In Your Dreams: Chapter 52

Vegeta learned very quickly to stay away from Kakarotto's closet. Even after being on the receiving end of a rather nasty bite to the arm, the prince couldn't resist attempting to retrieve some of his favorite shirts from his mate's nest of clothes.

Unfortunately, the older man discovered the hard way that Goku seemed to have a sixth sense when it came to the safety of his carefully constructed nest, and after getting tackled from behind in two separate occasions the moment he touched the closet's doorknob, Vegeta admitted defeat and simply enlisted Bulma's help in buying him a few new shirts to last him until he could have his old clothes back. Of course, that all depended on whether or not he even WANTED them back after his mate was through with them.

So aside from Vegeta's severely lacking wardrobe, all was well. Goku, who was only about five weeks away from his delivery date, had stopped venturing too far away from Capsule Corp. The Saiyajin's belly still wasn't as large as anyone thought it would be at this point, but the younger man was eating properly and seemed to be in good health, so no one saw any need for alarm.

Gohan and Goten visited on nearly a daily basis now, and the extra company seemed to make Kakarotto happy, so Vegeta allowed it. Still, the prince wasn't getting very much alone time with his mate anymore, and the little time he did get with him tended to be when Goku was asleep. The older man was trying to remain patient with the lack of privacy, but he could only take so much. His teeth couldn't take much more grinding before they cracked, after all.

ChiChi and Victor also stopped in for regular visits, though since driving to Capsule Corp tended to take longer than flying, they limited their visits to once a week. Victor had decided a week prior to postpone his sessions with Goku until after the birth of the baby. He didn't think it was wise to put any unnecessary stress on the Saiyajin at the moment. After all, he knew Vegeta would kill him if he was responsible for a pre-mature delivery.

A respectable decision.

Pan and Bra were just as squealy as usual, and though Kakarotto had become a little more tolerant of their constant preening, he could only take so much before he felt the need to retreat to a quieter place. Vegeta could usually tell when the younger man would disappear. All he had to do was watch for the tightening of his jaw, the twitch of the tip of his tail, and the flaring of his nostrils. Within minutes of these warning signs, Goku would slip away and wouldn't allow himself to be found until he was ready.

Vegeta wished he was half as good at disappearing like that. Unfortunately, his growling always gave away his hiding spots.

Still, despite the general chaos that surrounded the impending birth, Vegeta was quite comfortable. As each day passed he found himself becoming more and more excited about the moment he'd finally get to hold his child in his arms. The reality of the situation really hit home when Bulma, ChiChi, Bra, and Pan burst through the door carrying armfuls of baby items. Apparently the women had taken it upon themselves to go shopping for everything an infant would need. They'd thought of everything from a crib to monitors to listen in on the baby, and it wasn't long before a nursery was put together in the room beside Vegeta and Goku's.

The prince had been impressed, but not surprised. Leave it to a group of women to take it upon themselves to take care of every last detail when it came to the arrival of a new baby; even if they themselves weren't the carriers of the child.

It was all in their instincts, he supposed.

Speaking of which, Goku's instincts were beginning to worry Vegeta, or rather, the lack of them. Aside from making a nest for himself, the prince hadn't noticed any other change in the younger man's demeanor that would suggest he was preparing for the birth of his child. His mate seemed more nervous and embarrassed about the situation than expectant and happy, and he hadn't even thought about what he might name the child when he or she was born.

Wasn't naming a child supposed to be something an expectant mother obsessed about?

And not once had Vegeta ever seen Kakarotto direct any kind of affection toward his bulging belly. Bulma had constantly rubbed at her own pregnant belly during her gestation period. She'd even talked to both Trunks and Bra before they'd been born and he'd often found her simply smiling down at her stomach; seemingly lost in her own world.

Goku, however, only cringed whenever the baby kicked or wrinkled up his nose whenever someone cooed over his growing belly.

Several times Vegeta had brought up the subject of naming their child, and whenever he asked his mate's opinion, Goku would only shrug and say he hadn't thought about it much. In fact, he always changed the subject whenever the prince attempted to talk to him about the baby.

It was beginning to become a little unnerving.

It seemed that Kakarotto had no parental instincts toward his unborn child at all. Surely by now he should have shown some sort of sign that he was happy to be expecting the baby--- however, there had been none.

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THREE WEEKS UNTIL DELIVERY...

Once again Bulma, Goku, and Vegeta had gathered into what had now become a private suite for performing their routine ultra sounds. The baby was fully formed now, and every tiny finger and toe was easy to distinguish on the screen. They could even make out some of the details of the child's face. The sex of the baby remained unknown, simply because the mini-Saiyajin's tail always blocked their view whenever they tried to find out what gender he or she was. It appeared that they would have to wait until the child was born to find out.

After taking some time to admire the child and ensure it was healthy and strong, Bulma once again began searching for anything that would give them some sort of clue as to how the child was going to be born. To date they hadn't found anything obvious, but Vegeta noticed that this time the woman seemed to be lingering over the same spot longer than usual, and the tilting of her head as she studied the screen suggested she was on to something.

A few moments later his suspicions were confirmed with a low hum and smile.

''Ahh, this looks like a birth canal right here!'' Bulma pointed to the screen as all eyes turned to a spot that seemed whiter than the rest of the surrounding tissue, and Vegeta watched as a manicured finger traced down Goku's swollen belly until it stopped over a spot the discoloration disappeared.

Bulma sat down her tools and turned her full attention to Goku's stomach so she could carefully study the area she was focusing on. For several moments she squinted at a patch of skin below the Saiyajin's baby bump, about 3 inches below his belly button. Bulma ran her finger over the same spot several times, only stopping when Goku squirmed in annoyance.

''Vegeta, come look. Do you see anything here?''

The prince patted Goku on the shoulder as he left his side and stood beside Bulma. He carefully studied the spot she pointed to, and sure enough there was a small line of slightly whiter skin running horizontally across his mate's pelvic area. At the moment it was only about an inch wide, but Vegeta suspected it would get larger in time.

He nodded with a grin. ''I see it.'' The prince looked up at his mate, who, unable to see over his belly, was rather confused about what they were talking about. ''Looks like the baby will come out here.'' he said as he rubbed his fingers over the sensitive spot affectionately.

Goku's face seemed to turn paler than usual, however. ''So... So it really IS going to burst out of my stomach like an alien?!''

Bulma laughed and shook her head. ''No, Goku. There's a fully formed birth canal leading to this spot, which I'm guessing will open up on its own when you're ready to give birth. The baby isn't going to come out biting and clawing at you.''

The Saiyajin seemed to relax a little, but not much. ''Is it going to hurt?''

This time Bulma didn't laugh, and instead she frowned slightly as her blue eyes dropped back down to the thin white line. ''Most a woman's pain comes from their hips and the shifting of their pelvic bone as the baby passes through there. You won't have that problem, at least, not to that degree. I honestly can't tell you how painful it will be, but I can give you something for the pain when the time comes if you need it.''

''I don't want a needle.'' Goku said quickly as he wiped the ultra sound gel off his belly and pushed his shirt back down. Apparently he was done showing his stomach off for the day.

''Kakarotto, if you're anything like Bulma you'll be screaming for a needle before thi---Gah!''

Vegeta growled and glared at Bulma when she elbowed him in the ribs; hard. The woman only glared back and growled lowly under her breath, signaling to the older man to shut-up. Message received.

Her expression changed to a happy smile the moment she turned back to Goku and she clapped her hands together. ''No worries, Goku. Everything will be fine!''

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And everything was fine... for awhile.

However, as the days passed Goku began to become more fidgety. He couldn't sit still for more than a few moments at a time, and he often found himself pacing through Capsule Corp aimlessly for hours at a time. He was constantly nibbling on something, and had completely abandoned any ideas of going outside.

The Saiyajin had also begun to avoid any company. He would greet his sons if they chose to visit, but he never stayed around for long. Vegeta would track his movements and often found him either in bed or in the closet arranging his already perfect nest of clothes.

In fact, it got to the point that Goku didn't want anyone touching him at all anymore. He told Bulma he didn't want to have his final ultra sound, and since the previous one had shown no obvious problems, no one fought him on the subject. Everyone was very good about backing off and giving the man his space.

Kakarotto's behavior was quite consistent with that of an individual who would soon be going into labor, and in the hopes of dragging out the pregnancy for another couple of weeks, everyone involved did their best to keep Goku was comfortable and relaxed as possible.

When they were down to the two week mark, Bulma had called Dr. Villacastin to inform him of the latest developments and kept in touch with him on a daily basis to keep him up to date on Goku's progress. She thought it was best she not have the man meet with the Saiyajin for fear the anxiety would trigger a pre-mature labor.

For now, all they could do was sit and wait.

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Vegeta let a deep rush of air escape his lungs as he stepped into his bedroom and closed the door behind him. It was late and he'd only just then been able to get rid of all the house guests that insisted on lingering around. ChiChi had chosen to stay at Capsule Corp until the baby was born; convinced her ex husband would need her there when the time came. Vegeta begged to differ, but since his mate hadn't objected and the woman was giving them their space, he remained quiet about it.

Still, Vegeta wasn't enjoying the constant invasion of his space, and after this was all over he planned to take Goku and his child away for a much needed vacation with some alone time.

And speaking of which...

Black eyes turned toward the slightly ajar bathroom door, and Vegeta kicked off his shoes as he crossed the room and stepped inside the smaller space. A light curtain of fog hit him in the face as he pushed the door open, and he smiled when he spotted the younger Saiyajin soaking in the tub. Kakarotto had mentioned his back had been aching a lot lately, and the hot water tended to help with that.

Vegeta shuffled over and sat on the edge of the tub, relishing in the purr that escaped his mate's throat as he ran his fingers through slightly damp hair. Goku's closed eyes opened only long enough to visually confirm Vegeta's presence before slipping closed again, and the prince quirked a smile at that. Scent and touch alone was enough to identify him, but the younger man always felt the need to use his sight to verify what his other senses were telling him.

He'd never done that before he'd left with the dragon.

Vegeta continued to stroke his mate's hair as his eyes wandered down to Goku's stomach, and he allowed his gaze to linger there for a long moment. It was hard to tell from the angle, but it looked as if the baby had shifted and was now sitting a little lower than before.

This realization sent a tingle down the prince's spine. When the baby shifts and drops lower like that, it usually was the first sign that labor would be soon to follow. The older man felt a rush of both excitement and fear course through his body. He really had no reason to assume anything would go wrong considering the pregnancy had progressed without a hitch so far, but there was always that nagging little voice that screams about the unknown.

Still, they'd taken every needed precaution. A trained doctor was nearby, the medical supplies were fully stocked, and everyone was on-call. The only thing that bothered Vegeta was the fact that there wouldn't be any senzu beans available for another two weeks, maybe a little less. If Goku went into labor on schedule, they'd be fine. If he was any earlier, the beans would not be ready. Korin had begun growing the senzu upon his request months prior, but apparently it was a long process and none had been grown for years since the Earth had been experiencing relatively peaceful times.

Stupid cat.

Vegeta sighed in annoyance and let his eyes move back to Goku's face, and it became very apparent the younger man had fallen asleep. Sensing the cooling temperature of the water, the prince pulled the plug and grabbed the large towel that had been sitting on the sink behind him. The prince carefully wrapped Goku up in the fluffy fabric and gently lifted him into his arms before carrying him to bed for a much needed night's sleep.

To be continue...