Agh... I lost all the research I did on withdrawal symptoms, so don't be upet if the ones that you see are mostly the same as the ones I used in the last chapter. Enjoy the read.
Bra tossed and turned in the bed, running and incredibly high fever and far beyond the reaches of lucidity. The constant drift between chills and fevers were bringing hallucinations to the forefront of the heiress's mind, and had her parents all the more worried.
"No… no…" Bra whimpered, "I'm sorry; so sorry… I didn't mean to… I'll do better… Please, don't hurt me again," she pleaded, staring unseeingly into the space before her, "I'll do it… kami, I'll go out and work the corner!" a few tears trickled down her cheeks, and she sobbed, "… Daddy, help me… I should've stayed home…"
"I should kill that trash for introducing her to that shit," Vegeta said lowly, "he had no right." The veins in the saiyan Prince's forehead were prominent as he sat at his child's bedside, listening to her cries and pleas with a heavy heart. His arms were crossed over his chest, the bunched cords of bicep muscle pulled taut with his ire. The palms of his hands were hot with the ki that he just barely kept restrained.
Bulma wrapped her arms around his broad shoulders comfortingly, "Geta, I'm not happy about it either, but I'm going to need you to wait on the hunt for a bit," the blue haired heiress kissed the saiyan Prince on his cheek, "Bra needs us more than ever."
The saiyan Princess had reached the stage of detox where she'd begun to hallucinate about memories of her time in Hunting Ville, specifically the many times where she'd been violated by Zak, Lucas, and their various customers. She was constantly crying out, pleading for her father, brother, and Goten to save her as she writhed on her bed, fighting an invisible enemy from her past. It left a cloud of failure hovering over the men she cried for, and each of them longed to do something to rectify the feeling; namely to find each and every male who'd laid their hands on Bra against her will and kill them in the most brutal, violent, and painful ways possible.
Trunks stood from his chair in the corner and raked a hand through his hair, "I can't listen to this anymore," he whispered, and then turned to his father, "how can you just sit here and listen to her and not go hunt that fucker down and kill him?"
"You make it sound like it's so easy," Vegeta retorted, "Killing that chewed up bubble gum monster Buu was easy; this… this is the true definition of hell," he scoffed, "sitting here, listening to what she's been through and knowing that there's nothing you can do to protect her from it is the hardest thing I could ever do; staying at her side when I should be hunting down that waste of space is hell. Your sister needs you, brat; don't let your rage cloud your thoughts or you'll end up doing something you'll regret… that goes for you, too; Kakobrat."
Goten; who was standing with his back to everyone, two hands gripping his hair, let a low growl rumble through his chest before moving out of the way so Trunks could get to the door. The lavender haired demi saiyan muttered something about needing to see Pan before slamming the door behind him and hurrying down the hall. The younger Son brother turned to face Vegeta and Bulma, wiping angrily at bloodshot teary eyes. Bulma smiled comfortingly and slid off of her husband's lap, "come on, Goten; let's go grab something to eat."
When his wife and the Kakobrat left the room, the proud saiyan Prince brushed a few locks of red hair out of his daughter's sallow face as she slept uneasily; mumbling gibberish under her breath as shivers ran through her body. For a few seconds, her trembling ceased and she leaned into his touch, and a half-smile formed on Vegeta's lips. She mumbled, "Daddy," and fell into a more peaceful sleep as her father looked on.
*meanwhile*
Pan and Chisana were; currently, fifteen weeks into their pregnancies and it had been officially confirmed that Pan was carrying fraternal twins. The two young women were residing at Mount Paozu to keep the two of them from being overly exposed to the stressful environment of the hospital.
The eldest Son sister was; for the most part, recovered from her bout of hyperemesis gravidarum, but was still required to take the nausea medication to keep her morning sickness at a manageable level. The younger Son sister's issues with her pregnancy were that she wasn't handling the natural fatigue very well. It wasn't threatening to her health and she'd been advised to get as much rest as she could manage. Both sisters had gone through a bit of a growth spurt; in terms of showing, and now it was quite obvious that both of them; especially Pan, were expectant mothers.
Pan rested on the lawn chair on the deck overlooking the backyard, one hand on her rounded belly, the other clasping her phone as she asked her fiancé for another update on the situation. Videl snatched the phone away from her daughter before she could send the text, pocketing the device and placing a tray of food on the table next to her chair.
"What did the doctor say about stressing yourself out?" the mother demanded, "Leave it alone, Panchaia." Pan huffed in an irritated manner, "but, Mama—"
"Don't 'Mama' me, missy," Videl retorted, "I'm not about to let you risk my grandbabies out of worry. I know; you love Bra and you want her to get better, but your children," she laid a hand lovingly on Pan's bump, "need to come first, now. Look at your sister; she's perfectly relax—"
"She also doesn't give two shits about Bra," Pan rebuked, "so why would she be stressed out over her condition?"
Chisana; who was lying on a blanket in the yard and using Kālu as a pillow, perked up at this but didn't say anything more. Little did anyone know, the second youngest member of the Son family had begun to feel guilty about how callous she'd been about helping Bra, especially once she got wind of her intense hallucinations and the gist of what they were about. Now that she knew that Bra had been hurt, she knew that she had to stop being childish and using past events as fodder to dislike her. It was just hard; it had been ages since she'd thought of high school and Bra was intimately connected to those bad memories.
All eyes turned to the sky as Trunks came in for a landing and hurried over to his fiancée's side. Pan gasped in surprise as he wrapped his arms around her and laid his head on her chest, shaking violently. She ran her fingers through his hair slowly, trying to soothe his roiling emotions.
"Trunks," Pan whispered, "what is it; tell me what's wrong." Her heart was filled with dread. Was Bra getting even sicker than she should be? If so, then how sick was she?
"I just needed to see you," Trunks admitted quietly, "I couldn't stay there anymore." His fiancée kissed the top of his head and ruffled his locks lovingly, "well, I'm right here, babe."
The saiyan Prince pressed a kiss to her prominent bump and rubbed the mound of skin lovingly, and then placed a second kiss right on top of Pan's belly button. She giggled and pushed him away, "that tickles; stop it." Trunks smiled at her, "I'm just so happy to see you… I haven't seen you or the bump for seven hours."
"Well, we're fine," Pan rubbed her belly, "they're not giving mommy a hard time for the first time in a few days, so I'm trying to enjoy that." At the moment, the kicking wasn't noticeable on the outside; unless one was really feeling for it, but she could feel the fluttering of the twins as they moved about inside of her. Trunks felt the movements and chuckled, "I'm glad you're feeling better. Have you been taking your vitamins and the anti-nausea medicine?"
"Yes, and Mama found a recipe for this really good smoothie that has nutrients and other great stuff in it to help me keep my food down and keep the babies healthy," the future Mrs. Briefs told her fiancé proudly, "you should learn the recipe," her face creased with concern and she cupped his cheek, "are you really feeling better or are you trying to bottle it up like your father and Bra do?"
"I came to see you because you make me forget all of my problems and worries," The saiyan Prince replied, "reality can wait for a while; I need to spend some time with my Pan-chan."
A pink blush overtook Pan's cheeks, and she ducked her head as he reached up to rub her cheek with his thumb and murmured, "Bra's detox is going… well it's going," the lavender haired Prince scowled, "Dad's going nuts; he wants to hunt Zak down and torture him. He's hanging in there for Bra, though."
"Her hallucinations are that bad?" Pan asked softly, "what are they about?"
"I'm not allowed to stress you out, remember?" Trunks grimaced, "Your dad's already raring to kick my ass for knocking you up twice over; he doesn't need any more fodder to do me in."
"He is not," his fiancée declared, "because Mama will kick his ass if he does." A faint 'damn right I will' came from inside the Son home, and the couple burst into laughter at Videl's antics.
*meanwhile*
Chisana reclined against Kālu's chest as they sat under a tree, scribbling down a story idea in a notebook she'd sent her boyfriend to retrieve for her. Kālu dozed behind her, running his fingers through her hair at regular intervals. Her free hand came to rest on her rounded stomach and she sighed, worrying about the age-old fear that all first-time mothers had.
Am I going to be a good mother? The younger Son sister looked down at her bump and sighed. Out of the two of them, Pan had always been the one who'd shown the most promise as a mother; which was shocking considering how much of a tomboy she was in her younger days. Pan was the one who looked out for her and watched her and GJ's backs when their parents weren't able to and; while that was the eldest child's job, she did it out of love, not out of obligation… she could be a little over the top, but she was a very protective person.
Chisana; on the other hand, didn't feel at all suited for the role of a mother. She wasn't a very confrontational person; she preferred to keep to herself and stay away from any form of conflict. Would she still be able to do that if it concerned her child? Her mind went over the various possibilities and she shuddered at each and every one.
"Hey," Kālu's low tenor caressed her ears, "you stopped writing; what's going on in that pretty head of yours?" a small smile formed on her lips and she turned to face her boyfriend, "I—it's nothing, babe… just thinking."
"Really?" the younger brother of Uub pressed his lips to the back of her neck, "I know when you're lying, Chi-chan; you can't fool someone who knows you like the back of their hand."
"Fine," she whined, "I'm worried that I won't be a good mother," when Kālu didn't respond right away, she continued on with her rant, "I'm not tough, I'm not a nurturing person; kami, I can't even stick up for myself half of the time… how would be able to stick up for our child if they ended up in the same position that I was in when I was in high school? I wouldn't even know what to do…"
"Hey, hey, hey," Kālu wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her back into his chest, "I happen to think you'll be a great mother. I've seen how you are with your little brother and you're actually a bit more maternal than you seem to think. You did more than stick up for yourself when you punched Yuri and Ai in the face and kicked their asses, and; as I'm pretty sure you know, women can do some pretty crazy stuff when it's their child at stake. You might have your doubts now, but all of that will go away once you have our baby," he kissed her neck again, "and once you see their face, you'll know that it won't be as hard as you think it'll be."
"You really think so?" the younger Son sister asked softly, and Kālu nodded, "I know so."
*meanwhile*
Zak stood in front of the mirror in his bathroom, admiring the new set of teeth he'd had done at the dentist. Once the pain went away, he'd be able to eat some solids and then his stomach would finally stop screaming at him to feed it… and then he'd be able to head home. Grimacing and rubbing at his chin, Zak turned away from the mirror and headed downstairs. Lucas was standing with a handful of their highest paying clients, trying to dissuade them of something.
"What's going on here?" the black haired man asked coolly, coming over to the group of males. One of them, a menacing brown haired man with green eyes, spoke up, "we came by to see if that sexy little red-head finally showed up. I didn't get my turn last week, and I'm not wasting my DNA on those two ugly bitches in the back room. What the fuck happened to their faces?"
"Blast from the past," Zak shrugged, "some bad blood caught up to us and they caught us all off guard. As for the red-head… well, I have to go collect her. The broad thinks she has the right to quit this business and she's run off back to West City."
"Ah," the man nodded, "well she'd better be here soon; I'm not paying you for that waste of time last time until she's back. Let's go, boys." The four men who'd accompanied him to the house slithered out of the place, and Lucas turned to face Zak, "we need to bring that bitch back."
"I know we do, but we'll have to wait until the rest of this damn swelling and bruising goes away." Zak griped, "fucking Son; who the fuck does she think she's dealing with? I'll show her not to fuck around on the wrong side of the tracks. She doesn't understand that; when it comes to her little friend, once you cross the tracks there's no going back."
His hand dropped to his waist, caressing the handle of a pistol before pulling his shirt back down over it. This time he wouldn't be the one caught off guard; this time he wasn't going out like a bitch… this time he'd be the one doing the damage, and he'd make damn sure that none of them forgot it for the rest of their lives.
*in the hospital*
Bra finished emptying what little food she did have in her into a trash bucket and laid back on the bed, trembling and groaning as she tried desperately to separate her memories and hallucinations from what was really in front of her. The fact that she was running a dangerous fever of 107 Fahrenheit didn't help her case either. Her body seized abruptly, and she struggled to see straight as another memory fought to claim her consciousness, and slowly the memory pushed through…
"Listen, whore," Zak snapped, tossing a scanty piece of clothing onto the bed in front of her, "you need to get out and work the corner with the twins tonight." Bra looked up and puffed out the smoke from the joint that she'd just lit and placed it on her ash tray before looking at him, "what?"
"You heard me, bitch," the black haired teen snapped, "get out of this fucking house and earn your damn keep. Don't think that you can just stay here and sit on your lazy ass, use my drugs, and not have to do shit and get away with it. You're not special any more, Princess; you're just another drug whore like Yuri and Ai, now."
"But, Zak… you said I was your—"
"Haven't you ever heard of lying, bitch?" The boy hissed, "I wanted to see how gullible and stupid you actually were; or if you actually had a brain, but I guess you didn't cause you played right into this shit like the airheaded cunt that you are," he laughed, "I never gave a fuck about you; I just wanted to fuck you and leave you… but you're actually pretty good in bed, so I guess I'll stick to fucking you because that's all I care about," he spotted her teary eyes and chortled, "are you crying? Seriously, bitch? I thought it was obvious… or are you just that much of a mindless doll? Whatever, you'd better be leaving with Yuri and Ai tonight or I'm putting your ass out."
"I'm not working a fucking corner," Bra snapped, "I'm not just any fucking whore."
"I know; you're MY whore," Zak snickered, "or have you suddenly forgotten how many times your tight pussy has gushed all over my cock while you whimpered and moaned like the horny little bitch that you are? Or the cum facials I've given you? Or even that one time where you begged me to paint you down in my jizz and rolled around in it like a nasty little slut? Let's not forget the little gang bang we had that one night…"
"Shut up!" the former heiress screeched, "shut the fuck up, you miserable ass hole. You know what; I'll save you the fucking trouble and put myself out. Good riddance, you ass wipe—" before she could push past him, Zak grabbed her forearm and threw her back onto her bed, "I change my mind. You either work that corner, or I'll fuck your shit up and then send you out to work the corner. No leaving allowed, you mouthy bitch."
"Rot in hell," Bra growled, "you can't make me stay here and you can't make me do this."
"Oh, can't I?" The black haired teen crawled on top of her and pinned her down with his weight, pressing his prominent erection against her covered privates teasingly, "I can do whatever I fucking want, bitch, and I want to fuck you so shut the fuck up and let me get my rocks off in peace."
The memory tapered off as Zak started tearing her clothes off, and she deliriously cried out for her father to help her, still stuck in between her memories and her reality. Goten; who was taking his turn to watch her while Vegeta went to vent his frustrations with Goku, watched helplessly and wiped at her brow with a cool towel. Her bloodshot eyes fluttered open and she stared up at him and mumbled his name weakly, reaching out to grip his arm with a shaking hand.
"G-Goten… why are you still here?" she asked, voice hoarse from her cries, "I'm not worth it."
"You're worth everything, Bra," he told her firmly, "more than anything in this world."
"I'm worthless," she mumbled, eyes going blank with fever-induced delirium, "A worthless slut… nothing left to save… nothing… I'm nothing."
Goten ran a hand through her sweat-matted auburn locks, noting; absently, that the roots looked dark purple, meaning that her blue hair was growing back out. His heart filled with sadness and rage as he wondered how she could possibly think so lowly of herself and mumbled, "I love you… I don't care about what you've done or the mistakes you've made… I'll love you no matter how much you've screwed up." Unbeknownst to him, Bra had registered his words as she lapsed into a half-sleep and she felt true happiness for the first time in a very long time. Her heart fluttered in her chest and she smiled a little as peace washed over her.
*At the Son home*
This is it, Gohan… now's your chance…
The eldest Son brother could see that his wife was blissfully distracted with his mother while they cooked a hearty meal for the two saiyans who were on their way back from a spar, and both Pan and Chisana were in their bedrooms, taking naps. GJ and Ruma were outside, sparring with Trunks and Kālu. He'd never seen a more perfect opportunity to exact his vengeance, and it'd be well worth Videl kicking his ass when it was all said and done. He was a father, dammit; he had the right to be upset because his baby girls were about to have their own babies and wouldn't be his babies anymore… and he had the right to kick the asses of the males responsible for taking their innocent and impregnating them with said babies.
Throwing all caution to the wind, Gohan left his study, ghosted through the kitchen, and headed outside to interrupt the sparring session. GJ and Ruma looked up as the eldest Son brother approached, and the former squealed, "Papa," before rushing over to him. Trunks and Kālu shared a glance and collectively gulped as Gohan asked the kids to head on inside while he "sparred" with Trunks and Kālu.
"I don't think we'll make it if we try to run," Trunks admitted, "we're doomed."
"You said it…" Kālu replied, backing up slightly.
"Well, boys," Gohan began, smiling wickedly as he tucked his glasses into his pocket, "how about that spar?"
*inside the Son home*
"Gohan thinks he's so slick," Videl mumbled, watching the men fly off from the window over the kitchen sink, "just wait till he gets back and he finds out that I'm planting his ass on the couch for a month. Make that two months for both boys."
Chichi merely laughed and returned her attentions to the pot of rice on the stove, "Videl, you know he's only upset because his baby girls aren't babies anymore," the Son matriarch teased, "you shouldn't be so hard on him; he's going through a miniature mid-life crisis."
"Yeah, well his time on the couch can be another one," Videl replied, "I'm a little sad that they aren't my babies any more, but you don't see me trying to kill anyone over it."
"You're also not their protective half-saiyan father," Chichi pointed out, "and we all know Gohan inherited my flair for the dramatics. It's going to be a while before they come back."
The wife of Gohan sighed, "I hate when you're right, mom," her cheeks flushed, "I'll let him off this time, but I can't speak for Pan or Chisana and; speaking of those two, I should go give Pan her anti-nausea medicine for the afternoon." The mother rummaged through the medicine cabinet and pulled out a small pill bottle, which she popped open and removed two small pink pills. She put the bottle back in the cabinet, filled a small glass with water and headed upstairs with the items.
Chichi watched her go, and then perked up when she heard both Goku and Vegeta's voices in the background. Her eyes roved over the impressive spread of food that was already on the table, and then the massive amounts still cooking; or waiting to be cooked, and breathed a sigh. She needed a vacation, and sooner would be better than later, when she keeled over from all of the excessive cooking. Maybe she'd bring it up the next time she spoke to Bulma and see if she had any suggestions as to where she could go.
I can't leave my family, the Matriarch admonished, Videl would go nuts with all the cooking she'd have to do to feed a saiyan, two demi saiyans, one quarter saiyan child, and two pregnant quarter saiyan females; not to mention the fact that Pan and Chisana won't be able to help with any cooking until their doctors say otherwise.
Pan was on temporary bed rest until her nausea was completely abated with no signs of reoccurrence in four to six days without the medicine's help. So far, she'd been in normal ranges, but sometimes the nausea was stronger than it should be. She was barred from any strenuous activities; such as cooking for a pack of hungry saiyans, and could only be up on her feet so long as she was doing simple tasks. Chisana was suffering from abnormal fatigue and was requested to take it easy but remain as active as she could manage… whatever that meant.
Yes, my vacation will have to wait…
The backdoor flew open, and Chichi began ladling the fresh rice into the bowl with the mountains of rice she and Videl had prepared earlier, thanking her lucky stars that Bulma had fixed up her stove so it would cook the food a bit faster.
"Hiya, Chi-chan," Goku rushed over to his wife and pressed a sloppy but sweet kiss on her lips, "it smells great in here." Despite her slight exhaustion from all the cooking, Chichi felt a smile forming on her lips and she kissed her husband back, "Videl and I have been slaving away in here for a while now; you guys go ahead and eat."
Vegeta gave her a nod of thanks and took a seat at the loaded table of food. It was odd; when Goku ate, he was messy and watching him eat was sure to make anyone not used to it lose their lunch, but when Vegeta ate, he used his silverware, wiped his mouth, and didn't send any food flying… all while eating at a break neck pace.
Must be because he's a Prince, Chichi surmised as her husband took a seat across from Vegeta, and then giggled as the latter initiated an eating contest, to which Goku protested because Vegeta had started eating first, but nonetheless started shoveling food into his mouth to catch up, they're like children… extremely strong children…
She wouldn't trade any of it in for the world.
*meanwhile*
Trunks pulled himself out of the hole he was sitting in and wiped away the trickle of blood running into his eyes with a soft curse. Gohan sure didn't like to waste time; the moment they arrived to the Cell Games area, the Son had immediately grabbed Trunks by the front of his shirt and started pounding into his gut and face. He didn't say anything; no, he simply let all of his words flow through the ebony flames roiling in the depths of his eyes.
In other words, Gohan was saying: You knocked up my daughters, and now I'm going to have a hay day kicking your asses.
It was a bad day to be Trunks Briefs or Kālu Majuubi. The former winced as Kālu was sent flying through a rock face, and then groaned as Gohan's hot hand wrapped around his neck, jerking him entirely out of his crater. He hand a brief moment to realize that Gohan was suddenly blonde haired and teal eyed, and then his vision was impeded by the blur of tanned fists slamming into his face, chest, and stomach. Blood dribbled from over his bottom lip and dripped onto the ripped remains of his white shirt.
There was a sharp crack as a few of Trunks' lower ribs on the left side of his rib cage caved under the force of Gohan's snap kick, and he only had a moment to cry out in pain before the father followed up with a vicious round house kick that made his original crater a few more meters deeper as he returned to its depths… praying to Dende that Gohan had enough of his misery to soothe his rage. Unfortunately for him, the green skinned Kami had his eyes on a large car accident in Satan City and couldn't be bothered to answer his prayers.
*on the Lookout*
"Mister Popo, do you hear anything?" Dende asked, turning to face his dark skinned genie Lookout-mate curiously, "I thought I heard something." The genie shrugged and the duo returned to watching the car accident with rapt attention.
Stupid humans, Dende thought, how hard is it to turn on your emergency break?
*back on Earth*
Kālu groaned loudly as Gohan's knee burrowed into his ribcage, coughing up a small volley of blood as a result. The Son repeated the action thrice more, and then followed it up with two jabs and a sledgehammer fist over the head, sending the dark skinned boy hurtling into the ground at a high velocity. With a deep breath, Gohan felt much lighter and less angry and powered down to his base state at once, surveying his results curiously. He'd held back and decided not to break any limbs; or rip them off, and only went for their faces and torsos.
Kālu's right side of his ribcage was littered with patches of bruising, coming together to create a huge splat of a purplish black bruise, his nose was shattered, and his face was swollen beyond recognition. Trunks' left and right sides of his ribcage were black with bruises, and only his purple hair could provide to clue as to who he was, even though it was matted with blood. His arms were littered with dark purple, fist and foot shaped bruises. He knew that; even though the injuries looked bad, they actually weren't too painful for either boy.
Maybe I can go for a little longer… and indeed, he did.
*at the hospital*
Bra woke up from her nap and found that; while she was still running a fever, the hallucinations and memories weren't trying to consume her anymore, and that Goten had been replaced by someone else. Marron was sitting by the door with her daughter in her lap. The little one was fast asleep with her head nestled in the crook of her mother's neck. Marron's fingers ran through her soft, light brown locks and; occasionally, her lips would press against Tika's forehead. It was so strange for the heiress to see Marron as a mother and; if she was correct in her guess, she'd have to have gotten pregnant with the twins during—.
"Yeah, I was pregnant during senior year," Marron's voice broke her train of thought, "I could see you doing the math in your head. How are you feeling, hon?"
"Like hell," Bra admitted hoarsely, "so, you're a mom, now, huh? She's beautiful."
The blonde wife of Uub smiled and stood up carefully; so she wouldn't disturb the little one in her arms, and approached Bra's bedside, "thank you, and yes; I'm a mommy now. I would've never pictured my senior year ending the way it did; short a best friend and with two bundles of joy on the way," her face fell, "I'm not here to judge; you had your reasons for leaving and I'm not going to hold them against you… even though we missed you like crazy, chica."
A weak smile formed on the red-headed girl's lips, "Well; if it's any consolation, I missed you guys, too… I still don't even know how I'm going to face Pan. When is she coming to see me?"
"Well, she won't be," Marron told her and; at her hurt look, she quick amended, "not because she doesn't want to; she's been chomping at the bit, but it's because the environment around you has been really stressful for everyone, and we didn't want it to affect her or her baby, so she's at home for the time being."
"Oh… I bet she doesn't like that," Bra chuckled, "Pan's never liked taking it easy."
"She's been blowing up all our phones and I think that Videl finally confiscated hers because I haven't gotten a text from her in a while," the blonde woman brushed a hand through her friend's red locks, "this color looks so weird on you… it's not in a bad way… it's just odd."
"Yeah, well red hair is a bit more common than blue… I was trying to stay off of your radar."
"Yup, it worked for all of five years so it helped a little. So did that nifty ki-hiding bracelet."
An unsure expression formed on Bra's features, and she whispered, "how long have I been… out of it?" Marron shrugged, "Almost a month; just about," she kissed Tika on her forehead, "Bulma, Vegeta, Trunks, Pan, and Goten have been losing their minds. Uub and I have been trying to keep the kids out of the gist of it, but… you know that Ruma and Chisana could care less."
"It wasn't my idea for the twins to pick on her," Bra retorted, "they did that on their own; I never asked them to do it. Why would I ask them to do something like that when I was the one being hurtful towards you guys?"
"Well; in her defense, Chi-chan thought that it was your idea because you're the only person she could think of that would know that; out of her, Pan, and me, she's the most sensitive and the easiest target to get in their head and mess with their emotions," Marron explained, "and we actually thought you were upset because Pan embarrassed you when you tried to slap her."
"Well, I was, but I didn't do anything about it," the former bluenette explained, "I wasn't stupid; I knew that if I did that Pan would probably murder me. You know how she is when it comes to Chisana and GJ," a strong tremble ran through her, "kami… this is miserable."
"I miss you, honey," Marron mumbled, "it wasn't the same without you; still isn't… if these were normal circumstances, you'd be fussing over the face that I'm only wearing some old sweats and a t-shirt—"
"and I wouldn't be lying in this bed, suffering from a month of detox-induced hallucinations, tremors, nausea, and kami knows what else, I wouldn't have been missing for five years, I never would have gotten hooked on drugs, and I would've dumped Zak the moment I figured out that he was a druggie, and we'd still be close, because I know I'm not the only one who can feel the space between us," Bra cut in, "face it, Maz; we lost 'normal' a long time ago."
Marron sighed softly as a few more tremors rocked Bra's frame, glancing down at her child for a moment, "you know… I was just trying to pretend that; for a moment, that we were just Marron and Bra and none of this shit happened, but you keep bringing it back to the surface. I'm not trying to be nonchalant; I'm just trying to help you forget for a little bit."
"Well, I can't forget when the evidence is making me act like it can't survive without the… the drugs," she mumbled, "I want to blame him for this, but I did it on my own…"
"If it weren't for him, you wouldn't have ever come into contact with it," the blonde daughter of Krillin replied, "it's not all your fault, honey."
Yeah, I just I wish I could see it your way, Maz…
*at the Son home*
"Papa…" Pan began, trailing off as she struggled to order her thoughts, "what was the point of this?"
When Gohan finally had his fill of kicking ass and soothing his fatherly rage and brought Trunks and Kālu back to the house, the girls were up for their naps and had… quite the response to the conditions of their significant others. Chisana fainted dead away; obvious she took after her grandmother more than she let on, and Pan simply scowled and waddled down the porch steps to reach him, where she then spouted her question.
"I'm a father," Gohan responded matter-of-factly, "Trunks will understand completely when you have a daughter and she tells you two that she's pregnant."
The eldest child of Gohan simply rolled her eyes and went back into the house to find a senzu bean for her fiancé. Her mother made her way out of the house and sauntered up to her husband, smirking to herself as she crossed her arms over her chest, "some sparring session, eh, Mr. Son?"
"Indeed," Gohan replied with a laugh, "it really was."
"You're lucky I'm willing to let this slide, Gohan, but only this once," Videl held up one finger, "but if it happens again, you'll be on the couch until GJ's ready to have kids of his own."
"You wouldn't do that, Vi," the Son teased, wrapping his arms around her waist, "you love me too much." Videl simply pushed away from him and padded back inside, "take a shower; you smell awful," careful to hide the humorous grin on her face. She probably wouldn't put him on the couch; for that long, but he didn't need to know that. After all, it is better to keep the man guessing.
I hope I didn't disappoint with the Gohan/Trunks/Kālu scene, but if I did; I'll be more than willing to write another scene at the risk of Gohan receiving new sleeping arrangments, lol. Next chapter, we'll see Bra and Goten talking a little more, and Pan finally getting her visiting privileges… maybe. I'm still debating on that, even though it would be best not to make Panny mad, hehe. No one likes a mad Pan-chan, after all. Heck, maybe Ruma and Bra will have some reconciliation. Who knows; I sure don't. This chapter was a trouble maker so to speak; hence why it took me so long to update. I'll try to do better on the next one.
-SukiChan12^-^
