Goku sat on his son's bed, tucking the covers up around his chin. "I'm gonna miss you so much, kiddo," he said as he ruffled his hair, leaning over and kissing his soft cheek, "but I'll be back as soon as we are done, I promise." He managed a small smile, staring at his son, looking into those big black eyes, "you understand?"
Goten pouted, tears brimming in his eyes. He didn't want his daddy to go away for so long. He was safe when daddy was home. He shook his head, burying his face in his pillow. "Why can't I go with you?!" he cried, his little hands bunching in the sheets. "It's not fair! Gohan gets to go!"
His heart broke seeing his son like that and he gathered him up in his arms, holding him tightly. "He is going because he needs this training. You are too young for it. It's not going to be fun, it won't be pleasant, and I certainly don't want you to see what I will have to do. I don't think I could forgive myself if you see me like that. Being mean. Believe me, I would let you come if I could. I swear to you Goten, when this war is over, I'm going to be around a lot more. I want to spend time with you and your mother. I love you both so much, don't let any one tell you any different." He buried his face into his son's wild hair, "How about I talk to mommy and see if she won't take you and go stay at Capsule Corp while I'm away? I would feel better."
Goten nodded his head emphatically. "Yes! I want to go stay with Bulma." Bulma was fun; she let him and little Trunks run in the house and eat ice cream and stay up late watching movies. And Trunks had the best toys. "Please take me over there before you go," he whispered miserably, grabbing his dad's shirt, tears dripping down his nose. He didn't want to stay at the house without his daddy there. It didn't feel safe to him. He just knew something bad was going to happen if his daddy wasn't there to protect him. "I'll miss you, Daddy."
Goku felt his shirt getting damp and he leaned back, reaching down and wiping away Goten's tears. "Okay buddy, yeah, of course I'll take you there. I promise." He held a hand to his son's ear and whispered, "and it'll get you out of that table full of homework for a little while. Just be ready to go early, is that okay?" He rubbed his son's back over and over, trying to calm him.
Goten sniffled and hiccupped, rubbing at his bloodshot eyes. "Okay, Daddy," he answered and laid down in bed, reaching for his teddy bear and pulling it closer. He buried his face into the stuffed animal, trying to fight his tears again. "I love you," he said meekly to his father as he shuddered, fighting another sob. He curled up on his side, squeezing his eyes shut, swallowing over and over. He wanted to go with his daddy so bad.
Goku felt his own eyes starting to tear up, watching his son cry so hard, but he couldn't bring him. He wouldn't scar him like that. Goten hadn't closed his eyes during the vision and Goku was grateful for that. He didn't know exactly what Vegeta was planning, but he understood that he was going to have to play a role he wasn't used to and he was going to have to be harsh. He didn't want Goten to see him like that. "I love you Goten, I love you more than life itself. I will do anything I can to protect you, kiddo." He kissed his cheek again. "Everything will be alright." His heart tore at him, he missed his son terribly already, thinking over the past months, how much time he had missed with him and he had spent training. "Hey, when I get back, how about we all go some place warm for a few days?"
Goten nodded and pulled back from his teddy, looking up at Goku. "Promise?" he asked, his voice sounding more like a whimper. "Just you and me?" 'Please say yes,' he thought to himself. Somewhere warm, just him and his daddy, having fun together. It sounded like heaven to him. He didn't like the cold any more than his dad did. "I promise I'll be good," he said. "I won't get into any trouble if we go somewhere!"
Goku chuckled and threaded his fingers through Goten's hair, rubbing at his scalp. "Are you kidding? You are like, the most well behaved kid I know, it's me you are going to have to keep out of trouble. And yeah, it can be just you and me. Mommy never likes where I pick to go any way. Oh! How about you pick where we will go? Maybe some place that has hot springs," he suggested, smiling at the thought.
Goten finally smiled and sat up suddenly, wrapping his arms around his dad's neck. "Okay, Daddy! I'll pick a really good spot! I'll look on Trunks' computer when I go stay with him and Bulma!" He squeezed Goku's neck for all he was worth and planted a big kiss on his cheek. "I love you, Daddy. Goodnight!" he said and laid back down, feeling a million times better already.
Goku chuckled, hugging his son back tightly and moved off the bed, tucking the little one back into bed. "Alright then, sounds like a plan! You surprise me with the destination when I get back and we can leave that day!" He kissed his son goodnight and stood up, turning off the light, "sleep well son." He pulled the door to a crack before his ran a hand over his face hand headed to the master bedroom, giving Chichi a smile as he came in and started stripping his clothes off, tossing them toward the laundry hamper. "So, I think it would be good to take Goten and you to stay with Bulma while I'm gone."
Chichi turned from the vanity where she was brushing her hair. "Why on earth do I need to go stay with Bulma?" she asked. "There's nothing wrong with our house. We'll be perfectly fine staying here." She turned back to the mirror, running the brush through her long raven hair. "Not like you care how we are, seeing as you're getting ready to run off and spend weeks out there at Tien's house. This is quite possibly the dumbest thing yet."
Goku nodded, thinking how horrified the others were going to be when they saw him acting cold. "It needs to be done. You saw the vision. Those people were vicious and they use torture to get information. Our kids aren't ready for that." He paused and turned to her, "and I know this house is safe, but I'd feel better knowing you were in town with Bulma. Just in case. I'm taking Goten there in the morning I think he's pretty scared about the war." He walked over to Chichi, giving her a sad look in the mirror. "You should let your hair down more often. You look so pretty with it down," he said, watching the shiny locks as they fell down her back. He reached out, running his fingers through her soft hair as gently as possible. "Please be safe, Chichi. I don't know what I would do without you and Goten"
"Oh, honestly, Goku, you worry too much," she scolded. "I don't see why you have to go at all. It sounded to me like Vegeta's got this whole thing under control. Why on earth does he need you out there? He's got everyone else with him. You know, you could be using this time to spend it with your family instead of going out to play army for however long he decides to keep you out there." She put her brush away and slammed the drawer shut. She got up without looking at him and marched across the room into the bathroom, leaving the door open as she washed her face. "It's just plain silly. What a waste of time."
Goku shook his head, moving over to the bed and pulling the covers down. "No, it may be different from what we're used to, but it's not silly and it's not a waste of time. Vegeta's right! I'm too soft when it comes to that stuff. I could put someone in danger if I drop everything I am doing in a moment to go help someone else in trouble. I have to learn to let it go, to trust in the others as well as myself to do the right thing. You and Goten are my whole world, Chichi, and everything I do it to protect you all." He sighed and shook his head, sliding under the covers but didn't lay down yet. "I know it's not fair to you and Goten, just when I was trying harder to make things up to you. I'll plan another romantic night for us, a couple of days after I get back. Well, after I take Goten camping for a little bit. But I will make it up to you, Chichi, I swear it."
She dried her face and returned to the bedroom, frowning at him. "Oh no, mister! You're not sleeping in here tonight! You wanna go out and rough it with those idiots, then you might as well get in the practice now. You can sleep somewhere else tonight!" She crossed her arms over her chest, glaring at him. "Take Goten camping? You can't do that! He has homework to do! I swear, Goku, I am SICK of you undermining me at every turn. You didn't listen when I said I didn't want you to do this, now you're planning camping trips and romantic nights? Well you can just forget your plans. Besides, spending time with us will just get in the way of your precious training anyway, right?"
Goku frowned but didn't move to get up; he firmly laid down on the bed and pulled the covers up. "Chichi, you want me to spend time with the family? This is me spending time with you before I go on this training session that is going to test me in the worst possible way. I am sleeping here tonight. With you. I am going to be spending time with Goten, camping. Romantic nights with you, it's what you wanted, Chichi! Isn't it?" He asked, rolling over and looking at her.
Chichi scowled at him as she shrugged off her robe and climbed into bed. "Oh yeah, it's exactly what I wanted," she replied, her voice dripping with sarcasm. She threw herself down on her pillow, huffing as she pulled the covers up to her chin. "Quit lying to me, Goku. You act like this is some big burden to you, when you know deep down you're loving this. You love every minute of your training. Don't feed me a bunch of crap about how it's for me and Goten. It's for you, you selfish jerk." She crossed her arms and rolled to her side, turning her back to him, her lips pressed so hard together in frustration that they trembled.
He was hurt, really hurt. "How can you say that? Every time I go out to train, it's for you. It's so I can make money to help you, it's so I can protect the world you and our children live in. How can you say that it's selfish? I've died! Died, protecting our son, this planet, you."
She turned over harshly to face him again. "Yeah, and what did you do in otherworld? Oh, that's right. Train. You were gone for a YEAR. And then you got back, got beat up, spent a couple weeks in the hospital and then took off for Namek and didn't come back for another YEAR. And what did you do as soon as you got back after that? TRAIN FOR THREE YEARS STRAIGHT. And every time you take care of some threat, there's always a new one that pops up that you have to prepare for. It's never going to end with you, is it? Is it?! Tell me the truth!" she demanded, her eyes fierce, her shoulders shaking under the covers.
Goku shook his head. "Chichi, I don't know, I honestly don't know! You want to know why I was training?! I just had my son KIDNAPPED. I was afraid. I am afraid. If I'm not strong enough, that if I slack for even a moment, that it's going to happen again, but then they will go for you, and Goten, Gohan, Lindsey, our grandson. And I will never be able to forgive myself if it's because of me. If it's my fault. I train because I'm scared of losing you, Chichi. Of losing everything."
Chichi pressed her lips thin, fixing him with a cold stare. "Oh, is that so? And what happens if you lose it anyway?" she asked, her voice cold and flat. "Keep this up, Goku. See what happens." She was sick of this. Sick of it all. Of him and everything he did. It didn't matter what he did now, it grated on her nerves. And she couldn't help it. She'd tried, oh how she'd tried to ignore the way she felt, but she just couldn't. She'd denied her feelings about him and their situation for too long and now she was at a breaking point. "You're going to lose everything anyway."
Goku felt tears in his eyes, her words haunting. "Please don't say that Chichi, it breaks my heart. You can't say that I haven't been trying. Ever since you told me you wanted me around more, I've been trying." He said, "I'll show you, when I get back I will." He wanted to hold her close, like he used to, smell her hair and go to sleep, just like it used to be. "We can talk about this when I get back. I think that vision has us both on edge. I love you, Chichi. Goodnight. Sleep well, dear."
Chichi rolled over without another word, scowling at the wall. If he thought he was going to get away with another night of 'romance', like that was going to make it all better, he was sadly mistaken. She didn't want to talk about it. She didn't want to deal with it. In that moment, she wanted nothing more than to just run away.
Chichi had a horrible time falling asleep that night, her frustration with her husband and her life so strong that she couldn't seem to shut her mind off. She had only fallen asleep for a short time when she heard Goku scream out in his sleep and she sat bolt upright in bed, staring at him in the darkness. "Goku!" she shouted, angry with him for waking her. "What is the matter with you?" She clicked on the bedside lamp, staring at him as he thrashed in bed, fighting off some invisible force, screaming in his sleep. "Even in your sleep, you're still thinking about fighting," she growled. "Wake up!" But Goku didn't wake; he kept crying out over and over, tossing and turning. "GOKU, WAKE UP!" Chichi shouted and slapped him across the face.
Goku woke from the nightmare; he had been trying to fight off one of the Saiyans, a large grotesque beast with red eyes, trying to hurt his wife and his youngest son with those awful hammers. It felt so real, he thought, that maybe they had come into his home and snatched them while he was sleeping. He had been punching the monster who was choking the life out of Chichi but before he could do anything he felt a swift blow to his face and then stars flashed before his eyes as he suddenly woke up, silence all around him.
He sat up straight, his cheek stinging, looking around and seeing Chichi. She looked furious, but he didn't care. She was alive. Oh thank the gods, she was alive. "Chichi! You're alright!" He grabbed her up into a crushing hug, wrapping his arms around her, burying his face into her hair, listening to his heart race. "I thought... I dreamed the worst... it was so realistic..."
"Get off me!" she shrieked, pushing him away. She was breathing hard, wanting to slap him again. Of all the stupid, irritating things he could do, now he was envisioning this stupid war in his dreams? He truly had a one-track mind.
Goku was heartbroken as she pulled from him, shrieking in his ear so shrilly that it made his head hurt. But still, he was relieved she was breathing and here with him. "Thank goodness you're alive... I… I thought..."
"Goku, this is ridiculous," she interrupted. "I can't sleep with you in here! Not if you're going to be acting like that! I couldn't even wake you up, you just kept screaming and screaming." She ran a hand through her hair, smoothing it back into place. "Go. Get out of here. I have important things to do tomorrow and I need my sleep."
He shook his head and stood up, grabbing his pillow and he headed out of the room and to the living room without another word. He'd scared himself, not only because of the dream, but if she hadn't been able to wake him, what might he have done in his sleep? Would he have attacked her by accident? He shivered as he paused at the linen closet to pull out a spare blanket. He grabbed two. One wasn't warm enough for him and Chichi said it was wasteful to have more than one comforter for the master bedroom as it was too expensive. He paused outside of Goten's room, breathing a sigh of relief when he saw him still in his bed.
He moved on to the lumpy couch, tears still in his eyes at the dream. He had to make sure that didn't come to pass, no matter what. He had to protect his mate and sons, to protect his entire family. He quickly made up a little bed on the couch, crawling under the covers, shifting around a moment to try and find a comfortable position where there wasn't a lump in the middle of his back. It was a hopeless task. He finally laid still and looked up at the ceiling. Chichi may have been mad at him for it, but this training Vegeta was planning was going to be good for all of them. Not a one of them could afford to make a single mistake in this battle. Not this time. The enemy was even more dangerous than they had been before and the stakes were too high. This was war and Goku made up his mind right then and there that he would do anything to win.
