One More Time (Page 9)

The door slid shut behind Jet, his footsteps fading into the distance, leaving silence behind.

Faye stood a few feet away from the bed, looking at the floor, at the ceiling, at her fingernails, at anything but the man lying on the bed nearby. She snuck a quick glance at him. He was staring fixedly at the ceiling, as if deep in thought. Taking a deep breath, she walked forward and sat back down on her chair again. "Um, Spike?"

Blinking as if reorienting himself, he rolled his head toward her with a slight wince. "Yeah?"

She looked to the side, avoiding his eyes. "What exactly did you mean earlier when you talked about two peas in a pod?"

He rolled his head back, looking at the ceiling again. "I don't know, really. I thought of a lot of strange things while I was asleep, and that just happened to be one of them."

"Is that so?"

"What, you think I'm lying? Where else would I have heard it from?"

"I…I really don't know."

Another silence.

"Faye?" His eyes were still fixed solidly on the ceiling.

"Yeah?"

His turn to take a deep breath. "Were you here all the time I was asleep?"

Faye shifted slightly in her seat. "Um, I was here when it was my shift. Jet and I were taking turns." She paused, as if expecting a comment, and when none came, pushed on. "I thought that it was only fair that I take turns, too, since I was here. Jet really couldn't do it all by himself, you know. That would have been selfish even by my standards." She paused again. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, because, while I was phasing in and out, I heard a lot of voices, but somehow I remember hearing your voice the most." He glanced over at her, her face turned slightly away from him, the faintest blush on her cheeks.

A slight cough, clearing her throat. "That's just because Jet still had a lot left to do getting the ship fixed and ready for take off, and we really needed to get off the planet as soon as we could, so I took over parts of his shifts sometimes, that's all."

He looked up at her face, half-hidden by the shadows caused by her hair. He saw the dark circles under her eyes, the oily streaks in her hair, the smudges of dirt and spots of blood on her clothes. She was beautiful. "Faye…" He reached out and took her hand, heard the slight gasp she let escape. "Thank you. Thank you for staying here. With me."

Her eyes widened, giving her a look that somehow reminded him of the young Faye he had seen on that ancient video tape. "S-Sure. It was the least I could do."

He let her hand go, looked back up at the ceiling again. It was his turn to clear his throat. "Hey, Faye, if I need some help later, you know, once I can move around a little, would you do it? That is, if Jet's not too busy."

A sideways glance, a cocked eyebrow. "Just what kind of help are we talking about, here?"

"Just basic stuff, helping me change my bandages, giving me a shoulder to lean on when I need to walk around. The usual."

"Yeah, I can do that." She leaned over, pointing her finger in his face. "As long as your hands stay on my shoulders, buddy."

A slight scoffing noise. "Don't flatter yourself."

"Why shouldn't I? No one else does."

"You know, despite everything, you look really pretty right now."

She jerked upright, mouth open. "W-Why did you say that?"

He grinned back at her. "Why do you think? I just wanted to prove you a liar, that's all."

"Why, you—" The nearest pillow was in her hands.

"Hey, hey! Injured man, remember?"

"Like that's stopped me before?"

"Point taken, but please, just this once?"

"Oh, all right. This is your one 'Get Out of Jail Free' card. Next time, you're dead. And if I know you, Spike, there will be a next time."

"I'm sure there will."

They both sat there a moment, just staring at each other, until Faye, with one last smile, stood up. "Well, anyways, now that it looks like you're out of the woods, I think I'm gonna go get cleaned up and get some rest. You should get some more rest, too."

"Yes, ma'am." He grinned. "I would salute you, but I don't think my arm will bend that far."

"Don't worry. There'll be plenty of opportunities for you to grovel once you're feeling better." She turned and walked to the door, pushing the button to make it slide away.

"Hey, Faye?"

He could see that she turned although her features were in shadow, backlit by the light coming through the open door. One last deep breath. "You know, Faye, I've always been a quick healer, but these wounds…are different somehow. There's no telling how long it could be."

He still couldn't make out her face, but he could hear the smile in her voice. "That's okay. I've got plenty of time."

Fin

 

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