God, I hate men so much right now. They're so contrary. Anyway, I'll just forget about that and write my new chapter. I'm sure my current foul mood will not affect what happens at all.

Spike: Um...Teresa?

Hey! Who invited you to the introduction! Keep in the story, you stupid male, you!

Spike: I just wanted to make sure that you wouldn't take out all your frustrations on me.

Why would you think that? Now get your ass back in the story. Wait til you see what Faye has in store for you this time...

Spike: *gulp*

*****

Don't Leave Me Now

Part 4

*****

"What are you up to, Ed?" Faye asked, a bit groggy as she sipped at her coffee and watched the younger crew member as she sprinkled egg, milk, butter, and flour all over the little kitchen.

"Making pancakes!" Ed told her eagerly, emphasizing her point with a cheerfully tossed handful of flower. "Pancakes, man rakes, can flakes!" she sang, twirling with an egg held delicately in her hand before she tossed it up in the air and let it hit the ground, splattering all over the floor and sticking to the girl's legs.

"Really? I thought you needed a bowl to do that." Faye asked in amusement as she noticed Spike approaching, looking rather confused and caffeine deprived.

"This is how Ed does it!" Ed exclaimed, carefully measuring some milk before tossing it against the wall.

"What...the hell..." Spike asked, rubbing his eyes as though maybe the sight of Ed throwing food all over the kitchen was only imagined.

"She's making pancakes." Faye sipped at her cup of coffee again.

"Jet's gonna go crazy when he sees that." Spike eyed the mug Faye held before letting his eyes drift to the inner depths of the disaster that was called the kitchen, where the coffee maker sat in the midst of a mess he was afraid to step in. "Couldn't she do it after I got my coffee."

"Obviously she likes me better." Faye nodded smugly, tipping her coffee at him before taking another deep sip of the precious liquid.

"What's wrong, Ein?" Ed stopped mid-toss as the Welsh Corgi began jumping and moving restlessly where he had been sitting just out of the kitchen. "Don't you want pancakes?" she called as she ran after the dog who ran away from the kitchen, deeper into the ship.

"That was entertaining." Faye laughed, finishing off her coffee and setting the cup down on the counter. She quirked her head at Spike, who had just taken off his shoes and was now cautiously entering the kitchen. "I wouldn't do that without shoes on, Spike.

"Yeah, but I don't wanna get that shit on my shoes." Spike edged closer to his ultimate goal, the coffee pot. Stretching out his left arm, he gripped the counter tightly with his right, leaning forward precariously, causing Faye to finally stir from where she had been watching all of this happen.

"You're going to fall. Spike, watch it!" Faye reached out, grabbing his hand just as it slipped from the counter. However, she underestimated the amount of force it would take to keep him from falling, and they both ended up on the sticky, sopping wet, powder covered floor.

"Thanks a lot, Faye." Spike winked at her from where he was, underneath her own body.

"This is so disgusting." Faye lifted a goo covered hand, curling her lip in distaste as it dripped off in cream covered globs.

"Hey, it's all over me." Spike shot back, lifting his filthy arms and smearing some of the gunk on Faye's cheek.

"Ew, don't!" Faye grabbed a handful of the stuff, cramming it down Spike's shirt. His eyes bulged with anger and shock.

"That's it!" he growled, taking both his slimy hands and rubbing them into Faye's hair as she laughed and screamed in protest.

"What the hell happened in here!" a deep voice boomed menacingly from the edge of the kitchen. Faye and Spike froze, their hands poised to attack each other with the weird mix. They looked at Jet, then at each other, and collapsed in laughter. "Fine. I don't care what kind of weird games you two play. But this better be clean in one hour. I'm serious." he scolded the two adults who were still giggling like children.

"But..." Faye tried to stand, but she slipped and fell in a mess of slop. Spike began to laugh even harder. "But Ed did it!"

"Really, blame it on the kid, will you?" Jet shook his head in disgust. "If she did it, where is she now?"

"She ran off, I swear." Faye told him, still giggling slightly.

"Whatever. I want you two to get this place clean." Jet shook his finger at them. "And I mean spotless." He shook his head, turning to leave. Spike and Faye watched him go, looking a bit put out.

"How'd she stick us with her mess?" Spike asked Faye finally.

"Damn genius dog, that's how." Faye tried to stand again, but this time Spike caught her when she fell. "Uh, thanks." she blushed, suddenly overly aware of his hands, one on her arm, one around her waist.

"No problem." he smiled softly down at her, licking his lips unconsciously. "Faye?"

"Yeah?" she answered, wondering why he hadn't let go of her yet.

"Uh...nothing." he let go of her, sliding toward the sink, where he turned on the water and started to add some soap. "Better get cleaned up." he pointed toward the bathroom.

"Oh...of course." Faye tried not to act surprised that he was giving her first turn in the shower. "I'll be right back." she quirked her head at him again, trying to figure what he could be thinking about. Deciding not to worry about it, she stepped into the bathroom, stripping off her sticky, goop covered clothes before she stepped into the shower, turning the water on and letting the hot liquid run down her body. Grabbing the soap, she worked up a strong lather, cleaning all of Ed's sticky mess off of her skin. Next, she grabbed the shampoo and began to clean her hair, her thoughts wandering back to Spike. Ever since their embarrassing episode a few weeks ago, he acted a lot different around her. He wasn't nearly as frustrating. Perhaps he was even endearing, in his own way...

"Hey, hurry it up in there! You're not the only person on this ship!" Spike's angry voice interrupted her musing. Cursing under her breath, Faye finished her shower hurriedly and dried off, wrapping herself in the towel and deciding to come back later for her dirty clothes.

"Fine, there you go." Faye opened the door, turning her nose up at him. "I don't see why you're in such a bad mood."

"Whatever." Spike rolled his eyes, taking the bathroom as she headed to her room, changing into a pair of jeans and an old shirt so that she could go clean the kitchen.

"He probably expects me to do all of it." Faye grumbled as she walked down the hall, noticing that the shower was still running. "Lazy stupid man." she rolled her eyes as she reached the end of the hall, walking to the kitchen where she stopped, noticing that all the mess she had left with Spike seemed to be gone. All that was left was a goopy looking sponge in a sink that needed to be rinsed badly. "He did it all? No wonder he was so mad..." Faye moved to the sink, using the sponge to clean out the sink as she rinsed out the absorbent cleaning supply, trying to salvage it for any further use. "I feel like such an ass."

"Don't worry about it." Spike's voice surprised her, making her drop the sponge in surprise. She whirled around to see the man standing there, fresh from his shower, hair still dripping, clad only in a towel. "I'm over it now."

"You know...you didn't have to do that all by yourself." Faye noticed that Spike was still moving toward her, stopping only when his body was inches from hers. He looked down at her as though he were trying to see inside of her, trying to answer some question that only he knew.

"Faye..." Spike reached up, his fingers brushing through her damp hair.

"Spike...what is it?" Faye gulped. Was he going to kiss her? Faye couldn't decide whether or not she wanted him to, whether she'd pull away or push into it. What was he doing to her? Why couldn't she think straight when he looked at her like that?

"It...it was good, wasn't it?" Spike asked her finally. Faye's eyes widened after a moment when she realized what he meant by that.

"Spike! You're such an ass!" Faye pushed him away, storming out of the kitchen.

"Hey, you didn't answer my question!" Spike called after her.

"Fuck you!" Faye slammed her bedroom door when she saw he was following her down the hall.

"Maybe later, okay?" his answer turned into thick laughter as he went to his own room to get dressed.

*****

The End (Of Part 4, That Is)