A/N: I decided not to split this into two chapters, so it's long. But I think you'll like it. Girl Time!

Chapter 26

Litha, Bulma and Chi Chi spent the day shopping, amassing an extensive new wardrobe for Litha. Clothing shopping had been fun for the alien. She enjoyed Bulma's spunk and Chi Chi's comfortable personality. She choose mostly casual clothes, specifically jeans and tank tops, preferring the dark blues and blacks, but Chi Chi talked her into getting a couple dresses. Bulma insisted on some skirts and tops to go with, but, out of everything, Litha's favorites were the shoes. She selected a few practical shoes, including some chucks, a set of running shoes to train in, and a few sandals, but Bulma opened her eyes to the wonderful world of high heels. While she immediately understood they were the most impractical articles of clothing she'd ever seen, she couldn't get enough of how amazing they looked. She eventually settled on two pairs of strappy heels and one high heal boot.

After leaving a few stores with at least 15 bags of clothing, the three women decided to stop for some refreshments. Bulma and Chi Chi were tired from all the walking and chatting, and Litha was exhausted from the overstimulation, so many humans were at the mall and she was constantly bombarded with new scents. She was thankful for Bulma's generosity, but decided there would be no need to return to a mall and go shopping again for a few years.

Bulma direct the other two women into a coffee shop and ordered everyone a drink (five for Litha). Bulma sat down at a small table near the back, her sun glasses and ball cap still on to hide her identity, and took a sip of her coffee. Litha sat next to her with her drinks, some kind of sweet frappe-something, and Chi Chi sat across from them, holding her ice coffee close as she enjoyed the refreshment.

"So Litha, how's life on earth been so far?" Bulma pried, an innocent smile on her face. Litha hadn't said much on their shopping excursion. Simply expressing likes or dislikes for all the various types of clothes the woman presented to her. She maintained a polite attitude, but never said much more than she needed to. She was more silent than both human women had expected her to be and it was driving them crazy.

Litha looked at Bulma, a bit uncomfortable with small talk but decided to humor them, after all it was the least she could do. "It's been nice. I haven't been on a planet for almost ten years. So fresh air and sun are quite pleasant."

"Wow ten years?" Bulma said, "That sounds terrible. I don't know what I would do if I couldn't go outside for ten years." Her expression was not one of pity, but rather wonder, as if she was truly trying to imagine living in space away from everything she loved about earth for that long.

Litha's eyes moved away from Bulma and onto one of the cold drinks in her hand. She held it up to get a better look, then brought it close and sniffed at it. It smelled sweet enough but she unsure why it was so pink and ridiculous looking.

"Go ahead, take a sip, you'll love it." Chi Chi quietly interrupted her thoughts, a reassuring smile on her face. Litha watched as Chi Chi took a sip from her straw, realizing that was how to drink the beverage. She looked back at her sister-in-law, making eye contact, a bit hesitant, and then brought her lips to her own green straw. Fully trusting Chi Chi's judgment, she took a sip and allowed a small grin to cross her face. It was pretty good. She resumed drinking her beverage, allowing Bulma to continue her interview.

"So what have you been doing since you landed?" Bulma waited for the Saiyan woman's answer. Litha's mouth did not leave her straw as her eyes found their way to Bulma's.

"Uh," She started, gulping down the cold beverage, a little embarrassed she was at the center of their curiosity. "I have been working on some of my skills to help with the androids. But honestly, I am nowhere near as powerful as Kakarott… Or even Gohan. I have been trying to figure out how to heal others, and then at least, if I can't fight, I can help anyone who might get wounded." As soon as she was done, Litha resumed sucking down her drink, finishing in one loud slurp. She looked up, a little embarrassed at how much noise she had made.

"Have you made any friends?" Chi Chi asked, searching for a specific answer. Litha looked a bit confused and brought her second drink to her lips. She could sense Chi Chi was looking for a specific answer, but didn't know what it was.

"Well yeah, I guess." She looked at the ceiling, in a very Goku-like expression, "Well you guys, I guess. And probably Kakarott and Gohan." She didn't think her answer was what Chi Chi was looking for when she felt the lack of satisfaction from the woman. Then like a shot she realized what the dark-haired mother was fishing for. She narrowed her gaze at her sister-in-law; a mischievous expression crossed her face, 'Very clever human, I guess I'll have to be more careful around you.' Chi Chi looked up from her drink to meet the Saiyan's expression, returning the smile herself.

"Well you caught me." Chi Chi smiled, Bulma looked from one woman to the other, wondering what it was that had just transpired between them that she clearly missed.

"Caught you doing what?" There was clearly something she had missed, and the looks they were exchanging left her feeling like it was something juicy. "Come on what's going on?" Bulma said after a few minutes of silence between the three.

"Well it seems I can't hide anything from Chi Chi." Litha leaned back in her seat, bit self-conscious that she'd been caught by her brother's mate, but hiding it well.

"Hide what?" Bulma hated it when she was the one lacking the most information in the conversation.

Litha decided she ought to clue Bulma in on their non-verbal exchange as a smile graced her face. "Well, I guess I have become pretty close to Piccolo." She arrogantly admitted, before finishing off her drink. Bulma's eyes widened and Chi Chi's face was crossed with an expression of triumph.

"Close, what do you mean close?" Bulma finally asked.

"I think the better questions is how close?" Chi Chi chimed in, now just as curious as Bulma. Litha maintained her smirk, deciding if she had to divulge this information, she would at least enjoy doing it.

"Very close." Was all she said.

"You didn't sleep with him or anything, right?" Bulma anxiously asked leaning in closer to Litha, "Wait…" She said when Litha remained silent, only her smile left to answer, "Oh Kami, you did!" She practically screamed. Litha brought her third drink to her lips, finishing in one gulp.

"I knew it!" Chi Chi cheered!

"But how? I mean more like, how does that work?" Bulma's voice moved to a whisper as she leaned in, remembering there seemed to only be men on Namek. "I mean I know he's a guy but there weren't any female looking Namekians on the planet… So how's that…." But Litha quickly interrupted her line of thought, not wanting to go anywhere down that path.

"Yes, well, we have slept together. But it only started a few nights ago." She began consuming drink four.

"IT STARTED!" Both humans screamed at the same time, shocked to hear it had been more than once. Litha looked at them like they each grew a second head.

"You mean you've had sex with him more than once?" Chi Chi whispered, totally surprised, she thought they might have slept together once, but she was not prepared for Litha's confession.

"Well I am a Saiyan." She answered, knowing both women would understand her implication. With that they all laughed.

"How the hell did you get Piccolo to sleep with you?" Bulma continued, "He's never seemed to show an interest in anything other than fighting."

"I think he's had a thing for me sense I landed, I know liked him as soon as I saw him. A few nights ago I was injured and I think he's been tracking me. When he found me and saw how hurt I was he offered to help." She finished drink four.

"So you slept with him?" Chi Chi asked, then remembered, "Oh yeah, that's how you heal yourself. But you didn't sleep with Yamcha."

"I was mostly recovered when I took what I needed from the human. The first night with Piccolo, my injuries were such that it would have taken a lot of humans to obtain the power I needed. But he had no problem providing sufficient energy in one night. Piccolo is very powerful."

"Then why did you sleep with him again," Bulma teased, "You like him?" She made sure to drag out the 'like' as much as she could, sounding more like a high schooler than the VP of Capsule Corp.

"Well, it was very kind of him to help me." She admitted, "And he's a very satisfying lover." Giving them both an arrogant look. She hadn't lied, for one as inexperience as Piccolo, he seemed to know what he was doing.

"Oh wow… that is so weird." Bulma leaned back in her chair, both women doing their best to suppress their giggles. "That has got to be the most interesting thing that has happened since that kid showed up to tell us about the Androids." The three sat back enjoying their drinks, content in each other's company and their conversation when Bulma decided to drive the conversation to a new topic.

"So what exactly did Healers do? Vegeta kinda gave us the jest, but he didn't go into much detail, other than that you guys healed, were treated like holy people and that the most powerful married into the royal family." Litha took a moment to tackle Bulma's question. She had never really been asked what her charge was back on her home planet. The Saiyans she grew up with already knew and no other alien ever cared.

"The healers as a sect of Saiyan females, given the gift of the moon. We are allowed by the moon goddess to give life, rather than take it, like most Saiyans are. As babies, we were identified and taken to the pantheon to be taught how to use our powers to heal and guide our people. The most powerful of each generation was taken to the palace to study under the Queen, and then later, that healer married the oldest prince, becoming the new Queen."

"Wow, how romantic." Bulma's eyes glossed over at the thought of palaces and Kings and Queens.

"Yeah, except that she would've had to marry Vegeta." Chi Chi commented, looking at her drink as she spoke. Litha smirked at Bulma, knowing that was exactly why the blue-haired woman was swooning. Bulma blushed a bit, but managed to hide it from Chi Chi.

"Some Healers traveled from village to village, helping those who were injured or sick. But when Freeza showed up with the rejuvenation tanks, we were mainly helped with child birth."

"Really?" Chi Chi asked, "How?"

"Well a man was not typically allowed to be with his mate when she was in labor. Because of the bond they share, and the amount of pain she would be in, he would typically go mad, unable to protect her. Or faint from the pain."

"Oh, maybe that's why Goku fainted when I had Gohan. I just thought it was because he saw the IV in my arm." Chi Chi chuckled to herself.

Litha was shocked and couldn't hide the look on her face. She was impressed her brother hadn't lost control but not surprised he'd fainted. "Well," She continued, "As Chi Chi can tell you, a Saiyan pregnancy and labor can be intense, and a Healer can ease the pain and prevent anything from going wrong."
"That's amazing." Bulam commented.

"Healers also held many positions of power in society. They were often mated with the heads of villages or someone in the royal family, typically in a position of power. We were not only taught how to heal but how to lead our people. Healers were often sought after as advisors and many powerful men would battle each other to win the hand of a healer. That was the roll of the Queen. They were equal partners to the throne, while the King was the acting ruler, there was no decision he would ever make without her consultation first."

"That's amazing. Geeze the way Vegeta talks, you'd never know that was how Saiyans operated. He's always shouting orders at me and calling me 'woman.'" Bulma commented.

"That's because he grew up under Freeza. Women were nothing more than property under his rule. Even females of his own species were only used to gather genetic material for future offspring. I've never actually seen a female Ice-jin."

"Oh how creepy…" Chi Chi remarked, doing her best to suppress the shiver that was trying to make it's was down her spine.

"I was given the privilege to purge planets with the others until I turned nine. At that point I had grown into enough of a woman to be 'reassigned.'" Litha felt both humans become uncomfortable. She watched as Bulma gathered the courage to ask her something, finishing her last drink as she waited.

"You were only nine when he made you a…" She trailed off. Now Litha had their undivided attention, and while being the center of conversation made her nervous, these two eased her strain.

"Yes, Freeza took me from my mother and the other Healers at five and at nine I became one of his prized concubines. I had a difficult life, but survived." She exchanged a look with her companions, letting them know that they could feel comfortable asking her questions, but that she wasn't particularly keen on discussing what she'd been through.

"Well I for one am glad you're here Litha. I always wanted a sister, and you're wonderful!" Chi Chi chimed placing her hand on Litha's, giving it a little squeeze, her love genuine. Litha smiled at the feeling, humans were emotional, loud, touched each other too much and a bit eccentric. But they said what they meant. She returned the gesture with a small smile and a nod.

"Well we'd better get back before dinner, or else there will be nothing left to eat." Bulma stood up from her seat, grabbing Litha's empty cups. Litha and Chi Chi followed her and they exited the coffee shop.