Behind Palace Walls

by NeenaD91

Prince Vegeta has two goals that must go undeterred: Beat Freeza, and clean up his shitty ass Kingdom. He thinks he's making headway until someone he least expects comes along and reminds him to breathe: a concubine.

37. Dawn

Behind Palace Walls ch 37

XXXX

"Bed rest!" Bulma was outraged and her husband, finally calm, sat beside her and opened her canister of pudding. He handed it to her, along with a spoon and napkin. "Vegeta, I can't be on bed rest. Not now anyway." She accepted the pudding graciously. "The gravity machine…it's not finished yet."

"None of that matters now," he was still calm when he grabbed a pitcher on a near-by counter and refilled her glass of water.

"What do you mean none of that matters now? We're in the heat of battle! If I don't finish it, then what are you going to do? What are your men going to do?" her heart monitor was beginning to beep impatiently and Vegeta's attention was drawn to the screen before his gaze settled on his mate.

When she came to, it was as if nothing happened not hours before. Instead of awaking with worry she was delighted that Vegeta was the first thing she laid eyes on. Two minutes later, she was sitting up, full of energy, almost as if she took a cat nap and had not experienced the awful hemorrhaging Bardock explained earlier.

Vegeta had asked Bardock if he could break the news to her about her bedrest seeing that they had other things to discuss. So Bardock excused himself after the nurse brought Bulma her dinner to let the couple have their privacy.

Bulma ate and Vegeta watched her silently, managing his relief that she was ok and simultaneously trying to find the best way to break the news of her departure to her. She meanwhile talked to him about her dreams, apparently while she was out, she had her first dream about the baby.

She said he was chubby and cute, and he had her eyes and Vegeta's chin; complete with a winning personality (and by winning she of course meant that he was stubborn). She recalled holding him in her arms and the way that he laughed, and how excited everyone was to have him there. Vegeta could hear the excitement in her voice; it was the only time he had heard her excited to have this baby.

She had no idea that she was breaking his heart, because in due time he had to tell her that she was out of time, and she needed to go home.

Stalling on the inevitable news, he decided to begin with the news of her bedrest and that of course was going over swimmingly.

"We'll be fine. You need to worry about getting better." Vegeta set down the pitcher and Bulma pouted down a bite of pudding.

"You're being unreasonably understanding, which is not one of your better personality traits." She pointed out. "What's gotten into you?"

He exhaled through his nostrils. "Nothing," he lied while resting his hand at the back of her curls and pulling her in for a kiss. "There's just…nothing more important than you and our son. Your safety is everything to me right now."

"Aww Vegeta, that's sweet." She melted at his touch and took another bite of pudding. "But I promise, we're in no real danger. All I need to do is work from a computer. I promise, no more heavy lifting."

"No Bulma."

"Ok, ok, what ifffff, we wheel a bed in the lab and then put a computer on my lap? Then will it work?"

He gave her a terse look and she abandoned her pudding to dramatically smash her head in the confines of his chest. "Vegggeeettaaaaa," she whined and he rubbed her back. "Do you know how it feels to have your single greatest project put on hold? Especially when it's almost done?"

"Oh, so this is about you then?"

"No!" she barked defensively. "Not really…well…maybe a little. Just a tinnneeeyy bit," she pinched the air between her thumb and index finger for emphasis. "But most of this is about you. It's about finishing this machine so you can train to beat Freeza. I have to do this."

"You have to get rest," he insisted. Maybe it was best he saved their chat about returning home for tomorrow. She was too overwhelmed about her incomplete project. "Now no more of this. Be still and let your food digest."

Now Bulma rolled her eyes. If he was this overbearing about a small stay in the infirmary, how would he be when she finally gave birth?

"A wreck if I'm being honest," he answered her internal thought. "Which is why you need to get rest. For both of our sakes."

She rolled her eyes again and snuggled in the bed while he removed her tray. "Finnnneeeeee," she bit, though she was internally happy for his attention. "Will you lay with me?"

He kicked off his boots and laid down next to her without question. Bulma smiled and snuggled to his chest while Vegeta rested his chin atop her head.

"Are you excited about this baby Vegeta?" Bulma asked after a momentary lapse of silence.

Vegeta made a weird noise, like a whine and a growl were trying to escape his belly at once. Apparently he was the only one sweating grenades at the medical improbabilities it took to bring a baby into this world. Bulma could feel his unease; not at his lack of his excitement but rather his presence of worry and so she rephrased her question.

"Ok, ok, let's say that I was a regular Saijin woman with a normal pregnancy, then would you be excited for our baby?"

The whine/growl shifted to an unsure hum. "Ok, ok, let's say that I was a regular Saijin woman with a regular pregnancy and your people liked me. Then would you be excited for our baby?"

He couldn't help but let a smirk escape him. Now was not the moment to take away her joy. "Go to sleep woman," he said instead and Bulma eased in to begin her bedrest, knowing he was excited anyway.

XXXX

Not forty-eight hours in and she was going crazy.

Yesterday morning Bardock had her moved to her suite with strict orders: She must eat on a firm schedule five times a day and finish her food; and she is not to get up from bed unless it is to pee, shower, take one walk around the third floor or do her stretches.

Just like the last time she was on bed rest, books and movies littered her surrounding areas and on the first day she had managed to let them entertain her. The hemorrhage and her all-nighter two days before knocked out some of her energy and so she spent most of her day napping. But she still dreamed about the chamber and the work she had left to do. In her dream she was walking about the lab with the zeal of a woman in charge. She had a clipboard, a coat and a pen, and she used them all to direct traffic towards the machine. She woke up before she could see the ending so naturally on day two books and movies were no longer of interest to her. Nothing could take her mind off of the gravity chamber.

Radditz, her coworkers, and the port workers had pressed on working without her and now at the end of the work day she could feel her skin was beginning to crawl from her lack of presence.

The maidens entered her room again to begin setting up for dinner, while two more came and entered her closet. They were busting about in there at breakfast and lunch too and Bulma wondered what the hell that was about but she was more focused on Mozzar and Yarmit outside her door. She wondered how long it would take her if she wolfed down dinner and then ran to the lab to check on progress.

"Don't even think about it," Vegeta entered her head without warning and Bulma's mouth fell open at his treachery. She huffed and snuggled the comforters closer to herself as if he was watching her too.

"I'm not thinking anything," she fought back in her head. "I'm just wondering if the maidens were brining some chocolate cake for dessert is all."

"If you want dessert, I'll call and have someone bring it for you. You already took your stroll around the palace for today and Bardock said you're not to—"

"I know, I knoowwwww," she angrily snatched the remote and flicked on the TV. "Sheesh, is that what you're going to be like when we're parents? I think I liked you better when you were threatening to kill me."

She could feel Vegeta's warm laughter. "That can be arranged."

"Don't you have some training to do?" She would never find a way to get out of here if her husband was constantly monitoring her in her head.

"Hn'…I mean it Bulma. Do not leave that bed."

"I won't, I won't, scout's honor." She saluted two fingers to her forehead.

"Good. Save me a piece of cake."

It took awhile before he was busy enough to not pay attention to what she was doing. She took that moment to strike, ripping the comforters from herself and dashing to the door.

There Yarmit and Mozzar stood on either side. "Hey fellas," she grinned with all 32 teeth. "How's it going?"

"Forget it your highness," Mozzar responded before she could ask. Bulma's face fell with disappointment. "We've been ordered to make sure you stay right where you are."

"Oh shucks, c'mon guys. Vegeta didn't really mean all day," she waved a flippant hand. "I just talked to him, he said he wants me to meet him downstairs."

"If he wanted you to move he would have ordered us to move you," Yarmit tapped his scouter and Bulma pursed her lips. Damn he was good. He knew she'd try to escape and she was currently too big to shimmy down the balcony.

"So this is how it's gonna' go down guys? After all we've been through?" Bulma was desperate now, she'd try anything to get out. "I thought we had a working relationship here. Vegeta tells you one thing, I tell you another…"

"Sorry," Yarmit spoke up again. "Not this time."

Bulma sighed, almost defeated until her saving grace appeared in her head. "Fine, well if you won't let me leave, then can you bring something to me?"

The guards exchanged looks. They hadn't remembered bringing things to her being apart of the rules. They simmered on her request and Bulma could see they were coming around.

"What do you need?" Mozzar finally asked and she almost did a victory leap.

XXX

When Radditz entered her room she was perched at the edge of the bed anxiously awaiting his arrival. He looked like he was in the middle of something; there were workman's goggles atop his head and his face had the same look of aggravation she had yesterday. The I-desperately-need-to-finish-and-what-is-the-hold-up aggravation.

"You?" he said when he came in and saw her smile. "I thought it was Vegeta that needed me. What do you want?" Radditz removed his gloves and thought twice about shutting the door behind him.

"Do you have a laptop? Or is there one in the lab?" she got straight to the point.

"Yeah…"

"Great, so here's what we're going to do. You're gonna bring me the laptop, and I'll video chat you in the lab. Then I'll walk you through how to give me remote access from the lab's computers. That way we can video conference my dad and finish up this whole thing right from my bed!"

She finished with a triumphant grin as her plan was genius; and she was proud she was meeting both needs. Bed rest, and finishing planet Vegeta's greatest invention.

Unfortunately for her, Radditz didn't see it that way. He gave her an incredulous look followed by a haughty snort. "Are you nuts? I'm not bringing you anything!"

"Ugnuh! Radditz! Why not? You need me to finish this thing!"

"We're…pressing along," he said rather unconfidently. Truth was, they were doing their best to configure the technology with Dr. Briefs instructions but he was so knowledgeable and the rest of the team was so…unknowledgeable. The inventor was getting frustrated at having to explain instructions step-by-step and in vivid detail. "In fact, we're almost done." Maybe that was a stretch.

"Perfect, then we can get this done tonight! At least my part. Bring me the computer and it will be a cinch. I already know what needs to get done, just let me do it."

"No way Bulma, Vegeta will have my head."

Now she snorted and leaned back on her palms on the bed. "Seriously, you're afraid of that guy?" she tossed him a careless wave. "I thought you told me you didn't care what he did."

"Don't play devil's advocate here," he pointed a stern finger at her. "I know what you're doing and the answer is no." Bulma rolled her eyes. "Unlike Kakkarot, I'd rather not spend any of my valued time in a cell thank you very much."

"Fine," Bulma sighed and then examined her finger nails. "If you can't help me than I guess I'll just have to tell Vegeta what you told me."

The former warrior snorted again. "About me not being afraid of him? Go ahead, what's he going to do?"

"No," she chided. "About you and Vanessa…two years ago…Goku's anniversary party," she lingered on the last word in a sing-songy voice and a look of realization came upon Radditz's face, causing him to slam the door closed.

"What the fuck Bulma, I told you that in confidence!"

"I don't know," she sighed. "Now I'm not feeling so confidential. I mean I have nothing to do around here but laze about and recall all the conversations I've had with everyone." Radditz scrunched his lips into a tight wad. "About sex."

"Alright, alright, alright, alright! I'll do it dammit"

"Weeeeeee!" She bounced up and down from her seat on the bed.

"But if Vegeta kills me, you're going to have to explain it to my mother."

"Yeah, yeah just hurry up already, we don't have a lot of time left."

Radditz grumbled in a response and opened the bedroom door again. Before leaving he remembered something and whipped back around. "And you're paying for my funeral too!"

XXX

It turns out she didn't have to call her father after all because Radditz was right; they were almost done. Just a few more tweaks on her part and another coat of paint and the gravity chamber would be done.

Bulma could smell it; she just needed a few good hours on the computer and she was confident she could finish.

She was typing with enough fever to pound the keys right out of the board while sweat permeated Radditz's already soaked shirt. He would ask her periodically if she was finished yet and Bulma would silence him with a harsh "shh," finding it difficult to balance working from the computer and blocking Vegeta out from her head simultaneously.

It was a dangerous game she was playing; she knew he'd catch onto what was doing eventually and would then barge in to find her but by that time, Bulma was hoping there'd be nothing left to worry about.

"Are you finished yet?" Radditz asked for the sixth time in two hours. She didn't have time to glare at him but her pressed face told him she was more than irritated.

Bulma didn't look up from the computer but blindly reached for her glass of water and took a sip. "Radditz, why don't you do something productive while you wait."

"Like what?"

"I don't know; check your emails or something." She was still typing, while her eyes scanned the codes flashing across the screen in milliseconds.

"Check my emails?" It was a smart idea actually; he was waiting to hear back from his medical program any day now. So the warrior sighed and reached for the spare laptop. Just as he pried it open however, an urgent beeping flashed in front of his eye on his scouter.

Radditz clicked it twice and ironically, an urgent message almost blinded him. It was addressed to he, Goku and his father, and it called for their meeting in the throne room at once.

"Shhhiiiittttt," Radditz's heart began to hitch in his throat. How could Vegeta possibly know what he was up to that quickly? He then suddenly remembered the update Bulma had done to his scouter which put a tracker out on his location and synched with the others.

Now Radditz paled.

His lack of movement finally caused Bulma to pause, but only for a millisecond and she was still typing.

"What?" she asked. The warrior didn't speak, he only gulped. "What? What? What is it Radditz? What happened?"

"Nothing," he lied to her and then his face became grim. "I have to go for a few minutes. Stay here and finish what you're doing ok?"

"Well yeah I wasn't planning on going anywhere but where are you going?"

"To face my maker," Radditz thought in his head but he shook his head as a response. "Don't worry about that; just stay here ok? And finish. Fast."

Bulma wanted to ask more questions but the warrior was already half-way out the door. She took a deep inhale and a long exhale, hoping that Vegeta wasn't on their tails.

XXX

Radditz was almost sure he was going to die; and he was going to perish in front of his father and baby brother too.

There were times when he wondered why Vegeta had to be so vile and cruel but when he thought about the many ways he pushed the Prince's buttons, perhaps he could find reason in it.

He lingered on his way to the throne room, theorizing for a moment his possible modes of escape but there were none; and he was no coward. If this was his moment to die then he would do so honorably.

When he finally reached the throne room, he could already feel his father and brother's presence inside. Their ki's read normally enough; so did Prince Vegeta's but that was just the lion disguising his prowl. Radditz knew the room would be chaotic in a matter of minutes.

With one final deep breath, Radditz pushed open the doors and found the dark room almost empty. The thrones were unoccupied which meant that they were sitting at the situation table on the far side of the room.

"Nice of you to take your sweet time to finally join us," Vegeta snapped as the warrior entered and took his ushered seat. Apparently the term "at once" was relative.

"Hurry up Radditz, we've been waiting on you," Goku added, anxious to get on with the urgent briefing. He didn't do so well waiting to hear important news. "Vegeta has something important to tell us."

"More like something important to show you," the eldest brother thought but took a seat instead, his eyes never leaving the Prince. He felt like prey as Vegeta's grim expression followed him with hard eyes. The Prince had the face of someone who had to do something he was not thrilled about; like killing a friend.

"Where were you?" Bardock asked and Radditz scratched his nose.

"I uhhhh…I was…working on the chamber." It wasn't a complete lie; though he was sure Vegeta was the only one who already knew that.

"Where?" The Prince asked and Radditz was sure his heart rate was going to break his scouter. He knew the Prince knew. And the Prince knew, that Radditz knew that he knew. He was certainly angry, but unfortunately for Prince Vegeta, he didn't have the time to threaten Radditz's life in the proper way that he wanted to.

When Radditz wrestled with his conscious about lying or telling the truth; he found a folder slid in his direction. Two more folders were passed to his brother and father as well.

The men opened them immediately—Radditz a little more careful to open his—but they staggered to find their galactic passports, an itinerary, and Bulma's medical reports, all jammed in the file.

"What is this?" Goku asked. He found the passports for his wife and son as well.

Bardock however was the first to peruse the file and conclude what was happening. "You're sending her home?" he asked, and Vegeta's jaw clenched, causing his look to harden further if at all possible.

Vegeta was standing and he gripped the chair in front of him. "He knows," he confessed, almost tearing out the interior of the chair.

That caused all three men to look up from their files. "Freeza?" Radditz had finally calmed, now assured that his life was in no immediate danger, but suddenly their planet was.

"But that's impossible! I got Bulma out of there in record speed. There's no way he could have seen her." Goku replayed the events of the attack in his mind, going over every possibility of how anyone could have seen them. She was wearing the cloaking scouter and as soon as Mozzar gave him an affirmative on her position, he was in and out in a second.

"That fucking rat bastard Nappa," Vegeta was now tearing into the chair and he slid another paper down to the trio; this one encased in a clear evidence bag. It was an email from the soldier to the Icijin army, in response to a threatening email he had received himself. The original was a threat on the life of Vegeta's mate and Nappa's response was a warning of Vegeta's impending rage if they were to ever lay hands on the coming generation. Accompanying his email were clips taken from the footage outside Amalgi's shop both before and during the battle, in which the angle caught Bulma's protruding belly in just the right sunlight, and another caught Vegeta's flaming gold hair.

When Vegeta's council caught wind of it this morning, they were outraged that an outsider was pregnant with the future heir of their planet and ordered for her immediate execution. Vegeta took it into his hands to mercilessly execute the two old cretonnes who had the audacity to declare such an order to his face before he got the rest of his council under control.

Still outraged, they insisted that Nappa was only acting in the planet's best interest, and subtle warnings were not uncommon in times of war.

But Vegeta knew better. The original email was completely bogus because no one, especially the Icejin army, was privy to his mating nor Bulma's pregnancy except his immediate family, the Sons, and those on a need-to-know basis. Unfortunately, because Nappa was formerly tied to his father, he was included in the later. And even more unfortunate, his responding email was not so bogus.

Months earlier when Vegeta threatened his father's life and King Vegeta went on the reprieve, the King's reclusiveness meant he no longer had tasks for his seedy right hand Nappa to do, thus leaving Prince Vegeta to fire him. Nappa spent his days sending threatening emails to the palace which had gone ignored and so now he decided to direct his attention to the one thing he knew they couldn't. He was doing anything he could to get back at the Kingdom and thought this would kill two birds with one stone: the execution of a half-bred perversion and Vegeta's crushed heart.

Vegeta called for Nappa's immediate arrest and the soldier was locked in a cell awaiting his sentence, but the Prince didn't have time to deal with him right away. According to his intelligence unit, Freeza was aware of the email and was now reorganizing his strategy. Which meant that the Prince had to act now.

"Jesus…" Radditz said once he saw the email and once again analyzed the Prince's distraught fury. He knew at some point the Prince would have to send her home but he could tell Vegeta didn't think it would be this quickly.

"I have a ship prepared to take her home at dawn," the Prince regained as much composure as he could and continued to brief his men. "I need each of you to accompany her and stay with her on Earth until the baby is born. I will handle things here."

Suddenly Goku shut his folder and stood up. "Vegeta," he said. "I can't go, you need me here. I can help you. We can take down Freeza together."

"I'll be fine with Turles and Brolly. I need you to make the journey to Earth."

"Turles and Brolly haven't fought alongside you as long as I have—they don't know the strategy. We can train now and get Freeza today, I can feel it Vegeta. I know we're ready."

"No Goku." That gave Goku pause. The Prince only called him that when he needed a favor from a friend. "You have to go with her. Take your family with you; keep them safe."

"Vegeta—"

"Goku if Freeza slips from my grasp then what?" Now Goku stopped to catch the desperation in his eyes. "You're my only line of defense and he will go after her. Not only that, but he'll destroy her home planet, and her family." Goku sighed thinking of the kind of devastation it would bring his own wife to know that her family and home planet were destroyed by Freeza. "I can't let that happen. You have a relationship with the people on that planet, they will understand and they'll trust you; I trust you." The warrior nodded. "I need you to protect her. For my son."

Goku could feel his instinctual drive to fight being bit down by his need to protect. His counterpart was right and he knew it was in his best interest to sit this one out, as much as he knew he could be an asset on the battlefield. "Ok," he said ejecting his disappointment and accepting his responsibility. "I'll do it."

"Good," Vegeta wanted to say thank you, but he was working through rage and devastation at the same time. "The ship will leave at dawn; be prepared to leave by then. I will call Bulma's father and let him know of your arrival."

Radditz checked his watch; it was a few hours from midnight and he and Bulma wouldn't have much time to finish if their departure was at dawn.

"Do you need help with that phone call?" Bardock asked the Prince while Radditz quickly gathered all of his papers in his file.

"No…thank you. I think I need to take a walk."

Suddenly, the six-foot-four solider clamored from his chair and began to jet out of the throne room.

Bardock raised a curious eyebrow at his behavior. "And just where are you going?"

"I uhhh, I have to pack!" he called after them and then he was gone.

XXX

When Radditz slid back into her suite Bulma would have otherwise been surprised but she was too busy typing her computer to shreds.

"Are you finished yet?" he asked for the millionth time, which would have normally sent Bulma over the edge but this time she had good news.

"I'm actually almost done," she said, going over some of the chamber's final codes. "Just give me a few more minutes…"

Radditz seemed to be hopping on his feet, checking his watch and glimpsing out the balcony to the beach below. "Ok, yeah that's great but I need you to finish like now."

"I'm finishing, I'm finishing, don't get your panties in a wad," Bulma defended lamely and kept reviewing her codes, entering a few more things on the computer. "Where did you go anyway?"

"Don't worry about that, just finish!"

"Annnnnndddddddddd….."she typed a few more things. "IIIII'mmmm….done." she hit enter and a beep confirmed her entry.

"Done?"

A few more beeps and clicks from the computer, before it made a long scratching sound; the sound of a system beginning to work.

Bulma gazed at the screen intently, ignoring Radditz's hopping feet and then the moment she's long been waiting for arrived. Her computer refreshed and came to life with Capsule Corp's insignia, before bringing her to the chamber's home screen.

"Welcome Bulma Briefs," the computer said to her and Bulma's mouth fell open in awe.

"Oh my God! Oh my God! I'm done! I'm done! I did it! It's done!" she clapped with joy and bounced on her bed with all the energy her bed rest would allow, then looked to Radditz for his reaction.

"Great let's go!" He was scooping her up in his arms before she got the chance to properly eye him down and they were jetting out of her bedroom at record speed.

"Hey! Where are you going?! Radditz! Put me down!"

"Hey!" Yarmit called after him. The guards were startled by the force he used to push them down and jet the heiress down the hallway. "Come back here! Where are you taking her!"

"We gotta make sure this thing works, then I promise I'll put you right back," Radditz briefly explained, while simultaneously balancing Bulma and her laptop in his arms and flying at record speed down to the lab.

Thanks to his elite training he was much faster than the security guards and thanks to his cloaking scouter he was able to disguise himself once he hooked a corner. But he knew they'd be able to trace Bulma's ki, and of course alert the Prince who would find them in a matter of moments so he had to work fast.

He set her down gently in a chair and then used some nearby piping to seal the door, before wheeling her out to the chamber.

It was massive; standing tall among the three-story garage, seemingly waiting for someone to bring it to life. There were still wires and tubing hanging around the bottom of the chamber but those would be removed once it was ready for lift off.

"Alright Briefs," Radditz said. "We have about five seconds before your boyfriend gets here. Let's see how much of a genius you really are."

Bulma smiled and opened her computer, which again brought her to the home screen that synched with the chamber. Using her computer like a remote, she pressed "On" and suddenly the chamber's engines began to stir a low roar.

Banging on the front door interrupted their test run, but it was slowly being drowned out as the engines got louder and louder.

"Perfect," Bulma smiled with giddy excitement. She had the urge to press all of the buttons she possibly could.

Navigating the home screen to another platform, next she turned on the gravity, and the inside of the chamber began to hum.

"How much pressurized gravity do you have in the training rooms?" she asked Radditz.

"100 times normal gravity"

She pressed "100" on the computer and the humming inside got louder. Once it hummed without sparks or failure for a few moments, she entered, 200, then 400, then 600, then 1000. The machine was glowing red from the inside, a sign the pressurized gravity was working, and that the windows were holding well from the pressure.

Nothing was melting, nothing was imploding, and no sparks flew from the machine, it was a near perfect test run.

"My God, I can't believe it's working! I can't believe we did it!" She shut the engines off and continued to play with the gravity, increasing the pressure steadily to make sure the machine could hold.

"I gotta' give it to ya Briefs," Radditz shook a proud head. "I didn't think you could do it."

Bulma laughed a happy laugh, because she felt in this moment no greater sense of accomplishment. "I don't know why you doubted me Son," she was now standing and nudged him on the shoulder. "I told ya' I was smart."

Radditz smirked and took a walk around the chamber to check its components, then peered inside to make sure the computers and internal furnishings were intact.

"How does it look back there?" Bulma shouted and Radditz hovered over the machine and gave her a thumbs up.

"All clear!"

She was beaming from ear to ear.

"Hey, we should get Vegeta and Goku so they can take it for a little spin."

"Eh hem," a cleared throat behind her told her that the pair was not alone and that someone had clearly entered the large open area in the garage.

Bulma turned around, not surprised at all to find Vegeta—and an angry Yarmit and Mozzar behind him. Radditz lowered himself sheepishly to the ground and held his hands up in defense.

"I can explain," he said but Bulma was still smiling as she approached her mate. She hadn't even noticed his lack of anger. It seemed Yarmit and Mozzar were the only ones furious at their wild goose chase to retrieve the heiress.

"Vegeta," Bulma nearly bounced up to him. "Vegeta look it's done! We finished it! Isn't it great!" she showed him the panel's home screen on her laptop and Vegeta meanwhile eased her back into the rolling chair.

"Bulma you shouldn't be out here, you're supposed to be on bed rest."

"I know but look, look," she was excited to show him everything she had done. Up until today she had lost all enthusiasm in sharing her project with him but now that she had completed it and it was a shining testament to her genius, she couldn't wait to show it off. "Look at how high the gravity capability is; that's 500 times more than what you have in your training rooms!"

"Uh huh…" Vegeta would give her the moment to bask before he had to bring her to reality.

"Oh and the bots! There's two training bots at your command and they have the capability to shoot ki's and analyze your strategies. They give you a comprehensive analysis of all your sessions with tips to improve." She was out of breath from the amount of excitement or perhaps in was her intrusive belly weighing her down from the flight. "Oh, oh, oh! And the training simulations! Vegeta, you have to get in there and test one out!"

Vegeta gently took the computer from her hands and passed it off to Mozzar.

"Maybe later woman," he said and her smile fell into a look of stupor.

"Later? Vegeta, this is monumental! C'mon, you can't tell me you're not thrilled about this!"

He wanted to be, but not now when he was about to crush her heart. He was beginning to wish he had never agreed to have her make the damn thing in the first place.

"C'mon," he said and scooped her up into his arms. "We need to talk."

Now her high was beginning to fall. "Talk?" she instinctively rested a hand to his chest and searched his face for answers. "Talk about what?"

He rubbed her back in reassurance but didn't answer her. Instead he turned to Radditz, whom he should pummel to the ground for coercing his mate to get out of bed but instead he found himself to be more forgiving these days. "Grab your brothers and test out the capacity of the machine; as far as either of you can take it." Radditz nodded an affirmative. "Then be ready for dawn tomorrow."

Vegeta began to walk away with his mate who could finally rest comfortably in his arms because she knew this was the beginning of Planet Vegeta's victory and a new beginning for her little family.

XXX

Bulma babbled the whole way about the gravity chamber and its revolutionary capabilities, reciting tips and tricks he could use to again reach the legendary and sustain his power. Vegeta was impressed at how much she had learned about Saijins and Saijin energy in her brief time inventing the machine but he never doubted that anything she created would better he and his people. Her work was a true testament to how much she had come to care about her new home.

When they reached the planetarium, Bulma had finally stopped rambling because she hadn't realized that he was brining her here; she thought they'd wind up in their suite.

"Hey," she took a beat to look around. "What are we doing here?"

When Vegeta had secluded himself to the planetarium, he got rid of the junk and had converted it into a functional bedroom. It was far less luxurious than his own bedroom but had all the necessities and the best view in the entire palace.

The dome was open and the couple was under a show of stars, which always managed to silence them both.

Vegeta set her down on the bed before removing his shoes and gloves and crawling in next to her.

Bulma exhaled a satisfied sigh and laced her fingers with his. "You know when we separated I think you cheated me to get the better bedroom," she said and Vegeta chuckled while his spare hand found her belly.

He was fighting with himself to just come out with it but this moment was too perfect; she was too perfect.

Bulma turned on her side and propped her head in her hand, using the other to pet her mate's chest. "Are you happy?" she smiled. Her eyes danced with the kind of life he hadn't seen since he first kissed her. She was the innocent, vibrant girl she was when she met him, except now she had a moment of accomplishment. Something she's been looking for since she arrived on his planet.

He desperately wanted to tell her yes. Anything about her happiness made him happy. But on the inside he was tearing away, piece by piece, knowing that these moments would be their last.

"Bulma," Vegeta's hand moved from her belly to her cheek and she was still smiling. "I have to tell you something."

"What?" she pressed her nose to his chest to inhale his smell. She loved this time of day when his training was done and he was ready for a shower; that's when he smelled the best. "Don't tell me that you're going to stay up here again. It's ok, you can sleep with me in the bedroom again. Promise I won't kick you at night," she giggled.

Vegeta exhaled his chuckle and took her hand in his. It was time to rip off the band-aid. "Bulma it's not…safe for you…here. Anymore."

The planet suddenly stopped spinning. "What?"

"The baby…Bardock says that we're running out of time for safe space travel and he needs the guidance of your doctors on Earth. He can't deliver the baby here."

"Oh…." Bulma had always foreseen that outcome. After all it was the plan to finish the machine and go home before the baby was born. But now hearing it out loud made it tangible. And she thought after her spat with her father she'd never touch that idea again. "Well how much time do we have?" She found herself clutching his shirt, a grip that was resisting to let go.

"Not much," he said quietly. "A few weeks."

"Well…ok. I'll stay on bedrest for next few weeks. Then maybe I'll have enough strength too—"

"It's not only that it's…Freeza."

Her spit gathered in the back of her throat. "Wha…what about him?"

Vegeta looked down in shame before he found the courage to look her in the eyes again. "He knows. Knows about you, and the baby. And it's not safe for you here anymore."

"Oh…"

Bulma's first reaction was to scream but she held that down. Her second was to cry but she held that down too. She also bit down the urge to punch her husband, irrationally upset that he had brought her troubling news on a perfect evening but it took one click in his mind to find out that he had just come across this information and was overwhelmed by it's timing. She could feel the tugging at his conscious, the small part of him he never listened too, urging him to let her go. And she could feel his resistance, revisiting every detail of their present circumstance to find a loophole in which she could stay.

But he couldn't come up with anything. Their time was up.

And so Bulma clutched harder to his shirt and drank in his smell. She wanted to absorb every ounce of him; every last drop until she had to say goodbye.

"How long do I have?" her voice was beset with gloom, and he kissed the top of her head while his tail snaked around her thigh.

"Until dawn"

Bulma's eyes met his in a flash. "Dawn?" A ruined dream came tumbling around her, leaving a divot deep in her heart. Vegeta tried to hid the morbid sadness in his own but he couldn't; he wanted her to know he was sorry without having to say the words aloud. Bulma never lost contact and used her bond to do her best to soothe him. This was not his fault. They both knew this day was coming and unforeseen circumstances brought it closer than expected. In this moment she could only accept what her mate was trying to do for her and ease his mind that everything would be ok. She didn't have time to break because she refused to spend her last few hours with her Prince in saddened shambles.

There was silence in the room for a few minutes, the only sound being the sound of their synchronized breathing. After a few more minutes Vegeta thought it best to continue to prepare her.

"Bulma you need to call you father and let him know you're coming."

"I don't want to talk to him now," she said. She was turned into her mate, patting him on the chest and squeezing tears back in her eyes. "I'll call him from the ship."

Vegeta said nothing to affirm her but he heard. He moved his tail protectively around her waist and cupped the back of her neck. Though it was Bulma this time who reached up for a kiss.

"Tell me a story Vegeta."

"I don't know any," he lied. He knew plenty but in this moment he wanted nothing more than to sit here with her in his arms until dawn; he didn't want to talk.

"Tell me about the day you first met me."

Vegeta released a low chuckle. Back then he had thought that to be the most chaotic day of his life. Little did he know what chaos was in his ignorance.

"I thought that'd be a day you'd like to forget," he said. It was the same day she had been captured by Zarbon and had a switchblade driven through her left hand. He thumbed the scar that was left behind.

Bulma shook her head. "Mmm, mmm," she nodded a negative. "I'll never forget that day. Even though it was horrible in the beginning, I'll never forget how I met you. You showed me that day who you really are."

"A monster?" Vegeta snorted in disappointment.

"A Hero."

They locked their eyes and refused to look away; entangled their arms and refused to let go; entwined their bodies, and refused to fall asleep.

XXX

The inevitable came not hours later and Vegeta's beeping scouter awoke them from a featherlight slumber.

They were in and out all night, fighting their hardest not to give into tire but their bodies eventually got the better of them. They'd drift for half an hour at time, before shooting awake and giving the other a reassuring rub.

But now it was time to go; dawn would be approaching quickly and Vegeta could already feel the movement of his men at the port.

He stirred slowly and grabbed his scouter to stop the beeping before looking at his mate who was looking back at him. She looked calm; like a death row inmate on the morning of execution. One who had finally accepted her transgressions and was ready to move on.

Vegeta hated that look because it tore him up inside, despite him knowing that on the inside she was tearing too. She felt like scattered butterflies and he like a dead anchor but he knew if she were ever to come to any sort of reassurance in the near future then he had to do this.

He mustered up all the courage he could to ease her up and Bulma let out an exhale when she was upright in the bed. "C'mon," he said. "You need to get dressed."

She nodded and followed him down to their suite in robotic movements.

Her things were all packed up and moved to the port, save an outfit for today that was left on her bed. It was weird and overwhelming to see all of her things gone as if she had never existed; the maidens went so far as to pack up the comforters on the bed.

Vegeta forced her to push past the feeling to prevent her from getting stuck in it and guided her to the bathroom. He showered with her, carefully taking the time to lather every inch and curve of her and allowing himself to feel her for one final time. Bulma silently allowed him, holding onto him under the spray of hot water each time she could, and when she was sure the water was going to run out, she let go and allowed him to help her dress.

Both of them moved without will, the only things guiding them were the beating seconds of the clock. And before either of them knew it, they were meeting his parents and the entire Son family at the port.

Bulma paused when she saw them all staring at the two of them with grim faces but Vegeta squeezed her hand for comfort.

"C'mon," he quietly urged.

They walked passed his father, who had nothing to say to the departing heiress. He should have thanked her formally for saving his life; for showing him the type of gratitude and grace he had encountered in no other person. But the best he could do was to not give her the same look of disgust he always had upon seeing her. His face was stern, cold and unchanged, ready to finally see her go.

Valerie had tears in her eyes, her already crumbled heart, vanishing at seeing another daughter go. She eclipsed Bulma in for a crushing hug and spilled a few tears on her shoulder. "You take care of yourself ok?" she whispered and Bulma nodded, still robotic as if she wasn't in her own body. "And take care of my baby," Valerie released her so she could clasp Bulma's hands in her own and then she pressed a firm hand to her belly.

Bulma found it hard to meet the Queen's eyes because her eyes were trained on Vegeta; then trained on the ship. She could hear and see the people in front of her but nothing was real. People were moving her, pushing her forward like a barbie doll while her mouth spewed out words from the draw string in her back.

Valerie pulled her in for another hug, and Vegeta kept his eyes on the approaching sun.

"Mother…" he cautioned.

"Yes I know, I know." Valerie let go of her daughter-in-law with a sniffle and stifled her remaining tears. "Don't keep him from us ok?"

"I won't," Bulma was making promises she couldn't keep. She had no idea what would happen once she boarded that ship.

The Son clan wondered aboard to give the couple their privacy, while Vegeta helped his mate up the ramp. Each step felt like a step closer to uncertainty and when they were near the top, Bulma stopped and whirled around.

"Vegeta wait,"

He stopped with her and begged her with his eyes not to do this.

"I don't—I can't do this."

"Bulma—"

"No Vegeta please listen to me. I can't do this," she repeated. "If I get on that ship, I don't know what's going to happen to us. What will happen to our future?"

"I can't answer that," he said honestly and hung his head in shame.

"Then I can't go," she now allowed the tears to spring forward. "I know why you're doing this Vegeta. Because you want to protect me and you don't want to keep things from me anymore but it's ok because I forgive you. I know why you lied about my parents, it was to protect me all along and it's ok. You can protect me here; you can protect me when I'm with you."

Vegeta took a hard exhale. "Get on the ship Bulma," he tried to gently herd her aboard but she stood her ground.

"No Vegeta." She tried to find his eyes but he didn't want to look at her; he couldn't handle the break. "Vegeta I can't go…I can't….I'm not ready to go. I need you and I need you to need me too."

"Of course I need you—"

"Ok so then I stay," she was crying now, shaking her head deliriously at the thought of getting aboard. "I stay and then we can be together and we can be a family."

"That can't happen Bulma; not right now. I have to protect you; I have to protect my son."

"Protect us here," tears were streaming down her cheeks and she was cupping his own.

"I can't"

"Please," she was begging him. "Please Vegeta, don't make me go. I love you," she choked. She found the ground once, before forcing him to look her in the eyes. "I love you and I can't bare to be away from you. Not like this," her hand cupped her belly. "Not when I know we need you."

"Bulma," he was resisting and Bulma was breaking in his arms. She clung to him and Vegeta embraced her. "You have to go," he choked back his own sob but dare not let it out. "If there were any other way I would have done it already but there isn't. Please," now he was begging her. "I need you to go."

"Then promise you'll come back," she clung harder. "Promise you'll come get us. The moment this is all over you'll come back for us."

His instinct was to say yes; of course he'd like to do nothing more than to drive down to scoop her up once this whole fiasco was over. But when he began to think about the love and support she'd have back home, versus the turmoil and hatred she'd have when returning back here, Vegeta knew it was a promise he couldn't keep. So he chose not to say it aloud.

"Get on the ship Bulma. Please hurry; it's almost dawn," Each member aboard had a cloaking scouter and they were going to launch the gravity chamber in unison, in order to distract Freeza or any of his men to her departing ship.

"Vegeta," she whined, and her tears clouded her final gaze of him.

He kissed the top of her forehead and pressed a hand to her belly. "I love you Bulma."

The ship's engines began to roar and Bardock appeared in the doorway to gently ease the heiress aboard. She let him peel her from her mate, and dress her with a cloaking scouter before she ran to the window and gazed at her Prince who was gazing at her from below.

He stood next to his forlorn mother and stoic father, and his eyes never left hers. Not until the ship took off and he could no longer see her from the ground.

When he was nothing more than a spec far into the galaxy, Bulma broke down in tears and cried the entire three-day journey home.

XXXX

Review!