Small Help
Chapter One
Rain pattered softly against the hull of the Bebop as Ein, the resident guard dog, made his rounds. Spike had left almost four days earlier to collect a bounty, while Jet remained behind to keep an eye on things. Yet now Ein was completely alone inside the ship, since Jet had gone to do some grocery shopping (at lost last!) and Ed had gone with him. Just as the Welsh Corgi was about to let out a bored yawn, he heard the hatch open and someone come in. Happy to see anyone at this point, Ein's ears perked and he let out a welcoming bark. He was a bit surprised when he saw Spike enter the living area, looking like death warmed over. Ein cocked his head in confusion; Spike? Sick? It just didn't make sense. Against his better judgement, Ein approached Spike, who was now sitting on the couch despite his wet clothes, and put his cold, wet nose against Spike's left hand. He nearly jumped when he found that Spike's skin was hot to the touch.
"What do you want, dog?" Spike asked, trying to sound like his usual belligerent self, but instead came off sounding tired. Ein whimpered; it was moments like these that he wished he could talk!
"Listen, I don't feel like taking any crap from you today. Go and find something else to do." Spike muttered, irritably. But Ein remained; looking as concerned as a dog could look. Spike wasn't acting like his usual self (though that didn't mean he wasn't trying) and this change was even more evident when Spike grimaced and put a hand to his side. It came away a bloody mess.
"Damn…………….It's reopened……………………and the bullet only grazed me!" Spike grumbled. He didn't realize that Ein had left the room until he heard a slight 'thump' and felt Ein nudge his hand again.
"Huh?" Spike asked, looking down to see, to his amazement, that the dog had brought him the first-aid kit.
"Didn't even know you cared. Thanks Ein." Spike said, as he went to pick up the kit, wincing and sitting back with a sharp gasp when his wound protested against the movement. Ein stood where he was, uncertain on what to do next. He knew that Spike was in trouble, and that the metallic smell of blood was becoming stronger.
"Guess I'd better get off of the couch. It's already wet, but I doubt Jet would really want any bloodstains on it." Spike said, as he lowered himself onto the floor, nearly passing out in the process. Then an idea occurred to Ein and, in a flash, he was gone again. Just as quickly, he was back, and dragging some dry clothes for Spike behind him.
"You think of everything, don't you? You're smarter than I give you credit for." Spike said, and slowly got changed. Had it been any other time, Ein would have rejoiced from getting a compliment from Spike; but this was not the time for pride. He watched as Spike got the dry pants on, and then turned and began treating the wound. After much cursing, Spike finally managed to finish bandaging, and sat back against the couch, utterly drained and exhausted. He looked down when Ein whimpered again, looking up at him with worried brown eyes. For some reason, Spike wanted to tell the Corgi that he would be all right, but couldn't bring himself to lie to those soft eyes.
"What do you want me to do, Ein? You obviously know what is going on." Spike said, tiredly. Ein cocked his head to one side, then looked in the direction of Spike's room.
"If you're thinking that I need to be in bed, then you're right. But, I hate to say this, I don't think I can make it on my own." Spike said, surprising himself when he reached over and scratched Ein's ears. Ein whined with worry, not knowing what else he could do. Spike was pale and weak, and in obvious pain. Also, Ein could feel the heat of the man's fever through his fur and was surprised that Spike wasn't delirious from it. Then a voice disrupted Ein's thoughts.
"Hey! I'm back, if anyone cares!" a woman's voice called, then grumbled something nasty about the rain.
"Faye!" Spike thought, as Ein rushed to get to her. He arrived in one end of the hallway, just as Faye entered the opposite end.
"Are we going to go through this again, dog? I'm not in the mood to put up with you today, so get out of my way." Faye said, backing up a step when Ein trotted over to her, stopped, turned around, and pointed his nose back the way he'd come.
"What are you doing?" Faye asked, baffled by the dog's behavior. Ein barked at her, then looked down the hallway again.
"Are you trying to tell me to follow you?" Faye asked, startled when Ein barked again, louder this time since she had guessed right.
"All right, all right! I'll follow you! But this had better not be some trick of yours'" Faye grumbled, then started following him. She was stunned by what she saw next. There was Spike Spiegel, sitting on the floor with wet clothes in a pile next to him on one side, and the first aid kit on the other.
"Okay, first off, what the hell happened to you? And second, what are you doing on the floor?" Faye asked, dryly.
"I got shot, and I didn't want to get blood on the couch." Spike replied, in kind. It was then that Faye noticed the bandages that were around Spike's waist, and the crimson patch that was staining them.
"Damn, what did you do to yourself?" Faye asked, hiding her concern behind a mask of annoyance, as she kneeled down and took a look at the bandaging job. Spike didn't answer.
"This needs to be re-bandaged. Can you stand?" Faye asked, annoyance falling away when she felt the heat emanating from Spike's skin.
"I can try……but I can't guarantee anything." Spike said, as he painfully struggled to get to his feet. Ein watched helplessly as Spike's face contorted into a grimace and he gripped his injured side.
"This is more than just a gunshot wound, Spike. Who did you go up against this time?" Faye asked, as she steadied the man as best she could.
"The usual scum. But this time they had some sort of new gun." Spike said, gritting his teeth as each step sent pain shooting through him.
"A new gun?" Faye asked.
"Yeah. It fires bullets that look like drill bits." Spike explained, sighing with relief when they had reached his room. When Faye had finished re-bandaging Spike's wound, and had allowed him to lie down, she could see how pale he really was.
"Spike, are you sure that those bullets weren't coated in some kind of poison?" Faye again asked.
"Can't say. Why? Do you think I've been poisoned?" Spike asked, in turn.
"Well, normally a graze wound like the one you've got wouldn't bring you down like this. And, to add to my suspicions, you've got a high fever." Faye said, as Spike sighed and closed his eyes.
"In other words, I'm going to die from a stupid scratch. Damn." Spike muttered, not even noticing when Ein jumped onto the bed and lay down next to him.
"It's strange how that dog seems to like you all of a sudden." Faye remarked, as Spike looked at the dog with mild surprise in his eyes.
"I think he's actually worried about me. Before you arrived he got the first-aid kit and some dry clothes for me. I wonder why he even bothered?" Spike murmured, as Ein put his chin on his front paws and sighed. Faye shrugged.
"I don't know. He's a strange mutt, that much is certain. Get some rest, I'll be back in a little while to check on you." Faye said, trying to sound unconcerned as she dimmed the light, then exited the room.