Hi guys!

So first, I wanted to say THANK YOU THANK YOU for all of the comments!

Second, I've been reading them and I see that some of you are asking for a little bit more insight of Bulma and Vegeta's thoughts. I agree with you. :) Originally I was planning for the story to be a bit more on the vague side, so it could feel as if you are watching the characters' actions. Like a movie. I do think it would add to the story to be more "in" Bulma's mind though, so I will try to be better about that. I will also try to explain Vegeta's thoughts as well, but I kind of like keeping him mysterious... :) In time I'll also go back through the previous chapters to give them more detail too! This is the first time I've written something serious in years, and your comments mean a lot to me! xox

Bulma sat at the dining room table, her hands lightly placed over her stomach. It had been a week since she'd stormed out of Vegeta's room, and for a week his words had been replaying over in her ears. They had spoken briefly since then, but it had only been in regard to work. Their conversations were flat, with Vegeta avoiding eye contact and growling under his breath. It was obvious that he wanted as little to do with her as possible, and in return she'd been keeping her own distance. In his absence all she could think of was how harsh he'd been, and how disappointing it all was... 'If he's here to train, then I'll let him train. I won't speak to him again,' She thought bitterly, her hands slowly tracing her lower abdomen. Normally when Bulma's stomach felt like this it meant that she would be expecting that monthly burden within the next day. But it had been days that she'd been suffering with this sensation in her belly, and nothing had happened. Her attitude about it was just as jumpy - on some days she felt extreme anxiety, on others she was busy at her desk and hardly gave it mind at all. When she would think about her body she would grow confused - it seemed that the soreness in her breasts was warning her to get ready for a week of pain medicine and heat pads, and yet it lingered.

What did it mean? Was she overthinking it all? A worry was lingering in the back of her mind, telling her that all of this could only add up to one thing. But, then, that couldn't be true! Not with Vegeta - there was no way she could be in such a situation after her episode with him. He was the worst possible person for this to happen with... There was no way that she could possibly be...

"Don't you want to eat, honey?"

The words snapped Bulma out of her spell. She looked up from the table and glanced around the room. Mr. and Mrs. Briefs were sitting across from her, delicately picking at their food, and Vegeta was to her side, ravenously flying through plates and bowls.

"Oh.." Bulma breathed. "Actually, I'm not hungry... I have a stomach-ache."

"Oh! Why don't you have some medicine?" Mrs. Briefs jumped from the table, starting to head for her bathroom.

"No!" Bulma snapped, standing abruptly. Her hands were visibly shaking. She didn't know what was going on with her body, but she couldn't take any pain medicine! She just couldn't risk it...

Mrs. Briefs gave her daughter a worried look, but headed back to the table nevertheless. She took a seat, and without speaking another word the blonde housewife resumed working on her plate. Obviously disheartened from being yelled at, Mrs. Briefs pouted as she popped her fork into her mouth.

"It's okay! Really." The Bluehead continued, feeling a bit breathless. She couldn't stay in that room any longer. Not with these people, who didn't know what she was going through. Who wouldn't understand. She was started to feel claustrophobic, especially with Vegeta at her side, who was been watching the entire situation with mild amusement. She just couldn't stay. She had to get away from this room - she had to get away from him! And so she pushed her chair back and made for the door, feeling that the longer she spent in that dining room, the closer she edged towards a panic attack. "I'm fine..." Bulma repeated as she slipped away, though nobody had said anything.

'I don't understand!' Bulma thought, taking a seat in the living room and struggling to hold back tears. 'What's going on? What is THIS supposed to mean?!' Didn't pregnant women always claim that nausea was one of their first signs? Bulma had only been nauseous on the night of her dispute with Vegeta, and even then she hadn't actually thrown up. At the time she'd attributed it to stress. But now she wasn't so sure. These cramps weren't subsiding. But she wasn't nauseous... yet her breasts hurt... But they always hurt when she was hormonal...

...But the lump. The lump in her throat. The sinking voice in her head that was telling her to stop denying what was true... She couldn't ignore that...

As most people tend to do with breakups, Bulma had her share of anxious phases in which he wondered if she'd done the right thing in leaving Yamcha. As she sat on her couch, considering how cold Vegeta had been to her over that last week - even in the dining room just now - she wondered again if she'd been a fool. Was she wrong to leave Yamcha? If she'd had this type of scare about her body with that immature Z-Fighter, at least he would have been there to talk to... Sure, he would have been completely doofy and just downright stupid about it, but at least he would have been there... The more Bulma thought about it all, the more overwhelmed she became. She didn't like keeping it to herself. She was broken hearted and terrified, and she felt completely and hopelessly alone...

That's it! Bulma stood. She ran for the closet by the front door and grabbed her coat. She had to get out of this house! She needed to go somewhere, even farther away from that hostile saiyan, and try to clear her mind! "I'm going out for a few hours!" Bulma called, though she didn't care if anyone replied. Mrs. Briefs could be heard scrubbing at dishes in the kitchen, Bulma's Dad and Vegeta still eating away. The Bluehead stepped outside and walked towards the driveway. It was windy out, and the air hitting her face with enough force to sober her mind. She had been cooped up in the house for so long, bathing in her worries. She needed to get out, even if she would be alone. Bulma retrieved a capsule from her pocket. She clicked the button and tossed it into the distance, watching as a small car appeared in front of her. She smiled, climbing into the driver's seat.

Vegeta stood tall, his fists tightening at his sides. The gravity machine had been set to 70. 'Not bad for a couple of weeks', He thought as he panted. The regular beatings that he took from Bulma's robots had helped his strength tremendously. He could feel it. Still, it wasn't enough. For one thing, he needed to work up to 300. He was nowhere close to that! And, on top of it all, he still couldn't make the change to super saiyan, and it was pissing him off! Vegeta crouched and began a power up, wanting to see how far it would go now before his ki reached its limit.

He had noticed that the Earth Woman's demeanor towards him had changed after the night in his room. She no longer spoke to him with the enthusiasm he had come to expect from her. In fact, she hardly said anything to him at all, and when she did her voice came out sounding distant. It was as if her mind was somewhere else and she was speaking to Vegeta through an empty shell, not wanting to invest herself into the conversation by any means. Even the few times that Vegeta had demanded adjustments to the bot, she hadn't come racing into the ship to eagerly present her work to him like she used to. Instead, she was leaving the robots by the door of the ship, not even knocking before returning back to the house.

Mrs. Briefs had been worried when Bulma had stormed out. "Don't worry dear, she's perfectly fine" Mr. Briefs had explained while trying to coax her to relax. "Something's wrong with her. She isn't actin' like herself!" The Blonde Woman had insisted. "She never goes out this late by herself! Oh, What is something bad happens?"

"Now now, she went off to find the Dragon Balls when she was a young girl! Remember? She can take care of herself!"

"But she had that lovely Goku boy with her!" Mrs. Briefs had cried. "Remember when she told us of the time he had to rescue her from being kidnapped? What if someone tries somethin' now, and she won't have anyone to help her?!"

Those words resonated with Vegeta more than he ever wanted to admit. They conjured up the image of a bruised Bluehead laying lifeless in a darkened street, some gruff man laughing over her body as he cracked his knuckles. The thought made the saiyan's blood race... But then again, she wouldn't be stupid enough to get into a situation like that, would she? She had much more sense than to let something like that happen!

Of course, if some bastard decided to take advantage of her frail figure, that would be of no fault of her own... She'd simply be an innocent bystander...

Vegeta realized he'd been obsessing. His shook his head, snapping his thoughts back to reality. He'd been trying to power up, and he'd gotten so distracted that his ki had hardly shifted at all! "Damned Woman!" He growled. Even in her absence she compromised his training! The saiyed let out an exasperated yell, raising his hand and firing a beam at his battle bot. The robot beeped, charged up, and subsequently hit Vegeta back with an attack twice as hard. It wasn't very strong, but it irritated the already moody saiyan enough that he charged at it. Rather than blasting, he hit the robot with a kick so hard that it went flying back. Vegeta watched as it smashed into the wall, the sound of a loud crash echoing through the spaceship. Teeth gritting, he approached the dented up robot and glared at it. Bulma had designed this thing to deflect energy beams, but obviously she hadn't put much thought to physical attacks. She'd have to address this with the next model.

This was exactly why he couldn't allow himself to meddle with that Earth Woman, anyway. She'd done enough damage to his progress as it was. Encouraging him to sleep late, pressuring him to give himself breaks... He shouldn't care if she got herself killed by going out at an unsafe time. He shouldn't care if she chose to distance herself from him. He shouldn't care if his words had upset her so bad! She had no business invading his mind, distracting him when he tried to channel his energy, haunting him as he made to focus his ki…

… If only he had the capability to solely concentrate on his goals, he probably would have already achieved Super Saiyan...

"What are you doing here?!"

Bulma felt her heart sink, recognizing the voice. She had been sitting alone in a booth at her favorite restaurant, quietly sipping on some herbal tea. She had been lost in her worries yet again, staring into space as her thoughts trailed. She looked up slowly to see Yamcha sliding into the booth across from her. He had a wide grin plastered across his face, seemingly oblivious to her distress. It had been less than two weeks since they last saw each other, and already he was looking at her as if she was an old friend - and not an ex-lover. Bulma wasn't prepared to have to speak with him so soon, especially when she was so upset. She wasn't in the mood for pleasantries with an ex. She needed time alone. But then again, this could be the distraction she had been looking for...

"How have you been?" She asked cautiously. She was well aware that if they got into a deep conversation there was risk of reigniting warm feelings. She'd have to be careful about keeping their topics at surface level. She didn't need things to become even more complicated between them...

Yamcha was happily nodding. "Hey, I've been great! You know, I was actually thinking about calling you. I've thought about us, and I think you were right!"

She felt her shoulders ease up, and she began to relax back into her seat. It seemed that at least one of them had been doing well since their breakup, and that was truly good to know.

"I mean, we were young when we got together, right?" Yamcha continued. "Some people are just better off as friends!" An enthusiastic smile on his face. It had only taken him a little more than a week to reach this conclusion, and that was all the confirmation Bulma needed to know that they really had made the best decision.

His positive energy was such a stark change to the aura that had been lingering about the Briefs household lagtely, and it was such a relief that Bulma found herself fighting back tears. It just felt so good to be around someone who wore absolutely no care on their sleeve. For the last week she'd been hiding away in her room, feeling as if she had a big secret to keep from her parents, and feeling her heart break every time she saw Vegeta. It was as if Bulma was exhibiting all of her anxiety on her face, because Yamcha's expression suddenly changed. "But hey, why were you sitting here all alone?" He said, his tone softening up. He leaned across the table, as if he were about to let her in on a huge secret. "You looked kind of bummed out..."

Bulma eyed her ex-boyfriend shyly. She was tired of bottling everything up inside. She wanted to tell him everything she'd been dealing with, to let it all out, but she couldn't. It was more than tempting to confess everything when someone seemed so genuinely concerned, but he was the last person she could tell. He would never understand things between her and Vegeta. Not only that, but she didn't think he'd want to know. They were always going to be ex-lovers, no matter how either of them currently felt. The idea of telling Yamcha she had slept with the man he hated most was obviously never going to happen. So Bulma just shrugged and grabbed at her tea. "I guess I'm just tired," She lied, taking a sip to try and disguise her mood. It was only a half-lie, anyway... She really hadn't been sleeping well.

The two sat together for over an hour as they spoke, Bulma sipping at her drink and Yamcha eating some food he had ordered. Most of the conversation was about Yamcha and his recreational aspirations. He was advancing well in his baseball team, he'd recently signed up for a membership at a gym, and he was even preparing to run a 12k. It felt so nice to just engage in conversation with somebody, to talk about somebody else's life and problems. Not only did it distract her from her own woes, but Yamcha's carefree attitude was rubbing off on her! She really was starting to feel a lot better. He'd never know how truly grateful Bulma felt in that moment.

They were still talking and laughing as they walked to the parking lot, and Bulma stopped to bid him farewell. "I guess I should be going," She said, starting to feel a bit awkward. This was the first time she was saying goodbye as a friend since they had broken up. Yamcha looked at her and nodded. "Need a ride?"

Bulma didn't want to be alone again. She wasn't looking forward to the trip back, fearing that her worries would re-emerge as she drove alone. She couldn't accept Yamcha's offer, though. Taking a ride with him after dinner had been too routine in their relationship, and she didn't want to take any risk. It was too dangerous. So she politely declined, pointing out her little capsule corp car. "Right!" Yamcha said, forcing a laugh. "I'll see you around!"

Bulma wanted to cry as she departed from the restaurant. It was 11 at night, and the drive back to her house would take at least half an hour. As she left the lights of the city center her, she felt the darkness of the night start to encase her. The sinking feeling of loneliness was returning, just as she'd worried...

.

It was late when Bulma slid her key into the front door. She was being as quiet as possible as she turned the knob and stepped into the dark house. Looking across the foyer, she could see that the hallway upstairs was partially lit. 'Somebody must have left a light on,' She thought. How strange...

...Vegeta had just returned upstairs from fetching a glass of water when he heard Bulma's keys in the lock down below. He stood in the hallway and waited for her, knowing she would head straight for her room. Sure enough, her footsteps went directly for the stairs. And when Bulma reached the second story she stopped in her tracks. Eyes planted on him, the saiyan calmly took a long swig from his glass. As if considering her options, she simply watched him from across the hall. He was looking back at her, wondering which of them would be the first to speak.

Bulma did think of speaking. She had a lot to say. But once again his harsh words ran through her mind. As they always did when she found the two face-to-face. What good would it do for her to try and speak her mind? He would just blow her off, act like a jerk, and she'd end up feeling even worse. The Bluehead let out a sigh and shook her head. She looked down to break eye contact, watching her feet and feeling the emotion welling inside. She couldn't tell if she wanted to cry, or if she wanted to yell. Neither of those seemed like good options when her parents were snoring in the other room - she needed to just get away. And so she made for her room, ready to close herself off for the night...

It was when Bulma attempted to pass by him that she felt his hand shoot out and grab her wrist, preventing her from going any farther. She had been walking at a full pace when it happened, and the sudden snag made her body nearly fall from the jolt. She turned to the saiyan quickly and locked eyes with him again. For a moment she was fearful, not having expected him to do this. His grip was tight, and he had a mad flare in his eyes. Bulma waited for something to happen, and when she realized he wasn't going to do anything her fear turned to anger. She glared, not wanting to speak and wake her parents.

Bulma felt his fingers loosen around her wrist, and she snapped her hand back to her side. She turned away from him, pointing downstairs and gesturing for him to follow her.

And he did.

Down the stairs, to the right, and through a door leading outside. Bulma walked a firm pace through her yard leading them both straight towards the ship. Once inside she shut the door, sending Vegeta another scowl before heading across the room. Bulma threw herself into the captain's chair and swiveled around to face the saiyan, her arms crossed. She peered up at him as he continued to watch her so intensely...

"Well?!" Bulma snapped, feeling her emotions starting to take over. "What is it that you wanted?! Spit it out!"