-
The tape rewound, then played. A younger version of Faye Valentine gazed back from the screen. The girl who cheered and waved her pom poms was someone she wanted to remember. A child full of hope and optimism for the future ahead of her. What was it like to feel that way? She'd watched the tape since her encounter with Vash and, as usual, she couldn't recall, no matter how hard she tried.
Frustrated, she shut it off and tossed the remote onto the bed. Memories stolen by a half a century of cold sleep wouldn't change anything. They wouldn't get her off this planet or back to her own time or ...
Why am I letting what that ... that moron said bug me? she wondered, lying back on her bed, staring up at the ceiling. What does he know about me? I have every right to be bitter.
She closed her eyes, replaying the images from the tape in her mind. She wanted to remember that person. In the three years since she'd been revived, Faye had learned little about herself; only that she was from Earth, her family was killed when the hyperspace gate malfunctioned and she was alone.
A creaking noise in the corridor outside of her quarters made her eyes fly open. She rolled over onto her stomach, glaring at her door before she called out, "Who's there?"
"It's me."
Her eyebrows arched when she heard Wolfwood's voice reply. She was certain it would've been Vash, come to convince her that he was right and they were wrong. "What is it?" she asked as she moved into a sitting position.
"You were listening in on us earlier."
She rose to her feet and approached the closed door. "So?"
"Are you all right?"
Her hand hesitated before she pulled the door open. She peered through the crack at him. "Yeah. I'm fine. Is that it?"
"I thought you might want to talk to someone," he replied with a shrug. "But I've forgotten. You're Faye Valentine, and you don't need anyone's help." He held up his hands as he backed away from her door. "I'm sorry I intruded."
She flung the door open all of the way. "I don't need sarcasm right now, okay, priest?" she snarled. "If I wanted that, I'd find Spike!"
"He's asleep, anyway."
Growling, she threw her door shut. She was startled when his hand stopped it then pushed it back open. "Why don't you leave me alone?" she grumbled as she sat down on her bed. "I don't need your pity or your help. Go talk to that idiot friend of yours. He's the one who needs help."
"He wouldn't want to talk to me even if I could find him. Your ship is a maze. It took me twenty minutes just to find you."
"Sorry you wasted your time."
"I didn't waste my time." He leaned into her room. "Do you mind if I come in?"
She shrugged then gestured in front of her. "Make yourself at home." She watched him step inside, pulling the door shut behind him, then sit down on the opposite end of her bed. "Happy now?"
He glanced at her but didn't answer.
After a few minutes of uncomfortable silence, she sighed loudly. "Are you going to sit there all night? I planned to sleep eventually."
"Did you?"
"Yes." She waved a hand at him. "Gonna be difficult, with you taking up my space."
"What did he say to you?"
"Huh?" Her brow furrowed in confusion. "Who the hell are you talking about?"
"Vash. In the corridor. What'd he say that pissed you off?"
She looked away. "It doesn't matter. What does he know about anything?"
"Quite a bit." Off of her surprised reaction, he added, "It doesn't seem like it at first ... but he does."
"You can still say that, even after his idea about how to handle our problem?"
"Yes, I can. Maybe his way isn't right for this situation but I've seen it work in the past. A few of them, I'm still surprised about." He sat up and leaned towards her. "I want to know what he said to you, though."
"He has it in his head the world can be a place free of violence and hatred." She shook her head. "It's never going to be that way. When I told him so, he said ..." Her eyes closed tightly and flashes of that little girl, the one she tried so desperately to remember, went through her mind. "I'm not a child." Opening her eyes, she looked at Wolfwood. "That's not what he said ... but it's what he expects me to be. So I can believe in the goodness of the world."
"You don't have to be a child to believe that." It was his turn to become solemn. "Not every child has the opportunity to have that one comfort. Some never even learn about it until later in life. Much later."
"You're not buying his crap, are you? I had you figured to be smarter than that." She laughed. "Then again, you are the priest here. Why shouldn't you want to believe in the goodness of people?"
"I didn't always." For the most part, he still didn't. He wasn't about to tell her that, though. And don't assume that a priest isn't without his sins. I have more than enough." He paused. "Maybe too many to ever be forgiven."
She gazed at him for a few seconds. "Who are you? Don't give me any cryptic answers. Who the hell are you?"
He bowed his head, unable to look her in the eye. "I'm trying to forget who I used to be. It isn't easy. I'm not really sure who I am right now."
She sighed, shaking her head. "It's like trying to carry on a conversation with him!" She tossed up her hands, exasperated. "He can't answer a simple question, either. It's something that makes sense to him and only him. What is it with you guys! Are you trying to drive me nuts!" Tucking her legs closer to her on the bed, she turned away from him. "Keep your damn secrets, the both of you. I don't care."
"How long have you been in love with him?" Wolfwood quietly asked after short silence.
Her eyes opened and her head lifted. "What makes you think that? Why would I be? You don't know him, not like I do. He's not the kind you fall in love with. There's no point."
"That may be, but you have. How long?"
"Mind your own business," she snapped. "I told you, I'm not above knocking out a priest. Especially you, now that you've pissed me off." A hand wiped away a stray tear from her cheek.
"I feel sorry for him," he murmured from behind her.
"Really?" She forced a laugh. "Why would you feel sorry for him?" And not for me?
"It's obvious that when he looks at you he doesn't see what I do."
She peered over her shoulder at him. He wasn't laughing, he wasn't even smiling. "What do you see?" Her voice was barely above a whisper.
"Someone who isn't the cold bitch she pretends so hard to be."
She turned around to face him. "How would you know who I am?"
A hand extended towards her, his fingers gently caressed her cheek and he showed her the moisture of the new tears she'd failed to notice. "Someone who cares about nothing wouldn't shed any tears. There's no reason for them to. Believe me. I know. I know better than you could possibly imagine."
"What is it that you care about now?" She found her muscles tensing as he moved closer to her.
"Let me show you one thing," he softly replied. One hand slipped to the back of her neck then, when she understood what he intended to do and showed no resistance, drew her closer until her lips met his.
Once it registered with her that this was real and not a dream, Faye allowed her eyes to close. The tension in her body melted away next. Any worries about Will Harman and what would happen in the future vanished from her mind. Her hands slipped over his shoulders. Priest or not, she didn't care. This was the safest she'd felt since they'd arrived in this godforsaken hell someone dared to call a planet.
This isn't right, one last rational thought popped into her head. What does it matter? Not a damn thing. Instead of pushing him away, like she should have, she pulled him down onto the bed with her. Not a damn thing, at all.
-
The knock on the door roused Meryl from her sleep. Her eyes opened and she wondered what Milly could possibly need at this hour. Her gaze shifted to her open window. The sky grew lighter in the east. Morning would be upon them soon.
"All right!" she grumbled as the thumping on her door resumed. "I'm coming!" She pulled on her robe and tiredly shuffled to her door then yanked it open. "D'you have any idea what time - "Her words cut off suddenly when she found out who was on the other side. "V-Vash? What ... what are you doing here?"
Cradling a sleeping Ed in his arms, Vash looked upon Meryl, no change in his stoic expression. "I need your help," he evenly said. "Can I come in?"
After a moment of being dumbfounded by Vash's sudden appearance at her door, she stepped back. "Y-yes ... come in." She looked down as Ein trotted into the room right behind Vash. "What's happening?" she asked as she closed her door.
Carefully, he laid Ed into Meryl's bed then tucked the blankets around her. Ein hopped onto the bed and curled up beside Ed, grateful to finally have the chance to rest. Meryl came around to the other side of the bed, watching Vash as he gently brushed the hair away from the girl's forehead.
"Vash?"
"Could you watch her for me?" he said, looking to Meryl.
"Of course," she answered with a nod. "But who is she? Why aren't you in Illinois City? What's - "She stopped talking when Vash placed a hand to her lips. She pressed them together after he withdrew his hand, more confused at his behavior than ever. First, he didn't care about anything, now he brought her a strange child to watch over? He was a continuous mystery.
"She's from that ship, the one we saw yesterday," he replied. He gestured for her to follow him and once they were a decent distance away from Ed, he continued. "After you left me in Illinois City, I realized that I couldn't run from it forever. From the past ... the pain." He looked over to Ed and Ein. "I went out there. Some of the locals, they wanted to kill them and steal their ship." His gaze shifted back to Meryl. "I couldn't let that happen."
"No," she whispered, shaking her head. Though she appeared calm on the outside, on the inside she was overjoyed. He did still care. For a moment, she considered throwing her arms around him. Just for a moment, though. If she did do such a thing, it would've been highly unprofessional. "What's going on?"
"The man who threatened them, he's coming back. He's bringing someone else with him ... "
"How do you know that?"
"Wolfwood. He came to the ship and told me."
Meryl's gaze dropped to the floor and she felt guilty for being angry with the priest for ditching her. If only he'd have told the damn woman at the saloon! Her eyes traveled over to the girl asleep in her bed. "What do you two plan to do about it?"
"He's not helping me. I'm alone on this one." Before Meryl could ask, he answered, "He doesn't believe this can be handled in a peaceful manner. He ... he wants to kill them - like Mr. Black and Mr. Spiegel do." His head bowed, the disappointment in their decision obvious to Meryl. "I tried to reason with them."
She nodded. "I know you did."
"They wouldn't listen. This makes my job more difficult."
"Let me help you." Instinctively, one of her hands grasped one of his, holding onto it tightly. "You aren't alone. I'm here."
He looked from her hand clutching his then back to the woman's face. In that moment, she reminded him so much of her ... of Rem. That aura of selflessness resonated from Meryl Stryfe in a way he'd never seen before. "Take care of Ed," he softly replied.
"What about you? You shouldn't try to handle this by yourself. Milly and I ... we could help! Somehow." She didn't know what to suggest because she had no idea of what he planned to do.
With a faint smile, his hand slipped from Meryl's as he went to check on Ed one more time.
Ed's eyes opened when Vash sat down on the bed beside her. "Where are we?" she sleepily asked. She remembered part of the trip. She'd fallen asleep about a half an hour after leaving the Bebop. Now, she was in a strange room, tucked into a strange bed.
"My friend, Meryl, she's going to watch you for a while."
Ed yawned. "You're going to stop the bad guys?"
"Yes, I am."
"You're coming back?"
"When it's over."
She nodded. "Ed and Vashy can play some more games then." She patted Ein on the head when he barked softly. "Ein, too."
"We will." He stood, tucking the blankets around her a little more snugly. "Go back to sleep."
"All right." The words barely left her lips before she was fast asleep once again. Ein curled up beside her, resting his head on his front paws.
On his way out, Vash stopped by Meryl. "Thank you."
She nodded. She wanted to say something, yet nothing would come to mind. Nothing appropriate, that is. Instead, she silently watched him leave her room, closing the door behind him. She sighed, her attention shifting back to the girl and the dog in her bed.
'Things always turn out for the best whenever he's around!' she recalled Milly saying.
She hoped that held true today more than ever.
More to Come ...
Song Title Used: "Sympathetic Character" by Alanis Morissette