It was several hours later before Lindsey finally returned to her bedroom. Gohan was laying in bed on his side, the covers pulled up over his shoulder.

"Gohan?" she whispered. He didn't respond.

"Fine," she huffed. "Must be nice to just sleep whenever you want." She pulled off her top and the arm warmers, rubbing at the insides of her elbows. She peeled off the skirt and stockings, tossing the whole lot in a wicker basket near the dresser. "Wish I could sleep like that."

"Gohan!" she barked at him, still to no answer. "Whatever." She stormed into her bathroom, slamming the door and banging around inside, trying to be as obnoxiously loud as possible. "Jerk," she hissed under her breath. She spun the handles on her bathtub, running the water. She packed her pipe and lit it, inhaling deeply and holding it until her lungs felt like they were going to burst. She exhaled a long stream of thick, white smoke. She caught a glimpse of her reflection in the mirror and jumped. She didn't like the looks of the person staring back at her.

"What the fuck are you doing?" she asked her reflection, which was looking exceptionally pale and rather thin. "Quit pissing him off. He's the best thing that ever happened to you and you're lucky he can still tolerate you. You disgusting piece of shit."

She stared in loathing at the mirror. Her green eyes looked flat, like all the life had disappeared from them.

"You're so pathetic!" she yelled and she looked at the track marks on the arms of the person in the mirror. "So fucking pathetic." She took another hit off the pipe. "Yeah, you have to have that shit to keep going, don't you?"

She didn't know why she was mouthing herself in the mirror at three o'clock in the morning. She blew the smoke at the mirror, watching it spiral back towards her. "Stupid bitch," she said, imitating a Russian accent. "Stupid whore. That's all you're good for, isn't it? Just the play-thing of these men to use as they see fit." She dragged on the glass pipe again, watching the embers glowing.

"Disgusting," she spat and exhaled again. "Dirty. Worthless."

She stood up straight and examined her reflection. "You're getting fat, too." She giggled to herself and quietly said, "Not as fat as Jenny, though." She sighed. "At least she has an excuse – it's a baby. At least she's happy. She's got her shit together. Unlike YOU."

The water began to spill over the side of the tub and she rushed to turn it off. "Fuck." She grabbed a couple towels and began to sop up the mess. "Fucking bullshit." Leaving the towels on the floor, she picked up her pipe again, staring at the full tub of water. "I should just drown myself." She didn't mean it, she was rambling now, babbling every random, dark thought that crossed her mind.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" she shouted at the mirror. "Your parents would be ashamed if they could see you now." The thought brought angry tears to her eyes as she remembered her father. She could see his strong features in her mind. His square jaw that Shayne had inherited; Shayne looked so much like him. She studied herself now, trying to find a glimpse of him in her own face. Her yellow-green eyes were the only indication she was Jack Blackwell's daughter. "Why did you leave us?" she whispered to his memory. She shook her head. "Talking to a corpse," she muttered. "How stupid can you get?"

She cached the pipe, then finished undressing and splashed in the tub, ignoring the water that slopped over the sides. She washed quickly and drained the tub, nearly slipping as she got out. She clicked off the bathroom light and walked to her dresser, slipping into stretchy yoga pants and a long-sleeved shirt.

"Gohan?" she asked as she slid into bed.

He gave no indication that he heard her.

"I love you," she said pitifully and lay down, turning her back to him and she drifted off to sleep quickly.

Gohan sat up, bringing his knees up and resting his crossed arms on them. He'd heard every word she'd spoke to herself in the bathroom. He thought he understood, now. She wasn't any better. She was faking it, and doing a damn good job of it. He didn't know what to do. He'd been so happy that she was finally back to being like her old self. Didn't he know her at all? He should have been able to tell she was being fake. He began to wonder just how much she was capable of faking. He couldn't let this go on anymore. The pretending to be okay just wouldn't cut it. He wanted her to be truly happy.

He sat there in the dark, pondering this new revelation for over an hour. He thought of every possible scenario that could help. If those guys who'd hurt her in the first place were gone, maybe that would solve a bunch of the problems. She could move on, knowing that they would never be able to hurt her again. But what could he do about it? It wasn't like he could just walk into the county jail and blast them to pieces. He'd be wanted for murder. He needed to talk to someone. Someone who knew her well. He got out of bed and left her room, not sure which way to go.

A small girl with short brown hair was in the hallway.

"Sophie," Gohan called.

She turned and smiled at him. "'ello, love," she purred in her British accent.

"Can you show me where Xander's room is?"

"Sure," she answered and led the way. "Why do you need to talk to X?"

"Just want to ask him something," Gohan replied.

"Kind'a eahly fo' questions," Sophie said thoughtfully as they climbed a staircase.

Gohan didn't answer.

"Tha's it," Sophie said, nodding to a door as she continued on her way.

Gohan knocked and Xander's voice said, "Yeah?"

Gohan opened the door and blinked at the sudden brightness. While most of the rest of the house was dark-colored and seductive, Xander's room was an eye-bleeding electric blue. His walls were covered with posters, skateboards, mountain bikes and other gear that spoke to his daredevil tendencies.

Xander eyed Gohan for a moment from his gaming seat on the floor and asked, "Sup?"

"I need to talk to you about Lindsey," Gohan started.

"Oh, not again," Xander grumbled, dropping the controller to the floor with a clatter. "Man, I'm over it, okay? You win. Let it go."

"It's not about that," Gohan retorted. "I'm worried about her."

Xander fixed Gohan with a bored stare. "What's she done now?"

"She's pretending to be happy and I know she's lying to us."

Xander cocked an eyebrow. "I ain't never known her to be fake before."

"Exactly," Gohan said. "I don't know what to do to fix this."

"I thought she was getting better," Xander said. "She seems fine to me."

"That's the thing I'm worried about," Gohan stated. "She's had all of us fooled. Even you and I. And I think it's safe to say we know her better than anyone."

Xander let out a little snort of laughter and nodded. "Yeah, I'd have to agree with you on that one."

They sat quietly, both lost in their thoughts for a moment before Xander asked, "So how'd you figure it out?"

"She was talking to herself in the bathroom. She thought I was asleep," Gohan answered.

"What'd she say?"

"All sorts of crap," Gohan said. "Called herself a whore, said she was worthless."

Xander rubbed his face. "Ah man."

"I don't know what to do," Gohan sighed, looking around the room. He didn't know what half the stuff there was for, and frankly, he didn't want to know.

Xander kept rubbing his head and his face, trying to understand it all. "She still drinking?"

"No. I don't think so."

"Well then what do you want to do about it?" Xander asked, spinning the heavy silver thumb ring he wore.

"If I knew what to do about it, I wouldn't have come here."

"Did she say anything else?"

"She called herself pathetic, said her parents would be ashamed of her," Gohan recounted.

"Now why on earth would she think her parents would be ashamed of her?" Xander asked. "I never met Jack, but I know Shayne pretty damn well, and that man was proud of all of his children."

Gohan shook his head. He hadn't spent much time with his future brothers-in-law and knew very little about them, despite all the time he'd been staying there.

"They're good people, Gohan. Like your family. Her ol' man might not have saved the world like yours…"

Gohan's head snapped up at Xander's words.

"Yeah, we know all about you Saiyans," Xander continued. "You think Yorgi doesn't know everything about you? Don't fool yourself, man. There's a reason he wants you in Anarchy 99."

"You know… about us?" Gohan asked.

"You, your dad, Trunks, Piccolo… that other goofy lookin' fuck with the spiky hair…"

"Vegeta?"

Xander shrugged. He looked up at Gohan again, "We know all about you. The Cell games, the fact that Trunks' mom owns Capsule Corp, that you're the grandson of the Ox King…"

Gohan blinked in disbelief.

"I got you, bro. You ain't hidin' shit from me. Or anyone else for that matter, and especially not Yorgi."

"But… I don't… how?" Gohan stammered.

Xander ignored the question and continued, "Oh, and your little buddy Seventeen better watch himself or he'll be recruited next. An android with a taste for violence? That's right up Yorgi's alley."

Gohan didn't know what to say. He never dreamed that the Anarchy 99 leader would have taken so much interest in him, his family, or their past.

"Anyway, like I was saying about her dad, he might not've saved the world, but he took damn good care of them when their mom died. And when he died, well, Lindsey was awfully messed up for a good, long while. That's how she ended up here. That's why she was drawn to Yorgi. He made her feel safe and took care of her."

"Didn't Shayne…?"

"Yeah, Shayne took care of her. But he's her brother, not her dad. He did the best he could for a couple years, but when she turned sixteen, she got some wheels and she was gone. I think Shayne appreciated it in a way. He got to go back to being her brother again instead of trying to be a parent."

Gohan stood quietly, trying to make sense of it all.

"But there's no way Jack would have ever been ashamed of her," Xander said. "Especially not for what happened. I don't understand that at all. Are you sure you heard her right?"

Gohan nodded.

"There's something going on here that we're missing."

Gohan hated himself for thinking it, he couldn't believe it would be true, but the words came before he could stop himself, "You don't think… the things that defense lawyer was saying…"

Xander narrowed his eyes dangerously, "Don't fucking tell me you think she willingly let those guys do this to her."

"I don't know why else she'd think her parents would be ashamed or why she'd call herself a whore."

"You're a fucking idiot," Xander spat.

Gohan sighed. "I know."

"Get the fuck outta my room. In fact, get the fuck outta this house. If you think for a split fucking second that she'd do something like that…"

"I don't!" Gohan protested.

"Then why would you say something like that?"

Gohan shook his head, wiping the thought from his mind. "I'm just trying to figure out what's going on with her!"

Xander raked his lower teeth over his upper lip, shaking his head slowly. "For someone who's supposed to be so smart, you're fucking retarded at times. You know that?"

"You're the one who can't form a sentence without the word 'fuck' in it," Gohan retorted.

Xander closed his eyes for a moment. "This is painful. You give me a goddamn headache."

"I don't exactly enjoy your company, either."

"Dude, go back to bed. Just keep an eye on her and we'll figure it out. Focus on the trial. We're all gonna get drug back next month. We have to have our ducks in a row."

Gohan nodded and left, feeling worse than when he'd entered Xander's room. He wished he hadn't gone in the first place.