Disclaimer: Don't own DB or DBZ, or the characters.

Chapter 8

A year and a half later (Gohan is two: for those of you not so good at math, like me unfortunately).

Gohan walked, as well as any toddler can walk, out of his room and into the kitchen. He was hungry; and he'd come to learn that the particular room he was standing in produced food. Usually only when he mommy was around, but it had done it before when his dad was there too.

He opened the door of the fridge, which he also knew was a source of food, and proceeded in dragging out the containers he hoped would produce his breakfast. His infantile mind couldn't quite comprehend that the noise he was making went farther than the room he was standing in. Also, he didn't know his parents had woken up.

ChiChi was on the verge of wakefulness. She knew she was in bed and asleep, but still she dreamt on. Goku was beside her moving just a little: from on his back to his side. His arm draped over her stomach, and he rested his chin on her shoulder. He'd not much more than began dozing off again when his sensitive ears picked up odd noises from downstairs.

He listened intently for a few more minutes, but he picked up nothing…not even a large power reading anywhere nearby. It was only Gohan and ChiChi inside the house with him. So he shrugged it off and tried to rest some more, it was too early to get up anyway.

"Goku?" ChiChi asked.

"Hm?"

"What was that noise?" She asked, turning to look at him.

"I don't know, but it stopped." He said, closing his eyes.

"I think we should check it out." She said, pulling the covers up to her chin.

"You mean I should check it out." He said amusedly, rolling over and standing up.

"Thank you." She said, and twisted back around to rest.

Goku slipped on a shirt and pajama pants, and walked down the hall. He looked in Gohan's room to check on him, but found no Gohan. He got the odd sensation of something wedged in his throat, and ran through the hallway looking for his son. Then he entered the living room, but still nothing. He walked into the kitchen, now frantic, and found the fridge door open.

A few steps closer he noted that Gohan was in the floor covered in…well, several somethings. He was calmed down immediately, and went to his son.

"What did you get yourself into?" Goku asked, shutting the door and carefully picking up his messy son.

"Bekfess daddy." He said, as they entered the bathroom and sat on the side on the tub.

"Breakfast?" Goku asked. "Gohan…" He stopped, and laughed. "I guess I would've done the same thing at your age…iffen I was hungry."

Gohan smiled. "Bat now?"

"Huh?" Goku asked.

"Bat now daddy?"

"Bat?" Goku thought as he started peeling off Gohan's clothes. "Oh! Bath! You wanna take a bath now?"

Gohan grinned and vehemently nodded his head.

"Oh, okay." Goku smiled and turned on the water for the tub.

"Noooo." Gohan whined, and shook his head.

"What? You just said you wanted to." Goku frowned, and turned off the water. "You gotta get clean one way or another."

"Big tub…ouwside." Gohan said, pointing in the direction of the front door.

"Oh, the barrel." Goku said. "Okay, you like taking a bath in the barrel."

Gohan smiled again and nodded, and poked his father's broad chest. "Wit you."

"Okay…with me." Goku laughed, picking Gohan up and walking outside.

He took the barrel from the storage room, where it was kept until used, and placed it expertly over the fire he'd built. Gohan stood anxiously by and waited for the water to heat up. He was only in his diaper, and still dripping with leftover…stuff. When his father came to stand by him he grabbed a hold of his pant's leg.

"Don't do that." Goku said, holding Gohan out at arms length. "You'll get me dirty too."

"Dirry…need bat." Gohan said, pointing at his father.

"I'm not dirty. I'm clean." Goku protested. "I'm just getting in because I like it, and you want me to."

Gohan smiled. "Kay."

A few minutes later, ChiChi's voice filtered outside.

"Goku…Gohan?" She called.

"We're out here." Goku yelled back.

"Ya…we ouw heeah mommy." Gohan called.

She popped her head out of the door. "There you guys are. What are you doing?"

"Gohan got a little…messy. So were getting cleaned off." Goku explained.

"Goku, there is a perfectly fine bathtub inside the house, I don't want Gohan to catch a cold out here." ChiChi scowled at the barrel.

"Aw ChiChi, it's too warm for him to catch a cold." Goku argued. "Besides, he said he wanted to take one out here."

"Ya mommy." Gohan said. "I wan take bat in…bar-barle (grunt)…that!" He pointed to the barrel."

"No, I don't like it. I told you to begin with you shouldn't have put him in there." ChiChi crossed her arms and glared.

Goku smirked just a little. "Come on Chi, he likes it. And if we get too cold, we'll come inside."

Her defenses faltered for a minute, and she looked at the barrel again. Goku did it every time. He could always, somehow, manage to wear her down without even trying. Nevertheless, she began to cave.

"Well…" She said.

"Please Chi." Goku begged.

"Petty peese mommy." Gohan begged too.

And that was the end of the struggle.

"Alright, alright. Stop with the puppy dog eyes." She said slightly angrily. "And that means you too Goku!"

Goku nodded and turned around, so he could keep smiling. But then he turned to her before she walked inside.

"Oh, yeah, ChiChi…" He said, and she turned around. "Gohan made a little mess in the kitchen. I'll get Gohan clean if you can do the kitchen."

She sighed. "Gohan, what were you trying to do?"

"Bekfass mommy." He said.

"Breakfast." Goku corrected.

"I know what he was saying." ChiChi said. "And you, young man…" She said to Gohan. "No more sneaking into the kitchen. I'll do the cooking, not you."

Gohan frowned and nodded.

"Okay then." ChiChi said. "If it gets cold, come in Goku."

"Yes dear." He said, taking off his shirt.

She walked inside, and sighed again as she saw the nastiness she would have to clean up.

"Yeah, of course he wants me to handle the kitchen." She said. "Who wouldn't want to play in the water instead of cleaning up this mess?"

She bent to wipe up the food, and mentally reprimanded herself for not saying that to Goku, and not punishing Gohan more thoroughly. She couldn't let him become spoiled; he'd be no use to anyone that way. But, she couldn't be too hard on him either. Kami, how do you handle these things? How do you know what punishment to give, if any? How do you ensure you're raising a child correctly?

Just have to play it by ear, I guess. She thought. He's smart, I can see it. He's talking and understanding things so well at such a young age.

She smiled in spite of her current position, which was on her hands and knees whipping the floor. Her son would not waste his talents, he'd become a scholar. She wouldn't let him become like her and Goku, always struggling to save or stretch what little money they had. He'd have a good job and an excellent education, and he'd have the chance to make something great of himself.

Unlike her.

Gohan squealed as he went under the water, then back up. Under the water, then back up. Goku laughed as his boy blew bubbles and splashed around, just enjoying being in the barrel.

"You really like it out here, huh?" Goku said.

"Ya." Gohan said. "I like it."

"Later today, you want to go flying with me on Nimbus?"

"Nimus?" Gohan asked.

"Yeah, remember, I showed you not long ago." Goku said, pointed to the sky. "The little yellow cloud that takes me flying."

Gohan grinned. "Kay."

"Good." He said, grabbing Gohan up and tickling him.

"No!" Gohan yelped, and laughed. "No, no daddy!"

"I got ya now!" Goku said, almost knocking the barrel over as he jerked around playfully.

X-x-X-x-X

"We won't be gone long Chi." Goku said over his shoulder. "See you for supper."

"Be careful Goku." ChiChi said.

"We will." He answered, and then they were off.

Goku held Gohan in his right arm as he jogged down the well worn path he'd made through the woods. Gohan was smiling and looking around at the tall trees and animals they passed. Soon Goku took them into a clearing and called for his little cloud.

"Nimbus!" Goku yelled, and almost instantly the cloud was beside him.

"Nimus!" Gohan yelled too, and squealed as the cloud friendly (and a little playfully) pushed up against his face.

"Nimbus you remember Gohan." Goku said, speaking as though the cloud could talk back. But Goku knew his friend could understand him, even if Nimbus had never said so.

"Gohan, you want to go flying now?" Goku asked.

"Ya." Gohan said, flailing his arms around.

"Okay, Okay." Goku said, stepping up on Nimbus. "Quit that, you're not a bird."

"Chirp, Chirp!" Gohan said, then he laughed. "Yes I am."

"Oh, my mistake." Goku said, and sat lotus style on the cloud with Gohan in his lap.

"Okay Nimbus, lets go!"

The cloud took off and Gohan yelped in both surprise and fear. He suddenly found himself very, very high in the air. He grabbed hold of his father's right arm forcefully, and Goku nearly yelled at the strength behind the action.

"Gohan, it's okay, you won't fall." Goku said, trying to pry his son's fingers from his arm.

"Gohan, son, you're really okay…I promise. I won't let you fall." Goku said, sure his arm was going to bruise if Gohan didn't let go soon.

Gohan was fully crying by then, and still not letting go of his father. Finally, Goku yelled for Nimbus to take to the ground and stop. Gohan calmed down once they were only hovering a few feet above the ground. He let go of his father's arm, and settled for squeezing his gi in-between his fingers.

Goku rubbed his arm and stared, in acute fascination, at how red he was. Not even Krillin or Yamcha had ever grabbed him so hard, and they were seasoned warriors…two of the strongest on the planet. His son was strong when he wanted to be, just like his dad.

For the first time, save for when Gohan was born, he felt a large swelling of pride engulf him. His son was more like him than he'd first thought. With the right training (and ChiChi's permission, of course) he'd make a great warrior.

"That's quite a grip you got there Gohan." Goku said. "When you're a little older, I bet I could teach you how to use that power of yours."

"Whad powa?" Gohan asked.

"Huh?" Goku said. Had Gohan not noticed the grip he had? "Um, never-mind. We'll deal with it later."

"Kay." Gohan said, back to his cheerful self.

"Now, Gohan, Nimbus won't drop us." Goku said, as Nimbus eased up into the air. "We'll take this a little slower this time."

Gohan made a nervous noise, like a moan, and grabbed his father gi more tightly.

"It's okay." Goku said, putting his arms around him. "I got you, you're not going to fall. There's nothing to be afraid of."

"Pomiss?" Gohan asked.

"Huh?" Goku said.

"Pomiss…you not led me fall." Gohan asked.

"Yeah." Goku said understandingly. "I promise."

It didn't take very long for Gohan to become more accustomed to the flight, and he began to laugh and relax. After about an hour, he actually yelled for Nimbus to go faster. Goku smiled and laughed when Gohan would try to talk to the birds as they flew by, or cough when they went through the large white clouds.

Eventually, Goku stood up and let Gohan grab his leg. That way, with his hand on Gohan's head to ensure he was still on the cloud, they could do tricks. Nimbus would flip and spin, twirl and bounce with great ease. Gohan laughed and yelled in excitement every time they went upside down, or especially when they went down towards water. The ocean or lake they happened to be over would spray Gohan lightly, and he loved it.

When they landed and Gohan hopped off the cloud, Goku turned to his friend and patted it.

"Now, Nimbus, if Gohan ever calls for you, be sure to pick him up." He said.

The cloud squeaked and shook slightly, then took off for the sky again.

"Well, supper won't be done for a little while." Goku said. "What do you want to do?"

"Esplore!" Gohan said.

"Explore?" Goku asked, and Gohan nodded. "Okay, sure, what do you want to explore?"

Gohan smiled and looked around. "Dere." He said, pointing toward the woods and clearings to the west.

"Okay." Goku said. "Let's go."

Goku started walking when Gohan ran ahead of him, laughing and yelling for his father to try and catch him. Goku smiled and stayed on Gohan's heels for a good portion of the "exploration". He was a little surprised to find that Gohan, when he wasn't tripping on his own feet (from lack of coordination), he could run pretty fast. In fact, for a toddler, Goku doubted Gohan could be beat.

So the speed and strength are there. Goku thought. But what about skill? You have to have skill or the others are useless.

"Daddy, you gedding 'low." Gohan said, as he ran through some more trees and tried to stay ahead.

"Slow? Me? I don't think so." Goku said, speeding up barely enough to touch Gohan's back.

He squeaked as he felt his father's touch, and kept laughed long after he'd been caught and thrown in the air. Goku was just as loud and merry, when suddenly he fell silent and still. His grip on Gohan tightened and he looked up, down, and to both sides.

"Piccolo." Goku hissed under his breath, as the familiar ki became very noticeable.

"About time you noticed." Came the bass voice from not far ahead of them.

Gohan looked around to see a green man floating in front a big waterfall. Gohan had never seen a green man before… or one so big. He waved at the man, but the man didn't wave back. He just looked at Gohan, without smiling or saying a word.

"I…" Goku started, suddenly scared. Why had he been careless, and not noticed Piccolo's ki until now? Had Piccolo been shielding himself, was he planning to attack?

Goku's worst nightmares were suddenly brought to his memory, and his breath hitched. He wanted Gohan away from here, and away from him.

Piccolo, though, didn't budge or make any indication that he wanted to fight. It was painfully obvious to the Demon that Son was still stronger than him. Too strong to mess with…yet.

"Leave. Now." Piccolo said.

Goku, faintly aware that Piccolo's ki was still weaker than his own, nodded dumbly and turned around. Gohan looked over his daddy's shoulder at the man, who his daddy had called "Piccolo", and waved again. The man scowled at Gohan, and so Gohan frowned back.

"Bye-bye!" Gohan yelled at the man, who must have been stuck in the air if he wasn't waving back.

Goku's eyes bugged and he put his hand over Gohan's mouth, and then took to the air. He flew faster than he realized he could, and all the while Gohan wriggled and squirmed in his arms.

"Daddy…you hurding me." He finally said.

Goku lightened his grip, which had been considerable, and landed in the clearing in front of there house.

"Gohan." Goku said seriously, more seriously than Gohan had ever seen him. "I don't want you to ever, ever go that way (he pointed to where they'd just came from) without me with you. Do you understand?"

Gohan nodded.

"Good." Goku ran his hand through his hair. "That man you saw, did you get a good look at him?"

"Piclo." Gohan said.

"Piccolo…yes, him. Do you remember what he looks like?"

"Ya, geen." Gohan said.

"Yes. Good." Goku said, kneeling in front of Gohan. Eye to eye, he spoke to his son. "Gohan, Piccolo is a bad man. If you ever see him again, run away. Run as fast as you can and try to find me. Do you promise?"

"I pomiss." Gohan said, and hugged his daddy's neck. "I sorry. I nod know he was bad."

"I know you didn't. It's okay. He's really strong though, he's the second strongest fighter in the world." Goku said.

"You the firss, right?" Gohan asked.

"Yeah, I'm the first." Goku said, taking Gohan's hand to walk toward the house.

"Daddy?" Gohan asked.

"Yeah?"

"What make Piclo bad and you good?" Gohan asked.

Goku stopped walking. "I don't know what makes some people good and other's bad Gohan. I just know that Piccolo…he's not happy. His father hated me, so Piccolo hates me too. He wants to rule the world like his father did, and he wants to kill me."

Gohan frowned. "Why? Whad you do to make 'im mad?"

"I killed his father. He was evil, just like Piccolo is evil. And he killed a friend of mine. So, I beat him to make sure he wouldn't hurt anyone else."

"Oh." Gohan said. "kay."

"Remember what I said." Goku said, before they completely left the clearing. "Don't go back there unless I'm with you. You promised, and you have to keep a promise Gohan."

"Kay daddy." Gohan said, and walked some more toward the house.

Then they entered, and Goku suddenly realized he should have told Gohan not to tell his mother. ChiChi would go insane, or worse…get angry. Kami, he hoped Gohan would forget about what happened soon.

It was a few weeks later that Gohan was sitting in his room learning his alphabet. His mommy wanted him to learn the funny shapes so he could write them, whatever writing was. And she was helping him to memorize them. "A" was for apple. "B" was for Bear. And so on.

"Okay, Gohan. This is "D", for-"

"Daddy!" Gohan said triumphantly.

"Yes, good job. "D" is for daddy." ChiChi moved to the next one. "Okay, "E". What is "E" for?"

Gohan thought for a minute and tried to remember. "Um…ephalent?"

ChiChi laughed. "Elephant Gohan…say Elephant."

"Ephe-"

"No. Do what I taught you with a word you don't know. Sound it out."

"El-e-ph-an-t. Ele-pha-nt. Elephant. Right?"

"Yes. Good job." ChiChi said. "Okay, now "G". What does "G" sound like?"

"Geen." Gohan said.

"Green." ChiChi corrected.

"Oh. Green." Gohan said. "Like Piclo."

"What?" ChiChi yelped, nearly falling out of her chair. "Where did you hear that?"

Gohan had tears that swelled up in his eyes from his mommy yelling at him so loudly.

"Don't cry Gohan, but tell me where you heard that name." She said softer.

"I sawd him." Gohan said, sniffling. "Wit daddy, long time ago."

"Why didn't you tell me before?" ChiChi asked.

Gohan shrugged.

ChiChi huffed and went to the next card. "Did anything happen?" She asked.

"No. Daddy left when he sawd Piclo." Gohan said. "H is for house."

"Huh?" She looked down at the card. "Oh, yes, that's right…Gohan, were you afraid of Piclo?"

"No." Gohan said. "He look funny, and he green (Gohan was carefull to pronounce it right). But not scawy."

"So, you weren't afraid of him at all?" She asked.

Gohan shook his head.

She grunted. "Well you should be, he's not nice."

"I know. Daddy told me." Gohan said. "Nest one is "I", like ice."

"Alright Gohan, but you stay away from Piccolo. Do you hear me young man?"

"Ya mommy, I will. Daddy done told me to."

"Good. You listen to your father." She said, proceeding with the lesson.

X-x-X-x-X

Goku lay in bed as ChiChi brushed her hair in front of the mirror. Not for the first time he thought of how pretty she was, and how lucky he was to have her. She was demanding, and somewhat mean at times. But she had to be, he guessed, being married to him (of all people) and having a crazy little kid like Gohan around.

"Goku." ChiChi said. "Something interesting came up in Gohan's lesson today." She stated surly.

"Oh yeah, what was it?"

"Well, seems he had a run in with a green man named Piccolo not too long ago." She said, and turned to look at him.

Goku had the look of a deer caught in the headlights, but she was too angry with him to care.

"Why didn't you tell me you saw Piccolo?" She yelled. "I had to find out through our son, who didn't even realize the danger he'd been put in!"

"I just didn't want you to worry." Goku said honestly. "I knew you'd probably never let him out of the house with me again if you knew."

"Well you're probably right!" She said. "I didn't want Piccolo to know about Gohan!"

"ChiChi, he's probably known about him since the day he was born…or sooner. Gohan has a pretty high ki signature for a kid…and it's a lot like mine. Piccolo would have known that Gohan was mine, and where to find him."

ChiChi sat on the bed and punched Goku's arm. "Why didn't you tell me though? I'm your wife and you can't keep secrets from me."

"I know, I'm sorry." Goku said. "I was a little shaken up myself, and I just didn't want you to worry."

ChiChi huffed, and jerked away when Goku kissed her cheek.

"Please don't be mad at me." Goku said. "Besides, Piccolo wasn't mean or nothin', he didn't even want to fight."

"Of course not, you're still stronger than him. He knows to wait until your unguarded…or preoccupied." She crossed her arms.

He put his arms around hers and kissed her neck. "It'll be okay. Gohan's fine, he wasn't even scared."

"That's what worries me most. Gohan can't keep thinking Piccolo's just another person. It would be dangerous for him to be in the dark about what Piccolo is capable of."

"I told him ChiChi, I've told him a hundred times about Piccolo. He just doesn't seem to be bothered." Goku paused. "Besides, there was something different about Piccolo this time."

"What do you mean?"

"Piccolo, he was different. He acted…well, not like himself."

"He's probably just trying to get you to let your guard down. Don't be fooled Goku."

"I'm not, and I'm not saying I want to invite him to dinner…I'm just saying he was different. Something about him was just…different."

"Okay, okay…I get it. He was different. But I still don't like him, not at all."

"Well, me neither. We'll just have to stay extra watchful. Okay?"

"Okay." She said after a pause. Then she lay down and sighed.

After a few minutes of darkness and silence, Goku bent and kissed her goodnight, then lay on his side next to her as he always did: his arm drapped over her stomach and his head resting against her neck and shoulder (mostly because he loved the smell of her hair). She took his hand and rubbed her thumb over his fingers, and he kissed her shoulder in response. They heard Gohan in the next room shuffle around in bed, and then settle down to sleep again. They both smiled, and closed their eyes.

"Goodnight Chi." He said to her.

"Goodnight Goku, I love you."

"Hai, I love you too."

A/N: Now, everyone repeat after me: "Aww, how cute"… Hehe, thanks for reading and see ya'll in the next chapter.