Vegeta didn't get up to watch Kakarott leave. He sat in the same position as before, his eyes focused on the dying embers before him and the final wisps of smoke. So, Kakarott didn't want to hear about the end. He couldn't really blame him. At one time, he would have at least feigned anger, but the time for charades had passed. He only wished that he could block out what happened so easily, but the memories constantly haunted him – lingering like the wisps of smoke from a fire not quite burnt out. Sighing, he tried to focus his mind on a better time: a time before his life had ended along with Bulma's.
************
"I just don't get it, Bulma!" Yamcha yelled, "Why did you do it? Were you just trying to hurt me?"
"For the last time," Bulma responded, loudly, "Nothing happened! Nada! Zip! Zero! Zilch! Nothing!"
"And I'm supposed to believe that? I saw him in bed with you!"
"I told you what happened!"
Vegeta heard the argument clearly, although he wasn't eavesdropping. A person would have to be nearly deaf not to hear it. Besides, he didn't even have to listen to know exactly what was being said because the same argument had been going on for 3 days now. If the gravity room wasn't temporarily out of order, he could have avoided this annoyance all together. But the gravity room was broken and it seemed like Dr. Briefs was taking his own sweet time about fixing it. Of course, the room had been Bulma's creation, but she was too distracted by Yamcha to do anything about it. Vegeta supposed that he could train somewhere else until the gravity room was fixed, but a small part of him felt reluctant about leaving. Shaking his head, he made his way to the kitchen, where the argument was taking place.
He walked up behind Yamcha, who was too busy yelling to notice his presence, but he and Bulma had a clear view of each other. Vegeta felt himself grow angry when he saw that she was about to cry. However, when Bulma caught sight of him, a peculiar sparkle twinkled in her sapphire eyes.
"Besides," she said, interrupting Yamcha's last rant, "What would it matter to you if I had slept with Vegeta? You hadn't even called me for over a week. Maybe I was lonely." She smiled slightly.
Yamcha gasped. "What?" he managed.
Vegeta's eyes had widened with surprise. Without knowing it, he had leaned forward slightly, also eager to hear Bulma's answer.
"You heard me," Bulma responded, a triumphant tone in her voice, "What if I had slept with Vegeta? What would be the big deal?"
"But, it's Vegeta!" Yamcha cried, "Why with him? He's nothing but a killer! A short, ugly, stupid…"
"Uh, Yamcha," Bulma spoke up.
"What?"
"I think that maybe you should turn around."
Yamcha paused for a moment as if confused. Finally, he slowly turned around, and paled when he noticed Vegeta standing there. A slow, evil smirk took possession of his mouth as Yamcha's eyes began to grow wide. Meanwhile, Bulma was biting her lip to keep from laughing.
"I, uh, I mean, uh," Yamcha stammered, "I guess I should be going." Turning quickly, he hurried out the back entrance of Capsule Corp as Bulma burst out laughing.
"That was classic!" She exclaimed, walking over to Vegeta. "I mean, here you were standing behind him the whole time when he was insulting you. I don't think I've ever seen him so scared." She continued to laugh.
"I suppose that was a bit humorous," Vegeta agreed, allowing himself to smile a bit.
"You're smiling," Bulma said, "Not smirking, but an actual smile." She leaned closer, placing her hand upon his arm. "Looks good on you," she purred.
Suddenly uncomfortable, Vegeta stepped back and shook Bulma's hand from his arm. "Now you can fix the gravity room," he said gruffly.
"What?"
"The gravity room," Vegeta repeated, "Fix it. I've been waiting for three days."
Bulma's face grew dark. "What do I look like: your servant? Fix it yourself!" She turned to walk away. "You are just so impossible at times!" She yelled at him, without turning around.
"You're one to talk," Vegeta mumbled as she left. Just as he turned to leave, he bumped into Dr. Briefs. "Is the gravity room fixed yet!" he growled.
"Not quite," Dr. Briefs admitted, "but I should have it all ready for you this evening. Oh, do you know where Bulma is?"
"She went that way," Vegeta answered, nodding his head in the general direction.
"Thanks," Dr. Briefs responded distractedly, walking after his daughter. She must have not gone very far, because in a few minutes Vegeta heard her father speak to her.
"Bulma," Dr. Briefs began, "Your mother and I couldn't help but overhear some of your argument and we were just worried about you and about what Yamcha was saying. Is it true what he said about you and Vegeta? You know that boy is a bit on the unstable side."
"Father!" Bulma cried out.
As he walked away, Vegeta couldn't help but laugh to himself. It looks like Bulma's little ordeal was just beginning.
************
Vegeta trained, sweat pouring from his face and stinging his eyes. The gravity room was finally fixed, but it had taken much longer than expected. It had been three weeks since Dr. Briefs had first told him it would be done by that afternoon. True to his word, Dr. Briefs had started trying to repair the broken gravity machine as soon as he had finished talking with Bulma, but he just couldn't seem to get it to work. Bulma had stopped by for a moment to announce that she knew exactly what was wrong with the machine and could fix it easily. All Vegeta had to do was to apologize.
Vegeta had instantly responded that he had no reason to apologize to her and she had gone on her way. This same scenario repeated itself for everyday for three weeks, yet Vegeta would have rather gone without the gravity room forever than to apologize. What did he have to apologize for anyway? Finally Bulma had arrived this morning with a screwdriver in hand. After sending her father away, she opened a panel and fixed the single loose wire that had been causing the problem.
Unfortunately, Vegeta had been messing with the control buttons earlier, so the machine immediately came on. It was only set to 50 times gravity, which was no problem for Vegeta, but Bulma was a different story. She had immediately been shoved to the floor as the gravity slammed into her body. For a brief instant, Vegeta just watched, both amazed and horrified.
"Vegeta! Help me!" Bulma had cried with her last ounce of strength.
At the sound of her cry, Vegeta had been in motion. Quickly, he had turned off the gravity machine and had turned to look at Bulma, who was still lying on the floor. "Are you okay?"
She had moaned slightly. "It feels like my ribs are broken."
Vegeta had hovered over her, amazed by her fragileness. "What do you want me to do?"
"Take me to my room," she had managed before losing consciousness.
As gently as he could, he had picked her up and carried her to her room. Along the way, he had told Dr. Briefs what happened so that he could contact a doctor. Then, Vegeta had placed Bulma in her bed before returning to the newly fixed gravity room, where he had began training and had yet to stop.
Vegeta paused in his regimen, as he looked at the door. How was Bulma doing? Surely the doctor had been here by now and seen her. He needed a small break anyhow, so he decided a quick peek at Bulma wouldn't hurt anything. Wiping the sweat from his face with a towel, he made his way upstairs to her room.
The door was shut. At one time, Vegeta would have just walked in, but now he paused. Softly, he knocked upon the door.
"Yes," Bulma's voice rang out, "Come on in."
Vegeta opened the door and stepped into her room. To his relief, she was sitting up in bed, a bright small upon her face. "You appear to be doing okay," he said, as the door shut behind him.
"I'm fine," she responded, "I didn't break anything. The doctor said I just strained an abdominal muscle. I'm going to be fine. I'm just supposed to avoid any strenuous activity for awhile."
"That's all? But you passed out," Vegeta said.
"I got the wind knocked out of me," Bulma admitted, "plus, I guess I got scared. I really thought I had broken something." She paused, as her smile grew brighter. "But, I'm glad you were there. If you hadn't turned off that machine, I might have really gotten hurt."
Vegeta shrugged, "It was no big deal."
"Of course, I wouldn't have gotten hurt at all if I hadn't been trying to fix that machine for you."
"Don't try to blame your injuries on me, woman," Vegeta responded, turning away. Here he had come to check up on her and she was blaming the entire incident on him.
"Wait, Vegeta!" Bulma called. She jumped out of bed and hurried over to him, placing her hand upon his arm.
"Should you be out of bed?" Vegeta asked.
"I'm fine," Bulma replied, "Look, I was just kidding. I know I should have made sure that the controls were turned off first. I am really thankful that you were there to turn off the machine and carry me back to my room. That was really sweet of you."
Vegeta snorted, but glanced at the delicate hand upon his arm. "If I had known that the machine was already on, I would have turned it off beforehand," he said.
"I believe you," Bulma softly replied, leaning closer.
"What are you doing?"
"I just want to thank you," she whispered as her lips brushed his.
Vegeta didn't wait for any more of an invitation as he leaned forward to kiss her. It was like the night outside of her bedroom, except Bulma wasn't pulling away this time. Vegeta broke the kiss first as he looked into her face.
"Vegeta?"
"Let's get one thing straight," he said, trying to sound stern, "I am not like that Yamcha. I do not care about having an emotional relationship. I don't even pretend I do. I don't ask for anything nor do I give anything. Do you understand?"
Bulma nodded, as she leaned closer to him.
"By the way," Vegeta said with a slight small, "I thought the doctor said 'no strenuous activity.'"
"I'll risk it," Bulma responded mischievously.
************
Vegeta recognized the irony of the situation. Bulma had spent so much time trying to convince Yamcha and her parents that there was nothing between her and Vegeta. Yet, by the time she had almost convinced her parents, there was something. He almost laughed aloud in the confines of the gravity room.
So far, Vegeta didn't think the Briefs were aware of his and Bulma's relationship. It wasn't that they were trying to hide it, but they weren't exactly advertising the fact either. Vegeta arose early each morning to begin training and usually did not finish until after the others had gone to bed. The few times that he and Bulma came into contact during the day, they acted the same as they had before. He liked the pattern of training by day and spending his nights with Bulma. During the last couple of months, his training and concentration and improved considerably.
In the middle of his regimen, the gravity machine suddenly shut off. He was about to try and turn it back on when he noticed Bulma standing in the doorway. "How did you shut off the machine?" he asked.
She held up a small device that looked like a television remote. "I made this after that time I nearly got crushed in here," she said, her voice strangely flat. "Just in case it ever happened again. This is just the first time I've ever used it. I had been wondering if it would work." She looked down at the device as if studying it.
"It works," Vegeta said, "Now, I need to get back to training."
Instead of taking the hint, she stepped inside the gravity room. "We need to talk," she said.
"We can talk later," Vegeta insisted, "Now get out of here before I turn the gravity machine back on. You know what happened last time."
"Let's get married!" Bulma suddenly exclaimed.
"What? What are you talking about, woman?"
"We should get married," Bulma continued, "Nothing has to change. Our lives would be the same as they are now."
"So if nothing has to change, why should we get married?" Vegeta asked.
"Vegeta, this is really important to me."
"But I don't understand why," Vegeta said, "I told you before I wasn't interested in an emotional relationship. Now, why don't you -"
"I'm pregnant," Bulma interrupted.
"What?"
"Pregnant!" Bulma repeated, "Need me to spell it out for you? P-R-E-G-N-A-N-T!"
"How did that happen?"
"Funny you should ask, because the last time I checked you were very much an active participant in the process!"
"That's not what I meant," Vegeta said, "and you know it. Weren't you doing anything to prevent this?"
Bulma faltered for a moment. "Is that all you can say to me?" she finally asked, tears in her eyes. "I guess I should have known." Turning, she fled from the room.
Vegeta watched her leave and it was at that moment that he decided he would leave the Earth to finish his training. A part of him wanted to leave right away, there was after all a Capsule Corp ship right on the front lawn, but he waited. Throughout the months of Bulma's pregnancy, he trained yet he remained aware of what was happening. It was not an easy pregnancy by any stretch of the imagination. After an instance of hemorrhaging, Bulma had been forced to spend the final 3 months on complete bed rest. Finally, one day her parents rushed her to the hospital and a few days later they returned: Bulma carrying her newborn baby son in her arms.
When no one was around, Vegeta made his way to the nursery to examine the child, but was disappointed. This boy's hair was light in color and his eyes the same vivid blue as Bulma's. There wasn't even a tail to be found. By his appearance, no one could tell that this child had the blood of a Saiyan Prince running through his veins. The boy, whom Bulma had named Trunks, appeared as human as any of the Briefs. He probably was as weak at they were too.
Shaking his head, Vegeta left Capsule Corp and boarded the ship. He had training in space to do.
************
It would be some time before Vegeta returned. The training in space had gone well in that he had become a Super Saiyan and he returned to Earth in time to battle the androids and Cell. After the final battle, in which Kakarott had lost his life, he had returned to Capsule Corp. Bulma had greeted him by saying that things could never be the same between them.
But that soon changed.
As time went on, Vegeta felt a change slowly begin within him. He tried to deny this at first, but slowly it became undeniable. After the fight with Buu, Vegeta had learned that the change hadn't necessarily been a bad thing. He had grown somewhat comfortable with the changes when Bulma decided to test just how comfortable he had become.
************
"Let's get married."
"What?" Vegeta asked. He turned to look at her, sitting beside him on the bed. Her eyes were sparkling like a child's looking at her presents on Christmas morning.
"I asked you to marry me," she said, "Please."
"We've been through this before, Bulma. By law, we are already recognized as husband and wife we have lived together for so long."
"I know," Bulma pouted.
"So why do we need to get married? Are you worried that I'll be unfaithful? I won't. You're my mate and I am not going to cheat on you."
Bulma wrinkled her nose at the word 'mate'. "You make it sound so animalistic," she complained.
"But, if it means that much to you," Vegeta began.
Bulma squealed with happiness as she threw her arms around his neck. "Do you really mean it?"
"If that's what you want," Vegeta said, "then I agree."
"I can't believe this!" Bulma exclaimed, jumping up, "There so many things to do. I have to pick out a dress and send the invitations out…"
Vegeta laughed as she continued with her list of things to do. He couldn't help but wonder what he had gotten himself into. But he never got a chance to find out. It was 10:00 p.m. Friday and Bulma had less than 36 hours to live.
The following morning, Bulma told her parents who seemed as excited as she was. To celebrate, the Briefs dropped Trunks off to visit Goten as they took the newly engaged couple to a fancy dinner. The meal was excellent, but the real surprise came when two pieces of strawberry shortcake was given to Vegeta and Bulma when the chef heard they were engaged. Bulma ate hers quickly and even ate most of Vegeta's, who couldn't eat the dessert on account he was allergic to strawberries. The evening was absolutely perfect.
The next morning, Vegeta awoke early and went downstairs to train before breakfast, but he couldn't stop smiling. Perhaps he should have agreed to marry Bulma sooner, he thought as he trained. Finally, he finished his morning routine and went to the kitchen for breakfast.
Mrs. Briefs was just putting breakfast on the table when he entered the room. "Oh, Vegeta," Mrs. Briefs said, "Will you go upstairs and wake up Bulma? She seems to be quite a sleepy head this morning." She giggled as she poured a hot cup of coffee for her husband.
Vegeta nodded and went upstairs. "Bulma," he said, as he opened their bedroom door, "It's time to-" He stopped talking the moment his eyes fell upon her.
She was lying in the middle of their bed; the sheet twisted around her body, as he eyes stared up at the ceiling. Her mouth was open, but her breath was weak and shallow. "Bulma!" he screamed running over to her and taking her hand in his. Her body was stiff and rigid. "We need some help up here!" he yelled downstairs.
"Ve, Ve, Ve-ge-ta," Bulma stammered.
"I'm here," he said, "I'm right here." He leaned over her so that he could look into her eyes, but he knew that she could no longer hear him or see him. Dr. Briefs ran in, took one look at his daughter, and immediately dialed 911 on the bedroom phone.
By the time she reached the hospital all that could be done was to pronounce her DOA at 9:35 a.m.
************
The fire had gone out completely, but Vegeta was shaking not from the cold but from the memories. He still couldn't believe it. Any minute now, he half-expected to wake from this nightmare to find Bulma, still alive and well, lying by his side. If only there had been some way to save her.
The sun was slowly rising outside, so Vegeta stepped out of the cave, his body stiff with cold. Stretching slightly, he started flying away from the cave to a place he had been many times before: the M.F. Green Valley Cemetery. Every year since that time, Vegeta came to Bulma's grave on this day. This hadn't been the day she had been buried, that had been two weeks prior, but it was on this day that Vegeta had first came to visit Bulma's plot.
The dew was just beginning to dry as Vegeta walked up the small hill to Bulma's grave, pausing before the great marble tombstone. Beneath Bulma's name and dates, four words were written: Beloved Daughter and Mother. Those words ate at him because it was his stubbornness that excluded Wife from her positions in life. He ran his fingers over the stone, as if trying to draw strength from it.
Suddenly, he straightened up and spun around. Someone was watching him, he knew it. Scanning the cemetery, he momentarily froze when he saw a figure dressed in a long black cloak watching him. Something was familiar about this figure, but what? He started walking in that direction.
The figure seemed to realize that they had been spotted, so they turned and began to run, but their speed was no match for Vegeta's. He sped up and quickly caught up to the figure, which he knocked to the ground.
"Ow!" said a feminine voice as the hood fell back. This cloaked stranger was an attractive woman who appeared to be in her forties or fifties. Her blonde hair was just starting to turn ashy and her blue eyes appeared sharp an intelligent.
"Who are you?" Vegeta demanded.
Tears began to streak down the woman's face. "I'm sorry," she cried, "I'm so sorry. I'm the one who killed Bulma Briefs!"
End Part 2