For those wondering why I'm still updating this; it's more for my sake than for the viewers. I lost most, if not all, of my viewers when I stopped updating for like, what, 5 months? So now it's just for the few who did want to see it to the end, and the few who still care. As well as myself, because if I don't see this through, I'll probably kill myself. (Seriously) Also, you might notice that this is probably the only chapter of this story that doesn't have a song name...that's because I couldn't find one fitting to the situation.
Soldier's Creed
Dancing with Defeat
"I'll be the voice that carries you..."
Standing to her feet, Valise stared at the two brothers, shaking uncontrollably. "Stop it." Her words weren't loud enough to make a difference, but both of them hesitated for a split second. "The baby isn't Goten's!"
Gohan paused, turning to Valise. Videl wasn't going to have another fight, stepping between them, she stared at her husband. "When I was raped, what did you do?" Videl asked, holding a hand out to stop him at arm's length. He didn't answer. "What did you do?"
"I let Goten explain the situation at length before I jumped to conclusions." The hiss of an answer came from Gohan. He looked at his brother, his eyes a shocking shade of onyx. "Why?"
"If she says it isn't his baby, you need to trust and understand that it isn't his baby." Videl stood toe to toe with her husband, growling equally as loud. "And you need to give him the benefit of the doubt. Valise has yet to lie to us, so you need to trust her. Besides, your brother swore to you that they weren't doing anything. Goten never lies to you, remember?" She held out the folded and frayed letter.
"If I find out they're lying to me, I'm going to kill them." Gohan whispered inaudibly at his wife. "I'll make sure he never sees the light of day again."
"Will you?" Videl asked, hesitantly. She hated dealing in ultimatums, but if it came down to it, and it was the only thing that could calm him down, she would do it. "Go ahead; kill him. Land yourself in jail. Then where would we be? You'll never see your kids again…all because you wanted to prove a point."
"I already learned my lesson," Goten murmured beside his fiance. "I know what it's like to grow up like Pan did. Trust me, I saw what it did to you…I won't make that same mistake."
"Then you'll do the wise thing, and leave her." Goten wrapped his arms around Valise, holding her close. He didn't care; he didn't want to hear his brother's words. "She doesn't need you ruining her life."
"No, what she doesn't need is you giving her a problem." Videl hissed at him, dragging him away from the teenagers. "What she doesn't need is you threatening him. Don't you see? The roles are the same; she's me, and he's you. They're living our life…and you," She got quiet, her voice a mere octave above a whisper. "You're your father."
"Gohan, calm down. It's not the end of the world," Videl whispered quietly, standing beside her husband. She couldn't understand why he was upset about this situation, Goten was a great kid, and if Valise wanted to keep the child, who were they to say she couldn't? Goten could handle it, he was amazing with Pan. "Please, don't cause any more damage, they can't handle this right now."
"Please, Mr. Son..." Valise had switched to calling him by his proper name, she was afraid she'd lost his respect in her last revelation. Maybe things would change, maybe he did hate her. What if she was marrying his brother, and he would hate her for the rest of her life? The previously calm teenager burst into tears again. "I didn't do it on purpose. It happened after school."
"After school?" Gohan calmed slightly, hearing the young girls' words. How could he have been so blind? Videl was right, it is a repeat of their life. Only Goten has the chance to fix the mistakes that Gohan had made. "Valise..."
"Why don't you sit at the table, Valise?" Videl ushered the fragile girl over to a chair, helping her to sit down. "It's alright, he's calm now." Videl knew her husband could get angry, but this was probably the worst thing he'd ever gotten angry over. And now, now he'd damaged poor Valise's psyche, as well as her faith in him. She'd probably never trust him again.
"Thank you, Mrs. Son." Valise nodded, shying away slightly when Gohan sat across from her. Intervention? It sure seemed like it. Goten sat beside her, taking her hand softly into his, rubbing her palms. "Yes, after school."
"Before or after I got back?" He asked absently.
"Before...just before, actually. A week or so into November." Valise stared up at Goten, pleading for him to find the words for her. When he didn't offer any help, she closed her eyes and looked at her professor again. "It was terrible."
"Tell me about it." He whispered quietly, listening to her story. He had to know; he loved Valise as if she were one of his own, so he had to know what happened. He had to make himself aware of it. Yelling wouldn't help, as Videl had pointed out. "Please, tell me what you feel like telling me."
"It was a Thursday," She began explaining, brushing her brown locks behind her ears. "I had practice for the debate club. No one told me practice was canceled because of the snow. I went to the room like I normally would, set up my books, and waited for Lucas and Gabrielle to get there. When neither of them showed up, I began to get worried. I wasn't the only student left at the school, Armand was in the lockers, and Serena was in the library, but one student was lingering in your room."
"My room?" He didn't feel any rage at the comment, more a sense of wonder. What could someone be doing in his room? Especially without him there!
"Nathan...he was looking for your records, transcripts and such...said he would change them for us, give us better grades. I imagine Nathan was failing your class." Valise stared at the table in front of her, watching Gohan fiddle with his glasses impatiently. "Nathan told me that if I said anything to you, he would hurt me. So I told Goten...because he was the next best person I could think of." To emphasize her point, she looked up at him and nodded.
"I assume that he overheard you talking?" Gohan interjected, placing his glasses on the table, watching his brothers somber nod.
"Yes," Valise answered, hoping the details weren't so dark in her mind. "I was on my way home, November fourth, I believe it was...I counted back the days, it's the only logical answer. When I was walking home, he found me in the alley between the school and the bookstore on third." She noticed him tense slightly, wondering if maybe he'd already known she was going to say that.
Valise was grateful when Videl placed a cup of tea in front of her, and coffee before Gohan. She hadn't realized they'd talked that long already. Videl then nestled into a seat next to Gohan, laying her hand on top of his, moving her finger across his wedding rings absently. He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze before he spoke again. "That's where Goten found Videl..." He remembered that night clearly, knowing that his wife was correct in saying the teens were mirroring their lives. "Keep going..."
"I didn't think it would be so hard to get away. Goten taught me some self defense, but I'm not nearly as strong as him. I wound up being pulled down by two boys...one of them used chloroform..."
"...and I can also pretty much assume that was taken from my lab as well." He clenched his hand slightly, causing Videl to flinch from the sudden pressure. When he felt her move, he released his grip and smiled to her. "Sorry, Vi."
"I don't remember what happened, the details. I remember waking up in some abandon building, far from where I'd seen in the town. I don't even know where it was, what town or anything. My clothes had been stolen, my legs were badly cut up from where ropes had been tied to them...my wrists..." She let go of Goten's hand for a moment, showing Gohan her wrists. "...they cut them up, to make it look like I was suicidal. Part of it was worse because they had used rope after they cut them." She trembled, but the tears stayed. "A man found me walking alone on the street...I had no shame, I wound up using a tiny blanket that was left in the building. He took me to the hospital, said he was a doctor...Kevin was his name."
"Gohan, do you think you could find that man? He was very helpful getting her home. Especially since she didn't have a clue where she was..." Goten asked, staring down at Valise's head.
"Probably, but it would take time. Valise...do you remember the students who did it?" The young girl shook her head no, prompting his anger to rise slightly again. How could he help if she didn't remember? Taking a sip of his coffee, he watched her stir her tea absently. "I'm sorry for not believing you..."
"You didn't have to believe me...I can understand why you jumped to such a hefty conclusion...but might I ask what you meant earlier, Mrs. Son?" Valise asked, smiling a little bit in the elder's direction.
"Hmm? Oh, what about earlier? Sorry, I say a lot of things I don't always remember."
"You said When I was raped, what did you do?...what did you mean? Pan isn't his daughter?" Valise questioned, noticing that the woman just began to snicker softly.
"No, Pan is all Gohan's daughter. It's almost surprising how identical the two are in nature. No, what I had mentioned was actually a situation similar to yours. I was twenty one when it happened, on my way home from school. I had to stay late for an assignment, so I walked home. In retrospect, it wasn't such a good idea, but the thought never occurred to me. It was a near miss, that night. If Goten hadn't heard me scream, I would have been..." She didn't finish her thought, she knew the girl understood. "Pan was actually conceived in January, the incident happened long after I had been pregnant. I believe I was four months when that happened."
"And neither of us were even aware of that, which is the funny thing about the whole situation. Even though Videl was pregnant, I was totally unaware." Gohan murmured over his coffee cup.
"I thought you could sense things like that?" Valise asked absently. "Goten said you could."
Gohan explained, only for better understanding of the situation. "Only if we're looking for it. The thought hadn't even occurred to me when I realized it. In fact, I thought she was lying when she told her dad she was pregnant. See, Hurcule wouldn't let us live together, so when her dad asked me if she was pregnant, I said no and she said yes. I thought for sure it was a lie, but I suppose I was wrong. We got married a month or so later...she dropped out of school. It was chaotic. Her dad blamed me for all the failures she committed, and for a while, he wouldn't even admit that Pan was his grandchild."
"But he eventually came around, right? I mean, he loves Pan to death, so he had to have come around!" Valise asked skeptically.
"Oh yeah, he came around. When he saw Pan for the first time, he realized just how stupid he'd been by banishing Videl from his house. She is quite the cutie. Um, Pan, I mean. Valise, what I'm trying to say is that if you love Goten, and you love this baby, make it work. Don't do it because of the child, do it because you love each other. Years from now, you'll look back on this and remember what happened, and it won't hurt so much to think about. You'll look into your child's eyes and remember why you do what you do, and how every moment led you to that precise result. And then things will make sense." Gohan knew she understood because her hands moved under the table, and her eyes were downcast.
"Five of thirteen," Valise spoke quietly, her voice not much louder than a mouse skittering on the floor.
"Five out of thirteen? What do you mean?" Goten asked confused. "Pregnancy is nine months, and I know we're not normal, but even we carry for nine months."
"No, no...the time...that Gohan has to be overseas. He's been there five months. So he has eight more to go. Which means the baby will be a month old when he comes home for good." Valise smiled at Gohan when she spoke the words 'for good', because she knew as long as he was around, she had someone she could trust.
Gohan did the math in his head, looking at the table as he did it. "That's right, eight more long, excruciating months away from my Vi...and my little girl..." He paused, closing his eyes softly. "And my little boy." He hadn't wanted to be this way, Goku was going to be his life, but taking care of him was proving to be the issue. How could he care for him if he's so far away? Goku would be teething by the time he came home, probably even walking! Well, that might be a bit of a stretch, but anything was possible.
Valise looked at Goten curiously, her brown eyes trying to find a reason that wasn't there. "Why did you get sent home?"
"There was an explosion at Fort Minor," he explained simply. "Just as Gohan was being sent out, actually. I was pretty badly hurt, so they sent me home...I couldn't do a whole lot over there anyway."
"All of us out there at Rhymer get out-processed through the same base, so we figured we'd meet up eventually over there. But I didn't expect to overlook him completely." Gohan finished for his brother, looking over at his wife, sleeping quietly on his arm. She had a long day wrangling children and diffusing arguments. She deserved the sleep. "I'm going to take her to bed, are you two staying the night? I don't mind if you sleep in the same bed, she's already pregnant...nothing can happen."
"Even still, I'll sleep on the couch, Valise can have the spare bed." Goten offered, watching his brother hoist his wife into his arms without much of a problem. "Tomorrow is Christmas, you know. So make sure you're ready to be woken up early."
"Don't remind me. I love the holidays, but I hate getting up earlier than I need to." Gohan stared down at his wife, smiling softly to the other two. "Goten," He began when he noticed Valise had left the room. "If you notice that Valise is getting a little depressed, bring her over here. Videl can talk to her. Things are going to get a lot harder for her, she's going to need a friend. Don't hesitate."
"I won't."
Wailing echoed down the halls. It wasn't like Pan's usually was, more of a slightly more high pitched whine. It certainly was a sound that Gohan didn't recognize. Rolling onto his side, he checked the clock to see the time; Two Thirty Seven. How could a child be up this early in the morning? Pushing himself up on his elbows, he noticed Videl was still sleeping soundly beside him. Figuring he should let her sleep, he slipped on a shirt and headed down the hall to the nursery.
"Goku," he quietly sang, staring at the small bundle in the crib. He was only a few weeks old and already showing signs of being like his namesake. His eyes were a dark emerald green, not like Videl's bright, clear blue. His hair was starting to grow in unruly, much like his father's, and he was already perfecting that famous Son grin. "Goku, why are you awake? Are you excited for what this morning will bring, is that it?" It dawned on him; this would be Goku's first Christmas, and he wasn't ready for it. What was he going to do?
Reaching into the crib, he gently lifted the wailing child into his arms, rocking him back and forth in a silent rhythm. "We'll get you all dressed up, and you can be in a picture with mommy and your sister, because I want a picture of you to take with me when I go far away." Even he couldn't bring himself to say war. There were casualties, hundreds and thousands, and he still couldn't say the word. "Are you hungry?"
Gohan took the child to the kitchen, deciding on making him a bottle. It was much too early to wake Videl, and he hadn't been accepting the natural milk anyway, so he figured there was no harm in mixing it from a powder. And it wasn't as if he could hurt him, it never hurt Pan, and she turned out just fine. Though her appetite for meat was a little questionable. When the bottle was finished, he plucked it from the boiling water and tested it on his wrist. When he had verified it was lukewarm, he went to feed Goku.
"Can I do it?" Valise asked, standing in the doorway. She looked different in the blue nightgown that Videl had lent her. She looked a lot more mature. He noticed her eyes were dull now that her secret was out, but she was still the same old girl he'd always known. On further inspection, Gohan noticed where she held her hand. She wasn't asking because she felt it was a good idea, she was asking because she wanted to learn.
"You're keeping it, aren't you?" Gohan asked, shuffling the infant to her arms gently. He handed her the bottle, instructing her to press it firmly on his tongue. "Babies don't know how to chew, so they use their tongues. If you get it right there in the middle of his tongue, he'll take it without any protesting."
The child began to wail, but it didn't deter her from trying. Shifting the bottle slightly, she tried again. This time he didn't cry, he just suckled happily on the offered bottle. "Yes," Came the reply of the woman leaning on the counter. "I'm keeping him."
"Good for you," Gohan smiled, he knew how hard of a decision it was to make, and Goten had no true right to say no. It was her body, but it wasn't his child, either. Even if he was the boyfriend, fiance, husband, it didn't give him any right to say she couldn't keep him. He watched her feeding Goku, smiling a little more when he heard her next question.
"Why do you ask?"
His green eyes gazed at the floor tiles for a long time, almost an absurd amount of time before he looked back at her again. "When Videl told me she was pregnant with Pan, several thoughts flashed into my mind. What am I going to do? I can't raise a kid. Where do I go? What money do I use? This can't be happening! Is she lying to me? How do I know it's mine? When she told me she was keeping her, I realized at that instant that it was my baby. Videl, even though she may be a mother, would never keep the child of someone who raped her. The other questions would come later, but I knew in that instant, she was mine." He stared at the ground, his thoughts bringing way to tears that he couldn't bring himself to shed. "When Videl was six months along, she started to get really horrible pains. She started spotting, and we weren't sure what to do. It was our first child, we didn't know what we were doing. I didn't even know what to do – was I supposed to call an ambulance? I broke down and started crying, she was hurting so badly. Finally I asked my mom to tell me what to do, we were just kids, we didn't know...When I was taking Videl to the hospital, she was crying, saying she didn't want to lose the baby..."
"You don't have to keep going, I can figure it out." Valise had shifted to a chair at some point in the conversation. The story was shocking, it was a part of her professor she'd never seen before. He was always so stern at school, she could only imagine what he was like at work.
He took a deep breath and smiled shyly. "When we got to the hospital, they told us that she was going into labor prematurely. They could either let her go, or give her a shot to ease the contractions. I'm sure you know which we chose. I stayed with her the whole night, she told me that she was terrified...everything bad had happened at that instant in her life; finding out she was going to be a mother was the only light she had. Then she told me that being with me, being able to have my child...that was even more of a blessing." He was quiet again, contemplating the story over and over again, reliving that moment in time. "But on the way to the hospital, one thought occurred to me and just wouldn't let go: Please don't let my baby die...I felt selfish saying that, I knew there was a complication, it could have harmed Videl as well, but I wasn't worried about that. I wanted my little girl to make it."
"But she did, and now she's healthy and well, and you've got a little boy, too. They're both going to be strong and tough, and if Pan made it that early, she can make it through anything. Trust me on that." Valise looked down at little Goku, noticing the bottle was half empty. Gohan jumped to take care of it, but she put the bottle down and shifted the infant over her palm and wrist. "Am I doing it right?"
"Yes, just be gentile, he's really small." Gohan coached, leaning on the table so he could watch her. "If he cries, you're probably hitting him too hard."
The girl nodded and began to pat the lower part of the child's back softly. "I remember you telling Goten not to make the same mistakes as you...do you really think of Pan as a mistake?"
"Never." Gohan admitted, sighing quietly. "Pan was unplanned, that may be true, but she wasn't a mistake, and I was wrong in saying she was. She was my little blessing."
"Blessing?" Valise inquired, moving the infant to her other hand.
"Yes; Videl was going to leave me. I was having trouble with work and school, and it was causing too many problems with the relationship. Things were going from worse to worse, and she wasn't sure if I would be able to handle marriage. When she found out about Pan, both of our attitudes changed. I worried more about Videl than I did about school. Not my brightest move, I admit, but I learned fast." He smiled a bright smile, then chuckled. "But no matter how immature I thought Goten was, he's taking responsibility for a child that isn't his. That takes maturity, but moreover, it takes a special kind of love."
Valise looked at the child in her arms, wondering if that's what hers would look like. He burped finally, spitting some of the liquid back onto her arm. Flinching slightly, she looked up apologetically at Gohan. "Sorry, I didn't mean to do it, I didn't hurt him did I?"
Laughing a little, Gohan picked up the infant from her arms, handing her a dish towel. "No. Babies are notorious for that. Usually at that point, I wouldn't bother trying to feed him any more." He stared at his son, shaking his head slowly. "You've got quite the appetite, Goku. I don't know what we're going to do with you. Between you, me, and your sister, we're going to eat your mother out of house and home!"
"It's a wonderful thing that you get paid each month," Videl murmured from behind her husband, kissing his cheek, then kissing Goku's forehead. "Why are you up so early?"
"The youngster's were restless," he replied, watching his wife as she danced around the kitchen. "May I ask why you're awake?"
"Because Pan had a nightmare and daddy wasn't there to fend off the demon under her bed. I thought you checked under the bed?" Videl asked, barely registering Valise in the corner.
"I did, but I guess I didn't check hard enough. Is she asleep?"
"Up in our bed. I'll go check on her in a bit, but for now I need to feed--" Blinking when it finally occurred to her that Goku was in her husband's arms, she shook her head and put the empty bottle away. "What am I doing, you already fed him. And you're covered in baby vomit."
"Sorry, I was coaching Valise on a life lesson; she asked how to feed a baby." Valise nodded when Videl looked at her questioningly. "She learned a lot tonight, and I think these are lessons she'll hold onto when she has her baby."
"I don't really...want to think about my baby right now," the words were silent, spoken almost as if she were trying not to think about it. It was pretty evident that she was trying to hide it, but hiding it only worked for so long. In the next instant, the girl was up and out of the room.
"She'll be alright, right?" Gohan asked.
"Yes, she just needs time to cope with it. Her body is going to take the longest to adapt to the change. Gohan, can you hand me that bottle, thank you." He handed her the bottle, kissing her forehead. "Go put little G to bed, so we can go back to bed. And don't forget to check on the princess in suit twelve."
"Yes, milady!" Gohan smirked and kissed her forehead as he walked passed her. "I'll be waiting for you, by the way. We didn't get to finish our discussion."
"Right, right. We'll get to it right away. Until then, you get upstairs!"
Morning began to shine the first light through the window, causing the young girl in the middle of the bed to wake first. Yawning widely, she looked at both her parents before smiling brightly. It was Christmas, even she knew that. Her parents had prepared her for this moment for months. Even though today was a wonderful day, it dawned on her that her father would be leaving in a few weeks. She turned to her mother first, knowing she needed her sleep more than he did.
"Papa?" She asked quietly, tugging on his hand. "Papa, are you awake?" Pan's blue eyes scanned the room a bit, looking for something loud that would wake him. Her father's hearing was a lot more keen than Videl's, so she knew he heard her. "Papa?"
"Pan-Chan," He murmured quietly, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He yawned lightly and smiled to his daughter. "I'm awake, are you excited because today is Christmas?"
Pan smiled brightly and climbed onto his chest, staring into his green eyes. "Papa, are you awake?" She asked again, not knowing what to say in response to his question. His arms slithered around her small body and began to tickle her. Pan wailed with excitement, kicking and laughing. "Papa!"
"Okay, I'll stop." He paused for a few moments, then began tickling her ribs again. Three years old and already she was able to hold him off. It was amazing how well she was at doing that. "Let's go get ready for Grandma, and Grandpa." He slipped over the side of the bed, rubbing a hand through his hair. Quietly kissing Videl's forehead, he took Pan into his arms and hoisted her from the bed.
"Grampa?" She inquired childishly, trudging along beside her father. "Grampa, grampa, grampa!"
"Grandpa Goku and Grandpa Hurcule will be here today." Gohan announced happily. The guest list consisted of Videl, Pan, Goku, Goku Senior, Hurcule, Chichi, and Hurcule's girlfriend Missi. Goten and Valise were already setting up cookies in the living room for when people began to arrive. He could hear them clomping around downstairs. "Lets check on your brother, alright? He's going to help us set up today."
Pan nodded excitedly, noticing her father stop in the hallway. He rested his hand on the door to the nursery, then pushed it open a bit to peek in. Fear clutched at his heart when he noticed the child wasn't there. Was he just dreaming, had Goku never existed? He turned to Pan and raised a brow. Keep calm, he told himself, no need to scare Pan. "Papa?"
He asked her quietly, so if Videl was awake, he wouldn't frighten her. "Pan, how long have you been awake?" She held up her hand and counted on ten fingers, signifying ten minutes. The fear began to worsen, everything was starting to make him panic more. "Has your brother cried at all this morning?"
She nodded slowly, frowning at his question. "Uh huh."
At least they knew he was still there, that was good. The panic was still on his mind though, where had he gone? Had he fallen out of the crib? Gohan went into the room and inspected the crib; there were no holes or broken bars, so where did the child go? Videl was still asleep, there was no way Videl had anything to do with this. "Goten!"
Goten raced into the hallway when his brother shouted for him, wondering what had happened. "Is Pan okay?" Goku slept peacefully in his arms, his little hand clasping onto his shirt sleeve.
When he saw his son, realization dawned on him. Of course, there were other people in the house, and Videl trusted Goten with Pan, logically she'd trust him with Goku, too. "Sorry, I was worried about something."
"Were you afraid someone had taken Goku?" Valise asked, hearing Pan talking to a doll next to her father's feet.
"It crossed my mind," Gohan responded, quietly observing his brother. "Please, don't do that again. I was scared...I thought he fell or something. I mean, fear got the better of my judgment. I should clarify, I know for sure he won't be able to go anywhere, he can't crawl yet...but for some reason my fear hindered me from even knowing that."
"It's alright, I wouldn't mind if you had let it go. But he's alright, and he's sleeping for now. Valise has been up with him all night." Valise waved absently from beside Goten, smiling softly when her professor looked at her. "She's been sick all night, so she figured it would be best to stay up with him."
He began the slow trek down the steps, holding Pan's hand as he did so. She scaled each step one by one, her feet slow to move. Gohan would wait at the top of the step, waiting for her to climb down. As she made her slow descent down the steps, she stopped and waited eagerly for her father to join her at the bottom. "Oh! I didn't know you were waiting for me, I'm sorry to keep you waiting." Gohan smirked, bringing his daughter up into his arms. Pan smiled as well, grabbing for his glasses. They were far to big for her, she looked absurd wearing them. "They make you look smart. Don't tell mommy, but that's why I wear them."
Goten smiled to the family before looking back over at Valise. The brunette was quiet, staring at the two as they had their moment. She didn't feel she had the right to interrupt them, so she let them go. Finally, when Pan was done giggling, Valise raised her hand slightly. "Gohan...would it be alright if I stay here...while you're over in the sandbox?"
"Oh wow, that's more up to Videl than it is to me. I don't know, Valise. I'm sure she wouldn't mind, but you may want to ask her anyway." Gohan set Pan down again, reaching his arms out for Goku. The little boy hadn't cried once while they shifted him around. Gohan smiled down at his son, shaking his head slightly. "I can't believe I got a son, I mean...I always assumed I'd be stuck with all girls. That would have been my luck, considering mom got all boys." He smiled and kissed Goku's forehead. "But I got little Goku, and now I don't need anything else."
"Except to come home in one piece," Videl responded, wrapping her arms around his neck from behind. Laying her head gently on his shoulder, she blinked and traced a scar along his neck. "Gohan, where did this come from?"
His response was simple, almost knowing. "Tactical disadvantage," As the moments passed in silence, Gohan cradled his son, staring at the two teenagers in front of him. "Oh! Right! I was supposed to give Goku to you, and then set up for when mom and dad get here."
"Wait...dad's coming?" Skeptically, Goten finally asked his brother. "When did dad come back?"
"My dad's going to be here too," Videl continued, smiling at her brother in law. "We didn't want to do a huge family gathering with people who weren't actually family – that's tomorrow. Today it's just us...all of us." Videl looked to Valise and nodded. "You're family, too. You're going to be part of our family, so you have every right to be here."
Valise smiled brightly. "Really? And...what about what I had asked?"
"You may stay here, but only if you don't mind helping me take care of the two whelps." The older woman kissed her husband's cheek, then turned on her heel and gathered up some things on the floor. The house was usually immaculate, except when Pan was playing with her dolls. It struck her as a little odd that Pan hadn't been playing with her giraffe lately. "Pan, where's your Giraffe?"
"He got eated by bee." She answered, tugging on her father's sleeve.
"Eaten, Pan. He got Eaten by Bee." Gohan corrected, holding the boy down to her height so she could admire him as he slept.
"Papa, will Goku be like me?"
"Annoying and proud?" Goten stuck his tongue out at Pan so she couldn't guess who said it. "Yeah, that's right. I said you were annoying. Wanna fight about it?" He smirked, tugging her hair gently. "Gohan, you should probably go help Videl get ready for the company."
"Right." Gently shuffling Goku over to Valise, Gohan smiled quickly and ran off, leaving the babysitting in the capable hands of Goten and Valise. It was good training for the two of them. Goten had seen every threat known to man, but he'd never actually faced parenting. This was a new chapter in his life, and Gohan was glad to help him in any way he could. Plus, Goten had been there for Videl when she was having a hard time dealing with Gohan being away, so he could handle it.
"Gohan, I worry about Valise, this is her first pregnancy, and I don't want her to be alone with her parents. I've met them and they strike me as being obsessive." Videl placed a tray on the counter, listening for Gohan's answer, but nothing came. She turned and noticed he was deep in thought about something. Fearing it was another flashback, she grabbed his hand and held it tight. "Gohan, what are you thinking about?"
"Valise." The quiet murmur echoed in her mind. He stared at the counter, ignoring what was around him for a brief moment before turning to his wife again. "Keep an eye on her, she might get severely depressed soon."
"How do you know?"
"Her personality changed since she's told us. Maybe she was afraid of admitting what was going on?" He looked like he was concentrating, trying to find a true answer to what was being explained.
"But what does one have to do with the other?" Videl inquired, placing her hand on top of his, gently moving her other hand to his cheek, tilting his head toward hers. "Gohan, she'll be fine, I'll watch her. And Goten's here to help me...but we have people coming to visit, and it's Goku's first Christmas...why not make it worth remembering?"
"You're right. We owe it to them." Looking at his wife, he kissed her on the lips, lingering for a moment before taking a tray off the counter. "In answer to your question, Valise grew more distant most likely because she's scared. I'm not sure yet...I think...I think maybe there's something wrong with her."
"I'll keep an eye on her, I promise. But let's get through today first, alright?" She asked, letting go of his hand.
Gohan had a feeling it was only going to get worse for the girl. Videl had to drop out of school, they forced her to, but Valise had the option of staying for the last few months. He didn't want her to do that unless she had to, if she went back to school, she'd be bound to get heckled. Holding the tray firmly in his hands, he exited through the door on the left of the kitchen, placing it down on the table. Gohan wasn't trying to pay attention to what Goten and Valise were doing, it just happened that way.
Valise sat cross legged on the floor, little Goku laying in her lap contentedly. He was watching his sister waddling across the room, dragging a toy with her. She placed it down in front of Goku, whom tried to reach for it but couldn't. Pan frowned and picked up the toy again, placing it on the child's chest. He began to wail, and even as Gohan jumped to take care of him, Valise calmed him down.
"You'd make a great mother, Val." Goten commented, snatching Pan around the hips and pulling her down into a tickle fight. "You're already great with Goku."
"Not good enough," She admitted sadly, smiling at him and Pan wrestling across from her. Valise shifted Goku so that he was in her arms, resting quietly. His green eyes watched his father, observing his every action. "What are you looking at, Goku?" Following the gaze, Valise spotted Gohan in the doorway, blushing a bit.
"I didn't mean to listen...or even watch...but it's so cute. You and Goten are adorable together, and you're great with the baby." He closed the distance between them, kneeling beside Valise and brushing a knuckle over Goku's cheek. "You should be his honorary caretaker for the day, we're going to need someone to watch him."
When the doorbell rang, Videl jumped to get it. "Chichi!" Smiling brightly, the younger girl embraced her mother in law. "Oh! It's so good to see you!" Chichi wasted no time seeking out her sons. Both of them were laying on the floor, playing with Pan. "Goku!" Videl smiled a lot wider when Goku walked in the door behind Chichi. The older woman was unaware of Goku being home, she had assumed that Videl was talking about the baby.
Chichi saw Goku standing in the doorway and nearly fainted. "Oh my...Goku? My Goku?" The woman asked, darting toward the door. "You're alive?" Looking up to see no halo, she smiled widely. "I missed you so much!"
"Merry Christmas, mother." Gohan and Goten chimed, joining the two into a hug. "He's home to stay now."
"Not a moment too late," Goku answered looking between Chichi, Gohan, and Goten. "Aww, I missed you guys, too! Hows my little namesake?" Goku looked at Gohan, waiting for an answer. He didn't get one from him, the answer came from Videl.
"Colic...he doesn't sleep through the night. Can't understand it for the life of me. Seems the only people who can get him to sleep are Gohan and Valise. I wonder if he hates me." Chichi shook her head, taking the younger woman's hand.
"Videl, I wouldn't question it much...Gohan was the same way." For the little while he was living with her, anyway. After he'd been spirited away by Piccolo, things changed drastically. Her little boy became a young man, and her life shattered. "Boys will be boys. And Goten is a prime example of that!"
"Goku," Videl began, speaking to her father in law. "Where is my father? Didn't he say he was coming tonight?"
"Well gee, I don't know, Videl. He did say that, didn't he? I doubt he forgot, you are pretty special to him. And he loves Pan beyond words, so I don't think he forgot on purpose. But he is getting old, maybe he did forget."
"I don't think so," Gohan pointed behind Goku. Hurcule was tossing snowballs at a tall blonde woman, one that looked strangely like Lunch. "I think he's having fun...let him go for a while."
Christmas went without any problems, it seemed everyone got along without arguing. Chichi was excited to have Goku back, and Videl was excited to know that her father was remarrying. One thing seemed to be in a box still; no one else knew about Valise. Valise had decided to tell everyone that the child was Goten's, that way it would spare the embarrassment of admitting she'd be raped.
"Excuse me...everyone?" Goten began, holding Valise around the hips. "I have an announcement for the family..." He turned to Valise and smiled, the girl smiled back. "Valise is having a baby."
"But you're still in school!" Chichi shouted, or...shrieked, growling at her youngest son. "You can't have a baby! You're still a baby yourself! You're so foolish!"
"I never said it was mine!" Goten yelled back, causing Chichi to fall back into her seat. He hadn't specified. "It's not mine. But I'm going to take care of it, as if it was. I love Valise, and I can love this baby as much as she does."
"I back him up," Gohan smiled to his brother with a nod. "Anyone who has a problem with it can go through me."
Videl cradled Goku in her lap, brushing back his unruly hair with her index finger. "I'm with my husband on this one, they're ready to be a family, and Gohan will take care of Val in school. So they can do it."
Pan squirmed around in her father's lap, trying to tug at his stray hair. "Papa, I wanna open my presents now!" She pulled at his hair again, this time causing him to flinch. "Please, Papa?"
"Okay, okay, lets open your presents." He set her on the ground and immediately, like a moth to flame, she ran to the tree and started pulling out boxes. It was a tight year, there were only four boxes under the tree for Pan. She wasn't disappointed, she was rather excited. "Go ahead, open it up." He nodded toward the green one with silver ribbons on it.
Pan ripped the paper off, shredding it every which way. Finally when she got down to the little bit that was left, she ripped open the box and reached in for the item inside. It was a stuffed giraffe to replace the one that had been eaten by Bee. Shrieking with joy, she held her giraffe in her arms, cuddling it as she grabbed another box. This one contained a doll that she'd wanted, and the last two were accessories and a house for the doll. Pan was happily nibbling on her giraffe when she toted a box over to Videl, plopping it in her lap.
"Whats this?" Videl asked, looking over at Gohan. He was the only one whom could have gotten it, there was no way Pan did. "Gohan?"
"Just open it," He smiled a little, waiting for her to pull the paper off. "I promise you'll like it."
She delicately slid the ribbon off, then looked at the box, admiring the beauty of it. Finally, she opened the box, her breath catching in her throat. "Oh my God, Gohan." Inside the box was a delicately carved bracelet made of silver. It had four charms on it, one sapphire, one blue, one pearl, and one diamond...for each of the months they were born in. She ran her finger over the newest one that was added, then Pan's. "Where did you get it?"
"Overseas. They sell them all over the place out there, but to get them specially made costs money. I knew you'd love it, so I got it. I didn't even think about it." Kissing her forehead, he blinked when Pan dropped a heavy box into his lap. "From Goten and Valise..." He read off the card. Shredding the paper, he opened the box and stared in shock. "Cell phones?"
"Two of them." Goten corrected. "With a prepaid card for each side."
"Why?" Gohan asked, looking at his brother questioningly.
"So you can keep in contact with Videl and the kids in a more...modern way. Writing letters is awesome, but Videl complained you never wrote back sometimes. This way you don't have to worry about that. But Vi is also going to need to learn to wait for calls, because if you're on the field you can't bring a cell phone with you."
Videl nodded and reached to her side, retrieving a small trinket box, holding it out to Gohan. "Its not a lot, I couldn't work out the family funds to get you what I really wanted...and with Goku's outrageous hospital bill, I couldn't come up with much on short notice."
Gohan peered into the box, taking out the chain with a cross on it. It was a silver titanium cross, one that wouldn't get ruined if he got it wet. Dangling beside it was his dog tags. It took him a moment to realize that it had everyone's name carved into the back. On the vertical line it read Videl, and Pan and Goku on each side. He stared at it in awe for a long time before looking back to his wife. "Vi..." The necklace dangled in his hand, clinking in the silence of the room. "It's amazing, I'll wear it every day I'm over there."
Pan ran up to Valise and handed her and Goten a box. Each got a separate one from the Gohan and Videl. Gohan took it upon himself to shop for Valise, and Videl got something for Goten. Goten looked at his first. It was a picture frame with their prom picture in it. Valise stared at the box for a long time before looking at Gohan. Her professor knew more about her than Goten ever did, she wondered what he could have gotten her. Opening the lid on the box, she nearly burst into tears. Lifting the chain from it's resting place, the metal clanked in her hand. "Oh my..." She wiped her tears away, staring at Gohan. "It's Goten's dog tags...and a charm...with a rattle."
"When you said you were pregnant last night, I went through everything I could find in our closet for something to put on it. I found a rattle on an old charm necklace that was left behind by a girl Goten dated before, so I felt it was okay to use it. Do you like it?"
"I love it." She whimpered, closing her eyes against the wave of emotions. "Gohan...it's beautiful."
School started not even two days later. Kids were sporting new clothes, some hand new cars, and Goten had a new fiance. Everyone seemed to be in brighter spirits. Gohan was excited to be back in class after so long, and even brought Goku with him. Pan was starting daycare, so she couldn't go. Goku sat up at his desk in his little bassinet, the bottles beside his carrier. Teachers didn't bring children to school often, but because Goku always slept for Gohan, he didn't think it was a problem.
"Today's class is a little unorthodox, we won't be learning about Chemistry today like usual." Gohan began explaining, looking at the eager faces in the crowd. "We won't even be learning about anything related to Chemistry. It's a new year, so everyone has experiences they want to share, others don't. But I'm going to ask a few of you to tell me what you did over the break."
"We want to hear about what you did," shouted Maria Sulphides. She was nowhere near new to the class, so she had manners, but she was eager to know why their instructor had vanished for so long. "Why did we have to suffer through Mr. Harper? He's a terrible teacher!"
Gohan sat at his desk, making sure Goku was asleep. "Because I got called out to war," Gohan began to explain, his hands trembling as he spoke. He hated talking about the war, especially to children. "Its a terrible place out there – be glad none of you have to go."
"Didn't Goten go?" One boy asked, looking at Valise.
"He did, but he came home. To stay." Gohan couldn't bring himself to admit that he was jealous of his brother. He spoke with hostility and malice when he said he was home to stay. "Any other questions?"
"Whose the kid?"
Gohan smiled a little, looking at the class. "Well, you all got to meet Pan when she was born – rather, the class I had then. But now it's your turn to meet my newest member to the family, Goku."
"As in the famous Son Goku?" Asked another student in the crowd.
"My father, yes." Gohan began speaking, never getting to finish that thought.
"So you know martial arts?"
"Yes, but I'm not teaching martial arts. I figured since we only have a thirty minute class today, we could get to know some of you – apparently that didn't work as well as I had previously hoped it would.
When class finally let out, Gohan stayed behind to grade papers from the substitute. The sub had taught the children a different way than he did, so everything seemed backwards. Grading it wasn't going to be hard, but it would be time consuming. Not even on the third paper, he heard someone outside the classroom. It was probably just a janitor.
Five minutes later he heard a girl and a boy arguing. The girl's voice was familiar in more ways than one. Panic rising into his throat, Gohan stepped to the door and listened.
"Get the hell off me, Yurimoto!"
"Why should I? You're not going to be able to stop me. You couldn't stop me before." He hissed, sliding his hand under her uniform skirt.
"Stop it, you don't want to do this!"
"The hell I don't." He shoved her into a locker, the thud resounding through the empty hallways. "You're going to go in there, and you're going to steal the midterm for me. And when you do that, I'll consider letting you go."
"Get off me!"
"Didn't you listen to me? I said I'd let you go if you got me the midterm! God, women are so dense sometimes! I swear, it's like they don't even listen to a damn thing we say. We don't speak cause we like our voices, just so you know! Now get the fuck in that room, and get the damn paper before I kill you."
Gohan stepped into the hallway the same time Goten did, both of them glaring daggers at the boy with his hand in Valise's skirt. "You wanna get your hand off of her?" Gohan inquired slowly.
"And if I don't? What will you do?"
Goten smiled a creepy smile before walking down the hall. "Do me a favor, read me the name on those dog tags around her neck."
"Goten Son," The boy read, looking to him as shock finally made itself known to him. The boy had never seen fear before, but now he knew what it was. "Are you going to kill me?"
"I might. You see, you got my fiance pregnant," Goten answered, his hands jammed in his pockets. "We can't have that, now can we? Well, Valise decided to keep the baby – and that means, you guessed it, you'll be paying for the child to breathe. You know what happens if you don't? You go to jail, and you get registered as a rapist. Cause that's always fun, isn't it? Get your bloody paws off my fiance!" Goten shouted, ripping the boy's hands off her leg.
"You can't do this! I'm a student, I'll have you arrested for assault!"
"I would go to jail for her. I would die for her. I would do anything for her. So your threats are empty promises to me. You wanna make a deal, you tell me you'll leave her alone before I kick your ass all the way to Sunday. Don't believe I can do it? My father is Son Goku."
The boy shivered in his boots, watching Gohan fold his arms and watch them fighting in the hallway. "You're a teacher! Do something about this!"
"Nope, sorry. My arm is broken, I can't help you." Gohan stepped back into the room allowing Goten time to mess with the boy's head.
Gathering up papers off his desk, Gohan stared at his son, holding the papers in his arms. "You're a lucky kid, having an uncle like that. He'd die for you, you know. I would too, I don't mind dying for you. Or your mother and sister. You're all my life." Gohan sighed and put the papers into a briefcase. "I have to go back to war soon," He began to explain. "By the time I see you, I'll have missed most of your infancy. Almost a whole year. But you won't forget me, I know you won't. It's impossible to forget me."
"I won't forget you," Valise said, standing in the doorway watching the father and son bond. "I know that for a fact."
"Thanks Valise, I needed that." Gohan murmured, deciding to call it a night. Grabbing the briefcase, he let Valise carry the baby. As he walked out the door, he shut off the lights and locked it behind him. It was going to be a long week before he got back to the sandbox.
AN: That was excruciating! SIXTEEN pages! Three more than my usual!