Tora blinked in surprise when he entered Marron's hospital room. He expected to find Eighteen there, but instead he found her brother sitting at Marron's bedside. "Hey, Seventeen," he said as he sat down in a chair and laid the storybook on the little table. He'd borrowed it from Bulma who told him it was one of Alice's favorites whenever she came to visit at Capsule Corp. Even though she was still unconscious, Tora thought that he would read some of it to Marron. He had overheard the nurses telling Eighteen that there was a chance Marron could hear them. "Where's your sister?" he asked casually.

Seventeen looked up at the Saiyan and gave a little wave as he sat up straighter and arched his back in the chair, his spine popping audibly. "I sent her home to get a shower, a change of clothes, you know, stuff she's been neglecting to do. I have the watch until she gets back." He peered over at the book that Tora had with him. "Reading fairytales now? Didn't think that'd be your style," he snickered.

Tora gave a laugh. "Oh yeah, you know me. This is more my reading-level," he joked back. He chuckled again and ran a hand over his face. "No, really I just thought I'd read a story to Marron. One of the nurses said that the patients here might be able to hear what's going on around them. So I thought, hey, why not?" He shrugged and ran his thumb over the corner of the pages of the book. "Maybe it was a silly idea, but if I was laying there able to hear everything and not move, I'd be bored out of my mind."

Seventeen nodded, "That's not a bad idea actually, but I don't know if I want her to hear things I've said. She'd better not wake up swearing!" He rubbed the back of his head, "Maybe my sister could give that a try. Might put her in a better mood, I think she misses the normality of it. And you know, it's hard for her. Krillin's daughter. He was a good man for her, I would be upset too if, you know, I were in her shoes. Shit. It's not fair."

"I know," Tora muttered, frowning at the little girl sleeping in the bed. "I wish there was something more I could do. Something I could do to make her wake up. I hate seeing your sister so upset. Goddammit, this is all my fault," he grumbled and leaned forward to rest his forehead on the heel of his hand. "We should never have come here. I was just so desperate to get off that godforsaken planet, I would've walked barefoot into hell just to get away from it." He looked up at Seventeen, "If I'd known the chain of events I was going to cause, I never would have led my crew here, man. Never."

Seventeen looked over at the Saiyan, "Hey, you didn't know what you would find or who you would run into. I think it's understandable to get away from a life of solitude with those others as your only company. No offense, but they were batshit." He rubbed at his head and stood up, looking down at Marron. "I need some rest. I'll get outta your hair for your story time," he said as he grabbed his overnight bag and slung it over his shoulder, getting ready to head out. "You know, if you want to make my sis feel better, you could try calling her by her real name. She'd probably really appreciate it, since no one else calls her by it. You know how women are with that stuff."

Tora's expression brightened a bit. "Yeah? You think so?" he asked hopefully. Eighteen was still being rather cold towards him and only seemed to tolerate his presence at best. "Your sister is hard to read, man. I never know what's going on in that head of hers." He looked at Marron again, thinking that if he could get Eighteen to warm up to him a bit it might make her happier, more pleasant to be around. And Marron deserved to wake up to a happy mommy. "Ah hell, it's not like she can hate me any more than she already does. She hates the pet-names I give her. Let's give it a shot. What's her real name, anyway?"

Seventeen gave Tora a smile, "Lazuli, you know. Like the stone?" He ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah, try calling her by her real name and see if her attitude doesn't improve. You might be surprised," he said. "You take care, I'll be back after I get some shut eye. Good luck with my sis." He waved at the Saiyan and quickly turned down the hallway, unable to stop himself from snickering. He couldn't wait to hear about this one.

Tora thought the name was a bit odd, but then again, the people of this planet all had weird names as far as he was concerned. He shrugged and thought the name over and over to himself several times so he didn't forget it or mispronounce it before he grabbed up the book and moved closer to Marron's bed. He frowned sadly at her for a moment, then cracked open the storybook. "Hey, little one," he said softly. "I don't know if you can hear me or not, but I thought you might like to listen to a story. Bulma sent this book for you. She said your friend Alice loves it." He sighed as she didn't stir. Gods, how he wished she would wake up. "That's okay, you just rest and I'll read to you," he said and began to read the story aloud.

Eighteen came back to the hospital almost too soon, but she felt better after a shower and a fresh change of clothes. She hadn't slept very well, waking up every hour or so to check messages. She was hoping to hear from the hospital or her brother that Marron had woken up, but no such luck. The hospital staff on Marron's floor greeted her, one nurse bringing her some coffee in a small styrofoam cup. She never wanted to be so familiar to nurses in that accursed place.

Eighteen went into her daughter's room and nearly dropped the cup when she spotted Tora instead of her brother sitting at Marron's bedside, reading her a fairytale from a book. If she wasn't so distressed about the situation, she would have appreciated the story of Sleeping Beauty a little more, "Never figured you one for princess stories. Where did you get that?"

"My own collection," he replied sarcastically before he continued to read to Marron. He finished up the story and closed the book, then sat back and grinned at Eighteen. "I see you finally showered. It's about time," he teased. He couldn't stop himself from snickering at the angry expression on her face. "No, really, I borrowed it from Bulma. I sent your brother home. He looked like he was about to pass out."

Eighteen had to stop herself from rolling her eyes as she walked over to the other side of Marron's bed and sat down with a huff, putting the coffee on the little table. "Ass," she muttered under her breath and gave him a look before she looked at her daughter. "Should'a known Seventeen wouldn't be able to go the whole night unless it was a sex marathon." She reached out and smoothed Marron's hair, brushing her blonde strands off of her face, "Did she do anything when you read that story?"

"Nah," Tora answered with a shake of his head. "I thought maybe she would, but I'm not that lucky." He looked over at Eighteen, her given name rolling around in his head again. He silently prayed he wouldn't stumble over it. Getting a woman's name wrong was a sure-fire way to get yourself slapped. "She's going to wake up soon. She has to. You have to be strong for her, Lazuli."

Eighteen's eyes snapped up at the name, glaring over at the Saiyan. She was on her feet the next second, her chair scraping across the floor. "The hell did you call me? Let me guess, dear brother gave you that one. He's the only one who knows that name." She growled, muttering under her breath, "My damned hippie mother was high when she named us. I absolutely loathe that name. If I hear that come out of your mouth again, I'll rip out your tongue. Are we clear on that?"

Tora's eyes went wide at her outburst. "Jesus! Calm down. Yeah, it was your dumbass brother who told me to use your name. If it pisses you off that much, then fine, I won't use it! But you need to calm the hell down, woman. I wasn't trying to piss you off. Gods know you're bitchy enough as it is," he finished with a grumble and sat back in his chair as he tossed the book onto the table beside him.

She felt a growl rising up inside of her, "Excuse me?!" She hissed, "I'm bitchy? I think I have reason to be, don't you think?" She was going to murder her brother the next time she saw him. "You'd better not use it or get it in your head that it's a good name to pass around. If I find out that you told anyone else about that name, I'll take off something more sensitive than your tongue. Lazuli isn't who I am, that person doesn't exist anymore and it's a stupid name to begin with. Sounds like some magician's street name. As far as you or anyone is concerned, my name is Eighteen."

"And what appendage are you threatening to amputate today, hmm? Let me guess. My tail? My dick? Those are usually your two favorites to target when you're in a mood," he spat. He could feel his own anger starting to rise to the surface, his patience wearing thin with this woman. For over a month now he'd been coming to this hospital, checking on her and her daughter, trying to do anything he could think of to help out, and this was the reaction he got for trying to be nice? "You could try being a little nicer to the people who only want to help you out. Would it kill you to stop being a bitch for once?"

"It just might," she spat back at him, wishing that Krillin hadn't had the decency to remove the bomb from herself. "How about I lop off your head? That might be a vast improvement. That way you might think to ask someone if you can call them something you've never heard before. Especially from my brother. Damn him for trying to be funny during a time like this," she growled before she went quiet, listening to the increased heart rate of her daughter's machines.

"You know what?" he growled before he, too, heard the machine beeping faster. "To hell with this," he said in a quieter but no less fierce tone. "You wanna sit here and brood and feel sorry for yourself all the damn time? Fine. You have people around you who care about you and your daughter and all you do is push everyone away. You're hurting. I get that. But you're not the only one who's lost someone you care about, sweetheart." He got to his feet, his muscles tensing and bunching under his skin. "I hope you can pull that stick outta your ass before your daughter wakes up. She doesn't need all your negativity around her all the damn time."

Eighteen was starting to see red and she marched over to him, slapping his face. "How dare you tell me what my daughter does or doesn't need. Who the hell do you think you are? You only come around here because you feel guilty for what you did to Krillin. If Marron knew that you were part of the group that killed her father, she wouldn't give you a second thought. You would be the monster under her bed!"

The machines around Marron's bed started beeping and a nurse rushed in to check on her. She had heard the argument, but that was a common thing to hear on this floor. Upset family members and all that. So long as it didn't escalate, she tried to let them get it out of their systems. "You both need to step out of the room until you calm down. Marron's heart rate has skyrocketed. I'm not going to be able to allow you back into this room until you solve your dispute."

Tora's cheek stung from where Eighteen slapped him. But what really hurt was his heart. "You," he started, his tail whipping around behind him in an irritated sort of way. He took several deep breaths through his nose before he turned and marched out into the semi-darkened hallway. He didn't know whether he should be concerned or excited about Marron's heart rate speeding up like that. It had to mean she really could hear them, right? Or was it a fluke? Either way, it didn't matter in the moment because he was far too angry with Eighteen. Her words stung far worse than her slap did.

He rounded on her the second she was out of Marron's room. "You are the most ungrateful person I've ever met in my life. I've said I'm sorry a thousand times over. I've tried to make up for my mistake. Everyone else has forgiven me! Kakarot, Tien, Yamcha… They lost their friend that day, too. I DIDN'T KILL KRILLIN!" he roared.

His outburst drew the attention of the night-shift nurses at the nurses' station and he forced himself to shut his mouth as he wrapped his tail tightly around his waist again. He threw his hands up in the air and let them fall back to his sides with a slap. He wanted so bad to just give up, just walk away from this. It wasn't his mess to deal with. But he'd made a promise and it killed him to break his word. He scrubbed irritatedly at his mouth with his hand, trying to choose his next words carefully, but none seemed to come to him, so he just stared at her with a hateful gleam in his eyes.

Eighteen watched him for a moment, hearing the door to her daughter's room close. She was seething and only one thing came to mind. "Take us to the gravity room. NOW so I can kick your ass and be done with this."

"HA!" Tora laughed mockingly. "I'm not taking you anywhere! I'm not going to take you to Capsule Corp and wake up everyone in that house. I don't live there anymore! You wanna blow off some steam, then you figure out how to do it yourself." He took on a cocky, condescending air, "Besides. I wouldn't wanna hurt you, cupcake. You seem pretty fragile."

Eighteen growled, "I beat your 'prince' the first time he tried to fight me as a super Saiyan. I crushed him into the dust," she said. "Besides, you can finally put me in my place. Isn't that what you've been wanting, pretty boy?" She wanted to shut him up, to prove something, that he wasn't worth her time. Or that she wasn't worth his.

Pretty boy? That was something he'd never been called before. If it was even possible, his heart sank a little more. "Put you in your place? Where the hell did you get that idea?" he asked. It blew his mind; he'd never made any sexist remarks towards her or any other female on this planet. The worst he'd ever done was irritate her with pet-names. And that wasn't meant to be an insult of any kind. He blinked then, a realization dawning on him. "Nothing I do or say is going to be right by you," he growled and turned on his heel, heading for the exit. "I'll be back later when you've had time to calm the hell down!"

Eighteen was furious. She wanted to hit him. She followed after him, ignoring the looks from the staff in the hospital. "Don't you walk away from me," she said as they emerged from the building. "I don't know what you are trying to do! I get it, okay? You didn't kill my husband. You made some promise to him to keep me and my daughter safe. Fine. I don't get why you are here. Why you are trying to cozy up to me. Why are you watching over my daughter when she is already safe? Why are you trying to do more? Why are you trying to go above and beyond what you promised? Isn't it enough to help my daughter, to promise to keep us both safe? You have to come here and try and make her forget?" Tears gathered in her eyes as she finally said what had been bothering her and she felt her knees give out as she slid to the pavement. "You can't take his place. You aren't him!"

Tora threw his leg over the big motorcycle he'd parked outside and paused to look down at her. "You think that's what I'm trying to do?" he asked incredulously. "Woman, you are outside of your goddamn mind. I'm not trying to take Krillin's place! I told you I made a promise to him. And I failed him! Marron got hurt anyway! You're hurting! I can see it! God DAMN it, Eighteen, can't you see I'm just trying to make good on my word?! I don't want her to forget him. I'm worried about that enough as it is since she's so young. WHY THE HELL WOULD I HAVE GIVEN HER A PICTURE OF HIM FOR HER BIRTHDAY IF I WANTED HER TO FORGET HIM?!" He sat back heavily on the seat of his bike and rubbed at his face with both hands. He felt defeated. "The hell do you want me to do?"

Her mind was jumbled, she wasn't sure what to think, what to believe any more. Tears rolled down her face as she raised her hand at him, flattening her palm and watching as it started to glow and hum with a deadly energy, aiming it at his face. She could do it, he would let her do it, of that she was sure. But he just sat there, looking at her.

"You wanna kill me?" he asked in an even tone. "Go ahead. If that's what it takes to make you feel better, then do it." He sat there, staring at her, waiting for the blast to hit his face. He knew she was strong enough to do it, especially since he wasn't powered up, wasn't using his magick, and had no intention of blocking her blast. If giving up his life was what he had to do to somehow pay for his mistake, then so be it. "Come on, Eighteen. If you're gonna do it, do it. I don't have all night."

He sat there for several minutes, but the android never fired her blast, although she still aimed it at him. He heaved a heavy sigh and lifted the kickstand of his bike with his boot as the engine roared to life. "You think on it, then. I'll be back," he said and laid on the accelerator, swinging the big bike out into traffic, and disappeared down the street.

Eighteen watched as he left, wanting with every fiber of her being to fire the shot at him, but she just couldn't bring herself to do it. Wouldn't it bring her peace? Knowing that one more of the crew responsible for her husband's death was wiped from the face of this earth? This existence? She closed her eyes, hearing a familiar voice asking her on the wind, "Would it?"

She canceled her attack. Her fist stopped glowing as she slammed it into the ground, the concrete cracking under the force of the hit. "Dammit, Krillin! Let me do it! Let me end him so I can sleep at night. I can't… I can't do this without you!"

Tora tore through the streets of the city on his motorcycle, his mind ablaze with what had taken place in the hospital. He was going to murder Seventeen in his sleep for this. There were times when he thought he was actually making progress with Eighteen. Times when she wasn't quite so hateful to him or her eyes lost that icy glare for just a moment. But now he saw that she truly, deeply hated him with every part of her. All he'd wanted to do was to help and somehow he seemed to keep making things worse. He tried to think of a million different ways to make it up to her, but they all seemed lame, cliche, or that they would just plain infuriate her even more.

He wanted to talk to someone, but it was late and he had no idea who to talk to. Kakarot and his mates were out of the question. It was way too late to be bothering them. Seventeen knew Eighteen better than anyone, but Tora figured he'd kill the dark-haired android if he saw him right now. And he didn't want to bother Bulma. Again.

He slowed to a stop at a red light and dropped his head for a moment, not knowing what to do. "Gods, give me strength to deal with this woman. I'm so lost."