Chapter Four: The Beauty of My Surroundings


Slipped out the back door like a thief
I was looking for my getaway ride
I was trying to escape the alarms
That were still going off inside
I took off my disguise
And I took a look around
And the sky was a thousand shades of gray
And the city swarmed a few feet away
And in my haste to find a way around things
I was caught by the beauty of my surroundings

-The Swallows


The fan overhead buzzed as it spun lazily. Spike sat on the yellow couch turning a playing card over and over again in his hand. The deck sat neatly stacked on the coffee table next to the ashtray.

The smell of shitake stir-fry drifted into the room from the kitchen. He heard the mushrooms hiss followed by the sound of Jet's spatula scraping against the pan.

"You need to fix your fan."

Instead of an answer he heard the clatter of ceramic bowls and silverware. The hissing stopped and was immediately replaced by dead silence.

Spike reached for the pack of cigarettes on the table. He flipped the top open and sighed as he stared into the empty carton.

"And we're out of cigarettes."

Jet appeared around the corner with two bowls of stir-fry in hand.

"You've got money. What happened to the ten thousand you got for our last bounty?"

"Spent it."

Jet raised an eyebrow, then walked over to the couch to hand Spike the bowl and a fork.

"You spent it? On what?"

"Tracking down the girl."

"So you found her?"

"You could say that."

Jet said nothing and settled into the couch next to him. Spike turned the card over in his hands again. Jet had a way of eking every detail out of a story even without saying a word. He'd simply wait until the silence became awkward enough. Frankly, it pissed Spike off to no end.

Spike prodded at his food with his fork for a moment before cautiously taking a bite. The mushrooms were soft and spongy. The texture made him feel nauseous. Or maybe –

"She's married," he said.

Jet shrugged, "Yeah?"

"I saw her at the reception. She's married to some guy named Kennedy."

"Luke Kennedy?" Jet asked.

Spike smirked. Now he had him interested. "That's the one. Guy's slick – a real smooth operator."

"And real rich. The wealthiest man on Mars – or so I hear."

"What's he do?"

"I'm not sure," Jet said, placing his bowl on the table and leaning back into the couch. "I think he's a business tycoon or something."

"I imagine that debt of hers has all but disappeared. You should have seen her, Jet. Decked out in diamonds from head to toe."

"And somehow you're surprised by all this?"

Spike shrugged.

"She couldn't get what she wanted from us. She was bound to get that cash from someone else. A girl like that's not going to wait for a wealthy man to just fall in her lap, you know."

"Yeah."

Spike kicked his feet up onto the coffee table and placed his hands behind his head. He still couldn't wrap his mind around it. The woman he saw at the reception was Faye. She looked so unlike how he remembered her – long, curly hair, rail-thin with a slender, gently curving neck, and deep-set emerald eyes hidden by long lashes and black mascara. Yet there was something familiar about her. Something he couldn't put his finger on, but something that was undoubtedly, genuinely Faye. He sighed and ran a hand through his thick hair.

"So?" Jet asked.

"So, what?"

"So is she coming or not?"

"Oh, she's coming. Probably had to work over that husband of hers, but she's coming."

"When?"

"Hell if I know."

Another long pause. Spike stared blankly at the empty vid screen in front of him until Jet broke the silence.

"What'd she say?"

"About what?"

"About you. Being alive."

"She said she knew all along. They asked her to ID the body."

"How did she know?"

"Didn't say."

Jet grunted, crossing his arms over his chest, "You think she told anyone?"

Spike just shrugged and continued to stare ahead.

"All this trouble just so you could drop off the Red Dragons' radar screen, and she'd be the one to screw it up and blow your cover."

"You say it like it surprises you somehow."

Jet uncrossed his arms, bringing his good hand to his chin. "She's bluffing. She has to be bluffing."

"If it concerns you so much maybe you shouldn't have sent me after her."

"She's all we've got – " Jet paused for a moment, taking a breath, "—and she's good. If you two weren't fighting over bounty heads all the time you might actually make a good team."

Spike smirked, "There's a good one, Jet."

"Don't be so smug, Spike. You're going to be in a world of trouble if we can't pull this one off."

"There's something I haven't heard before."

"All right, be cocky. Get yourself killed again." Jet stood and looked down at him for a moment, "Just know that I won't be the one risking my neck to bail you out again." With that he turned and walked away, disappearing around the corner.

Spike rolled his eyes. Jet always acted more like a father than a comrade. Sighing, he stood and tossed the playing card on the table.


Faye opened her eyes slowly, squinting into the soft morning light. Taking a deep breath, she sat up and turned to face Luke. He was still asleep, his face turned toward her. His dark, short hair contrasted sharply with the white silk pillow. His full lips were slightly parted and Faye could feel his soft breath fluttering over the delicate skin of her wrist. Seeing him like that almost made her smile – almost made her want to smooth the errant strands of hair away from his eyes. To kiss his forehead, to pull the comforter up over his shoulders.

But she couldn't. She never allowed herself to be that intimate with Luke.

She pulled the covers back and swung her legs over the side of the bed. She sighed, resting her head in her hands. Spike. She couldn't believe he'd come back. A part of her couldn't believe he was alive. Most of all, though, she couldn't believe they'd be back together on the Bebop – as if nothing had ever happened.

She stood and crossed the room to her closet. She stepped into a pair of plain black heels and brushed a curl away from her face. She'd give him a call before Luke awoke. Find out the location of the Bebop.

She stepped into her skirt and slowly and cautiously. It was just business. No need to get worked up over it. She pulled a thin tank top over her head and brushed her hair over one shoulder.

Taking a breath she walked to her vanity and lifted the heavy glock off the marble countertop. She examined it for a moment, running her fingers over the cool metal. Business. Just … business. She slipped the gun in her purse, zipping it quickly before walking out the door.


Spike jumped at the sound of his comm. Who could possibly –

"Where are you?"

He smirked at the sound of her voice and picked his comm. up.

"So you actually decided to come?"

"I told you I'd make it."

"Must have been a brief honeymoon."

"Just tell me where I can find the ship."

"We're orbiting Mars. I can have Jet send you the coordinates – "

"No need. I think I see you. Just have him open the hangar."

"Sure thing. Think you can – " Before he could finish his sentence the comm. went dead. He muttered under his breath as he rose from the couch, walking to where Jet sat behind the console.

"She wants you to open the hangar."

"Who? Faye?"

"Who else?"

Jet sighed, pushing a lighted button on the console in front of him. "Tell her I'm opening the hatch."

"She already hung up on me."

"I see you two are off to an early start."

"Don't you remember that conversation we had once, Jet?"

"Refresh my memory."

"The one about women with attitudes. On this ship."

"I told you she's all we've got."

Spike slipped his hands into his deep pants pockets, "I hope you're right about this."

Jet leaned back into his chair. It creaked slightly, the sound resonating throughout the empty ship. "So now you're having second thoughts? What happened to that cocky attitude of yours?"

Spike grunted, "I've just got a bad feeling about it, all right?"

"What makes you say that?"

He shrugged, "You didn't see her there, Jet. She's not the same person. She's – " He was interrupted by the clicking of heels behind him. When he turned around he found himself face to face with Faye.

"I see you two still have nothing to do but sit around and gripe about me. How typical."

Spike swallowed hard. He couldn't take his eyes away from her. She stood with her arms crossed over her chest, her long violet hair streaming over her shoulders. A knee length black skirt clung tightly to her narrow hips, and the black camisole she wore was thin enough to give the slightest hint of her pale skin underneath. The heels she wore had to have been at least five inches – he couldn't recall her ever wearing heels like that. A white pearl necklace hung gracefully around her neck, contrasting sharply with her black top.

Standing there, eyes locked on his, she looked so foreign to him – like a woman from a dream he couldn't quite remember. But not Faye. He remembered her lounging around the ship in those small, yellow shorts – the top that barely covered her breasts – and never found her particularly exposed. But now as he looked at her, more clothed than ever, she seemed only shades away from total undress. She almost seemed – vulnerable. Yet still there was something inexplicably dark about her. She definitely wasn't Faye. She wasn't Faye Va – Kennedy. No, she was Faye Kennedy.

"Spike? Hello?" she waved her hand in front of his face.

"Yeah?"

"I told you to get my things from the Red Tail."

"What – " Before he could finish his sentence she tossed her keys at him and walked past him toward her room. He made an awkward attempt to catch the keys and succeeded in trapping them against his chest. He growled under his breath and craned his neck to watch her walk away. At least one thing hadn't changed. She was still insufferable.


A/N: I know it has been a long time, friends. I have been very busy lately and I worked hard to get this chapter to you. I know it is long overdue. You may not see another update for at least another three weeks: I am studying in Colorado right now and my schedule is pretty much full. Anyway, thanks for bearing with me -- I hope you're still enjoying the story!

Till next time,

Nevi