"Kakarot, you're being entirely too easy on her!" Vegeta bellowed.
Goku froze and turned towards Vegeta. "But, Vegeta. . . she's. . ."
"I don't care if she managed to get herself knocked up! And neither will an opponent. Now train her properly or get lost!"
Goku turned back to Jenny, who was leaning over with her hands on her knees, catching her breath. "C'mon," she gasped, standing up straight, raising her fists.
Goku smirked. "Whatever you say," he answered and flew at her.
"Hit me!" Vegeta commanded as Catie attacked again. Sweat rolled down the side of her face as she lunged at him. He easily side-stepped her and brought one arm down on her back, sending her sprawling across the hard ground. "I'm wasting my time."
Catie stood, wiping her forehead, streaking dirt across it as she did so. Her eyes burned a deep purple as she flew at him again. He blocked her every move. She stumbled and fell to her knees. "This is infuriating!" she cried.
Vegeta snorted. "No. What's infuriating is that I'm spending all my time working with you, and you're not progressing at all. What a joke."
Catie screamed with rage, pushing herself to her feet once more. Vines flew from her arms and wrapped themselves around Vegeta, catching him off guard and knocking him to the ground. Vegeta roared in shock as he fell while Goku and Jenny froze, watching the scene before them.
"I AM NOT A JOKE!" Catie screamed. The thick vines seemed to tighten their grip as her hair became a flowing river of green.
Vegeta tore at the vine around his throat, ripping it away only to have it immediately replaced by a fresh one.
"Catie…" Jenny started, her voice soft and nervous as she took a step towards her friend.
Catie's eyes flashed a violent purple as she gave Jenny a quick, fierce glance.
"Enough of this," Vegeta hissed as he raised his power level and blasted the vines from his body. He stood and squared his shoulders at Catie. She met his stare as a small smirk pulled at her lips and lowered her arms to her sides. Tension filled the space between them and no one dared to move.
After a long moment, Vegeta finally broke the silence. "Well it's about time."
Goku and Jenny heaved sighs of relief as Catie continued to smirk.
"Do it again," Vegeta commanded.
It was mid-afternoon before Vegeta finally agreed to call it a day and that was mostly due to Goku complaining of hunger. The girls trudged back to the house through the humid late spring Missouri day. They were sore and sweaty by the time they reached the house and the cool air conditioning hit their skin with incredible relief.
Jenny sighed deeply as she sunk into the squashy cushions of the couch and tipped her head to the side as her neck cracked with a satisfying POP.
Leelee snickered at her friends. "Have a good time?"
Catie exhaustedly raised her left arm and extended her middle finger in reply.
"That good, huh?" Leelee could hardly keep the amusement out of her voice.
"Nnnmphhhh," Jenny groaned as she flopped over on the couch and buried her face in a pillow.
Sabriena sauntered in, sipping her soda and coming to a stop near Catie. She poked Catie's shoulder and wrinkled her nose. "You're all sweaty."
Catie stared at Sabriena out of the corner of her eye. "No shit."
Sabriena wiped her finger on her jeans. "You gonna shower or do I need to drag you outside and hose you off?"
"That might feel good, actually," Catie replied, grabbing the soda from Sabriena and taking a big swallow. She handed it back. "I'm gonna take a shower."
"What do we do with her?" Sabriena asked, looking down at Jenny.
As if in response, Jenny snored loudly.
"Nevermind," Sabriena answered herself and went to sit next to Leelee on the floor. "Turn the movie back on."
Catie stomped slowly up the stairs, her thighs burning in protest. Her feet felt like they were made of lead. Outside Lindsey's bedroom, she could hear Gohan's voice.
"You've slept all day! Come on, you gotta get up."
Curiosity overcame her and Catie cracked the door to the bedroom. Gohan was standing next to the bed, tugging on Lindsey's arm as she buried her head under the pillows.
"Problem?" Catie asked.
Gohan dropped Lindsey's hand and sighed. "I can't get her out of bed."
"My head hurts," came the muffled protest from under the pillow.
"Oh, quit being such a bum," Catie said, rolling her eyes. "It's a pretty day. We should go do something fun."
"Don't wanna."
Catie narrowed her eyes. "I'm going to take a shower. You'd better be up by the time I'm done. Or else."
"Nnnnnn."
"I mean it."
Lindsey seemed to deflate under the blankets.
Satisfied that she'd won, Catie left to scrub away the dirt and sweat that seemed to cling to every inch of her body.
Gohan pulled the sheets from Lindsey and tossed the pillow aside. "You have to get up now. Catie has spoken."
Squinting through bloodshot eyes, Lindsey gave Gohan the filthiest look she could muster, which ended up being rather pathetic. Gohan returned the look with one of exasperation. "C'mon," he said, "I'll make you something to eat." He grabbed her hand once more and hauled her to her feet. Together they headed down the stairs. She tripped once and he grabbed her shoulder to steady her. "You okay?"
"Just off balance. I didn't sleep well," she answered. It was half-true.
"Nightmares again?"
Lindsey froze in mid-step. It was an innocent enough question, but she hadn't spoken to anyone about the recurring dreams. "How did you know?"
Gohan met her eyes with a concerned look. "I've heard you scream in your sleep. I've seen you crying. You can't hide everything from me."
Lindsey stared at her feet. "I didn't want to worry you."
"I always worry about you. I love you."
She bit her bottom lip as tears threatened to fill her eyes. As if the nightmares weren't bad enough that they bothered her, they were affecting Gohan as well. She was even angrier at herself for that.
Gohan reached out and tipped her chip up to face him. His dark eyes bored into her watery green ones. "I will always love you. You can tell me anything."
She shook her head and tried to plaster a smile on her face. "I know. Just stupid dreams. That's all."
Gohan looked at her in disbelief. Her attempt at a lie was pathetic. Yet he didn't want to press her for details. He didn't want to hear the things she was reliving in the middle of the night. He hated what happened and he longed for the day when she would be back to normal. This sad, jumpy creature before him was nothing like the girl he knew and loved. He wanted her back. And he knew that somewhere, deep down inside, she was still there. He just didn't know how to get her back.
At a loss for what else to say, Gohan lied along with her. "Okay. Crazy the things your mind can make up, huh?"
She nodded and looked slightly relieved that he bought her story. "You still gonna make me some lunch?"
Piccolo had sat down on the couch and pulled Jenny up next to him. Her head rested on his chest as he curled a protective arm around her shoulders, one hand placed over her abdomen. Lindsey avoided his eyes and headed straight for the kitchen.
"Hey Piccolo," Gohan greeted his friend.
"Hey Gohan," Piccolo replied, his eyes following Lindsey. He didn't know whether to mention the incident from the night before or not. He decided against it for the moment and looked down at Jenny again. He gently brushed a few pieces of hair from her forehead, running the back of his fingers over the soft skin of her cheek. He smiled to himself, enjoying the moment of relative quiet. It was a rare thing these days.
He put his arm around her once more, gently touching her stomach. It amazed him that a child – his child – was growing there at that very moment. A sudden chill fell over him, like he'd swallowed a block of ice. He knew nothing of being a father. The idea was exciting and terrifying all at the same time. He wondered what the baby would look like – whether it would resemble him more or if he would look like her. He'd never held a baby before. Would he be a good father? A sea of questions seemed to flood his mind and he began to feel overwhelmed.
Jenny stirred in her sleep and muttered, "I love you."
A calm settled into place within him at the sound of those words. They'd figure out this parenting thing together.