Disclaimer: dumdidum… I don't own anything…
A/N: Thanks again for all of your reviews! I really try to hurry with the following chapter, because I want to finish this story within the next two weeks, before my class makes a field trip to Berlin for a few days…
@ Kizzy: Thanks for the information, but it's too late now…
@ Cutsy: Well, uhm… good question… *gg* What about: The passengers of Trunks Briefs' private jet don't need passports? To be honest, I haven thought about that one…
@ Kokoro: I know that a full-blooded Saiyajin's hair doesn't change, ones it's fully grown… But I thought that since Vegeta had a new hair cut in DB GT it must be able to grow back to the old style… I think I also remember a scene from Dragonball Z, where Gohan burned parts of Goku's hair and it also grew back… Whatever… It's my story and when I want Veggie's hair to grow back, it will grow back! *lol*
@ Trunks' Saiyajin Princess: Well, now you see how much I love you guys… By the way, I just had to write the second half of the chapter before school and since I had slept in and decided that it wouldn't be worth to go to school for one class, then have two free periods and then again class, I thought that I could finish the chapter just for you before I went to my last two classes…
@ SuperVidel: I'm sorry, if I have offended you in any way, I'm sorry if I have offended any American with this line, but I just followed a request from my reviewer SuperPOPO6 to write "those damn Americans" for his/her sister SuperVidel… Just tell me, when I should take the names out, okay? I'm really sorry… I have nothing against Americans, really… I also thought that no one would take it too seriously, since I let Vegeta say it… Please don't be angry with me…
@ person: Okay, angst… It's really hard to describe… I think that it's a bit like drama, just more intense. I think you can call a fic angsty, when there's much fear in it… I hope I could answer your question a bit…
Oh, and congratulations @ Kali, for being the 700th reviewer of this fic! I'm glad that you like it!
And now, on with the next chapter!
Chapter 21: Come back to me
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Angela's eyes went wide with realization. This woman that was standing a few meters away from them was definitely Bulma Briefs and then this man was… "You… You are… Trunks Briefs!" she stuttered excitedly. He was the one Pan was talking about? Pan knew Trunks Briefs and he was the father of her unborn child? Wow! Wait… Hold that thought. Didn't Pan tell her that the child's father never wanted to see her again? So, what was he doing here?
Nervously Trunks scratched the back of his head. "Well, uhm… yeah, that's me…"
"Wow… I didn't know that Pan knew you…" she told him. "But I'm really sorry… I can't tell you where Pan is."
Trunks' shoulders slumped down and he hung his head. If this girl couldn't tell him where Pan was, who could? After what Takeo had told him was this Pan's best friend in his timeline. "Okay… thank you…" he muttered defeated and turned to go.
When Angela saw the sad and hurt look on Trunks' face, she felt immediately twinges of remorse. He looked as pained as Pan and she wanted nothing more than telling him, where she was, so that this look would disappear on both of their faces. But she had promised Pan not to tell anyone that she was here. Trunks turned to go, but she grabbed his arm to stop him. "Trunks, I'm sorry… Really," she said honestly. "It was nice to meet you." She watched as Trunks just nodded at her and then walked back to the small group, where Bulma Briefs was standing, until she also left. She had to talk to Pan.
~*~
For the second time in less than 24 hours Trunks felt the expectant gazes of his family and friends on him and for the second time in less than 24 hours he had to disappoint them. He stopped in front of them and shook his head. "She couldn't tell me, where Pan is…"
"Damn it!" Takeo cursed. "I could've sworn that mom told me that this was the first place she went after she left."
"Maybe you coming into this time had changed something in this timeline," Bulma said thoughtfully. "It was the same with Mirai Trunks. After he came to warn us against the androids also much had changed…"
Goten walked up to Trunks and put his hands on his best friend's shoulder, causing him to look up. "Don't worry Trunks. We'll find her somehow…"
Suddenly they all heard Vegeta snorting and looked at him. The Prince of all Saiyajins shook his head. "You're all pathetic, do you know that?"
"What are you talking about?" Bulma demanded to know.
"The girl was lying. She may have acted calm, but her heart started to beat faster and she started to sweat ever so lightly, when you told her who you were," Vegeta told them. "She knows something about Pan's whereabouts, and I wouldn't be surprised if she's here on this campus."
"Are you sure dad?" Trunks asked. If Angela really was lying, then there was still hope that he would find Pan. And if Pan really was on the campus, then everything would just be perfect.
"Of course I'm sure," Vegeta snapped. "I'm the Prince of all Saiyajins and I know what I'm talking about."
"Yeah, right dad…" Trunks rolled with his eyes. That was so his father. He then closed his eyes, trying to find Angela's ki and after a few seconds he smiled. "Gottcha!" he mumbled and turned to his son. "Come on, Takeo, let's find your mother!"
Takeo smiled back, when he saw the new hope and confidence in his father's eyes. From that moment on he was sure of one thing. His father wouldn't give up. Not now. Unlike the Trunks from his timeline, this Trunks would search the whole world, just to get this Pan back. But this thought somehow made him sad. How would he react, when this was over and he was back in his own time? How would he react, when he met the other Trunks again? He saw the Trunks from this timeline in a complete different light. His father had not searched the whole world for his mother. His father had given up.
He knew that he would just change this timeline with his trip to the past and not his own, but he hadn't thought of how those things would influence him. Could he bear seeing his mother hurt, when he had seen her happy in this timeline? It was already hard enough like it was now, but it sure would be a lot harder, when he had seen the possibility of what could have been…
With those thoughts in his mind, he followed the others walking to a large building, obviously the dorm of the college. Trunks stopped in front of it and turned around. "Angela is in there. I will talk to her again, alone," he informed the others, before he went inside.
~*~
Pan was sitting on her bed, dressed in nothing but a pair of black shorts and a white top. In her lap was a notepad. Pan wanted to make a list of important things she had to do, when she wanted to start a new life here, for example finding a job, an apartment and also making an appointment with a doctor. She was just chewing on the end of the pen, thinking about what else she should write down, as suddenly the door to the room was thrown open. Her head jerked up and she saw her roommate coming inside. "Angela? What are you doing here? Don't you have class in about, uhm, five minutes?" she asked surprised.
Angela didn't answer and just stood in front of Pan, with her hands on her hips. "Why didn't you tell me?" she asked excited.
"Tell you? What?" Pan was confused. What the hell was she talking about?
"Why didn't you tell me that the father of your child is Trunks Briefs?"
Pan's face paled considerably. "What…? How…?"
Angela sat down on the bed in front of the other girl. "Pan, he's here, looking for you… I don't know how, but he knew me…"
Pan's face paled even more, if even possible. "T-Trunks is here?" she stuttered. "On the campus? Did you tell him?"
Angela shook her head. "No, of course not… I told him that I haven't seen you for the last two months. And I think he bought it. But Pan, don't ask me how, but he knew about the child!"
"He knows that I'm pregnant?" Pan asked stunned.
"That's what I said," Angela told her. She looked at her watch and swore something under her breath. "I'm really sorry Pan, but I have to go to class… You know the profs here… I just wanted you to know that Trunks is here, so that you won't go outside and meet him."
"It's okay," Pan said, barely registering, what Angela had said. Too many thoughts were running through her head.
"Okay… I come back immediately after class. Don't do anything stupid as long as I'm gone." With that, Angela left the room. Pan got up from the bed and locked the door, just to be safe, and sat back down on the bed.
The young woman hurried down the corridor. She was already late and her prof would surely kill her, when she's coming much later. Deciding that no one would detain her from getting to her class, she walked around a corner, not realizing that someone came from the other side and bumped directly into him. She fell to the floor. "Shit…" she muttered, "Who had built a brick wall in the middle of the corridor?" At that moment she looked up again, just to see Trunks standing in front of her. "Hey, what are you doing here?" she asked, slightly panicking. Her and Pan's room was just down the next corridor and Pan was still inside!
Trunks looked at her apologizing and helped her up again. "Sorry about that… But I've been looking for you."
Angela felt like she was in a dilemma. It actually seemed like Trunks hadn't bought her story… But maybe he just wanted to ask her to tell him, if she heard something about Pan… Hoping that, Angela finally found the courage to directly look at him. "For me? Why?"
"Angela," Trunks said calmly, not wanting to scare this young woman. "I know that you want to protect Pan and that you're lying for her. But please, I really need to find her. I've come all the way from Japan to say sorry for everything I have said to her and to win her heart back. I don't think that my life would be worth living without her and if you don't do it for me, please do it for Pan and the child. Do you really want her to have the burden to raise this child alone, all by herself? Do you really want Pan to be unhappy, because she would never see her family again? If she doesn't want to come back to me, then please let me talk to her, so that she at least goes home to her family, who could support her."
Angela didn't believe her ears or eyes. He almost pleaded to her to tell him about Pan's whereabouts and his words sounded so honest, as if they came directly from his heart. And the look in his eyes was the most sincere look she had ever seen. "You really love her, don't you?" she asked softly.
"With all my heart," he answered honestly.
The young woman took a deep breath. "Okay, even though Pan would most likely kill me for this… I want her to be happy. She's here, in my room. It's the last one on the right side."
Trunks sighed with relief and pulled the woman into a tight hug. "Thank you… thank you so much…" She was here! Pan was really here!
He let go of her and just wanted to leave, as she stopped him. "Trunks? I hope you two work everything out…"
He just smiled at her and left.
~*~
Trunks. He was here. On the campus. Looking for her.
Why?
Hadn't he told her that he never wanted to see her again? So why was he here now? Was it because of the child? Their child? Most likely.
But how could he know about that? Did Vegeta tell him? It must have been him. The only other persons who knew about the pregnancy were her doctor, who wasn't allowed to tell anyone about her condition, and Takeo. The latter was out of question. Why should a man, whom she had just met by coincidence, go to Capsule Corporation and tell Trunks that she was pregnant? He wouldn't invade in her personal life. And by the way, why should Trunks believe him, a complete stranger? It really must have been Vegeta, even though she thought that she could trust him with this information. But he had obviously abused her trust.
Another question was how he could find her here. With his influence, she was sure that Trunks could easily get the information to where she wanted to go from the airport, but that didn't answer the question, how he knew that she was here, on the campus. And most importantly - How did he know Angela?
No matter how hard Pan thought about that, she couldn't find an answer. Everything was just too confusing.
Suddenly she heard a light knock at the door. "Who is it?" she asked hesitating.
"Pan," came the soft answer, "it's me. Trunks."
Trunks. Pan felt her heartbeat fasten. "Go away!" she said firmly, not moving from the bed, she was still sitting on.
"Pan, please… I need to talk to you… Please, open the door…" he begged.
Gathering all of her courage, Pan got up and walked to the door, her hand resting on the handle for a few seconds, before she unlocked the door. She opened it and took a few steps back, wrapping her arms around the stomach, as if to protect the tiny child that was growing within her. She heard Trunks taking a deep breath, before he came into the room, closing the door again behind him. "What do you want?" she asked, wanting to sound confident, but instead she sounded almost scared.
"I'm here to say sorry," Trunks told her, avoiding her gaze. He suddenly had a huge lump in his throat. "For everything that I've said and done to you in the last few weeks and especially yesterday. It was true Pan, you hurt me, but I had no right to say any of this. Nothing of this was true. I've realized that you are more mature than I'll ever be. You have grown up, Pan. You've become a beautiful, no, I take that back, breathtaking, confident and successful young woman. I don't care if you're name is Pia or Pan. For me, they really are one person." He took another deep breath. "Pan, I'm here to bring you back home, to where you belong. I'm here to ask you for another chance with me. I know I've acted like a complete ass and I hope that you'll ever forgive me. I just want you to be happy. I just want the best for you and your child. Our child, Pan."
"Is that the reason why you're here? Because of the child?" Pan asked, her voice as cold as Trunks' had been in the last three weeks. But she had a hard time to retain this appearance. Trunks had told her that he never wanted to see her again, and yet he was here, asking her for another chance. "You want me back, because I'm carrying your child?"
"No Pan," he said sincerely. "I don't want you back because of the child. He may have been the reason for me to realize that everything I have said to you was wrong, but I'm here because I love you Pan. You mean everything to me. I know now that, without you, something of me is missing. And even if you don't do it for me, do it for your family. They do also love you and they couldn't bear losing you."
"Liar!" she screamed and turned her back to him, biting back the tears that his speech had caused to appear in her eyes.
Trunks grabbed into his pocket, pulled out the small velvet box and went down on one knee. "Pan?" he tried to get her attention.
As Pan heard the soft tone of his voice, she reluctantly turned around. "What…?" she asked surprised, as she saw him in this position.
He then opened the box, just to reveal a silver ring with a sparkling blue diamond. "I've been carrying the box with me for three weeks now. I wanted to propose to you the day you broke up with me. Pan, I ask you to marry me."
"Trunks… I…" Pan didn't know what to say. Her mind was screaming: Don't fall for this! He just wants you because of the child! But her heart said something else. Her heart told her that she still loved this man.
"Shh," he said, as he got up, standing now again in front of her. "You don't need to answer now. Just remember that I love you Pan and that I never want to hurt you again. Never. Please, forgive me what I've done to you. Please, just give me another chance. Please, come back to me…"
"Trunks…" She looked deep into his crystal blue orbs, as a tear was slowly sliding down his cheek. There she could see the sincerity of his words. He meant every single word he had said. He still loved her and he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. But did she feel the same? Could she forgive him? But forgive him for what? For loving her? For reacting the way he did, as he found out about her? It was partly her own fault. She should have told him earlier, as everything began. She had hurt him. And yet he was here.
And he didn't ask her to marry him because of the child, since he had already wanted to ask her three weeks ago. She must've really hurt him that day. She didn't know how she would react, if someone, you plan to marry, suddenly breaks up with you.
Yes, she could forgive him. She could give him another chance. She still loved him and her heart told her that she would never love someone else. "I forgive you…" she said almost in a whisper, but loud enough for Trunks to understand it. "I want to give you another chance, but just if you also forgive me for what I've done…"
"Oh Pan…" he said, the relief evident in his voice. "I've long forgiven you…"
Pan smiled at him, as she also let her tears go. "I love you Trunks and I will come back to you… And I want to spend the rest of my life with you."
"You really want to marry me?" Trunks asked, now confused.
"Yes I do," she answered with a small laugh.
With a huge smile on his face, Trunks took the ring out of the box and slid it on Pan's ring finger. He then wiped her tears away and cupped her cheeks in his hands. "I love you Pan."
"I love you, too, Trunks," Pan said, before their lips met in a soft and gentle kiss, that was full of love.
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Aww, wasn't that romantic? They're finally together again! And no cliffy this time, I think! Yay me!
Please review and tell me, if you liked this chapter.
Eternally yours
ChibiChibi