Same as before, *** I own nothing, DBZGT&S is all Akira Toriyama***
Thanks for all the feedback and support.
Big thanks for my Beta SSJ2LUKE (He puts up with so much!)
Onward to the story!

Chapter 4

Pan's training had progressed at a steady pace. She and Vegeta kept a very strict routine. The mornings were spent in the gravity room with a dense atmosphere and increased pressures, and the afternoons were filled with different stances and fighting styles. Pan learned to adjust between what she had learned from her grandfather, and into Vegeta's much more aggressive, but structured style.

She had hardly seen Trunks or Goten since the beginning of this new training cycle, and that was fine by her. She may not have been intentionally avoiding them but she did enjoy the silence; however, today wasn't to be one of those days.

Pan jogged down the stairs, heading out to the gravity room, waving at Bulma as she passed through the kitchen. Just as Pan pushed open the back door, she heard a solid 'CRACK!' Not realizing she had hit someone, the door flung backwards, slamming into her face. A second 'CRACK,' resounding through the room.

Pan fell back on the tiled floor, her hands flew up to cover her nose. "Ugh! What was that?" Sitting herself back up, Pan felt the warmth of blood pooling into her hands. "...Great!" Walking over to the kitchen sink, a groan was heard coming from the other side of the door.

The sound of small blasts exploding drew Trunks' attention towards the gravity room. He was attempting to feel out the number of participants inside the chamber, when the wooden door frame slammed against the side of his head.

As he felt the sidewalk collide with his backside, Trunks shook the dizziness from his eyes. His pulse was echoing between his ears, "You're kidding right? Talk about bad luck...geez!"

Trunks rose to his feet, and shook the remaining double vision from his eyes. Moving slowly, he inched closer and peeked in through the back door.

"Is it safe to come in now?" He looked back and forth to see whom had so graciously dealt a very abrupt wake-up call. Looking about the room for the afore mentioned destructive force, Trunks eyes landed on the back of Pan's head.

"Over here, sorry..." Pan was dangling her dripping face over the sink to contain the mess. "It's safe for now." she cupped the running water to her face, trying to wash away to streaks of blood that oozed between her fingers.

Trunks leaned over the counter next to her to access the damage. "You okay?" Oddly enough he was at a loss for words; they hadn't really spoken since she'd been back, so he'd never given her a proper apology.

Bulma, who was sitting at the table enjoying her coffee, found the scene a bit comical, but knew better than to laugh. Grabbing a towel from the center of the table, she tossed it over to Trunks.

"Why don't you hand that to Pan after she cleans up?" Bulma took her mug of coffee and stood. "I'm heading back down to the lab. Let me know if you kids need anything, alright?"

Trunks pulled the towel off his head, "Thank you mother, I'll catch up with you this afternoon." Returning his attention to Pan, Trunks turned and propped himself against the counter next to her. "Are you sure you're okay? I feel really bad about...that." He gestured to the entirety of her face. "It's not broken or anything, right?" The guilt remaining from their previous conflict was still evident.

"Trunks, I'm fine. Just a little bloody nose, that's all. It was my fault anyways. If I had paid more attention, this wouldn't have happened." Pan held her hand out to Trunks.

"If you're sure..." he trailed off as he handed the towel over to her. He walked over to the table and sat down. "Can we talk? Just for a minute..."

Pan tilted her head back and applied gentle pressure to her nose with the towel. "What do you want to talk about?" Her eyes seemed to bore into him. She was suspicious.

Trunks' gaze dropped. He knew it wasn't going to be easy. Having a calm talk with Pan had never really worked out before, they'd always butt heads with each other.

"I just wanted to say...that I really am sorry. I was wrong." Trunks was still looking down at his hands as he responded to her. Suddenly, his attention was drawn by the sound of Pan dragging a chair in front of him.

"Okay, we can talk." Pan sat, her black eyes softening as she peered at him over the fluffy hand-towel.

Trunks nodded and smiled softly, thankful that she was at least offering to hear him out.

"Like I said, I was wrong. Goten and Dad talked to me about a few things, and I was a jerk to not consider your side of it." He took a steadying breath before he continued.

"You have every right that we do to fight. You put more into training than we ever did." He felt ashamed of himself. " Your decisions aren't mine to make, and it's hard for me, but only because I want you to stay safe." He didn't pause long enough for her to cut in.

"You're not a child anymore, and that's been hard for me to see. I see it now though." A light blush stained his cheeks. "Please don't hate me for caring. I was definitely a jerk though, and disrespected you as a friend. I am truly... sorry." He looked straight into her eyes and asked one final question. "Do you forgive me?"

Pan lowered the towel and cleared her throat. A smirk tugged at the corner of her lips as she spoke. "You idiot..." She watched as Trunks' expression fell.

"You honestly thought that I wouldn't? My pride could not ever be more important than my friends." Pan stood up and walked to Trunks' side. Leaning forward she wrapped her arms around his neck. "I'll always forgive you, ya big dummy." Her grip tightened as she felt his arms encircle her waist, and felt his forhead rest against her abdomen.

Vegeta cleared his throat as he stood in the doorway, arms crossed. "Girl! Were you not supposed to meet me in the gravity chamber... Twenty minutes ago?"

Pan shot up straight, "Yes sir!" She yelped as she tried to back away from Trunks. He had yet to detangle himself from her. "Trunks, I have training. Lemme go." she whispered down to him as she gave him a soft pat on his shoulders.

Trunks was reluctant to release her, but his father's presence slowly brought him around. A bright glow lit his face. "Sorry Panny..." He dropped his arms slowly and pulled away from her. The smells from her skin and shirt lingered and tickled his nose.

Pan backed away, slowly turning as her gaze drifted to settle on her feet. She side stepped past Vegeta on her way out to the chamber. "Sorry Prince Vegeta." He tilted his head slightly in acknowledgement.

Vegeta settled a questioning eye on his son. "Something you need to say, boy?" Trunks looked up at his father, the blush still staining his features.

"No, I was just apologizing... she accepted. That's all." Trunks stood and turned towards the main room of the house. "I told mother I would help her in the lab later on. She wanted help with construction while she worked on the programming portion of her invention."

Vegeta just backed out the way he had come in. No point in embarrassing the boy further. He did have a student to get back to.

Pan looked up as she saw Vegeta enter the room. "I'm sorry, ran into an issue."

Vegeta's grin was firmly in place. " You mean the door, or my son?"

"Oh shut up! Don't act like you don't already know. You don't play dumb very well." Pan shook her head as she returned to her stretches.

"By the way, tomorrow I have somewhere to be. I'm going to go meet up with Grandma Chichi and bring her back here for a bit. Bulma invited her for a visit." Pan spoke softly.

Vegeta walked over to the gravity panel and cranked the gravity up to 250g's. " As long as you prove you deserve a break, you are more than welcome to have a day off."

Without warning Vegeta flung a ball of ki towards the small female. Pan rolled backwards, narrowly avoiding the painful blow. Vegeta followed through and sent a fist to her mid-section. Pan attempted to back pedal but met the wall.

"Shit!" Pan lept up, placing her feet against the wall. Before Vegeta's hit had a chance to land, Pan shot off the wall with her first flying towards his face. Vegeta deflected her with his forearm, but neglected to notice her knee following in its place.

Pan felt her knee slam into Vegeta's nose. Before she managed to break away and put distance between the two of them, she felt his fingers curl around her ankle and an elbow meet the outside of her knee. Releasing his target, Pan caught herself on her one good leg.

Vegeta swore he heard a low growl escape her. She was angry that he'd attacked without warning, but her reaction speed was something to be admired. "Again, girl!" he barked and charged her again.

Their day passed like this until the sun sank behind the horizon. Pan slunk back to her room for a shower, with the intention of getting into bed as soon as possible. Her knee still felt out of place as she wobbled up the steps.

Dark bruises, cuts, and some small gashes from the previous fight, littered Pan's small frame. "That bath can't come soon enough..." She stretched her arms out over her head as she enetered her room.

Vegeta travelled down the steps to the elevator that led to Bulma's lab. "Woman!" he called as he rounded the corner into her sanctuary.

The rhythmic clicks and tapping of her fingers against the keyboard ended with an abrupt squeak. "Vegeta you..." she trailed off and took a breath to calm herself down. "...startled me."

Vegeta smirked as he approached her. "How is your tinkering coming along woman?" He questioned as he rested his hips against her desk.

Bulma sat back in her chair, rubbing the dull ache from her hands and fingers. "I have to write the warp-jump program out so that the device can communicate with the PTO towers. Then I have to transfer the PTO's mapping system into her device so that the plot points align correctly. Then I ha-"

Vegeta cut her off with a raised palm. "Enough, I get it. But how long?"

"Maybe two more weeks." Bulma huffed at having to give such a plain answer. "You are such a fun sucker." she pouted.

Vegeta knew she was brilliant, he just didn't care to stand there and listen to her prattle on and on about it. "You have Trunks to talk crazy genius to." he said flippantly.

"As long as you admit that I'm a genius." She grinned triumphantly.

"Pan will be off to collect the harpy in the morning." Vegeta stated as he turned.

"By the way Vegeta... What happened to you today?" a small giggle erupted from Bulma as she pointed out his appearance.

Vegeta grumbled and tilted his head back to face her. "The girl got a bit cheeky with her training today." His eyes narrowed as he dared her to make another comment.

"Well you need a shower... and some new clothes. Looks like you were sparring with a lawn mower." She couldn't contain herself as the laughter burst from her lips.

Vegeta resumed his escape from her presence. "I'll see you later on woman. It would be wise for you to tone down your enthusiasm at my expense." His voice was low, but he made sure she heard every word he uttered. Vegeta's hair was tousled in differing directions, and his clothes had been ripped and torn in many places. She'd gotten in her fair share of hits. The girl was improving, and quickly.

Pan sank into the warm water of her bath. She could feel the water stinging every cut across her body. Inhaling deeply, she rested her head against the back of the tub. "Today was nuts..." She recalled the morning run in with Trunks.

She knew his apology was sincere. She wasn't bitter, just angry. Everyone thought that the others' level of fighting was inaccessible to her. In truth, she knew she could never be on par with any of them, but that wouldn't stop her from trying. If she gave up, she'd never be better than what she was at that moment.

"I don't want to settle. I don't want to not be enough. I'll have to try harder..." Her eyes drifted closed. She looked up to Trunks, always so sure of his abilities, so smart, and so capable. "And caring..." she didn't mean that in any particular way. He'd said himself that all his harsh words came from a place of worry and caring.

Their small embrace was what had left her a bit flustered and confused. She felt his energy wash over her, and it was a new feeling altogether. It was a new sensation that she had no words for. Pan was hardly ever left speechless. Maybe it was the new understanding between them, she didn't fully comprehend why it seemed so different.

As the ache from the day faded from her tight muscles, Pan dried herself and dressed in a pair of shorts and a tank top. She used her bandana as a tie to hold her hair back. Settling into bed, she twisted up in her covers and drifted off into a very restful sleep.

The next morning she dressed quickly: loose jeans, boots, a black tee-shirt, and her bandana tying back her hair.

The flight to the old mountain cottage was uneventful but beautiful. Pan landed and ran up to the front door. "Grandma!" The door swung open before her, revealing her Grandma's beaming face.

"Panny! My grandbaby! Where have you been? You've been gone for far too long. Come in and sit down. I made something small for us to eat before we go." Pan's eyes twinkled as her smile broadened, she had missed her grandmother dearly.

"I've missed you so much!" Pan threw her arms around the women and held her close. "I'm sorry, I never meant to stay gone that long. I was just frustrated... and angry." Chichi rubbed small circles on the girls back.

"Come on in and sit down, we'll talk about it. Sounds like you've had quite a bit going on." Chichi took her by the hand and led her into the kitchen. "Go on, have a seat." As Pan sat down, Chichi was already bustling about the kitchen and setting out numerous plates of food.

Pan backtracked over the past couple of months. Beginning with the fight between herself, Trunks, and Goten. She then grazed over what Vegeta had said to her. She went over her time in the arctic and what she came to realize there. Pan even filled her in on the new training with Vegeta, and on the device that Bulma was working on for her. The only piece of information she had yet to share, was what had happened briefly with Trunks after she'd returned home.

Chichi sat patiently and munched on bits of fruit and toast. Her grand-daughters story both infuriated and enthralled her. Pan's anger didn't really surprise her, that was most definitely an inherited trait. Running off alone wasn't unheard of, but for an entire month... That was new.

"Spending time around Vegeta are you, dear?" Chichi continued in between bites. "He used to do that. Anytime a situation overwhelmed him, he took off. Bulma always used to call and rant about him leaving."

Pan nodded, "Maybe. I just didn't know what to do. I felt like I was losing air and couldn't breath. Then I got so angry that I actually tried to hurt him. That's not me, Grandma." Chichi knew Pan's behavior bothered her a great deal. Pan never had the heart to see someone else in pain.

"This business with Trunks. I know he said he was sorry. But is that all that's going on?" Chichi's idle chit chat was narrowing in on a subject that Pan didn't quite understand.

Pan shrugged, not able to bring her eyes up to look Chichi in the face. "I honestly don't know. At times, I want to rip his head off. Then he starts acting weird and that confused me. Then yesterday... well... I gave him a hug. It was different somehow, well it felt different to me." Her agitation grew as she tried to explain. "The air in the room was just different, I don't know..."

Chichi's smile was warm as she let her eyes travel over Pan's features. "And how was it different, dear?" she placed her elbows on the table and laced her fingers together in a thoughtful manner.

Pan sat for a moment and thought about what she was asking. "Well, it was calming. I haven't really had much time to think it over, though. It's only been a day." She shrugged off what she was feeling and stood abruptly. "You ready grandma?"

Chichi stood as well, placing the dishes in the washer and turning it on before they left for the next week or two. "I'll drop it for now, but think about it okay? Figuring it out may make you feel better, and might put you at ease." Walking to the front door, Chichi stepped outside.

Pan swallowed down the last bite of her meal, and then followed after her grandmother. "I'm coming, and I'll think about it. Would you like me to carry you, or would you rather me call Nimbus?"

"Oh dearest, please call the nimbus. How lady-like would it be for you or myself, if you were to carry me?" Chichi's giggle was melodic as she looked up towards the sky.

Pan dropped her fists to her sides, and took a deep breath. "NIMBUS!" She belted out at the top of her lungs. The little cloud could be quick when it wanted.

Pan heard the little clouds' puttering whistle, and noted the tail streaking across the horizon. It came to a screeching halt before her and Chichi. "Hop on." Chichi climbed atop the cloud and crossed her legs.

"Okay Nimbus, just follow me." Pan took off at an easy pace. "Come on Nimbus, keep up!" She smiled as she rose up into the clouds and drifted through the giant puffs of moisture and cold air. They flew like this for just over an hour.

Chichi waved up to Pan "Come here dear!" Yelling over the wind so she could be heard. Pan slowed her flight to match the small clouds'.

"What is it?" Pan asked as she drifted lazily alongside her grandmother.

Chichi tapped the little cloud, indicating her need to slow down a bit more. "We're almost there so there's one more thing I'd like to say." She paused as Pan sat up, giving full attention to her.

"Yes ma'am?" Her hair was still whipping about her face as they flew.

"You know, you may not have the same strength as the boys, but you do excel in other areas. Your speed and agility are nothing to frown at. Your flexibility and capacity for adjusting your styles to fit the situation. Those are all just a few of the talents that don't limit your fighting ability. You don't have to solely rely on strength and power. You have an arsenal my dear, utilize all of your gifts." Chichi had remembered sparring with the girl when she was younger.

She remembered having difficulties keeping up and staying focused on her movements. She was never a child to sit still for long. When Pan really got going, her movements seemed more like a dance. Chichi was fluid in her strikes, but Pan's movements would change almost instantly any time her grandmother changed styles. The way her body could twist and contort to avoid even the most point black of attacks. The only way she could describe these moments was "beautiful."

Pan nodded with a smile as she thought about the first blow she had landed on Vegeta the day before. He hadn't expected her to retaliate. He hadn't expected a few more of her other attacks throughout the day either. She wasn't the only one that took a beating the day before.

Capsule Corporation rose up in the distance as the two began their descent. Landing softly at the front door, Pan typed in the security code and helped Chichi down off the Nimbus as the doors slid open. Walking into the living room, they met with a smiling Bulma sitting on the couch with coffee waiting.

"Sit down, guys. Tell me all about your morning," Bulma said as she poured a few cups.

"Oh Bulma, I'm much more curious about what you've been up to since the last time we talked. Is it almost ready?" Chichi came forward and sat next to her long time friend.

"Two weeks at the most, and so far its coming along much easier than I anticipated." Bulma crossed her legs as she sipped her steaming cup.

"Grandma, while you and Miss Bulma catch up, would you mind if I went and had a word with Vegeta?" Pan's smile was all she needed.

"Go ahead sweetheart, and don't forget what I said on the way over." She waved the girl on, noticing the bounce in her step as she headed off.

Pan could hear the older women giggling as she stepped out the back door. It was good to see her grandmother so energetic and happy.