Hey guys! how are you doing, im sorry for taking so long with the update, but i sorta got distracted for a while, i dint want to make you guys wait so i decided to post it, im sorta not feeling well right now, so i havent been really able to like re read all my chapters and am sorta unhappy with how this chapter, since there are a few bugs on my story, i'll be changing just a litle bit in this chapter, not much, i also want to thank my beta reader, what would i do withought you! And tanks to those that have taken the time to review, love you all!
thanks!
saraki
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Meryl paced back and forth across the small living room, the floorboards squeaking under her as she continued to walk around nervously. Trying to keep her nerves in check, Meryl played with her hands but stopped when she realized it wasn't helping. She felt as though she was going in circles, but she couldn't help it, it was the only thing she could do at the moment. After several minutes of watching her, Millie got up and patted her shoulder lightly. "Ma'am if you keep that up, you'll wear a hole in the floor and fall through!" Meryl stopped, almost laughing at the thought. "Meryl, you look great, don't be so nervous," Millie said.
Meryl smiled. "Thanks Millie."
Millie smiled back. "No problem Meryl, that's what I'm here for. I'm not just your partner you know."
Meryl shook her head. "What would I do without you, Millie?"
"Probably hurt Mr. Vash!"
Meryl laughed. "Yes, I probably would, he's such a broom head!" Millie smiled.
"He's just like James isn't he?"
Surprised, Meryl tensed again. "I don't know what you're talking about…"
Millie looked up in thought. "I see…" She snapped her head back at Meryl as if remembering something important. "The report! I need to finish that report on mister Vash."
"Oh Millie, I feel bad for not-" Meryl started to protest, before she was cut off.
Millie wagged a finger in front of her friend's face. "Now, Meryl! You deserve some time off! Now go and sit down before I have to sit you down!"
Meryl nodded as she hesitantly walked to the couch and sat down. Content with seeing her seated, Millie left the room to complete the report. Several seconds later, though, Meryl got up again and straightened her mini skirt and her new blue chemise. She felt the outfit was a bit too revealing, regardless. Meryl sighed as she looked up at the ceiling; how Millie got her to wear this today was anyone's guess. She looked out the window, just starting to realize how active the town was at around noon. The saloons and the streets seemed crowded with men who were drunk or out looking for a fight. A few were actually out cold in the street. As she scanned the scene, her eyes wandered to a bunch of drifters hanging around a corner of the saloon. The small band seemed fairly harmless, even with the big guns some of them carried. 'They would never have a chance against Vash the Stampede…' she thought silently. Her eyes misted over a little at the thought of the outlaw whose impulsive behavior always got the three of them into dangerous situations. Then again, what he lacked in prudent behavior he made up for with selfless acts…'
She looked back down as a tall, muscular man appeared in the small band and brought her out of her thoughts. Curious, she squinted to get a better look at him. He was a rough man, she concluded, with his dirty white shirt, dusty blue jeans, and a scar that reached from one side of his nose to the other in a straight line. She wondered for a moment how a man that well built could have gotten such a horrendous scar. His skin was tan, and he wore a black hat which hid his black hair. A black glove covered his left hand and a chain on his left side pocket ran up to his belt. 'Odd...' thought Meryl as she scrutinized him. 'This man has no weapons, and yet here he is which a band of vagabonds… who are armed from head to foot with guns.' She watched him as he talked calmly to the small armed group. 'It's all so strange,' she thought again, continuing to spy on them curiously. A noise behind her made Meryl turn her head. Realizing it was Millie typing, she turned back to the gang. She froze, and her breath suddenly felt as if it was sucked out of her as two cool green eyes stared at her.
She had been spotted.
Ducking, she felt her heart race as her mind clouded with thoughts of the burly man she had watched outside. Had he seen her? Or was he just staring at something else? Her heart continued to pound in her chest. After several minutes had passed she stared out the window again; the small band was gone. She tore herself away from the window and sat down. Meryl tried to control herself as she felt herself shake a little. Taking a deep breath, she nearly jumped up as a loud knock erupted from the door. She stared at the door for a minute, then walked up to it, fingers shaking as she twisted the knob. She stopped as she felt her heart beat even faster than it had earlier, and backed away. Meryl ran to a cabinet and grabbed her derringer, wrapping her fingers tightly around the cool metal.
She walked slowly back towards the door as she heard another loud knock, feeling calmer. Her fingers shakily grasped the knob; she had to be more careful, up to now they hadn't had any trouble. Derringer Meryl knew she could take down one or two and possibly three men, but not a whole town and the same went with Millie. She took a deep breath and opened the door, but saw no one. Slowly sticking her head out, she nearly jumped when Vash appeared in front of her, holding up a hand with a silly grin. "Hello, thought I'd drop by and say hi to my favorite insurance girls!" Surprised and yet somewhat relieved, Meryl took a minute to get herself together and answer him politely.
"Hi-"
He cut her off, looking innocently happy. "You'll never guess what I found under my bed. Go ahead, guess!"
Her eye twitched a little, 'No... .' She thought, 'I have to stay polite, think of the many good things Vash has done for you this week…' She had nothing.
She groaned.
Vash opened the door wide. "I'll give you a hint, it smells really, really bad and it's been down there for a while and every night when I fall asleep I hear this small scratching noise-"
"Vash!" Meryl nearly yelled. He stopped talking and stared at her as she carefully rubbed her forehead. Trying to stay calm, she reminded herself that she had to be on her best behavior, even if it was Vash. She pushed him inside and closed the door. "Sit down, Vash." Sighing, she sat down on the couch, leaving Vash to sit in a chair. As she looked back at him, Meryl realized he was blushing. "Vash, are you okay?"
He scratched the back of his head. "Yea…. but don't… you think that skirt is just a teeny bit too small?"
She shook her head. "It's fine."
"Well, it's kind of short."
Meryl gave him a nonchalant look "I said its fine, Vash."
He glared at her, turning his head to the side stubbornly. "Well, I don't think you should wear that! It leaves nothing to the imagination!"
Meryl glared back at him. "Who are you, my dad!"
"I'm old enough to be your grandfather, thank you very much!" he snapped back
"Argh! Vash, you-"
"Meryl!" Millie shouted from the other room. "Temper…" Meryl bit back a retort as she breathed in slowly, looking at Vash.
"It's not like I'm going out or anything."
Vash shrugged. "Fine, but don't come crying to me if he's ogling you and acting like a complete idiot."
She looked at him carefully. "Don't worry Vash, he's not you."
Vash stared at her. "And WHAT is that supposed to mean?" he said, impatiently tapping his foot.
"Oh, nothing..." she mumbled, "You skirt chasing broom-headed idiot."
He glared at her "I heard that!" The petite insurance girl shook her head and walked into the kitchen. "Hey, don't walk away from me!" he whined, and walked after her.
Meryl gave Vash an annoyed look. "Can you stop following me?" Once in the kitchen, she stopped and faced him.
"Well, you're the one that was walking away."
"That was because I was getting the napkins," she ground out.
"Oh," he said as he watched the petite woman reach for the napkins, barely touching them with her fingertips. "Well let me help, you're too short to reach up there." Reaching for the napkins he grabbed them and looked at her. "See," he said as he took her hand and placed the napkins gently in it, "They're soft."
She looked at the napkins. "I would think so, Vash."
"I wasn't talking about the napkins," he whispered, and she looked up in shock at what he had said. His soft aqua eyes seemed to look right through her.
"Vash..." she whispered, looking up at him "I-"
A cough came from behind her, and they both turned around to find James leaning against a wall. Meryl bit her bottom lip as she saw him there, a basket in his hands. "Am I interrupting something?" He raised an eyebrow at Vash. "Or did I just happen to come at the right time?"
Meryl pushed Vash away from her, causing him to fall to the floor with a small yelp. "Oh, James... he was just helping me with the napkins."
Vash got up, wincing slightly as he rubbed his bottom. "Ouch, Meryl! Did you have to push me so hard?" he whined.
"I didn't push you so hard Vash, don't whine," Meryl answered as she walked to James and took his hand, much to Vash's displeasure. The couple walked to the other room that was both a living room and a dining room. Vash got up and walked to where they were, and was about to say something when Millie appeared, cheerfully grabbing Vash's shoulder.
"Hey mister Vash, let's go to your room. I need to talk to you about something." Before he could protest she grabbed him and dragged him out of the room, shutting the door.
James smiled at Meryl. "Well, it looks like they're not going to be joining us for dinner."
Meryl grinned back. "Guess not..."
He set the basket on the table. "You'll never guess what I made for dessert…"
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Having been dragged away from the couple in the other room, Vash looked down gloomily, finally settling down on the couch. He watched Millie with curiosity, wondering what was so important that she had forced him out of the room. After several minutes of silence and twiddling with his thumbs, he coughed and finally spoke. "So Millie, why did you drag me out of there?"
"Vash, you have to trust that Meryl knows what she's doing, "Millie said.
Vash rubbed the back of his neck. "Of course I trust Meryl, I just don't trust James." As he got up again, Millie quickly pushed him down.
"And where do you think you're going?"
He blinked. "Erm… bathroom?"
"Oh, okay, I thought for a minute that you were going to go and bother Meryl."
He smiled at her, "No, no, you're right Millie, what right do I have to go and bother her?"
"Okay then!" She smiled as he went to the bathroom and shut the door quickly, leaving Millie in the room. He pressed his ear to the bathroom wall. Not hearing anything, he got up and started pacing, trying to think of how to eavesdrop without letting Millie know.
His gaze found the window. "Bingo," he whispered as he opened the window, climbing out and trying not to fall as his feet were barely able to stand on the ledge. He gulped and closed his eyes, trying not to look down. 'If Meryl saw me she would probably open the window and let me fall to my doom…' He shivered, but tried to forget it. He peeked in at Meryl and James from the top left corner of the window; their backs were to him, so he was relieved that they were unable to see him. As he watched, he started to realize that James was crying and Meryl seemed to be trying to console him. He wasn't able to hold his position for a long time, so he tried to listen closely, and peeked in to see that she had miraculously made him smile. Then Meryl went back to her seat and ate the dessert James had brought her. After several minutes of watching them eat, Vash soon got bored, until they started talking about him. Suddenly interested, he tried to listen closely, but looked away as he heard Millie knock on the bathroom door and call out to him.
"Mr. Vash? Are you having trouble in there?" Vash walked back along the ledge, somewhat annoyed that he wasn't able to hear what Meryl had to say about him, and started to climb into the window. Just as he started climbing in he slipped and nearly fell out, giving a yelp of surprise as he hung outside pathetically, his legs dangling inside as he tried to keep from falling down. He sighed in relief and stayed there catching his breath, and was surprised when Millie's head popped out from behind the door. She shook her head. "Oh mister Vash, that's not how you go to the bathroom…"
"I wasn't going to the bathroom, Millie," Vash said as he tried to get up.
"Then, if you weren't going to the bathroom, what are you doing hanging out there?"
His face flushed mostly from embarrassment at being caught that way, and he began to stammer. "Well, Millie… there were… spooks..? " Vash finished lamely, knowing she would probably never buy it, and waited for her wrath to come. Seconds later she spoke,
"Oh, those bad spooks! First it was Marianne and now they're here! Those spooks can be really tricky."
Vash laughed, mostly in relief. "Yeah, they're tricky little devils!" Millie just smiled at him. "Hey Millie, can you lend me a hand? I can't get up." Millie nodded and grabbed his arm, bringing him in as he nearly lost is balance when her strong grasp nearly flung him across the room. Vash walked out into the room and sat on the couch, sighing quietly. He turned his head to see were Millie was, and realized she was looking around the room curiously. When Vash asked what she was doing, Millie blinked.
"I'm looking for spooks. You know, I think they travel in groups."
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Meryl sighed as they sat down, and James grinned at his offering. "Hope you liked the lasagna, I didn't burn it this time." Meryl poked her lasagna a little; finding the color a little bit too green for her liking, she hesitated before taking a bite. The taste was familiar but wrong, and she put it to the side.
"It's great James, I love it" she lied.
"Yea, isn't it great? I knew you'd like it, substituting meat for tuna was a great idea," James said, smiling. "If you don't want it can I have it?"
Meryl rolled her eyes. "Sure." She passed him the lasagna and watched him eat it. After a couple of minutes of quiet, Meryl spoke. "James, who's Lizzie?" At the mention of this, he stopped eating, and a sad expression came over him as he covered his face with his hand. Meryl got up and placed a hand on his shoulder, looking at him with concern. "James, I didn't mean to-"
"It's okay Meryl, you should know this…"
Meryl bent down and looked at him. "No, it's alright, I was just asking, if you don't feel comfortable telling me, then it's -,"
"It was a long time ago…" James smiled sadly, causing her hearth to thump. "We were young at the time. Our parents died when I was fifteen, so we had to fend for ourselves; my little sister was always optimistic about the future. She was always smiling and being very friendly, always helping others, she was a great kid. I, on the other hand, was the opposite. I hurt others when I wanted something done… I was ruthless and cold. One day I owed money to a gang, and I went over the time limit. I refused to pay them, thinking I was better than they were and feeling that they couldn't harm me I ignored their threats. I would later pay for my ignorance…." His eyes started to well up with tears. "They came to our house. My little sister had just come home, and it was such a beautiful day too..." At this point he started to sob. "I came home later that day to find that they had mutilated Lizzie's body and left it there as a reminder for me. After that, I went into a frenzy. I found them, and I killed about half of them including the man in charge. Just when I was about to kill another one my little sister's image flashed in my head and I couldn't kill anyone anymore after that. Ever since then I've vowed to do right for all the wrongs I've done." Meryl rubbed his back and stood there quietly, letting him sob. After he quieted down a little, he started to get up. "Now you know… I'm a horrible person…"
Meryl forced him back down into the chair, and he looked at her in surprise. "James, that was then and this is now, one cannot change the past, but instead should learn from their mistakes and try not to repeat them. That is what being alive is all about, learning from your mistakes so you will never make them again."
James grabbed her hand and smiled up at her. "Thanks Meryl."
She smiled back, and he said, "You smell like tuna, they should have a perfume that smells like tuna!" Meryl couldn't help but laugh, and he laughed as well. She sat back down on the chair and he took out the banana sundaes.
"Wow, these are my favorite, how did you know?"
"A little drunk birdie told me, "James said with a grin, as Meryl tried to figure out what he had meant. Soon, she dropped it and ate silently for a while, enjoying her sundae. When James finished he glanced up at her, poking the banana that was still in his cup. "And speaking of drunks, I was wondering what you felt for your guy friend."
She blinked once before replying, "Oh, that uncivilized skirt chasing idiot? I would never have feelings for him! He's too busy drooling over pretty women, anyway."
Her date laughed. "Well then, he doesn't know a good woman when he sees one." The dark haired woman smiled across the table at him.
"Oh, and you do?"
He smiled back as he put his hand on hers, grasping it lightly. "I'm looking at one."
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Meryl finished cleaning up the table and sat in a chair, taking off her shoes and leaning back. After resting a bit she decided to get up, and walked to the window. Leaning on the wall, she looked out the window as the suns seemed to dip down into the sands of Gunsmoke. "The sunset's pretty isn't it..." Turning her head at the voice, she saw Vash walking toward her, but mostly staring at the sunset. She looked back at him.
"Yeah, it is."
"Did you have a good time?"
She nodded. "Yes."
"Ah," he said quietly. Meryl looked at him with concern.
"Vash are you okay?"
He smiled. "Yeah, I'm just tired."
She nodded and stared out the window. "I'm going with James to the saloon tomorrow."
Vash shrugged, uncomfortable at the news. "I don't like this Meryl, there are a lot of men out there and he may not be able to-"
"To what,Vash? Take care of me? I can take care of myself."
"Not here you can't."
Meryl sighed in frustration. "Vash, must we fight about this too?" She stared at the floor.
"Why do you care, Vash?"
He looked down at her dark head. "Well, I can't help it if I care… about your safety," he finished.
"My safety… is that all Vash?"
"What else is there Meryl?"
He saw her shoulders shake."Meryl?" he grabbed her shoulders worriedly, not really expecting this from her. "Are you okay? I didn't mean to sound harsh or-"
She slapped his hand away lightly. "Yeah, I know…" she said quietly
"What's wrong?"
"It's just… I'm tired, you know I've been doing reports all morning and with the cleaning and James coming over…" She slowly raised a hand to her face; still looking down she appeared to rub her eyes. "It all must have tired me out…" Vash walked up to her, hoping to try to comfort her and make up for whatever stupid thing he had done to cause her to react like this, but stopped when she took a step back. "I'm going to sleep now, you should too…" she said. Meryl walked him to the door, not bothering to see the reaction on Vash's face when she quietly shut the door in font of him.
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Meryl walked with James into the nearby tavern the next morning. The same waiter from last time came over and took their orders, although he seemed even more displeased at seeing her again. Meryl ignored him as he passed by their table to ask what they wanted to drink. James smiled as he offered to buy her a drink, and although she wasn't a heavy drinker, she never said no to a free drink. Meryl looked around the room, realizing that it was almost empty. 'They must all be suffering from hangovers,' she thought as she looked back down to her table. When their drinks arrived she reached for hers but stopped as she heard a loud banging noise from behind them, which made her tilt her head backwards. She felt her heart pound in her chest - it was the guy she was watching yesterday, and a couple of other guys! She reached for her derringer, but James placed a hand on hers causing her to stop. The man glanced at her and she clenched her date's hand in response. James looked up calmly at the man and nodded at him. The man walked over to James and said, "Say James, did you think about my little proposition?"
James shook his head. "Thanks Crow, but no thanks." The man called Crow stood up and tipped his hat forward.
"Sorry to hear that James," he answered coolly as he looked at Meryl for a second, before walking off. As he left, one of the men following him looked at Meryl with a sickening smile.
"Yo James, who's the harlot?" A bearded man said, walking over to James. "You're not the type to sleep with women," he sneered, looking at Meryl, as she readied herself to grab her derringers from the back of her pants that were covered by the white shirt she was wearing. "Maybe he's loosening up. You know there aren't any for miles around, how'd you find one so quick?"
James frowned as he turned serious. "She and her other two friends are just passing through on important business, they are special guest in our town and should be treated as such. Do I make myself clear?" One of the men slammed his hands onto the table, his head inches from James.
"What the hell do I care?" James' eyes went cold as he readied to grab his own gun.
"Jim, Carl," a cold voice called out to them, and the two men snapped their heads backwards at the voice, scowling.
One of them looked at James and said, "Lucky our boss won't let us touch you or else I would've killed you a long time ago." He walked away, but his other partner looked at Meryl and grinned.
"Hey baby, I live up the street, room six, you can come over any time you want. Well, have a fun time."
James growled, "Scram!" At that, the man turned around and walked off quickly.
Meryl looked at him and eased her grip on his hand a little. "I'm sorry you had to go through that," he said.
"It's okay James, I'm fine, and it's nothing I haven't been through before…" He took a sip of his beer. She bit her bottom lip and asked, "But… who was that?"
"His name is Crow. I don't know much about him, except that he came here about a year ago and started a small gang. He wants me to give up being sheriff and join the group as his partner, says I would be a great asset to him if I did. I can fix any vehicle, and even build them by hand" Meryl nodded, trying not to look in the direction of Crow.
Isn't it kind of hard to be the only mechanic and sheriff in this town?" She asked.
"Nope," he replied, "I love cars, always been fascinated with them, being a mechanic here's more like a hobby," she nodded and looked down at her drink, taking a small sip, and then continuing with there little chat.
"James, I'm curious…how long have you been a sheriff here?"
"Five years."
"Five years? That's a long time, how can you live here and not get killed?"
As he leaned back he closed his eyes, smiling. "I bring order to this town. I only hurt when I have to, and I always wear a bulletproof vest. I've been shot at before, but I'm good at dodging bullets, though it's mostly luck that gets me out of situations," he chuckled.
"I see," she said, smiling. "You're a very lucky man to have lived this long in this town."
He nodded. "Yep." He sat up straight and suddenly looked serious. "Meryl, I… want to give you something." She looked at him with curiosity. "Don't show it to your friends until you've made up your mind." Meryl nodded. "Okay, extend your hands, palms up."
She smiled, finding this a little amusing. "Okay." He placed the object in her hands and rolled her hand into a fist, his hands covering hers. She looked at him, already knowing what it was by how it felt. He smiled. "Please take the time to consider it. Whatever you decide, I'll understand." Meryl leaned back and looked at their joined hands as she took the gift and put it in her pocket.
"I'll think about it, James."
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Vash had finished packing.
"That's the last of it…" he said with a grin. "I've had to deal with James for seven days, and the seven days are over which means no more James after tomorrow." He shut his suitcase. He was feeling pretty good about himself as he sat in a chair and ate his donuts happily. They would leave first thing tomorrow morning, when the suns started to rise. He bit into a donut, happy to think that after tomorrow, things would go back to normal.
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Meryl sat in a chair, her coffee steaming as she glanced down at it. Millie walked in and set her suitcase near the door. Glancing at her partner, she put her suitcase down. "Meryl do you have your things ready? We're leaving early in the morning."
Meryl looked down into the coffee. "No, Millie."
"Why?"
Meryl smiled. "Because I'm not going with you."
Millie walked over to her. "What do you mean, Meryl?"
"I mean that I'm not going with you, I'm staying here, with James."
