Tora grinned as he strolled down the inclined path towards the playground, swinging the bright pink gift bag with Marron's presents inside. He'd managed to talk Catie into going to the toy store for him after bribing her with a good sparring match, a Monty Python marathon, and a rather large bag of candy. Catie had tried to negotiate learning his heart-crushing technique, but Tora had adamantly refused. Catie managed to find a rather beautiful pink unicorn stuffed animal and an incredibly glittery hot pink picture frame for the photo of Marron's parents.
It looked like everyone had arrived before him, gathering together beneath the open-air pavilion, the table covered in brightly colored gifts and a large cake. He walked over and set the gift on the table before turning to look at the children running and climbing all over the playground equipment. A chain link fence behind the pavilion kept the children from tumbling down the steep incline while still providing a beautiful view of the lake. The summer air was already sweltering hot and Tora wiped the sweat from his forehead, smiling at Goku and his mates. Tora rather liked them; he and Tien had gone hunting a couple times together and Tora thought he might do just about anything to get a bite of Sabriena's cooking. "Love this weather," he grinned at Goku. It was true. Saiyans were definitely warm-weather people.
Goku chucked, "Oh man! I know it! If I thought I could get away with it, I'd take cat naps all the time in the sun!" He winked at Tien, "That is, if there weren't so many chores to do. Ah well, I gotta save up for winter!" He gave an involuntary shiver, watching as the kids all ran back and forth around on the playground.
Jenny leaned back against Piccolo as she watched the children. She couldn't stop the small laugh that worked its way past her lips at Goku's shiver. She looked over at Sabriena, giving her a wink, "It's a wonder you can get that one out of bed on a cold day, hmm? Or does he just crawl into the fireplace until spring?"
Goku tilted his head back, smiling at Jenny upside down, "I tried that once, it wasn't much fun. Much easier just to hide under the covers and take prisoners as they walk by. I pride myself on warm cuddles." He said in an almost serious voice.
"He totally does," Sabriena laughed. "Can't do anything in the winter near the bed or the next thing you know, he just snatches ya and pulls you under the blankets. He gets me every time." She paused and shot Goku a wink. "It's really funny to watch him try to take Tien prisoner, though. Tien tries to fight back."
Tien snickered and shook his head at the memory. "We can't hibernate all winter long," he said and looked pointedly at Goku. He turned his attention back to Jenny. "So are you feeling okay? You look better than the last time we saw you, kiddo."
Jenny couldn't stop smiling at the image her mind was coming up with, Goku hiding under the covers and tackling Tien to drag him under the covers. She shook her head and looked to Tien, "I am feeling better. My hormones are just a bit out of it, but I'm managing. Pills are a wondrous thing for that kind of stuff." She looked back at her husband, "He's been a saint through it all, even when I accidentally got upset over a pillow. I had my reasons, though!" She chuckled and sobered up, "I start chemo in three weeks and a couple of days."
Piccolo gave a soft snort at the mention of the pillow. He had to keep reminding himself to be patient, that this was an adjustment period for her. But damn if he wasn't spending more and more time meditating whenever he could.
Sabriena got up and went over to Jenny and planted a big kiss on her forehead. "I'm glad you're okay," she said and hugged her friend. She narrowed her eyes at Piccolo over Jenny's shoulder. "Watch him. He'll pick you up and throw you out in the hallway if you fight with him about that damn bed."
Jenny chuckled and looked a little embarrassed as she hugged Sabriena back tightly, "I ah, actually threw him out. But in my defense, I immediately realized I was wrong and let him back in. I'm sure he was tempted to toss me."
"HA!" Sabriena cried and pointed at Piccolo. "That's what you get! Jenny finally avenged me." She squeezed Jenny a little tighter before she went and plopped herself down in Goku's lap.
Piccolo's eye twitched and he pressed his lips together to bite back a remark towards Sabriena. Instead he just put his arm around Jenny and turned to watch their daughters as they ran around on the playground, squealing and laughing, having the time of their lives. He lowered his face next to her ear and said in a low voice, "I'm glad you decided to come today."
Jenny smiled and leaned back against him, turning her face to his. Her nose squashed into his cheek and she smiled. "Thanks for convincing me to come. This was a good idea. It feels good to be out with friends and family," she said, and she meant it. It made the road ahead look a little less bleak.
Eighteen was trying to make everything perfect, and with Bulma's help it was. The food was all here, the cake was pristine. She took a moment to rub her hand over her face. It was the first birthday for Marron since her father died. She shook her head, knowing somewhere up there Krillin was probably watching them. Maybe that King Kai or whoever Goku wouldn't shut up about was letting Krillin listen in on today. She looked over everything, before she looked back to Bulma about to open her mouth when she paused, seeing Tora. She grabbed the nearest person next to her, who happened to be Catie, "What is that doing here?"
Catie yelped as Eighteen's nails dug into her arm. "Marron invited him!" she answered. "I thought you knew that. He had an invitation from her and everything. He asked me to pick up the presents for her. He did a really good job, too. Better than my idea for a marshmallow gun..." She cringed at the expression on Eighteen's face. "I didn't get her one! Trunks said no." She looked over at the tall Saiyan, wondering how Marron had managed to invite him without her mother's knowledge. "Eighteen, he's not so bad," she said in a low tone. "Really, he's actually pretty damn cool once you get to know him."
Eighteen let go of Catie, sending her daughter a look but was ignored. She groaned and rubbed her face, she could almost hear her late husband in the back of her head, 'Aw, come on Eighteen. He did save our baby's life. At least let him eat some cake before you send him away.' She looked back at Tora and then at her daughter, mumbling under her breath, "We are going to have a serious talk when you and I get home ." She sighed, looking at the group before she threw her arms up and stalked away fiddle with the decorations.
Tora saw Eighteen out of the corner of his eye, the look she'd given him as she stormed away. "Eh, hold that thought, Kakarot," he said, pausing Goku's story about the time he and Tien went bear hunting. He followed Eighteen, determined to get her to talk to him. "She invited me, you know," he said to her back. "I came because she asked me to, not to make you uncomfortable. Can't we at least be civil? Neither one of us is going away anytime soon and with as often as these guys want everyone to get together, it's going to make for a lot of awkward moments."
Eighteen wanted to turn, she wanted to snap, to yell at him, but her daughter invited him. And when she had told her daughter how it happened, how Krillin had died, who had been at the end of the blast, no matter how she tried or wanted to paint that picture, it hadn't been Tora. It had been another. Another, while this man turned and started defending Goku when he was hurt. She exhaled and closed her eyes as tears slipped down her cheeks. No matter what she did, ignoring this man, shouting at him, punching him. It wasn't going to bring Krillin back. And if she became that woman who yelled at parties, made her children look at her like she was some sort of irrational bitch. Her mind drifted over Chichi for a moment with disgust and she turned back to Tora. She could at least honestly say she liked him better than that cold hearted shrew.
"We can be civil," she said flatly and immediately felt like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. And if she had listened real hard, she would have heard something quite similar to 'That's my girl' on the breeze. She let out the breath she had been holding. "Don't think we will be friends or whatever you were hoping we would be. Your friends still murdered my husband. But you didn't. And you did save my daughter." She sighed and ran a hand through her blonde hair, "Thank you for saving her. If I had lost her that day, that part of him, I don't know what I would have done."
It was more than Tora had hoped for and all he asked. "I couldn't stand by and let her get hurt," he answered. "I sort of made a promise to not let anything bad happen to you or your daughter. I know Daikon killed your husband and you're right, he was my friend. But that doesn't mean I condone what he did." He lowered his voice, "Eighteen, if I could change it, I would." He didn't know what else to say, how he could make this any more tolerable for her. He just wanted to get to a point where every time she looked at him, she didn't think of her husband's death. He wanted to say something that would make it better, but as always, words failed him. He was opening his mouth to try and speak again, but little Marron came running over, her little face sweating and bright red, a stark contrast to her blonde hair. She was grinning excitedly up at him, as if she had been worried that he might not show up. "Happy Birthday, little one," he smiled.
Any words Eighteen might have said died on her tongue and she looked down at her daughter, pure innocence. She almost felt foolish for letting her hate guide her actions, her daughter seeing more clearly than she had. Then again, she didn't have to hold her dying father as he bled to death in her arms, whispering words of, "I love you" and "Take care, take care of our baby." She wiped her tears away as she watched Marron bounce up and down.
"You came! You came! You came! I'm so happy!" she cried and jumped up into his arms giving him a big hug, as much as she could manage with her tiny arms.
Tora grinned and hugged her back, taking care not to squeeze her tiny frame too tightly. "I told you I would," he chuckled. He shifted her in his arms, moving her to sit on his shoulder. "Come on, birthday girl," he grinned. "I think it's about time you dug into that cake." He gave a small smile to Eighteen, then headed over to the pavilion as the other kids came running, excited about the cake and ice cream.
It was a nice party; everyone thoroughly enjoyed the cold ice cream on such a hot day. Tora didn't join in on the singing; he didn't sing, he didn't know the song anyway, and it felt sort of silly. But Marron beamed when she blew out her candles and she was more than excited about all the presents everyone gave her.
"Last one!" little Trunks grinned and shoved Tora's present towards Marron.
Marron giggled excitedly, already wearing a little tiara and a bright pink feathered boa, and new shoes from Sabriena. She was sitting on a quilt made from some of the softest fur she had ever felt in her life that Tien had given her. She clapped her hands and dove into the last present, her eyes going big when she pulled out the unicorn, "He's so fluffy! I'm gonna die!" She hugged it tightly under her arm and reached into the bag again, pulling out the wrapped picture frame which she eagerly tore apart and stopped short when she saw her mommy and daddy smiling at her. Her breath caught. Her daddy. She ran a hand over his smiling face.
Eighteen remembered as she saw the picture, 'I want the world to know that I have the best woman on the face of the planet as my fiancee!' She could almost hear him laughing as the picture was being taken. 'Come 'ere beautiful! Let's get a picture together.' Eighteen quickly turned her head and wiped away the tears in her eyes, looking over at Tora, "How… how did you get that picture?"
Tora looked only slightly guilty as he rubbed the back of his neck. "I might've had a little help," he admitted, casting a glance at Trunks, who had suddenly taken an extreme interest in the clouds, whistling to himself. 'Way to be conspicuous, bud,' Tora thought to himself. "I just wanted to do something nice for her," he said softly, hoping the others weren't listening to him as they cut the cake and passed it around. He beamed at the way Marron hugged the unicorn and showed everyone the picture of her parents. "She needs to see you happy. And she needs to remember him." He hoped he was doing this right. Truth be told, he didn't have a clue what he was doing or trying to accomplish, but all he knew was that this woman and that little girl deserved to be happy.
Eighteen felt her eyes tearing up. Looking at the picture again, she wiped her eyes, not trusting her voice but nodded. She looked at him again, looking him over. In truth, she didn't see the horrible monster from Leelee's vision, the blood soaked carnage. Her daughter was happy and loved the gift and in truth, she didn't have a picture quite like that of her husband. It was perfect for little Marron. "She loves it," she said quietly, swallowing thickly, "Thank you." She wandered over to the cake table to help cut, she cut extra-large slices for the Saiyans, setting the one for Tora on the table and nudging it in his direction.
The children practically inhaled their cake and ice cream before rushing back out to play again. Tora felt a million times better now that Eighteen wasn't giving him death-glares every three seconds. He wasn't quite sure how he got suckered into pushing the kids on the swings and spinning them on the merry-go-round, but he found he didn't mind. After quite a while of playing with them, he finally wandered back over to the adults, ignoring the way Vegeta smirked at him. He lost himself in conversation, thinking to himself how happy he was that he had agreed to go that day.
"Come on, we can get a better view of the lake if we climb over the fence!" little Trunks encouraged, dragging Goten and Paige along with him. Alice followed behind, crossing her arms and shaking her head.
"You think it's safe?" Goten asked.
"Of course it is!"' Trunks insisted. "Come on you guys. Paige, you're not a scaredy cat, are you? Come on, Marron!"
Marron looked at the ledge on the other side of the fence with apprehension in her eyes and she clutched her unicorn tighter. "I... I dunno guys, I don't..."
Paige laughed. "Come on! It's fun! You'll see!" she said happily and started climbing the fence. Her Papaw said you couldn't use energy for everything, and climbing the fence just sounded like fun.
Marron bit her lip before she smiled and nodded, "Kay!" She climbed after them, surely they would help her when she was over there.
"Man, it got quiet," Lindsey said, sitting up straighter and looking around as she cradled a sleeping Phoenix in her arms. "Where are the kids?"
Everyone suddenly looked around, blinking at each other with expressions that clearly said, 'but I thought YOU were watching them!'
Tora's eyes fell on the kids who had climbed the fence and were standing on a large rock that jutted out from the cliff. He started to call out to them to come back over the fence, but the next second there was a tremendous rumbling sound and everything around them began to shake, the presents and cups of punch rattling off of the table top. "What the hell?!" Tora cried in surprise.
The last time Eighteen had felt the ground shake that much was when she was attacking the Saiyans, Kadar landing on the ground to kill them all. Her eyes went wide at the sound of something ripping and with horror she realized it was the ground.
Jenny stood up so fast her chair toppled over, "It's an earthquake! PAIGE! ALICE!"
Goku held onto Sabriena, shouting, "KIDS!"
Tora was on his feet in an instant, having been the only one who had spotted the children. He nearly heaved a sigh of relief as Trunks, Paige, and Goten shot up into the air, their energy suspending them above the shaking ground. But poor little Marron clung to her unicorn, cowering on that rock that was breaking away from the ground as if in slow motion. "MARRON!" Tora screamed as the rock gave way and she disappeared over the side of the cliff with it. He launched himself into the air, flying as fast as he could, her scream echoing in his ears. He saw the rock fall end over end in the air as he flew for her, but it smacked her in the head, knocking her unconscious before he could reach her. "NO!" With every bit of energy he had, Tora dove, catching her in his arms before she hit the big flat rocks below. He shot ahead of the rock landed, cradling her in his arms, feeling the blood making his fingers sticky and hot, his only focus on her. He didn't even think about the big rock falling towards them as his tail whipped the air behind him, his thoughts on the tiny girl in his arms. Tora yowled in pain the next second as the rock landed on his tail, paralyzing him, but he still managed to cling to Marron, leaning over her, protecting her from the smaller rocks that still rained down upon them.
Goku flew over the next instant, hearing the ear-piercing cry through the air as Tora's tail was smashed and he dove down, blasting the rock to pieces before he landed next to them. "Are you guys alright?!" he cried as the ground stopped trembling.
Eighteen was the next to fly over, dropping down fast, her eyes going wide at the sight of her baby, limp, her head red with blood. "MARRON!" she screeched, gathering her from Tora, tears welling up in her eyes as she fell to her knees, "No! No, no, NO Baby! Please, PLEASE DON'T LEAVE ME. You can't leave me!" She leaned forward, sobbing, pressing her head to Marron's.
Dende landed next to them, hearing Eighteen's cries made him move faster than lightning. "Here, quickly! Let me see!" he said, his hands glowing with a golden light, her cut healing, but he frowned. He couldn't see her clearly, the way he could see everyone else when they were injured. It was as if... He looked worriedly up at Eighteen, "I can't... I can't wake her. I can't heal deep inside of her. Her head, something isn't right."
Eighteen broke down and cried, holding her, "What do I do? What do I do?!" She was quickly becoming panicked, not thinking clearly as she held her daughter's limp body in her arms.
Tora thought he might vomit from the pain in his tail, but his worry for Marron was too great to worry about himself.
Vegeta was there with them the next instant, after making sure Paige, Alice and Trunks were okay. "Kakarot, take them to the hospital," he ordered. "They may be able to do something for her that Dende cannot." He turned his attention to Tora, the way his bleeding tail was kinked, bone showing through the fur. "Oh Jesus." He blinked at Goku, the fear evident in Goku's eyes at the thought of a hospital and needles. "KAKAROT!" he bellowed, grabbing his wrist and placing Goku's hand on Eighteen's shoulder. "Take them there now! We'll meet you as soon as we can!"
Goku shook his head, pressing his fingers to his forehead, Eighteen held tightly onto Marron, Dende holding onto Eighteen and Tora as they arrived at the hospital room in the waiting room.
Eighteen rushed up to the counter, quickly showing them her baby girls bloodied head which sparked an immediate response.
Dende put a hand on Tora's shoulder, feeling the pain the Saiyan was in. "That was a brave thing you did. Please let me help. It is the least I can do." He knelt and held his hands over Tora's tail, watching as the bone set itself and the bleeding stopped.
Tora shivered in relief, the pain vanishing almost instantly. "Thank you," he said without tearing his eyes away from Marron as the nurses rushed out and laid her on a stretcher, hurrying her back down the hallway. Eighteen tried to go with them, but they insisted that they needed space to work and she was left in the waiting room alone, her daughter's blood staining her fingers. Tora cursed, curling his hands into fists. Why her? Why today, of all days? He felt sick for Eighteen. If she lost her baby girl, there would be no bringing Eighteen back from that. Her husband and her daughter in less than a year? It wasn't fair and he felt helpless to do anything to make it better for her.
Eighteen felt so lost, being told to stay behind. All she wanted to do was be by her daughter's side. Her last family in this world, the last piece of her husband. Would the gods be so cruel? She felt herself being led back to a chair by Goku as he sat next to her, trying to speak comforting words to her, but she wouldn't hear it, screaming out and weakly punching at him until he got up. She was left alone, given her space while she sobbed.
"Damn it all," Tora growled, running a hand through his hair, turning away from Eighteen. The sound of her sobbing like that would haunt him forever, he was certain of it. He ran a hand roughly over his face, looking to the other men who were standing near him. "What do we do?" he whispered. "There has to be something we can do."
Dende shook his head, cursing the gods. "There is nothing we can do," he answered in a hushed tone. He felt sick to his stomach, looking over at Eighteen again. "We can gather the dragonballs. If she dies, we can wish her back. That's the only thing I can think of."
Goku winced, running a hand over his face. "But that's the last thing we want. Parents… they..." He looked to Tora as if trying to explain a riddle, "You never want to see your child die. It's a pain I would wish upon no one. I saw my son die once. Even though the Fates brought him back, I will never get that image of Gohan out of my head." He scrubbed at his eye with the heel of his hand as if trying to will away a mental image. "Marron is going to survive this. Dende healed her. She's going to be fine," he said, but didn't sound entirely convinced himself.
Bulma came hurrying in, closely followed by Vegeta, Sabriena and Tien. She looked at Vegeta's knowingly, squeezing his bicep before she went over to Eighteen, holding the woman as she sobbed harder.
Tien shook his head, "This isn't right."
"The other kids are okay," Sabriena said quietly, sliding her arms around Goku's waist. She dragged her free hand over her face, reaching for Tien and pulling him closer. Her heart had nearly stopped when the earthquake hit, thinking she was going to lose Goten. She leaned her face into Goku's chest for a minute, letting out a slow exhale. "How's Marron?" she asked, her tone hushed.
Goku shook his head. "We don't know anything yet."
"What the hell happened?" Tien demanded. He looked to Tora, "All I saw was you running and dive over the cliff and Piccolo heard Dende trying to heal Marron and the next thing we knew, we felt everyone's energies appear here. We knew it had to be something bad to convince Goku to go to a hospital."
Tora's shoulders sank. "I tried to save her, but that bolder hit the back of her head. I managed to catch her before she hit the rocks, but I don't know if it did any good," he answered, moving to lean against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest. His tail was swinging behind him in an irritated sort of way as he frowned, angry with himself.
Goku hugged Sabriena tightly, remembering the ordeal they went through not long ago to get Sabriena back. He felt horrible and the more he looked around the more he didn't like standing in the hospital. It was bad enough they'd just been there the week before with Jenny. He didn't know if he could take much more of it. "I'm going to get some fresh air," he said before he kissed the top of Sabriena's head and gave Tien a quick hug before he went outside.
Dende rubbed his hand over his head, his antennae twitching, thinking of Rose, sensing she was alright. He sighed, "I'm so sorry Eighteen. I don't know what happened. I don't know why I couldn't heal her. "
Eighteen just shook her head, letting Bulma hold her.
Tora was restless as they waited.
And waited.
And waited some more.
He couldn't believe how long they were making Eighteen wait to see her own daughter. He gave a little jump when the nurse came in and asked for Eighteen. He listened as the nurse spoke, his heart sinking when he heard that there was a chance little Marron might not wake up. She was stable for the moment, but that was it. Tora felt like punching something, wanting to roar out his frustration. Didn't this planet have better medical technology than that?! The only answer they had to heal Jenny was to remove body parts and now they couldn't even guarantee that little Marron would survive a blow to the head? What kind of backwater planet was this?
He moved to follow Eighteen down the hall, shooting the nurse a menacing look as if to challenge her to tell him to wait outside. Bulma and Vegeta walked ahead of him, Bulma still holding on to Eighteen. Tora stopped in the doorway as Eighteen cried out and ran to her daughter's side in that little hospital room. Tora ran a hand over his face, not knowing what in the world he was supposed to do now.
Eighteen was horrified to see her little baby girl laying on that hospital bed, tubes and wires here and there, her head bandaged where the boulder hit her. As if that was going to do anything. She wanted to gather her little girl up and take her away, back home. "Marron. Baby please… Wake up," she said in a firm tone as if she could rouse her daughter by using her mom-voice. Something broke in her as her daughter laid there completely unresponsive. "Please wake up. Don't leave me here alone… Krillin, please make her wake up," she sobbed incoherently.
Bulma bit her lip, moving to hug her mate, her arms slipping around his waist. She was starting to feel like Goku. She hated being in hospitals.
Vegeta frowned as he looked at Marron and pulled Bulma into his arms, wrapping his tail around her waist. He felt the sudden urge to go to his granddaughters and his youngest son, to pull them into his arms and just hold them, protect them. He'd never felt a pull like that before, but he knew it was from seeing how distraught Eighteen was.
Tora sank into a crouch, sitting on his heels, his hands clasped together as he stared worriedly at the little girl who had been so kind and trusting of him when no one else would. Marron was the first to trust him. And now he had let her down. He was going to make this up to her somehow. He had to. He stood again and went to stand next to Eighteen, reaching to place his hand on her back, but letting it fall back to his side before he touched her. She'd hit Goku for trying to comfort her and they were friends. What would she do to him if he tried to comfort her now? "I'm sorry," he said softly, the only thing he could think to say at the moment.
Eighteen only cried harder hearing the words of comfort. "Make her wake up, please make her wake up," she repeated.
"I would if I could," Tora answered quietly. "Eighteen... believe me... I would."
Bulma sighed, knowing that her friend was just going to have to wait to get through this. She looked at Tora; he was really the best person to be with her right now, she grudgingly admitted. Eighteen could punch, kick and scream at him all she wanted and Tora could just stand there and take it. She looked around. There was another empty bed in the well as a couch and few uncomfortable chairs. She swallowed hard and look at Vegeta, "Will you go check on our children? I want to know they're safe."
Vegeta knew they were okay, but he nodded and pulled Bulma closer for just a minute, leaning his face into her hair before he turned and left the room without saying a word.
Tora sighed, not knowing what to do. He wanted to make it better, to take away her pain, but no matter what he thought of, it seemed like it would get him slapped. Maybe that's what she needed to do anyway, was to hit someone. He decided to take his chances and placed a strong hand on her shoulder, stepping closer to her. "She's going to be okay."
Eighteen felt a rage build up in her at the touch and she jumped to her feet, shrugging off his hand and pushing him away. "NO! You don't know that! You dont know!" She punched him then, drawing her fist back and letting it fly, her anger only growing when she saw that he didnt even flinch. She cried out and flew at him, banging her fists on his chest each hit weaker than the last.
Tora stood as still as a statue, letting her take her aggression out on him. He was surprised at how powerful her punches were; he hadn't realized how strong of a fighter she was. But he was able to keep his expression calm and just stand there, taking the punches until she started to give out, her emotions taking over. He grabbed her shoulders then, giving her a little shake to make her look up at him. "We have to believe it," he answered. "For Marron's sake. You HAVE to believe she will be okay!"
Eighteen blinked at him for a moment, feeling drained emotionally, physically. She ran a hand through her hair and turned back to the bed, looking at her little baby. She looked so helpless laying there.
Tora placed both of his hands on her shoulders, looking down at the little girl, wishing with every part of his being that she would wake up and smile at her mother. But poor Marron just laid there, perfectly still, her face expressionless.
Tora made up his mind then. He was going to stay here with Eighteen as much as he could, to help her in any way he could, even if it meant just being her punching bag when she needed it.