Up in Heaven, Goku smacked a hand against his forehead. What was Gohan doing!? He desperately wished he could have another day back if only to rattle his son out of dumbness. Even Goku saw the potential trouble of saiyan offspring turned against them. King Kai simply shook his head in disbelief. He thought Goku's eldest son was a clear and intelligent thinker--a perfect leader to step forward and fill his father's shoes. Saiyans and saiyan hybrids continued to amaze the Kai in their own strange ways.

Back on Earth, Gohan had never felt more alone. Piccolo was disappointed in him. Vegeta was mad at him. Videl was equally upset, and now, now he'd add another to the fray...his mother. There was no way she would take this nicely. He wished he never had to grow up. As a child, there were no complications such as this. As a child, his reproductive system wasn't even a true system yet. As a child, he wouldn't have even been an option for that saiyan female. Gohan was beginning to realize how different the two worlds were. The child world grew more appealing as every year passed by. The adult world grew less and less appealing as the years progressed. He longed for his childhood back, what little of it he had.

"GOHAN DINNER!" ChiChi yelled and knocked Gohan out of his thoughts. A wave of panic coursed his body. He took a deep breath and concentrated. He had to calm his body if he was going to get through this meal. If he looked nervous, his mother would chew him up and spit him out faster than he could yelp. That would make the situation so much worse.

Gohan returned to the kitchen. Goten was already shovelling rice into his mouth. In fact, the little son of Goku had already finished two bowels! Gohan smiled at the spectacle. Leave it to Goten to distract and calm him.

ChiChi set several dishes of food down in front of Gohan. He immediately dug in. At least his stomach wasn't concerned about the events to follow.

Once she knew her boys had enough food on the table, ChiChi too, sat down to eat. She eyed her oldest son with curiousity and could read stress and tension in his dark eyes. She knew it wasn't school-related. Gohan could get an A in a class in his sleep. It could be girl-related however. The reason she sent him to school in the first place was to socialize. It was one thing to have a scholar, but she also wanted him to someday become a loving husband and father. To do that, he needed to socialize with members of the opposite sex. There were so few in his life aside from herself and Bulma. Of course she had her own motive too. Since Goten was growing up so quickly, ChiChi longed to coo and cuddle a baby once again. It had been so long and now, she and Bulma were past their reproductive years. Only their children could bring joy of babies to them again...in the form of grandchildren. Gohan was first in line to accomplish this.

Dinner was eaten in almost complete silence. It often was, however, as saiyans continuously shovelled food into their mouths until they were full. Goten finished first and let out a loud belch.

"GOTEN!" ChiChi yelled. Her son was developing some rather unappealing manners.

"Sorry mom. I had to burp. If I didn't, it would've come out the other end in a fart."

Gohan snickered. Goten's explanations of things were nothing short of comedic. ChiChi couldn't respond. Her youngest son had a strange form of logic to him. He was so much like Goku. He didn't need intelligence to explain something...just strange descriptions.

"Next time, excuse yourself first Goten."

"Kay mom. Can I go play now?"

"Yes, but play in your room okay. You need to digest that meal before you do any romping outside."

As Goten scampered off, Gohan felt his mother's eyes back upon him. She hadn't forgotten that Gohan wanted to discuss something. Gohan felt that surge of panic once again and tried to suck on his spoonful of rice slowly. He wanted to delay his mother's onslaught as long as possible.

Out in space somewhere...

Veleet eyed the canister as she thought of the possiblities. She looked forward to raising some new saiyans. Her first and only child died when their planet was destroyed. She was sent on a mission off-world shortly after its birth. She never even knew if it was a male or female. She desired to be a mother. She had been alone for so long and wished to have something desire her company. It would be something she could love, cherish, and protect. It would give her a sense of purpose. Her years of endless wandering in space had been a solitary hell.

Back on Earth...

Vegeta was growing impatient.

"Woman, hurry up with that thing! I need to get into space NOW!"

"Then fly your own ass up there!" Bulma yelled from underneath the ship she was currently building.

Vegeta growled. He knew there were no other options. He needed a ship and only Bulma had the knowledge and ability to build one fast.

"I'll be in the gravity room." Vegeta muttered as he departed.

"Good. I can work faster without your annoying bitching." Bulma added. Vegeta had heard her of course. He said nothing, but smirked in amusement. She was firey, fiesty, and rather attractive when she had the balls to insult him within earshot. In fact, it was those traits that the saiyan prince found endearing in her. No other female had ever dared to insult him on a routine basis and never right to his own face. Most knew better. He could easily bring them death in an instant. Bulma knew this too, but she always fumed on. They had much in common in a strange sort of way.

At another portion of Earth...

Gohan couldn't stall his meal anylonger. The rice was gone. The desert too. And still, ChiChi sat there patiently with eyes revealing that she wasn't about to let him depart from the table without discussing whatever it was he had to discuss. It was times like this that Gohan wished he could be facing a foe like Cell or Frieza again. At least with them, he knew what he was up against. His mother was a crapshoot. She may take something calmly one minute, then explode in the minutes or even days after.

"So what is this story you wanted to tell me Gohan?" ChiChi asked in a kind, soft voice. It made Gohan cringe. She wouldn't stay like that once he told her what he had done.

Gohan's discomfort became obvious as he kept his head down with eyes fixed upon the spoon he was fiddling with.

"Mom, I'm rather embarrassed to even have to discuss this with you. But this private matter has inadvertently become more uh, public."

Chichi was now trying to think of possibilities. Judging by her son's reactions, it had to be something unusual. The only unusual thing to this half saiyan she could think of was sex.

"You didn't knock up some girl did you!?" ChiChi blurted.

*Actually yes and no* Gohan thought, but replied differently. "No mom. Let me finish please?" Gohan said calmly. At least his mother was on the right subject.

ChiChi sighed with some relief, but urged Gohan to continue.

"There was another saiyan visitor to this planet. A female."

"So you did knock up some female!"

"No mom. Please, will you let me continue without interruption?"

ChiChi hushed.

"She was Vegeta's half sister. She came on the notion that saiyans were living on this planet. Her goal was to try to continue the species as long as possible. As far as we all know, she is the last known female saiyan in the universe. Anyway, Vegeta wasn't an option. Goten and Trunks are too young. So, well, I became the focus of her attention. She was threatening this planet and its people. I couldn't see her dying either. So, I decided to make a deal with her." Gohan said then paused, trying to think of how to word the next part to save some embarrassment to himself.

ChiChi grew impatient with the pause. "Go on...you---"

Gohan sighed. There really wasn't any good way to say it so he would simply say it in its real terms.

"The deal was that I would give her some of my semen in exchange for her leaving this planet and never returning."

ChiChi sputtered upon hearing the word 'semen' exit her son's mouth. So sex was in it somewhere.

Gohan blushed terribly after seeing his mother's reaction. He gulped and continued on.
"I wanted to preserve my virginity until marriage so well, I used special canisters to---"

ChiChi cut him off. "So you didn't sleep with her did you?"

"That's what I'm saying. I uh, kinda, well--"

"Don't say it, I know what you did." Chichi filled in, her voice hinting at obvious anger.

"And she left as she said she would. But, that's why Piccolo was here. I never thought about the fact that she could use the offspring begotten from my uh, seed, against us."

ChiChi remained quiet. She closed her eyes, crossed her arms and lowered her head in thought.

Gohan remained silent and awaited her response. He had no idea what it would be. He braced however, for the worst, a full blown ChiChi anger attack.

After a few moments, ChiChi spoke. Amazingly she didn't yell. "So you're saying, I'm going to have grandchildren I will never see."

What angle was this!? Gohan couldn't figure out why Chichi had approached it from this perspective. He opted to remain quiet and see where it led.

Gohan's silence suggested she continue. "You jerked off in a jar and gave it to some saiyan slut. Swell. I raised myself one heck of a son didn't I? What would your father say? Probably nothing. Damn subject would blow over his head anyway. I'm very disappointed in you Gohan. All these years I thought you were a smart boy."

Gohan hung his head. He hated when he fell short of his mother's expectations. He made a mistake. Why couldn't she forgive him? Everybody makes mistakes don't they?

He opted to try to speak about the solution he was about to embark upon. "Bulma is already making a ship. Vegeta is going to go after her. I think I should join him seeing how I was responsible for creating this problem."

"So you're going to ditch school once again like you did when you went off to Namek eh?"

"It's not going to be that long. With Vegeta, there's no negotiations. He'll likely blast her ship into oblivion then think about the ramifications later."

"So why should you go? It's the best solution isn't it?"

"Mother! All she wants is to continue the saiyan race. We don't even have proof that she'd turn offspring against us. She didn't seem to me to have that desire to conquer this planet. She only wanted to seek out a potential mate...to be a mother. Why should death be the penalty for such? You're a mother. Put yourself in her place. What would you do?"

"I'm not discussing the 'what would of'. You should have just avoided the whole situation."

"She was stalking me! I could feel her presence. My body reacted to her presence. I had little control over it. There was something about her."

"It's called hormones Gohan. And I thought you had them under control. You've had enough years to figure them out afterall."

"I've never been exposed to a female saiyan before mother. Perhaps there is some instinctive reaction, one I had no say in regardless of how much I tried."

"I don't care. I know you to be stronger than such things. I thought I raised a son who had enough brain in his head to outthink the one in his pants. I guess I was wrong."

"Mother, it wasn't ---"

"Just don't say anymore Gohan. What's done is done. Go with Vegeta if you must, but there is nothing you can do to erase this feeling of disappointment I have in you right now."

Gohan was ashamed, but he could take no more of his mother's onslaught either. This perspective she took hit him hard. It was worse than any yelling she could have done. It hit him in heart and soul rather than ears. Without another word or glimpse at his mother, Gohan stood and left the room. As he predicted, he felt totally alone now. Whatever he did now, didn't seem to matter to those he cared about. It was truly the worst punishment he could ever have. Returning to his room, he grabbed a bag and gathered some clothes. He had no choice. He HAD to go with Vegeta. It was his last shimmer of hope to redeem himself to all those he loved.

Goten was of course playing in the room.

"Where ya goin'?"

"Away for a while."

"WHY!?"

"I have to take care of something. Be good for mom okay. And protect her. You're the man of the house while I'm gone."

"But brother--"

Gohan placed a hand on his little brother's head and rubbed it. "I'll be back. Don't worry."

Goten teared up anyway. He had been left too many times. He was growing up fatherless and now the brother he looked up to with pride and love was leaving too. "You can't go! I don't wanna be alone!"

Gohan understood him and it broke his heart to leave his little brother. "Look Goten, your brother made a big mistake and now he's got to go fix it. I shouldn't be long. I will be with Trunks' daddy, Vegeta."

"I wanna go too!"

"Trunks isn't going either. You two need to be here and protect Bulma and mom."

Goten couldn't say anything more. He lacked the intelligence to debate the subject further. He simply cried and watched his brother depart out the window.

to be continued...