Once in a While

So baby don't cry, like there's no tomorrow

After the night, there's a brand new day

And there'll be no pain, and no more sorrow

So wash your face, and phone my place, it'll be okay

Chapter 3

All Goten could do was stand there, mouth open in shock. D-daughter? Bra has a daughter? No way! He didn't know what to say to Bra. There was one question that he wanted to ask, but he had no idea how to ask it. And he knew he wouldn't like the answer, whatever it was.

Bra knew what was on his mind, and answered his question before he asked it. "No, Goten. She isn't yours. She's almost four years old. Much too old to be your daughter."

"Not mine…?" Goten felt relieved, but also slightly upset. If Estella was not his child, then it meant that Bra had found someone else.

"What? Did you think that I'd just wait for you? After what you did to me? You broke my heart, Goten! And I had no idea when – or if – you were coming back. I wasn't going to waste my life by waiting away for some jerk who's career was more important than me!"

"Bra…"

Bra sighed. "Sorry, I'm being bitter. It's just a little strange for me. I never expected to see you again. Especially not while I was here."

"Hmm. You haven't told me why you're here yet. Was it the father's decision? Did he want to move here?"

"It was his fault that I came to Singapore, but not his decision. I met him at college. I thought he was perfect. I forgot that there's no such thing."

~*~*~*~*~

Bra found a nice spot to sit, opened her anatomy book and started reading. She found studying inside boring and stuffy. As a Saiyan, she hated being confined.

Bra had been reading for less than ten minutes when a shadow replaced her sun. She looked up to see a young man, grinning down at her. She glared at him.

"Um, did you want something?" she asked, irritated.

"No, not really. Just came to introduce myself. I'm Touya Ida." The man grinned again.

"That's nice. I'm Bra Briefs Vegeta. Now would you move out of my sun, so that I can continue studying?"

Touya moved, but he did not leave. Instead he sat down next to her. "What're you studying? Anatomy? Wow! Are you studying Medicine? Want to be a doctor?"

"Nurse."

"Oh, yeah. Shoulda guessed that. You're not in any of my classes, and I'm studying Medicine. Hmm, maybe we can play Doctors 'n' Nurses some time. Hahahahahahaha!"

Bra gritted her teeth. If that wasn't the worst pick-up line ever, I don't know what is!

Realising that Bra was not amused, Touya stopped laughing. "Look, you probably think I'm a really annoying jerk right now. But I'm not really. I was just trying to start conversation, cos you seemed like a pretty cool chick. I've seen you around the campus a fair bit. So, I'm sorry for being a dickhead. And to prove that I'm an okay guy…do you wanna come out to lunch with me?"

Bra sighed. When he wasn't being annoying, Touya was actually kind of cute. And since he claimed that he was an alright guy, she was willing to give him a chance. Besides, she hadn't eaten all day, and the mentioning of lunch had made her Saiyan stomach growl like a rabid dog. "Okay then."

"Sweet!" Touya helped Bra to her feet, and the two of them walked in the direction of the nearest food store.

~*~*~*~*~

"Touya was a great guy…to begin with. After he took me out to lunch, we started dating. We were pretty serious, too." Bra was telling Goten about Touya, who was obviously Estella's father. Goten listened intently, wanting to know just what Touya had done to make Bra leave her family and friends.

"It was when we started sleeping together that the trouble started. We were always careful – used condoms and stuff. But they're only 90% effective, you know, and I guess Touya and I fell into that unlucky 10%. I freaked out when I found out. I didn't want to tell Touya, because I knew that he'd freak too. But Pan convinced me to, and he actually was pretty good about it.

"He agreed to accept responsibility, and we decided to get married. I dropped out of college (it was getting boring anyway – I don't think I'm right to be a nurse), but Touya kept going. It was alright for him to do that, because my parents told me they'd help us out if we needed it, and I started working at Capsule Corp.

"The wedding was pretty simple. We mainly went through with it because we thought we had to. Things were good for a while! The baby was born (my okaasan was ecstatic). I called her Estella. It came from the Lord of the Rings."

"I remember that movie," said Goten. "We saw it – all of us – the day that I got offered this job."

Bra frowned, but did not start crying or screaming at Goten. "Well, this was from the book, not the movie. Estel, was Elvish for Hope, so I used a feminine version, because that's what she was to me. New hope."

"It's a pretty name."

"I know." Bra continued with her story. "I thought that everything was perfect. I had a beautiful daughter, and a caring husband. I had beaten both of my best friends to married life – Marron and Trunks got married about six months later, and Pan and Uub, about a year after that. But I'm sure you already know that.

"I always used to wonder how Touya could manage to study so well, and still be a good father. Then I found his little stash of Speed. But I didn't say anything. I probably should have. When Estella was about two and a half, the Speed must have stopped working. Or Touya just cracked. I don't know. He became violent, but only in our home, when no one else was there. In the company of my family, or other students, he remained the perfect man. That's why I could never tell anyone. Or retaliate."

"Retaliate?"

"He hit me, Goten. Well, to tell the truth, he started to hit Estella first. When I protected her, he hit me instead. I was scared, and didn't know what to do about it. I hit him back one time, fairly hard. He told me that if I tried it again, he'd sue me (and my family) for everything we owned. And I knew he would win if he did. So I just took it. The bruises always healed quickly, so no one ever noticed, and if they did, Touya always had a perfectly acceptable reason. Eventually, I couldn't take any more. Estella was old enough to understand what was going on by that stage. She would beg Touya to stop. So he started to hit her again. I could not let my daughter live such a life. So, one day, I packed my bags, and left, taking Estella with me.

"I didn't know where to go, so I just went to the airport, and got a ticket on the first plane leaving. And that was to Singapore. So, there you have it, Goten. That's why I'm here. To escape my abusive husband."

"Your family…they don't know you're here, do they?"

Bra looked at the floor. "No, they don't. Because they trusted Touya, I could not let them know where I was. If they knew, then he would know too."

"Bra! They care about you! They must be so worried about you!"

"Goten, forget it. It's not your problem. Even though I used to blame you say it was your fault, I know that I can't blame anyone but myself. This is my problem, Goten. This is my life. Only I need to worry about it.

"You can stay here tonight, if you want. The couch is actually fairly comfortable. I'm going to bed. Good night." Bra walked into the room where Estella was sleeping peacefully. She shut the door, leaving Goten alone at the table, staring into his empty teacup, and if searching for the answers there.

The main thing that worried Goten, was Bra's family. He couldn't believe that Bra had not told them. For all they knew, she could be dead.

Goten took out his cell phone. He dialled a number, and hoped that it was not too late in Japan.

"Moshi moshi," a groggy male voice answered.

"Hey, Trunks."

"Goten!" Trunks exclaimed. "Nice to hear from you! What's shaking?"

"Well, I'm on my way home. I'm coming back to Japan – I was able to get a transfer."

"That's great! When will you be back?"

"Tomorrow, hopefully." Goten took a deep breath. Time to test you out, Trunks. Sorry, pal. "I can't wait to see everyone again! By the way, how's B-chan? I haven't heard much about her in your emails."

Trunks went silent for a moment, and when he spoke again, the tone of his voice was different. Like a person trying to hide the truth from someone they didn't want to hurt. "Uh…she's fine. Just finishing up her nurses course. Still single too."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Well, that's really strange, considering that I'm in her apartment in Singapore at the moment, saw her stripping in a tacky club called The Blue Lagoon earlier tonight, and was just told the story of her turbulent marriage and abusive husband."

"Bra's in Singapore!?!" In the background, Goten could hear a sleepy female voice ask Trunks who he was talking. Trunks told Marron not to worry, and that he would tell her in the morning.

"You've been worried about her, haven't you?"

"Of course."

"I've heard her side. Can you tell me yours?"

"Well, you just confirmed something that we've suspected since she left. The thing about Touya – her husband – abusing her. When she went missing, the police searched Bra and Touya's apartment. They found blood – Bra's and Estella's. Estella is her daughter, but you probably already know that. Touya was arrested, because the police thought that he had murdered them both, then made it look like Bra had ran away. He was found not guilty, but we always suspected he had done something. He died a little while ago. Drug overdose. We were just about to get a retrial too."

"So…you thought Bra was dead?"

"At first, yes. But just after the original trial, I got an email. It just said: 'I'm okay. –B'. That's it. Me being the optimistic person I am, assumed it was from Bra, and I guess I'm right. Singapore. Unbelievable."

"I'm catching a plane out to Japan tomorrow. And I'm bringing Bra and Estella with me." With that, Goten hung up.