"…What?"

ChiChi's grin was huge as even Goku stopped in mid bite during their dinner. Gohan had already dropped his chopsticks at her announcement and the small piece of fish that he had partially swallowed felt like it was jammed deep in his throat. It squeezed with his emotions which made him give out a half-pitiful yelp at the lack of air. This seemed to knock some sense back into his shocked father who quickly reached over and gave his child a thump on the back, in-between the shoulder blades, dislodging the offending fish. Gohan gagged, coughed and swallowed fully that time.

"Did…did you say you were…pregnant, Mom?" Gohan managed to wheeze out.

The human woman beamed bright as the sun and laid her hands on her still flat belly and gave a very firm nod. "I sure did! Gohan, you're gonna be a big brother!"

Eyes lighting up like the sun, Goku asked "really? We're gonna have another baby?!"

Nodding, ChiChi responded "Yes! In a few months!"

Happiness spilling out of him like water, the Saiyan father caught her under the arms and spun her around "I'm a Daddy again! Whoo hoo!" The life in his eyes was infectious and before long, ChiChi was laughing out loud as well. She and Goku had discussed having a second child a few times but the battles and enemies had always made such a thing impossible. Now, with Cell defeated and Goku alive again, they finally had a chance. As far as the human woman was concerned, this was a beautiful gift for the peace having been won! Her small family could finally grow and she could hardly wait!

It had taken some time for Goku to really comprehend what having a baby meant when Gohan had been in ChiChi's belly but ever since he had been born, the boy had been the center of Goku's world. He hadn't known it was possible to love another person as much as he loved Gohan. He and ChiChi, despite disagreeing on certain aspects of their boy's life, worked together fairly well most of the time and the idea that now a new little person would be coming into his life to bond, play and love on…well, that was awesome! What a great thing to come back from the dead to! He had never been more grateful that he had let Gohan convince him to be wished back! Not only did he get to have his wife and little man back but now another little one coming!

Goku and ChiChi laughed aloud again as the Saiyan took to the air and swung her around, nearly hitting the ceiling a few times.

Watching them both, so ecstatic, Gohan was certain it was happiest that they had been in a long time. Heck, even compared to the other times they had presented as happy and joyful, this felt degrees beyond that. ChiChi had not laughed like that in a very long time and hearing it again made her son smile. Likewise, while his father had been carefree and go-lucky even before the Cell Games, there had been an over looming sense of doom, of danger that permeated his actions, despite his father's attempt to cover it up with his giddy attitude. To see them so happy that he was sure their cheeks would break filled his heart with joy. They deserved to be so happy!

He, however, felt…divided.

His parents looked so blissful, with Mom laughing and Dad practically flying in the house swinging her around until ChiChi made a comment about 'remember the rules, Goku! No flying inside!' Goku laughed, set her down and the two parents settled back into their chairs, with Goku beaming, "Isn't that awesome Gohan? You get to be a big brother! Man, that baby is gonna be so lucky!" He took a swallow of rice and said "Doncha think Gohan?" as ChiChi reprimanded his poor manners. Goku laughed, nervously and with a 'sorry, sorry', rubbed the back of his head. "Not every day I find out I getta be a Daddy twice!"

They were both ecstatic, Mother near tears and Daddy laughing like everything in the world was hilarious.

The young half-Saiyan though, felt his guts freeze at the concept.

He wished he could have said it was because of fear for his unborn sibling.

He wished he could have said it was uncertainty over his still new Super Saiyan 2 transformation.

He wished he could have said it was because their little house was well, too little.

Shame filled his heart as it was none of these things. It was simply and plainly:

He did not want a sibling.

Well, perhaps that wasn't the whole of it but it was certainly the root of it. When he had been younger, he did remember asking his parents if he would ever have a sibling. The two adults had laughed and said 'maybe some day.' The concept had been exciting to him, of having someone that he could guide and protect like his parents and Mister Piccolo did so often for him. The battles and trials had simply not proven to be a good time for it and honestly, after Gohan had entered the training for the Androids, he had nearly forgotten about the desire completely. After all, by the time the Cell Games ended, he was ten years old. After ten years as the sole child, he just assumed that it would remain that way.

He didn't know what he should be feeling right now but both his parents were looking at him, waiting for his reaction. What should he say? He couldn't say what he was thinking; man, how selfish would THAT be?! After all, he HAD asked for a sibling for a lot of his life! Wasn't exactly their fault that his emotions on that had changed. Besides that, what were they gonna do anyway? You couldn't exactly send a baby back. So, whether he wanted a brother or sister or not, they were coming. It would be cruel to ruin his parents' excitement!

Plastering as grin on his face, he let it spread until it reached his cheeks even though he felt none of it "That's great Mom! How soon?!"

Airy laughter from her as she responded "Oh, a few months Gohan. I'm only about a month along." She smiled at Goku before she began to resume her meal. At least Goku was remembering to swallow before talking this time.

"Those other eight months will go fast though! The baby will be here before you know it, Gohan!" Goku grinned before reaching out, ruffing Gohan's hair and putting another piece of fish onto his mountain of rice. Gohan smiled at his father, even as his mind continued to do backflips. So, Mother was only about a month along. Did that mean he could feel the baby? He knew about the biology of pregnancy, at least somewhat but the aspect of ki and energy was another matter. So, even as his parents began to babble about plans-when they would tell Grandpa and the others, the new furniture they'd need to make and yes, Goku would need to start that farm right away—Gohan set his energy on his mother.

He didn't feel anything at first. It was just her, maybe with a little extra oomph. But the more he focused, he caught it, like a wisp of fog. It was impossible to tell much about it but yes, it was definitely there. Another ki inside his mother.

Gohan returned his gaze to his dinner and began to shovel in his food without much thought. He tried to ignore the laughing and shouts from his parents. They were excited so let them be excited but he couldn't find it in his heart to be happy. That in itself made him feel horrible. After all, a baby was supposed to make people happy. Bulma and everyone except Vegeta had been so happy to see baby Trunks. That meant that they would be just as happy about his mom having another baby. He should have been happy about a new baby!

He didn't though. He wasn't.

Why now? It had been ten years. Wasn't that too long to add another baby? After all, they had gotten used to dealing with feeding a family of three and now they were going to add in another half-Saiyan baby on top of everything else? Daddy hadn't even created the farm yet. Mom had said that a farm and field would be a good job for him and it would help them supplement their grocery bills too. Daddy still had to do that. Mom still had to find contacts in the villages for people that would buy the food. There was enough to do already!

And their house was small! Where were they going to put a new baby? A sinking feeling settled in Gohan's stomach. Were they gonna put it in HIS room?

The concept made his stomach turn and twist. He LIKED his own room, thank you very much.

"Maybe this kiddo will wanna train with me and Gohan!" Goku said brightly. "We can teach 'em so much!"

ChiChi opened her mouth to protest, to declare that no, no, their new child would not be doing any such thing but upon looking at her husband and eldest son, she collapsed into her chair, as if the energy sapped from her bones. The loss of Goku nearly being permanent (and would have been if not for her son pointing out the logical facts) made scared her, more so than she liked to admit but it was also a very clear message. The natural way that Gohan had managed himself, despite losing himself (which he still refused to talk to her about no matter how she demanded) for a time, had made things very apparent: her children were half human but they were also half Saiyan and it was obvious that no matter what she did, those genes would have their way. Perhaps it was better to allow a controlled version of it than none at all. She'd sat down with Goku after a few days and discussed such things with him. It had surprised him but oh how happy he had been to know that she wouldn't utterly bar Gohan from training with him, so long as he did his part of his schoolwork. They'd even talked about maybe a public school to help ease that worry.

She couldn't very well fall back into her old patterns with this new child. So, with a sigh, she said, "Not for a while, Goku! I won't have a toddler flying around over my head!"

More laughter from Goku and further silence from Gohan though he covered it with stacking more food onto his plate. As long as he had food in his mouth, then he didn't have to give his thoughts and he was glad that his mother wasn't pestering him about it. He didn't _want_ to talk about it. It didn't matter how upset he was or what he wanted. This made his parents happy and after everything, they surely deserved that! After Freeza, the Androids and Cell, a time to celebrate their family was…

But what about HIM?

Didn't he deserve some peace too? Didn't he deserve some time with his parents without some looming threat over his head? He'd killed Cell, didn't that entitle him to SOMETHING?

A time when he could just enjoy the friendly spar with his father for what it was and not because they had some horrible enemy coming to kill everyone? Enjoy an evening camping with his father and maybe exploring some of the parts of the mountain that they didn't go to very often? Or maybe he could show his father where Piccolo had trained him? He had been meaning to for several years but something always came up. Now, though, with Cell gone, they finally had a chance to do all this! Daddy said a few years ago that he wanted to show him the path he took when went around the world when he was training with Roshi and Gohan wanted to see it! Wanted to run it himself!

Didn't he deserve some time to show his mother what he had learned from his books, to show her that he was really interested in the science behind ki and wouldn't it be neat to combine that with his martial arts so that he would be doing both of his desires together? Maybe she could show him how to cook something besides fish? Maybe he could take her to that neat field of flowers that he had found on the mountain when he had been trying to run away from Piccolo? She would love it. Daisies were her favorites and he bet that she didn't know there was a whole field of them!

Now though..,eight more months and a new baby would be here. And in the time before that, who knew what had to be done? Gohan didn't know a lot about babies but he knew that Bulma always seemed busy even with all the help she had. They'd have to work even harder to get ready for a new family member. Money, supplies, and lots of other stuff that Gohan was probably forgetting about right now. They would need to get income settled before the baby and they didn't have a lot of time to get the farm ready as it was and now, it wasn't just a way to bring in extra money—with a new baby, it would be required. Would they build onto the house? Would they have to get rid of that meditation room that Gohan loved to sit in with Goku? He supposed this also meant that the new set of manga he had been eyeing was probably out of the question. Maybe he should consider selling the telescope he got for his birthday…

Isn't that awesome, Gohan? His father had said.

Yeah, awesome…