Just One Week
XIV.
So it turned out to be Vegeta's, huh? After all the time's I sleep with Goku…then I go and sleep with Vegeta once and it turns out to be his. How horribly ironic. But I guess there wasn't much I could do. Heh, my inventions haven't come along that far yet to actually change the genes all around like that. I would feel guilty doing that anyway…changing my baby for my own benefit. How selfish would that be?
Though…I almost felt like I would just be adding to the list of all the other times I've been selfish. But I'm not going to go into that right now.
Right now, I'm trying to turn my selfish ways around and put my mind on the boys instead of focusing on my problems. I don't think Goten and Trunks suspect anything, but Gohan's a different story.
Gohan never did ask me if I found out who the baby's father was. Maybe he didn't think I had the equipment to find out. Or maybe he just didn't want to know the truth. Maybe it would have been better if I didn't know the truth, either. Of course…it's too late to not know…I just don't know why I couldn't have just assumed it was Goku's and be done with it. I'm gonna tell the boys it's their sibling anyway…though in reality, it'll just be Trunks' brother or sister.
I know either way Gohan would accept my baby for what and whose it is, but deep down, I'm sure he'd be hurt. Shoot, he must have been quite hurt when he found out I was pregnant. "Boy, she sure does move fast, doesn't she?" Yeah, that's what I would be thinking about myself…
Oh, but the fun doesn't stop there! Ohhh no…the fun must keep going! And guess what? I didn't even cause it this time! Surprised? Me too…
I didn't find this out until I was a little over four months pregnant…
* * * * * * * *
"…So the little boy flew into space, not even throwing a glance over his shoulder at his home planet. This was definitely a new adventure for him, since usually his…"
Bulma sat in the middle of the large sofa in the living room, a book held in front of her as Goten and Trunks sat at each of her sides. They had insisted that she read them some sort of story since she hadn't done so in awhile and that was the one they picked out for her.
As soon as they sat beside her, however, and she opened the book, she noticed that they wouldn't be paying too much attention to her voice, but rather her stomach. Ever since she decided to tell the two younger boys that a baby was growing inside of her, they were more excited than she thought they'd ever be. And since she began showing not too long ago, the boys found it most intriguing to stare at her stomach for so long, just waiting for something to happen. Bulma of course told them that nothing would be happening for awhile now, but they insisted.
And sure enough, once Bulma took a small break in her reading to catch her breath, she caught both of them looking at her stomach. She smirked and shifted a bit.
"Did you see that?!" Goten exclaimed immediately, his eyes bigger than usual.
"Yeah, it moved!" Trunks agreed, curiosity pouring out of his eyes.
Bulma laughed a little, shaking her head, "You guys are something else, you know that?" She paused for a moment, then snapped her fingers above their heads, making them both look, "now pay attention. I'm not reading this for my own enjoyment."
"All right," they both said at once. However, Bulma noticed how their eyes went right back to her stomach. She sweat dropped, suddenly feeling as though she was really fat already and they were amazed by it. Just to get her mind off that horrible thought, she began reading again:
"He saw many things floating past him, such as comets, stars, toilets, and planets…"
"Hey, Bulma?"
Bulma looked up from the book and tilted her head back to look almost behind her over the couch at Gohan, "Yes?"
Slowly, he walked around the couch until he was beside it, standing by the arm of the couch. Bulma saw how he clenched his fists until his knuckles were white as he pressed them against the arm.
"Can I…talk to you for a moment?" he asked, his eyes looking a little tired as they lowered down to the book she was reading.
She blinked once before looking away from him, "Yeah, of course." She closed the book and leaned forward to set it on the coffee table in front of her, "It's time for these two to get to bed anyway."
"Awww, do we hafta?" they both inquired, though their eyes drooped with sleepiness.
"Yes, you hafta…" she mocked them in their same pleading voice, smiling a little when they pouted from that. They didn't argue with her any longer, though, as they both stood up, crossed their arms, and headed towards the stairs.
"Goodnight you two!" Bulma called after them, only hearing some mumbling as a reply.
She smiled to herself and then up at Gohan. She watched as he gradually moved his way around, sitting down slowly on the far end of the couch. His right hand still gripped the arm of the sofa while his left hand was now clenched in his lap. His eyes were narrowed down slightly as he stared at the coffee table like he was studying something intensely. Bulma noticed, nevertheless, that his eyes were just a little out of focus.
Her smile slowly began to fade. Oh no…what was it this time? Did Gohan find out she was pregnant by Vegeta? …did he suddenly want to tell her she was pregnant with triplets?! Her mind began to whirl at all the possibilities of what she did wrong now.
"Gohan…?" she began cautiously, licking her lips that unexpectedly went dry, "Is there…something you wanted to talk to me about?"
Gohan closed his eyes before sucking in a deep breath. He leaned back against the couch, trying to unclench his fists, "Yes…there is something."
Bulma felt her heart begin to race. Just when she thought things were calming down again. She thought she was doing pretty good, considering. She made sure to eat a lot, especially in front of Gohan to indicate that she wasn't about to leave him. She took care of herself, getting a new haircut not too long again and taking everyone out to go clothes shopping. She worked around the house so she wouldn't feel stiff and so she wouldn't have extra weight to lose when she finally had the baby. All together, she felt like she was a pretty happy person, considering.
"See…this thing happened…" Gohan began, opening his eyes and turning his head towards Bulma, though making sure not to make eye contact.
"Uh huh…?" Bulma encouraged him on, allowing him to take his time since it seemed like he was having a harder time saying this "thing."
"And this thing isn't good…well…in a way it is, but for the most part, this thing shouldn't have occurred."
Bulma nodded and turned to her side also, bring one leg up on the couch and resting her elbow on the back, her temple in her palm.
"This thing caused a lot of problems already, between…people," Gohan sighed and looked down at his hands that were now both in his lap, "and you seem like the only person that can help this thing."
Her eyes widened a bit. Okay, so she would just assume that this "thing" that happened wasn't her fault for once. She could help it.
"Well…" she began, her tongue rolling on the "l" sound for awhile, "I'll try my best, but I think I should know what this thing is first."
He was still for a long moment. If he stayed quiet one more second, Bulma would have sworn that he suddenly passed out on her. She was even about to move closer to him to try to snap him out of it, but was held in her spot when Gohan finally captured her eyes. He looked full of determination to tell her now, though it seemed as though it would kill him.
"All right, well…I'm gonna start from the beginning, okay?" he told her, choosing the roundabout way to tell her what has happened.
Bulma nodded again, "Sounds good."
"Okay, as you know…things happened and—."
She held up her hand to stop him for a moment and let out a light chuckle, "Gohan, please, when you're telling your story, can you try to limit the amount of times you say 'thing'?"
"Oh!" Gohan blinked before a sheepish smile played on his lips before disappearing, "Sorry 'bout that, didn't know I said it again. Anyway…do you remember how I felt when I first found out you were pregnant?"
She nodded. Boy, did she remember all right. Gohan was scared out of his mind that Bulma would do a reenactment of what Chi-Chi did. He seemed really insecure about everything that was happening and mostly kept to himself. He was the main reason why Bulma did everything in her power to not look as though she were going down hill.
"Well, for awhile, I felt alone. I thought you and I were becoming distant and I didn't want to put Goten's and Trunks' spirits down when I hung around them," Gohan made sure to explain everything slowly and thoroughly. He ran his hand back through his hair, "One of my…friends at school noticed me acting different, though, and wanted to help…"
Bulma couldn't help but show him a small smile. By the way he said "friends" she just had to assume; "Videl?"
Gohan did a quick double take on her, obviously shocked that she suddenly guessed it, "Y-yeah…that's right." Bulma noticed how nervous he got all of a sudden again, "A-a-and, well…"
He stopped and sighed.
That was the only thing he had to say and do before Bulma caught on. And quite truthfully, she couldn't keep herself from widening her eyes to twice their size and drop her jaw, "You…you two slept together?!"
A deep blush flooded Gohan's face, even his neck, arms, and hands becoming red from embarrassment, "It's not like we meant for it to happen! I mean…one minute she was just trying to comfort me and then she…and then I…and we…" he sighed again, his head dropping, though his pupils were still looking over to her.
Bulma was speechless to say the least. One of the Son's…Goku's son…the moralistic and careful Gohan…sleeping with his girlfriend already?! Bulma would have found that ludicrous if she didn't hear it straight from Gohan's mouth.
"That's not the point, though," Gohan then spoke, snapping Bulma out of her disbelief. He shook his head as though he just contradicted himself, "I mean in a way it is, but…Bulma, Videl's pregnant."
There. He said it. And though he felt as though he should hang his head in shame, he kept his eyes on Bulma, watching to see what her next reaction would be. She simply stared at him as though she would need all the time in the world to have what he just said sink in.
Videl…pregnant…?
Usually, Gohan would have waited for her to comprehend the big news he had to say, but he couldn't stand not finishing it right then, "Two months pregnant, specifically. And…she just told her dad and he got really mad. He told her she had two days to find another place to live, because he didn't want to support her and her baby…though I'm sure he has enough money to," Gohan added the last part drying.
"…Anyway…" he went on cautiously, now wringing his hands around each other, "that's where I think you could help. Bulma, can Videl stay at Capsule Corp.? Please?"
Bulma continued to stare at him. For once in all her life, she could honestly say that she did not have a single word to say. She felt as though she could say so much, but nothing would come out. At the same time, she felt that anything she could say would be the wrong thing.
"Gohan, I…how could you let this happen?" Bulma finally spoke, hating how old and parent-like she sounded. Shaking her head a little, she moved to the edge of the couch to rest her elbows on her knees now, hiding her face in her hands.
Gohan tensed up, "I…I know I did wrong, Bulma, but…I can't…I…
"I'm so sorry," was his ending statement when he found nothing else that seemed well enough to say. And he truly was…he was sorry for putting more weight on Bulma's shoulders and for getting Videl kicked out of her house.
"I'm sure you are sorry, Gohan," Bulma's voice was slightly muffled, but Gohan still heard her quite clearly. One would think he would be able to shoot back at her for her irresponsibility, but alas…she knew this and she wasn't any seventeen-year-old.
Bulma then stood up very abruptly, making Gohan's head snap up to look at her, "Look Gohan…I'm not even going to waste my time lecturing you. I know you, and I know you know you did wrong. I'm still in shock that…that you did something like this, honestly, you're the last person in the world I ever suspected of doing so." She paused and sighed, "I'm not going to turn that poor girl away, however. She is welcome to stay here."
Gohan showed her a small smile of appreciation, "Thanks a lot, Bulma…it means a lot. And I promise, I'll do everything I can to help Videl myself. I'll get a job to support her and—."
"Yes, I know you will, Gohan…" Bulma interrupted him, "but I want you and Videl to worry more on finishing high school first."
He nodded and stood up, wrapping his arms around Bulma gently, yet firmly, "Thanks again."
~*~
…Please tell me that someone out there is just as surprised as I am. And I thought nothing would ever catch me off guard again…I am never going to assume anything again. Every time I do, something else decides to make its way into my life just to prove that it can surprise me.
I have to say, I was a bit disappointed in Gohan, but…I understand how passion can get the best of a person. By the sound of things, he's still trying to figure out how it all happened, too. Just like how I was, and still am actually, about Vegeta and I. As Gohan said, "It just kind of happened."
But though I was disappointed in him…I was also proud of him for doing something about it. Turning to me for help and asking if she could stay at Capsule Corp. was a good idea. I know a lot of boys his age that would rather disregard their pregnant girlfriend, let alone wanting her to move in and actually getting a job to help. Even though he's young, I have a strong feeling that he'll be a great dad. He was a wonderful help with Goten and Trunks and still is. I was kind of hoping he would wait to have children of his own until after he went to college, though. That way he would be able to get away from kids for awhile.
Guess that's out of the picture.
So now I'm pregnant and the newest addition to Capsule Corp. is pregnant…
Déjà vu or what? I'm gonna have my kid and I'm going to help raise someone else's…
Oh well, it'll be nice to have another girl in the house for once. Haven't had that since my mother.
And maybe…at least one of us will have a baby girl. I think that would be wonderful to raise a daughter for once…see if it's a different experience like some say it is.
Also, I suppose it will be easier to raise the two new babies with three adults in the house…if I dare call Videl and Gohan adults. I actually still think of them as kids themselves. What a shame…
I wonder if they'll have a wedding. How romantic would that be?
As you may or may not be able to tell, my spirits are lifting quite a bit. Sure, I don't have a man in my life, but I'll survive…I'm sure.
Just as long as I'm not completely alone…
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Hi everyone! I saw that I finally reached 200 reviews on this story and decided to give you guys yet another treat! Thank you all so much…you made me so happy… ::cries::
Anyway, I also wanted to let you know that I have another special (hopefully) treat for you guys in the upcoming chapter [Chapter 15 ]. I hope to get it up pretty soon and keep updating like I have been. And remember when I told you guys awhile back that this story was coming to an end? Well…things happened that even I didn't expect o.O and it seems like this story still has quite a few chapters in hand.
Once again, thank you!
Enula