redirecting Miya's attention.

"She couldn't keep her legs shut and now we're stuck here!" Daphne cried. Miya's eyes flashed dangerously and she took a menacing step towards the shorter blond.

"Woa! My!" Catherine shouted, getting in between the two and grabbing Miya by the shoulders. Miya glared over Catherine's shoulder before she took a step back.

"I'm pregnant," Miya announced. Daphne shook her head in disgust. Oh great. Shit. She must have told Mother…so why wasn't I getting yelled at right now?

"WHAT?" Catherine yelped, "WHO? WHEN?"

Miya sighed and I could have swore she shot a glare in my direction, "A couple months ago. One-night-stand. I was stupid for believing in all the bullshit he said."

"I'll say," Daphne muttered bitterly. I could see Miya clench her jaw.

"I told Madam Boss today. She reassigned us to help you. She was actually sympathetic. Said she knew too well how unreliable MEN can be," she explained, and I'm pretty sure she cast another glare in my direction. So that was why Mother wasn't screaming at me. Miya lied.

"Which is why we're here," Daphne griped. This time annoyance crept onto both Catherine and Miya's faces.

"Daph, go get a coke," Catherine ordered and the shorter woman stalked away, muttering some more about how she was slighted.

"Does she not realize that the world doesn't revolve around her?" Miya asked through gritted teeth.

"You know what she's like," Catherine said, "Never mind that. So you're keeping it?"

"Yeah," Miya nodded, "It's my responsibility."

"It's because of your mother, isn't it?" Catherine asked sympathetically. I frowned and looked at Miya, who had just gone very stiff.

"Don't go there, Catherine," she said quietly.

"Miya-"

"Cath," Miya warned, "The motorcycle kid just bailed," she observed, causing Catherine to swear loudly and start towards the belligerent Ted Oak, who was skulking towards the door.

"Your mother?" I questioned. The only indication that she heard me at all was the way her fists clenched as she walked away.

"Sounds like you were in the doghouse," Jessie observed.

"Oh yeah," Jack agreed.

Ted Oak was a real piece of work and if I had my way I would have thrown his punk ass out. Unfortunately that kind of defeated the purpose of recruitment.

"Get back there!" Catherine ordered, grabbing the motorcycle kid by the sleeve of his leather jacket.

"What's the point in all this?" Oak growled, "Laps and obstacle courses…it's ridiculous!"

"Skill building for when you get out in the field," I answered. Daphne had returned and was now watching curiously at the scene with the new recruits. Oak raised an eyebrow.

"Skill building," he snorted, "The ability to hop through tires will really help us when we have to swipe a poke ball or two."

"You'd be surprised," Catherine muttered.

"Swipe poke balls?" Heath suddenly questioned, a frown on his face.

"From undeserving trainers-"

"Do you have a head problem or are you just plain stupid?" Oak spat, "Way to fall for the sale's pitch. The Rocket Corporation doesn't help pokemon in need. They take pokemon. Ever hear of Team Rocket, Ketchum?"

Heath coloured and looked over at me. Dammit. I sighed.

"The two are related," I admitted.

"You lied," Heath said in horrified awe. I shook my head.

"I merely said undeserving trainers and I can think of more than a few trainers who don't deserve to have pokemon," I reminded him. He blinked.

"Like Team Rocket grunts," he said, "I've met them and-"

"And what? They battle hard but I can assure you that they all care for their pokemon," I said, "Have you ever seen me mistreat a pokemon? Or Joe? Or Catherine? Team Rocket's goal is to make money and we use pokemon as partners."

"But they're criminals," Heath managed weakly, but there was some doubt in his voice.

"And they trained you up, didn't they?" Oak said, "Made you a better trainer, right? I mean they couldn't have made you any worse…"

"Take that back!" Heath shouted, clenching his hands into fists.

"How many of your badges did you actually earn, Ketch?" Oak taunted, "I'm thinking maybe one or two. Good thing the Sakaki's sold you. I'd have hated to see what the elite four would have done to you."

Heath's face was beat red, "What about you, Motorcycle boy?" he shouted, "You fell for the sale's pitch too!"

Oak just smirked humourlessly at the younger boy, "There was nothing to fall for."

"You knew?" Heath gasped.

"Only an idiot would not see the connection," Oak spat. What a condescending prick.

"Would you quit that?" Heath shouted. At least he was standing up for himself, "Just because you're related to the most renowned researcher in the country doesn't mean that you're better than the rest of us!"

"Leave my father out of this!"

"What couldn't hack standing in Daddy's shadow?" Heath cried. Oak stepped forwards. Heath didn't back down.

"You would know, wouldn't you? Son of a champion?" Oak said. Then they were locked together, struggling to get the upper hand, but neither would back down.

"Hey!" I shouted, closing the distance to try and separate them. Fat lot of good that did. I ended up getting an elbow in the eye.

"Dammit!" I cried, clutching my face.

"Heath! Ted!" Lana shouted at her partners.

"Enough!" Miya cried, "St-"

She was knocked backwards the same way I was and it was on instinct that I reached over and grabbed her arm to steady her. For a moment our eyes locked and my hand lingered on her arm for a little longer than necessary. She blinked as though she didn't expect it.

BANG!

We broke apart and looked back at Daphne, who activated a weak blaster ball. The boys broke apart as well and we all stared at her.

"Are you done being childish nitwits?" she asked, shooting daggers at Heath and Oak, "So you both have daddy issues. Big deal. The way I see it, you can either dwell on trivial shit like that or you can use it to your advantage."

"So says the woman who was making such a fuss over being demoted to recruit training," Jessie observed. Jack laughed.

"I'm not exactly thrilled that I have to waste my time babysitting you bozos, but I'll be damned if I'm just going to sit there and whine about it all day. Sure, I'll get mad, get a little pissed off, but at the end of the day, this is just another situation where I'll find something to use to my advantage. So why don't you put all those unresolved daddy issues to constructive use, hmmm?" Daphne chided. She did have a point. Heath and Oak shuffled a little, but then Oak held out a hand.

"My apologies, Ketch."

"Sorry, Motorcycle," Heath returned.

"Mew, boys are stupid," Lana muttered.

"Nice work, Daph," Catherine praised with a grin. Daphne smirked back.

"I do have my uses you know," she said.

"I think you've found you calling," Miya teased, "Who knew you were such a good motivational speaker?"

"Someone has to keep you on track, My," Daphne replied with a smile. It was nice to see, the way their team still gelled together despite a few bumps. It definitely meant that there was hope for this new team.

"How about a three-on-three battle," I suggested, "The girls against the newbies. I'll officiate."

It was a good match. Miya favoured her ninetails while Catherine called on a cloyster and Daphne sent out a raichu. Heath sent out his recently evolved kingler while Lana sent out a tangela and Oak, now dubbed Motorcycle by his team-mates, sent out a graveller. It was a long battle and it seemed that the new team finally caught onto the idea teamwork. Graveller became a barrier, protecting Kingler and Tangela from the fire and electric attacks and in return the grass and water types took care of Cloyster. The turning point for the newbies was when Kingler hit Ninetails with a jet of water. Miya was too distracted to tell her fox pokemon to dodge and my own stomach did flip flops when I realized that she was distracted by me. Her light blue gaze was on me as I officiated the match, but to my surprise, there was no malice there. She was more calculating.

Miya, Catherine, and Daphne ended up losing the match, but none of them seemed too upset. When the newbies worked together, they were quite a team. Even better, they could even see it for themselves. In fact, I think that was the first training session where all three left together laughing. Daphne and Catherine left too and to my surprise, I was left alone in the gym with Miya.

"Thank you," she said.

"I just did what anybody would have," I tried to shrug it off.

"Right," she looked like she wanted to say more, but held back. I was suddenly possessed by the urge to do something. I wanted to apologize or take her in my arms or fall down at her feet and declare my undying affection. I did nothing. I fought the impulse and she turned and walked away.

There was a tight feeling in my chest as I watched her exit the gym. I shouldn't care, of course. I had made my feelings plain. I didn't want to be saddled down with a kid. I didn't want to be disgraced, but then, where had my reputation gone when I had reached out to catch her? It was an instinct, I told myself.

Yeah, an instinct to protect the woman who was carrying my child, another voice said. I cursed myself. How could one moment change everything? For the last couple days, I had convinced myself that I was better off without her. I came up with reasons why I shouldn't think about her. Then when she walked into the gym, I felt dread, but also there was that little leap in my chest, the one that always accompanied the pleased-surprised feeling whenever I saw Miya outside of our planned rendezvous. And then there was the feel of her smooth skin as I braced her fall. There was that familiar tingle when we touched and even an hour later, I could still feel her skin on my fingertips.

My stomach churned as I realized what was happening. I wasn't over her. I still wanted her, needed her.

But there was that kid…the one I had a hand in creating.

'Now first and foremost, you can never acknowledge this. This kid could be lethal to you.'

My brother's words echoed in my head. This kid was trouble from the moment it was conceived. Trouble for me, trouble for Mother, trouble for Gio and Joe…trouble for Miya.

And that trouble would be doubled if I ever said, 'I'm the father'. I'd lose my inheritance and my pride. Mother would frown on me like she did with Giovanni. Gio and Joe would be tempted by that dark side Joe warned about. And Miya…she would be at the center of it all, a target on her back just because she chose to bring that child into this world, and the thought of her getting hurt made my stomach churn worse.

I couldn't be tempted. It was too dangerous.

So I made a decision.

I sought out my brother.

"Oh, this should be good," Jessie muttered, laying back down on her makeshift bed and glancing up at Jack, who had a peculiar smile on his face. It was halfway between amusement and regret.

I knocked on Joseph's door, but it was his wife who answered.

"Jack, Dear, what can I do for you?" Isabelle asked me.

"Is my brother in?" I asked. She frowned.

"He is, but we're a trifle busy at the moment entertainin' guests," she replied.

"Isa?" Joe questioned and then he was there behind her. He frowned when he saw me, "Hey baby brother."

"Joe, I need to talk to you," I pleaded, "It's important."

"Joseph," Isabelle gave him a stern look and for a moment he looked as though he was caught between a rock and a hard place. Thanks, bro.

"Jack, we have some company…" he trailed off.

"It won't take long, Joe. I promise," I assured him, though that really depended on his answer. He sighed.

"Why don't you tell Tom and Annette that I'll return in a moment," he suggested to his wife, who dutifully nodded and went back into their rooms.

"Sorry," I muttered hastily. Joe's face suddenly brightened.

"Ah, don't worry about it. I have to put on an act for Isa, make her think that I actually like the Morgans. Dreadfully boring those ones," he explained, "So what can I do ya for, Jacko?"

"It's about Miya," I started and I saw his face cloud, "I know what you said, Joe, that I should forget about her, but now she's been assigned to help train the new recruits…"

He broke into a grin and looked visibly more relaxed, "I understand completely, Jackie. Monday, you'll head to Olivine in my place and I'll take over the training. Good?"

I felt myself relax too, "Yeah. Thanks, bro."

He said exactly what I needed him too and once again, I felt lucky to have him as a brother.

"Oh my god!" Jessie exclaimed, "You ran again!"

"I did," Jack agreed.

"But there was a connection," Jessie whined, "You said yourself that you cared about her. Why couldn't that be enough?"

"I wasn't brought up to deal with feelings well. It was a lot to take even without the extra burden of having a baby," he explained.

"But there was a chance!" she protested, "And weren't you curious? Didn't you want to know about your baby?"

"Actually…"

I left my brother's rooms feeling lighter than before. No longer would I have to grapple with my feelings for Miya. I could finally push her out of sight and out of mind. I could forget. It was brilliant. I was practically skipping as I made my way to my own quarters.

Then suddenly there was a loud screaming from the halls that made my good mood screech to a halt. When I rounded the corner, I found my mother's secretary, Amy, juggling an infant, a brief case, and a diaper bag. A spilt coffee was at her feet. The poor girl looked as if she was about to cry as well. I sighed. I guess not everyone was having a great day.

"Amy," I called, approaching the green-haired woman, "Can I give you a hand?" I offered. She looked at me and relief spread over her face.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Sakaki. I just…it's been a long day," she said helplessly.

"I know the feeling," I replied, "What can I do?" I asked.

"Could you hold him and I'll get this cleaned up?" Amy questioned, holding her son out to me. I balked, but she was persistent and I wound up holding a crying, gooey infant out in front of me while his mother searched for a napkin to wipe up the mess.

"Err…Amy?" I questioned nervously eyeing the little scrunched-up face of her son.

"He like to be held close to your chest," she said absently as she worked. I was glad she didn't see the look of disgust on my face as I brought the baby closer to me. It was really gooey.

Jessie snorted.

However, as she had predicted, the baby stopped crying long enough to turn his head and look over at me. He was still gooey, but now he had this weird look on his face, like he was trying to figure out what to make of me. Then for some inexplicable reason, he smiled at me, showing off a toothless grin. His brown eyes were alight with wonder and I felt one of his little hands on my neck.

"Err…Hi," I said to him. He just looked at me and continued to smile. Somehow a grin managed to find its way onto my face as I looked at the little guy. He was pretty cute, I admitted to my self. He had a few tufts of green hair that stood up in the back and he was scarcely larger than a football. He had a little dimple on one side of his mouth and his chubby cheeks were a rosy colour. His wide brown eyes were filled with so much innocence and trust, trust that I probably didn't deserve.

Suddenly and inexplicably, I wondered what my son would look like, if he would have my eyes or my ears or my hair. I pictured a boy with curly red hair and bright, inquisitive eyes. He would be a handsome child and wicked smart, yet he would have a reckless streak, one that would break hearts and end up landing him in a cast or two. Perhaps he would be athletic, starting with T-ball and working his way up to the majors. Or maybe he would be analytical and spend days in front of a microscope or chess board or what have you. He would be a sight.

I blinked. Where had that come from?

"Thanks so much, Mr. Sakaki," Amy gushed as she stood up, threw the soiled napkins in the trash, and rearranged her bags so that she could take her son, who was making happy baby noises, "I didn't want to have to bring him to work, but my husband…" she trailed off, "Thank you, Sir."

"Anytime, Amy," I said, feeling the loss as I gave her son back to her. She smiled at his happy face, which was still trained on me.

"You like Mr. Sakaki, don't you Butch?" she cooed to him before she bade me goodbye. I watched her go, my thoughts whirling around in my head as I tried to coach myself back to my previous state, the one where I was elated to be able to forget Miya and the unborn person inside of her.

It was difficult. If I thought it was hard to put the purple-haired woman from my mind, it was ten times harder to dispel the perfect picture of my unborn, unknown son that my brain had created when I held little Butch Carson in my arms. But I had to. I had to keep running.

"Butch?" Jessie asked incredulously, "That couldn't be…" she trailed off, thinking of the rough green-haired man who had chased her and James off of a cliff.

"It probably is," Jack shrugged, "Last I checked, it's not a very common name."

"So that's why you recognized his name before," Jessie said in understanding.

"Partly," he said, "and partly because I met a young Rocket named Butch a couple years ago."

"Seriously?" Jessie asked, confused, "but I thought-"

"He was on a mission through the mountains and he stumbled on my cabin here. I felt sorry for the kid. He was wore out, bloody, and scared out of his wits," he explained.

"What'd he look like?" Jessie quizzed.

"Green hair, brown eyes, and he had a gash over his left eyebrow," Jack remembered, "Said he hit it on a rock. Believe me, I was thinking of Amy's boy when I saw him."

"What the hell was he doing out here?" Jessie asked.

"He was assigned a mission by my brother. He wouldn't say what it was, but it was easy to guess. There's only one thing that brings Rockets up here," Jack revealed.

"And that is…" Jessie trailed off. Jack smiled.

"Relevant to my story," he said, "so naturally, I'm not going to tell you what it is just yet."

"You really, really suck," Jessie commented. He grinned.

"No, I'm just really, really tired."

TBC

AN: First off, I want to apologize for the long wait for this chapter. Lots of stuff going on. The next one should be along sometime this week, hopefully. I think my favourite part of this chapter was when Jack was holding Butch...bet you didn't expect that little cameo, lol.

Songs that inspired this chapter:
-Pretend by All the Right Moves.
-The Scientist by Coldplay. Pretty much the only song of theirs that I like.
-Anything Like Me by Brad Paisley. Mostly because the song is adorable ;)
-This is Your Life by Switchfoot.