Chapter Seven - The Night


That night, James knocked on the door to Jessie's quarters. Jessie opened the door wearing a thin pink nightgown, obviously not expecting company. "Oh, I'm sorry, Jess... I didn't mean to barge in on you if you were going to bed..." James began.

Jessie smiled. Oh, It was such a breath of fresh air to be talked to with respect and not eyed as a piece of meat by Billy. "Oh, no, James... please, come in... I really want to talk to you." James followed Jessie into the room, and looked around at all the photos on the wall. He had never realized that Jessie had such a collection. Jessie crossed over to her bed, and patted the space next to her for James.

James walked over and sat down, giving Jessie a quick kiss as he did. "So how's your new partner?" he asked.

Jessie smiled coldly. "Let's say he had a run-in with my ever so famous temper."

James chuckled. "Really?"

Jessie told him the story from start to finish; her remembering him, Billy's taunts and clear lust, the way she knocked him out of the balloon with her mallet and he had broken his legs. "Of course, I told the boss he fell accidentally." Jessie said with a grin. "The boss wants to see me again tomorrow morning."

James got a thoughtful look on his face. "Same here."

Jessie looked at James nervously. She had been afraid to ask him what she was about to ask him. After all, Annie had been pretty, especially in that tight red dress... She shook off these thoughts and asked him, "So, how's your new partner? That Red Rocket?"

"Annie?" James said. "I don't think she's very fond of me right now." He told her his story, about how Annie hadn't wanted to be teamed with him in the first place, how she didn't care at all about the motto, how he managed to botch the mission, and how as soon as they got back, Annie had gone to see the boss. "So now I have to report back in the morning too." James finished. He looked down, worried. "I just wish I knew what was going to happen. I missed you in the field, Jess."

Jessie smiled at him as her eyes got misty. "I missed you too, James. You were all I could think about when I was up in the balloon. Well... you and Meowth."

James grinned. "You miss that dimwit too?"

Jessie nodded with a smile. James put his arms around Jessie. "We'll be back together sometime, Jess. I know we will." he said.

Jessie closed her eyes and rested her head on James' chest, extremely content. After a minute, she sat up and looked at James. He was still wearing his uniform. "James?" she said quietly.

"Yes?"

"Will you do something for me?" she asked, feeling foolish.

"Anything." James replied. He had never meant anything so much in all his life.

"Will you take your gloves off and just hold me with your own hands? It was the greatest feeling in the world when you did it in your room, and I want to feel that again." She looked at him, half expecting him to laugh at her request.

Instead, James simply smiled and wordlessly removed his black gloves. Jessie reached forward and gently, slowly, lifted his white uniform top shirt off of him. "This too." she whispered. James was now wearing just his white pants, black boots, and a tight black T-shirt. Jessie had never realized just how muscular his arms were. She became very aware of it as he held her, gently caressing her arms with his bare hands. Jessie closed her eyes and relished every moment of it.

This was the most intimate moment she had ever had the pleasure of sharing with someone. Oh, she had done her share of playing around, especially during delinquent pre-Pokemon Tech days and her time in the Sunnytown Bridge Bike Gang... but none of it had ever meant this much or been so romantic or special. James loved her for who she was, not for how good she looked in her halter and miniskirt. It was this knowledge that made Jessie the happiest as she and James laid down together on her bed a half hour later and drifted off to a wonderful, dreamy sleep together. They stayed that way through the night: Jessie laying half on top of James in her thin pink nightgown, James in his white pants and black T-shirt softly breathing and holding her with his wonderful, warm, strong hands.

Criminal Chapter Eight: Reunited?