Thanks again for all of the reviews and feedback! I know that in the last chapter we saw Vegeta give a more definitive talk to Gohan about his own changes, but it did feel a bit filler-esque, did it not? This chapter may also feel filler-esque as well, but I certainly think there's plot progression here. I had a lot of fun typing this one, so I hope you enjoy reading it.

I also wanted to send a quick notice out that I'm starting to get a little bit busy with the stuff going on in my life. I am going to keep working as hard as I can to continue updating on a regular basis, but the next chapter may take me a couple of weeks to get up.

"I just can't get her to agree with anything I offer! I don't know what to do!"

"So why not use force?"

Vegeta and Bulma were downstairs in the basement, trying to put together lab equipment. Because the house had been designed with a floorplan nearly identical to the Briefs residence, a basement had been included during the construction. However Vegeta, not having much use for it, hadn't done much with the space. Perhaps he could have used the basement for his Gravity Room, but the saiyan much preferred to have his home built around his training quarters as its center. Bulma had decided that she wanted to use her spare time to start converting the basement to a lab so she could work from home, and the two were now working together as she spoke.

"I need these two pieces welded." The Bluehead said after clasping two cuts of metal together in form of some type of tube. Vegeta obliged, pointing a finger and eliciting a steady beam of heat from its tip. "Well?" He grunted, glaring at the metal as he impatiently waited for it to mold together. If he focused his power too hard then there was risk he'd end up melting the entire thing, and that was a lesson he'd had to learn the hard way. "If she's that delusional then just force her!"

"You know I can't do that!" Bulma hissed, taking in a deep breath as she lifted the next piece from the rubble that had been scattered about the floor.

"But living in such a remote location with her condition is mad!" The beam had faded into a soft wisp of steam that was simmering from his fingertip, and Vegeta blew it out with a smirk.

Show off…

"I know that, but there's nothing I can do! I can't force her!" A loud pop was heard as Bulma put two two rounded shapes of glass together, forming what appeared to be a large orb. "This needs to be mounted over here."

Vegeta made to help, but stopped in his tracks. "What is that?" He asked, eyes widening.

"It doesn't matter what it is, I'm about to drop it!" Bulma replied hastily. Her arms were starting to wobble as she waited for him to take it from her. "Do you think this is easy to hold?"

Cursing under his breath, Vegeta jumped to assist. He took the glass ball from the Bluehead, returning it to where she had been holding it. "This isn't even heavy. I forget how weak you Earth creatures are!" He replied, pointing a finger to weld it to the opening of the metal tube it sat on.

"That weighs over twenty kilos, I'll have you know!" Bulma retorted, crossing her arms to keep from rubbing her aching biceps.

"Twenty what? What the – Oh, a Kilo must be Earth's unit of measuring weight." Vegeta muttered, glaring at the object in front of him..

"It's one of them…"

The saiyan stepped back, shooting the Bluehead one his arrogant smirks. "Well, if that's what's considered heavy on this planet, then Earth is more of a joke than I thought!"

"Vegeta, could you just stop talking and help me?" It was hard enough putting all of this together – she was too much of a perfectionist to allow her father's helpers to do it, and she became far too anal when she did it herself. She didn't need his comments. She just needed him to work!

"I am…" Grunted the saiyan, waving an irate hand at the pile of tube and glass they had prepared so far. It looked like nothing more than a pile of junk to him, but evidently it was something much more than that. "See? I did what you asked."

"Well, I could use your help without the remarks, okay?" Bulma replied, turning back to the pile of parts scattered about the floor and trying to decide which one she needed next.

Now visually scorned and muttering even more curses under his breath, Vegeta began to make his way across the lab-in-progress, and stopped at the foot of the stairs. "So if Kakarot's woman doesn't move closer, what does that mean for you? You're just going to keep spending all of your days with her until the child comes out?"

"I might have to! In the mean time I'll keep trying to convince her to relocate, but I don't see that being of any use."

This obviously wasn't what the saiyan wanted to hear. Shooting her a scowl that would be clear even from kilometers away, Vegeta took a step back onto the first stair. "I don't like that."

"Well, there's really nothing else I can do, is there?" It was clear that they were done working on the lab for now. Pulling her work gloves off, she gave their project a glance. At this rate the lab wouldn't be complete until Trunks' next birthday! As she turned back around to look at Vegeta she saw that he was already halfway up the stairs. "I don't like it!" He was repeating, his feet growing louder with every step he took.

He'd been like this ever since her routine had begun. It seemed that every time they discussed Chi-Chi's physical status he would grow moody and sardonic, his snide remarks dripping off him like sweat. Bulma had known better than to tell him about Chi-Chi's refusal to move off of Mount Pazou, but he had asked… 'Oh well', She thought, following his lead. They had been nearing a stopping point anyway. And she did need to get ready to go see Chi-Chi, speaking of. It had been over a week, and today Dr. Plocks was finally going to make it out there with his medical team in order to examine the mother to be!

"I hope the kid puts up a good fight today." Vegeta grumped when Bulma made it into the living room. Since his first visit, Gohan had been going by the house every day. Though it seemed that he cared more about interacting with Trunks than he did sparring. In fact, on his second day of visiting, the adolescent had even announced a rule he had thought of over night. "Okay, Mr. Vegeta." He had said. "I'll spar with you. But only for an hour."

It was an odd request to be certain, but the boy had maintained this boundary that he'd set. It seemed he had an internal clock, for as soon as an hour passed in the Gravity Room Gohan would power down, refuse to throw any more punches, and excuse himself from the chambers in order to find Trunks and see what he was up to.

"I don't know what's with that boy! How can he expect to make much progress with only an hour each day?" Vegeta was griping now, as Bulma walked past him to make her way for the bedroom.

"Come on, Vegeta…" The Bluehead teased, running a hand across his chest as she passed. "Why don't you just admit that you miss me when I leave, and you worry about Chi-Chi. I bet you'll be able to stop being so cranky if you do."

"I hate that word!" Vegeta snapped. "I am not cranky!"

"Suit yourself. I need to get dressed so I can go."

.

"Good, you're here. We're going out."

It was an hour after Bulma had left, and Gohan had just arrived at Bulma and Vegeta's home. This had been the last thing he expected to hear when Vegeta had answered the door. "We're going out?" Gohan echoed, raising his young brows.

"Yes." Vegeta stepped back to fetch Trunks, but the tot had already found his way into the foyer after hearing Gohan's voice.

"Hi!" Trunks squealed, throwing his hands up with a wave.

"Hello." Gohan said, smiling down at the boy despite his confusion.

"Oh, come on!" Vegeta groaned. "Let's go!"

As the unlikely group strolled down the sidewalk together, Trunks separated the older saiyan from the half-breed. Gohan was on edge, having been taken by complete surprise at this morning's endeavors. In the week that he had spent visiting each day, Vegeta hadn't taken a single step outside. When the subject of the outdoors even came up, the saiyan's already hostile mood would sour even more, which would usually result in him storming out of the room while muttering about "beta pigs" and "savage vultures".

They were stepping further away from the house with each passing moment now. Other than Trunks, who was gleefully squealing with his strides, a single word hadn't been said. Gohan decided to break the silence, clearing his awkward throat. "Um… Where are we going, Mr. Vegeta?"

"Hm." The saiyan grunted, looking over his shoulder as he examined his surroundings. The truth was that Vegeta really had been on edge ever since Bulma had begun her routine of spending her days out of the house in Chi-Chi's company.

It wasn't completely because of Bulma being gone, though the off-chance of her being attacked again while she was away put him on edge. Aside from that, he found that he much preferred to hear her voice blaring down the hallways to the silence that fell without it. And he really did enjoy the feeling he got when he saw her walk into the house at night... Sharing stories from their days each night was something he had started to look forward to, though he never would say this out loud.

Vegeta being on edge also wasn't completely due to the fact that Kakarot's Woman was so pitiful in her state, although it made his stomach twist to hear stories of her upon Bulma's return. The images of her sunken eyes was one that the saiyan prince didn't like to remember, and it made his mouth far too dry when he faced the idea of having left his own Bluehead in such an excruciating state.

It wasn't even Kakarot's kid that bothered him! Though Vegeta had to admit it made him a little too irritable to see the kid eagerly running upstairs to see Trunks rather than train in the Gravity Room. How could the boy prefer playing with dolls over the sheer endorphins that came from a good sparring session? Gohan was the only person on this planet that seemed capable of offering a challenge to Vegeta, and he wasn't even giving him that because he wanted to play with dolls! What more, the kid seemed much less high-strung than he had been a week earlier. How was it that he was finding proper sustenance without training?!

All of these things did bother Vegeta enough as it was, but they weren't the entire cause of his foul mood. What really sent him over the edge was the stark contrast of his and Bulma's days. The Bluehead was out of the house on a remote mountain, surrounded by wilderness and nature as she helped Chi-Chi to cook and clean. And what had Vegeta been doing? He hadn't been training in the Earth's soil, ripping trees from the ground to swing for a challenge, or meditating near a waterfall! Instead, the ever-private saiyan had taken to shutting himself away in his gravity room, not caring to have a fabricated story about himself published in the tabloids alongside his picture. Those vile creatures had gotten enough when he'd drunkenly kissed Bulma for them all to see, and what good had it done? If anything, it only seemed to make them want more! Vegeta was perfectly capable of leaving the house as any time, but the fact was that he didn't want to deal with any of the repercussions.

He hated the customs on Earth. On any other planet he would incinerate every one of those creatures that pointed a camera at him, but he wasn't at liberty of doing that here. Not without igniting Bulma's wrath...

...This morning, however, things had been different. Despite how moody he had been with Bulma and his irritation at the idea of not getting to have a good spar with Kakarot's boy, he'd noticed something as soon as he'd gotten out of bed. A complete lack of ki outside, which indicated that there was no waiting paparazzi. It was enough to intrigue him, though he'd been hesitant to get too excited until he was sure of it. But now, as the saiyan examined his surroundings and confirmed his suspicions, Vegeta couldn't help but feel a surge of emotion welling inside that he hadn't even known he'd been capable of. There wasn't a single twiggy man hiding behind a tree to violate his privacy with an unsolicited picture!

Not a single one!

He turned to look over his other shoulder, the emotion inside growing as he assured he wasn't being watched. He was fighting back a smile, eyes flashing as he noted how empty the street was.

'Giddy' was probably the most fitting Earth term that could be used to describe this feeling, though Vegeta would never stoop low enough to describe himself with such a frilly word. Was this what Bulma meant when she would express herself as being giddy?

"Mr. Vegeta?"

The saiyan whipped around to face the boy, having been so distracted by his own thoughts that he'd nearly forgotten the kid was there. "What?" He grunted, tightening down to his typical gruff demeanor.

Gohan was looking at him from the corner of his eye as they continued their walk, looking somewhat paranoid as they went. "Where are we going?" He asked again, which came out sounding much too unconfident for Vegeta's taste.

"Hm…" Vegeta replied. This was the first time in weeks that he stepped foot outside without feeling as if he'd lose control and tear apart some camera man! Perhaps his drunken slip of judgement with Bulma hadn't been in vain, after all! She'd been right – it certainly had taken longer than she'd anticipated, but those bags of filth had left them alone! He could do whatever he wanted in peace! Vegeta was feeling so beside himself with the possibilities, and he turned to the boys beside him with a stifled grin. "Where do you want to go?" He replied with a tone that Gohan had only heard him use when he was laughing during a sparring match.

"Me?" Gohan asked.

"Me?" Trunks cooed.

"Yes, you." Vegeta said impatiently. "Where do you want to go?"

Was this some type of test? Gohan couldn't help but to feel his defenses coming up as Vegeta waited for an answer. This was so unlike him, and seemingly out of nowhere!

"Park!" Trunks squealed, cutting off the adolescent from having to think too much harder. Vegeta seemed to accept this without any type of reprimand or sarcastic remark, because he simply nodded and continued to walk in silence, only speaking out to tell them when they needed to turn onto another street. It wasn't until they arrived to the park, a sea of swingsets and slides that were safely packed between four stone walls, that the saiyan spoke. Gohan couldn't say he'd ever been to one of these! He was about to run off behind Trunks to explore, his mouth dropped open as he looked around, but as he made to do so Vegeta cut him off.

"Wait a minute. I have a question for you."

Gohan bit his tongue, looking up into the saiyan's eyes. Here is was. This had been some type of test, all along!

It seemed that a response wasn't necessary, because Vegeta continued without waiting for one. "My son is not even two years old, and you're nearly thirteen. Do you not think all these activities are far too childish for you?" His eyes were locked on the boys, staring him down to make it clear that he was being serious. "Do you really prefer playing with my son's toys to training?"

Gohan blinked at the saiyan, his shoulders relaxing. This didn't sound like a trick question at all, for the man seemed to be genuinely perplexed! "You're right, Mr. Vegeta. All this stuff is for babies. I don't really care about any of this. I just like spending time with Trunks, and this is what he likes."

Vegeta continued staring into the boy's eyes, as if he were trying to detect any sign of a lie. "You enjoy my son's company that much." It was a question, but it came out as a command.

"Trunks is a cool kid, Mr. Vegeta!" Gohan gestured to the tot, who had somehow managed to gain reach of the monkey bars, and was now doing baby chin-ups as a group of schoolchildren watched in horror. Vegeta's own eyes widened as he watched – his son was still perfecting his ability to walk and speak! Where had the boy learned to do that?

Gohan let out a laugh to see Trunks' exercise, which Vegeta couldn't help but to grin at the sound of. It seemed that Kakarot's Son could appreciate physicality more than he'd let on…

As the Saiyan watched Gohan run off to join Trunks at the monkey bars, he couldn't deny the odd feeling that came over him. Kakarot's Boy was now doing chin-ups alongside Trunks, and the tot let out a competitive growl as his chubby biceps struggled to keep up.

…Gohan hadn't been blowing off training with Vegeta in favor of playing with dolls in Trunks' room, after all! That little twerp – it seemed he'd been using his time to give the lavender child training of his own! It was an odd sensation, to see what capabilities his own son had gained by lesson of another individual, and yet Vegeta found he approved of it. The boy was sloppy, but Gohan had managed to teach him a lot in only a week! The saiyan prince couldn't help but admit he was impressed!

"This place has all kinds of stuff we can use, doesn't it?" Gohan was chiming to the toddler.

"Yay!" Trunks squealed, letting go of the Monkey Bars and falling to his feet without even a flinch.

The Saiyan Prince made his way to a large tree that was sitting in the back of the park. Finding his place in the shade, Vegeta continued to watch the two boys from afar. He wasn't so sure if he wanted Trunks to learn too much more from Gohan – the kid had many flaws in his own techniques that he didn't want rubbing off on his son. But he'd done a good job in showing Trunks the basics, which Vegeta noted as the Lavender-Haired Tot landed his small fist into a tetherball. Trunks had punched it so hard that the tether snapped, Gohan shooting into the air to catch the ball before it had a chance to fly all the way into West City.

His arms crossed as he leaned against the tree, Vegeta dropped his face to hide his laugh.

"So," He grunted, wishing for the millionth time in a week that Bulma was with him. He would have loved to hear the commentary she'd have to offer if she was witnessing this. "This is what they've been up to."

This was how Gohan had become less high-strung! It wasn't from the dolls at all!

Suddenly Vegeta didn't feel so soured by the idea of Gohan's disinterest in training in the Gravity Room. He hadn't been training with Vegeta - but he had been doing it with his own son!

I missed Vegeta/Bulma interaction, and I had a lot of fun typing out their scene together! I had a lot more planned for this update, but the chapter is over 3,000 words already! If I keep going then I won't be able to end for another 1000-2000 words, and I'd really like to update now rather than wait another week or two to get the rest typed up. This is a good stopping point anyway!

What will happen during Chi-Chi's encounter with Dr. Plocks? Where did the paparazzi go? How is Vegeta going to react next time he sees Bulma and tells her of what Trunks and Gohan have been up to? What happened to Tadashi, and when the heck is Goten going to get here? All of these questions and more are just waiting to be addressed, although I can't say exactly when you'll get these answers, or in which order! I don't want to give too much away!

Thank you for your support - it give me a lot more inspiration and motivation than I can express. Have a safe and happy Friday!