Rose waited patiently outside her apartment, flipping through some of her papers, jotting notes here and there. She hoped the visit would go well. She didn't know why, but somehow, deep down, she knew that Goku wasn't the one who hurt his son, despite everything Chichi had accused him of. There was something not right about that woman. Something off. Rose looked up and down the sidewalk, expecting to see Goku walking towards her at any moment, but there was still no sign of him. "Don't be late," she muttered quietly to herself as she looked back at her papers, sitting on the steps to her apartment. A shadow suddenly fell across her work and she jumped, looking up to see Goku standing there. "You're just not going to stop startling me, are you?" she asked, a slight laugh in her voice.

Goku smiled at her. He was so excited to finally get to go see his son. Sabriena had insisted he wear a suit with a tie; she even went through the trouble of buying him a new suit that was leagues more comfortable than the one Chichi had made him wear. And the navy color was more his look. He just wanted to see his son and put his mind at ease. He hadn't seen him since the day they'd sparred in the yard. "Nah! It's good to keep you on your toes!" He couldn't keep the excitement off of his face, "I can't thank you enough for arranging this for me. Really."

Rose smiled at him. "It's not a problem. You look nice today," she said sincerely, getting to her feet and sliding her work into her oversized purse. The suit fit him well and looked extremely expensive. She couldn't help but drink in the vision of him in it. Oh heavens help her, she had to stop looking at him like that.

She unlocked her car and pulled open the door for him before she walked around to the driver's side. "They just live across town, it should only take a few minutes to get there." Rose couldn't help but glance at him every minute or so, he looked so handsome in that suit. She felt her face go a little hot and she rubbed at her nose, nearly knocking her glasses askew. "Oh goodness," she huffed and righted them on her face. A short time later, she pulled into the driveway in front of a large house set in a nice subdivision. "This is it," she said as she stepped out of the car.

Goku got out of the car, looking up at the nice looking house. He could sense Goten's energy inside and he felt his heart skip a few beats. Would Goten be okay? Did he miss him? He wondered how much the marks had healed up. Oh what he would do if he could make those go away.

Rose led the way up the big steps to the front door and rang the doorbell. She lightly touched his forearm for just a second, "You look nervous. You don't have to be. They're nice people." She turned and smiled at the woman who answered the door.

Goten's foster mother was an average-looking woman in her mid-thirties, but she had a kind smile when she greeted Rose.

"This is Mr. Son," Rose introduced Goku.

She shook his hand, "You're all Goten talks about," she said. She turned to Rose, "He's playing in his room upstairs if you want to go see him."

Rose nodded and lead Goku through the house as if she'd been here several times before.

Goten was sitting in the middle of a bedroom, playing with some toys on the floor. He looked up when the door opened, his eyes going wide with excitement. "DADDY!" he cried and ran to Goku.

"GOTEN!" He caught his son as the boy jumped into the air and into his arms, nearly knocking him back a few steps. He laughed, tears coming into his eyes as he held him so tightly, burying his face into that dark hair, "Hey there, kiddo! Wow! Look at you! I missed you so much!" He pulled back a little bit, looking at his son. He was happy that the marks on his face had completely gone away, but he could feel the scars on his son's back, through the shirt. Goten was so tiny, how could Chichi have hurt him so badly? He squeezed Goten tighter, "They feeding you enough, kiddo?"

Goten laughed and hugged his dad's neck, feeling so safe and secure in daddy's strong arms. Nothing bad happened when Daddy was around. He sniffled, not understanding why he felt like crying when he was so happy to see his dad. He scrubbed at his eyes, his face split in a wide smile as his dad pulled back to look at him. "No. I'm always hungry. And their food isn't as good as Sabriena's. But they're really nice! I just... eat more than everyone else..." He threw himself against his dad's neck again, hugging him. "Can I come home with you, Daddy?"

Goku felt his heart break at the question, sparing a look to Rose before he pulled back from Goten, cupping his face in his hands. "Not right now, kiddo. I wish I could take you home. I want to." He sat down on the ground and held Goten in his lap, ruffling his hair as he looked him over. "These people that Rose here works with, they are evaluating, ah, looking over our homes to decide where the best place for you is. Make sure we don't do what, you know, your mother did to you." He closed his eyes, "Goten, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you, that I wasn't there to stop her from hurting you so bad. You've been such a good boy, doing what everyone says. Goten, I have to ask, what do you want?"

"It's okay, Daddy," Goten said, feeling very disappointed that he didn't get to go home with his dad. He wanted to go to the cabin, to sleep outside curled up next to his dad, to hunt with Tien and Dog, to watch Zip practice hunting, to help Sabriena cook over the fireplace. Goten's shoulders slumped, looking down at the floor away from his dad. "I'm not a good boy," he answered in a tiny voice. "Momma always said I was bad. That I'm a monster." His bottom lip trembled and sad tears formed in his eyes. "I tried to be good." He blinked and looked at Goku. "I want to go home with you. I want to live with you and mo- I mean, Sabriena."

Goku shook his head, "No, don't say that. Chichi was just saying that to hurt you. You are a very good boy and don't you dare think otherwise." He lifted his son's chin to look at him, "Okay? Don't go thinking you're a monster, because you aren't. What Chichi did to you; it makes her the monster. All these marks on you only reflect how unhappy she is." He leaned forward kissing his sons head. "Kiddo, the reason I didn't just take you back to the cabin was because if I did that, Chichi would say I kidnapped you, that I was the one who did this to you. You wouldn't be able to go to school, you wouldn't be able to come to the city. You would be trapped. Doing it this way, makes it so that Chichi can't hurt you ever again. She can't take you from me."

"Will Momma get in trouble? I don't want her to get in trouble," he said quietly, casting an eye over at Rose who had settled herself on one of the beds and was writing in a notebook. He leaned in to his Dad a bit. "I don't care about school or the stupid city. I want to go home with you!" He was crying again, burying his face in his dad's shirt. "Was Momma mean to you, too? Is that why you were gone so much? She said... s-she said..." he couldn't bring himself to ask and cried harder into his dad's shirt.

Goku felt his heart twisting and he rocked his son back and forth, leaning his head down, "What did she say Goten? Whatever it was, it wasn't true. She did hurt me, but not as bad as you. I think she wanted to hurt me instead of you. She wanted me home, but wouldn't let me help her around the house. Daddy kept breaking all her glasses by accident, remember? Then she would yell at me to get out, so I'd go train and when I'd come home and she'd already fed you supper. Didn't cook enough for me or just not at all." He kissed his son on his cheek, "What did she say? You won't get in trouble ever again Goten, I promise..."

"She said... you were gone... because you didn't love us," he sobbed, hoping it wasn't true. He loved his daddy more than anything in the world and he couldn't understand why Momma would say something like that. Daddy was always nice to him, let him sleep on the couch with him, played games with him and let him spar and didn't yell or hit or get mad when Goten broke something on accident. He looked up at Goku, tears spilling down his cheeks from his big, dark eyes. "Why would Momma say that? Daddy, I love you! I'll be good, I promise! Why would Momma say you didn't love us?!" He didn't want to believe it, but his mother had said it so many times, had blamed him for it. "She said it was my fault because I'm bad."

Goku felt his heart break at that. What Chichi had said to him brought tears to his eyes, "No no no no no...Goten. Look at me Goten," He lowered his head, their foreheads touching as he looked into those wide innocent eyes, "Its not true. Anything she ever said was a lie. I love you more than life itself Goten. More than anything in this world. You and your brother, I don't know what I would do if I didn't have the two of you. Goten, I love you so much it hurts. It hurts so bad to be away from you. Chichi hates me. She hates me and I dont know why...its my fault she hurt you...not you. NEVER you...You are such a good boy...So good Goten. I Love you Goten. She wanted to hurt me..."

Relief swept over Goten at Goku's words. He hugged his dad tightly again, breathing in deeply, the smell of his dad's shirt comforting and familiar. "I knew it," he breathed. "I knew she was lying. I didn't want to believe her."

Rose bit her lips, looking away from them, fighting tears. As far as she was concerned, it was no longer a matter of figuring out which parent was in the wrong. Now it was just a matter of proving it and convincing a judge that Goten belonged with his father.

"I love you, Daddy," Goten said. "I promise. I love you so much." He wiped his nose on his sleeve and looked up at Goku again. "How much longer do I have to stay here? Will I ever get to go home with you?"

Goku wiped his own tears away, smiling down at him, kissing him on his nose, "Yes. Yes you will. When this whole thing is over, I promise you can come home with me. Whatever it takes, we are going to do this the right way and prove to those people that you are safe with me. Sabriena says you can stay with her and cook all day long if you want. And Tien wants to take you hunting. And Dog and Zip miss you. So much. Maybe soon they'll let you come and spend the day with us at the cabin, that sound good?"

Goten's eyes lit up and he smiled wider. "YEAH! I wanna come spend the day!" He looked over at Rose, a pleading look on his face. "Can I, Miss Rose? Please? Pretty, pretty please?!" he clasped his hands together as if he was praying. "I'll be good! I promise not to fight this time so you won't get upset!"

Rose laughed at him. "We can do that," she answered. "I'll check my work schedule and see when it suits your dad."

Goten beamed at his dad. "Let's go today! Let's go today!"

Goku smiled brightly at his son and looked over at Rose, "Today works great. Any day would work great!" He smiled at his son, cuddling him closer, "Whatever works for you, Rose." He kissed Goten's head, happy and satisfied that his son understood. They would get through this, "I'm sure Sabriena will get you a full meal, all you can eat and you'd never want to eat again!" He grinned, just happy to hold him, happy that Chichi's lies couldn't reach him again, "Promise me Goten...no matter what Chichi tells you in the future...know that I love you with all my heart," He crossed his heart with his finger and held out his pinky to Goten, "I swear it."

Goten grinned and crossed his own heart, wrapping his little finger around his dad's. "You think Sabriena would make me some pasta? I'm starving!"

Rose cringed inside. She had so much work to do that day and another appointment that afternoon. But Goten looked so happy and excited. And Goku, if it was possible, looked even more excited. She shouldn't be doing this. She shouldn't be giving them special treatment, but for some reason she just couldn't help herself. "I really do have a lot of work to do today," she said hesitantly, "And I can't just let you take him without my supervision. Let me make a couple phone calls and see if I can rearrange my schedule today, okay?" She got to her feet as Goten nodded excitedly. She raised her eyebrows at him, "Now, I'm not promising anything. Just wait here for a minute." And she stepped out into the hallway, shutting the door behind her.

Goku smiled brightly at Goten, "Now, if she can't do it today, I'll take you out to get a huge meal and you can come over first thing in the morning!" He kissed his sons cheek, "And you know Sabriena would make anything you want, an entire houseful if you think you can handle it!"

Rose cringed, looking guilty as she reentered the room. "Guys, I'm so sorry, there's no one to cover my appointment this afternoon and I can't cancel it." She was genuinely sorry, wishing she could let them spend the entire day together. She checked her watch. "But we still have about an hour and a half. we don't have to stay in the house. We could get some lunch or something if you want." She met Goku's eyes, "I'm really sorry."

Goku's shoulders slumped a moment before he perked up again, "I know the perfect place we can go for lunch!" He stood and lifted Goten to put him on his shoulders before reaching out and drawing Rose close, "Hold on tight!" He pressed two fingers to his forehead and focused. The next moment found them standing outside in the fresh air, the cabin in front of them, "Hey guys! I brought guests for lunch!" He grinned at Rose, "Hope you don't mind! Now we can plan out when he can come over!"

Rose swayed with a giggle. "Never gonna get used to that."

Sabriena looked up from the wood she was stacking as Tien chopped. "GOTEN!" she squealed, running over, chucking aside the piece of wood she held in her hands. She snatched him off Goku's shoulders and held him close as Tien turned away trying not to curse. The log she'd dropped had landed right on his foot.

Goten was beaming, clinging to Sabriena's neck for all he was worth. She pulled back to look at him. "Daddy said you'd make me some lunch," Goten said. "Can we have pasta? Please?"

Sabriena rubbed her nose against his, staring into his eyes. "Anything you want, buddy," she answered warmly and carried him into the cabin. "And I'll let you help me."

Tien finally straightened up, trying not to show any pain on his face as he turned to Goku. "I didn't know you were going to be bringing him today," he said. "It's good to see him." He couldn't stop his eyes from raking over Goku's suit. By the gods, that man could make a suit look good.

Goku chuckled, "Its only for lunch, but Rose says he can spend a day with us soon! We'll have to make it a full day!" He felt his cheeks heat up as he saw the way Tien was looking at him. He knew that look, he knew it well. He was going to have to thank Sabriena later for picking out such an attractive suit for sure. He turned and smiled at Rose, "Maybe if you can make it a two day thing! Then we can have a sleepover and a camp out! You can even use the hot tub! Its really awesome at night when it gets chilly!"

"Camp out?" Rose asked, blinking at him. "I... I've never been camping before." A smile started to pull at her lips. "That sounds fun. I wonder how I could pull that off with work. I'll figure something out."

"Sounds like a plan," Tien said. "Aren't you supposed to be keeping an eye on Goten?"

"Oh! Yes!" Rose gasped and hurried into the kitchen.

Tien made sure the door was firmly closed behind her before he quickly closed the gap between himself and Goku. "C'mere," he growled, grabbing Goku by the tie and pulling him into a heated kiss.

Goku couldn't resist, something was so hot about the way Tien couldn't keep his hands off of him, pulling him in by the tie. Goku shuddered before he surrendered to the other man, sighing happily into Tien's lips as they kissed. He was starting to like this suit more and more. He felt himself grow hard at his husbands ministrations and he wrapped his arms around Tien firmly, "Careful," He said, "Sabriena won't be happy if she sees you dipping into the cookie jar." He grinned at Tien.

Tien grinned and nibbled at Goku's ear. "That's okay. I'll share with her," he breathed hotly against his husband's ear. He pressed his body firmly against Goku's, feeling the hardness pressing back against him. He chuckled low in his throat and stepped back. "We'd better stop. Your boy's here. And that caseworker." He leaned back heavily on one leg, his gaze sweeping over Goku once more. "Gotta hand it to the wife. She does have excellent taste. The suit looks good, too," he winked.

Goku pinned Tien with a searing gaze, his mind fully thrown into the gutter as he thought about fucking Tien while wearing his suit. "Later then," he winked at his husband before he turned and headed into the house, but not before swatting Tien on the ass as he turned back to finish chopping wood.

Rose was sitting at the table, watching as Sabriena and Goten busied themselves with preparing the homemade pasta.

Sabriena smiled at Goku as he walked in. "Lovin' that suit," she snickered and looked back down at the dough she and Goten were mixing. She grabbed the pasta machine and attached it to the side of the table. "You know, your daddy bought this for me for my birthday about a year ago," she said to Goten.

His eyes lit up and he looked up at his dad. "Good job, Dad! Now we can have all the pasta we want!"

Goku tilted his head back and laughed, sitting down at the table and loosening his tie, he suddenly wanted to have Sabriena the same way he had just thought about Tien. He shrugged off the jacket and draped it over the back of the chair before he leaned forward, one elbow on the table, propping his head up, "Yup! I even told her she had to make me as much pasta as I could stand!" He laughed, watching the way Goten was helping her, asking questions, learning and then doing it on his own. The way he held the food, it was with such care and respect. He could see the admiration in Sabriena's eyes. Gods he loved her.

Rose was almost more interested in the way they made the food than the way they were interacting. It amazed her that Sabriena knew how to do these things, that anyone could make food like that. Her range of cooking involved microwave meals or take-out. She watched as Sabriena taught Goten how to mix and season the sauce for the noodles, and laughed with him as Sabriena jokingly dabbed a bit on his nose. This was all so new to her, every part of it, and she found herself wanting more, to be part of this in some small way. She suddenly looked at Goku, "So when are we going camping?" She felt her stomach twist as she finally realized he had removed his suit jacket. The silky shirt clung to his muscles in a way that was absolutely sinful. She blinked her eyes a couple times and tore her gaze away from him.

Goku chuckled, smiling at her, "Hah! I knew it! No one can resist camping! Except Vegeta," He pouted, "But he's no fun anyway," He joked and tilted his head, "Well, any day is good for us, just let us know how your schedule works out. Maybe a friday and saturday deal?" He turned, and inhaled the wonderful smell of all that fresh pasta they were making. They already had an enormous pile of it setting in a bowl, ready to be cooked in boiling water.

Sabriena cocked an eyebrow but said nothing. She couldn't imagine Rose camping out, but if the city-slicker wanted to give it a go, she wasn't going to stop her. She wondered vaguely if it would hurt Goku's case if Sabriena scared Rose with ghost stories around the campfire.

"I think I could do it this weekend," Rose said. "I don't have anything going on. I'm sure I can come up with some reason to get Goten overnight." She hoped it wouldn't raise too many eyebrows at the office. She suddenly thought of the others she'd met over the weeks she'd known them. "Will anyone else be here? Is Dende coming?" she asked a little too eagerly.

Goku chuckled, "Yeah! Sure! I think I can ask him! The more the merrier!" He had to stop himself, thinking about asking Paige and Alice over if they wanted to play with Goten while they had a chance, but he didn't want to push his luck with Sabriena. He was already more than happy that she was taking care of Goten so carefully. It warmed his heart.

"Planning a party, are we?" She asked as she served their lunch. She stuck her head out the door and hollered for Tien, who appeared a moment later and sat heavily in his chair.

"Bout time, woman. I'm starving."

She whapped him with her spoon. "You call me 'woman' again and I'm gonna start calling you 'Vegeta'," she snapped.

Tien pulled a face as though he'd bitten into something very sour. "Fair enough."

Goten was already eating as though he'd been starved for a week. Sabriena shook her head at him and ruffled his hair.

Rose couldn't believe how much he was eating, how fast. "I'll, uh, say something to his foster mom," she said. "I'll see if we can't get him a little more to eat at meals."

Goku watched his kid eat for a moment, a bit concerned at the rate he was eating. He nodded and looked at Rose, "Sorry about that, Saiyan metabolism. It eats us alive if we don't have large meals three times a day." He smiled at his kid, laughing at the sauce that stuck to his cheeks, his nose, "Sabriena makes the best pasta, doesn't she Goten," He chuckled and dug into his own pasta, so delicious his jaw ached as he slurped down a noodle, "Sooo good."

Rose knew why Goten had been begging to come to the cabin now. She herself would beg to come there if she could eat like this every meal. They enjoyed their meal, laughing with Goten as he asked for more and more servings. But lunch was over far too soon and Rose regretted it when she had to announce that it was time to take Goten home so she could get to her next appointment.

Sabriena hugged Goten tightly, snuggling into his hair, telling him they'd see him again soon.

Tien didn't know what had gotten into him, but he was feeling ornery as he stepped up behind Goku on the premise of straightening the Saiyan's tie. He pulled it just slightly too tight around Goku's neck and purred in his ear, "Get back here quick. And don't dare take that suit off when you get home."