No Regrets [A DBZ Fanfiction]

Chapter 15 - Fatherhood

Bulma received a warm welcome from her parents when she finally reached Capsule Corp. late in the evening. Her parents were relieved to have her home but still admonished her for her lack of consideration and responsibility. She just lied to them, explaining that the maintaining the Gravity Room had become too much and she needed a break from it. She promised them that she wouldn't do anything similar ever again if she ever got too stressed out at the job. But even as Bulma made her promises, she really didn't take her parents too seriously, she was an only child and very spoiled. She knew if her parents were upset with her, it wouldn't last for very long.

However, she was worried about Vegeta and how he would take her pregnancy. Her entire ride home she went over several scenarios of how she was going to break it to him. She didn't know what to expect from him. Aside from that one morning when their baby was created, she hadn't really seen any true emotion from him. She could only hope for the best.

She lugged her heavy duffle bag upstairs to her floor with a grunt. She wanted to pack light but for a girl with her fashion sense, it was impossible. She reached the top step, but her duffle bag sagged on the second last step of the stairs.

"Darn you, duffle bag!" Bulma muttered as she bent over to pick it off the step. With all her energy she yanked the bag off the step, which caused it to fly over her head. Since her hands were tangled in the shoulder straps of the bag, the momentum of the swift movement caused Bulma to involuntarily fall into Vegeta.

"Woman! Watch where you are going and where you are aiming that thing!" Vegeta scolded as he caught Bulma in his arms. Bulma dropped her duffle bag on the floor and turned around ready to argue, only to start blushing. Vegeta only had towel wrapped about his hips and there were droplets of water that glistened in his tall hair. He had just showered and was walking back to his room from the bathroom. He looked so virile standing there in towel with a crossed look etched on his distinct features.

"Sorry, sometimes I don't even know my own strength," Bulma quipped and Vegeta smirked at her remark. Bulma interpreted Vegeta's smirk that he was in a good mood. She knew that Vegeta seldom was in good moods, so seized her opportunity to inform him about their future child.

"Vegeta, I have something important to tell you," Bulma started.

"That you're going hire better nincompoops for my Gravity Chamber?" Vegeta asked.

"I hired the best and brightest scientists to maintain your Chamber, you ungrateful wretch!" Bulma responded hotly. Vegeta smiled genuinely at Bulma's heated reaction.

"You clearly do not know how to hire minions. On their good days, these worthless scientists are worse than you during your bad days!" Vegeta responded.

"Well…" Bulma replied, unsure if Vegeta paid her compliment or insult. "I'm back to work now. I'll be taking over the maintenance. So you won't have to worry about them anymore."

"If that is all, I was making my way to my room to get some much needed rest before you assaulted me with your long bag," Vegeta stated.

"No!" Bulma cried, grabbing his arm. Vegeta glared at her like she had just admitted that she enjoyed musical styling's of William Hung.

"No, that is not all," Bulma said as she let go of his arm and straightened up.

"Get on with it, woman. I've had a busy day and I really need my rest." Vegeta rebuked, his voice taking on gruffness from his exhaustion. Bulma gulped nervously as she thought about she how she should string together her next sentence. Vegeta watched her jumpiness with interest.

"Vegeta, I don't know how to tell you this. But you and I are having a baby." Bulma finally stated.

"I know you're pregnant with my child, woman." Vegeta simply said.

"What? How could you have known?" Bulma asked in wonder.

"I can feel the child's ki, you senseless woman." Vegeta explained. Bulma then remembered how Goku was able to find her so easily.

"Well, I expect you to help me raise this child, since you helped me make it," Bulma declared.

"Woman, I have enough on my plate. I cannot waste any time in rearing a child, which is woman's work either way," Vegeta retorted, indefinitely closing the book of his parental duties to their child. Bulma stared at his emotionless face and could feel her anger simmering up. Who did this monkey think he was to talk her like that?

"What's your deal Vegeta? Was your dad a lousy parent, so that's all you know how to be?" Bulma yelled.

"Woman, don't talk of things you know nothing of!" Vegeta replied, emotion thick in his voice.

"This is your baby too!" Bulma shouted grabbing his palm and placing it on her belly. Vegeta felt his child's ki steady under his fingertips. The feeling his child's ki threading through his palm brought him back in time, to an almost simpler time in his life.

The memory of him as a young child placing his small hand eagerly over his mother's womb raced through his mind. Despite the captivity and indentured servitude of Planet Vegeta-sei under the Freiza regime, the young Vegeta managed to find some excitement in being an older brother. But his father had to ruin it all.

King Vegeta, his proud saiyanjin father who had to grovel to the likes of Freiza. Although his father was underneath Freiza, he still maintained his dignity. Vegeta admired his father for most his boyhood life, until his younger brother Tarble was born. Since Tarble didn't show half the potential that Vegeta had as a baby, his father sent the young saiyan away, since he was embarrassed at his low ranking son. As a young boy Vegeta was upset that he had lost his baby brother before he even got the chance to know him. And then wasn't too long after that King Vegeta gave up his eldest son to Freiza for servitude. That was the beginning of lifetime of solitude and Vegeta had blamed his father.

However, now that Vegeta was facing fatherhood, he could almost understand his father's motives. What if this child that this woman was carrying was exactly like Tarble? Vegeta heard that Kakarrot's mate was an exemplary fighter in her own right, which Vegeta believed aided that half saiyan brat's abilities as a warrior. But this woman showed no talents in fighting physically at all, so what were the chances that their child would do well in battle? The child's weakness would be a reflection of Vegeta's own abilities.

Vegeta couldn't help his fears but he still felt a connection to his child. New and odd emotions were surging through him as the baby's ki pulsed through him. Bulma saw a glimmer of emotion flicker through his eyes as he was deep in thought over fatherhood. His eyes met with hers and he snapped out of his reverie and practically began snarling at her curious face. How could he allow her to once again catch him so vulnerable? He was certainly becoming weak and this woman and her blasted child was the reason.

"If you want what's best for the damned child, you'll keep me out of his life!" Vegeta stated with a forced frown. Because I'll probably only ruin it's life as my father did Tarble's, Vegeta thought regretfully and he turned away.