Eighteen woke up when she wanted to which was a few hours later after they both had fallen asleep. One of the few good things about being an android was the internal clock she could set. It was barely sunrise, the sky just starting to turn grey at the horizon. She looked at Tora, feeling guilt rush through her as she pushed herself up and carefully extracted herself from his embrace. She would have loved nothing more than to just lay there with him, wake up with him. Then make him make her breakfast. She smiled at the thought, but clamped down on it quickly as she moved about, changing back into her clothes from yesterday that she had crammed into her purse. She looked at the dress, debating if she should leave it or not. It was a lovely gift and if she kept her head about her, they could do another night like this again. She finally decided to take the garment and tucked it and the shoes under her arm as she looked around the apartment to see if she missed anything.

She paused at Tora's door, one last time, watching him sleep soundly. Her eyes narrowed briefly as the ghost of a whisper told her not to go, but it only solidified her resolve and she turned and left. "He'll understand," she told herself.

Leelee looked up from the book she was reading aloud to Marron as Eighteen walked into the hospital room. Seventeen paused in a rather awkward pose at the end of Marron's bed; he'd been acting out a fight with an imaginary dragon as Leelee read the story, making Marron giggle.

"Morning, sunshine," Leelee grinned and closed the book, setting it in her lap. She leaned her chin in her hand and smiled brightly at Eighteen. "Soooooooo? How was your night last night? Did you have fun?" She wagged her eyebrows at the android, anxious to hear the details.

Eighteen gave a heavy sigh as she looked at Leelee and her brother. "Yes, I did, thank you," she said as she walked over to the bed and put her purse in one of the spare chairs that was available. "I suppose he told you about his plans? Surprising me here with lilies and taffy. Then a dress at the spa. Then dinner and dessert." She gave them a knowing look. They were really such perverts, and she meant that in the nicest way possible. "You two are incorrigible.

Leelee blinked her eyes innocently. "I don't know what you're talking about," she said in a tone that was totally unbelievable. "He told us he needed us to sit here so you could enjoy an evening at home alone." She snickered and dropped the act. "He would've been more believable if he hadn't already been in the suit when we showed up here to hang out with Marron."

Seventeen snickered too. "I don't think he really expected us to believe him, Leelee." He could see the look in his girlfriend's eyes. She was dying for all the mushy, sappy details. He sighed and rolled his eyes. "Hey, Marron, why don't we go down and raid the cafeteria? They're bound to have something good to eat. And if they don't, we'll go throw it at 'em." He gave his sister a wide-eyed look. "What? She doesn't need to hear whatever gushy crap you two are getting ready to talk about. I know you two."

Marron's eyes went wide and she nodded. Carefully moving to get off the bed, she smiled proudly as she managed to get down by herself. "Look Momma! We can leave soon! I'm starting to walk by myself again!" she said proudly before she reached for Seventeen to carry her. "It's a work in progress," she said as she was lifted off the floor. "To the food!" she exclaimed and pointed out the door.

Eighteen shook her head. "That's gonna be the last time I make him watch her for a full night," she said before she moved to sit down. "So then, you want juicy details?"

Leelee eagerly nodded her head, her braids nearly smacking her in the face. "Yesssss!" she hissed, leaning forward, looking like an excited child waiting for storytime. "So you guys totally slept together, right? How was it? Do you really like him? I mean, you know, more than just a fuck? I know he likes you. A lot."

Eighteen rubbed her hand over her face. "Ugh. You know that last night was not the first time we slept together?" She groaned at the look Leelee gave her. "You should know that the first time didn't end well," she said sadly and looked at the ground, "I called out Krillin's name during sex."

Leelee's eyes went wide and her mouth formed a small o. "Well that's no bueno," she said, not knowing what else to say. She cringed the more she thought about it. That was definitely not a good start to a relationship. "So, ah, how'd he react when you did that? I mean, obviously he got over it if he took you out last night and everything. But still…" She blinked again. "Oh my god, please tell me you didn't make the same mistake last night."

"No, not last night." She sighed and rubbed her face, "He reacted as about as well as you would think if someone called them a different name in bed. He went still, made me coffee and sent me on my way. He left the hospital early the next day, not a word to me. I thought I wouldn't see him again, but then this day..."

Leelee listened with rapt attention as Eighteen told her about the flowers, the candy, the day at the spa, the dress, and their dinner. She found her heart melting the more Eighteen talked about the amazing day that Tora planned for her. "Awww! He's so sweet! Who'd have thought, huh? I mean, what with him being a Saiyan and all. I never would've thought he was so romantic," she grinned. That was a lie, of course. She remembered reading his runes several months ago and learning that he had liked Eighteen back then. "So then you went and had mind-blowing sex, right?"

Eighteen laughed and nodded. "Yeah, yeah we did," she said. "Okay you little minx. We had sex while wearing my dress. Gave me the best tongue I've ever had in a while and he is rather big, probably bigger than Seventeen, but I really don't want to think about that," she said, waving her hand at her, "I left him this morning. Early while he was still asleep."

"Wait. You did what?" Leelee asked, confused. "You didn't even say goodbye to him or anything?" When Eighteen shook her head, she cried, "WHY? Eighteen, what on earth were you thinking? He went out of his way to make an awesome day for you yesterday. Did he do something to ruin the night for you somehow? I'm sorry, I don't mean to snap at you. I just, I'm confused. It sounds like yesterday was amazing. I'm just trying to understand why you snuck out this morning." She gave her friend a sad look. She usually understood Eighteen so well. The two of them were extremely close; they shared everything, even the most embarrassing or intimate details. Even when Eighteen didn't want to hear it about her brother. In fact, Leelee took quite a bit of delight in trying to make Eighteen uncomfortable with stories about her sexcapades with Seventeen.

Eighteen shook her head. "No he was… everything I could have dreamed of. He gave me a second chance, loved me, made me feel like I was the only woman in the world for him." She wiped at her eyes as tears appeared, "Krillin did the same." She couldn't stop the tears flowing as she looked up at Leelee, the other girl like a sister to her. "I can't do this again, Leelee. If I fall in love again and I lose him… I'll be broken. I don't think there's any coming back from that."

A sad smile pulled at Leelee's lips as she understood. "You don't have to fall in love with him. Can't you just enjoy his company? I mean, I know it's been over a year since Krillin died, but still, I think it's a little sudden to even entertain the idea of love. Not saying you think you're in love now, I know you're not, but I get that you are afraid that it'll get to that point." She sighed and reached out to grab Eighteen's hand. "I think he could be good for you. But you have to do what you think is best, too. Just don't write him off completely, you know?"

Eighteen squeezed Leelee's hands in her own, looking up at her with a smile. "See? I think this is the reason you are with my brother. To give me the sister I've always wanted," she said honestly. "I do enjoy his company. I'm just worried about what it could become, you know? I don't want to be hurt again. I don't want Marron to be hurt again. How else do I prevent it?"

"I don't know if you can," Leelee answered in her soft southern drawl. She chewed her lip for a moment, thinking it over. "I mean, I think everyone gets hurt at some point or another in a relationship. You know Seventeen and I don't always get along, we have moments where things aren't great. But it's worth it. I wouldn't trade him for anything, even if he is a pervy jerk sometimes." She giggled at her own admission. "I guess you just have to decide if he's worth risking your heart for or not."

Eighteen pulled back, leaning her head against the chair as she looked up at the ceiling. Tora would do anything for her. She had no doubt that he would do something foolish and risk everything to protect Marron and herself. Had he risked his heart already? Was he worth the risk? "I don't know. I just know I don't want to be hurt again. To love someone like I did with Krillin. I gave him everything. I didn't think there was anything left until Tora started romancing me."

"Well, then just take some time for yourself to think about it," Leelee said with a shrug. "You don't have to rush into anything. Just, you know, keep doing what you're doing. Hanging out with him. Let him buy you stuff. Fuck his sexy Saiyan brains out…" She paused and giggled. "You know you want to." She casually sat back and looked at her friend. "Don't have to make it into anything serious until you're ready. IF you're ever ready. Just have some fun for once. You need it."

Eighteen laughed, honest and true. "It seems like it's been a while since I've had any fun at all," she said, rubbing at the back of her head. "You're right." She looked at her, "I suppose I might have said the same thing to you when you were going through your troubles." She smiled at Leelee, "Thanks. I'll have to think about this, but you are right."

"I'm always right," Leelee beamed. She jumped as the door burst open and Tora stood there, looking breathless.

"Eighteen!" Tora gasped. "Is everything okay? Where's Marron? I woke up and you were gone. I thought I might find you here. Nothing happened to her, did it?" His heart was hammering against his ribs, his stomach coiling painfully. He couldn't figure out why else she would have left so early in the morning without a word goodbye to him. And even then, he couldn't understand why she didn't wake him if something had happened to Marron unless she was just in that much of a hurry to get to the hospital.

Eighteen winced and stood up, taking Tora's arm and looking toward's Leelee, "Could you give us a moment?" She watched as Leelee nodded and left them alone in the room. Eighteen sighed and rubbed at his arm, "Tora, I'm sorry. Marron is fine. I left this morning because… I was scared, I don't know what I was thinking."

Tora blinked at her and tipped his head to the side. His voice was gentle as he spoke. "Scared? Sweetheart, why are you scared? If I did something to frighten you, I'm sorry." He swallowed harshly. Who knew what he might've done in his sleep? There were some things that soldiers never forgot that could haunt their dreams. He hoped he hadn't shouted or done anything in his sleep to scare her.

Eighteen winced and shook her head. "No, I didn't mean it like that." She reached up and cupped his cheek, "I'm just afraid of moving too fast. This relationship and everything. You understand?" She leaned against him. "I enjoy being with you, I really do. I just don't want to ruin a good thing."

Tora heaved a sigh of relief and wrapped his heavily muscled arms around her, holding her securely for a moment. "Okay," he answered. "No moving too fast. From now on, when we're done, I'll kick ya out and send ya home. How about that?" he chuckled, leaning back to look down at her. Maybe he had come on a little too strong the day before with the dress and everything. Perhaps he'd taken it over the top.

Eighteen mock punched him in the face. "No, that's just rude," she said teasingly, "I'll just… I don't know." She ran a hand through her hair. "I'm not making this easy on you, am I?"

Tora chuckled. "Darlin', nothing's ever been easy in my life. And that's the way I like it. I love a challenge," he grinned and pressed a kiss to her forehead. He stepped back from her and asked, "So, should we go find Marron and your brother? They're probably terrorizing the whole damn hospital."

She smiled at him, feeling lighter for it. "Yeah, let's go find them. I'd buy you lunch, but hospital food isn't that great. You deserve better."

"I'm actually not hungry at the moment," Tora admitted as they walked down the hallway together. His stomach was still a little twisted up. He managed to keep his expression pleasant, although he was rather confused. Not take things too fast? He honestly had no idea what that meant, except for the fact that perhaps she was uncomfortable with sleeping next to him. Which made no sense in his mind. Or was it the dinner and all of that? No, she'd seemed pleased with her day yesterday. And it couldn't be the sex. Could it? That was the best sex Tora had ever had. Surely she felt… well, okay, maybe it wasn't the best she'd ever had, but he knew she'd enjoyed it. Tora blinked his eyes harshly and gave his head a little shake. Women were so damn confusing.

They found Marron in the cafeteria, happily eating bowls of pudding with Seventeen and Leelee. Tora felt pride swell in his chest; Marron was eating without getting pudding all over her face like she'd done with the ice cream. Her muscles were getting stronger, she was gaining more control over her body. He grinned and moved to sit next to her, pretending to steal her pudding cup from her. He chuckled at the way she scrunched up her face at him and protectively pulled her bowl closer to her. "Look at you. You'll be able to go home before you know it. You're getting strong, little one," he said. "And once you're back in your own house, then we'll really work on getting your memory back. I'll help you, if you want."

Marron's eyes lit up and she nodded happily. She was starting to remember fragments of her mother, but that was about it. "I'd like that! I'm trying really hard!" she said as her mother sat down next to her. "Can we go home soon now?" she asked as she ate another spoonful of the pudding and grinned. "I like this, did I like this before? I must have," she said and nodded her own agreement with herself.

Eighteen chuckled. "Yes, you did like that before, but it's hard to resist chocolate pudding," she said, looking up at Tora and giving him a sly wink. Oh, she would have to make some fresh chocolate pudding when she got home and see how he liked it on her. Or if she would like it on him. She ran her tongue over her lips as she thought about it, smiling faintly.

Tora didn't miss her wink or the way she licked her lips. He cleared his throat and shifted in his seat, trying to ignore the way his body stirred. Why did she have to turn him on like that so much? And she'd just got done saying she wanted to take things slow. He felt like banging his head on the table. "It won't be long now before you're back home," he promised Marron.

It was only a little over a week later when they were finally able to take Marron home. Tora could see how excited both she and Eighteen were and he was excited for them. He was glad to be away from the hospital and he knew they would be, too. He grinned widely as they entered the little house, carrying their bags for them. "See? Home sweet home," he said to Marron, watching her carefully, looking for any sign that she remembered her home.

Marron stopped short when she entered her home, causing Tora to bump into her. She blinked as she looked around, frowning as her brow creased in thought. She wandered over to the couch, trailing her hands over the soft fabric, looking at the fire place. The pictures scattered around. She hugged herself and looked over at Tora and Eighteen who looked at her hopefully. Her eyes teared up, she didn't want to disappoint these wonderful people. "I'm sorry. I don't remember any of this."

Eighteen felt her heart sink again, but she was not going to let it get her down. The doctors said it would take time. That when she remembered, it could happen overnight, it could happen if she saw a particular image she had a strong connection with. Or it might never happen. In which case she was just going to have to do her best to make sure she would remember everyone now. She was going to make dead sure that she remembered who her father was. She smiled at her baby girl, "That's okay sweetie, it's just our first day back. After you spend some time here and go around like you used to, it'll come back to you."

Tora nodded. "Your mother's right. Don't worry about it. You've had a long day today already," he said. It was true; checking out of the hospital was a lot more entailed than he'd expected. He set the bags down and smiled at Marron. "Why don't we take you to your room? That might help. And even if you don't remember, you've got all sorts of cool things up there, lots of toys. And all your faeries and mermaids. Do you remember those?"

Marron smiled brightly, "I have toys?" She looked at her mother and got excited, grabbing Tora's hand and tugging on it. "Which room is my room? I want to go see!" she said excitedly and looked around, giggling as the Saiyan picked her up. She laughed as she was tossed over his shoulder. She waved at her mother and looked down, watching the strange appendage below her, "Your belt is loose."

"My belt?" Tora asked, looking down at his clothes. His belt was fine. He blinked, then laughed as he realized what she meant. He carried her into her room and set her down. "It's not a belt. It's my tail," he explained and unwound it from his waist. He waved it in front of her face. "All Saiyans are born with a tail. You probably don't remember Prince Vegeta, but he has a tail, too. We'll go see him and his family sometime soon."

Marron blinked at the tail, reaching for it and her mouth went into a small 'o' when she felt how soft it was. "Does it come off?" she asked before she looked up at him again. A snort of laughter by the door drew her attention to her mother and she giggled at the way she looked, her hand over her face. "What? Why is that funny?"

"No, it does not come off," Tora answered firmly as he shot a look over his shoulder at Eighteen. "But your mother likes to threaten to cut it off when I make her mad," he added with a snicker. He curled it back around his waist, shooting Eighteen a suspicious look. "Yes, Eighteen, why is that so funny?"

Eighteen couldn't stop the smirk on her lips. "Oh it can come off, but only once. It doesn't go back on. Although, duct tape is a wonderful thing," she said, giving them a wink, imagining Tora walking around with a chopped off tail, the dead part duct taped to his body and dragging limply behind him, "Don't worry. I rather like that tail. I won't be getting rid of it any time soon."

Tora stood up straighter and crossed his arms over his chest, trying to look intimidating. "Now listen here, toots. You won't be getting rid of my tail EVER. And if you so much as think about putting duct tape on it, you will sorely regret it," he growled. He shuddered at the thought of that tape sticking in his fur, matting it. Oh dear gods, it would be a nightmare to get that out.

Marron blinked up innocently at Tora, "What's 'toots' mean?"

Eighteen tilted her head back and laughed, "Yeah, you have fun explaining that one. I'm going to make you guys some dinner. Good thing Bulma went shopping for us, bought a whole cow just to feed you. Don't know what Marron and me will eat, but I imagine we can have the scraps."

Tora rolled his eyes as she headed back down the hall. "Ah, it's just a silly name I call your mother to irritate her," he answered. "I got lots of names for her. And some choice ones are rolling through my brain right now," he added under his breath. He smiled when he saw the pink unicorn on Marron's bed and he picked it up, showing it to her. "I got this for you on your birthday," he said. "You really liked it. I know you won't remember that. But that's okay."

Marron smiled at the large unicorn and grabbed it from him, pressing her face into the softness. "It's SO FLUFFY!" she squealed and giggled, holding it tightly to her. "I don't remember it, but anything this soft has to be good! Thank you, Tora! It's wonderful!" She blinked down at the shiny eyes of the stuffed animal, "When was my birthday?"

Tora swallowed harshly and sat down on his knees in front of her. "It was a few months ago. Your mom planned a big party for you. And you invited me. Your mom wasn't too pleased that I showed up. She and I weren't exactly friends then," he admitted. He gave a soft smile and looked at her. "But I was happy to go to your party." He cleared his throat, not sure if he should tell her what happened that day, but then he decided she had a right to know. "That was the day you hit your head. You and your friends climbed the fence and you fell over the cliff. I tried to protect you, but you hit your head before I got to you. Dende saved your life, though. He healed you as much as he could, but you were still asleep."

Marron tried to keep up with the stories, lifting a hand to the back of her head as she tried to feel a bump. She frowned, looking sadly down at the unicorn in her grasp. "I don't know who Dende is," she said, "but if he tried healing me, was he one of the doctors at the hospital?" She thought hard, trying to imagine him, but the only thing that came to mind was a dark silhouette.

Tora chuckled. "No, Dende's better than any doctor," he answered. "Dende is the Guardian of Earth. He protects the people and the planet as much as he is able. He's a Namek. He and Piccolo both are. They're both tall with big, pointy ears and green skin. You're friends with Piccolo's daughters. Anyway, I caught you before you hit the ground and Dende did his best to heal your head." He reached out and lightly ruffled her pale blonde hair. "I'm sorry I couldn't get to you before you got hurt, little one."

Marron blinked at him a moment, looking shocked, but she nodded, "You know, I think I remember someone telling me it was okay, that you saved my life and all I had was a bump on my head." She smiled at him, "So, thank you for catching me before something worse happened." She said happily.

A small relief seemed to wash over him. He was afraid she'd be upset or angry with him for not protecting her better. "You're welcome," he said thickly and pulled the little girl into a warm hug. "I will always do everything I can to protect you, Marron. And to protect your mom. I promise." He squeezed her a little tighter before he pulled back and looked at her. "You smell that? I think your mom's cooking something good. You wanna grab something to eat?"

Marron nodded and hopped off the bed, reaching up to take Tora's hand, "Yeah! Let's eat! I'm starving!"