Wow, I haven't written a oneshot in a while. Hope I don't get into a rut again... Anyway, here this is. It's a GokuxChi-Chi, not exactly something rare, and I know the whole sick thing has been done before, and I know some anniversary fics must exist out there, but please bear with me for now. Anyway, I'm not particularly proud of it, characterization seemed a bit off to me. Maybe it's just me, but at the very least I'm pretty sure I got Goku's wrong. Please review, I'd like feedback on this one specifically, as I tried modifying my writing style for it. On that note, enjoy!

Sick Day

Goku woke up that morning in a cold sweat, sitting bolt upright as sunlight streamed through the half-open shutters, birds twittering outside the window. A fresh wave of coughing and hacking erupted to his right: Chi-Chi, having felt unsettled the previous night, had gone to bed early with a few pills and water, but to no avail. For most of the night, he had been kept awake by his significant other's fits, but had bore through it patiently, stroking her hair, massaging her back, fetching additional water, whatever it took to ease her suffering. It would work, certainly, but only for a short while at once.

Sighing, he rolled out of bed, stretching his arms and yawning. Walking over to her side of the mattress, he pulled the blankets up over her and laid the back of his hand to her forehead. She felt burning hot, far too much so to possibly be healthy. He sat back down on the bed, his hand to his chin in thought. He wanted to make her happy upon her awakening, but he knew of no special way to do so.

Suddenly, he laughed softly and snapped his fingers together. Everybody liked food. Who didn't like food? He would make her a nice, piping hot breakfast, of course. But he didn't know how to cook. Did he?

With one last glance over his shoulder at the blanketed form of his sleeping wife, he stepped briskly into the kitchen. Goten, being in adolescence, was still fast asleep, but Gohan was already up and dressed, sipping a mug of coffee. He nodded in acknowledgement to his father, then returned to his perusing of the newspaper. Gohan had been doing so rather often recently, searching for a home of his own where he could start his family with Videl. Goku smiled to himself, then walked over to the cupboard, putting his hands on his hips, the better to observe its contents.

There was cereal, and a lot of it. Goten ate a lot of that, most of them with sugar as their chief ingredient. They also had a multitude of soups. Chi-Chi ate those, but Goku had a feeling she wouldn't exactly appreciate processed, soggy bacon and potatoes at this hour, not to mention with her sickness. They also kept a lot of vegetables, but he couldn't cook at all. There was some meat in the refrigerator, but she didn't like any of the fats on them, and he certainly couldn't distinguish between the beef and the fat.

Glancing through the sea of containers and cans one last time, he spied something he was able to make. Reaching in, he pulled out a bag of powder labeled "Instant Okayu Rice Porridge: Just Add Water!" and opened the package to look inside, a small puff of white smoke rising and disappearing into the air. Satisfied with its contents, he dumped out a sizeable portion into a large plastic bowl, flicking on the electric kettle as he did so, letting out a slight cough as some of the powder rose and entered his throat.

Rubbing his eyes sleepily, Goten came down the stairs, clutching a water bottle bottoms-up, taking a long gulp. Finished, he wiped his mouth dry with his arm. "Morning, Dad, Big Brother," he mumbled. "…Where's Mom…?"

Goku pulled back a chair and sat down opposite Gohan, sighing as he glanced at the bubbling water. "She's in bed. She's sick pretty bad, her fever must be over one hundred." Goten blinked, while his older brother choked on his coffee, both staring at him, dumbfounded. The room exploded into nervous chatter, causing Goku to cover his ears in annoyance. Yes, it was a cause for concern, but there was certainly no need for this level of noise.

Miraculously, he heard the metallic ding of the boiler over the din. Goku got up, pouring the scalding-hot water into the bowl. He rummaged around for a spoon in the drawer, stirred the mixture around, then took a sip. It was hot, but it tasted fine. A little watery, but Chi-Chi liked it that way.

Grabbing a handful of green onions and cilantro, he sprinkled it into the soup as he slid a metallic tray under the bowl, shakily picking the tray up and carrying it up the stairs slowly, trying his best not to spill with a grimace, the heat burning his hands.

Setting the bowl down on the dresser as he entered the room with a yelp and a sigh, he sat down on the bed next to his spouse, massaging her shoulders gently. She let out a groan, then sat up, blinking, rubbing her eyes, and yawning. "Unh… Goku…? What time is it…?"

He allowed himself a small smile, stroking her back while glancing at the digital clock on the counter behind him. "It's eleven thirty, but don't worry about that, just relax. Here, I made you… Breakfast? Or maybe lunch… Anyway," he said, taking hold of the bowl. "Open up."

She looked at the bowl skeptically, raising a nervous eyebrow, then, seeing the confidence in his eyes, obliged and closed her own. He dipped the spoon in the mixture and stirred around, coming up with a small portion and blowing into it softly. She sipped it quietly, raising her other eyebrow. "Wow," she exclaimed. "For your cooking, this is delicious!"

He laughed and scratched the back of his hair. "Well, I wouldn't really call it cooking. It's instant, after all. All I really did was throw in a few vegetables, like you always do."

She smiled, stroking his cheek affectionately. "Thank you, anyway." Suddenly, she grimaced, clutching her forehead. "Oh… I feel sick again… There's some headache medicine in the cabinet, it's in a green bottle, could you fetch it for me…?"

Nodding vigorously, he nearly leapt off the bed and threw open the door, throwing out bottles left and right in a mad search. Resurfacing triumphantly, he pulled out a small, light green container. "Is this it?"

Sighing, she put her hand to her head. "Goku, that's flu medicine."

He frowned, taking a closer look at the label. Dissatisfied with his findings, he tossed the bottle backwards onto the ever-growing pile of medicine. He pulled out another bottle, this one darker green. "How's this?"

"Goku, those are indigestion pills."

"And this?"

"Goku, that's your virus medication from Trunks."

"This?"

"Goku…"

After another ten or so minutes of the same, he finally resurfaced with the correct medicine, tossing it to Chi-Chi with a sigh of mixed exasperation and relief, she doing the same. She swallowed a capsule, took a sip of water, and breathed out, temporarily relieved of her pain. She got up and pulled the bedsheets up, then paused and blinked. "Goku, what time did you say it was?"

"It's just about noon right now."

She gasped, putting her hand over her mouth, and hastily ran toward the stairs, stumbling so he could just barely catch her. "Whoa there, what's the rush?" he laughed as she struggled to get free. "Slow down!"

"I have to go prepare lunch for the three of you! Let go!"

He only held on tighter, smiling. "Easy, easy. I know we eat a lot, but we can skip a meal or two without any big problems. What's most important right now is that you get some more rest." She shook her head violently, squirming. He sighed in exasperation at her stubbornness, then, remembering his growling stomach, gave in. "Oh, all right. But at least let me help you down the stairs and with cooking."

Thinking for a moment, she nodded in agreement, allowing herself to be escorted down the carpeted steps. Once they reached the bottom, she lost no time in setting about to work, throwing together the beginnings of a serving of yakisoba in a flurry of noodles, vegetables, and, naturally, lots and lots of meat, leaving the rest of her family staring slack-jawed in awe. "Goku, be a dear and fetch the pork from the refrigerator, would you?" she asked, not bothering to look up from her work.

Wanting to be helpful, he obliged, getting up from his seat and opening the refrigerator door, but had to stop and think. "Um, Chi-Chi, which one is the pork?"

Again, she sighed. "It's under the beef."

"Um…"

Nervously, Gohan got up quickly and diffused the situation by pointing it out to his father and briefly explaining the differences between meats. Shrugging, he grabbed the bundle and walked over to his wife, but not too close, as her butchering knife had a dangerously large radius at the moment. "Is this it…?"

She took a quick glance at it and started hacking away at it as well, causing Goku to flinch and whimper nervously. "Sorry I can't tell them apart," he said, scratching his head. "I never bothered to learn the differences, they all taste the same going down…"

Though still exasperated, she smiled. "It's fine. Here, if you want to help, take this dish out onto the table," she said, handing him the platter of food. "And while you're at it, set the table." He scurried of to carry out her will, almost knocking over a vase of flowers in the process.

A few minutes later (and a nasty incident involving a missed flipping of the pan), lunch was finally ready. As per usual, the boys/men proceeded to devour everything in sight, including the napkins. However, Goku, being slightly more mature than usual for some odd reason, slowed down slightly (only so) in sensitivity to his wife. Noticing it, after years of eating with him, she smiled to herself.

After the meal, Goten took the liberty of cleaning up the dishes so that his brother could wash them, something that Chi-Chi was very glad too see. She sat down at the table, allowing herself to do a crossword puzzle. A few minutes passed in silence as Goku wolfed up the remains of the food.

"Ugh…!" She winced, again clutching her forehead, knocking over Gohan's coffee cup in the process. Alerted to her pain, Gohan ran over and helped her up, allowing for his father to take her and carry her back upstairs.

He set her down on the bed gently, sitting next to her and feeling her forehead again. Quickly, his hand was pulled back in pain and blown on frantically, she was practically on fire. He sat frowning in the darkness for a while, listening to the sound of her labored breathing.

"Sorry…" she coughed, her eyes half-open. "For causing so much trouble today…"

"It's nothing, don't worry about it," he replied with a smile. "Just concentrate on getting some sleep." She obliged willingly, rolling over and closing her eyes with a sigh. "Oh," he said, blinking, "and before I forget, Happy Anniversary."

She instantly opened her eyes, staring up at him in surprise. Never once had he remembered their anniversary: either she herself had brought it up, or it had gone by completely forgotten. "Um… Who are you and what have you done with Son Goku…?"

Goku frowned. "Hey, that's not very nice…"

"Oh…" she said, pausing in thought. "In that case… Thank you."

"That's more like it," he laughed, grinning. "Now get some rest." He leaned over and planted a kiss on her forehead. In reality, his mouth was burning up from the heat, but he did his best to keep his composure as he sweated, figuring that if he defeated Freeza, Cell, and Boo, then he could withstand a third-degree burn.

"Yeah… Thank you." She turned over as he stroked her back, wanting to hide her blush: she felt like a little girl all over again.