Last time:

I want to crumple it into a tight little ball and set it on fire. For some reason it makes me angry, very angry. Too angry, in fact, to keep my head on straight. I'm on the floor in a heap of blankets, my ankles tangled and a bruise most likely forming on the hip I fell on.

What a great way to start the day.


It isn't until lunch that I see Yamcha. He's sitting at our usual table, one leg crossed in the man-style over the other. He's holding a tattered paperback book, the front cover curled around to the back; The Great Gatsby, his favorite book of all time. Personally I can't stand it. I don't see why he likes it.

As I approach the table he doesn't see me coming. He's so completely oblivious. To everything. I wonder, if I came out and told him I didn't love him that way, would he believe me? Or would he go on living the lie we so perfectly live? I really can't imagine my life without him, but to continue to stay with him? I don't know if I can do that either. And it's not just the Vegeta thing. It's everything. Every little thing about him—and him and me as a couple—just irks me in the worst way.

I know he's always been there for me, especially after the accident, but does that mean I have to devote my life to someone I don't truly love? I've been with him for a decade for Kami's sake. That should be enough. That's a huge chunk of a lifetime, the part that really matters, the young years.

And if I don't have a baby soon I'm going to go crazy!

"Hey," I say, not bothering to take a seat. It's a little too late for me to eat, and I'm not that hungry, not after seeing him look up at me and think everything is fine.

I want to cry. I want to vomit. I want…so much that I can't have.

"Hey sweet thing," he says as he stands, dog-earring the page of the book he was reading. I hate when he does that. It ruins the book! "Miss me?" He kisses my cheek and I feel this almost uncontrollable impulse to wipe it off. But I don't.

"Of course not," I say playfully, kissing him back. "How was it?"

"Dreadful, as usual."

"Well at least you get to leave the building once in a while. I'm stuck in a stuffy lab all day." It isn't until he's stopped, and I'm still walking, that I realize I was being hostile with him. "Sorry," I sigh. "I've had a rough couple of days."

"I can see that."

"Tell you what," I say, grabbing his hand and giving him my best sad eyes. "I'll take you out to dinner tonight, and we can go wherever you want. I sure as hell could use a good night out too."

He hesitated a moment, wondering how exactly my days have been bad, then nods and gives me a kiss on the lips.

"I'll see you tonight."

And then its over, and I can breathe again.


"Have you ever been to this kind of doctor before?"

I want to laugh, throw my head back and laugh, so she really thinks I'm crazy. Instead, however, I shrug and nod.

"When?"

"High school," I say simply, leaving the door wide open. I'm not much for opening up to people. Not even Chi-Chi or Goku or any of the others. There are parts of me that no one knows, parts of me that I never want anyone to know. Though sometimes I fear that they know more than they let on, that somehow my life is an open book, free for anyone to take a look and judge me accordingly.

"What happened in high school?"

"A lot."

She frowns and makes a mark on the pad of paper in her lap. It takes me back to the first time I saw a shrink. I always wanted to grab that pad and run out of the room and read every little stupid thing they wrote about me. But I was so confused then, I would never have dared. Now I might, but I don't think I will. It was my choice to come this time; I wasn't forced.

"Can you be more specific?"

"I got into a car accident my Junior year," I say easily. For months I was forced to talk about it. Now it was like I was retelling a scene from a movie. It wasn't me, it wasn't my life anymore. I'm not that girl, and I never will be again. "I don't really remember the crash. I hit my head on something and I was in a coma for three months."

"A coma?" She doesn't seem surprised. And that makes me think: Does she have the file from my other shrink? But then I think how impossible that would be. She never knew until right now that I'd even seen one before, and if she had, she wouldn't have had any time to get the file; I just called her this morning.

"Yeah," I sigh, closing my eyes for a moment. I can remember so vividly the hospital room I woke up in. No one was there. It was the middle of the night and no one came in until the early morning. My mother was the first to see me awake. She cried and hugged me for so long that one would think I'd risen from the dead. Though, in a way, I suppose I did.

"You suffered no brain damage?" She's being technical now. I guess it's later that she'll try to read my emotions.

"The doctors said I was in perfect condition. They sent me home that afternoon."

"Weren't you upset that you lost three months of your life?"

"I was then." Yeah, I cried for weeks straight. "I've learned to get over it."

"What was it like after you woke up? Did people treat you differently? Was it strange? Like a new world?" What book is she getting this crap from? It's not like I slipped through the rabbit hole. I'm not Alice, for Kami's sake.

"Everyone was overly nice to me. I hated it. And I had this weird feeling…Like…Like they were all hiding something from me."

"How so?"

"I…I don't know." But I did, and no matter how upset I got, I would never tell her or anyone else. It was too crazy. "It's like there was a part of me missing. I tried to be normal and happy, but at night I would just break down and cry for hours…My boyfriend Yamcha tried to be supportive, but I was skeptical of him too…It took months for me to get back to my old self."

"Did it affect your schoolwork in any way?" What a lame question.

"Not really. I didn't even need to be in high school, but I wanted to be with my friends and people my own age. I wanted the high school experience. Whatever work I missed I made it up and I still graduated with my class." And then something hits me, like a ton of angry little bricks. "Doctor, how is it that you didn't know about my accident? It was in the papers and on the news. I saw it."

Her smile morphs immediately into a deep frown. Oh yes, I've caught you!

"Yes I knew about the accident, and the coma," she confesses. "But I don't know any more about it than what was in the papers."

"How can I be open and honest with you if you're not with me?" I surprise myself with my forwardness with this stranger.

"You're right," she sighs. "I should have told you. I promise not to do that again."

"Well there isn't much else you could know."

"Forgive me?"

"Do I really have a choice?" I sneer.

"You're not a prisoner here, Ms. Briefs. You can cancel our secession and leave whenever you please. It's all up to you. You decided you needed to talk with someone and I want to be that someone. I want to help you."

"Because it's your job."

"Yes," she admits. "But also because I am genuinely concerned for each and every one of my patients. And I can see a deep hidden sadness in you. You said you felt like there was a part of you missing after the accident. Do you still feel that way?"

"It's been gone for so long it's normal now." Which she takes as, "Yes doctor, I do still feel that way."

"Do you think you'll ever feel whole again?"

Deep question.

"Bulma?"

I look up, unable to come up with an answer. It's like I know the missing piece of the puzzle is there, just out of my reach, and if only I knew how to get to it I would be myself again. But I don't. And I suppose that's why I'm here.

"I don't know. But my lunch break is almost over. I should get going."

"Will I see you next week?"

I hesitate at the door, buttoning my jacket. Today was a considerably shorter secession then the next would be.

"Yes, I think you will."

"And we'll discuss the real reason you're here?"

"Unfortunately…"


I slip back into the lab just after Vegeta gets back from lunch. Neither he nor 17 would know that I went to a shrink on my lunch break, just as Chi-Chi and the others wouldn't know I wasn't in the lab the whole time as I had said. It had worked out perfectly, and would continue to as long as me and the doctor figured out what was wrong with me quickly. Otherwise someone was likely to discover my whereabouts.

Today me and Vegeta had decided to work separately on a snag we were having with the project. We figured it was better to both come up with ideas on our own and work from there. And my train of thought had been that if I spend another second with him I won't be able to control my hormones. Why is it that Vegeta can ignite me with a mere glance, when Yamcha has to practically beg for it?

I really need to get to the root of my problem. What the hell possessed me to sleep with Vegeta? A man I have loathed since as long as I can remember? I'm counting on my shrink to help me figure that out. If not then I'll just have to flee the country, change my name, dye my hair black, and open a Japanese restaurant.

I might be over exaggerating on that one.

"Hey B."

I look up to see 17's gorgeous face looming over me.

"What's up?"

"Just popping over to say hi." He leans down and gives me a friendly kiss on the forehead, in the same spot he always does; right where my scar from the accident is, just behind my hairline. I keep it well hidden with a carefully done hairstyle. Out of the corner of my eye I see Vegeta glare at him, and I want to shout, "What! I'm not yours to be jealous over!"

"Is that all?"

"Well I hardly see you now that your old man has to in the dungeon most of the day and night. We miss you. Chi-Chi's going stir crazy with all the testosterone."

"What about 18?"

"You know as well as I do that she's not girly in the way Chi-Chi needs right now. She misses you."

"Don't give me a guilt trip, mister," I say, poking a finger into his rock hard chest. "You know I would much rather be hanging out with you guys than suck here with Mr. Personality. But I can't until the project is done. Why don't you guys come in one night and spend time with us?" I realize too late that I said "us" instead of "me", and 17 catches it immediately, his eyes widening just the slightest bit, but he doesn't dare say a word.

"I think that'd be great. I'll run it by everyone."

"Where are you going?" I know him too well. He had shifted his foot towards the door at his last statement, his eyes snapping at the exit for the smallest portion of a second. But I had fast eyes too, and I saw it without trying.

"I have to run upstairs," he confesses, averting his eyes. How can he leave me alone with Vegeta like that? He's my safety net! "I have my annual progress meeting today with your dad." Ok, I guess he can be forgiven for that.

"Right, right. Good luck."

"Thanks." He gives me one more kiss before heading for the door. He's almost out the exit when it hits me.

"Hey! Wait a second!" He halts dead in his tracks, his shoulder hunching up; the way it always happens in movies. "Doesn't Minao Kusatsu work in the offices up there?"

17's cheeks flush such a deep shade of crimson that I can see it from my desk. Well, I can see why he would like a guy like Minao. He's gorgeous, nice, stylish, and wants kids someday, just like 17. They would be perfect together. It's amazing that they've gone this long without going on a date.

"Yeah," he says under his breath.

"You little dog," I laugh. "Good luck."

"Thanks," he laughs uncomfortably and shuffles out the door. One wouldn't think looking at him that 17 is shy when it comes to dating, what with how outspoken and social he is. But the second he's around a guy he likes he freezes up. It's so adorable.

"So," comes Vegeta's voice. I hear his footsteps, and before I can protest, he's standing next to my next. "Where were you really this afternoon?"

My entire body stiffens and I try my hardest to keep my face indifferent and a little cynical.

"What are you talking about?"

"You know exactly what I'm talking about," he sighs, rolling his eyes, and then he takes a seat on the edge of my desk. Oh Kami he has such a great ass! "I heard you tell Kakarot and them that you were eating lunch in the lab because we have so much work. And obviously you weren't here."

"I-I—" But I can't seem to force myself to form words.

"Don't worry, woman. I'm not telling anyone. Not if you tell me, that is."

"There you go again with the blackmailing. Is that what they taught you in the orphanage?"

Bad move, I know. But it was the only card I had to play.

Surprisingly, however, he doesn't bat an eyelash.

"I'm seeing a shrink," I blurt out without thinking. But for some reason I was compelled to tell him, as if he had a right to know. Kami please let this therapy help me! "I need to know why I slept with you, why I'll sleep with you again—" He can't control his smirk; not that I think he tried though. "—and continue to put strain on my conscience."

"I can tell you that easily enough."

For an instant I believe that he does have the answer I've been looking for.

"What woman wouldn't want me?"

"Pig."

"I know," he laughs. "But that's not going to stop you from showing me how limber you are tonight." And before I know it his arms are wrapped around my waist, his lips and tongue assaulting my mouth. My knees go weak and my body gives out, collapsing like a faulty tent in his arms. "Am I too much for you, woman?"

"Don't get cocky, Vegeta. I could deny you at any moment."

"No you wouldn't," he says with complete confidence. And though I know he can't know that it's true, it still makes me wonder. How can he think he knows me so well? Knows me at all? The most we've ever said to each other aside from insults is what's transpired in the past few days. I know his parents are dead and he grew up in an orphanage. He knows that I'm seeing a shrink now.

What the hell is wrong with me!

"I had the weirdest dream about you the other night."

"Do tell," he whispers huskily, kissing my lips with his rough sweetness. I'm still bent against him, but he doesn't seem to mind.

"We were in high school, but the weird thing was that you and I were dating, like seriously dating." I pause, feeling his grip on me tighten, but he says nothing. "We were up on the Capsule Corp. roof, looking at the stars. And I remember my dream-self thinking that it was our one-year anniversary, and then you said we should get married and you gave me this gorgeous emerald engagement ring."

"Then what?" he asks, his voice slightly different; less gruff, less Vegeta-like.

"Then you had to go home because of your family situation, but you car wouldn't start, so I drove you home. And when I was about to leave it started to pour rain. I don't know, it was so weird. Why would my subconscious put us together in high school? We were enemies in high school. We tormented each other…My brain must be malfunctioning lately. I really need this shrink to set me straight." I look up, about to kiss him, when I see the look in his eyes. It's not angry, not cold and hard the way it usually is, but sort of in awe, perhaps. I really don't know. I have never seen him look like that before. "Vegeta?"

He doesn't even acknowledge that I'm there.

"Vegeta?" I shove him gently and his eyes snap on me.

"I-I…I'll be right back."

"Where are you going?" I pull on his arm for him to stop, but he shrugs himself free and dashes out the door like his pants are on fire.

I guess I'm not the only one loosing their mind around here.


Chapter 7:D Well, well, well, now there's a lot in this chapter for you lovely readers to think about. It seems really crazy and messed up right now, but I'll get to a point in time. Trust me. When have I ever failed you:)

REVIEW! Or else :P

Next time: More shrink time…More Yamcha/Bulma interactions…And Goku and the others will come back (I've sort of been neglecting them, I know. Shame, shame!)