Author's note: sorry about chapter one with the switching between tenses. I thought I fixed that when I proof read last time, eventually I will go back and fix that later. Thanks for reading- thebonafiedone

Gohan

"Hey dad are you feeling better?" a younger version of Gohan asked his father. They were in the hospital after defeating Vegeta in order to save the Earth. Gohan was extremely happy since this was the first time he was able to fight alongside his father in battle. It was now apparent that those training sessions with Piccolo have finally paid off.

"You betcha son but once Yajirobe comes back with those senzu beans I'll feel even better." Goku looked at his smiling son watching the glow of admiration in his eyes. Looking at his soon made him swell with proud but he was slightly ashamed as well; proud because his son was so powerful and he was able to witness some of that power today but ashamed because he wasn't the one that cultivated Gohan's new strength. Goku always wanted to train his son in martial arts but Chichi is so over protective sometimes, it makes it hard for him to teach his son. "I'm so proud of you Gohan," Goku reached out to pet the top of Gohan's head. "You've grown so strong since the last time I saw you. You're gonna make a great fighter one day."

"One day I'm gonna be strong just like you dad." Gohan smiled up at his bandaged father lying in his hospital bed. Even though every bone in his father's body was broken, he still managed to smile and remain positive.

"I need you to do something for me right now Gohan."

"What is it dad?"

"I need you to wake up son."

The smile fell off Gohan's face as he was confused by what his father was trying to tell him, "but I am awake..."

"Son, you need to wake up your friends and family need you."

"But daddy I-"

"Come on son you have to wake up…"

Gohan's eyes opened slightly from his long slumber. His eyelids felt heavy and his vision was blury; so blury that he could barely make out the black figure standing in front of him in the room. "Dad!?" Gohan thought to himself. "Is that really you?" As the figure came towards him, it became clearer that it was his father, he removed the rag on Gohan's forehead and replaced it with a cooler one. "Dad..." Gohan called out waiting for his father to answer. Goku sat at the edge of the bed and wiped some of the excess water from around Gohan's face. Gohan's hand reached up and touched his father's hand on his forehead, "I'm so glad you're here dad," Gohan instantly fell back asleep content that he was able to see his father again.

What's this annoying itch on my arm… I can't scratch it. I can't move for some reason. Maybe if I ignore it it'll go away. Gohan thought to himself as he laid half conscious on the bed. Although he tried he was unable to move his muscles because of the deep sleep he's been in for the past three days. There it is again, it's so annoying. I have to scratch but I can't move my arms… It won't stop I just have too- Gohan jerked up from the bed and slammed his left hand against his right arm. Once he picked up his hand he saw a mosquito had landed on his arm ready to create another bit.

"I's about time you woke up," a voice commented from across the room. "You've been asleep for three days." It was the girl that came back for him after the fight with the androids. She was bringing in some new rags for to help break the fever. "You're pretty heavy you know. I could barely drag you to my car to get you out of there. I almost thought about leaving you."

Gohan looked around the room to try and figure out where he was. He wasn't at home or in a hospital, just in a small room in someone's house.

"Sorry but I didn't know where to take you. You didn't have any ID on you so I just took you back to my house. I tried to make things as comfortable for you as possible."

Gohan looked down at his hands still able to feel the lingering touch of holding his father's hand, "Hey, did anyone else come in here besides you?"

The girl thought to herself for a minute, "Um we have a live in nurse here, she came in and out a few times but that's about it…There was one time yesterday afternoon while I was in here. You kept calling for your father." The girl chuckled a little as she reflected back on the day, "You even opened your eyes for a moment when I placed the rag on your forehead, and then you grabbed my hand and said how happy you were to see him. It was kind of cute actually."

It was just a dream… Gohan was disappointed in himself for letting his subconscious get the better of him. Now wasn't the time for hoping and wishing. "How long did you say I was asleep for?"

The girl sat on the edge of the bed and put her hand against his forehead, "For three days, I thought you'd never wake up. Looks like your fever finally broke. You know it's a miracle that you're even still alive. I think you're the first person to survive facing the androids."

He brushed the girl's hand away from his forehead. Gohan went silent trying to think about his next moves, his body was sore and he felt significantly weaker from being asleep for so long. "Have any other attacks happened while I was asleep?"

"No, there probably won't be another attack for a while, they usually only strike once every few weeks or so…"

Gohan tried moving out of the bed, as soon as his feet touched the floor his body was greeted with a tremendous amount of pain.

"Hey not so fast your body's still recovering."

"I can't just sit here the quicker I get up the quicker I can get back to training."

"Training isn't going to do you any good if you end up killing yourself in the process. Look, I know you're frustrated, we're all frustrated but you need to rest if you try and force yourself you'll only ending up hurting yourself even more."

As much as he didn't want to admit it the girl was right and she didn't seem like the type to just leave someone alone.

"I was able to get your clothes fixed. Why don't you clean yourself up and get changed. Once your changed you can come get something to eat and then I can take you home okay? I'm sure your family must be worried sick about you."

The girl left Gohan alone in the room. He walked over to the repaired orange gi and held a piece of the fabric in his hands. Gohan was thankful and relieved that it was fixed. His father didn't have any material possessions besides his clothes. This was the only way Gohan could continue to feel connected with his father. It made him feel strong and proud, without it facing the androids would've been impossible for him.

As he was dressing he could smell food in the air and followed the scent all the way down the hall.

"Good the food just finished cooking." The girl stated while setting the table. There was a bowl of fresh rice, grilled fish, miso soup, curry and fresh fruit to top everything off. Once everything was set they began to eat in silence. Gohan being a Saiyan, knew he could eat everything on the table by himself but he tried to be conscious of how much he was eating, being careful to eat slowly and allow ample time before taking more.

"So are you going to tell me your name...?" the girl asked suddenly. Gohan looked up to see her looking at him while she took several bites of rice. The way she looked at him was strikingly similar to how his mother looked at him when she was questioning him. Her eyes were sharp and intense and out of instinct he felt obliged to answer her question, "G-gohan... my name is Gohan."

"Gohan huh, that's an interesting name. My name's Videl. Where do you live?"

"Out in Mt. Paozu."

As he was eating he noticed that Videl stopped and gave him a surprising stare, "that's like a five hour drive. How were you able to drive that and still be able to fight the androids?"

"That's simple, I flew." no longer able to control his appetite he picked up his bowl of rice and began shoveling it into his mouth. As embarrassed as he was right now he felt like a starving animal after sleeping for so long.

"You flew like in a ship, that would still take you at least three hours to get there..."

Gohan set his bowl down and wiped his face on his napkin deciding what else he wanted to eat. "No it's much faster to fly myself it takes me about 2-3 minutes at top speed." Gohan could see the confused the look on Videl's face through gulps of food but choose to ignore it. He hoped that she thought he was crazy and would just drop the subject to let him eat in peace.

But Gohan soon found out that Videl is a very persistent girl. "You can't just fly over here, normal people can't fly Gohan."

Technically I'm not a normal person... "Well I know but I can do plenty of things normal people can't such as flying and fighting the androids alone. You did say so your self it must've been a miracle or something."

"So you flying is a miracle? What are you a prophet or something?"

"No I just have some super human abilities..."

Videl finally gave up staring at him and went back to eating the food or what was left of it. Gohan looked up from his bowl to watch her expression one more time she seemed angry but he couldn't tell if she was genuinely feeling that way or if that's just her usual expression.

"So explain to me why I'm flying you home in my own ship if you can fly yourself and get there in about 2 minutes."

"Well you're the one who told me I should rest so, this is me resting," Gohan smiled at her as he buckled himself into the passenger seat. All joking aside he's glad Videl was nice enough take him home, he was afraid the androids could detect his energy while flying and might attack him. Although she's putting herself in danger for him if they are attacked they'll have a better chance of survival this way. "Why were you out there any way?" Gohan asked while the ship was flying through the air. Since it would be a two hour trip he might as well make some light conversation.

"I'm a part of the rescue task force."

"Rescue Task Force... what's that?"

"We go out during and after the android attacks to find and rescue survivors."

"Do you normally go out by yourself, weren't you afraid of going out like that alone?"

"Yea, I used to… a couple months back there used to be at least a hundred of us, and we'd go in groups together. When we went out we usually waited for the attacks to die down in order to decrease our chances of being caught. However the same thing that happened to me when I rescued you happened to at that time. We thought the androids had left the area so we went in to see if we could find anyone but it turns out the androids didn't leave. Some of the members were seen and killed by the androids. After that attack a bunch of people became scared and no longer wanted to be a part of the missions anymore."

"You still kept going even after seeing that?"

Videl shook her head no, "For a while I was really scared, after seeing your friends die like that you don't want to be next ya' know. But something snapped in me yesterday when I was watching the news report; I didn't want to just sit around waiting for them anymore. They're going to find all of us eventually, I just didn't want to die cowering in fear of the inevitable."

Gohan went silent for a moment trying to find the right words to say, "I know how you feel… seeing your loved one's fall before you it hurts and you feel weak. Before that day I was really scared, I saw my family and friends die while fighting those things but... I also know I'm the only one left with even a chance of winning. I can't just roll over wait for them to come kill me, my father wouldn't have wanted that."

The ship was silent for a moment, the air was tense as either of them tried to take the conversation further,"Is that how your father died? In battle I mean…"

Gohan looked over at Videl slightly shocked by her question, "My father died during a heart attack before he even had a chance to face off against those things." Gohan chuckled a little, "It's funny everyone always proclaimed my dad to be the strongest fighter in the universe, so strong he even defeated a one of the strongest aliens in the galaxy...who would've thought that a virus would be the end of him. Although my dad didn't fight our friends did, they all fought and died one by one..." Gohan pointed at a small cottage home in the middle of the forest. Videl landed the aircraft, opened the door and walked to the other side to help Gohan out.

"Oh Gohan I was so worried about you. I thought you got yourself killed." A women in a yellow qi-pao came out running with a large bearded man following behind her. As she gave Gohan a tight hug the large man came up from behind them and gave them a collective bear hug.

"Ya sorry mom, grandpa. I'm alright now." Once they were set down Gohan pulled away from them to introduce his new friend, "Everyone this is Videl, she saved me after I fought with the androids. Videl this is my mother and grandfather."

"Oh thank you dear for bringing my Gohan back home to me." Gohan's mother came up running towards Videl and giving her a big hug. "Ah no problem Mrs. Ah- "

"Just call me Chichi dear, please come inside I'll make you some tea. You must be tired from flying all the way over here."

"Ah thank you."

Everyone sat at the table where Chichi had prepared more than just tea, there was a whole feast waiting for them. "I figured Gohan would be hungry and missed some of his mother's home cooking."

"Ha, I sure did mom." Gohan could see how astonished Videl was at all the food that was prepared before them.

"You're still hungry, you ate like two hours ago and you ate all of my food."

"Haha I'm always hungry, besides Mom's cooking is the best I can't ever pass up an opportunity like this." A huge grin appeared across Gohan's face, happy that he survived long enough to eat another of his mother's meals.

"Yup like father like son, I swear you look and act more and more like him everyday." Chichi interrupted while setting down plates of food. "My it seems like only yesterday that your father was here with us."

"Yeah," Gohan's grandfather added. "I can imagine him coming through the door now with a huge fish knocking over everything in the house." Chichi finished setting the table joined everyone else, "Yup those were the good ole days... well he wouldn't want this food to go to waste. Dig in everyone."

And dug in Gohan did; he seemed to swallow his food whole without even chewing or tasting it. Every other minute he was refilling his plate like he was a wild animal who couldn't get enough to eat.

"Don't be shy dear if you don't act fast all the food will be gone." Chichi motioned while handing Videl a plate.

Gohan watched as Videl politely accepted his mother's offer. They seemed to be getting alone well which was pretty unusual for his mother. Gohan thought back on the times when girls would try to talk to him but his mother was always right there to keep them from getting to close. His mother was always coddling him a trait that he loved and hated at the same time.

"It's getting late, I should head home soon." Videl said while gathering her things.

"Oh but it's getting dark out it'll be dangerous for you to fly out right now, why don't you just stay until the morning." Chichi got up from the table to stand behind Gohan, "I wouldn't be able to sleep knowing you were going out so late by yourself. Isn't that right Gohan?" She firmly squeezed Gohan's shoulders trying to get him to show some hospitality.

"Y-yea my mom's right it's far to dangerous for you to be out this late." Gohan claimed through bites of foods.

"It's alright really, besides I don't want to impose."

"Nonsense we have a spare room in the back for guests. Gohan when you finish eating go get some fresh linens and show Videl to her room."

Gohan walked out into the forest surrounding his house until he reached his usual training area. It was a circular area area in the middle of the forest where no trees grew. It was the place he used to come to on his study breaks when he wanted his time away from his mother. Gohan began meditating for a minute breathing in deeply trying to regain control of his energy. He began powering up reaching the super saiyan level, however after a few moments he found that his body was still far to weak to support the tremendous amount of energy and reverted back to his normal self. Dammit I'm going to have to train twice as hard to get back to where I was before.

"You were right you really aren't like everyone else."

Gohan turned around to see Videl standing behind him, "Aren't you supposed to be asleep right now?"

"It's hard for me to sleep in new places… besides what you're doing out here looks much more interesting." Videl walked up towards him and started circling around him to inspect his presence. "I don't see any special armor or anything, how were you able to do that thing?"

Already knowing what she was going to ask Gohan decided to humor her, "What thing?"

"You know that thing where you turned your hair gold, it looked really cool."

"... It's kind of hard to explain it's not something everyone can do..."

"Well what about flying can you show me?"

"What you mean this?" Gohan floated a couple feet into the air before slowly lowering himself back down in front of Videl. She was intrigued now and anxious to figure out all of his secrets.

"Can you show me how?"

Videl was acting like a child who saw her favorite toy at the store, she was eager to learn but Gohan wasn't sure if she was up for the task. He gave her a glance over, she was hardly dressed for a flying lesson or any type of lesson for that matter. She wore his white shirt that he had given her to sleep in earlier that night. Although it was over sized the shirt seemed to hug her curves in all the right places. Underneath that she wore black tights, brown boots, and her hair was tied up in a messy ponytail. She looked messy but still strangely attractive. "Maybe another time Videl."

"C'mon I'm sure it won't take that long. Just give me a quick lesson and then I'll leave you alone for the rest of the night."

Gohan let out a deep sigh noting the determined look on her face. She reminded him of his mother when she looked like that. Once his mother wanted something she was determined to get it and something told Gohan she wasn't leaving without getting at least five minutes of his attention.

"Alright fine, come here." She stood in front of Gohan with her hands on her hips and a pleased look on her face. "So now what?"

"Okay the secret to flying is just focusing you ki and then letting it flow through your body. So first relax and close your eyes." Surprisingly Videl was a vigilant student and did as she was told. "Take deep breaths and try to gather your ki in your core. Once you've done that slowly release it through your body."

It was evident that Videl was trying, her energy was pushing the grass away from her and caused her to float a couple inches. After a few moments she quickly became frustrated and began pouting, "I don't feel anything are you sure I'm doing it right?"

Gohan nodded his head yes, "You just floated a couple inches, you didn't feel it."

"No."

"You're probably just tense here let me try something." He gently grabbed her hands and closed his eyes. He began concentrating his energy to try and send it through Videl's body careful enough not to overwhelm her with his power. "Do you feel that?"

"Y-yea…"

"Now open your eyes."

She slowly opened her eyes and saw that she was floating a couple inches off the ground, "Woah, how did you do that?"

"I just allowed my energy to guide yours." Videl slowly started drifting back down to the ground, "Wow that was amazing Gohan." She was smiling up at him happy that her first lesson was such a success. Gohan couldn't help but notice how cute her smile was; she had the smile of a child with such full checks, he had to force himself to look away from her.

"It takes some practice not everyone can learn to fly on their first day." He released her hands almost feeling a little sad that their time together had to be cut short. "I'll take you back, you should get some sleep."

"Right, sorry I kept you. I can walk back myself it's fine.

Gohan shock his head no, "There's wild animals out here now, I don't want you to get attacked." He lifted her up into his arms and jumped as hard as he could into the air. He landed back down softly in front of the house and placed Videl back on the ground.

"Th-thank you, and thanks for the lesson. Good luck with your training."

Gohan flashed her a quick smile then floated up into the air and back off to his usual training spot.