ChiChi made her way across the grounds quietly. Moving bamboo aside, she pushed her way through the familiar foliage. The child inside her turned once or twice before settling and she was glad for it. One thing she didn't need right now was to be kicked continuously in the ribs like this little one was fond of doing. Luckily, he seemed to catch onto her urgency and went into his usual sleeping pattern.

It didn't take long for ChiChi to locate her target. The falling trees and rumbling earth were a dead giveaway. It was something ashes grown accustomed to though the time of night for it was unusual.

She knew why though.

Slipping through another grove of trees, and less easily than she'd been able to several months ago, she came upon her husband, hair aglow, muscles tensed and piles of broken and fractured wood at his feet.

And the big hole he was currently standing in.

Making her way to the edge, she called down, "Goku?"

Shifting his eyes upward, he wiped the seriousness from them with a smile. "Sorry, Chi. I can probably make this a swimming pool if you want. Or a big ol' garden."

Sitting down, she pushed her way forward, sliding down in the dirt and mud. She'd need to change clothes but right now this was more important. As her feet hit the ground, Goku caught her gently in his arms. "Did I wake ya up?"

Shaking her head, ChiChi remarked. "Saw you weren't in bed so I thought I'd see why." She took his hands in her own. "Goku, are you out here torturin' yourself?"

Sighing, he shook his head. "Not on purpose. I know there ain't no use in that. But I get energy 'bout it all the same. Thinkin' 'bout Gohan." Goku folded, seemed very young. Like he was the teenager she found at the 23rd Martial Arts Tournament. "I wanna take it away, Chi. All that pain and doubt Gohan has. I wanna take it away. I wanna go back and undo everything!" He shuddered, dug his arms into a self bear hug so tight it HAD to hurt. "But I can't. All this strength, all this power and I can't do a damn thing."

Clutching his hand tightly, she amended. "We can't undo it but we can move forward with him. We can help him work through all he's been through. We can help him remember that he don't have to be perfect. We can do ALL that, Goku."

Smiling lightly at her, he said, "Wish there was more."

"I know. Me too. But we'll do what we can and we'll learn and we'll work together." She stood up on her tiptoes. "And we've always gotten through everything before and we will now too."

Pulling her close and relieving her feet of having to support most of her weight, he said. "You're right. You usually are. But it still helps to hear it."

ChiChi gently flicked his nose. "That's somethin' we both still gotta grow at but that's okay. Listenin'...really listenin'. Sometimes I'm right. Sometimes you are." She held him tight. "It'll be alright, Goku. Our Gohan has a stout heart. And we're here with him."

That seemed so little to do when there was so much pain in his son's eyes but what else could they do? Undoing the past was too tricky and while Goku would gladly have transferred all his son's pain to himself if only to alleviate it from him, there was one thing he'd learned from all those therapist visits.

It wasn't just coming to terms with the past. It wasn't just correcting your mindset. It was preparation for the future. With the way their life was, to think it wouldn't throw other events at them to test their resolve was foolish. This was not just vital for Gohan to learn to process his emotions—and with growing up, Goku knew there'd be a LOT of those—but to learn to handle whatever NEW troubles came his way.

As powerful as Goku was and as much as he tried, he was not omnipresent.

The father in Goku wanted to protect Gohan, shield him away but life had taught him that no matter how hard he tried, he wouldn't be able to. He could do one of two things—try and shelter him anyway and fail or stand by his side and help him prepare.

And if you were prepared and had learned how to process and handle all the emotions both pleasant and unpleasant that you were dealt, less time was spent hurting and more time spent smiling.

He preferred they do the latter together.

OOO

"How are you doing, Kiddo?"

Gohan gave Bulma a smile. Strained but genuine. "Okay usually." He answered. He'd managed to get her alone while his parents visited with Krillin and baby Trunks. He could hear them in the next room. "We have good days and bad days but I'm working at it. It's exhausting but it is getting easier."

Bulma sat across from him at the table. "If you don't mind talking, what are you tackling right now?"

Oddly enough, much as Bulma could gossip, he felt safe telling her these things. She had her morals and one of those meant that she would keep things this important to herself. "Reframing. Processing. Taking the times I felt abandoned and challenging the assumptions. Looking over what I really had control over and what I didn't." He paused. "And mourning."

"Mourning?"

Nodding, he said, "Mourning what I wanted but didn't get. What we might have had." He felt more than a little unsure on that one still. "And refocusing energy on positive stuff." Here, he dropped his tone, looking at the gathering of his parents. "Did...you got my message the other day, right?"

She grinned, a sly grin. "Been working at it. So...we're still on?"

Nodding, he said, "Yeah. I already talked to Krillin and Yamcha on gettin' Mom and Dad away. It's gonna take a bit of doin' though. I think I could maybe urge them a little bit."

"Gohan," Bulma had a soft tone to her voice. "Are you ready for this? You've been working through a lot and I know you want to refocus and do something—"

"I'll be okay, Bulma. I've got tools now." He pointed to his head. "I'm gonna make myself a little book tonight to carry with me. Or a box. Fill it with things you can do that way if you forget, you can read them."

"Sounds like a good idea." She asked again "But I know you've been working on a lot of stuff, especially the last week since your little epiphany." She smiled, moved his hair out of his face. "And that's good. But I also know it can be hard."

Not arguing, Gohan nodded. "It is. It can be. But Mom and Dad are real good at making it fun. We do it together a lot of the time. We play games, we earn rewards, we take breaks." Taking a deep inhale, he said "And the only one way I'm gonna get better is by challenging these bad thoughts. And I think...no, I know a good way to do that is with something exciting. And, yeah, I don't know exactly what I'm feeling yet but the other night, I think I was excited. Or at least curious. So...yeah. Yeah. I'm ready."