A/N) So here's the new chapter you've been waiting for. It's about two times longer than the last one. The next one will probably be even longer, though I make no promises as to when I'll post it.

Chapter 3: Explanation

Lexi woke up again, a little calmer this time. Since she was still alive, it meant they probably wouldn't be killing her anytime soon. Unfortunately, the tubes were still attached to the insides of her elbows with medical tape, though it looked like it had been changed. And she still had the breathing aid.

The Phoenix was in the room again, and she resisted the urge to back away from him. Instead, she met his gaze coolly, trying her best not to show fear and carefully sat up.

She felt stronger than before, but she still wasn't back to normal.

"I see that you're finally awake." Hesitantly, Lexi nodded. Finally? Was she out for long?

As if to answer her unspoken question he said, "When you first woke up 3 days ago you had already been sleeping for a week. And the wound wasn't enough to keep you down for that long, nor was the blood loss. Last time you fell back asleep a few minutes after waking up. Do you think it's going to happen again now?"

Lexi shrugged her shoulders, then shook her head. She didn't feel too bad, and she wanted to at least find out where she was, though she had already made some assumptions and was pretty sure she was currently on a pirate ship. But she still asked, just to be sure. She gently removed the breathing aid. No one tried to stop her this time. She let it fall at the base of her neck, still holding on since it was tied at the other side.

"What happened to me? Where am I?", she managed to croak out. Boy, did her throat feel dry. Then again, when was the last time she drank anything? Over a week ago?

The Phoenix handed her a glass of water. Where he got it from? She didn't know. But she took it and drank willingly.

"After you used that weird power-"

"What power? What are you talking about?", she asked, surprised.

"-back on your ship-"

"That was definitely NOT my ship. How many times do I have to tell you that I'm not a marine?"

"Are you going to let me finish sweetheart?" That shut her up. Not the question, but what he called her. Seriously? Sweetheart? He didn't even know her! Glaring at him, she slowly nodded. "On the ship you did something. And that something blasted me a few feet back and away from you. After that, you collapsed." He wasn't going to give her any more details.

She looked at him like he was crazy. A weird power? Her? You've got to be kidding!

"And I collapsed? Just like that?" Her voice was laced with disbelief.

"Falling down, you cut your head on something and lost a lot of blood." Yeah. That part she remembered, albeit barely. "And your heart rate was quickly going down. The doctors couldn't figure out what was wrong with you. They weren't even sure if you would survive."

"And you want me to stay alive because...?"

"Because we have a lot of questions we want to ask you."

She gulped. Questions? What is there that the infamous Whitebeard Pirates would want to know from little old her?

"Questions? What kind of questions?"

"Nothing much. You'll find out later." He moved his hand close to her face. She scooted away as far as she could go without moving the tubes too much.

"The doctor said you can take off the breathing aid. It's no longer necessary.", he explained, and brought his hand closer to her face again. She stayed still this time, but her purple eyes followed his every movement.

The Phoenix carefully removed the instrument and withdrew his hand. She noticed that her silver hair had been tied into a ponytail at the nape of her neck. It'll be a pain in the ass to brush out all of the tangles later.

"What about the tubes? Can you get them off, too?" Did she really say you? She meant to say the doctor, or me. Oh well. Maybe he wouldn't notice.

His smirk told her otherwise.

"You'll have to ask the doctor that."

"Where's the doctor, then?"

"He said he'll come by in a few minutes."

Lexi lied back down on the bed and stared at the ceiling, waiting. She wasn't sleepy, but oddly enough she wasn't well-rested either.

By the time the doctor came the Phoenix had already left, probably needing to report to the captain or something. Or maybe out of boredom...

"My name is Rick, and I'm the doctor in charge of taking care of you during your stay", he explained.

"I'm Lexi", she answered, trying her best not to be too rude, but not giving away too much information. Not to a potential enemy.

"Can you detach the medical stuff now? I feel fine."

"I can, but I'm pretty sure it wouldn't help your condition. I'll remove it tomorrow. How do you feel without the breathing aid?"

"I barely noticed the change."

"Do you think that you can eat? Are you strong enough?"

"I told you. I feel just fine. And that means yes - I can eat." That's good. Don't be too nice, but don't be too rude either.

"I'll bring you some food then. I'll be back in a few minutes."

With that Rick left the room. Lexi just lied there, wondering why he was being so nice to her and what he would bring her to eat.

He came back in about 4 minutes, with a bowl of soup.

"Soup?", she asked, disappointed.

"Your stomach has been empty for a long time and might react badly to solid food. You have to take it slow for now."

She took the bowl from Rick and started drinking the soup. It was delicious - not too spicy, but not to salty either.

While she was finishing the meal the doctor told her about what had happened after she blacked out. He sure was of the talkative type, wasn't he?

"When Commander Marco got back with you in his arms and ran right to the infirmary the first thing everyone on the ship thought was where in the world he had managed to pick up a girl while taking out marines. I was one of the only 2 doctors in the infirmary at the time, and he had us treat your injuries right away. All he said was that was that you might be someone important."

Her? Important? Is this an other joke?

"You were in horrible condition, your head was bleeding profoundly, but we managed to get it to stop. Then, for some reason, your heart rate started to go down for no apparent reason at all. You almost died."

She gave an involuntary shudder.

"We had to give you a blood transfusion, you also got some morphine for the pain."

"Don't give me any more. I react badly to painkillers."

"Really? I had no idea! Oh, and there's an IV next to your bed. I'm not sure if the breathing aid was necessary, but I figured better to be safe than sorry."

"When I woke up before your First Division Commander was here. I was just wondering why...?"

"He said he was going to stay with you until you woke up. When you finally did, you fell back asleep almost instantly, so he stayed even longer. As for why...he didn't really say why. Must be orders or something."

Oh. Weird. Definitely very, very odd. Hopefully he'll explain later.

"Let me see your head wound. It still needs to be checked on regularly. It's healing nicely, a bit faster than normal, though. Do you by any chance have any Devil Fruit powers?"

"Not that I know of", she answered, leaning her head in his direction, watching him closely for any odd movements. He examined it carefully.

"That's good. Looks like it'll be gone in a few days. You'll still have a scar left, though."

Rick looked at the monitor next to the bed.

"Your heart rate is still a bit low. I'll need to keep giving you the medicine", the last part he muttered under his breath. "Go back to sleep. You look like you need it. I'll come by to wake you up tomorrow morning and I promise to get the tubes and the bandage around your head removed."

She nodded her head gratefully, lied back down on the uncomfortable bed and waited for sleep to come. Turned out she didn't have to wait long.

(A/N) ...and she falls asleep again. Meeting new people, making new frie- ehm -enemies... And whatever you do, DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! Plus, I thank the people who took their time to write something about the last two chapters. I really appreciate it and don't forget - I LOVE YOU GUYS!