"OK class, put all your books and papers away." It had been one week since the courtroom had been ruined, and three weeks in all since class had started. They'd covered the first couple of chapters in the biology textbook, and now Gohan was passing out their first test. He was careful not to directly hand a test to Videl. When he was done, he sat back down at his desk.
What few members of the class hadn't known that the professor's wife was among them knew now, thanks to the publicity caused by General Sairai's dramatic entrance. As they took the test, they snuck glances at her whenever they could. She didn't seem to be blasting through it like much of the class had secretly suspecting she would; indeed, judging from the way she was clicking her pen and tapping her fingers, she wasn't doing much better than the rest of them.
As the class went on, some of the students finished the test, walked up to Gohan and handed them in. Others, including Videl, stayed until the time was up and he collected them all.
That wasn't a good sign.
***
That night, Mirai and Jennifer visited their house and had dinner with them. As they ate, the conversation around the table naturally turned to the case (whenever the half-Saiyans' mouths weren't full).
"Believe it or not, this delay is actually a good thing for our side," said Jennifer.
"How so?" asked Gohan.
"Because, this extra time means more that you have to teach Videl more."
"Dunno if *I'd* call that a good thing," Videl muttered.
The lawyer chuckled. "Well, it means that there's more evidence and first-hand experience for us to use as proof that a professor should not be forced to teach his or her spouse. So while it may cause some added stress, ultimately it'll boost our case." Mirai patted her on the leg, underneath the table in the dining room.
"I told you she's smart," he said. "So why she chose to get engaged to me I'll never quite understand." She gave him a light slap, and everyone laughed. Videl, however, suddenly stopped and went pale. She looked quite nervous.
"What's wrong?"
"I just thought of something," she said, her voice shaking. She turned to face Gohan. "One of the things I definitely remember from one of the chapters the test was about...is that when you have a hybrid of two different species...like you or Mirai...they're pretty much always unable to have children." Mirai and Jennifer's eyes widened. Gohan, however, seemed unshaken; he continued to calmly drink from his glass.
He finally sat it down. "Oh yes, I know that. I realized that a couple of years ago, so I tested myself. Damned if I know how or why, but I'm fine." He looked at Mirai. "Same for you."
The former time-traveller started. "What? How would you know about *me*?"
"Simple. Remember when, just after you two got engaged, I asked all three of you to donate some biological samples as part of an experiment I was doing on city living versus suburbia? I wasn't. I made the whole thing up as an excuse. I wanted to make sure that you, like me, were fine."
"So we're--"
"Both as fertile as you can get," the scholar finished, grinning. "So that makes your 'little brother' Trunks fine too. When Goten gets older I'll check him too, though I'm sure he's fine, because apparently the normal hybrid problem doesn't apply to part-Saiyans. And while I was at it, I checked you two also." He pointed to Videl and Jennifer. "You're also fine. So, believe it or not, we've just gotten lucky. Children will come, trust me."
"Yeah, *you're* lucky," said Mirai. "Knowing MY luck, she'll get pregnant the night we're married." The Sons were mildly surprised that he was that frank.
"Oh, come now," replied Jennifer. "Not even your luck is that bad. It won't happen till we get back from the honeymoon. And besides, don't you want your father to stop irritating you?" She said, "'Well, brat, when I can expect grandchildren?'" in a fairly decent imitation of Vegeta's voice, and the others cracked up laughing.
"Wait," said Videl once she'd recovered, "Even if something HAD been wrong, couldn't you have just summoned the dragon and asked it to fix things?"
Gohan blinked. "Damn, you're right. I've slipped into scientist mode so much lately that I've forgotten we can do things like that." He shook his head sadly at his own forgetfulness, and the others laughed again.
***
They all talked for another few hours, then Mirai and Jennifer rose, thanked their friends for the dinner and conversation, and left.
"So," asked Videl when they were gone, "Want to work on those kids?"
"I'm tempted to, just for the look on my mother's face when one finally does come on the way, but I gotta grade these tests."
"It's just Friday night, you got all weekend."
"Yeah, but if I got them all done tonight, we got all weekend...to ourselves." He gently took her face in his hands. "And then we can work on a kid all you want, eh?" He gave her a brief kiss.
"Oh, very well...you drive a hard bargain."
***
Several hours later, Gohan sat at the dining room table, the lights dimmed as much as they could be. He'd graded nearly all the tests, and there was only one to go.
He'd been staring at it for more than half-an-hour. The same litany had been running through his head the whole time. *I'm doomed. Doomed. I am so doomed.* Repeat.
He glanced briefly at another student's test. This student had missed the same number of questions as Videl had. It was covered in so much red ink, it looked like his grading pen had bled to death on it.
He'd already had several late-night snacks, so he couldn't use that as a reason to put off grading this test. He supposed he'd better buckle down and get it over with. Hesitantly, he picked up his red grading pen.
*I'm doomed. Doomed. I am so doomed.*
Repeat.
***
He finished grading it, placed all the tests in his briefcase, and crawled into bed with Videl, who murmured slightly and made room. He pulled the covers back over them both.
*I'm doomed. Doomed. I am so doomed.* He kept thinking this until he finally dropped off to sleep.
***
Monday morning. Class had ended, and Gohan's back was against the wall.
Literally. He was pressed flat against it as Videl, her test in one hand, stood before him, the expression on her face resembling a mixture of astonishment and anger that had been run through a blender several times.
"I-is there a problem?" he asked meekly.
"You gave me a....me a..." She couldn't even finish her sentence. Gohan's feet instinctively backpedalled, trying desperately and futilely to place more distance between their owner and his wife. He sank down the wall a foot or so, his head now below hers.
"Er...you wouldn't hit a guy with glasses, would you?" he said desperately, adjusting his spectacles.
She sighed, and Gohan was inwardly relieved; he could hear a melting in that sigh. "You know as well as I do that you only wear those glasses to make you look smarter." She added to herself, *As a matter of fact, all they actually do is make you look slightly goofy, but I care for and love you too much and don't have the the heart to tell you that.* She looked down at her husband. "Don't worry, I'm not mad at you."
"...You aren't?"
"No. I didn't study enough, and this was the result. And if you'd tried to bend the rules for me, that would have been wrong." She gave him a hand up. "Besides, there's one upside to all this."
"There is?"
"Just like Jennifer said...this is definite evidence that teaching your spouse is wrong." They laughed.
What few members of the class hadn't known that the professor's wife was among them knew now, thanks to the publicity caused by General Sairai's dramatic entrance. As they took the test, they snuck glances at her whenever they could. She didn't seem to be blasting through it like much of the class had secretly suspecting she would; indeed, judging from the way she was clicking her pen and tapping her fingers, she wasn't doing much better than the rest of them.
As the class went on, some of the students finished the test, walked up to Gohan and handed them in. Others, including Videl, stayed until the time was up and he collected them all.
That wasn't a good sign.
***
That night, Mirai and Jennifer visited their house and had dinner with them. As they ate, the conversation around the table naturally turned to the case (whenever the half-Saiyans' mouths weren't full).
"Believe it or not, this delay is actually a good thing for our side," said Jennifer.
"How so?" asked Gohan.
"Because, this extra time means more that you have to teach Videl more."
"Dunno if *I'd* call that a good thing," Videl muttered.
The lawyer chuckled. "Well, it means that there's more evidence and first-hand experience for us to use as proof that a professor should not be forced to teach his or her spouse. So while it may cause some added stress, ultimately it'll boost our case." Mirai patted her on the leg, underneath the table in the dining room.
"I told you she's smart," he said. "So why she chose to get engaged to me I'll never quite understand." She gave him a light slap, and everyone laughed. Videl, however, suddenly stopped and went pale. She looked quite nervous.
"What's wrong?"
"I just thought of something," she said, her voice shaking. She turned to face Gohan. "One of the things I definitely remember from one of the chapters the test was about...is that when you have a hybrid of two different species...like you or Mirai...they're pretty much always unable to have children." Mirai and Jennifer's eyes widened. Gohan, however, seemed unshaken; he continued to calmly drink from his glass.
He finally sat it down. "Oh yes, I know that. I realized that a couple of years ago, so I tested myself. Damned if I know how or why, but I'm fine." He looked at Mirai. "Same for you."
The former time-traveller started. "What? How would you know about *me*?"
"Simple. Remember when, just after you two got engaged, I asked all three of you to donate some biological samples as part of an experiment I was doing on city living versus suburbia? I wasn't. I made the whole thing up as an excuse. I wanted to make sure that you, like me, were fine."
"So we're--"
"Both as fertile as you can get," the scholar finished, grinning. "So that makes your 'little brother' Trunks fine too. When Goten gets older I'll check him too, though I'm sure he's fine, because apparently the normal hybrid problem doesn't apply to part-Saiyans. And while I was at it, I checked you two also." He pointed to Videl and Jennifer. "You're also fine. So, believe it or not, we've just gotten lucky. Children will come, trust me."
"Yeah, *you're* lucky," said Mirai. "Knowing MY luck, she'll get pregnant the night we're married." The Sons were mildly surprised that he was that frank.
"Oh, come now," replied Jennifer. "Not even your luck is that bad. It won't happen till we get back from the honeymoon. And besides, don't you want your father to stop irritating you?" She said, "'Well, brat, when I can expect grandchildren?'" in a fairly decent imitation of Vegeta's voice, and the others cracked up laughing.
"Wait," said Videl once she'd recovered, "Even if something HAD been wrong, couldn't you have just summoned the dragon and asked it to fix things?"
Gohan blinked. "Damn, you're right. I've slipped into scientist mode so much lately that I've forgotten we can do things like that." He shook his head sadly at his own forgetfulness, and the others laughed again.
***
They all talked for another few hours, then Mirai and Jennifer rose, thanked their friends for the dinner and conversation, and left.
"So," asked Videl when they were gone, "Want to work on those kids?"
"I'm tempted to, just for the look on my mother's face when one finally does come on the way, but I gotta grade these tests."
"It's just Friday night, you got all weekend."
"Yeah, but if I got them all done tonight, we got all weekend...to ourselves." He gently took her face in his hands. "And then we can work on a kid all you want, eh?" He gave her a brief kiss.
"Oh, very well...you drive a hard bargain."
***
Several hours later, Gohan sat at the dining room table, the lights dimmed as much as they could be. He'd graded nearly all the tests, and there was only one to go.
He'd been staring at it for more than half-an-hour. The same litany had been running through his head the whole time. *I'm doomed. Doomed. I am so doomed.* Repeat.
He glanced briefly at another student's test. This student had missed the same number of questions as Videl had. It was covered in so much red ink, it looked like his grading pen had bled to death on it.
He'd already had several late-night snacks, so he couldn't use that as a reason to put off grading this test. He supposed he'd better buckle down and get it over with. Hesitantly, he picked up his red grading pen.
*I'm doomed. Doomed. I am so doomed.*
Repeat.
***
He finished grading it, placed all the tests in his briefcase, and crawled into bed with Videl, who murmured slightly and made room. He pulled the covers back over them both.
*I'm doomed. Doomed. I am so doomed.* He kept thinking this until he finally dropped off to sleep.
***
Monday morning. Class had ended, and Gohan's back was against the wall.
Literally. He was pressed flat against it as Videl, her test in one hand, stood before him, the expression on her face resembling a mixture of astonishment and anger that had been run through a blender several times.
"I-is there a problem?" he asked meekly.
"You gave me a....me a..." She couldn't even finish her sentence. Gohan's feet instinctively backpedalled, trying desperately and futilely to place more distance between their owner and his wife. He sank down the wall a foot or so, his head now below hers.
"Er...you wouldn't hit a guy with glasses, would you?" he said desperately, adjusting his spectacles.
She sighed, and Gohan was inwardly relieved; he could hear a melting in that sigh. "You know as well as I do that you only wear those glasses to make you look smarter." She added to herself, *As a matter of fact, all they actually do is make you look slightly goofy, but I care for and love you too much and don't have the the heart to tell you that.* She looked down at her husband. "Don't worry, I'm not mad at you."
"...You aren't?"
"No. I didn't study enough, and this was the result. And if you'd tried to bend the rules for me, that would have been wrong." She gave him a hand up. "Besides, there's one upside to all this."
"There is?"
"Just like Jennifer said...this is definite evidence that teaching your spouse is wrong." They laughed.