Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the plot situations I put them in. Everything else belongs to somebody else so give credit where the credit is due! Thanks to all my loyal readers and reviewers, I hope to continue to hear from you. Enjoy and have a very awesome day!

From Discovery to Confrontation

Walking along the beach with the salty sea air in her windswept hair Bulma was deep in thought, not even really noticing the beautiful sunset taking place beside her. She'd spent most of the day picking Akithos's brain about Saiyan customs and now she had a hell of a lot to process. She'd always had such a negative view of Vegeta's behavior, even knowing what a rough childhood he'd had. It had always seemed to her that he should want to change the way he was. To try to fit in and be happy. Maybe because Goku was a Saiyan by birth too she'd always assumed that while very militaristic the Saiyan race couldn't be as bad as it sometimes seemed. She'd imagined a dictatorship type government which, like the early Romans, had been obsessed with ruling the known world or in the case of Saiyans the known galaxies. The Romans hadn't exactly been the greatest individuals morally speaking but they hadn't been all bad either. Well now she'd gotten a crash course on the Saiyan race and that had pretty much blown all her theories away. What she'd been presented with was a culture like the ancient Greek Spartans, warriors first, second and last. Obsessed with being the strongest and most respected warriors their whole culture was based around the philosophy of survival of the fittest. They'd been a closed society and the only time they interacted with other cultures was to annihilate them. It had been said that the only way a Saiyan ever showed respect to another culture was by stealing their technology or fighting technique. To the Saiyans weakness was never an option and to show it was the greatest sin that could possibly be committed.

A male Saiyan's goals in life were to be the strongest warrior they could, to train every waking hour of the day to become that warrior and to provide the Saiyan race with more male warriors for the next generation. A female Saiyan's goals in life were to provide her man with as many male children as she could and to not bring the men in her family dishonor. Male children were taken from their mothers at the age of five when they went to live with the males in their household. Mothers made their children weak and therefore were not allowed to see their sons until the father felt the son was strong enough. Saiyan warriors often went months without seeing their daughters, having nothing to do with them until their daughters were at least thirteen in which case they could be sold off to the highest bidder. Only the sons were of interest. While females were allowed to become warriors if they showed the aptitude for it it was still rare for a father to take enough interest in his daughter to notice her potential, much less nurture it. As for their women Saiyan men in general treated them as objects, put into their lives for their comfort and convenience. To even treat them with consideration was a stretch for most males. From what Akithos had said, the fact that Vegeta hadn't killed her by now was a miracle given her personality. Saiyan males expected complete obedience from their woman and to even consider talking back was unthinkable. That could and did get you killed. Killing women in your household was justified and never questioned. They were just women after all.

When she'd described her relationship with Vegeta Akithos had looked shocked and told her that she was very lucky. In Saiyan views how he treated her and let her get away with things would have had him tried and killed for his weak and disgusting behavior. Not for having sex with her but for treating her as though her life was of any importance. How ironic was that, Bulma thought, kicking some of the white sand in front of her. Here she'd always thought he treated her terribly most of the time when to him he probably saw it as treating her far too well, especially since she was human. No wonder he'd always looked surprised in the beginning when she'd yelled at him. She'd thought it was because no one in their right mind would yell at him but it was more then that. To his mind females just didn't do that and the fact that the men in her lives allowed it must have been even more confusing for him. After all, if you grew up believing in something it was hard to put aside that belief, even when the truth was glaring you in the face. And who was to say he didn't believe his cultures beliefs still? Sure he treated her better then any other Saiyan warrior would but Vegeta was also very Saiyan obsessed. If he did...then that would explain why he'd broken things up with her, especially the way he had. She was an alien female, an inferior being who should have been beneath his notice. But he'd wanted her and had had feelings for her. She knew he had. Maybe he hadn't loved her but he had cared at the very least whether she lived or died. He'd let her get away with things that no Saiyan male would and he'd never raised a hand to her, no matter how angry she'd made him. In his culture beatings were not only acceptable but expected. To keep those under them in their place. But he never had, not once. Sure he'd told her off plenty but he'd never taken advantage of just how much weaker she was then him. And when he'd broken up with her, it had almost been noon and he hadn't gotten up that much earlier then that because she knew he'd been in bed at nine because he'd woken her up with his busy hands and she'd glanced at the clock. Vegeta was always out of bed before six and usually didn't stop training the whole day unless he had to. It must have upset him to find himself in bed so late. He would have put two and two together and come up with the correct conclusion which was that if she hadn't been with him he would have been training on time. She'd kept him from his training. She'd become a distraction.

So he'd gotten rid of the distraction. He knew her well enough to know that it would take more then a brush off to get rid of her so he'd been as harsh and indifferent as possible. With what had happened the night before he would have known her heart and pride would be hurting too much to try and fight him over it. The only problem was he'd gotten her pregnant before he'd done the breaking up. Now there was a link between them that couldn't be ignored and pushed aside. Her hands going protectively to rest against her stomach Bulma continued to walk, her mind revolving around what she'd learned when she felt a shiver go down her spine. Stopping, she paused for a moment then turned around, looking down the length of beach where she could see a figure moving towards her. She didn't have to guess who it was either. Walking like a cat that was slowly stalking over to it's unknowing prey she'd know this pissed off Saiyan anywhere. There really was no point in running and she could think of only one reason he'd be here to see her and be giving off those kind of murderous vibes. Either someone had killed Goku before he could or he'd some how found out why she was here instead of home. Gohan probably. The kid never had believed her excuse for that day when she'd collapsed. He'd have eventually gone to her mother and all they would need is the doctor who'd treated her. There was doctor confidentiality but if her mother had sicced Vegeta on the man no one could blame him for spilling his guts about what he knew. Or perhaps it was the whole ki thing. Akithos had explained that the way he'd found her was that when a Saiyan woman was pregnant her ki was combined with her child's. Apparently her baby already had a pretty powerful one which was even more startling because she couldn't begin to imagine how little she had herself. Walking towards Vegeta she kept her back straight and her eyes direct. If she was going to get verbally torn to shreds she was going to at least start out with as much dignity as she could pull together.

Watching her coming he had to give her points for not trying to run away. She always had had more spunk then ten humans, much less one. It was why the stupid woman was always getting herself into so much trouble. Never taking his eyes off her he could feel her uneasiness, just as he could feel the ki of his unborn child. He'd stopped questioning it once he got close, able to sense the powerful ki being formed within her. The fact that this child was of mixed blood made it even that more amazing. He was going to be a father and that fact had been hidden from him. It was unforgivable, especially if the child was male. When she was about three meters away from him she stopped, her stubborn chin out as she met his gaze without flinching. God, what a woman. "Hello, Onna." He said silkily, his stance combative as his cold black eyes drilled into hers.

"You're taking this a lot better then I thought you would." Bulma said bluntly, not surprised when her words caused a small tic to appear under his eye. Oh yeah, he was extremely pissed off. "I was going to tell you, by the way."

"And just when were you going to do that?"

"When I got back so in a couple of weeks. I knew you wouldn't be very happy about it." Figuring it was better to try and placate him a little Bulma took another step forward. "But you're right. I really should have told you when I found out. I just figured that if you didn't want me you were going to want this baby even less."

"There's a big difference between a former temporary bed partner and ones flesh and blood, woman." Vegeta pointed out harshly, his eyes flashing for a moment before hardening once more. There were things to be said and found out. It wasn't the time to give her what was coming to her. Not yet anyway. "Are you still fainting? Is the child healthy?"

Blinking in surprise Bulma's eyes narrowed slightly, suspicious. "No, I'm not fainting anymore and according to the doctors the baby's fine. He makes me eat way too much pasta but he's growing very fast and the doctors are predicting he's going to be pretty big if he goes full term."

"It's a male then?"

"I don't know. I didn't want to know but I think it might be a boy. Feminine intuition. I've gotten into the habit of talking like the baby's a boy either way." Bulma explained with a faint smirk at his typical Saiyan question. Of course he'd want to know whether it was a boy or a girl. If it was a girl he wouldn't care one way or another but a boy..a boy at least would be worth some notice and consideration.

"Hmmm." Was Vegeta's response, processing this. If it was a female then there was no question that the child was best kept with its mother and could be raise however Bulma saw fit. A son on the other hand would need to be raised properly and there was no way in hell he was leaving that up to Bulma. He wouldn't allow any son of his, half breed or not grow up to be a disgrace to his family's name.

"Boy or girl you aren't taking this baby away from me, Vegeta." Bulma told him firmly, as if she'd been reading his thoughts. "I know in your culture that male children were taken away from their mothers and raised by their fathers. I won't let you do that. If it is a boy we'll raise him together or I'll raise him alone. Those are the only two choices you have and that's non-negotiable."

"And what exactly would stop me if I did?" Vegeta wanted to know, genuinely curious as to how she thought she'd stop him if he had intended to do that. He hadn't, but he was curious.

"I'd do whatever I could to stop you myself but we both know you'd kick my ass so I'd go to Goku. He'd get my son back for me." Bulma said without an ounce of doubt in her voice. "And lets face it, Vegeta. You wouldn't know what to do with a little boy."

Irked at the idea of her thinking him so weak he'd allow Kakorrot to take his only son away from him Vegeta glared at her, forgetting the importance of keeping a civil tone with her. "If I wanted to raise my son rather then let you turn him into some weak, pathetic human that's my choice. He's MY son!"

"He's OUR son, you jerk." Was her hot resort as she set her hands on her hips, glaring at him openly as they sent each other killer glares. "And I would not raise any son of mine to be weak OR pathetic! Even if YOU won't train him Goku and Gohan would. By the time they were done that weak and pathetic son of yours would be able to kick your ass right back to where you came from!"

"No son of mine is going to be trained by those two!" Vegeta practically roared, with quick strides standing right in front of her with his fingers digging into her shoulders as he glared at her hotly. "Do you understand me? No one is going to train him but me!"

"Are you sure you'll be able to find time in your busy schedule to do it?" Bulma shot back smartly, wiggling under the iron grip he had on his shoulders. "And to do that you'd have to let me be his mother. What I think is appropriate for a child is going to vary big time from what you want. I won't let you make him spend all his time training the way you do. Kids should have the chance to be kids when they can!"

"And what's to stop me from just blowing you to little bits and taking him?" Vegeta pointed out, not backing down an inch. "You can't run to Goku if you're dead."

"You would never kill me." Bulma answered simply, not surprised when a shocked look appeared in Vegeta's eyes before he hid it. "There are a lot of terrible and even heinous things you're capable of committing but killing me isn't one of them. You would never kill the mother of your child and that aside, I'm the closest thing to a friend you've ever had."

Gapping at her and the fact that she was unfortunately right he cursed under his breath, too mad and turned up to say anything. Letting her go he cursed, turning to face the water so he didn't have to look at her while he got himself under control. Damn her and damn her words. Why did she always say the last thing he wanted to hear? Especially when that something was the truth.

"I'm going to be a good mother, Vegeta." Bulma said softly, turning to look at the water too without looking at him. "I know you probably don't think I can raise a Saiyan properly and you're probably right. But I can promise you that I will love this child and protect it with every breath in my body. Together you and I could raise this child into someone we can both be proud to say is ours. You and I both have some really good points to offer and put them together and there's nothing our child won't be able to do."

"I thought I didn't have any good points." Vegeta said dryly, crossing his arms in front of his chest as he watched the waves rolling by, not even aware that he was calming down.

"You do, they're just not obvious ones." Bulma said with a small smile as she looked over at him for a moment before turning to look at the water as well. "There's your incredible physical strength of course but you have more then that. You have incredible strength of mind as well. You know how to go after a goal and you're willing to do whatever it takes to meet that goal, no matter the cost. You're really good at staying focused and you never let failure get you down either. You're always trying to improve yourself and you don't care what anyone else thinks of you and you're really independent. Those are all really good qualities, even if your priorities are sometimes pretty screwed. Those are all qualities are son or daughter would benefit from having."

The faintest of blushes gracing his sharp cheekbones Vegeta had a whole new reason not to look at her as he thought about what she's said. "There are some qualities you possess that would benefit the child as well." He finally said gruffly, moving his hands to his pockets in a nervous habit he'd begun to pick up.

"Such as?" Bulma asked, genuinely curious as to what qualities she possessed that Vegeta liked about her. The only thing he ever consistently had a positive word about was her body.

Turning his head for a moment to glare at her for asking Vegeta turned to give her his back as he answered. "You're...surprisingly intelligent for a human and you have a lot of spirit." He finally said, refusing to say anything else.

Smiling Bulma rocked back on her heels. "Thank you."

Surprised Vegeta turned around to face her, even more surprised to find her smiling at him in pleasure. "You aren't going to complain or demand more praise?"

"You wouldn't give it to me so why bother to ask?" Bulma pointed out saucily, knowing that she was right. "Besides, I know that there's more about me you like then just the fact that I'm smarter and more spirited then you."

"I never said you were smarter then I was." Vegeta pointed out, scowling at her.

"Anyway, I came up with a list I need you to read." Bulma told him, deciding it was in everyone's best interest if she changed the subject before the somewhat peaceful moment turned into another battle ground. Besides, the list was important.

"What sort of list?" Vegeta asked wearily, looking at her suspiciously. Just what was the woman up to and why did he get the feeling that he wasn't going to like it? Not one little bit.

"Well I've been doing a little research into Saiyan culture and along with the whole taking the son away I also discovered some other child related customs in Saiyan culture I disagree with. I didn't want to forget them so I wrote them all down." Bulma explained, not surprised to see that her answer didn't sit well with him. "Don't look at me like that. I'm sure there are going to be earth customs you don't like either. I'm willing to compromise."

"What sort of customs?"

"Well the physical punishment is out. I don't think you would but just in case I want you to know that I won't tolerate you raising a hand to punish this child in any way. If you do I'll have you blown up and believe me when I say I would. As this child's mother his or her well being is a lot more important then how I feel about you."

"How you feel about me?" Vegeta repeated as he raised an eyebrow, looking at her curiously while it was her turn to get some unexpected color to her cheeks.

"You're the father of my child, of course I have feelings for you. They're usually negative ones unless we're naked but on occasion I have been known to care about you." Bulma replied as the color became more pronounced. "And quit smirking like that, Vegeta or so help me..."

"So help you what?"

"So help me I'll name this baby after Goku."

"Over my dead and rotting corpse."