Hey guys thanks for all the reviews! Was that suspenseful enough for you? It was my first attempt at a cliff-hanger so I really hope you all enjoyed it, I tried really hard! But now your suspense shall be ended, here is chapter 20 and the end of your suspense.
Enjoy and review!
Chapter 20: Dead or Alive
"Talking"
'Thinking'
~*~
A smile, who would have thought a smile, could bring such happiness. He watched as her pouty lips slowly curved upwards revealing her perfect teeth, her eyes glimmering playfully as she smiled up at him. A smile crept to his lips as he watched her stand in front of him and give that weak in the knees smile she had. A giggle erupted from her lips as she watched his reaction to her smile. She hummed quietly as she gave him a long gaze, a smile still gracing her beautiful features.
"Are you alright?" He asked, desperately wanting to know whether or not she was alive or not.
"Shhh" she said as she brought a slim finger to her lips and stepped towards him.
"Please, are you alive?" He questioned again, his smile leaving his lips as her smile fell from her face.
She reached up and pressed her finger to his lips to keep him quiet. He in returned moved her finger from his lips and pulled it away, "please, tell me are you alright?" he questioned nervously.
"The time for forgiveness is now" she said quietly, a small smile playing on her lips a she disappeared from sight. "Forgive yourself…now is the time" her whisper echoed as she disappeared from view, Gohan still reaching out to her desperately trying to reach her retreating figure.
Gohan covered a yawn as he woke up from his less than peaceful nap. He looked at his surroundings through his sunglasses and made a noise of confusion. 'What the heck was that all about?' he thought to himself as he slowly allowed his eyes to adjust to the light and absorbed his surroundings.
"It was all real, it wasn't just a bad dream" he whispered as he looked over at his family members and noticed that they too had fallen asleep.
Goten and Trunks were curled up together on the large couch, beside them Vegeta had head against the wall while Bulma was curled up to his side with his arm wrapped loosely around her shoulders. Krillin was lying on another couch with his head in 18's lap as the two of them slept peacefully; they had left Maron with Bulma's mother, not wanting her to be in the hospital. Beside Gohan, his father and mother slept, his father's arms wrapped around his mother's waist as she was curled up on his lap.
He lifted his sunglasses slightly and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. He looked up at the news and noticed that all channels were still talking about the news with shots at the Satan mansion and that they had no new news to report and that the Satan that had been shot to death was still a mystery. He glanced lazily over at the clock and his eyes widened in surprise, he had been sleeping for almost three additional hours.
"After you fell asleep, we hadn't heard any new news, we kept asking but they kept saying that they weren't at liberty to tell us" Goku whispered from beside Gohan.
"Oh alright…how long have you been out for dad?" Gohan whispered back.
"I'd say people started falling asleep about an hour after you did, I've only been asleep for about an hour I think. How are you holding up?" Goku asked, worry starting to take over.
"I'm as good as I can get in this situation I guess" he muttered as everything flooded back into his mind.
"Be positive about this, you know deep down who the one who's died" Goku whispered as he gently rubbed Chi Chi's arm.
"I'm trying to be, but no one is giving me reason to believe otherwise" he said as he leaned his head back against the wall and closed his eyes. "I still can't get a reading on her energy signal" he said, sadness evident in his voice.
"I just want a sign that she's ok, if I could even just get a flicker of her energy signal, I'd be happier than anything…but I'm getting absolutely nothing. It's like she's disappeared from the face of the earth" he whispered, his eyes felt like they were starting to slowly tear up.
"You know, they say that once in a life time you'll find someone heaven sent for you and for a life time you'll see that there's a reason to believe in a love that's meant to be. I believe you have found that reason, so now all you have to do is believe" Goku offered trying to cheer his son up, but only succeeded in upsetting him more.
"I don't know what I'd do without her dad" he said quietly, "I love her so much" he said in a shaky voice.
"Take deep breaths, it'll help you relax" Goku said as he watched his son take his advice and starting inhaling deeply. "Maybe go and get some fresh air" he suggested, trying to find a way to help relax his son without using some form of medication.
~*~Meanwhile~*~
"I'm sorry, what did you say?" asked the young African American nurse as she walked closer to the battered patient.
"P-please….get…saiya…man" the patient said weakly through the oxygen mask.
"You want Saiyaman?" the nurse asked in a confused tone.
The patient simply nodded slowly and groaned in pain as they struggled to open their heavy and swollen eyes.
The nurse nodded the looked towards the other nurse and gave a confused look. "Why do you think they want Saiyaman?" the nurse asked in a confused tone of voice.
"Beats me" the other nurse said with a shrug as the nurse went to make her journey to the waiting room so she could retrieve Saiyaman, as per the patient's wishes.
The nurse walked silently down the long white hallways as she navigated herself to the waiting room. When she reached it, she noticed a large group was sleeping among the chairs and couches. She studied the group looking for the famous caped hero, but couldn't find him.
She cleared her throat in an attempt to gain the attention of the sleeping party, but failed in that attempt. She tried it once again louder, but again she received no attention from the slumbering group.
Getting a little annoyed she reached forward and nudged the first man she saw, big mistake. Vegeta's eyes snapped open, "what the hell do you want?" he snapped loudly, starling the nurse and waking a few people up.
The woman stared at him in disbelief as he snarled at her. "You best answer now, or I'll make sure you never say another word again" he growled, now waking up his wife.
"I-I'm just l-looking for Saiyaman" she stuttered, fear evident in her voice.
"Vegeta calm down" Bulma said drowsily, "why do you need Saiyaman?" she questioned, drawing the attention of Chi Chi and Goku.
"The patient asked for him so I came to get him" she said, calming down as she watched Bulma calm her husband down.
"I think he just stepped outside for some air, I'll go get him. But can you tell us which Satan is alive?" Goku asked hopefully, wanting desperately to deliver good news to his son.
The nurse shook her head, "I'm sorry sir, but with such a high profile case, we have to keep pretty tight lipped about all of this" she said, attempting to ignore the glare she was receiving from Vegeta.
"Alright, I'll go and get him" Goku said as he stood up and stretched out, and then slowly made his way outside.
Goku wondered around the front of the hospital looking for his son, but was surprised to find he was nowhere to be seen. Reporters littered the front of the hospital grounds as they tried to stay up to date on the Satan shooting case, each reporter desperately trying to be the one who first delivers the breaking news of which Satan is dead.
Goku scratched his head in confusion and walked around to the back of the hospital, wondering if his son went to the back in an attempt to escape all of the reporters but once again he searched the ground and couldn't find his son anywhere on the vast hospital property. 'That's strange' he thought to himself as he rubbed the back of his neck in confusion.
Goku closed his eyes and focused on his son's energy signal for a moment then opened his eyes in surprise. "He's going to take a chunk out of the earth if he keeps powering up like that" he muttered as he put two fingers to his forehead and gained a look of concentration. Seconds later Goku disappeared and quickly reappeared behind his son.
He was surprised at the state his son was in; he was screaming as he powered up, now in his ascended super saiyan form, and was continuing to power up. The beautiful scenery that had once covered this part of land was now nothing but upturned ground and charred remains of trees.
Realizing that Gohan had no intention of stopping himself from powering up he felt now was the time to step in. "Gohan, stop this now" he said firmly drawing the attention of his surprised son. Gohans cape had been pushed off his tunic by the force of his energy, his sunglasses nowhere to be seen and his turban lay buried under upturned rock.
"You can't keep powering up, you'll destroy this part of the earth" Goku said firmly once again, hoping to be the voice of reason for his son.
"Why did this have to happen?" he seethed, "I knew I shouldn't have let her go by herself and I did. This is all my fault!" he stated angrily as his power continued to rise.
"This isn't your fault; no one could have seen this coming. Videl is a big girl, she felt she was alright to go by herself" Goku reasoned, but his response only seemed to anger Gohan more.
"Are you saying this is her fault?" he said, venom dripping from his voice.
"You and I both know that's not what I'm saying at all. Gohan you need to calm down; destroying part of the earth isn't going to help matters any, in fact it will only make this worse" he stated, calming Gohan down slowly.
Gohan powered down a little after realizing the effect he was having with an increasingly large crater beneath him. "How, can things get worse?" He questioned solemnly.
"Say Videl is dead, what if a dragon ball is in this section of the earth? It'll get destroyed and we'd never be able to wish her back" he offered as he watched Gohan power down slowly to his normal form.
"You need to calm down, things will work out" he reasoned.
"I feel like I knew this was going to happen, but I did nothing to stop it" he said quietly, his eyes looking at the ground.
"You had a gut feeling and you were right, but there is absolutely no way you could have changed the course of fate, none of us have that power or that ability" Goku said, surprsing Gohan with how deep it was.
"Why are you here?" Gohan asked quietly, as he stared numbly at the ground.
"Oh, I almost forgot!" Goku exclaimed as he smacked his head, "a nurse came out and said the patient wanted to see Saiyaman" he said, watching Gohans eyes light up.
"Did they say who it was?" Goku asked hopefully, only to receive a solemn shake of the head from his father.
"They didn't say, they just said they wanted to see you. But…the quicker we get there, the sooner you'll have you answer" he offered with a small smile as a look of nervousness came over Gohans face.
He nodded, not saying a word as he put his hand on his father's shoulder and quickly the two disappeared from the now barren land.
~*~ Meanwhile~*~
"Sir, that much hair gel in your hair isn't good for it. It weakens the hair; because you have to wash it so often so you lose valuable essential nutrients for your hair" The nurse said as she pointed to Vegeta's head.
Vegeta growled in response, "I do not need hair advice from you, you little wench" he stated angrily, "and for your information my hair is NATURALLY like this" he yelled at the poor nurse.
"Have you ever considered anger management?" The nurse offered, only to receive a giggle from Bulma and an angry growl from Vegeta.
Before Vegeta could respond a younger nurse excitedly ran up to the group, "oh my god! Are you that rapper, Mc something?" the nurse asked excitedly to Vegeta.
The first nurse cocked her head to the side in thought, "he almost looks like the guy on the oatmeal box" she muttered as she studied Vegeta's now blushing face.
"You're both wrong, he's the guy from the lucky charms commercials" Bulma offered earning a glare from his husband.
"If you weren't knocked up I swear to god I'd kick your ass" he stated angrily drawing a horrified look from the two nurses.
Bulma rolled her eyes, "for starters, you are the reason I'm pregnant. Also, if I were dead, you'd have no food or source of income and you'd have no one to fix your gravity machine. So shut up and be a good boy or I swear to god I will borrow Chi Chi's frying pan and hit you so hard you'll be seeing nothing but lucky charms" she stated, effectively shutting Vegeta up. She watched in satisfaction as he grumbled incoherently in his chair and ignored all the attention he was receiving.
The nurse cleared her throat gain as she move the younger nurse away, "So where is Saiyaman? I can't wait all day" the nurse stated impatiently.
"He should be here soon" Chi Chi offered as she looked around nervously.
"Well if he's not here within the next five minu-ah!" she screamed in surprise as the man she had spoke to before and a man that was in half of Saiyaman's costume appeared in front of her from nowhere.
"How'd….where'd you come from?" she questioned in surprise as Goku gave her a confused look.
"I used instant transmission?" Goku offered as if it were common knowledge.
"How…how's that possible?" she questioned dumbly.
Bulma chose that time to intervene, "it's a new project I've been work on, I'm so close to perfecting it, but it's obviously working well enough now" she stated as the nurse nodded, accepting her explanation.
"Mr. Saiyaman?" she questioned as she inspected Gohans now revealed face. "You're…you're just a boy…" she said quietly as she studied Gohans face, noting the tear stains on his cheeks.
"Please, which Satan wants to see me? Is it Videl?" he asked hopefully only to have the nurse shake her head.
"I can't publically disclose that information" she said as she watched the hope drain from his eyes, "but if you follow me you can see the patient" she said as Gohan nodded numbly and looked back at his family.
Chi Chi offered him a meek smile, "please, let us know if she's alive" she said as she moved to give Gohan a hug.
"I'll let you know when I do" he said quietly, he was more than nervous to finally find out the answer.
"Be strong Gohan, we'll be here if you need us" Goku said quietly as he gave his son a small hug earning a nod from Gohan in return.
Gohan gave a small wave to his friends and family members then quietly followed the nurse down the white hallway.
Chi Chi let out a sigh, "I don't know what he'd do if he lost her" she said quietly as she watched her sons retreating form.
"He'd be devastated, that's for sure" Krillin said, waking up after hearing the nurse scream.
"We'd make sure it would all work out; he's had a tough life and she's the breath of fresh air that he needs. He deserves to be happy with her" Bulma said, smiling as she noticed Vegeta's hand lingering on her swollen belly.
"Dad?" Goten questioned quietly as he pulled gently on Goku's pant leg.
"What's up buddy?" Goku asked as he knelt down to Goten's height.
"Is Videl alright?" he asked quietly.
"I'm not sure, but we'll know soon. As soon as Gohan knows he's going to come and tell us as soon as he find out" he said quietly, trying to assure his youngest son that everything would work out.
"Gohan is the strongest person I know…I can't remember the last time I saw him cry; I don't like it" he said quietly, tears of his own slowly starting to well up in his eyes.
"I don't like seeing him cry either, same with I don't like seeing you cry. Don't worry, I promise we'll make things work out for Gohan" he said as he gave his youngest son a hug.
"Promise?" Goten questioned lightly, trying to be strong and not cry.
"I promise buddy" Goku whispered back, still holding his son in an embrace.
~*~Meanwhile~*~
Gohan kept his stride so he was slightly behind the nurse. An awkward silence was presence as they walked down the hallways slowly.
The nurse stopped in mid-walk and turned around to study Gohan's features. "You're so young…why do you put your life on the line for others?" she questioned.
Gohan paled as he realized that he was completely revealed and hid nothing to hide his identity, "please don't tell anyone" he pleaded as he looked down the hallways.
The nurse shook her head, "you're Videl's boyfriend aren't you?" she asked quietly, trying to refrain from gaining any attention.
"I am" he said quietly, at the mention of Videl's name he felt his heart sink in worry a little.
"That definitely makes sense; I know you two fight crime together but I couldn't understand why you were that worried about her, this definitely makes more sense" she said as she gave him a small smile. "Don't worry, I think it's fantastic what you've been doing for the city and I'd personally like to offer you my debt of gratitude" she said as she stretched her arm out to shake his hand.
"Thank you" he said quietly as he shook her hand in return.
"Alright, we're almost in the room. I must warn you, the patient has been in and out of consciousness and they are pretty beaten. They're incredibly weak, but we've managed to get a stable heart rate and blood pressure. I must say, they are definitely a fighter" she said as she motioned for Gohan to start following her again.
As the nurse continued to lead Gohan down the hallway he could feel his worry rising. The nurse had given him absolutely no hint of who would have been alive; common sense told him that once he had revealed he and Videl were dating that'd she'd say something along the lines of 'well set your mind at ease, she's a fighter and she's alive' but she had said nothing that would indicate that.
"Here we are" she said with a blank look, as she opened the door and motioned for Gohan to hold on as she walked into the room and shut the door.
Gohan held his breath, a door stood in his way of finding out if the love of his life was alive, or if she had been killed.
A minute later the nurse popped her head back out the door, "sorry, I just wanted to make sure one of the other nurses were here in case they recognized you from somewhere. All is clear though" she said as she motioned for him to come in.
Gohan slowly walked into the private hospital room; it was dimly lit and a curtain was surrounding the bed that contained the patient. He could hear the soft beeping of a heart rate monitor as the nurse gave him a nod of encouragement for him to go and see who was asking for him.
He slowly walked forward, feeling as though his body weighed a couple tons as he walked towards the curtained area.
He stood at the end of the bed and pulled gently on the curtain; he couldn't bring himself to pull it quickly for fear of finding out that Hercule was laying in the bed waiting to talk to him. As the curtain moved it revealed the many bags of medications that were going into the patient's body via intravenous.
Gohan closed his eyes as he stepped forward, he inhaled deeply, and now realizing this was the moment of truth. He opened his eyes and was greeted by the face of the beaten and now cleaned up patient. His mouth dropped open and his eyes widened.
"You…you're the one that lived?…" he whispered in a state of shock as he quickly ran out of the room.
The nurse gave a funny look at the retreating figure of the city's hero then realization dawned on her; he was probably going to tell his family the news. She gave a small smile, "I guess it's alright it they know" she said quietly as she grabbed her clipboard and started writing down the patients stats.
~*~
Gohan ran quickly towards the location of his friends and family.
He came to a screeching halt, causing all of his family to stare at him in confusion.
"Gohan?" Chi Chi asked as she stepped forward towards her son. Gohan stood before them, tears streaming from his eyes as he stood in front of his family with a blank expression.
"She's alive" he said quietly, feeling the corners of his lips rise into a smile, "she's alive!" he exclaimed louder as he smiled despite the tears. With that he turned around quickly and ran back towards the room the nurse had brought him to.
"Oh Goku I'm so happy for him!" Chi Chi yelled as she jumped into her husband's arms.
"My baby, she's alive" Aaliyah cried as she sobbed into Yamcha's chest.
"Daddy, you were right!" Goten exclaimed as he jumped onto his dad, hugging him in pure joy.
~*~
Gohan quickly ran back into the room, surprising the nurse as she heard the door slam open then close quickly.
Gohan went to the side of the bed and gently picked up Videl hand that didn't have the needle in it, tears of joy still streaming down his face. He gently kissed her hand as he studied her features, "You're alive" he whispered as he gently squeezed her hand.
Videl's eyes remained closed, but Gohan then felt her return his squeeze with a weak one of her own. Gohan leaned his face down, trying to regain his composure, "I love you so much" he whispered as he listened to the comforting noise of hearing her breathing, watching her chest slowly rise and fall.
"I…I love you too" she said weakly through the oxygen mask.
"I was so worried" he said, smiling through the tears, not letting go of her hand; he felt as though if he let go she'd disappear.
Gohan waited for a reply then listened, he noticed her breath was a little slower than it was a few minutes ago and began to get worried, "Is she alright?" he asked as he turned around to the nurse who was smiling at the sweet exchange between the two.
"We've got her on morphine for the pain; she took quite a beating so she's in and out of consciousness. We figure that by tomorrow she'll be a little more coherent and will be able to speak. The police are going to come tomorrow and try and interview her; figure out who attacked her and killed her father" the nurse replied, smiling at how affectionate he was being towards the injured girl.
"Look, we're not supposed to do this…but did you want to invite your group in here? Bulma is a big supporter of our hospital, and I've checked on your family for the past while, and they all seemed really worried" She said as Gohan gave her a small smile, gently wiping tears away from his eyes.
"I'd really appreciate that" he said quietly, not taking his eyes off Vide. The nurse nodded from her spot from against the counter and left to go and retrieve his family.
A few minutes later Gohan heard the group slowly filing into the room; he turned his head and gave them a smile. He stood up and motioned for Aaliyah to step forward so she could have a mother daughter moment.
"My poor baby, I'm so happy you're alive" she whispered as she kissed her forehead, a few stray tears falling on her daughter's skin.
Gohan now took the time to study Videl's features; her hair lay limp on the pillow, her left eye was a dark shade of purple and was swollen. There were small cuts all around her face; her skin was pale making the bruises more evident; her arms lay limp by her side, bruises and cuts all across them. Gohan studied her lips, wishing so desperately that they'd curl up into a smile through the oxygen mask, however they remain still, her upper lip being slightly swollen with a small cut on it.
"She looks a little worse for wear" Bulma said as she gave Gohan a hug, "but I'm happy she's the survivor" she said as Gohan returned the hug.
"I told you she's a fighter; she wouldn't leave you without fighting tooth and nail" Goku said as he watched Aaliyah hold her daughters hand silently, simply enjoying the fact that she's alive.
"I knew she would fight" he whispered, his eyes never leaving his girlfriend limp body.
"I know you guys are happy and all…but you all look like you could use a good meal. I've spoken with the hospital staff and they're more than willing to supply you all with any food you'd want and you can all sleep in this room. I'll bring in a few more chairs and lots of blankets as well" she offered as she watched tears of joy fall from a few people's eyes.
At that moment Gohan's stomach made its presence knows, "I wouldn't mind some food" he mumbled as the nurse laughed a little.
"Follow me" she said with a smile, "I promise, she'll be waiting her for you guys when you were done" she said as they reluctantly left the room and followed her to the kitchen.
~*~ Half an Hour later~*~
"I don't know why everyone says hospital food is awful; I thought that was pretty good!" Goku exclaimed, finally feeling his stomach being satisfied by the amount he ate.
"I've tasted better" Vegeta mumbled as Bulma lightly slapped him on the arm.
"Considering the fact that we just cleaned them out of prepared food, and that we didn't have to pay a dime for everything I'd say it tasted pretty damn good" she said, smirking at her husband as he kept his mouth shut, not wanting to set her off into another mood swing.
"How are you holding up Gohan?" Aaliyah asked as she gently put an arm on Gohans as he walked silently up towards Videl's hospital room.
"I'm so relieved that I know she's alive" he said with a smile as he continued to stare at the floor.
"You look pretty drained" she empathetically, looking around all of the group she noticed everyone looked drained, just Gohan seemed to be feeling more of the effects.
Gohan covered a yawn as she said that, "I do feel pretty drained, I think I'm going to fall asleep as soon as I sit in the chair" he said with a small laugh as they continued walking up the stairs. "What about you, how are you holding up?" he asked as he looked down at her.
She offered a weak smile, "I'm feeling the same as you. Now that I know she's the one that's alive, I feel like I can finally relax. Videl is a fighter and I knew if anyone would survive it would be her…but being so kept in the dark made me so petrified that it wouldn't be her that survived" she said, rubbing her eyes, feeling he effect of emotional exhaustion.
"I know the feeling" Gohan mumbled as they reached Videl's hospital room and knocked gently on the door.
A few seconds later the familiar nurse stuck her head out and offered them all a warm smile as she motioned for them to come in. "Alright, I brought in five more chairs; it's not much but it was the best I could do without drawing too much attention. I've also grabbed about twenty blankets here and there's a bunch of pillows; I figured those of you who didn't have a chair to sit on, could at least put the blanket on the floor with a pillow and lay on the blanket. It's not the Hilton, but that's the best I can do" She said as she smiled gently at the clearly tired group of people in front of her.
"Thank you hun for you kindness" Chi Chi said as she covered a yawn and leaned her head against Goku's arm.
"You're welcome. I'm the head nurse for Videl, so there shouldn't be any other nurses in here anymore. I will be taking a small nap, but if anything happens just press that red button on Videl's bed and it will go through to my communicator and I'll be here as soon as I can. Now I hope you all get a good night's sleep for the most part, and I'll see you all in the morning" The nurse said with a smile as she put the clip board down and quietly walked out of the room, giving a small wave to the occupants as she left the room.
Gohan pulled a chair up to the side of Videl's bed so he could hold her hand, and as he did that everyone else started to get themselves settled in and ready to sleep. 18 and Krillin opted to sleep on the floor on top of two blankets, a third blanket on top of them as each laid their head on a pillow. Goten and Trunks also slept on the floor and Chi Chi and Goku, Aaliyah and Yamcha, as well as Bulma and Vegeta all sat on chairs, making themselves as comfortable as they could.
Before any of them had expected it, they quickly all fell asleep, completely unaware of just how draining the whole situation they had recently experienced had been.
Gohan took a quick look behind him as he noticed that everyone had fallen asleep almost as quickly as their heads had hit the pillow. He gave a small smile as his eyes turned back and fixed themselves on Videls features. He watched her breath in a rhythmic manor, watching her lips move lightly; now having had the oxygen mask taken off of her, she now had the two tubes that delivered oxygen gently through her nose just to be safe.
"Don't ever scare me like that again" he whispered as he brushed a few strands of hair away from her face. He gently leaned down and gave her lips a gentle kiss, smiling when he felt their warmth against his. Quickly after that, he drifted off in to a relatively blissful sleep.
~*~ The next morning~*~
Blue eyes slowly peaked through heavy lashes only to squint back shut due to the light she was bombarded with. 'Am I dead?' Videl thought to herself as she slowly allowed her eyes to adjust to the lighting.
She took a few minutes to compose her sense then gently opened her eyes; she heard a gently beeping as well as with a light humming in the background. 'Where am I?' she thought to herself as she attempted to read the clock on the way.
"Oh good, you're awake" she heard a female whisper from beside her bed. She slowly looked up and saw a woman she didn't recognize. "I'm your registered nurse. You were attacked yesterday and quite frankly you're lucky to be alive" she said with a small smile.
"I-I'm in a hospital?" she asked gently, her throat feeling very dry from the lack of fluids she had swallowed.
"You are, and you're doing surprisingly well. I wanted to warn you; the police will be coming today to talk with you about the attack" she said quietly, not wanting to disturb the sleeping inhabitants of the room.
"You are a very loved girl Videl" she whispered with a smile as she walked out of the room, wanting to give Videl and her visitors some privacy.
Videl winced when she noticed how hard it was to open her left eye and went to bring her hand up to touch it gently with she felt that something was holding her hand captive. She slowly looked down and smiled; Gohan had his head on her bed while he slept and was holding her hand. She didn't try and pull her hand away; she did however turn lightly so she could face him more.
She winced lightly as she felt pain shoot through her body, as she adjusted to the new position she brought her free hand up slowly and began to gently run it through Gohan's hair. As she absentmindly stroked Gohans hair, she noticed he wasn't the only one in the room. She was surprised to see that almost the whole gang was in the room, all fast asleep in odd positions, and even notice Krillin and 18 on the floor, as well as Trunks and Goten.
She heard Gohan groan a little as she ran her fingers gently through his hand, "leave me alone…I have to check on Videl" he mumbled in his state of semi-unconsciousness.
"Why do you have to do that?" she whispered gently, she licked her dry lips in an attempt to moisten them so she could allow a small smile to come to her face.
"It's my fault…she got hurt. I didn't protect her when I should have" he said quietly as Videl frowned.
"I know she doesn't blame you" she said quietly, hoping he'd believe her.
"I'll never forgive myself" he mumbled as he turned his head to face her.
"Gohan, the time for forgiveness is now" she whispered quietly as that seemed to snap him out of whatever state he was in.
"That was said in my…" Gohan felt himself slowly welcoming back consciousness. "How did you…Videl! You're awake!" he exclaimed as he jumped up from his chair and held her hands in his giant ones.
"Morning sunshine" she said quietly as she offered him a weak smile.
Gohan felt tears come to his eyes when he saw her smiling gently, "I…I thought…I lost you" he said quietly as tears slowly rolled down his cheeks.
"You can't get rid of me that easily" she said as she attempted to laugh but felt a small cough come out. She went to move so she could sit up straight but felt a shooting pain in her side that caused her to yell quietly in pain and flop back down on the bed.
"Don't move" he said as he bent down and gently picked her body up in an embrace, worried that she's disappear if he let her go.
"I love you so much" he whispered as he gently cried onto his shoulder as Videl had done to him so many times before.
"I love you too sweetie" she said as she gently returned the hug; rubbing his back lightly as she felt to occasional shudder from him crying.
"I was so scared that I lost you" he said as he leaned forward and kissed her. He leaned up and gently kissed the just under her eyebrow where the swelling on her eye began and then kissed just above her cheek bone and once again gave her another kiss before pulling back.
"They wouldn't tell me anything about you, I thought you were dead" he whispered as all the fear that was in him was still lingering.
"As I said, you're not getting rid of me that easily" she replied with a weak smile as she gripped his hand as he held it to his cheek, tears slowly rubbing falling their fingers.
They spent a few minutes in silence, Gohan thanking Dende over and over again for letting Videl be the one who wasn't killed, when their silence was broken.
"Good lord he's crying again" a gruff voice said, effectively ending their sweet moment together.
"Vegeta, shut up and let them have their moment" Bulma hissed as a slapping noise was heard as she hit his chest.
"She's awake?" Goku questioned, almost knocking Chi Chi off the chair in excitement.
"Goku, I swear to god if I get knocked to that floor you're going to be without food for a week" Chi Chi retorted as Goku paled at the though.
Videl gave a horse laugh, "hey guys" she said quietly as she offered them all a smile.
"Sweetheart you sound horse, would you like a drink?" Chi Chi asked as she went up anyways and filled a paper cup with water and handed it to the teen who happily accepted it.
"Don't you ever do that again, you had us worried sick" Goku playfully scolded as he moved to give the teenager a hug, relieved that she was doing better the she had been the past day and a half.
"I'm sorry guys" she said, her voice was still weak sounding, but it wasn't as horse as it had been moments earlier.
Videl was caught by surprise as she felt someone grasp her gently, "I was so worried about you baby" Aaliyah whispered as she hugged her gently, crying lightly into Videl's hospital gown.
"I'm sorry mom" Videl whispered as she returned the hug.
"You are never allowed to go anywhere by yourself again, I don't want some stranger attacking you again" she cried gently into Videls shoulder, afraid to let her go.
"Did they say what was wrong with me?" Videl asked curiously as she gently rubbed her mother's back as she continued to return the hug, simply allowing her to cry into her.
"Hmm…" Bulma walked over and picked up the chart that was clipped to the end of Videl's bed, "it says here that you've got a lot of cuts and bruises, a concussion, a swollen eye and a bloody lip. They figure you sprained your left wrist as well as your right ankle. It also says you've got three cracked ribs and they think you may have done something to your knee but they're not sure. It says right now there's a lot of swelling but it seems to be going down with medication so they feel it might be bursitis caused by blunt force trauma" she said as she flipped through the pages and checked all of her blood work.
"What happened to you sweetie?" Chi Chi said as she stepped forward to stand beside Gohan who had never left Videl's side.
Videl felt fear and sadness fill her as she cast her eyes downwards and averted her gaze from everyone else's, "I don't want to talk about it" she said quietly, avoiding all looks.
"That nurse said people were coming to talk to you about what happened" Goten said as he climbed on the bed, being mindful of Videls legs.
"I don't want to talk to them about it" She said quietly as she played with the sheet that was covering her body.
"I don't think they'll take that as an answer, do you know that your father was shot to death?" 18 piped in from her spot against the wall.
"I thought he may have died" she whispered, her eyes becoming wetter as she spoke.
"Videl, if you don't feel comfortable talking about it, don't worry, you don't have to" Gohan said as he took both of her small hands in his. "When you feel up to it or ready to talk about it, you'll always have an ear here to listen" Gohan said as he gave her a small smile and wiped a stray tear she had away with his thumb as he gently cupped her cheek.
"I don't want to talk about it now" she whispered, fear in her voice as a few more tears fell down her cheeks.
"That we'll talk about something else, alright hun?" he asked with a warm smile as she nodded in response.
"I'd really appreciate that" she said quietly as she looked him in the eyes, giving him a small smile.
There was an awkward silence that lingered in the room for a few minutes; everyone was dying to know what happened, who killed Hercule and who beat Videl so badly. However everyone was trying to respect Videls wishes by trying to discuss something else.
"So Videl, what did you want for your birthday?" Goten piped in, feeling uncomfortable in the silence that was in the room.
"Awh squirt, you don't have to get me a thing" she said with a smile.
Videl turned her attention when she heard Vegeta snort in response "don't believe her kid, all women say they don't want anything, then when you don't get them something they get upset" he said, knowing he was receiving a dirty look from Bulma.
"It was our anniversary you jerk off…I wanted you to think of something on your own" Bulma added, giving Vegeta a glare.
"Then you should have said that" he muttered as he returned her glare.
"Was that why she refused to cook food for you and you slept on the couch for a month dad?" Trunks questioned curiously.
"No, he did that after he attempted to by me lingerie and bought me a size triple extra large" She muttered as her eyes narrowed at Vegeta some more.
Videl attempted to cover her snicker as she watched the family exchange that was occurring before her. "It looked smaller on the hanger" he muttered only to have Bulma letting her anger get the best of her.
"That's it, I don't need you, get out, get out now!" she screamed, covering a few people to cover their ears in surprised as Bulma seethed and screamed at Vegeta.
"You want me to go?" Vegeta asked, arching an eyebrow at her in curiosity.
"I want you out of my life, out of my house. GET OUT!" she screamed even louder as an amused look came onto Vegetas face.
"Alright, I'm gone" he said as he gave her a mock salute and turned to slowly walk out of the room.
Just as Vegeta was walking out of the door Bulma screamed once again, "wait!" she exclaimed as she ran back towards him.
"I can't raise a baby my by self, I'm so sorry sweetie, I love you so much, please don't leave me" she cried as she flung her arms around Vegeta's waist.
Vegeta rolled his eyes and rubbed his hand on his wife's back as she started blubbering like a baby about how sorry she was.
"Mood swings hit her like a ton of brick huh?" Videl questioned quietly as everyone quickly nodded in response.
"I commented on how she eats like a saiyan now and she held me off the ground by the neck of my shirt and threatened to strangle me" Krillin said as he had a flashback of firsthand experience of how Bulma's mood swings were taking effect.
"Bulma, your mood swings are pretty bad, you know that" Goku said as Bulma quickly turned and gave him a dirty look.
"I can't help it. It's all these saiyan hormones that are in me, it's all your fault" Bulma said as she let go of Vegeta and made her way over to Goku.
"I'm not the one who got you pregnant" Goku said as he gave her a confused look.
Bulma stepped closer to him, "you really want to mess with me Son?" she questioned, her protruding belly was poking him, causing him to jump back and wave his hands frantically in front of him.
"Now that I think about it, you're right, it is all my fault" he said, still moving his hands frantically. "Just keep that belly away from me" he said as he stepped away from Bulma, only to have her step forward and poked him again with her baby bump causing Goku to once again jump back.
"Dad, are you afraid of pregnant women?" Gohan questioned with amusement as he watched his father desperately dodge Bulma's tummy.
"After your mother was pregnant with you…yes, yes I'm afraid of pregnant women. It's just so crazy; there's a person inside of her stomach!" he exclaimed as he dodged her tummy once again.
"So why are you afraid of her stomach?" Gohan questioned, still amused with the whole situation.
"Yeah Goku, what do you have against my lovely lady lumps?" She questioned.
"I don't think that's what intending with the song Bulma" Krillin piped in.
Bulma sent a glare towards Krillin, "don't mess with me chrome dome" she said as she turned her attention back towards Goku.
"But…I have hair" Krillin muttered as 18 slapped his arm and told him to shut up.
"I'm just afraid of hurting it" Goku said as he pointed to her belly.
"Hmm…You know some to think of it, when I was pregnant with Gohan he would never put any sort of pressure on my stomach, hell it took me a few months to convince him that it was ok it put his hand on my stomach, or even listen to my belly" Chi Chi said thoughtfully as she reflected back on their younger days.
"I just don't want to hurt you….so get that thing away from me" Goku said as he slipped past her and went and hid behind Chi Chi who simply laughed at her response.
There was a quiet knock at the door causing everyone to look up in surprise. "Oh crap" Gohan muttered as he quickly stuck his head under the covers beside Videl's legs to hide his face as the familiar nurse walked in.
"I'm sorry to interrupt you all, but Videl I need to draw some blood and run some tests" she said as she walked in with a kit filled with tubes and an assortment of other things.
The nurse gave Videl a funny look when she saw Gohan's head under the blankets beside Videl's legs. "Is he ok?" she questioned quietly as Videl smiled and nodded her head in response, then knocked on Gohan's head to get his attention.
"It's ok Saiyaman, your identity is safe with me" she said with a laugh as Gohan slowly pulled his head out of the blankets, a blush present on his cheeks.
"Sorry, I panicked" he muttered as Videl shook her head in response.
"Here" the nurse said as she handed Gohan a small plastic bag. "The police are going to be here soon so I thought you could use those" she said as Gohan opened the bag curiously and noticed it was a pair of sunglasses and an imitation Saiyaman turban.
"Thanks, I really appreciate it" he said quickly as he put the rest of his disguise back on.
"Now, how are you feeling?" the nurse asked as she turned to Videl.
"I'm ok…I'm really, really sore though" she said quietly, wincing as she took in a deep inhale.
"You will be sore for awhile; I'll change your morphine bag soon. But now I need to rub some tests; we want to make sure that none of your injuries is causing an infection" she said as she pulled out a large strand of rubber and tied it around Videl's arm as she started tapping her skin to raise a vein.
"What are you doing to her?" Goku asked, fear rising in him as he watched the nurse pull out a needle and attach a vile to it.
"I'm taking her blood?" the nurse said as she gave Goku a strange look.
"Gohan, don't let her to that to Videl…if you love her you'll stop that crazy nurse" Goku said as he stood behind Gohan and shook his shoulder to emphasize his point.
"Dad, she'll be fined, she's a trained professional" Gohan replied as he rolled his eyes and winced as he felt Goku's hand squeeze his shoulder tightly.
"Gohan, you're heartless, I thought you loved her" Goku said. Videl laughed quietly as she nurse drew blood from her, amused by Goku's antics.
"I love your family" Videl said with a smile as she gave Gohan's hand a squeeze. "They're so…quirky" she said with a smile.
Gohan shook his head, "that's one way of putting it" he said as he looked around his friends and family.
"Alright hun, just keep the bandage there for now and I'll be back shortly with your new bag of morphine" he said as she took her kit and left with the viles of blood in her hand.
Once again another silence fell into the room, "Videl I'm sorry…but could you please tell us what happened to you?" Goten asked, earning a glare from Gohan.
Videl became visibly nervous, "I suppose I could" she said quietly, she noticed everyone took a step forward to listen to her tell her story.
"I had just checked out a bunch of books from the library after doing all of my research; I remember talking with the librarian for a little while then I left and text messaged Gohan telling him I would be there soon" she said as she looked around and noticed everyone was hanging on her every word.
"I had thought about flying, but there were a lot of people on the streets so I figured that I would just walk there. However, there was construction going on and would have caused me major delays so I had a choice between either going down the alley or taking the park to Bulmas. I figured the park would have more people around so it would be safer, so I took that route instead of going down the empty alley. I was really surprised to find that the park was pretty empty; I mean usually there families in the park or couples going for a walk, but I was surprised to see almost no one there" she said, inhaling deeply as she stared at her free hand.
"You could have called one of us sweetie, we would have happily driven to pick you up, or we could have even gotten Goku to do instant transmission and get you" Chi Chi asked as Videl continued to avoid her gaze.
"I knew you guys would b busy with the barbeque and I figured I would be home soon. I've always thought of myself as strong; maybe not super saiyan strong, but strong enough to take care of myself" she said, a disapproving look came onto her face.
"Videl, you are one of the strongest people I know and you're more than capable of taking care of yourself" Gohan said as he offered her a reassuring squeeze of her hand.
"Thank you" she said quietly as she cleared her throat. "Anyways, so I was walking in the park, and there was just this really eerie presence there, then I heard a-" she was quickly cut off.
"Videl, wait" he paused as he stared at her for a moment, "hold your hands out" he said as he watched her raise her hands. "You're shaking… we can talk about this later if you don't feel comfortable" he said, worried about her mental condition after being through such a traumatic event.
Videl shook her head lightly, "I'm fine thanks…I'm sure I'll feel better once I've gotten this off my chest" she said quietly. She knew Gohan was staring right through her and picking up every emotion that was going through her body; he simply had a knack for reading her like a book.
"Anyways, I heard a rustling; a snapping of a twig or something, I convinced myself it was a squirrel or something and just went on my way again. But then I heard it again, followed by shuffling. I figured I wanted to be better safe than sorry, so I picked up my pace and started jogging in the park…however the person following me matched my pace. I completely freaked, and started running as fast as I could. I ran and ran, I swear it felt like the forest would never end and then…it was completely silent. I remember slowly down; it was dark, the trees covered the park, so you couldn't really see anything, there was just light from the sun that was coming through the trees." She rubbed her throat; slight bruising was around her throat, evident signs of someone trying to strangle her.
"Um, could I have some water please?" she asked quietly as Yamcha got up and filled up a paper cup with water and handed it to her quietly.
"I felt so winded so when I didn't hear the noises any more so I slowed down to see who or what it was that was following me…you know it's stupid…when you watch those movies and there's the stereotypical chase where the girl either falls or tries to hide in some stupid location? Unless you're in that situation, you never realize just how possible it could be. When I was running I swear I nearly fell a dozen times, and was so tempted to hide behind some big tree or something…flying unfortunately didn't even come to mind" she said, taking another long sip of her cold water.
"I remember thinking how I finally got rid of this freak, but next thing I knew someone had grabbed be from behind. I remember I was struggling with him then I felt something wet being pressed against my mouth…the last thing I remember thinking after that was how I thought I smelled chloroform" she said as she heard her mother and Chi Chi gasp in surprise.
"You were kidnapped?" Aaliyah asked in surprised.
Videl gave a solemn nod, "when I woke up I found that I was bound and gagged by-" she was cut off by a knock on the door.
The nurse popped her head into the room,"hey guys, I'm sorry to interrupt, but the police are here and if they saw everyone in the room…well I'd get fired. So I'm going to have to ask that you all leave for a little while, I promise you can come back and visit her later" the nurse said as she gave a confused look at the eager faces that everyone in the room but Videl had on their face.
"Can this not wait?" Goku asked, desperately wanting to know the rest of Videl's story.
"I'm afraid not sir, I've been stalling the police for a few minutes now but they're pretty eager to interview Videl" she said as she gave them a sad smile.
"I'm not ready to talk about it yet" she said quietly as the nurse gave her a sad look.
"Alright, here's what we'll do" she said as she walked towards the IV bags and pulled and pulled off an empty bag. "You need your next IV bag as you're clearly in a fair amount of pain. If you should happen to fall asleep then the officers will have to wait" she said as Videl gave her a groggy smile.
"It's not all a lie…I do feel pretty drained" she said as she gently rubbed her eyes, once again wincing as she felt a sharp pain on her swollen eye.
"You'll be sore for awhile, you definitely took a beating; to say you're a fighter is putting it simply. You kick ass girl" the nurse said with a smile as she hung a new bag of morphine up and put the tube into the new bag giving Videl a fresh supply of morphine.
"As much as I hate to do this, I do have to ask everyone else to leave; the police will kill me if they see you all here" she said as she received a few reluctant nods.
Gohan stood up and went to walk away but his hand was grabbed by Videl, "please don't leave me" she whispered, her eyes were welling up with unshed tears as a look of fear came across her face.
Gohan sent a pleading look to the nurse who heaved a sigh, "I'm sure if I work my magic the chief will be alright with Saiyaman being with her" she said as Gohan gave her a weak smile.
"Please, please don't leave me" Videl whimpered as tears slowly started trailing down her cheeks as she gripped Gohans hand as tightly as she could.
Gohan gave Videl a worried look as she weakly grabbed his hand and pleaded him not to go anywhere. He gave the nurse a quick look and she nodded to him, "I won't go anywhere Videl, I promise. I'll stay here as long as you'd like me to" he said quietly as he partially sat on the bed and gently held her body close to his as he rubbed her arm in a comforting manor.
The nurse gave a small smile at the sweet exchange, "she will probably fall asleep soon" the nurse said as she motioned for the others in the room to follow her.
"Bye Videl" Goten said sadly as she received a wave from others.
"You call us if anything happens alright?" Chi Chi said as Gohan nodded in response. With that exchange everyone quietly slipped out of the room and went to busy their selves in the hospital.
"Don't cry baby, it'll be alright" he said quietly as she continued to cry into his chest.
"I…he…it was so horrible…I just…" she struggled to get out a sentence as her fears came out in the form of tears. Her words slowly became slurred as the morphine started to kick in.
Gohan kept quiet, unsure of what to do or say. He had no idea what had happened to her, or who or what caused her to be beaten so badly. He had no idea of how traumatic an event she had experienced and she had no idea as to what she had seen when she had been drugged in the park. He was completely speechless and all he could do was attempt to offer her comfort.
They sat in silence for a few minutes, Videl slowly becoming more and more groggy as he eyes became heavy from all of the pain medication. As Videl was about to welcome the unconsciousness that the morphine was bringing from her comfortable leaning gently against Gohan there was a loud and abrupt knock at the door.
After the knock an older man followed by two younger men walked into the room. "Videl, what happened?" he questioned loudly in an attempt to snap her out of her drug induced drowsiness.
~*~
Alright, that's chapter 20! I'm so thrilled that you all really enjoyed my chapter 19 and I hope that you enjoyed this just as much. Were you surprised, disappointed, or did you expect the results; I'd love to hear what you think!
So I hope you all enjoy this chapter, and I really hope that I hear from you guys; the more reviews I get the more motivation I have. Please read and reviews and I hope you enjoy this!!