Fallen – Chapter 9

Previously

Vegeta stood and looked at him for a moment and then laughed. "We will tell them you stopped me from killing him and you took him to a hospital. After that we don't know what happened to him. Ok?" Piccolo nodded his head. That would be best.

Vegeta flew back to Capsule Corp with a new found sense of peace and a new understanding of what needed to be done. When he arrived at the compound he went straight to his own room and opened the closet. Empty. He went to the dresser and found the same thing. He walked into the bathroom and verified the same. He smiled to himself. At what point did I no longer keep a separate room, a separate identity from her? He shook his head and made his way back to their private suite. He was stopped in the hallway by Bulma's father.

"You cannot keep running out on her like this. If she will not eat or drink for us and will for you, you will have to be here to care for her or I will have no choice but to insert that tube you are so much against." Dr. Brief's was angry. Vegeta wanted to make all the decisions and be in control but would not commit to staying put. He seemed to forget that this was their child lying in that bed. Yes, they were overly grateful Vegeta had found her but he had to at least acknowledge their grief in this whole situation.

Vegeta didn't know what to say. He didn't think she would want this tube the doctor spoke of. The old man started walking towards the library, so Vegeta followed. When they entered Dr. Briefs turned on the light and noticed the blood on Vegeta's clothes. "You've been busy." Dr. Briefs was concerned. Vegeta remember the device in his pocket and he fished it out. "Here" he said as he offered it to the old man. "Your cell phone, why?" he questioned.

Vegeta explained how he followed the scent of Bulma's attackers and what he found. Dr. Briefs flipped open the phone and found the picture Vegeta was referring to. "We will have Human Resources find this woman and we will prosecute her accordingly." Dr. Briefs was very upset, to say the least, when he found out it was one of his own employees involved in the kidnapping plot and that they were now looking at kidnapping his grandson. Vegeta had inadvertently recorded part of the conversation and that would be enough to convict her. "And what about this man, do we know who he is?" he asked.

Vegeta motioned to his clothes, "The authorities will not find him, I promise you that." Dr. Briefs nodded in agreement. He did not condone violence but would make an exception in this matter.

Dr. Briefs lit a cigarette and after taking a drag he turned to Vegeta. "The CT scan showed her brain swelling is gone and there appears to be no permanent brain damage." His face fell. "We do not know why she will not wake up. We are unsure of what to do next."

Vegeta walked to the window. He would miss this place. He crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. He had made peace with his decision, no sense delaying telling her parents what he intended to do. "I will stay here until . . . well, unit things finalized. Then I will take my son and leave. Reclaim the empire."

Dr. Briefs for the first time in his life saw red. Vegeta was talking about Bulma dying and then taking his only grandchild away from him. This ungrateful bastard! He had opened his home and his heart to this man who only knew how to mistreat everyone and run out on them. He would be damned if he let him take his grandson from him after all of this. He knew Vegeta showed a softer side to his daughter and that he probably did love her but right now that didn't matter he walked up to Vegeta and slapped him across his face.

"You can kill me with the tip of a finger. I get that, I really do. But someone has to smack some sense into that thick skull of yours! Either you step up as her husband or step aside." With his ultimatum delivered the doctor turned and left Vegeta to mull over his words.

Did her family really view him as her husband? They never made any vows to each other. It was more of an understanding. Vegeta shook his head in disbelief. Did the old man really dare to strike me and did I really permit it. He thought about what he said, she would only eat for him. The logical conclusion was if he didn't attempt to care for her then he might as well kill her himself. He would have to try.

He returned to their private suite and entered the entertaining area. This place is a mess, he thought. He made his way to their bedroom and sat on the edge of the bed for a while, contemplating the doctor's words until his senses picked up a ping. He walked to the Nursery to see Trunks groggily waking up. It dawned on Vegeta he had been out all night. He smirked, no he did not live to see the sight of a new day. But today was a new day. Trunks climbed out of his toddler bed and walked over to his father. Vegeta picked him and walked to the bathroom. He set his son down, "You know what you need to do" he gently urged. He crossed back through the main room and into the room that he and Bulma shared as he pulled out a clean set of clothes for himself. He returned to check on Trunks, "wash your hands" he reminded him.

After the toddler washed his hands Vegeta led him back to his room and after rummaging through some drawers pulled out a set of clean clothes and laid them on the bed. "Get dressed and then play in here. I am getting a shower." Vegeta turned to leave. Trunks rubbed the sleep from his eyes and looked up at his father, "Mama?" Vegeta stopped and turned, crouching down to be at eye level with his son he said "everything is going to be alright." Trunks smiled and Vegeta left to get his shower. Once he was clean and dressed he went to gather Trunks and headed down to breakfast.

He entered the kitchen and was surprised to see the good doctor sitting at the table reading his paper and Bunny cooking as usual. He placed Trunks in the high chair before taking his seat. Vegeta took a sip from his coffee before clearing his throat. Dr. Briefs sat the paper down and looked at him. He was still angry from their encounter earlier that morning.

Vegeta's face remained a blank slate, letting no emotion slip. "I want Bulma moved to her own room. I plan on tending to her there."

Dr. Briefs smiled. "She will need a nurse."

"She can stay in my old room. I see no use for it anymore. The suite will need to be cleaned before we move her." Bunny placed some plated full of food on the table, "I will see to it." Vegeta and Dr. Briefs both nodded in agreement.

Vegeta ate a single plate and got up from the table, left his dishes in the sink, and began looking through the cabinets. "What are you looking for, my dear?" Bunny chimed in. "Something soft for her to eat." Vegeta replied without looking back. "I know just the thing." Bunny went to the lower cabinet and pulled out some baby food. "We thought Trunks would need this longer than he did so we stocked up." Vegeta took the contained and turned it over in his hands, "This will work" he muttered before gathering a few and heading to the Med Lab.

When he arrived there he was surprised to see Bulma sitting up in the bed. The old nurse was there and smiled at him, "Good Morning, Sir". Vegeta liked this woman, "Hnn" was the only response he gave. She turned and was about to exit the room when Vegeta turned to her and said "Go see Dr. Briefs." The woman nodded her head once and she did as she was told. Vegeta really liked this woman. He opened the door to the adjacent room and to his displeasure the little doctor was in there. "Out!" Vegeta demanded. The scared little doctor exited the room as well. Finally alone with her he sat next to her on the bed.

"Alright Onna, time to eat. If this tastes as bad as it smells, well that will be unfortunate. It will have to do until you wake up better." He opened the first jar and tentatively put some on the spoon and in Bulma's mouth. Without any urging she ate it. The processed repeated it's self until three jars were gone. He proceeded with some water. When she finished that too he was pleased with himself. Vegeta tried to recall how much she ate in one sitting. Where the three jars enough? He wondered.

The door creaked open and in walked Bunny holding Trunks. "He was asking for his daddy" she said as she sat him on the floor and Trunks toddled over to where Vegeta was sitting, "Up?" he asked. Vegeta bent down and picked him up and sat him on the bed with a warning, "Remember to be gentle and not hurt mommy." Trunks face became serious as he recalled the lesson then said, "I promise" before crawling up the bed to sit on his mother's lap. She continued to stare forward but Trunks didn't seem to mind as he laid his head against her chest. Bunny looked at the empty jars and sniffled. Vegeta had replaced her and her husband. She walked up to her daughter, tears streaming down her face. She kissed the top of Bulma's head, "Mama loves you, baby" and turned to leave only to be stopped by Vegeta. "We should not mourn the living" he said plainly, his face in its stoic mask as ever. Bunny shook her head in agreement before fleeing the room.

Trunks laid against his mother for a while and Vegeta realized the boy had fallen asleep that way. He hadn't realized the toll this had taken on everyone from Bunny to Trunks. Before he could contemplate further the old man walked in. "Well Vegeta, my boy, I am proud to see this turn around in you. Bunny told me what you said." He stopped when he got no response from Vegeta. He walked around to the head of the bed and noticed Trunks was asleep. "The boy needs his mother." Vegeta could only nod in agreement. Dr. Briefs handed him a cup of coffee and sat down. "I have a neurologist coming this morning to take a look at Bulma. He's the best in the country. Perhaps he can offer some insight on what to do next" he said as he sipped his coffee. "Oh, I hired the nurse you sent to me. She went to get her things to move in to your old room. I assume that's why you sent her to me?"

Vegeta stood and gathered the empty jars. "She has well placed confidence in her skills and she knows her place." Vegeta threw the jars out and sat in the adjoining chair, sipping his own coffee he added, "she ate three jars. I wasn't sure how much to feed her." Dr. Briefs took another sip of coffee as he pondered the idea. "Our stomachs are about the size of our fists so, yeah three jars is a good start".

Vegeta stayed with her until the neurologist arrived. Dr. Briefs has sent the little doctor home. There wasn't anything else he could do for Bulma. The neurologist reviewed her records and all of the recordings of her brain waves. Vegeta made himself busy walking around their suite making sure everything was in order with his little shadow flat on his heels. An hour and a half later Dr. Briefs came to him and knocked on the door. When Vegeta opened it he noted his features seemed lighter than they had since this whole thing began. He stepped aside and let the old man in. Dr. Briefs looked around for a moment before setting himself on the couch. Trunks sat on the floor playing with a truck.

"The nurse's name is Penny, I thought you should know" he began. Vegeta stood motionless, waiting patiently. He knew the old man did not come here simply to tell him the nurse's name. "The neurologist was baffled." Vegeta's shoulder dropped. "He could find no reason for Bulma not to be awake. He said her brain waves are too low. Only twice did they rise to near normal levels." He grabbed several papers from his pocket and unrolling them handed them to Vegeta." Vegeta looked at the papers. At first they were barely waves on the paper. As he looked further there was a set circled in red that looked more like a spiked mountain range. They continued for a few lines then returned to waves. The waves grew but did not spike again until the last sheet. He handed them back to the doctor, "I don't know how to read these."

The doctor took the papers and rolled them up, returning them to his pockets. "According to the footage in her room they were both times you were talking to her!" So she does hear me, Vegeta's thoughts whirled. The doctor continued on, he had to be certain Vegeta understood what he was telling him. "You see, she didn't do this for me or her mother, only you. You can reach her. The neurologist said that when the mind goes through something horrible and cannot cope, a person can withdraw into the confines of her mind."

"She cried and begged for mercy, I thought you should know that." Kevin's words echoed in his head. Vegeta scowled at the memory. "I killed him too quickly" Vegeta whispered. The good doctor did not want to know any details and left it alone. Dr. Briefs stood and walked towards the door. "Oh, Bunny is going to come get Trunks and take him outside to play. The nurse will need your assistance in relocating Bulma." With nothing more need being said the old man left Vegeta to his thoughts. His mind conjured horrible things that the two men could have done to Bulma that made her like this. He was pulled from his thoughts as Bunny arrived to take Trunks and Vegeta headed, one last time, to the Med Lab to retrieve Bulma.

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