I do not own anything besides these words and the cover art.

"Paging Doctor Law, paging Doctor Trafalgar Law!" The speaker system called for him, but Law pinched the bridge of his nose and sped up down the hallway. His day was already quite hectic, as this was not his usual hospital; however, with a giant explosion and police officers involved, he was called in for additional help.

Well, that was all Law was supposed to do, but suddenly as he was finishing up in Emergency, another man came in with incredible wounds. Law should not have said incredible as the man lost too much blood, and was very close to death. Yet, that was why they called him the Surgeon of Death, as many of his patients were those other doctors would not risk their reputations to save.

He looked over the file again, where the personal information was not much. A blonde man rushed in with him, but since the hospital had strict policies about friends versus family, the man screamed for Law to save "Zoro" and nothing more. It took too many orderlies to stop him, and as Law let out a tired exhale, he hoped he would not be greeted with the same angry man when he went to visit his miracle patient, Zoro.

Instead of a weepy and very furious man, Law opened the door to find an orange hair girl shedding tears on his bed. She sat and watched his face; half bandaged as Law did his best to save the eye but could only sew it up. The bullet ricocheted, and enough skin was left to cover up the severity of the wound, but there was nothing actually left to save. His chest was fully wrapped too, the gash was so deep that it nicked bone, but there were broken and bruised ribs regardless. Overall, Law understood that Zoro had to be strong spirited enough to stay in this world when his body was in no condition to keep going. Perhaps the weeping woman was the reason, but as soon as he stepped in, Law felt a gun at the back of his head.

He sighed again, as this was not how he wanted his very late night to end. Law assumed that with wounds like that and the lack of information, Zoro was surely some sort of criminal. Law was accustomed to the lot, so he took this turn of events with a sort of calmed jest.

Law began his solid reasoning, "Look, I don't want trouble-"

"Are you his doctor?" The woman spoke in a hoarse and broken voice. It sounded as if she had no more air left in her body, but she forced the words out as they echoed beyond the beeping of the machines.

Law felt the gun on his head pull away a bit, so he let out a groan, "Yeah…but ya can't just come into a hospital with a gun."

The woman looked up at him; her right hand in Zoro's left. She stood, her jacket over her shoulders, and Law noticed that her left arm was in some makeshift sling. "Bring me my bag."

Law thought for a moment that she was speaking to him, but then the giant shadow behind him moved forward and faced him. The large man had a gang tattoo right on his forehead; Law recognized the sun-like symbol, as he was not unaware of the networks around him. However, he seemed like a low-level enforcer as he handed the woman the bag, but his dark brown eyes never left Law's gray ones. The woman, however, seemed preoccupied with trying to do her task without flinching or crying. Law saw her injuries but did not make a move to help, as he wanted to know exactly what it meant for her to have him held at gunpoint. Though the larger man had dropped the gun, Law felt a tension in the room. She wiped her face with the back of her hand and nodded to Law to come forward. As he did, she dumped the bag's contents on the bed and thick packs of bills scattered in the dark room.

He was about to question her, but she started, "This should be more than enough for his care. I need…I just need him to be better. Whatever he needs, get it for him."

Law let out a chuckle, "You can take that to the front desk. I don't handle insurance and I'm not even his-"

"Doctor Trafalgar D. Law, correct? I'm surprised you are able to practice with your connections with the black market…or does the government overlook that for the chance of keeping you on their payroll?" her voice sang suddenly, as if she was quite comfortable having all the information within her hands, however, broken they may have been.

She did not falter nor waver. Her dark eyes looked pained and puffy, yet her stern expression displayed nothing but ferocity to get what she wanted. Law looked at her and then to Zoro asleep on the bed. "Who is he to you?"

She seemed confused for a moment, but directed her softened face to the bed and gave a small smile. "He…was my fighter. I should be proud…he fought so…well."

The man by her side turned to her, "We need to go…he's…he won't wait."

She nodded almost mindlessly and Law caught the marks all over the face, the bruising that was hidden behind wet hair and shadows. The sling cradled her arm, where the wrist was clearly broken but as she turned, Law saw the bloodstains that streaked her entire body. The quiet dripping fell from her side, coating the white floor in a dark hue.

"Hey! You're wounded. I-"

She pointed to the money on the bed. "Tell no one I was here…and there will be more of this for you. I promise. But…just take care of him. He'll…want to get on his feet as soon as possible. Don't let him. Make sure he heals or else…he won't be any good to anyone." She chuckled, "He's just too damn stubborn, so be a good doctor and make sure he rests, okay?"

Law nodded as they walked past him, but he called to her, "And what about you? Ya got anything to tell him?"

The man by her was looking through the crack of the door, as if wary of being seen. She turned and looked past Law and felt the tears come again. "Tell him nothing…I…I let him down. If you tell him anything…if I do, he'll come after me. And…I can't have that."

Law turned to confront her and the mystical logic that made her seem like a villain in a story, but before he could even hear the click of her heels, he found himself alone in the room. The only noise was the sounds of the breathing mechanism that was keeping Zoro alive for the time being.

Law groaned and rubbed his tired face; this was not how he wanted to spend the rest of his nights. He picked up a stack of money and thumbed it. As much as it annoyed him, the mystery woman was right and if she had the ability to know so much about him, especially things he did not publicize, perhaps he could watch his little experiment go on. Bringing a nearly dead man back to life was Law's specialty. In the tedious and boring nature of his professional façade, perhaps Zoro would be a breath of fresh air. Perhaps this could be an adventure.

He collected the money and put it back in the bag for safekeeping. It would be a pain to handle this in regards to record keeping, but this was not the first time he had to do something underhanded for the sake of a larger goal. He gave Zoro one final look over and wondered what his goal was. Maybe he would tell Law who the woman was, but for now, Law would try to get him to wake up and not die. At least, not yet.

Music Inspiration/Theme: "Let You Down" (NF)

I came across this song on the radio, and though the song itself has its own meaning, I think it was sad enough to be placed here.

Well, here we are. Zoro is alive. Barely. I like to think of this as the time he took on Kuma's punishment and Sanji was all, "No!" and Nami stayed by his side. Ah, the good times. Overall, I think Zoro has a very sacrificial personality, to the point that people closest to him might not think he cares about his life…however; he has had his strength to back up his insane fighting prowess.

Anywhoo…here comes Doctor Law…the shifty surgeon that is going to be in charge of Zoro's healing. P.S. I think Law & Nami get on rather well, and according to certain personality sheets, Law would be Nami's "ideal" pairing, but I honestly have never looked at them more than brother-sister…especially with "Lami" being Law's deceased biological sister. Like, come on. But regardless…

Whom did Law save from the explosion? Was it Tashigi? Will she and Zoro meet in this hospital? Will Zoro wake up soon? Why didn't Nami want Law to tell Zoro about her?

Many more questions to be answered in the next chapter of The Fighter!

XoXo shipfiend