The Popstar
Chapter 12
By morning, the heavy rain had dissipated to a cool mist and they were able to leave on schedule, first thing in the morning. Bulma slept the majority of the flight back. When they made it home, she had a shower and then a meal while responding to emails and messages. It was well after midnight when they had made it back to her home. Vegeta had gone to bed after his meal.
Yamcha was furious and Bulma had avoided him almost entirely until she had come home, but did her best to brush him off. No harm had been done in terms of scheduling, so she didn't quite understand why he was so frustrated over it. Sure he'd had to contact everyone on her dance and sound team to let them know that they would not be rehearsing yesterday, but so what? Not only had the three songs not even been chosen yet; she would do that tomorrow morning, but almost everyone knew the choreography because they'd all worked for Bulma for years. She had made a pole on her Twitter for her fans to nominate and vote for which three songs they would like her to do; something else Yamcha had not approved of for reasons she did not care to understand. It was a free, live show designed to encourage fans to donate funds to various charities the artists individually supported. Why not knock their socks off and choose the best in the opinion of the fans?
At least Lapis had thought it was a good idea, she mused to herself. You're really spoiling them. He'd messaged her.
Yea, well I'd rather have fans than Yamcha or the record label choose.
Understandable.
Are you still able to make it? She asked him.
I am. There's a rehearsal I have to attend before the flight. I'll be cutting it a bit close, but I should be able to make it.
See you then.
Don't work too hard.
I know. She replied. Vegeta's making sure of that.
Ha! I saw you guys at the airport on the news.
Ya the plane was cancelled due to weather so we stayed the night.
Ohhh! Do tell!
Nothing "happened". She texted, feeling her face growing warm. That had been the third time she and Vegeta had fallen asleep together. He's too professional.
Don't worry. The news reported you guys had an argument and he had to convince you to come out of the washroom and leave with him.
Are you serious? She asked him, scoffing out loud and shaking her head to herself as she'd read that.
That's the story.
Bulma sighed in frustration as she replied. I had a bit of a meltdown, but it was because the plane was grounded and I was exhausted and just wanted to be home.
It was Vegeta's decision.
Good man. Lapis responded.
Ya and I slept the whole time!
He stayed with me tho. : )
Like with me instead of the other room. She said.
Well if he wasn't into you, he wouldn't have stayed with you. I'm glad you got some rest.
Speaking of which, what time is it over there?
Maybe. I can't tell.
It's 3am
Go to bed!
Don't you order me around!
You love it.
Go to sleep and I will see you in… 36 hours. Give or take.
Night.
The next morning, they were up early and made their way to the site where the charity concert was going to be held the next day. Bulma felt better rested than she had in a long time, but she had not slept well even after chatting with Lapis. She blamed it on sleeping the plane. Now she was tired, had several gruelling hours of rehearsals and wardrobe discussions in front of her. She really didn't care what she wore.
"Lapis is super stoked for the show." Lazuli, Lapis' twin sister said to Bulma shortly after she had arrived. She was petite like he was, blonde, shared the same intense piercing blue eyes as her brother and was every bit as talented. They were like a perfect carbon copy of one another, just one was male and the other, female. She had light hair, he had dark hair. They even styled it similarly.
"Ya I talked to him last night. He's cutting it close, but he should be here a few hours before the show."
"I'm not worried," she nodded. "He knows the songs and if he doesn't, we'll improvise. We can rehearse without him."
They got together with the other dancers and crew and discussed the three songs they were going to do. Yamcha has shown up as well and Bulma did her best to interact as little as possible with him.
"This show's going to be hot!" Lazuli said with approval of the song selections.
"If I don't kill myself on stage," Bulma said.
"Well you could do different songs," Yamcha interjected. He had been oddly quiet for the most part.
"No," she shook her head. "I said it was the fan's choice. I'll honour that."
"You've got three days off after this," he said nonchalantly. "You'll be fine. I won't even call you while you're off if you want."
"I'll believe that when it happens," she rolled her eyes at him. "I'll take you up on that though."
They did some light warmups and a quick run down of the songs, watching the videos and discussing possible changes to the routine while edits were being done so they would not run overtime. It wasn't until late morning before it was their turn to rehearse; both choreography and sound check on the stage.
Vegeta watched on quietly. The dancers all knew their places and cues. Bulma was doing her solo dance parts without Lapis.
Half way through the second song, she swayed for a moment and looked like she was about to lose her balance, but she didn't. She righted herself, he observed. However she wasn't moving like she usually did. She looked slow and he would not go so far as to say her movements looked sloppy, but they definitely weren't as precise and sharp as usual.
Vegeta frowned in concern as he watched her. Was she that fatigued she couldn't even pull off a dance routine she knew like the back of her hand? Yamcha was there, but was too busy chatting up some young thing to notice.
He sighed in frustration as he watched her. She was trying, but just couldn't seem to pull it off and he knew she would be upset later. What she needed was a break. Badly. And not a few days here and there, but a long, extended break. What she also needed was a new manager; someone who would actually listen to her and take her wellbeing to heart. Yamcha was too caught up in getting her out there as much as possible and while he understood it, it wasn't like she was new to this. Bulma had been an international superstar for over ten years. Taking a year or two off wouldn't hurt her career any; or he didn't think it would. But he knew nothing about the entertainment industry and so he kept his thoughts mostly to himself. However, tonight he would talk to her about it. If she kept on at this pace, she'd do major damage to herself. His thoughts wandered to the other entertainer who had been worked to the brink of exhaustion and how she had eventually harmed herself. He hadn't had much opportunity to look too closely into it, but he had not forgotten about it or dismissed it entirely.
Suddenly, Bulma tripped and fell.
Vegeta held his breath as he waited for her to get back up, but she never did. He counted to five in his head before bolting out onto the stage towards her. The whole process feeling like it had taken him several minutes when really it had only been a few seconds. No one else was doing anything. He snarled at the idiots all standing there gawking with their mouths agape, rather than checking to see if she was alright.
He finally reached her after what felt like an eternity of running. He waved his arm to indicate for someone to close the curtain and carefully rolled her over into his lap. She moaned softly but didn't stir.
It seemed as though she had fainted, he realized. When she didn't wake up from being turned over, he gently picked her up and carried her off stage and through the crowd that had already accumulated.
"Would you idiots get out of my way?" He snarled at them. Vultures. Every single one of them, he thought in disgust. He noticed a flash in his peripheral vision from somewhere to the the left of him and turned around with Bulma in his arms. "Any one of you low life's sells that to the news, you'll be dealing personally with me!" He bellowed threateningly before continuing towards the exit.
"Should someone call an ambulance?" He heard someone ask.
"I will drive her myself," he said. He could be more than half way to the hospital before an ambulance even showed up.
Vegeta laid her gently in the back seat of her car. Her driver must have been inside the building still or off somewhere amusing himself, as they weren't scheduled to leave for another few hours yet. Thankfully, the keys were in the ignition.
"Where are you going?" He heard Yamcha from the building.
"Hospital," he said, shooting him a dirty look before getting into the car and taking off, not waiting for the other man to make it to the curb.
"Fucking moron," Vegeta cursed, watching him in the rear view mirror as he pulled away. If he was interested in coming, he'd have to find his own way there.
Traffic was surprisingly light and the traffic gods had blessed him with a clear passage through every intersection with a green light. It did not take him long to get to the hospital.
When he made it there, she was still passed out and he hoped it was just because she was exhausted and needed nothing more than some fluids and rest. Hopefully that idiot manager of hers would take her complaints of being over tired seriously now. She could not keep functioning at the level she was; not if she wanted to remain healthy.
"She collapsed while on stage," Vegeta said gruffly to the woman at the admitting desk in emergency.
"Oh dear!" The unit clerk exclaimed. "One moment," and she scurried off.
"Is that who I think it is?"
"Oh my god! That's Bulma Briefs!"
"For fuck sake," Vegeta cursed under his breath. Why hadn't he thought of calling the hospital ahead of time to avoid a scene? Better yet, maybe an ambulance would have been better, he realized now as people began gawking and approaching him for a better look.
"I can't believe that's Bulma!" Someone exclaimed.
"Is she okay?"
"Can I take a selfie with you guys?" Someone else asked, backing up towards them, holding their phone out.
"Mind your own business and no pictures!" He snarled, stepping out of the way. "What is wrong with you people?" He couldn't believe it! Here was someone who was obviously not alright and all anyone cared about was getting a picture of her? In this state!? That was messed up! Famous or not, she was still a human being and should be treated with dignity, not as a photo op!
"Sir, you can bring Miss Briefs in here," the unit clerk called to him.
Vegeta wasted no time, following her, wanting to get Bulma out of sight of these people who would likely do nothing more than sell whatever pictures they'd taken of her passed out in his arms and relay some false, overly embellished story to the press for a few extra dollars. It disgusted him.
"What happened?" A nurse asked him as he carefully laid her down on a bed in a private room.
"She collapsed while on stage in the middle of a rehearsal," he said. "I suspect due from extreme exhaustion."
"Alright," she nodded, wrapping a cuff around Bulma's arm to take her blood pressure. "Is she on anything you can think of?"
"On anything?" He frowned.
"Any… medications?" She asked again. "Substances? Illegal or not?"
"No," he shook his head. "Nothing like that. She does not even smoke."
The nurse subtly rolled her eyes. "If you say so," she sighed. "We will run a full blood panel anyway and if she's overdosed on something, it will tell us anyway, however it would save time if you just told us."
"I can assure you, she is not on anything!" He snarled at her. The audacity of this woman to make him feel like he was deliberately keeping anything from her.
"Alright," she said lightly, though he could tell from the tone of her voice that she didn't really believe him. "I will get her on an IV immediately and we'll run some tests."
"She hasn't been sleeping and has not been eating properly for some time now and she is working too much and pushing herself too hard for the last few months," he grudgingly volunteered. "She does not do illegal drugs, she does not even take vitamins; though she does take the occasional sleeping pill, probably drinks a little too much wine and does not drink enough water either." Vegeta frowned to himself as it dawned on him how much he knew about her and her day to day habits.
The nurse looked up at him and gave him a small smile. "Thank you," she said. "That helps. If she's exhausted and dehydrated, she will need rest and fluids for a few days, but we will still do a proper work up just to be on the safe side to make sure we rule anything else out. If you are certain she's not on anything harmful, we will look at everything else."
"Thank you," he said awkwardly. "And please do not let the press know anything,"
"Absolutely," she nodded. "It will be hard keeping her presence here a secret since you simply walked in with her, but we will do our very best to keep things under wraps."
Vegeta nodded and took a seat beside Bulma.
"I will be back with an IV and to take some blood and then the doctor will be by. You may stay with her if you wish."
"Thank you," he grunted as she left the room, closing the door behind her.
Vegeta sighed deeply and looked at her. She looked pale, but otherwise alright. He wondered whether or not he should call her parents. He did not particularly want to call them, but he took out his phone and looked up their number. He supposed a phone call from him was better than them finding out from the television.
"Capsule Corps residence, how may I direct your call?" Bulma's mother answered in her usual cheery tone.
"This is Vegeta," he grunted.
"Oh! Vegeta?" She exclaimed. "Hi hun, how nice to hear from you! How are you?"
He refrained from sighing in aggravation and instead pinched the bridge of his nose. "I am fine. I am calling-"
"Bulma's not here right now, I thought she was with you!" She interrupted him. "I think she has some show today or something. Oh my god, if you're looking for her here, that means she isn't with you! Oh please tell me that she hasn't been taken again!"
"No, she hasn't been taken!" He snapped at her more harshly than he'd intended. "She is here, with me-"
"Oh thank god!" Her mother exclaimed. "Wait a minute, if she's with you, then why are you calling here?"
Vegeta had to refrain from snapping at the older woman. If she would shut the hell up and let him talk, they'd be done this conversation by now. "Bulma took sick and fainted at her rehearsal. I brought her to the hospital. They think it is just exhaustion so hopefully all she needs is fluids and rest."
"We keep telling her she can't keep up with this pace forever. She's not seventeen anymore, you know," her mother sighed. "Do you want us to come down there?"
Vegeta shrugged. "You do as you want, I am merely informing you of her current situation. I thought it better that way than you seeing it on the tv."
"You're such a wonderful man!" She gushed. "Thank you for looking out for our girl. We were so afraid that whoever would be looking out for her safety after Goku wouldn't care as much as he did since they've known each other since school and such. I'm so pleased she has you in her life to look after her."
Vegeta held his breath and pinched the bridge of his nose again. The woman sounded like she was going to cry. "There is no need to thank me, I am simply doing my job."
"Keep telling yourself that, dear," she chuckled knowingly. "Though keep up the good work. We won't come down there unless you want us to. It sounds like you've got everything under control, but please keep us updated and if it's anything more serious, we will be there in a heartbeat."
"Alright," he grunted, wanting to get off the phone. "I will keep you informed,"
"Thanks dear!"
Vegeta hung up and leaned against the chair. This was so not a part of his job description. He was not a babysitter. He was supposed to be protecting her from crazed fans, not looking after her personal well-being. Wasn't that what personal assistants were for? While he deeply admired her work ethic and dedication to her craft, it had bothered him for some time now that she didn't take very good care of herself. She didn't eat meals at regular hours; she more snacked throughout the day. Even then, the food available was more platters of assorted food or delivery from somewhere rather than wholesome meals. He also noticed that she didn't drink a whole lot of water and instead, seemed to prefer drinking coffee or those damned energy drinks; she also drank too much wine in her downtime, in his opinion. Add to that the fact that she barely slept, it was a small wonder her body finally quit on her. Hopefully she would be alright.
A few minutes later, the nurse returned with an IV and hooked Bulma up, explaining that if it was a case of dehydration and exhaustion that she could be out of commission for several days. She took several vials of blood for a sample and they were left on their own.
About a half hour later, Yamcha showed up. "Anything? Is she alright?"
"She needs to rest," Vegeta said to him.
Yamcha frowned. "She'll be fine in a few days," he said. "The concert is tomorrow though."
"Cancel her appearance. She is on IV fluids for dehydration and they took blood work. She needs time off," Vegeta said. "Recovery will depend on how severely dehydrated she is, is what the medical professional said, but they have not returned yet with any formal test results."
"Well, unfortunately that's not possible," Yamcha shook his head. "I can buy her three or four days after the concert; at the most. But she has a video shoot for three days next week. That's already been delayed once because of her abduction. We can't move that again. Then she has-"
"Cancel it," Vegeta said firmly. "Her abduction was months ago. Stop using that as an excuse."
"It's not as simple as that," Yamcha argued. "Some of these things are booked like a year in advance. That's why we're still playing catch up on things that had to be cancelled already because of that whole ordeal."
"That is your job," Vegeta growled at him. "You over booked her, you can reschedule once she's had a break."
"And your job is to make sure she's safe and that no one harms her." Yamcha shot back.
"You working her to the ground is harming her," he pointed out calmly, despite wanting to shout at him. "She needs a break. I told you what the medical professional said. She is burnt out and needs rest. She will recover, but not if you keep her busy for every moment of every day. I will ensure that is enforced. I do not care what you have her scheduled for, cancel it."
Yamcha grit his teeth as he stared at the other man. He'd had similar arguments with Goku over the years, but he'd always been able to convince him to keep going. "Fine," he snorted. "But when her career tanks, I'll make sure she blames you."
"I have no problem taking responsibility for that," Vegeta shrugged, not caring.
"You do realize the blow back that this will cause, right?" Yamcha snipped at him. "You should have waited for an ambulance to come for her rather than bringing her here yourself. All you've done is cause an uproar. The press is already here asking questions. There's people in the waiting room telling them god knows what. If that wasn't bad enough, now I have to make a statement about her being not well and needing to go on hiatus. Do you have any idea how much trouble and extra work all of this is going to cause?"
"Good thing she has such a hardworking, dedicated manager like yourself to take care of everything." Vegeta said unsympathetically.
Yamcha sighed in frustration. "How long?"
Vegeta shrugged. "Several months."
"Not possible," he shook his head. "A week?"
"Six months,"
"Two weeks,"
"Four months," Vegeta said again. That was his bottom line and he felt disgusted by the fact that they were sitting there bartering over how much time Bulma should have off. He knew he was likely overstepping his bounds, but since she wouldn't advocate for herself, he was more than willing to do so on her behalf and make sure she got something since no one else seemed to be willing to put their foot down on this; herself included.
"Two and a half weeks."
"Four months. No less," Vegeta said. "And if she is not well enough by then, then she gets another month."
"Not feasible," Yamcha shook his head.
"It will be," Vegeta said. "You will make it so,"
"Fine," he sighed. "Four months. But she'd better be well enough to get back at it."
"I will ensure she gets plenty of rest, but you are to make sure she is not so booked when she goes back to work that she will find herself in the same state again within a few weeks or a month."
"You know how difficult that's going to be?"
"It is not my problem," Vegeta shrugged.
Yamcha shook his head and grabbed his jacket. "I'll let you inform her of her hiatus, since it's you who is insisting upon it. Just make sure she's ready for the show tomorrow. I'll cancel everything else."
"She's not doing the show." Vegeta said absolutely. "Send out a statement."
Yamcha sighed. "Wait until she's awake. If she's up in the next twelve hours, we'll see how she's feeling. This show is a big deal; it's live. Let me know when she wakes up or if anything else happens. I've got only about a million phone calls to make and emails to send out now, I guess."
He left the hospital in a huff, not stopping to talk to any of the news media outlets that had gathered on the outside of the hospital. It was an absolute circus of media and fans already having a get well Bulma vigil. "Thanks, Vegeta," he mumbled to himself. He knew the man meant well and he was right- Bulma did need a break. However that only meant no exposure for her and that someone else would end up taking her place in the industry, front and centre. He couldn't have that. If she was not busy and at the top of the game, where would that leave him? He had no education for anything else. He'd been Bulma's assistant from nearly day one until she fired her previous manager for coming onto her. He'd been twenty years old, was on top of the world alongside her; got the benefit of traveling and luxury without having to pay for any of it. If Bulma went on a long hiatus and decided to not come back, his own life and career as he knew it would be finished as well. He at the very least wanted her to hold off until her last album with the label before taking a break.
With Vegeta around, it didn't look like that would happen.
-0-0-0-
Bulma awoke a few hours later in the hospital bed, hooked up to an IV and thoroughly confused. She frowned and noticed Vegeta asleep in the chair across from her bed and her stomach fluttered that he was there. What had happened? The last thing she remembered, she was at the rehearsal for the charity show in two days. She hadn't been feeling well. Beyond that, she couldn't remember.
"Hey, Vegeta," she whispered hoarsely at him.
He must have just been resting his eyes rather than sleeping because he opened his eyes immediately. "You are awake," he said; she noticed the sound of relief in his voice and once again, her stomach pleasantly fluttered.
"What happened?" She asked. "I don't remember anything except going to the rehearsal."
"You passed out and collapsed on stage while rehearsing," he answered. "You have been here for several hours and based on some tests the doctors took, they determined that you are exhausted and dehydrated."
"Oh," she said, looking at her hands. "Well I guess that's no big surprise, huh,"
"No, but hopefully it will be a wake up call," he said firmly. "Your idiot manager was here briefly. I took the liberty of pushing that you have a few months off. He is not happy about it, but I got him to agree. I was pushing for six months, but he settled on four with the understanding that if you require more time, you will be given an extra month."
Bulma gave him a blank look and blinked several times as it took her a few moments to process what he'd just told her. "You actually got Yamcha to agree to that?"
"I did," he nodded.
"Wow," she said in genuine shock and in the moment, decided she loved this man through and through. "Thank you,"
"For what?" He frowned, genuinely surprised and relieved that she wasn't angry with him for that.
"For putting your foot down and sticking up for me," she clarified. "No one ever actually stands up to Yamcha or takes my side."
"Well do not thank me yet," he said. "He also was not amused by the way I handled the incident and I may have drawn unsolicited attention to it despite my meaning well."
"What happened?" She asked.
"Well, you tripped on stage and just did not get back up and no one was doing anything; probably because they were all in shock. Once I realized you'd fainted and were not getting back up, I brought you here myself rather than calling an ambulance. Calling an ambulance would have drawn far less attention."
Bulma felt her cheeks reddening as she listened to him, moved that he'd acted quickly on her behalf and she didn't care if there would be a media frenzy over it. He had done what he'd felt was the right thing for her, a she always had since he'd started working for her. "Thank you."
"But it is going to be all over the papers."
"I don't care," she shook her head, laying back. "It would be in the papers anyway. There's nothing you could have done to prevent that so don't worry about it. Now everyone knows what an awesome bodyguard slash boyfriend slash lover I have. I can live with that if you can,"
Vegeta shrugged. "I would rather it not be a circus when it comes to something as important as your health," he said.
"When can I go home?" She asked.
"I am not sure," he said. "I will find the nurse."
Vegeta was able to find both the nurse and the doctor. Bulma was discharged home after her IV fluids were finished with strict instructions she must rest and consume fluids with a lot of electrolytes and to return immediately if she felt dizzy, nauseous or had any severe headaches over the next few days.
Despite it being just after three in the morning, Vegeta still had to discreetly avoid a throng of reporters, photographers and concerned fans as he exited the hospital and was able to bring the vehicle to the back of the hospital to avoid the media and fan frenzy. It amazed him that these people were sitting around, just waiting for the slightest glimpse of Bulma.
They made it back to Capsule Corporation where the first thing Bulma did was run herself a bath before going to bed. Early the next morning before she had awoken, Vegeta ran out to buy a few items that the doctor had recommended Bulma have. He hadn't told her yet that Yamcha fully expected her to perform at the show, and decided he would see how she was feeling once she was awake and make sure she did not have to return to the hospital again before asking her if she was up for it and if she wanted to still do it. If it was up to him, she would be staying home and resting.