Fallen – Chapter 13

He approached carefully, not sure if she was even awake. He could smell no intruders. No reason for this irrational behavior. The floor creaked beneath him and he saw her grip on the balcony railing tighten. His heart pounded in his throat and he froze. Her head jerked slightly to one side as if straining to listen. All at once she panicked as if she heard or saw something he did not. He gently pushed his ki towards her, willing her to calm. It had worked with other nightmares and he prayed it would work here. Unfortunately for him, it had the opposite effect. She whipped around, her eyes searching for the cause of her distress. When her eyes met his they were wild and untamed. She saw his form but someone else stood in his place. "Bulma. Relax. It's me." He tried to soothe softly to her but she shook her head back and forth, "No. No. No." She cried.

If soothing would not work, he would resort to being himself. "I said that is enough! Come away from the balcony at once!" he ordered. Wrong move. Her eyes darted around the room. She reached for something he could not see and she climbed from the chair to the railing faster than he has ever seen her move. She's going to jump. Kami, she's going to jump. "I will not let you hurt me!" she yelled out back into the room. Her hand swatted back and forth as if it held a knife. Vegeta had enough. He couldn't stand to listen to her plead and fight with an unseen assailant he could not protect her from. He noticed the slight change in momentum as her balance faltered. He phased to behind her and grabbed her. She attempted to slash at him with the imaginary knife. When it lacked the desired effect she began to kick, hit and scream.

As Vegeta carried her back into the room he heard Penny and Dr. Briefs knocking at the door, "What's going on in there? Is everything alright?" Trunks came out of his room, "Father?" Vegeta promptly cut him off, "Open the door let your grandfather in" he instructed. Once the door was unlocked both the good doctor and nurse rushed into the room to see Vegeta struggling to hold on to an enraged Bulma. She flailed this way and that. Vegeta was concerned to tighten his grip on her for fear of hurting her. Dr. Briefs said something to Penny and she ran from the room, Vegeta was not paying attention to what exactly. She returned moments later with a box and handed it to Bulma's father. He withdrew a syringe and a vial, drew some up and approached the struggling Bulma. "Try to hold her still" Dr. Briefs said. A second later Bulma's struggling lessened and then without warning she passed out.

The lack of momentum caused Vegeta to nearly fall over but he recovered quickly. Without a word he returned Bulma to their bed. When he returned to the living room Dr. Brief's stood on the balcony and Penny and Trunks were nowhere to be seen. She must have taken the boy back to his room Vegeta demised. He walked over to the girl's father and stood silently. "I don't think she meant to strike out at you." He offered in condolence. Vegeta's arms, chest, and neck were covered in scratches. He defensively crossed his arms in front of his chest. "She was unaware of what she was doing. She did not see me at all. Someone else, long dead by her own hand, stood in my place." Dr. Brief's sat, nodding his head in understanding. "I have sedated her. She should sleep well into the morning. She might do well to take a slight sedative every night if these waking nightmares continue."

"Hn" was all Vegeta offered in thanks. His mind lost in thoughts. Is this a glimpse of what happened to her? The thought was bleak. He had some understanding based off of the nightmares she had previously described to him but this waking nightmare had shown him how bad things actually were. He was wishing there was a way he could kill this man all over again. With this conversation obviously over the doctor took his leave and returned to his own bed. Vegeta was so entranced in thought he never noticed Penny leave. He sat on the balcony all night before coming to a final conclusion. He was going to attempt to reach her through the bond again. Maybe if he could walk the waking nightmare with her he could help her deal with it and move on.

Vegeta was unable to sleep the rest of the night. As soon as Penny arrived in the morning he left to take his frustration out on the GR. Bulma woke up hours later feeling groggy. She walked into the living room to see Trunks coloring at the table and Penny cleaning up the apartment. She walked to the coffee pot to pour a cup. "I can't believe I slept so late" she said as she took a sip. She was completely unaware of the events that transpired last night and Penny was not going to be the one to do so. "Where's Vegeta?" Bulma asked. Penny stopped and looked up from her dusting long enough to say "Training." Bulma felt like Penny was acting weird but decided not to dwell on it. She took Trunks and headed towards the Gardens.

It was a cool afternoon and the only flowers still blooming were the roses. She sat and watched Trunks play until she was interrupted by her mother. "There you are dear!" Bunny called. Bulma waved and felt the warmth of her mother's smile. Her mother sat with her and began to fill her in on the latest gossip smeared across the magazines. Penny checked in once or twice but otherwise left the two alone. Bulma joined Bunny in the main kitchen for lunch and her father did a double take when he saw the two sitting at the end of the table, deep in conversation. He returned to the problem in front of him and let the women be until he was interrupted, "Whatcha reading Daddy?" His heart became full of joy to hear those words from her mouth. But it was a bitter-sweet joy, she had not referred to him as such since she was 14. Has her mind really become so simple? He decided to test the theory.

"Come take a look" he said as he laid the blue prints in front of him. "We are having an issue stabilizing the energy converter" he challenged her. Bulma walked over and looked at them, turning her head this way and that before she giggled, "How do you know which way is up on those pictures?" She gave her father a kiss on the cheek and walked away, returning her attention to her mother. Dr. Brief's rolled up the blue prints in front of him, grabbed his coffee, and returned to his lab. He no longer felt like eating. She is more like her mother than me now but I will love her all the same.

As the afternoon breezed by with idle conversation. Bunny took enormous delight in her daughter's company and new found interests in her mother. Around two o'clock in the afternoon there was a visitor at the door. Bunny hopped up to answer it, "Who could that be? I am not expecting any company, are you?" When she got to the door she smiled, "Please do come in!" Bunny was always the gracious host. Yamcha entered his arms full of wrapped bundles. Trunks who had been napping came running to the door. He started jumping up and down when he saw the brightly colored wrappers and bows. Yamcha made his way to the drawing room and sat down. "Would you like a something to drink? Some tea perhaps?" Bunny offered. "Water would be nice" he said with a weak smile.

Bulma started to fidget, picking at her nails. Why is he here? She inwardly complained. She forced a smile and followed her mother's example, "How nice of you to come and visit. What's all this?" He started to sort through some packages. "Get well gifts. I, I mean your friends have missed you." He picked up a large blue package and handed it to Trunks, "This is for you!" The toddler grabbed the package and ran to his mother, "May I?" he asked. Bulma nodded her head and smiled to see her son so happy. He ripped the paper from the box to reveal a large police car with working lights and a siren that he could ride upon. He squealed with delight as he took off riding his new toy. In the excitement Yamcha had moved closer to Bulma. He turned to her, "I have one for you too" he said quietly as he offered her a small box.

Saved Bulma thought as Bunny reemerged from the kitchen carrying a tray with tea and sandwiches. Yamcha forced his attention to his hostess. He had tried to wait to return his visit until Vegeta was not at home. He monitored the other man's ki for weeks but he never left the compound. So he waited. He waited until he was engrossed in the GR and could hopefully slip in and get out without being noticed. When he had heard Bulma had woken up from her coma and was without her memory he thought that this was perfect. He was still sure he could be a better husband and father and without her memory she would feel no duty to maintain her perilous relationship with Vegeta. He hadn't thought that his absence prior would have been noticed or that visiting would upset her. He was wrong.

Vegeta had evidently cared for her this whole time. Seven months had pasted since her accident. Yamcha thought Vegeta would have remained distant, like he always was and that the nurse cared for Bulma. When he heard Bulma tell him how much of a wonderful father and husband Vegeta was he was crushed and his hopes of ever regaining her dwindled. He switched directions and offered to take her out to explore the town. Although his intentions had not changed, his method had. He knew he would have to gain her trust, something Vegeta was ahead of him on. Then he would throw some shadows of Vegeta's past in the mix and win her over. That was the plan anyway.

He listened to Bunny prattle on about this and that. He never had a hard time with the social pleasantries and idle conversation. Bulma remained quiet and watched the interaction between her mother and Yamcha. How comfortable with each other and it put her mind at ease. She began to feel more comfortable with the man before her. Her mother excused herself to start supper around 4 with Trunks hot on her heels with the mention of food. Finally thought Yamcha, we're alone.

"Would you like to go for a walk in the garden?" he asked. Bulma agreed and they started to the garden. Once there he offered her his arm in a silly, overly dramatic fashion and she laughed but accepted. They strolled along until they reached the pond and sat. "How much do you remember, B?" he asked. She thought for a moment. "It's weird really. I can remember being trapped in my own body. I could see and hear everything around me but I couldn't talk." She reached out and touched the water, "I couldn't reach out and comfort my own son." Her eyes fell in shame of her failure to control her own body. Yamcha took her hands and looked into her eyes. "Did you know Trunks was your son?" Yamcha pressed on. He needed to know exactly how much she remembered before he began feeding her assorted details of their past. No doubt Vegeta left out major portions.

Bulma stood, feeling the need to distance herself from him. He was getting too close, too familiar again. He followed, waiting for her answers. "Not at first. At first I couldn't even see, but I could hear." She leaned against a tree and smiled at the memory. "Vegeta was always talking to me."

"You don't remember the accident or anything before?" She shook her head, "No, but Vegeta has been filling in the details. He really has been a very kind and patient husband." Yamcha stepped in closer, "He's not your husband, B." Shock then confusion danced across her face before settling on indignation. "Of course he is! We have a child together. We sleep in the same bed. He takes care of me."

Yamcha was getting under her skin. This was exactly what he wanted. He kept calm. He spoke to her as a wounded child. "No, B, you're not married. You were drunk when he got you pregnant. He took advantage of you and then ran off. I was the one who cared for you during your pregnancy. I was there when he was born. Vegeta was not. He's only here now because he is obligated to be. Nothing more." She looked at him in disbelief. His was sure his face was convincing because to him this was all true. He turned his back to her to hide his face for the next part. "We were going to get married before all of this happened, but he keeps me away." He pulled the small box from his pocket and turned to her, "You haven't opened your present yet" he said as he handed her the box. Her hands were trembling as she opened the lid to reveal a necklace with a "B" dangling from the end of it. She closed the lid and handed it back to him, "I can't" she whispered to him and she began to walk quickly back to the house.

He followed after her and took her by the wrist, "Why not?" She shook her head, "No, I can't." Yamcha brought his hand up and ran his fingers through her hair. "I love you, B!" he professed as he leaned in to kiss her. Yamcha's eyes shot open when he felt a hard SLAP across his face, his hand instinctively went to his face. "You forget yourself, sir!" Bulma yelled at him. "I am a married woman!" Yamcha placed grabbed her by her upper arms to keep her from running away. He knew he had to say this final piece before Vegeta got to them. He felt he was already on his way. "B, please! I know you are confused but please, don't let that murder deceive you. Don't let him ruin us."

"Let go of me!" she struggled against him. All of a sudden Yamcha was staring up at Vegeta as he lay on the grass. Vegeta's eyes glanced quickly to Bulma. No blood. No immediate sign of injury. I will check more thoroughly later. "Why do you come here, where you are not wanted, and assault my mate?" Vegeta knelt down and grabbed the front of Yamcha's shirt. He pulled back his fist with every intent on punching a whole right through the other man's skull. "I should kill you for dare touching her!" He threatened. He was about to swing when Bulma placed her hand over his fist. With her eyes she pleaded with him to stop. He dropped Yamcha back on the ground, "You're not worth my time!" Both men stood and stared at each other. Bulma retreated to the safety of her mother. Vegeta took a step forward, "The Woman has spared your life again, little man. Make no mistake, you cross that line again, I will end you." Vegeta returned inside to check on Bulma and shower before supper.

Yamcha returned home. Puarr came out as soon as he closed to the door. "So, how did it go Yamcha?" Yamcha laid his keys on the table and smiled. "Exactly as planned. The seeds of doubt have been sown. All there is to do now is wait and leg Vegeta be Vegeta."

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