Searching for Salvation
Chapter Four, Epilogue
I have waited so long for him, for my Spike. I wonder if he'll know. If he'll be able to see me...if he'll be able to love me. Oh, Spike, please see me, I don't want you to forget me...
The Interplanetary Cryogenic Research Facility was a modern, blisteringly white brick building on the edge of a lake. Deep out in the middle of the water the lake appeared green from the chemicals in the water and the depth. But it was no comparison to the perfect green of Faye's eyes.
He saw the old woman, sitting on a bench down by the shore. She was short and stooped, withered with age. Spike carefully approached her; she might be his last hope to find Faye. At the sound of his footsteps, the old woman raised her head and fixed him with a piercing stare. Spike's breath caught in his throat as he stared into her perfect green eyes. He could only stare, watching as the woman looked at him, some strange plea in her gaze.
"I'm looking for a woman...named Faye. I was told to look for her here." He could say no more, and his voice cracked on the last word. The old woman blinked, but not quickly enough to stop the tear that rolled down her cheek.
"I might know where she is, but she's changed a great deal you see. The years she was frozen have caught up to her and she's not the great beauty she once was." Spike choked on the next breath he took. Her voice...her voice hadn't changed at all. He closed his eyes and listened to her breathing.
"I...don't care. I love her. I never told her that. I could have died if I had only told her that, but I couldn't." Spike felt the woman's fingers brush his cheek, but they weren't wrinkled or gnarled with age. They felt soft and smooth, with only a slight callus on her trigger finger.
"Can you see me Spike? Do I look old and horrible to you?" He opened his bi-colored eyes and gasped, seeing not the old woman, but his Faye. His fallen goddess, his casino queen. Thefairy princesshe'd sell his soul for in a heartbeat or less. She smiled cynically. "It comes and goes, the age. The doctors don't know what it is, or why it's happening. They don't know if or when I'll stabilize, or what the end result may be. Knowing this, do you still love me?"
Spike ran his fingers through her hair, down her jaw, up her cheek before his knees gave out and he fell to the ground unconscious. Weeks of relentlessly searching the galaxy when he belonged in a hospital had finally caught up with him.
When he woke up though, she was sitting beside him, holding his hand in hers. Gently, Spike leaned over and placed a feathery kiss on her cheek.
"I'll love you always, my Romany girl. We could both die tomorrow or live a thousand years. Either way, I'm not tearing off across the galaxy looking for you again. I'm keeping you here with me, wrinkles and all."
I was awake, but I didn't think he'd want to know that. He saw me, and...he didn't reject me. I had been so afraid that he wouldn't love me if faced with such uncertainty... I guess I should have known the Space Cowboy wouldn't let me down, regardless of looks.
It wasn't long after Spike let his feelings be known that he pulled a set of handcuffs from his coat pocket and snapped them around his and Faye's wrists. He'd be damned if he'd ever let her go.
The End.
Thanks to all who reviewed. I made this a happier, more WAFFy ending than I had first intended, but I think it's cute. Tell me what you think, and feel free to email me your suggestions for improvement and future works.
