COMM Conversation with DB

January 30th (week 36 of Faye's pregnancy)

"Ohhh a resort hey? He's worried about the heat? Hah! No, mami, the heat will be good for you and bebe - it's the sun you'll want to avoid. No overdoing it. Rest and relax. I'll get you set up with my people there, mami, they'll take the best care of you. Tell that boy to stop worrying! He thinks of you as fragile but, girl, you're strong. And women have been doing this for ages all across the globe - all across all the globes now! It's good he tries to protect you but ehhh you are fine, mami."

Faye let out a sigh of relief and shared a smile with Ed, who was draped across the star chart table with Ein on her stomach and her head hanging from the edge.

"That's a relief! I've been wanting to relax somewhere hot and sunny. I need a break from dusty moons, rainy planets, and the endless expanse of space. And Ed's grand prize from her competition back on Ganymede seemed like the perfect answer but the guys were both so nervous about the idea."

DB laughed. "Those boys would worry about anyplace - especially now as we're getting closer to the end! But no, this'll be good for you and everyone. Besides, where did you say it was?"

"One week, all expenses paid, at the luxurious Sun Chaser Resort on Gilbore - the most pleasant moon in the solar system! At least that's what the pamphlets say..." Ed announced then. "There's all sorts of fancy seals of approval and award winning claims to fame... but who takes these polls? Who goes around to determine which resort truly has the 'happiest atmosphere' or the 'most delicious pie' or the 'swankiest dance floor' ? Ed does not know. Then again, perhaps it's easier to make the claims than to disprove these boasts."

"Gilbore, yes - I do know quite a few folks who reside there. I'll put you in touch with some trusted massage therapists and doulas, just to ensure you're pampered properly while there! And you can tell the boys that there's bound to be work for them if they can't stand the idea of sitting around on vacation. Even resort destinations have their share of bounties! All right, I've got to see to another patient shortly so I'm gonna have to end this call. Our next appointment will be in a couple weeks on Almathea. Normally I'd want to see you sooner - as we get down to the wire it's best to have weekly appointments - but I know the girls on Gilbore will be able to keep an eye on ya and answer any questions you might have. Everything will be just fine - you tell the boys to get you to that beach right quick! And enjoy yourselves, would you? Life is gonna be real hectic real soon so it's important to take the time now to rest and savor the quiet hours."

xxx

Gilbore, one of Jupiter's Moon

February 1st (still week 36 of Faye's pregnancy)

"Sheesh, I hope you're happy." Jet groused, mopping a towel over his face.

Faye made a pleased sound as she stretched on the reclining chair she'd eased onto as soon as they'd finished checking into the resort. Ed's prize for her most recent competition was the highlight so far of all her prizes because she claimed this one let them all be winners. Sharing her victory with the Bebop crew had her absolutely ecstatic, even though Jet and Spike were less thrilled about the heat. Both men were apparently rather heavy sweaters in the muggy environment of Gilbore. Ein seemed just as morose about the humidity and had taken refuge in the air conditioned suite.

Ed had insisted that this vacation was a belated birthday gift to Jet, a babymoon gift to Faye and Spike (a concept which amused both as neither had heard of a babymoon and were mostly convinced it was something Ed made up), and a present to herself as well for her commitment to GLOBEX events and her skill at excelling at said events. Even though Jet and Spike were mostly miserable in the temperature of the moon - at least so far, they still held hope that the nights would be tolerable - they were putting up a good show of enjoying themselves because they didn't want Ed to regret bringing them along.

Spike was lying facedown on a lounge chair not far from Faye's, though he was under the direct sunlight instead of safely covered by an umbrella for shade. There were, of course, plenty of other chairs with umbrellas that he could have used but pure laziness had left him sprawled out on the first flat surface he could find.

Jet meanwhile was standing near the pair of them, peering at the screen of the small portable computer Ed had thrust at him after they arrived. She herself was frolicking in the waves of the water not far from the group.

"Well, Spike-o, looks like DB was right about there being plenty of work available while we're here." The ex-cop mused. "There's a bounty out for a gal who goes undercover as a room cleaner to rob the safes in ritzy resort rooms. There's a bounty on someone who apparently trains monkeys that steal jewelry and wallets before returning to him. There's a murderer somewhere here that's been targeting tourists - everyone seems to want that one nabbed since it's bad press if people learn about that. Could curb tourism and for a place that literally requires tourism to thrive... well, no one wants that to happen. Then there's some drivers who have been known to kidnap their passengers so they can ransom them back to loved ones. Probably not one of the legit cab companies here but apparently any individual can set themselves up as a driver with one of a dozen different courier services so that'll be a fun one to figure out."

"Uh huh." Spike muttered into the towel beneath his face.

"Are you even listening to me?"

"Trying desperately not to, it's far too hot to work." Spike mumbled in response. "Gotta let me acclimate, this is rough."

"You're out of your mind, Spike." Faye said then. "This heat is fantastic! I can feel all my muscles relaxing. The only way this could be better is if it were a nude friendly resort. Being naked would be sublime..."

Jet turned a bright red at Faye's words and he cleared his throat awkwardly before calling out to Ed. "You need to put sunscreen on! I told you that earlier! You're gonna bake up under that sun!"

"Sunscreen, unseen, bake and broil and roast and steam!" Ed shouted in response. She splashed water in their direction but was much too far away to get anyone wet.

"All right, I give up. I'm gonna go to the bar and get some drinks. I'll send someone over with beverages for you two as well but you're both in charge now of making sure she gets some protection on her skin! We'll start tackling some of these bounties tomorrow. We're only here for a week so we've gotta make good use of our time here!" Jet stomped off the beach towards the shaded bar area near the S-shaped pool that was currently unoccupied by anyone at all.

"Mmm, this is bliss." Faye murmured, closing her eyes with a grin.

"As long as you're feeling good..." Spike said.

"I am... but I could be feeling better..."

Turning his head on the lounge chair, Spike regarded her with a raised brow. "Oh is that so? I don't think the resort allows for that type of thing right out here in the open..."

Faye laughed. "Get your mind out of the gutter! I just meant I should be wearing sunscreen too. This umbrella is fine protection for now but I'm gonna have to get up to pee like a dozen times and that means a lot of trips to the bathroom where I'll be directly exposed to the sun beaming down. Besides, you definitely need some protection too - you're gonna burn right up laying out the way you are. Come rub me up with some sunscreen? Then I'll do you - and I bet Ed will come out once she sees us both putting it on. You know she doesn't like to be left out of anything."

Spike grinned as he sat up. "Beautiful and brilliant, I knew I fell for the total package."

Flushing a pretty shade of pink, Faye looked away from his intense gaze. "You keep talking like that and we'll need to slip off to the room, but we can't leave Ed unattended and I doubt Jet will be headed back soon."

"No wonder he ducked out, he knew we'd try to weasel out of Ed-watching duties as soon as I took a good look at you in that swimsuit."

"What can I say? He knows us too well. C'mon, cowboy, we can spend a few hours out here while she splashes around and tires herself out. Then... well... some private time in our private suite should put you in a much better mood about being here."

xxx

At the Resort

The Next Day

Faye smirked at Jet from beneath the fanning palm fronds that two resort employees were using to send a breeze across her body. A third sat on the edge of her chair and was feeding her grapes.

"Taking this whole goddess thing a bit far, aren't you?" He asked, shaking his head before sipping on the fruity beverage in his good hand.

"Fertility is celebrated here, Jet. I think that's a beautiful thing. Anyway you're just grumpy because Spike disappeared with Ed hours ago to work on her itinerary."

"This little escape might be all expenses paid, but that doesn't mean that we can afford to be not making money!" Jet told her firmly. "There's all sorts of jobs here! We should be bringing in every bounty we can - there's not often hunters that bother with this place so we've got the pick of the crop!"

Shrugging, Faye shifted her gaze from the grumbling man to the waves crashing against the beach in front of them. "Oh he'll be back to help you in no time. I think his goal was to wear Ed out. You saw how quickly she fell asleep last night! The sun took it out of her, that's for sure."

"Sure, but you don't think she'll be even rowdier today because of all that sleep? Once she gets used to it she's gonna be unstoppable, you know."

"Maybe... there was quite a bit on her list of things to do though. She wanted to go snorkeling, scuba diving, spelunking, parasailing, rock climbing, cliff diving..."

"Jet skiing," Jet added then, grinning to himself.

Chuckling, Faye nodded. "Yeah but that one she is definitely saving to do with you on a different day."

"I don't think they'll get through that much of her list today. Even though all those things are included in her prize package, they've gotta share the opportunities with other tourists, they can't just cut to the front of lines. And they barely ate anything for breakfast before disappearing! They'll need to come back for lunch. What do you wanna bet? We see them in the next hour or two for food?"

Faye shook her head slowly. "For all that they've both got bottomless stomachs, I think the spirit of adventure will keep them going before they start to flag from hunger. I'm thinking they'll make an appearance by dinnertime though."

Jet nodded. "All right then, you're on! Winner has first watch of Ed tomorrow."

Frowning, Faye swallowed another grape. "How is that the prize? Winner should be exempt from Ed-watch tomorrow!"

Glancing at her slyly, Jet shrugged. "If that's the way you want it... I just figured it'd be nicer to get it over and done with so the rest of the day is wide open for relaxation. Besides, there's no days off, you and Spike get to share your time with her and I'm stuck on my own for my shifts, so no I'm not about to take on a whole day. I'm only one tired old man, Faye, I couldn't possibly handle that."

Snorting at him, Faye shook her head. "You're full of it, Jet. Playing the age card like that when you're in the prime of your life, sheesh. I could be begging off due to pregnancy but you don't see me trying to skip out!"

At that, Jet laughed aloud. "Faye, you set Spike to keep an eye on her yesterday while you passed out on that lounge chair. You might not have 'skipped out' but you sure did take a nice long break during your shift!"

"Oh, whatever," She mumbled. "I was told by DB that I need to rest on this vacation so that's just me following doctor's orders."

"Well, I'm gonna go cool down with Ein in the A/C. You just continue to bask in the 'celebration of fertility' and I'll come get you for lunch later. There's a table in the pool we can reserve so we can sit in the water under the shade."

"Mm, I'm liking the sounds of that!"

xxx

Elsewhere on Gilbore

Later That Day

Spike was having a truly dreadful time. The day had started out so well... a few playful hours in bed with Faye, followed by a light breakfast of a variety of fruits and meats that he couldn't even begin to identify, and then he and Ed managed to sneak out before Jet could insist on starting in on some bounty retrieval. Even the adventures with Ed had begun well enough. They'd been told that they wouldn't be able to do any spelunking until they could prove they were adequately trained in undersea exploration since spelunking involved enclosed spaces and that was something not every scuba diver was prepared for. So they'd started with a basic scuba course that took them a couple hours and had been a fun enough time. But once they were finished they were told that the spelunking excursions were all booked for the rest of the day so they'd have to tackle that later in the week.

Fortunately that hadn't been too upsetting for Ed who had insisted that they go parasailing afterwards. She wanted to dry off and ride high above the waves and that had been a blast as well, to be honest. It had given them a great view of the bay in which their resort was situated and had been enough of an adrenaline rush that Spike hadn't been too dismayed when Ed wanted to go snorkeling afterwards. There had been quite a few spots visible from aloft that she wanted to explore in depth.

An abandoned dock that stretched out into the waters proved to be a remarkable juxtaposition of concrete and coral. She'd taken dozens of photos with her underwater camera while Spike had grown quite bored. He blamed the boredom on what happened next. With so little to occupy his attention, he hadn't bothered worrying about his surroundings and had failed to notice when a group of jellyfish had approached him curiously. It wasn't until he felt the sting of a tentacle that he realized he was in danger and by then it was too late.

By the time they'd left the reef and were ready to move onto the next obstacle Ed wanted to face, Spike had a good collection of red and irritated sting marks on the bare skin of his legs and arms. It was painful but not debilitating so he'd agreed to press on to the rock climbing. There was a cliff face that rose right out of the sea and was intended to be surmounted by those who wanted to jump from the cliff once they reached the top. Of course, by this point in the day it was long past lunchtime and Spike was starting to feel aggravated from hunger. Ed seemed impervious to his plight and was scrambling up the rockface like it was a gently sloping hill. Spike, meanwhile, kept jamming his toes and bruising his fingertips as he scaled the rough surface. He reached the top covered in dirt and sweat and bleeding in a few spots. Ed had already taken the plunge back down into the waters far below. It was a blow to his manly pride that she'd shimmied up and dove off with such little regard for her companion. Which is probably what led him to make his way to the higher point a few feet away. It wasn't much higher from the water but it was set further back from the edge of the land so he had to propel himself further out and nearly belly flopped when he hit the water.

He came spluttering up to the surface, winded and with his right arm aching from having taken the brunt of the impact with the waves, but there was Ed not far away. She was beaming and laughing and pointing back toward the cliff, clearly ready to do it all over again. And who could resist? Certainly not Spike, who wasn't about to let this gremlin child with inexhaustible energy put him to shame! So they went through the whole ordeal again and again, until it was dusk and Spike's attempt to clear the space between the high jump and the edge wasn't quite enough to actually succeed. He felt the pain blossom in his left foot as it caught the rocky ledge just before he went flailing into the sea.

Bruised, stung, bleeding from all sorts of scrapes and abrasions, Spike decided it was time to call it a night. He was starving and sunburnt and tired and absolutely done with the day. But Ed wasn't. She begged for the chance to hang glide from the point back to their resort - something that a lot of tourists apparently took advantage of - and Spike, assuming it would take less time to get there that way, made the mistake of agreeing.

The winds took them further out over the water than either anticipated and all too soon they were drifting down to the waves until they were nearly submerged in dark water, clinging to the glider which thankfully now floated atop the choppy waters. Darkness had fallen fully - the sunset had been, admittedly, spectacularly gorgeous - and, shining literally in their favor, the lights of the buildings along the bay indicated the way they needed to swim to reach shore.

Paddling along side by side for a while, Spike felt a rush of fear when Ed began to falter in her kicks.

Spluttering out seawater as they continued to move towards shore, she managed a few words that chilled him more than the water itself, which wasn't especially warm now that the sun was gone.

"Papa Spi-Spi… Ed's tired… can't we float for a bit? Pretty please?"

"Ah shit kid, no," Spike reached out for her nearest hand on the glider's edge. "Here, c'mere, wrap your arms around my neck like we're gonna go for a piggyback ride. Just - try not to choke me out, okay? Wrap your legs around my ribs too if you can. You don't gotta keep swimming, just hang onto me. I've got the floatie thing. I've got you. Just hold on - no sleeping!"

"Got - you, papa!" Ed managed as she maneuvered into position.

Exhausted, Spike renewed his efforts to get them back to shore. Ed's weight on his back, adding to the difficulty though it was, served as an encouragement. A reminder of how life depended on him. Hers. His own. The child Faye carried. So much to live for. So much to protect.

xxx

It was after midnight by the time Spike stumbled through the door to the pair of suites that the Bebop crew had been given. Ed, drowsy but not entirely unconscious, slumped off his back and tottered in exhaustion beside him as he turned on the lights to see where to go to avoid any obstacles - such as a slumbering Ein - that might be in their path.

Sitting in the dark, glowering at the tabletop, Faye looked up with a hand shielding her eyes from the brightness of the overhead lights activating. Her face was streaked with tears and her eyes were full of emotion - most of which coalesced into anger as she registered the new arrivals.

Jet emerged from a bathroom a little ways down the hall, sighing loudly in relief as he too became aware of the newly returned pair.

"You look like shit." The ex-cop told Spike with a grin.

"I feel like shit." Spike confirmed. "My foot's fucked up, my arm's fucked up, I got stung by a school of jellyfish and we just had to swim back in the dark from the middle of the damn ocean."

"Your arm is fucked up?" Faye said then, getting awkwardly to her feet to make her way over towards them. She ruffled Ed's hair affectionately before turning her full attention back on Spike. "You better be fucking joking. If you think for one second that I'm gonna let you use an injury to get out of changing diapers, you're out of your damn mind." She cupped his cheeks in her hands and gave him a hard look. "You hurt your foot too? Which one?"

"Left," Spike replied, distracted by the proximity of her beautiful eyes. Which made him all too unprepared to fend off her sudden attack as she dug her barefoot heel onto his good foot.

"I am DEAD serious about your diaper changing. You are not getting out of that shit and leaving it all to me."

"Fucking bitch!" He howled, jerking his face out of her hands as he tried to hop on his bad foot to cradle his newly injured right foot, resulting in him falling over heavily onto his backside on the unyielding tile floor of the suite.

Faye gave him a scathing look. "A 'fucking bitch' would have stomped on your bad foot. Ass." She disappeared down the hall into the adjoining suite they shared in an angry huff.

Spike groaned, feeling immediately uneasy about what had just transpired. He was beyond spent, and still too warm entirely now that he'd gotten out of the cool waters, and in a decent amount of discomfort bordering on pain in countless regions of his body. Having Faye pissed at him instead of fawning over him was not ideal.

Ed gave him a reproachful look and then slunk off silently to the balcony where Ein was puddled next to a fresh water dish, clearly basking in the milder temperature of the evening hours.

"Keep an eye on things here a minute, Ed! I'm gonna go put in a dinner order for ya. You're just lucky the kitchen is open til 4 am." Jet told the young hacker who gave him a sleepy salute. The ex-cop turned his full attention on Spike. "Whaddya say, Spike-o? Take a walk with me? In case it crossed your mind to worry, I did make Faye eat earlier but I wouldn't be surprised if she wanted a snack again by now."

Ruffling his own hair with his good hand, Spike begrudgingly followed in the other man's wake. A fool could sense where this was going, but Spike had learned it was best to just give Jet his say and proceed from there rather than try and avoid the other man's advice. For someone who often claimed to have no opinion on matters Jet had quite a few opinions indeed.

They'd made it all the way to the indoor bar where they placed a late night food order for the girls before Jet finally let out a sigh and turned to Spike with a decidedly disappointed look on his face.

"It wasn't my fault!" Spike protested immediately.

Jet snorted. "Like that matters to an upset woman?" He shook his head and sat on a stool at the bar, crossing his arms. "You're in for it now because you made her worry. I talked her into getting a massage after I guilted her into eating some dinner when neither of you were back. I assured her that you'd be there by the time she was done… but, well, that was a couple hours ago. She's had plenty of time to fret since then and your little outburst up there ain't gonna help matters."

Spike, seated on the stool beside Jet, buried his face in his hands momentarily. "Ahhh yeah… Probably shouldn't have called her a bitch."

"Not the smartest move there, no. But look, Spike. I don't think she's as mad as she was worried. You guys took off with no comms and made no contact all day. Faye can't handle that shit anymore, at least not currently. Her mind creates these absurd scenarios where the worst happens and she's left alone and it terrifies her. I can't do much to alleviate those concerns myself. She knows Ein and I are there for her, no matter what, but her heart is fixated on you, kid. You matter too much to that woman for her own good, but it is what it is."

"I've been doing better! I haven't been putting myself at risk!"

"Uh huh. So why're you shaking like a leaf in a storm right now? You look about to collapse. I'm willing to bet whatever shenanigans happened…some of it was life-threatening. But hey. Done is done and you're both back safe. Look, let's just bring up the grub, get some of it in you, and then you can concentrate on reassuring Faye."

xxx

The food that Spike scarfed down in record time certainly helped his mood a bit, and eased the trembles in his limbs, but there was still a pit in his stomach that no amount of fried fish could fill.

It was time to face the music.

Carrying a plate of fruits and nuts and vegetables into the bedroom, Spike was somewhat relieved to see that she'd left the lights dimmed. It seemed an invitation of sorts. Full darkness would have had him wondering if she meant for him to sleep on the couch out in the other portion of the suite.

Setting down the platter on a small table partway into the room, he made his way straight to the lump curled up on the bed underneath just a sheet. Taking a deep breath, he reached out to put his hand on her shoulder as he made to slip onto the mattress but with lightning reflexes she snatched his hand and yanked him down onto the bed at her back, pulling him into a spooning position.

Exhaling in relief, Spike shifted to pull her closer. "You good?"

"I'm too tired to be mad tonight." She muttered. Her voice sounded wet, like she'd been or still was crying, and Spike cringed. Then she made him feel worse by speaking again in a small voice full of concern. "You're okay?"

"Yeah, baby, I'm sorry." He kissed her bare shoulder. "We didn't mean to worry you and I definitely shouldn't have called you a bitch."

She snorted, difficult though that was to do when congested from crying. "Well, I didn't have to step on your toes."

He kissed the back of her neck then, just below her hairline and she stiffened. "NO."

"I wasn't trying anything, I swear!" Spike protested. "I couldn't manage a thing. I just wanted to kiss every inch of your skin I could reach."

"Whatever. Flip around. I'm the big spoon tonight. Because the baby wants to be able to kick your ass."

Easy enough to oblige her wishes there. He rolled onto his other side and Faye scooched over to wrap herself around him. Everywhere her skin made contact with his was lit on fire from the myriad wounds but having her pressed against him was a balm to his heart that was more important. In no time at all, he'd fallen asleep in her soothing embrace.

xxx

Day Three On Gilbore

Faye was incensed. Even after a troubled sleep interrupted frequently by bathroom breaks, she wasn't quite ready to forgive Spike for his thoughtless words yesterday. It was more than him calling her a bitch. After so many weeks struggling with her emotions, with her fears - whether rooted in experience or completely unfounded yet still desperately real, with her need of confirmation that he was alive and well whenever he was gone for hours… she figured he understood. Or at least was considerate enough to appease her.

And, sure, yesterday wasn't entirely his fault. He'd been out having fun with Ed, getting up to mischief and taking ludicrous risks. She shouldn't be surprised that they'd lost track of time - and, literally, were lost at sea for a bit. It hadn't been wholly his fault for not reaching out to quell her fears. Ed had been with him - though also foolishly sans a functioning comm - and Faye wasn't nearly as irate at the young hacker.

But then again, Ed had apologized profusely for causing her concern. Had traipsed after her last night and promised Faye this very day as a way to make things up. Had been genuinely regretful about the way things had gone down and was actively trying to remedy the situation.

Spike had eventually joined her in bed, though she'd nearly cried herself to sleep by then. She'd felt a tremor pulse through him, had felt when he tightened his grip on her as though reassuring himself that she was present and willing to be in his embrace. She'd been somewhat soothed, at least enough to drift asleep, but her hopes that they could discuss the argument in the morning was dashed when she woke up alone in the canopy bed.

Ed had come bounding in not much after that, determined to distract her with shopping plans, and Faye had let herself be dragged along into the cab after picking at a fruit plate for breakfast. Spike and Jet had both been absent from the rooms, though Ein had perked up at the sight of both girls. He'd seemed to wilt when they informed him he'd have to stay there while they went on their girly adventure, but Faye just didn't want to deal with businesses giving them shit about bringing a dog inside.

In the end, this decision would prove to be their saving grace.

Hours after they'd left the resort and taken the nearby mall by storm, they loaded themselves and a jumble of bags into the back seat of one of the cabs perpetually stationed along the street of the shopping center.

Ed cuddled into their purchases with a weary sigh and fell almost immediately asleep. Clearly she was still wiped out from everything she'd done the day before. Faye, meanwhile, attempted to juggle a greasy drumstick of some island bird that had been grilled to perfection, while also striving to lick at a very quickly melting ice cream cone in her other hand. Evidence of both treats was present on Ed's rosy cheeks, but the girl had devoured her lunch rapidly to free up her own hands to carry all their shopping bags.

The scenery sped past outside the tinted windows of the vehicle, though not so fast that Faye couldn't tell when they took a turn further inland and away from the stretch of beach that boasted all the resorts and cabanas. A sinking feeling in her stomach was echoed by the unmistakable sound of the door locks clicking into place and Faye groaned inwardly.

They'd actually been planning on investigating the rumor of kidnapping and robberies that some of the cabbies apparently considered a standard form of business, but Faye had not planned to do so while burdened with dozens of awkward shopping bags and a zonked out partner. At least she'd been smart enough to stash her gun in her purse, although with hands as sticky or greasy as they were it would be a feat to retrieve her Glock successfully.

Discreetly, she kicked at Ed's ankle in an attempt to rouse the younger girl. Ed snored in response. Feeling glumly resolved to enduring the situation for the time being, Faye straightened up to make her stomach more visible in the rear view mirror. Perhaps this particular cabbie would feel bad about subjecting a pregnant woman to this whole ordeal.

"Excuse me," She said sweetly, giving a mildly confused smile to the driver as his eyes flicked up towards the mirror. "We seem to be heading away from the resort we told you to bring us to."

The driver brought his eyes back on the narrow street.

Faye stayed quiet for a few minutes, watching as he weaved expertly in and around the opposing traffic, the endless stream of bicyclists and pedestrians, and the odd assortment of food vendors spilling from the curb into the street itself. She was in no mood to cause an accident, mostly to save herself the hassle of being involved in one while heavily pregnant, but there was only so much more of the city between their present location and the vast tropical forest and hills that made up the next portion of Gilbore's geography.

Eventually she decided the driver was skilled enough to handle the road and conversation simultaneously.

Baring her teeth in a distrustful grin, Faye tried again. "You're going the wrong way."

Again his eyes flickered up to observe her in the mirror. There was no considering glance at her midriff, which was somewhat upsetting. Clearly her condition had no influence on his goal.

"Ay, no, we're going the right way, mami. No worries, no worries, everything gonna be all right. You come from money. Money will set you free. Rest easy," He tilted his head towards Ed as if to indicate Faye should follow suit.

Gritting her teeth, Faye leaned forward, scraping her shoe more painfully against Ed's ankle as she did so. The ice cream cone, nearly gone but still a mess, continued to drip onto her one hand while she kept the drumstick in her other. Neither were the weapons she'd choose to use if another option were readily available, but she didn't want to alarm the driver by going for her gun. Besides, though they were zipping along at a speedy clip at the moment, there was a lull in the traffic ahead that they would reach before long and then their driver would be forced to slow or even stop.

"You seem to be operating under a misconception, sir." Faye tried then. "We're certainly not rich, I'm afraid."

This time the driver's eyes shot to the pile of bags and his eyebrows lifted in an expression of disbelief.

"If no one can pay… there are other ways to find your worth, mami." And that time his eyes did shift towards her stomach, filling Faye with an icy dread.

She felt her breathing change against her will, coming now in a rapid panting. Ed gave a moan and twisted in her sleep to drape against Faye's side. At first this made Faye even more nervous because now Ed's body was in the way of Faye accessing her purse for her gun, but then with a rush of relief she felt the hacker digging into the purse while maintaining the illusion of her unconscious condition.

But the relief was short-lived as the driver took an unexpected turn away from the congestion of traffic ahead, shooting along an alleyway with practiced ease as he took them deeper into town. The fast pace of their ride was giving Faye anxiety but she strove to keep it hidden.

Faye was used to being in control of any situation she found herself in - or, being able to pretend she was in control until she could make it so she was in control in actuality. Being vulnerable was not something she was comfortable with, but the idea of anything happening to the baby was paralyzing her. She wasn't sure how to react, how to explode into action. She could reach over the seat back and accost the driver with the cone or drumstick. She could grab at his hair with her dirty fingers. She could scream or try to bash out one of the windows. But terror kept her frozen in place.

Fortunately, Ed wasn't as hampered by all the thoughts of ways things could go wrong. The teen stayed in her slumped position, snoring for effect, until the driver began to finally apply the brakes. And then Ed sprang into action, quite literally. Easing in front of Faye and dragging half the clothing bags to tumble after her, Ed used the momentum of the braking vehicle to launch herself neatly over the seat back and onto the bench seat beside the driver.

The driver had no time to react to her sudden presence in the front. One second she was relatively comatose in the back and the next she was poised beside him with Faye's Glock in her hand and pressed firmly against his temple.

"Slow. Down." Ed ordered. "You can try and crash us or go faster but either of those will end you first."

Faye watched as the man obliged, applying the brakes more firmly though thankfully not stomping on them to halt them immediately. She still toppled forward slightly onto the purchases, losing the ice cream and drumstick simultaneously, but Ed never wavered in her stance.

It wasn't until they'd nearly stopped that the driver gave up playing along with their demands and ducked abruptly as he lunged at Ed's midsection. Without hesitation she slammed the butt of the gun onto his back as his head hit against her rib cage and stomach. Ed let out a startled 'oof' as the wind was knocked out of her, though she managed to keep her grip on the weapon.

Meanwhile the car, no longer braking, continued on its course with no one at the helm until it rocked into a surface solid enough to stop its forward motion.

Faye fell into the packages again - immensely grateful for all their soft fabric purchases - as Ed and the driver continued to wrestle in the front of the vehicle.

Without warning, something smashed into the driver's window. A moment later, another smash and then another until the window finally gave way under the blunt force of the…fist?

Dazed and still too scared to move - especially not when two people were wrestling over a loaded weapon mere feet from her - Faye looked away from the window before it shattered inward, and when she looked back it was to see a very familiar face.

Impatiently pushing Jet aside, expressionless yet obviously irate, Spike reached into the vehicle heedless of the shards of window still in place to press the button which unlocked the doors. With a fierce scowl, Jet moved back into his position outside the front door and reached in with implacable resolve to grab at whatever portion of the driver he could grasp.

In moments, Spike was kneeling in the back seat, gingerly running his hands over every portion of Faye's body he could touch, trying to physically assess her condition. Eyes wide and wild, she felt herself shivering with relief as she let him pull her gently over.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," She said, repeating herself over and over.

In the front seat, Jet had managed to haul the driver off Edward's writhing form and was dragging the man over the broken glass and out of the vehicle entirely. He held onto the man with his metal hand before using his good hand to start laying punches that left the already disoriented driver reeling.

"Not too much!" Ed shouted from inside, scrambling out the passenger door and rounding the back of the vehicle to pull ineffectually at Jet's arm. "He didn't get us where he wanted us! We need to know more!" She insisted.

Faye felt the baby shift inside, fluttering against her ribs on the right, and grasped one of Spike's hands to put it against the movement.

"See? We're both okay." She insisted, coming back to herself now that they were completely stopped and Jet had the driver well in hand.

Spike let out a long breath, wrapping his arms around her loosely.

"Ed sent a distress call. Ein found us and then we tracked you down but we weren't expecting the car to crash. Holy fuck you scared the shit out of me, Faye. What the hell were you thinking trying to do this job with just Ed?" He ranted, running his hands along her hair and arms and back.

Faye stiffened angrily, knotting her hands into fists against his back, hopefully staining his shirt with ice cream and meat grease.

"We weren't doing anything like that! Dammit, Spike, I know I'm not allowed to help with bounties right now! How reckless do you think I am?! I would never risk our baby like that!" Frustrated and still full of adrenaline as well as the awful feeling of helplessness that had engulfed her earlier, Faye broke into tears, sobbing even harder at the fact that she was crying because she absolutely hated to cry.

"Shit, Faye, I'm sorry," Spike whispered. "Shh, baby, shh, I wasn't thinking - I was just so worried. I'm sorry I accused you of this - I know you don't run off on solo missions anymore, I'm just a lunkhead. Shh, doll, please don't cry."

"She okay?" Jet asked then, looking into the backseat.

"Seems to be, but I'd still like to get her checked out just to make sure." Spike replied gruffly.

"Tell ya what, you take the girls and see about having a doctor come by the room. I'll handle the cleanup and interrogation here. We're starting to draw a crowd and I'm not sure whose side they'll be on. Ed, no, you can't stay - it might be too dangerous. Look, those two will need your help anyway, you're the only one I trust to keep a cool head."

Faye kept her eyes shut, trying to stop bawling, and clung to Spike as he maneuvered out of the vehicle with her in his arms. She felt as he walked up the short ramp into the zip craft and then felt as the vehicle launched vertically, though Spike's grip on her had not changed a bit. Ed must be driving.

"Don't worry, Faye-Faye, Ed's got your gun safe and sound!" The hacker announced then. She giggled. "Driver didn't know the safety was on! No wasting bullets today!"

Giving a soft laugh of her own, Faye curled into herself and Spike's chest, wrapping an arm around her substantial baby bump. Tears continued to trickle down her cheeks, but Spike's form was reassuringly solid beneath her, and the baby - as if to keep her from worrying further - continued to move in flutters inside.

xxx

February 6th (week 37 of Faye's pregnancy)

Day Six on Gilbore

The doula and midwives had fussed and fawned over Faye for nearly two days, but had nothing but assurances to offer. They played the baby's heartbeat over a speaker for hours and showed readouts of the vital signs and kept promising that everything was fine. It was finally starting to sink in, on the second morning when the baby woke her up with kicking around, that there were truly no repercussions from the incident on the third day of their vacation.

Well, no repercussions for Faye or the baby at least. There were significant and violent repercussions to the driver and to every other bounty head that the guys could scrounge up in the intervening days.

Spike had stayed at her side in the suite for several hours while the nurses hooked Faye up to various machines and fluttered around her bedside. He'd been as much a mess of nerves as Faye herself, but she could tell he was antsy to explode on someone. Eventually, Jet had returned and, after checking in on Faye himself, made a gesture towards the other suite that had Spike straightening up with determination.

He'd taken both her hands, shifting towards her on the bed, and started to pepper her face with kisses as he spoke.

"Love, I swear to you that all I want to do is stay here by your side. I'm in pain and sunburnt and all I want to do is relax and ensure that you and the baby are okay." Murmurings came from several of the other women in the room, trying to convince both parents that Faye and the baby were indeed all right, but Spike ignored them. "But, baby, I am furious and I need to expunge all this animosity and negativity on deserving targets. I shouldn't have lashed out at you the other night, no matter how out of sorts I was feeling, but I literally wasn't thinking. Just… let me go and bash some skulls, and then we can spend the next few days doing absolutely nothing, I promise."

She'd had to yank her hands out of his so she could hold his head still to kiss him soundly.

"I'm in good hands here." She assured him. "Ed's in the other room and these ladies are taking care of me and the baby. We're fine. And, hell, I'm fucking pissed off too. So yes. Go lay some assholes out for me, please?"

And together Jet and Spike had rounded up an impressive collection of bounties for Gilbore. They'd taken out the entire list that Ed had originally created and managed to subdue quite a few more - thanks to the names and descriptions they'd gotten from interrogating the driver who had initially kidnapped Faye and Ed.

They'd put Faye in charge of Ed and Ed in charge of Faye and Ein in charge of both girls - an arrangement which had made Faye laugh. The girls and Ein had done nothing strenuous for all that time, merely basked in the stellar treatment offered by the resort employees. Apparently Jet had rung the front desk to bitch about the incident that had left Spike and Ed stranded out at sea. The weather on Gilbore was extremely well regulated with hot days that featured a constant cool breeze, and rainstorms scheduled during the early morning hours before most tourists woke up, and at no point was anyone supposed to be at risk by wind taking them away from shore.

Faye had overheard Jet's phone call when she'd slunk out of bed to use the bathroom.

"My partner and daughter nearly died last night!" He had bellowed in a hushed whisper into the phone, clearly striving not to wake anyone else. "No, I don't know anything about 'designated hours due to wind shift' but they were permitted to launch so I lay the responsibility at your feet! Your employees should have cautioned them against it if it was outside of your bullshit regulated hours!"

Catching Jet being fatherly was always touching, whether it was him being sweet to Ed or being protective over Spike and herself. Still, it had given her a fresh burst of fear over what had transpired the night before, but Faye had ruthlessly squashed it down - knowing everyone was safe and sound - and had gone back to bed.

Now, days later, she was finally feeling back to herself and as close to emotionally stable as she'd been in what felt like weeks. She was floating in the surf, for once not weighted down by the additional pounds she'd put on over the course of the pregnancy. Spike was standing nearby, grinning down at her with the sun at his back, letting her submerge herself in the salty water while waiting to help her back out once she'd gotten her fill of being in the spray.

Jet was out with Ed on the rocks. Their plan for the day was to fish for a while and then finally do the jet skiing that Ed had wanted to do for days. The adventurous afternoon with Spike followed by the kidnapping with Faye had left the young hacker just as in need of downtime as the adults, but now she was back to her normal extreme levels of energy. It was perfect timing because there was only one more day for her to accomplish all her vacation goals before they left for the ship. She'd even been able to get Ein to leave the comfort of the A/C to run up and down on the beach, then join her in swimming, and tomorrow she intended to get the dog to surf with her.

Faye thought her odds of success were pretty low, but then again Ein had been known to surprise them with his abilities more than once. The dog was currently lounging under the umbrella of Faye's lounge chair. He looked far too comfortable for even Faye to want to move him, so she was considering convincing Spike to join her for a couples' massage once they were done in the water.

But at the moment it was too peaceful to change a thing.

The sound of the waves rolling up on the shore. The way the sun behind Spike framed his outline and turned him into a vision of muscle and manhood. The buoyancy she was experiencing. Even the way the baby was shifting within her, embraced in a fluid float much like Faye herself, it was all so perfect.

Their vacation had been a mix of highs and lows, adventure and recuperation. In a way, it was much like any other day in their lives. She wasn't ready for it to end… but at the same time, she was more than ready to get back to their normal routine. It was much like she felt about pregnancy in general at this point. The notion of the infant inside, who had been growing more and more active as time went by, existing outside of her body was both terrifying and something she was more than ready to experience.

Everything would change. But… things were always changing. It kept life thrilling. It kept her on her toes. Sure, it was a far cry from anything she'd ever dreamt of as a child - from what she could remember anyway - but it all felt so wonderfully right. Seeing Spike regarding her so warmly, seeing Spike so happy. That felt right. Becoming a mother - insane! - and yet… she couldn't imagine her life playing out in any other way.

There was no controlling the way life worked. But Faye was learning that she could ride things out and make the cards she was dealt work in her favor. And really, it was about damn time.