Trigun Fan Fiction ❯ Not Quite Worthless ❯ Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Meryl's eyes fluttered open in the morning sun. She was momentarily disoriented, as the ceiling above her head was definitely not the familiar one she had become used to over the past few months. She ruthlessly suppressed the panic threatening to engulf her; it wouldn't help.

Turning her head slowly, she was surprised to see Vash splayed out in a chair next to her bed. His normally spiky hair drooped into his face, and his chin rested on his shoulder. His black boots stuck out underneath the light blanket tossed over his body.

Against her will, she felt herself softening as she looked at him. He looked so cute sitting there, like an overgrown child. She braced an arm underneath herself to shift slightly, and cried out at the pain this caused.

The throbbing jolted her brain, and she remembered the events of the day before. Those men…Knives…

Vash jerked awake at her cry and was immediately at her side. "Are you okay? Should I get a doctor?"

Meryl didn't answer immediately, concentrating on taking shallow breaths. "I'm…fine. I just moved the wrong way, that's all." She then blinked as he gave her the most blinding smile she had ever seen him give.

"I can't believe you're awake already. Millie's going to be thrilled." He said, taking her hand. "I think I'm going to get someone to check on you anyway."

She couldn't control the blush that rushed to her face. "Mr. Vash, I'm really fine. Don't trouble yourself over me." She pulled her hand out of his, embarrassed. What was he doing?

Her protests fell on deaf ears as he rose and turned towards the door. A sudden thought made her gasp. "Knives! What happened to Knives, is he okay?"

Vash stopped and gave her another smile. "He's fine. Not a scratch on him." He turned around fully. "Thank you, Meryl. Thank you so much for my brother's life."

Meryl, still not over her last blush, felt her face blaze up again at the unabashed gratitude and admiration in his face. "I couldn't just stand there and let him get shot." She said softly. "And Millie's not in any condition to pull a stunt like this."

"It's just that…I know Knives isn't one of your favorite people…" Vash gave her a wry smile.

Meryl frowned. "I would hardly let personal feelings get in the way of saving someone's life, Mr. Vash." Her voice was quickly returning to its normal clipped professionalism. "Even if he is arrogant and insufferable, your brother is injured, and was in no condition to defend himself. I wasn't going to just stand there."

Vash watched as she rebuilt the wall around herself. He knew better than most what a good heart she had, and also how much work she put into protecting it.

"Still," he said softly, "he's my only brother. I can't help being grateful." He hesitated, then quickly leaned over to kiss Meryl on the cheek.

"I'll get the doctor." He said cheerfully. She watched as he bounded out of the room.

Meryl sat stiffly, not knowing what to make of his impulsive kiss. It's nothing, she told herself. It's just like that hug he gave you, simply an expression of gratitude between friends. We have known each other for a few years, after all. It's nothing to get your hopes up.

She repeated the mantra to herself even as the doctor began examining her.

Nothing at all. Only friends.

***

Millie's visit was predictably loud and teary, and she fussed around Meryl until her friend gently asked her to sit down.

"I'm sorry I made you worry, Millie. It can't be good for the baby." Meryl told her.

Millie smiled. "With this baby's parents, a little worry won't hurt it." She patted her stomach. "This baby will be strong."

Vash laughed. "That's true."

"The boy is fine." Knives said, leaving his companions momentarily stunned both at the statement and at the fact that he had volunteered the information.

"You…you know it's a boy?" Millie finally asked. Her eyes shone as more tears threatened to fall.

Knives nodded woodenly, then looked away.

Vash broke the silence. "Well, there you have it. Knives would know." He then stretched and yawned sheepishly.

"Mr. Vash, you've been here all night! Did you get any sleep?" Millie asked.

"A little. I'll be alright." He yawned again.

"Why don't you go home and get some sleep before work? The doctor said I'm fine." Meryl suggested.

"I don't want to leave you alone. Are you sure?"

Meryl rolled her eyes. "Yes, I'm sure. You all need to go to work."

"Don't worry about work." Millie said. "You're more important."

"No." Meryl said firmly. She handled the finances for their little household, and she knew that they could ill afford even a day of missed wages. "I'll be fine. You two can check on me at the end of the day."

"I'll stay with her." Knives surprised them all again.

"Knives?" Vash inquired. The brothers shared a look; warm aqua eyes meeting ice blue. Then Vash shrugged. "That's settled, then. Knives, you'll let me know if you need me."

"Don't hover, Vash. The doctor said the woman was fine." Knives responded.

Vash blinked, then scratched his head, laughing nervously. "Ok, then, if you're sure."

"Broomhead…" Meryl said warningly.

He threw his hands up in surrender. "Okay, I can take a hint. Let's go, Millie."

Millie nodded. "Okay. Take care of Meryl, Mr. Knives."

Knives watched as the two exited, leaving a tense silence behind.

"You don't have to stay if you don't want to. I'll understand if you go back home." Meryl offered.

Her companion merely slanted her a look, not bothering to respond.

Meryl shrugged to herself (mentally, of course) and put it out of her mind. She found herself growing sleepy; the short visit had taken more out of her than she realized. Soon, she was fast asleep, Knives keeping surly vigil at her side.

***

Vash wiped his forehead. Even though he knew better, it seemed as though another sun had appeared in the sky since the day before, increasing the heat by a third and baking him to a blond crisp. He didn't remember the work being this hard yesterday, but simply chalked it up to the little sleep he had gotten the night before.

A jubilant shout went up down the line; the water vein they had struck a few months earlier ran under the earth for a few iles in between its source and the first well. This meant the town would be able to access the vein in more than one place, allowing them to spread out more, and reducing reliance on the well in the center of town.

Vash watched as the water welled up, darkening the parched earth. The initial spray died down to a burble, seeping its way from the exit point. Vash watched as if mesmerized. Then the sun hit the water in just the right angle, and it suddenly looked dark and sluggish, like blood.

His mind imposed Meryl's small body over the seemingly blood-soaked ground, and he was barely aware of falling to his knees, hands clapped to his head. He had seen so much death, but if he had lost Meryl so soon after Wolfwood…

Millie's concerned voice finally penetrated his agonized thoughts, and he turned a stricken face to her. "M-Meryl…Meryl almost died yesterday. She almost died."

Millie's face showed her understanding. "It's all caught up to you, hasn't it, Mr. Vash? You handled everything so well yesterday, it was bound to happen. You didn't really let yourself think about it until now. Go home and get some rest, we're almost done here."

Vash shook his head blindly. "No, I'll go see Meryl first." He managed a shaky grin. "Hopefully she and Knives haven't put a hole through the wall yet."

Millie patted his shoulder comfortingly. "I'm sure they're fine. I'll catch up with you and let the foreman know."

Vash pushed himself to his feet and gave her a more genuine smile this time. "Thanks, Millie. I owe you one."

The tall woman waved him off cheerfully. "I'll see you at dinner, then!"

He watched off walk over to the foreman; to explain his absence, no doubt. It didn't matter; Meryl was more than worth an hour of lost wages.

***

The kind nurse waved him to Meryl's room with a smile. "She was doing fine, the last time I checked on her. More than fine, actually. Her recovery is coming along very nicely."

Vash smiled in response and continued along the corridor. He didn't hear any shouting, while both surprised and relieved him. Hopefully Meryl had spent enough time sleeping today that she and Knives avoided their usual fights.

He knocked before entering, to find Knives seated in the same chair Vash had slept in, only it had been moved across the room. Meryl was propped up in her bed, apparently asleep.

Knives stood a little stiffly when Vash entered. "I thought you would still be at work."

Vash shrugged. "I left a little early today to check on you guys. Anything exciting happen?"

"No. The woman has been surprisingly quiet today. If I had known this was what it took, I would have shot her long ago."

Vash caught a faint choked noise from the hospital bed, and shook his head in exasperation. "Knives…"

"Forget it. I'm going back to the house." Knives took one pained step, then straightened. The long inactivity had stiffened his recovering muscles. Vash, knowing better than to offer assistance, watched his brother leave without another word.

As the door closed behind him, Vash walked over to Meryl's bed. He smiled as he looked down at her face. Her breathing was even and untroubled, and her small chest rose and fell in rhythm. He couldn't help reaching out a hand and smoothing back a few displaced strands of hair.

Her elfin features smoothed at his touch, and she rubbed her cheek against his fingers. Vash's smile grew wider even as he grew more confused. He knew she wasn't asleep, he had been aware of the fact as soon as he entered the room. He knew why she would pretend to be asleep around Knives, but why the deception with him?

Meryl tried her best to keep her eyes closed when she heard Vash walk over to her bed. She had expected him to try to wake her, and was perplexed at the growing silence.

The faint whisper of his fingers traced its way across her cheek, lingering on the soft skin. Meryl almost blew her cover, but managed to keep her eyes closed and her breathing steady. But she couldn't help nuzzling against his hand like a pampered cat. Wait…what was she doing?

"What am I doing?" Vash murmured. He heaved a sigh and sank to the floor, kneeling by her bedside. "I don't know what's happening to me, Meryl."

Once again, the dark haired woman managed to suppress her start of surprise.

"When I saw you lying there yesterday…I thought my heart would stop. I can't…I can't bear to lose anyone else dear to me."

I'm dear to you? Oh, Vash…

His voice remained low, yet the tone was determined. "I promise you, I won't let you be hurt anymore." He paused, then continued thoughtfully. "It wasn't the same as when I saw Wolfwood…and that hurt bad enough. This was just…" He sighed, then continued.

"Well, I don't know what it means, but you're gonna have to bear with me while I figure it out, ok?"

He smiled gently. Meryl was trying to hard to keep up her sleeping act, but was failing miserably. Her eyes were squeezed shut and her body was stiff as a board. No matter. He needed to say it, she needed to hear it, and this gave them the perfect opportunity to understand each other while allowing each to maintain the protective masks they wore just a little while longer.

He took pity on his poor friend and raised his voice. "Meryl? Meryl, wake up."

Meryl's eyes popped open, and she attempted to look surprised at seeing him at the side of her bed. "Hello, Mr. Vash."

"Hello, yourself. How do you feel?"

Meryl smiled shyly, trying not to fidget under his warm aqua gaze. "Achy, but I can't really complain."

"Good." They looked at each other in silence for a moment before Meryl cleared her throat and looked away.

"Why are you kneeling next to my bed? Is something wrong with the chair?"

Vash sat back on his heels, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. "No, no…it's just that Knives moved it, and I didn't think of moving it back."

Meryl shook her head disapprovingly. "Really, Mr. Vash, sometimes I wonder how you get anything done." She forgot herself long enough to face him again.

Despite his smile, she could see the circles under his eyes, and the drawn lines on his face.

"Have you slept?" She asked softly. "You went straight to work, didn't you?"

"I look that bad?" he sighed melodramatically.

Meryl's brows drew down in a concerned frown. "The last thing we need is for you to make yourself sick worrying about me."

He leaned back and stretched his arms over his head, grinning. "Don't worry. You don't get a $$60 billion bounty on your head without learning to go without sleep once in a while."

"But Mr. Vash," she began earnestly. "I'm hardly at death's door, and there's no need for you to…"

Vash found himself tuning out her well-meaning lecture and found his eyes moving over the curve of her cheek, the flutter of her lashes, the sparkle of her eyes.

And when she pursed her mouth in disapproval, pausing between one sentence and another, he found himself moving forward almost involuntarily. The curve of her lips just then had seemed somehow…inviting.

He shook himself mentally…what had that been about?

"…and-Mr. Vash? Mr. Vash, are you listening to me?" She growled impatiently and forgetting her injuries, raised an arm to swat at him. She cried out at the pain that caused her, and Vash took her hand in his from where it was still raised mid-air.

"Meryl." He said firmly. "Calm down. I don't want you making yourself worse. I promise I'll go home and get some rest soon, alright?"

"Alright." She breathed. Damn, that had really hurt.

When Vash was sure she wasn't going to try to attack him again, he released her hand. Meryl gingerly pulled her arm back, mindful not to reopen her wound.

"Do you want us to bring you anything from home? You'll probably be here another day at least."

Meryl drew in a deep breath to calm herself. "I wouldn't mind something to read." She coughed lightly.

Vash frowned and stood up. "I'll get you some water." He was gone before she could protest.

She smiled to herself sadly. As much as she enjoyed the attention, she had no intention of letting herself get used to it. She was certain that his attentiveness would diminish as she recovered and the initial shock of almost losing his brother began to fade.

Meryl sighed to herself as he came back in with a glass and pitcher of water. Might as well enjoy it while it lasts.