Disclaimer - I don't own it.

AN: Had a weirdo idea. Hope you all enjoy it.

Convalescence

Steam rose from the small house. This was no unusual occurrence. Son Chichi was cooking dinner for her family. Eight months had passed since the final defeat of Buu.

"But Mo-mmy!" eight year old Goten whined, giving her his best pout.

Chichi stared intently at her youngest. "Goten, what did I tell you?"

Goten pouted for a minute then hung his head, knowing his mother had won the battle. "I have to finish my chores before I go out with Trunks." he said lamely.

She nodded satisfactorily. "That's right."

Gohan sat there, reading his book. "Letting him off a little easy, Mom." he commented not looking up.

"Oh shut up, Gohan." Goten said shooting his older brother a glare.

Chichi smiled and looked at Goten. "No, no. You're right, Gohan. All right, Goten, you're not allowed to leave this house until you win a Nobel peace prize."

Gohan and Chichi laughed while Goten looked crestfallen. "But Mommy, I don't even know what that is!!"

Chichi smiled and patted his head. "I know, sweetie." She kissed his forehead. "tell you what, after dinner, you can go. Is that a deal?"

Goten perked up and smiled, giving his mother a hug. "Yeah!"

She smiled as well. "Now go wash up for dinner." Goten obeyed and left the room.

Silence befell the room. Chichi stirred the soup and looked out the window. "Where is your father…" she sighed.

Gohan looked up from his book. "He'll be here. You know him."

Chichi smiled and scoffed. "Yeah, I sure do." She stirred the soup some more. "That I do." she repeated absentmindedly.

~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~

Goku stood defiantly. He eyed his enemy. His stance was sharp, ready for any sort of attack.

His attacker, however…. Looked scared beyond belief.

"Come on now, You're dinner." Goku said to the fearful dinosaur. The dinosaur shook his head and ran away, knocking over several trees in it's wake.

Goku sighed and turned his back on the falling forest. Small leaves and branches fell around him. He looked up to the darkening sky just in time to see a tree falling, heading straight for him. Due to his quick thinking, he dodged it just in time. Breathing a sigh of relief, Goku smiled and closed his eyes, just as another tree fell and hit him on the head.

Goku fell to the ground, unconscious.

** ** ** ** ** **

It was dark. The only sound Goku could hear was a buzzing noise. It was like a fly was buzzing outside of his ear. He moved to swipe it away, finding he didn't have control over his arms. He looked around. It was pitch black. Dormant feelings of fear, worry, paranoia swelled in his chest. Where was his family? The last thing he remembered was being in a forest. Was he in bed? Did he have a bad headache? Was this a dream?

That had to be it. This must've been a dream. He figured that he must've gone home, fallen asleep and he's dreaming. He looked at the endless black with confidence. This was temporary. It was a bad dream.

"… Goku?"

He heard his name. He looked around frantically. There was no one there. It sounded like a woman. It had to be Chichi. "Chichi?" He called, beckoning her to show herself.

"Oh my god…" he heard the voice again.

"Chichi?" he called. The pitch black remained, hindering any kind of vision.

"He's awake!" he heard the voice again.

He scratched his head. If he was sleeping late, boy was he in for it. "I'm sorry I slept late, Chichi."

He heard a rustle of papers and someone taking off running. Suddenly there was a light. He had regained his vision. Everything was blurred together. He saw … blue.

"Goku, can you hear me?"

Suddenly he found his mouth dry, his throat scratchy and he was unable to move his mouth. He could only nod. He opened his eyes more as his vision focused a bit.

He heard a breathless laugh. "Oh my god, you're alive!"

"Yeah," he found he could whisper.

Finally his vision cleared and he saw the speaker.

"Bulma?" he said, blinking hard.

She smiled and laughed. "You remember me!" she cried, hugging him.

"Where am I?"

"At the hospital." Bulma answered vaguely, not able to get her answers straight, at the joy of seeing Goku awake.

Goku nodded. "How long have I been out?"

Bulma suddenly looked somber. "You were in a car crash about three years ago. They took you into the hospital. You've been in a coma for three years."

Goku's mind was spinning. "Three years?" he breathed heavily. Instantly he thought of his family. "My god… was my family hurt?"

Bulma eyed his strangely. "Family?"

"Yeah, Chichi, Gohan, Goten, are they all right?" Goku demanded harshly.

"Goku… You don't have any family." Bulma nodded. "Look, the doctor said this might happen. He said you might dream up a past. Look, Goku." she took his hand. "All of those people you just mentioned, are in your imagination. They don't exist. You dreamed them up. This," Bulma nodded to the hospital room. "Is real life. Your name is Son Goku, you're 32 and you live alone. You don't have a family."

~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~

There it is folks. Hope you enjoyed it. This will eventually turn romantic, so please just stick with me!

PimpMasta Popo