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 30: Crashing the Wedding
Welcome to the planet
Welcome to existence
Everyone's here
Everyone's here
Everybody's watching you now
Everybody waits for you now
What happens next?
What happens next?
I dare you to move
I dare you to move
I dare you to lift yourself up off the floor
I dare you to move
I dare you to move
Like today never happened
Today never happened before
...Switchfoot - Dare You To Move
Jessie watched as Jack prepared soup. Ugh.
She was getting sick of soup. If she ever got out of here, the second thing, after finding James and her children, would be to treat them to a four course meal. Then she would get rid of the car and walk everywhere...of course, even that would have to wait until her ankle finished healing. She was sick of just sitting there.
But, miraculously, she managed to hold her tongue. She knew he had been there on the mountain far longer than her. James would have been proud of her self control.
Although that didn't stop her from making a face when Jack put it in front of her.
"Be thankful you have that," he told her. She snorted.
"Be thankful I'm treating you better than I did James the last time I was confined to one spot," she griped.
"How about 'Peter'?" I questioned from the bed. I was sitting with a notepad, propped up by half-a-dozen pillows. James made a face.
"Peter? Um, you do know that that's another name for…well…," he vetoed, turning red.
"Yeah, ya might as well name da kid dick and get it over with," Meowth quipped from the other room.
"Why don't we just come up with a list of names we can't name the kid?" I exploded, chucking my notepad at James. He ducked and then dutifully retrieved it for me.
"Aww, Jess, I just want him to have a good name," James whined, flopping onto the bed beside me and putting his hand on my stomach.
"He's going to have no name if we keep this up," I warned, covering my hand with his.
"We'll think of something," James shrugging, kissing my stomach now. I smiled in spite of myself.
"Well, seeing as how I now have a lot of time on my hands…" I trailed off, reminding him of Dr. Treake's orders: bedrest. The twins were in an awkward position and if I went into labour, I'd likely have to get a C-section, which sounded like even less fun than doing it the other way.
"Is there anything you need?" he asked sweetly.
"No," I sighed, "I'll just sit here and attempt to name our children. What do you have planned for today, hmm?"
"I've been drafted to help decorate the gym for New Years," James sighed, "but I can get out of it if you need me," he said this part almost hopefully.
"Hmm, you doing work for a party that I don't get to go to. Seems fair," I shrugged and smirked at him. He groaned.
"But if you need me-"
"I'll send Meowth down to get you. Have fun, Honey," I smirked. He groaned again and rolled off the bed to go get dressed.
"Poor sucka," Meowth said as he came into the room and hopped up onto the bed, "He has to put up wid Olivia, Lola, and all three twerpettes tellin' him what to do."
In preparation for Brock's quickie wedding (in private, James, Meowth, and I called it a 'shotgun wedding') –
"I wonder who coined that phrase," Jack said, rolling his eyes, "Can't two people of the opposite gender be together and not get pregnant with you?"
"Oh, come on! You don't get engaged and then married two weeks later unless there was a pressing reason motivating you," Jessie scoffed.
"What about love?" Jack asked.
"Maybe they were," Jessie shrugged, "They didn't pop out their first kid until March of the next year."
"HA!" Jack ejected childishly, making Jessie laugh.
We were staying in the apartment above Pewter City Gym, an area that had one time been an office, storage area, and a refuge for Brock's dad, Flint, when he wanted a moment of peace from his wife and ten kids. Ten kids. Jeez, James and I had trouble finding a moment alone when we just had one kid (and Meowth) to look after. How Flint and Lola managed with that many rugrats running around is anybody's guess.
"Well, I'm stuck talking to you, so it's hard to tell who has the worse go of it," I quipped, causing the cat-type to glare at me.
"I tink you is happy 'bout not being forced to talk to Team Twerp," Meowth accused suspiciously. And I was. Brock's friends and family were descending in anticipation for the upcoming nuptials. That meant that in addition to Misty, Ash, Tracey, and Brock, there was also May and her brother, Max, from Hoenn; Dawn from Sinnoh; Drew, a coordinator from Hoenn; Barry and Paul, Ash's Sinnoh rivals (they were only there on account of Dawn); and Gary Oak, who had been researching in Sinnoh. Gary wasn't bad to be around. It was actually fun watching him knock the twerp down a few pegs. I had also been forbidden to Twerp Bash, lest it stress me out. Drat.
"Of course she is, Meowth," James said, returning to the room "The only people she has to put up with are me, Teddy, Misty, and occasionally, the Harrisons when they need something."
"And I wouldn't have it any other way," I sighed. James shook his head and kissed me before he went downstairs.
"You would have it another way, wouldn't ya?" Meowth asked when James had gone.
"I'm stuck in bed ALL day, two little things keep poking at me from inside of me, I'm huge, I have to pee all the time, and I'm stuck talking to you," I vented, "It's not fair!"
"Easy dere, Jess-"
"I want this to be over!" I huffed, crossing my arms over my chest. Meowth seemed to decide that it was safer for him to edge out of the room, leaving me alone. At that moment, I felt one of the twins move.
"Do Mommy a huge favour and come out of there," I muttered.
"Hey, Jessie!" a small voice piped up. I turned my head to see two of Brock's younger siblings, Salvadore and Tommy.
"Is Teddy around, Miss Jessie?" Tommy asked. I sighed. That was a whole other issue. Since our relocation to Pewter, Teddy was reluctant to get to know Brock'siblings, as we would be on the move again afterwards.
"I think he's around the gym somewhere, Boys," I replied. With smiles, they ran off. I frowned. I didn't like that Teddy was closing himself off. He should be trying to make friends…and yet…well, I was once very much like him. After being bounced through foster homes, I had stopped trying to make friends because I would just have to leave them anyways. Even after I got that scholarship to Pokemon Tech, I didn't talk much to anyone…off course Cassidy may have had something to do with that…
Did I want Teddy to grow up like me, jaded and alone for so long? No.
But it seemed that my adoptive son/brother-in-law knew that if he sulked around me that he's get a lecture, so he had taken to walking alone, which I liked even less than him refusing to make friends.
"Growlie," I called. The puppy pokemon perked his ears up, "Go find Teddy," I told him. With a yip, he was gone. With nothing to do but wait, I cracked open the baby name book and continued crossing names out. Max Morgan. Maybe. Micah Morgan. Nope. Michael Morgan. No. Mitchell Morgan. No. Oh…no, not Max. That's one of the twerpette's brother's names…
"Where'd Growlie go in such a hurry?" James asked, poking his head in as bags of bottles clinked on his arms.
"To find your brother," I deadpanned.
"Oh," James groaned.
"What do you have?" I asked irritably, not wanting to get into the same argument we had been having about Teddy. He looked down and smirked.
"Well, I have a Russian named Vodka, a troublesome Mexican named Tequila, a Japanese wine known as Saki, two feisty red-heads hailing from France, and, my personal favourite, the ever spicy Captain Henry Morgan," he listed off. I laughed.
"Long lost relative?" I teased.
"Could be," he shrugged, "I'm not the first Morgan to be disowned."
"Hmm…Henry Morgan…Henry James Morgan," I mulled it over.
"Are you seriously considering naming our son after a 26?" James laughed, setting down the bags of alcohol to come cuddle with me.
"Don't you have a party to set up for?" I accused as he kissed me.
"I'd rather be here," he replied, sucking up. We spent an hour talking. Teddy and Growlie had crept in earlier and James had whispered furtively for me not to lecture him. Teddy was reading a book and we were talking when we were interrupted by a knock on our door. With a sigh, James rolled off the bed and answered.
"Aren't you two coming downstairs?" Lola Harrison asked, as she stepped into the sitting area, "You're missing the party!"
"Jessie's on bed rest and I was going to keep her company," James politely declined.
"Oh, surely you could come down for a five minutes! Surely Jessie needs a break," Lola said.
"Couldn't possibly, Mrs. Harrison," I replied, getting to my feet. James's eyes got big as he saw me in the doorway, huge and a little shaky, "It's getting hard to move and I don't wanna risk it."
"But Olivia's been singing your praises to our guests, surely they would love to meet you," Lola tried. Ugh…Olivia was slightly obsessed with me. Her exclamations of, 'Oh Jessie, twins are such a blessing' and 'Jessie, I can't wait for the delivery' and 'It will be such an experience birthing twins.' Yeah, a wonderful experience. And the way she was acting was like she would be the one delivering them. It would be a VERY cold day I hell before I would let that happen.
"James can go," I told her, "I'm going to stay in."
"Jessie-"
"I'll go back and lay down and keep an eye on Teddy. I'll be fine," I said.
"Alright-"
"Excellent! Let's get down there!" Lola said, practically dragging James out of the apartment. I couldn't help but chuckle a little. Then I turned to go lay down when Teddy piped up from the old sofa.
"How come you're allowed to stay in and I can't?" he asked me. I frowned at the intelligent little boy who stared at me with those big green eyes of his.
"Teddy, what are you talking about?" I asked.
"You lecture me about going off by myself and you were whispering to James about me. I heard you," he told me, which left me dumbstruck, "and then you don't wanna see anybody."
"Ted, that's different," I said.
"How?" he demanded, placing his book aside.
"Teddy, I'm worried about you. You have to make friends-"
"What about you?" he asked, standing up to look at me, "You stay in here."
"I have to," I replied, "For the babies."
At this, Teddy got an odd look on his face.
"What?" I asked him.
"N-nothing," he said quietly.
"Teddy, what is this about?" I asked, "Ever since we got here, you've been quiet and…odd. What is the matter?"
"I think," he said.
"Think? Think about what?" I questioned, stunned by Teddy's statement.
"I think a lot," he admitted, "About things that will happen. We're gonna move again, Jessie. You said so."
"Ted, that's not an excuse-"
"And when we do, the babies will be here, right?" he cut across me.
"Yeah, they're going to be here," I replied.
"And then will things change?" Teddy asked.
"How would they change?" I questioned back. He looked down at the floor and I realized what he was asking.
"Ted, I've been where you are. I've been the orphaned and abandoned kid. I've been left alone since I was small. Teddy, I'm not going to leave you alone and neither is James," I vowed. At this I saw him lift his eyes slightly, "Teddy, the sooner you learn to accept that fact, the happier you'll be. Take it from me. The world…it gets better if have a little trust or faith or whatever."
"You won't leave?" he asked in a small voice.
"No," I promised him, "Now, why don't you come and watch a movie with me in the bedroom and we can be anti-social together."
He smiled and followed me into the room. James found us later that night sleeping on the bed as the end credits to Harry Potter played on. He told me in the morning that he had been bombarded with questions from Olivia and that he had to deal with Meowth, who had been sneaking food for most of the night. Old habits die hard.
"Sneaking food?" Jack laughed.
"He was always best at it," Jessie smiled.
The next morning was the big day. I woke up to an incessant knocking on our door. Teddy groaned beside me, while James snored softly beside me, clueless to the world.I took my pillow and whacked him with it.
"OOWWW!" he moaned.
"Go open the door unless you want me to get up and do it!" I snapped. He rolled out of bed with a thud and padded to the door. I rolled over to his side and snuggled into the blanket. Teddy then rolled onto his back on my side. I listened as James talked to whoever was there and then as he shut the door and staggered sleepily into the room.
"Do I own a tux?" he asked, sitting on the edge of the bed.
"You have a dress shirt and a tie," I replied, not opening my eyes.
"Brock asked me to be in the wedding party with Ash, Tracey, and Forrest. Apparently Olivia's doctor friend couldn't get here from Sinnoh," he explained.
"That's nice. Can I sleep, please?" I griped.
"Jess, I have to head to Brock's and get ready."
"So go. I'll see you at the church."
"Jess, who's going to be here to help you?" he asked.
"Are we seriously going to have this fight?" I snapped, "I will be fine. I have Teddy, Meowth, and if I really need help, I'll talk to Delia. Now go!"
He sighed deeply, "Alright. I'll see you at that church. 3:00."
"Mmmmhmmm," I moaned.
Ted and I slept well-past ten. I could have slept later were it not for Meowth being his usual motivational self.
"Jess, you been layin' in bed all day for weeks. We gotta get you clean cuz youse starting to smell," he remarked. I groaned and made my way to the shower. I felt bloated and fat. Ugh, I really wanted this whole pregnancy to be over. It was even worse getting into a dress and feeling like I was wearing a tent.
"This needs to end!" I groaned, exhausted after the simple task of bathing and dressing myself.
"Only a couple more weeks, Jessie," Delia said gently from the sofa. I jumped.
"Jeez, Delia, way to give a gal a heart attack!" I yelped. She smiled gently.
"Sorry, Jessie, I came over when I heard James was filling in. I thought you might need a hand," Delia explained.
"Thanks, but I'm sure the hardest part is over. That was exhausting," I said, grabbing my make-up bag and sitting beside her. Delia just laughed.
"Clearly you've never had to get an eight-year old ready for a wedding," she quipped, looking over at Teddy, who was sitting on the floor in shorts and an undershirt, with his hair sticking up in twenty different directions, and staring at the Christmas movie re-runs on the old tv.
"Maybe you're right," I commented, starting to apply my mascara, "He's so much like James, it's a little scary."
"I remember when my cousin got married, Ash was in the wedding party. He bawled for hours because he thought the tie hurt his neck," Delia revealed, shaking her head. I smirked. I loved her embarrassing Ash stories. I learned that when he was four, he threw a tantrum and ran down the street, stripping as he went. When he was eight, he climbed a tree, slipped, and was hung upside down by his pant leg.
"Hey, Ted, go shower and get dressed," I called to him. With a sigh, he heaved himself to his feet.
"I thought you were eight, not eighty," I quipped as he walked by. He smiled and went to get ready. I reached for my eyeliner.
"Here," Delia said, "Let me do it."
Reluctantly I let her.
"I always wanted a daughter," Delia admitted as she gently applied the make-up, "As much as I love Ash, sometimes I wish I had a little girl as well. You know, someone to dress up and play dolls with."
"Everyone always says me and James are going to get the best of both worlds with the twins," I told her.
"And you do," Delia said, "I worked at a daycare when I was younger. It was great. I was always just floored by the differences between the kids."
"Yeah, the boys always had band aids and the girls liked to braid my hair," Jack chuckled dryly.
"You look fantastic."
"I look pregnant," I moaned, looking at my reflection in a hand mirror. She had done a really nice job.
"Dere was a solution to dat nine months ago, Jess," Meowth commented, expertly tying a tie around his neck with his paws.
"Oh, go play with a ball of yarn, Fur-ball!" I snapped.
"Oh, Jessie, it will all be over soon," Delia laughed.
"It better be!" I griped, "My back aches, I'm huge, and bloated and…IF YOU SAY THERE WAS A SOLUTION NINE MONTHS AGO, I AM GOING TO MASH YOU UP INTO A LITTLE BALL AND-"
"Hey, I didn't say nothin'!" Meowth protested.
"You gave me a look," I accused.
"My back was to ya, Jess! Did ya get a new batch of dem hormones last night?" Meowth scowled. I glared, but before I could say a word, Delia intervened with a comment about Ash and Gary's drinking contest from the night before.
"I am suddenly really glad that you are not pregnant right now," Jack stated.
Ted, Meowth, Delia, and I headed into the church just before three. I took a seat beside Teddy as we waited for the ceremony to start. I just couldn't get comfortable. The stiff pews did nothing for my aching back and I was feeling a little off.
"You okay, Jess?" Meowth asked from his spot between Delia and Teddy.
"Fine," I said back, "I think I'm going to use the restroom," I explained, getting up and making my way to the washroom. Something didn't feel right. I gripped the edge of the sink with one hand and used the other to massage the sudden sharp pain in my abdomen.
Where did that come from?
I paused and waited. Then it came again.
I griped the sink and breathed hard, listening as the bridal march played. I knew what the pain was. It was a much more intense version of the pain I had with the Braxton-Hicks contractions. Could it really be time? Could I really be in labour?
This was answered when my water broke.
My life was about to change.
"Oh, no, you're not going to-"
"I wanna hear about you and Miya," Jessie shrugged, slurping back some soup.
"But cliffhangers? Really?" Jack groaned.
"I'm not saying another word until I hear about you and Miya," Jessie said stubbornly. Jack groaned and shook his head.
TBC
AN: Here is the next update! Hurray! I'm so glad I found the time! I'm not overjoyed with this chapter, but at least it is here.
Songs that inspired this chapter:
-Crashed the Wedding by Busted. Inspired the title. Love the song and a big thanks to Jessamine Diane, who suggested this song in her review for Speak now.
-Dare You To Move by Switchfoot. It's such an inspiring song about moving forward. Really thought it fit for Jessie and the twins, and Teddy too.