This is the chapter where the 'bad thing' happens, as Burned, Blu, and Lily already know. The 'bad thing' happens, but you don't know what it is until the next chapter. Three clues: It has nothing to do with Trunks, no one dies, and Trunks does not try to %#$@ Marron. See if you can figure it by the end of the chapter.

Marron stepped off the plane and through the terminal to see an all-too excited Bra waving her arms in the air. "Marron!!!!!" she called. "Over here!!"

Like I couldn't see that… Marron thought bitterly, but put a smile on her face and waved back. Trunks was standing next to his sister, a smirk on his face, and her parents were behind them. She cringed and stepped toward them.

"Hi Marron!" Bra squealed, grabbing Marron and pulling her into a huge hug. "We missed you so much!! It hasn't been the same here without you!! So, how're things in America? Did Goten propose to you yet? Did you elope? Are you married?"

Marron laughed. "Married?" she asked. "Goten and I are not married. Hi Mom, Daddy." She gave each of her parents a hug before she became face-to-face with Trunks. "Hi," she said softly.

"Hey babe. Do I get a hug, or are you just going to stand there and stare at me all day?" he asked just as quiet.

Stay calm, Mar. This is Trunks we're dealing with. Not some psychopath who killed Goten in a dream you had. Trunks, the guy you've known all your life. Goten's best friend. Relax, and give an old friend a hug. She finally smiled and gave him a hug. "Hi Trunks. How are you?"

He gave her a quick peck on the cheek. "It's been too lonely here. There's no one to hang out with except my sister, and she's not too exciting. How was America?" He put his arm around her, and the five of them began to walk toward the parking lot.

"It was amazing. Goten and I went to dinner, and we had lunch with Pan, and… well, it was just amazing. But Mom, I'm a little nervous. When you were on the phone with Goten while I was sleeping, what exactly did you say to him?" she asked, glancing over at her mother.

18 raised an eyebrow. "Nervous? All we talked about was how you were doing, and how Goten's too much Goku for his own good sometimes," she said, folding her arms in front of her.

Krillin chuckled softly at his daughter's worried tone.

"So, tell me every detail! And don't leave anything out, I don't wanna not know anything!" Bra exclaimed. "Please? I'm just dying to know!"

"I'll tell you tonight." They got to Trunks' car and he began driving toward the ocean.

"Mom, Daddy, would it be okay if I stayed at Kame House tonight? I really don't feel like staying alone tonight," Marron added softly.

Krillin cocked an eyebrow. "Or is it because you have to call Goten and you don't want to raise up your phone bill a couple hundred zenni?" he asked.

Marron laughed. "Fine, fine. I don't want to pay my phone bill, happy now? But I'm still staying over, right?"

………………………………...

Trunks landed his air car on Kame Island and let Krillin, 18, and Marron out. Trunks gave Marron a small, sad smile as he took back off into the air again. She shook it off and stepped into the house.

The clock in the living room said it was 4 pm. "I have to call Goten!" she called. She ran up the stairs into her old room, picked up the phone, and tapped out the number.

It rang twice before he answered.

"Hey," Marron said softly. "What's up?"

"Marron. Hey babe, its too quiet here without you. How was your flight?" he asked.

She sighed. "Long and boring. But I do have some good news. Trunks and Bra came with my parents to the airport this afternoon, and Trunks is Trunks. He's not going to kill you, and he's not going to trash our wedding, and everything's going to be absolutely fine!"

"See? I told you babe. Nothing bad is going to happen. But how's other things?" he asked.

"Well, I'm just here at my parents right now. I think after I unpack, I'm going to drive over to your brother's and maybe go say hi to your parents," she decided.

She plopped down on her old bed and reached underneath the mattress. There, she found an old picture of her, Goten, and Trunks playing dress-up in their parents' clothes. Marron was four, Goten was seven, and Trunks was eight. Goten wore an old orange training gi about ten sizes too big, along with a pair of Goku's boots. Marron was in one of 18's shirts, and had black gloves on her chubby hands. A chain of beads hung around her neck. Trunks was wearing some old chest armor of Vegeta's over his blue-green training gi.

"Hello? Earth to Marron! Anybody home?" Goten's voice suddenly popped into her head.

She snapped back to reality. "Huh? Oh, I'm sorry, 'Ten. What were you saying? I was just looking at something."

"I was asking you if you were going over to Gohan's to see Pan," he repeated.

"Pan? But Pan's-- er, yeah! I was going to ask Pan if she wanted to come help me unpack! Yeah, that's what I'm going to do." She took a deep breath. Careful Chestnut. You almost blew it there.

"Okay, babe. Well, it's late here, so I'll let you unpack, and tell my favorite niece I miss her. Take care of yourself, baby."

"Mmhmm, I will 'Ten. Love you."

"Love you too. Bye Mar."

"Bye 'Ten." She hung up the phone and stuck the picture in her pocket. Then, she ran down the stairs. "Mom! Daddy! I'm going over to Gohan's! I'll be back in a little while!" She grabbed the capsule with her air-car in it and walked out the door.

………………………………...

Marron landed her car about a mile away from Gohan and Videl's little cottage in the woods. She hiked the last mile and knocked softly on the door.

Videl answered it, and smiled when she saw Marron in front of her. "Hi Marron. Do you want to come in for a while?"

"Sure." She followed Videl through the house and into the kitchen, where Gohan was sitting at the table. "Hi Gohan."

He looked up from the newspaper he was reading. "Hi Marron. How was your flight in?"

"It was okay." She took a seat. "A little long, but okay. Listen, I saw Pan, and she's doing great. I told her she didn't have to stay there, but she likes it a lot, and she has Goten there with her."

Videl nodded. "That's good. How is Goten, anyway?"

Marron looked at her hands. "He seems to be doing fine, but," she paused, "I could be wrong, and he could be hiding it well."

"So when's my little bro coming home? I'm sure you've convinced him to come home sooner than planned," Gohan said.

"Trunks still has feelings for me. Goten feels it would tear him up to see him together, so he's decided to stay the whole six months and let him get over me," Marron explained.

"But what happens if Trunks can't get over you in six months?" Videl asked. (Sound familiar, Blu?)

"I'm not sure. I'm afraid he's going to stay in America until he does. And I can't confront Trunks about it, or he'll deny everything, and so I don't know what to do about it," she said softly.

"I say you should just hook Trunks up with someone else. If he has someone else to swoon over, you'll be out of the picture completely," Gohan suggested.

"Or maybe Trunks needs to see you two together. Maybe he needs closure with you. I think if he sees how happy you two are together, he'll understand that he's lost you," Videl put in.

Marron bit her fingernail. "Trunks is one of my best friends, and I would never want to hurt him, but I can't deal with this long-distance relationship. It's too much. He has to decide: me or Trunks."

Okay, who knows what the bad thing is?? Alright, alright, I didn't make it clear enough. You'll just have to wait, won't you?