Several Hours Later:
Around 1:30 PM:
When Lily woke up, she was very confused and instantly started panicking. However, she calmed down when she saw Elm—and Trunks.
Lily didn't know what it was, but there was something about him that she trusted.
At this moment:
Elm was watching TV, peaking over at Lily now and then
Lily was staring at Trunks but would not let him touch her in any way
Trunks was watching both twins, wondering where his parents and older kids were
"Well, I can't wait forever." Trunks sighed, getting Elm and Lily's attention.
"What's going on?" Elm asked, looking at Trunks.
"I was going to wait for your grandparents, brothers, and sister to give you these. But I can't just keep waiting for them, when I don't know how long they're going to be. Last night, after you two were both asleep, I went to the giftshop. Just so we're clear, I'm not a hundred percent sure what you two like—so I just got you each a card that basically says, "Get Well Soon." I also got each of you something else." Trunks said as he handed them each a card; Elm's card had a teddy bear, holding onto a bunch of balloons that read, "Wishing You Well." Lily's card had an orange and yellow cat, hanging on a tree branch, that read, "Keep Hanging in There."
"Thank you. Lily also says thank you." Elm said, holding onto his card while Lily held hers.
"You're welcome. But that's not all I have for you. Elm, can you please come over here?" Trunks asked.
"Ok." Elm complied, climbing out of the chair he was on and walked over to Trunks.
"Your gift is on the top. Just reach into the bag and pull it out." Trunks said, holding the bag at Elm's height.
Elm didn't say anything; he just reached down, grabbed something soft, and pulled out a soft, blue dinosaur, holding a heart.
For the second time in his life, Elm didn't know what to say; he just stood there, holding and staring at the stuffed animal.
"Do you like it?" Trunks asked, looking at Elm; he figured he did because Elm started holding it close to him.
"Thank you." Elm said, finally looking up.
"You're welcome." Trunks said with a small smile as Elm walked back to his spot, but not before giving Trunks a quick hug.
Lily was sitting in her bed, watching them: at first with interest, but then with sadness.
That certainly didn't go unnoticed by Trunks.
"Lily?" Trunks asked in a gentle tone as he pulled his chair closer to her bed.
"Mmm…" Lily made an unsure, scared noise, scooting away from him.
"Shh. Shh. It's ok; I'm not going to hurt you. I've got something for you as well. Here." Trunks calmly said, setting the bag in front of her.
"She won't put her hand in there." Elm spoke up, looking towards Trunks and Lily.
"Why not?" Trunks asked, confused.
"Mom gave her a bag once, saying it was a special gift that she picked out specially for her. When Lily stuck her hand in there, her fingers were snapped by mouse traps. Then another time, Mom said the same thing, promising that there wasn't a mouse trap in it. Well, there wasn't a mouse trap in there; instead, there was a knife. And then the final time, Mom said she had found a hamster or mouse or something like that and was going to let Lily have it for a pet. I wasn't a hundred percent sure about that; neither was Lily. However, Mom brought in a fish tank with a bunch of hamsters or mice or whatever in there; Lily stuck her hand in there eagerly. There was no animal in there. Oh, no… Instead there was a knife and a few needles. Lily became dizzy and sick after a few minutes. Someone was walking by and saw that Lily wasn't doing well and called the cops and an ambulance; doctors said she had overdosed on something called heroin. She spent three days in the hospital, detoxing. Police searched our home top to bottom after that; they didn't find anything—so, we stayed there until a week and two and a half days ago. After that, every time Mom would try to give her a "gift," Lily refused to put her hand in the bag." Elm explained as calmly as he could while clenching and unclenching his fists.
"Wow." Trunks said in shock and anger.
"Uh-huh…" Elm sighed as he started to slowly calm down.
"Lily, I promise you, there's nothing that's going to hurt you in this bag. I have an idea. Why don't I stick my hand in there to prove there's nothing bad in here? When I pull my hand out of the bag, and there's nothing wrong, will you pull out your gift?" Trunks asked, looking at Lily.
Lily was very hesitant as she looked between Trunks and the bag.
"I did it and I'm just fine. And look at what I got." Elm calmly said, looking at Lily, showing her his dinosaur.
Lily slowly scooted closer to the bag.
"You can look in the bag first if you'd like. But just watch." Trunks gently said, slowly placing his hand in the bag.
After a few seconds of Trunks moving his hand around in the bag, Lily slowly reached over, pulled the bag a little, and looked inside. Her eyes became wide with shock and confusion when she saw a black and orange stuffed kitty with a blue collar and held a heart-shaped "yarn" ball.
"You can take it out; that's for you. Here." Trunks gently said, pulling the stuffed kitty out and handed it to her; she was very apprehensive as she stared at the kitty.
"It's ok Lily; it's safe. And it's not a trick." Elm said with a smile.
Slowly, Lily reached her arm out to take the kitty. However, once she was just a few inches away from touching the kitty, her entire body jerked violently, and she fell to the bed, struggling to breathe.
"LILY!" Elm cried, panicked while Trunks pressed the red emergency button on the remote; a nurse was in, within seconds of the red light coming on outside of her room.
After about two minutes of Lily struggling against the nurse, who was trying to get the breathing mask on her, a different nurse came in to help.
It only took a few seconds for the second nurse to figure that the mask the one nurse was trying to put on her wasn't pushing out air; it was pushing out gas.
"What are we going to do?" The first nurse asked, unsure of what to do.
"First things first; we have to get her out of this room. This room is now condemned until further notice. We'll also have to get new medication and saline bags. We'll need to get more blood work—from all three of them. We'll also have to test all of the items. Get a hold of Dr. Hashita and find a new room for her. We'll take them to the lab to get blood work." The second nurse said, immediately disconnecting Lily's IV tubes from the Saline and medication bags; she then tried to pick Lily up.
Once she touched Lily, she started crying, screaming, and pushing away from her.
"Come on, Sweetie; we have to get you out of this room and somewhere safe." The nurse said, trying to pick her up.
"She wants dad!" Elm yelled over the screaming and crying.
"What?" The nurse asked, confused.
"She wants dad." Elm replied, calmly this time.
"She didn't say anything…" The nurse said, still confused.
"She talks to me in our heads." Elm replied.
"Oh, Sweetie, that's not possible." The nurse said as she once again tried to get a hold of Lily.
"Actually, it is possible. I've heard it's a twin thing. And even if it isn't a twin thing; it is a Saiyan thing. And they're both half-Saiyan." Trunks explained over the crying.
The nurse still didn't seem like she believed them—until Lily started reaching for Trunks.
"Da-daddy…" Lily wheezed, almost inaudible.
"So, she can talk?" The nurse asked in disbelief.
"Well, of course, she can talk…" Elm mumbled.
"Ok, that's enough. May I?" Trunks asked, looking at the nurse.
"Yeah, go ahead." The nurse said, moving to the side.
'Ok—here we go.' Trunks thought to himself, walking to Lily and slowly, carefully, and gently picked her up, placing his hands under her armpits.
Once he had her in his arms, she laid her head on his shoulder, and he quickly walked out of the room, Elm next to him the entire time. And once they were out of the room, several men dressed in hazmat suits went rushing in.
"Trunks, what's going on?" Bulma asked, concerned, as she, Vegeta, and the kids showed up, bags in hand.
"Lily had an attack, so a nurse came in and tried to place the mask on her face. However, Lily was struggling against that, so a different nurse came in. That's when they found out that the mask wasn't releasing air; it was releasing some kind of gas. We all have to get blood work and whatever else. The stuffed animals and cards I got them have to be tested as well." Trunks sighed as Lily kept her face hidden in his shoulder, ears flat on her head, legs tucked up, under her stomach, hands clutching his shirt at his shoulder.
"Where's Lily's bed?" Teddy asked, confused.
"It's still in the room; it also has to be tested." Trunks sighed.
"So, Elm's feeling better?" Knickers asked, changing the subject.
"Yes; he's going to be staying at the hotel with all of you tonight. So, with that said; be nice and don't pick on him. It's not going to be easy for him—for either of them." Trunks sternly instructed.
"Yes, of course." Knickers said while Kishu and Teddy nodded their heads in agreement.
"What's wrong with her ears?" Kishu asked, looking at Lily.
"I think it's too loud for her." Trunks replied, moving his arm along with her as she tucked herself up more.
"Ok—Briefs family?" The second nurse asked, walking over.
"Did you get a hold of Dr. Hashita?" The first nurse asked.
"No, he's busy at the moment; his nurse said she'd have him call up when he was done. I was just about to take Lily, her brother and their father to the lab to get blood drawn." The second nurse answered.
"Ok." The first nurse replied with a sigh.
"False alarm!" One of the men in hazmat suits exclaimed, quite clearly as he and all the others walked out with the tank containing whatever gas was in it. They then went their separate ways, while one came up to the nurses and Trunks.
"What type of gas was it?" Both nurses asked, looking at the man.
"It's just sleeping gas—the same sleeping gas that was stolen from the testing facility late last night. How long has that tank been in there?" The hazmat guy seriously asked.
"I brought it up from the medical storage area on the first floor and set it up at about eight this morning." The second nurse quickly answered.
"Do you have security cameras in the storage area that you're talking about?" The man questioned.
"Yes, of course." The second nurse replied.
"Well, take me to the security room. You can now set the little girl back up; it's perfectly safe." The man told the first nurse.
"Ok. Can we get an actual oxygen tank up here for C8?" The first nurse sighed in relief and then asked someone at the desk.
"Do any of their things need to be tested or anything?" Trunks asked, speaking up.
"No; everything should be just fine. Have a nice day." The man said before he and the second nurse went elsewhere.
"Let's get her hooked up again." The first nurse sighed; she was supposed to be leaving in the next few minutes.
Five Minutes Later:
Trunks laid Lily back in her bed before the nurse hooked her back up to everything.
"I'm going to be headed out now. One of the other nurses will be by in an hour or so to change her saline bag. If you need anything before that, press the red emergency button. Someone should hopefully be up shortly with an oxygen tank. Have a lovely rest of your day." The nurse said before she left.
"Well, that was fun…" Trunks sighed in annoyance.
"I bet." Bulma and Vegeta said, looking at Trunks.
"Aww man; she went to sleep!" Teddy complained, noticing Lily was asleep.
"That's a good thing; the more rest she gets, the faster she'll feel better—hopefully." Trunks said, looking at Teddy.
"But we have gifts for her." Teddy complained.
"And when she wakes up, you can give them to her. Did you get Elm something as well?" Trunks asked, looking at Teddy.
"Of course, we did." Kishu said in an "as a matter of fact" tone of voice.
"Well then, why don't you give him the gifts you got him? We'll worry about Lily when she wakes up." Trunks said, looking at Teddy, Kishu, and Knickers.
"Ok." The kids said at the same time before looking at Elm.
"Hey, where'd you get the dinosaur?" Teddy asked, looking at Elm.
"Dad; he also got Lily a stuffed kitty." Elm said with a smile, causing a light bulb to go off in Trunks's head; he placed the stuffed kitty he had gotten her next to her.
"Aww; he called you dad!" Bulma happily exclaimed.
"Yeah—he's been doing that for the last few hours." Trunks replied as the older kids gave Elm his gifts.
Knickers got him a stuffed dog because Elm had told him one of the things he liked was dogs—whereas Lily is terrified of them.
Kishu got him a toy train set because Elm had also told Knickers that he had seen a train once; it interested him. However, it interested him because he would always imagine taking Lily and escaping from their mother.
Teddy got him Froggy Bearington from her favorite TV show, Misfits .
Froggy Bearington, by the way, is half frog and half bear.
All the main characters of Misfits are half and half animals.
Teddy's personal favorite was Horace Bullhockey, a half-horse, half-bull character.
Then there's Kit Muttly, a half-cat, half-dog character.
There's a half-chipmunk, half-blue jay called Jay Monk.
There's a half-unicorn, half-fairy named Rainbow Sparkle.
They are the misfits of their home and are all best friends, who are tormented by the "normal" characters.
Slowly, they start to get the "normal" characters to understand that different isn't scary; different is—is just that, different. Change is what is scary.
The show is about friendship and accepting someone for who you are. Trunks doesn't mind it; Teddy loves it, so he doesn't say anything.
Vegeta doesn't quite understand it and thinks that the person who created the show was high on something. He won't say anything around the kids, but he just starts making fun of it when it's just him and other adults.
"What did you get them?" Trunks asked, looking at his parents.
"Get well balloons, flowers, and some outfits." Bulma said with a smile, causing Vegeta to huff.
"What is that for?" Bulma demanded, glaring at her husband.
"Some outfits? You bought them a whole wardrobe." Vegeta said, causing Trunks to sweatdrop and mentally smack himself.
"I don't know what size clothes they wear, so I just got a few outfits—three times. The smaller sizes can be donated or something; I'm not coming back to this city unless I have to. And they'll grow into the larger sizes. To be fair, it may be times three, but I only got them five outfits and three pairs of pajamas each." Bulma defensively stated.
"It's fine mom. At least they have some clothes that fit now. Did you bring him an outfit for the rest of the day?" Trunks asked, looking at his mom.
"Yep." Bulma said with a smile as she held up a bag; she then walked over to Elm.
"Hi." Elm quietly said, slightly unsure, looking up at Bulma.
"Hi. You were half-asleep when we met last night, but I'm your grandma. The man next to your dad is your grandpa. I understand you're feeling better now, so these balloons are kind of redundant; but here. And here is a bouquet of daisies." Bulma said with a smile, handing him three green, blue, and yellow balloons that read, "get well soon" and a bouquet of red, yellow, and white daisies.
"Thank you." Elm said, looking at his balloon and flowers.
"You're welcome. I also got you a new outfit. Well, come on; let's get you changed." Bulma said, reaching her arms out, essentially asking if she could pick him up; he let her.
"You do realize what you've done, right?" Vegeta asked, looking at Trunks.
"Yeah…" Trunks sighed as they watched Bulma happily take Elm into the bathroom.
After a few minutes, they came back out to Elm wearing black shorts, a black and green camo shirt, white socks, and tennis shoes, and his hair was neatly brushed—except for that one strand of hair that stood up on top of his head.
"That's not what I thought he was going to be wearing." Trunks said, looking at Elm and his mom.
"You mean the tradition?" Bulma asked, looking at Trunks.
"Yeah…" Trunks nervously replied, looking at his mom.
"I'm not going to do that until she's better. They're twins; they need to do the tradition together." Bulma said with a smile.
"Has she started talking to you yet?" Vegeta asked, looking at Lily; when Kishu and Teddy were three, you couldn't get them to shut up. Knickers was an average talker; he didn't talk too much, but he did talk.
"The only thing she said was "daddy." That was when the nurse tried getting her out of the bed. Elm tried telling the nurse that Lily telepathically told her she wanted me. Nurse didn't believe him and continued to try to get Lily, who by the way, wasn't having any of that. I don't know if it was stress or what, but she just cried out for me." Trunks explained, watching as Elm went back to his spot.
"Aww!" Bulma happily cooed.
"Shit…" Trunks quietly growled so that the kids wouldn't hear him.
"What's wrong?" Bulma asked, concerned, looking at Trunks.
"I forgot to stop and get them car seats." Trunks mumbled.
"Don't worry about that; we took care of that for you. We figured you'd be too preoccupied to get any of that. No, we didn't get them beds; we know you let them pick those out themselves." Bulma calmly explained, looking at Trunks.
"Thanks." Trunks sighed as he watched his kids:
Knickers was watching all of his surroundings
Kishu was watching TV
Teddy was watching Lily, hoping she'd wake up soon
Elm was between watching TV and Lily
Lily started twitching a little
"Sorry I'm late. Those hazmat people had to check every tank to make sure they weren't sleeping gas." A guy said as he came in with an oxygen tank; a nurse was right behind him.
"Hi, I'm Nurse Sophia; I will be one of Lily's nurses until eight tonight. I'm just here to check her vitals." Nurse Sophia calmly introduced herself, walking to Lily to start checking on everything.
Five Minutes Later:
Lily was having a hard time breathing, so Nurse Sophia placed the oxygen mask on her while checking her blood pressure.
"Hmm…" Nurse Sophia said after writing everything down.
"What is it? Is something wrong?" Trunks asked right away.
"Hmm? Oh, no; it's good, actually. Her fever went from 103.5 down to 101.5 and her heart rate and blood pressure are normal. So, right now, the only things that are still at risk are her breathing and her pulse is still a little low. But if she keeps going in the direction she's going in; she should be able to go home in the next few days." Nurse Sophia said with a smile after looking over the information and notes she had on Lily, causing Trunks to sigh in relief.
Involving Lily, this was the first good news that they had gotten.
"Mmmm…" They heard Lily moan and cry before they saw her rip the mask off.
Nurse Sophia was going to say something because she still had half an hour to go before the mask could come off. However, she quickly held her tongue as Lily leaned forward and started throwing up. And because she hasn't eaten anything in over a week, she was throwing up nothing but blood and bile.
"Ahhh! She's dying!" Kishu yelled, freaked out, freaking Lily and Elm out.
"Lily! Don't die!" Elm cried, trying to climb into the bed next to her while she cried and continued to throw up.
"Kishu!" Trunks exclaimed, only a little frustrated. Part of him understood; Knicker, Kishu, nor Teddy had never seen anything like this before.
"She's not dying." Nurse Sophia calmly stated.
"Then why is she throwing up like " The Exorcist ?!" It looks like pea soup everywhere!" Kishu exclaimed, shocking Trunks.
"Where have you seen " The Exorcist ?" Never mind that; we'll discuss it later." Trunks sternly said, looking directly at Kishu, who looked back with a guilty look.
"She threw up like that because she hasn't eaten or drank anything in the past week; there's just nothing in her stomach to come up. Now, if you'd excuse me; I have to find her a new gown in her size and a blanket. I'll be right back." Nurse Sophia said with a soft smile before walking out of the room.
Once she was out of the room, Lily just started bawling, releasing a barrage of hiccups.
"It's ok." Elm gently said as he stood on a chair and rubbed Lily's arm.
"What's she saying?" Trunks asked, looking at Elm.
"She's sorry. Please don't hit her; she didn't mean it." Elm sadly answered—with a hint of fear.
"Why would he hit her?" Teddy asked, confused.
"Is that what your mom did if you threw up?" Trunks asked, sitting down.
"If we did anything wrong." Elm mumbled as Lily continued to cry.
"Define anything." Trunks said, narrowing his eyes a little; he had a bad feeling.
"Threw up, coughed, sneezed, moved wrong, left our closet without asking, talked, cried, or looked at her funny." Elm rambled off a list of things that they did "wrong" that would piss their mother off, shocking Trunks and Bulma.
Vegeta was pissed off; he didn't hide that as he stormed out of the room.
"Is everything ok? I just seen that man storm out of the room; he looked really angry." Nurse Sophia said, walking in with several blankets, a new hospital gown, and what looked like a tote bag.
"Yeah… That was my dad; we just learned some upsetting details." Trunks sighed as he watched Lily; she had finally stopped crying—and throwing up, but she still had hiccups.
"Well, I got a new bed set and such. I also brought bathroom stuff—such as a toothbrush, shampoo, and body soap. I don't think she's had a bath since she's been here… Well, shower… We don't have baths here because of all the IVs and such. But we do have a shower chair for patients to sit on. So, if it's ok with you, I can get a hold of the nurse in charge of bathing and she can send someone in, to clean her; I'll get her bed all set up." Nurse Sophia calmly said.
"Would it be ok if my mom and I took care of that?" Trunks asked, looking at Nurse Sophia; he didn't know if protocol would allow that.
"Umm… Let me call down to the bathing station to see if that's allowed." Nurse Sophia politely replied; she didn't have to deal with bathing, so she didn't know the rules.
"Oh, but before I go—let's get her disconnected and out of that gown." Nurse Sophia remembered, walking from the door and to Lily. She disconnected her IV tubes from everything, clamped them off, and then wrapped her arm up in plastic wrap of some sort.
Once that was all taken care of, Nurse Sophia untied and removed Lily's gown and then wrapped her in a towel; she then picked her up and was going to place her on the chair that Kishu was sitting in.
"Mmmm…" Lily cried a little as she tried to reach out for Trunks; however, her arms couldn't seem to get over Nurse Sophia's shoulders.
"What's wrong now?" Vegeta asked, walking back into the room.
"I think she wants her daddy. Do you mind?" Nurse Sophia asked, looking at Trunks.
"No, of course, not." Trunks answered before she handed him his daughter.
Like before, Lily laid her head on his shoulder, tucked up her legs, and clenched his shirt with hands.
"I'll be right back." Nurse Sophia said as she left the room.
"She really is too adorable." Bulma said, looking at Lily.
"Isn't she going to change the bed?" Vegeta asked, annoyed.
"She's going to figure something out for us really quick." Trunks answered as he gently swayed back and forth.
"Well, hello there." Bulma softly said when Lily barely peaked her head up a little and looked around with large eyes.
"Ok… I talked to the head of the bathing department; she said it would be fine that you and your mother wash her up. Just make sure that no water gets into the plastic wrap and to the IVs and such. But I have a trick for that. I just need to get to her arm. No, you're fine; you don't need to move her. I just need someone to hold her arm out straight." Nurse Sophia calmly stated, stepping next to Trunks.
"Will you let grandma hold her hand, please?" Trunks gently asked, rubbing Lily's back.
It took a few minutes, but Lily eventually held her hand out long enough for Nurse Sophia to duct tape the plastic wrap down so that water couldn't seep in and mess everything up.
"I'll get the bed made and everything; just press the red button when you're done washing. Oh, and here's her new gown. It will most likely be a little big on her; it was the only kid sized one left even close to her size." Nurse Sophia explained, handing the gown and an extra towel to Bulma.
"Thank you." Trunks said as he and Bulma took Lily to the bathroom.
Once in there, Trunks gently set Lily on the shower chair and removed the towel—kind of; he had it wrapped around her lower half.
Bulma set the towel and gown on the sink and brought over the bag of soaps and such.
"Ok, Sweetie; tell us if this is too hot or not hot enough." Bulma said after turning on the water and testing it on herself. To her, it felt decently warm, but you never know how it feels to a child.
Once she sprayed Lily's feet to see how she would react, Lily seemed to really like to feel; she leaned forward and almost fell off. If Trunks hadn't been right there, she would've too.
"Mmmm…" Lily cried when the water hit her ears; she didn't seem to like the water hitting them.
"I'm sorry, Baby." Trunks apologized, placing the water closer to her head to keep the water from hitting her ears; she looked up at him, confused.
"Welcome to a loving family." Bulma said with a soft smile.
"Do you want me to wash the rest of you—or would you like grandma to?" Trunks asked once he got her hair washed; he had noticed that she was keeping her legs closed tightly.
After a few minutes, Lily slowly pointed to Bulma.
"Well, ok. Mom?" Trunks asked, looking at his mom.
"I'd love to." Bulma happily accepted.
After Bulma got Lily's face and neck, shoulders, arms, back, stomach, and legs done, she only had one area left to wash. There was quite a bit of resistance when it came to that. Although, when Bulma was finally able to get Lily to open up, she couldn't help but stare in shock before she started crying.
"Mom, what's wrong?" Trunks asked, concerned.
"I just need a minute." Bulma said, walking away from Lily and to the door.
When Trunks turned back to Lily, she was lying on her back, with her feet planted on the chair, knees up, legs spread just a little bit; her eyes were tightly closed with tears running down her rosy cheeks.
It was then that he saw what had upset his mom so much; Lily had healing bruises from someone's hands running from the insides of her knees, all the way up her inner thighs, to her bikini area. Needless to say, he was pissed off. But he wasn't going to let Lily see that.
"Mom, if you need, you can head out; I can take care of things from here." Trunks offered.
"Are you sure?" Bulma asked, looking at him.
"Yeah. Go get some air or something. If Dad goes with you, make sure the kids know that Knickers is in charge until I get out." Trunks said as calmly as he could.
"Ok." Bulma said before stepping out.
"Ok…" Trunks sighed in frustration before turning back to Lily; she was still in the same position.
"Lily, you can put your legs down; I'm not going to do anything to hurt you." Trunks seriously, but calmly said.
Lily did as she was told and then struggled to sit back up.
"Here, let me help you. There we go." Trunks said, gently sitting her up; she just stared at him with confusion in her eyes.
"*Sigh…* Lily, I need to finish cleaning you, ok? I promise, it'll be quick, and I'll use this cloth. I also promise that I won't hurt you." Trunks seriously said as he wetted a cloth, rinsed it out, and soaped it up.
After a few seconds, she let him do what he needed to do; it was over within seconds.
However, it pained Trunks to see her entire body shake as she tightly closed her eyes and cry.
It also pained him because her nails became remarkably sharp claws, and they were digging into her wrist; he had let her hold onto the hand he wasn't using.
Trunks didn't get mad or yell at her for a few different reasons:
One: with what he suspected happened to her, he couldn't blame her
Two: she was still so young and little; she probably couldn't control it
Three: She was scared
"There we go—all done." Trunks said once he had gotten her all rinsed off.
Once she opened her eyes and looked at him, Lily's claws retracted and once again became regular fingernails.
Trunks then ran water over her fingers to get the blood off right away before wrapping her in the dry towel.
"No—don't worry about this; I'm fine. You were scared; I understand. It's not like you meant to do that. One day, you'll be able to control it. That's when you'll need to not do that. I know you don't understand—and I know that I've only known you and Elm for only almost a day. But I know, I already love you both very much—just like your older brothers and sister. You five, your grandparents and your aunt, uncle, and cousins are the most important people in my life. Granted, I don't see my sister, nephew, or niece too often—but you do have two cousins. Like you and Elm, they're twins—three years old. Also like you and Elm, one is a boy and the other is a girl. Hopefully, you'll get to meet them some time. I'm not sure you understand why—and to be honest, neither do I; your mother hurt you and your brother a lot, didn't she?" Trunks explained and then asked as he started drying her off.
After a few seconds, Lily nodded her head.
"Did she let other people hurt you as well?" Trunks asked, dreading the answer.
It took a little longer, but once again, Lily nodded her head.
"Girls?" Trunks asked, looking at Lily; she slowly shook her head no.
"Guys?" Trunks asked, grabbing the gown.
This time, Lily looked down, and tears started running down her cheeks as she nodded her head.
"Last question. Did they hurt you everywhere or just certain places?" Trunks asked, looking at her as he got her dressed.
Slowly, Lily crawled into Trunks's arms and up his body; she placed her hand on his forehead, and images flashed in his mind like a video.
There were at least two different men, but their faces were too blurry to tell who they could've been.
After a few seconds, she pulled her hands away and looked down, ashamed.
"Oh, Baby—I'm so sorry that all that happened to you. If I would've known where you and your brother were, I would've come for you two a lot sooner. Truth? I've known about you since before you and Elm were born. Granted, I didn't know I was going to have twins—but I knew. I looked for you two for years; I even hired someone to try to find you. Unfortunately, we came up with nothing. I know it's too late and none of that can be changed… Trust me; I would if I could. But I promise you, if you give me, Grandma and Grandpa, your brothers and sister a chance; we will keep you safe and make sure nothing like that ever happens to you ever again. Ok? Can you trust and give us a chance?" Trunks asked, looking at her; she just looked at him for a few minutes before nodding her with a soft smile.
"I'm so glad. You should smile more; I think it would make Elm and the others happy. I know it makes me happy. Speaking of Elm, does he know?" Trunks asked, looking at Lily as he pulled out a brand-new pink toothbrush; she shrugged, indicating she didn't know, as he placed her on the toilet.
"Ok… Are you ready to brush your teeth?" Trunks asked, putting some toothpaste on the brush; she nodded but yawned right after.
"Open up." Trunks calmly instructed, placing the brush in front of her.
It was not easy to get her teeth brushed; she kept yawning every few seconds. But he got it done.
"Do you want to go back to bed now?" Trunks asked, picking her up; she immediately nodded her head.
"Just so you know, your older brothers and sister got you some presents. So, when you're ready to open them, they'll be there." Trunks said, walking back to her room.
Earlier:
With Bulma & Vegeta:
"They're coming back! Grandma, is she all clean now?" Teddy cheerfully asked when she saw the bathroom door open and then Bulma.
"Grandma, are you ok?" Knickers and Kishu asked right away, noticing how upset she looked.
"Bulma?" Vegeta asked, eyeing her up; something was up.
"I need some air. They should be out in a little bit. Knickers, you're in charge; make sure your siblings behave." Bulma said before heading out; she knew Vegeta was going to follow her; he always did.
"What's going on?" Vegeta asked right away, almost demanding once they were on the first floor—in the same atrium that she and Trunks were in last night.
"How could someone do that to a child?!" Bulma nearly screamed as she sat at a table; only two other people were in there with them—but they were on the other side.
"Didn't we have this discussion yesterday? She was a sick woman. And if she were still alive, we'd kill her for laying her hands on those kids." Vegeta answered.
"Not that. That little girl—" Bulma breathed, not making sense; she was having a panic attack. That was when Vegeta knew she found something out that was far worse than what they learned yesterday.
"Bulma, calm down. Breathe." Vegeta said, immediately by her side, rubbing her shoulders and back.
Ten Minutes Later:
"Are you better now?" Vegeta asked after a few minutes.
"As I'll ever be in this situation… Why? Why did she take them if she never wanted kids in the first place? Why didn't she just give them to Trunks? Why did that have to happen to such an innocent little girl?" Bulma asked, tears running down her face.
"What happened?" Vegeta slowly asked.
"Trunks had just gotten done washing her hair and asked Lily if she wanted him or me to finish washing her; she wanted me to. It never dawned on me there was a reason why—not until I got to her area. She had bruises going from the inside of her knees all the way up… They were healing, but they were still there. Someone touched her in a way a child should never be touched. I mean beating a child is wrong to begin with… but that—that's not even right. There's a special place in hell for people like them—child abusers and pedophiles alike." Bulma said, beyond upset as tears continued to fall from her eyes.
At this point, Vegeta was beyond pissed off, but he was trying to remain calm for his wife.
"Do we think it was the mother?" Vegeta asked, standing up.
"No—the handprints were too big to be female." Bulma replied; that only pissed Vegeta off even more. Sure, he had been evil at one point—and had done plenty of terrible things. But he sure as hell never touched or raped anyone—especially a child. Those were two things Saiyans would never do—especially children.
After someone was convicted and found guilty of sexually assaulting a child, Saiyans would torture said whoever—for days on end—before murdering them.
"I don't suppose we know who this person or people are, do we?" Vegeta asked, clenching and unclenching his fist.
"No… She doesn't talk. And even if she did; she might not even know who hurt her that way." Bulma sadly replied.
"They're extremely lucky on that part. Anyway, you should head back up." Vegeta said seriously.
"What are you going to do?" Bulma asked, looking at her husband.
"I'm going to let off some steam, as you say." Vegeta said, walking away without another word; at that point, Bulma knew better than to try to stop him.
Back in Lily's Room:
Bulma got back to the room, just as Trunks came out with Lily.
"Did you just get done?" Bulma asked, shocked, looking at Trunks.
"No—not exactly; we had a serious talk. Well, I talked; she nodded or shook her head in response. And she showed me something that we will talk about at a later time. Knickers, can you please push the red call button? Where's Dad?" Trunks asked as he held onto Lily, who was continuing to yawn like crazy.
"Sure." Knickers said, doing what he was told.
"Your father just went to blow off some steam…" Bulma said, looking directly at Trunks.
"What's going on?" Knickers and Kishu asked right away, both noticing the looks on Trunks and Bulma's faces.
"*Sigh…* Your sister was hurt in more ways than we thought. But that's not something we'll discuss right now." Trunks said as Nurse Sophia came back in.
"Are we ready to get hooked back up?" She asked with a gentle smile.
"Probably not. But it must be done." Trunks said as he brought Lily to her bed.
"I can't even fathom what you're going through right now." Nurse Sophia said as she hooked Lily up.
Knock. Knock.
"Well, hello everyone. Elm, it's good to see you up and moving around." Dr. Hashita said with a smile.
"Now, what's wrong? I was only gone for fifteen minutes or so." Vegeta exclaimed, walking in.
"I heard we've finally thrown up. That's great news." Dr. Hashita said with a smile.
"How the hell is that a good thing?!" Kishu furiously exclaimed.
"Kishu, behave. And watch your language." Trunks sternly warned, giving him "the look."
"Sorry…" Kishu mumbled.
"It's quite alright. Although, I was more expecting that from the older boy. It's a good thing because now we can get her some ice chips. And then, if she can keep those down, we can get her some contrast so she can get a CT scan. Yes, trust me, I know your concern with that and her age. But please understand; I wouldn't suggest it if I thought there was another way. We did an MRI on both of them when they got here. His stomach is just fine; there was nothing out of the ordinary. But when I tried to read hers, it was all blacked out; I couldn't tell if anything was wrong. I would also like to check out her head as well. So long as I have your consent, I would like to get a full body scan. I also need labs from her so I can see how all her blood cells are doing." Dr. Hashita explained, looking at Trunks.
"As long as it helps her—that's fine." Trunks said with a sigh, looking at Lily.
"Fantastic. I'll order all that and we'll just get her some ice chips and see how well they stay down before we try having contrast. But moving on; I hear we had a shower." Dr. Hashita said, looking at Trunks.
"Yes—that was a whole new learning experience." Trunks sighed in annoyance.
"Hmm? Is there something wrong?" Dr. Hashita asked, clearly confused.
"She was abused in a different way—by men?" Trunks questioned, looking at Dr. Hashita.
"Yes, that's correct; it's in her file. It's actually one of the first things we checked on when they got here. He was fine, but Lily—it wasn't pretty. Didn't you know? Didn't Mr. Peer explain any of that to you?" Dr. Hashita asked, looking at Trunks and his parents.
"No. He said nothing about any of that." Trunks said, annoyed.
"Well, that's certainly weird; he said he was going to tell you. Although, he has been swamped as of late. Well, I guess you know now." Dr. Hashita sighed, running his hand through his hair.
"Can I ask if there was any penetration—of any kind?" Trunks asked, trying to make sure the kids didn't hear.
"From what I was able to tell—after she was sedated, her hymen is still intact. But there was bruising just on the outer walls. *Sigh…* So, there was penetration; but it wasn't an object of any sort. And it wasn't deep enough to break her hymen. I know this won't make you feel any better about any of this, nor does it make it any better, but in my professional opinion, I would say, the only thing to penetrate her was a finger. And yes, we did try (to no avail) to collect fingerprint samples while she was sedated." Dr. Hashita explained.
"Why the hell was she sedated in the first place?!" Vegeta asked, pissed off.
"Well, to answer your question, Sir; we had to sedate her because she was so scared and inconsolable. She was moving around too much to be able to do anything; that's also when we got the IVs in—the first time. She ended up ripping both IVs out of her arm and threw it across the room. I tell you—for a tiny little thing, she sure is very accurate; she got both needles stuck in the wall she threw them at. I can't really say she—either of them are weak because they both pack a punch. One of our other doctors, (who was trying help with the twins) was holding her up by her midsection when she used her feet to kick away from him. There was so much force in that little kick, she went flying backward; she was caught midair by one of the orderlies we have. The doctor who was just trying to help, fell backward onto the ground; he didn't stumble or anything; he fell backward almost instantly. Now, we get to the orderly. Lily was having a meltdown and couldn't stop hyperventilating. Elm thought she was in danger and associated our orderly as a bad guy; he punched him in the side of the face and sent him flying out the door. In total, that day, it took over an hour to get them sedated and hooked up again. Elm also ripped his IVs out; but that wasn't until he thought Lily was in danger." Dr. Hashita explained, causing Vegeta to start laughing.
"Vegeta—behave." Bulma said, smacking him over the head.
"It's perfectly ok; others laugh as well when they hear about that. No, I don't say anything; it just gets around. At least no one was recording any of that." Dr. Hashita explained with a smile.
"They're definitely part of my bloodline." Vegeta very proudly stated.
"Well, it looks like the ice chips are here. I'll take those. Thank you, Sophia. Lily may or may not get the CT scan tonight; she may not get that until tomorrow sometime. It all depends on whether or not she can keep the ice chips in. Please do not give her regular water as of yet. This way, with the ice chips, we can go slowly and make sure she doesn't get too sick again. With everything going on in the hospital right now, I might not get to the results for a day or two. But once I get all the results, you'll have them. It is to my understanding that you are gaining some kind of connection with her; you should be the one to give her these. Have a wonderful evening and keep feeling better." Dr. Hashita said, handing Trunks the cup of ice chips before leaving.
"Ok…" Trunks sighed as he stood there, somewhat in shock with all the information he just received.
After a minute or two, Trunks regained composure and walked over to Lily.
"Teddy, what are you doing? Get out of her bed." Trunks said when he saw Teddy sitting next to Lily, trying to pet her ears while Lily scooted away; she was almost at the edge of the bed.
"She was falling asleep." Teddy complained as she climbed out of bed.
"And?" Trunks calmly asked.
"She needs to stay awake to eat ice chips and open presents." Teddy said, looking up at Trunks, innocently.
"Teddy—I know you want to have her open her presents and everything. But she's not feeling well; she needs her rest. Yes, she needs to eat her ice chips, but if she were to fall asleep and these were to melt, they can always bring more. And what were you trying to do while you were up there?" Trunks explained and then sternly asked.
"I wanted to pet her ears." Teddy answered right away.
"Did you ask her?" Trunks asked right away.
"Yes." Teddy answered right away.
"And?" Trunks asked, giving her "the look.".
"She didn't say no…" Teddy replied, looking down, looking guilty.
"She doesn't talk at all." Kishu mumbled.
"Kishu, behave. We'll get there—one thing and day at a time." Trunks sternly said before looking over to Teddy.
"Teddy, I don't think she wants her ears touched; she was backing away from you. Do you remember what we talked about personal space?" Trunks asked, looking at Teddy.
"Yes… Don't invade someone's personal space because I don't like it when someone invades mine…" Teddy mumbled.
"Correct. Now, apologize to your sister." Trunks said calmly.
"I'm sorry I tried petting your ears when you didn't want me to." Teddy sincerely apologized, looking up at Lily, who was still not used to someone apologizing to her.
"I think she understands. Lily, would you like some ice chips?" Trunks said and then asked, holding a cup of ice chips in front of her; she slowly took one from the cup and stuck it in her mouth.
"Good girl. Do you want another? Here. Just go slowly." Trunks said, setting the cup on a portable table that was just her height.
Five Minutes Later:
Lily had eaten about half of the ice chips before she pushed them away and laid back down.
"All done?" Trunks asked; Lily nodded her head, ready to go back to sleep.
Trunks saw Teddy rocking back and forth in her chair out of the corner of his eyes, clutching her shorts, trying not to look directly at Lily.
"*Sigh…* Ok… Before you go back to sleep, Teddy would really like it if you'd open your presents from them; you got one from her, Knickers, Kishu, and grandma and grandpa. Would you be up to that?" Trunks asked, looking at Lily.
She didn't answer him; she just looked down at her hands, thinking it was either a trap—or that she didn't deserve anything.
"It's ok Lily; they really are just presents. See? They got me these." Elm said, showing her the stuffed dog, train set, Froggy Bearington, and balloon; he then pointed to the daisies.
"Lily, I promise you; this isn't a trap. Nothing in those bags is going to hurt or make you sick. And everything in those bags—from your brothers and sister, you deserve. Whatever they got you, they got because they care and love you." Trunks explained, sitting in a chair next to her bed.
"…K…" Lily slowly and very softly said—like before, almost inaudible.
"Eh! Don't push her; let her go at her own pace." Trunks said when he noticed Kishu and Teddy about to say something.
"It'll take a while, but they'll all get used to everything." Bulma said, reassuring Trunks.
"I know." Trunks replied as they watched Knickers hand Elm Lily's gifts to give to her.
With Lily's gifts, Knickers, Kishu, and Teddy had to take shots in the dark, as they didn't know what she liked; not even Elm knew what she liked. But he had said she probably didn't even know what she liked; Lily has never been able to like anything—except for the fact that she and Elm were still alive. That was their mother's gift to them.
Lily slowly opened her gifts:
Knickers got her a soft doll wearing a baby-blue dress and black shoes, with blue eyes, pink lips, bright green yarn hair.
Kishu got her two cat beanie babies: one black with green eyes and one orange and yellow with blue eyes. He also got her a jumbo puffer ball that she could squeeze and pull this way and that.
Teddy got her a stuffed animal character from her favorite show, Misfits ; she picked out Kit Muttly, the half-cat, half-dog creature.
"Ok, Sweetie; Grandpa and I also got you some things." Bulma gently spoke, showing Lily her three light blue, pink, and red balloons that read, "Keep Hanging In There," and a bouquet of pink, purple, white, orange, and yellow lilies.
"Do you know what these flowers are? They're lilies. They have the same name as you. And much like these flowers, you are so very pretty. We also got you a brand-new outfit for when you get out of here. So, you need to get better soon—so that you can come home. So that you and Elm can both come home together. Ok?" Bulma asked, looking at Lily, who looked back at her with big blue eyes.
"She says thank you." Elm calmly said with a smile; this is the happiest he has ever seen Lily…