Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Crossed Paths ❯ Saying Goodbye ( Chapter 11 )

PAIRING: Hints of Bulma/Vegeta, and....  well, I hope you've figured it out by now. ^_^
RATING: PG so far. But that will change.
WARNINGS: None yet
DISCLAIMER: Neither of us owns any of the DBZ characters, but we both wish we owned Vegeta. (We do own Vegeta action figures. Does that count?) These characters are owned by Toei, Viz, Akira Toriyama, and FUNimation, even though the last one is a crying shame. We do own what we've written here, and our specific storyline, just not Dragonball itself. We make no money off of any of these guys, nor off this fic.
SUMMARY: What might have happened if Nappa had been the one sent to Chikyuu to destroy it, rather than Radditz? What might have changed? And how might Vegeta and Radditz have reacted afterwards?
CHAPTER SUMMARY: Goku gets a chance to say goodbye to a few people.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: I don't have a beta anymore and I wish I did. Unfortunately since I'm no longer active in the DBZ fanfic community I don't know anyone who would be willing to beta. (shrugs) So no acknowledgements, except to thank my friend ZabJade for input occasionally when I needed it on this.
NOTES: Heh. Forgot I left everyone on a cliffhanger, didn't I? (sweatdrop) Um... sorry about that. ^_^; Well, here's the continuation, anyway.

Vegeta glared at the door through which Radditz had just exited. It was several minutes before he felt he might be able to leave the room without attempting to hunt down and kill the other Saiyajin. Despite Radditz' insubordinate behavior, his words rang a bit too close to the truth.

In the past Vegeta had shared lovers with Radditz; it had never once been an issue, as Vegeta had never wanted to form any lasting attachments. But for some reason the prince could not comprehend he did not want the other man touching Bulma. Vegeta frowned as he walked down the hall a few minutes later, wondering about his sudden possessiveness of a female he had just met.

It was puzzling and alarming, this surge of desire that seemed to fill him whenever he was in the same room as the woman; more alarming was how uncontrollable it was. Perhaps it had something to do with her mannerisms. Though Bulma was not Saiyajin, she seemed as brave as one of the women of their race. It could also be her bizarre coloring. No Saiyajin in the universe had ever had her teal-colored hair and sapphire eyes. Whatever it was, it was distracting, and he wondered if he should be more concerned over it.

Without realizing it, Vegeta had wandered away from the storage room and found himself in unfamiliar terrain. As if he had been following his instincts he found himself looking into a room that could only be described as a lab. He looked around, surveying the room, committing its location to memory, when a movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. He turned his head and saw the woman who had so invaded his thoughts bent over a table intent on something in front of her, completely unaware of his presence.

With a smirk he approached, automatically wrapping both arms around her waist and pulling her back against his chest. "What are you playing with, woman?" he asked as her hands stilled in their task. He leaned forward so he could murmur into her ear, "I could give you something a little bigger to play with."

The heat that shot through Bulma as he pulled her against him almost consumed her. Her breath released in a gasp and she found herself fighting to draw another breath. She shivered, unable to pull away yet desperately wanting to get as far away from him as possible.

Her thoughts were conflicted. She had never felt anything like what she was feeling for this alien. He was overwhelming her, making her want things she had never dreamed of. Well, she had dreamed of them and had wanted them with Yamcha, but never like... this. Never this desire, this overwhelming urge to just throw everything away, to not care about the rest of the world.

Bulma shivered in his arms, her eyes closing in despair. Why couldn't she ignore her feelings? She had tried to but it was getting more and more difficult. His presence was just so... demanding. She wasn't even sure she wanted to evade it any longer.

"Why do you do this to me?" she whispered. "Why do you torment me? Why can't you leave me alone?!?"

Vegeta smiled against her neck. ::That's it, give in. I swear you will enjoy every minute of it.::

"You may tell me to leave you alone," he blew against her ear and smirked again as she shivered, "but your body tells me other things. Why fight it?"

She whimpered softly. The feelings he was causing were making her helpless in his thrall. She desperately wanted to escape him, but somehow she couldn't anymore. "Please, please leave me alone. You don't like me. You can't respect me. You can't possibly want to do more than use me. I don't want to be used...."

"What makes you think I don't respect you?" he asked, letting his voice become deeper, more sensual. "You have a lot to learn about Saiyajin."

Bulma gasped again, and shivered as one of his hands slid up her neck, brushing her hair to one side, allowing his mouth access to her bare skin. "You don't," she whispered. "You mock me, you ridicule me, you treat me like a servant. How can you say you respect me?"

She half-heartedly tried to pull away from him, even knowing the effort was futile. If he didn't want to release her then no matter how hard she struggled she wouldn't be able to get away. And to her self-disgust she wasn't even sure if she wanted to.

"I am royalty, woman," he replied as he trailed kisses down her neck and then paused to suck the skin, fully intending to leave a mark. "I ridicule and mock everyone." He blew gently on the spot he had been working on and then moved back in the other direction, licking and nipping all the way to her ear. "Should I treat you differently?"

"Shouldn't you?" Bulma's voice was barely a whisper - she couldn't draw enough energy to make her voice more audible. She was no longer struggling but simply trying to keep her legs from collapsing under her. "You don't respect anyone. If you treat me no differently then it proves you don't respect me. And I won't..." Her eyes opened with another startled gasp as one of his hands slid up her ribcage, cupping the underside of her breast. "I won't be treated like a common slut!"

"There is nothing common about you," he replied, content to nuzzle her ear. "What was it Radditz called you? Ah yes - Chikyuu-jin Princess. And you play that very well." He pulled her closer to him as he tilted her head the other way so he could lavish attention to the side of her neck. "You can't deny you are enjoying this," he murmured.

"I'm not." Vegeta's hand slid up, cupping her breast fully, and Bulma felt her face grow hot with embarrassment. "I'm not enjoying it at all. Let me go. I am not a slut! Stop treating me like one!"

With a sudden surge of energy, Bulma pulled away from him, then spun around and glared at him, her face flushed and her chest heaving. She felt like crying but managed to hide it. "Stop this! Stop treating me like this! I won't be used like this! Please, stop!"

"Who says I am going to use you, woman?" he asked, feeling more than a little frustrated that she had pulled away from him. "I suppose I need to prove to you that I am not using you. That was part of your challenge to me, was it not?"

Bulma was just as frustrated as Vegeta. "I never challenged you!" she shouted at him, feeling exasperated. "I don't understand you at all! I never asked you to 'prove' yourself, all I want is for you to treat me like a person!"

"You challenged me earlier, woman." He arched an eyebrow at her. "Don't you remember our conversation?" He felt the corner of his mouth twitch up as she began to flush. "Believe me, if you were not a person then I would not be interested."

"I DIDN'T CHALLENGE YOU, DAMMIT!" she shouted, dragging her hands through her hair and then throwing them in the air. "I don't understand you! You seem to think I've given you some sort of 'challenge', and if you win it, you win me, or something! I'm not a prize to be won! Stop treating me like one!"

"You did challenge me, woman. And I will win." Vegeta cocked his head to the side, eyeing her thoughtfully. "And you are wrong about being a prize. The men on this planet must be blind not to fight for you." It was the expression on her face that made him realize he had said the thought out loud, and he cursed himself inwardly for letting that information slip.

"You... you... you... monkey butt!" Bulma shouted, then spun around and stormed towards the door. She was furious beyond belief. What did he mean she was a prize? She was a person, not an object to be fought for! She couldn't understand this Saiyajin Prince and couldn't believe how frustrated it made her. Why couldn't he treat her like a person? Why did he have to treat her as though she were inferior to him? She wanted to slap him, she wanted to scream at him, she wanted to cry, but she knew that none of it would do any good. All she could do was leave and hope she could regain some of her composure by herself.

Vegeta cursed under his breath and strode over to her, grabbing her wrist and spinning her around to face him. "BAKA!" he snapped at her. "That was a compliment, not an insult." He found himself gazing into those azure depths, watching as her emotions played themselves out for him to see.

Without thinking, he let go of her wrist, wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her in against his chest once again. His free hand he brought to her face, lifting her chin up. Careful not to startle her, he brushed his mouth lightly against hers, teasing himself with her taste before he brushed them over hers once again, waiting to see what kind of reaction he would get.

The tingle she felt when his lips touched hers startled her, freezing her and making her unable to react. Unconsciously her hands moved to his upper arms as though to push him away, but instead gripped his biceps tightly. She made a soft, incoherent sound in her throat and swayed closer to him without realizing it.

Her soft moan was all the encouragement Vegeta needed. He deepened the kiss, making it more demanding. His fingers traced her jaw before settling back into her hair, forcing her head back so he could change the angle of the kiss. He ran his tongue along her bottom lip, sucking on it gently before slipping his tongue inside her mouth. Vegeta couldn't help the low growl in the back of his throat when he felt her tentatively touch his tongue with the tip of her own.

The fingers that had wound themselves in her hair now drifted down her back as their tongues continued to battle. He let go of her waist, never breaking the kiss, as his hands settled on her hips and pulled her forward against his groin. He growled again as she arched into him, and he pulled his mouth away from hers to trail hot kisses down her throat as he ground his hips against hers.

Bulma had never kissed a man the way Vegeta was kissing her. She had never felt this way, with this burning, tingling feeling all throughout her body. There was a strange warm sensation in the pit of her stomach - and slightly lower - that she had never felt this strongly before. She shivered in Vegeta's embrace, closing her eyes as he rained burning kisses down his throat. She vaguely felt his fingers fumbling at the buttons on her blouse but no longer cared. Her own hands ran a path down his back and she traced the hard, sculpted muscles sensuously.

Yamcha ran down the hall, more worried than he wanted to admit. If Vegeta had hurt Bulma he wasn't sure whether or not he could beat him, but he was going to try his damnedest. When they finally reached the lab the three of them burst in.

"Bulma are you..." Yamcha's mouth snapped open, jaw hanging agape at the scene in front of them. There was Bulma, head thrown back, sighing in pleasure as Vegeta trailed kisses down her throat. And from where he stood Yamcha could just make out the beginnings of several bruises along her neck.

::I AM NOT SEEING THIS! I AM NOT SEEING THIS!:: No matter how many times he chanted this litany to himself, his mind did not want to comprehend the fact that Bulma seemed to be a willing participant in this. It was not until his eyes met those of an angry Saiyajin Prince that he snapped back to himself. Kuririn stared at the scene, just as dumbfounded and unable to register it as Yamcha.

"Get. Out. Now!"

The two humans had never heard such malice in someone's voice before, and judging by the furious expression on his features they decided it was in their best interests to do as they were told. Without saying a word Yamcha grabbed Kuririn by the wrist and hauled him out the door.

Radditz arrived just as the two humans shot out of the room. Curious what had them so panicked, Radditz entered and was surprised to see his monarch and the human woman in a rather passionate embrace. He noted they were both still fully clothed so obviously nothing had happened yet. But from the look on the woman's face Radditz didn't think that would be true for very long. He felt a strange, disturbing concern for both of the beings in front of him. He had sensed the attraction between them but had no idea it was this strong.

He had the strangest sensation that if they moved too fast it might be disastrous. He realized guiltily that he had almost pushed Vegeta into this, but then again, had he? He wanted Vegeta to admit he had more feelings than simple lust for the woman and he wasn't sure his prince realized it yet. Until Vegeta recognized his own feelings towards the human female, Radditz suspected things should go a little more slowly than Vegeta was allowing. Then again, the Saiyajin Prince wasn't known for his patience, and Radditz didn't think that was going to change overnight.

Radditz cleared his throat, catching their attention, and gave Vegeta a roguish grin when the smaller Saiyajin looked up at him, glaring furiously.

::Of all the times to interrupt!:: Vegeta swore under his breath, then glared death at Radditz. "Do you want something? I am a bit busy here!" he snapped at the larger man.

"I can see that," Radditz replied, still grinning unrepentantly. "But are you so sure this is a good idea?"

Even in her half-dazed state Bulma had been vaguely aware of the various arrivals. She felt shame and mortification that her friends would have seen her in such a compromising position, but was still too drugged by Vegeta's presence to pull away. It wasn't until she heard Radditz' voice and realized the other Saiyajin had seen them that it felt like a bucket of ice water had been dumped over her. She tore away from Vegeta's embrace, staring at him helplessly for several long seconds. Then with a cry of dismay and a look of panic on her face she ran out of the lab. She didn't run anywhere in particular, she simply ran, to get as far away from the two Saiyajin as she could.

Because she was in so much of a hurry she missed the sympathetic glance Radditz shot her as she ran past him. It almost instantly shifted back into his usual mocking grin as he turned his face back towards Vegeta. He knew he would pay for this, but at this point he really didn't care. He only knew he had the feeling, as he sometimes did, that if things had continued as they had been disaster would have been the outcome.

"You are interfering again." Vegeta's eyes narrowed on Radditz, very much temped to beat him to death, to hell with the fact that they were the last of the Saiyajin. "I saw that look, Radditz. What game are you playing?" ::Damn it. I had her, I almost had her.:: "Is this another of your hunches?"

Radditz shrugged. He didn't really know how to explain it. He had never been able to describe the hunches he got; he had simply learned to trust them. And in the past twenty or so years so had the other two Saiyajin, the only ones with whom Radditz had ever shared them.

"I do not think you should be pushing her that hard, Vegeta-sama," Radditz said simply. "Or did you not notice she is still untouched?"

Vegeta's eyes narrowed on the other man. Vegeta had not even considered that possibility. Was it possible for a woman her age to never have had a lover? But as he toyed around with the idea in his mind, it seemed more than likely Radditz was right. There was an uncertainty in her reactions when he touched her. He knew she had enjoyed it, but the hesitance in her responses should have clued him in about her lack of experience.

This thought had the Saiyajin prince scowling angrily. How could he not have noticed? His senses had never failed him before; what was it about the tiny female that had him reacting merely on instinct?

"I had not noticed. Thank you for that enlightening piece of information," Vegeta replied sarcastically.

Radditz arched a brow, not reassured that Vegeta would react with appropriate caution. He was not, however, in a position to press his views, no matter how reasonable they were. He had neither the rank nor the power to force Vegeta into anything, and the prince was stubborn almost to the point of idiocy on occasion. Radditz could only hope this would not be one of those occasions.

"I am as ever at your disposal, Your Highness," Radditz said mockingly, giving a deep bow. Radditz saw Vegeta's scowl and grinned. Both men were aware that by bowing in that manner Radditz wasn't showing respect; he was merely teasing the smaller Saiyajin. Saiyajin never bowed as a sign of respect. They either knelt if in the presence of their own royalty, or - when in the presence of another respected warrior - gave a warrior's salute.

But Radditz had never learned to repress his sarcastic sense of humor. It was something in his nature that had gotten him into trouble far too many times. Fortunately only Saiyajin knew it was mockery; for most races bowing was a sign of respect, so even when Radditz, Vegeta, and Nappa were mocking them they never realized it.

Vegeta rolled his eyes in annoyance. One of the only problems he had with Radditz was that though the larger Saiyajin had a tendency to be extremely trying and downright insubordinate at times, Vegeta actually liked the older man's company. The Saiyajin Prince would never admit to anyone how much he depended on Radditz' sixth sense or his warped sense of humor.

"I bet," Vegeta muttered. "Did you find what I sent you for, or were you too busy annoying the humans?"

"I can have my fun and still accomplish what I'm sent to do," Radditz replied with a shrug. "They showed me which of those little pills is the training room. I do not know if there is more than one of them. We can get the humans to show us more and then we can find them for ourselves. We need to learn their language."

"We need to learn a few things about these humans, Radditz. Their language is simply one of them." Vegeta pinched the bridge of his nose in irritation. ::Kuso.:: He cursed his apparent misfortune. Just when he seemed to be making progress with the human female her so-called 'protectors' came to her rescue.

Vegeta was willing to bet she was going to be ten times harder to get near and even more wary of him than she had been before. But the upside to the situation was that with her inexperience he should be able to overwhelm her with sensations; just a few minutes earlier he had proven she wasn't as unaffected as she claimed. Bulma reacted to his touch with a passion unmatched in any female that had ever caught his interest. There was a fire in her she had managed to stifle but one that Vegeta had been very much aware of as he had held her in his embrace. Once something like that had been ignited he knew it would be very hard to extinguish.

Vegeta smirked to himself, knowing part of the fun of winning Bulma would be the chase, getting her to surrender, to submit to his dominance where these matters were concerned. He was sure the rewards would be well worth the time.

"Come, Radditz. We will spar a bit while we wait for Kakarotto to return." He moved towards the door and looked over his shoulder to smirk back at his companion. "Then you can go and torment that human male of yours." Vegeta had noticed Radditz had taken an interest in Yamcha and decided for once to tease the other man about it. "Maybe he will actually teach you a thing a two."

Radditz arched a brow as he followed Vegeta back to the capsule room. Radditz didn't take Vegeta's mocking statement too seriously. "I doubt it," he said dryly. "That one is as inexperienced as your female. Both with females and males, I'd warrant."

Vegeta chuckled darkly. "Then I would say you have your work cut out for you. That is, if he even likes males."

"Oh, he does," Radditz murmured thoughtfully. "He does. I'm just not sure if that sort of thing is forbidden with the natives here. He seems... reluctant, and not because he isn't interested."

"Then why don't you ask him?" Vegeta arched a brow at the other man, surprised at the light tone of the conversation. He very rarely discussed anything other than military matters, so it was something of a shock to find himself talking about such things. "I am sure you would probably render him speechless."

Radditz grinned back at Vegeta. "I already have," he replied, a twinkle in his eye. Then his smile quickly faded to a frown. "That's the problem. I can smell his interest but he refuses to show it. He's got it suppressed, making me think that his people don't allow it."

He growled, frustrated, then his eyes narrowed on Vegeta. The smaller man had never indulged in pairings with other males. Once or twice he had allowed a male to express interest in him, but most of the time he gave off such an icy exterior most other warriors simply let him be. He had only indulged in sexual relations with females and even then very rarely; just enough to release his tensions and to obey Freeza's commands when he was ordered to.

Radditz suspected that Freeza's... attentions to the smaller Saiyajin probably had much to do with that. The knowledge of what Vegeta had endured from Freeza - particularly when he had been a child and unable to defend himself adequately - made the larger Saiyajin sick. There had been absolutely nothing he could have ever done about it, however. Vegeta had already been Freeza's plaything before Radditz had been 'rescued', and Radditz' power would never have been strong enough to fight him anyway.

Radditz knew Nappa had been aware of the situation as well, but like himself had been powerless. What could either have them done against someone whose power level dwarfed theirs the way they dwarfed an insect's? Both of them had been forced to rein in their tempers and to hope that someday the three of them would be strong enough to destroy Freeza and avenge Vegeta's pain.

"These humans are more hassle than they're worth," he muttered, not realizing he was speaking aloud.

Vegeta arched a brow at the larger man. "Oh? Is that so?" When the other man looked down at him Vegeta couldn't help but smirk at him. "I don't know," he said thoughtfully. "There are benefits to this current situation."

"Like what?" Radditz growled irritably. "These humans are weak emotionally and physically and they are afraid to be with someone they're attracted to. What benefit could that possibly have? I don't want to smell his arousal this whole trip and be unable to do anything about it!"

Vegeta's smirk continued to widen. "Then do something about it, baka. " He took in Radditz' irritated expression and managed to hold in a chuckle, arching a brow questioningly. "Get him to challenge you. Humans seem to have this thing about respect."

"Challenge me? Feh." Radditz waved a hand dismissively, then crossed his arms over his chest. "These humans, they don't understand what that means. It will only serve to increase my hunger and he'll still be oblivious. No, we have to find out what their stupid customs are about this. Like I had to do with that female on Rudazar. It's better to make them hunger for us, not the other way around. That means finding out what they desire," his eyes narrowed, "and doing it."

Vegeta regarded Radditz with an expression of confusion gradually changing to enlightenment, pausing as they reached the door of the training room that had yet to be re-encapsulated. "Then you want him to approach you? What a novel idea."

"I want... no. Yes. I don't know. I want him willing, but it has to be on his terms or he won't come to me. Just like..." Radditz gazed at Vegeta, his own mouth quirking up into a smirk. "Just like your little female isn't going to go to you willingly unless you do it on her terms. She's a feisty one, isn't she? Vegeta, if I thought you might be willing to share I might even give you some competition for her."

The two Saiyajin entered the training room and glanced around at the controls. Radditz glared at their foreign markings. "Other than being made of something that's difficult for us to damage, I'm not sure the benefit of this training room. If it has any special features the two humans didn't show them to me. We need to learn their language!" he growled in frustration.

"Yes we do." Vegeta nodded in agreement. "It is rather annoying to have to rely on them for everything. But that can wait until later. We have others things to attend to. Do you suppose this place is reinforced?" he asked rather offhandedly as he began gathering in his ki. Without warning, he threw the small blue ki ball right at Radditz. It would not do any damage to the other man; Vegeta was simply signaling the end of the conversation and the start of the match.

Gohan shifted on his father's shoulders where Goku had set him. He smiled, suddenly remembering happier times when his father had carried him around this same way. He was surprised to find himself feeling nostalgic, something that had never happened before in his short life. He felt a vague, wistful pang for his own lost childhood, at being forced to grow up so quickly by Piccolo. But at the same time he was just a five-year-old boy with a young child's dreams and desires. Above all he wanted the love and approval of his parents. He wanted his mother to hug him and kiss him and tell him he was a good boy, and for his father to hug him and carry him and protect him from all harm. He had missed that, this past year, but now - even if only for a few hours - he would have that once again.

The two of them took off for home and he held onto his father's neck, allowing Goku to do the flying. He was well able to fly himself, but being carried by his father again reminded him of when he had been little and he was happy to just be a child again, pretending he had no other cares in the world.

As the round little house - so comforting in its familiarity - appeared in the distance, Gohan almost felt himself starting to cry. He had missed his mother so much this past year! And now he was home and he would get to see her again! He could barely contain his eagerness as his father set down on the ground outside the door, and he slid off his father's back, eagerly running towards the door.

Goku smiled at his son's enthusiasm. He understood all too well what it was like to be away from your loved ones for too long. He was no stranger to the longing that had filled him when Bulma had mentioned going home to say goodbye to Chi-Chi. Yet part of him had hesitated. He had thought of going home long before the subject had even been brought up but had not voiced his desire out loud, for he had sensed it would have been refused by Vegeta. And that instinct had been correct.

He sighed as he rounded the corner of his house, wishing he had the charm Yamcha always seemed to have with members of the opposite sex. He wished he knew what to say to Chi-Chi when he saw her. He paused as he stepped through the kitchen door, then brushed himself off and ran a hand through his hair to regain some semblance of neatness. Chi-Chi would not like the fact that he was leaving right after returning. Nor would she appreciate that he was taking their son with them to fight someone they might not be able to defeat. He desperately wanted the conversation to go as well as it could.

Goku took a deep breath and plastered his normal cheerful smile on his face, then greeted Chi-Chi as if he had merely gone out to train and hadn't been dead for the past year. "Hi, Chi!" he greeted as she looked up from embracing Gohan. "You haven't changed a bit."

Chi-Chi looked up from where she held her son tightly in her grip, tears shimmering in her eyes. She had missed her son so much it had hurt, and she had been terrified for him every minute, not knowing if he were alive or dead. All the others had told her was that Gohan had been taken by Piccolo but they hadn't known where the two of them had gone. Nor had any of them even tried to find him. They had tried to convince her it was for the best - they would need Gohan in the coming battle and Piccolo would be the best one to train him - but Chi-Chi knew better. She knew they were just cowards, that they were simply afraid of the evil demon Piccolo and hadn't wanted to confront him. Chi-Chi would have been willing to do it herself, but she hadn't the slightest idea where to even begin looking and the others had refused to give her any help.

But as much as she had missed her son, her longing for her husband had bordered on desperation. The others had told her he had been killed, which had devastated her. They had reminded her that they could use the dragonballs to bring him back, but when in her joy she had demanded they do so they had refused, stating that he was being trained by someone in the Other World.

She didn't understand how that could be so. How could he train if he were dead? And why would it matter whom he trained with? If he needed training that badly why didn't he just train here where he could be with his family? Their explanations angered her; she didn't understand how they could be so callous and uncaring about her loneliness and grief. She wanted her family with her; they had been reft away so forcibly, leaving her alone and devastated, and the others had done nothing to help ease that grief.

"Goku-sa?" Chi-Chi tentatively queried in a hesitant voice. "Is that really you? Are you finally home again?" The tears she had been holding back finally spilled down her cheeks as joy began to suffuse her face. She released her son and launched herself towards her husband. "Goku-sa! You are back! Does that mean you have defeated those aliens and you are home to stay now?"

Goku arms automatically folded around his wife to hold her close. This was one of the many things he had missed over the past year. He could feel his wife's fingers clutching the cloth of his shirt as if she would never let go. He leaned forward, resting his forehead on the top of her head, then closed his eyes and breathed in deeply, savoring her scent. He had no idea when or even if he would return, so the warrior was content simply to hold her for a few moments before answering her.

"It is me, Chi," he said. "But no, we haven't defeated the aliens. I...." He paused when she shifted in his arms, lifting her head so that her eyes could meet his. "I am going to Namek and Gohan has to come with us."

If the Pope had announced his decision to become an atheist Chi-Chi couldn't have been more shocked. She stared at Goku unseeingly for several long seconds, her face completely white and her mouth open. He had just waved one hand in front of her face when she finally reacted.

"Goku! What do you mean you are going to Namek?!? I don't know where Namek is, but if you think you're dragging our baby boy off onto one of your dangerous quests you've got another thing coming! Our Gohan is supposed to be studying so he can be a scholar when he grows up. I don't even know where he's been this past year! Bulma told me that evil monster Piccolo kidnapped him for Kami knows what purposes! I'm surprised Gohan's even still alive! I was sure Piccolo was going to eat him for dinner!"

With that the woman suddenly bent down, kneeling in front of the little boy. She ran her fingers over his face and shoulders, as though reassuring herself he wasn't injured or mutilated. "Are you all right?" she asked him, her voice thick with worry.

Gohan nodded unhappily. He should have realized his mother would be worried about him. He had wanted to go home numerous times - especially at first - but after a while had grown to enjoy the training he had been getting under Piccolo. It had satisfied some deep yearning within him, a craving he had always had but had never consciously recognized.

"I'm all right, Mommy," he said, trying to sound comforting. "I've gotten really strong this past -"

Chi-Chi didn't let him finish, but looked at him in horror. "I don't want you to become strong!" she wailed. "I don't want you to grow up to become a useless fighter like your father! You're going to be a scholar; do you understand me? You can't miss any more studying or you'll never make it!"

Though Goku's expression remained carefully neutral, not betraying how much Chi-Chi's remark hurt him, he managed to speak quietly. "Chi-Chi, Gohan is coming with us. Even if you think I am nothing more than a worthless fighter, we need him. Otherwise there will not be an Earth for him to be a scholar on."

"What are you talking about, Goku?" Chi-Chi snapped irritably, looking up at him where she still knelt by Gohan with her hands on his shoulders. "What do you mean, there won't be an Earth for him to be on? The Earth is right here! Where else would it go?"

"The being we are going to fight is planning to wipe out all life on this planet and sell it." Goku's expression turned serious. "Any remaining people will be enslaved. I would not want that to happen to you or Gohan."

"Why does Gohan have to go?" Chi-Chi demanded, finally standing up again. She glared at her husband, her hands on her hips. "He's only a baby! He needs to study for his future!"

"If he doesn't go he will have no future." For the first time in his life Goku raised his voice to his wife. "And I know you don't want that for him, do you?"

Chi-Chi stared at him in shock. In the six years that they had been married, never once had Goku reproved her. She wasn't sure how to take it. How could he do that to her?

"Goku, you know how important Gohan's education is!" Chi-Chi insisted stubbornly. "The rest of the world doesn't need him to fight! He's only a little boy! Don't they have the rest of you and your worthless friends to do that? Why do you have to take my little boy off to such danger?" Tears welled up in Chi-Chi's eyes, even as she shouted at him. She felt frustrated and hurt that he would yell at her like this. How could he do that?

"We need as many fighters as we can get, worthless as they are." Goku's eyes narrowed on her. "He survived with Piccolo, didn't he? That proves he can take care of himself. We need him, and he is coming with us."

"But he's just a little boy! How could he possibly be of any use to you?" She was growing more desperate by the moment. There was something about how Goku was acting that seemed different to her, and it frightened her somehow.

"Our little boy is not entirely human. He is half-Saiyajin. And his ability to fight is why we need him." Goku sighed, looking uncharacteristically solemn. "If there was another way, don't you think I would have done it?"

Chi-Chi was startled. She hadn't realized that Goku knew about her demon heritage... then something he said sank in. "Wait a minute. A Saiyajin? Like that creature that killed you last year, and the ones Bulma and the others claimed was going to come and kill all of us?" Chi-Chi scoffed. "What are you saying? How could Gohan be one of them? Are you saying that I - "

"I am saying that I am one, Chi-Chi," Goku interrupted. "I was sent here as a baby to kill everything. But I hit my head and forgot. Nappa told me before I was killed. One of the Saiyajin that came here is my older brother. I..." He trailed off. "I believe him. So that would make Gohan half of what I am."

Chi-Chi stared at him disbelievingly. "You... you're saying you aren't human? What are you saying? Goku, you told me Gohan is your grandfather! How can you not be human?"

"My grandfather found me, Chi-Chi," Goku replied. "Gohan raised me as his own but had nothing to do with my birth. If you don't believe me ask Master Roshi. He and my grandfather were good friends. He could tell you the story if you want."

Chi-Chi was having difficulty grasping it and her own stubbornness wasn't allowing her to be reasonable at the moment. "Oh, Goku!" she wailed. "I can't believe you! You are dead for a year and then you come back and tell me you aren't human and that you're going somewhere to fight some monster and you're taking our baby boy with you! What am I supposed to think, Goku? Sometimes I wonder why you even married me!"

There was some part of her that believed what he was telling her, and another part of her that wanted to deny everything. She was trying desperately to keep Goku with her, to have some sense of normalcy. But ever since she had been told a year ago that Goku was dead and Gohan wouldn't be coming back for a while, she had felt that slipping away from her. Somehow, nothing was ever going to be normal for them again; they were doomed for danger and pain for the rest of their lives.

"I am sorry, Chi-Chi. But this has to be done. We will try to get back as fast as we can." Goku moved forward and cupped his wife's face in his hands. "I married you because I love you. Why else would I have married you?" He leaned forward, brushed his lips across his wife's, and pulled away. "Gohan, say goodbye to your mother. Then go and get some of your lessons so you don't fall too far behind."

Gohan stepped forward hesitantly. "I'm sorry, Mommy," he mumbled, sounding miserable. "I'll make sure I catch up on my studies when I get back. And I'll study while we're gone. I promise."

Chi-Chi's gaze shifted down to her son and she nodded mutely, too numb to make more of a response. As though it were enough Gohan shot upstairs to his room and began piling books and clothing into an enormous backpack. When he had packed a few changes of clothing and enough books to last someone a year, he headed back downstairs. He saw his father holding his mother in a tight embrace and he sighed in relief. Maybe things wouldn't be so terrible after all.

"I'm ready, Daddy," he said quietly, moving next to his father and looking up at him with a clear case of hero-worship.

"Take care, Chi-Chi. " Goku kissed her briefly once more and then ushered Gohan through the door. The warrior turned to look at his wife one last time, and smiled at her. "I promise we will take a vacation when I get back. Just the three of us. We will be back soon." And then he turned and joined Gohan outside.

Once outside, Goku smiled down at Gohan's sad face and caught his longing glance towards the house. "It'll be OK, Gohan," he said quietly, ruffling his hair, trying to reassure him. The little boy continued to look worried and Goku sighed. "All right. Why don't we go to Master Roshi's and see if he'll look after your mother while we're gone? Would that make you feel better?"

Gohan shot his father a surprised look, his eyes widening. He smiled suddenly, his face lighting up in relief. "Could we, Daddy? Then we'll know Mommy will be all right."

"Sure." Goku's eyes twinkled as he smiled down at his son. Gohan really was a good little boy - probably too good, he thought. Gohan was always so careful to please his mother - to please both of his parents, in fact - that Goku wondered if his own wants had been lost somehow. Chi-Chi wanted her son so desperately to be a scholar, and Gohan seemed to want the same thing, but was that only because Chi-Chi insisted on it? He wondered what Gohan's own mind would be if he were given a choice free of his mother's influence. He wondered if it would be possible to ever find out.

"Come on, then. We'll go see Master Roshi." The two of them flew off, Gohan shouldering his heavy pack, flying towards the tiny island that was the old turtle hermit's.

Goku was quiet as the two flew side by side to Master Roshi's island. He had a lot of thinking to do, and Goku really did not like to think. The warrior of Earth was a simple man, with very simple needs, but trying to figure out how to make things right between him and Chi-Chi again seemed to be beyond his comprehension.

Without realizing it, Goku sighed aloud. ::This trip will be good for one thing. It will take me at least a month to figure out how to apologize to Chi-Chi. I never yell at her.:: The more he thought about it, the more he realized he never really argued with her at all. He simply went along with her wishes, knowing that it was easier to agree with her than to disagree.

The pair landed at Roshi's island several minutes later. They found the martial arts master sound asleep in his hammock with a dirty magazine covering his face. Goku smiled when he heard his former teacher's loud snores and leaned down close to his ear to yell, "OLD MAN!!! WAKE UP!!!!!"

Roshi shot out of the hammock, his magazines flying everywhere and his eyes bugging out. "What? What is it? Where's the fire?" he shouted, looking around wildly. But when he saw that the only ones on the island were Goku and his son, his look of panic turned to a hot glare.

"Don't do that to an old man like me!" he shouted at the young man. "My heart can't take much more of that sort of thing! Are you trying to drive me to an early grave?"

Goku chuckled and placed his hand on the older man's shoulder. "I don't think so, old man. I think it would take more than that to kill you. After all, you used to be the strongest fighter in the world." Goku's eyes twinkled a bit as he watched his former teacher draw himself up at his student's praise. But before Roshi could comment, Goku interrupted him by continuing. "I have a favor to ask. Gohan and I are going to Namek. We will probably be gone for several months. Can you look after Chi-Chi for me?"

Roshi's eyes narrowed. If Goku had asked him to look after Ranchi or Bulma - or any other pretty girl - Roshi wouldn't have hesitated. But Chi-Chi was the only woman who gave him pause, who actually frightened him more than a little. He wouldn't dare try to do anything like peek under her skirts or try to peep when she was going to the bathroom, like he tried with Bulma and Ranchi all the time. She would never stand for it, and unlike the other two she might actually be able to hurt him.

"I don't know, Goku. I don't think she needs any looking after," he said dubiously. "And I don't think she'd want me comin' 'round, anyway. She doesn't really trust me much, I don't know why...."

Goku did not need to be a rocket scientist to figure out why Roshi did not want to look in on Chi-Chi. Granted she was hard to deal with, but if he tried anything naughty like he seemed to like to do with Bulma she would probably hit him over the head with a skillet. Goku knew how much that hurt.

"I know she doesn't really need it. But it would make me feel better if you would go over from time to time and see if she needs anything. I would consider it a big favor."

"How often do you mean, from time to time?" Roshi mumbled reluctantly. "If you're only going to be gone for a few months, I don't really know that it would be that big of a deal. Besides, she doesn't really like me all that much, you know." The last was said in a querulous tone, as though he couldn't understand how anyone could possibly object to his company.

"When you go to visit she will most likely feed you." Goku shrugged. "At least you will get a meal out of it."

"I'm not always thinking of my stomach like you are," Roshi muttered darkly. "I can do without the abuse that would come with the meal."

Goku looked at him beseechingly. "Please. I am asking you as a friend."

"All right." Roshi sighed reluctantly. "Although I'm letting you know that I do this under protest. I don't think she wants anything to do with me and I would prefer not to go there myself." He frowned at Goku. "But if you're so blamed determined for me to do it, I will. Just go and do whatever it is you're going to do!"

"Thank you!" Goku impulsively reached over and gave the old man a hug. "This means a lot to Gohan and me. I will feel better leaving if I know she is being looked after." Goku's face broke into an extremely large grin. "Do you know where Ranchi is?" At Roshi inquiring look, the younger man continued. "I think I'll have her look in on Chi-Chi, too. I also need to tell her about Tenshinhan."

"Tenshinhan?" Roshi blinked in surprise. "What about Tenshinhan? He's dead, he can't be doing anything with you, you know."

Gohan looked curiously at his father. He had no idea who Goku was talking about. Then he thought back on that one day a year ago, back when.... His mind shied from the fact that it had been the day his father had died. He didn't really remember much from that day, just that a lot of bad things had happened.

"Who's Tenshinhan? Who's Ranchi?" He looked up at his father expectantly.

"They are both friends of mine, Gohan," Goku said, placing his hand on his son's head as he smiled down at him. He lifted his gaze to Roshi's. "Ranchi still needs to be told, though. I bet no one thought to tell her that he was killed a year ago. We will try to bring him back again with the dragonballs."

Gohan blinked at his father. He vaguely remembered the disturbing image of Tenshinhan getting his arms ripped from his body, but the vision rose teasingly in his mind and then vanished instantly. He had been too young and innocent at the time and the image just didn't want to stay in his mind.

Roshi scratched his chin thoughtfully. "I don't know if anyone did," he agreed reluctantly. "They might have, but they had a lot of other things on their minds. I don't know if it occurred to anyone to say anything to her. They didn't really want to tell Chi-Chi you were dead and Gohan was missing, for that matter. Took Kuririn a month to finally get up the courage. Not that Chi-Chi hadn't already figured out something was wrong before that."

"We owe her that much at least. Especially after how she took care of us for all those years," Goku stated. He folded his arms across his chest and frowned. "I just don't know where she would be. The only way I can pick up her ki is if she is in unfriendly mode."

Goku turned his attention back to Roshi. "It may take me awhile to find her. And I don't have all that much time left. I suppose I need to get going. Come on, Gohan." Goku looked back at Roshi one last time before he prepared to leave. "Thanks again for looking in on Chi-Chi for me."

Roshi scratched his beard. "Well, she may be at Tenshinhan's old place in the mountains. You know, the one he used to share with Chaotzu. If you have time, you probably should go there and at least let her know what's going on. You're right, it would be the right thing to do, you know. I did teach you that, didn't I?"

"Thanks again." Goku gave the bald martial arts master a wave and a big grin before lifting off the ground and shooting off towards his old friend's place in the mountains. To Goku's surprise it did not require all that much time to get there. What was the real time consumer was finding Ranchi, telling her the story about Tenshinhan's death, and comforting her as a friend. Fortunately she wasn't in blonde mode so she didn't get violent with him when he told her.

As Goku had surmised, no one had told her about Tenshinhan's death a year earlier. It came as no surprise to him that she needed to mourn the loss. She did manage to extract a promise from Goku that if he could find a way he would bring her love back to life again. Ranchi also agreed to check in on Chi-Chi occasionally, telling Goku that it would be nice to see the other woman again.

An hour later Goku bid goodbye to a tearful Ranchi and found himself in a thoughtful mood as he and Gohan flew side by side. As a general rule, Goku did not like to think. He usually left that kind of thing to Bulma and Chi-Chi. But thinking of his wife made him wonder how he could fix things. ::I will make it right when I get back this time. I swear I will.::

I know I haven't really done that too much with this fic, and it's been about four months since the last update, so I'm only going to respond to the ones since the beginning of this year. Um... it would just seem a little weird responding to those that are really old. ^_^;

Addict606: Well, there was a little B/V action here, no? ^_^ Not too much yet, though. Vegeta's going to have to overcome a few issues on Bulma's part, not least of which is the fact that she thinks she's still in love with Yamcha! And Radditz... yeah, he's in the middle of everything. I love Radditz and always wanted to write a Radditz fic, and this seemed a good way of making it so he could be alive! ^_^

dbzfanjess: Thanks! ^_^

Luna18: Well, I know it wasn't soon, but I hope you don't hate me TOO much for not updating! ^_^; I can't really say when the next update will be. I'm REALLY busy right now (working, going to school, and with a boyfriend) so time for ANYTHING other than those things is far between. I miss writing this fic and mentioned that to my coauthor recently. Since we're almost never online at the same time our writing will probably be exclusively by email, which will mean it will go VERY slowly, unfortunately. I also don't have a beta reader so I'm doing all my own edits, and as I'm very picky, that means I go over each chapter dozens of times before I feel happy with it.

falconsblade: Wow, really good C&C! ^_^ Yes, I agree with you on all counts. Yamcha IS (and will continue to be for a while) very uncomfortable with his own feelings; Radditz has a tough time ahead of him and he knows it! ^_^ The others... well, I don't want to spoil the surprise, but no, they don't react with violence. Surprised, yes. I couldn't see Goku ever being condemning, no matter what. I won't give away how the others react, but I think you'll agree when you read it that the reactions flow logically from the events. Btw, I have seen family turn against other family members when they find out they are homosexual. Happened to a friend of mine; they blamed his lover for "corrupting" him when if anything it was the opposite. (His lover is bisexual and was very reluctant to make a permanent commitment to another man, even though he knew the two of them were soul-mates. My friend had to issue him an ultimatum - either they were together or they weren't, there couldn't be any in-between - before they got together permanently.) But my friend's family blamed the lover even though my friend had known since he was 13 that he was gay, and they still treat both men terribly. So families aren't always supportive, even when they SHOULD be. I'm not worried about flaming over this pairing. I would have expected it a couple of years ago, but probably not now. And you know what? Even if I do get flamed for it, I don't care! I've always wanted to write these two together - all that hair! ^_^ (I was REALLY upset when I read RM's "A Cop Story" and saw those two paired together in that. We had already had this all planned out long before I read that [even long before RM started writing that], and now mine wasn't going to be the first! *cries*) Also, Radditz himself isn't gay. There are things we've decided about Saiyajin culture that will become very clear as the fic progresses. Now, THAT I may very well get flamed for! ^_^

seiran: Longed for? Heh. ^_^ That's a bit strong, but I hope you mean you've been wanting to read a good Radditz fic! If you have, I can recommend a few! (Most of them written by Dragoness Eclectic, an absolutely AMAZING fanfic writer!)

cHeLsEa LaBaR: Also really good C&C - I was lucky this time! It's rare to get really good C&C like this! ^_^ Well, Bulma goes back and forth in the series. She shows courage at odd times - she goes to Namek, she insists on being there when Frieza arrives on Earth (in the subs - not the dubs - her reason for seeing Frieza is that she missed him on Namek - she says that if he wins everyone on Earth will die anyway, she would only die a little sooner than the rest, but she wants to SEE him first), she shows up with the other Z warriors when the androids arrive, she goes on numerous hunts as a teenager for the dragonballs, and the Mirai version of her even helped train her son and fought against the androids. Yet when she was on Namek (and often on her dragonball hunting adventures when she was younger) she would act cowardly on occasion, which would make you really wonder. As an old friend of mine once said, "she (could be) positively neurotic." You'll see more of her courage later in the fic. She goes up against some enemies at one point all by herself! ^_^ Yes, right now Bulma IS suicidal. She's blaming herself for the fact that Yamcha rejected her. Once she realizes the truth about Yamcha it's actually going to make things easier, but right now she thinks there's something wrong with her. And thank you for your comments about Radditz. I know he WAS pretty barbaric and violent in the anime, but we only saw him for a couple of episodes and we don't know his REAL motivations from that. I've taken liberties with him, yes. But I don't think it's way off-kilter from what little we see of him in the anime, it's just giving him a chance to have more than one dimension. ^_^