A New Beginning

Chapter 4

The first trimester was difficult for Chi-Chi. Whoever said morning sickness happens only in the morning, obviously never been pregnant. Chi-Chi had it in the mornings, afternoons and evenings. What comfort it was for Goku to be there. Whenever she came out of the bathroom, Goku had hot ginger tea for her and a pack of crackers. However, it didn't stop Chi-Chi from doing her housework. She may have been pregnant but she wasn't an invalid. Chi-Chi refused to let morning sickness get her down. She made compromises with herself such as keeping a window open when she cooked so the smells of the food wouldn't get to her, eating small meals every two hours, drinking enough fluids, taking her prenatal pills and resting when needed.

After reading the pamphlets, Goku understood more about the pregnancy and what Chi-Chi will be going through in each trimester. He read that as the father-to-be, he should help his wife and understand the changes she will be going through because of the baby. Sometimes, Chi-Chi yelled at him for no reason, walked around the house depressed or completely happy. Sometimes one of her moods would last for days or all of them happened in the same day. Goku read in the pamphlet about pregnant women going through different moods so Goku wasn't confused or startled by his wife's actions. He just went with it. It wasn't so bad as he thought about it. If Chi-Chi was upset with him for something trivial, she was quick to make up to him, but if it was something Goku did like walking in the house with dirty shoes after it rained or trampling dirt over the clean floor she just mopped, Goku made sure not to do it again. He was doing his best working on stopping his bad habits from a child, but sometimes it was hard to break.

Goku went with Chi-Chi for her first checkup. While some husbands were bored, it didn't bother Goku and Chi-Chi appreciated the company. It was the usually routine of checking Chi-Chi's blood pressure, her weight measured and the first sonogram of the baby.

Chi-Chi was in happy tears as she saw the small dot of the baby. Goku looked in confusion not understanding why Chi-Chi was so excited to see a dot. They heard the sound of the baby's heartbeat which was loud and strong on the Doppler. That impressed Goku. When they left the hospital, Goku and Chi-Chi decided to go to the Ox King's castle to deliver the good news.

"It's just a dot," Goku said as he stared at the sonogram picture.

"It's not just a dot. It's our baby, silly," Chi-Chi told him. "I can't wait to tell Papa about the baby. He's going to be so happy. I haven't seen him since we got married. I wonder how everything with his kingdom is."

When they arrived at the Ox King's village, Goku and Chi-Chi saw that the villagers were still building his castle. From the looks of it, it appeared they were half way done. Nimbus landed in front of the castle and Goku helped Chi-Chi off Nimbus. A villager told Chi-Chi where her father was.

"Papa!"

Ox King looked back and saw his daughter with her husband approaching him. "Chi-Chi! Goku!" He picked up his daughter and son-in-law and hugged them both. "It's great to see you two!" He placed them on their feet. "What brings you here?"

"We came to see how you were doing and to tell you that Goku and I are going to have a baby!" Chi-Chi said excitedly.

Ox King's eyes lit up in joy. "My baby's going to have a baby?"

"Yes!"

Ox King hugged his daughter again. "Oh, this is great news! I'm so happy for you, sweetheart." He sat his daughter down and slapped Goku hard on the back to which Goku grunted in surprise at the Ox King's strength. "Congratulations, my boy! This is joyous news indeed!"

Ox King faced the villagers who were working on his castle. "Villagers! Wonderful news! My daughter is having a baby!"

The villagers cheered loudly at the announcement and congratulated the couple. "Oh, Papa, you didn't have to tell everyone." Chi-Chi blushed not used to all the attention.