Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ The Price You Pay ❯ Chapter Thirty-Six ( Chapter 36 )

Insert standard disclaimer here.

 

The Price You Pay: Chapter Thirty-Six

 

Bulma slammed the door shut without considering that Vegeta probably hadn't even heard it. She was pissed and had no intention of hiding it. Who the hell did he think he was? Ordering her around as if she didn't have a brain in her head. Didn't he remember who she was?

 

She plopped unceremoniously down into the nearest chair and stared down at the floor, sobering considerably as her mind wandered.

 

Kami, when had this happened to her? Shouldn't pregnancy be something she noticed before now? She had been feeling warm and tingly for the past few days and maybe been a bit more energetic.

 

How could he have realized it before me?

 

She leaned over and cradled her face in the palms of her hands as she mentally replayed the scene from earlier in her mate's quarters. Having the Saiya-jin King look at her with disgust had almost been more than she could handle.

 

This was not solely her responsibility, dammit. She reassured herself with a new found sort of strength. And what was up with her reaction to him wanting her to abort it? He had every reason to think terminating it to be the wiser decision. It was just another piece of information Freeza could potentially use as leverage and Bulma was already walking a fine line. As the days passed she found herself becoming terrified at the prospect of being within Freeza's blasting radius again.

 

She mindlessly trailed her fingers across her flat abdomen. Was there really some sort of life growing there? She smiled despite herself. She was going to be a mommy. Would she be a good one? Would Vegeta even help her raise their child? Would he look more like her or like his father? And why did she keep referring to the child as `he'?

 

Probably because Vegeta is the father.

 

Somehow she couldn't picture the brooding Saiya-jin King with a dainty little girl. Well, maybe she could, just not right now. He'd probably rather die than have a female first born. Purity of the House of Vegeta-sei and all that.

 

She was still mad at him. He should have known that approaching her in the engineering ward was not the way to bring up such a personal matter. It was almost as if he were trying to provoke her into an argument about it. He lived for that sort of thing though, didn't he? She thought with a sneer. But this was nothing to joke about.

 

Frankly, she was already stressed enough. As the days passed and Freeza's ship came closer, her dreams had intensified. There was hardly a night she didn't toss and turn or if she couldn't sleep, just lay still as not to disturb Vegeta. But despite her efforts, he always had a way of knowing something was wrong. Though the Saiya-jin no Ou was not usually the cuddle buddy sort, he allowed himself to be more affectionate with her if he was pretending to be asleep.

 

Saying that Vegeta was affectionate with her would be deceiving herself, she admitted. By human standards, he was, in the least, very withdrawn. But when he was around her, something about him just seemed to soften. At first she'd wondered if it had anything to do with the nearness of their shared energies. She couldn't deny that some part of herself did tend to feel less tied down when she was near the Saiya-jin King. Her body longed for his nearness continuously when she wasn't in his presence. Though during the past few weeks her urgency to be near him had subsided somewhat.

 

Of course it has, I have been living with a part of Vegeta inside me after all.

 

It all made sense. She was more aware of her mate and had less of a pull towards him because part of his energy had been with her the whole time. She knew where he was because, in a way, he was always with her. It was a gift. A strange, untimely, wonderful gift.

 

She rolled her eyes. Since when had she become so sentimental? She'd been with Vegeta for what, two months at the most? She wasn't even sure that he loved her. Hell, she wasn't sure that she loved him. Could having a child in such a strange dimension and during such a precarious time really be in her best interest? It wasn't, and she knew it, but somehow her steadfast logic didn't seem to be preventing her from wanting the baby.

 

She was keeping it. Vegeta would just have to deal.

 

~~~~~~~<(((((|||)))))>~~~~~~~

 

He'd waited for her to return for over an hour while pacing back and forth in his quarters. She'd never actually stormed out on him before—at least not since the formation of their bond. This child was not something he was prepared to handle right now. Why couldn't she just listen to him? Even if he weren't the King for god's sake, she could never just accept any opinion other than her own. To top it off, she crucially lacked any respect for the authority he possessed on this planet. Not that he'd ever known her to respect his birth right. Not even when they were on Chikyuu.

 

It was over two hours after Bulma's rather obnoxious exit before Vegeta finally stopped swearing and just sat in the chair that was still near the bed. He needed to think about this.

 

How can I convince her to abort the child…

 

He thought after careful consideration.

 

If some alien part of me isn't convinced that it should be terminated as well?

 

It had taken him nearly two hours to realize it, but he couldn't help being strangely attached to the little warrior growing inside his mate. Would he be as strong as Vegeta? Would he look like his father and grandfather before him? Would he even have a tail? The last thought made him a little queasy. How could he call his son Saiya-jin if he didn't even have a tail? He meant that in a very hypothetical way though, of course. It wasn't like he actually wanted the brat. Or did he?

 

Vegeta growled and quickly made it to his feet before marching, with rather loud stomps, to where the enormous windows lied at the far side of his chambers. Ripping the heavy curtains to the side, he unlocked the window and stepped out onto the balcony. The night air was surprisingly frigid, noticed the Saiya-jin King as he protectively wrapped his lashing tail around his waist for extra warmth. His first instinct was to erect a protective ki shield around himself that would filter out the cold but somehow Vegeta knew that being comfortable would only prevent him from considering the matter at hand with his full attention.

 

Upon reaching the rail, he paused, crossed his arms, and looked up at the stars. They looked so different here than from on Chickyuu. The sky seemed brighter as its view was not impeded by the artificial lighting found in most of the big cities. He'd forgotten the benefits of the Royal Capital being so far away from a real city.

 

The seclusion of the night wrapped around his still frame as a gentle breeze began to pick up pace. He slowly inhaled and allowed himself to be filled by the scent of the night air as he was overcome by memories of his childhood. A few years after being forced into Freeza's service he hadn't even been able to remember the exact shade of the Vegeta-sei sky. Most of all, he could remember feeling horrified that it was becoming increasingly difficult to remember the planet's fragrance. Scent, more than anything, would always tie him to this place.

 

And Bulma smelled of it. She smelled of the planet, of him, and of a thousand other memories he'd forged both in this dimension and the one in which they belonged. He was part of her now just as this planet was. She was just as much a part of his identity as the planet he'd longed for during countless numbers of sleepless nights. Something inside of him ached.

 

He would do it. He would allow her to keep the child.

 

~~~~~~~<(((((|||)))))>~~~~~~~

 

The chaos that was the medical wing of the palace was a strange sight to almost all of the Saiya-jins having the misfortune to pass by. There were a ludicrous number of guards standing watch at the door even though it was quite easy to see what was going on inside through the rather large infirmary windows. The King was pacing across the floor with a maddened expression on his face. It was no wonder there were so many guards swarming the pace. The Saiya-jin no Ou was looking particularly ferocious.

 

“We'll need to perform a physical examination,” a voice could be heard from the inside.

 

“A what?” boomed the Saiya-jin King with shock and horror in his voice.

 

“Vegeta no Ou, calm down,” ordered Bulma with a soothing voice. “It's so he can see how the baby is affecting my body.” Though Vegeta didn't seem to calm down much, his tail stopped lashing violently behind him and several of the med techs visibly eased. The King gave her a sharp look before returning to pacing and all the while keeping a close eye on the ministrations of the med tech who was innocently performing his examination.

 

Bulma had to stifle back a chuckle at her mate's reaction. Apparently Vegeta wasn't too fond of the idea of other men having any sort of contact with her body. It was frustrating but flattering in and odd way. She turned her attention back to the tech taking her blood pressure and watched his hands shake as he placed some Saiya-jin contraption around her arm. His face was pale.

 

This is what I get for being bonded to the most temperamental Saiya-jin on the planet.

 

Thought Bulma with a mental sigh. Everyone was utterly terrified of him.

 

Vegeta?

 

She questioned telepathically. It was a gift she seldom used and Vegeta's head twitched in her direction immediately. She had to prevent herself from laughing again. After all, the whole purpose was to prevent the medical staff from witnessing their conversation.

 

Yes?

 

His voice was short but she knew she'd gotten his attention. She just hoped he'd react to her request in her favor.

 

I think you should leave.

 

At this, he stopped pacing and stared at her with his head raised high and eyes narrowed. The lack of movement signaled an atmosphere change in the room and the tech working on Bulma paled considerably more. He was far too pale for any Saiya-jin, and looked up at the Saiya-jin no Ou with barely concealed terror. It was like something out of a cartoon with the tech gulping and looking slowly back and forth between the woman he was examining and his King.

 

Vegeta's barrier dropped momentarily, allowing Bulma a glimpse of his concern for her condition before giving the tech a look that couldn't be mistaken for anything but a threat. He smirked characteristically and crossed his arms.

 

Though scaring the tech to death would be highly amusing. He looks like he's about to wet his panties.

 

Replied Vegeta with sarcasm and at that comment Bulma openly smiled. Vegeta's smirk deepened a little and he nodded his head at his mate and the medical staff.

 

“I believe I have some other matters to attend to,” said the King passively as he strode out of the room. Once the doors were completely closed, Bulma's tech let out a huge sigh and this time Bulma laughed whole heartedly.

 

~~~~~~~<(((((|||)))))>~~~~~~~

 

Zarbon had been waiting outside the entrance to the medical wing for nearly an hour before the King exited in an unexpectedly docile manner. Nappa had been standing outside the door as well. Zarbon wasn't quite sure what was so important about the royal couple taking a trip to the infirmary to have piqued the bulky Saiya-jin's interest. The brute seemed to be everywhere as of lately. He'd never liked Nappa and that was saying a lot considering he was known to be one of the most tolerant entities on the planet.

 

“Everything alright?” asked Zarbon cautiously as the Saiya-jin no Ou approached him. Bulma's pregnancy had yet to be publicly announced and besides Zarbon, Radditz, the medical staff, and the King's Guard, no one had any idea what their little trip to the infirmary had been about.

 

“She wants to keep it,” he said in an even voice. Zarbon knew he was withholding some piece of information but he didn't want to push it. The Saiya-jin no Ou was stressed enough as it was. “She seems to be in good health,” said Vegeta with a trace of concern in his voice. He already considered Bulma to be extremely fragile and he couldn't even imagine how giving birth to a Saiya-jin child would damage her physical condition.

 

Zarbon smiled. “She'll be fine.”

 

“Of course she will,” snapped Vegeta, resorting back to his more Saiya-jin `I-feel-nothing' side. He cared more about the little human than she'd ever know, but he wasn't about to go waving his feelings around like banner for everyone to see. Especially Zarbon. Zarbon loved proving to Vegeta how silly it was for Saiya-jins to maintain their emotionless facades.

 

“What news is there of Freeza's arrival?” probed the Saiya-jin King, abruptly changing the subject. Apparently he'd spent enough time thinking about the dilemma with his mate and future child.

 

“A couple of weeks tops,” Zarbon said with an exhausted quality to his voice that Vegeta seldom heard from the creature. They were all ready for this to be over with. “We expect a transmission from him within the week.”

 

“The Elites seem to be improving,” noted the King with optimism. At first, he'd thought them hopeless. Training nobles to get their heads out of their own asses was a difficult thing to do on any planet. Saiya-jin nobility was especially stubborn. Many of the Elites would have rather sat fanning themselves in court or dueling for control of their households rather than training to be useful in the Saiya-jin military. He'd almost forgotten how much he despised dealing with the clan leaders.

 

“Indeed.” Zarbon smiled to himself. It was flattering to hear Vegeta compliment his progress with the troops.

 

“But will it be enough?” Vegeta wondered out loud. They were fooling themselves if they thought any amount of man power would ever be enough. He'd experienced that first hand back on Namek, not to mention the first time his planet was destroyed. Vegeta grimaced. He didn't know what he'd do if his planet were destroyed again. There was only one power in the universe strong enough to defeat the Ice-jin—the power of the Legendary—and try as he might to grasp it, the Saiya-jin no Ou still experienced little more than fleeting moments of that great power while he was training.

 

“Vegeta, if you can pump out even a tenth of the power you were exuding the day you claimed the Saiya-jin throne, winning this battle will be like child's play.” Zarbon was confident. A little too confident, in Vegeta's opinion. He could remember that day clearly but more than anything he remembered feeling a part of himself become uncaged. A part of himself he'd never cared to admit he possessed. Bulma's imminent danger and his father's snide comments had driven him nearly to the edge of reason until all he could feel was the presence of a pure white light tearing down his barriers like tissue paper as a part of him forced its way into existence. He'd never been more aware of himself. It was exhilarating and horrifying at the same time. In that instant, the universe was his playground and no one was ever going to threaten his mate again.

 

All of it had to play into his favor this time. He was the Saiya-jin no Ou, the strongest warrior in generations and the obvious choice for ascension to the level of the Legendary. So how did Kakkarot manage to do it?

 

A third class brat…

 

He was so close. He'd felt that way for months now yet still the closest he'd come to ascension was his scuffle in the throne room with his father. And she'd been there. Defenseless and weak. Saiya-jin infants could have defended themselves better than she. Still, somehow, she was the key to his power.

 

Rash'kin a sonat su ma. Skar shinta mun a kin'moshan…

 

The words were strange to him yet familiar in an odd way. In the dimension he came from the words were to control the strange fluctuations caused by the Khon'daia na but here on Vegeta-sei something about the words lingered. They called to him and reminded him that the fulfillment of the prophecy was at hand, but he still felt like he was missing something essential.

 

Zarbon had stopped chattering for nearly ten minutes prior to their arrival at the communications wing and Vegeta turned on him abruptly as if coming out of a trance.

 

“Zarbon, I need you to do something for me,” the green creature nodded his head. “Find out everything you can about the Super Saiya-jin.”

 

“But I thought the Elders already taught you the legends when you were a child?” questioned Zarbon while tilting his head ever so slightly to the side.

 

“There's more than that,” responded the King. His eyes were beginning to glaze over as he stared out into space thoughtfully. “There has to be.”