The Usual Disclaimer: I do not own Trigun, Meryl, Milly, Wolfwood, Rem, Knives, or Vash, as much as I wish I owned one particular character. . . .Oh, well. I can dream, can't I?

Glory

Chapter Eleven: Crisis

Glory was having a hard time biting back her grin.

Currently Knives was explaining the number of reasons why she should not only stay with them, but in the twin's room, and furthermore, on the bed with them. One of the reasons was because he wanted to be there to protect her should anything happen, and another that siblings should always be together. Possibly the funniest one, though, was that he claimed Vash was the one who wanted her to sleep with them and he was asking her for him.

Eventually Glory held up her hands to stop him and allowed herself a few laughs. "Knives," she giggled, "I was just waiting for someone to ask." She stood up from her laid-out position on the couch and looped an arm around his waist, trying to relieve as much pain as possible for the six-foot trip to get from the couch, round the corner, down the hall, and into the boy's room. She sat him down on the bed.

Another week of healing and Knives still hissed in pain whenever one of his limbs bent, mainly being his knees. Glory waited until he laid back and then got in herself, being sure to climb over Vash - although she wasn't sure why she wanted to.

If he'd been asleep before, he certainly wasn't now. Vash gave her an annoyed glance before settling down again, clutching his pillow to his cheek. He muttered something about inconsiderate baby sisters, but Glory just rolled her eyes and made sure she snuggled between the two.

Over the past few weeks here, Meryl had pointedly refused to let her stay unless she wore the 'proper' clothing to bed. In the end Glory had gone out and bought a set of pajamas that were obviously meant for men, being a simple gray but amazingly soft. A string tied the waist together of the pants, and the shirt was button-up. It was annoying to have to take off her boots every night, just to put them back on in the morning, but she did so without complaint. After a while she made a habit of taking off her chain, too, for more comfort now that she could have it.

Smiling devilishly, she rolled over onto her stomach and laid there a moment before rolling onto her back again. She turned to face Knives and then Vash, back onto her stomach, and back to Vash again. She kicked his calf and pushed back into Knives before rolling onto her stomach, and heard Vash trying to hide his laughter while Knives made angry noises.

She laughed herself, until Knives clamped a hand down over her mouth.

"Just go to sleep," he said.

After I do this! she thought, and then licked his palm. Knives made what was possibly the most annoying sound she'd heard and jerked his hand back, wiping it on the blankets before promptly turning his back to her. Glory laughed again. All right, I know, I'll go to sleep. Happy now?

Elated, Knives though back, dryly.

Vash was still snickering.

It was sometime later when dreams welcomed her. She'd never felt so comforted before, and if she'd have known what it took to feel this content and safe, she would have introduced herself to her brothers a long time ago.

Sleep was kind. Glory doubted she moved all night.

The next morning was a bit more hectic. Glory woke up only when Vash started moving, and felt for her position. She was splayed out over her brothers, arms flung to the side and her left leg was across Vash's. Vash himself was still facing away from Glory as he'd been last night, but now Knives was facing her, one arm laying limply across her stomach, hand gripping the blanket loosely at Vash's back.

Protective as the eldest could be while asleep.

Vash moaned something and rolled further away from her, and right off the bed. He made a yelp at the split second of time when you can feel nothing above or below you, and then he was facedown on the floor. Glory sat up to see him, chuckling all the while, and the action woke up Knives.

The first thing he saw behind Glory's back was a missing head. "Vash?" he said, eyebrows drawing together.

"He's on the floor," Glory answered for her embarrassed sibling.

There was a light knock at the door, and all three of them knew who it was by feel alone, before said person even spoke.

"Everything alright in there?" Wolfwood's voice asked through the door.

"We're all fine," Glory called, getting up and stepping over Vash to crack the door. "It's just a little difficult for the three of us giants to sleep on the same bed. Dangerous, even," she laughed.

Wolfwood smiled at her and shook his head. "Well, breakfast is out. You guys slept in today."

Glory shrugged. "There's a first time for everything," she quoted.

Nick's face softened as he glanced down the hall, towards the adjoining kitchen and living room. "And apparently, some second tries, as well." He looked at her again with a heartfelt appreciative glance and then left, closing the door.

Glory turned her back against the door, leaned, and sighed. She offered her brothers a smile as Knives began getting up and Vash sat up, rubbing his head. "No wonder Milly fell for him," she commented. "That look was positively seductive."

"He gave you a seductive look?" both brothers asked. Vash sounded curious, while Knives more as though he was going to tear Wolfwood apart, wounds or no wounds, if he ever tried anything.

"He gave me a nice, appreciative glance before he walked away," Glory clarified, "and it was somewhat seductive."

Knives looked away with a scowl but didn't say anything further. Meanwhile Vash got up and stretched, long limbs taut, and then sighed. Glory walked past them both until she reached the dresser and pulled her clothes off the top where she always left them.

It was amazing how comfortable they'd all gotten with one another. It didn't matter who was doing what; everything was acceptable. They changed in front of one another without breaking a conversation, and Glory and Vash went so far as to help Knives whenever he couldn't reach his boots or stretch enough to pull up his pants or put on his shirt.

Every day was like this. Glory would change in the boy's room, as they would, and they would talk. Be it by mouth or mind, sometimes both, they would speak. This morning's conversation consisted of how many donuts Meryl bought - as was always the first topic up for discussion - followed by the day's events. Glory was scheduled for an interview for a job today, one that involved a lot of manual labor - the same digging job Milly worked at. This launched another discussion about when Milly would have to stop working, and decided that four month's pregnant was time for her to quit, if not the month before.

Breakfast went off smoothly as it did every morning, and one could almost swear that the scene was unreal, that at any minute a monster would come in to attack, or someone would wake up, or someone would simply fall over from poison or some thing. The same cheerful unreal blanketed every morning since Nicholas D. Wolfwood returned, the added weight of dead-and-returned a strangeness no one could possibly deal with completely.

Once done with that, Glory grabbed her hair tie and put it back into its ponytail, glancing over at the corner her boomerang occupied before leaving without it. She whistled a song she remembered as "It's My Life" by some female singer of earth and her band, known as No Doubt. The interview went off without a bump, and soon Glory shook the manager's hand on the contract, agreeing by his terms of hours and allotted cash per hour. Her official first day was scheduled for tomorrow, and she left as Milly was showing up. Now five weeks pregnant, she didn't quite show, but her morning sickness was over and sensitivity to smell.

Someone's following me.

Glory knew it now. She slowed her steps almost unnoticeably, hands in pockets, and glanced at a store sign. Through the corner of her eye she saw a tall, lanky man following with his head down, his hair a messy crop of black strings and wearing an old, battered trench coat. His arms were crossed over his chest, but Glory could see. The silver glints were unmistakable.

She turned a corner to lead away from her usual trek back home, and entered a store before he'd turned the corner. She kept herself out of sight, back pressed against the wall next to the door, and shut her eyes to listen carefully. He muttered curses, paused, and then yelled.

Footsteps.

Her eyes shot open and she dove outside just before a barrage of gunshots were directed at her, and knocked down the man that had been following her. Quickly, she darted across the street and down an alley, just missing several more shots.

Following me again. . .What does he want?!

Glory exited the alley just to duck a large dagger thrown at her, and began running for the next alley - but stopped dead. In front of her, gun to head, was Laura, Wesley's wife. And she was holding their recently-born son, a mere three weeks. Her stomach churned in fear and apprehension, and she gasped when she saw the mound that was Wesley near his wife's feet.

His twin girls were off to the side, tied up and crying, sitting on the ground and with guns pointed at them as well.

Laughter sounded from behind her, but Glory didn't turn. Her eyes narrowed in hate and she hissed. "What's going on? What do you want from me?"

The man from earlier circled her. She eyed the rooftops carefully and subtly, but he caught it and laughed more. "You're completely surrounded. These men are jittery, so be careful. If one shoots, they'll all shoot, and you'll be among the dead - along with this pretty lady," he gestured Laura, "and those two lovely girls," he gestured the twins next.

He cackled and took a step back, and began answering her questions. "You're an anomaly," he sneered at her. "A giant of a woman who can't possibly be anything less that a monstrosity. These people associated with you. . .now they're infected as well. You're poisoning us all! Just like those damn Plants!"

"Watch it!" Glory snapped at him, and heard someone on the roof jerk in surprise. "You son of a fu -"

"Hold your tongue!" he snapped in return. "A freak of nature! I can smell it - it's sickening! My stomach hardly stays still, even thinking about you! Make one move and you're dead, freak."

He's serious, she thought. He's going to kill me and then them. Because I spoke to them. I have to. . .stop. . . She began speaking. "And who are you?" she asked.

Jerking open his trench coat, he showed the multitude of guns that lay within the folds. "I am Judgment! I am your executioner, and I will damn you to Hell!" He raised his arm, drawing a gun in the process, and Glory's breath caught.

Knives, Vash! she called mentally, taking a terrified step back. Help me! I need you! Va -

Her mental thoughts stopped, freezing, when the man's hand begin to fall. All around her, guns cocked and the girls screamed. Laura was crying, holding tightly to her son and still-swollen womb. Glory found herself screaming, crying, scared and angry and completely at a loss. She had to do something, but her mind was blank and her legs wouldn't work.

Vaaaash!!!! her mind called out, one last thought before her body jerked to movement and she harshly ran into that man, knocking him back so hard he nearly flew into the building behind.

Guns were firing, and footsteps were heading her way from every direction. She kicked at the man holding Laura and Laura crumpled to her knees, and then a burst of her power sent the men holding guns to the twin's heads flying. A bullet hit Glory's left side and another skinned her neck, and Glory turned to face them. The bullets continued to hit her - left shoulder, right thigh, right side, right arm, left wrist, left foot - a barrage of tiny bits of metal that she couldn't fight.

And then, from behind her, someone jerked her down, and she saw a blue blur pass beside her. One man knocked down, one knocked out, another two went down, the people on the roof began collapsing from unseen power - blonde hair. Vash.

Everything happened so fast, guns firing and people groaning, metal piercing her skin and bodies falling - she hardly kept up. In the center of the melee stood Vash, now aiming his gun arm - which has shredded his sleeve - and he fired several shots in succession, knocking down man after man in a howl of endless pain.

And then it was all over, Glory was shaking, and she found herself propped up and holding her right side, blood seeping through her fingers as she tried to hold the wound shut. Eyes blurred, she focused on seeing, and glanced over her shoulder. Knives kneeled behind her, shocked face, holding her and looking over her wounds.

Vash was hurrying towards her, gun returning to his arm as he moved. He skidded on his knees to stop in front of her and looked anxiously at the bullet holes and split skin where the bullets had simply grazed her. Tilting her head back she could see Wolfwood on the roof, hands shaking as he held a gun and stared down at her.

She looked down again, at Vash's hands moving her own away and inspecting closer. She could hear the three men talking quickly to one another but couldn't hear them at all. Not until Vash looked up again, directly at her eyes. "It's still inside," he said, somewhat gravely.

Glory looked down at her side again. No, this one didn't go through. Naturally, then, it would be still inside. . .All you have to do now is take it out. That simple. It's not a problem at all.

Right?

Looking at Vash's face, then Knives and lastly Wolfwood's, she wasn't so sure. "What's wrong? It's not so bad," she said.

But by the look on Vash's face as he shared a look with Knives, it wasn't the wound on her side he was worried about. His eyes dropped again, to her chest. Glory looked down.

Oh.

Well, that explains a lot. . .

Hospital

Words filtered in and out, and Glory picked up a few statements. "The bullet in her chest. . .Surgery successful, the bullet's out. . .Remove the rest of the bullets. . .Who attacked her? . .Sheriff's going to arrest. . .Glory? . . Okay now? . . .

"Is she going to make it?"

It hurt to move. It hurt to breath. Her heart hurt by just beating. She didn't want to open her eyes or lift her hand to shade the light, but she was doing both. The light hurt, too. She glanced right and saw Vash, exhausted and slumped over in a chair, hands gripping a necklace of some sort. . .her locket. . .

Looking left, she saw Knives in much the same position, but he was awake. Hands clenched together, eyes wide and shaking with labored breath, he looked much like he was the injured one.

But he was the awake one. "Knives?" she asked, wondering at her own dry, cracked voice.

He jumped slightly and turned to her sharply. "Glory," he said, as though he was afraid to hope. "You're awake. . .I. . .we. . ."

"Quiet," she whispered. "Vash's still asleep. What happened?"

He looked shocked that she'd even ask. "You got shot at, Glory. Do you remember?"

Glory thought it over. Wesley, a job, Laura. . .Judgment. . . "A little," she confessed. "But not much. Why are you so worried?"

He bit his lip before going on. "We. . .We tried to do that - that thing, that healing thing you taught us. . .but there was a cr-crowd and we. . Couldn't do the. . .they would've. . .So-so a doctor came, and he. . .he had us bring you here and you. . .Glory, you. . ."

"Relax and stop stuttering," Glory said, working at sitting up for a moment before deeming it impossible. "I'm fine, see? Healthy as an ox."

Knives looked more angry at her statement than anything. "Glory, you had thirty two bullet wounds! Twenty six didn't go through! You lost a lot of blood!"

Vash was stirring. "I lost blood?" Glory asked. "How much?"

"Too much," Knives replied, calmer this time. Almost numb, even. "About half."

"I don't feel like it." Dear god, was that actually her own voice? So raspy? So hoarse? So dry and aching?

"We had to give you blood," Knives explained. "Vash and I." He lifted his arm to show a bandage over what was obviously a syringe's wound. "They wanted us to leave you." This last was said with contempt, anger that they wanted him to leave his sister. That they wanted Vash and himself to just leave her.

"Where am I now?" she asked, sparing a glance at Vash, who was just starting to blink, dark circles apparent underneath.

"A human hospital," Knives informed her. "We wanted to take you home, but we agreed with the humans that it would be too dangerous."

"Glory!" Vash's voice broke in. "You're awake!" He got up and stumbled over, nearly tripping in his haste to give her a once-over.

Heedless, Glory continues to interrogate Knives. "How did I lose so much blood in such a short time?"

"Thirty two wounds, Glory," Knives went on. "Six did go through, and those bled the most. Among all of them, though, you had countless scrapes and splits where they nearly got you." Eyes narrowed, he went on. "They say you shouldn't have made it. And they're right. Anybody else would've died."

Glory smiled at him, and turned the smile on Vash as he drew up his chair closer and sat down. "I can't die yet. I've promised to watch you two. Dying would have broken the promise."

They both looked only a little consoled by that.

"Would you like to see everyone?" Vash asked.

"Not yet," Glory returned. She shut her eyes. "Can I go back to sleep for a while?" Well, now I know why everything hurts.

"Of course," both brothers said in one. With a sigh Glory was out again, giving in willingly to the bliss of dreams, where pain doesn't exist.

Ouchies. Poor Glory, huh? And what the hell was with that damn Judgment guy, anyway? What a lunatic. Psycho.

Alas, at the end of this chapter, I have yet to draw another picture for you. I might have one when this gets put up, though. So pay attention! Geez, I got thrown off when I forgot to bring 8 when I updated 7. 7, 8, 9 and 10 were all done at the same time. This one Is now finished on the sixth of May. Yep, that's right. I wonder what day it is now, now that you're reading this. . .Hmm.

DL