"Faye... What Are You Doing?" Spike Asked In A Decidedly Salacious Tone Of Voice.

"Faye... What are you doing?" Spike asked in a decidedly salacious tone of voice.

Pressed against the brick wall of the alleyway at his side, she grinned at him mischievously. "I'm all out of ammo. Figured you had some for me in your pocket..."

One of her hands was in his pants pocket doing devilish things. The other hand had her gun down at her side. He held his own gun aimed towards the alley entrance while his other arm had been thrown across her chest to knock her back into the wall and out of the line of fire.

"Ammo's in my breast pocket," He told her. "What you've got your hands on happens to be a small indicator of how happy I am to see you." And he was happy to see her - she'd shown up out of the blue to cover his ass when he'd gotten in slightly over his head trying to collar a whole gang solo.

They'd done some serious damage to the thirty or so gang members but the sheer volume of enemies had necessitated their escape and led to them hunkering down here where hopefully no one would follow.

"Mm, I wouldn't call it a small indicator," Her smirk was so smug he wanted to kiss it off her lips.

There was a convenient dumpster down the way that could further conceal their presence ... And they'd made so many turns while fleeing that he doubted the gang would be able to catch up...

He concentrated on listening for any sounds of pursuit and nodded towards the dumpster and heard Faye's throaty laugh as she cottoned onto his intent.

"Ohh you feeling trashy today hey? Well, I can get down with that..."

Once upon a time he would have been frustrated over the lost bounty.

Once upon a time he could have laid waste to all those gang members.

In all honesty he was pretty okay with that time being long past. Especially when the alternative was so much nicer... Well, proximity of the dumpster aside. But they'd soon be too distracted to care about that anyway...

Spike felt conflicting emotions as he climbed up the stairs to the bridge where he knew Faye had taken refuge from Ed's intense energy and the off-putting smells of chicken and liver that Jet was cooking up. He knew that Jet was also making a special meal for Faye herself since liver wasn't something she was supposed to be eating these days. He wondered briefly if she was feeling guilty about being such a hassle to feed and hoped that wasn't the case.

Creating another human being was a difficult process that she had very little control over. From unexpected bouts of nausea to a strict diet to being advised not to smoke or drink or clean or lift things or bounty hunt... Everything had changed suddenly and he knew she was having a difficult time accepting all these new limitations and restrictions, especially when she'd always lived life so fiercely on her own terms. To have to cater so fully to someone not even technically here yet…

Joy and terror and excitement all warred within him at the thought. He was hard pressed to hide his giddiness over this whole experience, though he'd been trying lately to tone it down if only because Faye was having such a rough time with it all.

Sometimes she was even more ecstatic than Ed, but those flashes of positive emotion were few and far between while she rode a rollercoaster of discomfort and bodily changes. The times when she seemed the most on board with having a baby were, interestingly, whenever she accosted Spike for some sweet sweet loving. Thankfully she wasn't always feeling run down and ill, rather often she was absolutely insatiable and overcome with happiness. He quite enjoyed when she was overflowing with love and delight.

But he still loved her just the same when she was quietly contemplative or raging at him for some minor transgression, or even a mess of snot and tears. He loved every aspect of Faye. She constantly kept him on his toes and that had always been something he appreciated. Boredom was the bane of his existence and Faye never let him be bored for long.

He carefully tamped down the bliss her pregnancy evoked within him and schooled his expression to one of neutrality as he reached the bridge and peered into the room.

Faye was standing near the windows, arms crossed loosely beneath her breasts and above her barely-there baby bump. Seeing that nearly undid all his work of clearing his face of emotion, but to his relief she didn't seem to be too upset. Her own face was placid and her gaze fixed on the golden glow of the setting sun reflecting on the sea outside. It only added to her own radiance but he wasn't sure if he should mention that.

Erring on the side of caution, he opted to say nothing at all as he made his way to stand by her - close enough to touch. And, well, okay so he wouldn't push things by using words but he was only a man and he couldn't keep himself from bringing his hands up to her face. He stepped further into her personal space as he did, letting his forehead press gently against hers in an intimate way he knew she adored but hadn't admitted to craving. She did it often in the aftermath of their lovemaking though, as if trying to freeze time in that tender moment when they were still locked together with her draped on top of his body.

He softly stroked her cheeks with his thumbs, using his fingers to lightly massage her neck just below her ears and wipe away the stress she held there. She closed her beautiful eyes, letting out a shaky breath, and he let his eyes flutter shut as well. It was reassuring to feel the strain melt from her posture. He didn't want to push too far with a kiss, so instead he gently rubbed his nose against the bridge of hers to further remind her of how much he loved her. How much he cherished these pockets of peace where it was just the two of them, sharing silence and companionship, needing nothing more than to simply be in each other's presence.

Let her take all the strength from him that she needed. Let her draw on his calm and make it her own. Let her breakdown if that's what was needed. Let him give her this comfort, this tacit promise of support. He would give her this and everything else he could.

*** this snippet from a future chapter of my CB fanfic was entirely inspired by the incredible artwork created by @ambarden

"Ed wants to help!" Edward announced, bounding into the kitchen.

"With dinner?" Jet was dumbfounded. No one ever offered to pitch in on chores - though Jet had caught Spike sweeping once or twice and had seen Faye's hands wrinkled in a way that indicated prolonged exposure to water which proved she was the one who occasionally did the dishes whenever Jet himself got distracted after meals in the bonsai room or repairing the zipcraft.

But help with dinner? Hell, Spike wasn't even allowed in the kitchen if cooking was his intent and Jet had the distinct impression Faye was clueless about how anything went together when making a meal.

He eyed Ed suspiciously. She was prone to distraction but also a lot smarter than probably anyone else on board. He doubted she had much kitchen experience but everyone had to start somewhere and she was clearly interested. That was the first step - wanting to be in this room.

"All right, Ed. I don't have much left to do for dinner tonight, but tomorrow you can join me for the full prep if you still want to help." He offered.

She looked briefly crestfallen before flashing him a smile. "Okay!"

No way could he let that flicker of sadness fester.

"Hey wait, there's one thing I could use your help with tonight. I've got to keep an eye on the meat here in the pan. But I need some garlic to put a zing on our meal. And peeling garlic is a lot more fun than peeling vegetables, which is what you'll be busy doing tomorrow." Once he determined how safe it would be to arm her with a knife, that is.

Ed beamed at him. "Garlic - got it! How does it work?" She looked around the kitchen, clearly unsure what she was trying to find.

Smiling, Jet pointed to a mesh bag hanging from a hook above the little table he used to cut everything up. "Those are garlic bulbs. They've got all sorts of layers keeping them together and protecting all the little pieces called cloves that we need for dinner. What you wanna do is take one and start twisting it until it sheds the skin. Then you'll be able to start twisting each little piece one by one to get the outside off of those parts. What we're after is the hearts of those clumps."

"Oooh, garlic hearts, good for smarts!" Ed set to her task with gusto, standing over the garbage with a bulb in her hands. "It's good for lots more, you know." She abruptly yelped and Jet nearly jumped out of his skin.

"What happened? You okay?" He was immediately at her side and trying to ascertain what made her scream. There was no blood anywhere he could see.

"Sharp! The garlic doesn't want to be naked." She remarked. She held a clove up and tapped the tiny end. "That part hurt Ed."

"Oh shit, Ed, I should have warned you. I usually crack them with my metal fist - I forgot about that part."

She hadn't cried aside from her yell of surprised pain. In fact even now she seemed more curious than anything else. Jet watched as she began squeezing the cloves more carefully and judged it was safe to return to the pan of meat on the burner. Still, it would probably be smart to give her something else to focus on while she worked.

Though his eyes were elsewhere, he gave Ed the majority of his attention. "So Ed, wanna tell me more about the health benefits of garlic?"

"Is all this really necessary?" Faye grumbled from her position - sort of sitting in netting suspended above the hangar deck of the Bebop.

"Quiet, wench!" Spike shouted with a smirk. "Whaddya think? Bad guy potential?" He was strutting around the deck beneath her, armed with a pair of airsoft guns. His pockets were bulging with extra bullets.

"Ugh, we should've made you the damsel in distress," Faye muttered.

From within the ship came the sound of a stampede and Spike ducked behind the RedTail which, like the other zipcraft, had been parked on deck to be washed. Faye watched from her elevated position as Ein came dashing out of the bowels of the ship. Spike leaned out to take a shot but pulled up short when he realized it was just the dog.

"Aha! Sneak attack!" Came Ed's battle cry from the other end of the deck. "Pew pew pew!" She cried, opening fire on Spike as soon as she - perched on Jet's back, came into range as the ex-cop ran over from behind the Hammerhead.

"Ahh shit!" Spike cried, falling back under the rain of pellets.

"Great distraction, Ein-cow-woof-woof!" Ed praised the pooch. "Giddyup, horsey! Let's rescue the maiden fair!"

"Finally!" Faye enthused. "If we're gonna go through this again, I want to be the bad guy next time!"

"Umph!" Jet grunted as Ed launched herself onto his shoulders to leap at the netting Faye was in. "I'll trade you this role any day," He grumbled, rubbing at the small of his back. "She made me run on all fours to be more horsey-like!"

Spike chuckled. "Yeah but the alternative was paint ball instead. It was your choice to play the steed instead of scraping paint off the hull."

Ed, swinging from the netting, which was knocking Faye all over and making her shriek in irritation, cackled. "Next time maybe Bebop Bebop will choose the escape room for Ed's birthday!"

After he came back, things fell back into routine. Once he physically healed. Work out. Breakfast. Shower. Bounty. Sleep. Rinse and repeat. Sometimes days went by without the bounty but that's always been how things went.

Months went by and one drunk night he woke up in Faye's room. He hadn't known what to do - hadn't meant to do anything - perhaps hadn't even done anything... It was hard to say with the liquor memories so hazy. They'd been playing a game of some sort - weren't they always?

He snuck away while she slept on.

But before he left, he tucked her back in. Pressed a kiss to her forehead. He had long ago come to the conclusion that she was too precious to fuck up with his hangups but he couldn't leave without a tender goodbye.

It was only a few nights later when they tumbled together into his bed. Still intoxicated but not nearly enough to excuse it happening. Just enough where they could claim it hadn't meant anything. She was gone before he awoke but there was a lingering feel of her fingers carding through his hair as if she'd mussed it before departing.

They played this game for weeks.

And then one morning... In neither of their rooms... They woke up together. In a jumble of clothing and a jumble of blankets they'd both gathered from the ship. They were on the bridge and dawn was breaking on the horizon.

Her emerald eyes sparkled at him.

"Good morning.''

Never had two words held so much promise and potential.

Never had two words sounded quite so good to his ears.

Jet entered the living area, wiping his hands on his pants. Even with liberal use of a grease rag he'd still need to take a shower to get truly clean, but at least the zipcraft were all tuned up.

The others were gathered in the room already. Spike and Faye on the couch, clearly playing an awkward game of footsie under the guise of fighting one another for more couch space, and Ed was sitting crosslegged on the chair with Ein in her lap.

He barely gave them all a glance on his way through to the washroom, though they all seemed equally preoccupied. "What are you all eating?"

"Cookie tartare," Faye replied airily.

Her words made him pause just before going down the short set of stairs. "Cookie tar... Wait a minute..."

Spike was trying to hang a spoon from his nose when Jet looked at him as the lanky cowboy spoke up. 'It's just cookie dough. Ignore Faye, she just likes to feel fancy."

Ed threw her arms up into the air, a spoon in one hand and an empty glass in her other hand. "Yup yup! Fancy pants! That's why we're using the pretty goblets!" She held the glass by the stem and twirled it between her thumb and pointer finger.

Jet's jaw dropped as he recognized what she held. "Hey! Are those my copita glasses?!"

Faye grinned at him. "Don't be such a grump, we saved you some!"

He felt his eyebrow twitching. "You're not supposed to eat cookie dough raw like that," He grumbled.

"Oh come on and live a little!" Faye shot back. She set her glass on the table and begun copying Spike with her spoon and nose.

"Were you saving these glasses for something? They were just collecting dust in the store room," Spike told him. He finally succeeded in balancing the spoon on the tip of his nose and crossed his eyes to add to the look.

"I... You..." Jet stopped himself. He hadn't yet had a chance to use the glasses - usually they drank straight from the bottle. It had been a goal in the back of his mind to one day have a refined whiskey palate, and these glasses had been a step towards that eventuality, though he'd forgotten they even existed since they'd been stashed since about the time Spike had joined him on the ship. The other man was far too prone to destruction for Jet to feel comfortable leaving delicate glassware lying around.

There was another copita glass on the table, stuffed with raw cookie dough, and Jet realized once again that his goals had been shuffled around entirely by this group of oddballs. They found a way to take everything he had and make it...different. Not bad, just... Repurposed. Kind of like what he'd done to the Bebop itself when he converted it from a fishing trawler to a space-worthy vessel.

They didn't do things at all the way someone would expect, but they did things with heart. And, while Jet was somewhat leery of eating anything one of the others had prepared - perhaps especially something relatively raw like this - he found himself picking up the glass and giving up on his mission to get clean.

Ed cheered him on. Faye managed to get the spoon on her nose but only had a moment to rejoice before Spike kicked at her ankle again, still pretending to vie for the couch space. Ein whined and curled up in Ed's lap to ignore the others and try to sleep.

It tasted like there was too much baking soda, but aside from that... The dough actually wasn't too bad. And really, sharing this time with these people seemed like a great way to break in those glasses, now that he thought about it.

*smash!*

Jet closed his eyes to savor the sweetness, deciding to ignore whoever had literally broken something nearby. Sure, this was his circus, but these clowns could just clean up after their own damn selves.