I didn't get back to Capsule until well past midnight. I had hoped to find everyone sleeping, so I could slip upstairs and take a shower before bed. No one would ever need to know that I'd spent hours sitting alone on a beach claimed by a vicious storm. Unfortunately – like everything else that had happened thus far during the summer – things did not go to plan. Bulma, Vegeta and Trunks were wide awake and pacing the front foyer of the house, waiting for my return.

"Pan!" Bulma shrieked the moment I wrenched open the heavy front door. She ran over to me instantly, enveloping me in a tight embrace. "Oh my goodness, Pan! You scared me half to death. Trunks told me that you jumped out of his car and ran off, and I-"

She paused, suddenly breaking away from me and holding me by the shoulders at an arms length. I could see that her bright teal eyes were glinting with rage. "Don't you ever do that to me again, do you understand? You could have been killed! Who knows what sort of people could have been lurking about, just waiting for a little girl like you to wander down a dark alleyway-"

"Honestly woman, the child has Sayian blood in her! Even if that…ridiculous theory of your had come to pass, I'm sure the girl would be perfectly capable of taking care of herself." Vegeta interrupted.

"Sayian or not, she's still a little girl. And while she's living under our roof, it's up to all of us to ensure her safety at all times."

"Would you quit calling me a little girl?" I demanded, surprised by the obvious fatigue in my own voice. Walking back through the darkened, rainy night had not only left me drenched from head to toe, but had also brought on intense feelings of exhaustion. All I wanted to do was go straight up to my room, collapse atop my bed and sleep for hours.

"I know you like to think you're older than you really are, Pan, but you're only sixteen years old."

"Sixteen and a half." I protested. "I'll be seventeen come this December."

"Even so, you are still a child. A strong and independent child, no doubt." She added quickly upon reading the darkened expression on my face. "But still a child, at any rate. Look at it from my point of view. My oldest son comes home late at night and tells me that the girl I was meant to be looking after over the summer had just jumped out of his car and run off into the night, without so much as a hint as to where she was going. I was worried sick! Anything could have happened to you! And what if something did happen? I'd never be able to forgive myself! And your parents…what on earth would they think? They sent you to live with us so you could have a good summer, and not have to deal with everything they must be going through, not to mention your uncle and aunt. Imagine how they would feel if something did happen to you!"

"But nothing did happen, I'm fine!" I retorted. "So can we just forget this and all go to sleep?"

"Oh no, you're not going anywhere yet." Bulma stopped me. "We're going to need to sort this whole matter out."

I sighed, placing my hand over my heart and spoke sarcastically. "I solemnly swear never to go anywhere again without telling someone where I am going first, and I will never go out in the dead of night when I am likely to be abducted by a strange man. I apologize to the entire family for my actions, for worrying them half to death, and most importantly, for keeping them up late. There, all fixed. Now can I please just go to bed?"

For a brief moment, I caught a glimpse of a glimmer in Trunks' eyes from where he stood, leaning against the wall in the background. It was only a glance, but I was sure that I saw the corners of his lips upturn into a faint smile. In a flash, it had disappeared, and his expression was solemn once more. He deliberately did not look at me.

"I'm afraid that's not good enough, young lady." Bulma continued, breaking me from my reverie. I turned my attentions back to the angered woman in front of me, who was scowling with discontent. "From now on, we're going to have to put some stronger rules into practice. For starters, you're grounded for the next week."

"What!?" I gaped. Never before, throughout the course of my entire lifetime, had I ever been grounded. My parents never really saw the point in it. Besides, I had only ever thought that my parents could ground me. Obviously I was mistaken. "You…you can't do that!"

"Watch me." She grinned malevolently. "From now on, you're not aloud out of the house at anytime past five unless you are in the company of Trunks, Vegeta or myself, and the only times you'll be meeting up with your friends are at their houses, or here. Understand?"

"Yeah. Whatever." I scowled.

"You know I'm only doing it for your own good. Until you can prove to me that you can be more responsible with the freedom I have been giving you, I'm going to have to take that freedom away." She smiled suddenly, traces of kindness breaking through on the surface of her clearly exhausted face. "Now upstairs to bed if you're really all that tired."

I nodded, rounding on my heel and marched upstairs angrily. I couldn't believe that Bulma had virtually confined me to Capsule corp. for the rest of the summer! What power did she have to ground me? Since when had she taken the place of my parents? But when I reached my room, I forgot to be tired and collapsed on my bed, instantly falling to sleep.

(o)

I hardly saw Trunks over the course of the next three days. Although we had been living together in the same house, and slept in rooms that were only four doors apart, we had both wisely been keeping distance from each other. The only times when I had seen him were during meal times, or when someone else was present in the room. We never saw or spoke to each other alone. This was because there was rarely a time when Trunks had not immersed himself with work, cutting himself off from me completely.

Only once did I manage to find him alone. I had been on my way back to my bedroom, when we had crossed paths down the middle of the hall when he had unexpectedly emerged from behind the door to his room. He barged straight past me, his arm lightly grazing my own, and did not say a word to me. For this, I was thankful. I did not want to have to speak, let alone think about him for what remained of the summer.

Like Trunks, I decided to make myself secluded from the rest of the family. I slept and showered, read Bra's books and used the computer. I hardly left my room, with the exception of mealtimes and whenever else I was asked to join the rest of the family. I received no phone calls, nor did I make any. I had never been so alone before, and yet this had no effect on me whatsoever. It seemed that all my thoughts and emotions had been whisked away by the sea, for not a thought crossed my mind at all. I found myself incapable of feeling anything, from the summer breeze on my face, to the sadness lurking in my heart. I hardly thought of anything, as if my mind had been left completely blank. Not once did I think of Trunks or Elijah. I didn't even think about the whether. My mind was nothing but a blank and empty shell…my emotions and thoughts were inexistent.

Then, once three days of my one week of living in isolation had passed, the phone rang while I was in the shower. I stepped onto the cold, white tiles of the bathroom floor, wrapping a towel around me and making my way to the phone in a sort of daze, as if I were merely imagining that the phone had rung in the first place. I picked it up and held it to my hear warily.

"Finally. It took you a while to pick up." Zara said the minute I had lifted the receiver.

"I was in the shower." I mumbled, my voice as empty and emotionless as I felt.

"Sorry, it's kind of a weird hour to be calling." She apologized. "But I have some exciting news!"

"Yeah?" I asked dully, not at all interested in knowing. Zara hardly talked of anything interesting anymore. Lately she had been turning into a real…teenager. "What?"

"Mason asked me out!" She practically squealed. "He called me up yesterday, and wanted to know if I would like to go and see a movie with him. When I told him I'd call you and invite you to, he said not to because he just wanted this to be the two of us…like a date. Isn't that amazing?"

"Yeah…great." I muttered sardonically.

"Well you could at least try to sound more enthusiastic." Zara replied. "This is a big deal for me, Pan."

"Sorry. I just have a lot on my mind right now." I lied. I did not want her to know that my mind had been nothing but an empty space for the past three days. I knew that she would probably make a link to the way I had been feeling to Trunks. Even so, I still hated lying to my best friend.

"Sorry. Is this a bad time to be calling?" She asked, although I knew she meant to say 'Has something happened with Elijah or Trunks?'.

"No. Everything's fine." I lied again. "So when have you guys arranged to meet up?"

"Five in the evening." She giggled. "In only four hours time. God, Pan, what am I going to wear?"

"Now that's something I honestly can't help you with. My dress sense isn't all that suited for the occasion." I replied. "Listen, I better let you go. Sounds like you've got a lot to do."

"Sure do. Why don't we meet up tomorrow and I'll tell you all about it?"

"Sounds like a plan." I answered, deciding not to tell her that I was no longer aloud to go out with friends for the rest of the summer. "I'll call you tomorrow, ok?"

"Alright. See you, Pan."

After I hung up, I found myself at a lose end. My conversation with Zara had somehow helped to knock some sense back into me. I began to think about Trunks and Elijah, and experience the emotions that came with each of my problems. No matter how I tried to continue with my daunting way of life, I found it impossible to ignore the oncoming swarm of emotions and feeling that had suddenly overcome me. Eventually, I decided to preoccupy my mind with something more challenging by heading to the Gravity Room for a training session with Vegeta.

I changed into something that would be suitable for training – baggy brown cargo pants, a black tank top I'd had since I was about twelve and my oldest, scruffiest sneakers with a black bandana tied around my head – and made my way downstairs as quickly as possible. Like I had supposed, Vegeta was in the Gravity Room, taking his body through several basic stretches. He froze the instant he saw me, bringing himself back into a neutral position, a large, satisfied smirk gracing his twisted face.

"So, the little girl has decided to come out and play, has she?" He chuckled.

"Yeah, that's right." I grimaced in reply. "Only this time, you'll be the one going down."

"Well you seem pretty self assured for someone who got the crap kicked out of them last time." He smirked. "But if you really want to lose that bad, then fine."

I was about to leave to change as I had done last time we sparred (briefly taking the time to note that the clothes I was about to change into once belonged to Trunks) when Bulma burst into the room, her usually pale cheeks flushed pink, her eyes wide and glittering with delight.

"I was just on the phone to Goten," She panted, slightly out of breath. No doubt she'd been on the other side of the house when she received the call. "He…hospital…good news…"

Both Vegeta and I exchanged a puzzled glance, giving me the impression that he knew as well as I did that nothing could come of hospitals. We were silent, awaiting her to string her few fragmented breaths of words together to form a sentence.

"Goten says that Marron had her second baby just last night." She finally managed to say. "A baby girl this time, named Tia. Apparently she was born at about 11pm last night."

I froze, feeling the colour flood from my face. With all the tragedy that had consumed my family over the summer, it had been easy to forget that Marron was still pregnant with a child that was due to be born two months into the summer. I also found it hard to believe that two months had passed since I first discovered that something was wrong with Elijah, though this thought barely crossed my mind at all. The announcement of the birth of my new cousin was like a light in the darkness…a burning flame in a room that was cold…she was the symbol of a new beginning…of hope, now that everything else seemed lost for our family. She was the new generation.

"We're heading straight over to the hospital to see her." Bulma continued joyously. "All of us - Yes, that means you too, Vegeta."

I didn't say a word to anyone on the way to the hospital from the backseat of Bulma's capsule car. Vegeta was saying enough for the both of us, due to the continuous complaints he made about being interrupted from his training, and the frequent refutes made by Bulma. I was still recovering from the shock of the news of the birth when Bulma pulled up outside the hospital and put the car back inside its capsule, then led the way to the waiting room and reception area – the room I had found myself in at the very beginning of the summer, when it was first foretold that Elijah was going to die.

"We're looking for a Mrs Marron Son, please." Bulma informed the woman behind the desk, a young girlish character with mousy blonde hair and a meek, inexperienced air about her.

"She's in room number 303, on the third floor." The girl replied after scanning her computer screens. "There's a few people up there visiting her already, and I think quite a large number of her family was there earlier. I'm not sure if they've left yet, but they might still be there."

My heart caught suddenly in my throat, and I felt my stomach lurch. So there was a chance that I may be able to see my parents! I had never been separated from my family for so long before, and although I hadn't admitted it to even myself yet, I did miss them sorely. I practically ran to the elevator, and was bouncing on the balls of my feet all the way up to the third floor.

Only when we arrived in room 303, my parents were nowhere to be seen. It was a small, cramped room that consisted of two single hospital beds that were occupied by two women – a large, burly looking one surrounded by a swarm of children that were unmistakably her own, and holding the newest one tightly in her beefy arms. There was no father to be seen. The other bed belonged to my aunt.

For a woman who had just had her second child, and was in the process of losing her first, she managed to look as beautiful as ever. Wisps of her lavish blonde hair tumbled loosely over her shoulders, framing her chalk white face, cheeks flushed slightly pink to match the pink nightgown she wore. Her glimmering emerald green eyes, filled with love and admiration, were focused solely on the white bundle nestled in her arms, pressed tightly against her breasts.

She was not entirely alone in the room. Bra and Uub were both already there, as well as Marron's parents, my grandfather's best friend since childhood, Krillin, and his wife, 18, who all smiled warmly upon us as we joined them in the room.

"Bulma! Vegeta! Boy, it's been a while." Krillin beamed, standing on his toes in attempt to peer past us into the corridor that lay beyond. Even in comparison to Vegeta and I (both of us being incredibly short individuals for our age group) he was by far the shortest in the room. "Hey, you haven't brought Trunks with you, have you?"

"No, he had to work." Bulma replied gruelingly. "Though he promised he'd come out to the hospital as soon as he can."

"Shame." Krillin frowned. "Well…I'm sure we'll be able to catch up with him soon."

Bulma proceeded to make her way around the room, passing off warm greetings to everyone that was there, while Vegeta and I stood awkwardly in the doorway, until we were noticed by Bra.

"You know, Pan, you and my dad could almost be passed off as being related when you stand next to each other like that, wouldn't you all think?"

I felt my cheeks burn red, and moved away from Vegeta instantly, making my way further into the room. It was bad enough that someone would compare me to Vegeta in appearance without making mention to the fact that we looked as if we were related. Being related to Vegeta was a vision beyond the horrors of my worst nightmare. Glancing at him from across the room, I could see plainly that he agreed with me.

"Oh, she's gorgeous!" Bulma exclaimed, having moved to Marron's bedside. "Come and have a look, Pan!"

I was pushed towards the bed, and found myself standing beside my young cousin. Peering between the white blankets she was wrapped in, I could see that she was a very placid child, with chubby cheeks, very pale skin and a tiny, button nose. Already there was a few strands of blonde hair growing atop her mostly bald head.

"Would you like to hold her?" Marron asked me lightly, and I nodded violently, holding out my arms to take the child from her.

Holding baby Tia in my arms reminded me of when I'd held Elijah in the same way, back when he was born three years ago. She felt so frail in my arms, weak and feeble in the grasp of my firm arms, reminding me of how fragile life truly was…of how one person's life could be taken in an instant, because of the true weakness of a human body. Perhaps even when I had been holding Elijah, the way he felt in my arms had been a clue to his future.

But in a way, this child was different to Elijah. There was more than just the fragileness of life reflected in this baby. When she opened her eyes, and gazed up into mine, not only did I see that she had my eyes, but they were filled with a source of power, of rebirth, and of redemption. Tia was the future. As I had thought before, she was the new generation, and the hope in the darkness for our family.

I was reluctant to hand her back over to her mother, because she gave me warmth and comfort in a way I could not describe. Already there was a profound connection between the two of us, and I had only held her for a few minutes.

"Congratulations, Marron." I mumbled quietly, and she smiled placidly in reply as I handed her daughter back to her.

"Too bad you didn't get here earlier." Bra told me when I stood back beside her, while Bulma continued to talk excitedly to Marron. "You just missed out on seeing your parents, and your grandparents. They literally just left after you arrived, and your uncle is staying with Elijah at the moment."

"Hmm…" I replied absentmindedly. "Hey, tell Bulma I've gone for a walk. I'll be back later, ok?"

"Sure." Bra smiled understandingly, allowing me to slip by everyone and shuffle back down the corridor, hands dug into the depths of my pockets as I went.

I hardly looked at where I was going, and unexpectedly barged into a nurse on her way to a separate hospital ward, and knocked over the tray of medical supplies she had been carrying with her. Clumsily muttering an apology, I bent to help her collect the items again.

"It's quite alright, dear. No doubt I would have dropped it myself later anyway." She beamed cheerily. It surprised me that someone who spent her days working with seriously ill patience could maintain such a cheerful nature.

"So what's a nice girl like you doing in a hospital?" She asked me.

"M-My aunt just had a baby." I replied.

"Oh how wonderful! The birth of new life is truly a glorious thing, isn't it?" She exclaimed with overwhelming enthusiasm. I merely smiled shyly in reply.

"I'm off to the children's ward." She told me. "A little one has just been transferred here from the country. Poor darling has been diagnosed with cancer. It's going to be difficult for her…out here all alone. You know her family didn't want to come out with her? The poor thing must be terrified, out here all alone and lost in a big city filled with unfamiliar faces. But you really can't blame them, what with having other young children and all…still, it would be nice to have someone here for her. It's family that makes all the difference, you know, when a person is dying, especially with young children. It is the love of the family that ensures that the child will die happily, knowing that they are going to a better place. Can you imagine what it would be like for a child that young to die alone…?"

(o)

A/N: Thanks for reading, please review!