Okay I know I haven't updated this in a very long time. It's not because I don't know what I want to do with the story; it's because I mostly lack inspiration to write. Anyway, I finished adding three paragraphs to this and decided to post it. This story has been going on for two years now and I'm not going to just let it die. Please read and enjoy.

Chapter 6: The Broken Father She Loved

Goku looked at both girls when they were inside the door. "Setsei, you wouldn't mind staying down here while Pan goes up to see her dad right?"

"I don't mind at all Mr. Son."

Goku nodded and pointed toward the living room. "You can go watch TV in the living room while Pan and I go upstairs to see her dad then." Then he led Pan up the stairs to her father's room. He was silent the whole way, and for a minute Pan thought that his hyper act was put on for Setsei's benefit, the kind of act every parent uses when they want to be nice in public every so often. She lowered her head, feeling miserable. Goku noticed, but didn't say anything. He knew that she wouldn't be comforted until she actually talked to her dad.

They reached the top of the stairs and Pan noticed that the door to Gohan's room was slightly ajar. A soft female voice drifted from the room into the hallway. Goku pushed Pan ahead of him, giving her the signal to go into the room. Pan looked back at her grandfather, and he could see that she was scared. He only nodded at her, giving her a slight smile of reassurance.

Pan sighed and took a deep breath. She then pushed the door open slowly and stepped inside. The door slid back, creaking eerily as ungreased hinges groaned. Chichi looked up from the bed and Pan half smiled at her. Pan didn't want to look, but some unknown force inside her forced her to look at her father. As she did, she noticed his face was pale and drawn, aging him older than he really was. His eyes looked tired, but they turned to face Pan and the black irises locked with her own. "Pan…" he began weakly.

"Yes dad?" It was hard to speak and her voice quivered.

"Pan… what I did… is something I never should have done."

"I know." She didn't what else to say. What do you say to the man you loved who did something terribly unlike himself?

"I miss your mother. She was the love of my life, the light in my candle. She always had a bright and fiery outlook on life, as if no one could squelch that flame. But someone did… and I regret every day that she was taken from this world too soon. I wish it had never happened, but we can never return to the past or float by on the what ifs of life. My reaction today, however, was uncalled for. I was having trouble, but drinking was not the answer. I not only endangered myself, but you as well. You've already lost one parent; you don't need to lose another."

Pan lowered her head and nodded. What should she say? She didn't know and was at a loss for words. "I'm… sorry too, dad…" she whispered as she turned and walked out of the room, tears falling silently.

Gohan turned to face his mother. "I messed up again…."

Pan trudged slowly down the stairs again, feeling no better about anything. The tears slid slowly down her face and she cried silently. She walked toward the living room, where Setsei was supposed to be. The room was dark and quiet when she arrived and she wondered where Setsei had wandered off. She saw another light dancing on the floor, and followed it. She knew she was heading toward the library, and knew her grandfather wouldn't dare go in there; he didn't like books for the sole reason that they couldn't spar with him and that he feared Chichi beating them into his head like she did with Gohan. Pan's only conclusion was that it could be Setsei, but she was pleasantly shocked when she stepped across the threshold.

There she saw Goku and Setsei, sitting together on the red leather couch that her father kept in the library. Setsei had a book entitled A Beginner's Astrology Guide and was reading it to Goku, who seemed fascinated by it all. Pan stood there and watched the two—Setsei reading and pointing out the meaning of the pictures on the pages after doing so. Goku would then point out different constellations he'd seen, or ask questions. Setsei didn't seem bothered by this; in fact, she seemed quite used to this kind of exchange.

Flashback

Young Setsei sat upon her mother's lap, a picture book about the stars opened in front of her. "Look, Setsei. There's the moon. The moon comes out at night. It provides light to people outside."

"Look mommy. The moon has different shapes. The moon is round here and very skinny here." Pudgy fingers pointed out the changes in the moon's shape.

"Do you know what those different shapes are called?"

"Phases mommy. The moon has different phases that change each month." Setsei clapped for herself. She enjoyed learning about the moon and stars. "Mommy, how many stars are in the sky?"

"No one knows. We do know there's billions and billions of stars up there, big and little balls of light."

"Where do the stars come from? How do they get up in the sky like that? Did someone throw them up there?" Setsei fired a round of questions at her mother.

"I can't really answer that for you Setsei. You'll have to learn that on your own dear." She smiled warmly at her daughter, and saw a fierce passion to discover the secrets behind the stars. Salina knew she'd been given a gifted child, and was more than happy to indulge in Setsei's quest for knowledge. Setsei was barely six, yet so eager to learn about everything, but she loved the stars the most. They were her favorite subject.

"Mommy, when people die, do they become stars?" Setsei asked an honest question, albeit it being a bit dark.

"What?… oh no dear. When people die they go to this place called heaven and become angels if they are good people. If they are bad people then they go to a bad place where all kinds of other bad people go."

"Is that where Malcolm is going? For killing that other lady?"

"Setsei! You must never speak of that man! He was very very bad!" Salina reprimanded Setsei a little more harshly than she meant to, and Setsei began to whimper. Malcolm wasn't even Setsei's real father, yet somehow she'd found out about him. Salina embraced her daughter in a motherly hug. "I'm sorry dear. It's just he's someone we mustn't talk about. He was very bad. Now, what else do you want to know about the stars? Oh I know. Do you know what the study of the stars is called?"

"Um…. Study of the Stars?" Setsei guessed.

Salina laughed a little. "Not quite. It's a big word so I'll say it slowly. As-tro-lo-gy. Astrology."

"Astroolowgy?" Setsei tried pronouncing the word, while pushing her glasses back up the bridge of her nose.

"As-tro-lo-gy," repeated her mother.

"Astrolowgy," answered Setsei again.

"You're getting much better at pronouncing these big words, Setsei."

"I'm a big girl mommy. I can handle big words."

Salina laughed again. "Yes you can love." She looked up as she heard a stomping coming down the steps. It was Tommy, her husband and Setsei's real father. Her face became etched with worry as she saw the worn black suitcase in his left hand. "Tommy…" she set Setsei on the couch and stood to face him.

"Salina, it's over. I'm leaving on the next train outta Tarek City. We tried and it's not working. So I'm fixing the problem by leaving," responded Tommy in a cool voice. Tommy was a gruff man, 6' 5" tall with black greased back hair. He had a narrow face that wasn't always neatly shaven, but was never out of control either. He had on his motorcycle gear even though he no longer owned a motorcycle.

"But Tommy… We were trying.. We were working through things… We were doing well…" Salina's eyes welled with tears and her voice became softer as realization sank in.

"No Salina. You were just living a dream that'd never come true. Don't you see? We aren't happy and we won't be. Things aren't going to work out like a storybook." Tommy walked over to the coat rack, grabbing his leather jacket and flinging it over his shoulder.

Setsei watched this exchange from the couch, her eyes wide. She didn't know what was going on, only that her mommy was upset and daddy was catching a train. He'd be back wouldn't he? He always came back after trips. But then why was mommy so upset? "Mommy?…."

"Setsei go upstairs to your room," Salina said sternly.

"But…" Setsei began to cry. She didn't know what was going on.

"Let her be Salina. I want to say goodbye to my daughter." Tommy kneeled down, and held his arms out. "Come here, Setsei. Daddy's gotta go catch a train."

Setsei stood glued to her spot, crying. She held her picture book to her chest now, the only comfort she had. Something bad was going on, and she didn't know what it was. So she did the only thing she could. She ran out of the room.

"See what you did now, Salina? You scared her off again," yelled Tommy angrily. He picked up his bags and opened the door. "I hope you rot in hell," he yelled as he slammed the door shut behind him, the walls shaking with the force of it.

Salina fell to her knees and sobbed, her heart shattered. Tommy had lied to her yet again. She sobbed and sobbed, Setsei temporarily forgotten. And somewhere in a dark corner, a little girl hugged a picture book as she cried herself to sleep.

End Flashback

The memory of what had happened to Setsei as a young child no longer plagued her like it used to. In fact, it just fueled her desire to learn and survive on her own. The former she could do; the latter was another story. She found it odd that she was teaching an old man about the stars, but he liked them as much as she did, even if he didn't know too much about them. "So if the world is so technical these days, then how come we don't know how many stars there are in the sky?" asked Goku.

"There's no way to tell how many, sir. We will never know beyond uncertain estimates."

"I told you to call me Goku."

"Okay Goku."

Setsei glanced up and noticed Pan in the doorway. "I have to go now Goku. You keep looking at this book if you like." She walked over to Pan and together they walked out of the library, leaving Goku to continue to look at the book. "I'm sorry about not being in the living room, but Goku thought that I would like the library." When Pan didn't answer her, she glanced at the other girl. She couldn't see much of anything in the dark though. She decided it best to keep quiet and followed Pan.

Pan led Setsei through the dark house, stopping in a dimly lit room. As Setsei's eyes adjusted, she could tell that they were in the kitchen, and her stomach rumbled hungrily. She'd forgotten she'd not eaten since lunch. She squinted as the refrigerator door opened and new light appeared. She watched the silhouette of Pan scrounge through the shelves, setting things on the counter beside her as she made her choices. Setsei only saw the shadows of food, heard the sounds as the glass plates were set onto the marble countertop.

The light soon disappeared and Pan walked over to flip the light switch. Light flooded the kitchen and Setsei could actually see her surroundings. She rubbed her eyes to help them adjust to the bright light. It was then that Setsei got a glimpse at Pan's reddened face. She saw the tear streaks and frowned. "Pan… are you all right?"

"Fine, fine."

Pan's terse response told Setsei that everything was not fine; Setsei wondering if she should say anything, but realized that saying something could ruin everything. She honestly wondered if there was anything to be said to Pan to make things even slightly better. All the thinking began to hurt Setsei's brain. Questions surfaced in her mind, questions about Pan's father and his condition, but Setsei knew it would be rude to ask. Instead, she watched silently as Pan made what appeared to be sandwiches, slowly, robotically. It was as if someone else had taken over Pan's body. Setsei gasped when a plate was set in front of her, shaking her from her reverie.

Setsei looked down at her plate, guessing that her sandwich was peanut butter and jelly. As she picked up the soft sandwich, she glanced over at Pan, who was chewing the same piece of sandwich for the twentieth time. Setsei couldn't bear to see anyone in this much pain; it was draining her appetite just looking at the girl. Slowly, she set her sandwich down on the table, removing herself from her chair. She hoped Pan didn't notice as she cast a sideways glance to her right. Pan's head was turned in the other direction, jaws still chewing in that same robotic fashion.

When she felt those arms around her waist, she gasped. Pan was slammed back into reality by this somewhat frail gesture of kindness. As Pan looked around at the source, she saw Setsei holding her tightly in a warm embrace. It was something Pan hadn't felt in her lifetime. Her father never hugged her like this, like, like…. A mother…the words shot forth brilliantly into Pan's mind. It was comforting and consoling; Pan understood Setsei's concern now. "Thank… Thank you, Setsei." Pan smiled down at the younger girl, and received a genuine smile in return. Suddenly, the night seemed a whole lot better.

And thus ends this chapter. And no, this ending does not mean the two are bisexual! Anyway, please review. I've actually been working on chapter 7 and will post it hopefully within the next month or less! Review!