A/N: Well well well we meet again :)

Changing the POV of this story (At least of this chapter anyways) I apologize for the inconsistencies, but that's the joy of fanfictions, your story your rules :p

:*: Secret's Out :*:

After several minutes, Goten finally emerged from the bedroom Pan had locked herself in. His eyes were reddened, as if he had been crying. Trunks, Marron, and Bra sat silently in the living room as their friend rejoined them.

"So, didn't want everyone to find out this way, especially on Christmas," Goten's hands were shoved into the pockets of his jacket, his eyes remaining downward while the other three eyed him with concern. "Pan's mom has a brain tumor." He sniffled, struggling to play off the tormenting emotions of the news he had received just days back. Goten played the passive, nonchalant guy very well. So well, that none of his closest friends had picked up that he was screaming inside. Everytime he went to visit his brother, he could see that Gohan was a mess, and it was hurting him to see his strong older brother struggle. His wife of eightteen years was dying, and there was nothing they could do but wait.

"Her symptoms are getting worse." He continued. "That's all my brother will tell me." He cleared his throat, trying to suppress the images of his brother's agony.

Trunks took a moment to absorb the situation. He wondered how long Pan had known about this, then he gazed at his obviously miserable best friend. How had he not picked up that Goten was going through this? Trunks rose from the couch and circled his arms around Goten in a manly hug manner.

Goten hugged him back. "Trunks, I love you." He whispered in his ear, jokingly of course. Trunks threw him a baffled expression, then laughed it off.

Typical Goten. Trunks thought. Always trying to lighten the situation. He left the jester to Marron and his sister while he made his way to Gohan's old room where Pan had isolated herself. After a light knock on the door, he let himself. in.

Pan was seated on the floor, her head resting against the bed and her eyes closed. The room was dimly lit with a bedside lamp, allowing him to see her wet cheeks. He closed the door behind him and sat indian style in front of her without saying a word.

She opened her eyes, keeping them directed up towards the ceiling. She was no longer crying, but couldn't shake her solemn expression. Trunks didn't know what to say. What do you say to a person who's mother is expected to die.

"I knew she was sick." She started, just above a whisper. "Nobody has headaches as intense or as frequent as she does. Sometimes it's so bad she can't even get out of bed for two, three days. Then there's the occasional vomiting and my dad trying to cover it up as the flu or food poisoning." Her eyes drifted to her knees that were folded against her chest, her hands cupped around them. "I believed him, just to keep myself from thinking what else it could possibly be... It wasn't until this morning that the truth finally hit me. I found, well, the puppy found a letter in their room. An option for her to go to hospice care."

Trunks was no doctor, but he knew that hospice care was recommended for people who were expected to live less than six months due to the severity of their condition. Once again, he didn't know what to say. He gently caressed her cupped hands until she unclasped them, then held both of her hands in his. "You know that if you or your family ever need anything, we will always be more than happy to help any way that we can. Pan, I wish I could promise you that everything is going to be okay, but I can't. I can promise you that I will be here for you."

Her swollen eyes coasted up to meet his gaze. The comfort that washed through her from his words made her feel like she wouldn't have to face this alone. Sure she had her father, but she couldn't imagine what was going through his head. She wondered how long he had known. The thought of him being upset and shedding a tear tugged her heart violently.

"Thank you so much, Trunks." She tried to smile, but it just pushed another tear out. He wiped it with his thumb and inched closer to her lips for a reassuring kiss.

"You just have to promise me something. No more secrets."

She hesitated. "Ok. No more secrets."

"And don't hesitate to call me. I don't care where I am or what I'm doing."

Pan's eyes dropped as she remembered that he did go to college.

Trunks seemed to read her mind. "I'm only an hour and a half away. I mean it, Pan. I won't be able to focus knowing you're sad. You don't want me to flunk out, do you?"

She snorted a laugh. "You are one persuasive fellow."

Since Trunks had left the room, Goten had tried to lighten up the mood with the speechless Bra and Marron. They knew this was Goten's way of coping, but Bra wondered how effective his method really was. He tried to make others forget about the issue at hand, but at the end of the day he's the one that has to live with this eating away at him.

"Goten, I probably don't have to remind you, but just know that we're here for you. We've all supported each other our whole lives, and although this is much bigger, we'll help you through this."

Marron nodded in agreement.

"Thanks." He half smiled.

"So, who wants to watch a movie?" Marron could tell Goten was grateful for the change of topic as he jumped up and chose the newest comedy his dad had bought. He figured everyone could use a laugh right about now.

Ten minutes into the movie, Pan and Trunks returned to the room, hand in hand. "You started it without us?" Trunks exclaimed in a mock angry tone.

"Well if you two weren't so busy cupcakin' you would have been here!" Goten retorted. He rose from his laying position on the loveseat to allow the two to sit there. Bra and Marron made room for him in the center of the couch.

Bra smiled to herself watching her brother and her best friend. Trunks had his arm around her shoulders while she leaned on him, both of them laughing along with the movie. She knew her brother liked Pan a lot. She didn't know when it started, but over time it grew and became more obvious to her. Pan was the dumb oblivious one, but because of her blind heart, it made the journey all the more exciting for Bra to watch. Her thoughts were interrupted when Goten began obnoxiously stretching, then laid his head in her lap, his feet residing in Marron's.

"Sorry Marron, looks like you got the shitty end of this deal."Goten joked, receiving a pinch on the toe from her.

As the movie progressed, Bra caught herself absentmindedly circling her nails through Goten's hair. She stopped, slightly embarrassed, then continued when he squeezed her leg and groaned. She laughed inwardly. She'd do anything for him, so if a small head massage was what he wanted, then so be it.

The five young adults found themselves in the midst of another chapter in life, only this time it wasn't going to be a happy one. Once New Years rolled around, normally they'd all attend a party together, but this year was different. Pan and Goten wanted to spend it with Gohan and Videl, of course, and the others were completely empathetic to their decision.

Pan and her father were on their way to the grocery store, shopping for the items Videl had listed for their New Years party tomorrow. Usually Bulma hosted an annual party for the adults, but this year Videl had volunteered to throw it. Bulma was more than happy to comply, even though she was unaware of the situation at hand.

Pan shifted uncomfortably in her seat, tipping off Gohan that there was something she wanted to discuss. She had been far too quiet these past couple days for him to ignore. "Is everything alright, Pan?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Everything's fine... Why do you ask?"

He shrugged. "A father picks up on things after seventeen years." He nudged her playfully with his elbow.

She wanted to bring it up and get it off her chest, but she didn't want to see the hurt look in his eyes that she had been dreading to see. "Dad, I... I was... I was wondering if Trunks, Bra, and Marron could come to your New Years party." She knew it was a dumb question, of course they were invited.

He was well aware that's not what she wanted to discuss, but he went with it. "I don't know about those three... They're pretty rambunctious for an adult gathering." He teased.

"Dad, there are two errors with that judgment. A: They aren't rambunctious. B: Your 'adult gathering' is far from an innocent dinner. Where do you think we learned how to party?"He reflected the smile on her face. She was right. Once the Z gang added alcohol to the mix, a promising night always followed. Between drinking games, story telling, and daring bets, there was never a dull moment.

"Touche, daughter. Touche. You know, we were going to cook the roast instead of your grandma Cheech this year, but I don't think-"

"Dad, I know." She interrupted.

"Oh, you know about the roast-"

She shook her head. "No not about that!... I know about mom." She avoided looking at him, but could hear him shift uncomfortably in his seat. "It's okay, you don't need to say anything. I found a letter from the hospital... I talked to Goten about it last night." Images of her uncle Goten shedding tears crossed her mind, causing her to cringe as if trying to blink them away. "I just want to tell you that no matter what, I love you and mom-" She paused to clear her throat. "so much and we'll get through this together." She peeked over at him, but he was hiding his eyes by looking as far away from her as he could without taking his eyes off of the road.

He cleared his throat and placed a reassuring hand on his daughter's leg. "We'll get through it... Thank you, Pan."

Hearing her father say these words as strong as he could helped her to smile back in response. Maybe it was because he always fell through with his claims. But now she wondered whom he was referring to when he said "we". Was that the three of them, or just father and daughter?

"And, Pan, if you have any questions or thoughts, don't hesitate to talk to us about them. We were going to tell you soon... just didn't know how to do it."

She wasn't mad that they didn't tell her sooner. She understood. That was the last that they spoke about that topic. Grocery hunting carried on as usual, and from an outside perspective, one would observe that they were both able to breathe easier after that conversation.

A/N: This chapter is short, I know. I just wanted to get something out there after all this time. Working on the next chap. :)