Chapter 7: Relaxation

Summary: Goku has his family relax and kick back for the day so Chichi can have a break from their grueling training. Lots of fluff.

Note: This chapter does contain a little bit of mild nudity, but nothing explicit.

A Week Later

The days seemed to melt into each other as our training intensified and our technique and strength improved since Goku was revived. After I came up with that idea of two ganging up on one as a means to help each other strengthen our psychic blocks, we trained our minds almost exclusively with that. We made good progress.

Goku and I more deeply explored fusing our minds and practicing fusing and splitting up so we could do it second nature and quickly. Something that was a total accident actually turned out to be a very powerful move and quickly proved its usefulness. With Goku and I working together, it felt like we were undefeatable, like nothing would stand a chance against us.

Goku and Gohan occasionally sparred some as a sort of break from just sitting down when their headaches were gone. I had to admit, for once I was getting tired of not being able to do anything in the way of sparring. That must have been my Saiyan side talking. We did that rock exercise sometimes. That was better than nothing. I was extra careful to not nick myself on another rock after how badly Goku freaked out when I cut my hand.

I did get attacked by another pack of wolves while out to pick apples from our favorite giant apple tree to bake him an apple pie for dessert after a long day of training, somewhere around a week or so after that first wolf pack. I tried to make my move, but only plowed straight into – and bounced off of – a very solid orange and blue wall that fired several small blasts at the beasts and then whirled on me in a slight panic, and stared me up and down. I had tried to explain I had fought that first pack of wolves with no problem because he didn't show up until after the fact, but he wouldn't hear it.

I decided the next time something like that happened, I was going to let him have it, dang it and that time was quick approaching.

We had just finished our training session for the day, having ended it a little early from being way too tired to continue and were in the sky on our way home. We were almost to our mountain when Gohan had begged to take a quick detour so he could check on a family of dinosaurs on the far end of our mountain range and Goku had immediately said, "I'll come with you!"

They zoomed off.

I thought about just going on home so I could enjoy some peace and quiet and get going on our meal. For once, as I tired as I was, that wasn't what I wanted, so I followed. They were already long out of eyesight, but sensing them was easy, so I let my ki-sensing guide me to them. I flew for several minutes, as I steadily grew closer to their energies, but they were still a ways away.

A loud screech sounded almost directly above and behind me. I froze and my head snapped up. A massive, purple-grey winged dinosaur of some kind dove straight down for me, it's long sharp beak open slightly and was only seconds from snapping me up.

I scoffed. "Good luck!"

It didn't seem discouraged, but I wasn't scared. I was happy that maybe I would finally get that Saiyan need for a fight out of my system at least for the time being.

It was close. So close I smelled its disgusting breath.

A little more…

Right when it thought I was within its reach, I nimbly twisted away and its momentum carried it straight down and just a couple feet to the side of me as its beak snapped loudly at empty air – air I had occupied just seconds before.

The angry screech the thing uttered was cut short by my fist plowing into the creature's large chest. I flipped up and kicked the stunned beast higher into the sky then kicked in some power and shot up to catch up with it. I ended up a little above it and flipped once more to plant a solid kick on its back and it plummeted to the ground – dead – and landed with a very heavy sounding thud.

I brushed my hands against each other, smoothed my hair and straightened my ridiculously wrinkled cheongsam. I had just turned around to continue toward Goku and Gohan when I came face to face with them. Their mouths hung open, their eyes were wide, and their arms hung limply at their sides.

I only defeated a dinosaur. I didn't see what the big deal was.

I stared at Goku with one eyebrow raised pointedly and my arms crossed for several moments before dropping the long way to the ground and landing gently right next to the downed dinosaur. My two still very much shocked boys landed next to me.

I glared at him slightly and twitched my head toward my kill. "Still think I can't take care of myself, Goku?"

He closed his mouth as he recovered from his shock and gave me one of his rare very serious looks and opened his mouth, but I cut him off before he could say anything.

"I'm going to be fighting against a much worse enemy than a HUNGRY DINOSAUR IN LESS THAN TWO WEEKS! YOU KNOW THAT, RIGHT!?"

His mouth snapped closed, but the stern look in his eyes still didn't leave. If anything, his frown deepened and his mouth opened and closed several times. My retort brought him up short and it was obvious to me he hated that but not because of his pride.

I huffed as I bent down and charged up a small ki beam to slice into the dinosaur. Dino meat was good eating. In no time at all, I had several of the best cuts hovering in the air above and in front of me. Goku had taught me how to clean all sorts of game early in our marriage so I wasn't terribly squeamish. I didn't even have to get my hands dirty anymore because of having my power back.

As I worked, I could feel Goku's gaze boring holes in me. I didn't look at him. He needed to realize he couldn't protect me forever. I may have been pregnant, but I was not defenseless. A hungry dinosaur was no big deal. Had I possessed only the strength of a normal human, I probably would have already been in pieces in the beast's gut. I was half Saiyan and my power was fully restored, even if the circumstances of the breakthrough weren't the best.

The fight that was my mother's became mine. I had to deal with her enemy back for revenge. For once, an enemy wasn't after my husband. Somehow, I doubted Goku could have handled the enemy on his own – whether that enemy was after him or not, he'd still give it his all. His all by himself wouldn't be enough.

Somehow, I doubted either one of us alone were much of a match for that traitor. If the three of us worked together, maybe – just maybe – we stood a chance. It was the only option we had.

I stood back up fully and faced Goku, walked over to him and wrapped my arms around his waist. "I'm so happy you're here, Goku. I don't think we'd have a chance without you."

He knew the dinosaur was very much not what I was talking about. He wrapped his arms around me and hugged me tight.

After a moment, he released me and I stepped back and glanced at Gohan. "Okay, you two. How about dino steaks for dinner tonight?"

Three famished Saiyan stomachs sounded off at the same time.

I rolled my eyes and glanced down at my mostly flat stomach then looked back up at my amused boys and sighed exasperatedly. "Let's go."

I led the way home, the massive red steaks floating along behind me. After arriving home and cooking, we sat down to a very satisfying and delicious meal, and for once we had left overs. Dino meat really did go a very long way. After the meal was eaten and my kitchen cleaned, we went up to bed.

When Goku and I washed up and changed into our nightclothes – which for him meant only boxers – we got under the covers and I snuggled into him, my head on his shoulder and a hand resting on his chest. He wrapped an arm around my shoulders as I breathed in the wonderfully comforting vaguely woodsy and spicy smell of his warm skin.

The soothing rhythm of his breathing and his chest rising and falling had almost rocked me into dreamland. I didn't realize I almost dozed off.

"Chichi?"

His tone was soft, just above a whisper, but it was enough to rouse me.

I breathed a tired sigh. "Hmm?"

"Someone being able to come up with the ability to block power and memories like that blows my mind. Did that guy explain to you how it worked when he put your memory block on you?"

"He told my father and I a little bit. He was a master at what we do with our minds and very gifted. He said he was going to hit a series of pressure points on us while using his power and something about that combination was going to block my power and memories associated with all things Saiyan. For my father, it was just the memories. He did tell us it was unbreakable – he seemed very certain about that. What happened to me shouldn't have been possible. I don't remember more than that… I'm sorry. It's been too long."

"If it was impossible, what broke through yours?"

"I don't know. I could guess, but I don't know."

I yawned widely and snuggled further into him.

He was quiet after that and almost immediately, I drifted off into a deep sleep, faint memories of my mother from happier times surfacing in my dreams.


A Few Days Later

Our training continued much the same as it had been the last few weeks with one big change: our defense and attacks were far stronger and we each held our own during our two-against-one training sessions.

After lots of practice – multiple times a day, every day – Goku and I just about mastered fusing our minds to form one massive, powerful attack and mastered pulling apart and refusing. We got so good at it, we could join and pull apart in seconds. It truly became second nature.

We had also discovered how powerful our defense was when working together like that.

The three of us were seated on the ground at our usual training grounds with a couple feet between us.

"Anytime, Gohan."

We had also discovered while fused like our minds were that our voices functioned at the same time, too.

Everything was as one for us. Thought. Emotion. The rhythm of our hearts. Breathing. We were in perfect synchronicity.

We felt Gohan slam into our wall with everything he had. His attack was strong, strong enough that we knew it could shatter any one person's wall, but still didn't do much against ours.

Goku and I split, easily pulling apart our thoughts and feelings like we had practiced so many times before.

I smiled at him. "We're getting good at this."

He grinned, too. "Yeah, we are!"

Something else occurred to me.

"Goku, do you think we should test how far away we can be from each other and still attack?"

"Telepathy works from anywhere as long as I can sense a person's ki. This should work, too but it's worth testing just to be sure in case we get separated in the battle."

"Yeah, I say test it, Mom."

I nodded. "Okay, then first, let's fly a couple miles away from each other and try that and then we'll go farther."

They nodded at me.

I stood up and pushed off the ground first shortly followed by Goku and Gohan. With one last glance at each other, we each flew in separate directions at high speed. We stopped at the agreed upon two miles.

Who goes first, Chichi?

I broadcasted the thought to both Goku and Gohan. I guess I will.

I disconnected our telepathic link and shored up my defenses, getting ready.

I felt them slam into my psychic block, but my defenses held strong. There were no cracks forming, no signs of crumbling anywhere. It held up strong against two powerful minds. I allowed myself a modicum of pride for that.

I decided to change things up a little bit. Without warning, I dropped my defenses at the same second I readied a mental spear for them both. With their minds linked up, one would be enough.

I attacked as their shock surged into me, but didn't last long. I sensed them scrambling to raise their own wall, ready to push back.

The spear slammed into their wall. I could feel them reinforcing it and it held no matter how hard I pushed, no matter how strong I was.

As busy as I was trying to attack and having my defenses lowered, they detected my weakness and exploited it. Mercilessly. And without warning.

Their minds working as one, they surged into me. It happened so fast, I could react on nothing but instinct. My eyes clamped closed and a grimace on my face, I shoved my wall up, pushing hard against their onslaught. They were so strong.

I wasn't weak, but I didn't have a chance.

Once they realized they had me beat, they immediately pulled back and the painful pressure on my mind left.

Dropping your defenses to catch us off guard like that and then attacking was a good move, Chichi! Are you okay?

I'm fine, Goku. My head aches a little bit, but otherwise I'm fine. I think this proves a couple miles are no big deal. Let's push it farther. Let's fly out so we're ten miles away from each other.

We pushed it farther and farther, changing who attacked whom with each increase of our distance, launching surprise attacks at each other and practicing defending against a presence already in our minds.

It became clear to us distance really didn't matter at all. By the end of the day, we floated above opposite sides of the Earth, thousands of miles apart. We could hear each other's thoughts as clearly as if we were three feet apart and sense each other just fine. The distance wasn't anymore draining during our exercises than being a few feet away, which was good because that training method was tiring enough as it was.

Goku's energy popped up next to Gohan's very far away. As long as we can sense each other, this will work no matter how far away we are, Chichi.

I yawned. You're right.

I could barely stay in the air where I was hovering about fifty feet above the deep blue water of the Pacific Ocean, thousands of miles from land.

I didn't see how I'd make it all the way home in my state much less the few hundred miles to land.

Hang in there, Honey. I'll come get you.

A few seconds later, he – along with Gohan hanging off of his elbow – materialized right in front of me the same second as the last of my energy preventing me from falling into the water was spent and cut out.

I didn't drop more than a foot before his strong arms had me cradled against his broad, warm chest. I wasn't scared. I knew he would catch me. I sighed happily as my head drooped onto his shoulder and I was out before I knew what hit me.


The Next Morning

That traitor was about a week away, which meant we still had time for more training. Chichi pushed herself so hard, she wore herself out every day the last few days and I often had to carry her home. I was concerned for her and our child, but if we didn't win, it wouldn't be just the baby's life that hung in the balance.

Gohan and I sparred to keep our hand-to-hand skills sharp. Sometimes, I'd catch Chichi flowing through her forms and techniques by herself – gracefully and impressively quickly launching fist after fist and foot after foot at empty air. Sometimes, she'd go after a boulder, destroying it with one strong blow.

When she got really into it, her hair fell out of the neat, tight bun she usually kept it in, billowing wildly around her head as she skillfully whirled through the air. When she was done, she'd have a new hair tie at the ready and pull her hair back again, smoothing it so not one hair was out of place, leaving no evidence of her solo training.

The morning after Chichi had us test our telepathic techniques over distances, that long, raven black hair was fanned out in a sheet over my chest, its owner still sound asleep in dreamland. The sun had been up for over an hour, but she remained asleep, curled up against me, and I didn't have the heart to wake her. She had been sleeping more since we stepped up our training with our two-on-one exercises. They were pretty tiring and she had another reason to be extra tired on top of that.

Finally, the beautiful creature in my arms stirred, showing the first signs of leaving dreams behind. She squirmed against me and yawned as she rolled away. She stretched, her movement pulling the blanket off her and revealing her light pink nightgown and the little bump of her stomach under it.

I reached over and rested a hand on her stomach over the thin, satin fabric of her nightgown, immediately noticing new growth in the energy just in the last few days. She rested her hand on mine as her eyes fluttered open and she met mine with a small, groggy smile on her lips.

She rolled back into me, apparently not ready to get out of bed just yet, but my stomach – followed by hers – convinced her it was time to get up.

She sighed, stretched again and sat up, her hair cascading down her back as she moved. She shuffled to her dresser and changed into one of her many cheongsams, slits going up to her hips on both sides for ease of movement. I enjoyed the view of her lean, strong legs as she pulled pants on followed by her usual boots last.

She sat down at her vanity, brushed her hair, pulled it up into a bun, got up and left the room to get going on breakfast, but not before giving me a small smile as she stepped out of our room.

I got up, got dressed in my usual gi, and quickly followed her downstairs and into the kitchen to see breakfast already well underway.

She had been consistently cooking nearly double the amount she made for a family picnic a few days before the Cell Games. She may have been cooking double the food, but she cut the cooking time in half.

Dishes hovered about her, cooking in midair with only the skillful use of her ki. It was her new normal and I didn't think I'd ever get tired of seeing our training as intense as it was, our appetites were in overdrive and meals would have taken a very long time to cook the old fashioned way because of how much we ate.

Very soon, breakfast was ready and we all sat down and stuffed our faces.

By the time we were full, there wasn't much left over.

The three of us cleared the massive amount of dishes off the table.

Gohan carried the last stack to the sink and gently put them in water. "Mom? Can I watch cartoons until we leave for training?"

I glanced at Chichi. Generally, her answer was an emphatic 'no' and usually finished with 'go study!' but not that time. She actually said yes and he bounded into the living room with a very happy, "Thanks, Mom!"

There was definitely something going on with her and I was going to find out what.

She smiled lovingly after him as he dashed out of the kitchen, excited to enjoy his rare treat.

After a moment, she turned and started working on the dishes. I joined her at the sink and helped her.

"Chichi… there's about a week left before the battle… how about we relax for a day or two and then get back at it? I think you need a break."

She was quiet for a second and then said with building hysteria, "Only a week… Goku… shouldn't we keep training? We can't take a break yet!"

A dish shattered. She didn't drop it. She crushed it, the tiny pieces hitting the floor with a tinkling sound.

And then she burst into tears. She turned her back to the sink and slid down to the floor, landing in the pile of shards. I quickly rinsed my soapy hands and went down to her, bringing my face down eyelevel with hers and rested my hands on her heaving shoulders for a moment before pulling her into me. She buried her face in my chest, her warm tears soaking into the front of my gi.

I knew it wasn't over the dish. She had been fighting so hard to keep it in check since I came back to life and we started training together, but I could sense it threatening to spill out over the surface – even without being in her head.

Her hands were balled into tight fists that gripped the front of my gi and her whole body shook. "Goku… I don't want to lose you again. I can't go through that again! I can't! And Gohan! He doesn't even like to fight! He just did it because his friends were in danger. I can't stand putting him through this again! I'm just so… so scared, Goku!"

I rubbed her back. "Honey… we'll be just fine. I know it! We all will. You. Me. Gohan. We will all be fine."

I paused for a moment to hook a finger under her chin and lift her face up. "Chichi, let me make a promise to you. Just in case anything happens to me, the others know how to bring me back. I won'tmake the same mistake twice. I swear to you I'll come back to you."

A fresh wave of tears poured down her cheeks, but not from sadness. "You promise?"

"Cross my heart. Let's take a break today, alright?"

She nodded and nuzzled her face into the crook of my neck as her tears finally slowed.

The kitchen door creaked open and I saw a concerned pair of eyes peak in through the crack and I waved him off.

Gohan… I don't think we're going to be training today. Your mother really needs to relax. Why don't you go spend some time with Piccolo or the others for a little bit and do something you like and relax for a while. She'll be okay with that. Just be back by sundown.

Well… okay. Will Mom be okay?

I think she'll be fine, Gohan.

Do you think… we'll be okay?

We'll be just fine. Don't worry.

I truly, honestly, believed that we would, but I was still worried. I was going to have to be extra careful to keep that hidden.

Okay, Dad. I believe you. Tell Mom not to worry about me for lunch or dinner. I'll go fishing for myself before I leave the mountain and I'll go hunting for my dinner later.

With that, the faint noise of the TV cut out and I sensed Gohan walk out the door and take to the skies.

I tried to lighten things up. "Well… at least now you know how it feels to be me and breaking things all the time."

A half-sob, half-giggle made her shoulders twitch.

She pulled away from me and rolled her eyes slightly then jutted her chin out. "That'll be the only dish I break."

I chuckled as I wiped away the last wet stragglers on her cheeks. "If you say so."

Her still puffy, red eyes narrowed and she raised an eyebrow and with a "Hmmph!" turned her a head away from me and stood up.

I stifled another chuckle and helped her pick up the pieces of the ceramic plate – which took a while since there were a lot of little shards all over the place.

She swept up the last few tiny splinters into a dustpan. "Where's Gohan off to?"

"I… sent him out to go hang out with Piccolo for a while or some of our other friends."

"I hope Gohan is careful! I really don't want him to go to Kame House! I do not want my sweet little boy influenced by that ANCIENT PERVERT!"

She nearly spat the last word, her volume rising ferociously – along with her ki. The whole house shook with her power. Ah, pregnancy and mood-swings.

I rubbed her back in an effort to calm her down before our house shook apart. "He'll be fine, Chichi. He's a smart kid and very good-hearted."

She sighed. "I hope he's not too late coming home."

"I told him to be back by sundown."

She glanced at me and nodded approvingly as we worked on the rest of the dishes in a comfortable silence. Neither one of us broke any more – at least not that time.

"So… what do you want to do today, Chichi?"

"Maybe… we can go swimming just you and me? It's been a while since we've had the time to do that." Under her breath, she murmured, "Years."

I smiled a little sadly at that, but brightened quickly because I was back and more than ready to make up for lost time. "Swimming sounds great!"

After I did a quick sweep with my senses to make sure Gohan left the area, off we went, but I noticed one unusual thing: she didn't grab anything at all on our way out the door. The capsule case she usually had for training was left forgotten on the little table just inside our front door.

I shrugged to myself and followed her out. We kicked off into the sky and she led the way toward our favorite swimming hole. It was a beautiful little pond tucked deep in the woods and far away from prying eyes. It was supplied with fresh water from a small stream trickling down into it. At the other end of the pond, the little stream continued on its way, eventually ending up connecting with the small river that ran near our house.

I stripped down to my boxers and dove in, the water's temperature perfect – just cool enough to be refreshing. I popped back up to the surface and my eyes snagged on her and I felt my jaw drop.

She had nothing on at all. Her lower lip was pulled between her teeth as she stared at me slightly unsurely for a moment more, her hair fluttering in the soft, warm breeze. And then she walked toward me and gracefully dove in, my eyes following her down.

Her small splash snapped me out of it – sort of. She bobbed to the surface, took in a breath and then turned on her back and floated, utterly relaxed, her hair billowing out all around her head.

She turned to look at me, a soft smile playing on her lips. I reached out and lightly traced her cheek and down her jawline, down her neck, down her chest and stopped where that tiny energy was strongest, low on her abdomen. That little energy had grown quite a bit.

She rested her hand on top of mine and I looked back at her face.

As lost in the moment as she was, she didn't notice my fingers shift slightly against her skin, an evil smile on my face.

She let out a high-pitched laugh as my fingers danced on her stomach, the sound music to my ears. Within seconds, there were tears pouring down her face because she was laughing so hard and I laughed with her.

After a minute, I gave her a break so she could breath.

She raised an eyebrow at me with a dangerous look in her eyes as she righted herself and started treading water. She lunged at me and got me back, and my own tears poured down my face. She really was a lot stronger.

Finally, after over a minute of torture, she backstroked a couple of times and took a breath and dropped down below the surface.

I followed her down to the bottom about seven feet down where she turned and rested her back against the sand. I did too, the plant life growing down there on the bottom tickling my feet, the sand soft against my back.

I stared up at the surface, mesmerized by the refracted light shimmering above me and turned my head to look at my wife as she rested next to me, also enjoying the view, the water's reflections dancing on her bare skin. She met my gaze and smiled slightly before rolling forward and pushing back up to the surface and I followed.

We broke the surface at the same time, coming up only a couple of feet apart and I went in for a deep kiss, wrapping my arms around her. She sighed happily as our lips met and I did, too.

After several minutes of pure bliss, we cuddled in the soft moss and ferns growing all around the pond, the trickle of water singing us to sleep for a nap.


I woke up a couple of hours later with my head cradled by a strong arm with another wrapped around my waist and pressed gently against my stomach, my back pressed into his front.

We were nude, but not at all cold as it was a warm day. Birds chirping, little creatures running through the leaf-litter nearby, and the steady trickle of the small stream that fed the pond were all wonderful sounds to wake up to. None of those were quite as comforting as the loud snore next to me.

My nerves I had kept bottled up melted away long ago and I was very glad Goku convinced me to take a break today and I wondered what else he had in store.

He yawned and stretched. "So… what do you want to do next?"

"Get dressed."

He giggled as we stood up. I turned my back to him as I tracked down the rest of my clothes, but I didn't get very far. Two warm, strong arms wrapped gently around me and warm lips nibbled on my neck. I shook my head but gave in to his advances.

It was at least an hour before we finally dressed and left our secret place and headed back home to make lunch. After we ate, it was out the door to spend the rest of the day flying together, hand in hand.

"Goku?"

He glanced at me.

"Think we can go visit my father?"

"Of course, Babe!"

We were sort of in the area and I hadn't seen my dad in a few weeks so we angled toward his kingdom and it wasn't long before the village became visible.

"I can't fly in, Goku..."

"Oh! That's right! Hold on a second." He raised a hand up to his mouth and shouted for Nimbus.

Within seconds, the little yellow cloud flew level with us and I got on it and Goku got on too, seating himself behind me and wrapped his arms around me from behind and rested his head on my shoulder.

Goku put a hand on the magic yellow cloud. "Alright, Nimbus. See that village up ahead?"

It bobbed up and down in the air a couple of times.

"That's where we're going."

Goku scooped me up – we had to keep up appearances at least for the time being – and we touched down in the main square of the village my father ruled over, the streets bustling with villagers out shopping, doing chores, cooking over great open fires, and everything else that came with living in a small, close-knit community.

Everybody in sight froze and stared at us and there were more than a few gasps. They had seen Goku before and were used to him flying in with me on Nimbus from time to time. That wasn't what made them stare.

It was because Goku was very much alive. They were somewhat accustomed to unusual happenings since I brought that wild-haired boy home to my father all those years ago, but they were still shocked to see my husband walking along with me.

I gave them all a bright smile as we made our way to my father's mansion. The village elders looked very happy for us while some of the younger ones pointed and shared whispered conversations.

We made our way to the front door of the mansion but before we could knock, the door was thrown open and Papa scooped me up into a big – but a very gentle – hug and set me back down on my feet.

"Great to see you, my dear daughter! What brings you all the way out here?"

I smiled. "Oh, we were in the area and thought we'd stop by."

He moved to the side to let us in. "Come on in, you two! Are you hungry? It's close to dinnertime."

Goku's stomach answered my father's question. Mine wasn't too long behind Goku's.

Papa just laughed his booming laugh as he led the way to his large dining room.

Once we were seated, there wasn't much talking going on since Papa was an amazing cook and Goku and I were pretty hungry from our earlier activities. The meal was perfect. As much as Goku loved my cooking, I didn't think mine held a candle to Papa's – even though Goku had argued the opposite every time I brought it up with him.

Once the meal and dessert were out of the way, we settled into a relaxed conversation that lasted a couple of hours, well into the evening. My powers were still a secret, but I wouldn't have to hide them for much longer.

Eventually, it was time to head home.

"Bye, Papa."

"Bye Chichi, Goku. Safe trip home!"

Goku waved and then scooped me up. "See ya, Ox King!"

He kept me in his arms even though the village long since faded from view as we flew home. I didn't mind.

The thought crossed my mind that might be the last time I saw my father earth-side seeing as the fate of the world was going to be decided – yet again – in about one week. With that thought and knowing we would have to resume our training the next morning, my worry returned just about full force.

Goku must have sensed that because he held me tighter against him and glanced down at me, giving me a reassuring smile. I leaned my head on his shoulder and he kissed my forehead as we flew home.

Once inside, we snuggled up on the couch, enjoying our last hour or two before Gohan was due back in time for dinner. Goku lightly stroked my still mostly flat stomach and I put a hand over his.

"I'm going to be huge! You know that right? Remember how big my stomach got with Gohan?"

Goku touched his nose to mine. "I can't wait."

He planted a kiss on my lips and then went in for another. Before things could get too heated, my stomach decided it had other ideas.

He chuckled, his lips still on mine then pulled back slightly. "Snack time!"

I sighed and rolled my eyes as Goku helped me up.

"A family of four Saiyans. How in the world are we going to afford to feed all of us?" I elbowed him in the ribs gently, giving him a cute, cheeky grin. "Feeding you two was hard enough and then I changed."

Goku chortled. "Gohan and I can hunt and fish as much as we need to. We'll have all the food we need. Don't worry about it."

Right on cue, as the last rays of sunlight faded, the front door opened and Gohan walked in, slightly dirty and sweaty, but very happy.

I hugged him. "Hi, Gohan! What did you do today?"

"I spent the day with Piccolo and we sparred and meditated. Other than that, nothing too exciting."

In the three years leading up to the Androids, Piccolo and I had reached some sort of understanding. He was welcomed in our house and sort of became one of us. I – at first somewhat begrudgingly – accepted the bond Gohan and Piccolo shared. Then I really surprised myself when I found myself actually encouraging Gohan to spend time with Piccolo when he was lonely and needed someone else other than me to talk to and his father wasn't around.

I smiled.

"Are you okay, Mom?"

"I'm just fine, Gohan."

He seemed relieved and hugged me. "We'll beat her, Mom. Don't worry!"

I hugged him back. "I know we will."

Once I stepped away, my stomach let out a little rumble and my two boys snickered, giving me the distinct impression of a conversation I was not a part of. I rolled my eyes and glared down at my stomach a little disgustedly. I had just eaten a big meal with Goku and my father not even two hours before! I sighed resignedly as I headed into the kitchen to make us a snack and then it was bedtime, my mind back on training and my sleep that night, restless.