A.N: Eh, I don't really have anything to say except.. THE HILLS ARE ALIVE WITH THE SOUND OF MUSIC! Or not.. Whatever. Oh and most of these stories (if I do more than one) will probably have Ein as a main character, simply because most of the stories I found involve a dog (but no promises).. But this one is Spike and Ein.

Disclaimer: I wanna make this clear. Pretty much none of this is mine. All that's original are the words which I have paraphrased from the certain scary stories (the way I use the characters in the story). The story _ideas_ and the Bebop characters are not mine. And I'm not sure where the stories originally came from. The particular book I got them from I found in a used book store. It's called "The Scariest Stories You've Ever Heard". Seems a bit presumptuous, but hey, whatever..

~`~Doggie's Treat~`~

The morning was dragging on longer than usual, and Spike's hangover was not helping in the least. Listening but not participating in the conversation between his two partners was like having a tennis match going on in his head; the sides of his skull throbbed with each serve of the verbal ball. The last bounty they were lucky enough to collect on landed them better off in the financial department than they'd been in awhile (ankle deep or at least big toe deep in cash), which put Jet in high enough spirits to treat the gang to a time on the town.

Spike had already treated himself to a "time on the town" the night before and was paying it back in full-with interest.

"OooOOooo! Ice cream! Ice cream! We all scream for ice cream!" Ed's childlike demeanor rose to new heights at the sight of the name "Tasty Freeze"; its letters chipped and slightly peeled. The girl's merry hop turned to a soar as she spread her arms and "flew" the remaining few yards to the shop followed by Jet and Faye with their ailing friend bringing up the rear.

Spike cringed. The thought of an ice cream head ache along with the renegade jackhammer in his head nearly caused him to faint just from the possible magnitude of that pain. 'This is gonna kill me,' he shuddered and his face turned almost as green as his hair as his stomach flopped.

"Hey, guys," he called ahead causing Jet and Faye to glance back; Ed swung cheerily from the door handle. Spike gulped down another wave of nausea, "I'm gonna go back to the ship; you go ahead without me."

Faye smirked, "Fine. With you out that leaves enough money as seconds for me." Jet only nodded his understanding to Spike and followed after the two girls.

Ed lingered at the door observing Spike's retreating form and called to him, "Is Spike person going home?"

He stopped and glanced back at her, "Yeah, Ed, see you later."

She smiled, "Ein will keep you company!"

Spike cringed again, 'Damn, that's right. We have a dog. So much for the peace and quiet..' The walk back to the ship took far too long.

~`~

Spike's eyelids drooped and dark rings formed and sat atop each cheek. Sliding the door open and shuffling his feet over the threshold, Spike just hoped he could make it to the couch before passing out. Fortune was kind to him though holding his strength out until the last foot and allowed his knees to give only when he reached the soft yellow cushions. Not bothering to take off or even unbutton his jacket, nor loosen his tie or remove his shoes, Spike draped an arm over his bloodshot eyes and let unconsciousness wash over him.

Some time later, whether a few minutes or an hour, Spike didn't know, his eyes crept open stealing him from sleep. It took him a moment to realize he had no idea what woke him. The Bebop was dead quiet with the ceiling fan turned off and the crew out having fun. No sound except for a low wheezing.

'Wheezing?' Spike sat up and instantly regretted it as the hangover returned full force. Almost with a whimper, Spike rubbed his aching temples as he continued to listen for that sound again. The ringing in his skull faded and the quiet returned save for the wheezing. The bounty hunter, with great pains, rose from the comfort of the couch to investigate.

He started for the kitchen to find the sound fading, so he changed directions and headed for the revolving corridor. Opening the hatch, Spike peered out warily but the sound wasn't coming from in there. Returning to the lounge area, he then headed down the hall toward his room. The wheezing became louder. It sounded more like gasps mixed in and it finally dawned on Spike:

'Ein!' Quickening his pace, Spike soon came upon the crumpled form of Ein laying on the metal floor wheezing and gasping for air. Spike knelt down and picked up the little dog. Holding him close, Spike carried him quickly to the hangar, settled him gently into the Swordfish II, and flew off to find the nearest animal hospital. It wasn't that Spike cared about the dog really; he just knew that if Ein died, Ed would never let him hear the end of it.

"C'mon, damn it. Hang in there!" Spike growled though his tone remained rather soft.

'Of all the days for him to get hurt it had to be the one when I'm in charge..'

He rolled his eyes and gritted his teeth as he sped the ship faster.

~`~

The lucky stars were favoring him that day because Spike did manage to find a small Vet's office not far from the docks. Landing his ship unceremoniously in front of a fire hydrant, he popped open the hatch and jumped out with the wheezing Ein cradled to his chest.

A nurse sat at the front desk typing a letter in between filing a fingernail when Spike pushed open the door with his hip and practically dumped the gasping animal in the woman's lap, "He's having trouble breathing; I think he's choking on something!"

The man's haggard appearance and slightly wild eyes quite startled the nurse like a deer caught in headlights. She only set herself to action when he snapped at her again to get the doctor. Jumping to her feet, her heels clicking wildly on the linoleum, she ran to a back hall.

While he waited, Spike tried prying open the dog's mouth to see if he could dislodge whatever it was Ein was choking on. He caught a glimpse of it, whatever it was, just as the doctor ran up. She took Ein's jaws from Spike's grasped into hers as she clicked on a small flashlight and shone it down the animal's throat.

"There's definitely something obstructing the airway but it's too deep to remove by hand," she lowered the light and clicked it off; "We might have to do it surgically."

Looking up at Spike for the first time, she saw his distraught look and weighted eyes; she patted him on the shoulder, "But there's nothing else you can do for him. Maybe it's best if you went home and I'll give you a call when he's better."

Spike paused as he pondered it before he heaved a sigh and nodded reluctantly. He left his vidcom number and the location of the Bebop at the docks with the nurse as the doctor carried Ein down the back hall out of eye and earshot. Spike threw one last look over his shoulder as he pushed open the glass door and headed to the Swordfish.

~`~

The Bebop was now eerily quiet and although his headache had subsided to a dull throb, Spike couldn't bring himself to fall asleep again. Despite all the vicious lowlifes he'd faced - and the lowlife Vicious - it was this experience with Ein that had left him a bit-rattled. Somewhere under that blue jacket, yellow shirt, and thick skin, there was a heart; a human one at that. He couldn't help but have a sliver of concern for the mutt's well being; even if he had chewed Spike's shoes on a number of occasions. 'Worthless mutt,' he grumbled to himself, 'Nothing but trouble.'

He laid back on the sofa only to sit up a minute later from restlessness. He groaned from the headache and hefted himself up to head to the kitchen. Flipping open the cabinet, Spike drew a bottle of aspirin from a shelf and promptly popped two of the little pills in his mouth chased with a glass of water. Finishing it off and letting out a satisfied gasp, he then set the emptied glass down on the counter with a -thunk-.

Spike froze at the sound. It was much louder than it should have been. And it sounded more like a dull thud; a sound glass just doesn't make. Spike stepped away from the counter and went back into the lounge, rubbing his temples dolefully. As he sunk down to the comforting cushions that same dull thud reached his ears again. He sat rigid on the couch and listened intently for it to repeat itself. He didn't have to wait long; the next one came a lot closer and it took Spike all of two seconds to hold his gun ready.

He stood and started towards the hall leading to his room; things became deathly quiet again. Another thud resounded through the hall and he froze again, his muscles tense; the thud seemed to be accompanied by a low wheezing. 'Wait a minute. I thought Ein-," Holding his gun upward, Spike peered around the corner and nearly jumped out of his skin when his vidcom rang at his belt. Sighing at his cowardice, he unclipped it and flipped it open; it was the Veterinarian.

"You need to get out of there, right now." Her tone was unsettlingly strong.

Before Spike could ask about the cause of her reasoning, a figure lunged out from the shadows and knocked into Spike. The vidcom flew from his hands and skidded across the floor. The figure brandished a gun himself and the two wrestled for the others weapon for a minute before Spike was thrown to the floor, but he quickly retaliated by swing his leg and knocked the other's feet out from under him. The intruder landed hard getting the wind knock out of him giving Spike the opportunity to grab his gun and hold the man at gunpoint.

As he stood over him, breathing heavily, he retrieved his vidcom from the floor to find the terrified face of the Vet. "What happened?! Are you all right?! I called the police when I removed the objects from your dog's throat; the authorities should be on their way."

Spike was slowly regaining his composure and came to study the man that lay before the barrel of his gun. He had mess of tangle black hair; his teeth were yellowed and decayed; his clothes were in tatters; but the thing that held Spike's attention most was the scarlet sheet wrapped around the man's right hand. Sharp knocks on the metal hatch thudded down the corridor; knowing it was the police, Spike was forced to leave his beaten adversary in order to open the door.

After letting the officers in, he pointed to the hall where he'd left the intruder; three ran to the location weapons ready, while a fourth stayed with Spike.

"Why did the Vet call you guys?" Spike set his gun aside.

"She was able to save your dog; he's doing fine-"

"Yeah, yeah, she told me. But why did she call you?"

The officer sighed and tried to find the right way to say it, "Like I said your dog is doing fine. The Vet able to remove-"

"For goodness sake, I don't care about the stupid dog!" Spike's patience had worn thin; the attempt on his life by a crazy hobo might have had something to do with it.

The cop tried to explain, "You really should be grateful to that 'stupid dog'. He risked his life for you."

Spike finally fell still and listened. It was just as the three officers led the wild looking man to the squad car with his hands handcuffed behind him. Spike's attention lingered momentarily on the scarlet sheet.

The officer finally finished, "The 'objects' removed from its throat were two human fingers."

Spike's headache suddenly returned, and he rubbed the bridge of his nose. Damn, this morning sucked.

~`~

A.N.: Eh, I don't like that ending. And yet it's my style. I like leaving stuff like that; only because it's how all those scary stories end. They leave you like: 'Uh, what?!' But I know this didn't scare anyone; it's just fun. One of these days I'll write an original scary story using these guys, but until then..

:P