I was woken from a doze by the telephone suddenly ringing. I stared at the ceiling for a few moments, then slowly reached out a hand to pick up the telephone receiver on the table nearby.

"Hello?" I croaked, my tongue un-sticking itself from the roof of my mouth.

"Janey?" came a hesitant voice from the other end of the line. "Is that you?"

"Meryl! Hi! I haven't talked to you in ages," I cried, instantly alert. "How are you doing?"

"Fine fine," said Meryl in an airy tone that suggested that things weren't exactly fine. "How are you doing? What was wrong with your voice?"

I laughed sheepishly.

"I kind of dozed off the moment I got home from work."

"Did they keep you all hours again?" asked Meryl sympathetically. "Sounds like Bernadelli all over again."

I chuckled.

"Yeah they did, but I love my work. So no biggie. Anyway, what's up?"

Meryl was silent for a moment. When she finally spoke, her voice was forcedly calm.

"Listen, Janey… I have a huge favor to ask... but I'd like to talk to you in person about it. Could I come over? Me and a friend of mine?"

"Millie?"

"No... not Millie.. Someone else…"

"Yeah, sure Mer," I yawned, scratching the back of my neck. "You can come over now if you'd like, I don't have to be anywhere until tomorrow, so…"

"Great! I'll be right over! Thanks so much! See you in a few!"

I chuckled and replaced the telephone receiver.

Twenty minutes and 36 seconds later, I heard a knock on my front door. With a grin, I got up off the couch and went to answer it. Opening the door revealed Meryl looking the same as I remembered and a man with alarmingly spikey blonde hair, greenish-blue eyes, and a goofy grin. From the way he was rubbing his arm, I guessed Meryl had just socked him.

"Hi Meryl! Come on in," I said cheerfully, stepping to the side. Meryl gave me a weak smile and came in. As I took her cape, I realized that there was a third person there, hidden by Meryl.

He was small, most likely seven or eight years old, and had pale blonde hair and icy blue eyes. The blonde man was holding him by the shoulders, as if the boy would run away if let free. The boy was looking at me with an apparent disgust that is uncommon in most seven year-olds.

"Thanks so much for letting us come over, Janey," said Meryl, pulling my attention back to the adults.

"This is my friend Vash," she said, gesturing to the blonde man.

"Hello," he said in a cheerful tone. I grinned and nodded to him.

"And this is the problem I told you about," sighed Meryl, gesturing to the boy. He scowled more deeply at this.

"Whom are you calling a problem, spider?" he growled in his small voice. I saw Vash's grip on his shoulders tighten slightly, as if in warning.

"This is my brother, Knives," said Vash. "Who is going to behave himself."

The last part was directed to the boy, who simply sniffed disdainfully and looked to the side.

I grinned slightly.

"I think I already know where this is going, but come in. I'd love to hear all the details."

I led the trio down the hall and into the sitting room. Vash forcefully steered Knives over to the armchair and made him sit down. Knives gave him a exceedingly dirty look and settled back comfortably, glaring at the three adults over steepled fingers.

"So," I said after we had all settled and Meryl and Vash were sipping the cups of tea I had offered. (Knives was pointedly ignoring the cup offered him) "So, I'm guessing you need a babysitter. Am I right?"

"Weeeeell," said Vash slowly. "Yes…"

"And no," finished Meryl.

Knives was silent, staring out the window.

"You see… He'd be more like... a border…" continued Vash, glancing nervously at Meryl.

"Ah, an extended babysitting session," I said amusedly. "May I ask why and for how long?"

"We're.. we're not sure how long it would be," said Meryl. "At least a month."

She and Vash were looking at each other, apparently communicating something. Having reached a decision, they both looked at me.

"You see, he's not my little brother," said Vash. "We're actually twins. And he's the older of the two of us by about five minutes."

I heard Knives huff angrily at this, but I kept my eyes on Vash and Meryl. Apparently encouraged, that I hadn't said anything along the lines of "Ha, yeah right. And next you'll tell me Gunsmoke has an ocean," Vash continued hastily with his story.

He told me everything. About him and Knives being plants, a cliffnotes version of their past and the recent battle. I was silent the entire time, processing the information.

"So, this is all true?" I asked Meryl, as Vash caught his breath. She nodded.

"I know it seems strange, but I swear it's the truth. I've seen the Angel Arm myself."

Vash grinned nervously at this. I thought for a few moments.

"Okay. I'll believe you. But how did Knives Millions, bane of mankind, turn into a seven year old?"

"Well actually, it was a five year old at first," laughed Meryl slightly. "He's grown a bit."

I raised an eyebrow and waited to hear the explanation.

"We're not entirely sure what happened." explained Vash. "After I brought him home with me, he remained unconscious several days. Then one day I fell asleep on the couch and was woken up by a five-year old Knives demanding to know, and I quote, 'what the hell I had done to him.'"

I glanced over at Knives, who was still scowling out the window.

"That was about a week ago," continued Meryl. "Oh Janey, he's been perfectly horrible! He sent Millie into nervous breakdown and if I have to deal with him for another day, I'm going to be the one called a murderer!"

"So you're dumping him on me?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Please Janey!" pleaded Meryl. "You're tougher than Millie and nicer than me when it comes to kids! I'm sure you can deal with him."

I was silent a few moments.

"Please?" said Vash quietly.

Suddenly I grinned.

"Sure why not. Could be fun actually."

Both Vash and Meryl relaxed considerably.

"Thank you!" cried Vash, wrapping me in a bearhug.

"Eep! Welcome Vash," I gasped, squirming out of his grip.

They both stood up. I followed Meryl to the doorway, while Vash went over to Knives. He spoke to him in a low voice, so I couldn't hear what was being said, but Knives obviously did not like what he heard. His face went from annoyed, to rage, to sullen acceptance. Vash stood up and ruffled Knives' hair before walking over to join us.

"He'll hopefully behave," said Vash sheepishly. "If not, just call and we'll come over right away and take him off your hands. Thank you so much for doing this. Hopefully we can calm down Millie now."

I smiled and waved a hand.

"Think nothing of it."

As Meryl and Vash left, I heard Vash say something that sounded like "she seems like a good person to show how nice humans can be too."