Vegeta grunted a greeting as he passed Goku, the taller saiyan carrying a sleeping Goten out of Ikari's room. The younger saiyan, fully healed from a senzu bean, had steadfastly refused to leave his sister's room for the past four days. They had managed to get a crushed up bean down Ikari once every day but she had shown little improvement. Something about the dark energy used to inflict her wounds was fighting against the healing effect of the beans. Goten had only received a blow to the head to knock him unconscious so the bean worked on him as it normally would. The seat the small demi-saiyan had been occupying was still warm as the Prince slid into and leaned back to gaze at the figure in the semi-dark room.

Ikari lay unmoving in her bed, a sheet pulled up to her chest. She was breathing shallow, but steady, however Vegeta placed his hand on her chest to feel the rise and fall for himself. He moved the hand to her forehead and grimaced at the cold feel of her skin. There was no movement at all as he gently ran the back of his fingers down her cheek. The damage had been done to her was hard to imagine if he hadn't been glued to her side when the doctor Bulma hired tried to put her back together. The steady senzu bean diet was helping the healing along but not nearly fast enough. Vegeta brought the chair closer to the head of the bed and rested his elbows on the edge, dropping his chin into his hands and just watched her.

Vegeta was angry. He was angry with himself for not going with the clown and Gohan when they thought something was wrong. So sure of his lover's staggering power he had all but forgotten there was a power out there that made her look like nothing. The Prince should have gone and helped. Vegeta was angry with her rescuers for not getting there sooner. He was even angry at her, but for what he didn't know. For losing? He groaned and dropped his face into his hands.

The older saiyan realized his was just plain scared of losing someone he loved and that made him angry. She had become a fixture in his life like Bulma, Trunks, and his father…even Kakarot. They were immortal figures in his mind but they had all been taken away at some point. Ikari seemed like the one that maybe wouldn't-someone so powerful that she couldn't die and would never leave him alone…but here she was. She had almost been taken and he hadn't even been there and here he was, scared of her dying and being gone.

Vegeta took her hand out from under the blanket and gripped it tightly, staring intently at her face as if trying to think her back into the world by his force of will alone. Something, anything to show she was gonna be alright. Her still face seemed to almost mock him. He wanted more than anything to see her smile, hear her laugh, watch her fight over food with her idiot father, hear her call him a dwarf or feel her warm body folding into his when he held her. The saiyan couldn't take the silence and moved to stand over her, peering down into her face.

"Say something," he demanded in a low whisper. "Say anything."

Silence.

"I need to hear your voice," the Prince almost begged, fighting back tears he could feel build.

"Say my name. Call me short. Argue with me." His voice started to waiver and he sighed.

"You were so full of life, and now you lay here, not doing a thing." A lone tear worked its way past his defenses and fell onto her face. It almost made it looked like she was crying along with him.

"Please wake up. I…I need you," Vegeta whispered so softly even he barely heard it. Without even thinking as he moved, the saiyan slid the covers back and pressed himself along her body. Mindful of her damaged arm, he brought her hand up to his face and held in there. He buried his face between her shoulder and neck, breathing in the flowery scent that was uniquely her. Vegeta began to drift off to sleep, but as he did he thought he felt the barest movement from her hand.

Vision swimming into focus, Ikari slowly awoke into a world that hurt but also an expected and familiar warmth. She remembered the beating she had been handed and tried to move her crushed leg but it barely responded. The girl tried to sit up but something had locked her into place. A turn of the head revealed the very unexpected (but very welcome) face of Vegeta sleeping next to her. Her brain cross wired for a moment and she thought it was Ouji-sama but the lack of facial scars reminded her that this was past Vegeta. Still a very welcome sight to wake up to and a pleasant heat filled her body. His sleeping face looked peaceful but haggard. She had worried him to death and it showed.

Ikari slowly moved his arm from her chest and dragged herself to a sitting position, careful not to wake an obviously tired Prince. The fact the she had caused him this torment sickened her. Pulling over the sheet and looking at her wounds only deepened the revulsion at herself. The left arm looked like it had been run through a wood chipper and the crushed leg looked like hamburger wrapped in a bandage. The remaining cuts, scrapes and bruises didn't help paint a prettier picture. She tried to bend the leg with her hands and almost bit the tip of her tongue of trying to stifle the scream. Ikari gently set the leg back down, sweat pouring from her skin. Rage built in her at her crushing defeat and her nails dug deep into her palms till the blood spattered down onto her lap.

This was unacceptable! She had been so lazy. How many times had Vegeta come to her to train only to blow him off to play with Goten and Trunks or goof off with Gohan? Slept in or gone flower gathering or just plain screwed around in general instead of getting stronger to protect the people she loved? And what were the results? Tossed around like a worthless ragdoll, that's what! Her body shook with anger and Vegeta shifted slightly, murmmering her name in his sleep. She saw the dried tear track on his face and it felt like her heart had been ripped out and torn in two. Ikari steeled her nerves and made her mind up.

She very carefully and slowly swung her legs over the bed and put all her weight on her good leg. Ikari slowly stood up, using the bed behind her as balance and tested what the bad leg would hold. It couldn't bend for shit but it could hold some weight. It wasn't great but she could limp on it. The simple black shorts and t-shirt she had been dressed in (oh gods let it have been Bulma or Chi-Chi that had done it) would do for what she needed. No socks or shoes and she wasn't going through the ordeal of getting them on. She began the slow painful limp towards the more remote outside gravity room, very thankful for the covered walkway that led there. She looked back as she left the room and saw Vegeta hadn't stirred then quietly shut the door behind her. Thankfully Ikari met no one in the hallway as she slipped into the gravity room and locked the door behind her.

Ikari entered her program into the computer; by passing the safeties to start it out at 200 times normal gravity and then increase that by 100 every ten minutes until it reached 800. Far as she knew none had every gone that high but she was going to make this busted body of hers work if it killed her. The young saiyan cursed at the empty room knowing this was going to hurt a lot…and hurt it did. Soon as the gravity changed the leg gave out and she shrieked in pain, dropping to her good knee. Dragging herself up on the computer console, it took two more tries but she managed to stay upright. Ikari started running through her martial arts training. Her concentration helped block out the pain of bad but cooperating leg until the gravity was raised to 500. It couldn't take anymore and she slammed face first into the ground. Her busted arm joined the other limb in mutiny against her. She barely managed to turn her head so at least she wasn't kissing the floor. The gravity increased again and no amount of struggling would get her back up. Hatred and self-pity welled up inside herself as she waited for someone to come along and find her to turn the damned machine off.

"Get up."

Ikari's eyes snapped open and she worked to get her head up. That voice… She has heard it in her head pushing her many times but never quite so clearly. He heart beat sped up triple time as a pair of black boots led up to familiar pants and all the way up to a well-loved scarred face, scowling down at her. No bloody way…

"I said…GET UP!"

Vegeta stretched and went to wrap his arms around his mate but came up with nothing but sheet. His eyes flew open and he leapt out of the bed, looking around the empty room. Ikari had disappeared and he had slept right through it! He spotted the blood trail she had left and followed it. The Prince broke into a run when he realized where the trail was headed. Stupid girl! What was she thinking?! His ears picked up the sound of the gravity room running. He got there to see Goku and Gohan looking into the door, just doing nothing. He looked at the read out on the panel and his jaw dropped. He had never seen it so high!

"What are you two doing just standing there?" Vegeta yelled angrily.

The two saiyans looked at him in shock and confusion. Gohan kept looking between the glass and him. "V…Vegeta? What are you doing out here?" Goku asked, titling his head like a confused dog.

"What are you babbling about you stupid clown? I'm trying to stop your equally stupid daughter from killing herself! Why the hell wouldn't I be here?" the Prince snapped. Goku just pointed into the room and Vegeta shoved them both out of the way and looked for himself. "What the…" he railed off, not even noticing when two pressed up against the glass with him.

"I said get up!" the voice from the glowing figure in front of her boomed.

"Struggling to keep her head up Ikari also struggled to believe what she was seeing. Surely this had to be some kind of hallucination brought on by getting her head knocked around.

"Ouji-sama!" she gasped in disbelief. Sure she had seen him in her head pushing her many times but never quite this vividly.

The figure in front of her smiled his trademark smirk. "I don't remember ever having to ask you twice before," the gravelly voice answered.

She struggled to reach her arm out and put her hand on the boot in front of her. Instead of going through it like she thought it came to rest on its surface. Ikari shrieked in fright and yanked the arm back. "How…how are you here?! Why?" she stammered in disbelief.

"You need a kick in the ass do you not?" the scarred face growled, glaring down at her. "I travel across time and the underworld and what do I find? A crying heap of pathetic sprawled on the floor…can't even pick herself up."

"I can't…my leg. It won't work anymore," she whined shrilly, demonstrating the aforementioned limbs uselessness.

"Ooohhh I can't get up. My leg hurts. I have a boo boo," Ouji-sama mocked, waving his hand. "Bullshit! Now drag your sorry ass up this instant!"

Gritting her teeth, Ikari shakily got to her hand and knee. The pain made her want to cry but no way was she doing that in front of him. The gravity increased to its final level and she slammed back down to the ground. No matter how hard she struggled she couldn't budge. She tried ascending into super saiyan two for the power boost but to no avail. The gravity was too great and the damned leg would respond no farther. She reached out for his help and he swatted her hand away with the toe of his boot.

"You disgust me. Can't even pick yourself up. Sorry excuse of a super saiyan." Ouji-sama turned his back to her, a grin spreading across his face as he waited.

Blinding rage built up in the battered girl. The room began to shake as her power skyrocketed, fueled by her anger. The three saiyans outside struggled to stay upright as the room threatened to shake itself apart. Goku alone recognized what this build up was about to lead to. Ikari got to her feet, not even feeling the leg, glaring daggers at the turned back in front of her. She slowly advanced on the figure, unaware her wounds were healing as she moved.

"Don't you dare turn your back on me!" she howled, her power finally peaking and the room filled with blinding light and exploded. The trio of observers pulled themselves out of the rubble and could do nothing but just stare.

Ouji-sama slowly turned around, a genuine smile across his face. "I knew you could do it brat," he said, putting a hand on her shoulder.

Ikari just blinked in confusion. "What? What are you talking about?" he pointed behind her and she spun around in time to see the tail of her super saiyan three around flowing behind her. She screeched with joy and played with it, also admiring how even her tail fur turned yellow and that her wounds were all better now. Ikari couldn't hold the state anymore and dropped back down to normal, turning back to her mate.

"I knew you just need a push. Worked every time," Ouji-sama laughed, patting the top of her head like a cat.

She stuck her tounge out of him. "I always hate when you do that sensei," Ikari grumbled.

He bopped her on the forehead and took her face in his hands. "Sorry kid but it's time for me to go."

"What? Why? I…need you," she whispered, eyes spilling over with tears. She wrapped her hands around his wrists. "I don't think I can do this."

"Oh yes you can. I know you can. Now go, be good and tell my past self hello. Keep an eye on them," Ouji-sama said, tilting his head in the direction of the other saiyans. The girl nodded and he leaned forward, placing a gentle kiss on her lips. By the time Ikari opened her eyes he had vanished, but she could still feel the warmth from his hands. Wiping her face dry and filled with new determination, Ikari ran towards her companions, giant smile plastered across her face.