Hey, everyone! Long time, huh? Sorry 'bout all that. Things have been hectic in my neck of the woods. Anyhow, I've been keeping you in suspense for far too long. I feel really bad about it too. I'm sorry. On a happy note, though, here's a new chapter. I hope you all enjoy it.

Kataan- Thanks for reviewing!!! Enjoy!

Silentslayer- I'm glad you like my story. Thanks for the review!

Seruleyan-Wings- I feel like a big piece a poop. I'm sorry I haven't been on lately. (hugs) I miss talking to you and sharing ideas. I hope your writing's coming along okay and that everything's going well for you. As always, you're support means a lot to me. Thank you so much!

Lenk- This chapter should answer at least some of your questions concerning Bulma and Vegeta, and Bulma and Goku. Thanks for reviewing!

Shades of Crimson- Seruleyan caught me on my penchant for names that start with 'A', too. I don't know why I do it (probably because I'm a dork shrugs). Anyhow, I'm glad you liked Alyn. He's actually a character from another story, just like Akira and Arthos, etc… Hopefully, I will get that story up some day. Been watching the new season of GG? I haven't missed an episode yet, and I'm watching the reruns of the other seasons on ABC family. I can't wait until the second season comes out on DVD. Dec. 7th!!! I'm going to be first in line, but I'm getting off topic. Sorry. Enjoy the new chapter. I think you're going to like it, if I manage to write it up correctly.

Vegeta's baby sister- Aw, you don't have to check out my other stuff if you don't want to, but thanks for the interest. I appreciate it a lot. Thank you for reviewing, and it's completely cool that you didn't review the last chapter. I'm cool with it!

Hannah-Tendo- Thanks for reading and reviewing my story. I hope I didn't make you wait too long.

Chapter 12: A Glimpse of the Past: Part 3!

"Don't stay mad at Alyn. He just cares a great deal about you and my son," Vegeta Sr. responded after hearing Bulma rant about her conversation with Alyn Remmington.

Bulma sipped her martini and sighed, slouching back against the comfy leather couch. "I know. He was always a good friend to us."

"If you don't mind me saying," he started, propping his feet up on his desk. "Perhaps he has a point. Vegeta is still in love with you, dear." He smirked at Bulma's facial expression. It was clear that she wanted to argue that point. He held up a hand and chuckled. "Calm down. I'm just calling it like I see it."

"Well, if Vegeta's still in love with me than he needs to get over it. I'm seeing someone else, and we've been over for a very long time. He needs to move on, dad," she responded coolly, easily slipping into using the familiar term she had grown up calling him. He was more of a father to her than her own in any case.

"You know he can't. He's stubborn."

"Don't I know it," Bulma muttered. Flipping a long strand of hair over her shoulder, she glanced up at him. "What was it you wanted to speak to me about last week? It's been bugging me."

Mr. Ouji smiled somewhat sadly. "Something I've been meaning to say to you since you ran away with Trunks, but I've never been able to get you alone to say it. I know the real reason why you left."

As soon as the words left his mouth, Bulma lowered her eyes to the floor.

(Flashback)

"I just can't get over how cute he is," Lisdore cooed, rocking the tiny bundle in her arms back and forth slowly. "I just knew that you and Vegeta would make an adorable child!"

Bulma laughed as she watched Mrs. Ouji smile lovingly down at baby Trunks. "I'm still having a hard time believing any of this."

Lisdore gave her grandson a peck on the forehead and placed him in his crib. "Did you call your parents back?"

"Ugh! No," Bulma grumbled. "What's the point? They're just going to tell me how disappointed they are in me for going through with this."

"It's been almost four months. They're your parents, Bulma." She walked over and gave the young blue haired woman a quick hug. "Even Vegeta called Jelena and told her about it," she pointed out.

"I can't believe she's actually coming here just to meet the baby. She's never visited here before."

"I can't say I'm happy about it," Lisdore admitted.

Bulma frowned. "You don't really think that Mr. Ouji would have anything to do with her, do you? He loves you."

"But he loved her first," Lisdore responded with a fake smile. "You never really get over your first love, even if it's not as great as the one you have now."

"Dad would never do anything with her."

Lisdore waved her hand in the air dismissively. "I can't be thinking about this stuff right now. I need to go check on how dinner's coming along, and you need to call you parents."

Sighing, the blue haired teen glanced at the phone sitting on the nightstand. "I guess I don't really have a choice." She set Trunks down in his crib before plopping down on the bed and picking up the phone. "Here goes nothing," she whispered as her shaky hand clutched the receiver.

(End flashback)

"Trunks, right?"

The lavender haired boy turned around to come face to face with his mother's new boyfriend. "Um, yeah?" He was fighting to keep the frown off his face.

The man smiled and extended his hand to shake. "I'm Yamcha Roshi. You're mother's been telling me all about you. It's great to finally meet you."

Trunks slowly reached toward Yamcha's extended hand, but a voice from behind him caused them both to jump. "There you are," Vegeta spoke up.

"Hey, dad."

Yamcha continued to smile. "Oh, you're Vegeta?"

Vegeta gave the other man a perplexed look. "Who are you?"

"He's just a friend of mom's," Trunks cut in quickly. He glanced around quickly, trying to find someone familiar. "Um, dad, let's go talk to Uncle Arthos and Akira. They look bored."

"Just a friend, huh?" Vegeta inquired harshly.

"I'd like to think we're a bit more than friends," Yamcha replied.

"Dad," Trunks attempted to get through to his father. "Can we go talk to Uncle Arthos now?"

"Go ahead and talk to him. I'll be right there."

Trunks looked back and forth between his father and Yamcha. This was not going to be pretty. He glanced over at Akira. Thankfully, she happened to look up at the same time, and they locked gazes. Trunks waved her over is inconspicuously as possible. Akira grabbed Arthos' arm and pulled him through the crowd toward them.

"So, you're the new boyfriend?" Vegeta's tone held an unmistakable hint of amusement that Yamcha was finally beginning to catch onto.

"That's right," Yamcha responded, getting defensive for the first time.

Vegeta took another step closer toward this threat, but Arthos interrupted his next remark. "Veg, come on. Let's go cool off outside," he coaxed, pulling Vegeta back.

"Why? We were just getting to know each other."

"You really want to upset mother by ruining the party?"

Vegeta glared at Yamcha then turned to his brother. "What fucking right does she think she has bringing him here?" With that said, he stormed off toward the patio doors grabbing a drink from a server's tray as he passed and nearly knocking the poor man over in his rage.

Yamcha loosened his tie and let out a deep sigh. "What's his problem?"

Arthos and Trunks followed Vegeta out onto the patio without a word, leaving Akira behind with Yamcha. She sighed as well. Yamcha wasn't a bad guy, and it was unfortunate that Bulma had put him in this situation.

"Don't worry about him, Yamcha. He's just got a lot on his mind," she said.

"He looked like he was about to punch me."

Akira smiled weakly. "He probably was."

Yamcha shook his head. "Bulma said they were friends and things between them were over. I didn't think confronting him was going to be abig deal."

"Like I said, don't worry about." She patted him on the shoulder. "You just might want to stay away from him for the remainder of the night."

"No problem here."

(Flashback)

"You have to go to college, Vegeta."

"I can't support you and Trunks if I'm in school," he argued. "Besides, lots of people get by working hard for what they want."

Bulma frowned. "You're too smart for that. You have real talent when it comes to business. You have to go."

Vegeta sat up and turned on the lamp. "I can't keep living off my parents. I have responsibilities now," he went on angrily. He couldn't understand why she was fighting him on this.

"We're too young for this. We don't have a choice, Vegeta!"

Tossing back the covers, he stood up and walked toward the window. "You know I despise this whole situation. We have a fucking kid and yet we still have to run things by my parents. It's ridiculous!"

"Will you just calm down? It's one in the morning. You're going to wake someone up."

"I don't care!"

Bulma sat up and ran a hand through her hair. "I'm getting sick of talking about this, Vegeta. We can't do it. We'd never make it on our own right now," she tried to reason with him.

He glared over his shoulder at her. "You know that's not true. We'd do just fine on our own."

"Don't tell me what I do or do not know! This discussion is over. I'm not going to talk about it anymore," she yelled back.

"I'm not going to drop it," he shot back.

She grabbed his pillows and threw them at his feet. "Then you can go tell it to the couch because I'm not talking about it anymore!"

Vegeta clenched his jaw tightly and bent down to pick up the pillows. "Fine!"

As he walked out the bedroom door, Bulma covered her face and burst into tears. 'Why does he have to be so stubborn,' she thought miserably.

(Flashback scene changed)

A kindly old woman with gray hair leaned into the aisle and smiled at the young woman next to her. "What a precious little thing," she cooed; nodding toward the sleeping baby boy nestled comfortably in his carrier.

Bulma smiled fondly at her four month old son and then back up at the woman. "He certainly is," she responded proudly.

"I think it's wonderful that a girl your age would baby-sit her little brother."

"Excuse me?" The blue haired teen could hardly believe her ears. "He's not my brother."

"Oh? I'm terribly sorry, dear. Cousin then?"

Bulma shook her head, trying not to laugh despite her annoyance. "He's my son."

The old woman sat back in her seat with a shocked expression. "Oh! Well, then."

The bus came to a halt, and Bulma glanced out the window quickly. With the disapproving looks she was now getting from those around her, she decided that this was her stop. She jumped to her feet and signaled the driver to wait as she gathered the few things she had been able to snatch before she had ran away from home. Stumbling off the bus, Bulma looked around. She was trying hard not cry over the way that woman had acted.

"Damn hormones," she mumbled, sniffling loudly. She dropped the diaper bag and duffle bag that were weighing down her right shoulder and slumped to the ground; careful not to jostle the sleeping baby she carried in her left hand. For the first time since she had set her mind to it, Bulma regretted her decision. 'Vegeta.' She started crying uncontrollably, causing her son to wake up and join her.

"Oh, hey," someone called out. "Are you alright?!"

Bulma lifted her head slowly, wiping away at her dampened cheeks. A tall, good-looking boy stood over her with a concerned look on his face. He had the craziest hair she'd ever seen. It shot out in every direction, and he had these huge, dark eyes that made him look like an innocent child. It was a good distraction from her thoughts. He bent down in front of her.

"You okay?" He repeated.

"Why?" She demanded.

He looked slightly taken back at her harsh tone. "What do you mean 'why'?"

She eyed him cautiously. "Why do you care? I'm just a 17 year old single mother, why do you even give a fuck?!" She turned toward her crying son and pulled him carefully into her arms. "Why would anyone care at all?"

"Hey, I just wanna help you out, okay? Will you please let me?"

The glare in her eyes softened slightly. "I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have snapped at you like that," she went on quickly. "God, what's wrong with me?!"

He smiled. "It's alright," he told her, picking up the two bags she dropped. "Come on. I'll take you to the inn. I'm sure Ms. Claira will give you a room for the night."

Bulma stood up. "Thank you."

"Not a prob! My name's Goku, by the way. What's yours?"

"Bulma, and this is Trunks."

Goku glanced down at the little boy in her arms. "He's cute. So, what brings you here?"

They started walking toward a large, white colonial style inn. "I'm hiding out for a while," she replied.

"From who?"

"My old boyfriend," she whispered.

(End flashback)

Vegeta sat alone outside on a bench facing the house. He wasn't sure how long he'd been sitting there, but he was definitely grateful for the silence. It gave him the time to think about things, mostly about the past and what could have been. He knew Bulma better than anyone, even herself, and it just didn't make sense to him why she'd bring some guy she just started seeing with her tonight. Sure, he knew what she was trying to do. He wasn't an idiot. She wanted him to think it was finally over for good. She wanted him to move on.

It wasn't like he hadn't tried to. He'd womanized his way through his early twenties trying to forget all about his ex-girlfriend and even his son, but that got old after a while. He'd tried dating seriously after that, but he never could commit to any of the women he went out with. There was always something lacking about each of them.

So finally, he just immersed himself in his work, falling asleep at the office on a daily basis. He became obsessed with it. He became even more successful than anyone even dreamed of him becoming, but it wasn't enough. There were still things that he wanted, and seeing that Yamcha guy inside had thrown him for a loop. He was a threat in Vegeta's mind. The guy already had his hands on Bulma, that was bad enough, but what scared Vegeta the most was Yamcha trying to get close to Trunks.

Trunks was a good kid, probably due to the lack of Vegeta's physical presence in his life. He knew he wasn't the number one dad in the world, but he tried tothe best of his abilities to at least be there for his son. He tried to call once a week, and he sent loads of money whenever he felt Trunks might need it.

And he'd tried his best to stay out of Bulma's way while he thought she was trying to figure out what exactly it was she wanted, but as he sat and stared at his childhood home, he decided that he was through with it all. He was going to California for who knows how long, and she was remaining here. It was finally over.

Laughter broke through his daze, and he shook his head quickly to chase away the thoughts. He looked off to his right and spotted Trunks and Keelin laughing uncontrollably with their arms linked together between them. It reminded him of him and Bulma when they were sixteen, but in this case, his son seemed pretty oblivious to his best friend's attraction to him. He sighed. It was safer that way. He didn't want them to go through what he did. He just hoped that Keelin could hold on for another two years at least.

"Isn't this party in your honor?"

Vegeta turned toward the voice. It was Tessa Remmington. "What do you want?"

She sat down on the bench next to him. "It was getting stuffy in there," she lied perfectly. "Why are you hiding out here?"

"I wanted to be alone," he replied harshly.

"You're upset about Yamcha being here," she said. "It's understandable."

He stared at her with a confused look. "How do you know him?"

"He's friends with Leophin," she explained. "He works with him."

"He works with Leophin?" Vegeta fought to suppress his disgust. He couldn't stand Leophin Remmington. "I knew there was something subconsciously wrong about him."

Tessa leaned back and glanced up at the stars. "Actually, he's a nice guy, which is odd. My brother was never one for hanging around the 'nice guys'," she spoke softly.

"That's because he's an asshole."

She chuckled. "He certainly has his flaws," she agreed. "But don't we all?"

Vegeta looked over at her and smirked slightly. "I suppose we do."

"With as close as you and Alyn are, I find it funny that tonight is the first time I've ever seen your son," she stated. "He seems like a great kid. I hear he's in Worthington."

"Just started," he relied.

"I wonder if they still have to wear those awful uniforms," she mused.

Vegeta chuckled. "Trust me. They do."

"God, how I hated them."

(Flashback)

"It's not much, but you've got a heater and running water," Ms. Claira announced, opening the door to the small shed. "And you can do whatever you want to it. I never really use it."

Bulma walked into the room and looked around with an awed expression. "It's perfect."

Ms. Claira smiled. "If you need anything at all, I'll be working in the office until eight, or you can ask Goku for help. He's a great kid. I'm sure he'd be more than happy to help you."

"You've done so much for me already. I couldn't ask for anything more," Bulma replied.

"Take the evening to get settled in and familiarize yourself with the grounds. Goku is bringing over an old bed from storage for you. We can't have you sleeping on the floor."

"Thank you so much!"

The older woman laughed and hugged Bulma. "You won't be thanking me in a couple days when you get into the work," she joked.

"Working doesn't bother me," Bulma assured her.

Outside, Goku was backing up an old rusty pick up truck with a small bed in the box. Ms. Claira walked out and left Bulma to settle in to her new home. Goku jumped out of the truck and smiled at his new friend.

"The old potting shed, huh?"

Bulma smiled back at him. "It's small, but it'll do. Do you need help bringing that in?"

He pulled the tailgate down and shook his head. "Nope. I can get it." He started pulling out the mattress and box springs. "Do you know where you want it set up?"

"Oh, um." She looked back into the room. "How about against that wall by the window?"

"Okay!"

Bulma stood back cradling Trunks in her arms as Goku pulled out tools to assemble the bed frame. She was desperate to talk to someone her age for a change. Ever since she was taken out of Worthington when she got pregnant, the only people she had to converse with had been Vegeta and his family and occasionally Alyn. The only problem was, she had no idea what to say to they boy in front of her.

"So, do you mind me asking why it is you ran away from home and this mysterious boyfriend of yours?" Goku asked out of the blue.

'So much for not knowing what to say,' Bulma mused. "It's complicated, and I don't want to bore you."

"It takes a lot to bore me," he told her. "You just look really lonely, and well," he paused to look up at her. "I'd like to be your friend and help you out, but I won't push it," he continued on with a smile. "I'm sure it's probably hard for you, and I'm not going anywhere for a while."

When he turned back to his work, Bulma blinked back the stinging sensation in her eyes. She never expected to find people like this. She'd grown up in a society full of gossips and two-faces. She'd had very few friends, and here was someone who seemed so sincere.

"My parents kicked me out of the house because I didn't want to get an abortion."

Goku stopped working and turned back to her. He had a sad look in his eyes. "So you hoped on a bus and came here?"

She shook her head. "No. That was when I was around three months pregnant. My boyfriend's parents took me in. They're really amazing people. I mean, they weren't thrilled that we got pregnant, but they really worked with us and helped us out," she explained.

"And you left them to come here?"

"I didn't want to," Bulma argued. "It's just. Vegeta, my boyfriend," she went on. "He's so stubborn. He didn't want to live under their roof anymore. He wanted us to get married and find out own place. He wanted to quit school so he could support me and Trunks."

"What's wrong with that?"

Bulma stared at him like he'd grown a horn out of his forehead. "He's too intelligent to do that. He's set to go to Harvard in two years! He has so much ahead of him. He's going to be something," she announced proudly.

Goku nodded thoughtfully. "So you ran away because you didn't want him to give all that up?"

"Yes," she answered softly, tears rolling down her cheeks.

"You must really love him a lot."

"I always will."

Her new friend frowned as he watched her cry. Jumping to his feet, he said, "I have an idea! You've got to be hungry, right?" All she could do was nod. "Okay then! Let's go to my mom's diner. I've finished all my work around the inn, so Ms. Claira won't mind if I leave early, and I can come back after we eat and finish putting this together. Besides, you need to see the town. It's great, and I want you to meet my brothers and sister." He placed a hand on her shoulder, and she looked up at him. "You'll like them, and I have a feeling that you and Akira will get along really well!"

(End flashbacks)

"I'm not saying that I'm glad you left, Bulma. You put everyone through a lot," Mr. Ouji told her. "But I know how stubborn my son is, and had you not left, he wouldn't be the man he is today. He wouldn't have graduated from Worthington in the top five percent of his class, he wouldn't have graduated first in his class from Harvard, and he wouldn't be a successful businessman."

The blue haired woman on the couch was bawling her eyes out now. "I-I know," she stuttered through her sobbing.

Mr. Ouji got up and walked around his desk to give her a hug. "You sacrificed your future for his. I just wish the two of you hadn't been so stubborn because you could have been just as successful." He sighed when she tried to push him away angrily for that comment. "Calm down. I'm not belittling. I'm proud of you. You made something for yourself, and you did it all on your own."

(End Chapter)

Oh my! That was long, huh? I hope I didn't portray Vegeta as a pansy in this chapter. That was not my intention. He was just reflecting on his life. Everyone does it, and I'm sure he would as well!

I hope everyone understands what Bulma did as well. If not, let me know, and I'll try to clarify it further. I hope you all liked this.

Next time: I'm skipping ahead a little. A year and a half to be precise. That means that it'll be the summer before Trunks' senior year of high school. (He's a sophomore right now!) Vegeta will have been gone most of this time, probably only coming back for holidays. He will not be having any contact with Bulma over this time. I'll get into all this soon because I hope to have it up soon! We'll see how all the relationships have progressed over time, too.

Don't be mad that I'm skipping so far ahead, please! I have my reasons, and I think you'll be glad I did in the end.

Please review!

PANDORA ;-)