Pan's POV
Why does my body feel so heavy, I wondered, pushing desperately against the shroud of darkness around me so I could open my eyes and find Trunks, my parents, or just anyone. It was so dark here, and I couldn't even tell if I had a body anymore. I felt like a formless wraith drifting through this endless darkness, and it scared me senseless. My last few memories before ending up in the dark were hazy at best, but I could still recall the rush of fear and worry I felt as blood began to pour down my legs…
My knees quivered violently before giving out, and I sank to the ground, almost paralyzed. Slowly but surely, the flow of blood increased, and I could feel the baby thrashing around frantically in my womb. His movements woke me from my stupor, and I began pressing the skirt of my dress between my legs, trying desperately to slow the flow of blood.
Dizziness started to set in as loss of blood affected me, and I struggled to my hands and knees, crawling towards the bed to find something better to staunch the blood. My blood covered fingers brushed the pristine white comforter of our bed, leaving three red streaks that I knew; without a doubt, would never come out, no matter how much bleach or stain remover I used.
My body slumped entirely to the floor, encroaching blackness pushing against the edges of my vision. I fought it with everything I had, trying desperately to sit up and call out for my husband. My voice came out as a squeak; barely audible, and the roar behind my ears grew in volume as the blackness slowly pushed towards my center of focus. I could barely feel the baby moving in my womb anymore.
A beacon of hope shined through as I heard the soft footsteps of my husband on the stairs, along with his humming voice, and I breathed a sigh of relief; hoping that he'd be able to keep a level head. With that thought, the darkness surged forward, completely overtaking me, and I sank into it unwillingly…
Suddenly, light lanced through my dark world, and I found myself peering up at what appeared to be one of the lights that the doctors used to operate on patients in the hospital. My eyelids were at half mast, and I examined the light, confused. Why was it here? I let my head roll to the side, and a spike of fear ran through me as I spotted a doctor; all scrubbed up for surgery, filling a syringe with pain medication.
My mouth fell open, and a weak cry escaped me. A pair of gloved hands gently grasped the sides of my face and turned my head so I was looking at the ceiling again. I could feel beads of sweat forming on my temples as my eyes roved around the room wildly. Where was Trunks? Why wasn't he here?
A mask intended for knocking out patients prior to doing surgery descended on my face just as I took a deep inhale to call out for my husband, and the strawberry scented gas flooded my nostrils. My call for help faded, and my eyes began to droop as that wretched darkness returned for me. Realization lanced through me as I saw two doctors setting up a separation screen that was normally used to do cesarean deliveries.
No… he's not ready yet…
I began fighting as hard as I could as my lids began to fall again, but another wave of knock out gas assaulted my senses and my world went dark as the pinch of an IV port being placed in my hand reached my brain. The last of the light faded, and I was alone in the darkness once more.
Trunks' POV
"Big brother, you need to go change," Bra whispered in my ear, pressing a capsule into my hand, "People are going to think you committed a murder or something."
I glanced down numbly at my clothing. My white tux shirt was stained with Pan's blood across the front and all over the sleeves, and my hands were coated in a layer of her blood from when I carried her into the hospital. I couldn't tell if there was any blood on my pants; they were black, but I really couldn't find it in me to care less.
"Son," my father spoke up, "do what your sister asks of you. You're a mess."
I nodded once and walked off to find the nearest bathroom, my thoughts miles away…
Pan's head lolled against my shoulder as I rushed into the hospital with her, calling out for help. Four attendants with a gurney approached me, and one of them reached out to take her from me. My saiyan instincts balked at the idea of leaving my mate and child in the care of another, but I pushed them down and handed her over, pressing a soft kiss to her neck as I did so. Her dark curls pooled on the stretcher as they settled her onto it and wheeled her into the examination area, leaving me standing in the waiting room, worried out of my mind. Without warning, a rush of helpless anger filled my being, and I left through the hospital doors and flew back to the place where the Cell Games were held, already powering up to my fullest.
As soon as I was hovering over the dusty plain, I formed two monstrous ki blasts in the palms of my hands and; with a guttural roar, released them into the atmosphere. I continued to fire them in rapid succession until I couldn't find it in me to draw forth the energy to create another ki blast. Instead, I started yelling and powering up even more.
"Trunks! Dammit, man, what the hell's going on?!"
Goten's voice pierced through my temporary bout of insanity, and I looked at him with what I knew were wild, crazed eyes. His dark eyes widened and he floated closer to me, "what's wrong, man?"
"Pan's in the hospital," I spat, clenching my fists so hard that my nails cut into my palms, "I left her alone for not even ten minutes, man… just ten minutes and she's on the floor, bleeding and unconscious… Kami, I'm an awful husband…" Tears poured down my cheeks hotly, and I sobbed, "I'm supposed to protect her and keep her safe, and this…" my anger renewed, I charged up a large blast and fired it into the night sky.
"Why aren't you there with her?" Goten asked, and I shook my head, "I just had to get out of there before I leveled the place…"
"You want me to tell everyone else?" I nodded, "I don't have the presence of mind to hold a legible conversation right now." My brother in-law smiled sadly and pulled me into a hug, "just hang in there, man. Panny and the baby will come out of this. They're tough as nails."
It took me a good fifteen minutes to calm the hell down, put my head on straight, and come back to the hospital. By that time, my sister had alerted everyone to what had happened to Pan, and they were all in the waiting room when Goten and I got there. Bra was the one to tell me that they'd taken her into surgery for a C-section, which led to me pacing heavily in the waiting room, no doubt wearing a hole into the floor… which led to Bra sending me to the bathroom to clean up and change.
I scrubbed vigorously at my hands, trying my hardest to get all the blood off. My eyes drifted to my wedding band, sitting on the corner of the sink in a small pool of blood tainted water and dread shot through me. I looked back in the mirror and splashed my face with the cool water and began unbuttoning my shirt.
I left my clothes in the garbage bin in the bathroom and came out in a comfortable pair of jeans, a t-shirt, and a loose jacket, and slipped my wedding band back onto my finger. Everyone else was in their pajamas; they hadn't thought about anything beyond getting to the hospital, and I allowed a small smile to come across my face as I took a seat next to my mother.
"Papa…" Nora came over to me, "are Bubbles and Mama okay?" I lifted the little cherub and put her on my lap, "we'll have to wait and see what the doctors say, chibi hime." She nodded and laid her violet haired head in the crook of my neck. I kissed the top of her head and held her close, recalling the day Pan found out she was pregnant with her…
I was sifting through a few contracts and invoices in my office when my secretary peeked into the room, "Mr. Briefs, the hospital is on line one. It's about your wife."
I nodded my thanks and grabbed the phone, "This is Mr. Trunks Briefs."
"Mr. Briefs, this is Patricia Brenham; I'm one of your wife's co-workers, and I called you because of a slight emergency." The soft spoken woman replied, "She was performing a routine post-natal check up on one of her patients when she collapsed about fifteen minutes ago."
"She… she collapsed?"
"She's perfectly fine, Mr. Briefs," Doctor Brenham reassured me, "she's awake and asking for you now."
"I'll be right there." I hung up the phone and rushed out of my office, barely stopping to tell my secretary to cancel any and all meetings I had for the rest of the day.
*at the hospital*
"How may I—Mr. Briefs," the woman at the front desk gasped as she looked up at me, "how can I be of assistance, sir?"
"Can you tell me what room my wife; Dr. Pan Son-Briefs, is in? She fainted earlier, so I just assumed she's been admitted." I asked politely, smiling charmingly at her.
"She's on the fifth floor in room 5-48B. That's the pre-natal wing of her department, sir." I nodded once, "thank you, ma'am," and headed for the elevator."
*upstairs*
I made my way down the hall, counting the numbers alongside the doors as I made my way down the hall, 39… 40… 41… 45… 46… 47… 48; bingo! I knocked softly on the door, wondering idly what the thrumming noise coming from the other side was. An odd emotion I couldn't identify settled in my heart as I listened to it. What is that?
There was a shuffle of feet, and then the door opened, making the thrumming noise louder as a result. A small nurse smiled up at me, "your wife's in here, Mr. Briefs." She stepped aside to let me, and the sight that met my eyes made my jaw drop in shock.
Pan was resting on the bed, smiling brightly as tears of happiness ran down her cheeks. Her pink scrub top was pulled up just under the line of her bra, revealing her flat tummy. Another doctor sat on a stool alongside the bed, holding an strange looking tool against her stomach, which was shiny with some kind of gel. Both Pan and the doctor had yet to notice me, too busy looking at the small screen set up next to the bed.
"Panny?"
Her dark blue eyes met mine, and she smiled, "Trunks, come here," gesturing to the far side of the bed. As I got closer to her, I noticed the thrumming sound was coming from the little screen, and I looked at it strangely, "what…" a flash of memory of Goten and Uub showing me pictures of things like the little greyish white blob of a creature on this screen passed through my mind, and I looked down at my wife in shock.
"You're really…"
"Yes," Pan nodded happily, "I'm pregnant, Trunks; you're going to be a father—Trunks!" my wife squealed in surprise as I leaned down and kissed her thoroughly on the lips. When I pulled away, she looked a little shocked, and shook her head a little to clear it, "I take it you're very happy about this?"
"I'm on top of the world." The thrumming noise caught my attention, and I gasped, "That's the baby's heartbeat, isn't it?"
Pan nodded, "It just makes it all the more real, doesn't it?" Numb, I could only nod, entranced by the evidence of the little life in Pan's womb. She laid her head on my shoulder and sighed, content…
The soft snores coming from my eldest child brought me out of my reverie, along with the blanket my mother had handed me to lay over her. I took the blanket and gently tucked it around her body, brushing my hand over her cheek to calm her when she stirred slightly. She sighed softly and her fluttering eyelashes settled against her round cheeks. I could see the twins in Gohan and Videl's laps, making a contest of who would fall asleep first, and I could tell that both of them were on the very edge of falling asleep. I remembered a time where they refused to sleep, and those memories brought me back to the last time Pan had been in the hospital with the virus…
"She'll be fine, Mr. Briefs," Dr. Brenham reassured me, "with plenty of rest, fluids, and vitamins, she'll be back to her old self in no time. The twins have been keeping her up for how long, now?"
"about a month and a half." I replied, brushing a hand through Pan's hair. A small clump of her hair came out with my hand, and I winced, "Crap…"
"It's the leftover hormones that makes the hair brittle enough to fall out," Dr. Brenham reassured me, "it's perfectly normal for post natal patients. In a few months, it'll be strong enough to grow back to the way it was." She then left the room to do rounds.
I nodded once and pressed a kiss to my wife's forehead as she slept deeply. I couldn't help but notice how pale and tiny she looked in the hospital bed. She just looked dwarfed by all of the equipment. She had a breathing apparatus taped under her nose as a precaution, and an IV port hung off of the side of the bed. I lifted one of her tiny hands, noting how bony her fingers looked. I could almost count the bones in each finger.
"How's she doing?"
The soft voice of my mother in-law interrupted my thoughts, and I gently placed Pan's hand on top of the blanket as her parents entered her room.
"She's sleeping; same as always." I replied softly, taking my seat at the side of my wife's bed. She stirred slightly as Videl kissed her on the cheek, and then opened her eyes a little, shocking us.
"Ma… Mama?" She blinked slowly and then looked over at me, "Trunks?"
"I'm right here, Panny." I squeezed her frail hand gently.
Pan laughed softly, "I'm so sleepy, but I'm hungry, too. I think I want to eat more than I want to sleep. How are the twins?"
"They're calming down," Gohan replied softly, moving to the other side of her bed, "Bulma and Vegeta are taking care of them right now."
"Well, that's good," my wife smiled tiredly, "I'm glad they aren't as moody anymore."
"You want me to order a tray for you from the kitchen?" Videl offered.
"Oh, kami no," Pan shook her head, "Could you sneak in some of your cooking or grandma's or something? Hospital food isn't all that great…" she yawned softly, "Some baked potato soup would be lovely."
"I'm pretty sure your grandmother will whip it up in a heartbeat." My mother in-law pulled out her cell and called Chichi. Gohan brushed his hand over her forehead, "if you're up for requesting food dishes, then it's a definite sign that you're going to be okay."
"I'm a Son," she declared, waving her little bony fist in the air, "and a Briefs by marriage. We don't quit." I laughed and grabbed her fist gently, "watch it, slugger, you might hurt someone with that." She rolled her eyes, "how dangerous can I be if I'm half-sleep all the time and relegated to a hospital bed?"
"Knowing you," I kissed the back of her hand, "you'd find a way."
"Because my bad ass-sery knows no bounds." She giggled merrily and squeezed my hand, "I'm so ready to go home. I miss my babies."
"And the maternal instincts rear their ugly heads," Videl sniggered, "she'll be fine."
Doctor Brenham exited the examination area and headed over to the area of the waiting room that we occupied, and I gently passed my daughter to my mom before going to meet her, "what's the verdict."
"Well," she grinned, "your son is surprisingly healthy for just barely reaching the eight month gestational mark. His weight is above average for a full term baby, and his health and vitals checked out swimmingly."
"How much does he weigh?" I asked, truly curious, and she flinched, "it's a good thing that Mrs. Briefs didn't deliver him vaginally because there would have been some damage. He's roughly sixteen pounds and eight ounces."
My sister went pale, "It is a good thing she didn't push that mini sumo wrestler out. Geta was thirteen pounds, and I had tearing for miles."
Goten flinched at the memory, and I did, too. Bra's screams that day could've been in a slasher movie. I couldn't help but feel thankful that Pan didn't have to deliver our son, because her hips weren't quite as wide as my sister's, and that could've proved dangerous for her and the baby.
"What about Pan?" Videl asked, cradling Panda in her arms, and Doctor Brenham sighed, "She's lost a serious amount of blood. We've got her prepped for transfusions, but we need a donor who has O negative type blood."
Mrs. Tenjō, Videl's mother, stood up, "I have O negative blood."
"Right this way, ma'am." Dr. Brenham gestured for her to follow her, and I grasped her hand as she passed me, "thank you so much." She smiled softly, "You're welcome. I haven't known my granddaughter for long, but I already know that I'd be willing to do anything for her." With that, she disappeared into the back, and a nurse emerged and walked up to me, "would you like to meet your son?"
"Of course."
"You can bring one other person with you." I bit my lip, looking around at the gathered family and grinned, "come on, Goten, come meet your new nephew." My best friend quickly passed my sleeping niece; Kina, to Bra and followed me and the nurse to the nursery.
*in the nursery*
Well… Pan can't complain about none of our kids not having her coloring anymore… or her anything. This baby is just a gender switched carbon copy of his mother, I thought to myself, looking down at the snuffling newborn lying in the plastic crib.
"Pan's got herself a little twin," Goten spoke my thoughts aloud, brushing a thumb over the baby's plump cheek, "if you think Toran's going to have trouble keeping the girls away, then this guy's going to need 24-7 body guards. He's a handsome little guy. In other words, Pan's cuter than you, and since this guy looks just like her, he will have all the lady action."
"But what if he and Toran form a tag team?"
"Let's not forget Geta." Goten replied, and then nodded, "they'd be unstoppable."
At that moment, the baby snuffled and whimpered, opening very familiar midnight blue eyes. I chuckled and leaned down to pick him up, "hey little man. I'm your dad." He calmed instantly at the sound of my voice and started purring and waving his little tail around.
"Yup," Goten nodded, "that seals it. You've got a mini-lady killer on your hands." I rolled my eyes, "shut up, Goten," and then smiled at my son, "that's your silly Uncle Goten. Make sure you stay away from him; his idiocy might rub off on you."
"Just wait until he's older," my best friend whispered, "I'm going to corrupt him."
"Not if Panny says otherwise." I reminded him playfully, and then looked down at my son, who starred up at me with his large blue eyes, "you're going to have to wait a while until you meet your mom.' As he understood me, his little face creased with a very familiar pout, and he started crying loudly.
And this is one of the things I never missed about having a newborn baby…
*a little later*
"Pan's still unconscious," Dr. Brenham reported, "but it's entirely up to her whether or not she wakes up." I sighed and looked over at Videl, who was cradling our newborn son in her arms, and then looked back at the doctor, "can I go see her?"
"She's in room 5-48B." she replied, and left to go about her duties.
I made my way down the hall slowly, cringing at the thought of what I would see behind that door. I remembered all too well the last time I'd been in this room; for the very first ultrasound of Nora, and now… now I'd be seeing my unconscious wife who was; for all intents and purposes, in a coma.
There was no thrumming heartbeat to welcome me this time, but instead, the slow, steady beep of the heart monitor keeping track of Pan's heart rate. It was a melancholy background noise to match the melancholy events that had taken place last night. With a heavy heart, I pushed the door open and let myself in.
She was so pale. The first thing I noticed was how closely her pasty skin tone matched the white sheets and hospital gown she was wearing. Dark, curly lashes rested against sallow cheeks with the barest hint of color, and dry, pale lips were open; just the barest hint. A breathing apparatus was taped under her nose, and an IV taped to the back of her hand. The heart rate monitors were on her right ring finger and taped to her chest.
It didn't look like my wife. Her dark, straight hair was pinned up, away from her face. Pan was never fond of putting her hair up; she preferred it hanging around her face in either curls or waves. She never liked it when her hair was straight; it was just too plain for her. The only time she tolerated it being straight was when it was in a ponytail. When she slept, there was a small smile on her lips, but now, her lips were in a line and her face was devoid of any emotion.
Her hands were cold as ice when I took one of them in mine, and I flinched slightly as I sat down and kissed the back of it, careful not to disturb the needle in her hand. It was time to wait.
Pan's POV *three weeks later*
The darkness had become very cold and I shivered, even though it didn't feel like I had a body to shiver with. Time had lost meaning here, and I couldn't tell how much of it had passed, or if any had passed at all. I could feel my actual body, lying still and pliant on a bed, but I didn't know where I was. Was I still on the operating table, or was I in a recovery wing? Why couldn't I open my eyes? Every time I tried to pry them open, I started to feel tired and faint and I had to stop. I wanted to know if my baby was okay.
Every once and a while, I could barely hear voices of the people around me. It was so faint that I only picked up bits and pieces, and even then, I couldn't put the pieces together to figure out what they were talking about. I could only hope that nothing bad had befallen my child.
A gentle warmth enveloped me, and I heard the voice I'd been longing for since I'd entered this dark hell, "Panny, please… wake up for me. If not for me, then our children. We've got this handsome little guy who's three weeks old and still hasn't met his mother yet."
A flood of emotion swept through me, and I felt the urge to cry as my husband's voice choked with tears, "he's been at home for three weeks, and he doesn't even have a name… Panny, please, I can't do this without you." I felt his warm hand around mine, and I—wait his hand?
I can feel my hands again! I squeezed his hand, and heard him gasp, "Panny?" Slowly but surely, I could feel the rest of my body, but I couldn't find the strength to say anything just yet, or open my eyes, so I resorted to telepathy.
'Trunks?'
'Pan? Oh kami, Panny, are you really awake?'
'I feel really drained and tired… what happened?' I could feel a dull pain in my lower stomach, probably from the C-section, and the itchiness of the tape holding the breathing tube and the IV in place.
'You started bleeding when we got home from the wedding, and I took you to the hospital. You had a C-section; the baby's completely healthy, and you had to get a few transfusions because of the blood loss. You've been unconscious for almost a month.'
'Well, give me a second. I'm too tired to open my eyes at the moment.' I squeezed his hand again, and smiled as I felt his lips brush against my forehead as he whispered thanks to Dende.
'Kami, I'm so happy you're alright,' his 'voice' brushed over my mind like a warm spring breeze, 'your mother's about to bring our son in. you think you can open your eyes now?' I squeezed them shut first, and managed to get them up to half mast as the door opened, wincing at the assault of light, 'too bright.'
"Videl, could you turn down the lights?" Trunks asked softly, and I heard Mama gasp, "is she…?" The lights dimmed, and I was able to look up into my husband's handsome face, "Hi…" my voice was tired and hoarse from lack of use.
"Honey," Mama came around to my other side, "you need to name him, because we can't keep calling him baby boy or mini sumo wrestler anymore. He might get used to it." I felt warm tears flooding my cheeks as she gently laid my son in my arms. My husband helped me support him; as I could see he was very healthy; heavy, and I smiled, "I finally got one with my coloring."
His hair was soft and wavy like mine, and his dark blue eyes were full of infantile joy as he starred up at me. A furry black tail fastened itself around my wrist, an audible purr rumbled out of his tiny chest, and a gummy grin formed; revealing the dimples he'd inherited from my side of the family. My mother laughed, "I knew he was going to be a Mama's boy."
"Well, hello handsome," I breathed, brushing a thumb over his cheek, "do you remember my voice? I used to sing to you when you were all cooped up in my tummy, and you loved it; if the kicking was any indication. I'm your Mama." He cooed and I sobbed softly, "I'm so happy you're okay, beautiful boy, and you always will be. You've got me, your Papa, and two fiercely protective sets of grandparents; and great grandparents, and your older sisters and brother, and your aunts and uncles, and your cousins… you're very much loved, but I'm sure they've already shown you that."
"I'm sorry I've been sleeping for so long," I coughed, "and I can't really talk because I've spent so long without using my voice, but I'll make up for all the time I've missed with you eventually." I kissed his forehead, purring back to him, and Trunks pulled us both into his arms, kissing me all over my face, and the baby on his forehead.
"What's his name?" Mama asked quietly, and I smiled, "Boxers. Boxer Gohan Son-Vegeta Briefs." Boxer squealed in my arms and I snorted, "and I guess he likes it."
Trunks leaned down and kissed him on his cheeks, "Welcome to the family, Boxers." Boxers snuffled and fell asleep in my arms, and I sighed, "Now, when can I go home?"
"And there's the Pan we know and love." Mama kissed my cheek, "She's going to absolutely fine."
"Don't I know it." Trunks replied, leaning in to press his lips to mine.
I sent a silent prayer up Dende; thanking him for allowing me to pull through this mess for the sake of my family, and relaxed into my pillows, content to take some time to recuperate and heal. I'd been doing enough of that as it was all year, but now… now it was very much necessary, and I was more than willing to take a break and just be for once.
This year was; by far, one of the hardest we've ever had to face, but I was forever grateful that we didn't have to face it alone; that we had an awesome support group behind us to help us make it through the miscarriage, the risky pregnancy, and the turbulence that surrounded Boxer's birth. I could never be more thankful for family than I was right now.
Thank kami for family…
Yay! I hope you guys aren't mad that I left you hanging for so long, hence the reason why I just went straight into the chapter. I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. All in one day, too. The next chapter will take place a week after this one, when Pan leaves the hospital to go home for some well-deserved rest, and then there will be some familial interaction, and then the chapter after that… I've got something planned, but I'm not telling you all just yet. Stay tuned!
-SukiChan12^-^