~*~A few days later~*~
"Is she going to be ok?" Vash's face was wrinkled with concern, as he stood on the other side of the hospital bed across from the doctor.
"Yes. She did lose a lot of blood, but luckily we had enough of her blood type." He rechecked the charts in his hands and speedily walked off.
Meryl sighed in relief. "Thank goodness."
The tiny auburn-haired girl was unconscious, an IV line connected to her arm. Michael, Knives and Milly remained outside, feeling that it wasn't necessary for them to be inside. Meryl tugged on Vash's sleeve, whispering. "Can I talk to her? I know she probably can't hear me, but there some things that I need to say to her."
He stared at her confused, but he nodded. He dragged himself out of the room, his hands shoved into his pockets. He was relieved that Rina hadn't died, but he was still upset that he was still somewhat the cause of the incident. 'I'm not worth it.....why do people keep wasting their lives for a piece of trash like me? First Rem, then Brad. And....Wolfwood...' He sighed, passing the other three; he paid them no attention, deep in his own thoughts.
"Where're you going, Vash-san?"
"Just for a walk. I need some time to myself."
Meryl rested her hand on Rina's shoulder, drawing a chair to the side of the bed. "Ok. I know what you did, lieing about the ring and all. It wasn't a very nice thing to do, but I don't hate you. I admire you, actually. You knew what you wanted, and you didn't let anything step in your way to get it. You're a lot stronger than I am. I kept avoiding the matter or denying it entirely. And for that, I commend you." Meryl patted her shoulder, taking a good look at the young girl's face.
Vash walked aimlessly, and now found himself somewhere on the edge of town, where there was a tall water tower. Staring up at it's great height, he decided that it would be a good place for him to collect his thoughts. He heard the metal ringing of his shoes on the steps, as he climbed higher and higher. He found a nice sitting perch at the top, enjoying the cool evening breeze that had picked up. He had forgotten to retie his hair, which was now whipping behind him in the breeze. He rested his chin on his hands, staring out at the orange hue of horizon.
'Hey Needle-noggin.'
'Wolfwood? But I thought...'
'That I only came in dreams? Nah, you should know better.' Vash remembered that it was Wolfwood that had saved him in the fight against Knives six years ago.
'I guess I should. What's up? I know you're not here for nothing.'
'.......stop blaming yourself, Vash. You may have been the reason why she did it, but it wasn't your fault. It's not like you were there, holding the knife for her.'
Vash shook the terrible image of Rina slicing her arms out of his head. 'I guess you're right....to an extent.'
'You have to take care of Meryl now. Now that she knows exactly how you feel. She acts tough most of the time, but what she really wants is to be loved. To be treated like a woman.'
He smirked. 'And I bet you know what that is.'
'Funny. But you still haven't met that person that's been waiting for you.'
'...........oh yeah. I forgot about that didn't I. But......haven't I met everyone? Who else is there to meet?'
'Don't worry. You'll find out eventually. Later, Needle-noggin.'
"Excuse me, Ms. Stryfe?"
"Yes, doctor?"
"Your friend outside informed me of your....*ahem* incident, and I'd like to examine you. To make sure nothing's been damaged."
The thought of her being physically damaged hadn't come into her mind, as she wasn't feeling any physical pain. But she decided that it wouldn't hurt. And she hadn't had a checkup in a while.
~*~2 weeks later; that night~*~
They decided to relax spending the first half of the night at a bar. Michael Neon bid all of them a farewell, giving each of them a healthy handshake. He even threatened Vash that if he didn't come to visit or keep in touch, something bad was going to happen. He hopped on his motorbike, the neon lights on his hat reflecting off the metal. After a few seconds of finally getting it started he sped off, waving back a 2-fingered salute.
Meryl, however, had backed out of going to the bar, and decided to remain at the hotel they booked into for the night, since there was no one at Rina's house(they did remember to lock it up before they left). Vash felt a bit concerned, unsure of what was wrong, and so decided to remain behind as well. Meryl was skulking around the house in a shorts and a white shirt, her footsteps dragging against the wooden floorboards.
"Meryl?" Vash had been sitting on his bed, watching the raven-haired girl travel aimlessly from room to room.
"Hm?"
"What's wrong?" He could sense that she was uneasy about something.
She sighed heavily, trudging over to him and plopped onto the mattress. "Milly told the doctor about...what happened...and he suggested I get a checkup to make sure nothing was damaged internally."
"Everything came out alright, right?" He asked, nervously.
"Yeah. Everything's.......just fine."
"Meryl....you've been going to the doctor a lot nowadays." He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and leaned her against him. "Tell me."
".....I'm pregnant." She managed to mutter the words, as she stared at her feet. She could usually predict how Vash reacted to everything, but she couldn't this time.
'Pregnant? Is it....the child who Wolfwood was talking about?' His hand drifted to her stomach. "You mean....in here?"
"Well, of course in there, Vash." She joked. "Where else would it be?"
He smiled, glad that she was returning to her normal self. She had started eating again, and slept for longer periods of time. Her skin was taking on a healthier tone and the dark circles were disappearing from her eyes.
They sat there in silence: Meryl was waiting for his response, and Vash was figuring out what he should do, which didn't take him long.
He pulled himself off the bed and kneeled on the ground in front of her, holding her hands in his. "Meryl, I don't care about that fact that this child's father is an asshole. But I want to be there to see it born. I want to hold your baby in my hands and see it grow. I want to see a smile of pride on your face when you see your child achieving great things."
"OUR child, Vash...."
Those three words quickly brought tears to his eyes. He embraced her fully, glad that something in his life was finally coming together. 'Our child...' he repeated the words in his head. He was not the biological father, but would sure as hell do his best to bring the child up as his own.
"How about Vash Jr. if it's a boy?" He smirked.
"Are you crazy?" Meryl scoffed, hitting him lightly in the head with a pillow.
THE END
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
*sniff* I didn't want to rush the ending of the fic, but I still knew that it had to end in this chapter. Whew! Finishing this has actually saddened me; I guess I formed an emotional attachment to it. It's like getting into an anime series, and really enjoying it......until you reach the end. You're glad that you could experience some of your favourite character's emotions alongside them, but at the same time, you're sad that it's over. You got to BE in that world with them. But you have to return to your own world when it's all over. -_- I'm quite proud of myself for this fic. And now I have one less fic to work on. ^^' Thanks to everyone who's read to the end of this fic, and for those who made suggestions as to what I should add. And so here ends the fic. *takes a small bow* ^_^x
"Is she going to be ok?" Vash's face was wrinkled with concern, as he stood on the other side of the hospital bed across from the doctor.
"Yes. She did lose a lot of blood, but luckily we had enough of her blood type." He rechecked the charts in his hands and speedily walked off.
Meryl sighed in relief. "Thank goodness."
The tiny auburn-haired girl was unconscious, an IV line connected to her arm. Michael, Knives and Milly remained outside, feeling that it wasn't necessary for them to be inside. Meryl tugged on Vash's sleeve, whispering. "Can I talk to her? I know she probably can't hear me, but there some things that I need to say to her."
He stared at her confused, but he nodded. He dragged himself out of the room, his hands shoved into his pockets. He was relieved that Rina hadn't died, but he was still upset that he was still somewhat the cause of the incident. 'I'm not worth it.....why do people keep wasting their lives for a piece of trash like me? First Rem, then Brad. And....Wolfwood...' He sighed, passing the other three; he paid them no attention, deep in his own thoughts.
"Where're you going, Vash-san?"
"Just for a walk. I need some time to myself."
Meryl rested her hand on Rina's shoulder, drawing a chair to the side of the bed. "Ok. I know what you did, lieing about the ring and all. It wasn't a very nice thing to do, but I don't hate you. I admire you, actually. You knew what you wanted, and you didn't let anything step in your way to get it. You're a lot stronger than I am. I kept avoiding the matter or denying it entirely. And for that, I commend you." Meryl patted her shoulder, taking a good look at the young girl's face.
Vash walked aimlessly, and now found himself somewhere on the edge of town, where there was a tall water tower. Staring up at it's great height, he decided that it would be a good place for him to collect his thoughts. He heard the metal ringing of his shoes on the steps, as he climbed higher and higher. He found a nice sitting perch at the top, enjoying the cool evening breeze that had picked up. He had forgotten to retie his hair, which was now whipping behind him in the breeze. He rested his chin on his hands, staring out at the orange hue of horizon.
'Hey Needle-noggin.'
'Wolfwood? But I thought...'
'That I only came in dreams? Nah, you should know better.' Vash remembered that it was Wolfwood that had saved him in the fight against Knives six years ago.
'I guess I should. What's up? I know you're not here for nothing.'
'.......stop blaming yourself, Vash. You may have been the reason why she did it, but it wasn't your fault. It's not like you were there, holding the knife for her.'
Vash shook the terrible image of Rina slicing her arms out of his head. 'I guess you're right....to an extent.'
'You have to take care of Meryl now. Now that she knows exactly how you feel. She acts tough most of the time, but what she really wants is to be loved. To be treated like a woman.'
He smirked. 'And I bet you know what that is.'
'Funny. But you still haven't met that person that's been waiting for you.'
'...........oh yeah. I forgot about that didn't I. But......haven't I met everyone? Who else is there to meet?'
'Don't worry. You'll find out eventually. Later, Needle-noggin.'
"Excuse me, Ms. Stryfe?"
"Yes, doctor?"
"Your friend outside informed me of your....*ahem* incident, and I'd like to examine you. To make sure nothing's been damaged."
The thought of her being physically damaged hadn't come into her mind, as she wasn't feeling any physical pain. But she decided that it wouldn't hurt. And she hadn't had a checkup in a while.
~*~2 weeks later; that night~*~
They decided to relax spending the first half of the night at a bar. Michael Neon bid all of them a farewell, giving each of them a healthy handshake. He even threatened Vash that if he didn't come to visit or keep in touch, something bad was going to happen. He hopped on his motorbike, the neon lights on his hat reflecting off the metal. After a few seconds of finally getting it started he sped off, waving back a 2-fingered salute.
Meryl, however, had backed out of going to the bar, and decided to remain at the hotel they booked into for the night, since there was no one at Rina's house(they did remember to lock it up before they left). Vash felt a bit concerned, unsure of what was wrong, and so decided to remain behind as well. Meryl was skulking around the house in a shorts and a white shirt, her footsteps dragging against the wooden floorboards.
"Meryl?" Vash had been sitting on his bed, watching the raven-haired girl travel aimlessly from room to room.
"Hm?"
"What's wrong?" He could sense that she was uneasy about something.
She sighed heavily, trudging over to him and plopped onto the mattress. "Milly told the doctor about...what happened...and he suggested I get a checkup to make sure nothing was damaged internally."
"Everything came out alright, right?" He asked, nervously.
"Yeah. Everything's.......just fine."
"Meryl....you've been going to the doctor a lot nowadays." He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and leaned her against him. "Tell me."
".....I'm pregnant." She managed to mutter the words, as she stared at her feet. She could usually predict how Vash reacted to everything, but she couldn't this time.
'Pregnant? Is it....the child who Wolfwood was talking about?' His hand drifted to her stomach. "You mean....in here?"
"Well, of course in there, Vash." She joked. "Where else would it be?"
He smiled, glad that she was returning to her normal self. She had started eating again, and slept for longer periods of time. Her skin was taking on a healthier tone and the dark circles were disappearing from her eyes.
They sat there in silence: Meryl was waiting for his response, and Vash was figuring out what he should do, which didn't take him long.
He pulled himself off the bed and kneeled on the ground in front of her, holding her hands in his. "Meryl, I don't care about that fact that this child's father is an asshole. But I want to be there to see it born. I want to hold your baby in my hands and see it grow. I want to see a smile of pride on your face when you see your child achieving great things."
"OUR child, Vash...."
Those three words quickly brought tears to his eyes. He embraced her fully, glad that something in his life was finally coming together. 'Our child...' he repeated the words in his head. He was not the biological father, but would sure as hell do his best to bring the child up as his own.
"How about Vash Jr. if it's a boy?" He smirked.
"Are you crazy?" Meryl scoffed, hitting him lightly in the head with a pillow.
THE END
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
*sniff* I didn't want to rush the ending of the fic, but I still knew that it had to end in this chapter. Whew! Finishing this has actually saddened me; I guess I formed an emotional attachment to it. It's like getting into an anime series, and really enjoying it......until you reach the end. You're glad that you could experience some of your favourite character's emotions alongside them, but at the same time, you're sad that it's over. You got to BE in that world with them. But you have to return to your own world when it's all over. -_- I'm quite proud of myself for this fic. And now I have one less fic to work on. ^^' Thanks to everyone who's read to the end of this fic, and for those who made suggestions as to what I should add. And so here ends the fic. *takes a small bow* ^_^x