Clarobell: Can't remember if I mentioned this to you before, but the seasons in Cleff, follow that of Australia, meaning Christmas time is summer, and July and such is winter, mmk?

Apologies for the uber late post, but well, some MAJOR revisions are underway. To give you an idea of how major, let's just say that when we originally posted this fanfiction, this chapter was chapter 17. Yes, that much has been changed XD

The DD forum is now up and open for anybody interested in asking questions. There's a poll open as to guesses on the sex of Sanji's and Nami's baby. If you want any more polls, let me know.

Plushie: Enjoy the chapter!

--DramaticDifferences--

--Part 1:Discoveries--

--Written by Plushie and Clarobell--

Chapter 26: The Test

Nami hurried down the hospital corridor to Zoro's room; Sanji followed silently behind her, a small smirk on his face and his hands in his pockets. Two days had passed since their little plan had been put into action, and Usopp had already informed her that there had been some shots of the carers doing horrible things to the children. But, none of them were Alvida. She was managing to stay out of sight apart from walking past at times. Both had been a little disappointed about that. They knew that she was the one who had caused Zoro the most pain, and wanted her to pay for it. It was almost as if she knew the cameras were there, but that was impossible. If she did, she would have removed them already.

Nami paused beside the familiar door, throwing a glance her boyfriend's way and smiling slightly. She had visited Zoro as often as possible over the past weeks and had constantly informed him of Sanji's improvements and how things were at home; how she and Sanji had bought him numerous gifts for his return; new clothes and such. She could tell he was more modest and embarrassed about that though. He just bowed his head and watched his fingers in his lap, smiling his creepy smile and mumbling 'thank you' every few minutes. Aside from the creepy smile, she had to admit, he looked adorable.

Sanji had decided not to visit until he looked a little better, not wanting Zoro to see him as he did last time. He couldn't even remember the last time he visited Zoro, but he was sure he must have been pretty pathetic at that point. Straightening his tie once more, the chef nodded towards Nami to let her know he was ready. Neither of them had discussed their idea with the cameras in the orphanage to Zoro, as they had wanted to explain whilst both of them were there. They couldn't see Zoro reacting badly at all, but they couldn't see him reacting over the moon about it either. He'd be worried that Alvida would find out, and then punish Luffy for it. But if both of them were together, then one could look to the other when they ran out of reassurances. It also seemed to work better if both of them insisted that everything was fine.

Nami smiled at the blonde and nodded back, blowing him a kiss and winking before knocking on the door and swiping the card she had been issued to get inside Zoro's locked door. She wondered sometimes if he felt as much of a prisoner as he looked. Leith had informed them that Zoro received nutritious meals, and was escorted outside for several walks each day. This was obviously to keep him healthy and fit, but Nami wondered if that was really the case. Her green haired friend seemed just a little too pale to be out in the sun very often, and on more than one occasion over the last few weeks, she'd seen him flinch from brightness. That observation made her also wonder whether he was kept in the dark sometimes. She and Sanji both knew Zoro hated the dark. Che, right, 'hated' was an understatement. It reminded him of his punishments in the orphanage, but knowing Leith, he'd probably tried to 'control' Zoro's 'episodes' by keeping him in a dark and quiet environment. Idiot. She wondered how scared Leith got when Zoro started thrashing and breaking things... and then she realised they would just sedate him again.

Sighing once more, the redhead steeled herself and imagined the happy look on Zoro's face when she walked in. That was always enough to make her smile. Opening the door, she peeked her head around first to make sure the occupant wasn't sleeping, but as usual, Zoro was on his bed, smiling at nothing and humming a tuneless song.

"Zoro!" she announced and he slowly turned his head, blinking tiredly before his eyes widened and he smiled even wider, for real.

"Nami!" he replied, happy to see her as usual.

Nami moved inside and took the seat next to the bed which had been provided for her.

"I brought somebody to see you," she smiled, a mischievous glint to her eyes. Zoro blinked in a mixture of confusion and curiosity. He knew it was impossible she could have gotten Luffy back so soon, and Sanji was a mess, so, who could it be? Judging from the happy glow to her dark eyes, Zoro figured it must be someone good and smiled back slightly himself, glancing to the side a little nervously.

"Who?" he asked, almost a little timidly, not used to getting any visitors other than Nami. It didn't help that he wasn't particularly fond of strangers to begin with...

Sanji took a deep breath. That was his cue. Poking his head around the door, he grinned widely before entering the room and letting the door close behind him.

"Hey Marimo, long time no see." he said, grinning like a fool.

Zoro blinked in shock, taking in everything about the blonde standing in front of him, right down to the once again shined shoes and generally confident stance. He… he was back to normal. Zoro couldn't believe it. He blinked at Sanji for a moment, not quite daring to believe it, before his eyes widened.

"Sanji?" he asked, disbelief shining in his emerald eyes as he turned on the bed letting his legs slide off to rest on the floor. Sanji smirked as he swaggered fully into the room, giving a light twirl as he reached Nami, as if he were strutting down a catwalk.

"That's me." he responded, as he moved over to recline on the bed beside Zoro. The smile stayed small for a moment, Zoro's disbelief of things that just didn't seem real overwhelming the obvious evidence in front of him. But soon, when Sanji (nor his cocky smirk) disappeared, the teen finally brightened completely. He wasn't a happy person by nature (and obviously from past experiences) but, to see someone who was so down and out... and was his friend had now recovered completely... it was an incredible morality boost. Sanji watched Zoro out of the corner of his eye, letting the other teen just stare at him for a while. Hell, from the look on the guy's face he wouldn't have been surprised if Zoro slapped him just to make sure he was real. Once he had given Zoro time to get over his shock a bit, he smirked even wider.

Leaning over to his friend with a rather sly grin that was a usual part of his character, Sanji whispered, "And over there you can see my fiancée to be, though she doesn't know it yet, and my kid, currently growing inside her." and he smirked widely. Zoro stared at him, totally lost for words before he burst into laughter, clapping a hand over his mouth as usual. Nami smiled in delight, not having any idea what they were talking about, but loving the fact that her two boys were laughing and smiling again. Sanji watched Zoro for a moment before smiling a little sadly.

"I'm sorry you had to see me that way Zoro… but I'm ok now." he said and Zoro stopped laughing abruptly, taking his hand away from his mouth and blinking at the blonde chef. Shaking his head, the green haired teen did that weird smile that Sanji was quickly learning had nothing to do with the current situation, and everything to do with the nurses watching through the tinted wall. Zoro was a 'special care' patient after all, that needed constant supervision due to his 'aggressive nature'. Or so Leith had said.

"Don't worry about it man… as long as you're back to normal now." Zoro shrugged, his tone a little more perky than what should have been normal. Sanji glanced at Nami, who shrugged minimally. She was relieved that Zoro wasn't hiding from them, but she was worried that he would fall back on it after what they were about to do. Zoro looked over at Nami, who smiled at him. Sanji frowned, closing his eyes for a moment before opening them again and steeling himself for the inevitable.

"Well, I'm gonna head to the bathroom." Nami spoke up suddenly, smiling slightly, though Zoro couldn't help but notice it was a little forced.

"Okay…" he muttered, watching as the ginger haired woman left the room, throwing him one last glance before she disappeared out the door. Zoro blinked again, wondering why she seemed so hesitant to go. She was just going to the bathroom, right? What was so scary about the bathroom? Giving a half hearted shrug, Zoro turned his attention back to Sanji, smiling in relief as he still appeared to be fine. He wouldn't be surprised if this was all a dream actually…

The silence between the two men continued for another minute or two before Sanji cleared his throat and nudged Zoro with his elbow lightly.

"So," he smiled, "How do you feel about Nami-san being pregnant again?"

"I-It's great!" Zoro replied quickly, not wanting to upset Sanji at all. Honestly, he didn't really understand the whole 'pregnant' thing, other than it made Nami get fatter last time. "I promise I won't do anything wrong this time! I promise!"

There was a nervous twitch from the teen beside him and Sanji almost regretted bringing the subject up, but it would have to be faced sooner or later. He couldn't help but notice how Zoro wouldn't meet his eyes, and how he kept one hand hidden but his arm seemed to twitch every now and again. Yeah... Zoro was still blaming himself for that one.

"Zoro," Sanji muttered, sighing quietly, "It wasn't you're fault. What happened-"

The cook didn't get a chance to finish his sentence as the lights suddenly flickered before shutting off completely, leaving them in the pitch black. Zoro let out a strangled gasp, and though Sanji couldn't see him, he could imagine the horrified look on the teen's face. Deep gasps soon followed as Zoro started to panic and Sanji could feel the bed shift under the weight of the teen moving around. A scratching sound soon followed and the blonde knew Zoro was scratching the walls, trying to get out. Poor guy...

He had been expecting this. For the past week, Sanji had undergone an intensive training course on how to 'handle' Zoro's behaviour and 'episodes'. Sanji had had to laugh when he got home after some of the classes though. He'd quoted them to Nami, who had laughed humourlessly. Some of the 'treatments' included suggestions such as 'touching the patient on the upper part of the arm in a firm gesture, is a comforting move that will calm most patients down.' Che, right, the first time they'd tried that with Zoro, he'd nearly broken Nami's arm and then it had gotten bad.

The dark stayed absolute, and Sanji listened silently to Zoro's continuing escape attempts. This was as much of a test for Zoro right now as it was for him. The hospital and Dr Leith had agreed to do the test based upon Nami's notes taken over the past months' experience with the teen and the nurse's experience from the hospital. It was concluded that Zoro reacted most violently when he was panicked and in the dark, as he could not see what he or any others were doing and became violent, trying to keep anything away from him. Well, Nami and Sanji really couldn't blame him there. After all, being tortured in the dark wasn't exactly like going to Luna Park or the Circus.

The test would consist of the lights being shut off in Zoro's room, and outside, and with no windows, the room would be left in complete darkness. Sanji, after determining a method of action from Zoro's reaction, would then have to try and calm his 'patient' down. If successful, he would then have to move on in the course to study alternate methods that may help prevent the episodes in the first place and how to handle Zoro better when he did panic. It was also important, that Zoro didn't know that this was an actual 'test', as if he did, he would obviously try to stay calm so that Sanji could pass and he could get out of the hospital. The results would then be void and Sanji would have to try at a later stage, possibly after several weeks or even months. The cook didn't want that to happen. Zoro had suffered enough in this place as it was, and he was determined to get him out as soon as possible.

Heaving a deep, but silent breath, he calmed himself before speaking.

"Zoro…? Can you hear me?" he asked, in a calm and quiet voice. His only reply was a stifled gasp and the sounds of Zoro scrambling away from him. "Zoro, I want you to listen to my voice. Whose voice is it?"

Once again, scattered breathing and frantic footsteps were his only reply and Sanji sighed silently. Zoro wasn't listening to him. He knew that touching him at a time like this would result in failure, as that would only make Zoro panic. He had to make him realise he was with him and he was going to help him. Narrowing his eyes, he strained to try and see his friend, but shook his head, realising it was futile. Straining his ears instead, he listened for where Zoro was in the room. After a few seconds, he pinpointed the teen to be at his left and turned to speak in that general direction.

"Zoro? It's Sanji. Sanji." The blonde waited.

"...Sanji?" came a timid, quiet voice after a while, shaking with tremors, "T-Too dark… she's coming!"

Zoro's voice was barely audible, quieter than a whisper, and Sanji's heart went out to him.

"Zoro, she's not coming, okay?" the cook whispered back, not wanting to startle Zoro by speaking any louder. "I'm here, and I'll protect you, okay?"

"S-She'll hurt you." Zoro replied timidly, and Sanji could just imagine him shaking his head.

He knew Zoro had real problems with that sort of thing. Any mention of he, or Nami protecting him and he flew off the handle. Saying that they should just 'leave him alone' or 'forget about him' and then he would stalk off in a mild huff/annoyed fit. It was a complete switch, and was a weird and back to front speech, but that was Zoro. They hadn't pressed the matter... some things were just better left. Soon, Zoro would figure out that until he was healthy enough and learned to protect himself... then he was going to have to rely on the safety that Sanji and Nami provided... Shaking his head again, the blonde turned his attention back to Zoro. The teen needed his protection right now, after all.

"No, she won't. I'm strong, remember?" Sanji smiled slightly and carefully slid off the bed, creeping closer to where he had heard Zoro's voice. "I'm coming to sit with you, okay?"

He heard a shuffle and guessed Zoro was fidgeting nervously. In the past, when he would have a panic attack, Nami and Sanji would normally leave him alone to ride it out, as every time they'd tried to help him, he'd lashed out at them. Because of this, Zoro had never been 'comforted' during times like that. Sometimes, when he had learned to trust them better, they could calm him down to a mild panic attack but never had they been able to subdue it completely. The first time had been when Luffy had hugged him, and even then, he was hardly aware of what was happening.

"Zoro," Sanji called as he slowly stepped closer, "I'm almost to where you are now, okay? I'm going to reach out and try to touch you, just remember, it's me touching you, alright?"

"O-Okay." Zoro replied, though he didn't sound very certain.

He hoped this didn't get him failed... or get his arm broken. Sanji decided to take the risk and slowly reached out, brushing skin with Zoro, and even though he had warned his friend, he still felt the violent flinch at the contact.

"It's me. Zoro, it's Sanji. I'm right here." The cook whispered, slowly sliding down to sit in front of Zoro, who by now was shaking even harder. Desperately, the blonde tried to think of a way for Zoro to realise it was him before he got too panicked. "Look! Look here." and he grabbed Zoro's hands in a loose grip, bringing them up to his own head and resting them on his hair. "Feel how short my hair is? And my voice is way too deep, right? I'm not her, Zoro."

Slowly, the green haired teen gripped the hair, letting his hands slide down and fall away, blinking into the darkness and wishing he could see. He raised his hands up again, groping blindly in the air until he came in contact with broad shoulders and blinked at the touch of the material. It was thick and… almost silky. Just like what Sanji wore! It was Sanji! It really was!

"S-Sanji?"

"Yeah," the cook smiled widely, even though he knew Zoro couldn't see it, "I'm right here. Just take a few deep breaths, okay Marimo? Try and calm down. The lights will be back on soon."

"Okay," Zoro whispered back, still glancing around the dark room timidly, "A-Are you the only one here?"

"Yeah, it's just me and you."

"...Oh." Zoro replied quietly. Sanji could still feel one shivering hand on his shoulder, but the other had fallen away and he could hear the shifting of material, "... I... don't have a p-pocket to put m-my hand in..." Even though the sentence was said with all the seriousness in the world, Sanji couldn't help but smile.

"No. Guess you picked the wrong day to wear pocketless trousers, eh? Bugger." he replied, still keeping his voice soft and quiet. His smile grew even wider when he heard Zoro give a very soft and timid snort. They sat like that in silence for another few minutes before Zoro finally heaved a shuddering breath.

"... She's... really not coming..." It wasn't a question, but a statement, "When are the l-lights coming back on?"

"I don't know, Marimo. But I'm here if you need me, ne?" Sanji replied. They sat in silence for a time longer and suddenly the blonde felt Zoro shuffle closer.

"Can... Can I tell you... something?" the man's voice was barely audible, no, it wasn't audible! The only way Sanji had heard it was by the breathing patterns travelling to his ears. His eyes narrowed slightly and he nodded.

"Yeah." he breathed back.

"... Wh-when I was little-" but Zoro paused there as brilliance flooded the room and made both teens flinch in the sudden glare and drove all thoughts of what Zoro had been about to say from both their heads. Zoro squinted, wanting to close his eyes against the pain that throbbed through his eyes, but if he did that then he wouldn't get to see if it really had been Sanji sitting in front of him.

The blonde was having equal trouble seeing, blinking and squinting for a little while before finally sighing and relaxing as his normal vision returned. Zoro was right there, squinting back at him. He was slightly red in the face, and his hair was tousled as if he had run his hands through it in agitation. He probably had. The hand on Sanji's shoulder didn't release and the blonde didn't make any move to pull away, let alone force the touch off of him. That would be the worst thing he could do right now. Not only would it be cold and cruel... it'd severely damage his chances of ever getting Zoro to trust him again.

The green haired teen finally managed to open his green eyes properly, and stared at the man sitting on the floor in front of him for a few minutes before again the smile of relief creased his face.

"See? Was me all along, wasn't it?" Sanji asked, and Zoro nodded hesitantly. He glanced Sanji up and down a bit more, just to make sure it really was him, before sighing a little.

"It's hard..." the other teen began, moving his hand from Sanji's shoulder and back into his own lap, "To hear anything." Sanji watched him for a moment, wondering if he was going to elaborate on what it felt like during those episodes, but he didn't get any answers. All Zoro did was sit there and fiddle with his fingers. Sanji glanced at them, remembering the scratching the teen had been doing and frowned slightly when he saw the nails had been cut right back to the point where skin had been nipped. He couldn't say anything to anyone, aside from Nami, about it either because the nurses would just protest Zoro had been disagreeable and had caused the damage himself.

Nami hurried in a few minutes later to see the two getting to their feet. Zoro was a little shaky, but he was doing fine. Sanji paused as he remembered what Zoro was about to say... but with Nami here, he didn't want to bring it up again anyway. The red head bustled over to them, hurriedly wiping tears from her glassy eyes and grabbing Sanji in a hug before turning to Zoro. She smiled a little and held out her arms, inviting him to hug her only if it was on his terms. The teen looked at her for a moment, before he stepped forward and gave her a short and quick squeeze before pulling away quickly.

"Well done!" She congratulated both Sanji and Zoro.

"W-What?" Zoro stuttered, confusion dancing in his eyes. "For what?"

"That was your first test Zoro. You passed, and so did we." Sanji said, smiling.

"Test…?" the green haired teen repeated, glancing between the two. "You mean, Nami was watching?"

"That's right." Nami whispered, "The doctors have to test you and Sanji to see how you behave around us before Sanji can complete that course I was telling you about, remember Zoro?"

Zoro nodded slightly, looking uncertain. Sanji smiled reassuringly and stepped forward, slightly resting a hand on his shoulder.

"Well, from the looks of Nami-san, we both just passed, and those bastard doctors can't do a thing about that." The cooks voice was low, barely a whisper as he leaned in closer so Zoro could hear him. The green haired teen didn't pull away. He wanted to hear what Sanji had to say. "We're now one step closer to getting you out of here, eh Marimo?"

Blinking a little stupidly, Zoro offered a shaky smile before looking at the wall and glaring slightly. So it was their doing, not Sanji's free will. That solved that issue then... He wasn't mad at Sanji... he was mad at them!

"Oh…" he noised as a soft response, thinking how much he'd love to throw something at them, but he would get sedated and in trouble if he did that. At that moment, Leith walked in smiling, with his arms crossed. Zoro instinctively put on his big smile, and backed away from the doctor a little, a motion that didn't go unnoticed. Leith ignored it, while Sanji and Nami turned rather nasty eyes on him.

"Nicely done Sanji." He said, but the blonde shook his head and smirked as he stood. If he wasn't in this hospital... Sanji let out a small breath to stop himself from kicking the guy in the head.

"Zoro deserves the credit." and he shrugged as he moved to walk out. Zoro looked at him in mild shock, glancing at Leith and then focusing on Sanji. Had... he made Sanji mad now too?

"You're… leaving?" he asked hesitantly. He didn't want Sanji to go... not with Leith in here. If Sanji was here, then Leith wouldn't dare to do anything. Leith looked between them and then smiled and left, not congratulating Zoro at all. As a doctor, he'd seen a lot of things during his time, and he'd met a lot of people. Most of those people seemed to like him, and even if they didn't, they would still be polite. But Zoro, he wanted nothing to do with him; wouldn't talk to him, wouldn't respond to him, just… ignored him. Even if he had of said anything to Zoro, the teen probably wouldn't have even listened. So why bother? Sanji glanced back at Zoro and smiled a little, seeing the teen relax now that Leith had gone.

"Only for a little while. I have to get something…" he replied and with a short wave, left the room as well.

Zoro watched the closed door for a moment before turning to Nami with a quizzical look. She shrugged, but smirked, obviously knowing what was going on but not telling. Zoro blinked for a moment but knew better than to ask. The nurses didn't like questions. He had once asked when he was allowed to go home, but the nurse had ignored him. He thought maybe she hadn't heard him, and so asked again, but once again received no reply, and later sedated him for some reason. So now he refrained from asking needless questions. But he knew Nami wouldn't hurt him, so, he decided to ask about Luffy instead. He missed him... a lot. He'd gotten used to having Luffy sleep beside him, or near him, and now that he was here, he was very lonely.

"Heard anything from Luffy?" Zoro asked suddenly, drawing his legs back onto the bed and leaning against the wall. His chest was still pounding, and he was still panting, but that was calming quickly.

"Mhm," Nami replied and Zoro's eyes snapped over to her and she grinned cheekily before moving over and sliding onto the bed next to him so she could talk without too much being heard by the people watching.

"Is he alright?" The teen asked; his tone panicked.

Nami sighed but didn't respond to that question. She didn't know what to say about Luffy yet. She wondered whether Zoro still had nightmares in here. She imagined so. Luffy was the only one who could quell those.

"Sanji and I came up with a plan." Nami began, for now she would try to explain without Sanji. The little surprise he was bringing Zoro would calm the teen down, if nothing else. "I managed to sneak into the orphanage while Sanji distracted Alvida." Zoro jerked at the name, but listened.

"I bumped into Luffy and… he doesn't look so good." Nami finished with a sigh as she decided the truth was better. Zoro would have gotten suspicious if she had said 'he's fine'. The hospitalised teen's face turned into one of concern. Now he was worried.

"W-what's wrong with him? Is he still sick? Is he being beaten?" Zoro asked, winding himself into a panic until Nami quickly ran a hand through his hair and shushed him. He was so worried about Luffy.

"He's still sick, and I think he's gone back to thinking he has to do everything. He said he had chores, and then walked off. But don't worry. It won't be another week and we'll have him out of there." Nami assured him and Zoro blinked at her before narrowing his eyes a little.

"What did you do?" he asked cautiously. Nami grinned one of her most devilish smiles.

"Just a little surveillance." she replied innocently, "While I was in there, I set up a few little cameras and they'll last at least three days on their battery power and it's already been two days. Usopp has the computer that's linked to them, and he's recording it for us. We'll get all of those carers put into jail for child abuse, and we'll get Luffy back into our care." and she winked. Zoro blinked at her, shocked beyond words before a wide smile spread across his face, a real one.

"Nami!" he said. Nami couldn't help but feel that Zoro was still a little too perky for his personality, but, she put it to the back of her mind for now.

"I thought it was a good idea too. We were talking about it, wondering how we could pull it off when Usopp came to visit and see if you guys were doing okay. He heard what we were talking about, and then came up with the idea of these little tube things that could be stuck in places and video tape whatever happened around them. Then he made them." Nami explained and Zoro nodded, listening intently. Nami explained everything that had happened and Zoro listened, his eyes drooping slowly each time she paused to think of what had happened next.

Turning his face away a little, Zoro's eyes drooped and he tried to hold back a yawn. Nami smirked, but didn't say anything. Zoro had to stay awake for Sanji to come back. Speak of the devil. That was when the chef decided to re enter the room, a plastic container about the size of a bowl in his hand, and a plastic spoon with it. Zoro looked up at him and Sanji handed the container to him and smirked.

"Chocolate pudding." he said as Zoro stared at it and then looked up at him quizzically, "It's your reward." and the blonde sat down on the other side of Zoro while Nami beamed at him and Zoro blinked down at the pudding in his hands before tentatively beginning to eat. He hadn't eaten anything like this since he had gotten here. Sanji smirked as he watched.

Once Zoro was finished and he put the bowl down, he asked how home was, and then asked about the next tests, but Sanji and Nami had no idea when they were scheduled, and what they would be. They were supposed to be erratic so Zoro couldn't tell when they were going to happen, and would react naturally rather than acting it out and getting ready for it. This time, as Sanji was answering another of his questions, Zoro couldn't hold back his yawn and he covered his mouth, hoping to hide it. He was so tired.

"Come on Sanji. Zoro needs to sleep." Nami said and Sanji slipped off the bed, picking up the empty container and smirking at Zoro, who blinked up at them slowly.

"Huh?" he asked dopily, "Oh, bye! Come back soon, eh?"

"We will. See ya Marimo." Sanji replied and moved to the door. Nami quickly ran a hand through Zoro's hair and that was the final straw. The teen slumped to the side, fast asleep and Nami smirked as she moved back over to Sanji again.

"Still got the magic touch." she said, wriggling her fingers as they walked out. Sanji smirked at her.

Clarobell: Happy Christmas People! Hope you ahve a good one! Don't forget about the forum, and we'll be watching those reviews, yes we will.

Plushie: Review! Or mutant monkeys wearing big christmas hats will come and attempt to eat your... christmas pudding. XD Oh, Merry Christmas everyone, and have a happy new year! 8D