Hello :P It is Wednesday and I am back with a new chapter. This one is a bit of fun, really, and pretty family-based. This chapter focuses on James (Ash and Misty's youngest son) and Jorgie (James and Lynne's eldest daughter together). Those two have a very close and amusing bond and you can definitely tell it here! I've written about it a couple of times but I think this is one of the first that I am uploading. It has a heavier sentiment towards the end but is light-hearted as well. I enjoy their interactions. I think little James' character is really apparent here. I hope you enjoy :3
Ages:
James (Morgan):
James (Ketchum): 7
Jorgie: 18 Months Old
Lynne: 30
Misty: 34
Disclaimer: I own the story and the OCs mentioned!
The lavender haired male smiled gently down at the chestnut haired young boy, carefully brushing his fingers across his forehead before absentmindedly smoothing down his pillow and duvet as he lay on the sofa. The older male was hesitant to leave the younger male but could tell when he was feeling a little bit better. However, he made sure to ask and I was certain that we both appreciated that.
"How are you feeling, kiddo?" James Morgan asked James Ketchum, his fingers caringly brushing over his forehead a second time before tufting through his ginger-brown locks. Little James didn't have a chance to nod his head or shake his head from laying against his fortress of pillows because before he could do anything, let alone wince, the lavender haired male stopped a part of his head from sinking against the cushions. He quietly reminded him. "Mind your ear. Don't sink too low in case you hurt it even more."
Both the littler James and I couldn't help but smile upon hearing this. Needless to say, the youngest Ketchum boy's smile was slightly subdued and weak but polite nonetheless after not feeling one hundred percent. It was a sad thing when a child was ill and was potentially all the more heart-breaking when both of their parents were away at a Pokémon League meeting so couldn't take care of them when they needed to be off school.
However, the little boy was rewarded with second best. With his Grammy Delia away on a short vacation, second best was his Uncle James who was often at home on fatherly duties since the arrival of his little girl with Lynne. Of course, his Uncle James was never really second best but it was always nice to have your parents when you were sick. That's why I had stayed behind, you see. Little James had a little piece of Ash and Misty with him. And the truth was the lavender haired male was a very good caregiver. It was evident from the way that he quietly fussed over his "nephew".
I think that even James could tell that his best friend's son was grateful for his caring nature and after the two wordlessly smiled at one another, the older of the two slowly stood up, his hand finally sliding away from being tousled in chestnut locks. While the younger James' smile faded away as he assumedly sleepily snuggled against the pillows (making sure he didn't rub his sore ear in the process), the lavender haired ones appeared all the more. His lips pressed together as he stood up to his full height. He pushed a strand of hair from his eyes.
"Alright." He started and straight away, little James knew that the older male was going to start speaking to him and knew that he should most definitely listen. With me curled up next to his feet and making sure he really was okay, his eyes fluttered open before they could properly close and he could have a rest on the sofa. The lavender haired male's eyes seemed to smile as well as he too noticed this. He gestured as he continued. "I'm going to be just off in the kitchen making some lunch so you just get Pikachu to come and fetch me if you need to, okay?"
I sat up presently. While the chestnut haired young boy instantly nodded his head, I sat on my bottom and almost arched my back in the process of trying to stand too tall. I most definitely took my own caregiver roles seriously! And I especially did when my good friend little James was off school with earache.
Following that, I was too busy trying to appear reliable and noble and keeping my back straight to notice whether either James' had noticed me but I saw how the lavender haired male had a bit of a smirk but focused on the youngest Ketchum son, resuming his gesturing.
"Jorgie is over there, yeah? She seems pretty occupied so shouldn't disturb you. And like I said, get Pikachu to fetch me for anything – anything at all. Your drink is over there. You can reach it. That should be everything."
Both the ginger James and I turned to swivel our heads around the room. For once, I got there quicker but then again, the poor young boy did have a sore ear and a fortress of pillows to try and crane over to see! However, we both soon enough saw that indeed, James' orange haired daughter was on the floor playing in front of her doll's house and there was a plastic child's cup of orange juice within reach of the sofa.
Little James and I both nodded our heads and the lavender haired James must have noticed this because he murmured something and nodded his own head to himself before reaching out to his best friend's son once more. He gave him a gentle touch on the forehead and the top of my head a pat too before he finally turned on his heel and got ready to leave the room.
Ash and Misty's son James had been pretty peaky throughout the morning and even quieter than usual and it must've been horrible for the young boy to have to deal with yet another potential ear infection. But despite this, it warmed my heart to see how sweet and placid and polite he was by the way that after he stopped craning his neck to watch Jorgie babbling to herself and playing with small wooden dolls, he made sure to catch his Uncle's hand before he left completely and gave him as big of a beam as he could manage.
"Thank you, Uncle James." He uttered simply but with all the sincerity in the world and after the older James just gave the younger one a hand squeeze and a touched nod in response, young James let out a quiet sigh and sunk back against the pillows. He didn't shut his eyes and instead watched the older male leave the room.
We both listened as his footsteps padded away and got quieter the further away in the house that he got. The chestnut haired little boy continued resting against his pillows that he had bought from home and I turned my attention back over to him. Though I still felt noble and as though I needed to appear reliable, I couldn't help but slump my back in that moment and relax against the young boy instead. I let out my own quiet sigh as I rested against him.
I hated seeing any of the Ketchum children unwell at any time. Ever since the moment that each of them had been born, my Pokémon instincts had definitely been apparent from the way that I became a fierce protector of them all. I was certain that that could have its downfalls as they got older and went through life and wandered away and made their own decisions. But when they were sick, I knew that it was necessary.
Like their parents, I would do anything to see them well again. And almost for their parents, I would do anything indeed to see them well again. It was probably filling both Ash and Misty with the common parental guilt at leaving their youngest son with their uncle after he had woken up complaining of an aching ear but it couldn't be helped.
It was true that James Morgan was as good as a caregiver as any. And I was there too so that was that. Yes, we would both be there to see that young James went back fully to his amusing, good-natured and sweet self. We would both be there to see that he felt better. What I didn't know, however, that he was evidently feeling a lot better already!
It was obvious that I had drifted off into thought when I was abruptly snapped back to reality by young James suddenly moving out of his laying down position and sitting up. As he tugged the duvet from home he was laying under and exposed his legs, I blinked and for some reason my gaze travelled over to Jorgie. I soon understood that that was for a good reason when it quickly appeared to me that there was some sort of language going on between them.
There definitely was some sort of secret communication going on between those two from the way that the orange haired toddler toddled over to the older child as soon as he sat up off the sofa. Young James was the one to talk.
"He said he's gone to make lunch now, Jorgie. So what are we playing?" the chestnut haired young boy spoke quietly and turned his neck to make sure that his uncle and her father was indeed out of the way and then he seemed to relax and shrug before coming to sit down on the floor with the toddler, crossing his legs. My eyes widened and I resumed blinking as Jorgie came to a halt waddling to bend down and pick up a play set before coming back over to the older child, handing it over to him. James wrinkled his nose but accepted it nevertheless. "Well… It's a bit obvious, don't you think? Haven't you got something better?"
In my state of shock, for some reason in that moment all I could think about was how the chestnut haired young boy expected the little girl who was not even two years old to understand what she was saying. But surprisingly (and amusingly) it seemed as though she did understand what he was getting at. They certainly had their own secret language.
The orange haired toddler scrunched her nose up when her handing over the toy doctor's kit and game suggestion had been rejected but she soon decided that she would try again. With more determination in her stride, she marched back over to where she had been seated before, sitting in front of her doll's house. All it took from her was a quick glance back over to the chestnut haired boy to figure out that he probably didn't want to occupy their time doing that either – he liked a lot of things and was easy-going but that wasn't of interest to him in that moment.
So instead, Jorgie decided to wander over to the little child's size wardrobe where a good few of her dressing up clothes were kept and seeing as it was on wheels, she wheeled it over to the older boy. Instantly, you could see the sparkle in his eye. Now that was of interest to him! James shuffled on his bottom still with crossed legs and moved closer to the orange haired toddler's side. Jorgie copied him and sat down on her own nappy-padded bottom with a gentle thump. They both shared the same mischievous grin. It was obvious that they were both happy with the activities that they settled on.
It was just a split second after I had seen those two's cheeky and toothy grins to each other that I suddenly snapped into action. Or rather, feelings and emotions snapped inside of me. I hopped onto the floor with what I imagined to be a rather firm and stern stance but was left feeling rather wounded when James just simply turned around to look at me before looking back at Jorgie. He felt no remorse whatsoever! And he felt no authority coming from me either clearly. That stung. I sat back on my own bottom with a thump.
It was true that I always valued that I was part of each and every group within our expanding group and had close bonds with a lot of the children. My bond with Ash and Misty's chestnut haired son was one that I held particularly close to my heart and made me feel as though I was walking on air. So when he barely acknowledged my authority and clearly believed that I could be a bystander in his mischief and wouldn't say a thing, it really made me feel confused!
The rebel in me thought that I should at least find it a little bit funny that the young boy was seemingly faking sickness from school to end up chilling in the Morgan household instead. But I was most certainly not one hundred percent rebel. Many years had passed since my best friend Ash had to wear rubber gloves to stop me from shocking him. I was deeply loyal to both of my best friends. And I knew that I would have to say something eventually.
But for the time being – it wasn't the rebel in me, no; it was more the curiosity – it was the curiosity in me that made me just keep watching for a little bit longer. I didn't mean for as much time to pass as it did!
The orange haired toddler was evidently gleeful from the way that she squeaked to herself as her little idea got James-approved and she allowed the older child to stand up to his full height before crouching down slightly, opening the door's to the toddler sized wardrobe. He couldn't stop himself from gasping quietly and watching in awe, watching the playtime dresses twinkle as the light shining in from the living room hit them.
Growing up with an older sister and a younger sister definitely had made little James appreciate things that were considered girly and he always wanted to be in on the action when it came to that. He played with Jessika when she made Ash join her and dress up in tutus and sparkly shoes and make up too. He revelled in and deeply enjoyed the conversations with Katie about costumes in movies and the make-up and who could wear what. He was a truly inquisitive and imaginative and loveable young boy. Even though he was evidently far sneakier than any of us had been aware of!
The chestnut haired young boy knew that he was to hurry up and stop staring when Jorgie babbled something in a particular tone so he decided to reach forward and take out two identical dresses. I knew them to be the ones that those two dressed up in together usually when he came to play. Little James joined Jorgie and sat down next to her, displaying the lilac and turquoises bead embellished dresses out in front of them, giving them admiring glances.
However, that gaze of innocent wonder and excitement faded away and the orange haired toddler stood back up and reached toward, trying to tug his lounging sweatshirt off. James shook his head.
"No. No. We mustn't do that. I mustn't do that. It would be far too obvious." The chestnut haired little boy tried to explain and it was evident that that time, the half-angel child didn't understand what he was talking about. A frown appeared on her flushed forehead and she tilted her head, sticking her bottom lip out. Still caring despite his new misbehaviour, James reached out and touched her shoulder as he continued. He gave her a small smile. "You dress up. You can be the one to dress up. I'm just glad to be here."
And all over again, Jorgie seemingly understood that. Or rather, she heard his softer sound of voice and acknowledged his smile and felt that that had been better than his words before! Instinctively, she copied his smile back and soon nodded her head in return to him as well when he did it to her.
It was true that the orange haired toddler was going to be the one to dress up and it would be far less obvious if she was going to be the one to change her clothes but that didn't mean that the chestnut haired boy had been made completely redundant! No, from the way that she used her short leg to kick the dress closer to him and hold her arms up in the air – it made it obvious. The youngest Ketchum son was going to be in charge of wardrobe and costume fittings.
I heard little James let out a sigh but he shuffled closer towards her and complied. That was a bit like me going along with those two's antics without really realising it.
In not much time at all, Jorgie's pink tights and denim dungarees and long sleeve top had been substituted for the sparkly lilac and turquoise dress and she had the little bug antenna hairband on top of her head for good measure. Thankfully, little James was a patient boy and managed to dress her fully in between even her fussing and occasional bossing around too. He moved back to look at her.
"Very pretty." He complimented in a charming grin which people agreed that he got from his grandfather and needless to say, Jorgie squeaked and copied that grin back when she heard these words. Even so, she sat back down next to the older boy and stuck her feet out towards him. He caught on straight away. After letting out a bit of a sigh and scrunching up his nose, he complied. The silver princess shoes that she chose were a bit big for her but he put them on her nevertheless. "Of course. No outfit is complete without shoes. Now you're very much ready."
I couldn't help a little bit of worry from filling my throat when it was then the chestnut haired young boy's turn to stand up on his feet and after hitching his lounging sweatpants further up his legs, he held both of his hands out to Jorgie and assisted her with standing up also. And when she was on her own two feet, the two of them started their usual antics and started dancing and singing and laughing and clowning around together!
The sight was always an amusing one to see and certainly put a smile on lots of people's faces but I still just couldn't believe those two. To tell you the truth, I would have expected it from Jorgie. I had nothing against her parents at all and their decision to have her and loved them all dearly! But she could be a mischievous little thing. She had a cheeky grin and a habit of seeing how much she could get away with – even at that age. I just didn't expect it from my best friend's youngest son.
But despite this, the more that I thought about it and the more that I thought about how I would have expected it from Jorgie, I soon started to expect it from James as well. Those two had always been a bit of a duo. They had always had a really good bond. They drove each other up the walls at times but they were inseparable as well. A hint of a smirk started to take over my face as I thought about this and watched their dancing and laughing antics.
Soon enough, though, there was a little bit of worry all over again and that time it wasn't from me. It was from the chestnut haired little boy. It was from James. He had started to hear footsteps. He had started to hear footsteps coming back towards the room. He quickly didn't hesitate to let go of Jorgie's hands and dart back over to the sofa, resuming his position of being under the covers.
I blinked slightly when he didn't look at me and I blinked more when I realised that I hadn't heard the footsteps at all. I only started to hear them when they got really close. And I only really acknowledged them for good when the lavender haired James came back into the room. The older male re-entered his living room to see Jorgie losing balance and plopping down on her bottom, letting out some wails in the process.
"Oh, Cherub. Oh, dear." He uttered to her and moved over to her side, calmly reaching down to help her back to her feet, using his spare hand to soothingly stroke the top of her head so she knew that she was okay. Jorgie sniffed and blinked her meadow green orbs back up at her father. Because I had decided to hop back on the sofa with little James, I could feel his feet curling under the duvet next to me as he heard the lavender haired male's next words. The older James blinked. "You're okay. You're okay now. But what do you expect, my love? You're wearing shoes that are way too big for you."
After her beloved daddy's words were just met with the toddler sticking her bottom lip out at him, the lavender haired male brushed her headband and bow back into place on her head before reaching down to take the shoes off her feet so she didn't hurt herself out of clumsiness. It was then that the older James couldn't stop himself from thinking to himself and blinking further to himself. Little James' toes curled under the duvet all the more.
"She's pulled out her dressing up clothes and put some on herself. James, did she do that all by herself? I didn't know she could do all that…" the lavender haired male started to mumble to himself and in thinking to himself – certain that he had not dressed her in those clothes this morning – he had evidently amused his daughter with his expression from the way that Jorgie giggled to herself. The ex-rocketeer let out a quiet sigh and smirked fondly along with her, picking her up onto his hip. Little James' toes uncurled as he thought that he was off the hook. He was not. The older James turned to him all over again and he asked. Airily. "Did you help her do that?"
I looked over at the chestnut haired young boy. Looking back, that would have been the perfect time for me to let him know that I didn't wish to go along with his antics and couldn't hide them from the lavender haired male. But I couldn't hide it in myself that I wanted little James to come to that conclusion all by himself. And in addition to that, I was a teensy bit curious to see whether he was going to flat-out lie!
Little James did a good job in blinking his eyes and pretending to massage his sore ear as if he didn't really know what was going on before he innocently nodded his head. Then he slowly shook his head. While the older male tilted his head on one side and Jorgie's eyes darted between both boys, he explained.
"I didn't move away from here. I just directed her with words. I'm sorry. I thought it was best that she was occupied all the way up until lunch." He said quietly with yet another shrug and the way that his eyes widened and fluttered in all the right moments made one wonder that if he had the fibbing ability of his namesake in his younger days. That was apparently so from the way that the lavender haired male stopped tilting his head and he smiled, absentmindedly rocking his half-angel daughter on his hip as he held her.
"Yes, I suppose she can get a tiny bit demanding when she's unoccupied." James uttered and as he continued swaying his toddler daughter on his hip, he leaned to press a soft kiss to her cheek. While Jorgie beamed and didn't hesitate to cling lovingly to her father's neck, I could feel the chestnut haired boy's toes clenching and unclenching against me. The lavender haired male then went back to talking to the chestnut haired male. Stroking Jorgie's cheek, he admitted. "I haven't actually got round to making lunch yet. Justin suddenly phoned me before heading off to sound check so I answered it. I came in here to make sure you're still okay before I'm a little longer. How's your ear?"
I turned my head to look at Ash and Misty's youngest son. Yes, I wondered, how was his ear indeed? It hadn't occurred to me until that moment for some reason that he was potentially making the whole thing up. I certainly hoped not but the way that he went over to play with Jorgie as soon as he was left alone in a room with her made it appear that way.
But fortunately or unfortunately, as soon as these words were muttered, the orange haired toddler appeared to make the scene a bit more about her. While grinning, she suddenly decided to let out a loud squeak and get all of the attention onto her! James pulled an amused face and pretended to shield his own ear. We both saw the way that young James winced. The lavender haired James nodded his head and put Jorgie back down on the floor after giving her a gentle tap on the nose, coming back over to the young boy. His hand moved to his hips. He continued nodding.
"Yeah. With that kind of noise, it's not surprising that your ear isn't feeling the best." James uttered amusingly and with raised eyebrows and upon hearing it, I couldn't help but let out a noise that could be taken for derision. When both James' and Jorgie too looked at me, however, I played it off as a cough and mocked clearing my throat. The lavender haired male raised one eyebrow that time but went back to the subject at hand. He smiled understandingly and looked back at James. "I'll crack on with lunch then. The sooner she eats that then the sooner she can go for her nap. I think she knows you're unwell and isn't being too playful but it'll be nice for you to have a rest. I'll catch you in a bit."
And all over again, the ex-rocketeer leaned forward and brushed the young boy's forehead before heading out of the room. It surprised me that Jorgie didn't blink and toddle after her father. But the way that she expectantly looked over at the chestnut haired boy when he left made it obvious that there was a scheme going on between them. And I was left filled with hurt all over again (though it didn't surprise me) that little James clambered off the sofa and went back over to the younger female as soon as the older male left them alone.
Though he did sniff a little bit and touch his ear slightly, the chestnut haired male seemingly skidded on the floor back to the younger child's side. And as soon as he joined her and as soon as she amused herself with rummaging in the toddler wardrobe doors and pulling out jewels while humming to herself, James couldn't stop himself from reaching both hands out to her. He ruffled her tufty locks in a clumsy and boyish yet caring way and told her mischievously.
"Your dad has no idea that you're a naughty little thing, Jorgie." He told her and because she didn't even respond – merely continuing to sing to herself and rummage as if she was completely used to that kind of gesture from him – he continued. James started poking the side of her head. "You really do lead me astray. If we get in trouble it's all your fault."
It was this that caused Jorgie's head to turn and her to let out some cross whines and try and bat his hands away. From my position on the sofa and wondering if it was the first signs of little James growing up by misleading everyone like he was, I couldn't help but feel like the youngest Ketchum boy as almost right.
He most definitely wouldn't have done something like that before the orange haired half-angel child had come along yet it was still unfair to blame her! He was the older one after all. And if he was going to do something like that then he was going to do it. I decided that they were both a cheeky pair. And I resumed waiting for them to come to that conclusion and make it right on their own.
After Jorgie stopped crossly shoving James away as he poked and tickled her, when she recovered from that and went back to smiling, she had obviously found what she was looking for. In her little toddler hands, she held some dress-up clip on earrings. The chestnut haired little boy looked down and saw them straight away. He let out a loud sigh and tilted his head. Then he folded his arms over his chest. But he did this rather loosely.
"You can't put them on, Jorgie. You'll probably end up getting them stuck in your ear or something!" he told her in a child-like exaggerating voice but I couldn't help but tilt my head on one side and feel like he had a bit of a point. And in addition to this, my heart filled with softness at him subtly caring for the younger child. However, even though I felt that way, I knew that he knew that Jorgie didn't want to put them on herself. He sighed all over again when she offered the jewels out to him. "You can't put them on me either. My ear really does hurt, you know."
I jumped down from the sofa and padded towards them both. Silently and wordlessly, I softly nodded my head to myself. I actually believed him. The chestnut haired little boy definitely wasn't the type to lie normally and bend the truth and if he did then there was usually a good reason. I started to wonder why that reason was. But really, I should have been wondering who the reason was.
The lavender haired James believed his daughter to be an absolute angel and innocent and sweet and dainty. She was most of the time! But everyone knew that she could be relentless and determined as well. She showed this that afternoon by crawling towards the older boy before climbing up, her hand resting on his knee as her other hand offered the dress-up earrings to him for a third time.
James' eyes fluttered shut. But after barely even a couple of seconds they opened all over again. That time he withheld his sigh and just nodded his head. He took the jewels from the younger female and she smiled happily in return to him. He told her.
"Okay, Jorgie, fine. But I will put them myself. I will end up with two sore ears if you do it for me!" he announced to her and for once she didn't have any complaints about that. Though she still remained close to him and her hand stayed resting on his knee, I soon figured it to be an affection thing rather than a persuasion thing. We both watched as the chestnut haired boy put on both clip-on earrings on his ears – one a similar turquoise colour to Jorgie's sparkly dress and the other a ruby red. The orange haired toddler's face lit up straight away and she clapped. It was obvious what she thought of it but rather shy, James asked even so. "Do you like them? I'm sure they're pretty cool."
After saying these words, the youngest Ketchum son gently pried Jorgie away from sitting so close to him as he intended to stand up and move over to a mirror and have a look himself. This in itself made her stick her bottom lip out but she knew that he was going to do what he was going to do. The chestnut haired little boy was very close to opening the child-size wardrobe door once again to peek in the mirror inside when the orange haired toddler girl suddenly let out quite the horrendous siren noise!
I covered my ears when Jorgie yelped. Little James jumped and looked at her in alarm but when he saw her looking back at her, he almost knew. I didn't have time to be fascinated at how they were almost siblings with how in sync they were. The chestnut haired young boy knew that this was not a noise for attention, no. it was a noise to help him out.
Gulping and gasping, little James quickly nodded his head and sprinted back towards the sofa and the duvet to hide under it. He almost knocked me sideways in the process! The half-angel little girl continued wailing for a few more moments for good measure and to as not be suspicious and then she died it down completely, putting her thumb in her mouth and looking for more jewels.
I didn't join the middle Ketchum child that time but I turned my head to watch him react to Lynne breezing into the room. It was obvious more so than ever that she was a dreamy person and often on her own planet from the way that she hadn't heard her daughter wailing like a banshee. She merely gave Jorgie a loving smile and scrunched her nose back at her as she scrunched her nose from behind sucking her thumb before gliding over to her grandson. Her hand went caringly to his forehead straight away as she stood by his side.
"Oh, how are you feeling now? You do have a bit more colour in your cheeks, I must say." She told him as her caring, warm and soft touch went to the zigzags on his cheeks and as I moved closer to Lynne to brush against her legs, I couldn't help but note that he was probably rosy from his dart back to the sofa. Needless to say, the chestnut haired young boy didn't say much at all but enjoyed his nanny's touch. She smiled all the more at him. "Are you feeling better?"
Little James remained silent for a couple more moments as he innocently blinked his long eyelashes and looked over at the orange haired woman and in the meantime, Jorgie toddled over to join them both, her thumb in her mouth. Lynne impressively and affectionately used to hands two give strokes to all three of us, alternating. And it was after this that the chestnut haired young boy finally decided to answer her. He moved his head onto her lap rather than his pillows and looked at her ever-growing belly bump.
"Do you feel unwell like I do sometimes? You have a baby in there." James uttered innocently and that caused any new sneaky images I had of him fade away and the perception of the little boy I had always known came back. At first the orange haired woman blinked at his words, continued to softly stroke his cheek. But then she understood. She pulled us all closer and smiled fondly, giving little James an extra special touch on the end of his nose.
"I felt a little sick at the beginning but not anymore. I feel good now. But my ears definitely didn't hurt like yours, you poor sweet thing." Lynne spoke to him in her natural soothing voice and before the little boy could catch on to where her touch would move next, the orange haired female had spotted it. She blinked. Before she had a chance to reach out and caringly touch his earlobe, she caught sight of what was decorating them. She tilted her head. "Have you been playing dress up with my little girl, James? Oh, you're supposed to be resting. If you're well enough for that, you're well enough for school."
Lynne spoke to him lightly enough and I tried my best to not openly nod my head. While I was still in the mind-set that those two rascals should come clean on their own, the way that I caught Jorgie's gaze and she crinkled her nose cheekily made it apparent that that would never happen.
I looked away from the orange haired toddler before I felt as though I had gone along with them both too much and saw the chestnut haired male's cheeks pale all over again. He didn't answer for a few moments. I was certain that Lynne was going to catch on! Her head remained tilting. She reached out her hand to carefully take the dress-up earrings off him without hurting him and it was after she stroked his bare lobes that he decided to break his silence.
James looked up at her with wide and innocent eyes but not ones like Jorgie in case they were too much! He spoke earnestly.
"She wanted to put them on me. I just wanted to make her happy and Uncle James said it was good to keep her occupied before lunch." The middle Ketchum child spoke and it both worried and impressed me how much a compelling fibber he was. Though Lynne's head remained tilting, she exhaled fondly out her nose and smiled, her touch travelling back to the end of his nose. Little James added and I couldn't be certain whether it was a subject changing tactic or genuine interest. "Justin has an earring. It's cool." He told her.
Lynne breathed out. Her head started to shake her head fondly and while she could feel Jorgie pressing closely next to me to hug onto her mother's legs, she smiled all the more and soon nodded her head. She couldn't help but reply.
"Yes, he does. And it is." She told him and in between replying, she scrunched her own nose up. I got the feeling that James' feet didn't curl and uncurl that time but they stretched out under the duvet as he continued resting his head next to Lynne's baby bump. Momentarily he shut his eyes and nuzzled it. Maybe he intended it or maybe he didn't but his words put thoughts into his grandmother's mind. Or maybe she was as good as a fibber as he was. "Oh! I forgot that I need to ask Justin a question about the venue he's performing at soon. I should probably give him a quick ring now seeing as James isn't not long off the phone with him. I will do that, then. And I will remind him that you think that his earring is cool."
The orange haired woman from "up there" leaned down to press a kiss to her grandson's forehead after she had carefully moved from away from her lap and settled him back on his pillows. While I was certain that he was probably disappointed to not get to talk more about whom he considered a special friend, he couldn't help but smile lovingly at the affection from her. He nodded his head.
Lynne lifted Jorgie onto the sofa with James to mind him before she left and I hopped up as well. Grandmother and grandson squeezed hands and then she breezed out of the room for good. I didn't focus on the way that she lingered in the doorway before going. I was too busy glancing between the two different shaded redheaded children. I shook my head.
They really were acting naughty from the way that all over again – as soon as yet another adult left the room – they went back to their antics and James got off from the sofa and helped Jorgie down too. And together, they darted over to the corner of the room where the orange haired toddler had her dolls and all of her accessories to take care of her dolls. The affection from the orange haired woman had seemingly given them even more energy than before. It was apparent that at that point they were becoming very risky and not caring at all if they got caught. They started to hum rather enthusiastic lullabies to Jorgie's baby dolls. And it was then that I had enough.
I couldn't be a bystander any longer. I couldn't wait for them to address their fibs any longer because it became apparent that they were never going to do as such. I still had a great deal of fondness for them both and thought their antics were occasionally amusing but they had crossed the line that day. Pushing the loyalty towards little James out my mind and focusing on the loyalty of his parents – though I never chose one nor the other – I held my head up high and left the room.
It was funny that as soon as I left the room and intended to encourage the lavender haired male to phone his orange best friend that she was the first thing that I saw when I went into the hall. She had seemingly only just come in through the front door and had the lavender haired male by her side. Misty was blinking worriedly. Understandably, she was in a bit of a state. She needed answers.
"It's so lucky that everyone decided to break for lunch early so I could come here and see if everything is okay. Is it not? Is James really unwell?" she asked and she barely had enough time to take off her jacket for herself. The lavender haired male did it for her and after hanging it on the hook next to all the ones belonging to his family, he pushed a strand of hair from his eyes. He began to explain. And from before he even properly explained at all, I started to realise that the children's cheekiness hadn't been noticed by only me.
"That kid is far worse than unwell, Munchkin. It is far worse than just being unwell." The older James told her and as he linked his arm through his best friend's and intended to tug her along the halls of his house, I couldn't help but feel as though his words were a wrong choice. She was already worried but that made things even worse for her! No doubt her throat felt dry. Misty's eyes widened. She held onto her best friend.
"What? What's happened to him? Why are you being weird? What have you done?" the orange haired female questioned and despite it all, I couldn't help but smirk a little bit at the last part of her words. She just had to ask that! She caught sight of me lingering in the hallway and looked all the more worried. I decided to just hop onto her shoulder and nuzzle her cheek and wait for all to be revealed.
While walking back to the living room in quite a brisk pace, James uttered more words.
"I haven't done anything. But I should warn you that it's not just James but it is Jorgie too. They're both far worse than unwell." The ex-rocketeer pretended to explain vaguely and out of worry of it all, Misty let go of his arm and dropped it while he lingered outside the living room door. He didn't go in. He didn't push the door open. Before he could do any of that and before Misty could do any of that, he met her wide and highly confused gaze and finally explained for good. "It's a disaster. Jorgie and James are exactly like us."
And with that, both of the adult's hands went onto the wood of the door and they pushed it open. It was obvious that there was going to be craziness going on from the noises we heard when we were outside but when our ears saw it as well as our ears, it became all the more obvious.
Misty couldn't stop her hand from flying to her mouth and James tried to stop his own mouth from smirking as he put his hand on his best friend's shoulder and we all watched together. We all watched together as in the living room, both of the children had forgotten all incentive to hide their cheekiness and were instead taking turns of rocking each other in the baby doll cot. Needless to say, it was far too small for them both – even Jorgie! And both of them nearly toppled out and needed to be caught by the other!
But they were laughing. They were filled with glee. They were filled with enjoyment at each other's company. And everyone had to admit that it was truly funny to see.
Both James and Misty let the two of them have a bit of fun for a couple of minutes before they made their presence known. Needless to say, the chestnut haired little boy gasped and his eyes quickly darted to the duvet when he saw he had been caught out and his mother was standing there but the orange haired female gave her son a look that said "don't even bother."
Little James let out a squeak of defeat. He trudged over to his mother's side when she called him over and while the lavender haired male called Jorgie over also and lifted her up onto his hip, Misty went down to his level. She didn't say anything to her son. She didn't need to. Her eyes said it all. She tilted her head. I shared the same look. We showed disappointment. We showed surprise. But we showed an openness to understand. We wanted to understand. Little James didn't hesitate to explain. He blurted out.
"I really did have a sore ear, truly!" he insisted and he went onto his tiptoes just a little bit as his mother stayed kneeling in front of him. He felt the presence of Lynne too who joined the side of James and despite the fact that she was a culprit as well, reached out to stroke Jorgie's cheek. I was certain that little James let out a sigh upon hearing this but he continued nonetheless. He mumbled as he admitted. "I'm here because of her. I'm here because of Jorgie. I wouldn't be here because of her."
And upon hearing this, a million different possibilities raced through the minds of us all. In fact, they might have run through Jorgie's as it appeared she had forgotten it all as she received affection from her mother while snuggling up against her father's chest as she was held! She squeaked and blinked. In her mind, she was innocent. In our minds, we were wondering what that could mean.
In the end, we all did our best and succeeded in waiting to see what little James had to say. In the end, that was all that mattered. James listened. Lynne listened. Misty listened. Jorgie did too. The chestnut haired boy's eyes filled with sincerity. They almost glistened with it. He stood higher on his tiptoes. He explained breathlessly.
"She's going to have a brother soon. She needs to know how to be a sister to her brother. She needs to learn. She needs to practice. She needs me." James told his mother most of all with earnest orbs but he told us all before walking away and moving to the lavender haired male's side. He held his arms up at the same time that Jorgie stopped sucking her thumb and held her arms out to him in return. James Morgan knew that he could do nothing but hand her over to him. Lynne knew that she could do nothing but hold a hand to her heart at his reasons. Misty knew that she could do nothing but feel love in her heart. I felt the same way. and while little James took hold of the toddler and held her and hugged her close and she hugged him back, we had figured out and understood his next words before he said them. But he uttered them anyway. Both Jorgie and James shut their eyes and nuzzled their cheek against each other's. "And I need her."
And with that, while the two young children continued to embrace and hug and share their quirky and amusing and warming relationship, all the rest of us could do was look at each other. Of course little James was taught that he shouldn't go round and lie and make himself out to feel more unwell than he was but even so, what he had decided to do was undeniably sweet.
Somewhere along the road he had figured out that James and Lynne were nervous about their little girl having a little brother and wanted to help them out. And perhaps he had also understood that while he was somewhere on the road, Justin was nervous about leaving his family with that new situation and little James had taken it upon himself to make it better.
The fibs and the cheekiness and antics aside, what little James had done for Jorgie was very sweet. But the truth was, she didn't need him actively practicing. Him being there for her and making her laugh and teasing her (and occasionally annoying her!) prepared her for far more than being an older sibling herself. It prepared her to feel loved. And that was something that they would both feel over and over again in their lives.
I certainly loved them both. I loved them together. I loved them apart. I loved their antics. They could wind each other up. They could clash. They could cause chaos. But they could be gentle too. They could be caring. They could be nurturing. They bought good things out in each other.
Jorgie considered James her honorary big brother. James considered Jorgie his honorary little sister. I considered them both family. I embraced their cheekiness and their drama and their chaos. Of course I did. It makes for some very wonderful tales!
The End.
There you go! Thanks so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed :3 So yeah, little Jorgie and James definitely have a sibling-type relationship and Jorgie has that with Rey as well. I think Jorgie and James are kind of similar. They're both sensitive and caring yet also have a mischievous and fiery streak! James' character really jumped out in this one. He's cheeky and playful but he's also very dependable and caring. He gets along with the girls really well and idolises Justin too. He also has sweet relationships with both James and Lynne which I will definitely go on to write about. I think that Jorgie absolutely benefited from him being around. Because of him, she goes on to become a fierce protector and good friend to her own little brother, Johnny Jinn :3 Thanks again for reading and I will be back next Wednesday with another chapter so see you then!
AmyBieberKetchum signing out :P