Disclaimer: I do not own Cowboy Bebop.
Session 3: I Need a Favor…
The creaking of the hangar door opening and closing woke Spike from his light slumber. Minutes of silence ensued as he began to doze off again stretched across his favorite spot on the ship, the couch. Suddenly, bright light assailed his closed eyelids and he grimaced in agitation. He heard Jet's heavy footsteps approaching the couch…and another set softly padding behind them. Spike opened his eyes to behold a rather disgruntled looking Jet and a pretty, longhaired woman staring down at him. His eyes widened and he bolted upright.
"Who is this?" he asked staring at the woman.
Jet almost laughed at the baffled expression on his friend's face.
"I'm Eden," answered the woman before Jet could speak up. Her grip on the blanket had loosened and one of her pale shoulders began to show. When it continued to slip further to reveal cleavage, Spike stared in awe.
Jet cleared his throat loudly and hastily pulled the blanket back over Eden's shoulder. Spike was amused to see the slight blush that flushed the gruff man's face.
"Where's Faye?" Jet asked returning to his normal demanding self.
"Probably hiding in her room, as usual," spoke Spike discovering a magazine on the table next to the couch. He lay back down and placed the magazine over his head to continue his slumber unencumbered by the overhead light.
"Wait here," Jet ordered Eden as he walked away.
Eden nodded then turned her attention to Spike who was now snoring softly.
Faye was jarred awake as she heard an obnoxious pounding on her door. Immediately, she knew it had to be Jet's mechanical arm.
"Faye! Get your lazy ass out here!" he called affirming her assumption.
She grumbled some profanities as she crawled out of bed thrashing around and tripping on her tangled sheets. Her door opened seconds later.
"I need a favor," started Jet.
She considered arguing with him, but quickly squashed the thought. Jet had saved her ass more than once, and he continued to offer her hospitality no matter how little she did around the ship.
"Okay," she mumbled rubbing the sleep from her eyes.
"Do you have a spare set of clothes that would fit someone…slightly larger than you?" he asked awkwardly.
"Yeah," answered Faye beginning to look a bit perplexed.
"Good. Get them and meet me in the shower room," said Jet stomping off down the hallway.
Now, Faye was utterly confused, but did as he requested. Jet was a sensible man. There had to be a good reason for his odd demand. She reconsidered this thought when she arrived at the shower room. There stood Jet next to a woman clothed only in a dirty blanket. Much to her surprise, Faye Valentine found herself at a loss for words.
Jet surveyed the clothes she brought and nodded in approval. "I found her on Venus," he began sounding as if he'd found an animal rather than a person. "She was with my bounty when he was killed. She doesn't remember who she is, so I decided to help her find out. Would you please help her get cleaned up and dressed? If you teach her how to use the shower, you'll only have to do this once."
Faye blinked and stared dumbly at Jet. When he saw no visible protest in her face, he smiled briefly and took his leave. Faye then stared at Eden who regarded her with an equally confused expression.
She's just like me when I woke up, thought Faye, a sad smile of sympathy crossing her face.
"Hello, Eden. My name is Faye," she said warmly. "Let's get this over with so you can relax, okay?"
"Okay," said Eden now more at ease hearing Faye's gentle welcome.
Jet once again sat on the bridge of his ship anxiously awaiting Eden's return. There was something about her that captivated him, and it wasn't just her stunning good looks. He felt a pang of jealousy as he recalled the way Spike had looked at her when he woke up. He made a mental note to keep an eye on his wily comrade. Just as that thought passed, Eden and Faye walked onto the bridge.
"So, how does she look?" asked Faye pleased with her work. This was the lightest mood she'd been in since her injury two months ago.
Jet turned to view the clean version of Eden and couldn't find the words to describe what he beheld. Her dark hair shone with renewed life as it cascaded over her shoulders to lengths past her waist. Her pale skin glowed, still ruddy from the hot water. The outfit Faye had picked out was fairly modest yet clung to every voluptuous curve on Eden's body.
"Well?" asked Faye impatiently tapping her foot.
Jet shook his head clear. "She looks wonderful, Faye. Thank you. I appreciate your help," he said practically glowing himself.
Faye chuckled lightly. She could see by the gleam in his eyes that he was falling for Eden and fast at that. "Oh yeah." Faye suddenly remembered what she had wanted to mention to him. "I'm not sure if it means anything, but look on her lower back." With that said, she strolled off the bridge.
"What's on my back?" asked Eden timidly approaching Jet.
"Turn around," he said when she reached him. She hesitated briefly before complying. As gently as he could manage, he lifted her shirt slightly. He saw the top of a black mark poking out from her jeans. Pulling the fabric down a bit, he furrowed his brows at what he peered. A strange symbol with a three below it that seemed horribly familiar.
"No…it can't be…" he muttered letting go of her clothing.
"Huh? What's wrong?" asked Eden turning around. She saw Jet's troubled eyes staring past her into the depths of space. They seemed hollow and this disturbed her.
Without a gesture of warning, Jet suddenly sprang from his seat and rushed off the bridge. Eden chased after him astounded by her own agility. She came to a halt in the common room. Jet was sitting on a metal ledge just beyond the couch with his back to her. She crept past Spike's snoring form on the couch and then realized Jet was furiously typing away at his computer. Eden leaned in over the metal ledge to get a better view of the images flashing on the computer screen.
"ISSP…genetic experiment…extensive training…above average intelligence…" Eden mumbled the words she caught. Apparently, she could read.
The screens abruptly stopped flashing. They seemed to have stopped on a profile screen. In the top left corner, Eden saw her own face staring back at her. She curiously scanned the profile as Jet read it. This time, he mumbled aloud what he surveyed.
"Biologically engineered…part of experimental group, number three of five…showed extraordinary intelligence…accelerated training…1,000 confirmed kills during Titan war…sudden lapse and loss of memory shortly after return to ISSP Headquarters…subject detained at Mars Maximum Security Prison to await extensive investigation into memory failure…investigation yielded no conclusive results…subject placed in cryogenic facility to await possible reactivization or termination…" Jet's voice trailed off and he turned his shocked eyes to Eden. She was the rumored experiment that he had caught wind of while working with the ISSP. The killer bombshell they had called her.
Eden slowly backed away from the computer and Jet with an expression of dismay. She was an experiment. A trained killer. Her only saving grace was that she couldn't remember any of it. Richard Grey had freed her from the facility a mere three days ago. He had declared he was liberating her. When she asked why she couldn't remember anything or who she was he would shake his head and say it didn't matter. He had only told her that her name was Eden because she was as beautiful as paradise.
She remembered how kind Richard had been to her those three days they fled. She remembered his bleeding body collapsing in front of her. Panic and grief had flooded her senses at that moment. The following moments were a blur until she had locked eyes with Jet. They had softened with sympathy as he stared at her. Those same eyes stared at her now. She met them again on the verge of tears.
"I…I'm…" Eden stammered unable to find the appropriate words to describe her brief life. With a sudden cry of frustration, she turned on her heels and ran out of the room.
"Eden! Wait!" cried Jet flying off the ledge to chase after her.
Spike's snore cut short as he was startled awake. He lifted the magazine partially off of his face but didn't see anyone. Letting the magazine fall back into place, he shifted slightly and soon started snoring again.
Authors Note: Sorry this is so short. I promise the next Session will be longer ^_^ I'm plugging away at it daily at work! Hehe…
To my reviewers:
Pimpin Satan: You may have reviewed this before. I had to edit it because I uploaded it wrong the first time and sadly lost some reviews. Anyway, thank you for the lovely review! About Spike and Faye, I love the idea of them being a couple. It just doesn't seem in their natures to be squishy romantics, so I'm trying to take an unconventional approach, though I may slip into the sap at times. And Eden…well, I think she's more of Jet's guardian angel than anyone else ^_^
Red-Tenko: Yes, it is about time Jet got himself a girl! (though, I have read some awesome Jet fics!) He gets ignored in a lot of Spike/Faye fics and I didn't want to do that since I love his character too! Oh, and thank you for the good idea to have Faye help out Eden. I hadn't thought of that. And the woman bonding between them is also a wonderful idea. Thank you again for the review!