One Stormy Day
Chapter 2
Picture Perfect
Disclaimer: Unfortunately for me, it isn't possible for me to own DBZ and the characters in this story, except for Daniel, he's mine.
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Vegeta was pissed. VERY pissed. He'd already checked all of the hospitals and none of them had a Bulma Briefs listed with them. She also wasn't in any of the morgues; he had already found Piccolo and asked him. Now he was left with one worry, if the other fighters didn't find her anywhere, then it might have meant that the woman's idiot was right. She might have been lying in a ditch somewhere, possibly dying.
He didn't want to think of that. If she died then he would have to move. He could never put up with her mother without her there. And her father would take twice as long as she did to repair his training equipment, despite all the threats that Vegeta made to him daily on that account. Of course, there was always the fact that he would...miss arguing with her. It was amusing watching her get riled up, having her stand up to him, sometimes pressing her fingers to his shoulders in an attempt to make sure he noted her angry glare. It was adorable.
Vegeta almost fell out of the air when that thought crossed his mind, but other than argue with it our deny it he pushed it to the far recesses of his mind, hoping it would just go away on its own. He had too many things to do to find the woman to waste time arguing with himself over a silly little thought, even if it was an extremely disturbing thought.
There they were. He had told the bald one and the idiot to meet him; he wanted information. The two men looked up as he approached them. They shrank back slightly at the scowl on his face, which was even more dangerous looking than usual.
"Have either of you found the woman yet? Has anyone heard from her?"
"Well no Vegeta. We're all still searching but so far we haven't seen or heard a thing."
"I honestly didn't think that you would care Vegeta. You've never cared about her before."
"I don't have to explain my reasons to you! Just find the damn woman."
"Umm...so you haven't seen her in the hospitals I take it."
Krillin inched himself forward between the two men slightly, hoping that it would help to calm them down and at least wouldn't make Vegeta madder, which seemed unlikely, since he rather liked being alive.
"No I haven't found the blasted woman in the hospitals! If I had found her do you think I would be here talking with you weaklings?"
"No, you'd be training, showing no concern for anyone but yourself."
"Hey listen Yamcha, I think it might not help things if you pick a fight with Vegeta. Unless you're volunteering to search for her while your enjoying your own stay."
Vegeta smirked and Yamcha glared at the shorter human fighter but wisely decided to stay out of it. It was true after all. If he picked a fight with Vegeta he could expect a long stay in a hospital bed. Besides, he really felt kind of guilty. If Bulma was missing it was possibly, and probably, his fault. The night she went missing had been the night that he...and she had stormed away from him so quickly he hadn't had a chance to say anything beyond the barest explanation. He didn't want to believe it was his fault, Bulma was such a strong woman, but he knew deep down that it most likely was. And he didn't want to miss the chance to find her and make it up to her, which he certainly wouldn't be able to do once Vegeta broke his body into pieces.
"Well, I guess we might have to expand the search. You're sure you didn't see her? Maybe there was another woman with blue hair that might have had some bandages or something so you didn't recognize her?"
"Listen you short dolt! I told you she isn't in there. I checked them all and not one of them had a patient named Bulma Briefs in it."
"Wait a minute Vegeta? You're telling me you didn't actually look at any of the women?"
Despite his decision of five seconds ago to not antagonize Vegeta, Yamcha found himself chuckling to himself. Which was, of course, a bad mistake.
Vegeta shot him a furious glare and hoisted him towards him by the front of his shirts.
"What exactly are you laughing at?"
Krillin sighed and floated behind Yamcha, waving his hands to get Vegeta's attention.
"Never mind him Vegeta, he's just being an idiot with a death wish. You wouldn't have known of course, and none of us thought to tell you, but sometimes when they can't identify someone they place them in the hospital under the name of Jane Doe, or John Doe for guys. You'll need to see if they have any young women fitting Bulma's description. Better yet, why don't you stop by the CC and get a picture of her, you can take it around and ask if anyone has seen her. Check out all the Jane Doe's within her age group."
Vegeta tossed the idiot away from him and glared at the shorter man. He would have been angry that the human was ordering him around but he was too angry at the stupid earthling customs that had kept him from finding the woman.
"Damn it! Fine, I'll go back and look at all the women this time and see to those whatever Doe's. But this is the last time I search those facilities; they all smell disgusting. And don't let me see you again unless you've found the woman or I will blast you to the next dimension."
This last part was directed at Yamcha who had by that time regained his footing in the air (lol) and had returned to glare at Vegeta. The Saiyajin prince turned from the two men, one who was incredibly pissed and the other incredibly confused, and shot off towards the compound he had been living at since his return to Earth.
He landed outside the woman's balcony and stepped through the doors to her room. She left them unlocked, which he supposed would have been strange for someone to do, especially someone as rich as the woman was, but his room was right next door and he would have killed anyone trying to break in. The moment the woman realized someone was in here room she would have screamed her head off and he wouldn't get back to sleep until the someone was taken care of.
He walked around her bed, dodging the bigger piles of clothing on the floor, and strode to her bedside table. He yanked open several of her drawers at once, spilling the contents onto the disheveled mess she called a bed, and began rifling through the contents. Once he found what he was looking for he yanked up the offensive little book and opened it up. Several pictures not trapped within the clear coverings fell onto the bed to join the mess already there. Vegeta flipped through the pictures. None of them seemed to really show the woman at her best, none of them really captured her that way she was. And far too many of them were taken with that damn idiot.
Just as he was coming to the back end of the book he came upon one picture which made him pause. The woman had her arm around the idiot's shoulders and he was grinning happily at the camera device. The woman was smiling as well, although her smile was more secretive and less goofy. She wasn't looking at the man her arm was around or at the camera either. She was looking over her shoulder at someone behind her; someone with upswept dark hair and a glower pasted over his face. He hadn't noticed that, when the picture was taken he had known he was in it, though it had been unintentional, but he was too distracted to notice the woman's eyes on him at the time. Too distracted to notice how beautiful she was with hr eyes fixed warmly on him.
Oh yes, there was no mistaking the look that was in her eyes. It was something he was unused to until he came to Earth but he had seen it in her eyes whenever she looked at any of the pathetic people she called her friends. It was....compassion...and understanding....
Vegeta slammed the book closed and threw it onto the bed, growling angrily at himself as he did so. This was not the time to start thinking such weak thoughts. It didn't matter if the woman felt anything for him, it only mattered that he find her and get her back home. Then he wouldn't have to worr...put up with her sniveling mother and father, he could go back to his routine.
He shuffled through another few drawers in her dresser, pointedly ignoring all of the silky undergarments contained there and the unwanted thoughts they brought with them. He finally found another book but this one didn't hold anything he found useful either. Certainly it was full of pictures of the female; her and her friends, her and her 'boyfriend', her alone waving joyfully at whoever held the camera. But again, he wasn't satisfied with any of them.
He knew she had to have had more of those 'photo album' things lying around somewhere, he just had to find them, then he would find a picture suitable for using to find the woman. He stood from the drawer and raked his eyes over the room, looking at the mess he had created and the mess that Hurricane Bulma had already left behind. He drew his eyes across one more piece of furniture that he was certain must have held what he wanted.
The books on her shelf would have gone flying to the floor as well, which really would have pissed Bulma off, even more than the mess he already made would, when she got back but he managed to find just what he wanted within five seconds of looking over the shelves. He flipped open the third album and started thumbing threw it. It didn't take very long for him to find the picture he wanted. It was perfect. The woman was alone and instead of flailing her arms about or even smiling her usual big smile for whoever was taking the picture, she had her eyes fastened on something beyond the device in front of her, for once ignoring a photo opportunity.
Her eyes held a combination of emotions only one of which Vegeta was intimately familiar with; anger. She was clearly pissed at whatever she was looking at, and yet....just like in that other picture her eyes held that same...compassion. He didn't know how one could have that mix of emotions; as far as he was concerned anger only went by itself.
He took the picture out of the wrapper, not caring that he tore it in his haste, and ran to the balcony, jetting into the air as he ran and heading straight back to the hospitals he had just recently visited. He smirked to himself when he realized he would get yet another chance to terrify the staff of the medical buildings. Even if he didn't find the woman, the chance to scare someone into submission was sure to brighten his day, slightly.
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Daniel left the gift shop and strode quickly towards the elevator. He carried a bundle in the mundane brown wrapping paper that all gift shops seemed to utilize and he whistled a happy tune to himself as he went. It was really a nice day; the sun was bright and the sky was clear after the previous days horrendous downpour and it even promised to warm up considerably by the middle of the day. He rounded a corner and walked right into the room, no one even bothered to stop him or question his being there. Which was something he liked, considering he was doing something nice he ought not to have been questioned. But then again, most of society was always suspicious of someone doing anything nice with nothing to gain from it. He really thought that was ridiculous. People should be able to help each other out and receive thanks instead of paranoia.
His newest good deed looked up at him and smiled as he entered the room. At least this woman liked his helping her and didn't question his reasons, although he wouldn't have blamed her if she did. In her situation he wouldn't have been in the slightest bit offended if she had just asked him to leave her alone. But she didn't, this girl actually understood his motives and his desire to help. It was something he didn't come across very often, and he was damn sure going to enjoy it while it lasted.
"I brought the things you wanted. I'm hoping this is just right. I know this may not have been what you would have picked, and possibly not to your liking, but what can I say? I'm a guy."
He set down the brown package and looked down at her. She looked up at him, a soft smile on her face and then sighed and looked back out the window.
"Well, I'll just step outside so you can change. Then we'll see what we can do for you from there."
She nodded and turned to give him one more small smile before he shut the door behind him. Daniel leaned against the door and let his head drop back against his, his eyes finding their way closed by their own willpower. He had stayed at the hospital all night, talking to the young woman through most of it, but it didn't matter what he asked, she couldn't remember anything. They had both fallen fitfully to sleep around two in the morning, but she had probably rested a little more comfortable than he had; she had a bed.
She closed her eyes and sighed. It was such a depressing day. Last night it hadn't really sunk in yet, not fully. Oh she realized that something was wrong once she woke up and couldn't place where she was. It made it worse to realize that she couldn't even remember her own name.
Daniel had been so nice to her, letting her know what had happened and staying with her the whole night, even though he didn't know her anymore than she did. He had even gone down to the gift shop and gotten her a dress, since hers had apparently been ruined in the crash. She wanted to repay him but didn't know if she had any money or not, until he assured her that, judging by her car, she was quite a wealthy woman. That made her feel better, knowing that even if she couldn't remember it, she lived comfortably.
She stood up and dropped the hospital gown to the floor, slipping the new dress up onto her shoulders. It was a summer type dress, with little carrots and bunnies hopping all over it. She couldn't be absolutely certain, but she rather suspected that this was a dress she wouldn't be caught dead in. But Daniel had tried. And he was male. So it was too much to expect that in a hospital gift shop he could find a dress that would suit her.
As soon as she finished dressing she would be checking out of the hospital. She could have stayed, seen a specialist, gone to counseling, and generally been miserable. But she preferred to get out of the depressing confines of the hospital and try to regain her memory on her own. And since she hadn't had any injuries worth staying in the hospital for she felt confident enough to go back out into the world she had to reacquaint herself with.
Daniel was waiting patiently for her outside her room when she finished and stepped out. His eyes were closed and he seemed so peaceful, not that he wasn't when he was fully awake. He was the nicest person she had ever met....except..as strange as it seemed that thought didn't seem right to her. She couldn't imagine anyone nicer than Daniel, but apparently she did know someone who was. She only hoped that she'd get the chance to meet this person again, and to remember them.
As they walked through the hospital entrance a large commotion to her right caught her attention. She would have tried to see what was going on, but Daniel didn't seem to notice it and she didn't want to fall behind. As she ran to catch up to him she thought for one wild moment that the commotion was about her, but why it would be escaped her completely. It was probably just a silly hope that her relatives would be looking for her, but she didn't think they would make that much a fuss about it...whoever they were.
She continued to follow Dan to his car and hopped in when he held open the door for her. It made her blush, having him treat her like some kind of lady, when he knew nothing about her. She looked out the window at the hospital as they pulled away, and her last sight of the imposing pink brick building was the pale blue sign that read "West City Community Hospital."
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Daniel pulled out of the hotel parking lot. He had dropped the young woman off there. He had taken to calling her Jane, although he knew that name didn't fit right with her exotic beauty. He would have just let her stay at his apartment, he had that extra room and the futon was comfy, even if it was thin. But Jane hadn't wanted to 'impose' upon his space; he figured she was probably just nervous about staying in his house, alone with him, someone she had barely met.
So he was paying her hotel room bill, something she had insisted he not do, but he played it off by reminding her that once she had her memory back she could repay him. With that thought firmly in her head she had allowed him to move her into the hotel. It wasn't the biggest, ritziest, most expensive hotel in West City, but it would do. At least he was certain she couldn't remember staying in the glamorous hotels and wouldn't feel cheated by the small hotel. It was really almost a motel, but if he expected to be putting her up there for a while then she would just have to get along with it.
Daniel drove down the road, mindful that the streets were still slick with rain and oil and who knew how many other chemicals, his mind focused almost entirely on the blue haired woman he now seemed to be in charge of taking care of.
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Vegeta stormed through the hospital, looking in each and every room. After the first hospital he had grown tired of nurses, doctors, and other worthless staff trying to get in his way, so he zoomed past them as fast as he could, leaving only a slight breeze as evidence to them that he had been there. Five hospitals had yielded absolutely nothing to him. There was one Jane Doe with blue hair, but she wasn't Bulma, and he could easily tell that she dyed it that shade, which was just a tad bit off from the perfect aqua blue of the woman's.
He had one more hospital to try and he was determined to find her in it, or at least find some clue. The staff members he had actually deigned to talk to hadn't recognized the young woman in the picture he had shown them. He was fairly certain that the staff would have remembered her, he asked as many male members as he could. There were a few pretty blue haired women, but none of them could compare to the woman, and any man that had seen her would have remembered her.
The fifth hospital was where he got lucky...or unlucky, which ever fate preferred to call it. He easily found several men who were willing to drool over the picture and give him all the information he wanted, along with several women who were content to add anything the men missed while shooting jealous glares at the picture...or flirting with him....The last only put him in an even worse mood than the damn search had to begin with. And to make it all so much better he discovered the woman's presence in the hospital just as she was being checked out.
He ran down to the hospital parking lot and began looking around, but he couldn't see the woman anywhere he looked. His frantic dashes about the place were causing a large commotion as well, seeing as he didn't have any problem with shoving all of the people out of his way. Once the security people came up and asked him to leave, and he had thrown them suitably far enough and hard enough away, he took off back towards the Capsule Corporation. He would have to call a meeting, something he wasn't looking forward to. At least now he knew she was alive.
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AN: Alright, I know this chapter is short, but compared to the majority of chapters in my other stories, this one is still long. Hehe ^_^ And I apologize sooo much for taking so long in getting this out. I've had a TON of projects and things going on that has kept me too busy to write on this Fortunately, the majority of those are done.....or close to being done...I hope. Heh Anyway, I hope that no on is too disappointed with this chapter, because I'm not too sure about it...well, the second half I'm not too sure about anyway....Anyway, there is my apology and my excuse so all I will say now is that I hope you enjoy. ^_^
If you want to be on the mailing list for this story then just send an e-mail to hibari_heza@fangirl.org
And tell me that it's this story that you want, as I use this ml for all my dbz fics. ^_^ Or, leave your e-mail in a review and I'll add you. Thanks. I'm sorry to anyone who might have been trying to send an e-mail to my ml. I accidentally had the wrong addy, it's .org, not .com. hehe ^_^ But that one will work now. ^_^ Thanks.
manga: Eee! You stop inferring things just because I want them to be inferred. ^_~ lol kidding. Umm...well....I try to update quickly.....^_^
Ttrin: ^_^ Thanks. I like long chapters too, which is why I'm trying for them. Hehehe Now people can't complain about how short my chapters are. ^_^
IneiTenshi: Thanks. ^_^ You've been added, which you probably already noticed. ^_^
Emerald Shadow: Thanks. ^_^ I plan to, because I really love this story too.
miayu: I will. Thanks. ^_^ It's nice to hear things like that.
archangel-bulma: Well....they might find her soon....but you're right, they ought to hurry up. ^_^ hehe
Reef: lol ^_^ Yes, the poor thing. Let's hope he can find her soon...oh wait...I'm the author...why am I hoping? lol ^_^
Bryony: ^_^ Thanks! I'm glad I have people who like it. As long as I have at least a few people who read my stuff and like it then I'll keep it up. ^_^
Selenity Jade: ::is glomped:: Thanks Jade! ^_^ I'm glad you like it too. I know it pains you to not be able to read TCDB and have to settle for my other fic (^_~) but I really appreciate you reading it and liking it. ^_^
roguemoon: It's definitely going to be a B/V. Daniel's expendable. ^_^
Lynz: Thanks. ^_^ I'm glad you think so. I really love this one, and I'm glad other people do too.
Hitomi: Hehehe, he's certainly going to have to work to find her. ^_^ Does it makes sense after the second chapter?
Ryukai: ^_^ Thank you. I try to write faster than this, I've just been SO busy the last few weeks. What with all these projects, in school as well as for my house. Heh
death: Uhh well...not usually....I don't take so long usually. But I've had a lot of projects that have taken up a VERY large portion of my time everyday, so....it's taken me a while. Heh
Chapter 2
Picture Perfect
Disclaimer: Unfortunately for me, it isn't possible for me to own DBZ and the characters in this story, except for Daniel, he's mine.
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Vegeta was pissed. VERY pissed. He'd already checked all of the hospitals and none of them had a Bulma Briefs listed with them. She also wasn't in any of the morgues; he had already found Piccolo and asked him. Now he was left with one worry, if the other fighters didn't find her anywhere, then it might have meant that the woman's idiot was right. She might have been lying in a ditch somewhere, possibly dying.
He didn't want to think of that. If she died then he would have to move. He could never put up with her mother without her there. And her father would take twice as long as she did to repair his training equipment, despite all the threats that Vegeta made to him daily on that account. Of course, there was always the fact that he would...miss arguing with her. It was amusing watching her get riled up, having her stand up to him, sometimes pressing her fingers to his shoulders in an attempt to make sure he noted her angry glare. It was adorable.
Vegeta almost fell out of the air when that thought crossed his mind, but other than argue with it our deny it he pushed it to the far recesses of his mind, hoping it would just go away on its own. He had too many things to do to find the woman to waste time arguing with himself over a silly little thought, even if it was an extremely disturbing thought.
There they were. He had told the bald one and the idiot to meet him; he wanted information. The two men looked up as he approached them. They shrank back slightly at the scowl on his face, which was even more dangerous looking than usual.
"Have either of you found the woman yet? Has anyone heard from her?"
"Well no Vegeta. We're all still searching but so far we haven't seen or heard a thing."
"I honestly didn't think that you would care Vegeta. You've never cared about her before."
"I don't have to explain my reasons to you! Just find the damn woman."
"Umm...so you haven't seen her in the hospitals I take it."
Krillin inched himself forward between the two men slightly, hoping that it would help to calm them down and at least wouldn't make Vegeta madder, which seemed unlikely, since he rather liked being alive.
"No I haven't found the blasted woman in the hospitals! If I had found her do you think I would be here talking with you weaklings?"
"No, you'd be training, showing no concern for anyone but yourself."
"Hey listen Yamcha, I think it might not help things if you pick a fight with Vegeta. Unless you're volunteering to search for her while your enjoying your own stay."
Vegeta smirked and Yamcha glared at the shorter human fighter but wisely decided to stay out of it. It was true after all. If he picked a fight with Vegeta he could expect a long stay in a hospital bed. Besides, he really felt kind of guilty. If Bulma was missing it was possibly, and probably, his fault. The night she went missing had been the night that he...and she had stormed away from him so quickly he hadn't had a chance to say anything beyond the barest explanation. He didn't want to believe it was his fault, Bulma was such a strong woman, but he knew deep down that it most likely was. And he didn't want to miss the chance to find her and make it up to her, which he certainly wouldn't be able to do once Vegeta broke his body into pieces.
"Well, I guess we might have to expand the search. You're sure you didn't see her? Maybe there was another woman with blue hair that might have had some bandages or something so you didn't recognize her?"
"Listen you short dolt! I told you she isn't in there. I checked them all and not one of them had a patient named Bulma Briefs in it."
"Wait a minute Vegeta? You're telling me you didn't actually look at any of the women?"
Despite his decision of five seconds ago to not antagonize Vegeta, Yamcha found himself chuckling to himself. Which was, of course, a bad mistake.
Vegeta shot him a furious glare and hoisted him towards him by the front of his shirts.
"What exactly are you laughing at?"
Krillin sighed and floated behind Yamcha, waving his hands to get Vegeta's attention.
"Never mind him Vegeta, he's just being an idiot with a death wish. You wouldn't have known of course, and none of us thought to tell you, but sometimes when they can't identify someone they place them in the hospital under the name of Jane Doe, or John Doe for guys. You'll need to see if they have any young women fitting Bulma's description. Better yet, why don't you stop by the CC and get a picture of her, you can take it around and ask if anyone has seen her. Check out all the Jane Doe's within her age group."
Vegeta tossed the idiot away from him and glared at the shorter man. He would have been angry that the human was ordering him around but he was too angry at the stupid earthling customs that had kept him from finding the woman.
"Damn it! Fine, I'll go back and look at all the women this time and see to those whatever Doe's. But this is the last time I search those facilities; they all smell disgusting. And don't let me see you again unless you've found the woman or I will blast you to the next dimension."
This last part was directed at Yamcha who had by that time regained his footing in the air (lol) and had returned to glare at Vegeta. The Saiyajin prince turned from the two men, one who was incredibly pissed and the other incredibly confused, and shot off towards the compound he had been living at since his return to Earth.
He landed outside the woman's balcony and stepped through the doors to her room. She left them unlocked, which he supposed would have been strange for someone to do, especially someone as rich as the woman was, but his room was right next door and he would have killed anyone trying to break in. The moment the woman realized someone was in here room she would have screamed her head off and he wouldn't get back to sleep until the someone was taken care of.
He walked around her bed, dodging the bigger piles of clothing on the floor, and strode to her bedside table. He yanked open several of her drawers at once, spilling the contents onto the disheveled mess she called a bed, and began rifling through the contents. Once he found what he was looking for he yanked up the offensive little book and opened it up. Several pictures not trapped within the clear coverings fell onto the bed to join the mess already there. Vegeta flipped through the pictures. None of them seemed to really show the woman at her best, none of them really captured her that way she was. And far too many of them were taken with that damn idiot.
Just as he was coming to the back end of the book he came upon one picture which made him pause. The woman had her arm around the idiot's shoulders and he was grinning happily at the camera device. The woman was smiling as well, although her smile was more secretive and less goofy. She wasn't looking at the man her arm was around or at the camera either. She was looking over her shoulder at someone behind her; someone with upswept dark hair and a glower pasted over his face. He hadn't noticed that, when the picture was taken he had known he was in it, though it had been unintentional, but he was too distracted to notice the woman's eyes on him at the time. Too distracted to notice how beautiful she was with hr eyes fixed warmly on him.
Oh yes, there was no mistaking the look that was in her eyes. It was something he was unused to until he came to Earth but he had seen it in her eyes whenever she looked at any of the pathetic people she called her friends. It was....compassion...and understanding....
Vegeta slammed the book closed and threw it onto the bed, growling angrily at himself as he did so. This was not the time to start thinking such weak thoughts. It didn't matter if the woman felt anything for him, it only mattered that he find her and get her back home. Then he wouldn't have to worr...put up with her sniveling mother and father, he could go back to his routine.
He shuffled through another few drawers in her dresser, pointedly ignoring all of the silky undergarments contained there and the unwanted thoughts they brought with them. He finally found another book but this one didn't hold anything he found useful either. Certainly it was full of pictures of the female; her and her friends, her and her 'boyfriend', her alone waving joyfully at whoever held the camera. But again, he wasn't satisfied with any of them.
He knew she had to have had more of those 'photo album' things lying around somewhere, he just had to find them, then he would find a picture suitable for using to find the woman. He stood from the drawer and raked his eyes over the room, looking at the mess he had created and the mess that Hurricane Bulma had already left behind. He drew his eyes across one more piece of furniture that he was certain must have held what he wanted.
The books on her shelf would have gone flying to the floor as well, which really would have pissed Bulma off, even more than the mess he already made would, when she got back but he managed to find just what he wanted within five seconds of looking over the shelves. He flipped open the third album and started thumbing threw it. It didn't take very long for him to find the picture he wanted. It was perfect. The woman was alone and instead of flailing her arms about or even smiling her usual big smile for whoever was taking the picture, she had her eyes fastened on something beyond the device in front of her, for once ignoring a photo opportunity.
Her eyes held a combination of emotions only one of which Vegeta was intimately familiar with; anger. She was clearly pissed at whatever she was looking at, and yet....just like in that other picture her eyes held that same...compassion. He didn't know how one could have that mix of emotions; as far as he was concerned anger only went by itself.
He took the picture out of the wrapper, not caring that he tore it in his haste, and ran to the balcony, jetting into the air as he ran and heading straight back to the hospitals he had just recently visited. He smirked to himself when he realized he would get yet another chance to terrify the staff of the medical buildings. Even if he didn't find the woman, the chance to scare someone into submission was sure to brighten his day, slightly.
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Daniel left the gift shop and strode quickly towards the elevator. He carried a bundle in the mundane brown wrapping paper that all gift shops seemed to utilize and he whistled a happy tune to himself as he went. It was really a nice day; the sun was bright and the sky was clear after the previous days horrendous downpour and it even promised to warm up considerably by the middle of the day. He rounded a corner and walked right into the room, no one even bothered to stop him or question his being there. Which was something he liked, considering he was doing something nice he ought not to have been questioned. But then again, most of society was always suspicious of someone doing anything nice with nothing to gain from it. He really thought that was ridiculous. People should be able to help each other out and receive thanks instead of paranoia.
His newest good deed looked up at him and smiled as he entered the room. At least this woman liked his helping her and didn't question his reasons, although he wouldn't have blamed her if she did. In her situation he wouldn't have been in the slightest bit offended if she had just asked him to leave her alone. But she didn't, this girl actually understood his motives and his desire to help. It was something he didn't come across very often, and he was damn sure going to enjoy it while it lasted.
"I brought the things you wanted. I'm hoping this is just right. I know this may not have been what you would have picked, and possibly not to your liking, but what can I say? I'm a guy."
He set down the brown package and looked down at her. She looked up at him, a soft smile on her face and then sighed and looked back out the window.
"Well, I'll just step outside so you can change. Then we'll see what we can do for you from there."
She nodded and turned to give him one more small smile before he shut the door behind him. Daniel leaned against the door and let his head drop back against his, his eyes finding their way closed by their own willpower. He had stayed at the hospital all night, talking to the young woman through most of it, but it didn't matter what he asked, she couldn't remember anything. They had both fallen fitfully to sleep around two in the morning, but she had probably rested a little more comfortable than he had; she had a bed.
She closed her eyes and sighed. It was such a depressing day. Last night it hadn't really sunk in yet, not fully. Oh she realized that something was wrong once she woke up and couldn't place where she was. It made it worse to realize that she couldn't even remember her own name.
Daniel had been so nice to her, letting her know what had happened and staying with her the whole night, even though he didn't know her anymore than she did. He had even gone down to the gift shop and gotten her a dress, since hers had apparently been ruined in the crash. She wanted to repay him but didn't know if she had any money or not, until he assured her that, judging by her car, she was quite a wealthy woman. That made her feel better, knowing that even if she couldn't remember it, she lived comfortably.
She stood up and dropped the hospital gown to the floor, slipping the new dress up onto her shoulders. It was a summer type dress, with little carrots and bunnies hopping all over it. She couldn't be absolutely certain, but she rather suspected that this was a dress she wouldn't be caught dead in. But Daniel had tried. And he was male. So it was too much to expect that in a hospital gift shop he could find a dress that would suit her.
As soon as she finished dressing she would be checking out of the hospital. She could have stayed, seen a specialist, gone to counseling, and generally been miserable. But she preferred to get out of the depressing confines of the hospital and try to regain her memory on her own. And since she hadn't had any injuries worth staying in the hospital for she felt confident enough to go back out into the world she had to reacquaint herself with.
Daniel was waiting patiently for her outside her room when she finished and stepped out. His eyes were closed and he seemed so peaceful, not that he wasn't when he was fully awake. He was the nicest person she had ever met....except..as strange as it seemed that thought didn't seem right to her. She couldn't imagine anyone nicer than Daniel, but apparently she did know someone who was. She only hoped that she'd get the chance to meet this person again, and to remember them.
As they walked through the hospital entrance a large commotion to her right caught her attention. She would have tried to see what was going on, but Daniel didn't seem to notice it and she didn't want to fall behind. As she ran to catch up to him she thought for one wild moment that the commotion was about her, but why it would be escaped her completely. It was probably just a silly hope that her relatives would be looking for her, but she didn't think they would make that much a fuss about it...whoever they were.
She continued to follow Dan to his car and hopped in when he held open the door for her. It made her blush, having him treat her like some kind of lady, when he knew nothing about her. She looked out the window at the hospital as they pulled away, and her last sight of the imposing pink brick building was the pale blue sign that read "West City Community Hospital."
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Daniel pulled out of the hotel parking lot. He had dropped the young woman off there. He had taken to calling her Jane, although he knew that name didn't fit right with her exotic beauty. He would have just let her stay at his apartment, he had that extra room and the futon was comfy, even if it was thin. But Jane hadn't wanted to 'impose' upon his space; he figured she was probably just nervous about staying in his house, alone with him, someone she had barely met.
So he was paying her hotel room bill, something she had insisted he not do, but he played it off by reminding her that once she had her memory back she could repay him. With that thought firmly in her head she had allowed him to move her into the hotel. It wasn't the biggest, ritziest, most expensive hotel in West City, but it would do. At least he was certain she couldn't remember staying in the glamorous hotels and wouldn't feel cheated by the small hotel. It was really almost a motel, but if he expected to be putting her up there for a while then she would just have to get along with it.
Daniel drove down the road, mindful that the streets were still slick with rain and oil and who knew how many other chemicals, his mind focused almost entirely on the blue haired woman he now seemed to be in charge of taking care of.
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Vegeta stormed through the hospital, looking in each and every room. After the first hospital he had grown tired of nurses, doctors, and other worthless staff trying to get in his way, so he zoomed past them as fast as he could, leaving only a slight breeze as evidence to them that he had been there. Five hospitals had yielded absolutely nothing to him. There was one Jane Doe with blue hair, but she wasn't Bulma, and he could easily tell that she dyed it that shade, which was just a tad bit off from the perfect aqua blue of the woman's.
He had one more hospital to try and he was determined to find her in it, or at least find some clue. The staff members he had actually deigned to talk to hadn't recognized the young woman in the picture he had shown them. He was fairly certain that the staff would have remembered her, he asked as many male members as he could. There were a few pretty blue haired women, but none of them could compare to the woman, and any man that had seen her would have remembered her.
The fifth hospital was where he got lucky...or unlucky, which ever fate preferred to call it. He easily found several men who were willing to drool over the picture and give him all the information he wanted, along with several women who were content to add anything the men missed while shooting jealous glares at the picture...or flirting with him....The last only put him in an even worse mood than the damn search had to begin with. And to make it all so much better he discovered the woman's presence in the hospital just as she was being checked out.
He ran down to the hospital parking lot and began looking around, but he couldn't see the woman anywhere he looked. His frantic dashes about the place were causing a large commotion as well, seeing as he didn't have any problem with shoving all of the people out of his way. Once the security people came up and asked him to leave, and he had thrown them suitably far enough and hard enough away, he took off back towards the Capsule Corporation. He would have to call a meeting, something he wasn't looking forward to. At least now he knew she was alive.
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AN: Alright, I know this chapter is short, but compared to the majority of chapters in my other stories, this one is still long. Hehe ^_^ And I apologize sooo much for taking so long in getting this out. I've had a TON of projects and things going on that has kept me too busy to write on this Fortunately, the majority of those are done.....or close to being done...I hope. Heh Anyway, I hope that no on is too disappointed with this chapter, because I'm not too sure about it...well, the second half I'm not too sure about anyway....Anyway, there is my apology and my excuse so all I will say now is that I hope you enjoy. ^_^
If you want to be on the mailing list for this story then just send an e-mail to hibari_heza@fangirl.org
And tell me that it's this story that you want, as I use this ml for all my dbz fics. ^_^ Or, leave your e-mail in a review and I'll add you. Thanks. I'm sorry to anyone who might have been trying to send an e-mail to my ml. I accidentally had the wrong addy, it's .org, not .com. hehe ^_^ But that one will work now. ^_^ Thanks.
manga: Eee! You stop inferring things just because I want them to be inferred. ^_~ lol kidding. Umm...well....I try to update quickly.....^_^
Ttrin: ^_^ Thanks. I like long chapters too, which is why I'm trying for them. Hehehe Now people can't complain about how short my chapters are. ^_^
IneiTenshi: Thanks. ^_^ You've been added, which you probably already noticed. ^_^
Emerald Shadow: Thanks. ^_^ I plan to, because I really love this story too.
miayu: I will. Thanks. ^_^ It's nice to hear things like that.
archangel-bulma: Well....they might find her soon....but you're right, they ought to hurry up. ^_^ hehe
Reef: lol ^_^ Yes, the poor thing. Let's hope he can find her soon...oh wait...I'm the author...why am I hoping? lol ^_^
Bryony: ^_^ Thanks! I'm glad I have people who like it. As long as I have at least a few people who read my stuff and like it then I'll keep it up. ^_^
Selenity Jade: ::is glomped:: Thanks Jade! ^_^ I'm glad you like it too. I know it pains you to not be able to read TCDB and have to settle for my other fic (^_~) but I really appreciate you reading it and liking it. ^_^
roguemoon: It's definitely going to be a B/V. Daniel's expendable. ^_^
Lynz: Thanks. ^_^ I'm glad you think so. I really love this one, and I'm glad other people do too.
Hitomi: Hehehe, he's certainly going to have to work to find her. ^_^ Does it makes sense after the second chapter?
Ryukai: ^_^ Thank you. I try to write faster than this, I've just been SO busy the last few weeks. What with all these projects, in school as well as for my house. Heh
death: Uhh well...not usually....I don't take so long usually. But I've had a lot of projects that have taken up a VERY large portion of my time everyday, so....it's taken me a while. Heh