PART FOUR:

She said her name was Julia…or something like that.

She worked on the second floor as an editor for the current magazine owned by the parent company. It was a pleasure to finally meet the great Spike Spiegel.

He felt anything but great.

She smiled too brightly. She was flirting with him. He could tell.

The elevator was suddenly too cramped for him. He needed to breathe.

He needed to talk to…

~ Faye. ~

~*~*~*~

Her hands fumbled with the lock to the front door, the keys stubbornly refusing to find their way into their home. She grumbled and dropped the twin paper bags filled with…something onto the porch and set her sights back to finding the correct key.

The sounds of the phone ringing caused her to stop.

~ Spike…~

She was nearly frantic now. Why weren’t the damn things cooperating?! She almost broke one of the metal irritants, the long monotonous sound of the telephone mocking her from within.

// Come and catch me if you can! //

“Goddammitt! Open up!”

And with a desperate twist, the door finally gave way, causing her to topple into the waiting hallway gracelessly.

The phone was still ringing.

She untangled her feet from beneath her and struggled to get her bearings straight.

~ Please wait, just a little bit longer… ~

She cursed herself for not putting a phone nearby.

Dashing into the living room, she practically leapt over the couch and quickly made a dive for the black buzzing machine.

“Hello?! Spike?!”

A soft click and the droning sound of a dial tone.

She bit her lip and tried to stop the ridiculous well of tears again. “Spike…”

Dropping the phone onto the floor, she stared blankly at the ceiling, counting slowly to ten to get her emotions back in check. The cold draft suddenly hit her and she realized that she had left the front door wide open. She stumbled back up to her feet, now dragging herself towards the waiting packages.

“Hi there, Mrs. Spiegel!”

“Hn.”

She was in no mood for meddling neighbors. She nodded curtly and rudely banged the door shut on the smiling face before her. Carrying her burden to the kitchen, she began the long task of unloading.

She wondered why Spike had called.

~*~*~*~*~

He hung up the phone and stared sightlessly at the blank computer screen.

~ Where was she? ~

He stared at the clock. She was usually at home…at this time.

// Maybe she just stepped out to find herself another man… //

~ Or she could have gone to the grocery. ~

The tentative knock on the door snapped him out of his musings. ~ Oh, god! Not her again. ~

“I just thought you might like to have lunch with me. I usually have mine at the bistro down the street. They serve really good sandwiches.”

He eyed the phone again. Maybe he should give her one last call…if not…

He signaled for…what was her name again?…to wait for him.

He picked up the phone.

~*~*~*~

She locked up the bathroom door and stepped out of the pristine white bathrobe and fluffy bunny slippers.

Spike had thought it was cute.

She giggled as her bare feet came in contact with the cold tiles on the floor, the slight chill flowing through her body. Walking gingerly towards the large bathtub, now filled with scented oils and flower petals (she had decided to buy some of that on her way back), she eyed her reflection on the large mirror.

Like a zombie, she stood still and took in her body. Spike had once said that she was as beautiful as…as…

“An angel…”

She had laughed and asked if he knew what an angel looked like.

He had come up with the corny line of ‘No…but I bet it must look something like you’…and she had loved it.

He could be corny like that sometimes.

She felt she could use a tan. She was too pale.

But Spike liked her that way…didn’t he?

She quirked her head, a frown coming onto her visage…was that the phone ringing?

// Don’t think so…//

Probably the last call was still buzzing in her brain. She hummed softly to herself as she slowly sank into the decadent waters. The warmth and the scent of the oils quickly set her troubled and confused mind into a whirl of soothing pleasure.

Before long, she was fast asleep.

~*~*~*~*~

He grit his teeth as the ringing tone continued to buzz against his ear.

Where the fuck was she?

“I don’t mean to intrude…but the bistro does get really busy during these hours and we might not get a good table…”

He slammed the offending apparatus down and quickly rose to his feet. Grabbing his jacket, he gave a quick ‘Let’s go’ and not waiting to see if she followed or not, he stormed out of his office.

He was definitely going to have a talk with his wife when he got back home.

~*~*~*~

Still dressed in her bathrobe, a complimenting white towel now wrapped like a turban around her wet locks, she padded on bare feet around the kitchen, fixing dinner for herself.

// I guess I will be working late…//

She grabbed the remote and switched on the large TV. Reaching into the freezer, she grabbed the recently bought tub of vanilla flavored ice cream.

She was humming. Some odd tune or another…Spike liked to hum sometimes.

She made sure that the microwavable dinner was set on the correct timer and walking back to the living room, she plopped herself down on the couch, ripping open the plastic cover and digging into the sinful treat.

She loved watching violent movies.

And this was a classic too.

Why did she feel this contented?

// You have a baby to take care of now. That is a huge responsibility young lady. Are you sure you are able to handle the pressure? //

“Of course, I am.” She whispered to herself. “I can handle anything.”

She barely heard the noise of the key unlocking the door, nor did she register the heavy shuffling feet that accompanied the quiet click.

“All I have to do, is find a way to tell Spike about it.”

“Tell me about what?”

She must have jumped about five feet into the air, her face paling rapidly as she took in the leaning figure against the doorway. She swallowed tightly and raised herself albeit shakingly to her feet.

“Spike…” she began, licking her suddenly parched lips, her hands now clenched into tight fists against her sides.

She stared straight into those waiting, blank eyes and steeled her resolve.

“Spike. I have something to tell you.”

A raised eyebrow.

Waiting.

“Spike…I…I am going to take care of someone else’s baby.”