A/N: OK so here we are. The last chapter on the two-year anniversary of this fic. Like my other story "No More Forgiveness" I wanted to end on the anniversary of its first published date so I've been hustling away with writing. Also, in putting up this last chapter I realized that I did not do proper line breaks in Chapters 2-6 so those are now updated.

A big thank you to everyone who read this story (as well as my other works). I hope the story was as enjoyable for you to read, as it was for me to write. I also want to say that the feedback I've gotten from my fanfictions has inspired me to start working on a book. We will see what comes of it, but in the years I've been doing this I feel that I've learned so much and have grown tremendously as a writer. That being said, improvements can always be made and I am far from perfect. Therefore, I welcome and encourage constructive criticism. It helps me develop my skills and connects me with my readers :)

Lastly, please understand that I continue to take significant liberty with science in this last chapter. Consider it part of the science fiction aspect of the Dragonball universe.

Anyway, on with the fic. Enjoy!

Day 07: End of the line

Ring… Ring… Ring…

"Hello." Dr. Briefs answered his bedside phone in a groggy voice. The call had awoken him and he reached for his glasses to check on the time. 7:03 AM "Yes, this is him… uh-huh… uh-huh… that's correct… what?! … An exact match?... I'm sorry there really is no time to explain at the moment. I need to talk with my daughter… Yes… Yes, I understand… Capsule Corporation will obviously reimburse you for your trouble… Someone will there within the hour… Yes… Again it's hard to explain at the moment but someone will be there… OK… Thank you… Goodbye." He hung up the phone and immediately began looking around for his clothes.

Mrs. Briefs yawned. "Who was that?"

"No time to explain." Dr. Briefs replied while he put on his pants and began to button up his shirt in mismatched places. "I have to go see Bulma." And with that he was dashing down the hall. Quickly, he made his way to the room that Bulma and 18 were in. "Bulma!" He shouted.

"Dad. You're up! We've made tremendous progress that-" But before the blue-haired woman could get anything else out her father interrupted with words in between gasps as he caught his breath.

"Doctor… research… medicine… match."

"Whoa, whoa. Calm down. Take a deep breath." She soothed. Dr. Briefs stopped himself and took a deep breath to gain back his composure. "OK. Now what is it you were trying to say?"

"Remember yesterday when you said you called several of the major hospitals and research facilities around the world, to see if anyone was working on a cure for a heart virus."

Bulma nodded. "Yes, because the medicine Future Trunks gave us might be in preclinical trials at the moment."

"It is! They found it!" Dr. Briefs replied excitedly.

"What?! …Where?"

"I just got a call from a good colleague at the North City Medical Research Center. She talked with her peers, and as it turns out one of them is working on the medicine. He has an abundance of it in stock as they are set to start primary animal testing next month."

Bulma couldn't believe what she was hearing. "But are we sure it's the same medicine we need? What if the formula ends up changing during their testing?"

Her father shook his head. "It won't. They said it matches the chemical compound that you provided them. The one from our analysis of what was left over from the medicine Future Trunks gave us."

"Then that means…"

"We have the medicine! We don't have to wait for us to synthesize our own. Everyone can be cured."

Krillin sat at the kitchen table with a dim light hanging overhead. The sound of the storm outside mixed with the ticking of the clock behind him wasn't enough to distract him from his thoughts. The former monk sipped on his coffee as he replayed the interaction he had witnessed between Piccolo and Vegeta. "It was madness what Vegeta was proposing… wasn't it? No, no, of course it was. He was talking about killing Gohan. Knowing Vegeta, he is probably more concerned about himself than anything. … But he had a point about… no what am I thinking." Krillin continued to rack his brain. "I have to tell Goku… but how? It's not like I can just walk up to him and say 'Hey Goku, Vegeta wants to kill Gohan.' Ughh, what do I do?"

All of a sudden the kitchen lights turned on as he heard a familiar voice behind him. "Hey Krillin." Goku greeted.

"Ahhh!" The short man jumped up from his seat, startled. "G-Goku, you're up early."

"Yea." Goku replied. "Chi-Chi's still not feeling well. She woke up puking again. I just came to get her something to help her stomach. Sorry I startled you. What are you doing here? Can't sleep?" He asked while he began to search the refrigerator for some juice or soda for his wife.

"Umm, yea. Something like that." Krillin's voice was quivering and his eyes darted back and forth between Goku to his cup.

The Saiyan stopped his search when his noticed his friend's odd demeanor. "Krillin?"

"Huh?!" He asked, startled once again.

"Is everything OK?"

"Yes… I mean no. Hmm… Yes… ugh… n-no." He went back and forth making Goku suspicious enough to walk over and sit across from him at the table. Krillin sighed. "Goku, it's about something I heard last night that I think you should know. It's not going to be easy to hear." He shifted a bit more in place before summing up the courage to say what needed to be said. "I over heard Vegeta tell Piccolo that-"

"There he is!" Bulma shouted, unknowingly interrupting their conversation. She and Dr. Briefs were making their way toward Goku's room when she spotted him in the kitchen. "Goku we need your help!"

The Saiyan stood up to greet his them but had became a bit frantic by Bulma's announcement. "What? What's wrong?"

"Nothing. In fact we have good news." She celebrated. "We received word this morning that a researcher in North City has been working on a medicinal cure for a heart virus. This medicine isn't available yet because it's still being tested but it's an exact match to the medicine Future Trunks gave us."

A puzzled look overcame Goku.

Dr. Briefs tried to explain further. "What Bulma is saying is that this medicine is what turns out to be the medicine Future Trunks gives us and this researcher has a plentiful supply. This means we don't have to wait to make our own. All we have to do is send someone to pick it up, bring it back here, and we can start administering the medicine to cure everyone!"

Both Krillin and Goku were speechless. This was the answer to their prayers. They finally had a cure. Bulma wasted no time for further explanation. "Flying to North City would take several hours round trip, so Goku we need you to fly to this location as quickly as possible." She handed him a small GPS device that held a world map and the destination in North City. She also provided a photo of the building with contact information. "This device acts just like a dragon radar and will guide you to the North City Medical Research Center. Here is a photo of what the building looks like. On the back is the researcher who will be there waiting for you. Show her this and she will give you medicine. Then come back here so we can administer it."

"I understand. I'll leave right away." He tucked the photo into his gi and grabbed the device. Just as he was about to run out onto the nearby patio he turned back towards Krillin. "Help out Chi-Chi for me while I'm gone." He then ran out into the storm, powered up to his Super Saiyan form, and took with fantastic speed.

"Chi-Chi?" Bulma asked. "What's wrong with Chi-Chi?"

Everything had happened so fast, Krillin was still trying to process it all. He informed Bulma of what Goku had told him relating to Chi-Chi's illness but his mind was focused on the fact that a cure was on the way, and thus Goku wouldn't have to know what Vegeta had suggested the night before.

While Goku was gone, Dr. Briefs got everything set up to help administer the medicine. Meanwhile, Bulma checked on Chi-Chi to make sure she this illness was not somehow the heart virus. The symptoms were not indicative of the virus but she had to make sure.

After several minutes in the digital electro-magnetic resonance machine, Bulma was able to confirm that her friend did not have the ailment that they feared. Chi-Chi slid out of the machine and was further questioned on her symptoms. "I think it just might be stress from all of this." Chi-Chi explained. "I've been nauseous, dizzy at times, and my mood has been all over the place. That's happened to me before during very stressful times."

Bulma went through those symptoms in her head. They seemed all too familiar her and she began to think that perhaps it was just stress. Still, she wanted to make sure. She led her friend into a separate laboratory room to take a blood sample. "What we're looking for is to check and see if the stress you've been under isn't causing too much damage to your body." She explained while taking a blood draw. "You're symptoms have been rather consistent and if it lasts too long that can be detrimental to your health."

"With all the worrying I've done over the past several years I may be doomed." Chi-Chi lightly joked.

Bulma smiled in response. "You and me both."

Once the sample was obtained, she put in into her computer for analysis. Several minutes went by before the results were ready, during which, the two discussed what they were each going to do once this was over. After all, it was the first time the Earth was at peace in who knows how long. Both women expressed interest in just relaxing with their families as it was a rare commodity to experience such simple bliss.

"I just want to be able to go home with Goku and Gohan and have us be a family again. Like we used to be before all of this started." Chi-Chi commented just before the computer let out a ring that the analysis on her blood was done.

Bulma swung her swivel chair over to her desk and began interpreting the results.

"What's it say?" Chi-Chi asked.

"Well your blood work certainly shows that you've been experiencing abnormally high levels of stress." Bulma responded. But as she began scrolling through the data, a puzzled expression crossed her face. "That's odd." She muttered.

Chi-Chi had not heard what she said. "What?"

Bulma faced her and for the first time noticed a certain… glow about her. Then all of a sudden it clicked.

"Could it be?" She again muttered, causing Chi-Chi to again inquire as to what she was saying.

Ignoring her, the blue haired woman turned back to the computer and began inputting a series of text for a specific analysis. After a few moments Chi-Chi got impatient. "Bulma what's going on?" There was a bit of anxiety in her voice. After a brief pause she was about to ask again but before she could do so the computer dinged and displayed a green 'Positive' sign.

Bulma smiled and turned back towards her, coming close so that she could grab her hand. "Chi-Chi, I ran an quick test on your blood based on your symptoms and the original analysis."

"Yes… and?"

"Your symptoms aren't just from stress."

Her friend gave her a blank stare.

"Chi-Chi… you're pregnant."

Right as Bulma said that last sentence, Goku teleported into the room holding the medicine in a large container. He and Chi-Chi immediately made eye contact with each other as they both tried to grasp what they just heard. "W-What?"

As the husband and wife pair continued to digest the revelation that they were expecting, Dr. Briefs and Bulma went to work to administer the medicine that had received from the North City Medical Research Center. They explained to everyone that while this medicine was the same as what Future Trunks had provided, it had to be administered through IV. That meant it would act faster, providing results in hours instead of days. It was highly celebrated by everyone that this could all be over by the end of the day.

Bulma stood in front of Dende and watched as the turquoise colored medicine dripped from the IV bag, down into the tube that connected to the young Namekian's veins. "Just try to relax. We'll be back shortly to check up on you." She told him before leaving. After a decontamination process she met up with her father in the hall.

"That's everyone." She noted. "Gohan, Piccolo, and Dende are all hooked up. Now it's just a waiting game."

"Yes…"

She could tell there was something on her fathers mind. "I'm sure the medicine will work. After all it's the same formula. It's even a slightly more concentrated form of what Trunks provided us."

"Yes, yes, of course, of course." He responded. "But I would still like to see what you and 18 found pertaining to the vaccine. I don't want all that research to go down the drain. Plus it may be important down the road for something, you never know."

"A scientist's job is never finished is it? Come on I'll show you what we got."

Bulma and her father made their way back to laboratory where 18 was continuing to organize the data that had been collected the previous night.

"How'd it go?" She asked as the two scientists rejoined with her.

Bulma gave a thumbs-up. "Going well so far. We should be able to see results within a few hours. Speaking of results, my dad wanted to see what we found from Dr. Gero's files."

"These are what we printed off." 18 said, handing him a folder. She then sat down at the computer and brought up a file. "And in here is a more detailed analysis of those results with diagrams that are referenced in the paperwork you have."

"Very good." Dr. Briefs commented as he looked at the information before him. "This is exactly what has been missing for us." He then closed the folder to address them. "Why don't you both get some sleep? I can start working on synthesizing a vaccine using this data and Goku's antibodies."

"If you're still interested in making the vaccine utilizing these files, I'd like to stay up and help." 18 volunteered.

"Are you sure?" Bulma asked.

18 nodded. She would take any chance she could get to destroy Dr. Gero's legacy after his tyrannical rule over her and her brother. But more so, she felt that she owed it to them to help in anyway she could.

The trio agreed for Bulma to rest while 18 and Dr. Briefs continued to work on the vaccine.

Elsewhere in Capsule Corp, while Goku was sharing the great news with everyone that he was going to be a father again, Chi-Chi sat alone with her son.

"Gohan… Gohan can you hear me?"

The demi-saiyan nodded through deep breaths. He didn't have much energy for talking, which Chi-Chi knew.

"Gohan, listen to me. We now have the medicine you need." She touched his arm where the IV was delivering the life-saving drug. "So you're going to pull through this. You have to pull through this. You have to keep fighting OK? Because… well… because something wonderful has happened. Your father and I just found out that I'm pregnant. Gohan, you're going to be a big brother."

Gohan opened his eyes and looked at her in delighted surprise.

She continued. "And you need to be nice and strong to help out your dad and I when he or she comes. You need to be here. We can't do this without you."

He shut his eyes again as he began to cry tears of joy with her.

"I… will."

Noon rolled around and Bulma began to wake up from her short slumber. She stretched and yawned, and for the first time in days she started to feel relaxed. They had the life-saving medicine they had been so anxious to get, and soon this whole nightmare would be over… or so she thought.

"Bulma! Bulma!" Krillin shouted as he ran down the hall to her room.

She immediately leapt up from her bed feeling fortunately she had slept in her clothes so there was no need to change. "Krillin? What is it?!" She replied back as she met him in the doorway.

"You're dad sent me up to get you. Come with me. It's urgent."

Without any hesitation she joined him as they both rushed back towards the hospital ward of Capsule Corp. "What problem? What's going on?" Bulma asked on the way.

"It's something with Gohan. Your dad was checking up on him because he hasn't been making as much progress with the medication as Piccolo and Dende. I was watching as he put him through that machine that you guys have. After a few moments I could tell he was growing anxious and all of a sudden he turned to me and told me to get you down there immediately."

Bulma was perplexed. "That can't be right. It's the same virus. And the medication worked for Goku." However, as she turned the corner to Gohan's room she knew something was indeed wrong. Goku and Chi-Chi were looking on in confusion as Dr. Briefs had Gohan in the digital electro-magnetic resonance machine. As she got closer she realized why her father had called her down. Her eyes widened.

"Bulma." Chi-Chi ran up to her. "What's going on? Why isn't he getting better like Piccolo and Dende? Why did your dad say it was urgent you come down here immediately?"

Wanting to make sure she had all her facts straight before delivering any news, Bulma started to gear up in her protective clothing. "I can't say for sure until I talk with him."

As she entered the room, she could hear the demi-saiyan wheezing against the backdrop of the various medical machines running. She walked up to her father, looking at the large computer screen. "Am… Am I seeing this right?" She asked.

"I'm afraid so." Dr. Briefs pointed to the image of Gohan's body and where the virus was. "This proves what our previous research was showing for the worst case scenario. It's in his lungs now."

Bulma cursed under her breath. "We were afraid of this. This means it could become airborne if it's not already."

"Not yet, but it's a matter of time."

"But what about the medication? It's in his system. It should be treating the virus no matter where it is."

"In theory yes." Dr. Briefs brought up another file on his computer of a recent test he had done. "But it appears the mutation that has allowed the virus to affect his lungs has also changed its susceptibility to the drug formula. I just ran a test on the medicine to see how it reacted to virus found in Gohan's heart versus virus found in his lungs. The former is completely eradicated by the medicine but the latter is showing resistance."

"This can't be happening." Bulma shook her head in disbelief. But the results were there on the screen in front of her. The medication had cleared the virus from Gohan's heart where non-mutated virus particles had been, but now the mutated version was in his lungs and had become resistant to said medication.

Suddenly, the vaccine went from being a backup to a last hope.

Once he got Gohan in a stable condition, Dr. Briefs rushed back to his laboratory to continue his work with 18 on a vaccine. He knew, now more than ever, that time was of the essence and they needed to expedite their efforts. Meanwhile, Bulma was scheduled the task of breaking the news to everyone. It wasn't a death sentence, but it was pretty close to one, and that made it a tough conversation to have. Perhaps the hardest part was describing to Goku and Chi-Chi what exactly was going on. Even worse was that she knew she couldn't stay to answer too many questions. She had to keep it brief, so that she could quickly join her father in the lab.

Expectedly, Chi-Chi was beside herself. A few hours ago they had been given so much hope. A medicine had been found and she received news that she was pregnant. Now they were hearing that the virus had mutated enough in Gohan to cause him to become immune to the medicine and that a vaccine is his last hope. When would this roller coaster end?

Bulma did her best to reassure everyone that significant progress had been made last night with developing a vaccine. It was hard for her to estimate a time frame for when a final product would be finished, but she told everyone it should be out within 24 hours.

After the meeting, while everyone was either consoling each other or put to task by Bulma in order to help gather additional resources from local hospitals, Krillin noticed Vegeta make his way towards Piccolo's and Dende's rooms. He followed, and eavesdropped on their conversation while avoiding detection. Once Vegeta was finished informing Piccolo of what was happening he decided to change the schedule of his ultimatum.

"It's time." He announced.

"You said you would give it by tonight Vegeta!" Piccolo yelled back.

"It needs to be done now before anything else happens." Vegeta screamed. The two were at odds with one another, while Dende watched on silently, feeling helpless.

"Vegeta, you can't kill Gohan!" Piccolo continued.

"There is no other way!"

"NO!" A loud voice bellowed down the hall, causing everyone to jump and immediately faced the direction it came from.

Krillin stumbled from around the corner but it quickly became apparent that he was not the one who had interrupted them. Instead, all eyes were on the person rounding the corner just behind Krillin.

"Goku!" His short friend exclaimed.

The Saiyan quickly made his way down the hall. "I came to tell Piccolo and Dende what was happening, but I see you've already done that for me. You have some explaining to Vegeta!" His fists gripped, as he was not happy with what he had overheard.

Vegeta was quick to collect himself from being startled. He didn't anticipate talking to his old rival about this before the deed was done because he knew he would object. Trying to convince Piccolo that this was the right course of action was hard enough, but now he had to try and convince a distraught father. And Goku was frequently known to think with his heart instead of his head.

"Kakarot, you need to think rationally about this. He's getting worse and posing a potential risk to everyone."

"And by everyone, you mean you, right Vegeta?" Goku cut him off, his anger increasing.

The Saiyan Prince gritted his teeth. "No, not just me. Everyone! Have you not been paying attention to what's been happening, to what Bulma and her father have been saying?"

"They say there is hope." Goku retorted.

"Yes, a last ditch effort. And tell me Kakarot, what if that doesn't work? What if he dies before a cure can be reached?"

Goku didn't like to consider that option. "Then we will have tried everything we could have. You aren't going to kill my son just to protect yourself when not two weeks ago he saved this entire planet!" His aura began to flare up but Vegeta stood his ground.

"You aren't listening. It's not just me; it's the entire planet that could be in danger, the planet that he risked his life to save. If this thing continues to change and gets out into the world it could unleash a global epidemic. Those aren't my words those are Bulma's fathers."

He saw this was doing little to dissuade Goku, who continued to hope for the best possible outcome. Stopping for a moment, he took a deep breath to calm himself. "If you won't do it for the planets sake, do it for his."

"You want me to allow my son to be killed for his own sake?!"

"Once again, you are failing to see the bigger picture because you're allowing your emotions to rule your head. What happens if your son dies from this virus?"

"Then he gave it everything he had. We didn't just give up!"

Vegeta was getting irritated. "No! If he dies from this virus, like you did in Trunks' time, then he cannot be wished back from the Dragon Balls."

Goku stood there shocked, just as Piccolo had when he first heard this explanation. Because just like Piccolo, he was so fixated on helping Gohan, on remaining optimistic, that he became blinded by what a natural death would actually mean - no resurrection. Gohan would be gone for good.

"I'm asking that we kill your son, in order to save him. It's better for him to be dead until we can use the Dragon Balls again, than it is for him to be dead forever."

Goku's heart and mind were now at battle. He looked at Piccolo hoping he would have some answer to this problem but the Namekian just hung his head. They both knew Vegeta was right. They tried denying the truth but now, neither could.

"What if Dende heals him?" Krillin spoke up.

"What?" They all turned to him.

"What if Dende continuously heals him, like last time?" Before the others could question him, he reached into his pocket to pull out the two remaining senzu beans and explained. "Bulma said that Piccolo and Dende were to be out of quarantine within the hour, based on their test results since the virus is cleared from their system. When Dende gets out we can give him a senzu bean to recover the strength he has lost from getting sick. He can then heal Gohan continuously, prolonging how long it will take the virus to take its toll. When he's tired we can give him the last senzu bean so that he can continue healing."

Everyone exchanged glances before Piccolo broke the silence. "It would give us more time, and the medicine we have can help keep the virus at bay while we do this."

Goku turned to the younger Namekian. "Dende, would you-"

"Yes!" He answered before Goku could finish his question.

The Saiyan then turned to Vegeta. "Do you agree with our approach?"

"It may lead to them same end. You know that?"

"I know. But we have to exhaust all resources before it gets to that. We have to try something."

A few seconds passed by before Vegeta reluctantly agreed.

Within the hour, both Dende and Piccolo were released from quarantine. With the virus no longer in their system due to the fast acting medicine, 100% of the focus was now given to help Gohan overcome his battle with the pathogen. As planned, Dende received a senzu bean to quickly heal and revive his energy so that he could help heal his friend. Before he entered the room, however, Gohan had to be informed as to what was going on, and the reality of the condition he was in. Knowing that Goku would be too emotional, and Vegeta too blunt, Piccolo volunteered for the task. He suited up and entered Gohan's room.

"Piccolo!" Gohan greeted, lifting his head up slightly. He was glad to see his old mentor again. "You're… OK."

The Namekian smiled through his protective suit and sat down next to his former protégé. "Dende and I were recently released. Bulma said the virus is clear of our system."

Gohan smiled. "I'm happy… to hear that."

Watching as the demi-saiyan struggled to breathe, the gravity of the situation hit Piccolo full force. Gohan was much worse off than when he last saw him. He now had a better understanding of the perspective Vegeta was coming from. Without wasting any time he jumped into it. "Listen, Gohan there is something I need to tell you. You know that you're still sick because the virus has mutated inside you and moved to your lungs."

"Yes… Dr. Briefs… told me."

"And he also told you they were working on a vaccine as we speak to help cure you."

The young man nodded, allowing Piccolo to continue. "Everyone has high hopes for this Gohan. I don't want you to think differently. But…" He paused as he began to struggle with his words. "But they may not get it in time. If that's the case, Vegeta has made the suggestion that we… that we-"

Gohan turned towards him. "I know… what you're… going to say. That you… end my life… before the… virus does."

Without hesitating, Piccolo confirmed this. "So that we can wish you back with the Dragon Balls. If the virus takes you first, you won't be able to be wished back."

Gohan thought for a moment before speaking again. "He's right. It's the… right thing… to do. Even if I… could be… wished back… this virus… is acting… unpredictable. We need… to protect… others. It can't… be allowed… to mutate… and spread… anymore."

Exactly what Vegeta had been saying, just came from Gohan's mouth. Piccolo sighed. He decided that was enough to discuss. After informing him of the rest of the plan, that is to allow Dende to heal him until a cure is reached, he left the room. He knew they were doing the right thing, Gohan said it himself, but a sense of guilt still hung over him.

1 o'clock came, then 2 o'clock, and so on and so on.

The hours passed painfully slow for everyone, as they had no choice but to play the waiting game. After seven days the end was upon them, but nobody knew if it meant the life of the young warrior would also be taken. Each second that passed suggested it would, as everyone knew things were getting worse. They remained ignorant, however, as to Vegeta's plan.

Goku had decided not to tell anyone else about the ultimatum in part because he believed it wouldn't come to fruition. Another part was because he didn't want Chi-Chi to find out. He wanted to spare her from the high emotional stress she was already under. As for those working on the vaccine, they were simply kept up to date on Gohan's ki level as a measure of his life force in conjunction with the scientific equipment they had to monitor his vitals. It had been decided that telling them about Vegeta's plan would only cause strain and tension, which could distract them from their job. The only thing the scientists needed to know was how Gohan was doing throughout the day.

After what seemed like eternity, night finally fell upon Capsule Corp and lingered on.

Vegeta looked at the clock.

9:00 PM

He turned towards his old rival. "They aren't going to make it. It's time Kakarot."

"NO!" He protested. "We need to give Bulma a chance."

"Kakarot if you were focused on anything other than this cure, you would have sensed that the young Namekian's energy is all but spent and your son's ki is almost non-existent. It has to be done now before it kills him."

Goku searched for ways to reason with Vegeta, but there were none. Despite his best efforts, he was out of excuses and they both knew it. Vegeta walked by him, heading down the hall. Trying to summon his courage to recognize that this was the end, Goku took a deep breath and then followed him.

On his way, Vegeta passed the others sitting in the lounge area. Krillin stood up. "Vegeta." He shouted out. The Saiyan Prince stopped and made eye contact with him. The grouped looked back and forth between the two of them, clueless as to what was happening. But Krillin knew. There would be only one reason Vegeta was making his way towards Gohan. However, despite his feelings of protest, Krillin (just like Goku) could not come up with anything to say. And even if he could, he couldn't express it in present company. Vegeta continued walking.

Piccolo stood guard outside Gohan's door. As Vegeta approached the two made eye contact. A few seconds went by before Piccolo eventually looked away. There was no use in trying to prevent him from entering. He could feel it too. It was time.

Chi-Chi happened to be rounding the corner just in time to see the Vegeta put on some protective equipment and head into her son's room. Goku was close behind him, coming from the opposite direction and Piccolo was standing by the door. Something felt off to her. Despite not knowing what was happening, she quickly gathered something was amiss. "Goku? What's going on? What's Vegeta doing in there?"

"Chi-Chi, go wait in the other room." Goku instructed. This further made her more suspicious and she quickened her pace. Once she got to the window she saw Dende in between her son and Vegeta, with his arms extended.

"Please. Don't do this." The Namekian begged, tears streaming down his face. Before Vegeta could respond, Gohan spoke up. "Dende… it's OK. He's doing… the right thing." He then motioned for Dende to step aside.

"What's going on?" Chi-Chi raised her voice.

Goku did his best to explain. "Chi-Chi, we can't let this virus take Gohan's life. If it does he can't be wished back."

"That's why Bulma is working on a cure."

"It isn't going to be done in time! If he dies by the virus he can't be wished back. The only way to make sure that doesn't happen is to…" He couldn't bring himself to say it aloud.

"Is to what? Is to what!?" Chi-Chi grabbed him by the shoulders. Goku looked down not wanting to face her and when she looked at Piccolo behind him he averted his eyes. "No… NO!" She started to wail as she flew into hysterics. "NO! This can't be!"

Her screams were heard from the other side of Capsule Corp, causing those in the lounge area to rush down the hallway, wondering what was going on. That is with the exception of Krillin, who stayed back and started sobbing.

"Mom!" Gohan shouted with what little strength he had. Chi-Chi turned to face him through the window, tears flowing down her cheeks.

"Mom… it's OK. This is the… right thing… to do. I would… have suggested it… if someone else… hadn't already."

By this time everyone else had joined in front of Gohan's room asking what was wrong. The demi-saiyan took the opportunity to explain to everyone else what was happening and to say his last goodbyes. "This virus… needs to be stopped… for everyone's sake. And… as dad said… if it kills me… I can't be… wished back. I want to… be able to… see my brother… grow up. I want to… be able to… be a… family. This is… the only way."

Chi-Chi dropped to her knees. This was it. This was what she had been dreading for seven days now. The rest of the Z fighters were speechless. They had not expected this and stood in shocked silence.

"I'll see… you all in… a few months… when the… Namekian… Dragon Balls… are able to… be used."

Goku knelt down beside Chi-Chi to prevent her from watching as she cried into his arms. Once again he had a feeling of being utterly powerless and he began to weep with her.

In the lounge area Krillin remained alone… that is until 18 walked in. "Oh, hey Krillin." She greeted. "Dr. Briefs wanted me to tell you all they have the vaccine ready. Where is everybody?"

"Huh?!" Krillin looked up from the cushion he had buried his face into and saw the android standing before him.

"We have the vaccine. It should be out in a few minutes." 18 took a few steps towards him. She could easily see he was upset. "Are you all right?"

Gohan turned to Vegeta. "I'm… ready."

Krillin's eyes widened. Without explanation he jumped out of his seat and began sprinting down the hall. "Goku! Goku!" He shouted.

The others looked away as Vegeta stretched out his hand to form a small but powerful ki blast.

Resigned to his fate, Gohan took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

Just as Vegeta was about to fire, he heard a voice coming from the hallway outside.

"Stop! Stop! We have it!" Krillin yelled as he ran towards the group just in time. "We have the vaccine!"

Bulma and her father, with the help of 18, had pulled through. A viable vaccine, created by using Goku's own antibodies against the virus, had been produced. Ready to go, Dr. Briefs was administering it to Gohan within minutes of the announcement. Everyone held their breath. It was the moment of truth. Utilizing the equipment they had, Bulma monitored Gohan's reaction. It didn't take long before she began to notice a decrease in viral particles. It was a success!

It took several hours for Gohan's immune system to really kick in and begin exploiting the full potential of the vaccine. However, his symptoms started to dissipate even before then. From there, it was only a matter of time.

Three more days would pass before the vaccine completed its job and eliminated the virus completely from Gohan's body. During this time, his health continued to improve and he regained the energy that had been spent fighting against one of the greatest foes Dr. Gero had ever created. Thus, as the last bit of viral particles in him ceased to exist, so ended a saga of terror brought upon by the evil doctor. A weight had been lifted from everyone's shoulders and they welcomed a new age of peace for each other, and for the world.

On a beautiful sunny morning, ten days after he fell ill (the same length of time his father had fallen sick), Gohan was declared virus free, and perfectly healed. The first thing he did once out of quarantine was to hug his family. They cried happily together in an emotional embrace. The nightmare was finally over.

After they broke from their hug, Gohan made sure to thank his mother for her courage in standing by his side and his father, not only for his support, but also for his role in helping heal him.

For it wasn't just the virus that was passed from father to son…

It was the cure as well.

.

.

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A/N: So there ya go.

I hope you enjoyed it.

First off, and I know I'm repeating myself but… thank you to everyone who read this fanfic and a special thanks to those who reviewed and favorite it. For those that were with me from the beginning thank you also for being patient with me while I navigated through grad school with this and thus couldn't update as often as I would have liked.

Second, I want to thank Charismatic Beauty (formerly XOXOSerenityXOXO) for contacting me and inquiring if I would write this. I have copied the prompt she sent me and pasted it below to allow my readers to judge how I did. Not only did she inspire "From Father to Son" but also inspired "Alternative End" as well (you see this in her prompt). I want to add that as I went along with the story, Charismatic Beauty helped guide me slightly, but for the most part I was able to have free range on how the story developed including some flexibility with the prompt. This helped tremendously with the creative process.

So… how do you all think I did?

Prompt from Charismatic Beauty

Title - The Return
Full Summary – The evil androids, including Cell that have terrorized the earth for so long have finally be defeated and now earth's youngest and brightest hero can finally relax and enjoy peace and harmony with his family and friends. Unfortunately, this is short-lived because fate has other plans for the young hero because the virus that attacked his father not too long as has now returned and "he" is now the next unfortunate target. Can a child survive this heart crippling virus or will Gohan finally meet his end?
• Please provide a shorter version of the full summary.

Storyline – so basically this story will take place immediately after the cell games and this story will goku survived the cell because gohan was actually smart enough to kill cell off when he had the chance so goku didn't have to sacrifice himself. After the battle everyone goes back to the look at and wish everyone back who was killed by cell and they go home. Goku and gohan are greeted by a screaming and crying chichi. Goku assures her that everything is okay and that gohan defeated cell. Chichi is still upset about goku letting gohan fight cell in the first place but despite that she is happy to have her two sayians back home safe and sound. So they have dinner and they go to back. But before goku meets chichi in their room provide a father/son moment between goku and gohan. Goku will go to gohan's room and tells gohan how proud he is of him. Gohan will tell goku that he was really scared fighting cell. If there is anything else you wan tot add to that father/son scene you can add it. So the three of them will spend some time together, on picnic or taking walks at the lake and stuff. Then a few days after the events of cell, Gohan will get the virus.
Scenario for the virus – seven days after the cell games, gohan will get the virus. He will be up in his room studying because Chichi told him to. Chichi comes to his room and says he can take a break from studying so he takes a nap. When he wakes up he starts panting a little and feels a slight pain in his chest but ignores it. Then he makes his way downstairs to the kitchen where he finds chichi and goku. Goku is laying on the couch snoring loudly while chichi is making gohan a snack. Gohan feels the pain again and winces and Goku wakes up and senses gohan distress sighn and asks gohan what's wrong. Gohan says it's nothing and that he probably sleep too long. After gohan and goku eat they go out to the lake for a while and chichi tells them not to stay out too long. While they're at the lake sitting, gohan's pain gets worse and he starts panting more. Describe goku's reaction. He starts to get really concerned and says that the second time today you did that gohan are you okay. Gohan says he doesn't know but it's like his heart is burning or something. Gohan will be sick with the virus for ten days like goku was. I also want piccolo in the story too since he is like a father to gohan. Also bulma and krillen. Gohan will survive the virus so please don't kill him. This does not have to be a long story just 5 to 10 chapters longs.