Disclaimer:          I don't own cowboy bebop or any of the characters. Please don't sue me as I have no money. I also don't own with you which is a song by Linkin Park.

A/N:    sorry this took so long, it was hard to get started. I'm in need of a beta reader as my current one is bogged down with uni exams and I don't want to mess up her degree. If you're interested and don't mind wading through the crap that makes up my rough drafts please email me. My address is diggieman@hotmail.com. Ok, enjoy the story and please review. Thanks!

I woke up in a dream today

To the cold of the static

And put my cold feet on the floor

Forgot all about yesterday

Remembering I'm pretending to be where I'm not anymore

A little taste of hypocrisy

And I'm left in the wake of the mistake

Slow to react

Even though you're so close to me

You're still so distant

And I can't bring you back

                                ~With you

Whirrr…whirrr…whirrr…

It was strange; the way life moved in circles, always coming back to the same point, the same place, the same confusion. Spike had been staring at the ceiling between periods of fitful dreamless sleep since getting back to the bebop last night. Despite the many unanswered questions that were clamouring for some sort of response from Jet, nothing had been said. The silence that had hung between them on the trip back to the bebop had been heavy with memories of the past and words best left unspoken. Spike knew he had been too preoccupied with the revelation that it had been Faye at the massage parlour to give thought to everything else that had transpired. But now, staring at the fan as it slowly rotated round and round with its familiar electrical whirring, he was confused about the hostility that had existed between Jet and Faye. Whatever caused it must have taken place during the long months he spent recuperating in hospital. Certainly Faye was long gone by the time Jet had arrived at his bedside that day. He'd never really thought about it, just assumed Faye had disappeared again and had yet to reappear in need of food and lodgings. But there was something more to it than that, that much was apparent.

Whirrr…whirrr…whirrr…

The problem was, Jet wasn't talking. He wasn't doing much of anything. He'd locked himself in his room, no doubt taking out his frustrations on those bonsai trees. He'd barely even glanced at Spike, just made some gruff noise in the back of his throat when Spike asked what happened next. Ed had kept herself firmly immersed in whatever it was she was doing on Tomato, dealing with the tension by ignoring it. She was hiding in the electronic wasteland, preferring random strings of data to the silence the surrounded her. Spike hadn't heard any of her usual chirpings. Even Ein seemed out of sorts as he slouched about the bebop, forsaking his favourite spot by the phone in favour of one next to Ed. The past loomed over the ship like a thick fog.

Whirrr…whirrr…whirrr…

Spike lit a cigarette and watched as the smoke drifted idly towards the ceiling, tendrils curling and twisting in the air. A memory stirred, one from four months ago. A different room. A different ceiling. Spike had been staring at the ceiling, wondering what he was going to do with his life, when a plume of smoke had drifted past him. Painfully, he'd turned to see Jet there, a small smile playing about his face as he informed Spike he had a vacancy for a partner and was he interested? Seemed like the last one had got himself killed over a woman.

Four months, everything seemed to be coming back to then. What was so special about four months ago? Spike frowned and stubbed out the remains of his cigarette. He'd had enough of this introspection. It was time to get some answers.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Spike leaned against the doorframe watching the older man. Spike knew Jet was aware of his presence. He could tell from the tension apparent in the shoulder muscles as the figure before him hunched over the miniature tree. Eventually the older man put the scissors down in a slow and controlled manner and sat back.

"How much longer do you plan on standing there?" Jet didn't turn round. Just continued to stare at the wall in front of him. Spike smiled and shrugged nonchalantly.

"How much longer do you plan on sitting there in silence?"

Jet snorted and turned round to face the lanky bounty hunter. "I'm not sat in silence anymore."

Spike shifted and moved into the room. Greenery filled most of the available spaces, and Spike paused briefly as he chose the place least likely to destroy something. Spike sat down on the edge of Jet's bed so he faced him. Reaching into his trouser pocket for his cigarette packet, he offered one to Jet who accepted. The two men sat in silence for a moment; the only sound the soft hiss of the paper slowly burning. Spike spoke first, his eyes carefully trained on the glowing tip of his cigarette and not on his partner.

"When were you going to tell me about Faye?"

Jet glanced up, his face unreadable. "You mean Mars? I didn't know for certain until last night."

"But you suspected?" Spike trod the butt into the floor with studied concentration. Jet paused for a moment causing Spike to look up. Their eyes met and Spike saw the hardness in Jets face vanish as the silence between them broke.

Jet leaned back with a sigh and stared at the ceiling. "I suspected. I didn't really see how it could be anyone else."

Spike nodded his head as he took in the information. He'd guessed that Jet had known more than he was letting on. Very little got past Jet, which was why Jet ended up doing the research while Spike did the running about. Another question rose in his mind and Spike paused as he studied Jet's reaction. "Would you have told me?"

"You figured it out yourself." Jet refused to meet Spike's gaze as he ground down his own cigarette butt into a nearby ashtray.

Spike frowned. It wasn't like Jet to be so evasive, at least not to him. "If I hadn't. Would you have told me?"

Jet looked Spike squarely in the face, his face unflinching. "No"

Spike stared at Jet, his mind racing as he tried to keep up with what was being said. What was it that he didn't know? What was the cause of all the tension and secrecy?

Spike reached for another cigarette. Taking a deep drag into his lungs he held the smoke in for a moment, as he decided how to phrase his next question. "So are you going to tell me what happened between the two of you?"

"It's not my story to tell." Jet's response was abrupt, his tone warning Spike that he was not prepared to talk about that.

Spike thought for a moment. "Well, what can you tell?"

Jet sighed and rubbed his eyes with his hand tiredly. "Faye got into trouble. I owed her so I helped her out. After that we agreed it was best if we went our separate ways."

Spike looked at Jet in surprise. Faye was always either in trouble or running away from it, nothing new there, so what was it that was different this time? Curious but not really expecting an answer, Spike pried a little further. "What sort of trouble?"

"The sort of trouble a woman like Faye can get into."

The look on Jet's face warned Spike that he was once again straying into dangerous territory. He paused to collect his thoughts while he thought about what Jet had said. What did he mean by 'a woman like Faye'? As Spike was puzzling over the peculiar words Jet had chosen he suddenly remembered something else. "Why did you owe her?"

"It was partially my fault she got into trouble."

Spike looked sharply at Jet. His friend's face was as carefully neutral as before, neither confirming nor denying any of the scenarios that were clamouring in Spike's mind.  The moment stretched out between them, only to be interrupted by the desperate scrap of claws as Ed burst into the room with Ein scrambling to keep up.

"Jet! Jet! Ed found Shearman! Come and see! Come and see!"

Jet and spike stared in amazement at the ball of failing limbs and excess energy that had exploded in front of them. Failing to get the reaction she wanted, Ed resorted to pulling at Spike in an effort to move the two men.

"Come on Spike-person, come and see!"

Jet rose to his feet and walked briskly out of the room, causing Ed to let go of Spike and run after the older man. Mystified Spike stood and followed the strange procession to the main quarters of the ship. Ed stood in front of the screen on Tomato and pointed proudly at the information displayed on it.

"Tada! No-one hides from Edward for long."

Spike sat down next to Jet who was already studying the screen intently. Curious, Spike leaned forward and stared at the face before him. The man was tall, and sharply featured. Green eyes glowered from behind a curtain of silver hair. The sharp cheekbones and long, thin nose gave the man a strangely feral appearance. The data underneath the picture declared the man to be 'Shearman- real name unknown. Age 26. Profession- facilitator.'

Spike frowned as he read the unfamiliar phrase. "What the hell's a facilitator?"

Jet glanced at him, one eyebrow arched. "Never came across facilitators when you were with the Red Dragons? They're part of the Krakov syndicate, basically do whatever's necessary to 'facilitate' a project." Jet looked back at the screen and shook his head as he studied the picture. "No wonder Faye freaked out when I asked about him."

Spike stared at Jet in complete confusion. "When did you ask about this Shearman guy?"

Jet groaned. "When we saw Faye. Why can't you pay attention for once? I asked her if she knew where we could find Shearman and she threw one of her tantrums. Bounty was placed on him cos apparently he's got access to the ISSP database. Anything he wants from there he can get, details of officers, his own records, money you name it." Jet turned to Ed and smiled. "Good work Ed, at least we've got a picture now."

Ed grinned widely and shook her head. "Uh uh. Ed found more, look." She leaned over tomato and rapidly pressed a series of keys which brought up a different screen. Jet looked blankly at it as he scanned the text for anything relevant then whistled softly. Spike leaned in closer.

"What?"

Jet pointed at the screen. "There. Some guy was tailing Shearman before he got wise and killed the poor bastard. Seemed that the guy made a habit of storing all the data he'd gathered on his laptop, which Ed has hacked into and found. We know his frequent haunts, favourite foods, the women he goes for… oh."

Spike looked at Jet. "Why oh? Sounds like it'll be an easy pickup."

Jet leaned back and covered his face with his hands. "It says Shearman is always hyper-alert to strangers and potential bounty hunters. He's only got one weakness that you could exploit to gain a capture. Women. But he's very picky. Very picky indeed."

Spike guessed where this was going and sat back with a groan. "You're not about to describe the sort of woman I think you are, are you?"

Jet lowered his hands and glanced across at Spike. "Slim, pale skinned, dark hair and as much flesh on show as possible while maintaining a serious attitude."

Spike stared blankly at the wall in front of him as Jet continued. "If we want to capture Shearman, we're gonna need Faye."

Spike sighed and rose to his feet. "Look's like I'm on pick-up duty."

Reel it in…