Chapter II

ChiChi gave her husband a lustful look. He'd been gone a year. As much as she shouted and ranted, she had honestly missed him and she wasn't ashamed to admit it. She gave him a kiss on the cheek, which made him blink at her. She gave him a youthful smirk, the same type she had given him years ago, before Gohan had been born. Goku gave her a childish grin and moved over to her, putting his hands on each side of her, returning her heartfelt kisses.

His wife rolled over, darting away from him playfully. Goku gave her a playful smile and pounced after her. She dodged, making him chase her a little bit. He'd made her wait a good year! She could return the favor! Besides, they hadn't romped like this in years, since before Gohan had been born. Goku finally grabbed ChiChi around the waist, throwing her back onto the bed, on her back.

ChiChi laughed, just a soft girlish laugh and stripped her nightgown off, throwing it onto the floor. She laid backwards, giving her mate a "come and get it" grin. Goku smiled at her less than subtle hints and was more than ready to take her up on that offer. He didn't remember the last time he'd been able to do this with her, given all the battles. It seemed like he got it less and less with the enemies. He usually didn't miss it but every so often he did. He was more than ready for another go-

"DADDY!"

Uh, strike that thought.

ChiChi exhaled through her teeth as Goku let out a sigh of disappointment; both their faces falling and Goku's shoulders slumped. One thing both he and ChiChi had learned from a long time ago was that Gohan never called for ChiChi and never accepted ChiChi. Even when Goku had been gone, Gohan wouldn't be comforted by ChiChi, much as she would try. He was a Daddy's boy and only wanted Daddy.

And right now, he definitely wanted Daddy.

"Duty calls, Goku."

Goku winced at his mate "Uh, sorry. Let's try for this later, okay?"

ChiChi flopped back on the bed, nodding.

Goku sat up, pulled his boxers on and ran out of the room like it was on fire. He felt his son's ki now and it was panicked, powered up and scared to death. He pushed open the door to his son's room and his sharp senses immediately took in an array of smells, one of which was sweat and the other urine. That scared him. Gohan hadn't wet the bed in several years, not since he was three.

Gohan was twisted in his sheets, having ripped them off the bed when he fell. That's where he was now, on the floor, tangled in the coils of blankets. He threw his arms out, screeching "NO! NO!" His ki raised and his hands lit up with energy, moving to a familiar pose, the manseko that Piccolo had taught him. Goku cursed and ran over to his son as the boy let out a blast, all the while screaming "NO! NO! NO!"

"YII!" Goku ducked under the blast and it made a crash as it went through the boy's window, shattering the glass but thankfully nothing else. Goku darted over, hoping to wake the little boy up from whatever nightmare had him in its grasp before he let another ki blast out. Or, more importantly, before the boy hurt himself with the way he was exerting himself! Whether it was from fear or a mix of fear and the energy needed to fire a blast he didn't know but he did know that his son's breathing was much shorter and panicked than he liked to hear.

"Gohan! Gohan!" Falling onto his knees by his son, Goku shook the boy but got no response aside from a louder scream. He pulled the wet blankets off his son and cradled him like a baby; ignoring the fact the boy was sopping wet, and he stood, rubbing his back. "Gohan, it's okay. It's okay. Daddy's got you." Gohan's cries turned softer but he dug his hands into his father's bare chest. Goku ignored it and let him, more intent on getting him calm than anything else. He put one of his hands on his son's head, gently ruffling his black hair.

Gohan recognized the familiar ki, the smell and the comforting motions. He blinked, opened his eyes and looked around, almost fast enough to get whiplash. He shook like nothing else, sweat pouring off his face, his breaths coming in fast and frequent gasps. He jumped when he felt a gentle touch on his hair. Looking up, pure relief and then fear spread over his face

"DADDY!"

Gohan locked his arms around his father's neck, wrapped his legs around his father's waist and sobbed into his shoulder. "DADDY!" Goku shifted his arms to support the boy's weight and stroked his black hair, rubbing his back with his other hand. Gohan sobbed, tears flowing down his face. He buried his face, leaving wet stains on his father's shoulder. "DADDY! DADDY! DADDY!"

Goku cradled the boy's head, still rubbing his hair. "Hey, hey. It's okay, little man. You're okay. It was just a dream."

"Daddy, Daddy, Daddy…" was all the boy would say. He didn't make any reaction or comment on the dream. He just cried. He refused to slacken his grip on Goku's neck and Goku swore if the boy squeezed any harder, he'd had trouble breathing. It worried him. His son had had nightmares before but never something this intense. Gohan was soaked to the bone, partially sweat and partially urine. That didn't bother Goku at all but it worried him. Goku couldn't remember even one nightmare before that had made the boy sweat, nor one that made him wet his pants, let alone one that did both!

Gohan's sobs didn't stop and all he did was lay his head against Goku's shoulder, shaking. His screaming had stopped but that was about the only improvement that Goku saw. The boy just kept pressing his face into his chest, over and over again. His crying had slowed but not stopped. In fact, Goku was starting to worry the poor boy was going to make himself sick if he kept this crying up! Gohan hadn't cried like this since he was four, before his interest in martial arts perked up. After that, the boy had found his joy, in the same art that gave Goku such pleasure, martial arts, and his crying had been toned down a ton. However, given the boy's young age, tears weren't a rarity. Yet in such great gushes it was cause for alarm.

"Little man, don't worry, Daddy's right here. You're okay." Gohan sniffed, which resorted in a snort from him. He rubbed at his eyes with his fist, in a vain attempt to stop the tears. He tried to think of all the other challenges he had conquered in an attempt to still the cries but it did no good. This enemy scared him far worse than Freeza, Radditz or any other enemy ever could. This enemy wasn't a physical form he could fight. It was a biological opponent, one he couldn't fire a blast against. His nose ran and before long, the crying was enough to give him hiccups.

"Gohan, calm down. Daddy's right here."

Goku looked around and finally sat down in the boy's desk chair, tilting the legs back just enough to give it a slight rocking motion. He pulled Gohan close to his chest "Shh, shh. Gohan, you're safe. You're alright. Daddy's got you, little man." Gohan couldn't calm down, much as he tried. All he kept thinking about was that his father was going to die but he didn't say that. All Goku got from him verbally was "Daddy" and all he sensed from his ki was fear, regret and such intense sadness it was baffling.

Goku thought a moment, considering what to do. He wanted to get the boy calmed down before he even attempted to get him cleaned up. He wanted some answers! He laid his head against his son's forehead and said gently, "Gohan, calm down. I don't want you gettin' sick, Little Man." Thinking for a moment, he came to a possible answer and then stripped the boy's pajama bottoms and underwear off. Standing up, he started to pace with his son, patting his backside gently as he'd done when the boy was a baby and toddler.

It still worked like magic. The boy's sobs stopped and he laid against his father's chest like a leech. Goku smiled at him, stroking his hair. He cradled the boy and then walked down the hall; stopping briefly at his bedroom door "Hey ChiChi, can you change Gohan's bed sheets for me?" he didn't wait for a reply and carried his baby boy out to their outdoor bath. He filled it quickly, still holding to Gohan with one arm. Heating it up with a small ki blast to light the fire underneath, he stripped his own boxers off and took Gohan's remaining clothes off and jumped in.

The little boy clung to his father with a hard grip. Goku foamed some soap up on a cloth and gently rubbed the boy's arms, then his torso. Gohan laid against Goku's chest, laying his head between his father's breasts, over his heart. Gohan closed his eyes, taking comfort in the steady throbbing of his father's heartbeat. His father's strong arms tightened around his back, scrubbing down his skin.

Goku splashed water up on the boy's back, washing the soap off and asked gently, "Gohan, you wanna tell Daddy about it?"

Tears slipped out of the boy's eyes. Goku gently stroked his face with the cloth. Gohan didn't move his cheek from his father's chest but he did answer softly "I wanna forget it…"

"Try talking to Daddy, Gohan." Goku scrubbed the boy's arms down and his chest a little, pulling him away from his chest just for a moment and cradled him like an infant, supporting his neck and upper back against his forearm. Gohan looked up at his father, tears in his eyes. He rubbed at his eyes with a balled fist. Goku pushed the boy against his chest and scrubbed at the boy's lower back and backside. Gohan savored being pressed close to his father and clung to him with a tighter grip. Goku bit his lip and instead of using the cloth to wash the soap off, he wet his own hand and just rubbed it off that way, using the motions to comfort the boy.

Gohan laid still but he took a breath and started talking. But his voice broke and cracked so often that he wound up repeating a lot of what he said. Goku kept silent until the boy finished. Gohan took a shuddery breath and whimpered "I don't want you to die, Daddy! Not again!" Goku wrapped his arms around his son's shoulders and spoke in his gentle voice.

"Gohan, it's alright. Daddy's here. Daddy's fine. The others are fine."

"But…but…"

"But nothing. Nobody's dead. I promise. Don't you believe me?"

"But what if…"

"Gohan, look at me."

The boy looked up.

"Do you trust Daddy?"

"'Course I do."

"Then trust me when I say everything's gonna be okay. Can you trust me on that?"

"…I guess."

Goku smiled and pulled the boy close to his chest. "Trust me son. We'll beat this enemy."

Gohan laid still, closed his eyes and buried his face into Goku's chest. "Just don't die…"

Goku stood up, getting out of the bath. He pulled his boxers back on and wrapped his son in towel, like he was swaddling a newborn. He walked back inside, looked around the room. ChiChi had replaced the sheets like he'd asked. Rather than put the frightened boy down, Goku walked back to he and his mate's bedroom. ChiChi scooted over and Goku laid down, the wrapped boy still curled close to his chest. Cradled that way in his father's arms, sleep finally found Gohan and he slipped into dreams.