After Bulma ran her tests, she allowed Goku to go home as promised. She gave the warrior specific instructions to rest and take it easy for several weeks. The Saiyan wasn't allowed to go to Lord Beerus' Planet, or train with Vegeta until the scientist cleared him. Goku didn't take this news well, as anyone would expect.
"Come on, Bulma!" The spiky haired warrior groaned, his feet kicking back and forth. "That's not fair! I need to get stronger!"
"No way, mister!" Bulma shook her finger in front of his face.
"Whyyyyy." Goku whined.
"Your body still hasn't completely healed, you dummy!" The bluenette smacked the back of his head, rolling her eyes at him.
"Well that's not going to help!" The warrior rubbed the back of his head, pouting at his best friend.
Ellery chuckled, enjoying the playful interaction between the two of them. "I hate to agree with her, but she's right, Kakarot."
"Can't we meet in the middle? Just a little bit of training! I don't want to go soft."
"Goku, we don't know the extent of the damage to your body. While you were in a coma, I talked to Whis several times. The dimension that you were thrown into was extremely volatile. You weren't even in an oxygen basted environment! You shouldn't have survived! Neither of us are confident there won't be long term effects."
"What does that mean?" The Saiyan warrior coughed heavily. Fluids came up, causing him to expel the phlegm into the nearby trash. The substance had an extremely bitter taste, making Goku cringe.
Vegeta pinched the bridge of his nose as he sighed, clearly irritated by the other Saiyan in the room. "It means that you need to stay at home and not train, you idiot."
"He's right, Kakarot." Ellery agreed with her older brother. "It's going to take time to get your strength back. Meditation and other daily practices will help this. You can't get better if you rush yourself into another spar unprepared."
"But I'm gonna wither away if I don't do something!" Goku whined.
Bulma looked at her friend, then back towards her patient. "The only kind of training you will be doing is teaching at the Harmony Center. That's only AFTER you've been cleared by me."
"That'll be perfect!" The Saiyan woman clapped her hands in excitement. "Your students have been asking about your return! I'm sure they'll be elated to hear that you're back to teach."
The spiky haired warrior felt as if he was withering away. He couldn't remember the last time he sat around and did nothing for days on end. It took four days for the cough to finally subside. Even after that, Goku found himself short of breath more often than not.
Most of his days were spent trying to keep track of the baby Saiyan. That task was much easier said than done.
"Pssst… Little man?" Goku whispered as he searched the house for what he felt was the millionth time. His heart began to race as he continued to search the upper level of their home. The warrior could sense Tarro's energy close by. While he could use Instant Transmission, in the haze of missing his child Goku seemed to forget about the technique.
"Come on, Tarro, where are you? Your mom's gonna go crazy if-"
"If what?" Ellery was leaning against the door frame, a pan in her hand with a dishtowel.
The Saiyan instantly froze. "How long have you been standing there?"
The young mother gave her partner a curious look. "Why? Do you not know where your son is?"
"I mayyyy-"
The look on the young mother's face was enough to quiet Goku rather quickly. The Saiyan rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment as he looked at the ground.
"I'm sorry Princess… I-"
"It's fine, he's not missing." Ellery grinned. "He's outside."
"You let him go out there by himself?" The Saiyan looked at his partner as if she grew a head.
"He's never run off without me. We've gone on adventures together in the woods. " Ellery extended her hand out to Goku. "Come with me."
The young mother took her mate downstairs. As they walked through the kitchen, she set the pan and towel down before going to the back door. Ellery cracked open the door quietly, trying her best not to make any noise.
On the other side was a baby Saiyan practicing basic martial arts moves. Tarro punched and kicked the air, making sure to move slowly to ensure an accurate technique. Goku was completely stunned by the sight. His attention to detail was surprising for his age. "
"W-who taught? When did-?" Were the only coherent words Goku was able to say.
"It happened from the moment he got the hang of walking." Ellery giggled. "I started with more complex yoga moves, as he was already doing basic ones before he could walk. We then moved onto martial arts. His big brother Goten helped a lot with that. He was very patient with him."
The mother grinned, opening the door enough to step outside. "You can tell he wants to be a warrior, just like his daddy."
"HAAAAA' Tarro yelled, holding his hands out. He wanted an energy blast to come from his palms terribly. Instead, little sparks flew out. This surprised the baby Saiyan, causing him to fall backwards onto his bottom.
"You did so good!" Goku praised his son, running towards him. The warrior scooped him up, tossing him into the air before catching him.
Tarro screamed as he giggled, happy that his father was proud of his accomplishment.
"Just you wait, I'm gonna teach you everything!"
All the extra time at home caused Goku to come to a couple of realizations. The main one being how long six months of time actually is. When the Saiyan last saw his youngest son, he was just barely over the side of his forearm. Now, Tarro is double the size. The baby Saiyan was walking, flying, and even communicating with the both of them.
Each morning since his return, the warrior's been greeted by the sound of little feet coming over to his side of the bed.
"Daddy?" The baby Saiyan reached up, climbing onto the bed. He grinned from ear to ear the moment his father was in sight.
"Hey little man." Goku smiled, assisting his boy onto the bed. Tarro crawled into bed between the two of them.
"You know he does that to make sure you're there.." Ellery had a sad smile on her face, moving a couple strands of hair out of her son's face. "Even before he could walk, Tarro would fly in here each morning. First he would look for you, then he'd finally settle in bed next to me."
"Every morning?" The spiky haired warrior looked down at his youngest son, who gave him a grin.
"He really loves his Dad." The Saiyan woman sighed happily.
Goku thought his youngest would have forgotten about him in that span of time. However, that was far from the case. The warrior hated that his partner had to go through that kind of pain. Missing a mate was a beast on its own. The Saiyan couldn't imagine also being constantly asked where they were by an infant.
The spiky haired warrior was, putting it lightly, absent for most of Gohan and Goten's childhood. As he's gotten older, Goku's noticed the toll its taken on their relationship with him. If there is ever a sign of trouble, he's always the first one they call. However, if it's any other kind of problem, they go to their mother or Bulma for the answers.
Goku wanted to be there for his youngest more. He wanted to be the kind of father his kids could come to with anything.
The next realization came the day his ex-wife came over. Chi-Chi stopped by to drop off homemade meals for the family. She brought Jean and Goten with her each time. While in the home, the brunette made sure both Ellery and Goku had what they needed.
It surprised the Saiyan warrior that his previous partner was going out of her way to help them. Knowing that Chi-Chi and Jean were there for his mate when he couldn't be was an extremely comforting thought. However, Goku didn't want Ellery to get used to him not being around like his ex-wife.
How long are you going to internally monologue? The Saiyan woman raised a brow in concern towards her partner. Ellery was standing next to him in the kitchen. You've been going on for a few minutes.
Goku immediately pulled himself out of his head. The warrior glanced down to see he was in the middle of cooking something. Thankfully his partner caught it just in time.
"Sorry…" The Saiyan rubbed the back of his head. "I've been a little stuck in my head lately."
"I'm just worried is all." Ellery mentioned. "We love having you back home. You're not burdening anyone by healing."
"You're right." Goku smiled at his partner, giving her a kiss on the cheek. "It's just so weird, ya know? I'm so used to my strength being the only thing I can rely on. Now that I have to take it easy, it's made me realize how much I use my power as a crutch."
"You've relied on it for many years, Kakarot." Ellery attempted to soothe her partner. "When you're unable to use it, it's natural for you to feel out of place."
"Really? I feel like my world's been turned upside down."
"Kakarot…." The Saiyan woman sighed. "I don't want you to be so hard on yourself. You're doing a great job, all things considered." Ellery began to assist her partner with making breakfast. "It's going to take time for things to go back to normal. I'm positive that you'll find your own way to make it work."
Goku nodded, looking back down at the stove. He began concentrating on cooking. For now, he would have to make himself useful with other attributes. The Saiyan almost forgot how much he liked to cook. Chi-Chi taught him years ago, but he was always too busy training.
"We have a check-up at Bulma's today." The young woman mentioned, reminding Goku of their appointment. "Maybe she'll let you train at The Harmony Center."
"Dadddy!" Tarro yelled from across the house. The little Saiyan ran into the kitchen, stopping just before he ran into his father's legs. "Play!"
"Would you like me to take over?" The young mother grinned. "Someone wants to play."
"If you would.." The Saiyan turned around, picking his youngest son up. "I'm gonna take him outside for a little bit of fresh air."
"Yaaa!" Tarro cheered, a big smile on his features.
"Alright.." Bulma put the stethoscope around her neck once again. She just checked Goku's lungs and heartbeat. Thankfully there were no irregularities. The fluid sound had completely disappeared! "It seems like you actually listened to my instructions this time." The bluenette mentioned proudly.
"I didn't have much of a choice." Goku chuckled as he rubbed the back of his head. "Between Ellery forcing me to sit down, and Chi-Chi cooking meals for us, I officially feel like a couch potato."
"I'm glad you listened." Bulma gleamed. "Your hard work has paid off. As far as I can tell, your vitals are back to normal. The fluid buildup has disappeared!" The scientist clapped her hands together with a smile.
"Your Aura still feels shaky, Kakarot." The Prince advised from the couch. Tarro was on his lap, playing with a toy.
"I don't think you should begin any sort of intense training until it's back to normal." Vegeta mentioned, looking towards his wife. "Don't you agree?"
Bulma nodded. "While I do agree with Vegeta, I think you'd have no problem teaching humans at the Harmony Center. As long as you keep it to only one or two times a week. I want to revisit your progress in another four weeks."
"A whole month?!" Goku groaned, leaning his head back. "This sucks!"
Ellery chuckled. "You're always so stubborn. Just listen to your friend for once. We only want what's best for you."
"Besides, if you're lucky, I'd say after your next checkup, you'll be able to start training your youngest." Bulma grinned.
"Who knows?" Vegeta gave the two parents a devilish smile. "I may decide to train him myself. He is getting to that age."
"One-year-old?" Ellery raised her brow, thinking it was much too early to start training with the adults. The young mother has been allowing Goten to spar with him, knowing that he wouldn't do any significant damage. If the Saiyan woman allowed her brother or partner to train her baby boy, who knows what could happen?!
" 'Geta!" Tarro yelled, throwing his fists into the air. He was obviously excited at the thought of his uncle training him.
"Don't worry he'll be fine." The Prince grinned.