Chapter 4

A/N Thanks for reading so far. I appreciate it. I will for sure try to make the chapters longer. I have two littles running around the house so it can be hard to have time to write, but I will do my best!

Bulma returned home drenched in sweat. The heiress had pushed herself and could barely make it to the sink to pour herself a glass of water. She leaned against the counter after quickly taking down a glass and stretched. Although she felt exhausted, her mind was still running a million miles a minute. She took several deep breaths and refilled the glass. Turning to face the small living room she couldn't help but think of how different this was than her old family room. Memories of her old home were coming back at the prospect of being there and it was stressing her out. Shaking it off, Bulma headed to the bathroom to take a shower and to try to calm her self some more.

Chi Chi had heard her friend come in but decided to stay in their room. She was working on an old college calculus textbook she had found on the street by the old university. She certainly wasn't as smart as her blue haired friend, but she wasn't a dolt. She worked hard and it paid off. In order to keep her mind sharp, she had been working on different concepts while Bulma was working out. She would occasionally ask Bulma for some help but found that she loved the challenge; it wasn't easy, but it gave her something to do.

The raven haired girl yawned as she looked at the time. 9:47 pm. Where did this day go? Chi Chi thought to her self as she closed the heavy book. She slid it under her bed and it knocked into the case. Chi Chi stopped and for a second debated opening it. What harm could it really do to just take a peek? She reached for the case and was about to pull it out when she heard her doorknob open to reveal a now clean and Bulma. She quickly moved her hand away and smiled. "How was your workout?"

Bulma looked at her friend and raised her eyebrow. Chi Chi never cared about her workouts and certainly never asked about them. "Fine…" She drew out the word as she tried to figure out what her friend was up to. "How was…math?"

Chi Chi smirked and waved her hand in a dismissive way. "Getting too easy. I am going to need a new one soon. Maybe we could pick a physics book or engineering one from your house tomo…" She instantly covered her mouth with her hands. She hadn't meant to go that far but had been lost in thought.

Bulma felt her chest tighten. Chi Chi of course was right, in her old room were countless volumes of college level books. They were most likely still there if they her room was still intact. "Of course Chi, that's a great idea…" Bulma tried to hide the pain in her voice unsuccessfully.

"I'm sorry B. I didn't mean to bring it up. Sometimes I just go off in my brain and don't think about what I am saying."

"I get it." Bulma reassured her friend as she grabbed some clean clothes from her dresser. She was about to return to the bathroom to change when she added. "I do it too."

As she left, Chi Chi fell back onto her bed in frustration. She understood how hard this had to be on Bulma, she did, however it had been two years. Two years of dancing around the subject of anything Capsule Corporation. Two years of avoiding any discussion of their old life pre-invasion. It was exhausting. Chi Chi just hoped that tomorrow would maybe bring the closure that Bulma needed to really begin to move on.

The next morning both girls rose and headed to the kitchen to be warmly greeted by Alicia and delicious pancakes. They knew Alicia was worried as she only cooked pancakes when worried. They were an easy distraction for her. She hated that the girls had to work and that she could not. During the invasion, Alicia had been traumatized and was prone to panic attacks. Just going to the store was almost enough to cause an episode. So, the girls had taken it on themselves to provide while she mentally healed.

"So mom, what are you going to do today? Work on the garden?" Chi Chi tried to distract her mother from what was going to happen with whatever small talk she could come up with.

"Oh Chi," Alicia laughed, "I would hardly call our 4 potted plants a garden."

"Well fine! What are you up to today?" She smiled.

"After I tend to our garden," she said sarcastically, "I was going to go out for a minute or two… maybe get some fresh air."

Both Chi Chi and Bulma stopped eating and smiled. "I think that's a fantastic idea!" Bulma clapped. "I wouldn't push yourself. Maybe you should wait until we get home and then we could walk with you."

Alicia thought for a moment and nodded. "That's probably for the best."

"Perfect. We will go and drop off this case and then rush back so we can go on a walk." Chi Chi couldn't contain her excitement. The idea of her mom leaving the house made her so happy that she just wanted to get their job done.

"Well don't act like I've never been outside before. But I will wait for you girls and then we can all go together. "

"Alright, it's settled," Bulma said between a bites, "let's do this."

Vegeta and Kakkorot had landed the night before but rather than heading straight to Capsule Corp. they opted to have an impromptu training session. By opted, Vegeta felt the need to take out his frustration on his lighthearted friend, for all of the questioning in the pod.

"Where is this place?" Kakkorot asked as they walked toward the dying city. "And why can't we fly?"

"Because you idiot, we are trying to be discreet." Vegeta took some more breaths trying to calm him self. "First, these humans will never trust aliens and we don't want to alert them to our gifts. Second, the woman has been hiding for years and every worthless henchmen is looking for her, why would we want her to think that we are some pathetic lackeys trying to abduct her."

"Oh, I guess." The taller Saiyjin ran his hands through his hair. "How long until we get there? I am starved!"

"Shut up you worthless…" Vegeta was stopped mid sentence as he felt someone or something begin to power up in the city. He looked to his companion who must have sensed it to as his eyebrows came to a frown.

"Let's go." The prince spoke as the two took off towards the city trying their best to remain undetected.

Bulma and Chi Chi had walked to a part of the city that neither of them had been to in years. Bulma wasn't surprised that she remembered exactly how to get home even though it had been so long. It was strange that she was feeling oddly calm – she expected to be panicking as she passed the familiar landmarks etched in her brain; but all she felt was numbness.

When the huge compound came into view, both girls stopped. Chi Chi looked to Bulma for any kind of sign that she wanted to turn around or to keep going. Bulma just stared at her old home. "I want to go home Chi." She said unprompted. And her dark haired friend smiled and followed and Bulma lead the way.

It didn't take long to reach the building as Bulma's walk had quickly turned to a jog and then a sprint. When she finally reached the front door of the desolated building her heart broke. Her home was broken, falling apart and she had just left it. She walked through a giant hole in the wall, most likely caused from when the aliens blasted in to abduct her father and looked around what used to be her family kitchen. She looked over at sink, filled with debris and imagined her mother smiling while washing dishes. Her chest felt heavy as she continued to walk inside the shell of her home, dragging her fingers along the dust covered counters. Dishes, appliances and papers where thrown about and it looked like chaos.

Chi Chi finally entered the home gasping for air. "Geez B," she managed to say between her labored breathing, "you could have waited for me!" She looked up to see her friend in a trance like state. She had not known what to expect when they got there and was surprised when Bulma took off in a full sprint. She cursed herself for not working out more like her friend but tried her best to keep up. She had to admit, she was glad her friend seemed to be handling it so well.

"Dumplings…"

"What?" Chi Chi couldn't hide her surprise.

"Dumplings," Bulma repeated, "that's what mom was making right before…" She couldn't finish and took a deep breath looking at the ceiling. Bulma refused to cry. She refused to make this negative; she needed this to be positive. She needed to feel that good that was here, the love, no the hurt.

"Shit!" Chi Chi looked down at her watch. "It's almost time. Let's find this guy and be done. Any idea where he would be?"

Bulma thought for a moment. "Conference room." Without another word, the heiress led the way to what would change their lives forever.