Rose sighed as she entered her apartment that night. What a bizarre day. Had all of that really happened? She shook her head and flipped the light on, wandering into her tiny kitchen and dropping her purse on the counter. She rummaged in the refrigerator and withdrew leftover asparagus and fettuccini and quickly popped it in the microwave. She ran a hand through her strawberry blonde waves and shook her head.

She'd spent the past week analyzing the components of this case. Poor little Goten with the hideous bruises on his face and body. She'd spent most of the day watching him play, talking with him. He was such a sweet little boy. He laughed and smiled at her, so enthusiastic about everything around him. The resilience of the children she helped never ceased to amaze her, and Goten was no exception.

Rose sat at the kitchen bar and pulled her food close, slowly inhaling the scent of the warm noodles and vegetables. Her mind drifted back to her visit with Mrs. Son in her little house over in South City. It was immaculate, not unlike Rose's own apartment, but with a decided stiffness about it. She was unsure of Mrs. Son, the way her smile didn't quite reach her eyes, the way she seemed to have to work up to tears when she spoke about her son and her barbaric ex-husband. When she wasn't accusing her ex, Mrs. Son engaged in mostly small talk. The weather, the roses growing along the fence, her visits with her father. Rose had found nothing out of the ordinary. The house was magazine-perfect, right down to the fresh flowers on the table and the perfectly arranged and labeled toy bins in Goten's room.

Rose chewed slowly, trying very hard not to think about the rabbit she'd watched Mr. Son eat that afternoon. Rose rarely went out to dinner unless it was a special occasion for someone else and most of the time ordered her food in from a couple special vegan and vegetarian restaurants around the city. She didn't know how to cook.

Her visit with Goten's father had been very different. He was open and friendly and had that enthusiasm for life that Goten did. He'd been painfully honest about every single thing Rose had asked him; she found it refreshing. Most parents were edgy and nervous, afraid to say one wrong word. But not him. He didn't try to hide anything, even going so far as to openly show her the switch his wife used to defend herself from a rooster. But his living situation was just so far off the radar from what most people would consider "normal." The polygamous relationship, living in the middle of nowhere without electricity or running water. Bizarre. But there was a warmth there, a feeling of being completely safe and protected, which she didn't quite understand. Mr. Son's partners, Mr. and Mrs. Shinhan, were more than a little intimidating. Mr. Shinhan hadn't smiled at all that day, not once, and he barely spoke. His wife couldn't have been more opposite from him. She was tiny compared to his huge, muscular form, and she grew more talkative as the afternoon wore on, but only to her husbands. Rose was impressed with the way Mrs. Shinhan worked along side the men, viciously digging and setting posts as they worked to finish the barn.

Rose learned that Mrs. Shinhan had been married to Mr. Shinhan for the better part of a year before Mr. Son had come to stay with them and that was why she hadn't taken Mr. Son's name. Rose couldn't help but wonder how such a young woman, especially one so tiny and pretty, could handle being wife to these two big, older men. Yet she couldn't deny, Mrs. Shinhan had a fire in her and a presence that commanded respect, very much like Mr. Shinhan. It was funny the way their body language mimicked each other. The same hand gestures, facial expressions, like they were perfectly in tune with one another. Rose had seen lots of parents over the past two years of working for Child Protective Services, but never had she seen two people so in sync as Mr. and Mrs. Shinhan. And never had she seen such loving, admiring looks as the ones all three of them exchanged without ever knowing they were doing it.

Rose had no experience with relationships, save for her observations of the couples she met through her work and the occasional meeting of her friend's boyfriends (which rarely happened.) She'd always thought she'd have a husband and children by the time she was her age, twenty-seven, but she had been so focused on her career that she'd never even taken the time to have a boyfriend. Ever.

Oh well. One of these days.

She tossed the empty containers into the trashcan and headed for the bathroom. She stripped away the dirty business suit and showered, the hot water washing away all the dirt and stress from the day, going over the points she'd learned the past few days.

Mrs. Son's house was immaculate. She had electricity, running water, a refrigerator, a bedroom for Goten – all the basics were covered. Yet there was a coldness there that unsettled Rose. Mr. Son's house was lacking all of those things; there was no washing machine for keeping laundry clean, no refrigeration. All they had was a primitive root cellar. Yet there was a warmth there that pulled at Rose's heart. She hated things like this. She couldn't recommend that Goten go stay with his father, the law would never allow that unless they could prove to her without a shadow of a doubt that Goten's most basic needs would be met, and that included having his own room.

Rose shook her head and towel-dried her hair before wandering over to her bedroom to dress in shorts and a tank. She headed back to her living room and clicked on the TV. She paused before she sat down, taking a moment to look at the framed pictures on the wall and the ones sitting on the mantle. The pictures on the mantle were of her family. Her parents posing with her on her graduation day, she and her brother wearing sombreros at the Mexican restaurant, several pictures of random life events, all with her brother. But it was the wall that was interesting.

Dozens of pictures of the children she'd helped were hanging on that wall. Every time she was assigned a case, she would take a picture with each child once they'd gotten close enough for the kids to feel comfortable with her. She had thought it was a bit vain at first, seeing herself in every picture, but the first few kids had insisted she be in the picture with them and it just kind of snowballed from there. She couldn't wait for Goten to heal so she could take a picture with him. She loved all the shining, smiling faces on the wall. It reminded her that the work she did was worth it.

She sighed and sat on her couch, mindlessly flipping through the channels. She had to figure out who had hurt poor little Goten. She just had to.

Rose couldn't help but smile as Goten excitedly looked out the windows of her car. "I get to see my daddy! I get to see my daddy!" he sing-songed.

She smiled and shook her head. She was grateful for the GPS in her car or she'd have never found the little cabin again. It had been over a week since her last visit. Her hovercar landed and she stepped out, looking around for Mr. Son or his wife or husband. "Hello?" she called.

Mr. Son rounded the edge of the cabin, waving cheerfully as Rose opened the back door of the car. Goten leapt out and shouted, "DADDY!" and took off towards his father at a full sprint.

Goku's eyes widened and he smiled widely at the unexpected visit. He held his arms open as his son ran to him. "GOTEN!" He caught his son in his arms, the force of Goten sprinting at him knocked him off balance and he fell back laughing with his son, hugging him tightly, "Hey kiddo! It's so good to see you! I missed you so much!" He sat up and held Goten in his lap, watching him, the marks on his face had finally begun to fade. "Have you been eating enough?"

"I missed you, Daddy!" Goten cried. He went a little quiet at the question about food. "They say I eat too much," he muttered.

"Now Goten, don't be like that," Rose said kindly, "Your foster parents do everything by the book. You should be getting plenty to eat. They follow strict government guidelines on that."

Goku chuckled, "Goten eats way more than normal kids." He snuggled with his son, ruffling his hair. "I love you, Goten. Hopefully this will be over soon." He kissed his sons cheek, "Sabriena's making something special for lunch today, kiddo. She's in the garden seeing what vegetables are ready. Why don't you go help her out? She's been missing her little helper in the kitchen!"

"Yeah!" Goten cried, jumping up and running around the back of the cabin. "SABRIENA!" They could hear her gasp and cry, "GOTEN!"

"Sorry to drop in unexpectedly like this," Rose apologized, looking at Goku sitting on the ground. "I normally call before I bring a child out for a home study. But since you don't have a phone..."

Goku jumped up, "No, no! Thank you! Thank you so much! It's great to see him, I love being surprised like that!" He grinned, "Though, now I gotta send Tien out to get some of those mushrooms for lunch! If we have enough of those, we almost don't need meat! You'll love it!" He paused for a moment looking down at her legs, "Oh! How's your ankle doing?"

Rose looked down at her ankle. "All healed up," she smiled. "I really should be keeping an eye on Goten. Can we go back to your garden?" she asked.

Goku nodded, "Yeah come on!" He headed around back to see Goten hugging Sabriena's neck tightly and he smiled widely. He looked around, seeing Tien had stopped pulling up weeds to smile over at Goten. "Hey Tien," He rubbed the back of his neck, "I hate to ask, but Rose is staying for lunch and she's vegetarian. You think you can find some of those matsutake mushrooms?" He looked sheepishly over at Sabriena, "And ah, make some pasta with vegetables? I think?" He chuckled.

Tien eyed Rose for a minute. "Yeah, I guess I can do that," he said, getting to his feet and brushing the dirt from his knees.

"You don't have to do that," Rose said, "I brought a salad again."

"It's fine," Tien said and whistled loudly for the Great Dane that was napping in the sun. "C'mon, Dog." Dog bounded quickly to Tien's side, panting happily. He looked over at Rose and tipped his head to the side, but took off at a trot when Tien headed for the woods.

"You wanna help me make some pasta?" Sabriena asked.

Goten nodded excitedly. "YEAH! I'm starving, Sabriena! They don't let me eat until I'm full!"

Sabriena narrowed her eyes. "I'll fix that. Come on. We'll eat pasta until we can't breathe." She grabbed his hand and led him past Rose and into the cabin.

Rose turned to follow them again. "They really don't have to go to any trouble for me," she told Goku. "I don't expect to be fed when I'm here."

Goku laughed, "Nonsense. We can't eat this awesome food and have you just watch us while you eat a salad. You'll love it! We will have plenty to go around." He pushed open the door for her and looked to Sabriena, "Hey hon, you need me to get anything before you start cooking?"

Sabriena was showing Goten how to attach the pasta machine to the edge of the table. She smiled up at him. "No, I already collected the eggs this morning. I think we're good." She straightened up. "I'm gonna need you to turn it for me, okay? I need someone super strong to turn that handle," she smiled at Goten and playfully squeezed his bicep.

He giggled. "I can do that!" he grinned.

Sabriena hauled the big bag of flour onto the table and poured out two big mounds onto the surface. "Watch," she said, "Make a well in the middle of it like this." She pushed her fingers into the flour and moved them around and Goten mimicked her. "Now we need eggs," she said. She looked up at Rose, "You're not Vegan, are you?"

Rose shook her head. "No. Just vegetarian."

Goku pulled out a chair for Rose to sit down. He moved to sit at his normal spot, smiling over at Goten. It was so good to have him back. It was like a piece of him had come back home and things were right in the world again. He watched as they cracked eggs into the little well in the flour they made. He looked back over at Rose, "Any vegetables you aren't a fan of?"

"No, I'm pretty open to anything," she said, sitting down and setting her clipboard on the chair next to her.

"Hey, Goten," Sabriena said as they mixed and kneaded the dough. "Did you see what your daddy brought home the other day?"

Goten shook his head.

"We got a dairy cow," Sabriena grinned. "So now I can teach you how to make butter and cheese and all sorts of things! I can do that stuff with goat's milk, but cow's milk is a bit easier."

"Really?" he asked excitedly. "I didn't know you could make that kind of stuff! I thought it was made at the store!"

"Is the milk pasteurized?" Rose asked.

Sabriena gave a soft snort. "No."

Rose gave a light laugh, "You can't drink or use milk that hasn't been pasteurized!"

"Uh, yeah you can," Sabriena argued. "All pasteurization does is kill off all the nutrients! It breaks down the lactose, destroys the vitamin C; pasteurized milk is FAR worse to drink."

Rose blinked and shook her head. "That's not what our guidelines say," she muttered, rummaging through her papers.

"Your guidelines are wrong. Trust me, I know food," Sabriena snapped.

Rose looked a bit cross at being snipped at and continued to dig through her papers, going silent as she found what she was looking for and made notes to herself again.

Goku frowned a little bit. He had some of the milk from the cow and it had tasted just fine to him. He leaned on the table and watched the two cooking. Goten was laughing as he cranked the pasta machine for Sabriena. It wasn't too much later when the door to the cabin opened again and Tien walked in with Dog carrying a basket with the mushrooms and he set them on the table. Goku looked at the special mushrooms with wide eyes, grinning, "Wow! You found a lot of them!"

"You expected anything less?" Tien smirked as Dog jumped up and licked at Goten's ears, making him shy away and laugh.

"I could've found more," Sabriena said haughtily.

Tien wrapped an arm around her waist, "Oh you think so, huh?" he growled lightly against her ear as she shrieked and giggled. He quickly pressed his lips against her cheekbone, but released her as he saw Rose watching them with interest. He cleared his throat. "Anything else you need?"

"Eh," Sabriena shrugged. "We'll have to get some veggies from the garden here in a bit."

Tien nodded and sat down in his chair and Dog placed his paws in Tien's lap. "Big ol' mutt," Tien said softly and rubbed at Dog's ears.

Goten was spinning the handle to the pasta machine with both hands, "Look, Dad! It's working!" he cried as Sabriena caught the long sheet of pasta.

Goku chuckled and grinned over at them, "Wow! That's great, son! You're turning into quite the little chef!" He stood up, "I'll go get the vegetables from the garden. Which ones did you want, Sabriena?" He stopped next to Tien's chair and leaned down to his ear, "Thanks for the help." He squeezed his shoulder and looked up at Sabriena.

"Eggplants," she answered. "I'm gonna make parmesan breaded eggplant. And you can grab whatever else you want." She changed the roller on the machine, "Not so fast this time, buddy. We're gonna cut the noodles now."

It wasn't long before the entire cabin was filled with the scent of food and Sabriena served everyone their plates. "Thanks," Rose said quietly.

Goku bit into his and sighed happily, "Oh man, you guys! This is the best ever! Goten! I think this tastes even better than normal! You two are one heck of a cooking team! Great job you two." He reached over and ruffled his son's hair and smiled warmly at his wife before he looked over at Rose to see what she thought. The food was steaming hot, wafting up into her face. She was sniffing at it carefully, the expression on her face made him chuckle. "It's not going to bite you." He turned back to his own plate and ate one of the mushrooms, its rich flavor exploding across his tongue, mixing with the pasta that just absolutely melted in his mouth.

Rose had never seen food prepared quite like this - over an open fire with the heavy black pots and pans. She carefully cut a small piece and bit into it. Her eyes went wide and she pressed the tips of her fingers to her full lips. It was absolutely delicious. The crispy breading on the eggplant, the creamy cheese sauce on the noodles. It was heaven. "Oh my goodness, Mrs. Shinhan," she breathed.

Sabriena beamed. "Told you I know food."

Goten was happily stuffing his mouth, barely taking the time to chew, he was so ravenous. Rose blinked at him, but let it go. He didn't seem to be choking. "Mr. Son, your wife is an excellent cook."

Goku grinned at her and smiled over at his wife and saw Tien beaming at her too. He spoke with a tenderness in his voice, "I'm one of the luckiest men alive to have her and him." He smiled over at Tien, grinning wider when he caught the faint blush on his cheeks and he laughed as they all tucked into their meals. Several plates later, Goku finally pushed his empty plate away and leaned back patting his stomach, "Oh man! That was delicious! Thank you so much Sabriena!" He looked over at Goten who was finally slowing down on his last plate. He chuckled at him, "You really were hungry werent you kiddo? You sure you got enough?"

Goten nodded as he swallowed his last bite. "Finally," he answered. He seemed pouty. "I wish I could eat here all the time. Sabriena lets me eat as much as I want."

Sabriena smiled and ruffled his hair. "Well of course," she said, "I wouldn't keep a Saiyan from his food." Her eyes went wide and she clapped her hands to her mouth.

Rose looked curious. "A what?"

Goku laughed out loud before he looked to Rose, "Well, I think the cat's out of the bag now. Ah, you might have noticed we're a little different than normal. Goten and me." He chuckled, "You might not even believe this, but I'm a full blooded Saiyan. Which means… hmmm, how to put this into words… a space monkey? We… we're aliens! We have huge appetites!"

Rose blinked her eyes widely. She'd heard rumors of aliens, but that was all. Mostly when people spoke of such things, she pictured paranoid fools hiding in their basements wearing tinfoil hats. "Is that why you can fly?" she asked. Her brain was going dizzy again. This was all just too weird.

Goku shook his head, "Oh no! Anyone can fly with the right training. Sabriena and Tien can fly and they're human. Most of my friends can fly, actually, now that I think about it." He chuckled at the look on her face, "We are born with tails too." He shouldn't have been having so much fun, but the look on her face was so adorable, he couldn't help himself, "Hey! At least we aren't Nameks! That would have really thrown you for a loop! They're bright green all over with little pink patches!"

"Green with pink..." Rose let her voice trail off and she was quiet for a minute. Her shoulders shook and she laughed - a light, pretty sound that bubbled up from her chest. "Oh, that's funny! You almost had me there for a minute!" She pressed her hand to her mouth again, stifling her laugh. "You have quite a sense of humor, Mr. Son. This was all just a joke, right? The flying and everything? There's a trick to it."

Goku blinked at her innocently, "Um… no, I'm not joking. You want to meet one of them?" He tapped a finger against his lips, pondering if Piccolo would like a visit. He totally missed Tien and Sabriena's shaking heads, although Tien was hiding a faint smirk from her. "We flew the other day when you were out here, don't you remember? The trick is just learning to bring out your energy to fly. It takes a lot of practice!"

"Energy?" Rose asked. She eyed him for a minute. He really was serious. "You're really serious. Oh, this is weird," she muttered, resting her forehead on her hand, her elbow on the table. "Meet your friends, you say? Do they spend a lot of time with Goten? Do they know you all really well?" She was thinking that if she met more people who knew them, perhaps she could get a better grasp on the situation and make some sense out of it.

Goku nodded, "Oh yeah! Piccolo spent a lot of time with Gohan when he was growing up. He knows Tien and me real well." He glanced over at Sabriena, trying to hide his smile, "Ah, not so much with her, they don't get along. She really tried though!"

"Gohan..." Rose said, digging through her papers, "That's your oldest son, right? I haven't met him yet."

Sabriena had to stop herself from scoffing. That was a flat-out lie and Goku knew it. In fact, when she'd first come to Japan, Sabriena had done nothing but go out of her way to annoy and irritate Piccolo at every given opportunity. Still, at least now they had a mutual tolerance of each other after the training they'd done together for the war.

Goku chuckled, "And Dende's there as well! He came all the way from New Namek to be the Guardian of earth!"

Tien shook his head and stood up gathering the plates. "Hey Goten, want to help dry the dishes for me after I wash them?"

"Sure!" Goten said and jumped from his seat to rush to Tien's side. Sabriena was chewing her cheek, debating about Piccolo coming out there. Jenny was pretty level headed and tactful. Perhaps she could help them if Goku went to get them. "Jenny knows me well," Sabriena said softly.

Goku grinned and stood up, "Now thats a party! I'll go get them! Be right back!" He pressed two fingers to his forehead and vanished a second later, leaving a stunned Rose behind making a fish face at Sabriena.

Rose jumped, her blue eyes going wide. "Where... Where'd he go?!"

Sabriena snickered and Tien shook his head again. "Daddy can disappear," Goten said, taking a plate from Tien and drying it. "He'll be right back, promise!"

Sabriena stretched and sat back in her chair, lazily draping one arm over the back of it. "He'll be back in three... two... one..." No sooner had she counted off the numbers than Goku reappeared in the cabin with Piccolo and Jenny by his side.

Rose choked on a scream and her chair toppled over backwards where she hit the floor hard.

Goku laughed and rubbed the back of his head, leaning down to help Rose up off the floor, "Sorry about that! Are you alright?"

Jenny blinked for a moment realizing the strange woman on the ground was the caseworker Goku had briefly told them about. They had agreed and not a second later, here they were. She lightly smack Goku's arm. "You didn't tell her we were coming? You've probably given her several heart attacks by now." She was grateful Dende had been watching the kids. Well. Alice, mostly. Paige had been running around with Mr. Popo all morning, demanding that he let her help with watering the plants again. Dende had been standing at the edge of the Lookout, watching over things, speaking softly to little Alice.

Jenny shook her head and waved at Sabriena, "How are you holding up through all of this?"

"Eh, as good as can be expected," Sabriena answered. She looked up at the tall namek. "Hey, Piccolo."

He gave her a nod and stared at the woman on the floor.

"Sorry, sorry!" Rose apologized as Goku pulled her to her feet. "You just startled me, that's all." She pushed her hair out of her face and smoothed down her suit jacket. She composed herself and stepped around the table, her hand extended. "Hello, I'm Rose. It's nice to meet you."

Jenny took her hand and shook it, looking the caseworker up and down. She had a kindness to her that she could see behind the startled look in her eyes at the moment. She smiled at her and introduced herself, "Jennifer. This is my husband Piccolo." She looked over at Goten and saw the healing marks on his face and cursed under her breath. She smiled at him and went over to talk with him, observing the damage and complimenting him, saying how much he'd grown since she'd last seen him.

Goten grinned up at Jenny. "Is Dende watching Paige and Alice?" Jenny nodded. "Awww," he whined. "I wanted to play with Paige."

She grinned at him and ruffled his hair. Her heart broke for him a little. She couldn't imagine what the kid was going through, being ripped from his family like that. She understood why. Seeing that mark on his face, though faded, made her blood boil for Chichi's head. She'd get what was coming to her. She recognized the tiny Thor's hammer around his neck and smiled, "Tell you what. I'll see if I can't arrange a playdate for you guys as soon as I can. Paige has been wondering where you've been." She looked over at Sabriena and Goku, "You know, if that's alright if they have a play date." She grinned at the little version of Goku, "Though, if you hang out with my daughter, Piccolo's going to give you the third degree!"

"The third what?" Goten asked turning to look up at Piccolo.

Piccolo's breath caught in his chest as he saw Goten's face. He would not stand for this. He fixed Jenny with a hard stare and her eyes told him she felt the same. "Don't worry, kid," Piccolo said to Goten, "I'm not going to give you a hard time."

Goten bounced over to his dad. "Dad, can we go play outside? Please?!" He turned, "I want Sabriena to come, too!"

Goku laughed and nodded, "Alright, alright. Come on, mommy, better do what the kid says!" He laughed as Goten grabbed his hands and tugged until he had his father up and out of his seat heading for the door, reaching for Sabriena's hand when she got close enough. The door closed behind them and Jenny growled, "Chichi's a dead woman." She crossed her arms and looked outside after Sabriena and Goku, little Goten was chasing them around the yard in some version of tag. "I can't believe any mother would do that to their baby." She frowned and thought about her own kids. The thought of putting a mark like that on Paige's or Alice's face made her absolutely sick to her stomach.

Rose adjusted her glasses on her face and sat back at the table, grabbing her pen. She suddenly felt very intimidated. She had thought Mr. Shinhan was a big man. But this Namek in front of her was even taller with broader shoulders and seemed even more stoic than Mr. Shinhan ever had, if that was even possible. She was trying very hard not to let her brain go dizzy again.

Tien sat some cups on the table and filled them with coffee, offering one to Rose. She took it from him, muttering her thanks. Tien slid two of the cups to places at the table for Jenny and Piccolo, then settled himself back in his chair as Dog laid his head in his lap. "So... Mrs... ah, Jenny? You've known Mr. Son and his family for awhile?" Rose asked nervously. She didn't know why she felt that way. She'd never been nervous doing her job before. It had to be the way these two huge men were watching her, those stoic expressions on their faces.

Jenny sat at the table, gratefully accepting the coffee and sipped at it, letting her eyes flutter closed for a second, nodding the next. "Yeah. The other girls and I, Sabriena, Lindsey, Catie and Leele. We came here from America… what? Two… three years ago?" She eyed the woman and decided to not tell her about magick or the wars they had just finished fighting, "That first year we were here is a bit fuzzy to me. But Goku was a pretty constant and driving force no matter what. Always been a wonderful father from what I've seen. Gohan is amazing. Goten is wonderful. He went out of his way to help Lindsey… through a difficult time in her life."

"And Lindsey is...?" Rose asked.

"Gohan's wife," Piccolo answered.

Rose didn't look up as she wrote notes to herself, the deep sound of his voice resonating in her ears. "And how well do you all know Goten's mother?" she asked, looking up finally.

Jenny snorted, "Enough to know she's a horrible person. And I am not just saying that because Goku is a friend. She's controlling, manipulative. After she divorced Goku, when she found out about Tien and Sabriena, she tried to spread an ugly rumor around that Goku and Tien were raping Sabriena." Jenny exhaled loudly through her nose. That woman brought out the worst in her and she was hardly around her.

Rose shifted uncomfortably in her seat. There it was again. That unabashed openness that Mr. Son had, but where his just seemed to pour out of his mouth, Jenny's speaking was deliberate. That was a terrible accusation and Rose couldn't help thinking that if it was true, these two men would surely have torn that girl apart. She suppressed the urge to shudder. Of course, even willingly, she wondered how such a tiny woman could... She stopped herself, chasing away the very inappropriate images that teased the edges of her brain. She looked to Tien. "That's a pretty hefty accusation. Why would she say something like that about you?"

Tien shook his head, "She never liked me to begin with. She didn't exactly hide the fact that she didn't approve when I married Sabriena in the first place. She tried to blame me for keeping Goku away from the house when they were still married. He would come out here frequently to train with Sabriena and me."

Jenny was shaking her head, "The main reason she said it, was that she was looking for a way to make herself look better. Its hell in a handbasket if she doesn't have everything PERFECT. It must have irritated her so much, seeing Goku so happy with someone other than herself. She was worried it would make her look bad, so to make Goku look worse, she spread the rumor."

Everything perfect. That sounded very much like the woman Rose had met. Mrs. Son's home was very much the environment of someone who had to keep complete control of everything. And it all seemed so... forced. "And you?" Rose asked, finally meeting Piccolo's dark eyes. "How long have you known them?"

Piccolo stared at her for a minute, sizing her up. He didn't trust anyone who was part of this legal system on earth. He'd already seen it fail miserably. "Most of my life," he answered. Physically, Piccolo was only a few years older than Gohan, but mentally, with his fusing of Nail and Kami, he was much older than that. "I trained Gohan. I've trained with Goku and Goten."

"Have any of you seen Mrs. Son act aggressively towards her children?"

Jenny waved her hand in a so-so motion. "She never physically raised a hand to them whenever I was around. She seems to behave when she has company. However, I've heard her yelling at all parties involved on occasion. I think she got a frying pan out at one time to threaten Goku with it."

Piccolo snorted. "Threaten? I've seen her hit him upside his head with one before."

Rose's eyes went wide. "She hit her husband with a frying pan?"

Piccolo nodded, his arms crossed. "She's a foul excuse for a woman. The sooner you get Goten away from her and out here with Goku, the better."

Rose frowned and looked down at her notes again. She wanted to help Mr. Son get his child back, but on paper, everything was in Mrs. Son's favor. "Mr. Shinhan, have... have you ever seen Mrs. Son be aggressive towards her children?"

Tien nodded, "I have. She wasn't using a switch, but I've seen her backhand Gohan for trying to stand up for himself. I think he'd been working on homework for… what… three days straight?" He shot a questioning look over to Piccolo before he shook his head, "Gohan wanted a break to go outside and get some fresh air, but Chichi said he hadn't done nearly enough, he'd never get into college and become a doctor with that attitude." He sighed, "She's gotten better at hiding it."

Jenny snorted, "And that was the normal for them, she'd scold Goku if he tried to help his kids and she'd kick him out of the house."

Rose frowned again, wishing she had been there to protect this oldest boy. She wondered how he was faring now. "Didn't any of you ever step in?" she asked, a hint of anger in her voice. These men were huge compared to that woman. If it was true that she was abusive, why had they stood by for all these years, allowing it to go on? It was ridiculous to her that a woman as physically small as Mrs. Son was, was able to throw a man like Mr. Son out of the house. "How could you just stand by and do nothing?"

Tien shook his head. "What she did to Gohan is nothing compared to what she's done to Goten. No, that doesn't make it an excuse. But we only saw the tip of the iceberg with Gohan. Then when Goten was born, they didn't notice marks. They couldn't see anything wrong. She'd always dress him in long sleeves, put him to bed before Goku and Gohan got home."

"That's no excuse..." Rose's voice trailed off as she looked through the window. She could see Goku and Goten in the yard. Goten had his fists raised, his father standing over him. "What are they...?" She got up and walked to the window, staring in shock at the scene before her.

Goten attacked his father, throwing punches and kicks, which Goku easily blocked. Goku kicked at Goten, the little boy threw his arms up and blocked it. Rose's breath stopped in her chest. She'd looked away for five minutes, and now this?!

Piccolo stared curiously at Rose for a moment. Hadn't she ever seen a sparring match before? He smirked with amusement until she screamed "NO!" and ran out of the cabin. His smile fell. What on earth was she doing?

He got quickly to his feet and followed her, "Come on. This doesn't look good." Tien and Jenny followed him out of the house.

Goku threw a punch at Goten, but Goten was too slow to block this time. The punch caught him in his jaw and sent him sprawling across the dirt.

"Gotta be faster than that, Goten!" Sabriena called encouragingly from her spot near the washbasin, scrubbing their laundry.

Rose ran to Goten so fast her heels came off in the yard. "STOP IT!" she screamed, throwing herself to her knees next to Goten. She looked over at Goku. "WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!"

Goku blinked at her, skidding to a halt in his attack. Was she serious? His face paled as he realized she must have seen them sparring and thought he was hurting Goten, "Oh! No no! We're just having a sparring match. Goten said he wanted to train for a little bit. He's alright." He looked at Goten who was rubbing his jaw. Goku wiped away some of the sweat off of his brow and grinned at his son. "That was a good effort, Goten. It'll be easier once you have that committed to memory, then we can move on to some more advanced attacks."

"You're a real piece of work, you know that?" Rose snarled and scooped up Goten.

"Miss Rose! Where are we going?" Goten protested, looking over her shoulder at his dad. He didn't understand why she was taking him away again. Had he done something wrong? Had Daddy or Sabriena done something wrong?

"I'm taking you home," she said as she stumbled, bare foot, over the rough yard, heading for her car. She felt sick to her stomach. How dare they. She took her eyes off of him for only a brief moment and the next thing she knew, his father was beating him in the yard.

"But I don't wanna go!" Goten protested. "You promised we could spend the whole day!"

Rose wasn't listening to him. She was muttering to herself, tears swimming in her blue eyes. "Everyone wants to bad-mouth his mother while his father beats him just outside the door. I can't believe I almost fell for this, thinking you were decent people."

Sabriena had dropped her laundry in horror, watching Rose carry Goten towards her car. She shoved at Tien's and Piccolo's backs. "Stop her!" she hissed.

"Wait just a second," Piccolo said loudly. "I think you're misjudging the situation."

Rose spun towards him, her eyes wide. "Misjudging? I know what I saw! He hit Goten! He HIT this poor little boy," her voice cracked with tears.

Tien rushed over to her, "Wait! He wasn't beating him! That's what a sparring match is. It's martial arts training! It's completely different! Goten isnt even hurt! He won't even bruise from a hit like that because Goku was toning down the power behind the attack! Goten participates in the world tournament for god's sake! Why on earth would Goku do that to his own son out in the open knowing you could look out at any time?" He was frantic. The look on Goku's face was heart breaking, he was on his hands and knees begging the woman to not take his son.

Jenny stood horrified. She wanted to do something, but any action she took could be considered a hostile act and who knew what that was going to do to Goku's custody battle, "Come on, calm down and just think about the situation for a moment!"

Rose clutched Goten to her chest, one arm around his waist, the other holding the back of his head to her shoulder, and began to walk slowly backwards towards her car. They could easily overtake her if they wanted. She should've requested a police escort for this, but part of her had trusted these people. She forced her face into a calm, firm expression and kept her voice level. "Back off," she told Tien, who had been walking towards her, his hands held out slightly towards her, showing he meant no harm. She didn't trust that. She didn't like the way Goku was begging. It wasn't right for him to hit his child and then make such desperate, heartbroken sounds like that. The two pieces didn't match. She couldn't understand it.

"You'd better leave that boy here," Piccolo said in a stern voice. "Or I'll..."

Sabriena grabbed his elbow, cutting him off. "Don't threaten her," she hissed, "It'll only make it worse."

Jenny pinched the bridge of her nose. She really couldn't stand narrow minded people. This woman was starting to take the prize on that one. She looked her up and down. Not too long out of college, she looked to be taking everything by the book, by the laws, by the code. She snorted and went and picked up the lady's high heels and had to bite back a laugh. These kind of shoes out here? She rolled her eyes and walked over to stand a few feet from the car, watching as she strapped a crying Goten into the backseat. The sharp cry of Goten reaching for his father broke her heart. She held the woman's shoes out for her to take, "You're making a mistake. Don't rush off until you understand what happened. Do you even look for clues or do you just automatically think that because he hit Goten, he was abusing him? Do you really think that THAT man, would do anything that he thought would jeopardize his son?"

"I don't know what you people would or would not do," Rose hissed, snatching her shoes away from Jenny. "No parent should ever, EVER hit a child and I don't care for what reason! Martial arts..." She snorted and pulled her shoes on. "Sounds no better than the HUNDREDS of other excuses I've heard. You claim his mother did this, well his father looks no better in my eyes." She straightened up and looked over at Goku. "I thought you were a good person. I was so wrong. I've seen more than enough. And if you raised your other son to be like this, then I seriously doubt his home is any better suited for Goten!"

Goten was wailing in the backseat, the sound breaking Rose's heart. How could his father hurt him like that? She shouldn't have let Goten out of her sight. But then, she never would have found out the truth, either. She was going to have to explain this to her supervisor. She scrambled for the handle to the car door, not wanting to take her eyes off of these people until the car was safely in the air. Of course, they had those weird powers that allowed them to fly. Her only hope was to outrun them if they tried to stop her.

Goku felt like someone had stabbed him in the heart several times over as he watched the car speed off into the distance. He grabbed at his hair with both of his hands. Rose's words stung him like nothing he'd ever felt. It was just training! He would never ever in a million years hurt his son. He taught Goten to fight so he would be able to protect himself when Goku couldn't be there for him. And now that training was going to cost him his son. The tone in her voice, her movements. She would make sure she never saw him again. He was going to have to do something. Anything to stop this. "No… NO! GOTEN!" He shouted before he broke down into tears again.

Jenny and Piccolo exchanged a look. She could tell Piccolo wanted to go back to the Lookout and hug their daughters. She bitterly thought of what would happen if Miss Caseworker were to stop by Capsule Corp on a day when Vegeta was training Paige. She would snatch her away faster than the blink of an eye.

Sabriena ran to Goku's side, dropping to the ground next to him, throwing her arms over his shoulders. "Oh, gods, Goku," she sobbed. She should've known better than to let him spar with Goten. It was just something that was so natural to all of them now, she hadn't even thought about it. Her heart was ripping in two. Her husband, her stepson... their pain was too great. This was worse than a death. In death you have the solace of knowing that the person you love isn't hurting anymore. But this, she knew, just as the rest of them knew, Rose was NOT going to let them see Goten again. And now the hope of sending him to Gohan's seemed to be gone.

"This is why I said we should have kept him here and NOT gone to the law about this!" Tien bellowed.

Sabriena cringed at his words, burying her face into Goku's hair, trying not to sob in front of Jenny and Piccolo.

"I warned you about this, Goku! I told you they'd screw it up again! When are you going to stop trusting people so much?! IT ONLY GETS YOU HURT!" Tears were burning at Tien's eyes as well. Not only could he feel the disappointment of never seeing Goten again, but he could feel his wife's heart breaking, literally feel it, and he ached to mend it for her, but he knew he couldn't. His shoulders were heaving as he fought to control his emotions, to block hers, but he couldn't manage that, either. She felt this pain too much and it burned within his own chest as well.

Jenny winced as she watched the three start to deteriorate right in front of her eyes. A glance at Piccolo told her he was trying to block out the noise, it was a little too loud for him. The look on his face was terrifying. She hated the legal system, too, after what they did to Lindsey. It was laughable, though honorable, that Goku wanted to do things the right way.

She sighed, closing her eyes, a soft blue glow coming to her hands. She could see the pain that was in everyone's eyes, but this pain wouldn't be so easily healed. The bandage for it just drove off in a car. She hoped she could ease the pain for a little bit though, until they were able to deal with it on their own. This was very much like the magick that Dende used and the two of them had been practicing together, trying to see if she could use her magick in the same way. She could heal physical wounds fairly easily. Could she heal emotional wounds in the same way? She was about to find out.

She reached for Tien, her glowing fingers curling around his forearm, the warm blue light spreading over him, seeping into his skin. Jenny snorted. How does one heal a broken heart? 'Peace,' she thought, 'be at peace.'

Tien felt the warmth of Jenny's magick flow up his arm and curl itself around his heart. It calmed his anger, the one emotion that was trying to override his system more than anything. He dropped to his knees, his arm still clutched in her hand, closing his eyes. It didn't fix it, but the pain eased. And he'd have taken anything at that moment, any type of relief. "Thank you, Jenny," he whispered as she released his arm.

She walked over to Sabriena and Goku. The sounds they were making, she never wanted to hear again. She knelt down, both of her hands glowing and slid one hand on each of their backs. Rubbing carefully, seeking the pain of their minds, of their hearts, "Shhhh. Goten's not lost yet. It was a misunderstanding. You spoke truthfully. Only good can come from your words. The Mother does not punish you for being honest."

Sabriena collapsed against Goku, feeling numb. This wasn't fair. It wasn't right. Goten. All she could think of was Goten. There had to be a way to fix this. Jenny's magick had dulled the pain for the moment at least and that was more than Sabriena could ask. She felt Goku's breathing ease. "Oh, my love," she whispered to him, "we'll make this right. We'll figure it out."

A small smile pulled at Piccolo's lips. His wife was so intuitive, always knowing just the right thing to do or say to help another. He walked to her as she stared down at her friends and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Well done," he said softly.

Goku gasped out between his sobs as the warm magick had curled around his aching, bleeding, raw emotions. His sobs ebbed but did not go away. His pain was too great. He clutched at Sabriena weakly, "What have I done… what have I done? How could I have been so stupid?" He rocked back and forth, tears still flowing down his face.

Jenny scowled inwardly. She wanted to have so many words with Chichi right now. First she accused this man of rape and then she accused him of beating his own child. And when Goku tried to set things right for his boy, the law didn't even believe him. She felt sick to think that Goku put those marks on Goten. No, Goku would never do that. But Chichi. Her lip twitched in anger, trying to calm her own emotions. Karma was a bitch and eventually Chichi would get what was coming to her. "We're here for you, Goku. Whatever you need. Maybe we can go and talk to that caseworker. She might just need some time to breathe and gather her thoughts. Once she does, she'll realize what was going on."

Sabriena held Goku as tightly as possible. "Shhhhh," she soothed. "It's not your fault. She just doesn't understand. We'll talk to her again. Jenny's right; she just needs to cool off. And if she doesn't, if they take Goten away from us, we will TAKE him back. I don't care what happens. You are NOT going to lose your baby."

Tien got back to his feet and crossed the yard to them. He should've taken Goten out of the car right then and there. He sat next to Goku and placed a comforting hand on his back. He was angry with himself for losing his temper with Goku. Again. He didn't know how much more of this he could handle. He leaned in to Goku and Sabriena, his face screwing up. "I'm sorry," he whispered harshly. "Goku, I'm so sorry."

Goku clutched at Tien and Sabriena, his entire being shaking as he drew strength from their presence. "No," he said, a muscle working in his jaw. "This is my fault. I wasn't thinking. It's my fault she took him away. And I'm going to fix it. I'm not going to stop until I set things right."