Epilogue

My big-big brother always used to tell me that families aren't just what you're born into; they're sometimes made up along the road of life by people who would be strangers but aren't because you make them into your family. When he first said that, I don't think I really understood him, but boy do I understand him now! Of course, you don't ever forget your first family; you just end up adding to them! And I've added some really great people to my family…

You know, when I first met Meryl she was standing there in the front office of the agency, all red in the face with her hands on her hips, griping at her old partner. I can remember thinking, gosh, I hope I don't make her mad at me! But I did, oh man, did I make her mad at me, all the time actually! When they re-assigned her and me together to go after The Humanoid Typhoon I was so excited, well, except for the part about working with her, she really didn't seem like much fun. Although, it did sound like we were in for quite the adventure, but Meryl was so serious and grumpy all the time, I admit I wasn't so sure we'd get along. But I decided to do everything I could to make her loosen up and have fun.

Of course, by the time Mr. Vash had joined our party things got really interesting! He kept getting into all kinds of trouble and then Meryl would get all angry, it was really funny watching them. Anyone could see she was falling in love with him, my mother always says you can tell when someone is in love because they get all distracted and embarrassed when the person they love is around. I thought I could have been happy watching the two of them act goofy for the rest of my life, but I was wrong. The truth is, only one thing could have made me happier and it wasn't too long before he was standing right in front of me. He was just what I needed.

My sweet Mr. Priest, my Nicholas wasn't quite as goofy as Mr. Vash, but he wasn't serious like Meryl either. He was just right. Like that story about the three bears and their porridge, whatever that is, I guess it must be something like pudding. I won't lie to you, when we were saving that sweet little dancing girl and I got to act like his wife, it was one of the happiest memories of my life. Waddling there beside him, arm in arm, while I disguised myself as a pregnant lady was fun. But I found myself wondering if someday I would really waddle beside him with his babies inside me. I found myself wondering what sort of father he'd be, and what our kids would look like. Before I knew it, I realized I had a pretty big grin on my face. I guess I liked the idea.

Who knew it would actually happen? There were a lot of things about him that surprised me, that he would kill that little boy, even if he was a villain, it just didn't seem right. That day was one of the worst ever, I hardly knew what to say. He sat there and explained himself to me; I couldn't argue with his logic, but Mr. Vash was right too! I was confused, but one thing was obvious, he needed me. He was so sad that day, how could I have left him all alone? I didn't think twice about going to him, and I didn't think twice about staying with him. Something about it felt right, but if I had known what was coming, I would never have let him leave the next morning, even if I had to lock the door and threaten him within an inch of his life!

Living those next few months wasn't fun. I wrote to my family to tell them I had fallen in love with a priest. Then that I was going to have a baby, and then later, that it would be two of them. Everyone was excited, but I didn't want them to come to help me with the babies, I had to trust my new family at that point and I just knew Meryl would come back. The best part is that she didn't just come back; she also came back with Mr. Vash! Of course, they were a week late, but she had the best news! She said that, well, I guess I'll let her tell you all about it. The only thing that really matters is that my new family is just as important to me as my old one was, er, not that my family is old but, you know what I meant.

Well, it wasn't long after that Mr. Nicholas and I were married. Isn't it funny how much my family has grown? Now when I write letters I also have to write them to Mr. Vash and Meryl and Mr. Knives and Marianne. And when I'm done, I sign them from Nick, Milly, Jeff and Lia.

Oh, and did I mention that I think I'm pregnant again, the doctor says it looks like another set of twins!

The day my mother died, was tragic in more than one way. She was everything to our family, she was the one that kept the peace, and she was beautiful and sweet and perfect. Unfortunately for me, I grew up to look just like her, but not to really be anything like her. In fact, though I may have been her twin physically, I was her opposite inevery otherway; she was delicate and soft but I was tough and strong. The real problem, though, was my father. She was his world and when she died, he did too, but not physically. He went to work, or sat at home and never spoke a word to me,soI learned to shut him out. Soon I was so involved with my dreams of being a Marshall that it didn't matter much. By the time I was 18, I was accepted into the academy and I had to have my father's permission. Of course, this was a road block. Since dad never really acknowledged me as I was growing up (in fact I don't think he ever really saw me at all) I didn't know how he'd respond. Who am I kidding? He never did see me, until I really started to look like her, that is. I remember the day that I walked into my father's bedroom to ask him about it and he stared at me like I was a ghost and said her name. I couldn't understand him. I had to correct him and tell him who I was. You know, the next day, when I got up and found him dangling from the ceiling, it wasn't a surprise to me at all. It didn't mean anything.

But that's when I went to live with my grandfather. Naturally, instead of being completely unaware of me, he was the opposite. He smothered me. To him, I was a copy of my mother as well, but I was also a second chance to him. Where he failed her, he would not fail me. When he found out I was going into law enforcement, he panicked. Of course, as the director of the Stantal Federal Bureau, he knew more than enough about the business. But yet my mother had died, so he was determined to keep me alive. I couldn't understand him. He stopped me from doing anything worthwhile, set me behind a desk and gave me paperwork. My life went from ignored to controlled and I hated it. But I was too wise to be caged like that, so I fooled him. Every night I snuck out of my room and practiced my shooting and worked my body until I was as limber as a cat and then I waited for my chance. All I needed was one chance to prove myself…

When I heard about that scum Cliff Schezar, I knew my time was at hand. What I didn't count on was Vash the Stampede. He wasn't what I expected. I distinctly remember watching him dodge those bullets and I wondered what sort of power he had that allowed him to do that. He impressed me. Unfortunately he was an idiot, and that ruined it all. He could have gazed at me with those sparkling eyes, but the minute he opened his mouth I wanted to kill him. He was like my grandfather, he didn't really want me, and he didn't really see me. It was a slap in the face; it was my history laughing at me. That was it. No one had ever wanted me, they ignored me or they smothered me and no matter how much freedom I had, it would always be the same.

Who knew that years later I would run into that man again, but this time destiny wouldn't be thumbing its nose at me. So he had a twin brother who wasn't an idiot, but he was a challenge. No, Knives was a murderer, but yet, he wasn't the insane man that I had pictured, but a tortured and confused soul. I've known criminals, they've been my life, and he didn't react to me like a criminal. In face, he didn't react like any man I'd ever known. He didn't ignore me or smother me, but he looked me straight in the eye and I saw what he was capable of. At first, he frightened me with the way he flippantly spoke of those he had killed, but when I heard his voice in my head I knew that this man was unlike any other man on the face of the earth. Sure he was confused, but I respected him, and I had never respected any man. He was certainly a match for me; he was strong and confident, just as I was. There was a small problem though, he was so full of hated and pain he couldn't see that anyone could understand him and he hid behind the excuse of being a higher life form. Of course, I knew that right away, I guess the saying 'it takes one to know one' is pretty accurate. I had to help him, and in so doing, he would help me.

The day we were married he looked like he was going to explode as I walked down the aisle. We had fought about the ceremony earlier. He thought it was pointless, but the expression on his face when he saw me walking towards him, proved that maybe there was something to tradition. I took his hand and gave it a squeeze. It's nice to know that my future will be spent with a man that I can understand and respect...

I've never been without a plan. Even when I was a little girl I had strategies on everything under the sun. I was also born with a bit of a commanding presence; I was never afraid to impose my thoughts on anyone. Naturally becoming an insurance agent would be a good job for a strategic person like me, everyone thought so. I was organized and logical, and I learned quickly that certain emotions weren't logical. I guess I got a little carried away with the position…

I burned through my first few partners quickly, insulting them and letting them leave the company in tears, my excuse was, they were weak. When they assigned me to Milly Thompson I was hard pressed to figure her out and move on. But I found out she surprisingly tough, and handy to have around. So, I was actually pleased to know that she and I would be working on the Vash the Stampede case together, I figured she at least wouldn't get in my way. If there was one thing I couldn't stand it was a womanizing trouble-maker like this Vash the Stampede. I heard tons of rumors and I admit when I did meet Vash, none of them lined up. He was…so…indescribable. One minute he would be snarfing down donuts while the next minute he would be dodging bullets! Of course I can't forget the bizarre looks he could get in his eyes, they would glow with a violence I had never seen before, or they would tear up and he would sob like a 6 year-old girl. But I wasn't going to get emotional, I was going to keep it together, no matter what. Falling in love was just illogical.

At first I just couldn't stand him. He was always chasing skirts and following around beautiful women like a lost puppy, literally. But then he would do something amazing, like stand up for justice and save the lives of helpless people, like a hero! On the other hand, after performing these heroic acts he'd be back in the saloon drinking into oblivion. It used to make me so mad. Now, I say that it used to make me mad because it doesn't bother me now. I guess I realized that he's just goofy like that because he's so determined to not let the sorrow of this world get to him. I know how perverted this might sound, but I've seen his body without his clothes covering it and he's tragically beautiful. He's covered in these scars, but it's like he's a two-legged memorial of a life lived in the pursuit of love and peace. But he still laughs and is silly despite it all. Someone once said if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. I guess somewhere along the road, I began to realize that he's not irritating, he's, well, he's endearing.

When he told me about Knives my heart broke. I knew that for the first time he had let me in. For the first time he hadn't just laughed and excused himself, he leveled with me; he spoke plainly with me. It meant that he respected me, that he trusted me. But I also knew that he would have to leave me. He couldn't very well take me along to this fight and I had to respect his will to do this alone. But can I tell you how much I struggled with myself in letting him go? It seemed like I had always followed him and I just wasn't ready to let him go. So, I waited as long as I could, and then I went after him. I guess I had finally come to grips with the fact that I was a very tender and emotional woman, despite how illogical I knew it was to be so.

Of course, nothing could have prepared me for what I would find. He was being heroic again and in all fairness, I thought messing around with Knives was a lost cause. But I digress; the point is he proved me wrong. He did everything right and before I knew it, I was standing at Knives' wedding! And then I was standing at very motherly Milly and very alive Nicholas' wedding! But my joy was complete the evening that Milly got married, he stood beside me as we watched them toast each other and he offered me a toast as well. 'May we always have love, peace, and each other' ?As cliché as it sounds, I found something sparkly at the bottom of my champagne flute.

It wasn't long before I had a daughter of my own. We decided to name her Rem, after the woman that inspired Vash to be the peace-loving father that he is. I know that with our example she'll grow up to be just as peaceful as her father, as loving as her mother and as inspiring as her predecessor...

IT IS FINISHED!

lisa