The sun burned low in the western sky and land still seemed a fair distance away.
Finally giving in to her aching limbs, Jessie flung her oar to the lifeboat floor dramatically, gaining the attention of her Pokémon companions. They all eyed her warily, too afraid to ignore her but even more afraid of what they knew was coming.
"So." Her hair a disaster and her clothes a wreck and her composure a mess, Jessie was trying her damnedest to keep a lid on her rage… although the sole antidote to the explosion of fury she was only barely keeping down was a damn good explanation for all of this. "Are you happy now? Is this the ending to our perfectly productive day that you all imagined and hoped for? Was your experience there worth it for us to end up stuck on a boat in the middle of the ocean with our routine still rusty and unpolished?"
"And let's not forget we almost all got killed!" Meowth added irately.
His comment made Jessie snap a lot sooner than she had been expecting.
"AND JUST WHAT MAKES YOU THINK THAT YOU'RE EXEMPT FROM THIS DRESSING-DOWN?! You're the one who let them go in the FIRST PLACE, DAMMIT!"
Meowth yelped and recoiled from Jessie instinctively, but Gourgeist bravely jumped between the two and frantically pled with Jessie, as if offering an explanation. She was speaking extremely fast and Jessie wasn't sure she'd be able to understand her even if she did speak her language, but the fact that Gourgeist was even trying to explain her behavior at all was enough to keep Jessie's temper back in check—barely—for a few moments.
"Wait, wait," Meowth interrupted, shaking his head in confusion. "A shiny what?"
The ashamed flush didn't leave Gourgeist's face, but she somewhat angrily motioned towards Wobbuffet, who for his part seemed to attempting to shrink completely into the lifeboat's floorboards, and gave a few more words.
Meowth sighed, looking up at Jessie with an "I-know-this-doesn't-help-a-thing" face. "Okay, so apparently Wobbuffet saw a shiny caterpie and decided he just had to follow it come hell or high water, up to and including onboard a ship leaving port. Gourgeist tried to stop him but when the boat started leavin' he didn't wanna risk crossing back over the water." He shot a look at Wobbuffet. "So didja ever catch up to that caterpie once you were actually onboard?"
Wobbuffet guiltily shook his head with a meek "Wobbbbbb."
"So it was all pointless. All completely pointless! We wasted our entire day on THAT?!" Jessie fumed and shrieked wordlessly, all three Pokémon cautiously keeping as much of a distance as they could from her and remaining silent.
"It wasn't a waste!" Meowth protested. He produced a fistful of cash, smiling proudly. "I raked in some major dough at that casino!"
"Yeah, and left me to the guards!"
Meowth's smile fell. "Honest, Jess, I thought you was right behind me, I swear! Besides, it all woiked out in the end, right? This amount of cash will keep us in business for months!"
"Who knew you were such a card shark?" Jessie remarked, her anger cooling bit by bit into a dull frustration. Still irritated, she stroked her chin thoughtfully, her mind frozen on that instant of the cards bursting behind her, caught by how stunning it appeared (at least in her memory). "But you know what… as crazy as it sounds, this whole fiasco's given me an idea as to how we can finish our freestyle performance." She sternly glared back at her Pokémon. "Don't think that means all is forgiven, though!"
"I hope it's the casino that toined on that mental lightbulb and not all those knives."
"And that reminds me." Jessie frowned at Gourgeist and Wobbuffet. "Care to explain why those chefs seemed to want to serve you two up as the main course?"
Gourgeist looked down at the floor, abashed. "Gourgeist-geist."
"Hey, I was right," Meowth said brightly. "They did head straight for the buffet."
"And ate everything in sight," Jessie finished dryly, not needing to hear anything more. "I hope you realize that while you two were enjoying your lunch, I was so occupied trying to find you—and trying to not get thrown off the ship at the same time—that I didn't have time to even think about eating! Some thanks I get for all of my—what's that?"
For before Jessie could launch herself into hysterics again, Gourgeist had ruefully shifted away from her, revealing an oblong object at her side that sported a dull pink and dark brown color scheme similar to her own.
Gourgeist squeaked in horror, desperately trying to conceal it again.
"You think you can hide that from me when I've already seen it?!" cried Jessie indignantly.
"Is that an egg?" Meowth spluttered.
"Is it yours?"
Gourgeist slumped in defeat and nodded in affirmation.
"You… you laid an egg." Jessie gaped at said egg, not even angry anymore. "But… but how did… who's the…"
She looked at the other end of the boat to find Wobbuffet trying to hide his face under the seat.
"Wobbuffet?!" she said, confused.
"You mean to tell me that you and Wobbuffet…" Meowth awkwardly motioned between the two Pokémon.
Gourgeist's face flushed with embarrassment as she rapid-fire shot off some quick words to Meowth.
Meowth flung his paws out in front of his body, crossing them wildly back and forth. "Okay, okay, jeez, I don't need to know all of the nitty-gritty!" He turned to Jessie, the astonishment on his face topped only by his repugnance. "Yeah… it's theirs. They bumped uglies and that's the result."
"You two ran away from me, snuck aboard a cruise ship, gorged yourself on food, and banged." Jessie let out a low whistle. "Damn. What am I supposed to even say to that?" Abruptly, she grinned at Gourgeist, starting the pumpkin Pokémon. "I guess all I can say is good for you! Isn't sex great?"
"I already know way too much about everyone here's sex lives and I don't need to know anymore!" Meowth erupted testily. "Besides, what are we gonna do with an egg? We have enough trouble keeping our own mouths fed; how's a baby gonna fit into this picture?"
Jessie smiled as a brilliant idea flashed through her mind. "We can send it to the boss!" she exclaimed. "An extraordinary endowment of an egg; he'll be elated!"
"And we'll be exalted!" Meowth said, brightening at the plan instantly.
"Gourgeist?" Gourgeist asked apprehensively. Wobbuffet finally didn't seem to be trying to hide anymore, although a deep blush was still tinting his face as he also regarded Meowth warily.
"Aw, no worries, kid, Team Rocket headquoiters is a great place for a Pokémon!" Meowth reassured Gourgeist. "That little hatchling is gonna get the best training and accommodations in the woild! Who knows; once it gets older it might get promoted to an official Team Rocket Pokémon Field Agent—a fine position, and I should know!"
Gourgeist finally smiled a bit. "Gour!"
"Of course it sounds nice! Your baby gains instant acceptance into the greatest group there ever was, and we all get some well-earned recognition, respect, and riches to boot! It's a win-win, and we're all in!"
"Gourgeist!' Gourgeist exclaimed happily.
"Wob… wobbuffet." Wobbuffet was finally starting to smile again, too.
"The future's looking fantastic!" Jessie proclaimed. "Now we just have to row all the way to shore and make our way back to the hotel and try to figure out just how we're going to have our routine completely perfected by tomorrow evening!" She suddenly slumped back into a grumpy slouch, glowering.
Meowth, Gourgeist, and Wobbuffet all groaned, Jessie's sudden mood swing dragging them down with her.
Jessie tossed an oar to them and crossed her arms. "I nearly forgot that I'm still furious at all three of you. Row us back to shore before we're stranded out here in the dark! You think I'm angry now—"
"I know, I know, we ain't seen nothin' yet!" Meowth sighed, retrieving his oar and dipping it back into the water, Wobbuffet and Gourgeist hastily doing likewise with Jessie's discarded one. Suddenly perking up a bit, Meowth added quickly, "But you are happy about all the money I won, right?"
"ROW!"
…
Dinner had been going for over an hour, the dance portion of the party was beginning to get underway, and still Jessie wasn't there.
James, who had grown more and more uncomfortable with every passing second of sitting as detached as he could from the rest of the crowd and picking at his food, finally could take no more. Nodding at Inkay, who had been floating by his side and gladly eating his untouched vittles, he stood up and made his way to the exit, stopping briefly at the buffet line to request a small bag of food to take up to his companion who was feeling unwell and hadn't been able to make it down to the party. A small lie like that was most assuredly worth it to keep a potentially hungry Jessie satisfied whenever she returned.
"Oh, Inkay," James sighed unhappily, carrying the to-go bag out of the ballroom, feeling himself both relax at finally getting out of there and tensing right back up upon still seeing no sight of Jessie and Meowth. "Perhaps Jessie got so wrapped up in rehearsal that she lost track of time?"
"Innnkay," Inkay said with an agreeable nod, looking a bit concerned at James's worry.
"I hope that's all it is," James said, a knot of nervousness tightening in his stomach. "It's not like her and Meowth to miss out on free food, after all…"
"In-inkay," Inkay said uneasily.
"You don't suppose anything's happened to them?" James whimpered.
"Innnnnnnnn…"
"They could be in massive trouble and I'm left here powerless to help!" James cried, beginning to panic. "Even if I did know where they are, or what the issue is—"
"Inkay!" Inkay said vehemently, brusquely gliding a tentacle over James's face to snap him out of it.
The motion throwing him off, James rubbed his face, giving Inkay a grateful look. "Thank you, Inkay," he said quietly. "Losing my nerve won't gain anything in return. Perhaps they're at the front desk—and if not, perhaps the clerk can assist us." He and Inkay traversed their way down the grand hallway as dusk settled into nighttime and blackened the windows to the exterior, leaving no way to scan for their wayward companions outside. The hallway was quieter now than it had been earlier in the day, the majority of the guests presumably at the ballroom or already retreated to their rooms for the night.
As they approached the front desk, James's despair grew more and more pronounced as both Jessie and Meowth were still nowhere to be seen.
"This is worrisome," he moaned helplessly. "We may need to leave the premises to search for them—but what if they return while we're out? Then we'll have missed each other without realizing it!"
"Inkaayyyy," Inkay said, looking anxious—and who could blame him, he was the only one around at the moment to calm James down.
But before James could launch back into panic mode, the sound of the lobby doors opening drew his attention away from his fears momentarily. Trudging wearily into the foyer, looking ragged and worn, were Meowth, Wobbuffet, and Gourgeist.
"Inkay!" Inkay called out in relief, gaining their attention. All three returning Pokémon looked like they'd been through the wringer, and only Meowth was able to actually respond.
"Hey, Inkay… hey, Jimmy." He gave James the weakest of smiles.
"Are you alright?" James cried frantically. "Where's Jessie?"
Meowth's shoulders sagged even more than they had been. "Today wasn't exactly our best day. Although I did rustle up some dough for us," he added with a frail smile. "Even so, we had a hell of an escapade and even the trip back here was even worse, so good luck with tryin' to remind Jess of the positives."
"But," James cried, impatiently and frantically, "where is—"
"I was just gettin' there, keep your shoit on," Meowth grumbled. "She went straight up to the room. She ain't in any mood for partying. Or anything that involves even pretending to be sociable. Took the side door and went right up the elevator, I figure. If she's still even willing to step in another elevator again after today, that is…"
"Then I must return to our room too and make sure she's alright," James said bravely.
Meowth snorted darkly. "Better you than me. The only place I wanna be right now is the Pokémon lodge, all spread out on that bed and feasting on minced meat and crackers."
"Wobbuffet," Wobbuffet agreed, as lackluster as James had ever seen him.
"Gourgeist," Gourgeist said in a similar manner.
"Inkay?" Inkay asked with trepidation, hovering over to the other Pokémon.
"We'll tell ya later," Meowth answered him feebly. "Let's just go before my legs give out." He turned back to James. "See ya tomorrow, James. If Jess gets all ragey again, just remind her how much money I won for us at the casino!" He and the other Pokémon, including Inkay, hopped over the front desk and to an employee who guided them through the back and presumably to the lodges, James left blinking for only a second or two before turning around and making a beeline to the elevator.
…
Jessie flopped onto the bed like a suddenly stringless marionette, not even her roaring hunger or overwhelming compulsion to bathe and fix her hair enough to convince her to do anything else.
Rowing a lifeboat meant for thirty to forty passengers with only two rowers meant that the return to shore was even more physically draining and time consuming than it should have been, and even once they'd finally reached the shore and disembarked their tribulations weren't past them yet. Rowdy beachgoers had swarmed them excitedly the minute they stepped out of the boat, and it took Jessie completely blowing her top (again) to get them to scatter. From there, an uphill climb through muddy, marshy terrain awaited them, and multiple clauncher attached themselves to her ankles… and Meowth's and Gourgeist's attacks in an attempt to get them off often missed their targets and instead hit her directly on the shins.
It was, then, an exhausted, filthy, wounded, infuriated Jessie who had finally reached her hotel room.
Her mind a numb whir, Jessie simply stared at the ceiling for a few minutes, enjoying the luxury of not needing to move or deal with any living creatures.
She heard the door unlock and open.
Rolling her eyes in dismay, she inwardly groaned. Goddammit whoever that is better have food.
"Jessie!" James exclaimed, sounding utterly relieved. With great effort, Jessie rolled her head to the right to look at him, her eyes settling on the brown paper bag he was holding.
Following her gaze, he quickly held it out to her. "I brought you food from the—"
FOOD.
Jessie was upright in an instant, snatching the bag away from James and eagerly and sloppily snarfing it down without a second thought. She wasn't even cognizant of what the food actually was, too busy and quickly inhaling it to note anything other than it was nourishment that had been much longed for throughout this whole mess of a day. Too soon she found that she had finished it all off. She had to forcibly remind herself to not lick the inside of the bag (or just eat it). Her roaring hunger had been dulled to a slight rumble, not fully satiated but enough for her to be able to think (somewhat) straight again. Folding the paper bag in half in a jarring attempt to detract from her wild and famished behavior just moments before, she looked back at James, who seemed to have kept his distance from her during her entire frenzied meal.
"Erm… am I allowed to ask what happened?" he said cautiously.
Jessie's eyes shot daggers. "No."
"That bad?"
"Just use your imagination." Sighing, Jessie flopped back down on the bed.
Very carefully, as if approaching a wounded ursaring, James moved to her side, tentatively grasping her right hand in his left. "Meowth said something about an elevator…"
"I am going to burn every single elevator that has ever existed. And anyone who mentions them in my presence." She shot James a tired warning glare.
"Jessie, dear, I want to help make it better, but I can't if I don't know specifics—"
"Fuck specifics, I just had a horrible day, okay?" Jessie growled. "And the only way you could make it better would be to go back in time and prevent this day from happening in the first place—well, and food. The food helped."
"I'm glad," James said sincerely.
"I want more."
James paled. "That's all I had." Quickly he added, "But I can still give you love and wine!"
Jessie arched an eyebrow. "You'd better be able to back up that 'wine' part, because I swear to god, if you're leading me on…"
James deftly swung open the drawer on the end table and produced an elegantly labeled bottle of Malbec. "I wouldn't dream of it," he said with a grin.
Jessie jolted upright, gleefully clutching the wine. "Oh, James, you darling!" she exclaimed.
"Only the best for the winner of tomorrow's showcase," James smiled back with lidded eyes.
"Indeed," Jessie purred back, stroking a hand up James's chest. "You may ask the wrong questions sometimes but you definitely know how to treat a lady where it counts."
"You may find I have many talents."
"Putting your talents to such good use deserves a reward." Jessie brought her face mere inches from James's, but hovered there enticingly without closing the gap. When James leaned forward in an attempt to do so himself, Jessie pulled away, smiling a bit at how disappointed he was. "After I've had that wine, of course. Priorities."
James grasped her hand again, throwing her a charming smile. "Love first, then wine?"
"Absolutely not." Jessie dramatically pushed his hand away. "Pour me a glass or two and then you'll get your reward. Hell, have a glass or two yourself if you want."
"How generous of you." James lifted the bottle again… and hesitated, his smile fading and his eyes wrinkling with worry.
Jessie felt as if she were suddenly teetering on the edge of a cliff. "What?" The question came out sounding more like a threat.
"I… forgottogetacorkscrew," James finished hurriedly.
"You WHAT?!"
"I can go out and get one!" James yelped frantically, scrambling to the door.
"I can't BELIEVE you! You bring me wine but no way to OPEN IT?! You goddamn MORON! YOU CAN'T JUST TEMPT ME WITH THIS AND LEAVE ME HIGH AND DRY! WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!"
James only stuck around for maybe half of that rant—he was out the door, hopefully to find a corkscrew and rectify his mistake, as fast as his legs could carry him.
Groaning out a curse word, Jessie flopped back onto her back for a few moments, once again raging at the world and everything in it that had caused her day to be such a disaster, James now included in that now lengthy list. It just figured, didn't it?
She sighed, her anger (mostly) spent. Her hunger was satiated, booze was (hopefully) soon on its way… might as well get that relaxing bath in.
…
The numerous shops in the hotel didn't carry corkscrews, much to James's dismay—and even worse, checking each and every individual shop had eaten up precious time. And the longer Jessie had to wait for her wine, the more vicious she would become. He had to run across the street to the liquor store where he had picked up the wine in the first place—and seeing as he'd actually stolen it, he wasn't exactly anxious to return to that specific location. Luckily, no one seemed to have noticed anything was missing, and the clerk took his pocket change, an amount that hadn't been enough for the fancy bottle of wine but did cover a cheap corkscrew, without a question or accusing glance.
Making haste back to their room, James prayed to whatever gods happened to be listening that Jessie hadn't worked herself up into even more of a frenzy during his lengthier than anticipated absence.
As he opened the door, the room was deceptively quiet. "Jessie?" he called out gingerly. It didn't take long to scan the small room and see that she wasn't there, but the bathroom door was closed and light was visible in the crack between the door and the floor.
He rapped gently on the door. "Jessie, dear?" he said again, softly. "I'm back with the corkscrew."
No answer.
From any other person, silence may have meant anger, but James knew Jessie. The angrier she got, the louder she got. So while the lack of any sort of response from her did concern him, it was not for the reasons that had previously occupied his thoughts.
"Are you alright?" he asked, his voice rising with worry.
When he continued to not receive any reply, James gulped before speaking firmly. "You're worrying me. Please say something or I'll have to go in there to check on you."
Silence.
His fear for her wellbeing now too loud to ignore, James quickly turned the handle, trembling with dread imagining the possibilities of what he might see.
Thankfully, his worst fears weren't waiting for him.
Jessie had apparently run a tub and had gotten in, but exhaustion seemed to have set in pretty quickly, and she was in a deep, heavy sleep, her head lolled over her shoulder in a way that looked incredibly uncomfortable. James exhaled, relief washing over him. She wasn't dead, just asleep. Although she certainly couldn't stay asleep there; it was fortunate that her head had slumped to the side rather than forward, into the bath water. James shuddered as he imagined how badly this could have turned out.
He knelt down to stroke her cheek. "Jessie?"
She didn't wake. She barely even moved.
"Jessie, dear, you need to wake up and lie down in the bed."
Nothing.
"Jessie, dearest, please, wake up," James pleaded, his volume rising.
Even that didn't do the trick. Jessie was dead to the world for the time being and nothing was going to change that.
Sighing helplessly, James leaned over to the other side of the tub and turned the knob to drain the water. This was going to be incredibly difficult to manage while she was asleep, but she was leaving him no other option. Except perhaps to slap her awake, but even he wasn't that stupid.
As the water began to drain, James grabbed a towel from the rack above the toilet and tenderly began to pat dry the parts of Jessie's body that began to become exposed. Lifting her arms and even rolling her over still proved to be absolutely ineffective at rousing her; in fact, even the rhythm of her breathing was unaffected. Thinking quickly, he rolled the towel up and slid it under her head as the last of the water drained from the tub and went to retrieve her bathrobe. Returning, and finding his silent prayers that she would wake up from the warmth of the water leaving her unanswered, he carefully slid her arms into the sleeves. Then, as adroitly as he could, he hoisted her out of the tub and grasped her bridal style, the robe sprawling off of her naked, still damp body. She still didn't so much as stir.
James groaned. At this rate, Pikachu could storm into the room and blast a thunderbolt at them and Jessie still wouldn't rouse from her slumber.
He carried her to the bed, gently laying her down and tying the robe closed before pulling the covers over her. Her stiff form seemed to grow a bit more relaxed once her body touched the sheets, and she rolled her head to the side and exhaled softly.
James set the bottle of wine back into the end table drawer. Obviously they weren't going to be cracking that open tonight. Instead, he sat down on the edge of the bed for a moment, regarding her slumbering form and wondering just what had transpired that day that had caused her such distress.
Well, whatever it was… it was all behind her now. And she would, with any luck, be well-rested and refreshed for tomorrow's showcase, regardless of what trials she had faced that day.
He stroked her cheek gently. It was obvious how much she needed this rest, of course, but had had rather hoped that she'd be awake long enough for him to comfort her, to freely say the words that she'd demanded of him previously. It seemed a bit of a moot point to constantly reassure her of his feelings, but given Jessie's apparent need to hear them from him often, he had resolved earlier that day that they'd be the last thing she'd hear from him before falling asleep every night. A superfluous gesture to him, but obviously very important to her, and he could easily accommodate this requirement of hers.
Reassuring her as she slept seemed even more unnecessary than usual, especially as nothing seemed to be reaching her, but he had vowed to start today, and he would let no excuses hinder that resolve. So, as tenderly as he could, he brushed her hair out of her closed eyes and leaned over, pressing his lips to her temple. "I love you," he murmured against it.
She continued to heavily doze.
Sighing again, James pulled away and rose up from the bed, making his way to the bathroom for bedtime preparations. He'd make it up to her tomorrow. But right now, for both of them, sleep was more important.