Title: Examine His Soul

Author: Pale Orchid

Rating: G

Summary: A young Pan asks her mother how you know you're in love.

Category: General

Spoilers: Let me count zero.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the DragonBall Z characters or anything even remotely DBZ related. I'm just a poor Aussie girl with too much time on her hands.

Archiving: E-mail me so I know where they are, that's all I ask.

Feedback: Ya know, it's all good, all the time. PaleOrchids@hotmail.com or press the little review button at the end of the page. Yep, that's the one. Go on, it won't bite. At least, not the first time. :-)


Authors Note: I admit it. I wanted to do something short and sweet. Cute-ish. It's just been one of those days when you need to have something like this.

Examine His Soul.

Chapter One: How Do You Know?

Pan Son walked through the halls that connected her bedroom to the kitchen, deep in thought. Of course, since she was only four years old, her thoughts couldn't be considered very deep just yet.

The first thing she saw when she entered the kitchen was her mother standing at the stove, stirring something in a pot. Her little nose wrinkled as she tried to guess what her mother was cooking, just by smelling it. Instead all she smelt was hot water and steam. Her Uncle Goten was much better at this game.

"Momma?"

Videl turned from the stove and rice she was cooking at the sound of her daughter's voice.

"Yes Panny?"

"How do you know you're in love?"

Videl wiped her hands on a kitchen towel and walked over to one of the chairs at the table. Sitting down in it, she pulled Pan onto her lap. Stroking Pan's black hair she spoke.

"How do you know you're in love? Why are you asking that sweetie?"

"Cause Bra said that her mommy dolly and her daddy dolly fell in love and had her baby dolly. But I don't have a mommy dolly or a daddy dolly, just a baby dolly and I wanted to know if a mommy dolly and a daddy dolly fall in love and have a baby dolly, how do they fall in love?"

Videl's eyes widened in complete and utter shock at the jumble of words that flowed from her daughter's mouth.

"Well, usually a mommy and a daddy just know that they're in love because they feel it in their hearts. They look at each other and they just know."

"But how do they just know? How do they know that they're in love?"

"It's different for different people Panny."

Pan scrunched up her face in exasperation. You asked an adult a simple question and they get all silly about it. They wouldn't give you a good answer. Sometimes you had to lead them along.

"Well how did you know you loved Daddy?"

Smiling Videl thought back to the days she had spent with Gohan in school, learning to fly, following him around, fighting

"I knew I loved your daddy because when I was with him it was like we were the only two people there. The air around us used to hum and sometimes, well I felt like we were a single soul. I saw his soul."

Videl looked down at her daughter and grinned.

"Plus I found out all his secrets."

"Maybe that's because he was tired of hiding his secrets away."

Pan turned to see her daddy leaning against the kitchen door. Her momma placed her on the other chair and walked over to him.

"So are you saying that he gave me the key?"

"Yes. That's what I'm saying."

"I thought I found it and blackmailed him."

"Well that's not a very romantic story now is it?"

Pan sighed deeply. She knew that tone of voice. Getting off the chair she headed back to her bedroom. Parents. One thing was for sure. She wasn't going to go through that love stuff.

End.