A warm touch, soft and gentle, engulfed her arm, shaking her and asking her to wake up. When she did finally open her eyes, Meryl saw a wide-awake Millie hovering over her.
"Good morning, ma'm!" The brunette chirped. Satisfied that her partner was awake, The taller woman pulled the blinds on the windows up letting the previously filtered sunlight flood the room. Meryl lifted an arm to shield her eyes from the intrusion. Her still-asleep mind was fuzzy but she managed a weak glare at Millie.
"What time is it?"
"It's about 11 o' clock. I would have woken you up earlier, but I heard you come back to bed lateā¦" Millie's cheerful blue eyes looked over concernedly at Meryl as she trailed off.
"Oh. Thank you, Millie, but I wouldn't have minded." Meryl's mind replayed the events of the night before and she shut her eyes tightly to try and block the memory. She rose from her pillow and untangled her legs from the sheets. Her clothes were all ready for her, hanging off the back of a nearby chair.
"There's breakfast downstairs. Vash and Wolfwood already went done to get some." Millie informed her as she handed her articles of clothing to her with a bright smile.
"Thanks Millie. Why don't you go on ahead and I'll meet you down there in a second." Meryl smiled back at her companion as the woman left, closing the door behind her. She stared at the door for a more seconds before hanging her head into her palms. She wasn't exactly eager to go downstairs and spend breakfast with the boys. No doubt the air would be tense, her actions hanging over all of them like a fog.
She shivered involuntarily and looked around the room once more before picking up the clothes Millie had laid in her lap.
'Come on Meryl. Let's not dwell on it anymore. Just put your clothes on and get your rear down there.'
-------
Vash finished off the rest of his beer and smiled sweetly at the bartender, named Molly he had discovered, who smiled back at him and leaned across the counter.
"I bet ye be havin' another one, eh laddie?"
"Only if you'll give me another one." The woman took the glass from the counter and filled it up to the brim, foam running down the edges of the glass onto the polished wood surface.
"I hope ye boys 'ave got the money for this." She commented, wiping her hands on her dirty apron. Wolfwood, who was sitting on the right of Vash, popped another pretzel into his mouth. He looked at the sparse breakfast menu she had handed him earlier, and then eyed her with a cynical frown.
"Of course. We had the money to pay for those crappy rooms, didn't we?" He quipped.
"I'm back." All three turned as Millie shut the door leading to the stairway. She smiled slightly and sat down on the empty seat next to Vash and waved to Molly who simply nodded at her and set down a glass of water in front of her.
"How is she?" The gunman asked, trying to keep a lot of the worry out of his voice. He hadn't known Meryl Stryfe long but if he knew one thing about that woman it was that she didn't have a frightened bone in her body. Seeing her last night, huddled in a corner, shaking horribly, had really thrown him for a loop. Wolfwood too. Once they had gotten back into their room, They talked about the little incident for nearly an hour before Vash fell asleep.
Wolfwood leaned in a little closer then, his shoulder resting heavily on Vash's.
"Yeah, how is the small girl doing? Gave us a friggin' heart attack last night." He growled.
"Better I suppose. But that doesn't mean I'm not worried. I've never seen Meryl behave like that before." Millie ran a hand through her hair and picked up her water. She gave a small thank you before taking a large gulp, all of them seemingly oblivious to Molly's piercing gaze.
------
Deciding it would be wise to take a shower, Meryl had set aside her clothes and walked into the adjacent bathroom. Millie must have already used it because the towels were slightly damp and hung in a disorderly way. Meryl grumbled and then smiled to herself thinking about her friend and partner as she fixed the towels.
The minute she stepped under the hot spray of the shower she knew she had made the right choice. Warm water splashed over her tired body, soothing the aches and pains of her mind as well as the stiff neck she had acquired. She ran her hands over her hair, scraping the water down with her hands. Lucky for her Millie hadn't used all the shampoo she had managed to get at the last general store they had happened upon.
She stepped out after a few more minutes, not wanting to use all the hot water in case either of the boys wanted to shower before they left. She imagined they would be on the road again just after breakfast. There was nothing to keep them here in this god forsaken town and it was always best to make themselves scarce before someone realized who Vash was.
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The door slammed open, rattling the shelves and everything on their surface. The family looked up from their breakfast, wondering what was with the intrusion. The man stood up from the table, his greying beard shaking in indignation as the person in the doorway stepped into the room.
"Leo!"
"Come on, Dave. We got to go."
"Leo I am eating breakfast with my family." Dave motioned to his wife and two children, two little girls with brunette plaits. Leo, a dusty man looking the same age as Dave, tipped his hat to the women.
"It's important Dave. There's been another report-"
"Go Dave. I'll save your breakfast." He looked to his wife, a mousey little woman in a calico-like dress and an apron. She smiled up at him and nodded.
"Alright. Let me just get my gun Leo."
The two men strode quickly away from the house, Leo talking quickly but in hushed tones.
"Gray Davenport got home early this morning from a business trip. Said he got into the house and there was nothing. Found his wife shot to just outside the house and his three boys missing."
Dave gave his beard a good tug. He had never felt more frustrated in his life. In all his years of being sheriff of this little good-for-nothing town, He had never seen anything like this. Of course there had been the last time...But that was 12 years ago. Things had changed and there was no reason there should be another rash of these incidents, now more random and more violent.
"Sheriff McKinsley?" Dave looked up from his broodings. He hadn't even noticed Leo stop in front of the Davenport home. The officer in front of him had outstretched his hand. Dave took it, not liking the grip the man had to him but merely gave him a solemn nod.
"Leo already informed me. What evidence do we have, boy?" The officer shuffled through some papers before handing a couple over to Dave. He paged through them, each one more a dead-end then the last one. The young officer must have been sensing his superior's irritation because he at once began to babble.
"There was no sign of breaking and entering, no struggle besides a couple of chairs in odd places and toys all about the place. From Mrs. Davenport's position we're guessing she had her back turned to her attacker and was getting something from their cellar." After he had spouted off all this information he knew, The officer stood smartly by the sheriff's side waiting for orders. Instead the grizzled old man walked up to the home and inside.
"Where's Gray?" Leo asked the young man. He relaxed a little and pointed over towards the jailhouse.
"The others took him back there for questioning. Poor Gray, he's an absolute mess Leo." Leo patted the officer on the shoulder before setting off towards the jailhouse.
------
Meryl descended the stairs dressed in crisp white uniform and fresh for the day. The shower had washed away all remnants of the dream down the drain with all the dirt and grime and she felt more prepared to deal with any questions or jokes the boys might have for her. But when she got to the bottom of the stairs, the scene wasn't exactly one she was prepared for.
She blinked and looked around. The bartender was standing at the door, quietly conversing with an older man with a silver badge and twin guns at his side. Vash, Wolfwood, and Millie were sitting at the bar, pretending to mind their own business but Meryl knew each of them was straining to hear. Millie looked over towards the door and noticing Meryl there eagerly waved her over.
"What's going on?" Meryl questioned as she seated herself.
"We're not entirely sure. The Sheriff just came in and wanted to talk to Molly. Something about another incident." Meryl's eye brows perked up. Another incident? That didn't exactly sound promising. Meryl's stomach only dropped further when the sheriff walked over to the bar, his spurs jangling. He set himself just next to Wolfwood, who was closest. His eyes roved over his covered Cross Punisher, and continued to Vash.
"Mind if I ask you fine folks a couple of questions?" He drawled.
"Sure Sheriff! What can we help you with sir?" Vash piped up, a goofy smile adorning his face. Meryl rolled her eyes and let her forehead drop into her hand. The morning hadn't exactly started off well, but it had looked for a moment to be improving. Now she had a nasty feeling that they were about to become prime suspects in something crime related.
"What were you all doing last night? After Molly here closed up the saloon?" The Sheriff watched all of their faces carefully, Molly standing slightly behind him, her eyes trained only on Meryl. Meryl caught her stare, but looked away, which caught the Sheriff's attention. He slowly strode over to stand beside her, on the other side of the counter.
"We all went to sleep, Sheriff. We're travelers, it had been a rough day. Why? Has something happened?" She politely responded. Molly moved closer, her eyes narrowing with each step, and it was then that Meryl noticed something about her she hadn't before. She suddenly felt the room begin to close in around her and she had to close her eyes momentarily to try and regain her bearings.
"Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but there's been a kidnapping and a murder, and it just happens to coincide with when you all arrived. Let me remind you all you're entirely innocent until proven guilty, so let's not get defensive when I ask you here to come down to the station with me." The Sheriff patted Meryl on the shoulder and then pulled himself off the counter. " Day to you Mol." He said with a tip of his hat. Molly smiled and nodded but the grin quickly disappeared as there was a commotion from outside.
"Sheriff!" A young man, obviously nerve wracked, erupted from the open doorway, grabbing the sheriff's arm in his shaking hand. "The culprits and the kids are in town! They're trying to make it out the northern exit!" The sheriff left with the boy after exchanging a severe look with Molly. The woman in turn ran back to the counter and reached under the shelves there. She rose with a very large gun.
"You three stay here and don't ye leave this place 'til I get back, ye hear? Don't ye go followin' me!" Molly ran her eyes over all of them before stopping at Meryl.
Meryl stared back into the green sparkling eyes of the bartender, willing her to look away, pleading with her in her mind to say nothing, to leave.
"Stay here." Molly repeated one last time and then bolted for the door.
"What was that about?" Vash asked, watching the doorway before turning back to Meryl. They were all watching her now, curious as to why she seemed to have this rapport with the bartender. Meryl shook her head and grabbed Millie's glass of water.
"How should I know?" She mumbled. This wasn't how the day was supposed to go.
Notes: Sorry for the wait but I wasn't sure how I was gonna go about putting my storyline to writing. But I got a clue now so the next chapter will be out soon.Next chapter: Some good old gunfighting! or at least the best I can write. Action was never my strong pointAgain review with the urge tickles you..hehehe
