Till Death Do Us Part: Chapter 9

I used to believe in us
when times got tough
but lately im afraid
that even love is not enough. – Chelsey Moore

Chapter 9: "Trust Me, Trunks"

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The sky was filled with dark gray clouds. Lightening flashed overhead, and the city seemed illuminated for a brief second. Rain poured over the tall buildings and the smaller houses surrounding them, washing away all signs of life. A young woman stood on the deserted sidewalk, completely drenched in the rain, extending an arm out to the man who stood several feet away from her.

"Help!" she shouted. "Help me!"

The rain had begun to flood the small city, and the woman realized with a panic that she was trapped. The water was already up to her knees and she did not know how to swim. Desperately, she looked at the man in the raincoat.

"Help me!" she said again.

Slowly, he was making his way over to her.

"Hurry up!" she screamed. "I can't swim!"

What was taking him so long? The water had already come up to her neck. She closed her eyes and gasped for her last few breaths of fresh air …

… but the man in the raincoat had reached her at last. He took her arm and dragged her out to safety.

"Oh, thank you!" she cried. "Thank you so much, sir!"

The man smiled, and for the firt time she realized that his eyes were a startling blue. Wisps of lavender hair escaped from the hood he wore, and the young woman gasped upon recognizing him at once.

He touched her lips with his fingers. "So beautiful," he whispered hoarsely, his smile replacing a sneer. "It's a shame you've got to go." And then, to her horror, he pushed her back into the treacherous water and remained there until the the last of her screams had died away.

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"No!" Pan screamed and woke up with a start, her heart pounding in her chest. She got out of bed, dizziness washing over her. She gasped in pain, clutching her stomach.

Shit. Those stupid tablets. I knew I should have taken them with me.

She felt lightheaded again and ran to the bathroom, barely making it in time before she gagged.

"Officer Ryan!" she tried to scream but realized she couldn't breathe.

I'm dying, she thought. Oh God, oh God, help me!

That was the last thought she had before she passed out.

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When she awoke again, Pan realized she was in a hospital. Nothing new for her, of course, but this time she remembered that the pain had been even more excruciating. She feared her cancer was spreading throughout her entire abdomen.

"Pan Son?" A petite Caucasian woman stepped into her room. "I'm Dr. Bynes." She seated herself on a stool next to Pan. "How are you feeling? Better, I hope?"

Pan nodded, and she continued, "There are some things that I'd like to discuss with you, Miss Son." She paused. "Firstly, are you aware that you have blood cancer?"

Pan gave her a grim smile. "Yeah. Tell me something I don't know, Doc."

The doctor seemed relieved. "All right, then. Miss Son, I would like you to know that your fainting spell and nausea were completely unrelated to the cancer."

Pan stared at her, confused. "What? Are you saying I have some other new disease as well?"

Her doctor laughed. "No, no, not at all." She paused a few minutes, her eyes twinkling. "What I'm saying, Miss Son, is that you are pregnant."

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Ten minutes after the doctor had given her the horrible news, Pan still sat in shock, feeling dazed and numb. Only a single thought ran through her mind over and over again- This can't be happening. But there was nothing that she, or anyone else, could do. She had to go back now, let Trunks know what he had done. She shook her head, remembering. She had taken the chance and had gone all the way with him- on their first date- and it had felt so right.

Well, there you go, Pan. You made a mistake, now you gotta suffer the consequences.

She absently patted her stomach. The doctor had said they would take full precautions when it came time for her to give birth. Because she was a cancer patient, all kinds of things were possible: her baby might be handicapped, she might also have cancer in her genes, she might even die during childbirth. Pan shuddered to think about all the things that could go wrong.

The door opened again and Ryan walked into her room. "Hey. You feeling okay, Pan?"

She shook her head miserably. "Actually, I feel like shit, Officer."

He laughed, and seated himself on a chair close to her. "At least you're being truthful." He looked away from her, then, but not before she noticed his eyes were moist. "You know, Pan, I'm really sorry. I thought…" He let his voice trail off for a few minutes. "I thought I was the only one that was hurt. Suffering. I had no idea that you have cancer…"

She actually smiled at him. "Its all right. How could you have known? You couldn't have."

He shook his head, then turned his blue eyes on her again. "And my God, you're pregnant, too. Look, Pan, I just want you to know that I'm still willing to take you up on my offer. Nothing's changed."

"Thanks, but no thanks, Officer Kurtis. If they let me go today, I'm going to head back home. Hell, I'll even forgive them for what they did." She looked sad. "Because I want the baby's father to know. I want to give my baby a family."

Ryan nodded. "I understand, Pan. But if you ever need me, for anything at all, don't hesitate to call me up. And I don't just mean if you get in trouble with the cops again." He grinned.

"Miss Son?" Their conversation was interrupted by a nurse. "Dr. Kenny says it's all right for you to return home at this time. Just make sure you come back regularly for checkups. It is very important that both you and your baby receive the right treatment."

Pan was already getting out of bed. "Yeah, thanks." She waited until the nurse had left before turning back around to gather up her things. When she was done, Ryan offered to drive her home and she accepted gratefully. Grabbing her jacket, she followed him to his Mercedes, climbed in, and they sped off.

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As they reached Marron's two-bedroom apartment, Ryan stopped the car and scribbled his number on a piece of paper.

"Here," he said. "If you need anything, just call."

"Thanks," she replied. She remained in the car for a few minutes, then turned her green eyes on him. "Thanks for everything, actually. Not many people would have picked up a girl off the street and brought her home, even let her spend the night." He started to protest but she cut him off, saying, "You're a cop, I understand. But it wasn't your job to do what you did for me that night."

She opened the door of his blue Mercedes. "Goodbye, Ryan."

"See you around," he murmered, too shocked to say anything more.

As he drove away from the two story apartment, a small thought hit him. Slowly, a goofy smile crept onto his face.

She had called him Ryan.

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Trunks sat alone in his study, unable to concentrate on the piles of work that lay scattered around his desk. Only a single solitary thought nagged at his brain—Pan.

He snapped out of his thoughts when the phone rang.

He knew the man on the other end, heard more than he wanted to know. By the time Trunks hung up the phone, an idea had begun forming in his mind. It was terrible, he knew, but it was something that had to be done.

His whole world had just changed.

That's when the phone rang again. It was Marron this time, but he was scarcely listening to any of her blubbering.

"Shit, Trunks, PAN IS AT MY HOUSE! Are you listening to me, goddamit? You better get your ass in here fast. I'm not kidding…"

Trunks placed the phone back in its reciever with a soft click.

It was time to put his plan into action.

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Marron watched the tall, handsome guy with blond hair as he dropped off Pan in front of her apartment. Pan was smiling as she got out. What the hell?

Seconds later, Pan was sitting on the chair across from her, a shadow over her face. Neither one of them quite knew what to say.

Finally, Marron broke the ice. "I'm sorry, Pan. For everything. I know I'm a complete asshole. You don't have to talk to me ever again if you don't want to. But I'm glad you came back." She stopped talking when she realized that Pan had tears in her eyes.

"Why, Marron?" Pan looked so sad right then that Marron almost burst into tears herself. "All I want to know is, why? I trusted you so much. You were like a sister to me."

Marron averted her eyes. "I was always jealous of you, Pan." She hung her head. "Boys always preferred you to me. I know it's stupid, but jealousy can make you do awful things, Pan."

They sat in silence for a few minutes, until a car screeched to a stop outside and Marron looked at Pan.

"That's Trunks. He knows you're here."

Pan groaned inwardly. She had been hoping that she wouldn't have to deal with Trunks until tomorrow morning at least. So much for that idea.

She didn't look at him as he came in, didn't react when he placed his hand on top of hers. Carefully, he touched her cheek. She refused to meet his eyes.

"Hey, Panny." He said quietly. "Look, I don't know how else to say this to you, but I'm damn sorry. I love you, Pan. And when you disappeared on me like that, you don't how it was for me." He shook his head. "Torture."

Finally, she looked into his eyes. Trunks was shocked to see unshed tears in her eyes. Impulsively, he placed his arms around her and hugged her tightly. She broke his embrace, however and dabbed at her eyes with a tissue.

"Pan? What's wrong?"

"So many things, Trunks." She sighed deeply. "I don't know where to start."

"Well, how about you start by telling me where you were all this time?"

"I was picked up by a cop not too long after I ran away," Pan began wearily. "It was late, Trunks. He offered me a place to spend the night. In his guest room, of course," she added quickly. "And, well, I ended up in the hospital until late this morning. Because.." she stopped to get his full attention. "I'm pregnant."

Both Trunks and Marron stared at her with a deadly silence.

"What did you just say?" Trunks had disbelief written all over his face.

Pan nodded her head firmly. "Yes, Trunks, I'm pregnant. With your child." She smiled at him. "I know it's crazy, but try to look at the bright side. I forgive you, okay? Because you're gonna be a daddy."

"Hold it," Trunks held up a hand. "Exactly how old was this police officer you spent the night with?"

Pan seemed puzzled by his question. "I don't know, maybe in his late twenties? Early thirties?"

Trunks smirked. "I thought so." When Pan continued to stare at him in utter confusion he went on, "Pan, darling, how am I to believe that this is my child you're carrying?"

Suddenly, she understood everything with such clarity that it made her head hurt. "Trunks. Are you kidding me? That's bullshit!" Tears streamed down her face, and he made no effort to wipe them away.

"No, it's not bullshit, Pan. It's what you've laid out in front of me. Prove to me that it's my kid, and we've got everything settled." He shrugged.

"And how am I supposed to do that?" she glared at him angrily. "I'm not like you, Trunks. I don't go around having sex at every given oppurtunity!"

"Watch it!" Trunks shouted back. "You're really testing my fucking patience, Panny."

"Oh, is that so?" Pan said sarcastically. "And you were telling me how much you loved me a few minutes ago." She shook her head in disgust. "Face it, Trunks. You men don't mean half of what you say. If you really loved me, you would trust me, too!"

"Shut up, both of you!" Marron yelled at the top of her lungs. "Trunks, what the hell has gotten into you? Last I remember, you're no angel yourself. So why put the blame on Pan?"

Trunks turned away from her. "That was different. I didn't get you pregnant."

"Forget it, Marron," Pan spoke up at the same time. "I've heard enough. And it's obvious I made a mistake coming back here. To the man that I thought loved me." She stared at him coldly, ignoring Marron's screams of 'Stop her, Trunks, stop her!'

"I will raise this child on my own, Trunks Briefs. Because as far as I'm concerned, we are done."

And with that, she calmly packed up her bags and left the house.

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A/N: Yes, yes, I know. A new twist! As if Pan didn't already have enough on her hands to deal with, she is now pregnant as well. ;) And she's also dying. Where will this lead to? WILL Panny ever get better? Will Trunks and Pan ever be together? Find out.