Lonely Jet & Spike's Ghost
Jet wondered around the Bebop looking for something to keep his mind off of the recent events. It had been four days since Spike left and neither he nor Faye had heard anything from him. It was hard not to think the worse, that his partner of three years was dead somewhere. Spike and his future were destroyed for hanging too tightly onto a tragic past. Jet would have never expected someone like Spike to be that concerned with the past, let alone end his life over it. Jet sighed and rubbed his forehead in thought, there was no way Spike could have survived that invasion. He had heard that there were no survivors, they never confirmed Spike or Vicious' bodies, but that doesn't mean they were still alive… They probably killed each other, what a pointless battle… Jet thought to himself.
Jet shook his head trying to rid his mind and think of something else. He needed to concentrate on finding something to do. He had so much time to think now that it was only him and Faye on the ship. Before if he wasn't pursuing a bounty he would usually be cooking, fixing the Swordfish or Red-Tail, sometimes both at a time, or giving Ein a bath. A lot of the time he would watch Ed play in her virtual world in awe and try to make sense of it, or he would entertain himself by listening in on one of Spike's and Faye's arguments. They always seemed to amaze him, but now it was just….quite.
No barking, bickering, or keyboard strokes. His ship was still and docile, and surprisingly he didn't really care for it. He had gotten so used to the commotion from his comrades all throughout the Bebop, that now it seemed…lifeless. It was kind of eerie in a way; the silence consumed the narrow hallways and empty rooms. He would catch himself calling out to his comrades for dinner but right as sound came creeping up his throat and out of his mouth he would remember that they weren't here anymore. He would eat his dinner by himself; maybe Faye would come and take a plate back to her room. She wouldn't say a word though, and he would be in the same position he was before. Not a thing to do, nor anybody to talk to, to keep his mind off things.
He had always imagined a peaceful ship where he would have plenty of time to himself, but thinking back on it now he wondered how his mind could have changed so drastically. He tried to tell himself that he should be grateful not having to put up with them, that he didn't care they were gone but that didn't seem to be the case. Sure peace and quite would have been great, but it was nothing compared to his friend's companionship. He still had his bonsai trees, which normally took him two hours to water and trim but without being interrupted by Spike, Faye, and Ed it only took thirty minutes. His bonsai trees were relaxing but what he really craved was some racket. He sighed and made his way to the yellow couch in the common room and turned on the TV. Perhaps there was a bounty worth while he could check out.
He decided to go after a John Doe worth 8 million woolongs, a bounty on his head for murder; several of them. The information he received was very vague, no picture or name. All he knew was that this kid was in his late twenties and liked to kill women. After making a few calls Jet found out that the John Doe usually became close friends with the women, rape them and then kill them. Jet was pretty set on this bounty he knew it would take some time and thought, which was just what he needed. He grabbed a few things and headed to Faye's room. He doubted she felt like going with him on this one but it never hurt to ask. She was surprisingly pretty good at catching bounties now that Spike wasn't around to throw her off. Those two spent more time arguing with each other than concentrating on capturing the bounty. He chuckled to himself remembering the times Faye and Spike went looking for bounties together; they always managed to piss him off. At least he could laugh about it now though.
Jet approached her room and knocked, but there was no answer. He opened the door and looked in but no Faye. He only noticed empty beer cans, empty packs of cigarettes, and lacey undergarments overflowing in her room. He pinked a bit in the face as he examined the numerous pairs of panties and bras and found himself picking out the ones he liked best in his mind. He shook his head embarrassed with himself, and turned to leave before he noticed a photo of the Bebop crew shoved into the wooden framing of her mirror.
Ed had taken the photo; her arm was stretched out as she held the camera and directed it towards herself and them. It was Ed, Jet, Spike, Faye and Ein all in the common room. Jet was sitting on the couch next to Spike his arm propped up and Ein in his lap. Faye's knees were on the couch and she was leaning forward with her elbows on the coffee table, he butt in the air and surprised look on her face. Spike was in between Jet and Faye, a grin on his face and his arm blurry from motion as he smacked Faye hard on the butt cheek closest to him. Jet chuckled to himself thinking back to that day, they had all been in a playful mood after finally catching a good paying bounty.
Jet left her room with lingering thoughts of the photo in his head, and made his way toward the bridge of the ship where he could sometimes find her. Sure enough there was Faye staring out into the vast space around them. He hid himself next to a wall and watched her as she stood there taking long drags off her cigarette.
Faye was like a ghost now, he barely saw her and when he did she didn't speak. He would give her an awkward smile and watch as she walked by with a blank look on her face. Occasionally he would catch her off guard looking out the observation window, like she was now, with a scroll or sad look on her face. But for the most part she had no expression at all.
Hell, they both missed Spike and Ed, Ein too. But what could he do about it? Spike was most likely dead and God only knows where Ed went off too. Probably off to her dead beat of a father. Jet balled his fist together in anger, he was a better father figure to Ed than that jerk! And Spike, running off and getting killed leaving him with numerous unpaid Swordfish bills. Faye only stayed around because she had no place to go, what did he even mean to her? Jet couldn't understand why he was feeling like this, one minute he felt betrayed by his old comrades, and the next he missed them dearly. He shook his head baffled and confused by his own emotions.
He heard a whimper from Faye and he looked up, bringing himself back into reality. He had been lost in thought and forgotten he had been spying on her. He blinked a few times thinking he was hearing things when he heard her sniffle again. Was she…crying? She turned around and walked up to him, she must have known he was there the whole time. He couldn't tell if she was going to hug him or smack him, with Faye there was no telling what she would do. He watched her and was very confused as she wrapped her arms around his waist and held him tightly against her. Her body was trembling and she began to sob, something Jet had never seen before, and didn't ever want to. She burrowed her face in his shoulder and her warm tears, that had been held for too long, drenched his shirt. He lifted his good arm across her back and pulled her closer and laid his chin on her head. Her hair smelled like shampoo and cigarette smoke.
"He's dead Jet! He left and got himself killed without even thinkin' about how we would feel that-that stupid selfish jerk!" She trembled in his arms and gripped onto his shirt so tight that he thought the fabric would tear. He never thought Faye to be fragile until now, she had always seemed so tuff and in control of herself. But now here she was, tomboy Faye Valentine, sobbing into his chest.
They stayed like that for awhile until Faye slowly backed away from him, her head held low. Her hair covered her face so he couldn't see her expression. She didn't want him to see the red eyes and blotchy cheeks that their comrade and caused her. She murmured something under her breath and walked off leaving him by himself with a wet shirt.
Faye blew the hair out of her eyes and sat down on the edge of the tub. She lit a cigarette and ran her fingers through the hot soapy water she had just filled the tub with. She smoked until the water was cool enough to get in and undressed. She slid into the tub and closed her tired eyes as she soaked in the warm water. She lit another cigarette and grabbed a book off the floor, drops of water and soap dripped the book wetting the pages. She held her cigarette in one had and the book in the other as she tried to read it. She ended up reading the same line twice and after she finally finished a page she couldn't remember what she had read. She found her self continuing to look at Spike's toothbrush, still and untouched by the sink. She threw the wet book across the room and sunk deeper into the tub. She fell into a daze staring at droplets of water dripping from faucet and rippling the bath water.
She felt exposed letting herself cry in front Jet, she regretted it immediately. But she just couldn't hold it in anymore, she was miserable and needed comfort. She couldn't hold in her feelings all the time or else she'd be just like those lousy lunkheaded men.
Her mind ran nonstop as she soaked in the tub until she started to hear some odd noises somewhere from down the hall. She sat up to listen better, it sounded like something was being dragged against the walls. She was curious but figured it was probably Jet up to something. She kept staring at the door of the bathroom as the sound got louder and closer. She jumped as something slammed against the door.
"Jet, what the hell are you doing?" She hissed; her eyes fixed on the door knob.
The door swung open and she fell into complete shock. She was speechless and unmoving as she looked up at her bloodied and bruised, green haired ex-partner. He collapsed and held onto the edge of the tub staring at Faye.
"You got a smoke?" Spike asked.
She wasn't sure if she should hug him or smack him. She was almost certain he was dead; it had been four days with not so much of a word from him. But here he was, covered with dried blood and dirt and barely alive. Did he come back as a ghost to haunt her? She shivered at the thought but knew it was silly.
Seeing him in front of her now she felt embarrassed and foolish for getting so upset thinking he was dead. Before it seemed like four days was a long time, but now it seemed too short. What had she been thinking? Her heart pounded in her chest and she felt so many emotions all at once she thought her head would explode.
"Faye," He said coughing up a bit of blood. Her eye twitched and her hand come up out of the water she smacked him hard across the check. He fell over and there was a loud thud and then silence.
"Spike?" She leaned over the tub a bit concerned that he hadn't reacted at all. Usually he would groan and call her some obscene name. She became worried and said his name again but he still didn't move. She noticed that his breathing was uneven and slowing.
"This is bullshit Spike!" She hurried out of the tub, water tumbling from her nude body onto the floor and him soaking his clothes. She turned him over and shook him but there was still no response, he was unconscious and struggling to breath. She grabbed a hold of his side and grunted and moaned as she lifted him into the tub. He winched and hissed in pain, which was a good sign, he wasn't dead at least. She grabbed her towel and wrapped it around herself and stepped into the tub careful not to hurt him. She felt his pulse and watched him closely to see if his breathing got any better.
Eventually it evened out a bit, and she took the edge of her towel, which was now drenched, and wiped the dirt and blood off of his face. His body began to seize up and he grunted in pain. His hand came up and he grabbed onto her arm very tightly.
"Spike you're hurting me!" She gasped, surprised by his sudden action. His eyes stayed closed and his grip on her arm loosened. His face instantly paled and she noticed he had stopped breathing. Shit she thought he was starting to get better how did this happen?
"Oh shit, oh shit," She splashed water on his face but he just continued to get paler, almost blue. She looked around her almost as if she was looking for someone to help her. She wasn't any good in these kinds of situations. She panicked and shook him but nothing seemed to work. She leaned forward and with much desperation, placed her lips on his. She held his head back and blew air into his mouth hoping it would reach his lungs. She pushed her hands hard against his chest and then breathed more air into him. She began to taste blood and noticed he was coughing up blood into her mouth and she quickly backed away. She spit his blood out of her mouth and watched worriedly as he began to cough nonstop and then eventually he opened his eyes, barely.
"….Damn…. His voice was dry and raspy and his face full of discomfort.
Faye rolled her eyes and fell back into the tub with relief. Her body was shaking from the sudden attack of emotions she was feeling, she wasn't used to feeling this many things all at once. She was mental exhausted and just wanted to get away from him and the mess he brought with him but she knew he still needed her. He owed her big time for this, and she would enjoy holding it over his head for as long as his other lives lasted.
She took a hold of her towel and began dabbing his forehead again, her hands were shaking really bad. He lifted his own hand and placed it on hers, stopping the shaking. She looked at him a bit confused but he just kept his eyes closed.
She stared at him for awhile cleaning dirt out of the cuts and scrapes on his body until he passed out, either from exhaustion or pain probably both. She pressed her head against his chest just to make sure there was a heartbeat, thankful there was. She noticed several gashes through his clothes and probably well into his skin. She unbuttoned his yellow shirt and bit her lip examining the deep and opened wounds across his chest and shoulder. He had definitely fought with Vicious, and Vicious had left him quite the reminder of it.
She got out of the tub and rummaged through the cabinet above the sink until she found enough bandages to at least cover the wounds. She lit a cigarette and carefully balanced it between her lips and fingers as she let the dirty water of the tub. When it was empty she stepped back in and got comfortable. She tore the thick bandages with her teeth, put ointment on his wounds and covered the bloody gashes on his chest after making sure they were clean. By the time she finished she was so fatigued and weary she could barely get herself out of the tub, and she sure as hell wasn't carrying him back to his room.
She left him in the tub and hurried to her room. She called for Jet as she dressed and grabbed a pillow and blanket off of her bed but there was no response. She was too tired to call his name anymore and didn't feel like looking for him so she just assumed he went out.
"Of course he'd be out at a time like this…" She huffed and puffed as she made her way back to the bathroom. She carefully placed the pillow behind Spike's head and covered him with the blanket. She left two of her cigarettes and a lighter on the edge of the tub. She picked hers and his dirty clothes off the floor, turned off the light, and closed the door behind her.
-Hi there! I hope I caught you guys' interest and I hope you will continue to read & review. If you notice any mistakes, which there will be some because I don't have anyone to proof read my work, please let me know so I can fix it. If you love or hate this chapter leave me a review and let me know, we all love feedback. Thanks!-