Alright, rated T for now. In this chapter, though, there is one VERY short M spot. Scan past it when you see it coming if you don't want to read it. No pun intended. And please, please, please. Go read Attrition first if you haven't already. You won't get this story at all if you don't.

And please, my dear fans… forgive me for what I'm about to do…

"Don't cry, my mate. I'm ok with this. Really, I am."

Pushing everything she had from the crystal into his feverish body, Usagi shook her head and refused to stop trying, but no matter how hard she fought the virus, it continued to reproduce in Vegeta's system just as fast as she managed to eradicate it. "No," she choked out. "What kind of mate am I if I can't save you? I'm an all-powerful goddess of the—" She was silenced with a blisteringly hot hand over her mouth.

"R'sha… I don't think you understand. You have saved me. Two hundred years ago, you saved me. Then you saved me again by teaching me how to not be afraid of everything, all the time. You helped me regain my memories. You taught me how to love again. That was far more important than merely saving my life." Vegeta sighed and tried to focus through the urge to simply close his eyes and let go. He was so hot, and so very, very tired of fighting. "Everyone dies, Usagi," he rasped out, trailing his hand over her face. "It's alright to let me go."

"I don't want to," she sobbed, laying down beside him, wrapping her arms around his naked, burning hot body. He was so feverish that he wasn't even sweating anymore, and a voice in the back of her mind was amazed that he was even coherent at this point. "Please don't die, Vegeta. Please don't leave me all alone."

"You won't be alone," he breathed into her hair. Funny, how he was so at peace with the idea of dying. In a strange reversal of things, it was the dying trying to comfort the living, and not the other way around. "You'll have our boys and Chibi-Usa. And Kakarot and his family. And Mako. Hell, even the Namek."

"But not you. I want you, Vegeta."

"I know, r'sha. I know." He weakly managed to lift his head enough to kiss her, his chest rattling feebly in a gentle purr to comfort her as his hand barely rose to caress her face. "My love… I think you need to call our children in."

Hearing him say 'children,' rather than 'brats,' Usagi nodded into his chest and flared her ki. They had all been waiting outside, just in case their mother couldn't save their father; the boys all had absolute faith that she would be able to, but her daughter had known better and had insisted on them all staying close by.

Trunks was the first one to enter, and his hands trembled as he knelt at the bedside and clasped his father's in his own. "Father."

"I know she's not your blood mother, Trunks… but take care of her… understand me? Look after your siblings as you would your own children." He raised his hand to wave the rest of them over to join them, and Vegeta couldn't help but sigh happily at the sight of all of his children and his grandson. "I love you all," he whispered. "I know I tell your mother that all the time, but I don't think I've said it often to any of you. I love you all, and I'm proud to be your father… and your grandfather, Geta," he added with a glance to the young man that could pass as his twin.

He took a deep, rattling breath before continuing, fighting with the last of his air to get his final words out. "Boys… Trunks, Veggie, Geta, Tarble… all of you… you remember the conversation we had last year… don't you dare forget it… or go back on it… and princess, don't you dare settle for less than you deserve when you take a mate. You're as perfect as your mother and should accept nothing less."

"Yes, Daddy," Chibi-Usa whispered tearfully. They'd all known this was coming; for over a year, Vegeta had gotten weaker and weaker as his Saiyan immune system and Usagi's crystal had fought off the virus that was shutting down his already weakened organs. After all of the torture he'd sustained and the strain it had put on his body, he would have been dead within a day if he'd been human.

"I love you all," he whispered again, his voice growing ever weaker with each word. "Is Kakarot here?"

"I'm here, Vegeta," the taller Saiyan replied solemnly from the doorway; he'd been waiting just outside in silence, not daring to interrupt something as serious as the passing of their king.

"Watch over my family?" Vegeta relaxed a little when Goku smirked—as if such a thing went without saying—and tipped his head in a silent promise; he'd known that his best friend would do it, but the agreement itself put him further at ease. The king of the Saiyans then turned to his mate. "Usa… I know this will seem like a ridiculous request, but… when you're ready… find Raditz… promise me… promise me that you'll be happy, r'sha… like him, that's all I've ever wanted for you."

At any other time, if he hadn't been fading right there before her eyes, Usagi would have argued with him until she was blue in the face… but no one, not even the Queen of the Stars and the Saiyan race would dare refuse a last request from her king. After a single moment's thought, she bit down on her lower lip and nodded. She'd do it, if only to give him peace. "I love you, Vegeta…" Usagi tried for a tiny smile and ran her fingers through his hair. "My wild man… we did alright, didn't we? We had some wonderful times, some amazing years together."

"The best two hundred years a man could hope for, r'sha," he replied softly, giving her hand a frail squeeze. "And Usa… don't you dare mourn me for too long… you made me the happiest man in the universe, and I don't want you to be sad. I'm just sorry that I couldn't have made even more memories with you. That my passing had to be this way."

Trying to stay strong for her children, who were all crying silently, Usagi merely wiped at her tears and nodded again. "I'm sorry I can't save you, my love." His breathing was growing labored, and Usagi could sense that his heart rate was slowing, his lungs beginning to shut down… but he was still fighting. She could feel it through the bond; he was still fighting for her, warring against the virus in his system so that he wouldn't leave her just yet. "It's ok," she choked out. "I love you, Vegeta." She lay down on the bed beside him and held him tightly. "I love you… I love you…" She whispered into his hair over and over, and as he took his last breath and closed his eyes, Usagi felt a surge of emotion through their mating bond, pure love, devotion, and contentment. Then the bond was suddenly gone, completely vanished, and she kissed him softly, wishing with all her heart that she could join him.

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"I've got her this time," Veggie sighed softly, running his fingers through his mother's hair as he tried to purr comfort to her unconscious form. "You took care of her last month when she tried the cyanide."

"You sure?" Tarble whispered tearfully, wiping at his eyes. "She's lost a lot of blood, Veg." When his older brother nodded, he hesitated before leaving to find their sister. "Veg… what if… what if we just helped her? I know she's immortal, but… there has to be a way to let her die… right?"

"Tarble, so help me Dende, if you ever say anything like that again, I'll shit-kick you so hard you'll be farting out your mouth and drinking your meals through an enema. You understand me?" Vegeta the third growled out at him.

"Veggie, I don't want Mom to die, but… are we being selfish by doing this…? By nursing her back to health every few weeks? If she wants to join Father so badly… shouldn't we help her? Wouldn't it be the right thing to do?"

Veggie closed his eyes and fought down his raging inner monster at the idea, reminding himself that Tarble rarely disagreed with him and that when he did, it meant he felt very strongly about something. And maybe… just maybe… he was right. But he couldn't do it. Their mother was the light of their lives when she was happy, and there had to be a way… some way, any way, to make her smile again. "We can't give up, Tar-Tar. It's been five years. That might seem like a long time to us, but Mom's been alive for over two thousand years. It's just a drop in the bucket for her, and she'll come out of this depression eventually. She has to," he added softly. "Now go get Usa."

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Chibi-Usa appeared next to her brothers and her nephew and held up her hands when they all collectively snarled at her in anger.

"Where have you BEEN!?" Veggie and Trunks both yelled simultaneously. Even Tarble was growling softly and frowning at her in disapproval, and she quickly waved her hands in front of her defensively.

"I've been in Otherworld at the entrance to Snake Way," she explained quickly. The pink-haired moon princess smirked, looking just like her father when they all immediately shut up and waited for her to continue. "In short, I threatened the fucking shit out of Yemma for two hours straight."

"Papa's coming home?" Geta whispered hopefully, taking a step towards his aunt.

"No," she sighed, "but after Uncle Kaka and Uncle Piccolo appeared and started threatening Yemma right along with me, I managed to get Mom a day with him."

"That's it!?" Veggie snarled. "Seriously!? After all Mom and Dad and our uncles have done for this shitty little planet, that's all they got!? One measly fucking day!?"

"I was about to tell you the rest when you interrupted ever so rudely," Usa huffed, rolling her pink eyes at her twin.

"I wouldn't interrupt so much if you just got to the fucking point right away, Rabbit," Veggie snorted. "Stop beating around the bush."

"I swear, let me tell the whole story and just shut your fucking trap, Vegeta. Anyways… before I was so rudely interrupted… we got Mom and Dad a day. Then Baba popped in and laid the sickest fucking guilt trip on Yemma that I have ever witnessed in all of my existence. I honestly thought the old man was going to fucking cry! So, getting to the point, they have three days. Well, a little longer than that, to be specific. I'm going to heal up Mom, and Dad will show up as soon as I'm done. They've got until noon on the fourth day."

"Then get the fuck on it, girl!" Veggie commanded, shoving his little sister towards their unconscious mother. "Heal her and wake her up!"

"Yes, dear," Chibi-Usa deadpanned, immediately kneeling on the side of the bed and healing her mother's wrists up, feeding her some of her own ki to speed the regeneration of blood cells. "Anyone got a senzu for when she wakes?"

Tarble handed one over just in time; Usagi was stirring and her daughter had her chewing and swallowing before she was coherent enough to refuse the bean like she had a hundred times before. "Come on, Mom," he whispered gently, sitting her up. The tears welling up in her eyes, the sheer despair in them and the hopelessness she radiated made Tarble's lower lip tremble; he'd always been the most sensitive out of all of the boys, and subject to teasing for being a momma's boy. It was only when he was a teenager that his mother had sensed that he'd inherited her empathic powers and the rest of the boys had finally given him a break.

He felt his mother's pain as if it was his own, and Veggie had comforted him more than once in secret, where no one could see him showing affection to his baby brother. "Mom, it's ok. Smile," Tarble urged. "Usa's got a really huge surprise for you. It'll make you happy again."

The Queen of the Stars merely shook her head and glanced around the room, but her children were smarter than what they were working with and had removed anything with which she could use to hurt herself. "Just let me die," she breathed.

"Woman, if you don't cut that shit out, I'm going right back to King Kai's to train some more," a gruff voice huffed from the doorway.

The demis all grinned and turned their heads just as Usagi looked up in disbelief, her blue eyes widening and impossibly filling with even more tears. "Geta?" She whimpered, her body beginning to tremble in reaction to the sight of him.

Vegeta immediately crossed the room and embraced his mate tightly, his tail winding around her waist as his strong purr filled the room. "Yeah, moon goddess. Shh… it's alright, it's alright… I know, beautiful…" He glanced over his shoulder and gave his children a brief nod. "Brats, if you'd give us a bit…?"

"Sure, Father," Trunks replied with a smile, ushering out his younger siblings quickly before shutting the door to give them some privacy.

Vegeta silenced her with a brief kiss when he finally drew away and she opened her mouth to speak. "No, r'sha. You need to listen to me, because I have a lot of things to say to you before we're ok."

"Ok?" She repeated, blinking in surprise, her eyes filled with worry. The way his jaw was clenching spoke of anger… he was mad at her?

"I understand your grief, Usagi. You know what I went through when I realized that Bulma was dead… and I'll never forget what you did for me to ease that grief." Vegeta sighed and caressed her jawline before continuing. "But you've got to stop this. I'm dead and nothing can bring me back. Ah—this was an exception," he said quickly, pointing to his halo. "I was allowed to keep my body this time when I died, and our daughter and Baba pulled one hell of a guilt trip on Yemma to make him agree to this. I have three days. That's it. Then I'll go back to Otherworld, and I won't be coming back. Don't get me wrong, either—I don't want to stay dead, but that's the way it has to be. It's the natural order of things."

Usagi merely shook her head and looked away, fresh tears spilling down her face.

"R'sha… please listen to me. Look at what you're doing to our children. Tarble can't take much more of this; he feels your pain as strongly as you felt mine all those years ago. Veg is turning into me for gods' sakes. He's always been a little pain in the ass, but he shouldn't be shouldered with all of this responsibility. Our brats are all grown, yes, but they're also half-Saiyan and they mature slower than humans or Lunarians. They're all still practically teenagers and shouldn't have to deal with their mother trying to kill herself every five minutes. It should be you taking care of them." Vegeta hesitated for a moment, then suddenly tightened his jaw. No, she was his mate, and it would be wrong of him to sugarcoat anything just because he loved her. "I never thought I'd say this to you of all people, but… you're being a bad mother, Usa. You're being irresponsible."

He regretted the words the moment she began to sob uncontrollably, and held her to him tightly when she tried to pull away; Vegeta could sense that she was about to teleport out and run away from his words. "I'm not saying this to be cruel, my love. I'm saying it because no one else has the balls to tell you. And you can fix it, Usa. You can stop doing this to yourself and our children and fix it. I did the same thing to Trunks when I was younger… barely still a teenager myself in Saiyan years… and I spent years repairing the damage I'd done once you returned me to Earth. I don't want that for you, beautiful. Look at me," he whispered, tipping her chin up and wiping at her tears with his tail. "You're stronger than this. The strongest person I've ever known. And I want you to suck it up, understand me? You're a goddess," he added with a little smirk. "And you weep for no man. Not even one as downright fucking awesome as myself. You're also one of the most Saiyan-like females I've ever encountered, and no Saiyan woman would dare mourn like this, knowing that her mate was feasting in the Otherworld, revered as such a great warrior that he was allowed to train with the Kais. A Saiyan woman would do as her mate asked her and move on."

"You're happy, then?" Usagi whispered.

"As happy as I can be without you by my side, r'sha. And I'm finally at peace. Completely, totally at peace. I'm a whole man again; I'm my old self. I no longer have spells where I can't speak or where I don't trust anyone because I'm terrified."

"That's good," she replied, managing a tiny smile for him as she helped him wipe away her tears.

"Now that you've stopped blubbering," Vegeta chuckled, "there's a little something I've really missed during the last five years."

"Oh?" Usagi asked, lifting a questioning eyebrow. Then he shifted slightly and she felt something long and hard pressing against her thigh through his blue spandex. "Oooooh."

"Aaaaand she gets it," he snickered, dipping his face to lick and nip at her throat. "Have you missed that too, r'sha?" He purred against her soft skin. "Having me inside of you…? Because if you're feeling up to it, I'd be more than happy to provide you with some relief. Three whole days of it, in fact."

Usagi stopped at that and eyed him seriously. "You didn't want to spend time with the kids?"

"Fuck the brats, woman! I want to get laid!" Vegeta kept a straight face for all of about five seconds when she looked like she was about to haul off and punch him in the dick, then he finally lost it and burst into a loud fit of laughter. "Gods, you're still so easy to fuck with, woman. Of course I want to see the brats… I'm sure I'll just be interrupting my visits with everyone to haul you off for an hour or two several times a day."

Her grief steadily vanishing just from the scent and feel of him against her, Usagi giggled. "I always loved your sense of humor…" She licked her lips as he began to tug at her clothing, sliding his mouth over every bit of newly exposed skin. "…and your libido. So… there's no sex in the Otherworld?"

"No," Vegeta groaned, "and it's the one thing about it that totally sucks! You'd think they'd reward a warrior with a harem of sorts, but no, it's just training and meditation!"

"No beds full of nervous virgins?" She chortled, pulling the top half of his gi down to expose that rippling, muscular chest that she'd never been able to stop herself from admiring.

"To hell with virgins, woman. Throw a couple in there for variety, sure. But I would want a bed full of randy, experienced whores. I want a woman that knows what the hell she's doing," Vegeta snickered. As if to prove that she was one of those experienced women, Usagi lightly drug her nails down his erection the moment he was exposed and took a flat, male nipple in her mouth, making him groan loudly. "Now that's what I'm talking about," Vegeta purred.

"Oh, so I'm a whore, now?" Usagi asked, feigning seriousness as she pulled back.

"A whore for me," Vegeta countered smugly. "Admit it, woman. You loooove the cock."

Usagi giggled and shoved him onto his back then, straddling his waist and gasping as he simply tore off her panties and thrust upwards into her. "Alright… got me there," she moaned softly, undulating her hips slowly against his, her head tipping back in submission as his tail began to feather over her clit. "I'm definitely your little whore, Geta." She moaned again, much louder when he began to make love to her slowly from below, her hands gripping his hips as she helped ride him.

"Dear gods, woman," Vegeta panted, his fingers digging into her lower back as she tightened around him a little. "You need to hurry up and come for me before I—" Sweat beading on his forehead, he suddenly let go, unable to stop himself from finding rapture so quickly after five years without his mate.

Thankfully, Usagi came just as he did, and she slumped on top of him in a breathless heap, kissing him passionately. "Want more," she whimpered, moving her hips again. "Please, Vegeta… please make love to me again," she begged softly.

He smirked up at her just before flipping them smoothly so that he was on top, his mouth descending to her neck and her breasts while his softened cock recovered from his explosive orgasm.

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Vegeta found Usagi sitting upstairs quietly, absenting fingering something black and red as she stared out the window in deep thought. "R'sha?" He blinked in surprise when she immediately blushed and shoved the thing in her hand into her subspace, looking up at him sheepishly through her lashes. "What was that?"

"I… I was just thinking about what you said, that's all… Raditz… he had Turles give it to me just before Arctic landed, right after he said goodbye to me." Usagi retrieved it from her subspace and hesitantly held it out. "It's some of his hair… I think he bound it with one of the red armbands he wears."

Vegeta didn't take it, but he frowned deeply. Despite the fact that he was dead and on a conjugal visit of sorts, he couldn't keep down a huge wave of jealousy. "It's a Saiyan pact. That his heart is yours and he'll wait for you until you're available to court." Judging by the sudden look of guilt on her face, he knew what was going through her head. "You gave him one in return, didn't you?" He growled.

"I… I didn't know…" Usagi held her head in her forehead and shook it slowly. "Geta, I'm so sorry, I honestly didn't know—"

"It's alright," he said quickly, sitting down beside her, purring comfort as he nuzzled the scar of her mark. "I know you didn't know any better, love." Despite his jealousy, Vegeta couldn't help but chuckle a little. "You're so screwed if and when you ever see him again, woman."

"I am?" She squeaked out nervously.

"Yup. You gave him all rights to your pussy once you were no longer mated. Heh… it's pretty funny, you know. I'm technically fucking the hell out of his woman until I go back."

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"Momma? Momma? MOMMA!"

"Geta!?"

Usagi trembled when it was only her youngest son's face hovering above her, his eyes full of concern and brimming with tears as he felt her pain. "Tarble," she said with a whoosh of air. "Come here, honey. I'm sorry… I must have been dreaming again."

"I know," he replied shakily as he climbed in beside her and let her hold him tightly, as if he wasn't over fifty years old, a grown man by even Saiyan standards. "You were yelling for Dad again."

"Shh, Tarble. I'm not ever going to be like that again, you understand me? I haven't tried that shit in what? Five years?" Gods… was it really ten years since Vegeta had died? Five since she'd seen him for a few days, only for to return to Otherworld? Ah, but it had been a wonderful, love-filled three days. She still missed him; she always would. But he'd been right about her needing to move on.

"You've been calling out to him in your sleep for a week, Mom."

Usagi sighed and nodded, running her fingers through Tarble's hair soothingly. "I think your father is trying to tell me to go… or he'll kick my ass," she answered with a little chuckle.

"He is," Trunks rumbled from the doorway. "Goku spoke with him earlier today and he wanted to know why in the hell you were still moping around on Earth. He was surprised as hell to hear from Father, you know. Father said he'd been trying to talk to you in your dreams, but apparently all that blonde hair was blocking the damned signal," he chuckled.

Usagi sighed and rolled her eyes. "Sure sounds like your father. Tell Goku to tell him that I got the damned message," she sighed, "and that I'll think about it. But that's all."

"He said you'd say that. Father said to remind you that you promised."

The next chapter begins the joy of searching… R&R and I'll post the next one! It's already written!