Trigun Fan Fiction ❯ Ticket to the Future ❯ Ticket to Heaven... ( Chapter 14 )

Standard Disclaimer: At long last, I have reached the end of this creation that has been floating around in my mind since last July. I don't own Trigun or any of its characters. I simply borrowed them for a little while to have a lot of fun.

Ticket to the Future: Part XIV

Ticket to Heaven…

It was really strange how peaceful this afternoon seemed. No one on the narrow streets of this tiny hamlet moved. None of the odd assortment of vehicles moved in the stillness. The boisterous noise made by children at play could not even be heard. Only the wind seemed bold enough to whisper as it flowed through the streets, kicking up small dust devils, before moving ever onward.

The pall overhang of smoke and dust began to settle. Three ghostly silhouettes stood in the haze. I think someone screamed. It might have been me. I'm not sure. Had my eyes really seen the impossible? Had my gentle friend Milly really been the one to stand in the street and confront the most evil thing on the planet? Had she gunned down Knives?

I flew into the street and stopped between the three of them. Where did I go first? The haze was almost gone. Vash stood, sides heaving, lowering his still smoking pistol to his side. He moved slightly and looked at the direction his shot had taken. Knives stood there in the street on sagging knees, a small round hole in his shoulder, clutching at his middle. Even I could tell that Vash had caused that small wound.

Milly stood lowering the Cross-Punisher to the ground. Her face was contorted with agony. Her lower lip was clenched between her teeth. Her eyes widened a bit as she looked in Knives direction. I gasped a moment as I also took in what her eyes saw.

Knives had fallen to his knees, a gaping hole blown in his middle. Blood poured from his flesh and covered the dry dusty street. No one could survive such a massive wound. His face shone with a brilliant light. "Who would have thought that a superior breed of being would be done in by such a weak human female…" Knives pitched forward into the dust and moved no more.

Vash walked slowly over to his fallen brother. Tears glistened in his eyes. "It's over… Rem, it's finally over," he whispered softly.

Hearing a soft moan behind me, I turned swiftly. "Milly… Oh Milly," I gasped softly. She raised her eyes to mine and smiled brightly. A thin trickle of blood was seeping from both corners of her mouth. "I told him I would kill him if he threatened my babies. I guess he thought I was kidding…"

With that one phrase, Milly slowly sank against the Cross-Punisher. It was a scene eerily reminiscent of the way we had found Mr. Wolfwood. Blood flowed down the side of the cross and into the dirt, but what was more distressing was the sight of water gushing onto the ground. The twins had decided it was time to greet the world.

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The house below us was filled with concerned people. The pipeline crew and some of the small shopkeepers had come to hold silent vigil. No one seemed to care that Knives' body was left in the dusty street.

"I don't know what the world is coming to. Pregnant women being gunned down on the streets!" Dr. Jones was dashing about the room in a frantic haste. Milly was unconscious when we carried her into the house. Vash stood in the corner of the room, looking slightly sick. "Miss Meryl, keep that pressure on the wound or she'll bleed to death before the birth." I nodded and kept pressing the large cloth against the bullet hole that was high on her chest.

Dr. Jones and his nurse worked swiftly. They efficiently cut the clothes from her body and covered her with a light sheet. Both of them went about their tasks with automatic motions. Coming to my side, Dr. Jones motioned for me to shift to the right. He gingerly lifted the cloth from the wound. He blanched at the sight of the ragged hole. "It doesn't look good," he said in distressed tones.

"But, Milly is as strong as an ox. She has to be ok! Please, there must be something you can do."

"Miss Meryl, I am sorry. Maybe if she weren't pregnant, but there is no exit wound. The bullet is lodged in her chest cavity. That fact alone is enough, but her body is in labor. I'm not sure there is anything we can do except make her comfortable." I looked at the doctor as his words sank into my soul. "Milly can't die…"

"Promise me, you'll take them to December…"

"I promise…"

Milly groaned slightly as her eyes blinked open. The slowly came into focus. "Meryl… promise me."

"I promise Milly, but don't you want to be here for them yourself? They will need you so much and I need you. You've got to hang on. Don't give up yet."

She grimaced and clutched at her middle. "Try to relax, Mrs. Wolfwood. It will not hurt as much if you pant during the pains and you need to conserve your strength." Dr. Jones tried to reassure her with gentle tones.

Vash sidled up to the edge of the bed. Kneeling there, he reached out and took Milly's hand in both of his. "Milly, I failed you and Wolfwood. Why didn't you tell me? I could have done something."

"Mr. Vash, you couldn't have killed him and you know it. Please don't be sorry. You didn't fail. You are a kind and gentle person. It's not your fault. Try to understand. This was something I had to do for Wolfwood, myself and most of all my children."

Vash nodded. "I will help Meryl raise your children. I will tell them about you and Wolfwood."

Screaming softly, Milly sat partially upright. She clutched Vash's hands in a fierce grip. "It hurts Meryl, I want the pain to stop," she sobbed.

Dr. Jones and his nurse instantly came to her side. The doctor pealed the sheet back from her lower body. "Mrs. Wolfwood, just a few more minutes now. Hang on you are doing fine."

Milly sank back against the pillows, seeking a brief respite from the pain. She still clutched Vash's hands and I kept the cloth pressed to the hole in her chest. Her heartbeat felt strong and steady under my fingertips. Maybe there was a chance for her after all.

"Mrs. Wolfwood, when you feel the next pain start I want you to push. Don't stop until I tell you to."

"I'll try, but my name's not really Mrs. Wolfwood. It's Milly Thompson. Just plain Miss Thompson. I was never married to Wolfwood."

"I think I already knew that. It's never mattered to me. You are not the first girl who has had a baby without the benefit of being married." Dr. Jones smiled at her gently.

Milly groaned again and raised her spread knees toward her chest. Dr. Jones and his nurse were close beside her. "Push Milly, don't stop keep pushing!" Milly screamed as her body expended the effort. A fresh wave of blood soaked through the towel I was holding.

"Good Milly, relax… breathe slowly… relax and wait for the next one." The doctor kept up his gentle coaxing. Milly leaned back against the pillows until the next onslaught began on her lower body.

I was growing concerned. With each effort on her part to give birth, blood poured through the cloth I was pressing down on her wound. And while I had no medical training, her heartbeat felt as if it were growing weaker.

A few moments later, the wail of a new baby greeted us all. Milly smiled tiredly for a moment. Vash was grinning from ear to ear. The nurse laid the tiny girl on her mothers' stomach. Vash proudly cut the cord. "Look Milly, she is absolutely perfect! Such black hair!" I was in awe of the tiny new life before us.

Milly smiled down at the tiny infant. "She will not be alone for long." The nurse quickly bundled up the baby as Milly screamed again with another contraction. "Push now, Milly. One or two more and you will be done." Dr. Jones had turned into a semi-cheerleader again as she exerted herself.

"Alright Milly, you are doing fine. I've got the head now. Just one more push and we'll have another fine baby."

Milly screamed and gave a final push. Her exhausted body fell back onto the bed. A lusty wail echoed in the room. "Look Milly, a boy! You have a fine new son and daughter. Please open your eyes." I pleaded with her. The towel was now soaked with blood.

Dr. Jones listened to her heartbeat and checked her pulse. He silently shook his head. "She's not got long left. It's amazing she managed to deliver twins with such a massive chest wound. I'm so sorry," he whispered softly.

"Don't be sorry," she rasped at Dr. Jones. "We all have a ticket to the future… mine just happens to be to Heaven."

The nurse laid the babes close to her. "Maybe their presence will be a comfort to her in her final moments." I sniffed back tears as Vash's eyes met mine across the bed. "Milly," he began. "What… do you have names picked out for them?"

Milly opened her eyes slowly. They were faded and held a blank stare. "Yes," she whispered barely discernable to our ears. "Nicholas V. Wolfwood and Nicole M. Wolfwood…Vash and Meryl for the two people who have been very dear to me these past months." Her eyes brightened for a moment as she looked at her children. Both babes had their eyes open. I caught the hint of a brilliant sky blue in their eyes.

"They look more like Wolfwood than me." She smiled softly again and closed her eyes. "It's too… bad… I won't… be… here… for them… I… I… wish… Nicholas… could… have… seen them…" I sobbed as her voice faded.

No sound penetrated the stillness except the harsh sound of Milly's final breaths. After a few moments, her chest rose and fell once more and her grip loosened on Vash's hands as her head dipped slowly to the side. My tear filled eyes met those of Vash across the bed. Two innocent children had just been put into our care. We had to go on. Vash wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. He spoke one word in the stillness. "December"

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I hate to leave you both. I did what I had to do to save you both from the hands of a monster. Perhaps if I had been a stronger person, I would have been able to be here for you. One day Mr. Vash and Meryl will tell you the story of your mother, father, and how all this came to past. I hope you can understand someday and forgive me.

Meryl, I wish I could speak to you once again and tell you how much I love you and what it means to me that you are going to look after Nick and Nickie. Please don't cry. I'm all right. Take care of Mr. Vash. A good man like him doesn't come along everyday you know!

Mr. Vash, please take care of them all. I will pray that you don't feel guilt over this whole thing. You will need everything you have to help Meryl raise and protect my most cherished possessions.

"Hey, girl… come on. It's time to go."

I gave one last sad smile at my children, lying close to my body. "Good bye little ones. I'll see you again someday." I turned and took the arm of the tall man in black at my side. "I hope you can ever forgive me for some of the things I have done."

"I'm here, aren't I?" He was cryptic as always.

I smiled as we rose upward into a brilliant light. I was right… my ticket was to Heaven.

*********

I took the babies and laid them in the bed Milly had prepared. The nurse said she would stay for a bit as Vash and I cleaned up what remained of our lives.

Vash stepped into the street to remove his brother's corpse from the ground. I came onto the porch and squinted into the glare of the sun. Milly had been taken to the undertaker. I was going to help prepare her for burial. Vash stood in place looking at the patch of blood stained ground.

"Did you send him to the undertaker too?"

He shook his head. His eyes glinted with a hard aqua stare. "The body has disappeared. It would seem that Knives was not as dead as I thought."

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Epilogue: 15 years in the Future at the city of December

Sitting in the window, I glanced across the open yard of the orphanage. It has been 15 years since we arrived here. We have made a nice life here with Nick and Nickie. Mr. Wolfwood's orphanage accepted us with open arms these many years ago. Life was quite and good. The twins grew and thrived until at 15 they towered head and shoulders over me.

Vash and I told them simple stories of their parents as they grew older and last year we told them the final chapter in the story of Nicholas D. Wolfwood and Milly Thompson. We told them of his death and of the role Knives Millions had played in the whole process. We told them of Milly's sacrifice to protect them and how in the end, Knives' body disappeared on the same day Milly had died. The twins had accepted the story with silent stoicism and the matter was never mentioned again.

All was well until word reached us last year of the entire population of small towns disappearing into nothingness. Vash picked up his gun again and made forays into the desert seeking Knives, but had no success. He returned from his journeys with tales of people we had met in the past and people he had met along the way, but he never found any trace of Knives.

I was startled to hear a loud report of gunfire just outside the compound. I listened again. A second report shattered the stillness. It couldn't be. But there was no mistake. That was the sound of the Cross-Punisher and a large stun gun.

Racing outside, I was shocked to find Nick and Nickie looking very pleased with themselves. "What in the hell are you two doing?" The sight of them holding the guns that had brought such despair to their parents frightened me.

Twin pairs of wide sky blue eyes gazed at me. Raven black hair glistened in the sunlight. "Why mother Meryl, isn't it obvious," began Nick.

"We are going to hunt down the killer…" said Nickie

"who killed our parents and is killing people again." finished Nick.

How could I argue with logic like that? I had the uneasy feeling that life was about to deal us another blow.

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Finis…

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I would like to take a moment and thank all of the readers who took the time and effort to read this story and leave me a review. I hope you all have enjoyed reading this story as much as I have enjoyed writing it.

When I first started writing fan fiction last summer, I was hesitant to post anything for fear that no one would like my works. I have been thrilled that the majority of you have been very positive in all your comments to me and for that I thank you again.

Will I stay on Planet Gunsmoke for a while or head off to the land of Dragonball anytime soon? I have no idea right now. I am playing with a new character set here on Gunsmoke, but have nothing definite yet.

But for now, I leave you all with a smile and the encouragement that everyone has the choice to make the future a better place for ourselves and for future generations. It is up to each of us to make a difference in not just our own lives, but in the lives of those around us.

For now, I leave all of you with a dozen box of your favorite donuts and…

Love and Peace,

Blackhat (^_~)