.::TWENTY-NINE::.
TW: Dream that involves miscarriage.
Bulma lay on her bed, eyes fixed on the ceiling, her mind churning with thoughts that refused to quit. Hours had passed since she'd left the bathroom, the pregnancy test still sitting on the counter like an echo of the moment her world shifted. She'd wandered into her bedroom in a daze, unsure of what to do next. And now, wrapped in the silence of her room, she finally had a name for the nausea and dizziness that had been plaguing her. It was pregnancy, not some strange illness.
Slowly, she brought a hand to her lower abdomen. A subtle shiver passed through her, her breath hitching at the realization. There was life growing inside of her. A baby. And not just any baby, a Saiyan baby.
The weight of that thought pressed against her chest. What would a half-Saiyan pregnancy even look like? Her mind wandered to Gohan, the only half-Saiyan child she knew. He'd been born with a tail. Would her baby have one too? Was that a genetic trait, or had Goku simply passed it on to his son? Would her child inherit the same strength as Vegeta? Or would it be more human and less Saiyan?
A million more questions flooded her thoughts, none of which she had the answers to. But someone would. Chi-Chi had gone through this before. She'd carried a half-Saiyan child. She had lived through the uncertainty and the questions, and she had answers Bulma desperately needed.
Feeling a little more grounded, Bulma changed into her pajamas and slid beneath the covers, needing to get some rest. She turned off her light on the bedside table and rested her head against the pillow in the darkness. She knew sleep wouldn't come easily tonight. How could it? By this time next year… she would be a mother.
The thought echoed in her mind. It felt surreal, like she was dreaming. Like this was someone else's life. She stared up at the ceiling and took a shaky breath. The path she was on now had completely diverged from the one she'd been walking for most of her life.
For years, everything had felt predictable, familiar even. She'd been with Yamcha, her days filled with science, Capsule Corp obligations, and the occasional world-threatening crisis. And ever since Radditz had burst onto the scene and revealed the existence of Saiyans, everything had changed.
Bulma remembered watching the battle with Nappa and Vegeta unfold through Baba Yaga's crystal ball. The destruction. The power. She'd been at Kame House then, watching from afar, her heart in her throat as she watched Vegeta fight. Back then, he'd seemed more like a force of nature than a man.
And now?
Now she was carrying his child. Bulma let out a soft, disbelieving laugh, barely more than a breath. Who would have thought? If someone had told her, back then, that she'd one day become pregnant with Vegeta's baby, she would've laughed in their face. She barely believed it herself now. The idea that she had gotten close enough to him to become pregnant by him was beyond belief. She turned on her side, tucking the blanket up under her chin, her hand drifting once again to her stomach. She felt stupid, knowing she wouldn't start showing till later, but she couldn't help but touch her belly.
Eventually, exhaustion began to pull at her, and Bulma's eyelids grew heavy. With a deep breath, she allowed herself to drift, her thoughts tangled, then finally sleep took her. But peace didn't follow. She dreamed, but everything had gone wrong.
Bulma was drenched in sweat, her breath catching in her throat as warmth coated her legs. Her water was breaking too soon, and panic snapped through her. The world spun around her as she was rushed down a long corridor, fluorescent lights blurring above her in dizzying flashes.
Somehow, Bulma watched herself from above as if she were a ghost tethered to her body. She was pale and wet with sweat, as masked faces loomed around her as they rushed her hospital bed down the hallway. Voices echoed but made no sense as they talked above her unconscious body.
Bulma, though she was watching it happen from above, smelled the steril sting of the air as she breathed it in. She felt the cold press of metal instruments against her skin. Doctors barked rapid orders, trying to salvage something from the wreckage of her body.
And then she noticed the blood.
Oh…
So much blood pooled in between her legs.
And then…
Silence…
Then Bulma was sucked back into her still body. Her lips parted slightly. Her skin was translucent from the blood loss.
Then she noticed the impossibly small bundle swaddled next to her on the bed. Bulma forgot how to breathe as she stared down at the small baby, never breathing, never crying.
It was then that Bulma noticed her mother and father standing in the corner of the hospital room. They both sobbed as they held each other. And then there was Vegeta.
He stood next to the closed door, arms folded tight across his chest. His face was unreadable, carved from stone. His eyes didn't move from the small bundle next to her on the bed. Not once did he speak. Didn't move. Didn't breathe. Just stared down at the lifeless form wrapped in a small blue blanket.
Bulma jolted awake, a tremor rippling through her body. Her skin was cold with sweat, her heart hammering in her chest. The fear gripped her with icy fingers. She wrapped her arms around herself, curling up under the blankets. Who knew what kind of complications could arise from carrying a Saiyan child? Saiyans weren't human. They were completely alien, from another planet, but able to procreate with humankind even though their biology was different from hers. Bulma swallowed the lump in her throat. What if her body couldn't handle it?
She took in a shaky breath. But Chi-Chi would know, Bulma reminded herself. She steadied herself with that thought. Chi-Chi had done this before. She'd carried Gohan to term. She'd survived, which meant there was hope. Clinging to that, sleep came to her again, and thankfully, the dreams stayed away this time.
xXx
Chi-Chi hummed a cheerful little tune as she worked in the kitchen, the rhythmic sound of her knife slicing through fresh vegetables filling the air. She moved with purpose, planning on chopping up a medley of carrots, bell peppers, and broccoli for a healthy chicken stir-fry. The scent of rice already simmering on the stove drifted around her. Goku had promised he and the others would return from training just in time for lunch, and Chi-Chi knew better than to underestimate how much food the three warriors could devour, especially after training. She was more than prepared.
Just as she finished chopping up the last of the carrots, the distant hum of an approaching vehicle drew her attention. Her brows knitted slightly in confusion. She wasn't expecting anyone. Wiping her hands on a dishtowel, Chi-Chi reached into the top drawer and pulled out a rolling pin, gripping it like a weapon as she moved cautiously toward the front of the house.
She crept to the front window and peered through the sheer curtain. Her body instantly relaxed when she spotted the familiar blue hair stepping out of the hovercraft. With a soft exhale, Chi-Chi let the rolling pin drop to her side and quickly opened the front door.
"Bulma?" she asked, a mixture of surprise and concern in her voice. "What are you doing all the way out here?"
Bulma stepped down from the hovercraft with a faint smile tugging at her lips. But Chi-Chi didn't miss the subtle tremble in her lower lip or the way her shoulders dropped ever so slightly. Something was off. Chi-Chi held the door open as Bulma stepped inside.
"Have a seat," Chi-Chi offered, and without a word, Bulma sat on the couch.
"I guess the guys are still out training?" Bulma asked as her eyes flickered briefly around the house.
Chi-Chi nodded and let out a small chuckle, perching on the armrest of the chair beside the couch. "Of course. They've been at it nonstop ever since that boy from the future told Goku what was coming."
Bulma only smiled slightly.
"What's going on, Bulma?" Chi-Chi asked with concern laced in her voice.
Bulma tried her hand at smiling again, but it lacked its usual spark. Today, it was faint and hollow, not a trace of genuine emotion. The worry Chi-Chi felt only deepened her concern for Bulma. Chi-Chi moved from the armrest and settled beside her on the couch. She reached out gently, placing a warm hand on Bulma's knee.
"What is it, Bulma? What's wrong?"
Bulma didn't answer right away. Her eyes remained fixed on her lap, her fingers twisting together nervously. She inhaled slowly. Then, finally, she spoke, her voice barely above a whisper.
"I'm pregnant," Bulma said. "With Vegeta's child."
Chi-Chi's jaw went slack. Her entire body froze as the words hit her like a blast of cold air. Of all the things she had braced herself to hear, that had not been one of them.
"Please, don't tell Goku," she pleaded.
A spike of anger surged up in Chi-Chi's chest. Vegeta… The same man who had come to Earth as an enemy, who had nearly killed her husband, who had brought nothing but destruction in his wake. And now… Bulma, her friend since childhood, had gotten involved with him?
But as Chi-Chi looked at Bulma sitting next to her with shoulders hunched and eyes shining with unshed tears, the anger fizzled just as quickly as it had come. Without thinking, Chi-Chi leaned in and wrapped her arms around her. Bulma gripped her and she immediately began to sob.
This was not what she had expected when she saw Bulma in her front yard. But slowly, the pieces came together. Her friend had come looking for answers. Chi-Chi pulled back slightly, meeting Bulma's watery eyes.
"The pregnancy… It's not that different from a human's. It lasted around nine months."
Bulma gave a shaky nod and wiped at her eyes.
"I just found out last night," she murmured, her lips trembling.
Chi-Chi placed a hand on her shoulder. "Well, you came to the right place."
Bulma shook her head. "I'm sorry for showing up like this," she said quietly. "I didn't know who else to turn to."
"Don't apologize," Chi-Chi said firmly, her dark eyes locking with Bulma's. She tightened her grip on her hands. "You did the right thing. I'll let you in anyway I can."
Suddenly inspired, Chi-Chi stood and tugged Bulma gently up with her.
"Come on,' she said, offering a small smile. "The guys won't be back for a while. Why don't you come help me in the kitchen? We'll cook and talk about whatever you want."
Bulma hesitated. "Alright."
Chi-Chi led her back into the kitchen, and Bulma stepped over to the sink and washed her hands.
"Why don't you slice up those mushrooms for me?" She suggested, nodding toward a bowl on the counter, as Bulma wiped her hands clean with the cloth next to the sink.
"Okay," Bulma said, her voice distant as she walked over toward the cutting board.
For a while, neither of them said anything. The only sounds were the soft clatter of utensils as they worked together in companionable silence, allowing Bulma to have something else to focus on.
When she was about halfway through the mushrooms, Chi-Chi finally broke the silence.
"You know… when I found out I was pregnant with Gohan, I was terrified," she began, keeping her eyes on the pot she was stirring. "Goku was off training, of course. I was alone, sitting on the couch, just staring at the pregnancy test."
Bulma glanced up, pausing in her slicing.
"I didn't know what to do with a baby. Didn't want a child, really." Chi-Chi looked up and out the window. "At least not at that time."
She turned her attention back to the pot simmering on the stove, the wooden spoon circling through the food. Again, the kitchen fell into a comfortable silence, broken only by the sound of mushrooms being chopped on the cutting board.
"I didn't tell anyone I was pregnant for a while," she said at last, her voice soft as memories Chi-Chi hadn't thought of in years formed within her mind. "Funny enough, Goku was the one who found out before I could even build up the courage to say anything."
The chopping of the mushrooms ceased. Chi-Chi continued.
"He… he sensed Gohan inside me."
Bulma gasped, and Chi-Chi turned around.
"Is that what happened to you?" she asked. "Did Vegeta sense the child?"
Bulma gave a small nod. "Yes," she whispered.
Chi-Chi hesitated. "Did you… did you know you were pregnant?"
"No. I had no idea," Bulma said, her voice barely audible.
The weight of her answer lingered in the space between them. Chi-Chi didn't want to ask, but she had to know.
"Did he leave?"
Bulma paused. "Yes."
The single word seemed to echo inside the kitchen, lodging itself in Chi-Chi's chest. Her heart ached for her friend, and yet the situation stirred something complicated inside her. How could she comfort Bulma when part of her still carried a fear of Vegeta? The memory of him nearly killing her husband…
But when Chi-Chi looked over at Bulma, she knew none of that mattered right now. Her friend was hurting and desperately needed to know that everything would be okay. So, without saying a word, Chi-Chi opened her arms and pulled Bulma into a firm hug. She didn't resist; instead, Bulma melted into Chi-Chi's arms, clutching the back of her shirt.
"You're not alone in this, Bulma," Chi-Chi said. "I'm here. Day or night, no matter what you need."
Ch-Chi would tell her anything Bulma wanted to know.
xXx
Bulma left Goku's house before the trio returned from their training session. Chi-Chi had asked her to stay for lunch as the two had set the table, but she had politely declined. Bulma needed space to process everything she'd just learned. Her head was spinning with all the advice Chi-Chi had given her, and the weight of their conversation pressed down on her shoulders like lead. She needed to be alone.
In all the years she'd known Chi-Chi, Bulma couldn't remember ever feeling as close to her as she did today. She had spoken with honesty, no judgment in her voice. And Bulma had listened. What Chi-Chi had described sounded surprisingly like a normal pregnancy, or at least as normal as one could expect when carrying a half-Saiyan child. Gohan, of course, had been born with a tail, but otherwise, he was a healthy baby. That gave Bulma some comfort, though it didn't erase her worries.
Still, she couldn't stop thinking about the millions of questions that ran through her head. What if her human genes dominated? Would the baby look like her? Would it look like Vegeta? Would it have his strength? Her brains?
Bulma shivered despite the glowing sun overhead. A deep chill settled into her bones as the reality of her situation hit her like a crashing wave.
She was pregnant.
The sentence echoed in her mind, weighty and surreal. She was going to have a baby. Vegeta's baby. Her lips parted as she exhaled slowly, blinking hard, trying to keep her vision clear. But a single tear escaped anyway, trailing down her cheek as she stared out at the blue sky ahead.
Somehow, her thoughts drifted to Yamcha, and her frown deepened. For most of her adult life, Bulma had imagined a future that revolved around him. In her mind, it had always been the two of them. She had always thought they would eventually settle down. They'd have a few kids, and when those children grew up and left home, Bulma and Yamcha would grow old together, happy, soft around the middle, and gray.
But that version of her life had quietly unraveled somewhere along the way. Bulma blinked quickly, her vision growing wet again as she sniffed and brushed away the tears with her hand. Now things were different. The future she had once clung to was gone. But that didn't mean it would be any less meaningful.
Bulma looked down at her flat stomach and placed a hand over it. No matter how unexpected this pregnancy was, no matter the complicated feelings she held about the man who had fathered the child, this baby would be loved. Fiercely. Unconditionally.
Even if Vegeta, who helped create this life, wasn't present, Bulma knew she was strong enough to take on both roles. Mom. Dad. Protector. Provider. There were millions of strong women who raised their children on their own, and they did just fine. She could do the same!
Couldn't she?
Bulma's confidence wavered for a moment, and she exhaled sharply, blowing out a breath that trembled at the edges. The nerves were creeping in again, pressing tight against her chest. Never had she imagined she'd be here, carrying Vegeta's child. The cold, battle-hardened warrior who rarely spoke and whose presence used to darken a room like a thundercloud.
But… here she was.
As West City finally came into view, Bulma slowed the hovercraft. Her eyes immediately landed on the sleek, glass-paneled building of West City Medical rising proudly near the coastline. It was one of the most prestigious hospitals in the world, and Bulma knew that the doctors and nurses could and would help her navigate this new part of her life.
But she also knew her father would have other ideas. He would insist she use Capsule Corp's top-tier in-house medical team. Kenji had a vast array of knowledge in the medical field, but with pregnancy? Bulma wasn't so sure.
She sighed as she passed by the hospital in the hovercraft. It wasn't that she didn't trust the medical team at Capsule Corp; this was something new. Something personal, and Bulma wanted to do this her own way. And she decided then and there that tomorrow, once the hospital offices opened, she'd call to schedule her first appointment.
As the skyscrapers of downtown faded and the familiar dome of Capsule Corp came into view, a sudden weight pressed down on her chest. Bulma began lowering the hovercraft towards her home and blew out a deep breath. She saw her mother outside watering the flowers she'd planted years ago.
Scheduling an appointment to actually confirm she was truly pregnant was one thing, but telling her parents that she was pregnant… Bulma didn't know where to begin with them. Granted, her mother would be ecstatic, her father, on the other hand… And then there was everyone else who knew of Vegeta as the bad guy? What would they think when they found out she was pregnant and it wasn't by Yamcha? She dreaded those conversations at the moment.
As she touched down in front of the house, she stayed seated in her hovercraft. Bulma stared up at the home she'd grown up in and sighed to herself. This was the first day of the rest of her life, knowing that it was going to change forever.