I am alive!

Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball GT or any of its characters. This disclaimer applies to the whole story because I am lazy and low on Dr. Pepper and it doesn't help that all the words on the screen are starting to blend together.

Author's Note: Okay, I did NOT plan on posting this so early. I was hoping to get another full chapter ready to go before even getting it on the net. But… when I feel like writing, I try to take advantage of it and I managed to get a lot more done than I thought I would. I hope you enjoy it. There will be lots of T&P, but I'm going to tell you now, the main story is going to follow Gohan and Videl. I can't help it! They're my favorite!

Impatient fingers drummed softly on the table in front of him. His smirk stubbornly suppressed, he glared over at the offender… the woman across the table. She smiled brightly, adding more than a touch of innocence to her already angelic look. He sipped his coffee, attempting so fruitlessly to drown out the noise her long nails were making against the polished wood of their kitchen table. His eyebrow smugly cocked, he flipped through his paper diligently, self-satisfied with his acting job. Her fingernails were getting on every nerve in his body, and he knew she knew it did… but he wasn't about to give her satisfaction of knowing how well her ploy was working.

She seethed inwardly, watching his sorry attempt at appearing more interested in the paper he was reading than in the noise she was making. He had no right to cut their honeymoon a week short… especially since they were having so much fun. She could hardly believe it when he actually, willingly called into work to check up on things. She didn't think she'd ever get over the fact that he, without any hesitation at all, packed up everything and checked out early, dragging her along with him so he could fix a little problem with the company's network. It seemed that the seeds of hard work ethic that Bulma had spent so much time planting in her son's head had finally grown… into a full-blown harvest. Pan resolved to spend the next few days devising a plan on how to reverse everything her new mother-in-law had done.

She sighed, shifted her head to rest in one hand, while the other picked up the slack and continued drumming consistently. It was ironic, she mused. She had known her husband her entire life, but she learned more about him in the last two weeks than she had expected. In fact, when they weren't getting to know each other in the physical sense, they were talking. They didn't just speak about every day things. Never once was the topic of work or training involved, as it had been so common in times past. Instead, to her surprise, he opened up about his past, about his feelings. Some of this made her uncomfortable… mostly because she could tell how hesitant he was about revealing some of these things to her.

His father was mentioned frequently. He spoke of when he was a boy and Vegeta had sacrificed his life to attempt to save the world. Of course, he had lost that particular battle. He had rapidly released his ki, flooding the area like a violent explosion. True, Majin Buu was torn in pieces, but in the end, it left Vegeta's body completely void of ki… an empty, fragile, lifeless shell… whereas Buu was able to resurrect himself. Vegeta had actually hugged Trunks. True, it was a part of a scheme to catch Trunks off guard in order to knock him out so the boy wouldn't follow him into a suicide mission, but Trunks never really thought that it ended there. Vegeta thought he was dying… permanently. He didn't need to catch Trunks off guard just to knock him out. Even as a Super Saiyan, at age seven, it would have been easy. Pan was amazed with the thought of Vegeta showing any sort of affection toward his son… let alone actually instigating it.

He talked about his family a lot, joking about how Pan really didn't have a clue what she was marrying into, despite how familiar his family was to her. She learned things about his mother and sister that she never would have known just from hanging around every so often. She was very surprised to hear about Bulma's miscarriage, which she had only a year before Bra was born. She never would have guessed that Bra was a recovering smoker. Even when the two girls hung out, the older Saiyan never mentioned cigarettes. Apparently, she only started to impress a guy… and once her mother caught her, she quit. Despite the fact that Bulma was an occasional smoker herself, she wasn't about to watch her daughter fall into similar habits. After all, lung cancer had killed her father Dr. Briefs, which was another revelation Trunks had shared with her during the weeks they had all alone together.

One of the big surprises involved his work. Not only had he volunteered to shorten his vacation so his mother would have some help getting the network back on line, but he had also spent a great deal of their "free" time finishing paper work and calling in, despite Pan's protests. Apparently, sometime between Pan's three-year excursion and her time-travel trip, he concluded that he needed to be more responsible. This meant no more out-the-window escapes… and false sick days. He confessed, with a blush, that it was the hope of settling down with her that convinced him. Despite all of this new information about her new beau, the most noticeable… and the most useful bit was the fact that the sound of long fingernails tapping on a hard surface drove him insane.

Pan grinned unwillingly, catching Trunks' eye. "What are you smiling about?" He asked snidely.

"Oh, nothing." She replied innocently, increasing her drumming.

He smiled back, cringing as every drum sent a new wave of annoyance down his spine. He took one final sip of his coffee and stood up, folding the newspaper under his arm to read later. Pan frowned and followed him into the living room.

"Where do you think you're going?" She asked sharply.

"To work. You know… to earn all the money I'm going to need to pay off this mansion I built you."

Pan twisted her lips. "Yeah, rub it in."

Trunks yelped in surprise as she jumped on his back, wrapping her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck. He laughed, unable to shake the clingy woman off him.

"I'm not letting you go so easily." Her throaty voice whispered in his ear.

"Believe me, Panny…" He argued, backing up to the couch and sitting down, forcing her down with him. "I'd like nothing more than to stay home with you for one more day…"

"Then why don't you?" She asked huskily, climbing from behind his back to in front of him and making herself comfortable on his lap.

Trunks chuckled, taking a long look at the vivacious, sensual woman who was his mate. He was torn in half with this one… Should he stay at home with… her and face the wrath of his mother? On the other hand, should he go to work like a good little CEO and face the wrath of his wife? "I'm sorry." He answered flatly.

Pan let out a disappointed huff and stuck out her lower lip. "I guess I should probably get used to this…"

"No, Pan… please don't give me the guilt. I'm going to try to find a decent balance between home and work, but while I try to figure it out, I need to fulfill my responsibility."

Pan frowned. "Who are you and what have you done with my husband?" She asked sternly.

He laughed… which was not the reaction she was expecting from him. "I'm sorry… Look at it this way… you'll have the entire house to yourself. After three weeks of having my hands all over you, I bet you can't wait to get rid of me for a few hours."

"Maybe," she admitted, playing with his tie, "but I'll be bored to death."

"I don't think you'll be bored… not with all those boxes to unpack. How did you manage to fit all this stuff in your room at your parent's house anyway?"

She smiled coyly, lifting a delicate eyebrow playfully. "Well, you see, there are these little inventions… They can store big things in tiny spaces. They're called capsules. Perhaps you've heard of them."

"Hmm… sounds familiar." He chuckled, kissing her on the chin.

"Yep. You'd be impressed… especially with the company's current President."

"Really?" He asked, feigning surprise as he dropped his head down to kiss her gently on the neck.

"He's a chronic over-worker. In fact, he'd probably cut his own honeymoon short just to get back to the office and mess around with his high-tech toys."

"Hmm… sounds like a loser to me." He commented, running his lips across her collarbone and shoulder.

"He's not a loser. He's weak from years of aging in a stuffy office and not training, but he's not a loser. In fact, he's one of the sexiest men I know. Man, I'd like to get him in the sack."

"Should I be jealous?" He asked, nibbling at her ear.

"Probably. I was planning to fix him a romantic dinner tonight after he gets off work… followed shortly by a bubble bath for two."

Trunks pulled away for a moment and looked her in the eyes, gingerly pulling the hair away from her face and behind her ears. She was so perfect… "That sounds nice."

"I thought it might." She said, pulling his head to hers and kissing him passionately. Trunks responded accordingly, half of his brain concentrating on the woman in his lap and half of him trying to think of a plausible excuse to miss work he could give to his mother.

Pan smiled against his lips, satisfied in part with the reaction he was giving her. Slowly, she worked her hands down his clothed chest and stomach, down to his pocket. Carefully, she reached inside, hoping he wouldn't catch on. She felt the cold metal ring of his key chain and pulled, yanking them out of his pocket.

"Hey!" He shouted, grabbing after his office and car keys desperately as she dodged his every move. With her all too familiar evil smirk she had developed over the years, she took off from his lap and ran up the stairs, laughing the entire way. Trunks followed closely behind, but not too close. After all, what fun was the chase if it ended too quickly?

"Gohan, I just don't understand why you're being so uptight!" Videl spoke loudly, slamming the car door shut.

Gohan got out of the passenger's side, shutting the door a little too hard himself, but nearly ripping it off its hinges to begin with. "I'm not being uptight!" He responded with equal volume. "I'm just saying, it wouldn't hurt to save a little money once and a while."

"Gohan, I know business is a little slow, but that doesn't make us starving for money or something." Videl argued a little more calmly as she opened the trunk of their car, pulling out several paper grocery sacks. "I mean, even if we were to go completely broke… we still have my dad and…"
"Videl, I told you…!"

"Gohan! Calm down." Videl snapped, feeling hid energy spike with the mention of her father and the implications of living off his earnings. "All that I was saying was that if it ever came down to it, we wouldn't have to worry. I know that you don't want to borrow the money from him that he's only earning because of taking credit for something you did anyway… and I wasn't saying that we had to."

"I'm sorry, Videl. I guess I'm just a little scared about the practice. I don't want to make any layoffs, but if I don't find a partner or some patients soon, I'm going to have to make some changes." He explained, picking up the remaining bags and stacking them in his arms. "I don't want to borrow from your father. If we're out on the street starving and our bank has repossessed the shirts off our backs, then maybe… maybe I'll consider it. Until then, we should just start making some cutbacks. Not buying our daughter and multi-billionaire son in-law groceries every week would be a good start."

Videl smiled, appreciating Gohan's ability to control his temper. "Well, they should be able to handle the shopping from now on. If Trunks can't afford toilet paper and cereal, Pan has no business living with him anyway. Besides, think of this as an excuse to check in with them without looking nosey."

Pan shrieked as she literally flew down the stairs. Trunks was right behind, diving after her as he nearly tumbled down the stairs. An almost evil laugh escaped her throat as she looked up at him. His keys clutched tightly in her hand, which was behind her back, she used her other hand to seductively beckon him forward.

He smirked, his eyes locked on to her. Slowly, he crept towards her… step by step, like a cat stalking his prey. She giggled despite herself.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" She asked, putting on the most innocent mask she could muster.

"You have something I want." He said simply, his voice deep and accusing.

"Oh really? Could you be looking for these?" She asked, dangling the keys in front of his face.

His expression was surprised. She was giving in a little easily. He was somewhat disappointed as he reached for them. This wasn't like Panny…

"You don't know me at all, do you?" She asked, laughing as she shoved the keys down her bra.

His eyes flew open and his jaw dropped. He was never going to get them back now. She smiled and winked suggestively. Pan was definitely proud of herself as she slowly walked back to the stairs, intending on him following her, adding a slight sway in her hips that wasn't there before. She gasped as she felt his arms wrap around her waist and pull her backward.

She struggled, attempting fruitlessly to pull herself free from his vice-like grip on her. He tickled her ribs lightly, even though he knew well that she wouldn't give in only to a little challenge. He had to try something different.

"You don't know me very well either, Panny." He said quietly in her ear.

Something in his voice made her shudder. "What are you talking about?" She asked, still attempting to pry his arm from around her.

"Well, see… now that we're married, I'm not exactly afraid of diving in after them this time." He whispered.

Pan paused to ponder what he was talking about. It didn't last for long as she shrieked, feeling a very cold hand sneaking past her neckline and into the front of her shirt, searching for what she was hiding in there.

"I think they're home." Gohan said, surprised, as his wife dug through her purse for her spare key to her daughter's house.

"They're probably just getting ready for the day or something. Pan knew we were coming over." She said, turning the key in the lock.

"Yeah, but shouldn't you…" Gohan stopped dead in his tracks as the door opened. He nearly dropped all ten of the bags he was carrying when he saw what they had walked in on.

"Pan? Trunks?" Videl asked, containing her laughter.

Both of their jaws completely dropped to the ground. "Umm… hi Mom." Pan choked out, Trunks' left hand still tucked down her shirt while his right arm remained wrapped around her waist. "Hi Dad."

Trunks looked terror stricken. "Umm… hi Gohan, Videl. We were just… I was just… trying to get ready for work."

Videl cracked a smile and chuckled. "Well… it's a good thing we weren't late, right Gohan?" She joked, starting toward the kitchen to give the kids time to straighten up. "We might have walked in on something a little less… clothed."

Gohan's lips curled downward as he followed his wife to the back of the house with their groceries. He didn't hesitate to give Trunks a sideways glance as he passed by, making the younger Saiyan sweat under the collar a little. He smiled back, trying to pretend like he wasn't doing anything out of the ordinary.

Once they were out of sight, Pan exhaled, being embarrassed beyond belief. Her parents were still having a little trouble with the thought of Trunks and her doing… married things… She was sure this wasn't going to help them adjust at all. "Trunks?"

"Yeah?" He asked, looking behind him just to make sure Gohan was out of attacking range.

"You can take your hand out of my shirt now."

"Right." He obliged, tugging at his hand. "Panny… my watch is stuck."

She sighed in frustration and lifted her shirt to attempt to get the screw on his watch untangled from the loose stringlets on her bra.

"Pan, where do you… Oh, are you still playing?" Videl asked, peeking back in from the kitchen. "You just can't keep your hands off her, can you Trunks?"

Trunks' whole face turned bright red. "No… I mean yes… umm… I got to get to work." He said, finally tearing the small threads off her bra and pulling himself and his keys free.

"Hey!" She protested.

"Oh, I'll see you tonight." He walked back to her, kissing her on the cheek then grabbing his briefcase and literally flying out the door.

Pan smoothed her shirt and huffed as she made her way to the kitchen where her parents were still putting her groceries away in their places.

"So, I guess I don't need to ask how things are going." Videl teased.

"Mom… please don't start." Pan replied, blushing furiously. "What are you doing here anyway?"

"We just thought we'd bring over some supplies. You haven't been home in two weeks and we didn't know if you'd be able to get out to shop so we just picked up some basics for you and Trunks."

Gohan raised one of his eyebrows. "There was no 'we' about it. Your mom wanted to check up on you." He laughed.

His wife shot him a dirty glare. "Gohan…" She started. "You're the one who wanted to…"

"That's okay Mom." She interrupted. "Grandma Chichi probably did the same thing to you too."

Videl opened her mouth to argue.

"Every day for a year." Gohan cut in.

"Yeah…" Videl mumbled darkly as she started preparing to cook something. "Go ahead and gang up on me… but at least I'm not the one still whining about you sleeping with Trunks." She stated, pointing a wooden spoon directly at her husband.

"Mom?"

"Pan?"

"I can cook, you know." Pan stated flatly.

"I know… but I thought I'd cook you a good breakfast, since you're probably tired from your trip."

Pan rolled her eyes behind her mother's back. Father's eyes met daughter's and they both knew they were thinking the same thing. It was a common belief that, given enough time, a woman would eventually begin exhibiting her mother's mannerisms and looks. Videl, however, didn't have a mother… at least, not one that she knew well. The only strong female role-models Videl ever had was the occasional girlfriend her dad brought home and… Chichi.

Gohan gulped nervously at the thought.

"So how was the beach?" She asked her daughter, who was working on the bowl full of rice her mother had put in front of her.

"Umm… it was nice. The sun was… out most of the time and there were lots of… shells." She answered ineptly. They had been talking for the last thirty minutes about her honeymoon, and she really didn't want to go into too much detail.

"Did you get to ski very much in the mountains?" Gohan asked.

"No, we didn't really get out of the room much." She blushed, realizing how that must have sounded. "I mean… we were snowed in and… well… we just… couldn't fly, so… So how's Jr. doing in preschool?"

"Good!" Gohan answered enthusiastically, thankful for the change in conversation. "Really good. In fact, his teachers say he's one of the brightest they've seen."

"Really? They can tell that kind of stuff in preschool?"

Gohan nodded, taking another bite of his breakfast. "We even signed him up with a special tutor next year so he can start learning at a higher level."

Videl's head popped up. She wasn't aware of any tutor. "Gohan, it's only preschool… We can't put too much pressure on him too early."

Pan sighed; obviously, they hadn't talked about this.

"Videl, only so many kids are accepted by this guy, if we could…"

Videl twisted her lips, interrupting. "That's definitely an 'extra'."

Pan sighed again. She hated when her parents talked in code, especially when she was in right in between them. It reminded her of when she was little and they thought she didn't know what they were talking about when they spelled out, P-a-n and b-a-t-h in the same sentence.

"It's his education."

"You sound like your mother." She threw in rebuttal.

"If I were my mother, I wouldn't even have discussed it with you."

"You didn't. You signed him up before even mentioning it to me."

"I talked to you about this before."

"When?"

"Last week when you were in bed."

"Oh, was I asleep at the time?"

Pan's head turned back and forth repeatedly. Her parents often argued with a strange gentleness that oddly resembled a game of ping-pong. Normal people yelled and cried, but not her mother and father. It was the one family trait that Chichi hadn't managed to pass down. They argued as if they were scared to death their voices could destroy the world. Well… okay, maybe it was better that her dad had impeccable control over his temper after all.

"No, you were mumbling something about cheese and freckles."

Videl sweat-dropped. "Do I talk about cheese and freckles during the day when I am awake?"

"You might as well be talking about cheese and freckles now for all the logic you're using."

"Logic? You want to talk about logic? We… can't… afford… a tutor… Gohan." She said plainly.

Pan's eyes grew wide. The words "can't afford" coming from her parents? What happened to all the money from the tournaments? And Grandpa Satan? And Gohan's insanely successful practice? They were supposed to be well off. They should be able to afford specialty tutors for every subject Jr. would need.

Gohan leaned back in his chair… wishing that they could have saved this particular conversation for later when they were alone. It was his belief a child should never have to worry about their parents until they were old enough to die. Now, Pan was looking at them like Gohan had lost his arm and Videl had grown a second head.

"It's not that we can't afford it." Gohan reasoned with his wife, though it was more directed at Pan. "We just won't have as many luxuries as we did before."

Videl scoffed. Not wanting to press the issue any further, she allowed him the last word… for the time being. Gohan crossed his arms, pursing his lips together in awkward silence. Pan looked horrified. Dende, she hated it when her parents argued. Even though they never got as angry as most couples who argued after thirty years of marriage, and they always ended up making up in the end, it was never a pretty sight for Pan.

"Umm… Dad?" Pan said, breaking the deafening silence that had suddenly fallen on the breakfast table. Gohan looked up, giving a small, but almost grateful smile. "If… you need a few extra bucks…"

"Yeah?" He encouraged, though not liking where she was going.

"…There's another martial arts tournament coming up in about six months."

Gohan's interest perked. Although he hated fighting people who couldn't even come close to his strength, it would be an easy win… unfair, but easy. The money would be more than enough to pay for a tutor until he found a partner for his practice.

"Hmm… Well, I haven't fought since we trained Goten. I'm probably a little rusty."

"No problem, I'll help you train!" Pan volunteered enthusiastically, jumping up from her seat. "We can start tomorrow. I…"

"Hold on Pan…" Gohan said, laughing louder than he had laughed in a long time. "We have stuff to do tomorrow, remember?"

"Huh?" Videl asked.

"Oh yeah… Mom, Ms. Bulma sort of volunteered all of us for her annual 'Top of List Corporate Baseball Tournament.' Spring training starts tomorrow."

"What?!" Videl exclaimed. "I'm almost fifty years old, I can't play baseball. What do you expect me to do, play short stop?"

"Well, Bulma's playing and she's older than you are. Besides, she was thinking more like catcher, since you know more about baseball than anyone else on the team does. Plus, you wouldn't have to move much."

Videl eyed her daughter suspiciously. "I thought that tournament was for corporate executives only."

"It… is… sort of." She answered timidly. "But it's also open to their immediate families. We're kind of… extending the rules a bit."

"Oh… so you and Trunks aren't the only ones profiting from marriage, huh?"

Pan smiled and blushed. "Think of this as a fun thing to do as a family. Grandpa, Goten, Trunks, Bulma, Bra, Marron, Dad and I are all going to be on the team. You could be our ninth." She argued, a slight adolescent whine to her voice.

"Who's pitching?"

"Bra."

"Hmm… Well, I'm pretty out of shape." She argued.

"Don't worry, the baseball tournament's not for another six months… It's one week after the martial arts tournament."

"Okay, I'm in." Videl replied reluctantly. "But only if we play fair enough to actually let the other teams score a little. I don't want to see our family photos posted all over the front of 'Fortune 500 Weekly' just because your father decided to fly up and catch a home run in mid air."

Gohan smiled sheepishly.

"Yes!" Pan cheered. She talked her mother into playing baseball and her father into training again. This was going to be a fun summer.

Yeah, yeah… I know… but it's only another dreaded 'first chapter'. Does anyone here remember me? Hello? Hi? Okay, so I'm a forgotten name now. That's what I get for slacking off after "Waiting". *sigh*

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