I do not own Dragonball Z or its affiliates.
It took Bra a few days to get up the courage to go and talk to Goten. She didn't want to. She hadn't seen or talked to him
in more than six months and she didn't know how he'd react to the news of his
impending fatherhood. Especially considering the fact that he was about to be
married to
She really couldn't stand the girl and for the life of her she didn't
know what Goten saw in her. If it wasn't for Pan
riding her ass everyday, she wouldn't even bother him about it. It was obvious
to her that he didn't feel anything for her and has moved on. But Pan was
instant and she knew that Goten had the right to know.
Still, she had the distinct feeling that this wasn't going to go very well.
Her family was taking the news as expected, like they had a choice in
the matter anyway. Her brother made it a point to tease her every day about how
fat she was, which he knew really rialed her nerves. Her mother about burst into tears every time she saw her and was
full of questions about the father. Bulma knew
she was lying. Her father . . . well, Vegeta wouldn't
even be in the same room as her, let alone speak to her. Even took to eating
his meals in the gravity room, where he spent most of his day, training away
the anger and frustration.
As she was driving to the apartment that Goten
shared with his fiancee, her mind began to wonder. She
wondered if he would be happy that she was carrying his child. Trunks had to
have told him by now and she wondered if he was already planning on leaving
She pulled into a parking spot in the apartment complex located in
Bra stood nervously outside the door, trying to convince her hand to
knock on it and hoping Goten was home, while at the
same time hoping he was not. After taking several deep, calming breaths, she
knocked on the door and waited for someone to answer. Her heart began to beat
wildly in her chest when she heard movement coming from inside. A few moments
later Goten answered.
He was frowning when he opened the door, but that soon melted into
surprise when he took in the full measure of her body. After a few minutes of
examination the frown returned and he invited her inside by opening the door
wide and grunting. Bra didn't know what to make of his reaction, but she put on
a small smile and went inside the tiny apartment.
She looked around the place, took in the over cluttered shelves and
tacky furniture and knew that
"You really are pregnant, B-chan." He
said, smiling a little.
Bra smiled with him and nodded her head.
"I thought Trunks was kidding when he told me, but I can see plain
as day that you are." He frowned a little again. "Couldn't
even wait two weeks after you were there."
Bra looked at him weirdly for a few seconds, not understanding why he
said that. "So, what are you going to tell
"What am I going to tell
"About me being pregnant. Surely
you didn't already tell her." Bra said as she walked over to the chair and
stood by him.
"Why would
"You mean
Goten shot
forward in the chair and looked at her wide eyed. "What?" He squeaked
out.
"Goten," Bra said slowly, "you
do realize that I'm pregnant by you, right?"
He looked at her for a few minutes, then shook
his head. "No. You aren't pregnant by me. You got knocked up by some
American guy." He stated matter-of-fact-ly.
Bra's jaw dropped and they stared at each other for a moment or two,
then she placed her hands on her hips and frowned at him. "You don't
really believe that do you? Come on. I told my family that so daddy wouldn't
come over here and wring your neck before you knew why." She said.
Silence reined between them for what seemed like eternity before Goten finally spoke. "That's not funny, Bra." He
said in a low voice.
"Of course it's not funny!" Bra screeched. "Do you see
me laughing? Do I look the slightest bit amused to you? Huh? Do I?!"
"Then what the hell are you doing over here? I know I didn't get
you pregnant. I have a lot more control than that. Are you trying to break
Paris and me up?" He questioned coldly.
"I don't give a damn about that skeez! I'm
only trying to protect my interest, which right now includes me and the baby
you helped make." She yelled at him.
"Trunks told me the whole story, Bra, so don't lie to me. So we
slept together a couple of times. It didn't mean anything and I know for that
fact that the kid isn't
mine." He said
harshly.
"It didn't mean anything! You told me you loved me, you son-of-a-bitch!"
Bra cried, tears welling up in her blue eyes.
"Grow up, Bra. It was only lust. Caught up in
the passion." He said coldly.
She sniffed and tried hard to keep herself from crying in front of him.
"The fact that my pregnancy coincides with the last time we fucked doesn't
say anything to
you?" She asked
angrily.
Goten's
expression grew harder. "The only thing it says to me is that you'll open
your legs for anybody."
SMACK! Then silence.
Bra held her stinging hand as she stared Goten
down. The side of his face glowed red in the shape of her hand, but neither
said anything nor made a move. Finally
Bra spoke in a voice barely above a whisper.
"What do you think I'm doing here if this child I'm carrying isn't
yours?" She asked coldly. "And choose your words wisely."
Goten
glared at her. "You really want to know what I think?"
She nodded her head, eyes narrowed. "Fine, then I'll tell you. I think you
knew that nothing would
come from us sleeping
together. I think you knew that I'd go back to
yourself
pregnant so you could come home and say it's mine and ruin my life. That's what
I think." He said venomously. "I don't believe you, Bra. I've known
you
your entire life and I
know what a vindictive bitch you can be when you want something you know you
can't have. I'm not falling for it. You forget that I've seen all
your dirty little tricks
and I know that this isn't above you." He finished and scowled at her,
waiting for her reply.
Bra stood there dumbfound. Her
body felt numb and paralyzed and she couldn't speak. She never thought
something like that could come out of his mouth. The
words were
so hard and cold that they cut right through her and split her heart in two. It
sounded more like something that would come from her father than the
gentle,
never-hurt-anyone Goten. Of all the things she
imagined him saying on this day, what he said wasn't one of them and she was
caught completely off-guard.
No rebuttal came to mind so she simply said:
"I don't know what your problem is, Goten.
I don't know what is making you say all these harsh and untrue things to me. I
don't know why you want to hurt me, but
so be it. You've dug
your grave, now it's only a matter of time before you lie in it."
With that she ran to the open sliding glass door and out onto his
balcony. Goten watched her wide-eyed and then began
to move across the room toward her as she
jumped up
on the railing. With one last look back she jumped off and Goten's
heart stopped beating for a full minute as he broke into an all out run for the
balcony.
Just as he made it to the doors she streaked by him, leaving a trail of
angry blue energy in her wake.
Goten
stood dumbly watching her leave while wondering when she learned to fly. Some
small and hollow place inside of him throbbed and burned, telling him to go
after her.
It was the same place that had been telling him to shut up since the argument
with Bra began. He was just about to take off after her and apologize
profusely for
his behavior when
A few minutes later the beautiful brunette burst into the apartment
wearing a smile he believed only for him. He ruthlessly suppressed the pain
inside and returned her
smile.
"Hey babe," He said, knowing the name she loved to be called.
"What are you doing home so early?" He questioned as innocently as he
could.
"They didn't need me, so I thought I'd come home and spend some
time with you." She answered suggestively in the accent that he used to
think was charming, but
now found it to be
annoying because he was comparing it to another, sweeter voice.
He smiled roguishly as she took his hand and led him into their
bedroom, but his mind kept drifting back to the fight he had with Bra only a
few minutes before. He
knew he had been unfair to
her and her last haunting words chilled him to the bone. Even if he chose to ignore
it, deep down inside he knew she wasn't lying to him
and that he had made a
grave mistake in pushing her away the way he did. It wasn't because of who her
father was and what the two of them were capable of. No,
it was an inexplicable
loss that he felt deep inside and knew that it was only the beginning.
He tried to forget the painful look in her teary blue eyes as he
uttered the last hurtful words to her as he watched
climbed over
him, but with every touch of her skillful little hands, the hollow burning
feeling throbbed to life inside of him.
********************************
The moment Bra touched down in front of Capsule Corps., she broke into
gut-wrenching sobs. The flight had been difficult, not being used to flying
with a six-pound baby squirming around inside of her. It drained all of her
energy but she somehow made it home without shedding a single tear. Now she lay
on all fours in her front yard, body shaking from the force of her tears.
No one was home during this time of the day except for her father and
she didn't have to worry about him because he wouldn't come near her anyway. Her
mother
was at work and Trunks
was either at work or school, whichever he felt the need to go to today.
When her body stopped shaking enough for her to go into the house, she
did so quietly, not wanting to draw her father's attention if he was in there. She
went into
the downstairs bathroom,
where she lost her lunch. The baby was exceptionally restless, once again
responding to his mother's moods, making her sick. She washed her face and
tried to calm down for the sake of the life inside of her and her own.
æScrew Goten,' She thought bitterly, æI
don't need him anyway. Let him be happy with his stupid little bitch. I'll make
him pay for how he treated us.' She thought
while
rubbing her stomach.
The gentle rubbing soothed her child some and Bra smiled. It was times
like these, just her and her baby, that she could care
less what Goten or anybody else
thought or
did. She had her child and that was all that really mattered in the world. Glancing
at her watch, she realized that her soaps were on and made her way to
the livingroom
to watch them.
Upon entering the room, she saw that her father was already sitting on
the couch watching the t.v. She immediately tensed,
not wanting to receive one of his hateful
glares or
his angry words after the fight and turned to leave when the baby kicked her
with all its might. Bra lurched forward and dropped to her knees in pain,
suddenly
wishing she had trained more when she was younger so she could withstand the
intense pain that the tiny sayian brought. As it
resided and she came back
to herself, she noticed
that her father was at her side, the closest he'd been in days.
"Are you all right, brat?" He asked in his harsh voice, but
there was underlying concern there, if one knew how to look for it.
She smiled weakly, trying to be strong in front of her father, who
prided everything on his strength and stood up slowly. "Yes, I'm fine."
She said pulling away from
the hand he had wrapped
around her arm to help her up. "He does that sometimes. I think he's going
to be pretty strong."
Vegeta
narrowed his eyes at her. "So it seems." He said with a little more
than suspicion in his voice.
Bra looked at him wondering what it was that he suspected, but he
merely walked away from her and back to the couch. She watched him go, feeling
more deserted and alone than she ever has before in her life. It seemed that
everyone was turning away from her. Like it was her fault and hers alone that
she was in this mess and that she must face it by herself without the support
of even her family.
She felt disgraced and ashamed and so utterly alone and afraid that
something snapped violently inside of her. Her eyes blurred with fresh tears
and her hands fisted
at her sides as her body
began to tremble. She felt a raw, furious energy course through her like never
before and her mind focused on one thing: destruction. She felt the need to
destroy something or she was going to go insane. She stomped her foot down on
the floor as hard as she could, making the floorboards beneath the
carpet
crack, the sound knocking Vegeta out of his
complacency. The last thing she remembered was strong arms
coming around her then all went black.
She awoke sometime later in her room. She opened her eyes slowly,
confused and with a pounding headache. She caught movement to the side of her
and turned to see her father sitting in a chair next to the bed scowling. He
leaned over her when he saw that she was awake and his face hardened more.
"What the hell is wrong with you, brat? Are you trying to kill
yourself or something? I don't know how to take care of pregnant women when
they pass out." He said. It was something that he would only admit to her.
"Did you call mom?" Bra questioned quietly. He snorted. His answer for no. "Didn't you ever take care of mom
when she was pregnant, even with me?" She asked
again.
Vegeta
shook his head. "No. I did the same thing as when I found out she was
carrying Trunks. I left and went into space to train. Like I want to be around
her
when she's overly moody."
He said with a hint of humor in his voice.
Bra laid there looking at her father and felt again the loneliness and
despair that she had earlier. Trying to keep herself from crying again, she
asked: "Where do you
go when you go out there
to train?" Her voice was choked and already she could feel them coming.
He looked at her for a moment before answering. "Old
army bases." He said simply while he watched her.
For reasons completely unknown to Vegeta, Bra
started bawling and threw her arms around his neck, hugging him as if he would
disappear. He sat rigidly for a few
seconds, not
knowing what to do, then he gently wrapped his arms around her. He could feel
the wetness already beginning to soak through his shirt and he
wondered what
her problem was. He had never seen her quite like this before. Between the breath
stealing sobs he could hear her.
"I'm so sorry, daddy. I never meant to disappoint you or momma,
but I can't do this on my own." She sobbed. "He-he won't help me. H-he
s-said that it wasn't his
kid and that he didn't
want to have anything to do with me. But I swear, I swear that he's the only
one I've been with. I thought that I loved him and that he loved me
too." She finished
burying her head in his shoulder and crying even harder.
Vegeta
stiffened at the mention of her actually being with someone and almost pulled
away from her out of disgust, but remembering her earlier outburst thought it
was best to not upset her
any more than she already was. So instead, he did what he used to do when she
was a baby and nobody except him could calm her down; he gently stroked her
blue hair and whispered into her ear.
"Tell me who it is, Bra and I swear I'll make him pay. He'll wish
that he never laid eyes on you when I'm through with him. I'll make him hurt as
you are hurting now."
He whispered reassuringly over and over again.
Bra pulled away from him and looked into his black eyes. Her eyes were
colored with pain and something farther from anger, more like rage and she
nodded her
head. "Yes,
daddy. Please make him pay. Break every bone in his body." She said
menacingly.
Vegeta
looked intently at his daughter. "Just tell me his name and he will no
longer have an existence on this planet." His own anger was beginning to
build at the sight of his upset little girl.
She shook her head. "No. I don't want him dead. I want him to
suffer. When this baby is born and he knows without a doubt that it is his, I
want you to make him
suffer."
She whispered darkly.
He gave his acceptance with a nod of his head and she laid back down on her bed. Vegeta
watched her until she drifted off to sleep. As her breathing became deep
and even, he remembered
one important fact that he seemed to have over looked since the scandal began: Bra
was his daughter and no matter what she was his
responsibility to
protect. He felt a sudden pang of failure as he looked at her swollen belly and
vowed to make the one responsible for it pay. He had
been too lost in his own affairs to notice that his daughter was getting
herself in trouble, a fact that he should have never overlooked.
As he left for the gravity room, he swore to be more conscientious of
his children's affairs, so that he never found himself in this position again.
*********************************************
Pan came to see Bra a few days later. She found her in her lying on her
bed in her room crying. Pan approached Bra cautiously, wondering what had upset
her this
time and hoping that it
didn't have anything to do with her uncle. She sat down on the edge of the bed
and waited for her to say something.
Bra opened her eyes slowly and looked at Pan, who was looking at her
expectantly. She sighed and gave a small smile.
"I was watching a car commercial and for some reason I was
thinking about how beautifully it was done and the next thing I knew I was
laying here bawling!" She
exclaimed then
started laughing. "How ridiculous is that?! Damn hormones! I've never
cried this much in my life!" She finished with a growl.
Pan laughed with her for a minute, then sobered and got to the reason
she was there. "So how did it go with my uncle?" She asked.
Bra's face darken and she sat up. "Fuck
that bastard." She growled.
Pan sucked in a breath. "What did he say?"
"Everything except what I wanted to hear." Bra said while
crossing her arms over her chest. "He basically said that the kid wasn't
his, he wasn't going to take
responsibility for
something that he didn't do, that I'm trying to break him and
Pan exhaled in a huff, her eyes wide. "He said what?" She almost
yelled. "You're exaggerating, Bra. Goten would
never say something like that. He's been under a
lot of pressure lately,
but he would never speak that way to anyone."
Bra snorted. "Yeah, well, that's what I thought until I heard it
come out of his mouth. That's exactly what he said, more or less." She
said angrily.
Pan shook her head. "I don't believe it! What the hell is my
uncle's problem? What are you going to do now?"
Bra looked at her. She couldn't very well tell her about the pact she
made with her father, promising to be able to bring pain to Goten,
so she just shrugged her
shoulders.
"Bra," Pan said, "what's going to happen when the baby
is born and everyone finds out that Goten is really
the father?"
"I don't know." She lied. "I guess he'll get what's
coming to him." She said darkly, while frowning.
Pan just stared at her and Bra stared back. There was something almost
frightening in her eyes and Pan wasn't sure she liked it. She couldn't jump to
her uncle's
defense if
he really said all of that, but still, he was blood and she feared for his
safety. She could only imagine what kind of horror she had in-store for him. She
looked
away, then said:
"I'll go talk to him, Bra. I'm sure he didn't mean any of it."
Bra snorted again. "Whatever, Pan. Do
what you want, but I doubt he'll say anything differently to you. Just let him
figure it out on his own."
Pan stood to leave. "Just hold on Bra. He'll come around soon
enough."
Bra gave a bitter, humorless laugh. "Who says I'll still want him
after all that?" She said with a conspiratorial tone in her voice.
Pan frowned and left, wanting to go talk to her uncle as soon as
possible. Something in her friend's voice made her uneasy and she knew that she
was already
plotting
something.
*******************************************
Two months came and went. As she had expected, nothing came from Pan
talking to Goten. Only him
telling her that she was being mislead. Pan knew the truth
though and
every chance she got, she got on his case about it, hoping to get him to go and
apologize before something really bad happened. Goten
somehow
managed to
convince himself that the child wasn't his, even though every fiber in his body
told him otherwise.
The wedding between Paris and Goten was
delayed several months by Goten. He said that he
didn't want to draw attention from the baby or have her go into labor
during the
ceremony, thereby drawing attention from that. But Bra knew differently. She
knew that he delayed the wedding because he didn't want to get married
and then find out that he
was indeed a father.
The two of them avoided each other and he was about the only person
that didn't come to see her. Pan was there almost every day, decorating the
nursery she had
added onto
her room, going shopping or just being a friend. Maron
didn't seem to be happy about the entire thing at all and seemed to take Bra's
pregnancy
personally, for
reasons that only she knew. She and Trunks couldn't be in the same room
together without getting into an argument so she stopped coming over all
together.
Trunks was
oddly supportive. Her brother, who had never given a damn about what she did
before as long as she stayed out of his business, was now buying toys
and clothes for the baby,
taking her out to lunch or attending lamaze classes
when Pan couldn't. It was a little more than unnerving.
Even though she and her father kind of made up, he still didn't like to
be in the same room as her. Bulma explained that it
was because he was unnerved by the
double Ki she gave off. Bra didn't know if she bought it or not
because it didn't seem to bother any of the other Ki
sensing people, except Piccolo, who just thought
the entire thing was
gross anyway. She didn't let it bother her though, that was just the way her
father was.
Finally the day came. Bra, Pan and Trunks were sitting in the livingroom playing Monopoly and, as always, Trunks was
winning and being very ungraceful about it.
"Ha-ha!" Trunks shouted, throwing
his hands in the air as Pan landed on one of his properties. "That's Park
Place with a hotel and two houses. You owe me five grand, Pan! Pay up!"
Pan groaned. "Come on Trunks, you know I don't have that much
money. Can't you just let me slid by this one time?" She whined.
Trunks shook his head. "No way. Pay up or
quite the game, Panny-chan!"
"We've been friends forever and this is how you repay my
friendship?!" She asked.
He rubbed in his chin, as if in thought. "Well, you could sell me
all of your green property." He said slyly.
"What?! No
way! That's the only property I own. I already had to sell all the houses on it!"
She cried.
Trunks grinned maliciously. "Yeah, sell me the green property and .
. . um mm . . . bow and call me master every time you see me for the next week
and I'll let you
slide this
one time."
Pan yelled indignantly and threw a hand full of sharp, pointy little
houses at him. He tried to dodge them but one hit him in the eye and he started
whining. Bra laughed at the two and excused herself to the bathroom, knowing
that it was going to take a while for them to settle down since they did it
every time.
She came back a few minutes later, shaken. "Guys . . . " She called out frightened. They must not have heard
her, because they didn't stop wrestling. "You guys . . ."
She called a little bit louder, but they still didn't hear her. "GUYS!" She finally yelled, getting their
attention.
They stopped immediately, ending up in a very compromising position and
looked at her. "I think my water broke." She said in quivering voice.
Pan paled and Trunks looked confused. "What does that mean?" He
asked.
"It means that she's going to have the baby!" Pan said as she
shoved Trunks off of her and went to Bra.
Realization dawning on him, Trunks began to panic. He stood and looked
wide eyed at his sister, whose face was contorted in pain and breathing heavily
while
leaning
against the doorframe. Bra and Pan watched him amused as he ran back and forth
in the livingroom screaming, "what
do I do? What do I do?" After a
couple of
minutes it got annoying, so Pan clothes lined him, making him fall flat on his
back.
Trunks rubbed his neck as Pan glared down at him. "Go get your
parents." She said slowly as Bra moaned behind them.
Hearing his sister, Trunks immediately forgot about what Pan did and
went to do what he was told. Pan went back to Bra and led her over to the
couch, staying as
calm as she could because
it looked like Bra was going to lose it any minute now. "Let me go up
stairs and get your bags." Pan said as she tried to pull away from
her.
Bra held tight and shook her head. "No, please don't leave me, Pan.
I don't want to be alone." She said, eyes filled with
fear.
Pan obliged and a few minutes later Bulma
came running up from the basement. "Sweetie, are you okay?" She asked
as she stroked Bra's head.
Bra shook her head. "Mom, I'm scared." She said in a tiny
frightened voice.
"I know, honey. It'll be ok. Mommy is here for you." Bulma soothed. She turned to Pan. "Go get her bags and
meet us outside."
Pan nodded and ran off. Just then Trunks returned with Vegeta, both looking shaken. Without saying a word, Vegeta picked his daughter up and carried her outside
where Bulma popped a capsule containing a small jet. They climbed
inside and waited for Pan. As soon as she got inside they took off for the
hospital and Pan
called
everyone to let them know.
******************************************************************************
At any rate, everyone have a happy T-Day and enjoy yourselves!
See ya in about two weeks! Don't forget to review,
please! I changed my e-mail address. Again. I
know, but this should be
the last time. Now I'm reachable at necco418@yahoo.com. Please feel free to
leave questions and comments, I love them! I'll try to get
back to everyone who does.
Ja! ^_~
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