Disclaimers: Don't own, don't ask, don't sue.
A/N: So, Chi-Chi knows about Rayne, but what else is she going to find out? How is she going to react to it? I know that most of you people cannot see the connection to Bulma and Vegeta just yet, but you wait! Oohh, There are LOTS of surprises in this one. Didn't I tell you guys I wasn't following the series? Isn't this much more entertaining and surprising?
Black Sunrise
Bulma held onto a small hand as she sat, huddled into the chair that was placed beside the infants bed. The doctors said that the little girl would be fine, she just had croup, but Bulma didn't believe them. She never believed the doctors. Chi-Chi walked quietly into the room and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Hey, why don't we go and get some coffee, or go sit outside for a while. She'll be fine."
Bulma stood up slowly and nodded her head. Chi-Chi led the way out of the large room, and into the elevator. "Let me tell you Chi-Chi, when you have kids, you'll understand what it's like...I hate seeing my baby girl lying in that bed with those tubes down her throat, in her hands...that's what...that's what..." Bulma couldn't take it any more and burst into tears.
Wide-eyed, Chi-Chi pulled the frazzled teenager into her arms and gave her a hug. "Shush, it'll be all right."
"Shit. I'm a fucking...mess." She sniffed, wiping her hands over her face. "Sorry."
"Hey, no problem."
They walked into the cafeteria and ordered some coffee. While they were waiting for the hot drinks, Chi-Chi looked at Bulma looking out a window. "Want to talk?"
She shrugged her shoulders and took the offered coffee into her hands and walked outside. "I guess I have a lot of explaining to do hm? But before I do anything, or say anything, I need to go and get my bag. I need a smoke like you wouldn't believe."
Chi-Chi laughed and latched her arm around Bulma. Dragging her to the sleek black car, she opened it up and let the young mother grab her purse. Bulma quickly drew out a cigarette and lit it, inhaling deeply, black eyes closed. "I was in grade 8 when I first met Matt. He was a year older than me, but he was perfect. Matt Robertson, tall, built, shaggy blonde hair and bright green eyes. We hit it off right away, and before we knew it, we were dating."
Bulma leaned up against the car and crossed an ankle over the other one. Chi-Chi did the same. "So? What happened? He knocked you up and took off?"
Bulma growled and turned her head, black eyes blazing. "Don't fucking say that! Don't you ever fucking say that again!" Shaking her head, Bulma sighed and took another drag off of her smoke. "Sorry. But no. That's not what happened. My parents told me that we were moving here and I was mad. So fucking pissed off I took off and went to Matt's house. I told him everything, well, almost everything. You see, I was pregnant, I knew it, but no one, no one knew. Matt was so understanding and considerate. He helped me pack and called me up one night, two nights before I was supposed to be leaving and asked me if he could come and pick me up. So I said yes of course, and got ready." She raked a hand through her hair and swallowed against the memories.
"I was going to tell Matt that night that I was pregnant. I knew that he would have been happy; I knew that we would have been happy. I was so nervous Chi-Chi, so fucking nervous. I waited for him to show up. And I waited, and I waited some more. He was never late, not for anything, in fact, Matt was always on time. I got bored so I started to watch a movie, but soon got bored of that. I tried calling his house but there was no answer, so I called his cell phone, and he didn't pick up. I don't know how long I waited for...but I started to flick through the channels on the television, and stopped on the news. There was a picture of Matt. He had gotten into a car accident."
She was silent for a few minutes as she finished off her cigarette. "Cara, my best friend called and told me that she was picking me up and we were going to the hospital. I told Cara as we were leaving my house that I was pregnant. She was the only one that knew. Once we got there, we had to deal with this fucking idiot of a nurse. Soon enough, we ran into Chloe and Markus. I needed to see Matt so I walked into his room and sat beside him. I begged Chi-Chi, I fucking begged for him not to leave me. I told him he was going to be a daddy. His hand tightened around mine, and then he died. He fucking died while I was holding his hand." Tears were falling freely down her cheeks and Chi-Chi wrapped an arm around her.
"Hey, it's not your fault. It's not your fault at all."
"But he was coming to see me. He was on his way to see me, and he died because he was coming to see ME!" Bulma sobbed. Placing her hands on her face, she roughly rubbed it for a few moments before she let out a curse. Reaching into her bag once more, she pulled out a contact holder and tilted her head back. She placed her black contacts into the clear solution and rubbed her eyes, then turned to look at Chi-Chi.
She gasped. The most beautiful blue eyes she had ever seen were looking right at her. "My god. You're fucking beautiful." Chi-Chi whispered, heart hammering in her chest.
"Not really. This is only the outside, if people could see what someone looks like on the inside, you wouldn't think I was beautiful. Anyway, I didn't tell my parents that I was pregnant, and I refused to leave with them as they moved to Japan. I wanted to stay with Chloe and Markus, Matt's parents. They were thrilled and helpful in every way possible, and even understood when I went through my...changes. Not only did I change my eyes, but my hair, and got a few tattoos as well."
"Really?"
"Oh yeah." She pulled off her thick bracelets and showed the girl the tattoos on her wrist, then turned around to show off her angel wings on the back of her neck, then lifted her shirt to show the dragonfly on the small of her back. "That's all of them."
"They're really nice. Looks like they hurt."
"Not really. I don't remember the pain you know. My body was so numb after I lost Matt, I couldn't feel anything. I finished off my grade 10 year, and then Cara suggested that we go across Canada for the summer. It was stupid, but I agreed to it. Anyway, we were just passing the Alberta/BC border when my water broke and I started getting contractions. 7 months later, here I am in Japan."
"How did your parents take to being grandparents?"
"They didn't know what to think at first. I thought that my dad was going to freak right out, but he didn't. Mom accepted Rayne right away, and now the two cannot be separated. I go to school; I come home and look after my daughter. If I want to go out on the weekends, I've got to pay for a babysitter myself. But I don't have any friends, so I don't need to go out on the weekends."
"Don't you want friends?"
"At times, yes."
"Can I be your friend?"
Bulma was taken back by that question. Could she be Chi-Chi's friend? "I...I..."
"Don't worry, I get along great with Star, if that's what you're worried about. She's a real sweetheart. But you need more than just one friend. What do you say you and Star eat lunch with us tomorrow."
"But..."
"Vegeta? Don't worry about him. He's scared of women I think. Or, me and 18 at least." This caused Bulma to laugh lightly. "What? It's true. He hates getting yelled at, and he hates a woman that knows how to back talk. In fact, I think he hates us all so much he loves us. Why do you think he keeps bantering with you? If he hated you, he'd have ditched you. Nah, he's just waiting to get to know you. But totally, come eat lunch with us. You won't regret it."
"Chi-Chi, could you umm...please not say anything about...umm...any of this?"
"Any of what?" She flashed the blue-eyed girl a wink.
"Thanks." Chi-Chi pulled Bulma into a tight hug, startling the young woman was a bit slow on returning the hug.
"You won't be startled once I go back to being a hard-core bitch, will you?"
"You, a bitch? Always!" Chi-Chi laughed happily. "Anyway, what you do say to going back to Rayne, checking in on her, then heading to my place for the night? I'm sure you've got no problems with driving me to school in the morning...because if you do, I can always take the bus."
Bulma shook her head and shouldered her bag. "C'mon. Do you really think I'd let you take the bus to school? Listen, I'll have to stop off a—"
"No, no. You don't need anything. I've peeked into your purse and you carry everything in there but a spare change of clothes. You're about my size. I'll lend you something."
"If you're sure..."
"I'm sure I'm sure. Now c'mon. Let's go talk to your mom." The two girls linked their arms together and walked into the hospital. Once they reached Rayne's room, Bulma let her newfound friend go and walked to her daughter's bedside.
Chi-Chi was talking with Bunny while Bulma whispered sweet promises into her daughter's sleeping ear. "Sounds like a wonderful idea!" Bunny exclaimed happily.
"All right then. Well, we should probably get going, we've got school tomorrow."
"Yes, I know, and Bulma?"
"Yes, I know, leave my phone on at all times. Don't worry. The slightest change in her, even the SLIGHTEST, I want to be called."
Bunny nodded to her daughter then gave both girls a quick hug and watched as they walked out of the hospital room. She didn't think that she had over reacted, not in the least. Rayne had started coughing and gasping for air, and the first thing that Bunny thought to do was take the infant to the hospital. She wasn't sorry that she did.
Bulma laid her head against the window of her car, blue eyes closed as a yawn escaped from her lips. "We'll be there in no time. Don't worry. After we get back to my house, you can take a shower if you want, and then we'll go to bed."
"Hmm, sounds nice..." Bulma yawned, rubbing her tired eyes. Chi-Chi drove a bit faster than the speed limit and 5 minutes later she was pulling the Audi into her driveway. But the driveway wasn't empty.
"What the hell?" Chi-Chi muttered, cutting the engine and getting out. "Who the hell is at my house?"
Bulma lifted her head to look around. There was indeed another car, a car that she had never seen before. It was a dark red mustang classic, one like her father had in his garage. If her guess was right, it was a 1965, and in really good condition. There were two black racing stripes over the hood of the car that stretched out to the trunk. Hm, seems like I'm not the only one here. I wonder who else decided to come. Wait, I wonder if it's important? She climbed out of her car and followed Chi-Chi up the front steps and into the house.
"Hello?" Chi-Chi called out, turning on the lights as she went. Bulma walked into the living room and let out a strangled scream. Lying on the floor was a bloodied body that looked a lot like Vegeta. Chi-Chi came running in and gasped. "Shit. The little fucker...my god! What the hell did he get himself into this time? Help me roll him over..."
They struggled to turn Vegeta over and once they did, Bulma managed to slip a pillow under his head. "What the hell is this little shit think he's doing? Why the hell is he fucking bleeding all over your god damned fucking floor? Doesn't he have any fucking respect!?" Bulma growled.
Chi-Chi shook her head and sighed. "I guess it's my turn to start explaining. Vegeta has a younger sister; she's 16, and addicted to coke. To get a fix she does tricks. Vegeta caught wind of what she was doing a couple of months ago, and felt the need to go down to her corner and beat up every man that tried to talk to her. Now, her pimp didn't like that idea too much so he made sure that the next time our Vegeta boy here showed up, he'd get taught a lesson."
"And apparently he hasn't learned it yet. This has been going on for months you said? Why doesn't he just tell the police?"
"The pigs? Vegeta doesn't want to get involved with them."
"Record huh?"
"Just a little one. Nothing too major, but still."
"Understandable. Listen, what can I help you with?"
Chi-Chi shook her head. "There really isn't anything we can do. Just go to the bathroom, grad a towel. I'll bring in some warm water, and the best thing we can do for him right now is clean him up a bit. I know he's not going to be very happy to see you..."
"Then I won't let him see me. I'll be gone before he wakes up." Having said that, Bulma got up and walked to the bathroom. After rummaging around for a few moments, she pulled out a large black towel and the first aid-kit. Walking back with the required item, and the extra, she sat down and dipped the end of the towel into the warm water. "What an idiot." She scoffed to herself.
"Do you want some coffee?" Chi-Chi asked from the kitchen.
"Coffee would be great, but it'll keep me up all night. Just some water, and hey Chi-Chi?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you have a bandana? My hair keeps falling in my face." A few minutes later Chi-Chi walked in carrying a white piece of silk and a glass of water. She was glad to see that Bulma had cleaned up the blood from Vegeta's face, and was slowly working the damp cloth over his arms. The working woman stopped for a moment and quickly pulled the bandana over her head, securing her hair into a twisted knot before tying it securely behind her head.
"Hey, thanks. I always get a little squeamish when I see blood."
"It's no problem. Why don't you go and take a bath or something, you know, get cleaned up and ready for bed. I'll be done with him in a few more minutes. Just going to check to see that nothing's broken, and patch up a few things, then the arrogant prick can sleep it off."
Chi-Chi smiled and turned around, glad to see that Bulma was showing some form of interest in their moody friend. Granted, she didn't know what would happen if Vegeta woke up to find Bulma over him, and she didn't know what Bulma would do, but they were old enough to know the difference between right and wrong.
She sank deeper into the tub and let out a sigh, then began to think over everything that had transpired over the course of the day. First she invited Bulma over to watch a movie, then she finds out that the teen had a daughter, and then she finds out that Bulma's been emotionally hurt for quite some time. What was she going to do? Chi-Chi knew that the Bulma everyone is seeing isn't the real Bulma, and the girl had no clue how to get the other woman to come out of her shell.
Bulma hummed softly to herself as she gingerly plucked up the tight black shirt Vegeta was wearing to check if there were any injuries inflicted to his stomach. A large ugly black bruise stared at her, and she winced. "Well smartass, looks like you've got yourself a broken rib." She gently felt his ribs and groaned. "Correction, three broken ribs. Boy oh boy, you really took a beating. Poor guy." She worked the torn shirt up a bit higher and pulled out a few rolls of gauze and three tenser bandages. Bulma was able to wrap the gauze around his torso with a lot of pushing and pulling and once she was satisfied that the broken ribs would mend themselves correctly, she repeated the process with the elastic bandages, this time making the support wider so it covered all of his ribs, and not just the affected ones.
Thick black lashes started to flutter, and he let out a low pain filled moan. Bulma snatched her hands away from him and slowly pulled the medical bag closer to her. Vegeta was in pain and starting to wake up, he needed something to keep him sleeping throughout the night. Fingers grasped a bottle of painkillers and popped off the top. Spilling two into her hand, she moved to Vegeta's head and set it in her lap. Grabbing her glass of water, she picked up Vegeta's head and placed the cup to his lips, dribbling some of the cool liquid onto his mouth. He responded and opened his mouth, swallowing greedily the water that entered his mouth. Something was placed on his tongue, along with more water, and he struggled to swallow; but once he did, the process was repeated.
Bulma looked down at him and slowly placed his head back onto the pillow. He wasn't going to be very comfortable on the floor, but the floor was better than being moved. She went to grab the light blanket that was on the couch and as she started to spread it across his body, she let out a startled gasp as he looked at her with uneasy, drug-filled eyes. "Hush. It's all right. Go back to sleep." She whispered, placing a hand over his eyes, hoping he would close them.
If he found out that she was the one tending to him, he'd have freaked right out. Once she removed her hand, she found that he was still staring at her. Smirking to herself, she remembered that she didn't have her contacts in, and her hair was pulled away from her face and hidden. "Shush. Don't you move now. You got yourself into quite the scrap there young man." She whispered sweetly. "Yes, close your eyes, that's a good boy. Let the gates of sleep open to your mind and pull your weary soul down for the rest you've been neglecting."
She leaned over him and smiled to herself. He was really quite peaceful when he slept. Too bad he couldn't sleep for ever. He's really nice this way. When he wakes up he's going to be loud-mouthed and in the worst mood ever. I can't stay here tonight. I don't want to risk the thought of him waking up before I do and seeing my car in the driveway.
Bulma got up and walked to the bathroom door. "Chi?"
"Yeah?"
"I'm going to get going. I gave Vegeta some painkillers, but he woke up."
"Did he recognize you?"
"No, he was just, I don't know."
"He was alert, but nothing registered to his brain."
"Pretty much."
"Listen, why don't you come over tomorrow before school and pick me up then."
"Sure. Hey Chi?"
"Yeah?"
Bulma put her hand on the wooden door. "Thanks for everything. I bet you were pretty surprised about everything you found out tonight."
"You're damned right I was surprised, but hey, I won't tell anyone anything. But don't forget you're picking me up tomorrow, and then you and Star are eating lunch with us. Vegeta won't be at school. Don't worry about him. He'll get his ass into his car and then drive home to sulk. He does it all the time."
Bulma chuckled. "I'll catch you later."