A/N: Back from break and a new chapter to post. Thanks everyone!

Bonding Together

Vash and Meryl said nothing, merely catching up to Millie as the chase began. They traveled down the many streets and alleyways, following the deep, heavy prints made in the sand. Their search led them to the outskirts of the town, the road opening to the vast desert and stretching beyond sight. Stopping at the end, the group looked at the sight before their eyes.

Wolfwood sat in the middle of the street, his huge figure still and waiting. The form was hunched over, his head staring forward and saliva dripping from his mouth. He appeared to not notice the group, his focus on the street laid out before him. Meryl stepped forward to move closer to their prey when a long arm blocked her path.

"Don't" Vash said, his eyes narrowed as he watched the beast. "He knows we're here."

Millie stepped forward, out of arm reach of the blond gunman, and began to approach the beast.

"Millie!" Meryl screamed, attempting to rush to aid her friend. Suddenly she found herself surrounded by Vash's arms and held to the spot. Turning her angered eyes toward the gunman's face, she was shocked to see a smile on his lips. "We have to help her!" she pleaded, struggling against his grip.

"I think if anyone can help him, it'll be her" he answered, turning his face toward Meryl's. He hugged the small woman closer, softly petting her hair and calming her confusion. He returned his gaze to the big girl, who now had crossed half the distance to Wolfwood. "She'll find him."

The two watched as Millie approached the beast,

"Mr. Priest!" The only response was a low growl and the gnashing of teeth. "Nicholas!"

At the sound of his name coming from her mouth, the rage in his eyes cleared and his ears pricked up. He turned toward the sound, his head perking up and his tongue hanging out. The werewolf warily watched as the tall female shortened the distance between them, her feet cautious but confident. Her scent confused him, showing his senses neither nervousness nor fear.

"Nick" Millie continued, closing her reach at seeing she had his attention. "I know you don't want to do this."

At her final word the beast suddenly lunged toward her, knocking her to the ground with his weight and pinning her down with his arms. He lowered his nose against hers, his breath blowing over her face and saliva pooling at her sides.

"Millie!" Meryl yelled in Vash's arms as she watched her friend drop to the ground.

"I'm all right, Meryl" Millie managed to call back, her air having been pushed from her lungs at the impact. Turning her full attention back to the beast holding her down, a sad smile crossed her face. "Please, remember everything you told me." Tears streamed down her face, confusing the beast atop her large form.

The werewolf struggled to understand why she was crying, and why he didn't want her to cry. He gave a low growl, ignored by the female and only increasing the nagging voice growing in his instinct filled mind. Sinking his claws deeper into the woman's shoulders only brought more of the salty substance and a small cry of pain, the inner voice now screaming within his skull.

Millie managed to keep her eyes open, facing the beast's own as he ruthlessly buried his sharpened nails into her skin. She could feel blood sliding down her arms and her muscles scream in pain, her body telling her to fight the beast holding her. But looking into the werewolf's eyes, she saw the color swirl, changing between the monster's golden color to Wolfwood's brown. A struggle was occurring in the depths of this beast's mind, each side, human and wolf, battling for control of the body. The priest she knew, the man she...loved, was battling to save her.

Narrowing her brows in determination and pressing her lips together, Millie stopped her tears and stared into the mix of colors in the beast's eyes. The werewolf mimicked her action, stilling at her sudden change in scent and curiously watching her expression.

"Remember what we talked about on the porch" she whispered watching the mix beginning to swirl at the start of her words. The feel of his grip tightening caused her to wince but she kept talking, knowing well her words were reaching him. "

A low growl echoed in the monster's throat as even the female's voice stirred these troublesome demands to protect her. Part of its mind was yelling for the beast to stop hurting her, get off her and listen. No! It would not listen to the rambling words of this prey nor the voice screaming in its head. It would solve both problems with this female's death!

Millie suddenly felt herself lifted from the ground as a firm grip settled around her throat. The monster was holding her above the sand by her neck, its grip tightening with each passing moment. The big girl struggled for breath, her hands instinctually scratching at the arms holding her and her thoughts trying to gather enough air to make one last sentence.

"I love you."

The werewolf's eyes shot wide open as he dropped her to the ground and stepped back, clutching his head in pain. He threw his head back and howled to the clear sky as the voice inside clawed at the mind to gain control, his own nails clawing at his head to make the words stop. Millie stood up and slowly approached the beast that was Wolfwood, reaching her hand out.

The monster snarled at her limb but could do nothing to stop her, the war within its conscious tearing at the fabric of its control. But the moment her hand touched his face, the voice stilled and a calming sensation drifting through his body. The werewolf suddenly found himself settling down to her height and allowing her a better reach, his eyes half shut as his tongue happily lolled out.

"Wolfwood?" the female asked cautiously.

The beast shifted through the thoughts of the other, finding the name to belong to him. He slowly nodded his head, leaning into the soothing touch. A few stray tears down her cheeks upset the other inside him and he gladly leaned down and licked them away, causing a small smile to appear on her face.

"I think it's time to go home" Millie spoke to the werewolf, watching as the color in its eyes permanently shifted to a golden circle ringed by a deep brown. She carefully grabbed a paw, mindful of the large nails, and gently pulled him in the direction of the house. He followed obediently, never taking his eyes off the big girl.

Vash and Meryl watched the current exchange silently, each breathing a sigh of relief at the outcome.

"She sure is wonderful" the small girl sighed watching Millie and Wolfwood, turning to follow the two back.

"Wonderful" Vash murmured, though his eyes never left the petite form of the dark haired insurance girl as she strolled away.

An hour later found Vash sitting on the couch in the living room, his coat hung at the front door and his arms draped about the back of the furniture. His eyes were staring at the ceiling and his brows were turned down in concentration. His mind was wandering back to before Wolfwood burst through the door, his memory focused on the entity he had felt. A frown creased his lips as he thought of those whom would gain the most from the beast's escape and rampage of the town, coming to only one logical conclusion.

The person had been Legato, sent by Knives to release the werewolf and trick the insurance girls into getting themselves killed in an attempt to capture their priest friend. A small smile graced his lips as he recalled the confrontation and subsequent happy ending. Knives had not taken into account the determination of a certain big girl and the love of the priest trapped within the wolf's body, human qualitites his brother refused to acknowledge in the race.

Standing and stretching his arms above his head, Vash suddenly noticed the small girl at the base of the stairs. Meryl was dressed only in a short night shirt, showing her long shapely legs and toned thighs. A pillow was in her hand and she had a worried frown on her face. She slowly walked toward the tall gunman and seated herself next to his standing form, patting the area he had only just vacated. Following her silent request, he nervously joined her on the couch.

"Why the pillow?" he asked curiously, pointing toward the stuffed cloth clutched in her hands.

"I thought Millie and...Wolfwood, would like some time together" she answered quickly. She settled the pillow beside her along the arm of the couch, pulling a thin blanket from the case and shaking out the wide cloth.

A grin crept on Vash's face as he watched Meryl settle herself in for the night. He observed their positions and the objects beside her, his eyebrows coming together in thought.

"You know, the nights can get pretty cold in the desert" he said slowly, carefully watching her reaction to his words.

Meryl turned her head and gave him a confused look, nodding in agreement to his statement. Returning her attention back to the task at hand, she didn't notice as Vash slid behind her until his arms wrapped around her waist. Her hands immediately went to the bottom of her shirt, keeping the cloth from rising further and giving the gunman an interesting show.

"Vash, what are you doing?" she scolded, trying to wriggle free from his grip. A small 'eep' escaped her lips as she found herself pulled into the gunman's lap, her back pressed against his well-muscled chest.

"Come on, Meryl" she heard him whisper, his breath tickling her ear. "I'm just trying to keep you warm. You don't doubt my intentions, do you?" Vash asked, pressing his sinfully soft lips against the back of her neck.

Meryl highly doubted his intentions, showing her answer by renewing her struggles in his lap. Unfortunately her actions only worsened the problem she now found herself in, a distinct bulge now rubbing against the outside of her thigh. She stilled immediately, a slow rumbling echoing in the chest her back was pressed into. She shut her eyes to calm her beating heart and racing pulse, trying to remain the stable person in an unstable situation.

"Trust me" Vash whispered, slowly laying his back down on the cushions. With his arms still wrapped around Meryl's waist, she unwillingly followed his descent and found herself laying atop the blond gunman. "Turn around" he growled softly, removing his hands.

Meryl grudgingly complied, slowly turning to face the spiky haired man below her. A small gulp escaped her throat as she noticed the color swirling in his eyes, a green-blue battling with a dark red. She turned her face away and cautiously laid her head on his chest, flinching as his hands once more encircled her waist.

"Relax" he whispered, his voice more throaty than usual. He nuzzled his face into her hair, sliding his hands along her back but careful not to shift the shirt higher.

Meryl nodded, mindful not to move as she felt the blanket slide over their bodies. So here she was, Meryl Stryfe, atop a dangerous half-vampire with a blanket over them and his hands gently gripping her waist. After a long while of tense silence on her part, she was about to speak when she suddenly noticed Vash's breathing. By the steady rise and fall of his chest, she realized the gunman was unconscious. Giving a sigh of relief at the anticlimactic ending, she settled herself in and joined him in sleep.

Meanwhile, upstairs the girls' room was now occupied by one very nervous werewolf seated on the floor and one very preoccupied tall insurance girl on the large bed. They had been silent since she led him into the house and into the room, the beast not knowing how to act and the big girl deep in thought. Now they were facing off, waiting to see which would break the uncomfortable stillness of the room.

"Wolfwood, I want you to change me" Millie suddenly spoke, looking him firmly in the eye.

At first the beast merely stared at her, thinking he had heard wrong. Then, after many seconds of silence and the processing what she'd said, he fervently shook his head 'no.' He obviously refused to assist in turning the woman before him into a bloodthirsty monster as he. But Millie would not take his answer, standing and resting her hands on her hips.

"Nicholas D. Wolfwood, I do know what I'm asking" she said, a frown on her lips. "I can't watch you all the time unless I'm as fast as you." Then a sad smile crossed her face. "Who's going to keep care of you when I...die" she slowly whispered, looking away from him.

Wolfwood's eyes grew downcast as he saw the truth in her words, realizing how slowly he aged compared to humans. She would be dead long before he would have his first gray hair...or fur. In any case, she would leave him and nothing would be able to stop the beast from killing people, his conscience no longer a factor. Even Vash would slip one day if he gave the monster a chance, and selfishly he didn't want to lose her...ever.

"Please" a small whisper echoed in the room, finally resolving his decision.

Wolfwood slowly moved toward the big girl as she sat down on the bed, her head in her hands and a few loose tears falling to the floor. Then she was suddenly shoved down onto the bed, the werewolf standing nimbly on the bed's foot board, his soft padded hands stroking her arms. He looked into her eyes, his own still filled with some doubt. Millie smiled at him innocently as she nodded her head at his hesitation, reassuring him of her wish. He growled softly and leaned down, nuzzling her neck and making her shudder; but not from fear. He shifted his head to her shoulder slowly, moving his long tongue over her smooth skin. Taking her long sleeve in his teeth, he ripped away the material. Millie gasped but didn't flinch as his hand moved to hold her wrist, effectively trapping her on the bed.

Wolfwood suddenly dragged a single fang over her flesh, tearing open a thin wound on her arm. Millie clenched her teeth but refused to close her eyes, wanting to watch, needing to watch. Wolfwood drew his tongue back up her arm, lapping up the blood pouring from the wound, cleaning and closing the cut.

After finishing with the wound, Wolfwood stepped back off the bed, his eyes looking toward Millie's in fear of what he'd done. However, the insurance girl sat up quickly, a smile on her face and no regret in her dancing eyes. On the contrary, Millie shifted to the side of the bed closest to the ashamed beast and reached out her hand. She began stroking the side of his face softly, giggling when he started to make a low guttural purr, nuzzling her soft skin. She moved back on the bed, leaning against the headboard. Patting the covers next to her, she watched as Wolfwood eagerly moved to the other side of the bed. Carefully climbing on next to her, he rested his head on her lap and closed his eyes. Both fell asleep soon after.

Outside, a lone figure observed the quiet house carefully.

"The Master will not be pleased."