AN: Hey, so this is my first story in a while. This plot bunny wouldn't hop out of my mind. There's also very few AU Law stories out there, so I decided to give it a shot. I'm pretty nervous about posting this, since I haven't written in the past couple of years. This is also my first attempt at third-person. Let me know if it gets too clinical or academic (because that's the only thing I've used third person for). Also, this story will be in "encounters" in LawXOC's relationship. Which means it happens in no specific order unless stated. Feel free to drop prompts in the comments. I'm not using honorifics because the story's not specifically Japanese.

First Encounter

"You're going to be okay," a petite brunette whispered to an equally petite blonde.

"I don't feel like I'm going to be okay," the other girl replied, her voice hoarse.

"There's a vomit bag on the table if you need it, the nurse said."

"Thanks," the blonde said with a weak smile. She shivered a little under the warm blanket the nurse had brought her. She wheezed slightly and coughed; a faint metallic taste flooded her mouth. "I hope they see me soon. It's been 30 minutes already." She leaned her head against her friend's shoulder.

"Don't worry. I'm sure it'll be quick. You're a pretty acute case afterall." She patted the soft blonde head on her shoulder. "How long since your last episode?"

"It's not really an episode but I guess four years?" She let out a soft sigh and closed her eyes.

"Miss Hanover," female nurse in blue scrubs called.

"That's me." The blanket wrapped girl stood up.

"Perfect. Please follow me."

Both women followed the nurse to a room labelled "45".

"Can I get you to sit on the examination bed please," the nurse requested. The blonde slowly made her way over and onto the bed.

"Please confirm your personal details with me." The nurse looked down at the clipboard.

"Hanover Adelia. October fifth 1994. 6781 Birmingham Rd. Is that good enough?"

"That's perfect. I'm just going to check your vitals now, Adelia," the nurse said as she placed a blood pressure cuff on her patient's arm. "Hm. Your heart rate is quite low. Do you feel light-headed and/or dizzy at all?"

"Yes," Adelia groaned weakly, "I feel like I'm going to pass out."

"Have you vomited, had diarrhoea, or coughed up fluid in the past 48 hours?"

"I've been coughing up phlegm with blood."

"That's pretty serious. Are you on any medications for your thrombocytosis?"

"Baby aspirin once a day."

"Can I check your pulse?"

Adelia held out an unusually pale, thin wrist for the nurse to take.

After a minute, she said, "your pulse is really weak. I'm going to grab the doctor. Sit tight."

"I'm scared, Elina," Adelia whispered, her voice cracking."

"It'll be okay. I promise. They're going to take care of you." Elina reached up to stroke her hair. "Maybe you'll even find a cute doctor boyfriend who'll take care of you," she joked in an attempt to lighten the mood.

"Haha. Very funny." Adelia's deadpan response indicated it was anything but that.

"I'm exhausted." Adelia yawned. She'd just returned from the MRI, chest x-ray, and blood work that the emergency doctor had ordered. She snuggled into the stretcher they placed her on. It wasn't the best but it'd do. "Elina, I think you should go."

Elina blinked owlishly. "Why? They still haven't don't anything about your problem yet."

"You're tired. I can tell even if you're hiding your yawns. Plus, Sanji is going to come home soon and he'll be disappointed if his pretty girlfriend isn't there to eat his cooking. I'll phone you and keep you updated."

"You sure?"

Adelia nodded. "Positive."

"Alright. Give me a ring if anything comes up. If you're still here late tonight, I'll have Sanji make you some food."

"I look forward to his yummy cooking."

Shortly after Elina left, Adelia found herself drifting into a light slumber. She coughed again, bringing more phlegm and blood into her mouth. She reached over to the table to grab a napkin. Just then, a tall figure walked into the room.

"You must be Miss Hanover," a deep smooth masculine voice questioned.

Adelia blushed a bright crimson. Embarrassed to be caught mid-spit. She quickly folded the napkin and wiped her mouth with the clean side.

"Yes. Do you need me for something?" Her voice was calm and even as she willed her blush to disappear. The figure moved to sit in the chair beside her. He was a handsome young man who didn't look much older than she. He had tattoos on both arms and his scrub top hinted at a chest tattoo. "I've never seen a doctor with tattoos before," she mused.

"I'm Dr. Trafalgar. I'm the surgeon on call. I'll be taking care of your Pulmonary Embolism. Since you have two fairly large clots and you're a high risk patient, the best option is an open embolectomy. You'll be put under general anesthesia and I'll make an incision along your sternum and remove the clots. It'll take two to three hours. We have the operating room scheduled for six pm," he glanced at the clock on the wall, "that's in three hours."

He looked at her, gauging a response. She was far too young to be undergoing this surgery and while he didn't necessarily feel pity. He did feel something akin to watching a trapped small animal escape trying to escape. "Empathy," his mind supplied and he felt the sudden urge to rub his brow. Her cough brought him back to reality.

Adelia tried to swallow. Her throat felt like it was closing up. Each breath was harder and harder to take. "So, it's basically open heart surgery," she managed to spit out.

The doctor nodded. "I'll give you some time to think about it. I'll be back in an hour." He left as quickly and he'd come and Adelia couldn't help but notice how silent his steps were.

"Elina, it's me. They want me to go in for open heart surgery to remove the clots. There are two and they're big. I think I'm going to do it. It'll take two to three hours," Adelia's voice trembled.

"Oh Sweetie," Elina crooned on the other end of the phone, "you're so brave. You've got this I'll visit you everyday."

"Don't trouble yourself."

"I insist. I'll even drag Sanji along too. He's been wondering how you've been doing."

"Okay. I'm going to get some rest before the doctor comes back. I'll phone you after the surgery."

"Take care. Bye." She pushed the red hangup icon and shut her eyes tightly.

You're so brave.

You're so brave.

That sentence echoed over and over. She hated those words. Where was the bravery in choosing to live?

Dr. Trafalgar Law sat in the break room nursing a mug of black coffee. He leaned back into his chair, closed his eyes, and plopped his feet up on the desk. He couldn't help but think about the woman that he'd seen earlier. She seemed so fragile and scared. She'd looked so tiny and vulnerable in pile of blankets she was buried under. He felt the need to protect her in some weird way.

Only a year younger than him and already needing open heart surgery. He couldn't help but feel that twinge of empathy again at that thought. He took a sip of his coffee.

"Too young."

Sip

"Too vulnerable."

Sip

"Pretty."

He choked on his coffee at that thought and set his mug down in favour of his phone. Anything to distract him from that girl. Even if he was just lying to himself.

"I'll do it" Adelia declared weakly when Dr. Trafalgar returned. "I'll be under your care. Please treat me kindly."

He allowed a small smirk to grace his features.

"I can't promise anything but I'll do my best."

AN: I know people don't generally like more than one OC in a story but I don't like canonXcannon One Piece pairings because Oda's given us basically nothing to work with. Actually One Piece is the only story I refuse to write fanfiction for in its world because Oda has already done such a complete job of fleshing it out and creating the story. To make a romance characterxOC story for that world and do it well while still keeping the amazingness in terms of mood, atmosphere, and tone of what Oda has created is nigh impossible. AUs on the other hand...