This is it, the last chapter… Wow, I can't actually believe it. I will go blabbering a lot more in the end of the chapter, so for now: Enjoy!
Bulma looked down at the miracle she was holding. Her gaze was met by her daughter's onyx eyes, which looked exactly like her father's. She smiled fondly at the baby as her arm was brushed by the tiny dark tail as the girl happily breastfed like there was no tomorrow. "How can you be this hungry after all the food I have eaten for your sake, Tracey?" she said while laughing. Her mother and she had tried to find a name for her boy at Earth and had ended up with the name Trunks. Therefor Bulma only found it natural to name her daughter Tracey, in memory of the boy who never got a chance in life.
Launyr looked at the scene and felt her heart tighten. Even though she didn't want to, she had to go tell her lord his daughter was finally born. She had waited for a couple of days for the sake of Ms. Brief's peace of mind. The blue-haired woman had been out of herself in the last weeks of her pregnancy but as soon as she had held the newborn girl in her arms she had been like a brand new person. She was almost certain the two of them would be sent of the following day, and she wasn't sure if she would be alive to witness it after breaking the trust of her lord.
Vegeta looked at the white-skinned alien and only showed his anger by his tail's movements. "I told you I wanted the woman off the planet as soon as possible and yet you kept this information from me?" He was somewhat surprised by the medic's honesty. She had told him his daughter had been born four days ago and her reason not to tell him before. The medic only nodded and it was clear how she was expecting him to end her life. He turned around and walked towards the door. "Get back to the secured room and make sure they are ready to be sent of first thing in the morning. I will have a pod made ready for them." He left the meeting-room and walked to the training facility.
"Welcome, King Vegeta," his leading general said as he walked down the stairs from the palace. "Your aspiring ambassadors have done great in all tests this far, but I postponed this one as I expected you might want to watch it." He nodded and went to stand by the general's side to watch the test.
He thought about what the medic had told him. For four days had he been a father without knowing it. Not that it mattered; he would not be a father to the girl in more ways than granting her life. Should he go see her? She was his blood after all; in fact she could be considered a saiyan princess… No, he shouldn't go to the woman's room, she would start nagging and he knew he wouldn't have the mental resources to deal with it after the last couple of months' pressure.
"I do believe you have found some great ambassadors, your majesty." Vegeta nodded, suddenly aware of his surroundings. Everyone had been looking at him in anticipation and seemed pleased with his response. 'Focus, you moron!' The general gave a last message to the upcoming ambassadors before dismissing them. He turned towards Vegeta and said: "I'll leave too your majesty, I have a debriefing off the returned team from Planet XBN-12." He bowed after being waved off by Vegeta, leaving the monarch alone with his thoughts.
Vegeta looked at the empty facility and tried to make up his mind. He felt a primal urge to go see his offspring, even though it was a girl and a boy would have been preferable. A sound from the door gained his attention and he quickly spun around. "Caporos, what have you sought me out for?" he asked the saiyan, who had just arrived. He was the oldest living on the planet, and even though Vegeta didn't like most of the elders, there was something about Caporos who made him feel at ease; or as much at ease as he possibly could feel around others. Others than the woman… He tensed his jaw enough to make a nerve start to jump. 'It must be the stress.'
"Your majesty, I do apologize for seeking you out without further notice, but I have seen to many bad omens to not do so. Your late father ridiculed me, telling me my visions were only stories made up by my old mind even though I warned him about his queen's illness many months before she became infected. I also saw how you would become the third legendary but to believe the second would be an abandoned child-purger has been hard on me. I do hope you will hear me out, my king." The old saiyan walked carefully down the stairs. His hair and tail was white, according to legend it only happened to those who would have a lifespan of two. "But I did not seek you out to tell you about those visions concerning the past, your majesty," he added as he saw Vegeta's swaying tail. "I have seen a lot of disturbing visions, but they all seemed vague. The only conclusion I could make was that a great decision is about to be made by you, my king, and it will affect your future in many ways."
Vegeta looked at the old man with concern. Caporos had predicted his mother's disease and how Kakarrot had ascended before he had? And then he had chosen to seek him out as he was about to decide whether or not to see his brat… It couldn't be a coincidence, could it? Was he being stupid in believing the old saiyan? "Why have you come to tell me this dark prophecy of yours, Caporos?"
"Only to warn you, my king. Think wisely before making your final choice." The elderly bowed before him and went up the stairs, leaving him alone once again.
Vegeta stopped just before pressing the button to open the door. He could hear through the walls that the woman was asleep, but what if the door woke her up? The medic had promised him she was quite doped as they were about to prepare her body for the travel, but he wasn't keen on the idea of having an argument right now. His head had been hurting for the last couple of hours and he should rather get some sleep instead of going into the secured room in the middle of the night to see the brat. Finally he pushed the button; if he was to stay up for a long time to argue whether or not to enter the room he should just do it and get over with it so he could go to bed.
It was dark; only the light from the city below the palace illuminated the sparsely decorated room. He looked briefly at the woman. She was breathing evenly and seemed almost at peace in her sleep. A few feet from her was a crib and he could hear by the baby's breathing that she was awake. He closed the door and waited for a few seconds, making sure the woman didn't wake up before going to the crib.
As he looked down he got the feeling of looking in the mirror as two similar pair of eyes met. The onyx eyes that looked at him were filled with curiosity and the girl tilted her head a bit to the side, still gazing at him. Her tail laid over her stomach, it's tip were moving slightly, making the blue tones in the fur almost shine as the reflection of light changed by every movement. The shoulder-long hair was the exact same black color as her tail, the blue tones made it seem like she was almost shinning. A small hand was suddenly reached towards him and without thinking Vegeta lifted the little girl and held her in his arms.
A small smile met him as the girl touched the material of his shirt while looking him in the eyes. He knew saiyan children were able to walk a couple of weeks after being born, but to see how the girl clearly knew she was looking at another person surprised him. He suddenly felt a soft sensation as a black tail locked itself around his wrist. For a few minutes he didn't move even a fraction while his daughter just looked at him, making his parental instincts awake from their slumber. If he had thought his anger by the thought of the boy from the alternate time being killed was how a parent would feel, it was nothing compared to what he would do if harm ever occurred to the tiny piece of innocence he had helped create.
Slowly to not startle the girl, he laid his own tail just beside hers on his arm. It looked massive compared to the child's but to see this sign on their connection made his mind go completely blank. How could he feel this connected to something so fragile? His father could never have held him like this, felt like this, or else he wouldn't have been able to act like he had through his entire life. He let his tail brush against his daughter's but hadn't considered how sensitive the baby would be. A giggle escaped the girl and Vegeta froze, listening to how the woman turned in her sleep. She took in a deep breath but seemed to remain asleep. It had been too close, and he decided it was time to go. Before putting the girl down he brushed her cheek with the tip of his tail, making her smile at him once again. As he removed his hands a transformation happened in the girls face, her happy smile disappeared and she started crying inconsolably. A state of panic hit him and it rose as he heard how the woman started to wake up. It wouldn't be possible to reach the door and leave without letting her know someone had been in the room. He took a quick decision and ran to the darkest corner of the room.
"Hungry already sweetie?" He saw how the woman got out of her bed and went to the crib. "But it's only an hour since you last ate, you little glutton." She picked up the sobbing girl and walked back to sit down at the bed. "Kami, if you keep on having this appetite I'm not going to do anything else but make food for you. I wonder how Chi-Chi has managed to feed a full-blood saiyan and a half-saiyan all these years." He knew she was talking about Kakarrot and his brat, guessing this Chi-Chi must be the wife the other saiyan had mentioned. Vegeta had a hard time keeping his eyes off the woman as she buttoned down her nightshirt and exposed her full breast; it looked even more alluring as it was bathed in the dim light, making her skin look white and pure. "But I won't have that problem, darling," she added in a sad tone. "At least you and I will have each other, right?" The girl let go of her mother's breast and tilted her head a bit. He could see the confusion in the baby's eyes as a tear started to roll down the woman's face.
"Oh, you're not even hungry are you? Then why did you cry?" She sniffed a single time and brushed away her tear before buttoning her blouse again. The baby suddenly looked him straight in the eyes, and Vegeta unconsciously took a step back to get further into the shadows. The woman followed their daughter's gaze but couldn't see him. "Was there a noise, huh Tracey? Mommy can't hear as well as you, so Mommy didn't hear it. But we should sleep now." She got up and put down the girl in the crib once again. "We don't want to look to sleepy when saying goodbye, right baby?" She bent down and kissed Tracey's forehead before going back to the bed. A few minutes later her breathing was finally even once again and Vegeta quietly left the room.
After closing the door he leaned against the wall. He could still hear their breathing through it and he quickly walked away, not wanting to torment himself more than necessary. Now he knew the choice Caporos had mentioned hadn't been whether to see his daughter or not. It had been whether to send them away or not.
Bulma looked at the medic and tried to hold back her tears. Launyr was holding Tracey, saying goodbye to the girl she had helped bring into the world. The half-saiyan squirmed a bit in the arms of the medic, trying to turn around to look at her mother. "I'm going to miss you, Ms. Brief," Launyr said and handed the girl to her mother. "Both of you."
"I'm going to miss you too, Launyr." She put a strand of hair behind her daughter's ear. "I'm happy about going to see my parents and friends again, but to leave is hard. And I don't even know how to tell everybody about Tracey."
"I'm sure they will adore her, no matter what they may think of Lord Vegeta."
"I can think of at least one, who is going to have his doubts about her," she said, her thoughts focused on a special scarred z-fighter. Bulma kissed her daughter's cheek and walked to the medic-bed, which would make it possible for her to be transported to the pod. "But it doesn't matter; she will always be the apple of my eye."
Launyr and her staff escorted them to the waiting pod. The passage they had been assigned to use had been cleared off to make sure no one saw Tracey. When they finally arrived at their destination, Bulma was surprised to see Vegeta standing beside the pod. The half-saiyan girl tilted her head and looked at him before giggling. She figured it was his tail, swaying lazily behind him, which made her react as she did.
He looked tired. No, not tired, worn out. She knew it was only herself and perhaps Launyr, who could see it, but the last three months had surely been hard on him. Three months… She hadn't seen him since she had witnessed his fight where he had achieved what he had left her that time on Earth in favor off. To become super-saiyan. She knew he now had all he had ever wanted. He could have more, he could have a family. She looked down at the half-saiyan girl, thinking it was the first and last time she would meet her father. "Vegeta, I would like you to meet Tracey," Bulma said and tried to get a better hold on the suddenly squirming girl.
Vegeta didn't respond in any way. He didn't know what to say or do. His daughter was clearly trying to get his attention, her eyes sought his but he averted them. He didn't know if he could do what he knew he had to do if he looked into those eyes, which resembled his own. Not wanting to make it even harder for himself he did what he had decided to do; put in the coordinates to Earth and leave the room, giving the woman and girl one last glance. His chest tightened when the door closed behind him, separating him entirely from the woman and their daughter.
"Well, darling, that was your father," Bulma said and tried to swallow the lump in her throat as her daughter tried to look at the door where her father had just walked out. "Maybe we just should get going?" she said and held back a sob. As she looked at Launyr a couple of tears rolled down her cheek but she removed them angrily. It didn't change anything whether she cried or not, it only made her daughter restless. The take-off port was also located in a room where the gravity was adjusted, so she got out of the bed herself and carried her daughter on her arm as they made their way to the pod. They got into the tiny spacecraft and one of the staff helped them get buckled up.
"A few minutes after take-off you will both be put into a coma and the pod will manage your numbers and make sure you will be awakened half an hour before landing." Launyr pushed the button to close the pod. She looked the blue-haired woman in the eyes and tried to hide her sadness. "Goodbye, Bulma." A tiny smile was sent her way as she for the first time used the earthling's real name. She then left the room with her staff, making the take-off program do the rest.
Goku took a sip of his water and looked at his eager wife. He had been contacted by Dr. Brief two months ago, saying an important message was waiting for him at Capsule Corp. He had been surprised to see an older image of himself on the screen, claiming to be his father. He had called himself Burdock and told him quite a deal about what had happened after Vegeta and Bulma had arrived at Planet Vegeta. He also told him he would be the saiyan-empires' ambassador at Earth and therefore Dr. Brief had given him a sort of computer to get in contact with his biological home-planet. He had been contacted a month ago by his father again, telling him when and where exactly Bulma would arrive. The older saiyan had also thanked him, even though it had seemed hard on him, for wishing his brother back at Planet Vegeta alive.
"Goku, are you sure it's here?" Yamcha had been restless since Goku had told him about Bulma's arrival, and he started to think he should have waited to tell it the same morning as the on-going babbling from the scarred z-fighter got on everyone's nerves.
"Yamcha, you asked the same thing five minutes ago." Krillin looked at his watch. "She should arrive in two minutes, so give it a break man!"
Goku felt Chi-Chi squeeze his hand. She had made a huge picnic for all the people who had come to meet Bulma because she hadn't been able to sleep that night. He squeezed back her hand and received a brilliant smile from his beautiful wife.
"Look!" Gohan yelled and pointed at something in the sky. Everyone looked in the direction, the z-fighters seeing what Gohan pointed out long before Chi-Chi and the Briefs saw it too: a spacepod hauling towards the Earth, looking like a shooting star against the blue sky.
I've been asked by a few to make a sequel, and I must admit, the suggestion made all kind of ideas popping into my head, and I have decided to make one. But first, you have to read the epilogue I will be posting very soon! (Hehe, I know I'm not fair to make it seem like this was the end, but I couldn't resist. Sorry!) I wrote it almost as it's going to be posted when I wrote my storyline, because I just knew that was how my story would end.
So this was the last chapter, but an epilogue is on the way. I'm going to go berserk in thanking and so on in the epilogue, but I have to say this:
Thank you all so much for reading An Innocent Wish, for reviewing, following or even favoriting it! I certainly didn't expect such a great reaction and feed-back when I started this story, and all off the response have really made me happy. Thank you so much.