Hey. Hope this fixes the chapter flub. Don't know what happened there? Votes are in and here's the next chapter!
Chapter 13: The Prize
Bulma stared at the doctor. 'He must be insane. No. Oh Kami! What do I do now? How could I have been so stupid!' "Are you sure? There's no mistake?"
The elderly man looked over the rim of his glasses at her. "I'm afraid not Ms. Briefs. You had us check it three times and there is no doubting it. Your pregnant."
Mrs. Briefs leaned against the door. "Well, guess we have a lot of shopping to do. Oh, it will be so good to have a baby around again!" she said giddily.
She looked at her mother. Her very enthusiastic mother. "Mom! This is serious! What am I gonna do? Vegeta's going to freak out! Can you even picture him as a father? Augh! Damn Saiyan's! Do they have to be good at everything but social skills!" she growled, trying to picture Vegeta at family events with his child. It fell flat.
Vegeta collapsed on the bed. A huge satisfied smile gracing his battered and bloodied face. It had taken him ten months, but he had finally achieved his life's goal. He was a Super Saiyan. No one could stand against him now. Not even Kakarot. "No, Kakarot. Now you will have to acknowledge me as your better." He let sleep take him. It was a week's travel back to earth and all he wanted to do was rest.
Bulma stood in the kitchen, warming a bottle of milk for her little bundle of joy lying in the bassinet in the living room. He was a month old now, and showing very Saiyan like qualities, especially where eating was concerned. She still couldn't get over how much he looked like his father. It was strange though, seeing her eyes staring out of Vegeta's face.
She heard the rumble as the capsule touched down in the back yard. Her mother peaked in from the other room. "Vegeta's back dear."
"Yes. Dad picked him up on the sensors a couple days ago. He's right on time." She looked out the window as the ramp extended. Just as she thought. He looked like hell. Probably smelled worse.
"Woman!"
"Mom. Give Trunks his bottle. I'll go see what his majesty wants." She chuckled handing her mother the milk.
He watched her come out the door and then held up his hand for her to stop. "I have a surprise for you." He smirked. Then closing his eyes, he powered up just enough to go super. Opening his now green eyes, he watched the wonder cross over her face as she walked closer to inspect him.
"You really did it. Wow! Instant dye job! And your eyes." She breathed. "Congrats Vegeta. I know how hard you worked to get here, and I'm very proud of you."
He powered down, very satisfied with himself, then looked her over good. "You cut your hair." He stated, wanting to reach out and touch it, but he didn't dare. He didn't want the verbal berating of keeping his smelly hands off of her clean hair.
"Yeah. It was easier to take care of." She smiled mysteriously. "Well. You've shown me your surprise, so now it's my turn."
He crossed his arms over his chest. "You have a surprise for me?"
"Mmhhmm. A big one. But first, go take a shower. I don't want you to touch it until you're clean."
A devious smile crept onto his face. "Oh, I intend on touching a lot after I clean up woman." Then he floated to his window on the third floor and walked in.
He washed for what seemed like an hour, under almost scalding hot water. How long had it been since he had bathed? Way to long. He hadn't even bothered to throw his ripped grungy spandex into the laundry, opting instead to incinerate them with a small blast.
"Mom. I think I'd like to be alone when Vegeta comes down. Ok?"
"I understand dear. I'll be out in the garden if you need me."
"Thanks." She watched her walk out the patio door, and took a deep breath. 'Don't be nervous, don't be nervous, don't be nervous.'
"All right woman. Where is my surprise?" he said to her back, noting that she tensed a little.
Bulma turned around, a small bundle in her arms and smiled. "Look Trunks. Your Daddy is home." She cooed at the baby. Large blue eyes stared out at the dark man.
Vegeta's smirk slid plum off his face. His dark eyes became as big as saucers, and his mouth went slack. He actually felt faint! "Wha-?" he looked up at her, confused.
"This is your surprise. Or maybe I should say, your prize, since he is a result of your winning the bet with Yamcha. Are you all right Vegeta? You look pale."
"I- I'm fine woman." He cleared his throat and took a shaky breath. Looking down at the baby she held in her arms, he sighed. 'Now what do I do?' he was at a complete loss for words. It was better to keep silent until the shock subsided so he wouldn't blurt out something he would definitely regret later.
"Do you want to hold him?" she asked hopefully.
He jerked and stepped back. "What? Hold him?"
"It's alright. He won't break. Well, he will, but not if you're careful. He is half Saiyan ya know." She held him out, and watched her partner back up another step. He looked terrified. Like she was handing him his own head on a platter. "Oh, come on Vegeta. He's your son, he won't bite you." She chided.
'You can do this. It couldn't be that hard. What am I doing? I'm backing away from a baby! My baby. My son. I have a son.' "Men don't hold babies, do they?"
She laughed. "Of course they do silly. You can also feed him and change him and give him a bath and even play with him if you want. He's very sweet most of the time, but he has your temper. I think he looks like you too." She could tell he was calming down with her encouragement.
He frowned. "He doesn't look anything like me. He has blue eyes, and what the hell color is his hair!?" he leaned in and looked closer at the baby. A small hand reached out and touched his nose. He touched the hand tentatively with his finger. "Does he have a tail?"
"No. I had it removed. The last thing we need is a rampaging weir monkey destroying the planet before the androids do."
"Humph. I guess that's true." He reached out and took the boy, holding him up and giving him a thorough examination. Cold blue eyes looked back at him as if sizing him up too. "So. You're the new Saiyan prince. Well, don't worry boy. I won't let the woman ruin you like Kakarot's mate did to his brat." He smirked.
"Hey! That's not funny. Chichi's a good mother." She saw his skeptical look and giggled. "Trunks won't have to study. With my brains as half his genes, he should be a genius anyhow. Won't you punkin?"
"Oh please. Spare me." He growled. "What's his power level?"
"Power level? Are you nuts? He's only a month old, he can't even sit up yet."
"Humph." He watched as his little face screwed up and a blood-curdling scream escaped. "What is that?"
She took the infant from him. "You hurt his feelings. Oh it's ok sweetie. Don't you pay any attention to daddy." She calmed him down and when his little eyes closed she laid him down in the bassinet.
Vegeta had walked over the patio and was looking out into the yard. 'How could I have let this happen? It was bad enough to bond myself to a human female, but now I fathered a half-breed brat. A true warrior has no ties to hold him back. But then I wouldn't be here if my father hadn't wanted an heir. An heir. Heir to what? Nothing is working out the way I thought it would. But it will. I am a Super Saiyan now, and the rest will fall into place soon. Soon I will defeat Kakarot and then nothing will stand in my way to rule the universe as I was meant to. Then my blood will live on forever. In my son.' A very evil grin played briefly across his face, to be replaced by a frown. He felt an odd twinge in his chest. And he didn't like it.
Bulma watched him for a long time, not knowing weather to break into his thoughts or not. He seemed to be struggling with his new role in life. A role she wasn't sure he was willing to accept yet.
"I know it's a lot to deal with so suddenly Vegeta. At least I had nine months to get used to the idea of being a parent. You got it dropped on you like a brick."
"What does it mean to you? To be a parent I mean?" he continued to look out the door, not wanting to look at her while she spoke. He just wanted to hear her voice and feel her emotions for now.
"Hmm. Well, first of all, I guess I feel proud. He's a handsome little boy, and he's already the very center of my world. And I want to protect him; nurture him so he can grow up strong and smart and maybe make a difference in the world. Love him, take care of him, and be there when he needs me." She watched his back. He was so still, just standing there in the afternoon light. 'He's so handsome and regal. So sad.' "What do you think it means?"
He turned to her. "I don't know." He stated simply, but those three words summed up all his fears. "I don't know."
Whew, that was a lot of dialogue! May be a while before I get out the next chapter. I'm in the middle of moving! Yahoo!! But as soon as I get my trusty computer back together and on line then I'll be ready to roll again! Thanks for all the reviews so far. Keep 'em coming. Love ya!!
