Author's Note: Thank you so much to all who reviewed. I really appreciate it. I'm sorry it's taken me so long to update. College applications have been taking up a lot of my time. But thank you for your patience. Here's the next chapter!

Chapter 7: Live and Forget

Faye laid there, stunned. She could recall a thousand times when she had wished that Spike's lips were on hers, a thousand moments when she had wanted to be in this exact position, a thousand dreams that were solely focused on her being in his arms. But now, when all of those wishes were coming true, the only thing she wanted was for him to be as far AWAY from her as possible. Furious at his audacity at trying to shut her up by kissing her, she raised her hands to his chest and pushed as hard as she could.

Surprised by her sudden boost of strength, Spike was hurled back off of her. Faye quickly stood up, fury shining from her emerald eyes. Spike calmly got up, still a little shaken from what had just happened. What had POSSESED him to do that? He looked at Faye who was still panting heavily.

"Don't you EVER do that again, Spike Spiegel! I felt your lips once and I NEVER want to feel them again! I know the price of letting down my guard with you and I won't ever let it happen a second time! The price you charge for someone getting close to you isn't worth it. One more time, STAY AWAY from Gabriel!" And with that she stormed out of the room.

Spike, finally deciding to do something smart, stayed where he was and didn't try to follow. 'What the hell was I thinking? Have I completely gone off the deep end? This is FAYE; the psycho crazy bitch that tried to make my life a living hell when we were still working together, the same woman that cost us more bounties that I can count!'

Spike shook his head, trying to figure out the logic behind his actions. 'The same woman that gave birth to your son, the same woman that you've dreamt about for the last four years.' His mind whispered tauntingly. 'No! I love Julia! Faye was just a distraction from the very beginning!' 'Liar, liar, liar! You're exactly what Faye said you were.'

Spike stalked to the shower and turned the water to as hot as it would go, hoping that the scalding water would burn out the taunting words reverberating through his head. Even as he felt the scorching liquid flow across his tense body, in his mind he knew that every single word Faye had said was true.

He had left. He had the choice to come back, but he didn't. He left them all without a second thought, all for the woman from his past that had cause him nothing but pain. Left them all for the woman he couldn't forget. She was right when she had said that he wouldn't have returned if he had known about Gabriel. The fact that he had a son still scared him shitless. He had never had the responsibility of someone else's life before now.

Turning off the water he got out of the shower and reached for a towel to find that there wasn't one even in the bathroom. Growling in frustration he was forced to pull on his clothes still completely wet and trudged back to his room. This was not his day. Not only had he gotten yelled at bye Faye TWICE, but had almost gotten his ass kicked as well and now had to go back to his room in sopping clothes. 'It can't get much worse than this.' He thought. But of course life just wasn't done having fun with Spike for the day.

Before he could react Spike was shoved against the hallway wall so hard that the wind was knocked out of him. He looked up to see Jet glaring down at him. "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR?!" Spike yelled, in no mood for more trouble. "WHAT did you do? WHY is Faye so fucking pissed off that she's actually CRYING?! HOW do you always manage to fuck up something?!" Jet roared.

At Jet's outburst Spike hung his head in shame. "I don't know. She hasn't forgiven me for returning and now the whole thing with Gabriel-it's just a mess. She's furious with me and we both started yelling and we both said things-hers actually the truth-and it just blew up from there." He explained quietly.

"Jesus Christ, Spike. What the hell is wrong with you two?" Jet sighed, running his hand through a head of almost nonexistent hair. "We're both insane, I guess. I don't know what to do, Jet. It's not exactly like I was prepared to find out all of this when I came back. It's gonna take time to get used to. If you want, I'll stay away from Faye, but I WILL NOT stay away from Gabriel. You tell her that since she doesn't seem to get it when I say it. If I'm going to be staying on the Bebop again I'm at least going to KNOW my son. I'm not going to be like my father." Spike said voice dead serious.

Jet was slightly taken aback by Spike's declaration. From all the times that Spike had complained about kids he never would've thought that he would actually rise to the position of father so willingly. "All right, Spike. I'll tell her it but be careful. You're about to tread on dangerous ground that you've never walked before. I don't think you completely understand what you're getting yourself into. This isn't like some fight with the Syndicate. You're dealing with Faye Valentine, a much scarier force in my opinion." Jet said. At this Spike smirked and snorted in amusement. "I'll be careful."

One Week Later

Faye paced back and forth in her room like a caged tiger. 'How dare he! How DARE he! That good for nothing lazy ass deserting mongrel! He has no right! NO RIGHT!' For the past week now, Faye had been walking around in a dark mood. Even Ed noticed that something was wrong and often distracted Gabriel so he wouldn't be upset by his mother's unusual behavior. 'If he weren't Gabriel's father I'd KILL him!' That thought had run through Faye's head about a thousand times and it seemed like she would think it a thousand more before she even considered forgiving Spike.

She hated the fact that she had actually spilt tears over Spike Spiegel once more. After he had left for that final fight with Vicious she thought that would be the last time she'd ever see the green haired man. But when he showed up just three weeks ago he turned everything upside down. The dead aren't supposed to come back.

She had finally accepted what had happened between her and the lanky man. She had forgotten about him and moved on with her life. But then he ruined it by deciding to come back from the fucking dead! His return had dredged up unwanted emotions and painful memories that Faye preferred to leave forgotten. 'I'll never forgive him! Never! He doesn't deserve it!' she thought furiously, her face furrowed in a deep frown.

Finally deciding that she couldn't hide in her room forever since she still had a child to take care of, Faye quietly slipped out of her room and headed for the kitchen to fix Gabriel some lunch. She was stunned to find Spike already sitting at the table, both munching on some sandwiches that appeared to have been made by the lanky man. Gabriel spotted Faye and gave her a big smile. "Mommy! Will you sit with Mr. Spike and me? Want a bite of my sandwich? It's really yummy! Mr. Spike made it!" he asked with childish innocence, completely oblivious to the tension radiating off both adults.

Faye gave him a small smile. "Sure honey. What kind of sandwich is it?" "Turkey! With mustard and pickles!" the little boy exclaimed happily. "Ohhh! That's your favorite! Did you say thank you?" Gabriel nodded his head vigorously to show that he had indeed remembered his manners and then continued to munch on his sandwich happily. Faye spared a quick glance at Spike to see that he was avoiding even looking in her general direction.

He seemed to currently be occupied by a speck of imaginary dust on his rumpled t-shirt. "How about after you're finished with your lunch you and I spar a little?" she suggested as she munched on a stray pickle that fell off of Gabriel's sandwich. "Ok Mommy! I want to show you this new move that Mr. Spike showed me. It's really cool!" Faye nodded and waited until Gabriel finished before they headed for the training room.

Faye and Gabriel stood facing each other and crouched down into their fighting positions. Sparring with Gabriel seemed to help calm Faye's nerves. She flowed smooth and even as her son advanced his attacks faster and faster with each blow. Deflecting them all easily, she was unprepared for the roundhouse kick that sent her back a few feet. "I did it! I did it! Did you see that Mr. Spike! I actually did it!" Gabriel cried, jumping up and down in excitement.

Faye's eyes shot over to the door to see Spike leaning against it with a proud smile on his face. "Good job Gabriel! You're a quick learner! Man, I didn't even learn that move as fast as you. Keep practicing and you'll be better than both your mom and me." Spike said encouragingly. Gabriel beamed with pride at the tall man's praise. Faye's heart clenched at the sight. The two seemed to have connected when she wasn't looking.

'He's really serious about this. Jet told me he was but I didn't want to believe him. Wait! What the hell am I thinking?! One roundhouse kick doesn't make up for all the shit he's done! What if it's just a ploy? What if it's just some façade he's putting on to try to make me forgive him? I can't trust him. I can never trust him.'

Unable to watch the scene playing out before her anymore she quickly excused herself and ran to her room. Stripping out of her clothes she jumped in the shower. Letting the hot water beat down on her she took a few deep breaths to calm her nerves. She took an extra long time in the shower before finally getting out and changing into some clean clothes.

Plopping down on her bed she stared at the ceiling before her eyes slowly drifted closed. Faye was rudely awakened by a loud banging on her door. She stumbled through the toys left by Gabriel and yanked open the door. "What?!" she demanded, irritated already by the day previous events. Jet raised an eyebrow questioningly at her outburst. "Oh Jet, sorry. I was asleep." She mumbled apologetically. "Forget about it Faye. We've got us a nice little bounty worth about 200,000 woolongs. Get your stuff on and let's go."

The burly man turned to when Faye's hand shot out. He looked at her questioningly. "What about Gabriel?" "What about him? We always leave him with Ed." Faye shook her head. "That's not what I mean. We're not leaving him with Spike." She said, her voice adamant in her decision.

"Well he's not coming with us Faye. Not this time at least. So you're just going to have to accept that he'll be Gabriel's babysitter for the day." Jet replied coolly. "I'm not leaving Gabriel with him! I am not leaving my son in the hands of a man who happens-" "To be his father?" Faye was silenced by Jets remark. "Faye, Spike is his father. Accept it already. Now let's go; we're wasting time." And with that the big man strode away towards the hangar.

Unable to argue anymore she sighed in defeat and retreated back into her room to change. Once fully clothed she sought out Gabriel only to find him once more in the presence of his father. Father. That still sounded weird to Faye even though she had said it in her mind a thousand times.

The two were sitting comfortably watching television. "Gabriel, Uncle Jet and I have a job. Will you be all right with Mr. Spike?" she asked. Bright green eyes sparkled back at her as he nodded. "Sure Mommy! We're watching Harry's Hunt! He's about to get the bad guy!" Gabriel exclaimed as he turned around and glued his eyes to the TV once more.

"Spike, I need to talk to you privately." Faye said. Surprisingly Spike got up without a word and followed her to the kitchen. Before she could get a word out the tall man cut her off. "I already know what you're going to say. You'll kill me if anything happens to Gabe. I'll watch him like a hawk. He won't leave my sight. I won't hurt him. Now go." His accuracy of what she was going to say somewhat annoyed her. "Fine, I'll go. But don't think for a minute that because I'm leaving him with you that it means that I trust you or that I've forgiven you." She said angrily before walking away.

Seven hours later Faye and Jet finally returned, both looking worn out and exhausted. The bounty had been one of the most difficult to catch since Spike had left. "Faye, Faye stop! What the hell was that? How did you know them?! Faye stop and answer me!" Jet yelled as Faye quickly headed down the hall. "Nothing! It was nothing, Jet." She insisted hastily as she tried to get away from the large man as fast as possible. "Bullshit! Tell me how you know them!" he roared as he continued to pursue the young woman.

They both rounding the corner rounded the corner and ran smack into Spike. All three of them fell back from the impact. "What the hell?!" Spike groaned as he gripped his head from where it had made contact with Faye's. "Owww that hurt." Faye mumbled as she gripped her own throbbing skull, standing up. "You guys need to look out where you guys are going." Spike griped as he tried to soothe his head.

"Stop whining. Where's Gabe?" Faye demanded. Spike snorted. "Nice to see you too. He's asleep in his room. He fell asleep waiting for you two to come back." "Good. Then I'm going to bed." Faye started to walk away before a metal arm shot out and grabbed hold of her. "Not so fast, girly. You still owe me an explanation." Jet growled, eyes sparking with anger. "And I already told you, it was nothing. Now let me go so I can go to bed. I'm tired." She growled back, meeting his steely gaze head on.

Spike's gaze shot back and forth between the two. "Uhh, so what exactly are you two arguing about?" "Nothing. Drop it." "And I told you no!" Jet leaned back against the wall after letting go of Faye's arm. "Our bounty today had a few friends. And it seemed like they knew our little Faye. So now its time to spill. You already know I'm not going to leave you alone so spill, NOW." Faye glared at the two men angrily. "I don't have to tell you a thing! If you think for a second that I'm-" Her tirade was suddenly cut off by a sudden jolt in the ship.

The three were once more thrown to floor. "What the hell is going on?!" Spike yelled as he struggled to his feet, using the wall for support. The ship continued to shake. "Someone's attacking us!" Jet yelled. "Yeah, we kind of got that! But who?!" Faye yelled as all three of them stumbled towards the navigation room. The shaking suddenly stopped and then a loud explosion sounded off in front of them. They covered their eyes to protect them from the smoke and small bits of debris before looking to see what had caused the explosion. Faye gasped at what she saw. "No! We just put you away!"

The burly man grinned. "We meet again, ma cherie. Twice in one day, guess my luck is finally looking up." He said with a slight French accent. "You monster! Get out! Now!" Faye screamed, silently trying to figure out how to keep him from finding Gabriel. "Mommy?" 'NO! No, no, no, no, no! Not now!' Faye thought frantically as she turned to see Gabriel sleepily rubbing his eyes, clad in his pajamas and clutching a stuffed bear.

The stranger's eyes shot over to the little boy before returning to Faye, a wicked gleam in them. "Mommy huh? Well well, ma cherie, seems you've been busy since the last time I've seen you." He taunted. "Stay back honey. This man is dangerous." She said as she stepped in front of him, trying to protect him.

"Oh ma cherie, you know you cannot stop the inevitable. I will have what I want." He smirked as Faye slightly trembled in fear. Spike and Jet looked back at each other with confused glances. "What the hell is going on? Who are you? What do you want?" Spike demanded. The strangers gaze shifted over to Spike. "I'm your worst nightmare." And with those last words all hell broke loose.

The man threw an object releasing a dark cloud of smoke. Spike, Jet and Faye all started coughing, unaware of the man charging toward them. He disappeared into the cloud with an evil gleam in his eyes. A gun shot, scream and sounds of scuffling were heard. Then silence.

An hour later Faye finally started to stir from her fetal position on the ground. Groaning she slowly raised to her hands and needs, wincing as she felt her ribs groan in protest and felt a slight wetness at the base of her skull. As realization of where she was hit her, she gasped and shot up. She glanced around frantically, searching for her son. Not seeing him anywhere she frantically started yelling for him as she began running all over the Bebop. "Gabriel! Gabriel where are you?!" Spike and Jet were just started to get up when Faye came running back, tears streaking down her face. Both of them immediately were worried. "What?! What's wrong?!" Spike asked, grabbing her, trying to calm her down. Her teary eyes met his as she broke down. "He took him! He took Gabriel!"

Author's note: Sniff Poor Faye. That's gotta suck. Well, I hope you all liked the chapter. Don't forget, REVIEW!