Disclaimer: The usual. Don't own it, so don't sue me.

Author's note: This story is going to end up being a few chapters long, so bear with me. I'm writing about one chapter a day right now. Please R&R!

Shivering and half-asleep, Chi Chi glanced at the clock beside the bed. 4:47; she could sleep for another 45 minutes. But why was it so cold? She turned over and reached out blindly for the solid warmth that was her husband. Summer and winter, night and day, that man gave off an extraordinary amount of body heat. But this night, his side of the bed was cold. Chi Chi's eyes flew open as she realized he wasn't there. Of course he wasn't: Goku was dead. It had been nearly a week, and she still expected to wake up beside him. But never again. He was dead and this time he was never coming back.

A wave of nausea overpowered her and she ran to the bathroom. Since Goku's death, she'd started vomitting regularly and only got about four hours of sleep a night. If grief couldn't kill you, it could certainly make you sick, she told herself. After rinsing out her mouth, Chi Chi went to the kitchen, determined to make a big, delicious breakfast for Gohan. There was no way she'd be able to sleep now, anyway. And if he was going to be a scholar, he needed to be well-fed. She set to work as quietly as possible, trying not to wake her sleeping son. It wouldn't be easy, she thought, raising him alone. A boy needs a father, and he no longer had one. As Goku's best friend, Krillin had volunteered to do anything he could to help them out. But, as much as she hated to admit it, it would probably be Piccolo that Gohan would look to for guidance.

Just then, her queasiness returned with a vengeance, so she quickly made her way to the bathroom for the second time in 30 minutes. When she got back to her cooking, Gohan emerged from his bedroom, rubbing his eyes.

"'Morning, Mom," he yawned. "Why are you up so early?"

"Oh, sweetie, did I wake you? I'm sorry. Go on back to sleep, and I'll come get you when breakfast is ready." Chi Chi felt guilty for waking her tired little boy; this was all so difficult for him. So no matter how hard it was, she was going to keep things as normal as possible, for his sake. "You need your rest, young man."

"No, it's OK, I'm already up." He took a seat at the kitchen table. "You still don't feel well?"

"Oh, I'm fine! Just a little bug, it'll pass in no time," she lied. She knew full well what it was, but there was no way she'd admit to it, not now. Later, she thought, I'll tell him later.

Gohan was a shrewd boy, and sensed that her answer wasn't true. But he didn't want to cause her any more aggravation, so he let it slide. It was painful to watch her suffer like this, trying to pretend everything was OK when it clearly wasn't. He rose from the table and approached his mother.

"It's OK to be sad, Mom," he said, hugging her. "You don't have to hide it from me. I'm old enough to handle it."

Chi Chi was touched by his little speech, and quite impressed by his maturity.

"Thank you, sweetie. I'll remember that." She had no intention of burdening him with her problems, but she found his words comforting. "Now be a good boy and eat your breakfast."

As they drove to school, they had the same trite discussion they had every morning.

"You know," Gohan began, "I could just fly to school."

"You could," Chi Chi replied, "But I don't like the idea of you going all that way alone. Who knows what kind of hoodlums you could run into!"

"What hoodlums? It's perfectly safe! Besides, I can take care of myself."

"I can't see any reason why I should put you into a situation where you'd need to."

"But it would be easier for you!"

"Being a mother isn't about doing what's easy, Gohan honey, it's about doing what's right."

And with that, the conversation was effectively ended. How could he argue with that logic? Before long, their car pulled up in front of the school.

"Bye, Mom!" Gohan said, kissing her on the cheek.

"Bye, sweetie! Mommy loves you! Have a good day! Listen to your teachers! And don't talk to any grown-ups you don't know!"

"Yeah, OK. Bye!" he replied, closing the door and dashing to the building. Chi Chi fondly watched him go, thinking how lucky she was to have a son like him. With that sentiment strengthening her resolve, she headed to her doctor's appointment. She had scheduled it weeks earlier, unaware of the tragedy that would befall her family in the meantime.

"Congratulations, Mrs. Son! Your results came back positive!"

Chi Chi sat still, stonefaced, staring at her hands. It wasn't like it came as a surprise. She knew. She knew weeks ago, when Goku was still alive. But she'd kept it to herself, deciding to wait until the danger had passed and they could be properly excited about it. And now she couldn't really be excited, because she couldn't tell Goku. He would have been so happy…

Finally, her stoic mask crumbled as she broke down into anguished sobs. The doctor stared at her, completely nonplussed. Normally, women were happy about being pregnant, but this one seemed… upset, to say the least. He patted her shoulder in what he meant to be a comforting gesture.

"I don't think you should be driving, Mrs. Son," he said softly. "Maybe I should call Mr. Son to-" He was interrupted by Chi Chi's wailing, which grew louder and more plaintive at the mention of her husband. She shook her head, unable to speak. "Uhhh, would you like to call someone else instead?" She nodded. The doctor handed her the phone. Not knowing what else to do, she called Bulma.

"Hi, this is Bulma!" her friend answered cheerfully. Chi Chi burst into tears again. "Chi Chi? Is that you?" Bulma knew that sobbing anywhere. "What's the matter? Is it Gohan?"

"Uh-uh," Chi Chi managed to choke out. "Can you- pick- me up- at the doctor?" she asked between sobs.

"The doctor?" Bulma swore under her breath. "You bet. Give me five minutes. Hang on, everything's going to be OK."

Chi Chi whispered her thanks and hung up the phone. Moments later, Bulma burst through the door.

"What's going on? Are you all right?" she asked breathlessly. A renewed flood of tears greeted her.

"I'm pregant!" Chi Chi wailed miserably. To the doctor's surprise, Bulma winced.

"Oh, man. I'm so sorry. That's tough." The doctor was completely bewildered. "Let's take you back to Capsule Corp. We'll get you some tea, OK?"

"I, uh… offered to call her husband," the doctor said helplessly as the two women moved toward the door. Bulma scoffed at him.

"No wonder she's hysterical. He's dead. If you get a hold of him, be sure to let us know," she said dryly.