Bulma's eyes widened in shock. "What? Cancer? No, not Vegeta… he's a Saiyan! They rarely even get head colds, let alone cancer?" The word stung her tongue as she spoke it. Her eyes wandered over to her husband's sleeping form. "There has to be a mistake, he can't be the patient with cancer…"

"Mrs. Briefs, he was the only person who had tests running so there isn't a possibility that there was a mistake; the initial reason you had the infirmary built at Capsule Corp.." The doctor flipped through the chart. "There's signs of it in his arms, his shins, and parts of his back. He shouldn't leave the hospital. Walking could potentially break his legs, shatter the bones because of how fragile they've become."

"No…. not Vegeta. You can't keep him in here…"

"I'm afraid we're going to have to, Mrs. Briefs. If his legs shatter, you know his body rejects cyborg materials. He would never be able to walk again."

Vegeta… never able to walk… he'd go insane! This can't be true.. But it is, Bulma. And you have to be the one to tell him. She sighed. "Thank you, doctor. I'll tell him the news when he wakes up…."

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Briefs." The doctor said, his hand rested on her shoulder momentarily, then he walked out of the room. Bulma sighed and walked back over to Vegeta's bed. She sat down next to his body and ran her hand through his hair. She smiled as she remembered a time when he would awake instantly when she so much as sat on the bed, and now his trust in her had built enough that she could crawl into bed with him without him so much as stirring. She leaned down and kissed his temple, moving her hand down to his back.

"Vegeta…" She spoke quietly, patting his side. "Wake up, hunny."

His heavy eyelids slowly lifted and he glanced around the room. "Where am I?" He asked groggily.

"You're in the infirmary, Vegeta, remember?"

"Oh, right. What brings you to wake me?"

"The doctor came back with your results a few minutes ago…" Bulma's eyes drifted to the side, wishing she could find a way to tell him. She took a deep breath and sighed. "Vegeta… you have cancer." She spoke quietly, then looked back into his eyes. They were empty of emotion for a few moments before he realized she wasn't joking. Suddenly, they grew large and she could almost feel his heart explode within him. "I'm so sorry…" She whispered, attempting to hold his hand, but he jerked it away, standing up quickly.

"No! No, this can't happen! How can I protect you? How can I protect my family? How could this happen to me? To a Saiyan prince!? How did I become so weak!?" He screamed and punched one of the walls, leaving a reasonably large hole. Immediately after, his legs gave way and he collapsed, crying out in pain. "Damn it all!" He shouted, breathing heavily.

Bulma rushed over to where he sat against the wall, kneeling next to him. She cupped his face in her hands and kissed his lips, praying to Kami he would relax. "Vegeta… Vegeta, it's okay. Relax, hunny."

"Ahh…. It hurts… it hurts so damn bad…" He spoke through gritted teeth, resting his head against her forehead. He closed his eyes, trying to focus on her energy instead of his pain, but it was no use, the pain was too intense. He groaned harshly, almost growling, gripping her arms tightly to try and relieve some of the pain he felt. "Nngh…" He groaned, his forehead slipping down to her shoulder, still clutching her arms.

"Shh… Vegeta, relax… shh…" Bulma kissed his shoulder and put her hands on his arms. "Vegeta, you're hurting me…" He immediately let go and instead wrapped his muscular arms around her small frame. "I know, Vegeta… it'll be over soon." She whispered in his ear, holding him around his shoulders. She slowly rocked them back and forth until Vegeta's pain had subsided, at which point she helped him walk back over to his bed.

"Do the children know?" He asked as he laid down, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

Bulma, who had been at the sink in the room, walked back over and dabbed a wet cloth on her husband's brow. "They know that you're here, but not what exactly for just yet." She paused. "They'll want to visit you though… you know you'll be here for some time, right?"

"Yes, I came to that conclusion when I couldn't walk…" He spoke quietly and Bulma knew it hurt him to feel so weak. "Don't tell Bulla why I'm here. Just tell her that I've been training too vigorously and I'm suffering from exhaustion or something, but don't tell her I have cancer… please…"

Bulma smiled and continued dabbing the cloth on his neck and chest. "Of course, Vegeta. I'll make sure not to let her know, but for now she's with Gohan and Videl. I figured she would be able to relax there with Pan as company…" Bulma's voice trailed off. "By the way, I want you to be kinder to Trunks when you get out of here."

"Why?"

"Because he's stronger than you think, compassionate. Just like you though."

"What do you mean?"

Bulma ran her hand through his hair. "Vegeta, after you got taken away and I sent Bulla off to Gohan's, Trunks came in. I could tell he was broken, confused, scared… but he hid his emotions, and he would have done it quite well to someone who wasn't his mother… he didn't care what he was feeling. He's going to hide them when he's here too, but trust me, he's scared as hell over this." Bulma walked back over to the sink and rinsed off the cloth, then picked up her purse she had thrown into a chair to the side and kissed Vegeta's nose. "I think I'm going to go back home and talk to him… I'm going to have them put you on pain medication while I'm not here so you don't have another breakdown like you did earlier, but you have to promise not to leave this bed without help and if they help you, you have to be nice to them, okay?"

Vegeta looked at her like she was crazy.

"Okay, at least tolerate them." She smiled and kissed him slowly, his hand moving to the back of her head, pulling her in closer.

"Don't leave…"

Bulma's heart nearly broke at the hurt in his voice. "Baby… I have to go talk to Trunks, but I might be back later on tonight, okay?" She whispered and kissed him again. "I love you, Vegeta."

"I love you too…."

Bulma knew he was scared, but she also knew that he would be okay, at least for the night. She walked out of the infirmary and back toward the living quarters of Capsule Corp..