Authors Note: Hey, thanks to anyone who's taking the time to read this stupid fanfiction. I'm trying to get it done as fast as I can. I've been finishing about two chapters a day and hopefully will be done at the end of the holidays. I hope you guys are enjoying it and have a great day. :)

"Happy birthday, Nira!" Bulma greeted the younger woman early that morning.

Nira grinned at Bulma as she pushed her bangs out of her face, "Hi, Bulma. Thank you."

"I have gift for you!" Bulma winked.

Nira rolled her eyes at the doctor. She's been trying to convince her friend that she didn't need anything but so far no good.

Bulma produced a the gift with a, "Ta da!"

"It's a book." Nira stated, taking the present.

Bulma blanched, "Geez, how do you always know?"

"Because I've been freaking about that book you gave me last time and there's a sequel." She stated while she unwrapped the book. "This is it." She said, holding up the cover of the book.

Bulma folded her arms grouchily, "Party pooper."

Nira laughed, "No, I just have a good intuition." She patted the blue haired doctors shoulder.

Bulma sighed, "Well, I would get you something different but rules say nothing that can be used as a weapon so all jewelry's automatically out."

Nira raised her eye brow at Bulma, "Have you seen what a book can do to a guy's face?"

Bulma reeled, "What? No!"

Nira smirked, "You'd be surprised what a little book can do. Paper cuts hurt like hell."

Bulma couldn't tell if Nira was joking or not and decided it was better to leave it alone.

The raven - haired girl tucked the book under her arm and pushed her hair out of her face again, it was getting long.

Bulma sighed as she looked at the girl, "You okay?"

She gave the doctor a curious look, "I'm fine, Bulma. Don't worry about me."

Bulma shook her head, "No, I mean… About Nappa."

Nira stiffened for a second before making herself relax, "That was month's ago. I'm not going to let him get in the way of me getting better." She answered, bitterly.

Bulma nodded, "Of course."

Nira tugged at her hair, quiet. She was staring at the ground, as if it held some kind of secret and if she studied it enough it will reveal itself to her.

"Off to Piccolo's, yeah?" Bulma asked, breaking the silence.

Nira nodded, "Yeah. Aren't you seeing Vegeta today too?"

Bulma sighed, "Yeah. Well," she turned around to go to her office, "See you later, Nira. Happy nineteenth."

Nira stared after the doctor, painfully aware of a lot of unsaid words that should have been passed. What was she to say to that woman she looked to as a mother?

DBZ

Piccolo was waiting for her when she finally arrived.

She knocked twice, "Piccolo?"

"Yeah." He answered, letting her know it was okay to come in.

She opened the door and closed it softly behind her. She glanced at Piccolo, who was watching her intently, and took her seat across from him. She still had her new book and she put it in her lap. Nira got comfortable and waited for Piccolo to start their session.

"Whats with the book?" the doctor asked.

"Bulma gave it to me, it's my birthday." Nira explained, "It's a sequel to a book I read a while ago. It's about an alien boy that comes to earth as a baby and is taken in by an old man and raised as a human. The boy accidently killed his grandpa when he transformed into a giant ape but he doesn't know it. The boy ends up going on a whole lot of adventures trying to collect these magical orbs that grant any one wish and makes a lot of friends along the way and he saves the world from another alien who wanted to control it."

Piccolo nodded, he heard Nira raving about it a couple times. He never met another person as enthralled with books as she.

Piccolo noticed the pent up nervous energy in the girl. She kept moving around in her chair, as if a pin stuck her every time she sat down, when usually she will get into a comfortable position and be still for the majority of the time.

"Soooo." Nira said, feeling a little awkward, "What are we going to talk about today?"

Piccolo unfolded his arms, "First, we're going to address why your so damn nervous right now." He growled, pointing at the young woman.

Nira made a sour face, "There's nothing bothering me."

"Don't lie to me." Piccolo snapped, "Something's obviously making you uncomfortable. Now spit it out, we're wasting time."

Nira rolled her eyes, "Or, we could just go along with our regular scheduled program."

Piccolo's frown deepened. Nira had become even more sassy than usual these past few months. She was getting on his last nerve. But he refused to lose his patience. He needed to keep in mind of what had happened not three months ago.

Nira shifted again in her seat, "You aren't going to budge are you?" she sighed.

Piccolo nodded stiffly.

Nira got up off her seat, placed her book down, before pacing back and forth. "It was a nightmare, okay?" she confessed, "I had a really bad nightmare."

Piccolo grinned. Finally he was getting somewhere, "Don't you have nightmares all the time?"

"Not like these." She shook her head. "These ones were different."

"What do you normally dream about?" Piccolo asked.

The brown haired girl ran a hand through her locks, "I dream about that night." She explained, "About me killing that man or watching my brothers die. But these weren't the same. They…" she stopped, biting the inside of her cheek.

Piccolo watched the woman with a scrutinizing gaze, "Nira, how were they different?" he asked in a commanding voice.

Nira's hand went to her neck, rubbing her chain tattoos. "They were about you. And Bulma, Vegeta, Goku, Krillin, Juu. All of you guys. I dreamt you died."

She finally met the green haired doctors eyes, he saw the silent plea in them. They said Help me.

Piccolo sighed through his nose, he had always guessed what she dreamt about that made her want to stay awake at night. His assumptions were accurate, but he hadn't thought he or anyone else besides her family would turn up in them. Of course, he should've guessed. She said so herself, the first time they met, that she was afraid that the people close to her will end up getting hurt or dying.

"What brought this up?" he asked.

She shrugged, "I don't know? I've just felt a little antsy ever since he came here. I wasn't so sure about it before, but now," Her hands went up to her hair again. "I guess I'm just more aware that this place is a hospital for crazy people. Yeah, not everyone here would harm a person. But there are some that wouldn't think twice about it." She started rubbing her tattoo again, "I'm just afraid one of you guys are going to get really hurt." Her lips pulled down, "I… I wouldn't know what to do in that sort of situation."

Piccolo stared at the girl. Did she really feel that way? He would expect Bulma and Goku but Vegeta? Himself? She has a weird taste in friends that's for sure.

Nira faced her doctor, waiting for some kind of response. Why did he look so surprised by her statement? She wasn't lying. She knows she doesn't make it too obvious that she likes people. She doesn't cling or fawn over people. The occasional touch is fine with her, although she doesn't do so around Vegeta or Piccolo, since they aren't very touchy people. Still, she thought she got the message that she liked him though his thick skull.

"Piccolo?" she asked softly, "Am I crazy?"

Piccolo blinked at the girl, "Well, I wouldn't call you normal."