Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ or the characters

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Hope you enjoy the chapter!

Bulma and Vegeta were alone in Trunks's room. They sat in the chairs against the wall and kept vigil over their son. Trunks's soft snores filled them both with relief. Vegeta left only once to get coffee for Bulma and himself from the machine down the hall. The two drank in silence before Vegeta spoke up.

"If you could never forgive me for this, I would understand."

The woman was about to take another sip of coffee but paused in her motion. Bulma thought they had been over this already, but she knew Vegeta was the self-deprecating type. She sighed and placed her coffee on the windowsill. "I already told you how I felt learning you and Tarble both knew, but I understand why you kept it from me. I mean…it was Frieza, Vegeta. Frieza. Had I known, I would have gone down to the station to raise hell and demand they remove Trunks from the case. Knowing our son, he would have flat out refused to be pulled from the case."

Vegeta snickered, but he nodded. Trunks certainly inherited both his and Bulma's stubbornness.

"He called me once, at Christmas," Bulma told Vegeta. "Just to let me know he was okay, but even he wouldn't give me any details."

"I told him about it all," Vegeta admitted. "About my mother, me killing Cui, and then being forced into the business. I told him what happened with my father, and us."

Bulma sucked in a breath of air. Memories of that night were impossible to forget, how Vegeta needed to save her from his father. It was almost like how he saved Trunks tonight. "How'd he take it?"

"With grace, more so than either of us ever could." Vegeta snuck a glance back at Trunks. "I don't know how we made such a compassionate, accepting kid, but I'm so thankful he's ours."

Bulma smiled. "Me too." Her expression fell again. "Vegeta, I'm sorry. I walked away from you to keep Trunks safe. I gave you such a hard time…"

Vegeta nodded, but Bulma could tell he wasn't angry or even hurt. Back when they argued over her leaving, Bulma remembered that Vegeta refused to let her go. It wasn't until his father took her that he began to change his mind, and even then he struggled. Years passed, and it seemed Vegeta made peace with it.

"I needed that," Vegeta admitted. "Bulma, I love you. If what happened to my mother ever happened to you…" Her lover shuddered and grew tense. "I was so convinced I could protect you, but it wasn't even just Frieza I needed to guard you from. There was so much internal animosity, there was no way I could have kept you and Trunks out of the line of fire." Vegeta took her hand and squeezed it. "Your adamance to stick to our old promise reminded me of that. I'm so glad I got you out of here and that you raised Trunks without the mafia influence."

The couple shifted their attention to the bed where Trunks lied. "Just look at him, Bulma. He's so brave and strong and loyal. He didn't learn that from me. He learned it from you."

Bulma's head dropped, and her shoulders slumped. Vegeta's words disheartened her. "I feel like I wasn't loyal. I abandoned you."

Vegeta's lips curved up and he shook his head purposefully. "You wrote me," Vegeta reminded her. "You answered every letter I sent. You called me. You still gave me your heart after all these years. So what if we couldn't be together, as long as your presence was always in my life. And now…"

Vegeta paused as he thought of what Frieza's arrest meant. For so long, the Ouji family was at war with Cold. Without Cold, there was still the internal bull within the Ouji family. It didn't matter, though, because as the head of the Ouji family, all decisions belonged to Vegeta.

"Now, anything is possible. Bulma, Frieza is going to jail. His second is dead. His son wants no part of the business. The organization is going to cave in. I may have taken over my father's business to keep the men in line, but it was always about keeping Frieza from taking control of this city. In just a few short hours, the five families became three, because now…" Vegeta's voice grew shaky, but it was from both excitement and disbelief. "Now I can dismantle Father's organization."

Bulma's eyes widened, and she sat up straight, alerted. "But I thought… Won't there be retaliation?"

Vegeta chuckled and shook his head. "Raditz and I kept it clean all these years, at least where we were concerned. Everyone else has a rap sheet several miles long. A few anonymous tips, and they won't be a problem anymore."

"You'd really turn to the law?" Bulma asked. She always knew Vegeta didn't fear law enforcement, but it was still a big risk for him. Given Vegeta's past reluctantly serving his father…Bulma didn't want him to suffer for that.

"If it meant getting to experience freedom and spend my life with my son and the woman I adore, then you bet your ass I would," Vegeta firmly declared. The resolute gleam in his eyes was borderline smoldering as coal met ocean pools. "In a heartbeat."

Speaking of heartbeats, the machine connected to Trunks blipped a bit more energetically as the youth shifted in the bed. Trunks winced from the light but blinked his bleary eyes open and stared at the ceiling. For a moment, Trunks had no idea where he was, but then the events of the previous night came to him. He vaguely remembered talking to his father, asking if Kuriza was okay, and Vegeta coaxed him back to sleep. Trunks groaned and then tried to force himself to sit up.

"No, no, none of that," Bulma admonished. She got up and went to grab a remote to manually sit Trunks up.

Trunks felt so nauseated from the movement and closed his as his head pounded. It was probably residual effects from whatever drugs the doctors gave him, hunger, and dehydration. "God, I feel like shit," he breathed out, not truly registering that he was in his mother's presence, or he would have picked some cleaner words.

Vegeta chuckled and grinned at his boy. "You look it, too, but all I see is a million bucks." Trunks peeked his eyes opened and found his father's. "Do you remember what happened?"

Trunks nodded weakly, but then decided that was a bad idea. The motion made him feel more dizziness and nausea. "Yeah. I…I had to meet with Frieza. I figured he was going to give me a mission and I could gather something incriminating on him. I just wanted it to be over. I should have waited."

"You sure about that?" Vegeta challenged.

Trunks took a moment to think of his father's words, as much as his foggy mind would allow. He then remembered that Frieza knew exactly who he was and revealed this knowledge during the meeting. The officer paled at the thought. If he waited any longer…

"No…" he replied. "No, it was a good thing I wired up. If I hadn't, Kuriza and I would both be dead right now." Worry filled Trunks again, and his expression became pained. "Where is he?"

"Your father had his friend Raditz and someone named Nappa take Kuriza and Mai to a safehouse," Bulma spoke up. "Kuriza is going to testify against Frieza, and your boss needed him to be kept safe."

Trunks blanched even more before he turned three shades of green. "But…I don't know Raditz or Nappa. What if they…?"

"We can call whenever you feel up to it," Vegeta assured Trunks, "so you can hear that they're okay. I promise you; I'd trust Raditz and Nappa with my life. Nappa actually suggested I 'kidnap' you and Kuriza to both get you to safety and get my father's men to stop pestering me about the Zorn situation. I asked Mai if there was any way we could arrange it, but you were already set to wire up and meet with Frieza. She texted me when it was determined your cover was blown."

Trunks was awed by all of this, especially the part where Vegeta tried to work with law enforcement to protect him. "R-really?"

Vegeta answered with a single nod. "I asked Raditz to stake the place out, and I was on my way there. I felt like something was wrong."

Trunks wanted to respond, but when he opened his mouth, a wave of nausea hit him hard. He moaned, closed his eyes, and breathed in deeply to stave off the queasiness. When that didn't work, he swallowed, which just made the feeling intensify.

Bulma got a sense of what was wrong. She stood up, picked up the control attached to Trunks's bed, and hit the call button for the nurse. A woman entered moments later and assessed Trunks's vitals. She looked pleased, strangely relieved, and then asked what Trunks needed. Trunks couldn't speak at the moment as he tried to keep the ill feelings under control. Bulma asked the nurse if she could bring Trunks a light breakfast, ginger ale, and some ice water. Most likely, Trunks was not just drugged but hungry. He did pass out the night before without getting any food in his system.

It didn't take long for a server to bring Trunks what he needed. Trunks first went for the water. After he took a few sips from the straw and let the cool water soothe him, Trunks finally tilted his head to regard his mother.

"Frieza said my aunt was the one who overheard. Apparently, Dad told Uncle Tarble, and Tights was there. She told a friend of hers all about it. He said she was concerned and wanted to help…I don't know how. Then he showed me an article she wrote about a diner… When I saw our last name, I knew Frieza figured me out."

"Tights," Bulma breathed out forlornly. She frowned and looked down to the floor, ashamed. "Trunks…there's a lot about my life and our family that I never told you." She turned to Vegeta for his strength and support. He nodded to her in assurance. With his support, Bulma spilled her guts out to her son.

"Tights is my older sister," Bulma explained. "She and I were best friends growing up. Like me, she was a writer, a reporter actually. She always encouraged me to pursue my dreams, as did my mother." A somberness cast over Bulma at the mention of the woman.

"My father, he always wanted me to run his business, Capsule Corp. I hated it and fought him at every turn. Eventually, he accepted it, and I went to college to study writing. When I was in college, though, I was hit with a lot of reality."

She met Vegeta's concerned gaze, and despite the pain that used to lie between them, now it didn't seem to matter as much. "During that time, your father and I wrote letters, but he eventually stopped responding. I knew that had to mean something bad, and I figured he joined his father's organization. We made a promise to one another years before that neither of us wanted that life for ourselves or our future, what would have been your future, so I was devastated. Then, my mother grew ill, and she died soon after. My father changed and he demanded I take over Capsule. I gave in, and Tights tried to encourage me to fight back. But at the time, my grief was too much, and I grew depressed. I couldn't face Tights, so I stopped speaking to her."

This was the first time Vegeta was hearing about Bulma's time in college from her, and his heart ached. He knew her struggles, knew she succumbed to depression. He remembered what his father did to her, how she was abused because of one of the bastard's underlings. Despite all the years that passed, Vegeta still felt guilt for all the atrocities Bulma endured during the worst time in her life.

"Tights at least knew where I was at the time, but when Vegeta and I met again, his father tried to kill you and me." Trunks knew this and slowly nodded his head. Vegeta told him about that when they first met, although it was still crazy to think about. "I left and I never looked back. It's been over twenty years since I left. Of course Tights was concerned when she heard about you. She didn't even know you existed or what happened to me."

"Can we…" Trunks swallowed and groaned in pain. "Hold on, can you lower the bed again?" Bulma agreed and adjusted the bed so Trunks wasn't so upright. "Mm, thanks, Mom. Anyway, I was saying…um…can we see her? She…she was worried. She should know she doesn't need to worry anymore."

Bulma hesitated and looked to Vegeta again. She was surprised that the man looked so remorseful. "It's been long overdue, woman," he guiltily replied. "I kept you away from your family long enough."

A weak smile appeared. Truthfully, Bulma didn't see it that way—that Vegeta kept her away—since she hadn't wanted to see her family. She never blamed him for that or felt he was responsible. She used her disappearance as a crutch to avoid contacting either her father or sister. Over time, she learned to change her thoughts whenever she thought about them. The possibility of reconnecting with them was overwhelming. Still, it was time for this all to end.

"I guess it couldn't hurt," Bulma decided. "I do really miss her. You know…maybe we should do a reunion." She turned to Vegeta again. "I haven't spoken to Kakarot or Chi-Chi in decades, too, and I never contacted them when Trunks was born. How is their son?"

Vegeta cleared his throat before answering. "Gohan is studying to become a scholar." His mien was full of warning as he glanced at Trunks. "Their son, Goten, just went all in working for my gym. He's decided to make a change for himself."

Trunks eyes filled with relief. He knew from the one interaction with Goten that he wasn't a bad kid and didn't have the traditional mob attitude. Goten wasn't prepared for the cruelty of that world. Although the officer had no idea what prompted Goten to get involved with the Ouji organization, he was glad Goten came to his senses and left it.

While Trunks felt at peace, Bulma was completely stunned. "Chi-Chi had another kid? Why didn't you tell me in your letters?!"

Vegeta blushed and crossed his arms defensively. "I had other, more important things to say to you in those."

Bulma didn't buy it. "More important than our best friends having another kid?!"

Trunks couldn't help but laugh at his bickering parents. Doing so, though, made him wheeze and cough. The pain from the motion was immense. He cringed. "Ugh, it hurts to laugh," he whined before he closed his eyes again. It felt like the room was spinning. "God, this is awful."

"You know, young man," Bulma reprimanded, "you better remember what this feels like, because you promised me after this case you'd take a desk job and stop the undercover work."

Trunks just moved his head in the affirmative. "Okay, Mom," he agreed. "As soon as I know Kuriza never has to worry about his father again, then I'll gladly stop pretending to be Trunks from nowhere with the no-show father and the horrid mother."

Bulma huffed indignantly and placed her hands on her hips. She was about to retort when Vegeta busted out laughing. The flame-haired man wiped a tear from his eyes and shook his head in disbelief.

"That's great," Vegeta replied in humor. "Did Frieza really buy that?"

Trunks chuckled and grinned ironically. "For a time, I guess. But he was always suspicious. Offered to off my mother for me, though."

Vegeta's smile soon matched his son's; he found this to be the funniest scenario he heard in a long time. "I guess he liked you for that split second," he joked. "I'm impressed."

Bulma groaned in frustration at this topic of discussion. "At least you both can find humor in this. Frieza didn't threaten to kill you."

"Actually, you'd be wrong there…" Trunks murmured quietly as he closed his eyes and let himself settle in the hospital bed. "I think they said something about wanting to cut me into pieces and send me in a package to Dad… Or was that a hallucination?"

"Sounds pretty damn accurate for Frieza and Zarbon," Vegeta reflected. He tilted his head and flinched when he observed Bulma. The color drained from the woman's face, and even his own wry sense of humor made him grimace. "Uh, Trunks, maybe we shouldn't talk about this now."

"Why?" Trunks voiced tiredly. The officer opened his eyes and saw Vegeta stand up to catch his mother in his arms. Bulma held her hand to her head and looked complete white as a ghost. Trunks blinked in surprise.

Vegeta smiled weakly as he answered, "I don't think your mother's sensitive heart can take it."

Trunks blushed and mumbled an apology before the doctor came in and escorted Bulma and Vegeta out. It was time to check on Trunks's vitals and redress his wounds. At least that would give Bulma a little bit of time to recover from this discussion.

Later in the day, Trunks felt a lot better. The dizzy spells came less and less, especially now that he was on oral painkillers instead of IV. He ate another meal, and he was content to have his parents with him all day. Tarble arrived in the late afternoon and informed them all that he set up Vegeta's old apartment, got both rooms together. He also went out to get groceries to stock the place. Vegeta thanked his brother, and then the four of them got to catch up and bond. Trunks still felt like he was in a dream as he watched his parents interact and react to one another. The officer smiled. His mom and Vegeta…they looked so happy.

But after a while, those positive vibes dissipated. Trunks became antsy and restless, although he hid it very well. When a nurse came in to check on him, his mother, father, and uncle were focused on ordering dinner. The officer took that moment to quietly ask his nurse to get in touch with a doctor for his anti-anxiety medication. The nurse assured him she'd ask the doctor to forward a prescription right away.

Trunks sighed in relief and weakly threw his head back against the bed. He knew he'd have to wait, and so he just needed to find a way to calm himself in the meantime. He needed a distraction.

Vegeta looked over to his son and recognized the signs of agitation. He was reminded that Trunks had yet to talk to his best friend and girlfriend. While Bulma and Tarble finalized the dinner order, he walked over to Trunks and took out a burner phone. Trunks looked to his father, confusion in his eyes as Vegeta handed him the black device. "There's only one number programmed in," he told the boy. "There's some people who I'm sure would love to hear from you."

Trunks grinned, and he felt some of his nerves disperse. "Thanks, Dad," he said as he took the phone. Then, Trunks picked the one number and dialed. It rang once before someone picked up.

"Yeah," Raditz's gruff greeting came.

Trunks grew mildly nervous, between his frayed nerves and his worry for his friend. "Um, hi. This is Trunks. Can I speak to Kuriza, please?"

"Sure thing, kid," Raditz said, his tone a bit kinder than before. Then, Raditz called out for Kuriza in an almost friendly manner. "Yo, Kuriza, phone for you."

Trunks could hear the sound of someone stumbling in the background, and he smiled. "Trunks!" Kuriza yelled, both in excitement and relief. Trunks loved how his friend just assumed the call was from him.

The officer breathed out a sigh of ease and relaxed into the bed. "You're really okay."

"We are," Kuriza assured him. "Raditz and Nappa brought us to a house in the woods. Sounds sketchy, but it's really nice, like a vacation home. There's tons to do here, although there's no internet. Rotary phone and antenna for cable so we can check out the local news. There's also a ping pong table, pool table, tabletop games, and a huge library!"

Trunks laughed. His friend's enthusiasm was definitely a blessing. Trunks hardly ever heard Kuriza this excited before, even on class trips or visits to the amusement park. He always had his father looming over him. This was the most carefree Trunks ever heard his friend, and that alone was worth the bullet in the chest.

"That's great," Trunks told his friend. "I was really worried. Hey, have you seen anything about Frieza on the news?"

Kuriza sobered, but still didn't sound as timid and terrified as he used to. "Yeah, he's in lockup, but he's apparently not saying anything about what happened. I was sure he'd try to say something like we assaulted him or something."

Trunks nodded. "They must have played him the recording," he speculated. "Can't say anything to that." Kuriza made a sound of agreement. "Hey, Kuriza, can you put Mai on the phone?"

Kuriza didn't even miss a beat. Trunks heard his friend murmur, "It's for you," and then the sound of shuffling.

A soft voice rang in his ear right away. "Trunks?"

"Mai…" Trunks breathed out, voice airy as he leaned back and fully unwound. He completely forgot his parents and uncle were still in the room. "Hey. How are you doing?"

"How am I doing?" Mai asked indignantly. "Trunks, how are you doing? I was so scared, so worried you were…"

Trunks closed his eyes, took in a deep breath through his nose, and smiled. "I'm okay," he assured her. "Been with my Mom, Dad, and Uncle Tarble all day talking about stuff. I have a lot to tell you when I see you."

"I look forward to hearing all of it," Mai replied sincerely. "And Trunks…there's something I need to tell you."

"What is it?" Trunks asked with almost childlike wonder, stunned by the openness and vulnerability in his girlfriend's voice. Mai was always tough and rarely ever got emotional like this.

"Trunks, I…I didn't know if you were going to make it," Mai admitted, her voice full of uncharacteristic pain and anguish, as if saying the words required her to physically force them from her body. "I almost didn't get to say… Trunks, I love you."

Trunks sucked in a breath, completely surprised and at a loss for words. Mai spoke up again, breaking the man out of his reverie. "Please, please rest. I need you to be okay."

"Mai…" Trunks breathed out, amazed. He smiled and felt completely content. "I love you too." Vegeta, Bulma, and Tarble all exchanged bewildered looks when they realized they just witnessed Trunks's first love confession. "I promise I'll listen to the doctors. I'm going to be okay, Mai."

After giving his girlfriend several reassurances, Trunks hung up the phone and sighed in satisfaction. He sunk into the hospital bed, closed his eyes…and then his blue eyes shot open as he remembered he had an audience for that. "Uh…"

"Oh honey," Bulma cooed as she gently cupped his face. She kissed her son's forehead and cheeks all over.

"Oh, come on, Mom, stop it," Trunks laughed—it felt a lot less painful to do so.

His mother stopped her onslaught of kisses, and the day continued on as it had. Trunks was so happy to be surrounded by his family, whole and complete. The officer had no idea what would happen next going forward, but at least no one would be dealing with anything alone. Not anymore and never again.

A/N: And that's a wrap on the nice family chapter. Hope you all enjoyed it! I'm definitely glad I got to post something. School's been intense, but we're winding down to the end of the semester. Hope everyone is well!

Review Responses

daughterofrisingsun: Glad you enjoyed last chapter, and thank you so much for the review! I really appreciate it :) Very happy to see someone enjoying the story! ^_^