A/N Sorry for the delay. Blame CastleVille, and a slew of other apps I got myself addicted to. I could've sliced this into two chapters, but I figured after this long wait you guys deserved a nice long update. I couldn't get the begining how I wanted it no matter how I tried, so bear with in the first few paragraphs. They aren't up to my usual standard. Rest assured that there's plenty of fun throughout the 4,850 word update.

Disclaimer: I got an awesome cookbook from my mom over the holidays, but alas no one bought me Dragonball Z.

Chapter 3: The Lies We Tell Ourselves

There was no reason for him to do what he did. None at all. Catching her was one thing, but the way he'd gone about it sickened him. The way having her that close made him feel sickened him. It wasn't that she wasn't still attractive despite her growing baby bulge... wait, what?

This was completely wrong. She wasn't worthy of him, and most importantly she wasn't his to desire.

"Desire?" he breathed to himself, "Oh shit."
He'd been growing soft. He tried to reason his way around it by justifying his every action from an angle to make it seem as though each thing he did for her was more to his own benefit. It was a self deception at best, and not even a very clever one at that.
He just had to hope that everyone was more oblivious to his increasingly unbecoming behavior than he was.

She set down her planner and massaged her temples. The butterflies hadn't settled from her encounter at breakfast that morning. Remembering the feel of his strong arm around her, steadying her, comforting her... "No that can't be right!" she complained aloud to herself. Vegeta isn't the type to comfort anyone. She knew this, but still.

"Why can't I get him off my mind?" she grumbled. It was a simple matter of wanting what you can't have. That's all. "It's not, and you know it." she berated herself.

Once upon a time it had been that simple, but that was before she'd had a taste of what he had to offer. She knew that just a taste would never be enough, and that he had to have known what he was doing. No virgin could be that good no matter how well equipped. If that had been his first time she was dying to know how could he could get once he'd had a bit of experience, and if he was experienced she desperately wanted to know what other tricks he knew.

"Stop it! Stop it! Stop it!" She punctuated each exclamation by beating her head against her notebook. Getting herself all hot and bothered over Vegeta was not helping her get tonight's party put together.

Her mother worked dilligently on the food preparations. With two and a half Saiyans on the guest list it was bound to be taxing, but Mrs. Brief took it all in stride. She made desserts untill the buffet table set aside for them was near the point of collapse, and there was still a batch of cookies, three cakes and two pies still baking.
Sushi was done and filling no fewer than 12 large tupperware containers in the fridge. Half of the ovens now contained hams, turkeys, and lamb.
Pork ribs and chicken filled the smoker on the back patio. The kitchen counters were covered with chopped, minced, sliced and diced vegetables ready to go into stews, salads, vegetable dishes, and appetizers.

Bulma was overseeing the decorations, and with a team of professionals hadn't managed to make nearly the headway her mother had on her own.
Usually she could keep pace, but damn. Just damn.

"Ms. Briefs, we can take it from here."

"You're a lifesaver, Nadia." Bulma replied. "I just can't seem to get my head on straight."

"I know what you're going through," Nadia comforted, "I have three of my own."

"You can tell?"

Nadia quirked an eyebrow.

"How?"

"Well, for starters I've been pregnant before, and secondly, no offense, but you're a bit too vain to let a bump of any size rest on that tummy of yours for any reason. Then when you factor in that hottie with the spiked hair and the spandex shorts I saw in the yard about an hour ago. Honestly I thought is was time you ditched Yamcha. He's way too much of a player, and you don't seem to connect anymore."

"Um, I'm still with Yamcha. In fact I planned this party to tell our friends about the baby."

"Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry."

"It's okay, I actually agree with you on a good bit of it to tell you the truth." she confided, "Is it really that obvious?"

"Which part?" Nadia asked as she lead Bulma out of the range of prying ears. She had a few new girls on her design team, and she could never be sure if she could trust them not to leak to the tabloids should they hear anything juicy. She had no desire to loose Bulma's trust.

"Yamcha and me not clicking anymore." Bulma said quietly once they had settled on the plush couch in the den.

"That's been obvious for a while. Even before you took your extended vacation." Bulma blushed slightly knowing that the extended vacation Nadia spoke of was her trip to Namek.

"To tell you truth I think I'd be done with him if it wasn't for the fact that I'm pregnant. I'm willing to give him a chance to be a father to his child,and be a family."

"So, what's the scoop on 'Spikey?'" Nadia ventured. "He seems like your type if I ever saw it. Isn't there even the slightest chance that he's the father. Didn't you get a piece of..."

"Keep it down, and yes. I did, but only once and the due date doesn't match up. So it's not his."

"What was he like, if you don't mind my asking..."

"I was in control for about half of it, and it amazed me how every little move he made made it even better." the heiress's eyes glazed over for a moment, "Then he took over, and he totally blew my mind. He used positions I'd never even thought of, and the angles, and oh god is he flexible! I never knew it could be that good. If I had to describe it in one word I would definately have to say 'Super.'"

"Better than Yamcha?"

"By leaps, bounds, and lightyears. It was the best I've ever had. Either Vegeta is a sex god, or Yamcha has no idea what he's doing."

"Can't it be both?"

The girls shared a hearty laugh that drowned out the sound of a sports bottle dropping to the floor in the kitchen from which a beet red Vegeta had just fled in embarassment to the Gravity Chamber after having heard the woman share his sexual exploits.

"Here she is setting up a party to tell everyone about her and the weaklings child, and she's bragging about me to the decorator." His momentary embarassment melted away as a prideful smirk took possession of his face. "Sex god? Woman, if you only knew." he said darkly to himself as his smirk expanded it's territory across his face.

Bulma awoke from a three hour nap with less energy than when she laid down. "Damn it." she cursed sleepily as she slid into the outfit she picked out three days prior. She made quick work of freshening her makeup and getting her hair the way she wanted it.

When she opened her bedroom door she heard her mother offering drinks to some of the guests who had arrived early. She rushed down the hall and cut around the corner and ran headlong into a freshly showered Saiyan. She stumbled backwards a few steps and nearly fell, but a strong set of hands steadied her once more.

"You need to watch where you're going, buster!"

The prince quirked an eyebrow, "I should watch where I'm going? Woman, you are carrying a child. You are the one who should be more careful. I won't always catch you." He crossed his arms and leaned against the wall behind him.

"You jerk!" Her arm jerked back to strike him, and instantly found herself face to face with an angry Vegeta.

"I am not your pathetic weakling. You will not raise your hand to me." His voice was calm and even, and his grip on her wrist was firm but gentle. "You need to get your head on straight and your hormones in check." he leaned in closer, "I paid you an uncharacteristic kindness twice today." he breathed into her ear, "I could've easily let you fall, but I didn't. Remember that."

Her cheeks flushed red with embarrassment both from the truth of his words, and the proximity of his body. "I'm sorry, Vegeta."

"And..." he said expectantly pulling his face away from her ear so he could look her in the eyes.

"Thank you."

"That's better."

As he released her wrist she leaned into him and rested her arms on his shoulders and around the back of his neck.

"Thank you." she repeated, "I've been such a bitch, and you don't deserve it."

Her voice cracked on the last word, and Vegeta now feared the worst. She was about to cry, and the last thing he wanted was to deal with was a crying female. His mind leaped back to the last time he'd seen the woman on the verge of tears, and didn't wind up bawling. He mimicked what her mother had done in that instance, drew her close, and slowly moved his hand in circles on her back while holding her head his shoulder.

It wasn't that he was particularly worried about the woman's feelings, or even had much of an aversion to her crying aside from the headache he'd have. No, he was more concerned with her wailing bringing the unwanted attention of ...

"Hiya, Vegeta!"

"Kakarrot!"

"Goku!" Bulma pulled away quickly realizing the compromising position she was in. "We were just..." she stammered.

"I can tell you're busy. See you at the party!" Goku said happily as he poofed out of existence. At first Vegeta thought his fondest wish had come true until he remembered that Instant Transmission trick of his.

"C'mon, just a few more drinks. Then we can go to that bimbo's party." said a blue haired girl with blonde eyebrows.

"I don't think you were invited, Synthia."

"But Yamcha, it would be a great way to research my role. How can I effectively play Bulma Briefs if I've never met her?"

"It's kind of a private affair. Just a handful of close friends. You aren't missing much of a party."

"I can promise one hell of an after party if you take me along." she purred coming up behind him and kneading his shoulders.

He grinned stupidly from ear to ear and took another shot.

Under normal circumstances Yamcha would never dream of taking a girl he was banging within a hundred miles of Bulma, but Synthia Vaughn wouldn't take "no" for an answer. A few drinks later Yamcha had ingested enough courage to convince himself he pull this off without a hitch.

Since the party didn't officially start for about another fifteen minutes she felt that she had time to share a guilty pleasure with an old friend.

"Hey Chi Chi, I got something to show you."

"Really, what is it?"

"You'll see. Just come with me."

She led her into the den and popped in a DVD.

"I can't believe I'm actually doing this" Piccolo grumbled.

"C'mon this is gonna be fun, just relax and loosen up." Gohan said happily.

"Where'd your mom go?" Goku asked as he looked around courtyard.

"I think your wife went back inside with Bulma." Piccolo responded.

"What's shaking guys?"

"Krillen!" Gohan laughed and flew straight into his friend knocking him over. "It's so great to see you."

"Great to see you too, and man I can already see you've improved a great deal. You're twice as strong as you were on Namek. Your training must be pretty intense."

"Yeah, Dad and Mr. Piccolo are pretty hard on me, but it's really paying off. I know I'll never be as strong as they are, but you got to have something to shoot for."

"Yeah! Serves that bitch right! Stab her again!" Chi Chi's voice echoed from inside the house.

In a few heartbeats the gang had gathered at the source of the commotion. Chi Chi and Bulma were sitting in the den watching and cheering as a serial killer gutted Krillen's ex girlfriend on the big screen tv. Goku was quick to cover his son's eyes, not because he thought that his son was unaccustomed to gore, but rather because the woman being cut up was completely nude.

"Marron?" Krillen said weakly as his eyes remained glued to the screen. Master Roshi and Oolong had elbowed their way to the front of the crowd to get a better look.
"Any chance you can rewind this back to where she's still in one piece." Master Roshi inquired and was immediately answered with Bulma's right hook.

Thirty minutes into the party everything should've been fine, but there were a few things that had the blue haired hostess. For once, Vegeta wasn't one of them. He managed to combine his three favorite pastimes of keeping to himself, eating, and trying to out do Goku. He and Goku were neck and neck piling on a fourth helping of food onto their flimsy Styrofoam plates. She was used to his behavior so while she wished he stay closer he wasn't acting uncomfortable. That was more than could be said about Tien.

Tien definitely had more on his mind than fusing over Choutzu. They had been among the first to arrive, and he stood to his feet every time the door opened only to sit back down with a resigned look on his face. She didn't know him as well as she did most of the others. He'd only stayed at Kame House for a few weeks after Goku had defeated King Piccolo, and most of that was spent training so there wasn't much time to get acquainted. There was something very off about him tonight.

Goku had a completely nonchalant attitude about catching her with Vegeta. She had expected some sort of accusatory glare. Something to indicate that he didn't approve, but he seemed completely happy with her. He didn't even question Yamcha's absence.

Yamcha's absence was what had her the most bothered. This was supposed to be their big night to celebrate with their friends the life they'd made together, and he was late. She'd been asked the what the occassion for the party had been, and her answer had been simply, "You'll find out when Yamcha gets here." He was nearly an hour late, and she was pissed. Not even Puar knew where he was. She was sure they'd finished shooting two hours ago, but he'd called and said to meet him here.

Goku couldn't be happier. There was lots of food, good friends, and Trunks was definitely on the way. Seeing Vegeta showing a softer side to Bulma made him feel much better about his oldest and dearest friend hooking up with a former mass murderer. He could feel the powerful ki growing inside of Bulma. Things had sorted them out just as the boy from the future had predicted. Aside from the heart virus, that is. He was being more careful about these days, and didn't do anything that Chi Chi said would "make him sick." Having the antidote was a nice insurance against it, but he'd be happier if he didn't get the virus at all.

Vegeta could see that the woman was no doubt troubled that her loser boyfriend hadn't arrived yet. Instinct drove him to go over to her and urge her to sit down, try to relax, and remind her that the wimp feared her far too much not to come. He restrained himself easily and bit into his burger. Mrs. Brief had outdone herself, and he wouldn't have minded taking the time to savor the grilling perfection that graced his tongue. If he did, Kakarrot would surely surpass him in food consumption, and he simply couldn't have that. One thing he loved about a Brief's party was that it was never restricted to one type of earth cuisine, and featured a healthy sampling of the best this planet had to offer whether it was burgers, ribs, curry, sushi, jerked pork, enchiladas the list went on and on. He'd just bit into his last piece of sushi (from this trip) when he felt the weakling's ki approach. His hover car landed just outside the courtyard where the festivities were under way. The moment the door opened a familiar scent hit him. He'd never met the source of this scent. He only knew it because it commonly clung to Yamcha. He dropped his fork in utter disbelief as an obviously intoxicated scarred loser exited his hover car with another woman in tow.

"Hey guys!" he said cheerfully as everyone stopped what they were doing to greet the latecomer.

"Hey Yamcha," Choutzu said as he floated up to the bandit turned ball player, "Bulma said we'd find out what the party was about when you got her."

"She did?" Yamcha stammered.

"Who's the lady?" Master Roshi was quick to interject. "Aren't you gonna introduce her to the man that taught you everything you know?"

"He's a baseball couch?" his escort inquired.

"Slow down, everybody."Yamcha said waiving his arms.

"Yamcha!" Puar squeaked as she hovered over the crowd to get to her best friend. "I hope you know what you're doing." she whispered.

"I guess in case you haven't heard. I'm gonna be in a movie." he exclaimed.

"So that's why Bulma threw the party."Oolong deducted.

"Yamcha!" Bulma fumed as she elbowed though everyone so she could scold her man properly.

"Hey Bulma, sorry I'm late. I wanted you to meet my co-star Synthia Vaughn. She's playing you in the movie." He quickly covered.

"So you're Bulma Brief. Pleasure to meet you." the actress greeted.

"The pleasure is mine." she responded, and was momentarily diffused. "There's still some food left though Goku and Vegeta have already made quite a dent already.

Vegeta had to applaud the weakling for his boldness. Thus far he had covered his tracks well, but he doubted the nimrod could hold the charade for long. He decided to play a little game and went up for his fifth helping, but this time scaled it back to more "human sized" portions. He could out do Kakarot later. He made his way over to the actress, and began making small talk.

"I believe I've seen a few of your movies." he said as he picked up a few kabobs and a scoop of roasted potatoes onto his plate.

"Well I've only been in a few," she began in a dismissive tone and stammered to a halt when she got a good look at the bronzed man beside her in the spandex shorts and tank top. "I don't believe Yamcha ever mentioned having a friend as ruggedly handsome as yourself."

"Well, we're not exactly what you'd call friends."

"I see." she said as she stole a glance over to her jealous co-star, "but I don't see a single reason why we can't be on good terms, Mister?"

"Vegeta." he said smugly knowing full well that it was burning Yamcha alive to see his little plaything eating right out of the Prince's hand.

He walked over to the Bulma's table and set his plate down. Synthia followed suit, her eyes glued to the Saiyan Prince. Yamcha followed Cynthia to the table, and thus fell right into Vegeta's trap.

"This movie I'm doing with Yamcha is probably my biggest role yet." she bragged as she scooted a few more inches closer to Vegeta causing both Yamcha, and to the saiyan's surprise, Bulma to fume.

"Weren't you in "The Birch Lane Massacre?" Bulma inquired.

"Yes, you could say that most of my roles have been in the 'Horror' genre." she responded.

"I bet running up all those stairs must be quite a workout." Bulma lightly jabbed.

"I'm amazed you've had time watch any movies, the way you train all the time." Yamcha chided trying to get Synthia's attention back.

"Training for what?" she asked with genuine interest.

"All he ever does is fight. I doubt he'd be here if it wasn't for the free food."

Usually Vegeta wouldn't stand for such remarks from the likes of Yamcha, but in this case it served a purpose. The woman was sure to pick up on the Yamcha's jealous behavior regarding his floozy. Now to start the second phase.

"Bulma," he said completely disregarding Yamcha's derisive comment's, "I must say you've truly outdone yourself this time."

"Thank you, Vegeta." she said smiling contentedly.

"You know this doesn't have anything on some of the parties I've been to." Synthia interjected.

"Really, like whose?"

"Wistor Rhinehart for starters."

"I've been to Wister's parties. They couldn't hold a candle to the Annual Capsule Corp Holiday Gala. That's a red carpet event. Wister himself has said it's his favorite party of the year."

"What about Bernard Westing?"

"His parties are rarely the size of this one, and this is just something I threw together for a few close friends to celebrate something very special." she said with a dismissive flick of the wrist. "My mom catered this."

"I would've guessed Yamcha getting a start in the movie business would've been something worthy of a far grander celebration. It's a good thing you have at least one celebrity here."

Vegeta felt a hand brush his thigh. He had misjudged Yamcha's dalliance. The Prince hadn't counted on her continuing to pursue him right in front of loser.

"Hey Vegeta, I think Mrs. Brief just brought out dessert." Yamcha said hoping to put some distance between Vegeta and Synthia.

Bulma was getting more and more pissed by the second. Her boyfriend was actively picking a fight with Vegeta over his 'co-star,' and the bitch was getting more and more insufferable by the second. She needed some air, and she needed some payback.

"That sounds great. Hey Vegeta, wanna get some dessert with me."

"Sure, let's just hope that Kakarrot hasn't put his fingers in everything already."

The moment the Bulma and Vegeta got up Yamcha scooted over to Synthia and began speaking in fevered whispers.

"Babe, what the hell are you doing? We're guests."

"She started it."

"This looks good." Bulma said trying to take her mind off of her child's father.

"I'm fond of your mother's District 13 Chocolate Cake" (A/N: German Chocolate Cake)

"It's so nice to see you guys getting along so well with Yamcha." Goku said from behind them.

"What are you talking about, Kakarrot?"

"Well I figured this would've put more of a strain on your friendship."

"Goku. What are you talking about?"

Goku stared blankly at them for a few moments. "Oh nothing! Forget I said anything. Great party by the way."

"What an idiot."

"I've known Goku half my life, but I doubt I'll ever truly understand him."

The pair made their way back to the table with plates overflowing with goodies.

"Hope you left enough for everyone else." Yamcha chided as Bulma sat dawn on her side of the table. Vegeta sat next to Bulma to avoid the claws of the moron's plaything.

"Looks like someone's already had enough." Synthia said as she gave Bulma a once over. "Either that or your treadmill hasn't seen much use."

"No wonder you always play such a stuck up bitch in all your movies." Bulma snapped. "It's probably so you don't have to act. You can just be yourself."

"I beg to differ." Vegeta interjected, and drew the undivided attention of both women. "If her film career was any indication, you could expect her to take her clothes off as soon as she ceased to be interesting. That is obviously not the case otherwise she would have been nude within five minutes of her arrival."

"Bitch, you need to keep your man on a fucking leash!" Synthia shouted in outrage.

"What did you just say?" Bulma asked uncertain as to whether she heard the actress correctly.

Vegeta's first response was to tear this woman apart for the presumption that he could ever be leashed, but as the full implications of the statement hit him he decided it would be more amusing to see if that pathetic excuse for a warrior could dig himself out of the grave he was currently lying in.

"I think it's time to take you home Synthia. You've had a bit much tonight." Yamcha interjected as he quickly began ushering the actress back towards his hovercar.

"What the fuck did that stupid cunt just say to me!" Bulma shrieked loud enough to reverberate throughout the courtyard.

Cynthia ducked her way out from under Yamcha's arm and put her face nose to nose with Bulma. "I said." she paused to take a calming breath, "To keep your spikey haired bastard of a boyfriend on a fucking leash. Is that so fucking hard to understand?"

"Wait, you think Vegeta is my boyfriend?" Bulma's voice becoming more strained in anger with each word. She rounded on Yamcha, "Why would she think that Vegeta is my boyfriend?" she asked her voice low and even.

He scratched his head and sputtered as the rage built in Bulma's expression.

"You... you... you!" Bulma stammered.

"Catch ya later guys!" Yamcha yelled as he scooped up his co-star, and flew away in the blink of an eye.

"...You ASSHOOOOOLE!" Bulma screamed after him as they disappeared in the distance leaving his hovercar behind in his haste to escape.

"Well, I guess there is some good news." Gohan stated, "Since we revived Yamcha with the Dragonballs from Namek we can still use the Earth Dragonballs to bring him back after Bulma gets a hold of him."

"Good thinking son." Goku said as he patted his son on the head. "Good thinking."

A/N: There you have it folks. Hope you enjoyed. The next chapter is nearly done. I started writing it when I hit writer's block with this one. So it should be out in a reasonable amount of time. I'm throwing a bone to everyone who watched the original series "Dragon Ball" in the next chapter. It may spawn a spin off fic that I won't start til I've finished at least one of my other fics.

Please review. I hate to be a review whore, but deep down everyone who publishes on this site is.