Piccolo left the inner room of the Lookout just in time to watch Rori fly off, followed in tail by Vegeta. Trunks was now taking his turn in the Time Chamber and Popo was taking care of his plants. He now had found the perfect silence he sought after so many times, but was always interrupted by something or someone. Yet even in silence, he found he was deafened by his own thoughts. At first he tried to focus on watching Cell, but it quickly became clear that the only thing he was achieving by doing so was the same amount of boredom Cell himself was currently going through. Still, he should keep an eye on him to be sure. Piccolo thought back trying to remember a time when he could meditate without a care, when he didn't have to mentally stop himself from thinking, but the only time he could think of was before he'd met Rori. It's true what they say, love is weakness. If his father could see him now... he'd be sickened. Losing his life for his Goku's son, losing his mind for Goku's sister. He knew he had a choice to make now.

Love can also be strength. Kami's voice resonated in his mind. You are not your father. And love can be a strength for you too, if you'd let it.

You think I don't love her? If I didn't I would take her back in a second and let her waste her life with someone who can't give her what she wants.

You're not taking him seriously are you? Nail inquired now sounding a bit worried. Vegeta was just messing with you!

Piccolo took a moment and thought back to the night Vegeta had come to give him a visit. It was the same day he'd sent Rori away. He spent the rest of the day with Goku and Gohan, training. When dinner time came, he sat at their sides, not eating, but just observing. When Gohan finally headed in for bed, he walked out of the house, the light from the windows making it glow into the early evening. As soon as he took a few steps into the darkness, he knew he wasn't alone. He couldn't feel out the person's energy though, they were hiding it, but he knew someone was there. Naturally, he thought it was Rori coming back, but was surprised, though he didn't show it, to find Vegeta hopping out of a nearby tree and landing before him.

For a long moment the two stood as statues watching each other. For Piccolo this was normal behavior, but it was rare to see Vegeta at a loss for words. Piccolo was the first to speak, "Goku's inside."

"I'm not here for that idiot." The prince responded, still standing firmly in Piccolo's way, "I came to find out why you think you have the right throw the last living female of my race to the side like scraps."

Piccolo was taken aback by Vegeta's sudden anger. If anything, he would have thought the Prince would be happy she was available again, though he didn't think Vegeta would have found out so quickly. Then he remembered how he'd told Rori who Trunks was. He knew she would never interfere with that and smirked, "Don't be mad at me if she still doesn't want you."

"You don't get it green man. I don't want her." Vegeta fumed, to which Piccolo raised a brow as if to question Vegeta's last statement, "Look you're not one of us, so I'm going to explain this too you in the simplest terms I can think of. Saiyan's mate for life. She will never have another mate. She will look for companionship, but never find it."

Piccolo scoffed at this, "If I remember correctly you were trying to get real cozy with her after I died. You think I believe you don't want her? Besides if you don't want her, what do you care what happens to her anyway?"

"I may have lost my race and made some questionable decisions, but I will not let the last one of them that means something to me live a shell of a life!" Vegeta closed the space between the two of them, "I don't know why you let her go, but just know that as long as you are living, she will be alone thanks to you. At least when you were dead, she stood a chance of finding another mate."

Vegeta placed his hand over Piccolo's chest sending a ki blast at him making soar back through the woods before yelling after him, "When you decide your ready to give her back her life, I'll be happy to help you take yours!"

Piccolo snapped out of his thoughts on the lookout. He remembered that night vividly as if it were yesterday. He'd always thought Vegeta was just messing with him, but was he right? The look on Rori's face today before she left. She hadn't let him go. She never would. As long as he was around, she would still hope. He did love her and he wanted her to have the life she deserved, even if it wasn't with him. It was time to let her go.

Rori watched as an array of emotions displayed across Bulma's face, but it had now been five minutes and she still had yet to comment.

"Do you need a chair?" Rori asked pulling one out and helped Bulma sit down.

Bulma was completely thrown off when she heard that Piccolo was the father. After all, she remembered the little problem Piccolo had come to her with. She was almost positive there was no way that a Saiyan and a Namekian could have a baby. Then she remembered she couldn't let Rori know that she had talked to Piccolo about this. She took a deep breath and looked up at Rori curiously, "but... is it even possible... remember the Namekians? They were all guys. How could it be Piccolo's?"

Rori stared at Bulma blinking for a moment, "Bulma... don't you know how babies are made? I mean you have one? So... when a man and a woman are alone... the guy starts by-"

"STOP!" Bulma cut her off putting her finger to her lips, "not another word out of you... Yes, I know the concept, but I just didn't think Namekians could reproduce the way Humans and Saiyans do"

"Oh" Rori answered, "Well they do... and I feel sick..."

"That's normal. Just go in the bathroom over there, I'll see if I can't get you something for that."

While Rori was in the bathroom, Bulma called down for her mom to bring up some of the tea that had soothed her stomach when she was pregnant. Then she went back to repairing Android 16 for a few minutes, before there was yet another distraction. Outside she heard two men's voices arguing before there was a thud.

When she left the room she found Vegeta standing by the door and Yamcha trying to get past him with the tea that her mother sent up.

"She's my girlfriend and I'm going to see her." Yamcha argued trying to get around Vegeta.

"She's unconscious, she doesn't need visitors and you're as much of her boyfriend as you were Bulma's"

"Quit yelling you two! You're going to wake the baby!" Bulma's scream was followed by the sound of baby Trunks crying in the lab. She sighed placing her hand on her forehead, pushing some of her hair back in frustration, "I give up, I'm never going to get any work done, am I?"

Rori walked out of lab, looking a bit weak and pale, but otherwise normal, "What's going on out here?"

"Just bringing some tea to my sick girlfriend. So what do you have anyway?" Yamcha chimed walking past Vegeta finally. At the use of girlfriend Rori felt like she was going to have to make a u-turn and go directly back to the bathroom, not because she disliked Yamcha, but because she knew she had to end this.

"I think I need to talk to Yamcha alone for a moment..." Rori looked to Bulma.

"Take the lab, I'm not getting any work done anyway." Bulma said before she picked up Trunks, leaving her lab to Rori and Yamcha.

"Bulma", Rori stopped her in passing, "Let's have this stay between the four of us for now. I don't want him hearing it from someone else."

"Of course" Bulma nodded as she left.

Rori closed the door behind her and looked over to Yamcha who was now watching her intently.

"So you fell out of the sky unconscious? What does Bulma think is going on?"

Damn, she thought sighing, And he looks so cute today. How am I going to break this too him...

"Yeah", she nodded with a small smile, "Luckily it's not something serious."

"Good so I can still kiss you then." he leaned in to kiss her, but Rori's hand pushed him back at arms length. She didn't want this to be any harder than it had to be.

"I'm pregnant, Yamcha." Rori kept her eyes to the ground, she couldn't risk looking up and meeting his eyes, if she did she wouldn't be able to go through with this, "I'm sorry."

Yamcha watched her, he knew she couldn't have cheated on him in two days and produced a baby. Still he was angry, but he didn't let it show. "Well, I guess Piccolo's going to be a daddy, huh?"

Rori looked up at him tears in her eyes, she didn't think Yamcha would be so accepting of this. She knew he must have been upset, but he was still being supportive.

"Yeah" she answered in almost a whisper before wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Hey," he laughed pulling her into hug and rubbed her back, "It's OK. I know you didn't plan it. We weren't together when this happened. And you're going to be a great mom."

"You're really not mad?" she looked up at him from where her head was buried in his chest to hide her tears.

"I am, but I'll get over it." he sighed shaking his head, "There are more important things to worry about now."

"I just don't get it..." Bulma sat outside with baby Trunks in one arm, chewing on the thumb nail of her opposite hand thinking while Vegeta was stewing. "How could they possibly... I mean they've been together for years and nothing. And now that they're not together, boom. Baby. I tried to match their cells. It should be impossible!"

"If it was impossible, we wouldn't be training as hard to beat that monstrosity created from our cells right now. Saiyan females aren't as easy as you humans." Vegeta responded.

"What is that supposed to mean!?" Bulma covered Trunks's ears before she scolded Vegeta.

"No, not like that! Is that all you ever think about?" he rolled his eyes before explaining, "Normal Saiyan females take years to have children. Their bodies only accept the strongest possible outcomes. Rori's a Phoenix on top of that, of course it would take forever for her to conceive. Especially with that Namekian, he's no where near as strong as I am, Trunks, the Androids, or Cell…"

"Or Goku..." Bulma pointed out.

"Hmph… The point is, her body has probably been rejecting every possible option because the Namekian's not the strongest."

"Oh... she said they were in the Time Chamber when it happened... So theoretically, that means he was the strongest in that dimension..."

"I'm training now if you're finished your interrogation." Vegeta turned toward the pod space ship in the the yard.

"Are you sure? I finally got Trunks to sleep."

"So that is all you think about."

"Are you complaining?" Bulma asked with a sly grin.

"Come on." he motioned for her to follow him.

A/N: Ok so don't kill me. This is a short chapter because I have very little time, but I had at least this part thought out. So I figured this is better than waiting months for the longer version. Anyway, since it's shorter that means a few more chapters will be coming out. I hope you're not all too worried for Piccolo. If it makes you feel better I don't write tragedies. We have enough of that in life. :)

Once this is finished, and I plan to finish around summer, I have also thought of a plotline I will be coming out with just after So if this is something you'd be interested in, let me know = Piccolo and Rori are at Kame House in the future, when Baba happens to stop by. Piccolo mentions that he is thankful Rori never met his father or himself in his younger years. Baba says they are connected by a string of fate so even if Rori had come to earth with Goku their fates would not be changed. Piccolo scoffs at her magic, so she throws both him and Rori into this timeline where they must relive their lives as if Rori had lived on earth with Goku.