"I guess I feel kinda stupid- talking to an empty ship. Jet's gone to see if he can find Spike, but I'll be gone before he gets back...

When I was young.. I always dreamed of a happy ending.. for myself. Just like in the fairy-tales. I was selfish, I was young. I wanted my own Prince Charming, to sweep me off my feet..

I was happy, as a child. My parents were rich, hard-working, kind. They were good people. They loved me, and I loved them. I went to a school I liked, got good grades, had tons of friends. I was all set, for life. Everyone knew I was going to a great college, and eventually getting a good job. And starting my own family..

When I got older, I understood that I wouldn't get a Prince. But I wished for my own Mr. Right. A man who would understand me, accept me for who I was..

Then, the accident occured. I woke up with no knowledge of who, or even WHAT I was. The world around me had changed SO much..

I woke up from a wonderful dream to find out that my reality was a terrible nightmere. I owed millions of woolongs. A currency I didn't even know about..

The first man I trusted, he betrayed me. Abandoned me, leaving me with even more debts than before. I was alone.. possibly for the first time in my life. But definately not the last..

Do you know what that feels like? I suppose you don't. I had to adjust to a whole new way of life. It was like moving in with Martians. Scratch that, it WAS moving in with Martians..

I became Poker Alice, the Queen of Hearts. Learned a few tricks, hanging around casinos.. I didn't remember it then, but I know now why they've always appealed so much to me..

I was 14 the first time I went to Vegas. My father was on a buisness trip there, and he brought me along. I was too young to gamble, but I still fell in love with it. The sights, the sounds, the smells. Somehow it appealed to me- it still does. A crowd of addicted strangers loosing all their money to the system. Except for those few who learned to beat the system.. Or at least cheat their way around it. My favorite books became 'Bringing Down The House' and 'The Education Of A Poker Player'..

My father understood. He brought me back everytime he went. He taught me all the games, and a couple of tricks. Card-counting, for example. Not cheating, but still helpful. Perfectly legal. Unlike the ones I learned after I woke up..

When I was finally old enough to gamble, I embraced the privledge. I lost some, won more. Lady Luck was with me, then. She abandoned me, though. Women are fickle; I am no better than she..

Before I came here, well, I wasn't doing so well. My gambling debts were just adding to my other ones. I was in trouble..

Then you guys found me.. And I guess you know that part..

But now.. Ed's left, taken that damn mutt with her.. Spike's gone off to die - Hell, he's probably already dead.. I know that girl - Julia - has already been murdered. And I've got my memories back..

I went back, and there was nothing left.. Nowhere to return but here; The Bebop. God damn it, I love this place. We were more than a crew - we were a family. I remember something Sally once told me. About how our group of friends was our own little family..

She said that blood doesn't make family; love does..

Well, damnit, I guess I loved you all, in my own way. We were kinda family.. I like that. 'Kinda Family.' Jet, he was the parent. Spike and I - siblings, I guess. And Ed as our younger sister. And Ein - the family pet..

Shit, we even ACTED like a family.. Constant quarreling between the two of us - Jet breaking us apart..

But now it's all gone. It's all over..

I'm leaving soon, and Jet'll be the same man he was before Spike came..

The vicious cycles we go through..

This isn't the happy fairy-tale ending, it's the harsh truth of reality."

A/N: Just a quickie, to get rid of my writer's block.