Disclaimers:  I do not own Pokemon or any of its characters.  I am making no money from this.

Notes:  James is back to traveling with Jessie and Meowth again.  However, it soon becomes clear that he is most definitely
unwell and Jessie is forced to ask for help from the enemy.



Experiments



Part Three


A couple months had passed since they had left Doctor Brady's home.  Most of James's wounds were healed, and his hair was
growing back quite nicely.  Sure, he had to wear a hat, to cover where the hair wasn't the same length in some places, but he did
look much better.  His strength, however, wasn't back to normal.  He slept longer than he used to, and they couldn't travel quite
as far during a day, as they could before he had gotten hurt.

Jessie awakened, stretching her arms as she sat up.  She looked over at James, hearing muffled cries.  He was tossing and
turning in his sleep.  He was having a nightmare again.  Jessie had gotten used to seeing him like this.  Every morning when she
woke up, she saw him like that.

It pained her to see him tormented by his dreams.  But he wouldn't talk to her.  When she asked him about the dreams, he
wouldn't answer her, or he'd change the subject.  Jessie was worried about him.  Whatever Della had done to him, had been so
terrible that it caused him nightmares when he slept.  Jessie wanted to find that scientist and teach her a lesson, a painful lesson.

She stood, and walked over to his sleeping bag.  Kneeling down beside him, she gently grabbed his shoulder and shook.  "Wake
up, James."  She said.

His eyes snapped open, and for a moment didn't focus on anything.  Then he looked at her.        His face was drenched in
sweat, he breaths coming in short ragged gasps.  He sat up, throwing her hand from his shoulder.  "I'm fine,"  He glared at her,
as if it were her fault that he suffered through these nightmares.

She stood and backed away.  "We have to get going.  Rare Pokemon won't steal themselves you know."  She said, pretending
that everything was okay.  But it wasn't.  James was still hurting and there was nothing she could do about it when he kept
shutting her out.

She should have just told him how she felt about him when he had awakened in Doctor Brady's house.  Jessie wondered why
she hadn't.  She had passed up the perfect opportunity to let him know that she loved him, but she had chickened out.  Was she
so scared that he didn't feel the same?

James got up, slowly, placing his hand against his head as he moved.  Jessie noticed.  "You okay?"  Jessie asked.

"I'm fine."  He replied.  "I just have a headache."

An hour later, they were battling with Ash and the rest of Team Twerp.  James released his Wheezing, like he usually did, while
Jessie let out Arbok.  But unlike most of their battles, Jessie and James were actually winning.

Suddenly, James fell to the ground, clutching his head in pain.  Jessie knelt by his side, ignoring the battle that they had been
winning only moments ago.  Ash, Brock, Misty, and the pokemon all gathered around while James screamed in agony.

Jessie didn't know what to do.  She was beginning to panic.  She looked to Meowth, who looked just as scared as she was.  
Then, she did the only thing she could think of.  She asked the twerps for help.

Brock and Misty rushed to help, while Ash hesitated for a moment.  "We should get him to a hospital."  Misty suggested.

"What's wrong with him?"  Brock asked.

Jessie's eyes went wide, as James stopped moving.  His eyes fell shut as he slipped into unconsciousness.  Meowth placed a
paw on her arm.  "We should have taken him to a hospital months ago, Jess."  He said.

"I know, but what about the police.  If we get spotted, we'll be arrested."  She said, tears running down her face.

"Well, we have to get him to a hospital.  Maybe you should change out of that uniform, then you'll be less conspicuous."  Brock
said.

"I'll get some clothes for James."  Meowth announced, as he ran to the car they had stolen that afternoon.

"Come on Jessie, let's get you some clothes too."  Misty said as she stood.  She took hold of Jessie's arm and led her away.

Jessie dressed as quickly as she possibly could.  She put on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt.  Her sneakers weren't even tied, when
she and Misty went back over to James.

"I think you better tell us what happened to him."  Brock said as he and Ash lifted James to his feet.  They stood under his
shoulders, holding him up.

"What are you talking about?"  Jessie replied, pretending not to know.

"Tell us how he got those scars, Jessie."  Ash said, as he lifted the T-shirt James was now wearing to show Jessie the scars.

Jessie looked away, not needing to see the scars.  "Several months ago, he was kidnapped by some scientist."  Jessie said as
they walked to the car.  "I don't exactly know what she did to him.  But when I found him and rescued him, he was covered in
wounds.  He almost died."  She couldn't bring herself to continue.  Remembering those horrible days of waiting to see if James
would die, brought tears to her eyes once again.

Meowth continued for her, telling them about James's near-death condition after they rescued him.  He told them about Doctor
Brady and of the time that James had spent recovering from all his injuries.  He was still talking when they were putting James in
the car.

Brock got behind the wheel, while Jessie got in the back beside James.  She held his head in her lap as Brock drove them to the
nearest town.  It was almost too much for her, thinking that she might still lose him after all of this.


*****


Jessie sat in the waiting room of the hospital, waiting for any news of James.  An Officer Jenny walked up to her.  "Miss, we
need to ask you a few questions."  She said.

"What do you want to know?"  Jessie asked.

"I want to know what happened to the young man you brought in today."

"I don't know what happened."  Jessie said.  She couldn't tell Officer Jenny about the scientist.  Who would believe that story?  
Besides, she would want details on how James was kidnapped.  And if Jessie told about what they had been doing the night he
was kidnapped, about how they were trying to steal pokemon, they would both be arrested.

But Officer Jenny obviously didn't believe her, she kept asking questions, questions that Jessie couldn't answer without getting
her and James into serious trouble.  Finally, Brock came to her rescue.  "Can't you see she's just been through something very
traumatic?"  Brock said, wrapping his arm around Jessie's shoulders.

"I just need her to answer a few questions."  Officer Jenny replied.

"Can't it wait until after she finds out if her friend is okay?"

Officer Jenny looked down for a moment, obviously debating whether or not to wait.  "I guess it can wait a few hours."  She
finally said.

Brock turned his attention to Jessie as Jenny walked away.  "The doctor says you can go see him now.  Room 358."  He
whispered.

"Thank you."  Jessie replied.  She got up and walked to James's hospital room.

He was sitting up in bed when she walked in, his eyes showing that he was still in pain.  He was hooked up to various machines,
all beeping and making other annoying sounds.

Jessie walked over to him.  He looked up at her, while she took hold of his hand.  He was shaking, his hand just laying limp in
hers.  His eyes were surrounded by dark circles, and his skin was so pale.  "I'm dying aren't I?"  He asked, somberly.

Jessie felt her tears again, but struggled to keep them away.  "No, you're going to be fine."

"Before I die, I want to tell you something."  He said, his voice no more than a whisper.

"No, you are not going to die."  She stated.

"Listen to me, please."  He pleaded, and Jessie shut her mouth.  "I love you Jessie, more than anything in the world.  Thinking of
you was the only thing that kept me going when Della was performing her experiments on me."

Jessie couldn't keep the tears away any longer.  They streamed down her cheeks, falling from her chin onto James's bed.  "I
love you too, James.  For so long, I was afraid to tell you.  I don't want to lose you now."

He lifted his hand, weakly, and brushed away her tears with his thumb.  "I'm sorry Jess, I don't think I can hold on much
longer.  I wish had told you earlier, when we still had time."  His body began to shake as he went into a coughing fit, horrible,
hacking coughs.

Jessie jumped up, screaming for a doctor.  Several doctors quickly ran in.  They immediately went to James's side.  She couldn't
see what they were doing, as they had blocked her view.  A nurse pulled her outside, forcing her away from James as the
doctors worked on him.  "Oh, God, it hurts!"  She heard James scream, as the door closed in her face.

The nurse took her back to the waiting room, where she sat in a chair.  Jessie held her face in her hands, not wanting to believe
that James could die.  He loved her, she loved him.  It couldn't end like this.

Jessie raised her head, and saw the wall across from her.  It was lined with phones.  There was only one person she could call,
only one person that could possibly help.  But Jessie didn't know if it was a good idea or not.  If she called, would he really help
James?

She stood, finally deciding that she had nothing left to lose.  As she picked up the phone and dialed the number, her heartbeat
quickened.  A face appeared on the video phone.  Seeing that face filled her with fear, but she had to speak, had to ask for his
help. She spoke, her voice quavering even though she only spoke two words. "Hello, Boss."



To Be Continued . . .