Disclaimer: Alright guys, I'm sorry. I've been holding out on you. I am not haysizzle. I am really Akira Toriyama, I DO own DBZ, and this is actually how it happened. So you can stop wondering now. Kthanksbye.

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Chapter 16: Starting Over

***

Ever since Bulma was a little girl, she'd experienced a recurring nightmare: four men in white lab coats surrounded her, blinding white lights enveloped her, and all she could see were the stern faces of the men as they surveyed her exposed body. This nightmare had haunted her for years... and now she was living it. Now she understood what it meant.

The men in white lab coats were doctors. The blinding white lights were the operating lights against the backdrop of the pure white hospital wall. The stern faces were deep in concentration, trying to save her life. Everything made sense now. And as her vision began to darken, Bulma saw the unmistakable outline of Vegeta as he burst into the emergency room.

At least I got to see him one last time...

***

As Vegeta felt Bulma's life force flicker into nothingness, he became distinctly aware of a firm hand clasped around his arm. It was a security guard.

"Sir, please come with me..."

Vegeta flared his ki immediately, stunning the security guard and burning his hand. "What the--"

The Saiyan Prince paid no heed to the man and walked immediately up to the operating physician, grabbed him forcefully by the shoulders, and suppressed the urge to violently shake him. He spoke calmly, but with a distinguishable hint of malice: "What have you done to my mate?"

The physician was taken aback, both by Vegeta's threatening manner and his non-traditional use of the word "mate." But the man, seemingly used to enraged family members, replied evenly, "She lost too much blood and went into shock. I did what I could."

Vegeta scoffed. "Pitiful human technology," he muttered, glancing at Bulma's lifeless body. But even though the heart monitor could no longer read a heart beat, and even though the doctors had given up and called her time of death, Vegeta knew he still had one option left.

Nobody tried to stop him as he walked to Bulma's bedside and took her hand gently. It was still warm, but that just meant her body heat hadn't completely dissipated yet. Vegeta took a deep breath and concentrated his energy, raising it significantly and focusing only on her. He knew that his shock of ki would either jump start her heart or do nothing. It couldn't kill her--she was dead already.

The others in the room stood still and watched in astonishment as Vegeta's ki aura flared up again, flashing yellow. The energy was so potent that it made Bulma's bed rattle, and all of those present could feel his ki pressure. They watched, alarmed, when the golden-tinged aura surrounding Vegeta slowly began to recede as he filtered the energy through Bulma's limp body, delivering a light shock. This shock was unlike the jump start the doctors had given her--he was instilling within her his very life force.

A moment of perpetual silence followed, and then...

A beep on the heart monitor. Two beeps. Three beeps.

The doctors were dumbfounded. Vegeta turned swiftly away from the operating table, scowled fiercely at the head physician, and said, "Would you mind sewing her up?"

He just nodded, shocked into silence.

***

One blood transfusion and about twenty stitches later, Bulma was in stable condition, though she was still unconscious. Dr. and Mrs. Briefs sat by her hospital bed, Mrs. Briefs with her hand in Bulma's, while Vegeta stood in the corner of the room with his arms crossed, effortlessly silent. The silence between them wasn't awkward--it was necessary. Each of them were marveling at the tragedy narrowly avoided.

The kind nurse that had attended to Bulma before came in and addressed Vegeta, saying, "Excuse me sir, are you the husband?"

Vegeta narrowed his eyes suspiciously, unfamiliar with the marital term, though he could derive its meaning easily enough. He nodded. The nurse smiled warmly. "Would you like to see your son?"

That question took Vegeta completely off guard. In his preoccupation with Bulma's almost-death, he had completely forgotten why they were there in the first place. He followed her to the nursery, as did Dr. and Mrs. Briefs, and she pointed to a little baby boy with a small tuft of lavender hair. Vegeta didn't need her to point him out, of course, because he sensed his son's ki presence immediately and suppressed a smirk. He was superior in strength already.

"We still need someone to fill out a birth certificate," the nurse said gently. Vegeta furrowed his brows as the nurse handed him some official-looking papers. He stared blankly at the First Name, Last Name slots, unsure of what to do or write. Bunny giggled.

"Here," she said, taking it from him. "I supposed his last name will just have to be Briefs, since you don't have one. And his first name, well, Bulma and I never agreed on one. But I remember her favorite name..."

Bunny scribbled something onto the paper and held it out for Vegeta to see. He appraised the words, unable to hide his indignation. Trunks? Such a name was not worthy of his royal heritage. But he said nothing. If what her mother said was true, it was the name Bulma wanted. He was in no position to deny her.

The nurse retrieved baby Trunks from the nursery seconds later. The first thing Vegeta noticed about his son on a closer look was the tail, flicking and swishing as if it had a life of its own. This tail was the reason Bulma had almost died. His decision took only moments.

"Remove that blasted thing immediately."

***

Bulma became distinctly aware that she was conscious before anyone else in the room did. What she couldn't understand was why she couldn't open her eyes. She felt so heavy she could hardly move. All she managed was a stifled groan to signal those present that she was awake.

She heard her mother's squeal of surprise, and her father mutter something about getting a doctor. The sound that stood out to her the most, however, was the loud wailing of a baby coming from somewhere to her left. Although her body was swollen, she managed to crack her eyes open ever-so-slightly.

"I want to see my baby," she breathed, focusing only on his handsome little visage, bundled up in someone's arms. She couldn't distinguish who was holding him--all she could see was her little son, who stopped crying instantly as soon as Bulma spoke.

Bulma's mother went over to the little bundle and gently removed him from the other person's arms, bringing him over to Bulma so she could get a better look. Trunks stared at his mother curiously with big, bright blue eyes. Atop his head was a woolen cap, concealing his thin lavender hair. Bulma's eyes filled with tears, making her vision more blurry than it already was.

"W-what happened to me?" she asked, looking up at her mother. The effort it took to move her head was exhausting in itself.

"Well, honey," Mrs. Briefs replied slowly, "The reason your face is swollen right now is because you had a very unexpected allergic reaction to the morphine they gave you after the surgery. You've been unconscious for three days! As for what happened after little Trunks was born, well, you might want to hear that from the doctor. I don't think I could explain it properly..."

Bulma's heart surged with emotion. "You named him Trunks? I-I thought you hated that name? Not that it would have stopped me from calling him that, but..." She chuckled weakly.

Bunny smiled. "I knew that's what you wanted. I'm just so happy you're alive, darling! If it weren't for V--"

She was interrupted by the sudden appearance of a doctor, the same one Vegeta had threatened a few days before. He regarded her soberly.

"Ms. Briefs, so glad to see you're awake! How are you feeling?" he asked.

Bulma thought about it for a few seconds. "Like I just cheated death," she said finally.

The doctor smirked. "Yes, well... I still don't know how you lived. And I don't think I ever will understand it. You were officially dead for about five minutes, my dear," he admitted, though the news hardly surprised her.

The doctor waited for her to digest the information and continued. "You lost a lot of blood. That extra appendage the boy was born with somehow managed to wrap itself around your uterus and nearly tear it right out! You had to get a blood transfusion, and we almost lost you in the process. Then your, uhh, husband arrived and... well, the rest of it cannot be explained medically, so I shall not attempt it. The point is, you're alive! You had an unfortunate reaction to the morphine, but that will wear off in the next two days or so. You should be ready to return home by then." He smiled brightly at Bulma, who had stopped listening as soon as she'd heard him say "husband."

Bulma began searching the room frantically until she finally saw Vegeta and realized he had been the person holding Trunks before. He was staring at her with smoldering intensity, though his face retained its usual stoicism. Bulma averted her gaze instantly, and the room became thick with tension. Mrs. Briefs quickly got the hint. "Honey," she said, addressing Dr. Briefs. "Let's go for a walk, it's too stuffy in here for me!"

Bulma's parents and the doctor left abruptly, and Bulma took her son in her arms and held him as best she could, staring down at him in wonder. She was still painfully aware of Vegeta's presence beside her, but she'd made her up mind long ago to give him the silent treatment next time she saw him.

Vegeta broke the silence.

"You should see the color of his hair. Disgusting. A Saiyan prince was never meant to have such an appearance," he said, though he hardly sounded disgusted. He was regarding his son almost fondly.

Bulma removed the yellow woolen gasp and felt her heart swell again at the sight of his soft purple hair. He was beautiful.

"Kami," she breathed, as the baby fell into a quiet slumber.

She examined the sleeping infant carefully, mindful not to wake him. It took her a few moments to realize he was missing one vital component.

"Oh no, where's his tail?" she blurted, finally looking up at Vegeta. "I'm sorry they removed it! I told them not to..."

Vegeta rolled his eyes. "Calm yourself woman. I told them to remove it."

Bulma's furrowed her brows. "But... why? I thought the tail was a sacred symbol of your Saiyan heritage, or... ?"

Vegeta put a hand up to silence her. "I'm sure if you search your brain for that small hint of intelligence you possess, you'll be able to derive why I authorized its removal," he said simply.

It took Bulma all of ten seconds to realize what he meant. Trunks' tail had inadvertently almost ended her life, and so, Vegeta had condemned it. She suddenly realized that removing Trunks' tail was probably the sweetest sign of affection she would ever receive from Vegeta.

Despite this pleasant revelation, Bulma still had a lot of questions for him. She started with an obvious one.

"How did you revive me? They said I died, and you did… something," she asked, unsure of what that "something" was. Vegeta had been expecting this question.

"You are not a warrior, and so you will not understand the concept of ki control. But in terms you can understand, I delivered a shock of energy to your body that was just enough to revive your heart. It worked better than the machine those foolish humans used on you because it was life energy, and, more importantly, the life energy of your mate. On Vegetasei, mates have the ability to revive each other because it is thought that one cannot survive long without the other. I wasn't sure if it would work on you, being a human, but…" He trailed off, leaving Bulma to ponder the phenomenon of Saiyan mating.

"Wow," was all she managed to say, though her thirst for answers was far from satiated.

"Before you left, you said something about the three conditions of being your mate," she began. "Um, if I remember correctly, they were no adultery, no lying, and… you never got a chance to tell me the third thing." She blushed sheepishly at the memory, when she'd interrupted him to admit she'd seen him go Super Saiyan.

"Oh. That," Vegeta said, a smirk playing at the corner of his lips. He had to bite down his pride to answer her, but he knew she would be unimaginably pleased with his response. "The final condition is more like a promise. As long as you adhere to the previous two conditions, I will never leave you. Or our son." He indicated the sleeping infant in Bulma's arms before finishing, "Until, of course, death brings about my end."

A smile spread across Bulma's face. The swelling had gone down some, though she knew her head probably still looked like a giant tomato. She didn't care. Vegeta's shameless confession made her feel radiant.

"I hope you don't have any more questions for me, woman, because I'm in no mood to speak of these despicable human emotions any further," he said, measurably annoyed.

"Just one more question," Bulma said, glancing fondly down at her sleeping baby. "What do you think of the name Trunks?"

Vegeta rolled his eyes. "It is ridiculous. But then again, so are you. I may as well get used to it."

Bulma chuckled. Despite her physical condition, she felt a wave of relief wash over her. When she looked into Vegeta's eyes, she saw everything she needed to see, and everything he would never say. It felt like they were starting over.

She liked that idea.

***

THE (REAL) END

A/N: OMG guys I finally ended it! It was haaaard, too. This is my first finished fic… wow. Thanks so much for all of your support! Honestly, if it weren't for your kind words and encouragement, I would never have finished. Thank you to those of you who took time to not only praise, but critique my work, and thanks to those of you who reviewed practically every chapter and stuck with me. I appreciate it all!

My next DBZ fanfic will be posted soon. It's called Reckoning—the untold story of the Mirai timeline. I'm going to start with Goku's death from the heart virus and end right around the time Gohan is killed by Androids 17 and 18. Put me on your author alert if you want to read more of my stuff, I have a thousand ideas brewing right now. Eventually I'll write another B/V, and Reckoning should have some B/V (though that's not really the focus of the story).

P.S. I just wanted to note, that what happened to Bulma in this fic, also happened to my mom when my little brother was born. My bro didn't have a tail (of course, lol), but something along the same lines happened to her--she lost a lot of blood and almost died. They had to jump start her heart and everything. So that's where the inspiration came from, in case you were wondering.

Alright well, I guess that's it. Wow. Thanks again everyone! I really enjoyed writing this & I'm so glad I got to share this with all of you :)