The Bebop crew was gathered at the lounging area. They were headed for Earth now instead of Jupiter like they had planned. A certain red-haired hacker had contacted them earlier in the day, asking to see them.
To be honest, Faye never thought she'd see the wild child again. Ed and Ein had left on the same day she had gone looking for her past. By the time Faye realized where her home truly was and returned to the Bebop, Ed had gone… and Spike was leaving. It had broken her heart to know that two of the most important people in her life (because the Bebopers were important to her, even if she didn't allow herself to show it very often) were gone, never to be seen again. She had trembled from the inside out just thinking about Spike dying and the Bebop family torn apart forever.
Faye shuddered and hugged herself.
She didn't know if she would have been able to handle living with Jet, both of them alone on the ship that had suddenly felt endless, empty, and cold. But, stubborn as they both were, she and Jet had set out right after Spike and found him on the brink of death. The lunkhead had pulled through, and things had gone back to normal… more or less. Now they were on their way to see Ed again; the missing piece was possibly coming back. It was like a family reunion. Faye realized that the one who had suffered the blow of Ed leaving the most had been Jet. He and Ed had grown very fond of each other, and Faye knew Jet thought of the little hacker as a daughter of sorts. And why not? Sure, Jet was the kind of guy that checked out all the "babes" and went out for drinks and a quickie whenever they docked somewhere; he was a man after all. But he was also the type of man who longed to take care of someone; it was in his nature. He had wanted to take care of Alisa, his ex, which ultimately drove her away. He would probably take care of Faye if she wasn't so independent and a pain in the ass for him. And Spike too. Hell, in a way, Jet did take care of her and Spike. He was always getting them out of trouble, fixing their zip crafts, cooking for them… giving his advice whenever possible. He would rip them a new one if they messed up too badly. It was like he longed for a family… and she couldn't blame him, she did too. And she knew Spike and Ed did as well. They were just a bunch of broken people tossed together on the Bebop but they completed each other; a perfectly dysfunctional family. And if Ed returned now, the Bebop would be complete once more.
"Twenty minutes before we reach Earth" Jet called out from the kitchen.
Faye sighed. Spike, like usual, was hogging the yellow couch.
"What are you reading anyway?" she asked him.
"A classic" he said, not taking his eyes off the book.
"What classic?" Faye asked.
"A good one" Spike replied. Faye pursed her lips. He could be so obnoxious sometimes.
"Well scoot over, stop hogging the couch" she said, slapping his boots off the seat. Before she could sit down, however, Spike had returned his long legs to the couch. "Spike! Scoot over!" Faye said.
"No. I was here first" he said, still not taking his eyes off his book. "There's a chair right over there anyway" he added, flipping the page.
"It isn't as comfortable as the couch. It hurts my butt if I sit there for too long" Faye said, tapping her foot.
"Not my problem" Spike said, finally peering at her over the book.
"Fine" Faye said, and with that, she sat on Spike's stomach, crossing one long leg over the other.
"Damn Faye, have you been gaining weight?" Spike gasped, setting his book down.
Faye chose to ignore his question with dignity. She pulled out her nail file and began to work on her nails.
"Come on Faye, get off me" Spike breathed.
"No" she said.
"I said get off woman" Spike said and effortlessly pushed her off him, making her land on her bottom on the cold, metal floor.
"Spike!" she roared.
"That's what you get" he said smugly.
"And this is what you get!" Faye said, punching him in the stomach. It wasn't hard, but Spike doubled over and groaned in apparent agony.
"You witch of a woman!" he gasped. He was faking it, she knew, but it still gave her a sense of satisfaction.
"Entering Earth's orbit now" Jet said as he came to sit in front of the Bebop's controls. The familiar turbulence as they entered Earth's atmosphere began to shake the ship slightly. Minutes later they had entered planet earth and were cruising across the blue sky.
"She said she'd be where we first found her" Jet said. Faye got to her feet and went to look out the window.
"Remember when we first met her? She was like a wild animal" she said, remember the crazy red-haired child.
"Yup. And she hacked into the Bebop because you didn't want to keep your promise" Spike said, standing next to her. Faye glared at him.
"Good thing we accepted her into our crew," Jet added, coming to stand at Faye's other side, "we caught more bounties with her help than ever before. Chalk it up to one good idea from Faye"
"Ha ha, so funny" Faye said, glaring at Jet too, but she smiled ruefully nonetheless. The communicator came alive with white noise.
"Bebop! Over here! Bebop! I see you! Over here, over here!" said Ed's sweet voice. Jet, Spike and Faye pressed their noses against the window, trying to locate the girl.
Sure enough, she was atop the rocky cliff, Ein running in circles around her. She was waving at them with her long, skinny arm, the Tomato on her head.
"There she is" Spike said.
"Wow, she looks different" Faye stated. Slowly, the Bebop came to a halt at the rocky beach.
"Well, it's been a year since we last saw her, of course she's going to be a little different" Jet said. And she was different. A little, anyway. She was a little taller than the last time they had seen her, and her hair was a little longer… it brushed her shoulders ever so slightly, though it was still as unruly as ever. Gone was the sleeveless, white shirt; replaced by an oversized, plain grey tee. Her black spandex shorts where gone too, and now she wore black leggings. At least she was still barefoot and she still wore her goggles atop her head.
"Yay! Bebop is here! They came for Edward and Ein!" the wild child squealed in delight as the crew stepped out of the ship. She jumped on to Jet, wrapping her skinny arms around his neck. "Jet-person!" She then jumped onto Spike's back, wrapping her arms and legs around his torso. "Spike-person!" Then she jumped off Spike and hugged Faye's smooth leg, rubbing her cheek on it. "Faye-Faye!" All the while Ein was barking happily around them. "Ed and Ein missed you very much!" she said.
"Ed, where's your father?" Jet asked.
"The father-person is still chasing falling stars. He forgot Edward again, but that's ok. Edward… Edward wants to stay with the Bebop, right Ein?"
The data dog barked once in agreement.
"Won't your father mind, though?" Faye asked. Edward shook her head.
"Nope. He forgot Ed again. He likes chasing stars but Ed is tired of chasing stars. The father-person knows how to contact Ed if he needs anything anyway" Ed said.
"Well, if you're sure…" Jet said, scratching his head.
"Yeah!" Ed said happily, and waving her skinny arms in the air, she ran inside the Bebop.
"We better get going then. We'll refill here on earth and then head to Jupiter. If we have any luck, we may still be able to catch our bounty" Jet said.
"Alright… let's get to it then" Spike said, shoving his hands in his pockets. He looked up at the Bebop and smiled as the tiny pinwheel that he and Jet had attached to the ship glinted in the sun.
She ran her fingers through his now raven-black hair. He had his arms wrapped around her slender waist, face pressed between her breasts. His hair was still damp, little beads of water falling from the tips.
"You look good with black hair" she murmured. She pulled away from him and cupped his face in her hand. "I missed you"
"And I you" he said, his silver eyes boring into hers. She bent down to kiss his lips.
With one swift movement, he scooped her up in his arms and she wrapped her legs around his waist. He placed her gently on the bed and pushed her pencil skirt up as far as it would go. He began to unbutton her silk blouse, trailing kisses down her neck.
She whimpered as he removed her blouse.
"Johanna" he breathed, burying his face against her long, red hair.
"Nemesis, take me now" she demanded. He growled deep in his throat, more than happy to oblige…
Later, as they lay in bed, Johanna stared at the ceiling. He was sleeping peacefully next to her, and he looked so innocent. But she knew the truth. This was a dangerous man; a cold blooded killer. He could kill her in an instant if he so wished and she knew he probably wouldn't regret it. She wondered how on earth she had fallen in love with a ruthless murderer and then smiled to herself. Well, she was exactly the same, wasn't she? Birds of a feather stick together and all that. She could kill him right here, right now and he'd never know what had happened. But she wouldn't. She feared him, but she also respected him. And she loved him, too. No, she wouldn't kill him… all she could do was hope that maybe one day they would leave all this behind and disappear into the stars, never looking back.
"You know my rules, Alfonso. No women, no children" the tall man said in a deep, slow voice. He wore black; black cargo pants, black military boots, a black bulletproof vest over a simple, black knit sweater. He wore a black beanie over his brown hair.
"But Ramesses, you know this job is worth a pretty woolong! Thirty five million for his head alone! You can't give up on it now!" Alfonso said.
"No women, no children, no exceptions. This car the target will be riding in will be full of women and children. I do not accept the job… besides, that's only ten million more woolongs than I usually ask for" Ramesses said.
Just then, the waiter arrived with their food. Ramesses began to eat with gusto.
"Damn it Ramesses, why can't you just do the damned job?!" Alfonso raged as he forked spaghetti into his mouth.
"I won't take the lives of innocents" the man answered.
"Fine. And if we set him up in a place devoid of women and children?" Alfonso asked, looking at Ramesses hopefully.
"If he's alone with his cronies, I'll be more than happy to help" he said, taking a long drink from his glass of water. Alfonso's face broke into a wide grin.
"That's my boy! I'll have him ready. I'll have the details in two days… should I call you?" the fat man asked.
"No. I'll call you" Ramesses said, throwing a few woolongs on the table. "As always, great food you have here, Alfonso" he said as he began to walk away.
"Ramesses… just get the job done before any cowboys catch him. He's worth more dead than alive" Alfonso said to the man's retreating back. Ramesses waved a hand in acknowledgement and was soon out of sight.
A/N: First, I want to thank you all for your reviews! It makes me happy that I am making a fic that keeps you all entertained.
I hope you enjoy this chapter and the new characters that were introduced! Also... I'm not sure how you feel about lemons so I didn't go into any details, but let me know if it's something you are comfortable with or if I should just leave it as hints lol.
