Disclaimer: I do not own Cowboy Bebop

Session 6: Let's Take Care of Business

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            Jet awoke still fairly tired and a bit cranky. They had turned the bounty in late the previous night but hadn't been able to pick up the reward yet. They were told to come back in the morning during "business hours" for that. The first thing he saw upon setting foot out of his room was a trial of blood. He glanced to his left to see it disappear into Spike's room. The sight should have distressed him but he had seen it far too often to let it trouble him in the least.

            "Look's like Spike had another late night," he commented dryly as Eden peeked her head out from behind him. Her light green eyes widened.

            "Oh no! Is he hurt?" she asked in a tone laced with concern.

            "Probably," answered Jet stepping over the blood and heading for the kitchen. He made a mental note to tell Spike he would be cleaning up his own mess this time.

            Eden ran after him also careful of where she stepped. "Shouldn't we check to see if he's okay?" she asked his retreating back.

            "Go ahead if you want. I have to start breakfast so I can pick up my damn money soon," he said with a dismissive wave of his hand.

            She stopped dead in her tracks and turned around. Tugging at the oversized t-shirt she wore, she timidly followed the trail of blood until it ended at a door. She didn't really want to bother Spike, but she was quite worried. Bringing a white knuckled hand to metal she delicately knocked.

            Spike heard a gentle rapping at his door as he slowly gained consciousness. Before sitting up he gazed at Faye's slender body curled up peacefully beside him. They hadn't done anything sexual, he had just held her until she fell asleep. In the year that he had known her he had never stopped to consider how truly lonely she was. Hell, he had never stopped to consider how lonely he was either. After his second near death experience the reality of his situation finally came crashing down on him. He had responded to this by avoiding any human interaction. He had needed time to sort out his thoughts. Naturally, this included a lot of sleeping. The knock sounded again.

            He reluctantly slipped out of bed. Faye was out cold and did not stir at his absence. He stubbed his toe on something and cursed under his breath before limping to the door. As soon as he cracked it he was assailed with questions.

            "Are you alright? Are you hurt? What did you do last night? Are the…" Eden abruptly stopped speaking when she caught a glimpse of Faye on his bed in the slight distance. "Oh," she uttered as her cheeks flushed red. "I'm sorry."

            "It's okay," said Spike with an amused smirk. "I'm fine, but thank you for your concern."

            "Oh, good. I…uhm…better go help Jet now," she said before practically running off down the hallway.

            Spike chuckled as he shut the door. He settled onto his bed and pulled Faye's sleeping body into his arms. He had forgotten how good it felt to hold a woman. She made a small contented sound as a slight smile formed on her face. He stared down at her in wonder. She seemed so happy to be close to him, even unconscious. He couldn't fathom why. Because he was convenient? Close to her age? Did she think he was handsome? He had no idea. Most of the time he figured she would have rather spit in his food than give him a gesture of affection.

            Contemplating the mysteries of women he absently caressed Faye's silken exposed skin. He had brought her dry nightclothes before they finally passed out from exhaustion. He remembered her sudden embarrassed modesty when he had attempted to help her change. She had shoved him away and told him to turn around. He had complied with a shrug far more nonchalant than he felt.

            His hand eventually found the flesh on her back where the scar had formed. Exploring it gently he noticed her frown and shift. Her eyes opened seconds later and she jolted away from him nearly sliding off of the bed.

            "Whoa! Easy there," soothed Spike as he caught her by the torso and moved her back to his side. He noticed her flinch when he had grabbed her midsection. It was then it dawned on him. He hadn't been rough enough to actually hurt her. It could only mean one thing.

            "Let me see the scar, Faye," he demanded.

            Faye furiously shook her head but he was too quick. Within seconds he had her pinned beneath him helplessly. He used his body to hold her down and one hand to grip her arms above her head. His free hand lifted up her shirt and he inspected the skin beneath. The flesh of the wound was bright red and horribly raw looking. He knew the scar well; his tan skin just hid them much better. Gazing up to her face he saw tears gliding down her cheeks.

            "It looks terrible, doesn't it?" she asked quietly.

            Honestly, he had been thinking just the opposite. The small red mark stood in stark contrast to her smooth, porcelain white skin. It reminded him of a work of art; it represented the mortality of a seemingly invincible woman. He leaned over her stomach and gently brushed his lips over the scar causing her to gasp.

            "It looks perfect," he answered her with a warm smile that softened his normally hard eyes. He then released her arms and sat back on the end of the bed.

            Faye quickly pulled down her shirt and sat up wiping the tears from her face. "Spike…why are you doing this?" she asked weakly.

            "Doing what?" he retorted playing dumb.

            She sighed. "Spike…you don't even like me. Why are you wasting your time…" she couldn't find the heart to continue as she felt a wave of exhaustion sweeping through her yet weary body.

            "I never said I didn't like you and I am not wasting my time," he finally answered sounding rather resolute.

            She fell back onto the pillow and stared at the ceiling. "What brought about your sudden change of heart for me?" she continued to question.

            "When I realized you're just as lonely and broken as I am," he said lying down next to her. "Believe it or not…I do have emotions."

            "What a revelation," dead panned Faye still intently studying the ceiling. Her eyes slid shut. "You know…" she whispered, "I…I think I've been in love with you for a little while now."

            Spike propped himself up on his elbow to stare down at her. "Really?" he asked not sounding the least bit surprised. "Why? I thought you despised my existence."

            "Well, I did at first…but…I don't know why…I guess there's a lot of reasons," she stammered turning red, eyes still shut.

            "Kiss me."

            Her eyes flew open to meet his staring intently into hers. "Huh?" she said stunned.

            "You heard me," he stated flatly, lying down.

            She sat up and stared at him agape.

            "If you don't want to, that's okay," he said lazily putting his arms behind his head. Next thing he knew, her hot lips were on his intense and passionate. When she pulled away she left them both gasping for breath. They studied the depth of each other's eyes for a considerable length of time. It was after this that they suddenly and vehemently tangled themselves in each other's limb blazing kisses wherever they could land them. It was an act of desperation, breaking tension and lust that neither of them could stop even if they wanted to. Their bodies seemed to move of their own accord. They were held prisoner by their own need, yet felt as though they had never experienced anything so pure.

***  

            Eden busied herself buttering toast and fixing cups of coffee. Jet had taught her these things the previous morning. She was perplexed though and eventually found herself speaking.

            "Uhm..hey, Jet," she said turning to face his back.

            "Yes?" he asked as he expertly flipped a pancake into the air and caught it in the pan.

            "Are…Spike and Faye…uh…intimate?"

            Jet nearly faltered his next flip as he burst into a fit of laughter. "Where'd you get that idea?" he asked still chuckling.

            "So, I guess that's a 'no' then," she said even more confused than she was before.

            "Not to my knowledge they're not," he affirmed returning to his cooking. "Where are those damn kids anyways? Food is usually the only thing that motivates them these days."

            Eden considered telling him they were both in Spike's room but ultimately decided against a blatant disrespect of their privacy.

            "Spike and I need to be at the station soon," reasoned Jet flipping the last pancake onto a plate. "I'm going to go wake him up. I'll be right back," he said leaving the room.

            Eden made a small sound of protest but it was too late. Jet was already gone. On second thought, maybe she should have told him.

***  

            Jet stormed down the hallway on a mission. He heard some commotion in Spike's room yet paid it no mind as he pounded his fist obnoxiously on the door.

            "Spike! Get your lazy ass in gear! We have to go pick up the reward soon!" he bellowed.

            Spike paused long enough between kisses to yell. "I'm kinda busy right now!"

            The pounding on the door persisted. "I'm not in the mood for your avoidance today!" Jet yelled back. "If you want your share, get up! Now!"

            Spike groaned in irritation and unwillingly pulled away from Faye. He took some deep breaths and willed his body to relax. Faye watched in what seemed like a daze as if she didn't quite believe the reality of her present situation. When he stood and stumbled to the door to crack it open she came to her senses and scrambled to hide under the covers.

            "Good! You're up!" smiled Jet in a more jovial mood now. "Get ready and come eat some breakfast while it's still hot."

            A disgruntled Spike watched as the cheery man strutted down the hallway. He was about to shut his door when he heard his comrade shout yet again.

            "Oh, yeah! I almost forgot," shouted Jet over his shoulder. "Clean up this damn bloody mess and wake Faye up for breakfast! Thanks!"

            "Sure thing…I'll go ahead and save the world while I'm at it," muttered Spike finally slamming the door shut in agitation. He turned back to his bed to see Faye timidly peeking out from under his blankets. He chuckled at how childishly innocent she appeared and sat on the edge of the bed.

            "I…uh…guess we'll have to continue this later…" he stuttered uncomfortably while rubbing the back of his neck.

            "Yeah, preferably when they're not awake," joked Faye trying to lighten the mood. She sat up. "You better get ready. Jet seemed a bit impatient."

            Spike nodded and started pulling on his suit pants. He paused in thought before putting on his shirt and buttoning it. "Hey, do your feet feel okay?"

            "Why?"

            "Come with us," he said now tugging on his right boot.

            She didn't answer him. Instead she decided to test the extent of her injuries. Swinging her legs over the side of the bed, she gingerly placed her feet on the cold floor. Still clutching the blanket to her, she took a deep breath and stood up. Beside a wince, she seemed fine.

            "Hmm…doesn't hurt that bad…" she thought out loud. Discarding the blanket, she started walking for the door with a slight limp.

            "Hey…wait…" stammered Spike trying to hop after her as he pulled on his left boot.

            "See you at breakfast," she said with a coy smile before disappearing through the door.

***   

            Faye stood outside the Ganymede Police Station babysitting Eden as the men attended to business. Upon hearing Faye wanted to go with them, Jet had insisted on bringing Eden along. He had said it would be an excellent opportunity for Eden to buy some clothes. Naturally, Faye had been elected to help her since men "don't know the first thing about what women are wearing these days" as Jet so eloquently put it.

            Faye sighed and pushed up her sunglasses after she threw a sideways glance at Eden. The striking woman was leaning over a railing on the walkway they stood on staring with wonder at the water below. She'd been that way pretty much the whole time they'd been waiting there. As the minutes of boredom passed by, Faye's hand strayed to reassuringly pat her glock tucked into the back of her jeans. She had stealthily retrieved it before everyone had left the Bebop. She doubt Jet would've batted an eye at it if he had found it lying on the deck, though. He considered her fairly careless and probably would have figured she accidentally dropped it. Her thoughts halted as she saw Jet and Spike approaching her.

            "Alright, Faye, here you go," said Jet cramming a wad of bills into her hands. "Here's the ground rules: No casinos, try to budget it the best you can, and absolutely NO slutty, revealing clothes. Got it?"

            Faye glared at the stern man feeling more than a little insulted but shrugged it off. "Fine, whatever. Come on, Eden!" She stuck her nose up in the air and walked away yanking Eden along behind her. Eden looked surprised yet still managed to smile and wave good-bye to the men before they disappeared down a side street.

            "Hmm…can't help but think I've made a mistake," said Jet staring thoughtfully into the distance.

            Spike didn't seem to hear him and stared at where Faye had been moments ago. He wished he could've gone with her. That was the whole reason he had asked her to come along. But Jet had obviously had other plans in mind.

            "What do you think?" spoke Jet interrupting Spike's contemplation.

            "Huh?"

            "Damn…what's wrong with you?" asked Jet sighing and shaking his head. "You've been spaced out all morning. Is something bothering you?"

            Spike smiled and shook his head in response. Sometimes, Jet reminded him so much of the concerned big brother he never had. "I'm fine," he answered simply. "Hey…let's go get a drink or something. It'll help you to stop worrying so much about Eden."

            Jet blushed slightly. "Am I that obvious?"

            "Yep. Come on, let's go. They'll be fine."

            "Yeah, I suppose you're right," said Jet following his friend. "They'll be fine."

***

            Eden emerged from a dressing room and twirled happily in a lovely, knee length violet dress. "What do you think, Faye?" she asked with a broad smile as her long, dark hair settled around her shoulders and back.

            Faye couldn't help but smile back at Eden's infectious cheerfulness. "It looks great," she answered, and she wasn't lying. Eden looked wonderful in dresses, as if she were made to look her best when sickeningly feminine.

            "Can I get this one too?" she asked excitedly as her eyes sparkled.

            "Sure," said Faye. "But that's the last one. We're almost out of money."

            Eden nodded and changed back into her lent clothes. They paid for the dress and emerged from the store with armfuls of bags. Faye had been true to Jet's demand and budgeted the money rather well. Eden now had the beginnings of a wardrobe. They were having such a good time; they didn't notice the two people that had been shadowing them since they were spotted shopping.

            "Faye? Can I ask you a personal question?" said Eden looking sheepishly at Faye as they made their way back to the Bebop.

            "Uhm…sure, I guess," said Faye wondering what the hell she could possibly ask her that was personal.

            "Are…are you and Spike…intimate?" asked Eden turning red at her question. She hated to pry, but she was confused.

            Faye almost tripped and nearly dropped a couple of bags. Now, it was her turn to blush. "W..what do you mean?" she said trying to play dumb.

            "Well, I saw you in Spike's bed this morning when I went to see if he was okay…" she trailed off when she noticed Faye's incredulous expression of shock.

            "Ahem…well…we were…uhm…you see, last night…no…we just…" Faye fumbled over her words trying to think of a reasonable explanation for why she was in Spike's bed. Unable to think of anything believable but the truth, she fell silent.

            Eden laughed lightly. "It's okay," she said in a gentle reassuring tone. "I know you like him. I can tell by the way you look at him sometimes. Whatever you were doing with him isn't any of my business. I was just confused because Jet had said you guys weren't together. In fact, he had laughed when I asked him…"

            "Yeah, well, Jet doesn't know," explained Faye. "We used to fight like cats and dogs constantly, so he probably thinks we still can't stand each other. Hey, could you keep this secret just between us for a while? I think Jet would have a heart attack if we broke the news to him suddenly."

            "Okay," agreed Eden with a bright smile.

            The women continued to chat as they walked by a dark alleyway. A woman peeked out after them, then shrunk back into the shadows.

            "It's her, I'm sure of it," spoke the woman.

            "Then you know what to do," said the woman's male accomplice completely shrouded in shadows.

            Eden suddenly stopped dead in her tracks. Faye stopped slightly ahead of her and stared back in confusion. The smile faded from Eden's face and a blank expression took its place. Before Faye could open her mouth to ask what was wrong, chaos ensued. As Eden dropped her bags and spun around, a woman with long, flowing light blond hair ran straight for her at inhuman speed. Eden fell into a stance and executed a perfect roundhouse kick knocking the mystery woman clear off her feet and against the side of a building. She rebounded quickly, though, and soon the two women were having a knockdown, drag-out fight.

            Shaking off her stunned reaction, Faye suddenly remembered her glock. She drew it from the waistband of her jeans and attempted to aim. Unfortunately, both women were moving too fast and she really didn't want to hit Eden by mistake. Suddenly, Eden kicked the woman through a glass window and charged at Faye. She cussed and lowered her weapon. The next think Faye knew, her hand was empty and Eden was unloading the glock's clip in the direction of the woman. She stared on dumbfounded as a bullet hit the woman in the shoulder and she quickly retreated through the surrounding panicked people.

            At this point, Faye's reflexes kicked in. She rushed to retrieve Eden's fallen bags first more afraid of Jet's reprimand than the fact she might get attacked by this mystery chick. Second, she grabbed Eden's arm and ran.

            "F…Faye? What's going on?" asked Eden obviously jarred out of her trance as she tried to keep up with her sprinting companion.

            "I don't know, just don't drop my gun!" shouted Faye in response.

            They didn't stop running until they were safely on the Bebop. Both women lunged through the entrance hatch gasping for breath as they dramatically fell to the floor.

            "Why were we running?" asked Eden not nearly as winded as Faye. She looked at the gun in her hand in utter confusion.

            Faye snatched back the gun and stared at Eden in bewilderment. She doesn't remember, she thought. Something is seriously wrong with her memory if it's lapsing like that…

            "Faye?"

            "Come on," said Faye slowly climbing to her feet. "We need to talk to Jet."

***  

            Upon Faye's frantic demand, the Bebop had left Ganymede almost immediately after Eden and she arrived. Everyone was now gathered on the bridge.

            "Now, Faye…would you care to explain to me the urgency of our departure?" asked Jet patiently from his seat at the controls.

            "Someone attacked us…er, Eden," said Faye still in shock. She quickly gave the men a rundown of what had occurred.

            "You let her grab your gun?!" asked Jet with a look of horror etched on his face when Faye was done telling her story.

            "No! She grabbed it out of my hand so damn fast, I didn't even see her do it!" cried Faye defending herself.

            "I wonder why someone would be so interested in her," said Spike thoughtfully from his position leaning against a glass window. "Where the hell did she come from anyway, Jet?"

            Jet never answered. Instead, he turned his eyes to Eden as if asking permission to spill her secret. The look she returned was angst ridden and full of anxiety. He knew that she was pretty uncomfortable with the fact she had been a genetically engineered killer. Taking her expression as a silent warning, he lowered his head and remained quiet.

            "Do you remember anything about the woman that attacked you?" asked Spike directly to Eden when Jet refused to answer him.

            Eden sadly shook her head. "Faye said I fought back and shot her…but I don't remember doing those things. I only remember seeing the woman for a few seconds then running."

            "I noticed something strange about her," said Faye with a distant look in her eyes as if she were replaying the event in her mind.

            "What?" asked Spike and Jet in unison.

            "That woman…she looked a lot like Eden," answered Faye almost sounding doubtful of herself. "She had different colored hair…but her face…from what I could see they looked like they could be twins. Same facial structure and build. Strange."

            The gears in Jet's head were spinning out of control at this point. He now had a theory of who this mystery woman might be. According to the data he had pulled up on Eden, she had been number three of five. That meant there were possibly four other women out there that looked like Eden and were possibly as dangerous as her when she had her memory. Why the woman had attacked her, who had put her up to it, and how she had found her was anyone's guesses. He needed to research and the sooner the better.

            Faye, Spike and Eden watched as Jet suddenly sprung from his seat and hurried off of the bridge. Eden lowered her head and followed his lead.

            "They're hiding something," said Spike when Eden was out of earshot.

            "You think so?" asked Faye slowly walking over to him.

            "I'm positive," he answered absently winding his arm around her waist when she was within reach. He pulled her gently against his body and briefly buried his face in her fragrant hair. The scent intoxicated him and he had to consciously remind himself to relax.

            Reluctantly, Faye forced herself to push Spike away. "Don't do that here," she whispered. "They might see us." She didn't mention how his touch caused chills to run down her spine.

            Spike shrugged and shoved his hands in his pockets to keep them somewhere safe. Before he walked away he locked eyes with Faye and spoke.

            "I'll be seeing you later."

            That said he casually strolled off the bridge leaving Faye staring wide-eyed at him as her heart raced.

***  

Authors Note:

         I am soooooo sorry this took so long! .  I never figured I'd be this busy when I started college. But it's pure chaos sometimes and I have absolutely no inspiration left for writing. School sucks it all away, but I swear I am trying! Let's see how I do….Oh, and thank you to all that have reviewed! I greatly appreciate you! ^_^

Hmmm…and about the mystery man…I wonder who that might be? Hehe… *wink*