Disclaimer: I do not own DB/Z/GT or any of the characters. I am just borrowing them. I'll return them pretty much the same I way they were before. I am making no money off of this. If I was, do you think I would be posting it here? Not likely... Oh, yeah, I don't own the song either. Creed does.

Author's Notes: The idea for this story came from my love of G(h)/V and the song. I know not everyone will like this, but instead of flaming, try constructive criticism. That way, I can fix things, and, maybe, post a revised version. I do try to make my audience happy.

~*~
Tap tap tap
Tap tap tap

Son Gohan had no idea how long the tapping had been going on, but he awoke to the sound of it. He opened his eyes and looked over to his window, where the noise was coming from. With his Saiyajin sense of sight, hi spotted Videl, hovering in the rain, tapping on his window.

Gohan quickly got out of bed and ran to the window to let Videl in, snapping on the light on his desk as he passed it. He glanced at his clock, the large red numbers reading 2:37 A.M.

She came calling
One early morning
She showed her crown of thorns

Gohan unlatched his window and helped Videl to step through. She seemed dazed, her eyes glazed. Her clothes were disheveled and dripping wet. She was soaked to the bone. Gohan led Videl to his bed and sat her down on its edge.

"Wait here while I got get you a towel and something dry to change into, okay?" Gohan more stated than asked. Videl gave him no indication that she had heard him.

The demi-Saiyajin went to the linen closet at the end of the hall and grabbed a large, fluffy towel. He then snuck into his mother's room, and, quietly as he could, borrowed a pair of pajamas from her dresser drawer for Videl to change into. He snuck back out of Chi Chi's room and moved quickly back to his room.

Gohan entered his room and noticed that Videl hadn't moved an inch. She was exactly as he had left her. Gohan sat down next to the young woman and offered her the towel and change of clothes. She didn't respond. Gohan sighed. So he'd have to do this the hard way, then.

"Videl, I'm going to dry you off and get you into some dry clothes," he told her, blushing a brilliant shade of pink. "Here, let me get these wet clothes off of you first." He reached to take off her shirt...

"NO!!"

Videl's outburst caught Gohan unawares, and he leapt back in surprise. Videl, too, had jumped up, and was shaking with... rage?... anger?... fear? Yes, it was fear. Videl was suddenly, deathly afraid of Gohan.

"Videl, what's wrong?" Gohan asked quietly, putting his hands on her shoulders. Videl visibly flinched away from his touch. She closed her eyes, and expression of almost pain clearly written on her face.

"Let me get changed and I'll tell you," she said so quietly that Gohan almost couldn't hear her, even with his Saiyajin senses.

"You can change here," Gohan offered. "I'll go make us some tea. You can come on down when you're ready." He turned and started toward his door.

"Thank you, Gohan," Videl told him quietly. He turned back and smiled at her before leaving and shutting the door behind him.

Five minutes later, Gohan was pouring two steaming cups of tea when he heard Videl enter the kitchen. He picked up the mugs, carried them over to the table, and set one down in front of Videl.

Videl's eyes weren't vacant anymore, but they didn't have their usual spark of vibrant life in them. Chi Chi's pajamas were a size or two too large for the young woman. The pants were very baggy, and pooled at her feet. Videl had obviously found some safety pins somewhere because she had pinned the pants at the waist so they wouldn't fall off. Instead of the matching top, Videl had helped herself to one of Gohan's sweatshirts. It was so large on her that the sleeves hung past her hands and it fell almost to her knees.

Gohan sat down at the table, facing Videl. After a moment, she finally moved to sit across from Gohan. She put both of her hands around her mug, holding it so tight that her knuckles turned white.

"Videl, what's wrong?" Gohan asked her again.

For the first time since she had shown up, Videl raised her eyes to Gohan's. "It's terrible," she stated almost inaudibly.

She whispered softly
To tell a story
About how she had been wronged

"I'm here to listen," Gohan told her. He reached across the table and pried her hands away from her mug. He gently held her hands in his own. Videl stared at their entwined fingers.

"Papa's out of town," Videl told him quietly. "He's out touring the world. He's not supposed to get home for another month. He wasn't there to protect me.

"Alisa made me my supper like normal, but Billings, the butler, brought it to me in the dining room. I thought that was odd because he's never done that before." Videl had stared at her hands while telling her story, but now she looked up at Gohan. "He put something in my food."

"Usually, I train a little after dinner before going to bed. But I was so tired, I just wanted to go to bed. Billings helped me up the stairs and to my room. Alisa helped me change and put me to bed. Billings came back in and told Alisa that she and the rest of the staff had the rest of the night off to do what they wanted. That was at 8:30. I must have fell asleep, because the next thing I knew, it was 1:30." Videl took and shuddering breath. "And I couldn't move."

As she lay lifeless
He stole her innocence
And this is how she carried on.

Gohan squeezed Videl hands, letting her know that he was listening. He knew where this was going, but Videl needed to say it. She needed to get it out of her system.

"I could move my eyes, but that was it," Videl continued, now crying. "I looked everywhere I could without moving my head. Billings was tying my left wrist to my bedpost." Videl closed her eyes, but the tears still fell. She didn't say anything for what seemed like hours to Gohan.

"You don't have to go on if you don't want to," Gohan told her. "I know what happened. Even though he did this to you, I still care for you."

"I was weak!" Videl exclaimed, pulling away from Gohan. She got out of her chair, and started pacing like a caged animal. "If I had been stronger, none of this would have happened! I was weak." She fell to her knees as sobs wracked her body. Gohan rushed to catch her as she fell towards the floor.

Gohan held Videl close, smoothing down her hair. "Videl, this had nothing to do with strength. This had to do with a sick man. He drugged you to get what he wanted. Even if you were a Super Saiyajin, I doubt it would have helped."

After a few minutes, Videl's sob's quieted into the occasional sniffle and hiccup. She mumbled something into Gohan's chest.

"What was that?" Gohan asked, pulling Videl away from his chest so her could hear her response.

"He never used to drug me," Videl said, adverting her eyes so Gohan couldn't see her shame.

"What?" the demi-Saiyajin asked, hoping that he had misheard.

"After Mom died, Papa went away a lot. I was little, six or seven, when it started. Every time Papa went away, Billings would visit me every night. He told me that if I told anyone, he's kill me.

"That's why I started to train. I thought that if I was strong enough, he wouldn't hurt me anymore. That's why I was obsessed with being stronger that Saiyaman before I knew it was you. If everybody knew that I was the strongest person in the city, no one would hurt me. But I guess being stronger just made Billings take a different approach." Videl broke down in sobs again.

Well I guess she closed her eyes
And just imagined everything's alright
But she could not hide her tears
'Cause they were sent to wash away those years
They were sent to wash away those years

Gohan sat rocking Videl in the middle of the kitchen floor. He heard a noise and looked up, finding his mother standing in the kitchen door. He gave Chi-Chi a look that said "I'll explain later." She nodded and turned, heading back up to bed.

"It's okay Videl," Gohan murmured into her hair. "It's okay to cry." That just made Videl cry all the more. He kissed the top of her head. "I'm here. I'll always be here for you Videl."

After almost an hour, Videl had cried herself to sleep in Gohan's arms. The young demi-Saiyajin readjusted his hold on her so he could pick her up. He got his feet under himself and stood gracefully. He felt pins and needles in his feet and legs from sitting in one position for too long, but ignored them.

Gohan carried Videl upstairs and to his room. His desk lamp was still on, but his window had been closed and his wet sheets had been replaced by dry ones. Videl's wet clothes were also gone.

Thanks Mom, he silently thanked his mother.

The sheets were turned down, so Gohan lay Videl down and pulled to covers up to her chin. After all, he didn't want her catching a chill.

"Sleep well, Videl," Gohan said quietly, kissing her forehead. She turned slightly towards him, a frown on her face.

"Don't leave me Gohan," Videl said sleepily. "I don't wanna be alone."

"I was just going to clean-up downstairs and be right back up," he explained to her. "I'll be back up in less than five minutes. I promise."

"Okay," Videl mumbled. "I'll be waiting."

Gohan smiled as he extinguished his desk lamp on his way out the door. The demi-Saiyajin headed to the kitchen for the second time in as many hours. He quickly cleaned-up the tea and mugs and wrote his mother a note. On his was back to his room, he set the hastily written note on Chi-Chi's night stand, hoping that she would find it when she woke up in the morning.

Gohan re-entered his room and smiled in spite of himself. Videl wasn't quite smiling, but she seemed content, hugging one of Gohan's pillows to her chest, her thumb close to her mouth. Gohan had never seen her look quite so angelic.

My anger's violent
But still I'm silent
When tragedy strikes at home

Gohan pulled the chair from his desk over to the side of his bed and sat there, watching Videl sleep. When she had hinted to him about what Billings had done, Gohan had been so angry. He probably would have left immediately to kill the man had Videl not needed him.

And Gohan hadn't even hinted about his feeling to Videl. She wouldn't have tried to stop him, but she wouldn't have entirely condoned it either. He had barely been able to keep from powering up to Super Saiyajin. Gohan hadn't been that angry since Spoopavitch had almost killed Videl at the Tournament.

Anyone who tried to hurt the angel that currently slept in his bed would sorely regret it. Most would fear her father, but Mr. Satan probably couldn't hurt a fly, let alone a person. Most wouldn't fear an overprotective boyfriend. But if they knew who had really killed Cell, they would fear him. They would fear for their lives.

Gohan got out of his chair and returned it to its former position. The young man moved to sit on the edge of the bed, next to Videl. He brushed a piece of stray hair out of her face, and she stirred slightly. Gohan jerked his hand away, not wanting to wake her. Videl frowned, shifting back to her original position.

Gohan sighed. It was obvious that his touched soothed Videl's troubled soul. He reached out and covered her small hands with his own large, calloused ones. Videl sighed in her sleep, smiling.

I know this decadence
Is shared by millions
Remember you're not alone

Suddenly, as if some switch had been flicked, Videl's face became troubled. She moaned quietly as she thrashed, trying to get away from whatever was troubling her. As suddenly as it had started, it stopped. Videl now lay stiff as a board, yet seeming to shrink away from Gohan. Her eyes were wide, but unfocused, not seeming to recognize Gohan. A whimper escaped her throat as she squeezed her eyes shut. She was shaking like the last leaf on a tree on a windy November day.

"Videl, calmed down," Gohan ordered quietly. "It was only a dream. No one here is going to just you. I promise."

Videl tentatively opened her eyes. She finally recognized Gohan and launched herself into his arms as she started to sob. Gohan held her as her tears soaked through is shirt.

Finally, Videl calmed down enough to talk. "I wasn't dreaming, I was remembering," she told Gohan. "I was reliving it. It was horrible!" As Videl started to cry again, Gohan just held her, smoothing down her hair, and wishing that he could take her pain away.

"It's okay now," he murmured into her hair. "You're not alone. I'm here. I'm here. I won't leave you. Scholar's honor," he said, trying to get her to laugh, or to at least smile. His heart soared when he heard a muffled, dry chuckle.

Videl pulled away from Gohan enough so she could look him in the eye, but not enough that his arms didn't still encircle her.

"Don't leave me," she whispered, pleading. "I don't want to be alone."

Gohan looked her right in the eye, seeming to see straight to her shattered soul. "I couldn't dream of leaving you alone," he told her sincerely. He kissed her gently, then leaned his forehead against hers so that their noses were almost touching. "I love you, and I hate it when you're hurting."

Videl opened her eyes and looked at Gohan, moving only her eyes. "I love you too," she said gently, but knowing that he would hear her. She pulled away slightly from him so she could look at him head on. "Thank you for letting me stay here."

"Under different circumstances, I would enjoy this," Gohan said. Videl seemed like she was about to burst into tears again so Gohan kept talking. "Anyways," he glanced at his clock, "it's past the time when all good little boys and girls should be asleep."

"Stay with me?" Videl asked, pleading with her eyes. Gohan crumbled inside and couldn't say no when she gave him that look. Videl knew this and lay down, facing away from him. She moved over as close to the edge as she dared. Gohan slipped under the covers and wrapped his arm around Videl's waist.

Videl squirmed in his embrace, turning over to face Gohan. She smiled, then snuggled into Gohan's chest, his arm tightening around her waist. She yawned into his chest as he kissed the top of her head.

"G'night, Gohan," she mumbled sleepily.

"Good night, angel."

Well I guess she closed her eyes
And just imagined everything's alright
But she could not hide her tears
'Cause they were sent to wash away those years
They were sent to wash away those years

~*~

Note: I know Videl was OOC, but wouldn't you be if you were in her shoes? Anyways, if anyone is interested, I'm putting up one of my DBZ AU fics up for adoption. If you want to adopted it, please see my bio and follow the instructions there. Thanks! And remember to review!