"I-I do not now any Saiyan," I said, and looked from Vegeta, who wouldn't meet my eye, to my mother, who smiled peacefully.

"Oh, honey, but you do," She said, and stroked my hair, like she would a little child. I then realized that she hardly even knew me as I was. The tears came fresh, like I had an ocean's supply held up inside my broken, beaten heart.

I shook my head, again and again, and Lela let out a little whimper. I looked at her, then Vegeta, who still wouldn't look me in the face. He obviously knew something. Something that concerned me, by the guilty look on his face. Had I been normal, I would be shocked.

"Excuse me. Visiting can not be permitted right now. She is to go into surgery," An old nurse said at the door, and I looked up at her, my eyes getting rounder. No no no no no no no no no no no no no! I could not, *would* not, leave her!

Lela nodded and exited the room slowly, glancing back at me sadly. Vegeta got up from the chair he was sitting on and looked at me expectantly. I shook my head and clung to my mother.

"Honey, you *must* leave me. I will be here when you get back," She pleaded, and pushed me away. I nodded weakly, tears streaming, and tripped and stumbled over to the door blindly. I fell to the ground in front of the door, and Vegeta grabbed me before I hit too hard.

I looked back to my mother. She smiled weakly and lifted her head as much as she could. Tears slid down her face and my own.

"Goodbye, my little Princess," She whispered, and waved to me as Vegeta dragged me out of the room gently, me shouting for my mother the whole way down the hall.

~*~

My whole life was falling apart.

Wait...wasn't it already gone? What did I have left, but old memories, old friends, old everything. My mother was dying. It was no secret that she wouldn't last much longer. She was so far out in left field, she wouldn't let Vegeta do anything. If she died, I would be a family of one. Who would I dream about when I thought 'family'? A grave, no, two, two graves that didn't even exist. I had once been the luckiest little girl in the whole world, a nice family, a nice life, and lots of money to spare. We were picture perfect.

Not anymore. The only thing that was picture-perfect was the sorrow I was feeling now. How perfectly dramatic it was. This was the kind of thing that happened on TV, or maybe in a very sick, twisted book. Only a maniac would be able to *handle* doing such a thing to someone.

I wasn't a spoiled little brat anymore. I wasn't spoiled anymore. I had nothing, not even a little something to hold on to, something to at least give me some *false* hope. The only thing *I* had was memories, memories and two nonexistent graves.

~*~

I sobbed into Vegeta's arms. This was one of the only times I could remember him being nice to me. What had driven him to do this, I did not know. I didn't care either. I just needed *someone* to lean on, even if it was an evil Saiyan king.

We hadn't even made it to the waiting room. We were in the hallway, sitting on the floor. Nurses and doctors hardly gave us a second glance. They were so used to loss, sorrow, and death. Everyday someone died or fell ill. They were just the people who housed them, helped them, if at all. They didn't care about feelings, or else I wouldn't be crying in Vegeta's arms, of all people.

Lela was standing, watching us, tears streaming down her cheeks, too. Only Vegeta wasn't crying, but I could see deep sorrow in his eyes also. How young had he been when his own mother had been lost? Had he even known her?

"Your mother wouldn't leave you on purpose, baka! What would drive her to do something like that? She only knows that you will be able to take care of yourself. It is mean trying to keep her like this," Vegeta whispered, his voice slightly sarcastic. Somehow, I found this comforting, and my tears slowed, but still fell.

"My mother is the most fantastic woman there is, she can't die, she can't! I have only been able to see her for a matter of hours..." I cried, and Lela covered her face with her hands.

Vegeta didn't say anything, just stared ahead, blankly, like he was remembering some sad time of his own.

I don't know how long we sat there, crying and remembering silently. I fell asleep, and woke up lying across a blue plush couch. It was dark outside, really late, the hospital was nearly empty. Only a few nurses and doctors conversed in hushed voices.

I looked around my frantically. Vegeta and Lela were gone. I got up, my muscles aching. My face was dry from crying, and my head was pounding, yet surprisingly clear.

A nurse noticed that I was up, and smiled. "Honey, I am glad you are okay. Your mother got out of surgery a couple of hours ago. Your friends are somewhere around here," She said, and smiled at me until I got up and went to find them.

I was almost to my mother's room when Lela stepped out of a bathroom, face flushed and eyes sad. She saw me and managed a weak, sad smile.

"Hey, glad your up. They won't let anyone see your mother yet. Vegeta was seriously pissed and got all mad at the poor nurse who crossed him. She is lucky, really lucky!" She said, and sighed. "Look, I'm so sorry. Your mother is a wonderful woman, and you are so much like her, I can tell."

I nodded and looked down. "Where's Vegeta?" I asked.

Lela shook her head. "He knows something, Bulma, and it bothers me. He went out a little while ago, and I haven't seen him."

I nodded and attempted to smile, just to make her feel better. She smiled weakly too, and her face fell when she looked behind me.

"It's the bearer of good news," She said to me, and I turned around.

Vegeta stood behind us, arms crossed, eyes downcast. He looked like he had been up all day and night, his face was unusually pale.

"Your mother is in a...pretty stable condition," He started, and looked me in the eyes. "I...I am sorry."

I was surprised at his kindness and nodded. "Thank you. Where have you been?" I asked, and noticed that he had gotten a change of clothes. He wore a black tank top and jeans, with a light black jacket over his shirt. Black was definitly his color. I must have been asleep a long time for Lela to be able to convince him of this.

Lela smiled. "Uh, we sorta raided your backpack and got some money. Whoever you stayed with is pretty loaded," She said, and Vegeta nodded.

"I am glad that you found some," I said, and walked away from both of them, aimlessly.

"Bulma! Bulma, where are you going?!" Lela called after me, and I heard Vegeta tell her to let me go, I would just be depressed unless I did. I smirked and continued on.

What was I going to do...after my mother...I didn't have the heart to do anything but sulk, that is how I felt at the moment. I found an exit and walked out of the hospital into the warm night air. There was a nice warm breeze going, and my hair blew around with it.

The hospital was near the ocean, so I walked across the street to sit in the sand, thinking. The water lapped at my feet calmly and the moon high above me. A couple tears slid down my cheeks slowly, and I didn't bother to wipe them away. Beaches were good places to cry.

I let myself begin to cry again, soft little whimpers escaping, along with little chokes and sobs. I was so pathetic. I wrapped my arms around my knees and let myself cry it out.

Soft footprints sounded behind me, and I looked back scaredly, I couldn't handle anyone else that I didn't know trying to help me!

But it was only Vegeta, and he stopped some two feet behind me, arms crossed, looking over the ocean quietly. I looked back forward and let myself cry again. What more damage could it do to my pride now?

He sighed and sat down next to me, wrapping his arms around his knees in the same fashion. We just sat there in an odd, comfortable silence that said far more than words ever could.

~*~

Awwww I know...why do I have such a thing for sad chapters?? I'm sorry if I am depressing you, I am depressing myself, really. Maybe the next chapter will be a songfic...maybe. Ja ne, and I would LOVE to hear from you....

Back to Fiction
Chapter 33