"And then we slipped out of the bar before they returned. Which brings us to where we are right now."

"Just great." Jet huffed.

"Don't worry about my ship, like I said, she always comes back to me. I couldn't get rid of that tin can if I wanted to." Spike said.

"I'm more worried about eating tomorrow." Faye said flatly.

"I didn't tell you not to worry. I'm holding you responsible for any damages to the Swordfish." Spike told her.

"What?! It's not even my ship!" she choked out as she sipped on a glass of water.

"You're the one who wanted to go along with me." he said.

"Agh! Not fair!" she screamed and stormed off to her room.

::SLAM::

"How is it possible to be that cruel?" Jet asked Spike with a chuckle.

"Cruel? I was just messing with her. She's the one who gets all worked up. Kinda fun to watch her wind up like that." Spike commented.

"Ha! That's classic. I still feel kinda bad for her sometimes, though. I mean, she probably thinks we're always out to get her." Jet said getting up and heading to her room.

"What? We're not always out to get Faye?" Spike asked with a confused look on his face and followed Jet down the hall.

Her door was shut, as could be expected from the slam and the Angry Faye fit that had just occurred moments before.

Jet leaned up against the door to listen for any sign of life.

Spike rounded the corner and leaned against the opposite wall to watch Jet.

"Hear anything?" Spike asked.

"Nothing at all." He answered and walked away.

"That's it? You're done investigating?" Spike questioned him, puzzled.

"What, are you crazy? You think I'm going in there? HA." He answered with a content look on his face and headed back to the living room area.

Jet continued to walk away from her room, leaving Spike there alone. Spike looked at her door for a minute or two, and then pressed his ear up against the door to listen as Jet had been doing. He heard nothing.

His curiosity got the best of him and he slowly turned the doorknob and eased open the door. Spike saw Faye laying on her stomach on her bed with her head cradled in her crossed arms. He half-expected her to start kicking her feet in a tantrum and beat her fists on the bed, but she didn't move. Her boots were carelessly tossed to the other side of the cramped room. She wasn't moving, and Spike assumed that she had fallen to sleep.

He tiptoed to her side and crouched down to the floor and sat quietly. He just sat there and watched her for a few minutes. Her eyes were shut tight and she was breathing slowly.

"Must be asleep," he thought to himself.

Spike lifted his hand over to the bed. He sat it down next to her, without touching her. It seemed as if everything moved in slow motion, and as if all of his movements were as heavy as lead weights.

She let out a restless sigh and rustled around a little. Spike retracted his hand back to his body and continued to watch. She was so much smaller than him, but she had so much energy, even while she slept. When she stopped moving around, he put his hand back on the mattress.

He leaned in close to her face and whispered, "Get up Faye" as he poked her hand with his index finger.

"Mmmmrrghhh," she groaned and opened her eyes. "Urrrghhhh...what could you possibly want? Did you find your ship? Are you here to give me a repair bill? What is it?" she spat at him.

"I just wanted to say that I was joking about that." He said.

"That's it? You woke me up for that?" she hissed.

"Yeah."

Out of nowhere, a pilllow smacked Spike in the side of the head. His lighter fell out of his pocket from the soft impact. Faye was now sitting up and clenching the pillow.

"Do you feel better now?" he asked.

"You know, you are such an idiot sometimes!" she yelled and wound up another pillow assault. She almost succeeded in a second assault with said pillow when Spike grabbed the wrist that held the pillow.

Faye quickly dropped the pillow and sat their motionless. Her vivid green eyes dulled and glazed over as they drifted off into Spike's. She stared at him for a second and then shifted her glance down to the hand clutching her wrist. It felt so hot, as if a hot iron was wrapped around it and shoved into a fire.

His eyes were focused on Faye's the whole time, as if he were trying to see through her to get to the "real Faye." But other than that, Spike was just looking at her because he was utterly amazed that she would change moods so quickly and without warning.

The silence was intense, almost deafening, if such a thing is possible.

This can't be the same Spike that just told me I had to pay for repairs on his stupid ship. Spike doesn't apologize to Faye. It's unheard of around here! Hell, it's unheard of in the whole damn universe. But, who am I to think about these things for long periods of time?

I wish she'd stop being Faye for like 5 minutes. I mean, I bet she'd be a pretty cool woman to have around if she'd stop being so damn childish, selfish, inconsiderate, and bullheaded. What am I saying? Faye? "Fun to have around?" HA!

Spike dropped her wrist and it fell with a dead thud onto her bed. Faye quickly pulled her hand to her chest to intensify the awkwardness.

"I was just trying to get you to stop hitting me." Spike muttered indifferently and lifted himself off of the floor. He started to walk to her door when he stopped and turned his head to her, "No need to get your panties in a bunch, that is, if you can even wear any with that getup." He said and continued to walk down the hall to his room.

Faye continued to sit on her bed. She looked at her wrist as she rotated it to see it all around. It felt as if it had been touched by death, not that she knew what death felt like, but it felt like some dark force had possessed it while Spike was holding it. It was weird to her, almost as if he were somehow invading her body, in a completely non-perverted way.

Spike entered his room and flopped down onto his bed. He put a cigarette to his lips and reached for his lighter.

"Shit," he whispered, taking the cigarette out from between his lips. He got up and headed back to Faye's room. When he entered, she was laying on her side facing the wall, her back towards him. She was quiet like before.

"I dropped my lighter." He said as he picked it up. She still didn't move.

Spike left her room. "She must be in a mood again. Typical woman."

Ed rolled by Spike and into Faye's room. Ein followed closely behind her. Spike heard her as he headed back to his room, "Faye-Faye, time to wakey up!"

Spike sat back on his bed and pulled the lighter up to his cigarette and took a long, peacful drag. Well, as peaceful as it could get with moody women, goofy kids, and tick infested animals running all around him. Sure it was just Faye, Ed, and Ein, but it felt like there were dozens of each of them running around him trying to make his life absolute hell at every moment of the day.

My room was really dark. I forgot to hit the lights when I walked in. I was just in such a hurry to get this damn cigarette lit and its noxious fumes coursing through my lungs.

The hot smoke drifted in and out of me, and I kicked off my shoes. I finished the cigarette and then got up to turn on the lights. I made it to the door, and my hand clumsily batted at the wall for the switch.

A small, cold hand reached out and grabbed my hand.

"Who...?" I choked out and pulled my hand back to my side where my gun was still sitting.

::flick::

Oop. There goes the lights. Funny, because I didn't get to the switch. It's just Faye...

For a moment, Faye just stood there staring at him. Then, with no forewarning whatsoever she pounced onto Spike, sending the two of them reeling backwards onto his bed with a loud, hard thud.

"Faye?! What the hell has gotten into you?" Spike yelped as she got up and closed his door.

He didn't have time to get up, as he was still recovering from the tackle he received for absolutely no reason. Faye made her way back over to Spike and dropped onto her knees, which happened to place her at his waist. She dropped again, onto her hands and crawled up to look Spike directly in the eyes.

"Faye?" he said softly as she hovered over him, staring right at him.

"What?" she asked flatly.

"I never thought I'd have to say this, but I think you're a little too old for me." he replied with an unsure grin.

"And I never thought I'd do this but..." she said as she flopped down on top of Spike.

"Ooof!" he grunted and tried to crane his head so he could see her, but her face was buried in his chest.

"Faye?"

::sniffle::

"Hey Faye? This is what is known as a 'No Cry Zone.' If you're gonna cry, get out." He said, not even questioning why she was crying, and on top of him for that matter.

::sniffle::

Now that the initial shock of the tackle was gone, Spike gathered his strength and sat up slowly, adjusting Faye so she wouldn't fall or injure any more delicate body parts. He rolled her over to his side. She just sat there, her head hung low. Spike got up and went for his cigarettes on the other side of the room.

He lit one up and stood there for a moment, observing Faye. She sat on his bed with her head down still. She looked so defeated, as if she had given up.

Spike walked back over to her and held out a cigarette as a peace offering. She didn't take it, and remained motionless.

Now fed up with Zombie Faye, Spike kneeled down in front of her and tilted her chin up to get a look at her face. Her eyes were pinned shut, her tiny lips pursed like she just ate a gigantic lemon. Stray tears were smeared all over her cheeks.

"Faye..." Spike said softly, as if her were pleading with her to stop crying and go back to Bitchy Faye.

::sniffle::

"You can't just come in here and do this with no reason. And if you have a reason, you better start talking." He said to her trying to wipe some of the messy tears away. His discomfort with the situation grew with every passing minute.

::hiccup::sniffle::

::BZZZZZZZZZZT::CRRRRRRRKKKK::

"What the hell?!" Spike yelled as the lights went out in his room.