Tatoosh: Yes, I am a horrible person. I take all the mean I can't take out in the real world, and hurt my favorite character with it. It's despicable of me, it really is. But then again, angst is such a fun thing. (If that makes sense.) It stays pretty dark, just the darkness switches to different characters for a time. Although, there are some sappy happy moments. One vote for weird. Got it. And yep, Goten's a happy, affectionate sprite. I like him that way.

otaku: ooo! Fearsensing! Then I did good. And you want a pregnant Vegeta? Hmmm… *marks it down*

Nasiya: Oh, thank you! J Um… I have no idea why he didn't tell Bulma at first. He's Goku, he does stuff like that? There are actually several very good pregnant Goku stories. Unfortunately, as I am not looking at my favorite stories page, I can't remember the name of one. *marks down mpp only if Vegeta isn't the mom* Yes, my Chi-Chi is mean. Funny… whenever she gets in one of my stories, she's a nasty person. I'll have to work on that. And yes, this is typed up - to a point. Once I hit it, I'm going to have to hope my writer's block has been blasted on this story.

Anonymous: Prefer not, but both or either. Um, okay… except I don't think I'm allowed to do both. If so, maybe I will.

Kakarott Lover: Read on to find out some of what happened to the most adored prince ever! It's horrible. *marks down vote for pregnant Vegeta*

db726: My cup of tea. Hmm… I think I'll be scared of myself for awhile! Read on….

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"Vegeta, be a good boy for me."

"Roll over, puppy."

"Let's try the acid, doctor."

Vegeta whimpered, shuddered. Goten patted him, murmuring something.

"Give me the spikes."

"Just a little cut, right here."

Squirming against the bonds that held him, watching the knife, unable to escape.

"A bit of salt, perhaps?"

"It's not as much fun when he doesn't scream."

"Oh, that's not hot enough. It should be glowing white, not red."

"A bit more of the muscle relaxant, doctor. He's able to tense up again. We don't want him to escape."

On the floor, crawling, trying to find a way out.

"Such a naughty, naughty boy. I'll have to punish you." Needles approaching his skin, then the toys she liked to use.

Goten jerked awake as Vegeta screamed. The prince writhed on the bed, screaming mindlessly, eyes open but seeing only his nightmares. His body arced, stiffened, and the screams stopped abruptly when Goten resorted to punching him in the gut to wake him.

"Vegeta. Hey! It's alright. I got you." Goten straddled the prince, pulling him into a tight embrace. "There, you see? I've got you. Nobody else. Just me. You're safe here. You're safe."

Where, who? The words penetrated slowly. Goten. It was Goten. Kakarot's youngest son. He was safe, at Kakarot's house. He raised his arms, clutching desperately at the teen as the terror slowly abated. He was safe, safe. He rested his head on the boy's chest, letting the tears flow. He was safe. The woman couldn't get him here. "Can't find me here."

Goten, stroking the other man's back, was startled to hear the words that were so mixed in with the sobs. Vegeta was afraid someone would find him? But, as his fingers traced the scars left from the ordeal, he understood. "No, Vegeta. They won't find you here. We'll make sure of that."

He let himself be held, as the tremors that wracked him eased. His grip loosened, shifted to the boy's waist. Other than that, he didn't move, tears tracking down his face to Goten's chest and stomach. The boy held him gently, stroking away the tenseness, his head bowed so that his lips just brushed against Vegeta's forehead as he crooned a quiet little melody. It was a lullaby, but Vegeta didn't know that. He just knew it soothed the terror that had held him, made him feel safe. His lashes fluttered as he fell under the song's spell, and he soon went limp in Goten's arms.

The door creaked. "Goten?"

"It's alright now, Dad. He's gone back to sleep." Goten shifted so that he sat next to the prince, rather than on him, and lowered him gently to the bed. "He talked, Dad. He said, 'Can't find me here.' But he was crying so hard I could barely understand him. Daddy, what happened to him?"

The plea in his son's voice was painful. Goku shook his head, going to sit by his son on the bed. "I don't know for sure, Goten. I just know it was really bad. He was cut up and bleeding when I found him, and from the looks of him, it'd been going on awhile. Maybe the whole time he'd been gone. He was starving, and drugged out of his mind. And he was scared. Terrified. There weren't any senzu beans ready at the time, and I didn't have any. He had to heal the hard way, and fought to keep me from treating some of the worst wounds. He couldn't stand to be touched, not then. I had to take advantage of how weak he was just to put medicine on, or to bandage him."

Goku looked down at the sleeper. "He's doing so much better now, except for the nightmares. Gohan thinks those will pass in time, but it will take his mind longer to heal than his body. The trauma of what happened has affected his mind, and he hasn't recovered from it yet."

"That's why he acts so different?"

"Yeah." Goku ruffled his son's hair. "You better get some sleep. See you at breakfast."

"Okay." The door shut behind Goku. Goten looked down at Vegeta, and grinned. "You sure like being touched now, though, don't you?" He brushed a kiss across Vegeta's cheek, then snuggled down against him. "That's okay. I don't mind."

"So, how's my dad?" Trunks pummeled Goten's character.

"Fighting better than I am right now," Goten replied, jerking on the controller as he tried to get his man back up. "Gohan came by to see him last night. Ha!" He'd knocked Trunk's man down.

"Yeah? What'd he say?"

"Um…" Goten hit pause, making Trunks protest. "I have to think! He said that physically, your dad's doing fine, but there was a lot of trauma and the psychogic healing is going kinda slow." The game resumed.

"Psycho-what?"

"Dad said his mind got hurt, and he isn't healing very good," Goten translated. "I win."

"Does somebody still have to stay with him at night?"

"Yeah, but it doesn't bother me."

"You're staying with him?"

"Mom wanted Dad back in bed."

Trunks made a face. "I so did not need that mental image."

Goten had to think that one over. "Oh, gross! Thanks so much!" Then his eyes twinkled with wicked mirth. "But the idea of me and your dad sleeping together isn't a problem?"

"What?"

"You heard me."

"I… OH MY KAMI!!!! Tell me you did not just say that!"

"Okay," Goten said agreeably. "I didn't just say that. What didn't I just say?"

"Goten, you're impossible. Let's go train."

"Okay!"

Goten wasn't really sleeping with his father, was he? Well, not sleeping but… eww! Trunks stared up at his ceiling. There was no way his father would stand for such a thing. Except, his father wasn't… normal anymore. He wouldn't… would he? Goten hadn't meant… eww! He flopped over onto his stomach, burying his head in his pillow. "Ninety-nine bottles of beer on the wall, ninety-nine bottles of beer….."

Sometimes there's only one way to take your mind off something you don't really want to think about. Especially when you considered that he and Goten had… "Ninety-two bottles of beer on the wall! Ninety-two bottles of beer! Take one down, pass it around…" Trunks added the pantomime and very deliberately sang off-key. (Is there a key to that song?)