Disclaimer: I do not own Trigun, Nightow does.
Meryl grinned from ear to ear when she saw Vash walking towards them from the desert. The entire community was there enjoying the refreshing spray from the fountain of water that was shooting up in the air. Millie didn't miss a beat. She pushed past Meryl and ran towards Vash. "Oh, Vash-sun, It is so nice to see you again. I can't believe you came back to us. Is this your brother? Can I help you tote him into the house? Did you see? We struck water! Isn't that amazing?" Millie kept speaking and smiling as she helped Vash with his burden. She took the upper torso, which was the heaviest, and Vash took the legs. All Meryl could do was stand there and stare with a goofy smile on her face that Vash had never seen before. Vash was pleased with the help from Millie. He really didn't feel like speaking, so he just mumbled and grunted in agreement with whatever Millie said.
When they reached the small house they had been sharing when he left them, Meryl was there to open the door for them. She didn't speak the entire time. Vash was expecting a good throttling from her. He knew that deep inside she was thinking how dangerous this was. How Knives should have been killed or left for dead. This was not a risk he knew that she would want to take. Vash couldn't stop looking at her. Millie kept on with her incessant talking and questions. Vash only half knew what she was saying. They put Knives in Vash's room. The house was only a two bedroom home with a small kitchen and a bathroom. The kitchen doubled as a sitting area, but that was alright. The girls shared a room and Vash didn't need that much space to begin with. When they got Knives' unconscious body settled away on the bed, Millie stopped her incessant chatter. Vash looked up at her expectantly, hesitant to break his gaze away from Meryl. "What is it Millie?" Vash saw the concerned look in the big girl's face. "I can't help but think that he would still be here with us if it were not for your brother." She said turning sad eyes towards Vash. He saw the anguish in Millie's face. Vash almost looked away until her expression changed back into a smile. "That's o.k. Mr. Vash! We will just have to give your brother extra love and care until he wakes up." Millie turned her back on them and bounced out the doorway with a very hurried statement about celebrating with the town at the local pub. She was the star for the evening given that it was her who had broken through to the water.
When Millie was out of sight, Vash sagged a little and remembered the wounds he had. They had been screaming at him for hours, but he was determined to get Knives back to the girls. Meryl was still in the room. He had noticed that as well. Vash walked over to his dresser and pulled the usual ointment and bandages from a carry pack that Meryl had made him start lugging around. She noiselessly walked over to him and helped him sit in the chair that sat in the corner near the door. Meryl's silence was enough to throw Vash off kilter. Her intensity with cleaning and dressing his wounds was almost more than he could bear. "Meryl" he began. She looked up at him with knowing eyes. He couldn't say anymore than he already had and he knew that she didn't want him to either. When Meryl finished dressing Vash's wounds, Vash stepped to the bathroom and changed his shirt. When he stepped out again, Meryl was holding a cold beer for him and his bedroom door was open. "Come on Mr. Vash, I made up the couch for you. It should be cozy enough for a nap. Don't worry about your brother. I will look after him. I'll let you know if he decides to wake up." Vash grabbed the beer out of Meryl's hand and walked into the sitting area. He lay down on the couch and took a sip of his beer. Before Meryl could make it into the sitting area of the house, Vash had fallen asleep on the couch and his beer had fallen from his hand.