**Authors note: Hey guys, sorry this took so long, I've been crazy busy with work. But on the bright side my work didn't strike! I will try to get the next chapter up and going soon but I ask that my fans please continue to be patient. I really hope you enjoy this chapter, I realize there's not as much going on as the last few chapters, but trust me, I'll make it more eventful in the following chapters; I would continue to write, but I'm trying to keep each chapter at 20 pages as to not bore you all.**
But anyways, please read and review and give me some feedback! Sorry about the delay…Enjoy!
Chapter 15: The Next Day
"Talking"
'Thinking'
Videl opened her tired eyes slowly as she heard a noise in her dark room. She then heard what sounded like feet shuffling across her bedroom floor. She sat up and looked around the room as her eyes adjusted to the dark room. She narrowed her eyes as she tried to figure out what the source of the noise was.
'Who the hell is making noise at this time of night? I swear to god, someone is going to get my foot in their ass' she angrily though to herself as she drowsily looked around her room for the source of the noise.
She did a quick scan of her room then gave her eyes a few moments to adjust to the dark room and then did another quick scan of her room. Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped as she noticed a tall, large figure standing at the front of the bed.
"I told you this wouldn't be the end" she heard Hercule said as she watched as he lifted a gun up and pointed it straight at Videl.
Videl wanted to scream but as she opened her mouth and nothing would come out. She grabbed her throat in surprise at her sudden laryngitis and widened her eyes more as she heard him cock the gun.
'Please, someone save me, Gohan please come help me' she thought as she desperately try to scream.
"I may not have been able to finish this earlier because of that skinny kid. But for you fat ass, this ends now" Hercule muttered as he lifted the gun and aimed it straight at Videl's head. Before she could even think another thought a loud noise erupted form the gun as he pulled the trigger.
Videl felt her body being jerked out of her unconscious state and her eyes snapped open. Her breathing was heavy and her brow was covered in perspiration as she sat up quickly and looked around the room frantically trying to see if someone was in her room.
"A dream…it was all a dream" she said, happy to know that she was able to speak again. "A horrible dream" she muttered to herself as she tried to calm her breathing down unsuccessfully.
She slowly laid her head back down on her plush pillow and closed her eyes in an attempt to fall back to sleep but failed repeatedly. Videl found that every time she closed her eyes she'd see her father standing in front of her holding a gun getting ready to shoot her.
"Looks like no more sleep for me" she muttered as she lay in her bed staring up at the dark ceiling.
~*~Meanwhile
Gohan opened his eyes and saw that he was inside of a house he had never seen before. "What the…?" he said out loud as he studied room he was in. Inside of this mysterious room, he could only assume it was an office; there was a large cherry wood desk with an expensive looking computer on top of it, along with a mess of papers piled up on top of binders. He turned around and saw a large book case filled with any kind of book you could imagine and right beside it mounted to the wall was a flat screen TV with a DVD player and satellite box attached to it.
Gohan arched an eyebrow and scratched the back of his head, "Where am I?" he questioned out loud as he took a step forward and examined the books that were occupying the shelf. He rested his hand on the plush computer desk chair and out of the corner of his eye he could see a picture frame being revealed as he moved the chair. Curiosity getting the better of him, Gohan pushed the chair aside and picked up the picture frame and started at the picture.
The frame contained a picture of a woman, she looked as though she was maybe in her mid twenties; she had long black hair, brilliant blue eyes and a smile that could make a guy grow weak in the knees. He smiled as he looked at the picture and saw that the woman was blowing a kiss with both hands to who ever had been taking the picture and was grinning in the process.
'She kind of reminds me of Videl' Gohan thought to himself as he smiled unconsciously as he stared at the woman's beautiful, mature features and slowly put the picture down.
Gohan was jerked out of his thoughts as he heard the loud shrill of a child's giggles. 'What is that?' he thought to himself as he walked out of the room and followed the noise.
"Pan!" he heard a woman groan as he peered his head out from around a corner to see a woman bending down to pick up what looked like cheerio's off the ground. He quickly pulled his head back, not wanting to scare the unsuspecting woman. But he did feel he should at least let her know that he was, for some reason, in her house so he stepped forward and cleared his throat loudly.
When the woman didn't acknowledge him he tried to do it again a little louder, but again received no response. "Um, excuse me I don't mean to bother you but…" Gohan trailed off as he stepped forward towards the woman and received no recognition.
'Can she not see me or hear me?' Gohan thought to himself as he stepped right in front of the woman, making it impossible for her to miss him if she could see him; but yet again no response. "Odd…" Gohan said out loud as he watched the woman in the picture stand up with a hand full of cereal.
The woman stood up and dumped the handful of cereal into a garbage bin and turned around and looked at her daughter.
"I know you're hungry Pan, but daddy will be home soon with the groceries, there's no need to throw your food and make a mess for mommy" the woman said as she stared at the little baby in the highchair. "mommy didn't push you out of her seven and a half months ago just so you could throw Cheerio's all over the floor for her" the woman said as she came to eye level with the baby girl and gave her a defeated look, earning a confused look back.
Gohan arched an eyebrow as he watched and finally studied what the woman really looked like. It clearly was the woman from the picture; she was absolutely beautiful and for a woman who had had a baby not too long ago, she looked absolutely remarkable. He smiled to himself as he watched the woman stare at the baby, he didn't know why he was smiling, but felt like he should be.
The baby blinked at the woman and then gave her mother a big grin, earning a smile from the woman.
"You are definitely your fathers' daughter" she said with a smile as the baby giggled. "Only he could make that smile appear and get away with murder" she said as she ruffled the little girls' hair causing her to laugh louder.
The woman picked up from the high chair and gave her a smile as she bounced her on her hip gently. Just then the sound of a door opening startled the baby, causing her to give a confused look.
"Daddy's home!" the woman exclaimed as the little girls eyes lit up with excitement to seeing her other parent again.
Gohan stared at the baby girl on the woman's hip, he couldn't place his finger on it, but the baby and the woman looked familiar….but from where?
"Videl sweetie, I'm home. Sorry that took so long but the grocery store was packed" Gohan heard a man say from what he could only assume was the front hallway.
'That's Videl?' Gohan thought to himself in shock as his mouth opened and he stared at the woman now identified as Videl
"Holy…she looks incredible! Especially for someone who had a baby less than a year ago. She's so…beautiful" Gohan said out loud, he smiled to himself as he watched the woman allowed a grin to grace her features.
"That's definitely her…I'd recognize the smile anywhere" Gohan said as he looked closer at the little baby. 'That explains why the baby looks familiar' Gohan thought to himself as he looked at the little baby girl with short black hair and dark eyes; really just the cutest little face you could ever see. Clearly, the baby was taking after her mother with some of her features.
As Gohan waited for Videl's husband to enter the room he couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy, here was the love of his life married, with a child and he had no idea who the lucky husband was. 'Well, I hope she's happy at least' he thought to himself, feeling crestfallen as he watched Videl and her baby that he now knew was named Pan.
Gohan watched a man walk into the kitchen, but for some reason a shadow was covering his face. All he could tell from this man was that he was tall; well built and clearly held great affection for the two that were already in the kitchen.
"How's my two favourite girls?" the man asked as he came and gave Videl a kiss and picked the baby up.
The baby giggled with glee as the man held her up and then brought her close to his chest and bounced her up and down lightly.
"I think Panny here missed her daddy" Videl said with a smile on her face as she watched her husband play with their daughter.
"Well I missed her too" Gohan said earning a suspicious look from the little baby. "I did miss you, I swear sweetie" the man said with a laugh as the little girl smiled back up at him.
"Man, you definitely are just like your mommy" the man said with a laugh, receiving a light smack on the arm from Videl.
Gohan kept moving slightly, desperately trying to figure out who the lucky man was that was married to Videl. "Lucky ass" he muttered under his breath as the shadow on the man's face moved everywhere Gohan went.
As if the man with the baby had heard Gohan he turned his face towards Gohan, then all of a sudden the shadow disappeared.
Gohan's felt his jaw drop as he watched a man who looked very similar to himself give Gohan a grin. The man had spiky black hair, dark eyes and wore glasses.
"Is…is that me?" Gohan questioned out loud as he stared at the man holding the baby who was returning his gaze.
The man simply stared at Gohan, his grin continually growing as he continued to bounce the baby girl on his hip lightly.
'That also could explain why the baby looked familiar…' Gohan thought to himself as he studied the baby once again. She definitely had Videl's cute little nose, but had the man's eyes, and shared the same hair colour as both of her parents.
Before Gohan could think anything else there was a brilliantly bright white flash, he squinted and then allowed his eyes to adjust to the bright light as he looked around. Where ever he was, it seemed like a vast void, an endless space of white abyss.
The man appeared in front of Gohan, startling him and making him fall over in surprise.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to surprise you" The man said in a sheepish voice as he reached a hand out to help Gohan up.
"What's…going on?" Gohan asked as he rubbed the back of his head in confusion.
"Think of this as a glimpse of the future" the man said with a grin. "I'm you from the future" he stated causing a shock look to appear on Gohans face.
"You…me…Videl…and a baby?" Gohan stuttered in surprise.
"Well, not you and me, but yes, we and Videl had a baby" the older version of Gohan said with a proud smirk on his face.
"Wow…" was all Gohan could muster out, he had had a feeling that the man was him, but hearing that they had a child together was so surprising, but at the same time, he couldn't help but smile knowing she really was the love of his life.
"Yea and you are going to have one hell of a time with Pan's creation" the older Gohan said with a laugh as he watched his younger self blush at the thought. "But, that's beside the point; I did bring you here for a reason".
"That being?" Gohan questioned, the blush still lingering on his cheeks.
"Trust me; you're doing a great job on her confidence. She's going to be feeling a little low after what took place earlier, but you'll bring her out of it soon enough" he said, receiving a nod from Gohan. "I wanted to give you a warning though, this isn't quite the end, you're close, but the end will present its self soon enough".
Gohan gave his older version a confused look, "end of what? Videl and I? Because if that's the case…why did I see us with a baby?" he asked with an arched eyebrow.
"No, not the end of you two, and trust me, you two will only grow closer, I promise. I can't explain in more detail what I mean by the end, but you'll understand when it arrives" his older self responded.
"Ok?" Gohan replied in confusion.
"Anyways, as neat as it is to talk with a younger version of myself, you are needed. Videl needs a little help and would love more than anything for you to go and see her" his older version said with a wink and a grin.
Before Gohan could reply to his older self he felt his eyes snap open and his body jolted awake. He sat up in his bed and looked around his dark room. "Was that real?" he questioned to himself as he replayed the dream in his head.
He couldn't help but smile to himself at the thought of him and Videl married together with a beautiful baby girl. "I wonder if this was similar to the dream that Videl told me about earlier" he questioned out loud. He shook his head and remembered his older self had told him Videl needed him.
He stood up from the comfort of his bed and switched his night stand lamp on. He squinted his eyes a little as he allowed them to adjust to the light. He covered his mouth as he let a yawn escape his lips and then walked towards his door and made his way towards Videl's bedroom.
His eyes adjusted quickly to the dark hallway and he moved quickly to Videl's bedroom door. He gave it a soft knock and waited for any form of reply. When he received no acknowledgement he knocked again, "Videl, can you hear me?" he whispered hoping she would hear him. But alas, he once again received no reply.
He opened her door gently and moved quickly into her room and closed the door lightly behind him.
"Videl?" He said out loud. Gohan took a few steps closer to her bed but before he could try to figure out where he was he felt something pointy hit him with a fair degree of force.
"I swear to god you better get out of my room. If I can't kill you, the good people here sure as hell will" Videl said as she peered her head out from behind one of the large curtains.
Gohan decided that it would be in his best interest to not move and scare her more. "Videl, it's me" Gohan whispered quietly, almost too quietly.
"Last chance ass hole" Videl said, not hearing the tall dark figure whispering her name.
Gohan heaved a sigh and quickly powered up to super saiyan so he could light up the room and show that she was indeed safe and sound. Gohan looked over and saw a very startled Videl standing by the window with her high heel shoe from the previous night in her hand.
"Gohan?" she questioned quietly as she lowered her hand with the shoe in it.
"Did you throw a high heel at me?" he questioned as he rubbed the spot where he had been hit by the pointy object. He looked down at his feet and sure enough there laid a black four inch skinny high heel from the party.
He laughed a little as Videl allowed a blush to creep to her cheeks as she stepped forward and lowered her hand down completely.
"I'm sorry, I didn't hurt you did I?" she questioned as she saw Gohan was gently rubbing a small area on his chest.
"You definitely caught me off guard, you've got a pretty good arm on you" he said with a laugh as her blush continued to grow. "What are you doing with high heeled shoes at this time of night V?" He asked as she stood sheepishly in front of the bright super saiyan.
"I thought you were my dad and you were coming in to finish the job from tonight" she said as she allowed herself to drop the other shoe, now knowing she was out of harm's way.
"What would make you think it was your father?" He asked gently as he turned her light switch on and slowly allowed his hair to turn back to black and let his eyes turn back to their normal colour.
"I had some weird dreams" she said quietly.
Gohan raised an eyebrow, "weird dreams huh? Guess that makes two of us" he said, earning a confused look from Videl.
"What was your dream about?" she questioned gently as she watched Gohan blush lightly.
"Tell you what, you tell me first, and then I'll tell you about my dream ok?" he said as he watched Videl sigh and nodded her head in agreement.
Videl moved so she sat on her bed in front of Gohan and put her head in her hands as she heaved a big yawn. "Every time I'd start to fall asleep…I'd see this dark figure appear in front of me and then my dad would start talking to me, saying he was going to finish the job." She said, her voice quivered lightly as she was clearly shaken at the thought of her fathering breaking into her room.
"Then I'd try to scream, hoping that you or anyone would hear me and would be able to help me, but it never worked; I never had a voice. I would then hear him say something like 'this ends now' and see him aim the gun right at my head and hear it go off. Then as the bullet would be just about hitting me, I'd wake up with a jolt. Every time I've closed my eyes, I just see him standing in front of me" she said as she gently rubbed her wounded arm and averted her gaze from Gohan.
"I know…it sounds stupid…but I can't get it out of my head" she whispered quietly.
Gohan knelt down so he was on his knees in front of Videl and lightly rested his hands on her knees. "It's not stupid, it's perfectly justified. You went through something traumatic today, it's completely understandable that you feel uncomfortable being alone right now" he said gently, hoping that she'd lift her eyes up and meet his gaze.
"Did…has my dad ever tried to break into this bedroom? When I was behind the curtains I saw that all of the locks had been melted." She whispered confusion and sadness evident in her voice.
"My dad told me that Vegeta caught him trying to break in and found you lying in the middle of the floor. So he melted the locks so your dad couldn't get back in again so you'd be safe" He replied quietly, giving her knee a gentle reassuring squeeze.
"I...I had thought that I was hallucinating" she whispered as she met his gaze.
"They told me that Vegeta told you that; he didn't want you to be scared or have me get too worried about you either. They were trying to protect you" he replied back, his voice maintaining its gently and sincere tone.
"He's…he's been in my room" she whispered, not sure how she should feel about this.
"But I can promise you, he won't ever be in your room again, not if I can help it" he said, trying to offer her some reassurance.
Videl looked up and gave him an unconvinced smile, "it's funny…whether I'm at my old place, or I'm here where I know I'm safe…he still manages to bully me" she said quietly as she once again turned her gaze from Gohan.
"V, would you like to sleep in my room?" he asked as she returned her gaze and gave him a startled look.
"There's no way your dad would be stupid enough to try and break into my room, and if I sense that you're in any form of danger I'll wake up right away and make sure that no one hurts you" he said with a smile as she listened intently to what he had to say.
"I wouldn't mind sleeping in your room" she said with a blush as his grin grew bigger. "But I'll sleep on the floor, I don't want to take up your bed space" she said as he arched an eyebrow and smiled at her.
"Videl, you're what; 5 foot 3 and a buck five? There's no way you'll take up my bed space" he said with a laugh as her blush grew.
"I meant I didn't want to take up your room to stretch out" she replied.
"Well, it is a king size bed and I know I'm a tall guy, but even I don't sprawl out that much. I'd be insulted if you didn't want to sleep in my bed with me" he said, and then blushed hoping she wouldn't take the invite the wrong way.
"You really wouldn't mind me staying in your room tonight? I swear I can stay in my room tomorrow night" she said, feeling better knowing she'll be able to both sleep and be protected.
"V, you can stay in my room as long as you feel it takes for you to be comfortable" he said as he leaned up and kissed her forehead.
He then stood up and gave her a grin, "now come on, it's late and I'm sure that we're both beat" he said as he offered his hands to help Videl stand up.
Gohan escorted Videl back to his room and closed the doors and turned off the lights. As Gohan sat down on his bed he had already seen Videl curled up in the middle of the bed and couldn't help but smile at how innocent she looked when she was falling asleep.
Gohan then lie down on the bed and quickly found Videl scooting closer to him. He smiled and realized she wanted to be in his arms so he happily wrapped his arms around her small frame and let out a content sigh.
"Gohan?" he heard her whisper.
"Yea V?" he replied back, equally as quiet.
"What was your dream about, you know he weird one you said you had" she questioned as a yawn quickly followed her question.
"I…I dreamed that I was in some sort of study, or office. With a large expensive desk and a computer, TV and such and behind the big computer desk chair I saw a picture of a beautiful woman blowing a kiss to whoever had taken the picture. Before I would do anything else I heard a baby laughing and when I walked into the room I saw the woman from the picture cleaning up the mess the baby had just made." He said as he smiled to himself, knowing that adorable baby was, or at least would be alive partly in thanks to him.
"What did the woman look like" she said quietly as she rested comfortably in Gohans arms.
"She was short, had long black hair, she had these absolutely beautiful eyes, and a smile that could make any guy go weak in the knees" he replied.
"Geez Gohan, why don't you marry her" she said in a joking tone of voice.
"It's funny you should say that, because a man looking an awful lot like me walked into the room and called your name and apologized for taking so long" he said, Videl turned around quickly to see if he was lying or not.
"What was the baby's name?" she asked intently, having a feeling she already knew the answer.
"The little baby girls name was Pan. She had your nose" before Gohan could finish his sentence Videl interjected.
"And your eyes" Videl said finishing off his sentence. "We both had a dream that we had a kid together?" she asked with surprise.
"Geez V, don't sound too excited" he said jokingly.
"No no I don't mean it like that…it's just…wow" she said as she let a smile grace her features. "In my dream, you were watching Pan and trying to do work, but she took your glasses and when you took the back she glared at you and said she was definitely her mother's daughter" she said as she smiled back at her dream, remembering how cute the display of affection had been.
"In my dream she had thrown cereal on the floor and you were cleaning it up and you looked like you were trying to be upset but she gave you this big adorable grin an you had said she was definitely her father's daughter because only he could use that grin and get away with murder" he said, unconsciously smiling at the scene he had witnessed not too long ago.
"Do you think we'll grow old together, and even have a child together Gohan" Videl whispered, sleep starting to take over her body.
"I don't know Videl, but I sure wouldn't mind that if it happened" he said with a yawn as his body grew sleepier and sleepier by the minute.
"I'm falling asleep" she whispered.
"Me too" he whispered back.
"Goodnight and thanks Gohan…I love you…" she whispered as he breathing slowly became even and she was overcome by sleep.
"Night V, I love you too" he whispered as he held her close and quickly drifted off into his own unconscious state.
~*~
Gohan squinted his eyes together as he felt the sun's rays beating in through his large bedroom window. He opened one eye through his heavy lid and quickly closed it as he saw the sun's bright rays beating down on him. He gave a groan and went to turn around to look at the clock but felt something on his arm.
He looked surprised for a moment and then the events of that night flooded back into his head as he realized it was Videl, sleeping peacefully curled up against him. He smiled to himself as he watched her sigh in her sleep and watched her even breathing.
'I'm so glad she managed to get a good night's sleep' he thought to himself as he put his head back down on the pillow and curled up to her again. 'maybe just a few more minutes' he thought to himself as he closed his eyes and once again drifted off to sleep.
A half an hour later another set of heavy lidded eyes opened up as a result of the sun's rays. Videl quickly closed her eyes again once she felt the bright light. She inhaled deeply and smiled to herself, 'what is that smell? It's so…relaxing' she thought to herself as she once again inhaled deeply.
She snuggled closer as she felt a warmth come over her body as she snuggled closer to the source of the warmth. She paused for a moment then opened her eyes suddenly as she felt whatever she was snuggled up to moving gently up and down in a slow rhythm.
She trailed her eyes up slowly and saw a pale skinned jaw line and smiled to herself as she realized that she was sleeping with the love of her life. She pushed her body up slowly so she was face to face with her sleeping boyfriend.
She smiled to herself as she watched him inhale lightly through his partly parted lips and exhale slowly. She thought he looked so cute and so peaceful.
'it's so incredible to see a man of such power and strength; someone who's seen so much death and who's killed before to save billions of people…sleeping so peacefully and looking so innocent and defenceless' she thought to herself as she lightly traced his jaw line with her finger tip.
As she traced her finger along his jaw line she felt him hold her closer to his body, causing her smile to grow. She looked at his closed eyes to see if he was awake, but he showed no signs of being aware of anything going on in the world.
She gently reached her hand up and ran her hand lightly through his thick dark locks of hair, smiling as she noticed that they were still gravity defying. She watched the corners of his lips turn up slightly as she continued to gently play with his hair.
She leaned forward and gently pressed her lips against his, giving him a gentle kiss. A few seconds later she pulled her lips away and nuzzled her head into his neck and enjoyed being held against his warm, protecting body.
She was startled as she felt Gohan hug her closer and lean her head down to kiss the top of her head, while inhaling the smell of her hair in.
"Good morning" he whispered into her hair, causing her smile to grow.
"Morning sunshine" she said as she turned her head up to give him a smile.
"How'd you sleep?" he asked as he returned her smile and kissed her forehead.
"Actually, after I came into here I slept like a baby, no scary dreams, and no freak outs" she said as gazed up into his dark eyes.
"Good, I'm glad" he said as he held her closely, happy to have played a part in her comfortable sleep.
"Thanks for letting me sleep in your room Gohan, it really helped having you here" she said as she moved her body closer to his warm body.
"Well, I'm glad it helped. If you don't feel comfortable sleeping alone, you're always welcome in my bed" he said then blushed, hoping that didn't sound as suggestive as it did in his head.
"I might take you up on that offer" she said, causing Gohan to heave a sigh of relief to not having her thinking he was a pervert.
He hugged her closely, unconsciously smiling to himself as he thought about how good it felt to be laying in the same bed as Videl, and how much he loved waking up to her face.
After a few silent minutes Videl spoke, "think we should get up now?" she asked as she muffled a quiet yawn.
"Probably, it's already..." he paused as he turned around to get a better look at the alarm clock that was sitting on his nightstand "eleven thirty" he said, surprise in his voice.
"I can't remember the last time I've slept in till half past eleven" he said with a laugh as he put his head back down onto the pillow.
"Yea, but you usually turn in earlier than three in the morning; I guess that mountain air takes it out of you" she said as she pushed her body up lightly so she was at eye level with Gohan.
"The air near my house is so much cleaner then the air here in the city" he said, smiling at how peaceful he found the land by his home.
"Yea, that's true" she said as she gazed up at the tall ceilings. "Gohan?" she asked as she leaned up on her elbow so she could look him straight in the face.
"Mm-hm?" he said as he lazily turned his face to meet her gaze.
"Are you sure your family won't mind me living with you guys, I really can get a job, and get an apartment. I don't want to be a burden and-" she was cut off by Gohan putting his finger onto her lips.
"We would love to have you live with us. My family loves you; mom loves having another female in the house, Goten get's a new playmate, and my dad has always had fun with you, you're like a daughter to him" he said with a smile, as she returned it, his finger still gently pressed against her lips.
"And you?" she asked quietly. She knew how he'd feel about her staying there, but hearing him say it would just make her so much happier.
She saw Gohan's features soften a little, "I would love to have you in my house. I feel so much better knowing that you're being taken care of, fed, have clean clothes and a warm place to sleep at night and I love knowing that you're safe and out of harm's way" he said quietly as he cupped her cheek gently.
"Can I pay rent or something?" she asked quietly, as she leaned gently against Gohan's hand.
"Tell you what, you can ask my mom that, she and my dad can give you the answer" he said with a laugh, knowing his mother would absolutely refuse to accept any money from the girl she knew would be a part of their family for a long time to come.
"I really do appreciate everything you all have done for me, especially you…but how can I ever repay you and your family back?" she asked quietly, a hint of sadness evident in her voice.
"Tell you what, be happy, eat your food and feel good about yourself. If you really want to help then just help my mom in the kitchen, or even just help with dishes…maybe even just keep Goten occupied" he said with a gentle smile as she looked up and met his gaze.
"I think I could do those things" she said with a grin as Gohan's face contorted to a more serious look.
"Which of those things do you think you could do?" he asked in a serious tone.
"Most of them…" she said quietly as she averted her gaze.
Gohan was about to respond to her comment but was jarred out of their conversation by the loud sounds of Gohan's stomach grumbling to be fed. He blushed lightly as Videl gave him an amused look and raised an eyebrow at him.
"Ha…guess I'm a little hungry. We'll finish this conversation afterwards soon alright?" Gohan said sheepishly as he leaned forward and caught a surprised Videl's lips in a sweet kiss.
Once they pulled apart she gave him a meek nod and accepted his hand up. Both stood up and Videl walked over to her bedroom so she could change into clothes for that day. She stood in her bathroom looking in the mirror at her reflection, a surprised look plastered on her face.
'I forgot I had all these pins in my hair still' she thought as she began to reach up and pull all of the little bobby pins out of her hair that her mother had put in the night before. She heard a quiet knock on her door and yelled 'come in' to whoever it was.
A second later she heard Gohan speak. "Hey, are you almost done?" he asked as he walked toward her open bathroom door. He frowned as he stood in the door frame and noted she had adopted baggy clothes again.
'I wonder if this is what my future self meant by how she'll have problems still' he thought, a frown still on his face.
She turned her face slightly and gave him a smile, earning a big grin from him. He couldn't help but smile at how beautiful she looked; her curled hair was pushed over onto the one side of her head, her dark lashes were emphasizing her brilliantly blue eyes, all of which contrasted with her pale skin.
"Whatcha lookin at?" she asked jokingly as she turned back to the mirror and started to take out more bobby pins.
"You're so beautiful" he said with a smile as he leaned against the door frame so she could see him reflection. He frowned again as he noticed how she blushed and muttered a quiet thank you.
They stood there for a few moments in silence as Gohan watched her take the many of the small pins out of her hair. She turned her head again and gave him a bashful smile, "can I ask a favour?" she said quietly.
"Of course" he said as he stood up straight again and gave her a smile.
"Can you look in my hair and tell me if you can see anymore pins in my hair? I think I've got them all out but I wouldn't mind someone taking a second look" she said as she slowly ran her hand along her scalp, trying to feel for stray bobby pins.
He gave her a smile and stepped towards her; he stood close to her and looked closely through her thick locks of hair as he attempted to locate any remaining pins.
She felt herself blush as she felt his fingertips lightly running through her still curled hair, and her blush only grew as she felt his hot breath against the back of her neck.
"You missed…just this one" he said quietly as he reached through her hair and pulled out a stray pin.
Videl felt a shiver go down her spine as he whispered to her while so close to her body, she could feel the heat rising off her face. She looked at her reflection and watched as Gohan wrapped his arms around her from behind, resting his chin on her hair and his hands on her flat tummy. She was surprised to notice that he wasn't blushing in the slightest, and much to her displeasure, she was still blushing.
"I like this" he mumbled out as he kissed the top of her head and stared into the mirror, watching their reflections.
"Like what?" she questioned as she looked into the reflection of his eyes on the large mirror.
"Hold you like this…it's just…I don't know, comfortable" he said with a grin on his face as he hugged Videl tighter.
"I like being in your arms" she said, earning a light blush from Gohan.
"Good" he said quickly as he flashed her a grin. "Videl?" he asked as he stared into the reflection of her eyes. She looked up at him in acknowledgement and then he continued to speak. "Why are you wearing such baggy clothes again? They barely fit you…in fact…I think that sweatshirt your wearing is one of mine"
Videl blushed "it is yours; I just find it really comfortable. And I don't know, I just feel like wearing something…cozy today" she said, trying to his her discomfort at the thought of showing off her curves.
Before Gohan could respond, the loud grumbling of his stomach interrupted their talk.
Vide arched an eyebrow in amusement as Gohan let a small blush creep to his cheeks. "Is someone a little hungry?" she questioned jokingly as she turned around and poked him in the stomach.
"I think I might be a little hungry…let's go eat" he said as he grabbed her hand gently, being mindful to not harm her injury from the previous night. He turned around quickly to face her, "we'll finish this talk later" he said as he began to lead her down toward the kitchen.
"So what do you want to do later" Gohan asked as they made their way through the many hallways twists and turns.
"I'm not too sure yet…" she said as she drifted off in though, trying to figure out what she wanted to do with the rest of the day.
"We could have a race" Gohan said jokingly as he pictured Videl trying to keep up with his super saiyan speed.
She stopped walked and turned around to face Gohan, a smirk plastered on her face. "What?" he asked cautiously as he gave her a curious look.
Her smirk only grew, then catching Gohan off guard, she smack him in the chest, "You're it!" she yelled as she ran down the hallway towards the kitchen.
Gohan looked dumbfounded for a minute, then realized what she meant by 'you're it'. "Hey, that's not fair" he yelled as he chased after his girlfriend, who already had a pretty good head started.
"Can't catch me!" she taunted as she quickly made her way to the kitchen. She turned around to see how far behind Gohan was and was about to start taunting him as she saw him gaining on him, but before she could do anything she felt herself running into something hard and falling backwards.
As she was falling down she felt someone grab her by the elbows and pull her back up into a standing position. She blushed when she realized what she had done. "Sorry Vegeta" she said with a blush on her cheeks as Gohan laughed lightly in the background.
"Watch where you're going next time" he said in a gruff voice, but a small smirk was present on his face.
Videl simply nodded, embarrassed that she had just run into the strong man as he walked by her. She turned around and looked at Gohan as he had a big grin on his face.
"That's not funny" she stated as his grin grew into his typical smile.
"That was a little funny" he said as she stuck his tongue out at him.
"You're lucky your cute" she muttered as she walked into the kitchen, Gohan following closely behind her.
"Well good morning you two" Krillin said, drawing the attention of a few people who were also in the kitchen.
"Hey, good timing I was just about to make my way up stairs to let you know brunch is ready" Goku said as he stared at the food.
"No one else has eaten yet?" Gohan questioned, it wasn't every day a saiyan went this long without food, especially if that saiyan happened to be his father.
"Actually everyone slept in pretty late. We're still waiting for Aaliyah and Yamcha to make their way downstairs" Chi Chi said as she mixed an egg mixture together. "Gohan, would you be a dear and go get your brother, please?" she questioned as he nodded and left the room to retrieve his little brother.
"Wow, they really hit it off eh?" Videl said out loud as she pictured her mom with the fighter.
"She sure did, they kept making out all of last night" Bulma said as she flipped over some pancakes.
"I'm happy for her…I know Yamcha won't do anything to harm her. And if he does I'll kick his ass" Videl said as she sat down on a chair by the kitchen counter.
"You make an excellent point Videl" Bulma said as she turned to give the teen her full attention.
"Videl, after brunch I'd like to take a look at you arm, clean it out and change your bandages" Bulma said, causing Videl to involuntarily grasp her injured arm.
"Alright Bulma. Chi Chi, would you like me to start taking everything out onto the table?" she questioned as she started to grab a few plates that were piled with food.
"Actually, that'd be a big help" Chi Chi replied, as she pushed the eggs on the frying pan.
As Videl continued to bring the mountain of food out of the kitchen and onto the dining room table, she noticed that both Gohan and Vegeta were walking in, carrying Goten and Trunks. Gohan was holding Goten so his head was resting on his broad shoulder, and Vegeta was carrying Trunks by the seat of his pants.
"Wow, quite the way with children Vegeta" Videl said as she laughed lightly at the sight.
"He won't wake up, the kid sleeps like a damn elephant" he said as he made his way into the kitchen, in hopes that Bulma would take over and try to wake him up.
"You're so cute with kids" Videl said with a smile as she walked over to Gohan while he's holding onto Goten gently.
"He's definitely like my dad; he sleeps like a friggin rock. I've tried everything to wake him up" he said as he looked down at his little brother, who was sound asleep against his big brother.
"Can I try something?" she said with a smile.
"Be my guest" he said as he noticed the mischievous grin on her face. He watched as she stepped forward towards him and leaned her mouth down towards his ear and whispered something quietly.
A few seconds later Goten's eyes shot open, "don't you dare!" he yelled as he squirmed and fell out of Gohans arms and landed head first onto the floor.
Gohan looked down in surprised as Videl laughed lightly at the scene that had just taken place.
"Are you alright squirt?" Gohan asked as he watched his little brother rub his head gently.
"Did I miss it?" Goten asked as he looked up sadly at his brother.
"What did you whisper to him Videl?" Gohan asked as he watched Videl start to laugh a little more.
"I told him I was going to give his breakfast to you and Goku" she said between laughs as Goten pouted lightly.
"That's not funny…I didn't miss breakfast did I?" he asked, a pout still plastered on his sad face.
"No kiddo, you're good, no one's eaten your breakfast yet" Gohan said as he helped his little brother stand up and grin at his girlfriend.
"Good thinking" he said as he gave her a wink.
"Videl…is that you?" Goten asked as he stepped towards his brothers leg.
"It sure is squirt, why do you ask?" she asked as she slowly started to make her way to the kitchen again to continue bringing food out.
"Your hair…is so different. You're very pretty" Goten said as a blush came up on his cheeks and he quickly left the room in search of his best friend.
Gohan frowned again as he noticed a blush came up on her cheeks. 'I wonder if she's feeling self-conscious again' he thought to himself as he studied her in the baggy clothes, her bare shoulder being exposed through the wide neck. He couldn't help but notice how bony her shoulder looked and how her collar bone stuck out.
Breakfast started shortly after, everyone enjoyed the delicious food that had been cooked for all. Gohan kept glancing over at Videl and his frown continued to grow as he noticed Videl really wasn't eating much at all, she seemed the keep pushing her food around her plate more the anything and drinking her glass of water.
He stared at the array of food in front of him, looking for something to try and get Videl to eat so she was at least getting some carbs into her tiny body.
He grabbed a just out the oven chocolate chip muffin, "Videl, you've got to try these muffins my mom made. If you let the butter melt a little, they're to die for" he said as he cut the centre of the muffin open and buttered the inside and handed it to her.
Videl gave a forced smile as she grabbed the warm muffin an put it on her plate. "Looks delicious" she said as she took a small piece off of the muffin and put it in her mouth. "This is really good Chi Chi" she said, she looked over and noticed Gohan was staring at her while he shovelled food into his mouth.
She noticed he was watching her intently play with her food. 'crap, if I don't eat, he's going to get worried' she thought to herself as she took small bites from the delicious muffin.
'Ok…just eat it slowly, then go for a run afterwards' she thought as she continued to eat the muffin, noticing how Gohans gaze never left her. She really was trying to feel more confident, but her father's comments continually ran through her mind, she couldn't help but think that just a few more pounds lost would do her some good.
Gohan stared at her, he felt somewhat satisfied that he had gotten her to eat a whole muffin, but knew deep down that she only did it because she had a plan to get rid of it. He could feel anger rising inside of him as he though back to the words that Hercule had said to her, but felt comforted at the fact that his future self said he would indeed help her get past this thin obsession and help her feel comfortable with herself.
He had noticed that Videl's future looked great, but she also had put on weight since her teen years. It could have been from having a baby less than a year ago, but she looked absolutely fantastic. And he wanted to get his Videl to feel the same way the future Videl felt. But for now he'd simply accept the fact that he was getting her to eat foods, and not just watching her push it around her plate.
While everyone ate their food, Bulma snapped pictures all the while, "Videl sweetie, smile" Bulma said as Videl put her hand on her chin and gave the camera a big grin. "You hair is so gorgeous, we're definitely going to have to curl it again next time we have a party" she said, earning a blush from the teen.
"Here, get a picture of this" Videl said as she pulled Goten closer to her and gave him a hug and grinned at the camera as Goten smiled at the camera as well, the side of his face pressed against Videls.
"Awh, that's adorable, I definitely want a copy of that one" Chi Chi said as she smiled at her son and her son's girlfriend taking pictures together.
"Mom, I believe Videl had something to ask you" Gohan said as he cleared his throat to get his mothers attention.
"what might that be sweetie" she said as she turned to look at Videl.
"Can I pay rent or something?" she asked quietly, having a pretty good idea as to what the answer was.
"You most certainly can now" Chi Chi said sternly as she looked at Videl. "You will stay at our house free of charge. You're family now and you're going to stay where you're safe and sound" Chi Chi stated, leaving no room for argument.
Videl gave a small smile as she looked at the older woman, knowing she was going to say something to that effect.
"If you want to help me around the house that is fine, but other than that I absolutely refuse to allow you to pay rent and Goku agrees" she said as she shot her husband a look.
"That's right!" Goku said as he cleared his throat. "Videl, it's best not to argue with Chi Chi" Goku said with a laugh, "she can be very persuasive" he said as Chi Chi grinned.
"That's right" she said as she grinned at Videl.
"Told you" Gohan said with a laugh as Videl continued to poke at her food.
"Was worth a try" Videl mumbled. She couldn't help but smile at how well the family treated her, she really felt she was now where she belonged.
After breakfast everyone went off their own separate ways to do whatever it was they wanted to do in the large mansion, but Bulma pulled Videl to the side and Gohan followed the two women.
"Let's see how that arm is doing and get it cleaned up" she said as she led Videl to her lab and motioned for her to take a seat in the chair she sat in the previous night. Videl held her arm out and watched as Bulma slowly pulled the bandages away from her skin to reveal where the bullet had hit her.
"Geez, I can see why that hurts" Gohan said as he leaned in to look at the cut. It was still bloody looking and bright red, but a deep dark bruise was now started to form a two inch circle around the wound and it was easy to tell that the bruise would only grow in size.
"We'll have to keep an eye on it and make sure it doesn't get infected" Bulma mumbled as she started to dab gauze that had been soaked in peroxide onto her wound.
Videl flinched and pulled her arm towards her to only have Bulma pull it back out again. "I know it hurts hun, but we have to make sure it's clean" she said as she watched the peroxide bubble over the wound.
"This is going to make one heck of a bruise" Videl mutter as she desperately tried not to flinch and pull her arm back towards her.
"Bulma, how long do you think she'll have to wear the bandage" Gohan asked as he watched intently.
"Hmm…it's hard to say, it really depends on how well it starts to heal. If it's taking awhile to heal then we'll keep it on longer, but if it's doing well then maybe a few more days. So long as we keep it clean and keep infections out of there she should be alright" she said as she now started to spray her wound with a disinfectant and then wrap her arm tightly with gauze and surgical tape.
"There good as new" she said, receiving a funny look from both teens, "well…relatively new" she said with a laugh as she stood up.
"Alright kids, I'm off to hang out with the girls" she said as she gave the two a wave and walked out of her lab.
"I think I'm going to go for a bike ride or something" Videl said, averting Gohans eyes. She knew if she looked into his eyes he could tell her plan right off the bat.
"Alright, I'll go spar with my dad and I'll meet you later?" Gohan asked as he offered his hand to help her up.
"Sure thing" she said with a smile as he returned it.
"I'll take you to the gym" Gohan said with a smile as he gently held her hand and led her to the gym area. They walked in a comfortable silence, simply enjoying each other's company, then once they reached the gym Gohan turned and gave her a hug and a kiss.
"Have fun and don't work too hard" he said as he gave her another kiss and watched as she walked into the gym. As soon as the door to the gym closed his face took on a worried expression, he knew she was going to try and lose weight again, but how could he prevent her from wanting to do so?
He shook his head as h wondered about it and made his way down towards the gravity room where he knew his dad and Vegeta would be.
"Hey Gohan" Goku said with a grin as he watched his son step into the gravity chamber.
"I need to blow off some steam" Gohan said with a smirk as he watched his father's smirk grow in response.
"I challenge you to a duel my good sir" Goku said, using a southern accent to emphasize his point.
"I humbly accept that challenge" Gohan said, like his father speaking in a southern accent and dropped down into a fighting stance. "Let's do this" he said as they two lunged at each other, ready to spar until they were ready to drop.
Two hours later a beaten and bruised Gohan, Goku and Vegeta turned off the enhanced gravity. "Man that felt great" Goku said as he wiped he sweat from his brow and took a deep breath.
Vegeta grunted in agreement as he took a long drink of cold water. Gohan nodded and gave a smile as he agreed as well.
Vegeta started to walk out of the room then Goku stopped him, "Hey Vegeta, where are you going?" Goku asked curiously.
"I'm going to shower, is that alright with you" Vegeta replied rudely as he arched an eyebrow at Goku.
"No that's fine, enjoy" Goku said sheepishly as Vegeta walked out of the room. He looked over to his son and noticed that he seemed to be lost in thought.
"Hey Gohan, something bothering you?" he asked as Gohans eyes jumped back in surprise.
"No nothing I suppose" he replied, still in his own little world.
"So, I noticed you're a terrible liar" Goku said with a laugh as he sat down nonchalantly on the floor.
Gohan sighed as he spoke, "I had gotten Videl to start to feel good about herself…then that ass came yesterday and now she won't eat" he said as he sat down on the floor against the wall beside his father.
"She looked like she was eating this morning" Goku said as he thought back to earlier in the day.
"No I watched her; she just pushed her food around and cut it up. I got her to eat a muffin, but that's all she ate. I'm really worried about her, I know she ate the food, but I'm sure she's got something planned to get rid of the calories. Last I saw her was when she went into the gym. I sure hope she hasn't worked out the whole time" he said, feeling defeated at what Hercule had caused once again.
"I think you should take comfort in the fact that you managed to convince her once and got her to feel comfortable in herself once, so you can probably do it again" Goku said, offering a meek smile to try and cheer him up.
"I had this dream, it was really weird…but my future self said I would get her to feel good about herself again, but I have no idea what to do" he said as he rubbed a sore spot on his arm from the recent spar.
"You saw your future self?" Goku asked, curiously.
"Yea I was in some house and I saw Videl with a baby, then a man appeared and said it was our child and said I would get her to feel good about herself again. Then he said how it wasn't quite the end yet, but it would come soon" Gohan said as he blushed, realizing he told his dad he had a dream about him and Videl having a baby together.
Gohan had been hoping that Goku didn't pick up on that comment, but alas luck was not on his side. "You had a dream that you and Videl had a baby together?" Goku asked in an amused tone of voice.
Gohan allowed a blush to creep to his cheeks, "yea, I walked into this house and I saw a woman that looked like Videl cleaning a mess up that was made by her daughter and then a guy walked in; I couldn't see his face, then out of nowhere he turned and looked at me while they were talking then I could see his face and he looked like an older version of myself" he said, a blush still on his cheeks.
"You're going to have a daughter?" he asked excitedly, "what did she look like?" he asked as his eyes lit up, seemingly looking forward to the idea of being a grandfather some day.
"She was pretty cute I've gotta say; she definitely had Videl's nose, but my eyes, and black hair. It was kind of hard to tell who she looked like most, I found out she was only seven months old" he said, his blush growing deeper.
"Awh…does Videl know about this?" he asked curiously, his grin still plastered on his face.
"Yea, actually she had a dream similar to that before Christmas" he said as he blushed at the excited look he was receiving from his father. "Please don't tell mom, you know how she gets…she'll practically lock us in a room until we give her a grandkid" he said, sending pleading eyes to Goku.
"I promise, I won't tell your mother" he said, earning a relieved look from Gohan. He couldn't help but smile to himself, he knew from past experience that when he and Chi Chi were dating they both had dreams of a son and Gohan was born within the next two years; that sealed it, Videl would someday be his daughter in-law.
"Thanks dad" Gohan said, breathing a sigh of relief, "but do you have any ideas on what I should do for Videl?" he asked as he looked up at the ceiling, almost begging it for answers.
"If you can't make her see the way you feel…maybe make her see it" Goku said as Gohan gave him a confused look.
"I…could you elaborate on that?" he asked as he raised an eyebrow and tried to understand what his father was saying.
"You've been trying to get her understand your point of view, as well as everyone else's correct?" he asked, receiving a nod of agreement from Gohan, "well, maybe use some visual aids to make her understand" he said as Gohans eyes perked up a little.
"That's a great idea…I'm sure Bulma has pictures of her from swimming the other day, hmm…" he trailed off as he was lost in thought.
"Well, I'm happy to help, but I think I'm going to shower, quite frankly I stink" he said jokingly as he waved a hand in front of his face to emphasize his point as he stood up and offered a hand to his son.
Gohan nodded, "I think I'm going to follow your lead on that" he said as he grabbed his hand and stood up and gave Goku a nod in thanks.
"Do you know where Videl is now?" Goku asked as the two men walked towards to door of the gravity chamber.
"Last I saw her she was going to the gym and that was…two and a half hours ago" he said as he looked up at the clock then closed his eyes in concentration, "and it feels like she's still there" he said with a defeated sigh.
"Well, just go shower, think through your plan of attack and go for it. If anyone can do it you can" he said as he offered his son an encouraging smile.
"Thanks dad" he said, offering a meek smile. The two made small talk as they made their way to their respective bedrooms.
"See you later" Goku said as he walked into his room, receiving a wave good bye from Gohan.
Gohan walked into his bedroom and closed the door as he walked towards his bathroom. He turned the hot water on and then proceeded to strip his sweaty clothing off. He turned to face the mirror, revealing his naked body from the waist up.
He looked at his reflection as his thoughts trailed back to the object of his affection. As he stared at his face, he couldn't help but notice how a smile had unconsciously graced his lips. He sighed as he turned around from the mirror and stood in the hot shower.
He closed his eyes as the water hit his well toned body, 'I will help you get over this Videl. I promise you' he thought to himself as he came up with his plan of attack on bring Videl's confidence back up again. The hot water helped him relax as he smiled to himself.
'Perfect' he thought as he grinned to himself and enjoyed the relaxing shower. After his shower he would try and get Videls confidence back up and make her happy again.
~*~
What's Gohans plan of attack? Will he get Videl's confidence back up or will it all fail? Hope you enjoyed the chapter and please read and review!! And again, sorry it took so long!
On a side note, I'd like to say may both Farah Fawcett and Michael Jackson rest in peace. Farah was a beautiful soul who tragically lost her long fight against cancer; may her beauty live on forever in her memory. Michael may have had a weird personal life, but aside from that he was immensely talented, a great vocalist and an incredible dancer who changed a whole generation of music and who will forever be known for that. May he be remembered for his talent and not his personal life. May the rest in peace.