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

Tying Up Loose Ends

Chapter Nineteen

Baby Steps

Meryl followed the sound of running water to the bathroom. The door stood ajar ever so slightly, giving the lamp light only a tiny bit of space to squeeze out. Pushing the door open the rest of the way, Meryl strode into the room and stopped when Edy's eyes turned from the knobs she was fiddling with to the other woman's face. Meryl quickly avoided her gaze, taking in the room around her; the bathroom, and respectively the bathtub, was huge. It seemed that much of the space in this house was devoted to the kitchen and the bathroom.

Internally Meryl snorted; she thought it was a little ostentatious and a waste but she didn't dare say anything. This woman was putting up with five strangers in her house, two in her own bedroom, one wanting to exterminate all of humanity, one a very, very wanted man, one packing artillery contained in the shape of a cross (which itself was also two large weapons), and all of this with few questions asked.

"It'll take a little while to heat up, but it's all yours," Edy said, standing after she finished whatever she was messing with. "I'll be setting up camp outside of Knives' room, just right next to you two if you'll need anything. Have Milly come get me when she's ready for her bath; I'll be up for a while still, so don't worry about bothering me."

Edy's words were kind and sincere, a smile on her face. Meryl wanted to hate this woman but she was just too nice. Too much like Vash, although not enough for her to actually like her. Walking past Meryl to the door, Edy paused and turned, speaking once more to Meryl. She seemed much more embarrassed now, and apologetic.

"I'm sorry about laughing at you earlier; if I had seen my boyfriend in such a compromising position I'd be pretty mad too."

Meryl just stared at Edy, blinking. Her words had stunned the Insurance Girl into silence. No inkling of even how to reply entered Meryl's mind.

"We-well…" Edy stuttered, blushing and quailing under Meryl's imposing gaze. "Like I said, I'll be right out here if you need anything."

Edy beat a hasty retreat, shutting the door behind her. Meryl laughed softly, no humor in the sound. Edy thought they, her and Vash… It hurt her even more, this woman's apology, her concern about other's emotions, their happiness. She sunk down on the bench, fighting back tears and forming a resolution.

This had gone on long enough. Meryl needed to do the logical thing and confront Vash. Get everything out in the open, let them talk about it, figure everything out. It was so irrational to keep on guessing how he felt about her; she would ask him straight out tomorrow morning, first thing. Maybe. Or maybe not.

Meryl never did have that talk with Vash. Two days later they left, their vacation time having run out.

* * * * *

"Slowly, slowly, it's your first time up in… Dammit, Knives, I told you to slow down!"

Edy, frustrated, knelt to help Knives up from his place on the rug, getting him upright once more. He steadied himself by resting his weight on Edy, struggling to stay up while she retrieved his crutches that had fallen with him. Vash watched over them, silent and tense.

It always worried him when Edy interacted so closely with his brother; it also bothered him. Even though they both insisted to Vash that Knives was no threat to the female plant, Vash remembered with extreme clarity the wounds on her back, the wounds that he had cared for. Although they healed, the scars remained. Edy couldn't gain the leverage necessary to heal herself. The wounds closed on their own, leaving four red lines across her flesh.

Three months had passed and it was Knives' first time out of bed on his own feet. Before, Vash or Isaiah would help Edy carry him to the bathroom to use the facilities or to bathe; when he was being good, Edy would sit with him out on the back porch to get some fresh air. Today, Edy wanted Knives to walk himself to the bathroom and then she and Vash would carry him back. They would start slow and build up his atrophied muscles with small exercises and excursions.

Edy had picked that day for a couple of reasons. One, it was Vash's day off and she wanted him to be there. Two, his legs were as close to being healed as they ever would be. And three, she had gotten Knives' crutches in three days before.

Edy had called upon the best pharmacy in February, deep in the heart of the city, to find the highest quality of crutches to aid in Knives' mobility. They were shiny, brand new, custom-fit, and they cost her a pretty penny; she paid for it herself, refusing Vash's offer to buy them. They were top of the line, with padded cuffs that fit just right around his forearms and sturdy rubber handles that were easy to grip. The metal shafts were twice the thickness of the standard crutch, the height sized exactly to Knives' proportions, and little rubber knobs fitted over the bottoms for better traction on slicker surfaces. Of course, Knives hated them on first site when Edy showed them to him three days earlier.

"You'd better get used to them," Edy had told him, exasperated. It had been a long day as it was, Knives being in a particularly foul mood to begin with. His snappish baulk at the crutches had been the last straw and Edy had to speak up; it was all she could do to keep her voice level. "The likelihood of you ever walking without them is slim, at least for any kind of sufficient distance. I did my best, but the damage was beyond conventional medicine."

"But not your skills as a plant," he shouted. "If you would have used your gift, I wouldn't have to rely on tools that only weak humans have need of!"

"Nothing about a person who uses crutches is weak; they're body may just need a little help and there's nothing wrong or shameful in that. Besides, if I had used my arm, I'd have that much less time to live."

"Well, you wouldn't have had to face that issue if you hadn't shot me!"

Edy had managed to keep her voice calm while Knives yelled like a spoiled brat, but she couldn't hold back anymore.

"If you hadn't tried to kill my brother and I, I wouldn't have had to shoot you! I don't regret or take back my actions that day, not even a little; your issues, your need for blood, it's sick! I thought we needed to lock you up and throw away the key, that you were a monster, but I've spent most of my days with you these past two months and I know that deep, deep, deep down inside of you there's something good. Something good that you keep wrapping back up in hate the instant I peel away another dark layer. Fuck it, you can stay in bed the rest of your long, pathetic life for all I care! We shouldn't ever let you out but we do; I'm the one who's put myself on the line to convince the others that you deserve a little bit of freedom. All this and you spit it back in my face! Dammit Knives… Just… Shit!"

Losing her rant at the end, her words and thoughts unraveling, Edy threw the crutched to the floor and stormed out of the room. She didn't come to see him for two days, leaving Vash and Isaiah to pick up the slack in caring for him.

Knives had passed his days for the past three months in Edy's company whenever she wasn't working. They'd become closer, amazingly enough; probably because Edy's heart, although it could flare up terribly, couldn't hate for long. Knives hadn't realized how dependant he had become upon Edy's attention until he lost it.

He hated it enough when she would leave him for the evening, when Vash and Wolfwood returned home from work. He could hear the gentle murmur of their conversations and the copious amounts of laughter they, plus Isaiah, would produce. They would be so sad when the human priest, the one that once had worked for him as Chapel, had to die. Still, it was their own fault for getting so attached to vermin.

Regardless, so much was being given to him, at Edy's expense.

After two days had passed, Knives insisted that Edy come see him. He apologized as well as Knives could, she forgave him, and the next day was set as the first day of independent mobility.

"Thank you," Knives muttered as Edy returned his crutches to him. Knives began again, Edy hovering nearby. His face was a picture of bitter, pained determination. A tiny drop of blood welled on his lower lip as he bit down on it. It took all his concentration to make his legs work again.

It was a slow process, Edy murmuring much kinder encouragements than her first exclamation of frustration. Vash joined in too, but only half-heartedly. He hated seeing his brother in pain but he didn't approve of a mobile Knives.

Reports had come in just last week that the ships would be due to arrive in three months time barring any more difficulties; they had been pushed back due to some technical problem or another, but were on course once more. The entire planet now knew that salvation from this hell-hole was at hand and the change in people's behaviors and dispositions was plain to see.

Talk of destroying the Earth's ships had slowed from Knives' mouth but Vash knew the idea wasn't gone from his brother's mind. Edy, on the other hand, had seemed to take it upon herself to "save" Knives, to change his mind through showing him compassion and turning his focus to other things.

I can only hope it'll work, he thought to himself as he watched his brother's measured progress towards the restroom. Handicapped or not, he'll do it. He'll wipe them all out if given the chance.

* * * * *

"When are the girls getting in?" Wolfwood asked, collapsing on the living room couch.

He had just gotten off from work and the smells of the restaurant radiated from his waiter's outfit. Despite his charm, it took both Wolfwood and Vash a while to get the hang of serving, but now they both were whizzes on the floor and even had regulars that insisted on being sat at their tables with every visit. They seemed to almost be naturals at it and of course all the lady patrons enjoy their handsome faces and sweet nothings that they could lay on thicker than butter on a roll.

Black dress shoes had been kicked off in the front hallway, the black neck tie soon following them, and the first few buttons of the white collared shirt were parted with their buttonholes. Wolfwood let out a huge sigh, sinking into the plush couch.

"They're supposed to be here around ten o'clock; you might want to get a small bite to eat now because Edy's planning on having a late dinner ready for them and us who can wait for it," Isaiah replied, poking his head in from the kitchen.

With a grunt and a nod, Wolfwood pushed himself up from his seat, following the boy into the kitchen. He still couldn't get over how fast Isaiah was growing; The boy already looked fourteen and had sky-rocketed through a significant chunk of the obnoxious and embarrassing aspects of puberty within twelve weeks. His voice had dropped a couple octaves, although it cracked frequently, he'd grown six inches and needed all new clothes, and his chin was beginning to resemble a ripe peach.

It must have been like this for Vash and Knives too, the lucky bastards, Wolfwood thought. All the shitty parts of growing up were just fast-forwarded through; those weeks had to have been Hell on Gunsmoke, but they were probably over with too fast to even remember.

Still, it made Wolfwood sad to see the kid cooped up at such a time in his life as this. It was for everyone's safety, though, especially Isaiah's. His fast growth rate had to be hidden and Edy had to painfully spread rumors once more that the child under her care had passed away. It was the second time she had to feign Isaiah's death, although the boy was too small to even remember the first time around.

People knew that her father had brought home a baby shortly before he passed away; this knowledge had to be cut short since the baby didn't stay little for long enough. Now, because Isaiah had been seen around town three months before, the existence of a roughly twelve year old boy at the Gardener's residence had to be negated as well.

So Edy pretended to have a private burial on the grounds, no one allowed but her and her tenants, the two men having to dig the grave. People still stopped by with their condolences, bringing food and kind words (the Herrings of course surpassing all others in those two categories), and that was that. Edy had hated all of that, especially wearing the mourning black around Isaiah, but the boy got quite a kick out of it all. He also understood the necessity of it all, not having to be shielded from any truths, so that made it all easier to take in stride including the virtual house arrest. Besides, he'd only be homebound until the ships came, they estimated, until his growth slowed enough and changes wouldn't be so dramatic. Then he'd have all eternity to wander Earth as he pleased; if it was alright with Edy, of course.

"For the love of God, I'm starving! Why this of all nights couldn't dinner be on the table when I walk in," Wolfwood whined. Isaiah tossed an apple at the priest/waiter in response. His failure to warn the man resulted in a dull thunk and a string of curses; Isaiah had managed to hit him square in the forehead.

"Come on, the girls haven't been around in a month; it'll be nice to have all of us together for dinner again," Isaiah said, stifling a snicker. "I'm sure Milly will be more than happy to see you again."

Wolfwood shook a fist at the boy with the insinuating grin. He blushed a little too, embarrassed that Isaiah was already making jokes like that. Still, Isaiah was right, he was eager to spend time with her once more.

The Insurance Girls had spent another two days before they had to move on to the next assignment three months back; their vacation was over and work called. So they left, but whenever the job brought them close to or in February they always stopped in for a visit. Milly had easily won the hearts of the Gardeners with their first stay and even Meryl had come to tolerate Edy's presence better, just so long as she got to see Vash and Wolfwood. Isaiah just loved to hear what was going on in the big, wide world and the Insurance Girls always had the best stories to tell. Tonight the girls were coming to stay for a few days while they investigated a claim in February.

Munching on the apple and rubbing at the red spot in the middle of his forehead, Wolfwood wandered around the first floor, trying to find Vash and Edy. They were no where to be found and Isaiah seemed absorbed in the roast he was preparing for later, so Wolfwood decided to go out for a smoke. If the two were upstairs together then they were

probably dealing with Knives.

Although the plant had mellowed considerably, according to Edy at least, he still wanted nothing to do with Wolfwood or the girls when they were around. That was perfectly fine with him; he really wanted nothing to do with Knives either, except to maybe put a bullet between those malicious, frozen eyes. Naturally, he stayed his hand, but only for Vash and Edy's sake; they wouldn't be too happy if he did such a service to mankind.

Puffing on the cigarette and watching the moons rise, Wolfwood began to reminisce about the months spent under Edy's roof; they were pleasant, habitual, hardly noteworthy, but they were the quietest, happiest times of his life.

And that quickly the quiet happiness was then shattered by a loud crash and a pained yelp that came from inside the house.