Seven Months: Chapter 1- Shattered Glass

Disclaimer: Dragonball Z and its characters mentioned in this story, were created and are owned by Akira Toriyama, Toei Animation and Bird Studios.

 

Title: Seven Months

Author: Dragon Myst ([email protected])

Category: Yaoi, Romance, Citrus,, AU, Death, Mpreg

Pairing: GokuxVegeta

Summary:

A/N: Takes place after the Cell Games but before the Majin Buu saga – Goku has not died. This fic is the sequel to "Second Chances" and if you have not read that one yet, please go back and do so – it’ll help.

Feedback: Desired – though, please check your attitude at the door before sending me any emails. If I receive any flames, I’ll simply laugh and then delete it. If you cannot respect my style of writing and cannot express yourself in a civilized manner, don’t bother wasting my time. We clear on that? Comments can be sent to [email protected]

 

******************

Part I: Maybe Baby

 

Chapter I: Shattered Glass

 Hi journal! It’s me again, Goku. I’m having a hard time sleeping...again. This is the fifth time in three weeks that I’ve been unable to sleep for more than three hours. I’ve been to the doctor and he says nothing is wrong with me. If not something viral, then what? What’s making me so restless? Perhaps I’m still trying to get used to the fact that Vegeta and I are not only lovers, but newlyweds. Yes, it’s true journal – Vegeta and I are life partners, and no one but you knows about it...for now anyway.

 

I’m still trying to figure out how to tell Gohan and the others. But, I do know one thing for certain, Chi-Chi can be absolutely no where near the news break. I still think she hasn’t quite learned to accept my new life with Vegeta and our twin boys – and I’ll never forgive her for being so rotten about everything that’s happened.

 

As I write inside of your blank pages, journal, I can feel Vegeta’s presence in the room. I look over at him from my desk in the corner and just gaze at him and notice how pure his half naked body looks underneath the white bed covers keeping him warm. I watch him snuggle against his pillow, and hear him murmur my real name under his breath as he slumbers.

 

Perhaps this is one of the few good things to come from my insomnia – being able to sit here in silence and watch my beloved prince sleep and dream. He truly is beautiful like this.

 

Well journal, thank you for again opening yourself up for me to talk to. I’m going to try and go back to sleep.

 

****************

 

 Goku awoke the next morning, just as the sun started to come up. Warm breath tickled the inside of his ear, rousing him. He immediately recognized the soft, yet, firm, strong voice whispering his name gently. "Kakarot." whispered Vegeta, one arm slung around his muscled chest. The Saiyan Prince rubbed his cheek against Goku’s full, black hair, then kissed him gently on the back of his neck. Then, after rousing another purr from him, brushed his lips against a shoulder, moved up to the nape of his neck, then finally to his cheek. This got the semi-alert Goku to open his eyes and smile at his playful prince, and return his greeting of morning kisses.

Goku awoke the next morning, just as the sun started to come up. Warm breath tickled the inside of his ear, rousing him. He immediately recognized the soft, yet, firm, strong voice whispering his name gently. "Kakarot." whispered Vegeta, one arm slung around his muscled chest. The Saiyan Prince rubbed his cheek against Goku’s full, black hair, then kissed him gently on the back of his neck. Then, after rousing another purr from him, brushed his lips against a shoulder, moved up to the nape of his neck, then finally to his cheek. This got the semi-alert Goku to open his eyes and smile at his playful prince, and return his greeting of morning kisses.

 

 "Mm, Vegeta. Morning. Dreaming about me again hm?" Goku asked with a wide grin, his finger pointing to the suggestive tepee in his shorts.

 

Goku’s prince winced just a little as he moved one leg off the bed. This was just too damn good to pass up. Morning, dawn. The fresh air blowing through their bedroom window. A very aroused Saiyan prince in his bed. If anything, his love was suffering with that bulge in his boxers just begging to be fondled as gently as only Goku could be. He took to sitting behind his excited Prince, making sure the base of his tail was pressing against Goku’s crotch, and slowly reached around to perform one of his best and most often used magic tricks – the hand in the pants! And instantly, as if both he and his manhood could detect it, Vegeta fell back against his shoulder, moaning as he breathed.

 

But then, for some strange reason, he scolded his clever Kakarot, "What did I tell you about doing that with cold hands?"

 

His hand retracted from inside his shorts, having just gotten snug with his body heat. "What do you think body heat is for silly?" Giggled Goku.

 

"Still. Rub your hands together first." Vegeta prompted..

 

Goku got in close and nuzzled his nose against Vegeta’s cheek. "I’d like to rub something else first..." Goku smirked evilly.

 

Vegeta claimed his lips then, and plunged his tongue into his mouth. They mingled there for a moment or two, just enjoying the taste of each other. Though, there wasn’t much doubt between them that the kiss would be much better after they got to brush their teeth. After the kiss, Goku rubbed his hands together, hoping he wouldn’t burn them this time, and tried to press them together as gently as he could, while still having enough friction to warm them. Vegeta grinned then, and tugged suggestively at the waist of his shorts. And, bless the prince, he was kind enough to treat his lover to a strip show. It was all Goku could to keep from bursting at the seams. Now completely naked, his prince straddled himself, and beckoned him with his finger.

 

Like a lion in the hunt, Goku pounced on his beautiful Vegeta.

 

"Try not to be too loud, love. It’s still early and the kids are still asleep, you know." Vegeta whispered to Goku with his arms around his neck and tongue tickling his ear.

 

But just as he was about to touch him, next door their boys could be heard, waking up. The Saiyan warriorsshared a sigh, but maybe all hope at some kind of sexual gratification wasn’t lost yet. Goku left the room, his mind pulsing with an idea.

 

 There they were, his two healthy, spirited twin boys, happy to see their daddy, but at the same time, wondering where the other one was at. Every morning when he’d come in here to check on them, he would get lost in watching them sleep. They always lookec so beautiful when they were asleep, and cuddling with their respective stuffed animals. But as he stepped into the room, Goku noticed Ryo’s little dragon had somehow managed to get on the floor, and picked it up.

 

"Draggy!" said Ryo as his father gave it to him. He began to chew on the tip of one of its cotton wings. That must have been the reason he woke up, because his favorite toy had fallen on the floor; he was asleep again within seconds of getting it back. Shin, on the other hand, was being quite fussy. As he cradled him in his arms and rocked him back and forth gently, he started to whimper, then cry.

 

"Shhh...it’s ok Shin. Daddy is here." Goku whispered while walking down the hall and into the living room. There, he sat on the couch and continued to rock his fussy boy gently. He stayed like this close to 30 minutes or so, still at square one. If anything, instead of calming down, he only got fussier. For the life of him, Goku couldn’t figure out why. When he tried to feed him, he wouldn’t eat, When he checked his diaper, everything was fine. Then, as he found myself sitting on the couch again, Goku felt his son’s little forehead, and even next to his warm hands, he felt very warm to the touch.

 

"You feel hot little buddy. Is that was has you upset? Let’s just have a little looksie."

 

After taking the little one’s temperature and seeing that he clearly had a fever, Goku called for Vegeta. When he came in, he told him what was going on, when a look of deep concern washed over his face. "What can we do Kakarot?"

 

"We have to be calm, for one. Let’s give him some medicine and wait. Can you go get the dropper and medicine?" Asked Goku.

 

Vegeta left and was back quicker than he could blink, holding the items in hand. He took the items from his hand and filled the dropper with a little bit of the infant medicine. "Shin, daddy is going to give you some medicine to make you feel better. Can you be a good boy and open your mouth for me?"

 

 He proved difficult at first, but after trying a few times, Goku finally got him to take the medicine.

 

After more minutes of him being fussy, Shin finally cried himself out, and to sleep. He looked down at Vegeta. "I guess all we can do now is wait and see. You go ahead and head back into the room, I’ll put him down."

 

 Their children rarely got sick. Vegeta said it was because of their Saiyan blood. Likewise, Goku was still concerned. Vegeta sat next to him on their bed, kissing his shoulder. "I know you say that our kids can rarely get sick but, I still can’t help but be worried." Goku confessed with a frown, looking at him in the corner of his eye. Vegeta combed through his lover’s hair with his fingers, then brushed his lips against Goku’s, in a gesture of soothing calmness.

 

"Come here, Vegeta. Just lay with me for a moment." Goku asked.

 

Vegeta combed his fingers through his lover’s black hair, knowing that it usually brought calm to Goku in times of worry. But he too couldn’t help but to feel a little concerned for the well-being of his sick infant child. "Kakarot....it’s going to be ok. Everything...is going to be all right."

 

****************

 

Goku woke up later to the sound of infant cries, and Vegeta screaming his name, urging him to get up because something was terribly wrong with Shin, and Ryo was upset. He hurried out to the living room to find Ryo crying on the couch and Vegeta at the dining table, standing over an unconscious and gaunt-looking Shin. A dagger pierced Goku’s heart, his mind went into over drive, and he started to shakr, terrified. What was going on?

 

"Vegeta! What is it...what’s wrong with Shin? Why is he unconscious?" Prodded Goku. His maternal instincts were going crazy.

 

"I woke up and when I went to check on them, Ryo was crying, and Shin wasn’t moving and even stopped breathing. He’s breathing now, but now he’s unconscious. I called the nearest hospital, but they redirected me to another hospital, way over in Satan City."

 

His heart thumped in his chest. He felt like he would be sick, but knew he had to keep calm. "Satan City? That’s at least 300 miles away!" Goku proclaimed, rather flustered but then remembered his little technique, "we can use my Instantaneous Movement to get there. Fetch Ryo while I wrap Shin in a blanket." Vegeta was back at his side, with Ryo in tow, as he wrapped Shin in a blanket. With index and middle fingers together and on his forehead, Goku concentrated his Ki on where they had to go, and disappeared in a flash.

 

 Like the name of his technique implied, Goku and Vegeta instantly found themselves in the waiting room of Satan City Hospital, standing in front of a wide-eyed audience of people. But, now wasn’t the time to get into some complicated explanation. They stepped up to the reception desk and explained their situation to the nearby nurse.

 

"So, let me get this straight. Earlier in the morning your son had a fever. Then, when you both woke up a couple hours later, your partner here tells you that your son’s fever went away, but he was unconscious and stopped breathing for a moment. Correct, Mr. Goku?"

 

"Yes, that’s right. Please, just help him! It’s an emergency!" Goku commanded, nearly in hysterics and no doubt attracting unnecessary attention to himself. But he knew anyone else in his shoes would have reacted the same exact way. This was his son for Kami’s sake, hanging in limbo, the gap between life and death, how the hell was he supposed to react?!

 

"Stay calm, Mr. Goku. We’ll have a doctor take a look at your son. Please have a seat." said the nurse nonchalantly. Her attitude was starting to piss not only Goku off, but clearly Vegeta as well, who decided to take matters into his own hands, and scare some sense of urgency into the otherwise oblivious nurse. They both began to wonder what the hell kind of hospital this was where nurses tell hysterical people to be calm in times of sheer terror.

 

"Listen you Earthling cunt! My son’s situation is of the utmost importance! Now, either you wake the hell up and treat this situation as such, or I’ll kill you, got it?!"

 

Even in this time of stress and uncertainty, Goku couldn’t help but smile at Vegeta’s way of handling things. No bullshit, and he certainly knew how to get people motivated; the nurse was running down the hall, screaming for a doctor. When she returned, the doctor took their son, and told them to wait patiently. Though, knowing how tense they were right now, would be anything but.

 

***************

 

They had been sitting out there for hours, feeling the seconds turning into minutes, and then minutes turning into hours, and still, were in the dark about their son’s condition. Because of this lack of information, Goku picked up a new, and bad, habit. Nail bitting. He must have chewed his fingernails down to the bone, going so far as to making them bleed at the constant irritation. While next to him, Vegeta sat with a old magazine in his lap, cover up, with his eyes closed. Goku always took that as his lover’s Do Not Disturb sign, and left him alone. Instead, Goku turned his attention to his little Ryo, sleeping on his shoulder. Poor baby, he thought. He’s just as much in the dark as we are, and just as helpless on what to do about it. Goku held him close to his breast, kissed his son’s cheek, and closed his eyes, praying to Kami that when he woke up, this nightmare would cease to exist.

 

 But it was still there when he woke up about an hour later, as horrible as ever. Then, at last, he could see a light at the end of this hell hole. It was the doctor dressed in scrubs, and a face mask hanging from his neck. His features were dark and serious, maybe even a little troubled and sad. Goku swallowed the lump in his throat and held his stomach, feeling sick again.

 

 "Mr. Goku, Mr. Vegeta, I’m Dr. Nadine. I believe we met earlier about your son. As a doctor, there’s never been an easy way to say this but...we were unable to save your son’s life. I’m terribly sorry..."

 

 

What? Was this guy serious?

 

In that moment, time itself seemed to stop. Both Goku and Vegeta were even finding it hard to breathe. They felt like an incredible weight had just smashed onto their chests. Goku took a look over at Vegeta, and could just tell by looking at him that, Saiyan or not, he was doing everything he could to keep from crying. But the sudden glare in his eyes was more than enough to tell him otherwise. He bit my bottom lip, and chewed on it until it bled under the stress, his inability to cope.

 

"W-wait a minute... Your telling me my son is dead? Would you mind telling us how, Mr. So-called Life Saver? You tell me now!"

 

Vegeta, bless his heart, could no longer keep his tears from coming down his face as the anger soon took him under. Goku felt so damn helpless, and yet somehow knew that both he and Vegeta had done all they could do. Though, in the back of his mind, Goku couldn’t help but blame himself for Shin’s death. He felt like a failed as a father...again. Then started to cry as well, and seemed to gravitate to Vegeta, where they held each other, and began to share their tears.

 

"I know this is a difficult time for both of you right now. And I believe that it is your right to know your son’s cause of death, so I will tell you as gently as I can so as not to cause any further grief."

 

"Spill it!!!" growled Vegeta.

 

 A heavy sigh escaped him beforehand, "After you brought him in, my team of doctors immediately checked for any internal injuries or bleeding of any kind. And after performing an EKG, we discovered that his heart was not functioning properly. He was suffering from an apparent heart defect. We decided to try and operate on him immediately to try and save his life. However, he passed away during the surgery... I’m curious to know if your son had any problems at birth."

 

Goku swallowed hard, not wanting to believe a word of his testimony. He looked him over to try and see if maybe, just maybe, there was some kind of hope in his eyes. All he found though, was sadness, and shame. The shattered Goku took a deep breath, feeling nauseated. Then, "No, not that we knew of. Both he and his brother were born totally healthy."

 

Goku’s response clearly intrigued Dr. Nadine, the gears in his head were turning, he could feel it. He was quiet for a moment and stroking his chin thoughtfully. Then he took his glasses off, and put them in the breast pocket of his scrubs. "Tell me, Mr. Goku, are they twins?"

 

Vegeta had left for a minute to get Ryo. When he came back, Goku explained himself. "Yes. It was a twin pregnancy – this is his older brother, Ryo."

 

This got Dr. Nadine thinking again. "Hmmm, I see. Now it is starting to make more sense. You see Mr. Goku, Mr. Vegeta, while twin pregnancies are becoming more and more common, they also hold a much higher risk of one, or both babies being born with birth defects or abnormalities. And, unfortunately, these birth defects aren’t discovered until the baby has grown a little bit. Signs of a particular problem usually show up at around 8 months to 1 year of age. And due to their fragility, babies with a suspected birth defect need immediate medical care. However, since their verbal skills have yet to develop, it can be quite difficult for them to let you know that something is wrong. Do you both understand so far?"

 

Goku and Vegeta nodded, and were told to have a seat while the discussion continued.

 

"Good. Can I answer any questions for you?"

 

 "...Can we see him one last time?" Goku choked.

 

"Yes, of course. Right this way, gentlemen." Dr. Nadine replied softly, and led them down a large hall and into a small room with a flat cot-like bed and many monitors. They’d been turned off long ago, though, and were in the corner. On the cot was their dead son, covered in a white sheet, and lying ever so still while everything else around him continued in uninterrupted motion. But in this business, you kinda get used to tragedy. Goku stood in the doorway with Vegeta, Ryo in tow. He didn’t know whether or not to go in by himself, or bring Ryo with him, until Vegeta toldhime he would wait outside until he was finished, at which point, he would enter next. Goku closed the door behind him a little bit, and prepared to face what would ultimately be the toughest battle of his entire life.

 

No sort of training could have prepared Goku for this truly unexpected outcome of what he thought was just a little cold earlier this morning, and became a heart defect, and saying his goodbyes to his infant boy. Gods, how could this happen? Why did it happen? His son was a joy, always smiling, and energetic. His life was still ahead of him, peppered with milestones to come. But now...instead of seeing a bright, energetic boy, Goku seen cold death, a lifeless boy who was anything but when he was alive. As he looked down at his expressionless face, once wide-eyed and with a smile as big and bright as the sun, his vision turned blurry as the tears began to fall.

 

 "Shin...my...beautiful son. Daddy is sad without you. But, I just want you to know that..." Goku’s sobs turned into downright balling as he gently took hold of his son’s cold, tiny hand, and desperately tried to finish talking, "....I just want you to know that...whenever you need me...I’ll be here, waiting for you. I-I promise. Rest in peace, my son..."

 

It was the hardest thing he had ever said in his life. But it was the only way he knew he’d be able to go on in his life. But from now on, things would be a lot more difficult, without Shin. In time, Goku knew his wounds would come to heal, but would never truly go away. The scar would always be there, but so would all the fond memories of his beautiful, beautiful son.

With his goodbyes said, Goku gave his son one last kiss on his forehead, and quietly left the room, and allowed Vegeta his time to say goodbye to their son.

As he stood in the hallway, holding Ryo, Goku couldn’t help but wonder if their family would ever be whole again. Sure, he’d dealt with death many times, like when his best friend Krillin died. But unlike Krillin, his son could not be wished back to life, as he was already wished back once. Because Vegeta’s pendant worked the same way the Dragon Balls did. And Goku quickly got over Krillin’s death in time. But this...how the hell would he get through this, the death of his own flesh and blood? The struggling Saiyan started to cry again, and held Ryo tight against his chest, vowing to never let anything happen to him.

 

Goku closed his eyes and allowed the tears to come again as the healing process began, in silence.

 

***************

 

TBC