A Tail To Remember
by Gie (phowahcs.com)

A Tail To Remember
Chapter Twenty-Eight: OB/GYN...or D-A-N-G-E-R?

The next day dawned way too early for most members of the
Capsule Corp residence, due to the growing storm that threatened to
shake apart the sturdy building. A loud crack of lightning flashed in
the sky, followed by the close rumbling of thunder as torrential rains
plummeted to the ground.

"Aaiiee!!" Akane screamed, sitting up rapidly, throwing her
arms out in shock and surprise.

"..." Ranma fell to the floor with a thud, having been thrown
off the once-sleeping Akane. He shook his head sleepily, yawning
widely. "Whazza matter, Akane?"

She blinked a few times, looking around, not quite awake yet.
"I...I don't know." Another crack of lightning and thunder shook
through the room and Akane let out another scream, and she jumped
up into a standing position on the bed. "Thunder- storm!"

"You're scared of a little shower?" He blinked a few times
from his position against the wall. He righted himself and rubbed at
his eyes.

"No, I'm not." She glanced at him, her hands making their way
to her waist. "I just got...startled. It woke me up, okay?"

"Whatever." He rolled his eyes and stood up, bending almost
completely backwards in his stretching. "What time is it?"

She glanced at the clock on the night stand. "Just after five."
Another bolt of lightning illuminated the room, making it look almost
as bright as day, sending a shiver up and down her spine.

He touched the ground behind him, and kicking his legs over,
did a complete flip. "Might as well stay up, then. This storm is going
to be going on for quite awhile by the looks of it." He twisted at his
waist a few times and kicked out his legs, warming up his sleepy
muscles.

Only for his foot to run into a wall of solid flesh as it
connected with a wide-eyed Tobuma, who had just burst into the
room. "Okaasan! Daijoubu? I heard you scream from down the hall!"
He winced at the foot in his gut. "Oi, Otousan...what was that for?"

"Gomen. You were in the way...an there's nothing wrong with
Akane. She just got scared of the thunder." He smirked at his son.

"Oh, I get it." Tobuma relaxed his stance.

"I wasn't scared!" Akane yelled, her fists balling up in the
sheets.

The three stared at each other for several moments. "Uh,
Otousan...can you get your foot out of my stomach?"

"Oh yeah." Ranma grinned the still hunched Tobuma as he
drew himself into a standing position. "But it was so comfortable
there." He reached out and rubbed his hand through the long tousled
locks of his future child. Tobuma stood up and batted his hands
away.

Akane rolled her eyes at the play fighting. "You two."

Identical grins flashed across identical features. Tobuma,
though, lost his as he blinked a few times in recognition. His face
twisted into a grimace and his nose scrunched up in distaste. "You
two are naked!"

They glanced down at each other and both nodded. "Hai.
There's no use wearing clothing to bed if there's no use for it."'
Ranma flashed Tobuma a knowing grin.

Which made him blush a deep red. "Oh, gross! I don't even
want to think of that!" He slapped his hands over his eyes and bolted
out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

Akane giggled, shaking her head. "He's so embarrassed."

"It's not like it's a new subject to him, ne?" Ranma jumped
onto the bed, knocking Akane down in the process. "He has to know
of our...activities. And you're the one that is bare-assed." He
caressed the aforementioned warm flesh with a gentle hand.

And she slapped his with a resounding crack that echoed the
storm howling outside. "That was bad!" Her eyes drifted closed as
she let him kiss her hard. "And he knows because you're a screamer."

He chuckled and shook his head. "I'm the screamer? Who
woke who this morning?"

"Shut up, baka," she smirked and brought him down again,
"and scream for me."

Other side of the CC compound

The lightning flashed several times, illuminating the naked pair
that seemed to be one entity, curled in each other's arms as they
stood on the protected balcony, watching Mother Nature create her
symphony on the very early morning sky.

The blue-haired genius flicked her eyes back and forth,
watching the volts of raw energy streak across the black storm
clouds. "The raw power of a storm always fascinated me, even as a
child. Most children would go hide under their covers or crawl in with
their parents, but I would be standing out here, watching the
lightning. Several times my Otousan had to drag me inside by force
because the threat of a tornado loomed in the distance."

"This is not much of a storm," Vejiita scoffed into her
shoulder. "There are planets out there where the entire atmosphere
was ruled by the storms. Lightning struck everywhere. The thunder
was deafening to the ears. The storms were so strong and dangerous
that the inhabitants of the planet were forced to live underground
where the storms wouldn't destroy the dwellings."

She pushed herself gently out of his arms and moved further
out on the balcony, becoming drenched within moments. "For awhile,
I wanted to be a tornado-chaser. To be in the eye of the storm is to
have Nature's most powerful and deadly force at your fingertips."
She sighed, her slim arms wrapping around her chest; her eyes
closing as she tilted her head back, letting the rain create large
rivulets down her cheeks and turn her hair into sopping clumps. She
shivered as a chill tickled her spine. "It's almost as potent as an
orgasm."

Vejiita snorted again, his eyes riveted to her sopping image as
his senses read her emotions flooding through their Link. To her, the
storms' power did almost have an orgasmic nature to them. A
thought came to his mind and he decided to show her what real power
could bring her. He stepped closer to her, wrapping an arm around
her waist, drawing her close to him. He ducked his head and purred
into her neck as he raised his ki to dry them and keep them from
becoming wet again. "Power? You haven't felt true power, Onna." He
continued to raise the level of his ki, stopping just below the breaking
point of super saiya-jiin. "How's that for power, Onna?"

Bulma's head was reeling. The headiness of the crackling ki
sent her senses soaring. She could feel the pulse of literal power as
she inhaled the ozone from the air. "Vejiita..." she groaned, leaning
her head back and exposing her neck for him to devour. "Nice..."

He smirked and flicked out his tongue, tickling the large vein
that pulsed with her flowing blood. "You haven't felt anything, yet."
With a deep growl, he flared into his ascended form, eyes flickering
to a cool aquamarine, and his hair bleaching to a pale jasmine.

Bulma let out a gasp, and her eyes rolled back in her head in
ecstasy as Vejiita's power coursed through her, merging into herself
through his aura, seeping into her pores and electrifying her inner
core. "Oh, Kami, more, Otoko...more!"

His grip on her tightened as he obeyed her request, powering
up higher and higher, his growls turning into screams that melded
with hers. The storm around them also heard her request, and
lightning bolts crashed all around them, electrifying the air, turning
the rain into steam.

With one mighty flash of lightning, Vejiita impaled himself
into Bulma from behind, and began to thrust into her with a
maddening pace, his urges being driven by the recklessness of the
storm raging around them, both being rendered senseless to all but
the surge of instincts and the savagery of the Eye of Nature at its
worst.

As he spilled into his mate the life-giving seed he created,
their shrieks climaxed in sync with the epitome of the storm.

And then it was over.

The thunder and lightning moved away, heading in other
directions, to stimulate and excite other creatures, while the mating
pair caught their breath from the experience they encountered.

After a few moments of heavy panting, the female swallowed
hard and summed up the whole experience with one word:

"Damn!"

A few hours later

"Good morning, Bulma-chan! Doesn't the garden look lovely this
morning? A good bout of lightning and thunder always does wonders
for my blossoms."

The tired female fell into a chair with a grunt. "You mean you
slept through the storm of the century?"

Mini Briefs giggled. "It did wake me a couple times, especially
when Koneko was caterwauling in my ear, but I fell right back asleep.
Although I think you weren't as lucky, ne, Bulma-chan? You look
tired."

"Well, I am." She opened her mouth for a jaw-cracking yawn.
"The storm was neat, though. Lots of lightning."

Dr. Briefs walked in. "That's for sure. One bolt hit one of the
communication towers in town. The radio says that there are downed
wires, trees, and debris everywhere. Be careful when you go into
town today."

Akane entered the room, dark bags under her eyes. "We have
to, for our appointment." She sat down at the table and rested her
head on her arms. "I'm not looking forward to it, that's for sure."

"Me either," Bulma agreed, her head in a similar position,
"although they are taking a sonogram today."

"Is Serori-kun and Vejiita-kun going with you two?" Mini
asked, setting several large cups of coffee in front of the girls.

"Am I doing what?" Ranma asked as he, Tobuma, and Trunks
walked in together. They had already had a morning workout. He sat
down next to Akane and nudged her. She didn't move. He glanced at
Tobuma, who just shrugged. Trunks rolled his eyes.

"Ohiayo, Serori-kun," Mini greeted him with a smile. "Did you
sleep better than the grumpy girls?"

He shrugged. "I was doin' fine until Akane got scared."

That woke her up. "I WAS NOT SCARED!" She jumped up
from her chair, knocking it over in the process. She glared at her
mate with visible fire in her eyes.

Ranma's twinkled with mirth. He missed seeing her worked up
like that. It was one of the reasons he fell for her, even before they
remembered they were destined to be together. "If you say so,
Hima-chan. But I wasn't the one screaming this morning."

"Yes, you were, Otousan," Tobuma grumbled under his breath.

Trunks grunted back at his cousin, his head in his hands. "I
completely understand, Tobu-kun."

"I didn't SCREAM!" Akane howled and pulled Ke'petik from
behind her, swinging with all of her strength, "Ranma no BAKA!" and
sent him sailing through the roof.

"I didn't do nothin..." his voice cried out as he became a speck
in the early morning sunshine.

Vejiita caught the tail-end of the conversation when Akane
cried out her infamous phrase and watched the arc with a narrowed
eye. "That was a soft swing, Seiika. You're getting weak." He sat
down next to Bulma.

"Well, I haven't done it in awhile." She rolled her shoulder.

"Actually, that felt pretty good! I should do that more often. I
forgot how good of a stress reliever that is." She smiled at the
giggling Bulma and sat back down, tucking her beloved mallet back
into subspace.

Mini Briefs was blinking up at the new skylight Akane installed,
having not seen an example of her special...talents...before. "Oh my, I
hope Serori-kun gets back before all the food is gone!"

"Don't worry, Briefs-san," Akane smiled at the older woman as
she sat back down, "he'll be back as soon as he can remember he can
fly. Then he'll devour your delicious food like the pig he is." She
frowned slightly but shook it off.

The blonde female smiled happily. "Oh, good. I did make a lot
of food this morning." As she talked, she set out the last of the
buffet. "Did you want to wait for him to return?"

She shook her head and started to pass the delicious dishes
around the table, making a plate for herself and for Ranma. "That's
okay." As she passed the food around, she caught a glimpse of
Bulma's face, warily looking at the food. "Bulma-chan? Daijoubu?"

She looked up from the piece of toast on her plate. "Maybe."
She nibbled tentatively on a corner. "I feel pretty good so far this
morning." She took a larger bite.

"Haven't you been eating, Okaasan?" Trunks glanced up from
his large mound of food, his eyes concerned.

She shrugged her shoulders. "It's kind of hard to keep it
down."

Mrs. Briefs nodded. "When I was pregnant with you,
Bulma-chan, the only thing that would stay down in the morning were
crab-cakes, smothered with peanut butter." Bulma scrunched up her
face at the food combination as she ate her single piece of toast. "I
ate so many of them that I can't look at another one now without my
tummy going queasy on me."

"I finished a piece of toast," Bulma exclaimed, her smile
getting bright, "with jam!" Akane giggled and clapped for her.
"Arigato! I'd like to thank the Academy for this opportunity to
consume that lovely piece of toast." She waved and patted at her
eyes as the others chuckled.

Vejiita, though, was not amused. He snorted and roughly
pushed a plate down in front of her, heaping with waffles and many
pieces of sausage. "Now eat the rest, Onna, before I shove it down
your throat."

She rolled her eyes and picked up a fork, stabbing it into a
corner of a syrupy waffle. "You're no fun in the morning, Otoko."
And breakfast continued as normal, the only interruption was when
Ranma burst in through the door, his hair disheveled from his
impromptu flight of the morning. He heavily sat down in his spot and
began to devour the food piled high on his plate. No one paid him
much mind.

Soon the feast was packed away into many hungry stomachs,
and plates and bowls were cleared from the table. "I'm so proud of
you, Bulma-chan! You finished your entire plate!"

"Uh, yeah, thanks, Kaasan," she rolled her eyes. "Do I get to
go and play outside now?" She joined Akane in her giggles, but
suddenly stopped, scrunching her face up and placing a shaking hand
on her stomach. "Uh, maybe I'll just stay in." She quickly stood up
and exited the room.

Trunks blinked a few times after her, a worried look to his
handsome features. "Where is she running to?" A particular sound
was heard and everyone screwed up their faces in recognition. "Oh."

Mini sighed, shaking her head. "And I thought she did so good!
That was the most I've seen her eat in the mornings."

No one saw the dark-haired male slip out of the room. He
found his mate in a bathroom with her head resting on the cool tile
floors. He leaned down and gently picked her up, with only a slight
protest from the one he carried.

"Vejiita? What are you doing?"

He didn't answer until he reached their rooms, going straight
into their private bathroom. Setting her down on the vanity softly,
he reached for a cloth, and after he wet it with warm water, he
spoke after he cleaned her face. "The other females speak as if this
is a daily occurrence."

She sighed, wilting under his attentions. "It has, actually.
You're usually out in the gravity room by the time I get queasy. More
than likely because I've been up for awhile already." She leaned her
head forward, resting on his shoulder as his hand came around to rub
her back. "I think I have the strongest stomach muscles now."

A soft snort blew into her ear. "Why haven't you informed me
of this?"

"Did you really want to know that I've been tossing my cookies
every morning?" She sat up, looking him in the eye. "Don't worry,
pregnancy does this. It's not something unexpected, or anything.
Although it is stronger than normal, but more than likely it's because
the baby is stronger than normal." She grunted when she saw his
smirk. "It's also due to the fact that my hormones are jumping
completely off scale, as well." She narrowed her eyes as she spoke
the next sentence. "I'm warning you now, that you'd better be
prepared for some of the worst mood swings in the next few months"

"As if you weren't mercurial already?"

"They'll be five times more riotous and extreme. So don't get
pissy on me."

He snorted and looked down, placing a warm hand on the small
swell. He spread his fingers and let his hand light with a small
amount of ki.

"Ah, that feels good, Vejiita," she closed her eyes and sighed.

"The brat is growing; you need to eat much more to sustain
both you and him."

"I know! I do eat, just not much in the mornings." She opened
her eyes and stared at him. "You've seen me eat in the evening. I eat
more than you sometimes." She jerked, letting out a gasp. "Nani?
What was that?"

Vejiita's eyebrows furrowed. "His ki has risen slightly." He
moved his hand over her stomach and concentrated.

"Oh, there it is again!" She put a hand over his and moved it
to her right side. "You what it is? I think it's the baby, kicking!" A
small flutter pushed against Vejiita's hand and she grunted in
response. "Yeah, that was definitely a kick." Her face was lit with
her smile.

He looked up at her, a smirk spreading across his features.
"He will be a strong senshi."

"Hai," she turned her warm smile to him, and brushed a hand
over his cheek. "Just like his Papa, ne?"

"Hn." He turned back to her stomach and let a small grin
escape. "There will be no comparison." He straightened out and
nipped Bulma on the nose as she wrapped her legs and arms around
him. "He will be a legend among all Saiya-jiin."

"If you say so, Otoko." The pair moved from the bathroom to
the bedroom, where he laid them down on the mussed bed. "Otoko..."
Bulma trailed off as her throat was being devoured by Vejiita's
demanding lips. She squirmed in his arms.

"Shush, Onna," he murmured into her flesh.

"But, Vejiita, I gotta..."

"I said quiet." He glared at her.

She glared back. "But Vejiita, I gotta throw up again!" She
covered her mouth and promptly rolled off her, and she made a very
quick dash to the bathroom. Severe retching noise echoed back into
his ears.

He scrunched up his nose and was thankful that he didn't have
to experience such things. A knock on the doorway tore his attention
away from the other room. "Enter, Seiika."

Akane entered, making her way through the sitting room and
into the bedroom. "I thought you'd be out training, Vejiita-chan. The
boys are there, already." A quick glance around told her the reason.
"Bulma-chan? Are you okay in there?"

A weak, "Hai," answered her back. The sound of water and a
quick brushing followed. A slightly disheveled Bulma appeared a few
moments later. "Yo, Seiika-chan," she sighed and fell onto the bed
next to her unmoving mate.

Akane grinned sympathetically at her sister in law. "Gomen,
Bulma-chan. Maybe the doctor can give you some ideas on how to
lessen the morning sickness."

"I hope so." She burrowed her face into his chest and he just
grunted, an arm coming up to lie over his eyes. "I'm tied of looking at
the toilet bowl from the wrong end."

"When do you think you'll be ready to go?"

She sat back up. "I'm going to have to change again. I don't
want to smell like vomit the rest of the day. Maybe half hour?"

She nodded. "That's fine." She turned to the motionless lump
on the bed. "Are you coming, Vejiita-chan?"

"No."

"Do you even know what I am talking about?"

"No."

"But you know you're not going."

"Yes."

Bulma rolled her eyes and swatted him on the leg. "Otoko no
baka." She pushed herself up off the bed and disappeared into her
closet, reappearing with a set of clothes. She moved into the
bathroom to change and clean up.

Akane whipped her tail at him in frustration. "Why not?
Ranma is."

"What are you talking about, Seiika?" He sat up irritably,
crossing his arms in the process.

"The doctor appointment. Are you coming or not?" She
slapped him with her tail again.

He counteracted with his own. "No."

"Ranma is coming; are you chicken?" She challenged him.

"I will not go to a female's doctor, Seiika. And that is that."
He closed his eyes, further demonstrating the closure of the subject
matter.

"Che," she snorted, crossing her own arms in frustration.
"Don't you want to see what your son looks like? Maybe he has five
arms...or no tail!"

"Five arms?" Bulma re-entered the conversation at that point,
looking much better than before. She placed a wary hand on her
stomach. "Five arms?"

"Of course not, Bulma-chan," she immediately soothed the
older female's worries. "I was just trying to get Vejiita to come with
us to the doctor. Ranma is going, and I don't see why he can't."

"Serori-kun is coming?" She flicked a look to Vejiita, who had
gotten off the bed and was looking out the balcony's doors.

"Hai. He actually wanted to go. I didn't have to bribe or
threaten him." She threw a meaningful glance to her brother's back,
but he ignored it.

"That's okay, Seiika-chan," she waved her off. "I wasn't
expecting him to come in the first place. That would mean he actually
cared."

He continued to ignore them and Bulma continued with a smirk.
"Anyways, do you see him sitting in a waiting room with a bunch of
other expecting females?" She shook her head. "No, I don't expect
him to go to the doctor appointments, but he will attend Lamaze
classes with me." Her tone quickly changed to a sheet of ice.

Now he did turn around. "What in the hell is 'Lamaze'?"

"You'll find out," she said mysteriously.

Akane chuckled under her breath. "I'm going to try and scout
out Ranma. I told him to wait in our room. Let's see if he actually
listened for once." She turned to Vejiita. "Last chance, Ouji no
baka."

He just glared at her. She smiled and shook her head. "Your
choice. I'll meet you in the front, Bulma-chan. Ja ne, Ouji-baka."
She waved and closed the door behind her.

He snorted again. "Damn Onna."

"You two are so brother and sister it's funny." Bulma rolled
her eyes and shouldered her purse. She got the same glare and just
waved it off. "Stop it. Anyway, I don't mind you not coming. It is
just an appointment. But you will be doing Lamaze with me."

"Are you going to tell me what the hell is Lamaze?" he growled
out.

"You'll find out." She smirked and pecked him on the cheek.
"Now be a good boy and make sure someone is monitoring the news,
ne?"

"Don't patronize me, Onna! I'm not your servant."

"You will be when I can't stand up on my own any more, being
so freaking fat with your 'heir'," she retorted back and left the room.

"Blasted Onna!" he grumbled to the closed door and left as
well, only via the balcony.

Bulma had just decapsulized the aircar when Ranma and Akane
joined her in the yard. "Here we are, Bulma-chan. I had to tear
Ranma away from a movie."

"I just got here myself," She smiled at them. "Ready to go?"
She opened the driver door and climbed in, Ranma and Akane
following her. The engine roared to life and the three were off.

After fighting the morning traffic, the trio pulled into the
parking lot, Bulma emerged first from the aircar, funning. "Did you
see that guy cut me off? Ugh! The nerve of some drivers!" She
slammed her door and stomped around in the puddles that filled the
pavement.

Akane held open the door for the shaking Ranma, who had
never before experienced Bulma's driving skills. He leaned against
the vehicle, holding his stomach. "Ugh..."

Akane pulled on his arm impatiently. "Honestly! You'd never
think you rode in a car before! You can handle rocketing through the
air at sonic speeds, but you can't handle a few bumps in the road?"
She yanked on his arm again and Bulma capsulated the car. "You are
such a big baby."

He scowled at her, yanking his arm out of her grasp. "When
you fly through the air it's a lot smoother. And I read that one guy's
lips that almost slammed into the side of the car. You should have
heard what he said."

A loud honking made him turn and face the same vehicle he
just mentioned. "Hey!" He jumped out of the way of the reckless
driver. "Watch it before I fry your ass!" The only response he got
was a big splash from the puddle the crazy driver drove through. A
cold, wet puddle.

"Damn it!" Ranma screamed into the air as he shifted into his
female form.

"Come on, Ranma," Akane came back and pulled on his now
soaked arm. "You can get some water inside. Bulma's registering us
at the desk."

They found a bathroom, and Ranma entered it female, and a
minute later came out male. Using his ki to dry himself, the pair then
sat down next to Bulma, who was already engrossed in a parenting
magazine. She looked up. "The receptionist said that the doctor is
running late already, due to the storm last night. It'll be about half
hour." She returned to her reading.

Ranma fell into a chair next to Akane and glanced around the
large room listlessly. There were actually a lot of people sitting in
the chairs, or talking to the various receptionist. Most looked like
mothers that were pregnant, or they had very young children with
them. He sighed and picked up a magazine of his own and opened it to
a random page.

A small jerk on his pant leg made up glance over the article on
the advantages of breast feeding. He saw a little girl, about three
years in age with a shock of black hair that stuck out everywhere.
Large green eyes stared at him. "Ohiayo, chibi," he grunted and
went back to reading.

A minute later he felt another jerk on his leg, but ignored it.
A third, more insistent yank made him drop the paper. "Nani?" The
glared at the small child.

Akane glanced up from what she was reading. "She's adorable,
Ranma! Don't yell at her!" She gave the small urchin a gentle smile.
"Kon'nichi wa, Chibi-chan."

The little girl glanced from Akane to Ranma, and then tugged
on Ranma's leg again. He sighed and rubbed his forehead. "What do
you want, little girl?"

The child held out her hand, and Ranma noted that it was one
of those toddler sippy cups. The unspillable cups. He sighed and
glanced at her again. "It's a cup. Yay."

Akane rolled her eyes. "I think she is offering to share,
Ranma."

"I'm not thirsty."

The little girl offered the cup again, thrusting it into his
hands. He took it helplessly. "What do I do now?" The girl pointed
at it and grunted.

"Just drink it, Ranma." Akane sighed.

"Fine!" He glared at the girl and glanced at the cup. If it's
breast milk I'm gonna gag." Slowly he put the small lid to his lips and
jerked his head back, quickly downing the liquid. But much to Ranma's
ire, he finally discovered the real reason why the girl was giving him
the cup.

He put the cover on tightly and handed it back to the small
girl. "Now the cover is on tight." He sighed and wiped away the
water from his once-again expanded chest. "Why does this always
happen to me?"

The little girl stared at the now female Ranma with wide eyes.
"Mama..." she sniffled and let out a high-pitched scream as she ran
away. "MAMA!"

Both Akane and Ranma winced at the tone of the child's voice
and watched as the black-haired imp flung herself into the arms of
another black-haired female on the other side of the waiting room.
The mother soothed her child with a look of confusion, glancing
around to try and figure out why the child was screaming in horror.
Ranma and Akane hurriedly buried their faces in their magazines.

Bulma snickered behind hers. "Luck is just not on your side,
ne, Serori-kun?"

He shot her an icy look. "Ha ha. Very funny, Bulma." He
threw down the magazine and stood up. "I'm going for more hot
water."

"Briefs Bulma and Saotome Akane."

Akane shook her head, standing up. "There's no time, Ranma.
You'll just have to go in like that."

"But I'm a girl!" He protested as Akane drug him in through
the door.

"The doctor is on a tight schedule, Ranma. Now don't make a
scene!"

"Excuse me, but who are you?" The nurse stopped Akane and
Ranma, her gaze locked on the redhead. "Only patients are allowed
through this point."

Automatically, he spit out, "Saotome Ranma." But as soon as
the words passed his lips he flinched. "Uh, I mean..."

The nurse, Eiga Tayori, a young female with bright hazel eyes,
glanced quizzically down at the sheet of paper she held, then back up
at the pair of 'females.' "But it says Saotome Ranma is your husband,
Akane-san." She gave Ranma a good look, focusing on his chest and
hips.

She sighed. "He is my husband, Eiga-san. And this is him.
Trust me." She nodded her head to get them moving once again.

Tayori blinked a few times and her eyes widened as she
realized that the two females were a real couple. "Oh! I see. Your
husband." Both Ranma and Akane flushed at the stress and Bulma
smothered a giggle. "Well, Fujinkai-sensei will be right in." She
opened an exam room door and led the trio in. "Please remove all your
clothing, except for your underthings. There are gowns on the
bottom of the bed." She pointed to said items. "The doctor will be
with you in a moment." She gave Ranma one last glance and closed the
door behind her.

"Damn it, Akane! I knew I should've turned back before we
came in here!" Ranma huffed as he fell into a chair.

Akane growled as she pulled off her shirt, throwing it in her
mate's face. "Stop complaining, baka. Just use the faucet over
there." She pointed to the one built into one wall.

"Why don't you stay female, Serori? Then the doctor can
check you out, as well." Bulma suggested, pulling the gown up over her
shoulders. "You are completely female that way, ne?"

Ranma stared at Bulma, his jaw dragging on the floor in shock.
"I...I'm gonna ignore that, Bulma." He shook his head and turned to
the sink, splashing himself with the warm water. "And if you ever
mention something as ludicrous as that again, I will disown you as a
sister in law."

"Ranma," Akane spoke quietly, "it's actually not a bad idea."
She held up a hand at his beginnings of protest. "It would be just a
check-up, to make sure that you are healthy. In both forms, ne?"

"I'm gonna ignore you, too." He shot her an icy glare, shaking
the excess water out of his now black hair. "You know better than
anyone, Akane, how well that would go over."

She shrugged her shoulders. "It's just a suggestion." She
turned around. "Can you tie these strings for me?"

He did so, and turned to Bulma. "You want me to do it to you
too?" She nodded and he moved over to her. "I can't believe you
suggested that." He mumbled under his breath.

"Give it up, Baby." Akane sighed, exasperated.

The door opened, the nurse coming in once again. She was
looking down at a piece of paper so she didn't see the substation at
first. "All right, Saotome-san, why don't you step on the scale and we
can get your weight." She looked up and jumped visibly when she saw
the now male Ranma. "Who are you?"

He smirked and shook his head. "Saotome Ranma, Akane's
husband."

"But, I thought..." she stared at him in shock. "You're even
wearing the same clothing as her."

"Like I said, Eiga-san," Akane said patiently, "that was my
husband. So is he. They're the same person. Fujinkai-sensei had to
have mentioned something to the affect of us being 'special' patients,
ne?"

"Hai," the nurse nodded slowly, "but she didn't mention
anything like that." She shook her head and pointed to the scale.
"Well, why don't we get your vitals taken care of first, Saotome-san,
and then I'll do yours, Briefs-san." Bulma nodded.

After that was taken care of for both females, Tayori left
the room once again, stating that the doctor will be with them
shortly. Dr. Fujinkai Suki, a woman in her late 40's with slightly
graying temples, came in a few minutes later. She greeted the trio
with a smile. "How are you ladies doing this morning? I'm sorry
about the delay. We had a large tree fall down in our driveway, and it
took quite awhile for me to get here."

Akane smiled at the doctor. "That's quite all right,
Fujinkai-sensei. We understand. I'd like you to meet my husband,
Saotome Ranma." The pair acknowledged each other cordially.

"Is he of your race, Saotome-san, or is he human?"

Ranma uncurled his tail from his waist and wiggled it in the air.
"I'm a full saiya-jiin, Fujinkai-sensei."

She smiled, staring at the furry appendage. "I guess so."

"I'm the only human, Fujinkai-sensei," Bulma spoke. "Well, me
and you, that is. My husband is full saiya-jiin as well. He is also
Seiika's twin."

"Seiika?" Suki looked down at her medical chart.

"Seiika is my birth name, Sensei. Akane is the name given to
me by my Chikyuu parents."

Suki marked that down with a nod. "I see. Well, according to
the information you've given to me about your special case," at that
moment, Tayori walked back in, pushing a cart that held a large
machine. "Both of you are at the end of your first trimester. Have
either of you had tenderness in the breasts or noticed any swelling?"

"Hai," Akane nodded, and Bulma nodded as well. "I think I've
gone up almost a cup size.

"Yeah," Bulma added. "Going down a flight of stairs is
murder."

Suki nodded. "That's to be expected. They're getting ready
for lactation. Don't be surprised if you start secreting a
yellow-tinged liquid. Your body is just letting you know that it's
ready for you to nurse."

"That's the pericardium, right, Fujinkai-sensei?" Ranma
blurted out.

All three females turned to him. "That's correct,
Saotome-san." Dr. Fujinkai said.

"Nani?" He crossed his arms and glanced down at the floor.
"I just read about it in that magazine article." Akane grinned and
shook her head.

Suki grinned back at Akane. "What about morning sickness?"

"Don't even get me started with that one," Bulma groaned. "I
can't keep anything down before noon! And then, for supper, I eat
more than anyone else."

Suki smiled sympathetically. "It will start getting better,
soon, Briefs-san. Your hormones are flying out of control and one
side affect of that is the queasy stomach. Just be patient with it."
She wrote something on a piece of paper. "I'm going to put you on
heavy-duty vitamin supplements. When you start eating normally, I'll
lower the dosage, but for now you'll need to pump up." She handed
Bulma the piece of paper.

Dr. Fujinkai stared at the two females. "In the next
trimester, or well, two months for you two, your baby is going to be
doing some serious growing. The fetus is fully formed; the leg and
arm buds are complete as well with everything else it needs. More
than likely you've noticed some thickening around your waist and are
starting to think about maternity clothes, but that's to be expected.
Also, the fetus will start becoming active soon."

Bulma raised her hand excitedly. "Ooh! Vejiita and I felt
Trunks-chan move this morning!"

"You did?" Akane squealed, clapping her hands. "How
exciting!"

She nodded. "Hai! Vejiita had a ki hand on my stomach, and
he said Trunks' ki level was going up, and then we felt it! He shifted,
or kicked, or something. It felt really odd, having something move
inside me."

"Ki?" Nurse Eiga blinked a few times in confusion. "What are
you talking about?"

The three glanced between each other. Akane sighed and
started explaining a few things to the oblivious nurse. "Eiga-san, you
know that we are," she glanced at Fujinkai out of the corner of her
eye, "special patients, ne?"

She nodded. "Hai. Fujinkai-sensei said that you had a
different circumstances, but she didn't go into details."

The doctor shrugged her shoulders. "Well, actually I didn't
know where to start."

"That's okay, Fujinkai-sensei," Akane nodded. "Eiga-san, can
you keep a secret?"

"Hai. Doctor-patient confidentiality is written into the
medical code." She nodded firmly, then scratched her head. "Is this
something bad? Like I will regret hearing about it?"

"No, nothing like that. It's just sort of, unbelievable, I guess."
Bulma smiled. "You see, Eiga-san, Serori and Seiika here, along with
my husband, are aliens called Saiya-jiin. Their planet was destroyed
a long time ago and they were sent here as young children. My
husband arrived a few years ago. All of the survivors are here on
Chikyuu, although that number doesn't even number in the double
digits."

The nurse blinked. "Aliens." Bulma, Ranma and Akane nodded.
"From outer space." Dr. Fujinkai nodded as well. "Not Chikyuu-jiin."
They all nodded again. Tayori sighed and shook her head. "Well,
that's something you don't expect to hear when you wake up in the
morning." The others chuckled a bit.

"Well, now that Eiga-san has been enlightened," Suki smiled at
her dazed nurse, "why don't we move on to the sonogram? Who wants
to go first?" Tayori blinked and started to prepare the sonogram
machine.

Akane and Bulma shrugged. "Doesn't matter to me."

"Me either."

"Well, then why don't you go first, Bulma-san, since I have
your medical chart in front of me at the moment." She patted the
cloth-covered exam table. "Hop on up here, and Eiga-san will apply
the gel."

Bulma did so, and Tayori spread the cool opaque cream over
the slightly protruded part of Bulma's stomach. "Now, let's take a
peek and see what we can find." She placed the wand over her
stomach, and everyone turned their attention to the small screen
imbedded in the sonogram machine.

Almost immediately, a soft, rhythmic 'whooshing' sound was
heard. "What's that noise?" Bulma asked.

"That is your baby's heartbeat."

Bulma let out a soft sigh. "It's so fast!"

"Well, it is working very hard," Suki noted. "It is completely
formed, but now it just needs to grow."

Tayori was frowning, and she checked a few dials to make sure
the setting were correct. They were, but something was setting her
off-balance. "Sensei, are you sure you have it in the right spot?"

"Hai, I'm positive, Eiga-san. Is there something wrong?"

She nodded. "That's not a normal heartbeat. It sounds like
it's going way too fast, even for a fetus." Bulma sucked in a breath.

"I know why," Akane jerked her head up. "When I was
younger, the doctors all thought I had an irregular heartbeat, too.
They took some x-rays, and found out that I have an extra chamber
in my heart, and my heartbeat sounded like three beats, instead of
the normal two. They wanted to operate on me, but my parents
refused." She shook her head at the memory. "They told them that
since it was working normally, and it actually was better for me, since
it pumped the blood through me that much better, that an operation
was not necessary. Good thing too, ne?"

Ranma put a hand over his heart, his eyes wide. "I have the
same thing! I never noticed it before."

Bulma nodded. "Son-kun and Vejiita also have the triple-beat.
And you're right, Seiika. Saiya-jiin have a five-chambered heart.
Their bodies need more blood to function, and the extra ventricle
pumps more blood out, hence the triple beat. You also have a denser
bone skeleton, thicker muscle mass, and two extra vertebrae in your
lower spine."

Ranma let his tail uncurl from his waist. "They're in here, ne?"
Bulma nodded in agreement.

Tayori jumped at the unfamiliar appendage. "You have a tail!"

Akane waved her own. "As do I. It's the most distinguishing
physical characteristic for a saiya-jiin."

Dr. Fujinkai cleared her throat. "Well, now that the mystery's
solved, I thought Bulma-san here would want to see what her baby
looks like." As all eyes swiveled and focused on the monitor, she
pointed to the small fuzzy blob on the screen. "As you can see here,
here's the head, and the arms, and legs. All physical features are
there: the eyes, nose, mouth, fingers, toes." She traced a line on the
screen. "Here's the spinal column."

"Oh, Trunks-kun is so adorable, Bulma-chan!" Akane gushed at
her sister in law. "Look at his little tail stub!" Ranma rolled his eyes.

"Trunks? You know the fetus' sex?" Tayori frowned.

"Hai, Vejiita told me it the minute he realized I was pregnant.
That's how we knew so early." Bulma said, her eyes glued to the small
form on the screen. She could see the definite Saiya-jiin character-
istics that Vejiita passed down, and she saw evident in the future
version. The obvious slope of his forehead, the upturned nose, the
slanted eyes. The child she carried was definitely Trunks. She
turned to the doctor. "Can I get a picture of this?"

"How about something better?" She set the wand down, and
pushed a button, ejecting a tape. "Here's a copy of the video you just
saw."

"Arigatou, Fujinkai-sensei," Bulma eagerly took the tape into
her hands. "Trunks now gets to see what he looked like!"

Akane chuckled. "Can I get a copy of ours?"

"Hai, Akane-san," Suki nodded and they saw Tayori put in
another blank tape. "Ready?"

"Hai!" Bulma had gotten down, so Akane moved into her place.
Tayori applied the cool gel and soon the odd triple-beat echoed in the
room. Suki pointed out the same features, and they all 'oohed and
aahed' over each part, cooing at the cute little tail stub.

Ranma had been very quiet throughout the entire time, his
eyes riveted on the screen as he took in the small form he and Akane
created together. The product of their Bonding. Thinking to
himself, an idea struck him. "Sensei, can I try something?" He asked
Suki.

She glanced at Ranma, then at Akane, who had a curious look
on her face. "What are you going to do, Ranma-san?" Her voice had a
wary tone. This was the first time she had met the father.

He shook his head. "Nothin' bad, I assure you. I just want to
see if Tobuma has a reaction." He glanced at Akane. "Can I?"

She nodded, knowing what he was going to do. "Go ahead." He
smiled at her in appreciation. Reaching out with a ki-lit hand, Ranma
placed it on Akane's stomach, and flicked his smoky blue gaze to the
monitor. Everyone let out a gasp as a dim light filtered through onto
the screen. They watched as the fetus slightly shifted and a hand
moved toward the soft glow. "Ranma..." Akane placed her hand upon
his, and the glow inside intensified. The fetus shifted even more.

"He knows our ki already," Ranma muttered in awe.

Suki marveled along with the happy pair. "I have never seen
such a conscious reaction this early in gestation."

Ranma and Akane's hands dimmed, and the glow diffused on
the monitor. They watched as the fetus' hand slowly drifted back
against the small body. "His ki level went up when he moved," he said
to Akane quietly.

"I felt it," she nodded back. Her gaze locked with Ranma, and
both felt a crushing tsunami of love and affection swarm each other.

Dr. Fujinkai ejected the tape and handed it to Akane. "Here's
your copy of the fetus." She directed her gaze to Ranma. "That's an
amazing trick you just performed, Ranma-san."

He shook his head. "It was no trick. It was how we knew
Akane was pregnant. The ki of the baby detects and reacts against
the opposing ki. It's also how we know that he's still alive in there."
He straightened out and took the tape from Akane. "I'm gonna go
wait in the waiting room." He bowed to Suki. "Arigato, sensei." He
gave Akane a kiss on the forehead and left the room quietly.

Tayori turned doe eyes to Akane. "I just have to tell you,
Saotome-san, your husband is adorable!"

"Uh, thanks," Akane blinked.

About half a hour later, Ranma jerked his head up from the
magazine he was reading when he felt Akane's ki near him. "Yo," he
reached out and grasped one of her hands, pulling her down onto his
lap. "So did she say anything else?" He placed a small kiss on her
temple. Several people in the waiting room that noticed the display
of affection let out a 'aww,' to which Ranma blushed hotly.

"Nothing much. She gave me a physical, and noted that I've
gained five pounds already," she frowned and glanced down at her
stomach. "She said that everything was fine with me and Tobuma.
She also gave me a prescription for some vitamins and such."

Bulma came up to them, holding a large bottle in one hand.
"Look at the size of these pills I have to take!" She held several
large, grey pills. "They look like dinosaur eggs!" Both Ranma and

Akane laughed at the exasperated look on Bulma's face. She stuck
out her tongue at them in retaliation. "So, are we ready to go?"

Akane stood up, pulling Ranma with her. "Hai! Did you still
want to go to the mall?"

She nodded. "Hai. I need to pick up some things for Trunks'
nursery, and I need to start looking for maternity clothes. My
normal tailor opened a shop in the mall, so I have to check with him on
the status of what I already ordered."

A loud growl made Bulma and Akane turn to Ranma. "Can we
eat, too?" The magic word was spoken, and a trio of rumbling settled
that topic.

They walked out to the parking lot and Bulma exploded the
capsule that contained the aircar. "There's a new steak joint in the
mall. Why don't we go there."

The three climbed into the car, Ranma with some prodding and
a promise from Bulma to be a more careful driver, and they were off
to the mall.

After traipsing around for several hours, going from store to
store, the three fell tiredly into a booth at the restaurant. Their
stomachs, sensing they were near food, had started up a symphony of
rumbles and the trio quickly ordered mass quantities of food to deter
the noises.

Akane made a face as Ranma stuffed rolls down his throat in
his ravenous attempt to quiet his stomach. "Slow down! You're going
to choke!" She pulled away the basket so he wouldn't get anymore.

"I'm just so hungry!" he whined, chewing his mouthful.

"You sound just like Son-kun, Serori," Bulma laughed as she
spread butter on the roll on her plate. "Vejiita can get that way, but
only after he starved himself by locking his fool rear in the gravity
chamber for several days."

"Well, I've seen you go primal on a pizza once or twice,
Bulma-chan," Akane reminded her, "especially after doing the same
thing, only in your lab. Actually, you just did that a couple weeks
ago."

A faint blush covered Bulma's cheeks as she realized she was
caught. "Well, I was working on that assimilation disc, and I didn't
want to stop."

"Have you found anything helpful for the humans?"

"Maybe," she nodded her head, "but it will take a lot of
research on my part to try and discover the nanoprobes programming.
I thought that if I could re-program them to undo the damage they
caused, then they'd turn a drone back to human. But what I
discovered is that the probes are programmed before they are even
placed in the discs. So I would have to devise some sort of main
dispatch outlet for them." She shrugged her shoulders. "But the
best thing I can think of, that is the most plausible would to create
my own nanoprobes. But that will take a lot of time."

The food arrived in several waves, and food devouring noises
reigned the conversation. Once the initial hunger pains were
satisfied, consumption slowed so they were able to make conversation
once again.

And Ranma was the one to initiate it. "Hey, Bulma, I have a
question for you."

"Shoot, Serori-kun."

"Well, yesterday me, Tobuma, and Trunks were talking about
how it's so freaking hard to detect the drones and when they attack.
I was thinking that it we had some sort of device to detect where
they were, it would be helpful."

"Of course it would, Ranma," Akane rolled her eyes, "but we
can't even detect them ourselves. What good would a mechanical
device be?"

"Well, I was getting to that," he stuck out his tongue. "I
mentioned something like the Dragon radar would be ideal." Bulma's
eyebrows perked up at the mention of her favorite invention. "And
when I asked Trunks if his mother created something like that in his
timeline, he said he didn't know. But I was wondering if something
like that would actually be possible."

Bulma thought for a minute. "Well, we would have to find
something unique to the Hachi that we could pick up on a radar of
some sort. The Dragonballs give off a low-level magnetic pulse that I
was able to tune my radar on them only."

"Do the Hachi have any sort of pulse that we would be able to
use?" Akane asked.

"I don't know," Ranma shook his head. "And the only
suggestion that I could think of to figure it out would be to capture a
drone from one of the battles and bring it back." He waved off the
exclamations that he knew were coming. "I know, I know. they shot
it down right away, too. But it's the only thing I could think of at the
moment. I thought I'd bring it up to you, Bulma, since you're used to
thinking about such things." He smiled and dug right back into his
food.

Bulma pushed away her plate, and pulled out a pen to write on
her placemat. "Well, if we can't bring one of the drones to us, then
we'll have to go to one of the drones, ne?" Quickly, she scribbled
down formulas and sketches. I bet if I modify my spare radar we can
try and see if the drones have anything of use to us. Although, it
probably will have to be fairly close to one of them to detect the
right things we need."

Far away, a scream was heard, and Ranma and Akane both
jerked their heads in that direction. "What was that?"

Bulma shook her head. "Sounded like some teenager
discovering the sale at Flancie's." The saiya-jiin glanced at each
other then continued to eat.

But another scream, closer this time caught their attention
once again. All three looked up and watched as a large crowd of
people ran past the windows of the restaurant. "What is going on?"
Akane spoke, standing up to look out the window. "Everyone is
running away from something."

Ranma came up next to her. "Maybe Godzilla-sama is taking
advantage of the sale at the pet store." Both chuckled quietly.

A flash of green halted their mirth. They turned to each
other, faces stony.

"Hachi."