I do not own Trigun / Vash. He belongs to Mr. Yasuhiro Nightow.

Lyrics are from: "He Ain't Heavy... He's My Brother" The song was written by Bobby Scott and Bob Russell circa 1969.

.

.

Old Friends

.

So on we go

His welfare is my concern

No burden is he to bear

We'll get there

...

Year 0135 month 11 day 18

.

The slanting rays of the setting suns spread their multicolored light across the sky, through the window of the Sheriff's office, and straight into the eyes of the Sheriff herself.

Lina blinked, looked at a clock, and smiled. Another day's work was done, finally. She didn't enjoy these long hours on summer evenings, especially when there was paperwork involved. Unfortunately, both paperwork and long hours came with the job.

She stood up to stretch her back. "I never knew there would be so much paperwork!" she complained, not for the first time.

The deputy chuckled while standing and moving toward the door. "Strange. Somehow, it seems as if I've heard that once or twice before."

Fortunately, the deputy was a good dodger. A pencil sailed through the air narrowly missing the man's head. He continued chuckling, though he wasted no time getting to the other side of the door.

Lina rolled her eyes. "I get no respect!" she complained, loudly enough for the retreating deputy to hear. She put her hands on her hips, and shook her head at the laughter she heard as her deputy walked away down the street.

"I suppose that means I need to lock up," she muttered.

From the corner of her eye, she saw a movement in the doorway. Thinking the deputy had forgotten something and returned, she glanced up... and her heart skipped a beat.

A tall, narrow figure partially swathed in a tattered brownish wrap stood just outside. Strands of blonde hair escaped from the matching hood, fluttering in the evening breeze. Light glinted off circular lenses.

Eriks? She wondered. After so long, was it possible he'd actually come to visit?

The individual stepped inside, where the light was better, and pushed back the hood.

Not Eriks, Lina thought, more disappointed than she cared to admit. "What do you want?" she snapped.

Lina's visitor removed her sunglasses. She had a shield-shaped face, wide at the eyes and forehead though tapering gently to a narrow chin, framed by blonde hair the same color that Eriks' had been. Her long braid was wrapped around her head.

She looked young, as if perhaps she was not even a teen-ager yet. The girl was obviously terribly nervous.

"Are you Lina, Sheryl's granddaughter?" the visitor asked in softly respectful voice. If the office had not been empty and silent, Lina might have had difficulty hearing her.

"Yes," Lina said, "who wants to know?" She knew almost everybody who lived any where locally, but she didn't recognize this girl.

The girl shifted her feet uncomfortably, and then her gaze shifted from Lina's face to the bulletin board with the wanted posters on the wall beside her. She swallowed, and shifted her feet again. Finally, she looked back toward Lina's face.

"I was asked to deliver a message," she said nervously.

"And what might that be?" Lina asked impatiently. She'd not had dinner yet, and she was getting hungry.

"An old friend of yours was wondering if you – and your grandmother too, if she's well enough – might like to picnic outside of town this evening?" the girl said uncertainly.

Lina leaned forward over her desk, and looked directly up into her visitor's pale hazel eyes. "What old friend might that be, and who are you?"

"I'm Shyla." The girl's gaze met Lina's. "He lived with you for two years," she said softly, "like a member of the family. I think you called him 'Eriks'?"

Lina felt as if she'd just been punched, hard, in the gut. She'd missed Eriks, but never really expected to see him again. Of course, she'd learned that wasn't his real name. If he really was nearby, that would explain the girl's discomfort with the wanted posters.

"Please." Shyla extended a hand, but stopped short of touching Lina's sleeve. "He's been ill since Juneora rock, and seeing you would mean a lot to him. That is..." she glanced again at the wanted posters, "if you wouldn't mind leaving your badge behind."

"You only want me to leave my badge behind?" she asked. She was wearing her gun. It showed plainly in the holster on her hip. She gestured to her weapon, emphasizing the point of her question.

"Yes, please," Shyla said softly, "only the badge."

Lina glanced over the girl again. Shyla wasn't wearing any visible weapon. The only things that showed under her wrap were jeans tucked into knee-high boots, a beige-colored shirt a few shades darker than her fair skin, and a medium grey vest.

That wrap looked exactly like the one Eriks had worn on the day Lina found him sitting at the edge of town.

Well, Lina thought, if this is a trick then it's a lot better than most. There was a sound of sincerity in the way that this Shyla girl expressed concern for the sick man. That concern was echoed in both her face and her eyes. The fact that the girl did not ask her to leave behind her gun made the request sound even more credible.

Lina was still inclined to be cautious. "What does this man look like?" she demanded.

"He's taller than I am," Shyla said. "The top of my head is about even with his shoulders. His shoulders are wider than mine, though he's almost equally narrow at the waist and seat. He's lean, but not thin. His face is somewhat long and narrow, and it's pleasant, even if it's not the most handsome face that you've ever seen. He has fair skin, straight hair, and blue-green eyes with a freckle by the outer corner of his left eye. There's a wide scar on the back of his right hand, and his left arm is a replacement."

Every detail matched exactly.

"All right," Lina said slowly. She unpinned her badge and put it carefully into a desk drawer. "I'll need to stop by home and tell my husband he's on kid duty tonight."

Shyla nodded, and stepped back. "I can wait on the bench outside," she said. "Please, don't take too long. I don't like to leave him alone while he's ill."

"Fine," Lina agreed. "I just live a few doors down the street, so this shouldn't take long."

"Thank you," Shyla said. She sounded genuinely grateful.

The girl stepped outside and sat on the bench exactly as she'd said she would. The chosen bench had a convenient view down the street where Lina lived, but otherwise seemed innocuous enough.

Lina glanced again at the "wanted" posters before she locked the office for the night. The one for Vash "the Stampede" was half-hidden behind another, but it remained partially visible. She hadn't liked putting it up at all. She glared at it briefly through the door's window, and then walked briskly down the street to her own house.

There had been a rash of "Vash the Stampede" crimes recently. There must have been at least 3 different bandits claiming that name, given the distances between the crimes and the timing and frequency with which they occurred. Thankfully, none of those men were currently rampaging nearby. Kasted had enough troubles, without that.

None of those crime rumors sounded anything at all like the man that she had known in her youth. Aside from the long red coats and the severity of their crimes, the imposters didn't even have much in common with each other.

When Lina walked into her house, she immediately went looking for her husband. "I've got a traveler with a sick companion waiting at the office," she told him as she kissed him. "I'm going to go see what I can do."

"Are you sure it's not some outlaw looking to pull a fast one on a pretty young sheriff?" her husband inquired, kissing her in return.

"No," Lina said cheerfully. "So either I or my visitor will come here in a short while, looking for supplies for a sick person, if it's for real. If not, you can rustle Frank out of the saloon and come looking for me."

Her husband snorted. "A lot of good that will do, if they've already shot you," he complained.

"She had no objection to me bringing my gun," Lina told him. "She looks very young, maybe about the age of our boy Eriks. Additionally, she doesn't look like someone who's a good liar. My instincts say that she's not trying to cause any trouble."

"I'll feel better when I see someone here wanting supplies," he said. "I expect you'll be using the usual 'safe' signal?"

"Yes, of course," she replied playfully. "I wouldn't want to confuse you!"

Both laughed. She grabbed a coat to throw on if the night grew cold, and called over her shoulder as she left, "kiss the kids goodnight for me, okay?"

Shyla had been watching for her, and stood up as Lina drew near.

"Ok, let's go," she said.

Lina followed the girl out of town, and around an assortment of sand dunes. Shyla was obviously being cautious, making it difficult for anyone to follow them unseen. After another ten minutes, however, they rounded a dune and there he was.

A small campfire, barely an arm's length from him, provided light.

He sat on a thermal blanket with his back against a rock, wrapped in a second thermal blanket and a worn grey shawl. His hair was long, like he'd let it grow as Eriks, but black instead of blonde. He was sitting in almost exactly the same position as the first time she saw him. Except this time, his head was bowed forward, like he might have fallen asleep.

Shyla knelt near him and touched his right arm. His head snapped up. He looked at her, and then he looked past her. When he saw Lina he smiled, and all of her doubts melted away.

"Eriks!" She didn't remember walking to him, or dropping to her knees beside him. She must have done both, however. She found herself hugging him tightly, and feeling concerned about how badly he shivered as he hugged her in response.

"Oh, Eriks, it's so good to see you!" Lina said, and hugged him again.

"It's good to see you, too, Lina," he said. He managed a smile, though she could see tear tracks shining on his cheeks in the firelight.

Lina pretended not to see those shiny trails. "Shyla, did you see where my house is?"

"Yes."

"Please, go back there and tell my husband to get the cake out of the oven," Lina instructed. "His name is Joe. After he tends the cake, get him to help you with finding supplies to help Eriks. I'll stay here with him, for now."

"I'll return as quickly as I can," Shyla said, and then she walked away at a brisk pace.

"Looks like you need another haircut," Lina teased.

"I'm getting used to having it longer," he answered, grinning, "but if that's an offer, I'll keep it in mind."

Lina laughed and sat beside him, leaning her back against the same rock. She arranged herself to be near enough to share warmth with him, but simultaneously just far enough away that they were not quite touching.

"How is your grandmother?" he asked, as soon as she was settled into her chosen place.

"Sheryl can barely walk anymore, which frustrates her," Lina said. "Other than that, she's pretty much the same as she's always been."

"I'm sorry she can't walk much," he said. "I would have liked to see her, too. Please send her my love, when you can."

"I will," Lina promised.

"Tell me how you've been?" he asked gently.

Lina guessed that he did not want to talk about himself, so she settled in and started telling some of her best anecdotes about recent years. She got him laughing, which both felt and sounded good.

Shyla returned after about the amount of time Lina expected. She continued telling anecdotes to Eriks without pause, while she watched the girl silently arranging the things she'd brought.

Lina couldn't help feeling a little jealous. This girl looked about the same age as she had been, when she discovered Eriks about 25 years ago.

Shyla put another blanket around Eriks, put extra food away in their bags, and then warmed up a few things for dinner using the campfire. When the food was ready, she simply handed some to each of them, not interrupting the conversation.

Lina noticed that Eriks smiled at Shyla when she handed him his food, and that there was a doughnut on his plate.

Lina accepted her own plate with nodded thanks. When she finished the current anecdote, the three ate in companionable silence. The food was plain, but good.

"So, what have you been up to?" Lina asked cheerfully.

"Disappearing," he said softly.

He was quiet for long enough that Lina began to think another anecdote would be a good idea, but he spoke again just as she began to open her mouth.

"I moved around a lot for a while," he said. "Then Shyla's mother was kind enough to take me in, like you and your grandmother did. I stayed there until her mother died. Since then, Shyla and I have been roaming the desert until we found ourselves here."

Lina nodded amiably at Shyla. "Pleased to meet you," she said, belatedly remembering her manners.

"And you," Shyla said softly. She smiled, and then returned to cleaning up after dinner.

Good grief, that girl is 'boring' with a capitol 'B'! Lina thought.

He must have guessed Lina's thoughts, since his next words seemed a response to them.

"Shyla has lived at home in a small town all of her life," he said. "We're meandering toward a place where she can live safely and broaden her horizons at the same time."

"Where's that?" Lina wondered.

"Nobody knows," he said mysteriously, and then, "Tell me more about yourself, please?"

Lina ran through a few more stories about her more recent life, including how her wedding cake was toppled and some recent antics and accomplishments of her children.

"I'm glad you have children," he said. "This world needs more people like you."

That earned him a hug. As Lina was about to let go of him, Shyla caught her eye. The girl looked up at the moons, and then at Eriks, and then toward town.

Lina understood, though she didn't like the message.

He wasn't shivering as much anymore, but he had been ill earlier that day. He'd need rest.

"I should go," Lina said regretfully. "It's getting late, and there are things I should do early tomorrow. Maybe I can see you again before you leave?"

"Take care of yourself, Lina," he said softly.

They hugged again, and she walked away. At the top of the nearest dune, she looked back.

Shyla was on her knees beside him, with one arm around his shoulders and the other hand in his hair. He was leaning into her embrace. Lina was surprised to recognize that their posture was like an adult or elder sibling comforting a child. Yet she was the child, and he was the adult. That seemed odd to her.

However, she was unaccountably relieved that she detected not even the slightest hint of romance between them.

Well, naturally, he'd want someone with more personality, Lina thought. She walked home with a bounce in her step, anticipating seeing him again the next day.

.

Year 0135 month 11 day 19

When Lina checked the place where their campsite had been early the next morning, they were gone. Only a very few ashes from the campfire indicated that anyone had ever been there at all.

If not for missing her badge and finding it later in her desk drawer at the office, she might have thought the visit was merely a dream.

At least he wasn't alone. That would please her grandmother, when she told her.

Lina sighed. "Take care of yourself, Eriks," she said softly.