Author's Note: As I referenced at the beginning of the last chapter, this is the second part of what was originally Chapter 4. So, as the last chapter was, this one will be a bit shorter than usual. Thank you for putting up with this, though. I really did think that this helps the emotional impact of each of these chapters.

And thank you all so, so much for your wonderful reviews! You guys are the best!

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"No change," Krillen said with a sigh as he hung up the phone.

Gohan nodded, his face virtually neutral after his mother's report. "In a manner of speaking," he quietly said, "that's actually good news."

The other adults in the room, which was really just his father and Krillen, looked at him curiously. "Gohan, she is not better," Goku stated, looking dejectedly at his large hands. "That's not bad news, but that's not good news either."

"Actually, it is," Gohan countered. "In most cases this severe, just being able to remain in stable condition for over twenty four hours after surgery is a good thing. Most fatalities occur during that first twenty four hour period of time."

Krillen shook his head. When Chi-Chi had called for her bi-hourly report, he had really been hoping for something better. "Hey, Gohan," the diminutive man asked, "would a senzu bean work right now? I mean, I know that there aren't any right now, and that this question won't actually fix anything, but if there had been some on the plant, would it be able to work?"

The teenager popped an eyebrow up at the question. "How should I know?" he admittedly responded. "I have had no more experience with them than any of you do."

"Well, yeah, but I was curious, and if anyone in our gang could figure it out, it would be you," Krillen responded with a laugh. "I mean, you are the brain of the gang after all!"

Gohan chuckled lightly. "Okay, I admit it, I'm a nerd." His smile faded for a moment as he seriously pondered the shorter man's question. "I really don't know whether it would work or not," he eventually responded. "I mean, her system is barely responding to nutrition based stimuli. What little she is receiving is broken down in to the simplest possible forms they could be in. The human body, in that condition, would have severe difficulty breaking down something like a bean. On the other hand," he went on, "it worked for me on Namek when…when Recoome snapped my neck."

He paused as a shiver ran down his spine. The entire experience had been traumatic to him, with the two most devastating moments being Vegeta's exploding heart and his own snapped spine. Yes, he had seen a lot of violence and death there, but those two moments would haunt him forever. Watching Vegeta, who had seemed like such an indominable force, get beaten near to death and then have his heart shot out of his chest, had made him feel more hopeless than he ever had before. Watching him struggle to get out his last words, choking on his own blood and vomit, was too much.

And his own neck…Gohan had been beaten down a lot in his life, but that was the worst physical feeling he had ever, ever had. For the forty seven seconds it was from the time his neck broke until the time his father gave him the bean, Gohan had felt himself going insane. His muscles twitched as random nerves tried to keep him alive, lungs wouldn't breathe, his heart wouldn't beat, and his mouth couldn't speak. He had been completely trapped in his own mind. It had been hell.

"I suppose it would," he finally reasoned. "I mean, if it worked on me without my nervous system being fully active, then it should work on a person in any condition, as long as they are still technically alive."

"See?" Krillen said with a smile. "I knew you'd know!"

"I don't know," Gohan countered. "I theorized."

Krillen just shrugged his shoulders. "Close enough." He ran his fingers through his hair before turning to his oldest friend. "Hey, Goku, penny for your thoughts man."

The full blooded Saiyan looked up, his sorrow visible in his dark brown eyes. "How long has it been since we got Bulma?" he softly asked.

"Fifty seven hours and forty eight minutes," his son responded after a quick check of his watch. "Why?"

Goku shrugged. "I just…I want to go see her."

Gohan and Krillen exchanged nervous glances with each other. "Dad," Gohan softly said, placing a hand on his father's shoulder, "I don't think that's such a good idea."

A sad smile crossed the large man's features. "It's okay, Gohan," he assured his first born. "I really have calmed down. It's just…"

The two other occupants of the room waited quietly for him to continue.

Goku squirmed in his chair. He really didn't want to tell them his real reason he wanted to see her, but he knew he was a terrible liar and that they deserved the truth. "If…if she really is…going away for a while," he began as diplomatically as possible, "then I want to…ah, never mind. It's going to sound stupid."

Krillen pulled up a chair and sat as his best friend's side. "Hey," he softly said, "no matter what it is, we won't think it's stupid."

Gohan nodded as he walked behind his father. He kept his arms crossed protectively across his chest, though. He wasn't sure why, but he felt slightly apprehensive at the moment. "It's okay, Dad," he assured. "Tell us."

Again, Goku shifted in his chair before letting out a tired sigh. "I want to make sure that I get a chance to say good-bye," he finally admitted.

As Krillen rubbed his friend's back comfortingly, Gohan took a step back. The teenager felt a bitter twinge arise in his chest, one that he hadn't felt in years. He couldn't help but feel slightly betrayed by his father's thoughts. When Goku had decided to leave, saying he was never coming back, he hadn't even bothered to directly tell his wife. Now, though, he needed to make sure that he got in one more talk with an old friend.

The boy drew a deep, quiet breath as he steadied his nerve. He kept in mind his mother's lessons of if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all. There was nothing crossing his mind that could help the situation, so he chose to stay quiet and let Krillen talk.

"I still don't think that it's a good idea, Goku," Krillen said. "She's not in a good place right now, and it's not like Vegeta's really going to let anyone even get close to her until she's better."

"Gohan got into the room," the taller man countered. "And I'm closer to Bulma than he is. Besides, I don't want to take her somewhere or something. I just want to talk to her incase she dies!"

"Look, Goku," the shorter man said, "even if the worst thing happens, we'll still see her again."

Gohan felt a pang in his heart, recalling the words he had heard from Vegeta earlier. "You people won't let me near the dragon balls, the gods all want to see me suffer, and when I die…" If the worst happened, everyone would get a chance to see their inventive friend…except for the man that loved her. But it was not the time to bring that up.

"But it could be a really long time!" Goku protested. "I don't want the last thing I say to Bulma for, like, fifty years be…whatever the hell the last thing I said to her was!"

That was it for Gohan. With an angry huff, he spun on his heel, kept his arms crossed over his chest, stormed outside and slammed the door.

Goku blinked in genuine confusion. "What was that all about?" he wondered out loud.

Krillen just offered a single shoulder shrug. "He's been at the heart of this since the beginning," the short man reasoned. "He's had a lot of stress on him in the last couple of days, and he only got about an hour of sleep since…hell, I think it's his third day straight."

The Saiyan nodded along. "I guess you're right. He's a great kid, isn't he?"

"The best," his best friend agreed.

Goku smiled as he looked out the kitchen window. "I am really proud of him. He's just such an amazing young man."

Krillen nodded as he scooted back in his chair. "He really is."

After a minute of silence, Goku turned back to his friend. "Krillen, I know that you think that it's a bad idea, but Bulma is one of my best friends, and I just want to see her. Even if it's for just a minute, I really think it would help me."

The short man sighed. "What about Vegeta?"

"What do you mean, what about Vegeta?" the tall man questioned.

"He's not exactly taking visitors," Krillen pointed out. "In fact, according to Chi-Chi's calls, even the doctors are having a hell of a time getting in to see her. Hell, everything that she's told us has had to come second had from the doctors and the nurses. I don't think he's going to make an exception for you."

A soft voice cleared in the kitchen doorway, and the two men looked up to see an icy eyed blond. "I thought you guys might want to know that all three kids are down for the night," she coolly reported.

Her husband let out a tired sigh. "How was Trunks doing today?"

"Better than yesterday," she replied, her voice still completely neutral. "He didn't do much besides moping today, which personally I preferred over his massive temper tantrums. And before you ask, Goten spent a lot of the day playing with Marron, and they both tried to cheer him up every hour, on the hour."

Krillen nodded, getting up from his chair to hug his wife. "Thanks for keeping an eye on the kids today."

"Hn," was the only response she gave as she kissed him on top of his head.

Slowly, Gohan walked back in to the house and peered into the kitchen. "Hey, guys," he softly said, "if any of you want to visit Bulma, she should be available in about an hour."

Eighteen cocked an eyebrow at the teenager. "Available? As in, unguarded by her psychopathic other half?"

"Precisely," the boy said, slipping his cell phone in to his pocket. "Mom said she'd call us as soon as he drifted off." His eyes were completely empty as he turned to his father. "This means that you'll get a chance to say whatever you want to her." He paused for a moment before adding, "Though you may want to IT Vegeta out of there and back to Capsule Corp, just in case he wakes up sooner than expected."

Not another word was spoken between the four of them as the minutes ticked away. None of them could think of anything that really seemed appropriate to say, so they remained in total silence until the phone rang. Gohan answered, said precious few words, and hung up.

"I guess it's time."