Disclaimer: I forgot to put this part on my last chapter...(please don't sue me!!!) so here it is: I do not own Cowboy Bebop, even though I wish I did. =^_^=

Chapter Two: An Old Friend

The next morning, he awoke and stretched, yawning widely. God, it was quiet. He didn't know what to do next. He didn't know what to do at all anymore. Maybe he'd sell the Bebop and try to find another job, one with lots of people maybe. Jet shook his head mournfully, the Bebop was almost like a person to him; he just couldn't sell it. A sudden movement on the screen of the computer caught his eye. Someone was trying to send him a message, Jet thought and jumped up. Leaning against the table, he stared at the screen, a look of dumb amazement appearing on his face and then he smiled suddenly. Little faces were showing up clearly, accessing the codes and passwords of his computer. But the sight of someone hacking into his computer did not upset Jet, instead he threw back his head and laughed.

"Ed! Ed..." He called and suddenly there she was, here smile filling the whole screen. He laughed, knowing that she was pressing her little face against the screen.

"It's Jet!" she giggled, and went off screeching vrooom, vrooom!

Jet shrugged, slipping back into his old face of puzzled annoyance. "What do you want, Ed?"

"Just to say hi! How's the Bebop?"

"Good...quiet," he answered honestly.

Ed looked pleased. "Ed's gone, Ed's gone," she sang out. "Bebop is quiet without Ed!" Somewhere behind her, a dog barked. "Ein's gone, Ed's gone, Bebop is quiet!" Ed sang on lustily.

Jet grinned, "how's Ein?"

"Ein is huuuunnnngrryyyy," Ed said promptly and reached over to toss Ein some bit of food. "Ed found her father," Ed announced proudly.

"That's good. I figured that's where you went..." he trailed off.

"Yup. Ed found him all by herself. Oh, with Ein's help. Only a little bit though."

"Is he nice to you?"

"Oh, yes, Ed's daddy is very nice. He plays lotsa games with Ed," she told him happily. Well, he couldn't ask for much more than that.

"Good, good..."

"How are ya Jet?" She asked suddenly, pressing her face against the screen again, as if to see inside his mind.

"Me? Oh, uh...I'm all right." That was the truth...mostly.

"Ed misses you."

"Yeah? I...uh...I've missed you too," he said, unable to get the words out quite right. Embarrassed, he quickly added, "it's been really quiet, you know."

Ignoring his obvious trouble with just this simple proclamation of feelings, Ed surged ahead. "Where's Spike and Faye? Ed misses them a lot too."

"Well..." he paused, wondering how to break the news. This would have been so much easier in person. Jet reconsidered, no, in person was just as hard. Maybe harder. He had never been very open with his feelings, never been a big hugger and crier or lover. He had always been able to say things so bluntly-to anyone. Anyone at all, but now...seeing her trusting face staring at him, he hesitated. She was so young, so innocent. How could he be so cruel and tell her the fate of her friend Spike? How could he not tell her? Jet wished Faye were here to handle this. He wished even harder that Spike was still alive, still here on the Bebop to glare at Ed and ask nonchalantly where she'd been, as if it didn't matter to him, as if Spike didn't care, hadn't been worried.

Ed stared at him, "Jet?"

"Uh, well..." this was one of the hardest things he had ever done. Jet took a deep breath and rubbed the bald part of his head, "they're both gone."

"Jet's all alone?" She asked, incredulous.

"Yeah...they both took off a few days after you left. Faye got her memory back."

"Hm, that's good," she muttered distantly. She knew instinctively he wasn't telling her something.

Jet hurried on, "yes. I think she was glad." Even though she hadn't been, he let the words slip out, rushing over each other like a waterfall. He couldn't seem to stop talking now. "She didn't tell me where she was going. Maybe back home."

Ed nodded, "maybe. What about Spike?"

"He...uh, left too. He had to solve his past...I'm sure he did it to. He put everything behind him at last."

Ed smiled, satisfied. How fraught with meaning those sentences had been, Jet mused. Spike had left, but not just the Bebop. He had left the universe of the living. Spike had solved his past, but now Spike was in the past, never to return. Jet sighed sadly, Spike was a person of the past. He didn't exist anywhere anymore.

"Where is he now?" Ed asked.

"Somewhere in the heavens," Jet remarked carefully. He let Ed interpret that the way she wanted. He felt sure Spike was in heaven, if such a place was real.

Ed nodded, thinking he meant somewhere in space. "He's probably having a great time," she said quietly.

That made Jet smile a little, picturing Spike as an angel. He was sure Spike was complaining the whole time...about the dress, about the halo, the harp and everything else. "Yes. I'm sure he is having the time of his life."

"Ed wishes he wasn't gone," Ed said, her usual cheerfulness gone.

"Me too, Ed. Me too."

"I wish I could have seen him one last time," she added. Maybe she had figured it out after all. It sounded like she knew.

"He liked you a lot," Jet said, feeling that Ed deserved to know.

"Ed knows."

"When you left...you should have seen his face."

"Well he should see Ed's face now!!" She cried and he looked up at the screen again. He had been avoiding her gaze, but he glanced up in time to see her rub one hand across her face.

"Don't be sad..."

"I'm not," she lied quickly. "Ein just keeps licking me." Ein was no where to be seen.

"Did you want to come back to the Bebop?"

"I can't. Thanks though, Jet." Jet noticed she had stopped talking in third person. He nodded and she went on. "I really should stay with my dad, but I'll talk to you again, okay?"

"Okay. Promise?"

"Yup, Ed promises!" She said, some of her happiness reappearing. "Y'know, Ed knew something was wrong," Ed confided. "That's why Ed decided to give old Jet a call. Bye-bye!"

Jet smiled and caught himself waving at the screen. He blushed slightly and called, "bye Ed..."

And then the screen went blank.

Howdy everybody! A short little conversation with an old friend...well, what do you guys think? i don't really know where this is going from here, so suggestions are appreciated!! i tried to keep Ed in character (i'm not even gonna tell how many times i had to fix her speech so it was in third person...-_-' ) anyways...more to come, so keep reading!! don't forget reviews are welcome!!! (obviously) Thanx so much for reading my lil ficcy!!! ^_^