Hi guys! I mentioned this in the description of the story! But as you may or may not know, this story is actually a sequel to one I've written called The 3 Year Gap. Feel free to go read that one if you would like to know about Vegeta and Bulma's history up until this point. ^^ I just wanted to throw that in there for you! I also wanted to warn that the following chapter makes references to a few things that happened in that story, which may or may not be slight spoilers if you haven't had a chance to read it yet.

Anyway, thank you so much for all of your reviews! They're amazing and make me so happy. :) I've seen that other authors on here actually respond to comments at the end of each chapter (such as Over8000 and Innocent Dumpling do). I'm thinking about starting to respond to reviews at the end of each chapter, too! It would be really fun, so I will be responding to reviews in the next chapter I post!

Hope you enjoy! ^^

The sliding glass doors flew open, and Bulma stepped through and kicked the dust off her shoes. The smell of fresh technology was wafting through the lobby of the Capsule Corp headquarters, and as Bulma inhaled it she began to fall right back into an alter ego that she hadn't assumed for nearly three years.

"Ah, Mrs. Briefs. I was told to expect you!" A young receptionist cheered. Bulma looked up and raised her eyebrows. "Mrs.? I'm not married." She replied.

"Oh, I'm sorry! My mistake!" The receptionist jumped, shaking her head frantically. "I-Uhh...! Well, uh- anyway- uh, the Professor is waiting for you in his lab!"

Bulma smiled, and with a nod she walked off into the direction on her father's lab. As soon as she stepped into it she was hit with more familiarity. The odor of coffee, freshly printed blueprints, and stale books was overwhelming in Dr. Briefs' lab. The lab was dimly lit with fluorescent lights, half of which had burned out long ago and Dr. Briefs had hastily replaced with table-top lamps. "Hi Dad," Bulma began, but she quickly noticed that there was someone standing with him. The Bluehead, who hated the idea of getting preferential treatment because of who her parents were, quickly stood up straighter. "Ah - I mean, good morning Dr. Briefs!" Mr. Briefs turned around, a long cookie poking out of his mouth as he chewed on it. "Ahhhh, Bulma dear! What took you so long?!"

What took her so long? The image of a bewildered Vegeta pulling oatmeal from his eye in horror flashed through Bulma's mind, and her mood suddenly dropped. "I was having trouble with Trunks this morning," She said bitterly, trying to force a smile on her lips. Mr. Briefs responded by promptly choking on his cookie. "That's a" -cough- "scary face, dear." -cough, cough.-

Bulma had been so distracted by her father's choking fit that she'd forgotten about the man standing next to him. After Mr. Briefs finally finished his battle with the his jammed throat, he clapped a firm hand on the man's shoulder, gesturing to him warmly. "Anyway dear, this is Tadashi. He's our new intern, and today is his first day. You may remember stories of Haruto Saito, my old partner from my college days? Well, Tadashi is his very gifted nephew that we are excited to welcome."

Tadashi was a nervous wreck of a man, almost shivering when Dr. Briefs spoke his name. As soon as the introduction was concluded, the young man gave a quick bow. Bulma obediently bowed back, eyeing him silently. Bulma couldn't help but think that that Tadashi seemed familiar, but she couldn't put her finger on how. She could vaguely remember stories of Haruto, but she'd never met him in person, so there was no way that she and this new intern had ever crossed paths. "Nice to meet you," Tadashi croaked, his voice growing noticibly higher in pitch when he uttered the word "meet". Bulma fought back a laugh, trying to maintain her professional composure.

"Since it is your first day at work after maternity leave, I thought it would be great if you could mentor Tadashi a bit." Mr. Briefs explained, happily munching on another cookie. Bulma's eyes widened, turning to her father in surprise. This was a complete shock to her, and she shot her father an incredulous look. He'd had plenty of opportunities to inform her that she'd be training someone as soon as she got into the office, and he hadn't said a single thing! 'Wow, thanks Dad!' Bulma thought bitterly. 'It is just like him to forget to mention something like this to me!'

Just then, a loud buzzer went off, causing both Bulma and Tadashi to jump in surprise. But while Bulma only seemed irritated by the interruption, Tadashi had a look of sheer trepidation on his face. "Oh, would you look at that. 10 O'clock already? I've got an important meeting to attend!" Mr. Briefs announced happily. "Excuse me, you two. I got to get started with this conference."

"But what about-" Bulma began, but Mr. Briefs had already turned and shuffled away.

Instantly the Bluehead could feel her cheeks growing warm. Her father had completely taken her off-guard by dumping the new intern into her hands, and he hadn't even discussed a game plan with her. She knew nothing about this boy or of what his responsibilities were supposed to be. She'd only just started working again, and she wasn't even completely up to date on what the major projects for Capsule Corp were yet! Bulma's first instinct was to yell after Mr. Briefs, but she quickly remembered where she was. She wasn't standing in the lab at their house - she was at work! So, with a deep breath, she put on her professional face and slowly turned to look at Tadashi.

The blonde intern was scrambling to pick up a stack of papers that he had apparently dropped. There was sweat formed at his forehead, and as he scooped the papers up Bulma couldn't help but to think that he looked like some sort of lost puppy trying to find its way. 'Oh, jeez...' Bulma thought as she stared, her smile dropping somewhat as empathy filled her veins. 'This poor guy is more lost than I am!' And with that, she no longer found herself feeling as negative about having to train him. "Come on," She sighed. "Have you been shown around yet?"

Vegeta sat on the roof of the spaceship, looking down into the yard before him as baby Trunks crawled through the grass. A few meters away from the infant stood Mrs. Briefs, who was singing out loud as she worked her way through a basket of clothes that she was pinning on a line to dry.

It was strange how the saiyan felt as he watched the two. This feeling was something he'd encountered before - a sense of both guilt and duty that he had struggled with even before Trunks was born. The feeling had reached its peak when he'd gone off to space in effort to become a super saiyan, and Bulma had grown frustrated with his leave. Vegeta hated admitting it back then, and he even hated to admit it now... But he was fairly certain that it was an argument he'd had with that woman that'd sent him over the edge to finally become the legendary. In fact, back then he'd been fairly certain that he'd lost her forever when he'd made the change...

Back then, just the mere idea that he was so bothered by such a thing was a cold enough grief for him to face. In his mind was the constant battle between maintaining the cold-blooded warrior instinct instilled in his roots, and coming to terms with this strange sense of responsibility he felt towards the blue-haired beauty that he'd grown so fond of. He'd suppressed this feeling, though. He done it through training. Training was all he'd ever really been good at, and for him it was an escape from absolutely everything that bothered him - when his training sessions were successful, that is.

It wasn't entirely a conscious decision on his part. In fact, when he'd set off to train in seclusion in the woods after Trunks was born, he really hadn't planned for such a suppression to occur. But the more he worked alone, the more sucked in he found himself. It was easy enough to zone out and focus only on perfecting his forms, and it was a sensation that he become obsessed with. A good chunk of time had managed to pass by in this way, as he trained relentless each day. Bulma had described Vegeta as an addict. She said this to him during their final fight. That word irritated him. It was an Earth term, one he'd never heard before, but he could tell from the context that it was not meant to be a compliment. Vegeta was so wrapped up in his thoughts now that he forgot about the two Earthlings below him in the yard. The saiyan, now feeling frustrated from his musings, stood upright. Standing on the roof of the space ship, Vegeta took in a deep breath before letting out an angered yell. What the hell was an addict, anyway?!

Mrs. Briefs jumped from the sudden outburst, pulling the clothesline down with her as she crashed into the grass below. Trunks, who had been happily flailing a plastic shovel in the air, immediately broke into a loud sob. Breathing heavily, the terrified Mrs. Briefs anxiously looked around to identify the source of the loud noise that had startled her. Vegeta was still standing on the roof of the ship, his eyes widening as he came to his senses.

"Oh, Vegeta," Mrs. Briefs gasped when she saw him, pulling herself to her feet. "It was just you!" Her voice shook, and she made her way to Trunks, scooping him into her arms. The truth was that she'd already been feeling on edge that morning, and this sudden fright was only proving to further dampen her mood. "You really scared me, ya know!" Mrs. Briefs continued, her voice breaking. "There, there Trunksy! Don't cry..." The grandmother sniffled. "Don't... cry. Don't you dare... cryyyy!" And with that, she erupted into a heart-wrenching sob.

The Saiyan watched as both Mrs. Briefs and Trunks sobbed together in each other's arms. 'Damn!' He thought in horror. He hadn't even gotten on Bulma's good side again, and now he'd put her mother in some sort of uncontrollable fit of hysteria. 'She'll never forgive me for doing this!' The saiyan jumped from the ship, landing right next to Mrs. Briefs, who let out another scream from surprise. She jumped back, sobbing even louder now. "Vegeta! You just keep scarin' me!" She wailed.

"I'm not going to do anything!" Vegeta replied. He was trying to sound comforting, but it wasn't working. His words came out as a frustrated snarl, causing Mrs. Briefs to hiccup. "I know, dear!" She gasped. "But I was jus' so scared!"

The saiyan could feel sweat forming at his temple. "Stop it, then!" He snapped. "If you know that I am of no threat, then I demand you to stop sobbing!"

Mrs. Briefs shook her head, her cries continuing with vigor. Her face was growing puffy from her tears, and for the first time Vegeta thought he could see a resemblance between her and the baby. The saiyan closed his eyes, racing his mind to think of words he could use to try to console her. Finally, after a few moments of thought, Vegeta looked up.

"Look." He said, taking in a deep breath to try and keep his voice calm. Mrs. Briefs opened her eyes, her wails beginning to slowly fade. Vegeta took this as encouragement, so he continued. " I was merely thinking of the other woman of this house and got carried away. You are in no imminent threat. I didn't mean to alarm you." With that he patted the baby on the head, as if to emphasize his point.

"Other woman?" Mrs. Briefs squeaked. "So you don't care about me?"

Vegeta cringed as the woman before him erupted into yet another set of sobs.

Tadashi sat at the desk, looking over some of the blueprints that Bulma had given him. He eyed the sketches and calculations that were printed on the sheet, writing notes just as she had instructed him to. T'his isn't so bad, after all!' The blonde thought. Tadashi was in his late teens, and he had just been accepted into the engineering program at a university that was inspired by the Capsule Corp name. He wiped a bit of sweat from his forehead, taking in a deep breath. This had an opportunity that he'd aspired for after hearing his uncle's amazing stories about working alongside Dr. Briefs. In fact, he's spent so much of his childhood fantasizing about this day, that when it finally came, he was nothing but an anxious mess, worrying about doing something wrong or embarrassing himself. This had been one of the most stressful days of his life - but as it was coming to an end he was starting to feel a bit more at ease.

Bulma had spent hours discussing simple concepts with him to try and get an idea on how much he already knew. She'd walked away to take care of a few things, feeling better about this intern than she had when they'd first met. Sure, he may have been fairly inexperienced and quite unconfident, but he seemed to understand a lot of what she discussed with him. And he seemed to have a desire for success - he seemed to want to do good! Even though his apprehension was a big turn-off for her in colleagues, she couldn't help but to root for him. He had the potential to accomplish great things.

'Maybe he'll come around and impress us all,' She thought as she clicked away at her computer. Bulma let out a loud yawn, pausing with her work to stretch out her arms behind her head. Sure, she'd gotten to work a couple hours late, but this had been a really long day regardless. Checking the clock, she saw that there was only 30 minutes left before she'd get to go home.

This was an exciting thought. It went without saying that Bulma wasn't used to being separated from her baby for so long. The idea of getting to wrap her arms around Trunks and plant a loving kiss on his forehead made her smile... But then she thought back on the events of that morning, and she quickly remembered him.

Vegeta.

What was with him? That man was completely mental, she was sure of it. He'd treated her and Trunks so badly, but he didn't seem to know how to leave her alone when she finally tried to wash her hands of him. Why on Earth was he still hanging around when he'd promised her that she'd never see him again once Cell was defeated?! It was as if he were teasing her! She didn't need that in her life. He was making it incredibly difficult for her to move on, and she couldn't help but think that he was doing it on purpose.

Bulma scowled. That bastard. Pondering over Vegeta was putting her in a sour mood again - especially because she noticed that a tight feeling formed in her stomach when she remembered that smirk he'd shot her that morning. It was undeniable - Vegeta was a very attractive man. But the butterflies that threatened her stomach were a hazard. She didn't like the idea of it, but she was really going to need to talk with him. She was going to have to make it clear that he needed to leave her alone, for once and for all.

It was then that Bulma heard a sound behind her, and the Bluehead jumped in her chair. "What is it?!" She screeched, turning around to shoot a glare at whoever was disturbing her thoughts. Tadashi was standing right behind her, and he backed up with fear to see the fire in her eyes. "E-Excuse me!" He stuttered. "Dr. Briefs - I'm sorry! I just thought I would - well, it's 4 O'clock..."

Bulma's eyes widened. Once again, she'd forgotten that she was at work. The blue-haired scientist slouched in her seat, letting out a sigh. She couldn't help but feel guilty for snapping at the intern. Taking her anger out on him felt as if she'd lashed out at an unsuspecting child. It wasn't his fault that she was having issues at home. "I'm sorry, Tadashi. I didn't mean to be rude. I was just startled." She ran a finger across her temple, taking in a deep breath. "It's been a long day and I lost track of time."

The intern stepped back, giving her a bow. He could feel heat rising in his cheeks to see his supervisor letting her defenses down. She intimidated the hell out of him, but there was no denying the fact that Bulma was kind of cute.

Opening her eyes, Bulma looked up to see Tadashi still standing over her, his own eyes slightly glazed over. She couldn't help but smile. 'This kid wears his emotions on his sleeve!' She thought. 'He kind of reminds me of Goku in a weird way...' And suddenly, with another jolt in her heart, Bulma's face dropped.

Goku.

Oh, why did she have to go and think of him during such an inconvenient time? The scientist couldn't avoid the grief that washed over her entire body, and she turned away from the intern to hide her face.

Tadashi quietly watched her back as it trembled. He was still waiting for her to dismiss him from his shift, and he'd also seen that look on her face before she's turned away. The intern stood awkwardly as Bulma tried to get a grip on herself, biting on her knuckles to keep from letting out an audible cry. "That's fine, Tadashi." She choked. "You're dismissed. Thank you."

It was with this permission that the young blonde gave one last bow, backing out from the room. 'Wow...' He thought, his cheeks now completely red. During the entire drive to his apartment, Tadashi found that he couldn't stop thinking about his new supervisor for one second. It wasn't only her cute face that he was thinking of as he blushed, but it was the way she'd behaved before he left. Bulma had looked so sad at the end of the day, and it concerned him.

'I wonder what was going on with her?' He thought as he let himself into his home. 'I wonder if I should get her a gift or something to cheer her up...'