Chapter 19

Me no own

"I can't believe it" Goku muttered while sitting in the emergency waiting room with Vegeta. Goku hated hospitals, but especially hated when he had to visit. Suffering was one thing, but watching someone else suffer was another. Goku certainly didn't like the fact that he had to go to the hospital to see his father. "Geta-" Vegeta smacked his cousin upside his head, and he replied with an "Ow!"

"I told you not to call me that Kakarot, and I swear if you say it one more time then I'll just kill you and forget all of the lightly tapping."

"That was light tapping?" he asked in a complaining manner. "I'm sorry, I jus a little scared, Ge…Vegeta. I mean, pa got so much work an I'm gonna really have tuh work hard now, well, harder."

"You nearly work yourself to death" Vegeta pointed out, not really with concern, but just as a point. The both of them worked hard, and he split chores with Goku. Vegeta couldn't imagine how much Bardock did. Bardock was always working, from sun up till sundown, and the worst part about all of this was that the family was in debt. They were nearly close to having enough to be out and enough to get their own farm, but the baby placed the family a few steps back on owning a farm. Bardock's medical bills would come into play now, and would only set them back further.

"I don't know what we're gonna do. I can work some more, but yer gonna be go'n soon and pa will take a while ta heal." The weight of the world had been dropped on his shoulders, but still, he planted his feet and held his ground. He must have been the strongest boy in the world, because he still managed to smile. "I can make it work. I can do it."

Vegeta should have opened his mouth and volunteered to split the responsibilities, but he didn't say a word. He would work anyway, and since Goku would have to take on his father's chores, Vegeta would have to do some of them anyway, since Goku's chores were split with his. Still the fact did remain that Vegeta was leaving in only another month. Goku would really be on his own, especially since his brother didn't really want to help and was away at college.

"There's ma."

Tannipu came out of the emergency room door and walked over to her son. She was shaken up, but wasn't as scared as she was before. "They're going to move him into a room. He'll be going home in maybe a week, but the least amount of time he'll be in a wheel chair is three months."

"Three?" Goku couldn't believe it. He didn't think it would be that long.

"Yes Kakarot." She didn't want her son to worry too much. "You can't see him for about an hour or maybe more, so why don't you two go get something to eat. You've got the car keys, right Vegeta?"

He nodded. "Come on Kakarot."

"But pa?" Vegeta started to leave, but Goku couldn't deny that he was hungry. He would be able to see his father by the time he got back. 'Please be okay.' Goku reluctantly left with his cousin to go get something to eat. Goku and Vegeta drove to the newest restaurant that had just opened up a week ago, and ordered whatever they wanted. Vegeta was going to pay for it, so Goku ate all that he could.

"Slow down" Vegeta told him. "It's not going anywhere."

"But we gotta hurry and go see and see what he wanna do bout the farm." Goku finished off his milk shake, and the waitress heard the loud slurping of Goku finishing off his shake.

"Are you enjoying your stay here at Fire Mountain?" asked a very familiar voice. When Goku turned his head, he saw that it was Chi-Chi, the girl he had just met in school earlier. "You're in my class, aren't you?"

"Yeah…"

Chi-Chi began blushing. "I remember you. You seemed like a really nice boy and I heard that Bardock Son fell off a roof today and had to go to the hospital. Isn't that your father?"

Goku nodded slowly.

"I'm really sorry about that Kakarot."

"Call me Goku" he insisted. "All my friends call me Goku instead of Kakarot and I really like it a lot. It's my middle name." He frowned. "Thank ya, bout be'n concerned fer my pa. We gonna manage some how an get through it."

"I'm glad to hear it." She started blushing and Goku had the most clueless expression on his face, and began to blush himself. "I'll be seeing you around." She got back to work, but still kept thinking about Goku. She thought he was adorable.

"Kakarot, you idiot" Vegeta muttered under his breath. Before Goku could respond, their attention was drawn to the sound of someone coming through the door, and it just happened to be Bulma Briefs. "Not her…"

"Vegeta?" she spotted Vegeta and Goku sitting in a booth and invited herself over and sat down next to Goku. "Well, if it ain't Mistah City."

"What do you want woman?"

"What do I want? I don't want nuthin from you, city boy; I came to check up on Goku. I heard his pa fell off a roof, and he is my daddy's employee."

"So what is yer pa gonna do?" Goku asked frightened of what the answer might be. "Well?"

"We might have tuh hire somebody else ta take yer daddy's place, kid."

"But I can do his share of da work!" Goku yelled. "I can! I swear I can!"

Bulma didn't believe him. It was too much of a work load. "Whatever kid…" She stopped paying mind to Goku and turned to face Vegeta, who was right in front of her. She wanted to know how Goku was doing, but she also wanted to see Vegeta. She really did want to be with him. She just didn't want to be left out in the dust while he went home to New York. She didn't want to be one of his flings. "So, I guess if Goku wants ta work harder, I'll be see'n much more a ya, Vegeta."

"Not likely. It's now October and in one month, I'll be going home to New York, where I won't have to be stalked by blue haired freaks."

"How dare you!" she yelled.

"Why try to be friendly now? We are both very aware of what happened at school. You seem like you want me, and then you screw it all up woman. If you want the goods, you had better get your act together."

"Sorry Vegeta, but I ain't do'n nuthin I don't need ta in order ta have someone I don't want."

"Don't be foolish woman. You think about me all the time. I'm in your dreams."

"More like my nightmares, you little gremlin!"

"You ought to be grateful that I even speak to you, you impudent wench from the depths of Hell."

"Why you-"

"Hey" Goku interrupted. "What about pa? I wanna see him."

Vegeta wasn't ready to just stop arguing with Bulma. It was aggravating, but always fun, but the kid's father was in the hospital. "Fine Kakarot, lets go."

Before they got up to go, Goku said to Bulma "Don't let yer dad hire anyone else, Bulma. I'll work."

Bulma didn't think he could handle it, but she didn't say anything. She was at least curious to see if he could make it, and how long he could make it work. She would at least give him the benefit of the doubt. If he couldn't handle it, they would just hire someone else. "Alright Goku, I'll tell my pa."

"Thank ya Bulma." Vegeta and Goku went back to the hospital, but Bardock wasn't ready. No one could see him yet, so Goku's mother sent him to the farm to work and Goku took his father's chores and Vegeta took his usual ones, but just wasn't going to split it with Goku. Goku had a hard time concentrating, but he had to work as hard as he could. Vegeta and Goku worked late, later than they had ever worked before. When they got home, Tannipu wasn't even there. There was no dinner for the boys, but they were too tired to make it themselves. They took showers and collapsed in their beds.

"Kakarot…" Vegeta shook his cousin until he woke up. "You've got to go to school."

"Why do I have to go today? I still haven't seen my pa."

"You're going to school. Your mother isn't home yet. I'll pick you up later, but I've got to pick her up. Get up, or I'll make you."

He reluctantly got up and went to school. He couldn't concentrate on any of his school work. He didn't know how. He just wanted to see his father. When the bell rang, he ran outside to the front of the building where his cousin was parked and jumped in the car. "Let's go, Vegeta. Have you seen him?"

"Stop exaggerating, Kakarot. You act as if he's dying."

"Am not!" he told him.

"Well, I've seen him and he's doing fine Kakarot. A bone did break through the skin, so they had to do some surgery last night."

"Through the skin?" he asked worriedly.

"Just wait a second. Just wait until you see him stupid."

Goku bit his lip and forced himself to stop asking so many questions. He shouldn't bother his cousin so much. 'We're almost there anyway.' Once they did get there, Goku was able to go into his father's room. "Pa?"

Bardock looked a bit broken. The fall off the roof hurt his pride more than his actual leg. "Kakarot, you oughta be work'n on the farm, not here."

"Yes pa, but I wanted ta see ya. I was worried bout ya. I jus…"

Bardock wouldn't look at his son at first, but he finally did and assured his son "I'm alright Kakarot. You don't have to worry about me. I'm just gonna need ta take it slow for a little while, no matter how much I don't want ta."

"But what about Raditz? Do ya think he'll-"

"No, he ain't. He gonna stay in college, even if I asked him, Kakarot. Yer brother wants ta play football, so let's just let him."

"Kay pa…" Goku was a bit angry that his brother wouldn't help, but he shouldn't have asked. Goku knew his brother wouldn't.

"Hello docth…" Bulma said coming into the waiting room and taking a seat next to Vegeta. "So, is your uncle gonna be alright?"

"Yes" Vegeta told her "but that isn't you concern, woman."

"Oh, be nice Vegeta" she asked. "I mean, shouldn't you be thank'n me for be'n concerned fer your uncle? How many other of your friends from school came ta visit?" She smiled. "Oh! That's right! You don't have any friends besides me."

"So we're friends now?" he asked.

"Of course we are" She told him. "I mean, you're a stupid jerk who treats me horrible, but I can't deny that there isn't some attraction."

"Attraction?" he asked with a smirk. "So you've decided to stop denying your feelings."

"Sure, if you will, my dear Mistah City." She smirked at him, ever so sexily. "I say we make the best of this month."

"Well then woman, why don't you say we start now…"

Goku left out of his father's hospital room and didn't see Vegeta in the waiting room where Goku left him. "Where did he go?" he left to look outside and see if the car was there. It was and he wasn't in there, so Goku looked all around the hospital for Vegeta, but couldn't find him. 'Where could he be?' "Vegeta? Vegeta?"

Goku heard yelling from down the hall from an old janitor that he had passed down the hall several times.

"What going on?" Goku ran to the yelling and saw that he was standing in front of a closet, and inside, was his cousin with his hand on Bulma's thigh and his mouth still pressed against her lips. "Cousin Geta!"

Bulma pushed him off and fixed her hair. "Uh…I'll catch ya later, city boy." She winked and practically ran out, so embarrassed for being caught.

Vegeta wasn't ashamed and though he got a lecture from the janitor. He was still happy about Bulma. She was certainly something special. She wasn't quite like any other girl. He had never…felt that way before. 'Do I actually like her?' he asked himself. Perhaps he wasn't just fooling around. Maybe he did actually like her.

"Didn't you get sent here because of a girl?" Goku asked him.

"Yeah" Vegeta nodded and his smirk widened "but this punishment just got fun."

To be continued….

A/N: Sorry for the wait and the short chapter. I've been…without internet! Please, please, please review!