"There are no facts, only interpretations." - Friedrich Nietzsche

"…I know that this is very difficult to believe at the moment, but it is the truth. So believe me when I say that I am not here to do you any harm," it stroked my cheek with a feather light touch. "The Saiyan and your offspring, well, I cannot say the same for them,"

I stared up at the shadowed face, only glowing eyes were visible in the hours of darkness. "Why do this to me? Why do this to them? Trunks has nothing to do with any of this."

"It's simple. Because the Saiyan has you, and I need you," the light voiced figure said. "And the boy...well, I'm still considering."

"What do you from me?" I hazily asked, trying my damnedest to fight against slumber's powerful call.

"Patience...Bulma," it said my name, almost distastefully.

"Bulma!"

"What do you want...?" I felt myself slipping away.

"Bulma, snap out of it!"

As if someone had simply changed the channel I was watching, the scene before me changed from that night in the park to the image of an incoming building.

"Oh shit!" I cursed. Quickly gripping the controls, I yanked backwards, causing the jet to fly straight upwards, gliding up the building wall. I clenched my jaw as my muscles strained under the pressure to keep the flying craft steady until it cleared the structure and made it back in to open space.

I loosened my white-knuckle grip with a breath of relief. "That was a close one," I activated the autopilot and turned to my young passenger. "Are you alright?"

Still completely calm and staring at me with concern, Gohan nodded. "I'm fine. Are you sure you're okay?"

I sighed through my nose, my eyes back forward. "I really wish everyone would stop asking me that," I groaned.

"Bulma, you nearly landed your jet in someone's office just now. If that isn't a cause for concern..."

"I just got a little distracted, don't worry about it,"

"I'm not a kid anymore, and even if I was, I can clearly see that something is wrong. What is it?"

This is what I got for spending so much time with him, he was becoming too perceptive. Although, that little stunt I had just pulled wasn't really all that subtle.

I gave him a serious look. "Admittedly, I have been a little...out of sorts since I got up this morning, but I am fine. If I wasn't I would say so, okay?" I insisted, but Gohan gave me no reply. The teenager simply turned his head in the opposite direction and lazily stared out the window without another word.

It didn't take a genius to see that he was annoyed with my adamant and futile attempt at denial, even though I could no longer see his face. I stared at the back of his head for a moment before focusing my attention back ahead. This was going to be a long day.

My phone rang, just in time to combat the tension-filled silence.

I answered the device and placed it on speaker. "Hello,"

"Hey Bulma, it's me," it was Izumi. "Sorry to be calling you right now. Your father told us about your accident."

I resisted the urge to toss my phone out of the speeding vehicle. "It's no problem. What's up?" I skillfully hid my disdain beneath a question.

"I wanted to ask about how the interview with that woman go,"

"Oh, I haven't met with her yet. I'm on my way there now."

"Uh oh,"

I raised an eyebrow with suspicion. "Why are you uh oh-ing?" I asked. "You did tell Shion Adair to meet with me today, right?"

"I did, but..."

"But?" I dragged out.

"I may have told her to meet you at the compound." Izumi gingerly said.

"What?" I exclaimed, causing Gohan to look my way. "W-why would you do that?"

"I'm sorry, Bulma. When your father called in this morning I changed the location of the meeting to accommodate you."

I bowed my head with a groan, making sure to quickly place my eyes back up to the windshield. "Izumi, while your thoughtfulness is usually your best quality, it's making me want to strangle you right now."

"Sorry sweetie,"

I sped up my jet, determined to make it before my mother could do something to scare away the applicant.

"Shit,"

Looking up from my task at the sound of the door opening, I saw the young woman that was at the front door walking in. She took slow, awkward steps as she gazed around in astonishment. Her blue pencil skirt, cream blouse and black high heels stuck out drastically surrounded by the foliage, shrubbery and trees.

I smiled at the way the woman stopped dead in her tracks when she finally noticed all of the animals. It was absolutely hilarious how Bamboo chose that very moment to wake up from his nap and hopped down from the branch of the tree he was resting in. The woman, none too gracefully, fell backwards on to her behind. The feline advanced on her and she understandably froze in fear.

Taking pity on the young lady, I finally spoke up. "You don't have to be afraid of Bamboo. He's only playing with you," the fearful woman looks over to me with startled eyes. "He's harmless, I promise." As if on cue, the big cat lifted its bottom in the air and pretended to pounce before taking off to where it knew Trunks to be. "See? Harmless,"

The woman picked herself up and grumpily began dusting herself off while walking over to me.

"Cute little guy, isn't he?" I said about one of my many beloved pets.

"Yeah, he's adorable," she sarcastically mumbled. Once she was finished straightening out her clothes, she extended a hand. "I'm Shion Adair,"

"I gathered. You already told me your name at the door, remember?" I playfully pointed out. I removed my right glove and accepted the proffered hand. "Panchy Briefs, nice to meet you today," I released the appendage and removed my remaining glove and began walking, motioning for my guest to follow. "So, can I assume that you're here for an interview about the event planning position for my daughter,"

"Yes, ma'am. Actually, I was hoping that I would get the opportunity to speak with her today," she said as she struggled to keep up in her heels.

I took a seat on a patio set surrounded by my daughter's favorite flower, the Blue Squill. "Please, sit," I gestured my hand towards the empty seat across from me. Shion graciously accepted, most likely wanting to get off of her feet. "So, Miss Adair, may I ask what type of experience have you had doing this sort of work?"

"To be honest with you, in terms of event planning, not much," she confessed. "I'm a recent graduate with an MFA,"

"An MFA?" I echoed in confusion. "In what?"

"Photography and graphic design, and I dabbled with fashion a little in my sophomore and junior year," she answered.

I was bewildered by her answer. "What would make a person with that kind of experience in the arts want to do something as polarizing as event planning? Which has very little to do with the arts, might I add."

Shion gave a thoughtful smirk as she leaned forward on her elbows on the table. "Well, to be frank, I am a fan of your daughter. So when I heard that she was looking for a new employee, I thought that this would be the perfect opportunity to work with her,"

I leaned back in surprise at her words. "That was some real honesty, Miss Adair. I don't think that anyone has ever come to an interview and wound up telling the interviewer that they weren't actually interested in the position they're applying for. That has to be a first, I'm sure of it,"

She shrugged. "I think that we tend to get more done when we're being straightforward. I don't mean to offend,"

"I'm not offended, just...perplexed...impressed even. It's too bad my that my daughter couldn't be-" I started to say, but was interrupted by the sound of my grandson's laughter. He came sprinting into my line of sight with his rambunctious feline companion close behind. I beckoned him over. "Trunks, dear, would you come over for a moment. I want you to meet someone,"

He excitedly ran over and jumped onto my lap. I turned him around to face our guest.

"Trunks, this is Shion,"

"Hi," he shyly greeted. "Who is she?" he asked, still staring at the woman.

"Shion might be one of your mommy's newest employees," I said, now noticing the inquiring look the woman was giving the boy. I raised an eyebrow at this. He spoke before I could question the look.

"Grandma, can I go play with Bamboo?"

"Of course, sweetheart, go ahead,"

He instantly jumped off of my lap and went to locate his little friend. Shion's eyes followed him all the way.

"So that's her boy," she said, watching him run around.

"Yes, that's him. Isn't he just perfection," I said with a smile.

"Though he seems like a wonderful child, some might disagree with your sentiments," the woman said idly, still watching him.

"Excuse me?" It was no secret that I loved, absolutely adored my only grandchild, so to actually hear someone say such a thing was downright confusing. "What would make you say something like that?"

"I'm simply stating that not everyone feels the same way about children, not even their own,"

"I don't understand. Where are you going with this?" I inquired.

She held up a hand. "I meant no offense to you or your grandson. I have a tendency to think aloud in some of the most awkward of moments," she intertwined her fingers and rested her chin atop her conjoined hands. "You see, I wasn't in any way referring to his physical appearance. I will agree that he is a beautiful child. But he was born out of wedlock, and even though that isn't the worse thing in the world, it is still frowned upon by a mighty few,"

I was a bit caught off guard by the comment. "Miss Adair, h-"

"Please, Shion,"

"Shion," I corrected myself. "How old are you? If you don't mind me asking,"

"I don't mind at all. I turned twenty seven in June. Why?"

"It's just that I haven't known a Millennial to care about something like a child being born out of wedlock, that's all. I wasn't expecting that...at all," I confessed.

"But I don't care about the nature of his parent's situation. As I said before, I was simply thinking out loud," Shion coolly stated.

I stared at her in contemplation. I took the moment to take in the woman's features. Dark eyebrows lied above coffee-colored, almond-shaped eyes that were superolateral to a straight nose. Full lips were painted a deep crimson, contrasting perfectly against olive skin. Her chestnut her was tied back into a bun on the back of her head with a few loose strands framing her pretty face. She had the physical allure to match her Casablanca-level of mysteriousness.

"Shion, where you are from?" I suddenly asked, wanting to know more about the woman sitting before me.

This particular question seemed to cause her confident mask to waver. "Why would you want to know that?"

"It's always easier to get to know someone by their hometown."

"I, uh..."

"Mom,"

I looked up at the sound of my daughter's voice coming through the intercom.

"Mom, if you're still in the house, can you tell me where you are, please?"

"Bulma?"

I quickly landed my vehicle on the side of my family's compound. I switched off the engine and turned to my passenger. "Gohan,"

The teen hadn't uttered so much as a syllable since that near collision with that office building.

He turned to face me, still without speaking. The neutral expression he was wearing said that he was really trying not to be upset with me.

"I have to make sure that my mother isn't going to scare this poor woman away," I lightly said. "Do you think that you could find something to preoccupy yourself with until I'm done?"

He unbuckled his safety belt with a nod. "Sure. Just come and find me when you're ready." Gohan then slid out of his seat and stepped out of the jet.

I followed him out and proceeded to capsulize the vehicle before placing it inside of my metal, wallet-sized capsule case.

We both walked inside together. Upon entering through the front door, we went our separate ways at the first turn in the hall.

I watched the mentally weathered teen as he made his way towards my lab. I could tell from the solemn slouch in his shoulders that he wasn't having a very good time. This was a seldom occurrence when it came to the half breed. But not seldom enough for me.

With the death of his father still fresh in the hearts of our motley crew, Gohan, while still retaining his relative sweetness, had become something of a reserved soul. He tended to spend his days studying and helping his mother take care of his little brother. He had all but renounced fighting.

Though he occasionally still trained with Piccolo and Vegeta, and I had seen him spar with his mother a few times, he had seemed to have lost his drive for fighting. It was an inherited drive, a flame that had been lit by his father's love of battle, the thrill of the fight, so one could not help but wonder if the passion was ever truly his to begin with.

Even though I had witnessed my fair share of combat, fighting was one of very few areas I just did not have much insight on, so the topic was one that I tended to avoid.

Anyway.

I went about locating my mother. A few minutes of searching came back fruitless, and I was becoming more frustrated by the minute.

A light bulb suddenly helped shed enough light for me to see the path to finding my target. I had to restrain from connecting my palm to my forehead for not thinking of the idea from the start.

The intercoms.

I finally remembered, crossing over to where I knew was the nearest place for one of the devices-having installed one in every room of the compound for security reasons- and instantly pressed a button.

I did not know which room to connect to, so I simply broadcasted my voice throughout the entire place.

"Mom," I tried, but got no response. I sighed before trying once more. "Mom, if you're still in the house, can you tell me where you are, please?"

Just when I believed that Mon may have went out for the day, her voice rang throughout the house.

"Bulma, dear, what are you doing out of bed? You should be resting,"

I rolled my eyes at the coddling words. "Where are you?"

"I'm in the Garden, sweetheart. Why?"

"Has a woman stopped by today?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Well, I was kind of expecting someone today, so I'm hoping that I haven't missed her."

"You haven't missed me, Miss Briefs. I'm very much still here!"

I raised an eyebrow. That was not my mother's voice. But I did happen to recognize the smoky tenor from the phone call I received the day before. "Is this Shion Adair?"

"Yes, it is,"

"And are you with my mother right now?" I asked, silently hoping that the woman was just carelessly wandering the compound. Anything except her being possibly interviewed by my mother.

"Yes, I am. And your son is adorable," Shion happily added.

I perked up at that. Trunks! I hadn't seen him all that day, and I was only reminded of that just at that moment. How sad.

"Would you like for me to send her your way, dear?" Mom offered.

"No, just stay where you are. I'm on my way to you," with that, I took off towards my mother's wing of the house.

On my way through the enormous residence I passed by a window and suddenly halted my steps.

This particular window just so happened to have a perfect view of the dome-shaped structure that took up a small section in the left corner of the backyard. The flashes of light and softly heard humming indicated that it was currently in use.

I didn't have to think very hard about whom was inside.

"Vegeta," I whispered to no one while I stared.

Suddenly the argument from earlier came back with a vengeance.

"We both know that you don't give a damn. The only reason you ever stuck around in the first place was because of what you knew I could give you. That's all we ever were, and you know it,"

He stepped into my space, backing me against the wall, staring directly into my eyes. "Do you really believe that?" his voice was a low rasp.

I stood my ground and boldly stared back at black eyes. "Is there a reason I should think any differently?"

His glare wavered a bit before he corrected it. He leaned in close enough so that we were now breathing the same air. "I guess not," he said, barely above a whisper, and turned on his heels and walked away.

I cringed at the memory of my bitter words, and I then now realized that those words were unwarranted.

The whole argument had been almost entirely unprovoked, but, for reasons I still could not fathom, I attacked him with my pent-up, somewhat self-conscious emotions regarding our relationship. My temper was set ablaze faster than that of a dry field of grass on a scorching, cloudless day. I had never really been the type to hold my tongue, but that sudden exclamation of spitefulness was so unlike me.

Even though that moment helped push us forward, I still sometimes I wish that I could take back what I said to him that day.

Sigh.

I watched as the lights suddenly shut off. A few minutes passed before the door opened and out came my scorned lover, drying himself with a towel. Not even the sight of his sweaty, naked torso could make my feelings of guilt towards my outburst recede.

He must've felt himself being watched as he slowed his steps until he came to a complete stop. He turned his head and our eyes instantly met.

Even with sixty feet of yard and a window between us, I was still able to make out his frustrated face.

I needed to talk to him.

Before I could even make a gesture of acknowledgment that I even saw him, he walked away.

I sighed. Maybe later, I guess.

I continued on my way as well.

My feet slightly dragged as they carried me through the many twists and turns of my family's estate.

This was not me.

After what seemed like hours, I at last reached the entrance of the Garden. The glass doors swooshed open as I approached, giving me free passage inside.

"Mom?" I called out upon entering. "Where are you?"

"Mama!" an excited voice responded.

I looked over in the direction the voice came from, just in time to see my son burst through a row of bushes with his favorite feline companion close behind. Both were running directly at me.

The duo tackled me to the ground in uncontrollable excitement, but still gentle enough to not cause any harm.

"Mama!" he exclaimed with a beaming smile, throwing his arms around my neck.

I immediately wrapped my arms around his small body. "Trunks!" I happily said, returning his smile with all the maternal joy in my heart. It had been less than twenty four hours since I had last saw my child, but every minute away from him felt like days. I sat up and held him in my lap. "Hi, Munchkin. Did you miss me?"

He nodded a yes into my neck, tightening his grip on me. "Where were you, Mama?"

"Mommy had a few things to take care of this morning," I told yet another half-truth. It was becoming far too easy, too instantaneous for my conscience to handle lightly. "Have you been having a good time with Grandma today?"

He pulled away to look at me. A guilty expression was all over his delicate features. "I was playing with Bamboo," he quietly confessed. As if to further emphasize what he was saying, the feline came to kneel beside me with his ears fallen in a show of apology.

You see, two weeks before all of this, the two of them had been playing in the Garden. Because I had been busy in the lab, I asked my mother keep an eye on him. Everything was going fine, the two of them played together often, that was until they... um... escaped my mother's watchful eyes and got out into the main house...

Long story short, Bamboo tried using a capsule as a chew toy and Trunks wound up behind the controls of a jet. All of this took place indoors.

Though I was annoyed by the fact that he was clearly still being permitted to play with the animal without my consent, I did not have the energy to deal with this particular issue at the moment.

"That's alright," I grunted as I stood up, whilst holding the toddler. "Why don't we go find Grandma,"

After a minute or so of walking, I found my mother sitting at a table with a young woman. The woman spotted me before I had a chance to properly announce myself. She rose from her seat to greet me.

"Miss Briefs, my name is Shion Adair, we spoke on the phone yesterday?" she said calmly, offering her hand.

I placed my son on to the ground and accepted her hand. "Of course, I remember you, Miss Adair." I released her hand and took a seat. "One second, please," I said upon noticing that my child was still standing there. "Trunks,"

"Yes, Mama?"

"Gohan is here,"

As expected, his blue eyes lit up with glee. "Really? Where?" he looked around as if were hoping to find the teen standing behind him.

I smiled at his excitement. "Yes, he's in my lab," I looked to where my mother was sitting beside me. "Mom, do mind taking him to see Gohan. I would like to speak with Miss Adair in private, if you don't mind."

"Not all, sweetheart," she easily agreed, for some odd reason, before standing and gently taking Trunks by the hand. She looked towards our guest. "It was, um...nice meeting you Shion," she hesitantly said before walking away.

My eyes followed her out. Yet again, that was odd. But I shrugged off the strange behavior before focusing my attention to the woman sitting across from me. "So, can I assume that you would prefer I call you Shion?"

"Yes, I would. Miss Adair just sounds a little too formal for me," she answered.

Being the people person I am, I assessed the woman's appearance and could immediately see how purposely stiff her attire seemed. The hair was a bit too neat. The blouse was buttoned up all the way to her neck. A tight pencil skirt and painfully high heels.

"Shion, may I ask you a question?" I started with, leaning forward on my arms.

She leans forward onto the table, mirroring my position. "Anything,"

"Are you comfortable?"

"Yes, quite. The chair is very comfortable,"

I shook my head with a soft chuckle. "No, that's not what I meant. I was referring to the fact that you look desperate to take your shoes off. Am I right?" The look on her face was answer enough. "I know from personal experience that stilettos aren't really made for nature. And you don't exactly seem like the strict, not a strand out of place business type. No offense."

Shion opened her mouth to reply but shut it with a sheepish smirk. "You are a lot more impressive than I originally thought. And that is saying something," she calmly said.

I shrugged. "I've seen enough stuffy business people to see that you're clearly not one, but did decide to make an effort for my sake." Shion appeared to be preparing to defend herself, but I raised my hand and continued. "First impressions are everything, I know, but understand that you already caught my attention yesterday on the phone. I just wanted to see the woman with the Kathleen Turner voice in person."

She giggled at that. "I'll take that Kathleen Turner thing as a compliment,"

"As you should. She has a uniquely wonderful voice."

"Well, my pointless attempt aside, how am I doing so far?"

I leaned back and crossed one leg over the other. "I'll need to ask a few more questions before I can answer that."

"Well ask away."

Half an hour of light conversation later, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that Shion had a degree in the arts and was actually interested in designing visuals for the company. She had been a fan of my work for years, and even chose her degree with the hopes of someday being a part of the Capsule Corp. team.

Surprise, surprise.

As I escorted the woman to the door, I stopped and turned to face her. "It was very nice meeting you today, Shion. Really." I offered her my hand.

She took the hand immediately and shook it. "Thank you for your time, Miss Briefs,"

"Please, I prefer that my in-house employees call me Bulma,"

"Alright then, Bulma, I...wait. Did you just say...?" she trailed off, still shaking my hand.

I smirked at her surprised expression. "I sure did. Starting Monday, you're going to be the newest member of my graphic design team."

"Seriously?"

"Seriously,"

"And I'll be working here? At the compound?" she gaped.

"Yes. And before you ask, yes, we will be working together," I laughed.

"Thank you!" Shion, before she could stop herself, launched her body forward and engulfed me in a hug.

I awkwardly patted her on the back. "Alrighty there, Shion,"

She immediately released me. "I am so sorry! I just..."

"It's alright," I assured, opening the front door with a warm smile. "I'll see you in four days."

"You can count on it," she smiled before composing herself enough to make her exit.

"Oh, Shion, one more thing," I said, stopping her. "I expect to see the real you, okay?"

Shion smirked. "Absolutely, Bulma," and walked away.

I shut the door and went to find my mother and the boys. "She was definitely an odd one."