A/N: Another chapter dragged from the depths of my mind...and I feel like I'm going to hit bottom soon. Thanks everyone!

Family Matters

Vash's mouth had dropped open as he heard the single word Meryl had uttered. For a few long moments he simply cradled her unconscious body in his arms, stupefied beyond movement. Then he snapped to attention at the sound of her troubled breathing, picking her up bridal style and setting off for the house at a gentle sprint. He kicked the door open and strode into the house, alerting the other frantic occupants to his arrival. They had been searching for him since they had discovered his disappearance.

After Vash told them the shocking news, Millie quickly took her up to their room to make her comfortable. The gunman himself stumbled into the kitchen, exhausted from the ordeal and in need of a sugar boost. Wolfwood followed him with noticeable concern, wondering what would happen with the short girl in her current predicament. He waited patiently for the blond to scour the cabinets for a box of donuts, finding a package quickly, and watched as the half-vampire sat down at the kitchen table.

"What are you gonna do, Vash?" the priest finally asked, leaning against the entrance frame. "Is there anything you can do?"

For a long moment there was a silent pause of conversation, though the sounds of Vash munching on donuts were still quite audible. The gunman's face was gravely downcast as he carefully ate a jelly-filled treat, nibbling on the sides with nervousness. Noticing the slight twitching of the blond's hand, showing his obvious fear for Meryl and the baby's health, the priest knew they had a problem with the small insurance girl.

"Wolfwood, I don't know how to help her" he admitted between bite fulls of donuts. The energy he had used today had greatly depleted his reserves and without the sugar his body would seek out another source of nourishment; namely, blood. Now possibly Meryl would have this same weakness, both a pleasant and an unhappy fact. She was just like him now, but did he really want her to have such a cursed life? "I'm not even sure what Knives did to her yet" he continued, blessedly breaking his train of increasingly fearful thoughts. "She only had time to tell me the child was mine and then she passed out."

"You think she's...?" Wolfwood's question trailed off, not willing himself to admit they might have to kill the small girl. The shaking of his friend's head brought a relieved sigh to his lips.

"She's not a vampire, I could hear her heart" Vash quickly replied, pushing the now finished box of donuts away from him. "But I'm not sure what the child is." With the possibility of Knives' blood in her system, the kid would still be Meryl's and his but would have heightened abilities which came with having both parents who were half-vampires. He could only imagine his brother had planned such a 'treat' for him, dragging his entire family into their fight regardless of being born or not.

Wolfwood pondered the words of his friend, puffing away on his depleting cigarette as he watched the worried expressions cross Vash's face. Perhaps he could think of a way to cheer up the soon-to-be father, who was now bordering on a seizure with fear so uncharacteristic of him.

"Well, there's something to think about" Wolfwood suddenly spoke, catching Vash's attention with a questioning glance. "Meryl's brains and your inhuman abilities. What kind of monster are you creating, needle noggin?" he teased, thankfully getting the reaction he'd hoped for.

"Hey" Vash pouted, his face pulling down in a frown. "What about my brains?"

"Not much there to speak of" Wolfwood chuckled, the cigarette dangling precariously from his mouth.

Vash's mouth turned down in a pout for a moment before being replaced by a grin. He walked up to the smoking priest and with a swipe of his hand quickly removed the bent cigarette from Wolfwood's mouth, turning around and walking to the kitchen door. Opening the portal and looking over to the still shocked preacher, he promptly flung the cigarette out into the desert and shut the door. A somewhat evil chuckle escaped the blond's lips at the shocked and angered expression of his best friend, walking back to once more seat himself at the table.

"Smoking isn't healthy for the baby" Vash spoke, grinning from ear to ear at his cruel yet truthful revenge.

The blond left the priest still gawking in horror in the kitchen entrance, walking up the stairs to see how Meryl was doing. His mood began to darken the closer he came, hearing no noise from their bedroom as he knocked on the closed door. At an answer from Millie he entered, immediately noticing the pale figure on the bed with the big girl tucking the covers in for her. After seeing Meryl was as comfortable as she could make her, the tall insurance girl walked over to Vash and gave him an encouraging pat on the shoulder.

"She'll be all right Mr. Vash, just you wait and see" Millie said, smiling at him and leaving the couple alone.

Vash walked over to the bed and kneeled beside Meryl's still figure, whimpering at her frail condition and that of the baby. He started when he noticed her eyes opening, showing she was awake. He gave her a shaky smile, rubbing his hand soothingly along her arm. The pain he watched flit across her face as she looked to him was terrible to watch, wrenching at his heart as she shifted with a low, pained moan.

"I'm sorry" he whispered, seeing her turn her head toward him in brief confusion.

"Sorry for what?" Meryl asked with a slight frown, her voice hoarse from lack of liquids. Her eyes bore into his and she noticed the depth of pain he felt for having not been able to save her, at being so careless knowing his brother was after them; but she didn't care about any of that. Her main worry right now was for the child, growing rapidly as she could only assume her new regenerative powers were seeing the babe in a weakened state and was accelerating its growth as though repairing its body. The slight sniffling beside her quickly returned her attention to the distraught man beside her.

"For doing this to you" he spoke quietly. Tears slid down his face, as he bowed his head in shame. The one person her had ever truly loved and here she was, in pain because of him. A hand suddenly brushed against his cheek and he looked up, startled by the soft gesture. Meryl was looking at him, her face showing the strong expression he'd always known and loved.

"You idiot, Vash" she spoke softly, her hand making its way down to one of his. Clasping his calloused pad, she smiled warmly at him through the pain. "I wanted this too, so you'd better not collapse on me or the baby."

Vash grinned and nodded his head, resting a hand on the moving skin beneath the nightgown. He was shocked to feel her pregnancy already showing, the stretched stomach allowing him to arch his hand over the shifting flesh. Then the gunman frowned slightly, not sure how soon the child would be born if the generation was happening so quickly. He also had no idea what the birthing would be like, a thought which scared him and caused more worry to grow for his Meryl.

"Meryl, did Knives tell you anything about the baby?" he asked quietly, his worried eyes looking into her own.

Meryl frowned in concentration, trying to remember the few words which had passed between them during the encounter. She shivered at the images of his hand clamped over her mouth and the feeling of blood rushing down her throat, but she managed to recall a few words he had afterward spoke.

"He said for me to tell you that the baby was healthy, and a boy" she said, smiling gently at the soon-to-be father. Then she frowned, the memories fading after his words and only fragments of Vash finding her still stored in her mind. "I can't really remember anything else, but I don't think Knives spoke after I passed out."

Vash nodded his head and stood, carefully slipping onto the bed between the headboard and Meryl. He gently guided her head into his lap, mindful of her pained stomach, and smiled down at her as he leant back against the headboard. Sighing contentedly, the blond looked over to the windows and watched as day replaced night. He silently thanked Millie for putting curtains over the glass, knowing his insurance girl wouldn't be able to stand the light for a few more days.

Looking back to the frail form, Vash smiled as he noticed the closed eyes and even breathing. The ordeal and rising sun had obviously taken their toll on his little mate, allowing her to drift off into a peaceful sleep. He leaned his head back against the wall and began to wonder what the feeling of being a father was like, imagining playing with the baby and teaching the child all about love and peace and the joys of donuts. Rubbing her growing stomach, the blond realized he would learn quickly, and the worry for the birthing was still prominent in his mind.

Feeling drowsiness seep over his form, Vash closed his eyes and allowed himself a peaceful rest. Maybe tomorrow would look brighter.

Millie slowly opened the bedroom door and peeked her head into the room, smiling as she saw the couple sleeping peacefully with one another. Quietly closing the portal she turned her footsteps to the other bedroom and noticed the black-haired priest lounging on the bed, his eyes closed and his arms crossed behind his head. The big girl walked over and slid into the covers beside him, snuggling up to his warmth with pleasure. For a long moment neither spoke, though both were awake, and then the insurance girl broke the silence.

"Nicholas, have you ever thought of children?" Millie asked quietly, smiling at her priest. She watched with hope and love as his eyes shot open at the question, his mouth turned up in a twitching grin.

"About that" Wolfwood began nervously, sitting up in the bed and looking her in the eyes. "There are some changes I forgot to tell you about." At her quizzical look he took a big swallow and continued. "You can only get pregnant when there's a full moon" he spoke quickly, his words nearly blurring together. Good lord, I'm acting like Vash the priest thought with some apprehension. What have these women done to us?

"Really?" Millie questioned, her voice lacking any emotion other than curiosity and interest. Then she grinned wide and Wolfwood exhaled the breath he'd been holding; his big girl never failed to surprise him with her acceptance of anything. "Then does that mean we're going to have puppies?"

The shocked priest merely stared at her for several seconds, his mouth agape and his eyes wide. Then he composed himself and smiled, his eyes soft as he brought her to his chest.

"Sure does, honey" he whispered in her ear, laying back down with Millie still in his arms. They both closed their eyes and followed their friends into sleep.

A comfortable stillness entered into the tiny house. The happy couples slept the day away, all mentally and physically exhausted from the ordeal. The presence of their chosen partners helped to ease the stress they had felt, giving them nothing but sweet dreams. However, the moment Vash awoke he knew they would have fewer such nights for a long while to come.

The blond gunman stirred as the sun slowly sank beneath the dusty horizon, opening his bright orbs and blinking sleepily. His eyes widened in shock, however, as his vision focused on the small insurance girl still in his lap, a shaky hand lifting up to settle on her abdomen. She appeared to be in her fifth month of pregnancy, lifting her shirt to see her stomach muscles taut and her breasts beginning to swell.A sudden laughter within his own mind snapped him out of his daze and a low growl reverberated in his throat.

"Do you like my gift, brother?" a cold voice asked, a hint of amusement in the words.

"She didn't do anything to you, Knives, so why did you hurt her?" Vash asked angrily, clutching Meryl closer to himself though being careful not to wake her.

"But I did it for you, Vash" Knives spoke, chuckling as he sensed his brother's confusion. "I made her just like you, she should be honored. But then" and his voice grew cold as he spoke, causing Vash to grit his teeth together at the chill. "Humans can be so ungrateful, possibly she believes my gift to be a curse."

"What did you do to our son?" Vash asked impatiently, tired of hearing the same arguments from his brother. "He's growing faster than a normal child should."

"I merely gave him the best start in life, the best an uncle could give to his nephew" Knives replied and the blond could practically feel the smirk on the lunatic's face. "With my blood and both of your genes he'll be much stronger than any pathetic spider. You'll let me visit with him when he is old enough, won't you?" the vampire asked, his voice a low whisper of barely suppressed eagerness.

"NO!" Vash shouted aloud, waking Meryl and the rest of the household. "I will never let you lay a hand on our son!" he spoke in his mind, feeling the connection sever with one final chuckle from his brother.

"Vash, is everything all right?" Meryl asked worriedly, ignoring the increased pains and weight in her stomach as she sat up. "What happened?" she questioned, turning as Millie and Wolfwood came to stand in the doorway.

"Knives has plans for our son."