Vash had gotten up shortly after eating breakfast to change into something other than his pajamas. He eyed his red coat hung in a corner, but thinking it might be best to not be so flashy, he donned an old pair of brown trousers and a worn white button up shirt he kept in his bag.

After dressing, Vash went back into Meryl's room and sat in the empty chair. No further progress in her condition but he didn't really expect her to wake up anytime soon. The old doctor was right when he said she'd lost a lot of blood but said she was lucky that the bullet had missed anything vital and was an easy one to dig out. He'd left strict orders for rest after stitching her up and thankfully that's what she was getting.

The blond gunmen sat for a few more minutes in silence before his eyes switched once again to the nightstand drawer. It wasn't the drawer itself that bothered him so much but rather what it held inside. Unable to stave off the urge any longer, he threw the drawer open and grabbed the picture of 'R. O. at the races.'

He studied the picture long and hard. Yes, it was exactly like his dream. The two girls, one named Meryl, the little girl he thought. The black thomas. The beautiful blue sky day with puffy white clouds littering its endless abyss. Though the picture was black and white, He could clearly see the slate blue eyes as if they were staring straight back at him. Vash shuddered slightly.

"I see ye couldn't help yourself." The voice startled him. He chided himself for getting sloppy.

"Hi Molly." The woman smiled at him, red hair back off her neck and pulled into a makeshift bun. She padded over to the bed, forgetting the door, and sat down, reaching out and grabbing the photograph from his hands.

"I noticed ye looked at it last night. Every morning, I take it out and look at it. It's one of the only things I have left of those two." Molly's emerald green eyes took on a sorrowful light. Vash leaned forward. If she was willing to talk about the picture, He might as well try to find out all he could.

"Are they dead?" Molly let out a shaky sigh. Out of the corner of her eye, she looked to Meryl, pale and still lying in the bed sheets. Vash narrowed his eyes. This puzzle was just that: A puzzle.

"Yes. I think so at least."

"Daughters?"

"Heavens no! I was never the mothering kind." She chuckled. Molly paused fishing a handkerchief out of the pocket of her apron and dabbing her watering eyes with it. She then placed it over her mouth before letting it drop to her lap. "I merely watched them. Their parents were the local law keepers. And, well, you can't necessarily take two children along on the job with you so they asked me to take care of them while they were out of town." Molly looked up at Vash, smiling sadly.

"I see. I can tell they were very close to you. Who were they?" Molly opened her mouth to respond when there was a sharp knock at the door. Vash looked up, slightly irritated. Wolfwood, his tale frame filling the door way, entered, squashing his cigarette butt on the heel of his shoe, an annoying habit of his.

"Just checking up on the small girl. How's she doing?"

"Fine for now. Dr. Stanford said before he left that the longer she rests the better she'll be." Molly rose and walked to the nightstand, opening the drawer and dropping the photograph back into its dark recesses. Vash resolved himself to find out who the girls in the picture were later.

"Millie's downstairs, Molly. She's having some trouble figuring out where you want the groceries to go." Molly nodded, getting the hint, and left the room, uttering goodbyes to both men. When the sounds of her footsteps going down the stairs finally receded, Wolfwood moved to stand at the foot end of Meryl's bed.

"Millie told me earlier you've been talking with the Sheriff." Vash began.

"Yeah. I got a few clues but other than that it didn't really get me anywhere. He won't indulge a lot of details." Vash sighed, leaning back into the chair and dragged a hand through his hair.

"What's new? But that's not important."

"Right. From what I can tell, The case three weeks ago wasn't the first time this happened." Wolfwood caught Vash's eyes from his post at the bed.

"Of course it isn't the first time it happened. There are a lot of gangs out there. Unfortunately, a lot of them like to ruin people's lives." The venom in the blonde gunman's voice was hardly disguised. Although, Vash could tell, even if it wasn't in his tone, that Wolfwood's thoughts were just as acidic.

"I don't think this is a gang." Wolfwood said slowly. Vash leaned forward again, letting the two legs of the chair rest on the floorboards.

"Why do you think that?"

"Well, firstly, it's all too organized. Gang violence is random, blatant, lacking finesse. Secondly, they were too well-armed. Think about where we are Vash. There are no gangs around here that are going to able to afford that kind of weaponry, let alone know someone they can steal it from. We're isles away from any major city. No, this is something much bigger." Wolfwood released a long, steady stream of smoke and averted his eyes from Vash's troubled ones. "You can't deny it makes sense, can you?" He asked finally."No, I can't." Vash couldn't take his eyes of Meryl, off of her sleeping face.

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Meryl accepted the steaming cup of soup offered to her. She let the nice, warm mug rest in her slightly cold lap while watching Molly sit down in the chair next to her bed. Her eyes ran over the older woman's face, her expression being almost guilty, before letting her gaze drop to the soup in the mug.

"Meryl. The name is familiar to me." She blinked a bit as she took a sip of the soup. She had woken disoriented, crying out for Millie, but instead there had been Molly. The woman soothed her, explaining to her what had been going on. Now, a few hours later, after being allowed to wake up completely, Molly had returned. Not Millie, not Vash, but Molly. And even though a part of her yearned for the woman at her side, A larger part of her did not want her there.

"I used to know a girl named Meryl. She was but 10 when…" Molly's voice trailed off and lingered in the room like a foul scent. Meryl gulped a bit too much and coughed slightly, shaking her head and putting the mug back down into her lap.

"I'm sorry to hear of your loss." She shakily said. Molly's eyes were piercing and Meryl was finding it hard to withstand.

"She would be about your age now." Molly continued. "Looked just like you too. Dark hair, bright eyes, a vivacious personality to be sure."

"That's all extremely coincidental." Meryl brushed off. She fidgeted slightly, the wound on her back itching against the bandages, a good sign of healing. "Where did you say my friends went to again?"

"To the store. It's been about a week and a half since our last trip and we're going to need supplies and food now that you've woken." The red head seemed to have been deterred. She stood up and walked towards the window, staring out almost resolutely. Meryl settled back into her pillows with a sigh of relief.

"I'm sorry to be such a burden."

"Oh, no. You were never a burden. Never. I never wanted children. Hated them in fact. But you…You changed my mind." Molly looked back to Meryl who had stiffened but stared blankly at her feet beneath the covers.

"I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about." She whispered. And then Molly appeared in front of her. Her face was set in stone but there were tears in her eyes.

"I think you do, Meryl. I think you do."

There was a sudden noise downstairs and Molly pulled away and walked to the door. Molly exchanged in a hushed voice with whoever was at the bottom of the stairs. Then, there was a giant yell and a squeal, which Meryl instantly recognized as Millie's. She wanted to smile, but a simple chill had gone down her back and kept her face cold as an open desert night.

"Oh Meryl! I'm so glad you're awake!" Millie burst through the door, nearly knocking over Molly, who silently left the room. She passed through like a shadow and Meryl wished she could find her absence comforting.

"Ah!" Before she could think about it any sooner, Millie had descended upon her and gave her a gigantic hug, which tore at the hole in her back.

"Oh! I'm so sorry!" But Millie was beaming despite. Vash and Wolfwood soon entered the room and both smiled at her, obviously just as relieved as her partner.

Vash frowned. Molly was pale as a ghost, an unhappy looked spread across her features. He leaned back out of the door, watching Molly go slowly down the stairs. When she reached the bottom, she looked back up and met his gaze. Her face was grim and she never quavered under his eyesight. Merely, she turned on her heel and walked out of view.

"So, you're finally awake! Now you won't sleep for a month!" Wolfwood joked. He extinguished his cigarette on his heel, a habit Meryl wasn't fond of, and tucked it behind his ear. Meryl weakly chuckled.

"I guess so."

"You're a little pale, maybe you should lean back and rest more." Vash suggested from the doorway. They locked eyes and Meryl was silent for a little bit, a bit more of a blush coming to her cheeks, which Vash couldn't help but smile at. She quickly looked away and nodded.

"Maybe you're right."

Hehehehehehe..MORE will be revealed next chapter. Sorry if it's so confusing right now but like I said previously, It will all be unraveled soon enough. I don't want to give away my magnificent plot so soon anyhow..hehehee..THANKS to all my reviewers! You're the inspiration baby! LMAO! I g2 get to bed before I burst a blood vessel. Nite folks, Ciao.