I do not own One Piece, only my OCs.

Thank you to XD9lizzy for the recent review.

The island was now visible on the horizon. They would be there in a few hours.

Demeter sighed. She wasn't entirely sure if she was ready for this. Leaving her crew for a month in order to take care of Ace was a big step, not to be taken lightly, and she worried that she had perhaps been a bit impulsive.

The 'incident' with Ace in the training room had, instead of making her more excited, caused her to become rather nervous and hesitant about the whole thing. Being so close and isolated with Ace immediately after an encounter like that could prove to hinder rather than help any resulting relationship.

Frowning to herself, Demeter headed to her cabin, and consulted the maps on her desk. The topography of the island they were soon to be landing at intrigued her. It wasn't a very large island, only a few square kilometres, so not large enough to have any effect on a log pose. However, dominating the right hand side of the island was a small volcano, causing that side of the island to be warmer than the other. The other end of the island was filled with vegetation, but eventually narrowed to a long, bare peninsula surrounded by lethal reefs and rock formations. They would not be dropping anchor there.

Demeter pulled some scrap sheets towards her and began to write some notes. If she was going to be on this island for a month, she was going to make the most of it. There were countless experiments she could conduct with the volcanic soil, and the differentiation in temperature between the volcano side and the forest side. Not that the volcano was bare. In fact it was covered in vegetation, just very few trees. But there were places that she could level out the soil and set up vegetable patches. If this island proved to have sustainable conditions, she might just claim it. Having another island on which to grow their food would be beneficial. They already had two others, but a third would allow for extra crop rotation and would give the soil more time to recover, resulting in greater subsequent harvests. Besides, all the islands she 'owned' were too small for anybody else to care about anyway, so she doubted it would incite a confrontation with the marines or other pirates.

Turning her gaze to the forested area of the island, Demeter wondered how much wildlife it had. If the hunting was good, she would be pleased. Cook had expressed concern recently about the lack of adequate meat in their diets, so the discovery of more hunting grounds would be extremely beneficial. Perhaps the crew could stock up before they left.

It also provided her with an excuse to keep her distance from Ace. With the whole island to explore and a large amount of decisions to make for the benefit of the crew, she could justifiably put off any advances until she had worked out what the hell was going on. Her heart was pounding just at the memory of what had happened. She could feel a blush rising, and forced herself to push Ace out of her mind. That lack of discipline would not do. She had work to be getting on with, she couldn't act like a hormonal teenager having her first kiss.

A knock on her door broke through her thoughts, causing her to sigh with relief. 'Enter.'

Blackjack walked through the door, hand running through his hair. 'You all ready to go, Captain?' He asked quietly.

Demeter nodded. 'Yes, thank you. Everything is sorted. I know you don't approve, Blackjack, but this is just something I have to do. It's only a month, you know that. Just stick to the usual routes and try not to get into any battles.'

He smiled slightly. 'Taking all the fun out of it, you are.' His smile dropped slightly. 'Please, Captain. The crew cares for you more than you know. It's dangerous. Let us stay.'

'Blackjack, it is precisely because of the danger posed that I cannot let you stay. You understand that, I know you do.' Demeter frowned. 'I've always trusted your judgement, do not give me cause to doubt you now.'

'And I have always trusted yours, but this…' He sighed. 'We will do ask you ask, Captain, but the crew won't be happy about it.'

'I understand that. How long until we reach the island?' Demeter began to pack away all the notes she had taken in a leather satchel, perfectly suited for protecting papers in a coastal environment.

'About half an hour.'

Demeter raised her eyebrows. 'I've been in here longer than I realised, it would seem. I'll head up to the deck in a moment, Blackjack, and will see you there.'

He nodded at the dismissal, closing the door softly behind him.

Demeter sighed, face in her hands. She only had half an hour to gather her thoughts before she would be alone with Ace. Taking a deep breath, she shook her head, as if to clear it, and grabbed some clothes to change in to. The ones she was wearing now weren't exactly island suitable, and she would need footwear. She pulled a crisp cream blouse from her cupboard, grabbed a black leather corseted waistcoat, black pants and her usual black boots. Once she had changed, she attached her usual weaponry, smoothed her hair, took another deep breath, and put on her tricorn hat. She looked the part, at least. If she was going to leave her crew for a month, she would give them an image to remember her by.

She was ready. She nodded to herself, grabbed the satchel, and left the room, heading for the deck. Her necessary belongings had been packed the day before and were already on the deck, ready to take ashore.

When she emerged, she headed towards the wheel. Ace was there, steering Styx towards the island. She took over from him with a small smile.

'Nearly there, Captain!' Blackjack called down from the crow's nest.

'Thank you, Blackjack. Make yourselves busy, everyone! Prepare to bring her to rest!'

'Aye aye, Captain!' The answer resounded from all on the deck. Some climbed up the mast, ready to untangle ropes if necessary. Others waited near ropes at the bottom, watching for Demeter's order to hoist the sails. Three men stood near the anchor, ready to push it over.

A few minutes later, they were as close to the shore as Demeter was willing to get. She didn't want to beach Styx, after all.

'Drop anchor!' She yelled as she spun the wheel, bringing the ship's broadside to face the shore. The anchor dragged for a bit, then caught purchase and they slowed.

'Ready to go, Captain?' Ace said quietly in her ear. Demeter had to prevent herself from jumping. When did he get so close?

'Of course. The crate with my things is already up here. What about you?'

Ace snorted. 'I don't have that many belongings, remember? I put them in the same crate as yours, there's still a bit of room left over.'

Demeter nodded. 'Well then, I suppose we'd best get in the row boat. Or shall we try swimming to shore? You know, I wonder if you'll be able to swim again soon…' She said it almost as an afterthought to herself, but she didn't miss the grimace on Ace's face as she mentioned it. 'Sorry, I know it's a touchy subject.'

'I'll have to get used to it. No backing away from it now.' He slipped his hands in his pockets, staring at the island.

'I've made some preparations to keep us occupied. We'll spend the first few days exploring the island, and then I'd like to start testing the soil for growth properties, work out the best hunting grounds, and fishing spots. I want to see if this island is worth us coming back to.'

'You've sure got this all planned out, huh?' Ace smirked. He could see the determination and excitement in her eyes at the prospect of all that exploration and discovery.

'Well I wasn't going to sit around doing nothing for a month. Oh, I've worked out a training regime as well, we can't afford to slack off. We may have defeated my brother, but there are far worse enemies out there and I have no intention of running away if they cross our path.' She rolled her shoulders and headed down to the row boat, which was currently being stacked with the crate of belongings and two more crates of non-perishable food.

'It's all ready to go, Captain.' Blackjack said quietly. Demeter turned and smiled at him, seeing Mae emerge from below at that moment.

'Last chance to change your mind, Captain.' Mae said as she walked over.

'Look after them for me, you two. Don't forget to come back in a month.' Demeter hopped into the row boat, ignoring Mae's comment. 'Oh, and take good care of Styx. I'm going to miss her.' She patted the hull affectionately.

'You're crazy, you know that?' Mae chuckled.

'I'm the Captain of a pirate ship, Mae. Crazy comes with the job.'

Ace jumped in behind her, with one of the crew to row the ship back, and some of the crew lowered the boat to the sea, watching as they began to row away from them.

'How long do you think she'll last with him? Blackjack said as Mae leaned on the railing beside him.

'In terms of what? The danger from his Devil Fruit, or the danger from his roguish charm? Because my bet is on her making it through the Devil Fruit issue, but only holding out for five minutes alone with him.'

Blackjack barked a laugh. 'Five minutes? That's generous.'

'She's young and naïve, so you're probably right. Let's make it three.' Mae grinned, and headed back below decks.

Soon the crewmember who had gone ashore with them brought the row boat back, and Blackjack called for them to raise the anchor and prepare to sail. He raised his hand to Demeter and Ace on the shore, in salute, and they waved back.

As Styx headed towards the horizon, Demeter sighed, and began dragging the crates inland. Ace helped, heading towards the forested area where they would be protected.

'We'll need to find some shelter somewhere. I'm hoping there will be a cave around, but if not we'll need to start cutting down trees. It shouldn't be too cold tonight, but there's a cool change heading for this island and we'll need to be prepared. I'm expecting it to hit some time tomorrow.'

'Aye, Captain.' Ace responded. She could hear the smirk in his voice.

'What are you so smug about, hmm?' She put her hands on her hips, glaring at him.

'Nothing, Captain. Nothing at all.' He just kept pulling the crates.

'We've only just arrived and you're already infuriating me… Wonderful…' Demeter gritted her teeth. It was going to be a long month.

Once the crates were safe, they began exploring. Demeter consulted her map of the island, leading them towards the volcano, where they might be able to find a cave. However, after over an hour of searching, all they could find was a small indentation in the side, about two metres deep. It would have to do. Not wanting to waste any more time, they immediately started collecting branches and fallen logs to create the outside of the shelter.

'You know, it would have been a lot more efficient if the crew had helped us with this part, at least.' Ace huffed as he pulled several logs into position.

'Yes, it would have been, but I wanted them away as soon as possible.' Demeter said through heavy breaths as she moved things around.

'Couldn't wait to be alone with me?' Ace grinned.

Demeter rolled her eyes. 'Yes, that must have been it.'

She dragged a log backwards, but stopped when she felt something behind her. Ace stood there, smirking down at her.

'Well… We are well and truly alone now.' His voice was laced with delightfully sinful intent, and he dragged a finger down her back. Demeter blushed.

'But, we have work to do. This shelter isn't going to make itself.' He straightened up and kept working. Demeter bit her lip to prevent herself from growling at him. So very cruel.

'I'll get you back for that, you tease.' She muttered to herself.

'What was that, Captain? Not getting flustered, I hope?' He was almost laughing.

Demeter threw the log at him, chuckling when he yelped. 'Flustered? Of course not. Keep working.'

When the shelter was completed, including with large rolls of thick fabric over the outside which Demeter had found in the cargo hold, they were finally able to sit down and relax. It was evening now, and both were hungry, but they had to go and collect the crates before they could eat.

'I really should have got the crew to help us with this…' Demeter grumbled as they headed back to where they had come ashore.

'Yes, you really should have. At least we'll sleep well, though.'

Demeter snorted. 'You always sleep well, you stupid narcoleptic.' To be honest, she was surprised he hadn't dozed off at any point while they were working.

The corner of Ace's mouth twitched, and he dropped his arms over Demeter's shoulders. 'If you say so, Captain. Speaking of which, probably about time I had a nap. You happy to carry me?'

'No! Get off!' She struggled, but he wasn't budging.

'Goodnight, Captain.' He started snoring. Demeter thought he was joking, but then his arms and legs went slack, and she had to catch him before he hit the ground.

'I can't believe you… How could you fall asleep just from threatening to do so? You idiot!'

He didn't hear her, and all she could do was wait until he woke up. At least he was warm.