Return Of the Cowboy

"Bang." Spike said before falling to the ground. The men outside of the destroyed building stood in a state of uncertainty and shock at the fallen form. Was he really dead?

High above in the darkness of space somebody's guardian star flickered before dying out completely. The guardian star of a cowboy.

***

"When you left I-" Faye began still not quite able to grasp the fact that Spike was indeed sitting across from her. "I didn't know what to do. I, I heard you talking to Jet before you left. Telling him the story about the tiger striped cat and I knew you were referring to yourself somewhat. When you said that Julia was dead, and, and how the tiger striped cat kept coming back, I-" Faye broke off as her eyes filled with tears. She had become accustomed to the tears.

After Spike left to fight Vicious she had cried uncontrollably. She couldn't figure out why she was so hurt and… afraid. "I thought I would never see you again. I thought you were going to die. I thought- after the way I talked about you to Jet earlier that day. I said that you were nothing but trouble. But on the inside I was worried. I've always worried about you." Faye walked around the coffee table and sat down next to Spike on the beat up couch. "Please. Say something. I just, I, I wanna hear your voice." Faye was slowly breaking down.

Spike had been sitting on the couch silently listening to Faye. He was still in disbelief at the fact that he was alive. He wasn't supposed to be here. He was supposed to be with Julia. The tiger striped cat wasn't supposed to come back after the white female cat died.

"Where is Jet?" Spike asked as he realized that Faye was the only person he had seen since returning to the Bebop.

"Spike-" Faye began quietly, "Um… Jet's gone. He-"

"Where?" Spike asked, accidentally cutting off Faye's explanation.

"Um… he, he left a couple weeks after you died, uh, I mean-"

"It's okay." Spike stated in his soothing voice. He could understand how Faye felt. He had been believed dead for four months now.

"I mean after you left. He tried to, to go on like nothing was wrong but, you could tell that he, he tried, he became quite. He just cleaned and cleaned and trimmed those bonsai of his. He wouldn't talk. It was like he became a ghost of himself. He left. He said he couldn't stay here anymore, he said I could have the ship." Faye stopped and tried to wipe away the tears that were sliding down her face.

Spike placed a hand on her leg and she jumped. "I'm sorry." He stated as he moved his hand.

Faye reached out o touch his hand. It was still hard for her to believe that he was there. Alive and well, more or less. She slowly lifted her arm and lightly placed her hand on the side of Spikes face. Faye's actions surprised Spike even though he didn't let it show on his face.

Faye gently stroked his face. "I can't believe you're real."

Spike placed his hand on top of hers. He had the intentions of removing it but his actions were halted as Faye moved her face closer to his. Their faces were less than three inches apart when she stopped.

"Your eyes really are two different colors." She said. The statement made Spike think about Julia. His heart hurt at the thought of her. Why did he have to keep coming back? He wasn't supposed to come back this time.

"I hadn't realized even after you pointed it out before you, you… left. I was too busy listening to the voice in the back of my head, the one that said that you were telling me these things because you weren't planning on coming back."

Spike removed Faye's hand and she moved back allowing them to have their own space. "You know Edward came back. She heard about what happened. I don't know how but you know her. She came back but she was just as bad as Jet." Faye became quiet for a moment as the tears started to flow again. "You know I actually miss being called Faye-Faye." Faye stated with a slight chuckle.

"Where is she?" Spike asked he didn't look at her as she spoke. They both stared out in front of them.

"She's gone too. Um, not too long after she came back she went in the back. She was back there for along time, you know Jet and me had left to go half heartily look for a bounty, when I went back there to get her… I don't know what she was doing. She must have been watering those damn trees for Jet, but she had the CD player plugged in and by the time I found her it was too late. She knew it was dangerous! she wasn't dumb, I-" Faye stopped and took a deep breath before continuing. "Poor Ein. He's just been lying in the room where she was found. He won't move. I have to go give him food and water everyday because he won't even get up to eat.

This ship has been full of depression."

Spike sat in deep thought. He couldn't believe such drastic changes had occurred in the short amount of time that he was gone.

Jet was gone, Edward was dead, Ein was depressed, and Faye, Poor Faye was left to try and hold everything together.

How sad. Poor Ein and Ed… Please review.