Disclaimer: I do not own any of the following Dragonball character's written in the fan fiction,nor the production of any merchandise of Dragonball.

Title: "Family that once was ,is no more."

Chapter One: The life and people I've come to know.

Part one: Along the streets of Satan city she walked what for what seemed like hours. Transportation was available, only the money wasn't.

People passed her by, pushing and shoving her this way and that. She was compelled to push back, but kept her focus on getting home to her child, before it got to late. She thought about her daughter, she was someone who wanted to spend every waking moment with her .But Pan had to work so that her child, if not her, could at least be well fed and clothed.

She also thought back to the days where situations like these wouldn't be a problem, or more well put , were never a problem. But she gave all that up. Pan gave all that up for her child's image but more importantly her future.

Pan fought so very hard those first four months of her child's life, fighting so that her child wouldn't be taken away from her. And would never be branded as a unwanted child who came about as accidental. Those thoughts were with her every single day, and she was mistaken when she thought she had placed them in the back of her mind...with her family.

She pulled out her keys as she approached her home, but her fingers were so cold she dropped the keys in the snow. Tired and weak she knelt slowly to the snow and searched around trying to get a feel of the cold metal keys.

Finally her hand ran across the cold metal which on touch made her shutter. Pan recovered them from the floor, gripping them this time with both hands to prevent losing them again. She walked up the to the large metal door with dark tinted glass and slowly gripped the handle.

She placed her keys in the pocket of her light brown coat which stopped at her knees. And began to rub her hands together quickly to get rid of the numbness cause by the cold air. Gripping the door handle once more she placed the key in the lock and turned it clockwise. Suddenly a small beep sounded letting it be known the door had been opened.

Pan entered the dark apartment complex and slowly turned back to the door to join it with it's frame. She felt someone behind her. Fearing the person might have intentions other than exiting the apartment, she quickly unlocked the door once more to act as if she was leaving.

"You really don't stop do you?, you just got in and your going out again?" Asked the figure behind her. She sighed a very relaxed sigh as she recognized the person's voice.

"One of these days your going to give this old woman a heart attack." Pan said smiling at the person.

"Old? Jeez if your an old woman, my wife must be ancient." Said the man.

Pan smiled a bit. "This is the first time I've seen you on a Friday , what are you changing hours around on me?" Pan joked.

"I asked the company for an extra shift, Monday to Thursday isn't paying the bills that well anymore." The security guard sighed.

"I hear you, I just finished my overtime, any more hours on the clock and I'd barely have time to see my little one at all. " Pan said remembering her own problems.

"Well what are you going to do, you know? It's better to barely get by then not at all ." Pan stated starting to head towards the elevator .

"Get some rest Pan, tell the little person smile for me next time." The security guard said as she boarded the elevator.

"I'll tell her, goodnight Eric." Pan said just as the doors closed.

Eric's smile faded as Pan moved out of sight.

"So young having to carry such a huge responsibility, it doesn't seem fair." Eric said exiting through the maintenance room to finish making his rounds.

The elevator stopped and reached the tenth floor. The young mother ever so slowly made her way to her apartment. She had put on her best smile in front of the security guard just to keep him from worrying, which is common for just about everybody she meets. She was hurting so much inside and out.

Pan thoughts drove her wild at times. To her, her situation was never going to change. Her options were limited, some not even considerable. Though she had one very little in size, but large incentive to keep faith and herself alive .She finally reached her door.

"10h.." She uttered as she knocked three times.

She braced herself for was what about to take place. The knob turned quickly and that was the last thing she saw.

"MOMMY!" Screamed a young lavender haired girl as she leapt on to Pan knocking her to a kneeling position.

"I'm glad to see you too baby ,but mommy can't hug you when you pressed against mommy's chest like that." Pan said weakly smiling.

"Sorry..." The girl said a little sadden as Pan got up.

"Ah don't worry baby I'm not hurt...much... I forgot how strong you are, but I don't know how much more this mommy can take." Pan said giving a quick smile.

"Come on lets go inside and you tell me about your day with auntie Erasa ok?" Pan said taking her daughter by the hand.

"Ok...mama?" The girl asked in a low tone. Pan stop and looked back.

"Yeah Nikita?" Pan asked.

"I thought--" Nikita started.

"What? what's wrong?." Pan said with a note of concern in her voice.

"I thought about what you told me, last night, about one day I when I wouldn't see you again"

"Nikita I--"

"About not coming back--I thought this time you weren't!" The young girl said flying into her mother nuzzling against her and squeezing her tight.

Pan began to shed tears as she heard her daughter's sweet voice utter those words and began to speak.

"I just had to work a little later than I normally do. I'm sorry I worried you, and Mommy isn't going anywhere to she can't come back from, not while I still have you...ok sweetie? Forget about what Mommy said mommy was being stupid ." Pan said picking up her daughter and kissing her on the cheek. She then carried her inside.

"Hey Erasa I'm back..." Pan called out searching the living room for her roommate as she put her daughter down.

"She's in the shower mommy." Nikita said making her way on to the floor in front of the television.

"Oh really... and what have you been doing all day my little angel?" Pan stated pulling off heavy garments of clothing she had worn all day due to the cold snowy weather.

"I was drawing you a picture mommy!" Nikita said leaping off the floor to the table and picked up a colorful drawing.

"See mama?" The girl held the drawing proudly.

"I see baby but uh... what is it?" Pan said a little confused starring at the jumbled drawing.

"See over here is you, me and auntie Erasa." The young girl stated excitedly.

"Oh yeah now I see it, but Nikita, who's the person standing next to you?" Pan asked knowing their where only two people Nikita including in her drawing's other than her self. Her and her roommate Erasa.

"That's my new friend mommy." The girl stated happily.

Pan kneeled down and stared at her daughter with concern.

"Nikita what new friend? and does auntie Erasa know about this? why don't people tell me these things?" Pan asked obviously worried that someone had been associating with her daughter without her consent.

"I don't know his name mommy but he's always in my dreams and he's really nice too. He take's me flying with him and everything. I already told auntie." The girl stated mimicking an airplane.

Pan sighed.

"Oh thank god Nikita I thought it was an actual person, but if its only in your dreams than I guess there's no harm in that. Well now my little airplane your scheduled for a landing at B.E.D interroom airport so off you go." Pan stated signaling to her daughter who was now circling the room as an airplane.

"Whoa...easy there you little 747 you might hit something." A young blonde woman stated passing by Nikita patting her on the head.

"Hey Pan, you kind a had me worried there for a minute, I thought something had happened on your way home." The young woman said taking a seat next to pan.

"Oh...Erasa I'm sorry it's just taking a little longer to get home now a days and overtime isn't making it any better either .I just don't have the energy to move any quicker I guess. All I want to do now is take a nice hot shower then put Niki to bed." Pan said resting her head on the wooden table.

"You go on Pan I'll get her to bed." Erasa said getting up.

"Oh I really don't know what I'd do without you Erasa." Pan said leaning over embracing her friend.

"Come on Pan you know how I care for you and the twin engine over there." She said pointing out to Nikita who began too slow down a bit on her rotations.

"Hey Niki time for bed." Erasa called out to Nikita while walking in the bedroom.

"Coming...mommy are your going to watch cartoons with me tomorrow?" Nikita asked hopefully.

Pan smiled a little bit. "Maybe, I'm not promising anything because it's kind of early, but maybe okay?" Pan said kissing Nikita on the forehead.

"Now off to bed." Pan ordered.

Nikita dashed off to bed.

"Now let's see if I can do a little self healing." The exhausted mother said heading for the shower.

Pan shredded the remaining garments from her body. She stood in front of a long mirror noticing herself and how different she appears from what she actually remembers her self as.

She smiled "It's weird I have no idea where all this came from, I use to be such a tiny little thing its hard to believe." She said then turning and stepping into the shower.

The warm water made her tense muscle's relax. She stared at the water escaping the shower head. Soon her thoughts began to drift to places other than the shower.

"Grandpa..." She thought almost out loud.

"He would have understood...he would have made them all understand. But I guess I was meant to be without family in the long run of life." Pan spoke leaning against the glass door of the shower.

"Five years ago... it seems so much longer now, it'll be six in two months..." Glancing over at the at wall clock She soon realize how long she'd been in the shower and quickly turned off the water and dried herself. She exited the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her. The air outside of the bathroom was cold so she quickly dashed to her room.

Once there she slipped into some warm clothes then quietly made her way to Erasa's room to check on her daughter. She found Erasa exiting her room being as quiet as possible.

"She's out cold...but I'm not taking any chances." Erasa stated.

"Erasa, can we talk a minute in the living room?" Pan signaled to the left .

"Okay..." She said as they both left the hall way quietly. Erasa took a seat on the couch with Pan sitting opposite of it.

"Erasa, what I wanted to talk to you about is Nikita." Pan started.

"Oh did Nikita go into my stuff again? I swear Pan I didn't want her to see-- ." Erasa said apologizing.

"Wait--no it's not that… has Nikita talked to you about a man in her dreams?" Pan asked.

"Whoa Pan, don't you think Nikita's a bit young to be thinking about boys?" Erasa pointed out.

"No not like that you goof, I mean in general just someone in her dreams?" Pan explained.

"Well she was telling me about the guy she drew in the picture and that he's a nice person, etc. But I figured since Nikita didn't have any real friends she probably made this one up. I wouldn't blame her." She said staring at the ceiling.

."Oh... Erasa maybe she did make up this imaginary friend...but is it because I don't spend enough time with her?" Pan asked her friend and by the expression posted on her face she was taking this seriously.

Erasa knew how Pan felt, well in a way. She knew the only time Pan spent with her daughter was in the morning before she left for work and a little over an hour and a half when she got home in the evening. Even if on Saturdays when she didn't work Pan was too tired from the day before to even get up from bed.

"Pan...I don't know what to tell you, I mean Nikita's healthy thank god ,but the truth is you can't afford to spend more time than you already have with her .I mean I go to work and leave Nikita with Mrs. Avalon and I look at her eye's and see how unhappy she is but--" Erasa was about to finish until Pan spoke.

"But unless we want to keep her healthy and keep a roof over our heads it has to be this way right?" Pan said softly. Erasa nodded.

"Erasa I'm just worried that when Niki's grown she'll hate me for it. This is not the mother I wanted to be." The raven haired mother said almost shedding tears.

"Hey hold on Pan, where did you get it in your head that Niki's not realizing the position were in? she knows if we don't work we'll have no home or food." Erasa said moving over to her friend's side.

"I know she knows the reason why but it just the way all kids are they need more than just a home and to be healthy to make them happy. They need friends their own age to be with and if not that just to spend quality time with someone." Pan said staring into her friend's eye's.

"So what do you think we should do Pan? you know the only way you can do what's best for Nikita is to have your family involved or eventually find someone who'll love and support you and Nikita." Erasa said stating the truth.

"Erasa I made a promise to myself that I would never look back and I'm keeping it. And as for finding someone, I'm just to afraid he'll leave me like Nikita's father did." Pan said in doubt.

"Pan if you keep thinking like that I'm sure you'll wont find anyone and eventually drive yourself to the point where you wont recover." Erasa expressed.

"I don't know how you can stand knowing you have a family and not wanting any part of them." Erasa said expressing her own opinions.

"It's easy when that family wants no part of you." Pan stated.

Erasa was silent.

"I never wanted this life you know... everything I held vanished in mere days I'm the only family she'll ever know because I'm the only person who gives a fuck." Pan assured her.

"But if something does take an awful twist, I would like Nikita too at least remember me as a mom who tried to make her happy at least once." Pan stated.

"What are you suggesting?" Erasa asked.

"Tomorrow it us and Nikita...I was thinking we'd go too the park so Niki could get to know some other kids in the area ,and have fun in the snow. I would like her to experience for the first time what it feels like to just let go and be a kid, happy and carefree." Pan said smiling.

"Alright but how do you feel physically Pan? It isn't wise to push your self to hard." Erasa said concerned for her friend's health.

"I'm a little sore but I think the bath helped somewhat, and with a goodnights rest we just might be able to pull it off tomorrow." Pan said content resting her head on Erasa lap.

"Yeah...just maybe." Pan said as her eyes began to close.

"Come on Pan let's get you to bed." Erasa stated helping her sleepy friend off the couch and off to bed.

"Niki's sleeping with you tonight?" Pan asked walking down the hall next to Erasa.

"Yeah this way you'll be able to sleep more comfortable tonight and you wont have to worry about the Pele accidentally kicking you again." Erasa said opening the door to Pan's room.

"Thanks." Pan said leaning her head on Erasa shoulder.

"You know I love you Pan, your my family now and I have got to look out for you." Erasa said kissing pan on the cheek.

Pan laid down as Erasa draped the blanket over her.

"Thanks..." Pan muttered as her eyes began to close.

"I couldn't imagine losing the only family I have really known." Erasa said at the door, then turned the lights out and disappeared down the hall.

"Family...that's what I want." Pan said drifting off too sleep.