DISCLAIMER: Trigun and its characters belong to Yasuhiro Nightow.

It was Milly's turn to work the infirmary. Three guys had beaten each other up pretty bad over a saloon girl, who had apparently taken their wallets in the aftermath. Two guys had broken bones from trying to break a wild thomas while beyond hammered. And one idiot in particular, she was convinced, was lucky to not have his last words be, "Hey, y'all, watch this!"

And, of course, there was Knives. All the girls fawned over the handsome stranger brought in by Vash. Milly alone knew the truth, and warned the others to be wary around him, but they insisted on fantasizing about the gallant deeds of heroism that surely this vision of perfection had performed to be injured so. He must have been injured saving Vash's life in some horrific gun battle, that was why Vash had been carrying him. Because Vash the Stampede owed his life to this unconscious man.

Yes, they agreed, that was what had happened.

As long as they were careful around him, Milly let them think what they wanted. They had their perception set to eye candy.

For his part, Knives remained unconscious. He was stable, though, requiring little care beyond intravenous fluids and monitoring for the time being. If he was officially diagnosed at comatose by a doctor, he might have to be moved to an actual hospital; but that was a decision above her pay grade. In the meantime, the other girls fought over who got to give him sponge baths.

She had just finished checking his vitals when she heard someone call.

"Milly!"

Vash was back! She hurried to the front room, expecting to see her two favorite people. But it was just him.

"Mr. Vash? Is Meryl outside or something? She's coming, right? You found her and she's coming back?"

She didn't notice the pink suitcase at his side. Didn't notice his mouth quirk.

"I'm sorry, Milly," he told her with a straight face. "It would be impossible for Meryl to return here from December at this point."

Milly's face fell. "I see," she said quietly.

Her head down, she didn't notice Vash step aside, revealing Meryl standing right behind him.

Didn't look up until she heard Meryl's voice. "It would be impossible because I'm already here!"

Milly squealed with joy, ran and picked her friend up in a bear hug. Meryl whooshed as the air left her.

"You can put – me down – any – time," Meryl wheezed.

Milly acquiesced, but the happy reunion continued. After a while, she asked the serious question.

"What about reassignment? Are you back for good?"

"Yes," Meryl confirmed. "I spoke with the Chief, and the reason they were taking so long is they couldn't find anyone who was willing to work with the Humanoid Typhoon. He was very glad I changed my mind."

Milly was filled with pride in her friend. "I knew it! You're the only one good enough to tackle Vash the Stampede!"

"Oh yeah," Vash grinned. "She and I both did some tackling!"

Milly laughed and said, "You're funny, but what are you talking about, Mr. Vash?"

Meryl elbowed him in the riibs. "Never mind him. Hey, is there anything to drink in here?'

"We keep some things set aside for us. Is juice ok?"

"Juice would be great, Milly."

"Coming right up!" Milly ran to get some, debating whether to put laxative in Vash's as payback for punking her.

Vash came up and put his arms around Meryl. "So how does it feel to be back?"

"Being back here? It feels good." She smiled as she moved in to kiss him. "It's being with you that feels like coming home."