Gohan grumbled in his sleep and turned over.

“Ack!” he yelped, jerking awake as he hit the floor. He had only had a proper mate for a little less than two weeks, and he had already been regulated to the couch. He had been sleeping in the living room for the past three days rather than curled up with his temperamental little mate like he wanted to be.

At least I’m not the only one sleeping alone, he thought. Goten had more or less moved into Vegeta’s room and was acting like a nervous mother hen. Something was obviously wrong with Vegeta, but Goten wasn’t letting anyone close enough to find out what.

Gohan yawned and stretched before heading to the kitchen for something to eat. Goten was already there, stacking sandwiches onto two large plates.

“Good morning, Goten,” Gohan said, sitting down at the kitchen table. “We need to talk.”

“No we don’t,” Goten growled, covering one of the plates with a paper towel. He poured a large glass of orange juice and carefully balanced it on the covered plate.

“What’s wrong with Vegeta?”

“It’s none of your business.”

“Damn it, Goten! He’s my mate, of course it’s my business!”

“Not right now it isn’t.”

Gohan growled in frustration as Goten left with the two plates of food. He was starting to get really worried about Vegeta.

Goten used his tail to open the door and slipped inside, gently closing it so as not to make any noise. Not that it really matters. He could probably sleep through a hurricane at this point.

*I heard that, brat,* a muffled, sleepy voice said in his head. *Quit thinkin’ s’ loud.*

*Sorry, Papa,* Goten apologized, setting the covered plate on the dresser. He scarfed down his own sandwiches before sitting on the edge of Vegeta’s bed. He was fast asleep again and shivering with cold.

Goten frowned, lying down and pulling the pale, ice-cold Saiyan into his arms. Vegeta instinctively snuggled against him in an effort to get warm. Goten was glad this wouldn’t last for very much longer. It was kind of sweat, but he didn’t like seeing his prince and adopted father this vulnerable.

He sighed and pulled the blanket over them both.

Goten wondered aimlessly through the mist filled void until he came to a large metal cube. He somehow knew that the thick metal walls marked the boundary of Vegeta’s mind. They were his defense against mental attacks.

Goten hesitantly reached out to touch one wall, then jerked back in horror as a Goten-shaped hole slowly burned through. Footsteps sounded behind him, making him whirl around and press himself into the hole he had accidentally created.

There was a low, feminine laugh as a strange woman suddenly came into view. “Thank you very much, Goten. I wouldn’t have had a chance at reaching Vegeta’s mind if it wasn’t for you.”

“Stay away,” he growled threateningly.

“Silly boy, you can’t stop me,” she said softly. She lifted her hand, and Goten screamed in agony, dropping to the ground.

She stepped over him and entered Vegeta’s mind.

Vegeta was floating in the white void, his body and mind both shut down to conserve energy. His eyes snapped open when he felt a foreign presence enter his mind, but other than that he remained still, waiting patiently for the presence to make its next move.

It poked around, trying to gain access to a mind that was currently defended by his own. Intense protective instinct flared through him as the presence poked harder.

Vegeta vanished with a low, threatening growl, appearing in front of a very startled woman.

“Get out of here, now!” he snarled, black eyes flashing.

“And why should I do that?” she asked, sounding extremely amused.

The look of amusement faded when Vegeta just smirked at her. She shrieked as flares of burning energy danced through her body.

“You...you shouldn’t be able to do that,” she gasped around the searing agony. “Your...energy...should be...depleted.”

“It’s my physical energy that’s being drained, not my mental. Now get out, and stay out.”

“This isn’t the last you’ll see of me!” she snarled before fading away.

Goten jerked awake, breathing heavily. That had definitely not been a pleasant dream. He shivered and glanced down at the man curled up in his arms. His eyes were half-open.

“Hey, you awake?” he asked, nudging him a little.

“Ummph,” Vegeta replied, blinking his eyes open all the way.

Goten got up and grabbed the glass of orange juice and the remaining plate of sandwiches. Vegeta finished his breakfast in two minutes flat, then stood on slightly wobbly legs and went to use the bathroom.

Goten gathered up the dirty dishes and slunk out the, his tail lashing as he glanced around for Gohan. He knew his older brother was worried, but it was Vegeta’s place to tell him what was going on, not his. Gohan would just have to wait for him to get out of the partial hibernation phase he was in.

He put the dishes in the sink, then yipped in shock when someone grabbed his arm.

“Woah! Calm down, love,” Trunks said before giving him a kiss. “I haven’t seen you for a couple of days.”

“I’ve been busy,” Goten said. “I have to go back now, Trunks.”

“Not just yet. I want to know what’s wrong with Dad.”

Goten bit his lip, glancing around nervously. “Promise not to tell Gohan?”

“Is it that bad?” Trunks asked in alarm.

“No. It’s just that Papa should be the one to tell him.”

“Tell him what?”

The younger half Saiyan squirmed uncomfortably. “Well, you know how there were never very many female Saiyans?”

“Yeah. Go on,” Trunks coaxed.

“Well, even without a lot of females, the Saiyan population was huge, and they usually only have single births.”

“Then how did they manage to have a big population?”

“Becausemalescangetpregnant,” Goten blurted out, blushing slightly.

“What? I didn’t understand a word of what you just said.”

“Males can get pregnant.”

Trunks just stared at him. “Goten, are you trying to tell me that my father is pregnant?” he asked slowly.

Goten nodded. “It can only happen when a male Saiyan mates with another while he’s in heat.”

“This is very weird,” he said. “Wait a minute. How exactly does a baby come out if it’s being carried by a man? And do I even really want to know?”

“Oh, it’s ‘born’, I guess, roughly a week after conception. Then it’s put in the pouch.”

“Pouch? Saiyans don’t have pouches. They’re not kangaroos.”

“They develop a pouch along the lower abdomen right after conception. Since Saiyans are hunters and have to stay streamlined, they have the ability to make the inside of the pouch bigger than the outside.

“Saiyans go into a partial hibernation state for five days after the baby is put in the pouch. That’s what’s wrong with Papa right now.”

“Oh.” Trunks said. His eyes were glazed slightly with shock. “I’m going to go over there and pound my head against a wall until this all makes sense or I pass out. Whichever happens first.”

Gohan was in the middle of a very nice dream involving Vegeta and a swimming pool full of jello, when someone shook his arm.

“Wake up, Gohan. You can talk to him now,” Goten said softly, shaking him again.

Gohan’s eyes snapped open and he immediately ran to the room he usually shared with Vegeta. His feisty little mate was leaning against the wall, glaring at him in annoyance.

“Are you okay, Shadow?” he asked, using the affectionate nickname he had come up with for the dark eyed prince.

“Of course I’m fine,” he snapped, glaring even harder.

“You’ve been sick or something.”

“I have not been sick. And this is all your fault anyway, so quit complaining.”

“What do you mean, it’s my fault? What are you talking about?” Gohan was now thoroughly confused.

“I’m pregnant,” Vegeta stated as if it was the most normal thing in the world. Gohan stared at him stupidly for a full minute before passing out.

Vegeta went over and lightly kicked him in the ribs. Then he shrugged and sat down on the edge of the bed, waiting for his mate to regain consciousness.