A/N: Hey reviewers. I got a new chapter up already, and only a few hours after I

         updated my other story too.

         Read and enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't own Dragonball Z.

                                            Chapter 3: A big surprise

            Gohan rolled lazily out of bed in answer to his mother's call. He really wasn't coping too well with early mornings at the moment, as he couldn't seem to sleep as much as he would like. All the nightmares he had about his dad and that damn heart disease just wouldn't leave him. Even though it had been a year and a half since that fatal day when he became fatherless.

     "Gohan! Did you hear me? Get up! Your breakfast is on the table." Chi-Chi called up the stairs, in exasperation.

     "Okay, mom." Gohan replied, feebly, as he pulled himself up off the floor.

He dragged his purple gi out of his cupboard and put it on. He had started up his training sessions with Piccolo again about two weeks after his dad's death, the only thing that kept him sane. Of course his mom wasn't happy about him training, but he had promised her he would devote just as much time to his study, and that he needed to keep extra strong now cause dad wasn't around to protect the Earth.

            When he was dressed, Gohan trailed down the stairs and into the kitchen, where his mom had set out breakfast at the table. The table still had all three chairs set around it, as if Goku was still expected to sit there for each meal.

Gohan sighed and sat in his usual chair. Chi-Chi eyed her young son, before placing a glass of milk in front of him.

       "You know we have to go to Bulma's today, right?" Chi-Chi asked, in an almost impatient tone.

       "Yes, mom. I'll train for an hour with Piccolo and then come back and we can go straight to Bulma's." Gohan replied, as if he had learnt the line for a school play.

Chi-Chi just shook her head, saddened by the fact that her son was so depressed at such an early age.

            When Gohan had eaten his breakfast, not quite the pace of his late father but certainly faster than any normal nine year old, he kissed his mother goodbye and headed for the place where he trained with Piccolo everyday. The place he had first learnt to fight, and to look after himself. He had actually grown quite fond of it now, considering how he had felt about it when he was just four years old.

            Piccolo was sitting by his usual waterfall when Gohan arrived at his destination. The Namek was in deep meditation and didn't seem to notice the young demi-saiyan's approach.

       "Piccolo?" Gohan said, slowly and cautiously walking up to his teacher.

       "Yeah, I know your there, kid." Piccolo replied, opening his eyes.

Gohan gave his mentor a half smile and then sat down in front of him, his face expectant.

       "Well don't sit around. Get stretching. I understand we only have an hour today." Piccolo said, impatiently.

       "Oh! Okay." Gohan said, stumbling back to his feet, wondering how Piccolo knew about him having to go to Bulma's. He couldn't remember mentioning it.

            An hour later, Gohan felt pretty tired. Piccolo had kept him on his toes today, but he could definitely notice the difference in his strength after every training session.

      "You did well today, Gohan." Piccolo said, as he got back into his meditating position.

Gohan nearly fell over in shock. Piccolo had given him a compliment!

      "Um…thanks, Piccolo. See you tomorrow?" Gohan said, blushing slightly at the rare praise.

      "Of course, kid." Piccolo replied, before shutting his eyes, ready for his meditation again.

Gohan gave his teacher one last look and then flew off towards his home to pick up his mother.

            Chi-Chi stood ready in the doorway when Gohan landed down in front of the house. Her face a picture because he was slightly late.

       "Gohan! You're late." She snapped, impatiently, glaring at her only son.

Gohan just shrugged and picked up the bag Chi-Chi had laid in the hallway to take with them.

       "What's this for?" He asked his mother, motioning to the bag he had now slung over his shoulder.

       "You'll see when we get there." Chi-Chi replied, mysteriously.

Gohan just eyed her suspiciously, and then walked back through the door, calling Nimbus to carry his mom.

            Ten minutes later, Gohan landed down in front of Capsule Corp, just ahead of his mom, who was sitting on Nimbus. He waited for his mother to jump down next to him and then they both made they're way to the large house's front door. Chi-Chi knocked, and Mrs Briefs answered the door, holding a pot of tea, as usual.

      "Hello, Chi-Chi. Come in. Bulma's been waiting for you." She said, in her soft, kind voice.

Chi-Chi followed the petite woman into the large hallway, followed by Gohan, who was carefully looking in every direction, not liking the idea of bumping into Vegeta.

Bulma was sat on a chair, looking somewhat different to Gohan than when he had last seen her. For one thing she was fat, and another she looked like she hadn't slept for a week. She looked totally worn out.

      "Oh, Bulma! You're pregnant!" Chi-Chi said straightaway, beaming from ear to ear at her friend's bump.

Gohan gasped. Of course. Why hadn't he noticed straightaway? It was obvious.

Bulma smiled weakly. "You got it in one, Chi-Chi. It's due any day now."

Gohan couldn't hold back his ultimate question anymore. "Who's the father, Bulma?" He said, and then regretted it, as his mom gave him a total death stare.

       "Well, don't be too shocked. Okay?" Bulma warned, going rather red.

Gohan just nodded, his curiosity getting too much for him.

       "It's Vegeta!" Bulma said, going even redder.

Gohan gaped, trying his hardest not to laugh out loud. Vegeta, the Prince of Saiyans, was gonna have a child with, what he called, a weakling human.

Chi-Chi looked disapprovingly at her son, but underneath was having virtually the same feelings.

       "Anyway." Bulma interrupted, trying to change the subject. "That's why I asked you to come stay with me for a while. So that you would be here for it's birth."

       "Oh, is that what this bag is for then?" Gohan asked, staring up at his mother.

       "Yes, sweetie. Bulma asked if we could stay with her for a few days, but she never said why." Chi-Chi answered.

Gohan grinned. The first time he had properly smiled since his dad's death. "I can't wait till the baby's born." He said, happily to Bulma.

Bulma smiled at the young boy she had known since he was four.

      "Come on, Gohan. I'll show you where you're sleeping." Bulma said, as she got up off the chair, with great difficulty, as her bump was so large.

      "Okay." Gohan replied, following the pregnant woman out of the sitting room.

            Exactly one week later, Bulma was taken to hospital by Dr Briefs, in a capsule car specially adapted for the pregnant woman. They were followed closely by Chi-Chi, Mrs Briefs, Gohan and a grumpy Vegeta, in another capsule car.

            As soon as they arrived at the hospital, Bulma was whisked away by a couple of nurses. The others were left, waiting, in the waiting room.

      "How long will it take?" Gohan asked, excitedly.

      "It depends." Chi-Chi replied.

      "Do you think it'll be a boy or a girl?" Gohan asked, his continuous questioning annoying his mother, and of course the grumpy Saiyan Prince.

      "Woman! Will you shut your brat up!" Vegeta yelled at Chi-Chi, causing everyone else in the waiting room to stare.

      "Don't call Gohan a brat!" Chi-Chi yelled back, matching The Saiyan's lung capacity.

Vegeta turned away, muttering to himself about Kakarot's harpy of a wife.

Gohan, meanwhile, had taken the hint from Vegeta and had sat down, copying Piccolo's meditation pose to pass the time.

            What seemed like years, to Gohan, later, a nurse entered the waiting room.

      "Relatives of Bulma Briefs. You can come through now." The nurse said, smiling at Gohan, who was jumping up and down with excitement at the prospect of having a baby to play with.

They all followed the nurse down a corridor, towards the maternity wards. (A/N: I know Gohan and Chi-Chi aren't relatives but hey, they're close family friends, so work with me.)

            When they all walked into the room, they were greeted by a tired looking Bulma. She sat up in bed, cradling a small infant, wrapped in a blanket.

      "How are you feeling, Bulma?" Chi-Chi asked, knowing how tiring childbirth was.

      "Not too bad, thanks Chi-Chi." Bulma replied, wearily.

Gohan squeezed past his mother and walked up to have a better look at the baby.

      "What's his name?" Gohan asked, having deduced it as a boy.

Bulma smiled. "Well I decided to call him Trunks." She replied.

Gohan stared at the baby, carefully scrutinizing it. "Cool." He said, finally, smiling at Bulma.

Chi-Chi pulled Gohan back as she realised Bulma was staring pointedly at Vegeta.

       "Vegeta! Are you going to say hello to your son?" Bulma asked, her look forcing the proud Saiyan Prince to come forward and gaze, silently, at the infant in her arms.

Trunks blew a bubble of spit out of his mouth and it popped just in front of Vegeta's nose.

       "Disgusting little brat!" Vegeta shouted, turning away from his newborn son.

Trunks began to cry, loudly.

       "Oh, Vegeta. You made him cry." Bulma yelled, at her new husband. "Don't cry, honey. It's alright." She said softly to the small child.

Vegeta just glared at his wife and walked out of the room.

       "I can't believe you married Vegeta." Gohan said, for the millionth time that week, laughing, making baby Trunks gurgle as well.

       "Gohan!" Chi-Chi exclaimed. "What did I tell you?"

Gohan looked at the floor. "Sorry, mom." He said.

Bulma just laughed good-naturedly. "Don't worry, Gohan. I'm sure the others will go on about it just as much." She said, light-heartedly.

            A half hour later, they all left the hospital except for Bulma and Trunks, who had to stay in overnight, so the doctors could keep an eye on both of them.

      "Mom, are we staying round Bulma's still?" Gohan asked, hoping the answer was yes.

      "Yes, I think so, Gohan. When she comes home tomorrow, she is going to need a lot of help and support." Chi-Chi replied, remembering how she felt just after she'd given birth to Gohan.

      "Okay then." Gohan replied. "Can I go train with Piccolo now, since I missed it this morning?" He asked his mom, putting on his most pleading face.

Chi-Chi looked as if she might object, but then her face softened. "Yes, I suppose you can, but not for too long, you've got lots of study to do." She said, sternly, so that her son took notice properly.

Gohan nodded, and took to the sky, watching his mom and the others, minus Vegeta, get in the capsule car. Vegeta had already flown off somewhere.

            A short flight later, Gohan landed down next to the waterfall. Piccolo was, as ever, meditating.

      "Piccolo." Gohan said, nudging the Namek out of meditation.

      "What is it, kid." Piccolo said, gruffly, not to happy about being nudged out of his meditation.

      "I came to train." Gohan replied. "Bulma gave birth this morning, so that's why I'm here now."

Piccolo stared at the small child, amazed at the commitment he showed now, considering how whiny he was a few years ago. If anything good came out of Goku's death, it was Goku's son. Gohan had come out of his shell, and was determined to fill his father's boots.

      "Oh yeah, and what did Vegeta say to his newborn baby?" Piccolo asked, a slight smirk lining his face.

      "Baby Trunks blew a bubble in his face. Vegeta wasn't to happy." Gohan replied, laughing.

Piccolo laughed too, before getting serious again. "You came here to train. Lets get started." He said, stretching his muscles ready.

Gohan mimicked his teacher's warm-up exercises.

            They trained vigorously for two hours, and Gohan was really enthusiastic to carry on longer, but when he saw that the sun was starting to set, he stopped.

      "Piccolo, I better go now. My mom wanted me to study today." Gohan said, reluctantly.

Piccolo nodded. "Okay, kid. See you tomorrow." He said, already getting into his meditation position.

Gohan grinned at his teacher, and took to the air. "Bye, Piccolo."

            He landed down outside Capsule Corp. Chi-Chi was standing outside the front door, waiting for him.

      "Gohan! You've been gone for ages. I told you not to be too long." She screeched at her son.

      "Um…sorry, mom." Gohan replied, wearing a sheepish grin.

Chi-Chi sighed, exasperated with her son, but not being able to stay cross with him for too long. Just like his dad.

End chapter.

How was that then? A longer chapter this time, and progression in the storyline.

R&R to let me know what you think and I'll update soon.