Tien hit the ground hard, gasping for air. He didn't get back up. He just wasn't in it today. "Sorry, Goku," he groaned, forcing himself to sit up.

Goku landed and powered down, nodding at Tien. He looked tired. "You look like you haven't slept in a week."

"I don't think I have," Tien answered truthfully. He rubbed at his tired eyes and fought the urge to yawn. "These nightmares just won't stop. And I still can't even remember what they're about." He was starting to get really irritated with the situation. Now, instead of waking up just a couple nights a week, it was every night, some times more than once. He'd even taken to holding Sabriena until she fell asleep and then he would scoot her over across the bed for fear of accidentally hitting her in his sleep.

Goku sighed. "I wish I knew what to tell you to do. Hey! I know! Why don't we see if Gramma can make a dreamcatcher for you, too? I can sleep all night long on the couch without having a nightmare now!"

Tien cocked an eyebrow at Goku. "The couch?"

Goku scratched the back of his head, forcing a laugh, "Chichi hasn't let me sleep in the bed since we got back from training."

"What?" Tien asked, his face screwed up in confusion. "Why?"

Goku shrugged and waved it off. "Ah, she'll come around. She always does. She's just really mad at me this time." He was rather tired of what was going on with Chichi. His heart ached. He wanted a warm bed, to hold his love close. He felt so alone.

Tien shook his head. Sometimes he really didn't understand why Goku put up with Chichi.

"Down! Down!" Sabriena hissed as she rounded the edge of the cabin, wrapped in Tien's cloak against the cold air. The Great Dane bounded next to her, jumping up at her, trying to get at the basket of eggs she carried.

"DOG! DOWN!" Tien commanded. Dog trotted over to where Tien sat on the ground and licked at Tien's face. "Goofy mutt," Tien laughed affectionately and scratched at the dog's ears.

Goku smiled at the dog and plopped down onto the cold ground. "Hey there, boy. Sabriena being mean, not giving you any eggs?" He winked over at Sabriena. "Hey, I meant to ask you, have you been sleeping okay?"

"Sleeping?" she asked, setting the basket of eggs just inside the door to the cabin. "Yeah, I'm sleeping just fine." She walked over to sit by Tien. "Oh!"

"You okay?" Tien asked her.

"Ground makes my butt cold," she answered. She scooted closer. "You should warm it up."

Tien felt the blush spread across his cheeks. He still wasn't quite used to being affectionate towards Sabriena in front of anyone. He knew it shouldn't have mattered – it was just Goku there.

She ignored his red face and turned to Goku. "Tien hasn't been sleeping very well, though," she added. "You look like you're feeling a lot better, though."

Goku smiled warmly at them, it felt good to be around them, and the love they showed for each other seemed to reach out to those near them. "Yeah, thank goodness for Gramma's dreamcatcher. I was surprised how well it worked. Not one bad dream since." He sighed and looked up at the grey sky, a storm was coming with lots of snow. The air around them held that quiet that promised the soft flakes would soon fall. "I think we will need a rain check on training today. You two need any help with chopping wood or anything?" He cringed, the thought of going back to his house and facing Chichi's blank, emotionless expression made him sick

"I think we're good," Tien answered. "We put up a whole bunch yesterday."

Sabriena could see the disappointed look on Goku's face. "You can stay for lunch if you're hungry," she offered kindly.

He face lit up. "You don't mind? I really appreciate it. I'm starving!" He laughed. Starving because there had been no breakfast to be found. When he made it to the kitchen, Chichi had been cleaning up Goten's breakfast of pancakes and said she had used up everything and would have to go to the store to get more. He sighed heavily, "I wish this war was over already."

"Me too," Tien said.

Sabriena got to her feet, trailing her nails up Tien's arm and across his shoulders as she went. She hesitated for a moment, standing slightly behind Goku, her fingers flexing. "I... I can't... I can't stop myself!" she giggled and grabbed his head, ruffling his hair. "I freaking love your hair," she said playfully through clenched teeth. She let him go and composed herself. "Sorry. I couldn't help it." And with that, she disappeared into the house.

Goku's eyes fluttered shut when roughly rubbed at his hair. He had to stop the purr that started working its way out of his throat; gods, that felt good. He sighed sadly when she pulled away and looked sheepishly over at Tien. "Sorry..."

Tien laughed lightly. "She's silly," he said. "She's changed a lot. She's a lot nicer than she used to be. I wish everyone else could see it." He shook his head. They hadn't seen a whole lot of their friends since the boot camp was over. Tien suspected none of them wanted to return to his cabin for a very long time and that was fine by him. They had all gone back to their own training, everyone working so hard, himself and Sabriena included, that no one had much time for visiting anymore.

Goku nodded. "She's not that woman I picked up last spring that's for sure," he sighed and leaned back, the cold was starting to seep in to his limbs now that they had stopped sparring.

Tien could see Goku starting to shiver. "Come on, let's go inside."

Sabriena was frying eggs and bacon in the big fireplace, loaves of homemade bread lay sliced on the table. "I hope egg and bacon sandwiches are okay,"' she said to them as they entered. "It's nothing fancy, but our options are kind'a limited this time of year."

Goku's stomach growled loudly in response and he laughed warmly and shut the door firmly behind him before moving to sit at the table, his fingers stinging as they warmed up. "That smells good! I didn't eat breakfast so it works out for me!" The cabin was warm, smelled of good food. He leaned his head on his arm and smiled over at them, he felt his eyes starting to droop as he sat on the up-ended stump in what had become his spot at the table. "Oh man, think I can bother you for some coffee?"

Sabriena already had a pot of coffee going and poured a cup for him. "We don't have any cream," she apologized, "but here's some sugar if you want it."

Tien shook his head as he drank from his own coffee cup. "Sugar freak," he growled at her. "What a way to ruin a perfectly good cup of coffee."

Goku laughed. "Sugar is what I put in it any way," he said as he put a scoop into the cup and stirred, breathing in deeply then dark liquid, relishing in the heat that spread through his body, "So, you guys coming to the Christmas party?"

"Another party?" Tien sighed, "We just had one!"

Sabriena laughed as she started putting the sandwiches together. "That was for our harvest, Tien. And that was over two months ago now."

"I know," he grumbled.

She paused and put her hands on her hips to stare at him. "I didn't see you complaining when you were stuffing your face," she snapped, trying to hide the laughter in her voice.

Goku laughed, "this one is Christmas, Tien! Presents and Santa Claus!" He snickered, "I heard Catie is trying to get Vegeta to dress up as Santa and Piccolo as the elf. I think they were plotting her death the last time I checked."

Tien and Sabriena laughed loudly. "Oh man, I'd pay good money to see that," Tien laughed, wiping at his eyes.

Sabriena slid a stack of sandwiches at Goku and another to Tien before she sat down and chomped into her own. "What do you guys want for Christmas?" she asked. "I gotta go shopping for everyone."

Goku groaned as he bit into the first sandwich he picked up, it was so decadent, and it was gone the next second. The stack of sandwiches wolfed down in no time flat, he looked over at Sabriena, trying to think of what he wanted, his cheeks rounded out as he chewed thoughtfully before swallowing. "Ah, you don't have to do that. I'm happy to have you two as my friends. That's all I need. But I think Goten would like something."

"I'm getting something for everyone," Sabriena stated. "What would Goten like? I suppose I should get something for Chichi, too..." She frowned thoughtfully. "Oh man, everyone's going to be hard to buy for. The kids should be easy... What do I buy for someone like Vegeta? Piccolo?"

Tien swallowed a bite of his sandwich and stared at her. "Why are you buying stuff for them?"

She blinked at him. "I like to give people stuff. And it would be rude to buy for some and not the others!"

"Don't get me anything," Tien said, picking his sandwich back up.

"Too late," she grinned. "I got you something and you're going to LOVE IT."

Goku laughed. "You can always cook for me! Goten's been asking for a puppy ever since he saw Dog, but Chichi is pretty much against that."

"PUPPY IT IS!" Sabriena cried, throwing her arms in the air, laughing.

Tien rubbed at his eyes with one hand. "Sabriena, no."

"Oh, all right," she huffed. "I never get to do anything fun." She got to her feet and cleared away their empty plates. "Did you guys get enough to eat?" Sabriena asked.

Tien nodded.

"Goku?"

Goku rubbed his full belly and nodded. "That was so good! Thank you, Sabriena! Oh my god. I'm so full."

Sabriena smiled and looked out the window. "Oh, it's starting to snow already! Tien, could you go check and make sure I shut the chicken coop?"

Tien set his cup on the table, "Yup."

No sooner had he left the cabin than Sabriena bolted from the table and ran to the hope chest at the foot of the bed. "Goku! Come here, quick! I wanna show you something!"

Goku groaned as he sat up straighter and got up, walking over to Sabriena and dropping next to her, looking into the chest. He cast a glance over his shoulder at the door, " what's up?" He felt a spark of playfulness surge thought him, like they were two little kids up to no good.

She hauled a heavy wad of material out of the chest and unfolded it on the bed. It was a patchwork quilt, made of animal pelts. White, brown, grey and black, the quilt was big enough to cover the entire bed. "I just finished it! Tien had a bunch of pelts from hunting that he hadn't used, so I sewed them into a quilt for him. Feel it! It's so soft. Do you think he'll like it?"

Goku trailed his hands over the quilt, it was soft extremely and wonderfully warm. "You made this? It's beautiful. Sabriena, he is going to love this." It was a beautiful gift; he'd never seen a more perfect gift for Tien.

She beamed. A movement outside the window caught her attention. "Oh shit, he's coming!" she whispered and quickly folded the quilt back up and stuffed it into the chest, just as Tien walked in the cabin. She sat on the chest and smiled at him. "Hi honey."

"Hiiiii," he said slowly, staring at Sabriena and Goku at the end of the bed. "What are you guys doing?"

"Oh, just, ah, you know..." Sabriena stammered. She looked at Tien's boots, which were covered in snow. "Oh my gosh! That snow's coming down fast!" She jumped up and grabbed Goku's wrist pulling him towards the door. She linked arms with Tien and marched both of them towards the door. "Let's go play!" she giggled.

Goku barely had time to grab his coat off of the table, pulling it on as he looked around outside. It was beautiful, a pristine white blanket over everything. It landed in his hair, spotting it white. He laughed with Sabriena as she dragged them outside. Her giggle was addictive, bubbly, and he couldn't stop himself from joining her.

Sabriena had a devilish look in her eye as she let go of them. She walked to the center of the yard, her arms outstretched and tipped her face to the sky and spun in a circle. "It's beautiful!" she smiled. The snow was pouring down in huge flakes, sticking in her long blonde hair. SMACK! Sabriena jumped and screamed as the snowball hit her back.

Tien was snickering, his fingers coated with snow.

"TIEN SHINHAN!" Sabriena shouted. "Oh, it's so on!" She bent and scooped up a handful of snow as Tien laughed and reached for another.

Goku laughed and yelped when a snowball whizzed past his ear and was shocked when a second one smacked his nose. He grinned at them both, quickly leaning down and scooping up the snow, flinging it at them before they had a chance to strike.

Sabriena screamed and ran as Goku aimed another snowball at her.

Tien laughed as the snowball he threw smacked into Goku's shoulder, then turned and ran when Goku rounded on him.

They didn't know how long they ran around in that snow, laughing and shouting like children until they were doubled over, struggling to catch their breath. Sabriena grabbed Tien around the middle and fell backwards into the snow with him. "Snow angel!" she laughed, swinging her arms through the snow.

He laughed at her as he lay to her side, giving in to the playfulness and mimicking her movements.

"You too!" she cried, reaching up and grabbing Goku's belt, pulling him back into the snow with a grunt as he grabbed wildly at the air, trying to prevent his fall.

It was hopeless, of course, as gravity took over and he fell back to lay next to them in the snow. It didn't seem so cold now and Goku laughed as he mimicked Sabriena's arm and leg movements at her insistence. His hand brushed against hers and he laughed turning his head to look at the snow angels. "Your snow angel is touching my snow angel. It looks like they're holding hands!"

She laughed as she looked over at him. "Our angels are in love!" she laughed.

"Oh, and what's that make my angel?" Tien snickered.

"Yours is the booty-call on the side," Sabriena teased and Tien fell back in the snow, laughing.

Goku laughed more with them, their voices mixing with the quiet world around them, giving it substance. Goku's breath hitched as he felt something, but he clamped his mouth shut. No... it... that couldn't be what he was feeling. Definitely not. He smiled over at them both, "I don't want to call it a day, but I guess I'd better head home."

"Awwww," Sabriena whined. "But we're having fun!"

He smiled sadly at her and then at Tien, "I'll come back in a few days, maybe some time after the party? We'll see if we have better luck training then. Hopefully Tien will get some rest too!" Goku felt terrible at the happy butterflies in his stomach. He couldn't understand it and he needed to get home to his mate. Perhaps Chichi was in a better mood and wanted to see him, maybe that's where this feeling was coming from.

"Take care, Goku," Tien said. "We'll see you at the party." He got to his feet and offered Goku a hand, pulling him up.

Sabriena hopped up, brushing the snow from her jeans. "I had fun today." She smiled up at Tien, "I think you did too."

He looked down at her, "You're silly."

Goku smiled at Tien and Sabriena. "It was fun! We'll have to do it again! Thanks for everything guys. I'll see you at the party!" He waved goodbye before he pressed his fingers to his forehead and vanished.

Tien shook his head at the spot in the snow where Goku had vanished.

Sabriena stepped closer to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. "What's wrong, handsome?"

He sighed and pulled her closer, wrapping his cloak around her. "I feel bad for Goku. Chichi has him sleeping on the couch permanently now."

"Chichi makes him sleep on the couch?" Sabriena asked. "All the time?!" She pouted. "That's not fair."

Tien looked at the snow angels on the ground and the one that had Goku's distinct hair, frowning at it. He turned them around and walked them back inside. "I've never really cared for Chichi, but Goku's head over heels in love with her."

"But WHY?" Sabriena demanded. "Tien, she's horrible, and you know it. I just don't understand how someone like him could end up with someone like her!"

Tien shrugged and pushed the door closed behind him. "I wish I knew. I wish there was something I could do for him, but he's just so stubborn. You know how he is. Hopelessly optimistic. I think he's holding on to the hope that she'll come around, but it kind of looks like he's fighting an uphill battle on this one."

Sabriena sighed sadly and stepped closer to Tien, playing with the front of his shirt. She looked up at him, her hazel eyes worried. "We'll never be like that, right?"

He reached down and tilted her head up too look into her eyes; he loved those eyes. The moment she had taken out those god awful green contacts, he had fallen into those eyes and never came back. "Never," he stated simply. It was the truth. The thought of doing that to her or the thought of her doing that to him twisted his insides up and made him sick to think about it. He pulled her close, wrapping her into a warm hug, kissing the top of her head before leaning his own on top of it, staring into the fire that had died down a little while they were outside.

"I love you," she whispered fiercely, hugging his waist as tight as she could. She couldn't imagine being so cold to the man she loved. That wasn't love. People who loved one another didn't do things like that to each other. "I love you, Tien," she repeated.

He smiled, hearing those simple words made his heart skip and warmed him better than any fire. "I love you too, Sabriena." He leaned back and cupped her face with a hand, his thumb stroking over her cheek bone when she leaned into the touch. How lucky he had been, all those months of waiting for this - it had been worth it. Every second had been worth it. He leaned down and caught her lips in a tender kiss.

She kissed him back slowly, passionately, his hand cupping her face, his other arm pulling her to him. She'd never felt so safe and loved. Slowly they broke apart and she smiled at him, reaching up to hold his hand against her face. "Come here," she said and led him over to the fireplace, pushing him to sit on the floor. She quickly tossed a couple logs in the fire and prodded at it until the flames licked up and she sat next to him, leaning against his side, sighing contentedly.

Tien smiled, loving every minute of his life with her. He opened up his arms, holding the bear cloak away from his body and ushered her in with him, seating her in front of him, he wrapped the cloak back around them both, his arms going around her and he stared into the fire, letting the heat of the fire thaw them out. It was rather comfortable there on the floor. He suppressed a yawn; barely a day of work and he was tired. He would blame that on the snow. It made everything seem sluggish once all the fun had been had.

They spent the rest of the afternoon and most of the evening together there on the floor, talking about everything under the sun, stealing long kisses and enjoying contented moments of silence, happy with just being together. All they needed was each other. She made them a late supper and they crawled into bed, falling asleep quickly in each other's arms.

Author's Note: Just thought I'd take a moment to comment on some of the reviews. First of all, thank you Amkula for being such an awesome reviewer! You always take the time to comment on all the chapters and it is appreciated!

GreenSaiyan – I'm glad someone noticed! Everyone's attention is on Goku and no one (not even his parents) seem to notice how Goten's being affected. This will be addressed more down the road.

Rinpup – Your comments crack me up.

Guests – Yes, I suppose this is an AU. The Buu saga doesn't happen in our stories and after the Cell games, Goku wasn't dead for those 7 years. Also, there is a bigger age gap between Gohan and Goten. There are other details we've changed as well, I've left comments about this in my profile if you'd like to read more.

– Glad you're enjoying the story!

Anyone commenting about Chichi – If you feel that we are bashing Chichi, then you probably won't enjoy the rest of this story or any of the future ones we're planning on posting. SPOILER ALERT: Chichi eventually has a turn around, but it is not for a very, very long time (as in, 20 years down the road from now) and she continually gets worse throughout this series before she gets better. I'm serious. She gets much, MUCH worse.

As always, thank you all so much for reading my stories! Please leave me a review, it gives me so much more motivation to keep working and posting faster updates! I am a shameless review whore.