A/N: This chapter is a little dialog-heavy, but I did the best I could!

Shanks sat at the table with his arm propped on the edge, supporting his head. A little half-smile curled his lips as he watched Elle move about the kitchen. She was adding various sauces and liquids to the boiling pot before stirring it vigorously. It was almost comical watching the Cat-Woman stir the pot, as it was almost as tall as she was. But Elle looked perfectly at home with cooking, grinning and talking with her children as she worked. Her long, pale hair was tied back at the base of her skull, but was starting to come loose and frame her face. Her amber eyes were alight with joy and she continued to stir the pot as she reached down to pinch Eli's cheek.

"You really care for the Benineko, huh, Red-Hair?"

Shanks jumped slightly when the younger pirate spoke. He had forgotten that they were there. Shanks glanced at the young man and his grin widened. "'Course I care for her," he said lightly. "She's my Kitten."

The young pirate gave Shanks a wary stare before his lips curled into a cruel smirk. "Yeah, guess that's true," he said lightly. "But how much does she care for you?"

Elle had always been abnormally good at sensing when Shanks' mood would shift, and a decade apart hadn't changed that. So despite Shanks keeping his easy smile in place, he noticed Elle glance at him. Shanks winked at her before he answered the other pirate. "I know how much she cares for me," he chuckled. "But why do you ask?"

The kid's smile grew and he leaned back so that his chair was resting on the back two legs only. He crossed his bare arms over his chest before he spoke. "I'm just not sure how much she cares for anyone other than her kids." The brat seemed to raise one of his eyebrows and continued, "She made me take them so you two could spend the afternoon fooling around, but a month ago she was watching her previous lover die in front of her eyes. If she cared for either one of you, why is she hopping into your bed so soon?"

Shanks couldn't keep his genial smile on his face any longer and frowned at the younger pirate. What was this kid talking about, her previous lover? Shanks had talked to the man yesterday; there was no way he could've died in front of Elle's eyes. A loud bang broke the tense silence and Shanks glanced over to see that Elle had slammed a lid down on the pot. She stalked over to the table and pulled out a chair across from Shanks and the bratty pirate. She braced her arms on the table and leaned towards them, her brows drawn together in a scowl. She snarled at the kid, asking what the hell he was talking about. Shanks settled back in his own chair, silently seconding her question.

The pirate barked out a laugh and said, "Don't be coy, now, Elle." Both Shanks and Elle deepened their frowns, but remained silent. The other pirate laughed again and continued, "Fine, I guess I'll spell it out for ya. Did you really think that a high-profile Marine like yourself could visit the Moby Dick a minimum of once a month for three years and not be noticed?"

Elle snorted and leaned back. She slouched in her chair and mirrored the younger pirate's body language. "Yeah, I had drinks with the old man. So what?" she snapped.

The pirate took the same position Elle had just been in, leaning forwards with his arms braced on the table. "So what?" he asked, laughter still in his voice. "So the entire world started wondering why. Most people agreed that you were visiting your lover, but no one could agree on who it was. It was narrowed down to two choices: Marco the Phoenix or Fire-Fist Ace." Elle's eyebrows raised and the pirate's grin widened. "Personally, I used to think it was the Phoenix, but after seeing your actions during the War, I'm betting it was Fire-Fist. Hell, look at you now. You've lost a shit-ton of weight since the last time I saw you."

Shanks had to quickly cover his mouth as he observed the Cat-Woman, noticing that his sons were doing the same. A look of absolute horror stole over Elle's face, making her eyes wide and her skin wan. Moving like a mechanical doll, Elle slowly turned to face Shanks. "W-was that a common thought?" she asked slowly. "Did people really think Ace was my lover?"

Shanks managed to swallow his laughter, but couldn't keep it from coloring his tone. "Sorry, Kitten, but yes." Shanks coughed, slowly losing to his rising humor. "I'd even heard it."

"Huh." Elle slumped in her seat, making her face fall into shadow. Her thin shoulders started to shake and her hands moved to cover her face. Shanks started to stand up, but was pushed back into his seat when Elle exploded. "Nyahahahaha!"

She started to laugh so hard that tears started to pour from her eyes. One hand covered her stomach, as if she was trying to hold herself together, and her other hand started to pound on the table. Seeing Elle's over the top reaction made Shanks and the boys unable to hold in their laughter any longer. They burst out laughing too, the surprised-slash-irritated look on the other pirate's face making it even more funny. Elle covered her mouth and all four of them started to calm down. But when Shanks' gaze met hers, they all burst into giggles once again. The younger man glared harshly at the two of them and Elle pressed her lips tightly together. Shanks tried to swallow his laughter and managed to calm down.

Finally, Elle managed to speak without breaking into giggles after every word. "I-I'm sor—nyaha!—I'm really sorry," she said breathlessly. "It's just—when I imagine the look on Ace's face when he heard that rumor—Nyahaha!" Elle took a deep breath and bit her lip, but was unable to stop her grin. "I just wish I could have been there to see it!"

"And what is so funny about it?" the younger pirate snapped.

Elle placed her elbows on the table and propped her head up in her hands. Grinning at the kid, she said, "Considering I'm his big sister, I doubt he even noticed that I was a woman. And the thought that we could be lovers? Nyaha! It's just laughable."

Shanks stood up with a quiet chuckle, relishing the look of shock that crossed all of the other pirates' faces. He walked over to the pot and took the lid off so that he could stir the stew for Elle. "Wait!" the captain snapped. "Ace was your brother?"

"Yup."

"And the Straw Hat?"

Elle's grin widened. "He's my baby brother!"

The boy slumped back in his chair, his mouth hanging open wide as he took in Elle's words. Finally, he said, "That explains a lot."

"Explains what?" Shanks asked as he brought a spoonful of stew over to Elle. She took it in her mouth and considered for a moment before she said it needed to cook more. Shanks nodded and went back to stirring the pot.

The other pirate scowled at Shanks and said, "On Sabaody, Elle, here, laughed when Straw Hat punched a Celestial Dragon in the face. She then told Silvers Rayleigh to watch over her baby brother for her."

Shanks looked over at Elle with his eyebrows raised high. Elle shrugged and said, "What? I've bought him back from the slave auctions enough times that he owes me. And since I can't actively help Luffy, might as well get someone who can."

Okay, not what he wanted to know, but Shanks filed the information away for a later date. Shanks also decided that he needed to have a talk with his old Vice-Captain. Before tonight, Shanks would've loved to catch up over drinks with the old man. Now, he wanted to ask about how Elle's life has been and what he thought of Luffy. Shanks smiled slightly at the thought. He knew that Rayleigh would see in Luffy what Shanks had ten years ago. And he also knew that Luffy was about to become stronger than ever if he was spending time with Rayleigh. Glancing at Elle, Shanks could see a deep love and pride across her face, even if it was tinged with the sadness of Ace's death.

Shanks decided that, once all of this business with Brutus was over, he was going to sit down and have a long talk with Elle. He wanted to hear all about what she had been up to this past decade. Shanks wanted to know what made her become so close with those boys, maybe even learn who the 'S' on her back belonged to. More than that, Shanks wanted to hear about how his sons grew up. He wanted to learn about how they ate their Devil Fruit and why, exactly, they called Luffy 'Papa'. Shanks just wanted to sit down and listen to Elle's stories.

Shanks knew who she had been when he had last seen her sailing away on Garp's ship. And he could still catch glimpses here and there of the girl she had once been. But now Shanks wanted to get to know the woman she had become. Shanks walked over to Elle and gently cupped her cheek in his head. He leaned down and kissed her, nothing more than a slight meeting of their lips. With that, he promised that he would meet the woman named Elle. With that kiss, Shanks promised that he would love her for the rest of his life.

Elle blinked up at Shanks, her cheeks a light shade of pink. "I, ah, think the stew is ready," she murmured and quickly stood up.

I set two giant bowls of stew down on the table, one in front of Eli and the other in front of Sora. I could sense the Little Bastard and his crew giving them skeptical looks and knew that they were wondering if the small boys could really eat so much in one sitting. I'll admit that I gave the bowls a skeptical look as well, when I was pulling them out of the cabinet. But those were the largest ones I could find, so Sora and Eli would just have to get seconds. After I made two more (smaller) bowls of stew, I told the pirates that they were welcome to eat. I set one bowl down in front of Shanks, carefully avoiding his eyes, before sitting down next to him.

We all ate in a comfortable silence, everyone enjoying their dinner. When Shanks had first tasted it and commented that it was delicious, I couldn't help the small purr that bubbled out of my chest. I might get tackled any time I try to make something else, but I knew that I could make a damn good stew. I knew that, but Shanks' approval of it was something I hadn't realized I needed until I had it. I was so pleased that I had eaten over half of my bowl before I started to feel full. I forced myself to finish my bowl, even as I watched Shanks, the twins, and several of the pirates get up for seconds.

Two months ago I had been able to eat on the same level as the Old Fart and my brothers. But it felt like my appetite had died with Ace. In the days follow his death, Doffy had forced me to eat using his String-String Fruit. That was probably the only reason I was still alive, as I couldn't bring myself to eat. Every piece of food that had entered my mouth tasted like ash, stuck in my throat like glue, and turned to rocks in my stomach. The entire two weeks I was on Dress Rosa, I never ate on my own once. The only reason I started eating again in the first place is because Vice-Captain had said I was setting a bad example for Luffy. How could I expect my brother to eat and get stronger if I was not willing to do the same? I still couldn't eat like before, but I was getting better every day.

I stared at the last bite of venison in my bowl, my hand shaking slightly from the white-knuckled hold I had on my spoon. I took a deep breath and scooped up the meat, shoving it in my mouth. My stomach was rioting, but I forced my jaws to chew the bite and my throat to swallow. With a heavy sigh, I dropped my spoon in the bowl and leaned back in my chair. Across from me sat the Little Bastard, giving me a deep stare as he ate his second bowl of stew. He took another bite and chewed for a long moment before he spoke.

"Alright, you've cleaned an eaten," he snapped. "Now tell us why you're here."

I stifled my groan and pulled my hair free. I finger-combed my still-damp hair as I contemplated how best to start. When the pirate started to let out little irritated growls, I shrugged and said, "You know of Vega Punk, right?" He nodded, not surprising. Vega Punk was the most famous scientist in the world. "And Caesar Clown?"

Little Bastard's scowl deepened and he snarled, "Just get to the damn point."

I snarled right back at him. Fine, if he didn't want to wait for the full explanation, I'd give him the abridged version. "I am here to capture Brutus and bring him back to Marine HQ."

"Who the fuck is Brutus?"

I gave the Little Bastard a snarky grin. "I got to the point," I taunted. "You're the impatient dick who didn't want to hear the full story."

Little Bastard tried to say something, but Mask-Chan cut him off by "accidentally" whacking his face with a spoon. Mask-Chan said, "Ignore him, Elle-San. We know who Caesar Clown is, but not what he has to do with you."

I nodded and leaned back in my seat. "And you know why Caesar is famous?" All of the pirates nodded, so I continued, "What most people don't know is that Caesar was not the first assistant of Vega Punk's to go rouge. Though he was the flashiest." Shanks snorted next to me and I grinned at him. I was glad someone realized I was making fun of another clown with that last sentence.

"About twenty-five years ago, give or take," I explained, "Brutus was the first assistant to go rouge. He had been in charge of researching Devil Fruits, specifically how to make them more powerful. The World Government had authorized the research, but disagreed with Brutus' way of conducting that research."

"What was this Brutus dude doing that made the World Government squirm?" the Little Bastard asked around a mouthful of food.

I shrugged. "I'm sure the majority of what Brutus did disgusted the World Government, but I was told it was the kids that crossed the line." When the Little Bastard asked about the kids, I said, "As soon as children were born, Brutus was taking them away from their parents. Once those kids were old enough to eat solid food, he fed them Devil Fruits and started his experiments."

Little Bastard's already pale face blanched even more and he quietly asked what kind of experiments Brutus conducted. That is when my mouth went dry and I found myself unable to speak. Shanks glanced at me before gently resting his hand on my thigh. He said, "From what I know, Brutus did just about everything imaginable. He tried to make Logia-users immune to haki, gave Zoan-users Sea-Prism Stone claws and fangs, kept Paramecia-users in salt water for days on end to try and make them immune to the ocean. Obviously not all of his subjects survived, but those that did, did indeed become stronger than normal Devil Fruit eaters."

There were several moments of a deep, tense silence as the other pirates digested what Shanks had said. Sora and Eli pushed aside their bowls, the scraping noise breaking the silence. The twins said that they would go do the dishes while we finished talking, making my heart ache. The subject of Brutus and what he had done was not an easy one, but Garp and Sengoku had agreed that it was best for them to know the truth of what had happened to me. The boys didn't like to be reminded of it any more than I did, but they knew that we had to talk about it. So as they walked by, I gave each of my sons a hug and a kiss on the tops of their heads, telling them how proud I was of them.

The Little Bastard was jerked out of his stunned silence and quickly ordered the majority of his crew to assist the boys. I smiled my thanks, but didn't say anything. When the Little Bastard, Mask-Chan, Shanks, and I were the only ones still sitting at the table, Mask-Chan asked in a quiet voice, "You were one of those children, weren't you?"

Before I could answer, Little Bastard looked at me sharply and muttered, "Shit. Your nails. That's why I couldn't use my powers earlier."

My smile turned grim as I held up my hand. "Yeah, Brutus said I was his biggest success," I said bitterly. "I was the only one whose body didn't reject the Sea-Prism Stone entirely."

Little Bastard gave me a long stare before he said, "If you were one of those experiments, how did you meet Red-Hair and become a Marine?"

My grin turned more genuine. "I escaped and was rescued by a group of pirates," I said brightly. "You boys are looking at the official Ship's Cat of the Oro Jackson!"

The Little Bastard snorted. "Yeah, like you expect me to believe you were on the Pirate King's ship," he scoffed.

"Sure I was." I jerked my thumb at Shanks and added, "How do you think I met this guy?"

Shanks gave the surprised pirates a sly smile and took a sip of his ale. "Told ya she was my Kitten," he said lightly.

Shanks didn't bother to try and hide his amusement at the younger man gaped at him. Shanks had to admit that he had just said something very shocking, but that didn't make it any less true. While she might have been the unofficial Vice-Captain of his ship, Elle really had been the Ship's Cat on the Oro Jackson. All of the Roger Pirates had adored Elle when they found her. They had refused to let Rayleigh talk them into giving her to someone else so she could grow up normal. From the moment that little scared kitten had run into Captain Roger until Shanks had given her to Garp, Elle had been a pirate. So despite only being about twenty-six, Elle was a pirate for the majority of her life. And Shanks knew that this rookie could read the truth of it in his eyes.

Kid sat back in his chair with a whispered, "Well, damn." After another long moment, he said, "What's this got to do with us?"

Elle raised her eyebrow and her finger started to lightly trace circles on Shanks' thigh. "What d'ya mean?" she asked, casually taking a sip from Shanks' mug. "Are you fishing around to see if I'll ask ya to help us?"

"Wha—No! We—"

Elle cut off the sputtering pirate and said, "Actually, we could use your help."

"What?" Shanks and the younger pirate snapped at the same time? Then the rookie added, "If we're gonna be helping you, you gotta do something for us, too."

Elle shrugged. "Fine by me," she said, standing up. "The boys are beat, so I'm going to put them to bed. But I'll be right back, and we can discuss what you want." Elle started to walk over to the twins before she paused and turned to Shanks. "You can talk to him about it, to see the Little Bastard's request is something you wanna do."

With her cheeks bright red, Elle leaned down and kissed Shanks' cheek. Before he could do anything, Elle had rushed over and scooped up her children, one under each arm. Elle ran upstairs, leaving Shanks sitting at the table and wondering what the hell had just happened. Shanks glanced at the masked pirate, but he just gave Shanks a small shrug. Well, at least he wasn't the only one confused. Shanks let out a heavy sigh and drained his mug. How could being around one woman make him feel like a teenager and an old man simultaneously?

Shanks looked at the rookie in front of him and let out another sigh. "So, what's your condition?" Shanks asked finally. "Does it have to do with the real reason you came to find me?"

The kid smirked and said, "You're smarter than you look, old man."

Little shit. Shanks gave the brat a light smile, even as his irritation rose. "It's not hard to figure out, since you're still here even after being threatened by Elle," he said, sharper than he intended.

The kid laughed. "Well, you're right. I came after you because I'm lookin' for someone." The brat's face suddenly went serious. "I heard rumors that the Hell Cat had recently rejoined your crew. I want to find him."

The irony of the situation in front of Shanks was too much and he couldn't stop his chuckle. "Promise me one thing, kid," Shanks said to the scowling rookie pirate. "If I tell you where the Hell Cat is, promise that you will still help Elle. No matter what I am about to say."

"Deal."

Seeing the excitement and anticipation in the kid's eyes almost made Shanks feel sorry for what he was about to reveal. Almost. With a wide grin, Shanks pointed up. "The Hell Cat just went to put her kiddos to bed," he said joyfully.

Oh, the look on his face! Shanks burst into peels of side-splitting laughter, unable to sit still. Poor kid looked like all of his hopes and dreams were smashed right before his eyes.

A/N: I'm sorry, I know this is kind of short. I just felt this was a good spot to stop. The next chapter will involve disheartened pirates, shopping, ecchi-moments, and hot springs! So look forward to that! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!

~Shini