Disclaimer: Not mine.

Helpless 11

Somewhere else

Trunks waited impatiently for Marron the next morning, eager to be out of the houseboat and back in the real world for a little while. He was looking forward to their outing with more excitement than any other time he could remember.

Marron was refreshing company. A little too bossy at times, definitely too concerned with his private life, and she tended to hit a sensitive button now and again with her blunt observations, but he had the impression she genuinely cared about his welfare, and that was rare.

He was willing to overlook her irritating habit of lecturing him on his depraved lifestyle. He enjoyed sparring with her, especially when one of his teasing remarks produced a hot blush - something else he didn't see too often. More than anything, he enjoyed the relaxation of being with her.

She was open and honest, and he knew that she was not in the least bit interested in him personally. He was a client, and if she was going above and beyond the call of duty in taking care of him, it was because of her dedication to a fellow human being in trouble. She'd made that crystal clear.

And if that smarted him just a little, it was his pride that was affected, nothing more. He was used to women fawning all over him, and it was a nice change not to have to deal with that.

Having convinced himself of that, he waited eagerly at the window until he saw her scurrying through the rain holding a large umbrella over her head.

"It's really pouring down," she said breathlessly as she bounced through the door, shaking raindrops from her hair like a playful terrier. "I got soaked before I could get the umbrella up."

"I've coffee on," Trunks said, feeling incredibly happy to see her. "Let's have a cup before we leave."

She peered up at him from beneath her straight bangs. "Have you eaten breakfast?"

He shook his head sheepishly. "I didn't feel like eating. I was too anxious to get going. This will be the first time I've been outside this place in a week."

She heaved a sigh of exasperation. "You have to eat before you go out. That's the best way to catch a cold, going out on an empty stomach. Sit down and I'll fix you some eggs." She stood the umbrella in the sink and slipped out of her coat.

Watching her, he felt suddenly out of breath. Up until now she'd worn loose dresses or tops with long skirts. Today she wore a pink T-shirt tucked into tight-fitting jeans. He'd been right about her figure. Her curves were softly rounded in just the right places. His mouth watered.

"You'd better sit down," she said in her mother hen voice. "You don't want to get overtired."

He jerked his gaze away from her captivating anatomy to where a faint flush tinged her cheeks. He had to forcibly remind himself that this was Marron - safe, sensible Marron. He had no business having those kinds of thoughts about her figure, even if he did ache to touch her.

"I... er. I'm not really hungry," he said, desperate now to get out of the intimate confines of the tiny kitchen. "Why don't we forget the coffee and get something to eat while we're out?"

"Because," she said, turning her back on him and giving him a tantalizing view of her denim-clad rear, "you're not too agile on your feet right now. A restaurant might be a bit much for you to handle.'

"You mentioned hamburgers last night," he reminded her, trying in vain to keep his mind off the ways she moved in those jeans. "Where were you planning on eating them?"

"I'd planned on going through a drive-in. I really don't think you want a fast-food breakfast as well as lunch."

"I don't mind," he said weakly.

"Well, I do. So sit down and I'll fix some breakfast. You can read the paper while I'll fix some breakfast. You can read the paper while I'm cooking it."

He gave up and retreated to the living room. At least he could stay out of sight until he'd recovered some self-control. Sinking down onto the couch, he buried his head in his hands. He had to be crazy, thinking about her that way. He could just imagine what she'd say if she realized he was getting lustful ideas about her.

She'd be out of there so fast he wouldn't have time to blink. She already had a bad enough opinion of him. He'd be looking for another temp on Monday.

Okay, time for some common sense. Things had to be desperate if he could get the hots for someone like Marron Chestnut. It had been a long time, that was all. Typical male reaction to the female form. He sighed; trying not to remember exactly how touchable that female form had looked.

He had to stop thinking this way. He still had three weeks to go before he could get off the damn crutches, and he needed Marron. He couldn't afford to lose her now.

In the next few days she'd worked for him she'd picked up a lot of the unique terms and phrases he used in his work. He'd have to explain all that over again to a new temp. Besides, he'd been lucky with Marron; she wasn't the type to drool all over him and generally making things awkward.

He'd had to fire more than one employee for creating uncomfortable situations at work. Being confined to the houseboat, hampered by his injured foot, and pursued by an amorous gold digger was not his idea of a comfortable working environment. He knew from experience just how persistent someone like that could be.

No, he just had to play it cool, stay on guard and act as if he hadn't noticed that Marron had a figure that could make a frustrated man cry.

Marron set the scrambled eggs and bacon in front of Trunks, trying to decide how best to spend the day. "Where would you like to go?" she asked as she sat down with a cup of coffee to watch Trunks enjoy his breakfast. "You know the city better than I do. Do you need to go by your office for anything? We could stop by there first."

Trunks shook his head. "I don't want to go anywhere near the office. This is Sunday, and I've been cooped up for a week. I need a little excitement."

Her hand gave a nervous twitch and she put down her coffee. "Excitement? I'm not sure where we'd find that today. I was thinking of perhaps a nice leisurely drive around the city while you show me all the buildings you've designed. Then lunch, and maybe a ride through the park." Her voice faltered when she saw Trunks' narrowed eyes.

"Why don't we drive to Gemini? He said, dabbing his mouth with a napkin.

"Gemini? But that's a three-hour drive away."

"We'd be there for lunch. Or how about Taurus? That's even better."

Dismay made her voice squeak. "Taurus?" She shook her head, unable to understand this kind of impulsive thinking. "It would take us all day just to get there."

He pushed his empty plate away. "Six hours, maybe a little more in the rain."

"We'd get there just in time to turn around and come all the way back."

"Not if we stay overnight."

Her hand jerked, spilling the hot coffee on her hand. She barely felt it. "Mr. Briefs! If you're suggesting-"

"Relax. I'm not suggesting anything. This is purely business. We're just changing our workplace for a while, that's all. We'll get a couple of hotel rooms."

Embarrassment for having jumped to the wrong conclusion made her go hot and cold. She retreated behind a mask of disapproval. "I don't think that would be appropriate."

"On separate floors, if you'd feel safer," Trunks said dryly.

Her cheeks were burning now. She resisted the urge to cover them with her hands. "It's not that, at all. It's- you said you didn't like working in hotels."

"That's was before I'd spent a week in this rat hole."

"It's quieter than a hotel room."

His eyes narrowed. "Do you have someone waiting for you at home?"

Taken aback by the unexpected question, she stammered, "No, I, that is."

"Well, do you? A boyfriend who might object?"

She sat up straighter. "Of course not. Though I don't think my parents would approve."

Trunks' eyes rolled upward. "I realize you come from a small town," he said gently, "but I promise you, this sort of thin happens all the time. There's nothing immoral about it. We can go up tonight, take in the sights and get some work done on the laptop. No one need ever know that you didn't work right here. I'll pay all your expenses, of course."

She had never been more tempted in her life- just to take off on the spur of the moment and go somewhere as glamorous as Taurus. She'd never been that far away from home before. The whole idea sounded so exciting, terribly decadent, and not at all practical.

She came back to earth with a sigh. "I can't possibly drive up to Taurus today," she said firmly.

"Why not?"

"My car would never make it there, let alone back. It's practically falling apart."

"You don't have to drive at all. I can hire a limo and driver."

Shocked at this extravagance, she shook her head. "I can't just go off on a second's notice. I don't have a change of clothes with me for a start."

"We'll stop by your place and get some."

"But you can't go hopping around Taurus on a broken ankle."

"The limo driver can take us around. You'd love Taurus, it's a fantastic city and it might not even be raining up there. Where can we go in Pisces in the rain?'

"Lots of places. There's. uh." She'd been going to say the museum, but remembered that he couldn't walk. Maybe they could rent a wheelchair. Somehow she couldn't picture trunks Briefs sitting meekly in a wheelchair.

"You see? You couldn't come up with anything."

"But you'll have a terrible time getting around. You have to eat."

"I don't eat with my foot. If I can manage here I can manage a restaurant."

She was weakening, she thought in dismay. She was running out of arguments.

"If you're worried about your reputation," trunks said gruffly, "Don't be. My infamy hasn't quite reached that far yet. No one knows me up there."

She raised her chin. "I'm not in the least bit worried about my reputation. I've done nothing to be ashamed about. I'm just concerned that you might do some more damage to your ankle, that's all."

That wasn't true, of course. She was overwhelmed by the thought of spending two or three days with Trunks Briefs in Taurus. If only her sisters could see her now! How she wished she could tell them.

They'd probably laugh at her for getting so excited over a simple working assignment, she thought ruefully. They'd take this sort of thing in their stride. The thrill of it all gripped her again, and she felt her entire body tingling with it.

She looked up at Trunks, who sat watching her with wry amusement playing across as if she were poised on the edge of a high diving board, "I'll do it. But I want to drive. I wouldn't feel comfortable otherwise. Perhaps we could go in your car?"

"The Ferrari's at the beach, and I don't know where the Porsche is right now. We'll have to rent one." He gave her a quizzical look. "Are you sure you wouldn't rather have someone drive us?"

"Quite sure." She was going to feel intimidated enough, without being driven around a strange city in a chauffeur-driven limousine. At least if she did the driving she could tell herself the trip was just part of her job. "Perhaps it would be better if you wait here while I go and pick up some clothes and rent the car," she suggested.

He nodded his agreement, his triumphant expression making her feel even more apprehensive. She was beginning to regret her rash decision. Whatever had come over her? This wasn't like her at all. Her sisters would be horrified if they knew what she'd done, and her mother would more than likely order her back home at once.

As for her father, Marron smiled as she hurried down the ramp to her car. Her father would probably talk her to go and have a good time, just as long as she remembered to keep her head on straight.

Well, she certainly intended to do that. And this would be an ideal opportunity to use her influence on trunks to show him what a disreputable and dangerous life he was leading. He might even be a changed man by the time he returned. After all, miracles did happen now and again.

Left alone on the houseboat, Trunks sat with his head buried in his hands. What had he done? Once more his impulsiveness had landed him in a treacherous swamp. He'd been so anxious to get away, anywhere as long as it was away from the River Rat, that he hadn't weighed the consequences of taking Marron to Taurus.

It had seemed like a good idea at the time. No one knew him up there. He would be free to wander around without the danger of running into someone he didn't want to see, and the trip would give him a couple of days' respite from his self-imposed incarceration on the boathouse.

When he'd mentioned Taurus to Marron, it had been simply on an impulse. Her immediate opposition to the plan had made it seem all the more desirable.

He rather enjoyed arguing with Marron. She had an expressive face that mirrored all of her reactions, from flashing indignation in her eyes to that endearing warm blush of embarrassment on her cheeks.

It wasn't until now, when he'd had time to really think about it, that he realized spending so much free time with her might not nave been such a good idea.

He would be thrust into her company for much of the day and night. Considering that he'd already felt a necessity to curb his reactions to her voluptuous figure, he was letting himself in for a very uncomfortable day or two.

He groaned, and leaned back on the couch. It was too late now to change his mind. She already thought he was a lecherous womanizer and an accomplished liar. If he told her now that he didn't want to go, after she'd rented the car and everything, she'd add "fickle" and "immature" to the list.

She might even think he was weird. He was not going to get much respect from someone who thought he wasn't firing on all eight cylinders.

Trunks sighed, and heaved himself off the couch. He'd just have to go to Taurus, and make the best of it. All he had to do was remind himself that Marron was not the kind of woman who would eagerly welcome his amorous advances. She was much more likely to aim a well-placed knee to the groin if he laid a hand on her.

Grinning at the capricious thought, he hobbled through the bedroom to the bathroom, and began packing.

Hello there! I've been very busy last week so I couldn't update. Gomen, ne? Anyway, thanks for the reviews and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Winged Angel's review shocked me. I thought that it was a virus. I didn't expect to see so many lines repeated that much. No offense meant!

This fic is one of my tame ones. Yes, I have them lying around in some old notebook that no one would dare open. I'm very secretive about them. So, as for the loving. I'm going to start the next one (with lots of loving) as soon as I can find the time to breathe. Okay?

That's all for now. Ja ne!

28 July 2003

omg! I'm so sorry with the strange things that appeared on the text! I had to take this down and take it to the doctor. I'm never going back to that stupid cyber café again. Darn them. Thank you for putting up with the weird creatures that wanted to be part of the chapter.