I'm so sorry I waited such a long time to update! If you want to shoot me, then go ahead (I just wouldn't be able to write anymore chapters, meaning that the killing me thing would be stupid, but you're welcomed to it if it makes you feel any better.)

I don't own DBZ

Chapter 23

It had been a very long month for Bulma, ever since Vegeta's daughter was brought aboard the ship. Vegeta showed no interest in taking care of his own child, and often just decided to train with Kakarot. There was no way anyone else except for Kakarot would take care of the child, but Kakarot showed less interest in the child than Vegeta. Bulma was naturally the one who decided to take care of her, but the child did not like that decision at all.

Luckily, time had passed from when they had last seen her and she was two years old. She could say a couple of words and seemed to tolerate Bulma more than what she did the last time they met, but still obviously hated Bulma, as if she could already tell that Bulma and Vegeta were an item and Bulma wasn't her mother.

Bulma sighed as she watched the little girl finally rest her eyes and sleep after a two hour attempt. 'Thank goodness. I thought I was going to go insane for a moment.'

Bulma heard footsteps and rejoiced inside once she saw it was Vegeta. He had been training for days, nonstop. Bulma wondered how he could do that all by himself, since Kakarot hadn't really left his room for days. Even though she was happy to have some other company besides the child, she decided to appear angry. "You've got some nerve, Vegeta! This is your kid! She's not my responsibility."

"Well" he said coldly "you wanted to make yourself useful. This is the only thing you've done to help me."

Since the little girl moaned lightly, Bulma calmed down and lowered her voice. "I'm sorry Vegeta, but I need a break, and so do you. You've been pushing yourself too hard lately, so be a good boy and get some rest. You're not going to kill Frieza if you kill yourself first." Even though she was quiet, she still spoke with authority. "Now do as I say."

Vegeta grunted. "What I do is my business, so mind your own."

"Maybe I will mind my own business and you can attend to your own!"

"Fine."

She smiled and walked right past him, out of the room. "Take care of your business, which includes your child."

"Now wait just a minute woman-"

"Bulma!" cried Colly while running from down the hall. She was so frightened that Bulma instinctively became worried. "Kakarot!" she cried. "Kakarot's sick!"

"Sick?" 'He's never been sick before.'

"Saiyans don't get sick." Vegeta said confidently. He had never been sick, nor did he ever see a sick Saiyan, but Kakarot wasn't exactly a normal Saiyan. His heart had stopped completely once, only to begin beating once again, due to a vision. Perhaps the same was happening. 'Darn it. I still need his abilities.'

Bulma, Vegeta, and Colly entered into Kakarot's room to find Chi-Chi placing a wet rag on his forehead. "Kakarot?" Bulma sat on the bed next to him, trying to get his attention, but he was out cold. "What happened?" Kakarot's eye lids were pink, his lips were a light shade of blue, and the rest of his body was so pale, he was almost white. He was sweating a lot, so he obviously had a fever, but is body was shivering slightly.

Chi-Chi looked so scared that she was just as pale as Kakarot. "I-I don't know."

Vegeta grunted, realizing that she was lying. Vegeta casually walked over to her and picked her up by her neck. "Alright woman, it's obvious to me that you're lying. What did you do to him?"

Bulma didn't like Chi-Chi, but did actually feel like she needed to stand up for her, even though she really didn't want to. "Vegeta, she hasn't been after you two for over a month. She and Kakarot even slept together."

"That's because he's an idiot. She on the on the other hand is smarter than that. During sex would have been the perfect opportunity to catch Kakarot off guard. Maybe she did something to him then, and that's why he's sick, maybe even dying."

"Then why would she be helping him."

"Maybe she's not. Maybe she's just trying to put on an act for us, so I won't suspect anything."

"Vegeta stop!" cried Colly desperately. She had grown found of Chi-Chi and couldn't bare the thought of Vegeta snapping her neck.

Vegeta threw Chi-Chi on the floor. "What did you do?"

She began coughing as she felt her neck. "I didn't do anything. I didn't make him sick. Why would I?" She shook her head. "Okay, that was a dumb question, but I promise you that I had nothing to do with Kakarot's sickness." She regained her stubborn look and stood to her feet, no longer showing fear towards Vegeta. "Now if you want to help Kakarot, I suggest you find a cure."

Vegeta crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. "This happened somehow, and you're the culprit."

"He's right," Bulma said. "He's sick. That doesn't happen. It's not supposed to happen. I've known Kakarot almost all of my life and he's never got sick. It's you, isn't it? What did you do to him, Chi-Chi, and don't you dare lie!" Bulma had been ready for a rematch ever since Chi-Chi had won their battle.

Chi-Chi couldn't shake her nervousness. She tried hard not to. She couldn't have poisoned him without her knowing, but she knew it was her fault. But why was it her fault? What happened? 'He got sick that day, but I didn't do anything, and it wasn't Dadoria, either.' "I-I tried to kill him that day we were on that planet a month ago, but we settled our differences."

Bulma had enough of Chi-Chi. "Vegeta, we need a solution before we do anything else."

"I'm aware, woman."

"Well what are we going to do? I don't exactly have a lot of supplies at my disposal. Kakarot needs professional help. If he doesn't, it's obvious that he's going to die." Vegeta didn't respond. Chi-Chi was dying to tell the truth to someone, but knew that Vegeta would kill her. Colly was too busy watching her brother struggling to keep his life. "Vegeta!" Bulma yelled. "It's your ship."

"There is an area near by where Frieza hasn't conquered. If we go there, then we can bring Kakarot there."

"Great," Bulma said "what are we waiting for?"

Kakarot moaned gently and quietly. Everyone was surprised to see him move at all, except Vegeta, who had told himself that Saiyans couldn't be killed so easily. He barely got his eyes opened. "W-w-w…" he tried to speak, but he was too weak to finish his question. He had never felt so weak and helpless in his entire life and he hated the feeling. He couldn't stand it. He wanted his body to be fine. He couldn't stand feeling that way and would have given anything to feel normal. It hurt to think. "W…why are you guys…" he swallowed and it felt like hislungs would burst from the effort. "Why are you in here?"

"Shhhh." His sister said quietly. She was a fast learner and picked up a lot from Chi-Chi and Bulma. Kakarot was just getting comfortable with her and was beginning to believe that she was his sister, somehow, someway. She didn't understand a lot of things, but she was learning.

"Just rest Kakarot" Bulma said "everything is going to be alright."

Kakarot didn't want to rest. He didn't understand anything, including his body and why it was tired and hurting all over. He had questions to ask, things to say, things to do, but couldn't. He desperately wanted to get up and train. It had been weeks since he had done it. He just hadn't had the energy to do anything, and now he couldn't move at all. He tried to talk, but couldn't say anything else. He closed his eyes, because he couldn't keep his eyes open any longer. His consciousness then faded away.

"Is he still alive?" Chi-Chi asked frightened. If Kakarot died, then no one would have a reason to keep her around. She would be killed by Vegeta in no time.

"Yeah," Bulma said "you can't get rid of a Saiyan that easily. Kakarot's going to beat this."

In no more than three days, they had landed on the planet and Vegeta had Kakarot's arm over his shoulder and was carrying him to a hospital that was supposed the best in the galaxy. Bulma was with him, but everyone else was still back at the ship. When they walked inside, Bulma was amazed by how large it was, but for the most part, it still looked like a hospital that would be on Earth. "Reminds me of home."

"You don't have a home, remember?"

Bulma was stung by Vegeta's remark and grunted at him. "So I guess we have something in common." Vegeta didn't have a comeback, at least not one as good as the one Bulma made. "What?" Bulma asked. "You don't have a witty remark to make?"

One sprung to Vegeta's mind, but the sight of one of the nurses interrupted his remark. "What's wrong with him?" She was in such a panic as she ran towards them to look at Kakarot. Her beauty was breath taking. She had pale skin, and beautiful green eyes, and long curly green hair that was right above her butt. Her concern for Kakarot made Bulma instantly trust her. "The poor thing!" As soon as she got to them, she felt Kakarot's cheek. "He's burning up. I'll get him in emergency right away." She turned her head away and yelled out "Hey, can we get some help over here?"

Bulma was surprised by her outburst, especially in a hospital, but it only made Bulma worry more. 'This must be serious. Is Kakarot going to die?'

Two muscular creatures came over and took Kakarot away from Vegeta. "Don't worry sir," said the green haired woman "Everything is going to be alright."

Vegeta was suspicious of how eager she was willing to help Kakarot. There were other sick people in the hospital. When Vegeta got a really good look, he realized that a lot of people there were just as sick as, some were bleeding and had missing body parts. "Strange."

"What's strange, Vegeta?" Bulma was horrified and thought that her friend might be unable to cure. She didn't need Vegeta's accusations.

"She came over so quick to us. It was like, she was expecting us."

She rolled her eyes. "You little nome! I thought I had something to really worry about. You're just paranoid! Don't you understand anything, Vegeta? Kakarot already looks dead." She pointed ahead to Kakarot who had awakened, but only to throw up on the lobby floor. "Do you see that, Vegeta?" She covered her nose in fear of smelling it. "Who could possibly miss that? You're just stupid!"

"No, you're just naive." He stopped paying attention to Kakarot, who had just lost his consciousness again and looked at Bulma. "Woman, I don't feel like listening to your nonsense."

"Nonsense? You're the one speaking loads or crap!"

"Oh really?"

"Uh," said one of the workers as he walked over to them "do you think you could not yell at each other. This is a hospital."

"No!" They both yelled and then continued arguing. "Why can't you trust anyone, Vegeta? Why is it that everyone has to be a bad guy?"

"Because woman, the universe is not a safe place. My enemy is everywhere, and could be here right now at this very moment. This could have been a trap, set up by someone."

"To do what?" Bulma asked. "If Frieza could do that to Kakarot, don't you think you'd be dead as well?"

Vegeta grunted. "Don't put me on the same level as him!"

"Why not? He works just as hard as you. He might surpass you one day."

"Yeah right, the day that Kakarot is stronger than me is the day that little purple men rule the universe and pink creatures a terrifying."

"It's possible Vegeta! It's even more possible than some weird purple guy ruling the universe. Now, I know that you wouldn't like to believe it, and I don't honestly care if he surpasses you or not, but the point I'm trying to make is that you Saiyans aren't as strong as you thought. Sorry to deflate all of the hot air in that balloon you call a head, but someone had to do it!"

"Silence woman, I've had enough of your drivel!"

"And I've had enough of your attitude!"

"Excuse me," said the hospital worker again "could you please take this fight somewhere else?"

Vegeta was ready to blast him for interrupting, but Bulma threw her hands up and gave up. "You're impossible Vegeta! You're just going to continue being and idiot until you die! That's the only way you'll realize that you're not invincible."

Vegeta was about to continue the fight anyway, but then he saw the nurse that noticed Kakarot's condition walking towards them. 'It's hard to believe a woman like that would be a nurse. She doesn't look trusting and kind. There's too much selfishness in her eyes.'

"You two are welcomed to stay until visiting hours are over, but I assure you that your friend will not recover today."

Bulma decided to ask a question before Vegeta blurted out what he really wanted to say. "Do you know why he's sick?"

"I can't be sure. We have seen cases like this, but the causes can always be different with similar side effects. Kakarot looks like he's going to just die right now. I'm surprised he's still breathing, but he's barely doing that."

"So you have no clue, huh?"

"Well" she shrugged her shoulders "nothing can be sure until we examine him more closely. I do personally think he's got the shut down."

"The shut down?"

"It's a nick name for a deadly virus caused by the Caculous Platuis plant. He's got all of the symptoms, but he's also got symptoms for millions of other illnesses. We have to do further observations."

"Help!" screamed two men as they walked through the hospital door. One of them looked like a human, expect they had some sort of tribal markings on their face and purple hair and eyes. The other looked like a lizard that would kill anything.

"Excuse me" the green haired nurse said.

A sweat drop appeared on Vegeta's face, and as well as the nurse's. They were in a neutral area, but the men who walked in, were dressed in uniforms, that looked too familiar to Vegeta. "Frieza's men."

Bulma stepped back. "You can handle them...can't you Vegeta?"

"Of course I can, but..."

The green haired nurse seemed to over hear them, and said "There will be no fighting. You don't have to worry about that." She seemed irritated now that the two soldiers walked into the hospital.

'Maybe she's just a normal nurse who doesn't want any trouble, or maybe she knows them.'

"Maybe we should go" Bulma said to Vegeta.

"I don't think we can trust the people here Bulma, we better stay." Vegeta paid close attention to the nurse as she went over to Frieza's men and helped the lizard like one, who had the wounds. "Don't worry. Everything's going to be alright."

"She seems pretty nice Vegeta."

"Never trust the nice ones. You can always trust the evil ones to be evil, but the nice ones always slip up sooner or later"

Vegeta and Bulma kept a close eye on Kakarot and the workers in the hospital, but everything seemed to be going smoothly, and nothing suspicious occurred, but Vegeta knew he wasn't wrong. He made sure he knew what the drugs was that were put into Kakarot's body, and he seemed to be getting better as days went on. They seemed to be doing their job, and doing it well.

"Vegeta" Bulma said to Vegeta while they were walking into Kakarot's hospital room "it's been a week. He can't honestly be better by now."

"Sure he can" Vegeta said "and if he's not, then that's too bad."

"It's not like you're going to fight Frieza right now. Why are you always in a rush?"

"Because there's no point in being located and overpowered."

"So the mighty King can be taken down?" she said with a smirk.

Vegeta paid no attention to her. "We're leaving, and I don't care if Kakarot's not…" he opened the door to see Kakarot awake and smiling at the green haired nurse while she was laughing at a joke he had just made. "Kakarot?" Vegeta questioned. "What's going on? What ever happened to almost being dead?"

"Oh" he answered with a smile "I'm better now."

The green haired nurse smiled. "The medication worked miracles. I'm glad you decided to bring Kakarot here."

"I'm glad to" Bulma said playfully punching Vegeta in the arm. "I guess I was right."

'This doesn't seem right at all.' Kakarot couldn't take his eyes off of the green haired nurse. She was beautiful, but Kakarot had already marked another woman as his mate, and Saiyans don't betray their mates. It didn't look like harmless admiration. It was much more serious than that. 'No Bulma, I was right.' "Get dressed" Vegeta commanded. "We're leaving in one hour."

"No" Kakarot said, not caring about Vegeta's authority. All he cared about was the woman on his side. He couldn't seem to think the thought of leaving her. It had been a week, and he knew that. Most of the time he was too weak to even speak to her, but when he had awakened one morning and saw her gorgeous face, he heard a voice in his head, telling him that there was no Chi-Chi, there was no Bulma, Vegeta, or Colly. There was only her, and that was all he needed. "I'm staying with her."

To be continued….

A/N: I'm sorry for the long wait. Review!