Never Any Doubt

Author's Note: I do not own any of the characters mentioned. They all belong to their respective owners. The site's called Fan Fiction for a reason people!

Chi-Chi never doubted that her husband Goku loved her. Sure he wasn't the most romantic guy in the world and there were days when his mindset made her want to scream in frustration, but he did love her. Bulma once joked that Goku must not know how to show his wife love since he could still ride his magic cloud (she then proceeded to teasingly ask Chi-Chi tell her who Gohan's real father was, since it couldn't possibly be Goku), but Bulma failed to completely understand one very important fact about Goku: he had spent most of his childhood in the wilderness, surrounded by wild animals. Animals that slept, ate, and mated. Goku saw sex as just another natural instinct, like hunting or hibernating. He saw nothing to be ashamed of in the act of mating, but he also saw nothing to enjoy in the act either. True, Goku was willing to make love to Chi-Chi once she explained what the act symbolized between a husband and wife, but he was never really able to show Chi-Chi his love for her whenever they did so. No, Goku showed Chi-Chi he loved her in other ways; by being gentle with her while in his Ascended Super Saiyan form, by doing chores such as fishing and gathering wood even when she hadn't asked him to, by simply hanging around near her while she was working simply for the sake of being with her. Yes, Chi-Chi knew Goku loved her. There was never any doubt.

Gohan never doubted his father's love for him. Even when Goku was killed by Cell and refused to be revived Gohan knew his father loved him. For as long as he could remember, his father was always doing his best to protect everyone he cared about. No matter what it cost Goku personally, he would always choose the path that was best for everyone. That's why he had chosen to stay in the Other World; even though he missed his family terribly, Goku felt they'd be safer if he stayed dead. Raditz, soon followed by Vegeta and Nappa, came to Earth looking for him. Frieza tried to destroy Earth so he could get back at him. The androids and Cell were created to kill him. Goku felt that the blood of those who had been killed or hurt by these opponents was on his hands, so he chose to pay for their actions, because he felt like it was his fault. By dying, he believed he was protecting those he loved. Protecting his son. Yes, Gohan knew his father loved him. There was never any doubt.

Goten never doubted that Goku loved him. Even before the whole Majin Buu crisis, he knew his daddy loved him. Both his mother and his brother (and even Bulma and Krillin and Piccolo) had told him so. They said even though Goku was in the Other World, he could still see Earth and watch his loved ones as they lived their lives (and of course since both Krillin and Piccolo had been residents of the Other World themselves, Goten was assured that he was being told the truth and not some white lie so that he wouldn't worry about his daddy's feelings for him). And the way his daddy immediately opened up is arms with love and acceptance when the two of them met face to face for the first time only reinsured this fact. Even when his daddy had chosen to save Dende and Hercule and Bee instead his brother and himself Goten didn't question his love. Since the moment he was born Gohan made a point of drilling into Goten's head that their father always, always acted with everyone's best interest at heart. Later on Trunks would ask him if he was mad at Goku for letting them die. Goten told him, honestly, that he was not. During his brief time in the Other World Goten remembered what Gohan had taught him; He clung to the belief that there must be some reason for Goku's actions, one he couldn't see right then and there, like a lifeline. He was sure that his daddy's reasoning would become clear to him, and everyone else, soon enough. It always had before, Gohan had told him. And his brother was right – As they watched the final battle between Buu and Goku, his motives did become clear; He saved Dende so that the Dragon Balls didn't disappear (and since everyone was counting on Shenron to bring them back to life and you needed the Dragon Balls to contact him, they really couldn't afford to let Dende get killed), and he saved Hercule and Bee because they were the only ones who could reach Buu's good half and Goku concluded that the good Buu would fight his evil self to protect his friends (and Goku was right; Plus he and Vegeta needed all the help they could get if they wanted to win). Yes, Goten understood perfectly why his daddy did what he did. And Goten knew his daddy loved him. There was never any doubt.