A/N-

I HAVE RETURNED (if anyone gives a damn lol)

*back in black by ACDC plays in the background*
Its only been 3-4 years right? pffff.

I really loved writing this story, and i've always meant to come back to it. So now i'm just gonna give it another go.

So far...

-Vash is a bit more violent/rash than he usually is...mostly due to the fact that his brother is around and poses a very real threat to the girls, who he loves very dearly...

On top of that, he is risking being caught by the very authorities he works alongside with..

-Meryl's dreams reflect her fear of Vash leaving or betraying her in some way, but she doesn't realize this yet...

Right now, she's just trying to get used to actually being with somebody and getting to know Vash on a deeper level than before..

-Millie is having a crisis, having bottled up her emotion and her grief so much that she copes in an unhealthy manner-namely, hanging out with a genocidal maniac.

More to come...

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"It's my fault! I should have been at home earlier.."

"Please, don't say that Mer,' it was no one's fault."

"If I had just told them 'no' to that shift..If I had just quit like you said.."

"Shhh, shh.."

Meryl sobbed into Vash's chest, drenching his shirt as she buried her face into the cloth. She held onto him so tightly, as if she would literally fall apart if he wasn't there to hold her up. She grasped and balled his clothes tightly in her fists. It was her fault, and no one could convince her otherwise, not even Vash. Meryl couldn't stand the thought of losing her best friend.

Vash could only do what he could to comfort her. He rocked back and forth gently as he held her, rubbing her back slowly when her sobbing shook her body. He planted an occasional reassuring kiss on her forehead. All they could do was wait. He had to be strong for her and for Millie even though he felt like falling apart himself. He thought, if only he had just taken out his brother a long time ago. Millie would be okay. None of this would have happened. It was all his fault, of course. Not Meryl's. If this was how she was going to die, he wasn't sure he could live with himself. Another stupid decision on his part. This was just how his life was for him, and somehow he just couldn't escape it. Bad things followed him wherever he went. He began to feel like they would have been better off if he had just never returned...

Vash had lost track of time. He wasn't sure exactly how long they had been sitting in the waiting room of the hospital, but it felt like an eternity. It was well after one in the morning, and they were the only ones there besides some of Vash's fellow officers. They made sure to keep a close eye on Knives until they could figure out exactly what happened.

Apparently, Millie gave him a pretty good punch to the face in her defense. It was such a hard blow, it knocked Knives unconscious and gave him quite the nosebleed. Vash was desperate to know the whole story; how he got the knife to stab her in the first place, but they knew that wasn't going to happen until Millie woke.

"Vash?" Meryl hiccuped, wiping her face. She withdrew herself a moment to look up at him, "What are they going to do with your brother? Once he heals, they won't be able to contain him, will they? He'll break free and you'll have to go through this nightmare all over again.." her lip quivered and she erupted in more sobbing, pressing her face to Vash's shoulder again. Meryl didn't know what to feel or think anymore; she was terrified. After all they'd been through, she was certain there would only be happy days ahead for all of them. She was beginning to feel like she had been wrong..

"Meryl.." Vash frowned, wishing he could just make everything stop and go away. He had never seen Meryl this upset, and it pained him to see her cry like this.
"I don't know what they'll do." He admitted, "They might put him in maximum security prison if I explain who he is. But.." Vash paused and took a deep breath, unsure how to tell Meryl something he knew she didn't want to hear.

"But, what?" Meryl questioned, lifting a hand to her face to wipe her eyes.

"Meryl. Knives might tell the authorities who I am. He's gonna want to take me down with him." he said, glancing around and keeping his voice low, "If he does, then I can't stay. I'm going to have to leave-"

"NO!" she hissed, clenching her teeth lest another stream of tears flow again. She tugged at his shirt in frustration, shaking her head, "You are not leaving me again, you hear me? We need you. I need you." She didn't even want to think about having to deal without him again. She was terrified at the thought of him going away again; having to deal with weeks and weeks of uncertainty and loneliness. But she couldn't just leave her best friend behind to be with him either. Millie was all she had, other than Vash...

"Meryl, I can't ask you to come with me. Its dangerous.." Vash said in a more firm voice, indicating just how serious he was. He wasn't going to let her come with him, and he meant it. He wasn't about to let Meryl get caught in the crossfire if anyone came after him. Once word got out about the humanoid typhoon, who knew who else would go after him aside from police?

Before Meryl could protest any further, a nurse finally walked in to give them an update. From the look on her face, it was good news. Vash discreetly made a zipping motion across his lips to Meryl. This conversation would have to wait until later. They shouldn't even utter a word about Vash the Stampede.

"Your friend Millie is going to be just fine." She said with a smile. Meryl nearly fell out of her chair, holding a hand up to her chest as if to silence her thrumming heart.

"Thank God. Millie.." She heaved a sigh, reaching for Vash's hand to squeeze. He too let out a sigh of relief, his shoulders slumping down as his tension finally released.

"Big Girl's gonna be alright!" He smiled, standing from his chair. He had to help Meryl up and hold onto her just so she could stand up straight.

"She lost a lot of blood, of course, but she's all stitched up now. Would you like to see her?"

Both Vash and Meryl shook their heads excitedly. "Yes, Ma'am, we would love to see her now." Vash replied giving Meryl a nudge with his elbow.

The nurse motioned for the two to follow her, leading them down a long hallway.

"She's not awake, but i'm sure she'd be glad to see you both when she does." The nurse said cheerfully, "It's amazing she didn't suffer any complications, you know?" she added with a shrug. Meryl cocked her head to the side, confused by what she was getting at.

"What? What kind of complications?" She questioned. Vash found himself quite curious of the comment as well.

"Well, you know? The baby? I'm surprised she didn't lose it through all that blood loss. Its a miracle if you ask me."

Meryl stopped dead in her tracks, frozen in the middle of the hallway. Vash bumped into her with a quiet 'oof.' It took him a moment longer than Meryl to realize what the nurse was saying. A quiet gasp escaped him and his eyes went wide with the realization.

'Wai-wai-wai-waaaiitt a minute!" she demanded, balling her fists, "Are you saying that Millie is pregnant?!"

"Well, yeah. I thought you both knew. You are her roommates, right?" The nurse said, feeling embarrassed at having disclosed such personal information by accident.

"NO we didn't know! Oh my God!" Meryl looked up to Vash, who placed his hands on her shoulders and shushed her,

"Calm down, Meryl. Please?" He asked her gently.

"I'm-i'm so sorry." the nurse apologized, leading them down the hallway once more, "I didn't mean to give you two such a shock."

"Nah. Don't apologize." Vash insisted as the nurse came to the end of the hallway. She opened the door for them and let them inside.

"If you need anything, i'll be down the hall." she reminded them before closing the door behind her, giving them some privacy.

Suddenly, it all made sense. Meryl recalled how sick Millie had been that morning. But had she been hiding it from them? She couldn't have been. There was no way Millie would be working as hard as she did if she knew she was carrying a baby. Meryl knew she wasn't the type to hide such a secret either. But then again, she had been hiding the fact that she'd been talking to Knives. Meryl couldn't be so sure these days..
She looked at her friend, still sound asleep in her bed before looking back up at Vash.

"I know you're thinking it too, aren't you?" she questioned, "The baby? It has to be-"

"It has to be his.." Vash nodded his head in agreement, his smile growing bigger the more he thought about it. It certainly coincided with how long Woldwood had been gone.

"It has to be, I mean, its not like Millie dates much, right?"

"Well yeah. She doesn't have the time!" Meryl retorted, pulling up one of the chairs in the corner. She scooted it up as close to Millie's bedside as possible before sitting down, "I mean, the only ones who could ever keep up with us were you two.."she laughed. Meryl really hoped that this was the sort of news that she would like to hear. Wolfwood's death was obviously very hard on her, and Meryl worried if she could handle a baby right now. In any case, she would be right there by her side supporting her.

Vash pushed up the extra chair, right next to Meryl's. They were going to stay put for the rest of the night.

"Meryl, you should rest. I'll wake you if something happens." He said, reaching over and placing his hand on hers. She leaned back in her chair, her brows drawn together tightly. Vash offered her a reassuring smile nonetheless.
"Stop worrying for once, Insurance girl."

Meryl cracked a smile, "I'm not an Insurance girl anymore, Broomhead."
She teased back, shifting in her seat somewhat uncomfortably. Without saying another word, she laid her head in his lap, laying across her chair and his. It was far more comfortable than trying to sleep slumped over in a chair. It didn't take long for her to nod off. Any sleep was better than none, especially after this night. Vash stayed awake, feeling more on guard than ever...

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A/N-

Me-Writes a new, nearly 2,000 word chapter to a story I haven't touched in 3 years.

Also me-Can't write a 750+ word essay on The Cask of Amontillado

FML
(more to come)