"Well, looks like they're almost here for me" Faye said, getting to her feet. She had been sitting on the yellow chair across from Spike. She was wearing a beautiful, satin, red dress that hugged her body tightly with a slit on the side to reveal one leg and the silver high heels made her legs look even longer. She had left her black hair loose, but had curled it so that it fell in soft, loose folds around her face and shoulders. Her make-up was soft and natural. She had to hand it to herself… she looked damned good.

Not that she had put any of this effort for Andy, per se... and it wasn't like she was trying to make Spike jealous or anything, but she wanted him to know that she could look like a million bucks and that respectable men actually found her interesting… not just raunchy old men in seedy bars. So far, however, the giant lug hadn't even paid her much attention. He had sat on the yellow couch, crossed his arms behind his head, crossed on long, skinny leg over the other and closed his eyes… completely ignoring her. The jerk.

"Faye-Faye! You look beeeee-oooo-teeee-fuuuulll" Edward sang happily, staring at her.

"Well thank you Ed. Maybe one of these days I'll show you the art of make-up" Faye said.

Edward ran to the window and pressed her face to the glass. "He's here, he's here! Faye-Faye, Andy is here!" the hacker said excitedly.

Neither of the girls noticed Spike's scowl or the way he tensed up at the mere mention of the name.

"Oh he is? Better let him wait outside for at least five minutes… can't ever have a man know you were waiting for him. Might get to his head and over-inflate his ego. First lesson Ed… always, always leave a man waiting for at least five minutes. They wait for you… you don't ever wait for them" Faye said haughtily.

"What the hell kind of advice is that?" Spike snapped. "Not all women are like you, Faye, don't rot the girl's brain"

Faye ignored him. "Ed, do me a favor and answer the door and tell him I'll be out in a few minutes, will ya?"

Edward nodded excitedly and ran off. After a couple of long minutes, Faye headed for the door. "Ok, he's been waiting long enough… I better get going" she said, taking a deep breath.

"Whatever" Spike said, shrugging his shoulders.

"You're just jealous" Faye said.

"As if" Spike replied nonchalantly. Shaking her head, Faye left the Bebop.

Sure enough, Andy was waiting for her atop his trusty steed, looking as handsome as ever in a black suit.

"You look stunning, my beautiful flower" he said, jumping off the beast. He walked to her and took her hand, kissing it softly.

"Thank you, kind sir. You look very good yourself" Faye said, giving him her best smile. He helped her mount the horse before taking his seat behind her himself.

"I say… between the two of us, we make one good looking couple" he grinned. Ah…. She had almost forgotten how full of himself he could be. She knew he meant well, and he wasn't haughty or anything like that… she guessed having been born to an extremely wealthy family had to have its side effects… and Andy was just the kind of guy who didn't mind giving himself a few compliments here and there. "Shall we go now, fair lady?"

"We shall" she answered. He leaned in and planted a kiss on her lips before urging his horse forward.

"Spikey-Spike… why are you so angry?" Ed asked, coming up behind Spike who had been looking out the window at the pair below.

"I can't stand that guy" he said, clenching his fists. "He's such a moron… how can any woman find him appealing?"

"Is the Spike-person jealous of the Andy-person?"

Spike wheeled around with a dark scowl on his face. "I am not jealous of the likes of him" he snarled. Ed giggled.

"If you say so, Spikey-Spike" the girl said, before throwing herself on the couch.

"Hey Ed… I have an idea" Spike said after a moment. "Why don't we follow Andy and Faye? Just to make sure she's alright, you know? It will be like a secret mission"

Ed perked up immediately. "Spike-person wants to go on a secret mission with Ed? Yeah! What do we do?!" she asked.

"Did Faye happen to tell you where they were going?" Spike asked.

"To the Loony March" Ed said.

"The what?"

"The Loony March!" Ed repeated.

"The loony… oh! Lune de la Mer" Spike said. Of course that dumbass would take her to the fanciest restaurant this side of Ganymede. Fuck. How was he supposed to spy on them there? He paced the lounge for a minute.

"I got it! Edward… run into Faye's room and grab her make-up bag, ok? And do you have any dresses for yourself?"

Ed nodded. "Jet got me some dresses once… I think they still fit-fit" she said.

"Good. Go get dressed and bring the make-up bag ok?"

Ed nodded again and ran away. Spike sighed and sat on the couch again.

After a few minutes, the hacker came back wearing a frilly, pink dress that clashed horribly with her flaming red hair. "Here!" she said, tossing the black, velvet bag at Spike. He unzipped it and nodded. All the make-up in the world was stashed in there.

"Good. Now come here Ed. We gotta get you looking fancy so we can get into that restaurant, ok?"

Ed sat on the metal table in front of Spike and waited patiently. Rummaging through the bag Spike pulled out a few items with no idea what they were for, but the colors were pretty so it would be alright. Grabbing a huge, fluffy brush from the bag, he dabbed the red powder and began to pass the brush over Ed's already rosy cheeks. He did that a couple of times before switching brushes and poking the pink color and dabbing it on her eyelids. Fuck, this was harder than he thought.

"What the fuck is missing?" he asked out loud.

"Lip stick!" Ed offered happily, pouting her lips into a kissy face.

"Oh, right, right… here, this color matches your dress. Hold still…" he said, concentrating on dabbing the pink lipstick on her lips. Eh, he guessed his aim needed a little working on, as he had painted part of her chin and a little under her nose but it would have to do. "Alright. All done. We have to hurry… do you have any shoes or anything?"

"Nope" Ed said cheerfully, jumping off the center table. She ran to the bathroom and Spike heard her shriek with laughter.

"Spikey-Spike! I look like a clown! We're going to the circus!" she chirped, jumping up and down the hallway.

"Well you'd fit right in… you're like a trained seal" he mumbled. "Come here, we have to do something about that hair." He grabbed a rubber-band from Faye's make-up bag and put Ed's hair in a pony-tail atop her head that looked more like a palm tree than anything else. "Good. Let's go"

And with that, they left the Bebop.

Moments later Jet came out of his room, rubbing his face. It was almost dinner time, but nobody had nagged him about it. They had let him sleep in, which was odd. Could they realize that he needed some beauty sleep too?

"Thanks guys… for letting me sleep. I'll get dinner started" he said. There was no reply. "Faye?" he called out. No answer. "Spike?" Nothing. "Edward?" Silence. He walked around the Bebop looking for his crew. "Ein?" Finally, a low whimper from inside the kitchen.

"So they left without saying good-bye, huh? Even Ed. They left us behind like two old dogs, buddy. Those ingrates" Jet grumbled, petting Ein. "Who needs them anyway? We'll stuff our face and watch westerns and drink whiskey without any nagging, old boy…"

"Wow… this is a beautiful view" Faye said with a sigh. It really was. They had been seated in the VIP section of the restaurant, next to a window that gave an amazing view of the ocean and beyond.

"One of the perks of being Andy" he said with a grin. Faye fought the urge to roll her eyes. She wasn't really annoyed with him… she knew him. But she wished she was here with someone else. Someone that, coincidentally, looked a lot like Andy, but whose eyes were mismatched and whose hair was brown and not blond. But that was silly. She should be grateful to Andy for bringing her here. She turned her emerald eyes to him and smiled.

"Must be nice" she said.

"Indeed. Have you thought of what you want?"

"No… not really" she said. She was uncomfortably aware of the social class difference between Andy and herself. She couldn't read half the names on the card. As if sensing her distress, Andy covered her hand with his and gave her a soft smile.

"I have the perfect choices, if you don't mind me making the decision" he said.

"Oh, not at all. I trust you" she said, relief washing over her face.

"Alright" he said and motioned for the server to come over to their table.

"Monsieur, are you ready to order?" the young man asked politely.

"Yes… to start, we'll have Pinot Grigio and Cream of Watercress Soup" Andy said.

"Very good choice, monsieur. I will be right back" the server said and retreated. Moments later he returned with their drink.

By this time, Faye was seriously questioning her choice of accepting Andy's invitation. By her calculations, at this time, the Bebopers would be eating dinner… they had a little money, so it wouldn't be noodles from a cup or Jet's specialty: bells peppers and beef… that somehow never had beef. No, they would probably be eating something else. Maybe even pizza, which was a rare treat, but one that Ed always got away with. That girl had Jet in the palm of her hand… like daughters had fathers.

"Woolong for your thoughts" Andy said.

"I was thinking about kids" Faye said without thinking.

"Kids? Well now, it's a little early in the relationship to start thinking about children, don't you think?" Andy teased.

Faye blushed furiously. "No! I didn't mean I was thinking about having kids with you! I mean, not that there's anything wrong with you or anything, it's just that I don't want kids any time soon, I'm way too young for that!" she explained hastily. Andy laughed.

"Relax, I was kidding" he said as the server filled their wine glasses with white wine. To avoid talking again, Faye downed her wine in one gulp. Andy grinned broadly, taking a sip of his. "Fascinating" he said.

"What? What's fascinating?" she asked, fidgeting with her napkin.

"You. I've never met anyone quite like you, Faye. I say we would make the perfect couple… I mean, we are great in bed already"

Faye blushed again and laughed nervously. Andy wasn't seriously asking her out, was he? And God, did he have to remind her that they had slept together?

"I'm afraid I don't have the time for a serious relationship. I'm a free spirit. Can't be cuffed to one person or one place for long" she lied. That was mostly true. Ever since Whitney, she had sworn off serious relationships, but sometimes, her chicken-shit heart got lonely and she toyed with the idea of a long-term boyfriend. Of course, it would probably never happen…

Just then, the soup arrived and thankful for the interruption of her thoughts, she began to eat. To hell with it.

After many stares from strangers and changing their seats a couple of times, Spike and Ed were sitting near enough to Faye and Andy so that Spike could see them properly, while remaining well hidden himself.

"May I take your order, monsieur?" a server asked politely.

"Uh, not yet" Spike said absentmindedly. With a polite nod, the server retreated. Spike turned to Ed. "I don't have a lot of money so we're not eating here… just choose something small… when all this is done, I'll take you out to eat pizza, what do you say?"

"Alright!" Ed said happily, scanning over the menu card. "I want ice cream!"

Spike called the server over and Ed ordered her ice cream and he ordered a whiskey. "Ugh… what are they eating? Escargots? How can she eat that?" Spike mumbled to himself, peering over at Andy and Faye. To his immense pleasure, Faye looked sick to her stomach and hardly paid attention to Andy who was talking his head off. Good. Served her right, going out with a jerk like that.

Minutes later, the server returned with their order. Ed ate happily, swinging her feet back and forth, ignoring the stares and Spike.

"Shit… Stay here, Ed, I'll be right back" Spike said. Faye had left the table and was heading to the ladies room. Spike followed. He purposefully bumped into her and feigned surprise to see her there.

"Faye?" he asked lazily, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Spike! What the hell are you doing here? Are you following me?" she hissed.

"Why the hell would I follow you?"

"You tell me, you dolt!"

"Listen, missy. I'm not following you. I have a date" he said.

"You? A date? And you came here dressed like that?" Faye scoffed.

"What's it to you how I dress?" he snapped.

"I feel sorry for your date. At least mine is classy" she fumed. Spike grabbed her arm, hard. "Ow, let go of me!"

"So are you that buffoon's girl now?" he asked, pulling her close.

"And if I am?" she snapped. Her heart was hammering in her chest. He had better not kiss her again… she'd punch him in the face if he did. Who did he think he was? She wasn't some random girl he could do what he pleased with and then toss aside.

"Come on Faye… you know you're too much for him" he said, brushing a strand of hair from her eyes.

"How would you know?" she asked quietly, looking up into his mismatched eyes. He stayed silent and ran his thumb across her bottom lip. He loosened his grip on her arm and she pulled away. "Now, if you're done acting like some maniac, I'm going back to my date… you should do the same" she said, taking a deep breath. She stepped into the ladies room, leaving Spike behind.

Faye studied herself in the mirror. She hated the fact that thinking about Spike dating another woman hurt her feelings. It shouldn't and it was highly hypocritical of her as she was on a date with another man. But she couldn't help it.

Bah, she wouldn't let that lunkhead ruin her date. She would enjoy herself, damnit.

She didn't eat anymore escargots. Hell no. She did, however, drink a lot more wine and laughed merrily when Andy asked her to dance. Nobody else was dancing, they were the only couple. It was a little embarrassing but also kind of… freeing. She danced happily and shoved thoughts of dancing with Spike out of her head. Was she insane? She never noticed the lanky man shooting daggers at her and her partner from afar, hiding. When the music stopped, the people around them clapped and cheered for them. They probably thought they were in love and happy. What a load of crap. She really wanted to go home now. She was starving and her feet hurt. Andy led her back to the table.

"Are you enjoying yourself?" he asked.

"Very much" she said. And that was true… but she would be enjoying herself more if he was Spike. What an awful thing to think, but there it was. Andy pulled her closer to him, chair and all. He leaned in close and she licked her lips. He was going to kiss her again. She closed her eyes.

Then she felt herself being lifted into the air and everyone around them gasped. She was thrown over someone's shoulder and the public murmured among themselves, scandalized.

"What the hell?! Spike! Put me down!" she squealed in embarrassment.

"Sorry, Andy… but this one you can't have" she heard Spike say. And then, to her amazement, Andy laughed heartily and didn't protest. Without another word, Spike left the restaurant, carrying her over his shoulder and— was that Ed?—following behind them.

"Spike, put me down! Are you some kind of caveman?!" Faye squealed, beating her fists into his back.

He didn't answer.

"Spike, put me down, you Neanderthal!" Faye shrieked, kicking her legs.

Finally, Spike put her down and grinned goofily at her. "Hungry?" he asked.

"What? How can you act like nothing happened? Like you didn't whisk me away like some troglodyte on a rampage?! What will Andy think? I have to go back and say sorry!" Faye said angrily.

But she wasn't angry… not really. Her heart was hammering in her chest and her belly was alive with butterflies. She was thankful it was nighttime and he couldn't see her blushing or trying to hide the silly grin on her face. "Why did you do that?" she asked as they started walking again.

"Because… Andy is a moron" Spike said lazily.

"Spike-person said we could get pizza… Edward is hungry!" Ed wailed.

"Yeah, we're getting pizza. We can have a nighttime picnic by the beach. Ed, call Jet, will ya?" Spike said, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"Yeah! Pizza!" Ed said happily, running with the communicator in her hands. They watched her dial Jet and heard her telling him that they were eating pizza and he should come to the ocean.

They walked to a pizzeria and Edward ordered for them. Afterwards, they walked back to the beach (Ed balancing the pizza boxes on her head) and sat on the cool sand, staring at the ocean. Not long after, Jet arrived with Ein.

"What the hell is going on? Why are you all dressed up to the nines to eat pizza?" he asked them.

"Sometimes it's just nice to get all fancy to have a picnic" Faye said with a smile as Jet sat next to them and took a slice.

Ed was playing at the water's edge with Ein, picking up seashells by the moonlight.

"Were you planning on selling Ed to the circus or something, Spike?" Jet asked. Faye laughed.

"Hey, I did my best" Spike said with a grin.

Faye sighed contentedly. "I don't know what I'd do without you guys" she said, looking up at the stars.

"Be in trouble, more than likely" Jet said.

"In jail, possibly" Spike added.

"Geez, nice to know you have such confidence in me" Faye grumbled, shoving the last of her pizza slice into her mouth. She got to her feet and pulled Spike and Jet up by the hand. Pulling them behind her, she ran towards Ed who squealed and began to kick water at them, Ein barking excitedly at their feet. Soon, they were all splashing each other and running around, hollering and playing like little kids under the stars.

Jet picked Edward up on his shoulders ran along the water's edge as Ed spread her arms wide and squealed in delight, letting the breeze hit her face; Ein running as fast as his little legs would allow after them.

Spike grabbed Faye from behind and lifting her, began to turn in circles.

"No! Stop, Spike! I'm gonna puke!" she shrieked with laughter. But he wouldn't stop. He slipped and they came crashing to the muddy ground. "My dress!" she said in mock anger. Somewhere in the back ground, Ed was shrieking with laughter because Jet had fallen flat on his face and Ein had sat on his bald head.

But right now it didn't matter because Faye was on top of Spike and he was looking at her like he had never seen her before and she wanted to kiss him. And because Jet and Edward were far away, she did. She kissed Spike because she fucking wanted to and fuck it all. She leaned down and kissed him softly at first. He wrapped one arm around her back and snaked the other around her waist and deepened the kiss. She almost died when his tongue met hers and because she was an idiot, she pulled away.

She scrambled off of him and avoided his eyes. Jet and Ed were making their way back to them. Had they seen? Ah well. Couldn't change a damned thing now… not that she wanted to. It was just a kiss. It meant nothing. In fact, she was willing to bet Jet probably thought they were sleeping together anyway.

"It's a nice evening" Jet said as he and Ed and Ein sat down next to them.

"Yup. Good thing we didn't spend it cooped up in the old Bebop" Spike said.

"Yeah! Edward likes the ocean… and pizza! Thank you, Spikey-Spike!" the hacker said, hugging Spike's arm.

"Don't mention it… thank you, too, Ed" he said, pulling the rubber-band from her pony-tail and ruffling her wild hair.

Faye smiled. She was glad the night had turned out like this. She'd much rather spend the evening with her family than in a fancy restaurant where she felt out of place. And she had even gotten a kiss out of it.