Author's Note: A thousand apologies, my overwhelmingly wonderful readers! I caught the flu (standard variety, not swine!), and it would appear that while sick, I can't type to save my life. Seriously, I would think "J" and hit "Q". I was waaaaaay off. On the plus side, I've discovered that high fevers are a wonderful source of creativity, so there will likely be a plethora of updates and new stories in the next couple weeks.

And your support has been…wow…have I mentioned that you guys are awesome? Well, you are!

/\/\/\

Bulma's scream was long and shrill. In her panic, she stumbled backwards, very nearly loosing her balance. She frantically rounded the corner and flattened herself against the wall in a feeble attempt to hide.

"Oh, crap," Gohan muttered, rushing over to the frightened heiress. The rest of the group quickly surrounded her, all of them trying to calm her down simultaneously. Unfortunately, as anyone who has ever been overwhelmed can verify, being completely surrounded only causes panic to set in even deeper. Desperately, Bulma tried to get away from the crowd.

"Bulma!" Goku finally shouted, gripping her roughly by the shoulders, "It's okay! Get a grip!"

On the verge of hyperventilating, Bulma caught Goku's eye. "It's…it's…he's…"

"With us," Gohan calmly supplied, gently placing a hand on her back. "Vegeta's with us now, Bulma, and he has been for over a decade."

Slowly, Bulma regained control over her breathing. She didn't feel any less tense, but she could at least process basic information again. "Vegeta…the Vegeta…the one who murdered Yamcha, Tien, Chiaotzu, Piccolo, and even his own partner…the one that savagely beat Gohan and Krillen…the one that broke every single bone in Goku's body in multiple places, damn near crippling him…the one who hunted us all the way to Namek…that Vegeta…is on our side?"

Goku let out a sigh of relief and smiled at his oldest friend. "Oh, good, you understand!"

That comment alone almost left the poor scientist flabbergasted. Turning her attention to Gohan, she softly asked, "Do we want him on our side?"

"We do," Krillen verified. "Seriously, Bulma, once you get to know him, he's not that bad."

Still not fully believing her ears, Bulma turned to her only female friend. "Chi-Chi?"

The younger woman softly bit down on her lip before answering. "Bulma, I will always think of him as an arrogant son of a bitch, but I also know that he stands with us. And Krillen's right, he's not that bad." Occasionally, she mentally added.

Leaning forward, Bulma peeked back around the corner. There he was, the Saiyan that had haunted her nightmares, standing quietly in her indoor garden. His face didn't seem to hold any expression at all. It still seemed too far fetched that the monster that had hunted them across the stars could be with them.

But then her eyes shifted down, and slowly she felt her hatred fade. Trunks, that sweet, shy little boy that had lost his mother, was standing with his back to the Saiyan Prince. There was no space at all between them, and the boy had his head leaning back against the man's leg. And more than anything else, she saw the hand that was resting on the boy's shoulder.

"Trunks is Vegeta's son…" she whispered. "Vegeta has a son…"

Krillen laughed nervously. "Yeah, that's pretty much it." Glancing around quickly, the former monk tried to change the subject. "So, Chi-Chi, why don't you tell us all about why Gohan and Videl need to give you grandchildren!"

"Hold it," Bulma snapped, holding up her hand. "Is Trunks a pureblooded Saiyan?"

"Oh, not at all," Krillen casually said, trying to wave her off. "So, about those grandchildren…"

Bulma's eyebrows furrowed. "So I'm guessing that means that he's half human then, right?"

Krillen rolled his wrist and glanced around, trying to hide his anxiety. "Well, sure, if you want to put a label on the poor kid, but as I was saying, if Gohan and Videl got married, say, tomorrow, then they could have kids by…"

"So," the scientist reasoned, "that means that Vegeta…and some human woman…"

"Mommy, I'm hungry!"

All of the adults whipped around and looked at Goten. In the chaos that had ensued from Bulma's shock, they had all but forgotten the two poor children who wanted nothing more than lunch.

"Oh, baby, I'm sorry!" Chi-Chi apologized, rushing to her youngest son. "We'll have lunch right now, won't we, guys!"

"Ooh, the food!" Goku exclaimed, suddenly lighting up. "I actually forgot about it!"

Yamcha laughed loudly. "Write it down folks, history was just made! Son Goku, the Saiyan garbage disposal, has actually forgotten about food!"

"Stop the presses!" Krillen joined in. "It'll never happen again!" To himself, the diminutive man silently thanked Dende for the distraction. Anything that would help them buy enough time to try to iron out the situation was appreciated.

As the majority of the group migrated toward the food, pulling Bulma along with them, the two princes stood their ground. Neither one of them seemed at all interested in the meal any longer. "Dad," Trunks whispered as the others began their meal.

Vegeta didn't respond in any way. He just stood there, staring at the retreating form of his woman.

"Dad," Trunks said again, slightly louder, "too tight."

"Hn?" Vegeta grunted, still looking after Bulma.

"Too tight, Dad, too tight!" the boy whispered as loudly as he could.

Vegeta glanced down and realized what his son was talking about. As Bulma had freaked out, his grip on his son had been steadily getting tighter and tighter. He swiftly removed his hand from the boy.

Trunks wanted to rub out his sore shoulder, but he opted for his father's trademark stoicism. He didn't want to show any sign of weakness. Not then. Not when the others still might see him. And certainly not where his father could see him. No, it was time to be strong.

"Restore circulation."

The young prince looked up at his father, confusion evident in his eyes. "What?"

"Blood flow in your shoulder was interrupted," Vegeta replied, his voice void of any and all emotion. "In order to minimize any ill effects, rub it to increase circulation. Any injury, including stiffness, can be used by an enemy."

"And you should never let your enemy have any form of advantage on you if at all avoidable," Trunks finished. The boy immediately began to rub out is sore muscles. "Got it." As he rolled his joint around, he glanced up at his father. "So, that went well…"

Vegeta glared at his son. "Now is not the time for smart assed comments, boy."

"No, seriously," Trunks sincerely replied, looking up. "It actually went better than I thought it was going to. I mean, yeah, Mom screamed and totally wigged out, but everyone else jumped in and calmed her down enough for her to let it go for now."

The pureblood considered his son's words for a moment. True enough, as Bulma had begun to become hysterical, every single other person there had jumped in to assure her that he was no longer a threat.

Well, scar face was quiet, he mused, but at least he didn't make things worse…

It was a strange sensation that washed through him at that moment. In all the years he had spent on that world, he had always considered himself the outsider. With few exceptions, the rest of the group treated him, if nothing else, with caution. They were afraid of him, and he actually did like it that way. The only time any of them would step up and even attempt to aide him was when they needed him for some purpose.

He knew that they weren't doing it for his sake. He knew that they were doing it for his wife and his son. Still, knowing that he had people honestly on his side…it was an odd sensation.

"Hey, Dad?" Trunks quietly asked.

"Hn?"

The young prince turned and looked up at his father. "What if Mom's memory doesn't come back?"

"It will," Vegeta calmly stated.

Trunks hardly seemed convinced. "But how do you know?"

"I do."

"But…"

"If nothing else, there are the dragon balls," Vegeta snapped. "We can wish her memory back, if need be."

Trunks didn't say another word. He knew that tone, and he knew it well. The time for questions was over, and any further attempts to ask them would not be well received. "Let's get some food," he quietly said.

Vegeta just silently followed. He did not want to think about what his son had just said. He had to have faith that Bulma's memory would come back, and that it would come back soon. If they had to wait for the dragon balls to recharge, it would take over five more months for him to get his wife back. Vegeta wasn't sure he could last another month without her.

He was certain that he could not make it five more months.

/\/\/\

"So Vegeta has a half human son?" Bulma quietly asked Chi-Chi as they went down the buffet together.

The younger mother nodded. "Trunks is nine years old," she clarified. "He and Goten have been best friends since the day they met. Usually, they're practically joined at the hip."

The heiress smiled softly. "They're that close, huh?"

"Oh, you have no idea," Chi-Chi laughed. "They two of them are so close, it's a little scary sometimes."

Bulma laughed. "So, why didn't you guys tell me about Trunks before? I mean, I must have scared the crap out of him just now!"

Chi-Chi finished assembling a plate of food for herself and moved over to a picnic table. "Honey, you've been in critical condition. It wasn't until last night that we were able to really talk to you without worrying about killing you. Now, looking at how you, fully healed, just responded to finding Vegeta here, how do you think you would have dealt with it while you were hurt?"

The heiress rolled her eyes. "Okay, okay, it would have killed me." Popping a baby carrot in her mouth, Bulma considered what she had just learned. "So, dare I ask how Vegeta managed to procreate?"

"Well, when a mommy and a daddy love each other very much…"

"Chi-Chi!"

The raven haired woman giggled. "Sorry, couldn't help it." Offering a casual shoulder shrug, Chi-Chi offered as much truth as she could. "None of us know exactly what happened. Trunks was a few months old when we found out about him, and Vegeta was hardly in a relationship at the time. But," she quickly pointed out, "as much as I dislike that man, I must admit that he does take care of his son."

Bulma slowly nodded, trying to process this news. "It's just so hard to think of Vegeta as a single parent…"

You're not alone, Chi-Chi thought, fighting the urge to grimace. Though no one had interacted with the princes much since the accident, it was no secret that both of them were struggling on their own. Though, she had to admit to herself, it probably had more to do with the stress of the situation than anything else. "So, what do you think of all the little ones?" she asked, trying to change the subject.

A bright smile lit up Bulma's features. As the two women began to talk about how cute the three youngest members of the team were, Goku, sitting across the room, frowned.

"I'm not sure I'm okay with this," he softly told Gohan.

Gohan took a sip of his soda, strategically placing himself between his father's viewpoint and Bulma. "It'll be fine," Gohan calmly assured.

Goku's brow furrowed. "We shouldn't be lying to her like this," he quietly insisted.

"We're not lying," Krillen gently pointed out. "We're just leaving out certain pieces of the story. For now."

The Saiyan did not seem comforted by that. "Leaving out important information is as bad as lying," he pointed out. "We're leading her to believe something that isn't real. That's what lying is, and we shouldn't be doing it."

"For now," Krillen softly pointed out again. "Goku, I don't like doing this either, but just seeing Vegeta caused her to flip out. Do you really think she could deal with finding out that she's the one that slept with him right now?"

Goku sucked on his cheek as he considered that. "I guess not," he finally relented, "but I still don't think this is a good idea."

The others just silently went back to their food, opting to drop the conversation. There was no way they could change Goku's mind, and none of them were much more comfortable with it than he was.

Never had a meal at a party passed so quietly.

/\/\/\

As the evening wore on, the group moved outside. While she had made sure to interact with almost everyone, Bulma had stuck extremely close to Chi-Chi and Gohan throughout the day. She kept near them in part due to her comfort with them and in part because they seemed to be the only two who really knew what was going on. Krillen was more than pleasant, but he was constantly changing topics. Goku had already admitted that he had been dead for seven years, and thus didn't know much. She got the distinct feeling that she and Yamcha really hadn't been close at all over the past few years, because he seemed almost as useless as Goku when it came to information. Eighteen still seemed fairly creepy to her, and no matter how many times her friends assured her that he really had changed, she still didn't trust Vegeta.

"Wow, look at those stars," Gohan softly said, gazing at the night sky.

Bulma rolled her eyes. "First of all, you can barely see the stars here and you know it. And secondly, some of my last memories are of the overwhelmingly painful level of boredom I managed to achieve on the trip to Namek when they were the only thing I could see." She blinked in mild surprise at her statement. "Have I always been this disinterested in stuff, or is this a new personality trait I developed?"

"You were always like this," Gohan answered.

"Oh, hell yeah," Krillen laughed, patting her on the back.

"It took ridiculous things to impress you when you were younger," Chi-Chi added.

Even Yamcha joined in. "You've actually learned to appreciate things in the last few years," he pointed out. "Things you wouldn't have given the time of day to when you were younger actually catch your attention now…um, then…well, after time had passed, but before the accident, but it took you a while to get there, but really not that long, when you think about it, but you still kinda do, but you don't really, but…"

"Stop while you're behind," Krillen laughed, slapping his friend on the back.

The group laughed together for the first time all day, and Bulma felt a sense of warmth over her. It was that feeling of connection, that sense of love and friendship, that she had been so desperately missing over the past few weeks.

"I am so glad we did this," she said with a content sigh. She stood near the trees of her mother's largest garden, surrounded by her oldest friends. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw Eighteen standing a fair distance from the group, holding her daughter. "Eighteen, want to join us?"

A very small smile crossed the blonde's features as she joined the crowd. She hardly enjoyed socializing with the 'old gang', but she would not turn down the invitation. Not that night.

As she continued to look over her shoulder, Bulma's gaze drifted to the Saiyan prince and his son. She had been very deliberately avoiding him all day, but if her friends insisted that he was on their side, and they stayed nearby (just in case), she would attempt to be civil. "You coming?" she called out to him.

Vegeta looked at her, his face betraying none of the thoughts that were racing through his mind. Fiercely, he repressed any ounce of hope that she actually remembered their relationship, and he forced himself to think that she was merely trying to be polite. The prince glanced down at the ground and looked at the boy sleeping at his feet. The lavender haired lad had tried to stay awake, but sleep had finally conquered the emotionally exhausted prnce.

Trunks had fallen asleep only a few minutes earlier, but Vegeta still decided to the boy get some rest. He had been through so much in the last few days, and the elder prince felt an extremely rare ounce of sympathy. Nodding, he knelt down and carefully gathered his son in his arms before walking over. It felt odd for him to be silently going along with her request, and it felt almost hypocritical of him to be 'playing nice', but he didn't dare risk his normal behaviors. Not when she was still so clearly afraid of him.

Bulma watched in awe as the Saiyan prince had gathered his son. She had been hearing off an on through the entire day that we was a decent father, but it was the first time she had witnessed it firsthand. "Wow," she whispered.

The other members of the group exchanged a knowing smile, all of them standing where they couldn't be seen by her.

The heiress' eyes remained locked on the prince as he approached. For the first time, she didn't see him as a monster, or a warrior, or a murderer. For the first time in her eyes, he was just a man. A man who kept to himself, a man who cared for his son, a man who didn't like to stand out.

Bulma wasn't sure why, but thinking of him like that gave her an odd sense of dread. It was almost as if his actions were horribly, horribly wrong. Why she would think of calm, quiet, responsible behavior in such a way was beyond her, but she felt a very real pit of worry forming in her stomach. She held no knowledge or evidence to the contrary, but something wasn't right.

It wasn't right at all.

"Um, excuse me," she quickly said, rushing toward the house. "I, uh, had a lot of soda…"

As they watched her disappear, everyone's smiles turned to frowns. "I think the party just ended," Krillen whispered to no one in particular.

Unfortunately, he was right.