April brought me over 7.7k views! This may not be a lot to some people, but it's amazing to me. Thanks to all of the readers. You are great!

I also wanted to mention, for those who showed an interest, that I did go ahead and publish the extended version of the waterfall scene from Chapter 35 as a oneshot.

It had become routine for Bulma to arrive at around 9 P.M. each night after spending the day on Mt. Pazou, so Vegeta was taken by surprise when she came home at 2 P.M. instead. He was glad to see her, especially after his rather unusually pleasant morning with Gohan and Trunks, but what he hadn't been expecting at all was the disorder that came along with her. "What's going on?" He asked, eyes wide, as a swarm of medical personnel flooded throughout their living room.

"She can go in this bedroom, right down this hall!" Bulma called, pointing a few workers in the way of the only room downstairs that would be suitable for a guest to stay in. Her cheeks were flushed with visible stress, and she turned to the saiyan to give him a desperate look. "The doctor ordered it – Chi Chi can't stay alone."

Stepping into a corner to keep from being caught in the stampede, Vegeta watched as nurses came running in from outside. One was pushing a bed on wheels as she went, the others following quickly behind with an assortment of equipment that the saiyan hadn't seen before. Simply pointing her finger, the Bluehead directed them to the room she had already mentioned to the others, and they disappeared without a word to set everything up. A moment later, and they were running back through the house in order to fetch something else.

Vegeta had thought it would be better for Kakarot's wife to move closer to the city, but he hadn't been expecting it to be in his own house! Speechless, the saiyan turned back to his Woman. She was now sporting a rather pale expression, appearing to be just as in shock as he was. She caught notice that he was looking at her, and quickly she scurried across the room to take a spot beside him and whisper into his ear. "She's being considered high-risk. The doctor didn't like her condition. It was either this or admission into a hospital."

"These were the only two options?" Vegeta hissed back, raising an eyebrow. "She can't find her own place in the city?"

"The doctors want her to be under watch at all times. That means she can't be left alone - not even overnight."

"She's doing that bad?"

"Yeah…"

It was then that the front door flew open again, and the nurses reappeared with something else in tow. It didn't even take looking at to know what it was, for Chi-Chi's calls of protests could be recognized by even the most hard of hearing. She was being escorted with a chair that had two large wheels on either side, and she raised her fists in effort to knock at the nurse who was pushing her.

"Chi-Chi!" Bulma groaned, bouncing on her feet to assist.

"I can do it myself!" Chi-Chi was screaming, manically waving her arms about. "I may have agreed to come here, but I still know how to walk!"

The nurse didn't react to her frantic objections. It seemed that she had mentally removed herself from the situation, staring straight ahead with eyes that were glazed over as she reminisced about more pleasant times.

"Hey, now." Bulma was scolding, crossing her arms and looking down at Chi-Chi as if she were speaking to an unruly child. "We all agreed you shouldn't walk too much. You need to keep your blood pressure down."

"I can still use my arms, can't I?!" Chi-Chi yelled, her voice breaking into a howl towards the end of the sentence. "Can't I at least have thaaaat?!" And with that, Chi-Chi threw her head back and let out a throaty sob.

Bulma dropped her face into her palms, her shoulders rising protectively around her ears as the woman in front of let out a shriek that closely resembled the call of a banshee. Vegeta's hands shot to his own ears, grinding his teeth to keep from yelling at the woman to shut up. The Bluehead had complained about Chi-Chi's unwillingness to cooperate over the last week, but he hadn't imagined her to be acting anything like this!

Bringing her hands down from her face, Bulma turned to give Vegeta a look that seemed to say "see this? I told you it was bad!". And in her eyes was even more that he could see – she was tired, she was feeling defeated, and she certainly didn't seem to be happy about this arrangement. It was those eyes that dug into Vegeta, triggering him into action. His motivation stemmed only from wanting to assist his own Woman and not anyone else, and he stepped out from the corner he'd huddled himself against.

He marched up to Chi-Chi without speaking a word, grabbing the handles of the chair away from the nurse. The nurse normally would have insisted on pushing the patient herself, as she was required to do, but she was fairly certain she was going to quit her job once she got back to the hospital anyway. And Vegeta certainly didn't seem like the type of person she wanted to cross, either. Warily holding a hand to her battered cheek, the nurse turned around and made her way back outside for a smoke.

"Don't push me!" Chi-Chi howled, planting her feet into the ground in effort to prevent the chair's wheels from turning. "If I can't walk then I'll use my hands and wheel myself!"

His throat rumbling as he let out a series of curses in a language that wasn't native to Earth, Vegeta slowly bent down so he could whisper into Chi-Chi's ear. "You were already told that it's of your best interest not to be so physical, and you know it." He hissed, making Chi-Chi's eyes widen from the venom in his tone. "You have been unruly with Bulma's efforts to care for you in the last week. For all we know, it was your own lack of cooperation that contributed to you landing in this situation. You gave the one who was pushing you a bruised face, you scream so loud that I fear my windows may be broken, and now you attempt to defy my efforts to appease this chaos you have caused. I am not like the woman who was pushing you before. If you try to hit me, I will not flinch, and it will only add to my inspiration to restrain you. Do you really think this is a dent to your dignity? If you so much as speak one more unruly word against us then we may have to abandon this chair altogether, and then what will be left of your options? Shall we resort to strapping you to your bed? How would that work for your pride? Now, start thinking of your health, and shut the hell up."

Her body tense as his words sank in, Chi-Chi turned to look at him over her shoulder. Shooting Vegeta a glare that exhibited every bit of resentment she could muster, her cheeks puffed wide with air and her eyebrows began to furrow into the nastiest scowl she'd ever managed. Vegeta happily returned the gesture, narrowing his dark eyes and slightly raising his ki so she could feel the seriousness of his stance. As they both glowered at one another in their staring match, Vegeta couldn't help but think back on Kakarot. He didn't understand where he and this woman had any commonalities, other than the fact that she seemed to be extraordinarily strong for an Earth woman. Perhaps that – and that alone - was what had attracted his old rival to her, for nothing else about her seemed desirable in the least. Kakarot had been so dimwitted that he probably did need someone like this to knock sense into him every now and then, so perhaps they were a good match, after all?

"Oh, fine!" Chi-Chi let out a huff and turned back around, picking her feet up from the ground and pouting as she crossed her arms. "Take me to my room, then! See if I care!" And with that she allowed Vegeta to continue pushing her across floor. The saiyan locked eyes with Bulma as he passed, and she responded by giving him a weakly grateful look that he could only nod at before continuing to haul Kakarot's wife into her bedroom.

He had gotten her to submit herself to her treatment, but the saiyan refused to assist any more than that. He stepped out of the room with another muttering of strange curses, leaving the physician and nurses to their devices as they transferred Chi-Chi from the chair and into her bed. Gohan, who knew the sounds of his mother's wails far too well, had come clambering downstairs to inspect the situation.

Bulma smiled at the adolescent as he approached, little Trunks' sweaty form appearing behind him. "My, what have you two been up to?" She asked, managing to push away all signs of fatigue from her face so that she wouldn't worry the boys.

"Training!" Trunks cooed, a proud grin forming across his pudgy cheeks.

"Training?" The Bluehead replied, her voice rising with curiosity at the specific word her son had used. Gohan looked away, shrugging shyly before turning back to Bulma. "Um. Miss Bulma? Was that my Mom I heard just now?"

She had been prepared for this, and Bulma put an assuring hand on Gohan's shoulder in effort to comfort him. "Yes, that was your mother. You guys will be staying with us for a little while, okay?"

"I should probably go in there." Gohan gulped. He didn't need to ask why they were suddenly moving in. He'd been on Bulma's side in trying to convince his mother that she needed to be somewhere that wasn't so isolated…

"It may not be a good idea to go in just yet," Bulma offered. A shrill scream erupted through the house, and the Bluehead forced her grin to widen, as if this would somehow cancel out the sound that was ringing through the halls. "Your mother's still settling in."

.

The sun had fallen out of the sky long ago, and Bulma now sat at the bar in the kitchen. She had poured herself a glass of red wine, and she stared at the liquid pensively as she swiveled the drink around in her hand. The week she'd spent trying to care for Chi-Chi was quickly catching up to her, especially after the current day's events. The Bluehead was known to have a temper of her own, and it was exhausting to stifle it in effort of being patient. If it had been a healthy person who had been acting the way Chi-Chi was, Bulma certainly would have yelled back without a second thought. But, well, this was Goku's widow – and she was sickly pregnant! The Bluehead would have to be completely heartless to not give her a pass.

But damn, it was draining!

As she took a sip of her red win she could hear the sound of a chair pulling up beside her, and a moment later she saw two large arms rest over the countertop. Putting her glass down she turned to give Vegeta a tired smile as she rested her hand into her palm. He was watching her with those deeply dark eyes of his, in that way he always looked at her. Curiously. Determined. Cautious. Awe. He would always peer at her as if he were studying a magnificent science experiment, trying to memorize it so he could understand the key.

"They're all asleep." The Blue beauty broke the silence, her voice sounding dry before taking another sip from the glass.

"Good."

She could feel the effects of the alcohol already – in her teenage years Bulma had certainly been no stranger to drinking, and she had even managed to somewhat burned herself out on the act. Drinking now was a rather rare occurrence, which did not combine well with her light weight. But, Kami, she needed it tonight!

"You aren't happy about this arrangement." The saiyan eyed the glass that quickly emptying as Bulma swigged. He was pretty sure he'd never seen her drinking before, and something about this scene was concerning.

"I'm happy she won't be alone anymore." Bulma shrugged. She grabbed the bottle to pour herself one more glass, thinking that she would pace herself a little better with this next one. "I'm just… overwhelmed."

"She had no one else she could stay with?"

She was fixated on the bottle to be sure not to spill it, but she knew he was still watching her as she worked. She could feel his eyes piercing into her skin, his serious demeanor warm on her skin. "Her father – she could have, I suppose. But there aren't any proper medical resources where he lives, and she only be even farther away." With that she took another sip, feeling a little light-headed as the drink went straight to her veins. Wanting to change the subject, the turned back to the saiyan and raised her eyebrows into a knowing grin. "I suppose you noticed the lack of paparazzi outside today?"

He smirked in response, light flickering into his dark eyes. "Not a single one! It was delayed, but your plan worked."

Something about the look in his eyes made Bulma forget about just how stressed she'd been only a few moments earlier, and her grin formed into a genuine smile. "It wasn't delayed!" She quipped, taking another sip. "It worked perfectly from day one! The single night we spent out completely repaired our tarnished reputation – you went from being the world's most feared villain to the most desirable sexy-man!"

The saiyan suddenly broke eye contact to cough in his hands before looking back up at his Woman, his eyes wide. She spoke bluntly enough as it was, but she'd never said something like that before! The drink must have been getting to her already! "Sexy-man?"

"They all wanted even more of you, don't you see?" Bulma didn't seem to notice his modest reaction to her words at all, continuing with her spiel. "They were publishing articles on ways to develop a relationship as close as ours! It was perfect, really!"

"Then why did they suddenly disappear?" Vegeta challenged, his surprised expression settling back into his usual stone face.

"Because it got too out of hand, and I got worried! They wanted us too much after that! So I sued three of the biggest media networks that have been covering us. It's a rather anti-climatic way to end things, but it worked. They won't publish our images anymore, which means they aren't buying them from the paparazzi. I basically cut off their food supply, and they scattered."

With that she downed the remainder of her glass, and Vegeta watched her with wide eyes. She really was a devious creature, wasn't she? To orchestrate something so simple, yet brilliant! She was already pouring herself a third glass now, and he inched his hand towards hers. "You won against them." He breathed, watching her delicate features in the pale lighting of the dark house.

"They knew they didn't stand a chance against us and settled things right away. Gave us a decent amount of money and stuck to their promise of not publishing anything else. I haven't told them yet, but I'm going to give the money to Chi-Chi once the baby is born and they move back to their house. If they're smart with it then it should support them until the baby's old enough to go to college."

She could feel his fingers sliding over her own as she spoke, and her voice began to fade with distraction. Her vision wasn't nearly as easy to focus as it had been thirty minutes earlier, and she screwed up her eyes as she looked down at her hand. He was rubbing her wrist with one hand, and with the other he was slowly pulling the glass of wine out of her grip, and she found that she really had no desire to protest.

"You're dangerous." Vegeta growled, throwing his head back and downing the drink with one go before the Woman had a chance to take it back. He wasn't keen on drinking after his last episode, but he'd rather do it himself than let her keep going. He could tell by her fluctuating ki and the slur of her words that she had already had enough as it was.

"That's right, alien boy!" Bulma smirked, leaning forward to poke him in the chest. "I told you that you didn't have to destroy anyone. We have our ways on Earth."

"Right." He licked his lips, noting how much sweeter this drink was compared to the wine he'd had at the restaurant. He pushed himself back from the bar, landing on his feet and holding a hand out for Bulma to take. "You need to sleep, you're speaking gibberish."

"That's a fancy word to come out of someone like you." She teased, but she took his hand and stood nevertheless. She found the action to be more tricky that she'd expected, and her knees swayed as her head attempted to find balance. She fell, letting out a soft coo as she landed against Vegeta's firm chest.

"Jeez!" He let out a husky laugh, putting his arms around her to make sure she didn't fall yet again. "Next time you should slow down."

"I know."

He scooped her up into his arms, deciding that it was clear enough she wouldn't be able to walk to bed on her own. The last thing he needed was for her to fall down the stairsand hurt herself – then he'd be the one playing caretaker for both his Woman and Kakarot's wife! He was sure he'd never seen his Woman drunk before, and from what he could tell the only difference in her behavior (besides her inability to use her own feet) was that her personality seemed to magnify by multitudes.

For example, she teased him with less provocation and more ferocity than she would have if she was sober. And her affection towards him had altered in the same way.

"Oh, you're so sweet!" Bulma sighed loudly, wrapping her arms around his neck as he made his way upstairs with her. "Really Vegeta, you're too good to me…"

"Okay." He replied, focusing on the steps he was taking. It was much more subtle than what she was experiencing, but he was starting to feel the effects of the glass of wine he'd swigged. His skin tightened as she nuzzled her face into his neck, finishing her act with a firm kiss that suckled the skin. "I mean it, Vege..."

"I know." He gave the door a soft kick to open it as he carried her into the bedroom, settling her down on the bed before stepping back to change out of his clothes. She watched as he disappeared into his closet, returning a moment later clad in only his boxers.

"Don't you think the same about me?" Bulma asked as he took a spot beside her.

"I do." Vegeta sighed. She was really drunk. It went without saying that he didn't mind when people around him drank, but he wasn't used to seeing it on his Woman. This was making him a bit uncomfortable…

"I know you do, but can't you tell me that?" She asked, curling against his body as he took her into his arms. "You've only told me how you feel once, you know!"

His head wasn't spinning, but it was feeling lighter as he sank into his pillow. He closed his eyes and let out another sigh. He hated the fact that he'd even said it that one time, and now she was asking for it again. He didn't want to repeat it – his actions towards her should be proof enough that it was real! But, then again, as she curled against him and he felt the soft of her skin, he remembered how much stress she'd been putting herself through. How strong she was to not only put up with Kakarot's wife, but all of the bullshit she'd seen in her days. How caring she was despite all of it. How smart she was to design all of the specimens she'd created for him, and even conduct a plan to get rid of the paparazzi so irreparably… And, as Vegeta began to list all of the things about his Woman that he admired in his head, he found that the least he could do was to say it to her if she was asking for it!

He turned, eying her soft expression as she peered at him with dreamy eyes, and he placed a rough hand against her delicate cheek. "Bulma." He breathed, pushing a few loose strands of hair away from her eyes. "You are the most valuable thing I could ever imagine coming across. You possess an immeasurable power to keep me at bay when I feel that there's no good that can come out of life. You give me a reason to train, strive for anything. You've given me a purpose – a place to stay, a goal. My role is to protect you. You - you are the only good I have, the only thing that this joke of a life has rewarded me with. I have nothing else, and even if I did I would give it up if it meant never losing you. Without you, I wouldn't care what happens to me. I wouldn't want to know. You are the only woman I have ever considered in this way, the only person who has ever made such an impact on me… and I… I love you."

He was stroking her cheek now, trying to ease her to sleep as he spoke, and it seemed to be working. She was sinking into his chest as he worked, her eyelids appearing to grow heavy. She smiled softly, as if he had just finished reciting a lullaby to her, and took his hand to lace her fingers with his.

"Vegeta," She whispered, her pretty face even more beautiful than he'd ever thought before.

"Just go to sleep…" He replied. "You're going to be ill in the morning."

"Probably," She smiled, closing her eyes.

He watched as she began to drift to sleep, her chest starting a steady rhythm as it rose and fell against his. He was caressing her shoulders as she slept, the saiyan staring up at the ceiling as his own words replayed in his mind. He didn't even care that he'd failed to shut off the lights, and would risk waking her if he moved to do it now. She'd been pushing herself to her limits, and she needed to rest. Bulma really was the only good he had, and it amazed him. He'd never expected his life to take him to where it had – how had he managed to get in such a place when he'd come of age under such vastly different circumstances?

He looked back down at his Woman's sleeping form, and he pulled the blanket up to cover her shoulders more effectively. She'd done her part in ridding him of the meddling fools with cameras, and yet he had been so vile to her in the past. Once again, as his mind wandered, he shuddered with the thought that he almost hadn't made it in time to save Bulma from the boar in the alley. Yet she was so good to him. Was he a hypocrite to pronounce that his goal was to take care of her when he hadn't even done a good job of that?

Vegeta groaned, throwing his head back and closing his eyes. No matter how she acted towards him, or how much she professed her love, he still felt he needed to make it up to her. Letting out one last gulp as he fell asleep, he knew he would do just that.

…Tomorrow was going to be a long day…

I haven't had as much time to proof-read this as I typically like to have! Because of that I apologize if this chapter doesn't flow quite the same as some of the others do. It's kind of giving me anxiety about posting! But I can't stand the idea of waiting another day, and I'm really trying to break out of the cycle of being such a perfectionist that it gives me writer's block, so I'm just going to bite the bullet - and here it is! I hope you enjoyed this one, and perhaps it answered some questions? I know this took me a few weeks to publish. Life is starting to slowly return back to normal after losing someone really close to me, and I'll try to get back on schedule to upload as often as possible. Thanks for being so supportive and understanding.