"You need to feel the air, the wind, the energy of everything around you like a stream feels the stones it courses over. You must reach out with every sense and use them to guide your motions. Become the essence of water, and not only will you achieve victory, you will know every muscle in your body and have complete control." As if to punctuate his final sentence, Rocky stepped to the side, twisting his torso full circle in a fluid, effortless kick that passed so quickly that the air hummed in its wake. A half dozen children watched on, spellbound as he neatly recomposed himself, smiling kindly, his own eyes twinkling as he took in the open mouths and entranced expressions before him.

His father had passed away only a couple of days following Spike's awakening. Though it had been difficult, he knew that he had mourned already long before, and when his spirit passed on, a small part of him was relieved that it was over. He could finally pass on to the afterlife, instead of being trapped in a body that was too weak to hold him. A year later, he opened Raines Martial Arts, a place where he could teach his father's fighting philosophy and his own advocacy for peace, that fighting is only a last resort when it is necessary for self-defense. The years passed slowly, but peacefully, with everything in Tharsis returning to a calm state of being that had been forgotten almost completely since the syndicate wars began. It was as though none of it had ever taken place.

A handsome blonde boy, no more than fifteen years old watched from the front of the room, remembering the start of his own Joon Kee training years before. He was as much of a natural as his namesake, and had become a kind of assistant in all of Rocky's lessons. Ever since he knew the lengths to which Rocky had gone to save Spike, he felt a strong loyalty to the man who had kept his hero alive.

Peeking from underneath a mop of messy moss-green hair, a pair of deep hazel eyes were alight with wonder and determination. "I bet I can do that too, Raylei. Just watch me." The confident nine-year-old whispered to the younger raven-haired girl standing in front of him, who turned back with an incredulous expression.

"Yeah right, Shale. You'll just fall on your butt like the last time." The girl next to Raylei rolled her brown-and-green flecked eyes and flipped her dark violet hair over her shoulder, crossing her arms in front of her chest. The two girls turned to each other, giggling, as Shale turned an embarrassed pink.

"Shut up, Jade." He growled at her, turning away from Raylei's bright blue gaze.

"I know you could do it if you practiced, Shale." The pretty black-haired girl flashed him a warm smile that instantly replaced his embarrassment with more familiar feelings of self-confidence. "After all, you do have the best teacher you could ever ask for."

"What's that, Ray, sweetheart? Best teacher you could ever ask for?" Rocky laughed, feeling the familiar swell of happiness he got whenever he looked at his daughter. "Well, I don't know if Shalewould agreewith that statement, seeing as his dad teaches the advanced classes. But regardless, you all need to be paying attention, not talking during lessons. I know you and the Spiegels are friends, but keep talking and I'm going to have to split you up." He adopted a stern look to prove he wasn't bluffing. Raylei frowned and sighed stubbornly, but acquiesced.

By the end of the lesson, Shale had indeed made some headway on learning the proper way to execute the spinning kick Rocky had demonstrated, and had even managed to land on both feet once.

When Spike (the older one) arrived, he nodded a greetingto Rocky, and his kids rushed to greet him, beaming, so each would be the first to tell of their progress in class.

"So kids, what did you learn--"

"We learned this awesome--"

"--spinning kick thing and I got it--"

"--on my first try! But Shale--"

"--eventually! It was really hard--"

"--well it wasn't that hard for me and Raylei!"

"That's 'cause you're girls and you're younger so you weigh less than me. That's what Rocky said."

"He was just trying to make you feel better 'cause you weren't getting it!"

Spike paused on the sidewalk they were walking down, and crouched to their level. "Hey, don't say that. Rocky was right, Jade. It is harder for us guys to land on our feet because we have awful balance. Shale, I'm very proud of you for getting it, but I'm especially proud because you didn't give up working on it." At this point, Shale was looking rather pleased with himself, and Jade cast her eyes to the ground. "Jade, I'm very proud of you too for learning it. However, even if you do know how to do it, that doesn't mean you should stop practicing. Keep working hard, both of you, and you can do anything you set your mind to. Now let's get going, we've got company for dinner." He straightened out, beckoning the kids to keep following him, and Jade captured her father's hand with hers, excitement lighting her features.

"Uncle Jet and Auntie Ed?"

"The two and only." Jade and Shale promptly sprinted ahead of their dad, who was left scratching his head, trying to figure out why anyone should be so happy at the prospect of seeing the nice-but-a-little-scary-looking ex-ISSP-agent-turned-intergalactic-bounty-hunter and slightly...quirky hacker. Both Jet and Ed were still members of the Bebop crew, though a few new faces had been added to the mix since Spike and Faye left to settle down in Tharsis. But, because Faye didn't really have her own job, besides being a mother and helping out a bit at Rocky's martial arts studio, she found herself helping out as back-up on bounty huntsevery so often for a bit of the take, as did Spike sometimes when he wasn't working.

Intercepting the swinging door behind Jade and Shale, who had run all the way home and bounced into the dining room, Spike heard sounds of laughter and shouting echoing throughout the house.

"Do you think that maybe those two aren't the best role models for our children?" Faye leaned over the kitchen island and arched an eyebrow at the scene of Jet tickling her daughter while Ed and Shale seemed to be waging an intense staring contest.

"Well, I think of them more as cautionaryexamples than role models." Faye's tinkling laughter was added to the cacophany, which had increased since Ed and Shale's staring contest had turned into more of a shouting match of nonsense phrases. All of a sudden, Spike felt a puzzle piece click into place inside his heart, and felt a wholeness so encompassing, he couldn't describe it. Walking across the kitchen, he wrapped his arms around his wife's waist, feeling her relax against him and lean her head back onto his shoulder.

"Everything's the way it should be, isn't it?" She asked him, a lazy smile lingering on her lips. "You've got your past, and I've got mine, but that's all behind us now. We've only got the future ahead of us."

Spike pressed soft kisses against Faye's neck as he considered his response. "Ever since I woke up...everything's been more right than I ever thought it could possibly be. I never thought I could have a life this amazing after all of the things I'd been through. I wouldn't change a thing." Faye's incredulous glare made him backpedal a bit. "Ok, yes I would have told you how I felt before going off to kill Vicious, but other than that..." Faye giggled, turning in his arms to kiss him gently.

"...EWWWWWW!" They broke off, noticing the four heads turned in their direction from the dining room, two laughing at their expense, and the others groaning and whining dramatically.

Spike and Faye laughed it off, still content in each others' arms. "Wouldn't hardly change a thing, huh?" She asked.

"Not a thing."