Chapter 1: A Hero's Welcome

"And we can go fishing, and we can go hiking, and we can train and we can do everything together!" little Goten exclaimed happily as he and his family returned to their little house. He was practically bouncing up and down with excitement as they walked towards their home.

Goku had just managed to finish off Buu using the spirit bomb, and after announcing to his overjoyed family that he had been returned to life for good, had used his Instant Transmission to bring them back home from the lookout. It was a warm late-morning and everyone was in a good mood—Chichi still couldn't get over the fact that he husband would be returning for good after seven years of being a single mother. Gohan was also happy of his father's returning, but he was slightly preoccupied thinking about Videl—she had seemed so happy to see him and he found himself missing her already. But Goten was easily the most ecstatic about this new addition to his family—he would finally have a daddy—just like Trunks did. Though he had only known him for a day, he could already tell that they would be close as could be. They even looked alike, and he could just tell that he was the most loving man in the whole universe—he had found his hero, his idol.

"And you can take me to the park, and I can show you all my toys, and—"

"Alright, Goten, I think we get the picture," Chichi attempted only halfheartedly with a forced smile. She knew Goten was so excited, but at the same time, she knew that her husband was must be exhausted and not used to his son's boundless energy. She didn't want him to get worn out, but she also didn't want to put a damper on Goten's spirit.

"Yeah!" Goku burst out suddenly, looking genuinely excited as he failed to notice his wife's interjection, "I can't wait! And we can spar together, and go out to eat, and then we can spar some more! And then eat some more!"

Chichi and her eldest son fell over in exasperation—he really hadn't changed one bit in all these years. Goten, just beamed at his father—he really was everything that Gohan had told him stories about.

"Jeez father," Gohan said tentatively, "Aren't you beat from that fight? I know I am…"

"Hmm," his father said pensively, "I guess I am kinda tired. But I'm really hungry! I hope you made a lot of food Chichi!"

The gang all fell over, again.

After realizing that the food she had in the house would not be nearly enough to satisfy 3 saiyans for dinner, Chichi informed her spouse that she would have to go out to get food for that night's meal, so dinner would be later than usual. Goku didn't seem to mind though; he was sure that he could fish out a fish or find some fruit to hold him over. Besides, it had been almost a decade since he'd seen his oldest boy, and they had a lot of catching up to do, not to mention getting to know his youngest in proper.

After Chichi had set out towards town and Goku had re-settled into his house, he, Goten, and Gohan all headed out to the river/lake to catch some fish, and do some catching up.

"Daddy!" Goten shrieked as he flailed his body around in his father's hands after being picked up by surprise, "put me down!"

"Hehe! Nope! You're goin' in you little stinker!" Goku replied, looking overjoyed as he tossed his youngest son into the lake.

"No fair!" Goten spluttered as he broke the surface of the cool water for air, giving his father his best puppy-dog face, "you caught me by surprise! And look, you got my clothes all wet!"

"Well, you snooze you loose kiddo, at least that's what I always sa—"

Goku was cut off as his oldest son barreled into him from behind, knocking him headfirst into the lake.

"No fair, Gohan!" Goku said, putting on precisely the same expression as his son, who was laughing his head off next to him, "I was gloating my victory and you hit me from behind!"

It was Gohan's turn to laugh now as he stripped off all of his clothes and laid them on the grassy bank.

"Well, at least my clothes aren't soaking wet," he gloated as he sprang into the water, doing his best to splash his brother and father as much as he could.

Goku and Goten took off their clothes as well and rejoined Gohan in the cool water, savoring the feeling of cold water on their skin as the hot sun beat down on their faces. It was hard to imagine at the moment, but if Goku hadn't been able to defeat Buu, this scene would not have been possible. Moments like these made hard times seem bearable, because they promised happiness and good times if one persevered.

Gohan and his father had been floating for about ten minutes, when finally Goku broke the silence.

"You know I've been watching you, Gohan," Goku said to his son as they both drifted along in the water. Goten was busy off trying to catch the biggest fish possible, "you cannot know how proud you've made me."

"Thanks, dad," Gohan said, trying to keep his voice steady, though it was difficult for him. He didn't want his dad to see him sad or upset—not on his first day back with him.

Gohan couldn't hide his feelings from his father though—Goku could see that Gohan still blamed himself for his father's death, and that he had been trying to hard to please his father since he'd been gone, even though he could not see or touch him. Goku didn't respond to Gohan though; he didn't want today to be marred by any sort of unhappiness. Today was to be a day for happiness and joy; he would deal with this at a later date. Instead, he decided to pursue a topic that was actually new to him, something that he hadn't seen in Otherworld.

"So," he said, a smile curling across his face as he tried to act nonchalant, "wanna tell me about Videl? You two seem to get along just great"

"Father!" Gohan spluttered, losing his sense of balance in the water as he fell in, "we're just friends, gosh!"

"Oh come on Gohan, do you really think you can hide that from your old man?" Goku said mischievously as he changed his position in the water so that he faced his son, "I may not be able to do math and stuff like you can, but you better believe that I know it when my own son is lying to me. There's nothing to be ashamed of, son. I think its fantastic."

Gohan just blushed as he tried to avoid his father's gaze

"Say, I don't think that we've been out here long enough for you to get a sunburn, so I'm assuming that you're blushing, am I right?" He said, his smile getting broader.

Gohan just turned a deeper shade of red as he sunk his head down into the water. Goku could have sworn the water was boiling around his face as Gohan's head submerged.

"DADDY!" came a shout from behind the two men, "look how big this fish is, daddy!"

"Thank goodness Goten decided to show up now," Gohan thought as he turned around, trying to find where his brother was coming from

"Wow!" Goku exclaimed, as he spotted his son—or rather, a fish "walking" towards them, "That's enormous! I can't even see you underneath it!"

Goten could only grin as he set the monstrous fish down on the bank of the lake. He bounded towards his family as quickly as he could, splashing them as much as possible.

From there, the rest of the afternoon slipped by pleasantly—Goten's rejoining his brother and father had initiated a splash fight that turned into a game of father-son tag, that turned into a game of super saiyan king of the hill. Goku was so happy that he was finally starting to make up all the time that he had lost with his boys when he had been dead. After all the roughhousing had ended with the three of them sprawled out on the bank, exhausted, they cooked up the fish, and started to head back home as the sun slowly slipped back into the earth.

All in all, Goku couldn't think of a better way that he could have spent his first day back with his boys, and as they trudged back to their house, stomachs slightly fuller from the fish, and with their sopping wet clothes over their shoulders, Goku could only think of the meal ahead, and then alone time with Chichi. His gaze was hazed, and Goten and Gohan's babble turned into background noise. He was at peace with the world. Suddenly, Goku felt a tug on his pant leg.

"Daddy, were you listening to me?" Goten said, looking quizzically at his father.

"Hmm?" Goku said, snapped out of his reverie, "I must have been daydreaming, sorry Goten! What were you saying again?" as he said this, he picked up his hyper boy and put him on his shoulders.

"I was saying, daddy, that I can't wait to show you this secret cave that I found with Trunks one day—its deep and spooky, and scary, and maybe a monster lives there too!" Goten exclaimed, arms flailing wildly atop his father's shoulders.

"Oh please, Goten," Gohan said sounding slightly exasperated, "that cave isn't a secret, and it's not scary. Its just some hole in the ground."

"Nuh-uh!" Goten said, staring his brother down, "how do you know? This cave is HUGE!"

"Goten, don't waste dad's time with that, I've seen it, he'd be bored out of his mind."

"Nuh-uh!"

"Yeah it is!"

"No, it's not!"

"Goten, it SUCKS!"

"Gohan, I'm gonna get you for that!" Goten shouted as he jumped off his father's shoulders and started pummeling his brother.

"Why you little runt!" Gohan retaliated as he fought back, pushing and shoving his little brother

Goku just looked on in shock at his two sons fighting—he'd never seen anything like it, and he didn't know what to do about it. Just a few minutes ago they had all been having a grand old time, walking home from an afternoon of fun and family, and now the two were fighting each other like each wanted to kill the other. Goku took a step back and bumped into something. Something that was quaking with anger and breathing quite heavily.

"GOHAN! GOTEN! What do you think you're doing!" Chichi roared at her two sons, who immediately stopped their brawl, "How dare you fight each other over anything after he world almost ended? You should be ashamed!"

Evidently, the three had been much closer to home than they had thought, so Chichi had seen—or at least heard—everything that had transpired.

Gohan threw his brother off of him, looking slightly disgusted at Goten, who looked like someone who got caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

"He started it," Gohan huffed, still looking at his brother with a stinging look.

Goten hung his head and felt tears welling up in his eyes. He stared at his bare feet with balled up fists and his shoulders started shaking. Usually, he just faked crying to get out of punishment, but this time, he actually felt ashamed. He knew that he was completely to blame for this, and he was afraid to look up at his dad, knowing how disappointed he must be in him. How could he have acted so childishly when he had just fought to save the world? He hated it when his mother reprimanded him like this, but he knew he deserved it this time, and he knew there would be more to come as well. But before Chichi could even open her mouth again to continue the chastising, Goten felt a pair of large hands wrap around his torso, and he felt his feet lift up off the ground. Before he knew it, he was crying his eyes out into his father's muscular chest, trying to sob out something like an apology.

"D-daddy," Goten tried, his words punctuated by sniffles, "I-I didn't mean to s-s-start a f-f-fight, I-I just w-want to s-show you w-what I f-f—"

"Shhh," Goku said soothingly, patting Goten on his bare back as his son bawled louder, "it's ok, son. I know how excited you are to see me, I know. Tomorrow, you can show me that cave, ok? I can't wait to see it, but right now, I need you to apologize to your brother, and Gohan, you need to say sorry to Goten. It hurts me to see you two fighting each other so soon after what we just went through. This is a time for family, not fighting."

He put his young boy down on the ground again, and after he had managed to wipe away his tears, said a heartfelt "sorry" to his brother, who walked over and patted him on the head and returned the gesture. Chichi just looked on in shock, since when had her husband become a father in proper?

After the boys had been broken up and apologies had been said, the family returned into their little house together and the boys got dressed as Chichi continued in her preparation of a veritable feast for three very hungry saiyan men (and one boy). In the meantime, Goten was helping her with the cooking, and Gohan was off showing his father baby pictures of Goten.

"And you see this one," Gohan said, snickering, as he turned the page, "this is one is my personal favorite."

Goku shrieked with laughter has he beheld the picture of Goten. It showed the boy when he was about two years old, in a red cape with his arms proudly to his side, with a very saggy diaper, smiling toothily.

"That's hilarious!" Goku exclaimed, causing Gohan to fall over, laughing, "man, he sure was cute back then wasn't he?"

"Hey, what are you guys laughing 'bout?" Goten asked, curiously as he poked his head into the room, "it better not be about me—I hate it when people laugh at me behind my back."

"We're just looking at some old pictures of you, squirt," Gohan said, wiping tears of laughter out of his eyes, "you sure were a funny baby."

Goten just pouted as he crossed his arms over his chest, a slight blush emerging across his cheeks.

Goku, not wanting his son to feel bad, beckoned him to come over and sit next to him.

"Hey, don't feel bad, son," Goku said, patting his shoulder and grinning, "you wanna hear an embarrassing story about your big brother?"

Goten immediately perked up at the sound of revenge and nodded fervently.

"Sure!"

Goku leaned into his son's ear, placing his hand over his mouth so that Gohan, who was turning redder by the minute, couldn't see his lips moving. With each passing second, Goten's face lit up more and more, until he was positively rolling on the floor with laughter once Goku broke away from him.

"Hey!" Gohan said, looking flushed, "what did you tell him, dad?"

"Don't you worry about it, son," Goku said, giggling happily, "just a blast from your past"

Gohan looked stymied as he huffed out of the living room to go help his mother with dinner. Meanwhile, Goku and Goten high-fived each other in success.

That evening was a night filled with laughter and good cheer—and lots of food. Between her two sons alone, Chichi had had difficulty producing enough food to satisfy them. Now that she had her fully-grown husband back again, she had to at least triple what she usually made. The table sagged under the weight of the dishes full of food all night, but she was so happy to be reunited with her husband that she didn't even mind that she would have hundreds of plates to clean.

Stories were recounted, and all had good times as all the food quickly disappeared from the plates. It was around nine-thirty and Gohan was just in the middle of telling his father a story about his first date with Angela when Chichi noticed that Goten's attention was beginning to fade, and his eyelids were drooping. He was clearly having difficulty staying awake, but he was trying his best not to let his mother notice.

"Alright, young man," she said abruptly, startling Gohan who stopped his story, "it's way past your bedtime—up you get!"

"But mom!" Goten complained, putting on his best face, "I wanna spend more time with daddy and Gohan! I'm not tired at all!"

"No way," his mother said, holding her ground as she stood up and pointed towards the stairs to his room "start getting ready for bed, I'll be in in a minute."

Goten opened his mouth to retaliate again, but after catching a glance from his brother, closed his mouth. It was getting awfully late for a kid, and he knew that this was a battle he could not win, so he sulkily got up, kicked in his chair, and said an apathetic goodnight to the table in general, though he made sure to give his father a big hug. After Chichi had finished clearing away the dishes off the table, she took off her apron, and was just about to head upstairs when Goku got up abruptly.

"Hey, Chichi," he said, sounding slightly nervous as he twiddled his thumbs, "would you mind if I put him to bed?"

"Uh, sure, I guess," Chichi replied, slightly taken aback at this fatherly gesture, "but why do you sound so nervous?"

"It's just that," Goku began, blushing slightly, "I know that this is your and Gohan's job, and I don't want to step on anyone's toes or ruin your routine."

"Aw, isn't that sweet," Chichi said, moving over to kiss her husband on his bright red cheek, "I don't mind at least, what about you, Gohan?"

She looked over at Gohan who nodded his approval at the arrangement

"But make sure that he puts his pajamas on properly, and that he brushes his teeth. Remind him to go to the bathroom before he goes to bed, and make sure he washes his hands afterwards. Also, you need to bring him some water to have next to his bed, and he needs a story read to him before he can go to sleep. Oh yeah, and bring him a glass of water to have by his bed."

"Whoa!" Goku said, trying to remember everything that she had said, "I, I think I can remember all that, but can I just tell him a story?"

"Yeah, that'll do," she said, handing him a glass of water for Goten, "he's usually asleep before you finish the story anyway, and I'd imagine that he's pretty beat after all of the recent events. Oh yeah, and make sure that he has his stuffed bunny, Mr. Bunny, he can't sleep without him."

"Think you can remember all that, dad?" Gohan said smiling, "Just think, I've had to do that almost every night for almost ten years."

"Yeah, Gohan," Goku said, patting his son on his shoulder, "and I'm sure you've done a great job. I just hope I don't mess up all your good work!"

"I'm sure you'll do fine," Chichi said, trying to get Goku to go, "now hurry up! It's getting late."

Goku left the kitchen and headed upstairs towards Goten's room. When he entered, he found Goten on the floor playing with an action figure, with all his toys strewn everywhere.

"'Cmon, little man," Goku said, trying not to step on anything as he walked over to a crestfallen Goten, "let's go get your teeth brushed and get you into pajamas. It's almost ten o'clock and you need your rest."

"But I'm not even tired!" Goten pleaded, hoping to get a different result from his father than he got from his mother, though his sentence was punctuated by an enormous yawn.

"Oh really?" Goku said, unconvinced as he plopped his boy on his feet.

"Fine," Goten replied dejectedly as he got up and started pulling off his day clothes

Goku set the water glass down on the table next to his son's bed as he tried to clear a pathway through the maze of toys. After he had put on a pair of dinosaur pajama bottoms with an old Kame t-shirt, he took his son into the bathroom, and made sure he brushed his teeth, took a leak, and washed his hands before re-entering his bedroom. Goten couldn't resist proudly showing his dad how sparkly his teeth were after he brushed them. Goku beamed at him, marveling at his innocence and cheeriness.

"Daddy," Goten said, slightly embarrassedly, as Goku sat down on his bed and pulled the covers over his son, "can you tell me a story, please?"

"You bet I can," Goku said as Goten's face lit up, "howbout I tell you about my first time meeting Bulma?" Goten nodded his head in approval and Goku began his story:

"I had never actually met a human being other than my adoptive grandfath—"

"Daddy," Goten interrupted, "what's adoptive mean?"

"It means that he wasn't my real grandfather like the Ox-King is to you. Anyway, so I had never met anyone in the world, can you imagine? I couldn't even tell the difference between boys and girls! I had to pat their crotch areas to tell the difference!"

This particular bit got a cheerful giggle out of Goten from under his covers.

"So one day," Goku continued, really getting into his story now, "I had just finished catching a fish for lunch down by the pond that you and I went to earlier today. And there I was, minding my own business, when out of nowhere came a giant truck barreling down the road," Goku included the necessary sound effects of a truck at this point.

"Now, having been raised in such seclusion, I had never seen a truck before, so I thought it was an elephant. Before I knew it, the truck came screeching to a halt in front of me, very nearly hitting me, too! Out popped Bulma, who immediately started yelling at me to be more careful," Goku put on his best Bulma expression as he imitated her telling him off.

"I was in shock when I heard the "elephant" talking, and I thought that it was trying to steal my dinner! So I picked up Bulma's car and threw it as far away as I could, trying to defend my hard-earned meal. Then, Bulma emerged from the window of the car with a pistol, and she took aim and—"

Just as Goku was about to say "shot me," he looked down, and saw that Goten was already fast asleep with Mr. Bunny in his arms, making adorable sleeping noises as his little frame rose and fell with each breath. Goku smiled, looking down at his son all cozy in his bed. After pulling the covers up and tucking him in, Goku softly kissed his head and whispered "I love you," as Goten squirmed in his sleep, smiling. The proud father then tip-toed out of the room, careful not to impale his toe on a piece of plastic, and closed the door and shut off the light. As he made his way downstairs, he saw Gohan going into his room, and got a smile from him that said: "it's good to have you home again."

Goku reentered the kitchen but found it to be empty. Slightly perturbed, he looked around, and noticed that the door leading outside was slightly ajar. He smiled, knowing that Chichi was outside, lying on the grass, and looking at stars like she and her husband used to do all those many years ago. He walked outside, and sure enough, found his wife lying on her back, gazing up at the heavens. He walked next to her, and plopped himself down, not saying anything, for nothing needed to be said. He knew exactly what she was thinking—that she was truly happy for the first time in almost ten years. He scooted closer to her and put his arm around her, beckoning her to come and cuddle with him.

Neither Goku, nor his wife knew how long they had been out there together in each other's arms. Might have been an hour, might have been a lifetime or two. But that didn't matter. Not a word was said between the two of them the whole time, but somehow, each was able to know exactly what the other was thinking. When Goku saw a constellation in the sky, he didn't even have to point it out through words, yet he knew that his partner was gazing with the same wonderment at the same collection of stars. When Chichi heard the rustle of a tree nearby, she didn't have to speak for her to know that Goku was also listening with rapture to the same rustle. At this moment, it was as if the world was new, and as if Goku and Chichi were the first man and woman ever on the planet. No distractions—all that mattered was that they were together again, just the two of them, the stars, and someone else who had unexpectedly wandered out of bed.

"D-d-daddy?" came a soft sob from the doorway after what had seeme like hours, "D-daddy? Are you out there? A-are you really b-back for good? I-i-is B-Buu really g-g-gone?"

Goku turned his head, and saw Goten in the doorway to the house, with his bunny in one hand dragging at his feet, and his other hand balled up in a fist at his side. Despite the distance, Goku could also tell that he was crying, or at least that he had recently been crying, for his face looked puffy and contorted into an expression of fear and anguish.

"I'm over here, son," Goku called softly, not wanting to get up from his position, "is everything alright? It's very late, you should be in bed, right?"

"I-I-I had a b-b-bad d-dream," Goten moaned, fresh tears now streaming down his face as he recounted his nightmare, "I-I was d-dreaming that you d-didn't finish off M-M-Majin Buu, a-and that the e-earth was d-destroyed, and that w-we weren't able to bring back everyone, and I-I-I was all alone, and everyone d-d-died!"

Goten was positively bawling at this point, unable to control himself as he ran towards his parents, his bunny swinging from his hands as they flailed erratically.

"Goten, shhh, It's fine—everything is gonna be alright," Goku said softly as his son threw himself into his father's arms, "you're safe, I'm right here, and I promise that as long as I am still standing, I will protect you."

Goten buried his face in his father's shirt and cried his eyes out as he felt his father's large hands and mother's small hands rub his back soothingly. He just stayed there for a good while, salty tears staining his father's shirt as he poured emotion into Goku's chest.

"That's enough crying, now, ok?" Goku said after a while, somewhat firmly, though still softly enough to comfort his disquieted son. He understood that his son was still young, and that these past few days had been extremely traumatizing, but at the same time, he didn't want to baby his young man—he needed to be strong and buck up.

"That's right, baby," Chichi said, kissing his head, "we're all here now and we're not going anywhere. Now why don't you settle down and sit here with us and watch the stars."

Goten hushed after a couple of minutes of his father and mother's talking and soothing, and his tears started turning into sniffles, then turning into quiet breaths, which soon turned into light snores as he collapsed from exhaustion onto his father's lap, no longer able to support consciousness. All three of them just sat there for a while longer, Goku replacing one hand around his wife, and the other on his son's head. After what could have easily been a dozen eternities of bliss, Chichi got up, motioning that Goku should go and put Goten down again. He did so, and just as he was closing his son's door, found Chichi waiting for him at the doorstep to their bedroom, in only a bathrobe, smiling at him seductively. He looked at her with excitement, and he briskly walked over to their room. Still smiling, he kissed his wife, something he had been longing to do for seven long years. Goten was dead to the world, Gohan was probably too busy talking to Videl, and he had a wife waiting for him. So Goku kicked his bedroom door shut, and mounted his bed with his wife.