"It's been a while, Borea. How...how have you been?"

Kale was trying to smile, she really was, but the sight of her daughter in a hospital gown was not encouraging. Even worse was the catheter sticking out of the neckline of her gown. Had things really gotten that bad?

"Okay. Had a bad spell a week ago when the room's computer panel went on the blink and the temperature controls of the room totally broke. Kuriza really tore them a new one over that! I ended up getting all kinds of medication and...and it just wasn't fun. If I wasn't too hot, I was too cold, it felt like I was constantly going back and forth. I just...couldn't get comfortable." Borea was smiling, albeit a bit weakly.

"Are you...are you doing better now?"

"Oh, yes. But they keep wanting me to be careful...so I haven't been allowed outside yet. It's winter out there." She sighed, and then looked back up.

"And how...how else are you being treated? They're not saying anything untoward, are they?"

"Aside from one of grandfather's bastards-"

"Borea, that's not a nice thing to call them."

"Well, they do it. They revel in it, they say being a bastard's way better than actually being legitimate, no need to worry about high expectations and the pressure of ruling. All the benefits and none of the weight."

"Well, still."

"Alright, fine. But anyway, I met the only girl of his children, and it was...it was kind of nice. She's the numbers sort, and has this job in the financial segment of the PTO. Kept saying if I didn't go back to Earth with you, and I had a head for numbers, I could always be a desk jockey like her."

"I guess we should start talking about your future. What do you want to do?"

"I...don't know yet, honestly. Not be a soldier, that's for sure. You always made it sound miserable."

"Well...it's not really a pleasant job."

"Borea?" came a sudden voice, "I'm just here with a message from Lord-oh, who is that you're speaking with?"

A reptilian nurse had appeared, and wandered over, leading an IV bag on a pole as she did so. "Lady Calla, it has been a while, has it not?"

Lady Calla?

She says that name like I should know it...

"Y-yes," Kale replied quickly, not wanting to think any further on it, "Has my daughter been behaving herself?"

"Aside from opening her window on a cold day, yes."

"It was warm in here..."

"You have to learn to use the controls instead of the window. It's too cold outside and the sudden shift could cause problems," the nurse chided gently, "Silly girl. I remember a few years ago, when you had a minor issue like this, had to stay here for a while. You were so much trouble then."

"Well it was boring in here, and mother wasn't available all the time!"

"Borea...I guess I'll let you go. Looks like you might be busy." Kale said.

"Alright, then. Oh, and tell your bald friend I said hello!"

She couldn't help but turn red. How had she found out?!

"Come, Borea," said the nurse, "You need to be lying down for this medication. Don't worry, it won't take long."

The screen flickered off.

That name still stuck in Kale's head, though.

Why had the nurse used it like that? She could never remember even hearing it before...

A third date was completely unexpected. The last time, the Friday that she and Krillin had agreed on. It had gone well, of course, but she could see why Bulma had warned her about his singing. She hadn't had the heart to tell him how awful he sounded, and in any case she was well-versed in false compliments, which she naturally showered him with.

This time, she had chosen the place, with absolutely no karaoke machines within a few blocks. A quiet restaurant.

I would never have made a fool of myself as he did.

She shook it off as she stepped in and over to the table they'd made reservations for. "Sorry I'm late," she said quickly, "Borea called about half an hour ago...and we were talking for a while." But something had been different. Borea was far quieter than she had been in previous talks, and she wasn't sure what was causing it. She looked decently healthy. What could it be?

Maybe it's just her being a teenager.

"Is she okay?"

"For now." Kale sighed, trying to stifle that rising panic.

Not again.

"Not out of the woods yet, huh...that must be rough."

"One of the only things he ever gave her, and it could be the thing that kills her. I would laugh if I weren't so worried." she shook her head, and looked back up at him, "Are we still going to play that questioning game, or did you get everything you wanted to know about me on the last date?"

Date. It seemed to sound...heavier when she said it. How odd it felt to say it, and actually not be scared of it.

"We might ask a few more this time, but I don't think we need to worry anymore about that. We'd probably forget half of what we said to each other anyway, am I right?"

"Yeah...so, you wanted something a little quieter this time, huh?"

Krillin laughed. "You could say that."

There was an awkward pause, and Kale looked away. "I'm sorry...I'm...really not good at this. I haven't exactly been on a lot of dates."


Wasn't it just so much easier when you were told what to do, my dear?

As much as she hated to admit it, he was right, of course.

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, you're only the second girl I've gone out with more than once, so...I'm not that great at this either."

"Really? A nice guy like you? I'd think it would be easy for you to get dates!"

"Yeah...two things though, my height, and being nice. Most women prefer men they can look up to. Literally."

"And the being nice? Why would that deter women?"

"Well, a lot of women like forceful guys who take charge and aren't that considerate."

"You can count me as not being one of those women then," Kale said. They paused briefly to order food and then she went on. "I like being able to look you directly in the face instead of having to look up at you. And I find your niceness...well...nice. But you aren't too nice, either. Like, say, Bulma's mom. That's just unnatural."

"Yeah, we all kind of wonder about her, but it doesn't hurt anyone and she's always smiling so I guess it works out for her dad."

The conversation went on as did the next two hours. Kale found she was actually enjoying herself more and more. He made no demands of her. He had no hard words if she didn't absolutely love something he was talking about. It almost ashamed her to feel so much happiness over the fact that he had yet to say anything horrible to her.

Yet.

And that made her feel even worse.

She shook her head and pushed the feeling aside. By the time the meal was over she was feeling happier than she had in a while. She had chosen to go out. She had chosen to be here, with him, and it had not fallen down around her.

"So how did it go?"

"Oh, just great," Kale replied, "No pressure at all from him. It's..."

"Nice?" Bulma asked, "I can imagine so. He's grown up quite a bit since I first met him. After that last girlfriend of his we were all kind of worried about him. So...did he kiss you yet?"

"Um, no. No, he didn't. Why would he? This is only the third date." Once more she found herself blushing.

"It's practically a law for a kiss to happen on the third one, though...maybe you can go for it next time, it'd probably shock the heck out of him."

"No, no...I think...I think I'll just leave it up to him," Kale said quickly, "Besides, it was a lunch date, I don't think that even really counts."

"You know, you're right. Good thinking."

"See, I am getting used to this place." she smiled briefly, and headed back to her room. Borea would probably be asleep at the moment, but that didn't mean that she couldn't send her a few messages anyway.

She gave her emails a cursory glance first-reminding herself to start marking things as junk later, and then logged on to see if Borea was also on. And to her surprise, she was.

"Hey there," she said, when she saw her daughter's face appear, "Are you feeling any better?"

"No."

The answer was...curt, to say the least.

"Borea, what's wrong? Are you too hot? Too cold?"

"No."

Again, a short answer. What was going on?

"Borea, tell me, what's going on? This isn't like you."

"I might ask you to tell me what's going on, too, you know."

"What? About me dating?"

"This has NOTHING to do with that!" Borea burst out. Energy crackled around her and she glared, hard.

"Then...then what is it?" Kale found herself shaking. Narrowed eyes...his eyes...

"Did you think I was stupid?"

"What?"

"That I wouldn't figure it out?"

"Please tell me what you mean," came the wavering reply. "Borea, please tell me."

"I happened to look through your PTO records today."

"All of them?"

"All of them."

The look that Borea was giving her was absolutely crushing. Like she was being looked down on like a piece of trash.

What had she found?

"I knew that father was bad. I knew that, that was easy to figure out. But you...you! I thought you were different!"

"I am! I am."

"Then explain Lady Calla. Explain visiting planets with father and leaving an empty husk behind you. Explain...explain your reputation!" She was in tears now, and Kale was both confounded and horrified.

"My...my reputation?"

"His living death beam. He points, you kill. He speaks, you obey. Entire cities gone for nothing more than his-and YOUR! YOUR!-amusement! So many notes on your entries. You laughing. You enjoying it."

"Borea, I don't-"

"I thought you were different," she said again, "I thought...I thought..."

"Borea, I'm not like that. I would never..."

"Don't sit there and LIE TO ME! There's video footage of it left and right from his scouter! You're..."

No. Gods, no, please don't say...

"You're just like him."

Kale's heart dropped and she started babbling as quickly as she could. "No, Borea, I'm not. You...you have to believe me...I never wanted to..."

"I don't want to hear any excuses. I don't want to even think about them. Don't...don't even try to call me anymore. Alright? I never want to see you again!"

Click.

"But I...I don't even...remember..."

Kale buried her face in her hands and started sobbing. This wasn't fair.

What am I going to do without her?


Don't cry, my dear. You may have lost her, but you'll always have me.