Comatose Cowboy
Chapter 4 - "Doing Jet's Dirty Work"
Faye was really furious with Jet. She spent the past month investigating small bounties that she could take down on her own without back up. That wasn't as easy as it sounded. Being a woman, (a tough one, but still) she needed to choose carefully just which jobs she could bring in without getting herself into trouble. Even Jet and Spike, who were two of the best, worked as a team, and even they occasionally ended up on the wrong side of a gun. But Faye studied hard, learning just which kind of bounty was easy enough and relatively safe enough for her to do alone. The biggest problem with this type of work was having to compete with all the amateurs out there, cutting their cowboy teeth on jobs like these. They would invariably show up at the wrong time, making her life a lot harder than it needed to be.
And now Jet wasn't even giving her credit for all that she had done. Who kept food on the table, fuel in the tank, paid gate fees, not to mention Spike's medical bill? Faye, that's who. And if she felt like spending her free time alone in her room, well, that was her business. She always did that before Spike went and got himself killed. Besides, she hated looking at him laid out like a corpse on his bed. It was a little better now that the tubes were largely gone, but Faye couldn't help but think that if Spike woke up a retard or a drooler, she would just hate herself for insisting that he be revived. Maybe it would have been better if he had died that day. Then she could have mourned his passing and gotten on with her life.
She felt pretty sorry for herself. She thought Jet would be thankful that she was doing all the work, but now, instead, he obsessed endlessly over Spike's care all day, jabbering at him as if he could hear and understand what Jet was saying. He barely cooked anymore, throwing together whatever was fast, easy and tasteless so he could quickly return to his patient.
She could never do enough for Jet. And now he wanted her to give Spike a bath! Well, great. Just great! She never wanted to be anyone's nursemaid, let alone Spike's. Spike, who made her life on the Bebop difficult, rattling her cage every chance he got. Faye had the feeling that Spike liked her okay, but why did he have to tease her constantly? Enough, already. And yet now, as she thought about it, she would do anything to have him tease her just one more time. It was confusing.
Part of the reason she hated going into Spike's room was because she missed him. Spike brought an easy air to the ship that was missing with just Jet and herself. It was easier to hide in her room and think that Spike was sleeping on the couch, but faced with the Sleeping Beauty, she was filled with hopelessness. What was he going to be like when he woke up? The thought tortured her often.
Now, if she wanted to maintain peace with Jet, she was going to have to swallow her fear and give that fucker a bath.
Faye went into Spike's room carrying a tub filled with warm, soapy water, a sponge and a towel. She stood for a few minutes, listening to his steady breathing. His face looked very peaceful, as though his eyes might open at any minute. She dipped the sponge into the water and squeezed out the excess. Faye stood there for a moment, taking deep breaths, checking to see if he showed any signs of waking. Her hands were shaking a little. Then she laughed to herself and began washing his hands that lay on top of the covers. She lifted his arm, carefully cleaning between his fingers, up around the elbows and under the armpit, noting that his bicep was still quite firm and did not seem to have atrophied at all. I guess all those martial arts exercises he practiced every day really paid off, she thought. She cleaned his other arm, then moved to his chest. For a skinny guy, spike had a fairly broad chest, with sparse hair. His skin was still stained in places by the Betadine wash that the surgeon used to disinfect him. Faye stroked the sponge over his body, stopping at where his belly button used to be. A long, red scar that started just under his right rib and went all the way to his left hip replaced it. The wound had healed nicely, and the line was shiny and raised. Faye traced it lightly with her fingertip, curious what it must have felt like to have been opened up like that. She shuddered, then dropped the sheet back over him.
Next, she cleaned Spike's neck, face and hair. There was dried blood still caked in his unruly mop. Faye took care not to yank or pull where the hair was matted. She used the sponge to soak, then comb, soak, then comb, until eventually his hair was clean.
Surprisingly, Faye got a lot of satisfaction cleaning Spike. There weren't many outlets for her softer side, and being in here alone with him was kind of nice. She could see how Jet spent so much of his time here. A Spike who could not talk was a Spike she could handle!
Using very measured and gentle movements, Faye washed his face. "You know, Spike, you totally owe me. If it weren't for me, Jet wouldn't have come for you that day. And he couldn't have gotten the money for the doctor if I hadn't done it for him. You'd have been toast, buddy. So I hope you know I expect you to royally kiss my ass when you wake up, okay? I mean worship the ground I walk on."
She continued. "Besides, the Bebop just isn't any fun without you. As irritating as you always are, you bring out the best in Jet and me. It all seems kinda wrong without you." Faye talked quietly as she washed his feet. "I hope you're not ticklish."
She cleaned his calves, knees and thighs, but when she got to his groin, she stopped, blushing.
"Spike, I gotta do this. I hope you don't mind!" She lifted the sheet up, exposing all of him. Faye couldn't believe how hot her face was, or how much her fingers were trembling. She quickly washed the area then replaced the sheet without drying him. She figured he could air dry.
I'm behaving like a girl, she thought. It wasn't like she had never seen a man before (although contrary to her style of dress, she was not promiscuous). But to touch someone sleeping and so vulnerable like that without consent seemed kind of pervy to her. The only consolation was that Spike really needed that bath. He smelled a lot cleaner, now, and it made her feel happy to have it be over with. Her nerves were calmer now, and she chatted a little more with Spike.
"I think you'll feel better now, Spike. You were really stinking the place up, but now Jet and I can stand to be in the same room with you."
She rather tenderly stroked his still damp hair away from his face and bent down close to hear his steady breathing. He was a handsome little scamp. If only he weren't such an asshole, as well.
Faye left Spike's room, humming softly to herself, thinking how good it felt to help someone else. Jet and Spike really needed her. That someone might need her used to scare her, but there was a new feeling of security in being needed.
Jet was thankful that he managed to get Faye into Spike's room without too much fuss. She certainly had 'issues' surrounding Spike's injury that were going to be a problem, he could tell. The sooner he could get her in there, comfortable with Spike again, the better. He again found himself wondering just what would awake from this long, deep sleep. Heaven help them.
Chapter 4 - "Doing Jet's Dirty Work"
Faye was really furious with Jet. She spent the past month investigating small bounties that she could take down on her own without back up. That wasn't as easy as it sounded. Being a woman, (a tough one, but still) she needed to choose carefully just which jobs she could bring in without getting herself into trouble. Even Jet and Spike, who were two of the best, worked as a team, and even they occasionally ended up on the wrong side of a gun. But Faye studied hard, learning just which kind of bounty was easy enough and relatively safe enough for her to do alone. The biggest problem with this type of work was having to compete with all the amateurs out there, cutting their cowboy teeth on jobs like these. They would invariably show up at the wrong time, making her life a lot harder than it needed to be.
And now Jet wasn't even giving her credit for all that she had done. Who kept food on the table, fuel in the tank, paid gate fees, not to mention Spike's medical bill? Faye, that's who. And if she felt like spending her free time alone in her room, well, that was her business. She always did that before Spike went and got himself killed. Besides, she hated looking at him laid out like a corpse on his bed. It was a little better now that the tubes were largely gone, but Faye couldn't help but think that if Spike woke up a retard or a drooler, she would just hate herself for insisting that he be revived. Maybe it would have been better if he had died that day. Then she could have mourned his passing and gotten on with her life.
She felt pretty sorry for herself. She thought Jet would be thankful that she was doing all the work, but now, instead, he obsessed endlessly over Spike's care all day, jabbering at him as if he could hear and understand what Jet was saying. He barely cooked anymore, throwing together whatever was fast, easy and tasteless so he could quickly return to his patient.
She could never do enough for Jet. And now he wanted her to give Spike a bath! Well, great. Just great! She never wanted to be anyone's nursemaid, let alone Spike's. Spike, who made her life on the Bebop difficult, rattling her cage every chance he got. Faye had the feeling that Spike liked her okay, but why did he have to tease her constantly? Enough, already. And yet now, as she thought about it, she would do anything to have him tease her just one more time. It was confusing.
Part of the reason she hated going into Spike's room was because she missed him. Spike brought an easy air to the ship that was missing with just Jet and herself. It was easier to hide in her room and think that Spike was sleeping on the couch, but faced with the Sleeping Beauty, she was filled with hopelessness. What was he going to be like when he woke up? The thought tortured her often.
Now, if she wanted to maintain peace with Jet, she was going to have to swallow her fear and give that fucker a bath.
Faye went into Spike's room carrying a tub filled with warm, soapy water, a sponge and a towel. She stood for a few minutes, listening to his steady breathing. His face looked very peaceful, as though his eyes might open at any minute. She dipped the sponge into the water and squeezed out the excess. Faye stood there for a moment, taking deep breaths, checking to see if he showed any signs of waking. Her hands were shaking a little. Then she laughed to herself and began washing his hands that lay on top of the covers. She lifted his arm, carefully cleaning between his fingers, up around the elbows and under the armpit, noting that his bicep was still quite firm and did not seem to have atrophied at all. I guess all those martial arts exercises he practiced every day really paid off, she thought. She cleaned his other arm, then moved to his chest. For a skinny guy, spike had a fairly broad chest, with sparse hair. His skin was still stained in places by the Betadine wash that the surgeon used to disinfect him. Faye stroked the sponge over his body, stopping at where his belly button used to be. A long, red scar that started just under his right rib and went all the way to his left hip replaced it. The wound had healed nicely, and the line was shiny and raised. Faye traced it lightly with her fingertip, curious what it must have felt like to have been opened up like that. She shuddered, then dropped the sheet back over him.
Next, she cleaned Spike's neck, face and hair. There was dried blood still caked in his unruly mop. Faye took care not to yank or pull where the hair was matted. She used the sponge to soak, then comb, soak, then comb, until eventually his hair was clean.
Surprisingly, Faye got a lot of satisfaction cleaning Spike. There weren't many outlets for her softer side, and being in here alone with him was kind of nice. She could see how Jet spent so much of his time here. A Spike who could not talk was a Spike she could handle!
Using very measured and gentle movements, Faye washed his face. "You know, Spike, you totally owe me. If it weren't for me, Jet wouldn't have come for you that day. And he couldn't have gotten the money for the doctor if I hadn't done it for him. You'd have been toast, buddy. So I hope you know I expect you to royally kiss my ass when you wake up, okay? I mean worship the ground I walk on."
She continued. "Besides, the Bebop just isn't any fun without you. As irritating as you always are, you bring out the best in Jet and me. It all seems kinda wrong without you." Faye talked quietly as she washed his feet. "I hope you're not ticklish."
She cleaned his calves, knees and thighs, but when she got to his groin, she stopped, blushing.
"Spike, I gotta do this. I hope you don't mind!" She lifted the sheet up, exposing all of him. Faye couldn't believe how hot her face was, or how much her fingers were trembling. She quickly washed the area then replaced the sheet without drying him. She figured he could air dry.
I'm behaving like a girl, she thought. It wasn't like she had never seen a man before (although contrary to her style of dress, she was not promiscuous). But to touch someone sleeping and so vulnerable like that without consent seemed kind of pervy to her. The only consolation was that Spike really needed that bath. He smelled a lot cleaner, now, and it made her feel happy to have it be over with. Her nerves were calmer now, and she chatted a little more with Spike.
"I think you'll feel better now, Spike. You were really stinking the place up, but now Jet and I can stand to be in the same room with you."
She rather tenderly stroked his still damp hair away from his face and bent down close to hear his steady breathing. He was a handsome little scamp. If only he weren't such an asshole, as well.
Faye left Spike's room, humming softly to herself, thinking how good it felt to help someone else. Jet and Spike really needed her. That someone might need her used to scare her, but there was a new feeling of security in being needed.
Jet was thankful that he managed to get Faye into Spike's room without too much fuss. She certainly had 'issues' surrounding Spike's injury that were going to be a problem, he could tell. The sooner he could get her in there, comfortable with Spike again, the better. He again found himself wondering just what would awake from this long, deep sleep. Heaven help them.