Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ The Arrangement ❯ Dilemma ( Chapter 2 )

Bulma sighed and nibbled on the end of her little finger lazily. She was in the office today, which meant that she was bored out of her mind. There was only so much she could do at a desk, and her malaise was heightened by the sounds of the secretaries chattering away in the front office. Ami was pregnant, from what she could hear, and every spare moment the secretaries had they were busy planning a baby shower.

Bulma really hated the days she spent at the office. She knew they were necessary, so that she kept in touch with the administration of Capsule Corps, but that didn't mean she liked them. She had at first, until she realized that the women didn't like her and the men were only interested in two things- one of which was money and the other wasn't. Bulma hadn't realized how much it meant to her to be liked, until she'd realized that she wasn't. It was easy enough to write the women off as jealous of her looks, brains and money, but the men were just so... frustrating. They were never interested in HER, which, she supposed, explained why the best friends of the richest woman in the world were a bunch of pretty clueless fighters. Her friends weren't sophisticated, but they were genuine and could be a lot of fun.

She sighed again. 'Genuine and a lot of fun' had been part of what she loved about Yamcha. On the face of it, he was every girl's dream: tall, dark, and handsome with an edge of danger but a kind heart just waiting to be tamed. But that heart had been tamed just a bit too much, and by the end they just weren't right for each other anymore. He'd wanted too much of her: the marriage, the house, the kids and the little white picket fence. She wanted more of her life. Sure she planned on having a child, maybe even two, some day, but she wanted to keep her independence. Bulma couldn't be like Chi-chi. She admired Chi-chi for her strength and respected her devotion to her family, but that kind of life just wasn't for her.

However... the squeals and laughter from the secretaries as they planned the baby shower reminded her how much she did want a child of her own. Sure most of her toys as a kid had been lab equipment, but she'd had her share of dolls. She'd even made special slings to carry her 'babies' around with her when she played in her little lab. Bulma'd never understood why people could think that you can't be a mother and be intellectual. She wanted the best of both worlds, and she was determined to have it.

"So much for Goku's 'prediction'," she said morosely. "It must have been wishful thinking on his part."

"Ms. Briefs?" Ami Carr pushed the office door open a bit and waited to be called in.

"Please tell me you don't have more reports for me to look at," Bulma groaned.

Ami took this as her cue to enter the room, with careful, waddling walk of the thoroughly pregnant. "No, Ma'am. The intercom is being temperamental, and your afternoon meeting has been postponed indefinitely."

Bulma eyed Ami's rounded stomach with interest and some unabashed envy. "Thank you, Ms. Carr. If you don't mind, may I ask when you are due?"

Ami smiled and one hand went unconsciously to her stomach. "I don't mind," she said. "I'm due in about three months."

"You must be happy," Bulma smiled. "How does the father feel? Has he panicked yet?" The women shared an amused, exasperated and understanding smile at men's expense, but then Ami, still smiling, shook her head.

"There is no father," she said. "Well, there IS, in the biological sense of course, but there's no particular man in my life right now. I got tired of trying to find Mr. Right and took matters into my own hands."

Bulma's surprise and consternation were obvious. She didn't condemn the woman's choice, but she was a bit shocked that she could admit it so easily. Ami saw, and noticed for the first time a bit of kinship with her boss. She smiled again, and laughed warmly. "No worries. I don't mind talking about it. This is the modern era, after all, and I don't have to let the sub-standard quality of the men around me prevent me from being a mother if I want to."

Bulma's curiosity got the better of her. "Er, how did you do it?" she asked.

"Fertility clinic."

"Ah. Well, congratulations and good luck," Bulma said quickly, realizing that they had strayed off of office-approved topics.

"Thank you. I'll go call the techs to fix the intercom, Ms. Briefs."

Bulma nodded and started working on the reports again as Ami left. She was in a bit of a daze for the rest of the day, but it was an exciting and invigorating daze. She couldn't believe she hadn't thought of Ami's solution before. Her mind was buzzing and bubbling with schemes and daydreams. Bulma couldn't wait for the day to end so she could do some looking into this. She wasn't sure just where to start, but she was confident she could figure it out.