Dende sat nervously in the ambulance with the medical professionals, where Rose instructed him to wait while she got Goten and took him to Chichi's house. The ambulance was just down the road, hidden from view of the house and they were all waiting with baited breath to see what came over the radio on the situation. He had gotten a few looks from the medical professionals, but was quickly able to show them his healing abilities, mending a cut a medic had on their arm. He could have told them all that the plan was going to work. It was only a matter of time. Especially since arriving, he could sense Chichi's anger at the situation all the way from where he was. She was annoyed that she had to have a chaperone when around Goten.
Rose rang the doorbell, smiling at Chichi when she opened the door. "Here we are!" she said, entering the house with Goten, "Just like we scheduled."
"Oh, my baby!" Chichi cried, dropping to her knees to wrap her arms around Goten, big tears welling in her eyes as she hugged him.
Rose forced a smile again, taking a step back towards the bookcase in the living room, one hand slightly behind her back, the tiny camera hidden in her hand. She inconspicuously placed it on a shelf and aimed it out towards the room, hoping she had placed it right. She immediately slid her hands into her pockets to hide how bad they were shaking.
Their visit went as normal for several minutes before Rose's phone rang. She answered, pretending to be shocked that she was immediately needed on another case, when in reality the officer in the surveillance van was telling her the camera was in the right place and she needed to leave the house. Rose hung up the phone, looking at Chichi, "Mrs. Son, I'm so sorry, but I have to run," Rose said, heading for the door. "It's an emergency at work. Can you keep an eye on Goten? I'll be back in a few hours!" And without even letting Chichi or Goten get a word out, Rose hurried out the door.
Dende closed his eyes against the fresh wave of fear that spiked in little Goten when he spotted Rose leaving the house. He prayed to the goddess that this would be over soon.
Rose gave a pointed look down the road towards where she knew Dende was, then got in her car and drove the opposite way towards the awaiting officers, joining them quickly inside the van to watch the camera she'd left.
Goten stared after Rose where she had left. He swallowed harshly and grasped at his Thor's hammer around his neck before looking up at his mother. He looked down at the glass in his other hand, seeing that it was shaking. He didn't want his mother to think he was afraid. "I've been keeping up with my homework, Momma."
"That's good, Goten," she said, although her tone had turned decidedly cold and her tears had vanished. "And what about what we talked about? About you keeping your mouth shut and not talking to these people when they ask you questions?"
Goten felt the blood draining from his face and nodded. His little hands wouldn't stop shaking. He didn't like that tone. 'Come back Miss Rose, please come back,' he recited over and over in his head as he forced himself to nod. "I haven't said anything, Momma. I've been good, I swear it!" He couldn't keep holding the glass and made to set it on the table in front of him, but the tremors got the best of him. He squeezed too tightly on the cup when his mother moved to cross her arms and it shattered, spilling bright red koolaid and glass all over the table and the carpet. His eyes went wide; his hand was cut as well but he looked to her, "I'm so sorry, Momma! I'll clean it up!"
"Oh, GOTEN! What is WRONG with you?!" she screeched, seeing the bright red stain all over her pristine white carpet. "Can't you do anything right?! I swear, you're just as stupid and clumsy as your father!" She grabbed him by the arm and yanked him towards her, leaning over, her face mere inches from his. "I am so SICK of this! We finally get an afternoon together without that bitch of a caseworker breathing down my neck and the first thing you want to do is trash the house?! You know what this means, mister! And take that ugly thing off of your neck!" she ordered, looking at the necklace he wore.
Rose had her hands clasped together and pressed to her lips, her eyes glued to the screen, fear and self-loathing racing through her system.
Goten grasped his necklace tightly, large tears welling in his eyes. "No! Please, Momma, no! I didn't mean it, I'll clean it up. Please let me clean it up!" he cried, tears slipping down his cheeks. At his mother's threatening gaze, he shakily lifted the necklace off his neck and set it on the table. "Please let me clean it up, Momma."
"You wouldn't do it right, anyway," she snipped and turned to march down the hall, leaving him standing there. She grabbed the little bag of senzu beans out of her drawer, then retrieved the switch from where she'd hidden it behind a loose grate covering an air vent. She tucked the bag into her pocket, then returned to the living room, twisting the switch in both hands. "I know you're not getting the proper discipline at that other house. It's obvious with the way you don't even have enough respect to not trash our home the second you get here. Now turn around and lower your power level," she said in a frighteningly calm voice.
Goten was horrified and he backed away from her, but paused. He had once tried to run away but it had only meant she gave him a more severe beating. "No please, Momma, please don't use that. Please!" He was blubbering now, his face red, tears pouring down his face, his nose running. His lip trembled and he closed his eyes and turned around, shaking visibly as he lowered his power level. "Momma please," he begged in a tiny voice.
Dende moved to go outside of the ambulance and moved to stand just behind it, peering down the road at the house as he felt Goten's energy lower.
Rose was crying with him, poised on the edge of her seat, ready to run to him the second Chichi made an aggressive move. Threatening wasn't enough to prove her guilt. Rose had to let it happen, even though she swore she would never forgive herself. What kind of a fucked up world did they live in to have to use a child like this, just to keep him safe? It made no sense to her at all.
Chichi grabbed the back of her son's shirt and pulled it up over his head, revealing his already scarred back. She reared back and swung the switch with such force that the first hit split his skin, blood trickling down his back.
Goten cried out, a loud wail of pain as his body broke and bled. He was in so much pain, the pain from the glass in his hand was nothing to the fresh wound on his back. Cutting through scar tissue, he would swear it felt like his back was being cut open. "Momma, please stop!" he cried out, not bothering to hide his shaking and being this weak, he nearly lost his footing.
Dende about needed to cover his ears, but he took off running towards Rose. "Stop her! Stop her now!" he cried.
Rose was panicked as she ran, seeing Dende run with her as the police swarmed the house. The officers kicked the door in before Rose got to it, grabbed Chichi and wrestled her to the floor and handcuffed her, proclaiming she was under arrest.
"WHAT IS THIS?!" Chichi screamed, kicking and trying to squirm out from under the officer who had his knee in her back. Her eyes narrowed when she saw Rose and Dende enter the house. "You did this! You set me up!" she accused.
Rose was going to be sick, seeing Goten's back. Chichi had gotten three good hits on him before they could get to him. "Goten, c'mere, baby," Rose said gently, going to him and picking him up carefully, cradling the little boy to her chest, tucking his head under her chin. She turned towards Dende, seeing the look of horror on his face, his hands starting to glow. "Wait," she said, "We have to document this, then you can heal him." She was crying, holding Goten carefully, his little arms wrapped around her neck.
Dende nodded before he turned and looked at Chichi, the hatred seeping from her was overwhelming and was nearly enough to knock him off his feet. He looked at her sadly. "You did this to yourself," he said before he went forward and retrieved the senzu beans from her pocket. "These are meant to heal, not cover up your mistakes." He turned and followed Rose out to the ambulance, watching as she and the doctors documented everything. The hand with glass in it, the three large gashes on his back. They bit into his skin deeply, so much more that what a mother disciplining her child would ever do.
"Goten, I'm sorry," Rose whispered as she sat with him in her lap, his back exposed to the doctor and the officer who took pictures, then left with a grim expression on his face. Rose waved Dende over, "Heal him, Dende, please. Please heal him," she sobbed, holding him tightly, but making sure not to touch the marks on his back. She felt absolutely wretched. "Please forgive me, Goten," she murmured in his ear. "I'm so sorry that I had to leave you like that."
Goten sobbed harder, holding onto her tightly. He had been so afraid, so terrified. Why did his mother hate him so? Why?! All he ever wanted to be was a good boy. He was a good son, wasn't he?
Dende lifted his hands, glowing golden light and set to work healing the brave child. "Goten. She doesn't hate you, but she doesn't like herself very much at all, you did nothing wrong, child, nothing." He closed his eyes against the tremendous hate he felt inside of these wounds. He sent waves of comfort into him, peace, soothing. The wounds healed, becoming whole flesh once more.
Rose buried her face into Goten's hair, hugging him back just as tightly, relief washing over her as Dende healed the little boy.
One of the EMTs watched in fascination, never having seen anything like it before in his life. "Wow," he breathed. "Man, I wish I could do that! It'd make my job a heck of a lot easier. Hey, you want a job?" he offered the Namek.
Rose narrowed her eyes at the young man. "Thank you, we'll be going now," she said as she stood up and fixed Goten's shirt over his back. "You wanna come stay with me and Dende tonight?" she asked gently, wiping the tears from his face. "We bought all sorts of food for you to cook with. We even bought you some new movies and some board games."
Goten blinked at Rose and Dende, he felt better, amazingly better, and a calm, reassuring feeling washed over him. He wanted his daddy, but they kept telling him no. He nodded, reaching into his pocket and putting the little necklace on again. He would never take it off again. He hugged Rose's neck tightly, not wanting to let go. He could hear his mother screeching as she was taken to a cop car. Dende rubbed Goten's back. "Don't you worry about her; she will never harm you again. Never ever. And soon, you'll get to see your dad again. As much as you want."
Rose felt like she'd swallowed a block of ice. She was going to have to tell Goku what had happened, what she had allowed to happen, the part she'd played in this. She suddenly felt even more miserable as she walked beside Dende, carrying Goten to her car. She buckled him in and shut the door, turning to Dende, speaking in a soft voice, "Goku's going to hate me," she said. "I have to tell him, though. He has to know what happened here today. I can't let him go to court and be blind-sided by that video when they show it."
Dende placed a hand on her arm, "Rose, Goku is not going to hate you. You should know that about him by now. The man does not have a mean bone in his body. You gave Chichi a chance to prove to everyone that she never laid a finger on him, that she could change. He will thank you for saving his son, for getting him away from that. It is Chichi who should be fearful of Goku's wrath. Now let's get him home. He deserves a medal, a hot meal, and ice cream. He deserves whatever we can give him."
Rose nodded and got into the car, quickly leaving the scene behind them. Goten would never have to go back in that house and he would never again be abused by his mother. Rose was certain of it. Now all that was left was to figure out how to convince the judge that Goku's home was suitable for Goten, despite the fact that it didn't measure up to their government guidelines. Gods, that was starting to piss her off. Not every child needed the same cookie-cutter standards. Sometimes there were exceptions to the rules. She didn't know how she was going to pull this off, but she had to try.
"Rose," Dende said slowly, not wanting to alarm her that he had been listening to her thoughts, but he had let his powers go during the whole situation, "I apologize for reading your thoughts, but perhaps you could convince the judge to let Goten stay with his brother and Lindsey with full custody to either Goku or Gohan and unlimited visitation." He looked back at Goten who was quiet and staring out the window. He was hurting on the inside now, he didn't understand what was going on, why his mother hurt him. He didn't know what to think about Rose leaving him like that.
Rose pressed her lips thin and nodded. "The judge would be much more likely to approve that than to let him stay with Goku," she said sadly. She didn't mind that Dende was reading her thoughts at the moment. Perhaps he could make more sense of them than she could. She reached over and grasped Dende's hand, trying not to shiver at the sensation that shot up her arm and made her heart flutter. "Thank you for helping me today," she said. "I don't know what I'd do without you."
Dende smiled at her, "Any time Rose, you have but to ask." He looked back at Goten, "Are you alright?"
Goten didn't know if he was or not. Momma got in trouble because of him, but then Dende said she would never be able to hurt him again. He looked up at Rose. "Can I go see my Daddy now?" he asked.
Dende smiled at the little one, "Rose has a few more things she has to do this afternoon and evening. How about we go see your dad tomorrow? You can maybe even see if they will go fishing with you." He thought, presenting a thought to Rose as well, 'We can tell Goku what happened tomorrow.'
"Tonight Goten, it's all about you, we are going to cook up a storm, and I hear tell you are a whiz at monopoly," Dende said to the little boy in the backseat.
Rose gave a jump as she heard Dende's voice in her head. She looked wide-eyed at him, wondering if she'd imagined it or not, but the look he fixed her with confirmed that she had indeed heard his thoughts. That was wild. How had that happened? She'd never experienced anything like that before. She reached out carefully with her mind, testing this. 'Okay. That sounds like a good plan.' She wasn't sure what to do now. She liked this connection, knowing that she and Dende could communicate like this. But at the same time, it terrified her. What if she slipped and he saw how she felt about him? How she felt about Goku at the same time? She was so confused, her heart all twisted up, her mind telling her that both were wrong.
Dende smiled at her, hiding a look of his own and quickly bowed out of her thoughts. So she had feelings for Goku as well. She needed more time to sort her own feelings out before he presented her with his. Still, he couldn't help feeling a little disappointed that he did not have her full attention. And she was only fooling herself if she ever thought that Goku would leave his mates. 'Don't worry, I am not reading your thoughts, just merely projecting what I am thinking into your mind. I only hear the words you want me to. Clever trick is it not? You may pretend to be psychic if you like.'
Rose gave a little giggle. This was fun. 'Pretend to be psychic, huh?' she thought to him. 'Maybe I should go snooping around in your head for awhile. You've been in mine so many times. Now what to look for?' She tried not to smile too big, already feeling better than she had for several days. 'Poke, poke. There has to be something you haven't shared with me, some embarrassing story or secret that I could use to make you squirm,' she thought, teasing him.
Dende couldn't resist and leaned back in his seat, casting her a sly sideways glance. 'Oh, I imagine there are quite a few things you can use to make me squirm,' he thought suggestively and waggled his eyebrows at her. He chuckled when he saw her cheeks color.
'DENDE!' her mind scolded. She'd never heard him be so forward before. She could feel her face burning as she looked away from him, focusing on driving through the city for a moment. She was taking the long way back to her apartment, she knew that, but she was enjoying this too much. She finally looked at him, her lips pursed and eyes narrowing slightly. 'You have NO idea what you're getting yourself into. Watch out, or I WILL leave you squirming.' She gave a little snicker, thinking that she had always loved joking like this with him. But then, they'd never joked like this. It was that strange sense again that she'd known him for as long as she could remember.
Dende chuckled, 'A promise is that?' He smirked. ''You wouldn't do that, I've never know you to be so cruel.'
Goten frowned at the grown-ups, they were laughing at some secret joke, he could tell. He just shook his head; he didn't understand them sometimes.
Rose took his words as a challenge. 'Oh, is that so?' she thought, before she concentrated for a moment, remembering the last time she'd taken a shower. She projected the image to him of herself, standing before the foggy full-length mirror, her hand reaching out and wiping away the steam to reveal her face framed by her damp, tussled locks of hair, her bare shoulders, the rest of her nude form obscured by the steam clinging to the mirror.
Dende's mouth dropped open and he snapped it shut a moment later as a hot blush formed on his cheeks. She was beyond beautiful to him. He shuddered before he saw the playful smirk on her face. "You little minx," he growled.
Rose flashed him a big smile before she threw her head back and laughed. "Hey, I warned you," she said as she pulled up to her parking space in front of her apartment. She felt rather proud of herself in that moment, seeing Dende's jaw dropping open like that. She never knew she could have that sort of effect on a man. She got out of the car, still smiling at Dende, then helped Goten out of his seat.
"Okay, Goten," she said gently, picking him up and carrying him, even though she knew perfectly well that he was capable of walking. She just wanted to hold him and make him feel safe. "You don't mind staying the night here at my place again, do you?"
Goten smiled at her, wrapping his arms around her neck and he nodded, "Yeah." He laid his head down on her shoulder, he was tired now, for some reason. "Can I take a nap and then we cook?" he asked, hesitantly, but he felt safe around Rose, even more so with Dende there.
"Sure," she answered as they climbed the stairs of the apartment building. She rubbed softly at his back, speaking softly to him. "I'm so sorry for what happened today, Goten. One day, you will understand, I hope." She carried him inside and down the little hall to her bedroom. He was already snoring softly on her shoulder as she tucked him into her bed, pulling off his little shoes and running her fingers through his untidy hair. She planted a tiny kiss on his forehead, then left the room, closing the door behind her. "So, you going to challenge me anymore or was that enough?" she asked Dende in a teasing tone.
Dende smiled at her as he went into the kitchen. "Yes, well. I am not certain I can top what you just showed me. What a delight that will be later on I think," he chuckled. Good heavens, what had gotten into him? He never joked about this. But with her, he felt as if they had done it before and it was alright because she wouldn't hold the flirting against him. He showed her an image of himself, his mirror back at the Lookout and he did not have the coverage of steam to be modest, but a turn to the side, and he could hide what he liked with his leg.
Rose gasped at the image in her head and her face blushed all over again. "Dende!" she cried, giving his arm a playful swat. "What has gotten into you?" Her face turned even redder as she thought about what he'd said, about the image of her in the mirror would be a delight later on. What was he planning to do with that image? Oh. Oh gods! "You are so NAUGHTY!" she accused, grabbing up a dishtowel and swatting him with it over and over. But, then again, she now had the mental image of his body in her head. His beautiful green skin, the muscles of his body that he usually kept hidden beneath his tunic, the smile on his face that ever so slightly revealed his fangs. Gods, it was just how she'd pictured him when she'd had all of those incredibly sexy dreams about him. She shoved the dreams from her head, hoping he hadn't seen that. That was taking things way too far.
Dende chuckled and playfully avoided her swats. He started mixing a few things together, a tried and true chocolate cake recipe that Jenny had showed him how to make, one of Grandma Arthusia's classic recipes. However, she had also shown him how to imbue in it a feel good spell, a spell for protection and wellbeing. Dende smiled to himself as he mixed it up, just what Goten needed. He closed his eyes, listening across the way as Chichi was trying to defend herself by saying she was exercising her right as a parent to discipline her child as she saw fit.
Rose smiled as she watched Dende mixing up the cake batter, seemingly lost in his task and his thoughts. She was so torn. She loved spending time with him, talking with him, the butterflies she got from being around him. But they were just too different, weren't they? And then there was Goku, strong handsome Goku, with that warm laugh who had been the first person to befriend her in a long time. But he was married and deep down, she knew she couldn't have him. She'd never been so confused in her life. She caught Dende looking at her and she smiled at him. "I get to lick the bowl, right?" she teased, giving him a wink.
Dende smiled warmly at her, giving her a wink as he scraped the batter into a cake pan and scraped the last bit onto the wooden spoon and held it out for her. "Care for a taste?"
Feeling flirty and just a bit naughty again, Rose leaned forward, capturing the spoon in her mouth, and moaned at the taste. It was rich and decadent in a way she'd never tasted before. She locked her eyes on his as she sucked it, pulling back to let her tongue play over the spoon for just a moment before she stood up straight again. She was so caught up in the moment that she stumbled over her words as she spoke to him, "Mmmm, Dende you taste so good... I... I mean THAT tastes so good!" She clapped her hands to her face, laughing in embarrassment. "We gotta stop."
Dendes eyes widened and his face went bright purple looking at her a moment before he joined her with laughter. "You are an amazing woman, Rose," he chuckled, trying very hard to not to imagine Rose with the chocolate batter on her finger, her neck. His mouth watered. He did have a sweet tooth.
"Have you tasted it yet?" she asked, reaching for the bowl and swiping up a bit of the chocolate batter on her finger. She held her hand out to him as if offering to let him suck on her finger, but at the last second she tapped her finger against his lips and pulled her hand back, leaving a large spot of chocolate where she'd touched him. She giggled playfully again and sucked her own finger clean, trying not to laugh at his expression.
Dendes eyes went wide again and he slowly licked his lips clean, wishing. Wishing above wishing that she had let him taste her finger. How would that have been. He would've loved it. It would have been fantastic, "This should be just what we need. I would make icing, but I'm now sure how we would do with that." He winked at her.
"But you can't have cake without icing!" she protested. She crossed her arms over her chest and pouted her big, full lips, giving him puppy-dog eyes. "I promise I'll be good! Please, Dende? Pleeeeeease?" She was having too much fun, begging him like this. She batted her blue eyes, clasping her hands together as she continued to pout. "Please?"
Dende laughed and reached over, ruffling her hair, "Alright, alright. You and that face, you have been spending too much time with Goten, you have been perfecting his big eyes." He carefully mixed together a cream cheese frosting with more chocolate. He grinned at her and dipped his finger into it and held it out to her, leaning on the counter.
Rose hesitated, wondering if he was going to pull her own trick on her, but she leaned forward and captured his finger in her mouth. She hummed around it, the delicious flavor bursting over her tongue. It was sweet and rich as she sucked it from his finger. The taste of his skin mixed with it and made her knees go weak. She let her tongue play along the digit for a moment, even after the icing was gone before she pulled back, her cheeks hollowing once more as she released him with a pop of her lips.
Dendes eyes fluttered as she sucked on his finger, his heart pounding in his chest. Good gods above, what was this woman doing to him? He never felt this way about anyone. And she made him feel as if she'd been in his life for a long time already, "You know how to tease a man."
Rose didn't know what in the world she was doing. She knew she cared for Dende, despite their differences, but was this what she really wanted? She stepped closer to him, holding his gaze, her heart hammering against her ribs. "Dende," she said softly, reaching up to cup his face, tilting her head slightly, inviting him in for a kiss. She had to know if this was right and the only way she could think of to find out would be to kiss him.
Dende's heart pounded, louder and louder until it was the only thing he could hear. Their lips were mere millimeters apart when the small voice, thick with sleep reached his ears, "Mister Dende? Miss Rose?" He pulled back from Rose second later to see Goten wander into the living room, rubbing at his eyes with a fist, "Goten. Are you alright? Did you get enough sleep?"
Goten nodded and toddled over to them, "I am hungry, would it be alright if I cooked?"
Rose smiled and went over to Goten. "Sure it is, buddy. Come on, Dende's got everything all set up for you." She placed her hands on his shoulders and steered him towards the kitchen, her heart sinking. Perhaps this was a sign that she and Dende weren't meant to be. She gave him a brief, sad glimpse and looked down at Goten again. "I can't wait to eat your cooking again," she said sincerely.
Dende had to fight the urge to just kiss Rose right then and there, Goten or not. His heart ached and he didn't know why. He reached out, catching Roses cheek with his palm, gently cupping her face. He smiled at her, and let his thumb trail over her lips, soft and beautiful. 'We will have to continue our discussion on icing at a later date,' he thought towards her, giving her a wink before he turned his attention to Goten who was going crazy over the amount of food they had and was starting to list off things he wanted to make.
Rose blinked and gave a nod as she pulled away from him, feeling very confused in that moment. It couldn't have been coincidence that Goten just happened to walk in at that very moment, could it? The moment Rose was hinging her feelings on, trying to determine if she and Dende could work and then they were interrupted when she was so close to kissing him? She shook her head, looking away from Goten and Dende to hide the sad expression on her face. 'Perhaps it was a sign that we should steer clear of icing at all,' she thought.