It was a rare warm day for this time of year. Tora sat cross-legged in the backyard with Marron by his side, his tail swishing in the grass as he very carefully placed the little twigs along the edge of the space they'd cleared in the yard to make her fairy garden. Marron loved things like that - fairies, unicorns, mermaids. The little twig fence was complete and he was amazed at himself for being able to do something so tedious. "Hmm, looks kinda empty, doesn't it, kid?" he asked Marron as he looked down at her. He pondered for a moment, wondering if any of her mother's friends would be interested in contributing to their project. They had a pretty decent-sized area cleared out for the little garden. "You wanna go visit some of your mom's friends and see if they wanna help us out?"

Marron looked up at Tora. "I dunno," she said in a small voice. "Are momma's friends nice? Do they want to meet me?" she asked curiously. She couldn't remember people before the hospital, the doctors were nice to her, but she couldn't place them.

Eighteen watched the pair from her spot at the kitchen sink, washing dishes as she kept an eye on her baby girl. She was exhausted from everything. Losing Krillin, the near apocalypse, Jenny's cancer, and then nearly losing her baby. She hated to admit it, but if Tora hadn't been helping her out, she was certain she would have had a breakdown by now. She was sure of it.

Tora smiled down at Marron and ruffled her pale blonde hair. "Yeah, they're all really nice," he answered. "They'd love to see you." It made him a little sad to hear her ask if they wanted to "meet" her. He wished so bad she could get her memory back. Maybe taking her around to some of the places she used to go and seeing the people she used to know would jar something in her memory, help her out somehow. "I'll go talk to your mom. We can't just disappear. She'd have my tail for it!" he laughed and got to his feet. He waved when he saw Eighteen watching them through the window and trotted up to the back door. "Hey, I was thinking about taking Marron around to some of our friends. See if they have anything they want to contribute to her garden. I thought it might be good for her to see some of them. If, you know, that's okay with you," he said.

Eighteen was once again shocked at his depth of thought. She couldn't stop the frown on her face. "That actually sounds like a good idea. Why didn't I think of that?" she asked numbly, looking back through the window at her daughter as Marron carefully placed twigs around the area, building up a tall wall. She hesitated only a moment at the thought of sending her daughter along with him. "Okay, but make sure to be home by dinner at five," she said as she wiped her hands on her towel and went out into the yard, smiling at her daughter, "So, Tora's taking you on a little trip is he? That's exciting! I want you to tell momma's friends that she says hi, okay?"

Marron smiled and nodded, wrapping her arms around Eighteen's neck in a tight hug, "Love you momma. Don't scare away the fairies!"

Eighteen smiled and handed her to Tora, "Wouldn't dream of it."

Tora chuckled and held Marron close. "Don't worry. We'll be back in time for dinner," he said. "Make sure you make enough!" He laughed at inviting himself to dinner and snapped his fingers, disappearing before Eighteen had a chance to respond.

They reappeared in the yard in front of the cabin and Tora inhaled deeply, breathing in the scent of the forest and the river. He loved any excuse he could come up with to visit the cabin. He was secretly a little jealous of Tien's place. He liked it much better than living in the city. Still holding Marron to his side, he wandered around the edge of the cabin and found them in the garden, preparing it for winter. "Look, Marron, there's a big garden," he chuckled and waved at the three working away in the soil. "Look who I have," he grinned at Goku. "We thought we'd go around and say hi to everyone today."

Goku grinned widely as he sat back from the soil and stood up, brushing his hands off on his pants and walked over. "Wow! Look who it is! Our little trooper! We were worried about you, kiddo! Did you come out all this way to say hi to your uncle Goku?" He reached for her, but stopped when he saw her shy away from him, hiding against Tora's side. He looked at the older Saiyan sadly, "Still doesn't remember anyone does she?"

Tora shook his head slowly. "I was hoping if she got to visit everyone that maybe she might remember something," he said softly. He moved to set Marron down, but she clung to him and he stood upright again with a sigh. "Marron, this is Goku. He was your daddy's friend." He looked to Goku again, "We were working on making a fairy garden. We thought maybe everyone would like to help Marron with it."

Sabriena got up and walked over, smiling at Marron. "That sounds like fun! I bet we could find all sorts of things out here that you could use." It amused her greatly that a big, tough Saiyan like Tora would be working on something as dainty as a fairy garden. He really did have a big heart and wanted to help Marron recover her memories. "How about I grab a basket for you to put your stuff in and we can all go for a walk. Does that sound okay?"

Marron looked up at the small woman a moment. She looked a lot like her mom except for her hair and eyes. She nodded, "Yeah! That'd be great!" She reached out and grasped at Sabriena's hand.

Goku chuckled, "I think there's some fresh moss you guys can have from the river. At the bottom there should be some smooth stones that could be good. I don't know what a fairy garden is, but like, little people live in there, don't they?"

Marron nodded her head, "Yeah! We would have fairies, but their homes aren't ready yet."

"Well you better get their homes ready before winter comes," Sabriena said. "Otherwise they're going to be cold!"

Tien watched as Sabriena led Marron down to the river and smiled to himself as he turned back to the garden. She never ceased to amaze him. Now she was even getting along with kids that weren't her own. "You go on," he said to Goku. "I'm gonna finish up here. I know Marron won't remember me. I don't want to overwhelm her."

Tora followed them down to the river, walking slowly beside Goku, never taking his eyes off the little girl. "I don't know what I'm doing, really," he admitted. "I'm just trying to think of anything I can to help her get her memory back. I really don't want her to forget her father. I thought maybe if everyone helped her with her project, maybe seeing the pieces in her little garden would make her think of everyone more. Might make something click in her brain. I just wish I could think of something to put in it to help her think of Krillin."

Goku smiled at his friend. "I think you're off to a good start. I know Eighteen was devastated, heck, with everything that's been going on, I know we all were. Are. This is a great idea." He chuckled warmly, "Krillin would be proud. I know he's up there cheering you on right now." He rubbed at the back of his neck. "I'm glad to see you trying to honor his memory for her as well. I know it can't be easy," he said as he watched Sabriena point to moss on the ground and Marron dutifully scooped it up and plopped it into the basket, "You may go to the Lookout next, Marron played a lot with Paige and Alice. Maybe they can help jog her memory. Maybe a toy they all played with or a book they were read. Plus, Jenny would enjoy the company. Vegeta told me she's starting to do better, he figured out a way so she could eat again."

Tora nodded. He hadn't seen much of Jenny lately, he'd been so focused on helping Marron. "Good idea, Kakarot," he said. "I was sort of hoping you'd have your boy out here today. But I guess we can go by Gohan's, too. Hell, we'll just go everywhere. Make a day of it," he chuckled.

"Look, Marron," Sabriena said, picking up an empty snail shell on the edge of the river. "That's pretty! You could put that in your garden." She paused, wondering if asking questions would upset Marron or make her frustrated, but she decided to chance it. "I bet you used to find a bunch of those when you lived at Kame house, didn't you? The house on that little island in the ocean? There had to be tons of seashells there."

Marron looked up at Sabriena, her little face frowning in confusion. "Silly, I've never lived near the ocean," she giggled, "Momma and I live in that house in the biiiiiiiig city! I wish we could live near the ocean, I like to go swimming. I pretend to swim in the bath!" she exclaimed and made swimming movements with her little arms and puffed out her cheeks as she imitated holding her breath.

Goku frowned and shook his head. "Maybe you should take her all over. Maybe visit the Kame house." He laughed, "But you better wait and take Eighteen with you. She can handle Master Roshi's attitude." He looked back at Marron and said a silent prayer in his head to Krillin, if he could do anything to aid his daughter's memory.

"Yeah, I'll have to wait and take her with me. I've never been out there before," Tora answered. He spotted a couple acorn caps laying beneath one of the trees and he picked them up and added them to Marron's basket. He grabbed up a bunch of twigs, remembering the little pieces of furniture he'd seen online when he first discovered this idea. "This is going to be the worst-looking fairy garden ever if I'm left to do this on my own," he laughed, "My hands are too big for this tedious stuff."

Marron giggled at Tora's tone of voice. "Your hands are good! Build strong fairy walls! Houses too!" she said as she placed a few pretty leaves in the basket and brushed her hands together nodding at their haul.

Goku chuckled at her. "Better save some room for all the other things you are going to collect today!" he said happily. He wasn't sure what would happen if he were in their shoes, if Goten suddenly forgot who he was. His heart wrenched uncomfortably at the thought. He would surely die if that happened. "You're doing great, Tora. I know Eighteen really appreciates the help you've been. Even if she doesn't admit it all the time."

Tora gave a little snort. "Yeah, she's…" he paused and shook his head. He didn't know what to say to that. He cared much more about her than he wanted to admit aloud. "She's hard to get close to. It's like she's got this wall up and she doesn't want to let anyone in. But she's a good mother, I'll give her that. Everything is about Marron. She's a good woman. She's just been through a lot, it seems." He was so confused about their relationship. When it was just the two of them, she was warm, inviting, affectionate even at some times. Their sex life was incredible. But during the day, especially when anyone else was around, she treated him as nothing more than a friend. And actually sleeping together was a big no-no. Something about that had freaked her out, as if it was a level of intimacy she wasn't prepared to deal with.

Sabriena finally stood up and ruffled Marron's hair. "I think there's other people you gotta go see," she smiled. "Thank you for coming to visit us today. If you need anything else for your garden, you just have Tora bring you straight here. If you want, I'll see if I can twist Tien's arm into making you something really cool for your garden, okay?"

Marron nodded enthusiastically and took the basket back to Tora, offering it up to him. "What's next!?" she asked excitedly before she saw the other man standing next to Tora smiling down at her. She gave a little squeak and hid behind Tora's leg again.

Goku smiled sadly at her but patted Tora on the arm. "Come out again soon. Bring Eighteen next time, I think the fresh air will do her good."

Tora nodded and picked Marron up again. "Marron, can you tell Kakar- I mean, Goku thank you for letting you visit? He's my friend. He was your father's friend, too. You're okay. I know, that hair is kind'a scary, but I promise you're okay," he said with a snicker and shot a playful wink at Goku to show he was kidding.

Goku pouted as Marron giggled at the jab and he crossed his arms, sticking his tongue out, "It's not that scary."

Marron ducked her head against Tora and looked at Goku. "Thank you for letting me visit, Goku," she said obediently before she blushed and ducked her head against Tora's neck.

Tora chuckled and patted Marron on the back. "Good girl," he said and smiled at Goku. "It really is kinda scary," he teased and reached over to roughly mess up Goku's hair. He laughed as Goku pulled back and made a face at him. "Alright, we'd better go. Thank you both. We'll be back sometime soon! I think it'll be good for her to get out of the house more often."

He made sure Marron was secure in his arm before he snapped his fingers and the next moment, they were standing on the Lookout in the bright sunlight. "See? This is the Lookout. You used to come here sometimes to play with Paige. I'm sure she misses you. Let's see if we can't find her." He turned around and scanned the edge, finally spotting Dende as he made his rounds, little Alice following him closely. "There's Dende and Alice. Do you want to say hi to them?"

Marron peered closely at them, her eyes going wide, "Tora, they're green! Why are they green? Are they sick?" She looked again, thinking she should be afraid, but there was something about the exact shade of their skin that reminded her of something. She looked around the white tile and thought she remembered something, twirling around, chasing, laughing. "Dende and Alice," she said slowly as if tasting the names on her tongue, "And Pa…" She stopped and frowned, "Paige?"

Dende turned from his work and smiled at their visitors. "My, isn't this a treat?" He smiled at his little helper. "How about we take a break in our lesson? It looks like we have company for a little while. Go fetch your sister," he said before he walked over to Tora and Marron, "Out and about today?"

Tora barely registered Dende's words as his heart leapt with excitement. His eyes went wide as he stared at Marron. "Paige! You remember Paige?" he asked, his breath catching in his chest. Maybe it was working. Could this crazy idea actually help her? He felt like he could shout for joy. He looked at Dende, unable to hide the excitement on his face. "I thought we'd visit everyone. Marron's making a fairy garden in their backyard. We were just seeing if anyone wanted to help her out." He looked at Marron again, his smile growing as he asked her again, "Do you remember Paige?"

Marron looked around and giggled, pointing as Alice came back out with her sister in tow. "Paige!" she said happily and squirmed until Tora set her down and she took off, laughing and giggling with the girls around the white tiles, picking up on a game they had started a while ago that had ended in disaster.

Dende watched for a moment before he closed his eyes, feeling out the little girl's mind, "You are doing very well to help her mind heal. It is a medicine that I cannot reproduce. Her mind is intact, the memories are there, it will just take time for them all to surface." He smiled and opened his eyes a moment later to look at Tora, "A fairy garden?"

Tora laughed even though his face burned just a little bit. "I was trying to find something fun for her to work on," he said. "That internet is something else, I tell ya. There's some cool stuff on there. And then there's some not-so-cool stuff." He shuddered at the memories of stumbling into the "weird part" of youtube. He shook his head and sighed in relief as he watched Marron. He couldn't believe it. He looked to Dende again, "So how's Jenny doing?"

Dende's eyes flickered over towards the innermost parts of the Lookout. "She has been better, but she is improving every day. I think it will be better for her once her chemotherapy is complete. This disease of hers is strange to me and my healing has had little effect on eradicating it from her body. I can, however, relieve some of the pain she feels after each treatment. Though, I daresay Vegeta found the most effective method of eliminating her nausea and restoring her appetite. I do not think you will want to see if Marron remembers her, she does not look like herself," he said, leading the way to the bedrooms, his staff clicking methodically on the floors.

Tora glanced over his shoulder at Marron as he followed Dende. "You stay in the middle, you hear?" he called loudly before he went inside. Trunks and Catie had told him a little about how Jenny was doing, but he still felt unprepared to see her. The last time he'd really spent any time around her was just shortly after her surgery and she'd looked pretty much the same as she always had at that time. "It's good that you can help her," he said and knocked on the door to Jenny's bedroom before he cracked it open. "Hey kid," he said to her as he saw her lying on the bed.

Jenny started awake, lifting her head a fraction to see who it was. She smiled at Tora and pushed herself to sit up against the headboard, reaching over and clicking on the bedside lamp. "Hey stranger, come on in. Sorry I'm not, uh, dressed for visitors," she said, gesturing at her pajama pants and tank top. She snickered a little and ran her hand over her head, "At least I don't have to worry about my hair being a mess."

Tora started at the sight of her, but quickly recovered himself and strode over to sit on her bed. "Nah, the whole don't-give-a-shit, pajama bum look suits you. It's sexy," he teased with a wink. He patted her leg through the thick blankets and looked her over with a concerned eye. "You doin' okay, sweetheart? You need anything? I dunno what I can do, but I'll help ya anyway I can."

Jenny smiled at him, "Want a couple of munchkins? I'll give them to you at a good price. Sounds like they are going at it out there. It's good. I think they've been too quiet. I think my condition really bothers my girls." She considered him a moment before she shook her head, "I'll let you know if I think of anything. My next chemo session is next week, Monday. You should swing past Capsule Corp and watch Dad and me get wasted." She chuckled, "And then feast on cheese fries. Although, Leelee and Seventeen turned me on to the wonders of Taco Bell while I'm high. That stuff is good."

Tora chuckled. "As long as you can eat something, that's good. I can't imagine not having an appetite. That must be miserable." He snickered as he thought about the prince being high. "Ah, I bet that's a sight to see, watching prince Vegeta get stoned. I might just have to take you up on that. Speaking of your girls, you'll never believe this. Marron remembers Paige!" he said excitedly. "I haven't been able to get her to remember anything, but the minute she saw Dende and Alice, she remembered Paige."

She smiled at him, "Hey! That's good news. I would be worried if she didn't remember Paige. She's a hard gal to forget. She makes quite the first impression, doesn't she?" She leaned back, tucking her hands under the covers. She was still cold most of the time, "How's Eighteen holding up? I know she was really struggling the last time I saw her."

Tora rubbed the back of his neck. "Eh, you know. Eighteen is Eighteen. She's hard to read. I think she feels a lot better now that Marron is home. And, you know, she's stopped hating me for the most part, so that's always a plus," he chuckled. "And your mate? How's he handling everything?"

Jenny chuckled, "The way he handles everything, meditation. He is doing better though, now that I've started eating again. A lot better since I shaved my head, I think it's easier on him when he doesn't accidentally pull my hair out any more with hardly any effort at all." She sighed and leaned back, "Seems no one can catch a break, can they?" She smiled, "Dende says we are about to enter an era of peace. We will see, won't we? Something about since they've been whole, the world can sense the power. Can feed from that good vibe or something like that. I don't know. I think I'll understand it better when I feel like moving again."

"Yeah, I don't understand them or what they do, but I hope he's right," Tora said. He frowned at the mention of her hair, how it fell out so easily. Like Vegeta and Piccolo, he didn't understand this strange human disease. It amazed him how a planet with such impressive technology couldn't seem to find a way to cure its own people. He sat back, too, chuckling, "Peace? I wonder what that's like."

She grinned, "I know. You'd be out of a job with peace." She waved her hand in the air. "At least there will be martial arts tournaments in abundance." Jenny winked at him, "The great Hercule Satan has been making a lot of public appearances as of late. Going out in public more, randomly showing up to events. I think he visited some children's hospitals to surprise some of the patient's there." At Tora's questioning look she just pointed at the TV in her room. "It's about the only thing I can do, now-a-days." She paused and lifted a hand to her chest, wincing a moment before she relaxed and sighed. "Stupid pains," she muttered.

"You could find something better to watch than that buffoon," he said with a snort. He'd seen Mr. Satan on the television before and heard Vegeta grumble about how that braggart took all the credit for their work. He didn't much care for the man. "Ah, I guess if he's helping kids, he might not be all bad. He just seems like he's full of a lot of hot air to me. Prince Vegeta doesn't care for him much, either." He frowned at the way she rubbed at her chest. He hated seeing any of their friends in pain like that.

He chewed the corner of his mouth and thumped his tail against the side of her bed as he debated for a minute. "Did you want to see Marron? I'll warn you, I know she's not going to recognize you. You look so much different than you did before."

"As if anyone in the group wanted the credit for what they did," she said before she shook her head at his question, "Nah, it would be nice to see her, but I don't want to scare the poor thing. Might do more harm than good. I know I look a mess, she probably wouldn't know what to say about me, my hair or lack thereof."

"Well, it's your call, kiddo," he said. "I'd better get back outside and keep an eye on her. I think we're still going to go visit some of the others before I take her home. Gotta fill the basket for her garden," he grinned holding up the basket he'd set on the floor. "Kakarot's mate helped her find some good stuff. When you're feeling better, you'll have to bring your daughters over to see it. I bet they would have fun with it, too."

Jenny smiled at that and nodded, "Get Dende to take you past the nursery, there may be a few items you can take from there that might jog her memory. Maybe the book Goodnight Moon and the little cornhusk doll in the pink dress. She liked those when she would come over to visit. My girls don't have any use for them, so they might as well go for a better cause. Don't let Paige see you take them otherwise she will demand them back."

Tora laughed and got to his feet. "Alright, then. Making me steal from your girls," he snickered and shook his head. He placed his hand on her shoulder and his expression sobered. "You take care of yourself and if you need anything, anything at all, don't hesitate to call. Maybe I can talk Eighteen into letting your girls stay over for a night here soon and give you a break."

She smiled up at him, "Brave man. I appreciate it. You take care too, I'll see you around. Hopefully."

Tora could hardly wait to get back to Eighteen's house after they finished making their rounds. Marron's basket was brimming with things for her little garden. Dende had managed to get some tiny plants from Mr. Popo that would work perfectly for their project. Bulma had tiny silk flowers left over from an arrangement in the house, Catie offered seashells and tiny rocks she hadn't used in her aquarium, and at Gohan's house, Lindsey had given them a bunch of craft supplies, muttering that her glitter privileges had been revoked due to an unfortunate mishap involving a hair dryer.

"HA! Four-fifty-eight!" Tora exclaimed as he and Marron reappeared in Eighteen's kitchen. "And with two minutes to spare!" He grinned cockily at Eighteen as he sat Marron down. "Go on, show your momma what you found today." He beamed at Eighteen as he stood up straight again. He couldn't contain himself, he was far too excited. "She remembered Paige," he said breathlessly. "I took her to the Lookout and as soon as she saw Dende and Alice, she remembered Paige all on her own."

Eighteen's eyebrows shot up and she smiled down at her baby girl as she toddled over, proudly displaying her basket full of goodies. "You did? Oh Marron, I'm so proud of you!" She took the basket from her daughter and lifted her up, holding her to her hip. "And look at all of this, is Tora going to help you sort this out later?"

Marron nodded, smiling widely, "Yeah! We went all over! Saw some funny people, but they were nice so it was okay, Momma." She kissed her mom's cheek and looked into the basket. "Can we go put this in the garden now?"

Eighteen smiled and set her daughter down. "How about you go get washed up so we can eat first, then I'm sure we can all go out and see where we can start with your little garden. Sound good?" She smiled faintly as her daughter nodded enthusiastically and ran off towards the bathroom. She stood up and set the basket by the door, sparing the Saiyan a look, "Thank you. I'm glad it helped her on some level."

Tora shrugged. "No need to thank me. I just want to help," he said, rubbing at the back of his neck. He didn't know what she had fixed for dinner, but it smelled amazing and it made his stomach growl. "Heh! Saiyan appetites," he chuckled before he dropped his hand. "I can go grab some fast food or something. I'm not gonna eat all your food." He knew he had joked earlier about staying for dinner, but he really didn't expect her to cook for him. "I can be back in a little bit if you want me to, you know, help with that garden."

Eighteen narrowed her eyes at him and put her hands on her hips. "I don't think so mister. Make me slave away over a hot stove and now you aren't going to eat what I made you? Go wash your hands and then come help set the table," she said firmly, daring him to say otherwise. "Saiyans," she muttered before turning back to the stove.

Tora's eyes went wide and he held up his hands innocently as he backed away from her. "Okay! Okay!" he laughed. He turned and walked down the little hallway to the bathroom, loudly muttering over his shoulder, "Women." He snickered to himself as he washed his hands and returned to the kitchen to help her set the table. He didn't understand why his heart hammered in his chest the way it did, yet at the same time it felt so natural and comfortable to be there with her like that. He'd liked her for a long time, but this was different and he couldn't quite put his finger on it. It was almost like having a family of his own. He shook his head at that as Marron happily climbed into her chair at the table and Tora sat down. "So what're we havin', doll?"

Eighteen gave him a look and shook her head, but couldn't stop the small smile that appeared on her face. "Chicken alfredo with garlic bread and there is plenty so you can eat as much as you want. Bottomless pit," she teased him as she went about setting the table.

Tora helped Marron fill her plate before he helped himself. He was more than impressed. A moan of appreciation escaped his throat as he took the first bite. "Who knew you were such a good cook?" he teased Eighteen and shot her a wink. He paused to lick his lips, looking her up and down. "I hope you have something planned for dessert."

Eighteen felt a shiver of desire sweep through her at his words as she gave him a look. She was really getting too close, that smile he had, the way he was able to take care of her daughter. "Chocolate pudding pie," she said giving him a wink. "And maybe a little something extra if you manage to behave yourself before I send you home."

Tora cleared his throat at the promise of "something extra" even though his heart sank a little when she mentioned sending him home afterwards. Maybe he could talk her into letting him stay over. Oh well. He could deal with that later. He sat up straighter in his chair, squaring his posture. "Yes, ma'am," he answered teasingly and began to take exaggeratedly proper bites of his dinner, although he really wanted to tear into it. He snickered at her expression. "I didn't think shoveling food in my mouth with my hands and then licking the plate clean would count as behaving myself," he laughed.

Eighteen rolled her eyes and waved him on. "Go on and eat up, just know I'm going to let you have it if Marron starts imitating you." She said, sticking her tongue out at him, "And thanks. I tried to not poison people once I started learning how to cook. Usually takes a few hours though." She could see the disappointment in his eyes and she knew that sooner or later he was going to start questioning her and why it was she didn't let him spend the night.

He gave her a sincere look. "I appreciate it, Eighteen," he said. "You didn't have to do that." Something in his heart warmed at the thought of her going out of her way to fix dinner for them all when she could easily have just ordered take out or something like that instead. He reached over and took her hand in his. "This is really good. Thank you, baby." He frowned when she gently pulled her hand away. Goddammit, she was making this difficult. Maybe he was coming on too strong again. He shook his head and tucked into his dinner once more. They were going to have to have a conversation about this at some point, whether she liked it or not.