"Bulma," Chichi said shyly, wadding and unwadding a blanket over and over again, "I think that I'm in love."

I felt generous, so I'm giving two chapters today. Time for some kudos:

Yari – to the only person who has reviewed for me – you're awesome! Thanks for the support.

"Geez, Chichi!" Bulma yelped, sitting upright. "Are you serious?"

Chichi nodded slowly. "I think that I am. I've never felt like this before, not even with Yamcha," she said. "I mean I loved him, but it didn't happen like this."

Bulma leaned forward, clasping her hands together in a pleading gesture. "Just be careful, please," she said. "I don't want you to get hurt again."

Chichi smiled. "But that's what I like about Goku," she sighed. "I don't think that I have to be careful with him, Bulma. I don't think he'd hurt me, ever."

"You can't know that Chichi," Bulma said, feeling slightly panicked. "You met him two days ago."

"I know, its crazy," Chichi said. "But sometimes, you get these feelings about people, and you just know." She looked up at Bulma, her expression sure and calm. "He's nothing like Yamcha. He's the exact opposite. I can trust him."

"Are you sure?" Bulma asked. She was so afraid for her friend that she could taste it.

Chichi frowned at Bulma and answered, "Bulma, not every man is Yamcha."

"I know that!" Bulma snapped.

"No, you don't," Chichi said. "You're letting that experience cloud your judgment."

"Well, how do you know that your judgment isn't clouded?" Bulma said. "You barely know him."

"Look," Chichi said wearily. "Here's the logic. Love is a risk. You risk being hurt anytime you let someone close emotionally. If I am not willing to be hurt, then I'll never get to love again. I don't want that and I think that Goku is worth the risk. I think he's a good, honest person. And I think that I have realized his worth so strongly because he is so wonderful."

Bulma didn't feel better, but Chichi was a grown woman. "I hope you're right," she finally answered her friend.

"Bulma, I know that I am," was the soft reply. It was the last thing that was said that night, though neither of them really slept after that.

Morning was again a mad rush. Priss was first again for Chichi, but Flawless was Bulma's morning ride. Fortunately, preparing for the cross-country course was easier for both the horse and the rider. When Bulma rolled out of bed, she skipped the shower and instead began pulling on her clothes. She'd get dirty on the course, so what was the point? Her shirt and pants were both comfortable riding clothes. Instead of fancy outfits, she pulled on her vest and helmet.

The vest was specially made for eventing performance; it was designed to protect the rider's torso in case of a fall. The helmet did much the same for the head. Bulma also dug her medical card and its holder out of her suitcase and attached it to her arm.

Chichi was running around doing much the same. "Stopwatch," she said, and tossed the device to Bulma.

"What are you doing with my stopwatch?" Bulma asked as she caught it.

"You'd left it in the trunk," Chichi said with a grin. "Or maybe it fell out of your bag. It doesn't matter; you have it now."

"You're the best, Chichi," Bulma said, giving her friend a hug. "Ready to go get the kids ready?"

"Yep!" Chichi chirped.

The two women hurried out to the stables, shivering in the pre-dawn air. The cross-country series took longer, and so started earlier and ran later. The sun was a glimmer of gold in the east as Bulma rationed out a bit of food to Red and Flawless. She was careful not to give them too much; she needed to give them enough for energy but not enough to make them feel full and sluggish.

She began to groom Flawless before he was done eating; she needed to make sure that his coat was clean before she tacked up. Any dirt in his coat would irritate him when he had a saddle on.

Once he was clean, she put the jumping saddle on his back, clenching it tight. Then she slid on the bit and bridle, happy that she didn't have to braid the horses today – they could ride without any 'fancy hairdos,' as her mother called them. She was getting close to the wire when she got the bridle on, so when she couldn't find one of her jump boots, she fought panic. "Chichi, have you seen one of my jump boots?"

"What? You're missing one?" Chichi said from behind Storm's flank.

"Yeah, I am," Bulma gulped. "I'm sure I packed all of them!"

"What about your back-ups?" Chichi said, moving around Storm's backside to stand in front of Bulma's open trunk. "I have an extra one if you need it."

"No, I have a spare," Bulma said fretfully. "It just doesn't match—"

"Match?" Chichi barked, laughing. "No one cares! It'll be fine. Just use the spare."

"Will you look for it if you get a chance?" Bulma asked as she dug the fourth boot out and looked at it distastefully.

"Yes, if I get a chance," Chichi said, shaking her head in exasperation. "Now, go, use the extra boot, and do well!"

Bulma pouted unhappily as she picked up Flawless right fore leg and slid the boot in place, tightening the straps firmly. She put his foot down and frowned harder at the unfairness of it all. The other three boots were dark blue, and the one black boot was bothering her. Worse, it was scuffed and even wrapped with some black electrical tape, probably to hide a crack or other damage. But even Bulma admitted that she didn't have much choice in the matter.

With that done, she was ready. She led the bay horse out into the early sunshine, rubbing his face gently before climbing aboard him. Fighting down the butterflies in her stomach, she rode over to the beginning of Phase A of the course. Phase A was the ten minute warm-up jog to get Flawless into the event. Despite the fact that it was easy, it was a required part of the competition, as it allowed the judges to see if the horse was fit enough to run two sustained courses with a steeple chase in between. If a competitor didn't finish Phases A, B, and C in good time and without displaying unhealthy levels of fatigue, they would be disqualified for lack of fitness.

The official was holding a timer and a radio. When the timer reached a certain point, he nodded to Bulma to start. As she kicked Flawless into a fast jog and started her stopwatch, she heard him announce her start into the radio.

This is nice, Bulma thought as she rounded a bend and was instantly alone with Flawless. The stallion was going perfectly and Bulma pushed the butterflies in her stomach away, trying to enjoy this moment of calm, riding her horse through the idyllic countryside. She didn't let her enjoyment go too far; she kept her eye on the stopwatch and her mind on the course.

The course eventually brought her around to the next stop, the beginning of Phase B. The official here noted her time but thankfully didn't have her stop. Bulma was appreciative – Phase A was a warm-up, and it was best on the horse to go straight to Phase B, the steeplechase.

Bulma gave Flawless more rein and set him at a brisk gallop. She needed to average 24 miles per hour on this phase to complete it in the given time. And when the first jump rose in front of her, she didn't slow down; instead she galloped straight into the jump.

Flawless took it perfectly, of course, flying over it like he had wings. It was the normal steeplechase jump; a wooden fence around a box hedge. You didn't have to clear the hedge completely, but if you went too low, you could get caught in it and lose time.

Bulma counted through each of the jumps, grinning madly in exhilaration. She was almost sorry to see the last one pass under her, but she couldn't linger; she was at Phase C.

The official waved her through while noting her time again; the riders in front of her must be on track, Bulma thought. It was bad in that it meant that no one was disqualifying themselves, but fine in that they weren't holding anyone else up.

Bulma reined Flawless back down to a jog and hopped off of him, running beside him. Phase C was all about the horse getting his wind back; having less weight to carry could only help him. She mounted again before they had reached the vet's box, once she was sure that Flawless had caught his breath.

Dr. Krillian waved to her when she came into the tent. "Hi, again!" he chirped as he began to run his hands over Flawless' joints, looking for swelling. "How are you today?"

"Fine," Bulma said, holding Flawless. Trying to be casual, she asked, "How was the Saiyan horse that you saw last night – Master? Were his x-rays ok?"

"Yep, no chips, no fractures. He'll be fine," Krillian said, unslinging his stethoscope and pressing it to Flawless' barrel. He checked two more spots on the horse and nodded. "This guy is good to continue to Phase D." He gave Bulma one last grin. "Good luck!"

"Thanks!" Bulma said as she swung back up into the saddle. She trotted Flawless over to the starting box, which was really just four posts in the ground with a rope strung along the top. An official had her wait for a moment; when the competitor ahead of her was far enough along on the course, she was given the signal to begin Phase D.

Flawless quickly settled into a fast canter. Bulma's stomach clenched as they quickly put the first straightaway behind them and came to the first jump. It was a simple oxer built of logs, and Flawless cleared it easily. Bulma didn't get too excited; the hardest jumps were still ahead of her.

They quickly settled into the rhythm of the race, taking all of the jumps with ease. They came to the first wall, a low, wide jump that required the horse to land on top of it, take a step and jump off the other side. Some horses didn't handle it well, but Flawless took it perfectly. Bulma dared to hope that they might have a perfect run – they were well under time and Flawless was handling every jump like it was nothing.

They took the tight turn to the water jump – a slight rise to a fence, followed by a drop into water. It was one of the harder jumps; horses didn't like jumping into water and they really had to trust their rider to do it without hesitation. The horse would get one pace to prepare for the jump; the plan was to land, shorten the stride and then launch out over the water as far as you could. Water would drag and slow down, so it was important to get a long, low jump to clear as much of it as you could.

Flawless straightened from the turn, rode up the rise to the fence and cleared it easily. Bulma felt him take that stride, gather himself and then jump out over the water. "Good boy!" she murmured as she saw how much of the water they had cleared as Flawless came down into the liquid.

Bulma heard a strange pop –

And Flawless went into the water, tumbling her from the saddle. Bulma had just enough time to think, He fell! Is he alright?, before something struck her head and she passed out.