Daddy's Princess
Chapter 1: The New Heir
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Stinging droplets of rain struck the exposed skin of Vegeta's face and knuckles as he sped across the city on his motorbike. The veins in his arms and hands bulged as he forced the throttle to its maximum speed. Flying was the most convenient and fastest way to get around, but driving had become one of the rare human pleasures Vegeta allowed himself to indulge in. Most humans had better sense than to speed at that time of night when the black asphalt reflected colorful traffic lights, which made it harder to see. It was only out of pure stubbornness that Vegeta hadn't crashed yet.
He slowed his pace a little as he neared the heart of the city.
Six lanes of anxious vehicles sat idly before the red traffic light while cars from the left and right crossed the intersection. Vegeta stopped behind a rusty grey car, both of his leather boots touching down on the wet pavement.
Vegeta tilted his head to side, curious. He didn't want to fly off and abandon his bike, not after he'd beat a balding, middle-aged man with a pregnant beer belly for it. Stole his leather jacket, too. It was an exhilarating fight. He'd spent weeks obsessively training in the middle of nowhere and was on the verge of collapsing when he encountered the biker. He'd worked so hard for his bike. Be a pity to leave it behind, but he sure as hell wasn't waiting ten minutes for the light to turn green - even then he'd be stuck behind a trail of slow drivers.
Vegeta lifted both boots from the ground, the motorbike roaring to life as he sped through the space between the two lanes of cars. He caught sight of a few shocked expressions from the side view mirrors and smirked to himself. They had no idea what was coming next.
He passed through the red light, ignoring the horns and screeching breaks from the cars who he cut off. He had to reach out a leg to stop a car from crashing into his bike at one point, crushing the front grill and probably most of the car's motor in the process. He passed through the intersection unscathed, leaving behind a pileup of cars, car parts, angry drivers, and an ambulance whaling far off in the distance. A pang of homesickness struck him, but he pushed the feeling back.
Vegeta parked his bike in the empty parking lot of a 24hr laundromat and walked the remaining distance across the street to the huge hospital building. Projected on the side of the building, lit up in pink, was what Vegeta recognized as the Capsule Corporation logo. Anger burned in his chest. If he had grown up and married on his home planet, everyone would've celebrated the birth of the new royal baby, not just the hospital. There would've been drunken laughter, huge feasts, traditional royal ceremonies, fights, and…his father. In that moment, Vegeta sorely missed his father.
The Emergency entrance doors automatically slid open for him. The receptionist behind the tall metal desk near the doors had an alarmed expression on her face. Humans were naturally intimidated by him, unknowingly sensing his bloodlust. Wearing a black leather jacket with metal studs and leather pants only made him more intimidating. He strode over to the receptionist, clenching his fists and cracking his knuckles.
"My woman gave birth to our second baby. I wish to see her."
The receptionist stared at him with large, ignorant eyes.
Vegeta sighed. Had this been his home planet, Bulma would've given birth in the royal palace in her chambers. Two guards would've been stationed outside her door, bowing before their prince as he declared entrance. He'd have visited his newborn child as often as he wished, and it would've been easy. His mother would've been at his mate's bedside, tending to the new child while the exhausted mother slept.
A horrible sadness settled into Vegeta's stomach as he suddenly remembered his mother. She was beautiful, strong, and had a fierce temper, but she also had a soothing voice reserved only for him. She would've loved being a grandmother, using that same soothing voice to sing her grandchildren to sleep or to tell them stories of the king's successful battles. She would've been the one to teach her grandchildren how to behave like royal heirs. Unlike Bulma's parents, who did nothing more than spoil their son with sweets and praise, teaching him how to be soft like the rest of them.
Understanding registers in the receptionist's eyes and she smiles." Congratulations on the new baby! To get to the maternity ward just follow the signs." She leans over her desk and points at the arrows listing room numbers on the walls. " Straight down the hall, turn right, then take another right after reaching the end of that hall, you should see a couple of elevators, you'll want to press on the third floor, after that…."
Vegeta grunted his thanks and started down the hall, his pace growing faster the closer he came to the elevators. He'd waited nine months and three weeks for the child to be born, only halting his training every three months to check in on the woman's growing stomach during that time. She was insufferable to be around, constantly nagging him and sabotaging the gravity room so he could spend more time with her. The pregnancy made her moods unpredictable. She would be snuggled against him on the couch one minute, then hitting him in the back of the head another minute…just because the commercial model on TV just so happened to be attractive. Now that the child was born, he hoped she would go back to being more stable.
His sensitive ears picked up the wails of newborns, and he slowed his pace, coming to a stop directly in front of a wall of glass. Behind the glass were rows of newborns in clear beds, wrapped in white blankets. All of them wore little hats to keep their heads warm, but it were the babies in pink hats that stuck out to Vegeta. He was so focused on the babies, he almost didn't notice the man in green scrubs beside him, waving at one of the babies behind the glass.
"Hey little guy. It's me, your daddy. Can you see me waving at you? You really gave your mom a tough time back there. I'm sorry I blacked out. I can't wait to teach you how to ride a bicycle someday, it's gonna be lit!"
Vegeta's left eye twitched. It seemed pointless to wave at a child that couldn't see him, or talk to one that didn't know a word of English. He hoped he wouldn't become a dumb father like that guy once he met Eschalot.
The man in scrubs felt a kinship with Vegeta and shuffled closer to the Saiyan prince, their shoulders within a hair's width of touching each other." That's my little Henry," the man tapped his finger against the glass, pointing to a fussy infant in the far right bed of the second to last row." He came out hella quick. My girl was in so much pain, screaming and growling like one of those possessed chicks from the Exorcist movies. Once I saw the baby's head…I don't know, I just felt so dizzy and freaked out. "
The man shivered thinking about the birth. " I had the worst headache of my life when I woke up and the nurse asked if I wanted to hold the kid. I said,' Hell no!' I'm gonna wait a few days for that kid to lose its new baby smell. It came out covered in blood. There's no way I'm holding any baby right after it's born. No. Freaking. Way." The man shook his head." So, uh, which one is yours? My name is Leo, by the way." Leo stuck out his hand for a handshake, but Vegeta ignored it.
Vegeta turned on his heels and stalked down a long hallway, glancing into each room he passed as he tried to sense Bulma. Today, he was certain she had seen the shadow of death as she brought their child into the world, her ki was barely noticeable. Most alarming, Vegeta hadn't sensed the baby's ki at all. Which meant that the baby had been born with a weaker power level, or….
Vegeta gritted his teeth, refusing to believe that the worst had happened. He marched through the halls with an immediate purpose. Bulma was recovering somewhere on this floor, and Vegeta intended to find her.
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"Dad?" A boy's uncertain voice called out. He could've been calling to anyone, but Vegeta's instincts told him that the boy was directing his question to him. That voice belonged to his son. Vegeta's boots let out an echoing squeak as he came to a sudden stop. He looked over his shoulder. Sure enough, Trunks was walking out of one of the rooms, followed closely by Goten.
"Dad, it's really you!" Trunks exclaimed, charging into his father for a hug. The twelve-year-old boy buried his face into Vegeta's leather jacket as he spoke, ashamed of his tears." The baby almost killed mom! She…she was so close to dying! The doctors had to perform emergency surgery to get the baby out."
Vegeta put his heavy hand on top of Trunks' head to comfort him. The boy had grown an inch since the last time he visited, and was now standing at the same level as his upper abs. Vegeta frowned at the memory of Future Trunks, whom had surpassed him in the height department at only eighteen. His young son would soon become the size of a full-grown man once he reached fifteen at this rate. Being surpassed by his son in any way did not sit well with Vegeta.
"Did the baby survive?" Vegeta questioned once Trunks had stopped crying.
Trunks took a step back and nodded, rubbing his runny nose into his arm." Yeah, she's okay. She's sleeping in that clear bed-thingy next to Mom." He took Vegeta's right arm and tugged." Come with me, I'll show you. The room is this way."
Copying his best friend, Goten tugged on Vegeta's other arm. " Yep, it's this way Vegeta."
Vegeta rolled his eyes, annoyed that Kakkarot's son was touching him. He was tempted to push both boys away from him by powering up his ki, but the boys had already led him into the room Bulma was recovering in. To power up his ki would mean accidentally harming Bulma and the newborn baby. For now, he needed to be patient with Goten and Trunks' childish human ways.
Bulma's eyes were half closed when they walked in, like she was just about to fall into a deep, drug induced sleep. Once she spotted Vegeta, however, her eyes bulged and she jerked her head forward, intending to sit up. She winced in pain, dug her fingers into the blanket covering her waist and lower half of her body, and dropped her head back down onto the pillow. She licked her dry lips, giving Vegeta a weak smile. Her voice cracked with emotion as she spoke.
" You came."
Vegeta stared down at the exhausted blue-haired woman before him. Giving birth to a Saiyan child was not an easy thing to do, especially for a human, yet Bulma had done it twice. She didn't have to say anything for Vegeta to know that this was their last child. Her body couldn't handle another pregnancy.
Vegeta crept soundlessly to Bulma's bedside, leaned over, and kissed her forehead. " I'm proud of you, woman." He whispered.
Trunks made gagging noises to show how he felt about his parents showing affection in front of him. Goten looked from Vegeta to Bulma with big, curious eyes, like he was witnessing something rare, but didn't know what.
Vegeta straightened, setting his sights on the baby sleeping in the clear bed he'd seen dozens of infants sleeping in through the glass wall. The baby had on a pink hat, confirming that she was indeed a girl. He focused on the rhythm of her steady breathing. She sounded strong, but he had no way of knowing how strong she'd grow up to become. He reached out, brushing away a wisp of blue hair that had fallen across her brow.
"Boys, I need to talk to Vegeta alone." Bulma's voice trembled as she pushed through the pain to sit up." Trunks, why don't you buy Bulla a teddy bear from the gift shop? I bet she'll like that. Maybe get some pink balloons too."
Trunks looked at his mother curiously, then nodded." Okay. I'll buy her a teddy bear and some balloons. Don't let dad go anywhere until I get back." He motioned for Goten to follow him, and the boys left the room.
Vegeta smirked.
Bulma glared at the Saiyan prince and snapped," Mind telling me what you're smirking about?"
"Our daughter's name is Eschalot, not Bulla."
"No, her name is Bulla. I already wrote it on her birth certificate."
Vegeta's expression darkened ." That wasn't our agreement."
"Well, you weren't here yesterday when she was born – THAT wasn't in our agreement! You promised you'd be here when I went into labor. In fact, you'd still be out there training if Chichi hadn't sent Goku to find you!"
A low growl escaped from him, warning Bulma not to mention Goku again. He was already annoyed that Bulma had named their daughter without him, he didn't need to be reminded of Goku's annoying existence too.
Not caring if he awoke her, Vegeta picked up his infant daughter. Her arms flailed from the sudden movement, as if she thought she had fallen from her clear bed.
"No, please, Vegeta!" Bulma begged while reaching out, knocking over the table lamp and falling out of bed onto the cold hard. She gasped with effort as she dragged herself to Vegeta's feet, latching on to the leather material over his knee and thigh with trembling hands. Tears fell freely from her desperate blue eyes, reminding Vegeta of past victims that pled for their lives. " She's just a baby, Vegeta. I know it's not what we agreed, but please don't take her. Not yet. She needs me. I'm her mother."
Sensing her mother's distress, Bulla opened her eyes. Her little body flinched, not expecting to meet the dark cold gaze of a stranger. From her perspective, Vegeta had the most monstrous, hideous face she'd ever seen before in her life. Even his voice was harsh and terrifying as he spoke. " Eschalot."
"Wahh!" Bulla cried at the top of her lungs, kicking her legs as she struggled out of the arms of the scary stranger. Vegeta's eyebrows pinched together at her reaction. It wasn't the greeting he'd anticipated. Still, he was pleased with the strength she had in her legs. Bulma began crying harder than the baby, expecting to never hear her daughter again.
"Foolish woman," Vegeta grunted. He had wanted this child to be raised differently than Trunks. He'd wanted to start training the child immediately after it was born and, dammit, they had made this agreement before the baby had been conceived! Yet, Vegeta didn't have it in him to take the baby away from its mother. Suddenly, Vegeta was unsure of what it meant to be a Saiyan. He couldn't continue old traditions and send the child off to conquer other planets, could he?
After the briefest hesitation, Vegeta knelt down and handed the crying baby to Bulma. Both of them instantly became quiet. He picked Bulma up and carried her back into her bed.
"But, what about our agreement? " Bulma shuddered, holding tightly to her daughter in case Vegeta changed his mind and tried to snatch her away.
Vegeta turned away from the bed, his back facing Bulma and the baby.
" Eshalot…no. Bulla will one day become the crowned queen of the Saiyan race, she's the heir to the throne. That hasn't changed. I'll see to it that she lives up to her birthright." Vegeta crossed the room and placed his hand on the doorknob. He looked back at the baby drifting to sleep in his wife's arms. " Don't be soft on her, Bulma. You will only make her training difficult when she comes of age."
Bulma nodded, kissed her baby on her head, and whispered," Thank you."
Trunks nearly fell flat on his face when Vegeta opened the door to leave. He'd been listening in on their conversation from the other side of the door, and appeared shocked that Vegeta had chosen Bulla as his heir. Vegeta's lips curled in an amused grin, but said nothing to his son as he left. Goten appeared from down the hall, carrying a teddy bear and six balloons.
Goten didn't stop as he passed Vegeta, stating," My mom says the new baby will start calling Yamcha 'Dad' if you don't visit more often."
