Chapter 12: Homecoming
Faye arrived at the Bebop about half an hour after Jet and Andy brought in Spike and Lucas. The Redtail was barely on the hangar floor and shut down before Faye was scrambling to the ground. Much as she hated to admit it she was anxious to see Spike. She wanted to see for herself that he was back and safe. She didn't expect to find Jet and Andy each working on their respective patients with Ed running supplies back and forth between the two. Lucas was seated in a chair as Andy carefully wound gauze around his bicep. Jet leaned over a figure lying prone on the couch with a pair of forceps in hand. "This is going to hurt."
"No kidding." It was Spike's voice that answered and Faye halted her forward momentum, almost stumbling as she came to an abrupt stop. Her eyes focused on the forceps in Jet's hand as he carefully used them to dig for a bullet that was still lodged in Spike's shoulder.
"Faye-Faye's back!" Jet jumped slightly at Ed's loud exclamation eliciting a pained moan from his patient.
Andy and Lucas turned to look at the new arrival and Spike strained his neck to glance at her before dropping his head back to lean on the couch's arm. "Hold still." Jet scolded the squirming man as he went back to work.
"Welcome home." Andy's voice dripped with irony. Faye watched as she bent to cut away the bottom part of Lucas' pants leg.
Faye snorted softly. "Yeah, it's always nice to get called home suddenly because you're on the run yet again." She turned to look at Spike. "What happened? I thought you weren't coming back?"
Spike glared up at her. "Things change. Especially when people are trying to kill you."
"I thought it was all about protecting us. You know, your 'friends.'" Faye was livid.
He paled slightly. "It is." His expression began to take on an angry edge. "And I'll leave again as soon as possible. I wouldn't want to be a burden."
Faye's face became expressionless. "Then you shouldn't have left in the first place." With that, she turned on her heel and stormed out of the room.
Jet looked down at Spike somberly. "You deserved that."
"He didn't." Jet turned to look skeptically at Lucas.
"And what do you know about it?"
Lucas sat up a little straighter in his chair as he answered. "I know he didn't want to go back to the Syndicate and I know that he did it for the innocent people that Vicious would have killed if he'd been allowed to continue, including all of you."
Jet studied Lucas for a moment longer before returning his gaze to his former partner. "You got anything to add?"
Spike looked away and shook his head.
Andy stood quietly and headed for the door Faye had left through. Jet called to her. "Where are you going?"
She grinned over her shoulder. "To try and talk some sense into the single most stubborn person I've ever met." She laughed, then added. "Cake."
Jet raised an eyebrow and shook his head. "She has no idea what she's getting into."
"Who is she anyway?" Spike asked sensing the subject had moved away from his motivation for returning to the Syndicate.
"Faye's new partner. They've only been here for a few days."
Spike nodded. "They here to stay?"
"I don't know, Spike." Jet sighed. "You know as well as I do that Faye does whatever the hell she wants to."
Spike nodded and closed his eyes, trying to fall asleep. Lucas was already dozing in the chair.
Jet sighed and headed to the kitchen to start on dinner. Further discussion would have to wait until the two Dragons had recovered a bit. 'After that, they're fair game and I want to know what's going on.'
As Jet toiled in the kitchen, Andy tackled a different but infinitely more difficult job, talking sense into Faye when she was angry. She knocked the door to the other woman's room. "Faye? Please, let me in."
Faye opened the door a crack and walked back to sit on her bed without bothering to see if Andy would push it the rest of the way open or not. She gave the door a shove and entered Faye's world. "What do you want?"
Her voice was weary and strained as though she was holding back tears. Andy studied the unfamiliar creature for a moment before addressing her. "Well, you just yelled at the friend you seemed to miss an awful lot before and quite frankly, I'm a little confused."
Faye walked over to sit on her bed. Her exhaustion was plain on her face. "It doesn't matter."
Andy shook her head. "I think it does. I think there's more going on here then anyone wants to tell me and considering I'm your partner, I think I need to know."
"There's nothing to tell, Andy."
"I don't buy that. What happened before he left that makes you so angry?"
Faye lowered her head, letting her dark hair fall in front of her eyes. "He was a good friend and it scared me very much when I thought we'd lost him."
Andy quirked an eyebrow at her friend. 'Denial.' "Uh-huh. And you're angry with him because he was a good friend?"
Faye rolled her eyes. "I'm not doing this with you right now."
"Well, It might interest you to know what Lucas had to say about the matter." She paused.
"And that was?"
Andy smiled in satisfaction as she received the question she'd been hoping for. "He said that Spike didn't want to go back to the Syndicate and that the only reason he had was to prevent innocent people from getting killed."
"Innocent people don't work for the Syndicate." Faye glowered at her new partner.
"You know that's not true." Andy waited for some sort of acknowledgement of her statement. The best she got was the absence of a denial. "If someone like Vicious had taken over the Syndicate we'd all be right back where we started. And it sounded to me like he knew some of those that had already died personally."
Faye sighed. "He did."
"Don't you think under circumstances like those he might deserve the benefit of a doubt." Andy gave Faye her best critical look.
Faye shrugged. "Fine. I'll back off a little. But I make no promises not to defend myself when he starts something." She got up from the bed and headed for the door. "And he always starts something."
Andy watched her disappear down the hallway in the direction of the living room. She grinned and followed her friend. "Its always an adventure with that one."
tbc
Faye arrived at the Bebop about half an hour after Jet and Andy brought in Spike and Lucas. The Redtail was barely on the hangar floor and shut down before Faye was scrambling to the ground. Much as she hated to admit it she was anxious to see Spike. She wanted to see for herself that he was back and safe. She didn't expect to find Jet and Andy each working on their respective patients with Ed running supplies back and forth between the two. Lucas was seated in a chair as Andy carefully wound gauze around his bicep. Jet leaned over a figure lying prone on the couch with a pair of forceps in hand. "This is going to hurt."
"No kidding." It was Spike's voice that answered and Faye halted her forward momentum, almost stumbling as she came to an abrupt stop. Her eyes focused on the forceps in Jet's hand as he carefully used them to dig for a bullet that was still lodged in Spike's shoulder.
"Faye-Faye's back!" Jet jumped slightly at Ed's loud exclamation eliciting a pained moan from his patient.
Andy and Lucas turned to look at the new arrival and Spike strained his neck to glance at her before dropping his head back to lean on the couch's arm. "Hold still." Jet scolded the squirming man as he went back to work.
"Welcome home." Andy's voice dripped with irony. Faye watched as she bent to cut away the bottom part of Lucas' pants leg.
Faye snorted softly. "Yeah, it's always nice to get called home suddenly because you're on the run yet again." She turned to look at Spike. "What happened? I thought you weren't coming back?"
Spike glared up at her. "Things change. Especially when people are trying to kill you."
"I thought it was all about protecting us. You know, your 'friends.'" Faye was livid.
He paled slightly. "It is." His expression began to take on an angry edge. "And I'll leave again as soon as possible. I wouldn't want to be a burden."
Faye's face became expressionless. "Then you shouldn't have left in the first place." With that, she turned on her heel and stormed out of the room.
Jet looked down at Spike somberly. "You deserved that."
"He didn't." Jet turned to look skeptically at Lucas.
"And what do you know about it?"
Lucas sat up a little straighter in his chair as he answered. "I know he didn't want to go back to the Syndicate and I know that he did it for the innocent people that Vicious would have killed if he'd been allowed to continue, including all of you."
Jet studied Lucas for a moment longer before returning his gaze to his former partner. "You got anything to add?"
Spike looked away and shook his head.
Andy stood quietly and headed for the door Faye had left through. Jet called to her. "Where are you going?"
She grinned over her shoulder. "To try and talk some sense into the single most stubborn person I've ever met." She laughed, then added. "Cake."
Jet raised an eyebrow and shook his head. "She has no idea what she's getting into."
"Who is she anyway?" Spike asked sensing the subject had moved away from his motivation for returning to the Syndicate.
"Faye's new partner. They've only been here for a few days."
Spike nodded. "They here to stay?"
"I don't know, Spike." Jet sighed. "You know as well as I do that Faye does whatever the hell she wants to."
Spike nodded and closed his eyes, trying to fall asleep. Lucas was already dozing in the chair.
Jet sighed and headed to the kitchen to start on dinner. Further discussion would have to wait until the two Dragons had recovered a bit. 'After that, they're fair game and I want to know what's going on.'
As Jet toiled in the kitchen, Andy tackled a different but infinitely more difficult job, talking sense into Faye when she was angry. She knocked the door to the other woman's room. "Faye? Please, let me in."
Faye opened the door a crack and walked back to sit on her bed without bothering to see if Andy would push it the rest of the way open or not. She gave the door a shove and entered Faye's world. "What do you want?"
Her voice was weary and strained as though she was holding back tears. Andy studied the unfamiliar creature for a moment before addressing her. "Well, you just yelled at the friend you seemed to miss an awful lot before and quite frankly, I'm a little confused."
Faye walked over to sit on her bed. Her exhaustion was plain on her face. "It doesn't matter."
Andy shook her head. "I think it does. I think there's more going on here then anyone wants to tell me and considering I'm your partner, I think I need to know."
"There's nothing to tell, Andy."
"I don't buy that. What happened before he left that makes you so angry?"
Faye lowered her head, letting her dark hair fall in front of her eyes. "He was a good friend and it scared me very much when I thought we'd lost him."
Andy quirked an eyebrow at her friend. 'Denial.' "Uh-huh. And you're angry with him because he was a good friend?"
Faye rolled her eyes. "I'm not doing this with you right now."
"Well, It might interest you to know what Lucas had to say about the matter." She paused.
"And that was?"
Andy smiled in satisfaction as she received the question she'd been hoping for. "He said that Spike didn't want to go back to the Syndicate and that the only reason he had was to prevent innocent people from getting killed."
"Innocent people don't work for the Syndicate." Faye glowered at her new partner.
"You know that's not true." Andy waited for some sort of acknowledgement of her statement. The best she got was the absence of a denial. "If someone like Vicious had taken over the Syndicate we'd all be right back where we started. And it sounded to me like he knew some of those that had already died personally."
Faye sighed. "He did."
"Don't you think under circumstances like those he might deserve the benefit of a doubt." Andy gave Faye her best critical look.
Faye shrugged. "Fine. I'll back off a little. But I make no promises not to defend myself when he starts something." She got up from the bed and headed for the door. "And he always starts something."
Andy watched her disappear down the hallway in the direction of the living room. She grinned and followed her friend. "Its always an adventure with that one."
tbc