Chapter One – Thrown Together Letters ("Uh-Oh!" Junior Doctor)
"Whew! That math problem was a doozy," Son Gohan set his pencil down in relief and leaned back in his chair, folding his hands behind his head as he did so. "Well, I'm all done now." He beamed down at his tidy paper; wait until his mother saw this! She would be so proud of - Gohan frowned. Would Chichi be able register something so trivial as his perfect math homework as a reason to rejoice? He suddenly wasn't so sure. She had been so…off…of late. Ever since Goten… The elation he had been experiencing only moments before began to drain away like used bath water, only to be replaced by a cold, uncomfortable numbness. "What were you thinking, Dad?" he murmured, dark eyes swiveling to stare out the window. Gohan shook his head; whatever Goku had been thinking, and however he had gotten the idea, the boy would ponder forever. Rubbing his temples slowly to clear his mind of thoughts pertaining to his father, the preteen stood, gathering up his studies and exiting the room. He closed the door carefully behind him; he needed to clean up and the last thing he wanted was his mother finding the mess of boxers, sparring outfits, socks, and general clutter. The boy shuddered. "Mom! I finished my homework! Do you want to see it?"
"I'm with the Baby!" she called from down the hall, where Gohan's highly-trained hearing picked up on the faint noises of Goten resisting a new diaper. "Hold still," he heard his mother growl at her infant. Gohan tucked his work under his arm and hurried down the hall to his parent's bedroom. Or at least, what had been his parent's room up until a year ago. Not bothering to knock, the boy strode into the master bedroom-and-nursery. His mother hovered over Goten, attempting to wrestle a diaper onto the three month old. He couldn't help but giggle.
"Do you want any help, Mom?"
"What?" Chichi stood straight, momentarily abandoning her task and taking her attention off of Goten. "Oh, no, dear, that's quite alright, everything's under -"
Taking full advantage of his freedom, Goten gurgled happily and released a stream of pee which arced like a fountain, splattering gracefully on to his already frazzled mother's arm.
Gohan's eyes bugged out of his head as he watched his mother's face, waiting for the explosion. He saw it coming...any second now... Detonating in three, two...
"On second thought," Chichi's voice shook with an odd tone, stuck somewhere between laughter and tears, "can you finish changing him?" Gohan nodded fervently and gently pushed his mother to the bathroom. She had handled that quite nicely.
"I'll leave my work on your bedside table, okay?"
She nodded before turning on the faucet and shutting the door.
Gohan turned to his baby brother who lay naked on the changing table, burbling gleefully at his little trick.
"I sure hope you're empty," Gohan said, nodding to the infant. "I already took my bath today, thanks." He quickly wrapped the baby boy in a new diaper, moving too quickly for the infant to gather any resistance. Gohan hoisted the baby into his arms, cradling him carefully as he made his way over to the stack of infinitesimal shirts, trousers and socks. After picking a promising outfit - a striped polo with soft cotton shorts - Gohan returned with Goten to the changing table. He stuffed the wriggling infant into his clothes and placed him under his arm. "Let's go play outside, huh?" Goten gurgled, staring up at his older brother's face. "I'll take that as a 'yes' then."
Goten couldn't sit up without aid yet, so Gohan sat behind the baby on the lawn. He beamed down at his little brother, the spitting image of his father, even at the tender age of three-months. Same eyes, nose, and silly grin. Despite his own resemblance to Goku, Gohan couldn't help but feel a little jealous. He had his mother's eyes - and her brains, which he couldn't complain about. "I wonder if you're going to be a genius like me, or a goof-ball like Dad? What do you think, Goten?"
The baby said nothing, of course. "Job," Gohan whispered; nothing. "Books," not even a blink. "Food." Goten gurgled and clapped his pudgy little hands. "Well, that settles that!" Gohan chuckled, picking the baby up under the arms and swinging him up in the air as he rolled onto his back. Goten shrieked in delight, making all of the cute happy baby sounds Gohan loved so much. A shadow fell across Gohan's face, blocking out the sun. The boy blinked, and Goten's mouth opened in a loud coo of what was presumably confusion.
Gohan craned his head back, squinting to make out the face silhouetted by the sun. He smiled. It was the ears that gave it away.
"Hey Piccolo."
"Hey Kid."
"Burgaloo!"
Piccolo's deep throated chuckle was a wonderful sound, he thought, sitting up and adjusting his hold on his brother. Piccolo knelt down next to him, rolling back off of his knees and settling himself on his behind.
"Hello to you too, Goten." The warrior rumbled.
"He wants you," Gohan held out the infant to the Namekian. Goten screeched, waving his chubby hands at Piccolo.
"Greeee!"
Piccolo hesitantly took the giggling infant from Gohan's hands. Goten promptly snatched at Piccolo's oversized ears, crying when the Namekian pulled his face away from the grabbing fingers. Piccolo turned a glare on Gohan, but the boy recognized it as one of Piccolo's "Look what I do for you" glares, rather than an actual threat.
"What are you doing here, Piccolo?" he asked, shifting closer to his friend and mentor. "I don't think you've come around since Mom made you change Goten's diaper."
The Namek shrugged, materializing a chew toy for Goten in hopes of preventing a famous Son-Family-tantrum. The baby took the toy, instantly forgetting the allure of Piccolo's ears. He stuck the brightly colored object in his mouth and gummed it heartily.
"I was in the neighborhood. Thought I'd drop in and check on you."
"That's sweet," Gohan slumped lazily against Piccolo's side, enjoying the warmth emanating from the Namekian. He ignored Piccolo's grunt of annoyance. It was all for show anyway. "Done anything fun lately?"
"Not unless you count mediating as fun."
Gohan giggled.
"You're boring, Mister Piccolo."
Piccolo's ears flicked. This time in genuine annoyance.
"Don't start that nonsense again, Kid."
"Right-O, Pick-oh-lo," Gohan sang back, positively glowing. Annoying Piccolo was his favorite past time, after all. It had been a really long time since the Namek had visited the Son household, although Gohan had flown by the Lookout several times. He hoped that Piccolo would stay a while, maybe until dinner. He was just about to suggest it when the front door opened, pushed to the side by his mother's hip. She was carrying an overflowing bin of garbage and other waste.
"Gohan, honey, it's time for Goten's –"she grunted as the bin lodged itself in the door – "Nap!" With a mighty shove, the little woman forced herself and the garbage bin through the door jamb. "And I need you to run some errands for me in town." Chichi set the bin down, straightening and turning to face her sons for the first time. She blinked, noticing Piccolo. She was surprised to see the tall, quiet Namek on her lawn. "Oh, hello, Piccolo," she offered him a polite smile which he returned with a nod of his head. Wondering briefly on his presence, Chichi continued. "As I was saying, I need you to go to the store and pick up the things on this list," a brightly colored scrap of paper was dug out of her pocket, cramped with her tight penmanship, "and run to the post office. I'm expecting a package from Grandpa."
"Can Piccolo come with me?"Gohan asked as he stood up.
Chichi raised an eye brow, but nodded.
"If he wants to. Now go put your brother to bed."
Gohan nodded and dashed inside the house, after taking Goten back from the Namek and begging him to wait. Chichi turned her attention to the compost heap down-wind from the house, barely stifling a groan at the sheer distance she now had to carry the heavy bin. There was, however, nothing else for it, and she stooped, bending at the knee and lifting the garbage with seeming ease.
Piccolo's sharp ears caught the noise of dismay. Before Chichi could take more than three stumbling steps with the massive garbage bin, Piccolo had taken it from her. He pointedly ignored her protest, and emptied the waste upon the compost heap. Silly woman was really going to hurt herself one of these days. He turned to address his friend's mother, trying his very best to appear tame.
"How," he paused, not entirely sure what to say. "How are you?" Piccolo privately remembered the emotional wreck she had been the few times he had stopped by to offer his assistance prior to and immediately following Goten's birth. "You look," Piccolo frowned; he had been going to say 'tired,' as was appropriate for the single mother of a three-month old half-Saiyan. However, 'tired' was too soft an adjective. Dark circles had formed around her once fiery eyes, her hair was untidy, and her cheek bones were far more noticeable than ever before. She wasn't what he would call 'gaunt,' but she had lost a noticeable amount of weight. "Thin," he finished quietly. Chichi frowned, and he knew she had recognized that it wasn't a compliment.
"My body can't keep up," she explained, crossing her arms self consciously across her chest. "It's like everything I eat goes right to Goten."
"Isn't Gohan helping?" Piccolo jerked his head towards the house. Gohan was inside now, putting the baby to bed.
"Yes," Chichi ran a hand over her exhausted face, "but Gohan can only do so much, and he can't feed him. That and the lack of sleep are killing me. I'm actually shocked I haven't gone dry yet, honestly."There was a bitterness in her voice he couldn't quite comprehend. He wasn't quite sure what she had meant by going "dry," nor did he wish to ask. Gohan had once explained to him that human mothers fed their young offspring with their bodies, but he hadn't let the boy finish. He allowed the silence to drag out between them. It didn't bother him, but she shifted slightly.
"How are you?" Piccolo tried again, hoping that Gohan would hurry up and personally wondering why he had agreed to accompany the boy into town.
"I got peed on today," she answered tiredly. An exhausted little smile played across her lips for a moment.
"Oh," his ears flicked in distaste. "Well that's…" He had no response other than: "Well, that's better than the other thing."