Faye was On her way home from work yes she had a job now she was working a steady job at Annie's store. It wasn't much but it was enough to get by on Her bounty hunting days had been over for a while now. Since that day....that day had opened her eyes to how unstable a job bounty hunting was it was the first time she'd really had a fear of dieing doing it. She suddenly realized she was home it was only a short walk from the store she had a small house she'd bought it with the leftover money from bounty hunting. Jet had only been back to see her once since then and when he did he'd left some money but after that she never heard from him again. She went inside and headed first to the kitchen to start dinner.
Spike heard The door open and he started to speak But decided to pretend he was still asleep. A few moments later Faye was standing over him though he didn't know it was her she kneeled beside him.
"Spike....When are you ever going to wake up?" She whispered so low he barely heard her and even then he didn't recognize her voice it sounded familiar but he couldn't figure it out.
She sat in a chair next to him and hummed while reading a book a habit she'd picked up after a while of living there Annie had first suggested it to her as a way to pass the time since she had nothing else to do Faye went ahead and got some books. She read them while she hummed and sat next to spike waiting for him to wake. After "sweet dreams." She whispered into his ear and pulled up a blanket on him
Spike heard her humming and immediately he assumed it was Julia but once he heard sweet dreams he was sure of it as a way of surprising her he leaned over as she started to get up and kissed her Faye was caught completely by surprise.
"SPIKE" She yelled and instinctively slapped him.
"OW!" He yelled and for the first time and saw it as Faye
"Faye?!" He yelled 'How the hell did I mistake her for Julia?!' he thought.
Suddenly the fact that spike was up finally hit her.
"Oh my gosh Spike! Your awake!" she said hugging him and squeezing tightly
"Ahhh Owwww Faye!!!" He yelled in pain
"Sorry" she said letting go. "it's just that I'm glad your up its been a month!"
"a month? I've been out that long?: he asked and she just nodded
"uhmm....Faye Sorry about that kiss...I thought you were...." He trailed off
"Julia?" She finished for him. "It's okay no need to apologize." She said seeming to take on a slightly less joyous tone.
Spike knew she had feelings for him he had pretty much expressed them before he left that day.
"Faye....Thanks" Spike said
"Thanks?...." She repeated turning around "Spike you've never thanked me for anything and yet you decide to thank me now?" she asked
"Heh...yea guess I'm just funny that way." he answered
Faye walked off to get her dinner and now to fix a plate for spike as well.
Spike relaxed for the first time since he'd woken up he knew who he
was with now and where he was and he knew he was safe but then he
realized this meant that Julia really was dead and wasn't coming back.
No incidents like he always managed to pull off like barely living
with a sliver of life and making a full recovery. She was gone. He
didn't know how to deal with it right now it seemed like a whole part
of him had died just now when he thought of it just as it had when he
saw her shot in the back and she had whispered her last words to him
ever so silently.
Just then Faye came back in the room with a plate full of actual food for him not that damn instant food Jet always had. Spike was liking her more already.
"wow did you cook that?" He asked
"Yea...actually I learned to cook pretty well thanks to Annie" She said sheepishly handing him a plate and waiting to see his reaction to the taste.
Spike took a bite out of the steak first it had been seemingly forever since he'd tasted any semblance of meat and god was it delicious!
"Faye...I'm never eating any one else's cooking ever again." He said Digging in
She just laughed "I'm glad you like it spike." She said Watching him eat she still couldn't believe he had finally woken up it seemed like he never would she'd almost given up on him she pinched him just to make sure this was real.
"Ow!..what was that for?" He asked
"Nothing...Just making sure this isn't some dream or something." She answered
"Faye if this were one of YOUR dreams I'd be afraid to be in it." He said laughing
"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" She asked
"Nothing just that I'd be afraid to be in one of your dreams that's all I don't know what goes on in that head of yours all kinds of
"I got my memory back thank you very much I told you the day you left remember?" She asked
"Oh yea... but still I dunno what you think of me so I' still be afraid to be in one of your dreams." He said chuckleing
"Oh you know you just refuse to acknowledge it." She said
"Maybe so maybe not. Opinions change" He said.
"hm...want a hint?" She asked arching a brow with a slight grin.
"Sure." Spike said without thinking about it.
She leaned forward and kissed him deeply and passionately. Spike put his arms around her it was just like then like before with.....Julia He broke the kiss.
"What's wrong?" She asked "You seemed to be enjoying yourself."
"I was but it's just..." He started but stopped halfway and looked away from her.
She knew who he was thinking of and it wasn't her it was Julia it made her wonder had he kissed back only because he had been thinking of Julia the whole time? Was he using her as a substitute for Julia to ease his own suffering? She didn't know but right now faye didn't care. She had feelings for the big jerk and he knew it and she had for a long time...since he'd saved her that one time...that was when she first began getting attached to him. She hadn't expected anyone to come for her but he did...it hurt to know he was still thinking of Julia but she couldn't blame him she had died right in front of him or at least that's what she'd heard.
"Faye..." Spikes voice interrupted her thoughts
"Yes?" She said snapping out of her reverie and looking at him and she saw he had a look as if he'd made a decision.
"I've thought about it and..." Before Spike could Finish he was interrupted by a loud banging at the door.
"You expecting visitors?" He asked.
"Nope." She answered.
"Then get your guns." He said sitting up and ignoring the pain.
"Spike your ribs aren't fully healed you still have a couple of cracked ones." She said quietly as possible.
"Doesn't matter now I'm going to have to move it if I saw right." He said.
"What do you mean? What' you see?" She asked
"The Red Dragons." He answered.
"The red dragons?! But they disbanded didn't they? I mean they don't have a leader anymore!" she said in a loud whisper.
"Maybe that's why they're here." He said.
"Open up! We know Spike is in there!" Came the voice from behind the door.
"see?" He said looking towards the door and then back to her.
"gimme a gun." He said
She handed him his pistol
"Hey you kept this?" He asked
"Yea I thought you'd want it back." She said
"Well you thought right." He said getting up and putting on his old shirt which apparently Faye had washed because it didn't have blood on it.
"Okay lets go" He said as Faye cocked her gun and made sure he was set. He gave her one more kiss "For luck" He explained when she looked at him curiously.
Since there was no back door the had to go out the front Spike kicked it open and stood in the doorway. To his amazement there was no Vicious since he had survived he had expected to see him but it seemed he really was dead.
"I'm not going back to the Dragons" Spike told them
"But you have to! You're the only one that can be a leader now!" One of them yelled
"Well I appoint whoever is after me" he said
"But that's the thing! There isn't anyone else! Vicious is dead grim is dead the elders are dead! Your all that's left! Every one else is at basicly the same rank now!" the man at the door explained
Spike sighed he didn't know what to tell them he knew most of the red dragons had no where else to go and didn't know how to live any other life. He looked back at Faye who was looking at him unsure of what he'd do.
She could tell he was thinking...hesitating for the first time spike was hesitating to make a decision it was odd to see him like that thinking something through for once instead of just rushing in.
Then Spike had an idea. "okay" he said
"What?" Faye said moving closer to him but he held up his hand to her signaling for her to just wait and listen.
"I'll take over the Red dragons but Everything and I mean EVERYTHING is going to change." He said
"Uh...okay boss...but just how much of a change is that?"
"You've got to remember when I left the red dragons I became a bounty
hunter So from now on that's what the Red dragons are Bounty hunters.
" Spike said with a grin. Laughing internally at the irony of it all.
Faye was now Reassured in Spike's purpose and stepped up beside him. She too thought it was funny one of the most notorious syndicates in history becoming Bounty hunters? Talk about a 180.
"Wha?...but boss..." The man at the door started
"No buts I'm running things now and that's how it's gonna go or I could just leave everybody all screwed over and let you all kill each other I don't really care either way." Spike said coldly knowing there'd be no further argument
"Yes sir!" The man said and went back to inform the rest of the boys. Spike would now move to the syndicates HQ not too far from here in a unmarked sky scraper. He didn't know if Faye would follow him or not but he hoped she would he needed someone to rely on someone to count on someone from he knew everybody else was either dead or long gone she was all he had right now.
"Faye I can't ask you to......" Spike started but Faye didn't let him finish
"Spike...Of course I'll go with you after all I am the only person you'll be able to trust now isn't that right?" she said smiling at him
"Yea even if you aren't all that trust worthy." he said smirking heading to the nearest car
"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?!" she yelled following him shutting her door behind her.
"It means I still remember how every once in awhile you would steal all of the money we made and then blow it all gambling." He said getting into the car.
"Oh....is that all? Weeeeelll I never meant any harm by that I was just trying to multiply our money that's all it's not my fault I couldn't stop gambling till I lost it all. But I'm over that now I don't gamble at all anymore." She said getting in the car with him.
The driver pulled out slowly and took them to the main building Once there spike looked around
"nope this won't do this won't do at all Hey Faye call Jet tell him we need Ed." Spike said
"Ed? What do we need Ed for?" She asked.
"We'll need a whole network of computers and such if this is gonna work and Ed's the only one I trust to do it." He answered
A week later the place was filled with computers and junk it had been completely redone Ed had put in the network like spike asked and made it completely hack proof. It was pre programmed with all the bounties that we're worth wile within a 2 galaxy radius that was a good start and on top of that the syndicate having had been a criminal organization it already had plenty of connections in the underworld and black market they could get whatever they needed and they also could nail anyone they wanted to begin with until people caught on then they'd have to be more careful. It was the perfect set up and Spike had absolute control it was like putting the most delicate business in the hands of a wild boar. Even spike knew he'd probably eventually run it into the ground so he hired jet on as his chief advisor and kept ed around too he had all the old gang back together and it wasn't long before every member of the syndacate was bringing in bounties they had much better resources now and could find much better bounties to go after money was never a problem again. Spike though was just happy he'd never have to see one of those instant food packs ever again.
All was well and good until one day one the top men reported a bounty which he thought Spike might be interested in it was a pretty high bounty and it was on the head of a beautiful young looking woman she had blonde hair and went by the name Angel. Spike only had to see the picture once to realize who it was it was Julia she was alive somehow....
'No it couldn't be could it?' he thought But it had to be Angel was what Spike had always called her... it was a message to him he knew it had to be.
Faye saw the image and nearly died she could feel Spike slipping from her again already she knew he'd go looking for angel or Julia whatever you want to call her now and she knew he'd fall in love again and forget about her. Her first suspicion had been right he had used her as a substitute...her own fault she guessed he always told her how she kept Doing things that reminded him of Julia and his past and she'd made a point to keep doing those things.
Jet was at a loss "Whose that?" he asked whispering to faye.
"His fallen Angel." She answered and left silently to go cry there was no way she could compete with Julia the woman never seemed to go away she'd died for him AND Came back and he'd died for her twice now And if it came down to it either of them would Do it again. Faye didn't know if she could do the same for Spike she'd always had a fear of death maybe that's what kept them apart? He didn't fear it neither did Julia that was one of the things that had linked them together. He saw Julia as an Angel and she was probably a devil to him.
Faye had cried for a long time Spike hadn't even noticed her missing he had told them he was taking up the bounty for Angel himself and no one else had better touch it or he'd kill them personally. He had to find her...