Chapter 23: Welcome home, Pan
************************************************************************************
Woah, what a weird dream! was Pan's first thought as she slowly started to wake up. First Angela telling her that Trunks was on the campus and that he knew of the child, Trunks and her making up, he proposing to her, she saying yes, going outside, seeing two Vegetas and then finding out that the Vegeta-look-alike with Trunks' eyes was Takeo and her grown-up son! Must have been the huge amounts of junk food from the last night… Yeah, that must have been it! Otherwise she wouldn't have a dream like this.
It was a dream, wasn't it?
Somehow hoping at the same time that it was and wasn't a dream, she expanded her senses to feel if there was someone else in her room. And there was… She could feel Trunks, Vegeta, Goten, Bra and Bulma. So, maybe the first part of the dream wasn't a dream. But what about the second part? She couldn't feel any other ki in the room.
"Pan?" she suddenly heard Trunks asking her softly and felt a hand gently stroking through her hair, "Are you awake?"
Okay, there was just one way to find out, if the second part was a dream! Carefully Pan opened her eyes and the first person she saw was Trunks leaning over her with a concerned look on his face. Sitting up, she scanned the room and found the same persons she already felt, plus one, staring at her expectantly. Her eyes rested on the person of whom she couldn't feel the ki. It was the Vegeta-look-alike with Trunks' eyes. Takeo… Her son.
Okay, no dream, Pan decided.
Suddenly one thought hit her, as the memory slowly started to come back to her and she let herself fall back on the bed, her hands covering her face. Oh no, please… no! "Please don't tell me that I fainted…" she mumbled, not daring to open her eyes.
With her eyes closed she of course couldn't see the smirk that crept on both Trunks' and Vegeta's face. "I'm sorry to disappoint you, Pan. But you did," Trunks informed her. "But come on, it isn't that bad. You could say that I was kind of shocked, too, as I found out about Takeo. It doesn't happen everyday that your grown-up son from the future suddenly stands in front of you…"
Scowling Pan removed her hands and sat back up. "Shut up, Trunks." She swung her legs over the side of the bed and got up, walking over to Takeo, who began to squirm under her gaze. Knowing her and mostly being her son for about 25 years he knew better than to mess with his mother when she's in this mood. "So, Takeo… And you are really my son?" she asked one more time, just to make sure.
Takeo nodded slowly, expecting some kind of angry outburst. "Yes… mom." He looked up, just to see that his mother's face had softened and that a tear was rolling down her cheek. "Mom?" he asked confused.
Suddenly something happened that no one in the room had expected. Pan threw herself at Takeo and wrapped her arms around him, sobbing into his shoulder. "My baby boy is all grown-up! And he has become so handsome!"
"Euh, mom?" Takeo was confused, no more than that. He almost felt… helpless. In his time he sometimes had to comfort his mother, but then he usually knew what to say. But this situation was so different… Well, there was always one thing he could do. He raised his hand and gently patted on her back, throwing his father a 'what-shall-I-do-now?' look.
Vegeta just shook his head at this scene and rolled his eyes. "Hormones…" he muttered under his breath, causing Goten and Trunks to snicker and Pan jerking her head up.
She let go of her son and stomped over to Vegeta, poking with her finger in his chest, once again the scowl on her face. "What did you say?" she asked through her clenched teeth.
Instinctively Vegeta gulped and took a step back, what caused Trunks and Goten to break out in laughter. He had almost forgotten what better not to do or to say to a pregnant woman with her deathly mood swings. But those mood swings seemed to be much worse with women, who were expecting part-Saiyajins. Please Dende, don't let her stay at Capsule Corporation, he silently prayed. As the laughter didn't stop, he glared at his son and his son's best friend. "Brat, remember. It's your mate. You have to live with her for the next eight months," he said smirking.
From one moment to another Trunks stopped laughing and his face went ghostly pale. "No…" he stuttered, "Dad, don't tell me that she will be like this the whole time…" As his father nodded, Trunks just wiped with one hand over his face.
"What are you talking about?" Pan almost yelled. "And you Goten stop laughing!" That shut him up.
"Uhm… Pan…" Bulma soothingly put her hand on Pan's shoulder. She knew how it is to deal with this, since she had gone through the same two times. And she knew that those mood swings weren't pretty for the others around her. "Why don't you sit down and then we'll talk about what we'll do now?"
At that moment the door was thrown open and Angela walked in, totally unprepared and just stopped dead in her tracks as she saw all those people. "Sorry, do I disturb you? I can go again, if you…"
"No, no," Pan said smiling and pulled her back inside. "We just wanted to talk about what we'll do now. Angela, you know already Trunks, and those are Bulma Briefs, her husband Vegeta, their daughter Bra, my uncle Goten and Takeo."
"Hi!" Angela waved at them and then leaned over to Pan. "I must say… This Takeo is really cute," she whispered in her ear.
With his sensitive Saiyajinhearing Takeo, as well as all the other Saiyajins, heard that of course and started to blush furiously. Angela saying that he was cute? She's not the Angela of your timeline, he thought, trying to reassure himself that 'aunt Angela' would never try to hit on him.
"So," Angela then stated. "I see that you all are still alive and that you all seem to be happy. I take it you and Trunks made up?"
"You're right. But there's also more." Pan grinned and showed her her left hand, where the engagement ring was sitting.
The other young woman squealed with delight and stared intensely at the ring. "Oh my god! He proposed to you? And then you still want to talk about what you shall do now? There's no way you'll stay here any longer, girl! You'll go home with Trunks and if I have to charter a plane and drag you to the airport. And that as soon as possible!"
"I don't think that you'll have to charter a plane, Angela," Pan told her. "I think that Trunks came with this private jet, right?"
"That's right." Trunks smiled at her. "You can come home whenever you want."
"Great!" Angela clapped her hands in excitement and then rushed over to the closet, mumbling something incoherent about being so happy for Pan and so on…
Pan just sighed as she saw her friend in action. She knew she couldn't stop her from packing her clothes. Once Angela had decided something there was no way to keep her from doing it. And now she had decided that Pan should go home as soon as possible and no one would be able to change her mind. And with this person she had lived seven years together in one room… Well, that was just Angela…
Not even ten minutes later Angela had finished packing Pan's clothes and had encapsulated the bag. She now stood in front of all of them, her hands on her hips, totally oblivious to the stares she was receiving. "Okay, Mr. Briefs! Where's your car, so that we can get little Panny here to the airport and home?"
"It's standing in the parking lot of the campus," Trunks answered and before he could say something else, Angela had already left, dragging Pan behind her. Shrugging he turned to the others. "I guess that the question when we will leave is answered."
~*~
Not even two hours later they were on the plane to Japan, waiting for it to take off. Angela had dragged her to the airport, literally, not allowing her to contradict. And after Trunks had talked to his pilot, there was a teary saying goodbye in the hall between her and Angela. Angela had wished her good luck and even told her that she would always be welcome if things with Trunks didn't work out. That, she had said winking, because she was sure that the love between her best friend and Trunks would hold. They've promised to visit each other and Pan had told her they would see each other again at the wedding. As it was finally time to go onto the plane, the two friends hugged each other one last time, both crying and Angela had waved the whole time, until they were on the plane.
Pan absently stared out of the window. This had gone faster than she had imagined it would. Hadn't she just left her home one day ago, swearing that she would never come back? And yet, here she was. On the plane to her home. Was she already ready for this? Was she ready to face her family after this huge lie? Trunks had told her that her family couldn't bear loosing her. But they sure would be disappointed of her. Especially her father… So, how should she react when she saw them? How would they react when they saw her? She had no idea… And that scared her.
Trunks, who was sitting next to her in the plane, sensed her fears and took her hand, squeezing it gently. She looked up at him and he smiled at her. Don't worry, Pan, he told her through the bond. They love you and they would never want to hurt you. Didn't I tell you that I just said nonsense yesterday? They will never be disappointed in you, Pan. They will be happy to see you again.
Takeo watched, as his mother smiled back at his father and rested her head on his shoulder, while his father was putting his arm around her, pulling her closer. His heart made a small jump. His mission in this timeline was over. His parents were together again and this love-story will have a happy-end, like in all the movies. And unlike the love-story in his time. In his time his mother was still living separated from his father. In his time his father didn't know that he had a son. But maybe there was still hope for them. He just had to find a way to let them talk to each other…
~*~
Pan must've fallen asleep, because she hadn't even noticed as the plane landed. First as Trunks shook her lightly, she woke up again. Still a bit sleepy, she followed them all outside into a car, which would bring them to the farther outskirt of Satan City, where her parents and grandmother were living. After her grandfather had died, her parents had moved there, so that they would all be closer and wouldn't live in the middle of nowhere anymore, even though the closest neighbors still lived about one mile away from them.
Hesitating Pan got out of the car and looked at the house. It hadn't changed at all, as well as the garden. Pan couldn't believe that she had not once been there in the last weeks to take a look at it. Everything looked well tended and a familiar warmth radiated from it. But still, Pan was scared. No matter what Trunks had said, there was still something nagging in the back of her mind that her parents would be angry to see her. That they would have been happier, if she stayed away. Trunks walked up to her, while the rest remained in the background and put a hand on her shoulder. "I'm scared, Trunks…" she admitted in a whisper.
"I already told you that you don't have to be," he tried to comfort her. "You should go now. They will be happy, I swear."
Pan nodded slightly and took a step forward…
~*~
Gohan, Videl and ChiChi were sitting in the living room, reading or watching TV, all waiting tensed for some news of Trunks, as suddenly Gohan's head jerked up. This ki… It's…
"Gohan, honey, are you okay?" his wife asked worried.
"Pan's back," he whispered disbelieving.
"Are you sure?" ChiChi wanted to know.
Her son nodded. "I can feel her ki. It's here… She's outside."
"Outside as in 'in front of our house - outside'?" Videl asked.
The only thing Gohan could do was nod and then quickly got up, followed by his wife and mother and opened the door, just to see everyone standing there. And in front of all of them were Trunks and … "Pan!"
Pan just wanted finally to go to the door, as it was opened and she saw her parents and her grandmother standing there. She looked to the ground and heard her father calling her name. She forced herself to look up again. She was afraid of seeing anger and disappointment on their faces, but to her surprise they were smiling. She felt tears in her eyes, when her parents walked up to her. "Mom? Dad?"
"Oh Pan…" Videl said and took her daughter in her arms. "You're back… you're finally back…" She also let her tears running free. After seven years she finally held her daughter again in her arms.
Gohan watched patiently the mother-daughter-reunion. He looked over to Trunks and smiled at him. This man had kept his promise. He had brought his daughter back. He then looked back at his family. Pan and Videl had stopped hugging each other and his daughter was now turned to him.
"Daddy?" she asked uncertainly, not knowing what to do.
But she didn't need to do anything, because her father was already hugging her. "Welcome home, Pan…" he mumbled, while stroking through her hair.
************************************************************************************
Yay! Another chapter is finished! And I just got good news for you (not really for me)! I have tomorrow the whole day to write. Normally I should have gone to Hamburg, because we should have a concert with the choir I'm singing in there, but it was canceled. Would have been fun there, but I can't change it… Maybe with this extra day, I might be able to finish this story within the next week, but I'm still not sure…
Whatever, I hope you liked this chapter!!!
Eternally yours
ChibiChibi