Sanity

Chapter 10

Embrace Her

By: Rachel*

Rated: PG-13

Genre: Romance/Suspense

E-mail: PeachGirlKiley@aol.com

Web Address: www.Spike-Faye-Shrine.cjb.net

Enjoy! ^__^ Please R+R…and yeah, it's a bit sad with this chapter, so yeah, be forewarned, it's not too bad, but some of you might be like "OMG!" +__+

Disclaimer: I do not own Cowboy Bebop

          "Get on my back." Spike ordered.

          Faye eyed him. Swallowing she shook her head. "I can walk. You can't carry me with your injuries; you'll tear the stitches apart."

          "And, you can walk with a bullet wound on your leg." Spike growled, and looked at her with his darkened eyes.

          Faye pierced her lips together and reluctantly nodded. Leaning forward, she locked her arms around his neck and managed to tie her legs around his waist. She gritted her teeth as Spike's arm brushed against her leg. "Watch it…"

          Spike frowned, and nodded his head. "Sorry," he glanced towards the woman who cleaned Faye's injury. He bowed his head and she nodded towards him.

          "Please remember to rest as much as you can. The last thing you want is for leg to be infected."

          Faye blinked. Her grip around Spike's neck tightened. He pulled at her hands away a bit and closed his eyes when she rested her head on his shoulder.

          "Make sure her wound doesn't get infected too. If it does, you must get her to a hospital, you hear me?" The woman narrowed her eyes and stared hard at him.

          "I will thank you." Spike smiled and walked to the back of the store.

          "Bye-bye Spi-Spi!" Spike laughed, the girl reminded him of Ed. He sighed and avoided eye contact. She had Ed's personality, but Julia's looks…

          Spike smiled again, and waved to her again. "Bye, Kiki." Faye laughed and bobbed her towards the store clerk. "Cute kid,"

          "Thanks," she smiled and picked up her daughter. "Good luck."

          Spike swallowed. "We'll need it." He muttered under his breath, low enough for Faye to hear.

          "Hello?" The loud shatter of glass came through to the back of the store clearly as Spike and Faye left out the back and into the employee parking lot.

          "Spike…" Faye trailed off as she glanced back and saw Jack storm in with his gun drawn.

          Spike's lips parted. "Don't look back." Spike picked up the pace and jogged into the beginning stretch of the woodland areas of Mars. Spike's lips drew together tightly. "Oh, God…" He whispered under his breath.

          Spike shut his eyes tightly as four gun shots rang off in the distance. Faye loosened her grip on Spike and tried to look back. "He-he didn't—" Faye's voice was hushed and pained. She took one hand away and covered her mouth. Her eyes moved from the store to the back of Spike's head.

          "I said don't look back!" Spike shuttered and stumbled a bit as he tripped over a log.

          "They killed them. All of them, even Kiki, didn't they Spike?" Faye continued to eyes the back of Spike's head.

          "Spike swallowed. "That's why we're not calling Jet." Spike's face tensed. "All we can do is hope that they had a quick death." His lips parted as he felt a stream of tears roll onto his neck. "That's also why I don't get close to many people." He stumbled again.

          Faye's bottom lip trembled as she took in a puff of air and shuttered. "Why didn't you warn them?" She closed her green eyes.

          "I saw Jack and ran." He coughed. "I was out of bullets, we would have—"

          "She couldn't have been over five years old Spike!" Faye screamed and pounded her right fist into the back of his shoulder and side of his head.

          Spike snarled and waited for her to stop. "Just pray that they didn't take her, and that they had a quick death." Spike stopped as they approached a creek. "We'll stay here for tonight." He sighed.

          Faye winced as she put pressure eon her leg after Spike sat her down on a large bolder. She stared at Spike. He stood tall and his eyes darted from side to side. "Spike,"

          He peered back at her for a moment and then he walked towards a bush and stared at it awkwardly. "What is it now?" He snapped.

          Faye stared at him again. "Did you ever kill people?" She shook her head. "I mean, people like Jack just—"

          "Innocent people, kids and their parents?" Spike rolled his bottom lip inward and chewed on it uncomfortably. He staggered over to her side and plopped down neck to her. She nodded before he leaned forward and held his face in his hands. He continued to chew on his lip until he could taste blood. He shuttered as he took in a breath of air. "A little boy." Spike looked up, past the cluster of Oak trees to the starry sky above them. His head jolted forward and down to his lap as Faye took a grip onto his hand. His face held no emotion before he looked away. He frowned as a cool breeze blew across his face. It helped keep him calm.

++++++

          It was winter and snow was falling heavily on Jupiter. Spike and Vicious had parked their car about a block away as they rushed up to a small split level house, Christmas lights wrapped around the two small shrubs on either side of the main door of the home. Spike grimaced as they blinked repetitively into his eyes. Their lamppost near the edge of the ice covered driveway had been replaced by a red light bulb that let out an ominous crimson glow.

          Spike cupped his bare hands around his mouth and blew on them trying to conceal warmth. Vicious scowled at him. "I told you to wear gloves." His voice was monotone, and deep. Spike rolled his eyes and drew out his gun from his brown trench coat. "You check upstairs, and I'll take the ground floor." Spike nodded as they reached the front step.

          Spike looked at the blinking lights and then to the front door. He could see garland hanging around the stairs with little red ornaments attached to it. The house seemed warm and friendly, not the place to be after a target. Spike frowned. "Hey, Vicious…" He trailed off as he moved his left foot and listened to it crunch in the snow.

          "What is it?" Vicious's eyes gleamed with excitement. Spike was twenty-three, his hair was a little shorter, and his eyes weren't two colors of brown.

          Spike opened his mouth and took a breath to speak, but hesitated. "Do you," he frowned again. "Do you ever feel that what we do is wrong?" Spike looked up to his friend.

          Vicious gaped at him, his silver, blue hair was kept back with a navy and gray beanie. "What do you mean?" He eyed Spike. "Stop joking and let's get the job finished. We kill Stokes, and his wide, and we're taking the kid."

          Spike pressed his lips together. Taking the kid, meant that he'd become like Spike, and Vicious when he was older. Living and breathing for the cause of the syndicate he'd die for the honor of his people, the kid would grow up surrounded by blood and death. Spike shook his head and forced a smile. "Yeah, let's get it done, I wanted to get that Julia girl something for Christmas." Vicious rolled his eyes.

          "I told you not to fall in love with her you dolt." He chuckled.

          Spike looked at him oddly. "Who says I'm going to fall in love with her?" Spike spat and shivered as the wind blew. Spike sighed and look up as snow began to fall lightly onto the ground. He shut his eyes tightly and let his mouth open and sighed. "Ready…" Vicious drew his gun.

          "Go!" Vicious shouted and shot threw the locks on the door and kicked it open forcefully.

          Stokes's wife stood in the kitchen with an apron around her waist as she pulled out a tray of chocolate chip cookies from the oven. She screamed as Vicious as Spike burst through the door. "Chad, Chad it's them!" She tried to run. Vicious fired his gun twice as Spike started up the stairs and soon everything fell silent.

          Spike closed his eyes as he trudged up the staircase. Holding his breath he moved at lightning speeds going from room to room without delay. His pulse quickened and his body tensed as he stopped at the last closed door. The hall was narrow, and a dim light glowed from the lamp behind him. With his hand shaking he opened the door. "Freeze Stokes!" Spike shouted and kept his finger gripped tightly on the trigger of his gun. A bead of sweat ran down the left side of his forehead.

          A voice laughed. "Freeze!" Spike turned and blindly fired his gun.

          Spike life was suddenly so short. Everything was moving slow as Stokes ran past him shouting his son's name as the small boy fell to the ground, his cap gun tapping on the wooden floor. Spike's throat ran dry, and he dropped his gun. "Oh God, Jake!" The man lifted his son's dead body and rocked back and forth crying against the boys head.

          Spike's bottom lip trembled and he wrapped his arms around himself looking at Jake's cap gun and then to Jake's right arm. Fingers slightly curled in, and covered in blood from the pool flowing from the chest wound Spike had inflicted. "I…" Spike tried to speak as he slid down the door.

          Stokes's looked back at him in disgust. "What kind of monster's are you?!" He bellowed and laid his son down. Spike gazed at the boy. He had short, red hair and freckles on his cheeks. His eyes were still open. Stokes's gritted his teeth and got up. Spike drew his knees to his chest and wanted to throw up. He'd turned into one of them one of the men that had killed his parent's.

          "I didn't mean to…" Spike swallowed. "Oh God." He shook. Stokes's took Spike's gun and held it out to Spike.

          "You…you don't care, you're just another heartless bastard from that damned syndicate!" Just as Stokes's was going to fire the gun Vicious came in and killed him. Spike shut his eyes tightly and rested his head in his knees. Vicious looked over to see Jake dead.

          "You killed the boy?" Spike shuttered and nodded his head. "Mao's going to kill you…"

          Spike sighed. "Not if I don't kill me first…" He looked over to Jake and moved over to shut the boys blue eyes.

          Vicious chuckled. "You've really got to work on those jokes of yours…" He sighed and shook his head. "Come one Spike, let's get out of here."

++++++

          Faye's head hung low, her hair was covering her face as she clung to Spike's hand. "That wasn't your fault Spike." She shivered as the wind blew past her. "You were doing your job; you saw a gun and someone holding it. Anyone could have made the same mistake in your situation. Besides, you're making up for your past by helping people now. You're not in the syndicate now, you've moved on."

          Spike jerked his hand back and stood, muttering something to himself. She looked around. The sun would rise soon. Spike must have been thinking the same thing. "We'll rest until those two Advil start working, then we keep moving."

          "Aren't they going to see us? I'm sure they've guessed that we're trucking though the woods already."

          Spike sighed. "Move over here." He gathered a large pile of leaves together from the Oak trees. Faye hobbled over and laid next to the bush Spike had been looking at earlier, and also next to the leaves. Spike stepped in front of her and then covered some of the leaves over the two of them as they crept under the bush and its heavy green foliage.

          Faye stared at the back of his head. "Spike, are you okay?" He took another deep breath. Faye ran her hand through his hair.

          He shivered to her touch. Spike turned over and faced her. "Faye." He wet his lips and looked at her briefly before narrowing his eyes and staring at the ground. Faye placed a hand on his cheek her eyes were warm and comforting. He was hurting, that memory was really getting to him.

          There was something else though, something hidden. He looked at her again and gritted his teeth. Faye sighed and moved closer, kissing him on the forehead. "It'll be okay Spike." He struggled to hold back a cry as he rested his face in the crook of Faye's neck.

          His arm locked around her waist and he held her to him tightly. "Faye, thank you." He whispered.

Laa fluffy! ^__^ Enjoy, sorry for errors, I didn't have time to skim it up without it taking me a week or so before I get my next chance to post it up! ::cries:: *_* TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK!!