Disclaimer: I do own DBZ! In a way. I just bought "Brolly's Second Coming" today, so I own that! But somehow, it's not the same…

A/N: Like I promised, I'm getting to the important stuff. Only a few funny things in this one. And yes, there is a huge gap of time unaccounted for between the events of the last chapter and this one. I realized that it would take me forever at the rate I was going. So here's Chapter 5!

The best thing about living out in the woods is the stars. You can see millions of them, from the very bright to the very dim. Sprinkled across the night sky, the multitude of stars always made her think about Goku. He was born out there, somewhere in the distant reaches of space. Which star would have been his sun, if things had worked out differently? Where would he be now? Alive, maybe? Chi Chi sighed. There was no point in wondering now. She was too sore and tired to move, but the baby wasn't.

"Hey, calm down in there," she murmured, putting her hand on her round belly. At seven months pregnant, she had already gained more than 90 pounds! "Hmm, just like Gohan," she mused. Since the second month, she'd been absolutely certain the child was a boy. She didn't need a doctor to tell her; it was woman's intuition, plain and simple. But she still couldn't come up with a name for him. Her first thought was to call him Goku Jr., but she really didn't think she could call anyone else by that name.

So Chi Chi set to work trying to figure out what her husband would have wanted. Let's see…Gohan was named after Goku's grandfather, so…he did have a brother, Radditz- no! I'm not naming my child after that man. She shook her head forcefully. Maybe his friends? Krillin…no. Yamcha…no. Tenshinan…no. Roshi…forget it! He's a dirty old man. Vegeta- She burst out laughing. Just imagining the look on his face when he heard that "Kakarott's brat" was named after him was priceless! No, not Vegeta. Even Bulma wouldn't do that. Chi Chi thought about the time Goku had spent with King Kai. Well, I don't think I could call him King Kai. Definitely not Bubbles. But Gregory…Gregory's a nice name.

All of a sudden, the baby kicked her left side with surprising force. Caught off guard, Chi Chi tilted to left and her shoulder caught on the wall. If it hadn't, she surely would have fallen to the ground. She pushed herself upright and rubbed her stinging shoulder.

All right, fine. Not Gregory either. But don't do that again!

"Mom, shouldn't you come inside? It's a little cold out here," Gohan said, appearing in the doorway. "What are you doing, anyway?"

Chi Chi sighed wearily. "Just trying to come up with a name for the baby," she replied wearily, preparing to stand.

"Still?" he asked, rushing to help her up. "I have a good one."

"You do?" Chi Chi straightened up quickly in surprise. "That's wonderful! What is it?"

Gohan gave her the trademark Son grin. "Piccolo." he told her emphatically, confident that she would approve.

Chi Chi blinked at him in disbelief. That would have been funny if he hadn't been so sincere. "Oh, um… that's a lovely idea, sweetie. But maybe we shouldn't name him after anyone we know. It might get confusing."

Gohan's face fell. "Oh. Yeah, I guess you're right." He tried to smile. "But I'm sure we'll think of something soon!"

"Of course we will!" she answered with false cheer. That crestfallen look of his always made her feel guilty as hell. It was like scolding a puppy for licking your face. "You need your rest, honey. Go on to bed," she told him gently, kissing the top of his head. I'll worry about a name later, she told herself.

"Stupid Bulma," Chi Chi grumbled. At her doctor's appointment that day, Bulma had found it necessary to comment on her weight.

"You gained 103 pounds in eight months? Wow! I'd only just hit 97 when Trunks was born!" she'd said. It had taken a lot of self-control not to clobber her right then and there.

"Not my fault her son inherited the dwarf gene from her freakishly short husband. My boys are a good, healthy size, like their father," Chi Chi continued. She was sitting at the kitchen table, the only light being the moonbeams streaming through the windows. It was 12:14am, and Gohan was sleeping soundly. She wasn't, because she couldn't get comfortable. Her back hurt, her knees hurt, her feet hurt- everything hurt! The only thing she could do for any length of time was eat- in almost Saiyan proportions.

But it wasn't her appetite that bothered her; it was her choice of food. She had no desire for anything but pickled turnips and chocolate frosting. Chi Chi knew it was disgusting, but she had the worst cravings for it! In fact, that's what she was eating as she sat there, mad at Bulma and still trying to name her son. She could not for the life of her come up with anything suitable. Gohan was still pushing for Piccolo, and Bulma thought Goku Jr. was a great idea. But she knew there was a perfect name for this baby, and she wanted to be sure she had it before he was born.

"Goku," she whimpered, "Help." Chi Chi closed her eyes and tried to remember how it felt when he put his arms around her. She concentrated all her thoughts on it, and before long she could have sworn he was there, holding her like he'd never left. So warm and safe… she could just sit there for hours. But the baby kicked hard, almost knocking her over and completely ruining the almost hypnotic trance she was in.

"Oh, what'd you have to do that for?" she snapped crossly. "First time I've actually felt good in months." And that was completely true. Although she really was excited about the baby, the entire pregnancy was uncomfortable. With Gohan, she'd had a lot of help from Goku. He had rubbed her feet, cleaned up around the house, brought her flowers, and even attempted to cook! Chi Chi smiled as she remembered waking up to the smell of smoke and rushing into the kitchen to find Goku in an apron two sizes too small, covered with pancake batter and trying to get burning toast out of the toaster. Sure, it ended up making more work for her, but it was really quite thoughtful of him. And he did try to clean up the mess.

She looked at the clock again. 12:56am. Might as well try to get some sleep, she decided, putting all her energy into getting out of the chair. Shuffling into her bedroom, she turned on a small light and opened up the top drawer of her dresser. She pulled out a folded and worn sheet of paper and began to read. "Dear Chi Chi," it began. It was a love letter, the only one she'd ever gotten from her husband. He wrote it right after she gave birth to Gohan. She read it every night before going to bed, and it still brought tears to her eyes. She finished reading and refolded it, replacing it gently in the drawer. Then she reverentially pulled out one of Goku's old gis. It had been in the laundry when he died, and she couldn't bear to wash it after that. Holding it to her face, Chi Chi breathed in his familiar scent. Out of habit or whatever reason, she couldn't sleep unless she could fool herself into thinking he was there. It was her nightly routine: read the letter and hold his clothes. Bulma had said it was bad for her psychological health, but she couldn't care less. Climbing into bed, she curled into a ball around her womb and held the gi tightly. Without Goku, this was the only way she could hold things together.

"Don't worry, little one," she murmured sleepily. "I'll figure things out. We'll all be fine, you'll see."