Spike approached the old ship slowly as he worked up the courage to radio and request permission to dock. In all his life he had never been so nervous, this was worse than have a gun pointed at his head. What if they turned him away, or worse, welcomed him with open arms. How could he explain his absence for so long, for 10 years never contacting them, but it was the only place in all his travels he could ever bring himself to call home.
Before he had a chance to chicken out and turn for the nearest planet the radio blared with a familiar booming voice, "Well look what the cat dragged in. I'm opening the bay doors for you to land."
"Well, that was easy," Spike mumbled as he negotiated the controls to his small ship. The Swordfish II easily found its way home, just like it always had. Once inside the ship he climbed out and faced Jet Black, his oldest real friend.
Spike was surprised at the enthusiastic embrace he received and the hard pat on the back Jet gave him with his prosthetic arm, "Hey, Spike, long time no see. What has it been, 10 years? Glad to see ya." Jet was full of surprises.
"I'm glad to see you, too. I hope you don't mind my dropping in like this. All unexpected and everything," Spike asked as he and Jet walked toward the main living quarters.
"Not at all, Spike. We were just talking about you the other day, Faye and me. We were wondering what you had been up to all these years, besides the little tidbits of news that would come in through the wire. We heard about Julia. Sorry man. I know how you felt about her," Jet said as he sat down on a chair and Spike took the couch in front of him, sprawling like he had never left.
"Thanks Jet. It's been three years since she was killed. I'm pretty much over it, besides the 'bent on revenge, Vicious will pay for what he's done,' thing. You know what I mean, right?"
Jet almost laughed, "Yeah, I've got a pretty good idea." Jet got up and retrieved a couple of choice beverages from the fridge, tossing one to Spike. "Things haven't changed much around here. Faye got her memory back right around the time you left. Turns out before her accident she was quite the penny pincher. There was still a bank account in her name and an inheritance was waiting for her from her parents for the express purpose of paying off her debts for the cryo-freeze. With all the interest the accounts had accumulated she had enough to almost completely pay off her debt to the health insurance company. She has been completely debt free for nearly 8 years now."
"Wow, I'm impressed she even paid her debts, why didn't she just take the money and run?" Spike asked.
Jet laughed as he cracked his beer can open and took his first drink. "I asked her the same thing when she came back. She told me it was her lost memories wreaking havoc on her, that they had overwhelmed her with a 'sense of responsibility' and they wouldn't let her rest until she had paid them off. Then Ed and Ein came back and it was almost like old times again."
Spike looked at him confused, "Ed and Ein, I thought they never left."
"Nope, they disappeared together about the same time you did, struck out on her own again with the dog." Jet paused and took another swig of his beer, then sat contemplating the can. "She gave us a good scare though, 7 years ago. Apparently, before she left, she had put a homing beacon in the system and Ein called us. It was weird. The dog kept barking and whining and looking off to the side. The only thing we could figure was that Ed was hurt of something, so we went and picked her up. It's a good thing too, because she was really sick, we thought she was dead when we got there."
Spike listened intently, feeling a little guilty about having left them like that. He was pulled out of his wallowing when Jet continued, "Faye never left her side. She'll never admit it, but she is a regular Florence Nightingale, she always sat by you when you were laid up, too." Spike remembered waking many times to see her hovering in a non-hovering manner, waiting for him to wake up, then he usually had something mean to say to her about it. A grin threatened to cross his lips. "Anyway, she took real good care of Ed, brought her back to full health and everything. We've been together every since. Me and Faye have even gotten married."
"WHAT!" Spike spewed beer across the coffee table, nearly choking as he sat staring at Jet. "Seriously? You're yanking my chain, right?"
"He most certainly is not," a distinctively feminine voice yelled as an older, more mature Faye stepped into the room. Well, mature might not be the right word, but maybe maternal in her oversized t-shirt and jeans. "He is quite serious, thank you very much." Jet jumped up and moved to the next chair so she didn't have to walk as far from the entrance. Faye rolled her eyes, "Good grief, Jet, I'm pregnant, not broken," she sat in the closer chair anyway, causing Spike to grin.
"So how far along are you?" Spike asked as he went to light a cigarette, which was quickly swiped out of his mouth by Jet. They wrestled for it, Faye ignored them.
"About five months according to the Doc. I think Ed is looking forward to it more than either of us. First thing she's really smiled about since Ein died." Spike stopped struggling for his cigarette and looked at Faye. He had liked that dog. "Ed took it really hard. We thought about getting her another dog, but then I got pregnant and Ed never mentioned wanting another, so we decided against it."
Just as he was about to ask where she was he heard a commotion and someone carrying a heavy looking object past the entrance to the living area. "Hey Ed, look who's here," Jet called.
She set the piece of engine equipment down and leaned against it. "Hey Spike," she greeted before turning back to Jet, "Have you seen my soldering iron? It's not where I left it."
"No I can't say that I have, why don't you come in visit with Spike?"
Ed lifted the heavy equipment again, "I'm in the middle of something, and besides, I saw him hours ago circling the Bebop."
"Why didn't you let him in then?" Jet asked, frowning.
"He didn't look like he was sure he wanted to come in, and I was in the middle of recalibrating the weapons system. It really needs upgrading; I'm tired of constantly having to repair the electrical systems. I swear I've been through of more copper wires on this heap," she continued griping to herself as she walked down the hall, her voice fading into the sound of the ship itself.
Spike watched her go, slightly wide eyed. She did not look like the Ed he remembered with her heavy red braid falling down her back, her fitted tank white tank top and jeans. He suddenly felt like the kid at graduation who gets arrested the next day and spends the next ten years in jail, only to be released the day before the reunion. Somehow he had been left behind. "She has aged well," he commented as he watched her disappear down the hall. A piece of wadded up paper hit him in the forehead and he turned to Faye. "What?"
"I know what you're thinking. She won't admit it, but I think she might have a boyfriend. Sorry, Spike." Faye teased.
Indignant, Spike snapped, "I don't know what you're talking about, Faye."
"Sure Spike. Whatever you say." Faye got up, "I'm going to take a nap. I'll see guys later."
Jet stood up as well, "And I need to go find that soldering iron before Ed finds out that I really did take it. Make yourself at home Spike, your room hasn't been touched since you left, so you're welcome back to it for as long as you need."
"Thanks Jet. I appreciate it."
Before he had a chance to chicken out and turn for the nearest planet the radio blared with a familiar booming voice, "Well look what the cat dragged in. I'm opening the bay doors for you to land."
"Well, that was easy," Spike mumbled as he negotiated the controls to his small ship. The Swordfish II easily found its way home, just like it always had. Once inside the ship he climbed out and faced Jet Black, his oldest real friend.
Spike was surprised at the enthusiastic embrace he received and the hard pat on the back Jet gave him with his prosthetic arm, "Hey, Spike, long time no see. What has it been, 10 years? Glad to see ya." Jet was full of surprises.
"I'm glad to see you, too. I hope you don't mind my dropping in like this. All unexpected and everything," Spike asked as he and Jet walked toward the main living quarters.
"Not at all, Spike. We were just talking about you the other day, Faye and me. We were wondering what you had been up to all these years, besides the little tidbits of news that would come in through the wire. We heard about Julia. Sorry man. I know how you felt about her," Jet said as he sat down on a chair and Spike took the couch in front of him, sprawling like he had never left.
"Thanks Jet. It's been three years since she was killed. I'm pretty much over it, besides the 'bent on revenge, Vicious will pay for what he's done,' thing. You know what I mean, right?"
Jet almost laughed, "Yeah, I've got a pretty good idea." Jet got up and retrieved a couple of choice beverages from the fridge, tossing one to Spike. "Things haven't changed much around here. Faye got her memory back right around the time you left. Turns out before her accident she was quite the penny pincher. There was still a bank account in her name and an inheritance was waiting for her from her parents for the express purpose of paying off her debts for the cryo-freeze. With all the interest the accounts had accumulated she had enough to almost completely pay off her debt to the health insurance company. She has been completely debt free for nearly 8 years now."
"Wow, I'm impressed she even paid her debts, why didn't she just take the money and run?" Spike asked.
Jet laughed as he cracked his beer can open and took his first drink. "I asked her the same thing when she came back. She told me it was her lost memories wreaking havoc on her, that they had overwhelmed her with a 'sense of responsibility' and they wouldn't let her rest until she had paid them off. Then Ed and Ein came back and it was almost like old times again."
Spike looked at him confused, "Ed and Ein, I thought they never left."
"Nope, they disappeared together about the same time you did, struck out on her own again with the dog." Jet paused and took another swig of his beer, then sat contemplating the can. "She gave us a good scare though, 7 years ago. Apparently, before she left, she had put a homing beacon in the system and Ein called us. It was weird. The dog kept barking and whining and looking off to the side. The only thing we could figure was that Ed was hurt of something, so we went and picked her up. It's a good thing too, because she was really sick, we thought she was dead when we got there."
Spike listened intently, feeling a little guilty about having left them like that. He was pulled out of his wallowing when Jet continued, "Faye never left her side. She'll never admit it, but she is a regular Florence Nightingale, she always sat by you when you were laid up, too." Spike remembered waking many times to see her hovering in a non-hovering manner, waiting for him to wake up, then he usually had something mean to say to her about it. A grin threatened to cross his lips. "Anyway, she took real good care of Ed, brought her back to full health and everything. We've been together every since. Me and Faye have even gotten married."
"WHAT!" Spike spewed beer across the coffee table, nearly choking as he sat staring at Jet. "Seriously? You're yanking my chain, right?"
"He most certainly is not," a distinctively feminine voice yelled as an older, more mature Faye stepped into the room. Well, mature might not be the right word, but maybe maternal in her oversized t-shirt and jeans. "He is quite serious, thank you very much." Jet jumped up and moved to the next chair so she didn't have to walk as far from the entrance. Faye rolled her eyes, "Good grief, Jet, I'm pregnant, not broken," she sat in the closer chair anyway, causing Spike to grin.
"So how far along are you?" Spike asked as he went to light a cigarette, which was quickly swiped out of his mouth by Jet. They wrestled for it, Faye ignored them.
"About five months according to the Doc. I think Ed is looking forward to it more than either of us. First thing she's really smiled about since Ein died." Spike stopped struggling for his cigarette and looked at Faye. He had liked that dog. "Ed took it really hard. We thought about getting her another dog, but then I got pregnant and Ed never mentioned wanting another, so we decided against it."
Just as he was about to ask where she was he heard a commotion and someone carrying a heavy looking object past the entrance to the living area. "Hey Ed, look who's here," Jet called.
She set the piece of engine equipment down and leaned against it. "Hey Spike," she greeted before turning back to Jet, "Have you seen my soldering iron? It's not where I left it."
"No I can't say that I have, why don't you come in visit with Spike?"
Ed lifted the heavy equipment again, "I'm in the middle of something, and besides, I saw him hours ago circling the Bebop."
"Why didn't you let him in then?" Jet asked, frowning.
"He didn't look like he was sure he wanted to come in, and I was in the middle of recalibrating the weapons system. It really needs upgrading; I'm tired of constantly having to repair the electrical systems. I swear I've been through of more copper wires on this heap," she continued griping to herself as she walked down the hall, her voice fading into the sound of the ship itself.
Spike watched her go, slightly wide eyed. She did not look like the Ed he remembered with her heavy red braid falling down her back, her fitted tank white tank top and jeans. He suddenly felt like the kid at graduation who gets arrested the next day and spends the next ten years in jail, only to be released the day before the reunion. Somehow he had been left behind. "She has aged well," he commented as he watched her disappear down the hall. A piece of wadded up paper hit him in the forehead and he turned to Faye. "What?"
"I know what you're thinking. She won't admit it, but I think she might have a boyfriend. Sorry, Spike." Faye teased.
Indignant, Spike snapped, "I don't know what you're talking about, Faye."
"Sure Spike. Whatever you say." Faye got up, "I'm going to take a nap. I'll see guys later."
Jet stood up as well, "And I need to go find that soldering iron before Ed finds out that I really did take it. Make yourself at home Spike, your room hasn't been touched since you left, so you're welcome back to it for as long as you need."
"Thanks Jet. I appreciate it."