Truth

The sun was just barely visible over the peak of the mountain when Vegeta finally powered down. It had snowed for hours during the night, and the air was so cold it felt like hot knives piercing your skin. And throughout that time he hadn't taken his eyes off Bulma. He had kept her safe and warm the entire duration of the blizard. It felt so natural, her lying there with his arms wrapped around her.
As his eyes were still focused on her, Vegeta heard a noise in the distance. It was someone or something coming toward him. He quickly stood up and peered through the trees, ready to defend himself. Several figures appeared, but they weren't animals, they were people. Then suddenly, Mrs. Briefs came out of the trees, smiling in relief when she saw Vegeta.

"Oh, thank Kami! I was so worried, where's..." her sentence was cut short when she saw the motionless body of her daughter lying on the ground behind Vegeta.

"Oh my Kami!! MY BABY!!!"

She ran to Bulma and shook her. Bulma's eyes flashed open from the sudden violence.

"Mom stop that!"

Her mother was in shock and elation, her daughter was alive!

"Honey, are you hurt?"

"No mom, my leg is supposed to look like that." She said sarcastically, "Of course I'm hurt!"

By this time the rest of the figures accompanying Mrs. Briefs had arrived. There was a forest ranger and two paramedics. The paramedics were dragging a stretcher that had been made into a sled over to Bulma. They proceeded to check her over for injuries. They saw her broken leg had been reset already.

"Who set your leg?" One of them asked her.

"The jerk with the pointy hair," she said pointing to Vegeta.

The paramedic looked at him and complimented his work, "Nice job."

Vegeta only grunted. Bulma was then gently slid onto a C-spine board, then lifted and placed on the stretcher. The ranger turned to Vegeta and asked him what had happened, but when he was stuttering to answer, Bulma spoke up.

"I lost control and fell off the ledge."

The ranger nodded and started to write on his notepad. Vegeta was shocked. Why would she lie and protect him? She had no reason to.

***

At the hospital, Bulma was taken immediately to the operating room. They found that she had slipped a disk in her back, and if it did not get attention soon, she would be paralized. Vegeta didn't like the idea of a bunch of men being allowed to cut and poke at Bulma. He tried to enter the operating room to supervise the surgery, but was stopped by two attendants. Vegeta made quite a spectacle in the hallway when he punched one of the attendants in the nose and completely blew the other one away. It took two male nurses and three security guards to restrain him. He would have easily destroyed his weak captors had Bulma's mother not interfered and asked him to sit down with her in the lobby.
The operation was going on three hours, and Vegeta was getting nervous. He hadn't stopped pacing back and forth since it had began, but now he started to yell and curse as he did. The only person within 10 seats of Vegeta was Bulma's mom, who was just sitting there smiling nervously. The left side of the room was packed with people trying to keep as far away as possible from the hot tempered Saiyan. The other side was completely empty except for Vegeta and Mrs. Briefs. Vegeta walked over and slammed his fists down on the reception desk.

"What the hell is going on in there?!"

The poor elderly woman behind the desk was terrified.

"They are...j-just coming out...s-sir."

Vegeta quickly looked down the hall and spotted the doctors emerging from the O.R. Mrs. Briefs was already on her feet running toward them.

"How is she doctor?"

The first doctor removed his mask and began to inform the worried mother about her daughter's status.

"There was no visible damage to her nervous system, and her leg should heal just fine. Once the X-rays come back from the lab we will know if there is any permanent damage to her spine."

Bulma's mom was still speaking to the doctor when Bulma was wheeled out on a gurney. Vegeta was immediately at her side.

"Why isn't she awake?" Vegeta asked angrily. A nearby nurse smiled and answered him.

"We had to put your wife under anisthesia. She should be awake in a couple of hours."

"WHAT? She's not my WIFE?!!!

The nurse blushed, "I'm so sorry sir, I just thought...." Vegeta waved a hand for her to be quiet.

"Nevermind."

Bulma was then wheeled to a room down the hall and lifted onto a bed. Vegeta stood by the bed staring at the unconscious woman lying there under a white sheet. By now Dr. Briefs had arrived and was sitting next to his wife trying to comfort her.

It had been two and a half hours since the surgery and Bulma still hadn't regained consciousness. Her parents had left the room to find some place to eat dinner, and Vegeta was left alone sitting next to Bulma's bed. It was getting late and Vegeta was tired. He hadn't had any sleep in thirty-six hours and was beginning to nod off. Mr. and Mrs. Briefs poked their heads in the door and saw Vegeta struggling to stay awake.

"Vegeta you look tired. We're going home now, would you like a ride?" Mrs. Briefs' maternal instincts were kicking in. But Vegeta refused the offer.

"No thanks, I'm going to stay here tonight."

Mrs. Briefs was concerned, but knew she couldn't change his mind.

"Alright then, here's some nice hot coffee to keep you warm."

She set a fresh cup on the table beside him, then they left. Vegeta was deep in thought as he stared blankly at the white tile floor.

"Why am I here? This is all her fault anyway, she forced me to go. I didn't even mean to hit her, she just lost her balance and fell. It wasn't my fault. And yet I still feel guilty and worried about her."

He stood up and leaned on the side railing of her bed. He looked at her as if she would give him the answers to his questions.

"Why did you lie to that ranger for me?" He waited for her to answer. He sighed when there was no response, then sat down again and dosed off.

***

Bulma slowly opened her eyelids at around 6:00 in the morning. Her vision was blurry and took a moment to clear. She felt like a drunk with a hang-over, and her body ached all over. Her head rolled to the side and her tired eyes fell on Vegeta sleeping on the chair next to her bed. His arms were crossed in front of him and his head was leaning back against the wall. Bulma was suddenly wide awake. She remembered why she was there and why her body was sore. It was all because of HIM! Her temper began to fume. She was ready to leap out of bed and strangle him, pain or no pain. But a thought crossed her mind that stopped her from fulfilling her murder fantasy.

"Why is he still here? Did he stay here all night? Why?"

Her mind drifted to the previous night on the mountain. She remembered passing out, but somehow she was still conscious of what was happening around her. She remembered Vegeta putting his own jacket on her and then laying down beside her and keeping her warm all night.

"Why? I bet he felt guilty about nearly killing me." Bulma smiled to herself. "Maybe that stuck up Saiyan has a heart after all. Or at least a conscience."

She studied his face as he slept. He looked so serious and tense, even in his sleep.

"Man, doesn't he ever relax?"

Just then, he started to groan and move his body as his eyes slowly opened. Bulma quickly shut her eyes and acted like she was still asleep. Vegeta rubbed his sore neck as he stood up and walked over to her.

"Are you ever going to wake up woman?" He whispered as he pulled the white sheet up closer to her chin, then brushed a stray lock of blue hair from her face. He sighed heavily and stumbled out of the room. Bulma cracked an eye and watched him leave. She was in shock.

"Whoa, what was that all about?"

The TV was on and Bulma was wide awake by the time her parents came to visit. Her mother ran and hugged her, but Bulma's back still hurt and she cried out in pain.

"Oh dear, I'm sorry honey. How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine mom." Her father smiled and held her hand.

"Where did Vegeta go?"

"He left about an hour ago and hasn't come back yet." Bulma suddenly looked anxious. "When can I go home?"

"Well, the doctors say you can go back today. But only if you stay in bed and get a lot of rest for a few days. You can't move your back for at least a week, and your leg needs time to heal as well."

Bulma looked down at her leg which was now in a huge cast. "I can't just stay in bed, it's boring."

Dr. Briefs flashed serious eyes at his daughter. "You don't want to hurt yourself again," he said sternly.

But Bulma wasn't listening. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Vegeta leaning against the door post. He was just staring at her with coal black eyes and his famous smirk. Bulma looked back at her parents, who were still lecturing her, then turned back to the doorway. But Vegeta had vanished.
Down the hallway Vegeta had reached the main entrance and was proceeding to leave.

"Now that the witch is finally awake and alright, I can go get some training done."

***

Bulma's parents had fought to keep her in bed for the first week she was home. After that there was no stopping her from hobbling around on crutches with a back brace. She was constantly outside or in her laboratory inventing things. And during that time Vegeta never spoke to her or came near her except to eat.
One day, about a month and a half after the accident, Mrs. Briefs went to see a movie and go shopping with friends and Dr. Briefs was busy at work in his lab. Vegeta was training in the Gravity Chamber, so Bulma was alone in the house. She was sick of watching soap operas and wanted to go outside for some fresh air. Her back was completely healed, but her leg was still a little weak and she was still using a crutch. She opened the front door and attempted to descend the steps to the yard. But her crutch slipped on the first step and flew out from under her. Bulma began to fall face down, screaming as she went. She fell in the grass and groaned angrily. She tried to stand but her leg began to cramp up. The Gravity Chamber could be heard as the machine was shut off and the door was opened. Vegeta emerged and saw Bulma lying on the lawn. He ran over and knelt down beside her.

"What's the matter woman?"

"I slipped and fell."

Vegeta growled, picked her up, and carried her to her room where he placed her on her bed.

"Stay here now, until you have completely healed. I don't want to be bothered by anymore of your insesant whining."

"WHAT?!! Who are you to tell me what to do?!!"

"Shut up woman and do as I say."

"No, you shut up Vegeta! I saved your butt back there on the mountain, you owe me."

Vegeta cocked his head to the side. "What are you talking about?" Bulma glared at him.

"I could have told that ranger what you did and you'd be in prison right now for attempted murder." Vegeta laughed.

"Do you really think weak walls could contain me woman?" Vegeta came closer and whispered, "If I really wanted to kill you, you would have been dead long before you fell off that ledge." He turned to leave.

"If you think I'm afraid of you Vegeta, you're wong. I can take anything you can give."

Vegeta looked back over his shoulder. "I doubt that."

He walked out of the room and down the hall, but Bulma called him back.

"Vegeta, wait!" She was sitting up on the edge of her bed, glaring at him. "I want to know something."

"What do you want woman?"

"Why did you stay with me on the mountain that night? You could have let me die, but you didn't. And why did you spend the night in my hospital room?"

Vegeta bowed his head then looked her straight in the eyes. "I don't know."

Bulma was shocked by his answer. "What do you mean you don't know?"

"I said I don't know!"

Bulma grabbed her crutch, then stood up and came closer to him.

"I saw you sleeping in my room at the hospital. I saw you cover me with the sheet, and... you touched me."

Vegeta wanted to leave, "It was nothing!" But Bulma grabbed his shoulder and made him look at her.

"What's going on Vegeta? Tell me," she said gently.

He jerked away from her and started to back out of the room. This time Bulma followed him until she had him backed up against the wall. Vegeta was looking down the hall, he didn't know if he should escape or stay where he was, for the first time in his life he was nervous. Bulma kept creeping toward him until they were very close. Bulma touched his head with her hand and turned his face to hers. Then she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek to see what his reaction would be.

"You have a crush on me don't you?"

Vegeta was turning bright red and started to stutter.

"How d-dare you...t-touch me!" Bulma giggled and grinned at him.

"YOU DO!"

She started to laugh hysterically, and this infuriated Vegeta.

"Silence woman! I do not!"

He grabbed Bulma's arms and squeezed them, she immediately stopped laughing, but still couldn't help but smile. Vegeta looked angry. He leaned close to her face, stopping just a few inches from her. A small, evil, hungry grin slowly appeared on his lips. Bulma knew this look and she was afraid.

"What are you going to do to me?" Fear shot through her when a low growl came from Vegeta's throat, and she began to struggle.

"Let me show you," he whispered in her ear.

Then he pressed her to him and gave her a slow, passionate kiss. Bulma's fear left her almost immediately, and she melted in his arms at the touch of his lips. Vegeta's slow kiss became more intense. His hair began to blaze gold as he devoured her, tasting her mouth with his tongue. He let go of her arms and placed one of his hands behind her knees and picked her up, cradling her in his arms. Bulma wrapped her arms around Vegeta's neck and began to kiss him back. This surprised him. Then Vegeta slowly entered her bedroom and, never breaking from the kiss, shut the door behind him.

You know the rest. ^_~


*I hope you liked this chapter, I really enjoyed writing it. Please review and let me know what you think, I'd love any advice. The next chapater is called: "Afterwards." ^_^*