Chapter 10 - Help

As she wept, a sudden pain shot through Bulma's stomach, bringing her to her knees. It felt as though a knife was buried deep in her flesh, twisting violently. Unable to speak through the pain, Bulma struggled to catch somebody's attention, anybody's attention.

Vegeta stood suddenly, looking in the direction of the noise. Violent movements coming from the bushes near the gravity room had dragged him from his grief, arousing his suspicions and his anger. How dare anybody intrude upon his grief!

"Who's there!" He demanded furiously, stepping nearer to the commotion. "Show yourself, or I swear to Kami I'll kill you right now! Show your–"

Vegeta stopped mid-sentence. Through the sound of the bush moving, he could hear a woman's pained voice, struggling to even speak: "Help me, please!" Moving the bush aside, he was stunned to see a heavily pregnant woman, dressed in rags, lying in the dirt.

Without even looking at her face, the Saiyan Prince lifted the woman into his arms, and cringed as he felt hot blood on his right hand. Walking towards the house, Vegeta stopped dead in front of the door, her anguished voice once again catching his attention: "Vegeta…"

Gently setting her feet on the ground, supporting her with his left hand, Vegeta wiped his bloodied hand on his jeans before tilting her head, so that she was facing him.

A sharp gasp escaped Vegeta's lips as he looked down into her sparkling blue eyes, filled with tears, her aquamarine hair damp with sweat. Vegeta felt his own eyes fill with tears as he whispered her name: "Bulma?"

Vegeta watched as Bulma gathered her strength to lift her arms, frowning as she struggled to remove a watch-like device from her wrist. As soon as she had successfully removed it, Vegeta swayed on the spot, his senses overwhelmed by the sudden reappearance of Bulma's ki.

"Help me Vegeta." Bulma said quietly, touching the Prince's face gently with her hand. "It's too soon. It's not time for the baby yet. Please save our baby!"

Vegeta paced up and down outside the operating theatre, waiting for any news from inside. In his rush to get Bulma to a hospital, he had not yet even informed any of the other Z Warriors, or even her parents, that she was alive.

When he had reached the hospital, after threatening several members of staff, Vegeta had watched, helpless for the first time since escaping Frieza, as Bulma was taken into theatre for an emergency caesarean.

Footsteps running up the corridor dragged Vegeta out of his reverie, and he looked up to see the Z Warriors rushing towards him.

"Vegeta!" Goku cried, reaching the Saiyan prince. "What's going on? We all felt your power level shoot up! Has something happened?"

Vegeta opened his mouth to respond, but the door to the operating theatre opened, and he span around to face the surgeon stepping out.

"Are you any relation to the patient?" the surgeon asked Vegeta, looking at him with a hint of fear in his eyes.

"I'm the child's father." He responded, ignoring the gasps and cries of "WHAT?" from the Z Warriors behind him. "Are they ok?"

"They're alive." The surgeon said, his fear ebbing away slightly. "I don't know where your partner's been for the last seven months, but she has not been taking care of herself. She has clearly been barely eating, and I doubt if she's slept more than two hours a night for the duration of the pregnancy. She's very lucky that she and the baby have survived. They're both very weak, especially Miss Briefs."

"Miss Briefs!" The Z Warriors repeated in unison, their eyes widening.

"Vegeta, is Bulma in there?" Goku demanded, grabbing Vegeta's arm and turning him to face him. "Is Bulma alive?"

"Yes." Vegeta replied, sighing deeply. "I found her, this morning. It looks as though she had been hiding in the bushes, watching me. I think she must have started making as much noise as possible when the labour started, to get my attention. Now, if you don't mind…" he turned to face the surgeon. "I want to see them."