Spike slouched over the bar, cradling his drink between his hands. He watched the deep red liquid slosh around in the glass, reminded once again of how much it looked like blood.

Memories flitted through his head, like half-formed butterflies, blurred and incomplete.

His mother holding a gun, no it was Jet pressing a hand to his thigh, as blood poured around his fingers. Now it was Vicious stalking through a bloody corridor, which turned into Ed singing a lullaby to Ein. Now Julia stared at him through a window, her blue eyes sad. Then it was Faye, lying on the ground as rain poured down on her. A rough box was scratched into the mud, and the raindrops mingled with her mascara-laden tears.

"Mister?"

Spike physically snapped back to reality, some of his drink splashing over the rim of his glass, and dripping down his hands.

The barkeeper looked worried. "D'ya wanna talk about her?"

Spike grinned. "I bet you've seen a lot of guys come through here, all of them just like me. But somehow, I feel all alone. I don't think anyone else has quite the same problems I do…" With a sigh, he threw some bills on the bar and stood.

"Mister!" the bartender called after him. "Are you sure you don't want to talk about her? I don't think you should be on the streets like that…"

Spike stopped, a slow smile creeping onto his face. "She was a woman…" Without another word, he walked out of the bar.

Faye looked out the window of her hotel room, watching the tiny pinpricks of light coming from the windows all around the city. The smoke from her cigarette curled around her body, tracing a downward spiral.

Tonight she wore a loose black silk nightgown that fell to mid-thigh. Her hair was loose, and her bare feet were silent on the marble floor.

With a sigh, she left the window, pacing slowly around the room. "Look at me Spike! I'm not dead! I'm not drinking my life away, or spending it wasted in a back alley! I'm back on my feet, and back in business. Just try to laugh at me now! See? I DON'T need you!" She grinned, and then realized she was talking to herself again. "I need to get out of here…" She climbed the stairs onto the roof, and sat on the low wall, staring out at the city. Where are you, Spike? Do you regret those words? Or do you even remember? Do you remember Spike? Do you remember?

A sudden roar snapped Faye from her reverie. A ship was closing in on her roof, and a spotlight centered on her.

"Shit! Just what I need. More guys trying to attack me!" She tossed her cigarette over the roof, and sprinted for the fire escape. "This is the last time I buy a nightgown that doesn't have somewhere to hide a gun!"

Vaulting over the edge of the roof, she landed on the fire escape, the rough metal digging in to the soles of her bare feet. Quickly, she climbed down the ladder, and jumped to the ground, to find herself in a dead-end alley.

She turned to run onto the street, but the alley mouth was blocked by a large group of tough-looking men.

"Alright." She held her hands up. "If Hugh sent you to drag me back to him so he can marry me, I give up." Like hell! She thought. I'll get rid of him the same way I got rid of Sedgwick.

One of the men stepped into the light, and Faye gasped. "You're not Hugh's guards! You're those goons who've been hunting me!"

The men edged forward, keeping their guns trained on her. Faye slowly backed up, keeping the same distance of space between her and them. She kept edging away, until she ran into something hard and warm. Startled, she looked up into the face of two very large men.

She cursed and struggled, but their hands clamped around her arms like steel bands. For once in her life, Faye Valentine was actually scared. What happened to the fearless Poker Alice? What happened to the gun-toting bounty huntress? The smart-ass vixen? As Faye tried unsuccessfully to escape, she realized what was wrong. She grew up. She had someone who cared whether or not she died. That made her scared. I'm scared…

Once Faye understood that it was impossible to get free, she stopped fighting. The men wrenched her arms behind her back, causing her to wince with pain. The leader stepped up to her, pressing his face right in front of hers. "Are you scared, little girl? Scared of the big, bad men who are going to kill you?"

She spit in his eyes. "Go jack off in a corner or something!"

He cursed, and wiped his eyes with a handkerchief. "You'll regret that. I'll make sure you do." He drew back his face and let it fly.

Faye leaned out of the way, but the tight grip on her arms kept her from getting fully clear. The leader's punch missed, but one of his large rings sliced her face, from her right temple to the middle of her forehead.

Panting, Faye held her back straight, waiting for the next blow. Despite her best efforts, her eyes were squeezed shut, and her jaw was clenched. She could feel the leader's eyes sweep over her, but no punch slammed into her. Cautiously, she opened her eyes, and straightened.

The leader met her eyes and smirked. His smirk is so different than Spike's. She thought. Spike's always had an undercurrent of laughter, and his good humor would make the corners of his mouth twitch. She looked carefully at the leader's mouth. No twitching. This man doesn't think this is a joke at all. He's enjoying it, not because he can laugh to see me humiliated, but because he can cause me pain, and he knows I'm scared of him…

Grinding her teeth together, she pulled herself upright, shoved her fear into a corner of her brain, and locked the door on it. I will NOT be scared! If this is my divine end, I'm gonna take it like a woman! I won't give him the satisfaction of knowing that I'm scared.

Sensing that his power over Faye was fading, the leader struck her across the face again, and this time his punch connected.

Faye's head turned with the force of the blow, but when she met the leader's eyes again, her face was completely closed. There was no fear, no sadness, no hate, no expression at all.

This made the leader even angrier. He was used to his victims having extreme emotions, and truth be told, Faye's complete lack of feeling was unnerving. He kicked her in the stomach. "I will see you cry! You will break. Yes, dear lady. You will break…"

Faye raised her head, and met his eyes. "Maybe." Was all she said.

The leader cracked her across the face again, and then grabbed her sharply by the chin, forcing her to look at him. Their eyes locked, and they both stood completely still for a moment. Then the leader threw himself backwards, nearly falling in his haste. Shaking, he reached into his pocket and drew out a gun.

"You die now. And this time, your precious cowboy is not here to save you. I had several of my men kill him off before we came after you. So now, you have reached the end. I take great pleasure in this! Goodbye." Simultaneously with his last words, the loud report of his gun sounded in the silent alley.

Faye closed her eyes, welcoming death. I'm sorry Spike… I shouldn't have yelled at you. I should've stayed so we could talk this out. Then none of this would have happened…I'm sorry, and I love you.

She heard the report of the gun, and waited for the bullet to enter her body. Instead she felt something wrap around her waist, and slam her to the ground. She hit the concrete hard, knocking all the breath from her body. Something warm pressed against her back, keeping her pressed flat on the ground. Gasping, she opened her eyes.

All she could see from her position on the ground was the leader, still holding a smoking gun, aiming at whatever was above her, and looking like he had just been kicked in the groin.

"You!" he yelled. "It's that puffy-haired bastard! The one who keeps getting in the way! You shitheaded piece of crap!"

"Stop… I'm blushing." Said a wry voice from above her, unmistakably Spike's. She tilted her head back and to the side, just managing to catch a glimpse of a blue pant leg.

"And I like my hair!" Spike was saying. "I wish you wouldn't insult it. You're just making me more angry…"

"Spike?" Faye whispered.

He glanced down at her and smiled. "One knight in shining armor, at your service!" he removed the weight from her back, and reached down a hand to her.

She hesitated for a fraction of a second, but then slid her hand into his grasp. He began to pull Faye to her feet, but her ribs hurt so badly she almost collapsed.

Looking concerned, Spike easily levered to her to her feet with one hand, pulling her behind him.

"I had you killed!" shouted the leader. "My men assured me that you were dead! They said they left you lying in a pool of your own blood in that restaurant!"

Spike smirked, and Faye smiled herself when she saw the corners of his mouth twitch. "Have you ever tasted my blood?" Spike asked jovially, twirling his gun on one finger. "It tastes a whole lot like the wine I was drinking…"

"GAAAAAAAAAH!" the leader yelled, jumping up and down in his frustration. Spike and Faye traded glances, and began to chuckle. Faye felt Spike press the cold metal shape of a gun into her hand, and he winked.

Suddenly, the leader stopped shouting, and smiled sinisterly. "You seem to have forgotten something, Mr. Spiegel. You are outnumbered here. Vastly outnumbered." He pointed triumphantly to the surrounding rooftops, where hostile-looking men occupied every available space, each one holding guns trained on Spike and Faye.

"Game over…"