"GOKU!" Sabriena called out the door, then turned back to the table, double checking the containers of food. "We're already late," she muttered.

"He's coming," Tien said, sitting at the end of the table, pulling on his boots. Sabriena had made cordon bleu, salad, and roast potatoes; one of her dad's favorite meals. It had taken longer than she remembered to prepare it and now she was fussing that it was going to get cold while they waited on Goku to come up to the cabin.

She huffed and went to the door again. "GOKUUU!"

Goku finished making sure the chickens were in the coop and the goat was fenced in before he jogged back up to the front of the cabin. He gave her a goofy smile, "I'm here, I'm here. Man! That rooster did NOT want to go to bed tonight! No wonder they like morning so much!" He scratched at his head, "Though, he seems to be confused most of the day, you know, about when morning is actually over. Maybe if I had a talk with him. Or maybe I should send Zip in to have a heart to heart." He shook his head and looked into the cabin, "Are we ready to go? What do you need me to carry?"

He bounced on his feet. He was starving and looking forward to seeing their father-in-law for their weekly visit. He'd promised Goku he'd finish his story that he had been telling him about the Big Fish this week.

Sabriena handed him a large basket covered with pretty tea-towels and handed a second one to Tien. She linked elbows with Tien and grabbed Goku's arm with her other hand. "Ready to go," she smiled. She looked up at Goku out of the corner of her eye, "You're lucky I can't stay mad at you."

He gave her a wink and pressed his fingers to his forehead. The cabin was gone in an instant and they found themselves in the familiar living room. "DAD!" Sabriena called, "We're here!" She glanced around.

"Where is he?" Tien asked.

Sabriena paused, "I hear the TV downstairs. I bet he fell asleep on his couch. You guys set the table while I go get him?" she asked politely and bounced down the stairs calling, "Daddy! I made your favorite!"

Goku smiled after her and went to the kitchen. He set his basket on the counter and went for the plates and silverware. They had been coming there so much, it was almost like a second home to him. He looked over at his husband, "You want to grab the glasses? I seem to keep breaking those the most. I don't want to have to replace his whole set again." He chuckled at the memory. That had not been his night at all. He dipped into his fighting money to pay them back, not wanting to hear it from Sabriena when she had protested. Mr. Schuler had shushed his daughter and told her to let Goku be.

Tien gave a soft snort of laughter and pulled open the cabinet to retrieve the glasses. "I dunno about you, but I'm starving," he said, moving around the bar to the little adjoined dining room and set the glasses on the table. "Smelling her cooking all afternoon; I think she does it on purpose."

Goku laughed, "I know she does it on purpose! It's so we hurry up with our chores and get here faster." He shook his head, "I swear she's fattening us up!" He moved about the table setting out plates and forks. "Ah! There we go!" He went over to the stairs and called down, "Hey you two! Dinner's ready!

"Just a sec!" Sabriena called back up the stairs. She bounced into the large den, smiling at the back of her father's large frame on the couch. The TV was playing and it appeared he'd fallen asleep waiting for them to show up. "Sorry, Daddy," Sabriena said, "we're running late."

Mr. Schuler didn't stir.

"Daddy, come on," Sabriena laughed, stepping around to face him. "I know you're just..." Something was wrong. He seemed too still. There was a bluish hue to his lips. "Daddy?!" she gasped and grabbed his face. His skin was unnaturally cold in her hands. He didn't react, he didn't stir. He wasn't even breathing. "DADDY!?" she screamed at the top of her lungs, the terrifying sound drifting up the stairs to where her husbands were waiting.

Goku and Tien shared a look before they bolted for the stairs and ran down, taking two, three, four steps at a time. "Sabriena?!" Goku called, looking around for an intruder. His senses on high alert as he scanned the den, but he saw no one except Sabriena and her father.

Her father on the couch where she was screaming and crying. A horrible feeling hit him then like a wave and it nearly staggered him. He felt his gut twist up as he went over to the couch where Sabriena was begging her father to wake up, "Mr. Schuler?" He asked as he moved around to wrap his arms around Sabriena. He looked carefully at the man on the couch. He closed his eyes, the ashen hue of his skin, the stillness. He knew death when he saw it, but gods no, not like this. Not him! Tears welled up in his eyes as a million questions flew through his head. How did this happen? Just a short week ago, he had been the life at the house when they had come over.

"Help him," Sabriena begged. "Please! Please!" She saw Goku shaking his head slowly, the tears brimming in his own eyes. "Please?" she asked again pitifully. She began to sob in earnest, pressing her hands to her mouth to stifle the screams coming from her throat. Not her dad. Not him, too. It was her mother all over again. Sudden. Unexpected. Just... gone.

Tien stepped closer, the horror washing over him. He didn't understand it. There were no marks, no wounds. The rest of the house looked as it always did. Whatever had caused this had to be from natural causes. That scared Tien for a moment. Mr. Schuler wasn't much older than Tien himself was. The sounds issuing from his wife tore his heart to shreds. He walked towards her, but he stepped on something round and had to catch himself from falling completely to the floor. An empty bottle of rum rolled away from Tien's boot. He straightened up and walked over to Sabriena, hugging her tightly. "I'm so sorry, baby."

Goku felt terrible, he blinked and felt tears running down his cheeks that left cold trails in their wake. His vision blurred. His stomach churned, "No...no its not fair! How did this happen?" The smell of dinner wafted downstairs and he remembered himself setting the table not moments before.

Tien released Sabriena gently and had to swallow. "Sabriena," he said softly and bent to pick up the empty bottle, "Did your dad have a drinking problem?" His eyes scanned the room. He'd never been downstairs before. In fact, they'd always kept their visits to the main level of the house. There were more bottles sitting on the hearth of the fireplace, all empty. A trashcan at the end of the couch was full of empty bottles as well. He couldn't believe it. He'd seen Mr. Schuler have wine at dinner on occasion, but he never overdid it and always seemed composed. This didn't make sense at all.

Sabriena choked and sniffled violently, "He... He did... l-like to drink..." her knees buckled and she hit the floor, covering her face with her hands. "Daddy, WHY?!"

Goku looked ill as he suddenly started seeing bottles everywhere once Tien drew attention to them. He closed his eyes and looked away. To hear Sabriena cry like that, he never wanted to hear a sound like that coming from those lips, but he couldn't tear his eyes away from the scene around them.

Tien tossed the bottle into the trashcan with the others and rubbed at his eyes. His heart was starting to hurt as he thought about spending every Friday night back at their cabin again. He really enjoyed speaking with his father-in-law. The man was well traveled and incredibly smart. And beyond that, he was one of the kindest people Tien had ever met. He sighed heavily. They were never going to go on that fishing trip they'd talked about now. It surprised him to realize how disappointed that made him. His bottom lip trembled as he tried to press his lips together. Tears burned at his eyes. He knelt down next to Sabriena pulling her to his chest as he tried to fight the urge to cry. He was unsuccessful.

Sabriena leaned into Tien, sobbing on his shirt, unable to wrap her mind around what had taken place. She didn't understand. Her dad wasn't that old and had seemed to be in relatively good health. A bit overweight, perhaps. Okay, quite a bit overweight, but otherwise there should've been nothing wrong. Was it really the alcohol that had killed him? A strangled, harsh sob escaped from her throat and Tien held her tighter, the sound gut-wrenching to his ears.

Goku didn't know what to do in this situation. It pained him to hear Sabriena like that and his own heart was aching. He knew that he and Tien had come to respect the man, view him as family as well. He swallowed harshly, "We..." His voice cracked, "We need to do something. Call someone?" He looked to Sabriena and Tien before he moved back over to them so he could lay his head on Tien's shoulder, his hand moving to rub Sabriena's back.

Sabriena drew deep breaths, calming herself. She could feel it coming back, that wall around her heart that she used to have. Her defense mechanism, her way of shutting everyone out so she couldn't get hurt. She drew a deep breath through her nose, wiped her face quickly and got to her feet, a stoic expression on her face. "I'll do it," she said quickly as she turned away from her husbands and marched up the stairs.

Goku looked at Tien, Sabriena's sudden attitude change scared him in a way he never thought possible. He looked back at Mr. Schuler. "Why...why would he do something like this...I thought...things were going so well...Didn't he like us around?"

Tien shook his head, "I don't know, Goku. I don't understand it either. He always seemed happy to me..." Tien frowned at the stairs. "It's her I'm worried about now, though." He'd seen her like that when she first came to train with him. Fear wrapped around his heart at the thought of her becoming like that again. She'd come too far, changed too much to be that woman again. He wouldn't let it happen. He wouldn't lose her to this.

Goku nodded, "Let's not leave her alone up there." He sighed and looked at Mr. Schuler again before he said a silent goodbye in his head before he stepped around the couch and headed for the stairs, mulling over how distant Sabriena had looked just now, "We can't let her lose herself to this..."

Tien nodded and squeezed Goku's shoulder as they walked back up the stairs. "I know," he said, his voice heavy with emotion. "I won't let her."

Sabriena was busy filling their plates with the food they'd brought; she'd cleared away the dishes where Mr. Schuler usually sat. She glanced over her shoulder at them. "No sense letting it go to waste," she said simply and sat down in her chair. "They're sending some EMTs and the coroner out. They'll be here soon."

Goku frowned at her and went over to her. He moved her plate away and knelt down to her side, "Stop, Sabriena." He moved his hand up to cup her face as he searched her eyes for the tears he knew had to be there, "Don't do this. You have us here with you. We're hurting too." He looked over at Tien, this wasn't good. She was closed off.

Sabriena turned back to the table, her face arranged in a slightly pleasant expression as she slid her plate back in front of her. "Come on. Dinner's ready." She cut a bite of her chicken and chewed slowly. It tasted horrible to her, like there was no flavor at all. She knew better, it was perfect of course, but with the way she felt. And now Goku and Tien were in tears. If she had been calmer about it, maybe they wouldn't be hurting so bad at the moment. She felt like she could explode. Anger. Sadness. Disbelief. It was all crashing through her system, ripping her apart from the inside out, and all she could do was stare at Goku's chair across from her and chew on that flavorless chicken.

Tien crossed his arms and walked around the table to stare out the glass door to the little fenced in yard. He sighed and leaned against the doorframe, trying to make sense of it all. The way she was acting was exactly like she used to be. He felt his throat go tight at the thought.

"Tien, SIT," Sabriena insisted as she popped another bite into her mouth.

"Not hungry," he muttered.

Goku didn't know what to do. He'd never seen Sabriena quite like this before, but he was hurting from her father's death and if he was hurting this bad, the pain for her had to be incredible, "Sabriena," He pleaded, he had to see some emotion from her, "You don't just lose a person like that and act like this." He reached out and covered her mating mark, "Please stop eating..."

He felt his gut twist as her dull eyes looked at him. He had never seen those eyes not sparkle before. It was like a knife twisting in his heart. He stood and picked up her half eaten plate and the others and moved them away to the sink, putting them in it with a loud clatter before he looked out the window. His heart was breaking.

She scowled at him as he took the plate away. "Fine," she said as she wiped her mouth with a napkin and tossed it carelessly back on the table. "You don't want to eat my cooking. Fine." She mentally slapped herself. She knew better than to be so hateful to either of them. But she wasn't going to cry in front of them and make them hurt anymore. The way Goku had touched the mark on her neck made her want to throw herself into his arms and cry until she passed out. But with this mask up, these walls, she had simply stared flatly at him until he cleared the table. She suppressed a shiver. It was all too easy to step back into this mindset, this way of acting.

Tien couldn't stand to look at her. He hated the cold, practical tone of her voice, the way she sat there so emotionless. He was sick of his lovers hurting all the time and he felt useless, like he couldn't protect them from any of it.

There was a knock at the door and Sabriena walked over to answer. She told the EMTs where her father was and stood at the top of the stairs, waiting for them to return.

Goku looked miserably over at Tien, wordlessly saying they were going to have to do something. Tien was as disturbed as he was about this change in their wife.

After the EMTs left, after they took Mr. Schuler away, they would have to sit her down. Get her to open back up to them. This hurt. It all hurt way too much. Goku wanted to punch the wall in frustration. Why? WHY could there never be a MOMENT of peace? Why did everything happen at once?!

They all stood in silence for several minutes, each lost in their own thoughts - Goku at the sink, Tien by the door, Sabriena at the stairwell. Sabriena watched uninterestedly as the EMTs struggled back up the stairs, carrying the gurney that held Mr. Schuler's body.

"Would you like an autopsy done or would you prefer to have his body taken to a funeral home?" one of the EMTs asked Sabriena quietly.

"Funeral home," she answered. "I know what killed him. He crawled in that bottle over ten years ago and never came out." Her lips were pressed to a thin line as she stared at the sheet covering her father. She never thought it would kill him. Her head was starting to split from the building headache.

"Which funeral home?"

"Cater's," she answered.

The EMT nodded. "We'll notify them and you can contact them in the morning."

She gave a jerky nod and watched them wheel the gurney outside and shut the door behind them. She took a deep breath and turned to look at Tien and Goku. "Well, that's that," she said and marched up the stairs to the second floor of the house.

Goku looked over at Tien and nodded numbly and turned to follow their wife upstairs. His legs felt like lead. He'd never lost someone like this before. They had lost Krillin after the battle, but this was different. There was no one to be furious with. It had just happened. When had it happened, he wondered. His heart ached to think that Mr. Schuler had been alive that morning. Or had he died last night? He looked around when they reached the top of the stairs, where had Sabriena gone?

Tien looked around too. There was an open room to the right; it was full of what he guessed were Sabriena's belongings from when she was a child. Toy horses and dolls, frilly pink curtains, art supplies, all of it rather haphazard as if one day she'd just decided to stop playing and left it. He walked down the short hall. There were two doors on either side, both of them closed. He could feel her energy in the one to the right and cautiously opened the door. "Sabriena?"

She stood in the middle of her old bedroom, her arms crossed, staring at the floor. She didn't acknowledge them when they entered; she just continued to stare at the carpet, chewing her lip.

Goku stepped through the door after Tien. This room smelled like Sabriena. It should have felt welcoming, comforting., but no. Not with Sabriena hurting like this.

He turned and closed the door behind him, leaning against it as he watched Tien go over to her. He let himself sink to the carpeted floor, he felt utterly useless. He didn't know how to help her other than to just be there for her. Was this part of the normal life he had wished for? It was one of those bad parts of life no one wanted to deal with, but here it was.

"Baby," Tien said, placing his hand on her shoulder. She shoved it away. A knot formed in his throat and fresh tears welled up in his eyes. She'd never retracted from him like that before. "Don't," he whispered, his voice shaking, "please don't pull away from me."

"It's all my fault," she whispered numbly.

Tien blinked in surprise at her. "What?" he asked, disbelief dripping from his quiet voice.

"This is all my fault!" she shouted, rounding on him.

Goku nearly sobbed in relief. She was angry and he didn't know why, but it was emotion, "Sabriena, it's not your fault. How can you say that? What else could we have done?"

"How can it not be my fault?!" she screeched at Goku. The tears were welling in her eyes again. She just couldn't hold that wall like she used to. She'd managed long enough to deal with the EMTs, but now it was hopeless. "He drank all the time because he was lonely! It's my fault! I... I chased off every woman he ever brought home. He tried to date after my mom died." She shook her head at the bitter memories, tears starting to stream down her face. "He stopped trying. And started drinking."

Goku narrowed his eyes at her and stood up, going over to stand next to Tien, "That's not true and you know it. You can't take the blame for something he was doing to himself. You've only ever looked out for his best interests!"

She shook her head. "If I hadn't been so... selfish," the last word came out a hiss. "My dad would do anything I asked. I begged him not to replace my mom. If I hadn't done that..." She trailed off, furious with herself. Maybe he wouldn't have been so lonely, maybe he wouldn't have drank himself to death. She wanted to scream or punch something, she wanted to change this.

Tien closed his eyes slowly. Gods, he didn't know how to handle this. "Of course you didn't want your mom to be replaced, Sabriena," he said, opening his eyes again. "That's understandable..."

"I didn't give a damn about that!" she shouted, tears flowing beyond her control, "I only said that to get my way! All I was concerned about was making sure some gold-digging bitch didn't interfere with my inheritance!" She grabbed at her hair and screamed. She remembered a conversation she'd had with her friends in high-school. She'd sat back, scoffing, "Ain't no bitch gonna take my dad's money," she'd said, "that's MY money." She felt now like she could puke that those words had ever come from her mouth. She'd ensured her dad led an empty, lonely life because she'd only been worried about money. "I HATE MYSELF!" she screamed and spun on her heel, swiping the trinkets and papers from her desk with one spinning kick.

Goku caught her in his arms, "Sabriena, you are not that person any more. If your dad had found someone he truly wanted to be with. If he had found someone to love in place of your mother, he would have. You know better than anyone that when a love comes around, it's impossible to stop it if it was meant to be. You can't say that you're the reason your father died. If he wanted to love again, he would have loved." He paused as he tried to remember what Lindsey's grandmother had told him, "Your mother was your dad's greatest love in his life. There was no one he could have found after her and been happy. Does that make sense?"

Tien crouched down in front of Sabriena as she leaned heavily in Goku's arms, sobbing. "Goku's right," he said in his low tone, "This isn't your fault."

She shook her head violently. "I'm a horrible person," she sobbed. "I'm so sorry. You guys deserve so much better." She cried harder, practically hanging from Goku's arms as Tien tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, watching her sadly.

Goku felt his heart breaking at her words, she sounded so lost. He leaned down and pressed a kiss to the side of her forehead, "Don't ever say that again. You and Tien are the best thing that has ever happened for me. Don't you dare say that I deserve better. I don't want better. I want you. I want him." He hugged her tightly, "Cry, baby. Let it out. It's okay. We've got you. Don't apologize to us. Never to us."

She shook her head again, wanting nothing more than for them to go back to the cabin and leave her here to wallow in bitter tears and memories. This was too weird, them being in her old room. It was like a melding of her old life with her new one. She didn't want them to see it, to see how vain and materialistic she had been. They'd seen enough of it from her before; she didn't need it reinforced. "Just go," she sobbed softly. "Leave me alone."

Tien looked fierce at those words. "I am not leaving you," he stated firmly, "and neither is Goku." He would never leave her side, especially not when she was hurting like this.

Goku nodded as he reached out and clasped Tien's hand in his own before moving to hold her hand as well, "Sabriena." He thought back to what she said about the inheritance from her father she didn't want anyone to have. He couldn't see that person, "You've changed. You aren't that person anymore. That person wouldn't be here with us at that moment. She certainly wouldn't have been here crying over her father, blaming herself. If you think Tien and I are going to see something different by knowing what you did in the past, then you're wrong. Your father loves you, we love you. That's not going to change." He felt like he was rambling and he hushed up, pressing his lips together, "You are not alone, you don't have to do this. You don't have to put up these walls. Tien and I, we are your walls. We love you so much."

Her words were barely audible. "I love you, too." She sank down into Tien's lap and doubled over, crying into her hands. His words comforted her a little, but it only made her cry harder. This had to be some sort of nightmare.

Tien reached for Goku and pulled him to sit down, their knees touching as they faced each other. Tien rubbed Sabriena's back as she leaned over Goku's lap, her entire body shaking with sobs, her breathing ragged as she gasped for air. "Shh," he soothed. "Try to breathe, honey. Don't make yourself sick."

Goku felt her pain and wished he could take it away for her. He felt his own pain at her father's passing as well. The universe had lost a great light with his death.

Tien leaned across her back, holding onto her with one arm, his other hand on the back of Goku's neck. He couldn't stand the sadness, the sound of his lovers crying. Sabriena's heart-wrenching sobs, the quiet gasps from Goku. Where was their happiness? And not to mention the mess with Goten right now. He was tired of it all. There had to be something he could do. He just couldn't figure out what. If only he could just figure out a way to protect them from this pain. They held Sabriena until she gave in to the emotional exhaustion and passed out in their laps.

Tien gently pushed against Goku's shoulder to sit him up, then gathered Sabriena in his arms and laid her carefully on her old bed, tucking a pillow under her head. "What should we do, Goku? I don't know how to fix this. I don't know what to do. Of all people, why him?"

Goku shook his head as he moved to sit next to Sabriena on the other side of the bed. He looked sadly down at her before he brushed the tears from her face with his thumb, "I don't know, Tien." He sighed, "I would say bring him back with the dragon balls, but who's to say this wouldn't happen again? If he died of natural causes, he would only do it again. We can't wish him back and heal his body. I don't want to see her go through his death a second time. We would lose her then." He looked up at Tien, his eyes bright with tears, "I don't think I could stand it either." He looked back down at their wife, "I think the best that we can do is just be here for her through this."

"People can't be wished back if they die of natural causes anyway," Tien muttered. He remembered Dende saying something about that at one point. He sighed and moved away from the bed, looking around the room, hoping for a distraction or just something to focus on to ease his mind if only for a moment.

Tien moved towards the dresser, looking at the framed pictures. Most of them were of Sabriena and her dad. Pictures of them in London, another in front of a ski resort in winter gear, posing with a costumed character in front of Disneyland, on Bourbon street at Mardi Gras. "They did everything together," Tien said, picking up the Mardi Gras picture. He couldn't help but smile at the silly grin on his wife's face, her neck heavy with brightly colored strings of beads, a feathered mask over her eyes. "I don't remember my parents much." He showed the picture to Goku.

He reached out and took the frame as he smiled at the picture, "Yeah. I don't remember my mother or father at all. Tora's been helping me reclaim that part of my history," Goku shook his head and handed the picture back to Tien, "I've been living through her. Her father was the closest thing I've ever had." He sighed. He didn't want to leave them, "You think I should go back to tell Lindsey and Jenny what happened? Didn't they know him? Maybe they could help her too."

Tien thought about it for a moment. He really didn't want Goku to leave. "Yeah, maybe you should. They grew up together, they might be able to say the right thing to make her feel better, help her in a way we can't. Just make it quick, okay?" he asked, his voice sounding far more vulnerable than he would have liked it.

Goku turned and looked back down at Sabriena as he brushed her hair behind her ear, "I'll be back before she wakes up." He stood reluctantly and bent over to place a kiss to her forehead before he straightened and looked over at Tien. So much had changed over the year for them both. He found it funny in a way, that he couldn't see his life without the other man in it every step of the way. It was almost natural to walk over and put his hands on the other man's shoulders before he gave them a squeeze, "Keep a close eye on her."

"Always," Tien answered and pulled Goku into a tight hug. "I won't leave her side." He wanted to break down in tears again. Something about the strong crush of Goku's hug did that to a person. It was a safe place, wrapped in those arms, and Tien had to fight very hard to keep the tears from his eyes again. "Hurry back to us," he said softly and kissed his mate before he released Goku.

Goku nodded and with one last look around the room at them, he pressed his fingers to his forehead and vanished.

News spread quickly of Mr. Schuler's death, not only through their friends and family, but throughout the small town where Sabriena grew up. She never expected such a turnout for the visitation and even though it was nice that so many people came to pay their respects, she found herself gritting her teeth throughout the whole thing, just wishing for it to end. Tien and Goku stood with her near the urn that held her father's ashes; it had been his wish to be cremated. She was appreciative, though, that her friends came to comfort her. Even Piccolo and Vegeta showed up and while she still didn't exactly get along with them, it meant a great deal to her that they came.

The service was blissfully short and she forced herself to attend the dinner afterwards, although she didn't really feel like eating. She finally breathed a sigh of relief when it was all over and the last guests left. She gathered up the urn, frowning slightly at it as her lip trembled and she picked up the small photo album of all the memorable trips she and her father had gone on over the years. "Well," she said, turning to her husbands. "Let's go."

She flipped open the album to the first picture, showing it to Goku so he could get a good mental image in his mind before she grabbed onto his arm and Tien placed a hand on his shoulder. They vanished from the spot and reappeared exactly where the photo showed.

They spent the rest of the day quickly visiting each place, taking turns scattering Mr. Schuler's ashes every time they stopped. When the urn was finally empty, Sabriena turned to her husbands and pulled each of them in for a tight hug. "Thank you," she whispered. "I couldn't have made it through today without you both."

Goku smiled down at her and hugged her close, "We will see your father again. Some day. I'm sure, after all the places we've been today, your father would want you to live a full and happy life. Traveling as he did and embracing every moment." He kissed her cheek.

"And we'll always be by your side," Tien promised, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. "Come on. Let's go home."