By Jazmine aka Sapphire_Rose_Petal

~~~~~

Mallet of Death

Jessie had a feeling this morning, a good feeling that they were going to capture that wretched Pikachu today. The best thing about it was that she had devised the most perfect plan that not even Meowth could screw up.

“Get up James!” she yelled at the blue haired Rocket in his sleeping bag, “We've got to get moving.”

James was still half asleep.

“No Mommy, I don't wanna go to school today...” he murmured.

“Now James!” Jessie bellowed, and whipped her paper fan out of nowhere and gave James a whack on the head.

“Eeeeeeeeeee!!” he whined, rubbing the lump formed from impact. “One of these days you’re going to kill me Jess.”

Jessie smiled. “Don't be silly, hurry up and get ready so we can catch that Pikachu!”

James had never seen her so positive about something in all his time in Team Rocket, and that's just how he liked her: In a good mood.

~~~~~~

With the plan fully understood by all of them, the trio waited behind some shrubs at the side of the road for the twerps to walk into their trap.

“Look dere comin'!” Meowth whispered, pointing at the three figures walking towards them.

Just then, Jessie felt something on her back, it was making its way further up towards her head, it finally popped onto her shoulder. She very slowly turned her head to find...a Spinarak.

“Aaaaaiiiiiieeeee!!!!” Jessie screamed, causing everyone around her to jump in surprise, “Get it off James! Get it off!!” she started running around the area flailing her arms around.

But before he could do anything, the spider Pokemon had already scurried off out of sight.

Jessie let out a sigh of relief and then noticed what she had come to stand on: the net they had laid for the twerps. It suddenly snapped and the net rose onto the air with her inside it, hanging a few feet above the ground. Ash and his friends were in front of her staring.

“Sorry Jessie!” Misty teased, grinning inanely, “Better luck next time!”

They began to laugh and casually made their way underneath Jessie and over the horizon.

She looked over at James and Meowth who had developed rather large sweat drops.

“Ha ha ha ha! Jessie's scared of a spider!” Meowth taunted.

“You wait till I get out of here you flea-bitten feline!” scowled Jessie, fixing an icy look at the Pokemon who went and hid behind James. “James! Get me out of here!” she ordered him.

James quickly got a mini penknife and started to cut the rope holding up the net.

“But, make sure you do it...” Before she had a chance to finish, James had cut the rope and she fell to the floor with a big thud. “...carefully...” she groaned.

“Whoops, sorry Jess.” he said grinning.

“Sorry's just not good enough James! This is all your fault!” And with that she once again got her paper fan and hit James around the face, causing him to fall over.

Jessie expected James' face to have a fearful look plastered on it like it had many times before, but when he got up, it had something else, something unexpected registered on it.

When Jessie looked into his deep, emerald green eyes, she didn't see love or generosity that she usually saw, but instead, she saw hate and anger.

This simply made Jessie melt inside with guilt, what had she done?

“Oh, James, I-I'm so sorry...” she started.

“And you should be Jessica!” interrupted James, holding his hand to his cheek where the fan had slapped him.

Jessie just froze were she stood, James had never shouted at her before, mind you, he had never been this angry with her before. James was ready to bear his soul to her.

“Why do you hit me, Jessie? Huh? Answer me that, why?” he shouted. Jessie turned around and hung her head, she honestly didn't know at all why her temper gets the best of her. “James, I-I don't know...”

“I'm pouring my heart out Jessie! The least you can do is pour yours out too!” James continued, with his hands firmly on his waist.

This was more than Jessie could take. “Please stop James...” she whispered.

“Jessie, the more you hit me, the more hate grows up inside me, and I got angrier with you everyday!” he confessed, his voice was getting stronger and more sincere.

“Shut up, please just shut up...” Jessie said a little louder.

James had gotten enough courage to tell his partner something he'd kept from her for so long.

“I don't understand why you hit me Jessica, even when I love you...”

“James!” she turned round to face him again, “I SAID SHUT UP!!!” With no hesitation, she brought out her mallet and hit James on the head, hard, he flew a few meters backward and just lay there, lifeless.

It took a while for Jess to realise what had just happened, and to realise what James had just told her: That he loved her.

She dropped her mallet and held both hands to her mouth, her eyes filling with tears, she ran up to James and knelt by his side. She started to shake him to try and wake him from unconsciousness but didn't succeed.

“James, oh my God, James wake up! I'm so sorry, I wasn't thinking, wake up, please don't die...” she told him repeatedly. “Meowth! Call an ambulance...NOW!” she called to the cat Pokemon, who was way ahead of her running towards the nearest phone box.

All Jessie could do was hold her best friend's hand and beg and plead that he nothing would happen to him until help arrived, and the only feeling she felt inside her now was pure guilt (and sadness but still) .

~~~~~~

It had been half an hour since Jessie's temper reached its limit and almost cost her best friend's life.

She was sitting in the waiting room with Meowth by her side. Her head was in her hands and she was sobbing uncontrollably, Meowth had his paw on her leg trying to be comforting. Jessie was in major shock, not only because she had sent James to hospital but also because just before he was knocked out, he confessed that he loved her.

James.

James.

The person she had never expected to be more than a friend to her loved her.

Jessie broke down fully and just cried it all out.

Soon the doctor entered the waiting room and Jessie stood up instantly, knocking Meowth off the sofa.

“How is he? Please, he's not...” she began.

The doctor shook his head, “No don't worry he's not dead, but he's in a pretty bad coma, you can see him if you like.” he assured

Jessie smiled and nodded, she was led to the room where James was being treated with Meowth close behind.

The heart monitor was beeping steadily and slowly, the atmosphere was scary. Pulling up a chair, Jessie sat down and just looked at him, holding his hand. It was cold to the touch. She simply couldn't bring herself to see what she had done.

“James, please don't die, don't leave me, you mean too much to me for you to die. I'm so sorry, James, please forgive me...” she told him again.

Meowth, who was at the end of the bed, knew that Jessie's temper would be the cause of something horrible sooner or later, but he didn't think it would be this drastic. He had never been in a hospital before and was just as stressed as Jess was.

The cat felt tired, and soon he fell asleep to the sound of Jessie's sobs echoing throughout the room.

And woke up the noise of the heart monitor on one steady, endless note and Jessie crying even louder. He was ushered off the bed and out the door along with Jessie and then the door closed behind them. The feline had no idea what was going on, he turned to Jessie who was on the floor, her back to the wall crying into her knees.

“Hey Jess, what's going on?” Meowth asked his broken down teammate.

She looked at him through her eyes glazed with tears.

“I-I've killed him Meowth, his heartbeat just s-stopped, he's d-dead...” she uttered through her sobs.

The Pokemon's eyes widened. No, James couldn't die he just couldn't. He was Meowth's best friend besides Jessie. There was nothing he nor Jess could do. He nuzzled up beside her and tried to comfort her once more.

~~~~~

A while later, a Nurse Joy came out of the room and looked down at the two.

Meowth was first to speak. “He's dead isn't he?” he asked almost crying.

The Nurse shook her head, “Your James is a very lucky man, we've managed to save him, and, thank the heavens, he's regaining consciousness.”

These words made Jessie stand up in surprise, and Meowth's ears perked up.

“Could I...see him?” she asked, hopefully. Nurse Joy smiled, “Of course, but be gentle he is a little shaken.”

~~~~~

“Jessie?” said James, trying to sit up. Jessie pushed him back down gently.

“Don't get up, James you need your rest.” she replied making sure he was comfortable, she stared at the large lump on his forehead where the mallet had struck.

Jessie began to completely break down again, “Oh James, I'm...I'm so sorry, I swear I didn't mean to. I shouldn't have blamed you, it's my fault, you almost died, James. If you died, I would never of forgiven myself, it's all my fault, James. I'm so sorry...” James put a finger on her lips to silence her.

“Shhh...It's alright Jessie, I shouldn't have shouted at you like that, I'm a total jerk sometimes aren't I?” he joked, brushing her tears away.

Meowth jumped onto the bed and licked James' face. “Jimmy! Ya came through! Glad ya didn't die, otherwise I would've had to put up wiv Jessie's stubborn attitude forev-” Jessie slapped her hand around the Pokemon's mouth before he could finish his sentence.

“I'll show you stubborn attitude later, now get lost!” she whispered, before Meowth scurried out the room.

Suddenly, she remembered something that she needed to talk to James about.

“James,” she began, “Before I hit you, you said...well, you said...” She couldn't bring herself to say it and looked down, hiding her shameful eyes.

“That I loved you, Jess?” James finished for her, tears were welling up in his own grass green eyes. Jessie nodded still not making eye contact. “I...I wasn't sure if you felt the same way about me, do you?” he asked, in a nervous tone of voice.

She looked up at the sound of his question.

“There's no need to tell me Jess, I can read you like a book.”

James stared deeply into Jessie's sapphire blue eyes, he found the answers to almost all his questions in those limpid pools that sparkled in the sunlight.

“Yes,” he finally said, “You do love me, I can tell.”

No one could describe the amount of feelings Jessie had now.

Guilt, depression, relief, love, happiness, love, confusion, love.

It was then when she realised that she DID love him. Deep down under all that anger and independence and toughness she knew she'd always had, there was a spark of affection just ready to burst into a flame.

“Oh James, of course I love you, I've just been too scared to show it.” she confessed, stroking his delicate, sky blue hair. Jessie leant over and gave James a big hug.

~~~~~

A day later, James was out of hospital and in the trademark Meowth balloon reunited with his teammates.

Meowth was having a catnap in the corner as cats do and Jessie was in the other corner brushing her long red hair, unaware that James was watching her the whole time. She then reached into a nearby backpack and pulled out a can of hair spray, James stopped her from opening the lid by putting his hand on it.

“Don't spray it Jess, it looks beautiful when it dances in the wind freely, leave it down.” he complimented with a warm smile.

Jessie returned the smile and put the can away. “Okay, James, if it makes you happy.”

James then did something that he had always wanted to do, he ran his fingers through her crimson locks and stared once again at her radiant beauty.

His hands crept around her waist, his face moving closer to hers and before Jessie knew what was happening, his soft lips touched hers. Neither of them wanted the kiss to stop, nothing else mattered to them but each other and what they shared between them. Their lips soon parted slowly and they both opened their eyes, which were locked onto each other.

Jessie felt secure in James’ embrace so brought him in closer and rested her head on his chest, she felt him kissing her hair.

“I love you, Jessica...”

“I love you too, James...”

“Can't youse two love each other a lil quiter? Meowths need their beauty sleep ya know!” Meowth called from the corner.

THE END