Trafalgar Law had sat in the empty room for ten minutes before he allowed himself to even process anything that had just happened to him. An exasperated sigh escaped from his lips as he wondered for the umpteenth time how he had managed to royally screw up his life so badly.

But he knew the answer; right from the moment he first made the fateful choice to join Doflamingo and his insane ways, he knew what he could be getting himself into. Law sat up, resting his elbows on his knees and holding his head in his hands. Another sigh curled around his teeth, leaving slower than the other as the pirate rookie attempted to control his anger.

They were in danger, all of their lives were on the line and it was all his fault. Law tightened the grip on his head and welcomed the constricting pressure as a headache caused him to forget about his troubles, if only for a moment.

The pirate captain suddenly let go, stood up and headed for the door. He stopped just before reaching the entrance and in one final moment of rage Law crashed his right fist into a wall, perfectly breaking through a support beam and opening a hole to the next room. He opened the door and snatched his nodachi sword from the stunned guard that was assigned to hold onto it until Law was allowed to leave. The man just stood there, watching as the pirate captain headed down the hallway.

~0~

Law sat at a small table in the middle of a diner. He and his crew were still on Shabondy Archipelago waiting for the right opportunity to head into the new world, but it seemed now all of that was to be left as a dream and nothing more.

One week. He thought to himself as he took another sip from his coffee cup. Law continued to think of some way to end all of this without having to follow through with Doflamingo's plans, but no matter which route he took it always wound back to the Shichibukai hunting him down and torturing his crew until he was on his knees, begging for the screams to stop and pleading for the nightmare to be over.

It had happened before, after all.

Law gave a sour frown and placed the empty cup on the table in front of him. He was never one for reminiscing; the memories always brought back pain, whether it was remembering hard times during happy ones or happy memories during bad times. He had always shut them out and preferred to look towards the future because no matter how bleak it seemed, it was still there. But for some reason, they were nagging at him and forcing their way into his conscious mind.

-Flashback-

It was summer time, warm and peaceful in his small home town. Seven year old Trafalgar Law ran down the main highway, dodging carts and wagons as he sped off to his home, eager to show his mom the book he had just bought. The title was "On the Fabric of the Human Body" and was a promising read for the would-be surgeon. Ever since he had learned to read a few years back he took every spare moment to shove his nose in a book, but in the last few months he had taken a liking to medical and anatomical books. Law burst through the front door and ran off to his mom to boast about his find.

"Mom!" The boy eagerly called through the house. He opened the door to his parents' room, he scoured the kitchen, the living room, and he even checked the bathroom but couldn't find her anywhere. Law scratched his head and decided she might be in town. With new found energy he ran out of the house again and headed down the road back to town.

When he arrived just outside there was a noticeable crowd near the ship yard. The boy felt a pit in his stomach as an ominous feeling came into his heart. His father worked there, doing odd jobs ranging from loading ships to repairing them, and Law knew just about all of the guys down there. What if one of them was hurt? The boy ran at full speed, clutching the large book to his chest as he approached. He used his height to his advantage and squeezed through the people, picking his way to the front. When he got there he was surprised at what he saw.

A strangely dressed man lay on the ground, not moving, with a few others surrounding him including the town doctor. Law cocked his head and caught a few words from the men in front of him.

"I don't know… his temperature rises every day… just fell over… no wounds…" Law drew his attention back to the doctor who was now standing up and shaking his head after the explanation. The boy narrowed his eyes and decided to head over. The men were too busy talking to notice him sneaking up to the sick man. Law knelt down, placing his book next to him in order to see what he could do. He mentally recited initial steps when treating others he read not too long ago in a different book when the man's eyes began to flutter open. The boy looked down at the stranger, caught in the act of helping him out. Law swallowed and decided the best thing to do was to question him.

"Where are you hurt?" He asked. The man stared for a moment before glaring and shoving the kid out of his way. He began sitting up when one of the men finally noticed.

"Sir! You're awake! You were leaving the ship when you suddenly fell over! With the ship's doctor dead we thought it best to…" The man's arm shot out, his fingers wrapping around his subordinate's neck. Law watched in horror as the sick man strangled the other one. After a few desperate pleads and choking noises the boy couldn't take it anymore. He lunged for the stranger's hand and latched on, trying to pry his fingers from the other guy's neck.

Suddenly, Law felt a small lump on the stranger's hand. He looked down and noticed it was a mosquito bite. He looked at the fingers and noticed a few had rings with tan lines that were a little too crisp to have been there long.

It hit him; fever, fatigue, mosquito bite, a possible trip to the tropics… it all made sense! But Law didn't get to share his revelation as he was thrown into a pile of cargo off to the side.

"Fuckin' brat." The stranger said, trying to stand again. The boy sat up and rubbed his head. He was thankful for the thick hat he always wore but turned his attention to matters more critical at hand.

"Wait!" He called out as he noticed the men leaving. The sick one stopped and turned his head, fever and fatigue obvious in his expression. Law took another deep breath and plucked up the rest of his courage, after all, he had a patient.

"It's malaria!" Law announced. Out of the corner of his eye he could see the doctor stiffen. He turned to him and noticed his expression speaking for itself, asking why didn't I think of that? Law smirked a bit and stood up, jogging over to the man. The man had also noticed the doctor and was now looking down at the kid in front of him, perplexed. Law stopped in front of him and continued.

"Our hospital is small, but it should have the supplies to treat you." The boy bravely stated. The man in front of him just stared down in stunned silence. The other man, who had nearly been strangled to death, abruptly stepped in between the two.

"What the hell does a brat like you know?! Our captain doesn't need third rate tips from a short…" The man was cut off once again as his captain landed a casual fist in his face and sent him flying into the same cargo Law had just crawled out of. The boy just watched, shocked that he was talking to a person like… this. But the man broke through his thoughts.

"Can you treat it?" He asked flatly. Law turned back to him and just blinked before stuttering out his answer and shyly looking away.

"Uh, well… the doctor over there should be able to, I mean I've never…"

"I asked can you treat it."

Law looked up at the man and searched his expression for what he meant. His face lost a bit of color when he realized what he was being asked. The man was completely serious; it seemed he wanted the boy to do it. Law thought for a moment, remembering everything he had read about the disease and blood work before confidently nodding his head. The captain let a cocky grin spread out on his face before walking back towards his ship.

"Follow me. I won't have you work in the office of that shitty doctor over there." It took a moment for the boy to realize what was said and he instantly ran after the man, picking up his book on the way and following the man to the ship's infirmary.

~0~

AN: doflamingo: there's candy in here too, my boy.
chibi law: golly gee mister! i sure do love candy!
LOL just kidding ;) more on the way~

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