Love and Peace

Chapter One

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I do not own Trigun but the ides for this fanfic are of my own accord and pleasure so please enjoy!!

It was a sunny afternoon in the beginning of summer, and all was quiet in the small town of Empresia. A young woman was walking at a slow pace enjoying the fresh air, a basket full of homemade snacks for her best friend at work hanging on her arm. And though her demeanour appeared calm and collected on the outside, her mind was racing with a whirlwind of emotions. Approaching the worksite that her friend Millie was currently at for the next few days she spotted her immeadiately and waved her over.

"Hi Meryl! What's in the basket?" Meryl silently chuckled at her friends ever cheerful and curious ways and handed the basket over to her friend.

"Well I wasn't doing very much around the house today and wanted to keep myself busy so I made you lunch and decided to surprise you." A small smile crossed Meryl's features as she spoke of keeping herself busy and Millie knew the reason right away. It had to do with the absence of a certain spikey blonde haired friend of theirs.

Swiftly Millie embraced her shorter friend and gave her a stern look, " Now look here Meryl, Mr. Vash wil be back soon. I just know he will, he did promise after all. And like my big middle sister always says, ' If you're going to make a promise, make one that's worth sticking to!'" Somehow for as naive and almost clueless Millie could appear sometimes she always somehow had advice that best suited the situations they sometimes found themselves in.

It had been a month and a half since Vash had left to find his brother Knives and the girls and another friend of theirs Nicholas D Wolfwood, a travelling priest, have been waiting for him to return to them. In the time that Vash has been gone Millie and her partner Wolfwood found out some wonderful news, Millie was expecting a baby! So when either she wasn't working and Wolfwood still recuperating from his near death experience they were busy making plans for their little one to come into this world. Unfortunately for Meryl she didn't have much to do, sure she had a job now at the local tavern as a barmaid, but that job was mostly at night. And so during the day she spent her time wondering where or how Vash was and sometimes fearing the worst. Secretly Meryl loved Vash but never had the chance to tell him anything of it before he left them to find Knives, so day by day she waited for him to return, and when he did she vowed to reveal her secret to him. After having lunch with Millie, Meryl bid her a quick goodbye and set back off in the direction of home so she could prepare for her shift at the tavern that night, unknown to her she was in for a sweet surprise when she got home.

Stepping into the house Meryl called out a quick greeting to Wolfwood wherever he was in the house and removed her cloak and shoes and put them up neatly before making her way further into the house, not noticing the two new pairs of boots laying about. Walking as quietly as she could to the kitchen, as she now assumed Wolfwood was sleeping seeing as he never came out and greeted her as he usually did, she pushed open the swinging door and froze in her tracks at the sight before her. There sitting at her kitchen table with Wolfwood was Vash, his usual goofy smile adorning his face when he looked up from his conversation with the priest and saw her standing there a shocked look upon her face.

"Hey there insurance lady! Long time no see!" Meryl's face drained of all color it had and her lilac colored eyes rolled back into her head. Silently she slumped to the floor in a dead faint.

"Was it something I said?" Vash looked to Wolfwood in concern, only to have the priest shrug in indifference.

Authors note: I know that in the series Wolfwood actually dies but this is my fic and I just can't stand to see him dead. Also coming up in a near chapter Millie and Meryl have a secret to share with their group of friends! And what's this Wolfwood does too!?!? Please review it would be greatly appreciated, just no flames!