Disclaimer:  Don't own Cowboy Bebop.  Sniff  New characters mine though.

Author's Note: I better start gettin some more revies.

Chapter 6: Truth Hurts

Days passed, the ships inhabitants all going about their day with a somewhat tense concentration, all except for the small boy and untamable girl. Faye and Spike hadn't spoken to each other since the night of their confrontation. When they passed each other in the halls they would glance at each other before quickly looking away.

Since Spike's absence, Faye and Jet had accumulated enough decent bounties to add a second bathroom connected to Faye's room. This enabled Faye to avoid Spike much more than it would have in the previous days.

Spike had no idea what to make of the small boy, his son. HIS son. He was still having trouble comprehending how this small child could be his. But, however much he might have wished it, there was no denying that this child was his. He had the same wild green hair, the same lanky frame, and the same smile with just a touch of his mother's in it. But his eyes, his eyes, they belonged to no one but his mother. Two emerald orbs exactly like Faye's shone from this small child. They held the innocence that the other Bebop crewmembers had lost long ago, in a time they could not remember.

The young boy had adapted to Spike's presence as if he had always been there. As the days passed Spike saw that Gabriel was a good natured child; he seemed happy and content with his life and saw that he absolutely adored the Bebop crew just as much as his mother. Ein, it seemed, had become the little boy's constant companion. The corgi followed him everywhere and watched over him as he slept.

Spike was content on sitting back and watching his son interact with the other Bebop crewmembers. Jet seemed to be just like a big uncle. He would let Gabe help him fix things on his Hammerhead and even played with the little boy. Ed was Gabe's number one playmate. She always had time to play a game of virtual chess with him.

His favorite person to watch him interact with though, of course, was Faye. He watched them partly because he knew how much it irritated her and did it just to spite her, but also because he wanted to see just how much this cold hearted woman had changed. He frankly could still not believe the transformation. It was obvious that his presence was not going to change the way she interacted with their son. She loved him the only way a mother can love her child, with all her heart. She took care of all his needs and in return he gave her his undying love.

He himself had yet to have a real conversation with Gabriel. Of course he had exchanged a few words here or there with the child but it was obvious that Gabriel had no idea who Spike was or why he was back on the Bebop. Spike was unsure whether he should be angry or relieved by the fact. Unsure whether he should be angry that Faye had kept Gabriel's father a secret even when he was right there in front of him. Unsure whether to be relieved that he could still hide behind the fact that Gabriel didn't know that he was his father and therefore able to dodge unwanted questions by the little boy.

Spike was so deep in thought that he hadn't realized that the very subjects of his thoughts were speaking to him. He glanced up to find Faye glaring at him. He had situated himself on the couch, his lanky for sprawled out over the entire piece of furniture.

 "What was that Faye?" he asked, unsure of what she had just said to him. She rolled her eyes in irritation and repeated herself. "I SAID, could you sit up so Gabriel could have some of the couch and watch TV?" The animosity in her voice was obvious. Suppressing a smart remark he did as he was asked. Gabriel and Faye crossed in front of him to get to the other end of the couch.

He watched as Gabriel hopped up onto the couch and settled himself in comfortably. "I have to go run some errands honey so be good and don't give Uncle Jet any trouble while I'm gone ok?" she said as she kneeled in front of her son, smoothing his hair down. "Ok mommy! I'll see you in a little while!" Gabriel said with a bright smile. Faye was unable to resist and returned it as she leaned down and kissed him goodbye. "Love you." She said as she walked away.

Unexpectedly, Faye grabbed Spike by the scruff of his collar and dragged him away as she walked by. Spike stumbled after her as she pulled him around the corner before she finally let him go. He grumbled to himself as she turned to face him while he resituated his suit.

"All right Spike, here's the deal. I'm leaving for a while and against my better judgment I'm not going to take Gabe with me. But let me warn you right now, I won't have you messing with my son, you got that? And yes, I said MY son, not OUR son, MINE. Jet promised me that nothing fishy would go on while I'm gone so I'm holding him to his word. But mark my words if anything does go wrong, in any slight way, I'm blaming you whether you had anything to do with it or not." She said in a deadly voice.

The entire time Faye was talking Spike had a bored expression on his face until she mentioned that Gabriel was her son and not his. For some unknown reason to him, Spike became angry at the remark. "Are you done? Now that you've had your chance to tell me that no matter what goes on you're going to blame me, it's my turn. YOU'RE the one who decided to keep Gabriel a secret from me when I first got on the Bebop. I'm sure you would've kept on pretending like he wasn't my son as long as you could. But I'm not going to be your little bitch, Faye. Gabriel is my son too whether you or I like it or not so I can sure as hell talk to him if I want to!" he shot back angrily.

By this time Faye was fuming. "How dare you, you pompous asshole! Don't you even try to turn this around on me! You had every chance to come back here for four damn years and yet you chose not to. And the fact that I kept Gabriel a secret was, oh let me think, because I couldn't tell you when he was born because, OH! I THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD!" she shot back at him, chest heaving in anger.

At that remark Spike shut up. There was no way to argue his way out of that one. She was right; he did have the chance to come back but never did. He couldn't blame her for not telling him when there was no way she could when she thought the father of her child was dead.

Before he could reply Faye turned and stormed away. Spike sighed heavily as he rubbed his head, feeling a headache coming on. He slowly made his way back to the couch and plopped down on it heavily. Gabriel turned to see Spike rubbing his forehead with a pained expression on his face. "Are you ok Mr. Spike?" he asked, not sure whether he should talk to him or not. Spike glanced at Gabriel in surprise. Emerald eyes gazed back at him uncertainly. He had to smile.

"Yeah kid, just a little headache. I'll be fine." "Oh. When I have a headache my mommy gives me some medicine and apple juice. Would you like some? It always makes me feel a lot better!" Gabriel asked in an innocent voice. "Sure, thanks a lot kid." Spike said as he watched his son get up and walk to the kitchen and out of sight.

A couple minutes later Gabriel came back with a large glass of apple juice balanced in his hands with a packet of painkillers in his mouth. He carefully set the juice down on the coffee table and handed the pills to Spike. Taking them gratefully Spike popped them in and took them dry. He then grabbed the glass of juice and downed it in one breath. When he was done he was surprised to find that the juice had actually helped to relieve some of the building pressure in his head. He turned to Gabriel who had been watching him the entire time with quiet curiosity. Spike smiled at him in thanks. Gabriel gave him a bright smile in return and turned back to the TV.

While Gabe watched TV Spike watched him. That innocent smile had pierced straight to his heart. He couldn't remember the last time anyone had given him a smile that held such innocence and purity. He suddenly had the urge to protect this small innocent from anything that might harm him. Spike never wanted that innocence and purity to be taken away from him. A violent life had shown him how easily something like that could be taken away and corrupted. Never would he go back to a life like that he had in the syndicate.

The two companions sat in a comfortable silence as they watched TV. Without realizing, both man and child began to drift off. Gabe's small form slowly dropped onto Spike's lap. Already half asleep, the man left the child where he was as he too drifted away.

A few hours later Faye returned to the Bebop, arms heavy with groceries and other items she had picked up. She gently set them down on the counter before she went to the den to check on Gabriel. As she rounded the corner she stopped abruptly, shocked by what greeted her. Gabriel had his head nestled in Spike's lap as he curled his small body into a tight ball as he slept peacefully. Spike had his head thrown back, resting on the back of the couch with one arm lightly resting on Gabriel's back, almost as if he was trying to protect him from something. Faye stood there for a few minutes, just watching to two as they slept.

'It's not fair.' She thought, 'It's not fair! He's not supposed to be here! He's not supposed to be giving me this false hope. This is only something that was supposed to be imagined. It's not supposed to be real.' Slowly she made her way back to the kitchen before either of the couch's occupants woke up, lost in her own despairing thoughts. Putting away the groceries she sighed, feeling defeated almost. How do you stop feeling things for someone when they're right in front of you? How do you live day to day with a person knowing that they've hurt and destroyed you in one of the worst ways possible? How do you survive?

While Faye continued to put away the groceries, lost in her own thoughts, Spike had woken up from his nap. He looked around, slightly disoriented before he looked down to find Gabriel still fast asleep in his lap. Never having had much interaction with children, Spike was unsure what to do. Should he move with the risk of waking him up? Still unsure he gently slid out from under the sleeping child and placed a blanket over him before slipping out the room silently. Stuffing his hands into his pockets he rounded the corner in time to see Faye go into the training room. Against his better judgment, he followed.

Inside he saw Faye pulling off her shirt to reveal a sports bra. She walked over to a punching bad and stretched before releasing a flurry of punches. He winced each time her fists or feet made contact with the bag. She was showing no mercy. He could practically feel her fury as she increased her speed and was soon sweating. Again against his better judgment he decided to take pity on the bag and act as her sparring partner.

Faye stopped her assault on the bag when she heard Spike enter the room. She watched as he slipped off his shoes and shirt to reveal a toned, yet lanky chest. "Just what the hell do you think you're doing?" she spat as he walked toward her. Giving her a cool gaze he replied simply, "Giving that bag a break from you. Spar with me, let's see how much you've improved." She growled before replying. "Fine by me. The bag wasn't helping much anyway. Beating the shit out of you should make me feel much better."

They both crouched into fighting positions. Faye made the first move. She feinted a punch right before bringing her other fist to punch left. Spike barely had time to block it before Faye's leg came flying, barely missing his head by a centimeter. 'HOLY SHIT! She's insane!' Spike thought as she continued her onslaught.

Right punch, left kick, left jab, spin kick. Spike was so busy playing defense that he had no opportunity to take the offense. Finally seeing his opportunity he caught her right fist before sweeping her feet out from under her. She landed on her back and just barely dodged his fist. Rolling to her side she quickly sprung up again only to find herself being shoved back against a wall.

Spike grabbed her arms and crossed them in front of her before leaning forward to talk. "What is with you?! You're still all pissy about me returning?! Get over it! I'm staying whether you like it or not!" Spike yelled as Faye continued to struggle in his hold. "I don't fucking give a crap if you're mad that I'm still pissed!" she screamed as a surge of adrenaline pumped through her, giving her the strength to break free from his hold and leap away. She charged him again and found them once more dodging each other's attacks.

"You are so goddam selfish, Spike! You only think of yourself! I'm so tired of seeing you pull this shit over and over! I want you GONE! I want you away from MY SON!" she screamed at him as she continued to try to make contact. "I'M selfish! What about YOU Faye! YOU didn't even have the decency to let Gabriel who his own fucking FATHER was!" Spike yelled back as he continued blocking.

    "You're trying to turn this around on me again! WELL GUESS WHAT?! I'M NOT THE FUCKING ONE TO BLAME! You have no right to even be NEAR Gabriel! He's MY SON! I RAISED HIM! NOT YOU! YOU HAVEN'T EVEN BEEN AROUND! YOU WERE OFF GALAVANTING SOMEWHERE JUST BECAUSE YOU FUCKING DIDN'T FEEL LIKE RETURNING!"

    By now both were screaming at the top of their lungs. "FOR THE LAST TIME I DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT HIM! I WOULD'VE RETURNED IF I KNEW!" "LIAR! YOU WOULD'VE STAYED AWAY BECAUSE OF HIM! YOU HATE RESPONSIBILITY! WELL DON'T FUCKING WORRY CUZ I'M NOT LETTING YOU EVEN NEAR MY SON AGAIN!" she screamed.

She was so preoccupied by screaming at him that she didn't have the chance to dodge his oncoming leg. She was once more knocked to the ground. Spike quickly tackled her and pinned her arms and sat on her legs so she was completely immobilized. He lowered his head so he was barely an inch away from her (very cliché, I know).

They could feel each others breath, each panting heavily. "Don't ever fucking say that again, Faye. He's MY SON too. You don't have to like it but Gabriel is MY SON as well. I may not have been here for him in the past but I'm here now." He said in a low dangerous voice. "Well I don't want you're fucking help!" she shot back. By now Spike was furious. Glaring down at the young woman beneath him he did the first thing that came to mind. He kissed her.

Author's Note: DUN DUN DUN! Hehehe, I love cliffhangers. Whooo! Those two are pretty worked up. Wonder what'll happen. You're gonna have to give me some reviews to find out!