Son,

You may have already heard but I am to be hanged at Devil's Pass on March 7th in the morning. I tell you this not for you to stop it, but for you to know what date to put on my tombstone. I wish to be buried next to your mother back at the ranch or what remains of it.

Please let my life be a cautionary tale. I'm paying for my sins rightfully. That doesn't mean it's too late for you and Kakarot. Get out while you can and start a family of your own so you can understand what real pride is.

Take care of your brother for me. It occurred to me as I wrote this that I never said it before so I'll say it now. I love you.

- Your father

When Raditz had put an extra layer of pants on to fight against the cooling weather, the note had fallen out of his pocket. Condensation made him see his breath as he exhaled. He had read the letter a thousand times over. His father wished against it, but the Saiyans all agreed they would save him from the gallows. There were some older ones meeting up with them there to cause more of a distraction. In the midst of it all, Raditz and Kakarot would take Bardock away and run across the border to start a new life.

It was easier said than done.

As he placed the note back inside his pocket, he thought about the words his father wrote down. It was too late for them to have a normal life in a country they always knew as home. Like their father, they had killed a lawman and there might be more under their belts by the time the trip was over. Raditz felt the bark of the tree dig into his back as he glanced in the direction of Kakarot and Chi-Chi.

They had grown a lot closer than Raditz thought was possible. His brother was practically joined at the hip with her. Teach was starting to return the look of fondness that he had been throwing at her since day one. Seeing Kakarot happy was...

Nice?

Grotesque?

A little bit of both?

Anything was better than dealing with the mental breakdowns. He still couldn't shake the feeling that he was going to have to deal with them again once the chicken went home to roost.

Raditz stretched his legs out and shivered. He could feel the ice of the morning grass seeping through his jeans. The hardest part of the trip was coming. Autumn didn't last long in the badlands. The area was notorious for early snow. They had to get the hell out of the state while they had the chance. He cupped his mouth and called out, "Hey lovebirds! Five more minutes and it's time to scram!"

"Okay!" Kakarot answered back and brought his focus back to the woman in front of him. "Geh."

"Try again."

When Kakarot messed up the 'g' sound again, Chi-Chi took his hand and placed it on her throat. Her neck was now fully healed and cleaned. Bathing was starting to get difficult with the water hitting freezing temperatures, but she still managed to get each part she needed fresh. She made the sound for him and let him feel the movement it made.

"Does that make more sense?"

"Yeah!" Kakarot grinned. "It's like you're choking on a piece of hog!"

"Uh..." Chi-Chi blinked and then laughed nervously. "Sure. Can you do it?"

Once Kakarot made the sound more than once, Chi-Chi beamed and wrote a word down on the paper they were sharing. He recognized the letters. D, o, g. He knew the sounds each one made but wasn't sure what she was going to have him do.

"Say the letters one at a time slowly at first, then faster each time after that."

As Kakarot did it, he made a face. Did she just write down some gibberish? No, she wouldn't fool him like that. He whispered the sounds to himself and bobbed his head with each one until a lightbulb went off in his head. "Does that say dog?"

"YES!" Chi-Chi threw her hands up in the air and flung the pen and paper in different directions. "Kakarot! You just read your first word all by yourself!"

"I DID!?"

"Yes!"

He couldn't help it. Kakarot lifted her up with him and spun her around. The deciduous trees that surrounded them turned bare rather quickly. He put her down but was still hugging her. "Next stop, can I read some more?"

"Of course!" she giggled while tugging on his dark beard. The oil she had made caused it to grow faster. Vegeta and Raditz had quite the facial hair of their own as well, but poor Nappa couldn't grow any type of hair if his life depended on it. His thin moustache never changed. "Your beard might be touching your boots soon."

Her actions were tickling him and he decided to return the torment. Over her dress she was wearing a tan oversized canvas jacket that belonged to her dad. It was like another dress on her. He slid his hands from the small of her back to underneath her arms. His fingers moved rapidly and made her shriek and laugh at the same time.

"Kakarot!" she hated being tickled and her laughter increased when he went to her ribs. "Stop!"

With him being relentless, Chi-Chi had no choice but to defend herself. She lifted up her foot and kicked up his ankle, making him fall down. Her survival plan was working until he dragged her down with him. Now on top of the Saiyan, she started to tickle him back in the same fashion; starting underneath the arms and going down to the ribs.

He was pounding the cold grass while laughing. "Okay, okay!" he was out of breath. "I forfeit!"

Chi-Chi crossed her arms over her chest and smirked. "That's what I thought."

Kakarot kept his smile while enjoying the sight of her in this position. She was making it more and more difficult to stay away like he knew he should. He stroked the thigh that was on his stomach with the back of his knuckle and watched her face redden. "Hey," he husked. "Can I ask you something?"

Chi-Chi quivered at his touch but forced her tone not to get high pitched on her. "Depends. Can I answer it?"

"Maybe," he grunted as he sat up. She slid back slightly and was now on his sprawled out legs. Kakarot used his forearms to support him while searching her. Raditz made him think about something a lot. "Would someone like you ever want someone like me?"

The woman flushed. His hands weren't anywhere on her but she somehow felt them. Her skin was prickling underneath her clothing and it wasn't from the cold weather. Kakarot had all the traits she wanted in a man but there was always going to be one glaring issue. He was with the gang that killed her father. "I suppose if you weren't a Saiyan, I might have considered it."

Her response relieved him. He let out air he didn't realize he was holding in. The one part of him he wanted to rid of so badly was the only thing keeping them apart. "Do you at least consider me a friend?"

When Chi-Chi spoke, she could see her breathe. Her face after returning to its normal color was freezing up. "I'd like to think so."

They looked up at the same time when something came from the sky. Tiny snowflakes were falling down. As the first snow touched her nose, she sneezed. The sound she made when she did it was so cute it made Kakarot hug her again. "You're just too good to be true," he chuckled. "Don't get sick on me now."

Chi-Chi's cheek was smashed against his and he knew she was smiling from the way it felt. "It was just a little sneeze. I'll be fine."

That little sneeze turned out to be a whole lot more.

Unable to eat without airing her lungs out all over the place, Chi-Chi was growing weak and frail as days had passed since the first symptom began. No longer able to sit up, she was laying down inside the stagecoach sweating to death despite the frigid air seeping in and out. Kakarot had to stop moving more often to check on her. Her sudden illness was slowing everyone down.

There were days when she could see her father standing in the place of Kakarot when the doors would open up like he was calling her back home. She couldn't move without assistance and it was a struggle to drink any liquid. Her mouth was too dried out to speak. All she could do was lay there and sleep.

As Kakarot sat lonely in the front, it was hard for him to concentrate on the road ahead. Raditz was constantly looking over his shoulder to make sure he hadn't crashed into a boulder.

"Did Teach drink any of her water?"

"No," Kakarot had dark circles under his eyes. Whenever they had a chance to rest, he was woken up constantly at night by the sound of her coughing and vomiting. It scared him so much that he didn't dare fall asleep. "The bottle was full last time I checked. I don't understand how this happened. She was doing great a few days before."

"When you're not use to extreme weather it happens," Raditz decided to offer some encouragement seeing his brother's exhaustion. "She's tough. It'll be fine."

Chi-Chi certainly was tough, but the woman inside the stagecoach was forgetting that part of herself. Kakarot managed to smile slightly while keeping steady hands on the reins. "She told me something before she got sick. You ain't gonna believe it."

Raditz arched an eyebrow while slowing down his horse to match his brother's pace. "What was it?"

"Chi-Chi said if I wasn't a Saiyan she could see herself with me," Kakarot's despair he wore all week was replaced by smugness. "And she'd have all ten of my kids."

The long haired one snorted. "I highly doubt she said that last part. But, good for you brother. There may be a chance for you yet."

Kakarot would give his sibling a bear hug if he could. When they had turned a corner, the breeze that was picking up began to blow ferociously. A flurry of snow brushed against their bandanas that covered everything but their eyes. Vegeta and Nappa were backtracking to where the brothers were, all four having the same inclination.

"A blizzard's gonna hit soon," Kakarot could feel his stomach turning. A blizzard was never good, but with Chi-Chi being sick it was even worse. "We need to head somewhere flat and take shelter inside the stagecoach."

"You think the girl's contagious?"

Kakarot's eyes narrowed at Vegeta's question. "Does it really matter right now?"

Vegeta shrugged then gestured for him to lead the way to low ground. The flurries continued to get in their way as they navigated the land. Once a safe spot was found, the horses were tied up and given blankets in hopes it would be warm enough to keep them alive until the storm passed.

When Kakarot opened the door of the stagecoach, Chi-Chi raised her arms up the best she could like she wanted him to hold her.

"Hi there, princess. A wicked storm is brewing and we're all gonna be spending some time together."

Her cheeks were beginning to sink in from her lack of calories. Even in her fragile state, Kakarot thought she was beautiful. He gathered her up in his arms and took her to a corner. Vegeta could detect the scent of death the moment he stepped foot inside the stagecoach. He avoided eye contact with the sick one and sat as far away as he could.

Raditz and Nappa rolled down the window covers and did their best to secure the fine fabric. Shutting themselves in didn't really matter. Despite all the body heat cramped inside the stagecoach, it remained freezing. In his corner, Kakarot held on tightly to Chi-Chi as her coughing from the mucus building in her throat was sounding more worst by the minute. Her body was burning and shivering at the same time even though she was stuck to him like glue.

As the stagecoach began to shake from the wild wind, Kakarot moved her onto his lap for extra security. He had wrapped her father's thick blanket around her but could still feel her heat stronger than ever. He pressed his forehead against the top of her head. "It's going to be okay, darling. Don't you worry."

His soothing voice brought her no comfort. She was barely hanging on. She never thought an illness would be the thing to do her in. Chi-Chi couldn't fight it like she had everything else. When she saw the hallucination of her daddy she knew it was getting close to the end. Her half closed eyes roamed to Vegeta, who was bundled up in layers.

"Vegeta."

All four Saiyans looked at the girl when her voice croaked. The leader himself wasn't expecting her first word in days to be his name. His eyes were wide but his mouth was a straight line. Kakarot had to move his arm so she could weakly reach for the letter she kept in her breast. The folded paper trembled in her hand as she extended it towards Vegeta. With nothing left to give, Chi-Chi knew a final good deed would be to give a woman in crisis comfort even if it meant benefiting a man that took everything from her.

"It will make her happy. Bring it," she coughed. "To the Pony Express before it's too late."

Vegeta held in his breath as he gently took the letter from her hand. He didn't believe the severity of her condition until now. He nodded wordlessly, and that was enough for her. She didn't need his thanks as the favor wasn't for him.

Her pained eyes traveled upward to Kakarot, who was already looking at her. They met in the cruelest way possible but he had been nothing short of a gentleman with her. As strange as it sounded, he was her first true friend and she was beginning to see him differently. If she had more time, she wondered if he could have been the one some day after he left the Saiyans behind. She couldn't see the future, but she could give him what he had been wanting for a long time. Truth be told she wanted it, too.

Too far gone to care about the others watching, Chi-Chi used what was left of her strength to hold him by both sides of his bearded face. Kakarot's eyes were glistening and reflecting the strong attraction and affection she knew he had for her. Chi-Chi's colorless lips thanked his for everything he had done. Those large hands of his were holding on tightly to her hips so she wouldn't fall of. One of them moved up slowly to hold the back of her head to deepen their kiss. The kiss wasn't one of passion but of yearning and farewell.

It hurt.

Chi-Chi pulled away and rested her head immediately back on his chest, not wanting to see his expression. Her voice came out as a quiet whisper as she breathed into his collar. "I pray you live the life you deserve to have. Thank you for everything."

Reading Vegeta's letter, the kiss, and now her words coming together finally made Kakarot snap out of his trance. His eyebrows scrunched together while his tone risen. "You're not dying here, Chi-Chi. You hear me?" he tightened his grip on her and shook gently. "Don't give up on me. We're getting you to Sunnybellow."

"I'm so tired..."

"Then rest," Kakarot swallowed back the lump he had in his throat while the stagecoach continued to get pounded by the unforgiving blizzard. "Close your eyes and rest. I'll take care of you."

Chi-Chi smiled small and let her exhaustion take her away. She had stopped talking, but Kakarot could feel her breathing. Raditz was crawling towards them to place an extra blanket over their cold bodies. He positioned himself on Chi-Chi's exposed side and rested himself against her to give her more warmth. Kakarot mouthed a 'thank you'.

Raditz reached his long arm over Chi-Chi to hold onto Kakarot's shoulder. "That's what brothers are for."

Birds chirping were signaling morning had come. Kakarot was up all night making sure Chi-Chi was alive. She was unresponsive but had a pulse. He remained holding onto her as Raditz opened the side door of the stagecoach. From what was showing, snow was covering what remained of the trail. He could hear his brother shouting as he explored their surroundings.

"Shit!"

"What is it?" Nappa was about to get up to see, but Raditz had returned with his hands in his hair.

"Two of the horses frozen to death and the others not looking good. The fat's in the fire now," Raditz shook his head and punched the stagecoach. "Ain't no way we're getting far without some help."

Kakarot looked over Chi-Chi's head to Vegeta, who was already gritting his teeth knowing what was going to be suggested. "We don't have a choice, Vegeta. You knew from the beginning we might need his help."

"No. Nope. Fuck that," the outlaw crossed his arms over his chest and refused to look up from his ragged boots. "I refuse to ask that bastard for anything. There has to be an alternative."

"It's our only option at this point," Kakarot's voice was calm and also stern. Chi-Chi needed medicine and warmth as soon as possible and there was a good chance the sheriff was still hot on their tail. "We're all gonna end up dying or jailed. Bulma needs you to return home. Can you put your hate aside, if not for us then for her?"

Vegeta growled loudly and pounded the empty spot next to him. Kakarot was always using her name to get what he wanted from him. "Fine, but not a word to him about Bardock, the midget sheriff, and especially not Bulma. Understand?"

"Of course."

Still hanging in the doorway, Raditz clicked his tongue. "So... Are we heading to Frieza's then?"

"Yes," Vegeta spoke through gritted teeth. "We are going to Frieza's."