Yadda, yadda, yadda

Yadda, yadda, yadda! I don't own DBZ!

Now that that's out of the way, I want to say thanks for the reviews! I'm going to keep posting, but the chapters will be slow until I figure out where the plot is going now. More reviews will help, especially if I get lots of the kind that tell me where people think the story should go or what they've liked so far. LOL I actually wasn't going to post any more until I read some of the emails and reviews, so it really does help!

It takes a turn for the weird here, and I know this one's short and pointless, but you'll get it later, promise! And I know the title of the chapter has nothing to do with anything, but I'm listening to S Club 7 and couldn't think of a title at all. Let me have my fun!

AIM and ICQ are both on my author page at ff.n, so feel free to grab 'em or email me at lil.dreamer@excite.com!

If Tomorrow Never… - Ch. 2 - Never Had a Dream

Two people stepped onto the huge spaceship. Ok, so one of them stepped and the other was dragged, but the point is that they got on.

The elder was a teenager, barely 17, but his stern face and ever-present scowl made him appear older. He turned to the younger, a small girl, perhaps 3 years old, and in a harsh voice asked, "Do you remember what I told you earlier?"

The child moved away from him and stood submissively, eyes downcast, before replying, "Yes, your highness, I remember my orders."

"So, you're finally here, Prince Vegeta. This is the servant you wished to bring?" Frieza circled the child, carefully examining what could be considered his newest acquisition. "Small for its apparent age, thin, no fighting power. What could you possible want with it?"

Vegeta carefully controlled his response. "The child belonged to one I owed a debt of honor to. It was the brat's father's wish that she accompany me on any journey I took. As her father is now gone, it has been decided I shall keep her as a personal servant."

"You monkeys and your honor..." Frieza shook his head and with his tail raised the girl's chin. When they were eye-to-eye, he spoke.

"Child, have you been receiving lessons?"

"Yes, sir. His highness began training me only weeks ago." Vegeta wasn't leaving anything to chance and had instructed her how to respond to a variety of questions before they boarded.

"Fighting, then? And what of your duties? Has someone trained you in those?"

"Lord Frieza, if I may?" Vegeta waited for the lizard-like tyrant to acknowledge him before continuing, "The child is frail and performs few duties as yet. I handle most things myself. She watches me and takes on new duties as her abilities allow."

"I see." Turning his attention back to the girl, "As you are too... frail, as your master says, when you finish your duties, you will report to me. I will find you a tutor, and we shall see if you will be more valuable as perhaps a scientist. I trust that is fine with you?"

The girl's eyes darted to Vegeta (who nodded) before she gave her response: "Yes, sir."

Frieza released her chin and ordered one of the many guards to take her to Vegeta's quarters. After she was gone, he spoke again to the prince.

"I thought you would be glad for her to do something besides sit around. She may prove to be brilliant. I could see something in her eyes... They were green. Odd color for a Saiya-jin, ne?"

"I am glad you have something for her to do. I was wondering what tasks I could design for her while I was training. As for her eyes, she is the only Saiya-jin I have ever seen with them."

"How... unusual. There were others coming with you, were there not?"

The Saiya-jin made an ugly face before replying, "Yes, palace guards. Radditz and Napa. May I be excused, my lord? I wish to see my quarters."

"Of course."

Vegeta woke with a start. These dreams had plagued him for the last three months without reason. He refused to go back to sleep, knowing more visions of his past life would haunt him. At least tonight's weren't the nightmares. All he needed was Kakarotto rushing in to calm him down.

The one-time prince settled in to think over past events and watch the brat sleep 'til the sun rose. This was quickly becoming routine for them. Well, he usually thought of his past. Today he thought of events that had not yet come.

He and Trunks had been alone for three months. In a few weeks the Androids would appear to wreak havoc on Chikyuu. And Vegeta wasn't going to fight them.

Since he had taken his son, Vegeta hadn't really sparred or even spent much time practicing. His heart was no longer in the sport, and he didn't care. Working the old forms for hours every day kept him in decent shape and gave a new grace to his movements, and meditating cleared his mind. That was all he wanted now.

Kakarotto probably still thought he would fight in this battle, the baka.

Kuso! He couldn't even come up with a good insult today!

Today was the day he would tell Kakarotto he wouldn't fight for this planet. It rivaled only Frieza's station in remembered pain. As his thoughts focused on the spiky-haired Saiya-jin, he noticed something odd in Kakarotto's chi signature. 'Ah, the virus has shown itself. Just as well.'

With that thought, he looked to the eastern sky, waiting for the sun to rise.

***

Though they had all gone in different directions to train, the Z Senshi remained in close contact. At one time, most though they would train and meet again only to fight, but the Fates conspired otherwise.

Bulma's funeral forced an unhappy reunion months early. They had known something was wrong when Vegeta's chi suddenly grew to previously unthought of levels before practically disappearing.

He was the only one of Chikyuu's warriors not to attend the services.

Surprisingly, Yamcha was the first to side with Vegeta. They practically shared the same code of honor, as did most of the senshi, and in their code, suicide was a big no-no. He understood that Vegeta felt cheated and betrayed, because he did, too. Bulma had been his friend all these years, and she took that away, not only from him and the man she supposedly loved, but from her son as well. There was no honor in that.

Yamcha also understood because he had been there since the beginning. When Vegeta thought no one was looking, he would just watch her. Everything she did fascinated him, and his scowl would soften dramatically as long as she was near. Any idiot could see that she was becoming Vegeta's life, his goddess. That was why he finally accepted Vegeta, at least in his own mind. Yamcha was seemingly omnipresent those first months of their relationship, and in that short time, Vegeta had become a new person. He was the same old Vegeta on the outside; inside, though...

Goku was second to side with Vegeta, with everyone else falling in behind him. For Goku, it was easy to understand why Vegeta didn't attend. Goku almost didn't come for what he suspected were the same reasons Vegeta didn't. It hurt. Bulma had been a part of his life for so long, and then she was gone.

Goku knew about the pills and the note, too. One time he tried to put himself in Vegeta's shoes, just role-play with his own family as the characters, but he couldn't do it. The mere thought tore him up inside. Chi-chi still didn't know why he came into the kitchen that night, sitting silently, just watching while she did the dishes.

The others, while they did understand, hadn't been as close to Bulma. Unlike Vegeta, Goku, Yamcha, and Chi-chi (who still blamed Vegeta for her friend's death), none of them ever thought, "If only I..."

If only I spent more time with her...

If only I listened to her more...

If only I had told her how much I love her...

If only, if only, if only, If Only, If Only, If Only, IF ONLY, IF ONLY, IF ONLY…

If only there were second chances in real life...