Sweet Smiling Aubrey's face came to her so suddenly.

Ginger was sure she was dreaming, but the fact that she was while being conscious of her surroundings meant something different. Regardless, she forced her body to relax as her mind began working.

Aubrey was the first mate of her mother's crew. She was tall and thin like a ballerina with big flat feet and shoulder-length brown hair. Ginger had always known when she was around just by the scent of the pomegranate perfume she so often wore. Much like the other crew members she too dressed with a business-like fashion sense.

Aubrey was twenty-seven when Ginger was six, and at the time she became a role model to her. Greta enjoyed teasing her own daughter and often threatened to have her thrown overboard if she kept on with her childish antics. Aubrey, who usually kept Greta in check with her sweet but threatening wit, would be the one to reprimand her captain for threatening a child. Indeed, Ginger would always get away with anything whenever Sweet Smiling Aubrey was around. The woman herself never had children, saying that her life at the moment wouldn't be so accommodating to raise any, and so due in part to Greta's stubbornness she took her daughter under her wing.

However, there was also Blonde Francie, The Fortune's cook, who made sure Ginger was always fed before anyone else, even before her own captain. Navigator Dane Ridge and her pet ferret, Toru, always made her laugh whenever the animal would climb up under Ty's pant leg while the swordsman would yell in disgust. Even though she loved them all equally it was always her mother and Aubrey who she gravitated towards more. She shared a bed with Greta, and sat beside Aubrey for each and every meal while the woman told her stories of her life back in the East Blue; being that Greta was born and raised in the North Blue (and returned there to give birth to her), Ginger never knew much of the North Blue's sisters since they returned to the seas after she turned one.

Those were simpler times then because Ginger never had to worry about her life being in constant danger, or so she thought.

"Your mother will always love you, Little Ginger."

She could feel her eyes squeezing together, Aubrey's voice had sounded so close.

"She's my daughter!"

When she opened her eyes she found herself slowly looking around to see if she was back at the base. No familiar buildings, no Marines running about, and most importantly her mother was nowhere to be found. Instead, she was in a dimly lit room with ten sets of tables in front of her which were currently occupied by people in the room with her.

She felt something hard against her back, and it was then she found that she was propped up against a flat surface. She was sitting sideways, with her legs positioned to the right. As she tried to move from her sitting position she found that her left arm was bound in a makeshift splint while her right arm was free and resting in her lap. That same hand slowly lifted up and clutched at her chest, cringing when her fingers brushed against the edges of the hole through the blouse.

Whatever he had done was over with, but it also resulted in her feeling weak. Ginger felt light-headed, her arm was in pain again, and her chest felt heavier than normal. However long he would keep her heart in his possession worried her because she didn't know the circumstances that went with having one's heart outside their body for a time.

"Ah, she's awake." Her eyes glanced up to find Shachi coming towards her. He extended a hand which she eagerly gave in return as he pulled her up from her position. "The captain said you would be up soon."

She looked around the room. "Where are we?"

Shachi followed her gaze. "In a underground tavern. We're still on Sabaody, but we had to hide for now since our submarine is still having its repairs." He looked at her then and found that she was looking down upon her arm. "Our captain is a doctor by the way. He said your arm should heal in a month, but if you keep using it then it'll turn crooked."

"Where is he now?"

"He went to get our cook."

Without warning Bepo chimed in, "Whatever you do, don't insult her cooking. She'll starve you out."

Penguin, who had been sitting at the table nearest to her, raised his head up from eating. "You would know because you said she under cooked the fish!"

The bear's eyes narrowed. "Only because she did."

Ginger smiled warmly at the trio. It had been only a few days since she felt anything aside from guilt and anger, and even though her joining the crew had come with a heavy price she was grateful in a way. Trafalgar Law was difficult to deal with, but his crew members proved to be different in their own way. She was ready to fight with and for them, taking this opportunity to share memories and earn her place among them.

"I've never seen something like that done." Her attention turned to the table Penguin was seated at, realizing that she had overlooked Jean Bart. It was hard to miss him, yet somehow she managed to do exactly that. "Did it hurt?"

Her chest felt heavy at the mention, but she answered with a smile despite it. "No, it's hard to explain. You just feel weak; your head aches, your chest feels heavy, that sort of thing."

"Are you angry, Rogiko Ginger?" He questioned, his eyes meeting hers. It was an honest question with no trace of the attitude that Law usually held.

"No."

Jean Bart grinned then, baring his teeth for her to see. "He did say you wouldn't hold a grudge."

She nodded to him who in turn did the same to her. The five of them sat at the table while the talk of the people filled the small tavern as they slid bowls of food toward her. She thanked them and relied on her right hand to feed herself. Surprisingly, the chicken was flavored well with a hint of spice as she chewed and swallowed. She never would expected a tavern to serve delicious food like this. She hadn't realized she'd been so hungry, and kept feeding herself in a rapid pace despite the amused looks her crew mates sent her. Her hand dropped the fork and reached for a bread roll before she took a bite out of it and dropped it.

"We also got you some tea," Penguin said. "This tavern is out of sake."

When he pushed the cup to her, Ginger frowned and pushed back with her free hand. "No, thank you."

"You have to drink some at least."

"I hate tea. It's disgusting. If I even take a whiff of it I'll throw up." Her mouth twisted as she pushed it farther away from her. "I'll settle with water."

Shachi intervened with a smirk. "Captain's orders." The cup was back beside her right hand. Ginger's eyes darted from him towards the cup as the unsettling feeling in her stomach began to set in. As far back as she could remember she always hated tea. The flavor of any she drank made her gag to the point she could feel the bile in her throat. Marigold always tried to get her to drink that instead of juice, but Ginger would not have it.

"If that cup touches my hand," she said quietly, the threat hanging in each word. "I'll throw it in your face." Unfazed by her remark, Shachi took the cup away and drank it.

The heavy silence fell upon them afterward, waiting patiently for Law to return with the cook. Ginger hoped in some way that perhaps the cook would be someone she could vent to. Granted, she had no problem with the others but she desperately needed a female's point of view on things. If there was time back then she was sure she would've gone to either Nico Robin or Nami despite the fact that the Straw Hats were Law's rivals. It was just that need of speaking to someone else about her problems in order to form an opinion on what to do. Perhaps the cook would be the answer to her prayers.

"Why do you have them down here?" Ginger perked her head up. "It's dark, it smells like smoke, and it looks cramped."

"That was the point. The Marines won't bother us here, Keki-ya."

The crone's eyes caught Ginger's from across the room and narrowed at her once she reached the bottom. Law followed soon after as they cut across the room and towards them. The old woman still held her gaze even going so far as to tap Penguin's chair once, causing him to scoot to the next seat so she might sit down. Law took the seat across from her, handing his nodachi to Bepo who in turn handled it with care as he sat on the floor near the table beside Jean Bart.

"Did our captain kidnap you?" The woman asked while the others (aside from Law) had their mouths agape at her blunt question.

Ginger raised an eyebrow. "No, why would you ask that?"

The woman lifted her hand and flicked Ginger's knee, causing her to frown at the sudden intrusion. "You're dressed too nicely to join a crew willingly."

"I like to dress this way because it's comfortable," she retorted. "I was a Marine before I turned to piracy."

"Keki-san, she asked the captain to join." Shachi interjected while rubbing the back of his head. "She helped us out against the Marines."

"Don't be so thick-headed, boy!" Keki snapped. "Not every Marine turns rogue and becomes a pirate." She turned her attention back to Ginger. "Either you're here because you were taken against your will or you have different motives and planned on being taken."

"She joined willingly." Everyone's attention turned to Law. His face was stoic, but his tone was light as he looked at Keki. "Treat her, and Jean Bart, like you would treat anyone in this crew."

It seemed she wasn't satisfied with the answer for her face fell into irritation. "What if it turns out she's someone of importance? If we'll be entering the New World we need to keep off the Government's radar, captain."

In one fluid moment Law raised his arm and turned his hand upright to reveal what he had been holding all along. The loud rhythmic thumping came from a heart encased in a transparent cube. Ginger's lips thinned into a line. "We came to an agreement."

Keki's eyes widened slightly, turning back towards her with a look of disbelief. Ginger sighed and pulled the top of her white blouse aside to reveal a square shape on the left side of her chest. The fabric fell back against her chest as she and Law exchanged glances before her eyes went back to her heart. To see it still intact relieved her, but to know that it could be weeks or perhaps even months without it also unnerved her.

The cook's lips pursed as she turned away and scratched behind her ear. "Aye, Law. Your methods are brutal sometimes."

He began bouncing the heart up and down with a lazy smirk etched onto his lips. "It was either this or kill her. You would've made a scene then."

"Yes, I would have." Keki waved his words off and turned once more to Ginger. "I'm Keki, the cook on board the submarine. Our captain says your name is Rogiko Ginger." She nodded. "Ahh, daughter to the late Rogiko Greta who was nicknamed The Lady Pirate."

Ginger chuckled. "I wouldn't know if she would like being called a 'lady'." She frowned then while her eyes followed the movements of her heart as it bounced up and down in Law's hand.

Bepo leaned forward in his seated position. "What was she like?"

Ginger smiled, remembering her mother fondly. "She was fierce. She was really her own person. Her crew would've followed her to death if she didn't insist that they sail off. Of course, at the time she thought I was on board too." The loud talk from around them didn't deter her from her story. "On the seas it was always us and her crew. We were a real nakama."

Law clutched her heart suddenly while indirectly causing her to grab her chest. When he realized what he had done he eased his hold off her heart. His face remained stoic as Keki looked at him. He then carefully placed it on the table. "It almost slipped." He didn't sound apologetic, and Ginger didn't expect him to be. His eyes, though carefully guarded, told a different story. By the way the cook looked at him she could tell that her past hit some sort of nerve within him. Perhaps he didn't mean to grab it so suddenly, forgetting that he held it at all.

His eyes turned on her as her hand fell from her chest. "Do you think I could hold onto my own heart?"

"No." His answer was blunt.

Her fist clenched in her lap as they held one another's gaze. He had every reason to distrust her she wouldn't hold it against him, but the fact that he handled her heart so carelessly said a lot about him. Trafalgar Law seemed like someone who could very well hold a grudge for a long period of time, but at the same time he also happened to be laid back and took what came at him with ease. It infuriated her, yet at the same time she was amused at that fact.

"If you're gonna have me go through hell without it then at least be careful with it."

Ginger's retort made him smirk. He didn't have to say anything else simply because there was no need as they came to an understanding. It was strange how she was reacting to the whole ordeal. Any sane person wouldn't have agreed to his little condition, but then they wouldn't be alive. Ginger understood where he was coming from and what his suspicions were founded upon. It didn't mean, however, that she wouldn't be cautious around him.

"By the way," she began. "What happened to the Straw Hats?"

Law shrugged. "They went their own way. They could've gotten away or they could be dead."

"You seem to not care either way."

He looked at her. "If you underestimate your rival then they're not worthy of the title."

Ginger said no more on the subject, taking his word of their fate. Though she hardly knew them she had hoped that they did evade the Marines.

Keki turned her gaze to Law who in turn passed her an impassive glance. "Are we just gonna stay here until the Marines leave?"

"Naturally."

"And if they don't?"

His brow furrowed at her insistence. Ginger could tell that Keki often gave him more trouble than was necessary. Finally, Law sighed while scratching his temple. "We can't leave. The submarine is still getting its repairs. If you didn't want to come here you should've stayed, Keki-ya."

Keki cackled at his response, but immediately became serious as she looked at Bepo. "The yeti lost the ingredients."

Bepo hung his head, becoming depressed once more at the realization that he left the bag back at the auction house. "I'm sorry."

"Don't give in so easily to her!" Shachi and Penguin shouted in unison while the cook sent a glare their way.

"I'll get the stuff for you." Everyone turned to Law. "Being down here is already losing its entertainment."

"I'll go too." The gazes switched to Ginger who promptly stood up. "I have some things I need to get." It wouldn't be the best idea to step back out when they were still trying to avoid the Marines. Law didn't seem to care for that fact, and without her uniform on the Marines couldn't very well put a name to her anyway.

They left the tavern side by side and made their way above. Ginger looked up and saw that they were back in the shopping district. For now at least she could get the things she needed as they waited to leave the island.

She fidgeted with the splint, furrowing her brow at the angle it was currently in. Having her arm free and by her side was something she was used to, and yet she had a feeling it would be a while before she got the full use of it back. As they walked among the people, side-stepping them along the way, Ginger had come to find that she was anxious to be sailing with this crew. Most of her life had been spent among the Marines it was all she had grown to know while assuming there would be no other way of life. At the time it was hard to accept it as her reality, and now she was still uncertain if this was truly what she wanted.

Law remained silent while occasionally looking around them in order to spot the store that held Keki's ingredients.

Ginger decided that she didn't like the silence as much as she thought she did. "I assume you heard what happened not that long ago."

He turned his head to the left as his eyes scanned the signs in the store windows. "About Fire-Fist Ace?" It was surprising how calm he could carry the conversation for she was almost sure he wouldn't have answered.

"Yes," she looked to the right. "I didn't believe it at first. I thought for sure he would never have gotten caught so easily. They say that they're anticipating Whitebeard's move."

"Then we're fortunate that it doesn't concern us." He then broke away from her side and walked towards the open shop as she quickly followed.

Once inside they would be away from anyone who would give them a second glance. Law went down one aisle of the shop and swiftly grabbed the jars of spices without a second glance at the labels. Either he already knew what to look for or he was grabbing anything within reach. While he was busy Ginger decided to look for hair dye on any of the shelves but found her search come to an end when she realized they only sold food here.

Opting to start another conversation she chose to point out the obvious. "So, you're a doctor." Irritation was evident in his eyes as he looked and waited for her to continue. "Or should I call you what the Marines called you?"

"Tch, it doesn't matter what you call me."

Ginger shrugged then, turning a brown jar towards her as she looked at the label. "Marines have nicknames too."

Law grabbed a small jar of ginger. "Then I assume you have one." His tone conveyed that he cared little for the small talk they were having. Perhaps because he never found an interest in it. She assumed that he was the type to get right to the point of things and not bother with the chatter.

"I didn't have enough time to earn a reputation. To the older Marines I was known as the "Little Shit" because I was my mother's daughter." Speaking of the memory didn't bother her. In fact, she found herself comfortable with the forthcoming of information to him though she kept her voice hushed all the same. "I didn't care. I had to prove myself to Marigold, not to them."

He remained focused on the task at hand. "You'll earn one soon enough as a pirate."

She smiled softly as he gave her a few jars for her to hold. "The best dressed pirate might already be taken."

To her sudden surprise he chuckled at her remark, though it was brief it sounded as if she gotten him to somewhat loosen up. She didn't expect him to immediately trust her so soon, and at the moment she still had her guard up. Certain information being said was no problem for her, but if the day were to ever come when someone would ask of her mother's execution then she wouldn't speak of it. The memory, however long ago it was, was too fresh in her mind. All she could vividly recall of that day was a six year old's mental breakdown at the execution block. It took Marigold seven months to gradually get her to talk with other people.

They paid for their items and left the store while being cautious to avoid the smaller groups of people. Having so few beris in her possession, Ginger decided to make use of them by giving up on the dye, choosing instead to buy clothes. The pack she had with her only had four sets of outfits, and it would take at least a few weeks before her seamstress's bird, Coco, would find her new location.

The clothes she wore were handmade by a woman she had met in a small village during her shore leave. She had a real knack for making the best clothes money could buy, and though Ginger was always on the move they had come to a business arrangement. Coco would deliver a set of new clothes every two months and in return Ginger would give the bird her money. When she thought that her on the constant go would prove troublesome the woman then devised a plan to have her large bird deliver the package via vivre card. That way both women would be happy. However, now that she would be living on a submarine she suppose it would be a bit difficult to receive her clothes.

"Could someone still find us underwater by way of a vivre card?" She prompted.

Law looked at her out of the corner of his eye. "It shouldn't be difficult." By his tone alone he didn't have to ask the question she was anticipating.

"I get a delivery of clothes every two months from a seamstress I know. She finds me by way of vivre card." Ginger suddenly felt like a child again under his current stare. She knew the reason why was because he didn't want anyone he didn't know keeping tabs on his current whereabouts. Granted this was her business, but considering that she was a member of his crew he had final say on what would be allowed.

Out of nervousness she adjusted the splint her arm was in as she stayed quiet underneath his gaze. He blinked once then turned forward, using his left hand to rub the back of his neck as his gaze remained the same. He didn't reply at all which meant that he probably didn't care so long as it didn't endanger him or his crew.

"I'll take that as an 'okay' then," she muttered, catching his gaze once more as she quickly added, "For the record, I never did thank you back on Sage's Island, did I?" Back then the adrenaline had coursed through causing her to neglect an offer of 'thanks' for his interference. If she had spent one minute more within Jax's grip then he would've broken her arm.

It was no secret that she treated pirates the same as civilians until they did or said something that would instantly change her mind. She gave everyone the benefit of the doubt and had planned to do the same with Jax—that is until he killed her whole squad.

"Thank you." She was as sincere with her response as she was embarrassed.

Trafalgar Law turned away. His lips turned up slightly much to Ginger's displeasure as they walked to the next store, making sure to remain unseen among the busy crowd of people. Then again, perhaps she didn't need him to acknowledge her thanks by him voicing it.

They had lapsed into a comfortable silence, one that would mark the gradual beginning of a tightly knit bond.

A/N: I meant to have this up by Friday but my internet had crapped out. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed and please let me know what you think! :3