Weeks had passed and Miki and Trunks were nearly inseparable, which please Bulma to no end. The light in her sons eyes had returned he once again seemed happy, like he did when he came back from the past. He had someone to smile with once again.

Trunks still trained, he trained for at least 7 hours every day. Yet, now he found himself in the outside world, and it was all thanks to that girl, Miki. During the day, when Trunks trained, Miki "worked" at the 89Capsule Corp headquarters. At the end of the day, Miki would join the Brief family for dinner and relaxation. During this time she learned all about the Dragon Balls, Bulma and her past, as well as the details to Trunks' past.

One story that intrigued Miki the most was Bulma's trip to Namek. This was something Bulma briefly touched on, for some reason she never went into much detail. This is where Bulma first meet Vegeta, the man Bulma would one day fall in love with and produce the man that she herself, so longed to be with.

They hadn't been intimate or even remotely close since that first night at her apartment. The most she could get from him was a kiss and a hug every night. This desperately bothered her. Why would he not give into her, why would he not give her more? She wanted him; she wanted his body on her again. She couldn't figure it out. She was happy to get to know him and be near him, but she felt only as a friend, she didn't feel like his girlfriend. Was she even his girlfriend? Bulma wasn't oblivious to this longing in Miki's eye; she too knew that feeling all too well.

The night was cold it had officially turned fall, and the crisp cold air kept Miki inside. She now lived at Capsule Corp. She didn't have to worry about that long walk home after work anymore. Miki sat in the family living room looking out the window. She was in yoga pants and a grey tank top, hidden underneath a dark grey sweat shirt, with the words Capsule Corporation written on it in blue, that Trunks had given her. The sun was almost gone, and Trunks hadn't returned from training yet. This gave Bulma a great chance to get to know Miki a little better, without the presence of Trunks to interfere with girl on girl time.

Bulma walked in to the living room, still in her white lab coat that covered her yellow Capsule Corp shirt and blue jean pants, with two cups of hot chocolate filled to the top with marshmallows. Miki didn't notice her presence at first here mind was off somewhere far away.

"So, what are you looking at?" Bulma asked quietly, for she could tell Miki was deep in thought. Hearing Bulma's words Miki snapped out of her mind and back into reality.

"Oh, nothing really. Just, well just wondering about some things that's all." Bulma smiled, handing her the cup of hot chocolate. "Thank you Bulma, you are really nice."

"It's nothing! It's just nice to finally have a normal human in the house I can relate to. I tell you what, I love my son but sometimes… well a girl needs a girl." She laughed with a smile.

"Yeah, I know what you mean." Miki said as she looked at Bulma, as she took her lab coat off. She was still a very beautiful woman, having lived through all the stress of losing her lover, her son, and all her friends. Even though Trunks was back, that didn't fill the void in her heart.

"Tell me something Bulma, why…um why is he being like this?" Miki looked at her then back out the window.

"Being like what? Cold, aloof and unromantic? Spending his days training and becoming stronger?" Bulma looked at her with intend.

Miki's eyes where big, how did she know exactly what she wanted to know? She glared at her.

"Oh don't worry about it Miki, don't take it personal. I think it's a Saiyan thing. His father was the same way, well heck he was worse. At least Trunks knows you exist outside his needs. He pays you attention; he hugs and kisses you too. That's 1000 times better than his father. Hell of a lot more than what I ever got." Bulma laughed it off, she was unhappy with her sons neglect yet at the same time she was happy to see him better than his father. "Vegeta told me something one day, shortly before Trunks was born. I asked him why he was so cold and aloof. You know what he told me? He told me, Saiyan's don't form, or at least rarely form, romantic relationships. Because they are a warrior race, life is no guaranty, and love, well there is no time for it." She looked a Miki who just had a blank stare. "Pretty much, what I'm saying is, it's hard for a Saiyan to form a close loving relationship. It's just not in their genetics, and regretfully he got some of those bad traits from his father." Bulma smiled to let Miki know it was ok.

"Miki, I still don't know that much about you. You started living here 2 weeks ago, and I still feel as though you are guest, you are family now. Open up." Bulma smiled as she placed her cup on the table in front of her.

"There really isn't much to say. I came from a small village, which was mostly destroyed by the Androids." She looked down at her cup as she blew into it. "I was born only a couple of months after the Androids started their reign of terror." She took a deep breath as she began to recall, to recall everything.

"My mother was young when I was born. My father was part of the Royal Military, when it all started. We luckily were not the first town to be hit; we managed to survive nearly 2 years without a scratch. Even with that our numbers dwindled. One day I looked around and there were only 100 or so of us left. It was the beginning of the end. My parents were already gone; I was raised by a handful of surviving adults. We all lived in underground tunnels. It was an interesting life, but not one I'd ever want to go back too. As we grew we learned to fend for our selves, how to cook, clean, hunt, sew. You name it I know how to do it. During the day a handful of us would run out and harvest what crops we could find, catch what creatures we could and then hopefully make it back before the androids found us. I'm sure there were days we could have gone without fear and taken our time, and we could have relaxed. But we wouldn't take that risk. We never knew where they were. Though I came close to them one day, I don't know if they even knew I was there. It was about 5 years ago. I had taken it upon myself to be a leader, one of the brave. The adults that were left had gotten older, too old to care for the children, and the children I'd grown up with had reproduced or died. This left very few, capable string free adults to do the dirty work. It was early spring. We had just gotten a nice rain, and a few of the crops had sprouted. I and two others braved the day and began our work. Within moments there was an explosion. The blast threw me far into the woods, actually in to a tree. From there I watched, I watched how they destroyed what little crops we had, and destroyed the other 2. I will never forget their faces."

A tear began to roll down Miki's face, her heart sank as she watched the flash backs in her head. Going unnoticed to Miki or Bulma, they had another guest; he stood in the door way, just listening. His heart breaking as he watched the tears role down her face. Bulma placed an arm around the young girl.

"After that attack, I, I changed. I knew we couldn't live like this forever, someone, someday would come and save us. Or we might as well just roll over and die. I wanted to be that person, to avenge my fallen friends and family. That's shortly before I met a wondering man, he was strong, brave, cocky, and a damn fool. Yet, at that time I didn't know it. I couldn't see it. He had such a sweet face as though he'd never hurt a fly. He spoke words of hope and tried to give us all courage, as if he would be the hero. We became close; we didn't fool around with the unneeded formalities, there was no time for them. We were just what we were. Doing what it is you do when your life has not future. Yet, as the years went on, he changed. I still craved for salvation, I demanded it. I still believe we'd get it. But he, he gave up. He didn't see the point. In his mind even if a hero arose, it wouldn't change anything, at least not for him. He had become content, I guess, with the life he was living. We grew up like that, and he didn't really want it to change, I guess."

As she spoke, Trunks shifted in the door way, he became uneasy. He knew who she spoke of, he knew what that guy and been to her, and with that thought he grew mad. How dare this pathetic man not treat his woman right? How could he be so naïve so stupid? Even with this anger, he remained calm on the outside, not wanting to make his presence known, at least not yet.

"Then, like a dream or more like a night mare, it ended. In a blink of an eye. Our hero had come, my hero. I knew he would I could feel him out there. At that point I didn't know who he was I didn't care. I just wanted to move on and live. With the destruction of the Androids my people moved out from under the ground and began to rebuild. I began to rebuild and with this renewal I began to change. I knew I was no longer happy in the village with, the person who I had hoped to be a hero. I needed a change. I needed to do something else; I refused to keep that life. So, one day I packed up what little I had and I left. I was no longer needed as it was. I was there to brave the day and bring food. That's all I ever did or was really known for. I wasn't appreciated as I had hoped. But could I blame them? No. It was foolish at that time to believe in someone and to put all your eggs into one basket, especially in the ones taking the risks."

Miki blinked realizing she just spilled out her entire life in a matter of moments; her hot chocolate had grown cold.

"Wow. I never realized. I always believed those in small villages had it a little easier, but I guess I was wrong. You had just as much at stake, if not more." Bulma looked astonished, was Miki's story really that bewildering? "So, did you ever believe you'd find your real hero?" Bulma asked with a devious grin.

"What? I um…no. Yes. I… I always hoped I would." Miki blushed; as she did she noticed something moving to her left, her eyes jumped to the action. There she caught the gaze of the hero, his strong arms crossed over his chest, a scowl on his face. "Trunks?"

"I don't want you to ever…ever worry again Miki." His voice was deep, dark, and terrifying. Yet, his eyes were still soft even with the scowl. "I'm here now, and nothing will ever happen like that again not while I'm around."

Bulma was taken aback by her sons words, only months ago he was complaining that the world rested on his shoulders, and he felt obligated to nearly kill himself just to uphold the worlds opinion of him, but now. He wanted to, he was no longer obligated to save the world for the Earthlings, and he was bound and determined to never see pain on this woman's face again.

Bulma looked up at her son, yet she couldn't see the little boy she raised, she saw his father. Had she not known better she would have thought Vegeta was there saying these things to her. She blinked a few wanting tears from her eyes.

"You know Trunks, you look just like your father right now." She smiled a sad smile at her son. "I'm happy to see him in you. It makes me happy." She spoke without thought; she hadn't intended to say something like that. Not that it was bad it just wasn't appropriate.

"You do?" Trunks questioned, with surprise. His face changed from his scowl to his normal, gentle, caring look. In a flash his father left him.

"Yes, yes I do." Bulma smiled once again. Looking back at Miki. "Well let me get you some fresh hot chocolate. Sit down Trunks!" Bulma leaned in and whispered to her son. "Make her feel loved." She winked as she picked up the two cups of chocolate and strolled out the door.

Trunks had no idea what his mother meant. He'd done his best to make her feel loved to make her feel special. What was it he was lacking? Trunks sat down beside her, with a gentle smile.

"Are you cold?" He asked hoping to find an excuse to hold her.

"Well, no not right now, I am kind of wearing your shirt." She laughed as she leaned into him and rested her head on his shoulder. This is what he wanted; this is what she'd wanted. Miki sighed as she smiled. The two remained there, unmoving for what seemed like hours.