Ice cubes clinked as they swirled around in depths of sweet amber relaxation. A soulful blues tune played softly in the background. Jet Black sighed happily to himself as he kicked his feet up on the coffee table from his perch on the beat up mustard couch of the Bebop. Relaxation and self preservation were something seldom found on the old fishing ship, and he was going to enjoy it for all that it was. The only other sound in the room was the soft tapping of a keyboard as Ed did god only knows what on her computer, and the soft snoring of Ein, curled up on the floor. Lighting up a cigar, Jet took a healthy puff. Now this was the life.

In the three month since Spike and Faye had become an item, things were a lot more quiet, and a lot more awkward. Their fights were far and few between, save for a few barbs exchanged here and there, never anything beyond trying to get a rise out of each other. But the awkwardness was something Jet had yet to wrap his brain around. The occasional exchange of "I love you" and the sparse kisses here and there, had the older man feeling a bit like a voyeur. Taking another sip, Jet let his balding head lean back against the couch, reveling in his current personal oasis. Unfortunately as the old adage goes, nothing gold can stay. As if on cue, the sound of the main hatch opening, accompanied by muffled yelling, soon met his ears. It didn't take a genius to recognize who the voices belonged too, especially as they entered the common room.

"No! This is your fault! If you hadn't been staring at that servers ass he wouldn't have gotten away! Do you ever think with anything besides your dick!?"

"Oh come off it Faye! If you hadn't been trying to get another drink you would have seen him leave!"

Jet set his scotch down, as he watched Spike and Faye enter the room, seemingly oblivious to his presence as they continued their argument, standing right in front of him. From what he had gathered, they had lost the bounty.

"How is that my fault!? You are mister big shot bounty hunter. You should have been paying attention to him, not some slutty waitress!"

"Wow….Jealous much Faye?"

The two of them headed down the hall way still yelling at one another, Jet heard the door to Spike's room slam shut, though it appeared that both of them had entered. Downing the rest of his glass, Jet set it down on the table, still able to hear muffled yelling. He had about enough of this, if there was one thing worse than listening to Spike and Faye fight, it was having the misfortune of being with in ear shot when they decided to make up. Groaning, Jet got up and headed for his room.

Loosening his tie, Spike began to unbutton his shirt, sitting down on the edge the bed. "Seriously Faye, I mean were both at fucking fault if you really think about it."

Faye stood across from him, arms crossed at her chest. " I was trying to keep an eye on the bounty, I mean shit, we need money, but you'd rather ogle at some brain dead bar whore…I mean seriously Spike…."

At this point Spike had tuned out Faye, letting her just run her mouth and vent out her anger. Spike felt that if he had really been listening to her, he might have been half tempted to reach out and slap her. Removing his shirt, Spike sighed leaning against the wall. "God damn Faye, could you just shut up for a moment. I swear sometimes I think things would be so much easier sometimes if you were more like Ju…l…" Spike had tried to stop himself from finishing his sentence, but the damage was done. He immediately regretted his words.

Faye stopped her ranting, staring blankly at Spike, her mouth slightly agape. "So….So that's how it is? I see what this is now…"

"Faye…I didn't meant it like that."

Faye leaned back against the door. "No….I am pretty sure I know what you meant. I should have known this was too good to be true. I shouldn't have been stupid enough to think that I wasn't just a replacement. A replacement that couldn't live up to a standard of perfection…Jesus I am so stupid"

Spike got up off the bed, standing at the edge, not sure what to do with himself. "Faye…really that's not what I meant…I mean I know what I said but…. Besides, she wasn't perfect….."

Faye immediately cut him off, her emerald eyes clouded with anger. "Your just digging yourself deeper. I know what you meant by that Spike. I mean maybe I should dye my hair blonde….and fuck Jet just for good measure. Then perhaps I could live up to the bar set by that whore." Faye knew that Julia wasn't really much of a whore….more like a woman who was stuck between a rock and a hard place, but at this point she was hurt, and wanted to return the same with her words. "Oh…wait, I forgot, she was fucking perfect, at least compared to me, I am the whore….or at least according to you , is that right Spike?"

Spike cringed slightly. He had to admit, he had called her a whore on a few occasions during a fight, though he knew that was far from the truth. Closing in on her, he gripped her shoulders. "Could you just shut the fuck up for a minute!" Locking his eyes on hers for a split second, he leaned down, kissing her hard, pressing his body against her.

Faye shoved him back, slapping him across the face, with a solid connection of palm against cheek. "Get the fuck off me Spike!" Her hands were clenched so tightly at her sides now that they almost trembled. "I don't know what the hell I was thinking, this is all wrong. We can't be together, not now, not ever. We're just too damn dysfunctional for a relationship."

Reaching a hand out to rest on her shoulder, Spike quickly pulled it back as an after thought. "Come on Faye, you don't mean that. Don't say things like that."

"I know what I mean Spike. And obviously you know what you want, and its not me."

Sighing, Spike shoved his hands in his pockets. "You know that's a lie Faye. You know I love you."

Faye closed her eyes and shook her head. " You don't have to force yourself Spike. I know its hard to get over someone you love, you don't have to pretend anymore. I get it. Really I do. That's why I am going to be the adult here and walk away. I'm done with this, done with this ship, and I am done with you." Desperately she tried to keep her voice steady as she reached for the door knob.

Spike moved in on her once more. "Seriously Faye…where the hell are you going to go?"

A defiant look flashed in her eyes, as Faye straightened up. "You…You are such an insufferable asshole Spike! Do you really think I need you, or this ship to be happy!?" What Faye hadn't told Spike is that a month ago she had received an email from a relative, a second cousin, and only living relative. The woman's name was Katie, and she was Faye's cousins daughter on her mothers side. She had invited Faye to come stay with her and her husband, so they could get to know one and another, as each others only remaining relatives. She wasn't sure why she had kept it a secret from Spike, since they had become much more open with each other, but she had been contemplating it, and this was all the more reason to accept the invite.

Spike clenched his fist at his side. He had never hit a woman before, though Faye was seriously at this point making him strongly reconsider. Reaching past her, he opened the door, his eyes burning with anger. "Get out Faye."

The cold tone in Spike's voice was enough of a hint for Faye to make her self scarce. Stepping out through the door, she headed for her own room with out a word, though she was half tempted to lay into him once more.

Slamming his door shut, Spike undressed the rest of the way and flopped angrily on his bed in his boxers.

Blue, who had been hiding under the bed during the heated exchange, jumped on the bed, curling up on top of Spike's head. Spike was reminded of VT's cat Zeros for a moment. Maybe it's a cat thing. Chuckling dryly to himself, Spike reached up to stroke the ever growing kitten's back. "You're mom sure can be real bitch buddy." Flipping off the light, Spike slowly drifted into a restless sleep.

The next morning Spike groggily drug himself out of bed. The angry little red numbers on the alarm clock read 9am. In a half awake state he pulled on a pair of sweats and a t shirt. Though he had slept through the night, he was fighting a head ache much like one someone gets from too little sleep. Stumbling out of his room, he sighed heavily, as his fight with Faye quickly invaded his slowly waking mind.

After a pit stop at the bath room, he headed down the hall, pausing at Faye's door, with the intention of trying to apologize once more, and if he played his cards right, maybe enjoy a little make up sex. Knocking gently, he pressed his ear to the door. "Faye….you awake in there?" With no answer, he slowly opened the door, and entered her room, shutting the door quietly behind him. Though it was dark, he immediately knew something was amiss. Flipping on the light, he quickly felt his stomach sink as he surveyed the room, most of Faye's belongings were gone. Sitting down on the bed, he felt the sheets, they were cold as if they hadn't even been slept in.

Letting out a deep sigh, Spike let his head drop, elbows resting on his knees, his long fingers intertwining roughly in his hair. She had proved him wrong, she didn't need their relationship, the Bebop, and certainly not him; but rather than try to prove her wrong, he had been cold and indifferent, true to his nature. Opening his eyes slowly, Spike spotted a small pink box in the waste basket beside Faye's bed. Curiously, he reached down, and picked it up, reading the front. A lump formed in his throat as he realized he was reading a pregnancy test box, swallowing hard, he shook it softly, hearing what he assumed was the test rattling around in the box. His head was swimming, as it suddenly dawned on him what this could mean. There's no way….right? Holding his breath, and with slightly unsteady hands he removed the test from the box, and flipped it over, trying to compare the symbol with the one on the back of the box. Negative. "Thank fucking god" Spike dropped the box back in the waste basket, and flopped back on Faye's bed.

He was sure she would be back in a few days, she just needed time to cool off. It wasn't like she hadn't run off several times since he had known her, and she always came back, just like nothing happened. He didn't want to keep dealing with this run from everything routine, but that was something that they could work on. Shit, I must really love her to put up with this bullshit.

Wrapping his arms around her pillow, he buried his face in it, hoping that it might still smell faintly of her. Spike unfortunately knew better, she hadn't slept in her bed in months. He couldn't help but feel a slight nagging feeling that this time things would be different. Maybe she wouldn't come back this time. Maybe this time he had pushed things a little too far.

He closed his eyes tightly, trying to push the thoughts from his head. Things had to be ok. Didn't they?