Yay! I got some reviews! ^_^ I'm glad that you guys are liking this! That makes me very happy! Very much so! I was afraid that no one would read or that no one would like it! I hope that you all like this chapter just as much, at least. And again, if the characters are off at all, please forgive me! I tried my best, as always. At some parts, they might be a little off, but I did it that way or else what I want to happen wouldn't happen…Probably. So anyway, I hope everyone likes it. So read and enjoy it! ^_^ And please let me know what you think of it!
Chapter 2
She stormed down the hall. She just couldn't take it anymore. She was wet and cold, out of cigarettes, craving a good drink and felt crowded with Julia around. She had to get out, be alone, get some air. Away from here. And now that her ship was finally fixed, she could do just that.
She bumped into Jet, knocking him off balance and his crutch falling to the floor. Jet grunted and leaned against the wall. "Watch it Faye." He growled through clenched teeth.
"Sorry." She replied quietly.
Jet looked up at her. "Where are you off to in such a hurry?"
Faye snickered. "Like you care."
"Well, just don't be gone too long." Jet said as he bent down to retrieve his crutch. "The Bebop's close to being fixed." He looked at her, but she was still and staring off into space. "Faye?"
"Yeah whatever." She responded flatly. She moved passed him to the hanger.
Jet stared after her. "What's going on with her?
* * * * *
Spike sighed happily. He looked down at the angel in his arms and smiled a little. He thought that he would never have this again. It seemed like a part of a dream that disappeared and would never come back. Like waking up from a dream and wanting to go back to it. He tightened his hold around her while closing his eyes and letting his head fall back against the couch. Julia had either fallen silent or fallen asleep in their embrace, and he had been sitting like that ever since. And he didn't mind at all.
He heard the fast-paced click of shoes. Someone running. It was obviously Faye; no one else had shoes that clicked so obnoxiously on the ship. He opened one eye just a little sliver just in time to see her run in and head for the stairs.
"Going to a casino to get wasted, or going to a bar to get wasted?" He asked her without moving.
She stopped and looked at him. The sight sickened her, what woman so close and snuggled with him. His arms draped in a firm yet relaxed way around her. It sent shivers down her spine and arms. She growled and glared at him. "Shut up Spike." He just chuckled softly as she ran up the stairs and left.
All was quiet and relaxing again. And it stayed that way for a few minutes. Julia shifted slightly in his hold. He watched as her eyes slowly fluttered and opened. She looked up at him. "Who were you talking to?"
His face scrunched up with confusion. "Weren't you asleep?"
She sat up and rubbed one eye. "Partly. I heard your voice. Who were you talking to?"
Spike shrugged. "It was just Faye."
Julia rested her head on his shoulder. "Does she hate me?"
He was surprised by her question, but he shook it off. He opened one eye to look down at her. "Does it matter?"
"No," She sighed. "No it doesn't. Just curious, that's all."
"You don't have to worry about a thing, Julia." Spike said, closing his eye again. "We'll be out of here soon. We'll be all alone, away from everyone. We won't have to worry about what people think, or if we're being watched. We'll finally be free."
"Like watching a dream." She whispered softly.
"Yeah, like watching a dream."
* * * * *
Spike sat with his feet on the table as he flipped through the TV channels. He looked incredibly bored and disappointed. Julia sat next to him reading a book. Neither of them really had anything to do. They were just wasting time, waiting for Vicious. Spike was getting pretty bored with it; he was thinking of just going after Vicious himself. Of course, he hadn't told Julia that. Nor would he. But the more he thought about it, the better it sounded. The sooner Vicious was killed, the sooner he and Julia could leave and actually live their lives.
But waiting was not fast, it was slow. So very slow. No matter how tempting it was to hunt Vicious down, Spike knew that Vicious wanted exactly that. They knew each other far too well. And it peeved him. Because even if he and Julia started to run, eventually, Spike would be over taken by his desire to rid himself of the predator. He'd be driven by his anger and lust to kill Vicious. And nothing would be able to change his mind. Not even Julia. And Vicious knew that. So he might not come at all. But he wasn't about to tell Julia that.
And besides, neither of them could live how they wanted, knowing that Vicious is still alive.
Jet came limping into the living room, his crutch under one arm. "Hey Spike, have you heard from Faye?"
He looked up at the older man with very little interest. "No. Why?"
"She's been gone for six hours."
"So?"
Jet's eyebrows furrowed in frustration. "So, someone has to go get her! She won't answer her communicator, and she won't be back for hours!"
Spike sighed. "Just let her be, Jet. It's obviously what she wants. She'll come back. She always does."
"I know that." Jet said. "But I've got the Bebop fixed, and we can't leave without her."
Spike and Julia looked at each other, not needing words to know what the other was thinking.
Julia stood up. "I'll go get her."
"What?!" Spike jumped with shocked. He bolted to his feet. "Julia-"
"Spike, Vicious is still out there." She interrupted. "He could do the same thing he did before. It'll only make things harder for us."
He relaxed, seeing in her eyes that they would talk about this. He sighed. "Fine. But I'm coming with you."
"Why?" Julia asked.
"Faye is a hard woman to deal with Julia." Spike said with a small smile. "Especially when she's drunk."
"I can handle it Spike."
"I know." He replied. "But it'll be a lot easier if I come too."
She sighed. "All right."
Jet put a hand on Spike's shoulder. "Spike, try to bring her back unharmed."
Spike chuckled. "I can only try, Jet."
* * * * *
"Julia, could you please tell me why we're going to get Faye? She'll only throw some punches or point a gun at us. When she leaves, that means she wants to be alone. And when she wants to be alone, she wants to be alone." Spike reasoned.
She did not like the fact that he knew Faye so well. "I know that Spike. But she's just bait for Vicious to draw us out. I know you don't particularly care for her, but you're not the type of person to just let someone get kidnapped by Vicious." She let out a long breath. "My only question is, now that the ship is fixed, what'll we do?"
Spike shrugged. "I'll just tell Jet what we have in mind."
Julia looked up at him. "Spike, we're putting both Jet and Faye's lives in danger by waiting around for Vicious on the Bebop. You don't think that will anger him at all?"
"Yeah, I know." He sighed.
"We need him to give us a ride to wherever it is we decide to go when this is over." Julia explained. "We don't have any money to travel publicly."
"I know." Spike repeated. "Don't worry. I'll come up with something."
"Spike?"
"Yeah?"
"How are we going to find her?"
"It can't be too hard." Spike responded. "There's only so many bars on Mars."
Julia smiled a little at his comment. "But what if she's not at a bar?"
Spike looked at her. "Trust me, she is. That's all she ever does when she leaves on her own. That, and losing all her money at casinos."
"It sounds like you know her pretty well." Julia said quietly.
His back stiffened, catching her line of thought. "Listen Julia, there's only four things that Faye likes to do." He held up his hand and started to list them off on his fingers. "Steal, be obnoxious, get drunk, and gambling. It doesn't take long to get to know a person like Faye."
"No, I guess not." She agreed.
They sat in momentary silence. Spike pushed himself off the wall and walked over to Julia. She met his gaze for a short while before he gave her a quick, light kiss. Then he climbed up onto the Swordfish.
"Come on, let's go get her."
* * * * *
Faye's throat burned with sensation as she downed another glass of alcohol. She weakly dropped the glass on the counter and waved her hand at the bar tender for another. With a soft, weary sigh, she rested her cheek in her hand as she brought the cigarette to her lips. Her head was spinning, and it had been for quite a while. But she didn't care. This was the best way to relax and calm her frustration.
Julia. It use to just be a name. A name that was so important and precious to Spike. A name that meant absolutely nothing to her and Jet. A name that lead Spike through a state of desperation. A name that lead Faye and Jet through confusion. It was a name that when spoken, a heavy silence would fall. When it rolled off the tongue it was a strange, brand new feeling. Something that just made Spike even more confusing and mysterious. It was the trigger of that curiosity that could kill you.
But now, Julia was just an ordinary name. Nothing special about it. Not to her anyway. Faye couldn't say the name without tainting it with anger. She did not get strongly curious when she heard the name Julia. But instead, she would bristle with anger. Julia was no longer mysterious and surreal. No, she was very real.
Vicious. He was something totally different. She met him before she knew his name. He was mysterious and confusing, but he did not trigger her curiosity. He was not something you wanted to chase after and know everything about. He was exactly the opposite. He was the thing that turned a beautiful dream into a nightmare. A nightmare that clings to you when you wake up. When the name Vicious would slip past her lips, it was like a burn on her tongue. The name brought terror and fear. It would lead Spike through a hunt, while Jet and Faye would shudder with fear. Vicious was always very real, from the beginning.
They were two names she never wanted to hear again. And they were two people she never wanted to see again.
She snatched up her drink as soon as the bar tender was done pouring. She quickly took a gulp, leaving it half full. She took another suck of her cigarette and let out a puff of smoke.
What was so darn special about Julia anyway? What was it about her that attracted Spike? He wasn't an easy guy to around your finger. But Julia had him winded up so tight…She must be really special for Spike to be so crazy about her. But Faye didn't see anything special about her. All she saw was an ordinary woman.
She downed the last of her drink and struggled to stand up. She had to stop. She was getting that dizzy migraine, the hurt and movement in her stomach, and her eyelids were getting heavier. She was barely aware of what was around her. She'd really done it this time. How was she supposed to fly back to the Bebop like this? She stumbled out the door into the night streets of Mars. She took only a couple steps before falling to her knees and throwing up multiple times. When she was done, she wiped her mouth on her sleeve and again, struggled to stand. But she couldn't. So she just sat on the ground, leaning against the wall. She took deep breaths. She was really going to regret this in the morning.
* * * * *
Spike let out a sigh, the cold air turning his breath into a small cloud of smoke. He was getting tired. They'd been looking for Faye for hours. They had constantly called Jet to see if she was back yet, but she never was. Julia had already come up with the idea that Vicious might have gotten her. But Spike wouldn't let her dwell on that too long. Faye was out there somewhere. But now he was bored, tired and hungry and he just wanted to get back to the Bebop.
"This is ridiculous." He mumbled. "Why does she have to be so darn hard to find?"
"It's like you said," Julia responded. "When she wants to be alone, she wants to be alone."
"Yeah…" He put his cold hands in his pockets. They could really use Ed's help right now. But that wasn't an option; so no point thinking about it. "But she doesn't have to so hard to find."
"It won't be much longer." She stated.
"How do you know?"
"Because we've been searching for hours. We've been to over fifteen bars. There can't be many more." Julia answered.
Spike cracked a smile. "Yeah, but she could be moving from bar to bar."
Julia raised one eyebrow. "And why would she do that?"
He smiled a little wider. "To get away from us."
She couldn't help but smile. "I'm a little doubtful."
"Yeah." He agreed. "Me too."
Julia softly shook her head. "You confuse the hell out of me sometimes Spike."
He smiled proudly. "Sorry."
They both stopped walking. There sat Faye, balled up on the ground with her knees to her chest. Julia rushed over to her and knelt down. "Faye?"
Faye very slowly raised her face. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes were baggy and glazed over. She blinked lazily at Julia. "…Julia…?"
Spike was now standing next to Julia, looking down at Faye with irritation. "Get up Faye, we're taking you home."
"Come on Faye," Julia said softly, putting her hand on Faye's shoulder. "We're here to help you." She smiled her little smile.
Faye looked from Spike to Julia. But she did not have that drunk and tired look. Instead, she was glaring with hatred. "Get your hand off me." She snapped.
Spike wasn't surprised by this attitude, Julia however, was. She stared at Faye as she very slowly drew back her hand. "Faye-"
"Just leave me alone!" Faye shouted, abruptly getting to her feet. This knocked Julia back, but she quickly got up.
"Don't do this Faye." Spike threatened.
"Oh shut up!" She ordered, turning to Spike. "Why are you even here?"
Julia now stood next to Spike. "We were worried about you."
Faye's eyes narrowed. "Don't lie to me. Don't even talk to me."
"Why are you doing this Faye?" Julia asked.
"She's drunk." Spike replied.
"Ever since you came on board the Bebop, everything's been different." Faye said quietly. "Nothing is the same. And now that you and Spike are together…" She paused and looked away. She spoke to Spike now. "You're going to leave. Just like that, you're gonna leave. Walking away like you never knew about jet and I, or even cared."
Julia's eyes widened a little and she looked up at Spike. Spike took a step toward Faye, her back still to him. "You're drunk, Faye."
Her hands curled at her sides. "That has nothing to do with it." She said through clenched teeth.
"It has everything to do with it." Spike responded.
Faye spun on her heel to face him. "Why her Spike? What's so special about her?" Her eyes brimmed with tears. "Why are you going to leave us and forget about us?" She whispered.
"I won't forget about you Faye."
"Yes you will." She whimpered. "I know you will."
His shoulders slumped as he sighed heavily. "Listen Faye, would you stop being such a pain in the butt and let us take you home?"
"I'm not going back Spike."
"Why?"
"Because…things are different now."
"Is it because of Julia?" She didn't answer; she just stared at the ground. "You have no where to go."
She bolted, running as fast as her legs would take her down the street. She knew that she couldn't outrun Spike; but she didn't expect him to chase after her. But he did, and already he was right behind her. He reached out and grabbed her arm, pulling her to a painful stop.
Faye struggled to break his grip, to be free of him. But she couldn't. "Let go!" She screamed.
Spike pulled both her hands close together and pulled her closer to him. "Stop it Faye. You're drunk and you have no place to go. You can leave tomorrow if you want, but just come back for now."
"Why do you care?" She asked.
"I don't. But we've been down here all day looking for you. And now that we've finally found you I'm not going to just leave you here."
She looked down at her feet. He could feel her starting to tremble. She spoke with a small voice. "Fine."
* * * * *
Julia pulled in Faye's Redtail. She climbed out and rushed to the Swordfish. Spike opened the cockpit and carefully began to get out with Faye in his arms.
"What happened?" Julia asked.
"She passed out." Spike answered, jumping from his ship to the ground. He shifted his arms to get a better hold on Faye.
Julia looked down at Faye. "Has this happened before?"
"No. She usually gets drunk here." Spike answered.
"She left because I'm here." She whispered. Spike only looked at Julia before carrying Faye into the main room. Julia followed him. "She meant what she said."
He stopped, his back to her. "It doesn't matter."
Julia lowered her head. "No…no I guess it doesn't."
"I'll be right back." He said as he continued to walk down the hall. He stopped at Faye's room and pushed the door open with his back. He walked to her bed and very gently laid her down. He brushed the hair off her face and then stood up straight.
"Spike…please, please don't leave…don't go…" Faye mumbled in a watery voice.
He turned to face her, but she was sound asleep. She gripped the sheets tightly and her face scrunched up with sorrow and anger. Spike smiled a little. "Sorry Faye." He said softly. "But I have to." He glanced at her once more as he quietly closed the door behind him.
All right, I know that Faye spoke a lot of her mind in this, but hey, she was DRUNK! And everyone knows that people are different when they're drunk! And I know what you're thinking, "Uh oh, Spike was kinda sweet to Faye in that last part…" No worries you Julia and Spike fans. I don't really plan on this becoming a Spike and Faye fan fiction. And if that is disappointing to some of you, I'm so sorry I don't exactly love Julia either but hey, I'm trying to be realistic here! Just be nice and keep reading, okay? ^_^ Anyways, let me know what you think of this chapter! Chapter 3 will be up soon! Thanks guys! ^_~