One year passed by like a flash after baby Lace was rescued from the grasps of mad scientist, Hitake. Normal life resumed, making Earth a calm and peaceful place again. February was fast approaching and Goten was out and about trying to figure out what to get Bra for Valentine's Day. Their wedding was in a few weeks, on the fourteenth itself, but he wanted to get her something before the big event for the actual holiday itself. After all, she had been working hard at her new Capsule Corp job. She fit right in alongside her brother and Goten as an administrative assistant. Goten was partially convinced that Trunks wanted her to become a co-president to take some of the stress off of his own plate, but Bra had her doubts about that idea. She enjoyed being able to come in, do her job and leave everything at work when the clock struck five. Goten had trained her to do everything that he used to attend to and was promoted to an executive position. The Brief family, however dysfunctional at times, definitely had its perks. He figured that rewarding her for all of this hard work was the least he could do to thank her for agreeing to marry his crazy ass. He looked around at the shops lining the strip of businesses before him.

"What should I get for mommy, huh?"

Goten prompted the little girl with royal blue hair in front of him. She sat strapped into her stroller with a purple, fluffy dress scrunched up around her. She giggled and squeaked at him happily, which made Goten smile like an idiot. He loved watching her happy face light up. She seemed to enjoy shopping as much as her mother.

He stopped in front of a window at a shop that looked pretty expensive. He saw a pair of red heels that would go particularly well with the lingerie he already bought a few days before. He wondered if she'd actually wear them for him but quickly realized who he was thinking about. His wife-to-be was certainly not afraid to go all out in the bedroom. He knelt down next to the stroller to try and get a glimpse of the price tag, but Lace took off her shoe and threw it at his head.

"Hey! That's not nice!" He laughed, picking up her shoe and tickling her before returning it to her tiny foot.

"Goten?"

He heard a woman's voice behind him and stood up. Caulifla was standing in front of him with Cabba, who was carrying a multitude of shopping bags and boxes. She was also pushing a stroller. A little boy was sleeping soundly inside.

"W-When did you guys get back? It's so good to see you!" Goten gasped, standing up and towering over them both.

"We've been around…sorta. Long story. What are you up to?" Caulifla asked.

Cabba rolled his eyes and snickered.

"Clearly he's doing what you wish that I would do…"

Caulifla crossed her arms and huffed angrily.

"What's wrong with buying nice things for your woman without being asked?"

Cabba laughed and set down the bags that he was carrying. Caulifla approached Goten and peeked into the window at whatever he'd been looking at. Her eyes grew large. She pressed her face up against the glass like a child and stared in awe.

"Are you buying something here for Bra? Nice…" Caulifla gasped.

"Yeah, I think I am…actually, could I run in real quick while you guys are here? Lace likes to grab things off of shelves and this place looks a little too nice for her to accidentally break something."

Goten gave his daughter a look and received a large smile in return.

"Sure!" Cabba exclaimed happily, leaning down to the little girl's level.

Goten placed a hand on top of her head proudly.

"This is Lace…Lace, can you say hello?"

Lace looked up at Cabba and waved backwards. Cabba was overcome with what appeared to be cuteness overload and started to make silly faces at her. Caulifla painfully tore herself away from the window and snuck into the store with Goten while Cabba was distracted.

"What are you doing?" Goten asked playfully.

"Shut up, idiot! I'm just…looking!" Caulifla growled, peering over her shoulder.

The shoes Goten had been looking at sat perfectly atop a display with their price tag facing downwards. He carefully flipped it over and cringed. The price was insanely high, but he was very financially secure at the moment. With both of them working such well-paying jobs, he wondered why he still cared what price tags even said anymore. He'd grown up watching Trunks buy whatever without even looking, so why did he still feel the need to look?

He took the shoes to the register and handed over his black credit card. Caulifla was still wandering around with her mouth hanging open. When he was finished paying, he made sure to grab her by the arm and drag her out before she broke the bank on something. He assumed the future Cabba planned out in health care wasn't exactly on track with him disappearing to Sadala for a year.

Back outside on the sidewalk, Cabba was now holding Lace and bouncing her up and down. She laughed and grabbed his hair into her fist before poking him in the eye.

"Da da!" Lace squealed as soon as she saw him.

She hopped from Cabba's arms and flew to her father's shoulders. He panicked briefly and looked around. Thank goodness no one saw that, but Cabba and Caulifla seemed unbothered. He wondered if that was fairly normal on a planet full of saiyans.

"So…what exactly brought you guys back, huh? God…it's been over a year since I've seen you! I can't believe I haven't gotten to meet this little guy yet…"

Cabba shrugged with a smile and laughed.

"This is Kole by the way. We've been trying some new medications so he sleeps almost all day…can't say the same for nighttime though. We don't really get much sleep anymore."

Before Goten could ask anything, Caulifla pulled out her phone and groaned, interrupting them.

"Hey, Bulma. Oh? So there's food? Alright, see ya soon."

Goten and Cabba looked at her with puzzled expressions. Lace leaned forward and grabbed Goten's black beanie off of his spikey hair and cuddled it. He held onto her hands so she wouldn't throw it and asked, "What's my mother-in-law-to-be got planned now?"

"She wants us to come over for dinner. I guess there's some good news about something. It's nice that we live so close now…I still can't believe we convinced Goku and Chichi to move to the city. They're adjusting…okay. It works out, though. Chichi is so good with Kole…"

Despite what Caulifla may think, Goten knew that the only reason Chichi finally agreed to move was because of Gohan. Gohan received tenure at the University, so he spent more time there and got more involved with activities on campus. He even coached the mixed martial arts team. Videl made the move to Capsule Corp and worked as an executive. Goten didn't see her very often, but when he did, she was usually barking orders like a pro. At those times, she reminded Goten of her teenaged self. Poor Gohan, he thought.

Chichi was annoyed that Gohan wasn't visiting her anymore and gave in to his offer of a new home. It was good news for Goten because she was possibly the world's best babysitter in the world, taking care of Lace on a regular basis. She was getting older, slowing down a bit, but that didn't stop her from getting on the floor and playing with her newest grandchild.

Goku had gotten a job at a local martial arts academy as a teacher thanks to Videl's father, Hercule. He was finally making some money, but struggled adhering to such a strict schedule. Luckily his pupils knew very well that getting lessons with Goku was worth waiting for him when he was late. He was getting quite popular in the young fighter crowd.

"Well, apparently nobody tells me anything anymore. I had no idea that mom was watching your boy…she never mentioned it at all. Weird. Anyway, I'm not sure what the big news could be, but I'll head home and get Bra. She wanted to stay home today and get some stuff done. Saturdays are always errand and cleaning days at our household…"

"That's why you're out shopping? So you don't have to clean?" Cabba asked jokingly.

Goten laughed and shrugged off his question. Clearly it was completely true. They waved good-bye and parted ways for the time being. Goten placed Lace back into her stroller and took a moment to marvel as her cerulean-blue eyes caught the sunlight and the pink rings shined brightly around both of her pupils. Her eyes were always the first thing anyone noticed when they came up to them, but Goten had played it off well as a genetic mutation similar to heterochromia. He always prayed that she wouldn't get angry in public, though. Any time she decided to become angry, it was almost impossible to control her without her mother. The power that would radiate from her tiny body was inconceivable, but luckily for him, most of the time she never got angry. Goten liked to think of it as some kind of super-self-control. She was the happiest baby anyone could ever meet.

He threw one of his capsules to the street and his favorite sports car appeared. Though he preferred his motorcycle, there was nowhere for the baby on his bike. He opened the door and secured Lace into her car seat and returned her stroller to its capsule. Lace laughed and clapped at the pouf of smoke.

Goten and Bra's new home was in the same building as Trunks' home. He lived in the penthouse on the top floor with Marron of all people, while Goten and Bra lived in the very comparable penthouse just below.

Bringing Marron back into their lives was beyond difficult. She'd apologized so many times that Goten had lost count, but he'd finally forgiven her eventually. He often pictured himself in her place and wondered what he would have done if his own mother and father's lives were threatened. He'd do anything for family, which scared him a little. He recalled his rage when Bra looked to be dead and his baby was gone and shivered. He definitely couldn't hold what Marron was forced to do against her. If saving his wife and child meant hurting someone else, he wasn't sure he could say no, either.

Bra on the other hand was not so forgiving. She tolerated Marron, for her brother's sake, but still hated her deeply. With each flip of Marron's blonde hair, Bra would scoff and roll her eyes. Goten couldn't really blame her considering what Marron put Bra through. Despite Marron's best efforts, Bra refused to speak directly to her. Apologies weren't enough for the new mother of a very special baby.

Goten pulled up to the front of the building and returned the fancy sports car to its capsule. He carried his daughter inside and up the elevator carefully. Lace had fallen asleep during the car ride, making Goten cringe each time the elevator dinged on a new floor. He hoped that she'd take this time for a nice, full nap. Lace didn't sleep very often or for long periods of time, so when she did drift off, they tried very hard not to wake her.

When he reached his floor, he stepped into his home and saw Bra sleeping on the couch. She had paperwork scattered around her and a coffee mug sitting on the floor below where she slept. He figured that she'd mistaken the decaf for regular coffee again. He approached her slowly and laid Lace down on top of her gently. She snuggled up to her mother and Bra wrapped her arms around her. He stood there for a moment watching his little family and felt joy welling up from his heart. Lace was perfection to him, no matter what that monster of a scientist did to her. Laying there with her mother, she was an angel.

He decided to continue doing the household chores that she'd not gotten to while they slept. He figured it might earn him some bonus points for later, if he was lucky. She'd been especially grumpy lately.

That night, Goten and Bra arrived at Bulma's house dressed to kill. He wore his favorite suit with Bra's favorite green tie. Bra was wearing a yellow dress that hugged her in all the right places. Her long necklace dangled down her chest and bounced around as she walked. Goten couldn't help from getting just a little excited when he watched her. The click of her yellow heels was enough to send shivers down his back.

Bulma greeted them all with hugs at the door, but quickly stole Lace away and twirled her around. Lace laughed and wrapped her little arms around her grandmother's neck. Vegeta stood behind Bulma with a ridiculous grin on his face until she handed Lace over to him. It was as though a different person had possessed Vegeta's soul when that baby met his hands. He cooed and baby-talked with her to no end. Bra sometimes found herself a little jealous of her father's affections towards Lace, but she always reminded herself to be grateful. It wasn't every day that Vegeta attached to anyone, let alone a baby.

Vegeta's brother Tarble, now aged around seventeen in human years, sat at the long, decorated dinner table with his new girlfriend from school. He'd decided to start attending school as a way to integrate into Earth's society recently. His intelligence was incomparable to the average student, but he continued to study and work hard at the social aspects. He even joined the soccer club and regularly dominated at games. He'd also accumulated enough credits to graduate early with honors and attend any university he'd like, but he preferred the simple life and just kept pretending that he was normal.

Aside from his new life, everyone knew that he was trying to move on from heartbreak. He'd confessed early on to the family that he loved Pan, but Pan leaving for her trip around the world broke something inside of him. No one knew that he overheard Pan and Trunks in the hospital, not even Trunks himself.

Trunks and Marron sat across from Tarble at the table, chatting with the new girlfriend. Trunks was drinking some wine and laughing loudly, causing Marron to shush him every couple of minutes. He enjoyed tormenting Tarble, but Tarble was getting visibly annoyed with him. He continuously shot Marron annoyed looks with each shush and rolled his eyes at her frequently.

Though Trunks had grown to love Marron very deeply, he felt unsatisfied with the way he'd left things with Pan. In a way he was glad that she was gone. He regretted the night he'd kissed her in the hospital and wanted to smooth things over, but she was gone before he could. Forgetting was really his only option.

Besides, the pain medicine clouded his judgement that night, not actual feelings. He loved Marron. He always loved Marron.

Unfortunately, it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows when he decided to forgive her for everything she'd done. She'd been so traumatized by the deadly events that he had to watch her closely. She'd developed frequent night terrors and an issue with sleepwalking. It wasn't easy taking care of her when he felt quite uneasy himself.

The Son crew arrived shortly afterwards to join the festivities. Goku immediately chased Vegeta around the house for a chance to hold Lace, but Vegeta took off and refused. They all laughed as the two grandfathers argued back and forth. Their once deadly rivalry had turned to a strange but close friendship thanks to a little girl. Now that the two most powerful warriors in the universe were joined by blood, life was so much more joyful.

"Who is this little munchkin?" Bra squealed.

A little boy just a few months older than Lace came trailing in behind Caulifla. He was holding on to her leg and sucking his thumb. The whole table seemed shocked when Cabba and Caulifla waved hello, but again they dodged all the questions about their return from Sadala. Instead they chose to focus on their son, Kole.

"Kole, can you say hello?" Cabba asked gently.

Kole peered up at Bra with his onyx-black eyes and frowned, shaking his head and hiding.

"Sorry…he's really shy." Cabba laughed.

"Aw, he's precious! It's okay!" Bra cooed.

When they finally all sat down at the dinner table, Trunks stood up nervously and tapped a fork on his wine glass. The family frowned and looked at his untouched chop sticks on the table, but he'd grown so accustomed to silverware in America that he'd pretty much abandoned the sticks altogether. He shrugged off the strange stares and began to thank them for coming. He loosened his tie and swallowed.

"A year ago…our family experienced one of the worst fights we've ever had to face. I think given our history it's easy to forget how dangerous this world can be. We've seen death, pain…suffering…in the end, we always come out closer and stronger."

The family looked around at each other. A few of them looked at Marron with quick glances, aside from Bra who stared angrily. Tarble's girlfriend looked completely confused, but listened politely regardless.

"I think it's time that we all moved forward with our lives. For example, Goten will marry my sister in four very short weeks. I can't believe it's actually happening, but it is, so that's awesome."

The room politely clapped and smiled warmly at Bra and Goten. Goten put an arm around Bra and squeezed her shoulder, but she only half-heartedly smiled and returned to her glare at Marron.

"So in closing, I'd like to add one more thing to the list of happiness that we are celebrating. Life is too short to waste another second…"

Trunks pulled out his chair and pushed it out of the way. Marron looked up at him and scrunched up her nose, wondering what on Earth he was doing.

"I'm not sure if you were expecting this or not, but I thought…what better place to do this than with all of our family…"

He reached into his pocket. Bulma and Chichi both gasped. Caulifla looked over at Goten, who nervously looked on in terror, knowing what Trunks was about to do.

"Marron, we've been through hell and back…so without wasting another second, will you marry me?"

A huge diamond sparkled atop a silver ring adorned with intricate details. Marron's mouth fell open. Bra's ki spiked. Vegeta looked like he might throw up.

"Oh, my God! Yes! Yes!"

Marron squealed, jumping from her chair and throwing her arms around Trunks' neck.

"Oh, for God's sake!" Bra exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air and rising from the table amidst the family's happy reaction.

Vegeta agreed and followed her out, handing the baby to Goku, who now held a grumpy Kole and a bouncy Lace. Tarble grabbed the wine bottle from the center of the table and chugged a large gulp right from the bottle before Bulma noticed and took it away from him hastily.

Amidst the chatter, the doorbell rang. Bulma started to rise, but Bra was already standing near the door. She sighed and took the chance to do something other than celebrate her brother's new engagement to her worst enemy.

When the door slammed shut and Bra re-emerged, the family looked up to see who could be ringing the doorbell so late. To the shock of everyone there, Pan stood in the foyer with a large duffle bag hanging from her shoulder and her long hair up in a voluptuous pony tail. Blue highlights decorated her raven-colored hair and dark makeup surrounded her eyes. This was not the Pan they'd all seen fly into the night a year ago.

She looked up from her straight bangs and smirked. Videl gasped, breaking the silence. Pan began to speak, but saw Trunks standing beside Marron, who was still holding her hand out from looking at her new bling. Pan's face fell into an injured frown.

"Long time, no see...what the hell have I missed?" Pan asked with a smirk before dropping her bag from her shoulder without breaking eye contact with Trunks.