The storm lasted most of the afternoon and Goten slept soundly the entire time. Sabriena quickly dozed off as she curled around him and Rose felt bad when it was time to leave. Goten hugged Sabriena and Tien tightly before he went to Goku and threw his arms around his neck.

"I love you, Daddy," he said sleepily.

"I'll keep him safe, Goku," Rose said quietly. "I promise. I won't let you down again."

Rose wasn't quite sure what to expect when she and Goten got to her apartment. She'd never had a child stay with her before. She'd gone to his foster family's house and made him stay in the car while she collected his things there. His clothes, a stuffed animal, and a blanket was about all he had. She sneered at the host parents and spoke little to them, except to explain why she was there. She'd noticed the new padlock on the refrigerator. Ridiculous. As if that would've really kept Goten out anyway if he wasn't such a respectful child. These people were in big trouble, she was going to make sure of that.

She opened the door and let Goten into her home. "Sorry there's not much kid stuff here, kiddo," she apologized. She wished she had some toys or something for him to play with. She was painfully reminded of just exactly how boring she was as she looked around her apartment.

Goten hugged his teddy bear against him, looking around. His dad had told him to be good for Rose while he stayed at her place. He peered up at her. "That's alright, Miss Rose. I'll be alright. Can we cook together? Sabriena's been teaching me! And maybe if its alright, we can watch movies later?" He bowed his head, "You know, if its okay."

"We can watch movies, sure!" she grinned, but paused when he asked about cooking. "Uhhhh, Goten," she said nervously. "I don't know how to cook." She locked the door behind them and went to set his bag on the couch. "I mean, I guess if you know what you're doing, you can cook something. I don't really have anything here to cook. We can get something, though, if you want."

Dende stood in front of the door, puzzled, he had felt something not right in Rose's neck of the woods, she had been stressed for about two days now. And people were always telling him he needed to take time for himself. Even if that time was to check on a friend. Now that he was here, he understood why she was stressed, he was positive that he felt Goten's energy and feelings behind the door. He knocked on it carefully.

Goten looked at Rose with an wide eyed look. "Well, we can try to make pizza. Sabriena showed me how to make that! Its really good! We can make it a non-meateater thing for you!"

Rose laughed and ruffled Goten's hair. "Sure, kiddo, that sounds great!" She jumped when she heard the knock on the door and went to it, wondering who in the world could be there. She peeked through the peep-hole, breathing a sigh of relief when she saw a flash of green. Her first thought was that it was Goten's foster family somehow come to throw a fit or her supervisor or who knows what. Her mind and her nerves were shot.

"Hi, Dende," she smiled as she opened the door. "What are you doing here?"

Dende chuckled, "Well, I was in the neighborhood." He peered around her and waved at Goten.

"Dende!" he cried and ran forward, jumping into the Namek's arms and hugging him tightly.

Dende hugged him back and looked at Rose as he stepped into the apartment, "I sensed something was wrong and thought you could use some help. Whatever it was. I was not expecting to find him here. Troubles with the foster family?" He rubbed Goten's little back.

Rose nodded sadly. "They aren't feeding him enough," she said, looking at the floor, feeling horrible all over again. "I didn't even realize it. He ran away and Goku found him out in the woods. I think he's really upset with me right now." She sighed and moved to let him more into the apartment, shutting the door behind her. "We were just talking about Goten teaching me to make pizza," she said. "Would you like to join us?" She hoped he'd say yes; she suddenly felt so much better now that he was there. She didn't understand how his presence could simultaneously make her feel comforted and make her heart race all at the same time.

Dende's eyes widened and he felt Goten's back again. His face paled as he could feel how scrawny he was compared to how he should have felt. "Oh my. Of course I'll stay and help." He swallowed harshly as he felt the scars beneath Goten's shirt. It was painful to hold onto him like this.

Goten wiggled with excitement, "Awesome! This is going to be so much fun! We can make so much pizza! And then we can watch a movie!" He squirmed out of Dende's embrace and hurried off towards the kitchen he saw.

Dende chuckled, "Enthusiastic, isn't he?" He walked with Rose towards the kitchen. "Are you in need of any supplies to make pizza?" he asked and looked at her, "And I imagine we will have to get something for the little carnivore. I would not mind running to the store."

Rose smiled as Goten went to the kitchen and looked through her cabinets. She couldn't help but laugh at the ridiculously happy expression on his face. "Kids are amazing, aren't they? Look how happy he is, even though he's been through so much." She blushed and turned to Dende, "I don't think I have anything he needs to cook a pizza. Are you sure you don't mind? That's awfully nice of you, Dende. I can pay for it," she said, grabbing her purse.

Dende shook his head, "Oh, no thank you. Bulma keeps giving me, for whatever reason, gift cards for 'birthdays' and holidays. I rarely have use for them. It will be my pleasure. Shall we all go together then? How about it, Goten? And perhaps some ice cream for dessert?" He winked at Rose, "My sweet tooth must insist that we do." He chuckled as Goten hurried over and nodded, jumping up and down.

"Oh! All right, then," Rose nodded, pulling her purse over her shoulder and offering Goten her hand. "Can't let Dende go without his ice cream," she teased, smiling at the Namek as they left the apartment.

Goten was practically skipping at her side as they walked to the little grocery around the corner. She let go of his hand once they were inside. "Okay, kiddo, lead the way," she said and then turned to Dende, "I have no idea what I'm doing. How much does a Saiyan kid eat? He scarfed down like five plates of pasta when we were at the cabin earlier. BIG plates of pasta."

Dende chuckled, "Good heavens, he must have been starving. They eat less than a full grown Saiyan, but that is a lot for him. They eat a lot, but did you say the foster family wasn't feeding him? Or feeding him what they think a human kid can eat?" Dende smiled at her as Goten led the way, pausing to grasp a cart and pushed it after the little chef, "If Goten hasn't been eating properly, we will probably need a second cart. How long is he staying? A few days? Yes, best grab another cart." He laughed at her surprised expression, "Especially if he is hungry! A Saiyans metabolism is much greater than that of a humans." He looked around and paused by the meat section to pick out a few things of hamburger. "I will take the liberty of preparing a few meals for him. What kid doesn't enjoy hamburger?"

Goten cheered, "Thank you, Mister Dende!" He looked over at Rose, "What kinds of veggies do you likes on your pizzas?!"

Rose tried very hard not to wrinkle her nose at the meat, but wasn't entirely sure she managed it. "Oh, I like just about anything," she said. "Whatever you think is good. I trust your judgment, little chef," she grinned. "I guess we'll need a pan and one of those, um, roll-y cutter things." She wondered how long she could get away with keeping Goten. She narrowed her eyes at Dende, realizing he'd been reading her mind again if he knew how long Goten was staying before she could even answer. She was going to have to keep her thoughts quiet and guarded. Maybe she should ask him to stop doing that, but she wasn't sure how to without sounding rude, especially when Dende was seriously saving her butt with offering to prepare some meals for Goten. "You don't have to do all of this," she said softly, feeling a bit guilty. "I can order out for him or something. Maybe I really should learn how to cook. I could fix dinner for you sometime, just the two of us." She paused and blushed, realizing she had practically asked him out. There she was again, letting her mouth just run away from her.

Dende chuckled and winked at her, "That sounds lovely. We will have to see what trouble we can get into." He chuckled as Goten started bringing back armfuls of vegetables.

"Oh goodness!" Rose laughed as Goten quickly filled the shopping cart. "I hope you two know what to do with all of this!" She pushed the cart along, letting Goten pile in as much food as he wanted. It surprised her. Most children would be begging for toys or candy, but he made healthy choices in his food and never once said a word about toys.

"He's certainly much more mature than most kids," she said. She couldn't help but wonder what kind of 'trouble' Dende had meant and she forced herself not to let her thoughts get too carried away with it. "Okay, is that everything?" she asked, looking at the two shopping carts full of groceries. "I don't know if we have enough room in my apartment for it all!"

Dende chuckled, "Don't worry. We will fix it all up so it will cook down and all you have to do is reheat it. Though, I think he will eat it all before you have to worry about that."

Goten blushed and rubbed the back of his head, "Well, Sabriena said I shouldn't eat too much junk food. I wanna be like my dad and be strong!" He smiled brightly at them, "Thank you for buying me food, Mister Dende."

The Namek smiled at him, "Any time Goten. You just let us know if you get hungry like this ever again. Okay?"

They bought the food and headed back to Rose's apartment, Goten thanking Dende over and over, rambling on and on about all the things he wanted to cook. Rose watched as Goten helped Dende unload all the groceries onto the counter and she stepped back, not sure of what she should do. She didn't want to get in the way. "I can put the ice cream away," she offered, grabbing it and sticking it in the freezer. "There we go! I did my part!"

Dende and Goten chuckled. Goten went over to Rose and grabbed her hand, leading her over to sit at the little bar window type thing, he wasn't sure what it was called. "You get to be our taster! Sit here!" He said before he hurried around and started helping Dende sort out through everything, "You can help us knead the dough!" he said excitedly, trying to think over everything that Sabriena had taught him about food. He briefly wondered if he could put her pasta on a pizza and it would taste amazing.

Dende grilled up the hamburger into patties and put them away for burgers at a later time. They quickly began chopping up vegetables for the pizza. Goten was standing on a chair stirring the sauce he put together. Things he remembered from Sabriena's lessons. He took out the wooden spoon and offered it to Rose.

"Oh!" Rose blinked as he offered her the spoon. She touched the tip of her finger to the sauce and popped the digit in her mouth, her eyes going wide at the taste. She hadn't been sure what to expect from a seven-year-old cook. "Wow, Goten!" she cried. "That's delicious! Wow..." She gave him an ornery smile and swiped more of the sauce from the spoon with her finger and sucked it again. She blinked at Dende, her cheeks hollowed and she let her finger pop from her mouth. "Have you tasted it? He really knows what he's doing! I'm impressed!"

Why did she keep doing that? And she looked so sweet and innocent at the same time. Dende's cheeks flushed purple and he quickly looked to the spoon and tasted it. His eyes widened and he smiled at the little Saiyan, "Goten, this is fantastic. You have a real gift for this. How many times did Sabriena show you how to make this?"

Goten smiled widely, "Just once! I want her to show me more. She's like, the bestest cook ever!" He said excitedly, suddenly wishing he could share this with his dad and Sabriena.

Dende picked up on it and smiled, ruffling the little ones hair, "Hey, think of this as practice. Once you are able to go back and stay with your dad, think of all the wonderful meals you can learn to cook and show them how much you've come along." He smiled as Goten nodded and turned back to cooking with gusto.

They cooked all afternoon until they had five or six pizzas, taking care to make sure they left one vegetarian for Rose. Goten piled his plate high with food and wandered over to the couch. Dende followed with a slice of his own and sat down, "You know what movie we should watch Goten? You will really like it. It's called Ratatouille. Its one of Paige's favorites."

"I have it," Rose admitted, a slight blush touching her nose. "I like Disney movies. Don't judge me," she chuckled and grabbed the DVD. She settled back against the couch with her pizza, smiling to herself. Her apartment had never smelled so good. "I can't believe how much you guys fixed. Are you sure it isn't too much?" Goten nodded, his mouth already full of pizza, his eyes glued to the TV. Rose snickered and shook her head, taking the first bite. Good gods, that was easily the best pizza she had ever tasted in her life. "Oh my gosh!" she cried as she chewed. "Goten, this is so good! No wonder you made so much."

Goten swallowed and laughed, "Thank you Miss Rose, for letting me cook! And thank you Dende for helping me and helping me clean up!" His legs dangled off the couch and he ate more. He was so happy Sabriena taught him to cook. His mother said he was too little and clumsy like his father to cook. He would break everything. But he was super careful and it was awesome the things he was discovering he could do. "I think I could spend the whole day in the kitchen cooking! My only problem is I'll eat everything!"

"No, you won't," Rose corrected him. "Because I'll be in there stealing all your cooking!" She took another huge bite of pizza, finding herself suddenly starving. This was fun. She wished she could just keep Goten while this whole thing went on, but she knew her supervisor would never approve it. Conflict of interests or some such thing. She frowned a bit as her thoughts went back to her work, knowing that first thing in the morning she was going to have to start making phone calls, trying to find the right foster home for Goten. She couldn't understand how this had happened. He was such an amazing little boy. How anyone could ever want to harm him was beyond her. She rubbed at his back, trying to smile for him again. "Thank you for dinner, Goten."

Goten beamed up at her, glad that she and Dende enjoyed the pizza he made. After two big meals that day, he felt warm and sleepy. He was safe here with Rose and Dende. He loved the movie with the little rat who had such a passion for cooking. He smiled and giggled throughout the whole film, fighting to stay awake. When the movie was over, he grabbed his bag of clothes and told Miss Rose that he wanted to change into his pajamas, then let her show him to the bathroom.

Rose turned to Dende and gave him a small smile. "And just when I thought we were even, you turn around and do something wonderful for me again," she said. "Thank you so much for tonight, Dende." She reached out and gently took his hand, entwining her fingers with his, and pulled him closer so that she could lean against his chest. Her eyes fell closed as she breathed in the quiet comfort of his presence. "I have to figure out how to make this right," she whispered. "I have to find a safe place for Goten to stay. I feel like everything's falling apart around me. The home I thought he was safe in wouldn't even feed him enough. Now Goku and his wife and husband are upset with me. I defied my supervisor at work. I know everyone expects me to fix this overnight, but these things don't work that way. I want to help Goku. I want to get his son back to him. But he's not the only case I have to work on."

Dende nodded, "Well, I think everyone was just ready to be done with everything. Wanting a peaceful moment to last forever. What parent doesn't want this to be over first?" He sighed and held her against him, "How many other cases are you working on? Three? Four?"

Rose gave a weak laugh. "Oh, I wish," she muttered. She pulled back a bit and looked up at him. "Dende, I have twenty-six cases I'm working on right now. Last year, I handled over five hundred cases of child abuse. Not all of them were substantiated, but still, every time there's an accusation, we have to do an investigation. And the ones that are false just take away time from the children who do need help. And each of my coworkers has the same workload. Every single day we get more and more calls about children who need our help and there's not nearly enough of us to handle it."

Dende's eyes widened, "Twenty-six? Why on earth didn't you say something? I'm sure if Goku knew that, he wouldn't have been so hard on you. Over five hundred cases," he rubbed at his eyes. That was a lot for any human to have on their plate at one time. Who knew what kind of damage that did on an emotional level? No wonder her not sleeping for a week had done so much damage, "Do you need to talk about any of it?"

She sighed and shrugged. It would be nice to get some of the stress off of her chest, but she didn't want to weigh Dende down with her problems. He had a lot on his plate as it was, too. "It's okay," she said softly. "Just having you here as my friend makes it better. I just," she paused and sighed again. "I just don't want to lose myself, you know? Sometimes I feel like I already have. I see the people I work with, how burned out they are. I don't want to become that. But I can't stop. I can't let these kids go on without the help they need."

His brow furrowed in worry and he nodded, "I can imagine they have seen a lot, and no doubt that you have as well. Just be careful Rose, there comes a point of no return. If you don't have someone to share that burden with, it will be a hard fall. Confide in someone, keep a diary..." He paused, realizing he was just blabbering off, "Whatever you feel is right, just don't think of yourself, your problems as a burden."

She gave him a small smile and nodded. "I have a journal I write in," she admitted. "That notebook I keep? I kind of sort out my thoughts that way." She turned as the bathroom door opened and a very sleepy-looking Goten wandered out. She smiled and turned to him, crouching down next to him. "Are you ready to go to sleep?" she asked softly. At his nod, she took his hand and led him to her bedroom. "Here we go," she said and tucked him in. "If you need me, I'll be in the living room, okay?"

Dende smiled at Rose as he heard them exchange good nights and he looked to her as she came back out, "If you didn't have such a full plate, you would make a great mother." He sighed, "Though, I imagine that you feel like a mother already, picking up the shattered pieces behind all of these people who only think they know what is best." He hated to think, to ask the question that what if it did become too much? Who would be the one to pick up the broken pieces of herself?

Author's Note: I just wanted to let everyone know that the numbers Rose mentions here are not exaggerated. I did a bit of research and the number of cases these people handle is staggering. In one city, in one year, there were over forty-thousand cases of child abuse reported. It's insane.