His Name is Goten

Gohan frowned down at the carefully wrapped bundle nestled in the wooden crib.

"He looks... kinda funny, huh?" Gohan whispered, slightly awestruck. "I mean, look at him! His face is all wrinkled and he's so... small."

His mother, who was still a little tired from what the doctor had described as a 'difficult labour' (whatever that meant – Chi Chi hadn't yet deemed Gohan ready to learn the biology of life), tutted lightly. She was smiling softly, looking into the crib with the most gentle expression Gohan had ever seen on her, and as he watched she reached out a hand to delicately brush some of the black, downy hair away from her new son's forehead.

"You looked just like this when you were born, Gohan," she told him with a chuckle. "I think you were a bit chunkier though. I used to call you my chubby angel."

"Aww, Mom..." Gohan mumbled, cheeks reddening in embarrassment. The sentiment didn't last long, and within seconds he was absorbed in studying his new baby brother's face again, his self-consciousness all but forgotten.

Gohan still couldn't believe it. A baby! His mom had had another baby! And he was amazing. So tiny, so fragile... He'd never imagined anything could look so vulnerable. True, his brother wasn't the first baby he'd ever seen – Gohan had seen baby Trunks plenty of times. But it wasn't the same, because when Gohan had met him, Trunks had already been months old and had grown to become quite robust. This little guy was only a day old, and so very, very delicate.

More amazing was the fact that despite how he looked now, one day this baby would be stronger than most of the rest of the planet. How could he not be? He was part Saiyan, like Gohan and Trunks. He was the son of Goku.

"What're you gonna call him?" Gohan asked, his gaze riveted on his brother's round face.

Almost as though he felt the weight of Gohan's gaze, the baby opened it's eyes and stared up at them curiously. He had Dad's eyes, Gohan decided. He'd probably have Dad's hair too. The infant gurgled and gave them a toothless approximation of a smile, and it became obvious that he'd also inherited that from Goku.

"Gosh, he looks a lot like Dad, doesn't he?" Gohan exclaimed, unable to help grinning back at his little brother. He extended his hand and let the baby grip onto his finger, and was immediately surprised at the strength of the kid's grasp.

"He certainly does," Chi Chi replied vaguely, staring intently at the pair of them.

Gohan glanced up at his mother when she failed to say anything further, his beam fading a little at the contemplative look in her eyes.

"Mom? What is it?"

She didn't answer for a moment. Then, with a smile that was almost a smirk, she said, "Well, I was going to call him Archimedes, but I suppose that just won't do. There's too much Son in him, and if he's anything like you were, he'll hate it as much as you did."

"You were going to call me Archimedes?" Gohan paled a little at the thought. He didn't know what had changed her mind, but whatever it was he was grateful for it. In the cot between them, the baby started to grizzle a little.

"Mm," Chi Chi nodded. "Or Einstein. Or maybe even Horatio." The moans became full blown wails, and with a sigh she bent down to pick up her newborn son. "But look – he hates them!"

Gohan couldn't blame the kid – those names were almost worse than Grandpa Ox King's suggestions!

"That's why I've decided you should be the one to name him, Gohan."

Gohan, who'd been watching with fascination as his little brother howled in their mother's arms, started.

"M-me? You want me to name him, Mom?"

Chi Chi nodded. "That's right, Gohan. After all, he's as much yours as he is mine and your father's." With that, his mother handed him the wriggling bundle and, after adjusting his hold accordingly, stood back to watch.

Gohan gazed down at the child in his arms in bewilderment. His little brother stared back, no longer crying but instead quietly curious. He was his? Gohan had never thought about it like that. He found, to his surprise, that he quite liked the idea. Because already – despite the fact his brother was a scant twenty-four hours old, not even really a person yet – Gohan felt a love for him that was unlike anything he'd ever felt before. Not even the love he bore for his father could compare.

"He needs a good name," Gohan mused absently, too busy studying the baby's face to pay any attention to his mother's. "I bet he'll grow up to be real strong one day, so he needs a good, strong name."

Chi Chi didn't bother to argue. She had no doubt her youngest son would be strong one day – heaven knew Gohan was a force to be reckoned with, despite all her efforts to the contrary. He'd beaten Cell for goodness sake! A supposedly 'perfect' monster made from the genes of the strongest warriors this side of the universe! Sometimes she wondered what would have happened if she'd just let Goku train him in the first place – surely Cell wouldn't have stood a chance. Maybe if she hadn't been so stubborn, it wouldn't have been such a close call, and Goku might still be here with them now.

She vowed then and there, she wasn't going to make the same mistake twice.

"Goku..." Gohan was murmuring when Chi Chi started paying attention again. "Gohan..." The look on his face was so intent, so focused, that she didn't dare interrupt. "Go... Go..."

Long minutes passed in near silence, with Gohan staring at the baby, Chi Chi staring at Gohan and the baby gurgling contentedly. She soon decided it was time to feed her nameless son, and was just wondering whether to interrupt Gohan now or wait until after she'd made up the bottle, when suddenly Gohan looked up at her with a triumphant grin.

"Goten!" he proclaimed proudly. "His name is Goten."

"Goten...?" Chi Chi looked between her two children thoughtfully. "Yes... Yes, that works. Goten; son of Goku, and brother of Gohan. It's perfect!"

"You hear that little guy?" Gohan laughed, holding Goten up and beaming when the tyke laughed along. "Your name is gonna be Goten. Do you like that? Huh, Goten?"

Little Goten babbled happily in response. It suited him, Gohan thought. Looking at him, all wide-eyed with his gummy smile and round cheeks, there really wasn't any other name that would do him justice.

"I'm gonna take good care of you, little brother," Gohan whispered, holding Goten to his chest once more. "I won't let anything bad happen to you, not ever. 'Cause you're mine."