Tora came into Sona's room. He had the air of a victory about him, but she could tell something was bugging him.
"Tell me about Kanassa," she said, sitting up with one arm so as not to wake her newborn son. She winced slightly; she was still sore and quite weak. Tora sat on the end of her bed and sighed.
"Well, in short it was a success. We didn't know they were expecting us. Bardock said that the Kanassans have some sort of psychic ability. They were waiting for us when we arrived, but we easily overtook them."
Sona couldn't help but grin hugely at the news. Everyone had said her husband was a fool for taking on all the hardest missions. They said he was going to get himself killed. And every time Bardock was able to prove them wrong.
"Something happened to Bardock, though," Tora said. Sona's heart flew to her throat.
"Is he alright?" she asked.
"I think he'll be just fine. Some Kanassan survived and managed to attack Bardock. Planthor is taking care of him. He should be recovered soon. So far everything seems normal," Tora reassured her. Sona relaxed a little. Kakarot began to stir, whimpering gently. Tora's eyes fell on the child. "So this is little Kakarot," he smiled. "He looks just like Bardock," Tora mused. He stood slowly.
"Another mission?" Sona asked. Tora nodded.
"The order came directly from Frieza," he said, smiling.
"Well, at least our efforts are finally getting noticed," Sona said, smiling back. "You be careful," she called as he walked out, "Don't let 'em beat you up too bad."
After Tora had disappeared, Sona decided to go and find Bardock. She wanted to greet him for herself. Their crew had been on so many missions the past few months; she'd hardly had any time to speak with Bardock. She swung her long legs off the bed. The cool tile felt soothing under her feet. Weakly, and quite slowly, she managed to stand. It hurt, but she pushed the pain aside and slowly began to walk down the hallways, looking for Planthor.
After several minutes of unsuccessful searching, she turned into the only wing of the ward that she hadn't looked in. in the first room was an enormous healing tank. Planthor was outside of it, and Bardock was inside. She walked in.
"How is he?" she asked. Planthor was surprised to see her.
"Sona," he said, sternly, "What are you doing here? You shouldn't be up." Sona rolled her eyes and didn't answer. Planthor sighed. "I don't see anything wrong with him. He just has an irregular brain pattern. It shouldn't really affect anything-"
An alarm started wailing. Planthor walked over to the controls, and quickly studied the information being flashed at him.
"What's wrong?" Sona asked Planthor. Kakarot had begun to cry. She was swinging him from side to side in her arms, trying to calm him.
"His brain activity is skyrocketing," Planthor said, draining the liquid from the healing tank. Once the door to the healing tank hissed open, Kakarot's cries subsided. Bardock opened his eyes and removed the oxygen mask from his mouth.
"Can we have a minute?" Sona asked.
"Take as many as you like," Planthor nodded. "Bardock is sitting this next mission out." He smiled at Sona. "Don't be up for too long, or you might over do it," he advised, and strode out of the room. Sona walked over to Bardock. He grinned.
"Hey," he greeted. "It's been a while." He stood, stepping out of the healing tank, and crossed the room to his armor.
"How are you feeling?" Sona asked. Bardock paused before replying.
"Weird. I just had these visions…" his voice trailed off. "Where are the others?" he asked, changing the subject.
"They got another assignment. From Frieza himself," Sona said.
"From Frieza?" Bardock asked, shocked. "That's good news. Maybe this whole class system is starting to mean less and less."
"Yeah," Sona laughed. "That'll be the day." Kakarot became restless once more. His cries made Bardock acknowledge his newest son. He looked into Sona's arms, and saw a mirror image of himself. He paused. This was the child he had seen in his vision. He wasn't sure just what that meant. Bardock put his scouter on, and kissed his wife on the cheek.
"Just where do you think you're going?" she asked him.
"To find my crew, of course. You don't think I'm going to let them have all this fun on their own, do you?" he asked. Sona sighed. Letting him go was against her better judgment, but she knew how he felt. Being left behind was horrid and dull.
"Don't let Planthor catch you," she smiled. Bardock grinned back, and turned to run out the door. He halted.
"I almost forgot," he said. He tossed her scouter. Sona caught it with one hand. "That's to keep you in the loop." He smiled and ran out the door.
"Looks like it's just me and you again, Kakarot," she whispered to her son. She wandered back down the hallways. When she collapsed in her bed, she felt immediate relief. She lay on her back and let Kakarot rest beside her.
Her mind wandered to Raditz. It had been a good year since she had seen him last. She was lucky to have been able to see him at all. She wondered how he was doing, or if he was still alive. Last she had heard Raditz was going to train with King Vegeta's children. She wasn't sure how she felt about that. In a way, she was proud. Yet, at the same time, she was worried for her son's safety.
She looked down at the sleeping Kakarot. Soon the time would come to let him go, too. She dreaded that day. Perhaps Bardock had it figured out. When Raditz left, he was upset. He had decided to avoid bonding with his sons so that when they left, it would take less of an emotional toll. She absentmindedly ran her fingers through Kakarot's hair, and felt her eyelids droop. She still had a few days left with her son, so she pushed her worries to the back of her mind and fell asleep.