Usual disclaimer: Trigun is not mine. Just advancing the plot a bit here. You might notice a small tribute to my fave online comic- Sluggy Freelance. Thanks for all the reviews! Hang in there- more fluff is coming.

Millie looked at the clock. "Oh, Nicholas, it's nearly 8. I didn't realize it had gotten so late."

"I'm starving," he replied, letting her stand up. "Are you?"

"Yes. Do you suppose Meryl and Vash waited for us?"

"We'll check and see." He watched as Millie tidied herself up quickly, and then pulled her back for one last kiss. "You're my angel, Millie." She smiled.

"You're mine."

Vash opened the door, looking a bit rumpled, as if he had slept in his clothes. "Dinner? No we didn't." He said in response to Millie's query. "We were...uh..sleeping."

"Took a nap, eh, Tongari?" Wolfwood's eyebrow went up. Why was Vash so damn jumpy?

"Uh... yeah." Vash flushed and Wolfwood's eyebrow arched higher. "We'll meet you in the lobby." He closed the door quickly. Wolfwood looked at Millie, who was trying hard not to giggle.

"What do you suppose they were doing?" Wolfwood asked Millie innocently.

"Why, he said they were sleeping," Millie returned. "We did have an eventful afternoon after all." She giggled.

"You're a horrible liar, Vash." Meryl laughed as she straightened herself up.

"I know." Vash sighed. "We'll never hear the end of it now." Meryl turned and slid her arms around him.

"I don't care. I'm not ashamed, Vash."

"I'm not either," he said gently, hugging her back.

"But you are worried. Why?"

"Because.." He stopped. I'm afraid Knives'll hurt you because of me. I should leave you, but I'm afraid of what he might do if you're out of my sight... he thought darkly. He didn't want to scare her, but...

"Oh Vash." She touched his cheek. "Knives shouldn't be able control you like this."

"How can you read me so well? I thought my mask was in place," he said with a faint smile.

"I know you." Her arms tightened around him for a moment. "They're waiting for us."

The restaurant was busy, so the foursome headed towards the last available table in the corner. Wolfwood had been so intent on teasing Vash about getting some rest that he accidentally bumped into a man walking with a tray of drinks.

"Oh, sorry there friend," his eyes took in the other man's uniform. "Uh, officer, that is."

"You made me spill them," the man replied, coldly. "My squad ain't gonna be too happy about that."

"Squad?" Vash echoed. His eyes darted across the room. There were three tables of them. Cavalry. The kind that used to chase him. The toughest law enforcement around. He stepped backward into Meryl.

"Ouch!" She complained, and then looked around his elbow at what was scaring him so much. "Oh, hello Mac."

"Mer? Is that you?" Meryl stepped around Vash and accepted the man's one-armed hug. "Damn! It's good to see you honey! Sam! Jack! Allie! Look who's here!" A tall redheaded man whooped and dashed across the room, picking Meryl up in a bear hug.

"Meryl!"

"Does she know the whole damn Cavalry?" Wolfwood asked in amazement as the rest of the squad hollered greetings.

"Nope. Just the ones she's related to," Millie replied. "That's her brother and some of her cousins." Sam put Meryl down and looked at Millie.

"Millie! You're here too? Great!" He hugged the big insurance girl and then grinned at the astonished men. "Why don't you all come join us? We're not on duty." He led the way back to his table.

"We're dead," Wolfwood muttered to Vash. "They've got to know who we are."

"Why are you worried?" Vash looked at him, surprised. "I'm the outlaw, remember?"

"Try not to say that too loud, okay?"

Chairs were found, and Vash found himself in a corner, between Meryl and her brother. Wolfwood was on Meryl's other side, Millie next to him. At least he had a buffer, Vash thought.

"These are my cousins," Meryl said to Vash and Wolfwood, "This is Jack," she pointed at the one next to her brother. "That's Allie," a pretty blonde, "Mac, you met, Judie, Riff, Kate, Mike, Zoe, Luke, Rich, and of course, my brother Sam." They each nodded and smiled as Meryl introduced them. There was a definite family resemblance among the group- all were tall, with blue eyes and hair of varying hues of red to reddish blond. Wolfwood looked down at Meryl, with her black hair and grey-violet eyes. Millie caught his look and leaned to whisper in his ear. Wolfwood nodded at her whisper. Adopted. Now it made sense.

"You guys all know Millie of course. This is Nicholas Wolfwood and Vash."

"Nice to meet you, Nicholas, Vash." Allie said with a smile. "Meryl's told us all about you two." Her smile widened. "We meant it when we said we were off duty, fellas, relax."

"Yeah. Besides we have strict orders not to confront the humanoid typhoon at any time," Mac added. He looked at Vash. "You aren't like I pictured. I thought you'd be- I don't know... different... somehow."

"Taller?" Meryl said with a smile and the cousins laughed.

"Everyone's taller than you, sweetheart," Luke said teasingly. "Even Zoe." This started a spate of name-calling as the food was delivered to the table.

"Ignore them," Sam said to Vash with a grin. "They always tease Meryl about her height cause she can outshoot them." He looked Vash in the eye, his voice lowered so only Vash could hear him. "You saved my sister. No one here would ever turn you in." He grinned again, seriousness gone. "So, relax." Plates were passed around and Vash felt the tightness in his throat ease.

Meryl's brother and cousins kept up a lively dinner conversation, teasing and affectionate, they obviously were a tight family group. No wonder the Cavalry left them as a squad- this group would stick together. He looked at Meryl, so small and dark among the fair giants around her and suddenly saw why she always strived so hard. She wanted to be worthy of the family that took her in, not realizing that they loved her no matter what.

"Meryl, have you heard from Mom lately?" Sam asked. Millie and Wolfwood were discussing stun guns with Luke, who apparently was the arms expert.

"I wrote her a week ago, right before..uh... A week ago."

"Before what?" Sam focused on her. Meryl flushed a bit.

"Nothing. I wrote her a week ago. Why? I haven't gotten much from her, but it's hard for mail to catch up to me."

"Did something happen to you, Meryl?" Sam looked at Vash. "Did it?"

"She got shot about six days ago."

"What?!?!" All eyes focused on Meryl. "How? Where?!"

"A gang called the Cowboys," Vash explained when it seemed that Meryl had wilted under her relatives' eyes. "We had just gotten into Bay Town. Wolfwood and I had gone to stable the tomases. The girls had gone into the hotel to check us in."

"The Cowboys came in as we were finishing up," Millie took up the story. "And just started shooting. It was a normal occurrence- according to the sheriff. Meryl grabbed the desk clerk's little girl and jumped over the counter with her. I blasted two of them," she explained with a frown. "But then one of them put his gun right here." She tapped her temple. "Luckily, Vash and Nicholas came in and took care of the rest."

"Correction," Wolfwood rapped on the table. "Vash took care of the rest of them."

"Yeah, cause I walked in a split second before you did, that's all."

"One of them had managed to wing Meryl in the shoulder, so Vash ran her down to the clinic while Nick and I got the law." Millie finished.

"So we owe you two, Mr. Vash," Jack said quietly.

"Oh, no.. it's okay... I mean, she's saved me too, after all." Vash stammered.

"I'm sure," Sam replied. "But we still owe you."

"Weren't we talking about Mom?" Meryl switched topics, to Vash's relief.

"Oh yeah. She's..uh... getting married again." Sam looked slightly uncomfortable.

"Really? To who?" Meryl smiled. "Someone nice, I hope?"

"Uh yeah. Our Dad. Zoe's, Allie's and mine." Jack blurted. He looked at Wolfwood and then Vash. "They aren't really related- just in-laws... Dad was married to their dad's sister..."

"I see," Wolfwood smiled easily. "That's really great."

"That is," Meryl agreed. "When?"

"That's just it. They want to get married right away, so we all got leave to go back home." Zoe leaned across the table and smiled winningly at Vash. "I know my cousin- soon-to-be sister- has to follow you around, Mr. Vash. Could you wander near our hometown for a week or two?"

"We'd love to have all of you- and not just because we know Meryl would never abandon her post," Allie added.

"You can even travel with us- we have a nice armored caravan to travel in- plenty of room." Luke added.

"That would be nice," Millie said thoughtfully. "Especially if those bandits come back."

"I don't want to put more people in danger..." Vash protested.

"They aren't going to come back," Wolfwood frowned. "Not if they're smart."

"With my luck, they won't be." Vash groaned.

"Or someone else will attack us. There's a big stretch of desert between here and home," Meryl said thoughtfully.

"Great. Now I know we'll be attacked," Vash put his head in his hands.

"We're Cavalry, Mr. Vash. We can take care of ourselves. Besides, no one in their right minds would attack Cavalry!" Sam grinned. "You'll be safe with us." ----------

"I'm feeling a bit too safe," Wolfwood complained to Vash.

"Tired of the dull life?" Vash looked up from his book and grinned at his friend. "It's only been two days."

"I guess I've gotten used to the exciting life." Wolfwood leaned back in his chair. "I know you prefer it quiet."

"I do. I wish my life could always be this peaceful." Vash smiled at Meryl who was sitting a few seats up from him, talking quietly with Zoe. She glanced up at him and smiled back. There hadn't been a chance for private conversation- or anything else- since they'd run into her family at the restaurant. It had been awful before having her so close and not daring to touch, but now that he knew how it felt to hold her- now it was torture. To have her so near and not be able to... he stopped that train of thought before he got truly frustrated. Wolfwood was watching him with a slight smile.

"If I had left you at peace, you wouldn't have seen her again." Wolfwood said softly. Vash let his eyes linger on Meryl. There was something different about her...

"I know she would've been safer." Vash looked at Wolfwood. "You all would've been."

"No. Knives needed to be stopped."

"You talk like he is already."

"You injured him badly, Vash. It was just bad luck he managed to escape. Last time it took him years to heal."

"But it was different last time," Vash looked at his arm. "This time I only shot him."

"But this time he doesn't have a Bluesummers."

"He doesn't need one. He's perfectly capable of doing everything Legato did- and worse. He could destroy a city on his own, just like..."

"Just like you did?" Meryl's brother's voice was a soft interruption. The two gunslingers looked up in surprise. Sam smiled and sat down next to Vash. "I've got to tell you that it's hard to believe you're really Vash the Stampede."

"But I am," Vash replied, his eyes darkening. Something was nagging at him.

"Vash!" Meryl sat straight up, her eyes seeking him out.

"We got company!" Jack yelled from the front. "Battle stations now!"