Several hours after I had taken my well-deserved advil, we were in one of Bulma�s air cars en route to New York, USA. Vegita and I were sitting in the back with Gohan, Juuhachico was driving up in the front with Krillin, and Piccolo was flying outside. He had shown up right as we were about to leave, and gave his usual speech� which is to quote, �Hn.�

Vegita was meditating, looking very intimidating, only offset by the fact that Gohan was curled up on his lap. I smiled gently at the cute picture they made. It was amazing that Gohan had taken to him so fast, well, except for the fact that he had always idolized him a bit. Vegita emitted a soft snore� and I realized that he was actually sleeping. I almost face faulted.

With a small grin, I rose and stretched, walking in the ample space to the front.

�How soon do you think we�ll arrive, Juuhachico?� I asked in a low voice, leaning on the back of Krillin�s chair. He was meditating also� but I think he fell asleep in the middle of it as well. I guess there is something about car rides that makes people sleepy.

�We�re just about there now. You can see the skyline up ahead.� She inclined her head towards the horizon.

�So ka. Arigato, Juu-chan.� I grinned.

�Baka.� Even though her expression didn�t change, her tone was playful.

I tiptoed back to where my mate and son were resting. Sitting down beside them again, I contemplated waking them up. Should I wait ten more minutes? Grinning, I shook Vegita�s shoulder. The again, why should I wait when I could see the expression on my love�s face when he saw how he was holding Gohan?

�Kakarott?� Came the sleepy mumble.

�Hai, Veggie-chan. We�re almost there.�

�Don�t call me that.� He grumbled, before reaching up with his free hand to rub his eyes. He froze as he felt the weight on his stomach. Looking down slowly, he saw Gohan�s tousled hair touch his chin as his head snuggled into his chest. I waited nearby with a grin on my face.

Blood rushed to his face as he flushed in embarrassment. Looking around quickly to see if anyone else saw him, he quickly relaxed when he saw no one looking at him. Almost as swiftly, her turned to glare at me.

�What?� I was confused.

//Why is your brat sleeping on me?// He growled through our mental link. A rush of understanding followed. He didn�t want to be thought of as weak in the other�s eyes.

//Vegita, no one will judge you! It�s touching that he cares about you enough to cuddle.// I projected a mental grin. //Besides�I think you look so cute like that Veggie-chan!//

He flushed again and looked down. After an internal debate, his gaze returned to me. //So�a family, ne?//

I smiled softly. I seemed to be doing that a lot nowadays. //Hai. A family.//

I sat down next to him again, and pulled him gently into my arms. //So� when should we tell the others? Only Gohan, Bulma, and Yamucha know that we�re married... or at least engaged. Chichi doesn�t count, she�s insane.//

Vegita giggled mentally. //Insane she is. Just wait till we invite her to the wedding�//

I looked down at him in surprise. �Wedding?� I whispered. He leaned further into me with a sigh. Before I could question him further, Juuhachico called out we were landing. Sighing, I helped him to his feet, waking Gohan up in the process.

�Tousan? Kassan?� He blinked slowly.

�Hai, we�re right here.� Vegita said softly. My eyebrows touched my forehead. Whoa� He was really being serious about this. Well why wouldn�t he be? He never was one to take anything lightly. I felt an overwhelming tide of love for him, and I swept him up into my embrace.

My family.

Those words had a nice ring to them. Unable to savor the moment for long, the aircraft rattled slightly as Juuhachico set it down. Krillin yawned loudly as he awakened, turning to give his girlfriend a kiss.

Gohan giggled slightly, muffling the sound behind his hands. Vegita�s mouth twitched a bit, and I could tell he was trying not to smile.

�Guys! Now is not the time to make out!� I called loudly after I cleared my throat. Not that I wouldn�t have made out with Vegita is the chance had presented itself. Krillin broke away with a blush.

�Gomen��

�Don�t worry, I understand.� I winked at him. �But we have to fix this mess as soon as possible, ne?�

The doors to the cargo area opened and my family and I stepped down silently. Amazing what those two words did to my emotions. I wanted to cry and dance at the same time!

�So how far are we from New York, Juuhachico?�

�Um�� She paused a moment to look around. �Ten minutes, that way.�

Twenty minutes later, we were walking along the sidewalks of Manhattan, our weird looking group drawing odd looks and stares from the pedestrians. Vegita, true to his character, was glaring at everyone with his arms folded across his chest. Juuhachico and Krillin were walking slightly ahead while Gohan and Vegita were on either side of me. Gohan was looking around him in delight at the displays in the windows, and I couldn�t help but smile at his adorable behavior.

�Tousan? Are we there yet?� Gohan pleaded. Knowing the attention span children his age have, I sighed in frustration. Even though I was older, I felt the same way.

�I have no idea, Gohan.� The walking seemed to be endless. I wanted to fly because my feet had begun to hurt, but the attention that would bring would be opposite to what we needed at the moment. I groaned mentally.

//Vegita�do you have any idea of where the aliens are going to land?// I whined.

//Baka� why don�t you just contact your Kai that always tells those awful jokes?//

//AWFUL?// I clutched my head in pain as King Kai�s voice thundered through it. //My jokes are NOT AWFUL!//

Vegita sneered, scattering a few of the people near us. //What? I�m only telling the truth.//

//Vegita!// I admonished him, trying to smooth things over before they got out of hand. //Kaio-sama, do you know where the aliens are landing?//

//Of course I do!//

I tapped the two in front on the shoulders and turned our group down an ally. //Ok, where are they?//

//Oh� there seems to be another mistake�// My eye twitched. Not. Again.

//What. Mistake?// I ground out.

//Eh� there is only one alien.//

//One? All of this for ONE lousy alien?// God� AHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!! I screamed mentally. Vegita flinched� I guess I was a little loud�

//Calm down, Jun!//

//I AM CALM!!!//

�Tousan?� Gohan tugged on my gi.

�It�s ok, Gohan. I�m just talking to Kaio-sama.� My eye was still twitching. Krillin was looking at me with an odd look on his face.

�What?� I growled.

�Nothing!� He gulped nervously. I felt sorry for snapping at him, but this was just too much!

//Where. Is. The. Alien. Landing?//

//Um�//

//�?//

//He�s right behind you.//

I turned� to come face to face with a giant, bald, Saiya-jin. �Nappa? All this was about NAPPA?�

I let loose a string of curses that even made Vegita flinch.

�Vegita� It�s good to see you again.� He smirked.

Vegita just looked at him in astonishment. �How? You�re dead!�

�Well� let�s just say I pulled a few strings.� He seemed to notice me for the first time. �You� Why aren�t you dead?�

I smirked at him. Kami! This was going to be fun. �It�s complicated.�

�You are of no concern to me. Vegita, why don�t you come back? There is a space pod ready for you; I�ll even forget that you killed me before.� He looked down at me, condescendingly.

Eh? I was again confused. Could� could it be� Nappa had a crush on MY Vegita? My eyes narrowed.

�Really, Nappa. You always were dull! If I wanted you around I the first place, why would I bother killing you?� Vegita sneered at him. He was standing by my side, and he had thrust Gohan behind him in an effort to conceal him from the... well, I would say danger, but I think that it would be an overstatement.

Nappa got a really pathetic look on his face, and it almost seemed like he was groveling while he was standing. Weird.

�Please, Vegita! I�ll do anything! Why can�t we go back to the good old days?� Good old days? Yeesh� This guy really was brain dead.

�Look, you overgrown buffoon, go back to hell before I send you there again.�

I sent my mate a hearty chuckle at the moron�s brainpower. He was still trying to figure that last one out.

�Fine, Vegita, you leave me no choice.�

From his armor, he pulled a small black box with a button on it. He pressed the button. Nothing happened. I looked over to Vegita.

�Do you want the honors, or should I?�

�I�d be delighted, Kakarott. Or How about mop-top over there?� He gazed at Krillin pointedly. Krillin gulped nervously.

�Me?�

Vegita smirked again. �Even you could beat up this moron at this point.�

Krillin looked from him, to myself, and back again. �If you�re sure��

�Knock it off!� Nappa growled. Three seconds later, he was lying on the wet pavement trying to catch his breath.

�You were right, Vegita. It looks like his power hasn�t increased at all. I wonder what Kaio-sama,� I let my words drip with sarcasm. �Was so worried about.�

Vegita and I watched with Gohan and Juuhachico as Krillin kicked the crap out of the ugly bald Saiya-jin. It was over almost before it had begun.

�V-Vegi-ta�� Nappa moaned. A disgusted look crossed Vegita�s face.

�You are as pathetic now as you were when you died.� He turned his back and started walking away.

�Fine then�� Nappa smirked weakly through his missing teeth and blood loss. �Have it your way. I tried to be nice.�

Oi vey. Nice? As I turned to kill him, I saw a flash out of the corner of my eye. What was that? I turned back to Nappa in shock.

�What did you do?�

�A little present for you, traitor. Lord Frieza will see to your punishment.� As I stood in mute horror, I saw the ship swoop down until we could almost see the details on the hull. A cold feeling of dread washed through my system.

�Vegita! Gohan!� I threw myself at them, trying to knock them out of the way of the laser beam.

In the blink of an eye, all the time it took Vegita to look back at me in confusion, the beam of light cut a path through them. I stared in horror at the spot where they had been but seconds before. No. Oh god�.. I couldn�t feel him anymore. The place in my mind where his presence had been� was gone.

�Gokuh?� Krillin gulped. I turned to him, tears streaming down my cheeks. There were men surrounding us now, probably from the ship, but I didn�t care. With a roar I charged them, heavy blows battering them through the brick of buildings, crushing maiming. How dare they� my family!

As I turned to wreck my vengeance on another of their number, I felt something hit the back of my neck. I reached behind to feel what happened, and my hand came away bloody. Gods�

My vision blurred and everything grew dark, my consciousness fading along with my will to fight. The last thing I saw was Krillin�s blank stare as he hit the concrete beside me.

Vegita�