Rallying Troops

It took hours of tireless arguments to finally convince Vegeta not to leave Earth right away. Bulma walked out of the living room, rather satisfied with herself, leaving Vegeta sitting on the couch glowering at the wall opposite him. Her throat was sore from all the yelling, shrieking, and groaning that transpired over the past four and a half hours, but she figured it was worth the pain to persuade her stubborn saiyan mate to remain on Earth until after everyone was wished back to life with the dragon balls. It was only the day after he told her that he was leaving the planet for an indefinite period of time to destroy the Cold Empire, and while she accepted the fact that he was going, she wasn't willing to let him out of her life so quickly.

While Bulma went to the kitchen to get a cold drink to soothe her throat, Vegeta was left stewing in his thoughts. The only reason he was staying longer than he originally planned was to see Mrs. Brief again before departing, mainly because he was afraid he would never have the chance to see her again. Not only did he want to show his gratitude for her sacrifice, but he wanted to see for himself that she was revived, and honestly he wanted to know the loving embrace of a mother one last time before leaving his pack. At least it was only two more months. Not another two-year wait.

Ignoring the ringing in his ears from Bulma's relentless screeching, Vegeta mulled over the wish they were going to make to bring Mrs. Brief and Raditz back to life. And the harpy. Couldn't forget the harpy. He sighed, leaning back and looking up at the ceiling. They had gone over so many different phrasings of the wish that he hardly remembered which one they settled on in the end. It had to be perfect in order to have the desired results. He became anxious thinking about it; what if they misspoke? What if the dragon misunderstood or didn't have the power to grant their wish? Nearly ripping his hair out as he entered his pessimistic, circular thoughts, he stood from the couch and headed for the kitchen to confront his woman again.

"What wish will we make when we've gathered the dragon balls?"

Bulma flinched when she heard his voice behind her, then frowned a little when she listened to his question. It was a topic they had gone over many times already, between themselves and with the input of the other warriors. "We've discussed this. We'll ask the dragon to restore the lives of everyone killed on Earth since Frieza and his men arrived. That should include anyone Garlic and his men killed, too."

For some reason he couldn't quite figure, Vegeta was not satisfied with that wish. It was what they settled on days earlier, but it still seemed not all inclusive. Something was missing. If nothing else, it was somewhat vague, and he doubted the dragon would grant a wish like that. Or what if he granted it, but it didn't come with the results they wanted because he interpreted it a way they didn't intend?

"Frieza said the dragon on Namek granted him immortality."

"So?"

"He killed them all."

"Who all?"

"The Namekians." Vegeta walked over to the counter and leaned against it, crossing his arms over his chest. "Frieza never left a single living soul on any planet he touched that wasn't already his."

Bulma gasped, covering her mouth with her hand. "Why didn't you mention that before? You want to bring them back, don't you?"

He shrugged nonchalantly, but she could see through his façade. Whether he admitted to it or not, she knew he had grown a conscience during his stay on Earth. He wanted to appear indifferent, but really he was feeling guilt for the genocide of the Namekians. If not for him, Frieza probably never would have learned of the dragon balls, never would have traveled there, never would have killed them all, and never would have wished for immortality.

"How about this? We wish for everyone Frieza and his men killed in the past year to be revived. That should cover Namek, right?" She stepped closer to him and reached out to lay her hand on his shoulder reassuringly. Whenever Vegeta got to thinking too much he always ended up brooding and second-guessing any plan that was made. She hated seeing him so fretful; it didn't suit him.

He appeared to consider that option for a moment before shaking his head. "What about Kakarrot's harpy?"

"Oh. Damn." Bulma pulled herself up to sit on the counter and rested her head on his shoulder, mind racing. "I know! We can make that wish with the Earth's dragon balls, then we can go to Namek and use their dragon balls to wish Chi-Chi back! I mean, it's the least they could do to let us use their dragon balls after we wish them back to life."

Vegeta continued to stare across the room as a smirk crept across his face. "You know, woman, that might just work."

She grinned and kissed his cheek. "Of course it will. I'm going to tell the others about the change in plans. Hey, maybe they'll want to go to Namek too. You know, to help bring Chi-Chi back and everything." Sliding off the counter, she pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and left the kitchen.

Once again Vegeta was left stunned by the woman he claimed as his mate. Why hadn't he thought of using the Namekian dragon balls? He was always astounded when someone else's mind worked faster than his own, and she had proven on more than one occasion that hers could and often did. He watched her leave, appreciating the alluring sway of her hips with each step she took. The door shut behind her and he finally noticed his heart racing. Damn that woman did strange things to his body. Groaning, he went to the sink and splashed cold water on his face.

'I can't leave her behind without mating with her, even if it's just one time.' He dried his face and braced his arms on the counter, looking out the window above the sink. It was bright and sunny, a perfect summer day. His eyebrow rose when he saw Nappa standing on the front lawn. If it weren't for his tail twitching behind him, he would have looked like a normal earthling, wearing a plain pair of training shorts and a t-shirt. Never mind the fact that he was much larger than the average human. Nappa was a hard person to read, but Vegeta was adept at interpreting his body language after living with him for nearly three decades. From what he could tell, Nappa was rather troubled, but he couldn't imagine why.

Shrugging one shoulder, Vegeta turned and left the kitchen to go outside and talk to his bodyguard. He came up behind the bald saiyan, tilting his head back to look up at the sky. "What are you doing out here, Nappa?"

"Thinking."

"Thinking? You?" Vegeta snorted. "What thoughts could possibly exist in that empty skull of yours?"

Nappa chuckled a little, not at all offended by Vegeta's casual insult. "You'd be surprised. I was thinking about your father and how proud he would be if he were still alive. And I'm thinking about how disappointed I am."

Vegeta's brows furrowed as he turned to scowl at the old saiyan. "Disappointed? In me?"

Sighing, Nappa nodded. "You have something really great here, Vegeta, but you're choosing to leave it. You have a pack now, and a mate. Why are you abandoning them?"

The saiyan prince groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. He didn't want to have this discussion with anyone, much less the man who knew him best. With Nappa he couldn't hide his true feelings, motivations, and desires. There was no point in even trying. "I'm not abandoning them, idiot. I'm protecting them."

"Bullshit."

"Excuse me?"

Nappa shook his head before turning his back on his prince and walking back to the compound. "I can understand the reason you're going. But I can't understand why you're leaving them behind. Bulma, anyway. You want to be with her, don't you? And she wants to be with you. Take her – she's your mate!"

Vegeta growled and ran around Nappa to block his path. "I can't take her! I will not put her in danger. I go to protect her, don't you get it?"

Resting his hands on Vegeta's shoulders, Nappa looked into the prince's eyes with a level of intensity he rarely used since Vegeta was an undisciplined cub. "No, you don't get it! You can't take a mate and then leave her behind. Yes, she'll be in danger, but you'll be there to defend her."

Vegeta brushed his hands aside, but he took a step back to show he was listening. "What if I can't? What if the same thing happens…"

"That happened to Mrs. Brief?" Nappa shrugged. "It might. But you'd be hurting her worse by leaving her alone on Earth. Don't be a fool. I know you're smarter than that, Vegeta. Mates are together for life. You're mates, so you must take her with you."

"But we're not even – we haven't – she isn't –"

Nappa looked at Vegeta, confused, before a sly grin curled his lips. "You haven't mated yet? Is that the reason you think you can abandon her? Maybe if you, you know… then you would be more willing to take her along."

Blushing furiously, Vegeta turned away and stomped over to the front door of the compound, his tail wrapping tightly around his leg. "Not a word of this to anyone, you hear me? She isn't ready yet! That's the only reason!" Huffing indignantly, he went inside and slammed the door closed behind him.

"Not ready yet, eh?" Nappa laughed as he followed Vegeta into the compound, but instead of searching for him, he turned down the hall to Bulma's laboratory where she was working on another spaceship for him to use. He knocked on the door before letting himself in, startling Bulma.

The blue-haired scientist whirled around and raised an eyebrow when she saw who her visitor was. "Nappa, what are you doing here? Come to help with the ship?"

He scoffed as he came down the stairs. "Not likely. I never liked mechanics. No, I'm here to talk to you about your training."

"Training?" She subconsciously rubbed her sternum, wincing when she felt the bruise she received during her fight with Vinegar. "I thought you were done training me since the big battle's already done."

Smirking, he shook his head. "I don't want to make you stronger. I want to make you faster."

"Faster? Why?"

"You'll find out in due time. Trust me." He rested his hands on his hips, gesturing with his head to the door. "So what do you say? You up to it?"

Bulma's eyes narrowed suspiciously, but she picked up a terry cloth from her workstation and wiped the grease off her hands as she prepared to take a break from working on the spaceship. "I don't know what you're up to, Nappa, but sure, I'll train with you. On one condition: You spend as much time helping me build this ship as I spend training. Deal?"

Nappa quickly hid his grimace as he consented to her terms. "Deal."

…

The next two months passed rapidly; Bulma was kept constantly busy between work at Capsule Corporation, helping her father build the spaceships, training with Nappa, and spending 'quality' time with Vegeta. By the time October rolled around she was running on caffeine more than sleep. The scene in her living room on the morning of October 12 was almost exactly the same as it had been a year earlier. Repressing the feeling of déjà vu, Bulma assigned the gathered warriors and friends the same groups as before, only changing the coordinates of the dragon balls and adding Yamcha to Krillin's group.

In less than a day the z-fighters had all seven dragon balls gathered at Mount Paozu, ready to summon the eternal dragon and wish back all those killed by Frieza in the past year, hopefully including the Namekians. When Bulma stood over the glowing orbs, Vegeta stepped over to her side and looked down at them. "Perhaps you should make sure the dragon can bring back the Namekians before making the wish," he said with a tone low enough no one else could hear.

Bulma bit her bottom lip and nodded. "Sure thing."

Without another word Vegeta backed away a few paces, watching as she raised her arms over the dragon balls and shouted, "Shenron, by your name I summon you to grant my wish!"

No sooner had she spoken the words than the sky darkened to pitch black and erratic bolts of lightning darted through the clouds, followed by deafening claps of thunder. The wind picked up as the resplendent beam of light rocketed out of the dragon balls, shooting high into the sky and curling and coiling in the black clouds, outshining the lightning. Reaching its full length, the light faded and the people gathered below could see the emerald scaled dragon hovering over them.

"Why have you summoned me? Name your wish and I shall grant it," Shenron growled.

Bulma brushed her hair back over her shoulders and took a deep breath before asking the dragon, "Shenron, can you revive all the people Frieza killed in the past year, even the ones who died on other planets?"

The moment of silence that followed dragged on for an eternity to Bulma. She frowned at the dragon, wondering why he always had to be so dramatic. It was never a simple yes or no, he was always putting them on edge, never sure if he could or would grant their wishes. Finally, Shenron decided to answer. "It can be done."

Breathing a sigh of relief, Bulma smiled up at Shenron confidently. "Alright then. I wish for all the people Frieza killed in the past year to be revived except for the really, really bad ones!"

Another pause. Bulma planted her hands on her hips and tapped her toe impatiently. Still Shenron didn't tell her the wish was granted. Unease began to creep in as Bulma wondered whether he had overestimated his own abilities when he said it was possible for him to grant the wish. She stole a quick glance over her shoulder at the others, but they could only give helpless shrugs in return. Scowling, she turned back to the dragon, ready to scream at him for wasting her time and their wish.

But as soon as she opened her mouth to begin her lecture, Shenron's eyes glowed and he told her, "Your wish has been granted."

"Thank you!" she snapped, irritated with the dragon for making her so nervous. Turning, she started jumping excitedly, shouting with joy as she tackled Vegeta and hugged him, kissing him in front of everyone.

Vegeta stood rigid as she attacked him with affection, neither rejecting it nor reciprocating. He wouldn't see Mrs. Brief until he returned to Capsule Corporation where her body remained along with Raditz and Chi-Chi. And as soon as he visited her to make sure she was alive and well, he would leave Earth, leave behind his pack and his woman, the woman who was hugging and kissing him in celebration. It pained him knowing he wouldn't be taking her with him, but they still hadn't mated and so he figured it would be best for both of them if he went without her, never having become life mates. She would be free to find someone else on Earth – and though he wanted her to be happy, that thought made a wave of jealousy come crashing into his heart – and he wouldn't slowly deteriorate from the depression that would plague him if he separated himself from his mate. He wanted to mate, Kami he wanted her so bad it made him feel nauseous, but he could refuse his carnal desires for a few more hours and never have the chance to satisfy them afterward.

After a minute, Bulma stepped back from him, studying his face in the hopes of figuring out why he was standing there like a statue when he should have been kissing her or at least growling at her to save it for later. But his face was unreadable, making her search for answers fruitless. Frowning, she turned to Nappa, who was standing at the prince's side, silently asking him for an explanation.

Nappa felt her gaze and looked down at her with something akin to sympathy in his eyes. That only served to make Bulma more upset, so he told her, "You completed your training. You'll see what it was for soon."

She quirked an eyebrow, not sure how that related to her current confusion. "What?"

The large saiyan crossed his arms over his chest and turned his attention to the small house on the horizon. The others were all drifting that way for a small party or some such nonsense. The youngest saiyan and his half-breed son were still melancholy, no doubt their grief being heightened when they had to go along with the wish that wouldn't bring the harpy back right away. Finally, he rested his hand on her shoulder and pulled her aside, and, keeping his voice low so Vegeta wouldn't overhear told her, "Punch him. Don't ask me why. And when you've punched him, run like hell. Maybe then he'll tell you what's on his mind."

"What good would that do?" she hissed. "I don't want to piss him off!"

He smirked and gave her a small nudge toward the saiyan prince. "Trust me."

Turning on her heel, Bulma took a hesitant step toward Vegeta, who was watching them suspiciously. Throwing one last glance over her shoulder at her sensei, Bulma went up to Vegeta and stopped right in front of him. Then, without a word of warning, she balled her hand into a fist and punched him in the face, her blow fast and unexpected enough that he didn't react on time to block it or dodge. As soon as she pulled her hand away, she whirled around and started sprinting away from him as fast as she could.

Nappa watched with satisfaction as Vegeta slowly raised his hand to his cheek, tenderly touching the spot where her knuckles struck him. He wasn't hurt, but he was visibly stunned – and aroused. Vegeta's tail uncoiled from his waist and started flicking and thrashing behind him as he prepared to hunt her down. Chuckling, Nappa nodded his approval when Vegeta took off running after her. Strong and fast as he was, without ascending to super saiyan he was going to have a hell of a time catching her. She spent the past two and a half months training rigorously to become swift and agile, able to outrun stronger warriors and quickly change direction, dodge attacks, and divert anyone hunting her. Yes, she was ready for this.

Still looking quite pleased, Nappa turned in the direction of the Son household and walked over to join the party – or meeting. He didn't knock before letting himself inside, ignoring the hush that fell over the small group as he crossed the living room and leaned against the wall. "What are you all gawking at?" he snapped.

"Nothing, Mr. Nappa," Gohan replied. Since fighting alongside the aged warrior, the young demi-saiyan had a deeper respect for him that the others lacked. He gave Nappa a weak smile before turning his attention back to his father, who was standing in the center of the room and apparently leading a heated discussion.

Goku released a long breath and scratched the back of his head. The gesture seemed odd without his goofy grin spread across his face. "So anyway, like I was saying, Vegeta's planning on going into space to fight Frieza's brother and father and take down their whole empire. Bulma and her dad made three spaceships for Raditz, Vegeta, and Nappa to use so they could split up all over the universe."

Yamcha blew a raspberry. "Let them go, why should we care? I don't want to see them around anymore anyway." Then, as if just remembering Nappa was in the room, turned to the large saiyan and laughed nervously. "No offense, of course."

Snorting, Nappa looked at the scar-faced warrior and shot him with eye lasers. They weren't strong enough to kill, but they did singe Yamcha's clothes. While he sputtered in outrage, Nappa calmly regarded the other warriors before asking, "What's your interest in Vegeta's plans, Kakarrot? We're going to head to Namek and gather the dragon balls so we can wish your mate back to life first. That should be the only thing to concern you."

"Actually," Goku said as he squatted and rested his arms on his knees, "I was thinking maybe we could help. If there's three ships, we can have three teams. Then we could bring down the empire faster, don't you think? And anyway, why should we be stuck staying here when you get to go and fight? I bet Frieza's brother and dad are really strong!"

"Oh yeah, and that's a great reason to venture out into space, Goku," Krillin grumbled. "What if they're stronger than Frieza? We'd be toast!"

"Burnt toast," Piccolo added.

"Come on, guys! Me and Vegeta are both super saiyans. Fighting them would be a piece of cake!" Goku whined.

Nappa shook his head. "King Cold might be an easy kill for a super saiyan, but Cooler is much stronger than Frieza. Even you and Vegeta might have trouble with him. It would be better if you stay here to fight him if he somehow gets past Vegeta and makes it here."

"He's coming here?" Tien asked.

Chiaotzu looked at Tien, then over at Nappa. "What for?"

"Simple. He'll want revenge for Frieza." Nappa shrugged and looked out the window. Though he was actively participating in the z-fighters' discussion, he was also keeping track of Vegeta and Bulma's ki. So far he hadn't caught up with her, and they were moving farther and farther away from the house. They definitely weren't going to be coming back anytime soon.

"…Nappa? Hey, Nappa?"

The bald saiyan grunted when he realized Goku was talking to him. "What?"

"Do you know where these Cooler and King Cold guys are? I mean, you have to know where they are if you're going to find them and fight them, right?"

"We know where they were at the time Frieza's ship landed on Earth." He pushed off from the wall and walked back over to the door to leave. "You're not going, Kakarrot. Vegeta's already decided it'll be him, me, and Raditz."

Gohan jumped up from where he was sitting on the floor and ran over to Nappa, clutching his pants in one small fist. "Wait, Mr. Nappa! Why can't my dad and I at least go to Namek? We should be there to wish back my mom. Please?"

Tien also stood up and frowned. "And why should we listen to Vegeta, anyway? We should help, too. If they're going to threaten Earth it's our right to help defend it!"

"Yeah!" Yamcha yelled, also rising from the couch and glaring at the old saiyan. "If they want to destroy Earth then this is our fight as much as it is yours."

Growling, Nappa opened the door and stepped outside. The tip of his tail was flicking with irritation as he snarled, "If you want to go so bad take it up with Vegeta!" He started closing the door before pausing and adding, "But you'd better wait a few hours or he'll probably kill you, and I wouldn't blame him."

Finally he slammed the door shut and walked a few yards away from the house before flaring his ki and taking off toward West City. When he focused, he could sense Raditz's ki back at the Capsule Corporation compound. So he had been revived, good. He cut off his senses telling him where Vegeta and Bulma were as he flew, not wanting to intrude in their affairs. He already knew what was going to happen and was content to leave it at that. While they were busy, he needed to consult with Raditz and Dr. Brief about the problem of the earthling warriors wanting to join the expedition to destroy the Cold Empire.

…

Vegeta wrapped his tail around Bulma's waist, pulling her closer when he felt her shivering from the cold. Her milky white skin was illuminated by the pale streams of moonlight breaking through the forest canopy above. He watched attentively as she stretched, sighing in her sleep, and nuzzled her face into the crook of his neck. A small smile played on his lips as he gently stroked her hair, pulling out a dead leaf and tossing it into the breeze. Already she had been sleeping for two hours, but he was content to watch over her, drinking in her scent and learning every detail about her, from the feel of her smooth skin to the soft sound of her slow, steady breathing.

Time seemed to stand still as he lay with her. He knew he should have been more anxious to leave, to get back to Capsule Corporation and see Mrs. Brief before boarding a spaceship and leaving the planet for years. But all he wanted to do was stay with Bulma, his life mate. He held her close, allowing his body to warm her, breathing in her scent with each inhalation, feeling the rise and fall of her chest against him with each breath she took.

Closing his eyes, he replayed in his mind the instant he knew she was ready for him. He remembered the fierce determination flashing in her cerulean eyes as she frowned a little, biting her bottom lip as she clenched her right hand into a small fist. In that moment he knew she was going to be his forever; he had already staked his claim on her, but he hadn't yet taken her as his. When he saw her shift her weight to her back foot as she drew her fist back and then shift to her front foot as she twisted her body and brought her fist forward, driving it into his cheek, he knew she was finally ready. Shocked, aroused, excited, he watched as she turned and ran, inviting him to chase her until she could run no longer, giving herself to him in reward for his pursuit.

She ran for hours, crossing a great distance and always able to stay a few steps ahead of him. Each time he tried to pounce on her she would abruptly change direction or duck as he sailed over her. She climbed trees to evade him, crossed streams to hide her scent, and threw stones to make noise far from where she was to distract him. Chasing her proved to be a challenge, and each time she evaded him the drive to catch her grew more intense. Finally she started to grow tired, and he took his opportunity to jump on her and start ripping her clothes off. But Bulma still had some fight left in her and managed to throw him off and keep running several minutes longer before he pinned her down again and finished stripping her.

Urged on by his own desire and the musk of her arousal, he quickly undressed himself and kissed her aggressively until her breath came in shallow pants. Her flushed skin burned as he touched her, his hands memorizing every inch of her naked body. He nearly lost himself when he felt her small hands exploring his body in return and heard her softly moan his name. Had he wanted to resist his desire, keep himself from taking her so he could live with himself for leaving her behind on Earth, he lacked the restraint it would take to turn back at that point. No longer able to control himself, he flipped her onto her stomach and lowered himself over her, ready to finish their courtship and make her his mate for life.

He brushed her hair behind her ear and kissed her neck. His soft whisper tickled her ear as he made his vow to remain faithful to her for life, to protect and honor her with all his power. In return she breathed her own vow to be loyal and to love and respect him as long as she lived. Hearing her promise sent a thrill rushing through his body, the last push he needed to mate with her.

His eyes snapped open when he heard her moan quietly as she shifted her position, rolling away from him. He wanted to pull her back to him, but then she cracked her eyes open and blinked a few times before grinning when she met his gaze. Rubbing her eyes, she sat up and yawned. "What time is it?" she mumbled.

Seeing the fluid movement of her lithe body awakened a fresh wave of desire in his gut. Vegeta sat up and wrapped his arms around her slender waist, pulling her onto his lap. "Why does it matter?"

Bulma's eyes widened when she felt his full arousal. She glanced down and looked back up at him, at first unable to form words. But her surprise soon subsided enough for her to blurt, "You mean that wasn't a dream?"

"Idiot woman." Vegeta chuckled as he positioned her to start another round of mating. Kissing her, he groaned as he slid into her.

"What?" she moaned. Gasping as he moved inside her, she explained, "I thought it had to be a dream. I mean, you're like, huge, and oh my kami, it was amazing and—"

He bit her lip sharply. "Shut up," he growled. Satisfied when she quit her incessant babbling, he pulled her body against his chest and lost himself in the bliss she gave him. When he was with her, nothing else in the world mattered. Not his upcoming journey, not the destruction of an intergalactic empire, and not the potential threat to the Earth. When he was with her, the only thing that mattered was evoking wave after wave of frenzied pleasure.

It was almost dawn when Vegeta stood up and stretched. His tail curled and slowly swayed behind him. He hadn't gotten much sleep that night, but he hardly felt tired. Rather, he felt invigorated from his exhilarating activities with his mate. While he was looking around for his discarded clothing his stomach started growling, reminding him that he hadn't had anything to eat since breakfast the day before. In the dim pre-dawn light he saw his shirt hanging from a nearby tree branch. His shoes were several yards away and his pants and boxers were on the ground several feet away in opposite directions. He gathered his clothes quickly and returned to Bulma's side to wake her.

"Woman," he purred, gently shaking her shoulder. "Woman, wake up at once."

Bulma groaned and tried to bat his hands away, but he was persistent. She pouted when he pulled her to her feet so she couldn't fall back asleep. "What's going on?"

"It's time to return to the compound."

She covered her mouth with her hand as she yawned. "Go back so soon?"

"There are other matters we need to attend to, or have you forgotten about our plan to dismantle the Cold Empire?" Vegeta put his arms around her, keeping her warm when he saw goosebumps rising on her smooth skin. "We leave today."

"By 'we' you mean you, Nappa, and Raditz, right?" she asked sadly.

"I mean we." Vegeta kissed her, softly at first, but then more hungrily. He had to force himself to pull back when he felt his heart pounding with anticipation. "Get dressed, woman."

"In what? You ruined all my clothes last night."

Vegeta shoved his shirt into her hands before walking a few paces away and pulling on the rest of his clothes. Once dressed, he looked back over at her. For some reason seeing her wearing his shirt made him feel a swell of pride in his chest. The sleeves of the shirt swallowed her hands and it hung down almost to her knees. She wasn't that much shorter than him, but her frame was much slighter; there was no bulk to fill out the shirt. He went back to her and wrapped his tail around her waist as he scooped her up in his arms and jumped into the air, blasting off toward West City.

…

Goku landed in the front yard of Capsule Corporation along with his son and the rest of the z-fighters. Inside he could feel the low, stable ki of both Nappa and Raditz, but he couldn't sense Vegeta anywhere in the area. Strange considering he almost never left the compound. Shrugging, Goku went to the front door and rang the doorbell. He only waited a few seconds before the door was opened by Raditz.

Grinning, Goku stepped forward and hugged his brother. "Raditz! It's good to see you alive again."

"Uncle Raditz!" Gohan, who had been standing behind Goku's legs, jumped out and threw himself on Raditz when Goku pulled back. The boy had tears of joy in his eyes by the time the long-haired saiyan managed to dislodge him from his person.

"Hello, Gohan," he said. He set Gohan on his shoulders and turned around, gesturing for the others to come in. "I suppose you're here to talk to Vegeta about helping with the mission?"

"Well, yeah. But where is he? I don't sense his ki," Goku replied.

Raditz led them into the kitchen where the Briefs and Nappa were finishing their breakfast. He sat down in his seat and resumed eating. Goku sat down in Vegeta's seat and started helping himself to the food on the table. He was hungry; he and Gohan had been getting by without Chi-Chi's superb culinary skills, but they were by no means good at cooking and he was longing for a delicious meal. Following his father's lead, Gohan hopped down from his uncle's shoulders and took Bulma's usual seat and also started eating.

Piccolo grimaced when he saw the atrocious manners of the three full-blooded saiyans. He turned away from them, walking over to look out the window above the sink. "Where is Vegeta, anyway?"

"Yeah," Tien said, "We thought he'd be here."

Nappa grunted, but he didn't stop eating to explain Vegeta hadn't come back to the compound yesterday – and neither had Bulma. When they didn't receive an answer, the others wandered out of the kitchen to mill about while waiting for either Vegeta to return or the saiyans to finish breakfast so they could actually communicate. That was when they felt Vegeta's ki approaching at a relatively slow pace.

Vegeta sensed the group of warriors in the compound and growled. Bulma looked up at him when she heard it and felt the tip of his tail beating against her stomach. "What's wrong?"

"Kakarrot and the other idiots are there."

Bulma shrugged and started rubbing his back. "I wonder what they're there for. Maybe they just wanted to see if Raditz and my mom are okay." Her breath hitched. "Mom! Oh Kami, I almost forgot! She's alive!"

The saiyan arced down to the balcony of Bulma's room and carried her inside to shower and get dressed before going downstairs. He was leaving her room when she stopped him and kissed him once more. "Don't kill anyone."

"Hn." Vegeta quietly closed her door behind him and went down the hall to his own room. He headed straight for the bathroom and took his clothes off before getting in the shower. His mind was conflicted between two regrets: the first was regret that he waited so long to mate with Bulma, and the second was regret that he mated with her at all. Now he was practically obligated to take her on the dangerous mission into space. But, at the same time, he didn't mind as much as he might have. In fact, he was relieved that he bonded with her on a deep enough level that he couldn't rightfully desert her. In the end he disregarded both feelings of regret, instead reveling in the satisfaction of having Bulma as his life mate.

After his short shower, Vegeta dried himself off with a flare of ki and went into his bedroom to get dressed. He pulled on a pair of boxers, training pants, and a long-sleeved t-shirt. As he left his room, his stomach rumbled loudly. With a sigh he went downstairs, ignoring all the ki he felt around the compound, and walked to the kitchen to get some breakfast. He stopped in the doorway when he saw Goku and his brat sitting at the table stuffing themselves with his breakfast. A snarl curled his lips as he growled, slowly advancing toward the table with his tail lashing behind him.

Goku looked up from his food and grinned when he saw the saiyan prince. "Oh, hi Vegeta!"

Vegeta jumped over the table and kicked Goku back into the wall. "Do you always come into another person's home and eat his food?"

"Huh? But you weren't here, so I thought—"

"You thought wrong!" Vegeta picked up his chair and sat down to eat. He had only taken a few bites when he started growling again as Piccolo and Krillin ran into the kitchen to see what the trouble was. Slamming his hands down on the table, making all the dishes clatter, he shouted, "What the hell are you all doing here anyway?"

Mrs. Brief giggled as she set a fresh platter of pancakes on the table. "Now Vegeta, dear, be polite. I've made enough for all of you."

"Thanks, Mrs. Brief," Goku said as he grabbed a folding chair from the pantry and set it up at the table to resume eating.

Vegeta gave Goku a cold glare before turning back to his plate and eating at a faster-than-normal pace, competing for the most food. Mrs. Brief had trouble keeping up with the saiyans' voracious appetites, but she did an outstanding job and, after about half an hour, ended up with a few extra pancakes neither saiyan could swallow. But that wasn't a problem as Bulma came into the kitchen and took her mother's vacated seat and claimed the remaining pancakes. She was rather famished herself and ate more than usual.

Mrs. Brief turned when she heard her daughter enter the kitchen. "Bulma, dear, when did you get home?"

Bulma smiled guiltily, peeking over at Vegeta before standing and rushing over to hug her mother. "I just got back a few minutes ago. Oh, Mom, I'm so glad you're back."

"I'm happy to be back, sweetie," Mrs. Brief said, stroking her daughter's blue hair. "But I did have company, you know. Goku's wife was there and we had a lovely garden. Oh! I do hope she doesn't forget to water the gardenias! It is a shame she couldn't come back too."

Bulma laughed. "I'm sure the gardenias will be fine. It's heaven, Mom. Not like things die there. And we're going to bring Chi-Chi back with the dragon balls on Namek, so it's okay."

"Namek? Oh, dear, I have so much to catch up on."

"Yeah," Bulma agreed. Wiping away a few stray tears, she went back to the table and sat down to talk while eating her pancakes. "Like the fact that Vegeta and I are kind of married."

Dr. Brief dropped his newspaper. "What was that, dear?"

Bulma blushed a little and shoved another bite of pancake into her mouth to avoid answering for a moment. Across from her, Vegeta smirked proudly and crossed his arms over his chest, waiting for her to give the explanation to her parents. Beside him, Goku looked at him wonderingly. Bulma nearly laughed when she saw his happy, confused expression.

"Last night. Some sort of saiyan…ritual or whatever. I'm not telling the details, but we're married, in human terms." Bulma beamed as she told them the news.

Mrs. Brief ran over and hugged her daughter. "Well, that's wonderful, dear! I'm so happy for you. And you too, Vegeta!" Releasing her daughter, she rounded the table and hugged him and kissed his cheek. "Now you really are a part of the family."

Sighing, Vegeta endured her affection. He wasn't put off by it anymore, and actually he welcomed it this time. He was still plagued with guilt over her death and he was relieved to see she held no hard feelings or regret for her actions. Though he would never say so, he was disappointed when she let him go and went back to the sink to wash the dishes.

"Yes, dear," Dr. Brief said after overcoming his shock, "I'm glad you're both happy, though I wouldn't have minded knowing about this 'marriage' beforehand."

Bulma shrugged. "It wasn't really planned."

"Hn."

"Oh, there's kind of something else we should tell you," Bulma added, her voice dropping from the cheerful tone she used to reveal her marriage to Vegeta. Clearing her throat, she told her parents, "Vegeta's going into space to end the Cold Empire for good. Raditz and Nappa are going to go too, and… and I'm going with Vegeta."

"What's that you say, dear?" Dr. Brief asked. He put his hand in the pocket of his lab coat and pulled out his pack of cigarettes.

"I'm going into space with Vegeta. We'll go to Namek to wish Chi-Chi back and then we're going to destroy Frieza's army and take down his father's whole empire. We'll be gone a long time. Years, maybe decades." Her voice trembled as a lump rose in her throat, tears stinging her eyes. As happy as she was that she could stay with Vegeta, she hadn't realized until that moment that it meant leaving behind her parents, her home, and everything she ever knew.

"You're leaving Earth?" Mrs. Brief asked. "But when?"

"Today," Vegeta answered.

"To-today?" Dr. Brief took a cigarette out and put it in his mouth, chewing it as he tried to process what his daughter and son-in-law were saying. "Well, you are a married woman now, Bulma."

Nodding, she looked down at her wringing hands. "But who knows? Maybe it won't take that long and we'll be back a lot sooner. I mean, with Raditz and Nappa helping…"

"And the rest of us," Goku chimed in.

Vegeta coughed. "What?"

"Well, you see, that's why we're here," the younger saiyan explained. "We thought we should help. If this Cold and Cooler are going to come here and hurt people, we should go and stop them before they can. You'll need more than three of you fighting a whole army. So, why not have three teams and we can take the spaceships Dr. Brief built?"

Vegeta looked at Goku incredulously for a minute before shifting his gaze to Bulma. He cocked his head to the side, considering this new option. "It would be possible to work faster with more warriors," he conceded.

Bulma looked between the saiyans and shrugged. "I don't see why not. Hey, then Goku can be the one to go to Namek and wish Chi-Chi back. That's fair, don't you think? But I think if we have teams, some of us should stay behind in case of another invasion."

Dr. Brief nodded. "That would be a good idea. We don't want to leave the Earth without any defense."

"Fine then." Vegeta stood up and crossed the kitchen to leave. "Kakarrot, get your idiot friends together and we'll discuss who will come and who stays."

"Right." Goku followed Vegeta out of the kitchen and started rounding up his friends to gather in the living room where he felt Vegeta's ki.

A few minutes later all the warriors and the Briefs were in the living room waiting to hear the revised plan. Vegeta stood in the center of the room with Bulma at his side, trying to work out the best approach to take. There were many combinations of warriors he could send out in teams, but he wanted to make sure each team was strong without leaving only the weakest back on Earth to defend it in case of future attacks.

Bulma looked around at all her friends, wondering if she would ever see them again. She felt like her heart was breaking when she considered the possibility that this would be the last time she would see them all together like this.

"We were thinking at least two of you should stay behind on Earth in case anything happens," she told them. "We'll have three teams out in space."

Yamcha scowled. "And I suppose we're leaving it up to Vegeta to decide who stays and who goes?"

"Of course we are," Bulma snapped. "Did you forget he's the one who got us through the purge? He's better than anyone at planning a strategy of attack!"

Taken aback, Yamcha muttered, "Damn, Bulma, the way you praise him you'd think you were married to him or something."

"She is," Goku happily informed him.

While the scar-faced warrior was left sputtering, Vegeta finally worked out how to split up the warriors so each team would have optimal speed, strength, and brains. "Raditz, you will come with me and my woman."

Raditz nodded before glancing over at his brother and nephew, frowning a little. He wasn't going to disobey his prince, but he was upset nonetheless that he wasn't going with his pack. "Which ship will we be taking?"

"I'll show you," Bulma said. She held onto Raditz's arm and guided him out of the living room.

The corner of Vegeta's lips turned down before he assigned the next group. "Kakarrot, you, your brat, and Baldy will be the second team. You will go first to Namek before assisting in the takedown of the empire, understood?"

"Sure, Vegeta." Goku grinned and gave Krillin a high-five, happy that he was grouped with his lifelong best friend.

"The third team will be the Namekian, three-eyes, and the doll thing."

Nappa's jaw went slack. "Wait, Vegeta, aren't you forgetting about me? What team am I on?"

Vegeta turned to his bodyguard and shook his head. "You're not going, Nappa. You stay here to protect the Earth. You think scar-face will be able to handle it?" He glanced over at Yamcha, who didn't look pleased about being left behind by all his friends. "Besides, I need someone to stay here to coordinate our attack. I could do it, but it would be easier to have you here with access to all the information on army bases and movement. You will also be able to direct us, override our coordinates to reset our course, and maintain communication between teams in case of any malfunction with the ships. The old man will be here to help if you need to walk us through repairs or other ship maintenance."

He knew Vegeta's reasoning was sound, but he still felt sidelined, both because of his advancing age and lower power level. He simply couldn't keep up with the younger saiyans any longer. Still, Vegeta was counting on him to play an integral role in the overthrow of the Cold Empire and he would obediently serve his prince and help in any way he could. And anyway, who was a better choice than him for his job? He was the former commander of the saiyan army. Aside from Vegeta, he was the best tactician in the group, and with this kind of attack he may have been better.

"Yes, sir," he mumbled, bowing his head.

Vegeta turned his head to the side, unable to see his most loyal and faithful servant feeling overlooked and humiliated. "I need you here, Nappa," he said.

"I know."

Addressing the others in the room, Vegeta told them, "Gather whatever you need for the journey. The first coordinates have already been set in the ships. Dr. Brief will explain the controls to you before takeoff. If any of you wants to back out, do it now."

He waited for a minute, but he was faced with hard expressions of determination. It was then he finally realized these men were not cowards and they were not weak. Physically, yes, but they had the true strength of warriors. Perhaps they would be an asset in this mission after all. He nodded curtly before leaving the room to find his mate, following her ki upstairs to her bedroom.

Bulma emerged from her closet when she heard her door open and smiled when she saw who it was. "Hey, Vegeta. I'm just packing some things. Raditz is loading the supplies into the ships."

"You mean you're packing everything you own." Vegeta walked over to the bed and snorted when he saw the pile of capsules on the blanket. "This isn't a vacation, woman."

"It's not? Here I thought it was some sort of fucked up honeymoon." She giggled at his confused expression and disappeared into the closet to finish packing all her clothes. "So everyone was okay with the plan?"

"Hn." Vegeta sat on the edge of the bed. He wanted to tell her about Nappa, but he didn't want to burden her with the same guilt he was feeling. Keeping Nappa on Earth was a purely strategic move that didn't take into consideration the old warrior's already growing feelings of inadequacy.

"Do you really think it'll take years? With all of us working together, maybe it won't take so long."

Vegeta shrugged. "Maybe."

"There," Bulma said, walking out of the closet and tossing one more capsule on the bed with the others. "That's everything."

They looked around the room, slightly put off when they noticed for the first time how barren it looked without all her decorations, clothes strewn about the floor, and some of the furniture. Bulma sighed sadly as she grabbed an old pink backpack from the floor and started dumping the capsules inside. "I figured it was only appropriate to bring this old bag. It's the one I kept all my capsules and the dragon balls in on my first big adventure."

Vegeta looked at the bag disinterestedly. He couldn't understand her sentimentality over something so pointless. But then, he never grew attached to any material item. He couldn't have afforded to; either it would have been destroyed or taken away from him. The only hard part of leaving Earth was leaving behind the rest of his pack: Mrs. Brief, Dr. Brief, and Nappa.

While she slung the backpack over her shoulders, Vegeta coiled his tail around her waist and led her out of the room. The door clicked shut with a sobering finality. Bulma looked up at Vegeta nervously as they continued down the hall, past his room to the stairs. She wondered if he had even taken anything other than his armor. She was sure he had that packed in a capsule somewhere. Downstairs, they turned down the hall to take them to the back door of the compound, passing by her laboratory. The metal door was closed, but as she looked at it Bulma could imagine perfectly where everything was and what she needed to do to finish all her incomplete projects. Needing reassurance, she put her arm around Vegeta and leaned into him, comforting herself with his warmth and scent, knowing that while she was leaving home behind, she was going to be with him. And he was all she needed.

A/N: You didn't really think I'd let Vegeta leave without Bulma - again - did you? If you were disappointed that there wasn't much "action" in the last chapter, I'm sorry, but this story isn't about the action. It's about the changes in the characters. What else... haven't written the last chapter yet. The next one kind of went in a different direction than I intended and I'm not sure if I'm going to stick with it. We'll see. Oh, and I guess there should have been a warning for zest of lemon. Whoops. And happy belated birthday, anny.

Beta'd by lilpumpkingirl

Review!