Hey everybody. What's up? sigh this has been a VERY hectic week. I'm sure you all know how the end of the quarter is, very stressful, so...yeah, but hopefully, you'll forgive me and enjoy the chapter anyway!! Let me just tell you guys, Vegeta might be a little OOC this chapter, but I tried really hard, but...yeah.

I'd also like to thank all of the people who reviewed for Chapter 22. You guys are the best!!

Ace-1990 - Lol. I know, don't you just want to knock some sense into them? lol. Glad you like the chapter. I'll really really really try to stop taking forever to update, lol. Umm...Ace story? I really don't know what that means, but...thanks!

Just someone - Lol. scratches head I'm so confused. Do you want me to do a sequel or not? Lol. I probably won't do a sequel, but don't think this is the last chapter! There's still more to come!! MWAHAHAHAHAHA!! lol.

t2i2n2a - Kinda impatient, huh? They should get together now! lol. Well, they...nevermind. You'll just have to read the chapter, but...I can't tell you about Austin and his mom! Ahhhhh! Lol. He's got some serious problems, though. I know somebody like that...

Dray - Lol. I know, don't you just love how I keep putting more questions? Isn't it great! I hate reading things that are suspenseful (if that's a word) but then I turn around and put suspense in my own story! It's a cruel world.

Suicide-Greeting - raises eyebrow back

Kataan - lol. You've just got the whole story planned out, huh? Yeah, Austin does kinda seem deprived, but...you'll have to read the chapter to find out why!! insert evil laugh here lol.

Zicke - Thank you soo much. I really appreciate you reading my story and giving me your opinion. Hope you like the chapter!!

VeryShortMidget - Lol. Thanks. Everybody is saying it's your decision, decide, but i dont wanna decide! I want you guys to decide! lol. Well, i've decided not to do a sequel, so...yeah. Let me warn you, Vegeta might be a little OOC, this chapter, but, it really couldn't be helped.

Shades of Crimson - Thank you soo much! You have been so helpful to me all while I've been writing this fic. I don't know what I would do without you! lol. I'm so happy, I think I might cry! lol. Nah, i'm just kidding. Lol. Thanks again!

Nicole - Hey, what's up? Sorry about snapping at you on msn, I really didn't mean to, but I was just really stressed and stuff, and...yeah. But I'm sorry. Thank you for the review. I know it does take a while for me to update sometimes, and you guys probably get a little tired of it, but...yeah. Finally got another chapter up!!

Chapter 23 - Reconciliation

Austin shivered, crossing his arms as he traversed the busy street. He glanced down at the address scrawled on the paper in his hand once more before walking up to the small, cozy looking house.

He took a deep breath and tapped the door with the brass knocker. He waited. Nothing.

He rang the doorbell and peered through the glass of the door. Still nothing.

He started to turn away, but stopped as he spied some movement through the window.

The door opened slowly to reveal a small, kind looking woman. She looked to be around 70 or 80 years old, and her skin was wrinkled as a raisin.

The woman squinted up at him, trying to study his face, though she obviously had bad eyesight.

Her eyes seemed to widen for a moment as she exclaimed, "Austin! Oh my! Is it really you?"

He nodded as his eyes filled with tears. "Yes, Grammy...it's me."

He leaned down to hug the old woman. It had been so long! He was in heaven as he entered the house. It couldn't get better than this.

Bulma sighed heavily as she yawned sleepily. She hadn't gotten much sleep last night.

She started for a moment when Trunks banged his spoon on his high chair, demanding more Apple Banana Baby Food.

"Hold your horses, would ya'?" she asked as she spooned the food into his mouth. "You eat like your dad," she mumbled.

It was true. Trunks had astounded everyone with his enormous appetite from day one. Even now, Bulma was buying baby food by the case instead of by the can.

"And baby food is expensive!" she thought aloud. "Can you pay for all this baby food?" she asked Trunks, motioning toward the three empty cans on the table.

He looked quizzically at her for a moment before giggling and cracking a toothless smile.

Bulma just shook her head and gave him another bite.

"Come sit down on the couch here, Austin," the woman said, motioning toward the couch.

He smiled and obeyed, remembering when he had torn up the upholstery on the love seat and Grammy and Poppy had just about had a cow.

He remembered the time when he had drawn on the wall. Poppy had made him scrub it off with a bar of soap and a toothbrush. He had cried all the while, exclaiming that it was a picture for...for her.

"So, how have you been, Austin? I haven't seen you in the longest!" Grammy said.

He nodded, "Yes, I know. It has been a while."

He noticed for the first time that the woman seemed to have aged a thousand years while he was gone. Her hair was snow white, and so thin he could see through it. Her head seemed small and frail. Her hands shook constantly and she seemed to have a million wrinkles!

"...So how have you been, Grammy?" He asked with concern as he took her hand.

"Oh, I've been alright, I guess. As good as can be expected with what's happened, of course."

"Are you done, finally?" Bulma asked her son as she lifted him from the baby seat.

She smiled as she undid his bib and wiped his mouth with a soft cloth. He sure was messy!

She set him in his playpen in the living room and turned to clean the kitchen. She sighed when she saw what a mess they had made.

She spun around to glare at the baby. "See what a mess you made!" He gave her a bored look and continued to play with his toys.

She shook her head, thinking of how wonderful it must be to be a baby. All you had to do was eat, sleep, and cry.

"Well, better get to it," she mumbled, rolling up her sleeves.

She finally finished, after what seemed to her like hours, and stepped back to look. Her kitchen was sparkling.

She smiled and glanced at her watch. 12:53.

She really wanted to put on some nice clothes and take Trunks out to the park, but she was so tired, she thought she would collapse right there.

"Well...why don't I take a 20 minute nap, and then we'll go to the park. How's that, Trunks?"

He smiled, and she took that as a yes.

He was looking more and more like his father, she thought sadly. Too bad he would never know him.

Well, there was still a chance that he would come by today...hopefully.

No, she couldn't think about that. If he came then, she knew what she would do. If not, then...she knew what she would do.

"I'll keep on living," she said sternly. She had to keep living, if not for herself, then for her son.

Austin looked at Grammy quizzically. "What do you mean after what's happened?" he asked, "What's happened?"

She looked at him for a moment, almost as if she was on the verge of relaying some secret, on the edge of a cliff, contemplating whether or not to jump.

He was beginning to get frantic. What had happened? Why was she taking to long to answer?

"Grammy? What happened?" He could hear the urgency in his voice, but he couldn't help it. He needed to know! He had to know what happened!

"She...she's gone, Austin."

He felt like someone had punched him in the stomach. He was gasping for breath, trying to pull in a few lungfuls of air. She was gone? How? Who? Where? When?

His head was spinning. How could she be gone? No, she couldn't be gone.

"She died about 6 months ago. She was hit by a drunk driver; a teenager, named--"

He never got to hear the person's name.

Bulma awoke to the sounds of Trunks crying.

"I'm coming, honey," she said, rising from her spot on the couch to comfort her distraught son.

He finally ceased crying and she smiled at him, kissing his soft cheeks.

"Now, how 'bout we go to the park?" she suggested.

Not waiting for an answer, she carried him upstairs, humming a soft tune.

After changing into a cute t-shirt and a skirt, they went to the park.

She smiled as she walked behind the stroller, taking in all of the scenery. She stopped short when she felt the stroller halt, as if the wheel was caught on something.

She glanced up, finally noticing the young man sitting on a bench. His foot had stopped the wheel of Trunks' stroller.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," she said, blushing profusely. "I didn't see you there."

He glanced up and she recognized him. "Brian?"

He grinned, "Yeah! What's up, B? Here, take a seat."

She suddenly felt a little apprehensive, and thought she should be moving on, but she brushed the feeling off; she was being silly.

She parked the stroller next to the bench and perched on the edge of the wooden bench, as far away from Brian as she could. She didn't want to be impolite, but something didn't feel right.

"So, how's everything going?" Brian asked, stretching his arm out on the back of the bench.

"Oh, everything's fine."

There was a moment of uncomfortable silence before Brian tried again to start a conversation.

"So I hear Vegeta's leaving."

Bulma held back a sob and tried to appear calm and collected, "Yeah. He's supposed to leave today."

Again there was silence.

Bulma jumped up, "Well, I'd better get going..."

Brian stood, also. He couldn't let her leave now! It would ruin everything.

"No, don't go. I--I really enjoy talking to you."

Bulma almost scoffed in his face. Yeah right, that was the worst pick up line ever!

"Well, I enjoyed talking to you, too. Bye!" She hurried away, glancing over her shoulder every few minutes. She couldn't help it, but she felt like she was being followed!

He growled as he watched her flee. This was definitely not good.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone.

"Hey, I got a problem. She's leaving. Things aren't going as planned. Get someone to stall her."

The voice on the other end didn't sound too happy. "I can't! I'm...busy at the moment. Find some way to stall her yourself."

Vegeta sighed as he ran his fingers through his dark hair. This was getting too complicated. First, he woke up late and didn't get the rest of his things packed like he wanted to, and then the movers had had a problem with the truck and couldn't get it started, so they had to transfer all the stuff to a different truck. Then they had an "emergency" and had to take the other truck, so all of his things were back in his house.

This was just way too much. He was already stressed as it was, and these circumstances weren't getting any better.

But that wasn't all. He still couldn't get her words out of his head.

"Well...at least stop by before you go... Your son will want to see you one last time."

He had been contemplating that constantly for the past 12 hours. If he did go, he knew that he wouldn't be able to leave her. If he didn't go...well, if he didn't go, then he could leave. But if he didn't go, he would never have a clear conscience! He shook his head and climbed into the car. He had to do this before he came to his senses and actually thought about what he was doing. Well, no...he had thought about what he was doing, that's why he was going.
Austin felt the room spinning as he started to hyperventilate. He dashed from the room and threw open the door, collapsing onto the lawn. He heard Grammy's voice from the living room calling to him, but he couldn't answer. His throat felt dry, his tongue felt swollen. He couldn't breathe. She was gone! He let out an agonizing cry as he struggled to his hands and knees. He pulled up a fistful of grass as the tears began to plummet from his cheeks. She was gone! He still didn't want to believe it. She couldn't be gone! It had only been a few years ago that he had held her. Told her he loved her, that he would marry her and they would have children together, and now...now it was too late. He subconsciously saw himself there, in Grammy's front lawn, crying for his sweetheart, but he couldn't bring himself to do anything but sit there and cry. With each tear that fell to the ground he felt more and more rage for the person who had taken her away. He would find this person; he would find them and kill them for taking her away!
Vegeta sighed as he pulled up to the all too familiar house. He had been here many times before, but somehow it felt different this time, like it could be the last time. He shook his head and climbed out of the car, thinking sadly that he might never walk up this sidewalk again. He might never again see the perfectly manicured lawn and look through the expensive glass of the front door. He might never again ring the doorbell and wait solemnly for someone to answer. He shoved his hands in his pockets, glancing around. It didn't look like anyone was home. But why would she be out? She had to be here. He ran the doorbell once more, peering through the window, waiting to see her beautiful figure descending the stairs. She was there; she had to be there! She just wasn't answering the door, that was it. "Woman, open the door," he shouted. Silence. "Woman...Bulma open the door." Still nothing. He was beginning to get impatient. How many times could she reject him? He started to turn away, but then stopped. He couldn't let her win. She was trying to discourage him, but he wouldn't let her. She had already told him she loved him, so he couldn't just walk away. He had to be a man.
Bulma smiled as she heard Trunks giggle from the back seat. She decided maybe today she would come in through the back. She pulled up to the back of the house and quietly let herself in. "Now Trunks, how about--" She stopped abruptly, hearing someone speaking. She put Trunks in the play pen and started to walk towards the front door when she realized exactly who it was. She decided not to reveal herself quite yet, wanting to hear what he had to say. "Bulma, don't do this." She was shocked. She head never heard him call her by her name before. It was always 'woman' or just 'hey you' but never had he called her Bulma. Just hearing the word come from him brought tears to her eyes, but she brushed them away quickly.
She heard him sigh, "Bulma...I--I'm sorry, for everything. I..." She smiled, as an idea popped into her head. She sneaked around and exited through the back door, then walked around to the front of the house. She smiled; she was looking straight at him, and yet he was talking to an empty house, trying to get her to open the door. "Bulma I...I'm sorry. I--I love you." She couldn't believe it! She let out a squeal and he immediately whirled around. "Bulma, I--" She rushed to him and threw her arms around him. "Don't talk," she whispered, "You've said enough already." He smirked and wrapped his arms around her slim waist. It had been so long... He leaned down and kissed her with all the passion and love he felt. She returned the kiss with just as much passion and love. She finally pulled back and smiled. "Does this mean you're not leaving?" He glanced down for a moment, "I...I don't know." "Well, we'll figure that out later. Right now your son is probably dying to see you." He smirked as they walked into the house.
So what did you guys think? What do you think is going to happen to Austin? And where have Val and Squid been for the last few chapters? Who is this mystery woman that Austin loved so? You'll have to find out next time!! Don't forget to review!!