Sorry I lied, this chapter wasn't much faster. Here it is though! Working on For You too.

I removed part of Ms Comrade's original story line as it didn't fit with canon and would be easier for my story to omit. And all typo's and grammatical errors are mine! I own them proudly! So if your wondering at any point why Sanji thinks he is on a shop, well, because for some reason my mind wanted him there instead of a ship! :P I still do not have a beta, at least not an efficient one. I'm still waiting on chapter 2!

Errors are about all I own on this one. Can't even claim the plot bunny!

Chapter 4

Sanji shifted and immediately everyone's attention was on him. He winced slightly as his visible eye fluttered open. "Where am I?" the blond whispered hoarsely his shocked blue eye darting around the room wildly. He struggled to prop himself up on his trembling arms, and for a terrifying second Zoro was certain the small limbs would snap under the strain.

"It's alright," Robin soothed, easing him back down on the mattress. "Your on a ship receiving medical care. I assure you, you are quite safe."

The already large blue eye widened even further, looking almost comical. He whispered "I'm ...on a ship? I'm...on a ship. I'm on a ship!" Tears welled up in his eye and flowed down his sunken cheeks. "I'm on a ship. Finally, I'm on a ship." The small child giggled happily. Again he pushed himself into a sitting position, careful not to agitate the IV in his arm. "I'm really on a ship?" the blond asked excitedly, looking around at everyone around him. He knew he had never met them, but for some reason they all seemed familiar to him. Like he should have known them and couldn't remember where from. Had they been on the Orbit? His eyes landed on the large green haired man leaning against the wall next to him. His chest swelled with warmth, but he had no idea why. Without hesitation Sanji tugged on the green fabric abound the man's waist. The man looked at him and even though he looked angry, and looked like the type of person he should run away from, he felt safe. The way his gray eyes glinted like cold steal felt familiar to the child. The frail cook smiled at him "Is this real? It's not another dream is it? I'm on a real ship? I'm alive?" he tugged on Zoro's haramaki with each question.

The swordsman was stunned at how familiar the boy was being with him, but couldn't stop the smile that pulled at his mouth. He sat down next to the starving child and put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Yeah cook, your alive." he assured the youth.

Their cook turned child now beamed up at them all. "I'm alive." he repeated softly, leaning into the warmth of the swordsman, relishing the sense of safety that seemed to just emanate from the large man. "I'm alive!"

Robin watched as the young cook snuggled into Zoro's side and a faint smile pulled at the corner of her mouth. "Interesting..." she whispered so no one else could hear. Louder she stated "Everyone, I think Zoro can assist Doctor-San from here. Perhaps we should go and see about some easy to digest food for Cook-San?"

The rest of the crew filed out of the girls room after Robin. Luffy paused only long enough to look over his shoulder at Zoro. Meeting his eyes, he only said "Take care of him." before closing the door behind him.

Chopper suddenly jumped into action. "I'm glad you're awake Sanji." He squeaked as he ran around checking his vitals and looking for a clipboard. "I know you just woke up and you're tired but I need to ask you some questions."

Zoro watched as the blond just gaped at the blue nosed reindeer. He felt an insistent tug at his haramaki. "Mister, that reindeer is talking!" Zoro chuckled as Sanji squirmed away from their adorable doctor, trying to hid behind his large muscled arm.

"That's Chopper, our doctor. He's not going to hurt you." Zoro murmured trying to reassure the child.

Sanji started squirming more desperately and started looking around the room quickly. A look of panic started replacing his bright smile. "I don't need a doctor, that shitty geezer does! Where is he? Where's the old man? He needs help! His leg is gone, he needs help! Let me go!" He started to pant heavily, fighting to keep consciousness and ignoring the now erratic beeping of the heart rate monitor.

"Please stop struggling!" Chopper begged, "You'll hurt yourself! You're in no condition to be moving at all!" It was in that instant that the small doctor noticed crimson poring from a wound in Sanji's hand where an IV needle used to be inserted. "Oh my God, Sanji, you're bleeding! Quick somebody call a doctor!"

You are a doctor!" Zoro snapped, struggling to restrain the squirming blond without causing further injury. "God damn it Sanji, lay down and sit still!"

"The old man is fine." a smooth feminine voice cut in, freezing Sanji on the spot. "He's on another ship being taken care of." Robin smiled softly at the small cook as she set a bowl down on a table.

The green haired man sighed and looked to the raven haired woman in thanks. Nodding in acknowledgment she continued. "You, on the other hand, don't seem to be in the best shape."

Sanji stared at the mysterious woman, eyes narrowed. The way this woman smiled unnerved him. For all he knew she could be lying to make him cooperate. The old geezer could still be wasting away on that rock. He looked up to the strong man currently holding him down. A large tan hand moved to his boney shoulder and gently squeezed. "The geezer is fine. Focus on yourself stupid cook." The kid was shaking like a leaf, and the bleeding had gotten worse.

The blond took a few shuddering breaths, fighting to stay awake. He was so tired. He extended his shaky, now IV free hand, to allow a furry hoof to take it. As Chopper cleaned, bandaged, and placed a new IV line, Robin slipped back out. She had research to do.


"Alright Sanji, I need to ask you a few questions about the situation so I can treat you better. Do you think your up for that?" The blond nodded happily at the reindeer, bringing another spoonful of hot broth to his mouth. After the weeks of starvation, the simple soup tasted like heaven. He obviously knew that in his condition he'd have to take it slow, that it'd be awhile before his body was able to handle solid food at all. He didn't complain once about this being the only food he had been offered. "Alright," Chopper continued "I know this may be hard to talk about, so just answer the best you can."

Zoro watched the blond carefully. The soup had brought a somewhat healthy color back to his cheeks, but the young chef looked absolutely drained. When Chopper stepped away to grab the bowl Robin had brought, the kid had managed to crawl onto the green haired man's lap, much to his embarrassment. It was odd, how the boy had been so drawn to and trusting of the swordsman. Maybe that was a good sign, maybe it meant that the cook's memories weren't lost, but just locked away somewhere.

"First, I need to know how long you were stranded. I know that's a difficult question to answer, but did you keep track at all?" The smile dropped off the blond's face, and he swallowed hard, his mouth suddenly dry.

"85. I kept track." He said, his voice an eerie monotone. He leaned forward and placed the half finished soup on the table. He looked sick suddenly.

The small doctor gaped at Sanji, "How much food did you have?" Chopper asked quietly afraid to speak above a whisper.

"The food the old man gave me lasted about 20 days...I tried to space it out...I didn't think...I had no idea..."he whispered, barely audible.

Chopper nodded sadly, scribbling furiously onto his clipboard. "And the old man?"

"None." Zoro could feel the blond shaking as his skeletal form curled in on itself, "none, that shitty old man gave me all of it...all of the food..."

Zoro looked questioningly down at the child now curled in his lap. "Than how did he.." He jumped as the child started struggling with new found strength tying to get away.

"The old man needs help! His leg, it's gone, please, we need to help him!"

No. God no. Zoro felt his chest tighten yet again and he wrapped his arms around the shaking blond. "I think that's enough for one night." He whispered while soothing the shuddering ball of cook in his lap.

Chopper nodded numbly, obviously shaken up. Their doctor could handle a lot, but this was putting a strain on his gentle heart. A little rest would do them all some good, especially Sanji. "Here" The reindeer held a small blue shirt out to Sanji, "it'll be big, but for now this is all we have for you." The small doctor avoided eye contact with the blond as he slipped the large shirt over his head., his eyes intensely focused on the pattern of the floorboards. "If you feel any new pain, or need anything, don't hesitate to call for me."

A soft sob broke the silence. Chopper's head whipped up. "Thank you." Sanji sniffled, "Thank you Doctor Chopper." The blond had slipped off of Zoro's lap and moved forward to hug the furry doctor.

Chopper's eyes brimmed with tears. "Don't thank me you bastard!" he sniffed rubbing his eyes furiously. " I don't need your thanks or anything." He finally wailed and ran out of the room.

Zoro chuckled at the look of pure confusion on the child's face as he watched their doctor's retreating back. "Don't worry, that's a good thing, trust me. C'mon cook, you look exhausted. Let's get you to bed.

Sanji eyed him for a moment before sitting down next to him on the bed. "Mister, were you a guest?" He asked, peaking at Zoro out of the corner of his eye.

"Look kid, my name isn't Mister, it's Zoro." He sighed and ran a hand through his short green hair. "And I have no idea what the hell you're talking about."

The blond brow furrowed, "On the Orbit. The ship I worked on. Were you a guest or something?"

Zoro scoffed. "No, I wasn't. If you have a point to make you better do it now, because it's time for bed, and I don't want to make Chopper sedate you."

The blond scowled at the swordsman. "You just seem really familiar, that's all. No need to go threatening people with shots because you're impatient." he grumbled crawling under the covers.

Oh yeah, this was definitely Sanji. "Just get some sleep cook." Zoro muttered, tucking the sheets around the blond's bony body. He turned to leave but yet another tug at his haramaki held him back.

"Stay."

The word floated in the air. Barely a whisper. Putting an inexplicable weight on Zoro's chest. He swore to himself, and grumbling about bratty little cooks treating him like some shitty pillow, he eased himself onto the mattress. The skeletal figure curled up into his side, and bony fingers clung desperately to his shirt. He sighed. He was definitely going soft.


"Found it!" Robin declared, excitement seeping into her voice. The tension in the room was tangible. She had been hard at work holed up in the galley. Afternoon had faded into evening, but her crew had kept a silent vigil while she searched. "It appears that our cook managed to stumble upon a Fountain of Youth."


Whew! I think I got all the shops to turn into ships. Writing out a part of a story out without changing the story itself is harder than I thought! And there are more parts I have to write out! :(