Disclaimer: I don't own Cowboy Bebop. But I do own the entire series on DVD. ;)
A/N: This takes place after the end of the series (which will be obvious after you start reading it) and isn't anything special, as nothing really happens in it. It's just a little character piece for your reading pleasure.
Drag
By: Batbabe
It was too quiet now.
The whole ship seemed dead. There was no noise other than the hum of the mechanical equipment. It was as if all the life had been drained from the Bebop and all that was left was a hollow shell of what it once was.
Two months.
Two months with no word, no sign. Jet Black had long ago lost any hope of seeing his partner again. He took another puff of his cigarette and felt the blessed nicotine fill his lungs. He held the breath for a few moments before exhaling slowly, watching the smoke dance before him.
Now it was just him and Faye, and they rarely spoke. It was as if both of them had been overcome with grief and then became hollow inside. They worked together because they needed to, they ate together because they needed to, they stayed together because they needed to. They wouldn't be able to survive without each other, not yet. The grief was still too fresh, too potent. If either of them left, it would give the pain an excuse to take over and consume them.
The former police officer never imagined that he'd miss the former occupants of the ship as much as he did. Ed had filled the space with life, he would gladly give up the peace and quiet to have her bubbly presence back. He even missed the damn dog. Jet was surprised that he would miss Ein as much as he did considering he had never been an animal person. And Spike was his best friend, even though he had a knack for pissing Jet off almost constantly.
Sometimes Jet thought he could still hear them all here. The Bebop had become more than just a ship that carried them from place to place, it had become a home to an unlikely family. But the family was gone now. The home had been deserted.
He looked out the view port towards the stars and wondered why it had to turn out this way. Jet had always been a strong man capable of taking care of himself, but that didn't seem to be the case anymore. In a relatively short time, he had come to think of the crew of the Bebop as his family, had come to need them in a way that he had rarely ever needed anyone. There had been times in the first few weeks after Spike had left that he had wanted to find Ed and Ein and bring them back, but he knew that wouldn't solve anything. The family would never be the same, not with one of its members gone.
Jet and Faye had looked for Spike. Both of them knew that he was most likely dead, but they still had to find him. They had to know for sure that he was gone. They had searched for days but never found a body. It had been easy to find the scene of the battle with Vicious and it hadn't taken too long to search the rubble, but Spike was nowhere to be found. While Jet realized that the syndicate had probably taken the body with them, Faye still clung to hope that he was alive. Jet knew that was why she was sticking around, hoping that Spike would show up one day and everything would go back to normal.
Jet didn't believe in fairytales like that anymore.
He tilted his head up as he took another drag of his cigarette. As much as he hated to admit it, he didn't look forward to the day that she stopped deluding herself and realized that Spike was dead and wasn't coming back. He knew that she'd leave then and he'd be completely alone. Just the thought of it made him sick to his stomach.
It would happen eventually though, and there was no getting around it.
Down the hall he could hear the clicking of her heels as she came into the living area, most likely waiting for dinner. She'd have to wait a little longer, he didn't feel like cooking yet. He didn't feel like anything at the moment
The departure of most of the crew had taken a toll on Faye. Perhaps more than it had on Jet. She had been through so much recently only to lose what she saw as the one constant in her life. The shrew had become a quiet shadow of her former self, much in the way the ship itself had. The memories of her fights with Spike or her yelling at Ein were becoming more distant with each passing day. Sometimes Jet would find himself thinking up ways to piss her off just so she would yell at him. This mute Faye was becoming tiresome.
His bonsai trees weren't fairing much better. They were suffering from both his neglect and his aggression. He had once prided himself on their care and maintenance, but he found that he didn't really care anymore.
They say that losing interest in things you once enjoyed is a sign of depression and Jet supposed they were right.
Though the way he saw it, he had a damn good reason to be depressed.
Just when you think life can't throw you anymore curve balls, it finds yet another way to screw you over. Jet sighed, knowing that he couldn't change anything. He couldn't make the Bebop what it once was. He couldn't drag Ed and Ein back and he certainly couldn't raise the dead. In many ways, he was completely helpless. He hated that feeling more than the feeling of abandonment that had consumed him weeks ago.
Eventually he'd have to find a way to move on, he just didn't relish the idea of it. For now all he could do was take each day as it came and handle it the best he could. He took another puff and felt the familiar flavor fill his lungs yet again. At least that was one thing he could rely on.
He hated the thought that he might never see the others again. Jet didn't plan on seeing Spike anytime soon, but he still hoped that he would see Ed and the dog again. Even if he only saw them once, at least he would know that they were alright. Uncertainty liked to eat at him too, as so many things did these days.
The ex-cop with the bionic arm took one last drag before putting such thoughts out of his mind for at least a little while longer. They couldn't be ignored forever, but he could put them off for a short time more.
He stood and put out the cigarette, then made his way back to the living area of the ship. The sound of his foot steps echoed throughout the silence of the ship.
A/N: Not sure where this came from, as Jet isn't one of my favorite characters. But here it is none the less. Hope you enjoyed and even if you didn't, Please Review!