Trigun Fan Fiction ❯ An Alternate Ending ❯ Confusion ( Chapter 13 )

An Alternate Ending

Part Thirteen: Confusion

By Bekka Mouri

(Trigun isn't mine and I never said it was. Milly wakes up to find herself alone as Meryl tries to process what she saw Vash do.)

A cramp in her abdomen caused her to open her eyes, her hand going to where the pain was coming from. She moved a little, hoping a change in position would alleviate some of the hurt. " Mr. Wolfwood? " She whispered, trying to look over her shoulder then frowned, realizing he was gone.

The door opened and Milly tried to look towards it to see who was there. " Are you awake Ms. Thompson? " Deb called quietly.

" Yeah, " Milly pushed against the wall, using it to help her roll over and hissed as her sore muscles protested to the movement. She had been helping lay several rather heavy pipes and the effort it took to move so many them had left her rather stiff.

" How do you feel? " Deb stepped into the room, a small tray in her hands. It looked like it had a glass of water and a plate with toast on it. She kicked the door shut before walking to the bed and setting the tray down on the bedside table. Milly could now see there was a couple of white pills on the tray as well.

" I hurt… " Milly sighed.

Deb nodded, " I understand. Here… eat this and take the pills. They'll help the pain until the doctor gets here. "

" Is it the same pills as last night? " Milly eyed the tray but didn't move to take anything from it.

" Yes, " Deb nodded, picking up the glass of water and offering it to Milly.

Milly took the glass, drinking a little water as Deb steadied the glass since Milly's hands were shaking a little. When Milly was done, Deb set the glass back down and offered her a slice of toast. Milly eyed it for a moment before looking at Deb. " Where's Mr. Wolfwood? " She said quietly.

Deb's hand lowered a little bit, " He left early this morning. Eat… you need your strength. "

" Did he say where he was going? " Milly ignored the toast as Deb brought it closer. She didn't know why Wolfwood would leave unless he was going back to the house to tell Vash and Meryl what was happening.

" No. He didn't say much before he left… he just said he needed to think, " Deb shook her head.

" Did he say when he would be back? " Milly tried not to sound desperate.

" No but he did give me the impression that he is going to come back. Please eat, Ms. Thompson. I'm sure everything will be okay. "

Milly's shoulders slumped a bit, " If you say so… "

Deb brushed a lock of Milly's hair from her face, offering the toast again, " Eat and take you medicine then get some more rest. The doctor will be here by this afternoon so that will give you plenty of time to get some rest. It's important that you try to take it easy. "

Milly gave up and took the slice of toast from Deb. She took a small bite, chewing it slowly. She swallowed it and Deb handed her the pills. She took them both at once, washing them down with the water. Deb offered the toast again but Milly shook her head, " I don't know if I can eat any more… my stomach is really upset. "

" It's because of the pain, " Deb set the food back on the tray. " I'll leave this here in case you get hungry once the pills kick in. "

" Thank you, " Milly moved slowly as she lay back down. She doubted she'd be hungry but didn't feel like protesting. She rested her head on the pillow as Deb shut the door… the pillow she had shared with him the night before. She shut her eyes as she started to think about the things they had been through…

(Flashback)

" That's ridiculous, " He shook his head as Milly opened her coat so the dancing girl could hide in it. The three of them had dashed behind a fuel tank to avoid a search party that had been sent out for the petite teenager. " It'll never work. "

" Mr. Priest! We can't let them get her, " Milly said, then looked at the girl. " Now you just hang onto me and we'll get you out of here safely. "

Wolfwood growled as he watched Milly re-button her coat, " You can't be serious! They'll know! "

" Look behind there! They couldn't have gotten far! " An angry man yelled as he neared the tank.

Milly wrapped her arms around her 'stomach' to still the squirming dancing girl as the man rounded the tank, stopping and blinking as he tried to register the sight before him. Wolfwood cleared his throat, " Can I help you? " He asked as normal as could be.

" Uh… did you see… a dancing girl? " The man looked Milly over again and blinked. " Are you okay, Ma'am? "

Milly nodded as she patted where the dancing girl was hiding, " I just got so hot carrying all of this around, I needed some shade for a minute. "

" I thought I saw your stomach move, " The man said.

Milly's eyes got a little wide, " Oh! The babies are kicking! Darling! Feel! "

Wolfwood placed a hand on Milly's 'stomach' and the dancing girl twitched slightly. " Well, what do you know? This is so wonderful! " He said with mock enthusiasm.

The man shook his head and looked at Wolfwood, " Never mind… maybe that girl went somewhere else. Sorry to bother you and your woman, preacher man. Good luck with… how many you're going to have. "

Wolfwood sounded a little strained as he said, " Not a problem. Let's go, honey. You know they're waiting on us. "

" Yes, dear. I know, " Milly replied cheerfully as the men left.

Wolfwood squared his shoulders and put his left hand in his pocket. He jumped slightly when Milly looped her right arm through his. He grumbled low in his throat as he put his sunglasses on then looked at Milly. " This better work, " He muttered as they walked out from behind the tank.

(End)

She recalled how he come through the sprays after them even though he had originally thought it was a bad idea and she had wondered why he had done it. He said he had been infected by her nosiness and the comment had stung a little but she knew he had done it because he knew he had to. The next time she saw him was outside of New Oregon. It had been over two years after Demislad but he was still as handsome as she remembered him.

She had thought about him often while they were apart, even entertaining the idea of going out to the orphanage to see him but Meryl talked her out of it. She reminded Milly that Wolfwood traveled quite a bit and there would be no guarantee he would be there when she went to see him. Milly agreed but still wished she could see him again. She prayed almost every night that he would have to come through December for something and accidentally run into her.

A million scenarios had played out in her mind over the two years but none of them ever came true. When she saw him in New Oregon as she exited the sand steamer she had to make sure she wasn't dreaming and had given herself quite a bruise by pinching her arm to check if she was really awake. She wished all of it was a dream now because everything that happened afterwards seemed like a nightmare except for the few times they had been alone together. She didn't really know how to handle it when he told her that he didn't mean it when he said he loved her after everything they had done together made her think he did.

She sniffled because thinking about how he had hurt her was a surefire way to make her cry instantly. She wiped the tears from her eyes and sniffled again, noticing a raw feeling in the back of her throat. ~I probably got it all irritated from crying so much yesterday, ~ She reasoned as she cuddled down into the pillow more. The pills Deb had given her were starting to kick in and she felt sleepy.

~The doctor can just wake me up when he gets here, ~ was the last thought that slipped through her mind as she dozed off.

**

Meryl stared blankly across the room as she tried to process what she had seen. She had come into the room just in time to hear Vash tell Knives that she was caring for him because she cared. Vash's next words had struck her even harder because they were closer to the real reason why she was caring for Knives in spite of everything he had done. She was concerned for Knives' well being because she really did love Vash.

She had decided before the Fifth Moon Incident that she would follow Vash no matter what and never wavered from her vow. She also had faith that Vash could convince Knives that he was wrong but she never imagined what lengths Vash would go to in order to keep his brother under control. She knew he was doing it not only for here but the whole planet as well. She was shocked and overwhelmed but she started to understand that, even though he wouldn't show her how much he loved her physically, everything he did spoke volumes to her heart.

Meryl took a breath and tried to stand, her legs still weak from the weight of her thoughts. Vash's methods were necessary although anyone who didn't know the reasons why would see them as barbaric. ~He wanted to destroy everyone, ~ Meryl thought as she took shaky steps towards the bed. ~He's doing this for the good of everyone else. ~

She recalled the pained look in Vash's eyes as he realized Meryl was watching him and she knew that what he was doing was hurting him. It explained why he had been uptight since bringing his brother back. She had felt she had been too pushy trying to get him to make love to her and that was causing his nervousness. Milly's miscarriage didn't help Vash feel comfortable either for she knew that the general feeling was that they were all to blame because Milly was the only one working for so long.

Meryl got to the bed and looked down at Knives, wondering if everyone would be better off without him. He had caused so much pain for so many people; bringing death to all of those Vash touched… almost bringing death to Milly and her in LR if Vash hadn't shot the blue haired man. Her hands started to shake as she contemplated just putting the monster before her out of everyone's misery in spite of the words she said when she rescued Vash. ~Just one bullet could end it here and now, ~ Meryl thought.

She shut her eyes, realizing that she just couldn't do it. Vash would hate her forever if she did, no matter her reasons and she didn't know if she could live without him. She opened her eyes, looking at Knives again. She sighed and took the things out of the first aid kit she needed to tend to his wounds, trying to forget the things she had thought. They would get through this… all five of them.