Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ A Christmas To Remember ❯ Oh, Christmas Tree! ( Chapter 1 )

A Christmas To Remember

A dragonball Z fan-fic. (what else?!)

By Ami E. Bowen

Dragonball Z and all it's wonderful characters are (c) Akira Toriyama. Rachel Heather Green and Emily are (c) Ami E. Bowen and any resembles to real people are purely co-incidental.

Snow had begun falling late in the night. Bulma walked around her house, a remote control in one hand, pushing it and closing all the windows she'd found wide open that morning. Damn Vegeta! She thought, as the last window slammed shut, Why does he aways do this?!

Shivering slightly, she fetched a sweater from a hook on the inside of the hall closet and quickly shoved her arms through the holes, buttoning it halfway up her torso. She couldn't fasten the buttons across her chest however since either the sweater was a tad too small or she was a tad too large. She shrugged.

The corner of the room looked absolutely horrible, she realized as she walked back into the living room and deposited the remote into a drawer of her desk. Snapping her fingers brightly, she came to a decision. She ran back up the stairs towards the bedroom where she could hear her husband snoring in sleep.

"Vegeta!" She cried, running and jumping on the bed like a three year old, a huge smile plastured across her face, "Vegeta! Vegeta! Wake up!"

Instantly he was awake, eyes wide, body tensed and falling into a defensive posture automatically. His eyes swept the area around them. When he saw nothing he slowly turned his hard gaze towards his wife's bright face. She looked frantic. "What?!" He nearly screamed at her, "What's the matter?!"

"Do you know what we need to do?!" She asked with a gleam in her eyes. He grunted and fell back down on the bed, folding his arms over his bare chest.

"I'm not in the mood, Bulma, go away."

"Not that!" She laughed and punched him hard in the shoulder, not noticing the slight wince he tried to hide from her, "We need to go buy a Christmas tree!"

"There's trees all over." He said, yawning, "I'll just go out and uproot one for you..."

"No!" She said, "That's not the way to do it! We have to go to a tree farm and buy a Christmas tree, Vegeta!"

"They have farms for trees?" He asked her, not knowing if he should believe her or not, "It's too early for your weird sense of humor, woman."

Vegeta sat up, realizing that he wasn't about to left alone to go back to sleep, not that he could have with her bouncing like a sugar-laced hyperactive child on the bed next to him, and reached for his pants on the floor next him. Both their clothes were strewn everywhere. He smirked to himself when he thought of the wild time they'd had the night before.

That was the reason he'd opened all the windows. Too cool them down. Well, to cool him down at least!

"So?" Bulma asked, "Wanna go today?"

Vegeta sighed. "To a tree farm to buy a tree?" He clarified, she nodded, "Stupid human rituals..."

But he got up and dressed regardless. Bulma was still beaming and talking rapidly as they ate a quick breakfast and then entered the garage to decide which vehicle they would take.

"Which one?" Bulma asked, Vegeta shrugged.

"I'd rather just fly." He said to himself, but Bulma caught his words and scowled.

"We are taking a car, Vegeta," She said, her voice dropping an octave, "That's final."

Vegeta's hand clenched at his side but he stayed silent. The sooner they got this over with the sooner he could be left alone to do more important things. Like train.

They drove for a while until they came to a sign that read; "Christmas Trees For Sale! Cheap!" and Bulma turned off at the exit towards the directions given in the sign. Snow flurries flew past them, melting into water as they touched the car's windshield.

They parked the car and Vegeta followed Bulma at a slight distance as they approached the small house-like building with several medium to large sized evergreens standing upright in rows around a fenced in area. Do they really think trees might escape? Vegeta wondered, observing the enclosure.

"Hey!" Bulma cried, pulling her jacket tighter about her shoulders, Vegeta saw her waving to someone, "Goku! Chi Chi! What are you guys doing here?"

"Probably the same as you, Bulma," Goku smiled as he hefted a huge tree across his shoulders. He turned to his wife; "This one okay, hon?"

"Oh, yes!" Chi Chi grinned, clasping her gloved hands under her chin, cocking her head to one side; "It's beautiful! Just perfect!"

Vegeta yawned again and leaned up against what he thought was a solid enough tree. He folded his arms across his chest and closed his eyes in utter boredom.

Goku noticed him and tried to call out a warning; "Hey, Vegeta! Don't lean..."

But it was too late. With a startled cry of annoyance mixed with surprise, Vegeta and the tree both went down in a tangle of limbs, both of the plant and saiyan varity. Pulling himself up amid the laughter of his so-called friends and family, Vegeta stomped away to sulk elsewhere. Let those idiots shop for trees! He thought, Stupid...

"Is he going to be okay?" Goku asked, looking at where Vegeta had left the tree laying there. "I thought he was gonna blow something up or something!"

"I know he wanted to!" Bulma said, "But he knows he won't be very happy later on tonight if he does!"

Bulma winked at Chi Chi, who smiled knowingly over Goku, who was looking at each of them in turn in confusion. "What...?" He began, but Chi Chi steered him away buy grabbing onto his coat and he stumbled forward after her, "Hey!"

"Let's go, Goku," She said, "I have a hundred things that need done today and I need you to carry half of them!"

Goku glanced briefly at Bulma, a look of desperation in his eyes, before disappearing around a corner.

"Let's see now..." Bulma wandered through the rows of trees gazing appraisingly at each and every one, "No...too skinny...hmmm...naw...too fat, wouldn't fit into the doorway...Oooo...this one looks promising...wait, no, it's bare on one side..." This continued for about forty-five minutes.

Vegeta sighed and paced the area beside the car, really wishing Bulma would get a move one. Finally, after another hour of listening to some drivel on the car radio, flying around watching the cars on the highway and fighting the urge to shoot ki blasts at them to see how many he could hit, and laying in utter boredom upon the hood on the car, Vegeta had had enough.

Bulma heard his boots behind her as he crunched pine needles underfoot and turned around. "What you think of...?"

"For kami's sake, woman!" He cried, at his wit's end, "They are just trees! Pick one and let's go! Here! Look! I'll make this easy for you!"

Ignoring her startled expression, Vegeta stomped over to the largest and fattest tree he could find, picked it up and walked past her to the front of the building, where he put the tree down momentarily as he dug one of Bulma's credit cards from his back pocket. He handed it over to the man at the counter, paid for the tree and carried it back to the car.

After securing it tightly to top of the car, he turned to his wife.

"See? Now was that so hard?"

"Shut up!" Bulma glared.

"Let's go home."

"Fine by me!"

Car doors slammed at they each got in and shut their doors. Bulma revved the engine in her anger and brought her foot down hard on the accelerator and then slammed on the brake, smiling as Vegeta's widow-peaked head hit the dash before he could stop himself.

"Put your seatbeat on." Was all she said as she took a turn on two wheels and sped down the slick highway.

"Your welcome, by the way," He said, massaging his head.

"For what?!"

"For carrying that plant for you!"

"Hmph!" Her knuckles were white as she gripped the steering wheel, "It wasn't even the one I wanted!"

"We'd have been there all day if had to wait for one you liked!" He roared, "And even then it would have been too skinny, too big, too this, too that...It's just a freakin' tree!"

"It's not just a tree, Vegeta," Bulma said, "It a christmas tree! There is huge difference! I..." Her voice dropped and became quiet, "I just wanted this christmas together to be...special..."

"Bulma..." He began, all malice gone from his tone, he reached over and touched her hand where it still held the steering wheel, "Every day I spend with you is special. We don't need any stupid human holiday to make it so."

"It's not stupid!" She jerked her hand away.

"What?" He cried, tired of this, he wanted to go train, needed to go train, "What did I say this time?!"

"Nothing!"

"Bulma..."

"Shut up!"

"This is ridiculous, woman, can't we even have a reasonable conversation without you..." He realized he was yelling and breathing in great gasps as she glared at the road ahead, "I don't know what you want from me."

"Well, if you can't figure that out by now," She said, "Then your more stupid than I thought!"

Vegeta fumed in silence the rest of the trip home. He just couldn't understand her. It seemed like nothing he did pleased her. He would have just given up if the very words didn't taste sour in his mouth. Instead, he turned his thoughts inwards towards his training and tried to block out the sounds of her ranting and raving at him.

Suddenly, there was something in front of them! For a slip second before Bulma veered off the side and they spun in a half-circle on the icy road. Luckily they were on a side street now and not on the highway. A shadow darted to the left of them as the car skid to a half a few feet away.

"What was that?" Bulma asked, but instead of answering, Vegeta threw open the door and go out of the car. He ran over to where he saw the shape move, followed closely by Bulma. "What is it?"

Something was shivering in the bushes, Vegeta could see, but it was too dark to make out who...or what. Even with his sharp saiyan eyes. Then, a pair of big dark eyes locked onto his, surrounded by a pale-white face and small mouth, more blueish than anything, as Bulma knelt down on one knee and held out her hand.

"Come on," She coaxed, "We won't hurt you, we just want to talk to you...are you okay?"

"I..." The child's voice was soft, almost too soft, "I'm lost."

"Where are you from?" Vegeta asked, more to score points with Bulma than anything else, "Can we call someone for you?"

Bulma shot him a nasty look and turned back to the child, who was now crawling out from her hiding place, "Come with us, sweetie. It's warm in the car and you look hungry. I'll help you find your way home after you have a good meal and get warmed up. My name is Bulma. This is my husband, Vegeta."

Vegeta grunted something under his breath and they led the little girl, who looked to be about six years old, if that, back to the car.

"My Mommy says I shouldn't get into stranger's cars." She said as Bulma held open the passenger side door for her, "But, it's so cold out here..."

"We're not strangers," Bulma smiled, "I just introduced myself, well, you haven't yet, but anyway, I think you Mommy would rather you be safe and warm with strangers than cold and alone on the side of the road, don't you think?"

The little girl appeared to be considering this, then after half a heartbeat dived into the car. "Can I have a hamburger?" She asked timidly.

"Sure!" Bulma smiled at her through the mirror on the dash, "Anything else?"

"Ummm...some fries, a milkshake, some tatertots, an apple pie, a cookie, a taco and a coke, please!"

"I think we may have just located Goku's illegitimate daughter..." Vegeta mumbled to himself as he listened to the child list what foods she was hungry for at the moment.

"Oh, yeah," The girl piped up, "And a slice of pepperoni pizza!"

Bulma laughed and said, "Well, that does sound like a good lunch!"

"Is that your christmas tree on the roof?" The girl asked after a few silent moments.

"Yeah, Vegeta picked it out, what you think?"

"It sure is big!" The girl cried. Vegeta beamed proudly in the front seat. "But one side of it's all chopped off, didn't your husband realize that when he picked it out?"

Bulma shot Vegeta a 'see, if a mere little girl can notice these things, why can't you' looks.

"Hey, kid," Vegeta said, just to get Bulma's eyes back on the road where they belonged, "What's your name?"

"Rachel." The girl said, "Rachel Heather Green."

"Well, Rachel Heather Green," Vegeta said, "I'd like to see you pick out a better one!"

"I could!"

"But you couldn't carry it, could you?"

"That's not fair! I'm just a little kid!"

"Everyone has their excuses, don't they?"

"That's enough!" Bulma said as they turned into McDonald's, "Stop teasing the child, Vegeta."

"Yeah! Stop teasing me!" Rachel cried, sticking out her tongue at Vegeta.

Bulma sighed and suddenly wished this little excursion were over.