Chapter Three: Jazzology
I had had the most realistic dream. Spike had come back, acting as if it was nothing, as if he hadn't been gone for so long. Jet had taken a complete 180 and made me clean up Spike's mess of a ship, while my own was awaiting attention. Ed and Ein hadn't seen the problem with his reappearance after two years either, only me, the Shrew. It was like it had happened. It all felt so real; that I just wanted to remain dreaming.
A weight shift on my bed told me that someone was sitting at the edge of my mattress.
"Ed, it's too early. What did I tell you about waking me up at an hour like this?"
"Well, considering that I'm not Ed, you never told me anything," a cocky voice replied. I pulled my head out from under my pillow to glance up at the green bushy haired cowboy. "Hey Romani," he grinned.
Remembering the first time we had met all too well, I smiled back. "Hey Gaogjo."
He chuckled, looking down at the sheet that covered my mattress for a second, then back up at me. I had never noticed how deep a shade of brown his eyes were until that moment. His hair was green, but it looked a bit like his eyes in the lighting. For a second, neither one of us moved, and all I wanted to do was reach out and touch his face.
"Jet," he said suddenly, breaking the moment that had just began.
I had just realized that my dream had been real, that Spike was finally back, that I finally had my second chance. Then, just as I was getting myself ready to tell him, he shattered that moment, just like he had shattered my hopes when he had gone off to die. Only…he hadn't died. That was the only thing I didn't get.
"Jet wanted us all to get together. It seems he's gone a hold of a new bounty, worth a lot of woolongs," Spike continued. He pushed off the bed, and moved toward the door, but when he got there, I stopped him.
"Why aren't you dead?"
I saw the muscles of his back tense, as well as the muscles of his arms as he held onto the doorframe. "Sorry that I disappointed you," he muttered, then left, before I could say anything else.
I stared at the empty doorframe, stunned. I had just insulted him so deeply, it was worse than a knife stabbing him. I'm sure that when Vicious threw him out that church window, he had only thought of Julia, how much he had wanted to die and be with her. There was no love for Faye Valentine in Spike Spiegel's destroyed heart. And I just had to accept that. Spike and me were never going to be together.
"Damn it, Faye," I yelled at myself, slamming my fist against the wall. Tears welled up in my eyes and I had to force myself to blink them back. Why couldn't I ever do anything right? Whenever Spike was around, I became this angry, moody, woman with attitude, something that Spike loved to hate, along with kids and dogs.
"Faye-Faye!" Enter Ed with Ein in tail, just when they were needed the most…not.
I buried my face in my pillow, hoping to hide my weakness from a 15-year-old and a Welsh Corgi. Something that seemed simple, but with Ed, was immediately made difficult. She flopped down on my back, Ein following her. Then, the girl began to pull on my hair.
"Faye-Faye! Wake up-up!"
"I'm up, Edward," I grumbled, sitting up the best I could with a girl and her dog on my back.
"Jet-sir wants to talk with us!" she announced, doing a somersault off of me. Ein leapt off only seconds later, after his owner. She tugged on my arm, yanking me to come join her and that mutt, who wasn't really a mutt, who was probably worth more than me.
"Okay! Okay! I'm coming," I told her, finally deciding to stop worry about Spike and worry about my own problems. I still had that amazing debt to pay off, and I owed Jet so much for taking me in, helping me. Once I had worked on those things, then I had to fix up my Red Tail. Then, and only then, did I have the right to worry about something as pathetic as a love life, and men.
Standing up, I walked out of my room, but I had a little trouble. Ed, so happy that she had succeeded in waking up the Faye-Faye, had decided to cling onto my right leg. Ein, confused about his master's actions, decided the best thing to do was run circles around me, barking. So, another five minutes later, I was able to join the men on the yellow couch.
"'Bout time, Faye," Jet mumbled, not glancing up at me from the computer screen. Spike, was not even paying attention, but there he was, right aside of Jet, just like he had always been. He didn't look at me either. I felt that I didn't belong. All I wanted to do at that moment was fly away and never hear the words "Bebop," again.
"I'm sorry to keep you waiting, Captain," I snapped.
"Uh-oh, the Faye-Faye is mad-mad!" Ein cried, unlatching herself from my leg, and backing away. Ein's ears went back, and he shuddered off in the corner.
"Ed, be quite," Jet commanded.
"No, I think that Ed has it right for once," I interrupted him.
I spared the young girl a quick smile, which she was too busy making faces at Spike to see. She wasn't the one I was mad at. "I'm tired of this. Spike is gone for two years! Two years, in which I worked hard with you, Jet, and then we scored some bounties and got a better relationship. Now, when Spike comes back, all that changes. I go back to being the lazy ass shrew, and Spike goes back to being the best bounty hunter out there. I can't take it!" I yelled.
With that, I stormed off the ship, taking nothing with me but the clothes I was wearing and jumping into my Red Tail without another thought. Jet and Spike didn't even try to stop me. They probably though I was just going out for a spin to cool my head. When I didn't return, they might worry, but they would never come after me. I was alone now, on my own, the way it should have always been.
It wasn't until I heard a suspicious giggle from behind my seat that I realized I had acquired a pair of stowaways, that I was indeed not alone, as I had first presumed. Turning over my shoulder for a brief glance verified my assumptions. Ed had brought Ein with her and together they had gotten aboard my ship before I had left Bebop.
I had a hard enough time keeping myself out of trouble. I did not need a fifteen-year-old and a data dog following me around. Besides, in my haste to leave I had forgotten to grab any food or money for food. I was broke, running low on gas, foodless, and stuck with a crazed hacker and her pet.
"Ed, what are you doing here?" I groaned, not needing another person to accompany me.
"Edward wishes to be with the Faye-Faye," she told me, throwing her arms around me, despite the fact that my seat was in the way. She gave me a bone crushing hug, then released me, so she could do a flip over the chair and land in my lap. "So, wheres we going, Faye-Faye?"
Another groan escaped my lips. Since I hadn't planned this far ahead, hell I was just making it up as I went along, I let her decide. "Where do you want to go, Ed?" I figured a super hacker would know a good place to lay low for a while, then again, this was Ed. Who knew what she would do if I gave her too much power.
"Hmm," she put a finger on the edge of her lips. "Edward has been many places, but none very nice, besides Bebop-Bebop!" I rolled my eyes, trying to reach around her to grab the steering controls.
"We need to go somewhere to lay low for awhile, just in case Jet wants to yell at me some more," I lied. Even though I did want to go somewhere to hide, in a manner of speaking, I highly doubted Jet would ever let me back on Bebop after my little tantrum. My blood was still boiling and I'm sure Spike hadn't even taken notice, either that, or he was racking up the points on how many times he had made me flip since his return.
"Ed knows of perfect place!" she declared, ripping the controls out of my reach.
"Hey!" I screamed, as she took my craft for the ride of the millennium.
One hour, and many trips to the bathroom later, my face was starting to turn back to it's normal pale shade, instead of bright green. Ed was laying upside down on one of two beds, toying around with her computer. I sighed, as I sat myself on the other bed.
This hotel was nice, but somehow, Ed had hacked us into the hotel lineup for the weekend. She had managed to put down that we had already paid the bill for a three night stay. Other costs would have to be paid at the end of those three nights. I figured we would order food from room service for dinner, but after the interesting ride to the hotel, my stomach was in no mood for food. However, Edward had no trouble scarfing down a few plates of fancy dining.
"Spike-person is asleep on the couch," she told me, turning her computer screen so that I could see his form, laid out on the yellow couch by Jet's computer. Sure enough, he was sound asleep, that lazy bum. I turned my face away, angry with him, and amazingly depressed at the same time. Didn't he even care that I was gone?
Humming to herself, Ed went back to looking through everything of the Bebop that she could. I grew bored with lying there, so I opted to go on-line with the computer on my ship.
"I'll be back in a little bit," I told her, before locking her in the room. I didn't want her to get into any trouble. As long as she didn't know I had confined her to that single area, all would be at peace. Giving one last glance at the door, I pivoted on my heel, and went out to find my Red Tail.
The little lights blinked when I got in and turned it on. "Sorry baby," I said to it. "We aren't going for any more rides for a while, at least not until I find some fuel." I flipped a few switches and turned a couple dials before my screen lit up so that I was able to type in my info. Then I was back at the chat room I had been on when I had met that MeMoRyPhAsEd29. No sooner had I logged on, then a box popped up.
[MeMoRyPhAsEd29 has invited you to a private chat]
I accepted and found myself in another conversation with this mysterious dude, who was starting to beat out a certain cowboy.
MeMoRyPhAsEd29: Hey there.
HoTyElLoWsHoRtS28: Hey yourself.
MeMoRyPhAsEd29: It's been awhile.
HoTyElLoWsHoRtS28: A couple of days.
MeMoRyPhAsEd29: Seems longer.
HoTyElLoWsHoRtS28: Does it?
MeMoRyPhAsEd29: Guys just can't hold out as long as women.
HoTyElLoWsHoRtS28: Spoken like a true man.
MeMoRyPhAsEd29: Would you prefer a woman?
HoTyElLoWsHoRtS28: No.
MeMoRyPhAsEd29: Then quite complaining.
HoTyElLoWsHoRtS28: I have to go, but have you ever heard of e-mailing? Just in case we can't stay in touch after this.
MeMoRyPhAsEd29: Give me your address and I'll send you a message sometime.
I typed out my address for the guy, hoping he'd send something soon. I wanted to get back to Ed before anything drastic happened to the hotel and they kicked us out. I appreciated having a warm, soft bed to sleep on at night. As soon as he had it, I logged off, and shut down my ship. Locking it up, I went back to my room.
When I entered, I saw Ed, curled up on the bed, Ein tucked under one arm. Smiling, I went over, putting the sheets over the girl, to cover her up. Thinking that things would be better by tomorrow, I settled myself in my bed, but I couldn't sleep. I tossed and turned, and rolled over to my stomach, but nothing helped. There was something nagging at me. I couldn't put my finger on it, but I think it had something to do with one of the last things that guy had said to me.
"Then quite complaining."
That phrase was so familiar. I know I had heard it somewhere before. That tape of me, of a time from my past that I couldn't remember at all, might have had something to do with it, but I had put that behind me. My past had stayed buried for a long time before I discovered it. It would remain buried, since I had no way of taping into my memories from that period of my life. I didn't have the drive to find them anymore and frankly I didn't want to. So I gave up on the phrase, and forced myself to sleep.
Third Person pov
Back on Bebop….
Jet glanced over his shoulder at the clock. He had been trimming his bonsai plants for over two hours now, and Faye still wasn't back. Ed had hid herself, probably taking Ein with her. The only one who was around was Spike. Shaking his head, the ex-cop lifted himself out of his chair, leaving his prized plants, to have a manly chat with the cowboy, who he found lying on the yellow couch, a cigarette hanging out of his mouth.
"Spike?"
"Yeah Jet?" the lanky man greeted him, taking a drag of his cigarette.
"Is Faye back yet?" he asked, even though he already knew the answer. He had been awaiting the opening of the hanger all night, but no noise had been made, outside the normal whirring of the ship.
"Nope," Spike replied lazily.
Sighing, the cop took one of his own cigarettes out of his pocket, lighting it before he started another conversation he had put off for too long. "I wasn't going to say anything," he began, "but now Faye's gone and I can't continue to sit here acting like I'm not curious."
"Shoot," Spike said, not even looking over at Jet.
"What are you doing alive? It was confirmed that you died in that battle with Vicious."
"Confirmed, eh?" Spike chuckled to himself. "I guess they got the wrong guy, huh?"
"This isn't a laughing matter, Spike," Jet scolded. "Faye took it pretty hard when she received the news. I wasn't on the ship at the time. I was off researching a bounty. Without Edward, it was hard to come by reliable information, so I had to go get it…by force. Faye was here when she got the message, by herself. Do you know what it did to her?"
"Sent her to her happy place?" he offered, waving his hand through the air.
"No!" Jet yelled, hammering his fist down on the table in between them. "She blacked out from shock. When she came to, she thought it was all a nightmare, and I had to be the one to tell her it wasn't. Then she went out and got drunk!" he spat. "She drunk herself into a stupor. When I found her, she was only an inch from alcohol poisoning." Spike stilled, by he said nothing, so Jet went on. "That's what she did for two years. She would go out almost every night, get drunk, and come back here until she was sober enough to go out again."
"Guess that slowed down business," Spike commented. Jet sent him a glare.
"She worked hard, after the first several months. She went out less and less, until she was pulling her weight again. She helped get us back on track, until one night when she went out to catch a bounty and some idiot put something in her drink."
Now Spike froze. Jet leaned forward, taking in his companion's reaction carefully. "She was able to call me, but I didn't get there in time. When I did get there, the bartender told me some guy had come in and attacked everyone else at the bar, since they were all trying to have their way with her. I brought Faye back here and cleaned her up. Do you know the first thing she said when she came to?"
"Another shot?"
"Spike," Jet answered softly.
"What?"
"Your name. She said your name. I thought she was still delusional from the drug," he told him, shaking his head with frustration, "but she was fine. She said it was you who saved her. Up until now, I thought she had seen the guy that had saved her, and he had resembled you to some extent, the drug finishing up what was left to worry about in appearance, but now, now I think you were the one who helped her that night. What do you have to say to that?"
"I think you're a fool," Spike stood up, flicking his cigarette butt into the ashtray on the table. Without another word to Jet, he made his way to his room.
"You were there that night," Jet said to his retreating back. "You saved her. Why? And why did you wait so long to come back to us if you were alive all this time?"
Spike stood in the doorway, silent. "She cares about you Spike. Don't ever mock that. She's been through the ringer with your death. Now you came back and it sent her back. If you can't find a way to treat her after knowing her past, then there is no longer a place for you on this ship." Still silence. "I'm going to track her down in the morning. I have a tag on her craft so it shouldn't be too hard. I had Ed install them as soon as I found her, just in case."
"Whatever," Spike muttered, exiting the room.
Jet smutted the end of his cigarette in the bottom of the ashtray. Why was it that he always had to do things the hard way?
A/N: Another chappie completed! This story is taking a turn from what my original idea for it was. I hope it isn't jumping around too much for you. I just had to put in a third person pov to capture what was going on while Faye & Ed were gone. Did you like that, or would you prefer only to know the happenings of Faye? Tell me! Criticism is welcome! Oh and I hope I spelled "Goajgo" right. I probably didn't. I was guessing and I can't spell for crap. Neveada Sierriana
