Hey guys! welcome to the second chapter! I hope you enjoy it ;)


"Trunks, I thought you loved me."

Trunks, who had been laying face down on his bed, rolled over at the sound of his sister's voice in the doorway of his room. The young man lifted his head and found her leaning against the door frame, an unreadable expression on her face. Several hours had passed since Kiwi had arrived and after the party had broken up, she and Bulma had disappeared into the laboratory.

"I do love you…even though I'm still pissed it took you nine months to get back home." Trunks replied laying his head back down. His eyes closed but they immediately popped back open as Kiwi's chi shot up.

Trunks sat up and watched as his sister's expression changed to one of anger and she slammed his door shut. "Then why," she snapped angrily, "Did you let Gohan get a girlfriend! I brought him back to life for me! Not for some random girl off the streets!"

"I can't control Gohan's actions, Kiwi. He's a grown man." Trunks moved over slightly and narrowly avoided being smashed by Kiwi as she flopped down on the bed beside him.

Kiwi sighed dramatically. "I know but it doesn't stop me from being angry." She looked at her brother and bit her bottom lip. "What if he does something stupid like get married to her? I didn't go through all that drama of finding the dragonballs just to have him stolen away."

Shifting so he could look at his sister's face, Trunks sighed and asked, "So what are you going to do?"

With a determined expression on her face Kiwi said grimly, "I'll…I'll use my feminine wiles."

There was a moment of silence at her declaration before they both burst into laughter. When Kiwi's giggles subsided, Trunks asked her seriously, "What happened that made you stay away so long?"

Stretching her arms upwards, Kiwi shrugged. "We'll talk about that later...I want to hear about what's going on here. How has it been having your dad back?"

It was several long minutes before Trunks could answer. "Strange," he admitted. "I know him, but at the same time I don't. He doesn't trust me yet…but I think he's starting to respect me." A frown creased his forehead. "You know, technically, he's your dad too now."

The thought of having a real father, someone who would love her unconditionally and treat her like Goku did with Sumiko, made Kiwi's heart twist longingly. But Vegeta filling that role? Not even a wish from the dragonballs could make that happen. Kiwi rubbed a hand over her face and said tiredly, "No he isn't. Past Vegeta didn't want anything to do with me. I'm sure this Vegeta won't care for me either. But don't worry," she paused to give her brother an affectionate peck on the cheek before sliding off the bed. "I'm sure you'll have him eating out of the palm of your hand in no time."


Meanwhile, hundreds of miles away, Gohan lay on his own bed with a pensive expression on his face. How could he have not recognized Kiwi in the otherworld? Once the shock had worn off Gohan realized that despite her grown up appearance Kiwi still had the same looks she had as a teenager…only a thousand times more attractive. Immediately Gohan banished the thought from his mind. He had a girlfriend for Kami's sake. Besides, no matter how attractive Kiwi was, she was Trunks' little sister. That automatically made her off limits.

Sighing, Gohan stretched his arm upwards and stared at his hand. It was strange going back to being one armed. In otherworld, Gohan's body had been restored completely and it was if his arm being taken was nothing more than a forgotten nightmare. But back on earth his arm was no longer apart of him. It didn't bother him too much; his missing arm was a testament to what he had been through. A badge of honor. But Gohan had noticed the subtle changes on Videl's face whenever she looked at the area where his arm should have been.

Gohan was pulled from his thoughts by Sumiko throwing open the door to his room and jumping onto the bed beside him. She glared down at him and said sullenly, "Mom and dad are at it again."

A flush rose up on Gohan's cheeks. He had been so focused on his thoughts he hadn't noticed the rhythmic changes in his parents chi. He groaned in disgust and shoved his sister off the bed. "Why did you have to tell me? I was happy in my ignorant state."

Sumiko floated back up and giggled. "I wasn't going to suffer alone!" She grabbed his hand and gave it a tug. "C'mon lets go swimming; we haven't done that in ages."

Less than an hour later Sumiko was cannonballing into a nearby lake. The sun was beginning to set but that didn't bother her a bit. It had been too long since she had enjoyed such a simple activity with her brother. Sumiko kicked her way to the surface of the lake and looked affectionately at her brother who floated nearby.

Kami, how on earth had he gotten so old? Smoothing her hair back Sumiko was once again determined to find the dragonballs. She may have stayed stuck in the body of thirteen while she was dead but living in otherworld for around twelve years had aged Sumiko mentally and emotionally. She wasn't about to spend the next five years having her parents treat her like a kid. With a sigh Sumiko tipped her body backwards and floated in the water.

"Are you happy to be back Gohan?"

Gohan looked over at his sister in surprise. "Of course I am. It was interesting being in the otherworld but I'd much rather be here."

Feeling slightly disappointed, Sumiko drifted up from the water and powered up so that she could dry off. "I don't know if I'm happy to be back," Sumiko admitted. "I feel like I just took a giant step backwards."

"It's only been a few months," Gohan replied simply. He flew up to his sister and gave her a side hug. "Things will get better and you'll start to feel more like yourself."

Sumiko leaned into his hug and hoped that her brother was right.


Bulma stood in her bedroom and stared at her bed. When she and Vegeta had first fallen into bed together it had been a product of too many drinks one night. Then, without the help of alcohol it had happened again and again and again until Trunks had been born. During the day her Saiyan Prince was cold as ice but at night there was a marked difference in his behavior and it almost felt to Bulma as if she had a husband. After Vegeta had gotten himself killed, the genius had been devastated. But she hadn't allowed herself to fall apart; she had had a baby to take care of.

And then Kiwi had come along and enriched Bulma's life in a way she hadn't thought possible. Rubbing a hand through her hair, Bulma wondered what would happen to her and Vegeta now. There was no doubt that the Saiyan Prince was furious. When he had returned from the dead Bulma had been thrilled but she hadn't allowed him into her bed. She didn't want to make the same mistakes she had made before. Vegeta had been annoyed but had seen her reluctance as a challenge. One that he would win.

But that wasn't why Vegeta was angry, Bulma thought grimly. He was angry because she had another child. One that wasn't his. In his mind Bulma had gone out soon after his death and lain with another man and bared his child. If only Vegeta would listen to her, then he would see the truth and stop with his dramatics. Folding her arms across her chest she took a deep breath. Unless he could accept the fact that Bulma was her own woman and not a piece of property then there was no way she could continue a relationship with him. No matter how much she loved the idiot.

Bulma moved over to her closet when there was a knock on the door. She turned around and suppressed an eye roll as Kiwi walked in without waiting for a reply. As her daughter began chattering and flopped down on her bed Bulma thought quietly and if he can't accept Kiwi…then it's time to move on.

"Mom are you alright? You look frustrated." Kiwi sat up on her mother's bed and peered into her face with concern.

Bulma gave a short laugh and joined her on the bed. "I'm just tired, sweetie. I was planning to take a shower and then go to sleep."

Kiwi giggled and turned her body so she could lay her head on her mother's lap. "What was the point of making you youthful again if you're just going to be acting like an old woman?"

The older woman rolled her eyes but affectionately stroked back the hair from her daughter's forehead. "Don't sass me young woman. I can still ground you."

The two of them laughed and when the laughter subsided Bulma asked, "Are you alright Kiwi? You haven't said much about your time away from here."

The look on Kiwi's face became serious. "It's not that I don't want to talk about it; I just don't feel ready to talk about everything that happened to me while I was gone. I am pretty annoyed though" She paused for a moment before continuing hesitantly, "With Gohan."

Bulma blinked down at Kiwi in surprise. "Why on earth would you be angry with him? Did he do something to you?" she was alarmed at the sheen of tears that appeared in Kiwi's eyes. "Honey, if he did something you need to tell me."

"It's silly." Kiwi said, swiping a hand across her eyes. "I just thought that coming home I'd finally be able to take my…my reward for having suffered so much. And I get here and he's standing there with that smile on his face and his arm around some girl."

It took Bulma less than a second to see what had been hidden to her for a long time. Kiwi was deeply in love with Gohan. The fact that Kiwi had kept something so monumental hidden from her, hurt but she pushed those feelings aside and continued to stroke her daughter's hair. "Kiwi I had no idea you felt so strongly for Gohan."

Kiwi looked up at her mother miserably. "I'm an idiot mom…I never should have gotten my hopes up…She's older and Gohan seems to be really interested in her."

"Now just hold on," Bulma cut in firmly. "You're forgetting who you are…my daughter. You can accomplish anything you set your mind to. So don't give up just yet, it's not over until he puts a ring on her finger."

A smile broke out across Kiwi's face and she sat up to give her mother a hug. "Thanks mom…I'll do my best." She said jokingly, "Maybe I should have asked the dragon to be your real daughter so that I could have your smoking hot looks to aid me in this quest."

Bulma gave Kiwi a mock stern look. "Hush, you're beautiful all on your own Kiwi. You didn't need my genes for that." She gave her daughter a smacking kiss on the cheek. "And as far as I'm concerned, you're my real daughter."


The next morning a cheerful looking Kiwi greeted Trunks in the kitchen. She motioned for him to sit and scooped something from a pan on the stove into a bowl. For a moment the young man was surprised to see his sister standing in front of the stove but he sat down without hesitating. Anything she made couldn't possibly be worse than whatever his mom tried to make. Kiwi set the bowl in front of him and went back to the cupboard to grab her own bowl.

"It's porridge." Kiwi explained as she settled down at the table in front of him. "Sumiko showed me how to make it when we were traveling to Namek." She sighed wistfully, "Too bad we don't have any fresh fruits to add."

Trunks ate a tiny bit of the porridge and not finding himself keeling over he dug in. Shrugging a shoulder he replied, "I wonder how long it'll take things to return to normal now that the Androids are gone…." He paused to swallow a mouthful of the porridge before continuing, "Usually we go out into the nearby cities and help out with repairs for a few hours. Are you interested in going?"

"Yes," Kiwi said immediately. "There are some projects I want to work on in mom's lab but she hardly has any materials down there. I can pick out things I need from all the rubble."

"I don't think I'll ever understand your obsession with tinkering." Trunks replied shaking his head.

A grin quirked Kiwi's lips upwards. "That's because I got all of mom's brains and you…" her voice trailed off when the kitchen door swung open and Vegeta walked in. The expression on his face was a more pronounced version of his scowl and Kiwi stiffened as his eyes landed on her. When he merely stood there without speaking, Kiwi glanced at her brother before asking politely, "Would you like something to eat Vegeta?"

The proud Saiyan's lips thinned but he gave a short nod. Kiwi stood up from the table and quickly put together a bowl for him. She set it down on the place mat beside Trunks and walked over to the refrigerator and pulled out what she needed to make scrambled eggs. In the three months since people had returned, farmers had begun selling their eggs again. The prices were astronomical for fresh produce and dairy products but due to Bulma's leading effort in the restoration of the area the local town's people paid the genius with what they had on hand.

As Kiwi stood in front of the stove making the eggs, Bulma walked into the kitchen yawning loudly. She stopped short at the scene in front of her. Vegeta sat eating what looked like a large bowl of porridge. Trunks sat beside him and was hesitantly speaking to his father about training later in the day. A swell of pleasure rose up in the woman as she made her way to the stove and peered over her daughter's shoulder.

"Those look delicious Kiwi." Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear Bulma continued curiously, "Where did you learn to cook?"

Kiwi shrugged and transferred the eggs over to a bowl. "I picked up a few things from Sumiko on our trip to Namek."

Taking the bowl over to the table Bulma laughed. "Well maybe you can thank her the next time you speak with her." The moment the words fell from her lips Bulma wished she could take them back. Kiwi looked stricken and Bulma felt horrible when tears filled the younger woman's eyes. "Oh honey, I'm sorry. The words just slipped out."

Swiping a hand across her face Kiwi replied easily, "It's alright mom…" she turned towards her brother. "I'll meet you outside ok?" She left the kitchen and Trunks shot out of his chair.

Setting his plate in the sink Trunks gave Bulma a quick peck on the cheek before disappearing out the door.

Feeling every bit her age, Bulma sank down into one of the kitchen chairs and leaned her forehead against her hands. She stiffened when she heard the scrape of the chair legs on the floor and waited for the telltale sound of the opening door. Typical Vegeta….she thought bitterly. Escaping when things got tough. A hand touched her shoulder and Bulma's jumped slightly. She looked up into Vegeta's face in surprise.

Gruffly the Saiyan said, "Tears are for pathetic weaklings who have failed at their tasks." He paused before continuing stiffly, "I have yet to see you fail at something."

He was gone from the room before Bulma could even blink.


Why is Kiwi being so closed mouth about her nine months in the past? Will Sumiko learn to be happy in this new phase of her life? Are Bulma and Vegeta going to get back together?

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