by Katherine R. McKay
 

     Bra stepped out of her car. She closed her eyes and relished the warmth of the June sunshine. She gave a contented sigh and walked into her office. Bra sat down and began to do her paper work for the Capsule Corps. company, which her brother, Trunks, gave up.

    "Too boring", he said.

    After he had left, Bra lost track of him. So, she now ran the Capsule Corps.  Her mother retired last year, and died of natural causes two weeks ago. Bra was still reeling from the incident, but she most worried about her father. Without Bulma, what was to happen to Vegeta?
 Her father had moped around the house for a while, then one day flew off. But Bra expected him back any day now. He had come back last weekend, still looking like he did the day Bulma died. Older, quieter, frailer. Bra was afraid for his health. But after his last visit, she didn't worry as much. Vegeta still laughed, and Bra even caught him strutting around like he used to, when she was a little girl.

    Once, when Vegeta visited, Bra woke up to noises in the kitchen. She temporarily forgot her mother was dead, and she thought Bulma was cooking. She waited for Vegeta to walk in, and an argument to start. Only when she heard a crash and a long string of curses did she remember, and smiled at the thought of Vegeta cooking. He never used to.

    There was a thud outside. Bra jumped up and ran outside, fully expecting Vegeta. But instead, she saw Trunks. "Trunks!" she cried, and ran to hug him. Trunks accepted  the hug and swept his sister up in one of his own.

    "Hi, Bra. How's the Corp.?" Trunks asked, after they parted.

    "Well, it hasn't crashed," Bra said.

    Trunks smiled. Then he peered beyond Bra.

    "Where's Mom and Vegeta?" Bra bit her lip.

     Trunks caught the gesture, and stared into Bra's eyes. "What happened?" he asked worriedly.

    "Mom's dead. She died two weeks ago," Bra said, averting her gaze.

    Trunks went limp. Then he stiffened. "And Dad?" Trunks asked.

    "He's OK, as far as I can tell. He disappeared after she died. He came back last weekend, and I'm expecting him soon."

    Trunks relaxed.

    "So, wanna go inside?" Bra asked.

    "Sure."

    The two siblings went inside, and Trunks marveled at what Bra had done with the
place. "Wow," he murmured, coming to his old room, which Bra had turned into a small science lab.

    "So, what are you doing now? I haven't heard from you since you left," Bra asked, turning to him.

    "Nothing much." Trunks grinned at her. "I got a job," he said, turning back to the room.

    "Doing what?"

    "Construction."

    "Show off."

     The two siblings smiled at each other. Bra knew he only pretended to be in such a good mood. She knew after she'd leave him to the guest room, if he stayed the night, he'd begin crying. If Vegeta had done it, Trunks would.

    The front door creaked open. "Daddy?" Bra called, sounding hopeful. "No, it's me, Goku."

    Bra and Trunks walked over to greet their guest.

    "Hello, Goku," Bra said.

    Goku still looked as if he were thirty or forty, except he stooped a bit and his hair was beginning to gray. "I thought now would be the right time to come over, after giving you
time to mourn..." Goku said, but couldn't continue. Bra saw a tiny tear fall down his cheek. "Can I come in?" Goku asked.

    "Yes," Bra said, moving aside to let Goku through. Goku looked around, and chuckled.

    "Bulma would've liked what you did with the place," he said. The group walked to where Bulma used to sleep. It was still a room, to be kept as it was the day Bulma died, never to be used or changed.

    "I didn't have the heart to change it," Bra explained. Trunks and Goku
nodded in approval.

    "Bra?" Vegeta called from down stairs.

    "Dad?" Bra cried, running again to the front door. Vegeta stood there, tall, semi-proud looking. "Dad!" Bra cried again, and rushed over, and buried her face into his shoulder
in a big hug. "How are you doing?" she asked when she let go.

    "Fine, fine," Vegeta answered, looking down at her. No matter how Bra had grown,
Vegeta was always taller.

    "Hi, Dad," Trunks said. Vegeta attempted a smirk, but came up with a lopsided smile.

    "It's about time you came home," Vegeta said.

    "Yeah, well," Trunks said, smiling. Father and son clasped hands.

    Vegeta saw Goku and froze, unsure of what to do. "Hey, Vegeta. Sorry about Bulma," Goku said softly. Vegeta looked away.

    "You were closer to her than I was," Vegeta gruffly countered.

    Goku snorted. "Sure," he said sarcastically.

    "Well, how about if I go cook lunch, and you three stay here and chat. If any one else comes, call me, OK?" Bra said, heading toward the kitchen. The three men agreed and Bra left. Bra kept a nervous ear on them, listening for any sign of a quarrel beginning. She made as less noise as possible, one to not interrupt them, two to be able to hear them better. Trunks called to tell them Dr. Briefs and his wife had arrived, along with most of the Dragon Ball Z gang, excluding Piccolo. Chi chi showed up, along with Videl and Pan, and Chi Chi came in to help Bra cook lunch for the large group.

    Chi Chi was doing pretty well, despite her age of around sixty. She would never tell. The two women chatted softly while cooking. Chi chi too wanted to keep a close eye on the advancement of the gathering. Though the Z gang might be able to get between a fight, they doubted they'd be able to stop it without Bra's help, because they were very sure it was
going to be Vegeta's hot temper that would start a fight.  Of all the things that had dulled or lessened, Vegeta's temper was not one of them.

    "I remember Goku telling me how they first met. Your mother and Goku, that is," Chi chi said, then chuckled. "She nearly ran him over with her motorbike."

    Bra giggled. "Mom was never the most careful driver," Bra admitted.

    "And then, Goku thought it was she was a stork, or a monster," Chi chi said, laughing harder.

    "And when she made a capsule house for the first time, he thought it was a giant bug," Bra said, laughing along with Chi chi.

    Then they settled down. Chi chi sniffled. She sighed. "Goku was hit the hardest, besides your father. Goku just.....let his emotions out more," Chi chi said.

    Bra nodded. "Dad just moped around the house a bit. He wouldn't talk to anyone, even me. And he wouldn't cry in my presence, only when he was alone," Bra said.

     Finally, they were done. "Videl! Pan! Can you help us?"  Bra cried. The other two women came in and helped carry in platter after platter of food. Bra looked around for Vegeta.

    "He left, after Yamcha started talking. I think Yamcha got too carried off in his and Bulma's romances together before Mom met Dad," Trunks said. Yamcha looked sheepish.

    Vegeta walked in then, and he stared at the food. "Ha! It looks like what your mother used to cook," he said in a faint undertone of a sneer. He snatched a bite from one of the trays. Vegeta chewed, a thoughtful look on his face. He swallowed. "Tastes like it, too. Burnt just the
right way," Vegeta said.

    "I'd like to see you cook better," Bra shot back. Vegeta harumphed and sat by the small table, away from the others.

    After lunch, the guests left. Bra cleaned up the remnants of lunch, with the help of Trunks. Vegeta retreated to his room. Trunks and Bra let him.

    "Bra, I feel horrible," Trunks said, picking up a plate and put it onto the tray.

    "Why?" Bra asked, fishing a chopstick out from under the table.

    "Because.....because I wasn't there, you know?" Trunks answered.

    "It's not your fault, you didn't know she was going to die while you were away," Bra said, then moved up to her brother, putting her arm around his shoulder. They sat on two chairs.

    "But if I hadn't left, she would've been able to see me just one more time," Trunks said.

    "What, were you going to live here for the rest of your life? You wanted to go out and see what you could, to have some fun, not sit at some desk doing paper work," Bra said.

    Trunks cringed, recalling the words he'd yelled at his family before he left. "But, what
if she wanted to tell me something, you know? Maybe, instead of her last memory of me is when I'm yelling at her, maybe it could be me saying, 'I love you, Mom'," Trunks said.

    "She has plenty of memories of you saying that," Bra said.

    "But one less than she could've," Trunks muttered. Bra sighed and left Trunks to his dour thoughts. He'd have to work it out himself.

    Bra bent down to get a small bowl that had fallen under the table. She felt around for it, then her hand bumped up against something. She grabbed it and pulled it out.

    It was a gold necklace, with a large gold heart with a silver arrow through it. Bra gasped.

    "What? What is it?" Trunks asked, peering over her shoulder.

    "It's that necklace Dad bought Mom, remember?" Bra said.

    Trunks nodded. Vegeta had intended it to be a surprise for Bulma, but he found her and Yamcha in a room together. He'd gotten overly jealous, and threw the necklace. After the whole incident was explained, Vegeta felt like an idiot and searched for the necklace ever since. Bulma had never learned about the necklace.

    "I'll take it to him," Bra said, and got up. Trunks nodded again and began picking up again.

    Bra tiptoed to her father's room. She knocked on the door. It opened without the knob turning. Bra stepped inside the room. "Dad?" she called softly. No answer. Bra stepped into the room. She found her father sprawled on the bed sound asleep. Tear trails made shining lines down his
face. He shifted, and his hand fell over the lip of the bed. He had a picture of Bulma, Trunks, as a kid, and Bra, as a small girl, and Vegeta, standing in the back, arms crossed, staring at the camera. Everyone but Vegeta smiled. It was his first picture. Bra thought they didn't have a
copy of that.

    Bra bit her lower lip, unshed tears in her eyes. She walked silently over, and tenderly lifted Vegeta's thumb. She kept her eyes on his face, searching for a sign of consciousness. She slid the necklace's chain under it, and replaced the thumb so it held the picture and the necklace.

    "Bulma..." Vegeta murmured, and shifted again. He pulled the picture tight against his chest. Bra clapped her hands over her mouth to prevent a sob from coming out. Though asleep, Vegeta looked so old, so frail, so...vulnerable. Especially after he said Bulma's name.

    Bra backed out, and closed the door. She walked into the living room to help Trunks. But everything was picked up. Dishes clinked together, and Bra could tell he was doing the dirty dishes. Bra sighed and walked upstairs. Bra walked into her room, flopped onto her bed, buried her face in her pillow, and bawled. She didn't hear footsteps go up the stairs,
walk to her room, and open the door. She didn't hear Trunks close the door, walk to his room, and shut his door. She also didn't hear Trunks crying himself.

    This family needed more time to recover.

    They needed time to themselves.

    They needed each other.
 
 

        The End.