DISCLAIMER: My sister was bitten by a ostrich once... Seriously. It followed our car around the wildlife park trying to get her for half an hour. It was wierd. Anyway, Spike's not mine, nor are any of the other characters of Cowboy Bebop. I only can lay claim to Tilly. She's my bit of brilliance. Oh! And her father! He's mine too.

Thanks to all of you who msgd and reviewed. I really love all the feedback! Thank you!


After a month or so had gone by the whole crew had settled into a routine of sorts. For the most part Tilly remained on the ship because of the bounty still on her head, but she and Jet worked together occasionally. At times, Tilly, Ed and Faye would team up to bring down some of the more obnoxious male bounties. Faye called it community service.

Tilly and Spike carefully avoided each other, hardly speaking beyond necessary niceties and the occasional morning sparring match. After the first night, and the morning after, they both seemed to have decided that far away from each other was the best place to be.

Tilly's first morning on the Bebop

5:57a.m.

Tilly's father had trained her with rigid discipline in her formative years, and the twins had kept her from having much free time during the day. Continuing her daily exercises had kept part of him alive and with her. Practicing early in the morning kept her free all day to take care of the kids and to work now and again.

Going through the fluid movements of her morning routine kept thoughts of home at bay and forced her to concentrate on her body. That muscle –there! That one needed stretching. As the digital numbers switched to 6:00 Tilly entered the final movements of her workout.

She swept her arms over her head and down to one side of her hips in a flower burst. Pulling both arms straight behind her back and parallel to the floor she crouched low to a defensive stance, birdlike in appearance as one leg balanced her, shooting straight forward along the ground. She pushed off her back leg to a releve, throwing a double punch to the solar plexus of her imaginary foe. A high roundhouse pushed her releve to a solid heel, which allowed her to spin-kick followed quickly by a low sweep of her arms up into another chest blow with the heels of both hands. Had the air been a person, she would have totally thrashed.

Tilly pulled herself up into the ready position, and then straightened to stand normally, taking a deep breath, the workout finished.

"I was never any good at that style."

With a small yelp Tilly spun around, hand to heart. She quickly dropped her hand in annoyance, though she continued to breathe heavily, first from exertion, now from shock. She narrowed her eyes and worked to calm her breathing, saying nothing as Spike leaned in the doorway of the hangar, smiling. Small strands of hair had come loose from her braid, framing her face and clinging to her neck. Behind Tilly, across the bay, the sun had begun to rise and Spike was bathed in a vermillion light.

"You're good. Where'd you learn to move like that?"

Her breathing under control now, she half answered him. "Thank you. That style is better suited to a woman."

Spike smiled and didn't push his questions.

"Particularly a small woman."

With a decidedly unladylike snort, Tilly walked over to the door, standing even with Spike.

"Let's call a spade a spade, Spiegel. I'm short."

"You aren't hurting for it," he replied making his own way onto the deck. "Do you always get such an early start?" Shrugging Tilly sat down as he began his own workout.

"The twins woke up around seven most mornings. I had to have baths and food ready, and after breakfast was a whole day of running and doing. I just got used to getting up early to get in my own time. I never feel quite right if I don't… Anyway, early morning was the only time, since the twins were such early risers. A trait I'd been told they inherited from heir father-" Tilly stopped speaking, horrified that she had almost said too much. She glanced up at Spike to gauge his reaction. He had kept going through his warm-up, though, and Tilly sighed in relief. "In any event, it's a habit now, so…"

Spike was quiet for a few minutes and Tilly watched him, making mental notes on corrections he should make, knowing she would never tell him. She recognized the jumps and movements her father had probably drilled into him and was surprised by others Gavin Dowe would have smacked Spike for even thinking about.

"You miss them." His statement pulled her thoughts back to the present. She knew this was the closest he would ever get to mentioning last night's meltdown. Tilly took a deep breath and answered.

"Logically I know they're safe. They're far away and safe. But I keep forgetting. I look around wondering which way is their room. Any minute now they should be coming down to find me and trying to talk me out of their daily bath." Tilly stood and walked over to the edge of the deck. She sat, dangling her legs over the side and stared at the rising sun's reflection on the water. "When I agreed to take them, it was just supposed to be temporary. I quickly realized, though, that their mother was too deep for her to come back any time soon, so I got used to them. I began to dread the thought that she might come for them. And now.. they're… and I can't…" Tilly's voice broke as she fought the tears, determined not to repeat last night's performance. "I didn't even get to tell them… to say…" She stopped, unable to continue. She exhaled a deep, shaking breath, willing the tears not to fall.

"Who's the mother?"

Tilly gasped and froze, not daring to exhale. She couldn't lie to him. Spike was too smart for that. But how to tell the truth without telling everything?

"If it's taking you this long to think up a lie, don't bother."

She turned to face him and nearly fell off the ship at the sight of him standing over her. He had apparently stopped his workout and had a half-smoked cigarette in his mouth. Tilly hadn't even heard him light up.

"I'll figure it out sooner or later." He backed up and leaned against the tire of his Swordfish. "And when I do," he continued, staring at the cherry, "you'll owe me some details."

Tilly barked a laugh, pained and sharp its harshness registered with them both. Tilly stood and made her way across the deck into the hangar.

"Spiegel, when you figure it out, you'll have all the details."

Back to the present.

"Ai, Dios. All you bounty hunters in the Sol Solar System, how are y'all doing?" Punch, the host of the worst bounty hunting show ever seen, was giving the worst impression of a Mexican cowboy ever heard. At his side was the most pathetic sidekick ever seen.

"God. It's like watching Faye with a dye job and a lobotomy," Tilly muttered.

"Hey!" Faye shouted. Tilly ducked the pillow aimed at her head. On screen, the blonde continued.

"Once again, it's time for BIG SHOT!" Insane giggles erupted from her vaselined smile as her breasts threatened to do the same from behind her barely closed blouse.

"Well, pardners, we have two very unique bounties this week, don't we, Judy?"

Judy gave another maniacal giggle and nodded her head, humming an assent.

"Am I the only woman who wears normal shirts anymore?" Tilly slid down off the arm of the couch and landed almost on top of Spike. He gave her a pointed look - rather, he gave her chest a pointed look and Tilly responded with an elbow to his ribs, sliding down further to sit on the floor with Ed. Spike watched her back for a moment, fighting the urge to run his fingers through her ponytail.

"That's right folks," Punch continued. "This week we got a double bounty."

Faye's complaining over Tilly's comment had become a loud argument between her and Jet. Turning around at the noise, Tilly and Spike made the mistake of laughing. Faye launched herself across Jet at the two of them, and Spike fell back on top of Tilly. Ed dashed under the table to hide with Ein, and Tilly was trying to push Spike off as Faye and Jet stumbled and landed on top of them both, pushing the air out of Tilly's lungs. She felt as though her eyeballs were about to pop out when Spike began fighting back. Tilly wriggled herself out from the bottom and into a sitting position and started pulling Jet off the top of the pile. On the TV the show continued.

"Who's this guy?" Judy's disgusted voice barely registered. "I feel sorry for him."

"That's not a man, pendeja! That's a scarf!" That caught Tilly's attention and she ignored the others to watch the show.

"Oh! It's very pretty! Let's show the pictures. She's pretty."

"SHUT UP!" Tilly screamed. Instantly the commotion in her lap stopped and all eyes became glued to the TV as a split screen of the two bounties comes up.

"Holy shit."

Jet and Faye backed away onto the couch and Spike swung himself around to sit up on the floor beside Tilly.

"Looks like that scarf Vicious is always wearing," Faye said as the shock of seeing Tilly's face on TV registered with the group.

"And here's the payoff, ladies and cowboys. This scarf is worth a privately funded bounty of 20,000,000 woolong. The girl is apparently the reason the scarf is gone."

"That son of a bitch," Tilly hissed. "He set me up."

"The girl," Punch continues, "is worth a record 200,000,000 million woolong!"

"Geeze," the blond gushed. "I could buy a lot of shoes with that!"

"That's right!" A hand reached in from off screen with a note for Punch to read.

"Oh! And here's the best part, amigos. You only get one bounty if you bring in both, making this a total bounty of 220,000,000 woolong! For that much I might go after her myself-"

The screen went blank. Spike lanced over and saw Jet setting the remote back onto the table. Tilly simply stared at the blank screen. The levity in the room had died, and no one moved or spoke. At last, Tilly stood and stepped over Spike. She froze in place a moment before moving to leave the room.

"Tilly." Spike's hand on her wrist stopped her. "You had to know he would come looking for you."

"The minute I knew who you were," she whispered.

"Then why take his scarf?" Jet's accusatory tone pierced her. She pulled free of Spike's grasp and continued out the door.

"Tilly!" She stopped and turned, her eyes burning, and looked met the faces of the people who had risked their own lives to save hers. She took a deep breath to calm herself, and told the truth.

"It wasn't his. It was mine. I found it in my coat as Shin took me to meet Annie." Tilly paused a moment, bittersweet memories flashing before her eyes. "I didn't take it. I thought he was giving it back." Her voice had dropped to a murmur. Spike clenched his jaw at the tender expression in Tilly's eyes as she spoke of Vicious. Spike began to hate Vicious anew.

On Mars

Vicious paced slowly in his office, looking as though he were merely taking an afternoon stroll. Inside his mind, though, thoughts and options rolled unceasingly.

Why had Tilly left? Why had she gone back to Spike? Vicious sneered at the thought of his enemy. His bane. Why him? She hadn't gone back to those brats of hers. Sarah would have informed him.

Spinning to walk the opposite direction across the office, Vicious dismissed the idea of using the kids as bait. There was no telling how dangerous Tilly was. She could be lethal, but her jobs were all been controlled situations. She had never killed in anger before, only for money. She hadn't left, he was certain, for hatred of him, nor for love of Spike. Vicious had sensed none of the lies he had felt with Julia. No, using the children would only make her mad, and hurting them would send her on a killing spree. Few of his men would be able to survive her. There was no way of telling how many tricks she had picked up from her father. An angry woman was a dangerous thing. An angry assassin was hell on earth.

"Excuse me, Vicious." Shin stood in the doorway. Shin… Vicious was fairly certain he had helped her leave, but he couldn't prove it.

"What is it?" Vicious strode around his desk to stand gazing out the window.

"The bounty has just gone out and reports are beginning to come in. We should have her back soon."

"Good," Vicious replied evenly. "Any news on our other missing person? Have you found her yet?"

Shin took a slow breath before answering.

"Nothing yet."

Without moving, Vicious responds in a deceptively friendly voice. "Keep looking."

On the Bebop

"So, the bounty hunters protect the bounty. Again."

"Give it a rest, Faye." Jet mumbled as he moved back to the chair. Spike never looked up as Faye swung her legs up over him onto the couch, lighting up.

"How long is all I want to know."

Spike stood and took the cigarette from her mouth, ignoring her protest. Taking a deep drag he moved to sit on the table.

"How long what?" he asked.

"How long are we gonna have to keep this kid safe? Even Ed can look after herself."

"So can Tilly," Jet responded. He had seen her in action on the hunt, and had quickly come to see Tilly as a sister. "She's smart and tough. She doesn't need our protection. She needs our support."

Faye snorted and lit another cigarette for herself. "The last thing any of us on this ship ever do is offer support."

"Nobody's making you to stay, Faye."

Faye gasped and sat up in shock as Spike ground out his cigarette, watching the smoke rise. He hadn't said much, but the steel in his voice was unmistakable. Faye's eyes widened as she looked over at Jet and realized from his expression that if it became a choice between Faye and Tilly, she'd be the one sent packing. The pain in her chest was almost unbearable when she looked back at Spike to see him regarding her with an inscrutable look. He met her gaze for an instant and then stood to leave. At that moment, the delicate threads that had held Faye back for so long snapped.

"But you are making her stay, right? Anything it takes. What makes her so special? Why ask her to stay?"

Jet nearly spoke up to stop her, but thought better of it. Certain questions had been rolling in the back of his mind, and now they began to fit together in one hell of an answer.

Spike halted in his progress to the door and turned back to face Faye, his face a mask, but his eyes betraying the fire inside.

"She's a lead. She's in trouble. And I can't let her leave."

Shocked by his own response, Spike spun away and left the sitting room. Faye was shaking so violently from anger and hurt that her cigarette dropped its cherry. Silence filled the room as the bud of fire rolled off the edge of the couch to the floor. Jet's leg reached forward to snuff it with the toe of his boot.

"He doesn't like it either, Faye," he said softly. Slowly her head turned to face him, her eyes brimming with unshed tears. "He didn't plan this. He has enough troubles. She's thrown us all for a loop."

Faye broke.

"Who asked you? What do I care? Just because the two of you have fallen for her poor pathetic act doesn't mean I buy it." Faye stood and stalked toward the nearest exit. At the sound of Jet chuckling behind her she whirled around and stared him down, venom in her eyes.

"You know your problem?" he asked. Without really waiting for an answer Jet continued. "You think it's a competition. But she's not fighting you. She hasn't even realized the extent of the situation." Jet lit a cigarette and inhaled a deep drag to gather his courage before he persisted. "Spike fell for Tilly back in the alley. He's just now figuring it out."

Faye sank onto the couch, her eyes dead as the anger left her. "What happens when he finds Julia?" Faye's voice was soft and wooden. A sad smile crossed Jet's lips.

"I'm sure that thought haunts them both. Better question for you," Jet boomed as he stood, crushing out his cigarette. "What happens when Vicious finds her? Two men trying to hold on to Tilly, and they're already trying to kill each other over another woman. Should make for an interesting night."

Faye's eyes widened in comprehension and a cruel smile spread across her face. "Why Jet," she drawled. "I thought you were all about keeping the peace?"

Jet chuckled again, shrugging. Faye's face fell as another thought occurred to her.

"Is she in love with him?"

"I don't think she knows it yet, but yeah, she is." Jet exhaled as he made his way out of the room. His last words brought an angry screech from Faye. "Just like you."

Faye snapped the cigarette between her fingers, shaking in anger once more as Jet's footsteps echoed down the hall. Standing slowly a hard look entered her eye. Slowly her body ceased its trembling and she finally exited the room, going off in search of Tilly.

Beneath the table Ed, forgotten in all the turmoil, held Ein about the neck, grinning, none of the conversation lost on her. She beamed at the thought of Tilly and Spike.