Thanks for the positive feedback. Here comes chapter 2.
Legal stuff: I still own no part of cb.not even a t-shirt. Woe is me.
Nothing Good Comes from Earth
Chapter 2: Awakenings
Spike looked down at the limp hand in his. It had been cleaned up, but the rope burns were still raw. Compared to the rest of her, the hand looked pretty good. Finding her dumped like a piece of road-kill had been almost surreal. He had been flooded with a myriad of emotions as he stared at her nearly lifeless body. Anger, fear, pity, and mostly guilt hit him all at once. 'If I'd only been there on time this wouldn't have happened,' he kicked himself mentally. The bartender had said Faye had gone outside an hour after she had called. He had told her he'd be there to get her in half an hour. But he just had to act like a stupid child and play games.
'This is all your fault, Spike,' he accused himself. 'If I wasn't so bent on pissing her off as much as possible all the time she would be safe right now.'
"Faye," he whispered to the woman in the white hospital bed, "I'll make whoever did this to you pay.with his life. I promise." He lifted her limp fingers and kissed them gently. Even now, such a gesture of tenderness for this woman surprised him. He didn't like the feelings he was having for the bandaged figure, still unconscious, lying in front of him. 'I don't love her,' he told himself. 'I don't even like her.much.' It was just pity. That had to be it.
He dropped her hand at the click of the door opening.
"How is she?" Jet asked him, genuine concern etched on his rugged features.
"Same. What did you find out?" Spike asked, running a hand through the black mass of fluff on his head that passed for hair.
"Well, um," Jet choked, trying to find the right words. He decided to be blunt. "Some cracked ribs, a lot of bruising and cuts."
"I can see that without a doctor, Jet. What else?" his voice was low.
Jet sighed and collapsed next to him before continuing. "She was raped- they don't know by who. DNA results aren't back yet. The doc said there was a lot of internal damage to her...um.you know.stuff." Jet was blushing. Talking about Faye's reproductive system, even when she couldn't hear him was still embarrassing. "She's going to need microsurgery. At least that will ensure that she isn't pregnant."
Spike lifted his head from his hands to look at Faye's shattered body. Rage, unlike any he had ever known, was filling him. He felt like he was going to explode if he didn't kill someone soon. He stood and walked to the door, looked over his shoulder at Jet, and let the thing slam behind him.
Jet sat staring at her for a moment. Damn, she was a pain in the neck, but she didn't deserve anything like this. He reached out and brushed her hair across her forehead, gentler than Faye could have believed was possible had she been awake. He stood to follow Spike. Ed had been bugging him to take her to see Faye since the night before. He didn't want her to see Faye lying there like a corpse. He didn't know how to explain what rape was to her; anyhow, it wouldn't be right to show that kind of pain and suffering to a child. He took one last look at the bed, and then left her to her nightmares. He had a criminal to find.
***
Thwack! Spike's foot connected perfectly with the man's head. But the bastard was still standing. He kicked him again, harder this time, following up with a lightening fast series of punches. The bastard just wouldn't go down. Die already! Spike thought. Sweat was pouring down his body, burning rivulets streaming into his eyes.
He had been killing the hanging bag in the Bebop's rec area since he had returned from the hospital hours ago. Ed had bounded away from her computer the second he had walked through the door, pestering him to "please take Ed to see Faye-Faye."
"Not today, Ed," he had said, ruffling her red mane as he walked to his room. He was furious, but he hadn't wanted Ed to think his anger was directed at her, so he had simply ignored her afterwards.
Now he was facing not a lifeless bag, but Faye's faceless attacker. He kicked, screaming in fury, and then suddenly stopped, his breathing ragged. The man faded, and the bag was just a bag again.
Spike silently walked to the shower. He stood, feeling the water running down his muscled body. He still didn't feel better. The desire for revenge was consuming him, and kicking the shit out of inanimate objects wasn't helping like he had hoped. He balled his fists in frustration, and stared at the water swirling down the drain, tears silently falling down his cheeks.
***
Light. She blinked. A shape was floating above her, not much more than a blurry shadow. The light was so intense it hurt. She closed her eyes and opened them again, trying to focus on the object. If it would only stay still! The motion was making her nauseous. It was saying her name.
"Faye? Faye? Hey, you awake?" She recognized the masculine voice.
"Jet," she croaked through swollen lips. She blinked again, her eyes finally focusing on his worried face. "Where am I?"
"You're in the hospital-have been for almost two days now. Don't you remember what happened?"
Hospital, she thought, why would I be in the.? She jerked upright, her breath coming in short ragged gasps. The terror, the pain, his evil smile as he beat and raped her all crashed back into memory. Her stomach lurched, bile rising in her throat. She flinched as Jet put his hand on her shoulder in an attempt to offer comfort.
"Please.don't touch me," Faye begged in whisper. She hung her head down in an attempt to hide behind a dark curtain of hair. As much as she was hurting, both physically and emotionally, she still didn't want him to see her so weak.
"Faye--" Jet started but was interrupted by a nurse.
"Excuse me, Mr. Black. There are some things we need to do, now that she's conscious. Please wait outside."
"Um, sure," he said, turning to leave. "I'll be back later with Spike and Ed. She's been bugging to see you since you got here."
Faye nodded slightly, trying to give him a reassuring look. He opened the door and paused once again.
"It's good to have you back, kid."
The door shut softly behind him.
***
Spike stood smoking outside the hospital. Jet had already gone up with Edward twenty minutes ago. For some reason he was having a hard time walking through the sliding doors. Part of him wanted to rush inside and hold her, protect her, do anything to take her pain away. The other part of him wouldn't allow his feet to move. What was he thinking? I'm just feeling guilty, he thought bitterly as he smashed his cigarette butt into the standing ashtray by the door. 'Besides, she can't stand me. Ah, hell, she probably hates me after what happened.' Finally convinced his feelings for her were a product of his own guilty conscience, he strode into the building.
Faye's room was upstairs on the third floor. He decided against taking the elevator, preferring to walk. He hated hospitals. The way they looked, so sterile and pristine, was creepy. The ever-present scent of industrial strength disinfectant that covered the odor of disease and death burned his sinuses. He paused in the third floor stairwell before opening the door. Spike snorted in disgust at himself. What was he afraid of? Her? 'I'm such a moron,' he thought, pushing the blue metal door open.
Faye's door was propped open. All the way down the hall Spike could hear Ed's nonsense ranting. He stood outside for a moment listening.
"Faye-Faye, look at what Ed can do, do, dooooooooooo!"
"Ed! Get down from there! No, don't touch that!" Jet yelled.
"Jet-person is ruining all of Edward's fun! NO FAIR!" Ed whined. "PUT ED DOWN!!!"
"Not until you promise to behave, this isn't a frickin' park!"
Spike chose that moment to walk in. Ed was hanging upside-down from Jet's shoulder, thrashing her arms and legs wildly. It was all he could do to keep his grip on her.
"Hi there, Spike-person!" Ed chirped, grinning madly.
Spike smiled in spite of himself. "Getting into trouble again, Ed?" he asked.
He stepped around the two and saw Faye sitting on the bed poking at a tray of food. The bruises seemed to be healing quickly. All the cuts were either bandaged or scabbed over. She was still a mess, but it wasn't as painful to look at her as it had been when she had just lain there like a broken doll. She lifted her eyes. Green and bloodshot, they had lost their fire. The haughty expression that usually resided there was gone. Instead she looked like a hunted animal, ready to bolt any second. It was unnerving, seeing her so unguarded. The Faye he knew would never have allowed them to see how she really felt. The woman sitting in front of him either didn't want to hide anymore, or couldn't.
"Hi, Faye," he said sitting down on the edge of her bed. He tried not to notice her moving slightly so that he wouldn't quite touch her. Was she afraid of him?
"Hi," she muttered, pretending to be busy pushing the mass of pasta around her plate.
"You should really eat that instead of playing with it," he said, trying to evoke a typical Faye-type smart-ass response from her.
"Oh," she said, obediently putting a forkful into her mouth. She set the utensil down and stared at her plate again.
Spike scratched his head, puzzled. She looked up at him, searching his face for something. It was making him uncomfortable, but at the same time bringing back his earlier desire to wrap his arms around her. Instead he just sat there. Finally, she released him from her questing gaze, turning to look outside the window.
"So, I hear we get to take you home today. I bet you can't wait to sleep in your own room. Hospital beds suck."
"Yeah," she responded, still staring out the window.
"Spike, I'm going to take Ed down and get the paperwork started so we can get out of here tonight," Jet said, grabbing the twirling red-haired monkey by the elbow.
"Ok, Jet. I'll see you in a bit."
Jet left with Ed in tow, her sing-song voice retreating down the corridor. Spike turned his attention back to Faye. She didn't seem to notice they had gone. Spike reached out his hand hesitantly, then pulled it back. Oh, what the hell, he thought, sliding closer to her and pulling her into a fierce embrace. He held her tight as she cringed and whimpered, trying to escape him.
"I'm not going to hurt you," he whispered against her hair.
She pressed her hands against his yellow shirt and gave a half hearted push before giving up and resigning herself to his will.
"Spike, I...I." whatever it was, she couldn't get it out. She pressed her face against his shoulder, tears staining his blue jacket. For the first time since she awoke, she allowed herself to cry.
He didn't know how long he held her, stroking her back as he listened to her raw, heart-wrenching sobs. When she was finally reduced to hiccups and sniffles he spoke.
"Look at me, Faye."
She complied, emerald eyes penetrating his mismatched brown ones.
"Whoever did this to you isn't going to live much longer."
"How do you know that?"
"I'm going to hunt him down like the animal he is and kill him."
Everything in his face said he was serious.
'No,' Faye thought sadly, you aren't. 'I won't let Vicious use me to get to you.' She laid her head against his chest and closed her eyes, the rise and fall of his breathing lulling her into a guarded sleep.
Spike gazed thoughtfully at the sleeping woman in his arms. She seemed so small and helpless lying against him. She needed protection, that much was obvious. But did he have to be the one to do it? Unconsciously, he wrapped his arms tighter around her shoulders before settling himself against the wall. Soon he too was sleeping, never letting her fall from his arms.
Well, here is revised chapter two as promised. Not a whole lot changed here, just a few little additions, like the last paragraph. Now I'm off to write that new in -between chapter, hope to have that out by next week!
Nothing Good Comes from Earth
Chapter 2: Awakenings
Spike looked down at the limp hand in his. It had been cleaned up, but the rope burns were still raw. Compared to the rest of her, the hand looked pretty good. Finding her dumped like a piece of road-kill had been almost surreal. He had been flooded with a myriad of emotions as he stared at her nearly lifeless body. Anger, fear, pity, and mostly guilt hit him all at once. 'If I'd only been there on time this wouldn't have happened,' he kicked himself mentally. The bartender had said Faye had gone outside an hour after she had called. He had told her he'd be there to get her in half an hour. But he just had to act like a stupid child and play games.
'This is all your fault, Spike,' he accused himself. 'If I wasn't so bent on pissing her off as much as possible all the time she would be safe right now.'
"Faye," he whispered to the woman in the white hospital bed, "I'll make whoever did this to you pay.with his life. I promise." He lifted her limp fingers and kissed them gently. Even now, such a gesture of tenderness for this woman surprised him. He didn't like the feelings he was having for the bandaged figure, still unconscious, lying in front of him. 'I don't love her,' he told himself. 'I don't even like her.much.' It was just pity. That had to be it.
He dropped her hand at the click of the door opening.
"How is she?" Jet asked him, genuine concern etched on his rugged features.
"Same. What did you find out?" Spike asked, running a hand through the black mass of fluff on his head that passed for hair.
"Well, um," Jet choked, trying to find the right words. He decided to be blunt. "Some cracked ribs, a lot of bruising and cuts."
"I can see that without a doctor, Jet. What else?" his voice was low.
Jet sighed and collapsed next to him before continuing. "She was raped- they don't know by who. DNA results aren't back yet. The doc said there was a lot of internal damage to her...um.you know.stuff." Jet was blushing. Talking about Faye's reproductive system, even when she couldn't hear him was still embarrassing. "She's going to need microsurgery. At least that will ensure that she isn't pregnant."
Spike lifted his head from his hands to look at Faye's shattered body. Rage, unlike any he had ever known, was filling him. He felt like he was going to explode if he didn't kill someone soon. He stood and walked to the door, looked over his shoulder at Jet, and let the thing slam behind him.
Jet sat staring at her for a moment. Damn, she was a pain in the neck, but she didn't deserve anything like this. He reached out and brushed her hair across her forehead, gentler than Faye could have believed was possible had she been awake. He stood to follow Spike. Ed had been bugging him to take her to see Faye since the night before. He didn't want her to see Faye lying there like a corpse. He didn't know how to explain what rape was to her; anyhow, it wouldn't be right to show that kind of pain and suffering to a child. He took one last look at the bed, and then left her to her nightmares. He had a criminal to find.
***
Thwack! Spike's foot connected perfectly with the man's head. But the bastard was still standing. He kicked him again, harder this time, following up with a lightening fast series of punches. The bastard just wouldn't go down. Die already! Spike thought. Sweat was pouring down his body, burning rivulets streaming into his eyes.
He had been killing the hanging bag in the Bebop's rec area since he had returned from the hospital hours ago. Ed had bounded away from her computer the second he had walked through the door, pestering him to "please take Ed to see Faye-Faye."
"Not today, Ed," he had said, ruffling her red mane as he walked to his room. He was furious, but he hadn't wanted Ed to think his anger was directed at her, so he had simply ignored her afterwards.
Now he was facing not a lifeless bag, but Faye's faceless attacker. He kicked, screaming in fury, and then suddenly stopped, his breathing ragged. The man faded, and the bag was just a bag again.
Spike silently walked to the shower. He stood, feeling the water running down his muscled body. He still didn't feel better. The desire for revenge was consuming him, and kicking the shit out of inanimate objects wasn't helping like he had hoped. He balled his fists in frustration, and stared at the water swirling down the drain, tears silently falling down his cheeks.
***
Light. She blinked. A shape was floating above her, not much more than a blurry shadow. The light was so intense it hurt. She closed her eyes and opened them again, trying to focus on the object. If it would only stay still! The motion was making her nauseous. It was saying her name.
"Faye? Faye? Hey, you awake?" She recognized the masculine voice.
"Jet," she croaked through swollen lips. She blinked again, her eyes finally focusing on his worried face. "Where am I?"
"You're in the hospital-have been for almost two days now. Don't you remember what happened?"
Hospital, she thought, why would I be in the.? She jerked upright, her breath coming in short ragged gasps. The terror, the pain, his evil smile as he beat and raped her all crashed back into memory. Her stomach lurched, bile rising in her throat. She flinched as Jet put his hand on her shoulder in an attempt to offer comfort.
"Please.don't touch me," Faye begged in whisper. She hung her head down in an attempt to hide behind a dark curtain of hair. As much as she was hurting, both physically and emotionally, she still didn't want him to see her so weak.
"Faye--" Jet started but was interrupted by a nurse.
"Excuse me, Mr. Black. There are some things we need to do, now that she's conscious. Please wait outside."
"Um, sure," he said, turning to leave. "I'll be back later with Spike and Ed. She's been bugging to see you since you got here."
Faye nodded slightly, trying to give him a reassuring look. He opened the door and paused once again.
"It's good to have you back, kid."
The door shut softly behind him.
***
Spike stood smoking outside the hospital. Jet had already gone up with Edward twenty minutes ago. For some reason he was having a hard time walking through the sliding doors. Part of him wanted to rush inside and hold her, protect her, do anything to take her pain away. The other part of him wouldn't allow his feet to move. What was he thinking? I'm just feeling guilty, he thought bitterly as he smashed his cigarette butt into the standing ashtray by the door. 'Besides, she can't stand me. Ah, hell, she probably hates me after what happened.' Finally convinced his feelings for her were a product of his own guilty conscience, he strode into the building.
Faye's room was upstairs on the third floor. He decided against taking the elevator, preferring to walk. He hated hospitals. The way they looked, so sterile and pristine, was creepy. The ever-present scent of industrial strength disinfectant that covered the odor of disease and death burned his sinuses. He paused in the third floor stairwell before opening the door. Spike snorted in disgust at himself. What was he afraid of? Her? 'I'm such a moron,' he thought, pushing the blue metal door open.
Faye's door was propped open. All the way down the hall Spike could hear Ed's nonsense ranting. He stood outside for a moment listening.
"Faye-Faye, look at what Ed can do, do, dooooooooooo!"
"Ed! Get down from there! No, don't touch that!" Jet yelled.
"Jet-person is ruining all of Edward's fun! NO FAIR!" Ed whined. "PUT ED DOWN!!!"
"Not until you promise to behave, this isn't a frickin' park!"
Spike chose that moment to walk in. Ed was hanging upside-down from Jet's shoulder, thrashing her arms and legs wildly. It was all he could do to keep his grip on her.
"Hi there, Spike-person!" Ed chirped, grinning madly.
Spike smiled in spite of himself. "Getting into trouble again, Ed?" he asked.
He stepped around the two and saw Faye sitting on the bed poking at a tray of food. The bruises seemed to be healing quickly. All the cuts were either bandaged or scabbed over. She was still a mess, but it wasn't as painful to look at her as it had been when she had just lain there like a broken doll. She lifted her eyes. Green and bloodshot, they had lost their fire. The haughty expression that usually resided there was gone. Instead she looked like a hunted animal, ready to bolt any second. It was unnerving, seeing her so unguarded. The Faye he knew would never have allowed them to see how she really felt. The woman sitting in front of him either didn't want to hide anymore, or couldn't.
"Hi, Faye," he said sitting down on the edge of her bed. He tried not to notice her moving slightly so that he wouldn't quite touch her. Was she afraid of him?
"Hi," she muttered, pretending to be busy pushing the mass of pasta around her plate.
"You should really eat that instead of playing with it," he said, trying to evoke a typical Faye-type smart-ass response from her.
"Oh," she said, obediently putting a forkful into her mouth. She set the utensil down and stared at her plate again.
Spike scratched his head, puzzled. She looked up at him, searching his face for something. It was making him uncomfortable, but at the same time bringing back his earlier desire to wrap his arms around her. Instead he just sat there. Finally, she released him from her questing gaze, turning to look outside the window.
"So, I hear we get to take you home today. I bet you can't wait to sleep in your own room. Hospital beds suck."
"Yeah," she responded, still staring out the window.
"Spike, I'm going to take Ed down and get the paperwork started so we can get out of here tonight," Jet said, grabbing the twirling red-haired monkey by the elbow.
"Ok, Jet. I'll see you in a bit."
Jet left with Ed in tow, her sing-song voice retreating down the corridor. Spike turned his attention back to Faye. She didn't seem to notice they had gone. Spike reached out his hand hesitantly, then pulled it back. Oh, what the hell, he thought, sliding closer to her and pulling her into a fierce embrace. He held her tight as she cringed and whimpered, trying to escape him.
"I'm not going to hurt you," he whispered against her hair.
She pressed her hands against his yellow shirt and gave a half hearted push before giving up and resigning herself to his will.
"Spike, I...I." whatever it was, she couldn't get it out. She pressed her face against his shoulder, tears staining his blue jacket. For the first time since she awoke, she allowed herself to cry.
He didn't know how long he held her, stroking her back as he listened to her raw, heart-wrenching sobs. When she was finally reduced to hiccups and sniffles he spoke.
"Look at me, Faye."
She complied, emerald eyes penetrating his mismatched brown ones.
"Whoever did this to you isn't going to live much longer."
"How do you know that?"
"I'm going to hunt him down like the animal he is and kill him."
Everything in his face said he was serious.
'No,' Faye thought sadly, you aren't. 'I won't let Vicious use me to get to you.' She laid her head against his chest and closed her eyes, the rise and fall of his breathing lulling her into a guarded sleep.
Spike gazed thoughtfully at the sleeping woman in his arms. She seemed so small and helpless lying against him. She needed protection, that much was obvious. But did he have to be the one to do it? Unconsciously, he wrapped his arms tighter around her shoulders before settling himself against the wall. Soon he too was sleeping, never letting her fall from his arms.
Well, here is revised chapter two as promised. Not a whole lot changed here, just a few little additions, like the last paragraph. Now I'm off to write that new in -between chapter, hope to have that out by next week!