Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Whatever It Takes ❯ Chapter 11

AN: I realize now that I didn't think far enough ahead when I started this story to include a son in Geta's life. True, any man capable of producing a child could be a father at nineteen, but considering I only put Geta at twenty, that would make his son no more than a couple months old since he and Anya were killed by the Androids between six and seven months prior to where the story is now. Little Vegeta is already toddling around and speaking basic words, which wouldn't be the case even for a Saiyan infant. If it was, little VJ would also be doing it, and he is definitely younger than his sort-of "nephew" is.

 

This being the case, I'm going to have to amend a couple of things. Everything in Chapter One should have originally happened twenty-two years in the future instead of twenty-one, which would make Geta twenty-one at this point of the story. Anya should be twenty, going on twenty-one, eight months younger than Geta, but since she was dead for a while she can only be just twenty. I think for the sake of simplicity they would still say she'd be turning twenty-one when wintertime (in January, if Geta was a May baby) comes around again. Their son is a little more confusing; he would be a little more than a year old 'now' although he should be closer to two.

 

Head... hurts... Confused yet? Sorry! Big oversight on my part, I know, but hopefully the extra year fixes it.

 

I will be gradually going over each chapter and making little changes. Nothing plot-changing, just fixing minor errors I found after the fact. If revisions are made, I will put the date at the top of the chapter so no 'Did I read this yet?' guesswork is needed.

 

Also, I wanted to make a clarification about the usage of name spellings in my story. It was pointed out to me that Vegeta's name is spelled with a j rather than a g, because the 'ge' would lead to a mispronunciation (a soft g, like the 'ge' of 'get', with a short vowel sound, instead of a hard 'gee' sound the 'jii' would produce). Technically, this is correct- as long as you are speaking and writing in Japanese, that is. While it doesn't bother me personally to see other authors do it (as long as the vocabulary and/or spellings are used correctly) I have opted, for the most part, not to sneak Japanese words and spellings into this story. You won't see Bejiita, Buruma, onna, or Chikyuu here (although I do have a particular situation in mind where I know I will use Japanese for a specific reason, to differentiate the two Standard languages). My reason for this is because technically, Dragonball Z doesn't take place in Japan or even on our Earth; it takes place on an alternate Earth. What we imagine as corresponding to Japan here is Western Country. They don't speak Japanese or English; they speak Standard. At least, this is how I understand it- and I could be wrong- and that is how I decided to write it for the purposes of this story. So in a nutshell, neither way is incorrect; it's just a matter of personal taste. :)

 

Whew!

 

Oh, a cute little side point about Geta's name- it's both a Saiyan and a human name! A geta is a type of shoe, so the name conforms to a family name both ways. Good choice, Bulma! Vegeta had better get used to that 'disgraceful' nickname now. ;)

 

Again, this chapter does contain some 'fluff', but it helps set certain things up.

 

Thanks to my husband, who read this over for me.

 

Enjoy! Let me know what you think.

 

 

Disclaimer: Dragonball Z was created by Akira Toriyama. It is owned/licensed by Toei, Bird Studios, Shonen Jump, Funimation, and Viz, not me. However, you will see some characters that weren't created by Toriyama-san, and those are my brainchildren. No money was made in the production of this work, more's the pity.

 

 

Chapter Eleven

 

"Leave."

 

Goku frowned. He had been excited when he found out the reason for the dragon being summoned, and now Vegeta was being poopy about it. "But-"

 

Vegeta shoved Goku toward the kitchen door, this close from picking up the younger man by the back of his pants and the scruff of his neck and tossing him through the door like a disobedient puppy. "I told you, when she is settled in I am sure Anya will for some unfathomable reason be pleased to meet you. She is busy right now. Now go away."

 

"Busy doing what? She just got here, right?" Goku whined. He really wanted to meet Geta's wife; she sounded so interesting and nice, and probably could provide some additional insight on the androids.

 

"She's busy doing something that I'm eternally grateful to all that's holy doesn't involve you," Vegeta told him bluntly, smirking when Goku frowned at the insult.

 

"Vegeta..." Bulma sighed. At least the meaning of Vegeta's choice of words had gone right over her clueless friend's head.

 

In the blink of an eye Goku suddenly changed mental gears. "Hey, I know! Maybe I'll just tell everyone it's all okay and come back later," he decided brightly, as thoughtfully as if it had been his idea all along.

 

"Good idea, you do that," Vegeta agreed, shoving Goku out of the house and smirking even wider at the younger man's yelp of distress as his backside hit the landing. "Now shoo!" He slammed the door in Goku's face and sat back down at the table, positioning his infant son comfortably on his lap. "What an idiot."

 

"Bye-bye!" little Vegeta crowed. "Ha ha!"

 

"You said it, Boy. I wholeheartedly agree. Ha ha haa!" Vegeta plucked another slice of pizza from the box on the table and took a bite of it.

 

"Vegeta, you aren't teaching our grandson to be very nice to Goku," Bulma objected with a frown.

 

"What's your point, Woman?" came the Saiyan's rather self-satisfied response.

 

While it was refreshing to see her mate in such a good mood, Bulma didn't want it to be at her best friend's expense, or make it seem to their grandson that it was okay to do so because his grandfather did. "Vegeta..." She sighed again and continued eating her salad with a sad shake of her head.

 

Dr. Briefs burst into the kitchen breathlessly. "Bulma, I've received some very strange phone calls," he gasped, sitting down at the table with his daughter and Vegeta. "What's happened?"

 

Bulma swallowed and nodded. "Yes, I got them too," she acknowledged. "Pizza, Daddy?" she asked casually, pushing a box on the table containing a half-eaten deep-dish pie his way. "I think there's some fire wings left too if you want them."

 

Vegeta stopped chewing and gave her a deer in the headlights look before dropping his eyes and hastily resuming his lunch.

 

"Okay, scratch the wings," Bulma corrected with amusement. Her mate had actually looked a little guilty; maybe that would teach him to eat the entire box himself. "I hope you remembered what we agreed upon should one of us have to use the dragonballs without the other's knowledge."

 

"Then it was the dragon being summoned," Dr. Briefs murmured. "No, I didn't forget. Another wacky Capsule Corp experiment it was, indeed." He sighed and reached for a slice of pizza. "Who wished for what this time?"

 

Bulma scowled at her mate. "Vegeta here decided that it would be clever to sneak into my lab and take them without telling me," she complained. "It's not as though I would have disagreed with what he wanted to wish for."

 

Dr. Briefs looked over at Vegeta, who had just shoved half a breadstick into his mouth. "What did you wish for, Vegeta?"

 

The prince chewed a few times before attempting to answer. "Extended life," he responded around the breadstick.

 

"What do you mean...?" Dr. Briefs paused when he realized that both adults held a child on their laps. "Bulma, whose child is that you're holding?" This whole day was becoming more and more strange.

 

Vegeta swallowed. "Anya and Geta's brat," he interjected before she could reply.

 

"Anya and Geta's?" the doctor echoed weakly. "Are you saying...?"

 

Bulma nodded, beaming from ear to ear despite her mate's poster child for the impolite behavior. "Vegeta wished back Anya and little Vegeta," she confirmed excitedly. "This is Vegeta." She turned her attention to the shy little boy. "Vegeta, this is my daddy," she explained.

 

Dr. Briefs realized he'd been gaping at the child in astonishment and corrected himself. "Well, hello there, young man," he addressed his great-grandson cordially. He had a great-grandson; what an astonishing concept that was, since his only grandchild was hardly four months old. "I'm so pleased to see you here." This simple statement would do. He was, in fact, pleased that the boy and his mother were alive and well, and impressed that Vegeta had not only thought of raising them but had taken the initiative to so himself. There was far, far more to this man than met the eye.

 

"Hi," the bashful little boy said in a tiny voice.

 

The doctor broke out into a huge smile. What an adorable child! "Where is your mama? I would like to say hello to her too."

 

They all looked at Vegeta when he barked out a laugh. "Let's just say that the boy's father was also pleased to see her," he said smoothly, a naughty grin on his face. "Quite pleased. Evidently she wanted to see his room." He laughed again when the good doctor's eyebrows rose.

 

"Oh," was all the older man could think to say.

 

Bulma was about to speak when she saw what her mate was currently doing. "Vegeta, would you quit giving the kids food they shouldn't have?" she shrieked. "He's going to get sick even if he doesn't choke on that!"

 

Vegeta looked down at the infant he was holding. "The child is perfectly fine, Bulma! Would you calm yourself?" he objected in annoyance. "See? He likes it." He smirked as his son happily gummed on a chicken bone in an attempt to suck the last little bit of hot sauce off of it.

 

"I won't like it when he chokes on that bone, and you won't like it when you're the one changing his diapers for the next week until his indigestion goes away," Bulma retorted, turning her face away. She would have no part in this.

 

"Nummy!" the child on her lap exclaimed, having accepted a second bone with some sauce on it from his smirking grandfather. "Fank you!"

 

"Uhm, Vegeta..." Dr. Briefs began hesitantly.

 

"You're welcome, Boy," Vegeta proclaimed.

 

Bulma turned her attention back to her grandson in time to see him licking the bone Vegeta had given him. "Vegeta!"

 

"What? He thanked me and I told him he is welcome. Isn't that well-mannered behavior?" Vegeta laughed as the child's blue eyes grew wide in surprise. "Oh, leave him be, Woman," he told her in a firm, yet soft voice. "He's not going to choke on it, are you Boy?"

 

The child's face had grown a little pinker and he shook his head. "No! Wanna wawa!" he yelped.

 

"Now see what you did?" Bulma complained, gently dabbing the boy's lips and giving him a sip from her glass. "He doesn't like the sauce. And I'm surprised VJ hasn't spit up all over you yet."

 

"Hmph." Vegeta said nothing. Their son was half Saiyan; of course the sauce wasn't bothering him. Their grandson was only a quarter Saiyan, and probably used to eating whatever bland food his parents were able to find for him.

 

"Fank you!" the little boy chirped. "You nice lady."

 

Bulma beamed at the child. "Oh, you're such a sweetheart..." She trailed off when he stuck the bone back into his mouth with a little 'mmm...' "I don't believe this," she muttered, ignoring her mate's smirking face.

 

"Well," Dr. Briefs interjected after recovering from his surprise from what he'd just witnessed, "I suppose I should find your mother and have her come home, Bulma."

 

"Oh, right. Good idea, Daddy. Hey, keep an eye on your son," Bulma complained, turning her attention back to her mate. "He'd better not choke on that."

 

"Cease with the nagging, Woman," Vegeta growled. "You had best not do that around the girl or else she is going to think you're insane." The smirk reappeared.

 

"Vegeta, I doubt she'll think I'm the one-" Bulma stopped talking when the kitchen door opened.

 

"I knew I smelled pizza!" Geta announced cheerfully as he entered the kitchen, Anya behind him. "Hey, Gramps. There's someone I'd like you to meet."

 

The look on his grandson's face couldn't have been any prouder. "This lovely young lady must be Anya," Dr. Briefs decided, rising from his seat to approach her. "I'm so very pleased for both of you. All three of you," he amended his statement quickly, including the little boy Bulma still held. "I've no doubt that the missus and I will grow as fond of both of you as we have this dear boy." He put a hand on Geta's back.

 

"Thank you. I'm very glad to meet the grandfather of whom Geta spoke so highly," Anya responded genuinely. She smiled and giggled; the older man held out his hand to her. "This isn't a business meeting, so let's have a hug, not a handshake!" She giggled again as she gave him a hug. "Where's Bunny?" she asked as she released him. "I'm looking forward to meeting her as well."

 

Dr. Briefs found himself already liking the young woman his grandson had chosen for his wife. "She's shopping, but I'll certainly call her right away." He picked up the phone.

 

"Don't bother calling," Vegeta spoke up. "She is approximately one mile away from the grounds."

 

"You're keeping tabs on my mother?" Bulma asked, her eyebrow raising. "What, did she promise to bring you something from the food court at the mall?" she teased.

 

Vegeta growled, a slight blush on his cheeks. He'd never admit that the old woman had said she'd bring him one of those soft, chewy pretzels he liked. "Quiet yourself, Woman."

 

Bulma only smiled. He was so cute when he blushed, especially when it was because she was right. "Whatever you say, Dear."

 

"Oh! Vegeta, what are you eating?" Anya exclaimed in dismay.

 

"Yummy, Mama!" The little boy held up the bone he'd licked clean for his mother's inspection.

 

"Mother, you gave him hot sauce?" Geta queried in the same tone of voice his wife had.

 

"No, your father gave him hot sauce," Bulma corrected her son. "I had nothing to do with it and even voiced my objections."

 

"Of course you did," Vegeta supplied thoughtfully. "Gripe gripe, criticize criticize..." He smirked when Anya couldn't hold in her giggle at the irritation on Bulma's face.

 

"I'm back, everyone!" trilled Mrs. Briefs' voice as the door opened. "Vegeta, I brought you some pretzels, Dear!" She paused when she saw someone in the house who hadn't been there when she'd left. "Oh, hello there," she said, confusion coloring her face. "I don't believe we've... oh! Oh, my!" Realization of who this stranger was hit her like a brick when the young woman let go of Geta's hand and approached her. "You're Anya, aren't you?"

 

The young woman nodded. "Yes, I'm Anya, and Bulma is holding my little boy Vegeta."

 

Mrs. Briefs squealed in delight and grabbed Anya up in a hug. "I knew it! Someone wished you back with the dragonballs, how wonderful!" She giggled excitedly. "I thought it was far too nice of a day to suddenly get a storm. This truly is a beautiful day!"

 

Anya smiled at the others over Mrs. Briefs' shoulder as she returned the energetic hug she was receiving. "Thanks, Bunny. Vegeta, come meet Da's grandma," she told her son.

 

Mrs. Briefs wasted no time in scooping up the wide-eyed child from its grandmother's lap. "Oh my land, but aren't you the most darling little boy," she proclaimed.

 

"Hi," Vegeta responded shyly.

 

Mrs. Briefs squealed with delight and clutched the little boy closer, placing a loud kiss on his cheek. "Oh my, but you're simply precious. I'll just have to make you some cookies," she decided. "Would you like that, Sweetheart?"

 

The boy quickly recovered from his surprise and his lips formed a little round 'O' at the mention of cookies. He nodded vigorously. "Yeah!"

 

"Uhm, Gram? I don't know if cookies are the best idea," Geta began, but his grandmother waved off his concerns.

 

"Oh, pish posh," Mrs. Briefs pouted. "It's never a bother to make cookies for my precious grandchildren. We'll plump those little cheeks right up, you'll see." She kissed the child's cheek again. "Oh! We need to go shopping," she continued. "We'll need clothes for both of you, and some toys for you, young man." She paused and giggled when the little boy she held hugged her around the neck. "You are just darling, the same as your father and baby Vegeta." She paused again. "Oh, my. That makes four Vegetas in the house. However will we keep you all straight?"

 

Vegeta had wondered if the insane blonde woman would ever shut up. And how many times more would she utter the words 'oh, my'? "Your daughter already created asinine nicknames for my son." He too paused. "Sons... whatever. I suppose she will make one up for him, too." He indicated the boy in Mrs. Briefs' arms.

 

"Probably, just to spite you," Bulma agreed, winking at him. "Or, we could give you one."

 

"Not a chance in hell, Woman," Vegeta retorted before she could even complete her sentence. "You had better not address me with some stupid nickname." It was bad enough that she used little pet names with him; the mere thought of a nickname that would stick was even worse.

 

"Don't worry, Dear," Mrs. Briefs assured him brightly. "We'll figure it all out." She positioned little Vegeta on her hip and retrieved a capsule from her purse. "This is for you."

 

Vegeta ignored Bulma's knowing chuckle and opened the capsule. She had even brought dipping cheese! This female wasn't as stupid as she made herself out to be. "Good."

 

Mrs. Briefs smiled at Vegeta as he quickly devoured the pretzels she'd brought for him. Such a dear young man he was! Satisfied for the time being, she looked over to Anya. "How about we go shopping for the things you two need, then we can all go out to dinner?" she suggested. "Oh, and I need to make little Vegeta's cookies," she mused.

 

Anya thought about it and gave her husband's grandmother a little shrug. "I guess that's fine by me as long as everyone else likes the idea," she agreed.

 

"That's fine with me, Bunny. Bulma and I need to make up an official 'story' about the so-called experiment that was held today, and then we really do have some lab work to do," Dr. Briefs decided, catching his daughter's eye. "You are ready for me, aren't you, Bulma?"

 

"Absolutely," Bulma agreed with a nod of her head. "I want to get this project done as soon as possible, because I've got most of the data I need for the next one compiled to start on."

 

"You should be working on my regeneration tank, Woman, instead of whatever little gizmo you're playing with," Vegeta piped up.

 

Bulma frowned at him. "Great. It was supposed to be a surprise. Were you picking my brain just now or was that just a good guess?" she pouted, arms crossed stubbornly.

 

Vegeta looked at her in surprise; she'd given no indication that she'd even started on his regeneration tank yet. "A good guess?" A small smile of satisfaction flickered over his lips but he quickly hid it.

 

"Hmm." Bulma put her plate in the sink. She'd seen the pleased look he'd let slip out. It was obvious that he hadn't been expecting that, nor had he seemed to have noticed that she'd repaired Radditz' broken scouter. This was a good thing, because if she was to truly surprise him with her next project, her cover would be blown if he caught her using it for that. She'd have to think up some story to tell him. The amount of information she had been able to access from it was astounding and, despite her not being able to read the majority of it, she had come across some diagrams and equations that were finds no matter what language the scientist spoke. "Well, I need you and Geta to come by the lab so I can take a blood draw from you both," she instructed. "I'm having trouble properly formulating the healing fluid for some reason."

 

"Why do you want our blood for that?" Vegeta asked with a frown that seemed more curious than upset.

 

"Well, you two are the ones who will be using the tank the most," Dr. Briefs pointed out. "Even though you thought that it seemed to be the same fluid that was used no matter the species of patient, it makes the most sense to tailor the chemical balance to Saiyan genes, at least for the time being."

 

Bulma nodded in agreement. "And since Geta is half human, testing his blood and mine or another human's too gives us a good stepping stone for development of a fluid for use by more than Saiyans only. For instance, if I had been able to finish the tank before VJ was born, I could have used it to heal myself instead of the senzu bean I ate."

 

"I hadn't even considered that," Dr. Briefs added thoughtfully.

 

"You used a senzu bean when you birthed the boy?"

 

There was a long pause.

 

Bulma broke the uncomfortable silence permeating the kitchen. "Yes, Yamcha gave me one that he'd saved," she said quietly in response to her mate's surprised question. "It... wasn't an easy delivery for me. He was a big baby."

 

"Oh. You never mentioned that." Vegeta managed to hide his alarm. He knew that his son would be on the larger side because the physician for females had said he would be, but he hadn't known that his mate had required a senzu bean when she'd given birth. What had the brat done, clawed his way out from her womb?

 

"You never asked." Bulma's voice was little more than a whisper. She drew in a deep breath; it hadn't been her intention to bring up that aspect of their son's birth, especially in front of everyone. "Well, uhm, anyway..."

 

There was another uncomfortable pause. "Yes, anyway," Anya spoke up cheerfully. "We should get going so they can get started on their fluid, right Bunny?" she offered. It had crossed her mind that she and Geta too could have used such a device on numerous occasions, but she'd wisely held her tongue. "Did you want to come too, Honey, or were you going to train?"

 

Geta gave his wife a smile of admiration. He knew what she'd been thinking by the barely perceptible little twitch her body had made during the conversation. The feeling in the room had been uncomfortable, but how she'd managed to so fluidly smooth things over the way she had only added to her value as his cherished wife in his eyes. "Sure, I'll come with you. We'll take both boys so Mother and Gramps don't have to worry about watching them."

 

"Thanks, Geta," Bulma responded gratefully. "That'll help out a lot. Just don't forget to give me your draw before you go."

 

***

 

"You never told me about the senzu bean."

 

Bulma pulled the rubber strip around Vegeta's bicep to loosen it. "Uhm, I guess I just never thought to tell you about it," she murmured, not meeting his eyes. She pulled the tube off of the syringe and attached a new one.

 

"What happened?"

 

Bulma could feel his gaze upon her and looked up at him. "I was going to have a c-section, but by the time I got to the clinic and Natsue arrived, he was too far down my birth canal." Bulma held a cotton ball over the needle and withdrew it from Vegeta's arm. "Here, put some pressure on this for a moment while I get a band-aid."

 

"I don't need a band-aid." Vegeta's voice sounded unusually quiet.

 

She took this as a prompt to continue, a little surprised that he was so interested that he'd bring up the subject himself. Could he actually be concerned about her, or possibly even remorseful that he wasn't there? "He was too big, so my flesh tore when he came out. It was very painful and I lost some blood, but fortunately Natsue was expecting that as a very good possibility and was prepared for it. She knew exactly what to do."

 

The physician for females couldn't have known it, but she had just earned an even better spot on the very short list of individuals who had earned Vegeta's respect. "I see."

 

Bulma wasn't sure how to react. Was that the only response she was going to get from this man? Did he care in the slightest about everything she'd gone through while pregnant with his son, let alone during the birth? Would it have even phased him had she died? "Yes, well, that's what happened," she responded a little icily. There was no point in becoming angry with Vegeta over something that she couldn't change and wouldn't make a difference now anyway. "Thanks. You can go train now." She turned her back to him and began prepping her work area to run tests on the blood she'd just drawn.

 

There it was. The big question, the same question that idiot third class had dared propose: would he be affected by Bulma's death? He knew the answer and, while it bothered him, right now that didn't matter. He understood now, especially now, why Bulma had been hurt, both when he'd first come back and why she was hurt now. She didn't think that he truly cared if anything happened to her. Suppressing a sigh, Vegeta got up from his chair and took the vial Bulma was holding from her, setting it down on the table.

 

"Vegeta, what are you doing?" Bulma exclaimed in surprise. "I was going to analyze-"

 

He placed a finger over her lips to silence her. What she wanted to do could wait. What she needed could not. He pushed the part of himself that was angry at the realization away in favor of the part that wanted to comfort and protect his mate, this frail little female who had not only undergone so much to provide him with the heir he'd never thought he'd ever have, but sacrificed so much to satisfy his wants, his needs, his desires.

 

Right now, he'd satisfy hers.

 

He drew her into his arms and kissed her. It was a soft and gentle kiss that made her hurt melt away, shortly followed by her knees. The fingers of one hand played with the long blue hair he so admired, and his other arm supported her as carefully as the fragile porcelain doll he still saw her as required.

 

When the kiss ended, Bulma leaned against him for support, her cheek buried against his shoulder. She sighed in happiness when both of his arms closed around her and his chin rested on top of her head. Didn't he know how much moments like this one meant to her? How could he not know? What could she do to communicate to him just how very much he was loved?

 

"I..." He drew a small breath. "I'm sorry, Bulma. I had not realized how difficult birthing the boy was for you."

 

Bulma lifted her head and gazed up at him in utter astonishment. He'd actually apologized to her! She would never have expected that.

 

She never expected what he said next.

 

"I suppose I will have to thank the moron for supplying you with the bean in my absence," he muttered sourly.

 

The surprise in her eyes faded to happiness. He cared that she had been in pain while giving birth to their son and, in a round-about, warped Vegeta way, had acknowledged that he was grateful for her recovery, covering it up by picking on her ex-boyfriend. He did care, he had to! "Oh, Vegeta," she whispered, letting out a little giggle at the 'hmph' he gave her in response. "I love you." She rested her head back down on his chest.

 

He knew by the happiness on her lovely face and radiating from her very being that he said the right thing. Why was it so difficult to please his mate, despite the pleasure he derived from her happiness by his own doing?

 

That was when the thought came back to him.

 

~Because you are allowing this female to continue to make you weak,~ his mind attacked back. ~Your coddling of her foolish human emotions makes you just as much of a human as she is! And you call yourself the Prince of Saiyans? You're a weak, pathetic fool, like that third-class idiot Kakarrot is!~

 

Vegeta drew in a deep breath and gently disengaged himself from Bulma's grasp. "That will do, Woman," he murmured. "I must train, and you need to get to work." He headed for the door, irritated that despite everything that had just gone through his head, he couldn't allow himself to do or say anything that would upset his mate. He would, instead, quietly take his leave in the least aggressive way possible.

 

Bulma didn't seem to notice the mental battle Vegeta was waging. "Okay," she responded softly. "Could you tell Daddy I'm ready for him now? Unless, of course, you can think of a reason to delay him?" She smiled coyly when Vegeta stopped mid-stride.

 

~You're weak! Tell her to shut her stupid trap and get to work!~ his mind screamed at him as he made a beeline back to her, stripping off his shirt on the way. He pushed the thought away. There was no mistaking the look in Bulma's eyes- she wanted him, and she wanted him now.

 

What red-blooded male wouldn't answer that call?

 

***

 

"Oh, but this is beautiful!" Mrs. Briefs took the rich red silk blouse from the rack and held it up in front of Anya. "You absolutely must try this one on."

 

"Yes, it is," Anya agreed, "but I really don't think I need all of these clothes."

 

Mrs. Briefs tsked gently. "Nonsense, Dear! My grandson is a prince, and you're his wife, which makes you a princess," she began. "That means you deserve the absolute best of everything." She beamed happily and turned back to her shopping.

 

Anya just managed to hold in her amusement. ~If only you knew... Evidently Geta didn't cover that part of the story.~ "Thank you, Bunny. I appreciate you and Shatsu taking such good care of us."

 

"It's my pleasure, Dear, and I know Shatsu feels the same." She perused the rack one more time, picked out a soft blue turtleneck, and handed her selections to the loaded-down saleswoman. "She'll try these on too."

 

"Not a problem, Mrs. Briefs. I'll show you to the room we've set up for you." The overloaded woman turned and headed toward the dressing rooms, where another saleswoman rushed up to unlock the door and relieve her fellow associate of part of her burden.

 

"See, Anya? Such a nice big room, and three-way mirrors out here if you want to step out and see yourself full-length. I just love shopping at Chic Vêtements," Mrs. Briefs exclaimed. "I always leave satisfied."

 

"We're so happy to be of service, Mrs. Briefs," the saleswoman assured her as she hung Anya's selections on the rod inside the room. "Please let one of us know if there is anything at all we can get for you, perhaps another size or color."

 

"Thank you." Anya nodded to the woman as she left. It seemed like a lifetime ago since she'd been pampered and lavished with the best of everything, and she felt decidedly melancholy.

 

"Are you all right, Dear?"

 

Anya turned back to Mrs. Briefs, who looked concerned. "Oh, I'm fine, thanks. Just a little overwhelmed is all."

 

Mrs. Briefs clucked her tongue. "You poor dear. You've been through so much. But don't you worry, we'll fix you up just fine. Once we find you clothes, we'll get shoes, and some accessories, and oh! A nice handbag or three," she mused. "We mustn't forget the handbag. And undergarments too. How could we forget those?" She paused. "How about something lacy to entice your man, hmm? I know that his father is often in a good mood when Bulma goes lingerie shopping." A slow smile spread over her face.

 

Anya turned several shades of pink. She hadn't figured Mrs. Briefs to be so naughty! "I don't know, Bunny. We'll see how it goes." It wasn't as though her husband actually needed any help or encouragement; he'd practically devoured her whole earlier that day.

 

Mrs. Briefs giggled. "You're such a lovely girl, so dear. Come now, let's see how these things look."

 

***

 

"Dat! Wan dat!"

 

"You like this one?" Geta held up a shirt with SpongeBob SquarePants on it.

 

"Yeah!" Vegeta's eyes shone and he practically danced in excitement. He was getting new stuff, and for big boys!

 

His father chuckled. He wasn't sure if the boy had to pee, was merely excited, or if it was a combination of both. Oh, how he'd missed his exuberant son! "Okay, I'm sure Gram will buy it for you." The baby in his arms whimpered suddenly. "What's wrong, hmm?"

 

Vegeta's lower lip stuck out in a pout. "Baby boo-hoo, Da?"

 

"No, I think he's okay. What do you see, VJ?" Geta followed the baby's eyes to a shirt with some cartoon racecars on it. It wasn't difficult to see why he'd noticed it, as the shirt was bright red. "Do you see the cars, VJ? Maybe we should get the t-shirt for Vegeta and the jumper over there for you. How about that?" He chuckled again when the boy stared up at him with huge blue eyes. "I bet you just have a gazillion and ten things to say, don't you?" he asked the child, unknowingly voicing his mother's earlier sentiments.

 

The baby broke out into a huge, toothless smile.

 

Geta couldn't contain his laugh. "Okay, it's a go." He peeked at the tags on the little jumpsuits and selected the baby's size. "I think that will do it," he told the waiting salesman, who was almost as heavily loaded down as his female counterpart had been.

 

"Very good, Sir," the salesman responded. "This way, please."

 

***

 

"Geta! Over here, Dear!"

 

Geta looked up from his triple-decker club sandwich to see his grandmother and wife approaching. "Good timing, we're almost done with our snack," he responded, rising from his seat. "Did you want some...?" He trailed off incoherently.

 

"See? I told you a nice haircut and rinse would do wonders for your hair, Anya," Mrs. Briefs declared. She giggled as the young woman blushed at her husband's reaction. It wasn't just Anya's hair her grandson was looking at.

 

She was wearing a floral dress with bell sleeves and an A-line skirt. Her shiny blonde hair was done up in an elegant twist. A pearl necklace was around her neck, matching drop earrings dangled from her ears. Heels, a handbag and just a little touch of make-up completed the look.

 

Geta swallowed and took his wife's hands in his. They were so tiny comparatively, so delicate. "You're beautiful, Anya," he murmured, leaning down to kiss her cheek. Gods, he'd missed her, but he'd never forgotten how beautiful she was. He took his time standing up from the kiss. She smelled good too. He'd always loved her unique scent.

 

Anya's blush deepened. He always did like to exaggerate how pretty he thought she was. "Thanks, Sweetie." She giggled and reached up to brush a crumb from the corner of his mouth. "Caught in the act."

 

He grinned lazily at her, his eyelids heavy.

 

:Oh, get your mind out of the gutter,: she mock chastised him.

 

:Why?:

 

:Ooh! You're incorrigible.:

 

:But isn't that why you love me?:

 

Anya's lips twitched. :Well...: Her mental giggle permeated his mind. :Among other things.:

 

:Ha! Why don't you get your mind out of the gutter, m'lady?:

 

"Mama!" a little voice interrupted their mental tête-à-tête. "Lookit!"

 

Anya smiled at her son's current choice of clothing. He wore a tiny pair of blue jeans and sandals adorned his feet. Emblazoned across his shirt was a large green man along with a cat wearing boots and a hat and wielding a fencing sword. "Wow, that's a cool shirt," she commented, noting her husband's lips twitch in amusement. "Did Daddy buy that for you?"

 

"Yeah, Sweck's neat-o!" the boy squealed.

 

"Neat-o," Geta repeated, nodding solemnly. "Well, are we ready ladies and germy boys?"

 

VJ hiccupped and promptly spit up on his caretaker's shirt.

 

Geta sighed. "I rest my case."

 

***

 

"So, c'mon. Show us what you got," Bulma demanded. She loved clothes shopping, as evidenced by the sheer volume of garments in her huge closet.

 

"I'm going to go train," Vegeta grumbled, not wanting to be subjected to another fashion show.

 

"Don't you want to see Anya's new clothes, Dear?" Mrs. Briefs asked brightly. "Besides, Geta said he got some new clothes for little VJ."

 

"Oh boy oh boy," Vegeta responded sarcastically, making her giggle. "I think I'll train."

 

"Bulma, I'll get out what we got for Vegeta first," Anya suggested, before her father-in-law could take his leave. She examined a capsule and popped it open, having been used to capsules since she met Geta, then held up a pair of rather stylish, expensive looking sunglasses from one of the bags. "Nice, huh?"

 

"You bought those for Vegeta?" Bulma asked, a skeptical look on her face as she looked over to her grandson.

 

"No, not little Vegeta," Bunny attempted to clarify. "Big Vegeta."

 

"You know, Vegeta Senior." Anya giggled. "Pops."

 

The eldest Vegeta snorted. "Pops?"

 

Anya giggled again at the aghast expression on his face. "Would you prefer Papa?" she asked, totally disregarding the option of 'Father', as Geta addressed him.

 

Now, this was a bold girl- she'd known him for a matter of hours and was already referring to him by some stupid nickname! "No, I would not," he retorted.

 

"Okay then. Here, try these on. I know what looks good on Geta, so I'm sure you'll look awesome in these." Anya held up the sunglasses without missing a beat.

 

Vegeta drew in a deep breath and scowled as he grabbed the sunglasses. If history was any indication, if he didn't try the foolish things on, the females in the room would never shut up. "Fine."

 

Mrs. Briefs clasped her hands together. "Oh my, but you were right. Those look very nice, Dear."

 

Bulma's lips curled up. "Nice? I'd say pretty hot."

 

"Not bad, Father," Geta added with a nod. "Show him what else we got him, An."

 

Vegeta decided that perhaps this might not be so bad after all when she pulled a black leather jacket from the bag. His little grunt of "hmph" didn't sound displeased in the least as he slipped it on.

 

"Bunny didn't think you had one yet," Anya supplied. "You look wicked cool, Pops."

 

"Wicka cool!" little Vegeta crowed.

 

Vegeta ignored flipped up the collar of the jacket, flashing a toothy grin as he did so and making them all laugh.

 

"You'll do, Vegeta, you'll do," Dr. Briefs agreed, chuckling.

 

"Yeah, he will," Bulma murmured under her breath. Maybe she should send her mother and daughter-in-law out shopping more often.

 

***

 

"So... did you buy anything sexy that you didn't show the others?"

 

Anya shivered as her husband's warm breath tickled her neck. "Maybe," she murmured, turning in his arms to face him.

 

He frowned. She wasn't smiling. "What's wrong, sweet thing? What did I say?"

 

She managed a little smile. "I just don't feel very sexy right now. Most of the clothes Bunny picked out I didn't get. Normally I would have loved them, but... I'm just so ugly and nasty looking. I'm too skinny. Nothing looked good on me. Trust me." She turned her face away when she felt her eyes welling up with tears.

 

"Oh, Anya..." Geta held his wife close. "You're most certainly not ugly or nasty looking, trust me. Do you really think an ugly, nasty woman would have turned me into a delirious fool like you did at the mall today?" He tilted her chin his way and kissed her softly, blotting away her tears. "I love you, Anya, so very much. You just haven't been in the best of health lately. You'll feel better soon, you'll see."

 

"I love you too." Anya sniffled. "And I hope so."

 

"It took me a couple of weeks to start getting my strength back when I got here, and now look at me. I look and feel so much better than I did. You'll be fine." Geta settled back on the bed, resting her comfortably against his chest. "The hell we went through is over now, Sweetheart. Everyone who needs to know about it does. We have nearly three years to prepare." His hand smoothed her hair gently.

 

She sniffled again. "Are you sure we can do it this time?"

 

He nodded. "With especially Father and Goku prepared, I have no doubt that we can be ready for them this time." He, too, found himself avoiding using the word.

 

Androids.

 

"Okay," Anya whispered, unable to suppress a shudder.

 

"I know, Sweetheart. I know. It'll be okay, I promise." He kissed the top of her head. "I'm so happy to have you and Vegeta here. Words cannot express it." He squeezed her a little tighter.

 

"Me too." Anya let out a little grunt. "Hey, Romeo. Did you want me to squeeze right back? I broke your hand when Vegeta was born, remember?"

 

Geta chuckled. "I remember. Sorry, sometimes I forget about how weak and fragile you are."

 

Anya gasped, affronted. "Just you wait. Tomorrow I'm going to kick your ass!"

 

A low laugh rumbled in her ear. "That's my girl. Now let's get some sleep."

 

Anya giggled. He always knew how to make her feel better. "Good night, Geta."

 

"Good night, Anya."

 

The room was quiet for a moment.

 

"Pops?" Another laugh rumbled in her ear.

 

"I don't know! It just came out!"

 

"Talk about getting your ass kicked."

 

"Oh, no he won't. I can tell he likes me."

 

"Father doesn't like anyone." Geta chuckled. "Although, maybe you'll be the exception. After all, he does tolerate Gram-"

 

Faster than the eye of the average beholder could see, her pillow came down on his chest, right on the spot she'd just vacated. "That does it! I'll kick your ass right here and now!"

 

"Yes! Thank you, Kami!" Geta proclaimed, a naughty grin on his face.

 

There was a knock at the door. "Mama? Dada?"

 

Geta paused mid-swing with his own pillow and gave his wife a resigned look. "It's better off this way. We would have just destroyed these pillows," he murmured.

 

"Or the whole room." Anya giggled as her husband tossed his pillow onto the bed and opened the bedroom door. "Come in, baby boy. Oh. Hello, Pops."

 

Vegeta gave his son an odd look. "What the hell were you two doing? There's a feather in your hair."

 

"Oh. Heh. Nothing." Geta ran his fingers through his hair.

 

"Nothing? Damn, if that's nothing, I'm going to move your room to the other end of the house," Vegeta retorted, feeling a wicked sense of satisfaction as a blush crept over his son's cheeks. "No wonder the boy can't sleep."

 

Anya giggled from across the room. "Sorry about that." She patted the bed beside her. "Come sleep with Mama and Da tonight, baby boy."

 

"Okay!" The little boy toddled over to the bed, where he was scooped up by his mother. He waved to Vegeta. "Ni-ni!"

 

Vegeta's lips twitched into the briefest of smiles. The boy was rather amiable. "Good night, Boy. Now go to bed."

 

Another giggle issued from the room. "Good night Pops!"

 

Vegeta sighed. "Good night, Girl." It seemed as though it would be as difficult to break the girl of calling him that as it was breaking his mate of calling him ridiculous little pet names. He turned to leave, but Geta's barely perceptible voice stopped him.

 

"Father?"

 

"Hn?" He looked over his shoulder.

 

The expression on his son's face was one of happiness and gratitude. "Thank you," he whispered. "Thank you so much."

 

Vegeta nodded once. If he stayed there any longer, the boy might hug him. "You're welcome." He raised his voice so the other occupants of the room would hear. "Now go to sleep, all of you."

 

"Well?" Bulma closed the nursery door as quietly as possible and headed toward their room.

 

"Who the hell knows?" Vegeta grumbled. "The fool boy had feathers in his hair."

 

Bulma giggled as they stepped into the room. "Maybe she hit him with her pillow."

 

Vegeta scowled as he tossed his shirt into the laundry basket beside the bed. "You did that once. I did not find it to be amusing."

 

"I didn't mean it to be amusing. But it can be fun." Bulma grabbed one of the many pillows off of the bed and took a swing at him with it.

 

"Woman!" Vegeta protested, grabbing the pillow. "What are you doing?" His other hand snatched a second pillow from her.

 

"Pillow fight!" She giggled and filched a third pillow from the bed, hitting him squarely in the side of the head with it.

 

He stood, motionless, and simply stared at her.

 

Bulma giggled, unsure of whether or not to be nervous that he'd be angry. After all, what she had just done to him wasn't exactly dignified. "Veg, you should see the expression on your face! It's completely priceless. Where's my camera?" She opened her dresser drawer but was rudely interrupted by a pillow smacking across her backside, knocking her off balance. "Oof!"

 

"You're right. Priceless." Vegeta grabbed his shrieking mate about the waist and tossed her on the bed before barraging her with a pillow in each hand. "And fun."

 

"Stop!" Bulma squealed, laughing so hard she was nearly crying. "You're gonna ruin my pillows!"

 

"Oh, it wasn't ruining them when you hit me on the head with one," Vegeta retorted, tossing the pillows aside. He climbed onto the bed, on his hands and knees over her. "You need to be punished for your insolence, Woman."

 

Bulma shivered. "What do you suggest?" she purred, stretching beneath him.

 

He growled. The blasted woman knew that aroused him. "I don't know," he purred in return. His lips turned up in a naughty smirk. "Maybe... a good night's sleep."

 

Bulma's face fell. That was not quite what she had expected him to say. "What?"

 

"Our son, his mate and their brat are two doors down and I already told them to go to bed. I'll screw you in the morning." Vegeta smirked at his mate and kicked off his jeans before sliding under the covers.

 

Now the look on Bulma's face was priceless. "I don't think so," she told him, grabbing a new pillow.

 

***

 

"Ganpa!"

 

Vegeta looked over his shoulder down at the boy toddling behind him. After some explanation from his parents, the child now understood who he and Bulma were, as well as 'baby Vegeta' being their little boy and Dr. and Mrs. Briefs being Bulma's mommy and daddy. Thus began yet another name in reference to him: Grandpa. "What is it, Boy?"

 

"Hi!" The child beamed brightly.

 

"Hi." Vegeta wasn't sure what else to say, especially considering that the boy had taken to following him around everywhere, seemingly fascinated by him. He had currently been following him for the past couple of hours. "What do you want?"

 

"Veeta hungee, Ganpa!"

 

While Vegeta had some difficulty understanding everything that the child said at times, this statement was clear as day. "You're hungry?"

 

"Uh-huh." The boy nodded.

 

Vegeta held back a sigh. ~What do I feed a 'toddler'? No one said the boy would want to eat.~ The old people were shopping, Anya and Geta had gone out on a 'date', as they called it, and Bulma had taken their son to a physician for infants for an examination. Why that was necessary was beyond him- after all, the child was Saiyan and in perfect health- but the woman had insisted that it was required. He, on the other hand, had somehow gotten roped into watching his grandson. Oddly enough, he wasn't entirely bothered by his current commission. "What do you want?" he repeated, unsure of how to handle the situation.

 

"Cookie!" the boy exclaimed. "Wanna yummy!"

 

Now, this request he knew the answer to. "You cannot have just a cookie," Vegeta informed the boy. "I already got screeched at for that, thank you very much." He suppressed a shudder at the memory of two irritable females informing him that he couldn't give the boy nothing but cookies for lunch just because he asked for them, they didn't have any nutritional value, the child would get hyper, or maybe even sick, blah blah blah. One lecture was entirely more than sufficient.

 

The boy sat down heavily on the floor with a loud huff and began to pout, his arms crossed stubbornly.

 

"Well, don't look at me," Vegeta informed him. "If it was up to me, I'd just give you a beer and some chips."

 

"Huh?"

 

Vegeta snorted in amusement and picked his grandson up. "All right, Kid," he began, remembering the additional fuss the boy's mother had made the other day when Vegeta had used the word 'brat', "let's find something tasty to eat, hmm?"

 

"Yeah!" the boy agreed.

 

Vegeta carried his grandson into the kitchen and strapped him into his high chair. "Wait here, Child," he instructed, rummaging through the refrigerator in search of something suitable for a brat this age to eat.

 

"Gotta get yummy, Ganpa!" the boy called over to his grandfather.

 

"I'm looking, okay?" came the disgruntled reply. "Your mother and grandmother filled this thing with nothing but healthy sh-" Vegeta peered over at the boy listening to him intently and decided to revise his choice of verbiage. "Stuff."

 

"Oh..." The boy sighed impatiently.

 

"Tell me about it," Vegeta groused. Finding no other child-friendly alternative that he wanted to be bothered with, he pulled out some bread and jam and tossed them onto the counter, followed by peanut butter. "Ugh! I hate peanut butter."

 

Little Vegeta licked his lips. He liked peanut butter. "Mmm, yummy!"

 

"Good, because that's what you're getting." Vegeta quickly made the sandwich and set it down in front of the boy, along with some juice. "Here."

 

The child looked at the sandwich and frowned. "Icky!"

 

Vegeta nearly reeled at the boy's declaration. "You just said it was yummy!"

 

The boy turned his face away from the sandwich. "Icky!"

 

Vegeta snorted. "That's all you're getting, Boy, so you may as well eat it."

 

"Don' wanna!" the child wailed piteously.

 

"Why not?"

 

"Is icky!"

 

"Why is it icky?" Vegeta was doing a remarkable job of not becoming angry at the child.

 

"Acause."

 

Vegeta felt relief rush over him when the kitchen door opened and Anya and Geta strolled in.

 

"Hi Pops! Hi baby boy!" Anya greeted them, dropping her purse on the counter.

 

"Hi Mama!" little Vegeta squealed.

 

"Hey, what have you got there, big guy?" Geta asked. "Did Grandpa make you a sandwich?"

 

"Uh-huh." The boy nodded vigorously. "Is icky," he added solemnly.

 

Vegeta was about to finally lose his cool when Geta picked up the knife he'd used on the sandwich and trimmed off the crusts, then cut up the remaining sandwich into little fingers.

 

"There you go, Champ." Geta almost popped the crusts into his own mouth until he realized that the sandwich was peanut butter. It was a shame he was allergic to peanuts; he too loved peanut butter. Besides, waste not, want not. He'd learned that lesson well.

 

"Fank you!" The little boy ate his sandwich, his legs swinging contentedly. "Yummy!"

 

"Un-friggin' believable," Vegeta grumbled, shaking his head. "You're a picky little kid, you know that?" He didn't know how a kid who'd so often had little to eat could be so picky. The child probably had no concept of the fact that his father had frequently gone without just so he and his mother had something to eat.

 

Anya giggled at her father-in-law's reaction. "He hates the crusts. It wasn't the sandwich that was icky, just the crusts."

 

"Hmph." Vegeta crossed his arms and watched the boy eat.

 

"Oh, Pops! We went to this Mexican place that was just excellent," Anya exclaimed. "You should take Bulma there sometime."

 

"It was deee-lish," Geta agreed. "Good refried beans, and really good salsa. Mother is a huge fan of both."

 

A red flag raced up in Vegeta's brain at the word beans. The woman had made fun of him the last time he'd eaten the foul little legumes, and he'd be damned if he ate any bean again, unless it was a senzu bean, that is. "I hate beans."

 

"That's a shame, because they were quite good." Anya tore a paper towel off of the roll by the sink and wet it.

 

"No! No wipe, Mama-"

 

The child's pleas were in vain as Anya began to wipe her sticky son clean. "I swear, you get more food on you than in you, Vegeta," she murmured.

 

The boy began to whine.

 

"Oh, hush now. You aren't melting." Anya noted that her son had stopped whimpering and followed his irritated scowl. Vegeta was smirking at the scene before him, obviously amused. "Pops, you're just being mean. How would you like it if you were strapped into a chair and I was wiping you clean?"

 

Vegeta's smirk widened. "Let your mother-in-law do it and I'd like it just fine." Bulma had recently introduced him to some new types of 'toys'. He hadn't thought he'd ever go for being restrained, but the little temptress had made him decide otherwise.

 

Anya blushed. "Pops!"

 

The door opened again and Bulma entered, VJ in her arms. "Hi everyone!" Her eyebrow rose; Anya was a rather lovely shade of pink. "Did I miss something here?"

 

"Oh nothing, except for the fact that Pops has a dirty mind," Anya responded matter-of-factly.

 

"What's your point?" Bulma winked at her mate and held out their son. "Here, take him so I can get something to eat."

 

Vegeta grunted and leaned back against the counter. "What makes you think I'm not hungry?"

 

"Oh, you were going to make us something? How sweet," Bulma purred, knowing that wasn't his intention in the slightest.

 

Vegeta scowled at her and grabbed the child from her arms. "What am I, these infants' nanny?" he complained.

 

"No, you Ganpa," little Vegeta reminded him. The little boy giggled as the adults in the room laughed.

 

Even Vegeta's lips curled up a little. "Sure, Kid. Now tell Grandma that she needs to get Grandpa some food."

 

"Cookie!" the boy squealed. "Wanna cookie!"

 

"You just had a yummy sandwich, little mister," Geta told his son. "If you're good for the rest of the day, you can have one after dinner."

 

"Okay," the boy agreed reluctantly.

 

Bulma chuckled. "Did you two eat while you were out or did you want a snack too?" she asked, pulling some leftover chicken from the refrigerator.

 

"We had Mexican," Anya responded. "It was really good."

 

"Where did you go?" Bulma began to make sandwiches.

 

"Some place called Pedro's," Geta told her. "It was voted number one in the metropolitan Western Capital area on the Internet, and Gramps said it was good."

 

Bulma nodded as she licked some mayonnaise from her fingers. "Vote for Pedro!" She giggled but her joke was short-lived when all she got was a room full of blank stares; evidently they hadn't seen that particular movie. "Their chimichangas are awesome, and their beans are the best around." She paused when Anya began to giggle. "What?"

 

"I hate beans," Geta said in his best Vegeta imitation, shooting a look his father's way.

 

"Ahhh..." Bulma smiled, remembering the soup her mother had made.

 

Vegeta gave her a look that clearly meant Keep Your Mouth Shut Woman. "Is my food ready yet?"

 

"Yes, here you go." Bulma pushed a plate with two sandwiches on it toward him.

 

Vegeta leaned forward to grab the plate and paused when VJ whimpered. "What is the matter with you?"

 

"Oh, he had some immunizations at the doctor's office, so his leg is a little sore," Bulma responded. "He'll be fine."

 

"Immunizations?" Vegeta frowned. "Whatever for?" What were these human doctors injecting into his son?

 

"Oh, you know. Basic childhood illnesses. I wrote them down so I could record it in his baby book." Bulma grabbed her purse to find the paper. "Let's see here..."

 

"No more shots," Vegeta told her sternly.

 

Bulma looked up from her purse, surprised to see that he actually looked distressed. "Vegeta, it's just precautionary. All children get shots, starting when they're babies. They have to before they can even go to school."

 

Vegeta shook his head. "My son will not receive any more of these immunizations," he repeated stubbornly. "I forbid it."

 

It was obvious that something about the very thought of their baby receiving immunizations was disturbing to him. He probably didn't even realize how protectively he held the child. "Okay, we'll talk about this later," Bulma told him quietly. "For now, I'll take him so you can eat your snack."

 

"The boy is fine," Vegeta informed her, not making any effort to relinquish his hold on his son.

 

"All right, no problem." Bulma couldn't help but wonder what it was bothering her mate.

 

The door opened for the third time, breaking the awkward silence in the room. "Hello, everyone!" Mrs. Briefs sang cheerily. "You won't believe what a beautiful ham I found to cook for dinner."

 

"Would you like some help with dinner, Bunny?" Anya offered.

 

"Oh, but that would be wonderful, Dear," Mrs. Briefs accepted gratefully. "We'll have salad and rolls, and sweet potato casserole, baked beans, and apple pie." She giggled when she heard Vegeta's stomach growl. "Does that sound good to you, Vegeta?"

 

~Baked beans. Damn!~ "It sounds just fine," he responded, resigned that he would either have to eat the beans or have everyone wonder why he didn't 'like' them. There hadn't been anything yet that he'd said he hadn't liked. "I'm going to train before dinner." He gave VJ to Mrs. Briefs, grabbed the remainder of his snack, and left.

 

Mrs. Briefs frowned. "Is something wrong?"

 

Bulma shrugged. "I took VJ to get his latest shots, and when Vegeta found out about it, for some reason he got upset."

 

"Think about it, Pumpkin," Dr. Briefs spoke up. "Who knows what odd things he went through as a child?"

 

"But... But, he's not afraid of needles," Bulma stammered.

 

"Just have a little talk with him later, Dear," Mrs. Briefs suggested. "I'm sure your father is probably right."

 

Bulma nodded. "Okay, I'll talk to him later, when he's not so upset."

 

***

 

~Stupid physicians, injecting my son with whatever drugs they have concocted to prevent illness in human infants.~ Vegeta growled, firing another ki blast at the bot targeting him at his left. ~It's probably the reason why Geta has so many human ailments, because of all of these poisons he was given as a brat.~

 

The bot circled around him, and another one took its place, firing at Vegeta as it determined that his attention had been adequately averted.

 

"Damn it!" Vegeta cursed as the bot's laser singed his shoulder, irritated at himself for falling for such an obvious trick. He was distracted, both by his son and by the boy's mother. Why would she have subjected her own offspring to such treatment? He knew why- it was because she cared for the boy's well-being and had deemed it to be in his best interest. "She could have at least consulted me first," he muttered, leaping backward to avoid a shot from a third bot. He sighed. He was horribly distracted and deriving absolutely no benefit out of this training session. Thoughts of not only his son's situation but especially of the boy's mother permeated his mind. He'd almost received a laser between the eyes earlier when thoughts of her voluptuous body and pouty lips had invaded his thoughts. He needed to be harder on himself. "Computer, increase gravity level by an additional 150 G."

 

Warning: gravitational overload probable at requested level the computerized voice responded.

 

"Computer, adjust the gravity level to-" Vegeta stopped mid-command as his keen ears detected a buzzing noise that he was quite familiar with- the sound the bots made when generating ki energy from their reserves rather than using laser beams. He looked up, his eyes widening. A fourth bot loomed overhead. Having calculated that laser beams had proven ineffective against its living foe, this bot had decided to kick its attack up a notch. How had it gotten so close without him noticing?

 

The bot fired at close range, forcing Vegeta to quickly counter-fire with a ki blast of its own.

 

Warning: pod energy levels now exceed-

 

***

 

"Bulma! You simply must try these pastries your father and I bought today," Mrs. Briefs said excitedly. "They're absolutely delicious." She set the box from the bakery on the kitchen table.

 

"Okay, thanks..." Bulma ignored the pastries and got up from the table to peer through the kitchen window. Something niggled at the back of her mind. Something just wasn't right. She frowned.

 

"Pumpkin, are you all right?" Dr. Briefs asked, concern coloring his voice. His daughter was severely distracted, and she absently scratched at the side of her neck. "Bulma?"

 

***

 

"No sleepies, Mama."

 

Anya chuckled when her son was unable to contain a yawn and laid him on the bed. "Yes, you are. Now, take a nap for a little while, okay?"

 

Before either of them could say anything else, the house shook violently, almost sending her to the floor. "Geta!" Anya screamed, terrified. She couldn't help it; it was too similar to situations they'd experienced while running from the androids.

 

"Coming! I'm coming!" The door of the private bathroom opened, Geta nearly stumbling over his pant legs in his haste to get out. "What the hell was that?" he exclaimed as he hurriedly finished pulling on his jeans.

 

"Language! I don't know!" Anya responded, sitting down on the bed and scooping up their now wailing son. "Shh, it's okay, baby boy..." She looked up to her husband, her green eyes shining with tears.

 

"I'll see what I can find out. Stay here for now, okay?" Geta placed two fingers to his forehead and disappeared.

 

***

 

"Bulma?"

 

Bulma leaned closer to the window. "Vegeta," she whispered.

 

It was at that moment that the GR exploded, shaking the facilities and shattering nearby windows. Bulma screamed as she was thrown back, not even feeling the shards of glass from the window embedding themselves into her flesh. "Oh Kami! Vegeta!" she screamed, hauling herself up from the floor. "No no no, Vegeta!" She flung open the kitchen door and ran outside, not bothering to put on her shoes.

 

"Bulma, wait!" Dr. Briefs called after her, knowing she would only hurt herself, but she paid him no heed. He picked up the phone and was about to dial when Geta appeared beside him. "Geta, thank goodness!"

 

Geta was staring out the still open door, his eyes wide from shock. "Oh, no... Father!" He flew after his mother.

 

Tears streamed down Bulma's face as she hefted a piece of hot metal from the remains of the GR and dragged it aside. "Vegeta," she whimpered. "Please be all right."

 

"Mother, wait! You'll only hurt yourself," Geta exclaimed as he reached the GR, astonished by the sight of his petite and delicate mother moving objects much heavier than she'd normally be able to lift in her attempts to reach his father. ~Amazing what adrenaline and love can help you do.~

 

"H-he's buried in the rubble," Bulma sobbed. "Help me get him out!"

 

Geta winced when he saw the cuts and burns on her hands- the bottoms of her bare feet couldn't be faring much better- as well as random shards of glass embedded in her face and arms. "Mother, please step back and let me get him out, okay?"

 

Bulma was about to reply when one of Vegeta's hands broke through the rubble. She shrieked in startlement and fell backwards, only to be caught by her son. "Geta, he's all right! I just knew that he was all right."

 

Geta nodded and set her aright on her feet. "Mother, why don't you go prep the regeneration tank for me-"

 

"No," Bulma interrupted stubbornly. "I'm not leaving without him."

 

Geta suppressed a sigh. "All right, Mother. Just stay back please." He hauled a few more larger pieces away and took hold of Vegeta's arm in an effort to pull him upright.

 

"I... I don't need... any help," Vegeta rasped. He stood up under his own power but fell again when one of his legs gave way.

 

"Come on, let's get the two of you cleaned up." Geta picked up his unconscious father. "Put your hand on my arm, Mother." With a little bit of shifting, he was able to touch his fingers to his forehead again.

 

***

 

"Ganpa sickies?"

 

Geta nodded, struggling to remain unaffected by the tears in his son's eyes. It was obvious that the boy had already become quite fond of his grandfather. "Grandpa had an accident in the GR, but a machine Grandma and Gramps built is helping him get better. He'll be fine, okay?"

 

Vegeta looked over to Dr. Briefs, who smiled and nodded to the boy. "Your Grandpa is sleeping right now. When he feels better, he'll wake up." It was difficult being so nonchalant; Vegeta would almost certainly have died if they had not devoted the past week to perfecting the tank and the miraculous fluid which even now was healing him. It had even proved effective with use by humans, and had healed a pretty bad chemical burn one of the technicians had sustained in the lab.

 

Little Vegeta sniffled. "Okay," he conceded. "Where Gamma?"

 

"She had some owies too, so she's resting," Anya provided. They had removed the glass which had struck Bulma and had cleaned up her hands and feet, after which they'd wrapped her hands and feet in bandages soaked with regeneration fluid. The worst of her other wounds had received the same treatment.

 

"Oh." The boy digested this. "Baby okay?"

 

Anya smiled, pleased that her son had thought of his little sort-of uncle. "Yes, baby Vegeta was just scared, that's all. Gram has him."

 

"Okay." The boy sighed and snuggled down against his mother, his thumb in his mouth.

 

Mrs. Briefs came into the kitchen. "I managed to get VJ to go down, and the sedative you gave Bulma finally took effect." She collapsed into a chair at the table and wiped at her eyes with a tissue. "What a horrible thing to happen."

 

Geta rubbed his grandmother's shoulders gently. "It'll be all right, Gram. Father's vitals stabilized as soon as we got him into the tank, and it appears that little surface cuts are already healing nicely. It'll just take time, that's all."

 

Mrs. Briefs nodded and sniffled. "He's such a dear man, your father, and he seemed so upset before he left." She looked up to her husband. "You don't think he did something foolish because he was upset, do you? Why would he bring harm to himself and ruin his training room because VJ got some shots?"

 

"I doubt that was the case," Dr. Briefs assured her. "Don't worry, I'll discuss this with him in depth once he's healthy. I don't want something like this happening again." He ran a hand over his face.

 

The room was quiet for a moment. "Now what?" Anya asked quietly.

 

"No offense, Gram, but I'm not really hungry any more," Geta murmured. "It smells delicious, though."

 

Mrs. Briefs nodded. "That's all right, Dear. I'll just put it in the refrigerator and we'll eat it later." She dabbed at her eyes again.

 

***

 

Dr. Briefs tossed down his science journal. He just couldn't concentrate on it. His daughter's scream of anguish kept echoing through his mind. He'd checked on both her and Vegeta, and both of them seemed to be healing nicely. He just couldn't focus on anything. He looked over to his wife, who had worried herself into exhaustion and fallen asleep on the couch beside him.

 

Geta sat on the loveseat, his arm around Anya and their son asleep on their laps. He caught his grandfather's eye and made himself smile reassuringly. "Mother is awake."

 

"Oh. I should go check on her," Dr. Briefs mused.

 

Geta paused, then sighed. "Don't bother. Her ki is headed this way." He paused again. "Or, it was, anyway."

 

"I guess we don't need to ask where she's going," Anya commented.

 

"Nope. Straight to the medical lab."

 

"I'll go talk to her." Dr. Briefs got up, careful not to disturb his sleeping wife.

 

***

 

"You're awake."

 

Bulma turned to face her father. "Hey," she greeted him in a shaky voice. It wasn't difficult to know what was on her mind.

 

"Bulma, you shouldn't be up," Dr. Briefs chastised gently. "You need to rest."

 

"Most of my wounds are healed," Bulma objected. "I- I just wanted to see if he was okay." She turned back to the tank that held her mate and gazed inside, her fingertips resting on the glass.

 

Dr. Briefs laid a hand upon her shoulder. "I expect he'll make a full recovery, Bulma. Look, his surface cuts and bruises are all but healed even after only a few hours, and I set the broken bone in his leg." He chuckled. "He's a stubborn one, that boy." He patted Bulma's shoulder consolingly when she began to cry. "Don't cry, Pumpkin. He'll be just fine."

 

"I know." Bulma wiped at her face with the back of her hand. "I just..."

 

"No need to explain. You love him, and you're concerned for him." Dr. Briefs had previously had some serious doubts about his daughter's relationship with the brooding Saiyan, but the more he saw of them together, as well as of Vegeta's gradually increasing interest in his son, the more comfortable he felt about it. Vegeta might not say so, but it was evident by some of the things he said and did that he cared about Bulma and their son.

 

Bulma gave him a shaky little smile. "I love him so much, Daddy. Even when he's cranky." A little giggle escaped.

 

The doctor patted her shoulder again. "I'm glad you're feeling a little better, Pumpkin. Why don't you come sit with us for a while? Everyone is worried about you."

 

Bulma shook her head. "No, I want to stay with Vegeta," she insisted. "Just bring VJ here when he wakes up and I'll feed him."

 

"Are you sure?" Dr. Briefs asked hesitantly. "It won't be today. He probably won't wake up until sometime tomorrow morning. Maybe you should get something to eat and some sleep."

 

"No, I want to stay here," Bulma objected stubbornly. "I can set up a cot if I want to sleep."

 

There was no arguing with Bulma when she got an idea in her head. "Very well," Dr. Briefs relented. "Let me know if you need anything."

 

"Thanks, Daddy." Bulma stood up to hug her father and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

 

***

 

Vegeta opened his eyes, momentarily disoriented by the mask over his mouth and nose and the murky blue fluid surrounding him. ~I'm in the woman's regeneration tank!~ He looked around the lab, his eyes settling on the chair nearby where Bulma was asleep. Had she sat there all night?

 

He tested his leg and, finding it completely healed, decided that it was time to get out of the tank. He tapped on the glass.

 

Bulma shifted on the chair but stayed asleep.

 

:Woman, wake up.: Vegeta tapped on the glass again. He would have to ask Bulma about incorporating a release that would let him out from the inside. :Bulma!:

 

Bulma drew in a deep breath as she woke and opened her eyes. Vegeta was awake and staring intently at her, his hands resting on the glass. "Vegeta!" she exclaimed, jumping up from the chair. Her eyes teared up; he was awake and looked infinitely better than he had the day before. "You're awake! How do you feel?"

 

:I'm fine, Woman. Now stop crying and let me out of here.: Vegeta's mental voice didn't sound angry or irritated by her tears, but actually somewhat soothing.

 

:Your leg is healed?: Bulma pressed a button to drain the healing fluid from the tank.

 

:It appears to be. There is no pain.:

 

:That's great, Veg.: Bulma fidgeted and tapped her foot impatiently. "C'mon, hurry up," she grumbled.

 

Vegeta was watching her with amusement. :Can't wait to get some hot stuff, hmm?:

 

Bulma eyed him irritably. :Someone's a little full of himself. And don't say what I know you're thinking.: She waved her finger at him in warning.

 

Vegeta smirked at her. Damn, but she was hot when she got mad!

 

Finally the fluid finished draining and she opened the tank. "Okay, let's get all of this stuff off of you," she told him, taking the mask, which he'd already removed, from him before starting on the electrodes monitoring his vitals.

 

"Why are your hands shaking?" Vegeta asked.

 

He was right; her hands were indeed shaking. "Vegeta, you could have died if we hadn't had this tank. I love you. The thought of losing you is painful to me."

 

"Hmph." The grunt he let out didn't sound irritated or sarcastic, but thoughtful.

 

Bulma piled the wires onto a nearby workstation. "Vegeta, how can you be so apathetic about this? I pour my heart out to you and you shrug it off?"

 

Vegeta sighed. "Woman..."

 

"And what's more, you could have blown up the house!" Bulma continued. "Then what?"

 

Her statement made him think; what would he have done? How would he have felt? His entire family had been inside that house.

 

Wait. What the hell had he just thought?

 

The sudden realization of how he'd labeled everyone in the house- and what that translated into what they meant to him- startled him. "Well, I didn't blow up your damn house," Vegeta retorted angrily, irritated at himself and his weak emotional ties to these humans. "Never fear, your precious belongings are safe."

 

"Vegeta, that's not what I meant!" Bulma exclaimed, reaching for him as he turned away. "Please, let's just start over." Knowing that there was no force that could turn him back around unless he wanted to be moved, she stepped around him to face him. "I'm sorry that what I said didn't come out the way I wanted it to. Please look at me," she pleaded, taking his hands. "Vegeta..."

 

"What?" he growled irritably.

 

Her eyes filled with tears. "I love you. I'm so happy that you're healed, and that I had a part in building this machine that helped make it possible."

 

Vegeta looked down at her when he heard her sniffle. "I told you to stop crying." His voice was gruff but he reached up to smooth a tear away from her cheek. "You are not a weak woman. Quit behaving in such a weak fashion."

 

Bulma's face fell. "There's nothing weak about caring about people who are important to you, Vegeta. I wish I could help you to see that." She reached up to cup his cheek. "I'm glad you're better. Let's get you a shower and something to eat."

 

"Whatever." Vegeta turned on his heel and headed for the nearby bathroom.

 

Bulma bit her lip. Why was he being so cold to her? "I'll get you some clean clothes," she murmured.

 

"No." Vegeta's voice was stern. "Come here."

 

Bulma found herself a little confused but did as he asked. "What is it?"

 

Vegeta turned on the shower as she approached.

 

"Vegeta? Oh!" Bulma suddenly found herself up against the wall, the Saiyan prince's hands on either side of her and his lips on her neck.

 

"Shut up and get those damn clothes off," he growled against her neck. "Show me what you meant when you said you love me."

 

Rather than become offended by his demand, Bulma indulged him, realizing that whatever was bothering him went far deeper than she'd thought. "Slow down, Lover," she whispered, wrapping her arms around his waist, "and I'll show you."

 

***

 

Bulma laid on Vegeta's chest, listening to his heart beating. "Vegeta?" Her fingers ran lazily over his skin.

 

"Hn?" Vegeta shivered slightly and grabbed her hand. She'd done that on purpose, the little wench; he'd felt her lips turn up in a smile at his reaction.

 

"Can you tell me what happened? I want to be sure that it doesn't happen again." She kissed his chest and curled up closer against him.

 

Vegeta knew she was fishing for more than just technical details but stuck to those for the time being. "I put the gravity up to the maximum level," he began. "The computer warned me that the energy level was too high, but before I could readjust it, a bot moved in without my notice and fired a ki shot at me from close range. I was forced to return fire, and the next thing I remember was hearing you trying to dig me out." He realized that he'd been stroking her hair and stopped, placing his hand on the bed.

 

~He didn't notice the bot? He must have been really distracted.~ "But, what happened? Did something distract you?"

 

Vegeta inhaled deeply. There was no way he'd admit to her that thoughts of not only the boy but especially of Bulma herself had indeed distracted him. "I was thinking about the boy," he murmured. "It occurred to me that perhaps Geta has the ailments he does because of the shots he received as a brat. His constitution is not the same as a human brat's. While it may be beneficial for human brats to receive such treatments, it may not be appropriate medicine for Saiyan brats." He shifted against his pillow. "Trust me."

 

Bulma lifted herself onto one elbow to look at him, her eyes wide and face pale. "Oh... Oh Vegeta, you don't think..." Had she truly harmed her son by giving him immunizations meant for humans? "Did I...?"

 

Vegeta shrugged. "I don't know, Woman. But I do know that Frieza beating the insolence out of me on a regular basis is not the sole reason that I did not attain my full height." This he said with embarrassment in his voice. "Both of my parents were tall, statuesque individuals. Consequently, I should be at least as tall as our son is."

 

Tears trickled down Bulma's cheeks. "Good Kami, Vegeta. Are you saying...?"

 

Vegeta frowned. "I only mentioned it because of the boy's welfare," he informed her. "I do not wish to discuss the subject further." He didn't feel like talking about how Frieza would starve him for days on end then feed him tainted food, or force injections on him. This was done simply to see what would happen or in attempts to control him and further mold him into the psychotic butcher he'd become. If something bad happened to the prince it would be no big deal. He was expendable, and there were plenty of other soldiers more than ready to take his spot. The only thing that Frieza would lose would be his favorite playtoy. How had the disgusting lizard himself always put it? Deliciously fun.

 

Bulma couldn't help but wonder what was going through her mate's mind, especially when he was unable to fully suppress a shudder, but kept her mouth shut on the subject. "I'm sorry, Sweetheart. For what happened to you, and for not mentioning the treatments for our son." She wiped at her cheeks with the back of her hand. "I'll look into whatever VJ was given, and make sure he doesn't get anything that would harm him." She sniffled miserably. "Oh, I hope I haven't hurt our baby."

 

Vegeta sat up to look at her. "Bulma, stop crying. I'm sure the boy will be fine."

 

"Okay." Bulma nodded and reached up to cup his cheek.

 

The woman was respecting his wishes and not discussing what he had brought up, but Vegeta could see the sorrow in her eyes. He sighed. "Nothing Frieza did can be reversed, so there is no point in dwelling on the past," he told her in a low voice. He took her hand and held it in his own. "I do not want you to be needlessly troubled about something that cannot be changed."

 

Bulma knew that Vegeta's pride had taken a blow by telling her what he had, so she merely shifted on the bed to curl up against him. "All right," she whispered, although she couldn't help but worry. He had so many deep dark secrets, and if she was to hear anything else of his past she knew she couldn't pry it out of him. She would simply have to wait for him to open up to her again.

 

The medical lab was quiet for a moment until his stomach growled noisily. Bulma giggled. "Let's get you something to eat."

 

***

 

"Can I get you anything else, Dear? You poor hungry man." Mrs. Briefs placed some more ham and sweet potatoes onto Vegeta's plate.

 

He nodded and indicated his glass, his mouth still full.

 

"Oh my, I forgot. I'm sorry, Dear." Mrs. Briefs hurried to pour him some iced tea. "Would you like me to make some coffee?"

 

Vegeta's eyes fell upon his mate, who sat across from him at the table. Her half-eaten slice of pie sat on the table; she was so bothered by what their discussion that she had not finished. "That would be wonderful, and I'm sure Bulma would like some too. Thank you," he responded politely.

 

"You're so welcome, Dear. I'll make a fresh pot right away." Mrs. Briefs bustled away, humming happily to herself. Such a lovely young man he was!

 

Vegeta was pleased by himself. His tactic had worked, leaving Bulma to all but gape at him in astonishment. "What's the matter with you, Woman? Desist in staring at me and eat your food."

 

A slow smile spread over Bulma's face. "You bastard," she muttered. He'd done it on purpose, to distract her. She stood up from her seat and brought her pie to the other side of the table, then wedged herself between him and the table.

 

"What are you doing?" he demanded irritably. "I am trying to eat here, you insane woman!"

 

Bulma perched herself upon his lap. "I know." She took another bite of pie and snuggled up against his shoulder.

 

He shrugged against her, but she refused to move. "You really are crazy."

 

"Mmm-hmm. Your fault." Bulma snaked her arm around him and kissed his neck, letting her tongue flick out to lick his bite scar. She giggled when he jumped. Oh- that reminded her. She'd noticed just the other day that Anya and Geta suddenly sported marks of their own, and she wanted to talk to Anya about her feelings on it.

 

Her thoughts were interrupted when Vegeta grabbed her and kissed her soundly, a low growl rumbling in his throat. The damn woman always knew how to work him up.

 

Mrs. Briefs came back into the kitchen to get the coffee, having left while it was brewing. "Oh! Oh, my," she murmured, a giggle escaping her lips. It was so nice to see that Vegeta was feeling better. He was such a lovely young man. She left the kitchen, not wanting to interrupt them.

 

Ah, yes... the way things were going, they would be such beautiful grandchildren. She was sure of it.

 

***

 

:Okay... do you have a fix on me?:

 

There was a pause. :All right, I found you again.:

 

:And you remember how I explained it works?:

 

:Yes...:

 

:Well then, try it again. Come on over here, sweet thing.:

 

:I'll try.: She bit her lip, concentrating on his ki.

 

Geta grinned. His wife's forehead was wrinkled in concentration and her eyes were shut tight. "Open your eyes, Baby." He laid a hand on her shoulder.

 

"Oh!" Anya exclaimed, jumping at his touch. Her eyes flew open. She was no longer alone in the yard at Capsule Corp.

 

She was standing in the middle of the desert, alongside her husband.

 

Geta beamed proudly. "Hey there, Sweetheart."

 

"I did it! I really did it!" Anya exclaimed. She leapt up to throw her arms around his neck and commenced jumping up and down in her excitement.

 

"Yes you did, and I'm very proud of you," Geta commended his wife. He drew her into a hug. "See? You were just trying too hard, that's all."

 

She leaned into his gentle embrace. "This is as cool as when I made my first ki ball!"

 

Geta chuckled at the recollection. "At least you didn't blow anything up this time," he teased good naturedly.

 

"Hmph." Anya pretended to pout, but was forced to giggle at the memory herself.

 

"You sound just like Father. Well, minus the giggle, anyway," Geta added the last statement thoughtfully.

 

Anya pulled away to look at him. "Yes, and I told you he liked me," she bragged. "I've been here what, two weeks? And it hardly took any time for him to warm up to me."

 

Geta smiled at his exuberant wife. "What's not to like?" he asked in a husky voice. His tail wrapped around her waist, drawing her close again.

 

She sighed in contentment, watching as the sun began its journey beneath the horizon to usher in the night. "I love you, Geta," she whispered.

 

He placed a kiss on top of her head. "I love you too, Anya," he whispered back.