The
Bonded
Part Twelve
The very same evening as the day of the confrontation with Bulma there was a
phone call. This time Goku answered, expecting it to be his second son. However,
the face that appeared was of a gray-haired man dressed in a dated pinstriped
suit. "Are you Son Goku?" he enquired immediately.
"Yes. Who are you?" The saiya-jin presented the question with his
usual innocent frankness.
Tone insincerely warm the man replied. "Dr. Kudoi, Psychiatrist," he
flashed a badge at Goku. "Pleased to meet you. To get down to business:
your son…" he glanced down and read off the name from a paper in front of
him, "Son Goten, requested that I call you. He would do so himself but is
not available."
"What happened?" Goku questioned with growing alarm, sitting forward
in his chair and gripping the armrests.
"Approximately four hours and forty-five minutes ago," the doctor
began, "at her -"
"Just tell me what happened!" Goku demanded tensely.
The doctor cleared his throat unhappily but complied. "Your friend, Ms.
Briefs, attempted to commit suicide approximately four hours and forty-five
minutes ago. She was rushed to the hospital after being discovered by her son
Trunks and myself."
"Shimatta." Goku rose and took a step back, pushing the chair to the
side. He looked out the door behind himself and then back to the vidscreen.
Quickly, a calm took over his mind, similar to the one that enveloped him in
battle, and he made a decision. "Hold a second," he said hastily and
then turned to stick his head out of the den doorway. "Vegeta!" he
bellowed his mate's name and then hurried back to sit down again. "What
happened?"
"Frankly, I don't know. We were unable to reach her for quite some time,
and when we got in to the bathroom she was unconscious. I haven't been able to
get a straight answer out of her son. Do you…" the doctor paused as the
saiya-jin Prince entered the room.
Goku turned in his seat and informed him breathlessly, "Bulma tried to kill
herself some time after we left. She's in the hospital right now." Vegeta's
brow furrowed and he frowned, moving to lean on the back of Goku's chair and
face the vidscreen. The psychiatrist cowered slightly under the angry glare.
"You both know her?" Goku nodded. "She's at the Northern Central
hospital. If you need directions -"
"We know where it is," said Vegeta, cutting him off. Goku rose from
his seat, hand on the off button.
"Thank you, Doctor. Are you at the hospital right now?" The man nodded
professionally. "We'll talk to you there." Goku switched off the
machine and followed Vegeta out of the room. They exited by the living room
window with Goku in the lead.
Trunks' eyes were dry but he was in a state of distraught shock. He sat in
Goten's lap, held tightly by his mate who soothingly caressed his back and
whispered reassuring words in his ear. They shared the single chair in the
hospital room, as far away from the unconscious Bulma as the cramped space would
allow. She looked lifeless and ancient, skin sallow in the empty expanse of
impersonal white bedsheets, hair damp and forearms heavily bandaged. The gauze
and cloth concealed vertical and horizontal slashes, evidence of Bulma's
thorough, effective work. An IV needle was inserted into a blue vein located at
the inside of her elbow, slowly replacing her lost blood.
Again, Trunks looked across the room at his mother, throat tightening painfully.
He was stiff in Goten's arms and suffered without words. It was his relationship
with Goten that had caused the entire catastrophe, but with guilt he knew that
he could not force himself to leave the damning embrace. Without it he would be
lost. Goten had always been a companion, but now more than ever before Goten was
his lifeline, grounding him and helping him hold on to his recently shaken grip
on sanity. He was trying to resist the calming influence - he feared it could
unintentionally cause more pain - but the comfort steadily gained ground and won.
Trunks slumped down, pressing his face against Goten's shoulder, and his tail
held them together closely. The younger male took both trembling hands and moved
them so that Trunks' arms were wrapped around his neck, lightly kissing the
silky purple hair.
The door opened with a slam and Goten looked up, his hold on his mate never
lessening. Vegeta had opened the door and Goku stood to his side. Behind them, a
sympathetic and frightened nurse was waiting. "Hey Dad." Goten smiled
weakly. His father rushed immediately to Bulma's bedside, checking the bandages
and blood transfusion. With a nod to the nurse he pronounced them satisfactory.
She forced a thankful smile and left, looking curiously at the two males on the
metal seat but making no comment. As the door closed behind her Goku turned back
to the others, searching for an explanation.
"Trunks found her," Goten supplied quietly, "he broke down the
door to get in. She slit her wrists. Her condition is stable now and she should
regain consciousness soon, with any luck."
Trunks spoke from his place in Goten's arms, voice muted. "Her blood … it
was everywhere." He hesitated and then continued unsteadily. "This is
all my fault."
"Don't place blame." Vegeta took two steps forward and laid an
unfamiliar hand on his son's head, his fingers slipping into the soft bangs.
"It is not your fault." The hand slipped down to Trunks' neck and the
younger man reached up, squeezing it tightly and then wrapping his arms around
his lover again. The motion was meant to be reassuring, but Trunks' eyes were
suffused with self-doubt. Vegeta moved back to stand beside Goku and spoke to
Goten over his offspring's head. "Will she be receiving professional help?"
"Yeah. Dr. Kudoi recommended someone already. She's a psychiatrist and a
university teacher. They'll meet as soon as Bulma wakes up." He faltered.
"Kami-sama… I just wish it hadn't happened." Trunks nodded once,
mutely, and Goku looked over at the prone body on the hospital bed. Hopelessness
and regret saturated the silence that followed, broken only once by a dry sob
that wracked Trunks' body.
Many days passed and over that time, life /should/ have returned to normal.
Bulma was a week out of the hospital and according to her psychiatrist she was
steadily healing and improving. The saiya-jin and their offspring had been
alienated when the news spread out of either fear or spite, but that was to be
expected and was already beginning to fade with time. The real problem was the
damage done to the relationships between the Goku and Vegeta, and Trunks and
Goten, and for that there was no hope in sight.
The relationships were not expected to be perfect - happily-ever-after was not
part of real life. However, they had become worse than either Vegeta or Goten
had expected they could possibly be. Conversations were guilt-laden and
restrained, as were all other forms of interaction. Vegeta had spent a week
working to strengthen his bond with Goku; the relationship should have been
secure. However, the saiya-no-ouji was concerned that Bulma's reaction had
scared his mate away. Kakarotto was hesitant, overly cautious when he saw or
spoke to Vegeta. After an initial period of reluctance he could be convinced to
go along with something, and when the passion overtook him he did so with his
usual fervor, but he refused to begin anything himself, and never once acted as
seme. At times he rejected his mate completely, even going so far as to escape
by leaving the house. In those times both men suffered. There was emotional
distress, of course, but also physical pain. Headaches, far surpassing any
migraine with a pain that was nearly crippling, plagued Vegeta whenever
Kakarotto left, and faded only when he returned to his Prince. To say the least,
the relationship had been roughly shaken.
The situation between Goku and Vegeta was unstable, but Goten was worse off.
Before Bulma had become involved everything had been wonderful. He didn't
believe there was any other purer joy in the world than his mate. But now…
Goten's love hadn't changed, but Trunks' had. He left early for work and stayed
late. At home, he was moody, removed, and very quiet. He avoided Goten's
advances, complaining of headaches and fatigue, but slept poorly and was often
up before sunrise. Trunks normally took out his anguish physically, and the
atypical sullenness frightened Goten. He had tried to be understanding and
provide comfort, and when that proved ineffective he made an effort to give
Trunks some space. However, his patience was wearing thin. On top of that, he
had become accustomed to having sex with his mate constantly - very rarely a day
passed without it. But now, it had been over a week. Goten had reached the level
of desperation he had felt in the time preceding the start of his relationship
with Trunks, constantly thinking about the other male but incapable of action. A
day or two after Bulma left the hospital he had found release by his own hand
and had quickly adopted the habit. But masturbation was no substitute, and he
was sincerely worried that he may never get his lover back.
Finally, Goten was forced to take action - he went to see Vegeta.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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