James woke up and his shoulder throbbed fiercely. He shifted his shoulder slightly only to have the searing pain return in force. His whole body felt sore too, like he had been dragged over a gravel road, but he could not understand why. He broke into a light-headed sweat, groaning unhappily. Jessie quickly appeared at his side. Her usually icy stare seemed to have evaporated, being replaced by reddened orbs of great concern. James' gaze focused a bit and he saw her face touched with small smears of blood. He glanced down to see that her hands had a red tint to them and then he saw his shoulder. Most of the white towels were almost completely dyed red with his blood. His groggy mind surmised that Jessie had saved his life by using the basic first aid training that Team Rocket had taught them a few years ago. His eyes flitted back up to the meet Jessie's. She had already started crying again, but she was smiling.

"Welcome back."

"Thank you," he whispered weakly. "Good...to be back...wherever...we are."

"We're in our hotel room," she started. "Thankfully, I only had to drag you down one flight of stairs. Also, I paid cash for the room, so we couldn't be traced."

Now he understood why his body was sore as she began to carefully remove the blood-soaked towels. He gritted his teeth as she did the peeling. The wound itself was caked with chunks of dried blood and burned flesh from the hot bullet's entry. The curled flaps of skin could be rolled back into place to re-seal the hole, but some blood had started to slowly ooze out of his wound. Jessie quickly got a wad of gauze and stated how painful this was likely to be. James became worried, then started cussing up a storm as she stuffed the wad into the entry wound. She managed to ignore his swearing, but it killed her to cause him so much pain. She just wanted him to get better, so they could figure out their next move. He finally stopped cussing, but was breathing heavily and sweating profusely from the pain. As she finished with the covering bandage, a fairly self-satisfied smile appeared on her face. She spoke with her usual bravado.

"I should become a doctor, since I did so well.

James pulled his head up a bit, providing a rather glassy-eyed glare.

"Real doctors...use morphine," he responded weakly. With that, his eyes rolled back into his head and he passed out.

She pursed her lips at that comment, but he was right. He needed a real doctor to get that bullet out of him. She sighed with fatigue. What James didn't realize was that ten hours had passed from when he had been shot. The first few hours were the most horrifying because he would not stop bleeding. That's when she came up with the idea of plugging up the hole with one of the washcloths from the bathroom. It was only later on that she had found the first aid kit and started using the items in there. After she did what she could to stop the bleeding, she waited, then eventually fell asleep. Her dreams were filled with the horror of his death. Visions of her, dressed in black, next to the James' coffin, while all the flowers around them were on fire, except for the solitary red rose that was laid atop his casket. She was crying profusely. Strangely, she then reached into her chest and pulled out her own heart. It kept beating and then stopped when it turned to glass. The ruby colored heart then broke in half. One half fell to the ground and shattered, while the remaining half turned to stone. At that moment, James had woken up, much to her relief. She did not want to see the rest of the dream, must less try to figure out what it all meant.

She left James' side, relieved to see that he might live, but something had to be done. She strode over to their foot locker that they always had with them. Opening it revealed a series of outfits and costumes. She pulled out a blue outfit and went into the bathroom. While she was showering, trying to scrub out all the blood on her hands, she tried to understand why there were Team Rocket members shooting at them -- trying to kill them! She shook her head. She could not focus on thinking about what happened as her concern for James was overwhelming her mind. She had to get help.

An hour later, she came back out. She was dressed in a professional looking outfit: navy blue blazer, matching mid-thigh skirt, white blouse, nylons, and black high heels. The dark rimmed glasses completed her disguise, but the most striking feature was the return of her natural hair color: fiery red. It was currently tied into a tight bun behind her. As she looked into the mirror again, she still could not recognize herself. Who would have guessed that being yourself could be your best form of deception. She walked over to the sleeping James, leaned over, and gently kissed him on the forehead. It left a small print from her lipstick, but she did not notice it. She had already turned and left their room to seek a doctor, silently praying for James to be safe while she was gone.

As Jessie reached the ground floor, she could see, through the windows of the lobby, the swarms of Team Rocket members on the street. She halted, her heart thumping. It wasn't often that she had seen so many members in one place except at a base of operations or one of their propaganda rallies. But she knew they were looking for her and James; she just wished she knew why all this was happening. She couldn't worry about that now. Taking a deep breath, she focused on the task at hand, quickly glanced at her fake ID, so she wouldn't forget who she was supposed to be, if she was questioned. With that, she pushed the revolving door and was out in the street. The younger male Team Rocket members took immediate notice and simply stared at her. Some of the female members had taken on a rather indignant stance as she walked by, a few even swatted their male counterparts to stop their gawking. Jessie tried not to look nervous or worried, despite her stomach trying to eat its way out of her body. Although, it was a bit flattering, but she couldn't really enjoy it since she was working to get away from them. She had to remember that she was wading through a pool of hungry sharks and if they sniffed her out; it would be over. Two sharks approached her, looking fairly confident in themselves. One had dark hair and was a bit shorter than her. The other was light haired and considerably taller than her. Both were a bit younger than her, but certainly no less dangerous.

"Excuse me, miss," the dark-haired one spoke.

Here goes, she thought, as she cleared her throat.

"Yes?" she replied, letting her eyes make direct contact with his. This made him flinch slightly; advantage - Jessie.

"Er...I'm Ron and this is Jack. We're looking for a couple of friends of ours. Have you seen them?"

Jack produced two photographs of Jessie and James as Ron spoke. Her face flushed a bit, but she stared at the two pictures while she regained her composure. She remembered when these photos were taken -- "for search and rescue situations, in case you go missing in action. Remember, we look out for our own." Glancing back at Ron, she was sure they could hear her heart pounding loudly in her chest, but she hoped her gaze would drill right through him.

"I haven't seen either one of them," she stated. "Is there anything else? I have an important meeting I must get to."

"Hold on for a moment," Jack said. "Are you absolutely sure you haven't seen them?"

She turned a strong glare to Jack. He didn't flinch, so she firmed up her voice instead, needing the authority now or she wouldn't escape.

"I haven't seen either of them," she said firmly. "Now, since you're not the police, you boys won't be detaining me further." With that, she stepped past them quickly. Ron and Jack glanced at either other, then moved in front of her again.

"Wait, wait, hold it," Ron said. "Ah, maybe we, uh, we could discuss this over dinner?" They smiled a bit sheepishly.

She blinked a couple times, then her trademark sly smile returned. She even stepped a little closer to him, letting a single finger trace along the boy's jawline and dropping her voice a sultry octave.

"Hmm...maybe dinner would be interesting. I'm sure we could talk about all sorts of things. But that's all we'd be able to do...because I don't want to get arrested."

With that, she slid past him. Hearing the two of them groan in awed dismay as she added a little hip tilt to her gait, more to entrance them to keep their distance. She muttered to herself.

"Okay skin, you can stop crawling now."

"Aaron? Your pokemon are all healed and ready to go."

Nurse Joy enjoyed working at the Pokemon Health Clinic. She got to meet kids, help their pokemon and fulfill her dream of helping others. She couldn't help but to smile at what she has accomplished in her life's work as a pokemon caretaker. Jessie entered and moved past the scores of kids that filled the triage area. She was here because Team Rocket would most likely be watching the human hospitals and she didn't personally know any doctors. She approached Joy at the desk.

"Excuse me, nurse," she said, trying not to sound as nervous as she felt. She had never been in a Pokemon Health Center as Team Rocket always took care of their own pokemon.

"Yes?" Joy replied, smiling brightly. Jessie almost felt nauseous from the sheer happiness the woman eminated, but she put that aside, James needed her.

"There's been a...hunting accident, in the nearby forest," she started.

"Oh my goodness! Your pokemon was shot?!" Joy responded. Jessie blinked once, but delighted to see that Joy had provided a better story than the one she had concocted.

"Yes. Yes he was," she said, thinking quickly. "My poor...poor..Meowth. Yes, my Meowth was shot. I managed to get him back to my hotel room, but he needs a real doctor. Please, help me," she finished her story and wiped away an unanticipated tear.

"Oh, you poor dear. Let me get my medical bag and we'll see what we can do."

Jessie was a little surprised that Joy might be a qualified surgeon. After Joy told another nurse that she was going on a house call, the two of them set off to the hotel. Joy explained how often she had done these things, since other pokemon often injure themselves and get all sorts of things impaled into them. Jessie was relieved to hear that. The last thing she needed was a receptionist operating on her long-time partner and friend.

"He's bleeding very heavily. Apply some pressure right here."

Jessie pushed where she was directed and the bleeding almost stopped. Joy worked skillfully, the bullet now visible and within reach of her clamps. James was moaning fitfully and sweating profusely, his eyes still closed.

"I can't believe I'm actually helping you two," Joy said, her usually happy voice taking on an edge of surliness.

"Look, I said I was sorry, but I had to lie to you. I didn't have a choice," Jessie replied. "Team Rocket is trying to kill us!"

"Perhaps you're getting what you deserve," Joy stated flatly, focusing on extracting the bullet. With a little suction pop, she tossed the bloodied bullet into the metal bowl. It clanged around a couple times, then stopped. Jessie glanced at the wad of metal, amazed that something so small could be so deadly. Joy quickly stitched up the wound, then applied some of the healing elements she used to cure wounds on pokemon. It seemed to be working, but not as fast as she was used to. But then, this was a human, not a pokemon.

"I'm finished. Keep the area clean and away from water for a couple days. The healing elements I used should prevent any infection."

With that said, she packed up her equipment and Jessie stood to escort her out. When she spoke, her voice had a very humble tone to it.

"Thank you, Joy," she paused a bit. The words seemed so foreign to her. Her eyes softened some as she continued. "I really appreciate you helping him."

"I was just doing my job; one that I took an oath for," she replied, pursing her lips at her. She sighed and continued, "You're welcome. I hope you two get out of this."

"Me too," she squeaked out, then started to cry. Almost instinctively, Joy went over and hugged her. Jessie unleashed a waterfall of tears as she held onto Joy, as though her life depended on it. Joy patted her back and comforted her. After a few minutes, Jessie managed to stop crying, wiping away her tears with her fingers.

"I'm sorry...it's just," she stuttered, "I..I don't know what I'd do if he had died. I've never been so scared in my life. I mean, they've all just turned against us and I don't know what to do. I just feel so betrayed by everyone I know."

The nurse looked at her for a long moment. She felt a little guilty about what she had said earlier to her. She hugged her again and Jessie started crying all over again. Joy rocked her back and forth, trying to softly shush her.

"Jessie," Joy started, as she pulled her away, so that she can look at her in the eye. "You two are going to get through this, but you need to be strong. I don't know what else to tell you about what's happening. I can only suggest going to the police or to someone who can protect you."

Jessie nodded and thanked her again. She reminded her to use the back entrance, the same one they had come up, so that she wouldn't draw attention to herself. The nurse nodded, then turned and walked down the hallway. Jessie closed the door and walked back to James' bedside, wiping away the tears that streaked her face. She covered the stitches with what was left of the first aid kit. When she finished, she let out a long, tired breath that felt like she had been holding it for the past hour. She caught her breath again as James stirred and slowly opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was the most beautiful woman in the world. This made him sure that he had died, but another blink made it clear that he was wrong on that second count. He was still right on for the first one though. Jessie smiled happily, letting a couple of tears fall freely. He gingerly moved a hand to her face, his shoulder not hurting as much now. He wiped away one of the tears with his thumb as he cupped her cheek. Both of her hands met with his, grasping it firmly. He smiled warmly at her, then gently pulled her face to his own. Jessie was a little taken aback by this, but not for long. Their lips met, softly crushing against each other. His other arm reached up and brought her closer, lovingly hugging her. Her own hands cupped his face, trying not to touch his injured shoulder. Their tongues gently waltzed together and their passion increased as they continued to kiss. Jessie gently broke the kiss to look into James' eyes. He smiled still, but his eyes were closed. He had drifted off to sleep, his lips gently murmuring.

"Love..you."

As he laid asleep, she gazed upon him, a warm smile gracing her lips. She could still taste his kiss upon her, which sent tingling sensations all over her body, like a mild electrical current. She crossed his arms on his chest, then pulled the covers down to expose his chest. As she started to remove her clothes, she kept looking at him, almost studying his muscular definitions. A lustful grin crept to her lips as she finally stepped out of her panties and kicked them aside. She crossed over to his left side, the uninjured side, and slid into bed with him. Despite how turned on she was, she could feel the weight of the day dragging her down to Slumberland. She moved his arm out, so that she could nestle herself in his embrace, in spite of him being asleep. She gazed one more time at his defined chest. While he was fairly thin, he obviously worked out. She traced a slow finger slowly along the six-pack of his abdomen. He felt pretty solid, yet she knew how easily it could be punctured. She leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on his stomach, then trailed up to his torso. Each kiss provided an opportunity to taste him. She smiled more and more as she continued upwards, finally arriving at James' face. A loving gaze looked over him, studying every feature of his handsome face. She placed a final kiss on his lips, pulled the sheets over them, then curled up in the crook of his arm. Her nude body rested comfortably against his lean form and she quickly fell asleep. The outside world still hunted for them, but that didn't matter now. That was a problem to solve for tomorrow.

TO BE CONTINUED...Part III

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