Introspective the sequel...pt.17

I don't own DB/Z/GT or its characters, etc.

Introspective...the sequel Part 17

The flight back to Earth was relatively uneventful aside from the happy couple finally remembering to unlock Giru from a utility closet. But, the little robot still wore a heavy strip of duct tape across his mouth from saying "Pan, danger" one time too many. Again the ship flew on its autopilot as the honeymooners squeezed on last 'romp' into their agenda before entering Earth's gravitational grasp.

Meanwhile on Earth...

For the past few days, Gohan was on edge. He was grumpy, moody, and all around, unpleasant. Both ChiChi and his wife, Videl tried to comfort him, but his mind kept reminding him of what his little girl was doing and that he was no longer her protective source. The reality of just how fast age crept up on them, sliced into his brain like a razor. He continuously told stories of Pan when she was just a child at the table. ChiChi then jumped on the wagon and made things worse by telling stories about Gohan when he was just a boy. Both Videl and Goten frequently left the two alone and grabbed a meal at whichever house wasn't occupied by the two sob stories.

Soon, the little ship was near enough for Gohan to faintly sense their kis. He stood from the research he was working on and made his way to his large telescope mounted atop the roof of his home. With a computer-enhanced scan he sifted through the satellites orbiting the Earth and found one on a straight trajectory. Zooming in, he caught a glimpse of the little Capsule Corp. ship on its descending return back to Earth.

"Honey, they're en route. Let's go to Bulma's and meet them."

"Gohan dear, do you think that wise? I mean we weren't too impressed on our honeymoon return when your mother and my father were there waiting for us. It made me feel guilty for no reason at all."

"Bulma will be there, what's the difference?"

Videl shook her head. "Bulma won't be there when they arrive. She's covering for Trunks at the office, remember?. She said it herself, she didn't want to be there to make them uncomfortable though she couldn't speak for Vegeta."

Gohan growled, but listened to his wife's words. She was right. As much as he hated the thought of it, Pan and Trunks were married adults. It was best to respect their privacy and independence.

Videl rested her head against one of her husband's strong arms. "Relax dear. I'll give you a report as soon as I get one from Bulma. She has Trunks trained well. He opens up to her about every little thing. Give it a couple of days, he's a momma's boy like you. He'll not be able to resist."

"I'm not a momma's boy."

Videl giggled. "If you're not then I'm the strongest in the universe. Gohan, you chatted to your mother because in return, she came back and chatted with me. Hens always cover their own. They just have a few well-trained cocks in their employ to get info on the 'other side.' And I hate to burst your bubble dear, but you and Trunks are two of those well-trained, momma's boy cocks."

Gohan huffed, but suddenly ignored the statement. He was searching the returning kis very carefully. With a slight growl, he slammed his hands down onto a table and hung his head. For him, it was officially over. He sensed a new ki, a very faint almost unreadable ki. It was the similar to what he'd sensed from Videl before Pan was born. His family was one less while his little girl's was soon to be one more...or was it? Gohan gasped as he felt a distortion in the ki. It confused him.

"Gohan, what's wrong?"

"Pan's pregnant, I think."

"You think?"

"I can read a small, faint ki, but it's in flux. I don't understand why."

"Is it in trouble perhaps?"

"I don't think so. It's strong, but the flux is almost as if it was trying to powerup or something."

"Powerup?"

"It almost doubled in strength just a moment ago and it can't be more than a week old or is it?"

Videl shrugged, she couldn't answer her husband since she never thought to ask Pan just how far her relationship with Trunks had gone before the proposal.

Meanwhile...

Trunks guided the ship expertly through Earth's atmosphere. He wasn't about to prove his wife right and make another trashy landing. Earth's atmosphere was very familiar to him and one of his closest friends. Often when he felt stressed or just needed to get away, the skies and clouds were his haven. He could read Earth's air patterns as well as a soaring eagle.

Amazingly however, he altered the glide path. Pan noticed that they weren't headed in the direction of the Briefs residence, but slightly askew of it.

"Trunks, where are we going?"

"Home."

"But isn't that twenty degrees to port?"

A smug smirk formed on Trunks' amused face. "Heheh, surprise! New home!"

"Wha?"

"SSsssh...just wait...you'll see."

The ship arced towards Western Capital City's shoreline. They were headed across town, more in the direction of Capsule Corporation's huge headquarters.

"Trunks, you're married to me now...NOT your job."

"I'm not going there, but in truth, the commute will be much shorter than before."

They passed CC's HQ as Pan caught a glimpse of the huge building. Trunks seemed to be guiding the ship along the city's shores. She heard the familiar whine of the ship when Trunks began to throttle down, allowing the ship to descend further. He began applying the airbrakes as their descent became ever slower and the ship began to become more upright once again with a sublte turn that Pan didn't even notice. Trunks was preparing to land, but where? All Pan could see was the buildings they had passed and water and a one hell of a beautiful sunset.

In truth, Trunks was actually landing the ship backwards thus only showing Pan what they would actually be viewing out their main windows and patio of their new home. They were indeed landing on a beach of sorts, but Pan couldn't figure it out.

"We're here. Welcome to our new home Pan."

"What?"

"Heheh, here, wait. Put this over your eyes." Trunks said softly as he placed her old bandana over her eyes.

"Trunks!"

"This will make the surprise all that more grander. Here, let me carry you." Trunks replied as he gently swept her off her feet once again. She could feel him launch into the air and fly a short distance. He then told her to drop her feet and helped her stand.

"Okay, I'm gonna let your eyes see again." he said as he peeled away the blindfold to give her a new sight.

Pan's mouth dropped as her eyes widened. Nestled in a little nook of woods outlined by the shoreline was a beautiful and relatively modest house. It wasn't domed but rather chateau-like with extensions off both sides and large windows arcing in an a-frame at its center. Pan counted...it had at least two stories and perhaps a loft. The patio merged with a walk-around deck that outlined the entire second floor. A garage and hangar basked in the shadows off to the side.

"City and country in one. It took some thinking and major negotiating with the city, but when I saw this piece of land, I knew it was destined to be ours. The design is a break from the norm. I wanted us to get away from all the ultra-modern stuff since we'll deal with enough of it at work and with our vehicles. The house is more classic, traditional."

Pan looked over the entire area. Trunks was right. Behind the house was the familiar country with lush trees, shade, and even a stream. But, when one gazed across the opposite horizon and across the water, the cityline and its nearness was evident. The home and land was actually sitting atop a peninsula that jutted well away from the capital city's main shoreline. There was a small private road leading to their home as well as a couple of docks and a helopad jutting off their own private beach.

Trunks grabbed the remote from his pocket and tapped a couple of buttons. The home's interior lights as well as a couple exterior illuminated the new home.

"Well, what do you think? I found this land a while ago. I used to go to this little area when I needed to escape from work. I figured it'd make for a great permanent escape."

"Trunks, you never cease to amaze me."

"I aim to please m'lady." Trunks replied with a sweeping bow. "Shall we enter?"

Pan jumped into his arms once again as he was now going to carry her over a real threshold.

"Giru, open the door please?" Trunks asked as the little robot sped ahead of them and did just that.

Once inside, Pan lept from his arms to walk around. Trunks just stood at the doorway and observed his stunned, excited wife.

"I took the liberty of fully furnishing it already. I hope you don't mind?"

Pan stopped her gazing and touching of everything to look back at her loving husband.

"Why would I mind? I'm not a shopper like your sister. Besides, I like what you've done with it. Or did you hire an interior decorator?" Pan asked with a challenging wink.

"Uh, no, no hired help though my mother and yours did assist me a little."

"They knew about this and said nothing to me?"

"I told them I wanted it to be a surprise for you. A gift."

Pan continued her look around. Trunks followed her as she explored every nook the home had to offer. She found the master bedroom quickly enough then several smaller bedrooms, two of which were already decked out in children's trends. This perked her curiousity.

"How many kids are you planning?"

Trunks blushed. "Aww, well, you see, just one at the moment, but mother insisted we have two rooms ready. I don't know why, but mom's know best so I went along with it. And the other five down the hall are guest rooms. A den is upstairs in the loft...kind of our personal home office of sorts." Trunks replied with a shrug as he tried to get her off the kid topic.

Pan bore a stare into her husband's nervous blues. "Okay. I just don't want you to be thinking that I'm going to be barefoot and pregnant all the time. Got it."

"Gosh no Pan. I wouldn't want you like that. I mean, that'd force me to be sole president. I want you to be co-president, meaning you need to be at the office too, not popping babies left and right. Our maternity leave packages aren't that good even for higher executives."

"Good. Just making sure that is clear." Pan stated curtly before continuing her exploration.

*But I sense we'll have our hands full in just this first round.* Trunks thought as he took one final glimpse at the two kids' rooms before following her around once again.

tbc...