Disclaimer: I don't own anything Trigun, so don't sue me please, thank you!

Tying Up Loose Ends

Chapter Sixteen

Questionable Judgments

Meryl came to a halt at the top of the stairs for a moment, not sure which room contained Vash and his genocidal brother. The low murmur of talking came from the first door on the right so Meryl put two and two together then ran in, a flash of concern leaping through her mind when she almost unconsciously noticed the room that contained Knives was unlocked. The reason why her entry had been so unhindered became evident when she realized the scene before her did not contain the insane plant. What lay before her did nothing to calm her fury, though.

There in front of Meryl, on a large, unkempt bed, sat Vash and a half-naked woman. She clutched a blanket to her chest and had her back to the blonde man; Meryl burned with a sickening mixture of embarrassment and envy as she watched him rub his hands all over her back, caressing and kneading her flesh. The woman's marred back gleamed with a greasy layer of some oil that Vash was working into her skin.

All in all, the scene looked far too intimate to be innocent. Meryl managed to jump to yet another incorrect conclusion, two in only a span of thirty seconds or so. She seethed with anger, but it hurt, too. So this was why he hadn't tried to find them. Why he didn't try to find her. This was the last thing she expected of the Vash she knew. He kidded around a lot, but this had gone beyond meaningless flirting or awkward attempts at chivalry. It seemed to have taken her hours to process what only took seconds to see. The pair on the bed turned to see who had come in, neither expecting who stood before them: a stranger to one and an old friend to another.

"I… I'm sorry," Meryl stuttered, finding her voice at last, "I didn't mean to interrupt whatever you were… you were doing. I just thought…" Meryl's words died in her throat right there, strangled by the sob that tried to work it's way out.

The woman (the hussy in Meryl's eyes) on the bed had spun around, trying to cover herself even more while Vash just sat there and stared over his shoulder at his diminutive friend. Then he began to giggle and the hussy's look of bright red embarrassment/anger melted into melodious peals of laughter. Tears actually began to stream down their faces as Meryl frowned, wanting to flee this heart-breaking scene. They were laughing at her; they were actually laughing at her pain and humiliation.

"What the hell is so funny, Vash?!" Meryl cried, her anger spilling out. "I catch you doing Lord knows what with this… this woman," she spat, causing Edy to catch herself in her mirth, beginning to understand this other woman's sorrow, "and all you can do is cackle at me like a terrible old biddy?!"

Meryl turned to storm out when she felt Vash's hand on her wrist, light but enough to make her stop and turn with hot, stinging tears in her eyes. She scowled at him as he wiped his own tears from his eyes and tried in vain to wipe the grin off his face.

"You've got a dirty mind, Insurance Girl. Can you drag it out of the gutter long enough to meet my friend Edy? I was just in the middle of putting some medicine on the wounds across her back when you came in, so you'll have to give her a second to get decent."

Meryl's eyes shifted over Vash's shoulder to see the woman wrapping the blanket around herself in a make-shift sarong. The cuffs of her khaki trousers and her bare feet peeked out from underneath and her blush covered not just her cheeks but her neck, shoulders, and chest as well, even tingeing the tips of her ears pink where they peeked out from beneath short blonde and black curls. Stepping up beside Vash and flashing an awkward smile, the woman held out her hand. Meryl took it tentatively and they shook.

"It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Edy Gardener," she said, her voice cordial and kind. Meryl wasn't sure what to think of her.

"Meryl Strife," came the reply, courteous as well but more professional than friendly. Meryl's hand returned to her side and Edy's to the blanket, drawing it closer still. The claims investigator gave the other woman an assessing once-over before turning to Vash, shoving her verdict away, ashamed she had come to the conclusion to dislike everything about this woman so quickly.

"Now that introductions are out of the way Vash, would you kindly explain just what is going on here? Where have you been all this time? How did you end up in February? Is it true that Knives is here with you? How come you let Wolfwood tag along and not us?"

Vash quailed under the woman's onslaught and slipped behind Edy for protection, stuttering random, incomplete answers. To Edy, he appeared smaller in stature than the tiny women when under the duress of her questioning. Edy smiled to herself; she couldn't help but admire the strength that balanced Meryl's feminine tone. They obviously had an interesting, shared history, the gunman and the girl. Edy found herself wondering exactly what kind of past it had been that elicited such a passionate response to the misdiagnosed "tryst" between her and Vash.

"Jeez, Insurance Girl, back off a little bit! It's a long story!"

"I've got time," Meryl said, crossing her arms across her chest.

"You should go down and tell Isaiah to put on the kettle, Vash," Edy said into the ensuing and particularly thick silence. "I can finish wrapping myself up just fine; you two have a cup of tea and you can fill her in on everything."

Vash wanted to protest but he found that the longer he spent around Edy, the better he became at reading her facial expressions. This one said "don't you dare defy me now, you've got some explaining to do to this poor woman." Actually, he only caught the "don't defy me" part, but he felt he filled in the gaps rather accurately. Vash gave in and headed to the door, holding it open for Meryl.

"After you," he said, grinning. Meryl passed by but before Vash followed her out, he turned with one last look at Edy.

"Are you going to join us?" he asked. "You're as much a part of the story as anyone."

"I'll drop in later. Spend some time catching up with you friend," Edy replied, waving him out of the room. Vash left and Edy turned to the roll of bandages on the bed. Sighing she dropped the blanket into a heap on the floor and started to unravel some, winding it snuggly around her torso to cover her back. She winced a little as it bound her open cuts a bit too tight to be comfortable. While slowly performing this task, Edy thought about the preposterousness of what Meryl had proposed.

Heh. Vash and I being "intimate." Right, Edy thought, her voice laden with sarcasm. Sure. Like that would ever happen.

She paused for a moment.

Not that he's a nice person, or all that bad looking, (hell, he's gorgeous), but man, that guy has some serious baggage. I'm amazed he can even get out of bed in the morning with all that he said he's been through. No one deserves a life like that…

* * * * *

"And then these huge beasts attacked me, Ravagers, nasty things. I thought I was a goner for sure, but like a bat out of Hell, Wolfwood charged into the fray and saved me only get his throat chewed on by another one and…."

"Bat out of Hell, Tongari? I'm a man of the cloth. A man of God! I would most certainly NOT sweep in to save your pathetic ass like a Satanic, winged mammal!"

"I had to kick the poor thing really hard and it didn't want to give, but it let go finally and we got away…."

"Are you even listening to me, you idiot!"

"It took us forever to get anywhere but we finally made it to February and…."

"Oy!"

"This snotty rich woman was putting on airs, as if she'd never seen two really bloody, torn up, nearly-dead men in her life before but the young woman with her was really nice and told us to go check out this woman named Gardener and that she was better than any doctor…"

"I'll beat some respect into you, Tongari! You listen when your peers speak to you!"

With that Wolfwood flew out of his seat, dragging a still prattling Vash with him. It was about an hour later and the four old friends had spent it around the kitchen table filling each other in with what had been happening in their lives over the past seven months. Vash had had about five large mugs of heavily-sugared and most definitely caffienated tea. His mind and mouth had been running quite solidly for the past half-hour and Wolfwood had been the only one to force a word in edgewise. One could see the information overload fraying at the edges of the Insurance Girls.

The sounds of the scuffle drifted to the front room that Edy used as a combined office and waiting room. She had set to work balancing the books and took care of a minor injury that came in, although it was nothing major enough for her to use her arm on. The sounds of Isaiah tinkering with the motorbike outside added to the symphony of discordant sounds that jarred her from her work.

Padding lightly out into the foyer, planning on interrupting their play before her kitchen got trashed for the second time that day, Edy paused at the bottom of the stairs. No noise traveled down those stairs, and although Knives was probably sleeping or reading, she felt the need to make sure he was still there. Edy detoured from her current path to the kitchen and climbed the stairs.

Knives raised his eyes from the seventh circle of Hell when he heard the key scrape in the lock; Vash had said something about the locksmith would be by tomorrow to add to the single confinement apparatus. He prayed silently that it wouldn't be his brother's face coated in a false cheerfulness that would peek around the door. Dante had put Knives in a particularly dark mood and he had no want of happiness at this time. So he was a little surprised when his spirits actually rose minutely upon seeing Edy enter.

He hadn't asked her about her hair earlier when Vash stood at her side, on guard. Maybe now he'd finally be able to talk to her, get her to dredge up all the terrible feelings she felt when she took scissors to her long tresses. Then he'd comfort her and they would bond.

"What did I do now," he asked first, tearing his eyes away from her face; although he tried to act as if he cared little about her appearance in the room, Knives still set his book upside down in his lap to hold his place, the passages facing his knees.

"Nothing, I just wanted to see how you were doing. Do you need anything, any more pain medications," she said, her voice kinder than it had ever been since she discovered he was a "monster," as she called him numerous times since they had met.

"I'm fine," he answered curtly, a little surprised. Edy's voice was not devoid of compassion, but she didn't seem like she cared about Knives personally, just the fact that he was a living, conscious being. At least she cared somewhat.

"I'm a little lonely, though," he added, trying to look pathetic.

Edy then did the last thing he expected of her; she walked over to the bed and sat down at his feet. What had changed? She obviously didn't fear him and no she no longer seemed quite as repulsed by him. All night last night she had stood or sat as far away from Knives as possible, keeping Vash between them at all times. When she gave him his breakfast she hardly said a word and performed all tasks in a brisk and efficient manner. What was so different about him now that wasn't an hour or so before?

Edy sat there, watching him watch her. She had been on guard when she entered the room but pity overwhelmed her when she saw him sitting there, unable to move from his place or speak with other people.

Well, with other plants at least; he probably wouldn't put up with another human for more than a breath's span, Edy thought to herself. When he had looked down at his fingers splayed over the back of the book, his shoulders and head drooped, he almost looked like a little boy; probably because she couldn't see those icy, hateful eyes. Besides, he was Vash's brother and Vash seemed to have turned out well enough, considering. Maybe it would be better if Knives had some companionship. Maybe there was something Edy could do besides just keep him under lock and key.

She had done a lot of thinking about Knives last night too, in her spot amongst the sea of hair.

It would be hard. Edy didn't deny it. Every time she looked him in the eye, a new wave of disgust and anger rose to the surface. Knives' plans, his ideals, his morals, they all seemed so skewed to her and impossible to understand. But if she wanted to be able to stop him, she would have to be able to get into his head and comprehend who he was and why he thought, acted, and felt the way he did. Edy breathed in deeply and exhaled with a barely perceptible sigh.

"How are you enjoying Dante," Edy asked at last, quietly.

"Pretty well. There's a few things It writes of that I don't particularly agree with, but It is an imperfect human, after all."

The two slowly launched into an awkward conversation about Inferno and the opinions Dante had put forth. As they talked, the words came easier and more animated, both forgetting at least for that short while, the undesirable positions in which both of their lives currently resided.