Part Nine: Over a Cup of Coffee

"Jasmine?" Cassidy said incredulously, putting a hand to the top of her hair, "No, you're not, you're-"

Luckily, James cut her off before she could say the name. Jessie didn't want James to hear it yet, not until he could remember it on his own. He said, "Yes, she is. This is the girl I told you about, the one who works at the BMP."

Jessie's face nearly fell, that was definitely not a piece of information she wanted Cassidy to know, but she managed to keep up her smile with her acting skills. Those seemed to be improving lately. "Yes," she chimed in, "I found James's Growly for him! But I...uh, better get going now! I'm sure you two have things to do! See you in a couple days, James!" She gritted her teeth to get the last sentence out without killing anyone. She ran off in nearly the same frantic manner she had when she saw Jessebelle, though this time she felt more anger than embarrassment.

James shrugged and pushed by Cassidy to get back inside. He walked straight to the guest room and hung up all his newly bought clothes. Cassidy followed him quickly.

"Where were you, and where did you get all those clothes?" she asked.

He looked back at her dispassionately and replied, "Oh, I went to the store. Sick of the suits. I think I'm going to take a nap now." He put the last item, a black jacket, in the closet and sat down on the bed, watching indifferently as Cassidy left the room, and then laid back down and thought-of course-about Jasmine.

He was drifting into sleep when he heard another male voice in the hall, talking to Cassidy. He sat up and listened.

"I just wanted to know if you wanted to go out to dinner to celebrate," the man said.

"Well, um, Butch," Cassidy said, her voice rattling, "I have someone-some*thing* to do tonight, I'm busy, I can't..."

Butch. James practically laughed. What a weird name. Sounds like he belongs in prison. He heard Butch's voice again, though this time it seemed to be closer, "Let me just put this away." Suddenly, the door to the guest room swung open, and Butch walked in with a box in his right hand. The second he saw James, his eyes widened in total shock and he dropped the box onto the floor. It opened, spilling out about ten Pokéballs. "Cassidy, what the hell is *he* doing here?"

Cassidy put a hand to her head and mumbled under her breath, "Oh, shit." She followed Butch down the hall and found him standing against the wall, glaring at James, who looked confused and somewhat scared. "Butch, this is James. I found him sitting on the curb and offered him a room-only for the time being, of course, until he finds a place of his own."

"You picked up this whiny loser?" Butch exclaimed.

James narrowed his eyes and stood up, "What did you say?"

Butch stared at James with his mouth open, "Well you've certainly changed since the last time I saw you,"

James looked to Cassidy, who hissed to her partner, "Butch, they got their memories erased, remember? He has no idea who you are!"

Butch stood back up, the anger in his eyes fading quickly to curiosity, "Hi... I'm Butch."

"I'm James," he said, still acting miffed, "And I was about to go to sleep, so I'd appreciate it if you two would leave."

Cassidy smiled nervously, "Oh, yes, yes, of course. I'll-we'll go...now." She practically dragged Butch out, smiling that sickening, sheepish smile the whole way out.

He could hear their voices still, but decided not to pay attention. Their angry words were not heard by the lonely boy, he had fallen back into slumber's refuge long before they said anything that concerned him.

"Why do you always have to act like that? Do you think that will impress me?" Cassidy yelled.

Butch retorted quickly, "And what do you think the *boss* will act like once he finds out who's been staying in the apartment he pays for."

"Who I allow to stay in my guest bedroom is none of his business!" she cried.

"Cassidy," Butch attempted to reason, "You have to know that it's dangerous to bring him here. He's not a Rocket anymore. What do you think he'll say when he sees all the stolen pokéballs are in the bottom of the closet! He's just another regular citizen, and we don't let regular citizens know what Team Rocket is doing!"

"He's not regular, he's...James!"

There was a moment of silence, in which Butch's eyes flared in anger again, "So that's what this is about! I'm not good enough for you anymore just because he shows up again. Of course, I should have known you'd turn on me the minute you saw him! I just hoped... Cassidy, you wouldn't understand." He stalked out, the engagement ring he had picked up just hours ago now burning a hole in his pocket. He hated James.

Cassidy sighed and sat down on her couch, in the near silence able to hear James mumbling in his sleep. Never about her. No one cared about her. Not even Butch, though he said he did. If he really cared about her, he would have understood.

Two days later, Jessie sat at her desk, staring at a pad of paper. She had to have James back, she understood, she needed him, she always had. But to do that, she had to find James's trigger. She had already written down a few possibilities, things from the past that she remembered most about him. She thought that maybe she had to say something special to him, something that would remind him of everything. Something that he didn't have any other connection to.

She wondered what had happened to him after she had been thrown out of the room, how he ended up back with his parents when she was found naked in an alley. There was something else going on here, something she didn't like. She would have to be careful, there were probably people watching. Anyone in the BMP could be a Rocket spy. 'Now you're just being paranoid,' she told herself.

She looked back to the paper, and the list of familiar phrases on it. Ones she was sure he would remember. The hard part would be sneaking them into conversation without sounding like a total lunatic. He was due there any minute now. She was certain that he would come.

Surely enough, he showed up in her cubicle at twelve-thirty. He was once again dressed in miserable black, though this time it was a little less formal. A pair of black pants, a black t-shirt, and a long black overcoat, that reminded her of one that she had made for him once. His hair was down again, and hung into his melancholy eyes. "You wanted to see me?" he asked in a pathetic, whiny voice.

She turned around to greet him with a broad smile, "Yes, James, I was wondering if you might want to go out to eat?"

He brightened quickly, "Really? I'd love to!"

"Good," she smiled, picking up her red suit jacket and walking to him, "Please forgive my attitude when we last met, I was tired and in a bad mood." 'Lying again,' she thought disapprovingly, though she knew it was necessary. That is, if she ever wanted to see her James again.

"Oh, that's all right," he said, his happy-go-lucky personality beginning to shine through his funereal outer appearance, "After we eat, do I have to go to the doctor again?" He couldn't quite remember why he had been to the doctor's office, or what had happened there, but he knew that Jasmine had taken him there, and she had to have a good reason. He hated doctors, but he'd brave it for her.

She looked away, "Maybe. That depends on how lunch goes."

James didn't understand the comment one bit, but decided that it was probably better not to ask what she meant. He followed her out to her car and they drove to a small, cheap café on the outskirts of Celadon City. A waitress smiled at Jessie as if they knew each other and immediately came to their service.

"Afternoon, Jaz, what would you and your...friend like?" the waitress said in a light, cheerful voice.

She smiled back, "Oh, we'll be a while. It would be nice if you could get us some coffee while we're waiting, though. And a menu for him."

The waitress smiled at James, "Of course."

Jessie glared unintentionally at the waitress, who looked confused for a moment, and then sauntered off to get a menu. "So, James..." she began cluelessly, wondering how she was going to pull this off, "The coffee's sometimes a little too hot here, so... um... prepare for trouble."

He looked at her, one eyebrow arched, "Prepare for what?"

A drop of sweat appeared on her forehead, "Um... trouble...double...oh, never mind. Just watch the coffee." She looked down so James wouldn't see her rapidly spreading blush of embarrassment.

"Are you... feeling all right, Jasmine?", he asked, still looking at her as if she had three heads.

She pulled her head up again and looked at him with an extra-wide smile that did nothing to reassure him of her sanity, "Oh... I'm fine, I guess, uh... you know, I always thought Jessie was a lovely name!"

He shrugged, "I guess it's all right."

She turned red again, but this time, it was her old temper flaring up at the most inappropriate time. "Just all right?" she asked, ready to jump to her feet and administer a severe beating. 'No, no,' she told herself, practically twitching, 'Remember where you are, remember who you are.' She smiled again, this time clenching her teeth with a little more of an edge in her eyes, "I think it's about the *prettiest* name I've *ever* heard."

He stared at her in total fear, his green eyes catlike and wide as his disconcerted expression turned to one of total stupefaction. "It's...nice, really!" he said apprehensively.

'What am I *doing*?' she thought, the answer came to her as a smile appeared on her lips, 'I'm just being myself.'

"Here's your coffee," the waitress's perky voice interrupted. She set two small mugs of the black liquid in front of Jessie and James.

"Yes, thank you," Jessie said, bringing the cup up to her mouth. James watched, entranced, as her lips parted and blew on the top of the cup, banishing the thin smoke that rose out of its rim to the other side of the table, and then took a slow, careful sip. She put it down and smiled madly at him, deciding to get it over with. If he didn't think she was crazy yet, he wouldn't ever think so, "Well, it looks like Team Rocket is blasting off again!"

He shook himself out of his daze and asked pointedly, "What?"

She put the cup back onto the table and smiled proudly at him, "We could finally capture Pikachu!"

"Why would we want to catch a Pikachu? They're easy to find," he said, mystified.

She burst into deranged laughter, practically falling over into her cup, "To protect the world from devastation!"

"To protect... what?" he said, "Look, Jasmine, if you don't calm down, I'm calling an ambulance."

She continued laughing hysterically, unable to stop the hysterics that kept her from crying, "They're coming to take me away, ha ha, they're coming to take me away!"

With the mention of the old song, James began to laugh himself, and both of them got louder and louder, until everyone in the café was staring at them. The waitress walked gingerly up to the table and tapped Jessie on the shoulder. "Yes?" she managed.

"Um...Jasmine... do you think you could quiet down a little? If you don't, the boss is going to make me throw you out," she whispered.

Jessie listened, and then turned to James and clasped his hands across the table, "Did you hear, James? The boss!"

He shook his head and turned to the waitress, "I think...I'll take her back home now. Give me your keys, dear."

At the word, the term of affection, Jessie's laughter faltered, and then stopped. She handed them to him without even arguing, just staring innocently into his eyes. He took it, trying to resist the urge to kiss her right there, even with all those people staring and the fact that she was being a total nutcase. At least she wasn't yelling at him. He pulled her by the arm back out to her car, where he took the driver's seat.

"Okay, miss," he joked, "Where would you like me to drive you?"

She laughed again, this time genuinely because she was having a good time, and said, "Why don't we go back to my apartment for the time being."

"Yes, miss," he said, with a tip of an imaginary chauffeur's cap. She giggled and settled back into the passenger's seat. The ride back seemed short in her ethereal happiness, as she gazed secretly at her beloved James, her former partner, her soul mate.

When they entered the apartment, it was near two, already a half-hour after she was supposed to be back at work.