Piccolo was so relieved when the doctor announced that Jenny could return home after three days in the hospital. She was given instructions to stay in bed, don't lift anything too heavy, and a prescription for painkillers. Piccolo just smiled inside although he kept his face stoic. She wouldn't need any of that. Dende could heal the incisions from the surgery in just a matter of minutes. Especially since they were clean cuts, it shouldn't pose a problem for him at all. And then Piccolo and his wife would have a whole month of her feeling good before she had to begin that chemotherapy treatment.

He held her hand and helped her walk out of the hospital. She was still extremely sore and walking was a feat in and of itself. Once outside, he carefully picked her up in his arms and felt her relax just a bit. "You're hurting, aren't you?" he frowned. He pressed a kiss to her temple and rumbled softly, "Just a little while longer. I'll get us home as quick as I can, but I'm not going to risk hurting you either. Dende will heal you as soon as we get home." He gently lifted into the air and gradually gained speed as he flew towards their home.

Rose quietly walked up behind Dende as he stood at the edge of the Lookout and stared down at the world below. She wrapped her arms around him and pressed her tall, skinny frame against him as she kissed his neck. "It seems so quiet without the girls here," she murmured softly as she rested her chin on his shoulder. Really, she was surprised at how lost she felt without the girls and Jenny; she missed them greatly and it had only been a few days. She closed her eyes and tipped her chin down to rest her forehead on the back of Dende's shoulder. "I miss our family."

Dende leaned back into her touch, taking a measure of comfort from his mate, his other half, "They are on their way back now. Well, Piccolo and Jenny. The girls are still with Vegeta and Bulma. I do believe my brother wants Jenny to get a few more days of rest without Paige jumping on her. And you know, coming to terms with everything. I should be able to heal her, but she is going to need help healing the emotional trauma more than anything. That is one thing I cannot heal."

Rose nodded and sighed. It didn't seem fair. While a time of peace was settling over much of the planet, their family still suffered. "I know you will do everything you can for her, my love," she said softly. "I only hope that we can comfort her enough and help her recover as quickly as possible." She looked up as Piccolo landed on the tiles and she squeezed Dende a little tighter before they turned to his brother.

Piccolo still held Jenny carefully in his arms as he met his brother's eyes. He felt better to be home. "I don't want her to lay on this tile," he said and turned to walk towards the bedroom. He smiled as he entered the room. "You're home, baby," he said quietly to her as he laid her on their bed.

Jenny wanted to sink into the bed and just hide for a while, it was so soft and she ached all over. her pelvic area was killing her. She turned her head, watching Dende enter the room. She could see the slightest wince of pain when he walked in and over to her side.

"Welcome home, Jenny. I know this has been hard on you, but hang in there. The journey is just beginning," he said as he held his hands out over her, feeling the damage before he dipped into his healing magic and soothed it into her.

Jenny nearly sighed out in relief as the aches from the surgery melted away into nothing. It was short lived as she reluctantly admitted it cleared her mind. More focus to think on things she didn't want to think about. She reached up and poked at her belly, not sure what to think knowing that most of her female organs were gone.

Piccolo frowned as his wife poked at her lower stomach like that and he took her hands in his as he knelt next to the bed. "Stop," he said softly. He met her eyes and felt relieved when he could no longer see the physical pain in them. "Whatever is going through your head, don't. I know that look." It was the same look she'd had in her eyes when she'd struggled with that armor, the look she got when she was disappointed in herself. Piccolo slightly turned his head towards his brother, "Thank you, Dende."

The guardian inclined his head and left them alone, shutting the door behind him as he did. He let out a sigh and looked to Rose who waited anxiously. He smiled softly at her and walked to her, offering his arm as he led them back to the edge of the Lookout, his staff tapping against the tiles. "It's as I thought. I wish I could do more for her, but it is up to her now. I need to find a way to gently tell my brother that this will not be a quick process, no matter how much he might wish it."

Jenny looked up at Piccolo as he took her hands, she wasn't sure if she had breath enough to talk. The fear of bursting into tears at any moment was still very real to her if she thought very hard about what had happened. "Thank you for staying with me, but I don't know if I'm going to be very good company," she said softly, "Everything's gone." She rubbed at her eyes as the tears started to fall. "At least we have our two daughters."

Piccolo continued to hold her hands as he stared at her. "What do you mean everything's gone? You're still here," he said, not understanding her words at all. "Jenny, you're alive. We have each other and our daughters just like you said. That's all that matters." He crawled up on the bed and gently pulled her into his arms. He could see the tears brimming in her eyes and it broke his heart. He didn't want her to be sad. "Don't cry," he whispered and ran his fingers through her hair, trying to comfort her. He knew she always liked it when Gramma would play with her hair. Perhaps it would cheer her up if he did it now. "Unless you need to. It's okay if you want to cry. I've got you."

Jenny listened to him, feeling herself relax when he slid his fingers into her hair and she sighed. He was right, she should be happy. She made it past the surgery. They were still a family. She ran a hand over her face and scooted closer to her husband. "Damn stupid hormones throwing me out of whack," she muttered. "I just want things back to normal."

He sighed, not knowing what to say. He just continued to run his fingers through her hair, trying to will some sort of comfort into her. He hadn't let himself dwell on the fact that they weren't going to have any more children. That was the least of his worries. All he wanted was for his wife to feel better. "It will go back to normal," he promised. "It just might take a little time. Tell me what I can do to make it better."

She looked up at him, seeing the worry in his eyes. The pain there. She reached up and cupped his cheek, "You're doing it. I just don't want to get lost in this whole mess. I just don't know what to think, really. I suppose it will get better with time and all that, but it feels overwhelming right now." She sighed and leaned into his touch, "I suppose the best thing to do is to get back into a normal routine of things. Seems like quite the feat after how many months of tests and hospital visits."

"I think that would be good for you," Piccolo said. "Maybe we can just keep busy and try to focus on other things. Marron brought you an invitation to her birthday party this weekend while you were resting. We could take the girls to that. It might make you feel better to be around everyone." He normally didn't enjoy going to those things, but he thought that perhaps seeing their daughters run and play might make Jenny feel better. "We still have our family. And they all love you. I love you. Don't forget that."

Jenny thought about it, it could make her feel better. Or it could be a painful reminder of what she couldn't have any more. "I think that's a good idea. The girls will enjoy it and it might be the last party I can get to enjoy for a while. I wish I knew what chemo was going to do to me," she said, leaning up and kissing him softly, "I love you, thanks for sticking around."

Piccolo let his eyes close for a moment as he sighed through his nose. "You act as if I'm just going to disappear on you," he said, fighting to keep the growl out of his voice. He opened his eyes and fixed her with an intense stare. "You are my mate. In this life and the next. I don't take that lightly. I know you're upset, but you have to stop talking like that." And to prove his point, he kissed her fiercely as he crushed her to his chest. It hurt to hear her say such things and he had to squash any doubt she had in him or in herself. He couldn't bear it. Not now. Not with everything else they were dealing with, too.

Jenny couldn't stop the tears that slid down her face. Gods, she was so tired of crying. She knew he would never leave her, and she would never leave him. Her hands curled into his soft shirt and she murmured an apology to him, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I just, you know. It was a part of me, makes me less of who I was. If you had a surgery to remove part of you, your manhood, your testicles, what would you feel?"

He sighed and thought about her question. Of course his first thought was that he could just regenerate any part of his body that needed healing, but that wasn't a fair answer. 'Gods, give me the right words to say,' he silently prayed. The last thing he needed to do was to be insensitive or stupid right now. "I don't know," he answered truthfully. "I imagine I would feel much the way you do right now. But I wouldn't question if you loved me or worry about you leaving me. I still love you just as much as I always have. This hasn't changed who you are, the woman I love. Understand?" he asked softly.

She felt a warmth bubbling up in her chest at his words and she nodded at him. "Flatterer," she accused as she studied his face. "I suppose the time for 'I wish' is over. It's done. We will just have to steal our daughter's kids. One of them will have a boy," she said, unable to stop the little laugh that escaped her, lightening the weight on her soul.

Piccolo chuckled and covered his face with his hand. "No. They're not allowed to date until I'm dead," he grumbled. "They're growing up too fast and they're too beautiful." He dropped his hand and gave her an accusatory stare. "They get that from you, you know." A violent shudder ran down his spine and a protectiveness grew in his chest at the thought of any young man coming to take his daughters on a date. "No. Not happening."

Jenny laughed, "Oh don't worry, I'm sure between you and Vegeta, any man is going to be too scared to death to even try it."

Author's Note: Short chapter. Longer ones coming up soon! Thanks for the reviews, guys. Keep 'em coming. They make me happy! Oh! And one more thing. GreenSaiyan, while your review amused me greatly, there will be no egg-puking in this story. Sorry. That always weirded me out. LMAO!