Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ What You Wouldn't Expect ❯ This Is It ( Chapter 62 )

Chapter 62: This Is It

 

It was three o'clock in the morning on Saturday, the day of Videl's eighteenth birthday. Bulma was currently downstairs in the lab, looking at something under a microscope. She adjusted the fine zoom, looking closer at the specimen she was examining. Suddenly, she jumped away, yelling, "Yes!! I am a damn genius!!! I should get paid for this!!! Wait a second. I do!!! HAHAHAHA!!!!"

Vegeta looked up from his place on the comfy dark green sofa that was pushed up against the metal wall, glaring at her. "Shut up, you stupid whore."

She stiffened, and then smiled, turning calmly back to her microscope and taking out the sample that she was looking at. She then unplugged it, picked it up, and hurled it at the man half-asleep on the sofa. She growled when she saw that he had moved a good two feet away from where she had aimed, his arms crossed over his chest as he gave her a look that told her she was pathetic. She shrugged. "Like I was trying to hit you anyhow."

He snorted. "Whatever, bitch."

She wanted to hurt him. "Vegeta, go away. I have just made an incredible discovery, and I need to be by myself."

"No."

She started tapping her foot in an agitated gesture, turning around and taking three test tubes, and mixing them together. She heard Vegeta moving behind her, but she could care less. It was about twenty minutes later after cautious and rapt mixing of various chemicals that she decided it would work perfectly. She put the mixture in a small container, and then put it in a small briefcase, which held several needles of different types.

Vegeta watched her walk past him and followed after her, wondering if she would snap at him. They had been fighting for the past three days, not including the day that this had started. Bulma was extra determined not to let Vegeta get to her, nor use his little "charms" and force her to do something she would rather not do at the moment.

She didn't seem to notice him as she picked up the phone in the kitchen, dialing a certain number. Vegeta sat down in one of the kitchen chairs, glaring at her back as she shifted from foot to foot, nervous and excited at her discovery at the same time.

She heard a loud sigh and a yawn as someone picked up the phone after three rings, and then, "Hello? Damn it, stay still, Videl. I can't hold you and the phone at the same time."

"But it's cold down here. You're the only warm thing in about a hundred miles that's related to the human species."

Bulma blinked, and said, "Gohan? Are you busy or something?"

"No, Videl's just complaining about being cold. Females. Always cold."

"Uhh...yeah....Anyhow, you won't believe what I just discovered."

She heard a yelp and then male laughter as she let out an impatient sigh, her foot tapping even faster.

"Err, sorry, Bulma. I had to go take care of Videl so she would leave me alone."

"Alright, so can I talk to you now?" she asked, trying not to get mad.

"Yeah, what did you discover?" he asked, the note of excitement in his voice not being lost to her.

"I know how to get Piccolo and Krillin back to normal."





They met at the site that Piccolo and Krillin were turned to stone at, the sun not even up yet. It was only Bulma, Gohan, and Videl. Goku, Chichi, and Goten were at Master Roshi's, having gone over there two days ago to keep android 18 and her daughter company until they could get her husband turned back.

It was freezing, and they only had windbreakers on, not having known that it would be that cold. Videl was huddled against Gohan as if she would turn to ice without him, and he started saying that she should just raise her ki, only to shut up. He didn't mind her hanging all over him.

Bulma stepped forward, her teeth chattering and her arms and legs frozen. She wished she could make the frigid wind stop blowing, for maybe it wouldn't be so cold. And it wasn't fair that Gohan and Videl knew how to control their ki so they could stay warm, nor the fact that Videl just plain had someone to hold onto for warmth. She wished Vegeta were here.

Damn it, no I don't. She grumbled some minor obscenities to herself as she found herself in front of Piccolo's stone statue, the wind and the dark making it hard to see. She turned around, yelling over the wind for Gohan to throw her the single flashlight they had brought with them on a whim. She was grateful they had now, or they would have had to wait until the sun rose.

Once she had it in her hand, she bent down to the ground, opening the small briefcase and holding the flashlight in her teeth. She moved her hands with frozen fingers, taking out the serum and a syringe.

Gohan watched eagerly as Bulma got the stuff ready, Videl having long ago stuffed her face into his chest for warmth. He grinned, so happy he thought he would burst. Today was Videl's birthday, and not only did he have the most perfect present for her in the world, but he was getting his friends back. He prayed to Dende that it would work. He remembered the Supreme Kai saying that the only way to get them back to normal was by killing Dabura, but knowing Bulma, she could outsmart someone any day, any time.

Bulma stood back up with two needles in her hands, flexing her fingers and rolling her neck around on her shoulders to get herself loosened up. Once that was done, she inspected the heavy-duty, thick needles for any glitches. The needle part was almost as thick as a half a centimeter, and was that way so it could get through the stone. She hadn't ever done this before, so she didn't know if it would work.

Videl turned her head away from the protective warmth of Gohan's chest, watching as Bulma readied what was needed. Once she had the needles ready she demanded that Gohan come over and do this because she wasn't strong enough to get it through the stone. Gohan pulled away from Videl, hearing her mutter a complaint and then grumbled when Bulma took his place, the freezing woman sucking up all the warmth Videl had conjured up.

Bulma walked Gohan through the step by step procedures, yelling above the freezing wind. She was so sick of the cold that she wanted to kill it.

Gohan sent one last prayer up high as he adjusted the needle meant for Piccolo in his shaking fingers, hearing Bulma tell him to inject him with it a little below where his heart would be. He looked at the five inch needles that could have passed as a damn knife, taking a deep hesitant breath before he raised his hand, plunging it as far as it would go into the stone. It had almost felt like butter, which Gohan thought ironic as Bulma told him what to do next.

"There is a small button on the side of the syringe, push it!!" she yelled, trying to look over his broad shoulder.

Gohan found it, but he didn't push it. "What does it do?" he asked, hoping Bulma had heard him through the annoying wind.

"It lengthens the needle and then it retracts so that the antidote has somewhere to go. I think it will take a few minutes for the stone to soak it up, and if we just injected it, the serum would have no where to go!!"

Gohan nodded, pushing the tiny black button. He felt a faint movement from the small contraption, and then it stopped three seconds later.

"What now?" he yelled, getting anxious to see his friend again.

"Push the plunger!"

He nodded to himself, doing what she said. Once that was done, he yanked out the needle, leaving a hole in the stone about three inches below where Piccolo's heart would be. Nothing happened.

"Bulma, nothing happened."

The older woman left Videl's side, whose shoulders slumped. Uh, wonderful birthday. This day sucks so far. And it's probably only going to get worse.

"Nothing is going to happen for a few, if you would have been listening! Uh, do Krillin now!!"

Gohan muttered something and went through the procedure faster than he had with Piccolo, leaving the familiar hole in his chest once it was done.

They stood there, waiting for something to happen. Gohan wondered aloud, "Won't they be like, in pain because of those holes in their chests? I mean, I know I would."

Bulma rolled her eyes. "Yes, but would you rather be stone, or would you want to be alive with a hole in your chest?"

He grinned. "I guess I would want to be alive, I mean, who wouldn't want to be alive when they had someone like Videl?"

What he said made Videl frown. "Don't even try flattery on me, boy."

His grin only grew as he walked back over to her, purposefully stuffing her face in his chest to make her shut up. She didn't complain.

They stood there for an undetermined amount of time before they started getting ready to leave. It was apparent it hadn't worked, and all the time Bulma had spent on it had been a waste. The older woman wanted to cry, Gohan wanted to bawl, and Videl wanted some cake.

They had just gotten into Videl's famous jet when Gohan turned around, his eyes widening. Piccolo and Krillin were still there, except it seemed like the stone was melting off them. In turn, Videl and Bulma whipped around, seeing exactly what Gohan was. It was only a few seconds later when they saw Piccolo and Krillin standing there, bewildered looks on their faces as they moved around, seeing if everything was working. It was almost funny when they noticed that they were in pain, and both of their hand's went up to their chests, finding that their blood was running through their fingers.

Gohan was so in shock that he didn't even hear Krillin say his name. Piccolo looked over to the small man, everything coming back to him suddenly. He turned to see Gohan standing there, Videl behind him and Bulma next to him.

"Gohan."

He blinked, hearing his name called by Piccolo. A big smile appeared on his face, and all he could say was, "You're back."

The Namek let a small smile come to the surface, watching as Gohan made his way over to him. The teenager hugged his mentor without even saying anything, not noticing the hesitant way Piccolo embraced him back. He knew that the Namek didn't really have any friendly physical contact, but he just needed to know that his second father was really there, and that he wasn't turned to stone anymore.

He pulled back after a few short seconds, laughing as he swiped at his watering eyes. "Man, it's great to see you, Piccolo. I didn't think I would ever get to talk to you again."

Piccolo smirked, ruffling the boy's hair. "I take it that a lot has happened since me and Krillin were turned to stone. How long has it been?"

Gohan scratched his head. "Well, it took two and a half months to get Videl, and about...two months has passed since then, so, about four, five months."

If it was a shock to the Namek, he didn't show it outwardly. Gohan heard Krillin talking to Bulma behind him, and suggested, "Why don't we all go back to my place? We can have a reunion type deal...thing. And I'm sure 18 will be really happy to see you, Krillin."

Gohan didn't think he would ever see such an evil look on Krillin's face again. The little man rubbed his hands together, saying, "Oh, yes. We gotta hurry to your place, Gohan. Yes...must hurry."

Everyone blinked, not saying anything at what Krillin had just said. They all packed into Videl's jet, Bulma flying, Videl sitting on Gohan's lap, Krillin hanging onto a chair, and Piccolo taking up the whole back. Krillin was so happy to be back that he didn't even notice the changed stature of Videl and Gohan's relationship, and Gohan was almost anticipating when he would say something. He grinned. He couldn't wait until later...only Bulma knew what was going to happen, that and his father. His mother didn't even know.

It was a good two hours before they got back, and by then, the sun had risen, and it looked like it was going to be a beautiful day. Good thing that it is too, Gohan thought with relief. Otherwise Videl wouldn't be as happy, and today is going to be the best day of her life if I have anything to do about it.

Videl could tell the wheel's in Gohan's head were working at high speed. She pursed her lips, and then tugged on a lock of his hair. He blinked and then smiled at her, but he didn't say anything.

"What are you thinking about?" she said suspiciously, her eyes narrowed on his face.

He shrugged. "Nothing, just wondering about how to get my dad and mom back to the house. And then we gotta wonder about Vegeta, since I don't think Bulma and him are on good terms."

She nodded, yawning. "You made me get up at three in the morning, and not even sleep on the way there. You're mean to me."

He grinned, unable to help him when he saw her rubbing her eyes like a child. "You can sleep for a few hours when we get out of this helicopter jet thing. After all, it is your birthday. I think you need to be spoiled today."

She shrugged, resting her head on his shoulder. "I've been spoiled every day of my life. And just recently it has gone beyond levels of being spoiled. I am treated like a damn queen." She paused. "Hey, don't you owe me something?"

He gave her a confused look. "What do you mean?"

"It begins with a h, and ends in a—"

"Happy birthday, Videl."

She grinned, lopping her arms around his neck as the flying vehicle hit the ground. He hopped out a second after, running into the house and telling everyone that he had to "put Videl to bed like a good little girl".

Bulma opened her door, rolling her eyes at the adorable couple. They were so perfect together that it was almost scary. Unlike her and Vegeta, stupid jerk.

Krillin, having now gotten over his initial shock that he was going to be seeing his wife in a little bit, blinked hard, wondering if what he had just seen was true. He looked to Bulma to see if it was true, and she nodded, sighing. He grinned, rubbing his hands together again. He couldn't wait to do some bad things to them two.

Piccolo came out next, annoyed that the ride had taken so long. He had heard Gohan yell what he had perfectly clear, and now he had to think about it. Gohan and Videl apparently had a much closer relationship, for with what he knew of the girl, she wouldn't be letting just anyone carry her unless she was on "close" terms with them.

They were heading into the house when the rest of the Son family, android 18, and her daughter appeared out of nowhere, Goku's fingers still on his forehead. He got the biggest smile imaginable on his face when he saw Krillin and Piccolo, and said, "I knew I felt two familiar ki signatures! See, look, Goten! Piccolo and Krillin are back!!"

Piccolo muttered something as Krillin rushed for his wife and daughter, Marron jumping a good four feet into her father's arms as 18 tried not to show any outward emotion that her husband was back. She could always show him later....

Goku walked forward to Piccolo, who was standing there with his arms crossed over his chest, his normal expressionless façade on. He extended his hand, offering it for Piccolo to take. The Namek smirked, taking Goku's hand as his old friend grinned and clapped him on the back. "It's great to have you back, Piccolo."





It was only around ten o'clock in the morning when she woke up. She yawned, stretching her long legs out and then flexing her toes with a small smile. On any other weekend she would have slept another two hours, depending on whether or not Gohan would let her. He always had one reason or another to get her up, if it was only to bug her, or to get her up for something to do, or "other" things. Either way, it only took him about two minutes to wake her up, considering he had such persuasive ways. Now that he wasn't here, she could lay around for a good half an hour to an hour, just listening to the raging activity around the house.

Apparently someone had gotten Trunks, for she could hear Goten and his friend running around the house, creating havoc. She heard laughter and jokes, both from male and female. It sounded like everyone was having fun.

She sighed, curling up in a little ball on her side and closing her eyes. It must be nice knowing that you will always have a friend to turn to, she thought, trying not to get upset. She wondered what it was like to have the same friends your whole entire life, knowing that they were always there when you needed them. Not artificial friends, friends that were only there because of the possible popularity stance increase, or because they might get to meet your father, or because of the money. There were only two people she knew that were her closest friends that didn't do that. Erasa, and then Gohan. Gohan hadn't judged her like everyone else new had. He had talked to her, not snotty, not like they would worship you just to talk to you for a second. He had treated her with genuine kindness that she had discovered he had inherited from his father.

There was a knock on the door, but she didn't tell him to come in. He already knew she was awake, and judging from the way he had come so quickly, it was apparent that he had felt how upset she was getting.

"Videl?" he asked, closing the new door behind him quietly. Her back was turned away from him, presenting him with a mop of uncombed hair that made him smile. He sat down on the bed, no creaks and not making her bounce. It was probably why he loved the bed so much. Didn't make any unnecessary noise.

She didn't move or make a sound when he ran his fingers through her tousled hair, just laid there, staring at the white wall a few feet in front of her.

"Videl, are you alright? I felt you wake up, and then your emotions turned all dark, so I got worried."

"Don't worry about me, Gohan. I'm fine."

Liar. "Well...what were you thinking about that got you so upset?"

"I—I...I was just thinking about...stuff. Don't worry about it."

He lowered his eyes, his hand stilling in her hair. He bet she could feel what her words were doing to him, and he almost hoped that she would have some sort of reaction to it.

She didn't, she just laid there, staring heedlessly at the white wall in front of her. He wanted to punch that wall.

"Videl, I, um, I was wondering if you want to come downstairs. Everyone will be really happy to see you, especially Krillin, who will have a grand old time making fun of us. I bet it would make you laugh."

She shook her head, bringing her arms up to her chest almost in a protective gesture as she closed her eyes. "No...I...I just want left alone, Gohan."

He jerked away from her as if her words had stung. "Fine," he said harshly, almost as if he was annoyed. He stood, walking over to the door and opening it slowly. "I was hoping, Miss Videl, that you would like to have at least some fun on your damn birthday. Whenever you feel like your good enough to join us, go ahead. We'll be waiting."

At that, he slammed the door, walking out. She didn't let his words effect her, for he had a tendency to snap at her when she acted like a closed book. She knew it hurt him since he was so used to expressing his feelings and emotions, but she hadn't been her whole life...like him. She had been taught emotions were your enemy. But she knew different now. Gohan had taught her differently.

She sat up, jerking back the covers as she ran to the door, opening it and running only in her shirt and underwear out into the hall. She saw Gohan just turn around the corner when she called his name, feeling somewhat awkward standing there in a short shirt and barely anything else.

Her face softened when he looked back, only his shoulders and head visible. A smile tugged at his lips when he saw what she was wearing, and he straightened, walking back over to her, not saying anything as he stood before her.

"Gohan, I...I'm sorry. I'm just really...confused right now." She looked down, chewing on her lower lip. He smile grew when she looked back up, asking, "Can I have a hug?"

"How can I resist?" he said, making her laugh softly as she felt his arms come around her, pulling her towards his hard body. She sighed and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, not noticing that they had company.

"Well, hehehe...what do we have here, Gohan? Looks like you got a half naked woman in your arms!!"

Gohan didn't pull away from her, if anything, he held her closer as he looked off to the side, rolling his eyes when he saw Krillin and Yamcha. Both had big grins on their faces, especially Yamcha. Gohan frowned, not liking the looks his mate was receiving. He pushed her back into their room, giving her a quick kiss before he closed the door hurriedly.

Videl heard some evil male laughter, and then a grumble that sounded like Gohan's. She smiled, feeling much better now that she had apologized. Now all she had to tell him was she was pregnant....

"Hehe...what are you doing shoving her into your room, Gohan? Hey, you two aren't sharing the same room are you? Wow! You two are a little closer than we thought! So, have you done the dirty yet? From the way you two were holding each other, it looks like you two have done everything in the book!!"

Gohan had never been so red in his life. "You guys, shut up! Aren't we allowed to hug? I mean, we just got over a fight, we have to make up some how. What, are we going sit across the room and say were sorry, and then ignore each other? No!"

Krillin almost looked taken aback. "Man, Gohan. I think you need to calm down or take a chill pill or something, dude. No reason to snap like that. Jeez...teenagers nowadays. Can't control their tempers."

Gohan frowned, apologizing. "I'm sorry, Krillin. I've been really snappy for some reason, and I don't know why. There's a lot of stuff going on that I'm trying to figure out, and it's like everyone knows about it and I don't."

Krillin walked beside his best friend's son as Yamcha and him made their way outside. "Let me guess," Krillin said. "It has to do with Videl, doesn't it?"

Gohan nodded, unable to do anything otherwise as they walked somewhat away from the house, until they were at a rock formation. They all sat down, talking and catching up on everything that had happened. Gohan tried to steer away from the topic of him and Videl besides the fact that they were "together", but Krillin and Yamcha got it out of him easily. It was nice being able to talk to someone besides your father and Vegeta about a girl, since it was rather embarrassing to talk about it to his father sometimes. And Vegeta, well, he was always about Saiya-jin mating this, and Saiya-jin mating that, just like Bulma had said once.

"So, after you went and saved Videl from that Babidi guy, did you two uh, hook up on a more...permanent basis?" Krillin asked, seeing that Yamcha was just as interested.

"Yeah...we did."

Yamcha gave the teenager a big grin. "Did you do that weird Saiya-jin mating thing that Goku mentioned to me once? Bulma mentioned it to me too, except she didn't say much more beyond some weird biting thing on the shoulder and being able to feel each other's emotions on a certain level. It was confusing. Can you uh, elaborate?"

Gohan sighed, and then grinned. "I don't suppose why not." He grabbed the collar of his white muscle shirt, pulling it away from his neck. Both Krillin and Yamcha leaned in, interested expressions on their faces when they saw the perfect line up of teeth that had left a light scar on Gohan's shoulder. Yamcha even went so far as to poke at it with his finger, fascinated. "Weird," he said, sitting back down on his gray boulder. "I thought that you guys didn't really scar, but you got one from just a simple bite."

Gohan thought about it for a second, realizing that Yamcha had a point. "I don't know, maybe it's supposed to stay there. It's no big deal, although someone might think it weird if they saw a bite mark on my shoulder." He laughed, seeing the looks on his old friend's faces.

"Does Videl have one too?" Krillin asked, wanting to know more about this whole thing.

"I don't know, why don't you ask her yourself?"

Krillin and Yamcha turned around, seeing Videl standing there, her traditional baggy shirt on and her black spandex shorts. No one could tell if she was glaring or not, but she had her arms crossed over her chest in a stubborn way, as if she was annoyed. Gohan smiled, waving her over.

She sat down next to him, giving Yamcha a curious look. She said suddenly, "Hey, aren't you Yamcha, the famous baseball player?"

He grinned. "Yep, that's me."

"What are you doing here? I mean, I thought all of you people were powerful fighters or something."

He took only slight offense. "I'm a fighter, except I'm not as strong as Gohan, for example. But I'm stronger than you."

She snorted, waving her hand through the air as if in dismissal. "Yeah right," she said in a cocky voice. "If I can almost kick Gohan's butt then I can kick yours."

Yamcha stood, his hands fisted at his sides as he glared at Gohan above Videl's head. "Is that so? Well, did you ever consider that Gohan is taking it really easy on you? You know he is the one that defeated Cell."

She stood up along with him, not seeing the way that Gohan had jumped up as well. Yamcha saw Gohan waving his arms in the air as if telling him not to fight, but he grinned, knowing he could take this girl. "Come on, I bet your done in three or less hits," he told the little brazen teenager, eager to teach her how to show respect to her elders.

"Er...Yamcha?" Gohan said, stepping off of the rock formation. "I wouldn't—"

"Gohan, don't worry. I can handle this."

Krillin glanced at Gohan and then at Yamcha and Videl, who were getting into their fighting stances. He saw a confident look on Yamcha's, a slightly nervous one on Videl's, and the one that was on Gohan's was indescribable. He looked like he was ready to die.

Yamcha was the one that came at her first, not even bothering with powering up. He swung his fist through the air, except nothing was there but air. He turned around, seeing her standing there, her arms crossed over her chest again. He blinked, but then turned around again. "Alright, so you're fast."

Understatement of the year, Gohan thought, wondering if he should stop this. Videl, even if she did or didn't know it, could kill Yamcha with her pinky finger if she wanted to. He wanted to tell Videl to take it easy, but Yamcha would be insulted, and Videl would get pissed.

Before he had even thought everything through, the fight had started again, Yamcha throwing punches that landed nothing but air, getting frustrated that she was faster than he had thought. Gohan watched as the scarred man powered up, and Videl looked towards him, stomping her foot as if a child. "Hey! That isn't fair! Gohan hasn't taught me how to do that yet!"

Gohan laughed nervously, lifting his finger as if to point something out. "Uh, Videl? You uh, really don't need to know how to do that...especially right now."

She was still talking to him when Yamcha charged her, his fist raised high. Videl blinked, blocking the punch with her arm. "You know, it's rude when you interrupt a conversation!" she growled, throwing him away from her. He landed thirty feet away, a dazed expression on his face. "What the hell?" he said, hurrying back up to his feet. Gohan smacked his hand over his face, giving a frustrated sigh. "Krillin, is there any way that you can think of to stop this fight without insulting either of them?"

The little man shrugged. "Nope, but who cares? This is interesting. I take it your girlfriend is really strong for a human if she's taking on Yamcha so easily."

"Err...Krillin? Videl isn't all...human."

Krillin turned around, a shocked look on his face. "You mean, she's only half human like you? What the—why didn't you tell Yamcha? Why didn't you tell me!? What a second! She can kick his ass easily, can't she?"

Gohan nodded, looking anywhere but at Krillin. The little man looked back to the fight, seeing the Yamcha was trying his hardest against the teenager, and that she hadn't even broken a sweat.

"Um, what race is this? And what's it compared to a Saiya-jin?"

"She's half Barakian. I know it sounds weird, but they were extremely powerful, just like the Saiya-jins."

"What do you mean were powerful? And you didn't really help with the comparison of the two races."

"They were wiped out by Frieza, like the Saiya-jins. And the comparison...I would have to say they were right below us, if not the same. The only difference is, is that they don't have the Super Saiya-jin qualities like I do. At least, I don't think so."

Krillin turned back to the fight. "But why didn't we ever feel her ki before? I mean, she looks relatively weak if you want the truth."

"Videl had this thing happen to her that increases her power over one thousand percent. It only happens in times of need, like now. Which is weird, since nothing is happening, and it looks like Babidi and Dabura aren't showing up. You would think it would start to wear off or something."

The fight overall lasted five or less minutes. It was over when Yamcha was thrown into a tree, and then went through five more after that. After digging the battered and bruised man out from under all the trees that had fallen on him, Videl apologized, even though she had a smile on her face. Yamcha, whose nice red shirt and pants were ruined, wasn't too happy about the situation. He looked ready to attack her in fact, but was prevented from doing so when Goku appeared in the doorway of the house, yelling for them to stop. He hurried over to Videl, bending down to her level and saying something to her in a harsh voice that no one could hear. She looked like she was trying to defend herself, but he won in the end, sending her off into the house in a huff.

Goku then made his way over to Gohan, the look on his face somewhat pissed and scared at the same time.

"Gohan, I told you to be careful with her! You could have hurt the—"

"Dad, I tried to stop it, but if I had, both of them would have tried to kill me! And believe me, Videl is hard enough to fight when she's by herself, not to mention double-teamed! And even if she didn't beat me, she would devise some evil plan so I would die!"

Goku sighed, scratching his head in a thinking manner. "Well, just be more careful in the future, alright? Videl doesn't need to be doing any heaving fighting."

Gohan was about to ask his dad what he meant by that when his mother screamed, saying lunch was ready. He heard the pounding footsteps even outside and smiled, hurrying into the house with his father. After breakfast they had to start getting ready for Videl's "birthday" party, and everyone was going to be there, except obviously Vegeta, and Master Roshi, who Videl wouldn't appreciate too much. He sighed, hoping that his plans would turn out right.






He had never been so scared in his life. Everyone that he knew (which wasn't a lot), had said that it was easy. Yet here he was, in his room, standing in front of the full length mirror Videl had a tendency to pose in front of to make him laugh. He was trying extremely hard not to run.

He tried to think about this confusing situation as he opened the small black velvet box in his hand. He smiled at the ring, knowing Videl would fall in love with it on first glance. The ring had certainly cost enough, and he had only put a down payment on it.

It was a classic plain gold band, complete with small diamonds surrounding the most beautiful precious stone he had ever seen. Not only was it extremely rare, but extremely expensive. He hoped she liked it.

He looked at the clock, seeing that it was almost seven at night. They had just finished an early dinner, and his mother was making the finishing touches on Videl's cake, not to mention the three other ones. When you lived in a Saiya-jin household, not including all the other people that were there, then it was plain for everyone to see that they would need more than one giant cake.

He sighed, snapping the little black box closed. He readjusted his simple white button-up shirt and comfortable loose jeans, running his fingers through his hair to straighten it, only to succeed in making it stand on end and give him rakish look. Videl would like it anyhow, he thought, smiling pathetically at his pale complexion. Looking one last time at his appearance, he turned and walked out of the room. Here goes nothing.

He made his way to the kitchen, seeing everyone standing around the table and Videl sitting at the head of it, eagerly awaiting for Chichi to place her French vanilla cake and icing in front of her. Everyone except Yamcha had smiles on their faces, that and Piccolo, who was just standing off to the side, watching Gohan and wondering what had him so nervous. His tension was radiating off of him like the cologne that he had found of his dad's when he had been little, only to dump it all over himself and stink for a good three hours.

Gohan smiled, feeling somewhat better when he saw Videl. She had her hair up in a rare ponytail, giving her an odd appearance of innocence. His smile grew as he sat next to her, loving the way she grinned when she saw him. He felt his nervousness disappear as if it had never been there.

He looked up when he felt a large hand placed on his shoulder, seeing his dad and Bulma standing right behind him. They were the only ones who knew, and they were the one that had helped him plan out the whole thing. Bulma, in reality, had been the one to suggest the kind of ring he should get her, and then brought him to a premier jeweler to see what they had. The had only had two of the rings they had been looking for, and they had been in the back, locked up in a vault. Gohan had been extremely nervous about that, wondering if it was going to cost a good million dollars or something. Bulma had laughed at him, saying that even if it was, it would be worth it since Videl was the woman that he loved, and then a whole litany of other things.

Chichi suddenly yelled for everyone to move, a large four-layered cake in her strong hands. She set it in front of her bonded daughter-in-law, watching her pretty face light up when she saw all the hard work Chichi had gone through to please her.

"Alright, now that the cake is here and so is everyone else, we can sing that happy birthday song!" Goku said, an excited note in his voice.

Videl groaned, slapping her hand over her face when everyone laughed. They all started singing, much to Videl's dismay and Gohan's amusement, and then told her to make a wish before she blew out the candles. She smiled, never having done that before. Well, she was discovering all sorts of new "family" things now that she was with Gohan, not that any of them were bad.

She closed her eyes, and wished silently to herself. I wish that Gohan won't be mad at me when he finds out I'm pregnant.

Gohan and everyone observed as she opened her eyes, and blew out all the eighteen candles easily. Everyone cheered, and Goku plopped a long box in front of her as Chichi took away the cake to cut up. Videl smiled, blushing a light pink as she picked at the silvery wrapping paper.

"This is from the whole Son family, but mostly from me and Gohan. We thought you would like it."

She murmured a thank you when everyone told her to open it, eager to know what it was. She looked up at Gohan, seeing that he was leaning forward, anxious to see her reaction.

She didn't want to rip the pretty silver paper, but she was too excited. She ripped it right down the center, making everyone laugh as she opened the box, pushing aside the thin white tissue paper.

Everyone went silent when she just stared at the array of red and blue cloth. Goku smiled, placing his hand on her shoulder. "Take it out," he said softly, watching her hands reach into the box and take it out. She stood, holding it in her hands as she grinned. "I'm going to go try it on," she said with a happy voice, running from the kitchen.

"So, do you think she'll like it?" Goku asked his son, seeing that he was fidgeting in his chair. He interrupted him before he could answer, saying, "Gohan, don't get all jittery. She'll be happier than you're thinking. She'll love it. In fact, I bet every woman in here will be jealous."

Gohan nodded. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

Everyone smiled when Videl literally bounded into the kitchen, wearing a grin on her face that rivaled any one's in the house as she spun around. "Does it look alright?" she asked, hope in her voice as she looked directly at Gohan.

He stared, not believing that someone could look so good in a training gi. He had used the traditional red on blue, except it was fitted differently for her body. The top was tight-fitting, outlining her soft curves, but not over-displaying them. Kami, she looked good enough to eat. He couldn't wait to see her all hot and sweaty in that thing.

All the guys said, "Wow," at once, causing Videl to blush again as she plucked at the material with her fingers. "I guess it's uh, ok."

She watched as Gohan stood, making his way over to her. She smiled softly when he was in front of her, trying not to squirm on her spot when she saw that everyone was watching them closely, curious as to what was going to happen. She opened her mouth to say something, but he pressed his finger against her lips, silencing her before she could. She gave him a confused look, pondering what he was doing.

Unable to help it, he smiled sheepishly. "I wish to ask you something," he said quietly.

She blinked, watching as he got down on one knee in front of her, opening a mysterious little black box. He looked up at her, seeing her eyes widen when she saw what was in the box.

"Videl, will you marry me?"

Everyone gasped, including herself. She felt her eyes water, and she burst into tears without another thought, jumping into his arms when he stood. She found herself unable to answer, but her reaction was all that Gohan needed.

He smiled as he pulled her back and took her hand, slipping the ring on her finger. She sniffed and wiped the tears off her face, still trying to hold back the tears wanting to be shed. She glanced downwards at the ring, thinking that saying it was gorgeous was an understatement. She looked up at Gohan, but no words came to mind when she noticed the stone was a radiant shade of blue.

"It's a blue diamond. I thought that it was the closest thing in the world that matched your eyes. I hope you like it."

She nodded like a ditz, unable to express what she was feeling as she turned it about on her ring finger. She felt the tears coming once more, but she hid them from view when she hugged him again, burying her face in his chest. Everyone sighed dramatically, saying that it was the cutest thing they had ever seen, except for Piccolo. Even 18 had something to say about it, nudging Krillin in the side and saying he could buy her expensive rare things like that. He tried to make an excuse, but it didn't work.

While all the commotion was starting up again, Gohan brought his fiancée out into the living room, wanting to ask her a few questions. He sat her down on the sofa, Videl still looking shocked at her ring.

"Hey, you ok, Videl?"

She shook her head numbly. "No, not really."

He blinked. "Are...is it because you really don't want to marry me? I mean, we're bonded, and that's—"

"No, that's not it at all, Gohan. I want to marry you more than anything, except I...." She stopped, unable to continue along that line of thought. She had to get it out now. It was now or never. "Gohan, there's something I've been keeping from you."

He smiled, but it melted away when he saw the look on her face. She looked ready to cry again.

"Videl, why were you crying back there? Why did you cry?"

"Because...because of what I'm keeping from you. I can't stand it anymore, Gohan. I don't like to keep things from you."

"Well, either do I, but it's—"

"Gohan, I'm pregnant."