Vegeta still hadn’t noticed her presence. It had only been about 12 hours since they had left, but one couldn’t tell in space whether it was a new day or not unless you kept track. She was beginning to get so accustomed to the darkness of the closet that she could make out a number of objects inside. To her left was a stack of magazines. Vegeta, reading magazines? She made a mental note to search through them for porn later. Even Sayajins enjoyed naked women. Didn’t they?

Beside the magazines there was a neatly folded stack of different colored bodysuits for Vegeta. Of course, she assumed all of them to be blue or black, as he never wore anything else. She looked down into her lap, suddenly conscious of the feeling of dread in her stomach. Had this really been a good idea, after all? What would he do when he found her?

She yanked the earphones out and listened for any signs of movement. She could hear him shuffling about, eating by the sounds of it. It made her think of their shopping trip, and how he had (conveniently) told her later about the true cause for the Ambulance.

For some reason she became edgy. It was odd…too odd, that Vegeta had not yet discovered her. He had senses sharper than most things alive. How was it that he had not yet smelled her or heard her moving about?

Perhaps…he was waiting for her. Making a mockery of her. If he was, then he wasn’t angry.

And then suddenly, so suddenly that Bulma nearly fainted, the closet door was roughly opened and Vegeta stood staring down at her as she clenched the Discman tightly in her hands.

"Uhm…"

Vegeta ignored her as though he hadn’t even seen her, and reached beside her to grab one of the bodysuits. "Well?" he asked when he’d straightened. "Aren’t you going to get out?"

Bulma didn’t know what to say or do. He shrugged, and closed the door. "Suit yourself." He mumbled as she heard him walk away.

Enraged that she had been ignored and treated in such a casual manner, Bulma burst out of the closet and stalked over to the Prince, who was busy pushing a number of buttons on the control panel.

"Hey!" she stepped beside him and got right up in his face. "You can’t ignore me like that!"

"I knew you were here. I could smell you, the second I got onboard to take off." He said, annoyed. "You’re quite obvious." He added.

"So you don’t even care that I’m here?" she cried, incredulous.

"Why are you making such a big fuss?" he asked. "You’re so spoiled, you can’t stand it when you’re ignored, can you? Was your whole point in sneaking in here to make some grand entrance and absolutely astound me?"

Bulma was struck speechless. "No…" she said, trying to remember why she had even come. Since it didn’t seem to be such a big deal, she decided that looking around seemed to be a good idea. Vegeta watched her as she poked and peered about, examining her father’s handiwork.

"Why did you come, anyway?" he called after a minuet. She paused by the window putting both hands on the glass as she stared out at the blackness. "If something happens on this trip…and you somehow don’t get the plant, I want to have at least had an adventure before I died." She said quietly. "I didn’t want to stay back there and waste away in a bed."

Vegeta looked back to the control panel. "Nothing will happen." He paused. "Although, by coming with me, you’ve made this mission considerably harder than it should be. Now I have to divide the food between you and I, meaning I will have to eat much less and conserve more energy. I also have to protect you against the disgusting scum that will see you and instantly attempt to slaughter you."

Bulma blushed. "I…I’m sorry. You just have no idea how this disease makes me feel. I feel trapped…useless. My body always feels numb and weak."

"So you came on a dangerous mission to a hostile Planet to cure that?"

"No." she said. "I came to feel alive."

* * *

"I don’t remember buying this." Bulma said as they sat down to eat a T.V dinner consisting of turkey, corn, mashed potatoes and a strange red substance in the middle. She poked at it with her fork and grimaced. "Is this stuff even real?"

"If you’re not going to eat it, then give it to me!" Vegeta snapped. "I’m starving; sharing all this food with you." He said bitterly. "Why can’t you be like a normal woman and eat tiny dainty meals?"

Bulma glared and pushed herself away from the table. "Because I happen to be dying, and when one is dying, I’ve discovered that they become ravenously hungry." She stood up and angrily shoved the food toward him. "Fine! I’ll be more like a ‘dainty’ woman; I’ll starve myself! Enjoy it, you greedy bastard."

Vegeta lowered his head into his food and ignored her. Again.

* * *

Bulma looked at her reflection in the mirror and splashed water on her face, as though hoping it would wash away everything she hated seeing in herself. It didn’t, of course. She plopped her make-up bag on the counter and began searching through it for her mascara.

"Stupid jerk…see how he feels when I weigh in at 5o pounds…" she muttered, knowing full well she wouldn’t starve herself. Thinking of his remark, she was suddenly conscious of her weight, and felt compelled to examine herself once more in her underwear. She pulled her shirt over her head, thinking evil thoughts about Vegeta as she did, and turned to look in the mirror.

She screamed.

Vegeta bolted from the table to the bathroom door, knocking hard on it. "Woman? What the hell’s going on in there?"

Bulma stared at the 3 dollar sized black dots that covered her collarbone. Her trembling fingers reached up to touch them, and she yanked them away when they did, as though they had been burned. The dots were searing hot.

"Vegeta…?" she whispered, unable to take her eyes from them. Rising panic bubbled up in her throat.

"Woman, let me in!" Vegeta rattled the doorknob. Without looking away, Bulma opened the door and allowed the Prince in. He took one quick look and his eyes widened.

"Forae." He said quietly. "Quick. Come out to the kitchen. Hurry!"

Bulma snapped out of her trance and followed him, completely forgetting her lack of pants and a shirt. She entered the kitchen where Vegeta was already approaching her with a damp cloth. "Here. Press this against them." he said. "Water prevents them from spreading."

"Spreading?" she cried.

Vegeta applied his own cloth to the other two dots and pressed firmly. He could see the fright in Bulma’s eyes and tried to avoid looking in them. "The dots are a symptom of Fortricres." He said. "They’re called Forae. Fortricres heats up the blood cells and cause the dots to appear; they’re a reaction of the blood cells trying to cool down."

"The water is a simple remedy." He looked at her. "You need an ice cold bath, woman."

"Ice cold? That can’t be good for me!"

"If you don’t cool your body down, the Forae will spread, and you’ll become overheated." He explained calmly. Bulma frowned quizzically. "How do you know so much about this disease?"

"I spent a lot of time on R’haksin." He said. "Now come on. You need to get in the bath."

* * *

Bulma sat rigid in the middle of the bathtub, her knees drawn close to her body. She was shivering violently but her body still felt warm. It was such a strange thing. She held up the tiny hand mirror and looked at the Forae. Two had vanished, leaving one that was diminishing slowly.

What else was Vegeta avoiding telling her about Fortricres? He had said this was a symptom. How many more were there? What if something terrible was going to happen to her? She hated this disease, but mostly, she hated that she knew nothing of it. She had no idea what to anticipate. And the only person who did talked to her about as much as her socks did.

Vegeta was waiting outside the door, slumped over in a chair. He kept calling to her every three or four minuets, checking to see if the Forae were gone.

"How about now?" he called. His voice was muffled through the door.

"It’s going away…" Bulma sucked in a shaky breath. "…slowly…"

"Woman?"

She snapped her head up quickly, a pain shooting in her neck. Had she drifted off for a second? How could she, if she was so very cold? But she wasn’t really cold…she was shivering, and she could feel the icy sting of the water on her skin, but inside she felt like lava.

"…Vegeta…?" she called weakly. "I’m…" her head wobbled once more, and she slumped down in the bathtub, suddenly fighting to keep above the water. Her hands clutched uselessly at the sides of the tub, slipping off as though they were coated with grease. She was going to drown, and she couldn’t do anything about it! She heard the door rattling fiercely before it crashed down in front of her. Vegeta’s arms reached down and scooped her limp body out of the water, seconds before she had submerged. Her mind went blank.

* * *

You really have made this difficult for me…

Vegeta wondered why he felt such pain when he looked down at Bulma. In her current state, with her pale skin and shivering form, with wet hair plastered to her head and clenched fists, he felt so utterly sad for her. When she tossed and moaned aloud something struck a raw nerve inside him and refused to be pushed away and ignored. All his life he had been so good at ignoring things. He couldn’t ignore Bulma. Not now.

He remembered looking at her body the first few months that he had begun living with her. She had filled out everything she wore so nicely. Now…she seemed to be shrinking. Vegeta knew what would happen. First was the Forae. Next, the severe weight loss. The last thing to go was the mind; when one lost all comprehension of who they were. He found himself praying that she would not reach that stage. The Doctors had predicted seven months, but the symptoms were rapidly approaching.

He had lowered her gently into the bed, taking care to toss a blanket over her form. In her agitated sleep, she had rolled over so many times that the blanket was now wrapped around her feet in a giant tangled ball. Vegeta had given up trying to untangle it. She was soaked with sweat as it was. He applied a fresh wash cloth to her forehead and neck; the last of the Forae was nearly gone, and settled down comfortably next to her. Within minuets he was asleep.