Jackie: 'smirking maliciously' Nope, still not telling you who was in the tube. This chapter is primarily setup. Just a warning.

26 reviews! 'cheers' YAY I've beaten Silver Wings! Thank you inkydoo, Aine, Ajd, and Kawaii! 'hands out ice cream and some off her famous deluxe sugar cookies'

Disclaimer: Vash is MINE. MINE, MINE, MINE! Well, no, not really. I wish he was, but sadly I do not own Vash or any part of Trigun.

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Chapter 10

Knives helped Mira check out of the hospital and they made their way to a car that had been parked outside for some time. Knives put her small bag into the back seat and opened the door for her, dusting off the passenger's seat before she sat on it. He climbed into the driver's side and started the car. Mira had told him earlier that day where she lived.

It was strange the first time he heard her speak without a tube down her throat. Her voice was horse from the experience but the doctors felt comfortable that it would recover. There she was, with only minor remaining wounds, and prescription for oral antibiotics. She was finally going to get to go home, and Knives was more than willing to go home with her.

"Thank you for driving me home," Mira said softly, looking away from him.

"The doctor said you would need time to master walking again," Knives said, "There was no way you could have driven yourself."

"Still, I want to thank you," She said again as Knives started the car.

"I'm happy to do it," He said.

They drove out of the south exit of town and kept going for about three iles. Then they came upon the entrance to what had once been a great ranch. It was obvious that no one had cared to take care of it in her absence. She sighed ruefully, and Knives scowled in spite of himself.

"He took everything," She started, "He took all my animals. I just hope all the hands got away unharmed"

"If I can, I'll get them back," Knives said darkly.

"We already discussed this," She said harshly, "You are not sticking around to protect me, and you are NOT going to go looking for trouble. My ex-boyfriend is… A very powerful man. Besides I have my singing to fall back on."

"I wish you would tell me who he is," Knives said as he stopped the car outside of her front door.

"Not a chance," She said with a hint of a smirk.

Knives used her keys to open the front door for her and took her bag inside. Mira moved slow and shaky on trembling legs. She frowned and tried to remind herself that that was pretty darn good after what she had been through. She sighed as she looked over her now dust covered house. Then a smile graced her lips. In spite of everything she was just happy to be home.

"A shower," She said to herself, "It will feel so good to take a shower."

"Do you need help?" Knives said with a small smirk.

Mira blinked at this. Over the past two days Knives had been flirting with her. She wanted to believe that even in her current state he found her attractive, but she was convinced he was merely kidding with her. She shook her head no and walked into her bathroom.

Knives sat down on her plush couch and coughed at the dust plume that instantly rose out of it. He waved his hands in the air in an attempt to fan it away and only managed to kick up more dust. He frowned and tried not to move. He listened to the water running in the bathroom for nearly 30 minutes. He was beginning to become concerned when he heard it shut off. A few moments later Mira came out of the bathroom wrapped in a fluffy white robe. Knives stared at her.

Her long legs were only visible to her knees but he knew all to well what they looked like. For some reason, not being able to see them was enticing. He wanted to remove the thing that obscured them from his view. The robe dipped almost as low as her hospital gown had, showing just a hint of the soft round mounds of her breasts. She was gently brushing her hair when she said, "I don't think I have much to eat around here that won't have spoiled. I'm going to have to go into town for some supplies."

"I already arranged for some friends to do some shopping for you," Knives said, the word 'friends' was new to him.

Mira's arms dropped and she turned toward her bedroom. She was not accustomed to people doing things for her. It had her… Off guard to say the least. She looked back for just a moment and said, "Thank you again."

Mira sat down at her vanity. Her legs were already tired. She rubbed them slightly to work out the kinks. She frown at how much weight she had put on, and told herself that it could not have been helped. She wondered if any of her clothes would fit. She frowned at herself in the mirror, her skin and hair had taken a beating too. She opened all the drawers in her vanity and went to work.

An hour later Knives was still waiting for her to come back out. He must be insane, waiting patiently for a human female. Somehow he just didn't care. If madness was a place where Mira loved him, Knives was ready to become a full fledged tax paying citizen of the state of insanity. Knives was broken from his thoughts as a knock came at the front door. Since the hostess was still MIA, that left him to answer the door.

Meryl and Millie came barreling in over top of him with bags of groceries in tow. Meryl and Mille put the groceries down and started looking around feverishly. Neither of them had met Mira yet, and they seemed eager to.

"Alright," Meryl started, "Where is this, Miss Mira?"

"She's been freshening up for over an hour," Knives groaned.

Meryl jabbed his right shoulder and asked, "What do you expect? From what I've heard she's been through hell. She's probably enjoying some luxury for a change."

Vash's little human really had a way of getting on Knives's nerves, but since meeting Mira he had learned to curb his temper. He gathered the groceries and said, "Yeah, that must be it."

"So are you staying here, Mister Knives?" Millie asked.

Just then Mira came out of her room. She wore simple grey sweats rolled down at the waistband so that they hung on her ample hips. She wore a red half t-shirt which she was tugging on slightly as if she could make it longer. Knives couldn't understand for all the world why she was trying to cover up.

Her chestnut hair was pulled up into a simple pony tail, but it had been brushed until it shined and her face had a young radiant glow. She frowned a bit as she continued to tug at her shirt.

"I'm not used to being so out of shape," She mumbled, "I don't own anything that isn't revealing."

Knives pulled her hands away from her shirt which immediately grabbed her attention. Her eyes flung up to his as he said, "Stop that, you're beautiful."

"AWWWW," Both insurance girls squealed.

Mira seemed oblivious to what was really going on in that gesture. Knives glared at the two girls who shrank back slightly, and he smirked. He looked back at Mira and said, "To answer your question, Millie, I'm staying if she likes it or not."

"We already talked about this and --" Mira started.

"You don't honestly expect me to leave you here alone?" Knives interrupted, "If you kick me out I am just going to camp outside."

Knives looked out the window and rubbed his arms for emphasis. He looked back at Mira and said, "It is dreadfully cold outside. You wouldn't want me to catch a cold would you?"

Mira opened her mouth to protest but Meryl got the first word out, "Well it's settled then, see ya!"

Meryl pushed Millie out the door before Mira could get in a word.

"Hey!" Mira called out and the door clicked shut. She looked at Knives and asked, "Your friends are as pushy as you are."

Knives smiled and opened her small bag pulling out the chess board. He thanked the short girl for being so perceptive and pulled out the chess board. He waved it playfully in front of her and said, "Might as well make the best of it."

Mira smiled.

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Jackie: Lots of setup. I swear it has a point!