A/N: First and foremost, I must apologize for not updating for...two and a half months. At some point between now and then, I had actually written half of this chapter but then I got stuck on a certain part and my inspiration just crumbled. That and I procrastinate way too much. Well, in any case, here I present to you readers the fourth installment in this story. And let me tell you...I was up all night between one and five thirty finishing this chapter. But I had fun writing this!

Oh, and the section in italics is a flashback, in case anybody gets confused. Enjoy!

Warning: There is sexual content in this chapter, but not so much I don't think that this needs a rating change. Nothing graphic! But I think along the way in this story, I will make the rating higher to accompany the...intense contact between Spike and Faye. Well, as intense as my little heart can take. So, beware!

Disclaimer: Standard rules apply.


Chapter IV : The Fine Line Between You and Me


I walked into the living room and noticed Ed, Jet and Spike huddled around Ed's computer. I walked up to them and stood behind Jet, bending so I could peer over their heads at what they were being so enthralled in. It seemed that they had their sights set on a new bounty. This is the first bounty that any of us would go after in months, and I wanted to be the one to catch him.

I skimmed the information on the screen and when my eyes hit the bounty amount, I let out a low whistle, causing the three in front of me to jump. Backing away from them as they glared, I smiled and crossed my arms. "Were you planning on including me in this chase?" I asked and sat down on the couch next to Spike as he and Jet settled into their primary positions.

Spike gave me a sideways glance, and then returned his gaze towards the screen. "Where's Cailin?"

I shrugged and didn't look at him, instead reading the information. "Sleeping. This bounty is worth a lot. What did he do?" I asked to no one in particular.

Jet looked at me and said, "Says here that he conspired against his own organization and hacked into the main computer, sucking the company dry and shutting down the whole place."

I nodded and we watched as Ed gathered information that we needed in order to track him down. She searched for ten minutes and as the quiet tapping droned on against the straining silence, I groaned and leaned against the couch, staring up at the fan.

Just as I counted the thirtieth revolution of the fan blades, Ed's triumphant voice cut through the air – loudly.

"Ooh, lookie! Mr. Muschovitz likes to go on blind dates! Ed found an online dating service with his name there!"

I sat up and looked at the two men. "That's a perfect reason for me to go."

Spike wasn't hesitant to voice his disapproval. "No, you're not going," he said bluntly and defiantly, making me livid.

I turned to look at him and threw icy glares. "And why the hell not! What about all those other bounties that we went after before, huh? I was made to go out and whore myself to distract them, so why are you refusing me to go now?" My tone was rising, but I ignored Jet's warning.

I shook my head, not losing eye contact with Spike. "Give me one good reason why I can't go Spike. Is it because I'm now a mother? Is it because I'm too weak to be acting strong? Because I'm not sure what your reasons are, but I sure as hell know that you don't give a damn about my well being that much."

He set his jaw in a tight clench and I crossed my arms, refusing to back down from our argument. It made completely no sense why I couldn't go out on a mission that he very well knew I was perfect for.

"It's not like that, Faye," he said, his voice steady but low.

"Then what is it? I don't understand Spike." I turned to Jet. "Do you know why Spike is acting like this Jet? Is there some underlying message that I'm not aware of between you two?"

He ran a hand over his head and sighed deeply. "I think I might have a clue to his attitude Faye, but ultimately this is between you two. Honestly, I think that you're well enough and strong enough to go after this guy," he added, and I pursed my lips. It wasn't fair.

I set my eyes on Spike. "So, without me, how do you plan on catching this guy?"

He shrugged carelessly and replied, "Can't we just put random information down? He can believe that we're a woman and then get a gender surprise."

"You put information down, they check to see if it's legit or not. This system is far too careful about who puts what information down."

Jet looked at the screen that was now donned in red, and scraped at his scalp. "So they don't care about criminals?"

I shook my head. "They don't give a damn about who you are, just as long as their business doesn't suffer from it. It's a good place to snatch suckers up."

There was a pause between all four of us again, and I glowered in contempt at Spike's reasoning. What is so wrong with letting me go? Okay, so maybe I've let my guard down a little because of Cailin, but I'm still Faye Valentine. I could put on a game face whenever I want; I could still go after bounties.

"Maybe he's gay," Spike said after a while and I rolled my eyes.

"Good luck with ruining your reputation," I spat. There was a cry from my room and I stood up. "I'm done arguing."

I left the living area and walked to my room, still upset, but when I opened the door and found my daughter writhing with her face red and scrunched from screaming, I quickly pushed my anger away and brought forth my motherly instincts. I picked her up and started to bounce her against my shoulder, cooing and pleading with her to go back to sleep.

It's amazing how babies have no shame in letting everyone know what they want and showing their emotions. Leaving them bare and helpless. But that's their nature, and they have no control over it. But us adults, people who know better, are too guarded and have all these emotions pent up inside of us, with no way of letting them out that won't end up in an awful mess.

Too many times in this life on the Bebop, with Spike, have I screamed inside a bottle, wondering each time when it will crack and shatter, letting loose everything I worked so hard in hiding from him. All the anger. All the unwanted grief. All the stupid caring and worrying I've done. When he will finally know when enough's enough.

But no. Spike Spiegel is too obsessed in ruining his own life, finding answers to questions that don't matter, and existing when he wants the opposite to even consider the feelings of others, and thus ruining others lives in his own disillusioned quake.

That man just has every sense of calamity revolving around him, and there's no safe path around it. Just gotta brace yourself for flying debris and strong winds.

When Cailin finally calmed down, I let her rest against me and smiled when I heard her gurgling. I kissed her temple and stroked her green fuzz. It's still such a wonder how I actually was in possession of all this…compassion. All this love. Who knew it took a baby to bring out all these sensations in me?

I hummed her to sleep, and after I laid her back down in her crib, I walked over to my mirror next to the dresser and looked hard at the woman staring back at me. I sighed in annoyance at my recent lack of self-aestheticism and ran a hand through my hair, the length now at my back, making me look older. My eyes were outlined not in eyeliner, but in dark circles, and I glared, realizing how scary I looked.

The sight of my own reflection started bothering me, so I turned away and laid myself on my bed. I deserved a rest, and silently hoped that Cailin wouldn't wake up anytime soon.


Spike didn't know why he was awake, but he was and being awake found him wandering down the hallway at two in the morning. He usually didn't wake up to do nothing, and so it disturbed him that he was being pulled from his sleep with no reason. He was neither hungry nor bored.

He decided to check up on Cailin. He had rare moments alone with his daughter, and it irked him because Spike really was serious about fathering her. Faye was being stuck-up and it was starting to piss him off that she wouldn't let him hold her. He did know how to handle an infant, believe it or not. He just never had the chance. That and he was still quite wary of everything, feeling that if he as so much as looked at his daughter, she would dissolve into dust and everything that happened in the span of the last ten months would float away into space and forever be gone from his mind.

He frowned and was almost at Faye's door, pondering about whether he should actually go in or not. He hadn't been in her room since…well, it's been a while and it would be really awkward if she woke up to see him in there. But then, Faye's been sleeping since this afternoon, and she seemed really tired.

Spike scoffed. Since when did he start noticing Faye's wellness?

Don't kid yourself, Spike. Face it; ever since you've gotten Faye pregnant, you've been protective of her.

And since when did he start having a conscience?

He shook his head and decided to just go in. Screw Faye if she catches him. He has every right to hold his daughter. But when he got to her door, he took a step back and raised his brows. Well, she wasn't in there. Eh, that crosses out the risk of barging in when she's asleep.

Spike lost his interest though, and thought about just turning back towards his room, but then a soft rustling jarred his thoughts and without a second thought he stepped into Faye's room, the scent of her enveloping him in and wrapping long memories around his mind. But he shook his head of their reaching and refused to think of anything as he cautiously looked around. Her room was the same, but now more compacted together with the addition of Cailin's crib and a few more…junk, he mused as he kicked a diaper pack out of his way.

And when he reached the crib, he couldn't stop the smirk that erupted from his strange happiness. Cailin was sleeping; her small body sprawled across the crib bed with the blanket twisted around her, and her tiny face looked too innocent and too pure that it put him to shame. Spike peered down at her and studied the way she slumbered. It humbled him in a way to see his own flesh and blood like that, in such an angelic way that was the complete opposite of him. She was beautiful.

Spike's eyes roamed across her face, taking in all the features of her tiny face. Her green hair was in a fluff, he noticed amusingly, and right away he saw the resemblance of Faye in her soft angles.

As he put the blanket over her, he cogitated with humor how this baby made him…softer. Spike rolled his eyes. God, now he's really acting like a father. And what's even worse, before he left Cailin and Faye's room altogether, he bent down and gave her a kiss on her forehead, a motion that both scared and shocked Spike. Has he really changed this much? It scared Spike because he wasn't quite sure of what was becoming of his old cynicism, and these changes were starting to affect him in more ways than he would like to admit.

Which both explains and doesn't explain why he didn't want Faye going after that bounty. He knew she was able to go, and that she was the best candidate out of the three of them to have a good chance at catching him. But for some reason, he was very cagey of letting her go so soon after she gave birth.

She's probably too vulnerable, he thought to himself as he walked out of her room, nodding with vigor at his reasoning, trying to convince himself. She's probably not alert enough to be going out. She's going to be constantly thinking about Cailin and worrying more over her than the bounty. And then she'll let him go away, losing all the money that we will definitely need.

Obviously, he wasn't going to be getting sleep that night, so he decided to go onto the bridge to work on his sequences. He felt that he needed to sweat, to work off the stress that was indisputably starting to develop.

He looked up as he neared the end of the hallway and yet again was stopped in his tracks with astonishment. Not because of what he saw, but because of the memories that were suddenly rushing into his head at the moment, making him flustered, confused, annoyed, and…flushed.

Faye was standing there, looking out the curved window at one of Jupiter's moons, Leda, the pensive look on her face transporting Spike from the present to the past, back to ten and a half months ago, just after he returned to the Bebop.

Faye was standing there, with a cigarette in her mouth staring at the moon with a concentrated look on her face.

He had just returned the ship two weeks ago, an explanation for his whereabouts hanging in the air between all three of them, yet no one dared to grab at it, demanding Spike where he was for over a year. The level of awkwardness between the three of them was at its highest ever, but Spike kept his cool demeanor. He didn't care to share with the others what had happened on his vacation, and none of them had asked.

He had returned to the Bebop one night to find it empty. No noise; no grumbling and sizzling from the kitchen, no clicking of keys off Ed's Tomato – he didn't ask about how she came about this ship again -, no Faye complaining about…well anything, and not even a noise from Ein. He was out the whole day after a bounty – he had decided to get back in the habit – and now he returned to a silent ship. He should have been basking in the silence of the vicinity, but he thought it unusual that it would be so…quiet. He didn't see Jet's Hammerhead in the deck, but Faye's Redtail was.

Shrugging, he moved from the living area to the kitchen to see if anything was ready to eat, which he highly doubted, and his confirmations were clear when he opened the refrigerator to find nothing short of the ordinary: bell peppers and no beef.

With a sigh, Spike shut the door and decided to skip dinner that night, and the next few nights as well. Most likely there wouldn't be anything to eat besides bell peppers. Or dog food.

He quietly ventured around the ship, trying to make sense of all this. He couldn't find anyone, and he looked everywhere. Well, everywhere but the control room on the bridge. He was skeptical, but it was the last place on this damned ship that he had to search through. But he didn't quite believe that all four of them were in one room. Together.

He stuffed his hands in his pockets and was about to whistle some tune, but he stopped altogether in surprise at the sight in front of him.

Faye was standing there, with a cigarette in her mouth staring at the moon with a concentrated look on her face.

Spike quickly and silently dodged into the shadows of the hall. As unconcerned as he was, he didn't for some reason barge into Faye's space like he was used to doing, and instead cautiously watched her. He watched as she smoked her cigarette, probably one that was stolen from his pack, and stood there with one arm crossed over the other.

Ever since Spike had come back onto this ship, he didn't really muse over the changes that had occurred while he was gone. But now, with everything still and unmoving and him in the shadows, he actually studied Faye. Not for his own amusement, but because he noted something different about her.

Physically, she was the same, except she let her hair grow out and was now dangling below her shoulders. And surprisingly, she wasn't dressed in that outfit that resembled much like a prostitute's. Instead, Faye was wearing shorts and what seemed to be his shirt. His eyebrow quirked at that, and he made a note to comment about it later when things weren't so…serious.

As he looked over her, he also noticed how…mature she had seemed. He couldn't decipher what it was that made her seem older, but it was definitely there, and he could tell by the way she held her posture, the way her eyes held in more knowledge, losing its youthful and carefree sheen. He recalled her telling him that her memory returned to her the day he left, and he wondered if that was what made Faye seem so much like an adult.

This change was slight but so obvious, it made Spike wonder about Faye's life altogether. She had been so guarded about herself, it seemed impossible to even get a smidgen of a tale from her life before, if there ever was one. He thought back to the story she had told Ein and unknowingly him a while back, about when she awoken and her brief life before coming aboard the Bebop. Of course he hadn't believed her because then it was so difficult to know when or if Faye was telling the truth. Then there was that video that showed a girl so strikingly familiar to Faye, the possibility of it being her was great. Finally, there was the day he left and she revealed that her memories returned to her, but he disregarded that, with other things on his mind.

So, in actuality, he never really knew Faye. She was just a woman onboard whom he couldn't stand with no purpose in life who chased bounties with he and Jet and wasn't useful at all when it came to the maintenance of the ship. And she stole their money and spent it all at the casinos. That was all. Nothing more and nothing less. Or rather, that was how Spike saw it. He had no reason to gain knowledge about her life, and he didn't really have an interest in it either. Whatever she did wasn't his problem.

So now, coming across Faye like this, he marveled about this woman standing a few yards away from him. It was actually awkward, in his position. What right did he have wanting to know about that shrewd of a woman living on this ship, when they obviously weren't on any terms, much less speaking?

With a shake of his head, Spike came to the conclusion that he wasn't thinking right, and turned to walk away. Apparently, he had found his answer to whether or not anyone was on this ship and didn't want to further his investigation. But before he took a step, Faye's voice rang through the room and the hall like a sudden cold front, freezing Spike to his spot. Her tone was sharp and edgy, different from her usual annoyed drawl.

"Now that you're done spying on me, have any questions?"

Spike turned his head towards her, but she wasn't looking at him; in fact, she looked the way he had found her, as if she hadn't spoken at all.

It was useless for him to stand around in the dark any longer, so he stepped away from the shadows and into the bright light of the moon, not taking a step forward, but not a step backwards. His hands were in his pockets and he shrugged, glancing at the moon, its entirety huge and taking up the whole view from the windows.

"Should I?" he asked, his voice void of any emotion.

This time, Faye turned around and glared at him. She threw her cigarette on the ground and without breaking contact with his eyes, ground it out. "You're an asshole, Spike," she spat, the anger in her eyes replacing the look of stillness he had seen not even five minutes ago.

He smirked. "Nothing I haven't heard before. Where's everyone else?"

She walked over to where he stood and stopped directly in front of him leaving only three inches between them. "Why should I tell you? What good will that do when you don't listen to me at all?"

He frowned at her sudden rage against him. "What's wrong with you?"

Her eyes widened at his query and she shoved him, causing Spike's own anger to peak. "What's wrong with me? What the hell kind of question is that? What's wrong with you? Do you honestly believe that coming back onto this ship will be an easy thing to do? What, like riding a bike again? Dammit Spike, why did you have to come back? Things were better to handle knowing that you were gone."

So she was angry that he was suddenly back. He raised an eyebrow. "So what, you want me to leave again?" He really didn't want to leave, and even if Faye said she wanted him to, he probably wouldn't.

She cried out in frustration. "Yes! No! God, I don't know!" Then she shoved him again. "You're such a dickhead! You think that you can come back and pick up where you left off, playing second in command again?" And another shove. "You come back unexpectedly and somehow expect Jet and I – hell, even Ed – to welcome you back with open arms? You're back for two and a half weeks already and not once did you say anything about what happened! We're not fucking mind readers, stupid!"

"You want the truth? Then I'll give you the fucking truth! I left, I went off to find Vicious, kill him, and in return got not death, but life again. Not heaven, but this hell again. For the six months after that I was unconscious. And after that, I was busy getting all my joints to work again. There, is that what you want?"

Faye looked at him accusingly. "And in the past six months you didn't care to call. At least let us know that we buried a missing body for nothing!"

Spike scoffed. "Yeah, as if you wanted me to call."

She shook her head and laughed bitterly. "You are a selfish bastard, you know that? Oh boohoo, you couldn't be with your angel and so you decide to shun yourself from people who actually cared! You fought your last battle and found that it didn't go as according to plan, and now you're too good to let us know that you were alive? Oh, great plan Spike!"

He was now angry. Angry because Faye had no right to say those things, and more because what she was saying was true. He glared down at her. "Don't you dare accuse me of being selfish when you have been nothing but that ever since you've set foot on this ship. I fought for a cause that you couldn't possibly understand! At least I had something to die for!"

"I don't give a shit about your petty reasons for running off, Spike! I give a shit about the fact that you abandoned me and Jet!" she screamed at him, her eyes glazing over with ire. Then, she gave a tired and cynical laugh. "It really is a pity you couldn't be with Julia. You two were perfect for each other; recklessly abandoning those who actually gave a damn," she said coldly.

Spike snapped. In the next instant, he had backed Faye against the wall and was towering over her, practically pinning her body down with his. She had poured acid in his opened wounds and rubbed the pain in until it was unbearable.

Their faces were an inch apart and both were breathing heavy out of anger and despair. Spike gritted his teeth and tried to regain control of his anger, but it was no use. He was seeing red. How dare Faye make assertions about him, about his life and about his heart? She didn't know what had gone on in his final encounter with Vicious, and she didn't know about Julia.

But she was right, and he hated that. He was furious because she saw through him and caught him on it. He was furious because she told the truth and the truth bit him on the heel, not letting go.

Faye glared at him. "Fuck you Spike Spiegel," she spat at him through clenched teeth.

He glanced down at her and tilted his head slightly, throwing her an arrogant smirk. "Fuck you too."

He didn't know what happened in the next second, or hell, next millisecond, but suddenly Faye jumped at him and he wasn't surprised to find that he met her halfway. Their lips collided against each other and began their assault on each other, tongues attacking in their own swordfight.

Spike was beyond any logical thinking. He was unbelievably infuriated and frustrated to no end. If neither of them acted out this way, then there probably would be blood shed at this point. He needed to transport his anger somewhere other than violence, and Faye was just…there. Her body was pressed too close to his and with their heavy breathing, he could feel her breath on his face and the way her chest moved against his. He didn't know what else to do.

But caught up in the moment, he let his anger slip away into lust and soon found no reason to pull away. His frustration branched into another kind and now he couldn't stop himself. Especially now when Faye's legs encircled his waist, decreasing the distance between them to none at all, and he now used the wall to support both their weights. Their kisses were to the point now where they were brutal, his lips violently crushed against hers and vice versa. She was rubbing against him and it was driving him crazy. Now, his mind was shut off and he let his desire take over. He needed this escape, now.

Faye was now trying to remove his jacket while bestowing kisses against Spike's jaw, and realizing what she was doing, he removed them off the wall and quickly walked to the nearest door in that hallway to them and kicked it open. The scent of Faye overpowered him and he noted faintly that they were in her room. He went over to the bed and set Faye down at the edge, bending over her and setting his hands on either side of her, gripping the mattress .

She set about finishing what she started and roughly pushed the suit jacket down his shoulders and arms. Then, she started on his shirt, hastily undoing the buttons, trying to concentrate with Spike nipping at her earlobe, kissing her around her ear and down her jaw line, making Faye's skin quiver.

Finally, his shirt was off and now she raised herself on her knees so she was eye level with Spike and instantly set her mouth against the curve of his neck, in the hollow of his collarbone. Her hands went to his chest and she ventured, her lips following the trail of her exploring hands, mouth hot against his body, tasting him.

Spike took the hem of her shirt and tugged until Faye pulled away from him and lifted her arms as he slid the shirt over them, exposing her to him. She crushed up against him again, now skin against skin as she took his mouth, her tongue imploring his mouth against his tongue.

Soon after, the rest of their clothing had been discarded and now their bodies were in absolute contact with each other. Hands and mouths explored each other's entirety, small investigating scars and hard ridges of lean muscle, rough against smooth milky dips and curves. That night, Spike and Faye stripped down to the core of their fury and shared a similar vulnerability only each other could understand. And leaving their skeletons in the closet and every other damn thing in the closet, they used each other to release a certain sentiment. They shared heat and breath and experienced the passion that had been bottling up between them for the longest time.

As they brought the other to their climax – the first of many that night – they couldn't help but feel something surge deep in their hearts, a constant hum in their veins and hearts, increasing each time Spike and Faye looked at one another in the eyes, something more than lust transferring among them that night.

And for the first time ever in the history of the Bebop, Faye and Spike shared a bed that night.