"Mmmm…" Abigail let out a pleasurable hum as she soaked in the hot water of the bath, the day had been favorable. The supply run went well, they manage to get half of the things needed and get back to the ship with plenty of time to spare. She even had the opportunity to pick up plenty of personal items like more clothes and bath stuff. Those bathing products she put into immediate use, it had been too long since she could really enjoy a long bath with the salts and oils she liked. It was an indulgence that she extended to the other female crew members who were soaking beside her and laughing amongst themselves in the conveniently large bath with her.

"This feels sooooo good Bones." One of the girls with a dark green pixie cut exclaimed as she sank deeper into the water, submerging herself up to her chin.

"And it smells so nice." Another spoke as she poured water over her body with a smile.

Abigail chuckled as she turned around to face them, sitting up on the edge of the bath with her back to the door. "I'm glad you loves are enjoying it. A ship where the men outnumber the women is no excuse for a girl not to be able to enjoy a bath."

The girls giggled all around, this was indeed the first time they could indulge themselves like this. The general rule was to be in and out of the bath quickly since there were so many people on this ship, that's why the bathing room was so large. It wasn't unheard of for people to bath together to save on time and water, it's also why none of these girls had or ever used these type of bath products before.

Neddy came over and laid her head on her teacher lap with a smile. "Thank you for doing this Bones." She sighed a happy little sigh as the older woman began brushing her hair with her fingers.

The other girls gave a unison of appreciative words as well, they were all thoroughly enjoying this little break from their day to day duties.

"You're welcome my loves." She smiled as she continued to run her fingers through the girl's thick hair, even she hadn't realized just how much she needed this little break.

"I hate to say it." Neddy sighed. "But we shouldn't take too much longer, if the Captain finds out how long we've been in here already he's going to be super mad."

The other girls groaned a little, they hated hearing it but they knew she was right.

"Yea, the last thing I want is to make him mad." A girl with a long red braid gave a little whine. "He's really terrifying when he gets into a bad mood."

Abigail waved her hand to stay their fears. "I'll deal with Eustass-love, don't worry so much and enjoy yourselves."

One of the girls, a petite little thing with short blue hair, hopped up onto the edge of the bath beside Bones with a sigh. "You can say that because he likes you, the rest of us are just regular girls to him."

She scoffed at that. "I doubt he likes me that much." She attempted to dismiss their implications but she couldn't deny that she was able to get away with a lot more than a regular crew member…

"It's true." A pink haired girl with her hair in a bun came up beside Neddy. "If ya weren't one of the crew he'd probably woulda had ya in is room by now."

"No doubt." The girl with the pixie cut chimed it. "If it wasn't for the 'no relationships between crew members' rule then you'd totally be his woman."

"That sounds scary too." The blue hair girl exclaimed. "Some of the guys have heard him taking bar girls while we dock sometimes and it sounds pretty violent."

Those statements brought back memories of the night she slipped into his room and her cheeks grew hotter than ever, it was bad enough she had her own experiences but to think about him and those other girls… "Well, considering I'm not an actual crew member and he hasn't whisked me away to do unspeakable things then I think that disproves those statements."

"Don't say that Bones." Neddy stood a little and wrapped her arms around the woman's waist. "We all consider you a Kid Pirate."

The other girls added their affirmation as they circled the older woman affectionately wrapping their arms around her in a big group hug. It made her smile but at the same time it saddened her, she was really getting attached to them… what was she going to do?

Killer reclined on Kid's bed as his Captain tinkered with one of is projects, he had come and given the report from the uneventful docking and was now relaxing a bit. He had followed Heat and the woman from a distance, curious about the funds she kept producing from that bag of hers but he never did figure it out…

"So what did she manage to get?" Kid asked as he eyed a broken connector.

"Quite a bit actually. Stitch came back with boxes of antiseptic and bandages, Needles found a good bit of low grade medicines and Abby bought about half the town."

"What?" He eyed his first with a raised brow, doing his best to ignore the use of the nickname considering he thought everyone but him called her Bones… Why did that agitate him so much?..

"Yea." Killer sat up into a cross-legged position and rested his face in his hand. "She did buy a lot of medical books and herbs but she also hit up a clothing store, some kind of a frilly girl store… I think she was buying hygiene stuff, then she went into a chocolate store and got a bracelet for Heat…"

"Wait, wait, wait…" Kid rubbed his brow. "She bought Heat a bracelet?"

Killer laughed. "That entire speech and that's the sentence that jumps out at you." He teased his friend. "Getting a bit jealous are we?"

"Shut up." He turned away to bury himself in his project which was only to hide his slightly reddening cheeks. "Where did she put all that crap?" He changed the subject as he reached for a wrench.

"Nowhere yet, the packages are currently piled up in the hall in front of the infirmary and her room."

"Are you kidding me?! What the hell is she doing?" He turned back around to face his friend, a vein throbbing in his forehead. Did she really think she could clutter up his ship like she owned it?

"Took the girls to the Bath."

"What the hell for?"

"Can't be positive but I'm fairly certain they are bathing." Killer teased him again.

Kid gave him a 'knock it off' look and stood up with a growl. "I meant what the hell are they all bathing together for in the middle of the damn afternoon."

He shrugged. "Women have a tendency to do that, it's a bonding thing I think. Just leave them be."

He responded with another growl, she really pissed him off. Loading up his ship with crap then taking his crew to fuck around when they all had work they should be doing. "Screw this." He tossed his wrench and stormed out.

"Kid!" He called out to his Captain as the other man stormed out. "Damnit! Don't start anything!" Why did he feel the need to pick a fight with her all the time, whatever the reason he must have really meant it this time. His eyes went to the fur coat he always wore when he wasn't in his room, when was the last time he roamed the ship without it?

Kid stormed through the hall, growing more and more agitated as he attempted to maneuver around the packages that littered the area. Finally he began to kick them out of his way in annoyance.

"Ca… Captain!" Stitch ran over to check the supplies that the Captain had just punted out of his way. "Please be careful! The medicine…"

He whirled around and gave the boy a look of sheer death.

"Th… The medicine…" He repeated with a gulp, he'd never seen the Captain glare at a member of the crew like that before. "Some of it's… in glass… containers." He shied away a little with each word.

Kid growled in response as he returned to storming his way to the bathroom.

"Oh man." Stitched rubbed his head with a sigh, Bones must have really gone and done it now.

It took him longer than he wanted to reach the bathing area due to trying to move around all the clutter and by the time he reached his destination his anger was close to its peak. Unceremoniously he brought his boot to the door with a loud growl.

The door crashed open with a loud bang causing the girls to shriek as splinters flew around them, landing in the water with little splashes. The girls covered themselves with their arms as the Captain's large form filled the doorway, the look on his face was terrifying.

Abigail's eyes were wide in disbelief, did that bastard… really?! She turned just enough to glare at him from the corner of her eye, he was going too far this time.

Kid paused a moment, he had known all of the girls were bathing in here with her but apparently it hadn't completely registered until now. His eyes darted between them all before stopping on her, he tried to focus on only her… her back was mostly to him even though she was turned slightly. He never realized she had such a large tattoo there, the blue ink stood out on her skin. A grinning face with a six-pointed star behind it… he then noticed on her biceps were blue outlines of snakes… She always kept her body covered so he had no idea she had these kinds of marking. He could only assume the one on her back was her Jolly Roger…

"My loves…" She spoke through gritted teeth, her eyes locked on him as he stepped in through the doorway. "Please get dressed… I have words I need to say with the Captain."

The girls moved as quickly as they could, grabbing their clothes from the shelves and towels to cover themselves as swiftly as they could manage considering the privacy factor of the bathing area was now smashed to pieces and bits barely hanging on its hinges. Neddy, feeling a bit brave despite her furiously blushing cheeks, grabbed a towel and tossed it past the Captain so her teacher could cover herself as well.

"Eh?" As the fabric flew past his head he turned slightly to see where it came from.

"Kid!" She screamed at him as she saw him turning away and back towards the girls who were scrambling to get dressed, was he really going to embarrass them more and watch them as they tried to dress. She snatched the towel out of the air and held it to her body, not bothering to wrap it around her, she only needed it to cover the important bits anyways.

"God dammit…" He exclaimed as he turned back towards her, hearing her call him that bothered him… she's never called him that…

The sound of a deafening slap filled the room, her open hand connecting with his cheek using all of her strength.

His eyes got wide as the stinging sensation throbbed in his cheek, did she really just…

"What are you thinking!" She yelled at him, her hand stung like hell but she wouldn't let him see that it hurt. "Treat me like I'm nothing as much as you like but those girls are part of your crew! How dare you come in here while they are bathing!"

"You really think I came in here to look at them!" He yelled back at her, his cheeks got a little red at what she was implying but then he met her eyes… the look in them was fiercer than any she'd given him before and she wasn't holding back with that slap… she really believed he would treat his female crew like that?

"I don't give a damn what your intentions where!" Her voice remained loud. "Who barges into a bathroom like that!"

"I do!" He shot back. "Last I checked this was my ship and I could do whatever the hell I like!"

"And that includes embarrassing girls naked in the bath!" She jabbed him in the chest with her finger.

"Tch!" He grabbed the wrist to the hand assaulting him. "I didn't mean to…" His cheeks flushed just a little. "This is your fault!"

A man peeked into the room, everybody could hear these two yelling and nobody particularly wanted to get in their way when they were having it out. "uh… um… Captain." He squeaked.

"How is any of this my fault?!" She tried to pull her hand back but he had a firm grip on it, damn it she wasn't in the mood for his dominance bullshit.

He yanked her forward, leaning down to get in her face with a snarl. "Because you came back on board with all this crap then leave it littered throughout my ship!"

"Those are supplies that this ship needs!" She tried to pull back her arm again but he just wouldn't let go. "Somebody needs to give a damn about this crew since you don't!"

The man by the doorway inched in a little more. "C… Captain." He said a little louder.

"I do care about my crew!"

"Bullshit! If you really gave a damn then you wouldn't treat those girls like men!"

"How the hell do I do that?"

"You could at least give them the luxury of a quiet bath and not room them with the other men! Don't you have any clue on how women are!" She growled a little as she struggled against his grip again.

"I know exactly how to treat a woman!" He snarled back.

"Oh please." She scoffed. "Beating on me and bending over bar whores is about all you know!"

"You just wish I would…"

The man by the door was standing in the room now. "Captain!" He said loudly now, he really needed to get his attention.

"WHAT?!" Came the combined reply, Kid shot her a look as she grabbed her face in agitation to her own slip up.

The man jumped back and almost back out into the hallway, he didn't want to interrupt them considering it looked like they were about to go at each other's throats any moment but there was a slight issue needing to be dealt with. "Th… There's a ship flagging us down."

"Eh?" Another combined response.

"What does it want?" Kid asked as he turned slightly with an arched brow, it wasn't often somebody tried to get his attention without the use of cannon fire.

"They claim that you were expecting them, said Bones called them."

"Simon-love…" She whispered with a little smile, so he finally managed to track her down. "Tell them to board us, I'll be up shortly to greet them."

"Ah… Um…" He looked up to his Captain, unsure of what to do.

Kid growled, he remembered they had been expecting these people but it still pissed him off. Their timing was shit. "Do it." He snarled to the man and returned his attention to the woman as their interrupter slinked off. "Stop acting like you can do what you want." He gripped the side of her face in his large hand and pulled her even closer to him. "I give the orders to these men, not you."

Once more she tried to pull away, she really wasn't in the mood for his crap. "Maybe you should put shackles back on me then and keep me locked away in my room, since everything I do seems to be wrong." She hissed.

"Don't tempt me…" He let go of her wrist bringing his fingers to her lips. "You are mine, Abigail." His eyes traveled down her body, she was barely covered by that towel… damn it… that familiar ache was acting up again.

She froze when he spoke her name, he's never used her name before… and the way he was looking at her reminded her of how exposed she really was. Now of all times she had to start feeling bashful, and after all that yelling she had been doing. "Eustass-Love… Stop." She put his hands on his chest to push him away, the look he was giving her… Now of all times he'd want to try this.

"I don't want to…"

"Kid." A stern voice came from behind them, both recognized the voice of the blonde haired man that was now filling the doorway.

"Tch…" Kid spat as he took a deep breath, letting go of her face and taking a step back. What the hell was he thinking… He spun on his heel and moved past his friend. "I'll be up on deck."

Killer didn't say anything as he stepped aside to let the Captain pass, his eyes on the doctor and her blushing cheeks. She kept her eyes on the ground as she just stood there… he was worried Kid might be going too far… damn it. "Are you alright?"

She sighed as she kept her eyes from looking towards him, feeling unbelievable embarrassed right now. "Yea…"

"Get dressed." He turned his back and acted as a temporary door. "I'll keep the peepers away."

She smiled to his back. "Thank you Kil-Love." He really was turning out to be a good guy and in a funny way she felt she could feel relaxed around him. "That means no peeping from you either." She teased.

"I wouldn't…" His words were cut short as a towel smacked him in the back of the head and hung there, it was wet and smelt like a combination of honey and milk with sugar and cinnamon.

She smiled as she grabbed her clothes. "I know."

Kid stepped out onto the main deck, arms crossed in front of his chest. He eyed a few new people on board that must have been the visiting crew but where the hell was the ship? He walked over to the starboard side where he saw men hauling crates up and over the railing, looking over he saw a boat maybe a quarter of the size of his own ship. It had a sleek design but what the hell was something like that doing out here?

A loud laughter drew his attention back behind him to a tall man with spiked up lavender hair and an eye patch.

"I like ya kid." The tall man patted the orange haired boys shoulder. "You're gonna make a fine doc."

Stitch blushed a bit, at first he was a little scared of this man covered in scars but he turned out to be pretty friendly guy. "Oh." He looked over and noticed the Captain staring at them, hopefully that bad mood he was in a little bit ago died down. He'd hate to see a fight break out with these guys. "Captain!" He waved to him and led the man over to introduce him. "This is Simon D. Bon, he's the Captain."

Kid grumbled, he just about had his fill with other Captains being on his ship. He eyed this man, only a little shorter than himself and he'd seen some action if those scars where any indication… So this was the guy she was waiting for, his memory flashed back to the bath and the look on her face when she said his name… that pissed him off a bit.

"Nice meeting ya." Bon held out a gloved hand in greeting. "I appreciate you taking care of my Abby."

"Your Abby?" He arched a brow and did not move to take the other man's hand, he was liking him less and less. What gave him the right to call her his?

"Simon-Love!"

As if summoned by the use of her name she came running up from below deck with Killer following casually behind her, she practically attempted to tackle the other man as she fell into the large arms that opened to embrace her in a hug. Lifting her body easily he spun her around with the two of them laughing. "Abby sweetheart, it's good to see you."

"And you." She smiled as he lowered her gently to the ground, it had been far too long. She stepped back just a little and turned to Eustass, eyeing that look on his face that told her he was one wrong comment away from blowing up. "I see you've already met the Captain."

"Yea…" He put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her back into him, he was pretty good at reading people but he was certain anybody with a pair of eyes could tell how much this Captain didn't like him touching Abby. "Real charming fellow." He added as he gave the red haired man a challenging smirk.

Kid gritted his teeth as he eyed the arm holding her… he wondered how quickly he could break it. "Hurry up and transfer the supplies over so you can get off my ship." He wanted this man gone as soon as possible, he didn't need any more headaches right now.

"Ah, wait…" Abigail piped up, a little hesitant as she slipped out of Simon's hold. She knew things were a bit rocky right now and even she didn't want to press her luck too much but still… "Can we visit for a little bit, he's an old friend and I haven't seen him in a while."

The taller man eyed her, she was actually asking him with that damn pleading look in her eye… He growled loudly at her, he didn't like these people being on his ship and he sure as hell didn't like that man or the way he clung to her. She belonged to him and no one else… "You have an hour, Captain." He spat out the title as he glared at her, who the hell does she think she is asking him for a favor after what just happened in the bath. Talking to him like she had more power, slapping him even… He leaned down close to her ear so only she could hear the words he was going to say. His eyes stayed on the one-eyed man, reveling in the scowl forming on that smug bastards face as he brought his lips a hair away from her. "You owe me…" he whispered before turning away. With that he stomped off towards his room, he didn't want to look at any of these visitors for any longer than absolutely necessary.

He slammed his door closed as he disappeared into his quarters, the sound making just about everyone on deck wince just a little bit.

Bon cracked his knuckles in agitation, he didn't like that guy… not one bit, and he sure as hell didn't like him whispering things into her ear. "You really know how to pick em." He looked at her with a 'you shouldn't be on this ship' expression, he worried about her and this wasn't helping matters.

"Hush." Abigail spoke as she waved him off, turning to Stitch as she bit her lower lip a little. Even she was a bit worried about the Captain's mood. "Get everyone together and have all the supplies we got as well as what's being brought aboard into the infirmary as quickly as you can." She eyed Eustass's door with a sigh. "Best to get all of it out of sight before he comes out of that room."

Stitch nodded in agreement, he wasn't sure what got the Captain so upset but he knew that nobody wanted to see him lose his temper.

"Come on." She turned her attention back to him. "My room is below deck; we can talk there."

Bon didn't say anything and simply followed after her, his eyes observing the ship and its crew… the whole damn lot seemed to be on pins and needles right now. Was it always like this? With a sigh he shook his head and started down the steps after her, his eyes looking up in time to look at the masked man with impossibly long hair that was exiting the stairway as they entered it. Man… this ship had a lot of scary guys on it.

Killer watched the woman lead the one eyed man away and he couldn't help but let out a sigh, Kid must be in one hell of a mood right now. He left the crew to deal with these new supplies and the… guests they were currently hosting, instead making a B line for the Captain's room and not bothering to knock as he went in and closed the door behind him. "Kid." He said in a bland tone to announce himself as he walked in.

"Not in the mood Killer." He said from his laid back position on his bed, he had shed his coat unceremoniously on the floor and didn't bother to kick off his boots.

"I didn't ask if you were." He responded as he sat down on the work bench with the obvious intention of not going anywhere.

Kid grumbled a bit as he gave his friend a sideways glance. "What do you want?"

"Let Abby go." He said bluntly.

He sat up and glared as the other man. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

Killer crossed his arms with a sigh. "She's taught out guys plenty and now we have all the supplies needed so our Docs can do their job, so let her go. Let her leave when that purple haired guy shoves off. We don't need here on this ship anymore." He emphasized that word, he wanted his friend to understand what everyone else could plainly express.

He said nothing as he looked away… Killer was right, there was no reason to force her to stay… the didn't need her at all. Besides, she was always causing him problems… and they fought constantly… "Yea…" He finally said after a long pause, his body falling back onto the bed as he turned to his side with his back to his friend. "Tell her to get off my ship." That ought to make her happy considering she was pretty hard up on that guy. It's not like he cared… she was just a distraction anyways… wasn't even part of the crew…

The blonde man watched his Captain as the stubborn fool grumbled to himself, he might have said to give the woman the boot but he knew better. With a sigh he slid off the bench and exited the room, leaving his companion to piss and moan in privacy. Damn did that man suck at expressing any feeling that wasn't linked to violence… Still, he'd do as he was told and pass along the message. What she did with it was entirely up to her.

To Be Continued…