Disclaimer: Do not own DBZ, nor Metallica. I own a pair of shoes though! :D

Six AM.

It was officially six am, and Gohan was still awake. Not only did he sit through three hours of the jewelry channel, but he also watched the local announcement channel, which repeated their announcements every ten minutes. He knew what local schools were putting on Christmas shows, what sales were happening at the local stores three miles away, and the weather for the rest of the week.

The only thing that was exciting was the news, which was on right now. The volume was kept low, but as they interviewed Hercule the sound seemed to be higher. The camera moved towards homeless people getting bowls of soup, and they showed Videl smiling at the homeless people.

Being in a dead zone, no cell service what so ever, Gohan didn't know who messaged him or who called him. He attempted to send a text message to Seymour, letting him know he made it to the Son's house safely, and all it did was drain his battery and not send the text. He tried calling Seymour, and as he learned on the announcement channel a squirrel ate the wires, thus all phone services were temporary out of order.

This happened three weeks ago. Apparently, there wasn't a rush to get the wires fixed.

"Oh, I didn't know you were up."

Gohan turned around and saw Chi-Chi walking down the stairs. Finally, someone woke up!

"I had trouble sleeping," Gohan said. Chi-Chi walked over and sat next to Gohan. "I'm not used to sleeping at other people's houses."

"Me neither," Chi-Chi said. She wore a pink robe, and her hair was down. "That just means that you will be able to sleep better tonight."

"I was going to make coffee, but I noticed you didn't have a coffee machine."

"We don't drink coffee here. Bulma doesn't understand it, but we really don't need coffee in the morning."

'But I want coffee,' Gohan whined in his head.

"I can make some tea," Chi-Chi offered. Tea was not a drink that wakes you up.

"Tea sounds good." It was better than water.

Gohan and Chi-Chi got up from the couch and headed towards the kitchen. Chi-Chi reached up and grabbed a few tea bags, and made Gohan grab a pot. He put water in it, put it on the stove, and tried to figure out how to turn on the burner. It's been years since he used the oven, and he knew that there was a trick to get the burner working. He pushed and pulled the knob, cranked it on high, turned it to low, but the burner still would turn on. Through frustration, Gohan slammed his hand on the stove, and the burner turned on.

That's right. You had to beat the stove up in order for it to work.

"Ah, you figured out the secret," Chi-Chi said as she opened up the tea bags.

"The secret is that you needs a new stove," Gohan said adjusting the flame. Chi-Chi smiled in response.

"Do you have any family traditions for Christmas," Chi-Chi asked. Mu-Ma never said much about the holidays when they had tea together.

Gohan stared at the pot.

"We did have one," Gohan said as he turned around, He put both hands on the stove top. "TJ and I went camping on Christmas Eve."

"Camping? During the holidays?!"

"On our front yard. Mu-Ma didn't like us sneaking around, and shaking the gifts to figure out what we got. So on Christmas Eve she would lock us outside, and used to hang tazers on the windows so we couldn't sneak in. She had them cranked on high too. We tried to sneak in once, and when we both got tazered we decided that we would camp."

"What if it was snowing," Chi-Chi asked. Gohan smiled as he remember the few times they camped out in the snow.

"Child services laughed at me when I told them Mom kicked us out," TJ said as he adjusted his sleeping bag. Gohan hit the top of the tent a few times to get rid of the snow. "It's snowing for heaven's sake, heavy I would like to add."

"We're going to have to do shifts so the snow doesn't collapse the tent," Gohan, thirteen at the time, said. His Mohawk was tied back into a ponytail. Both he and TJ wore red flannel pajamas, with black skulls, to bed.

"Well you can take the first shift, the second shift, and the third shift. I want to get some sleep."

"I'm not going to be up all night hitting the snow off. We have to take turns!"

"You do it this year, and I'll do it next year." TJ pulled out his ponytail. He had the side of his head shaved, but he still had hair on the top of his head. Gohan had more of his sides shaved, and his hair spiked up in a natural Mohawk. TJ often found himself jealous that Gohan's hair didn't need gel to keep it up. Gohan sat down on his sleeping bag.

"And if it doesn't snow next year," Gohan asked. He fixed his sleeping bag as well. He, like TJ, pulled out his ponytail. His hair spiked up at all angles.

"I'll bang the tent anyway."

"You liar! My first Christmas here you told me to start a fire, and you'll do the following year. Last year you didn't start a fire because your fingers were sore."

"I played my guitar a lot last year!" TJ laid down, and turned his back towards Gohan. "The tent will be fine. If you don't want to knock off the snow then don't. It's not going to collapse over night."

"It's snowing heavy," Gohan said as he turned of the lantern. "Well if you're not going to hit the snow off then neither am I."

"Fine. Whatever."

"When it snowed the tent collapsed," Gohan said smirking at the memory. "Every time too. You would think we would hit the snow off so it wouldn't happen, but since TJ didn't wake up for his turn to hit the snow off, we ended up sleeping next to each other to keep warm. Mu-Ma used to call us huskies because we slept in the snow. She gave us dog treats too."

"You could get sick sleeping in the cold," Chi-Chi exclaimed.

"It was sleep in the cold, or get tazered when you entered the house. Even if you made it in Mu-Ma set up traps to keep us away from the gifts. She always forgot about a few of them, but would remember when one of us set it off." Gohan chuckled to himself. "I step on a Lego with a thumb tack in it when I was vacuuming. It was three months after Christmas, and Mu-Ma said that there were a few more scattered in the house. I found them all by stepping on them."

"Well I'm not going to kick you outside on Christmas Eve," Chi-Chi said as she put the tea bags in the simmering water. "I don't set up traps either."

"Are you a light sleeper," Gohan asked.

"Trust me, when it came to Christmas I slept with one eye open. Goten would try to sneak a peek, but he never got too far."

"He didn't have tazers attacking him either."

"Gohan knew better than to try and sneak a peek at his gifts.," Chi-Chi said as she grabbed two tea cups. She looked out her kitchen window. "I could hear Gohan talking to Goku. He was worried about something, and couldn't sleep. I let Goku take Gohan downstairs for a drink to help him sleep, and I feel back asleep. When I woke up I was mad, but then I found them both asleep on the couch. Goku was holding Gohan, and both were curled in a blanket."

Gohan remembered that night. It was his last Christmas with his parents. The battles with the Androids was coming, and he was afraid that the heart virus would take his father's life. He didn't know if it would be their last Christmas together.

Truthfully it was, but it wasn't because of the Androids or heart virus.

"It was Gohan's last Christmas with us," Chi-Chi added sadly.

"The first Christmas without TJ was…" Gohan trailed off. It wasn't a holiday that he and Mu-Ma enjoyed celebrating. Their first Christmas without TJ they were both in the hospital. Gohan wasn't fully healed from the car accident, and Mu-Ma had a heart attack. The second one was awkward. They didn't talk much to each other, and Gohan left to get high. The third Christmas they both got drunk off of rum and eggnog that the ham in the oven burned to ashes. The fourth Christmas he was here, with his real family, and without Mu-Ma.

Without Mu-Ma…

"The first year without someone is difficult," Chi-Chi said turning off the pot of tea. She added in some mint leaves and stirred. "Thanksgiving wasn't too bad, but I bought Christmas gifts for Gohan figuring he would be back. Our tree was up for two months before I decided to take the gifts up to the attic. The tree died in January, but I couldn't throw it away. I was still hoping he would walk through the front door with a smile, wondering how badly he would be grounded."

"Still buy gifts for him?"

"Every year. The attic is filled with books and puzzles for him to open when he comes home. Christmas sweaters too!"

Gohan rolled his eyes.

"You should buy him coloring books and the sixty four pack of crayons," Gohan said. Chi-Chi lifted up the pot of tea, and poured it into the mugs.

"Is that what Mu-Ma always got you for Christmas," Chi-Chi asked as she filled both cups.

"Nope. Santa got them for me." Chi-Chi stopped pouring and looked over at Gohan. He had a smile on his face. "Mu-Ma always gave me clothes, band tee-shirts and what not, a house hold appliance, notebooks and pens, charcoal pencils and other art stuff. Santa always got me a coloring book with crayons, candy, and some toys."

"What kind of toys?" Chi-Chi handed Gohan a cup of tea.

"Action figures. Batman, X-Men, Turtles, and remote control cars. Moth and I wait until there is ice on the lake, and we take our remotely control cars and race them on the ice."

Gohan blew into his tea to cool it down. Chi-Chi reached into the cabinet and grabbed some sugar. Both made their way to the kitchen table.

"So you're just a kid trapped in a grown mans body," Chi-Chi commented. She added some sugar in her tea. "No wonder you and Goten got along so great."

"My first year with Mu-Ma and TJ I wanted a thesaurus," Gohan said. His eyes went wide when he said those words. He wasn't paying any attention to who he was talking to. It was coming out naturally. When he looked at Chi-Chi he noted the surprise in her face. He was still a punk in her eyes, and punks don't ask for a thesaurus for Christmas.

"What an odd gift to ask for," Chi-Chi said. She stirred her tea with a spoon. How was it odd when every year she gave Gohan a new updated dictionary every year for his birthday?

"Punks can be smart too," Gohan said taking a sip of his tea. He said it with a bit of an attitude. "I was a straight A student with a two toned Mohawk. I stopped going to school when TJ died. I was in and out of the hospital so much that I needed to repeat the eleventh grade. I stopped caring about my grades."

"You stopped caring about a lot of things after TJ died, didn't you?"

"I stopped caring for a while," Mu-Ma said as she broke a cracker. Chi-Chi was about to give a speech on the importance of school, but Mu-Ma raised up her hand. "Now I know every parent wants the best for their kids, but during that time I couldn't afford a home school teacher."

"So you signed the drop out papers, and kicked him out of the house," Chi-Chi exclaimed. As much as she liked Mu-Ma, she was beginning to think she didn't care for her kids at all.

"It was a difficult time Chi-Chi. My son died, my other son was so guilt ridden that he wanted nothing to do with anything. We fought, and he was out of control that I didn't want him ruining my life as well."

"He was sixteen!"

"I didn't care how old he was he became a monster!" Mu-Ma slammed her hands on the table. "You know what it's like to lose a son and a husband! You were pregnant and alone. You cannot tell me that you didn't find yourself in a dark place that you push people away from you!"

"When Gohan and Goku left I was alone in this house," Chi-Chi said staring into her cup of tea. "I didn't want to wake up most mornings, and things around the house were being covered in dust. When I found out I was pregnant I was afraid. How was I going to raise a child by myself? How was I going to explain to him what his father isn't around, and who the young boy was in the pictures? I packed away all the pictures, hiding his father and brother so he wouldn't know who they were. I would start over, and forget about the husband and son I once had."

Gohan looked around the house. Pictures of Goku and Goten, himself and his mother, and other pictures were all over the house. Even in Goten's room there was a picture of the Son family, minus Gohan. Other photos, like Goku with Krillin, were placed on tables, shelves, and on the old piano.

"You really wiped away their memory," Gohan sarcastically said. "Can't even tell you had a son or husband."

"If you can't tell, my husband is back," Chi-Chi said with a huff. "When Goku came back I was better. I raised my son with my husband. You're still not going out and getting high, or bringing random women into your bed are you?"

Gohan looked at her. He was…puzzled.

"No?"

"See? We get through the rough times. Sometimes all we need is just a little push in the right direction."

"But how did you know about my, uh, past addictions?"

"Marie was a talker. I know a lot about you Boss McGee, probably more than I want to know."

Chi-Chi smiled and winked at Gohan. She took a sip of her tea. Gohan took a sip of his drink, wondering what kind of stories Mu-Ma shared with his mother. Mu-Ma never really told him what she and Chi-Chi talked about, but since he was alone with her…

"So why do you think Gohan left," he asked. Chi-Chi held her cup of tea in her hands. Gohan could tell she was thinking, and choosing her words correctly. He took a sip of his tea, curious to how she would answer.

"At first I thought it was because his father left, but when Goku came back Gohan never did."

"So what are your assumptions now?"

Once again, Chi-Chi chose her words carefully.

"He's married and has children of his own."

Gohan almost fell out of his chair. Marriage? Kids? Never in his life has he ever thought about marriage and kids! He's nineteen!

"Have you ever thought that maybe it was your husband that pushed him away," Gohan asked. His voice was slightly loud, but he was still trying to get over the fact that his mother thought he was married.

"Why would you think that," Chi-Chi asked.

'Yeah, how would I know that since she doesn't know I'm Gohan,' Gohan mentally screamed at himself. "Vegeta told me a lot about Gohan." Vegeta was also going to kill him after this. "Cause you know…Vegeta has these weird powers, and can fly and stuff. He said Goku could do the same thing, and his offspring. If you get him drunk enough he will tell you anything you want to hear. I asked him about Gohan," it was weird talking in third person, "and he told me a lot of stories. I thought he was lying at first, but after a while things started to make sense."

Chi-Chi has never seen a drink Vegeta before, although she can picture him being a talker. He's always complain when Gohan was brought up, and he's probably ranted a lot to Boss about it.

"I'm surprised you came up with that," Chi-Chi said. She put her elbow on the table, and her chin in her hand. "You do know what a saiyan is right?"

"I'm friends with the Prince of all Saiyans," Gohan said with an eye roll. He waved his hand in front of his face. "Chi-Chi, I know more about…" he expanded his arms out, "everything. Saiyans, Frezia, Cell, and Majin Buu. I know Goku is a full blooded saiyan, Goten is half like Trunks, and they have special powers. Krillin married an android, Goku died twice, and Buu is living with my girlfriend. I think I am up to date with everything saiyan, Brief, Son, and Satan."

Chi-Chi finished her cup of tea. She really couldn't believe Vegeta told Boss about her family, since he never really cared about them before. To be fair, Boss did step into a world unknown to him. He met Vegeta, dated Videl, and is now staying at her house for the holiday. He may as well be part of the crazy bunch called the Z-Gang.

"So what do you know about Gohan," Chi-Chi asked. Gohan finished up his tea. Chi-Chi was glaring at him, almost like she was testing him. He remembered that glare from many years ago. He used to sneak out of his room to train with his father, and she always questioned if he really stayed in his room to study, or sneak out like he had many times before.

"Smart kid, strong kid, and from what Vegeta has told me he had some daddy issues," Gohan answered. "I know a handful of girls with daddy issues. Either their dad never paid attention to them, ignored them, wished for a son instead, and even abandonment. Goku didn't want to be wished back with the dragonballs. He didn't want to be with his family or his friends. Now if you're eleven years, and your father doesn't want to come home, what would you be thinking?"

"I…" Chi-Chi found herself speechless.

"Now you are talking to someone who's parents left him without even telling him, so I have my fair share of Mommy and Daddy issues. An old lady and her teenage grandson adopted me, and he had Mommy and Daddy issues as well. So even though I never met your son, I can pretty much tell you what he may have been thinking when he decided to jump ship years ago."

Gohan hesitated. He could hear Goten's bed moving in the bedroom, and looked over at that direction. He could see Goten sitting up on the bed, rubbing his eyes, and letting out a big yawn. He had forgotten where he was, and who he was speaking too. Gohan wanted to throw himself out the window. He was getting angry, and taking it out on his mother.

'Idiot,' Gohan thought as he shook his head. "I have to poop!"

Chi-Chi, who was distraught, snapped out of wherever she was and looked at Gohan.

"You…don't have to announce it," Chi-Chi said. Goten walked into the room with a blanket.

"Yeah well…I don't like pooping at people's houses, so I usually don't, and it's either here or the woods and I don't want to grab poison ivy."

Goten laughed quietly.

"There's no plants silly," Goten said. "There's snow on the ground, and all the plants are dead."

"So I have to wipe my butt with snow?"

Goten laughed louder this time.

"No silly! You can use our bathroom!"

"Are you sure? Cause your mom looked at me funny when I told her I had to poop."

"Can you please stop talking about poop, and just go already," Chi-Chi said rubbing her temples. Gohan smiled as he walked out of the room.

"…if you're eleven years, and your father doesn't want to come home, what would you be thinking?"

'I would be thinking that my father doesn't care about me anymore,' Chi-Chi thought as she put both tea cups in the sink. She looked back at Goten, and watched as he sat on the couch. Goku walked down the stairs with a giant yawn. He found Goten on the couch and ruffled up his hair. Goten laughed while Goku smiled.

"He got cocky with his fight with Cell," Piccolo said. "Goku used Instant Transmission to save the planet."

Chi-Chi started to cry. She couldn't believe her husband was dead…again.

"Where's my baby," she wailed. Even though she lost her husband, she still needed to take care of her son.

"He went somewhere, probably to cool off," Piccolo answered. "Gohan probably feels guilty. If he defeated Cell when Goku told him to then Goku would still be alive."

Eleven years old, savior of the planet, and guilt ridden. Chi-Chi never thought about it that way before. For years she thought it was something she did, or maybe Gohan didn't want to fight anymore. She understood if he was upset over the death of his father, but when Goku came back to life Gohan never came home. It was a year after the Cell Games that Goku came back. She was a mess during that time, a child who looked like his father, and a son that never came home.

When Goku entered the house she thought she was hallucinating. Her mind was far gone that she pictured her husband coming in the house. She knew it wasn't real, but when she touched him she knew he was real. She looked at the door, waiting for Gohan to walk in, but he never did.

Chi-Chi looked at her front door. She was still waiting for Gohan to walk in, apologize for being late to dinner, and everything would be back to normal.

"Morning Chi-Chi," Goku said as he walked over. He gave her a small kiss on the cheek, and looked in the same direction. "What are you looking at?"

"Nothing," Chi-Chi said shaking her head. "I should get started on breakfast. I know my boys are hungry."

(PG)

Pulling an all nighter wasn't his plan last night, but in the end he ended up doing it anyway. Gohan was tired, and he wanted to nap. Instead, he helped Chi-Chi cook breakfast, played with Goten, and taught Goku how to stop a leak from underneath the sink. In fact, he showed Goku how to fix a few fix-me-ups.

Gohan leaned up against a tree as he smoked his cigarette. Chi-Chi did not like him smoking, so he kept his distance from the house when he went for a cigarette. Later today they were going to go to town, and even though Chi-Chi said he didn't have to go, he said he would. He really wanted to nap, but he also wanted to go to town. If he was lucky he could get cell phone reception.

'I'm out of my element,' Gohan thought as he exhaled smoke. 'I didn't mean to snap at Chi-Chi like that. I have to watched what I say, or else I'll be exposing my secret. It's been a while since I felt thing much hospitality.'

Gohan rest his head on Mu-Ma's lap. He had a high fever, and she dabbed his face with a cold cloth. The last thing Gohan remembered was landing in front of a house, and he passed out. He found himself here, at some old lady's house, on her lap as she wiped off sweat from his face.

"I got some children's cold medicine," TJ said as he opened the door. Mu-Ma was sitting in the living room of her house. "I got grape flavor too. The cherry never tasted like cherry."

TJ had short hair, just above his shoulders, as he handed Mu-Ma the bag. Gohan could barely make out TJ hovering above him. Mu-Ma put the cloth in a bowl of ice water.

"Can you get me a glass of ice water," Mu-Ma asked. TJ nodded as Mu-Ma prepared the medicine. In her hand she had chewable tablets, and syrup to help reduce his fever. "This will help reduce your fever."

Mu-Ma put the tablets in Gohan's mouth. Once he chewed and swallowed, Mu-Ma helped pour syrup in his mouth. TJ appeared with a cup of water and a straw.

"So what's your name kid," TJ asked. He put the cup on the table, and sat on the floor near Gohan and Mu-Ma.

"G-Gohan," Gohan managed to speak out.

"Nice to meet you G-Gohan. I'm TJ, no extra T, and this is Marie. Your clothes look like crap, but there's not a scratch on you."

"I'm cold."

"TJ get him a blanket," Mu-Ma ordered. TJ nodded and went to get a blanket. "Close your eyes and get some rest Gohan. We need to get your fever down."

Gohan felt the blanket cover his body. He closed his eyes, and drifted off to sleep.

(PG)

He knew her!

He doesn't know how he knows her, but he does!

Gohan was in a small spice store with Chi-Chi as he watched a brunette working the counter. Her hair was pulled back in a braid, and she had these nice green eyes. Gohan recognized her once he entered the store, but he couldn't for the life of him remember her name. He couldn't quite tell her who he was, but he has met her before.

Even if she knew him she wouldn't recognize him. Gohan stuck out in a crowd. While everyone else wore sweaters, scarves, and winter clothing, Gohan walked around in his leather jacket, cigarette behind his ear, and picking out food in his teeth. It was worse when he went into a store. Everyone kept an eye on him, wondering is he was going to steal something. He was constantly being followed.

He didn't want to go in the spice store, but when he saw the cashier behind the counter he knew he's met her before. All he could do was stare at her, and figure out a way to approach her without flirting. Chi-Chi was right next to him, and he was afraid that she would say something to Videl. They already broke up once, and he didn't want to go through it again.

Although the chick behind the counter was pretty hot.

"I got all the spices we need," Chi-Chi said as she put some bottles in a basket Gohan was holding. "Thank you for holding the basket."

"No problem," Gohan said as they made their way to the counter. Once they got there, Gohan carefully put the spices on the counter. The brunette looked at him, and blushed profusely. He could only smile politely.

"It must be nice to have your son help you with the shopping," the brunette said. Gohan froze, and Chi-Chi laughed nervously.

"He's not my son" Chi-Chi said. "He's a friend visiting for the holiday."

"Wow, your grandson can carry a lot of bags," the cashier said as they noticed Gohan with multiple bags on his arms. Gohan stood still, and watched as Mu-Ma smiled.

"Yep, my son is the strongest," she said as she handed the cashier the money. The cashier almost dropped the money when he realized his mistake. "Yeah that's right. He's my son! Just because I'm old doesn't mean I don't get laid!"

Gohan stood there terrified as people in the store looked at him. TJ started to walk away.

"I don't know these people," he said as he headed out the door. "But if I were you, person who I don't know, you should tell your mother to stop embarrassing you in the store."

TJ smiled at Gohan before he turned around to walk away. Gohan couldn't help but smile. He's been living with Mu-Ma and TJ for a year now, almost a year actually, and this was the first time she called him her son. He was happy.

"Yeah Mom," Gohan said, his cheeks turning a slight shade of pink. "You don't have to embarrass me in the store."

Mu-Ma smiled as she received her change. She walked next to Gohan, and kissed him on the cheek.

"That's my boy," she said as they walked out of the store together.

Gohan was, officially, depressed.

He was doing so well, fantastic even, and he had to think about the first time Mu-Ma called him son. Here he was, with his real mom, and he was just a friend to her. That hurt more than he thought it did. His own mother ignoring her own blood. It didn't help that Chi-Chi didn't know Boss was Gohan, and she probably didn't want to make a scene in the store. Gohan had to remind himself that Chi-Chi was being polite. She didn't know the truth, and he shouldn't let it bother him.

Gohan let himself wonder off to various stores. He bought a few things, nothing really expensive, and found some cute jewelry Videl might like. Videl didn't look the jewelry type, but she is converting out of her tomboy faze. Gohan didn't know what else to buy her, since she could afford anything in the entire planet. Gohan found a few things for his band mates, candles for Seymour, and gifts for the Son family.

The girl at the spice shop looked really familiar, and that was starting to bug him. She didn't know who he was, and he was a face to remember. Gohan lived too far away to ever meet her at a bar, so he must have met her when he still lived in the mountain area.

There were no kids where he lived, and the only friend he could remember was a purple dragon named Icarus.

Gohan decided to go back to the spice store, and at least get her name. When he peeked through the door he saw an older man behind the counter. She either left for the day, or was on break. He didn't have time to wait around, and Gohan didn't want to be mistaken for a stalker. After about ten minutes of looking for her, Gohan decided to cut out of town and enjoy a cigarette. He still knew how to sense his father and mother, and he made sure he kept close so he could catch up with them.

"I know I said I would be home, but my mom can't make it in."

Gohan turned his head, and noticed the brunette he was looking for was on the phone.

"I'll only be another two hours," she said as she paced around in the snow. Gohan looked at his phone. Still no reception on his end. Maybe he could borrow her cell phone can call Seymour. "Honey, my battery us dying. I'll get home as soon as I…ah! He hung up on me!" She looked at her phone and frowned. "No, my stupid phone decided to die."

Gohan watched as she growled, and shoved her phone in her white coat pocket.

"Trouble in paradise," Gohan asked. He surprised her, and when she turned around she started to blush again.

"I-I'm sorry!"

"Why are you apologizing? I'm the one listening to your phone conversation." Gohan flicked some ash off his cigarette. He leaned up against a tree. He raised his cell phone in the air. "At least you get reception. I haven't been able to get anything here."

"This cell phone is old, but I can get a signal any where." She coughed, trying to hide her blush. "I never seen you around here before. You must have traveled far to visit your friends."

Gohan shrugged his shoulders.

"It's a drive, but it's worth it to see beautiful women like you." She started to turn away, hiding her red face. "I'm Boss."

"Lime," she said with her back still turned. Gohan inhaled his cigarette as he thought back. As the smoke exhaled he remembered a brunette before the Cell Games.

'That's how I know her,' Gohan thought. "So the boyfriend is mad at you…why?"

"Because I have to stay and work," Lime said as she threw her arms up in the air. She turned to face him. "My mom can't work as much anymore, and my father is already working two jobs! I'm only working at the spice store because my grandfather passed away recently."

Gohan remembered the old man. When Cell absorbed her family, her grandfather was the only person there taking care of her. He was such a nice old man too.

"My mother passed away last month," Gohan said rubbing his finished cigarette on the tree. "I can relate to the stress of the holidays, and work. You have to do what you got to do. Does he work?"

"He sits on his butt all day! I do all the house work, and I work at the store! I knew it was a bad idea to let him live with me!"

Gohan chuckled.

"I live by myself. I know exactly how it feels to work all the time, but I don't have a lazy girlfriend at home."

Lime's face lit up.

"So you're…single?"

Gohan closed his eyes and smiled.

"I'm madly in love with a women with sapphire eyes," Gohan said as he looked over at Lime. "She said that she loved me, but I couldn't say the words back. I truly love her, but I'm scared."

Even though Lime was highly disappointed, she couldn't help but feel for Gohan.

"What are you scared of," Lime asked. She put her hands behind her back. Gohan walked up to her, and placed his hands on her chin. He titled her head up, and had his lips an inch away from hers.

"She doesn't kill spiders," he whispered. "She catches them in a cup, and sets them free."

He released her and took a few steps back. Lime stood there, lips ready to be kissed, and once she realized that she wasn't going to be kissed she coughed. Gohan could only smile.

"I'm terrified of spiders," Gohan continued as he took a few steps back. "I screamed louder than my girlfriends when ever one was around. My girlfriend now catches them, and she sets them free. Once I see her kill a spider then I'll confess my love to her. It's a silly thing, but every man needs a woman to protect them. See ya later Lime."

With a wave of his hand, Gohan left.

(PG)

Chi-Chi smiled as the flash faded from her camera. She couldn't help but snag a picture of "sleeping beauty" on his bed. Head up against the wall, mouth opened, one arm hanging off the guitar while the other limp to his side, and his legs curled over on their side Boss was passed out asleep. He was snoring, rather loudly she may add.

Just a few minutes ago, Boss was playing his guitar. It was a song Chi-Chi never heard before, and it wasn't as vulgar she thought it would be. She watched as he leaned his head back against the wall, close his eyes, and within minutes was asleep. His legs fell over to his right side, and he never stirred. His sleeping position did not look comfortable, but it didn't seem to bother Boss one bit.

"But I don't want…any sprinkles," Boss mumbled in his sleep as he turned his head to the side. "Tell the Muffin Man to keep his money."

And back to snoring he went.

Chi-Chi closed the door slightly. She didn't have the heart to wake him up, even though she knew he wasn't going to sleep tonight either. She wanted to offer him some sleeping medicine, but decided against it. On the desk near his bed were pill bottles, pills in aluminum packets, and some in a pill case. Chi-Chi didn't mean to snoop, but curiosity did get the best of her. While Boss and Goku were fixing the sink, she went into the room to gather Goten's dirty clothes. She wasn't a pharmacist, but she knew a few of the pills he was taking.

One was for high blood pressure, one was pain medicine, and one was a blood thinner. Those were the ones Chi-Chi recognized. The other pills had weird names, some labeled with just letters like X and BD, and the ones in the aluminum didn't have a name at all. Mu-Ma did tell Chi-Chi that Boss had a serious accident, but Chi-Chi never knew the extent of it. Mu-Ma mentioned attacks, but Chi-Chi has never seen one before.

Today was her day, and it wasn't something that she was prepared for.

Goku and Goten went to get fire wood for their fireplace. Chi-Chi went into the laundry room to check on the soaking wet coats. Boss had the genius idea to throw a snowball at Goten. Goten thought it was Goku, and threw a snowball at him. Boss stood back and watched as Goku and Goten had a snowball fight. Chi-Chi knew he started it, and threw a snowball at Boss.

When the snowball battle ended, with Goten throwing a snowball at Chi-Chi's face, she made sure everyone hung up their jackets, which is why Goten and Goku were getting firewood. Boss did whine a bit, complaining about his leather jacket getting wet, and he stopped when Chi-Chi threw a snowball at his face.

It was uncanny of her. Chi-Chi shook her head wondering why she threw a snowball to shut Boss up. He was starting to rub off on her. If there was a disagreement , an argument of some sort, Boss would end everything with laughter or a distraction. Even with their heated discussion this morning he somehow managed to end it easily, and gross her out at the same time. Even Goten was announcing his business on the toilet.

Thunk

"Owie," Boss cried from the bedroom. Chi-Chi made her way over, and noticed rubbing his forehead. When Boss saw her at the door he pouted. "My head hit my guitar. The tuners none the less!"

Still rubbing the sore spot on his head, Boss put the guitar down. He paused for a moment, and look uncomfortable.

"Did you pull a muscle," Chi-Chi asked. There have been time where she would reach for something, and ended up throwing out her back.

"A…glass of water, and tissues," Boss replied. He placed his hand over his mouth, still uneasy.

"Do you have an upset stomach? There's a trashcan by the-"

Her voice was cut short by a coughing, followed by blood seeping through Boss's fingers. Boss laid down on the bed and continued to cough, trying to keep the blood from spilling onto the bed. Chi-Chi quickly looked around, and grabbed the nearest thing close to her. The paper towels were in reach, and when she grabbed the first sheet the roll followed. Boss quickly grabbed it, and coughed the blood from his mouth into the sheets. He began tapping his side, and realized that his jacket was not on him.

His eyes went wide in fear, and looked at Chi-Chi. He pointed to his jacket, hanging in the laundry room. Sadly, Chi-Chi didn't know what he was pointing at.

"The vase," Chi-Chi shrieked. Boss shook his head. "Books, plants, picture frame?" Boss did a shaking motion with his hand. "I don't know what you need!"

Chi-Chi looked around, and saw the desk. She quickly went over, and grabbed a notebook and pen. She put the pen in Boss's hand, and watched as he spelled out…something. It was partly covered in blood, and she couldn't make out the word. The first letter was a line, then some scribble, a K maybe, a T. Chi-Chi tried to piece together the puzzle. Patting his side, shaking his hand, pointing outside to something.

Why would Chi-Chi pat her side? To make sure she had her purse, keys in her coat pocket?

"Jacket," Chi-Chi yelled. Boss nodded his head, and clenched his eyes. The coughing came to an abrupt stop. Chi-Chi quickly ran out of the room, and pulled the jacket out of the laundry room. She ran back into the bedroom, and Boss snatched the jacket out of her hand. Chi-Chi could see his face getting pale, eye dilating, and not breathing.

Chi-Chi could only watched as Boss pulled out Capsule tablets out of his pocket, and pick out a red one. He pressed the button, and an oxygen machine appeared. Boss held up two fingers, and tapped on the pump level. Chi-Chi did as told, and made sure the red dial was on the two.

Boss pulled out an inhaler, and removed the paper towels from his face. Chi-Chi noticed a lot of blood covered on the paper towels, and felt her self getting faint. Boss shook the inhaler, and pressed down on the cylinder container of air. A few moments passed, and he pressed down on it once again.

Boss began to cough again, and he quickly covered his mouth. The oxygen machine has a face mask, and Boss brought it up to his nose and mouth. The color was returning to his face, and his breathing was returning to normal. He leaned up against the wall.

"Sorry," he said, his voice raspy. He pulled at the paper towels, and saw the trail towards the kitchen.

"What do I do," Seymour screamed. Out of the blue, Boss collapsed on the ground, began puking blood, and stopped breathing. He began to panic, and ran into the bathroom. He grabbed a piece of toilet paper off the roll, and an extra roll just in case. He ran back out, a trail of toilet paper behind him, and balled it up. He shoved the balled up toilet paper in Boss's face, and looked at the extra roll in his hand. He chugged it at Boss's chest, hoping to get him to breathe again, and as Boss inhaled air he also inhaled toilet paper.

He couldn't breathe earlier, and now the toilet paper was blocking air. Seymour pulled at the roll, and tried to clean up some blood. Boss tried to pull it off, but Seymour kept on stuffing.

(Ambulance ride later)

"Why were you stuffing my face," Boss yelled. The nurse in the ambulance was trying to hold him down.

"I was trying to clean up the blood," Seymour yelled back. "It was a new floor!"

"There's toilet paper coming out of the ambulance!"

"Now everyone knows what a piece of shit you are for ruining my new floor!"

"Sorry I was dying!"

"That's not an excuse!"

Paper towels were more absorbent than toilet paper. Seymour always bought the cheaper toilet paper, which easily ripped, and when he stuffed the toilet paper in Gohan's face, it stuck on their for a while. Good times.

Chi-Chi came back into the room with a cup of ice water. Gohan removed his mask and took a sip. He swished the water around his mouth, and swallowed. He made a face as he swallowed, and put the mask back on his face. He looked at the bed, and cheered with one arm.

"No blood on the bed," Gohan exclaimed as he smiled. Chi-Chi had a wet wash cloth, and attempted to clean off his hands and face. He made faces as Chi-Chi scrubbed close to his lips, and like any mother she licked the cloth and scrubbed off some more blood. "Ew, Mom spit!"

"Oh hush. That spot was dried out," Chi-Chi said looking over he work. "I think I got it all."

"Worse case I'll shower. Sometimes it seeps down my chin and ends up on my chest."

"I can clean your chest. Just take off your shirt."

"You're married!"

"Like I would do anything to you!"

"I can perform bet…et…nope. Nope. Nope Nope. Nope." Gohan shook his head. He had to really watch what he said. "I don't need you to clean off my chest."

"How long do you need your oxygen," Chi-Chi asked.

"Dr. Barns prefers that I have it on for two hours," Gohan answered.

"Well you're not having dried blood in your shirt for two hours."

"I'll scrub really hard."

"I can get Goku to do it."

"I might turn him…oh gross." Curse his mind. Chi-Chi folded her arms.

"If you don't let me clean you I'll tell you what Goku and I did last night," Chi-Chi said. Gohan bit his lip.

"You're lying," he said. There was no way she was going to talk about her-

"Goku and I were lying in bed, and he poked me with his-"

"You win! You win!"

If it was anybody…ANYBODY besides his parents he wouldn't care. He and Vegeta had shared stories, which was fine, and awesome because Bulma was pretty hot. Even Seymour shared a story or two, which was gross but whatever. But hearing what his parents did, real parents did, grossed him out. No child should know what their parents do in bed.

Gohan sighed.

"Listen, it's going to be ugly. Just don't…please don't stare."

"Ugly," Chi-Chi questioned. Gohan removed the oxygen mask, and turned his head away. He grabbed the seems of his shirt, closed his eyes, and lifted up his shirt.

It was then Chi-Chi understood what he meant. Right in the middle of his chest was a scar, about three inches in length, and an inch and a half wide. It was deformed, not straight, some places bigger than others. It was only seconds that Chi-Chi saw it before Gohan took his shirt and covered it up.

Tears began to fill her eyes, and her lower lip began to tremble.

"He had a few surgeries on his lungs," Mu-Ma said. Both were sitting outside as the leafs fell to the ground. Mu-Ma and Chi-Chi were sitting on a porch swing. "Healing was awful. Breathing hurt, burping was the worst, and he had to keep a pad on his chest to help with the pain. It was easier as the days passed, and he didn't need his Frank anymore."

"Who's Frank," Chi-Chi asked.

"He named his pad. I think it made healing easier on him."

"Why a boy's name?"

Mu-Ma smiled.

"Because he was worried if he named it after a girl, he wouldn't get laid." Chi-Chi's face turned red. "He would ask for Frank, or have Frank ready for him, and women assumed Frank was a friend."

"Do you need Frank," Chi-Chi asked. She was fighting the urge to cry.

"Frank," Gohan questioned.

"Your pad."

"My pad?" The hamster started to run in it's wheel. "I only use Frank after a surgery. How much did Mu-Ma tell you about me?"

"More than I want to know," Chi-Chi said rubbing off some dried blood on his chest. "Get some rest, and I'll wake you when dinner's ready. I'll lock the door so Goten won't bother you."

Chi-Chi grabbed one of his shirts and handed it to him. She balled up the stained shirt.

"Sorry you had to see that," Gohan said putting on a new shirt. "Everything really."

"Don't worry about a thing. I've seen things that most people…are you wearing a My Little Pony shirt?"

Gohan looked at his shirt, and smiled.

"Why yes…yes I am. It's really hard to find shirts that fit men, but when I saw Rainbow Dash I grabbed the biggest size. It's a little tight, but I'm wearing my favorite pony."

Gohan seemed way to happy about his shirt.

"Just get some rest."

"And have My Little Pony dreams?"

"Have any dream that you want."

"I'm going to have a My Little Pony dream."