The sky overhead still contained a few murky dark clouds, but they were no longer flying ominously to the east. They were floating calmly on a light wind, and the sky between them was now a bright shade of blue.
"How long have I been out?" Mondo wondered, when he saw the ground was mostly dry except for a few puddles. It had obviously quit raining some time ago. He started to head for the cottage, hoping Ash and the others would still be there to help him find his missing comrades, but he stopped abruptly when he heard a noise coming from the opposite direction.
"Mreee-owth..."
Mondo ran as fast as his legs could carry him, tripping over his own feet in his haste. He looked up and found Meowth caught in a tree, hanging by his yellow raincoat. Lana lay unconscious nearby. She had lost both shoes in the storm, and her dark green hair was caked with mud.
"Get Me-owth DOWN!!!" Meowth wailed, unable to free himself from the raincoat, which had gotten caught in the tree.
When Mondo had fished Meowth out of the tree, he began trying to revive Lana.
"Lana! Miss Lana! Wake up!"
The woman moaned softly as she opened her eyes.
"Are you all right, Miss Lana?" Mondo asked. Lana tried to pull herself into a sitting position, and nearly screamed in pain. They found that her left wrist had been sprained, and when Mondo tried to help her stand they found that her right ankle had been injured as well.
"Whadda we gonna do?" asked Meowth tiredly. He looked rather ill, and was half-lying on the ground to conserve energy.
Remembering that they were close to the cottage, Mondo began yelling for help, and pretty soon Lana had Ash and Brock supporting her on each side, helping her to stand.
"What happened to you guys?" Misty asked, eyeing the wrecked balloon. "Where are Jessie and James?"
"I don't know," Mondo said, beginning to cry wretchedly. "We were caught in the storm... they fell out of the balloon..." It took him several moments to control his tears.
"We'll find them," Brock assured him, "Trust me, those two are indestructible!"
"Yeah, if anybody can survive falling out of a balloon, it's Team Rocket!" Ash agreed. "They're pros!"
Mondo sighed, hoping beyond hope that they were right. They slowly started to make their way toward the cottage, but Meowth collapsed after a few paces. "Are you all right, Meowth?" Mondo asked, picking him up.
The cat groaned and passed out.
"He's got a fever," Misty said, feeling his head. "We'd better get him to a Pokémon center."
"What happened to him?" Ash asked.
"They've been out in the storm the whole time," Brock replied. "I'm surprised they aren't all sick."
Mondo sneezed, causing everyone to turn to him. "I'm all right," he assured them. "I was under the basket of the balloon. Poor Meowth got stuck in a tree and was left hanging in the rain." He hugged the Pokémon to him.
"He's lucky he didn't get struck by lightning," Lana said.
"Pikachu and I will take Meowth to Nurse Joy!" Ash volunteered. "That way everyone else can go look for Jessie and James."
Everyone agreed to this. Misty set Togepi down and took Ash's place supporting Lana's left side.
"Thank you so much," Mondo wept gratefully, no longer able to control his emotions as he handed Meowth to him.
"Even if they were our enemies, we helped each other all the time," Ash said.
"Even though none of us wanted to admit it, half the time we were never sure if we were enemies or friends..." Brock agreed.
"They were just this annoying trio that followed us around all the time," Misty laughed. "But they grew on us after a while. We never wanted anything bad to happen to them."
"I'll never be able to thank you for what you've done..." Mondo said, wiping away his tears. "especially considering what happened with James last time..."
"Aw, I wasn't scared!" Ash scoffed, making himself stand a bit taller.
"You were to!" Misty said. "We all were! When James fired that bazooka Brock and I both thought you had been hit! Even JESSIE was scared! She looked like she was going to be sick before she started yelling at him!"
"You were scared for me?" Ash asked, smiling.
"Of COURSE I was you idiot!" Misty yelled.
"Aw, gee Misty! I didn't know you cared!" he laughed.
"Hey!"
But before Misty could catch him he was off at a run, heading in the direction of the nearby town with Meowth in tow and Pikachu running close behind.
"Dumb boys..." Misty grumbled, causing Lana to laugh.
. . . . . .
When they reached the cabin, it was agreed that Misty would stay with Lana while Brock and Mondo searched for Jessie and James. After helping Lana into the cottage, Mondo flung his rain poncho onto a vacant chair before following Brock out the door.
"Are you sure you're all right?" Brock asked after about half a mile, when Mondo sneezed for the fourth time since leaving the cottage.
"I'm okay... just a bit of a cold," Mondo said, before sneezing again. "We have to concentrate on finding... hey, look!"
Brock followed Mondo, who was running toward a pile of junk in a large net.
"The net!" Mondo exclaimed happily. "And it's still intact!"
"What is all this stuff?" Brock asked him.
"Jessie, James, and Meowth's stuff," Mondo replied. "We attached the net to the basket of the balloon to bring everything here, but we lost it in the storm."
"Everything inside it is probably broken," said Brock.
"But everyone's stuff is still here!" Mondo said, smiling. "We can come back for everything that's still usable once we find Jessie and James!"
"Mondo, look over there!" Brock yelled suddenly, sprinting off toward a red object in the distance. Mondo followed him, and soon realized that it was Jessie.
"Jessie!" Mondo cried, running to her.
It looked like she was laying on something green, but they soon found that the "something green" was actually James.
"Miss Jessie, are you all right? Mondo asked, rolling her off of James. "Please wake up!"
"We can't carry them both back by ourselves," Brock said. "I could carry Jessie, and the two of us together could move James; but there's no way we can take them both at the same time."
"But we can't leave either of them here!"
"Maybe we should take James first, since he needs medical attention..."
"We can't leave Jessie here!" Mondo protested, on the verge of tears as he hugged Jessie's unconscious figure. "She could be raped or killed or-" v "Okay, okay," Brock agreed, carefully removing James' green rain poncho. "You're right, we can't leave her alone out here; we'll have to think of something else."
"Jessie can carry James," Mondo said, laughing a little. "I've seen her do it before..."
"She has a fever," Brock said, carefully feeling her face and neck. "She's not going to be carrying anybody anytime soon."
"What are you doing?" Mondo asked, as Brock removed Jessie's rain gear as well.
"It's too hot out here for these," said Brock. "We've got to find a way to cool her down before her fever gets any worse."
"What are we going to do?" Mondo asked. "We have to get them to Lana!"
"I don't know..." Brock said, picking Jessie up and moving her out of the sun. She groaned and murmured her partner's name, but she did not wake up.
He moved over to James, who whimpered as they sat him up. At first it seemed like they were going to have better luck reviving him, but he only managed to throw up on Mondo and collapse back into a stupor. Mondo was beginning to panic. They both needed medical attention and they needed it now.
An idea struck Brock. "Why didn't I think of this sooner?" he asked, pulling out a pokéball. "Onix, go!"
The pokémon roared as it emerged from the pokéball.
"Help me get them on Onix," he told Mondo.
They loaded James on first, and Mondo got behind him to hold him steady. Brock gently picked up Jessie and seated her behind Mondo, before seating himself behind her.
"Onix!" he commanded, pointing in the direction from which they came, "Take us back to the cabin!"
. . . . . .
Jessie was riding behind James on a Rapidash. They both laughed as they galloped downhill, going so fast that the scenery around them was a blur. Jessie felt like she was flying as the hot wind whipped through her hair. The heat was exhilarating at first, but it soon intensified to the point that she felt like she was being smothered.
She started to tell James to make the horse stop, only to realize that she was no longer on a Rapidash; and that the person is front of her was no longer James.
"Mondo?"
Mondo didn't answer her. At first she thought that they were on some kind of train, but that didn't seem right. She tried to look over the side of whatever it was they were on, but she felt a pair of strong arms grip her firmly from behind and hold her in place. She knew at once that they were not James' arms, so who was holding her? And where was James? Where was SHE?
"James, where are you?" she called out. There was no answer. She tried again, with no better luck than before. Finally, too hot and tired to do anymore, she reached forward and leaned against Mondo. "Mondo, take me to James..." she murmured sleepily, burying her face in the secure familiarity of her friend's scent as they rode on...
. . . . . .
Crying... She could hear someone crying... Someone was in pain, someone she knew.
"...hurts... ...my back hurts...."
She wanted to help this person, but she had somehow forgotten his name. He seemed distant, out of reach.
"It hurts... please..."
"Jessie... Jessie, can you hear me?"
Another voice... a closer voice. This person was calling to her, knew her name.
"Jessie..."
Jessie opened her eyes. She found Lana standing over her, looking rather relieved.
"I'm so glad you're finally awake!"
"Wh... where am I?" Jessie asked, sitting up. She found that she was lying on a sofa, but she had no idea where she was or how she had gotten there. "Lana, where are we?"
"We're at the cottage," Lana explained. "We were so worried about you! Your fever broke earlier this morning, but when we couldn't get you to wake up..."
"Morning? How long have I been out?"
"Since Mondo and Brock brought you here yesterday," Lana said, handing her a glass of water.
"Mondo..." Jessie whispered, recalling her fever induced dream. "Where is he?"
"Outside hanging up laundry," Lana replied, pointing to the open window. "He spent hours yesterday bringing everything back from the net. Everything had gotten wet in the storm and all the clothes smelled like mildew, so he's been doing laundry all morning. But there's no dryer here, so he has to hang everything up to dry. You have a TON of clothes!"
"He's washing ALL my clothes?!"
"And James' things too. And the clothes I wore here, I haven't seen them since I took a bath yesterday."
Jessie realized for the first time that Lana was actually wearing James' clothes. She had on a pair of old sweatpants and one of James' favorite T-shirts.
"It huuuurts!" James' voice wailed from another room. "My back HUUUURTS!"
"James!" Jessie cried, getting up so fast that she became dizzy, and nearly fell to the floor. Lana helped her back onto the sofa.
"It's all right," Lana assured her. "He going to be fine, don't worry."
"What's wrong with him?"
"You fell out of the balloon, remember? James landed on his back and he's in a lot of pain..."
"I don't hurt at all..."
"That's because YOU landed on something soft," Lana told her. "James wasn't so lucky."
"What did I land on?" Jessie asked.
"You landed on James."
James produced another ear-spitting wail, and Jessie realized that he was the person she had heard crying in her dreams just before she had woken up.
"They found you unconscious on top of him, and it was obvious that he landed on his back. He's lucky he didn't break his neck, he could have wound up with a serious spinal injury."
"Lana, is he going to be all right?!" Jessie asked, feeling immensely guilty at the thought of causing him any additional suffering. Just how much could one person go through? Hadn't he suffered enough?!
"Jessie, I can't say for certain. But now that we've gotten him somewhere safe where he can receive the proper attention..."
"I need to see him!"
"You need to rest."
"Take me to his room," Jessie said, holding out her hand. "I can sleep in the other bed."
"We aren't at Team Rocket HQ anymore, Jessie," Lana explained patently. "There IS no other bed in James' room. We set up the larger of two bedrooms for him because there was more space for the medical equipment. The other room has a set of bunk beds and that's where Mondo and I slept last night."
"How come I got the couch?" Jessie asked, feeling a bit snubbed.
"You had a fever, and this is the coolest room in the house," Lana told her. "James' room is warm, but the other room is downright stifling. The window is jammed shut and neither of us can get it open."
James' crying calmed down a bit after a few minutes, and Jessie began to relax. She noticed that the scent of wild flowers filled the room, brought in by a strong but pleasant breeze coming in from the open window nearby. Mondo's humming could be heard outside, pausing occasionally as he sneezed.
"Mondo's such a sweet, innocent boy!" Lana laughed, as they saw him pass the window. "You should have seen him blush as he hung up your unmentionables!"
Jessie turned red. Although Mondo had often done their laundry back at HQ, she wasn't too comfortable with the thought of him gawking at her underwear. "Or maybe I'm too sensitive," she thought to herself. She found the image of James oogling her undergarments equally unappealing.
"Miss Jessie!" Mondo exclaimed happily as he came through the door. He dropped the clean laundry he was holding and ran to her. "You're awake! I'm so glad, I thought you'd never wake up!"
"Mondo, be gentle," Lana told him, as Jessie struggled to breathe through Mondo's tight hug.
"Sorry," he laughed. "I'm just so glad that you're okay!" He hugged her again, half crawling into her lap as he did so. "I was so afraid that you'd... that you'd..."
"Calm down, I'm fine!" Jessie assured him, as he buried his face against her.
Lana laughed at the sight as she limped over to the pile of laundry Mondo had dropped.
"What happened to your ankle?" Jessie asked.
"It seems you and James aren't the only ones with a talent for falling out of the balloon!" Lana said, trying her best to laugh through the pain. "I must have landed on it when I hit the ground."
"Are you okay?" Jessie asked.
"Nothing's broken," Lana replied. "Nothing in comparison to what James is going through. I'd rather have a twisted ankle than a back injury any day. But trust Mondo to come out of it with just a few scrapes and a head cold!"
"My cold's not that bad," Mondo said, crawling out of Jessie's arms. "I've got energy to burn!"
Lana laughed. "Well, maybe you should get some rest now that you know Jessie's okay."
"I'm okay, really!" Mondo insisted, sneezing. "I just hope Meowth is okay, too..."
"Huh? Where is Meowth?" Jessie asked, realizing that she hadn't seen him once since waking up.
"At the Pokémon center," Mondo answered.
"Pokémon center?!!"
Lana motioned for her to stay calm. "He had a fever and one of those kids took him to the nearest Pokémon center. They're going to bring him back on their way out of town."
"They've done so much for us..." Jessie said, looking thoughtful. "And after all that we've done to them, I just don't understand why..."
"It HUUUUUUUURTS!" James bawled again.
"Lana, I need to see him!" Jessie demanded.
"Don't worry, Miss Jessie! I'll go check on him for you!" Mondo volunteered, dashing off hyperly.
"Well, the wreck certainly doesn't seem to have affected Mondo any," Jessie commented. "I don't know where he gets his energy, though. I feel completely drained, but he's practically hyper."
"He's just glad that you're all right," Lana replied. "He's been worried sick about you. He spent half the night watching over you, until I finally made him go to bed."
Jessie just smiled, realizing that her fondness for Mondo had soared to a whole new level. She wasn't exactly sure at what point it had happened, but he had become more than just a friend of the family that consisted of her, James and Meowth. He was now part of their family.
"How is he?" Jessie asked a few minutes later, when Mondo came back out of the room.
"I got him to stop crying, but he seems to be having trouble breathing. And I still can't get him to stop sneezing."
"Sneezing?" Jessie asked, giving Lana a questioning look.
"We're not sure what's wrong with him," Lana told her. "He's been that way ever since they brought him back to the cottage. Maybe he caught Mondo's cold..."
"I want to see him," Jessie said, using Mondo for support as she got up. Somehow this sounded familiar...
"Miss Jessie, you need to rest..." Mondo said, trying to coax her into sitting back down.
"MOVE!" Jessie ordered, letting go of him and pushing him aside as she followed the sound of James' moaning.
Lana and Mondo both sighed and followed her into James' room.
. . . . . .
"Jessie!" James squealed happily, as she entered the room. He was laying on a huge bed, with a tube in his right arm connecting him to an IV stand sitting nearby. He looked rather miserable. His eyes were red and watery and the features of his face were etched with suffering, making him look older than his years. Even his hair was limp and lackluster. But despite his obvious misery, he was clearly overjoyed at Jessie's arrival. "They told me you were sick," he said, holding out his hand to her. "I was so... so..." He stopped in mid-sentence, gasping for breath. Jessie approached him, taking his outstretched hand. His struggle to breathe lasted only a moment, before sneezing loudly.
Jessie knew immediately what was wrong. "Why is the window open?!" she yelled at Mondo, so suddenly and severely that the boy actually jumped.
Mondo was dumbstruck. Jessie had never yelled at him before, despite the many times he had seen her yell at James and Meowth. The combination of being shoved out of the way followed by being screamed at was pushing him to the brink of tears. He tried to respond, but the words stuck in his throat.
"I... I don't..."
"He's got allergies, you idiot! Shut the window!"
Mondo quickly obeyed, no longer able to contain the tears that spilled down his cheeks. He stared at her, starting to sob in his hurt and confusion before running out of the room. Jessie didn't even notice.
"Don't keep rubbing your eyes like that or you'll just make them itch more," she told James, handing him a tissue. He tried to thank her, but wound up sneezing on her instead. "James, your allergies have never been this bad before. Why are they acting up now?"
"My medicine... I need my medicine..."
Jessie immediately felt ill. She had no idea where his allergy medicine was, or if they even still had it. "We'll get more, okay?" she told him, hoping she sounded reassuring as she tried to hide her overwhelming dismay. "Just relax, okay? I'll be right back..."
"Jessie, don't leave me!"
"Lana, what am I going to do?!" Jessie hissed when they stepped out into the hall. "I don't know where the hell his medicine is, or if I even packed it!"
"Well, if you hadn't yelled at Mondo we could have sent him into town for more!" Lana chided her.
Jessie took a deep breath, trying to remain calm. "You said that Mondo brought back everything that was in the net. Where did he put all of it?"
"It's all scattered around the cottage," answered Lana. "All the medical supplies are in James' room, and Mondo piled all the wet clothes in the utility room, but everything else is scattered around everywhere."
"Well, look for it!!!" Jessie demanded, as if the whole ordeal was somehow Lana's responsibility.
"JESSIEEEEE!" James wailed from his room. "Come baaaaack!"
"Please Lana, just DO something!" Jessie wailed, bursting into tears. "I can't take this anymore! I just can't..."
"Is this what he needs?" Mondo asked, holding up an inhaler as he came in from the living room.
Jessie didn't answer, she merely snatched it from his hand and darted into James' room. "James, is this it?! I found it!!!"
"WHO found it???" Mondo asked Lana, as Jessie handed James the medicine. Lana just shook her head tiredly.
James managed to get one squirt out of the inhaler, before crying that it was empty. Jessie took it from him and started squeezing it herself, with no better results. Jessie hit breaking point, she felt like she had just been kicked in the stomach. Mondo approached her.
"Miss Jessie, is there anything I can..."
"Just get OUT!" Jessie exploded, throwing the empty inhaler at him. Mondo ran for dear life, crying miserably. Lana picked up the inhaler and walked out herself, sensibly closing the door behind her. She knew Jessie needed time to calm down, before she cracked completely.
Jessie crawled into James' bed, sobbing against him. James attempted to roll over and hold her, but only managed to cause himself more pain as a result. His attempt to roll on to his side intensified the already excruciating pain in his back, and he quickly gave up and returned to his original position.
"It hurts..." he whimpered.
"Your back?" Jessie asked, wiping her eyes. He nodded. "Lay still, don't move around."
"I was so scared," he whispered, as she snuggled next to him. "I wanted to see you, but they said you were sick. Everything hurt so much and I just wanted you to hold me..."
"I'm here now," she told him, still crying softly as she put her arm around him. "No matter what happens, I'll always be here..."
. . . . . .
After retrieving a box from the room she and Mondo had shared last night, Lana limped into the living room. She found Mondo sitting on the sofa, hugging a pillow as he sobbed softly.
"Mondo..." she whispered gently, sitting down beside him and putting her hand on his shoulder. He leaned against her, cling to her like a child in desperate need of parental comfort as he sobbed into her chest.
"Why doesn't she like me anymore?" he asked. "I thought we were friends, I thought she cared about me..."
"Of course Jessie likes you!" Lana assured him. "She's just not herself right now. She's upset and afraid..."
"But she's so MEAN!" Mondo cut her off, lifting his head up. "I'd never be that mean to her, never!"
Lana sighed, pulling him into an embrace. She found herself repeating what her father had once told her as a child, when her pregnant mother was throwing dishes across the room. "Mondo, when people are hurt or afraid they act differently than they would otherwise. Sometimes those actions hurt people, and even though they come to regret it later the damage has already been done and they can't undo it."
Mondo hugged her tightly.
"You have to forgive her," Lana said gently. "She's been though a terrible ordeal and the stress is getting to her. She's terrified of losing the person she loves."
"I know..." Mondo whispered, closing his eyes and snuggling against her.
"Why don't you get out of here for a while?" Lana suggested. "You could go shopping in town and see how Meowth's doing at the Pokémon center..."
"Meowth..." he whispered. He had almost forgotten about Meowth.
"And while you're in town you can get food and allergy medicine for James." Lana continued.
"But we don't have any money," Mondo said sleepily.
"Yes, we do. I packed it in the net, see?"
Mondo opened his eyes. Lana pulled an envelope out of the box she had brought in and handed it to him. He opened it carefully, and nearly dropped it when he saw what it contained.
"Where'd you get all the money?" Mondo asked.
"From the boss," Lana answered.
"He GAVE you all this money?!"
"Well, no. I took it out of the HQ account and wrote it off as funds for scientific research."
"You STOLE from the boss?!!"
"What do you think we've been doing all this time?!" Lana asked him. "Who do you think owns all the medical supplies we took for James? It's all Team Rocket property!"
"I never thought of that..."
"Hey, Giovanni did this to James, so HE can pay for James recovery!"
Mondo smiled. She certainly had more nerve than he ever would, especially considering what she had planned for the return trip...
"Here," Lana said, handing him James' empty inhaler. "Take this with you so you'll know what medicine to get for James. And don't get more food then you can carry or you won't be able to bring it all back."
Mondo nodded, putting the envelope in his pocket.
"Oh, and one thing..." Lana said, pointing to her bare feet. "Could you get me another pair of shoes? I'd look rather foolish walking into HQ like this. I'm a size 9˝..."
Mondo nodded, laughing. "Right."
. . . . . .
Jessie continued to sob against her partner, who held her hand tightly against his chest. He wanted so much to be able to roll over and hold her, to offer her the warmth and comfort their embrace had so often provided him since his suffering had begun. But he could only lay there, feeling completely inadequate as his back injury prevented him from doing the one thing they both needed most. "Jessie, please..." he whispered. "Please don't cry anymore..."
Jessie looked up. She gently touched his face, catching a tear that had fallen from his eye. "I'm sorry," she whispered, her voice breaking a little. "No matter what I or the others are going through, I know your suffering must be a hundred-fold. Maybe I don't have a right to cry, but I just can't help it..."
James tightened his hold on her hand. "Jessie... I don't know where we are right now or why we're here, and I hurt so much I wanna just go to sleep and not wake up, but..."
"Don't talk like that!"
"...but I know everything's going to be okay because you're here with me. I thought I was going to die when I started going through the withdrawal... I thought so when I was taking those pills, too. But I didn't. And now I know I didn't because you were there with me, Jess. You loved me and took care of me. I know I'm still sick, but we're going be fine now I'm sure of it. You have to believe it too, Jessie."
Jessie wrapped her arms around him and kissed his forehead. "I remember all the times we fell asleep holding each other... I always got lost in your scent and the security of your touch..."
James laughed softly. "It's funny... I always thought the same thing. When we held each other... it was like the one place I truly belonged, where nothing bad could ever touch me."
They were silent for a moment, before James asked, "Hey, Jessie... where ARE we?"
"Somewhere in the Orange Islands. Some friend of Ash Ketchum is letting us use this place."
"Oh... But why would any of the twerp's friends help us?"
"Who knows... I'm just glad we're here and you're safe from the boss. But I thought that you were still out of it when I first woke up."
"Out of it?"
"Well, I wasn't really sure of how aware you were of what was going on."
"Why?"
"Because you were screaming about your back, and then when..."
"You'd scream too if you hurt as much as I do!" he snapped, before bursting into tears.
"James, don't cry, please!" Jessie pleaded. "I'm sorry!"
"That's not... really why I was crying..." he said, still sobbing. "Not the whole reason..."
Jessie handed him a tissue. "Huh? Then how come..."
"I was so lonely!" he sobbed. "They kept coming in and out of the room, but they never stayed with me. I asked them where you were and they said you couldn't come to me. They said you were sick and I was so scared..."
His crying triggered a sneezing fit, and Jessie handed him another tissue. Finally, she grabbed the entire box and handed it to him, wondering why she hadn't done so before. James continued to cry and sneeze alternatively for a few moments, until his head collapsed on the pillow, thoroughly exhausted.
"I wanted you to hold me so much it made me feel sick inside... I couldn't sleep because I hurt so and I... I..."
"James, don't talk anymore," Jessie said, as another sneezing fit seized him. "Just rest for now, okay? We'll get you some more medicine somehow."
"I'm so tired, Jess..." James yawned, when he finally stopped sneezing.
"Then go to sleep," she whispered.
"You won't go away?"
"Not until you've fallen asleep, I promise," she said, putting her arm around him. "Then I'd better go apologize to Mondo."
"Is something bad gonna happen to Mondo?" he asked sleepily.
"Of course not. Why would you think that?"
"I had this dream... but I don't remember it anymore..."
"Just go sleep, James. Mondo's just fine... We're all going to be just fine..."
But the more she thought of the mysterious "return trip" the others had planned, she had a sinking feeling that James could be right...
Part 7 n/a 12.7
