DISCLAIMER: I don't own Trigun. Please don't sue!
Chapter Fourteen: A Serious Talk
"Damn," Knives cursed, kicking the car tire. Millie was seated on the sand beside the car.
"Nothing we can do?" She asked, looking up at the man. Frustrated, he shook his head and kicked the tire again.
"Are you sure there's not a spare in the trunk?" He asked testily.
"No, Knives~san, there wasn't," she answered. He cursed again and leaned against the car.
"I guess we'll have to walk there," Knives announced after a minute of consideration. "It would take two, maybe three days to get there by car. So, if we walk, it should take us just under a week."
Millie nodded at Knives' guesstimate. She stood up, dusted herself off, and started unloading her stuff from the car. Knives looked up at her questioningly.
"We should get going. We don't want to delay any more than we have to," she explained. He nodded slowly.
When he reached to gather his stuff, he saw that there was nothing left in the car. Looking back at his companion, he realized that she was holding everything they had packed. He approached the young woman with an exasperated expression. He started taking some stuff from her and answered the question that her eyes presented.
"I don't know why you insist on acting like a man. I can handle my crap perfectly. Both of ours combined won't be any problem either."
"I can handle it Knives~san," she said, somewhat confused.
"But you won't! If you were to strain yourself and lose that baby as well, then I'll scream! I will NOT go through that again!" Knives scolded. Millie nodded and smiled at the man beside her.
They walked all day and at night they camped out. The desert was freezing at night and they had brought only one blanket. Knives had given the blanket to Millie initially, but had become so cold himself that he was forced to share the blanket with her.
Although he had been helping her the best to his ability, he had changed since the day they got back from the hospital. He had become quieter, more withdrawn. He also refused to get close to Millie. Therefore, he was not sitting very close to her while they were trying to get warm. Millie didn't seem to take any notice and was asleep in a matter of minutes.
He sat, listening to the girl's soft snoring and staring at the stars. That was something that he enjoyed and he guessed that he had enjoyed watching the small orbs before his fight with Vash. It amazed him that those planets could hang there by gravity alone. The stars were truly beautiful.
He was snapped out of his reverie when he heard a soft moan. He didn't know how much time had passed, but there wasn't much time to ponder that, as Millie let out a small cry. Knives turned to look at her and saw that she was crying in her sleep.
"Bokushi~san," she cried, turning over.
*What are you doing, just sitting there? Go help her! *
Knives growled. Not only was that Skylar kid ruining his dreams, she was now taking over his thoughts.
"What do you want?" He growled quietly as to not awaken Millie.
*Get up and help her* she repeated.
"It's none of my business. Just let her sleep," the plant said, crossing his arms.
*She's crying because of you* she scolded.
"What do you mean by that?"
*She's crying over Wolfwood, her baby's father. *
"And what the hell does that have to do with me?" He raised his voice to the night sky. This girl in his head was really starting to piss him off. For a fleeting moment, he wondered if he was going crazy.
*You're the one who killed the priest! I know you don't remember any of it, but she remembers it all. She remembers sitting in that bed, alone, for six hours. She remembers hearing how Vash had found him dead in that church, near the altar. She remembers all of it as if it was happening now. You are the cause of it. The least you could do to make up for it is comfort her! *
Knives sighed. The girl was right. He didn't remember anything about killing a priest. Then again, he didn't remember much of anything.
"Alright, fine," he said. He heard a small giggle, and then she was gone.
He crawled closer to the sleeping woman's side and saw that she was trembling. He put a hand on her shoulder and she cried out, louder than before.
Gently, he started shaking her, but to no avail. Instead, it caused her to cry out even more.
"Wake up. Hey! Girl! Wake up!" He hissed.
"Bring him back, please," was all the reply he got. More tears slid down her face and Knives wiped them away. For some strange reason, it hurt him to see Millie so upset. He didn't like the feeling at all.
He put an arm under the small of her back and gently pulled her into a sitting position. She gave a shrill scream at the movement, causing herself to awaken. She was breathing heavily and her eyes, wide and teary, were darting in every direction as if she were afraid that she would be attacked at any given moment.
"K-Knives~san?" She sniffed. He nodded and saw two more tears escape her eyes.
"Are you okay?" He forced himself to say. She nodded and looked away. It occurred to him that he still had his hand on her back and he dropped it to the ground behind her. He took his other hand and, grabbing Millie's chin gently, turned her to look at him.
"What was he like?" he heard himself ask. Her eyes widened and he wanted to smack himself. What the hell brought that up?
"I'm afraid that I don't remember much of anything before my brother's and my fight. But I do know, however, that I was responsible for his death. But I don't remember what he was like."
Millie smiled through her tears and Knives dropped his hand. She brought her knees up to her chest and looked at the stars. Knives settled beside her and looked up as well. Millie shivered and Knives noticed that the blanket had fallen off of her. He leaned over and put it back on. He felt something wet hit his hand and saw that it was a tear that had fallen from Millie's face.
"He was everything I could ever ask for. He loved children. He had a good sense of humor. He was handsome and sweet but would stand up to whatever he thought was wrong. And most importantly, he loved me. He LOVED me. No one's ever loved me like he did. I loved him too. He's the only man I've ever loved. The only man I will ever love," Millie said, a far away look in her eyes and the tears no longer flowing.
"How did you know it was love?" Knives asked, genuinely interested. He stole a quick glance at Millie's stomach, which she noticed. She giggled and Knives looked back at her in confusion.
"That wasn't how we fell in love. That just happened because we were in love. And to answer your question, I'm not quite sure. We just …did. Just the way that we acted around each other, the things we said. Our…being together that night just confirmed our feelings. And this child just makes my memories and affection for him stronger. I feel that he loved me so much that he's still watching over me, protecting me somehow," her grin grew as she spoke.
"But how is he protecting you? He allowed one of your unborn children to die," Knives pointed out. Millie was silent for a moment and the man was afraid that he had made her cry again.
"I believe he did that for two reasons," she answered hesitantly. Knives raised a skeptical eyebrow but didn't interrupt her.
"I think that Bokushi~san did it mostly because he figured that I couldn't take care of twins all by myself. That's true, I guess. I don't know if I could handle twins, even with Vash~san and Senpai's help. The other reason he did it, is because he loved children. He wanted a chance to raise one of his own children in Heaven."
"And you truly believe that?" Knives asked. Millie nodded vigorously. They were silent for a few minutes, just staring at the stars. Millie yawned, interrupting the tranquility.
"I'm tired, Knives~san," she commented.
"You gonna be okay now?" he asked.
"Hai," she smiled. They both settled down for a peaceful night's sleep.
~Phew!!! I finally got this chapter done!! Between school, getting ready to move, and writing my other fic ("Thoughts For A Child"), I barely had time to do ANYTHING for this fic. I'm fairly happy with this chapter, however. ^_^. Hope you guys enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!! ^_^. \\//
Chapter Fourteen: A Serious Talk
"Damn," Knives cursed, kicking the car tire. Millie was seated on the sand beside the car.
"Nothing we can do?" She asked, looking up at the man. Frustrated, he shook his head and kicked the tire again.
"Are you sure there's not a spare in the trunk?" He asked testily.
"No, Knives~san, there wasn't," she answered. He cursed again and leaned against the car.
"I guess we'll have to walk there," Knives announced after a minute of consideration. "It would take two, maybe three days to get there by car. So, if we walk, it should take us just under a week."
Millie nodded at Knives' guesstimate. She stood up, dusted herself off, and started unloading her stuff from the car. Knives looked up at her questioningly.
"We should get going. We don't want to delay any more than we have to," she explained. He nodded slowly.
When he reached to gather his stuff, he saw that there was nothing left in the car. Looking back at his companion, he realized that she was holding everything they had packed. He approached the young woman with an exasperated expression. He started taking some stuff from her and answered the question that her eyes presented.
"I don't know why you insist on acting like a man. I can handle my crap perfectly. Both of ours combined won't be any problem either."
"I can handle it Knives~san," she said, somewhat confused.
"But you won't! If you were to strain yourself and lose that baby as well, then I'll scream! I will NOT go through that again!" Knives scolded. Millie nodded and smiled at the man beside her.
They walked all day and at night they camped out. The desert was freezing at night and they had brought only one blanket. Knives had given the blanket to Millie initially, but had become so cold himself that he was forced to share the blanket with her.
Although he had been helping her the best to his ability, he had changed since the day they got back from the hospital. He had become quieter, more withdrawn. He also refused to get close to Millie. Therefore, he was not sitting very close to her while they were trying to get warm. Millie didn't seem to take any notice and was asleep in a matter of minutes.
He sat, listening to the girl's soft snoring and staring at the stars. That was something that he enjoyed and he guessed that he had enjoyed watching the small orbs before his fight with Vash. It amazed him that those planets could hang there by gravity alone. The stars were truly beautiful.
He was snapped out of his reverie when he heard a soft moan. He didn't know how much time had passed, but there wasn't much time to ponder that, as Millie let out a small cry. Knives turned to look at her and saw that she was crying in her sleep.
"Bokushi~san," she cried, turning over.
*What are you doing, just sitting there? Go help her! *
Knives growled. Not only was that Skylar kid ruining his dreams, she was now taking over his thoughts.
"What do you want?" He growled quietly as to not awaken Millie.
*Get up and help her* she repeated.
"It's none of my business. Just let her sleep," the plant said, crossing his arms.
*She's crying because of you* she scolded.
"What do you mean by that?"
*She's crying over Wolfwood, her baby's father. *
"And what the hell does that have to do with me?" He raised his voice to the night sky. This girl in his head was really starting to piss him off. For a fleeting moment, he wondered if he was going crazy.
*You're the one who killed the priest! I know you don't remember any of it, but she remembers it all. She remembers sitting in that bed, alone, for six hours. She remembers hearing how Vash had found him dead in that church, near the altar. She remembers all of it as if it was happening now. You are the cause of it. The least you could do to make up for it is comfort her! *
Knives sighed. The girl was right. He didn't remember anything about killing a priest. Then again, he didn't remember much of anything.
"Alright, fine," he said. He heard a small giggle, and then she was gone.
He crawled closer to the sleeping woman's side and saw that she was trembling. He put a hand on her shoulder and she cried out, louder than before.
Gently, he started shaking her, but to no avail. Instead, it caused her to cry out even more.
"Wake up. Hey! Girl! Wake up!" He hissed.
"Bring him back, please," was all the reply he got. More tears slid down her face and Knives wiped them away. For some strange reason, it hurt him to see Millie so upset. He didn't like the feeling at all.
He put an arm under the small of her back and gently pulled her into a sitting position. She gave a shrill scream at the movement, causing herself to awaken. She was breathing heavily and her eyes, wide and teary, were darting in every direction as if she were afraid that she would be attacked at any given moment.
"K-Knives~san?" She sniffed. He nodded and saw two more tears escape her eyes.
"Are you okay?" He forced himself to say. She nodded and looked away. It occurred to him that he still had his hand on her back and he dropped it to the ground behind her. He took his other hand and, grabbing Millie's chin gently, turned her to look at him.
"What was he like?" he heard himself ask. Her eyes widened and he wanted to smack himself. What the hell brought that up?
"I'm afraid that I don't remember much of anything before my brother's and my fight. But I do know, however, that I was responsible for his death. But I don't remember what he was like."
Millie smiled through her tears and Knives dropped his hand. She brought her knees up to her chest and looked at the stars. Knives settled beside her and looked up as well. Millie shivered and Knives noticed that the blanket had fallen off of her. He leaned over and put it back on. He felt something wet hit his hand and saw that it was a tear that had fallen from Millie's face.
"He was everything I could ever ask for. He loved children. He had a good sense of humor. He was handsome and sweet but would stand up to whatever he thought was wrong. And most importantly, he loved me. He LOVED me. No one's ever loved me like he did. I loved him too. He's the only man I've ever loved. The only man I will ever love," Millie said, a far away look in her eyes and the tears no longer flowing.
"How did you know it was love?" Knives asked, genuinely interested. He stole a quick glance at Millie's stomach, which she noticed. She giggled and Knives looked back at her in confusion.
"That wasn't how we fell in love. That just happened because we were in love. And to answer your question, I'm not quite sure. We just …did. Just the way that we acted around each other, the things we said. Our…being together that night just confirmed our feelings. And this child just makes my memories and affection for him stronger. I feel that he loved me so much that he's still watching over me, protecting me somehow," her grin grew as she spoke.
"But how is he protecting you? He allowed one of your unborn children to die," Knives pointed out. Millie was silent for a moment and the man was afraid that he had made her cry again.
"I believe he did that for two reasons," she answered hesitantly. Knives raised a skeptical eyebrow but didn't interrupt her.
"I think that Bokushi~san did it mostly because he figured that I couldn't take care of twins all by myself. That's true, I guess. I don't know if I could handle twins, even with Vash~san and Senpai's help. The other reason he did it, is because he loved children. He wanted a chance to raise one of his own children in Heaven."
"And you truly believe that?" Knives asked. Millie nodded vigorously. They were silent for a few minutes, just staring at the stars. Millie yawned, interrupting the tranquility.
"I'm tired, Knives~san," she commented.
"You gonna be okay now?" he asked.
"Hai," she smiled. They both settled down for a peaceful night's sleep.
~Phew!!! I finally got this chapter done!! Between school, getting ready to move, and writing my other fic ("Thoughts For A Child"), I barely had time to do ANYTHING for this fic. I'm fairly happy with this chapter, however. ^_^. Hope you guys enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!! ^_^. \\//