Author's Note: As always, thanks to InuSaiyan007, to lasy to sign in., Thomas Drovin, Garowyn, TorankusuGohan, and Cappucine for commenting!
This chapter is very long. I don't expect anyone to read it all in one sitting - it's mainly a couple of baby stories. This and the next chapter will be about Bra's childhood, and then we can really get into things!
It's essential that you always read my little notes before and after each chapter. I wrote them for a reason - in this chapter, especially, so you can all play a small role in the development of the story!
Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ.
Chapter 8: Promises, Broken Secrecy, and Fairytales
A few months later... (First story, Promises)
Vegeta scowled, holding a small baby within his arms. "Can't you stop moving for once?" he finally demanded, struggling to have a firm grip on Bra. Aforesaid baby simply raised her head up to her father and offered the best toothless grin she could manage. 'Daddy' scowled once more, moving towards the kitchen to add some more complaints to his growing list.
Ever since Bra had been brought home from the hospital, the family had had mixed feelings running through their minds about the addition. Bulma and Trunks, who could always adapt to changes rather easily, enjoyed tending to the baby, and the latter could often be seen tagging alongside his mother, begging to hold Bra. Bulma herself delighted in how well-behaved her young daughter was, as opposed to a baby Trunks. Plus, she seemed relatively happier about having a new baby in the house. The Briefs woman could often be found tidying up around the house - something she never had much interest (or heart) in doing before. There were even times when Vegeta caught his wife in Bra's nursery, cradling abovementioned baby softly within her arms and singing a sweet lullaby absentmindedly under her breath. Little Trunks, of course, seemed drawn to her soothing, maternal behavior, and often fell asleep by both his mother and sister's sides.
Bra could hardly ever be called an unpleasant, colicky baby... At least to Bra's mother, she couldn't.
Vegeta, however, faced a different scenario. Many people had visited in the past few months to meet Bra... a little too many for him to possibly handle. There were also times when he had been stuck with the undesired task of keeping watch of the infant. And her crying... Although she didn't do it that often, Vegeta loathed her shrill, demanding cries. The (well-known) fact that she seemed to love spending time with him also irked him - she was, without a doubt, preventing him from training. But deep within his spirit, Vegeta was secretly pleased with his daughter. She was definitely easier to cope with than Trunks... and was even pretty likeable at times.
At present, the Saiyan prince met his wife at the kitchen table for the third time that hour, working hard with a wrench and a couple of empty capsules. She irritably raised her head as he told her, "Can't you take her now? She's hungry."
Bulma's impending frown deepened, and, resting her dingy hands on her lap, promptly answered, "She is not hungry, Vegeta. I just fed her a few minutes ago. How am I supposed to do my work if you can't be responsible with her? At this rate, I'll never be able to perfect the crib capsules!"
Crib capsules? Why on Earth would Bra need another crib? The royal Saiyan chose not to say anything, turning on his heel to head towards the living room. This was getting to be too much. It was beginning to be a growing habit of Bulma's to automatically hand Bra over to Vegeta, and he wasn't enjoying it one bit. 'You're going to regret all of this. Just you wait...' he thought to himself. Satisfied with a sudden thought that crossed his mind, he quickened his pace.
Bulma sighed in annoyance, picking up her wrench once again to continue her difficult task. 'Wait a second... Where is he going?' Scooting her chair towards the kitchen's doorway, she watched him go, not liking the smirk he wore so perfectly on his face.
"Don't even think about giving her to Trunks!"
Busted. Vegeta whirled around furiously and headed upstairs, presumably to Bra's room.
"Good, you're going to play with her?" Bulma questioned, hearing (and not appreciating) his heavy footsteps stomp angrily on her fine carpeting.
"Whatever."
Finally, he arrived at the room, scowling as he slowly became accustomed to all of the pink furnishings. 'I'll never let Bulma design a bedroom again...' Placing the infant in her astonishingly bright pink crib, he told her, "You're stopping me from training, I hope you know." When was the last time he had trained properly, anyway? Assuming Bulma was doing this to him on purpose, he shook his head softly.
Bra beamed and gurgled softly in her crib, breaking his thoughts. "You'd better take a nap now. I need to resume my training if I'm ever going to succeed in surpassing Kakarot, and you're definitely not helping." He turned and proceeded to leave the room, ignoring the subtle sniffles that arose from behind him.
In a split second, the whimpers turned up full-volume, and Vegeta was forced to rush back to his daughter frantically in a hurried attempt to quiet her. She cried loudly and demandingly, kicking her legs wildly into the air. Shielding his ears from the piercing screams, Vegeta struggled to think. 'Should I pick her up? Bulma said she'll get too dependent if I do that too much... Heaven knows I don't want that-'
Having caught the sight of her father again, Bra began to bawl even louder than before. Vegeta visibly cringed. "You're going to get me in trouble with your mother if she hears you," he finally spoke, hesitantly picking the baby up from the crib and cradling her in his arms. She ceased her sobs and smiled up at his unusually soft voice.
He noted this behavior with slight displeasure. 'You little...! Your intent is making sure I never get to train again, isn't it-'
"Wow, she's becoming quite the daddy's girl, isn't she?" a voice commented from Bra's doorway. Vegeta turned around slowly, and both father and daughter gazed at Bulma.
"I'll assume you're done now?" Vegeta asked irritably.
The turquoise-haired woman wiped her hands on her shirt in an unladylike manner, seemingly annoyed. "Yes, but I won't bother you. It looks like Bra would like to spend some quality time with her daddy," she said mischievously, resting her hands on her hips. 'Besides, I need to take a nap...'
Vegeta scowled, but Bra continued to stare at her mother silently. In the next second, she burst into tears again, holding her tiny hands out expectantly.
"What now, dear?" Bulma took the baby from Vegeta and tried to comfort her.
"It seems she's hungry again," he spoke up over his daughter's cries, smirking triumphantly. "It's her Saiyan side."
"As if I didn't know that," Bulma responded miserably, now involved in a vain attempt to silence her unusually demanding infant.
"Just feed her."
Muttering a few well-chosen words under her breath, Bulma took a seat on the rocking chair nearby. She proceeded to nurse the baby, and Vegeta turned away to give her a sense of privacy. In a few minutes, Bra finally fell asleep. Bulma then began to absentmindedly burp her.
Upon hearing a tiny burp, the woman smiled contentedly, the baby still in her arms. "The mother's job is always so tedious," she whispered. "But I don't mind it one bit sometimes." Even though it was still only about two p.m., Bulma hadn't gotten much sleep the night before, and from the recent action, she felt her eyelids begin to droop from their heaviness.
"You'd better not mind it," Vegeta told her, not noticing her weariness. "I lack many things required for nurturing a baby, you know-"
Bulma took an irritated glance at him, not even bothering to stifle her yawn. She slowly shut her own eyes, again mumbling some words towards him.
'How can she be so tired?' he thought to himself, 'Because really, I'm the one who spends most of the time with the baby!'
As if she could overhear his thoughts, Bulma's eyes shot open, staring up at him from the chair. "You know what? You hardly do anything with Bra... I think you should spend a little more time playing with her. Tomorrow, you can take her to the park. That'll give me more than enough time to finish my work." Ignoring his confused look, she shut her eyes again, this time permanently - at least for a few hours (Bra would most likely wake up again).
Vegeta frowned, but then leaned over inconspicuously, staring curiously at the still baby. "Just a few more months," he said quietly. "Then you'll be ready."
A few weeks later... (Second story, Broken Secrecy)
Caring for Bra was always enjoyable, no matter how tiring it could be at the end of the day. It wasn't long before her weary parents began to long for a day without needing to tend to Bra and her brother. One day, Bulma brought up a possible solution to the problem to her husband, who accepted it almost immediately...
Overjoyed that he had agreed so quickly, Bulma called Chi-Chi, knowing fully well that she, being the mother and wife of one overly excited little boy and one overly energetic man, would want to go out to dinner with them. Naturally, she accepted promptly, and informed her husband, who seemed ecstatic about the idea.
There was a small problem, of course. "Who's going to baby-sit the kids?"
"Definitely not Krillin," Chi-Chi told her from the kitchen, just as Goku ran into the room. "I don't think Eighteen likes little boys."
"We're not leaving them at the Capsule Corp Day Care, that's for sure," Bulma responded. "They'll be too much for the teacher to handle."
Chi-Chi was silent for a few seconds. She irritably glanced down as two nagging hands clutched onto her apron's hem. "Goten, would you please stop? I'm talking on the phone!"
"But we're hungry!" he whined, now tugging hard on her apron. "Make us something to eat, please?"
"Yeah!" Goku agreed, rubbing his own stomach. A piercing look from Chi-Chi brought his spirits down, however, and he sullenly picked up his son from the floor, whispering, "I don't think she's very happy right now..."
"Me neither." The two left the kitchen slowly and quietly, and at last, Chi-Chi was allowed to speak (and think) without any further interruption.
"How about..." she paused again, contemplating for a few more seconds. "Gohan and Videl?"
"That would be great," Bulma agreed, "but what if they're doing something? And on such short notice, too..."
"If I know those two, they're probably sitting at home, bored out of their wits. Besides, they'll need to know how to take care of kids, if they're planning on raising a few themselves..."
Bulma sighed. Whatever subject it was, Chi-Chi always managed to change it to grandchildren... "Fine. You call them, and then call me back to tell me what they say. I'll see you later."
She hung up the phone, and, without a second thought, ran towards the living room, where the sounds of Vegeta and Trunks arguing were heard. 'Children...'
A few days later...
"Vegeta! What's taking you so long?" At present, Bulma waited impatiently at the foot of the staircase, tapping her foot against the carpet expectantly. Glancing at her watch, she scowled. "We're going to be late! Honestly, how long does it take to put a baby's clothes on?"
"She keeps moving!" Vegeta complained from Bra's room. Aggravated, he narrowed his eyes menacingly at his daughter in her crib. She giggled and tried to grab her father's hand as he struggled to place a pink jumper on her.
"Pink," he spat. "What a horrible color." There had to be another jumper of a different color. Or at least a darker shade of pink. Momentarily leaving Bra unaccompanied in her crib, he began to search through her pink drawers and the closet. Nothing.
"Here," he put a little stuffed bunny next to the baby, still searching, in vain, for a different jumper. She cooed and grasped the toy within her small hands. As soon as she was distracted, Vegeta slipped on her clothes.
"Finally," he said triumphantly. He placed one of the pairs of the pink booties Chi-Chi had made (quite an unusual gift for Bulma's baby shower) on her tiny feet. Picking her up so that she was eyelevel, he told her, "Look. I'm going to be gone for a few hours, with your mother... At least try to act civilized in front of that bookworm and his wife."
She responded with another smile before he left the room with her, heading downstairs to meet up with his wife, Chi-Chi, and Goku.
Meanwhile...
Just as Vegeta advised his daughter how to behave, Bulma and Chi-Chi both warned their little boys as well.
"Aren't you lucky, dear?" the former began, pulling her son aside. "Instead of hanging around Mom and Dad, you get to spend the whole day with Gohan, Videl, and Goten!"
Trunks scowled uncertainly, not liking the smile plastered on her face. "Where're you going?"
Bulma merely continued to grin as she slipped on a small blue jacket. "We're going out to dinner, sweetie. And you're going to stay here and have fun. You're also going to have manners, like we talked about earlier..."
Trunks's scowl seemed to only grow as Vegeta finally returned to the living room, carrying Bra. He promptly handed the baby to Videl, who sat at the sofa with her husband, and without another word, opened the front door and stepped out.
"Wow, he's pretty eager to go..." Goku commented, as Chi-Chi knelt down beside her own son to give him similar instructions. "I'll be waiting outside, too."
Goten watched his father leave the house as well, and glared up at his mother ominously. "But Mommy! I always spend time with Gohan and Videl!" He crossed his arms and began to pout. "Why can't we go, too?"
A small whimper from Bra caught everyone's immediate expression, and they all shifted their view to a very flustered Videl, who already seemed to be struggling. Bulma's smile seemed to begin faltering. "Are you sure you can handle her, Videl?"
"Don't worry," Gohan spoke up from beside his wife. "You guys go have fun."
"Okay..." Chi-Chi still seemed a bit nervous. Goten and Trunks were notorious for stirring up trouble - plus the baby, who had already begun to sniffle... Hopefully, they would all be on their best behavior with her son and daughter-in-law. "I don't want anyone eating too much junk food, you hear?"
Both boys nodded obediently, and their mothers smiled, slightly reassured. "Good. We'll see you at ten, then."
The two women stepped out the front door, leaving Videl and Gohan to watch over the children, and even mildly hoping that the boys wouldn't give them too much of a hard time...
Trunks shut the door behind them, without so much as a wave or a 'goodbye.' Without paying any mind to Gohan and Videl, he approached his friend. "Well, what do you want to do first? Play video games, or train in the GR all day?"
"Definitely train all day!" Goten cheered, and began the race towards the room... but was stopped by his brother, who kept a firm grip on his shirt. "Hey, what gives? Lemme go, Gohan!"
"Nope." Gohan, still holding onto his little brother, directed him in the opposite direction. "Bulma said no video games or training in the GR today."
"Aw!" Trunks folded his arms and stuck out his lower lip. Surely Gohan wasn't going to actually listen to his mother...? "Stop being a party-pooper!"
"Sorry..." Videl rose to her feet as well, still holding Bra in her arms. Glad the infant had ceased her whining, she thought for several moments. "But if you really want to fight... I suppose you could do it outside. Bulma didn't say you couldn't do that, at least."
"Yeah!" Both boys punched their fists into the air triumphantly.
"I'll race you!" Trunks challenged. "You're going to lose, as usual - hey!"
Goten had writhed free from his brother's hold, and was now halfway down the hallway, screaming, "You're gonna lose! You're gonna lose!" all the way.
Trunks gave immediate pursuit, yelling in response, "You cheated! No fair!"
Gohan and Videl stared after them, sharing the same emotions. "If this is the way they're going to act all day..." the former said, "I really feel sorry for us."
His wife sullenly agreed, struggling to hold Bra properly. "Well, it is a good day," she suddenly told him. "I'll meet you outside... I'm going to get Bra's stroller." With that, she left him as to begin a search for abovementioned item.
Trunks abruptly stopped in his tracks, inadvertently allowing Goten to snatch an easy victory. 'Manners...' "Would you like to train with us, Videl?"
She simply shook her head as she passed by him inattentively, which seemed to infuriate the half-Saiyan boy. "And why not?"
Pausing in her search, Videl blushed, balancing the baby carefully on one hip. "Oh, no reason. I just don't want to."
He stared at her confusedly, ignoring Goten's victorious whoops from outside. "Why would you be a fighter if you don't want to train?" he finally spat, glaring up at her. "You're nothing but a pretty face."
Gohan frowned as he met up with the trio. "That wasn't very nice."
Goten, on the other hand, had returned from outside, wondering what was taking so long. Trying without much success to keep from laughing, he stammered, "T-Trunks!"
"What?"
"You just called Videl pretty!" Goten proceeded to run around an infuriated Trunks, chanting, "Trunks and Videl, sittin' in a tree... K-I-S-S-I-N-G! Gohan, you'd better watch out! Trunks is gonna steal Videl from you!"
What promptly ensued was a furious Trunks, and Gohan could see he was becoming even more upset with each chorus of Goten's song. "Goten, stop it. And Trunks, why'd you say that, anyway?"
Trunks shrugged, the redness in his face finally beginning to subside. "Dad said that to Mom a while ago, way before she was even gonna have Bra..."
Videl suddenly appeared uncomfortable, and seemed unable to contain her sudden blushes. "Why don't you guys go outside and train for a little while? I'll watch the baby... and maybe even cook something up for us."
Goten refused to listen to her excuses. Tugging violently on her arm, he pleaded, "Oh, come on, Videl! Train with us! Pretty please?"
Videl said nothing, but those eyes... She couldn't resist. A small smile spread across her face. "Fine." She followed them outside after retrieving Bra's stroller from behind the back door.
Once outdoors, Goten and Trunks immediately began sparring. As fast as two energetic little boys could, they reached the skies, animatedly kicking and punching at each other furiously. About to take flight himself, Gohan paused, staring in his wife's direction. She usually was ecstatic about training sessions - maybe a little too excited sometimes. Now she was just standing there, wringing her fingers and trying not to attract any attention. What was up with her?
Videl noticed Gohan's eyes were staying on hers a little too long. She ignored the nauseous feeling in her stomach and grinned. "What are we waiting for, dear? Let's get started."
Bra sat in her little stroller, watching (without much interest) as husband and wife began sparring. Trunks and Goten even stopped, marveling at the ferocity of Videl's attacks. Even Gohan had to stop for a moment to eye her curiously.
Videl grinned cunningly and blocked yet another one of his attempted attacks with her wrist. "You're being a little too gentle, dear... Why?"
He accepted her challenge and began to speed up his attacks.
It wasn't long before little Goten began to pout. "I wanna have a go!"
No one paid any mind to him. Irate, he flash-appeared before Gohan and began furiously punching at him. Trunks followed suit, punching and kicking at Videl with a newly found energy (although he made sure never to hit her too hard; his mother had always told him to be gentle with girls).
She suddenly groaned when his fist connected lightly with her arm. "I need to take a break, guys."
"What?!" Goten protested, as she descended and wobbled over to Bra's stroller in a daze. "That wasn't even five minutes...!"
Videl ignored him, taking a seat at the bench. Trunks scowled, now descending from above, and followed her, glaring down at her weary face. 'Girls...' Suddenly his eyes traveled elsewhere. "I was wrong. You're not even a pretty face. You're... fat!"
"Trunks..." Gohan warned, joining them at the bench.
Goten followed suit. "Yeah! You do look bigger! That's why you need to train more!" he agreed.
Having a crimson blush light her cheeks again, Videl got up again and shifted on her feet, resting her hands on Bra's stroller. 'So much for thinking of those kids as naive now...' "Um, I'll be inside if you need me. It's too hot for Bra to be out here, anyway."
Bra began to whimper, however, as Videl pushed the stroller into the house. She ceased her whimpering when the woman gently placed her into her highchair. "Thank goodness."
Taking a seat across from the baby, the Son woman couldn't help but feel uneasy by the way Bra would stare at her with those wide, never-blinking eyes. 'Not you, too!'
Gohan came rushing in at that moment. "Bulma and my mother aren't going to be happy when they hear their little boys have been so ill-behaved... What's wrong?"
"Nothing." Videl tried to manage a cheerful face.
"It's hardly 'nothing.' And now that you think about it, you do look a bit pudgy lately..." Gohan said suspiciously, narrowing his eyes. "Care to tell me what's up?"
"I just haven't been eating well," she snapped. "Don't be so judgmental."
He paid no mind to her curtness, taking a seat beside her. "Pale face, really whitened eyes - you've looked like this for a while now. And with all of the irritability..." A shocking realization suddenly dawned upon him. "Wait! You're not...?"
He knew. She sighed in exhaustion, mentally scolding herself for hoping he would never find out. Well, it was difficult to keep a thing like this from him for long, anyway... She had been showing for quite a while. "Four months down, five to go, dear."
"I can't believe this!" He rose to his feet promptly, and the females in the room gazed up at him (one curiously, the other worriedly). "You've been training for the longest! Oh, my gosh! You could've hurt the baby! Why didn't you tell me before?"
"Because you'd react the same way you're doing now," she muttered flatly.
He paid no attention to her, now pacing around the room, pulling at his hair and muttering a few words to himself. "Pregnant? Baby?" He couldn't believe it. "What is it?"
"A girl... I think," Videl told him. "Honey, I was afraid to tell you, honestly-"
"Why would you be scared?" he demanded. "I can't believe... Pregnant... Baby... What will Mom and Dad say? Their first grandchild is coming in five months! That's hardly enough time to get ready!"
Videl said nothing, much abashed.
Bra gazed from a stressed Gohan to an exhausted Videl and offered the best toothless grin she could manage.
A few minutes later...
"Videl..." Trunks was the first to complain as the boys finally grew tired (not to mention bored) of training. "I'm hungry!"
"Yeah, you have to make us something," Goten pointed out, hopping on the dining room chair next to his brother. "You're the babysitter."
Baby Bra offered her own complaints, letting out a few whimpers and staring at Videl impatiently.
She sighed, and rose to her feet, eyes delivering a message to Gohan. 'Don't say anything.' Not staring at her completely, he grumbled, seemingly dispirited, and nodded.
Now turning to the boys, Videl replied, "Bulma has some frozen pizzas in the freezer. I'll go warm that up... and get a few formulas out for the baby."
About thirty minutes later, everyone was done with their dinner and holding their stomachs, indicating that they were a little too full. The first one to yawn was Goten, whose eyes were also dropping.
"I'm tired now…" he said, his eyes closing slowly.
"You're a big baby, even worse than Bra," Trunks commented, but gave a big yawn himself. Videl smiled slightly- Bulma had warned her about this earlier. Trunks was always tired after dinner, just like Goten was at the moment, but he would never admit it.
Videl stood up from the table and went around it to where Goten was sitting. "Want me to take you upstairs? You can sleep in Trunks' room for now..."
He only nodded and held his arms up, letting Videl grab him from under his armpits and lift him up, resting him on her hip with one arm around him. He laid his head on her shoulder and seemed to already be asleep. She held out her free hand for Trunks and he slowly took it, hopping off his chair. They headed for upstairs.
Before they exited, Videl turned her head around to take a quick glance at Bra and Gohan. "I'll be right back. I'm just going to get these two to bed."
Going upstairs with Goten and Videl, and moaning and groaning all the way, Trunks began mumbling, "Jeez... why do I have to go to bed?"
Gohan chuckled, mildly surprised at his wife's instinctive maternal behavior. "At the end of the day, even the baby stays up longer than-" He smiled as Bra offered a small yawn, blinking her big blue eyes drowsily.
'The end to an extremely stress-filled day,' he thought to himself, before letting weariness completely overwhelm him.
(Last story, Fairytales)
That had all been a little less than a year ago, as a one-year-old Bra now banged on her high chair.
"Foo, Mommy, foo," she chanted, her eyes watching her mother closely around the kitchen.
Bulma laughed and kissed the infant's forehead. Ever since she hit seven months, she had been steadily growing blue hair, just the same hue as her mother's.
"Hold on, dear. Auntie Chi-Chi's chopping some apples up for you," Bulma said, indicating the black-haired woman working hard with a knife and some apples. Chi-Chi grinned happily; she was so happy that Bra considered her an aunt. "You ate the last can of baby food."
"Yes, to think she already ate sixteen cans, and she's still hungry!" Chi-Chi exclaimed. "Of course, it's the Saiyan heritage at work."
"Mom, you think even Bra wants to eat that nasty stuff?" Trunks butted in, appearing in the doorway of the kitchen. Goten was with him.
"Yeah, that stuff is really yucky," Goten agreed, dipping a finger in a half-eaten can of baby carrots. He licked his finger and winced. Bra pouted.
"Story, Mommy!" she demanded. Bulma handed her a cup and a spoon, which she began hitting immediately.
"Which one?" Chi-Chi inquired, chopping the apples in a wooden bowl.
Goten groaned. "You know. She always wants that one story," he said.
"Hey! I like it," Trunks protested.
"Duh! It's about you!"
Baby Bra in the high chair banged her spoon against the cup. "Twunks. Twunks."
Trunks made a face, glaring at his younger sister. "It's Trunks," he corrected. Even when he had been little himself he'd never spoken in baby talk. His mother swore to it.
"Twunks," Bulma repeated, smiling. "All right."
Goten reluctantly nodded and the two boys stepped back a step each, as if to give Bulma some needed space.
"Once upon a time, before your father and I ever got together, a mean monster came from outer space with a lot of his henchmen," she began, taking a seat by the baby. "We thought we were all doomed, but a strange boy came out of nowhere. He defeated the bad guys with his sword until there were none left."
"None, none, none," sang out Bra, banging her spoon on the cup with each word.
"Shut up!" Goten and Trunks said in unison.
"Goten, she'd better not learn those words from you," Chi-Chi admonished from the stove.
Bulma took the spoon and cup away and gave Bra a slice of apple instead. The infant opened her mouth willingly as Bulma absentmindedly began to feed her. "At first, your dad didn't trust him, but the boy claimed he knew Uncle Goku, Goten's father. When Goku finally came, the boy revealed his name to him. And the boy's name was..."
"Trunks," the two boys said together; one awed, the other bored out of his wits.
"Trunks," repeated Bra, only not nearly as clearly, her mouth quite full of apple.
"Wow! Did you hear that, Bulma? She actually said it perfectly! And she's not even two yet!" Chi-Chi exclaimed.
"Well, she's almost eighteen months..." Bulma started.
"She gets it from you, that's for sure," Chi-Chi mumbled, wiping her hands on a paper towel. 'Only heaven knows if Vegeta has any intelligence...'
As if she could mentally overhear her, Bra frowned again and wrinkled her little nose. "I want Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!" She kicked her tiny legs against the high chair.
"To think that someone actually looks forward to seeing him everyday..." Chi-Chi muttered under her breath. Putting the rest of the chopped apples in a pan, she added to Bulma, "I'm going to make apple strudel with the rest of these."
"That sounds great," Bulma replied. Turning to Trunks, she said, "Why don't you and Goten go train with your father and Goku? Dinner won't be done until later."
"Should I tell Dad that his princess is asking for him?" Trunks asked playfully. Bulma stopped in her tracks. A second later, she burst into a loud, quite raucous laughter. Trunks joined her. Chi-Chi and Goten looked on, quite clueless.
"It's a long story," Bulma partially explained, doubling over.
"I bet it is," Goten mumbled under his breath. Bra picked up a piece of apple and threw it at him hard. "Ow! Mommy!" She giggled as he rubbed his sore cheek.
"See, even Bra remembers," Trunks said, not realizing the real reason for the baby's laughter. He picked her up from the high chair, and mother, son, and daughter continued to laugh.
"Whatever," Goten scowled. It was times like this when he would have been glad to just spend the day training with Trunks or Gohan and his father. Instead, he was stuck listening to Trunks' mother's far-fetched fairy tales about a boy from the future, and standing around looking dumb while everyone else shared a joke.
Little did he know that things would get worse. Maybe even much worse.
Author's Note: That's the end of the baby tales! Now, I want to hear from you guys - which one did you enjoy the most? Was it Promises (the one when Vegeta's forced to take care of Bra all the time... A father/daughter connection), Broken Secrecy (the one when Gohan finds out Videl's pregnant), or was it Fairytales (the one where the little kids hear a story from Bulma)? In your reviews, just tell me which one you liked! By the way, I constructed each of these stories in a very different manner, with Bra taking on a little different personality in each. The majority of the votes- that's how I'm going to make Bra (personality-wise) in the later chapters. So choose wisely (or choose depending on what you enjoyed)!
LC