A/N: This story was nominated for best romance (Vegebul) and best action (Vegebul) on dbfandomawards dot com. If ya dig my story, give me a vote on August 6th!

There is only 1 chapter left after this one. Thank you and hope you enjoy!


Three days came and went, but for Bulma, it may as well have been three decades.

The sun was barely starting to rise outside, but she was already on her third cup of shitty hospital coffee as she walked back into Vegeta's room in the ICU. The taste was horrendous, but having only slept a few hours total over the last three days, she didn't care so long as it had caffeine. Sitting down quietly in an armchair, her tired blue eyes focused on the monitor showing Vegeta's vitals while she sipped the coffee, as though to reassure herself that his condition hadn't changed in the few minutes she'd been gone.

The man had survived by the skin of his teeth. Vegeta had needed an emergency surgery immediately upon his arrival to the hospital due to all the internal damage caused by the vicious beatings and getting shot twice. Hours after the first surgery was done, he had flatlined, requiring another resuscitation and a second emergency surgery. Bulma had been in and out of the hospital that first day as she smoked an entire pack of cigarettes outside in the parking lot from the sheer stress, trying to get her hands to stop shaking. She was vaguely aware of Goku, Raditz, and Krillin all gradually arriving to the hospital, all of them tense and braced for bad news as the doctors warned that Vegeta wasn't likely to survive the first day.

Those first 24 hours were the longest of her life, but they eventually passed. Vegeta was still alive, though in critical condition. When two more days passed without incident, it seemed that his condition had finally stabilized. Only then did the tremors in her hands finally stop, and only then did she allow herself to hope that the worst was finally over.

Bulma's gaze shifted from the monitors over to Vegeta, her blue eyes filling with concern as she scanned him over. If it wasn't for his upswept black hair sticking out through most of his bandages and his unique dragon sleeve tattoo on his left arm, she would not have recognized him.

Vegeta had bandages around his head, wrapping down low across his left eyebrow and half of his swollen left eye to his cheekbone, a neck brace underneath providing him more support. A breathing tube ran in his mouth, held with tape across his face to do his breathing for him. Stitches and bruises littered his face, his broken nose bruised and with a short strip across it. Though none of that was as bad as the nasty bruises on his bare chest, dark blue and nearly black over his sternum and ribs. The trauma to his chest was bad enough that there was a tube inserted on the side of his chest, taped in place. Below his rib cage, practically his entire stomach was covered with thick gauze and bandages for the gunshot wounds and the necessary surgeries to treat all the internal damage to his organs, running down to where the hospital blanket started at his waist. His third gunshot wound, the one that Krillin had given him back at the diner in his shoulder, had been reaggravated in the melee and was also bandaged again. It was all topped off by the cables and electrodes on his skin that were monitoring his vitals, his heartbeat slow but steady.

Vegeta was heavily sedated and out cold, yet Bulma still was extremely careful approaching him. He was so injured and looked so frail and vulnerable, that she was afraid of somehow making things worse. Leaning closer to him, she reached for Vegeta's hand with her free one. His palm was bandaged from the deep rope burns from his attack on Zarbon, and an IV line was taped on the back of his hand. Thus, Bulma focused her touch on his fingers, gently curling her fingers in with his.

"Hey you, good morning," she quietly said, running her thumb tenderly across his knuckles. She took comfort from the fact that his hand was warmer than it'd been the day before. "This coffee sucks. When you get better, I'll run out to get you some real coffee," she promised lightheartedly, remembering how the only thing Vegeta had insisted on for the safe house was decent coffee. Sighing with her own fatigue, she added, "Goku will be by this morning to see you too. He's already making plans to sneak food in for you when you're a little better," she chuckled. "He keeps trying to bring you some now, saying the smells will 'help you', but the nurses catch him every time."

The only response was the slow but steady beating of his heart on the machines, and his continued breathing. Bulma studied Vegeta's face carefully for any sign that he heard her, but found none. Even though logically she knew he was sedated, he had been unconscious since she'd given him CPR, and she wanted nothing more than to see him open his eyes again.

She was not a patient woman, but she sighed in defeat as she forced herself to find the necessary patience here. Shifting closer to Vegeta, Bulma raised her free hand up near his right eye where there were no bruises or stitches, above the tape from the breathing tube. She stroked his face gently with the back of her index finger, wondering if he could feel the touch.

"You're doing great," she whispered. "And when you wake up, everything will be better, you'll see."

Several hours later, Bulma was on a fresh cup of coffee, leaning forward in her armchair next to Vegeta's bed while she read over the latest news on her phone. Goku was on the other side of Vegeta, sitting haphazardly on his own armchair, one leg up swung up lazily over the armrest. He was watching the monitors while he chewed on some gum; Bulma's nervous habit was smoking, but his was grinding hard on gum when he couldn't exercise.

"His vitals are looking a little better today," Goku finally said, breaking the comfortable silence before blowing a large bubble.

"Yeah, the nurse was happy when she came through on her rounds and checked his bandages," Bulma agreed, half-distracted as she frowned down at her phone while she skimmed over an article describing the raid several days before. Frieza's death was major news, with the people of West City openly celebrating on the streets as though one of their sports teams had won a major world championship. "I haven't talked to his doctor yet, and I'm sure we still have a way to go, but hopefully he's past the worst of everything…"

Her voice trailed off when a text came through from Chief Kai. She then put her phone away as she stood with a sigh, looking over to Goku.

"Stay with him, yeah? Chief wants to talk to me. Call me though if anything changes."

Goku nodded, watching as Bulma gave Vegeta one last lingering look before she left them alone. He pulled out his brand new phone to check the time, blowing another large bubble of gum.

"Ball game is starting soon for the Bandits, buddy. You know we never miss opening game, and this year won't be any different," Goku said out loud in the quiet room, as he loaded up a livestream on his phone and adjusted the volume so it was quiet. "You always hate their offseason moves, Vegeta, but I REALLY think this is going to be their year. You'll see."

Straightening up in the armchair, Goku reached out and put the phone at the edge of Vegeta's bed. They usually watched the opening game for West City's pro baseball team together at a sports bar since neither Raditz nor Tarble had ever been into baseball…though they would always spend half the time arguing about the team. Goku always supported the new players and coaches, and Vegeta always trashed them and swore they were never going to win a championship (even though he considered himself a huge fan).

Goku grinned a little at the memories and their constant and heated sports debates which went back to their days together in the Marines, though it was fleeting as he scanned Vegeta over. A concerned tightness crossed his features, before he sighed and patted Vegeta's arm gently a couple times. He then leaned back in his armchair as the real time game analysis started on his phone.

This wasn't the same, but it would do.

Meanwhile, Bulma stepped outside, instinctively looking around with two hands pulling her police windbreaker over her holstered gun that was on her belt next to her clipped badge. Her blue eyes focused on a dark green sedan that she recognized in the parking lot that was running on idle. Going over, she got in on the passenger side, closing the door behind her.

"What's going on, chief?" Bulma asked, turning her gaze to the man sitting next to her.

Chief Kai peered at her over his dark glasses at the detective, leaning back a little in his seat. He then pushed his glasses up his nose, making them glint as they caught some sunlight.

"I wanted to check in with you. How are you doing, Bulma?"

"I'm tired, but I'm fine," Bulma nonchalantly replied, dismissively waving a hand as though it was no big deal. Compared to the state Vegeta was in, she wasn't about to complain about herself. "I put in for the rest of the week off, so I'll be back at work next week."

"Hmm…Krillin and Goku tell me that you haven't left the hospital since Vegeta was brought here. They are worried about you. I am too."

Bulma's face crinkled with a mixture of confusion, discomfort, and annoyance. "I'm fine, like I said. Yeah, I'm here with him, but that's because I don't want him to be alone after what he's been through."

"Now I don't wish Vegeta ill, and I hope he makes a full recovery, but you are my lead detective, Bulma. He's been through a lot, but so have you. You are my responsibility," Chief Kai said, observing her seriously. Bulma knew before he even continued that she wasn't going to like his next words as Chief Kai added, "As such, I'm extending your leave from one week to one month, paid time off-"

"A MONTH!" Bulma cried, turning her body to face her police chief, an indignant look on her face. "I don't need a month-"

"Is that Vegeta's blood still on your shirt?"

"I-" Bulma blinked at the question, before looking down at the light gray, long-sleeved shirt she had been wearing under her body armor the night of the raid. She only then realized that there was indeed some dried blood around the collar of her shirt.

"I imagine seeing Vegeta die right in front of you hasn't been easy, and being here with him when he's been fighting for his life must be hard too," Chief Kai said knowingly, making Bulma sigh and sit back in her passenger seat, looking out the window away from him. "You saved his life, reacting just like we've trained you to react. You ran this entire operation to success. You identified and tracked down the vigilante of West City. Then you turned him into an ally for the police, getting intel that will help us lessen the corruption across the city. You organized and ran an operation that saw Frieza die. You've done stellar work, and I'll be recommending you for a medal with the mayor."

Bulma sighed. "Such stellar work that you want me to take a month off?"

"Vegeta isn't the only one that needs to recover," Chief Kai pointed out. Bulma raised a hand up to her mouth in thought as she rested her elbow against the door sill since the passenger window was down. When she didn't respond, he prodded, "How much sleep have you gotten the last few days?"

Bulma looked back at him and frowned, and he nodded his understanding.

"One month, detective. And while I can't force you to leave the hospital, I can tell you that you won't be allowed back at work until you've met with the department psychologist, and he's cleared you for duty."

"But chief," Bulma argued, trying to make him understand, "I've been working with the DA on a deal for Vegeta since the raid. Beerus is playing hardball now that Frieza is dead, since we've lost some leverage. If you pull me off now, who is going to take over?"

"I already tasked Krillin to take over and finish the work you started. I'm putting in Krillin for a promotion to detective. The paperwork is already in."

As happy as she was to hear that Krillin's work had not gone unnoticed, she did not want to be taken off for an entire month. Still, her fatigue – not just from the last few days, but from all the late nights spent working on Vegeta's case from the beginning – was indeed catching up to her. It was hard for her to continue the argument, and all she could do was sigh in defeat. She was stubborn, but she knew the tone in Chief Kai's voice meant that there was no changing his mind now.

Looking down at her shirt again, and finding more spots of Vegeta's blood that she'd missed when she thought she'd cleaned up, she started to think maybe he was right.

"I know you care about that boy in there," Chief Kai said, making Bulma look up in surprise. He smiled knowingly, his dark glasses glinting again. "I've known from the beginning, and while I would have pulled off any other detective, I trusted you not to let it impact your judgment in the job. I was right. If anything, it seemed to make you even more focused. Now, your personal life is your own, detective, and what you do outside of your work duties is none of my business. But I imagine that you should make sure you're at 100 percent, because that -" he gestured with his chin towards the hospital, "- none of that is going to be easy moving forward."

Bulma bit her bottom lip, her eyes skirting back to the hospital. She knew what he was really saying. Standing by Vegeta's side, pursuing anything real with him, wasn't going to be easy. Vegeta had to recover, not just physically, but mentally and emotionally as well. If she was going to be there for him to help him with any of that, she had to make sure she was okay first.

Bulma finally nodded her agreement, then opened her car door and climbed out. She closed the car door, leaning in to see her boss through the open window.

"Well, I'll see you in a month then, chief."

"See you in a month, detective. Take care of yourself."

Bulma patted the door sill a couple of times and straightened, putting her hands back in the pockets of her police windbreaker. The sedan pulled off as Chief Kai drove out of the parking lot. Bulma pursed her lips, frowning in thought as she stared off towards where his car had gone, even when it had turned out of sight.

Finally, she turned and headed back inside.

"This rookie has real potential," Goku was saying, popping another bubble with his gum as he grinned at Vegeta while the livestream of the game was still playing on his phone. "Yeah, I already know that you're going to be like, he's complete shit, Kakarot," he tried growling in Vegeta's rough voice. He chuckled. "You always, always think so negatively about the new guys on the team, Vegeta, but then they always win you over in the end."

"Goku?"

Goku looked over, then smiled sheepishly at Bulma who was at the door and leaning against the door frame. "Ah, hey Bulma, didn't hear ya come back."

"Can we chat out here for a second?" Bulma asked, her blue eyes flicking over to Vegeta.

Once they had both left Vegeta's room, Bulma sighed and turned to Goku.

"Listen, I'm going to be taking some time off work for a while," she said, crossing her arms over her chest. She couldn't hide the fatigue in her shoulders as she admitted, "I think I'm a little run down from the last few days."

"Yeah, I bet. It's been really hard on me, and you've been here more," Goku said with a frown as he scanned her over in concern. She definitely looked haggard. "You look like you could use more sleep. What do you want to do?"

"Would you mind staying with Vegeta for a while, so I can refresh a little bit? I'll be back tonight."

"Of course! If it helps, Raditz and I can stay with him more. We can even do shifts so he's not alone and we all get to rest up too," Goku said with an easy smile. "But yeah, you go home for a while, I'll stay here with Vegeta until you come back tonight. I promise I'll call you right away if anything with him changes in the meantime."

"Thanks Goku." Bulma smiled a little. "Wait here for a little bit? Let me go in and say goodbye."

He nodded, and then Bulma turned and headed back into Vegeta's room.

A moment later, and she was standing next to his bed, arms folded over in front of her. She gazed down at him, a mix of different emotions flickering in her blue eyes as her eyes moved to his bare chest which was rising and falling steadily with his breathing. Granted, the tube was doing the breathing for him, but remembering how he had felt beneath her when his heart stopped and he wasn't breathing made her eyes burn with tears. Bulma reached up and brushed her face, and then let out an unsteady breath, suddenly grateful her boss was forcing her to take the time off. For the first time, she felt like she really needed it, as she realized she hadn't actually allowed herself to cry since the night of the raid.

She forced herself to take a deep breath; she would save her tears for when she was back in her apartment, where she could get it all out in private. For now, she turned her attention back on him, her gaze filled with uncertainty.

"I don't really know how we move forward from all this, Vegeta," she admitted, her voice shaky. "Especially between me and you."

She then reached down, gently grasping Vegeta's fingers again with her right hand, before reaching up with her left hand to the top of his head. Bulma ran her hand through his hair soothingly, studying his face closely, but he didn't respond to the contact. She leaned down and kissed him as gently as she dared near his temple, before moving her lips close to his ear.

"But I'm willing to try, if you are," she whispered. "I'm leaving for just a little while, but I'll be back tonight. I'll see you soon. I love you."

She wasn't sure if it was her brain playing tricks on her, but she could have sworn that for a fraction of a second, Vegeta's hand gently gripped hers back.


An additional five days came and went, with Vegeta's condition improving enough that he was out of the ICU, which put everyone dramatically more at ease. His neck brace was gone, the breathing tube gone and replaced with an oxygen mask to help him with his breathing, instead of doing it completely for him. The tube in his chest was gone, the swelling in his face having decreased considerably, though his bruises on his face and chest looked worse than before. He still looked rough, but after how he'd looked when he'd first been admitted to the hospital, it was a tremendous improvement.

Though Vegeta hadn't regained consciousness yet, he'd been slightly more responsive over the last couple of days once they'd lifted the sedation. Bulma had been with him the first time Vegeta had stirred, and she'd nearly dropped her coffee from how quickly she'd gone over to his side. The moments were always short-lived though, like he was just shifting and stirring in the midst of some dream. Sometimes pain would flash across Vegeta's face in his restlessness, or he'd mumble something incoherent under his breath; Bulma would gently hush him as she'd run her fingers through his hair, and he'd soon settle deeper into the unconsciousness that he couldn't quite climb out of. It wasn't much, but seeing some small signs of life from him had lifted an enormous weight off Bulma's shoulders.

As thrilled as she was to see Vegeta slowly but surely recovering from his hellish ordeal, and as good as she was starting to feel personally (the rotations with Goku and Raditz had allowed her to catch up on much-needed sleep herself and get decent food again), Bulma was still anxious. Krillin had promised her an update on the deal with the DA, but she had not heard from him in two days. She tried to rationalize that he had his hands full with his new upgrade in rank and wrapping up everything with Vegeta's case, as well as dealing with the media fall-out of Frieza's death; but hell, it only took a minute to text her back, didn't it?

Bulma checked her phone again as she stepped into the elevator in the hospital that evening to go up to Vegeta's room, and cursed when she saw nothing from Krillin. Her text to him remained unanswered, and she sighed with frustration. She finally resolved that if she hadn't heard from him before Raditz came to spell her in the morning, she'd drive over to the police precinct herself to get some answers.

She entered Vegeta's room, finding Goku snacking on a bag of beef jerky as he reclined back in his armchair that he'd situated to be right next to Vegeta's bed. Goku was leaning back, feet kicked up on another armchair he'd moved across from him. He had the TV turned on, though he had it muted. Sound and light was always kept low to not disturb Vegeta, though he was still out like a light. Bulma looked around, surprised to see several bouquets of flowers that were lining the table near the window.

"Hey Bulma," Goku cheerfully greeted, grinning at her as she came over to the other side of Vegeta's bed. "You just missed the nurse coming to check on Vegeta. She just changed his dressings."

"Good," she said in approval, her hands loosely on her hips as she gave Vegeta a once over. Though most of his abdomen was still heavily bandaged between the gunshots and the surgeries, the bandages on his shoulder and around his head were less now. She was also pleased that the stitches on his face were healing nicely. Taking a glance at his vitals, she was happy that they were almost back to normal.

Bulma then leaned down and kissed Vegeta's forehead, before re-adjusting his mask, all while completely missing the way Goku's grin grew into a knowing smirk. She straightened and looked around the room while shrugging out of her jacket.

"What's with the flowers? They weren't here when I left this morning."

"'Get well' wishes for Vegeta from some of the news stations."

"Oh geez, they know he's here?" Bulma sighed. She went over and plucked out a card tucked into one of the bouquets. She quietly read under her breath, "Get well soon, Vegeta! From your friends at West City News Bulletin." Bulma rolled her eyes and tucked the card back. "Well, at least the flowers make the room smell nice."

Someone knocked on the open door, "It's still visiting hours here, right?"

Goku and Bulma both turned as Krillin strolled in. Bulma noted that he was wearing a black tie over his short-sleeved blue dress shirt, a WCPD jacket over the radio, badge, and gun clipped to his belt. He looked like a detective, and it made her smile with appreciation.

"For WCPD's newest detective, certainly," she chuckled, going over to give him a tight hug which he readily returned. "Congrats on the promotion, but it's no excuse not to text me back, you know."

"Thanks, and yeah, sorry, things have been hectic," Krillin sheepishly said as she let him go. He went over to Goku, and they fist-bumped in greeting. Krillin then buried his hands in the pockets of his jacket as he shifted his gaze to Vegeta, examining him. "He's still out, huh?"

"Yeah, he took some bad shots to the head, plus recent concussions…and all his other injuries…it sure is a lot. Docs said his injuries are like what you'd have from a bad car wreck, then add a couple gunshots on top of that," Goku replied as he looked back over at Vegeta, patting his arm as he confidently added, "But he's tough. He'll be just fine."

"Yeah, he's a tough bastard, that's for sure," Krillin agreed, before he looked back at Bulma. "Want to chat outside? I have great news, good news, and uh, some bad news, maybe…" he chuckled nervously when he saw the look she gave him. "Just depends how you look at it."

Bulma rolled her eyes, and glanced back at Goku. He nodded, giving an easy wave. "I'll stick around for a few more minutes while you guys talk. I won't leave him, don't worry."

She nodded back, then she and Krillin stepped out of the room. They walked down a bit down the hallway until they had a little privacy, before she finally turned to face him.

"Alright, let me hear it then," Bulma ordered, folding her arms over her chest as she stared at him expectantly. It was the phrase she always used when she meant business, and though they were technically peers now, it still made Krillin instinctively straighten his back.

"Great news first," he quickly said before she could order him otherwise. "The DA agreed to no jail time."

Bulma wasn't aware of the tension she'd been carrying for days until she heard those words. She visibly relaxed, a fleeting smile spreading over her face, before a look of suspicion replaced it as she regarded him.

"What are the terms?"

"Vegeta helps with unsolved crimes attributed to Frieza during the years he worked for him, gives insight into the finances that went into Frieza's operations, and helps with rounding up the rest of Frieza's men who weren't at the raid. In return, Vegeta goes on immediate probation and gets immunity for anything that's found out about his past."

"That's it?"

"Yep."

Bulma exhaled in relief, then nodded. "What else?"

"The good news next. With Ginyu being dirty and working for Frieza all along, there's an opening for a new captain of the SWAT team," Krillin said with a grin.

"Vegeta?" Bulma asked in surprise, as he nodded.

"Yep, they're going to make him an offer once he's better. They think if they can get him, they'll be untouchable. I mean, he was a Marine, did special ops, and he wrecked Frieza's organization. I think he would be perfect for their team. Think he'd be interested?"

"I'm not sure," she honestly said, eyes drifting back in the direction of Vegeta's room. "I guess we'll find out soon," she finally relented, before looking back at Krillin. "And the bad news?"

Krillin chuckled nervously, "It's only bad if you look at it that way-"

"Out with it, Krillin."

"Well, ah, Beerus really didn't want to let Vegeta off the hook. With Frieza dead, we had no leverage there…and with public opinion split on Vegeta now because of the theater explosion, even with us trying to correct the narrative, well, we had no leverage there either. Beerus really wanted to make an example of Vegeta, wanting him to serve at least a year in jail for his crimes as a vigilante."

"And yet, he made a very generous offer…" Bulma's eyes narrowed. "What did you do to make him change his mind?"

"Um, well," Krillin stammered, reaching into his pocket for his cell phone. "Maybe I'll just show you."

Bulma exhaled, already knowing she wouldn't like this as they moved closer together. She watched as Krillin pulled up YouTube, and then played a video. She frowned when she saw chaos in the video at first, and then her eyes widened as the video focused on Vegeta.

He was bare chested, a sweaty and bloody mess, his left hand pressing hard into his stomach on a gunshot wound that was bleeding profusely through his fingers. Vegeta was shaking badly as he slowly pulled himself up with the help of the car parked behind him, looking like he didn't have the strength to stand even as he stood anyway. Finally, he raised his gun with his right hand and pointed it just above the camera.

"Oh my god," Bulma whispered, before her voice quickly escalated, "You leaked the raw body cam footage to the public?!"

"Of course not!" Krillin nervously clarified. "I mean, that would be totally against the rules to leak police footage without authorization! Nope, wasn't me…but, whoever did it, leaked all the footage of the raid, so it's not just this one. Still, this video of Vegeta squaring against Frieza – and then of you saving his life afterwards – this one is the most popular. I mean, look at how many views it has, and it only went up last night."

Bulma reached out and scrolled the screen down, and her blue eyes widened in shock. "This thing has TWO MILLION VIEWS?!" she shrieked.

"Uh, yeah, I guess everyone wanted to see exactly how Frieza died. But now, Vegeta has an approval rating of 98 percent across the entire city. If you thought the people supported him before, it's nothing compared to the support he has now. He could probably run for mayor right now and win."

Bulma groaned, reaching up to massage her forehead. "And with his popularity sky high, Beerus had to back down and show leniency."

"Yep," Krillin said with a grin.

I think Vegeta might prefer jail time over how famous he's about to be, Bulma mused silently, shaking her head. She pushed the phone away, not wanting to see Vegeta get shot again. "Well, I did want the body cams to help us with the public in case anything in the raid was questioned, but I do wish this was edited beforehand," she said pointedly.

"Why?" Krillin surprised her by arguing as he frowned. "He deserves to have his name cleared after Frieza tried to set him up. In this clip he says that he lost his mother and brother because of Frieza."

She sighed again, "I guess, but it just feels like a weird invasion of Vegeta's privacy to share him nearly dying with the world-"

"Bulma!" Goku ran up to them suddenly, startling her; she'd been so caught up in the conversation with Krillin, that she hadn't even heard him approaching. Her heart leapt to her throat as she immediately assumed something was wrong with Vegeta, but she didn't have a chance to say a word before he grinned and breathed, "He's asking for you."

"Wha-" Bulma started, immediately running back down the hallway with Goku and Krillin on her heels. "He's awake?!" she asked breathlessly, disappearing into the room without even waiting for Goku to answer. Goku stopped outside of the door, and signaled for Krillin to wait as they stayed in the hallway.

"Let her be with him first," he said, as Krillin nodded his agreement.

Meanwhile, Bulma instantly was at Vegeta's side, sitting on the edge of his hospital bed while she leaned over him, examining him with a mixture of hope and concern. Vegeta was breathing heavily, his heartrate on the monitors more elevated than usual while he stirred restlessly. She took his hand, gently squeezing it as he turned his heads towards her.

"Bulma," Vegeta whispered as she leaned in closer, softly caressing his face where he wasn't wearing bruises or stitches. He hadn't opened his eyes, and she wasn't sure if he was really conscious of her presence, though he seemed to settle down a little with the contact.

"I'm here. I'm right here," she soothed him gently, squeezing his hand with a little more strength. Vegeta grunted, swallowing hard. He was starting to break a sweat as she ran her free hand through his hair, studying him intently. "Vegeta? You awake?" Bulma prodded. He hummed softly in response. "Sweetheart, can you open your eyes for me?"

Vegeta mumbled something she couldn't catch, before gripping her hand back tightly. Bulma held her breath while she watched his eyes flutter as he groaned. She caressed his face again, which along with his chest were now glistening with sweat. Vegeta leaned into her touch and sighed, before he slowly and lazily blinked his eyes open halfway.

Bulma choked down a sob of happiness, but her blue eyes were shiny with tears as she smiled warmly at him while his cloudy gaze gradually settled on her. Vegeta's left eye was bloodshot terribly, and he seemed to be floating between looking at her and looking through her, but she'd never been more grateful to see those dark eyes of his. Leaning down, she kissed his temple, squeezing his hand again.

"Bulma," he breathed, blinking heavily, as though willing his eyes to focus.

"Hey there," she quietly said, wiping some of the sweat off his face. "How you feeling?"

"'m tired," Vegeta muttered, far too exhausted to pretend otherwise. It felt like it was taking all of his strength just to stay awake.

"I bet."

"Hospital?" he asked roughly, his eyes rolling towards the machines he could hear beeping while she wiped at her tears.

"Yeah, you've been here about a week now. You'll have some new scars, but you'll be okay."

"Hn."

Vegeta slowly moved his free hand over to his stomach, his fingers lightly tracing the bandages over where his gunshot wounds were healing. Even as he felt slightly more grounded, his eyes were growing impossibly heavy. He let them slide closed, too depleted to resist. Bulma ran her hand through his hair, making him sigh into his mask.

"I got him, right," he mumbled, his memories from the night of the raid slowly trickling back in pieces. He had an image in his mind of Frieza shot dead, but he had visualized that so many times that he wasn't sure if it had really happened or not.

"Yeah, you got him. It's over now, Vegeta."

Vegeta took a deep breath, and when he exhaled, it felt like he was releasing an unheard-of burden deep in his soul. He had done it. Frieza was dead, and had paid for what he'd done. He had made good on the promise he'd made to his brother the night of Tarble's death. He had avenged not only his brother, but his mother too. He had won.

And yet, despite that, he couldn't help the anguish that crossed his face as he gripped Bulma's hand tighter. His pain had always been present, but in the background, fueling his rage and driving his spree of vigilante violence. But now that his single-minded quest for vengeance was complete, only profound grief remained. Though he didn't regret killing Frieza and would do it a thousand times more if he could, his rage had shielded him from truly feeling the magnitude of Tarble's death. The truth about his mother was brutal, but he had at least accepted her death years ago; he hadn't had the time to do the same for Tarble. And now with his defenses down and his vengeance not distracting him anymore, it hit him like a sledgehammer: he was truly never going to see his little brother again.

Vegeta's face reddened as he squeezed his eyes tightly shut. Recognizing his pain exactly for what it was, Bulma immediately got closer, leaning down to hug him as gently as she dared. Vegeta reached to her back with difficulty, ignoring the flare of heated pain through his chest at the movement as he turned into her embrace. He grabbed a tight handful of her shirt as he pulled her as close to him as possible, like he was desperate not to lose her too.

Her embrace wasn't enough to take away his pain completely, but it still felt like a cooling balm on his white-hot grief. It was a start.

Vegeta didn't notice exactly when his grip on her shirt and her hand started to loosen, or when she pulled away from him. He was almost out again, fading again when she readjusted his mask for him, making him stir and slowly crack his bleary eyes open again.

"It's okay," she whispered. "Just get some rest, yeah?"

"Can you stay?" he muttered. She looked blurry to him now, which he attributed to his injuries – until he felt Bulma's soft hand brushing tears off his face. Utterly exhausted, he barely caught her response before he closed his eyes again and fell back into the comforting darkness.

"Always."


Five days later, Vegeta was annoyed. He was getting better and staying awake longer, but his recovery was still frustratingly slow, and he wanted nothing more than to leave the hospital. He couldn't stand for long before his knees would lose their strength and he got horribly winded. Quick motions with his head or his eyes made him absurdly dizzy and nauseous. He was also still insanely tired, his exhaustion seemingly not satisfied no matter how much he slept – though the painkillers they insisted on giving him also did not help with that. He was at least consoled that they were lessening the painkillers each day as he gradually recovered.

He had also not helped his own cause by trying to stubbornly walk by himself to the bathroom without any help a couple days prior, in a rare moment when he was left alone while Bulma and Goku had been talking outside of his room with the doctors about when he could be discharged. Vegeta had wound up collapsing before he could make it back to his bed, reopening one of his surgical incisions in the process and aggravating his broken ribs and cracked sternum. He had passed out cold from the pain on the floor, which is where Bulma and Goku had found him seconds later. Hours later, he'd woken up to stronger painkillers, Goku frowning at him in disapproval, Bulma angrily calling him an idiot, and the doctor threatening to delay his discharge if he kept it up. Vegeta had grumbled, but finally made a promise to ask for help next time.

Sighing, he looked around his hospital room, which was now filled to the brim with flowers, cards, letters, and pictures from folks all over West City. Goku had told him about some video that had gone viral, and while he had no interest in seeing it, he was wondering if he should watch it anyway so he could better understand the public's outpouring of support for him. It was confusing and bewildering to him, that complete strangers should care so much about him. The media in particular was interested in interviewing him, but Bulma was fielding them off, for which Vegeta was immensely grateful.

Sitting up in his bed which was elevated to support him, Vegeta plucked out a card from yet another bouquet the nurse had just brought.

"To the hero of West City, hoping you stay…" he quietly read, before pausing to blink away a bout of dizziness, "…hoping you stay out there and keep the streets clean. Tch." He put the card back, scowling as he did, just as Raditz came out of the bathroom.

"Is that a new bouquet?" Raditz snickered, before flopping down in an armchair next to his bed. "Nice to know a celebrity."

"It's ridiculous," Vegeta grumbled, even as Raditz chuckled and pulled over a package of letters into his lap, rifling through them.

"Oh come on. Not curious to hear about how your lady fans in West City want to make you feel better? Better not let your girlfriend read some of these," Raditz said knowingly, earning a dark look from Vegeta. Raditz leaned his head back and laughed.

"Tch. Idiot," Vegeta mumbled.

"What? Bulma is your girlfriend, isn't she?"

Vegeta looked away, leaning back while he frowned. He didn't know if Bulma was his girlfriend, but the two certainly were something, he could not deny that. But he had never actually dated anyone properly before, so he was at a loss on how to proceed. His life of crime through adolescence and then his military life afterwards left him unable and unwilling to entertain any real romantic relationships beyond meaningless sex once in a blue moon when his needs demanded it. After his military service, he had been focused on himself and then on his brother, which also left no room for anything serious.

Whatever this something was with Bulma was the realest thing he'd ever had. As such, he was scared that if they actually talked about it, he would somehow ruin it.

They both suddenly looked towards the door as Bulma walked back into the room, holding two cups of coffee from the local shop a few blocks away. Her gaze settled on Vegeta as they made eye contact, and she smiled. He looked tired from the painkillers, but he was awake and alert; it was a sight that she would never take for granted again.

Raditz snickered to himself when he saw Vegeta try to pull himself up more once the detective walked in. He drank the crappy hospital coffee from his small styrofoam cup, not missing how Vegeta's body posture changed upon Bulma's entrance, most of his tension unconsciously disappearing as she came over and handed him a cup of coffee.

"Hey you, good morning," she greeted, leaning in to kiss Vegeta on the cheek. "Decaf for you."

"Morning," Vegeta grunted, scowling over her depriving him of caffeine. He raised the coffee to venture a taste, before sighing with satisfaction. At least it tasted good.

"Sorry Raditz, I thought your brother would be here, and he doesn't drink coffee. If I'd known you'd be here, I would've gotten you one too."

"No worries. I'm not a coffee snob like the two of you."

Vegeta glared at him. "When are you leaving again?"

"So happy you're feeling better, Vegeta," Raditz snickered. "My brother and Bulma are both way too nice to you. You need me around to balance things out. But if you must know, my brother is picking me up soon."

"Not soon enough."

"Alright," Bulma chuckled she took a seat on the other side of Vegeta's bed, bringing her cross-body bag over in front of her and opening it up. She pulled out a folder. "Krillin asked if I could swing over and pick up the finalized deal from the DA since I was coming over to the hospital and it was on the way. It's ready, just needs your signature, Vegeta."

"Fine."

"Do you want to try to read it?" Bulma asked, leafing through the paperwork and skimming it with expertise. "I could read it to you, if you want," she offered, knowing that he still couldn't handle reading much before he got dizzy.

Vegeta scowled at her, his dark eyes pensive. "No jail time, correct?"

"Correct. You will have to cooperate with Beerus and the police, but they don't expect that from you until you've been discharged and you've had some time to fully recover. Also, you're being placed on immediate probation for one year, so you can't do anything illegal in that time. If you do, Beerus is coming for you, full force, and the deal is null and void."

"Tch."

Vegeta visibly hesitated, his scowl worsening as his thoughts went to Ginyu. The gunman who had taken Tarble down was in custody, though Vegeta would have preferred if he was dead in the ground.

For a moment, he contemplated finishing the job himself. He could reject the deal, get discharged, and be in the wind until he could get his hands on Ginyu. But the thought was fleeting; his ire and rage had always been focused on Frieza, who had given the order and was the real person responsible for Tarble's death. With him dead now, most of Vegeta's rage had died with him. And if Ginyu was truly headed to jail, then he could probably stomach that…though heaven help Ginyu if he got out anytime soon…

"Vegeta?"

He caught Bulma's gaze, her blue eyes focused on him with intensity. It felt like she could see right through him, and so he averted his eyes, hoping his murderous thoughts weren't written all over his face.

"Fine," he gruffly said, raising his cup of coffee for another drink. He contemplated for a few more moments, before relenting, "I'll sign it."

"You sure you don't want to know what's written in here?"

Vegeta looked back at her, raising an eyebrow. "Are you satisfied with it?"

"Yeah," she conceded, frowning at him. "But it's not for me."

He shrugged with indifference. "If you're happy with it, that's good enough for me."

Bulma cracked a small smile over his trust in her, before handing him the folder containing the paperwork along with a pen.

"I highlighted where you need to sign," she explained, raising her own coffee for a drink while Vegeta looked through the document for a highlighted section. "Also, I talked to the police commissioner about the SWAT offer they want to make-"

"I already told you, I'm not interested in joining the SWAT team," Vegeta cut in, scribbling a signature on his paperwork.

Bulma rolled her eyes, "If you'd let me finish, then I could tell you that they are well aware you aren't interested. They still want to talk to you because they think they can convince you with a sweet enough deal and a high enough salary. I warned them that you're stubborn, but apparently, so are they."

"Hn."

"SWAT is also interested in my brother," Raditz chimed in. He was standing at the window now, sipping his hospital coffee while he looked out over the parking lot. "Sounds like he might be their backup option if you keep saying no to them."

"They're more than welcome to make Kakarot their new captain. I've been taking orders half my life. I'm done with that," Vegeta sneered. Left unspoken was that he'd had his fill of violence in his life. He sighed, looking at Bulma as he handed her back the folder with the DA's deal. He then leaned back, growing tired and trying not to show it. "Well, when should I expect their riveting company?"

"They're waiting for you to be discharged, which the docs say should be tomorrow. So maybe sometime after that. I guess they don't want to engage while you're still in the hospital."

"And engaging in a hotel room is that much better?"

"Hotel room?" Bulma asked in confusion. "What are you talking about? We aren't going back to the safe house."

"I asked Kakarot to get me a reservation at a hotel starting tomorrow since that's my discharge date," Vegeta explained, matching her confused look with his own. "Was I not supposed to? I don't have anywhere else to go at the moment…"

"You can't go to a hotel, Vegeta. You can't be alone, what if you fall and get hurt?"

He looked even more confused. "Right, but I don't live with anyone."

"Yes, I realize that," Bulma said with exasperation. "But well, I guess I assumed you were going to stay with me."

"Why would I stay with you?" Vegeta asked before he could stop himself. He immediately regretted it when he saw the hurt briefly flash over her face, before she stood up, downing back the rest of her coffee.

"You're right. You're a grown man, and you can stay wherever you want," she said, her tone clipped as she turned and headed towards the door. "Just let me know where the hotel is, and I'll have the SWAT folks meet you there. I'll be back in a bit."

"Bulma…" Vegeta sighed, but the door was already closing behind her as she left his room. Bewildered, he looked over at Raditz as though for help. "What just happened?"

"You're an idiot, that's what happened," Raditz answered, rolling his eyes. "I'm not all savvy with the military stuff like you and my brother, but at least I'm not so clueless with women. Bulma clearly wanted you to stay with her."

"But why would I do that?" Vegeta pressed. "Staying with Bulma would be a huge burden for her. She's done so much for me as it is. I…" he looked away, scowling. "I can't ask her for more. It's too much."

Raditz sighed dramatically. "You can shoot a target from like a million miles away but you can't see the obvious in front of your face, idiot. Don't you see how crazy she is for you? She loves you and wants to help you get better. Plus she's right, you shouldn't be alone while you recover, especially with how stupidly stubborn you are. Look man, all I know is if I was in your shoes, and I had a drop dead gorgeous woman who was in love with me, offering me to go crash with her? You kidding me? I wouldn't even think twice."

Vegeta shifted uncomfortably, scowling as he did. "I've…never done this before…"

"Oh, it's obvious," Raditz snorted, making Vegeta shoot him a glare. Raditz chuckled. "Just talk to her, it'll be fine. You always overanalyze everything. For once in your life, stop overanalyzing and just let this happen. She's a good woman, and it's pretty damn obvious you care about her too. My brother says you've been into her from the start."

"Tch. Kakarot talks too much," Vegeta grumbled.

Raditz grinned. "Maybe." He checked his phone. "Anywho, he's here now. Bulma should be back soon, I'm sure. Good luck, I won't see you tomorrow, but I'll see you once you're out of here."

"Fine."

Vegeta frowned pensively after Raditz left, looking over to where Bulma had been sitting. The paperwork for the DA was still on the seat, so he knew she would eventually come back. He leaned back, closed his eyes, and waited.

After Bulma took a walk to clear her head, she came back into Vegeta's room to find that Raditz had left. Her blue eyes settled then on Vegeta, who looked to be asleep. Releasing a deep breath, she went over to the seat where she'd been earlier, taking the folder with the paperwork in her hands while she sat down. She leafed through it to double check his signature, wanting to ensure everything was correct.

"I was starting to think that you weren't coming back," Vegeta mumbled, startling her as she looked back up at him. He was looking back towards her, his gaze tired but alert.

"I just needed a walk. The last couple weeks have been stressful," Bulma admitted. He frowned a little, appearing to contemplate her words while he stared at her. He licked his lips, then swallowed hard.

"I'm sorry. I didn't even think about asking you or anyone else for help after I got out of here. I'm just…I'm used to being on my own, fending for myself," Vegeta quietly confessed, breaking their eye contact as he looked down. "Plus you've already done so much…I don't want to burden you more-"

"Vegeta, it's not a burden. You're not a burden," she gently said, her tone understanding. "I don't mind you coming to stay with me, especially when you don't have anywhere to go right now. You've been through a lot, and I want to help you get back on your feet. Plus, I like your company," she said with an easy smile.

Vegeta hesitantly raised his intense gaze to meet hers, watching how she smiled at him. He swallowed again, before reaching out to her with his hand. She took his hand and he interlaced their fingers together in gratitude.

"Thank you for everything," he quietly said.

Her smile grew, before she squeezed his hand. "Of course. You're worth it."

"I've never…been with anyone before," Vegeta reluctantly admitted, looking uncomfortable and slightly embarrassed. Even a hint nervous. Regardless, he didn't break their strong eye contact. "I don't know how this works, or what I'm supposed to say. All I know is…when I thought I was definitely going to die…all I could think about was you. And how I didn't get the chance to tell you how I really felt about you."

Bulma took a moment to assess his words, her blue eyes feeling like she was exploring his very soul. It took enormous discipline on his behalf to keep the eye contact, the seconds feeling like years to him. Vegeta kept his face neutral, but the monitors still showcasing his vitals betrayed him as his heartrate that was beeping in the room grew a step quicker.

"And how do you really feel about me, Vegeta?" Bulma finally asked, thankful that he couldn't hear her own heart racing.

He pulled on her hand, until Bulma got up and sat on the edge of his bed. When she was closer to him, Vegeta reached up to her face, until he settled his bandaged palm around her jaw, his thumb gently caressing her soft skin. He examined her features with such a dark, burning intensity that it made her face start to heat up. In her rush to pick up the documentation from the DA, she had opted out of make-up that morning, and his extreme scrutiny was making her self-conscious. Vegeta didn't seem to care though, snaking his hand back more until his rough fingers were sliding into her blue curls, before he pulled her a little closer in invitation.

That was all she needed. She leaned forward the rest of the way, grateful he didn't need the oxygen mask anymore as she gently brought her lips to his. The last time she'd felt his lips was when he had been lifeless beneath her, and she relished in the difference now. He felt so alive now as he kissed her, fingers threading in her hair as he literally stole her breath away. She whimpered a little when he pulled her even closer so he could deepen the kiss, distantly hearing his heartrate pick up a little bit more. Vegeta grunted in content, enthusiastically exploring the warmth of her mouth as though all of his pain had been worthwhile for the opportunity to kiss her like this again.

Finally, he broke the kiss first, both of them lowering their heads just slightly until their foreheads were against each other. All the while, Vegeta kept his hand near the side of Bulma's neck, fingers in her hair, his thumb running along her jaw.

"You're the best thing that's ever happened to me," he whispered. "I know you can do better than me, and that you…you deserve so much better than me. And I can't guarantee that it'll always be easy with us. But if you give me a chance…to really be with you…I promise that I'll do my best to be good for you. Because since the night we met…it's been you. It's always going to be you, Bulma."

Vegeta felt her soft hands on his face as she pulled back and raised his head up so they were making eye contact.

"Let's give this a real shot then," Bulma quietly said, smiling brightly through her tears.

For the first time since she'd met him, and for the first time since Tarble's death, a rare, genuine smile spread over Vegeta's face.