The next day was odd for Tora. He went to the hospital as promised, but there was an awkwardness between him and Eighteen now. They didn't quite meet each other's eyes when they spoke and something just felt off. Neither of them mentioned what had happened the night before and they didn't talk about any plans for the weekend. In fact, Tora wasn't a hundred percent sure he wanted to make good on his offer to her to spend some more time together that weekend. His head was too jumbled with confusion, trying to understand the way he felt about her and trying to get over the fact that she'd screamed another man's name when she climaxed. That bugged him.

That REALLY bugged him.

And the more he thought about it, the worse it got. He finally excused himself from the hospital after Marron's physical therapy for the day was over. It was only mid-afternoon, but he needed to get away from Eighteen so he could think straight. He thought about going home and reading or something, but it seemed like his apartment would be too quiet. And dammit all, he wanted someone to talk to. He thought about talking to Vegeta, but the prince would surely give him a hard time if he knew that Tora had slept with Eighteen. His mind went to Goku; the younger Saiyan had never judged him before. Perhaps he would have some insight. And he understood the people of this planet better, anyway.

Making up his mind, Tora concentrated for only a second before he snapped his fingers and appeared in the yard of the cabin. He shivered in the cool autumn air and looked around before he went to the door and knocked. "Kakarot?" he asked loudly.

Goku looked over at the door from his place in front of the fire, warming himself after a day of chores outside in the cold weather. He looked at his mates, Tien nursing a cup of coffee and Sabriena busying herself around the stove in her kitchen. He reluctantly pushed himself up and went over, opening the door. "Hey Tora, come on in. It's freezing out there." He shot a look at Tien, feeling him smirking. This was hardly the coldest weather they would get up north and the older man found it amusing. "Well, it's cold to me," Goku pouted.

Tora gratefully stepped into the warmth of the cabin. "Thanks," he said. He gave a small wave to Tien, who raised his coffee cup in greeting in return. Tora looked back to Goku, "I hope this isn't a bad time. I always feel bad just popping up here; I never know if you're busy or not, but since you don't have a phone, well, you know." He smiled at Sabriena in her kitchen and his stomach rumbled slightly at the smell of the food she was preparing. "Anyway," he said, rubbing the back of his neck uncomfortably. "I, ah, need some advice, if you don't mind."

Goku followed Tora's look and laughed. "Careful, we're going to end up with another Saiyan to feed. I swear Sabriena, you are just trying to get a whole harem of us, aren't you?" he teased before he looked back to Tora, seeing the unease in his friend's eyes and he sobered up. "Sure, are you alright? Is Marron? Eighteen?"

Tora gave a soft chuckle as Sabriena laughed loudly from her kitchen. "Yup!" she called, "I'm going to seduce you all with food!"

He shook his head and looked to Goku again. "Yeah, everyone's fine. Marron's awake, I dunno if you heard or not. I've spent the past two days with her in her physical therapy. She's learning to walk again and doing a damn good job of it." He chewed his lip for a moment before he sat down in a chair at the table and ran a hand down his face. "It's Eighteen. I... I slept with her last night. But she sorta, well, screamed out Krillin's name." He groaned and covered his eyes with his hand. "It's bugging the shit outta me."

Goku blinked at him, of all the things he had been prepared to hear, that was not on the list. He exchanged a look with Tien before he moved and sat down across from Tora at the table. "Wow, so you guys finally hooked up, huh?" He rubbed the back of his head, thinking about what he said. "But she cried out Krillin's name during sex?" His mind was drawing a blank, he wasn't sure what he could say to that. "Well, I suppose that would bug me too, but it's not like, you know, she did it without a reason to. If that makes sense." He frowned; he was horrible at this advice thing.

Still leaning his forehead into his hand, Tora peered over at Goku. "Not really, Kakarot," he chuckled. "I mean, she apologized afterwards. And I get that she still loves him, but couldn't she have at least been into the moment enough to NOT call me by her dead husband's name? It's not like I shouted someone else's name while I was with her. I don't want to screw up with her, not after it took me so long to make her my friend. But now we're supposed to get together this weekend and I'm not even sure I want to now." He sat up straighter, looking sour. "Wouldn't that be great? Wondering the whole time if she's thinking of me or of him."

Goku leaned against the table, looking at Tora carefully. "You really care about her, don't you?" he said as an observation before he waved his hand and thought on the matter a bit more. "Well, I mean, she probably didn't mean to do it since she apologized about it afterwards. Just because she called out his name doesn't mean she was thinking about him. I don't know much about her sex life, but she and Krillin were close. And if you love someone like that with your whole heart, it's hard to break that habit. You know?" He leaned back, stealing Tien's cup and taking a sip before he gave it back and looked at Tora.

Tien frowned at his coffee cup. "Thief," he grumbled. He didn't know what to say to help Tora with this particular problem. He'd never dealt with that before, but he thought about it for a moment and realized he would probably feel the same as Tora did if Sabriena or Goku had ever called him by someone else's name.

"Well have you ever made that mistake?" Tora countered, giving a nod of appreciation as Sabriena came into the room and gave him and Goku each a cup of coffee of their own. He looked at the tiny blonde, "How would you feel if he called you by his ex-mate's name?" he suddenly asked her.

Sabriena gave a laugh and placed a hand on Goku's shoulder. "Oh, he would never do that," she said and leaned down to kiss Goku on his cheek. "Cause he knows I'd kill him in his sleep."

"See?" Tora said, looking at Goku. "She gets it."

Goku leveled his gaze at Tora. "I would never call Chichi's name during sex. She's hurt me and my family too much. It's not the same thing. Eighteen loved Krillin, you can't compare that situation to this one." He leaned back in Sabriena's touch, his heart feeling full and complete, being with his two mates. "I can't imagine what is going through Eighteen's mind, but I know this has to be hard for her. As far as I know, she hasn't been with anyone since Krillin passed away. She doesn't take her relationships lightly, you know? If she wanted to sleep with you, it wasn't on a whim."

"I didn't think it was on a whim, but after that happened, I didn't know what to believe," Tora said. "I know it's not the same, but you get my point, right? I mean, when you're in that situation, you want the other person focused on you…" He trailed off and sighed, scrubbing at his face with his hands. "Dammit, why do I care about her so much?" He dropped his hands, unable to hide the frown that tugged at his lips as he reached for his coffee. "I don't think it would bother me so damn much if I didn't care about her."

"Have you talked to her about how you feel?" Tien asked. "I mean, we all know how much she loved Krillin. But does she really feel the same about you as you feel about her? Maybe if you got in her head a little more, it might help. I don't know what to tell you. Women are confusing."

Sabriena scowled at him. "We're not that complicated," she retorted. "You men just like to make it seem like we are. If you all weren't so damn guarded with your feelings and would just tell us how you feel, your lives would be a helluva lot easier, you know. It took you how many months to fess up that you loved me?"

Tien looked down at his coffee cup and muttered something under his breath.

"Exactly," she said and went back into her kitchen, banging pots and pans around. "It wouldn't kill you to say how you feel every now and then, you know," she called loudly from the other room. "Try being OPEN for once. Try being HONEST." They could hear her carrying on to herself without really being able to understand her words before she appeared in the doorway again. "Although, I have to say, this is rather interesting. Seeing it from the man's perspective. I thought only women sat around and analyzed relationships like this. I didn't realize men do it, too."

Goku tilted his head at Sabriena, "Didn't you take a while to tell Tien how you felt too?" He remembered them both beating around the bush when it had been obvious to him that they both cared for each other. He looked back at Tora, "You should be honest with her about this. Everyone makes mistakes sometimes, you know? I think considering everything that she's been through, and since you really care about her, that you should give her the benefit of the doubt."

"I know I should, but how am I supposed to, you know…" Tora growled his frustration, "if I'm worried about her calling out his name or thinking about him? Why can't I just forget about this and move on? It's not like she called me by some random name, I guess. But still, how do you do that? Just call someone by another person's name? She knows I care about her. She HAS to know, doesn't she? How can she not know? After all the time I've spent with her and her daughter. And oh my god, why am I doing this to myself?!" He slumped over and laid his forehead on the table. "I'm miserable and hopeless. Just take me out back and shoot me, Bardock. Put me outta my misery."

Goku blinked at Tora a moment, glancing at Tien to see if he heard what he had heard and he smiled when his mate nodded at him. "So, now I'm Bardock? I'm not sure how I feel about that. You calling me my father's name. After all the time we've spent together, sparring and fishing, this whole time you've been thinking of him instead of me." He put a hand over his heart as he teasingly said, "I'm hurt."

Tora sat bolt upright, his eyes wide. "Oh hell, Kakarot, I didn't mean to. I…" He paused, blinking for a moment before he threw his head back and laughed. "Alright, ya little shit, I get the point," he said, reaching across the table to smack at Goku, who easily ducked out of arm's reach. He sat back in his chair, still laughing. "Oh, well I feel like a complete ass now."

Sabriena walked over and patted Tora on the back, leaning down to speak in his ear, "Would you like to be the pot or the kettle?"

"Okay, okay, I get it," Tora grumbled. He shook his head, still snickering. It was as if what had happened with Eighteen suddenly didn't matter anymore now. It was an honest mistake, made completely out of habit. He looked at Goku again, "In all fairness, at least you look like him. That's my defense, anyway."

Goku snickered, feeling a weight lifting from the room as Tora was put in good spirits again. "Sure, sure," he said as he took a sip of his coffee, "Just a mistake. I'll forgive you. Think you have it in you to forgive Eighteen?"

Tora nodded. "Yeah. It just took me making an ass outta myself to understand it."

"And you're gonna tell her how you feel, right?" Sabriena asked, fixing him with a stare as she put her hands on her hips.

"I wouldn't go that far," he answered. He snickered again as she threw her hands in the air and stormed back into her kitchen. "Women," he muttered. "They really DO make things complicated."

Tora reappeared in his apartment late that evening, feeling beyond full and much more at ease about his situation with Eighteen. He'd absolutely gorged himself on the meal Sabriena prepared and threatened to steal her from Goku and Tien. It was good to spend time with them. They made everything seem better somehow, as if their happiness just radiated from them and soaked into anyone around them. He had fun joking and cutting up with Goku and his mates, even if they refused to let it go for him calling Goku "Bardock."

His apartment seemed rather quiet and empty now that he was home and alone. He showered before he crawled into bed, sighing as he thought over everything again. He could forgive Eighteen's slip. She really hadn't meant to do it after all. But still he wondered if he should spend time with her that weekend or not. He was worried that he would be too preoccupied with wondering if she was really into him, into the moment with him, or if she might slip again. He didn't know if he could concentrate on her if he was thinking those things. He sighed deeply as he shifted into a more comfortable position on the bed. He still had tomorrow to make up his mind. He told himself not to think on it anymore tonight and soon drifted off to sleep.

He didn't know where he was at first, but his mind quickly registered that he must have been dreaming. Everything around him seemed to have an almost misty quality to it. It was strange and he was almost certain he was alone. That is, until he saw him. Tora's eyes went wide as he recognized the man before him. "I… uh, hey," he said lamely, rubbing the back of his neck.

Krillin chuckled at the expression on the Saiyan's face. "Hey, Tora." He tilted his head as he looked him over a moment. He could see the embarrassment in the other man's eyes, the shame. "Sorry we didn't really get a chance to meet after the battle. From what I've seen so far, you're a pretty good guy," he said, crossing his arms. "You know, I don't have very much time here."

Tora dared to make eye contact, feeling awkward and guilty for having slept with Krillin's wife. There were a million things he thought he should say to the man. "I'm sorry," he said. "I'm sorry I led my crew to this world. It's my fault they killed you. That wasn't fair. Not to you, your wife, or your daughter. I tried to keep my promise to you, that I would protect them. But Marron still got hurt. If I could change any of this, I would. I hope you know that."

Krillin's eyes went wide and he held up his hands. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Slow down! I'm not mad at you and I don't blame you for my death. That was my choice. Fasha was going to kill Eighteen and I made a last minute decision to push her out of the way. As far as your promise, you've been really great." He rubbed the back of his head, "I know this probably sounds really bad, but because of the accident, I got to spend some extra time with my little girl while she was sleeping. And you saved her life, so, you know. Don't apologize." He walked forward, looking up at the Saiyan, "And stop feeling guilty. I already know everything that's going on." He sighed, looking down at the misty ground a moment, "All I want is for Eighteen to be happy again. You don't know how many times I've watched her cry herself to sleep. Then she turns around and manages to put on a happy face for little Marron."

He looked up again, "You need to give her another chance. She may not realize it, but she needs you right now. She's so torn up about her mistake with you the other night. Today she was devastated when you left."

"She was?" Tora asked, thinking back, trying to remember if he'd seen any trace of that in her eyes when he said his goodbye for the day. But then he remembered that he hadn't really looked her in the eye all day long. His heart ached to hear Krillin speak about her like that, to hear that she cried herself to sleep so many nights. "I don't know how to do this," he admitted. "She's so hard to read. I never know if she's going to smile or slap me. I can't get in her head." He looked at Krillin, trying to understand. "Are you really okay with this? I don't want to hurt her. And I wouldn't dream of hurting Marron. But I don't want to take your place, Krillin. That's not what I'm trying to do."

Krillin had a distant look on his face as he remembered Eighteen. "That's how she is most of the time, a smile or a slap. Sometimes both." He shook his head and recalled the questions, "I know you aren't trying to take my place. I've seen how hard you are trying to help Marron remember who I am. I know I won't be forgotten. This isn't about me right now, it's about them and what's best for them right now. I can tell what's best for them right now is you. In more ways than you can imagine." He laughed, "I know it's weird. Dead guy trying to get you to sleep with his wife, but it's more than that. She needs this, she needs to know it's okay to love again. Just be patient with her. And keep up the good work with my little firefly." Krillin looked up at Tora, "That might help her remember, when the summer comes around again. She loved catching fireflies with me at sunset when they started flying around."

Tora gave a nod, committing that bit of information to memory. "I hope she gets her memory back. Eighteen was so upset when Marron didn't recognize her. I guess you already know that, though." He ran a hand roughly down his face, thinking about everything being said between them. This was even more awkward than the conversation with Eighteen after they slept together, yet somehow it made him feel better at the same time. "I'll give her another chance. I'd give her a million chances if she asked me to. I know I enjoy antagonizing her too much, but I really do care about her. I love seeing her smile. All I want is for her to be happy again."

Krillin smiled, "That's all I want too." He sighed and nodded, "Take care of my family for me. Give her another chance. Don't let her hurt any more. She's more afraid of that than anything else right now." He looked behind him a moment before back at the Saiyan, "They're playing my song back there, I have to go, but I'll be watching. It was good meeting you Tora, and thanks again for your promise. There's no better man for the job."

Tora felt his heart lift at Krillin's words. "I'll take care of them. On my life, I swear I won't let them come to harm again," he vowed. "Take care of yourself. It was good to meet you, too." He watched as the dreamworld around him faded and when he opened his eyes, the early morning sunlight shone through his window. He stretched in his bed, a small smile on his face. He felt a million times better. He would most definitely spend some time alone with Eighteen this weekend. Now he just had to figure out how to make it special for her, to find a way to ease some of the pain and fear she felt. He had to let her know it was okay to love again.

Author's Note: I haven't given a shout-out in awhile, so I thought I'd stick one in here to all our reviewers! Thanks to amkula, GreenSaiyan, nancy103, dbzfangirl1, gesto, Juli-sama14, and the guest reviewers! You guys know how much it means to me and JC 87 when you leave us reviews. You guys are full of awesome. And now I must go. I'm making Gramma's soup for dinner and it takes a long time to fix. (Be jealous. Be very jealous. You know you are.) Love ya'll!