A Night's Consequences: Five Years After

Part Six

Gohan was about to knock on the door of Pan's hospital room when he heard shouts from inside.

"No! No! I don't want to leave!" He heard Pan's voice shouting.

They must've told her that they were moving, he concluded.

"Pan, stop whining." Heiji's voice said severely. "We're leaving and that's final."

Gohan clenched his fists. He didn't like the way Videl's husband talked to his daughter at all.

"But… I won't see Mister Gohan anymore!"

Gohan smiled slightly. Pan had become quite attached to him.

"Look, Pan," Videl's soft voice said. "I know you're really fond of Gohan, but we have to leave."

"Why?" Pan asked.

"Because… This place brings up bad memories." Her mother said.

"But… I don't want to leave. I don't have any friends aside from him."

"You will make new ones, I'm sure of it." Videl assured.

He heard a sigh, which he concluded was Pan's. "If you say so…"

Gohan decided that it was time to make his appearance and knocked on the door then opened it, entering the room. He noticed the dark glare Heiji was sending his way, but ignored him completely and turned his attention to his daughter, who's face lit up upon seeing him.

"Mister Gohan!" She exclaimed.

Gohan smiled at her. "Hello, Pan. You look much better."

"Yes, but the doctor said that I had to stay here for a few more days."

He then turned to Videl and Heiji and greeted them politely. Videl greeted him back while Heiji mumbled an unintelligible hello.

"Videl, I need to talk to you. It's important." Gohan then said.

Before Gohan's serious look, she could only accept, despite the obvious disaccord of her husband. She followed him out of the room, then in the corridors of the hospital, and finally, in his office. She felt quite uncomfortable here, seeing what had happened the last time she came to this office. Dispelling those thoughts from her mind, she asked:

"What did you want to talk to me about?"

He took a deep breath. "I think it's time for you to know the truth about me."

"The truth… about you? What do you mean?"

He stayed silent for a while, then finally spoke. "I'm not… fully human."

She blinked. "…Excuse me?"

"I'm not fully human." He repeated. "And being my daughter, Pan isn't either."

"You… You're kidding, right?"

"No, I'm dead serious."

"And what are you, exactly?"

"I'm half alien, my mother is a human and my father a Saiya-jin – That's my race's name."

"I… I need to sit down…"

She collapsed on the chair in front of Gohan's desk, then put her head in her hands.

"It can't be…"

"You okay, Videl?"

She lifted her head and sent him a glare. "How can I be 'okay' when I just found out that my daughter is an alien!?"

He sighed, then waited for a while, giving her the time to digest the information, before continuing:

"Videl, there is something else that you need to know."

"Something else? I fear the worst."

Once again, he took a deep breath, then pushed the small red button of his old watch, the one he had been wearing during his high school years. There was a flash of light, blinding Videl momentarily. Then, when she regained her sight, she found herself facing the Great Saiyaman. She jumped up from the chair, pointing a finger at him.

"It was you from the beginning!" She exclaimed. "But how can it be possible? I remember times where the Great Saiyaman helped me arrest criminals while you stayed in class all along!"

"I asked my father to replace me, from time to time, so that you wouldn't suspect me anymore." Gohan explained, making the superhero outfit disappear.

Videl then realized something. "But that means… YOU were the one I confided in five years ago, the day before my wedding!"

"Yes, it was me. And if I remember correctly, you told me that you loved me."

She blushed deeply. "It wasn't supposed to be you! You weren't supposed to know!"

"So it's true: you love me."

She blushed even more, and looked away, not responding, but not denying either.

"I don't understand, Videl." He said. "If you love me, why are you with him?"

"I don't want to hurt him…"

"What about me? Don't you care about hurting me?"

"I never wanted to hurt you, Gohan."

"Well, you did one hell of a job there!"

"I… I have to go, Heiji and Pan are waiting for me…"

She went towards the door, placed her hand on the handle, but before she could turn it, Gohan's hand came to keep the door closed.

"Let me out, Gohan. Please."

"I can't let you go back to him, Videl. I love you."

Videl closed her eyes, then felt Gohan's arms around her, embracing her from behind, and didn't resist.

"I love you…" He whispered to her.

She leaned back against his chest, responding to his embrace, and forgot, just for a moment, that she was married to another man. She imagined that she was with Gohan, the one she loved, and that they were living happily with their daughter.

But it was only a dream. She was married to Heiji, and she couldn't be with Gohan, even though it was what she wanted more than anything.

She opened her eyes. "I'm with Heiji, Gohan. Now, let go of me please, and let me out of here."

He sighed and pulled away. She was about to exit the office, but he grabbed her arm, stopping her.

"Wait, Videl." He said. "Grant me one last request."

She turned to him, looking at him questioningly. "What?"

"I would like… One last kiss."

"Gohan…"

"Please. Let me kiss you, one last time."

It was really tempting… But, no, she couldn't do that. She had cheated on Heiji enough as it is.

"Please."

She bit down her lip. "Al… Alright. But this is the last time."

He smiled, and pulled her against him. He stroked her cheek, then slowly moved his face closer to hers, closing his eyes. She closed her eyes as well, then felt his lips on hers, kissing her tenderly. She wrapped her arms around his neck, while he wrapped his around her waist, holding her against him, the kiss deepening, becoming more passionate. They kept on kissing for a long while, relishing this moment of pure bliss. They would have wanted this moment to last forever, but unfortunately, they were starting to lack air, and had to stop, although reluctantly.

"This was… the last time." Videl breathed, panting.

"I know." Gohan replied, just as breathless.

She moved away from him, then exited the office. She leaned back against the door, and closed her eyes, letting her tears flow silently on her cheeks.

This time, it was really the end.

She touched her lips, recalling the last kiss they had just shared. And what a kiss…

She'd never forget it.

---

Pan listened attentively to the story Gohan was reading to her, fascinated. He really knew how to set the tone while telling a tale.

Videl and Heiji weren't there now, and Gohan took advantage of it to spend some time with his daughter, reading a story to her. She was listening attentively, staring at him with her big black eyes which she inherited from him.

He finished the story, closing the book.

"Did you like it?" He asked her.

"It was awesome! You're really good at telling stories!" Pan exclaimed.

Gohan smiled. Pan was almost recovered, and she would leave the hospital tomorrow. And they would leave the same day. This thought saddened him, because he wouldn't see his daughter again, neither would he see Videl again. But he had done all he could to win Videl back, in vain. Even though she loved him, she still refused to be with him.

"Something wrong, Mister Gohan?" Pan asked, noticing his depressed look.

He smiled to reassure her. "No, don't worry."

"Okay." She said. After a short while, she asked: "Can you read another story to me?"

---

Videl was finishing packing. They would leave this village tomorrow, directly after picking Pan from the hospital. She was sad that they had to leave. She really liked this place.

And… She wouldn't see Gohan anymore.

It was probably better for her not to see him anymore. The temptation was too great with him around. Still, she was going to miss him. Horribly. And she couldn't stop thinking about their last kiss.

She sighed, and continued to pack her things in her luggage. She came upon her high school album and a sad smile came to her lips. She sat down on the bed and placed the album on her laps, beginning to skim through it. She stopped on a picture of their group of friends, at the graduation. There were her, of course, Erasa, Sharpner, and Gohan. She remembered that day clearly…

-

He had suddenly taken her in his arms, holding her tightly against him, taking her by surprise. But she recovered quickly and hugged him back.

"What's this all about?" She joked, while he was still hugging her.

"I'm really going to miss you." He whispered.

She blushed. "I'm going to miss you too, Gohan."

Then, he took her by the shoulder and looked intently into her eyes, a light pink stain on his cheeks. "Videl, I wanted to tell you… I… I l–"

"Oh honey, I'm so proud of you!" Chichi interrupted him, her eyes shining.

Gohan sighed, while Videl looked at him questioningly, wondering what he was about to tell her. Erasa and Sharpner then arrived, and a picture was taken of the group.

-

Videl was still wondering what Gohan had wanted to tell her. Was he going to confess his feelings for her? If that was the case, it was really a shame that he had been interrupted. Maybe then, they would have ended up together…

She shook her head. There was no point thinking like that. What was done was done. She was married to Heiji now, and she had to stop thinking of Gohan.

She closed the album.

---

That was it, it was the day of the big move. Heiji wasn't hiding his joy, while Videl was doing everything in her might not to show her sadness. They went to pick Pan up from the hospital. The latter was pouting, not hiding her distain.

"We could at least wait for Mister Gohan!" She said. "He told me that he would come to say goodbye!"

"We don't have time, Pan." Heiji replied while he got the capsule that contained their Jet Copter out.

"But I can't leave without telling him goodbye!" The little girl protested.

"You don't have to worry about that, Pan." A man's voice said behind her.

She turned around and her face lit up. "Mister Gohan!!" She exclaimed, jumping in his arms.

Heiji clenched his fists. He who had come to pick Pan up earlier on purpose so that he wouldn't see him, he just had to come earlier, too. And on top of that, he dared to hold Pan in his arms. His fists clenched even more, to the point that they became white.

"I'm going to miss you, Mister Gohan." Pan said, tightening her small arms around Gohan's neck, holding back her tears.

"I'm going to miss you a lot too, Pan." Gohan replied, tightening his hold on his daughter.

"You were like a second daddy to me." The little girl said, ignoring the impact of her words.

Heiji was boiling. Pan considered that guy as her father? It was rather ironic, seeing that he was her real father.

As for Gohan, he had tears in his eyes. He swallowed with difficulty, holding back said tears, and said in a trembling voice:

"You were the daughter I always dreamed of having."

Videl really had a hard time holding back her tears at the scene. She could barely imagine how Gohan felt, having to let his daughter leave, the daughter he had just found. Who didn't even know that he was her real father.

As for Heiji, he just couldn't take it any longer. "Well, we have to get going. We have a long way ahead of us."

"I don't want to leave Mister Gohaaan!" Pan said, erupting in tears in Gohan's arms.

He rubbed her back, comforting her. "Come on, Pan, don't cry. And anyway, you could always call me. You still have my number, do you?"

"Yes…" She said, sniffing.

He put her down on the ground and patted her head affectionately. "Come on, go join your parents now."

She sniffed again, wiping her eyes. "Okay. I promise I will call you."

He smiled. "I'll be waiting."

She raised her head and gave him a big, heartwarming smile. "Bye, Mister Gohan!"

"Bye, my little Pan."

Her smile widened, then she ran to her mother, and with Heiji, they went towards the Jet Copter.

"You're not telling me bye, Videl?"

Videl stopped, not knowing what to do. On one hand, she would've died to hold Gohan against her one last time, but it would be uncalled for in front of her husband. She looked at said husband, silently asking for his approval. Heiji sighed and gestured to her that she could go. Videl thanked him with a smile, and approached Gohan. He smiled at her, and didn't hesitate to take her in his arms, holding her tightly against him.

"I will always love you." He whispered in her ear, low enough so that Heiji wouldn't hear.

Videl held on Gohan with all her might, letting her tears flow silently while he tightened his hold.

Heiji watched the scene, and he understood then that this man was the one Videl loved. He had no right forcing her to stay with him, while her heart belonged to someone else, he realized.

He had to let her go.

"Go join them, Pan."

The little girl looked at him questioningly, while the two other adults turned to him, still embraced.

"Why do you say that, Daddy?"

He smiled sadly at her. "I love you as my daughter, Pan, but I'm not your real father."

"Wh… What?"

"Heiji, what's gotten to you?" Videl asked, breaking away from Gohan.

He looked at his wife, who wouldn't be so for too long. "He's the one you love, Videl, and he's Pan's real father. I'm in the way here."

"Mister Gohan… is my daddy?" Pan asked, looking at him with her big black eyes.

"Yes, he's your daddy." Heiji replied. He crouched down to her level. "But know that you will always be my little girl, Pan."

Her eyes filled up with tears, and she jumped in Heiji's arms, who hugged her back.

"You'll always be my Daddy."

He smiled, then broke away from her and straightened up.

"Heiji… You're serious?" Videl asked, taking a step towards him.

"I want your happiness, Videl, even if it means giving you up."

"Oh, Heiji…" She said, tears in her eyes.

Heiji then turned to Gohan. "You better make them happy."

Gohan smiled. "You can count on me."

Heiji smiled sadly. "Then it's a goodbye."

"Bye Daddy!" Pan said, hanging on his leg.

He patted her head affectionately. "Bye sweetie. Bye Videl. Bye… Gohan." He said, using Gohan's first name for the first time.

"Bye… Heiji." Gohan replied.

The two men smiled at each other, then the chestnut-haired one climbed on his Jet Copter, waving one last time at the new little family before taking off.

He had made the right decision.

Gohan, Videl and Pan watched as the Jet Copter flew away until it became an invisible spot in the horizon. Then, Pan looked up at her father, and she could see the resemblance with her. Especially the eyes.

"So you're my daddy." She said.

Gohan looked down at her and smiled. "Yes, I am."

She smiled, and hugged his leg. "I'm glad."

Gohan couldn't remember being happier than at this moment. He crouched down and took his daughter in his arms, letting a small tear fall down his cheek.

"I love you, my little Pan."

"I love you too, Daddy."

Videl watched the scene, her heart full of happiness. She was so happy to finally see them reunited. She really felt guilty that Gohan didn't know his daughter until recently, and that the latter ignored that he was her real father. And Pan had taken the news a lot better than what she had imagined.

Gohan put his daughter to the ground, watching her with tenderness. She gave him a big smile that melted his heart. Then, he turned to Videl, and smiled at her.

"Let's go home."

---

Gohan's house was rather big for just one person. There were three bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen, two bathrooms… All of this in two stories. The reason was that Goten came often to sleep at his place, and so he had his own room here. The last room was the guest room.

Which now became Pan's.

They had decided to live at Gohan's, since he wasn't very comfortable in the house of Videl's soon-to-be former husband. And anyway, his house was big enough to host his new little family.

"It's nice here." Pan said, looking around her. "It's even better than our old house."

Gohan smiled. "Would you like to see your room?"

"Yes! Where is it?"

He chuckled. "Follow me."

They went up to the second floor, where Pan's new room was.

"Woah! Awesome! It's even bigger than my old room!" The little girl exclaimed.

Gohan smiled, holding Videl's hand. She laid her head on his shoulder, sighing in content.

"I'm so happy." She said softly.

He let go of her hand so he could wrap his arm around her waist, pulling her a little more against him.

"That's all that matters to me." He said.

She raised her head to look at him, while he turned his to hers at the same time, and they smiled at each other.

"I love you, you know." She said.

His smile widened. "I know. And I love you too."

She stroked his cheek, looking at him tenderly. Then she reached up to kiss him, and he kissed her back with passion, wrapping his arms around her.

"Hey, there's a kid here! You could at least wait to be alone!" Pan said, interrupting them.

They pulled apart, blushing slightly. Then, the doorbell rang, and Gohan went to answer. It was Goten. He looked sad.

"So, you're holding out?" He asked, entering the house. He must be talking about Videl who was supposed to leave today.

Gohan chuckled. Right on cue, Videl arrived, holding Pan's hand.

"Oh, hi Goten." She greeted.

The young Saiya-jin's jaw dropped. His eyes went from Videl, to Pan, then to Gohan, and so on for a while. Then, a big grin lit up his face.

"So you're finally together?? That's great!!"

"Hey, you're my Daddy's brother! That means you're my uncle!"

Goten's grin widened, if that was possible. "And you are my niece."

"That's so cool! I have an uncle!"

The three adults laughed. Then Goten turned to his older brother.

"How did it happen?"

"Well, surprisingly, it's thanks to Heiji." Gohan replied. "He decided to give up Videl for her happiness."

"He really was great." Videl added.

"Well, I didn't expect that." Goten said. "I'm happy for you in any case. And Mom will be so happy when she'll find out. Especially since she doesn't know that she's a grandma yet."

Gohan grimaced slightly. His mother will surely be mad at him for hiding that he had a daughter from her, and he already felt sorry for his poor ears that were surely going to suffer.

Seeing his brother's grimace, Goten placed his hand on his shoulder. "Oh come on, don't pull that face! And anyway, I'm sure that she'll be so happy to finally have a granddaughter that she'll forget to be mad at you!"

Gohan sighed. "If you say so."

"You should go see her now." Goten advised him. "The faster it's done, the faster you'll get rid of it."

"You're probably right…"

"Great! I carry Pan, you carry Videl. It'll be faster by flying."

Pan looked at them questioningly. "Why do you have to carry us?"

Goten grinned at her. "You'll see."

They exited the house, and Goten carried Pan on his back, while Gohan carried Videl bridal style. The two brothers looked at each other, then took off at the same time, flying toward their parents' house.

"Wow, that's so cool! How do you do to fly?" Pan asked excitedly.

"You could learn if you want." Goten said.

"Really? Awesome! I'm gonna learn how to fly!!"

Videl closed her eyes, drinking in Gohan's scent that she loved so much. She felt so happy. She could never thank Heiji enough for what he did. She will be forever grateful to him.

She opened her eyes, and gazed at Gohan's handsome face. She noticed that he looked rather nervous, probably because of his mother, and she chuckled. He looked at her, an eyebrow raised.

"What's so funny?"

"You. You just crack me up, worrying for nothing."

"For nothing? You don't know my mother like I do, Videl. She's going to yell at me for hours because I hid from her that I have a daughter. And trust me, she yells loudly."

"I'm sure you're exaggerating."

"You'll see that I'm right."

Soon enough, they arrived to their destination and landed in front of the small house. Gohan put Videl down on the solid ground, and Goten did the same with Pan. Anxious, Gohan went to open the door and let everyone in before entering himself.

"Mom! It's me!"

Chichi went out of the kitchen and was surprised to see so many people in her living room. She looked at Videl carefully, then her face lit up, recognizing her.

"You're Videl!"

Videl smiled. "Hello, Chichi. I think you don't know your granddaughter yet, Pan."

Chichi gawked for a while, her eyes staring at the little girl Videl was showing her.

"M-M-My granddaughter?" She stammered.

Pan smiled widely at her. "Hi Grandma!"

"I… I'm a grandma…" Chichi said, slowly digesting the information. "I'm a grandma! It's wonderful!"

She took the little girl in her arms, overjoyed to finally have a granddaughter. Pan smiled, hugging her grandmother back.

Let's hope that Goten was right, and that she will forget to yell at me… Gohan prayed silently.

"How old are you, sweetie?" Chichi asked, being finally done hugging Pan.

"I'm four!"

Chichi then turned to her eldest son, hands on her hips.

"And may I know why I learn that I have a granddaughter only now?"

I knew it, Gohan thought, starting to sweat.

"Well, you see, it's rather complicated…" He began. "Videl was married to another man, who raised Pan like his daughter… I couldn't just turn up and tell her 'Pan, I'm your father'."

"But why did you hide it from me?"

Gohan gulped. "I… I…"

"I'm waiting!"

"Don't be mad at Gohan, Mom." Goten intervened, coming to his big brother's rescue. "All that matters is that you finally have the granddaughter that you were dreaming of, doesn't it?"

Chichi's eyes sparkled as she looked at her granddaughter again. She hugged her once again.

"Thanks, Goten." Gohan said quietly to his brother.

"You're welcome." He replied. "I'm glad everything finally got better for you."

Gohan smiled, then looked at Videl with eyes full of love. She felt him looking at her and turned her beautiful blue eyes to him, smiling at him.

"Yeah, me too."

The End

A/N: Thank you for reading this fanfic, I hope you enjoyed. Special thanks to KickButtVidel who beta'd the five first parts, and Avenger29 who did the last part.

Also, if you're interested in reading more of my fics, you should check out my other account. The pen name is 'Lilly-sama'. There are more English fics in that account, and one on the way too.

Well, that's it, everyone. Thanks again.

Oh yeah, and please review. ;)