A/N: Thank you x1 million for the sweet reviews. I worked on this one while staying overnight in the hospital with my grandma for the past couple days so I hope it makes sense. Enjoy :)

:*: A Beautiful Autumn :*:

The changing leaves and cooler weather took effect as October breezed in. Unfortunately for Pan Son, it was not cold enough to hide underneath a bulky sweatshirt like she had wanted. She had a small selection of loose fitting shirts and was starting to become embarrassed for wearing them over and over again. She was almost 18 weeks pregnant but felt like she was hiding it pretty well. Her stomach hadn't grown past her breasts yet, so her baggy tee shirt plan was still working.

After her emotional breakdown the previous day, she felt embarrassed and guilty for drawing Goten into her life even more than he already was. She was glad he had called Bra over to take her out. She felt much more comfortable talking about things with her rather than making him listen to her complain.

After a morning shower, she slipped on a tee and pajama pants and headed toward the kitchen, peeking into the living room on her way to see Bra and Goten asleep on the couches. She was glad to see that Bra spent the night. She missed their high school sleepovers, even though now the circumstances were completely different than either of them had expected.

She suppressed the part of her that regretted the pregnancy. That part of her wanted her to have a normal college experience and not have to worry about embarrassing her and Trunks' family. She wanted to tell Bra about these thoughts that continued to haunt her occasionally, but just mentioning the word "baby" or "pregnancy" made Bra light up.

After shaking the two awake, they ate breakfast together in the living room in front of the television, their conversation primarily focusing on Bra and Goten's games that day. Bra had an away game in the early afternoon, which meant she wouldn't be able to hang around like Pan secretly wanted.

"How are you and Ryo?" Pan asked, curious to see where their relationship had gone.

Bra's former bright expression dimmed. "We're... the same." She answered with a shrug.

"You mean he hasn't asked you out yet?" Pan was shocked as Bra shook her head to say no.

"Maybe he's just waiting for the right time." Goten chimed in, trying to give her hope after watching her mood change. She was so lively just a moment ago when she spoke about tennis. Now she looked unsure and down.

"The right time? He's seen me every day for the past month, we live in the same building, we watch movies, go out to eat, and go shopping together. When exactly is the right time?"

Goten and Pan exchanged a brief glance. Obviously this had been on Bra's mind for a while.

"Sorry guys, it's not your problem. It's not a problem at all, it's just me over analyzing things and expecting too much again..."

Goten remained quiet as guilt washed over him.

"Bra don't let a guy lead you on. Just talk to him. You're a forward person." Pan and Bra were polar opposites when it came to discussing what's on their mind. Pan was definitely the 'suffer in silence' type whereas Bra was not afraid to call someone out. Perhaps when it came to men they were both lacking. Luckily, Pan wouldn't have to worry about that anymore, or so she hoped.

Now she began to wonder if this was it. Was Trunks really planning on spending the rest of his life with her? What if he freaks out when he finds out about the baby? What if they stay together out of guilt and he cheats on her? "Shutup, Pan." She mumbled to herself, receiving odd looks from the other two as she scurried to pick up their empty plates.

xXxXxXx

Around eleven o'clock, Nagoya's tennis team met on the court for a few warm-up shots before they departed to their meet. While the others practiced, Ryo watched anxiously for Bra's arrival after she texted him that she would be a few minutes late. After fifteen minutes, he was relieved to see her beautiful blue pony tail swaying side to side behind her as she jogged to the court.

"Fifteen minutes?" He teased, meeting her with open arms and a kiss to the lips.

"Sorry, I got back from Pan's late."

"She's pregnant, isn't she." He confirmed his suspicion when Bra stopped dead in her tracks. "Don't worry, secret's safe with me."

She trusted him. "How did you find out?"

He scoffed. "Bra, a college student that doesn't drink, where's baggy clothes, suddenly moves out of the dorm, and drops out of waterpolo. Come on, I'm not a complete idiot."

She laughed. "I guess those are pretty obvious signs." She now wondered if Marron had picked up on it like Ryo had. Then again, Marron wasn't one to keep such a suspicion to herself.

xXxXxXx

Pan spent the remainder of her Saturday cleaning house and doing laundry for her and Goten. Renji came over to hang out with him before they left to meet up with the team on campus. She wasn't sure if it was paranoia, but to her it seemed that he was taking elongated glances at her. With her back turned, she looked down trying to see if the shirt was giving away her belly. She couldn't tell. She excused herself from the room and waited for them to leave while she watched television in Trunks' room.

Goten noticed the staring as well. He confronted him while they carpooled to the campus. "Why were you staring at Pan?" He asked bluntly, waiting for him to ask if she was pregnant.

"Oh, my bad. She's just... She's really pretty, Goten. Are her and Trunks' still doing that long distance thing?"

Goten was completely thrown off. Here he was thinking he had noticed that she was pregnant, but instead he was crushing on her? He tried to stifle his laughter, but failed.

"What's so funny?"

He shook his head grinning. "Oh, nothing. Yeah I think they are still on. Should I inform her of your true feelings towards her?"

"Shutup, Goten. Trunks and I are buddies but damn, he can't leave to the other side of the world and expect to still have dibs on her. Who knows what he's doing over there."

The thought of Trunks cheating on her has crossed his mind. He didn't have a history of it but definitely had the potential. Attractive, wealthy, smart male, six months in the USA, nobody around to rat on him, why not? He was only twenty one. He could easily get drunk and use that as an excuse.

Goten fished around his pocket to catch his vibrating cell phone. Averting his eyes from the road, he glanced down to see the picture of him and Trunks at the lake from junior year illuminating his screen.

It's funny how you can think so negative about a person one moment, only to be reminded of why they were your best friend the next.

xXxXxXx

Ignored. Again. Maybe he was already leaving for his meet like Pan had said. But after a couple months of not responding to his calls or texts, he felt like he had lost his best friend. Pan tried to convince him that Goten was just busy and dealing with personal conflicts of his own, but Trunks wasn't buying it. He knew that could have been true, considering the Son family's situation, but months without talking to your friend/roommate was not fathomable to him.

All he knew for certain was that something was up.

It was slightly after eleven pm for him in the states. His roommate and friendly counterparts had gone out like they usually do. He simply was not in the mood to join them this time.

His mother was extremely pleased with the progress he was making. She had received compliments from his professor as well as a few contacts she had there overseas. It seems that everyone that came into contact with him was mesmerized by his charm and exceptional perspective. Especially Rachel Cunnings.

Ms. Cunnings and Bulma had a bittersweet relationship. Whatever Bulma wanted to sell, Rachel wanted her own personal benefit. So far, that personal benefit had just involved money. Word on the street was Capsule Corporation was near the end zone at finishing their biggest project in years. Rachel was well aware of this, and was well aware of what she wanted from it as well. It wouldn't be easy, but that was the part that she loved the most.

xXxXxXx

While the majority of the student population was studying for mid terms, Bra lured Ryo into some much needed shopping, not that it took much convincing.

"Miki House?" He questioned as they approached the white building adorned in pink and blue trimming.

"We are baby shopping." She clapped her hands together eagerly as she started off into the building.

"Wait, do you even know what she's having?"

"Well, no, but I can buy her some basic things for now until we find out on Friday."

It didn't take long for the basket to fill up. She found various designs and colors of baby bottles, pacifiers, unisex onesies, bibs, booties, baby towels, wash cloths, and a catalog on cribs for Pan to flip through.

Two hundred dollars later and she was out the door with bags in hand.

"Bra, you do realize that you just spent two hundred dollars without knowing the baby's gender, right? And she's not even half way through the pregnancy yet."

Bra shrugged. "What's your point, Ryo?" She knew where he was getting at, but she chose to play dumb. People dealt with stress differently. She chose to shop.

She wasn't doing so great this first semester, well, not as great as her mother expected. She spoke to her father on the phone yesterday. He came off as a hard ass but she loved how he was able to switch into supportive father mode when the time asked for it. With a few kind words he helped to ease her nerves, but ultimately it was her mother's approval she was striving for.

For once, she was jealous of her brother. When they talked over the phone, he complained about how much their mother called him and talked him into going on certain outings to improve business relationships and raised his credit card max to support his lifestyle overseas. She praised him left and right whenever she went home on the weekends, which is why she hadn't gone back in a while.

In her darkest hours, she thought about how funny it would be if her mother found out that he had a child on the way.

Jealousy can be an ugly, ugly thing.

xXxXxXx

Trunks could not keep his eyes off of his Rado watch. Not because it was a gift from Miss Cunnings, and not because this particular Swiss watch cost about three grand, but because he could not wait for this dinner to be over with. According to the sleek design strapped around his wrist, it was after nine thirty when the fellow employees sitting opposite them stood from their seats to shake their hands and call it a night.

"After you." He motioned Rachel to exit before him while he followed behind, being the gentleman he was. As they squeezed between the crowded bar and the dinner tables, Trunks' accidentally bumped a man's drink from his hands. "My apologies, sir." He dropped down to pick up the now empty glass. "Let me get you another one."

"Now, now, I'm still as dry as I was when I walked in. A little liquor on the tile won't do no harm."

"Unless somebody slips in it, but looks like that won't be a problem." Trunks added as they watched a member of the waiting staff swiftly run a towel over the puddle.

The older male let out a gruff chuckle. "Now, if you performed that little act as a means of getting away from the infamous Cunnings, then please, allow me to buy you a drink." He chuckled heartily once again, motioning for two drinks from the bartender.

Trunks was surprised that the male knew Rachel and obviously he was aware of some kind of background on the female. "It was based on pure accident, sir. But I will be more than happy to accept a drink from-"

"Mr. Briefs, our car is waiting."

"Speak of the devil." The male muttered, sipping his forty dollar alcohol.

Rachel raised an eye brow while Trunks used his quick thinking skills to devise a story to get out of leaving with her.

"Miss Cunnings, I have just accepted a drink from him, it would be rude of me to leave now." He spoke firmly with an underlying masculine tone that put his word over hers.

"Fine. Goodnight, Trunks. Goodnight Mr. Tatum." She held her nose high and departed the area, leaving him behind as he wished.

"You're a charismatic one. Briefs, did I hear that right?" The male inquired. He was older, in his lower sixties Trunks presumed. He had a stout figure with white, balding hair that he managed to fashion a comb-over with.

"Trunks Briefs, business intern, sir." He extended his right hand, meeting the other with a firm handshake.

"Robert Tatum. Director of marketing at Globodyne."

Globodyne. Hennways business rival. This must have been why Rachel did not want Trunks to stay, he guessed. He knew the man looked familiar. He had seen him a couple times speaking at the seminars the interns went to.

"Is that a gift from Medusa herself?" He pointed at the watch as they took a stool at the bar.

Trunks frowned, unlatching it and placing it in his pocket. "Yeah. I only wear it around her."

Robert took a real liking to Trunks. As they sipped on their beverages, Trunks told him about where he came, his education, and capsule corporation, leaving out the dark details about their business's dim future, although he was sure he already knew. It was difficult to hide his relationship to his mother since they shared the family name. He knew his mother didn't have a great relationship with Globodyne since they didn't deal with women too often. He now knew why Bulma's only connection into the states was through Rachel Cunnings. She was the only female director of marketing for the large companies.

At the end of the night, Trunks found himself twiddling the man's business card in his hands as he laid on his hotel bed.

"I like you, boy. If you ever need anything or have any questions, don't hesitate to call my line."

xXxXxXx

Friday, October ninth could not have come faster. The following Monday was the beginning of the midterms week, but for the next couple of hours, Pan wanted to focus solely on her doctor's appointment. She spent the entire week keeping up with her current homework and studying for midterms as well. She told herself that she deserved to spend her hours after school today with her mind free of school and focused on her baby.

"My baby... Still sounds weird..." She ran her palms across her growing belly, wondering when she would be able to feel the baby kick.

Bra arrived to the house right on time with shopping bags in hand. She dumped them out onto the bed, laying out various maternity wear and loose fitting shirts.

"Bra., you didn't have to..."

"Yes I did, Pan. You've been wearing the same clothes for weeks. Now change into something cute so we can start shopping for your little boy or girl." She grinned excitedly, rubbing Pan's rounding abdomen.

After a few minutes, Pan slipped on a pair of her jeans left unbuttoned, using the belly wrap to keep them in place. Although Bra's selection of maternity tops were cute, they were too obvious. They were for pregnant women who wanted to flaunt their pregnancy, not hide it. Instead, she went with one of the baggy navy blue shirts that she had left in the bag.

While the medical assistant set the two girls up in the patient room, Pan was grateful to have someone else with her to partake in this occasion with. She wished Trunks could be here with her. She was still frightened by the whole idea, but having his sister here and her best friend was close enough.

Dr. Oshiro entered with the usual warming smile on her lips. After getting the brief medical lingo out of the way she turned on the ultrasound machine to get it warmed up.

"Any guesses as to what he or she might be?"

Bra had thought this through. "Either one would be great. Knowing my brother, I'm sure his soldiers implanted a boy first."

The doctor chuckled at her choice of words. "Very well then. How about you, Pan?"

Pan exhaled slowly. "I really don't know... Are we supposed to feel some sort of intuition type of thing?" She began to panic. She remembered asking her mother about her pregnancy years ago and her mom always said 'I knew I was going to have a girl'. Pan really didn't know. Did that already make her a bad mom?

"That is completely normal, Pan. You don't know how many mothers I get in here that are so sure they are having a girl, they tell me about the pink crib they bought and already started painting the pink walls. Then I feel like the bad guy for telling them they're having a boy!"

The doctor squirt the cold jelly on Pan's lower stomach and began rolling the doppler around, searching for the baby's presence. "There's the little bugger." She manipulated it some more, getting the positioning just right. Alright. There we have it." She pushed a button to take a couple snap shots.

"Well?" Bra was about to fall out of her chair.

"You see here, these are the baby's legs, their bottom, and this is the groin area. We look here to see the genitalia. If it's flat, it's a girl. If there is a penis or three mounds, it's a boy. In this case," She rolled the doppler around some more as the baby moved around.

Bra was beginning to think that the doctor was doing this on purpose, trying to kill them with suspense.

"Hm. Ah, yes." Dr. Oshiro murmured to herself.

"Doctor Oshiro!" Pan and Bra cried in unison.

She giggled. "Bra, I hope you are ready for a nephew because Pan, you are expecting a son."

The emotion that Pan felt at those words was indescribable. A boy. She and Trunks were going to have a son.

As they exited the building, Pan took notice at how beautiful Autumn really was. The weather was growing cooler and the leaves were changing into a beautiful range of colors as if celebrating the passage of time from summer to winter. Everything would be okay, she repeated to herself.

Bra took her out to a celebratory dinner, then took her back home where they met Goten lounging on the couch, freshly showered after football practice.

"Where'd you two go?" He asked, ungluing his eyes from the television.

Bra stayed silent to allow Pan to announce the news.

"We just got back from my doctor's appointment." Goten never talked about the pregnancy or anything Trunks related for that matter. She wasn't even sure if he cared to hear the news. Her excitement was gradually dropping.

"Well, I'm having a boy."

He tried to look happy for her, but this announcement was bittersweet for him. He smiled. "Alright. I'll get him a jersey made, and make him out some plays on how to exit the vaginal canal." He joked, standing up to give her a hug. "Bra, you look like you're about to cry."

She wiped her eyes, laughing. "I'm just so happy. Two more months until daddy comes home." She cooed, rubbing Pan's stomach.

Two months. Pan couldn't wait to see him and feel him again. Then again, things weren't exactly how he left them. She hoped for the best, but feared the worst. She worried about how Bulma would take the news, and just how much power she had over him...