Oh my god. I did NOT intend to be absent for so long! Horses took up my summer, and then I have been job searching and finally began my career as a teacher! So excited! Anyways, here is my chapter! Hope you enjoy and can forgive me!
The phone rang early that morning. Piccolo's ears rang immediately with it. Gohan sprang out of bed at the sound, sending a startled Jade into Piccolo's lap. The kitten was all grown up now, trading her fluffiness for a now sleek coat. Piccolo set her gently on the bed and stood, stretching out. Gohan came bounding back into the room, stripping as he went and then throwing on a fresh gi.
"Bulma's baby is coming!" he exclaimed, yanking on his shoes. "We gotta meet her and Vegeta at the hospital now!"
Several years have passed and Gohan is now nine years old. Things on Earth have been peaceful. Tsuki had made no appearances in this time, nor Amat. In fact, nothing of interest had happened at all.
Except the blooming relationship between Vegeta and Bulma.
After Vegeta had been able to see his mother, his demeanor had softened, if only the slightest bit. He was still gruff as ever, and downright nasty at times, but overall, he was better. After a year, Bulma and he made their relationship fully known, though Vegeta refused it was anything more than surface level. And Bulma seemed fine with that.
Until she got pregnant, that is.
It was then that she made Vegeta aware of his duties. No, he did not have to marry her, ever. But he sure as hell would be a father to his child. Vegeta begrudgingly accepted on the terms he would do bare minimum. He would be around, but everything else would be up to Bulma.
And now, after nine long months, the baby was on its way. Bulma's parents drove her to the hospital while Vegeta opted to fly, refusing to be confined in a small space with that annoying chattering Bunny Briefs and a screeching Bulma.
As soon as Piccolo entered the hospital, two things happened: his ears were barraged with moans, groans, and cries, and people looked at him with utter bewilderment, quickly scurrying out of his way. When they noticed young Gohan beside him, chattering to him happily, they looked confused and wary, unsure of what to make of the situation.
"Mr. Piccolo, there's Krillin and Vegeta!" Gohan said, surging forward down the hall.
Krillin stood from his seat to greet them. "Good lord, do the three of you ever dress in anything other than your gis?" he asked, gesturing to Vegeta, who was leaning against the wall nonchalantly in his Saiyan armor.
"Not really. Mine and Mr. Piccolo's gis are really comfy. Vegeta, why are you in armor?" Gohan asked.
"For your information, I plan on going home to train as soon as this little brat is born," Vegeta snapped.
"Oh yeah right, your highness. Like Bulma's gonna let you do that!" Krillin scoffed.
Vegeta raised his lip at him, but said nothing in return. Surprisingly, over the years, Krillin and Vegeta had tentatively grown closer. Krillin spent a lot of his free time at Capsule Corp, especially when Bulma was pregnant. While "friends" was a term that would be stretched too far, Piccolo couldn't help but wonder if the reason Vegeta was so tolerant of him was because somehow, Krillin reminded him of Jeice.
A loud howl brought all attention to the double doors leading to Bulma's room. Vegeta visibly winced. A doctor came out shortly after. "Sir, your wife requests your presence," he said.
"She's not my wife," Vegeta blurted without thinking.
"Well, your partner then. Regardless, she has been asking for you. You are the short man with the freakishly large widow's peak, are you not?" the doctor asked, jokingly.
"Even drugged up, she still has her sense of humor," Krillin laughed. "Dude, you might as well just marry her. She's perfect for you." Vegeta flipped him off and followed the doctor through the doors. "Ya know, a year ago he would have blasted my face off for that."
Just then, a cry came from the room, followed by: "YOU DID THIS TO ME, YOU BASTARD!"
"YOU WANTED IT!" came a shout back.
Krillin started cracking up with laughter, holding his stomach, while Gohan got a fit of the giggles. Shortly following, Bulma let out a loud shriek, and then was silent. Then, Bunny Briefs' chipper voice got closer to the door, and then she opened it.
"Oh, come in, come in! She just gave birth to the most beautiful baby boy!" she chirped excitedly, waving them in.
Gohan and Krillin eagerly followed her in, Piccolo following reluctantly behind. In the room, his nose was assaulted by medical sterile-ness. Bulma lay in the hospital bed, her blue hair plastered to her sweaty face. She was still breathing heavily, though she looked down at the bundle in her arms with utter content. She looked up as they neared and smiled, turning the bundle away from her chest.
"Hey guys, glad you could make it. Meet Trunks. Isn't he adorable?" she asked happily.
"Wow. He looks just like you, Vegeta!" Gohan exclaimed.
"Yeah, except with purple hair and blue eyes," Krillin added.
"He looks nothing like a Saiyan," Vegeta muttered unhappily.
"Well, he has a tail!" Gohan said.
"Sorry that my genes mixed with yours, your highness! Sheesh. It's what happens when two people make a baby!"
"That brat looks Saiyan!" Vegeta snapped, pointing to Gohan.
"His mother had black hair and eyes, just like Goku. It's just how it works. Get over it!" Bulma snapped in return.
"Now now, honey, you shouldn't argue so much. Especially so soon after labor," Dr. Briefs said, ending the argument.
"His name should at least be Saiyan. Vegeta, preferably. As it is tradition in our culture," Vegeta muttered.
"Well, since you don't want to do any of the raising, I get to name him, and we're going with my family's tradition," Bulma countered.
"Whatever."
"Damn right."
"Bulma, can I hold him?" Gohan asked, cutting the tension.
"Sure, kiddo. Hop on the bed. There you go, gently. Support his head." Gohan dutifully held the baby tight to him. The babe looked up at him and cooed happily, wrapping his tail around Gohan's wrist.
"Look, Mr. Piccolo! He likes me!" Gohan said happily. Piccolo nodded, looking over Gohan's shoulder at the baby. He wondered what Gohan looked like as an infant.
The doctor walked back in the room. "Alright everyone, Ms. Briefs needs her rest now. One person may stay with her."
Gohan handed Trunks carefully back to Bulma and then made his way out the door with the others. Piccolo followed, and at his final glance, about the room, he saw Vegeta pulling up a chair beside the bed and look at his child.
Several days passed as normal before the phone rang again.
"Hello? Oh, hi Bulma. What? No, we feel fine. Yeah. Really? Oh. You'll be the first to know, okay? Okay, thanks," Gohan finished as Piccolo entered the kitchen.
"Bulma says there's a new virus people are catching. A really bad one," Gohan said to him.
"What does it do?"
"It's eating people's hearts. Bulma said that if either of us feel chest pain, we have to call her right away. All the scientists in the world are apparently working for a cure. There isn't one yet." Gohan's eyes shone with worry.
Piccolo placed his hand upon the boy's shoulder. "Do not worry yet. We are secluded here."
"They think it comes from the water, not other people."
"Gohan, stop. Bulma will have a cure before you even have time to catch it. She's a genius for a reason," Piccolo tried to reassure.
"I guess."
Five more days passed in worry. Gohan was far too distracted to properly train, and it agitated Piccolo. He also barely slept at night, tossing and turning, and therefore spent most of his day in sleep.
Neither of them knew this was the predecessor of the virus.
"Mr. Piccolo?" Gohan's small, pained voice came in the middle of the night.
Piccolo snapped to attention. "What?"
"My heart hurts," he whimpered. "Really bad."
Piccolo felt his blood run cold and was on his feet in an instant and scooped the boy up into his arms, securing him against his chest. He took long strides to the door, stepping through and taking to the air.
"What about Jade?"
"She's fine for now. She has everything she needs."
"Where are we going?"
"To Bulma."
Piccolo made it to Capsule Corp in record time, practically running to the door and banging on it incessantly. Finally, Bulma opened the door, sleepy eyed in her robe.
"What the- Piccolo? What are you doing-" And then she caught sight of Gohan in his arms, his young face skewed in pain. "Oh, no," she whispered. "Follow me, quickly," she said, walking briskly to the basement stairs where the lab lay. "Set him on the cot."
Piccolo lay him gently upon the waist high cot while Bulma rummaged around the lab, gathering supplies. She sat on a rolling chair and pushed herself over to him. When Piccolo made to move out of her way, Gohan grabbed his hand.
"No. Stay. Please," he whimpered. Piccolo nodded and stayed by his side, allowing the boy to hold his hand.
"Okay Gohan. I just have to run a few tests, okay? You're going to feel a poke. There," Bulma said soothingly, taking a couple vials of blood. Gohan's grip intensified slightly. Bulma stood and bustled over to a machine, where she inserted the vials.
Just then, the door at the top of the stairs opened and Vegeta emerged. "What is the boy doing here?" he asked. When he saw the pained look on Gohan's face, his brow furrowed. "The virus?"
Bulma simply nodded, staring intently at the piece of paper the machine produced. She swiped at her eyes. "Okay. Gohan, I'm going to get you stabilized with some fluids and pain medications, okay? You're going to have to stay here until...until I find a cure," she stammered, her voice not entirely convincing. She attached an IV to his arm.
Gohan's free hand went to his chest and clenched over his heart. And finally, he began to cry. "It hurts," he whined.
"Oh, honey, I know," Bulma said sadly. "It will take at least an hour for the pain meds to kick in. And it won't do much, unfortunately. Just takes the edge off."
"What should we do?" Piccolo asked.
"There's not much we can do right now. I sent some work over to another scientist yesterday, and he said he'd get to me in the morning. So we'll have to wait. For now, we'll just keep him as comfortable as we can."
"What about a senzu bean? Why wouldn't that work?" Piccolo asked.
"I had thought about that. Went to Korin and everything. Senzu beans heal on a surface level, namely wounds. It can't heal an illness."
"So there's nothing?" Piccolo spat.
"Piccolo, don't get mad at me. There's nothing I can do right now. As soon as I get my results back in the morning, I can start work again. I promise. He's my first priority." Piccolo nodded curtly. "Okay. We're going to go back up to bed. If he gets worse, come get me. I'll be down first thing in the morning, and hopefully results will be here. There's a blanket and pillow in the closet there," she said, pointing in the right direction. She then turned and she and Vegeta went upstairs, shutting the door behind them.
Gohan let go of Piccolo momentarily so that he could retrieve the items Bulma mentioned. He placed the pillow behind Gohan's head, and then covered him with the blanket.
"Mr. Piccolo, am I gonna die?" Gohan asked softly, his eyes screwed shut in pain.
"No. No you are not," Piccolo nearly snapped.
"It hurts so bad."
"I know it does, kid. I know."
"You'll stay with me?
"Of course I will."
"What about Jade?"
"We'll have someone take care of her until you get better." Gohan nodded. "Try to sleep now."
"Don't leave me," Gohan whispered.
Piccolo ran his fingers through the boy's hair. "I'm not."
When Gohan finally fell asleep from pure exhaustion some hours later, Piccolo whispered to himself, "Don't leave me."
Dun dun dunnnnnn. Okay, so not long, I know. Now, I hope to have the next chapter up by next week, if not sooner. However, I work 8-3 and then I am out at my barn right after that, so this has to take a backseat until I get free time.
If you are wondering about the friendship of Vegeta and Jeice that was alluded to this chapter, please read "Of a Friendship". It explains it all.
Thanks! See you next time!