Author's Note:-
This fic has been modified. It was originally a songfic, until someone pointed out that isn't allowed on this site... which I didn't realise. Oops! I liked this fic though so I didn't want to remove it, so I just took the lyrics out. Personally I don't think it's as good without, but... hopefully it's still okay. The song was To Daddy by Dolly Parton, if you all just want to get that into your heads whilst reading n_n
Enjoy!

Chichi smiled, with tears in her eyes as she watched him leave. Her youngest son. He was packing the last of his things into his car, assisted by his new wife. They were starting their life together, and Goten was leaving his mother behind. Chichi was sad. Of course she was… but she was happy, as well. His wife was a lovely girl, and Goten was so excited to move into his new home. It was all Chichi could ask for, really… and she wasn't being left alone. Goku had come back from training with Beerus and Whis to help Goten move, and Chichi hoped this might be a new start for them as well. They'd had… 'issues' over the years. Being a widow hadn't been easy, and nor had being left home alone after Goku was revived. So many times she'd considered leaving him for good. No matter how much she begged and screamed at him to stay, he just went off and did his own thing… Maybe it would be different now, though. Maybe, now that Goten was gone and Chichi really was by herself, Goku would come home, and stay home. Truthfully… their marriage depended on it.
"Bye guys!" Goten called out of his car window.
"Bye, Sweetheart." Chichi smiled, wiping away her tears.
"Bye Goten!" Goku waved cheerily, his arm around Chichi as they watched Goten drive away. It was comforting… Goku seemed content to be here. Maybe he wanted a fresh start as well. Maybe he really would stay…

Chichi waited until Goten's car was completely out of sight, and she looked up at Goku.
"So." She smiled. "What do you want to do now? It's just us."
"Yeah." Goku grinned sheepishly, nervously rubbing the back of his head. Immediately, Chichi's heart sank. Oh, no… she knew what that meant. To think she'd almost believed he could change… "Uh… actually, I was thinking of going back to Beerus's place. We kind of left in the middle of something…" He looked at Chichi. "You don't mind, right?"
"Mind?" Chichi hissed, her blood already starting to boil. The very nerve of him! "Your son has just left, and now you want to leave as well?"
"It'll only be for a while!" Goku protested. "I promise!"
"That's what you said last time!" Chichi screamed. "You were gone for months!"
"Well, we got into something!" Goku sweat dropped.
"You always get into something." Chichi yelled.

She folded her arms and looked away, trying her best not to cry. These were tears she didn't want to shed. Not for Goku. Not anymore. "Fine." She growled. "Just go. You're going to go whatever I say, aren't you?"
"Thanks!" Goku beamed, gratefully placing his hands on her shoulders. "I'll be back soon – a month, max!" He planted a kiss on her cheek, and flashed her a bright smile. "See ya!" He touched his fingers to his head, and didn't hesitate to disappear from her life once more.

Chichi stayed there for a moment, calming herself. She was angry. She was so angry! … But she wasn't surprised. No. Not at all. That was the worst thing. She'd expected this. He had never hesitated to leave her before. She'd never really believed that Goten leaving would change things. She had hoped it, but… she'd be a fool if she really believed that. Still… she had to try. She had to give him a chance, and hope that he would stay… She had done all that she could. Now… Now, it was time for her to move on. She took a deep breath, and exhaled, and went inside the house.

She went straight to the phone, and dialled the number, waiting nervously as it rang. Part of her didn't want him to answer. A small part of her. A much bigger part was tired of waiting around. That part knew she deserved this. She'd already wasted too much of her life. She was determined not to waste any more.
"Hello?" A deep male voice answered.
"He left." Chichi spoke the words calmly, but as soon as they were uttered she burst into tears. "He really left."
"I'm sorry…" The man answered sympathetically, but Chichi knew he didn't mean it. He didn't want Goku to stay. Maybe part of her didn't want him to either. "Do you… still want to go ahead?"
"Yes." Chichi exhaled, wiping her eyes. "Of course I do. Just… give me an hour."
"I can come now –"
"No." She interrupted him sharply, and let out a deep sigh. "I… I want to be on my own. Come in an hour. Please."
"… Okay." He said. "I'll see you then. Chichi…?"
"Mm?" She answered, still wiping at her damp eyes. She didn't want to cry anymore. Not for him. No.
"I love you."
"…" Chichi smiled, and laughed a little. "I…" No. She wasn't going to say it back. She didn't want to jinx it. She was not letting this relationship fail as well. "Just pick me up later." She hung up before he could say anything, and buried her face in her hands. She breathed for a moment, exhaling in and out. Heavily. Deeply. Trying not to cry anymore. Okay… Okay. Okay. She removed her hands from her face, and sniffed the rest of her tears away. Time to pack.

Chichi started with the dishes. Whatever mood she was in, she couldn't bring herself to leave dishes undone. She wasn't an animal. She cleaned them, scrubbing away with much more ferocity than usual. She was anxious. Nervous, afraid… but she wasn't changing her mind. She had decided that if Goku left then she would too, and she would stick by that decision no matter what. She refused to let her life be run by him anymore. She refused to be forever on standby until he got hungry enough to come home. So she did the dishes aggressively, allowing herself to take her nerves and anger out on them. They had never been cleaner. She dried them and put them away, and went on to clean the house. Whatever mood she was in, she couldn't bring herself to leave a dirty house.

It didn't take her long to clean the house; Chichi kept on top of the chores and never allowed anything to remain dirty or out of place for long. She took pride in her home; it was all she had, after all. On this occasion though, she wished the house was dirtier, just so that it would take her longer to clean… but no. It wasn't. It didn't take her long. Then when it was done, she had no choice but to pack.

Chichi folded up her clothes, one after the other. She had two suitcases open on her bed; she didn't want to make two trips. She'd had them for years, since the last time she'd considered leaving… Of course, she hadn't left. She used to tell herself it was because she loved Goku… maybe that was true. She didn't hate him, although sometimes she thought she should. He was her first love. He was her childhood sweetheart. He was the one she thought she would be with forever. Whatever happened in her life, she would always have a place in her heart for Goku… but he wasn't the reason she'd stayed. She'd stayed for the children. The more she thought about it, the more she realised it. She hadn't been able to leave before, when she'd bought these suitcases. When Goku was dead, and she allowed herself to fall in love with another man… she'd stayed in this house, clinging onto the memory of her husband. She didn't want Goten to forget his father. She didn't want him to be raised by someone else, as much as she'd wanted to remarry. She'd remained loyal to Goku's memory, for as long as she could. It was for the kids. It had always been for the kids. Now the kids were gone.

As Chichi filled one suitcase, she paused. She looked at it, and fought back the tears that once again threatened her eyes. How had it come to this…? Decades of marriage, gone. Decades of being forgotten, of being put last, of being used and taken for granted… of waiting for someone that would never come home to her. She felt like she should be sad, but… she wasn't. She was angry. She was angry that she hadn't done this sooner. Why not? Why not let Goten be raised by someone else? He wouldn't be the first child to have a stepfather; Goku wasn't even raised by his biological parents. … But she'd done the right thing. She knew she had. At least nobody could say she hadn't tried. Nobody could say she'd put herself first. Nobody could say Goten hadn't known Goku as his father because of her. That was what mattered. Chichi knew it. But it didn't change the fact that she'd sacrificed so much of her life.

Chichi packed up all of her clothes, leaving her 'nicer' lingerie until last. She thought twice about taking these garments… they had been bought for Goku's pleasure, after all. She and Goku had never had the most intimate of relationships, but occasionally they went to sleep a little later than usual. Enough to conceive two children, at least. Actually… it had never once been bad. Chichi had enjoyed their moments together, and she'd always felt like Goku had as well. … Not enough, though. Clearly. He'd shown her mild affection in their daily lives, but seldom anything more. Chichi often wondered if she perhaps wasn't pretty enough for him. Her life as a housewife, spending her days scrubbing and sweating over a hot stove had withered her skin and calloused her hands. Her breasts, albeit a decent size Chichi always thought, were saggy and aged. She wasn't desirable, at least she never felt that way when she compared herself to Bulma or Android 18. They were in great shape for women of their age, much better than Chichi, and it was clear from how happy they were that their husbands showed them enough affection to make them feel beautiful. … Chichi didn't feel beautiful. But she had been, once. When she was young, when she and Goku were newly-weds she'd felt very pretty, and very sexy… but not anymore. Not for years. Perhaps it was just his way, but Goku wasn't one for compliments of the adult kind. Other than her cooking skills Goku never really showed much admiration for Chichi. So… she'd bought this lingerie, to try and spice things up between them, and to make herself feel more attractive if nothing else. Goku had been happy enough to see her in it, but only because he was in the mood anyway. The clothes hadn't made a difference. He didn't understand them. Actually, they'd just made things awkward. A waste of money, really… Hm. But, a lot of money, and they'd hardly been used. It was a shame to waste them, wasn't it? Yes. It was. Chichi smiled a little, thinking that perhaps now they could be appreciated by someone who had always made her feel loved.

Lingerie packed, Chichi zipped up her suitcases. That was everything, wasn't it? She had her clothes, makeup, toiletries, a few sentimental objects that she didn't want to leave behind… Okay. Yes. That was it. Time to go. She put her suitcases into a capsule and made her way downstairs. She sat at the kitchen table, very calmly, and wrote out a letter. God knows when Goku would be home, it was pointless trying to call here. She didn't really want to speak to him anyway. Chichi thought it would be difficult to write this. Her big announcement, her departure letter… all the thoughts and feelings she'd kept to herself for years, only letting them out when she was desperate, and they'd always fallen on deaf ears that just smiled and instant transmitted away. If he could never listen before, maybe he would at least read this. If she was lucky, he might even get to the end. Chichi was fairly sure he would read it all, but she wasn't certain… Maybe that was why she was finding it so easy to write. Easy compared to what she'd expected, anyway. Of course it was a little difficult, and it was emotional… but nothing like she'd thought. Not at all. It was a weight off her shoulders, actually. She was just glad to get it all out, and to be honest, now that she was here she just wanted to get it over with. She'd shed as many tears as she could for him, and she'd wasted as much time as she could give. Now she just wanted it to be over.

Knock knock. Chichi raised her head to the sound of someone at the door, her face lighting up in delight. It was just in time as well, she'd just finished writing. She quickly signed the letter and folded it up neatly, before racing to the door.

The door opened, to reveal Piccolo standing there. He looked down at Chichi, expecting her to be crying or looking sad… she wasn't. Her face was bright, brighter than he'd ever seen it. She had a wide smile upon her face, her eyes were sparkling… She looked happy. Truly happy. He'd never seen her like that before. She looked… free.
"Hey." He smiled at her. "Ready to –" He couldn't get out another word before he found Chichi's lips against his. She kissed him passionately, her hands grabbing onto the front of his gi to pull him in. He wrapped his arms around her waist and smiled, laughing against the kiss. She broke away, her bright eyes staring up at him in excitement. "Uh…" Piccolo laughed again, blushing. "So… you're ready?"
"Yes." Chichi answered, and pushed past him. "Let's go."
"… You sure?" Piccolo looked at her, somewhat confused. He wanted this. Of course he wanted this, he'd wanted this for over twenty years! But… it wasn't going as… 'emotionally' as he'd expected. Actually, she didn't seem to care about leaving at all. "You definitely want this?"
"Piccolo." Chichi huffed, turning to face him. "I have wasted my best years on that man, I do not want to waste another second. Can we please go? Now?"
"… Heh." Piccolo smirked a little, and approached her. "Sure." He scooped her up in his arms, and rubbed his antennae against her forehead, lovingly. "But what are you talking about?" Piccolo smiled. "Your best years are yet to come."

Chichi giggled a little as he placed his lips against hers, and holding onto her tight he jumped into the air, and they flew off into the sunset.

"Chichi, I'm back!" Four months after his departure, Goku's voice rang through the abandoned Son home. "I'm sorry I was longer than I said… I'll make it up to you." He stepped into the house, looking around in confusion as he spoke. "Chichi? Where are you?" Goku frowned, baffled. That was weird. Chichi was normally home at this time… she normally had dinner ready. Maybe she'd gone shopping. He moved his eyes to the kitchen table, to see a note. Oh! She'd left something for him. Goku smiled, relieved to see that nothing had happened to her. He opened up the letter, expecting it to be just a few words, something along the lines of 'gone grocery shopping, back soon'. Well… it was Chichi's handwriting for certain, but it wasn't just a few short words. Actually, as he read it… Goku's lips started to part.

What… the hell? "Wh…" Goku choked, wide-eyed as he read the letter. No… No, this was crazy. This couldn't be real. This was… No! He mustn't have read it right. Trying to remain calm, Goku read the letter again, over and over, until he finally started to panic. No… No! His heart racing, Goku bolted through their house, towards the bedroom. No no no no!

He burst into their bedroom, and opened up Chichi's wardrobe. Her clothes… they were gone. No. No, no! Goku ran over to the drawers, forcefully yanking them out in his panic. Empty. They were all empty. No… No.

Goku stood in the middle of his bedroom, stunned. He didn't know what to do at first; he didn't believe it was real. He immediately thought that there would be some other explanation for her disappearance, and that this was all a big misunderstanding. Then… slowly, and painfully, the truth started to sink in. Slowly, Goku sat down on the bed, and stared in awe at the empty wardrobe, and the empty drawers. Where Chichi's clothes were supposed to be. Where there was nothing now… Not a trace of her. It didn't seem like there had been for a while…

Goku sat there, completely still, and all of a sudden he recalled every second of their marriage. Every second they had spent together, and every second they hadn't… and for the first time, he felt regret. He felt… sad. Goku blinked, as water started to form in his eyes. He sniffed, and wiped them. He tried to stop crying. It was stupid, from a grown man to cry. But… what else was he supposed to do? She was gone. Chichi… was gone.

"Chichi…"