Two Retirees
Chapter 8
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A/N- Guess what, I'm sick of disclaimers. So there. Stick THAT in your pipe and smoke it! Heh. Just wanted to say that. I just wanna say Thank You to everybody who reviewed my lil story. It's been very motivating. And I haven't gotten a single flame! *crosses fingers* I'm thinking that there will be one or most likely two chapters after this one… which is a lot longer than I was originally planning. I hope you guys continue to enjoy the story as much as you have seemed to so far. I like to think I'm doing a good job. ^^ This may very well be the longest Author's Note I have ever written! But you guys deserved a formal thank you. Well, I do believe I'm done- Onto Chapter 8! *Uzume gallops off into the sunset on her donkey*
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"What is the meaning of this!" Uzume gulped as the head nurse peered into the two bottles of pills that contained Vegeta's and Goku's medicine. The bottles were near full, mostly because the 'patients' were not taking them. "Can you please tell me, Miss Kohjoh, Why these bottles are nearly full, when the label on the bottle tells me that we should be ordering a refill for the both of them?"
"Well, you see… I… what happened is-" Uzume stuttered, her eyes flicking nervously from one spot in the room to another, trying with every ounce of her being to think up an excuse.
"Ma'am. I think I know what happened." Danny appeared in one of the doorways and walked up to both of them.
"Mrs. Kelsey, this does not concern you. Please, go sit down." The head nurse snapped at the elderly woman. Danny scowled and stood her ground.
"I will not let you yell at poor Uzume for something that is not her fault. I think I know what happened." Uzume peeked at Danny from the corner of her eyes, wondering what on Earth the woman was up to. She just knew that Goku had to be involved as well. Maybe even Vegeta. Jeez, these old people were gonna get her thrown in jail!
"Well, then. By all means, please lend us your explanation Mrs. Kelsey." The fat head-nurse sniffed impatiently and stared at Danny, as if to threaten her. Danny, was not a sheep. She stared right back.
"I overheard a couple of the other nurses talking the other day. They thought that the bottles you are holding were empty, as they were not on the shelf. However, Uzume had simply taken the initiative to give out the medicine herself that day and so, you see, she had the bottles. One of the nurses called in an order of new pills, not knowing that Uzume had the original bottles." Uzume looked up at the head-nurse hopefully. She noticed a spike of black hair from behind the wide nurse. Goku! She watched as he slipped two bottles of pills onto the top shelf of the medicine storage and sneak out of the room. 'Please, oh please, oh please buy it… you fat old hag…' Uzume prayed silently.
"Well, I still don't see how that explains why these two bottles are-" The head nurse began. Danny cut her off mid-sentence as soon as she saw that Goku was no longer in the room. 'Thank God this stupid room has two exits.'
"I'm not finished. As I was saying, the nurses started using the freshly ordered pills instead of the old ones. Most likely, they were unaware that there were extra bottles. In a busy place like this, I imagine it's hard to keep track of such things." Danny finished, her face flushed. The head nurse turned and looked through the shelves. She plucked the two bottles from the shelf that Goku had just placed there. "See, I'm sure those bottles are nearly empty. Now please don't harass poor, dear Uzume. She works very hard. And has always taken the greatest care of her patients. I should know. She takes care of me."
"Is this what happened, Miss Kohjoh?" The head nurse asked, looking at Uzume as though she wanted to fry the girl with her very gaze. Uzume nodded quickly. The head nurse looked at one bottle of pills, then the other before scowling once more and placing them all back on the shelf. "Very well, but see to it that no more little 'mix-ups' occur, or I'll have your job, Miss Kohjoh." With that, the nurse brushed past Danny and waddled back into her office.
Danny and Uzume stared at each other in silence before Uzume could take it no longer and ran over to the older woman. They hugged each other, giggling a little.
"You saved my job! Possibly saved me from jail! I think I love you!" They pulled away just as Goku walked in and grabbed Uzume in what could only be described as a bear hug.
"Did it work? It did, didn't it!?" Goku smiled.
"Yes, but it's not gonna matter much if you squeeze the life outta me!" Uzume laughed. Goku finally released her and she looked from Goku to Danny. "How on Earth did you guys manage that?"
"Vegeta's idea. I saw the nurse and knew at once what had happened. I didn't know what to do, I was so worried for you. For once in my life… I was at a complete loss. I told Vegeta what happened and he came up with the idea, just like that." Danny snapped her fingers to emphasize the point.
"You mean he actually let you in his room? He won't even let me go in to check on him." Uzume said.
"Well, no. He didn't even listen at first. But I told him anyway. I think he might've actually been worried about you."
"I've made friends with a couple of the other nurses," Goku said, "They gave me 2 bottles of aspirin after I explained what was happening. I had to sneak into that big lady's office to get the labels for our pills. I coulda been sent to old people prison!" Uzume laughed again and walked out of the storage room with her two friends.
"I'm going to go say thank you to Vegeta." She said and began walking down the hallway to his room. "Thanks so much, you guys!" Uzume called. Goku and Danny looked at each other and frowned.
"She doesn't know…" Danny trailed off. Goku sighed and held Danny's hand.
"You don't know yet, either…" He replied.
***
Vegeta opened his eyes when he heard the knock at his door. He knew it was Uzume… "Coming to say 'thank you'." He said aloud. "You may enter." Uzume slipped into the room, smiling. She clicked the door shut behind her and sat down in a chair next to Vegeta's bed.
"I… just came to say thanks. Danny told me what you did. I really appreciate it."
"You're welcome." He replied, averting his gaze to the window.
"Excuse me? Did you just say 'you're welcome'? 'Cause I thought I heard-" Uzume looked at him, surprised, but still smiling. Vegeta scowled and shook his head.
"Oh, shut-up, woman. We're even now. You helped me save my pride, so I helped you save your job. We'll leave it at that." He coughed a little and rolled over. "Go away… and tell Kakarotto and the other woman to leave me alone for awhile. They keep coming in here." Uzume stood up and placed her arms around Vegeta before he realized what she was doing.
"We're worried about you, that's all. You mean a lot to us, even if you are a crabby ol' man." She withdrew and walked back to the door before he could yell at her. "Just remember that… you'll be very much missed, Vegeta." Vegeta was about to reply with a sarcastic comment about all this 'sentimental rubbish', but Uzume was already gone, and he was alone once more. He sighed and rolled onto his back again as the pain returned. He refused to cry out, though, and allowed the familiar sharp, burning pain to course through his body. As he closed his eyes, a figure appeared to him once more. The same spiky hair, the slight beard… the saiyan armor…
"F-father…" He called to the figure. "Father… I…" The worst of the attack hit him suddenly and he was forced into unconsciousness. "…father…"
***
Goku and Danny were sitting in the entertainment room when Uzume came back to them. She was going to get back to work, but Goku called her over.
"What is it? I have to get back to work, or your brilliant rescue won't mean much…" Goku smiled.
"I know… but I gotta tell you guys something. I know Vegeta won't… but I want you to be prepared." He motioned for Uzume to sit.
"Prepared for… what?" Danny looked at him worriedly.
"Guys… We're not gonna be here much longer. I can tell. Vegeta's been in bed all day, and he wouldn't let that happen unless he was in a lot of pain." He looked at Danny who refused to return his gaze.
"How can you say that?" She asked, staring at the floor. "How can you tell us this? We already knew." She said, almost angrily. Goku shook his head.
"It's not like it was before. We'll be lucky to make it through tomorrow." He said solemnly.
"But you're not having any symptoms." Uzume argued.
"It doesn't hit me until night. I dunno why, but I'm pretty much in that same condition Vegeta is. Maybe it's because I had the disease before… but there's a constant ache…" He rubbed his chest and sighed. "I'm sorry. I didn't wanna make you guys-"
"Stop it… just stop it…" Danny finally looked up at him. "First you have to tell us this, and then you say 'I'm sorry'? Like it's your fault. Do you have to make me feel worse?"
"I didn't mean to…"
"No more. I can't take this. I can't handle losing any more people. My husband is gone… my children… they never visit. I have no one. What will I do without you and Vegeta? I never got to…" Danny drew a shaky breath. "I never got to say…"
"It's okay, Danny… there's still time. And he needs to know now more than ever." Uzume cut her off and briefly hugged the older woman.
"I thought I should tell you." Goku looked at her, his eyes shiny with tears. "I never meant to make you more upset. I just wanted you to know…"
"I know… I'm sorry, Goku… thank you for telling me… us." Danny looked at him and tried to smile, but only managed to make her lips quiver a bit.
"I… I have to get to work…" Uzume said softly and stood. She wasn't crying, but her eyes betrayed the loss she felt already. The two seniors nodded and also stood.
"I'm going to rest awhile…" Danny said and began shuffling miserably down the hallway. Goku stood behind, watching them go.
"It's always like this…" he said to himself and sat back down on the couch. "Why does dyin' gotta be so tough…"
***
A/N- Well, it just gets worse and worse doesn't it? This chapter was the result of boredom, and once again… it was awful. My writing seems to be deteriorating or something. *sigh* Anyway, review with your comments and suggestions. I pretty much know how I want the ending scene to be, but if you've got any ideas I'll take them into consideration before I write it. ^_~ Ja ne!
