Author's Note: Thanks to SSJ-Spiderfan, Cappucine, and Thomas Drovin for reviewing! You guys are great!

Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ.

Chapter 4 awaits!

Chapter 4: Life Isn't Peachy at All Right Now

Vegeta woke up, discontented, to the unpleasant sounds of his wife vomiting at the disagreeable hour of three in the morning. Scowling darkly to himself, he turned over to face the blank white wall, glaring at it and silently counting the minutes it would take before Bulma returned.

He didn't have to wait long, for she stepped into the dim room several minutes later, holding her overgrown belly and groaning softly. Without saying a word, she eased herself under the sheets beside Vegeta and fell asleep almost immediately.

"What the hell?"

After a prolonged silence, Bulma opened one eye wearily. "Do you have to use profanity even while we're sleeping?"

Vegeta didn't answer her question. "You wake me up at three forty-five, regurgitate the remaining disgusting particles of food you had Kakarot's wife prepare, and then go to sleep like nothing's wrong?"

"I don't think anything's wrong... do you?"

He sighed loudly in exasperation. For someone who was supposedly a technological prodigy and the president of an extremely profitable organization, Bulma seemed to have gotten quite clueless during her pregnancy (it was either that, or sarcasm, and for once, Vegeta wasn't in the mood to try and feud with her about it). "Never mind."

Her soft snores answered him. Scowling once more, he closed his eyes smoothly and soon drifted off to a well-deserved slumber. This, however, was again interrupted by Bulma's sudden rushing to the bathroom only an hour later.

"Curse that woman!"

Two or three sounds of repulsive gagging, and Bulma retaliated, "You watch your mouth! If I can hear you, there's no doubt Trunks can!"

Vegeta sullenly chose not to say anything, muttering a few well-chosen words under his breath as Bulma finally returned and succumbed to lethargy for the third time.

Morning...

A few hours later, and Bulma was sitting at the kitchen counter silently, contemplating. She held her hands together firmly and stared at the wall across from her, wondering what to do next. After taking a shower an hour ago, she had noticed that every single article of clothing she had in her possession now failed to fit her. Growing stressed, she had hurled garment upon garment out of her closet, only to find that none fit her now-pudgy self. Now forced with wearing her pajamas around the house, she felt so unattractive.

And hungry, at that. She rose from her counter stool and strode to the refrigerator, retrieving the small gallon of milk from the middle shelf. Setting it and a considerably big bowl back on the counter, she searched for the nearest cereal box, only to discover it on the highest shelf. Not good. Bulma began stretching her arms as far as they would go, finding it useless after only a few minutes. She tried going on her tiptoes, and finally resorted to jumping little half-jumps, as her oversized belly would not allow her to jump any higher.

It wasn't long before Bulma's notorious impatience settled in, and she headed towards the hallway edgily. "Vegeta! I need your help! Come here, please!"

No answer. She figured he was probably already in the GR, training strenuously. She tried again, this time calling for her son. "Trunks! Could you help me with something, dear?"

Again, no response. Irritated, Bulma made her way back to the kitchen, settling down at the stool once more. She desperately needed a Saiyan's help for this, or at least a taller person.

'Maybe I'm taking this a little too far,' she decided to herself. 'It's just cereal. Why am I overreacting?' But the more she thought about it, the hungrier she became. She gave a fleeting glance around her, taking in her suddenly small surroundings. 'We need to enlarge this kitchen. It's positively tiny!'

Gazing up at a small calendar on the wall, she realized that today was one of the days Chi-Chi was supposed to come over. This was strange; Chi-Chi normally came in before anyone else was awake. There were many times when a security guard had come to the house in the wee hours of daybreak, an indignant Chi-Chi in hand.

Without bothering to leave her seat, Bulma called out lazily to the phone, which had been conveniently placed along the wall. "Call the Son residence, please."

A few automated beeps, and a computerized voice answered. "Two Son residences have been located in the database..."

"Goku's house, then," Bulma responded blandly. "And put it on speaker-phone." 'Computers are so incompetent these days...'

"Calling Son Goku's house..."

"Hello? Son residence..." a weary voice finally croaked on the other side of the ringing line. It was Chi-Chi, and she sounded... ill!

"Chi-Chi, it's Bulma. Are you okay? You don't sound too good."

"I'm okay," she insisted. There was an uncomfortable pause as she began to emit loud, raspy coughs, not even attempting to stifle them.

Bulma felt as if the coughing would never cease. And what made everything worse was the fact that it was Chi-Chi, not she, who was coughing. Chi-Chi, who had never gotten sick in her entire life, who had never failed to miss an opportunity to care for anyone else who was unwell!

Finally the coughs subsided, and Chi-Chi was able to speak again. "I think I'm coming down with something, Bulma. I might not be able to come over today."

Bulma tried not to show her disappointment. "It's okay, I guess-"

"No, it's not! Did you eat anything yet? Do you want me to fix anything for you? Do you-"

"Chi-Chi. Listen to yourself. You're acting like I'm completely unable to help myself. Don't stress yourself. If I need something, I'll just ask Vegeta to help me."

"Are you sure about that?" Chi-Chi still seemed dubious. Nevertheless, she merely continued, "If you need anything, don't be afraid to call."

"Don't worry." Bulma tried to feign cheerfulness. "I hope you get better soon. Bye."

Chi-Chi hung up, and the computerized voice from earlier spoke. "Ending call."

"Wait. Call Gohan." Perhaps Videl could help her around the house. Bulma sighed. She hated feeling so dependable!

"Calling Son Gohan's house..."

In the Gravity Room...

"Trunks! Pay attention!"

"Wha... Ow, Dad!" The boy now held his slowly bruising cheek, glaring up at his father.

Vegeta's face showed no immediate expression as he stared down at his son. "What's wrong with you, boy?"

"Nothing," he insisted, leaning his head wearily against the GR wall. His eyelids fluttered for about a minute, and it was quite a struggle to keep them open. "Okay! Everything! Does she have to always throw up every morning? I'm tired of waking up at four!"

His father said nothing as he absentmindedly began stroking his wound tenderly. "I'm going to get something to drink, okay?"

"There's no need," Vegeta said shortly. He threw a bottle of water to Trunks, who grabbed it gratefully.

"Say, how was I like when I was a baby?"

"You were a perfectly horrid little thing," Vegeta immediately responded as Trunks emptied his water bottle in a few gulps. "I was never able to do anything productive the months after you were born. You always seemed to enjoy spending time with your mother, and God knows why she insisted I baby-sit you all the time. You were a complete 'angel' when your mother was around, but you turned into a little horror as soon as she turned her back."

A small smile grazed Trunks' face. "Honestly, Dad... I don't think I can stand it much longer. She doesn't have much longer 'til the baby's born, right?"

Vegeta shrugged and turned away.

Back at the kitchen...

"I'm really sorry, Bulma. My doctor's appointment is in a few minutes. I was about to head out before you called," Videl said apologetically. She glanced at her watch. Nine forty-six - she was running late.

Bulma rolled her eyes. How many times could a person apologize in a single phone session? "I told you before, it's okay. Is Gohan there?"

"He already left. He should be at the corporation in a few minutes. Again, I'm really sorry..."

"It's okay. I'll talk to you some other time, then."

"Ending call..."

Bulma was considerably quiet for the longest time. Gohan was coming, according to his new wife. The problem was, when exactly would he come? Her cravings were acting up again, and they were making her insane. All she seemed to be longing at the moment was, well, cereal. Sugary, fattening cereal, at that...

She closed her eyes and pondered over what had happened in the past few weeks.

FLASHBACK

Bulma wasn't enjoying herself staying at home all the time, and the news she'd been receiving from her fellow executives at Capsule Corp definitely wasn't helping. According to one of her co-workers, Capsule Corp's gross revenue was at a record-breaking low. Cross with herself for being pregnant at the wrong time, and furious with her co-workers for not cooperating, Bulma had called one last board meeting at her house.

The five executives all assembled at one of Bulma's smallest kitchens on time, sipping coffee casually and arguing, as usual. Bulma joined them after a few minutes, with a certain individual close by her side.

"Sit down," she told him warmly, taking a seat beside her least favorite executive, Tanith Leinart. He hesitantly sat down next to Tanith, glancing at all five moguls skeptically.

Tanith, the only other female besides Bulma at the table, was the first to give her boss's guest a piercing, threatening stare. The others followed suit, scowling darkly at the unfamiliar individual. What was Bulma's reason for bringing them all together at her house, with a strange young man?

"Is this your son?" one of the other executives wondered, finally placing down his coffee cup.

"Shouldn't he be with his father?" Tanith added, her jade eyes giving a fleeting glance to Bulma's overgrown stomach.

The young adult shifted uncomfortably in his seat, and Bulma immediately spoke up in his defense. "Actually, he has something to do with what I wanted to address to you."

Everyone grew silent, gazing at Bulma expectantly.

"As you know, our profit has been falling at an alarming rate. And I don't like that," she added, glaring at five of her colleagues. They visibly recoiled under her resentful gaze. "You all argue more than my little son does with his friend. I've been out for five months, and all you've done is make crummy decisions! So I've decided that I need a replacement. Almost like a substitute President, if you will."

They all leaned forward in their seats excitably. Bulma was about to promote one of them! Who would it be, though? Surely it would be Tanith; she had been at the company for many years. Or maybe Bill, obviously the hardest worker of the bunch. Or perhaps-

"I've decided that he'll be my replacement." Bulma placed a comforting arm on her visitor's shoulder. "Son Gohan."

The reactions were not unusual. Tanith rose to her feet abruptly. "You can't be serious! You're putting some college kid in charge of the whole corporation?"

"He's not a 'college kid,'" Bulma snapped as Tanith sullenly returned to her seat. "I think he has great potential, and he's incredibly intelligent and well-rounded. Besides, he works harder than all of you, and he's greatly educated in business."

They all nodded in agreement, but thoughts ringing through their heads went otherwise.

'She's not serious.'

'Maybe being pregnant muddled up her brain. Look at the father of the baby. He's a complete dunce...'

'It should've been me! I work harder than Tanith and Bill put together!'

'What will my husband say? I'll be ridiculed at home! A 45-year-old's new boss is a twenty-something year-old? It sounds preposterous!'

'Bulma's younger than I am already... This kid is almost half my age!'

Bulma broke their thoughts. "So how does it feel to be upgraded from your previous job, Gohan?"

He blushed eminently, placing a hand behind his head sheepishly. "Honestly? It makes me feel, well, great."

Bulma grinned and rose from her chair slowly. It was a 'great' decision, to her. No one else could have been more profitable than Gohan in the upkeeping of Capsule Corporation. "There you have it, guys. I hope everyone learns to cooperate better! He'll be your boss from now until I give birth and settle down again, and he'll be sure to tell me if anyone acts up. Meeting dismissed."

Everyone abruptly left the table and exited the room, without even so much as a 'goodbye' coming out of any of their mouths.

Bulma smiled reassuringly at Gohan. "Don't let them intimidate you. They're nothing but hot air."

END FLASHBACK

Bulma leaned her face into her arms, sighing deeply. Having lost the urgency to eat, she noticed something else- her face. It felt so corpulent and fleshy... She stared at her arms, only to notice, disgustedly, how pudgy they now seemed. She desperately needed new clothes. Forget the stylish, chic dresses she usually wore. She needed loose clothing... now.

She knew Chi-Chi would have a lot of the type, but she wouldn't be able to come over anyway. Videl had an abundance of training gi, but of course, those were all suited for slim, fit, young adults who weren't pregnant.

She sighed again, never feeling as unattractive as she did now in her entire life. It was only a matter of seconds before she broke into silent, ragged sobs. Everything was going wrong for her... she hadn't been able to eat breakfast, Vegeta and Trunks had disappeared, Chi-Chi was sick, Videl was gone, and she felt so gross and hideous. Nothing could possibly be worse than this.

She imagined how Vegeta and Trunks would react to her crying over her appearance, though, and a slight smile crept over her face. 'I'm ridiculous,' she decided amusedly, as she wiped the rest of her tears away. She revealed her purse from underneath the kitchen table (she always kept it there - the kitchen was the sole place she stayed around these days, besides the bathroom), and dug into it wearily, revealing a compact mirror and a powder brush. She slowly moved the brush across her face, doing what she could to hide the splotchiness of her cheeks.

It seemed that she was crying more often these days. How ironic. Everyone else seemed to be relatively happier about the new addition. 'Oh, well.' Only a few more months, and that was if the baby wasn't born late, of course.

Just a few more months.

Author's Note: Please read and review! Your comments are greatly appreciated! Bye!

Ladii-Chocolate (They say diamonds are a girl's best friend… For this girl, it's chocolate!)