Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ or the characters
Special thanks to withoutwingsx, KimiruMai, blonde22, lionheart19, DaniellaDBZ4ever, AeonWhisperer, bval1, threeam inkblot, murdrax, maddiethevampire, and smalsa as well as the guest, lurker.
Bulma was in the lab, finishing her upgrades on the shield system. So far it had done well in guarding the planet from large space rocks. If she hadn't formed the shield system, the planet could have been destroyed by an asteroid.
Since then, things had been fairly quiet for her. The king did not have his men running to her with threats or demands for the last month. But, with less stress, shouldn't she have been feeling better? For the last month, Bulma felt weaker and got queasy fairly easily. She felt that way when she first got to the planet, but now, she was starting to think of Planet Vegeta as her home. Why would she be feeling ill?
"Hello, scientist," she heard the king growl from the doorway of the lab.
Bulma looked up at the opposing wall and tensed. She knew the king walked up behind her when she felt his hands on her hips. She swallowed a bit, trying to calm her nerves. "What's wrong, my dear? Will you still not speak? The shock should have passed by now with my son and your late night bouts. What troubles you?"
You, Bulma thought as she attempted to rein in her emotions. She was about to turn and face him with a glare, but he held her in place and moved his hand down her body. His hand stopped at her stomach, though, and he started to rub her there. She felt disgusted by his actions and blatant disrespect, making a mental note to get at least one hit in before Vegeta finished him for good.
She was too busy thinking about the current king's end to notice that he stopped his actions and breathed in her scent. His eyes lit up with fury. His son disobeyed him and took her as his mate. He shoved her away from him into her desk and she knew that he figured it out. This is one of the reasons Vegeta didn't want him near her.
"Did my son take you as his mate?" the king asked darkly.
"If he ever asks, lie," Vegeta told her.
"What?" Bulma asked in uncertainty. "What would I say? I'm not even supposed to talk?"
Vegeta shook his head. "If he ever asks, make it seem like you don't know. The blame will fall on me, not you."
"But…But what about you?" Bulma responded.
Vegeta stopped what he was doing and walked in front of Bulma. His face was its usual mask, concealing all of his emotions. "Do not worry about me, Bulma," he ordered. "I can survive. You'd be dead in an instant. Do not question me. Do as you're told."
Bulma looked to the king as if she had no idea what he was talking about and shrugged. That only infuriated the king more. He threw her down to the ground and stormed out of the lab. Bardock entered a few minutes later having sensed the king's proximity to the princess.
"Princess, are you all right?" he asked in concern while helping her up.
"Yeah, I'm okay," Bulma lied, holding her head and gripping her stomach.
Bardock noticed and decided to check her stomach, in case the king had hit her there. He was in shock at what he felt through his senses. The king was the only Saiyan that could not sense energy. The rest had been taught by those he forced from the other planets. "Princess, how long ago were you and the prince…together?"
Bulma didn't even hesitate at being asked. She had gotten completely over what had occurred between her and Vegeta. The stress and fear was finally gone and the rational mind of hers was finally back in action. "Four months, why?"
Bardock hesitated before he answered her question. "Because, princess, you are pregnant."
"Prince Vegeta, you've returned?" Nappa stated in shock. "But I thought…"
"I finished quickly," Vegeta stated before going over to another guard. "You are to bring the women aboard the ship to the king for inspection. There is also a spare room filled with those berries he likes so much from Hera."
"And what do you have there?" Nappa asked when he noticed the strange bags he was carrying.
"These are for Bulma," he stated before leaving for his room. He couldn't wait to see the look on Bulma's face.
"Sire, the prince has returned," the guard said. "He has brought women here for you to inspect for your harem."
The king would have normally smirked and started his inspection right away. The fact that he looked menacing frightened the guard. "Bring them all into the harem," the king ordered. "So my son has returned?" The guard nodded. "Bring him here, and bring his whore. There's something I need to discuss…with both of them." The guard tensed, but agreed and left to get the prince and princess.
Bulma was nervous, not scared, but nervous. Not only did the king know that she was Vegeta's mate, but now she was told she was going to be a mother. She didn't know how Vegeta would react, but if it was anything like how Bardock reacted, it couldn't be good.
Bulma jumped when the door opened, but relaxed when she saw Vegeta standing there. She flashed him a smile and said, "I was told you would be gone another three months, not that I'm not happy to see you."
Vegeta seemed calm, but he was actually very tense, that is, until she said she was happy to see him. He smirked over at her in his arrogance and placed the bags of her family's stuff on the bed.
"What's that?" she asked in confusion.
"See for yourself," he replied arrogantly.
She did what he said and started looking through the bags. She couldn't stop her tears of joy from streaming down her face. "Oh my…" He had brought so much from her home. He would have never had to do that, but he did anyway. He even brought her mother's most recent sonogram of her baby brother.
Vegeta didn't understand why she was crying. He thought she would be happy. He moved to comfort her, but he didn't get the chance. Instead, Bulma ran over to him and jumped into his arms. He was slightly shocked, but managed to catch her with one arm in a way that she was sitting on his arm. He was equally shocked when she kissed him. It was so innocent, so gentle, but as he used his other hand to press her lips closer against his, he roughened it. They broke apart to regain their composure, but before they finished panting, there was a knock on the door.
Vegeta quickly let Bulma down and then answered it seeing the guard he had sent to his father. "Yes?"
"The king wishes to see you and your 'concubine' right away," he told them.
Vegeta was taken aback and looked over to Bulma who looked worried. "We will join you in a minute," he told him before shutting the door in his face. "What's going on?" Vegeta asked.
"Well, your father came into the lab to day and started feeling me up and I think he figured out that I was your mate," Bulma told him. "That and…Bardock told me…"
"What? What did he tell you?" Vegeta pressed.
Bulma looked to him, a mixture of joy and fear dancing in her eyes. "He said I'm pregnant."
"Well, look who decided to show his face," the king said in amusement. "Where's the girl?"
"She will not be joining us today," Vegeta stated. "She is not well after getting her head smashed in against her desk. Now tell me father, what possessed you to harm her? Has she not met your standards as a scientist? I heard from some other Saiyans that her shield system saved our planet from fallen space rocks."
"I'm sure you know what we're here about, Vegeta, so don't act coy," the king stated, losing his amused spark. "You disobeyed my orders, and without the girl's knowledge. If her scientific prowess was lacking, I would do away with her. Unfortunately I cannot do that, but do not think that you will not receive punishment."
"What of her?" Vegeta asked, slightly concerned.
The king reluctantly sighed. "She will have slightly more freedom, but not much. If she is ever found to be pregnant, I will not kill her like other concubines, but your children with her will not be welcomed by me and will not be your heirs. Don't tell me you've bonded with her." When Vegeta didn't say anything, the king activated the tōgoku. Vegeta hit the ground instantly, eyes widening at the pain he was feeling. It felt different than normal, as if powered by his father's rage. "You idiot! You should have at least not bonded with the Earthling bitch!"
Vegeta took all the blows, although he did attempt to fight back and get ahold of the tōgoku. If he could only get his hands on it, then he could destroy it as well as his father. But he couldn't get ahold of it and his father smashed him down into the ground of the throne room. Vegeta coughed up some blood and attempted to catch his breath before his father knelt down next to him and whispered in his ear. "This isn't even a fraction of what your punishment will be. Don't worry about the girl; I'll leave her alone for now, but one day, I can promise you that you will feel her pain as I torture her will out of her. Until then, expect to be going on a lot of solo missions."
The king left Vegeta alone in the throne room. When he left, the power of the tōgoku left with him and Vegeta was able to move. Yes, this was a really bad situation, but all he knew was that Bulma would be safe. And that's all he needed to know.
Vegeta found Bulma watching something on some computer he had packed. It was a blurry image, but whatever it was, it was making her cry. Vegeta sat down next to her and was surprised when she leaned into him. Vegeta then saw the disk case that said "sonogram" and looked back in confusion.
"That's my brother," Bulma whispered, "or he would have been."
Vegeta was even more confused. "What's a sonogram?" he finally asked.
Bulma nodded, now understanding that the Saiyans didn't use them to monitor pregnancies. "Back on Earth, there were doctors that would use cameras to observe the unborn babies and their development. My mother, she was going to have a little boy. We were still trying to figure out what to name him, but then…" Bulma's voice started to crack. "I can't…"
Vegeta nodded and pulled her closer to him. He took the computer away from her and moved her so that he could hold her as she cried. It now made sense why she got along so well with Tarble. She was ready to be an older sister, to become protective of the little one and teach him what she knew. Vegeta knew that feeling very well. "My father is very angry," Vegeta informed her, "but he swears to leave you alone, at least for now."
"And you?" Bulma asked nervously.
He gently forced her to look at him. "What have I told you? I can handle anything."
"Vegeta, I know you're strong, but he can still hurt you," Bulma reminded him.
"Why do you care?" Vegeta questioned sincerely. "The last time I saw you, you would have never even sat here with me. You wouldn't let me get this close to you. You wouldn't have…" He stopped talking as he thought of the kiss. "What changed? I know it wasn't just because I brought your stuff from Earth."
Bulma flashed him an understanding smile and gently stroked his cheek. "Things changed while you were gone. I think I just needed time to process everything and I couldn't do that with you here." She looked at his stoic face and saw a mixture of emotions in his eyes. "I don't blame you, not anymore, Vegeta. Things happened because of your father. I'm over everything, especially after meeting Chi Chi and Gine. I think meeting them made me feel more comfortable."
"W-What?" Vegeta said not concealing his shock.
Bulma nodded. "Nappa got me out for the day, telling your father I had tests to run on the shield system. He sent him and another guard, Onoir I think. We met up with Bardock and he brought me to meet his family. Then we went into the square. They have faith in us, Vegeta. I think we can really stop your father."
Vegeta shook his head. "As long as he has the tōgoku that will never happen."
"Don't give up hope, my mate," she said causing his expression to relax. "I have an idea. The only thing is that I need to study the tōgoku, if there is any way to get it from him."
"I've tried," Vegeta growled in frustration. "I've tried so many times. He never lets it out of his sight. It's always in his cloak. He's not stupid enough to let someone get it."
"What if he were impaired or drunk?" Bulma asked.
"What are you talking about?" Vegeta snapped slightly.
"I mean, if he drank a lot, and another was with him, you or someone else, could you get me the tōgoku so I can get some information on it with the portable scanner you brought from Earth, and then return it to him without him realizing we ever had it?"
"It's possible," Vegeta whispered. "Could you be at the ready if I were able to retrieve it?"
Bulma nodded. "But, this thought is only if you can't break it," Bulma stated. "If there were a way to get it away from him, then we should do everything we can to destroy it."
Vegeta nodded in agreement. He didn't know why something like this hadn't crossed his mind before. "Give me a few days," Vegeta requested. "We're going to need some help."