Trigun Fan Fiction ❯ Christmas Delivery ❯ Chapter 1

Christmas Delivery

By Midnight Star

All Trigun and Crest of the Stars disclaimers apply! There is a childbirth scene in this fic. If you are queasy about it please read another fic. Also please read the author notes at the end to explain some of the Crest of the Stars things.

Vash and Meryl were out shopping for some last minutes items for Christmas. They had been in Diamond State City for a couple of months. Millie and Wolfwood were at the house; they were currently living in. They were finishing up the decorations.

Meryl was placing a few bags in the trunk of their car. When she was finished, she saw Vash looking at the night sky. She walked to the spot where Vash was. Meryl then stood next to him and said "This is a beautiful night for gazing at the stars."

"Yeah it is." Vash replied.

"As much as I would love to spend Christmas Eve watching the stars with you, We better get back home before Millie starts to worry about us and Wolfwood starts complaining." Meryl told him.

They walked to the car hand in hand. Vash started the car and they headed home. At times Meryl would look at Vash then back at the window. "Meryl if you keep this up, then we'll be coming home very late." Vash said to her with an arched eyebrow.

Before Meryl could reply, Vash saw a young man standing in their path and pulled the breaks. After the car had stopped, they got out of the car to see if he was all right. To their relief he was. He had brown hair and eyes came right up to them. "Please help my wife! She's gone into labor." He said to them.

Vash could see how scared the young man was. He smiled at him and said "Don't worry everything will be all right. We'll be glad to help you. Let me quickly grab a few things and then you can take us to her. " Vash replied.

The young man nodded his head. Vash and Meryl quickly went to the car and grabbed what Vash needed. They went back to the young man and followed him. "By the way, I'm Jinto. My wife and I were on our way home, and then our car broke down. She went into labor not too long after. You guys were the first car I saw." Jinto said to them. Vash then introduced him and Meryl.

They didn't walk too far. About a ten feet away, Jinto led them to a pearl white SUV that had its hood open. The front door was open and inside was a blue haired, ebony eyed woman with elf-like ears and a gray diamond shaped sensory organ on her forehead. She had one of her hands on her stomach. "Jinto what took you so long!? I could have had the baby by now." She said.

"Lafiel I was only gone for a minute. I brought back a couple of people to help us." Jinto told her.

"I guess I can forgive you. At least I don't have to worry the baby being delivered by an idiot." Lafiel replied.

Jinto blushed for a second then moved to see the two people that came to their aid. "The tall gentleman is Vash and the young woman with him is Meryl."

Before anyone could say anything, Lafiel had another contraction. She screamed in pain, at the top of her lungs. "Remember you're supposed to breathe through your contractions." Jinto told her.

Lafiel sharply looked at Jinto then told him "You need to shut up. You're not the one giving birth!"

Right after she spoke, her water broke. A few minutes later, Lafiel had another contraction. She grabbed Jinto's shirt and had a surgeon's grip on it. "Looks like this baby wants to come out and celebrate Christmas." Vash said with a smile.

Vash did somewhat comfort Lafiel. She looked at Jinto and asked "What's Christmas?"

Both Vash and Meryl sweat dropped. "Christmas is a holiday that humans celebrate around this time of the year. It's when their families get together, celebrates the year and exchange gifts." Jinto told Lafiel in a way that she would understand.

Vash then pulled Jinto aside and told him "I think she's going have the baby in a few hours. We're going to have to move her in the back. Once she's there, I'll need you to remove any unnecessary clothing that's on her. Does your backseat fold back like a bed?"

Jinto nodded his head. He then folded the backseat while Vash carried Lafiel there. "We're just going to make it more comfortable for you to have the baby." Vash said to her seeing the scared look on her face.

Vash and Meryl stepped aside for a movement to give them some privacy. "Vash is Lafiel an Abh?" Meryl asked him.

"Yes, she is. I never thought I'd ever see one. I learned about them from Rem . Do you know how an Abh is born?" Vash replied.

Meryl shook her head. "It's usual done artificially by the female having an egg removed from her body and then fertilized it outside the body. Most of the time the egg is placed in an artificial womb. Some of them like Lafiel, have the embryo placed back into the body to experience childbirth for themselves." Vash explained to her.

Lafiel was in the middle of another contraction when Vash and Meryl returned. She had again a very firm grip on Jinto's shirt. "Why did I have to listen to you and have our child the human way!? I would have never agreed to this if I had known this would hurt so damn much!" She shouted during the contraction.

Both Vash and Meryl were amazed at how calm Jinto remained during Lafiel's verbal abuse. "That young man's reserve is as strong as Vash's ." Meryl thought.

Vash saw the Jinto had placed a blanket over her thighs. He then looked under to figure out how soon the baby was coming. "If you want to know what your baby looks like, you can start to push." Vash told Lafiel after he checked her.

Remembering what she had learned from the childbirth classes she had attended with Jinto. Lafiel pushed on her next contraction. After three pushes the head came out. Vash quickly cleaned the baby's mouth. Meryl placed a blanket on Lafiel's chest. With the last amount of energy she had, Lafiel finally delivered her baby.

"Looks like you got yourself a beautiful baby girl." Vash told Jinto and Lafiel as they heard their daughter cry. Jinto and Lafiel looked into each other's eyes then shared a brief kiss.

Vash quickly cut the cord with the knife he had brought. Once the cord was cut, Vash then tied his bootlace to the baby's cut part of the cord. After the baby was free, he placed her on Lafiel's chest. Meryl quickly cleaned the baby and wrapped her in another blanket. She then gave the baby the to her mother.

Shortly after the baby was placed in Lafiel's arms, the new parents took a close look at their daughter. She was the mirror image of her mother except that she had her father's brown eyes. "Other than your eyes, the baby has your silly facial expressions." Lafiel told Jinto.

Jinto blushed and replied "Lafiel ... We have to call our daughter something else other than 'the baby'."

"Do you have any suggestions?" She asked.

"Where I'm from parents will sometimes name their child after a deceased loved one. I was thinking we should name our daughter after your mother. In a way, if it weren't for her, we would have never been together." He replied.

Lafiel was deeply touched by Jinto's consideration. He knew how much she cared about her late mother. "Which part of her name were you thinking of?" She asked.

Jinto thought for a moment. He then replied "Either Lexshue or Plakia."

"If we had chosen to have a son, Lexshue would have been fine. Besides I like Plakia better." Lafiel said decidedly. She then handed Plakia to Jinto.

Vash and Meryl had again given Jinto and Lafiel a moment. They had left right after Meryl handed the baby to Lafiel. "I know you won't object to having them stay at our place till Lafiel and the baby is strong enough to travel. The problem is how are we going to transport them without too much attention and how are we going to explain them to our friends." Vash said to Meryl.

"They may be alarmed by Lafiel's appearance at first but I think that they'll warm up when they see the baby. You know perfectly well that our friends won't turn anyone away on Christmas." Meryl replied. She knew that Vash was making sure she really didn't have any objections.

After their discussion, they returned to Jinto and Lafiel. "We decided to name our daughter Plakia. It's in honor of Lafiel's late mother." Jinto told Vash and Meryl proudly.

"Meryl and I would be honored of the three of you would stay with us till mother and daughter are strong enough to travel." Vash said to Jinto and Lafiel.

Jinto was secretly relived at the offer. He was worried where he and his new family could stay. It would be at least a couple of days till Lafiel and Plakia would be able to return to the ship. At the same time Jinto didn't want his family to be burden on Vash and Meryl. "What do you say Lafiel? Should we take them up on their generous offer?" He asked.

"I don't have any objections to it. I'd like to get out of this car and get into some clean clothes." She replied.

Vash took off his red trench coat, placing it around Lafiel's body. He then picked her up and carried her back to his car. Meryl and Jinto with his daughter in his arms followed close behind. Once they were at the car, Vash placed Lafiel in the in back. Meryl took off her white cape and placed it over Lafiel's head. Jinto then got in next to her. After everyone was in, Vash said to Jinto and Lafiel "In the morning, I'll come back and fix your car." He then started the car and finally headed home.

"Wonder what's keeping those two out so late?" Wolf wood said to Millie. They had just finished putting the gifts under the tree. Both of them were on the sofa taking a well-deserved rest.

"I don't know but I think they're ok." Millie replied.

A few minutes later, Vash came in the door with Lafiel in his arms. "Don't tell me two had a hot date with the virgin Mary." Wolfwood said when he saw them.

"I didn't think that a man of God would have such thoughts. Besides it's not what you think. Meryl and I helped this couple out. We invited them to stay over till mother and child is strong enough to travel. The young woman I'm carrying is Lafiel and the young man with the baby is Jinto." Vash replied.

"Can I hold the baby?" Millie asked.

"Sure." Jinto replied. He placed Palkia in Millie's arms.

"It's so cute! What's the baby's name?" Millie said while admiring the baby.

"Her name is Plakia. It's in honor of her late grandmother." Jinto answered.

"Hey Wolfwood! Help me find a room to put the new family in." Vash said to him. Jinto was about to take his daughter along with him but Millie asked him if she could be with the baby a little bit longer. She told the new parents that she would bring Plakia to them when they were a little settled. Jinto followed Vash and Wolfwood while Meryl went to the bedroom; she shared with Vash to get a nightgown for Lafiel.

Wolfwood guided the small party to their only spare room. It was a medium sized room with a queen-size bed. Not too far from the bed, was a dresser with a square shaped mirror above it. Vash gently placed Lafiel on the bed. He then opened one of dresser's drawers and said to them "I'm sorry that we have no crib for your daughter. The four of us haven't been blessed with children yet. This drawer will have to do for her."

"Thank you very much. It's fine." Lafiel replied with a weak smile. She took Meryl's cape off of her head. "Can I have something clean to wear?" Lafiel asked.

"Meryl will be here shortly with something." Wolfwood replied.

A few minutes later, Meryl came in with a clean jade green long sleeved nightgown. She placed it on the bed. "After you've changed, I'll bring you something to eat." She said to Lafiel. Vash, Meryl and Wolfwood left the room. Jinto stayed in to help Lafiel change.

Once they were out of the room and far enough so their guests couldn't hear them, Wolfwood asked "Was that young woman an Abh or did my eyes play tricks on me?"

"Yes, Lafiel is an Abh but I thought you knew that when you saw Millie holding the baby." Vash replied.

"I didn't get a good look. Just saw her holding it. " He told Vash. Wolfwood then lit up a cigarette and started to smoke. "Don't worry I'm not going to throw them out. It's goes against the Christmas spirit." He said to them after he smoked part of his cigarette. Wolfwood stayed where he was to enjoy the rest of his cigarette.

Vash and Meryl went to the kitchen. Meryl saw that there was enough beef stew leftover from their dinner tonight. "I know that we have plenty of food but what are we going to do for gifts?" She asked Vash while the stew was being reheated on the stove.

"I think we'll manage." He replied. Vash went and got two clean bowls, a couple of spoons, napkins and a tray. When the stew was ready, he gave the bowls to Meryl. She scooped the stew into the bowls. She then placed them on the tray along with two glasses of milk. Vash placed a small plate of doughnuts on tray.

"What's that for?" Meryl asked.

"I thought that they would like something for dessert and to celebrate their daughter's birth." He replied with a smile. She giggled at his reply and briefly kissed him on the lips. Vash picked up the tray and Meryl walked with him to Jinto and Lafiel's room.

While they were waiting for Meryl to come back with dinner, Jinto helped Lafiel get dressed. Lafiel didn't protest since she was too exhausted to dress herself. After she was dressed, Lafiel laid her head on Jinto's chest and fell asleep. He stroked her long blue while she slept. About a half-hour later, Jinto heard a knock at the door. "Come in." He answered. Jinto then gently shook Lafiel awake.

"How are you feeling Lafiel?" Meryl asked her when her and Vash came in the room.

"Tired and sore." She replied.

"Maybe you'll feel better after you have something to eat." Vash said to her as he placed the tray on the nightstand. He and Meryl then left.

"It smells good." Jinto said to Lafiel. He handed a bowl and a spoon to Lafiel. Jinto then served himself.

"This is pretty good." Lafiel said after she took a few bites.

Lafiel was halfway finished with her bowl when she heard another knock on the door. "I think someone misses you. " Millie said when she came in with Plakia. Wolfwood was right behind her with some diapers, baby wipes, powder(he got right after he finished his cigarette) and some bedding for the baby. He made the drawer up while Millie gave the baby to Jinto. As soon as he finished he and Millie left.

Jinto placed Plakia in the makeshift bed. He then took Lafiel's food and placed it back on the tray. Jinto then picked Plakia up and gave her to Lafiel. Once again, remembering from the parenting classes she took with Jinto, Lafiel nursed her daughter. Shortly after she was finished nursing and burping Plakia, Jinto placed his daughter in the makeshift bed. Not too long afterwards Jinto and Lafiel fell asleep.

They woke up at dawn to Plakia's cries. Jinto quickly got out of bed and ran to the makeshift bed. He picked her up but her cries didn't stop. With his nose, Jinto figured out she needed a diaper change. "Feeling any better?" He asked Lafiel after he changed Plakia's diaper and placed her back in her bed.

"A little bit better." She replied. Lafiel then tried to get out of bed. She could stand but not for very long. Jinto quickly caught her in time. He placed his arm around her and they walked back to the bed. "Do you need anything?" He asked.

"I need to use the bathroom." She told him.

Jinto helped Lafiel out of the bed. Once she was out, he again placed his arm around her and they left the bedroom. They just got in the hallway when they saw Meryl. "Is there anything I can help you with?" She asked.

"Could you show us where the bathroom is?" Jinto asked her.

"Sure. Afterwards, I'll bring breakfast to you." Meryl replied.

As promised a few minutes later, Meryl and Vash came in with breakfast. It was pancakes, scrambled eggs, scrapple and biscuits. "Merry Christmas!" They said when they brought in the food. Vash moved the dishes from last night and Meryl placed breakfast on the nightstand.

"Do you have a Christmas tree?" Jinto asked them.

Both Vash and Meryl laughed. Meryl replied "Of course we do. We can bring you to it later on if you like."

"When Lafiel feels up to it, I'll take her there." Jinto said to them.

After breakfast, a good rest and a bath with Jinto's help, Lafiel was able to walk to the living room. Meryl had come in earlier and had taken Plakia with her. She was sitting next to Vash with the baby in her arms. Millie was sitting on Wolfwood's lap. After finding a place to sit, Meryl placed Plakia in Lafiel's arms.

Lafiel looked at the tree and said "So this is a Christmas tree. It's pretty if that's how it's supposed to look."

"Thanks, Millie and I decorated it." Wolfwood replied.

Millie got up from Wolfwood's lap and headed to the tree. She picked up a gift, gave it to Jinto and said "This is for the baby."

Jinto thanked her and asked "How did you get us gifts, we just came yesterday and unexpected?"

"Let's just it was Christmas magic." Vash replied.

Jinto accepted the reply and opened the gift. It was a pink, purple and aqua knitted blanket. Millie had made it for Meryl but she knew that she could always make her another one. "It's beautiful and it's made by hand." Lafiel said as she admired the gift.

Millie got up again and handed a gift to Lafiel. She thanked Millie , handed the baby to Jinto and opened it. It was a purple v-neck long sleeved shirt and a pair of jeans. Meryl had bought it a couple of days ago for herself .

After Lafiel had opened her gift, Millie got up again and handed a gift to Jinto.

He thanked her again and opened the gift. It was a navy blue swag (to place the baby in). Meryl and Millie stayed up most of the night to make it.

Millie then handed out everyone else's gifts. After the last gift had been opened, Meryl and Millie went to check on dinner. Vash was holding Plakia. Jinto and Lafiel were wrapped up in each other. Wolfwood was outside having a cigarette because Millie wouldn't allow him to smoke in the house while their guests were here. "Dinner's ready." Millie said to everyone. She then went outside to tell Wolfwood.

A couple of days later .....

Lafiel had fully recovered from giving birth. She and Plakia were strong enough to travel. Lafiel was wearing the outfit she had got for Christmas. She had her hair in a braided ponytail and had a hat on her head, to cover her ears. Jinto had just put Plakia in the swag that Lafiel had just put on. Lafiel had gotten in the front seat of the SUV (which Vash had gotten and fixed on Christmas morning.) Jinto got in on the driver's side.

Vash and Wolfwood were in their car to make sure they left safely. They left as soon as the SUV pulled out of the driveway. The two vehicles drove side by side till they were 10 isles outside of the city. Both vehicles parked, and everyone but Lafiel got out. "Well, I guess this is goodbye. You've done a lot for us and I don't know how we can ever repay you." Jinto said to Vash and Wolfwood.

"Don't mention it. It was our pleasure helping you out." Vash replied. Then they all shook hands. Jinto went back to the SUV and drove off to meet Lafiel and his crew. Vash and Wolfwood got back in their car after they could no longer see them.

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This is my second Christmas fic and this is a gift for all my friends that have given me their support this year. The reason I did a Trigun/Crest of the Stars fic was because I wanted to do a Crest of the Stars fic but I knew that no one would read it unless I crossed it over. Trigun was the first series that came to mind.

I will try to keep this short since most of you don't bother reading authors notes. Here is some of the Crest of the Stars stuff, of what I did not put in the fic:

Abhs are a bioengineered race that was designed by man. They live for over 200 years , remain ageless and are an attractive looking race. They are a very healthy race that heal quickly. Jinto goes in the second category of the Abhs. He is a human that was given a noble title by the Humankind Abh Empire.

Only Lafiel's family has the elf-like ears. All Abhs have human shaped ears.

For everything else, you will have to go to the official Crest of the Stars website that Bandai has setup.