A/N: Enjoy!

Chapter 29: Holiday Gathering

Five months had passed since the night Gohan told his wife the truth about his childhood and his father. Any strategies for reconciliation that Videl had made for the two were abandoned. This lead to Goku deciding to resume his training with Uub. For everyone, things seemed to get back to the way they were before the horrific accident. While Gohan remained estranged from his father, it was now at a point where nobody wanted to intervene further. There seemed to be an unspoken, unanimous decision to just let things play out between the father and son. It wasn't a lack of caring that caused the others to distance themselves from this situation, but rather it was because nobody wanted to be the cause of any more upset. Everyone knew Videl's intentions were altruistic, and yet that ended terribly for the family. Rather, it was simply best to let Gohan and Goku make their own decisions. They were both adults after all, and could handle this situation, if and when they decided to. The family and friends of the two just wanted peace, and for the past five months that is what they got.


Piccolo sighed as he approached the door. Gatherings, especially holiday ones, just wasn't something he was all that interested in. He much preferred his solitude. However, Gohan had asked for him to be there, and even tried to reassure him that this was only a small get-together. He hovered his finger over the doorbell. "Here we go." He muttered under his breath before pressing the button. Almost immediately, the door opened.

"Piccolo! We're so glad you could make it." Videl said cheerfully. "Come in, come in." She ushered, feeling the cold winter air nip at her.

Inside the house, the atmosphere was distinctively different from the harsh weather brewing outside. For one thing, it was warmed by a freshly lit fireplace, but the other noticeable difference was the ambience. The smell of cookies in the oven permeated the air and the entire place was overly decorated in holiday season. While it wasn't in his taste, he could tell the family enjoyed this time of year and that made him happy for them.

"Hey." Gohan came out from adjacent room to greet his mentor. "Come on in. Make yourself at home."

The Namekian followed the couple into the den where Tien, Chiaotzu, and Pan were sitting in front of the fireplace with the baby between them. "Hi Piccolo!" Pan waved. Although friendly, he was somewhat taken aback with this greeting. Usually whenever she saw him, she would charge at him to embrace him in a hug. However, ever since the newest addition came into the picture, her focus had shifted to her little brother. Since he didn't do too well with physical affection, he had to admit it was a welcomed change.

Sitting in a chair next to the husband and wife pair, he decided to catch up with them. "How have things been?" He asked.

"Good. Very good as a matter of fact." Gohan replied happily. "The new job is going well, Pan is enjoying school, and we are all happy and healthy."

"And the kid is doing well?" At first, Piccolo couldn't believe he was making small talk, but he had a genuine interest in the well-being of the child. He vividly remembered the x-rays of from Videl's accident. How could he forget? They showed that the child exemplified a tremendous amount of power and he hadn't even been born yet! A trait clearly inherited from his father.

"He's doing very well." Videl answered. "He eats a lot, which has been tiring a bit on me, but we've just finished weaning him so that will give me some rest."

Piccolo grimaced slightly. The human and saiyan reproductive system, and what came after birth, was something he just didn't like hearing about. Why couldn't all species be like Namekians; asexual beings that laid eggs?

Even without noticing his mentor's disgust for the topic, Gohan changed the subject to something the he knew his friend could relate to better. "Plus, he's rather strong. If he has a toy that he doesn't want to let go of, he will not let go. In fact, he's broken quite a few already because his grip is so strong. And not only has he been crawling, which babies don't typically do until about six months, but he's also levitated a bit when he's crawled."

Piccolo smiled. Seeing this kid grow up was going to be interesting.

A knock on the door interrupted their conversation. Gohan left the room and answered it. "Yamcha, Puar!"

"Hey, how are ya?" Yamcha greeted as the pair made their way in from the cold.

"We are all good here. Glad you two could make it."

"Sorry we're late." Puar apologized. "Yamcha got lost again."

This was met with a deathly glare from her friend. "I did not get lost. I just got a little… turned around."

"Isn't that what you said last time Yamcha?" Videl chided as they entered the den. Yamcha blushed. He couldn't help it if all the houses around here looked the same.

Gohan laughed. "It's alright. Come sit and relax." While everyone settled in, he was pulled aside by Videl. "I think your cocoa is ready." She said in a whisper.

"Oh, thanks, I almost forgot." As he walked past his wife toward the kitchen, Videl grabbed at her abdomen and let out a soft moan. "Huh?" He stopped. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"Oh, it's nothing. I'm just starting my menstrual cycle and it's been awhile since I've experienced… cramps." She was trying to keep the terminology as delicate as possible. However, terminology was not what he was concerned about. He stared at her with a look of worry. "Don't give me that look Son Gohan." She said with a weak smile. "I'm fine, it's just cramps. You try being a woman." She ended with a lighthearted laugh.

"Well, you have me there. But why don't you take it easy now. Most of everything is already prepared."

"Ok, but we can't forget about the most important thing."

"What's that?"

"The cocoa!" Videl said as she pushed her husband back into the kitchen. While pair went to get the drinks, the rest of the crew continued to greet each other.

"Piccolo, you came after all!" Yamcha exclaimed with some surprise. He didn't take his old rival for these types of functions.

"Hmph." Piccolo grunted, then smirked. "I did, and I arrived on time as well."

"Hey!" Yamcha raised his voice, flustered at the snide remark made at his expense. He was about to defend himself again but was interrupted by Gohan carrying a tray full of mugs filled with a warm, sweet smelling cocoa.

Videl tossed a few last second marshmallows in each one before he turned to the group.

"Who's thirsty?" He asked, but was barely able to finish his question before all but one of the mugs on the tray vanished into the sea of hands that grasped at them. The room was silent as everyone was gulping down the delicious fluid, well… almost everyone. "Piccolo, are you sure you don't want to try one?" He asked, holding out the last mug to him.

"You have to try some." Chiaotzu encouraged as he took another sip. "Gohan makes the best hot cocoa there is."

Piccolo glanced at both of them. "You know very well that Namekians don't eat or drink anything except water."

"Anything?" Pan asked rather shocked. She had heard this before but she had never really thought about it.

Piccolo shook his head.

She walked towards him and looked up into his eyes. Her cocoa milk mustache gave a funny, but cute appearance, as it seemed she was about to say something very profound.

"… Not even candy?" She asked, completely serious. The directness of the question caused everyone to burst out into a fit of laughter. Even Piccolo chuckled at the child's remark. Meanwhile she just looked down at her drink, in deep thought. "No candy?" She muttered to herself trying to grasp the concept. Taking another sip from her cocoa, she was thankful she wasn't a Namekian.

Once everything had settled down and the cocoa consumed, focus went back to the baby who was crawling around and exploring. All the questions about health and diet were asked, to which both Gohan and Videl answered affirming that he was indeed healthy and happy, despite the occurrences around his birth.

For a long time, the group continued to chat, sharing old stories as well as some new ones. It wasn't until Videl glanced down at her watch that she realized she had almost forgotten something. "Oh, Pan it's time to take those cookies out of the oven."

"OK." Her daughter replied and the two headed into the kitchen.

"Cookies? Gohan, you guys are going to spoil us." Tien commented.

Puar turned to Piccolo. "Still only water?"

Everyone started laughing again. However, their laughter was quickly cut short. Two loud noises resonated from the kitchen followed by Pan screaming. Without any hesitation, Gohan sprang to his feet towards his daughter, with the others close behind him. Yamcha scooped up the baby on his way.

"Pan, what's wr-" The demi-saiyan was cut off mid-sentence by the sight before him.

His daughter was knelt over his wife, who had collapsed on the floor. She appeared to be unconscious, with a pool of blood at her feet that was coming from her pelvis. "Videl!" He cried as he rushed to her side, shoving away the nearby baking sheet that she had dropped upon her collapse. His clothes became stained with her blood as he lifted her head up. "Videl!" He yelled once more, trying to get a response. "Speak to me!"

"Pan, what happened?" Tien asked with urgency.

Before Pan could manage a reply through her cries, Videl let out a groan, showing that she was regaining consciousness. "Gohan…" She croaked. "Something… something's wrong."

"What happened?" He asked, trying his best not to sound too panicked, even though he was far beyond that. His hands were trembling and he was scared.

Videl grabbed her lower abdomen. "The car accident…" She muttered. "The baby…" Try as she might, she wasn't making any sense. Suddenly a wave a pain enveloped her body causing her to scream out in agony. During her cries, more blood spewed from her pelvic region onto the kitchen floor. Gohan knew he had to act fast.

"Chiaotzu, get the senzu beans from the top drawer of the table near the stairs. Piccolo give me your cape… help me put pressure here to stop the bleeding." While the two went about their tasks, Gohan finally noticed the cries from his daughter at the sight of her mom bleeding profusely. He turned to Yamcha, Puar and Tien. "Get Pan to the other room!" He barked. It came off as abrasive, but they realized the gravity of the situation and the fact that Gohan was trying to juggle several tasks at once. As they lead the young girl away, Chiaotzu had managed to find the senzu pouch.

"Here." He announced, coming back into the kitchen and tossing the bag to Gohan. The demi-saiyan retrieved a bean and placed it in Videl's mouth

"Come on… come on." He said, encouraging her to swallow the senzu. With some help, she finally gulped it down and within a few seconds she had regained some composure, although her appearance still showed signs of extreme strain.

Observing that the excessive bleeding had stopped, Gohan looked down into his wife's eyes.

"Gohan." She said looking back up at him. "Something's wrong… It feels like I'm having contractions… I don't think I healed properly after the accident… Something's wrong." She repeated, trailing off at the end as she once again fell unconscious.

He could feel her erratic heartbeat. The senzu bean didn't seem to have much of an effect other than stopping the bleeding. Something certainly was wrong. Without hesitation, he asked Chiaotzu to get the front door. While his friend ran and opened the door, he stood up with his wife in his arms, and wrapped her tight in Piccolo's cape before flying out of the house with tremendous speed. Thinking on his feet, Piccolo pursued him, but not before shouting to the others to watch after Pan and the baby.

While in the air, Gohan did his best to keep his wife warm in the cold winter air by using his ki. "Don't worry, it's not too far." He muttered as he eyed his destination in the horizon. "The hospital is just a few kilometers away."