The Worlds Smartest
This Is The Enforcer Speaking,
Thank you to all of my reviews. If I have failed to respond personally to you I apologize. Your reviews cheer me up so much. I can't thank you enough.
Now…On To The Story!
Decisions
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"What?" Bulma gasped. Blinking furiously she fought to focus on Vegetas features. His eyes were down cast and he refused to meet her gaze. "Vegeta!" She snapped. "Answer me."
"You carry my young." His voice was barely above a whisper.
Shock radiated through Bulma, clearing her mind and allowing her to comprehend what he was saying. Pregnant. She was pregnant. And there was only one way that could have happened.
"You did this on purpose." Despite her injuries and difficulties breathing Bulma got the words out in a furious rush. "You didn't even ask me. You just did it. How could you?"
There was no mistaking the fact that the Prince of all Assholes had chosen to do this to her. He himself told her that he knew when she could get pregnant and couldn't or there would have been an accident months ago.
"I…" Vegeta's voice trailed off.
"Why?" Bulma's voice and body strained with the effort to scream the word at him. Tears formed in her eyes.
Finally he looked up. His obsidian eyes meeting hers and their was an unfathomable look in them.
"Females with offspring have a higher likelihood of surviving the death of their mates."
"You think you're going to die." Bulma said, voice cracking. "You aren't going to die. You're to arrogant for that."
Vegeta simply looked away in answer. Muscles in his jaw ticked and his fists clenched. Bulma was both enraged and in awe with her mate. How dare he do this to her without her consent and yet in his mind he'd done it to save her in the event of his death. But now they were in a terrible position. She was in a terrible position. Did they kill the unborn child within her or did she risk her life to save it?
"Woman…Bulma, I will not have you die for a fetus." Vegeta said as he studiously stared at the floor. Bulma knew the words cost him, she knew in their society that children were highly valued, pregnant mates were guarded fiercely, and the unborn protected at nearly any cost due to the incredibly low birth rate and high stillborn rate of the Saiyans.
"Why did you let me go out there and fight him?" Bulma asked, blinking back the fog that was slowly creeping in at the edges of her vision. She consciously forced herself to keep breathing. "Why didn't you ask me? Or tell me?"
"You had to answer to the challenge. You are not yet queen. What good would it have done for you to be in fear for the young?" He swallowed thickly. "And I did not ask for permission because I did not care if you wanted it or not. I will not apologize for attempting to secure your safety." He turned his gaze up to hers again. "Or for wanting to leave something of myself behind."
Bulma laid her hand against her muscular and still very flat stomach. Heart aching she wondered why she couldn't distinguish its Ki? He'd had no right to do this without asking. Hand clinching in a fist Bulma fought for focus, fought to think through this thing.
Looking over at Vegeta she tried picturing a child with him. What would the child be like? Who would it look like? Most importantly what sort of parents would they be? Was she willing to give this new life a chance at the risk of her own and his?
Their eyes met. "I will not allow you to die." Vegeta snarled. "I will put you in the tank myself if it comes to that."
The honesty in his eyes, in his words struck Bulma to the core. Her choice was made.
"Let's try to save us both first." Bulma whispered as tears fell.
Vegeta laid his hand atop hers before leaning forward and kissing her more gently than he'd ever touched her before. Once she was healed, no matter the outcome, Vegeta was going to have hell to pay for what he'd done to her but until then she accepted the kiss and closed her eyes against the glaring lights. She felt herself drifting off; panic drove her pulse higher and her breathing to grow more rapid.
"Bardock!" Vegeta snarled and nearly instantly the older Saiyan appeared by their sides.
"The Princess needs to-" He began but was cut off by Vegeta.
"She carries my heir." Vegeta snapped. "You will save them both."
The Princes voice broached no argument. It wasn't a suggestion, it was a command, it was a tone of voice Bulma heard him use only when the consequence for disobedience was your life.
"Our technology is designed for Saiyans, humans are different enough that this could be a problem. I can likely stabilize her, we have drugs that speed healing, but most importantly you must give as much of your Ki to her as you can. In this she is lucky you are the strongest among us." Bardock said evenly as he rushed around her adding liquids to her IV line, attaching electrodes to her body and placing an oxygen mask on her face.
"Go get a human medic. There must be at least one among the herd of Earthlings we brought here." Vegeta snapped.
"I need to send a runner to do that, I have to continue working on the Princess. Who would you trust to know the situation my Prince?" Bardock asked as he began cutting away at the remainders of her clothing eliciting a growl from her mate. "It is a necessity. Do me the favor of not ripping my throat out over it." Bardock spoke his hands never ceasing their movements.
Vegeta tamped back his rage immediately.
"Kakarots too much of an idiot. Send his handler Krillin. No word of this to anyone beyond the necessary. Figure this out now."
The world began to close in around Bulma and she reached out blindly for Vegeta calling his name. His hand closed around hers, gloves gone, his skin felt blistering hot against hers. Instantly he poured Ki into her, her body warmed, her lungs expanded.
"Don't leave me." Bulma whispered.
"Never." Vegeta said.
And her world went black.
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The moment she lost consciousness all of her pain came crashed down on him. How had she shielded him from this much pain? He clutched his chest, nearly coming off of his feet, before regaining his composure.
Vegeta watched in barely concealed horror as Bardock punched a long needled between Bulmas ribs directly above her heart. Blood began running freely from the needles open end. As the blood ran the monitors surrounding her seemed to beep at a less frantic rate.
Within moments Krillin burst into the room with a blue eyed blonde haired Earthling. They hurled Krillin out of the room immediately but Vegeta stayed where he was, his mates hand inside his own, his ki pouring into her.
Tubes were jammed into both sides of Bulmas chest, blood drained rapidly from them.
"We need to intubate her." Bardock announced. Fear rose in Vegeta as he watched Bardock use tools to insert a tube down Bulma's throat and hook her up to a machine that began forcing air in and out of her lungs.
"She is going to need a transfusion too." The blonde said as she worked prepping instruments. "Humans do not replenish blood at the same rate as Saiyans. Do you have a way to blood type her?"
The details of her conversation with Bardock became a meaningless drone to Vegeta as he stared at the site of his mate laid out before him, poked full of holes and tubes with wires running in and out of her. Her face pale, body motionless. This was entirely his fault. If he would have just waited until after the games, after her crowning, but he had not realized that his seed would take on his first try. He had not realized how truly fertile human females were. Only three days after that night he felt the spark of life within her.
Vegeta's eyes finally found focus on her pale face. He had a job to do. Keep his mate and son alive. The Prince allowed himself to be directed by the blonde Earthling to move her or there as they worked. He would not leave, he would pour energy into her until either she stabilized or he put her in the tank and killed their young. That death would rest solely on his shoulders. He savored every stab of pain, every dull ache that found its way into his body. The pain meant she lived.
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Her head ached and she desperately needed to pee. Opening her eyes Bulma blinked past the dryness to focus on her surroundings. Dim lighting lit the room, casting gentle shadows, and leaving her in a calming twilight. Vegeta slept in a chair next to the bed, head down on the bed with one of his hands wrapped around hers.
IV tubes ran into both of her hands. One dripped saline, the other blood, and another machine seemed to be pumping the occasional does of pain medicine into her. The gentle sound of her heart monitor jarred Bulmas thoughts.
Memories returned to Bulma in a rush. Her hand flew up to check her chest only to find a few small bandage dotting her torso. With shaking fingers Bulma peeled up the edges of the cotton and looked underneath it.
There were three small pink scars, two along either side of her chest and one directly over her heart. No staples, no stiches, no blood covered the center of her chest. What the hell? How had they sewed up her heart without cracking open her chest? And, how long had she been out? Her hand quickly found her abdomen. Was the baby in there? Was it okay? No way had she been in a tank. Not with all the bandages and soreness she felt through her body. And she needed to pee. Now.
"Vegeta." Bulma tried to call out only to make a small squeaking sound. Swallowing twice Bulma tried again. This time her voice rose barely above a whisper but it was enough.
Vegeta jerked to awareness with frightening speed.
"Bulma." Warmth suffused her at his tone. He looked haggard. Eyes hallow, face pale, it was the sickest she'd ever seen him look. "What do you need?"
Cheeks burning Bulma answered him.
"To pee."
With none to little embarrassment Vegeta helped Bulma with her situation. The whole process was an ordeal, what with all of the IV's and equipment attached to her but Bulma was not about to use a bedpan. She'd die first. She did still have her pride after all.
Once settled back in the bed Bulma asked Vegeta the question that was preying at her the most.
"Our baby?" Her voice was soft, unsure, the words foreign on her lips.
"The young lives." Vegeta answered before using a call button to summon Bardock.
They waited in an awkward silence for Bardock to arrive. There was so much Bulma wanted to say but held back. Exhaustion made the weight of conversation too much to bear.
Bardock arrived looking half asleep but smiling.
"I'm glad to see you're awake." He began looking over the computer screen that displayed her vitals. "How do you feel?"
"Better than expected." She shifted stiffly on the bed as it was moved into a sitting position. "And I'm seriously thirsty. How long have I been out?"
"Only about eight hours." At Bulmas wide eyes look he continued. " While we rely heavily on the regeneration tanks our medical technology is quite advanced. Between the use of advance technique and medication, coupled with the enormous amount of Ki given to you by Prince Vegeta we accelerated your healing by weeks based on the Earth technology I've seen." He removed the electrodes from her body as he spoke. "It was a close thing, we could have lost you or the heir or both but…you are very strong."
"How much longer does she need to stay in here?" Vegeta grouched at Bardock.
"Until the morning. That's only about eight more hours but it will give the medications and the fluids more time to do their work." Turning back to Bulma he continued. "You need to go back to sleep. I will be back in the morning to check on you."
With that Bardock was gone, leaving Bulma and Vegeta to their awkwardness.
Vegeta shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
"You're a fucking idiot." Bulma said. Her previous rage returning almost instantly. Vegeta's eyes flew wide. "Don't look at me like that. It is the truth. You should have talked to me about all of this before you just up and did it and not to mention it was you who said you wouldn't be as stupid as Kakarot and knock me up at a time like this. Looks like you two are more alike than you'd like to admit." She crossed her arms across her chest with a glare.
The Prince opened his mouth. Closed it and scowled at her before crossing his arms and glaring back.
"So what now?" Bulma broke the silence first.
With a heavy sigh Vegeta spoke. "We finish the games and tell no one of this because word can not get back to Frieza of this situation."
"It's going to be kind of hard to hide this "situation" once I start puking my brains out." Bulma snapped.
"The games will be over shortly. Once you begin showing symptoms we will blame it on some human illness. The battle with Frieza will be long over before you begin to show that you carry my heir."
Neither looked at the other for several minutes before Bulma let her head fall back on the pillow. At least their were only two more days left of the games. The day after that they would be crowned. On the day of the darkest moon. Saiyans seemed to like doing important things as far away from the full moon as possible. She thought it might have something to do with wanting to keep the beast in the background.
"You need to sleep." Vegeta's voice snapped her out of her random thought pattern.
"You too." She said looking into his tired eyes.
"I will sleep here." He settled back into the chair, arms crossed, chin down and closed his eyes. Bulma watched him briefly before allowing sleep to pull her under knowing full well the Prince was awake, guarding her, protecting her from the unknown.
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"Aw!" Bulma yelped as Vegeta wrapped the tape tighter across her torso. "Watch it."
"It has to be tight woman." He ignored her continued protests as he added layers of tightly wrapped wide white tape across her still broken ribs. Although they'd healed quite a bit they weren't one hundred percent back up to par as they would have been if she could have taken a trip through the regin tank.
Finally satisfied with his work Vegeta helped her into her uniform and armor. It hurt to breath. Lord help her if she needed to cough or sneeze.
"I'm screwed if someone challenges me today." Bulma practiced breathing and walking regularly. She couldn't afford to look weak.
"After yesterdays performance it is unlikely." Vegeta chuckled slightly. "You did well and there are no rumors of your injury so we can consider this a victory." He started doing a final once over of her. Straightening this and that as he swept his hand across her. It felt like he was preflighting her and Bulma smiled. Saiyan signs of affection and all that.
"What?" Vegeta asked at her expression.
Shaking her head Bulma looped her arm through his. "Nothing. Nothing at all."
Rolling his eyes at her antics he allowed her to walk with him, arm and arm, out to the day.
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The day drug on as usual. Bulma sat uncomfortably in her chair pondering her life's choices as blood and sand were kicked around the arena for hours. The brackets were narrowing down, all preparing for the finale the following day. The Earthling bracket finally rolled around and it was the only one Bulma was really interested in at this point.
Round one was going to be Eighteen vs. Piccolo and round two was going to be Tien vs Chiaotzu. Bulma didn't know who this Chiaotzu was despite wracking her memory of those on the ship.
The winner of each would fight the next day for their freedom. A surprising number of humans ultimately dropped out, making the decision to become servants rather than risk death in the arena. Bulma supposed once they got a really good look at their competition they'd decided it was a bet that wasn't worth taking.
Piccolo walked out into the area from his side only to face a missing opponent. Bulma looked around, waiting for Eighteen to appear. She frown as a fuzzy memory niggled at the back of her head.
"Where is Eighteen?" Bulma asked. Flicking her eyes over to Vegeta.
"I am afraid," the announcer pulled Bulma's attention back to the arena, "that Piccolo's opponent is unable to continue to compete thus giving our fine green friend here a by on to the finals. Congratulations!" The announcer clapped and waved absurdly as the Saiyans around them booed.
Whipping her head back around to Vegeta Bulma hissed her question again.
"I have granted her a pardon." Vegeta answered in a whisper. "Her freedom for your life."
Blinking rapidly Bulma forced herself to remember, remember something from the night before. She'd seen a blonde woman, briefly heard the word transfusion. Had Eighteen helped her? She must have. Shocked Bulma looked at Vegeta.
"Thank you." He gave a slight nod at he words.
"You can thank her yourself." He commented. "She works in the medical wing now."
Bulma glanced over to the King and Queen who were studiously watching the opponents for the next match get ready. They must know something but…Bulma forced her hands to stay away from her abdomen…did they know everything?
A slight shake of her mate's head gave her the answer. No. That, that they did not know about.
Focusing back out to the arena Bulma watched Tien and a small floating humanoid like creature float out into the area. It was doll like, white with round red circles on it's cheeks. This must be Chiaotzu.
"He's going to get destroyed."
"It is dead meat."
Bulma and Vegeta spoke at the same time, spared each other a glance and then turned back to the game.
"I don't want to do this." Tien said. "You're my best friend Tien…but I can not be a slave."
Chiaotzu gave a curt nod before replying, "You will always be my friend."
The announcer gave the signal and the match began.
Chiaotzu immediately launched high into the air and began firing rays of Ki out of his fingertip. Tien dodged the attacks with ease, fazing in and out of view as Chiaotzu continued his barrage of attacks.
With a cry Chiaotzu spread his fingers wide, palms out, and Tien came to a stumbling holt. He cried out in pain, gripping his stomach, as sweat drops built up around his face.
"What the hell?" Vegeta mumbled. Bulma nodded her agreement.
Tien fell to a knee.
"That's it then old friend? Going to kill me?" Tien asked Chiaotzu. The determination in Chiaotzu's eyes waivered. "It's okay. I understand." Tien smiled at him.
Bulma watched Chiaotzu's hand droop slightly.
"The three eyed one could have blasted the midget away immediately. He is toying with him." Vegeta said.
"Agreed." Bulma said back.
"Let me ask you something…what's three times three?" The question seemed ridiculous but the small human frowned and looked down at his hand, counting on his fingers. In that instance Tien sprang up high and landed a roundhouse kick across Chiaotzu's face, driving him head first into the ground.
Chiaotzu hit the hard and stayed down. Tien walked over, picked up his friend, and walked back out to the holding cells.
"He let him have his pride." Vegeta scowled. "That is oddly respectable."
"With that our final battle tomorrow will be Piccolo vs Tien."
There were more disgruntled boo's from Saiyans hoping for a longer bloodier show but Bulma was just glad it was over.
"Now that is going to be a fun show." The Queen finally spoke up. "Bloody glorious I predict."
Bulma had a feeling she was right.
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Authors Note: Thank you for your patience for this update. I've had a lot going on as most of you do as well. R&R if you can.
~The Enforcer
On The Next Episode of The Worlds Smartest…Will the finale battle between Piccolo and Tien prove as bloody as predicted? Will Vegeta and Bulma FINALLY get crowned? Stay tuned in to see…
