A/N: Guess who's back with a brand new chap?

DISCLAIMER: I'm not sure if I own anything at all. Who are we? Do we exist? Am I real? Is this disclaimer real? Is space relative? Are we all connected? Are we a product of someone's imagination? Is life controlled by something other than space aliens and...

Okay, this was getting ridiculous.

"Vegeta, open this door right now! I mean it! Open it or the Androids are the very last thing you'll be thinking about!"

Bulma stood outside of the Gravity room with one hand at her waist, the other balled tightly into a fist, banging on the door. With everything she felt right now, the new mom-to-be wondered if she just might be able to tear it down with her bare hands.

There was the sound of a click and finally the stairs that would ultimately lead her inside to the GR descended. At the top of them stood Vegeta, looking as though he had stuck a fork in a socket. His clothes were charred as was his usually tan skin, which was a faint reddish brown instead. His eyes were unblinking as she walked past him.

Kame, that look was priceless.

Bulma walked swiftly across the tiled floor; the gravity had been turned off for her sake. She then proceeded to sit down in the middle of the chamber, her legs crossed and tucked beneath one another. She propped her elbows upon them and stared up at the Saiyan prince with the most innocent look she could muster.

The door closed and what little light there had been inside was swallowed up in darkness. Vegeta remained where he was, his index finger not moving from the 'close' button. A few moment s passed.

"Can you turn a light on in here?" Bulma called from her spot on the floor. "A girl can barely see."

He did not move.

"Whatever, guess my eyes can adjust…."

He suddenly turned around and his face was contorted with confusion and bewilderment. It stunned Bulma to see the emotions displayed so clearly on his handsome face. Her arm was suddenly in his and she was yanked from the floor aggressively.

"Is this some sort of joke, woman?"

His grip had not tightened, but Bulma knew the intensity of his words; he had spit out the word 'joke' as though it had tasted sour. She rolled her eyes, too distraught herself to care much for his feelings.

"If only," she muttered, lowering her eyes and attempting to detach herself from the Saiyan's grasp. She sighed.

"Can you let me go please? You're hurting me."

He released her as an afterthought, probably unaware that he had even reached for her in the first place.

"Believe me Vegeta," Bulma stated with a tiny pout. She had expected something from him, but not disbelief. He still didn't trust her. "I'm going to the doctor's tomorrow morning to make sure."

His eyes turned downward and became fixated on her flat stomach, hidden beneath a yellow tank top. He paused in his breathing and narrowed his eyes.

"What exactly are you doing?" she asked irritably. His staring made her very uncomfortable.

He furrowed his brow and grunted. "I can't sense it."

She was awed at once, her eyes frozen wide. Now he was not staring nearly hard enough for her! Bulma lurched forward and seized him with both hands.

"You can sense the baby? Is it a boy? A girl?"

Vegeta pushed her arms from him and folded them against his chest. His face did not betray his emotions. "I sense nothing."

Bulma absolutely refused to let up. "But you will one day, right? Right?"

"The only things in there," Vegeta said as he pointed at her stomach, "are half-digested cupcakes and lard."

Anger spilled from the woman, her blue eyes lighting like those of a Saiyan.

"How dare you!" she shouted, shoving him away from her. "I don't appreciate the attitude, mister! And furthermore I haven't had a cupcake in WEEKS!"

He arched an eyebrow.

"I am perfectly thin!" she continued, "and the only reason I won't be is because you decided to impregnate me with what I'm sure you think is first-class sperm!"

"This joke is played out, woman," Vegeta said with what appeared to be a self-satisfied smirk. "You may as well give up."

"I don't have to prove anything to you at all, you know!" Bulma yelled, stabbing the 'open' door button with her elbow. "You'll see the evidence soon enough!"

She turned and tried to keep the tears from her eyes as she faced the father of her unborn child.

"Perhaps we will see," Vegeta said with a tiny smirk, "when it tears itself out of you."

Was he jesting? He seemed to be but Bulma could not tell.

"Just forget it, alright? I'm pregnant, it's yours and I'm keeping it, so THERE!"

With that, Bulma walked away from him, allowing the door to close in the puzzled face behind her.

It was well into the evening and a bit too chilly for Chi-Chi who swatted a fly before closing the kitchen window.

"Almost done honey," she said as she lifted a pot of boiling milk and cream from the stove and poured it into two mugs of chocolate powder. She stirred both of them until she was greeted with a foamy brown liquid.

She walked to the small table. "Here you go Bulma," she said softly, handing her friend the larger mug. It looked like she needed it. "Gosh it's cold outside!"

"Oh, definitely," said Bulma, instantly taking a sip and flinching from the extreme heat. "I-I'd be so happy if it snowed."

Chi-Chi sat down across from her in a weathered wooden chair Goku refused to let her throw away. One of the legs was a bit shorter than the others and it wobbled unsteadily beneath her.

"Mmm," she murmured, letting her mug warm her fingers. "I suppose Gohan'd like that too. It's not very good for training though, is it? Besides, it's rarely cold enough."

Bulma was looking into her hot chocolate, her red mouth pursed. Chi-Chi couldn't begin to guess what was bothering her, and she couldn't wait to find out. It was torture not to reach over and shake the answer out of her guest.

Best to let her marinate before the kill.

"How is Gohan?" Bulma asked somewhat abruptly, as though she had forgotten the youngster until Chi-Chi had mentioned his name. "Is he doing alright at school?"

Chi-Chi was annoyed straight away. "I could barely get him to study as it was. What with the Androids coming he's all but dropped his school work! Goku doesn't even mind it! In fact!" she added stridently, leaning forward with the news, "Goku thinks he should be able to go to regular school!"

Bulma blinked. "What's wrong with uh, regular school?"

The poor woman! She must have gone temporarily insane or something related to living with Vegeta for an extended period of time.

Chi-Chi tsked to herself. "Bulma. There are other children there that will distract him from learning, not to mention that those teachers have no idea what to teach! With me at least Gohan has a fighting chance! He's a special boy."

"He is," agreed Bulma with a little smile. "He's gotten so big now!"

Dreamily Chi-Chi could remember those simple days when her only child had been learning to walk, not fight.

"An angel," she stated, drifting off into memories. "Never once caused me trouble."

She paused and the dreams began to darken.

"And then Goku started teaching him martial arts."

Bulma laughed and took a long sip of hot chocolate. "How was he as a baby? Was he fussy? Did he cry often?"

Chi-Chi wasn't used to so many questions, but she certainly appreciated another's interest in something so central to herself. "He was quiet at first; a mother's dream. He slept through the night and everything!"

"Wow."

"Yeah, Goku and I expected much worse from a half-Saiyan," Chi-Chi recalled. "After a few months we got a rude awakening. He'd cry so much and so loudly I'm glad we lived far away from people with ears."

She laughed. "He ate like a grown man… still slept through the night though. Plus, his little tail was the most adorable thing I'd ever seen!"

Bulma's expression had changed dramatically. Her tranquility had turned to what looked like fear. "I forgot about the tail…."

"Oh it was no big deal really," Chi-Chi told her friend with a wave of her hand. "I've still got a pile of special diapers he used to wear. Just couldn't bring myself to throw them away." She paused when she saw Bulma's startled expression.

"I'll throw them out once he's married, okay?"

"Did you feel it?" asked Bulma in a near whisper. She had not taken a sip of her drink in a long time. "Did you feel it while you were pregnant?"

"Heavens no!" Chi-Chi nearly spilled her drink as she teetered on the uneven chair. "Gohan didn't get his tail until he was a few months old. Of course, after that it grew so fast it was though he'd always had it. I've asked Goku when he got his tail but you know him."

"He has no idea," Bulma finished.

Nodding, Chi-Chi looked behind her shoulder at the kitchen window. She wished Gohan and Goku would come inside to rest for awhile. They hadn't stopped sparring since the day before.

"I'm not exactly sure how to phrase this Chi-Chi, but…" started Bulma, but she was interrupted by a flash of bright light and a subsequent CRACK.

"GERONIMO!"

There was loud laughter from outside and another flash of light, this one colored.

Chi-Chi was on her feet instantly. That cracking noise had sounded an awfully lot like a tree crashing over. She balled her fists. That would be the third one that month.

"GOHAN! GOKU! COME IN HERE RIGHT NOW!"

The laughing stopped instantly. Bulma came up beside her and rested a hand on her shoulder.

"What in the world was that?"

The front door opened and didn't shut. With guilty expressions, her son and husband walked into the kitchen covered in clumps of dirt and stained green from the grass. She closed her eyes.

"Mom, are you okay?" asked the voice to the left of her.

"Go upstairs to your room kiddo," said the voice on the right. It sounded nervous, expectant. "We'll wash up soon."

Chi-Chi dared to open her eyes again, a tiny headache starting behind her right eye.

"Hey ya, Chich!" Goku greeted her with the most adorable grin he had ever given her. He looked over at Bulma and smiled wider. "Bulma! What're you doing here? I didn't even sense you coming!"

"Which tree was that, Goku?" interrupted Chi-Chi, hoping it was a small one. Larger ones always brought the mess of giant broken branches and leaves she could never remove from the backyard, spacious as it was.

"Oh that wasn't a tree babe," her husband said, kissing her forehead and taking a seat at the table. "That was lightning!"

Bulma's face had gone very white. Chi-Chi looked at her anxiously.

"Are you alright? You're really pale…."

"I should probably leave now," Bulma responded, sounding nervous.

Who could have predicted that he would live through the destruction of his world twice? The first has decimated the planet Vegeta, had ripped apart the blood and ties of the Saiyan race and had tampered its survival. There had been nothingness, not even traces left of Frieza's ruin. The second destruction had occurred just hours ago.

The earth had betrayed him her hospitality, had allowed him to temporarily surrender his vices so that he may exist for the time being, in peace. He had never wanted ties to this planet, had refused her his tolerance of earthlings and their frivolity. He had only moodily awaited the robots so that they could be destroyed right along with that buffoon Kakarot! But now... All of that, anything he had ever desired had been shaken, had crumbled around him, encasing him in a prison that not even he, Prince of the Saiyans, could not escape.

He had been careless and taken in.

The television glared at him from the darkness of the living room. He was pressed flat against the wall while he waited for the woman to return. Occasionally he lost himself in the moving images on the screen, the volume turned so low not even he could hear it. It was nearly bearable with the sound off, though he supposed if he watched T more often he could grow accustomed to it. There was much to grow accustomed to.

It was late and she still hadn't returned from her unannounced outing. There was a tinge of something like worry churning his stomach. The repugnance Vegeta felt at his anxiety over the Earthling gripped his insides, melting his innards. He held back his agony by biting his tongue and clamping his lips shut.

It was indescribable the way his body reacted to her absence. Now that she was with child he wondered if it would ever let her leave unannounced again. Vegeta gritted his teeth and pushed those thoughts away. Once he knew for sure, once he could sense the fetus within her, he would not be able to leave her. It would be his duty to protect them both.

The gentle sound of a motor caught Vegeta's ears. He listened as the front gates chimed open. The motor grew louder, idled in front of Capsule Corp. and abruptly cut off.

Vegeta stiffened. She had returned.

His eyes locked on the front door. He waited and waited and waited.

Why wasn't she coming? What was taking her so long?

He could wait no longer. Vegeta seized the doorknob in his hand and pulled it open just as it was pushed into him. Agile as ever, he missed the door by inches.

The woman was staring at him with wide blue eyes, her round pink mouth shaped in an 'o'. She did not say anything though, merely stared.

"Where have you been?" Vegeta asked impatiently.

She sighed and locked the door behind her. Vegeta noticed for the first time that she was soaking wet. Her hair clung to her face and neck. She looked terrible.

"Since when do you care?"

The woman pushed past him and threw off her coat, leaving it dripping wet on the floor. He grabbed her arm and stopped her.

"Woman!"

"No, Vegeta! I'm not in the mood alright?" She wiped droplets of water from her face. "I've had a long night and I'm just not in the mood!"

He hated more than her that he absolutely needed to know where she had been. He wished that he had not waited for her to come home so that she would see his revolting concern.

"We need to talk woman, and now," Vegeta said firmly.

His willingness to speak with her must have peaked her curiosity because she actually turned back to him and gave him her full attention.

"About what exactly? How I'm just a liar?" she asked curtly, her arms folded across her chest.

"Why are you so wet?" he asked instead.

She breathed through clenched teeth. "I was facing my fears."

Vegeta narrowed his eyes. "What are you talking about?"

"I went back to that place you took me," she said curtly, as though she would really rather not explain her whereabouts. "I stood on the edge of the cliff and looked over."

Glaring Vegeta asked, "You expect me to believe that?"

"I don't expect anything from you."

He did believe her. She was insane.

She rolled her eyes upward towards the ceiling. "What are we talking about again? I have a long day ahead of me tomorrow."

Vegeta curled his upper lip. Her faux ignorance was irksome.

"That," he snarled, pointing at her stomach.

"What about that?" she asked crossly, apparently not liking his choice of words for the unborn child.

"What are you going to do about it?"

She didn't speak aloud but she did not need to. Her eyes instantly widened and watered but no tears spilled. She began to shake.

"HOW DARE YOU VEGETA!"

The woman bared her teeth at him, the fury coming off of her in waves.

"COULD YOU BE ANYMORE OF A JERK IF YOU TRIED?" she shouted. "I'M NOT GOING TO GET RID OF IT JUST SO YOU CAN HIDE WHAT YOU'VE DONE! IS THAT SOMETHING YOUR STUPID LITTLE MONKEY BRAIN CAN UNDERSTA-"

He was completely taken back. He may give her some credit here as he truly had no idea what she was talking about. "WILL YOU STOP SCREAMING AT ME AND EXPLAIN YOURSELF?" he yelled back.

"NO!"

"AND WHY NOT?"

"BECAUSE YOU'RE A HUGE DWEEB!"

Silence.

"THAT'S WHY!" she added with a self-satisfied smirk on her face.

Vegeta was at a loss for words. Here the woman finally looked happy, though nothing had been solved and he was still uncertain as to why he had been screamed at in the first place. Could he still be so uninformed about Earthlings?

This is no ordinary Earthling, he reminded himself sullenly, this is a woman. And after all his time here he still had no idea how they worked.

"I hope the baby doesn't come out a thing like you," she told him airily, walking away and heading towards the staircase. "It'd be all the better it if was exactly like me."

"Shopping before it can talk."

She turned around and pointed at him. "Eating like a maniacal pig."

"Looking like a pig."

Her eye twitched. "Smelling and not bathing like a pig!"

"Being immature!"

"Being UGLY!"

Vegeta's eye twitched. He didn't really have anything to say to that.

"So there!" she declared, her face a shining example of triumph.

He balled up his fists, hating to lose at anything and still not sure what the hell he had done to warrant such an attack in the first place.

"You have no idea what you're talking about woman," he said, determined to lay everything out on the table no matter how much he did not want to. "You tell me that you're with child and then refuse to give me any further information."

"Because we both know what's about to happen," said the woman, blinking a few times too many. "I'm already prepared for you to leave. If you're sticking around for the doctor's appointment tomorrow then I understand."

"You want me to leave."

She arched an eyebrow much like he would have. "I never said that. You're more than welcome to stay."

"I won't stay if you'd prefer I leave."

And he wouldn't. Vegeta would not impose himself where he was not wanted.

"I'll see the child on my own," he said stonily, his face void of emotion.

The woman did a double take. "Excuse me? You'll see what?"

Vegeta was offended. "You didn't think that I would want to see my heir? With or without you I will stay to train the child until it is able to care for itself."

He meant it, she could tell. In the dim light Bulma wasn't sure if he could see her tearing up, but she hoped that he could not. She was embarrassed enough for thinking what she had thought about him. Of course, any normal person would have taken offense to the question he had asked her earlier.

He wasn't normal though. Of course his question had meant something different.

Kame she wanted nothing more now than to throw her arms around his neck and thank him for staying. She had barely admitted to herself how much his presence would help her, how his staying would show more to a commitment to raising his child. It would be evidence that somewhere deep down he was capable of being a good person.

"Vegeta I…" she began, but could not finish.

"What?"

His voice sounded hardened and she knew he was protecting himself against her, against her hurtful accusations.

Bulma bit her bottom lip; keeping her pride in check was so difficult. She did not really want to beg him to stay.

"I'd like you to stay and help me out," she finally admitted. A piece of dried hair stuck to her face and itched.

There was a silence in which Bulma scratched at her cheek, any anger she had once felt evaporating and not returning. Would he accept her request? Now that he had the upper hand would he use it against her?

So what if he chooses to leave, a strong voice said in the back of her head. You're strong and smart and independent. It's not your loss.

Her voice was right but she wished it would shut up.

"Fine."

He said it in a way she could not decipher, but it was a welcomed confirmation nonetheless.

"I'm really tired," she said to him and paused. "Do you…?"

Wordlessly he began to walk upstairs in front of her.

"Who have you told?" he asked her once the two of them were laying down side by side in her bed.

"My mom knows," Bulma said sleepily, burying her head in her pillow for comfort. "So I guess dad knows too. And I told Yamcha earlier today."

Vegeta stiffened beside her. Bulma didn't mind, she found it oddly endearing.

"He was pretty mad at first," she said with a yawn, "but we're okay now. He's going with me to my doctor's appointment tomorrow."

She paused.

"Vegeta I need to know something and no matter what I need you to tell me the truth about it."

He turned to face her, his dark eyes boring into hers. "Alright."

She pulled the covers up to her chin. "Before I went to our place... I stopped by Chi-Chi's."

"To spy on Kakarot for me?" he asked suspiciously. "I don't need your help to defeat him woman. I'm perfectly capable of handling him all on my own!"

"Will you shut up and listen?" she cried out impatiently. "I stopped by Chi-Chi's because... well because you said it was going to... that the baby would r-rip out of me."

Vegeta's face was the mask of confusion. After a moment he seemed to realize what had given her that idea and he smirked.

"Relax woman," he said to her. "I wasn't entirely serious."

"Entirely?" she echoed.

He sighed. "In a sense, the infant will do exactly that. At least that's what I have been led to believe by your stupid Earth television. The baby's Saiyan heritage should not impact how it is delivered. You will not die in labor."

"I suspected as much given Chi-Chi's being here and all," Bulma said sarcastically. "But will it hurt a lot? You said it being half-Saiyan won't change how it's delivered."

"It won't," Vegeta answered her, closing his eyes. "Women die giving birth, that is a fact. If you should do so it would not be in regards to the child's parentage. But I will not let you," he added hastily, perhaps sensing her fear.

Bulma snuggled closer to him, though the two did not touch.

"What are you going to do tomorrow?"

"The usual. If you ever let me sleep."

His short words with her were irritating but nothing to worry about. She wasn't completely selfish. She'd give him some time to absorb the information but eventually he would need to accept it.

Until then she was content to just lay next to him, listening to his steady breathing until they both fell asleep.

She was wearing a blue sundress that did not go well with the vomit colored green gurney she rested on. The crinkly white paper underneath her tickled her legs and made her uncomfortable.

"Yamcha how long does it really take to look at a blood sample?"

Her ex-boyfriend rolled his eyes and didn't move from his spot on the wall. "Bulma stop complaining. They'll be back any minute. Besides, thanks to you being a freaking celebrity we've only been here ten minutes."

That much was true. Everyone else in the waiting room, appointment or not, had seemed envious of her speedily arrival into the doctor's office.

"It's just so impersonal here you know?" she said as she looked around. "I mean, who decorates these offices? Everything looks so… disgusting!"

"Bulma."

Her eyes focused on the clean white and light green walls that enclosed her in the office. There were three blue stools that sat low to the floor. She knew the doctor would choose one of them to sit in while he told her the results of her pregnancy test.

"Ever consider what would happen if you were wrong?" Yamcha asked her, interrupting her thoughts.

"I'm right, trust me," said Bulma, observing a chart that showed the muscles in the human body. "I wonder if they'll have a date for me to pop already!"

Yamcha rolled his eyes again. Bulma couldn't complain about him though. He was being a good sport. She was really surprised that he had accepted her offer to come anyway.

The door creaked open and Dr. Ken, a small aging man walked inside holding a clipboard and wearing a grin.

"Congratulations Ms. Brief! You're having a baby!"

She smiled to appease the doctor. "How far along am I?" she asked, sitting up.

"It appears as though you're somewhere around three to four weeks pregnant," Dr. Ken responded, sitting on a stool and scooting closer to her bed. "I'm going to schedule you for your first real prenatal appointment in just a few weeks so that we can get you and your baby the best care available."

He continued.

"The baby right now is undergoing a lot of activity. He or she is going to grow a little, implant itself even further into the uterine lining and start developing some organs." He glanced at his clipboard. "You're going to be a little fatigued during this stage but no major worries there. You may have tender breasts soon, perhaps some nausea… I don't expect this will happen until a little later on in the pregnancy if at all. Do you have any questions for me?"

"Can she still exercise?" Yamcha cut in. "When will she need to be off her feet?"

The doctor smiled. "Ah, a nervous young father I see!"

Bulma gave Yamcha a look of happiness and did not bother to correct the old doctor.

"Don't worry. Until the second trimester there's no need to worry about excessive symptoms of any kind. Anything else?"

"Nope!" Bulma exclaimed before Yamcha could say anything else. "Thanks a lot Dr. Ken!"

"No problem, Bulma. A nurse will be in here soon to schedule your next appointment."

He stood up and shook both Yamcha and Bulma's outstretched hands. "Good luck you two!"

Bulma watched him leave, a tiny smile implating itself on her face much like her baby had done to her. It was so overwhelming and yet, knowing that inside of her at that very moment was a little creature that would look like her, love her, and need her... it was almost too much happiness for one person to bear.

She was surprised, yes. Had been a little thoughtless, of course. But she was happy.

Absolutely.

A/N: Another chapter bites the dust! Almost there everyone! Stay tuned for more!