"We're back!" Bulma cheerfully called, walking into the hotel room with Vegeta.
"Welcome back." Everyone but Lily replied.
"Did you bring food?" Kishu asked right away.
"Of course."
-Chinese for Vegeta, Bulma, and Trunks
-Wac-A-Burger for Knickers, Kishu, and Elm
-Taco Hut for Teddy and Lily
"When did Lily wake up?" Bulma asked, setting everything on a table.
Lily was now sitting on Trunks, rubbing her face on his shoulder, waking up.
"About five minutes ago." Trunks answered, thinking about it for a minute.
"Who's hungry?" Bulma asked with a smile.
"I am!" Kishu and Teddy shot right away, running over to the table.
"Mom—what is that?" Trunks asked, looking at a small table.
"Yes, well, that… The tables here are too tall for Elm and Lily—and we don't have any booster seats for them yet. So, I may have picked up a small table with matching chairs. We can set it up next to the other table and they can still be part of the family." Bulma innocently explained, looking guilty.
"Ok. Mom, you don't need to look guilty for that. This is actually a really good thing. Everyone at the table." Trunks said before quickly hugging his mom.
-Trunks sat on the edge of the queen bed eating Sweet and Sour chicken with steamed rice
-Vegeta stood up, eating Pork and Shrimp Chow Mein
-Bulma sat at the table with the older kids, eating Sweet and Sour Pork with dirty rice
-Knickers had three large double cheese quarter pounders with everything but onions, two chicken sandwiches, and two large fries
-Kishu had five large double cheese quarter pounders with only ketchup, pickles, and mustard.
-Teddy had four soft shell tacos and two bean and cheese burritos
-Elm had four double cheeseburgers with mustard only and two medium fries
-Lily had four soft shell taco supremes with no onions and a nacho supreme without onions, guacamole, or chives
Forty-Five Minutes Later:
"What is it, Baby?" Trunks asked when Lily stood in front of him, antsy as she started curling and uncurling her fingers like she wanted something.
"She was wondering when we could have our cupcakes from the other night." Elm spoke up.
Trunks just stood there in shock; he had completely forgotten all about those. He hadn't even thought of them.
Yesterday was spent watching tv, playing cards and board games, sleeping off and on, and slowly gaining Elm and Lily's trust.
With Elm, he was afraid this was all a dream, and he was going to wake up, and they would all be gone.
Lily still didn't understand what was going on and was still afraid—mainly of being hit. She still flinches when someone goes to touch or pick her up—unless we're playing pass the child.
"Who all wants their cupcake?" Trunks asked, looking at his kids.
"Me!" Kishu and Teddy cried right away.
"I'd like mine, please." Knickers and Elm calmly replied.
"I think Lily wants hers." Bulma said with a smile as Lily stood at Trunks's leg, bouncing up and down.
"Ok. Ok. Hold on. Go sit back down." Trunks calmly replied with a smile.
Lily immediately ran to her chair, stumbling a little—but she did not fall.
"Ok. Well, these are the twins'; they have three candles in each." Trunks said, pulling the candles out of the cupcakes.
Bulma made it clear that the cakes she made would have candles in them—not some dinky little cupcakes.
"Let's see… Elm has red velvet with strawberry frosting and crushed nuts? And Lily has chocolate with peanut butter frosting and chunks of peanut butter cups?" Trunks asked, looking at the twins.
"That's correct. Thank you." Elm answered, looking at Trunks.
"Tank you. Tank you." Lily thanked, bouncing around in her seat.
"Except for the blankets, this is the most excited I've seen her." Bulma said, watching Elm and Lily.
"You're both welcome. Yes, I know; it's a good thing." Trunks replied, setting the cupcakes in front of Elm and Lily.
"Ok. Well—that's Dad's. There is no way in Hell that a rum cupcake with beer frosting belongs to any of my kids." Trunks said, pulling out his dad's cupcake.
"I'll take that." Vegeta said, taking the cake when they noticed Kishu eyeing it.
"Knickers, you're the only one who likes carrot cake and coconut frosting—with cherries." Trunks noted, handing Knickers his cupcake.
"Thank you." Knickers replied with a smile.
"Teddy, you chose confetti cake with green frosting and rainbow sprinkles?" Trunks asked, looking at Teddy.
"Yes, thank you." Teddy politely said with a smile—reaching for her cupcake.
"Not that you need this much chocolate—but Kishu, you wanted a molten lava cupcake with dark chocolate frosting and chocolate sprinkles." Trunks said, looking at Kishu.
Usually, Trunks would not allow Kishu to get a molten lava cake because he doesn't need that much chocolate. But this was a special occasion—and Kishu knew this; he was taking complete advantage of it.
"Mom—you got lemon cake with strawberry frosting?" Trunks asked, looking at his mom; his and her cupcakes were the only ones left.
Trunks got a plain white cake with dark chocolate frosting and chocolate chip cookie crumbs.
"Yes, thank you." Bulma replied with a smile, taking the cupcake.
"You can all eat your cupcakes." Trunks said, noticing none of them were touching their cupcakes.
Elm and Lily "knew" to wait until they had permission to eat.
With cakes and birthdays, Knickers, Kishu, and Teddy had been taught to wait until everyone had their piece of cake or whatever—especially the birthday child.
"Now what?" Vegeta asked once everyone finished their cupcakes, and Trunks was wiping cupcake crumbs and frosting off Lily's face.
"I'm not sure." Trunks replied, tossing the wet wipes.
Elm got the concept of wiping his hands and face, but Lily didn't seem to realize she had crumbs and frosting on her face. She got her hands, but not her face.
"Can we go swimming?" Teddy asked right away.
"No!" Elm and Lily screamed, terrified.
Elm stood there, his ears flat on his head and tail poofed and rapidly swishing back and forth.
Lily ran and dived under a bed with her tail poofed and straight up.
"Did I say something wrong?" Teddy asked, concerned.
"No, you didn't; don't worry about it. Elm calm down. It's ok; we're not going to let anything happen to you. Do you want to tell me why you don't want to go swimming?" Trunks calmly answered and then asked, looking at Elm; he would have to be patient and wait for Lily to come out from under the bed.
"Mom let one of her boyfriend's take us fishing in the middle of a lake. He said we were going to go swimming. He threw me in the water with a rope to hold onto; he kept pushing me under until Lily fell in. I don't know why he didn't throw her in right away… But when I got to her so she wouldn't go too far down, she only had a shirt on." Elm explained, answering Trunks's question, pissing Trunks, Vegeta—and Knickers off, and upsetting Bulma; Kishu, Teddy, Elm were confused.
"Can I go for a walk?" Knickers asked, standing up.
"I'll go with you. I don't know the area, so you're not going alone. We'll talk. Kishu, you come with as well; you're old enough to know what's going on right now. Actually, Teddy, you come with as well. Mom, Elm, if either of you could; please get Lily out from under the bed. Dad—go cool off. Right now, there's nothing we can do." Trunks sternly instructed.
With Trunks, Knickers, Kishu & Teddy:
"Daddy, is something wrong?" Teddy asked.
"Yes, something is very wrong. But Elm and Lily are too young—and Elm doesn't seem to understand or even know what's going on. I'm not even sure you're old enough, but at the same time, you should probably know and understand what's going on—to a certain degree." Trunks explained, answering his daughter.
"What's going on?" Kishu asked, sensing the seriousness.
"Is this what you were talking about with the doctor the one day—after you gave Lily a shower?" Knickers asked, upset.
"Yes. What do you know about that subject?" Trunks answered and then asked, looking at Knickers.
"I started learning about that type of abuse a few months ago—around the same time we learned about physical abuse." Knickers answered.
"Have you tried talking about it with me?" Trunks asked, looking at Knickers.
"No. It's never happened to me—so, I didn't want to bring it up. I've never been abused in any way. But I promise, if I ever had or have any questions, I'll come to you, Grandma, or Grandpa." Knickers answered right away.
"What's going on?" Kishu asked again.
"Sit down." Trunks instructed, motioning to a bench.
Once the three were seated, Trunks squatted in front of them, looking each of them in the eyes.
"So, Knickers knows already; Lily was hurt by more than just their mother. Their mother let other people hurt them as well—other men…" Trunks started, sighing in frustration; he hated having this discussion.
"You mean men touching her "no-no" parts?" Teddy asked, looking at Teddy.
"And just how do you know that?" Trunks asked, looking at Teddy, who started shrinking away.
"Teddy…" Trunks started, looking at Teddy, who was still shrinking away.
"Has someone been hurting you? Teddy, look at me. Just like the twins, I'm not going to be mad at you." Trunks seriously said.
"…Yes…" Teddy slowly mumbled, looking down.
"Is it still happening?" Trunks asked, looking at Teddy.
"No." Teddy honestly answered.
"Who?" Trunks seriously asked, trying to remain calm.
"Mr. Yamcha's friend, Mr. Jin." Teddy answered, looking down.
"Is he why you stopped wearing dresses and stuff?" Trunks asked, looking at Teddy.
"At first. After a little while, I was going to wear dresses or skirts again—but they're not comfy no more." Teddy answered.
"Teddy, why didn't you say anything?" Trunks asked, looking at Teddy.
"Mr. Jin said if it was a secret and if I ever told anyone, I'd go to Hell—and bad things would happen to Knickers and Kishu. Or he would've told everyone I was a lying whore." Teddy softly answered, tears falling.
"Teddy, this isn't your fault. While you should've told me what was happening, I'm sorry for not seeing what was going on. If you would've told me, your brothers, aunt, uncle, your grandparents, or even Uncle Goku and his family we would've believed you. And we sure as Hell wouldn't let him do anything to your brothers. Hell, Knickers and Kishu could easily take him down. This isn't your fault—and you're not a whore. He's just lucky he's dead. Can you tell me what he did to you? Did you do anything to you with his naughty part?" Trunks asked, looking at Teddy.
"He just made me touch his naughty part. He only used his fingers on me. He wanted to kiss it, but Uncle Gohan walked over. I don't think he seen or heard anything because Mr. Jin pulled away before he could." Teddy answered with tears.
"Ok. That's enough of that. From now on, if anyone touches you inappropriately or without your permission—any of you—you tell me, each other, or any trusted adult right away. Do you understand me?" Trunks stated, looking at his kids.
"Yes." All three answered.
"Kishu, has anything happened to you?" Trunks asked, looking at Kishu while hugging Teddy close to him.
"No. Not like that. Mr. Jin did throw a ball at my face one time by accident. He apologized right away." Kishu answered.
"First off: none of you have to call him Mr. Jin. We only address people with trust and respect with Mr. or Mrs./Ms. Do you all understand?" Trunks asked, looking at his children.
"Yes." The three replied.
"Good. Knickers, did Jin do anything to you?" Trunks asked, looking at his oldest.
"No; he always left me alone." Knickers answered right away, seething. Both of his sisters had been hurt—one right under his nose.
"Ok…" Trunks sighed, looking at the sky.
"So, someone was hurting Elm and Lily like that?" Teddy asked after a few minutes.
"Lily, yes. But I don't think Elm has been. I know they were both abused, but I think she was only abused like that. Elm doesn't seem to understand that. And for now, I'd like to keep it that way. But we need to talk about it. We'll start with, I don't want you to bring up to her right now. It already upsets her—and she's only three. When she and Elm get a little older, we can all sit down and talk about it. About what happened to her and to Teddy. Teddy, as much as I don't want to (because you're only six), we need to talk because it did happen. But for the most part, Knickers and Kishu, we will talk about this whenever you want. Because as much as I don't want to, it needs to be done; we need to talk about it. So, while we're here—right now, you can ask anything you want to know." Trunks explained, looking at his oldest three.
"Do we have to tell Grandma or Grandpa?" Teddy softly asked.
"Not if you don't want to. However, you know they'll find out one way or another." Trunks answered.
"Why did they have to go through all that?" Kishu asked.
"Because their mother was a sick lady—and I made a stupid mistake—a few of them. The first was having relations with their mother in the first place. Ultimately, I'm glad we have them, but that night should've never happened. And yes, had that not happened, those two would've never been—and none of what happened to them would've happened. But that night did happen, and their mother had them. The next mistake I made was trusting she would've kept in contact me. And then the biggest mistake I made, was not telling Grandma, Grandpa, or any of you what I had done and that I had another child—children out there. Maybe had I told at least Grandma and Grandpa, Elm and Lily would've never been hurt like that. So, yes, it is partially my fault. And I will spend the rest of our lives apologizing and trying to make up for it. If you all want to be mad at me for this, that's fine. But you are not allowed to hate me." Trunks answered Kishu's question, carefully explaining everything.
Knickers, Kishu, and Teddy, looked at him before looking at each other for a few seconds.
"We don't hate you. We're sure you had your reasons—but we'd like to know why you didn't say anything." Knickers spoke for the three of them
"This was before the twins were even born—after I ran into Luna, she told me she was pregnant. She told me, she believed the baby to be mine because I was the only guy, she had relations with. For reasons you're all too young to understand (or even need to know right now), I wanted proof. So we went to the doctors and she had a paternity test done. It's a test to determine who the father of a baby is. I waited a few days and the doctors contacted me and told me I was the father. At that moment, I decided to wait to tell anyone until I knew what Luna wanted to do; she was their mother and I never want to take a child from their mother—unless they're unfit. Which—as I found out, Luna was very unfit. But that's aside the point. I was wrong and made a mistake. But I was going to find out what she wanted to do, and she just kind of up and disappeared on me. So, I was going to wait to tell anyone until I found her and figured things out. I even hired a private detective—which got me nowhere. I didn't tell anyone because I didn't want to get anyone's hopes up. At this point, I do regret not saying anything. But at the same time I don't think it would've mattered because if Luna doesn't want to be found, she won't be." Trunks explained.
"At least they're alive." Kishu spoke up.
"Yes—at least they're alive. And from now on, we'll do everything to keep them safe." Trunks replied.
"Are you going to have anymore kids? Because I'd really like another sister." Teddy spoke up.
"I do not know. Maybe if I find the right woman who will accept you five—and she wants to have kids as well. As much as I know you want another little sister, that's just not how it works. You'll learn about that when you get older." Trunks asked to the best of his ability.
"Ok…" Teddy mumbled.
"Knickers, do you have anything ask?" Trunks asked, looking at his oldest.
"Not to be rude or disrespectful, but you don't have any other kids out there, do you?" Knickers asked, looking at his dad.
"No, I do not have any other kids out there anywhere. Yes, I'm sure; Luna was the last girl I was with intimately. I promise you, that if I do ever find out that I have another child out there (or on the way), I will let you know." Trunks answered Knickers, looking at all three kids.
"Ok." Knickers, Kishu, and Teddy, replied, happy with that answer.
"Anything else?" Trunks asked, looking at his kids.
"Why do people hurt people like that?" Teddy softly asked, looking at Trunks.
"Honestly, I don't know. The only thing I can think of is that they're sick individuals." Trunks answered.
"Elm trusts us, right? Will Lily ever trust us because of what happened?" Kishu asked, looking at Trunks.
"Yes, Elm trusts us. He still has his issues, but he trusts us. And Lily—she's coming around. She just needs some time. If you look at how she was that first night to now, she's already come a long way. And yes, she still has a long way to go; we'll be there for her every step of the way." Trunks answered after thinking for a minute.
"What if it had just been Lily? I know they said they only saw one baby when Luna was pregnant. What if that one baby had just been Lily? Or what if Elm had not made it?" Knickers asked, panicking a little, looking at Trunks.
"Knickers calm down; they're both here. But to answer your question—in either situation… If it had just been Elm, I'm sure he'd be just the same as he is now—if we were to ever find him. I have a feeling if it were just him, he would've run away. If he had no one to look after, he would've had no real reason to stay there. He seems pretty self-sufficient. Lily, on the other hand, I don't know. If it were just her and her (and seeing as her mother didn't kill her) she's probably be worse now. It would probably be a lot harder to try to gain her trust—but we'd find a way. Her having Elm makes it so she has someone to help her understand that we're not going to hurt her. You understand that your sister is slower than the rest of you? What that means is that she won't get things as quick as any of you. A lot of people will say that she's dumb, or stupid, or worse yet, retarded. She's not any of those, she just needs extra time. And you probably already realize that if Elm didn't exist—and it was only Lily; she probably wouldn't be alive today. With what we know of Luna, Lily would most likely be dead. If that were the case, I probably wouldn't ever be able to forgive myself for not saying anything. But it isn't just Elm—or just Lily; it's Elm and Lily—and we have both of them." Trunks calmly answered.
"If you could, you'd go back and change it, right?" Kishu asked, looking at Trunks.
"No, probably not. And I'll tell you why. One cannot go back in time to change something as small as this mistake. One can only go back in time to change things if it's an absolute emergency. Something like this isn't considered an emergency and could have far worse consequences. No, I don't know what the consequences would be. And no, I don't want to find out. Right now, I'm just thankful they're alive and we have them and that I'm not planning a funeral. You three should be thankful for that as well." Trunks explained and then sternly stated.
"Yes," "Dad." "Daddy." Knickers, Kishu, and Teddy, replied at the same time.
"There they are." The four heard Bulma from behind them.
"What's going on?" Trunks asked, confused.
"We just got Lily out from beneath the bed; Elm said she was asking for you." Bulma answered, holding Lily out to Trunks.
"Dad come back yet?" Trunks asked, taking Lily.
"He's waiting by the van." Bulma said with a smile.
"Ok… Why?" Trunks skeptically asked.
"I figured we'd go out and have fun before going out for dinner. We can all fit in your van, right?" Bulma answered and then asked with a smile.
"I'd have to rearrange a little, but yeah; we can all fit. Where are you planning?" Trunks answered and then asked.
"Uh-uh. It's a secret." Bulma said with a suspicious smile.
"Bounce, bounce. Bounce, bounce. Bounce, bounce." Lily repeated, slightly out of breath, bouncing around in Trunks's arms.
"Bounce, bounce?" Trunks asked, confused.
"Super~Bounce Extraordinaire?!" Kishu excitedly asked, hopeful, looking at Bulma.
"Oh, shoot. I think we have to work on what surprise means…" Bulma sighed but smiled; she couldn't be mad—not at Lily anyway.
"Bounce, bounce. Bounce, bounce. Bounce, bounce." Lily repeated, still bouncing around in Trunks's arms.
"Ok, calm down. You need to be able to breathe. Come on you three." Trunks calmly stated, looking from Lily to Knickers, Kishu, and Teddy; Bulma had Elm.
Five Minutes Later:
"How are we going to do this?" Bulma asked with a smile once they arrived at the van.
"Take Lily, please." Trunks said, holding Lily to Vegeta.
He would've handed her to Knickers, but there were a lot of shady characters right now—and they wouldn't come near Vegeta.
In the end:
-Bulma and Vegeta were up front
-Trunks and Knickers were in the center
-Kishu, Teddy, Elm, and Lily were in the back
Fifteen Minutes Later:
"Welcome to Super~Bounce Extraordinaire. How many in your group? Are we looking for a day, week, month, or year pass?" A greeter asked when the Briefs family arrived at Super~Bounce Extraordinaire.
"Three adults, twenty-eight, fifty-eight, fifty, and five children, eleven, nine, six, and three. Day pass, please." Trunks replied, looking at the price board:
Seniors-60+: $25.00-Orange
Adults-30-59: $30.00-Yellow
Adults-18-29: $20.00-Green
Teens-12-17: $15.00-Red
Children-6-11: $10.00-Purple
Children-2-5: $5.00-Blue
Children under 2: $0.00-Pink
There was no way in Hell they were going to convince these people that Bulma and Vegeta were older than what they were. Vegeta only looked like he was in his late thirties. Bulma only looked like she was in her mid-thirties. But that's only thanks to Shenron.
Nope.
"ID's please?" The greeter asked, looking at the three.
Trunks and Vegeta willingly showed their ID's while Bulma fussed a little, but eventually showed hers.
The greeter couldn't believe it—until a different greeter walked over and explained things—and took over.
"Sorry about him. Your total is $120." The new greeter apologized and then gave Trunks the total.
"It's ok." Trunks replied, handing the greeter cash.
Just hold out your wrists. These bands get you into all the attractions and allow you to leave and come back until closing tonight at eight." The greeter explained, placing a wrist band on everyone.
"Thank you." Everyone but Lily thanked; she hid her face in Trunks's shoulder.
-Bulma and Vegeta had yellow wrist bands
-Trunks had a green wrist band
-Knickers, Kishu, and Teddy, had purple wrist bands
-Elm and Lily had blue wrist bands
All wristbands were the same colors. But depending on the type of pass depends on the color shaded wristband.
-Day passes were regular shaded colors
-Weekly passes were lighter shaded colors
-Monthly passes were medium shaded colors
-Yearly passes were shaded darker colors
"There you go. We hope you enjoy your experience here today." The greeter said with a smile.
"Thank you. Have a nice day." Trunks replied as they walked to where everything was.
"We're just going to be here for a few hours…" Vegeta mumbled once they were away from the entrance.
"Yes, but you can't do everything if you don't purchase at least a day pass." Trunks responded as everyone removed their shoes.
Once Kishu and Teddy had their shoes off, they immediately went running to the play area.
"Hold up. You don't go anywhere we can't see you. If you can't see me, Grandma, or Grandpa, we can't see you. Do you understand me?" Trunks stopped them and explained.
"Yes, we understand." Kishu and Teddy answered, itching to get going.
"Go ahead." Trunks let them go.
"I'll watch them." Vegeta stated, following Kishu and Teddy.
"What would you like to do?" Trunks asked, looking at Knickers.
"Uhh… I'll wait." Knickers replied.
"To do what?" Trunks asked, looking at his oldest.
"To use the arcade." Knickers answered right away.
"I'll take you. Come on; let's go." Bulma motioned with a smile.
"Knickers, it's up to you where you want to go. If you want to go to the arcade, Grandma will take you. If you want to wait, you can wait. Whatever you decide, we'll be in on of the pits." Trunks calmly stated.
"Ok." Knickers replied, watching Elm and Lily.
"Mom—don't start. I'm not going to discuss anything here, but I will say that I told Knickers, Kishu, and Teddy about not telling anyone about the twins when I found out. Like you and dad, they had a right to know. If he wants to stay and watch over his siblings, that's fine. However, you have to have fun as well. That's why we're here." Trunks sternly explained.
"Ok." Bulma and Knickers replied at the same time.
"Here we go." Trunks said, placing Elm and then Lily in the ball pit.
"No!" Lily screamed, freaking out.
"Lily, what's wrong?" Bulma asked, concerned as Trunks picked her up.
She calmed down as soon as Trunks picked her up.
"No!" Lily screamed again when Trunks tried setting her back in the balls.
"You don't like the balls, do you?" Trunks asked, once again taking Lily out.
"No…" Lily cried, trying to calm down, refusing to look at the balls.
"What did that Mr. Coast say when we were picking out their blankets and such?" Knickers asked, looking at Trunks and Lily.
"Umm… Something about textures." Bulma replied, trying to remember.
"Most children with autism like soft things. Some like different textures, but most like soft. I was looking it up online the other night and found that children with autism don't like certain textures. I'm just thankful she allows me to pick her up and hug her." Trunks explained, rocking Lily a little.
"Can we try to foam blocks?" Elm asked after a few minutes, climbing out of the balls.
"Sure. Knickers, can you take Lily so I can get up?" Trunks replied and then asked.
Knickers didn't say anything; he just happily took Lily.
Once there, Elm jumped into the blocks.
"Elm, pass me one of those blocks, please." Trunks calmly said, looking at Elm.
"Ok." Elm replied, handing Trunks a blue foam block.
"Lily, how does this feel?" Trunks asked, handing Lily the block.
Lily didn't say anything; she just squished the block in her hands, watching it with interest.
"Hi, Daddy!" Trunks heard Teddy above them; she was crawling around in a tube; he and Bulma waved at her with smiles.
Kishu was running around the nets and obstacle course; Trunks saw him here and there.
"Do you want to play in the blocks?" Trunks asked, looking at Lily.
"Yeah." Lily replied, absolutely mesmerized by the block in her hands.
"Knickers, can you get in there as well? I have a feeling that Lily's going to get lost because of how short she is. Elm, please wait to go any further; you're starting to disappear." Trunks asked, explained, and then called to Elm.
"Ok!" Elm called, walking back.
Knickers didn't say anything; he just stepped in and then took Lily; she was fine until she stepped off the steps leading into the blocks—then she disappeared.
The only reason they knew where she was, was because the blocks moved when she moved—and Knickers stayed near her and Elm.
"Daddy, what's going on? Where are Lily and Elm?" Teddy asked, running over.
"They are in the blocks somewhere; Knickers is keeping an eye on them." Trunks replied, looking at Teddy.
"I can help." Teddy enthusiastically offered, jumping in to help; she found Lily first.
Lily screeched and then started laughing when Teddy found her.
"Would you look at that?" Bulma asked as she and Trunks watched the kids play.
Kishu had come diving in when he heard Lily screeching.
Once he knew and understood she wasn't upset—that she was having fun, Kishu joined in.
Lily and Elm would randomly pop and here and there and start laughing.
"What are you doing now?" Vegeta asked, looking at Bulma.
"Making memories." Bulma replied, holding up her camera; she had taken some pictures but was now taking a video.
"Are you ready to do something else?" Trunks asked, looking at everyone.
"Can we take them to the trampolines?" Kishu excitedly asked.
"We can see if they like it." Trunks responded.
With Knickers and Kishu's help, they got Elm and Lily out.
"Come on; let's go!" Kishu happily exclaimed, leading the way.
"Do you think they're going to like this?" Bulma asked, concerned when Kishu and Teddy immediately ran to the trampolines and started bouncing.
"I don't know. We'll just have to wait and see." Trunks calmly answered, walking over to the trampolines.
"Ok. Here we go." Trunks sighed, setting Lily down.
After watching Kishu, Teddy, and Knickers for a few minutes, Elm eventually started jumping around.
"It's ok. They're not beds; you can go ahead and jump. That's what they're for. See?" Trunks explained and then asked, jumping on one of the trampolines, showing Lily it was ok.
Trunks was worried that Lily would have a panic attack, but she started kind of bouncing. She sat on her butt or knees and bounced like that; every time she tried standing up, she'd just fall back down.
Suddenly, Kishu and Teddy jumped from different trampolines and landed on the one Lily was on—sending her flying.
If it hadn't been for Vegeta, Lily would've landed in a net.
"Sorry!" Kishu and Teddy exclaimed right away.
"Knickers, don't. Just wait a second. Listen." Trunks instructed when he heard Lily giggling.
They watched as she waddled her way to a trampoline and sat down—waiting.
"What is it?" Knickers asked, confused.
"Hold on…" Trunks said, moving Lily to a different trampoline.
"Kishu, jump right behind her. As hard as you can—without breaking anything." Trunks instructed after stepping back.
"Ok…" Kishu replied, confused, but did as he was told.
Lily went flying—but not as far; she landed on a different trampoline, bounced again, and ended up landing on another trampoline.
Lily was laughing the entire time.
"Can I try?" Teddy excitedly asked.
"Go ahead." Trunks answered.
Teddy jumped, and Lily went, but only two trampolines over.
Knickers had a stronger jump than Kishu and Teddy, so he refused to jump and send Lily flying too far—despite Trunks saying it was ok.
"Don't forget about Elm." Bulma said, holding up her camera.
Teddy jumped for Elm first, sending him two trampolines over; he was able to land on his feet.
When Kishu sent him flying, Elm not only landed on his feet but when he first landed, he pushed off with his hands.
Fifteen Minutes Later:
Lily went waddling over to Bulma.
"What is it, Dear?" Bulma asked, kneeling in front of Lily.
"Potty…" Lily replied, lifting her arms, red in the face.
"Ok. Come on. Teddy, do you need to use the bathroom?" Bulma said, lifting Lily as she called to Teddy.
"I'm coming!" Teddy called, bouncing her way to Bulma.
"We should probably try as well." Trunks said, lifting Elm.
"Ok." Knickers and Kishu replied, following along with Vegeta behind everyone.
Ten Minutes Later:
"Well—that was interesting." Bulma huffed, walking out of the bathroom with Lily and Teddy.
"What's wrong?" Trunks asked, taking Lily when she reached for him.
"First there was a long line. Then when we went to use a stall, some lady pushed passed us and took the stall. Then when we got into a stall, I had to hold both girls up because it was cracked so bad that I couldn't even sit on it; I had to stand and squat. The girls thought it was funny though. And then when I told the janitor and manager, I had to explain it three times—to each. Lily slipped and skinned her knee. Then Teddy walked into a walked into a pole and now has a red mark on her forehead." Bulma answered, looking at Trunks.
"Someone's tired." Trunks said as Lily laid her head on his shoulder and slowly started falling asleep.
"How can she sleep in a place like this? It's so loud in here." Vegeta asked, looking around.
"She's so tired—and with their cat genes, they can probably sleep just about anywhere." Trunks answered his dad, rubbing Lily's back.
"Now what?" Kishu and Teddy asked, looking at Trunks.
"We're going to go play in the arcade for a little while. And then, I think Grandma has plans for dinner somewhere." Trunks answered.
Two Hours Later:
It was nearly four-thirty, so it was time to head to wherever Bulma wanted to go to dinner.
"Where are we going?" Kishu asked right away.
"It's a surprise." Bulma said as everyone got into the van.
"Is it that buffet again?" Kishu asked.
"No. You'll see when we get there." Bulma once again replied.
Twenty Minutes Later:
Before Bulma drove them to the restaurant, they stopped back at the hotel to change into some nice outfits Bulma had picked out.
-Bulma was wearing a nice dark blue skirt with a matching shirt
-Vegeta was wearing a nice pair of black jeans and a black dress shirt
-Trunks was wearing a nice pair of blue jeans and a light blue dress shirt
-Knickers was wearing a nice pair of black jeans and a long-sleeved white shirt
-Kishu was wearing a nice pair of black jeans and a long-sleeved black shirt
-Teddy was wearing a nice blue skirt and a dark blue dress shirt
-Elm was wearing a nice pair of black jeans and a dark blue long-sleeved shirt
-Lily was wearing a nice light blue flowy dress
"Ok, here we are." Bulma said, pulling into a parking lot.
"What is this place?" Teddy asked, looking out the window.
"It's an Italian restaurant. Have you ever been to one before?" Bulma asked, looking at Kishu as they all got out of the van.
"Only Knickers has been to an Italian restaurant before—back when Mai was still around." Trunks spoke up.
"Oh. Well, now we're all going to one." Bulma said with a smile.
"Hello, welcome to Butterfly's Paradise. How many?" A hostess behind a podium asked.
"I actually have a reservation under Bulma Briefs." Bulma replied, looking at the hostess.
"Hmm… Oh, yep; here you are. Three adults and five children: one over ten and four under?" The hostess asked, looking in her notes.
"That would be correct." Bulma answered with a smile.
"Ok. Please follow me this way." The hostess replied, grabbing two booster seats before leading the way.
The hostess led them to the back of the building, to a secluded area where there were no windows—except for higher up.
"Your waiter or waitress will be with you shortly." The hostess politely informed, placing down the menus.
"Thank you." Bulma, Trunks, Knickers, and Elm politely said.
Kishu didn't want to be there because it was fancy; he would prefer a buffet.
Teddy wasn't happy she had to wear a skirt and a nice shirt; Bulma bribed her with ten dollars.
Lily was still too shy and won't talk to strangers.
Vegeta would rather be anywhere where there weren't people.
"This is nice." Bulma said as they all got settled.
They sat at a long table with four people on each side:
Trunks, Lily, Elm, and Knickers on one side
Bulma, Teddy, Kishu, and Vegeta on the other side
"Mom—as much as I appreciate family time; I'm not so sure an Italian restaurant is such a good idea." Trunks started explaining.
"Why not?" Bulma asked, pouting a little.
"We don't know if Elm or Lily will even like any Italian food. Don't look at me like that; we don't have to leave. It would've been nice if you had talked to me about this. But we're here—might as well stay." Trunks sighed; he didn't want to get into a fight with his mom.
"I wanted to surprise you. I wanted to do something for you so you that you could just relax. You deserve that. Think of it this way; they get to try something new." Bulma explained.
"Thank you, Mom. I love and appreciate you so much. This is definitely different, but I'm not all that stressed; I love all my kids. But I do appreciate the help." Trunks honestly spoke.
"Thank you. I love you and the kids too." Bulma happily replied with a smile.
"Hello. My name is Kace, and I'll be your waiter this evening. Can I get you any drinks?" The waiter, Kace, politely asked.
"Can I get a beer?" Vegeta asked.
"Ok…"
"Can I get red wine?" Bulma politely asked.
"Of course."
"I'll just have a large Pepsi. Then, she'll have a medium orange juice, he'll have a medium apple juice, and she'll have a medium fruit punch." Trunks ordered for him, Lily, Elm, and Teddy.
"Can I have a large sprite?" Kishu asked, looking at Trunks.
"Yeah, that's fine." Trunks replied.
"I'd like a large Pepsi." Knickers politely requested.
"Ok. Do you know what you all want; or do you need time?" Kace calmly asked.
"We'd like some time, please." Bulma and Trunks replied at the same time.
"What looks good?" Vegeta asked, trying to be part of everything for his wife, son, and grandchildren.
"I don't know." Bulma, Trunks, Knickers, and Kishu replied, looking through menus.
"Do you want some water?" Trunks asked Lily when she reached for the free cup of water in front of her.
"Water pease." Lily responded, still reaching for the water.
"Both hands." Trunks said, holding the cup from the bottom so that it wouldn't fall.
"Tank you." Lily breathed after sucking down a little less than half a cup of water.
"You're very welcome." Trunks said with a smile; that's the most she's talked since they've known her.
"Ok. One beer. One red wine. Two large Pepsi. One medium orange juice. One medium apple juice. One fruit punch. And one large sprite." Kace said, setting everyone's drinks down in front of them.
"Thank you." Everyone replied.
"Are you ready to order?" Kace asked, looking at everyone.
"I believe so. I'd like the Eggplant Parmigiana with a salad." Bulma clearly stated.
"I want the Steak Alfredo and the Shrimp Alfredo with a salad." Vegeta calmly said, shocking Kace; he had never met someone who could even finish one dish.
"I would like the Giant Meat and Cheese Stuffed Shells and the Herb-Grilled Salmon with a salad." Trunks said, looking over his menu.
"Can I get the Asiago Tortellini Alfredo with Grilled Chicken with a salad?" Knickers asked, looking from the menu to Kace.
"I'd like the Herb-Grilled Salmon, please." Kishu spoke, looking at Trunks. Nothing else looked good to him; he didn't like pasta."
"Can I get the Lasagna with four cheeses?" Teddy asked, looking at Trunks.
"Can I get the two Tours of Italy with Chicken Alfredo, Spaghetti and Meatballs and Mac and Cheese?" Trunks asked, looking at the options of a Tour of Italy.
"Ok. Do you want any appetizers?" Kace asked, looking at everyone.
"Yes. We'd like four orders of Breadsticks, three orders of Lasagna Frittas, three orders of Fried Mozzarellas and two orders of Calamari." Bulma answered.
"Ok. I'll have all that out to you as soon as possible." Kace said with a smile, walking away.
Two Hours Later:
They discovered Elm likes spaghetti and meatballs and macaroni and cheese, but not Chicken Alfredo. Lily likes Chicken Alfredo and macaroni and cheese, but not spaghetti and meatballs.
"Did you get enough to eat?" Bulma asked everyone as they left the restaurant.
"Yeah." Everyone (even Lily) replied.
"Let's get back to the hotel. And I'm driving; you're both drunk." Trunks said, holding Elm and Lily—both of whom were falling asleep.
Vegeta ended up having his beer refilled—four times.
Bulma had her wine refilled six times.
"Are you going home tomorrow?" Bulma asked, looking at Trunks as he got the twins and Teddy in their car seats.
"No. I don't have any beds for Elm or Lily, and their beds don't arrive until Monday afternoon. Why? When do we have to leave the hotel?" Trunks answered and then asked when he got into the driver's seat.
Bulma sat in the passenger while Knickers and Vegeta sat in the middle, and Kishu was in the back with Teddy and the twins.
"I was supposed to have it until Monday, but the hotel manager told me we had until tomorrow afternoon." Bulma answered.
"When did you find this out?" Vegeta asked, looking up at his wife.
"Just before we went to get Trunks and the older kids to take them to that Super~Bounce Extraordinaire. I didn't say anything because I didn't want to ruin everyone's fun." Bulma answered.
"It's probably because we've been here for over a week." Vegeta mumbled; he was incredibly relieved right now; he couldn't wait to go home.
"I know it's an inconvenience, but the kids' and your beds are still at our place; Elm and Lily could stay in the spare room for the night. You could just stay home for one more night and then we could help you move everything else to your new home." Bulma suggested.
"That's fine; we'll do that. And Mom, it's not an inconvenience. You know why we're moving—especially now with five kids; we all need the space. If you're having such a hard time with us moving, you should just move out the country as well. There is a lot of land for sale; you could purchase some land and design your own home. I don't mean to upset you, but clearly Bulla isn't planning on moving back any time soon. No, you don't have to purchase land if you don't want; it's just a suggestion." Trunks explained as he drove off the parking lot.
"They could come live with us! We have seven bedrooms plus an entire basement. And we have all that extra land you said you didn't know what to do with after you added the pools and such; that could be used for training." Kishu called from the backseat.
"I don't think your dad wants to live with his parents anymore." Bulma replied with a sad smile.
"Mom, I love you and Dad very much—more than anybody or anything except my kids. But can you blame me? I'm twenty-eight with five kids. However, I don't hate living with you and Dad. If you wanted to purchase land and buy a house out in country, you could stay with us until it was complete. But we can't all live together forever." Trunks calmly explained.
"Trunks—I love you too!" Bulma loudly cooed, hugging him while they were stopped at a red light.
By the time they got to their room for the night, Teddy, Elm, Lily, and Kishu were all passed out.
They all knew Elm and Lily would be asleep—and had a feeling Teddy might fall asleep. But Kishu—he was so full of energy when they left the restaurant. And he usually never sleeps in the car.
-Vegeta carried Kishu
-Trunks carried Teddy
-Bulma carried Elm
-Knickers carried Lily
"What are we going to do about their clothes?" Bulma asked, swaying a little.
"Don't worry about that; they can sleep in their clothes. They can all change in the morning—after a shower. Mom, you should lie down and sleep." Trunks answered and then suggested, looking at his mom.
Bulma didn't want to argue, so she just went to bed; she passed out as soon as her head hit the pillow.
"She's your mother…" Vegeta sighed, staring at his wife in disbelief.
"She's your wife." Trunks countered, covering the Teddy; Vegeta had kind of covered Kishu, and Knickers covered the twins.
"If it's ok; I'm going to take a shower now." Knickers announced, holding a towel.
"That's fine. Hey, Knickers; I want to say thanks for all your help this last week." Trunks stated, looking at his oldest.
"Of course. Any time." Knickers said with a smile, walking to the bathroom…