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Goku had always intended to bring Chi-Chi to Uub’s island to live with him. He’d never not wanted her with him, he just thought it would be better if and when Goten moved out of the house. When Goten and Marron got married, the timing seemed perfect.

But he hadn’t counted on Chi-Chi getting so drunk at the wedding reception. And so, when he impulsively decided to whisk his passed-out wife away to the island, he didn’t realize until the next morning that he forgot to pack her things.

“It’s fine,” a severely hungover Chi-Chi grimaced as she attempted to get out of bed. “We can just stop back home for a minute, and I’ll grab what I need…”

“No, I can take care of it.” Goku gently pushed her back down. “You stay here and rest.”

“You sure?” She winced as a fresh wave of pain stabbed her head.

“I can do it,” he insisted. He hadn’t gotten much sleep the other night; Videl’s warning that Chi-Chi could choke on her own vomit worried him so much that he’d stayed awake just to make sure she was still breathing. Still, the wedding reception left him more wired than tired, and grabbing Chi-Chi’s clothes wouldn’t be hard. He could just teleport to Gohan’s and run to the house from there.

“Oh, you’re an angel…” She buried her face in the pillow to shield herself from the sunlight.

“I’ll be right back.” Putting two fingers to his forehead, he locked onto Gohan’s ki and vanished.

He found himself standing in Gohan’s kitchen just as he, Videl, and Pan were sitting down to breakfast.

“Dad!” Gohan stood up from his chair, looking worried. “Videl told me about Mom. Did she really get drunk? Is she okay? I went to your house, but nobody was there!”

“Yeah, she’s fine,” Goku reassured him. “I brought her to Uub’s island. She’s gonna stay there with me from now on.”

“Really? That’s great!” Gohan couldn’t hide how relieved he was to hear this. He’d been worried about what his mother would do without Goten around. Not that he really doubted his father would leave her completely alone, but still…

“Yup, I just came to get her things.” The smell of their breakfast made Goku’s stomach growl, yet he managed to resist. He didn’t want to leave Chi-Chi alone for long when she was so sick. “I’ll see you later.”

He ran out the door and made the short trip to their house in Mount Pouzu. He went to their bedroom closet, grabbed an armful of her clothes, stuffed them in an overnight bag, and promptly used instant transmission to return to the island.

She was lying on her stomach, one hand hanging over the bed and digging through her purse on the floor. “Nooooooo,” she moaned. “I’m out of aspirin!”

“Aspirin?” Goku repeated blankly.

“I always carry some with me, but it’s all gone!” She clutched her head and curled up into ball. “Should’ve put more in before the wedding…”

“I’ll get more,” he promised. He instant transmissioned back to Gohan’s kitchen, running past his startled son and his family, out the door and back to his house, anxious to relieve his poor wife’s pain. He tore into the bathroom, nearly tearing off the medicine cabinet door in his haste to grab the aspirin bottle.

He immediately reappeared in front of her, handing her the bottle which she accepted gratefully. After swallowing a pill, her bleary eyes fell on the half-open bag. “Goku…where’s my toothbrush?”

“What?”

She rummaged through the bag, confirming her suspicions. “You forgot to pack my toothbrush?”

“You can use mine,” he volunteered.

“Goku…”

“I’m on it.”

ZIP!

“Forgot some things!” he shouted to a bewildered Gohan and Videl and a giggling Pan as he ran out of their kitchen for the third time in a row.

He reappeared in the island cabin with the toothbrush. “My hairbrush?” Chi-Chi mumbled, her voice muffled by the pillow.

Oops.

ZIP!

“And my hair bands?”

ZIP!

“My sewing kit?”

ZIP!

And so it went for the next hour: Goku kept teleporting to Mount Pouzu to retrieve whatever he’d forgotten, only to be sent back to get something else. He wished Chi-Chi would have just written everything down the first time to save a trip. She probably would have if she hadn’t drunk so much…

“You sure you don’t need help?” Gohan asked, trying not to laugh when his father popped in for the umpteenth time.

“Nooooo…” He took off before the torturous scent of their breakfast could hit his nostrils.

By the time he returned to the island for what seemed like the thirtieth time, all his wired energy had officially burned itself out. Exhausted, hungry, and cranky, he dropped the last of Chi-Chi’s requested items (sunscreen and sunglasses) in the bag and flopped down on the bed beside her.

Yet one look at her, sound asleep now that the aspirin finally kicked in, and everything melted away. “Still a delicate-looking girl,” he whispered, nuzzling into her neck and breathing in the scent of her hair.

She hadn’t even been on the island for a full day, and it already felt more like home.

A while later, Chi-Chi woke up with a slightly lessened headache. She rolled over to look at Goku, smiling softly as she stroked his face.

“Doin’ better?” Goku mumbled without opening his eyes.

“A little,” she replied. “Maybe getting some air might help. Think you’re ready to show me around the island?”

“’Kay. Just gimme a minute…” He wanted to rest his eyes for just a few more seconds.

Gingerly, she sat up, moving to change out of her dress from the wedding reception and fix her hair. She didn’t want to look like a complete mess in Uub’s village. Then she hesitated.

“Goku…did you bring my boots?”