She walked back into the ship, through the corridors just rubbing her crossed arms in thought. She came back to the living area and eventually sat back at the table.
"So what was that all about?" Pidge asked.
"A rather large bounty that Spike shouldn't have gone out on alone to get. Y'see, generally the more money a bounty is worth, it usually means they're more dangerous. The most he's dealt with and come back barely alive was a 52 million woolong man who we didn't even get the money because he killed himself. He couldn't move for days and he was asleep most of the time. I wasn't here for it, but he told me all about what happened." She explained.
"How much is the guy he's after now?" Jordan asked.
"Well," she sighed, "This one's a little different. Bounties are usually wanted alive. If he's killed he's worth 80 million." The two of them looked at her wide-eyed. "If he's caught and he's alive, 100 million for the person who is lucky enough to nab him." She explained sadly.
"Well look at it this way, he knows what he's doing and he hasn't gotten himself killed yet, so he shouldn't have a problem with him. After all, didn't he chase after that Vincent Volaju about a year back? I think that if that 300 million woolong bounty didn't kill him, no one can." Pidge said trying to keep Alex thinking positively.
"I guess you're right." She sighed as she went back to the table and helped map out some more possibilities for her craft. It was starting to wear into the early evening and there was still no word from Spike. Pidge and Jordan could sense Alex's uneasiness and took the hint that it was about time for them to go.
"If you're still around tomorrow, give a call and we'll see what's planned, alright?" Pidge said as he gathered his things and prepared to leave. Jordan kinda just sat there with a worried look on his face, watching Alex. All the years he'd known her, he'd never seen her this upset except for when her parents were killed. It was like she had no emotion whatsoever now aside from being distraught. "C'mon Jordan. Ma's probably getting frustrated." He said trying to get the boy's attention. Jordan snapped out of his trance and slowly stood to follow his father.
"Alex?" he asked. She looked at him blankly. "Don't worry, Spike'll come back alright." She smiled at him weakly and nodded. The phone rang and Alex jolted to life, rushing for it. She tripped over a chair and slammed her knee into the table, but didn't care; she grabbed the phone and picked it up as she fell to the floor. Her knee was bleeding as she pushed the phone button on and held it to her ear.
"Hello?" she asked frantically.
"Alex." Came Blade's suave voice from over the phone. Pidge and Jordan rushed over to see if she was alright. They found her sitting on the cold floor, her knee bloody, and tears streaming down her cheeks as she sobbed into the phone. She wiped the tears away quickly.
"Oh…hi Blade." She said acting as if nothing was wrong. Pidge disappeared but Jordan stayed.
"What's wrong, you sound upset dear." He tried to sound sincere, but it sounded more poisonous than anything. It was then she realized her knee was cut up. She put her hand over it to try and stop it, but Jordan was already at her side with a dishtowel.
"No, I'm fine. I was just waiting for a really, really important call was all." She sniffed. Jordan had pressed the towel down and tried to stop the blood.
"Oh, well can I call you later then?" He asked. Jordan was examining the gash and occasionally getting some blood out.
"You're better off calling tomorrow, I got to go." She said as the tears began to flow again. Pidge reappeared with Jet to find Jordan trying to help Alex with the bloodstained towel.
"Jesus Christ Alex!" Jet called as he rushed to her. She hung up the phone and started to cry again.
"The phone rang…I thought it was Spike…and I guess I…" she sobbed as the phone hit the floor. Jet rushed to her other side and looked at her knee. Ed was next to run over with Ein at her heels to see what was up.
"Alex-san! You're knee is crying red water!" she pointed. Alex cringed as Jet poured some water onto the gash to try to clean it out a little.
"Ed, go do something, ok!" Jet ordered. She dashed off with Ein on her heels. The tears poured down her face like waterfalls as she picked up the phone once again, just to hold it close to her.
"I want him to come home Jet, make him call and come home!" Alex demanded through her tears as he continued to clean the wound. He felt bad for her, especially since he knew what Spike was up against, how much they loved each other, and what he and Spike went out for that morning and what they discussed. He wanted him to come back alive; he couldn't bear to see Alex like this. Pidge and Jordan sat back and watched Jet work as he finished cleaning the wound and then bandaged it. He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her.
"I want him to come home too Alex, but he wanted to do this one. He was going and that was final. He wouldn't let me stop him as hard as I tried." He told her. He picked her up and carried his crying friend to the couch to lie down.
"But you didn't have to tell him about the bounty!" she cried. He shook his head.
"No, he saw it himself on Big Shot." He said as he placed her down. She kept the phone close to her, cradled in her arms. As she lay there on the soft couch, her eyes grew heavy and soon had closed with the phone still clutched in her hands. "Now would probably be a good time for you two to go." Jet said. Pidge placed a hand on Jordan's shoulder.
"Mr. Black, I'd like to stay with her. I think she could really use a friend's company right now." He said with his face slightly blushed. Jet shook his head.
"She needs to sleep. I'll have her call you when she wakes up. Just don't be like her when she was waiting for Spike to call, ok?" Jordan sighed and nodded. The two of them left and went home, leaving Jet, Ed, and Ein with a sleeping and totally distraught Alex. Jet sat in the pilot chair playing solitaire into the early morning hours, thinking about what was going on. He found himself wandering to the living area around three and found Alex still asleep on the couch. He stood over her and just watched her sleep. "That idiot better come back and tell you how he feels before he gets himself killed." He said to her knowing that she couldn't hear him in her sleep. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the receipt from the jewelry store he and Spike went into earlier that day. "I won't pay the bill for this if he doesn't." He walked over to the wall and unplugged the phone that Alex was holding onto, so it wouldn't wake her up if it rang. He wandered to his bedroom and crashed out for a few hours, trying to get some sleep between the continuous bad feelings about Spike that kept washing over him.
Early the next morning, Ed was up first of all three of the group. She had come from her room with her goggles strapped to her forehead and dragging a half-conscious and irritated Ein with her. She wandered out towards the kitchen to look for some food when she found Alex sitting up at the table with a cup of coffee.
"Alex-san? You don't drink coffee in the morning, you drink hot cocoa!" she said as she walked up to the table and sniffed the cup. She wrinkled her nose as she picked up another scent from the dark brown liquid. "What else did you put in there?" Alex smiled tiredly, she wanted to just give up on Spike, but she couldn't.
"It's called Bailey's Irish Cream. It's alcohol." She explained as she looked at the half empty bottle that she remembers finding full this morning. There were dark circles under her eyes and bags large enough to hold watermelons. She could only smile weakly as Ein began to bark. It woke Jet and prompted him to come out and see what all the noise was about. When he saw Alex with not only the coffee, but also the alcohol, he got worried real quick.
"Alex, you shouldn't drink like this." He said as he reached for the bottle. She beat him to it and grinned as she turned it about several times.
"How do you want me to drink then? Like this?" she asked as she picked it up and chugged down whatever was left, finishing every last drop before smashing the bottle on the floor into dozens of pieces. She began to cry hysterically as she threw her head down onto the table. Jet stood next to her, but crouched down to her level.
"Alex, I know it hurts, you of all people should know. Spike will come back alive sooner or later; it took him a couple of months to come back after he fought Vicious. He'll be back, don't worry. Now go take a hot shower, I'll give you some cash and you can go shopping." He said as he rubbed her back to comfort her. With a couple of sniffs, she nodded and headed off for their bedroom to get some clothes. Jet sighed and began to pick up the glass that was scattered about the floor when he heard a gunshot. "Oh god, tell me she didn't!" he said as he rant to her room. He saw her standing there with her personalized handgun pointed at her pillow. On the pillow was a picture of her and Spike with the glass shattered and a bullet-hole through where Spike's head should've been. She looked up at Jet and headed for the doorway after she tossed the gun to the bed.
"I feel a little better," she said as she walked past him. He heard her walk down the hallway and go into the bathroom. After hearing the water start, he sighed a sigh of relief.
"Spike, what have you done to this poor girl?" he asked the faceless picture as he took it in his hands. The glass only crumbled to the floor in response with a crystalline tinkle.
"So what was that all about?" Pidge asked.
"A rather large bounty that Spike shouldn't have gone out on alone to get. Y'see, generally the more money a bounty is worth, it usually means they're more dangerous. The most he's dealt with and come back barely alive was a 52 million woolong man who we didn't even get the money because he killed himself. He couldn't move for days and he was asleep most of the time. I wasn't here for it, but he told me all about what happened." She explained.
"How much is the guy he's after now?" Jordan asked.
"Well," she sighed, "This one's a little different. Bounties are usually wanted alive. If he's killed he's worth 80 million." The two of them looked at her wide-eyed. "If he's caught and he's alive, 100 million for the person who is lucky enough to nab him." She explained sadly.
"Well look at it this way, he knows what he's doing and he hasn't gotten himself killed yet, so he shouldn't have a problem with him. After all, didn't he chase after that Vincent Volaju about a year back? I think that if that 300 million woolong bounty didn't kill him, no one can." Pidge said trying to keep Alex thinking positively.
"I guess you're right." She sighed as she went back to the table and helped map out some more possibilities for her craft. It was starting to wear into the early evening and there was still no word from Spike. Pidge and Jordan could sense Alex's uneasiness and took the hint that it was about time for them to go.
"If you're still around tomorrow, give a call and we'll see what's planned, alright?" Pidge said as he gathered his things and prepared to leave. Jordan kinda just sat there with a worried look on his face, watching Alex. All the years he'd known her, he'd never seen her this upset except for when her parents were killed. It was like she had no emotion whatsoever now aside from being distraught. "C'mon Jordan. Ma's probably getting frustrated." He said trying to get the boy's attention. Jordan snapped out of his trance and slowly stood to follow his father.
"Alex?" he asked. She looked at him blankly. "Don't worry, Spike'll come back alright." She smiled at him weakly and nodded. The phone rang and Alex jolted to life, rushing for it. She tripped over a chair and slammed her knee into the table, but didn't care; she grabbed the phone and picked it up as she fell to the floor. Her knee was bleeding as she pushed the phone button on and held it to her ear.
"Hello?" she asked frantically.
"Alex." Came Blade's suave voice from over the phone. Pidge and Jordan rushed over to see if she was alright. They found her sitting on the cold floor, her knee bloody, and tears streaming down her cheeks as she sobbed into the phone. She wiped the tears away quickly.
"Oh…hi Blade." She said acting as if nothing was wrong. Pidge disappeared but Jordan stayed.
"What's wrong, you sound upset dear." He tried to sound sincere, but it sounded more poisonous than anything. It was then she realized her knee was cut up. She put her hand over it to try and stop it, but Jordan was already at her side with a dishtowel.
"No, I'm fine. I was just waiting for a really, really important call was all." She sniffed. Jordan had pressed the towel down and tried to stop the blood.
"Oh, well can I call you later then?" He asked. Jordan was examining the gash and occasionally getting some blood out.
"You're better off calling tomorrow, I got to go." She said as the tears began to flow again. Pidge reappeared with Jet to find Jordan trying to help Alex with the bloodstained towel.
"Jesus Christ Alex!" Jet called as he rushed to her. She hung up the phone and started to cry again.
"The phone rang…I thought it was Spike…and I guess I…" she sobbed as the phone hit the floor. Jet rushed to her other side and looked at her knee. Ed was next to run over with Ein at her heels to see what was up.
"Alex-san! You're knee is crying red water!" she pointed. Alex cringed as Jet poured some water onto the gash to try to clean it out a little.
"Ed, go do something, ok!" Jet ordered. She dashed off with Ein on her heels. The tears poured down her face like waterfalls as she picked up the phone once again, just to hold it close to her.
"I want him to come home Jet, make him call and come home!" Alex demanded through her tears as he continued to clean the wound. He felt bad for her, especially since he knew what Spike was up against, how much they loved each other, and what he and Spike went out for that morning and what they discussed. He wanted him to come back alive; he couldn't bear to see Alex like this. Pidge and Jordan sat back and watched Jet work as he finished cleaning the wound and then bandaged it. He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her.
"I want him to come home too Alex, but he wanted to do this one. He was going and that was final. He wouldn't let me stop him as hard as I tried." He told her. He picked her up and carried his crying friend to the couch to lie down.
"But you didn't have to tell him about the bounty!" she cried. He shook his head.
"No, he saw it himself on Big Shot." He said as he placed her down. She kept the phone close to her, cradled in her arms. As she lay there on the soft couch, her eyes grew heavy and soon had closed with the phone still clutched in her hands. "Now would probably be a good time for you two to go." Jet said. Pidge placed a hand on Jordan's shoulder.
"Mr. Black, I'd like to stay with her. I think she could really use a friend's company right now." He said with his face slightly blushed. Jet shook his head.
"She needs to sleep. I'll have her call you when she wakes up. Just don't be like her when she was waiting for Spike to call, ok?" Jordan sighed and nodded. The two of them left and went home, leaving Jet, Ed, and Ein with a sleeping and totally distraught Alex. Jet sat in the pilot chair playing solitaire into the early morning hours, thinking about what was going on. He found himself wandering to the living area around three and found Alex still asleep on the couch. He stood over her and just watched her sleep. "That idiot better come back and tell you how he feels before he gets himself killed." He said to her knowing that she couldn't hear him in her sleep. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the receipt from the jewelry store he and Spike went into earlier that day. "I won't pay the bill for this if he doesn't." He walked over to the wall and unplugged the phone that Alex was holding onto, so it wouldn't wake her up if it rang. He wandered to his bedroom and crashed out for a few hours, trying to get some sleep between the continuous bad feelings about Spike that kept washing over him.
Early the next morning, Ed was up first of all three of the group. She had come from her room with her goggles strapped to her forehead and dragging a half-conscious and irritated Ein with her. She wandered out towards the kitchen to look for some food when she found Alex sitting up at the table with a cup of coffee.
"Alex-san? You don't drink coffee in the morning, you drink hot cocoa!" she said as she walked up to the table and sniffed the cup. She wrinkled her nose as she picked up another scent from the dark brown liquid. "What else did you put in there?" Alex smiled tiredly, she wanted to just give up on Spike, but she couldn't.
"It's called Bailey's Irish Cream. It's alcohol." She explained as she looked at the half empty bottle that she remembers finding full this morning. There were dark circles under her eyes and bags large enough to hold watermelons. She could only smile weakly as Ein began to bark. It woke Jet and prompted him to come out and see what all the noise was about. When he saw Alex with not only the coffee, but also the alcohol, he got worried real quick.
"Alex, you shouldn't drink like this." He said as he reached for the bottle. She beat him to it and grinned as she turned it about several times.
"How do you want me to drink then? Like this?" she asked as she picked it up and chugged down whatever was left, finishing every last drop before smashing the bottle on the floor into dozens of pieces. She began to cry hysterically as she threw her head down onto the table. Jet stood next to her, but crouched down to her level.
"Alex, I know it hurts, you of all people should know. Spike will come back alive sooner or later; it took him a couple of months to come back after he fought Vicious. He'll be back, don't worry. Now go take a hot shower, I'll give you some cash and you can go shopping." He said as he rubbed her back to comfort her. With a couple of sniffs, she nodded and headed off for their bedroom to get some clothes. Jet sighed and began to pick up the glass that was scattered about the floor when he heard a gunshot. "Oh god, tell me she didn't!" he said as he rant to her room. He saw her standing there with her personalized handgun pointed at her pillow. On the pillow was a picture of her and Spike with the glass shattered and a bullet-hole through where Spike's head should've been. She looked up at Jet and headed for the doorway after she tossed the gun to the bed.
"I feel a little better," she said as she walked past him. He heard her walk down the hallway and go into the bathroom. After hearing the water start, he sighed a sigh of relief.
"Spike, what have you done to this poor girl?" he asked the faceless picture as he took it in his hands. The glass only crumbled to the floor in response with a crystalline tinkle.