Future Changes the Past
Bulma sat in the wooden chair she'd placed next to her son's bed, watching his breath move gently in and out as he slept. Four years ago the androids had appeared and killed the Z warriors, had killed Vegeta. With none of them left but Gohan, she feared for her son daily. If Vegeta couldn't stand up to those monsters, then how did any of them stand a chance? If only Goku had been there.
The rustling of sheets brought her attention back to him, her eyes falling to his face, soft in sleep. Even at six she could see his father in him, through the angle of his face or the arch of his eyebrow. Greater even than the physical similarities between them was their stubbornness. She could already tell that when the small child grew up he would have his father's determination.
It hurt her to think that Trunks would never know the man who had sired him. To know everything she had thought he would teach him. She'd had no illusions of the two of them in the back yard throwing a ball around, yet she was sure that even if Vegeta hadn't shown much interest in their son while he was alive, under all his disinterest he cared for both of them.
Gently brushing away strands of violet hair from the boy's forehead an image that she thought of often materialized in her mind. An image of what it could have been like, of Vegeta training Trunks, showing him how to fight. In her mind she always saw him with a hidden pride for their son, a glint that showed through his regal mask.
She laughed to herself, perhaps that was only wishful thinking. He very well could have remained the same seemingly emotionless man he'd always seemed to be. But something told her otherwise, something told her that even if he hadn't showed it, he would have loved Trunks as much as any father, if only he had gotten more of a chance. Damn Dr. Gero and the androids he built. If only Goku had been there to fight them. If only they'd had the antidote back when he'd gotten sick, then her son might have gotten the chance to know his father.
Right after Vegeta's death she sat in Trunks' room nearly every night, the thought of losing him as well had been far too great for her and just seeing him sleep had calmed her. Over the years she'd still come in, just like now, to watch him, though not as often. The reassurance of his calm breath and gentle expression helping her get through the terror of the world they now lived in. If only there were some way she could change things, make everything right, she'd do it in an instant. Whatever it took.
Staring at her son's face, so young and innocent, the idea came to her. If Goku had been there, it all would have been ok, he would have defeated the androids and no one would have had to die. If she could change history, get him the antidote to him before he even got sick, everyone would stand a chance. She'd do it; she was smart, she could figure it out, how to build a time machine. And once she did the world would be saved, Vegeta would be alive and Trunks would have the chance to know his father.
