Goten

I groaned and pushed myself up. I felt stiff all over, but had no actual injuries. Trunks was rising beside me, in the middle of a desert at sunrise. "Huh?" Then everything returned to me. "He... turned into a Super Saiyan 2?"

"Super Saiyan Orchid 2," Trunks corrected. "And if he can do that, then a level 3 and God aren't out of the question." He shook his head. "Damn; and I thought we had enough trouble against the first level. Why does it seem like his transformations raise his abilities a lot more than ours' do?"

"He is one of Gero's, after all." I rose to my feet and sighed. "We need more training. Next time, Gotenks'll-"

"We're not fusing next time," Trunks stated firmly. I looked at him in shock. "Goten, every time we fight him, we just plan to knock him out, but Gotenks always goes for the kill, and we always end up attacking Meadow." He crossed his arms. "Until further notice, Gotenks is on time-out."

I gritted my teeth, but nodded. "I get it." We lifted into the air and went to find Vegeta.

Locke

A weight on my chest roused me from my sleep. When I opened my eyes, Meadow was laying on top of me, sleeping soundly. She was still clothed in the blue tank top and shorts she'd borrowed from my mom, as we'd been a bit fearful of being caught the night before, but if anything, that only increased the joy I now felt. I rubbed her head. "Gotta get up, Meadow," I said softly. "The earlier we're up, the easier it'll be for everyone to believe we didn't do anything last night."

"Five more minutes," she grogilly begged.

I smiled. "Could you at least let me get up?" She shook her head and moved her hands to grab the sheets below me. I sighed. "Alright." I waited until she'd drifted off again, then used Instant Transmission to get to the kitchen, startling Gramps.

"L-Locke!" he gasped. "Since when can you do that?"

I grinned apologetically. "Sorry, Gramps; forgot you aren't that caught-up. That was Instant Transmission: it pretty much teleports me to someone who's ki I recognize."

He rubbed his head. "I don't think I'll get used to all this any time soon."

I looked around. "Where's Cell?" I asked. "He doesn't sleep much, so he should be up by now."

Gramps sighed. "I guess he decided to try and change that. He spent the night with your mother, and they were both sleeping soundly when I checked on them."

"Why'd you check on them?"

"An Android-" I scowled. "-who almost blew up the Earth is sleeping with my daughter. I think I have a right to be worried."

"Be careful with the A-word," I warned. "And please give them their privacy, Gramps. I doubt you could ruin anything, but this is the first time I've had a dad. I don't want to take any chances." He nodded. "Besides, Cell doesn't have a-" Gramps cleared his throat. "Um, you know. They can't really do that."

He sighed and grabbed his coffee. "I guess so. But you and your girlfriend are another story." I slipped into Noire Form briefly. "Forget it." He left, and I returned to my base form.

I went and watched TV, a luxury I hadn't had for days, until Cell came out, yawning. "I finally understand why you humans sleep so much," he commented. "It was amazing."

I grinned. "Yeah. Especially when you're sleeping next to the person you love with all your heart." Cell smiled and nodded. "Uh, hey, where did you put that document we got from Gero's lab?" He raised an eyebrow. "I promised George I'd give him a look at it." That, and I need to check something.

"I'll get it." He returned to Mom's room and emerged with the drive. "I made copies, so George can keep this one."

I took it and nodded. "Thanks, Dad." He smiled, then surprised me by placing his hand on my head. "Hm?"

"Locke," he addressed me. "Never stop calling me that."

I smiled and nodded. "Will do." Cell ruffled my hair and yawned again.

"Why am I still so tired?" he asked. "I thought sleep was supposed to refresh you."

"Yeah, it refreshes you, but it's kinda hard to shake off," I explained. "Just go ask Gramps how to make some coffee." Cell seemed skeptical, but went to find my grandfather.

Once he was gone, I went back into my room and found Meadow sitting up, rubbing her eyes. "I thought I said no," she complained. "Why'd you leave?"

I smiled and sat down beside her. "I needed to do something." One kiss wiped away any annoyance she showed. "Now, we should head over and give this to your brother." She nodded and started to get dressed. "One more thing: while we're showing George this, I'm gonna be looking through it, too." She looked at me questioningly as she straightened her shirt. "I remember there was a section about our, ah... situation, but I didn't pay much attention to it last time." I smiled. "Could you try and cover for me when we get to that?"

She shook her head. "Actually, I think we can trust him with this." I was my turn to look questioning. "George and I have been best friends since we were little, even though Dad didn't let us spend much time together. If there's one person we can trust..." She smiled brightly. "... it's our baby's uncle."

It seemed risky, but I just smiled back. "Well, if you trust him, then so do I." She finished clothing herself and took my hand as I transported us to her mother's house. Although the first attempt landed us in a diner, as she was at work, so I targeted George instead.

We appeared in front of him, startling the other Android and making him trip over the coffee table. "H-huh?!" I apologized and got right to the point, plugging in the drive.

He looked it over, nodding more than a few times. "Seems legit," he commented. "Now I can blame someone other than myself for Mom and Dad's divorce."

"George," Meadow said softly, putting her hand on his shoulder. "I thought I told you not to do that."

He shrugged. "Well, now I don't have to. It's this Gero bastard's fault, not mine." We continued to scroll through, until I found the section I was looking for.

Those impregnated with these biological Androids both underwent similar symptoms, the most prominent of which was severe stomach aches during conception from malnutrition, due to the children's requiring much more sustenance in the forming stage than normal Humans, and the children's massive latent power. These children, should they survive to breed, will produce seed that will cause the same symptoms, although others may appear depending on heredity from their maternal genes.

"There we go," I said under my breath, a faint smile creeping onto my face. Meadow squeezed my hand.

George took notice of all this and looked at us. "Am I missing something?" he asked. "Why are we looking at this?"

Meadow chose her words carefully, but I noticed that her smile was ever-present. "George, we have a secret we want you to keep." He looked suspiscious, but nodded. "We may have gotten a little out of control the other day, and I might be... pregnant." He blinked. "And after seeing this, I'm almost sure of it."

A dark look crossed his face, but it quickly vanished. "And you guys are okay with it?"

I shrugged. "Do we really have a choice?" I answered, avoiding actually answering.

He looked directly at me. "What if you die? You said Vegeta's still after you and your dad, didn't you?" I bit my lip, hoping that wouldn't come up. But before I answered, he waved it off. "Well, if anything happens, I'll help out." He reached over and ruffled Meadow's hair. "Can't let my baby sis be a single teen mom, now can I?"

She smacked his hand back. "We're twins, remember?" she scolded, clearly offended at being called "baby sis". "But thanks, George. You promise not to tell Mom?"

"Yeah, I promise." We all exchanged warm smiles, then I stood up.

"We should be going," I said. "Neither of us have had breakfast yet, and if I read that right, you'll need all the food you can get." Meadow stood up and took my hand.

"I'll see you later," Meadow said to her brother.

"See you guys," he responded. It seemed upbeat, but just as we were vanishing, I noticed that dark look cross his face again.

We appeared next to Cell, who was sitting on the couch with Mom and Gran. Gramps had no doubt gone to check on the company. The instant we appeared, Cell turned to Mom and Gran. "Could I have a private word with these two?"

Gran looked suspicious, but Mom smiled and nodded. "I'll get started on breakfast." She quickly went to the kitchen, and Cell led us to a side room.

Once the door was closed, he turned to us. "I heard some... things last night and this morning," he informed us. "I have some thoughts, but I'll withhold them until I know the facts." We both turned red.

"U-um..." Meadow stuttered.

I was a bit better under pressure, so I started. "Um, could you tell us what you heard?"

"Well, along with your carnal activities after everyone was asleep, namely 'baby's uncle' in reference to her brother."

"Aaaaaahhhh..." I sighed. "Dad, don't freak out, but..." I took a deep breath. "We got a little carried away the first night on the run, and now Meadow's... pregnant. Probably." Meadow hid her red face with her hands.

"Did you not use protection?"

I was surprised by his calm disposition, but answered. "I-I mean, we had it, but she kinda forgot to use it."

Meadow shook her head. "I remember taking it, but Locke was able to stay awake longer than me afterwards, and he says it never happened. Now I'm showing the symptoms Gero's notes list."

Cell seemed in thought. "I remember reading that the seed used to create Locke and George was programmed to tamper with their mother's memories, in order to preserve their lives. It seems that Locke's has the same ability."

I couldn't stop the small smile that crept onto my face. "So, it's certifiable."

Cell was quiet, then spoke. "You don't seem particularly upset by that. In fact, I'd almost think you were upbeat." Meadow perked up and looked at me.

Cornered, I averted my eyes and scratched the back of my head. "Well, there's not really much we can do now, so why not make the most of it?"

Cell didn't seem convinced, but he let it go. "Anyway," he continued, "I'm sorry to say that that situation is actually quite doubtful." My heart stopped. Literally; I had to jumpstart it with a quick jolt of ki. He retrieved another drive and a computer, then opened the document, going straight to the section on pregnancy. "I assume this is where you stopped." I nodded. "Now, read on." I reluctantly did so.

Unfortunately, the symptoms of bearing an Android child can easily be replicated by natural causes. It took me nearly a week to realize that the Namekian seed had died in the sterile uterus it had found due to this.

"I don't-"

"Keep reading," Cell interrupted me.

Should they survive to reproduce, both will find themselves elated at the idea of parenthood, no matter their age or other situations. The Frieza-based Android will find every attempt successful as a trait copied from Frieza, though the Saiyan Android will find it exceedingly difficult, as the combination of artificial and natural DNA will not normally cooperate with a normal Human womb. The likelihood would rise when breeding with one of the race they emulate, but...

I stopped reading, finding what Cell had wanted me to. "So..." I sighed. "I guess we're in the clear." Not wanting them to see my disappointment, I stood and left. "Fantastic."

"Locke?" Meadow called after me, clearly confused.

I ignored Gran and Mom when I passed them and went straight to my room, sitting down on my bed and grinding my teeth. "What the hell is wrong with me?" I growled, putting my hand on my forehead. "This should be a relief. Why do I feel so... pissed?"

The door opened and Meadow peeked in. "Locke?" she said, concerned. "Is something wrong?"

I tried to put on a smile, but I could tell my Meadow's expression that it looked forced. "I'm fine; I swear."

She came over and sat beside me. "Please don't lie to me," she begged. "What's wrong?" I avoided her gaze, but it was no use; she had enough evidence to correctly guess. "Locke, did you... want us to have a baby?"

The notes had already all but confirmed her suspicion; I gathered that she just didn't want to assume. Against my whole conscience, I'd wanted to be a father, even though I was still young; exactly like my damned programming dictated. But I didn't want to admit it. "Of course not," I assured her. "We're still too young, right? This is a... good thing..."

She was quiet, then she slipped her hand into mine. "You know... I did, too." I perked up and looked at her incredulously; I was the one programmed with that desire, not her. Her face was red and she kept her eyes averted, but she continued. "I know we're still young, and our parents probably won't be very happy, but I was actually excited to have your baby, Locke."

My shock faded away and I sighed. "Yeah, I wanted it," I finally admitted.

"There's still a chance..."

"A slim one," I pointed out.

"I'll know in a few days," she said. "And if I'm not pregnant, we could..." She smiled awkwardly. "... try again."

I shook my head, wiping away her smile. "No. I think I'd prefer if it was a happy accident. Otherwise, we should wait until we're married." She nodded, clearly disappointed. "And just in case, I'm going to spend the next three days assuming that there isn't a baby growing inside you." She nodded again, even more disappointed.

Just then, I heard a knock on the front door. A brief scream followed, prompting us both to run back into the living room. Cell held his arm protectively in front of Mom and Gran, glaring with anger and fear at the intruders.

Standing just inside the door was Vegeta and Gohan.