A/N:                Hehe, thanks again for the reviews! I really don't know what I would do without you! Thanks a lot!

@ Majin Pan and Rini Sayian-jin: Well, I honestly have no idea how long this story will be… But I can tell you that it deal with, well, what had already happened (I mean the time before Takeo was born in this time, namely the previous nine or so chapters) and will go until the party twenty-five years later… Did that answer your questions?

But now, on with the story!

Chapter 10: Takeo

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It was a beautiful Tuesday morning on April 6, about nine months after that one fateful and passionate night two bonded souls have spent with each other and – though unconsciously – conceived a small yet unborn baby. It was still early, but the streets were already full of people hurrying to busses, metros, their work and so on and honking cars, which were trying to find their way through the busy streets of LA. Among the colorful mix of cars was found one black limousine, a sight which itself was not that unusual in the City of Angels. Behind the tinted windows in the back of the limo a young man was sitting, talking to someone on his cell phone.

"Yes, the dinner went well last night," the young man, no one else than the lavender-haired heir of the multimillion dollar empire of Capsule Corporation Trunks Vegeta Briefs, said, while looking over some notes on his notebook that was lying in his lap. "The investors were all quite interested in our new product. They all heard rumors about it and wanted me to tell them, what it exactly is." After waiting for the person on the other end to answer, he laughed. "Don't worry, mom! I didn't tell them. I just put them off until today… No, I'm not tired. Have you already forgotten that we Saiyajins don't know something like jetlag?" Wincing lightly, he had to hold the cell phone away from his ear, when the voice of his mother reached new heights during her tirade about how her son was getting more and more like his father every day. As if wanting to prove this theory of his mother's, a smirk that resembled pretty much his father's appeared on his face. He let her go on like this for a few minutes, before he decided that it was probably time to interrupt her. Besides he had been the one to call her and a long distance call over a cell phone wasn't that cheap – not that he really cared anyway. "Mom? Mom! Please, it's okay, okay? The conference starts at nine o'clock and we'll be there in a couple of minutes. Okay, I'll call again, once the conference is over. Bye!"

Trunks sighed, when he pushed a button on the phone and let it slip back into the inside pocket of his dark blue Armani suite, and ran a hand through his hair. As much as he loved his mother he really couldn't help but feel sorry for his father that he had to put up with her moods day in and day out. But sometimes he really felt grateful to have a mother like her. Just like in these days. His mother had been the one who had nearly dragged him out of his office back in Satan City and put him into a plane to LA with a short instruction of what he had to do. She was worried about him – just like other mothers worry about their kids – despite the fact that he was already nearing the age of forty. Well, he couldn't really blame her. The office seemed to have become his second home since… He shook his head, trying to get rid of that thought. There were now more important things he had to think about – for example the presentation.

Whatever, his mother had told him to go to LA to present the new invention of CC, a new kind of capsules, which were about half the size of the old ones, meaning about half the size of a thumb, but were yet able to store about twice more than the old capsules were built for. This and they were 100% recyclable. And here he was now on his way to the actual presentation after he had dinner with the investors the night before and he didn't regret coming here. Though being in LA, a place that should remind him of …her… constantly, he found it relaxing to get out of his office and mingle again with some other people. First now he noticed how much he had missed this kind of contact or contact to others in general. Maybe when he was home again, he should try to get out some more. He had avoided crowds of people ever since his speech on TV, but everything had calmed down. Journalists have found other people to bug and he was slowly getting to the point to give up with his search. When …she… didn't want to be found, he wouldn't be able to find …her. It had been like this in the past, so why shouldn't it be like this now?

~*~

At the same time not that far away, in the outskirts of LA the woman in question was standing in the kitchen, busy with making breakfast for the elderly couple she was living with. Her belly had swollen to the size of a football, but that didn't bother her at all. Many women in her state complain about backaches and so on, but with her being part Saiyajin her pain tolerance was much higher and she just felt a small pinch in her back or when the boy in her belly decided that he needed some attention and voiced this with a kick. Her shoulder-length jet-black hair was tied up into a loose ponytail, which was swaying back on forth, while she was standing at the stove, the whole time humming with the radio that was quietly playing.

"Mmh, what's this delicious smell?" a female voice asked her.

She turned her head and smiled at the elderly woman, who was standing in the doorframe. "Good morning, Beth. I'm making breakfast."

Elisabeth Crawford sighed exasperated. "Pan, how often do I have to tell you that you don't have to do this? Especially not in your condition!"

"Don't worry about me. You seem to forget that I'm a Saiyajin and can do more than other people. Besides, with moving in I've agreed to help you with the chores, and I think making breakfast belongs to them," Pan reassured her.

"Listen to her, Beth." An elderly man appeared in the doorway, putting a hand on his wife's shoulder. "Well, what's for breakfast?"

"What about scrambled eggs for the beginning?"

"Sounds good," Arthur Crawford answered and gently pushed his wife towards the kitchen table. Pan lifted the frying pan from the stove and, too, walked up to the table, filling the plates on it. After she put the pan into the sink, she wiped her hands in her blue dungarees, which looked way too large on her tiny body, and joined the couple at the table.

Pan was happy. Yes, despite the whole circumstances, she was happy. She really loved living with the Crawford's. They have become a family to her – her new family, though they could never replace her old one. Even though she would most likely never see them again, they would always have a special place in her heart. Pan loved her job and just dropped out of it two weeks ago, when her direct superior, Lindsay's husband Josh, nearly had to order her to finally take her maternity leave. Though she didn't understand why, she followed his 'order', because she had no problems with working whatsoever and the small fact that at this time there was still one week left until she was due didn't bother her. 

But now that she was home for two weeks already she couldn't wait to go back to work, for Mrs. Crawford was always fussing around her, doing everything to make her feel comfortable. Sure, for a few days it was surely nice, but it was slowly starting to annoy her. First of all she wasn't a little kid anymore and secondly she was just pregnant, even if she was now one week over her due date, and not almost dead. Elisabeth sometimes reminded her of her father, when she was like this – overprotective.

After breakfast Pan got up and gathered the dishes, but was stopped by Elisabeth. "Pan, please let me do this…"

She sighed and reluctantly sank back down on her chair. "Okay…. Oww!" she suddenly hissed.

"Pan, are you okay dear?" the elderly woman asked worried. "Has something happened?"

"I'm okay… Either this was just my boy wanting attention again, though he never kicks that hard, or my first contraction…" Pan told her, gently rubbing her back. This really hurt a bit more than when her baby hit her and the pain was somehow different. So maybe it was really time…

"Your first contraction? Oh dear, we have to get you to a hospital…" Elisabeth immediately wanted to leave the kitchen, but Pan's voice held her back.

"Hey, calm down… I'm not even sure about this. I don't want to make everyone crazy if this is just a false alarm. So let's just wait a bit, okay?" She sounded calm, but inwardly her calm slowly started to disappear. In all those months she had never been the one to be worried, but now that it actually could be happening, she was getting nervous. She got up again from the chair, but as soon as she took the first step, she suddenly felt that something wasn't quite right and at the next moment her trousers were drenched wet. "Oops…"

"Oh god, Pan…" Mrs. Crawford mumbled and then turned to Arthur, who was still sitting at the table, now with wide eyes. "Arth, get Pan's bag and the car, now! We have to get her to the hospital! And don't forget some dry clothes for her!"

Suddenly completely immobilized by the sudden shock and surprise that this was the day, she watched how Arthur just nodded and quickly left the room. Not even a minute later, he was back down, holding a duffle bag in one hand and some clothes in the other hand. Elisabeth took the extra clothes and reminded him again to get the car, before she shooed him out of the kitchen. It seemed for Pan like she was just watching all of this from another perspective. She noticed that she was changing into dry clothes, but wasn't really there with her thoughts. Her mind was just running wild with thoughts like 'It's time!' and mixed feelings about this whole thing. She was suddenly nervous as hell but still excited. Just at this moment Pan completely forgot about something she had always – if not really consciously – thought about keeping up. At this moment, where her mind was just able to concentrate on the matter at hand, she forgot about the bond and therewith about the mental barrier…

~*~

In the meantime Trunks was already at the conference and after the formal greeting and having given the information everyone had wanted to hear so badly, he was now presenting the new capsules to them. The investors didn't remove his eyes from the front, while he was explaining the exact functions of the capsules with some background information then and there. A blueprint was thrown at the white screen behind the speaker's desk and Trunks was showing them small technical finenesses, when he suddenly felt a small pain in his back. He hesitated for a moment, earning questioning looks from the investors, but after saying sorry, he continued, thinking that this small pain was nothing.

So he wasn't prepared when another, sharper pain suddenly washed over him about ten minutes later. He winced lightly, but after taking a few deep breaths, the pain was gone. "Are you okay, sir?" one man of the audience asked.

"Yeah, sorry about that… But excuse me please, I'll be back in a few minutes…" Murmurs went through the crowd, when Trunks left the speaker's desk and left the room. He saw a sign at the wall showing the way to the bathrooms and he followed them. Once being there he splashed some water in his face, while trying to find out what could be wrong with him. He hadn't been sparring with anyone lately, so it couldn't be an injury. After waiting for two more minutes, he returned back to the conference room, where everyone was already waiting for him. "I'm sorry for letting you wait, but now we can con…" A loud grunt emitted from his throat, when he felt another pain, this time much stronger than the previous two. His hand held tightly onto the desk, so that he wouldn't sink down on his knees, but breaking it in the course of doing so. The pain was that strong.

Some of the investors jumped up, when the President of CC sank down on his knees, and ran up to him, and eventually one of them pulled out his cell phone to call an ambulance, since obviously something wasn't right with Trunks Briefs.

The paramedics arrived just a few minutes later and found Trunks sitting on a chair, heavily gesturing with his arms, exclaiming again and again that he was okay, that it was nothing and that they could continue the presentation as planned. With him being just like his father in matters like this, it took the paramedics a lot of convincing to at least give him an once-over to make sure that he was speaking the truth. One of them was just taking his pulse, when he noticed how it considerably fastened and at the next moment their patient doubled over in agony. Quick and well coordinated commands were thrown through the conference room and soon, after the pain had again subsided a bit, Trunks found himself on a stretcher, rolling through the corridors of the building until they arrived outside and heaved it into the ambulance.

~*~

The drive to the hospital was uneventful, despite the few contractions Pan had while they were on the way. Mr. Crawford stopped the car directly in front of the main entrance, telling his wife and Pan to get inside, while he would look for a parking lot. The two women complied and left the car, Mrs. Crawford helping the young woman inside, where they stopped in front of a desk. The nurse there immediately understood the situation, handed the older woman a few forms to fill out, and after calling someone on a phone told them to sit down for a few minutes and wait for someone to bring Miss Shen to the delivery room.

"A few minutes?" the once so calm Pan called now out exasperated. "I'm in freaking labor and you expect me to sit down and wait for a few minutes?"

"Miss Shen," the nurse said comfortingly, well knowing the mood of a woman in labor. "I understand your urgency, but believe me, those few minutes won't make a difference. Mrs. Crawford told me that the time between your contractions is still five minutes, so no need to hurry."

"You're sure about that?"

The nurse smiled reassuringly. "I'm sure. Sit down and relax and I'll promise that someone will come for you pretty soon. We just have another emergency that has to be taken care of and after that a doctor will come to you…"

Still not completely convinced, but accepting that she had to wait, she walked over to a chair and sat down. Elisabeth joined her and put a hand on her shoulder. "Can I leave you for a minute? I just want to call Angela… I'm sure she wants to be here. I'm sure Arthur will always be here any minute."

"It's okay…" Pan tried to smile. "I'll be okay for a few minutes. Please tell Angela that she also has to call Lindsay. She must be at the office right now."

"Fine… I'll be back in a few…"

Pan sighed, gently rubbing her now hurting back. She had never thought that giving birth would be that painful. And this was just the beginning. She truly wondered how other, non-Saiyajin women could go through this…

A few minutes later, Arthur had arrived in the meantime and Elisabeth was back from making the call, a nurse came up to Pan, pushing a wheelchair. "Miss Shen?" Pan looked up when hearing 'her' name. "I'm Betty. I'll bring you to the delivery room."

~*~

Trunks had no idea what was wrong with him. There were moments when everything was okay and then there were moments when he almost couldn't bear the pain. The ambulance had arrived at the nearest hospital and he had been brought to a room, were a doctor was now examining him. Right now was one of the moments, where everything was just fine. He tried to tell that the doctor, but the latter didn't want to know about it. So he just leaned back, slowly starting to accept that he wouldn't be able to finish the conference today.

"Well Mr. Briefs," the doctor said. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say that the pain you feel are contractions…"

"Yeah, right," Trunks answered, chuckling lightly. He did not once think about the possibility that it indeed could be, but that it wasn't him who was in labor but the person he was connected to. He had not once been able to feel her, so why thinking about this option now?

"To be blunt, I have no idea what causes this pain, but we'll keep you here under surveillance." The doctor looked back at the notes he had made and then closed the folder. "Call a nurse, when you need anything. I'll come to check on you in 30 minutes again."

"Okay, doctor…" Trunks answered and watched the doctor leave the room without closing the door, so that he had full view of what was going on outside. Groaning he rubbed his eyes, pondering about the thought when the gods have turned against him. First when he thought that everything was going to be alright, something like this had to happen of course. "Why me…" he whined, still with his eyes closed. He first opened them again, when he heard voices outside and saw a wheelchair being pushed past the door by a nurse, with an elderly woman and man walking next to it, blocking his view to the occupant of the chair. They had almost passed by, when he thought he saw some jet-black hair and heard an eerily familiar chuckle. Great, he thought, now I'm also hallucinating.

He didn't even get the chance to think further, when he again felt another 'contraction' begin.

~*~

"Relax," the nurse told Pan. "The pain will be over soon. Just remember to breathe…" They were now close to the delivery room, when Pan had another contraction, more painful than the last one. Another nurse, who was already waiting for them, opened the door, so that Betty could push the wheelchair with Pan inside, where a middle-aged, dark haired doctor was standing next to the bed.

"Miss Shen, my name is Dr. Stevens. Dr. Hunt unfortunately reported sick today. She had caught some nasty flue. Because of this I'll be the one to deliver your small baby boy," he told her smiling. "Well, now would you please lay down in this bed?" He helped Pan up and she did as she was asked. "Good, does the father already know that your in labor?"

"There is no father," Mrs. Crawford decided to say, before Pan had to do it. She knew how hard it was for Pan to talk about it.

The doctor was a bit taken aback, but though surprised not really shock. It happened way to often for his taste that young women like her come to him in this condition and tell him exactly that. He still couldn't understand how cruel someone could be leaving the woman to take care of the baby that was also his responsibility. "Okay, I understand. But I have to ask you to leave this room until everything is prepared," he said directed at the elderly woman. "A nurse will come out and tell you when you, or someone else could come inside again." Elisabeth nodded and gave Pan's hand one last reassuring squeeze before she left the room. "Okay, Miss Shen. Are you ready to help your baby boy see the light of day?"

~*~

Hours passed. Angela had arrived in the meantime and Pan, who had been waiting for her and therefore having been able to feel her ki outside the room, had immediately asked her as her friend to stay at her side during this. It was already nearing evening, when also Lindsay and her husband Josh arrived together with Emily at the hospital. Both Lindsay and Josh did know about Pan being part-Saiyajin, but Josh was still in the dark about who the father of the child was.

The whole time Lindsay was pacing up and down, worried and at the same time excited that it was finally time, while Emily was sitting on the lap of her brown-haired stepfather. Next to the man and the child the elderly couple was sitting, just as nervous as the rest of them. Every time, when someone opened the door to the delivery room all eyes looked up expectantly, but every time just a nurse came out to get something.

They had almost given up hope, when someone was again opening the door and the only one who raised her head was Emily, who just got a huge smile on her face, when she saw that this time it wasn't a nurse coming out but Angela beaming at them. "Angela!" she called out excitedly, getting the attention of everyone else.

Angela saw them looking at her with those big and expectantly eyes and couldn't help but chuckle. "Everything and everyone is okay," she told them. "Pan just gave birth to a small boy. She asked me to get you, all of you."

There was a lot hustle and bustle, as everyone stood up and eagerly walked past Angela through the door into the delivery room, where they found a tired looking Pan sitting in the bed, holding a small bundle in her arms. From one moment to another the bed was surrounded by curious eyes, all wanting to catch a glimpse of the boy and commenting about how cute, beautiful and tiny he was, but not once saying anything about the tiny tail the boy had, since Pan had already warned them that this could most likely happen. The new mother just smiled at them and at her son, the pain and shock she had experienced already completely forgotten and therewith the previous unconsciously dropped mental barrier again unconsciously put up, before Lindsay asked the question everyone had in their heads.

"Have you already decided on a name?" she asked.

Pan nodded. "I want to name him Takeo Vegeta. Takeo is Japanese and means 'strong as bamboo' and Vegeta is the name of his grandfather and my mentor." She looked again at the small baby in her arms, not believing that he was the product of that one passionate night, when he opened his eyes and she could catch a look of them for the first time since the birth. Her heart skipped a beat. They were blue, crystal blue. A tear ran down her cheek. Her son had his father's eyes.

"Are you okay?" Angela now wanted to know.

"Yeah, just a bit tired, I guess…" she answered sleepily.

"You should leave now. Miss Shen needs her rest," the nurse, Betty, said and walked up to the bed, scooting Takeo up in her arms and shooing Pan's friends out of the room, so that the mother could be transferred to another room and get some well-earned sleep.

~*~

Trunks was slowly thinking he was going crazy. This couldn't be normal! The whole day he had been in pain, first in larger intervals, which got shorter with almost each passing minute and in the end almost constantly. He was just not a mystery for himself, but also for the doctors. They examined him over and over again, checked everything, but they couldn't find a reason for this pain. They didn't even dare to give him a sedative.

But then, after hours, the pain subsided slowly and was replaced by an incredible sleepiness. He suddenly felt as if he had sparred with his father for hours nonstop and wanted nothing more than falling asleep.

And then, suddenly, everything was gone. The pain, the sleepiness, everything. From one second to another he felt like he hadn't moved a finger the whole day. Stunned by this he abruptly sat up, startling the nurses and doctors in the room. He looked at his hands in disbelieve and then around the room. What the hell was going on here?

"Mr. Briefs? Are you okay?" one of the doctors asked him worriedly.

"I am…" he said, still completely and utterly stunned. He didn't know where the sudden change came from, but he knew that he didn't want to spend a minute longer in this hospital than necessary and somehow even that those attacks were over. Much to the other occupants' surprise, he got out of the bed and began to unfold his clothes on it, which he fully intended to change against this pretty much revealing hospital gown they had put him into.

"Mr. Briefs! What are you doing?" another doctor exclaimed horrified at seeing a patient who had been in almost constant incredible pain the whole time, getting up like nothing had ever happened.

"I'm getting dressed and then I'm going back into my hotel. I'm now feeling completely fine again and I'm going to leave. On my own responsibility of course," he added quickly, when he saw that again one of the doctors wanted to say something. "Please, I somehow have this feeling that this is over, but if it occurs again I'll give you a call. Would you now please leave the room, so that I can change clothes in private?"

"Of course," one doctor agreed reluctantly and walked out of the room, followed by the rest of the present hospital staff.

After getting dressed, he left the room and walked past the doctors who have tried to help him the whole day. "Mr. Briefs…" one of them said again. "Don't you want to think your decision over?"

"Don't worry about me. I really don't know what has been wrong with me, but I assure you again that I'm feeling completely fine. But thank you for taking care of me today." He smiled at them one last time and then walked down the corridor, following the signs to the elevator. To get there he found out he had to go through the baby ward, and just shook his head, when he remembered again the words of the doctor. If I didn't know any better, I'd say that the pain you feel are contractions. Yeah right, and there would be a time, when his father is finally able to beat Goku in a sparring match.

Trunks suddenly stopped dead in his tracks and looked to his right side, where a couple of newborn babies were lying in their beds in a room behind a glass wall. He just threw a quick glance at them, when it happened. Blue met blue. His own eyes locked with the ones of one of the babies. He couldn't remove them from him. He couldn't move. Something was keeping him there, but he couldn't tell what. Time seemed to freeze for the moment being. He lost contact to the world around him – the blue eyes of this small child having him enthralled. A subconscious smile appeared on his lips, when the child's eyes squeezed shut and the mouth opened to a deep yawn. He didn't know this child, but still it touched him deeply to see something like this.

He first jerked out of this enchanted moment, when he felt a hand on his shoulder. "May I congratulate?" he heard a male voice asking.

"What?" He looked up in surprise to see a man about as large and old as him with brown hair standing next to him. "Uhm, no… I just… I just passed by…" he stuttered. "What about you?" he finally asked. "Is there something to congratulate to?"

"No, no!" the young man said laughing. "I'm just here with a friend. She has given birth to a baby boy today. It's the one over there."

He followed his eyes to the bed the young man pointed to – the bed where the same black-haired and blue-eyed child was lying in that had put this thrall on him just seconds ago. "I see…"

"His name is Takeo…"

"Takeo," he mumbled thoughtfully. "Strong as bamboo."

The brown-haired man nodded. "Well, I think I'll go now again to my friend. I just wanted to see if her son was alright. Goodbye."

"Goodbye," Trunks said absently, again looking at the boy. He stood there for another minute or so, before he could finally get himself to leave.

But if he had stayed there just one minute longer, he would have seen a tiny brown tail uncurl itself from under the blanket and then a nurse come inside, putting a nametag at the bed, which read: Takeo Vegeta Shen.

~*~

Josh was already on his way back from the baby nursery, when he suddenly spotted a magazine lying on a table, on which cover he saw the head of a man, who he had just talked to. "What?" he asked confused, trying to recall the face of the man in front of the nursery and comparing it to the one on the cover. "I can't believe it… Why didn't I…?" He shook his head and quickly resumed his way to Pan's new room, where he found Lindsay and Angela sitting outside, with Emily sleeping with her head on her mother's lap. The Crawfords have already gone home, since this day had also been pretty exhausting for them. "You'll never believe whom I just saw a minute ago!" he exclaimed excitedly.

"Shh…" Angela said, pointing to the small girl.

"Sorry," Josh whispered, but still as excited as before. "But you wouldn't believe when I tell you. I just met Trunks Briefs in front the baby nursery."

Lindsay and Angela exchanged shock looks. "You did what?" his wife asked him, though she had understood him.

"Did you talk to him?" Angela wanted to know, cutting Josh off, before he could even answer his wife's question.

"Just for a short moment. I've shown him Takeo."

The eyes of the two women were now as big as saucers. "Please, honey, tell me that you didn't tell him the name of Takeo's mother."

"Don't worry, I didn't." Suddenly his brows furrowed. "Why exactly are you so worried?"

"Listen," the other woman now said. "Don't ever tell Pan that you've seen, met or talked to Trunks here in LA, understood?"

"Okay, but why?" With each answer Josh got he just got more confused.

"Because," Lindsay said. "Trunks Briefs is the father of Takeo."

"Oh," Josh was just able to say, before he continued, "You knew this and didn't tell me? Oh god… What if I told him? I could never forgive myself for that… God…"

"Don't worry, hon. Nothing bad has happened. Just remember that you never mention this to Pan. We don't want her to get worked up because of this…"

"You can count on me," her husband promised and gave her a small kiss on the cheek. "I won't tell."

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Whoo, long chapter… Okay, it's late and I just want to reread this chapter so that there aren't any big mistakes and then I just want to go to bed!

Eternally yours

ChibiChibi