"Well Mr. Briefs it is a miracle you're still walking around like you were." Said the doctor frowning, writing something down on his notepad.
"Er.. I haven't been working out for a long time, but I am not in that bad a shape, am I?" Joked Trunks playing shocked.
The doctor smiled vaguely at this remark, but then his face stiffened again. He took of his reading specs to put them in his chest pocket, he cleared his throat.
"Let's not beat around the bush Mr. Briefs, we both know you are a very ill man.
The bad new is that you have a tumor in your head." He picked up a transparent sheet from his desk and he flipped on the light box on his wall. The fluorescent lamp made a soft buzzing noise. The light gave face of the doctor an eerie color. He cleared his throat, took a pen out of his breast pocket.
Trunks took Pans hand who was looking for his hand, he squeezed it, he felt her hand quivering.
The photo revealed a greenish picture of a head, Trunks' head, and in the back of his head was a dark spot. The doctor pointed at the dark spot.
"This is your tumor." He said it as if Trunks just got a present.
Trunks felt Pan squeeze harder, he couldn't bare to look at her face, afraid of finding tears there. "And the good news?" asked Trunks softly.
"There might be good news, maybe the nature of the tumor is benign, but we will first have to do a biopsy." He saw Trunks and Pan looked confused. "Benign means good." He spoke in a way making Pan and Trunks feel like little children.
"However, if you look at this photo, the tumor is hard to reach, so taking a sample from it will be hard to do. So if it's not a trouble to you, we'll leave it like this for a while to follow the growth of the tumor to determine the nature. As it seems now, it's good, but we can't tell for a full one hundred percent.
Silence took over the room.
(…)
"I have people to cure, " said the doctor breaking the painful silence. "have a nice day, I will see you tomorrow Mr. Briefs." And he left the room.
Pan looked at Trunks, she searched his eyes, trying desperately to see into his mind, their hand still clutched together.
"I will make it Panny, I promise." He assured her with a calm voice. "I do not intend to lose you, not now I've finally got you."
A bright light seem to come from just around the corner, Trunks' legs were heavy, he'd been walking on for… he couldn't even remember when he started to walk. Just a couple of more feet and he would be able to see where the light came from, but with every step he took, it seemed to move away from him.
He started to run to be able to see around the corner, and even though he put all of his left over strength into it, he seemed to move slowly, but forward.
Finally he reached the source of the light, he stepped to the opening from which the light came, what he saw made chills running up and down his spine. It was a beautiful valley, everything was green and flourishing, small waterfalls made a soft clattering sound and all the birds sang their song in one beautiful concert in which every bird had an indispensable role. Serenity seemed to be the keyword in this valley, two young deer were frolicking around in the lush grass.
It was like he was standing in a cave high above this utter beauty. He fell to his knees to lower him self down the steep, rocky hill that separated him from the valley.
As he turned around he saw Pan standing there, tears in her eyes, holding out her hand towards him.
"Pan? What is the matter? Why are you crying?" asked Trunks concerned.
It seemed she didn't hear him. Trunks looked back at the valley, but there was no valley behind him, not anymore, where once was a waterfall, was now a small volcano producing dark fumes and hot lava filling up the loveliness once there. Now there was nothing but obliteration. He jumped up and ran to Pan, he grabbed the hand she was holding out, as he did she looked at him, tears disappeared to make room on her face for a smile. He embraced her.
After he broke the embrace he looked around him, he was confused, he was no longer in the 'tunnel' he was in a hospital room, again all caught in tubes and stuck to monitors. The doctor who 'helped' them just few minutes ago was standing by his bed, taking notes and reading the monitors.
"What happened?" he asked gravelly, his mouth and throat were dry, he felt very nauseous, like something was dancing around in his stomach and his head was pounding like crazy.
"You.. after we'd seen the doctor we walked back to your room, but on the way there you collapsed again…" Pan froze and swallowed hard. "When you were stable again, the decided on taking the biopsy for save measures. It was successful and the tumor is of good nature…" Pan's lip quivered, she was trying to hold back her tears. Trunks didn't understand.
"The tumor is pressing against your brains and it's growth is astoundingly fast." Completed the doctor where Pan had failed.
"So… if it's good, it cant kill me right?" asked Trunks hopeful.
"Not exactly, that is where most people go wrong, good tumors can also kill you, if they are in a lethal position, like in your case."
Trunks sighed deeply, "So is it possible to remove it or something? Because I don't really like the thought of something growing in my brains."
"We've had contact with Europe, there is a brilliant neurosurgeon there. He is your best hope for recovery, however…"
Pan and Trunks stared at him trying to stop him from delivering the obvious bad news to them, but it was hopeless.
"The good man had an accident and is currently in the hospital himself, and it seems he will be there for a while too. You see he broke his pelvis and can't move much. Our best hope is that he recovers fast and flies his way over here to operate on you."
"Isn't there another solution?" asked Trunks, no he almost begged.
"I'm afraid not Mr. Briefs."
"No Trunks I don't want to lose you too, I just don't think I can handle it!" tears flowed richly over Bra's cheeks making a big wet stain in Trunks' sheets.
Softly Trunks ran his hand through Bra's hair, soft as always, like their moms hair. "I will survive this, I will…
I promise…"
Bra looked at him with big moistly eyes, "You can't promise that." She sounded almost mad, an offended sigh escaped her lips as she spoke.
"But I'm glad you're trying to comfort me," she softly squeezed his hand. "dad isn't much support," she continued softly. "he hasn't spoke to me since you're here. He is sad, I can feel it, but his stupid pride won't let him express it. That hurts me."
Trunks took his sisters hand in his own, "Bra, you can feel he's sad, I can't. But somehow I know it, and that's enough for me, let it be enough for you too."
Bra stood up rapidly, tears burning behind her eyes.
"I… I have to go, I need fresh air."
The rain clattered violently against the window of the lobby making the view blurry. Bra zipped up her coat and opened the door. A cold breeze and lost rain drops welcomed her, giving her goose bumps.
He hugged herself as she walked out the door, the wind circled around her, making her hair dance.
She looked up at the sky, it was cloudy and dusk had just set in. She gave a deep sigh and relaxed that was when the tears finally came, the rolled down her cheek, not leaving a trail behind, the rain just washed them away.
He needs me to be strong, I need to be strong for him. I don't want to lose him, not him too.
She walked on hugging her cold body, tears still running down her cheeks. Damn that felt good. She just hid it deep down inside of her.
The rain soaked her hair so much the wind couldn't play with it anymore.
::I'm sure glad it's raining::
No one can see my tears.
When she looked up, she found herself a little lost, franticly she looked around, trying to find something familiar. It was a playground, old and forgotten. The wooden frame around the sandbox had rotted. The seesaw was on his side, all rusty. The chains of the swing danced in the wind, making a clattering sound, the seating was completely gone.
A short memory flashed before her eyes. She and Pan baking sand cakes in the sandbox. Goten and Trunks fighting over who gets to go on the swing. Bulma and Videl laughing over them.
"C'mon boy's aren't you a little too old to fight over the swing?"
A smile broke the sad look on her face, they were like sixteen and still fighting over the swing, she shook her head. Her attention was caught by a large tree, carefully she walked over to the tree, it was a big oak. She ran her hand over the bark, her fingers felt a figure. She strained her eyes.
Saiyans Forev
Twenty years earlier
"Trunks be careful, don't let mom see you with that knife!" warned Bra her brother.
"Bra I'm much older then you, I can handle a knife, and mom won't find out." He pointed at their chaperones, both lying on their backs enjoying the sun.
"R… e… vaaaaaaaaaaaaauw!" Trunks jumped around holding his hand, a large cut went from his thumb to his wrist.
"Let me kiss and make it better Trunks!" Pan ran after Trunks.
"No go away Pan, oomph!" he bumped into his mother, arms crossed and an angry look on her face.
"How did you get that cut Trunks?" angry she stared at the bloody knife that lay in the grass a few feet from where they were.
Present time
Bra's fingers traced the lines of the letters. They had been friends for a long time, and now one of them was… dying. Even though the doctors hadn't told them yet, maybe they weren't sure, she knew, she knew it would be over.
::I'm sure glad it's raining::
They will think my sad look is because of the rain.
Her feet walked on, not back to the hospital, she wanted too, but her legs didn't listen to her, they made her go to the cemetery.
"No! No, I don't want to go there, I can't!" she stood still before the hefty wrought iron fence. Her eyes wandered over the graves, but she couldn't see. The evening had fallen. And even if she could see, there would only be unknown names and dates. This was the old part, no longer in use. The people buried there were long for gotten and had no known family anymore.
Bra forced herself to turn around. She began to walk and as her tears began to stop, so did the rain.
"Hey buddy!" shouted Trunks when he saw Goten enter his room.
"Don't ever scare me like that ever again, gee I come home from a weekend trip and you are in the hospital. I just can't leave you alone, can I?" joked Goten.
"And I can't leave you alone for long either. " said Trunks, he looked over Goten's shoulder, Marron stood shyly behind him. Very unlike her own happy self. When she looked Trunks in the eye she blushed.
"So where is my little niece?" changed Goten the subject.
"At home, resting, but tell me more about your weekend away." Trunks was determined to squeeze the obvious truth out of his best friend.
"Okay okay, Marron and me… well you know…"
"No, I don't, tell me." Played Trunks. Goten's face turned crimson.
"Let me help here," offered Marron pushing Goten aside. "We are an item, we had sex, and yes it was good! Anything else?" she crossed her arms and looked mad at Trunks, Goten's face, if even possible, turned more red, he pointed Marron at Vegeta who was still sitting in a corner. Marron couldn't help but laugh.
"No too much information…" Trunks preventively covered his ears. Which made Marron and Goten burst out in laughter.
The head of an obviously mad nurse appeared around the corner of the door. "Can you please quiet down, this is a hospital you know!"
"Sorry." whispered Goten.
But what's the deal with you anyway, you're not hooked up on all those machines for nothing.
