Nurses came and went, circulating through the corridor of the hospital where Bulma was waiting anxiously for news about Goku's condition.
Hours earlier, when she found the injured black-haired man at the Capsule Corp entrance, Bulma hastily called an ambulance and since then, she hasn't been able to relax, not even for a second.
Bulma was sitting in the corridor with a face of anguish and concern, as her best friend had been admitted to the ICU in serious condition.
She knew that Goku had gone through more serious things before, but seeing him so bloody and injured had disturbed her. She also did not have the hermit's seeds nearby to heal quickly.
[E/N:Senzu beans are also called hermit seed/bean]
She hated to admit it, but if the black-haired man did not survive this time, she would not know what to do with her life because she would lose her best friend and the father of her future child.
And what she least wanted was for her son to grow up without a father. She knew that she could educate him by herself, but she would still need a father figure to lean on.
Luckily, she grew up with both of her parents, but there were people who did not have the same luck and were raised by a single parent or none in certain cases.
Goku was an example of this, he grew up with his grandfather in a forest and despite not having parents and living alone since the age of seven, his heart was pure and innocent like that of a newborn, although he was not very intelligent, per se. He was a great person.
'Please hold on, Goku,' Bulma said mentally, clenching her fists as she saw a nurse running into the room where Goku was.
"We need more morphine and hydrogen peroxide, give me cotton wool and a scalpel to close this wound. Where the hell is the nurse? The patient is losing blood," the doctor was heard saying from the other side.
The nurse rushed in before the doctor's words and Bulma was about to punch the nurse for moving so slowly.
Bulma waited anxiously for several minutes for news from the other side, until the doctor came out shortly after with a mask on her face that made it impossible to decipher her facial expression.
"What's wrong, doctor?" she asked, suddenly standing up when she noticed the man's presence.
The doctor slowly removed the mask, revealing a small smile on her face. "The operation has been a success, Miss Briefs. The patient is stable. If you'd like, you can go visit him," the doctor added calmly, looking at the blue-eyed woman.
Bulma nodded, relaxing for a few moments, and then walked following the doctor until she entered the room where the black-haired man was resting.
When they arrived, they saw Goku with a grimace on his face while a black-haired girl tried to feed him, without success.
"Please sir, it's for your own good. You have to eat something," the girl spoke and the black-haired man refused, until she noticed Bulma's presence and smiled happily.
"Hi, Bulma!" Goku yelled, trying to lift his hand, but he felt a pain that made him groan.
"Are you feeling better?" Bulma spoke, holding back her tears. She didn't want to cry in front of other people.
"Yes, although I don't like the food in this hospital," the black-haired man replied, looking at the food with a grimace that the nurse had tried to offer him earlier.
"Without wanting to bother you, we will leave you alone," the doctor spoke politely, and the nurse, giving the black-haired man a pout for having despised her food, left the room, leaving Bulma and Goku alone.
Bulma, unable to contain herself for much longer, burst into tears and laid her head on Goku's shoulder.
Goku, feeling compassion for Bulma, gently patted her back and said "please don't cry" repeatedly.
"You had me quite worried! What were you thinking, coming back so hurt?" Bulma asked, hitting Goku's chest with her fists. Silence was Goku's response, there was a reason why he arrived injured but he would tell Bulma later, when she was more relaxed.
"Why won't you tell me anything!?" Bulma sobbed, again without getting an answer to her question. "Goku, things are different now. We are going to have a child and you must be there when the child comes into the world." Goku knew that Bulma was right, he had a great responsibility ahead of him, but if he hadn't defeated that monster, perhaps no one would have.
Bulma took a cloth from her bag and slowly wiped away her tears, while Goku remained silent, looking sadly at her.
"I'm sorry Bulma, I really didn't mean to make you sad." Goku spoke in a broken voice and Bulma's blue eyes focused on him.
"Well, you've already done it!" Bulma replied with watery eyes and Goku nodded, trying to comfort her.
"AAAAHHHH" Goku shouted with extreme pain when he felt a sharp pain in his ribs and Bulma was alarmed, fearing the worst that could happen right now.
"Goku, are you okay?" the blue-eyed woman asked, feeling distressed, waiting for a response from Goku to know if she should call the doctors or not.
"C-calm down, it was just a simple pain" replied Goku with a smile and Bulma sighed in relief.
"Never give me a scare like that again!" Bulma yelled and Goku scratched the back of his neck with a nervous smile before saying the following words:
"Bulma, could you do me a favour? I have hermit beans in my house. If you bring them, I could recover right away so we can leave this hospital. I don't want them to inject me." he asked with a shiver running down his spine.
"Very well, I'll go" Bulma answered with determination and Goku smiled animatedly at her words.
"I knew I could count on you, you're really great" Goku added, showing her his thumb and Bulma nodded sadly at his words.
"With the latest model plane, I will arrive in less than two hours. I'll try to return as quickly as possible, Goku" Bulma said, showing him her thumb and Goku smiled, trusting in his best friend.
"Thanks hehe" Goku thanked and Bulma began to gather her things to head to Goku's home at Mount Paoz.
"See you," Bulma said goodbye, leaving the room while Goku remembered the battle he had with that opponent a few hours ago.
'Then Akrkaitz showed me his ace up his sleeve. Luckily, I managed to defeat him although I was quite wounded from the fight, so I must continue training,' thought the black-haired man with his eyes closed.
The hours passed quietly for the young man, as he thought about the recent events he had experienced with Bulma these past few days.
"I'm here," a voice sounded in front of him and he saw Bulma smiling tenderly at Goku. "Thanks to my plane, I arrived very early and was able to return as soon as possible."
"Great, and did you find the seeds?" Goku asked, returning the smile, while his friend nodded, taking a small bag from her pocket.
Bulma handed a seed to Goku, who swallowed it instantly. In a matter of seconds, he was out of bed doing some exercises and stretching.
"Now I'm like new, we can go Bulma" Goku smiled, sighing in relief because they wouldn't have to inject him.
"Goku but..." Before Bulma could reply, Goku carried her bridal style and jumped out of the window, summoning the flying cloud instantly.
"Tell me when you're going to do something like that!" Bulma exclaimed, blushing and Goku nodded with a bead of sweat.
"I thought for a moment... that you would abandon me, when I saw you were so hurt. I thought that everything we had experienced together... would become just memories" Bulma added, looking at the stars.
"Bulma... I will never abandon you no matter what happens. I promised that I would be with you and protect you, and I will not fail my promise" Goku replied, looking at Bulma, who nodded with tears running down her cheeks.
"I know, now let's go home. I'm sure you're hungry" Goku nodded, raising his head energetically. Bulma laughed at that reaction.
They both continued laughing and chatting as they flew under the stars wherever their destiny would take them.