Updated 05/10/18

When Vegeta came back to Earth, he'd encountered quite a few surprises. The first one, of course, had been that nobody had been home to greet his arrival. He had also been shocked to see how much Bulma had changed, both physically and mentally, during his time away. Nothing could compare, though, to the surprise Vegeta felt when he stepped out of his spaceship after a long day of training and heard a familiar voice speaking to the Bluehead he felt so possessive of.

Bulma was standing in the shade, rubbing her full stomach. At 35 weeks she appeared as if she'd pop any day. She had a semi-flustered look on her face, trying to shield the setting sun from hitting her in the eyes. In front of her stood Yamcha, striking a pose as he muttered something.

Vegeta was already in a bad mood from his training, and just hearing that worm's voice had been enough to enrage him. Now, watching as the scarface tried so blatantly hard to impress Bulma, the saiyan prince was fuming.

The tired mother-to-be, her hair pulled back in a ponytail, caught sight of the Saiyan, who was now making his way across the yard. Their eyes locked, and she smiled. "How was training?" She called, shifting her weight to the side as she held her stomach in place. Vegeta crossed his arms and continued on his path towards her, not speaking a word. He didn't need to reply - the look on his face said it all. Yamcha, surprised at Bulma's tone, looked over his shoulder to see who she was talking to.

Vegeta?!

The fact that the Z-Fighters eyes were now popping out of his skull only worked to amuse Vegeta. He couldn't help but wonder if it was a look of fear, as he fought back the urge to smirk.

"Hey, man! What's the deal?" Yamcha scowled when the saiyan shoved past him, but the he still wouldn't reply. The saiyan found his spot next to the woman and turned to send the Z-Fighter another glare, his arms still crossed. He scowled, waiting to hear what Yamcha had to say, to see what the little pest had come for. How dare Yamcha set foot near his woman and his unborn child!?

Vegeta was feeling protective.

He was feeling possessive.

Scratching the back of his head, Yamcha eyed the saiyan awkwardly and cleared his throat. The couple in front of him looked so natural as they stood side-by-side! There seemed to be no hostility between the two... It just felt wrong!

The last time Yamcha had seen Bulma in person, she'd told him that Vegeta had run off into space, and she didn't know when he'd even return. The Z-Fighter had been so angry to learn that Bulma was still avidly defending the saiyan, even though he had blatantly used her for pleasure and fled. It seemed as if there was no getting through to the girl, and he was losing hope for her sanity. So, imagine the surprise he'd felt when Bulma had called him only a few weeks later to confess her pregnancy...

Pregnant! With Vegeta's child!

The only comfort he had with this news was that at the same time Bulma was telling him all of this, she was vowing that she'd never speak to the "ass of all saiyans" again. She wouldn't tell him what had caused her to change her mind so suddenly, but he was just glad that she finally seemed to be coming to her senses. She had begged him not to tell anyone about the news, and of course he had agreed. Yamcha tried to be nice to Bulma about it - he really did. She was obviously distraught. It had taken him months to come to terms with it. Bulma was his ex-girlfriend, after all. It was just hard to swallow that there would be a miniature Vegeta running around, and that Bulma was going to be its mother...

The situation that Yamcha now found himself in, as he watched the two standing so close to each other, was even harder to come to terms with. Bulma had seemed to hate Vegeta the last time they'd spoken of him. So why did they look more than comfortable with each other as now? Were they back together?

What was she thinking!?

"So-ahh," Yamcha began, unsure of how to act, as he obviously searched for words. Bulma and Vegeta were both staring at him expectantly, and he could swear he saw the Saiyan leaning even closer to her frame. It just wasn't right - this was all so wrong! Why was that spiky-haired creep standing so close to her?!

"What's your business here?" Vegeta's harsh words snapped him from his thoughts. 'How pathetic.' The saiyan was thinking. He had more things to do than to watch this puny worm tremble!

"What's my business here?" Yamcha replied, his shock turning into anger.

'Oh no.' Bulma thought, raising her eyebrows. She could see where this was going, and she really didn't want to witness the two in another fight. The third trimester of pregnancy had been incredibly hard on her, and for the past few days she'd been feeling worse than ever. She was naturally exhausted, aching all over, and had even been suffering from braxton hick contractions on and off for the last two weeks. They'd been particularly bad that morning, hitting her in recurring waves that sometimes made her feel as if she would either pass out or empty her stomach all over the room she was in. She could feel another one starting up in that moment, and the last thing she needed was for the two men beside her to start with some heated altercation. Feeling anxious, Bulma placed a hand to her enlarged stomach and fought back a cringe. Not only did it hurt to touch, but it did not soft like it usually was... It felt hard… Something was off...

"Yes! Tell me why you're here!" Vegeta snapped. The tension in his voice was enough to make Bulma close her eyes with a sigh, her head pulsing from the sound.

"You've got a lot of nerve asking me that, when you're the one who ran off on the girl you knocked up!" Yamcha raised his fists, as if he were preparing for battle.

Bulma let out an even louder sigh, lightly slapping Vegeta on the arm in case he'd forgotten about her presence. "Vegeta, stop being jealous!" She ordered breathlessly. "My dad's been designing a new Capsule Corp car for Yamcha, and he's here to pick it up. That's all!" She turned her attention to the Z-Fighter now. "You, too! Stop bickering! I don't feel good right now, so just try to act like adults! Both of you!"

"Me?!" Yamcha snapped. "I didn't do anything! He's the one who left you!"

If he wasn't so angry, Vegeta would have been amused at how pathetically weak Bulma's slap had been. It was even funnier watching Yamcha cower in front of her. But he was pissed, so he ignored his woman. Turning his attention at the dejected Z-Fighter, Vegeta growled triumphantly. "What's the matter, you imbecile? Are you mad because I train hard that I have to go to space just to find a proper match?" It was now that Vegeta began to sport a sly smirk. "... Or are you still sulking over the fact that I got your girl?" At this Vegeta placed an arm around Bulma's waist for effect, pulling her in with a protective glare.

The look on Yamcha's face was so satisfying. A drop of sweat was forming at his temple, and he was about to open his mouth to respond, but Bulma's shrill voice beat him to it.

"AHH! YOU JERK!"

What? The Z-Fighter blinked in disbelief. Had he seen things correctly? He was pretty sure he'd just witnessed Bulma slap the saiyan across the face with as much force as she could summon. The sound of her palm colliding with his cheek was still echoing through the trees. The woman's movements had been so quick and flawless! Had it even been real?

Sure enough, Vegeta had a hand to his cheek. His eyes wide with shock, he was staring at Bulma in awe. "You... you slapped me..." He was saying. It wasn't that he was hurt – it was more that he was trying to confirm to himself that it had really happened.

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" Bulma yelled back. "I'm not yours, I'm not his! I am not ANYBODY'S GIRL!" Her hands were balled into fists, shoulder trembling, and she turned on her heel to march aww. Well - rather than storming off, she was doing something that resembled more of a quick waddle. She fought back the need to cry out with each step she made, feeling dizzy as she desperately made for the house. Her braxton hick contraction was growing stronger with intensity as she moved, but she needed to get away. She needed to lay down. "I told you both not to fight, but you can't listen!" She called breathlessly as she went, lips curling from the tension in her abs. "You're BOTH acting like CHILDREN!"

"Hey!" Yamcha yelled.

"HEY!" Vegeta snapped. "Come back here, Woman!"

Of course Bulma didn't listen. She disappeared into the house, leaving the two men too stunned to continue their argument. It didn't take more than a couple of seconds for Vegeta to go after her, leaving Yamcha alone in the yard. How dare she make him look like a fool in front of Yamcha - of all people!

–

"Woman!" Vegeta spat as he turned into Bulma's room. "Explain yourself at once!" He hated that Yamcha had the audacity to hang around, and he had really been enjoying rubbing his affair with Bulma in that coward's face. The saiyan knew that the two weren't technically together, but they had shared relations, and she had ruined everything!

Bulma was sitting on her bed, her back leaning against the headboard. Tears were streaming down her face, and seeing them made Vegeta stop in his tracks... It was rare to see her like this, and his anger began to dim from the sight of it. "What are you...? Why are you crying?"

"Because this sucks! I can't bend over, I can't even walk correctly! None of my clothes fit properly anymore! I can hardly get out of bed each morning because I'm so fat that I can't lift my own weight!" She paused to catch her breath, wiping furiously at her eyes. "Do you know how it feels to not be able to tie your own shoes? I can't do anything, and the baby's getting so big, when he kicks it hurts so bad! I'm in so much pain right now – it really hurts - and on top of all that you have to act like such a child and start these stupid fights for no reason! I don't need this!"

Vegeta was considering her words as she yelled at him. He hadn't realized that she could feel so bad in her condition. This was the first time she'd complained about her pregnancy to him at all, and he could emphasize with her confessions. He knew what it was like to feel so undignified. It was the same feeling he had when that idiot Kakarot had defeated him during their battle - or how he had felt when his last dying thought was that Kakarot would be the one to defeat Frieza on Namek. Vegeta understood too well, from his excruciating moments growing up as Frieza's slave and tortured in front of his comrades. He knew what it was like to have one's pride stripped away in the matter of minutes. Watching Bulma sob in such a state - this was her own experience with disgrace. She was fighting her own battle right in front of him, and he hadn't even realized it.

"You don't look bad, Woman." He offered. "You aren't fat. You are with child, you know that."

Letting out a sniffle, Bulma looked up at the saiyan, her eyes puffy and bloodshot. "I feel like I look like a huge cow. I used to be so confident… I used to love the way I felt in a tight dress. Now? Now all I can do is think about how gross I am!"

The saiyan prince crossed his arms in mock consideration. He eyed her stomach thoughtfully, as if thinking it over, and finally shook his head. "There's nothing wrong with your appearance, Woman. Even if you weren't carrying my son, I still wouldn't mind your shape."

She tried to fight back her smile. She didn't want him to know that his opinion of her mattered so much, but it was too nice to hear such things coming from him. "Not really..." She said modestly, looking down to hide her grin.

Vegeta had seen it, though. Those tired eyes lightening with her smile. They always became brighter when she was pleased. 'Great...' He thought. 'She's still mine.' The blue of her irises reminded him of a lake he used to live near on his home planet. He thought of how he liked sitting by it as a very young child while he meditated. It was such a calm, happy place for him to think of. How amazing it was that simply looking into those eyes could spark such a familiar feeling from within...

Suddenly Bulma groaned sharply, breaking the silence that had fallen between the two. "It really does hurt... Something doesn't feel right..." She looked up at Vegeta now, the happiness no longer in her cheeks. "I've been hurting all week, but this pain I'm having is different - it's starting to get so bad!" Vegeta raised his eyebrows with realization of what might be happening. Images from his dream about Frieza flashed back in his mind. He stood frozen, trying to decide on what to do.

"It's not time - it can't be." Bulma groaned, as if she was reading his mind. Her contraction was growing with such sudden intensity that her fingers began to quiver. Her eyes were clamped shut now, and she grit her teeth as the pain in her stomach increased, seeming to radiate throughout her entire body.

Vegeta felt helpless watching the woman struggle, knowing fully well that there was nothing he could do. How could he know how to handle a situation like this?! He hadn't even wanted a child in the first place! Suddenly his mind clicked, and his posture straightened. "I'll be right back." He said sternly, turning and leaving the room.

After what felt like hours - the tight feeling inside her abs seemed to take forever to cease - Bulma fell back on her bed. Although the contraction had ended, her body was still recovering from the shock, and she was feeling incredibly weak from the strain. 'It's too soon for him to come!' She thought in horror as she lay catching her breath. She couldn't deny it, though. This pain was different from all of the Braxton hicks... Suddenly she heard the sounds of anxious footsteps breaking into the room.

"Oh, honey!"

It was her mom.

Bulma wiped at her forehead with her wrist, taken aback to find sweat on it. It was only a matter of time before another contraction came at her, and she was desperately dreading it. Feeling nauseous and not wanting to speak too much, she simply said "I think he's coming."

Vegeta stood in the hallway listening as the women spoke, his eyes tightly shut. He could hear Mrs. Briefs let out a yell, and he acknowledged her footsteps when they darted past him. No, it couldn't be. Bulma had said herself that it wasn't the right time! With her mother downstairs and shouting into the phone, he found himself back in the room and standing by her side. He was helping her to sit up as she warned him about how sick she was feeling. Beside the bed was a trash can, and grabbed it for her just in time for her to hide her face in it as she gagged. How could this be happening already? It was all so surreal that he could hardly even feel the severity of the situation. It was as if he were watching himself from outside his own body as it all occurred. He placed a hand on her back supportively as she continued to heave, his terrified mind wondering how different things would be in only a matter of hours.

It didn't seem like long when Mr. and Mrs. Briefs burst into the room. They were both talking at the same time, and they didn't even acknowledge Vegeta's presence - their attention was understandably focused on Bulma. He slipped into the hallway, unnoticed, standing with his back against the wall. Before long Dr. Plocks was in Bulma's room too, and the saiyan could hear them all speaking to one another.

"It can't be! She's still got another month before he's due!"

"I understand that, Mrs. Briefs, but she's well into labor. The baby is far enough along now that there shouldn't be any health complications, and he's going to come whether we're ready or not. There isn't anything I can do to stop it at this point."

His mind racing just as fast as the people around him seemed to be, the saiyan wasn't sure if he was even breathing. He thought of how it felt when he put his palm on Bulma's stomach weeks ago and experienced those little jabs through her skin. The adoring smile on her face when it'd happened. How terrified he was at realizing, for the first time, what being a father would truly mean. His trepidation for such a commitment...

The pained groans that were traveling through the halls, and it made him clench his jaw to hear it. With every passing second he was being hit with a new emotion, but the one thing he didn't feel was ready.

Who knows how long he had been standing in the hallway, his heart pounding against his chest as Bulma cried from the other room. It could have been hours that he was waiting alone, but suddenly Mrs. Brief's stuck her head out the door and called to the saiyan. "Vegeta. Vegeta! Bulma wants ya! Come quick!"

He obediently followed the blonde woman into the room, his feet feeling much more heavy than he'd ever remembered them to be. The next thing he knew he was standing by Bulma's side again, wiping sweaty hair from her face as she squeezed the fingers on his other hand. She was holding them pretty hard - he thought that if he were a normal human they'd probably be crushed from the force. But he was a saiyan, and her grip was only slightly uncomfortable. The look on her face was pure excruciation, and he wondered if she felt the same way he had when all of the bones in his body had been crushed during battle. Was it the same type of pain? She was handling it pretty well for a human...

The saiyan couldn't bring himself to look at what the doctor had been doing to her lower body. Once again he lost his concept of time, hearing the commotion around him as everyone barked commands. He didn't register any of it, too preoccupied with his own anxieties. He was still fixated on Bulma's determined face, still lost in his own thoughts, when the sound of a baby's cry snapped him into consciousness. Bulma's entire body had been tense, but she suddenly sank into her mattress with an exhausted gasp. Her fingers loosened their grip around the saiyan's rough hand, and she let out a weak sob.

His eyes widened as he listened to the child cough, a brief moment of silence before its wails filled the room once again. When Vegeta finally found the ability to look up to the source of the cries, all he could see was the doctor's back turned to him.

"Amazing, we must have miscalculated how far along you were. There's no way it could be five weeks early, this baby is almost nine pounds!" Dr. Plocks was saying. The doctor was holding the child in one hand and rubbing at him with a damp cloth with the other. He was trying to clean the child before handing him to his mother. The baby yowled, attempting to turn away from the doctor as the cloth brushed against his face. "Strange... he sure puts up quite a fight for being so young," Dr. Plocks muttered, more to himself than anybody else.

Still in shock, the only word Vegeta registered fully was fight.

Fight?

"Hold still, little boy..." Dr. Plocks coaxed, "…Just a little more..."

The baby's little fists were balled tightly against his cheeks, and his little eyebrows furrowed then. He let out another yowl, and he slapped his fist against the doctor's hand, the cloth falling to the floor.

"Ow!" Dr. Plocks snapped, nearly dropping the boy.

Vegeta grinned. He knew the sound of a punch when he heard one.

"Just a coincidence," The doctor explained, turning to face Bulma with the clean baby. He forced a laugh, but it sounded more like a cry of pain. "He'll be trying to find out how to use his arms for a while. He just accidentally hit me, that's all. My, he's got a strong punch! It felt like he almost broke one of my bones!"

Vegeta crossed his arms, smirking now. 'Sure.' He thought. 'Blame it on an accident if that's what makes you feel better...'

Despite Bulma's exhaustion - despite the pain she was still in from the entire ordeal - she felt overwhelmed with joy when the doctor placed the baby in her arms. She looked down at the little half-saiyan that was resting on her chest, instant connection as she locked eyes with him. The baby was surprisingly alert for only being 10 minutes old, and he seemed to be studying her face already.

"Oh..." Mrs. Briefs was whispering in the background, wiping a tear from her eye. "Look at that face!"

The baby had large blue eyes. He analyzed Bulma's features, as if he'd been waiting to see what she looked like for a very long time. She still couldn't believe how alert he was, and it was even making her somewhat uncomfortable. Weren't newborn babies more prone to just sleeping? Wasn't that what they did in the movies?! Was it normal for him to be focusing this well? It was as if he was analyzing her, judging her. Piercing him with that same scowl that Vegeta was so good at sporting. Bulma hugged him close to her chest, weakly smiling down at the baby as he continued to stare.

"Oh, Vegeta," Mrs. Briefs said. "He looks just like you!"

Bulma was still too awe-stricken to say anything. She was just amazed by how intelligent the baby seemed to be. Upon Mrs. Brief's observation, the baby looked up as if he now wanted to see what Vegeta looked like. It was as if he could understand exactly what was being said.

"Vegeta, dahlin', move closer so the baby can see ya!" Mrs. Briefs instructed.

Vegeta, his arms still crossed, obliged. He leaned forward to face his son. How strange it was to be looking at this child - his child! It was nothing like he imagined it to be! In his dream that baby had a black mane of hair, just like a Saiyan. This baby was almost bald, but the hair it did have was purple. He didn't understand what the blonde-woman was talking about. The child looked nothing like him!

The baby seemed to think the same thing. It blinked at Vegeta quietly, and then suddenly his expression changed. A grim scowl spreading across his puffy face, the baby closed his eyes and let out a sad sob.

"Well good going, Vegeta!" Bulma scolded, half joking, as she hugged the baby closer to her. "You made Trunks cry!"