Tora leapt to his feet, forgetting his physical needs at the moment as his heart leapt into his throat. "Are you serious?" he breathed. At her nod, he gave a roar of excitement and grabbed her up, crushing her to his chest. Things were finally turning around. Even though nothing had technically happened there at the lake, their relationship had taken a new turn in a better direction. And more importantly, her daughter was awake. All the time spent worrying over whether or not Marron would ever wake up was now gone. She was conscious. They weren't going to lose her. Eighteen had her daughter back.

He swung Eighteen around before he set her back on the ground. "Wait just a second," he said and ran to his bike, pressing a button on it to capsulate it before he shoved it in his pocket. "Let's go. Fuck the blanket. We don't have time to pack everything up." He was too excited to get back to the hospital, to see little Marron awake and smiling at her mother. He offered his hand to Eighteen. "I can get us there in a snap," he winked, already thinking of a spot on the sidewalk just outside the hospital door where he could transport them to. He'd stopped appearing inside the hospital; the nurses would always scream and scold him. And while that amused him at first, it quickly got old.

Eighteen nodded and reached out, taking his hand. The world warped around her and the hospital appeared in front of them. "Thanks!" she cried as she dashed into the building, the Saiyan hot on her heels. She could see that her daughter's room was all a buzz with doctors and nurses running around. "Marron?" she asked as she got near to the door.

Tora peered over Eighteen's shoulder as she opened the door to Marron's room. The doctor and a nurse were there with her and she blinked over at her mother as they entered the room. A big smile split Tora's face and the corners of his eyes prickled. "Hey, little one," he said softly and gently pushed the door shut behind him. "We wondered when you were going to wake up."

Marron blinked up at them, shrinking back on the bed, pulling the covers up her chest.

Eighteen nearly drew back at the fear she saw in her daughter's eyes and quickly tried to explain the situation. "Baby, you were in an accident back on your birthday, remember? You've been asleep for a very long time. Tora saved you and he's been with me this whole time waiting for you to wake up," she said, moving to stand next to the bed and watched her daughter still shrink back, "Honey, what's wrong?"

Marron felt tears in her eyes and a fear in her that she hadn't felt in a while. She didn't remember sleeping for a long time. A strange man had been visiting her in a beautiful field and they played ball and had picnics every day until that morning he said she had to come back home. She looked up at the blonde woman and then over at the towering man behind her before back at Eighteen, "Who are you?"

Eighteen felt like someone had dumped a bucket of ice water over her at her daughter's words. "What do you mean, baby? Mommy, I'm your mommy." She prayed that she was playing a joke, being funny, something other than the horrifying truth. "Don't you remember me?"

The doctor standing next to Marron on the other side of the bed paused as he was taking the little girl's vitals, "That's alright, mom. No need to worry. In cases where the patient has been out for a long period of time, amnesia is common. We will be lucky if that is all the damage she has suffered."

"Amnesia?" Tora asked, blinking widely. He looked at the stricken expression on Eighteen's face. He'd heard of that before. "I don't understand. You mean, she doesn't remember anything? Her mother?" At the nurse's frown he ran both hands through his hair, exhaling a long sigh. This was something he hadn't anticipated. Eighteen was so worried about Marron forgetting Krillin, and now she had forgotten EVERYONE. He felt completely defeated in that moment. Even though his wish had been fulfilled, what difference did it really make? Marron couldn't remember them at all.

Marron looked to the bigger man in the room and glanced between her mother and him. She felt terrible, like she had done something bad. "Does that mean you are my Daddy?" she asked in a small voice, but she was drawing a blank.

Eighteen's eyes widened and quickly said, "No! No he's not." She reached for the pink picture frame by her bed and pointed to Krillin. "This is your daddy. He di-" she stopped short as the horror hit her again, that twice now she was going to have to tell her daughter he died.

Marron looked at the picture and reached out to touch it. Her fingers were sluggish. "I dreamed about him, but he had hair."

The doctor was writing something down in his chart. "We will probably have to put her through some physical therapy, make sure she doesn't have any muscle damage. Being so young, she may have to relearn how to walk or perform other tasks."

Tora was beside himself. No. No, this couldn't be happening. She really didn't remember anything. If Marron couldn't remember him, he could understand that. He hadn't been in her life for very long. But for her to completely forget her mother and father was beyond anything he could comprehend in that moment. He roughly sat down in a chair and leaned his elbows on his knees as he covered his face with his hands. "Krillin, I'm sorry," he whispered. "I failed your wife and daughter." He should've been paying more attention that day at the park. He should never have let Marron out of his sight.

His shoulders gave a violent shiver as anger at himself and the situation coursed through his veins, his powerlevel rising dangerously. He shook his head a couple of times, clearing his mind, controlling his temper. He looked up to the doctor, a desperate look in his eyes. "Is there ANYTHING we can do to help her remember?"

The doctor regarded the man for a moment, unswayed by the anger he saw. "Being around her family, her home, familiar surroundings should help. Activities to make her brain work and keeping her active is about all we can do. This could be short term, or it could be permanent. The thing she needs most is a stress free environment so she can heal."

Tora managed a nod for the doctor before he looked at Eighteen. He could see the fear in her eyes again, the worry there. "Eighteen," he said softly, "What do you need me to do? Tell me anything, any way I can help, and I'll do it." He wanted to pull her into his arms again, but Marron was confused enough as it was and he didn't want to add to that.

Eighteen didn't know what to do. Her mind was going a million miles a minute. "If she needs familiarity, I'll make sure she has it. I..." She paused and looked towards Tora, "I'm going to need help," she said, desperate that he would understand. "I can't let her forget her father, Krillin. I can't." Her hands clenched into fists as she tried her hardest not to shake, not to break down and cry. She had to be strong.

"You're absolutely right," Tora agreed, seeing that she was about to fall apart right in front of him. He felt his anger vanish; she needed to be strong for her daughter, but he needed to remain calm and strong for her. He got to his feet and placed a hand on her shoulder, giving her a kind smile. "We won't let her forget." He rubbed lightly at her shoulderblade as she watched the doctor and the nurse finish up checking Marron over. "You want me to run by your house and pick up a few things from her room? If she's going to be staying here for a little while longer, it might be good to have more of her own things around her. Might help her remember."

Eighteen nodded and reached out to hold her daughter close as she reached over to her purse and fished her keys out, passing them to the Saiyan. "Yeah, get her a few changes of clothes. Some of her stuffed animals, her favorites are on her bed. There's also a necklace on her night stand, it's a locket her father gave her."

Tora smiled and put the keys back in Eighteen's purse. "I don't need those and I'd probably forget to lock the door behind me anyway," he said softly. He leaned down to her, his lips brushing her ear as he whispered, "It's going to be okay, Eighteen. We'll help her remember. I'm not going to let her forget you or Krillin. I promise." He pulled back and gave her another small smile before he snapped his fingers and vanished in a swirl of dark blue smoke.

He looked around Marron's bedroom, decorated in fairies and mermaids and, of course, unicorns. Her mother had gone all out to make it every little girl's dream room. He grabbed a few changes of clothes and carefully tucked the locket into his pocket. He grabbed up a couple of the stuffed animals and paused when he saw the pink unicorn he'd given her on her birthday sitting there. He had assumed that Eighteen had thrown it away after the birthday party, she was so angry with everything that had happened. But instead, there it was, waiting on the bed for Marron to come home.

He decided to leave it. Marron wouldn't remember it. And it could be like a surprise for her when she came home. After making sure he had everything Eighteen requested, he gathered it up and snapped his fingers again, reappearing in the hospital room. The doctor and the nurse had gone. He gave Marron a warm smile. "Hey, kiddo, do you remember these?" he asked as he set the stuffed animals on the bed next to her. "They're yours."

Eighteen watched on hopefully as Marron looked at the toys, but her shoulders sagged when no recognition lit up her eyes. "That's okay baby, we will work on your memory. You will remember."

Marron felt her eyes tear up as she looked at the two grown-ups who seemed unhappy that she couldn't remember. "I'm sorry! I can try harder!"

"Hey, hey, hey," Tora said quickly in a soft tone. "It's okay. You just woke up. You don't have to remember right away." He felt disappointment curl around his heart as the tears slipped down Marron's cheeks. "Shhhh, little one," he soothed and reached out to gently brush away her tears. He crouched next to her bed and continued to speak in a quiet voice. "Now listen, you've been asleep for a long time. It's going to take awhile, but you'll remember eventually. I'll be here to help you every day. I promise. Afterall, you were the first person to be my friend in a very long time."

Marron hiccupped and nodded and wiped at her eyes with her fists, looking at the large man carefully. He was big and scary looking, but he acted very nice, "I... I was? You're nice though, why don't you have more friends?" She looked to the one they told her was her mother. "Is she your friend too?"

Eighteen couldn't believe how gentle Tora was being with her daughter. Calm and understanding. She reached out and stroked her girl's hair, enjoying it because she had missed her baby so. "Yeah, I'm his friend too," she admitted quietly, watching as the smile appeared on her face.

Something swelled in Tora's chest when Eighteen called herself his friend. He smiled and looked at Eighteen, feeling a bit of relief wash through his system. Even though he could see the worry in her eyes, he could also see the happiness there that her daughter was awake. He looked back to Marron, a confident look on his face. "Don't you worry. You'll be up and running in no time. Everything will come back to you. I bet once you're able to go home it'll make things a lot better."

Eighteen felt a sudden exhaustion washing over her at having her daughter awake. She let herself settle in on the other side of the bed, gathering her little girl in her arms. She kissed the top of her head and looked over at Tora, "I don't know about you, but I think this calls for a little celebration. Marron's favorite perhaps?" She looked down at her girl, "What sounds good to you?"

Marron looked up at her mom and then at Tora. What did she feel like eating? She scrunched up her face. "Not cake," she said firmly.

Tora lifted an eyebrow at that. Did she somehow remember the birthday party? Was that locked away in her mind somewhere that something bad happened after eating cake? He felt hope rising up in him already. Perhaps he was grasping at straws, looking for anything that could tell him that Marron would recover her memories. But he would take what he could get at this point. "I could go get us all some ice cream," he offered.

Marron perked up, her eyes going wide. She looked up at her mom, but then cupped her hands to her mouth, whispering loudly. "Is it okay to have dessert before supper?" she asked.

Eighteen couldn't stop her laugh at the innocent question, "Normally, no, not alright, but I think I can make an exception in this case. What flavor sounds good to you?"

Marron blinked and held her hand to her chin as she thought. "Umm, I can't remember. Can I try a few?" she asked.

Tora chuckled and nodded as he stood up. "You bet. I'll be right back with more ice cream than you can possibly imagine." He shot a wink at Eighteen as he said it. "You need anything while I'm out?" he asked. "I don't want you to have to leave for anything. Whatever you need done, I'll take care of it. You just stay here with your baby."

Eighteen gave him a weary smile, "I'll let you know if I think of anything. Maybe later we can surprise her with some sloppy joes and mac'n'cheese. She loves the messy meals." She gave him a wink before smiling down at her girl, "Then you can learn how to clean a messy face."

Tora nodded and disappeared. He openly laughed at the expression on the worker's face when he ordered two of every flavor of ice cream. That reaction would never get old. He decided to get cups instead of cones for the simple fact that he didn't know how to carry that many cones back to Marron's room. He beamed at Eighteen when he reappeared in the room and set the cups of ice cream on the table. "Here we go!" he grinned and wheeled a tray over to Marron's bed and set a few of the cups there. "Have at it, little one."

Eighteen laughed at the feast he had brought back with them. She was going to protest her little girl was going to get fat, but she had lost some weight while she had been in a coma. Plus when she was going to start running like crazy as soon as she had her energy back. "Eat up, honey," she said as she scooted herself off of the bed and gave Tora a look. "Make sure she doesn't eat too much too fast. No eating contests. I'm going to go talk to the nurse in charge to see if we can get those sloppy joes for dinner." She paused on her way out, turning to look over her shoulder, "And save me a cup of that cookie dough."

She laughed at the pout on Tora's face but just shook her head and turned back to the hallway, walking towards the nurses' station. She turned the corner and nearly stopped short at the familiar woman standing at the counter already. She couldn't stop the surprised gasp that escaped her mouth, "Chichi?" The woman looked terrible, a black eye, a broken nose that had a few stitches on the bridge and her lip looked split. "Are... you okay?" She didn't much care for the woman, after what she had done to Goku and Goten.

Chichi blinked in surprise when she saw Eighteen. "Eighteen!" she exclaimed. She felt a panic overwhelm her and she looked down at the counter in front of her, her mind working furiously. She didn't want anyone to know the truth of what happened. She felt tears prickle in the corners of her eyes and she winced as they stung. "I must look horrible," she said with a slight laugh, not meeting Eighteen's eyes.

Eighteen crossed her arms and went to lean against the counter. "You look like you got into a bar fight," she said, hearing the head nurse behind her speaking.

"Miss Eighteen, it's a violation of this patient's rights. She does not have to tell you anything and I would appreciate it if you didn't push the matter."

Eighteen frowned and nodded, watching the jerky movements of the older woman. She remembered someone mentioning something about a curse cast on the woman. Maybe she was getting what was coming to her. She remembered hearing one of their friends saying that Goten had scars on his back. She bit back a scowl and said, "I sure hope that isn't permanent."

Chichi dug in her purse for her insurance card. "No, I'll be fine," she said dismissively, not catching the meaning behind Eighteen's words. "It was silly, really. I was walking down the stairs and the cat got under my feet. I feel like a complete klutz." She handed the card to the nurse who didn't quite hide her expression as she rolled her eyes. Chichi turned to Eighteen, offering a small smile. "Just a stupid accident," she lied. She didn't want anyone speculating on what had really happened, for anyone to judge her.

Eighteen was absolutely sure that the woman was lying to her, but she dropped the issue and turned back to one of the other nurses there. "You, yes you. I was wondering if it would be possible to get some sloppy joes and mac'n'cheese for my daughter's dinner tonight. It's her favorite so hopefully it can spark her memory."

The nurse smiled and nodded at Eighteen. "Sure! We can do that for you. That's a good idea. I'll let the cafeteria know," she answered. "Just for your daughter, or do you and your boyfriend plan on eating as well?"

Chichi was curious as to why Marron was in the hospital, but her desire to get away before Eighteen asked any more questions was too strong. She stuck her card back in her purse. "See you later, Eighteen," she said quietly and hurried out of the hospital.

Eighteen barely heard Chichi leave. "Oh yes, we'd like some too. Maybe about three for him. He eats a lot. And we're not, you know, not dating. He's just," She looked off in the direction of the room, "just a good friend to my daughter."

"Oh! My mistake," the nurse apologized. "I just sort of assumed… Well, with the way he looks at you and everything. I'm sorry." She typed something in her computer before she looked up at Eighteen again with a smile. "There we go. When they bring up everyone's dinners, they'll have your order ready. Oh! And whenever it's convenient for you, I need to sit down with you and work out a schedule for Marron's physical therapy. Maybe tomorrow afternoon? I can arrange a free hour to sit down and talk with you about it then."

Eighteen nodded and arranged a specific time to talk before she went back to the room, chuckling at the two inside. Both of them had ice cream smeared over their cheeks and somehow, Tora managed to get a dollop in his hair. He was taking huge bites of ice cream and making faces as brain-freeze settled in, making Marron giggled at him. "I can't take you two anywhere, can I?"