Aftermath

Usagi's eyes fluttered open. A steady beep sounded in the background and blue walls surrounded her.

"You're awake," a masculine voice said.

Usagi searched for the voice and found a tall Saiyan standing at the end of her bed. "Where am I?"

"You are in the hospital," the man explained. "My name is Joshua, I'm a doctor here."

"Joshua? That's a very human name," Usagi said without thinking.

The doctor chuckled. "My father studied Earth, and gave me a common Earthling name. How are you feeling?"

"Woozy," she admitted. Then she remembered what happened. She looked at the doctor with wide eyes and was about to ask about her baby when she noticed Vegeta, asleep in the corner. "Vegeta?"

Joshua looked over toward his Prince. "He's been here since you arrived."

Usagi smiled, he truly did care about her. She dropped her voice to a whisper. "Doctor, my baby?"

He frowned. "I believe the reason you lost so much blood was because you had a miscarriage." He looked down at the chart in his hand. "Unfortunately, we don't have much experience in this area, so that's just an educated guess. But the scans we did showed nothing there. I'm sorry."

Tears threatened to jump from her eyes. "Did you tell Vegeta what happened?"

"No," he replied. "We have privacy laws here, even from the Prince."

Usagi nodded. "Thank you."

Over in the corner, Vegeta stirred and opened his eyes. "Princess, you're awake!" He walked over to her.

"Hi, Vegeta," she said quietly.

"I'll be back later to check on you," Joshua said with a smile.

"How are you?" Vegeta asked looking down at her.

"I'm okay," Usagi replied. "Confused, tired, weak."

"Princess, what happened?" Vegeta asked.

"I don't remember," she lied. She didn't know what Vegeta would do if she told him it was his father who did this to her.

Unable to stop himself, Vegeta placed a hand on her cheek, and looked into her eyes. "I'm just glad you're alive."

Usagi looked into the Prince's eyes. For the first time, she saw just how much he truly loved her, and guilt began to rise in her. She felt the sudden urge to tell him, when Goku walked in.

Vegeta pulled away from the woman. "We're just lucky Kakarot could use instant transmission to get you some blood from Earth."

Goku walked to her bed side. "Hey."

"Hey," she said quietly. Seeing Goku made the pain of losing their baby worse.

"Vegeta, your father wants to see you," Goku told his friend.

"I'll be back," Vegeta told Usagi before leaving.

No longer able to hold back her tears, Usagi began to sob. "Goku, our baby."

Goku leaned down and held the crying blonde tightly. "I know." He continued to hold her, allowing her to let her sorrow out.

"Let's run away," Usagi whispered after calming down a little.

"Usagi, what happened?" Goku asked pulling away from her to look into her eyes.

"King Vegeta," she said. "He knew about us, and about the baby, said he could smell it." More tears began to run down her face. "He told me he wouldn't allow me to have children unless they belonged to Prince Vegeta. Then he punched me in the stomach." She hung her head. "I'm sorry, I should have been able to block him, I just wasn't expecting it." She looked back at Goku to see the fire in his eyes.

"The King did this?" His voice was low, and angry. Usagi knew this voice; it was the one he used when he was getting ready to kill.

"Let's run away," she said again. "We can leave this place and be together." She grasped his shirt in desperation.

"I'll kill him," Goku growled.

Usagi began to panic; something she wasn't used to. "No, Goku don't, please. We were wrong to hide this. He has been so kind to me, and I betrayed him. I don't blame him for being angry."

"But he killed our baby." Goku's eyes were wide with amazement. "Usagi, what would you have me do?"

Her strength was waning. Letting go of Goku, she collapsed on the bed, defeated. "Nothing," she said quietly. "I would have you do nothing."

"Usagi," Goku said lovingly. He ran the back of his hand down her cheek.

"King Vegeta is like a father to me. The loss of one life is enough, and I can't have you betraying Vegeta any more than you already have." She sighed and closed her eyes. "I have seen you put your life on the line for him, and take multiple attacks just to keep him alive. He is your friend, and your prince, and I know your Saiyan blood compels you to obey him." She opened her eyes and looked at her lover. "I love you too much to ask you to do something so terrible."

Goku muttered her name once more and leaned down to kiss her gently. "I love you." He stood and took a deep breath. "They're sending me out on a mission."

"I'll come too," Usagi said.

"No," Goku admonished. "You need to heal, you lost a lot of blood. Besides, it's just Nappa and me going. I think this is a ploy to get me away from you."

"Probably," Usagi agreed. "How long will you be gone?"

He sat down beside her and took her hand into his. "I'm not sure, but it could be a few years from what I understand. It's a body guard job, I don't know much more than that."

"A few years?" Usagi's eyes went wide.

"I leave in an hour."

Once more tears began to fall from Usagi's eyes. She sat up and embraced the Saiyan she loved as if holding him for the last time. "Promise you'll come back to me."

"I promise."

They stayed like that for a long time. Simply enjoying each other's presence. A change in her breathing told Goku that Usagi had fallen asleep. She was still recuperating from her loss of blood, and her emotional state had drained the little energy she had left. Gently Goku laid the Moon Princess down on her pillow and kissed her lips. "I love you." Once more he ran his fingers down her cheek. He sat there, memorizing her every feature, fearing he may never see her again.

The sound of the door opening alerted him to Vegeta's return. Not caring at the moment what his friend thought, he continued to look down at Usagi. "Take care of her while I'm gone."

"With my life," Vegeta replied. "Kakarot, come back alive."

Goku turned to look at his Prince now. "I plan to."

"I'm not as stupid as everyone thinks I am," Vegeta said walking closer to Goku. "I've known what has been going on between you two for quite some time."

"I'm sorry, Vegeta," Goku said earnestly.

"If you die, she will be crushed, and I'll have lost my best warrior," Vegeta explained. "But don't think I won't try to win her heart while you're gone."

"I would expect nothing less." Goku smiled and stood up and clapped his hand on Vegeta's shoulder. "Good bye, Vegeta."

"Kakarot," Vegeta said looking at his friend. "Make the Saiyan race proud."

Over the next few weeks Usagi kept herself confined to her room. She was still having a hard time dealing with the loss of her baby, and with Goku being gone, it was harder for her. Vegeta tried his best to get her to come out of her room, but had no luck.

Three weeks after Goku left there was knock on her door.

"Go away, Vegeta," she said.

"Princess, may I have a word?" King Vegeta's voice rang through her door.

Usagi hesitated and looked down at the book she was reading.

"Serenity, please."

Placing her book down she stood and walked toward the door. She opened it slowly allowing herself time to breathe. "To what do I owe this visit?"

"May I come in?" The King asked.

Taking a deep breath, she nodded. "Sure." She closed the door behind him and they sat down at the small table she had in her room.

"Princess, I have come to beg for your forgiveness," he said. "I understand what I did was unforgivable."

Usagi looked down at her hands. "Your majesty, these past few weeks have been very difficult for me." She looked up at him and met his eyes. "Not only did you deprive me of becoming a mother, but you sent my lover away. Only one other time in my life have I known more sorrow."

"I have no reasonable explanation for my actions, other than the love I have for my son," he explained. "But I came to realize, while trying to protect my son, I hurt the closest thing I had to a daughter."

A smile reached Usagi's lips. "I forgive you, not because I excuse your actions, but because you are the closest thing to a father I have had in a very long time."

"Thank you, Serenity," King Vegeta said humbly. "I beseech you to try and love my son. He is learning much, and will make a great king some day; I just pray you will be his queen." He looked out the large window close by. "As you have noticed, females are scarce on this planet. We have not had a queen for many thousands of years. We are a proud race of warriors, and most women of other races don't meet our standards for child bearing; we want our offspring to be stronger, so both parents must have strong genetics, and a desire to teach their children to fight. Very few of our children are born naturally." He looked back at Usagi. "The Moon Kingdom is known for their production of female heirs. You are a princess, you deserve to marry a prince."

"I could have produced a female heir for Goku," Usagi nearly spat. "Is he not the strongest warrior you have?"

"I see you are still distraught," he said.

"Please, Sire, understand, I care deeply for Vegeta, but I am in love with Goku," she explained. "That is not something I take lightly. Goku chose me as much as I chose him. You said yourself Saiyans were particular about who they choose as mates." Her eyes bore into him. "If you will not allow me to produce offspring with Goku, then I will never produce any offspring of Saiyan origin."

"Princess, please . . ." the King began to protest.

"You need to leave." Usagi stood and walked away from the table.

King Vegeta hmphed and left her.

Looking out the window Usagi sighed. She wasn't surprised King Vegeta had tried to talk her into marrying Vegeta again. She sat in the window sill and picked up her book but didn't read it. Her mind wandered, wondering where Goku was. She hoped he was alright and that he would contact her soon.

Another year passed, Goku and Nappa were still gone. Vegeta and Usagi spent most of their time together and had grown even closer as friends. Vegeta learned that if he stopped pressuring her, Usagi was more willing to hang out with him.

As the anniversary of her miscarriage came upon her, Usagi began to feel down. She sat in her room looking out the window. She should be a mother right now. A knock on the door broke her out of her thoughts.

"Princess, it's me," Vegeta's voice called. "May I come in?"

"Come in, Vegeta." She didn't look at him as he walked over to her.

"What's the matter? You look troubled."

"It's silly really, don't trouble yourself with me." She looked up at him and gave a small smile.

"Anything that has to do with you is no trouble to me," Vegeta said. "Now, tell me what is troubling you?"

"It's been a year now," Usagi said. "Since I lost my child."

Vegeta sat down next to her in the window seat and looked her in the eyes. "I'm sorry, Serenity."

No one had ever told Vegeta the reason she lost her child, he didn't know what his father had done. She looked down at her hands, escaping his gaze. "Thank you."

"Can I do anything?" Vegeta queried.

"No."

Vegeta lifted her chin so she looked at him. He wanted to comfort her desperately, but had no words. What he did then was something he had never done before; he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a tight embrace.

Unable to hold it in any longer, Usagi cried. This was the first time she had cried in front of the Prince. She buried her face into his chest as he held her, her tears soaking his shirt. Vegeta ran a hand through her medium length blonde hair, trying to soothe her. Pushing back her bangs, he kissed her forehead.

This woman did nothing in moderation. She loved with all her heart, and fought with all her strength; and when she hurt, she hurt with every fiber of her being.

Usagi pulled away from Vegeta and wiped the tears from her eyes. "I'm sorry." She looked up at him.

"Don't apologize," he said softly. "It's nice to know you trust me enough to show these emotions." He looked down at the puffy eyed Usagi and smiled. "You're still beautiful as ever." His eyes found hers, and the next thing he knew, he had leaned down and was kissing her gently.

That's all for this chapter. I know Vegeta was out of character, but remember this is an alternate universe where he was never a salve to Freeza, so I thought I'd make him a little softer. Hope you enjoyed, please review, and stay tuned for the next chapter.

Gohaun