Trunks began to stir. Gotu ran to him and whispered his name, "Trunks…" His eyes fluttered open.

"G… Gotu….? You're... alright?"

"Vegeta saved us! All of us! He reached an incredible level of power after Spantru knocked you out, and took him down almost immediately! Then he went after Refone and made him get us out before destroying him. He was seriously fantastic!"

Trunks turned his head to his father, who was slumping Goku over his shoulders and preparing to take off in flight. He glared. 'Even after all of my recent training, I still can't compete with father or Goku. The woman I claimed to care about would have been dead if it weren't for them. How worthless can I be?' Trunks thought.

"Trunks?" Gotu saw his expression change. As though a light switch had been hit, his demeanor flipped and he pushed Gotu from him and made his way back to Capsule Corp.

Vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

A few days passed, and Trunks barely spoke to anyone. He refused to see Gotu or answer any of her phone calls. Almost every waking minute was spent training by himself. He walked into the kitchen for lunch and saw his mother sitting at the table, sipping her coffee.

"Mother, we need to talk." Bulma looked up at her son, troubled.

"Yes, I had hoped you would want to talk. What is going on with you, Trunks?"

"I've decided I am resigning as President of Capsule Corp."

"ARE YOU INSANE?! AND WHO, EXACTLY, SHOULD REPLACE YOU?!"

"Gotu will be fine without me. She could easily take my role. You would be surprised how intelligent she is when it comes to business. Don't look at me like that, mother. I won't change my mind. I have more important things to do."

"Have you even spoken to Gotu?" Bulma asked. Her thoughts returned to the small Ki that had helped them back in Refone's lair.

Trunks grimaced slightly at Gotu's name. He tried to avoid thinking about her. His training needed to be his only priority now.

"Trunks? Are you ever planning on speaking to her again? How can you treat her like this?!"

"You don't understand, mother. Just leave me alone." Trunks walked away towards the gravity room. Bulma put her head in her hands. She was confused about the change that had taken place in her son so suddenly.

Vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

-1 month later-

Gotu sat on a ledge, hanging her head. She had taken a pregnancy test that morning and, as she expected, it was positive. She was pregnant with Trunks' child.

'Damn him, this should be a good thing. But he's changed…" She thought. In the last month, Trunks had become someone Gotu no longer felt like she knew. Refone's attack had changed Trunks. Suddenly, he had resigned as president of Capsule Corp. and Gotu had only seen him once since, and that was in town, by accident. She had tried calling and going to the Briefs' home, but he was always too busy training. He refused to rest. The passion she loved in him had become something different; something darker. "Vegeta…" She whispered.

Thinking of his father, she realized it was him she needed to speak to, not Trunks. She flew off to the Briefs' home one last time.

She burst through the front door and met surprised looks from Bulma and Vegeta in the living room.

"YOU!" She pointed at Vegeta and yelled, with an uncharacteristic anger in her voice. "It's YOUR fault he is like this. I've heard the stories about how you were before. Training constantly and neglecting everything, and everyone, else. It's your blood in him that has done this. You probably encouraged this and you have no idea what it is doing to me." She fell to her knees as she finished.

Bulma ran over to comfort her, but Gotu pushed her off and scowled harder. She raised her eyes to stare at Vegeta, awaiting his response.

"Gotu, Trunks never knew me then. I have not encouraged this in him. Trunks is exploring a piece of himself that he didn't know existed. He must work through this and find out what is important to him. If it didn't happen now, it would have eventually. It is good for your relationship with him that he do this now." Vegeta didn't break Gotu's stare.

"NO! It is NOT good that he do this now. You have NO idea what you're saying. I've seen him once this month, and he wouldn't even speak to me. How are we supposed to go on like this? I need him right now…" She stopped.

Bulma and Vegeta looked at one another knowingly.

"So it's true? You're pregnant…" Bulma breathed.

"Of course I am! The worst possible time for him to decide to be like this. I need him right now…" Gotu retorted.

"Gotu, you are the strongest woman I know. You haven't needed any man, including Trunks, a day in your life. But a child does change everything." Bulma finished as she continued to stare at Vegeta. He nodded at her as he walked away and let the women continue their conversation.

Vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

Vegeta walked to the gravity room and opened it, interrupting Trunks' training.

"Come to train with me, Dad?" He asked.

"No, son. I don't train at this time of the day. You know this is time I reserve to spend with your mother." Trunks turned away, sensing his father had more to say.

"Trunks, you will talk to Gotu. There is absolutely no reason you cannot take 10 minutes from your training to speak with her. If 10 minutes will be the difference between your success or your defeat, you are weaker than you think."

"Fine." Trunks wiped his forward and exited the room. Vegeta and Trunks walked together to the living room and met Bulma and Gotu. Gotu looked up as Trunks approached. The sadness in her eyes was like a slap from reality. He suddenly found himself questioning his insistence on training.

Bulma and Vegeta left the room as Gotu's sad stare became angry.

"What the hell is your problem lately, Trunks?!"

"My weakness almost got my girl friend and mother killed. I had to wait for my father to come save us, as usual, because of how soft I became. It won't happen again."

"But don't you think there needs to be some balance!? I mean, isn't this exactly what your father did to your mother when you were born? Why would you want to be that part of him?"

"How can you not understand how important strength is?! You're a Saiyan for Kami's sake! You've lost your edge!"

"No, Trunks. Don't tell me I don't understand. If it weren't for me, you would still probably be sitting on your ass in the presidential suite of Capsule Corp., wasting away your Saiyan blood. YOU told me that I awakened your passion, and now you're trying to tell me that I don't understand? You have some balls…"

"You never had a problem with this warrior spirit before. Why now?"

"Because before, you did it to be your best and to protect the people you care about. Now you're so focused on your own humiliation at your father's superior strength that you're willing to kill yourself and us just to attain it. Don't kid yourself, Trunks. This isn't about protecting ANYONE. This isn't noble. This is about your rivalry with your own father. I won't be like our mothers. They had to wait around for years, not knowing if our fathers would ever come home alive. I refuse to lead that life. We were supposed to be partners in protecting this world together, and now it's all about you. You're selfish, Trunks. Selfish and prideful at everyone else's expense."

Trunks stood gaping at Gotu. She had never been so aggressive with him before, and he didn't like it.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Gotu? This isn't you, either. I may have become prideful, but you've become a real witch." He immediately regretted it when it came out of his mouth. Her eyes widened and shined with tears. She immediately hardened her expression, however, and the tears disappeared.

"I'm pregnant, Trunks. Don't ever speak to me again. Good luck with your training." She flew away, leaving Trunks stunned and confused.

Vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

Vegeta and Bulma could hear most of the conversation from the kitchen. Bulma looked at Vegeta, heartbroken at how her son had responded to Gotu. Trunks walked into the kitchen to find them there.

"I suppose you heard everything? Well, if she doesn't want to speak to me, then there isn't any point in trying anyway. I'll be in the gravity room."

Vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

Trunks had been training every day, almost all day, for almost seven months now. As he was walking to the kitchen, he saw his parents come in, laughing about something.

"Where you have you guys been all day?" Trunks asked.

"We were at the Son's house. We've been going over there on Friday nights for dinner every week. Haven't you noticed?" Bulma responded.

Trunks remembered that it had been a while since he saw Goku and Chi Chi. "They always used to come over here for dinner. Why the change?" Vegeta and Bulma looked uncomfortable for a moment before Bulma answered.

"I wanted to start going over there instead. It's nice to see Gotu and Goten."

Trunks' heart skipped a beat when he heard her name. It had been months since either of his parents had mentioned her in front of him. He felt like his mother was testing him to see if he missed her. He walked away without a word. He was exhausted. He had finally run out of senzu beans from Korin, and he couldn't grow them quick enough to keep up with Trunks' needs, as he practically killed himself every day with his intense training. He had no choice but to rest now, and rest always allowed his thoughts to be consumed with her face.

He wondered how her pregnancy had gone so far, envisioning how a swollen stomach would look on her petite frame. Even more, he wondered when she would have the child and what it would look like. He was reaching a plateau with his power that he couldn't seem to break through. His frustration caused him to question everything, and this reminded him of her encouraging ways. She had always been a source of strength for him, and his world was becoming empty without her.