Sorry I haven't updated in awhile. I've been swamped with school work and shopping. Hopefully I can get another chapter up during break.

-OP-

". . . infection set. . . medicine not working. . ."

". . . gonna. . . okay?"

". . . Log set . . . leave in . . ."

". . . Can't stay . . . longer. Should . . . her with?"

I heard a few voices talking, but they sounded so far away. . . It's hard to breathe and my back hurts really bad. I wish I could roll over onto my stomach. I can't open my eyes, it's too hard. But the voices don't sound familiar, and I feel like I'm rocking from side to side. Where am I? Who am I with? If I could open my eyes I would know. I keep trying to lift my eyelids, but it takes a lot of energy. I feel sleepy now, but I have to keep trying! Oh! It's working, I can see a sliver of the world. Now keep going . . .There! They're open!

I'm in a room, on a bed. The room is rocking. Am I on a ship? I turn my head to my left to see people at my bedside, arguing, in low voices. But the voices are clearer now, I can hear what is being said.

"But we don't know when the log will set! We can't leave!Especially not with her with us! What if she has family here?" says a woman with orange hair. She's looking at a man with blonde hair that covers his face. The man is smoking a cigarette; he takes a long drag off it.

"But Nami-swan if we don't hurry to another island soon we'll run out of food! If you'll remember, we were planning to buy all of our supplies for the next two months at this island! I'm pretty sure everyone else here is dead except for her!", he points his cigarette wielding hand at me,"She-"

He turns his head to face me. He stares for a moment, and I can see now that only his left eye is covered by his hair. The woman, Nami, stares at the man for a few seconds, with a confused look on her face. She opens her mouth, presumably to speak, and follows his gaze over to me. She quickly opens the door and darts out yelling for a 'Chopper'. The man drops his cigarette on the wooden floor, steps on it, then covers the two feet over to my bed. He puts his hand on my forehead, it feels really nice on my hot skin. Then a short reindeer, walking on two legs, and wearing a pink top hat walks in. He shifts into what look like a furry man and looms over me. The blonde haired man removes his hand from my forehead and steps out of the reindeer man's way,"She's all yours Chopper."

'Chopper' glances at the blonde-haired man and says,"Sanji wait outside with Luffy. If she's coherent enough to speak, he'll want to talk to her." 'Sanji' nods and leaves through to door to get 'Luffy'.

'Chopper' turns back to me and says,"Can you understand me? Nod yes or no."

I nod my head yes.

"Can you talk?"

Nod.

" Chopper. What's your name?"

"Fe-li-na,"I croak out.

"Hi Felina. I'm going to sit you up and take off your bandages okay?" I nodded, just now realizing that all I have covering my chest are bandages. I feel 'Chopper's' hands sliding under my shoulders and lift me away from the bed. The blanket that was on top of me slid down to my waist He rests one hand between my shoulder blades, and the other one travels to my side, right behind my arm pit. I can hear him struggling with something, and I feel his fingers occasionally wiggling over my skin. After a few more moments he stops struggling, sighs, and calls,"Nami! Could you come in here?"

The guy named 'Sanji' pokes his head in,"Hold on a second while I go get her." He dashes off, not bothering to close the door. I can feel the cold air blowing in, and I lean closer to 'Chopper' because he's warn and furry. I start shivering and I can't stop. 'Chopper' moves his hand from where they were, and embraces me in a hug. A moment later Nami returns and closes the door. She steps closer to the bed, I know because I can hear her footsteps grow louder. She places a hand on my shoulder and says,"Chopper? What do I need to do?"

"I need you to untie the knot to her bandages while I hold her up. Felina would probably also welcome a shirt to wear."

"Felina? Is that her name? How do you know? Dis she tell you? Can I ask her a question?"Nami quickly put together the pieces. I turned in Chopper's grip to face Nami"Wha- what do you want to kn-know?"

She looked at me, stunned for a moment, then said,"Do you know when the log for this island sets?"I think for moment, I can't remember if I know that. Then a memory comes to mind.

-Flashback-

A seven year old Felina runs up to a man of about thirty. She tugs on his pant leg over and over, attempting to get his attention. The man bends down and picks her up. She cheers in joy and says,"Daddy! Daddy, a man at the docks said he would give me candy if I told him when the log for this island sets. So when does it? C'mon Daddy, he had candy!" The man looks at his daughter in shock,"Felina what have I told you about talking to strangers! He could have hurt you!"

"But Daddy! He wouldn't of! He's really nice! He said he's a pirate!"

"A pirate!" The man runs off down the street.

"Baby girl, pirates are dangerous. Never ever talk to one, ever again. If they don't go away, tell them what they want to know and run! Run as fast as you can!"

"But Daddy, I can't tell them what they want to know if I don't know either. So when does the log for this island set? Mr. Pirate will want to know!"

"The log sets in three days. But you aren't going to go tell that pirate!"

"But Daddy! Mr. Pirate-Shanks will want to know!"

-End Flashback-

When I opened my eyes, I see Nami and Chopper looking at me worriedly. I can't remember closing my eyes, but I guess it must have been awhile to warrant the worry in their eyes. I looked to Nami,"Th- three days. The l- log sets in three d- days."

"Thank you for telling me. Now lets finish your check up so you can rest."

I nodded.

-OP-

Half an hour later, my wound was examined by Chopper, I had new bandages on, and I also wore a shirt from Nami. Although, it swallowed me whole. Chopper started to tell me about my medical condition and what-not. About when I'm going to take my medicine, how bad the wound and infection are, stuff like that. Well, he almost started to tell me that stuff, but I could see the seriousness in his eyes, and stopped him before he could start his speech.

"Chopper, can I go outside?" Nami and Chopper both wore shocked expressions. Although from my use of Chopper's name, the randomness of the question, or my ability to speak without stuttering, I couldn't be sure. It was Nami that recovered first,"Why would you want to do that?"

"I want to see Sanji, the black haired guy, and the green haired swordsman! Plus anybody else in your pirate crew!" Now both their jaws hung open. The door burst open and Sanji twirled in, as if summoned by the use of his name. The guy with the black hair poked his head in. He smiled really big, and jumped into the room. Sanji stopped twirling and faced Nami,"My beautiful Nami-swan, I was summoned by your love for me! Please tell me how I can be of assistance to you me sweet."

While he had their attention, I slid down from the bed and snuck out the door. I caught the black haired guy's eye, and he winked at me. I smiled and walked the rest of the way outside. I stood at the edge of the railing, looking out over the grass covered deck. I could still hear the conversation going on in the room I just left.

"Sanji-san I was just telling Felina why she shouldn't go outside. Right, Chopper?"

"Yeah, she shouldn't be standing, much less walking around outside! By the way, Felina, how did you know we were a... pirate... crew?" That was Chopper, and by the way his sentence dropped off I"m guessing they noticed I was gone. Nami yelled," Felina! What are you doing outside!" I spun around to see Nami, Chopper, and Sanji with angry looks on their faces. They started walking towards me. I muttered and 'Uh oh' and ran down the stairs. I jumped the last couple of steps, and rolled when I hit the deck. I ran towards the opposite side of the ship, looking behind me most of the way. When I did bother to look where I was going, I was a few steps in front of the railing. I tried to slow down when I saw the green haired swordsman to my right, and as I tumbled overboard I kicked him in the face. I was falling face first when I grabbed the railing, and my back slammed into the side of the ship. I let loose a scream, probably in the swordsman's ear, and let go of the railing. I saw a blur of white in my face, and reached for it. I looked up to see the swordsman with an annoyed look on his face, which had a beautiful red mark across the bridge of his nose. He pulled the sword I was holding onto up, but the sheath slid off and I, in a moment of brilliance, put the sheath between my teeth and grabbed the blade with both hands. I felt it bite into the tender flesh of my calloused hands, and held back a scream as tears came to my eyes. I heard gasps above me, but concentrated on the rhythmic feeling of being pulled up by the swordsman. When I was within grabbing distance, I launched myself onto the nearest person, which was the swordsman. I held on for dear life, and felt him stiffen when I did so. I buried my face into his shoulder to hide the tears that started rolling down my cheeks. I tightened my arms around his neck, trying not to slide off. Gradually I felt him relax, and I loosened my death grip when he put his arms around me. He rocked me back and forth whispering in my ear until I passed out.

-OP-

Zoro held Felina until she passed out and looked up to see the rest of his crew staring at him. He glared at them and walked over to Chopper, who had switched back to Brain Point and had his medical bag open. Zoro sat down and set Felina in his lap. Chopper put pressure on the cuts until the blood clotted, and cleaned the cuts. He then put bandages on her hands.

Zoro growled quietly," Why the hell was she outside?"

"She slipped out of the room when we had our backs turned! It's not like we let her outside!" Nami whisper-yelled at him. Sanji entered the conversation,"Since when are you so good with kids, Marimo?" Zoro blushed, and looked away, Felina still held protectively to him. He mumbled something under his breath.

"What was that? We couldn't hear you. Did you have a kid or something, Marimo-chan?" Sanji teased. You could practically taste all the sarcasm. The crew snickered as Zoro snapped his head to face Sanji. He glared at him for a while, and then said, a little more clearly," I was stuck on an island for a few months awhile back. Some lady saved me from dying and to pay her back I had to babysit her kids while I recovered." Sanji's cigarette fell from his lips, and he burst out laughing. Everyone else joined him, and Zoro tried to cover Felina's ears, but alas, his efforts were in vain as Felina awoke anyway. She say up and looked at him in confusion,"Why's everybody laughing?" He gave an exasperated sigh and said," Don't worry about it." She looked down," I'm sorry for getting blood on your sword, swordsman-senpai."

"Sempai? Are you a swordsman?"

"Only when I need to be." She offered no further explanation as she lifted her gaze to examine the laughing jumble of people in front of her. She could pick out Sanji, Nami, Chopper, and the black haired kid laughing all over each other. She also saw a guy with a really long nose, and buff guy wearing a speedo with them. Last but not least, she spotted a woman with black hair sitting on a deck chair, watching the fray of people. She heard Zoro say," Don't worry about my sword, but if you kick me in the face again it won't be pretty."

"O-oh! I'm sorry! It just seemed like the best way to get your attention so I wouldn't drown. Thank you for saving me by the way."

"Don't worry about it." She shrugged and stood up. Or, she tried to stand up, but her legs gave out from under her, and she fell flat on her face in the middle of everyone. She pushed herself up," Owie!" Everyone stared at her, and she looked at them, confused,"What? Why are you staring at me?" Chopper stepped forward and looked into her eyes. He peeled back her eyelid and shone a light into her eye. Her eyes watered. She grabbed Chopper's hands and pulled them away from her face. She looked down to the ground and whispered," What are you staring at? What's wrong with me?"

All of a sudden Luffy let out a hearty laugh, breaking the mounting tension," Your eyes! They got darker when you hurt yourself!" She blinked. Twice. Thrice. Finally," What?" Franky explained," Your eyes turned a darker shade of blue when you were in pain. That's so cool Felina-aniki!"

Sanji kicked him in the head," How is her being in pain cool!" Franky started crying," Wah! I didn't know it sounded like that! I'm sorry!"

She smiled and said," It's okay! I know you didn't mean it like tha-yawn-that!" Her eyes suddenly drooped, and she fell backwards, into Zoro's lap, unconscious. Zoro blinked, and then smiled a gentle smile the crew had never seen on him before. He scooped Felina up and carried her up to med-bay. He put her in the bed, tuckered her in, and shut off the light. He walked out, gently closing the door. When he looked back to the crew, most of them were gaping at him again. Sanji lit another cigarette and said," That is gonna take a lot of getting used to."

Whelps, that's it for chapter three! I'M SOOOOOO SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING IN A FEW MONTHS! School has been running me over with a bulldozer, and my sister has been just about living at the computer. I have chapter four written and done, I just have to find some more time to update! Good thing I only have two more days of school! (Guess what? This end note was written two months ago!)