Rose was torn. She didn't know what to do. She'd been given the go-ahead by her supervisor and she'd been in contact with the police and the judge, getting the warrant and setting up their plans. This was an extreme case, normally things like this didn't happen in her line of work. But then again, there had never been such a hard case to figure out before.
Normally, when a child was abused like this, a good line of questioning eventually gave up the abuser. Someone would slip and change their story or eventually just not be able to keep up the lie and admit to what they'd done. But not in this case. Goku maintained his innocence, as did Chichi, each of them saying the other did it. They had each even been called in for questioning by other caseworkers who were much more intimidating than Rose, and still, neither had cracked.
Everyone in the office agreed they'd never seen anything like it.
Rose knew in her heart that it was Chichi who was guilty, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't prove it.
She now sat in the middle of her kitchen floor, the papers and pictures scattered all around her, every scrap of evidence she had come up with, every interview, every home visit documented. But she didn't know if she could go through with it. Tears burned her eyes at the thought of that little boy falling to harm at his mother's hand again. Rose needed someone to talk to. She HAD to talk to someone. But it couldn't be Goku. Because the judge had ordered that if there was no evidence to be found at Chichi's house, a similar plan was to happen at the cabin. The goal was to prove that one parent or the other was guilty without any harm coming to Goten. But still, it was a risk.
Rose bowed her head and closed her eyes, thinking of the only person she could count on to keep a secret. 'Dende,' she thought loudly. 'I know I asked you to stop reading my thoughts, but if there's even the slightest chance you can hear me, I need you right now. Please.'
Dende heard her. How could he not when someone thought so directly to him? There was something more to Rose that called to him and he knew. He knew he was falling for her. Hard. She was so passionate about her work, her efforts to help those who could not help themselves. She was in pain now. Emotional. Mental. It mixed together and with a quick word to his brother, he took off for her apartment. It took him longer to get there than he thought it would. Urgency makes the quickest of tasks longer.
He knocked on the door, "Rose? It's me."
Rose scrambled to her feet, slicking her hair out of her face. She knew she must've looked terrible; she hadn't hardly slept the past few days, her every waking moment devoted to closing this case as soon as possible. She hadn't even bothered to get dressed that day and had opted to stay in her shorts and a tanktop. She'd sat there on the floor, going over everything again and again, looking for something. Anything. The missing piece to the puzzle. The one thing that could keep her from doing it this way. "Dende," she breathed when she opened the door. "You heard me." She threw herself against him, hugging him tightly, taking comfort in his presence.
Dende was shocked only for a moment before hugged her back. "I heard what you wanted me to hear, but I will not read your thoughts without permission again. What has you so distressed, my dear friend?" he asked, seeing the pain, the distress on her face. "What has caused you so much anguish, Rose?"
"Come inside," she said quietly, pulling him by both wrists into her little apartment and she shut and locked the door behind her. She ran her fingers through her strawberry blonde waves again, adjusting her glasses on the bridge of her nose as she stared at the papers on the floor. "I have to close the Son case soon," she said. "But I can't find one scrap of evidence here as to which parent abused Goten. I know it's not Goku. I just know it. But without being able to prove that, there's not much I can do. There's a plan to catch Mrs. Son in the act. I don't even know if it will work, but it's the best we could come up with. And Dende... oh, it just makes me sick." She pressed her lips together and looked away from him, squeezing her eyes closed, fighting the tears she felt again.
Dende's eyes widened. "Catch her in the act? You mean to have her harm Goten again?! After all those marks on his body? Those scars? Not even I can heal those scars, I've tried. There's so much hate in them. They are too old, and healed once by senzu beans." He ran a hand over his head, his antennae twitching in the air. "I just do not understand it. Chichi has the potential to be a great mother, but she throws it all away. She has let hatred control her life. She has made her mistakes, but continues to blame them on others. Oh Rose. If she has another chance to harm Goten after all that has happened, it will not be good."
"I know," Rose said in a shaking voice, turning to him, big tears leaking from her eyes. "Dende, help me. There has to be another way to prove that Goku's innocent. I'm worried that if I can't prove one or the other did it, then they're just going to take custody away from both of them and adopt Goten out to another family. He'd never see Goku again." Her voice cracked and she wiped at her face, trying to calm herself. "Dende, I'm sorry. I don't mean to cry, I'm just so frustrated because I can't figure this one out. I can't see any other way to prove to the judge that this wasn't Goku's fault." She flopped miserably on the floor, sitting cross-legged, staring at her work again. "It's all set up for tomorrow, unless I can come up with something else." She shook her head, fighting the tears that came anyway.
Dende moved to sit with her on the floor, thinking it over in his head. "Rose, Goten is a smart boy. And he is stronger than you think. I am sure he will understand after the fact why you had to do this. We will have to be there for him afterwards. Bring him back here if we can. Treat him with pizza, mountains of food. Ice cream, movies. I will be there if you need me. I can heal him immediately afterwards. If it's that fresh, it shouldn't be a problem. I can instill him with the peace he needs, to help him understand. It will be the last time she hurts him."
Rose slowly closed her eyes, hoping Dende was right. "Am I doing the right thing?" she whispered. She felt absolutely sick to think that she was putting that little boy in harm's way again. She carefully slipped her hand into Dende's, her fingers entwining with his. Her heart fluttered, but it was different this time. There was that swooping, butterfly feeling, yes, but alongside it was a familiar warmth as if they'd always been there to comfort each other. She didn't understand it and she didn't have time to think about it. All she could do was appreciate it for the moment. She squeezed his hand and opened her eyes, looking at him. "Tell me there's another way," she begged softly. "I feel like the biggest failure in the world because I can't think of any other way to do this."
Dende had to resist the urge to lean down and kiss the top of her knuckles. He looked at her seriously, "No, Rose. Do not you dare to think like that. You are doing nothing wrong. You are doing nothing but giving a mother a chance to prove you wrong. If anyone is going to fail, it will be her who dares to harm an innocent. I will be with you. Where ever you tell me to be tomorrow, I will heal whatever harm comes to him. We should not expect the worse to happen, but prepare for it anyway." He closed his eyes, knowing in his heart that Chichi would not rise above her hatred now. He had a feeling Chichi's journey was just beginning. The hex placed upon her was working, but it would take time.
"Thank you, Dende," Rose said, taking a small comfort in his words. He was right. This was Chichi's chance to prove that she was a good mother, that she wasn't mean or abusive to her son. "I don't know what I would do without you," she murmured, leaning her head on his strong shoulder for a moment. She wondered what was going to happen once this was all over. She wondered if maybe, subconsciously, she'd been dragging her feet about working too hard on this case because she was worried that once it was closed, she'd go back to being alone again. She loved Goku and Dende too much to lose them now. She finally felt like she had friends and she didn't know how she could handle it if she lost them. She pulled back from him suddenly, looking into his dark eyes. "Dende, can I ask you something? When this is all over, will... will we still be friends?"
Dende chuckled, "What sort of question is that? Of course we will still be friends. You have not only done my friends a great service for all the work you have put in to make sure Goten is well taken care of, you have helped countless many others without many thanks. I will be listening to you always, Rose. You have but to ask of me and I will be here at your side."
Her heart melted at his words. She nodded, fighting fresh tears of relief at his words. No matter what happened, she would at least have Dende by her side. "Thank you," she said softly. "If she hurts him again tomorrow, I want you to heal him as soon as possible. I don't care what anyone else says about it. We can't leave him hurting. Not again." She exhaled a long sigh. "I wish you could heal his scars. I don't think they're ever going to go away. Poor Goten, to always have that reminder of what his mother did to him. I can't imagine it."
Dende nodded, "I will be here I will wait with you. I will wait with whomever you wish me to. I will heal him. I will grant him the insight to understand why we do what we do. Should the worst come to pass, you and I will be there for him." He drew her into a tighter hug.
Rose threw her arms around him, burying her face into the crook of his neck, breathing in deeply his scent. "I'm so lucky to have you as a friend, Dende," she said. She was half tempted to crawl into his lap and just let herself be held by him. She didn't know why she felt so comfortable around him and so excited at the same time. She wished she knew. Perhaps she'd be able to control her mouth better if she did. "I wish we could just run away together."
Dende blinked at her odd sentence, "If only we could. We have so many who depend on us. Yet so few we can depend on. I understand. But it is not so bad. If we ran way, what would happen to those who are counting on us? If we do nothing, what will happen to poor Goten? Will he be adopted into another family who does not feed him enough food? Would he go back to Chichi? We are needed here, Rose."
Rose sighed and nodded. "You're right," she said sadly and sat up. She started gathering up the papers and pictures on the floor, placing them neatly back into the file. "Even if I did take some time off, I wouldn't know what to do with myself. I'd still be thinking about work." She quickly snatched up a notebook laying there amongst the papers and stuck it into the file, trying not to blush, hoping she didn't look too conspicuous. It was her personal journal, her musings about what was going on, her feelings for Goku and for Dende, as if writing them down would help her to sort them out. She didn't meet Dende's eyes as she continued to pick up her mess. "I'm not sure where to have you wait for me tomorrow," she said. "I don't know what's going to happen. I know they're planning on having some sort of EMTs on standby near the house, but they won't be able to heal him like you could. That's just in case she did something really stupid."
Dende winced. "I won't let her do that. If she does something stupid, it's only going to hurt herself. Arthusia put a hex on her. Everything will return back to her, times three. It will not be pretty, even now. I will be there. Goten will not suffer any more. We will bring him back here, give him ice cream, let him cook. We should go out and get what he needs to make pasta. He loves pasta. Sabriena's recipe; I think he has memorized it by now."
"Go out? Now?" Rose asked, blinking at him. She gathered up the last of the papers and tucked it all into the file as she got to her feet. "O-Okay." She looked down at her clothes, deciding she wasn't suitable to go out in public like that. "Let me get cleaned up." She set the file on the counter and headed to her room to change. She couldn't possibly think about food in a minute like that, but Dende was right. It would be like that night when the three of them had had their pizza party a few months ago. Maybe it would help Goten to feel better.
Dende near smacked himself in the face, but held it together and called after her, "Or I can just go out. Tell me what to get you to eat tonight because I'd be willing to bet, psychic or not, you haven't eaten much today."
"I'm fine," Rose called back down the hallway. "I'm not hungry." She pulled on a pair of jeans and a nicer top, then slicked her hair back into a short ponytail. She glanced at herself in the mirror. She still didn't look great, no makeup, her hair needing a wash, but it was a little better at least. She was just going to the store, after all. She returned to the living room and grabbed her purse. "I'm not going to make you go shopping by yourself for me. I'm okay. Maybe a bit of fresh air will help me clear my mind anyway."
Dende smiled and nodded, offering his arm as he always did before they left her apartment. Once they reached the store, they grabbed two carts like they did the last time they had taken Goten shopping. They grabbed up plenty of food, chips and queso, spaghetti and meatballs, fresh pizza. Every single comfort food they could think of. Dende even sprung for some board games for them to play. Hopefully Goten would understand.
They carted all the food home and put it away in Rose's little kitchen. She hoped it would be enough. She hoped he would understand. She hoped that somehow, some day, he would forgive her for putting him through this.
She turned to Dende, offering him a small smile. "I can't tell you thank-you enough," she said. "I really do appreciate everything you've done to help me." Without thinking she stepped closer, pressing her lips against his cheek. "Thank you, Dende," she whispered in his ear.
Dende closed his eyes, smiling faintly and turning to press his lips to her cheek, "You are most welcome, Rose." He hugged her tightly, "Would you like me to stay here tonight, or come back in the morning?"
Rose's heart fluttered as his firm lips pressed against her cheek. She wrapped her arms around him, holding him close, loving the feel of his arms around her. "Stay," she whispered. "Please." She couldn't stand to be alone that night. "I don't know if we'll sleep much, I'm so worked up and stressed out about tomorrow. But I really don't want to be alone, if you think you can stand to put up with me for that long."
Dende smiled at her. "I wouldn't have offered if I couldn't," he hugged her tightly, "you are a remarkable woman, I think I could do this for an entire millennia. I'll be here for you. Why don't you go change? I'll make us some food and you can pick out a movie."
Rose nodded. "I won't make you sleep on the couch tonight," she said. "We can sleep together." Her eyes went wide, her cheeks flushing pink, "I - I mean, sleep as in, you know, SLEEP... in the bed... not like that..." She clapped her hands to her face. "Oh gods."
Dende force a smile before he turned away from her, his body hardening at her words, even though he knew what she meant. "I understand. Thank you. Now, go get cleaned up, I will make us some stir fry." Dear gods, do not let him have a repeat of the night he fell asleep on her couch.
"Sorry the bed is sort of small," Rose apologized as they prepared for bed that night. She pulled back the covers and crawled into it on one side, suddenly grateful for her skinny frame. She'd always wished she was a bit more curvy, more like Sabriena, but now that she laid down in the bed, she was happy for it.
"It's not a problem," Dende assured her as he settled himself next to her and pulled the blankets up over them. Oh, it was so hard to resist the temptation to close the space between their bodies, to hold her, kiss her. He bit the inside of his lip and choked down a whimper as his fang pierced the skin. She looked so beautiful as she lay next to him, her coppery blonde hair fanned out on the pillow around her head like a halo.
Rose clicked off the light on her bedside table after double checking her alarm clock and laid on her side to stare at Dende in the soft light that fell through her bedroom window. Goodness, he was handsome. How wonderful would it be to crawl into bed with him every night and just feel that soft comfort of his presence as she slept. Her eyes met his and she gave him a tiny, shy smile. "I'm so glad you stayed with me tonight," she whispered. "I know I'll sleep well tonight with you here beside me."
"Oh Rose," he sighed, reaching out and taking her hand in his. "I'll always be here for you. Sleep now. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow."
She twisted her fingers into his, a smile still pulling at her full lips as she closed her eyes. "Goodnight, Dende," she whispered as she drifted off to sleep.
"Goodnight, my love," he whispered back so quietly that even if she had been awake, he doubted she would have heard him.
Author's Note: I think all you lovely reviewers deserve another shout-out for being so faithful to reviewing our stories! So I just have to say to dbzfangirl1, amkula, GreenSaiyan, nancy103, Hakudoshi, Reign of Sorrow, and all our guests, you guys fucking rock. Seriously, your support means the world to me. JC 87 and I love hearing from you guys and interacting with you. You make it worthwhile for us to spend so much time working on these stories. It means so much to me to know that there are people out there who support my writing, even when there are people in my life who do not and think it is a waste of my time. I know better because of you guys. So from the bottom of my mushy, silly heart, thank you.