Hello my lovely readers! How are all of you today?

Yes, your eyes do not deceive you…this is another update! That writer's block has been kicked to the curb!

Thank you to everyone who read the last chapter, and thanks for the reviews! I know the last chapter took 2 weeks to get out, and I think I've lost a lot of you from the long wait, but that's okay. As long as one person keeps reading this, I'll keep writing!

I hope you enjoy this next chapter! It's exciting…well, at least in my opinion, because things are starting to roll.

A/N: I don't own DragonBall Z. I do own all the seasons on DVD though. I want to buy the blu-rays, but I think I'd rather spend my money on getting a custom-made Vegeta tattoo. Haven't told the hubby yet though…he may not like the idea.

Second A/N: Bardock knows something that we don't know…..at least until you read the chapter…then you'll know!

Chapter 9- Restless Hearts, Sleepless Nights

Hours later, Vegeta at long last got his pent up energy out of him as he, his brother, and his comrades trained and sparred for hours upon hours into the long night. It wasn't until he was coughing up too much blood from his punctured lungs that he decided they should call it a night. He looked over at the trio…they had gone easy on the youngest prince. Tarble had multiple contusions all over his body, a broken collarbone, and a few fractures on his arms and legs. Overall Tarble was in the best shape of the lot as he shakily managed to stand up, wincing in pain. His left eye was completely swollen shut, puffed out in a blackened pillow of blood. His face and lips were swollen, bruised, and bleeding.

Nappa and Raditz had borne the brunt of Vegeta's assaults, as their injuries were numerous. Raditz had broken ribs, a broken arm, at least a fractured hip bone, and he was pretty sure his left leg was almost completely broken. Nappa was sure his left eye socket was fractured, as he tried readjusting his broken nose back into place. He had one hell of a headache, as he felt a large hematoma forming near his temple. His skull was probably fractured. Nappa managed to pop the shoulder of his broken arm back into its socket, and slowly made his way over to Vegeta, as he saw the prince on his hands and knees, spitting blood out onto the ground.

Raditz managed to limp over to Vegeta also, coughing up blood from the effort it took. "Let's get to the medic wing." he said, reaching out with his good arm to try to hoist Vegeta up to his feet.

"I can get up by myself." Vegeta wheezed painfully, his breath staggered as he slowly got to his feet. He hunched over, struggling to stand up fully as his chest and lungs were burning like fire. He took shallow breaths, trying not to cough up more and cause himself more pain. Vegeta looked worse than when he had first arrived back home. He had insisted that neither one of them hold back on him, and they didn't. The brunt of the damage had come from when Nappa and Raditz joined up together against him, landing vicious punches and kicks that bruised internal organs, broke his ribs, and fractured his arms and legs. Vegeta, like the others, had quite a few wounds that were gaping open, seeping blood all over themselves onto the ground. Their bodies were tainted with black and blue on the visible areas that were not covered in blood. Vegeta managed to wipe some blood from his mouth. "That will be enough for tonight."

The rest of them nodded, silently glad that Vegeta was not going to make them spar any longer. They would have kept going if he insisted, for the gains in strength greatly justified their injuries, but looking at the prince, they noticed he was in bad shape. Perhaps they had taken it a bit too far with him.

"Brother are you alright?" Tarble asked, walking that thin line between concern and worry.

"I'm fine." Vegeta stubbornly insisted, spitting out more of his own blood. In reality, he didn't feel he was in that bad of a condition. After all, the injuries he had received from them was nothing compared to the beating he had given Yamcha earlier that night. Vegeta took a moment to feel the discomfort and pain he was in, and hoped the scar-faced weakling had felt pain worse a thousand times over. He wondered what Bulma would say at this moment, if she saw him right now. She'd probably either be yelling at him for his recklessness, or overly concerned about his injuries. Knowing her, she'd be doing both at the same time.

Vegeta shook his head, inwardly berating himself for thinking of her again. He had tried so hard to purge his mind of thoughts of her, and for the past few hours it had worked, as he submerged himself in training and battle against his brother and his bodyguards. Thoughts and feelings for the blue-haired woman had finally escaped from him, as the physical assaults on his body replaced those gaps and filled them with pain. He would only grow stronger and stronger from this. He needed to be stronger, but the only way he was going to get stronger was by letting himself heal. "I'll teleport us there."

The others inwardly sighed in relief, and even that itself seemed painful. They were going to suck it up and make the long trek back to the palace, since none of them had any energy reserves left to fly back. They were glad Vegeta was going to teleport them…which only meant that he was in worse shape than they originally thought. They made their way over Vegeta, and put their hands on him, as he raised two fingers to his forehead and felt out the ki to one of the two medics inside the ward. In a flash, they appeared in the medical wing, bloody, bruised, broken, and on the edge of passing out, as both Vegeta and Raditz fell to their knees, coughing up blood.

Bardock was momentarily caught off guard as the two princes, Nappa, and his son appeared out of nowhere in front of him. His shock disappeared as he saw their terrible conditions. "Quickly! Get them into the rejuvenation tanks!" he barked to the other medic as they quickly rushed to their aid. He went to help Vegeta first, since he looked to be the worst off, only to have a gloved hand held up in front of him.

"Get the others first." Vegeta huffed, stopping Bardock from helping him as he remained kneeling, wincing in pain as he watched his blood drip onto the clean floor and slowly form a puddle. Bardock knew not to question his prince and gestured to the other medic to take care of Tarble. He then looked over at his own son and frowned deeply. "Raditz!" he scolded. "What's going on here?! What happened?!"

"Not now, father!" Raditz ground out, coughing up blood as he was struggling to stand up.

"Yes, now! Where is your brother?!" Bardock barked, not seeing Goku amongst the group as he helped his eldest son stand. He could tell by the way he had gotten up and was putting his weight on one leg, that the other one was broken.

"On Earth." Raditz managed to wheeze out. "He's been there all day. Staying the night." Bardock looked relieved. He thought for sure that Goku would have also been involved in whatever mess this was. Knowing he would not get any answers from him, he helped his eldest son entered the rejuvenation tank and put his breathing mask on. He shut the door and programmed it to sedate him and begin the healing process. He looked over at the other tank that Tarble was in, watching as the medic set a shorter healing time for him. He saw that the young prince didn't look as beat up as the rest. He then turned his attention to Nappa, who looked dizzy and about to pass out.

"What's happened here, Nappa?!" Bardock demanded, not knowing why the four of them suddenly appeared out of nowhere in his ward, bloodied, bruised up, and broken. He had already heard about Vegeta showing back up on the planet currently looking the way he was, but not the rest of them. He wasn't sure what had happened with Vegeta. Had the prince returned to wherever he had been at all day? Had he brought the rest of them with him to exact revenge? Surely that had to be why. It looked like it had been a brutal battle, but a battle they had won.

"Nothing! We were sparring with Vegeta outside." Nappa said as he began to enter a tank.

"Sparring? At this hour?" Bardock said, unconvinced. They never sparred at these late hours of the night. He immediately became suspicious, knowing they were hiding something.

"Yes, sparring." Nappa emphasized. "We've been out there for a few hours."

"I don't believe you." Bardock said firmly, thinking Nappa was trying to protect his son, Prince Tarble, and Prince Vegeta. He knew Nappa and his son were already in deep water for not having been with Vegeta earlier to guard him. If they had all gone somewhere and killed people, it would be Nappa's job to cover and even take the blame.

"That's fine, don't believe me. Ask Vegeta." Nappa said as he put on his breathing mask, glaring at the other medic to set his machine also. The medic quickly closed the tank door and programmed the healing chamber to start up.

Vegeta remained kneeled on the floor, struggling to breathe as he listened to Bardock question their motives. His vision began to blur as he stared down at the small pool of blood around him, growing dizzier by the moment. "Bardock, you're as nosey as your idiot sons." he growled out in annoyance, thinking of Goku's earlier interference during his fight with Yamcha, and Raditz's unending persistence on wanting to know who's blood it was that initially covered him upon his return back to Vegetasei.

Bardock motioned for the other medic to leave the room, which he did so. As the door shut and he and Vegeta were left in private, Bardock spoke in a more gentle, fatherly tone. "It's not being nosey, it's called being protective. Didn't you know it's a family trait?" Bardock joked, eyeing the prince. "Word has already gotten around of your arrival earlier. You look no different now from what I was told, except that you have your Saiyan battle gear on this time. Personally Vegeta, I think human clothes are a good look on you also."

"Very funny." Vegeta huffed out in irritation, causing him to go into a fit of bloody coughs. Bardock set aside his teasing for a moment, genuinely concerned for the prince, whom he considered like another son.

"Come now Vegeta, let's get you into a tank." Bardock began, beginning to reach down to help him off the floor.

"Don't you dare." Vegeta growled out in a warning against wanting help, as he slowly stood back up, cradling his torso with one arm as he wiped blood off of his face with his other hand. "I've had it about up to here with everyone's infernal coddling."

Bardock looked at Vegeta thoughtfully for a moment. "Were you really sparring outside tonight? Or were you elsewhere?"

"Yes." Vegeta answered. "And if you don't believe me, then I'm sure I can find another lead medic who will." he threatened weakly, unable to put any forcefulness into his voice lest he go into another painful fit of bloody coughs.

"I'm sure you could." Bardock smirked, not the least bit fazed by Vegeta's threat. "I'm sure you wouldn't mind having Bulma as your lead medic. If she's not in her lab working on technology for you, she's over here in the medical wing taking care of you."

"She does a hell of a better job than you do. By now she'd be screeching like a banshee for me to get into the tank, rather than stand around wanting to talk to me." Vegeta said sarcastically, wincing again from the effort it took to put together that long sentence.

"Ah, I'm sure she would be. No doubt you also would prefer her hands examining your body rather than mine." Bardock teased, earning a growl from Vegeta, which only caused him to cough up some blood. "Not only is she a genius scientist, engineer, mechanic, and businesswoman, but she is also an expert medic when it comes to Saiyan anatomy and physiology. Especially your body. She knows you better than you know yourself. Is there nothing that Bulma can't do?" he continued his teasing.

Vegeta's cheeks tinged with pink. "I fail to see why my suffering is amusing to you." Vegeta grumbled.

"Your suffering is not amusing. Just your stubbornness."

"Same difference." Vegeta murmured, attempting to stand up straight again. He kept one arm across his torso, as he leaned over and rested his hand on his thigh. "Are we going to keep talking about the woman and I, or are you going to do something to heal me?"

"Depends." Bardock studied Vegeta, seeing that since he was well enough to almost stand up on his own and still be able to talk, then he wasn't in that bad of shape, all things considering. "So how was Earth today?"

"This isn't the time for small talk." Vegeta warned.

"Well you'll be getting plenty of it tomorrow. You show back up here in bloody human clothing…surely you know what a stir that will cause. I know you're aware of the rumors and speculation going on about you and Bulma. This will not help quell any of those at all. You didn't get yourself into trouble on Earth, did you?"

"No. I was training in the gravity room over there, since the one here is broken."

"Then why did you return a bloody mess?" He saw Vegeta's warning glare. "You can't blame me for being concerned, Vegeta. You showed up here looking the way you did, with no explanation to anyone. Then hours later you're a bloody mess again, with your brother and your bodyguards in tow. What else do you expect me to ask?"

"Hn." Vegeta grumbled. Bardock was right, and he couldn't fault him for his concern. Damned family trait.

"What happened over there?" he pressed again.

"Must you really know?"

"Yes, or else how will I know the truth? Everyone will greatly exaggerate what happened to you." Bardock reasoned.

"Fine." Vegeta said, spitting out more blood. "The woman's fiancée mouthed off to me. He hurt her. He mouthed off to me some more. I beat his ass to within an inch of his life. Your idiot son interfered and stopped me from killing him. He was taken to get healed, I came home, only to have everyone ask me the same goddamned questions over and over again. Yes, I was on Earth. No, it wasn't my blood on me. No, I didn't kill anyone. Yes, the woman knows what happened, and for the last time, there is nothing going on between myself and the woman. Make sure everyone understands that."

"Ah, so Kakarot has some involvement in this after all?"

Vegeta sighed, wincing as he did so, trying hard not to go into another coughing fit. "Kakarot needs to learn to not interfere with my affairs, as does Raditz. And yourself. And my parents. And everyone else trying to pry into my personal life."

"You don't have a personal life, Vegeta. You're the crown prince of Vegetasei. Everything you say and do is news. Whether you like it or not, a lot of things revolve around you."

"Don't remind me." Vegeta gritted out. Maybe that's why he found himself on Earth so much lately also, to get away from the constant eyes and ears on him, analyzing every word he said, studying every move he made. At least on Earth, no one knew who he was. Not that he really cared. Sometimes it was nice to blend in and not have everyone focus on him. On Earth, he was the one who did the focusing. Mostly on a blue-haired woman who drove him insane as much as she did intrigue him.

"So you did happen to see Bulma. How is she doing?" Bardock asked, watching as Vegeta's look softened on his face as he was thinking of something.

"She is fine. Busy, like always." Vegeta said neutrally, giving Bardock at least something to go by. She was best friends with Kakarot, and naturally a part of his family, almost as close to them as she was to his own royal family.

"She had nothing to say about you hurting Yamcha?"

"No."

"Really?" Bardock mused. That was interesting, to say the least.

"Would I lie?" Vegeta asked.

"No. Did Yamcha hurt her badly?"

"He bruised her arm." Vegeta said bitterly.

Bardock winced, thinking about the frail beauty being marred by such an unsightly mark. "She put healing salve on it?"

"I told her to."

"Does Kakarot know he hurt her?"

"I'm sure he figured it out." Vegeta coughed. "Wasn't the reason why I nearly killed him though."

"Didn't think it was." Bardock agreed, knowing there was something much more deeply seeded in the reasoning for why Vegeta nearly killed Yamcha. "What happened?"

"The idiot challenged me." Vegeta ground out, still amazed at the stupidity of the weakling. He was more amazed that he accepted the challenge.

"Yet you didn't kill him?" It was more of a statement rather than a question, as Bardock was analyzing all the facts.

"Tch. And have the woman hate me for all eternity?"

"She could never hate you, Vegeta." Bardock assured.

The prince looked away, off to the side as he stared blankly at a wall for a moment. "I'd rather not test that theory out."

"Does she know what this means?" Bardock asked knowingly.

"No." Vegeta ground out bitterly, spitting blood onto the floor. "I don't think she does." he returned his attention back to Bardock. "And we are going to keep it that way. She's a human…this does not apply to her."

"Doesn't matter. She's lived half her life here with us...she's practically Saiyan. If anyone finds out that you were challenged, especially by Yamcha , and that you accepted and obviously won, there will be no going back, you understand this, right?"

"I know." Vegeta growled, somewhat unhappy at the situation he had put himself in. "But no one will find out, so there is nothing to worry about."

"Then you better make sure that Bulma doesn't go around telling anyone what happened." Bardock advised.

"Then you tell Kakarot to keep his mouth shut also. He doesn't know all the details, but I'm sure he knows enough by now."

"Anyone else know who's blood was on you?" Bardock asked.

"No. Except for a cat and a fat samurai. They are of no importance."

Bardock nodded, accepting Vegeta's answer. "So you said Bulma had nothing to say about you defeating him, right?"

"She had nothing to say. She just showed that damned concern of hers over me."

"Did she show any over Yamcha?"

"None."

"None at all?" Bardock asked, puzzled.

"No. She did not scream, or yell, or cry at me. Or try to slap me. She only cared to see if I was okay."

Bardock smiled. "Then that is a good thing, Vegeta."

"Perhaps. I asked her to come back to Vegetasei with me. She refused."

"That doesn't mean anything."

"It means she stayed behind to try to work out things with him." Vegeta groused. He paused for a moment, turning serious. "She is going to marry him in a few days."

"We don't have much time then, do we? If you keep refusing to tell her of your interest, how can you expect her to change her mind, Vegeta?" Bardock tried to reason with him.

"I shouldn't have to tell her anything! My actions should speak loud enough."

"Not loud enough, apparently, since she has not gotten the message. She won't see you in a different light unless you try." Bardock mused. "Love will never bloom when the very seeds and water refuse to join together and bask in the sunlight."

"You should be a philosopher, not a medic." Vegeta said, his voice laced with sarcasm as he rolled his eyes slightly.

Bardock chuckled. "You know, it would be good to see Bulma again. She's always so busy when she's Earthbound. I think I will tell Kakarot to teleport her here soon…" he said as an afterthought.

"You'll see her tomorrow. She's coming here." Vegeta said as he began to make his way to a rejuvenation tank, tired of talking, although Bardock did make him feel somewhat better about how things were going.

Bardock perked up an eyebrow. "Is she now? What for?"

"To fix my gravity room."

Bardock smiled. "Then she'll be here with us for the day, at least."

"Hn."

"You should take her somewhere." Bardock began.

"Can't."

"Why not?"

"I will be stuck in the conference room all day with my parents and Tarble, meeting with leaders of other planets, talking trade agreements and all the other bullshit." Vegeta ground out, irritated that he was tied down by his royal responsibilities on the one day she would be coming to Vegetasei.

"Well then, we'll just have to find a reason to pull you out of your meetings." Bardock grinned mischievously.

"Considering you are Raditz and Kakarot's father, I'd rather not know what you might be planning." Vegeta said, wiping more blood from his mouth as he stepped into the healing chamber, wanting to change the subject. "If you haven't noticed, my lungs continue to fill up with blood, and I am in need of healing."

"Ah yes, I had almost forgotten." Bardock retorted sarcastically, handing a breathing mask over to the prince. "Oh, and Vegeta?"

"What?"

"She will make a good mate for you."

"Hn." the prince responded, agreeing. "And Bardock….I don't want any sedatives."

"But Vegeta…"

"I said no."

Bardock sighed as he looked at him. Seeing the uncompromising glare, he reluctantly nodded. "As you wish, your majesty." he said, closing the tank door as Vegeta put on his breathing mask.

The prince took a few short breaths, already feeling relief flood his lungs from the intake of oxygen from his mask. His dark eyes watched as Bardock punched in a few codes, programming the rejuvenation tank to heal him over a period of about 4 hours, making sure he left out the sedatives. Vegeta's gaze went towards his chamber floor, watching the healing fluids fill the chamber. He decided to close his eyes, willing himself to try to ignore the pain he was feeling. He hoped after everything he had gone though tonight, that he was exhausted enough to finally get a good, restful sleep.

After a couple of hours passed, Tarble had been fully healed and released from his healing tank, promptly heading back to his chambers to take a shower and get into bed. The sedatives always left him feeling overly tired, and knew that was why his brother never wanted them.

An hour after Tarble was released, Raditz and Nappa's healing tanks beeped that they were fully healed. The two medics released them, as they both took a glance at Vegeta still in his, and went to go bathe and get some sleep as well.

Another hour passed, and Bardock went over to get the readout on Vegeta's tank, pressing a button as the machine spit out a long paper full of measurements and statistics. He studied them intently as he went back over to his station, placing the long stream of paper down over a panel.

"His ki is still fluctuating a lot." the other medic mentioned, studying the prince's readout also. "His brain wave pattern is still unstable also." he expressed concern, looking over at Vegeta, who had a pained look on his face.

"He can't sleep." Bardock murmured matter-of-factly, shuffling through more of the paperwork.

"Well no wonder. There aren't any sedatives being given to him." the other medic said, pointing to some data on the readout that showed no amount of sedatives having been programmed. He began to head to Vegeta's healing tank to program some in.

"No. The prince has forbidden any sedatives or pain medication to be administered to him while he is in the healing chamber."

"Why is he doing this to himself? The sedatives will help calm him and get him to sleep."

"It is his choice. It would be wise for you not to question him on it either." Bardock warned. The other medic got the hint, as he walked away from Vegeta's tank, shrugging. He had other things to do rather than trying to heal a prince who was too stubborn to help himself out.

Bardock sighed, glancing over the paperwork once more, before looking over at Vegeta again. The prince had tried to get some sleep while he was healing, but without pain medication and sedatives, it would not prove to be a very comfortable state to be in. Vegeta continued to have a very fitful and restless sleep, drifting in and out of consciousness, as he patiently waited for his tank to beep and let them know he was healed. As if on cue, a few minutes later, the tank beeped, and Bardock walked over to it, pressing a button, which began the purging of healing fluid down the drain.

Vegeta opened his eyes, taking off his breathing mask as the last of the fluid was being drained, waiting for Bardock to open his chamber door.

"You're all done." Bardock said, watching as the prince stepped out of the tank, covered lightly in bluish-green like gel.

Vegeta wiped his face free of the gel, and took a few deep breaths, feeling his lungs and chest work again, He fisted his hands a few times, feeling the renewed health back in his body, as well as the new influx of strength he gained from his injuries. He stretched his arms and neck a few times, lazily curing his tail behind him as he did so. "Took long enough."

"You were injured more than the others." Bardock noted, eyeing Vegeta with trepidation, thinking about his last couple of printouts. "You need to sleep, Vegeta. This lack of rest is not good for you."

Vegeta scoffed. "Kakarot really needs to keep his mouth shut."

"He's just concerned for you. He tells me he finds you awake almost all the time during the night. When do you sleep, Vegeta?"

"I don't."

"I can tell." Bardock said, reaching over and grabbing Vegeta's latest printout, holding it up to him. "Your brain wave pattern is erratic. The lack of sleep is affecting you on an electrical level now. You need to get some good sleep, or you will begin to go mad from lack of rest."

"I will rest enough when I'm dead." Vegeta said, looking at his readout with veiled curiosity.

Bardock's eyebrows furrowed at the morbid comment. "That's a long time to go without rest then."

"Hn." Vegeta then sighed inwardly. "It's not like I haven't been trying."

"How long has this been going on?"

Vegeta shrugged nonchalantly. "Weeks. Months."

Bardock's lips pursed in concern, as he studied Vegeta. Only keen eyes like his could see how exhausted the Saiyan prince was. It wouldn't be long until he could no longer hide it from everyone. He put the papers down, and turned around to face the prince again with a stern, worried look. "If this continues on much longer, I will be forced to put sedatives in the tank the next time you are in one."

"Brave of you to threaten me."

"It's not a threat. It's a promise." Bardock countered. "Find a way to get some sleep and rest, or I will find one for you. I'm sure your parents would agree with me. And if I can't get you to do it, I'm sure Bulma can."

Vegeta couldn't help but smirk as he was reminded of Bulma. She was always standing up to him also, threatening him even when most of the time they were just empty threats. His tail swung behind him in amusement, as he remembered that Bulma would be on Vegetasei later on today. "You medics are all the same."

Bardock quirked an eyebrow up in curiosity as he watched Vegeta turn away, heading out of the medic ward. "Going to get some sleep now, I'm guessing?"

"Tch. No. I'm going to shower and get some food." 'And wait for her to get here.' Vegeta said to himself, trying not to think about how he would be stuck in the conference room all day dealing with politics and business, instead of spending his time bugging Bulma while she worked on repairing his gravity room. Then again, he could always go check up on her during a break from the meetings...unless Bardock could really think of a way to get him out of his royal obligations so he could spend time with the blue-haired woman.

After tinkering with Vegeta's gravity bracelet for a few hours, Bulma started to get a headache. She had thrown down her soldering device in frustration, unable to fuse together the wiring with the metallic alloy the bracelet was made from. She groaned and rubbed her eyes in frustration. She glanced over at the clock, which read 1:30 a.m. 'Great, already 1:30 in the morning and I'm still awake.' Bulma complained to herself, as she reached over for her mug of coffee, noticing her 4th cup of it was all gone already. Sighing, she crossed her arms over her work desk, lying her head down on top of them as she glared at the bracelet. She was never going to get it to work, let alone get it done in time for Vegeta's birthday.

Bulma closed her beautiful azure eyes, trying to clear her mind and think about what she was doing wrong. Her mathematical formulas and calculations, up to that point, were correct, so was it something more technical? Or was she just past the point of exhaustion where she just couldn't work on anything anymore? Nonsense, she told herself, knowing all she needed was to take a break, grab more coffee, and get back to work.

Bulma had unknowingly fallen asleep on her work desk and remained in that position for a couple of hours. Her sleep was restless, fitful, and uncomfortable as she kept changing the positions of her head and her arms, trying to find a suitable spot on the cold, solid metal desktop. She squirmed around uncomfortably, her back starting to ache from the awkward position she was sitting in.

"Bulma, honey?" she heard a soft, feminine voice that seemed miles away.

"Hmm?" Bulma murmured, "What is it?"

"Honey, it's late. You should be sleeping in your bed, not over your desk."

"Huh? Oh?" Bulma said, waking up from her light sleep as she sat up in her chair, trying to stretch out her cramped neck and shoulder muscles. "I think I fell asleep."

Bunny chuckled softly. "I think you did also. What are you doing down here anyway?"

Bulma tried to shake the grogginess away, as she leaned back in her chair, stretching her limbs out as she let out a great big yawn. "I didn't want to sleep, so I came down here to work on something."

"Is it because of what happened earlier?" Bunny asked, stifling a yawn also, as she brought her hand up to her mouth.

"Yeah…didn't want nightmares." Bulma grumbled, standing up and stretching some more. She hated when she fell asleep at her desk. Now it was going to take the whole night to work the kinks out of her joints.

"What happened?" Bunny asked. The weight of the question was heavy, and Bulma was not sure she wanted to get into what happened that night.

"Nothing, Yamcha was being stupid. Vegeta's got a temper. Everything's okay now." Bulma tried to give a brief rundown of the basics, but she knew that wouldn't satisfy her mother.

"That sure didn't seem like nothing." Bunny said, remembering how panicked Bulma had been when she had run into the house, yelling for a phone to call Goku. "Did anyone get hurt?"

"No. I mean, not really."

"What does that mean?"

Bulma sighed, placing a hand on her hip as she ran her other hand through her hair. "Vegeta beat Yamcha up pretty badly…" she began, wanting to spare her mother the gruesome details of Yamcha's injuries, "…but he's okay. Goku took him to Korin's for a senzu bean to heal him up."

"Oh my..." Bunny trailed off, concern etched on her face. She tightened the ties to her night robe a little. "Why would Vegeta do that?"

"I don't know…" Bulma trailed off. It was only a half-truth. "They seemed pretty mad at each other already when we were at all the door."

"Ah, probably because of their phone conversation." Bunny murmured.

Bulma perked up an eyebrow. "What phone conversation?"

"After you and Vegeta fought at the dinner table and you took off, the phone rang. He answered it, and we guessed it was Yamcha, by the sounds of things. Whatever Yamcha said had set Vegeta off, and he tore out the phone from the wall."

"That explains that then." Bulma groused, now knowing what had happened in the kitchen. "Yamcha's mouth got him into more trouble. You know what he was telling Vegeta?!"

"What?"

"I don't think you even want to know, mom!" Bulma said, covering her face with her hands, sliding them downwards in frustration. She looked over at her mother, who remained silent, waiting for Bulma to go on. "He called Vegeta a stupid, monkey, and called Vegetasei a zoo planet full of monkeys, and he cursed at him and mocked his title, and said that Vegeta would never kill him because of me!" Bulma recalled, her voice growing in irritation and anger as her rant continued. "I can't believe he would say all those things, and to Vegeta! I mean, is he stupid?! Has he lost all common sense?! You don't go around saying those types of things to someone like him! Not if you want to live!"

Bunny stayed silent, solemn at what she was hearing. She couldn't believe after all these years, that Yamcha still harbored such negative feelings towards Vegeta that way. Sure, they never seemed to get along, but why so much resentment?

"And then Vegeta keeps telling him leave, and threatening to kill him if he didn't, and Yamcha didn't listen! He didn't care! He even spit blood onto Vegeta's face! How could he be so stupid?! Anyone else would have been dead already! But no, Vegeta just pulverized him, mom! He was so angry! I don't know how he managed not to kill Yamcha…" she trailed off, her voice suddenly trembling, remembering the fright she had when she thought Vegeta was going to kill Yamcha and forever burn the bridge between himself and the Z fighters.

"Oh now honey, Vegeta is always in control of himself. You didn't need to worry, he wouldn't have killed Yamcha." Bunny tried to comfort, mistaking Bulma's emotion for worry over her fiancée. She watched as tears came to her daughter's eyes, as she shook her head defiantly.

"No mom, that's not the point. He should have. He would have. But he didn't, for whatever reason. Because Vegeta probably thought I'd never forgive him if he did."

"If Vegeta had killed Yamcha, would you have forgiven him?"

Bulma reluctantly gave a small nod. "You don't know how terrible Yamcha was being towards Vegeta. The things that he said, the things he did. Yamcha was the one who tried to kill Vegeta first. He shot a ki beam at Vegeta's chest, powerful enough to know that he was trying to really hurt him."

Bunny gasped, bringing her hand to her mouth again. "I can't believe Yamcha would do that."

"Well he did. I saw it with my own eyes. Vegeta was okay though, it just made him madder. Yamcha did a lot of stupid things…" Bulma trailed off, raising her arm to show her mother the now darkened bruise on her arm.

"Honey, what happened to your arm?" Bunny asked worriedly, stepping closer to her and examining it. It wasn't a pretty sight to look at. "Did you get caught between them?"

Bulma shook her head. "No. This happened before they started fighting. Yamcha gave this to me."

Bunny's eyes widened a bit. "I'm guessing Vegeta didn't take too kindly to this."

Bulma bit her lip. "I guess not. He came and broke Yamcha's grip on me. That's when I noticed there was already so much anger and tension between them. Vegeta told him to leave, Yamcha refused. Then I told Yamcha to leave, and he grabbed my arm again, in the same spot. That's when Vegeta punched him clear across the yard and into the street."

"Oh sweetheart, he was protecting you!" Bunny started to swoon, finally putting the pieces of the puzzle together. Now the phone conversation made sense! Yamcha probably wanted to talk to Bulma, and that's when they heard Vegeta say no. She looked down at Bulma's bruise again. Yamcha must have grabbed her hard enough to cause her pain, which would explain why Vegeta punched him and they started to fight. For Yamcha to have so much resentment and anger towards Vegeta…and for Vegeta to have not killed Yamcha for the sake of Bulma's feelings….Bunny smiled. She was right, she knew it had to be something to do with her daughter. They were fighting over her!

"Protecting me? From Yamcha?" Bulma said puzzled, not understanding why her mother was suddenly so thrilled about this horrible incident that had happened last night.

"You know Vegeta and Yamcha have never gotten along, ever since they've known each other. Haven't you ever thought about why?"

Bulma shrugged, lost as to the point her mother was trying to make. "I don't know. When they are apart from each other, they are fine. When they are together, they bicker all the time."

"No, that's not always true. There have been lots of times when Vegeta and Yamcha are together in the same room, or even in the same proximity, waiting for you. They ignore each other, for the most part…until you step into the picture."

Bulma threw her hands up a little in annoyance, not understanding what that had to do with anything. "Exactly. They just never have gotten along. I gave up on wondering why years ago, mom. Why are you asking about this now?"

"Because…" Bunny grinned, looking into Bulma's eyes. "They both have something that neither one of them has ever wanted to share."

"What?" Bulma asked, confused.

"You." Bunny swooned again, bringing her hands up to her heart, smiling. "It's always been about you, Bulma."

"Mom, don't start this again!" Bulma grumbled in annoyance, placing her hands firmly on her hips.

"Even after what happened tonight, you're still going to deny what's going on?"

"And what would that be?" Bulma demanded an answer, waiting to hear it.

"They are fighting over you."

"Over me? There is nothing to fight over." Bulma insisted, crossing her arms over her chest.

"You might not think so, but they certainly do." Bunny smiled, earning a stern look from her daughter. "But Bulma, can you really blame either one of them? You are intelligent. You are also very kind and giving. You are a beautiful woman, with an even more beautiful soul. You are also strong, and relentless, and fierce when it comes to what you want in life. How can they both not love you? How can they both not be jealous of the other? How can you expect both of them to not demand to hold your heart?"

"Vegeta has made no such demands from me." Bulma said, trying to find a loophole in her mother's reasoning, which earned a snicker from Bunny.

"Oh sweetie, Vegeta doesn't have to demand it from you. You have already given him your heart."

Bulma turned red, unsure if it was from anger at her mother's audacity, or from a heated blush. "If that was true, and Vegeta held my heart, then why would he be fighting over me?"

"Probably because he doesn't know it. Something to do with that ring on your finger, I'm guessing." Bunny said, gesturing at it. "As far as he knows, your heart is with Yamcha. It's still with Yamcha, isn't it?"

Bulma seethed in indescribable emotions, not knowing what to say. Her mother was right. Her heart swayed in Vegeta's direction. It had been like that already for some time now, made even more evident by the events of the past two days. Her dreams reflected it. Her thoughts were constantly on the tumultuous Saiyan prince. Nothing made it more clearer when she found herself more worried over Vegeta than her own fiancée, as he lied broken, bleeding, and dying. She felt she was a terrible person, feeling so distant towards the man she had been with for so many years…the man she was supposed to be marrying by the end of the week. "I don't know anymore." Bulma ground out, as she glanced over at her desk, seeing the incomplete gravity bracelet, and her blue gem nearby.

Bunny's eyes followed her daughter's gaze to the desk also, and she walked over, picking up the bracelet. "What's this?"

Bulma sighed. "A prototype."

"Of?"

"A gravity bracelet." Bulma answered, feeling as though she was apart from her very own self.

"For Vegeta?"

"For Vegeta."

Bunny nodded, gently placing it down, and then picked up the beautiful blue gem. "I remember when he brought this for you. I had told him it was a gorgeous gem." Bulma remained silent, swimming through her thoughts, as Bunny continued. "I asked Vegeta if he really wanted to give you this. I told him it was a custom on Earth to give jewels to someone you had a romantic interest in."

Bulma raised an eyebrow, momentarily distracted from her thoughts. "What did he say?"

Bunny smiled gently. "Oh, I'm sure you wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Try me."

Bunny placed the gem down next to the gravity bracelet and looked at her daughter. "He said he knew."

Bulma felt her stomach flip-flop and her chest flutter as a heated blush went to her cheeks. "That doesn't mean anything, mom."

"That means he still gave it to you."

Bulma opened her mouth slightly to say something, but was at a loss for words. She snapped her mouth shut, unable to say anything. She sighed miserably, rubbing her forehead with one hand. "I don't know what to do."

"Here's what you should do. Go upstairs, go to bed and get some sleep. Talk to Yamcha tomorrow and see if there is still a wedding going on. Then go and fix Vegeta's machine like he's been asking you to do all day today."

"He hasn't been asking, he's been demanding!"

"You wouldn't have him any other way Bulma, and you know it." Bunny teased, gently coaxing her daughter away from her lab and up the stairs to their home. "And if there is not going to be a wedding for you on Earth, then maybe there will be one for you on Vegetasei soon enough."

"Mom!" Bulma groaned, embarrassed and annoyed. "Will you stop trying to get us together?!"

"Not until you and Vegeta realize how in love you both are. Now scoot." Bunny urged, gently pushing her daughter up the stairs that lead to her bedroom.

"I swear mom…" Bulma mumbled, reluctantly heading up the stairs to her bedroom.

"Good night dear, sweet dreams of your prince!"

"Mom!" Bulma scolded, closing her bedroom door in a huff. Bunny giggled, and looked at the clock. It was almost 4:30am. She had a few more hours, enough to get some more sleep in and be ready for the contractors who were coming over at 7am to repair the kitchen walls.

Bulma glanced at the clock, knowing she wasn't going to get much sleep again, as she let out an involuntary yawn. She quickly changed out of her clothes into her pajamas, telling herself she would take a shower in the morning. She crawled under her covers, reaching over to her lamp on the nightstand and turning the light off. Her room became dark as she closed her eyes and tried to go to sleep. The few hours that she had to sleep were horrible, not being able to rest as she tossed and turned, dreaming of different endings to the previous nights' events as Yamcha's ki beam went straight through Vegeta's heart, killing him almost instantly. She cried and screamed in her dream, grieving his loss, as her tears slid down her beautiful face onto her pillow. In another dream, Yamcha had started to yell at her, accusing her of being in love with Vegeta instead of him as he grabbed her and shook her hard, beginning to hurt her. She cried out in her sleep, horrified that he would hurt her like that. And yet in another dream, Vegeta had killed Yamcha, and they stood together as there were no longer any barriers to stop them from being with each other.

Bulma continued to have a fitful, restless sleep as she tossed and turned in her bed, dreaming of a Saiyan prince who was millions of light years away from her. At the same time that same Saiyan prince walked out to his balcony, gazing up into the stars, thinking of her.

Nice little twist in the story, huh? Now why did I choose Bardock to be the one that Vegeta confides in? Because I like to think in my story that he is somewhat of a neutral party compared to everyone else. Goku is torn between Bulma and Yamcha since they are both his friends. Nappa and Raditz, although his bodyguards and close comrades, are not someone that Vegeta would confide to. Tarble is still too young to understand the intricacies of what obstacles and hurdles Vegeta and Bulma have to go though. And it's not like Vegeta is the type to go to his parents with his problems, so I thought Bardock would be a good addition to this story.

So what did you think of the chapter? Things are getting interesting, wouldn't you say? I enjoyed writing this chapter very much, and I hope you liked it! Please leave a review and tell me what you thought!

Chapter 10 preview: There is a reason why we're all V/B fans, and the next chapter will reflect just that. Did I just tease you? Yes, I think I did.