AN: Written in collaboration with Lark Angel, visit her page: u/1136612/

Credit goes to her in regards to the plot of this story as she is the one who came up with it. She wanted to see how someone else would handle the idea and so here is what popped into my head. Looking back over the plot she sent me, I don't think this is as funny as she'd hoped it'd be but it's definitely full of drama and tension and a lot of over-thinking. I hope I have done her wonderful plot some justice :)

It's very different from what I usually end up writing! (considering everything else on my page is multiple-chaptered stories...)

Anyway, enjoy!

-LilDBZBuddy89

Do You Love Me?

It was one of the most human questions her husband had ever asked her and despite her internal rage having seeped out from her control, the question had stunned her. What exactly was that supposed to mean anyway, did she love him? Of course she did! She loved him with all her heart, body and soul and more; he was the love of her life, her first crush and the man she'd vowed to marry. Of course she loved him.

It's just that he'd crossed the line – by a significant mile. He'd broken one of the most treasured rules Chichi had, a rule which stood high in her moral consciousness.

It had been a pleasant and quiet morning. Having stayed overnight in a low-cost hotel not too far from the hospital, Chichi had been very relieved to feel fresh air in her lungs, felt the warm sun on her face and enjoyed the light breeze that tickled at her cheeks on the short walk to visit her husband. He was an invalid, fortunately no longer in intensive care wrapped up in so many bandages it looked as if the hospital staff were practising ancient traditions. Either that or they were trying to muffle his constant screaming every time a nurse brought a needle into the room. The hospital walls would shake under the sheer volume of her husband's embarrassing screaming. As empathetic as Chichi could be when it came to her son being fearful of illogical things, he was a child – he was allowed to be fearful of things! Her husband on the other hand wasn't allowed to be; he was quite happy to go beating himself into oblivion, wrecking his body in the name of fighting and martial arts, yet he couldn't stand the thought of an instrument that would merely scratch him at worst.

Of course she loved him dearly. It's just that it was ridiculous seeing a man who'd saved the planet be afraid of a silly little needle! She didn't care how common and normal it seemed to be for people to be afraid of needles – her husband wasn't normal!

When she'd arrived, she'd found her husband in the middle of devouring and masacaring his breakfast… taking a quick scan, it seemed he had at least thirty plates stacked up on the edge of his bed with a further fifteen-or-so scattered in piles of four or five around the perimeter of his room. Having been moved into a private room recently due to his disturbing eating habits, the doctor and nurses had wanted to monitor his food intake. Chichi snorted at the look of astonishment and horror written upon the nurse's face when she came to collect the plates five minutes later. This was nothing. Chichi'd seen far worse at home.

They hadn't been talking much during her visits, and when they did it was mostly about his recovery or about news regarding their friends' expeditions to Namek, some far off planet which apparently Piccolo and Kami came from and played host to another set of Dragonballs. Chichi didn't really care much for the details, nor did she really fuss much over the fact that some of her husband's friends had recently perished in the battle against the Saiyans. It wasn't that she just didn't care, it was more that she had other more urgent and pressing matters on her mind – namely what her son was up to!

The ache in her head grew stronger.

Having resigned to knitting, she and her husband sat in silence. Chichi was in her own thoughts, too consumed about worrying about Gohan to notice that Goku was looking right at her. Was her boy doing ok? Had he remembered to do his homework for today? Would he still be awake or would he be sleeping now? Was he washing regularly? Had he remembered to write the poem Chichi had set for him? What kind of influence were Krillin and Bulma having on her poor, pure little baby? Krillin was a muscle-head, just like the rest of his friends; jobless, spineless and desperate. Bulma was… well… she was Bulma. She was a city girl, pretty, self-centred and likely to be a bad influence on her son in some shape or form.

Goku could be quite naïve when it came to normal human behaviour. It was a lot to ask of him to be able to read his wife's behaviour and come to an accurate conclusion on how she was feeling. He could see she was thinking and seemed to be on autopilot as her fingers manipulated and pulled on the string she was using. Either she was so lost in thought she hadn't noticed his gaze, or she was deliberately ignoring him.

It wasn't at all unusual for Chichi to stop talking to him when he'd done something to make her mad. Problem was, he couldn't be entirely sure on what she was mad about!

"Is your father going to be visiting, d'you think?" He probed, not really caring if his father-in-law did visit. The question seemed to jolt her physically.

"Not today," she responded, continuing to let her hands move automatically.

"I wonder if anyone else will visit… do you know if anyone else will visit?"

"Goku, I don't know," Chichi impatiently spoke. The irritation in her head was growing once again.

"I hope Master Roshi comes with some news about Bulma, Krillin and Gohan," Goku mused to himself cheerfully, failing to notice his wife's knuckles whiten. "It'd be great if they get to Namek ahead of schedule. Hey, how long has it been now since they left?"

"Three weeks," Chichi quickly answered. What was with all the sudden questions? She wasn't in the mood to talk to him right now and had been quite happy to stew in her own anxiety and frustration. How was it he could just lay there talking about mundane, every-day things when his little boy was out there in the vastness of space travelling to an unknown, possibly dangerous world with only two irresponsible adults with him? Did it not worry him knowing their little boy – five years old – was doing something only adults were supposed to do – and even then only a handful of adults would ever get the opportunity to go exploring outer space! Did it not make him feel angry and ashamed knowing that their five-year-old infant had already gone through? The things that had forever scarred him surely must make his father feel awful, responsible for the horrors his son had to endure? Yet from the outside, he showed no signs of remorse. It just made her feel all the more furious with him.

Thankfully a silence fell over the room. Chichi continued to knit despite the left arm of the jumper she was making was now growing longer than the right! She was too busy fuming with internal arguments with her husband in what must have been one thousand well practiced what-if arguments. The pressure in her head was growing more and more irritable, she felt as if she would physically implode and explode at the same time.

"Hey, do you think if I asked nicely, the nurse will let me have one of everything on the menu tonight?"

Seriously? He was worrying about what he'd be having for dinner tonight? Of course he was! This was Goku, her husband, the man she would introduce to the world as the love of her life, who could take great pride in saving the world through fighting mad demonic monsters and stuffing his face full of food when he was done before trying to coax his son for the millionth time to take an interest in his dad's living. The heat seeped through her arteries but through gritted teeth she held it together and remained quiet. Her head was hurting more than ever.

"Chichi?"

That tone in his voice. He sounded completely normal. How dare he sound completely at ease when their child was off doing a ludicrously dangerous thing! She snapped.

"What?!"

Goku would have been lying if he hadn't expected his wife to snap out at some point during his stay in hospital. She'd seemed very tense over the past few days, almost like she'd been when she and the others had arrived in the aftermath of the Saiyans' defeat. She'd been so angry with everyone and had been so protective of Gohan. In a strange way it relieved Goku to see her like that, though he didn't fully understand why she'd been so mad in the first place. Gohan had been fantastic in his transformation into a fighter and it had made Goku swell with pride knowing his son had tried to help protect the Earth. For whatever reason Chichi didn't seem to see it that way. If anything she'd been really cold and distant with him ever since he'd come back from the dead. Had something happened whilst he was off training in the Otherworld?

"Honestly, Goku!" Chichi's shoulders were shaking, her knitting now placed in her lap. Those dark orbs were burning lasers on him, blazing with emotion and passion. "Why can't you just lay there quietly like any other normal person? Is it too much to ask? You're in the recovery ward – you should be focusing on recovering, not jabbering away!"

"Chichi, do you still love me?"

The question had stunned her into a silence. Did she still love him? What did he mean by that?

It wasn't like him to be serious like this – especially since he was asking about their relationship. That only happened once in a blue moon. What had brought this on? Something inside told her she already knew the answer to that one.

"Of course," She spoke, voice a little calmer and controlled than before.

"Then what is it that's making you act hostile towards me?" Goku quickly parried. "You've been ignoring me ever since the battle against the Saiyans. Did I do something?"

He had her on the back foot. Seriously, where had this come from? It was very uncharacteristic of him but did he seriously not have a clue? Was he honestly that naïve? Recovering quicker from his question this time, Chichi opened her mouth, then closed it abruptly. Thinking it through, she parted her lips, "You honestly don't know why I'm so… so furious with you? Goku, tell me you can give me a good reason for me to be angry with you?"

It wasn't a question, it was an order. Now it was his turn to be caught out. Goku flitted through potential reasons for his wife's aggressive stance towards him. Not loving him anymore apparently wasn't the answer. Fighting – that was something she'd taken a disliking to recently. But the battle had been won, albeit with heavy losses on their side. Could she be mad over that?

Seeing him having to seriously think it through was summoning the anger back again. Irritated, Chichi interrupted his flustered search, "Our Son, Goku. Our son! How can you not feel responsible for what has happened to Gohan? You haven't even had the decently to apologise to him or me for what we've been through!"

"Chichi-"

"No, you listen to me, Son Goku!" Chichi snapped, voice growing louder again. "I've had to spend the past year grieving, not only because my husband has died but also because my only son has been kidnapped! I have spent the past year worrying each and every minute praying that he was safe, having to deal with knowing he was scared, alone and at the mercy of that evil demon! Goodness knows what he's done to our little boy! And you – you were the one who insisted on taking him over to Kame House! You were supposed to be protecting him! You put our son in danger and that is something I can absolutely not forgive you for – ever!"

The sound of the silence that followed was deafening.

Goku looked up at his wife who'd risen from her seat (knitting cluttering to her boots) and was now hovering over him with hunches up and watery eyes, face contorted into fury.

"I never planned for any of that to happen," He spoke slowly and softly, mindful that she may erupt again at any given moment. "That day was only supposed to be a reunion with my friends…" The memories of what had taken place flashed before his eyes, a frown settled upon his face and for the first time Chichi could have sworn she could see some form of regret in him. It felt as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders as her husband continued: "I never planned for my long-lost brother to kidnap Gohan, nor did I plan to die there and then trying to save him."

Trying to save him?

"It's not like I was in any position to stop Piccolo from taking him, either," Goku scratched his head with a soft chuckle, amused at how impossible his job to protect his son had been on that day. May as well see the humour in it, he figured; at the end of the day Gohan was alive and well and apparently willing to bring back those who'd died during the battle. That had been the biggest surprise at all to everyone; Gohan had suddenly turned into his father, Master Roshi had said the other day. A year prior he'd have turned tail and ran at any sign of aggression and danger, now he was the spitting image of his father when he was a boy. It made Goku swell up with pride knowing just how much braver his son had become and how much he'd had to overcome in such a short space of time.

It was as if he'd been reborn… Chichi's sheltered little prince had died and been replaced by a hardened, valiant young boy.

Her baby hadn't gone, not really, she told herself. Yet ever since he'd woken up in her arms, as naked as the day he'd been born, the stark change within her innocent little boy was evident. Not bawling his eyes out at such a terrifying experience, instead he'd been focused and concerned for everyone else's safety and knowing there that alien murderer had gotten to. She'd missed out on an entire year of her son growing up and it had been heartbreaking to see the results.

The two sat in silence for quite some time, it seemed as if hours were passing by, maybe even days. Soon Chichi's fingers went back into autopilot and eventually her eyes rose from the floor, focusing on her knitting. Goku continued to stare up at the ceiling, wondering how his son and friends were doing on their mission out in space.

Of course he'd gone to save his boy. He wouldn't dare return home without him… and he truly did love and adore his son. Sure her husband was quirky and sometimes downright irresponsible and silly but he had a heart of gold and could be ferocious when it came to protecting that of which he cared about. Of course he'd die trying to protect his son… he had died trying to protect his son – their son. A cold, sinking lump swam where her stomach was. Maybe she'd gone too far, blamed him too much for everything that had happened. It wasn't his fault Piccolo had kidnapped their son, not really – if anything it was up to Krillin, Master Roshi and Bulma to stop Piccolo from stealing her baby away. Her husband had been killed. He'd been dead for just under a year, brought back to life miraculously by the Dragonballs… and here she was talking to him in this way, being absolutely furious with him for something he had no control over.

She hated herself when she knew she was thinking rationally. It reminded her of how irrational her arguments could be sometimes.

Casting her guilty look over to her husband, she managed to catch his wandering eye. It was if there was a mutual understanding between them as Goku shifted his right arm up, giving her enough room to settle beside him. Chichi took the invite and shifted herself onto the side of his hospital bed, resting her cheek against his neck and curling up towards him, his bandaged arm securing her into position. A kiss was planted upon her forehead before she closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. Breathing out loudly, she parted her lips:

"I'm sorry."

There, that wasn't so hard, was it?

"I'm sorry we made you worry." Came her husband's reply, as calm as ever. How he could always sound so calm and in control of his emotions when she was bouncing off the walls with her frustration and anger, she never knew.

She snugged deeper into his neck, pecking him on the collarbone and finding her resting position again. Thoughts began to drift into space, wondering how her son was doing, hoping he was behaving himself and not being badly influenced. She'd been so worried about him, she'd almost had no time to worry about her husband's health. He'd received a mass of injuries from that battle trying to save the world… admittedly from his own willingness to fight. Sometimes it hurt so much to see what he'd do to himself all in the name of being the hero and saving the planet. One day the Earth wouldn't need a hero anymore, one day the world wouldn't need saving anymore. When that day came, she'd get her husband on the straight and narrow and he'd have to get a job and support and care for his family in a more human kind-of way. Chichi prayed that day would be soon.

"I love you, Son Goku."

"I love you too, Chichi."