A/N After a very long period of absence I have decided to return to fanfiction. Thank you to everyone who has stayed with me this whole time and to those who are reading my story for the first time. I appreciate all of you so much. It's been a while since I have written with these characters. Hopefully I've done them justice.

There was no turning back. Once the half-saiyan's emotions took over there was no gaining control. The now blond boy was seething with anger and power. The ground beneath him cracked, kicking up bits of rock into the wind surrounding him. The Namekian stood to the boy's side, just out of reach of the pulsating energy.

"He left me!" Gohan's voice was loud and controlled.

"He did Gohan. He left you. But your father was not the type of man who would leave if he didn't think you could handle yourself!" Piccolo was shouting over the air current surrounding the demi -saiyan.

"He was always optimistic. Too optimistic sometimes. He assumed everything would be okay! He assumed there wouldn't be trouble. Why couldn't he think realistically? All he had ever considered was my physical strength! I can handle myself in battle without him but why did he think it was okay to put me through this? Did he not think about what I felt?"

The words fell out of him like vomit. Everything he had been thinking, every thought he had pushed away, was being realized. Piccolo stayed silent. There was nothing to say. Gohan was right about everything. Goku's ever present optimism was his greatest attribute and also his greatest weakness. Sometimes his consideration for all of humanity made him overlook his son. A great quality in a hero. Not such a great quality for a father.

"It's my fault he died but he was the one who decided to leave! He left me. He left all of us! Goten doesn't have a father. Mom is heartbroken."

He turned his head upward and began shouting at the sky.

""What am I supposed to do? I can't do this without you. I need your help. Every time you left you came back! I would wait and I would hope and you always came back. But this time you're gone. Why did you leave us? I'm alone! I need you!"

For a moment there were no words. Gohan's emotions were too strong for words. Instead, the half-saiyan shrieked. With one continuous breath of air he yelled until he was hoarse.

All at once the light around him went out. He fell to his knees and his dark features returned. His palms lay flat on the ground, his body shaking, his breathing heavy.

Piccolo approached the boy and placed a slow hand on his back.

"I'm sorry Gohan."

It was the first time someone said that to him without pity. Piccolo was not feeling sorry for the child who would continue on without a dad. He was genuinely apologizing for the loneliness his friend felt.

It took the demi-saiyan a while before he could speak again.

" He's gone. He's really gone and he's not coming back."

Gohan sat up and lifted his head, tears brimming in his eyes. "I miss him…"

The Namekian smirked. "I know kid. We all do."

The tears were flowing freely now. This was a much different release than the screaming. There was power in shouting, but crying made him vulnerable, something he hadn't let himself be in a long time. It was only now that he realized he was scared. Mixed in with the other emotions of that tragic event was fear. He felt like he was five again, terrified of doing anything without his dad.

"Piccolo, I don't know if I can keep doing this alone."

The Namekian crouched beside him, the comforting hand still lingering on his back. He swallowed. Comfort was not something he typically provided but Gohan had always been the exception to the rule. Awful as he felt he was at it, he would try. "Don't Place so much pressure on yourself kid. No one ever said you had to do this alone."

"No one talks about it, Piccolo. They don't bring it up. They act like nothing ever happened." Everyone in Gohan's life was hesitant to bring up Goku. They acted as if the half-saiyan had forgotten about his father and speaking of him would only be a painful reminder. Did they think not talking about it would just make it go away?

"My mother... I can tell she's trying not to think about him. She thinks I don't notice when she pastes a fake smile on her face. But when she's alone in her room and doesn't know I'm awake, that's when she lets herself cry. And I can't do anything about it. I can't fix it."

Piccolo helped him stand up. "Emotions do not exist to be fixed. They exist to remind you of the past. To fill you with motivation."

Of all people, Gohan could not bear to see his mother upset. He had been the one to tell her what had happened to her husband. It was one of the hardest things he had ever done. Simply forcing a smile on his face had been hard enough. How do you tell your mother that her husband has died? Goku's push and pull with death had caused her so much grief throughout the years. He would be dead, alive, hurt, dead again. It seemed like a never ending cycle to both of them. Chichi had said nothing when she received the news. She had gently lowered herself to the floor and collapsed into tears. Gohan had tried to stay positive. "This is the way he wanted it. He told me so himself." The pain in her eyes was something he often tried to forget.

The next morning he had expected her to stay in bed as any grieving widow would. Instead, he woke up to the smells of a warm breakfast. Eventually, Goten gave her a way to busy herself. After he was born her smiles seemed genuine again. Still, Gohan could tell she was hurting. They all were.

The half-sayian had left in such a hurry this morning. It was time now to face his responsibilities and go back. His mother was hurting and that was all that mattered now. Goku's words still rang in his head. Take care of your mother for me. She needs you.