Warning to all those who wanted major fluff. Well, you'll get a tid bit of fluff but alot of sadness as well. This is by no means a happy chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own Cowboy Bebop or the song I used the title for.

Walk In There Shoes: Don't Walk All Over Me

It was strange. In one moment, she had been mourning for the loss of a great man's spirit, and in the next, she was being shoved lightly in a lazy attempt to wake her up. She had guessed right off the bat that it was Spike, not that she particularly minded for even though she would never admit it, his rough and laid back appearance was comforting to her. Knowing Spike Spiegel was on your side, whether he said was or not, was knowing that you would be taken care of. You wouldn't be shot when on a bounty with him and you wouldn't die either. Faye sat up, gasping for air. In front of her, on the edge of the couch, sat a calm but worried Spike. Across from him was a sleeping Jet, his feet propped up on the coffee table and his shoes thrown to the side of the couch. His shoes....

Faye studied her own feet and wiggled her toes to make sure that it was reality and not another dream. And then she turned her attention to the dazed whom was transfixed on the curls of his cigarette smoke. His head was rested upon his palms and the stare he had managed to penetrate Faye's bones.

"It was so weird, Faye. He was smoking and I mentioned that you were in here, and he freaked. Almost like another person was inside him, like he wasn't actually Jet." Faye thought he was talking to himself at first but realized just how close he was and could easily feel a body jolt up in fear. "Then he saw you and fainted. Just like that. In the middle of the floor." She swiped a hand through her violet hair and rubbed at her shoulders. It couldn't be. It HAD to have been a dream. Spike stood and walked over to the former cop, squashing his cigarette into the metal floor. "I'm going to take him to the hospital. Just to make sure." She nodded uncertainly, remembering every detail of the images she witnessed just minutes before. Silently, she watched her companion lift Jet over his shoulder and saunter out of the ship.

The next few hours were a blur for her. She had coaxed herself into taking a shower and was putting the final touches on her makeup when Spike's voice shook her with an unknown anxiety.

"Faye, you there?" His voice was urgent but relaxed.

"How is he?" She wouldn't allow herself to be seen over the screen quite yet. She wasn't sure if she wanted Spike to see her vulnerable side this early into knowing him.

"He can't remember a thing of what happened but he'll be fine. He's already found a bounty for you." Faye finally appeared in front of the communicator and quirked an inquiring eyebrow. She smalled her fist against the metal wall.

"What?! That's not fair! I went last time and I think we all recall what happened then. This ridiculous!!"

"Faye..."

"I mean sure, i could understand if I hadn't been pulling my weight but I could've been killed! Dammit! You men just never think!"

"Faye..."

"Argh! I swear, the things I do for you guys and what do I get in return? No-"

"The guy works at the Blue Crow." Faye's skin turned an icy white. An uncomfortable sigh was heard on the other end. "I'll meet you there in an hour."

The Blue Crow. Faye had walked in there not too long ago looking for a drink and finding an unimaginable friendship. The music that leaked from his fingers was deaf poetry. You didn't have to hear the music to feel the sadness and the desperate need for a companion. And he hadn't come right out and said it either. It just sort of happened between them. Gren. Oh how different he was. But it was the differences that had drawn Faye in. And in the few hours they had talked, they had gained a lifetime's worth of friendship. And now, as she stood in front of the bar, she couldn't help but shudder and try to warm herself in the dim blue haze of the neon lights that graced the building.

Inside, Faye had warmed up a bit. Not from the heater, but at the fact that she had shared a first meeting with Gren in this area. Gods, how she missed him. There were nights that she couldn't stand to be around Jet or Spike and desperately yearned to run away to Jupiter for a mere hour or so, just so that she could calm down in the comfort of Gren's spirited gaze. She walked down to the same barstool that she had sat in the night that he had talked to her. The bartender gave her a quick glimpse and bent down to retrieve something.

"I'll have a vodka on the rocks." However ,her request was unfulfilled and she was met with a pair of bronze keys that looked as if they hadn't been used in awhile.

"Are you the Valentine woman?" His smokey voice was hard but respectful at the same time.

"Yeah..."

"Gren told me to give these to you if you ever returned. And then the bastard went off and died." Faye's slender fingers wrapped around the pieces of metal and she found herself in a state of awe.

It was just like how she had remembered it : brown couch, pictures posted all over his walls, and a long trenchcoat hung over a rusted furnace. She traced her fingers over the folds of the coat, and could even pick up the light sent of smoke, brandy, and cologne. Who would've thought that he had worn cologne. She walked a bit further down the apartment until her hand danced over the idea of turning the doorknob of his bedroom. The same room that he locked her up in so that she wouldn't interfere with what he needed to do. The room was as cold as the rest of his abode. Faye shook her head in frustration. It wasn't supposed to feel like this. Gren wasn't a cold person, so why was this place so cold? All the warmth had left with him, that was why.

"Faye?" She glanced back over her shoulder to see a quiet Spike peering into the doorway. She didn't know what came over her, but as soon as the cowboy reached her, she fell into his arms, sobbing like a hurt child. Surprisingly enough, Spike didn't fight her off. Instead, he wrapped his arms around her shoulders and gave her a comforting hug.

"It wasn't cold in here when I left. It was warm. And then he died..."

"Who? Gren?" She nodded into his jacket and lifted herself from his chest. "I'll leave you alone for a minute, to think, ya know? I'll go check out that bounty." Half of Faye couldn't believe that he was being so nice, the other half was thankful for it. She watched him slip out of the door and she turned back towards the bedroom door, her eyes drifting to the pair of shoes placed neatly at the end of the bed. It was a silly idea, to believe that the gypsy was indeed correct. But curiosity was getting the best of her senses. She sat down on the end of the mattress, a slight cloud of dust jumping from the impact. There was an ironic rain pouring over Faye's senses as she began to wiggle out of her backup boots. She was so close to coming in contact with the faces in the photos, the smiles and the poses. So close...

BANG!!! Faye's eyes searched the apartment in a wild attempt to seize that incredible boom of noise. The front door was wide open, revealing a charming bounty hunter falling freely to the ground while shooting off his Jericho at a dark man plastered with even darker clothing. Faye took a step back, her foot tripping over the heel of one of the answers to her many riddles. She gazed at the footwear before another shot rang through the room and shook the walls. A small grunt was followed and Faye had to bite her lip to keep from yelling out loud. Taking one more glimpse of the shoes, she raced out the front door to the aid of her comrade.

Blood. The same material that shows life is also what implies death. And death was the first thing that ran through her mind as she reached a fallen cowboy gripping his side and gasping for a breath that wasn't coming without struggle.

"Dammit, Spike", she sighed as she tore a piece of cloth from her coat and pressed it against his rib cage. "You really know how to get yourself killed don't you?" A bewitching smirk spread across his features, laced with only a bit of pain.

"I've been in worse situations...can't think of any right now but..." Faye quirked an eyebrow but couldn't help but smile also. It was the worst of times that Spike was able to make the best of.

"Shut up already. I'm guessing that the bounty got away?" Spike's simper was stuck on his face and she felt compelled to slap it off in one quick gesture. But she got quite the surprise when his bloody hand reached for her wrist and when she looked up to meet his mismatched eyes, there was no more laughter twinkling in the chocolate orbs. Instead of the irresistible smile lay a sadness, almost regret, leaking from his face.

"Did you get what you needed out of there?" He motioned towards Gren's apartment, but Faye couldn't understand what he meant. There was nothing that neither needed nor wanted from the abode. Spike must have senses her uneasy questioning, for he shook it off and pulled himself up with the help of Faye for support. "Forget it. Let's get this battered homebody to Jet."

It cost them an hour to load Spike into the Swordfish without injuring him even further. She made sure that he was comfortable before bringing down the door to the hatch. Before she was even able to secure the lock, she heard the soft, sarcastic mumbling of Spike through the thick glass. Faye couldn't tell if it was the blood loss or his odd sense of humor speaking, but one thing was for certain – it was a try at conversation with her.

"Expect the lecture of a lifetime when we get back." Faye paused and searched the hidden face of her compatriot.

"He's just looking out for our safety." She took a longing glance at her own ship and locked the hatch securely. "I'll call Jet to send out a signal for your piece of junk, but I...I have to go find someone."