(This is an AU where the Whitebeard Pirates raise Ace. Rouge doesn't like Roger's idea of Garp rescuing her and Ace, but decides to give it a go until the day the Marines arrive and start killing pregnant women and children. This won't be a MarcoxAce, story, in this Rouge is going to pretend Marco is Ace's father, to protect Ace's identity from the Marines after what happened on Baterilla.)

(Whitebeard AU)

"You're going to have Garp come here and take Ace and I away?" Rouge scowled at the snail.

"Nobody would expect him," Roger replied, the snail grinning happily. "He won't let the Marines harm Ann or Ace, not simply for being born."

"Monkey D. Garp?" Rouge growled. "The bastard who is one of the Marines who pisses me off the most for being a coward?"

"He's not a coward. He's trying to fix thing from the inside-"

"Coward!" Rouge spat. "If he wanted to fucking fix things then he'd stop people from being slaves! You know I despise the fact that you saved a Celestial Dragon and his slaves, I barely forgave you for that and yet you want me to hand my baby over to that snot nosed arrogant bastard?! Like hell!"

"Rouge, darling, light of my life, love of my life-"

"FUCK OFF WITH THAT SHIT!" Rouge screeched, ignoring her mother's yelp in the living room. "I'm dealing with this because as always you're a reckless moron. I don't care how desperate you are, I am not a damsel in distress!"

"You... You kind of sound distressed right now..."

Rouge twitched.

"BECAUSE YOU ARE THE SOURCE OF MY STRESS!"

"I love you! Please still love me back? Even if I give you endless headaches?" Roger pleaded.

"I've been putting up with you for this long, dumbass. Of course I still love you," Rouge snorted.

The snail grinned. "Okay! Well I'm gonna go get arrested and talk to Garp-"

"LIKE HELL!"

"Love you, bye Rouge!" Roger quickly hung up, squeaking out his love while Rouge sat there, fuming in her seat.

"Rouge?" Mother called softly, peeking her head round the corner.

"I want to kill the Pirate King," Rouge growled.

"I know, but first you should try to relax, for the baby's sake if not your own," Mother suggested.

"That moron..." Rouge sighed, slouching back in her chair. "No, this isn't the worst case scenario at least. If Shiki panics with Roger's..." she winced. "Roger's execution, then Shiki will attack Marineford. He'll be another added distraction. Nobody should know about me or the baby."

"And you can hide here for however long this takes," Mother agreed. "And you're strong enough to take on Garp. We know that by your bounty. If he tries and hurts you or my grandchild you can take him on."

"Then I'll wait. I'll wait and see how this all goes, and if this turns South I'm calling Eddy," Rouge said, nodding. "Edward Newgate won't let me down, he never has."

"Between that Roger fellow and that Shiki pirate, I think you should be safe," Mother smiled, placing a hand on Rouge's arm, gazing down hopefully at her belly. "And then you'll get to experience the same joy I had with you."

Rouge couldn't help but smile at that, and glanced down at where either Ace or Ann rested, placing her hand gently on her flat stomach. One day it would begin to grow, and one day she'd welcome her son or daughter into the word.

The thought made her grin.

Unfortunately a week later three Marine ships arrived, armed heavily with soldiers who began herding everyone out their homes for an announcement in the main square.

"Rouge," Mother called, her eyes hard. "I think you should go for a walk, you can make sure nobody can see you right?"

"Yep."

"Then go. I shall attend this gathering. Quickly now, darling, before the Marines see you."

.::.

Rouge came back later that night, seeing her mother hunched over a table, scowling darkly at the wall. The sight made her wince, because she, her mother was more of the type to be serious while her father had those sunshine smiles that lit up a whole room, but her mother rarely looked this angry.

"Mother?"

"Calling my grandchild a little devil," Mother growled. "I should have snapped their necks."

"You're not that much of a fighter," Rouge reminded her, going for the kettle. She fixed them both up a cup of tea and handed the warm cup to her mother, before going to sit down at her side. "So, the Marines know about my baby?"

"Someone must have seen your Roger here," Mother grimaced. "They must have spilled, and now the Marines are taking every newborn, every young child, and every pregnant woman they can find. The moment the announcement for the 'devil child' ended they started herding the obviously pregnant women to the hospital. The doctors, nurses, midwives, they were all taken into custody. I even heard that a few resisted and were shot dead for it."

Rouge blanked, then blanched.

"They were just protecting their patients..." she faltered. "And how... How are they going to test who-"

"They have some of Roger's blood, but, that's for the older children," Mother softened, grasping her hand tightly. "The newborns and pregnant women... They will be... The word they used is 'terminated', as a 'precaution', they said. Not even the nobles are getting away, of course they are getting Roger's blood tested on them though."

Rouge's hatred for the Marines spiked. Garp was supposed to take care of her, Roger has asked him too, but that bastard was apart of all this. Murderer, murderers, their 'heroes' were murderers. She could kill them, normally she could have, but now Rouge had more responsibilities than to herself. Ann or Ace could die in such a fight, and she refused to let that happen, no matter what.

She needed help.

"I need to call Eddy," Rouge threw herself up to her feet, heading straight for her room. She pulled out her bag from the floorboards and grabbed her snail, before heading back to the kitchen.

"Eddy? That's the Whitebeard fellow right?"

"Yeah. I trust him, with myself, and with my baby," Rouge said, ringing the snail.

But it was instantly blocked and she froze, realisation hitting her like a brick. Her mother shared the same look, pale and horrified. The Marines had blocked all outside communications. They were trapped on Baterilla.

"W-We keep you in the basement. Hidden deep beneath the earth-" Mother tried.

"That won't work on someone with strong observation haki," Rouge snapped, clenching her fists. "However, if I don't look pregnant-"

"What?!"

"I'm sorry, baby," Rouge stroked her stomach. "But you have to wait. I have to make you wait, with all my willpower. I'll keep you safe and hidden."

"Rouge, that... You'd be holding a baby within your body for an extra nine months. Those Marines aren't going anywhere anytime soon."

"Then I'll do it. I'll do it until I can either get through to Eddy or until the Marines fuck off. They will not have my baby."

Six months passed, and her entire body ached, but that was when a miracle happened. The men of the island had managed to amass their own raid on the Marine ships, they had charged the three ships, intending to destroy one of the generators keeping the snails from contacting the outside world. She had heard the battle cries from her small house on the hill, secluded away from the rest of the village, and understood that these were the men who had watched wives, daughters and mothers be murdered all because the Marines thought Roger's child deserved to die.

The thought made her tear up, but she had grip her snail tightly, letting it ring again, and again, and again, ignoring every rejection until finally she heard an explosion, and her snail continued ringing. Her heart raced, and her hands shook, but finally she heard it get answered, and nearly sobbed in relief when Whitebeard's voice echoed in her ears.

"Who is disturbing me during my son's birthday party?"