Hey there!

I've been sick for a few days, so I'm glad I finally found the time to put up this new chapter ;)

I'll put answers to a few reviews at the end of the chapter (so that I won't be annoying those who don't wanna read them by having to scroll so much ;P)

I hope you enjoy this chapter^^

Little Runaway (18)

Bra sat on her mother's lap, listening to her talking to Ann. Bra got the feeling that, like her, Bulma had taken an immediate liking to the girl.

Ann was a great, extremely bright girl. Still, it'd been hard to explain the recent events to her while Bulma was ordering her brother and father around...

Flashback

"So that's your family, huh?" Ann asked, one eyebrow raised in question. Her tone clearly revealed her inability to really believe what she was seeing.

Right now Bulma was poking her forefinger into Vegeta's chest, telling him to get rid of those "insects" - as she referred to the still unconscious men clad in black.

"Your mum is like a hurricane," Ann whispered before Bra could reply to her earlier – probably rhetoric, Bra still had to figure out how that stuff worked – question. Now it was Bra's turn to raise an eyebrow.

Ann's tone sounded amazed and there was a shimmer in her eyes that reminded Bra of worship.

"What do you mean?" Bra asked her, surprised by Ann's expression. A slow smile tugged at the corners of Ann's lips.

"Look at her go!" she murmured. "Your father is scary as hell... Oh, and from what I've seen he can most likely lift cars." That comment made Bra's eyebrows draw together.

Yeah, her Dad could lift cars. She'd seen him do it and so had a few other people – who'd definitely never forget the sight... It was safe to say that her Dad wasn't all too fond of the paparazzi.

After that incident however, not many of them had dared to show their faces again. Especially not the guy whose car had made a noisy crash into a huge tree... Had the car not been a big, heavy Jeep, it might have even stayed up there in that tree top.

As a result it had gotten a whole lot quieter around the Briefs' residence after that, much to Bulma's delight. She'd used the new-found privacy to sunbathe in the yard without seeing herself plastered on the front of some magazine the next day...

Ann's voice brought Bra back to reality.

"But she's fearless, makes HIM take steps back," Ann finished her earlier statement, her eyes fixed on Bra's parents as if she were watching some fancy TV-series.

Bra couldn't help but smile at that. Yeah, her mother was a force to be reckoned with, that was for sure.

"Well, she is my mum," Bra grinned at Ann, but for some reason Ann's face turned into a frown.

"You were great back there...," she said and Bra would have been pleased by the compliment, had she not known that there was more to come. "... and far stronger than any girl your age I have ever met. Hell, any girl, period."

Bra bit her lip, unsure of how to respond. But then she sighed, resigning herself to the fact that this was not going to be easy to explain.

"My Dad... he's not exactly from around here," she started, but when Ann looked at her with complete and utter confusion so clearly visible on her face, Bra gave up on trying to tell her in a subtle way.

"He wasn't born on earth. He is the prince of an alien warrior race. Part of his genes was passed down, but I think that Trunks got more of it than me."

Ann's eyes were wide by the time Bra had stopped speaking and she exhaled in a rush. "Open mind, open mind," she muttered, making Bra worry that maybe she should have kept her mouth shut. Perhaps it wasn't such a good idea to tell the girl about extra-terrestrial life forms on her home planet when she had just lost almost everything she'd held dear.

"So that makes you... a half-alien?" Ann asked, her voice so stunned that Bra wondered if the girl was going into shock. Then a bad thought hit her and her shoulders slumped.

"Do you still want to be friends with me?" she asked carefully, her voice guarded as she tried to swallow the big lump she suddenly felt in her throat.

She'd never told anyone about her heritage, there had never been a reason to. Ann rolled her eyes, shaking the feeling she'd no doubt had before.

"Don't be silly! You and your family just saved my butt and you're a great girl. Why wouldn't I want to be friends with you?" she asked, giving Bra a nudge against her shoulder.

Then they both laughed.

End Flashback

Now Bra worried about her friend, where she'd go from here... She turned around in her mother's arms and glanced up at that beloved face. Bulma seemed to read her mind and gave Bra's hips a light squeeze.

"Don't you worry, honey. Your mother is not only beautiful, but also ridiculously smart and wealthy," Bulma whispered, then gave her daughter a wink.

"This is nothing that a good will and a heap of money can't fix."

So Bra relaxed in her mother's arms and turned back to Ann with a wide grin.

Ten minutes later Bulma left the two girls to chat. She needed some alone-time to try and stomach everything she had learned so she went for a walk across the huge lawn.

Her forehead creased as she had to wrap her arms around herself to keep from trembling. Bulma tried to tell herself it was because the night-air was slightly chilly, but with a sigh she had to admit the truth to herself. She was still shaken from what she'd learned, from how close to danger her baby had been today. It was a miracle that they had arrived in time, preventing any catastrophes from forever changing their lives.

"Don't wander off on your own," a voice behind her suddenly snapped, making Bulma whirl around with a hand raised over her now erratic heart.

"You're getting a freaking bell, mister, I swear you are!" she hissed at her husband, who stood only inches away from her, the usual scowl on his handsome face. He ignored her comment, but grabbed the hand she was holding up over her chest in his firm grasp instead.

"You stay close to Trunks or me when we are not at home, understood?" Vegeta said, his voice stern. Bulma's eyebrows pulled together as she realized the tension that visibly radiated through her husband's body.

He was not what one would call a relaxed man to begin with. Vegeta was always vibrating with energy, almost as if he had somehow found a way to manifest his willpower and give it a physical body that surrounded him like a barrier. But Bulma knew him well, knew that this was different.

"First, I've spent my life not doing whatever you dogmatically order, why on earth would I start now? Second, what are you planing?" Bulma saw the displeasure on his face, knew that the vein throbbing at his temple was not a good sign, but, well, she didn't give a fuck.

"Do not try my patience right now, woman," he said between gritted teeth. Bulma just raised an eyebrow in return.

"You do realize that you're talking to your wife, right? The one who knows you better than anyone and is not going to be intimidated by your bad attitude? You know that I've got your number, Vegeta," Bulma replied, not impressed by the way he took even half a step closer to her, so that they were toe-to-toe.

"Goddamn it, woman. Get the hell back to the boy and..." Bulma cut her husband off by pressing her lips to his, silencing his angrily uttered words. His hands immediately settled on her hips, clutching her with a grip that was very tight, but didn't quite hurt. Considering that he had enough strength to crush her with ease one could even call it a caress.

When Bulma released him she flashed him a smile. "Better? Or are you still grouchy?" Vegeta's black eyes looked at her as if he was unsure whether he should strangle her or kiss her again. Then he shook his head as if to shake a thought. His forehead settled against hers and he took a deep breath.

"Go back to Trunks, Bulma. I want to know that you're safe," he whispered and Bulma settled her hands on his shoulders. They were as stiff as she hadn't felt them in ages. Then again, the recent events considered, Vegeta had a good reason to be stressed.

"Where are you going?" Vegeta's hands twitched on her hips at the question, squeezing her for a second. It was fairly obvious that he wasn't thrilled to answer that question.

"There's unfinished business," he murmured cryptically, but Bulma was fairly sure that she knew that he was referring to. She sighed. No matter what power she had over her husband, she knew that there was no way to deter him from his plans concerning this issue.

"Don't kill anyone," she requested, giving his shoulders a squeeze. There was silence for a moment. "I mean it, Vegeta. You can't kill anyone," she whispered. She'd still love him like crazy even if he did, but Bulma was afraid that a kill would alter him, take him back to a darker place.

Still Vegeta remained quiet and Bulma knew why. Her husband would never lie to her, so instead he chose to stay silent. She brought her hands to his cheeks, making him look at her.

"Promise me, Vegeta. Don't kill anyone, that's all I ask," she beseeched him, holding his gaze. It took a few moments, but then Vegeta growled as if she had just denied him something vital.

"Fine!" he spat, giving Bulma a hostile glare. "But that's all I'm consenting to, woman!"

Bulma knew what that meant and though she knew that noone would be losing their life tonight she still felt her skin crawl at the thought of what awaited them. Noone crossed her husband without paying for it – dearly. Well, noone outside her family and close circle of friends.

Vegeta took a step back, moving out of her reach. "Now go to Trunks. Stay with him until I return. And keep the little one close," Vegeta said in a commanding voice, but this time Bulma didn't berate him for it. He'd given her something, now it was her turn – compromising was the way their marriage had worked so well for years.

"I'd tell you to be careful, but I'd be surprised if you return with even a scratch," Bulma told her husband, a small smile on her lips. Vegeta snorted instead of answering. Then he gave his wife a quick nod before he took off into the air, leaving Bulma hoping that he would honor his word to her.

I hope you liked it ;)

So now, concerning the reviews:

First of all a big THANK YOU to those who took the precious time to leave a review, especially those who told me what they liked about the chapter ;)

Oddballpunk: That was very sweet of you, thank you! I do think that taking care of myself first is the only way to do it, but still, I feel a little guilty sometimes (especially when stuck with a story...). I'm thrilled to hear that you think that my writing has improved ^^. It's what every writer longs to hear ;).

Gothic-Romantic: Haha, well, I have to admit that I can not exactly take credit for the thought itself. 'The woman'- thing, and why Vegeta calls Bulma that, was actually something that I heard in the context of 'Sherlock Holmes'. Irene Adler was the only woman who ever intrigued Sherlock because of her wit; he, too, called her 'the woman'. She was special to him, so that was the reason.
I thought that Bulma was special to Vegeta, too, and that it's a possibility that this might be the reason for the nickname ;) it's kind of romantic so I went with that^^

oermione: I was planning on writing a Trunks/Bra-scene, especially since Bulma and Vegeta got their moments with our little heroine, too ;) Now I'll definitely include it in the next chapter! Stay tuned (sorry, I couldn't resist adding that ;P).

P.S.: Some of you mentioned the full moon-thing ;) Actually that was a kind of in-the-moment thought... I wanted there to be little light so that Vegeta could startle Caleb by using Ki so I threw in that 'wishing it was a full moon'-thing. As soon as I'd typed the words I couldn't resist adding the oozaru-related comment... it just seemed so... Vegeta XDI'm really glad you guys liked it ;)

You'll hear from me soon!