Closet Monsters

Videl stared at the clock, listening to Pan crying again for the fifth time that week. It was almost six; she would need to get her ready for school soon. Her teacher had complained that she was sleeping through class; she wasn't sleeping at home. This concerned Videl. How could she tell her husband that their child was afraid to sleep at home? Was it something they'd done? She was about to get up when she heard rustling beside her. "I'll get her," Gohan answered, rubbing his eyes to the lack of light. Videl stifled a chuckle when he nearly tripped and fell in the hallway.

Gohan knelt in the pink bedroom and stared at Pan curiously from the foot of the bed. He reached down and touched her toe, causing her to shriek. "Don't eat me! You won't like me! I taste like vegetables!" Pan shouted as she curled into a tiny ball, her giraffe wound tightly in her arms.

"Pan, its daddy. What's wrong?" He inched closer to the bed and sat on the edge, staring at her with dark green eyes. He hadn't been sleeping well since he'd been hearing her cries all night. "Panny…are you scared?"

She nodded vigorously and threw herself in his arms. "Daddy, the monster will eat me! I know it will!" He had to bite down on his resolve when he felt her trembling in his arms. "Daddy, don't let the monster eat me!"

"Kick its butt," he commented, staring at his daughter with a small smile. "I Know you can, you kick uncle Goten's butt all the time."

"But he lets me!" She hissed, clinging tightly to her giraffe as she knelt back in the bed, throwing the covers over herself. Gohan smirked at the sudden flash of pink and purple bed sheets being thrown in his face. "And don't even bring up GJ! He lets me, too!"

"GJ wouldn't know that you're attacking him if you hit him in the face…literally." He rubbed his temples trying to figure out how the son of two fighters was so oblivious. Maybe it was Goku's genes? He shrugged and smiled at Pan. "Come here," He swept the child into his arms and kissed her forehead, carrying her into the bedroom. "Sleep with mommy and me tonight, and we'll figure this out in the morning."

"Okay," She curled up in between them, smiling to her mother. "I love you mommy and daddy."

"Sleep well, ladybug," Videl commented, kissing her forehead.

Videl folded her arms, staring from the doorway as Gohan typed away on the keyboard. "What are you doing?" She murmured, setting a glass of coffee beside him. Both the kids were at school, and she had just finished hanging the laundry when she realized her husband vanished in the middle of their conversation. She noticed he had two books open, along with a notebook beside it, with notes scribbled down in it with blue ink. "Are you…studying?"

"I never stop studying," He commented strangely. "I'm researching. When I went into Pan's room last night, she said the monster was going to eat her…"

"She has a fear of monsters?" Videl leaned carefully on the corner of his desk and watched his hands hover over the keyboard of his laptop for a long time.

"No. I think it's much more than that." He began typing again, speaking as he spelled out words on the screen. "I think she's afraid of the dark, claustrophobia, and monsters. I'm not sure what it would be called. She's scared of closets, Vi. When I went to help her pick her clothes this morning, she shrieked when she got close to the closet."

"Not uncommon for a girl her age," She commented, brushing her long black locks behind her ears. "Is it possible it stems from a memory?"

"I doubt it. We would have heard about it by now…she's not blocking anything, because we haven't been away from her for any length of time. I wonder if she's just…scared…because she can be?" He paused, his hand hovering again. "She wants attention?"

"I don't think so…maybe she overheard you talking. You do talk to your dad a lot about when you were a fighter," She whispered, sipping gingerly at her tea. "Perhaps she overheard something and it frightened her?"

"Hmm…it's a possibility." He shut the screen off and looked to his wife, kissing her forehead. "But you just gave me the greatest idea possible."

Videl sat in GJ's room and sighed carelessly as she tied a small ribbon around the door knob. It was to avoid any further problems with monsters. She smiled to him and ruffled his hair. "Mom! I'm too old for monsters, don't you think?"

"Goku, you're only four…you're never too old for monsters." The child was incredibly well spoken – he got it from his father. She couldn't help but smile when she heard him. "Let's go see how your sister made out."

"Scaredy pants." He huffed under his breath, following her into the hallway to Pan's room.

"Now, the bells are here to protect you. If you hear the bells jingle, it means there's something there. If they don't jingle, you'll be okay. The bells will wake you before the monster can get you. If it does happen to come for you, I made this special spray for you. It's made of troll heads and dragon fingers. If the monster comes after you, spray it with this, and it will stop." Gohan carefully explained, staring into the doorway at his wife and son. "Vi, did you explain this to GJ?"

"He knows; he disagrees." Videl commented, sitting beside Pan on the pink bed. "Ladybug, daddy will be here to protect you. If you get scared, you come get him and he'll help you." She saw his look of disgust and smirked. "You're the resident monster slayer, remember? I had nothing to do with those fights."

"No, you were just the reason I continued to fight-anyway…GJ, do you have any questions, son?"

The boy shook his head and looked at his sister with a smile. "Its okay, Pan. Don't be scared; the monsters won't eat you. I'll defend you."

"Thanks, but, I think I'd rather have daddy do it. Knowing you, you'll be the one jingling the bells!"

It's slightly rushed…it's also 1 in the morning. :D

I have a severe fear of closets, being around them…in them…they freak me out. I'm not afraid of what's in them, I'm just…afraid of them. After googling, which I thought the word for it was along the lines of "Tarantaphobia" – which is wrong, because the way I just spelled it is either the fear of pregnant women, or the fear of four…but I'm not sure…google says it's actually "auchlocaustrophobia"…the fear of dark enclosed spaces. That's what spawned this story lol.