A/N: I have this feeling that a lot of people want to murder me! I am so sorry for the delayed in updating! I promise it won't happen again. Once I got caught up with the school finals and what not, well, keeping up with my life school work and writing just became a bit overwhelming. But now, I'm off school until september, which means all I will have is free time! That's a good news right? I promise not to let you guys wait so long ever again! I have the rest of the story all worked out, so hopefully, I can get it out on paper... well computer... anyways! Thanks for all the reviews guys! :)

I want to thank Sophie for beta-reading!

Satisfied Love

Chapter 9: Solutions over Problems

He frowned at the watery mixture that glanced back at him. He wasn't exactly certain of how it was supposed to look, but he was pretty sure it wasn't anything like that. Bulma's mother had yapped around for days how the best remedy for everything was chicken soup. It was true that she was not the sharpest tool in the shed, but he had decided it could not hurt Bulma.

Though now he was seriously reconsidering that.

Days had gone by, weeks had passed, but she had not gotten better.

The scent of death had left her skin, lightness returned to her eyes but she was still weak. Of course she argued every day that she was fine, that she was getting better but she could not hide the truth from him. Her scent, the look in her eyes and the tone of her voice; it had betrayed the words she spoke. He called her out on it many times, even reprimanded her attitude, but she still kept shielding her weaknesses away.

She was scared.

How could she not be? He hadn't even been able to fully be truthful when he had told her that everything would be alright. Truth was, maybe she wouldn't be able to handle it. He didn't care much for another child. He would welcome it but… if he had to choose between it and Bulma, he would pick Bulma.

Although, his choice would matter very little to her. Bulma would do what she would want. If there was one thing he had learned, it was that she had his stubbornness. That detail had made it so he had never shared that little bit of information with her. All she would give him would be a flat out no.

No reason to pick a fight, especially in her current condition.

"What is that?"

Vegeta turned his head just enough to be able to glare at his son. "Chicken soup."

Trunks tried to hold back a laugh, but couldn't. "Th-That's chi-chicken soup?"

Vegeta's eyes turned even colder before he glanced away. He was well aware of the result he had obtained. But cooking was not supposed to be one of his abilities. Bulma had seemed worse today and since her mother was not home… he hadn't been left with many options! It wasn't like the boy could be of any help!

"You know," started Trunks as he wiped a few tears from his eyes, "You could order Chicken Soup if you want it that badly."

The prince of all saiyans couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. Order? As in using that phone over there? "Boy, order your mother some chicken soup."

Trunks appeared a bit stunned. "Me? I'm a kid. I'm not supposed to do it. And I don't have any money."

"Use one of your mother's…plastic square."

Plastic square? Oh ho! Credit card! Well, it was true that he knew where her mother kept her purse and he could do it, but he wasn't sure his mom would like him taking it without her permission. He never had to take money from her before… anything he wanted he just asked for and he got. Though this wasn't for him… this was for her. So it was okay to use her credit card for it wasn't it? Plus his dad told him to.

Thought that was ever hardly a valid argument with his mother.

"Fine."

Vegeta was almost surprised at how easy it was, but he wasn't about to linger on the matter. He offered his son a quick nod prior to spinning around and heading back in the direction of his bedroom. Lately it had become more Bulma's room. He had sleep issues, which lead him to barely use the room. Actually he could sleep just fine, but not that in that room. The scent of sickness coming from Bulma was like a hand taking hold of his heart, trying to rip it out of his chest.

Problem was he could offend her if he slept in another room and considering how unstable she was, he didn't want to risk it. Instead he confined himself to the Gravity Room, or the bedroom for daily check ups on her. He caught rest here and there, but never for too long. It wasn't like Saiyans required a lot of sleep, so it didn't affect him much.

Once Vegeta arrived in front of the bedroom he quietly opened the door, making sure not to wake Bulma in case she was sleeping. When he walked in he found her fast asleep in bed. She was half sitting up, her short blue hair tangled, her head on her shoulder and a hand on her bulging stomach. It wasn't that big yet, at least nothing like when she had been pregnant with Trunks, but it was visible.

His steps were silent as he walked by her side. He made sure to not shift the bed too much as he sat beside her, a hand on her thigh. She looked peaceful for once, not in pain at all, which was a nice sight. Her suffering was his suffering. Slowly, he raised his hand from her leg to her stomach and rested it there. He did this every day; it was his way of checking up on the child. He had hoped that eventually he could get a clue why Bulma was so sick, but he never obtained one.

Usually all he felt was a very small fluctuation in the child's power but nothing more. This time he could barely feel anything, and a sign almost escaped him. Trunks had felt so powerful, but with this child… how could that be possible? Kakarot's sons were equally strong! There was no way he could have a child who would not be as powerful.

Just as a sign was on the verge of escaping he suddenly felt a big fluctuation in the baby's power. He tilted his head to the side slightly, holding his breath; was he mistaken? His doubts grew a bit, until it was confirmed; strength. He could almost sense a gently pulsing going from Bulma's stomach to his hand. A smirk appeared on his lips, pride filling him.

It was at that moment that he felt Bulma squirm under him and grunt. He glanced down at her, only to notice she appeared to be in pain. The child's power was bringing her pain? Could it be that such power had been displayed more than once, hence why Bulma was in such a state? That would mean, the stronger the child, the weaker Bulma would be…

"Vegeta?"

He watched the pain in her blue orbs as she glanced up at him, slightly confused. He found himself at loss for words, unable to say anything. Wouldn't Bulma have already figured out this dilemma on her own by now? She was a genius and was the one who spent all her time with a child inside of her. If she had though, she would have said something wouldn't she?

"He's too strong for you."

Bulma raised an eyebrow, clearly confused. "What are you talking about? What time is it?"

For the life of her, she could not remember falling asleep. Though that was something that was very re-occurring lately. She was always completely drained, falling asleep all the time… However, she had to admit that sleeping was much more preferred to feeling pain all the time. Also, she could be enjoying Vegeta's concern but she wasn't. For him to actually worry meant that there was something wrong and that notion did nothing to put her at ease.

"Vegeta, what are you talking about?" she repeated when she obtained no answer from him.

"The child. You can't handle his strength. It's killing you."

Bulma pressed her lips tightly together, processing the information. Her child was killing her? But she had handle Trunks just fine and he had been quite powerful even training inside her stomach. Why couldn't she handle this baby?

"It'll kill you. It'll grow and his ki will kill you."

"It won't."

"Woman, it will. If you're this weak already, imagine in a few weeks, or months!"

He allowed her to be pretty stubborn about a lot of things, but this would not be one of them. He had already known she was sick, but he had allowed her to put up with it. If this was going to kill her, then it was a whole different story.

"I don't care if you don't want to hear it Bulma. You can't ignore it."

The way he used her name let her know he was serious. Unfortunately, so was she. Bulma had no intention of ending her child's life. Especially not on a whim like this. Maybe Vegeta felt something but nothing was certain. Yes she was in a lot of pain, especially when her son's power was out of whack, but… it didn't mean anything.

"This will be dealt with."

Vegeta had remained by her side, through the pain and sickness. For once however, he would not be there while she threw a stubborn tantrum. Her life meant more to him now than ever before, but it did not mean he was like them. He could easily recognize when one was not worth saving and when it was time to make decisions that Bulma couldn't make.

A cloud of darkness filled his eyes before he exited the room. Perhaps this would be the only way for her to understand he was serious.

Bulma watched him walk away, still a little hazy from having just woken up. She felt her heart sink into her stomach and she grasped the sheets with her fingers. She knew Vegeta wasn't pulling away from her, that he was simply worried, but it still hurt. She didn't want to die, but she wouldn't end a life if she had no reason to.

This was more than just a life; it was one they had created together. Trunks was everything but, this child was created in a nice, normal environment; it was their chance of doing this as a couple. It was also Vegeta's chance to be present from the start. She knew that deep inside he regretted all he missed and now he could have it.

This couldn't be the end.

-S-

Trunks shifted his weight uncomfortably from one foot to another under his father's gaze. He had never been good at lying, at least not to his dad. Unfortunately, he felt like he owed it to his mom so he kept his mouth shut. The only problem was, he was beginning to run out of gullible lies. He could feel the heat under his cheeks and his eyes were probably betraying him.

"She said it was an appointment. I didn't ask really."

He had been unfortunate enough to catch a glimpse of his mother going into her lab. Of course Bulma had seen her son looking at her and all she had done was bring her index to her lips, leading him to believe that it had to be a secret. Problem was Vegeta had found out quickly enough that Bulma wasn't in the room anymore. Worried he had begun asking everyone and had believed all of them except for Trunks.

His son knew something, he could tell.

Though, usually he could tell when his son was lying and this time it appeared to be the truth. Still, there was something about the way Trunks was uncomfortable. If he was indeed lying, then he would break soon. All Vegeta had to do was wait.

He didn't understand how neither Bulma nor Trunks understood that there was a lot at risk. Had she not taken his warning seriously? She was the one who could not die. When he had sacrificed himself, he had taken his family in consideration. Fact was they might want him around, but they didn't need him to be around. Trunks would grow up just fine under Bulma's parenting and Bulma was independent, she didn't need a man, she wanted one.

On the other hand if Bulma was the one to die, it would be a complete different story. He couldn't raise Trunks on his own! He already couldn't do it with Bulma around. Most of all, he had been alone his entire life before she came around. Truth be told, he didn't think he could go back to that anymore. He didn't want to be alone and he never wanted to lose anything again.

It was selfish, but he didn't care.

He would not lose another significant thing again.

On top of that, Bulma was being selfish as well. She didn't take in consideration anyone else's desires but her own. If this had been an on the spot kind of thing, then she wouldn't have made sure he couldn't sense her ki. Since he couldn't feel it, and he always could, it meant she was hiding it with one of her devices. The question was, what was she trying to hide so badly?

"Where's your mother?"

Trunks frowned. "I don't know."

Vegeta was about to be slightly snappy when suddenly he faintly heard, thanks to his hearing, the sound of metal tools falling on the ground. Of course she was in the lab! Why hadn't he thought of this before? It simply hadn't crossed his mind that she would be foolish enough to actually endanger her weak life that way!

After he threw one deadly glare in his son's direction he hurried downstairs. Meanwhile, Trunks found himself shuddering. He had a small feeling that he was about to be in a lot of trouble with his dad.

Vegeta took less than two seconds to reach the lab in which he found Bulma on all four, scrambling upon the floor trying to collect the tools to put them back in the toolbox. She didn't realize he was there until she found herself looking right at his feet, which caused her to open her eyes wide. Damn it. She should have known she couldn't hide from him.

Although it was her own fault that this happened. She had all planned, including her device to hide her ki. Obviously she had to blow the whole thing up by dropping that damn toolbox. It had been a complete accident; she had lost her balance and she had grabbed on to the first thing she had seen. Now, she was dreading getting up and facing him; she was about to get lectured.

"I know. I'm not in bed," she said as she grabbed onto her chair and lifted herself up.

"I know you're not down here to do work."

Busted. "I was just… there was a device I wanted to do."

Vegeta rapidly scanned her desk, only to have his eyes land on a tiny little round object on the desk. He took a few steps forward before picking it up and observing it. Usually he could recognize what she was making, but this time, he didn't understand what something so small could do. It almost looked like a pill. That thought caused Vegeta to tilt his head to the side ever so slightly. A pill huh?

"What are you gonna do with this?" he asked before turning around to look at her.

Bulma bit on her bottom lip. She didn't want Vegeta to know. His concern was sweet, but she knew it wouldn't die down. That meant she had to take care of it on her own. If the baby's ki was what was harming her, then perhaps there was a way to take care of that. If she could make spaceship, gravity machine and device to hide ki, she could find a way to fix this.

And she had. At least she hoped she had. Although now she found herself with a big problem; Vegeta was going to find out. She had the feeling that he wouldn't be too keen towards the idea. Yes, he did have a say in the matter but… in the end she would risk her own life, and he wouldn't gamble with hers. It did mean he loved her but she just couldn't do that.

"I need to try something. I can't just not do anything."

Vegeta, out of all people, should know it better than anyone. She was not the type to watch something happen. Even when she was terrified out of her mind, she still had to do something and get involved. Now, this personally concerned her and she had no idea choice.

"I know."

It annoyed him, but he understood. He just didn't want her to be reckless. She clearly had spent way too much time around strong people who withstood everything, or that could protect her from everything. He just didn't think she understood just how weak, fragile and mortal she was. Then again, he was also mortal, yet he went into every battle like he wasn't.

He couldn't die. Even though he had. It couldn't possibly be permanent. But one day, it would be. He didn't want her day to be soon. They already both knew hers would come before his. Well if nothing interfered, that was.

"What is it," he asked again, knowing very well that this time he would obtain an answer from her.

She sighed a bit before slouching. "I'm supposed to swallow it."

He tapped his foot, slightly impatient. "And what does it do?"

What it did was perhaps not the best thing, but it was required. It was hard to make a diagnostic at the moment, especially on a hybrid pregnancy. Her first pregnancy had been fine and both of Chichi's had gone down well too. She had nothing to base her problems upon, meaning she had to find her own answers with any means possible.

"It'll restrict the baby's ki."

Immediately Bulma saw Vegeta face fall a bit and she knew exactly why, but it couldn't be helped. "If you're wrong, if the baby's power is not killing me, I'll be in pain. A few days of this won't do any harm." Then if they were wrong, she would disable it and it would be as if nothing happened. She made sure it wasn't harmful and a few days wouldn't matter.

"And what if I'm right?"

Oh kami she hoped he wasn't right. "If you are, then I'll have to keep it."

She hoped for another way around it, but if it was making her sick, if it was killing her… maybe it was the only way to save both her and the baby. And if it was, she couldn't ignore it. "Who knows, maybe I won't have to keep it for the entire time of the pregnancy. I'll try disabling it once in a while."

Of course that wouldn't ease the worry in Vegeta's mind. If there was one thing he had never gotten over it was weakness. It terrified him more than anything else. Now she was telling him that there was the possibility that he would father a child that was… weak. Someone who couldn't defend themselves, someone who couldn't withstand… anything.

"It's killing you," she said, a strange smile on her face. "You couldn't take it if you had a son like me."

"Woman, there's nothing wrong with you."

"Except that I'm human. Except that I can't fight."

Rage began to stir inside Vegeta as he closed the distance between them. He forcefully grabbed her chin and tilted her head back. He was mad at her for putting him into this situation, but he couldn't ignore it. It didn't matter how much time went by or what they went through together. He wasn't a very emotional person, or he did not share what went through his mind. Luckily, she just knew most of the time.

She was going to make him say and admit things he didn't want to. "If you weren't those things, if you could do that, you wouldn't be yourself, Woman."

For a second, she felt her heart skip a beat. Vegeta just had a way to be the most romantic person she knew without even trying. Since he barely ever said anything nice… it was sweet when he did, more than someone who constantly tossed words and feelings around. When he said them, they meant something.

She gently raised her hand and cupped his cheek. "Then you're going to have to trust me."

Someone else might have kissed their beloved at that moment, but Vegeta answered with a nod. He then trailed one of his hands to her stomach and rested it on it. He supposed that if she was going to do this the proper thing to do was to remain by her side. He watched her glance at the little device, almost unsure; she was scared.

The most stubborn, prideful woman was scared.

Quickly she took it from him and held it in front of her mouth. All she had to do was take it. She made it herself, it was safe… but she still found herself hesitating a bit. Was she thinking straight? She hadn't had a decent night of rest in months, she felt sick, weak to the point where she could barely stand! Then again all these arguments were in favor of her taking this thing, not against. She allowed herself to take a deep breath before putting it into her mouth and slowly swallowing it.

She was so torn inside; a part of her hoped this would work because the pain was killing her, but another part of her wished that… this had nothing to do with the life growing inside of her. At this point, only time would tell and she would dread both answers.

Bulma laid her head against Vegeta's chest and closed her eyes. She wasn't used to working this much anymore and her body was letting her know it was exhausted. Hopefully once she woke up, she would… find an answer to all of this. For now, she would wait, feeling Vegeta's warmth surrounding her and protecting her.

-S-

Three days had gone by, but no changes had been since in Bulma's health. Although it was fairly hard to tell if she could feel pain or not since she had spent those days, not eating and asleep for the most part. Though the fact that she wasn't eating or always sleeping was already a hint that they had been wrong. Though Vegeta wasn't sure if he felt relief or not.

At this point he didn't really care that he had been wrong or not. What mattered was that Bulma get better. Unfortunately if the baby wasn't making her sick… what was? Also, what were the odds that she caught something just as she got pregnant? Very slim. Also, nobody could figure out what it was which was not a good thing.

He had tried to chase aside his worry with some training but it had been nothing more than a fail. Every time he tried to focus his mind she would just fill his head and he was unable to think of anything else. The more he tried to distract himself, the less it worked. His training had been suffering a lot lately and it seemed it was not over.

Granted training was not a priority, but unlike everyone here he didn't think the fact that there was no current threat meant there would be none. They had been proven over the years that Earth seems to be the favorite target of everyone. If it hadn't been for Goku and himself, chances were that this puny planet filled with weak idiots would have combusted a long time ago.

Still, over the years he had spent with Bulma, he had learned one thing; she came before his training. Even when he thought ha hated her, he couldn't train if she was on his mind. Some things never changed.

Suddenly, a knock was heard on the door, pulling Vegeta away from his thoughts. He couldn't help but raise an eyebrow as he walked in direction of the button which would open the door of the Gravity Room. It had been the most useful thing to install; Bulma's mother had a bad habit to barge in when he was training. The woman might be dumb as pole, but she somehow gave him the creeps sometimes.

He pressed the red button and the door slowly lifted before revealing Trunks standing in front of it. Vegeta remained silent, but crossed his arms in front of his chest, waiting for his son to speak.

"Mom wants you to go see her."

Apparently, it was all he was allowed to say.

Since Trunks was unsure and confused about what was going on, Vegeta mistook his expression for one of worry. For an instant concern rose inside of him before he left the GR and walked past his son, hurrying for his bedroom.

Why would Bulma ask for him? Even the times where she was feeling completely drained and terrible she didn't even ask for him. For a second he stopped to ponder if that was because she didn't think he would come. He knew he had his attitude and he was a certain way, which would never change, but… hadn't he proven to her that if she required his help, he would sacrifice anything for her?

It wasn't like it hurt his feelings to think she thought he was unreliable, but…

Once he reached their bedroom he cleared his mind and quickly opened the door. The sight he found on the other side was not one he expected. Bulma was sitting up on the bed, typing away on her laptop. Usually he would have frown upon that, but this time he couldn't. She seemed well. Her cheeks didn't have their natural blush but her skin was glowing a bit more and it was less pale. Along with that was her new scent. It didn't smell like death anymore.

It worked?

"I guess it just took a bit of time," she said as she closed the lid of her laptop.

Just like her husband she had been thinking that they had been wrong. Unfortunately, when she had woken up today she had felt like herself again. It couldn't be a coincidence, which lead her to believe Vegeta's theory had been right. Though, this was a little heartbreaking and confusing. Trunks' ki never harmed her, but her new baby was. Was there a reason for that?

Was she too weak, or was it too powerful?

Also, now she had to figure out just how this would affect the baby and how Vegeta would deal with it. The look on his face let her to believe that he was still processing the news, thus she remained silent; he would speak when he was ready.

He took a few steps in her direction until his knees hit the edge of the bed. It was then that he sat down, keeping a bit of distance between them. Once again, he was forced to have an awkward discussion with her. She really did enjoy making him uncomfortable didn't she? He sighed heavily before running his fingers through his spiky hair.

"Are you sure your invention will work fine?"

Bulma arched an eyebrow. "Are you doubting my skills?"

Prideful. "Are you sure it's not harmful, to either of you."

"I'm sure it is." She wouldn't have swallowed anything deadly. Of course it didn't mean it was the best thing, but it wouldn't kill anyone.

"And what about the baby?"

She pushed her laptop aside and dragged herself closer to Vegeta. She gently put her hand on top of his and smiled at him. "It'll be fine. I told you, I'll try disabling it once in a while and when it doesn't make me sick, it'll remain disabled until the pregnancy is over."

"What if you never feel better?"

"Then I'll have to keep it on."

Which meant that their son's ki would be tempered with for almost the entire pregnancy.

Bulma swallowed her pride for a second before grabbing Vegeta's face with both of her hands. "It's doesn't matter if someone is not strong Vegeta. Nothing is going to happen to them. Look at me, I'm fine."

"You'd be dead if it wasn't for me."

"And what makes you think you won't be there for the baby?"

Vegeta glanced away from her immediately and didn't answer.

Bulma felt a pinch in her heart, but she kept a straight face. "You think something is going to happen to you."

It wasn't that surprising considering what had happened with Buu, but she didn't want him to live with that fear for the rest of his life. "We thought Buu was the worse thing that happened to us, but we pulled through. Whatever else comes, we're all going to be fine."

She hadn't died the way Vegeta did, but it didn't mean anything. She had experienced death but it didn't scare her enough to think it would happen again. They would be together and she knew Vegeta would do whatever he could for that to happen. She believed in him more than he believed in himself. And that was okay; he needed someone like her around.

"I don't care about that, Woman."

She couldn't help but chuckle. "Yes, I'm sure that you, Vegeta, doesn't care if you have a strong son. A stronger son than Goku."

He couldn't hide his competitive side from her.

"You're the one I care about."

His words hit her hard as they were unexpected. She always knew the way he felt, but to hear it was a completely different story. She couldn't stop the smile from showing on her face and quickly she threw her arms around him, hugging him tightly. Her arms still felt a bit weak but she managed anyway.

"We'll be fine Vegeta. Both me and the baby."

It took him a few seconds, but eventually he returned the embrace. It was nice to finally be able to bury his nose in her hair, or in the crook of her neck. He could have before, but his sensitive nose was irritated each time. He was glad that she was herself again. He allowed himself to intimately embrace her. They expressed their emotions best physically. It was also how they got along best together and how they worked things out.

Lately, he had been quite far from her and this soothed him more than he ever thought it could. A sweet smile graced Bulma's lips as she ran her fingers down his tensed back. She had missed Vegeta lately. She understood why he didn't sleep in the same bed than her anymore, but it was nice to have him around again.

It was true that she was strong and that he usually reassured her but for the first time, she felt like both of them were scared.

Maybe it wasn't a bad thing. Maybe it would even bring them closer. Vegeta had grown so much and she was grateful. She loved him no matter who he was.

But at the moment, she was happy; he was her husband.

-S-