A/N: Kay, yeah I have another fanfic that needs attention, but, I got bit by the Cowboy Bebop bug and I spent a whole week cutting school(not important school) so i can watch the whole series again, and I remembered how much I didn't like Julia. More so, Julia and spike together. I dunno, the chick didn't inspire any fangirl squealing/crying anguish in me when they killed her off. I was just a lil sad cuz spike liked/loved(ihavenodamnideawhyandnoonecanfixthat) her and he was gonna be sad. And I don't like sad spike. It's like those damn aspca commercials. So, I then got bit by the fanfic bug and here we are. My writing speaks for itself, so I'm not gonna explain anymore unless I'm asked a direct question by one of you. So, read and review. Heavy on the review. I need them like Viscous needs red eye.
Helena Thibodeaux was a cautious woman. Everywhere she went, she was always ready for at least a nuclear catastrophe and not much more. She never turned her back to an open door and never wore the same outfit twice. Although, the latter could be chalked down to simple lady habits, it was a practice she treated like as seriously catholic does Lenten season.
Along with her caution, she was superstitious. Never set foot on the same street as a black cat, never left home without an acorn in her pocket. She was of creole decent, so, this was common among her kin, but, the way she had always treated her superstitions made people uneasy. Strangers and friends alike.
For those who knew her, they would get the feeling she was afraid of something she would never talk about. For strangers, they would feel a passing tenseness in the room that would have them wanting to leave much sooner than what was possible. Since she was a Doctor, this meant her patients would be more careful with themselves so they didn't need to go back. So, it worked for her.
The woman was pretty much a walking flight risk, there were plenty of people in the galaxy who wanted her dead for various reasons. Mostly for disrupting such and such's plans to make a random group of people's lives as miserable as possible. Living such a dangerous life and constantly throwing salt over her shoulder was her only meager attempt at self-preservation. She could duke it out with the best of them, being ex-military, but she was one woman. She knew well that if/when someone wanted to kill her badly enough that they were very well capable to send an army after her, if need be. It's a sad life to live, always watching her back, when her greatest talent was protecting someone else's. To protect and serve.
That was the reason she was out that night, with her oldest and most trusted friend. It was a poetic sight. Rain pouring down on two women, who could not give a single fuck if the water was ruining their hair and Helena's best leather jacket. Her crimson hair had been pulled up and away from her face in a low, soggy bun, the strands sticking to the sides of her face from being so damp. Her comrade was in a similar predicament, the rain giving her blonde hair a mustardy hue, but, at least, she was smart enough to wear a black trench coat for when the weather went south.
Helena did had the sense to bring an umbrella, but, unfortunately for them, it was just wide enough for only half of both women. Meaning, Helena's left shoulder was being pummeled with rain.
", Dammit, why now, of all times?" Helen complained to her wayward companion.
The taller blonde woman replied in her deep voice," I guess this is Mars's way of welcoming newcomers".
Helen held the umbrella higher," Cheap welcome," She stopped to survey the street for a bar or restaurant, anything to get them out of the rain for a while. She was starting to feel a chill. ", Hey, we should stop in that bar over there for a bit. Give us a chance to dry off and warm up a little," She was pointing to the small neon sign above a black door.
", Good thinking. I could use a drink or two, right about now," The blonde said, as she strained her eyes to find where Helena was pointing.
Helena nodded, the motion jostling a few drops of water in her hair. The two then hurried across the road and ducked under the tiny awning that was suspended above the bar's door. Helena retracted the umbrella, briefly shaking water from it, and then tucked it in her brown leather messenger bag where it came from. The tall blonde held open the door for her red-headed partner before making her own way into the smoky bar.
It was an ordinary bar, pool tables, stools, drunken stupid people betting on pool. The usual. What was unusual, was the reactions of more than half of the (six) patrons to the two women's' arrival. Helena tried not to stare back, but, one of the pairs of eyes that had been glued to her and her Nordic looking companion had her frozen on the spot. She felt as if she were a small mouse, staring into the eyes of the serpent as it was about to coil itself around her, crushing her internal organs so it can swallow her whole. It gave her a feeling of vulnerability that she did not appreciate.
A cool hand on her elbow mercifully broke the trance. She let her eyes dart away from the snake to her angelic friend. The look of concern and apprehension in her blue eyes wasn't missed by the red-head. In fact, it was shared.
How could one random man spark a reaction so strong out of them just by a look? It was obvious to them that he was one to stay away from, even if they only planned to be in the barroom for just a few minutes. This was a man who could do some serious damage in such a small time frame. Long, ever lasting damage.
Helena let herself be pulled gently to the bar. Once there, the two women shrugged off their wet coats and ignored the inquisitive/coveting eyes of the bar patrons.
The bartender appeared in front of them, with the first welcoming smile they had received since landing on the planet. Helena was immediately fond of the older man. She returned his smile with warmth.
", What can I get for you two strangers?" He said.
The ginger responded first," Cape Cod, for me, Mister. Hopefully we won't be strangers to this town for long".
", Rum and coke, for me. Cozy place, you have here. We're lucky we found it, or, we'd still be wandering about town in that monsoon, out there," Julia stated.
The bartender went about getting their drinks," Ah, so, where are you two from? We get all kinds of wanderers, but, not too many migrants," He said, handing the Nordic beauty her drink.
She sipped it daintily, making Helena want to giggle at her 'proper lady' act. ", Oh, all around. We don't really stay in one place for too long; so, we can't really delegate one single place as where we're from. Only where we want to be at that current moment," Helena answered. ", Right, now we're kind of just scoping out real estate opportunities. I'm looking to open a medical clinic around here".
The bartender smiled and handed her her own drink," Well, that's great timing. Our old doctor skipped town last month. We need a new doctor around these parts. I'm sure you two have a few stories tell. Seeing as you've been to so many places. Meeting all kinds of folks. That my favorite part of owning this bar. All the stories".
Now, Helena really liked the guy. He was one of those old souls, always smiling and offering a friendly face. Even to strangers like her.
", We have our share of stories, alright. Everywhere we seem to go, this one manages to get herself in trouble," The blue-eyed woman answered.
Helen chuckled, her own green eyes laughing at the many good times they shared, roaming the galaxy. ", You seem to be forgetting all the times I've saved your hide, Julia,"
", You mean the times where I was in danger trying to save you in the first place?" She tossed back, smiling.
", All for a good cause, Julia, all for a good cause," Helen waved her friend off.
", Yeah, well, your good causes always end up coming back to bite me," She smiled a half-smile.
", It was just one time! That kid was on the brink of starvation, of course, he was going to try to take a bite out of the first good-looking thing he sees," Helen took a swig of her drink. ", What about that one time, remember? Before the war? You wanted to go to Callisto to see if there really weren't any women there," Helen reminded.
Julia shut her eyes in shame", Dear, god, don't remind me," They turned towards the bartender.
", Sir, if you really want to hear a good story, you should listen up, cuz' this one's a riot," Helen informed.
The man leaned down on the bar on his forearms. ", Two pretty women on Callisto? Now, that's pretty...daring,"
Helen waved him off," Sir, you can say it was stupid. Queen of the blue balls over here has long accepted the idiocy of her decision, and, has moved on to thinking through her actions. See, we were just sixteen, and we were out on our own. I had just enlisted in the military and was set to be leaving for basic training in a month,''
Julia had gained a sad look in her eyes at the memory of her oldest friend leaving for war. ", It was going to be the longest time we had ever been apart since we met, so, I proposed we take a vacation. More, like a road trip, so to say,"
", I wanted to go to Ganymede, but, Nope. Not enough danger, she says. No" real excitement", she says".
Julia giggled," We had been to Venus, and I thought it seemed way too similar. The chances of Helen not coming back from war were too high for us to just sunbathe on a beach. I wanted one last ride. One last great adventure to tell my grand-kids, and I'd heard stories about the lawless nature of the land. I thought, 'This is it!'," She hid her face in her hands briefly laughing at herself.
", My stupid ass agreed with her, so, we took my spacecraft and took off," Helen said.
", When we got there, it was as if the citizens could smell the higher level of estrogen in the air. Right off the bat, we were surrounded by a welcoming committee of every lowlife you can think of. Drug dealers, pimps, gangs, the occasional lawyer," Julia laughed.
Helena was laughing, as well," All of them were just, so predictable".
", 'Hey, baby, want to go to a bar?'".
", 'Hey, baby, you lost? Me and my pals can help you out if you just come with us to our abandoned warehouse. Yeah, it's cool, just fifty miles out in the wilderness, where no one can hear you scream'".
", 'Hey, baby, I can see you're a Doctor, amiright? I got this bite somewhere in my pants. Maybe you can rub the puss out'" Julia was dying from the memory.
Helena hung her head laughing.
", It took some small talk and the threat of castration, but, we made it out of there and we ended up in this jazz bar,'' Julia continued.
Helena tuned out the story, feeling eyes burning a hole in her back. She had a good feeling it was snake eyes from earlier, but, she didn't lift her head to acknowledge him. There was something eerily familiar about him, though. Maybe, from the war?
The thick, howling laughter of their bartender brought Helena out of her thoughts. She perked her head up to smile at her friend, who, despite also laughing, was giving her, an understanding look.
Her misty blue eyes were trained on the gray haired man staring at her friend. She didn't like the way he looked at Helen expectantly. It gave her the feeling of a butcher staring down at the still living animal he was about to slaughter, knife upraised and about to strike.
", Is he still staring?" Helen asked lips at the mouth of her glass.
She nodded slightly," I think it's about time we hit the road again. What do you say?"
", Yup, I'm ready to find our inn and crash," Helen said as she stood up and stretched her arms above her head.
They gathered their things and bid goodnight to the humble bartender.
", Goodnight, Ladies. You'll have to stop by again, sometime, if you're still in town," The kind man said, waving.
Julia smiled," We will".
The two donned their coats and stepped towards the door.
", To think after all we've been through, you're going to see me and not even say 'hello'?''