Chapter 13: New Beginnings

She awoke to singing. Very slowly she opened her eyes. Squinting at the brightness of the room. She looked around her and located the singer.

At one glance, he realized she was finally awake after two weeks.

She moved her mouth to speak but only a whisper came out that was near impossible to hear.

He came to her side, frowning. He leaned over her. "Huh?"

Now came a louder whisper. "You sing off-key."

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With wide eyes they both watched the monitor. On the screen two separate shapes were visible.

The woman seated next to them smiled at them. "They both seem to be very healthy. Here," she tapped the screen at two different points. "If you look closely you can see the hearts. They are beating at a nice average rate. Not too fast and two slow. The accident seems not to have affected the fetuses at all. It's like they just let it roll off them and didn't let it affect them."

Faye looked at Spike and rolled her eyes. "I wonder where they got that from."

Spike just grinned.

The woman, who was a nurse, smiled again. "Most fetuses would not have survived the trama they sustained. You two are very lucky."

"Nah, it's just our good karma finally paying off," Spike said, shrugging.

Faye shot a look at the nurse. "Isn't he too much?" she joked.

Spike just gave her a big hug. "You love it and you know it."

The nurse just smiled knowingly. "I just want to say congrats. Have you picked names yet?"

"Sure," Spike answered. "Spike Jr. and Faye Jr., done." He shrugged.

"Spike!" Faye shrieked and hitting him lightly. She smiled apologetically at the nurse. "Not yet, as my lunkhead boyfriend just pointed out."

The nurse smiled. "I'm sure whatever you pick out will be fantastic."

Faye smiled back. "Thank you. Now I guess it's time to go home. But first," she grinned sheepishly. "I need some food."

Spike groaned. "You're always hungry. You're eating at least twice as much as me."

"But you're not eating for three. I am."

Spike sighed. "Alright, what will it be this time?"

"Chili, watermelon, and Rocky Road ice cream."

Groaning again, he mumbled an okay. Herding Faye to the door, he turned to the nurse. "Guess we'll see you soon, nurse?"

She nodded. "I look forward to it."

And the couple left.

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"James Henry?"

"Nah, too stuffy."

"Jakob Corey?"

"Yeah, if this was the year 2001."

The talk was names.They sat in the living room, books around them. Picking the perfect name for your child is not an easy task, let alone for two. Spike was being bored out of his mind. This had been going on for hours on end. And it wasn't helping that Faye had insisted on taking out every book on baby naming she could from the library. There were also several history books, as if any of them would help, but Faye was keeping her options open.

He picked up a book next to him and flipped through it. He stopped on one page, closed his eyes, and placed his finger down. He opened his eyes and picked up his finger. Troy. Hmm, now that's interesting.

He looked across to Faye and caught her eye. "I like this one," he said and showed it to her. Her eyes widened and she nodded to him, smiling.

"I think I found a middle name." She motioned to the history book she was holding.

She pointed to a headline of a story. Alexander the Great. "I learned about him when I was in school," she said quietly.

Spike nodded, thoughtful. "Troy Alexander Spiegel."

"It's a strong name."

He looked up and saw Jet looking at them.

"Have you picked out a name for the girl yet?"

"No, we tried for the first two hours but we haven't had any luck. None that we picked out fit. They just didn't sound right," Faye said, exasperated.

Jet smiled. "Well good luck. I'm sure when you find one it will be perfect."

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That night, they sat on the edge of the dock and let their feet dangle in the water Spike had his workout pants on with a white wifebeater- no shoes. Faye was leaned against Spike with her head on his shoulder, his arm around her shoulder, holding her close.

"I still can't believe how different the Bebop looks now. It's so clean and there are practically no sharp edges or corners anywhere. It's a comepletly different ship." Faye said.

"Yeah, Jet kinda went all out with those 150 million woolongs we got for Rain."

They fell into comfertable silence and looked at the stars high above. At the same time, they watched a shooting star cross the sky. It was unusually bright and large.

"How beautiful!" Faye gasped.

Spike moved his hand so it was on her abdomen. "Yeah, but our Starr will be even better."

"Our Starr," Faye whispered, rubbing her belly unconciously. She then turned to him. "Her middle name, can it be Casey, after...my mother?"

Spike nodded and they hugged hard. "Starr Casey Spiegel and Troy Alexander Spiegel." He mulled over the names and had to laugh.

Faye looked at him. "What's so funny?" she asked.

"Only that a year ago, if anyone had told me I was gonna get married and have two kids, I would have fallen on my ass laughing so hard. And at that time, if they had told me who I was going to marry, well, I might have fainted. But so much has happened in this past year. It's hard to believe things weren't always like this. And let me just say I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world."

Faye's eyes shone bright as she looked into his eyes. "I love you."

He smiled. "Love you, too." And pulled her to him for a long kiss.

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"It's perfect."

She looked at her reflection skeptically. "Really, you think so?"

"I know so."

The topic here was the wedding dress Faye was modeling before the mirror and the owner of the store. It was a brilliant white and fit nice on her body. It was with long sleeves but her creamy shoulders were exposed because of the cut. It sported a simple but beautiful design where it was snug at the waist but flared out greatly below. Her feet were not visible beneath the hem, but it did not drag. It had barely any train and she would be hidden beneath the huge veil she was to wear.

The owner watched her with great pride and a little envy. After all, Faye's figure was one to want. "Girl," she said. "You will be turning heads on your wedding day. Your groom will have to fight off the crowds of adoring fans."

"Oh," Faye answered dryly. "He does that already."

"I see. Well, how soon to the wedding?"

"Two weeks from yesterday. After that, I won't be able to fit in this dress."

"How's that?"

"I'm pregnant, with twins."

"Oh, than this marriage would be because of the pregnancy?"

"No, he proposed before he knew about them. Believe me, we're in love." She placed her hand on her abdomen. "This only makes us stronger."

"How lovely. Is he here?"

"I think he's next door getting fitted for a tux and being an ass with the guy who's fitting him, I bet."

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Spike was in fact getting fitted but, contrary to Faye's prediction, he was not being an ass. He was enjoying a conversation with the tailor.

"So, she worth it?"

"God, yes! If it weren't for her, I literally wouldn't be alive now."

"So she saved your life?"

"More than once. She actually is a pretty good 'nurse'. I mean, she's great with a needle, thread, and lots of bandages. Though, I think she went too far when she bandaged up my mouth, but that was probably just so she wouldn't have to up with my wise-ass comments."

"She sounds like a hell of a girl. How'd you meet her?"

Spike smirked as he looked at the guy. "If you could believe it, she was working at a blackjack table in a casino and cheated me out of all my money. Except for one chip that I said I'd keep, right in front of her face. Well, she got pissed off and chased after me. My partner and I took her to our ship where we held her to turn her in for a bounty. Except, she escaped, along with 30 million that was rightfully my partner's and mine. Later, we met up again when she was out of fuel. Together we went for a bounty that got away. She decided to make herself at home on the ship and never really left."

"What about the bounty on her head? Is it still there?"

"Nah, it got released. Otherwise, would I be here today getting suited for a marriage to her?"

"You really would turn her in?"

"If it were then, probably. But after that, well, let's just say she kind of grew on us. Say, are you almost done? After this, I promised her we'd go out to lunch."

"Hold on, I'm almost done. I just need one more measurement." He wound the tape around Spike's shoulders.

They heard the door open, joined with the little bell attached to it to tell the owner when a customer came in.

"Hello? Spike, are you in here?"

"Is that her?" the tailor asked to Spike.

Spike nodded. "Yep. Am I done now?"

"Yes, you may get dressed. When will you need the suit?"

"Within two weeks."

"Very good, when you're dressed, come to the counter and I'll write you a receipt."

With a nod from Spike he left. He made his way to the front of the store. There he noticed Faye and his only thought was, What a catch. Faye noticed him then and he said to her, "He'll be right out miss."

She nodded to him as Spike strolled into the room. His face lit up upon seeing her and he swept her into a kiss.

Her face turned red and she pulled away. "Spike!" she exclaimed, lightly hitting him.

He laughed and walked to the counter where he received his receipt. He walked back to Faye. "So Faye, what'll it be today?"

With a smile on her face she answered, "I think I want to try Cuban."

"Cuban it is then."

With that he linked his arm in hers, waved goodbye to the tailor, and led Faye out the door.

The tailor looked after them smiling, with a thought in mind, What a nice couple they'll make.

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That night they sat on the couch watching an old kung-fu movie. Spike had seemed genuinely pleased when she had expressed she wanted to watch it, too. So there they sat, their feet up on the table, sunken down into the couch. They were leaned against each other, their heads touching. So far there hadn't been any talking between the two, except for some laughter at the funny parts. In a way, they were tired from the day shopping, but really, they were just enjoying the closeness and the quiet.

Faye really loved these moments. It was times like these, when they were huddled close together, enjoying each other's company, that she really felt loved. Everything was going so well in her life. In fact, after she had joined the Bebop crew, her life had been pretty great. Sure, there was those black moments, but overall she was glad she was here. The future looked bright for her and Spike. 'Yes,' she thought. 'Everything would be alright now.'

Jesus, i'm sorry. my computer was being a butt-head and I've been so swamped with homework. i never really had a chance to put his up. but here it is now, the last real chapter. Epilougue is next.

thank you to all my patient readers.