A/N: Okay guys, I know that I am a bit late with this chapter, as it was supposed to be up last night, but hehe, I got caught up in reading the last of the seventh Harry Potter book. Anyway, here is the fresh new chapter and I am glad to say that I am starting another fic that I will update every week after this story. So for all the people that loved pirate love, then get ready because I have the sequel to it ready! So I hope you all read Hiding from the Hawk when it comes, Amista is on the loose once again! I'd also like to give special thanks to the people who reviewed for the last capter, in fact both NicolettaStarr, and, hallow santuary have reviewed every chapter, so thanks heaps for the encouragement guys! ENJOY!!

I DO NOT OWN ONE PIECE

The traitorous words seemed to seep from the page as Charity stared at it. Cain had taken out all of the necessary precautions against her, he would stop at nothing to get rid of her and wipe her out of existence. Charity felt the loneliness sink in upon her once again and she could hardly handle it, she wished for a distraction, so that maybe for a minute she could forget the reason she had left her comfy home and was even now regretting her decision.

It wasn't that Charity didn't like Doflamingo and his men, it was that even though she talked to the pirates on a regular basis she still had no friends. The only crew members she actually had any connection with were Laelia, Bronto and Doflamingo; yet she could not talk to them since one was her enemy and the other two were always so busy.

Staring down at the article once again, Charity felt the on sweep of tears slaughter her tired eyes and she blinked to keep back the streaming torrents that threatened to invade. She cold not let her loneliness crush her like she knew it would so many other women, she was determined to show the world that she was the strong one and that she would never be suppressed.

Turning her head slightly, Charity sighted Doflamingo; he was surrounded by a flock of beautiful young women and looked to be in his element. That was the thing with her Captain, something that she slightly envied. He knew exactly what to say to people with out even breaking a sweat. Sometimes through the time that she had been a member aboard the Flying Duchess, Charity wished profusely that she was like the other women, who found such comfort in Doflamingo. She had been so confident on the first night that she had joined him, she had even lied to herself and said that if push came to shove she would sleep with him. But she knew that it was not that simple any longer; she had warmed exceptionally to her captain and she knew that things would soon turn trivial if she became attached. Doflamingo was a dead end road for her, and would only lead to more hurt. He was just like every other avenue in her messed up life.

Sighing Charity ripped the article of herself out of the paper, and violently screwed it up trying to vent some of her pain. She felt betrayed that Cain could put out such an article, when she had no doubt, he knew that she was still alive. The masked figure that she and Doflamingo had seen was one of his soldiers. It would probably be only a matter of time before he sent fully trained Marines after her.

"Why the long face?" Doflamingo asked smirking at his own personal joke. "What has happened in the world that you don't like? Has an orphanage been burnt to the ground and raided?"

"I'm sure that's what you want to have happened. That would make you feel good, wouldn't it?" Charity attacked Doflamingo her voice rising with every syllable, as she became more and more distressed.

"What the hell was in that article?" Doflamingo leaned forward and pulled the paper ball from her hand. She did not protest.

Slowly, with deliberate movements Doflamingo flattened the article once again but Charity did not notice, she was too far gone to even care what he was doing. The fact that she would never obtain her mother's fortune was not what worried her, living forever on a pirate ship with Doflamingo wasn't even what she would call a punishment. She felt as though she had lost her mother all over again because now she could not make herself believe her step father had ever loved her. Now she knew the truth, and she did not like it at all.

Coming back down to reality, Charity watched Doflamingo for a while and she found the atmosphere around her suffocating. Unable to stay seated any longer she stood and rushed out of the bar, heading home to the mother ship where she would not be bothered by company.

She heard lazy footfalls behind her as she near ran down the dark deserted street, but she chose to ignore them relying on the fact that it would probably be a crew member that had followed her; but through her dazed state she had not looked where she was going and she now found that she was lost in the middle of the town. Everything looked different in the dark, and she heard sounds that most probably were created by her mind.

"Are you really stressing that much over this stupid article? Your step father was a dick head, who cares if he is writing stuff like this?" Doflamingo's voice crooned, making her jump in fright and swing around to face him.

"You don't understand! He wants to kill me and take my mother's fortune!" Charity took a step forward and raised her fists. She was so close to him now that she could smell his male scent, a fragrance that made her senses go wild. "I wanted him to love me!"

Charity thumped her fists into Doflamingo's chest and he pulled her into a powerful embrace making her heart pound heavily between her ribs. He said nothing more as he placed his lips against her own, treating her as if she was something delicate that may break if he was too rough.

The kiss was over too soon, but his lips roamed to her neck and his hands slid up the front of her dress to the sensitive place between her thighs. Charity gasped in pleasure and surprise before she leaned into him, and nipped him playfully on the shoulder. She had never had a lover treat her the way he was now, and it led her to believe that there was more to Doflamingo then what he let on.

"Captain!"

At the sound of the intruding voice Charity jumped away just in time to see Laelia walk seductively around the corner, and Charity took the chance to make a quick escape.

"Thank you for your concern Captain, but I am going to call it an early night." Charity said softly, just loud enough for Laelia to hear, before she fled the seen.

It took her a while to find the ship, but she felt that the long walk in the night air had helped to sooth her frazzled nerves. The first thing that she noticed when she boarded was the large barrel of sake sitting on the deck. It was only half full, but Charity didn't care as she poured herself a glass. She had always before avoided alcohol finding that it was a vile drink that turned even the best of people, but she had also heard that it made people feel better when they drank it.

Crinkling her nose and swallowing the liquid, Charity found that it wasn't half bad and she actually liked the taste of it. A warmth had even spread through her limbs, so she decided that she would have another, which soon became four. She staggered slightly as she shot back her fifth drink, and the world around her began to swim as if she was under water. A great idea then came to her mind, and she had to share her happiness with Doflamingo.

Laughing at herself constantly, she made her way back to the bar and floated inside to throw herself at Doflamingo. She giggled when he looked at her curiously, and then she ordered herself another drink, alerting her Captain to her unusual state of being.

"Let's make a toast!" Charity babbled holding her newly acquired cup high in the air. "To the life of the pirate, and letting go of your past!"

"AYE!" The whole tavern shook with the cheers of the crew who then decided that it was now time to party, and broke off into song and dance.

"You know what Don?" Charity giggled curling up in his lap, and looking him straight in the eye. "Do you know the reason that I call you Don?"

Doflamingo watched Charity for a long time, a calculated look in his eye. "Why don't you humour me?"

"Your name is Donquixote Doflamingo!" Charity laughed, unable to contain her glee. She knew that she sounded stupid but she could not seem to help herself the words were falling freely from her mouth. "Isn't that just so cute?"

"If you say so." Doflamingo said coldly, ignoring her.

She tried hard to gain back his attention, but no matter what she done he found his conversation with Bronto and Laelia more interesting than her. He even had the nerve to push her from his lap, and leave her feeling useless and segregated.

As she stared sadly at yet another mug of grog, she felt its effect wearing on her, and she could no longer summon her happiness. She felt like no one in the world cared, even though she knew it wasn't true, she was still swallowed by self pity. She could not hold back her depressing thoughts and without warning she burst into silent tears. Only one person in the whole room even took the time to notice her, though Doflamingo pretended that he had not.

Charity tried to hide her pain, but she could not and the tears soon became loud sobs that shook her body with every shuddering breath that she inhaled. It took her a moment before she realised that she had been lifted into strong arms, that were carrying her towards the bar door. When the cold night air hit her face, Charity felt the shame fill her, though her senses were still distorted and she could not understand her own thought processes.

She could now see that the person that had saved her from severe embarrassment was none other than Doflamingo. Even now while he carried her away, she could not figure him out. She had always thought him to be a harsh individual, yet the way he was acting showed that he had a soft side beneath the hard exterior. As she examined him more closely from beneath her eyelashes, she found that he was seething with an unmaintainable rage.

"What's wrong Don?" Charity whispered, afraid to hear his answer.

Doflamingo stopped dead at the sound of her voice and threw her to the ground, staring down at her. She crawled backwards trying to escape him, but he stopped her with his ability. His voice was ice as he spoke to her through gritted teeth.

"How dare you speak to me the way you did tonight! It's not like you to get yourself drunk, and I can see why! If you ever act like that again, you will truly regret you actions! Now read my lips, I don't like being bombarded by sluts!"

"Oh yeah? I beg to differ!" Charity slurred, her anger raging now. "You always have little sluts hanging off you. And if I remember properly it was you who assaulted me in the alleyway, not the other way around!"

"I did not force myself on to you, and you know it!"

Doflamingo's rage was great now, and Charity slowly started to back away from him once again, knowing even in her intoxicated state, that she had overstepped the boundaries. He was too quick for her however, his speed surprised her as he caught hold of her wrist and pulled her towards him so their faces almost touched.

"It's not like I really had a choice, now let go off my arm!" Charity screeched wrestling herself from his grip. "I'm going back to the ship, and then I am leaving for good. I'm sick of being a pirate!"

"And why are you sick of being a pirate my dear?"

Doflamingo's voice was like honey as she turned away from him, and straightened her dress. She still could not walk in a straight line, and was having trouble remembering what she was thinking.

"Because it's another thing that I suck at isn't it? I can't do anything right, my whole life has been a mistake. My father would never have seen my mother again if she had not been pregnant, and then Cain would not have harassed my family the way that he has!"

Charity's voice broke on her last sentence and she fell to the ground in a pile of heart wrenching sobs. Everything had gone wrong, and she was still alive. She had made so many mistakes, and she felt like an idiot. She had always thought that she was smart and on top of the world, but she had of course been wrong about that.

Doflamingo knelt down next to her, and threaded his fingers through her long pink hair. His voice was soft, all anger gone when he spoke to her next.

"You're a good pirate Charity. I want you to stay aboard my ship." Doflamingo pulled Charity into his arms. "You mean a lot to me and the crew."

"I thought you only wanted me on the crew because you needed another cook. Why are you being so nice to me?" Charity whispered back to him.

It felt odd to see him smile so tenderly at her. He was acting so out of character that she half expected to find that it was someone else wearing a mask. But as she lifted her hand and stroked his face, she did not feel the hardness of plastic, she only felt his smooth skin that made her fingers tingle with an odd sensation. Slowly she moved her face closer to his, and their lips united and he kissed her like he had earlier that night; as if she was something extremely delicate that might break if not handled with caution. Without speaking he lifted her into his arms once again, though this time he took her all the way to the ship, straight into his room. Charity almost thought that he was going to make love to her when he laid her gently on his bed, but instead he turned and left the room.

It was not long before Doflamingo came back into the room however and he handed her a large cup of steaming liquid. Taking it, she found that it was coffee and she peered at him beneath her eyelashes curiously.

"The caffeine will help to make you sober again." Doflamingo explained, taking a mouthful of his own steaming mug. "You will feel better if you drink it."

"Don?"

Charity was uncertain how to continue, but she knew she could not sit on his bed and act as though everything was fine between them. She could not pretend that she had not acted like a first grade skank. Doflamingo nodded at her, encouraging her to go on.

"I am so sorry for embarrassing you like I did. I don't know why I said what I said, it was so stupid but I couldn't think straight."Charity watched Doflamingo with the intent of a hawk watching its prey. "Forgive me?"

"I already did, but if you ever do it again I will kill you."

"You're an ass, you know that?" Charity giggled and pulled the covers over her now shivering body. She was so tired that she could hardly comprehend what would happen to her next, but her sombre mood had been lifted and she felt a lot better than she did half an hour ago.

"I'm kicking you out of your bed." Charity stated as she closed her eyes.

She was so tired, that she fell asleep almost instantly, her vision turning dark and sweet dreams filling her mind. She did not even stir when Doflamingo undressed her and climbed into bed beside her, holding her naked body in a close embrace; his hand stroking her spine gently, and his strong arms keeping her safe.

Well I hope you liked that chapter! Next week Chapter 8: Confrontations. Anyway remember to read and review!! And stay tuned for next week!