I stared blankly at the pale green walls that surrounded the waiting room and ran my shoe across the stained white carpet. I shifted uncomfortably on my plastic chair and scanned the small coffee table in front of me in the hopes that a more interesting magazine would appear out of nowhere. I continued to let my eyes drift to the broken coffee machine in the corner which, if working, would also have offered hot chocolate.

This wasn't at all how I had planned to spend my summer. Glancing at my family, I could tell they felt the same way. Chi-Chi was reading a beauty magazine without any signs of interest in it at all. Videl stood by the payphone trying again and again to reach Gohan who was still at the school and tell him what happened. And Goku had his eyes on the ceiling, counting the square white tiles, but because he had never really learnt to count, didn't get much further than 25.

I never really liked hospitals that much, a private fear I had inherited from Goku. Only unlike my grandfather, I wasn't afraid of needles. I hated to admit it, but I was afraid of operations. The idea of a complete stranger opening my body up and moving his hands around in my insides wasn't a comforting thought.

I didn't mind the blood much because I had grown up being exposed to open wounds. So when some doctors rushed into the emergency room, wheeling a bed containing a man who had been run over by a bus, it was actually interesting to watch. And I kept my eyes on the poor man's bloody face until he was wheeled through the hospital doors.

"Awful, isn't it?" Goku said sadly as the man was wheeled away. "I wish I could have been there to save him."

"Is he going to die, grandpa?" I asked, turning my attentions to Goku instead.

"The wounds do look pretty bad. I can't predict the future but judging by the look of him, I'd say he might."

I shuddered, thinking of him dying beyond the doors with mixed feelings. A quarter of me thought that having large wounds like that was pretty cool, another quarter of me pitied him, another filled with curiosity and the final worried about death.

At that moment, Gohan hurried through the doors, white faced and startled.

"I just got your message." He said to Videl. "Is Elijah alright?"

"We don't know." She replied. "Goten and Marron are in there with him but I doubt the doctors will pay them much attention. You just missed them wheel in this man who had been hit by a bus."

"Ouch." Gohan winced. "Poor guy. See the importance of waiting at the crossing, Pan?"

"Actually, I think he looked pretty cool." I only told a quarter of the truth. "He might have a life-long scar or something!"

Gohan and Videl exchanged anxious glances, Chi-Chi's eyes widened in horror and Goku put on the face he only used in a very serious battle.

"Pan; illness and injury isn't cool." Goku said in a voice to match his face. "I should know more than anyone that being hit by a bus isn't a cause for celebration."

"Who said I was celebrating?" I scowled. "I just thought that if he had a life-long scar, it would be pretty cool."

"Not if he's dead." Chi-Chi interrupted and I fell silent, knowing that she was right.

At that moment, Goten and Marron stepped through the emergency ward door, followed by a bald doctor who stared down his nose at us from behind very thick glasses. Even thicker than Gohan's.

"Well.....WHAT HAPPENED!?" Chi-Chi boomed. "My little grandson is ok, isn't he?"

"We are still uncertain, madam." The doctor replied in an official, over-the-top posh voice. "We shall have to keep the boy here overnight until we get the results of his blood test back."

I jumped, wondering what the doctor would think when he saw what blood type Elijah was. Hopefully there would be enough human blood in him to cover up the Sayian blood. Stealing a glance at the rest of the family, I was sure they all felt the same.

"He should be alright though, shouldn't he?" Videl asked worriedly.

"Well we haven't found the time to see to him properly. We have another patient who needs immediate attention. Once we have seen to him, we shall run a better investigation on the boy. You say he fainted right in front of you? He wasn't engaging in any hyperactive activity?"

"Pan was the only one who saw anything." Goku said, nodding in my direction. All attention now turned to me.

"We were.....playing around and he just fainted right in front of me." I mumbled, unsure of what else to say. I couldn't exactly say that he was powering up to reach far above the limitations of natural human strength, could I?

"It could be a number of things. It seems we shall have to wait for the blood tests and keep him here overnight as I said before."

"I'll stay with him." Marron said and the doctor nodded.

"Must go, busy day today. We'll have some nurses move the boy to a children's ward."

Once the doctor had gone, Marron began to cry. That set Chi-Chi off as well though I couldn't see why they were so upset. According to the doctor, it wasn't serious. And with luck, Elijah would be back on his feet in no time.

At least I hoped he would.

(o)

"You're kidding!" Zara gasped over the phone. "Your cousin just fainted away? Right in front of you?"

"Yeah...." I said distantly. It was midnight and everyone else was in bed. Only because I was unable to sleep, I had decided to ring Zara who was always awake at this time.

"Is he ok now?"

"I hope. They ran some tests and they're keeping him at hospital overnight. My Aunt Marron is staying with him."

"That's good. He should be alright. Probably just over excited or too tired. Or maybe it was just too hot. You can faint in the heat if it gets too warm. Did you know that?"

"Really?" I said in fascination. "Wow! Where did you find that out?"

"Some book in my dad's study." Zara replied carelessly. "So there isn't anything to worry about. He'll be back home in no time."

"Your right as always, Zara." I said with a smile. "I should let you go."

"Yeah. Don't want to wake the parents up. Call me to tell me what happens."

"Sure. Goodnight." I said and hung up.

I crept upstairs and lay down quietly in bed, thinking over what Zara had just said. She was right, Elijah probably just fainted because of the heat. And soon enough, he would be back home and feeling healthy. Anyway, he was a quarter Sayian! He should be able to stand up to illness without any trouble.

(o)

Gohan and Videl were awake long before I was the next morning and were downstairs, sitting at the kitchen table with their heads bent and talking in low, serious voices. But as soon as I came into the room, they both looked up and smiled abnormally largely.

"Good morning, Pan!" Videl exclaimed, almost making me believe that an everyday routine was something incredibly exciting for her. "Want some breakfast?"

I didn't answer her directly. I could tell that something was wrong.

"What's wrong with Elijah?"

At once, the smiles on their faces fell and Videl turned her back to me, gathering things to make my breakfast with shaky hands. Gohan pulled out the seat next to his and I sat down carefully, discovering that I was shaking now too.

"It has been undecided." Gohan said slowly and carefully, watching me anxiously from behind his glasses. "The blood test results have come back and they have detected something in there other than the hint of Sayian blood which, luckily, they overlooked. They have sent the blood sample off to a larger hospital for more testing. The results should be back in three days. For now, Elijah has to stay at hospital."

"Why can't he come home?" I asked in a voice too hoarse to be my own.

"In case something happens again. He's woken up now, but he's still very feverish. Something must be terribly wrong. Even quarter Sayians should be able to withstand illness unless it's....."

"Unless it's what?" I asked, dreading the answer.

"Unless it's life threatening." Videl finished, putting a plate in front of me. "I feel so bad for Marron! She's pregnant too, you're not supposed to be under stress if you're pregnant."

"I thought after breakfast we should go and visit them. Goten and Marron will need some cheering up." Gohan said, then gave me a stern glance. "But don't say anything about the illness to Elijah. And don't speak about it around Goten and Marron either. In fact, don't speak about it at all. Stay completely away from the topic. Do you understand?"

I nodded grimly and chewed my breakfast in silence. I could hardly believe it! Why Elijah? And why did it have to happen right at the beginning of the summer holidays?

Life threatening it be real?

(o)

The room Elijah was in was shared with heaps of other children and their parents. They all slept in what reminded me of a boarding school dorm with hospital beds lined up against opposite sides of the room and directly facing each other with only a curtain to draw around the bed for privacy.

Elijah's bed was at the far end of the room, right next to the window. He was sitting amongst the white sheets in a white hospital gown and wearing a large smile. Marron sat in the chair beside him, resting one hand on her stomach which held the baby which was due to be born in two months. With the other hand, she stroked her son's hand comfortingly. Goten stared out the window, lost in thought.

"Look! Uncle Gohan, Aunt Videl and Pan!" Elijah cried and Goten and Marron's faces lit up when they saw us.

"Hey." Gohan said, placing a hand carefully on his baby brother's shoulder. "Thought you might need some cheering up."

"Bought you some flowers." I said, placing the vase of yellow roses on the small table beside Elijah's bed. "I know it's gross and girly but Mum said I had to. I don't see how flowers can make you feel happy."

"They make me feel happy." Elijah grinned, stretching out his arms for me. "I happy you came, Pan."

I hugged him, feeling guilt rush through me. It was my fault he had fainted yesterday. If I had refused to spar with him, Elijah would still be ok. I couldn't believe I could be stupid enough to fight with a toddler who had already been tired out that day.

"Don't worry, Pan. I be ok." Elijah said confidently, sensing my discomfort.

"I will be ok, Elijah." Goten said, grinning cheerfully from the window but with sadness in his eyes. "Grandma says we have to teach you the right grammar so you can use it when you get big."

I felt a horrible sensation in my lower gut; but it felt nothing like being punched. Mainly because some part of me knew that Elijah might not need to learn to use correct grammar at all. He may never have the chance to put it into practice.

(o)

The phone rang three days later and I answered it, hoping it was Zara. I had called her several times and she wasn't home. I left messages on her machine but she hadn't answered me yet and I was getting impatient. I needed someone to talk to.

"Hello?" Said a male voice on the end of the phone and I knew straight away that it wasn't Zara speaking. "Is that Pan?"

"Yes, who's speaking?" I asked warily. Zara once told me about this guy who stalked her on her way home from school until he knew her home number and then started giving her funny calls.

"It's Uncle Goten, silly! Don't you recognize me?" He laughed in a Goten-like way and I was reassured. Gosh, he did sound deeper on the phone.

"What's up, Uncle Goten?" I asked, relieved it wasn't some crazy lunatic.

"Is Gohan there? I need to speak to him about something."

"Hold on a minute." I rested the receiver on the bench and screamed. "DAD! GOTEN IS ON THE PHONE!"

Videl came downstairs instead, scowling. "No need to scream, Pan. Dad's in the shower so give the phone to me."

Gingerly, I handed her the phone and walked upstairs to my room until I realized that Goten must be calling about the test results that were supposed to arrive about now! I ran downstairs just in time to see Videl hang up. Her head was hung and tears were streaming down her cheeks.

"Mum..." I asked nervously, putting an arm around her. "What's wrong?"

"Oh Pan." Videl said, no louder than a whisper. "The results for Elijah's test came back today. He has attracted some new disease, a rare one only just discovered in children of his age group. And there is no cure for it. Our worst nightmares are becoming true."

"What are you talking about? What's wrong?" I asked breathlessly.

"Oh Pan, I'm so sorry. Elijah....Elijah is going to die!"

A/N: Just thought that I better mention here that there are no such things as DragonBalls in this story because otherwise my complication would be resolved too easily!