Part 30 Birthday Party
Part B

“I would like that,” replied 18.

“Sage,” Gohan asked the chibi. “Would you like to go and see 18? She is going to have a baby very soon, and would like to hold you. She is Krillen’s wife, and he is my father’s best friend.”

At the mention of Goku, Sage perked up, and pulled his thumb out of his mouth with an audible ‘pop.’ He looked at Krillen, and then turned his face upwards so he was looking at Gohan’s face from below and asked, “Baka?”

Krillen face-vaulted and even 18 blinked. Gohan smiled. “Yes, he’s Baka’s best friend. Would you like to go and see 18? I bet you can feel the baby.”

Sage considered, looking appraisingly at the former android and her rotund belly that protruded in sharp relief from her slight frame. He looked back at Gohan and said quietly, “More.”

Gohan, correctly interpreting Sage’s request assured the chibi that he would stay right here. Sage looked back at 18, and hesitantly held his arms out to her. She smiled faintly, and took the chibi from Gohan’s arms, holding him for a moment at arms length.

“Here,” said Gohan, approaching her and showing her how to hold Sage comfortably. Sage leaned over and rested two small palms on the belly presented below him. A sharp, visible movement from within caused him to screech in surprise as his hands were bounced from their resting place.

“There’s a baby in there Sage,” said Gohan soothingly. “She just kicked, that’s all.” Sage looked at Gohan, and then at 18, puzzlement clear on his small face.

Gohan laughed. “I don’t think he quite gets it.”

“Gohan,” came the cool voice of the former android. “How old is Sage?”

“He’s just over two months old,” replied Gohan. “But Saiyjins develop more quickly than humans do, so you shouldn’t use him as a barometer for what your baby would be doing at two months.”

“So him talking is not normal for human babies?” she queried.

“Yeah, they usually don’t say their first words for another eight or nine months.”

She nodded, acknowledging his response.

Sage reached up and patted her face curiously. She gazed intently at his face, noting just how much he looked like Vegeta. He gently tugged her hair, and cocked his head to the side to regard her solemnly. Sage started visibly, when Krillen, recovered from his face vault, and helped to his feet by Piccolo, tickled him in his ribs. He giggled and kicked, causing 18 to hold him away from her, in an instinctive movement that protected her gravid belly from his feet.

“So Gohan,” said Krillen, tickling Sage’s feet, and eliciting a squeal of laughter from the chibi. “How long has Sage been talking, and why does he call your father ‘Baka’?”

Gohan laughed. “Three guesses Krillen,” he said, looking across the crowd at Vegeta. “Don’t worry though, Dad’s actually thrilled. Don’t let it get around, but Sage said Baka before Tou’tan.”

The two friends laughed together, but even as he found the situation undeniably hilarious, Krillen had to wonder at the sudden closeness between the Saiyjin prince and the Sons. His thoughts were interrupted by his wife’s calm voice.

“Stop tickling me with that tail.”

He looked over in time to see her grab the wiggling appendage firmly in her hand. Sage’s eyes widened and he screeched a single syllable, “BA….” before seeming to faint, eyes half-lidded as he slumped over in his wife’s grasp.

Before any of them could react, there was a blur in front of 18. A furious Goku removed 18’s hand from Sage’s tail and swept the baby into his arms, crooning soothingly as he glared daggers at the lot of them.

“What the HELL do you think you were doing?” he hissed at 18 who took a step back from the enraged Saiyjin who was flickering dangerously golden around the edges. “He’s just a BABY for fuck’s sake!”

He didn’t wait for an answer before turning on Gohan, Piccolo and Krillen. “And you three, you KNOW what happens when a Saiyjin’s tail is grabbed too brutally, and Sage’s is still very soft, very susceptible to damage.” He turned enraged eyes on his son. “Do I need to grab YOUR tail to remind you?” he asked dangerously.

Gohan backed up, holding his hands up in front of him, tail lashing behind him before curling nervously around his waist. “Dad, I swear, I didn’t know she was going to do it!”

“You should have warned her before you let her hold the baby,” he replied, eyes still flashing angrily.

He was stopped from continuing his rant by a soft hand on his chin. “Baka, more Tou’tan,” whimpered the chibi softly, tears of pain running down his face.

Goku glared at the four of them, Krillen and 18 still had stunned looks on their faces; Piccolo looked thoughtfully back at him; and Gohan looked fearfully resigned. “This isn’t finished,” he stated, and stalked off through the crowd, straight for Vegeta.

Krillen was the first to find his voice. “What the hell just happened?” he wondered. Gohan sighed, and began to explain…dreading what would happen when Vegeta found out.

Vegeta of course already knew. He had known the instant those cold fingers closed around his son’s thickening tail. He simply wasn’t as fast as Kakkarott and that damnable teleportation technique. By the time he had turned around to rush through the crowd to get to his son, Kakkarott was already there, and had removed Sage from the painful situation. Vegeta considered joining them, he was worried about Sage, but he was enjoying the looks of abject fear on Krillen, 18 and Gohan’s faces. And he knew Sage was in good hands; Kakkarott after all was his bond-father.

He didn’t blame Kakkarott’s brat or the Namek; he knew perfectly well that the androids had been programmed with full information about Saiyjin physiology. With the exception of the Super Saiyjin transformation, they had to know just about everything there was to know about killing a Saiyjin. However, since she wasn’t technically an android anymore, he wasn’t sure just how much of that knowledge she retained. Still, he growled under his breath, if only she wasn’t pregnant. He just might have to take some of his anger out on Baldy instead.

He looked up from his angry musings in time to see Kakkarott stop in front of him, a whimpering Sage wrapped tightly around his neck. He was dismayed to see that instead of curling around a protruding body part like it usually did, Sage’s blue-black tail hung limply across his bond-father’s arm.

He held his hands out, “Give me my son, and come with me.” The younger Saiyjin, still seething with anger, obeyed.

They walked into the kitchen of the main house, Vegeta intending to use the table there, but it was already occupied with Goten’s huge birthday cake that Bulma’s mother was putting the finishing touches on. She thankfully didn’t see them, as they passed her and continued on to the gravity room. Without being asked, Goku closed and locked the door behind them, and followed Vegeta to a corner where he pushed a button and a shelf extended from the wall.

“I need you to hold him still Kakkarott, this is going to hurt him. I need to check his tail over, and make sure it is not damaged.”

Goku nodded, and gently turned the baby over on to his stomach, crooning to him in soft Saiyjino. Vegeta unsnapped the legs on his son’s overalls and carefully, very carefully pulled his son’s tail free from the hole in the backside of the denim. Sage whimpered, but did not move as Kakkarott held him firmly but gently still.

Pushing the legs of the overalls out of his way, Vegeta delicately pulled the small tail straight, and starting at the base, felt meticulously down the length. Sage’s whimpers turned to cries, then screams, as Vegeta deftly pushed a soft bone back into place, tears in his eyes at his son’s pain. He looked up and nodded at Kakkarott, whose eyes were wet as well, and together they cradled the screaming baby until his sobs quieted, and he slept, exhausted from the sheer intensity of his experience.

“Will he be ok?” whispered Goku, not wanting to wake the sleeping prince whose face was even, in sleep still contorted in pain.

Vegeta was rummaging around in one of the drawers by the shelf. Finding what he was searching for, he turned to Kakkarott, and replied, “Hai, there is no permanent damage. She just slightly dislocated one of the bones.” He motioned for the taller Saiyjin to turn the baby around, and he dexterously wrapped a length of strong gauze around the spot on his son’s tail that he had treated to hold the bone in place. Tying it off, he began to snap the legs of Sage’s bibs back up, then stopped, thinking better of it. Instead, he removed them entirely, not wanting to thread the tail through the hole intended for it. Sage’s tail would be tender for a while, and the less it was handled the better.

“Actually the fact that it hurt him so much is a good sign; none of the nerves were damaged.”

Goku growled under his breath, “I swear, if she weren’t pregnant, she’d be a smear on the ground right now.”

Vegeta grinned faintly. He very much enjoyed this side of the gentle Saiyjin. “Hai Kakkarott, but she is. And it was an accident, for all intents and purposes. I doubt she meant to hurt him since she went through all that trouble just to see the little brat. However,” and his eyes narrowed at the memory of his son’s recent pain. “I agree with you. Don’t blame your son Kakkarott; you know he would have done anything to prevent what happened.”

“True,” Goku acknowledged. He looked at the Saiyjin prince, desire flooding through him all of a sudden. He abruptly turned away. Can’t give in, he thought to himself. He made it very plain what had to happen first. He took a deep breath and turned back to Vegeta, who was watching him with something like amusement in his eyes. “We should return to the party Vegeta, do you want me to put Sage to bed?”

Vegeta shook his head. “No, he’ll want to be close to someone when he wakes. I’ll put him in the carry pouch. Come on.”

Goku followed the short Saiyjin out of the gravity room and down the hall where Vegeta grabbed the carry-pouch from its hook. He started to put it on, but Goku stopped him.

“Let me, please?” he asked quietly.

Vegeta stopped, about to refuse, when he saw the look in Kakkarott’s eyes. And he reminded himself again that the younger Saiyjin had a parent-child bond with his chibi. He nodded, and handed the carry-pouch to him, taking the chibi so that Kakkarott could tie the pouch on.

Goku unbuttoned his soft green shirt (yes, the same soft green shirt, author takes a moment to reflect) and removed it, tying the pouch on over his bare chest, with a little help from Vegeta. He put his shirt back on, and Vegeta helped him settle the sleeping Sage in the pouch next to the bare skin over his heart.

Vegeta made to return to the party, but was stopped by a hand on his shoulder. He turned slightly irritated to Kakkarott who returned the look intently.

“Vegeta, at some point soon we need to have a long talk about this bond parent thing.”

Vegeta who had been expecting something quit different to come out of Kakkarott’s mouth, stared at him for a moment, then nodded.

“True,” he replied. “We’ll arrange something after the party, ne?” And not waiting for an answer, he turned and walked away, Goku and Sage following him after a bare moment’s hesitation.

Bulma meanwhile, had been completely unaware of the near disaster that had befallen her youngest son. For the past little while since Krillen and 18 had left, Yamcha had been plying her with attention, feeling brave because Vegeta was no where to be seen.

“Hey, Bulma, I just remembered…you just had another baby, didn’t you?” Yamcha looked torn; on the one hand a baby was exciting news even to a single, womanizing, fighting, baseball playing guy like him. On the other hand, it reminded him forcefully that Bulma was taken, by the person that scared him the most. Vegeta.

“You’ve been standing there talking to me for how long Yamcha, and you just now get around to asking me about my baby?” Bulma was amused though her voice didn’t reflect that amusement. That was so…Yamcha, she thought.

“Gosh, I’m sorry Bulma, I was just so excited to see you, and let’s face it, you don’t LOOK like you just had a baby!”

Bulma smiled and blushed slightly. “All right, you clod, you’re forgiven.”

“So, what did you have?”

“A baby.”

“Cut it out Bulma, I’m trying to be a little serious,” Yamcha protested, grinning in spite of himself.

“Oh, OK. I had another boy.”

“Cool!! Another little warrior, huh?”

Bulma sighed. “I’m afraid so.”

“So, what did you name him?”

Bulma hesitated, wondering whether to tell him the actual birth name or the chibi name. Well, he’d find out sooner or later….

“Vegeta.”

“Nani? Where?” Yamcha looked alarmed, and glanced around slightly frantically, looking for a sign of the Saiyjin prince.

Bulma snorted with laughter. “Baka, we named the baby Vegeta.”

“Oh,” replied Yamcha in a small voice, clearly embarrassed by his display. “So, where is he?”

Bulma frowned, “You know? I’m not actually sure.” She snagged Gohan who was walking dejectedly past her. “Gohan, do you know who has Sage?” She was startled to see the pain in his eyes as he turned to her.

“Dad and Vegeta have him,” he replied softly. “Last I saw they were taking him in the house.”

“Gohan, what’s wrong?”

He looked away, not wanting to meet her eyes, but answered her, still speaking in the same soft, sad voice.

“18 wanted to hold him, and he let her. I was right there, but I was talking to Krillen, and I guess Sage was tickling her with his tail, probably not meaning to, and she told him to stop and grabbed his tail. Hard. He passed out.”

“Oh Kami,” Bulma breathed. “Vegeta didn’t kill her, did he?”

“Vegeta never even made it over there. Before I could even react, Dad was there, and reading us the riot act. It was ugly. Then he left with Sage and I saw him and Vegeta take the chibi into the house.” He swallowed. “Sage’s tail was limp Bulma, she must have hurt it.”

Bulma looked around the yard, and with relief spotted Vegeta and Goku coming out of the kitchen door. Goku was wearing the carry-pouch with Sage obviously in it. “He must be ok,” she muttered. “Or else they wouldn’t come back out, not like that.” She blinked as something that Gohan had said fully sank in. “Goku got there first?” she asked the boy blankly.

“Instant transmission.”

“Oh,” she said thoughtfully, looking at Goku her eyes wide with curiosity.

Yamcha meanwhile couldn’t have heard half the conversation. His horrified attention was fixed on one long, thick dark brown appendage.

“Uh, kid?”

Gohan turned to Yamcha. “What Yamcha?”

“Um…what’s with the tail?”

Gohan sighed.

Vegeta and Goku hadn’t taken a single step out of the kitchen when they almost tripped over Trunks and Goten. Trunks had tears in his eyes and flung himself at his father before Vegeta could say a word. Goten looked at his best friend, his midnight eyes wide and apprehensive as Trunks cried quietly into his father’s shoulder.

“Saaaa Trunks, it’s all right,” said Vegeta a little awkwardly. He knew why Trunks was upset, and he hugged his amethyst heir closely to him. “Your brother is fine, just a little sore, see?” And he held Trunks up so he could see the sleeping chibi in the carry-pouch.

Trunks sniffled, and looked, smiling with relief as he saw his brother’s sleeping face snuggled up to Goku-san’s chest.

“What happened to him Papa?”

Goku and Vegeta exchanged a look. Vegeta turned back to his son and replied, “Sage just had a little accident with his tail. He’s ok.”

“That’s right,” said Goku. “You boys should go back to enjoying the party. Goten, I think it’s almost time for your cake!” He smiled broadly at the two boys whose faces had lit up at the mention of cake. He knelt down and hugged the birthday boy tightly, wrapping his tail around his shoulders in a gesture of reassurance. “Everything is fine,” he whispered in the boy’s ear. “Go and enjoy your party. If you look over there, I think your grandfather has something special he’d like to give you,” and he pointed the Ox King out to Goten (not that the man needed pointing out). Goten hugged his father back, and kissed him on the cheek.

“Thanks Daddy,” he said happily, and grabbing Trunks’ hand he dragged his friend off to see his grandfather.

The rest of the party proceeded without a hitch. Bulma spoke quietly to Vegeta for a few minutes and checked in with Goku who still had the sleeping chibi in the carry-pouch slung across his chest. Krillen decided to take the high road and approached Goku, hands held out in a pacifying gesture and Goku forgave him; 18 however avoided both Saiyjins. Goku sought out Gohan and apologized to him; Gohan nearly crying in relief when he found out that Sage was going to be perfectly fine.

Everyone else at the party seemed to be having a great time, and with the exception of a few good natured scuffles (and a loud argument between Oolong and Puar about who got the last Pepsi Twist) the major conflicts seemed to have been resolved. Anyone who had the urge to ask about the sudden reappearance of the Saiyjin’s and demi-Saiyjin’s tails were deterred by the black looks that Vegeta no ouji was giving out. The only time anyone could say for sure that he smiled was when the giant birthday cake was rolled out, and Sage popped his head out of the carry-pouch at the loud admiring noises that surrounded him.

The cake was truly a masterpiece. Bulma’s mother had asked Goten what his favorite flavor of cake was, and he had gone through a whole long list before throwing up his hands and declaring that he couldn’t decide…he liked them all!! So Bulma’s mother had made the cake in every conceivable flavor. There was chocolate, yellow, white, marbled fudge, cherry chip, banana, angel food, devils food, chocolate chip, gooey fudge, caramel, raspberry, lemon and of course, carrot. All nestled together under a blanket of bright orange cream cheese frosting with black lettering proclaiming: HAPPY 4th BIRTHDAY GOTEN!!!! Beneath it was a stunning picture of the Flying Nimbus with Goten and Trunks riding on it.

Goku lit the four candles with a bit of ki on the tip of one index finger with Sage looking on interestedly from the pouch, and everyone joined in singing “Happy Birthday to Goten.”

Only Trunks knew what his wish was as he easily blew out the candles and everyone dug into the sumptuous cake. In the end, Trunks and Goten attacked it with bare hands, searching for the bits they liked best. Everyone else was laughing too hard to stop them, and after all, it was Goten’s birthday cake.

A couple of hours later and Goku took the sleeping, sticky chibi into his lap as he sat on the Nimbus. Gohan was driving his mother and Goten’s present’s home, and everyone else was slowly going their own separate ways.

Vegeta watched from his balcony, a tired Sage curled in his arms, blue-black tail wrapped around a sleepy hand as Bulma said a long good bye to Yamcha. She hugged the dark haired ningen, and waved as he left with Puar. As though she felt his gaze on the back of her head, she slowly turned and met his eyes across the distance and height that separated them.

Yes, thought Vegeta. I definitely do need to talk to the onna.

To be continued...

Email Talon @ talonsage@attbi.com