I'd like to point out that if you put all the chapter titles together, one after the other, they make a sentence that basically summarizes the entire plot :)
And, just a note: italics are what the character is thinking.
2. But Something Changed
Bulma had fallen asleep beside the crib, only to be woken up in the middle of the night by the sound of crying. Loud crying- more screams than cries, really. Not yet used to having a baby to take care of, she woke in a daze and momentarily panicked. Where was she? Her room? No… And where was that sound coming from?!
A flash of lavender caught her eye as the moonlight reflected off the small tuft of hair on the baby's head and almost immediately, her mind cleared up. She was in the nursery, sitting on the stool beside the crib, one arm swung over the railing, the other in her lap. And the baby was crying... again.
She stood up and switched on the nightlight, then picked up the baby and cuddled him against her chest. "C'mon Trunks, don't cry now, please", the last bit came out as a frustrated groan. She wanted to be patient with him, but it was really hard to do so when she was lacking so much sleep. "Shhh", she whispered, patting the back of the baby gently. She'd already burped him, he didn't smell like he needed a diaper change, and the temperature in the room wasn't too hot or too cold. So… maybe he was hungry?
It was worth a try, so Bulma seated herself in the rocking chair beside the door, taking extra care to watch where she was sitting. Even with the nightlight on, the room was dark, and she was in no mood to risk missing the chair and finding her bottom painfully on the floor. After settling the crying baby on her lap, Bulma slipped one strap of the tank top she was wearing off the shoulder and pulled the child to her, letting out a sigh of relief when he finally quieted.
Without the crying, it was rather peaceful in the nursery. Across from the door was a large window that spanned almost the entire wall. Occasionally, a warm breeze entered through the partially opened window, inviting the curtains to dance lightly and cast shadows over the carpeted floor of the room. The dim glow of the nightlight, which was a soft blue color, gave the room a calm, soothing atmosphere that put Bulma at ease.
She checked to make sure Trunks was still at her breast, then leaned her head back against the chair and sighed. Her eyelids grew heavy and she found herself drifting in and out of consciousness. The room was becoming darker and she could no longer feel the weight of the child in her arms. She was almost asleep when the child burst out crying again, and a moment later, the door to the nursery banged open.
"Shut that thing up, woman!" The light from the hallways caused Vegeta's shadow to spill into the room, darkening the area beside the rocking chair where Bulma sat. She looked up, startled.
Fatigue had slowed her brain down by a great deal and she simply didn't have enough time to react, or even to remember to get angry at Vegeta for being so insensitive. Trunks wailed louder, drawing his father's attention to his tiny figure, which was now thrashing wildly in Bulma's arms. Vegeta's eyes traveled from the baby's wide open mouth, along the outline of his chubby face, and to Bulma's exposed chest, throwing him off for just a fraction of a second. His eyes narrowed and he quickly looked up, only to find himself staring right into Bulma's enormous blue eyes. It was difficult to look away. She was tired and confused, her brain trying its best to sort out the current situation. Vegeta froze, a brief flash of guilt gracing his eyes before they darkened again.
"Saiyans have extremely sensitive ears", he growled, quickly catching himself, his cold composure returning. "So shut him up".
The door slammed behind him and Bulma winced at the noise, knowing it would only irritate the baby even more. Trunks, however, fell silent. He shifted in Bulma's arms, giving her enough space to fix her shirt, then pull him into a close hug. He was a smart baby, to say the least, and even if he couldn't understand words yet, he managed to gather the overall implications of what had just happened.
"C'mon Trunks, let's put this on you to keep you warm, alright?" Bulma murmured as she took the small black beanie beside her and placed it on her sons head. She adjusted the two ears on the cap so that they stood up like tiny devil ears, then arranged what little hair Trunks had along his forehead to imitate Vegeta's pointed hairline. "Mm", she smiled, "you look just like your daddy".
Trunks couldn't have understood anything she said, but he rearranged his face so that his features imitated the scowl Vegeta was constantly wearing. Bulma only smiled bigger, delighted with the mental capacities of her child. "Heh, and here I was, worrying that Vegeta's genes would make you stupid". She chuckled to herself and cradled the baby in her arms. He seemed to settle down after a while, and when it was silent again, Bulma fell asleep.
Despite the amount of energy it took to quiet a crying baby at night, Bulma was convinced that it was ten times more difficult to take care of her Trunks during the day, especially if they were away from the house. While her parents offered to take care of everything, Bulma knew she couldn't rely on them forever. So, unable to let go of her stubborn nature, Bulma brought her son out with her on a grocery shopping trip. Bad choice.
Some children were easy to take care of; they slept all day. Others were a bit noisier and curious and constantly babbled. Still, others were rowdy and liked to cry. But none could compare to Trunks, who had an endless supply of energy. He began protesting the moment Bulma strapped him in the car-seat, banging his fists on the side and grunting as he tried to wiggle his way out of the restraints. When that didn't work, he began screaming, kicking his feet in the air and preventing Bulma from concentration on the road.
With a sigh, she pulled over and turned to look at Trunks, who'd fallen silent once the car stopped. "Please, be quiet for a bit, ok, Trunksie?" she pleaded. He babbled a reply and she couldn't help smiling. It may have taken a lot of energy to care for him, but even the slightest action made her feel like the happiest mother in the world.
"Ok, Trunksie, here we go", she grinned, "and remember, be quiet, just for a while, ok?"
They made it to the market in silence and Bulma was really beginning to consider the possibility that Trunks was actually a genius baby who could understand everything she was saying. Just like your mommy, she thought smugly.
But, whether the child was smart or not had absolutely no effect on his curiosity. Once inside the market, the pyramids of fruits and stacks of vegetables, which came in every color possible, caught Trunk's attention and he burst into noise. Every head in the area turned to look for the source of the sound, which was extremely loud, especially with Trunk's partially saiyan nature.
"Shh!" Bulma winced as Trunks grabbed for the nearest fruit, successfully got a hold of it, and threw it at a nearby shopper. There was a collective gasp that rang throughout the room and Bulma quickly apologized, her cheeks turning bright red from the embarrassment. She picked Trunks up from the shopping cart and darted out of the market, her heart thudding loudly. "Why'd you have to go do that?" she asked as she settled Trunks back into the car seat, "You should know better!" But there was no point in scolding a child who couldn't understand a single word, so Bulma sat herself down in the driver's seat and started the car. I guess the market will have to wait, she thought.
Unable to finish her errands, Bulma was in no mood to go home. The last thing she needed was to be proven wrong by her parents. So, she wandered aimlessly into a nearby park, got out of the car, decided it was a nice day to be outside, and found a bench to sit on. Trunks babbled happily to himself on her lap, his small fists moving around wildly. Bulma held onto him the best she could and leaned back against the bench, looking across the park at all the other people. It made her wonder, who the hell had time during the middle of the day to come out to a park and just walk around? Most of them were kids, which made sense, but there were also couples walking around the park, holding hands and smiling.
Don't they have anything better to do? Like go to work, maybe? She rolled her eyes and snorted in slight amusement at her own thoughts, then adjusted Trunks on her lap. She was mentally preparing herself to face her parents and was just about to stand up and leave, when a sight caught her eye and she froze, a slight, dull ache forming in her chest.
Since her pregnancy, Bulma had seldom left the house, and thus, there were a lot of things in the outside world she hadn't seen in a while. And now, even something as trivial as a couple pushing a stroller meant a whole new thing to her. She watched the man and woman walk across the path in front of her, the man with both hands on the handles of the stroller, the woman with her hands gripping the arms of the man. They were dressed in matching clothes, which, as cheesy as it had used to seem to her, now seemed like an incredibly romantic idea. She watched them pass her, engaged in conversation, with smiles on their faces. It just looked like such a fun thing to do.
Bulma made a mental note to take Trunks out in a stroller some day and then returned to her car with a smile on her face. That's right, she thought, with a stroller, we can have just as much fun! Not. She sighed, the smile slipping of her face. Who was she kidding? She could push Trunks around all day long in a stroller, and she would still, in essence, be alone. You couldn't have a conversation with a baby.
As Bulma buckled her seat belt, the realization that she would never be able to go on a walk with a baby and a husband dawned on her. Despite the fact that Vegeta already lived in her house and that their arguments made them as good as married, there were some things that she would never experience. "Well that just sucks", she muttered to herself, starting the car.
Bulma's mood only worsened when she arrived at home. Her parents were making dinner together in the kitchen, talking and laughing loudly. She sighed and brought Trunks upstairs into the nursery, settling him in the crib. He'd fallen asleep on the way home, but the rare quietness did nothing to soothe Bulma's bitter feelings. She returned downstairs with a scowl on her face, deep in thought, and plopped down on the couch. Her mind was still playing and re-playing the images of the couple she saw in the park as her hand unconsciously reached for the remote. She was flipping aimlessly through the channels without realizing it.
When a bang from the kitchen, followed by her mother's scream and her father's laugh woke her from her daze, Bulma realized what channel she had landed on. You've got to be kidding me, she groaned inwardly, there's actually a parenting channel? Who watches this?! She tossed the remote aside and stormed out of the room, up the stairs, and into her bedroom, where she flung herself onto her bed and buried her face in a pillow.
I'm being stupid, she thought, completely idiotic. It's hormones… Damn hormones. "This after-pregnancy hormone surge thing is driving me crazy!" she shouted aloud. I'm being all girly and emotional and disgusting, nothing like the way a great scientist is supposed to be, she thought. "I'm fine the way I was before. The only thing that's different is that I've got Trunks now. But there's nothing wrong with that. There's nothing wrong with anything! Except I'm talking to myself..." she paused, squeezed her eyes shut, then slowly opened them. "So now, I'm going to get back to my old life, forget about families and settling down and husbands and taking strolls. Stupid stroller. And everything will be fine". Yeah, right.
She got up and went to her mirror, her reflection staring back at her. There was a blue-haired beauty in the mirror, with intelligent eyes and a calm smile. It didn't look like anything was wrong with her, and it most certainly didn't look like there was any scheming going on in her head. But of course, Bulma was a woman, and women were known to have extremely complicated minds. Her innocent gaze gave away nothing about the plan that was slowly beginning to form in her head.
I don't care if I'm acting illogically, just this once, she decided. I'm a woman, I need a man, and Trunks deserves a real father- it's just that simple. Vegeta will never know what hit him.
QUESTION! What should be Bulma's first attempt to, erm, "persuade" Vegeta to join efforts with her in raising Trunks?