A/N: YES!!!! IT'S FINALLY HERE!!! THE LAST CHAPTER OF WIDOW'S WALTZ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ::sniff:: but it's over now… Sadness… You know, I never would have managed this without a large jump-start from Lauryn, my hero and muse, and soon to by fellow author-in-crime. ::hope, hope:: Without her, this chappie wouldn't be here right now. And even it if was here it would be very OC and icky. So everyone give her a HUGE SQUARE OF APPLAUSE, and THANK HER VERY MUCH!!!!!! Any flames on this chapter will make me very angry because both of us worked really hard on it, so FLAMERS, YE BEWARE!!!!!! I'm so happy/sad that this story is over! I've been working on it for more than a year, and it has been very dear to me, as it was my first 'good' Bebop story, and pulled in the most reviews. Well, I'm sure my other stories would pull in more reviews, but I update them about once every 6 or 7 months… eh-heh… I know everyone always says, "don't write for the reviews!" but honestly, it's really nice to get the huge amounts of positive reviews I've been receiving each chapter. And yes, I know my amount of reviews doesn't even begin to compare with other authors, like teresa, Agent Orange, etc, but it makes me feel good… and it seems like a lot to little old me… ::blushes:: I'm naive, I know. But I just wanted to thank all my awesome reviewers!!!!! I'll post a reviewer thank you after I get this chapter up. 211 reviews!!! WOW!!!! YOU GUYS ARE THE BESTEST!!!! ::tear:: KISSES TO ALL OF YOU!!! I'LL MISS YOU!!!! COME VISIT ME IN MY OTHER STORIES!!!!

There will not be an epilogue, and I seriously doubt there will be a sequel (unless anyone has a good plot idea… ^.^) This is it! The end! Le fin! Finito! The end of the line! Period! Turn off the computer! No more! ::coughs:: I was wondering if saying it out loud would make it feel more real. It didn't.

My last WW disclaimer… ::tear:: Roses are red, violets are blue, me no own, so you no sue!

Now, sit back, relax, and enjoy the VERY LAST CHAPTER!!!!!!

"Then," he reached inside his suit jacket and pulled out a small, black velvet box. "Will you marry me?"

Faye froze.  This was NOT what she had expected.  She stammered, her mouth opening and closing in distinctly fishlike way.

"You look like a goldfish, Faye," Spike said trying to sound cool. 

Faye just continued to gape. 

Spike raised an eyebrow. "You know, considering marriage isn't really my kind of thing, I thought you'd be a little more eager at this tremendous sacrifice I'm willing to make for you," he said with a winning smile. 

She stared at the box in his hand.

He sighed, pulled away, and dropped to one knee – not without a casting suspicious glance around first – then popped the lid of the box open to reveal a simple silver band set with diamonds.  "Look, I'm even being formal for you," he said.

Faye found her voice.  "Are you seriously asking me to marry you?"

Spike snorted.  "No Faye, I'm just showing you this nice ring and asking you to marry me as practice for the woman I'm really going to ask."

She reached down and pulled him up by the collar to kiss him.  His grin threatened to wrap around the back of his head and chop it in two, but he wrapped his arms around her waist. 

"Is that a yes?" he asked breathlessly when she released him.

And as she kissed him again through her tears, somewhere in his heart, the first of his many wounds was healing over.

~Several Months Later~

"Gaah!" Faye groaned. "I can't do this! I can't do this!"

"Faye, calm down. Take a deep breath. Iiiiinnnn… Oooouuuutttt… There, don't you feel better?" Madame Breilloule asked. Jet had enlisted the woman's help in getting Faye reading for the wedding, knowing that the she could help calm the nervous bride.

Faye concentrated on taking a deep breath. "Whooo… okay. Let's do this! Oh no! I only have an hour, and my hair's not done, my make-up is not done, and my veil is still being pressed!" she began to pace again, absentmindedly chewing on her freshly painted nails.

"Faye!" Madame Breilloule commanded, and Faye immediately sat meekly in the vanity chair, hands folded on her lap. "Thank you." The formidable lady said, taking a brush from the stand. "Now, slow down. Edward should be bringing in your veil soon, and hair and make-up will not take an hour. Just breathe."

Faye submitted to being pampered by the woman, trying not to freak out.

Just then, Ed burst into the room. "Veily-veil-veil! In a pail-pail! With a nail-nail! While it hail-ha-"

"Ed…" moaned Faye.

The hacker's face was covered in clownish make-up – eyeshadow up to her brows, eyeliner extending to her temples, lipstick wavering off her lips, and blush that was darker than her lipstick – with Faye's veil anchored in her frizzy hair. Her bridesmaid dress was rumpled, and her patent leather shoes were on the wrong feet. "Ed wants to be pretty like Faye-Faye!" the hacker paused in her mad capering, and looked up at Faye. "Is Ed pretty?" she asked, worriedly.

Faye smiled at the girl. "Ed is gorgeous. Now come here and let me help you…"

"Gaah!" Spike groaned. "I can't do this! I can't do this!"

"Spike, shut up." Called Jet, from where he was crouched over in front of a low mirror. "I can't concentrate on tying this stupid tie with you moaning back there!"

"Marriage is not me, Jet!  Let alone marriage to the Shrew!  Aaah, what was I thinking…"

"Beats the hell outta me," Jet snapped, without turning around. 

Spike threw a glare over his shoulder at his senior partner.  "That's the woman who's going to be my wife you're talking about," he said coldly. 

Jet faltered. "But you're the one who said…"

"Since when have you or I ever given a damn about what I say?"

Jet shook his head.  God help Faye.  Or God help Spike.  God help them both.

Spike went back to fiddling with his tie.  And somewhere, deep in the convoluted tunnels of his mind, gears turned.  No, weddings weren't for him.  But he could work around that…

A small smile twitched at the corners of his mouth.

The church was not full.  Few people had gotten close enough to the Bebop crew to attend her members' wedding.  Some of the more important people in Jet and Ed's scheme were there – Madame Breilloule, her bodyguard, and three random old guys. Also, a few of Jet's old ISSP friends sat uncomfortably in the pews, while a tall blonde woman monitored by a guard from the Sol System Penitentiary (A/N: this is Linda from the manga) sat quietly at the far end of a middling pew.  Spike's only invite, Doohan, sat near the front.  Jet was best man, of course, and Ed was Faye's only bridesmaid.

Jet was also giving Faye away.  They stood outside the cathedral; Faye chewing one perfectly manicured nail, with Jet leaning on a wall next to her.  Spike was nowhere to be seen.

"I need a cigarette." Faye muttered, patting her dress as if there was a secret pocket with a pack of smokes hidden somewhere in the white silk mass. It was a gorgeous creation, tailored especially for Faye. Jet and Ed were paying for it, insisting it was the least they could do after causing Faye and Spike so much trouble. The dress was a strapless, a-symmetrical number, with a full skirt and chapel train made of white satin. Her bouquet was a handful of white lilies, with another lily pinned in her upswept hair, surrounded by a white lace veil. "Why can I never find a cigarette when I need one?!"

Jet sighed.  "He'll be here."

"I know he'll be here.  I still need a cigarette."

Jet sighed again.  The music started.  He pulled himself off the wall. "Let's go." 

Faye peeked into the cathedral again.  "He's not there…"

Jet looked too.  "He's probably making a grand entrance.  The music, Faye…"

She bit her lower lip, hesitated, then pulled her veil over her face and grabbed his arm.  "Jet, if I start to run the other way, you are to pick me up and carry me forcibly to the altar." she muttered.

Jet glanced down at her.  She may have been a shrew, but she was determined to the last.

"Sure thing."

They started walking.  Heads turned around to gawk at them.  No one was crying.  Faye whispered one more thing to Jet.

"…Thanks." 

He glanced down again.  There was a heart in there somewhere.  Spike, apparently, had found it.

"Anytime."

Spike did not appear when Faye reached the altar.

She stood stoically.  She did not cry, she did not look worried.  She simply stood, staring at the space where he was supposed to be. 

There was embarrassed murmuring in the pews.

Seconds ticked by, faded into minutes.  No one dared look at their watch, no one checked to see how long it had been.  How could they?

Nervous rustling.  No one knew each other well enough to whisper.

 Jet stood to one side of the altar.  He glanced at Ed, who blinked at him.  Her small voice drifted through the silent chapel as she whispered, "Is Spike-person being a lunkhead again?" 

Jet almost gave her a glare, but then he saw Faye's expression through her veil.  She was nodding slowly to herself, biting her lip and blinking.  "Yes, Ed.  That's exactly what he's doing."  Come on, Spike. Where the hell are you?!

That must have been his cue.

The roof groaned and ripped open, showering splinters on the small assembly.  Needless to say, they hid.  They ran and hid under pews and anything else providing ready shelter. 

Only Faye remained unmoved at the altar, her dress billowing out behind her.  She watched through her lacey veil and glazed eyes as a red ship descended ever-so-slowly into the church. 

"He didn't…" she breathed.

Oh, but he did. 

She stood frozen, as the Swordfish II hovered in the aisle, sending gusts of wind through the chapel.  It got inches from the ground before landing. 

The life began to return to Faye's eyes.

Jet peered out from under the communion table, Ed halfway under him.  The priest nervously stared out from under the pulpit.

Spike leapt out of the cockpit, still in his tux, and grinning madly. 

Faye remained immobile. "You…" she began.  But she wasn't sure what she meant to say.  She didn't have time to say it anyway.

Spike grabbed her left wrist, lifted her hand to eye level and unceremoniously shoved the ring on her finger.  She stared at it as he dragged her toward the Swordfish. 

The priest slowly crawled out from under the pulpit, then more frantically. "Wait a moment…" he called.  "We haven't done the nuptials!"

"I do!" Spike shouted over his shoulder.

"Ditto," Faye whispered.  Spike paused in his headlong rush, and lifted her veil. He kissed her fiercely and lifted her into the Swordfish, without breaking the lip-lock (which is quite a feat).

"Gah!  Inowpronounceyoumanandwife!" shouted the priest desperately, as Spike put her in the seat. 

Ed scrambled out from under Jet. "Byyyyyyyyyyyye Faye-Faye! Byyyyyyyyyyyye Spike-Person!" she cried, waving her lanky arms off as Spike crawled into the pilot's seat. "Bring Ed a souvenir!"

The hatch closed, and Faye put one hand to the glass.  As the ship began to rise, intending to leave the way it came, Faye mutely smiled and waved. 

As soon as the ship cleared the hole, it sped off, quickly disappearing.

Jet stood in the middle of the demolished church, scratching his head. "Well if that don't beat all…"

Ed walked up to him and pulled on his jacket sleeve. "Jet-person knew that Spi-Spi was going to do that…" she accused.

Jet grinned down at the little hacker. "Well I had my suspicions, yes. I couldn't see Spike standing at the altar, being all formal, exchanging vows and shit. But I honestly didn't think he'd go to this extreme…"

Ed smiled. "Does Jet-person think Faye-Faye and Spike-person will live happily ever after?" she asked, clasping his large metal hand in her small tan one.
Jet squeezed her hand and looked off into the distance. "I think… I think there is no 'happily ever after' for people like us, Edward. But I think Faye and Spike will love each other as much as they ever could, and I think this is the way it was meant to turn out." He paused. "And I think it will certainly be interesting…"

Somewhere in the Sol System, a red ship was barreling off towards the sunset, piloted by a green-haired man, wearing a tux and a satisfied smile. Behind him sat a woman with violet hair and a wedding dress, her arms wrapped around the man's chest and her head resting on his shoulder. Crystalline tears glittered on her lashes, but a happy smile adorned her ruby lips.

The ship was followed by a strange and tinny rattling, causing people to look up in confusion. Tied to the back of the ship were several empty beer cans, with the words "JUST MARRYD" painted over them hastily in white paint.

For a moment, the ship was silhouetted against the horizon, like a picture from a fairytale. Then time sped up, and it disappeared into the flaming hues of the sunset.

WALTZ UNTIL THE MUSIC FADES, COWBOYS…

A/N: WAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!! It's over… ::sniff:: I'm sad now… But seriously, what did you guys think? Was the ending okay? Lauryn and I tried really hard, so I hope all our work paid off!!! Oh, LAURYN, YOU ROCK MY WORLD!!!!!!!! Kisses girl!

Please review and tell me what you think!!!!!!