TIME LINE: A FEW WEEKS AFTER THE DEFEAT OF MAJIN BUU; GOHAN IS 17, GOTEN IS 7.

"Goten!"

Said small seven year old blinked and stretched, sitting up. It was a rarity for Gohan to wake him up. Usually it was the other way around. Normally, Goten took pride in pouncing on his brother's chest like a wild cat. It was just how he was and it had become a game of sorts between the two brothers. Goten found it was getting harder and harder to do. Gohan would hold him off with a hand, roll over at the last second or hide under the bed and trick him onto jumping onto pillows.

But not today. Goten hated to admit it but he felt well, horrible. It had started yesterday but he hadn't wanted to tell Mom or Daddy. Mom had gone off with Bulma for some kind of weird shopping trip. Something about celebration for having everyone back and peace at last. Goten had a feeling Mother would bring back clothes because she had done a whole bunch of measuring on him, Gohan and Daddy yesterday before she left. She and Bulma had said something about doing some kind of tours in some cities before they came back, because now Mom had a lot of money. After Buu, Big Sister Videl said somethin' about Royalty or something to her Papa, talking about all their battles, including the battle with Cell and this one with Buu. So now, every time Mr. Satan got a check for doing something related to his fame with Cell or Buu, then Mom and Daddy and Gohan got a check too. Daddy said Goten got one too and when he was old enough, he could choose what to do with it. Goten didn't understand it but Gohan had said that it was "fair."

And he believed Gohan.

So, the Son matriarch took full advantage of it and said she and Bulma were due for a "Girls' Weekend." Whatever that meant. He thought all weekends were the same but what it meant to him was that he had more time to just play with his brother. Mom had been a little nervous about leaving them because she knew Daddy would go on a sparring spree (and potentially taking them with him!) or leaving him with Gohan for most of the day. Goten and Gohan had both assured her that they'd be fine, in Goten's words "We're tough boys, Mom! We can handle being home alone for a little bit!"

As for Daddy, he got a chance to spar with Vegeta this weekend, finally. Apparently, the Saiyan Prince was not going to relent until he got his re-match. Goten didn't know why Vegeta bothered. His Daddy would always be able to beat him. Maybe it was some kind of adult game though. He much preferred hide and seek. Or exploring. Mount Paouz was so gigantic that he could spend a whole year seeking it out and find something new every single day. Gohan always found something new to show him!

He could see how sparring could be lots of fun too though, especially with Big Brother! Now that Gohan had gotten back into the martial arts, he was a ton of fun to spar with. Before when they'd be training for the tournament, that had been fun but it was nothing compared to how they fought now. The other day, they'd totally lost track of where they were and wound up in the sky, way up high. Goten only noticed because the birds were suddenly gone.

The best part about Daddy and Vegeta doing their own fighting tournament (well, match but he knew it would turn into multiple matches-kinda like how he and Trunks always wound up playing lotsa games) was that he and Gohan were all alone, since last night! Gohan got to be in charge and last night was really fun, at least it seemed to have been. He woulda enjoyed it more if he didn't itch so much. Gohan told him maybe he needed to take baths more. Yuck! Unless it was a bath outside or playing in the water, baths were boring.

But he had tried to enjoy it but it was hard. He had a belly ache now and his head hurt but he thought that was because of dinner last night. Having Big Brother in charge was lots of fun, especially because with NO Mother AND No Daddy to tell them 'eat more, you needa grow,' or 'get something healthy in you for heaven's sake!' then dinner last night was a kid's dream! Big Brother let him eat Animitsu, with ice cream on it even, for dinner! He ate six whole servings of it. Even Daddy woulda said three was enough because it was purely a treat, but Big Brother didn't stop there. He got to eat mochi with bean paste in the middle which was something that Mom usually only did on special occasions. Then, he got out some Mochi ice cream. Goten smiled, in the mere memory; last night had basically been mochi, mochi, mochi! He probably ate more last night than Mom and Daddy would let him eat in three months!

After that, Gohan let Goten help him make Okonomiyaki and they coated that in so many sugary and fatty foods that even the two half Saiyans had trouble eating it. There were even leftovers and that never happened! Goten had to struggle to down what he could, but he did so because he knew the chances of it ever happening again, at least for a long time, were very rare. But it had been harder than it should have been. He should have been able to down that thing without a problem and he and Gohan should have been doing janken to decide who got the last piece. Instead, both boys had ended up wrapping up about a third of it "We'll save it for Dad" Gohan had said and Goten had surprised himself by falling asleep not long after. Before his bedtime even!

Now, come morning, he was still tired.

Gohan groaned, not just at himself but Goten. Truth be told, they didn't really have to get up yet. They didn't have much to do except clean the house before Daddy got home. Mom would be gone until later in the evening but Daddy would be back by the afternoon, he'd said. Of course, knowing Daddy, that really meant by about suppertime. Gohan hoped that Daddy would bring them home something so that he wouldn't have to cook. He had had fun, as much as could be expected last night, but he'd really been doing it for Goten. He knew his little brother would love having the sweets and he knew that it was almost an unspoken rule that if both parents were away that some household rules must be put on hold. For Gohan, that meant stuffing his brother with food and staying up until they fell asleep watching TV. Though, Goten had still passed out fairly early, especially since they had no parents telling them to go to bed. And yes, neither of them had had a bath the night before.

The teen admitted that perhaps they had overdone it on the sweets. He hadn't been one hundred percent the day before and the sweets had probably not helped because now it felt like he had a pool of lava sitting in his gut. It was hard to walk standing upright and he would gladly had laid in bed all day but he knew all too well that if he laid back down and slept some more that the dishes they had simply thrown in the sink would just become harder to clean. The way he saw it, the sooner they got that accomplished, the better.

So he bit down the urge to sleep and blamed his headache and dizziness on way too much sugar and his own stupidity before he jostled his little brother's shoulder.

"Goten!" He called in a firm but gentle prompt.

"Go 'way!" The child tossed his arm off and buried his head under his pillow.

"Get up, Goten." Gohan pressed, not really feeling in the mood to deal with his pesky brother's protests. "We have to clean up the kitchen at least."

"Why can't Daddy do it?" The child groaned "He's the 'dult."

"Because we made it." Gohan reasoned through clenched teeth.

"We make it 'very night and Mother hasta clean it." Goten argued.

Gohan didn't mention that the roots to that probably laid with him; in the days before the Cell Games he broke more glasses and dishes than he could count and he didn't doubt Mother did not wish a repeat of that, especially now that there was himself as well as Goten who had a tendency to be a bit clumsy at times. Two Half Saiyans with the strength of Super Saiyans just seemed like a disaster waiting to happen, even if it meant that Mom got an unfair amount of work.

"You really wanna hear Mom yellin' about us taking care of the house first thing? They probably won't let us stay home like this again if we leave the house a big ol' mess." Gohan finally settled on as a defense. "I don't want 'em to think I'm irres'onsible."

Goten was tempted to lay still a little longer just to hear Big Brother talk. Big Brother was careful with his language and stuff around Mother and his classmates because he knew that's what was proper and it was how he'd been raised. But when it was just them, and sometimes him and Daddy, Big Brother would definitely reveal he was the son of two mountain hicks. He would let that accent that he kept so carefully hidden come out full force. Goten loved to hear it, but he also heard what his brother was saying.

"…Kay." He finally relented and kicked off his sheets, sitting up slowly, his body protesting every single move he made. No fair, they'd only sparred some yesterday and he'd done the warm up and cool down exercises. Wasn't that supposed to make sure you didn't hurt? No fair! He was also resisting the urge to scratch at his arms and back. He didn't wanna take a bath yet and Big Brother was probably going to make him, more so if he started to itch like that. "I'm up, Big Brother." He declared, as if he deserved an award for that accomplishment. "Happy?"

Gohan just stared at him. "Big Brother, what is it?" Goten blinked, feeling a wee bit of anxiety tickle his chest.

Gohan blinked, delayed a moment more and then pulled Goten up, lifting the boy's arms, looking them over. He didn't find many but it was just enough…a red dot here, another there. He lifted the younger boy's night shirt and found more, patches of them. Red spots. Gohan was no doctor but he certainly knew the symptoms. His little brother's skin felt a little warm too and now that he focused, his ki felt drained. Gohan was also very familiar with this illness; he caught it himself when he was about eight and it had been pure hell.

"Lay back down, Goten. I'll get the dishes." He finally said with a deep sigh.

"But you just sai-" The younger boy began.

"I know what I said!" Gohan snapped, rubbing his temples. Goten was _NOT_ helping the dizziness, stomachache or the headache and Gohan wanted nothing else but to lay back down and bury himself under the covers forever. But that wasn't the option. He was the elder brother. It was his job to handle this when his parents weren't around. Unfortunately, if his little brother was sick, he couldn't exactly take a sick day himself.

"You're cranky, Gohan." Goten snapped at him but he did what his brother asked and pulled the covers back over his head. Cranky or not, he was not about to turn down the offer to go back to sleep. Gohan walked off, disappearing into the kitchen. Drenching one of their dish towels into cold water, he went back to his sibling and folded it across his forehead. Goten yelped in surprise when Gohan pulled the sheets down and laid it on his face but he admitted it sure felt good.

"Big Brother-" He began to ask but his brother answered first.

"You've got chicken pox, Goten." He declared simply.

"I got poxed by a chicken? I didn't even go near a chicken…" Goten frowned "And what's it mean to get 'poxed' anyway?"

Gohan had to laugh, slightly, at that. He regretted it instantly and winced; that had NOT helped his headache."I didn't name the illness, okay?"

"So, am I gonna die?" Eyes huge, lip quivering, Goten inquired "Was it a demon chicken?"

"No." Under his breath, Gohan added, "You might wish it at times though." He offered as large a smile as he could manage "But it'll pass." He didn't feel like adding that it seemed when Half Saiyans got sick, they got really sick. No reason to let his sibling worry and fret. It certainly explained why he was struggling so much with whatever he had. Downside to being Half-Saiyan. You didn't get sick often but when you did, you really got sick. Nature had lousy timing.

"Oh-" Goten trailed off and collapsed into the pillow willingly when his brother gave a gentle push.

"Just stay there and I'll get the dishes and something for the spots." He offered a smile of reassurance.

"You gonna erase them or something, Big Brother?" Goten inquired. His brother was certainly smart enough to have something to do that.

"No but I bet they itch." He eyed his brother, then on second thought added, "It'll kinda erase them because it'll take out the itch."

"YES!" Goten grinned; then he wouldn't get a bath! It was the stupid spots' fault. The boy started to rack his nails down them at a high speed, now that there was no fear of the dreaded soap and water.

"Goten, no!"

At his brother's fierce call, Goten froze.

Gohan groaned, again. He was NOT feeling up to this, "Don't scratch them, you'll make them itch worse."

"Nu uh." Goten protested with a head shake, "They itch at one billion trillion right now!"

Gohan didn't bother to tell his brother that that wasn't an accurate number, mainly because he still remembered how much his had itched. He was sure he'd driven both his parents batty. As much as he hated to admit it, he really wished his father would come home about now then HE could deal with this and Gohan could go back to bed, selfish as that sounded. His brother didn't feel good but neither did he. Woulda been best if they could both just pass out and sleep.

But, not an option.

Leaving his brother with a firm warning of a slow and painful death if he started scratching, Gohan went to dig through their herbal cabinets, looking for that mix that they put on pretty much everything that itched. He had to push through several jars before he found what he was looking for. Opening the lid, he groaned deep in his throat. The dark yellow mixture had turned a dark green, meaning it had gone bad and was no longer useful.

Swell.

Gohan didn't say much when he went back to his brother, just picked him up, moved him into the living room and plopped him in front of the TV. Television was not something either he or Goten usually got to watch in excess (not that they generally felt like it) so when Gohan gave Goten the remote and told him to find some cartoons, it seemed to shut him up for the moment. Gohan was glad because he really didn't want to deal with Goten's a million and one questions right now. All he told him was he was going to go get his medicine to make him feel better. Truth be told, he probably should have put Goten in the bath with some kind of herb but he did not feel up to the fight that would ensure.

So, he headed out to the bamboo fields then into the surrounding forests, seeking out that plant his father had shown him a long time ago. The sun normally would have felt good but today, Gohan damned it. It made his head throb. He had woken up with a headache that he thought couldn't possibly get any worse. But now, with the sun and starting to dig in the ground, it was making it worse. He knew that he shouldn't be doing this work but he had to for his little brother. His parents hadn't let him suffer when he'd caught the chicken pox and he wasn't going to let his brother.

It took some doing to dig up enough roots. They were quite the stubborn roots and he had to be careful to get the entire root so he was digging into the earth with his fingers. He couldn't remember how much it took to make a whole jar but he knew it was at least three. It took some trying to find enough because they weren't completely in bloom yet. Luckily, with the backdrop of the mountains, they had a wide range of plants and Gohan had listened well when his father had shown him when he was younger. After his training with Piccolo, during the three years training for the Androids, Goku had taken it upon himself to give him some formal knowledge on the herbs and plants and it had served him well.

It only took about an hour but when Gohan stood up, he stumbled. Subconsciously, he called up his ki to keep from falling. The world around him suddenly seemed to swirl and twist. He reached out, bracing himself against the nearest tree before sliding to the ground and slumping against the wet grass. Early morning dew was still present. He closed his eyes, blocking out the world a moment. Take refuge in the darkness that surrounded his eyesight, he coached his swirling mind. He didn't want to ever open his eyes again. The grass was soft; he could just lie down right there…

No, he had to take care of Goten. Burden of being the eldest…but more than that. He...his brother didn't deserve to suffer. He could rest later. Get his brother taken care of first. Goten first!

He opened his eyes and winced at the intense flood of pain in his temples but pushed himself upward, balanced himself then headed homeward.

Goten was sitting on the couch, having found a channel he liked. Looking up, he blinked, "Big Brother, you okay?"

"I'm fine…" He wheezed.

"You look horrible." Goten remarked bluntly.

"Gee, thanks. You're really one to talk…" Gohan began but opted not to continue. No point.

"Are you—" Goten tried again, sitting up but Gohan shook his head and Goten flopped back down.

"Don't worry about me." Gohan softened his tone, a bit touched by his sibling's concern. Even sick, he couldn't turn down that face and it served as a well needed motivation to push through that illness. It wasn't going to hold him for long but it was enough to give him enough energy to go and finish this chore. He went into the kitchen and washed off his roots, starting to cut them up and mash them together with some water. It didn't take too long but every time the knife blade hit the cutting board, it sounded like a bomb going off in his ears. He wanted it to stop…

Finally satisfied, he walked back to his brother who was trying to rub his body against the couch, rather like a sneak, Gohan noted. Sitting by his brother, he sighed and Goten echoed his sentiments. The two exchanged looks. Goten pouted. "I want this to go away, Big Brother."

"I know." He responded, scooping some of the cream onto his fingers and attacking the spots on his brother's back. He heard Goten wince at first at the nasty feeling but then let out a deep sigh of relief once it started to do its magic. He worked from back to front, letting Goten apply some to the spots he had on his genitals. Gohan remembered that. That was easily hell embodied. So, he gave his sibling an extra bit for that, telling him to layer it.

No problem there. After about fifteen minutes, Goten looked like someone had sprayed him down with yellow paint. He had big globs of it all over his body. But he was sitting still, no longer trying to rub his back or arms. Gohan went to put the jar up but Goten whined, reaching up and grabbing his sibling's wrist with a gooey hand.

"Big Brother…"

"…What?"

"Stay here." He pouted "Please..."

"Goten, I hafta finish the dishes—"

"Just for a little bit." Goten pleaded. He pointed to the screen. "Until this cartoon's over please?"

Gohan made the mistake of looking at his brother's face. Those wide eyes, combined with the little dots and feverish flushed face was pitiful and only someone like Vegeta coulda said no…and lately, Gohan wondered if even he could have said no. With a giant sigh, he put the jar on the side table and sat down by his brother, folding against the couch cushions in a slouch. Goten immediately curled up and laid his head on Gohan's lap.

"Goten," came the half-hearted warning, "Just until this is over…"

"…Kay…"

Gohan moved his arm and he felt the remote fall off the couch arm. He groaned but then, seeing how comfortable Goten was, decided, "Well…I can pick it up in a minute…"

The smell of something cooking made Gohan blink and open his eyes. He shifted and felt the thin blanket spill off his shoulders. Sitting up, his brother was sleeping by his side. Someone had moved them both to the floor, on one of their floor futons. Goten was dead asleep, a fresh cloth put on his forehead and fresh lotion smeared on his body, including where some new spots had appeared.

Forcing himself to sit up a little straighter, Gohan felt a wet cloth slip from his own forehead. He caught it in his hands, looking around. He saw a tray with two glasses of tea sitting by his side. He picked up one of them and started to nurse it slowly. It felt good and cold. Shifting back, his elbows hit some pillows strewn across the floor. They felt good and suddenly sitting up seemed like too much work and he laid back, closing his eyes.

"Why didn't you call me, Gohan?"

Opening one eye, Gohan was met with his father's concerned face. The elder man wiped Gohan's face with a wet cloth and Gohan sighed in deep relief. That felt so damn good! He didn't answer his father right away. Goku picked up the glass from the tray and put it to his son's lips. "Drink some more." He commanded in his rare don't-argue-with-me tone. While Mother was known as the stern parent, it was a fact that Goku had that side to him too. It just rarely came out.

It was out right now.

Gohan accepted the tea and Goku helped him lay back down slightly, propped up a little by the pillows and the couch. Enough that he could still sip the drink but a much more comfortable position than sitting upright. As Gohan obeyed what he was told, Goku moved to Goten, wiping off the old lotion and rubbing on new. Goten opened one eye at the motions and blinked, "Daddy?"

"Hey, little buddy." Goku smiled at the younger boy, "Don't feel so hot, do you?"

"Big Brother said I got poxed by a chicken." Goten groaned, laying back down. "Daddy, go make dinner out of it for poxing me!" He demanded as Goku rubbed some lotion onto a bunch of rather new spots on the boy's neck.

Goku chuckled low under his breath and replied, "You let Daddy worry about that chicken. You worry about restin' and none of that scratching!" He added, seeing the boy's fingers starting to slowly migrate towards his neck and face.

The young boy pouted, like a child caught with their hand in the dessert cabinet but he laid down, saying "Can we watch TV?"

"Not that you two probably haven't watched enough," Goku smirked. "But go ahead."

Goten started to flip through the channels as Goku went back to Gohan, eyeing him critically, that unspoken question that demanded an answer. Gohan responded, with downtrodden glance,

"Well, you and Mom were busy and-"

"And you know we would have come back if we knew you were sick." Goku raised a brow at his eldest. "You know that."

"But I didn't want you to have to come back." Gohan eyed his father "That has to get annoying."

"What does?" Goku inquired, taking the empty glass from his son's hands.

Elaborating, the teen stated, "You know…having to drop everything for us…thought I'd help you out."

Goku pushed Gohan's pillows down so he had to lay down and responded with, "I appreciate it, son but it isn't annoying."

"How can it no-" He began but Goku was already explaining.

"Because you're my son and so is your brother." He laughed, a little "I mean, sure, being a parent has its drawbacks but it's never annoying that you call me 'cause you're sick!"

"But-"

"But nothin'." Goku said very firmly, laying the cloth back on Gohan's head and starting to massage the boy's temples. "Yer my boys. I wanna know when you need me, hear me?"

"Well-"

"No, no 'well.' You better call me next time, son or you're grounded!"

Despite himself, Gohan smirked at his father's playful threat, though one could argue that it might not be a threat but a promise. Contrary to popular belief, Goku was quite capable of administering parental discipline if need be. He just did it so rarely that when it did happen, you remembered it. Judging by the seriousness in his father's eyes, this might have been one of those times. "…deal."

"Good, now get some sleep." Goku demanded with a firm tone. "Sleep is what helps you mend."

Falling back against the futon and certainly appreciating the veil of responsibility being lifted, Gohan still felt the need to add, "Sorry Dad."

"For what?" Goku asked, standing up slightly.

"Left you a lot of dishes." Gohan elaborated "I...mean, like, a lot more than we should have."

"Stop worrying, Gohan." He smirked. "I've been cleaning up for you for years. No reason to stop now."

Gohan didn't say anything to that. Much as he was an older teen, heck, almost an adult, it was a nice feeling to be cared for. Goku stood up, came back a little while later with some soup for both the boys. Goku wasn't a great cook, especially with stuff like this but he knew how to use a microwave and open cans. That meant the soup was edible, more or less. Goten needed some prompting and Gohan, though he was loathe to admit it, probably sounded like a whiney baby because the smell of it was making him feel worse. Still, for his father's sake, he ate a few spoonfuls before lying back down.

Gohan imagined he hadn't had his eyes shut very long when he heard Goten ask,

"Daddy?"

"Hmm?"

"Can you read to me?"

Gohan opened one eye and saw Goten waving of their small picture books at the elder Saiyan. One that used to be Gohan's when he was young and he'd passed it onto Goten. It had a whole bunch of old ancient myths. Pretty nice paintings in it too, actually. Goku set down the tray he had been carrying and sat down on the futon, settling right between the two boys.

"Which one, little buddy?" He asked simply, retrieving the old worn book from his youngest.

"The one about the boy in the peach." Was the immediate response and Gohan smirked.

Goku chuckled at the answer, "That used to be Gohan's favorite."

"Really?" Goten perked up a bit "I'm like Big Brother then?"

"Yep," Goku smiled and ruffled first Gohan and then Goten's hair, "More than you think."

Happy as a clam, Goten nuzzled his head against Goku's thigh as he flipped through the pages, finding that story as requested. Gohan eyed the two a moment, old memories playing at his mind. Goku was a really good story teller. He always made the stories seem so real. Like they were history and he had been there and watched them happen and was just relaying them from memory. It made it so even if Gohan had memorized the story, he wanted to see how Daddy would relay it. Daddy could read but not very well. So, for some of the fairy tales, Daddy would sometimes add his own twists to it. So, for a lot of stories, they were never the same twice. Gohan used to believe that Daddy made books magical, that they would change their letters for Daddy.

"Remember this story Gohan?"

Gohan blinked, feeling Goku stroke through his black hair. He shifted his eyes up and realized without even noticing, he had nuzzled his head against Goku's thigh, just as Goten had done on the other side. Maybe he was old enough to read text books that made professors stumble but that didn't meant he didn't like a good old fashioned fairy tale every so often. There was nothing like being read to.

Especially with Daddy doing the reading.

Smiling faintly at his father then his little brother, he responded, "Is the book's version or Daddy's version?"

Goten interrupted. "Daddy's version!"

Goku rubbed first Goten then Gohan's hair and tossed the book over his shoulder and onto the couch, "Oh, in that case—"

Slipping in the front door, ChiChi froze in mid step and set her packages down soundlessly. The house was dark and there was a pile of dishes in the sink. More than that though, her maternal instincts were firing at her. Walking into the living room, she paused then smiled down at her husband. Goku made a "shh" sound but didn't move.

Goten was fast asleep, his mouth slightly open as he used Goku's thigh for a pillow. Gohan's eyes were shut, his breathing even as his head was propped against his father's lower stomach and upper thigh. Goku looked hardly comfortable and the way he could occasionally massage his lower legs, ChiChi knew that his legs had fallen asleep. However, as he always did when Gohan was younger, he refused to move and just gave his wife a happy grin.

"Tough boys, Goten tol' me." ChiChi smiled, shaking her head, kneeling down to stroke the hair out of her poor boys' faces.

"They are." Goku responded, looking down at his children with a warm smile that burned from the depths of his soul. "My tough _little_ boys."