Authors Note: Just want to say thank you to rainydays4me for making me giggle with that little note. Tomorrow is now here and with one almighty hangover I have finished this chapter and posted it all for you nice people. I would love to hear your comments on this chapter, and once you get to the end of it you'll know why. Thanks again for all your lovely comments, and to whoever I havent heard from in a while, don't be shy. Review! Even if you hated it...can't say I won't give you some shit back but at least I'll know you've been reading. Ha! Laura

Caught Up

Chapter Twenty-One; Complicating Matters

Unfortunately, for Pan, word about the twins travelled incredibly fast. So much so that within a mere two days of hearing the news for herself, the whole family knew and her grandmother had planned and prepared a party in honour of what she called, 'The best damn news ever.' Pan however was less than happy about the arrangements. She begged, whined and pleaded with Chi-chi to call the whole thing off but with Bulma at her side as an accomplice, her pleas fell on deaf ears. The party was to go ahead, with or without her cooperation.

As such, the whole thing had led to a less than happy discussion with Trunks once she learnt that it was he who had been first to break the news to his side of the family. He claimed the difficulty of keeping a secret had been too much to bear and it had simply, slipped out. Pan had warned him from then on to keep a tighter hold on his mouth lest he find her foot lodged in it, or worse, she revoke her decision to think over them being together.

The latter, of course, had had him playfully clamping his lips shut and sealing them with an imaginary zipper, much to Pan's amusement. It was funny how easily she could bring such a powerful man to his knees with mere words. But then again, did she not hold his future happiness in the palm of her hands? Indeed, she did a future she wasn't yet sure, she was clear on herself. It was undeniable that the kiss she had finally let herself share with Trunks was not something she wanted not to ever experience again, or that she was slowly beginning to reciprocate his feelings. But still, there was that underlying feeling that maybe she was jumping into this only because of the consequential circumstances between them.

She did not want to be with Trunks as a convenience because they were having a child together. Therefore, making the decision about them was proving to be extremely difficult, although the unexpected shows of affection Trunks randomly sprang upon her from time to time were certainly pushing her choice in a direction that favoured him. She found, with the incentive for something greater in his sight, Trunks was truly quite the romantic. Not even partially reminiscent of the man she had hated some months ago.

And so, now she found herself slumped on the sofa, pen and paper in hand writing down a list of pro's and con's that would hopefully help her come to a final verdict. So far, the list compiled of a nice lengthy list of pro's ranging from him being the father of her children, to the security factor of being with him, and the con's, well the con's side of the list donned one small and very much insignificant reason for her not to be with him. He used to be an asshole was messily scratched across the paper, the best reason she could come up with, and an extremely lame one at that.

She sighed and screwed up the paper, it helped and didn't all at the same time. Because, even though her list of pro's was superior to her list of con's there was still a nagging doubt in the back of her mind that meant that the list served no purpose after all. As for the nagging, she wondered if it would ever go away. Or if her head would finally explode from all the over analysing she was doing over the situation.

"Pan, are you ready?"

Her head snapped to the side and she looked up to Trunks' smiling face, as he stood in the doorway, coat slung over his arm. "You look like you're away with the fairies."

She chuckled and stuffed the screwed up ball of paper into her pocket before struggling to get to her feet, Trunks intervened however and took a hold of her hands giving her a gentle tug until she stood up straight. "I have never in my life, felt this big, I should be harpooned," She said, feeling a blush rise to her cheeks when he brushed aside her top and placed his large hands across her growing stomach.

"I think you're beautiful," He replied, flashing her a sweet smile.

And here he goes again, She thought, wondering why she'd even requested the time in which to make a decision in the first place, he certainly wasn't holding back any on the physical side, nor was he hiding any of his feelings for her. If anything, since the kiss, he'd been much more forward and open with his thoughts.

"Kissing my ass is not going to change the fact that I have to go to this stupid party and it's all your fault. You still owe me, big time."

Trunks laughed and released his grip on her. "Aw come on Pan, your family was bound to find out sooner or later and besides, you know Chi-chi would have thrown you a party regardless, it was only a matter of time," He said in defence, offering her coat, which she took and shoved under her arm.

"Not at all, I could have kept my mouth shut until the birth and then poof…oh what a surprise there's two!" She joked, waddling toward the front door as he gave her a light shove. "But no, you just had to go and tell your mother didn't you?"

Trunks continued to push her forward through the hall and out the door, only semi-aware of her continuous ranting. He was actually rather looking forward to this party. It would be a chance to get together with everybody and hopefully, try to mend the bridge between himself and Gohan. Pan had not spoken much of her father's reaction towards the latest news and he was more than a little curious to hear what the elder man had to say.

-

The arrival of Pan and Trunks had set the party in motion and all of the guests were gathered in Capsule Corp, some talking avidly amongst themselves, others taking the time to gather around Pan in an excited circle, firing endless questions about her pregnancy or taking the chance to grope her large stomach. She felt as though she were the main attraction at some weird exhibition and resented her grandmother and Bulma even more for throwing this ridiculous party. It was as though nobody had ever seen a pregnant woman before, and their excitement unnerved her somewhat. She felt almost claustrophobic under their stares.

So when Bra appeared, seemingly from nowhere and harshly dragged her off into a corner, she was more than grateful. "You don't know how glad I am you did that, I was about to drop kick the next person who touched my stomach, does everybody think I enjoy being fat?" She asked, glaring daggers at her circle of fans.

Bra laughed aloud and rolled her eye's, "Come off it Panny, you've loved being the centre of attention for as long as I've known you," She replied, "You should be flattered, you've aroused even more attention than I did on my wedding day."

Pan shot her a disparaging look and fished her hand around in a huge bowl of pretzels, stuffing a handful into her mouth. "You're not helping…" She muttered, chewing the salty treats and swallowing them quickly before delving for more.

Bra chuckled and gave Pan a light shove, "Sorry grumpy knickers," She laughed, "But, I didn't come over here to argue with you…I actually wanted to check up on the progress."

Pan frowned and stilled her hand just as it reached her mouth, "Progress?" She asked.

"A-huh," She nodded, "Do you find yourself madly in love with my brother yet?"

Pan's face blanched and she dropped the pretzels back into the bowl, wiping her crumby hands against her trousers. "I think I enjoyed being prodded more than I do this conversation, care to lead me back?" She wanted Bra's question dismissed, and immediately. Admitting that her friend was, in fact, partially right in her little theory was one thing. But doing it in a room full of her family and friends would probably bear bad results.

She had enough attention being the token pregnant women, without incriminating herself further into suggesting that something may or may not be going on between her and Trunks. Besides, she wasn't entirely sure herself where it was going, so involving others wasn't an option.

"Aw Pan come on, I won't tell anyone, I promise," Bra whined, clasping her hands together in a plea for Pan to divulge the much wanted news.

Pan kept her face stoic and shrugged, "There's nothing to tell."

"Liar."

"Excuse me?"

A hand placed itself on Pan's shoulder and squeezed lightly, the opposing comment to her answer for Bra's question did not come from the aqua haired girl, but rather her lavender haired sibling. "I called you a liar Panny," He answered, smiling down at her. "I apologise for being so blunt but you're not exactly telling the truth are you? I'm sure you could put aside your pride to satisfy Bra's curiosity, after all, she is your best friend." The hand left her shoulder and as quick as he had showed up, he disappeared once more, blending into the crowd of friend's and family, breaking into raucous laughter at one of her grandfather's jokes which, was most likely not funny at all.

Bra was stunned. "Well, well, well," She said, tapping a finger to her chin. "Seems you've left a little something to yourself, care to elaborate?"

Pan groaned and slapped a hand to her forehead promising herself that she would get Trunks back for this little stunt once they got home. What was wrong with him? She sighed and dragged Bra a little further into the room, away from prying eye's and ears. "Before this conversation continues I just want you to know, I hate you, and I hate your brother. You're annoyingly invasive and he's an asshole," Pan muttered, eliciting a loud giggle from Bra.

"Your opinion has been noted Pan, but quit stalling and give me the juicy gossip already, are you together?"

"No."

Bra frowned and gave her a warning glare. "Pan…"

"We kissed," She answered simply, averting her eyes, face reddening in shame.

Bra's eyes grew wide and she squealed in delight. "So you are together!"

"No, stupid," Pan hissed, grabbing a hold of Bra's wrist harshly in an attempt to calm her so as not to draw attention. If she continued to squeal like a fan girl, the whole room was going to hear. "I just said that I would…think…about it." Bra stilled and Pan released her wrist letting it drop back to her side.

"And have you thought?"

Pan sighed and brought her hands up to her head, entangling her fingers into the mass of black hair. "My brain hurts I've been thinking that damn much," She replied, tugging at it slightly before letting go, frustrated. "Every time I think I'm getting somewhere an opposing thought pops out of nowhere and I find myself revaluating my choice and I'm back to square one."

Bra gave her a sympathetic smile and took a hold of one of her hands. "Maybe you're overdoing it. The answers staring you straight in the face. You're not thinking of reasons why you can date Trunks." She shook her head and grinned, "Things are moving forward and you're thinking of every reason you can't date him, aren't you? Tell me I'm wrong," She finished smartly, rewarding herself with another smile.

Pan wanted very much to backhand her across the face and tell her that her little theory was beyond ridiculous, but it wasn't. After all, things had begun moving forward. Trunks wasn't shy in his actions, nor was he very patient it seemed. As far as she could tell, even without her decision they acted as though they were a couple. Behind closed doors that was. Pan was not yet ready to but the affection on display for everyone to see, especially her father.

"I'm scared," Pan said, heaving a sigh. "I worry that it'll be the wrong choice; I worry about what people may think, namely, my Dad. I worry about getting hurt, I think too much about past events and how that might affect us," She paused. "But most of all, I worry that if I don't do something…I might regret it, does that make sense?"

"That makes perfect sense Pan," Bra agreed, "But who gives a hoot what other people think? No? You shouldn't base important decisions on other people's judgements, especially not your father. If he loves you then he'll support you no matter what, stick to your guns babe!" She gave Pan a reassuring wink and followed through with a tight hug. "I think you'd be happy with Trunks, all the hate and anger aside, you make a cute couple. And with these two…" She placed her palm flat against Pan's bump, "There's no stopping you, go for it."

Pan had to give the girl due credit. For someone who spent a good chunk of her time snooping in other people's business that had to be the best advice she had ever received. Mischievous mind aside, Bra was quite a wise person. Much like her father, she knew exactly the right thing to say when the moment came up and Pan felt as though a lead weight had been lifted from her shoulders. She now knew what she had to do.

-

From the corner of his eye, Trunks watched as his sister, undoubtedly talked Pan in his favour. He had to congratulate his genius mind for stepping in at just the right time. Sure enough Pan would be pretty pissed that he had let on that much to his sister, but Bra was an awfully big influence on Pan and he was confident that things were set to get that little bit more interesting at home. He just had to learn to be patient and not push his luck with the situation. He was treading a fine line with Pan as it was and pushing her away was only going to do more damage than good.

Sidling away from Goku and his bad jokes, he headed back over to his sister and soon to be mother of his children, smiling sheepishly, hand inadvertently creeping up to rub the back of his neck. For somebody so bold just a few minutes ago, he had sure become a bucket of nerves. Maybe it was because that very conversation the two girls shared was going to hold a great relevance to his future with Pan. Yes, he could feel himself starting to sweat slightly. "Can I get you girls anything to drink?"

Pan and Bra stopped their talk immediately and turned to face him, Bra offering him a sly wink, Pan only a small smile. "Um no thanks. I think I'm going to head over to my Dad, I haven't spoke to him all night, Dende knows he's probably off sulking somewhere," Pan chuckled, stepping forward to pass Trunks.

"Oh, would you mind if I had a word first?"

A hand on her arm stopped her in her tracks and she blushed slightly. "Can it wait until were home? Only, I don't want my Dad to think I'm flaking on him…it's been a while since I've seen him…" She was using the first excuse she could think of to get out of the situation, for she new exactly what this word would be about. Trunks was a very intelligent man and no doubt he already new exactly as to what she had spoken to Bra about, therefore he was fishing for answers, and this was not the place to discuss them.

"Well I…" Don't push it Trunks…He cut himself short, reminding himself that she still needed her space. "Sure it can wait." He smiled and let her walk on toward her father.

"You know big bro, for an impatient man that was a very nice thing you did there. I'm proud of you." Bra reached onto her tiptoes and ruffled his hair, smiling brightly. "Don't worry too much about it, the way I see it, balls in your court. That girls into you whether she wants to admit it or not."

"You think?"

She nodded, "I do."

-

Gohan didn't like it, one bit. In fact, his self control was wavering with every glance Trunks gave to his daughter. His worst fears coming to light. Things were developing between the two and he was utterly powerless to stop it. Trunks was all but head over heels for Pan, and she, well she didn't look as though she objected much to it. This revelation teamed with the news of Pan having twins was enough to turn his hair grey. When had his little Panny been replaced with this young woman, leaving him behind with only vague memories of her childhood and how happy he was that she doted on him. A true daddy's girl.

Now he was going to have to deal with grandchildren and the thought that he might be replaced in her heart by none other than Trunks. The last suitor he would have picked for his daughter, or even imagined his daughter would chose by herself. He was arrogant, careless, petty, annoying and self-obsessed to boot. What exactly was it that Pan saw in him?

Surely not his looks. Gohan scoffed. What kind of real man had lavender hair anyway?

"Hey Dad." A soft kiss on his cheek broke him from his thoughts and he smiled down at his daughter, trying not to make it obvious as to where his thoughts lay, although he was sure she couldn't have missed to whom his eye's were directed to, or the scowl pressed onto his lips.

He wanted very much at that moment to begin firing questions about Trunks and how life was with him, over at his house. But he new he couldn't, he had promised her no more and he had to follow through with that promise, instead he opted for a lighter question. Who knows? She might just let some of the information he so desperately craved, just slip.

"How are you feeling?" He asked her, noting the hand rested atop her bump.

She chuckled and rubbed her stomach. "I'm fine, it's just the kicking. It's driving me crazy, these guys, or girls, are damn restless!"

"Did you not learn the sex?"

Pan shook her head, "Oh no, I think I'd like to be surprised."

Gohan laughed and pulled her into a one arm hug, placing a chaste kiss atop her head. How was it possible that he could feel so negative about the situation but just melt like butter whenever she came along. Because, underneath it all, he really was a soft touch. Pan had him wound tightly around her finger, she knew exactly what strings to pull.

"I'm proud of you Pan, really I am. I can't say I'm one hundred percent happy about the choices you've made, but all the same, I'm still proud. You'll be a fantastic parent."

There he went, being all sentimental and mushy, swarming his daughter with compliments. Kicking his pride. He was feeling less and less like a man with every word, but nevertheless it had to be said, moments like these tended to make you feel as such. The only piece of the picture that was missing was his other arm slung around Trunks' shoulder that was how it should have been, if, that was, he admired Trunks in any way. Which he didn't.

"Thanks Daddy," She cooed, offering him another sweet kiss. "I know things have been crazy but just trust me okay? I'll only ever do what's right by me, and as for being a good parent, well, I learnt from the best I guess. Love you Papa."

"Yeah, I love you to Panny."

XXX

Home had not come quicken enough for Pan after the tiresome party, then again, had it come to soon to avoid the talk with Trunks. She wasn't quite sure and her nerves were on edge as they both entered the living room. Needless to say there were untouched topics lingering in the air, the car journey had been in almost silence. Trunks chose only to glance at her every so often and simply smile, asking her only question; did she feel okay. She had answered a simple yes and continued to stare out at the road ahead, apprehensive about arriving home.

"Would you like some tea?" Trunks asked, taking her coat and tossing it over the stairs.

"Oh, yes, please," She replied, setting herself down onto the couch as they entered the front room. Her feet, ached, her ankles hurt, her back hurt- hell, everything hurt. She wanted nothing more now than a hot mug of tea and a nice long bath. Being pregnant was hard.

A few moments later Trunks returned with two mugs, he kept one and handed Pan the other with a smile. "You enjoy the party?" He asked.

She shrugged and rested her feet atop the table, leaning back into the comfort of Trunks' huge squashy armchair. "I guess it wasn't so bad," She replied, "Although your mother was a bit full on. She wants me her and Bra to go on shopping spree for clothes and things for the twins. Oh and there was the baby shower idea to, I guess I should have said no but I didn't think it would make a whole lot of difference. Your mother's very persistent."

Trunks chuckled and shuffled toward the end of the sofa closest to Pan. "You know, it might not be such a bad idea your due in less than three months and so far we have next to nothing. Why not arrange a date?"

"Trunks, I am not a charity case, nor do I want to spend a whole day traipsing around stores with your mother and sister. I'll buy the stuff myself if you don't mind."

"And just how, pray tell, are your going to pay for it all?"

If it weren't the truth Pan would have felt extremely offended about him implying she was poor. As it were, there was nothing she could say to oppose the comment. It did not mean she was going to take free hands out from his family. He knew very well she cherished her independence.

"I'm going to work," She answered, taking a sip of her tea.

From beside her Trunks laughed out loud, almost sloshing his own tea over the edges of the cup. "And just where will you work? Your almost seven months gone Pan! You can't be serious?" He asked, dumbfounded.

Pan narrowed her eyebrows and showed him her middle finger. "My designing you dummy!" She said, "I'd appreciate it if you'd quit insulting me, it's not like I'm that incapable! Besides, did you think I was going to continue living here rent free? I'll say it again, I'm no charity case!"

Setting his tea down atop the table, Trunks got up from his seat and knelt before Pan, resting his arms over her lap, his head set upon them. "You know I won't take money from you Pan. I know how you feel and I respect that but this house practically pays for itself, it wouldn't be fair. You pull your weight around here just fine." He flashed her a grin and removed his arms so that his face lay on her leg.

Inadvertently Pan reached out and ran her fingers through his hair, eliciting a shiver from him.

"I'm really grateful for everything you've done for me Trunks, but, I feel so useless…at least when I was living alone I was doing so off my own back. I don't want to live on other people's hard work, it's not fair and it's not the way I've been raised."

He sat up and perched himself on the arm of the chair. "I understand babe, really I do. But I wish you'd see my point also…your mothering my children, it's my duty to be the breadwinner as such, you do enough around this place to pay your keep. Besides, you know there's only one thing I want from you." He reached a hand out to stroke her cheek, letting his other hand wander to her hip. "Speaking of which, how was your talk with Bra?"

Pan growled and swatted his hand away. "You shit! You set the whole damn thing up, didn't you?"

Trunks chuckled and took a hold of both her wrists, pinning them at her sides. "Set it up? No!" He shook his head, eliciting a small laugh. "I'm only guilty of helping you gush out all your feelings to my sister, for the most part, you did it on your own."

Pan fought hard to prevent the blush rising to her cheeks, but as luck would have it, or wouldn't, she blushed madly anyway. A deep tinge of pink washed over the space just below her eyes and she wanted more than anything for Trunks to release his grip on her arms so that she could use them to cover her shame. He had known that Pan would spew out all her thoughts to his sister, and it was obvious he was confident of the results, but at the same time, he hadn't done anything at all. Only stood back and watched while Pan took the bait.

"Let me go Trunks," She whined, turning her face away from him. She wriggled and yanked under his grip trying to free her wrists but he only held on tighter.

"Not until you tell me what you told Bra."

"You have got to be kidding me? Oh hell no, I'm not telling you a damn thing until you let me go!"

"Hm, that's okay Panno, we could be here a long time but I have nothing better to do."

Pan sat still and weighed up her options. She didn't want to tell him everything she'd told Bra and embarrass herself horribly, but at the same time, she didn't want to have to sit with him, staring at her, restraining her wrists, which, was becoming increasingly uncomfortable the more she tried to struggle free.

Sighing, she turned her face toward him once more. If she couldn't win with whining, she was going to match his own wily mind and come up with a ploy of her own to get what she wanted. "…right, you win, I give up…"

Trunks frowned slightly, a little taken aback. "You give up?"

She nodded with a little sigh, "Yep. You win. I guess I can't hide anything from you can I? But…I guess I could show you how I feel better than I could tell you. I'm no good with words." She shuffled forward in her seat, drawing her hands toward herself so that Trunks, who still had a good grip on her wrists, came with.

She stopped just seconds before their lips met. Trunks swallowed hard and Pan could feel his grip on her loosening ever so slightly. Fighting hard not to smirk, she dipped her head forward and placed a soft kiss at the corner of his mouth, then another on his jaw line.

She continued to do this, feeling the results of her efforts more with every kiss. It wasn't until she placed the first kiss on his lips, did he eventually let her go. She smiled inside, letting her hands wander up to his chest, giving him a gentle shove backwards so that the kiss ended and Trunks unceremoniously slid off the arm of the chair and fell to the floor with an audible thud.

Pan giggled and peered over the chair, "Oh that was classic, your face! I got you so good! Thanks Trunks!" She held up her free wrists for him to see, before getting to her feet, heading towards the kitchen still laughing to herself.

Trunks grumbled something under his breath and he to got to his feet, following Pan into the kitchen. "You know," He began, resting against the doorway, "You can't just keep playing games every time we get into a serious conversation, it's not fair Pan."

She turned around to face him, head cocking to the side. "Why the long face Trunks? Don't like it when somebody finally gets one up on you?"

"What are you talking about?"

Pan rolled her eye's, "You backed me into a corner, I just did what I had to do to help myself, so don't tell me about playing games. Hypocrite."

Trunks grinned and stepped into the kitchen, drawing closer to her. "You know, you're more intelligent than I give you credit for. Smart move. Still, you didn't tell me what you told Bra, why are you avoiding it? If something changed don't you think I have to right to know?"

She fought the urge to reply with a childish, 'Because I don't wanna.' and instead stepped in to meet him, her large stomach being the only thing between them. "I think maybe your to impatient Trunks. And just what if I don't tell you huh? What will you do about it? Because right now your really not helping yourself at all." She crossed her arms over her chest and cocked an eyebrow. "Lucky for you, I'm in a generous mood. It still strikes me as funny though that you hadn't figured it out on your own already, when have you ever seen your sister look that pleased with herself? Excluding when she got Goten to propose to her of course…"

"So what your saying is…"

Pan groaned and gave him a hard jab in the chest. "Do I have to spell it out for you?"

"Yes, I think you do."

She would have liked very much to give him a swift punch on the nose for attempting to embarrass her once more, but for fear of killing the moment and losing all confidence in her decision to tell him she only sighed and grabbed a fistful of his shirt, pulling him to her so they were nose to nose. "I want to give it a go okay…"

"Give what a go?"

"Trunks!"

"I'm just kidding…sorry…couldn't help myself. You sure Panno? You can't take it back you know, your ass is mine now."

Pan narrowed her eyes and bumped their heads together. "You wish," She hissed before crushing her lips to his in a heated kiss.

In that moment she realised it was all over. The fighting, the insults…everything. After four years of convincing herself, she would never even like this man, let alone ever be with him she had finally lost. And all it took was one night of passion, a pregnancy and some clever manipulation on his part. And truth be told, she couldn't be happier, her own pride aside she thought she'd made the right decision. Now they could truly be a family.

"Your not going to regret this…" He said against her lips, his hands working fast to undo the buttons on her shirt.

"I hope not."

Her head tilted back as Trunks rained feverish kisses along her neck, senses on over-drive as his hands ran across her chest and over her shoulders, pushing the top from her body completely. This little turn of events had even satisfied his older want of lust for her and he was double as happy to know that as well as having her as his partner he was also going to have the chance to share his bed with her once again.

He could barely contain his excitement and his kisses became more needy, eliciting a soft moan from her.

"I think it's about time I welcomed you to your new bed, don't you?"

A second later, he scooped her up into his arms and after hearing no protest from her, proceeded into the hall where he would carry her up the stairs and into his bedroom.

"Did I tell you that you could stop kissi-"

Ring, ring…

The doorbell cut short Pan's sentence and both their heads snapped up to look at the door. "Don't answer it," Pan said.

Trunks shifted his weight from foot to foot. "Ah, but they would have seen us through the door…whoever it is probably already knows I'm in!" He was pissed to say the least and made to set Pan back on her feet, when the turning of the handle at the door stopped him.

The door opened. "Trunks…"

If it weren't for the fact that she'd already jumped out of his arms, he would have dropped Pan on the spot.

"What the hell are you doing here?" And better still, He thought. Why the hell didn't I lock that door?