Disclaimer: I don't own DBGT either. I wouldn't claim it if I did.

To Chi-Chi,

I know I left without much chance to explain, but if I don't go then the Earth will blow up. I can't let that happen because then you would die. I wish I could have stopped this from happening, but I had no idea what was going on.

Maybe I can find a way to be turned back into a grown-up too. I'm not sure how long I'll be gone, but I know it'll be less than a year because that's all the time I have to save Earth. If we don't find the black star dragon balls by then, the Earth is going to explode. Don't worry, Chi, we'll be alright and we won't let that happen. We'll make it on time.

I bet you're pretty upset that Pan came instead of Goten, aren't you? I didn't know she was on the ship and we didn't have a chance to stop her from launching before we could get her off the ship. Well, I'm sure you've heard from Goten what happened. I didn't want to put her in danger like this, but I promise I'll keep her safe. You can count on it. Everything is going to be alright, so don't worry and don't be mad. I love you and I'll see you soon.

Goku

He hit the send button on the email, only to have an error message pop up and tell him to try again. So he tried again. And the error message reappeared. He tried again. Error message. Again. Error. Goku glowered at the computer screen after failing to get his e-mail to Chi-Chi sent. Finally, he decided to try again later, so he got up and went to the lower deck of the ship to find something to eat, almost instantly forgetting the message never went through.

…

There were few things more mortifying than being a 52 year-old woman married to a child. Of course her husband used to be an adult, but now he wasn't. That was a hard pill to swallow when she saw him for the first time after leaving five years earlier to train Uub. She hoped he would find a way to grow up again while he was in space searching for the black star dragon balls. While she wanted him to stay on Earth with her, even if he was in a child's body, she knew that he had to go. She was furious when she learned that Pan had gone on the excursion rather than Goten, but there was little she could do about it.

At least she trusted Goku to keep their granddaughter safe. That was about the only consolation she had. But that didn't mean she wasn't going to tell him off for letting it happen. She had no doubt Goku somehow could have prevented Pan from launching the ship. She tried not to become too stressed about the situation. They would only be gone a year, probably less. That wasn't so long, was it? It wasn't as if she'd spent the past five years with her husband anyway. What was one more year?

Chi-Chi broke another plate as she scrubbed it a little too hard. Sighing, she dumped it in the trash and picked up another to clean. Seeing the short stack of dishes to wash was almost more depressing than the towering piles of plates and bowls she was used to after years of cooking for saiyans. Gohan and Videl lived in their own home and Goten rarely stopped by to visit her. He was too busy living it up in the city. Loneliness crept in as she gazed out the kitchen window. She saw the same breath-taking panoramic view of the mountains cloaked in a thin fog lit by the morning sun as she did every day, but it was still a small joy she had in her otherwise unhappy life.

He'll be back, she reminded herself. He would be back and then, finally, they would be together. No more excuses. She simply would not let him leave again. She had no idea how she was going to keep him tied down, but she had to try. She was growing older and she was tired of being alone. Surely he would want to have a stable life for a change. One where he could stay home and just be with her, not worrying about saving Earth from some insane threat or another.

She sniffled a little. "Please come home soon, Goku. I miss you."

This would surely be his last adventure, the last time he would leave her. Even if he was in a child's body, didn't he still feel the passage of time? Didn't he still yearn to stay home and relax after a exciting life? Couldn't he be happy with what he had done and leave it at that? He should sit back, take the time to spend with her and their granddaughter. She couldn't bear the thought of him squandering the years away from her as he had done with his sons. Sure, he may have had good reason to leave all those other times, but the excuses were old and worn. He'd trained his successor, so he could retire. After all, he was as old as she was, even if he didn't look it. He was in his fifties too. Old enough to retire from saving the world, old enough to give up martial arts, old enough to stay at home and be content with his wife.

She promised herself that when he got back she was going to make him understand. She was so lonely without him. Did she need him? Yes. Did she want him? Kami, yes! For once in her life, couldn't she have a normal marriage? One where she didn't have to worry about being widowed or abandoned for months or years at a time? What had she done to deserve this? What had she done to make her husband hate her so? Fighting back the tears she reminded herself that this time he really did need to go. She wouldn't trust anyone else to find the black star dragon balls in the time allotted. But would it have been so much to ask for him to stay a few days? He'd been gone for five years, though the whole time he was on the same planet, in the same dimension. He could have at least visited. She felt like she hardly knew him anymore. She knew her husband now less than she did when she married him.

It hurt feeling so distant from her husband. Physically, emotionally. Maybe they never had been on the same plane. She wanted peace and stability, he wanted adventure and challenges. Well, at least he was happy, she thought bitterly. He was probably having the time of his life traveling through space facing who knows what kind of aliens and monsters in his quest to find the dragon balls. He probably never even thought about her. She was starting to wonder if he even remembered she existed. Judging by his quick departure from Earth, he didn't give her a second thought. He never did. What else was new?