One Piece and its characters belong to Eiichiro Oda. Dominica belongs to me.

Dominica felt numb. She barely registered that she was walking out in the snowy weather without her coat, merely in a spotted t-shirt and jeans, she did not recognize the faces of the masses who watched her being taken away by the marines either. All she could see was Law's terrified expression, the raw fear in his eyes and body language that were both aimed at her. The boy was terrified of her.

She had tried, for two whole years, to make his life comfortable, to be there for him when there was no one else. She had seen something in the boy, a shadow of loneliness and pain, and she had tried her hardest to dispel it. She had even been successful, she had made him trust her, she had forced his fear away, made him comfortable and trusting, happy, only to have all of the terror return and being aimed at her, at the mark on her back.

'What have you done, brother?' She thought as her senses returned to her. What atrocities had been done on the ship after she left the crew? Perhaps she should not have left… No, she would never have been able to change the captain's mind, and she certainly would not have been able to do harm to children. She had told her captain where the line was drawn, he had crossed it, she left and that was all there was to it, but even if she had abandoned piracy the bounty on her head never disappeared. She knew that, she had never expected anything different, but she had thought she would have hid better than this as well.

If she tried, then perhaps she could escape, no, she knew she was more than able to escape but her limbs would not listen. Her legs would do nothing more than continue forward, her hands would do nothing more than clench and unclench as they were sealed by the cuffs. She could not even lift her head to look up at the cloudy sky, the falling snow, all her eyes could focus on was the snow crunching under her feet as she walked. Nothing was in her control anymore, not even her own mind for it would not let go of the one fact that swirled in her mind.

'Trafalgar is afraid of me.' That one thought would not leave her. 'He's terrified of me, he fears me.' She closed her eyes tightly as raw anger and anguish spread through her, emotions she had not felt in many years, emotions she did not think she would ever feel again.

'He is afraid of me!'

"Where are you taking her?" She heard Trace demand and the whispers of the townspeople grew louder as they also demanded an answer from the soldiers escorting her down the streets and towards the harbor.

"This woman is a fugitive." The marine captain replied. "A pirate on the run with a bounty on her head. We are taking her back to base where judgment will be passed on her." The whispers grew louder now.

"Dominica is a pirate?"

"I can't believe that, not that sweet woman."

"But if she's really a pirate, then it's dangerous to let her stay." One of the younger men said.

"Shut your trap, you little brat!" Mr. Jones swung his arm after the man and swatted him away.

"She's this town's doctor; you can't just take her away!" Anne Jones called out and the rest of the townspeople agreed but the marine captain would have none of it. "This island's got other doctors, there will be no loss for you if we take her away."

"How can you say that? Doctors are few and far between in North Blue!" Trace called, clenching his fist. "She's never done any harm in North Blue. All she's done is treating our illnesses and wounds!"

"And for that small show of compassion she should be allowed to go free?" The marine captain said loudly, glaring at the elderly who all took a visible step back. "You have no idea of the atrocities this woman has done. Plundering, senseless killing, destroying lives and futures, even slavery. All done in the name of her captain. She became a pirate at the age of sixteen by killing her father and plundering his riches." Finally Dominica found her tongue, though it was slow to form the words and her throat slow to articulate the sounds.

"It was self-defense." She said quietly. "He was trying to kill my brother." The captain barely graced her with a glance.

"And he would have done the world a big favor for it." The man spat and pushed her forward. "We're leaving." She stumbled but continued forward without a word and the townspeople frowned. Dominica had always been polite, the detached kind of polite, and kind but she was far from a submissive person. Watching her being taken away from them with her head lowered as some kind of beaten dog gave them a bad after-taste in their mouths.

"Where's Trafalgar?" Anne suddenly looked around frantically. Where was the boy? Just as she spoke the boy came tumbling out of the diner with Bepo in tow, the long and heavy nodachi in his arms as he struggled to follow them.

"Trafalgar!" But Law ignored Anne for he saw the squadron of marines escorting Dominica and followed after them.

"Dominica-ya!" He called several times and the woman paused, only to be pushed forward again rather harshly by the captain. "Keep walking."

"I was about to!" She snapped but paused again when Law called on her again with Bepo whining behind him. She dared a glance over her shoulder and watched as he pulled the sword with great difficulty with him. It was a rather sad sight, and she would have turned her back on him to leave before trouble broke out but he called her name again and this time she could see the tears in his eyes. She stopped completely and turned to fully look at him, her brows creasing in confusion. He did not seem afraid anymore, only sad.

Was he going to say goodbye? Would she be graced with that much of a parting?

Mick barged out of his diner too then, just as Law and Bepo managed to almost catch up to the squad. The boy paused too then, for the soldiers were quite tall and intimidating as their caps shadowed their eyes and their thick winter cloaks did nothing to make them look smaller but the boy swallowed his fear and stared pointedly at Dominica.

"Don't leave, Dominica-ya! You promised!" Her eyes widened and her mind went blank for a moment.

"Promise, stay!" Bepo managed to utter loudly and the reactions from the marines were instantaneous. They drew their weapons and aimed it at the cub but there was more fire in the tiny animal than they had expected for it charged forward and latched its jaw around the leg of a soldier who cried out in pain and kicked it away. Bepo skidded against the snowy ground to land by Law.

"It talked!"

"It bit me!" The offended soldier cursed and the captain gave the order to shoot the wild animal.

"No!" Law cried and threw himself over the cub as the marines released the safety on their rifles. Law was not sure what had happened, but at one moment the rifles had been aimed at him and Bepo and the next a marine soldier went flying by over him. He saw that Dominica had moved from her spot deep within the squadron, one long, slender leg stretched out in the air. The woman had kicked one soldier away gaining the attention of the rest as she pivoted on her heel and sent another two flying. Then she was by his side the nodachi sliding out of its scabbard as she lifted it up in the air.

"Here is how it's going to go. You and your men are going to leave this town alone until an actual emergency is happening." Her voice was hard, forceful, leaving no room for argument and certainly sounding much more like the Dominica he knew.

"Lay down your arms or we will open fire!" The captain demanded and Dominica narrowed her eyes. "Not as long as Trafalgar and Bepo are behind me you won't, soldiers of justice." She growled back, teal eyes flashing dangerously.

"Now get off this island while I still have the patience to let you go free." The marine captain growled, not having anticipated that the, at first glance docile woman, would suddenly fight back. He had not intended for her to get to her weapon either but she was still being restrained by the handcuffs. She could not possibly fight so many soldiers. He moved to give them the order to fight but froze when she dug the blade into the chains. The cuffs dug into her wrist but she never took her eyes off the marines until the chains broke and hung limply from her wrists, like a simple accessory. She took a stance and changed her grip on her sword.

"I'll give you ten seconds to get out of my sight." She said quietly.

"Who do you think you are-"

"I'm Death Caller Dominica." She interrupted him, voice dipping lower with each word spoken. "Leave before I show you how I acquired the name." There was a glaring contest between the two until finally; the captain gave the order to retreat. The marine captain had not seen the woman in action himself but he knew what she was capable of and while there were so many civilians in the area a fight was too dangerous. As his men moved out he still stood still, giving one last warning to the woman.

"This isn't over."

"There never is an end to matters such as these." She replied, watching carefully with steely eyes until finally they were all gone and then, she gave a sigh and relaxed her body, releasing her poise and letting the tip of her blade meet the ground softly. When had she last unsheathed her sword in what could have turned out to be an actual battle? Not for years. The feeling of wanting someone dead had washed over her again and she had been ready to kill. She was glad that the marines had retreated or else she would have given Law something else to have nightmares about.

"Dammit!" She cursed quietly and pinched the bridge of her nose. It had all gone so well until now. She had found herself a tiny and simple home, a nice town where she could practice medicine as she had always wanted; she had even taken in a kid. All of those dreams she had had as a little girl had finally come true only to be washed away by the cruel reality she hated so much. She grabbed the scabbard and sheathed her sword before turning towards the townspeople, looking at Anne.

"I'm sure it goes without saying now but… I trust you'll fulfill your promise Mrs. Jones." While Anne nodded, not hesitating at all yet still wearing a sad frown, Law blinked in confusion. What was going on? What had Anne promised Dominica which involved a situation such as this? While he was very curious all that mattered to him now was that the frightening men were gone and Dominica was still there.

"Yes but, where will you go from here?" Again Law was confused.

'Are we going somewhere?'

"Well, I'm a pirate." She shrugged. "I can't really… settle down anywhere I guess. Once a pirate always a pirate, right?" She joked humorlessly and Anne's frown disappeared though she shook her head with a tiny sigh.

"Oh Dominica." Said woman patted Law's head and nodded towards Anne. "Mrs. Jones and Mr. Jones will be taking care of you and Bepo from now on Trafalgar." Dominica said and motioned for the boy to walk over to the elderly couple but all she received in response was a distressed look.

"What? Why?" He asked, taking one step closer to Dominica.

"Mrs. Jones promised me that if something was to happen to me then she and Mr. Jones would take care of you two in my stead." She explained to the child who only shook his head, eyes growing wider and brimming with tears yet again.

"But nothing has happened to you!" Clearly he was trying to understand the situation though she knew he probably understood the moment she had drawn her sword. Law was a bright child, sometimes too bright, and she knew he was denying the truth that was as clear as day to everyone in the town who had witnessed her being declared a pirate.

She was no longer welcome here.

The corners of her mouth tugged upwards in a bitter smile. The thought of leaving the boy behind actually hurt. The thought of not being able to stay in this town stung, badly. She felt like laughing, if not a sad and bitter laugh, for she realized a long time ago that she had grown soft. Two years ago she would have killed the marines, or at least disabled them, long before they would have been able to lay a hand on her. Two years ago she would not have care if she struck fear in the people around her as she would be on her way to leave whatever island she had inhabited, drenched in blood. Two years ago she would not have given a damn about leaving Law and Bepo behind…

She kneeled down in front of the boy and ruffled his hair, forcing a small smile on her face.

"But I can't stay here anymore either. You're a bright kid Trafalgar, I'm sure you understand that." The boy launched himself forward and latched onto her with surprising strength.

"Then I'll come with you! You promised you wouldn't leave me!" His voice was strong but she could see the sobs build up in him by the way his shoulders started shaking. "You have such a simple view of the world kid." She said quietly before pushing back enough to see his face.

"You can't come with me Trafalgar. I'm sorry but you just can't." Law only shook his head and forced himself close again.

"I won't let you go!" He was adamant in his decision. "I won't let you go and be alone again!"

"I won't leave you behind, Dominica. I promised, didn't I?" For a brief moment a faint, old memory resurfaced in her mind and she froze, but only for a moment. "You promised." Law whimpered and the bear pawed at her knee as well. This did not make it any easier for the woman and she pulled the bear and boy into a tight embrace, screwing her eyes tightly shut to hide her own tears.

"Trafalgar… Bepo… I'm so sorry." She did not want to leave, she did not want to leave the two of them behind but she could not take them with her. The seas were not a place for children, full of monsters as it was. They were safer here, they knew people they could trust.

Law could escape his nightmares here. That was what she told herself as the boy gave in and cried into her shoulder, a sorrowful wail echoing in the silent street.

All them feels, why can't I hold them?! My friend said as she read this chapter before I posted it. Are you dear readers getting them feels?