As Alex walked down the hallway to the living area, Spike caught up with her.

"What's going on? What's with the dye?" Alex didn't even look up.

"It's Blade again." Spike stopped in his tracks as Alex kept walking. He couldn't help but cringe and clench his teeth.

"What now," Spike asked as he caught up with Alex. She walked through the living area and into their room.

"He went to the ISSP and put a bounty out on my head again. Except if it's a member of the ISSP that gets me, the whole fleet gets the reward. Jet didn't say what it was they get rewarded, but if the entire fleet is after me, it must be huge." Alex was in their room by now, going through the closet looking for the dye she bought. When she found the package, she pulled it out. On the front of the box was a picture of a girl with vibrant crimson colored hair. Spike's eyes damn near popped out of his head.

"Is that the color?" he asked as she opened the box and pulled out three bottles, two with the coloring chemicals and one with conditioner. She looked at him.

"You don't like it?"

"No, no... it's just... I've never seen you with anything but blond and red is a big change from blond." He said quickly. She looked at him for a moment but then smiled weakly.

"You'll like it, trust me. And if not I'll change it back before the wedding." She picked up the bottles and the gloves that also came out of the box and walked to the bathroom. She wrapped a towel around her shoulders and mixed the two coloring bottles as Spike watched from the doorway. It looked to him as if she was squeezing thick blood out of the bottle and onto her scalp, which made him uneasy considering what he went through only a few weeks before. After she got it all on and worked into her hair, she slipped on a plastic bag over it and walked out of the bathroom.

"What now?" he asked as she sat down on the couch. She looked up at him, still shaken by the fact she was now a bounty and everyone was after her. He could see it in her eyes it was bothering her.

"Now I wait until I have to rinse it out, then I'll have red hair." She said. It was in her voice too, the worry and fear hung on every word, every syllable. He sat on the table, directly in front of her, placing his hands on her knees.

"I don't want to wait any longer to get married Alex, I almost died before I could ask you to be my wife, I don't want to risk losing you again." He said looking into her ice blue eyes. She returned his gaze and tried to smile for him, but she couldn't find it anywhere.

"I don't want you to get involved with this all over again Spike, please just lie low while Jet and I take care of it, please?" Tears began to flow as she spoke. He smiled as he wiped them away for her.

"Alex, I've been involved with the Red Dragon for years, this time isn't making much of a difference. When I fought Vicious and almost died doing so, I had nothing to live for. Julia was dead and there was nothing left for me. Now I know why I lived. I lived so I could meet you," he said as a smile warmed his face. The sight of his happiness made her crack a grin and eventually widen to a matching smile. Spike moved his hands up to her shoulders and rubbed them vigorously. "The way I felt for Julia, it's nothing like how I feel for you. I just wanted to be with her, she was a beautiful woman. You, Alex, you're more than just a beautiful woman. You're beautiful, smart, talented, funny, AND you can kick my ass. I love a woman that can kick my ass, and you look great doing it!" he chuckled. His joking was working; he was lightening her mood as easily as the dye was working on her hair. When she finally stopped laughing enough, Spike ended his little speech. "The point is Alex, I just wanted to be with Julia, I don't know if I wanted to marry her, I didn't know if I ever would want to. But you, you're everything I want and more. I love you Alexis Maria Roselynn Bondora, I really truly do." She could feel the tears welling in her eyes as he finished. With a smile, she leaned in and kissed him as he did the same. His hands ran up her shoulders, one stopping at her neck, the other on her cheek, stroking her soft skin with his fingers. After a few moments and a few quick nips back and forth, they parted and just sat with each other for a while. About half an hour later, Alex looked up at the clock and jumped.

"I gotta get this stuff out of my hair," she said as she carefully pulled the bag off her head. Her hair tried to fall down from the way it was wrapped up, but she held it in place with the bag until she got to the bathroom. Spike was right on her tail as she got in and knelt over the bathtub. The water ran red as soon as it hit her hair, bright blood red.

"Are you alright?" he asked, it looked a little too much like blood. She chuckled.

"I'm fine Spike, just grab the bottle of conditioner that came with the kit," she said as she continued running her fingers through her hair under the water. He walked off to find the bottle when he ran into Jet.

"Where's Alex?"

"She's in the bathroom washing the dye out of her hair, why?" Spike answered.

"I was just going to let her know we'll be landing soon. What color is she?"

"Red."

"Red? How red?"

"She says crimson colored."

"Oh."

"Red like Edward?" Ed jumped in. Spike looked down.

"No, red like... darker than Ein's collar." He answered.

"Oh." Ed answered before speeding off to the bathroom to see. Jet walked back up to the ship's bridge and Spike found the conditioner. He took it back, almost tripping over Ed into the bathroom where the water ran clear through Alex's hair. He tapped her shoulder and handed her the bottle. She massaged the conditioner in and then rinsed it out after a few minutes of it sitting in her hair. The water was turned off and her hair was soaking wet and a dark crimson. She wrapped her hair in a towel and was followed by both Spike and Ed to the bedroom where she quickly ran a comb through it and then started drying it with her hairdryer. After it was about halfway done, Ed lost interest and left, shutting the door behind her. A few minutes later, it was dry and Spike watched in amazement as she ran her fingers through it, played with it, and then whirled around to show him. It looked amazing on her.

"Wow." Was all he could say at the moment.

"Wow? That's what I get?" she asked as she walked up to him and stood in front of him. He grabbed her by the waist and pulled her down to him, straddling his lap, facing him.

"That's all I can think of to say at the moment, I'm sorry." He smiled as he kissed her. She began to giggle.

"But you know what the best part of this stuff is?" she said interrupting his kiss. He smiled at her.

"What, love?" She took a thick strand between her thumb and forefinger and held it under his nose. He inhaled and was rewarded with the soft sweet-smelling scent of roses. As he closed his eyes and inhaled again, she giggled.

"Smells good huh?" He smiled at her.

"Smells as beautiful as you look." He said as he pulled her back to lie down on top of him. He held her close as she playfully tried to get back up. She lightly beat his chest and pulled on his arms to let her go.

"Oh come on Spike! Lemmie go!" she laughed. He kissed all over her neck and collarbone, even taking a quick nip at her earlobes. Her laughter slowly subsided and she began to play his game as well, tilting her head to allow him to kiss her neck more, releasing breathy sighs. He bit down lightly on her sensitive skin which prompted her to seize up for a moment.

"Sorry, that was a little hard." He apologized as he pulled back to look her in her eyes. She giggled but then looked back at him with the most seductive look he had ever seen her give anyone.

"It felt good though." She said with a hint of 'Do it again, I dare you.' in her voice. He smiled as her forehead met his and the tips of their noses rubbed. After a few moments, their noses rubbed right past each other and they were sucking, nipping, and even biting at each other's lips again. Spike's hands wandered all over. They ran over her shoulders, all around her neck, her arms, but careful not do go anywhere near her breasts. He wasn't sure about any moves ha made on her because of her past, he was afraid to rush her into anything. She became aware of how he kept away, but she wanted him to touch her, they belonged to each other now, they were almost man and wife. She pulled back for a moment.

"What's wrong?" Spike asked as she withdrew, supporting herself on her own arms that were on the bed just above his shoulders.

"Spike, please don't be afraid to touch me. What happened years ago is just that, it happened years ago and it's done and over with. You don't have to be careful about what you do to me. Please, don't hold back your love." She said as she brought herself down into his neck again and nuzzled before she began to breathe on his soft skin, and then kiss him softly. Spike was glad she noticed. He was glad to know he didn't have to hold back like he did. He didn't mind most of the time, but this was a welcome relief for him. With her approval now, his hands ran down her shoulders again and slowly took a turn towards her breasts. As his palms stopped over them and his fingers slowly curved around them, squeezing lightly, caressing and massaging them gently. As he did this, her breath became sharp and her breathing became heavier. In response she took a sharp bite at his neck, just above his collarbone. He inhaled sharply, but the pain quickly receded, giving away to pleasure that rocketed through him. He slowly ran his hands down to her stomach and then daringly under her shirt, slowly pulling it up around her stomach, then around the small of her back, but then even slower up further to uncover her breasts, which looked about ready to tumble out of her black satin bra. As she worked his neck, he palmed her breasts, and then massaged them with his whole hands. As her kissing and biting grew hungrier, he knew he was pleasing her. He reached around her back to the hook and eye latch that held the strapless bra around her. As it slowly fell away and the chilled air swept over her bare chest, her nipples began to instantly harden. His palm ran over them and then just his thumbs as he strummed them. Her breathing became heavier on his neck, but then she kissed down along his jaw and back to his lips, sucking and biting hungrily, as if he had just turned up the dial on how ferocious she could become. Her hands now began to run up and down his chest and abs. He clenched the muscles in response to her touch, it was that powerful. The both of them knew where this was heading and it looked like it was heading that way at quite a fast pace. Spike pulled back from Alex, both panting from all the stimulation.

"Are you sure about this Alex? It's up to you. I'm not pushing." He said as he began to catch his breath. Her eyes looked at him and sparkled as she smiled and even slightly chuckled.

"Spike, I'll soon have your last name, I love you." She said as she looked into his eyes. To his surprise, she then wrestled off her shirt, she was topless above him. With all seriousness in her eyes, he knew she wanted to do this. He waited a moment before cracking a grin and striking the inside of one of her elbows that supported her. As she toppled down to one side, he flipped her over until he was the one above her. As he rose to his knees on either side of her hips, he stripped his shirt off. She watched with a wide smile as he stood up off the bed and tossed the shirt to the hamper, but the tie still hanging loosely around his neck.

"Off with the tie?" he asked as he took it in hand. She pondered a minute and then nodded. The tie came off and was tossed away. She sat up on the bed and held herself up by her arms, watching him; the way his muscles rippled, the way he moved. He moved to stand before her, the way she did only a few minutes earlier. "You're sure about this Alex? It can wait if you need more time." He said. She smiled and shook her head.

"I'm ready Spike. Don't worry about me please?" she said with a slight smile. He leaned over and smiled, and to her surprise, he scooped her up in his arms and laid her on the bed so she would fit; her head resting on the pillow as he let her down. He wished he had more time, but if she wanted to do it now, that was fine with him. The question was, was she really ready for it?