Thank You to everyone who's reviewed! I lost the original beginning! Again, those of you who are rereading, enjoy the updates and the new details and content. Much love - Mo0Chroi.


Hours turned into days, days creeping weeks, weeks draining months, months blending into a year. People came, docked, packed up, and left; it became one big blur of motion and movement that everyone who was left behind had to adjust to. The Straw Hat Crew fell into a chaotic 'normal' or what could be as close to normal as possible. The said Crew was still in a state of disorientation and worry for their Captain who still in his coma. They had been fretting over him with Shanks present for the past months he'd been asleep and the redhead had assured them that they weren't pumping any more drugs in him to keep him comatose. Luffy was asleep on his own and there was no way to bring him out of that state unless Luffy wanted to get up or Ace were to come back. The last of which was looking less and less likely by the moment considering how long it had been since the fire-bearing Destined had died.

Nami rubbed her temples with one of her hands, the other hand holding a knitting Chopper. It wasn't all the time that Nami had with the little doctor, only occasionally in their 'shifts' to watch over Luffy. Everyone in the crew had taken different shifts to watch over the captain while letting others have some form of normal life outside of it. As if life outside of being with Luffy could be considered anywhere near 'normal', but they were trying to find some sort of rhythm. Like now, Nami watched over Luffy while Zoro trained in the building's gym and Robin and Franky hit up the local book store for the tenth time that week. Usopp, Brook and Sanji were passed out, catching up on some much needed rest as far as Nami was aware of.

The reindeer leaned back on her, pausing his knitting and Nami blinked, feeling his head on her chest and she looked down at him. His wide eyes looked up at her and Nami forced a smile down at him to try and assure him that she was alright, despite the obvious. He gave her a small smile back, a wordless conversation taking place where Nami tried to comfort him and Chopper turned his gaze back to Luffy.

"Y'know, Nami, your hair looks pretty when it's up. I don't remember if I ever told you that," Chopper told her out of the blue and Nami blinked, not expecting the random compliment. She had a flutter of light that was quickly consumed by her darkness yet again.

"Thank you," she told when she found her words, squeezing him lightly in thanks. Nami found that she was much more comfortable in hoodies these days with her hair pulled back into a bun. Her bangs seemed to hate staying back in it, though, so she just let the stray hair fall into her face.

"Do you think he'll wake up soon?" Chopper vocalized, yet again, out of the blue and Nami blinked, almost bursting into tears again. She had cried so much in the past year or so that she was surprised that any water was left in her body. Of course if she mentioned that to the reindeer, even if it was a joke, he would correct her medically and that lightened her mood just a little bit. Chopper tilted his head and Nami offered him another tight smile, moving her bangs away from her face.

"Of course." she said, somehow keeping her voice straight and even, her fingers gently running through the fur on his head. Chopper's hat and bags he always carried was in the room they all shared, just diagonal from the room Luffy was in. It was rare they went to their separately assigned rooms anymore, some having given up their rooms completely to stay in the small, cramped room to stay near Luffy. The said room was filled with sleeping bags and air mattresses, a couch - whatever they could fit that held clothes, their bodies, personal objects thrown into a box that only got opened to dig out what they wanted. The Straw Hat crew had put their entire existence on hold, a massive piece of it missing.

Chopper once again began his knitting, somehow managing to do that without thumbs but it looked good despite the setback. But then again, Chopper managed to do a lot without thumbs and Nami never questioned it. Just look Brook somehow managed - just being a skeleton. Wiping away any stray tears that found their way out of her eyes, she hugged him close, looking at his project.

It was comprised of an orange color, a gold-like color, a rich red and pure black blanket in the making with the colors overlapped occasionally, blending into one another. Nami smiled, still taking in all the details of the blanket.

"Who's this for?" she asked him, her fingers finding the blanket and gently taking in the feel of them and Chopper smiled, pausing just for a second only to continue on as before.

"Luffy! It's all Ace's colors! The orange, red and gold for his fire, the black is for his tattoo and hair. I just figured… he'd like it… or it'd make him more depressed… I dunno - I really didn't think this through, did I?" Chopper asked, going from excited to hesitant on his words with a nervous laugh in between. Nami somehow choked back more tears and sniffled, her jaw quivering in her effort.

"I think he'll love it. Just… I think he'll absolutely love it and appreciate it. You're so sweet Chopper," she told, kissing his head. Chopper made a happy gasp, giggling and blushing at Nami's words. With the confidence that Nami offered, Chopper continued his project and quite happily. The reindeer continued to work on the blanket every time he was in the room with a Crew member, all of them supporting his project and even entertaining him as he worked on it.

Usopp told him stories about large fish making islands out of their poop and mountains that were really giant people, singing the Sogeking song with him once or twice. Zoro worked out in the corner of the room when he was around, keeping mostly silent for the whole ordeal which was eerie so Chopper did the talking and Zoro, apparently, listened. Robin read him stories, capturing the boy's attention on more than one occasion, which is probably why the blanket took so long. Brook always played joyful music while he was around and told the reindeer funny stories.

Exactly sixteen months after Luffy fell into his coma, Chopper finished the blanket, placing it over the still boy and sighing. It was getting a bit difficult to uphold his cherry deposition on the subject but his gut told him that the Captain would wake up soon. Curling into Luffy's side, Chopper took a nap, hoping that his gut was right.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Sixteen months. Law had spent sixteen months away from the secondary home on the island and he had never missed it so much. He was coming back sooner than what everyone, including himself, assumed he would but then again - he always would if he could manage it. Sixteen months at sea verses twenty-four was always better in Law's book but that didn't mean he was the least bit thrilled about it. Of course the first thing he did, other than fall face first in the sand and hug it, was check in on his 'favorite' crew: the Straw Hat's. Aside from his favoritism toward his own Crew, which was his top favorite, and Kidd's Crew seeing as how Law was still not happy with him, the Straw Hats ranked third on the list usually but second as of now.

Law had dressed for a long day, wearing his favorite jeans and a sweater he swore fit him perfectly the last time he wore it. Now it seemed to hang off of his shoulders but the Surgeon didn't really worry about it, speed walking toward the infirmary. Law wouldn't deny that he was worried, the worry making him get to the room in half the time. Law awkwardly stood outside the door before gathering enough guts to open the door. Upon doing so and walking into the room, he noted Robin and Chopper there but Franky was nowhere to be seen at the moment. The dark haired woman stared at her Captain and didn't seem to acknowledge Law's presence.

"Miss. Robin," he greeted with a smile and she blinked in surprise. The black haired man seemed skinner to Robin, the sweater hanging loosely off of Law. If Law didn't wear it right, it'd dip completely off of one of his shoulders at his rate.

"Trafalgar-san, you're back early," she said, getting up and greeting him with a hug. Granted the Crew's were still 'enemies' in searching for One Piece, they developed the bonds that allowed them to act like they were like one big family that understood one another and the small displays of affection showed it. They released their hug and Robin sat back down in her chair, not bothering the sleeping reindeer.

"Did you not eat on your mission?" she questioned and Law lightly laughed.

"I ate as often as I could," he answered vaguely and Robin looked at him with a frown. 'As often as I could', usually translated into 'I ate once a day if I was lucky' but without the worry and concern that the confessions would bring.

"How is he?" he asked softly and Robin gave a slight sigh. It pretty much told Law everything that he needed to know but Robin decided to voice it anyway.

"Still asleep. No drugs are keeping him this way, he's just… asleep. It is beginning to look less and less likely that he will awaken. I am, admittedly, worried." she told and Law patted her shoulder.

"Take the poor boy to bed and go get something to eat, you look starved. I'll watch over him," he offered and Robin smiled up at him. Whispering her thanks, she gingerly picked up Chopper, making her way out of the room to go put Chopper to bed.

Law sat beside Luffy's bed, looking at him for a little bit then got up to roam around, setting down his bag on a table and digging out a book. The Surgeon sat back down, talking for a little while, telling stories as if Luffy could hear him. After he got done with one, he switched to reading one of his many medical books and learning ever so much more about the human body and how much it could be pushed to before it gave out and how you could prevent that from happening… which he could do. But then again - Law was a freak of nature no matter how you looked at it so he couldn't possibly count. Law could never get enough of this stuff, it was his life blood and fascinated him to the point of no return. His reading concentrating was completely shattered thanks to soft sobbing that could be heard somewhere in the hall and then it passed.

Law sighed softly, closing his book. The place he wanted to be the least was in a hospital, despite his preferred occupation. This place he was sitting in, specifically, was eerie and just had the 'too clean' feeling. Even Luffy's room was void of any personality other than the colored blanket on top of him. It was as if Luffy was the one that was dead. Law itched to get out of there but proceeded to remind himself why he was here: so the Straw Hat crew could get some much needed relief from watching over their Captain. They needed a breather, not to be constantly mourning their Captain. Law could hardly blame them one dang bit; if it had been one of his own, he would have never left their side no matter what circumstances. Starving, burning, orders, earthquakes, Kidd himself; nothing could make him leave.

Law glanced to Luffy, thankful yet sad that his own Crew wasn't like him. The doctor had gotten so attached to his Crew that it was insane to a point so seeing them go would be like someone ripping his heart out. Law slid down a bit more in his chair, getting comfortable again while waiting for everyone to come back so the air in the room would be filled. It was eerie like this, being so empty and still. To alleviate the sense of emptiness in the room, Law snorted softly at a memory then began to tell the story.

The Surgeon of Death proceeded to do this most of the day while the Straw Hats rested in the other room, all thankful for Law's presence as Nami enunciated just a bit before. Law glanced to the clock that read one am and he sighed, figuring Luffy would be okay for the night. Law got up to begin packing his things but didn't get far.

Without warning or any form of fore-sight, Luffy sat straight up and gasped deeply, making the doctor jump and drop his book due to the silence-shattering, desperate sound. Luffy had a dazed, dream-like look on his face as if he wasn't connected to reality at the very second and, quite frankly, Law had a momentary wonder if he was still in his coma and this was a result of a nightmare or what was going on here. Don't be stupid, Trafalgar, this doesn't happen in a coma. You should know this, you retard, the voice scolded the shocked doctor. The teenaged-looking man had enough mental cognition to practically rip the needles out of his arms, gagging when he pulled the tube out of his nose that fed him while he was in a coma and crawled out of bed in a panicked, stumbling state. Law watched the scene in front of him in disbelief and shock, unable to move to help the fellow Captain at the moment.

Luffy hadn't walked in god knew how long and due to that, he hit the floor hard on his face but that didn't stop him; no, that seemed to make him come slightly more back to reality than he was before. Luffy groaned to himself and ceased trying to move so much, just lying there for a second or two, panting lightly to himself. After a moment or two, Luffy moved his hands under his chest and struggled to push himself on his knees.

As if he was slapped, Law realized what was happening. Mentally, he began placing his bets on what woke the Captain, rushing over to aid him.

"Luffy," Law said softly, sliding onto the floor to get the black-haired boy's attention. The boy didn't respond so Law grabbed his arm and shook him lightly, trying to get the other to acknowledge him. Luffy looked at him and Law blinked, shocked more to see tears already pouring down his face with a look of silent, clawing, uncontained, pure desperation to him. The look sent shivers down Law's spine which was an odd concept for the Surgeon of Death. It was usually other people that got the shivers from Law himself, not Law getting shivers from other people.

Luffy's fists grabbed onto Law, weak yet determined to the point where it gave him the strength he needed. Law couldn't help but stare blankly at the man as Luffy used Law's shirt to keep upright.

"He's alive… he's alive, he's alive. I can feel him, I felt him. I've got to get to him, I can't let him die again, I can't... I can't, I can't handle it again," Luffy whimpered out, letting go of Law and continued his mission to try to reach the door again but it didn't work out too well. Luffy's body wasn't allowing it, despite the need that Luffy felt. Law was still in a state of shock over the sudden situation, but hearing Luffy say he knew that Ace was alive wasn't among the things that delivered a great deal of a shock to him. The two were close, probably closer than Law and Kidd are and Luffy had clung to that. It was what got him through the first time and it was his undoing the second time.

Law put his hands on Luffy's shoulder, not ashamed to hold the Destined in place for the moment. Luffy struggled against him, Law trying not to hurt him while he held him still. Finally, Law grabbed Luffy's arms tightly and gave him a good shake.

"Luffy!" he snapped and the boy blinked, looking at Law. Luffy was half draped over his lap, his hands clutching Law's hoodie and Law's hands on his arms; Law didn't care about the awkward posing, he cared about Luffy's hell-bent path. "What are you going to say to his parents when you find him? 'Sorry - he's going to be a Destined. No - no, I know the rumors, but we're not as bad as we seem! We're not demons despite the fact that we don't seem to age! Not only that, he will have a fire Devil fruit and be flamingly, untaming-ly, unashamed gay, no pun intended.'?" Law asked, seeing reason dawn on Luffy and the other man hung his head, his tears splattering on his jeans.

Burying his face in Law's chest, he sobbed his heart out and Law released his grip, turning to rub his back, offering soft words of comfort. It seemed to take Luffy a little while to sort through everything, the excitement and euphoria of Ace being alive yet the terror that it presented because of their unseen, unknown enemy. Law very well knew that Luffy could not go through that crushing grief again; he couldn't even understand how Luffy went through it twice. After a bit, Luffy stopped sobbing, breathing raggedly and calming down slowly. Law rubbed soothing circles in the boy's back, hoping it'd help him at least a little bit, not saying a word just yet.

"What am I supposed to do Law?" Luffy asked after quite a bit of silence, his voice broken from crying and sorrow so thick in his voice that Law felt it. He couldn't tell Luffy what he'd do in this situation, he'd be doing the same thing if he was in his shoes, and probably would not give up as easily as Luffy was doing now. And God knew that nothing and no one would or could stop Law if that happened. No - the earth would quake and the heavens would fear him. He had a nodachi and he was not afraid to use it - against damn near anyone. Luffy looked up at Law and the thoughts stopped, seeing how much Luffy needed an answer. Any words that Law would give him would probably dictate the next course of action for the boy and Law wasn't sure what to say. The Surgeon thought logically for a moment before taking a breath, choosing his words very carefully.

"You wait." Law said finally, seeing Luffy's face slip into a state of confusion. "Whoever killed him last, yes, I believe you when you said that he did not believe he commit suicide, possibly doesn't even know of his return. You're his Destined, you have that up on them. The only way they'll know is if they're everywhere at once and I doubt it. That and if he makes a name for himself. If he remembers you, he will come to you. If he doesn't - then you must go to him." Law told, attempting good old reasoning with the desperate man. Luffy seemed to take all of this into consideration and, eventually, nodded numbly.

"I-I at least want to see him…" Luffy mumbled, shifting to try to support himself through Law was still supporting him mostly. The Surgeon of Death supposed the other Destined's request wasn't too horrible, after all - Luffy was giving up years with Ace and taking a leap of faith with Law's words. Already, a plan of action was forming in the genius's mind.

"I'll try to find him. But for now, you take it easy with the walking. You've been asleep for a long time." Law instructed and Luffy nodded, accepting Law's assistance to get back into bed. The older man made sure Luffy was situated in the bed before sighing.

"You gave me a heart attack," Law told to give him some humor and Luffy gave a broken, forced smile. The Surgeon took a moment to consider all the possibilities of what just happened. He could have been conceived, just been born, or he's been alive and Luffy just now felt him around. The last one seemed unlikely considering the reaction.

"I need to ask, though, was he just born?" It seemed like a stupid question but it was one that warranted asking. Law didn't have any knowledge on how Luffy's situation worked out. Luffy seemed to ponder it a moment before nodding.

"I feel him as if he's right next to me. Like when he was alive before. He was just born." Luffy confirmed and Law nodded. Luffy had so many questions and no damn answers. Like what was his name now? Did he look the same? Would he have the same Devil Fruit and freckles? His head began hurting, pressing his hand to his head. Law patted Luffy's shoulder, making the boy look up at him.

"Don't question too much. Just relax for the moment." he told and Luffy nodded, gripping the sheets that were on him. It was then Luffy noticed the knitted blanket and blinked, wondering who did that one. The colors reminded him of Ace, the fire and warmth Ace always had. Luffy closed his eyes, clinging to the feeling of Ace right next to him.

-x-x-x-x-x-

The doctor went toward his room, passing the room that housed the Straw Hat Crew. Law had found out that it was -oddly- housing everyone in the Straw Hat team at the point from a nurse in the hallway. It just so happened that it was also Zoro's assigned room. Possibly because Zoro was not only accident prone and was the nearest to the infirmary; regardless of what the situation was that kept him nearest to the infirmary, his room had turned into a hotel room essentially. Law opened the door without even the slightest amount of hesitation or the thought of knocking. He looked around to see every corner of the room occupied but this shouldn't surprise him. These rooms were meant to hold two, not eight in the same area at the same time.

The ladies slept next to one another on the top of the bunk bed, Chopper and Sanji in the lower bunk which was cute and all. Zoro was sprawled out over the floor next to Franky, the two apparently sharing a blanket the best they could but it looked as if they fought over it in the middle of the night since it was lopsided and barely covered either one of the two men. Brook was leaning against the wall closest to the door, a snot bubble forming out of his nose growing with every breath and Usopp took the couch, as sprawled out as Zoro and Franky were in their little section. Well that was nice of them to let Usopp have the couch at least! Sanji probably forced the women to take the bed... either that or they agreed for the first time in history. Either way.

"Luffy's awake." Law told without any form of warning or alerting to his presence there in the room. His brain switched tracks for just a moment, noting that the door really should have been locked. God only knew who was doing what behind here and it could have turned from him bearing good news to being chased out and down the hall by the utterly weird and awkward situation that could have been presented. After all - there was two Mated couples in the same room, along with one couple that wasn't Mated yet. Law really didn't want to walk in on that one. Let's be thankful that didn't come to pass…

Law pushed his thoughts away and watched Zoro nod sleepily, flashing a thumbs up then just lay on the ground still. The Surgeon of Death resisted the urge to hit his head on the door outright. Instead, he put an arm on the doorframe and but did lightly 'hit' his head on his arm. Either they didn't much sleep to not hear the fact that their Captain had come back from the beyond. Law stuck around just for a few more seconds to see if the samurai with no direction comprehended his words at all. It was a few moments later that Zoro sat straight up.

"What?!" Zoro cried, already on his feet at the news. Oh! It seemed he did! Everyone was either jarred awake or still snoring by the samurai's yell and Law stepped away from the doorframe while Zoro got everyone up and sprinted toward the room. He was barefooted and without his traditional green kimono garbs, but Law doubted Zoro gave much of a care at this point. Well, at least he was a bit better than everyone else; they were either in their skivvies or in half the clothes they were in before. Nami was a prime example - she was in a tank top and her underwear, rushing out the room with Robin, who was in shorts but still not as covered as usual. Who cared though? Law just smiled to himself, making his way to to his own, beloved room.

It didn't take much to get there, a ten minute walk, some turns, a pair of steps then hallways with doors that looked exactly the same and he was at his room, 1223. A sense of nostalgia, a faint feeling of comfort, hit before he even unlocked the door to go into the room. Opening the door, he stood in the doorframe and just took in the room that he hadn't seen in quite some time. It wasn't the best room, not the most decorated it could be but he adored it. It had personal touches everywhere. A picture of him and his Crew rested by the bed, spare hoodies hung around here and there along with a sewing station. With as often as he and his Crew tore his stuff up - he needed that sewing station. Smiling lightly at the memories, he fully entered the room and tried to ignore the memories of him and Kidd that were placed everywhere. Before he had left, he spent a few nights in Kidd's room now that Law thought about it. They actually traded off rooms at times, between his and Kidds. Despite being Mated - they still need their personal space.

Law kicked the door shut and sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. Despite feeling like 'home', it felt so empty, so... quiet without Kidd there to complain about everything under the damn sun. 'Why does your carpet have to be black?' 'Trafalgar - why is there a sewing machine in your room? I swear - I'm Mated to a girl.' Kidd said at some points of their relationship. He smirked a bit, remembering the ever so famous line: 'Can't you guys ever freaking knock?!' that Kidd yelled when someone forgot to lock the door and one of his Crew needed something or another. He never forgot the look on Bepo and Shachi's face when they came in and saw him and Kidd, half naked on the floor. Bepo screamed like a girl, grabbing Shachi and running for the hills, apologizing like crazy as he did so. He felt a chuckle bubble out of him before Law focused, getting back to his 'mission'.

Being paranoid, and very much not repeating his past mistakes despite the lack of a Mate, he definitively locked the door and made sure he'd hear Kidd if the other man was around at the moment. Law sighed once more, sitting down and figuring out where to even begin his search for Ace. It would be awesome if the baby were named 'Ace' but not everything could be so simplistic. While his computer warmed up, he got up and started a whole pot, worth about twelve cups, of strong coffee. Mixing himself a tall cup of coffee, Law settled in for a long, long search.

It took him a bit of time and illegal activity, but he tracked down a list of new born babies that were born in the last day or so and came up with a surprisingly short list. Not many people were having babies anymore due to the 'epidemic' of Destined's. Something that Law found incredibly ridiculous; well that reason and a lot of islands were still getting back on their feet due to the damage done during the age of stupid, careless pirates, which was still kind of going on. But at least they had more pirates under control now.

Law wrote various information down, narrowing it down quite easily to one or two possible places that Ace could have been reborn in. As much as Destined's could tell each other were in a mile from each other, the only one that could ever really tell who it was is Luffy. After all - who could tell better than an actual Destined's Mate? Absolutely no one. But at the same time, Law wasn't sure about taking Luffy with him to go see these different babies even if Law only suspected one.

The Destined chewed on his pen, deciding and debating on his next moves then gave up, hitting his head on the desk to attempt to clear his head for the most part. Exhaustion took over his entire being and he fell asleep, unable to resist it even if he wanted to. At least he had the door locked and he was home.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Nami held Luffy's hand, gently assuring him that everything would be alright as Chopper gazed in utter worry at the Captain, nestled in the bed with Luffy yet again. The little reindeer snuggled in his other arm in his attempt to offer comfort with his natural fluffy, warm body and cute attitude. The Captain of their Crew was still off in terms of his personality, crying softly to himself, without a single regard to his pride or that the rest of his Crew was there to see it.

Though Luffy was negative, he struggled to see the reason behind Law's words, to see and understand the logic of the situation. It was difficult, knowing that Ace was out there, within his metaphorical reach and Luffy couldn't do a damn thing until later, much later. Then his mind fell deeper into the depression and darkness. The closer Luffy got to Ace, the more others would know where Ace was.

If Ace was being hunted or being sought after, or whatever could be going on, Luffy's presence could make everything that much worse and put Ace's life in even more danger. Needless to say - that didn't make him feel any better and he cried a bit harder at everything that was going on, worrying Nami because she had just said something and was now bent on the 'fact' that she said something to upset him further. Though Robin doubted it, expressing that verbally and tried to assure their ships treasury keeper and navigator. At the point, Nami wasn't listening one bit and freaking out just slightly and asking what she did.

Everyone tried not to overwhelm Luffy, since he just got up but the concern in and of itself was overwhelming since all Luffy had done since was cry. But at the same time, any Destined in the room couldn't blame him so it was a very confusing, conflicting yet sad and overwhelming state.

Everyone had no choice but adjust and fairly quickly, eventually getting Luffy to settle down with fifty thousand promises that Law was going to make good on his word and Luffy knew this, he was just letting the depression get to him. As much as Luffy knew of his own mental faults, it was hard to keep the positive things in mind considering he had just gotten beaten by something he couldn't see nor fight against and that made it all the more frustrating and anger inducing.

Soon, everything calmed down and Luffy also took a moment to relax, a moment to breathe even though his lungs hurt, to take everything into consideration. He had his Crew, his life and he had his allies. He had his adopted family, his memories of his beloved Ace, and everything was… good… Images of people flashed in his mind; of Law and his Crew, of Kidd and his Crew, of Shanks, Ace as he was before. As if realizing all the good he still had, the grief that felt as if it'd suffocate him lessened slightly. Just like last time… he realized that he'd get through this somehow.

Blinking at the sudden realization, it felt as if a blinding wave of light washed over him and swallowed the darkness. The sun finally was shining and the storm clouds in his heart lessened. The Captain's eyes burned, his throat hurt, his face felt swollen, his stomach growled as if a reminder that he hadn't eaten in a long, long while; Luffy could have cried again in happiness. Luffy's hand went over his mouth, blinking at the sudden change. Before, he couldn't feel any of his pain or hunger, he felt numb and robotic before; now, he felt the pain, the burning, and the hunger. Luffy felt human now.

With wide eyes, Luffy looked at his arms, seeing the deeply colored, horrible looking bruises he gained from harshly ripping those needles out, the forming finger-shaped bruises from Law gripping him and Luffy struggling against the doctor. He blinked, his mind working a mile a minute. Luffy was alive, this wasn't the dream state he was in before. As much as he loved having Ace in that dream world, something brought him back here, something dragged him out kicking and screaming.

Luffy learned this lesson before: as much as life hurt, killed him, ripped his heart out, stomped on his feelings and played his emotions to the maximum amount, he had to face it… and Luffy realized he wasn't before. He was being a coward, hiding in his dream world to escape the pain that he was feeling. Luffy couldn't help that he felt pain - but he could help how he dealt with it. No more hiding behind that crushing grief, no more forgetting his life lessons.

Luffy remembered how it was for Robin, the face she made when he told her that nothing else mattered, that he wanted to take her to sea. The look on her face as the darkness faded and light came to her, screaming that she wanted to live and she wanted to go to sea with him. He now knew the sensation that she must have felt inside of her, that veil being ripped away and the sudden light that blinded them. Everything was clearer now, brighter. As if that thought and his brightening mood was contagious, his beloved Crew seemed to get a bit brighter, everything having stopped as the sobs stopped. Nami stopped freaking out and sighed in relief.

His dark eyes scanned his crew and he looked at Sanji. "I'm hungry," he stated and everyone took a moment before Nami cheered happily, loudly before hugging the Captain. Sanji gave a 'yes sir!' before rushing out the door to go cook and as quickly as he possibly could. Brook whipped out his violin and began playing a happy, perky melody, making everyone smile. Robin swayed, clapping where she was and Usopp did some funny moves to attempt to make Luffy smile. It worked, Luffy laughed joyously and the room couldn't be happier than it was right there.

-x-x-x-x-x-

The blonde man ran down the hallway, took a turn, and ran down another hallway, skidding into the kitchen doors without the slightest hesitation. Grabbing an apron and tossing his jacket off somewhere completely random, he tied it on. Adrenaline rushed through his system with utter happiness, making Sanji feel like he could cook a feast for kings in seconds. The other cooks chuckled at his rush, welcoming him back.

"You've been gone for a long time! What's the occasion?" a guy named Bobby from another Crew asked. Three other men in the kitchen with Bobby and Sanji stopped, smiling. Sanji grinned and took a moment to gather all kinds of ingredients to all of everyone's favorite foods, spreading them out on the counters and getting out his utensils.

"My Captain just woke up," he said and everyone in the kitchen blinked. Silence hung in the air for a moment before one gathered their courage to ask.

"You mean Straw Hat Luffy…?" another cook named Eric asked slowly, peeking into the room from the washing area. Sanji nodded, starting up four pans of stuff and preheating the oven. The blonde rushed back to the meat area, taking out a bunch and preparing it.

"But he was in a coma!" Bobby said, flabbergasted by the information he just received and the blonde nodded.

"For sixteen months," Eric added and Sanji nodded yet again, a grin still plastered on his face and it wasn't going anywhere any time soon.

"Yep! And he's awake! And talking and smiling and probably dancing and he's probably starving and it's my job as his cook to cook him enough food to make up for all the time asleep!" Sanji said, talking a mile a minute in his utter joy for his Captain. Sanji never lost hope, not for a moment, and all the stress and worry just payed off. Bobby, Eric and the other chef, Renji, looked back and forth and hopped into action, aiding the blonde cook. They made food as fast as they possibly could, making it as best as they can while trying to hurry. It was so much easier to do with three people making everything, Sanji instructing them on how to make certain food the way he made it for his Crew. Sanji packed up the first multi-layered food cart, pushing it as fast as he could to the room.

"Food's here!" he called and Luffy cheered, grabbing his own plate from his bed. For the first time, Sanji didn't stop him and even laughed at Luffy's enthusiasm. Sanji passed out the food that he had available to everyone else, more food coming in from Renji followed by Bobby. A dessert cart was pushed in by Eric and it was a free for all for everyone in the room.

Chopper sat in Luffy's lap, giggling and laughing until he was offered food by Bobby. Giving a happy look, he crawled out of Luffy's way, sitting at the edge of the bed go give Luffy space. He happily joined his crew in chowing down where he sat, watching Luffy crack a grin and took more the food that was offered to him by Renji happily. Sanji fed everyone else, passing out the dessert and doing his traditional 'love dance' over his 'Nami-swan' and 'Robin-chan'.

To a certain person - it seemed Sanji was getting more and more hell-bent that he was not destined for a man since he still flirt with one married, and Mated, woman and one engaged woman who was also Mated. Zoro found it just wonderful how Franky nor Usopp cared that Sanji did that, perhaps because they were all used to this since Sanji did it all the damn time. The samurai, on the other hand, just found it annoying and utterly disgusting considering. Before Zoro realized that him and Sanji were Destined's - he found it cute but now, he found that it wasn't cute at all. Zoro sighed, hitting his head lightly on the wall behind him as he watched the hearts flow from Sanji and neither woman did or said anything to stop it.

"The shit I put up with." he grumbled to himself though he refused to allow his own personal jealousy and forming bitterness ruin the newly happy scene just like he refused to let it ruin the crew in and of itself. Instead, he smiled and let Brook's lovely melody pick him up and make him smile, washing away the negative feelings.