Fated Chapter 39: The Sakaki Grandchildren, a pokémon fanfic

Chapter 39: The Sakaki Grandchildren

We weren't born to follow
Come on and get up off your knees
When life is a bitter pill to swallow
You gotta hold on to what you believe
Believe that the sun will shine tomorrow
And that your saints and sinners bleed
We weren't born to follow
You gotta stand up for what you believe
...Bon Jovi - We Weren't Born To Follow

It took every ounce of Jessie's self-control to keep from screaming at her father. The problem with being chained to a wall meant that there was little she could do to keep herself busy. This meant that all she could do was ruminate on the twists and turns of her life. Before meeting Jack on the mountain, Jessie had figured that all of her bad breaks had been because the universe hated her. Now, she knew better. Every horrible event in her life, from her time in the foster system to being in Team Rocket to being on the run with James had all stemmed from the fact that she was born into the Sakaki family. Jessie was quickly learning that Sakaki's had two fates: they either screwed the world or the world screwed them.

Giovanni, Jessiebelle, and Madam Boss were the type that screwed the world. Jack and Jessie got screwed. The jury was still out on Joseph, Silver, and a couple of other illegitimate children that existed.

"What are you thinking about?" Jack asked, looking over at the frowning red-head woman with concern as he stacked firewood near the hearth.

"Screwing," Jessie answered honestly, and when Jack's eyebrows met his hairline, she amended, "From what I've heard so far, it seems like if you're a Sakaki, you either screw the world or you get screwed by the world."

Jack barked out a laugh and nodded his head, "Oh, there's indeed some truth to that, Jessilina."

"We ran into Jessiebelle again. Silver too," Jessie reminisced, "After we left James's grandparents, I mean."

"Okay, Junior, let's see what we've got here," I cooed to my son as I set him down on the change table in the bathroom of the restaurant we were eating at. It was one of those change tables inside one of the bathroom stalls, a fact that probably saved my life. Little Henry gurgled up at me, smiling as I cringed away from the gross diaper. At four months, he was a much happier baby than he had been at two months. It had taken us that long to figure out some of his little quirks. He hated being confined; he prefered to have his arms and legs free of any blanket and he was happiest when he was laying on a blanket on the floor. He was a bit of a bottomless pit when it came to food, which probably came from his daddy. And, we figured out that he loved water. Bathtime was his favorite time and he had loved looking at the aquariums at Cerulean Gym.

I was going about the usual business when I heard the door open and a ringing cell phone. It was followed by a voice that I definitely did not want to hear.

"Hello?" Jessiebelle asked as she spoke into her cellphone. I was suddenly really glad that I was separated by the bathroom divider as I eavesdropped on the conversation.

"Laurel, Darling, I thought you had forgotten about your favourite cousin!" Jessiebelle spoke loudly into the phone, making me make a face, which Henry smiled at, "I'm just at the rest-stop between Viridian and Pewter. For the life of me, I can never remember where that turn off is and my driver is a complete disaster. What's his name again? Milton? Mark? Mako?"

There was silence as Jessiebelle listened to whoever was on the other end.

"Oh, Dear, don't be upset. A little girl is a beautiful thing! Why, when I marry my sweet James, we'll have at least three darling daughters."

I clenched my mouth shut and willed myself to calm down. James was my boyfriend and he would never, ever be hers.

"And I mean that," Jessie vowed, "I'm going to get off of this mountain and I will make her pay for whatever she's doing to my boyfriend."

Jack chuckled as he absentmindedly finished stacking wood, "I don't doubt you at all, Jessilina. That would be foolish on my part."

"Who cares about them?" Jessiebelle scoffed into the phone, "So what if they had a son? That bastard child is nothing. Your father couldn't possibly prefer it over your child."

More silence, though if I strained, I could hear the frantic voice of whoever it was that Jessiebelle was conversing with.

"Uncle clearly forgets how powerful the women in this family are," Jessiebelle said fiercely, "When my little cousin gets here, you and I will make sure she achieves greatness, even if it means she has to be betrothed to that bastard boy that your father appears to favour," she paused, "Yes, of course, Laurel. Oh, Darling, you needn't worry. You know that you are Uncle's favourite, regardless. Yes. Yes. I will see you very soon, Darling. Ciao!"

Jessiebelle hung up the phone and I could hear her tucking it back into her handbag. I listened as she went about her business while I kept Henry occupied in the stall. When she left, I felt able to breathe again. I had to get out to the car where James was no doubt hiding with Teddy, Rose, and Meowth.

"I never really thought much about that conversation until now," Jessie admitted, glancing over at her father. Now that Jessie knew more about her past, she found that she was paying a bit more attention to things that she had once overlooked. Jessiebelle's phone call in the bathroom of a rest-stop being one of them.

"It's certainly enlightening to say the least," Jack agreed, "It would appear that Giovanni had another child that I wasn't aware of."

"Laurel," Jessie said, the name feeling odd on her tongue, "How do you know she's Giovanni's kid?"

"Jessiebelle's mother was an only child. The uncle that she talked about was definitely Gio," Jack confirmed, "In addition, Laurel was mentioned before, when you and James overheard Giovanni and Ariana speaking in the park."

"I guess so," Jessie nodded her head, "So there's another Sakaki out there."

"Apparently," Jack said, smirking slightly, "and she sounds like quite the handful, getting pregnant and worrying about how it would affect her favour with her father. Some things never change. It almost always comes down to us Sakaki's clamouring over each other to win the approval of our superiors."

Jessie frowned as she considered Jack's assessment. Did she want her father's approval? Maybe on some level, but was it a big deal to her? Not really. Not when her children were alone and needing their mother. And speaking of children, would Jessie be the type of mother to pit one child against the other? Would she play favorites with her children the way that Madam Boss had played favourites with her sons? In that moment, Jessie vowed to do better than those before her. She would break that cycle or bend over backwards trying.

Though she was technically a Sakaki, Jessie was a Lillis first and from what Jessie had learned about Miya, it was clear that Lillis women were stubborn.

"That's a stupid way to live, always trying to impress someone," she commented.

"I agree with you," Jack said, which surprised Jessie a little, "Looking back now, it's clear to see how much time I wasted trying to impress others. It was the root of all of my problems. In fact, I feel sorry for Jessiebelle and Laurel."

"You feel sorry for them?" Jessie asked incredulously, raising her eyebrow in response.

"I do," Jack nodded, "Those girls are spending all of their time trying to impress someone else and it's a sad, miserable existence. Someday, they're going to look back on all of their missed chances and they'll regret all of the time wasted."

"I can't bring myself to feel sorry for Jessiebelle," Jessie ejected, "Not after all the crap she's put me and James through."

"I understand," Jack said fairly, "I would find it hard to sympathize with her as well if I was in your position. I'm just saying that it's regrettable that they had to grow up as I did. Jade had been right to want Silver to grow up away from all of that," he paused and took a breath, "Maybe…maybe Jessie growing up without me was for the best. Maybe she got to grow up free from all of the responsibility and pressure that comes with being a Sakaki. Maybe she lives now not regretting wasting her time trying to impress those that did not deserve the effort."

Jessie considered that. Yes, she had grown up with no one pressuring her or caring about what she did, but something in her had always longed for acceptance and excellence. Maybe it was in her blood to try to impress, but maybe it was because she had been abandoned and she felt that she had something to prove to the world. All her life, she had tried to get people to take her seriously, first her foster families, then the assholes at Pokemon Tech, then Team Rocket, then James, and then, finally, herself. Becoming a mother had changed her perspective on a lot of things. She looked on her past with new eyes and decided that she never wanted her children to feel the things that she had felt. She never wanted them to feel abandoned or unloved. She never wanted them to ache for acceptance or to feel inadequate. She wanted them to know that they always had her in their corner and that they could always run into her arms for shelter and love.

She shook her head and said vehemently, "That's crap. Children deserve to grow up with their parents…or people who love them. They don't deserve to be left alone."

Jack looked at her for a long moment before sighing, "Yes, I do remember your feelings on that matter," he said, referring to her comments in regards to some of his past screw-ups regarding his daughter.

"I need to get back to my kids," Jessie said firmly, "I said once that I wouldn't let this shit with Team Rocket take me away from them and I mean it."

True to form, I found James hiding out in the vehicle. I walked up, carrying our son to find James laying in the backseat with our daughter. Teddy and Meowth were in the passenger's seat keeping watch.

"You okay?" James asked me as I opened the door to begin strapping Henry into his car-seat.

"Better than you, apparently," I noted, "She's gone now."

"Yeah, we saw her drive off," Meowth added.

"I'll feel so much better when we get home," James muttered, sitting up to put Rose in her seat.

"You and me both," I agreed.

It had been a long time since I had a place to call home, but that's what Silver Shoal was to me. It was the first place James and I lived as a couple. It was the place where we had our first doctor's visit and where we felt the twins move for the first time. It was a place where we built a home with Teddy, Meowth, and our pokemon. I was more than eager to return there, something that kind of surprised me. I've never had that sense of home before…at least not for a building. For a long time, my home was wherever James and Meowth were.

We made good time, though there were several stops that had to be made now that we were travelling with two infants. We stopped once in Rhina Town, where Rose made it known that she was not going to tolerate another second of hunger. Though she ate less than her brother, she was much more vocal when a meal was a little late. Her cries sounded almost angry when that happened while Henry's sounded just sounded miserable in that event. James and Meowth joked that she got saddled with my temperament.

"Then she would be a very tough little girl," Jack commented with a smile.

"She is," Jessie replied proudly.

We stopped again in Viridian Peak where we had to clean up a lot of baby puke. Seriously. I never knew babies could spit up that much.

"I don't know where we're going to stop once we get on the mountain road," James worried, "That's a long stretch with no rest stops.

"I can think if a place," I supplied, "Remember Miki and Seto?"

"Oh yeah!" Meowth said, "And Lil' Ted's goilfriend, Akira."

I laughed at the boy's red face..

"And what about the Menace of Johto?" James wondered as he turned the corner that would start us on our path down the road.

"Leave Silver to me," I said confidently, "I can take care of him."

James made a face and looked over at me, "I wish you wouldn't."

I rolled my eyes and said, exasperated, "He's not that bad, James."

"I don't trust him," James asserted, "He is that bad."

I shrugged and looked out the window. I didn't want to argue, even though I knew that I was right about Silver. He was an anti-hero, a rogue, but he wasn't dangerous. Not to me. Not when somehow, I understood his code. To be honest, it was similar to what mine had been before James and the twins.

It was always about control with me. Always.

Maybe it was the fact that I never had much control in my childhood, what with always being shuffled around in foster care, but I always had to be in charge. I needed to micromanage the people around me. Despite having an attitude and a little bit of a mean streak, I would help people and pokemon, but it always had to be on my terms.

James was the one who eventually got me to relinquish a bit of that control. He was similar to me in that he never had much control over his life, but at the same time, he didn't want to be the one in charge. He wanted to simply be himself more than he wanted power. With him, I could trust that he would never do anything that would hurt me in any way. He was open for all to see. It was huge for me, to realize that there was someone that I could trust with anything. Then there was the children. I was quickly learning that children were unpredictable and that no amount of control could prevent every bad thing in the world.

In short, I knew Silver's need to manage Akira and her family. I knew his need to prove that he was the alpha, a top dog. In the back of my mind, I wondered if his childhood had been riddled with people shuffling him around and telling him what to do as mine had been.

"If it was my nephew, then I would say 'yes'," Jack said softly and remorsefully. Jessie picked up on it right away.

"You regret what you did to Silver?" she asked.

"Do I regret taking Silver from Giovanni?" Jack wondered, "No. He would have been far worse off if he had remained in my brother's care. I simply regret not being able to be an uncle to him...for not being there if Grayson had ever called me looking for help with Silver."

We pulled up to the secluded drive to the little shack in the late afternoon. Seto was the first to come out, and once he realized who we were, his frown lessened to a more neutral look. Akira was next, her dark hair bouncing as she practically skipped over to the vehicle.

"Where are they?" she asked, impatiently looking into the back window.

"Right here, Akira," I said, opening up the rear passenger door so that she could get a proper look at my children.

"They're adorable!" she cooed, reaching in so that she could touch Henry's little fist. She beamed at him and then looked to me, "What are their names?"

"Henry and Rose," Teddy piped up from the middle seat, smiling shyly at the older girl, "Hi, Akira."

Akira beamed at him, "Hi, Teddy! How are you enjoying being a new uncle?" she asked.

"It's good," Teddy replied, puffing out his chest proudly, "They really like me."

It was true. The twins liked it when their uncle made faces at them and when he held them. They liked pulling at his clothes and making jerky little grabs for his hair.

James and I managed to get the car-seats out of the vehicle (which had been quite the process to learn how to do in the first place) and carried the twins up to the house with Akira, Teddy, Meowth, and Growlie trailing behind us. Seto held the door for us into the cabin and offered us a simple, "Congratulations," as we passed.

Miki was sitting in her chair in the living room, just looking out the window at the lush, green backyard with a faraway look in her eyes, I wondered if she was bored now that winter was over. There was no way for her to make snow rolls now. She looked almost frail now, her grey hair pressed to her head in a sad, drooping way.

"Mama, look," Akira said, walking up to her mother and kneeling down in front of her, "It's Jessie and her family. Look at the babies!"

Miki looked over at us slowly. I stood as though I was waiting her judgement. It was a moment before her aqua eyes seemed to register who I was. She got to her feet and shuffled towards me.

"Hi, Mama Miki," I greeted her. She reached up and touched my face, almost as if she was making sure that I was real.

"They took you," she said, her voice hoarse like she either hadn't used it in a while or she had just been screaming a lot, "They came and they took…took you. I...I...tried."

It wasn't her usual staggered speech, but I guess that memory just stood out in her mind. The memory of the day I had been taken away from her care was suddenly as vivid for me as it must have been for her.

I was six and I didn't understand what was happening as I clung tightly to Miki. I just knew that there were three strange people in our little house. They kept saying things like 'It's for the best' and 'The welfare of the child is more important' and 'She's an unfit guardian.' They repeated those things to the pair of police officers that arrived moments later.

I remember screaming for Miki as the officers pulled me from her arms and as they carried me to a white van that read 'Children's Services' on the side. I remember them holding my wrists and ankles so I would stop hitting and kicking them.

"Jessie! No! Jessie!" Miki's screams filled my ears. Over the shoulder of one of the workers, I saw Miki break free of the ones holding her. She flew off of the porch, only to be caught again, this time falling to the ground, sobbing and screaming as they pressed her into the mud.

"Jesus," Jack breathed, shaking his head, "Awful."

"It was," Jessie replied, "Someone had reported her and then they came."

"I...I tried," Miki said again, almost as if she was asking for forgiveness.

"I know," I told her softly, "I know you did."

"So sorry," she continued, tears slipping from her eyes, "I...I promised…"

"It's okay, Mama Miki," I assured her, "It's okay."

She nodded in acceptance and then shuffled back to her chair. I could feel everyone's eyes on me so I hastily. explained, "Spring was when I was taken by Children's Services."

"That explains a lot," Seto murmured.

Akira shrugged it off and tried to appeal to her mother again, "Mama, Jessie has babies now. Look at how cute they are," she prodded, gesturing to our twins, who were looking around the shack in confusion from their car seats on the floor. Miki tilted her head to the side as she stared over at my babies. She said nothing. She just stared, even as Akira explained what their names were. She continued to stare even as Akira settled down on the sofa to hold Henry. Teddy sat next to her, chattering away about Henry. I worked on freeing Rose from her seat as James talked with Seto.

"So, no Silver?" James asked conversationally, though I knew that he was only asking in hopes of avoiding the Menace of Johto.

"He went to Tojo Falls to get us some supplies," Seto replied gruffly, "'Bout the only useful thing he does for us seeing as how I can't leave Miki."

"So he'll be gone for a couple days, then," James said hopefully.

"Unfortunately, he'll be back today," Seto griped. I shook my head as James moaned and groaned at that fact and went about extracting Rose from the seat. As I smoothed out her tiny purple curls, I could feel Miki's gaze on me, or more accurately, my infant daughter. I walked over to her, little Rose in my arms, and knelt beside her.

"Mama Miki, this is my daughter, Rose. She's four months old," I introduced. Miki seemed enthralled with Rose, who stared right back with wide blue eyes.

"So...so...my...ah...my...ah," Miki babbled softly, reaching over to tentatively touch Rose's little hand. Rose made little noises back at Miki.

"Rose," I said again, gently correcting the feeble woman, "Her name is Rose."

It didn't matter. Miki continued to babble the same two sounds that she often did when I was around. Eventually, I just sort of accepted it, and then when Akira wanted to switch babies, I brought Henry to meet my former foster mother.

"This is Henry," I introduced him as he grabbed for my shirt, "He's my son."

Miya looked at him for a moment, but soon, her eyes drifted over to Akira and Rose, where they stayed for a long time after. She had an almost sad look about her, but it was hard to tell. Every so often, she'd make the same babble, "My...ah...my...ah...my...ah."

Jack shook his head and commented, "The woman sounds like she was is rough shape."

"She's been in rough shape for as long as I can remember," Jessie replied, "Hallucinations. Delusions. Babbling that never made sense. From what I gathered, it was a mental illness that she wouldn't get treated for and one that had Seto and Akira scrambling to care for her."

"Any idea what caused them?" Jack asked.

Jessie shook her head, "I never knew. All I knew was that she would get progressively worse...though I admit that she fared a lot better in the secluded woods on the Kanto Mountain Road than she did when she lived in Viridian Peak with me."

Jack frowned, feeling as though he was missing something, and Jessie continued her story.

It wasn't long before the Menace of Johto came through the door, unceremoniously dumping a small mountain of grocery bags on the floor and sneering, "Thanks for the help."

"'Bout time you did some work around here," Seto retorted, moving to unpack the bags on his floor. Silver scoffed, but said nothing. He looked around the room and his eyes seemed to widen in surprise.

"Back again, huh?" he asked, directing the question at me.

"We said we would be," I pointed out, standing up straight with a well-fed little Henry in my arms.

"True," Silver allowed, "I see you've slimmed down a bit from our last meeting."

"Silver!" Akira scolded him, "That's not nice! You knew that she was expecting and now the babies are here. Look at how cute," she prompted him, standing so that he could clearly see Rose in her arms. He made a face.

"I see," he said plainly.

"It would be so nice to be able to keep them forever," she gushed, "I would love to have a baby someday."

A tinge of pink flashed across Silver's face at the comment, but then it disappeared as he scoffed, "All babies do is eat, cry, and shit. Nothing I'd want."

A stricken look passed over Akira's face at that comment. In fact, she looked almost as though she had been betrayed by Silver. The red-haired young man then swiftly walked for the door. I shook my head and passed Henry to James.

"What're you doing?" James wondered as he took our son.

"I told you that I'd keep track of the Menace," I replied with a shrug. He made a face, but it went away when I pecked his cheek. I stepped out of the door to find Silver sitting on a rock overlooking the small pond near the house. He did his best to look nonchalant as I approached him.

"So, babies are gross, huh?" I prodded as I approached. He barked out a taunt.

"Offended?"

"Hardly," I replied, "You know, you can cut the crap anytime."

Silver chuckled at this, "Oh? And why's that?"

"Because I can see right through you," I told him, "and despite your tough guy attitude, I know that you care about Akira and her family. If you don't quit being an asshole, she won't give you the time of day."

"And why exactly do you care?" Silver wondered. I had asked myself that question as I trudged outside to find him and I did have an answer that would even satisfy the Menace.

"Miki was my family and that makes Seto and Akira family as well," I said simply, "and you're being an ass to Akira for no damn reason."

Silver was quiet for a moment, mulling over what I said. Finally, he spoke in a sort of flat voice, "I'm not ready to settle."

"Then man up and tell her that," I retorted, "Pushing her away won't help. Neither will insulting my kids, by the way."

Silver managed a short chuckle. Then he changed the subject, "You're on your way back to Silver Shoal?"

"Yes," I answered, "We've received word that Team Rocket cleared out."

"They were arrested due to an anonymous tip," Silver supplied, "Know anything about that?"

As a matter of fact, I did. It had been James's grandfather's way of helping us out.

"Not a thing," I lied, crossing my arms as I did so.

"Word is that a lot of higher ups got thrown in jail," Silver continued, "Not that I'm surprised. When push comes to shove, they're all useless and spineless, no matter their rank."

"You don't like Team Rocket, do you?" I deadpanned.

"I wouldn't be sorry to see the whole lot of them destroyed," Silver growled, glaring out at the pond, "The only thing they're good at is messing up people's lives."

I thought about it and I'm not sure that I completely agreed. I shook my head and pointed out, "Most of the grunts joined as broke ass kids desperate for money. That's why I joined, back in the day."

"They're desperate yes-men looking for a pat on the head from their tyrannical leader," Silver dismissed my point. "They deserve destruction for not using their own heads...for not questioning his orders."

"Sometimes food is more important than morals," I added.

"Sometimes human life is more important than food," Silver countered, getting to his feet, "Disagree?"

"It's hard to disagree with that," I admitted.

"Just remember this conversation if they ever do catch up to you," Silver advised, "You'll understand me then."

"And I do," Jessie said softly, "I certainly have a hard time feeling defensive of any of the agents that led to me being here."

"But you were right before," Jack countered, "Not all Team Rocket agents are hardened criminals. Some deserve compassion."

"You and your friends?" Jessie wondered.

"We had morals," Jack stated firmly,

The rest of the visit was a bit tense on account of Silver's presence, but it was nice. Even when we left Seto, Miki, and Akira, I knew that I would miss Seto's direct, no-nonsense attitude, Akira's bubbly personality, and Miki's familiar presence. I would even miss her rambling and her broken cries of 'My...ah."

Despite all that had happened to her, she was still the first sense of family I had ever felt. She might have been broken, but she was still alive and I knew where I could find her. Always,

"Well," James said, making me jump a little in the passenger's seat to look at him, "Home isn't far away now."

"Not at all," Meowth agreed, "I'm just hopin' that we can figure everythin' out once we get dere."

"We will," I said softly, still thinking of Miki. If she could deal with her demons and build a family with Seto and Akira, than we could figure out a way to raise three kids in the comfort of Silver Shoal.

"She's a source of strength for you," Jack realized. Jessie nodded her head.

"She's had a hard life, but even though she's a prisoner in her own mind, she never gave up."

"Admirable," Jack agreed as he abandoned firewood duty and sat back in his chair, "It's that type of resilience that only comes out of those who have been screwed by the world. It is to be admired. Without it, a lot of us down-and-out types wouldn't still be here.

Jessie smiled a little at this as she realized that while she may have been a Sakaki, her stubborn streak as a Lillis combined with the resilience she had learned as Miki's foster daughter would override her fate.

The world would not screw her over anymore.

TBC

AN: So after three years *cringes* I'm finally back with intent to bring this story to a close. As of right now, I have finished writing the remaining chapters and I will be posting them in the next few days. I apologize profusely for leaving my readers hanging on a line. Thank you to all of those loyal readers who have waited over the last three years for updates to this story.