Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ or the characters

The weeks after Vegeta awoke were crazy. The charges had been filed against both Zarbon and Frieza. It was unfortunate that the two men had disappeared since the news of Vegeta waking had hit the streets. Most of the public were saying "good riddance" to the men for what they had done, thinking they'd never return. That was complete and utter crap considering how Frieza operated. They would be back with a vengeance.

More of the force were involved in protecting the Capsule Corp. workers, but Bardock and his small band continued to look after Bulma and those in her inner circle. In addition, Zorn had decided to stick around for a while, and also explained to his parents about what he had learned regarding Freeze Corp. His parents were unsure if they believed him, but Zorn knew exactly what to say. He would quit the company if his parents didn't cut ties with Freeze Corp. They had decided not to heed his warning, so he had followed through with his promise. Now, he was working at Capsule Corp. and also looking after his future niece.

Vegeta didn't really know how he felt about Zorn. He felt as though he kept learning about all these different relatives…his mother's family interfering with his parents' relationship, Rodney being his father's guardian, and now he had an uncle. Not to mention he was still trying to make sense of Frieza being the one to kill his parents and sibling…yet another relative he hadn't even known existed.

Despite all of this, Vegeta hadn't once thought of hitting the bottle. Truthfully, the stuff had already been starting to make him sick. He probably made a mental association with alcohol and the woman at the bar. She had made him feel worse that night, and now the alcohol did too. If anyone had to question, Vegeta also associated alcohol with Zarbon and the substance being forced down his throat. He would never go back to alcohol after this. Seeing Bulma's crestfallen face every time his coma was mentioned was enough to make him want to find Zarbon and end his miserable life…like he needed any more reason to kill the bastard.

Though he wanted to, he knew to let his friends' father do his job. It was bad enough Zarbon had caught him off-guard and he hadn't been able to do anything. Against his doctor's wishes, Vegeta decided to use the weight room at work until he built up his strength again. He would make sure not to let Zarbon get the best of him again.

"You know you're supposed to be resting."

Vegeta sat up and saw Raditz standing there smirking at him. "If it was your girlfriend in danger, you'd be doing this too."

"No doubt," Raditz agreed moving above him. "Need a spotter?"

"Yeah, sure," Vegeta replied. "Why not?"

Raditz had seen Vegeta go into the room alone. He entered because he was worried about his friend. He didn't want anything else to happen to him. Knowing Vegeta, he would overdo it and talking him out of something was near possible, especially when someone he cared about was in danger. "So," Raditz started in attempts to make conversation, "I hear you're on paperwork now."

Vegeta scoffed, grunting as he raised the dumbbell in the air ignoring the pain shooting through his muscles. It irritated him that this had been his warmup not too long ago. "Yeah, Nappa and I switched places," he grumbled. "He and Rodney came to an agreement about me continuing to work. I think this Nappa's way of getting payback since I wouldn't let him do shit when he was injured."

Raditz couldn't help but laugh. "Sounds about right," he teased. "Don't worry; you'll be better before you know it."

Vegeta nearly dropped the dumbbell and was thankful that Raditz had decided to spot him. The older man instantly grabbed the stupid thing and got it away from him. Quickly Vegeta had sat up, angered by his own weakness. "This is bullshit," he hissed.

Raditz secured the weight and then sighed and sat down next to the twenty-six year old. "Vegeta, you were incapacitated for almost a month," he reminded him. "It's going to take a while before you're a hundred percent. You need to take it easy. I'm not saying to not try to work your way back up, but start with less weight or something."

"I don't have time for that!" Vegeta shouted at him. Raditz was stunned by the intensity of Vegeta's gaze. It was the first time in a long time that he had ever seen fear in his friend's eyes. This was serious. "Frieza and the asshole that murdered my family are still out there and they plan to go after my fiancé. I couldn't do shit to the pretty boy. I need to get stronger than I was."

"Maybe not," Raditz remarked earning him a glare. "Just listen, Vegeta. Zarbon's punches, did they hurt?"

Vegeta was about to snap at Raditz again, but then he thought about it. The physical punch hadn't been painful. Most of his injuries were sustained from either where he was hit or how Zarbon had gotten a grip on him and forced him to the ground or pressed him against the building's corner. It had nothing to do with strength. "No…"

"He used skills that probably none of us but my father has," Raditz stated. "Maybe lifting weights isn't what you need right now. Maybe you need martial arts lessons. Dad said he learned from our grandfather."

"Do you honestly think that while Frieza is still out there that your father has any time to train me?" Vegeta questioned to prove a point. "We don't have time for this."

"And you don't have time for this, either," his friend responded motioning to the weight room. "This is your best option. Even if you just learn enough to evade, that will be a big help. Maybe Bulma, too. If it helps to keep you safe…"

Vegeta considered the possibilities and realized that Raditz had made a very strong argument. It would be for the best if they all learned some of these skills. "If Bulma and I have to suffer through this, you and Kakarot will be joining us. Chi Chi and Katie, too. Even Nappa. I don't trust those freaks. If this is what it takes to keep us all safe…"

"I'll let my dad know," Raditz assured him. "Until then, you better get to work on the paperwork. Rodney will be looking for you."

"Perfect," Vegeta grumbled, still sour about his boss and the fact that he upset Bulma. He definitely didn't need to interact with him that day.

"Vegeta!"

"Shit," he muttered. Well, he had spoken too soon.

Vegeta had been irritated when Rodney scolded him for abandoning his post. Of course, Rodney had no idea what was going on. He never knew what was going on. Vegeta decided to change that.

"Oh, shut the fuck up!" he snapped slamming his hands down on the desk as Rodney berated him.

The whole station went dead silent as everyone looked towards Vegeta and Rodney. Everyone was expecting Vegeta to be fired in that moment, but Rodney just stared at the boy with a disproving glare and then suggested they talk in his office. Still, people were expecting Vegeta to be let go.

"I know you and I don't see eye to eye," Rodney started once his door was closed and he was seated, "but do not disrespect me in front of my employees ever again."

"And if I'm ever in a fucking coma again, don't fight with the doctors," Vegeta retorted angrily. "And if you ever tell Bulma that you were trying to 'do the right thing' again, especially when she's already upset enough, I will make your life miserable and talk to you however I damn well please, got it?"

Rodney was a little stunned that Bulma had told him what happened, but then he realized it shouldn't have been all that surprising. "I was trying to make a good decision for you. Neither she nor Nappa was thinking clearly."

"You don't know Bulma," Vegeta growled. "She was perfectly lucid through everything. You have no idea what kind of pain she was dealing with. As for Nappa, he was thinking clearly. He was doing what I would have wanted. He knows what I wanted. If I was a vegetable, yes, take me off the machines, but there was still a chance…and here I am. I'm thankful my father put me in Nappa's care, because he's the one I trust to make life changing decisions for me. Don't ever undermine him again."

"I don't undermin-"

"I've heard the crap you've said," Vegeta hissed. "You've said multiple times that my father made the wrong decision, that Nappa did such a horrible job with me. You know next to nothing about me or my relationship with Nappa. You don't know what he helped me through. Stop trying to insert yourself into my life just because you were my father's guardian!"

Vegeta stood up and was about to leave the office, but stopped once his hand touched the doorknob. "I was at the jewelry store to buy an engagement ring. Bulma found it in my jacket that night. She knew that Frieza sent someone to attack me and was blaming herself while knowing I wanted to make a future with her. And yet she was still able to work on barely any sleep because she was staying with me every night. How's that for thinking clearly?"

The youth left the office slamming the door shut behind him while Rodney stared at his door in shock. Many things had stunned the man into silence…mainly that Vegeta was planning to propose to Bulma the night he got attacked. It also amazed him just how resilient Bulma was under pressure. She had been suffering much more than Rodney had known. Now he could understand why she was so hateful towards him. She clearly loved Vegeta more than anything else, and to think that she was taking the blame for what happened to him… He owed her and Vegeta an apology.

Bardock had been willing to teach them all some martial arts moves. It was a start to their training, training to prepare for Frieza and his right-hand man. Even Zorn had decided to attend the sessions with them.

They were brought to a gym with mats lining the floor and walls. Bardock had begun instructing them in basic self-defense moves. Vegeta, Kakarot, and Raditz were picking the moves up quickly. Surprisingly, Chi Chi was too, but only because she had had some martial arts experience from when she was a child. She hardly remembered anything, but she remembered enough. Nappa and Zorn were doing decently, but they were much older and a little slower on grasping the techniques. Katie and Bulma, well, they were making progress, but not enough in Bulma's mind.

Vegeta could see his fiancé's distress and moved to assist her. Katie went over to Raditz who also decided to help her perfect her form. In the weeks to come, they would all learn how to fight and make changes in their techniques in response to an experienced opponent.

But for now, Bulma was upset and Vegeta moved to comfort her. He embraced her from behind which instantly made her relax. He gently moved her arms into the proper form before he let her got and then moved in front of her. He talked her through the steps of pinning him down to the ground until she was able to complete the cycle on her own. He smirked up at her when she grinned proudly. She was getting the hang of it.

There had still been no news on Frieza and Zarbon. Usually, no news meant good news. That was not the case now. Eventually, Zorn heard from his parents. They had someone look into deals with Frieza's company and realized that the deceitful man was siphoning money from their company. Footage from the night Vegeta was attacked was leaked by someone in the police department, so everyone now knew the truth. It caused the family to withdraw from their contract with Frieza, which from past experience meant someone would be in trouble.

The weapons division was one hundred percent annihilated at Capsule Corp. Again, there were still some weapons in the building in case Frieza showed up, but they were nothing that would cause explosions like the weapons tested in Bulma's old home. Speaking of explosions, Bulma kept thinking back to the explosion that destroyed her family home. After learning what she had abut Frieza, she wondered if he had caused that as well. She wouldn't know for sure until she was face to face with him, and that was only if he told her the truth.

In the meantime, everyone continued with the martial arts lessons. Vegeta had finally increased the amount of weight he could lift. They were all getting stronger while waiting for an attack. Since an attack hadn't happened within the month, Vegeta and Bulma decided to start planning their wedding. Vegeta didn't really have much of an opinion. He made it clear to Bulma that they could have their wedding at a dump with her wearing a garbage bag and he would still be happy. Bulma had almost taken it the wrong way, but he clarified that she was beautiful wearing tattered clothes and that he heard trash bags were quite slimming. It had caused her to laugh and playfully punch him in the arm. After that, Bulma spent more time planning with Chi Chi and Katie and would just tell Vegeta what was happening.

It surprised him when Bulma told him she wanted to get married in a church. He had nothing against that, but he had just been surprised. She told him once that she wasn't all that religious, but recently that had changed. When he asked what had made her change her mind, Bulma changed the subject making him wonder if it had to do with his coma. He would have never known how much he had terrified the night he went out to get plastered. It didn't matter what had reaffirmed her faith. Vegeta just wanted her to have everything she wanted. He would agree to whatever she wanted.

He would not, however, agree to the idea of a bachelor party.

"Aw, come on, Vegeta," Kakarot complained. "We don't have to go anywhere bad."

"I said 'no,' Kakarot," Vegeta snapped as he ate his lunch. "There is nothing I want to do to relive my 'single life.' My single life was fucking hell."

"Then it could just be a night out with friends," Yamcha suggested having overheard. Vegeta shifted his gaze over to him making Yamcha cringe. "Um…what?"

"What do you suggest then?" Vegeta replied. Honestly, if he was going to do anything, it would have to be something low key. Kakarot would go all out with it and Raditz…well…Vegeta really didn't want to go to a strip club. Yamcha had seen Vegeta at his worst, unfortunately. Somehow, he wormed his way into Vegeta's life earning him some sort of friendship status. Where Vegeta would never flat out call him a friend, Yamcha had looked out for him after his worst night and kept it quiet from Rodney.

Yamcha was stunned that Vegeta was asking him something like that. He figured Vegeta would tell him to get lost, but instead he was actually including him. "Um, I don't know. Maybe catch a ball game or something."

Vegeta thought about it for a moment. The last game he remembered going to was when he was five and his father and Nappa brought him out for the day. He remembered having a really good time, but it was something else he avoided after his parents died. A small smile appeared on his face. Yeah, he liked the idea. His parents wouldn't want him avoiding things just because he had memories of them in it. Sure, he'd be a little sad, but it was time to stop avoiding those emotions. "Sure, let's do that."

Bulma basically had everything figured out for the wedding, including the date. It would be at the end of the summer, before September began. The only thing left on her to do list was the thing she was dreading.

Chi Chi didn't want to throw Bulma a bachelorette party that she wouldn't enjoy. Traditionally, well…the girls didn't like to go with the crowd. That meant Bulma needed to think long and hard about what she'd want to do. It needed to be someplace public. Launch needed to be invited considering Frieza and Zarbon were still out there. What would they all enjoy that was public and not in a strip club or bar.

Bulma remembered her mother's bachelorette party story. She had been with her gardening group almost the entire night while her father was with his engineering buddies. The two groups then met up at a laser tag arena and played a few rounds of the guys versus the girls. She needed to ask Vegeta what he thought. That way, the girls could do anything. Facials, makeovers, shopping…and then they'd all meet off and do something childish yet fun.

She smiled thinking Vegeta might actually like something like that. He was pretty competitive. She had never truly noticed until they were all taking martial arts lessons from Bardock. That was where Vegeta's competitive side finally revealed itself. She found it cute on him, especially when he had been so guarded and closed off for the majority of his life. It was like Vegeta was finally getting a chance to be a kid now that he was letting go of the pain.

A knock on the door alerted Bulma. It was Launch, obviously, letting Bulma know that they needed to head out to pick up Vegeta at the station. The two of them were going out for dinner that night to her family's favorite place, just to let her family's friend know she was getting married and he was invited. It didn't matter that Frieza was still out there, honestly, because everyone was ready. Eventually, he would fall, and she and Vegeta could live their lives in peace. Their enemies would turn up eventually.

A/N: I just decided to update this again, even though I'm stuck on Chapter 27 and I wanted to have that ready before posting. I like to have chapters backed up so I can update consistently. Anyways, not the case this time… The idea to the bachelorette party actually goes to one of my RL friends I met through FFN. I was trying to figure out what to do for my cousin's (of course, we didn't do this, but it would have been awesome XD There was actually a lot of drama surrounding it, and I really couldn't do anything about it cuz no one included me in decisions, but eh…lol). So I just wanted to mention that it wasn't my idea and give credit to my friend :)