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I'll Protect You
Rating: PG
Written: April '99
Category: Romance
Spoilers: Holy Matrimony
Disclaimer: Jesse, James, and Jessibelle are not mine, and I'm not getting any money out of them.
Summary: When Jesse thinks he's gone for good, James comes back and comforts her.Author's note: This is just an alternate ending to an episode that could have been much better. It's nothing but pure mush.
Feedback: Yummy! Allicatt3@aol.com.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~I'll Protect You by Rocket Jesse~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
James has left me.
He went to be with that God-forsaken ditzy Jessibelle girl.
How can they even communicate? James is *so* much smarter and charming and handsome . . .Not that I *like* him or anything.
The least I could do is be happy for him. He's gotten everything he's always wanted: money, money, and more money.And a brainless fiancée.
How could anyone say she looks like me? That's such an insult! She's such a moron! She's the stereotypical southern female -- all dressed up on the outside and all dressed down in her head.
Let's just say I hate her and leave it at that, okay?No?
Oh, fine. I'll admit it.I'm . . . God; this is so embarrassing . . .
I'm . . . jealous.Happy now?
I don't know what I'll do without James! Without him, Team Rocket is just a cat and a pretty girl.
I can't make any of these big decisions right now. I'm not thinking straight. I can't concentrate on anything . . . except James.
I still can't believe he's really gone.
All this -- James leaving -- has reduced me to some poor betrayed teenager on the verge of tears, wandering down a dirt path in a meadow that leads to nowhere I need to be.
The sunset, I'm sure, is pretty, but I don't have the heart to lift my head and take it in. It's just meaningless background scenery to me.
I sigh heavily and keep on walking to nowhere."Prepared for trouble?"
I snap my head up to see the loveliest scene I've ever had the pleasure of viewing."And make it double!"
I'm still on the verge of crying, but this time it's out of pure joy. James leans over the edge of the basket as it descends to me. "To protect *you* from devastation."
I can hardly believe he's back. I lift my hands up to his, and the next thing I know, I'm in the basket standing in front of James. The one person I need to be with.
He holds his right hand out to me, so I return the gesture and we shake.
This simple handshake signifies so much more for us -- his apology, my forgiveness, our affection, and the acknowledgement that we're the indestructible, inseparable Team Rocket again.
Even as our hands loosen and pull away, our smiles are still in place and our eyes are still locked on one another's.
Finally, as if through unspoken agreement, we hug.
"Glad to have you back," I tell him, still in his arms. "I missed you."
"I missed you, too, Jesse." He says this with more sincerity than I had ever thought him capable of.
We pull away from each other just slightly. His hands are resting on my waist, and I have my arms wrapped around his neck.
While he's looking into my eyes, he gives me a faint smile and a peek into his thoughts. "You know, Jessibelle wasn't nearly as gorgeous as you are."
My happiness is surely etched onto my face as clear as day. "I . . . I was so sad, James. I thought I'd never see you again. I felt so lost without you by my side. I mean, we've *always* been together. I didn't know what to do. Then . . ." I'm so overwhelmed. A tear slides down my smiling cheek. "Then you came back."
He wipes the tear away and then leaves his hands gently caressing my cheeks.
"I promise you Jesse, that I will never, ever leave you."
I sniff and still smile. "Right back at ya."
I can't help but be lost in his brilliant green eyes.
James draws me closer to his body, his face. With a strange calmness, I realize that he will kiss me. I lean into him as he does to me until, finally, our lips meet.
Once his lips hit mine, my mind loses its ability to think and everything but my mouth and my hands in his hair ceases to function. Only his mouth exists.. The kiss is broken after a long time, but still too soon. We draw back to look at each other, both of us grinning from doing something we had wanted to do for a very long time.
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We do without words for the rest of the evening. All that's left to do is hold each other while we watch the sun set and keep each other warm when the stars come out.
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