Just an important note. This is a fanfiction and is not cannon, and therefore the time-lines are different. Changes have been made. Do not assume all changes are deliberate, some are mistakes. But for the purposes of this fiction, they work for me. Please bear with me.
o.O.o.O.o.O
Ten Months Later:
Bulma nervously bounced baby Trunks on her hip as she hid her discomfort beneath a smile and a veneer of a take-it-or-leave-it attitude.
"It's not my kid." Yamcha yawned, looking away as the other Z fighters watched in disbelief. "But if you think that's a shock, wait until she tells you who the father really is."
Bulma hated it for him as her former boyfriend turned his back on their group of friends and comrades, unable to look at them as he made his little announcement.
It was obvious that Gohan and Krillin didn't know what to say, completely stunned by Yamcha's announcement. Only Goku didn't seemed surprised as he cooed at the baby. "I'll bet it's Vegeta, right Trunks?"
Bulma blinked, unsure. How had her friend known the baby's name before she'd even told him?
"But ...but ...how did you know that? I wanted to keep it a secret." The turquoise-haired woman couldn't believe it.
"I'm, I'm ...a good guesser!" Goku back-pedaled quickly and scratched his head and flashed a winning smile. "Maybe I'm psychic!"
The young mother let it go, sure either one of her parents must have let something slip. And with this big a secret, she couldn't blame them. Much. Still, it did help that her friend seemed to immediately accept her relationship with the Saiyan Prince. That helped. A lot.
Bulma looked around. Yamcha was pretending not to care, but she could see the tension in his body and she sorrowed at it. Piccolo looked implacable, as if the news was a foregone conclusion. Yet everyone else was falling all over themselves in disbelief.
But as much as she dreaded breaking the news of her relationship to her friends, Bulma's eyes were searching for a certain warrior. And ...he wasn't here.
"Well, since we're on the subject, where is Vegeta?" Piccolo asked straight out, and he was looking at her. As if it were her duty to know, as if they were a real married couple.
Bulma set her jaw and shook her head, as she denied knowing where the Saiyan Prince could be, even as she marveled at how quickly both Goku and Piccolo seemed to come to terms with her new relationship status. It was almost like they already knew. But they'd not been around in years. So how could they? "I know he was training and is coming out here. But with the baby and all, I guess I must have lost track of him." Bulma lied straight out. Like she was going to admit that she couldn't hold on to her Saiyan husband.
She might not be a warrior, but she knew something about pride.
And Vegeta's absence, wasn't helping. Where the hell was he, she wondered?
"He'll show." Goku announced, dead sure as he looked at her. Bulma smiled, had Vegeta let Goku know himself? Did that mean the Prince really cared about her? Eleven months gone and suddenly she wasn't sure where she stood in Vegeta's life anymore.
"He wouldn't miss a fight." The Saiyan continued, and Bulma's smile turned brittle. Of course. It was the fight the Saiyan wouldn't miss ...not his wife and the child he'd yet to see. She dropped her gaze to her adorable son, unable to look at her friends anymore. Not when they all knew that Vegeta cared more about fighting than he did about her.
Well. In all fairness, she knew it too. Which was why she was out here, on the battlefield, and not at home waiting. She knew her Saiyan, and home would not be where he would return first.
Wife. Child. Fight.
"And not in that order." She whispered into baby Trunk's ear, blinking rapidly to keep from tearing up. Her pride could only take so much disappointment.
o.O.o.O.o.O
Vegeta's hands flew over the sensor controls and he scowled. The trajectory of his ship passed right over Dr. Brief's residence. That was a coincidence. A scowl settled on his face. A coincidence? He knew it for a lie even as he tried to convince himself.
He was on his way to a glorious battle and he would not stop to see his mate. But if his course to the fighting just happened to take him on a fly-over of her home, and he could use the ship sensors to make sure ...of what? The Saiyan's scowl deepened.
She wasn't at home. No one was there.
Vegeta grunted, and his expression cleared. Of course. His mate knew the day as well as he did. She'd taken her parents and his child to safety. Stern lips tilted into a smirk. His mate wasn't stupid. Still, he could almost wished he could have gotten a sensor reading of her and his son.
No.
She was right. Get to safety and leave the battle to the warriors. Still ...his fingers hovered over the controls, perhaps a sweep of the area? It wouldn't take long and he would not miss the fight. In fact, it appealed to him to make a grand entrance.
So, where would Bulma take her family? A quick scan of the town and areas would not take long. It's not like he planned to see her or even speak, just to make sure she was somewhere safe. Just to know exactly where she was right now. Talking to her and meeting the child could wait until after the battle.
Vegeta grinned darkly. Oh yes, the battle.
o.O.o.O.o.O
She should go home. Bulma bit her lip gently and bounced baby Trunks a bit to get him to giggle. The sound of her child's laugh was enough to melt her. Every time. And ...she should go home.
The boys had all gone off to fight. A sound to her side made her look and see her sole companion now. "We need to get closer, Yajirobe." Bulma announced firmly.
The fat samurai looked and acted shocked. The silly man. He should know her better than this by now. Just because she should go home, didn't mean that was what would happen.
Besides. It shouldn't be too bad of a fight. The Z Fighters had all had plenty of warning and had been working their cute buns off to get ready! And Goku would never, ever let anything happen to her or her baby.
Goku.
But where was Vegeta?
No. Absolutely she could not go home and not catch a glimpse of her run-away groom. Nerves bounced around inside her, but she couldn't let Yajirobe see that. No. She was going to get a look at the androids, or that's what she told the samurai sputtering beside her.
What she had to see, what she absolutely needed to see ...was him. So. She'd go where she knew he'd be. Besides, he had invited her after all.
o.O.o.O.o.O
Vegeta watched the sensors gleefully. He could sense some small fighting and power usage, but he was not late for the main fight.
Late. The Saiyan's smile dimmed. He'd scanned the city area at least three times and had found no trace of his mate and child. It rankled slightly that he didn't know where she'd gone for safety. And yet it strangely pleased him that she'd hidden herself so well.
It was appropriate.
She was his mate after all, it stood to reason that she would be smart enough to hide herself so thoroughly.
Unfortunately for Prince Vegeta, his smug pride took a blow as his ship sped toward the fighting.
His sensor ...beeped.
A small frown.
He checked the sensor automatically. Yes ...there was the fight, and it's corresponding energy output. There was Goku ...and he was ...down? Sick. Bah. Had the stupid low-caste Saiyan not heeded the mysterious youth's warning about illness? All the better for Vegeta to step in and take the fight all to himself.
The sensor beeped again.
Vegeta's brow furrowed. Some fighting, but nothing that he couldn't handle now that he was a Super Saiyan.
One more beep.
The Saiyan snarled and passed a hand over it and then stopped. There. Off a bit from the main fighting. It wasn't another Z Fighter as they laughingly called themselves. No.
It was her.
Vegeta swore out loud had to fight not to punch his fist through the control panel.
Had he praised her in his mind? Had he thought her brilliant? A deep rumbling growl emanated from him as his left eye twitched with fury.
A blast of energy had the sensors lighting up. Vegeta studied the array before him and his mind raced. Bulma wasn't actually near the fighting at this time. Decisions weighed on him and he moved his hands deliberately away from the controls.
He would not veer, he would not stop. Vegeta gritted his teeth. He would protect his mate in the only way he knew how.
He would ignore her. If the enemy didn't know you had a family, why tell them? Why hand them a weapon to be used against you?
Vegeta sneered. First one fight, and then another. Kill one, put the other in her place. Simple.
o.O.o.O.o.O
She just needed to see for herself. And really, how dangerous could it be? Bulma had already gone off planet and faced down monsters since she was very little. The turquoise-haired woman had every confidence that she and her baby would be fine. Oh, and Yajirobe too.
The only thing worrying her was whether or not she would need more diapers.
Bulma flew the spacecraft around, not over the fight directly ...but just so she could ...could ...get a ...
Goku? No. But whomever that was, they looked like a Super Saiyan. But definitely not Goku. And, it didn't look like the young man who'd mysteriously come to warn them all about the android danger. No, this ...her eyes widened.
Vegeta ...was ... a ...Super ...Saiyan?
He'd done it.
Her husband and the father of her child had done it. He'd turned the corner and had gotten imensely stronger. Without her.
A lump hardened in her throat and Bulma blinked rapidly as her mind raced. Vegeta had achieved his goal. So, what did that mean for her? And for baby Trunks? Would he even stay? On Earth that is, after this battle?
Would he leave her behind? Would he ask her to come? Would he demand she follow him? Would he turn away? Was he even the same person?
Would the dratted man take his precious son and then leave her here on Earth while he went and trained baby Trunks to be a planetary raider? The hell he would! She'd go down there and give him a piece of her mind!
The sound of fighting filtered through her musings and she looked down. "Well, as soon as it is safe". Where were the androids though, there just seemed to be an old funny looking man ...her eyes swept the area. Then her brain saw something she couldn't grasp for a moment. Dr. Gero? Dr. Gero? What was he doing down there? And where were the androids?
o.O.o.O.o.O
Vegeta didn't even blink when the android suddenly looked up, startled by something. He flicked his gaze upward and then froze for a second.
Bulma. In a flying vehicle. Mate. His woman.
With little apparent thought, the android sent an attack against the machine, knocking it out of the sky.
All the Z Fighters watched in stunned silence.
Vegeta ...didn't move. His heart sped up for second, until he saw the young man from the future start to move. Yes. Yes, that would work. Now to find the dratted android! The pitiful machine-person was using the crash as a distraction!
Without looking, Vegeta could sense that his mate and her child were safe. He would not allow this to break his concentration.
"What are you thinking?"
Vegeta's dark gaze cut to the side. Oh yes, the young future Super Saiyan. And if his thoughts were correct. His son. The youth's fury washed over him as the young man faced him nose to nose.
"Why didn't you save them, Vegeta?" Shrieked the youth.
Vegeta didn't answer. He was going to have to teach his son better than this. Oh, but in the boy's past he didn't have a father ...because Vegeta himself had died. Still, no excuse for a stupid question.
"Who?" The Saiyan warrior deliberately goaded. "The stupid woman and her silly child?" He slid the verbal knife deep. The young man had a lot to learn. And how dare he confront his father, and his Prince like this?
Vegeta looked around the area, considering the continuing battle. Letting all other worries fade away. Let his future son look after his current mate and child. Pft.
Bulma watched, her heart in her throat as she tried to calm down. She'd nearly died! She and baby Trunks! Blinking rapidly, she watched the mysterious youth confront the Saiyan Prince. The same Saiyan who wouldn't even look at her. And one that had not lifted a finger to save either her nor the child he claimed he wanted. A sob nearly escaped her before she gritted her teeth, determined not to let her misery show.
She'd never give stupid Prince Vegeta the satisfaction.
o.O.o.O.o.O
Following the events of the fight and prior to the Cell Saga:
Later:
Bulma turned on the musical mobile, and watched with deep satisfaction as her son lost the battle with sleep. Nothing beat watching a baby's eyes start to close as they struggled to keep them open. At least the days of 2 a.m. feeding were over.
"Good night precious, mommy's here." She cooed.
A derisive snort answered her.
Bulma spun around, her heart racing. Vegeta leaned negligently against the open door to the nursery. He looked beat up, torn up, tired, angry, and ... amazing. Blue eyes narrowed as the young mother fought to steel her heart against the crazy bastard who'd have let her die today.
"You coddle him." Vegeta sneered at her.
Bulma crossed her arms. "He's not even a year old yet."
"Can he walk yet?" The Saiyan asked, looking past her to the crib.
"No." Snapped Bulma, then sighed. "But he's pulling himself up to standing and cruising some."
"Cruising?"
The young mother nodded, a smile ghosting her lips. "Walking beside the sofa while holding onto it, using furniture to slide around the room."
A grunt was the only response. Dark eyes ran over her and Bulma went still. She'd changed since he'd left. Her hair was straight again, and shorter. Her clothes not nearly as cute, not when trying to keep up with a healthy baby boy. One whose energy never seemed to run out.
Would he still find her attractive. And why did she care? Bulma snarled and poked a finger at her Saiyan husband. "No word from you! Over a year and nothing!"
Vegeta turned his back on her and headed toward her room. Their room. HER room! "I was training." His words were innocent, his tone was insulting. As if she were too stupid to understand.
Bulma followed him, furious and not sure where to start her tirade! "You would have let us die out there today!" She yelled, then jumped up and shut the door to keep from waking baby Trunks.
Vegeta shook his head and glared at her. "That was YOUR fault you stupid woman!"
"Someone else had to save us!" Bulma screamed back. "Our son, come from the future!" It had been a shock when Piccolo had told her, but she was glad she knew the truth.
The Saiyan nodded, so she knew. Good. Made things less complicated. "You're the one who went out there, woman! You put yourself in danger, not me!"
"Here!" Bulma marched over and handed him a piece of paper.
Without reading it, Vegeta tore it in long strips and then again until it resembled confetti. "Asking for a divorce! DENIED! I will NOT allow it!"
Bulma stepped back, a bit stunned. She coughed and pointed. "That was our child's birth certificate." She said almost meekly. He didn't want a divorce? The turquoise-haired woman mentally decided not to pull out the carefully worded request for dissolution of marriage she'd been working on since getting home after the crash.
"Birth Certificate?" Vegeta pushed aside any embarrassment in favor of wounded pride. "Only on a stupid planet like this one would they come up with a way to tell if a warrior has a family. Don't you know it's dangerous for your enemies to know you have a child?"
"And that's why you didn't rescue us?" Bulma screeched, stomping one foot as she did so.
"YES!"
The young mother stopped, stared and shook her head. She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. A first for Bulma Briefs.
"You would not have NEEDED rescuing if you had not been so plainly STUPID to show up at the fight in the first place!" Vegeta's temper, now riled, had him nearly pacing back and forth in her bedroom. "And Dr. Gero, the android, attacked you without even knowing how important you are! What lengths would he have gone to if he'd realized who you and the silly baby are!"
"He's not silly." Bulma whispered, too stunned to move. "I'm important?"
"NO!" Vegeta growled and stalked up to her, screaming in her face. "If I had reacted at all, it would have changed the whole fight! And I'm not sure I could have protected you both! He would have destroyed you!"
Tears welled up in her wide eyes.
Vegeta saw this and blinked, backing away rapidly. "Stop crying this instance! I demand it!"
"You can't demand something like that." Bulma said gently, even though his words did help keep her tears at bay.
"WHY? WHY? Why in the world, in all the worlds, did you go there today?" Vegeta screamed and then looked over at the closed door.
Bulma shook her head. "My parents had the room soundproofed. I have to keep a baby monitor in here to make sure I hear when Trunks cries out."
"I DON'T CARE!" Vegeta roared.
Bulma shrugged, not frightened too much by her husband's towering temper. He was mad for all the right reasons, for once.
"WELL?" The Saiyan was getting impatient.
The young woman stared at him and smiled slightly. "I missed you."
"NO!" Vegeta growled.
"I love you." She added softly.
The Saiyan sneered and took one of her bedside lamps and threw it against the wall, shattering it into unrecognizable pieces.
Undeterred, Bulma stepped forward and looked right up into Vegeta's face. "And you invited me."
The warrior stared down at her in shock. "Liar! I did not!"
"You said you would take me into battle, any time." She pointed out to him firmly, unwilling to back down.
The Saiyan Prince's eyes went wide with shock. "THAT'S NOT WHAT THAT MEANS!"
Bulma paused, staring into his dark-eyed gaze. "It sounds pretty straightforward to me."
Vegeta's voice fell into a gruff rumbled. "You are an idiot."
Pride pricked, Bulma slapped her hand against his chest armor. He wouldn't have noticed if it hadn't made a sound, but her hand was stinging. "You said it." She shook her hand a bit.
Vegeta grabbed her hand and looked at it, no damage. He grunted and tore off his chest armor until he stood before her naked from the waist up. Grimly, and with deliberate motions, he tossed the armor to the other side of the room. Knocking over the remaining lamp, plunging the two of them into darkness and leaving the bedroom lit only by moonlight streaming in through the window.
Her mouth suddenly dry, Bulma knew immediately that she was in trouble. She wrinkled up her nose. "You need a shower."
"I need to be inside you." He said quite bluntly.
Bulma shook her head. "You've been gone a long time ..." She began.
Vegeta still had her hand in his and he put it over his heart. "I am a warrior, a Saiyan and a Prince and I will not apologize for any of that."
"I just meant ..." Bulma felt her shirt rip. "Vegeta stop that!"
"No." The Saiyan turned and sat on the bed, tugging her with him even as he tugged the remnants of her shirt from her body, leaving her in her lacy bra.
"You stink! You need a shower!" Bulma protested not even bothering to try and cover up.
Vegeta laughed roughly. "When we're done, we'll both need the cleaning stall." It sounded like a vow.
o.O.o.O.o.O
Much, much later ...
Bulma stared at the far wall, her cheek resting on the even rising and falling of her husband's abdomen. She could feel him touching her hair, as if weighing the turquoise-colored tresses. One of her knees rested between his legs.
And she was sticky. All over sticky from hot and sweaty sex. A lot of it. Apparently, he had missed her. Bulma smiled against his skin.
"I'm still angry."
Vegeta's hand stilled and he sighed. "Of course you are, woman. But you have no reason to be upset. You were the one who put yourself in that dangerous place."
"That you left in the first place."
The Saiyan scowled, though his mate could not see his expression. "My training was victorious. I have achieved Super Saiyan." Vegeta frowned. And he had once believed that becoming one would make him supremely powerful. This last fight had proved otherwise.
"You left me. Pregnant. Alone."
Vegeta's hand wrapped around her shoulder and tightened for a second, then eased off. "Enemies come. They don't care if my mate is carrying a child."
Bulma sighed, her breath teasing the skin on his abdomen. "There will always be an enemy."
The Saiyan Prince nodded. "It is one of my race's main sayings."
"You won't smile or touch me in public, you won't acknowledge our relationship, and you won't even save me or baby Trunks when in danger ...because it could put us in danger? That's stupid, Vegeta."
He slapped her shoulder slightly, it didn't even sting.
"Man." Bulma kissed his skin. "Vegeta is my man."
For that she got rolled onto her back, his dark eyes gleaming in the moonlight as she got kissed within an inch of her life. Again? Bulma sighed, wondering at the amazing sexual prowess of a Saiyan. They never seemed to tire!
He nudged her neck and Bulma complied, turning so that he could sink his teeth into the soft, vulnerable skin above her pulse. She wrapped her arms and legs around him and she could feel him rising to the occasion.
o.O.o.O.o.O
Bulma looked at the clock and groaned. Five in the morning and she'd not had a wink of sleep. She unwrapped the towel from around her wet hair and balefully eyed the bed. "Now, we're clean and it's not."
"So fix it." Vegeta yawned, padding around gloriously naked in her bedroom.
But Bulma shook her head. "We can sleep in a guest room or have the bots fix it, but I'm too tired to wait for them. Guest room it is."
Vegeta nodded, and unmindful of his lack of clothing opened the door.
Bulma's mother stood there a second, turned bright red and turned around to head back down the hallway. "Was going to tape a message to your door saying we were back from vacation ... and ask if you wanted breakfast with us."
The turquoise-haired woman shut her eyes and shuddered.
"Breakfast would be good." Vegeta called out, down the stairs.
"Shut the door." Bulma snapped.
"Why?" Vegeta gave her a questioning look. "She is gone now."
Marching over, she shut the door. Or tried to, but Vegeta hadn't let go of it yet. Seeing her red face, he finally let go of the door and because of her pushing on it, the door slammed loudly.
From a small, white monitor, a baby's cry started up. Startled, Vegeta stared at it for a moment.
"Trunks is calling." Bulma grabbed her robe and headed down the hallway, distantly aware that her husband was following.
"I thought you said his room was soundproof". The Saiyan grumbled, and Bulma looked over at him. Happy that he'd managed to find and put on a clean pair of pants at least.
Bulma picked up the baby and sat down in a rocking chair just as a house-bot rrrr'ed up beside her and lifted up a bottle, already mixed and heated just right. She wondered if Vegeta was going to ask why she was no longer breast-feeding, or if he even knew about women doing that.
"How come ..." The Saiyan started.
"Your son likes to play with the nipple, and he's getting teeth." Bulma smiled ruefully. "And he is hungrier than I can keep up with."
Vegeta's question died on his lips. "Huh?"
"That's why I use a bottle to feed him." The turquoise-haired young woman explained.
The Saiyan's eyes widened, and he looked away for a moment. "No, that is ...why did you really come to the battlefield?"
"You invited us." Bulma stuck to her guns.
But Vegeta was not to be deterred. "You had to know it wasn't literal."
The young mother smiled and shrugged. "Just about everything you say is completely literal, Vegeta." She saw the look on his face and amended her words. "My man, my Saiyan ...you mean what you say."
Vegeta grunted in approval, but wasn't ready to let the moment go. "It's a very old Saiyan phrase."
Bulma waited, but he did not explain further. "Does it mean 'I love you'?" She almost whispered the question.
But the Saiyan Prince missed the hopeful note in her voice. "Of course not." He answered, disdainful of the very idea. "Saiyan warriors would never say something like that."
An awkward silence filled the room, broken only by the sounds of a greedy infant Saiyan drinking nearly twice the amount of formula than the average child. But even so, it wasn't long before Bulma was putting Trunks back into his crib.
She turned toward the door, and found her Saiyan husband making a point of NOT watching her. She wasn't fooled. "It does mean that you love me." Bulma said as she walked right past her husband and over to her bedroom where she grabbed the baby monitor and her favorite pillow.
"It does not." Vegeta sneered, then followed his mate to a nearby guest room. "It is a compliment though."
Bulma flopped down on the bed, and then turned to glare at her Saiyan. "I don't think so."
Her Saiyan was currently pulling off his pants and climbing into bed with her. She reached out and traced the line of a scar along his shoulder blade. "I would not take you into battle."
Suddenly, dark eyes turned upon her and Bulma nearly scooted off the bed. "What?"
"Woman!" Vegeta snarled. "What is it you want from me?"
"An explanation!" Bulma snarled back. "Just explain what it means, please!"
Vegeta sighed and laid back on the bed. "It's simple. You're telling the other person you trust them enough to let them guard your back in battle." He yawned. "You would let them stand at your back, even armed."
Bulma sat up slowly and looked down at her tired husband. "Trust? You trust me to be armed?"
"At my back and armed." Vegeta yawned again, his eyes closing. "It's a great honor."
Crossing her arms, Bulma stared. "Are there words meaning 'I love you' in your native language."
"No." He smirked. "We are not so weak as you."
Bulma smiled gently, but Vegeta's eyes were closed. He loved her. And he'd told her in the only way he knew how. To a Saiyan, trust was the whole enchilada, it was everything.
"You trust me." She whispered.
Vegeta frowned, his eyes still closed. "I trust you at my back, but not to stay put. Why do you not obey, woman?"
"I don't believe you trust me." Bulma smiled, eager to mess with his head a bit after he'd left her for over a year.
Vegeta's eyes slitted open. "I am a Prince of my people, and I would not lie about such a thing."
"Prove it." Bulma's eyes sparkled.
The Saiyan narrowed his gaze on her. She was up to something. "Prove my trust? Woman, you are stupid after all."
Bulma pulled the comforter from his nude body and looked down at him. She looked down at a certain part of him and smiled gleefully. "I know a way you can prove you trust me."
Vegeta looked at her face, and then remembered the time she'd been so hurt when she thought he didn't trust her. His face went blank. She wanted to bite him, or put him in a position where she could if she wanted to do so. "That's not a Saiyan custom." He pointed out.
His mate though, was not dissuaded. She reached out and ran one fingernail from his belly button down toward the root of his sexuality. His body reacted despite his best intentions. "No."
"Coward." She teased him softly.
Vegeta's eyes went wide with shock, and then narrowed on her in anger. "Bulma ..." Her name was a warning.
"Man, my man. My wonderful Saiyan Prince. My warrior." She breathed out the words gently, as she leaned down and placed a kiss on his lower belly.
Vegeta shivered, and not because it was bad. But instinct warred with need. No Saiyan would put a female in a position of such power and control. No. No, and NO.
"Man?"
But her words tugged at him like nothing else. Her heated breath held promises of something wonderful.
"Breakfast you two! And from the look of things this morning, I expect you to bring your best appetites!" The voice trilled from out in the hallway.
Vegeta jumped up and grabbed his pants, slipping back into them. "Food!" He growled, looked at her, and she could almost swear the tips of his cheekbones were slightly flushed. Or it could have been a trick of the light. "Breakfast."
Bulma watched her husband leave and then smiled all to herself. "You love me. You just don't know it yet, oh mighty Prince."