AN: Yay~! Thanks guys, I'm glad to know you liked it. I apologize again that it was so long but...Whatever. I'm trying to keep the chapters shorter now. Anyways, thank you again for reviewing and please let me know what you think about this chapter too. ^-^

I do not own One Piece...It makes me want to cry. *sniffle*

He woke up the next morning with the problem still on his mind. Distractedly he got ready for work and then went into his living room to look for his jacket and light a new cigar. It looked like she was still asleep…

Shuffling around quietly he debated whether to check on her or not as he made himself a cup of coffee. Leaning against his kitchen counter as the machine percolated he glanced down the hall at the door, noticing it was open a crack…

…Did she leave already?! No way, she had promised she wouldn't!!

Quietly he made his way down the hall, close enough to peek through the small space…the carpenter felt the sudden tension drain out of his shoulders. Her bright orange hair could be seen peaking out of the blanket as she slept. Backing away just as quietly he scolded himself inwardly. Where was the trust he had told himself to have last night?

When his coffee was done he leaned against the kitchen counter again, drinking it slowly while he pondered what to do…

The 'thump!' as her bedroom door hit the wall brought him out of his thoughts and he looked up to find Nami, disheveled from sleep, trying to put on one boot while hopping down the hall at the same time. Before he could even speak she asked, "What time is it?!" in a stressed tone.

"….It's about twenty to nine, why?"

"Argh!!"

Finally she sat on the couch, seeming to realize that sitting for a minute to put her shoes on would take less time than her frantic attempts.

'What the hell…?'

"Nami, what..?"

Not looking up she finished one boot and grabbed the other. "My hotel room, Dammit!! If you're not checked out by ten they charge you for an entire extra day!!!" The petite woman sounded outraged and the shipwright couldn't help but raise his eyebrows at her. "And this is important because…?"

"'Cause all my stuff is there!" She said this like it should have been obvious. "Like hell I'll let them charge me another day when I was gonna check out today anyway!!"

Having finally won the fight against her boots the thief jumped back up looking determined. "How do I get to the hotel Anselmo from here?" She started towards the door and he narrowed his eyes at her, moving in front of it and blocking her way.

"This isn't some lame excuse to run away is it?" He asked suspiciously.

She gave him an outraged look.

"Like I'd lie about something like that! When I leave I'll let you know before it happens!"

'So she IS planning on leaving...'

She tried to dodge past him and he blocked her again. "And what were you planning on doing, if you're not running?"

To his utmost amusement the petite woman stamped her foot at him. "Paulie!" She nearly shouted. "I have to get my stuff!!"

Casually he leaned against the door so she couldn't open it. "I'm asking you if you're going to try running away." Despite her obvious frustration and his flash of suspicion earlier the shipwright found himself relaxing, and he noticed his usual phobia of talking to beautiful women hadn't left him a stuttering mess. It appeared the strange calm that had fallen over him last night was still there.

Nami glared up at him…if looks to kill he'd be a pile of ash. "Where I go and what I do is nobody's business but my own!" She snapped. He watched as she took a deep breath, her fists clenched at her side. "I'm….grateful for what you did last night, but I…" She said with forced calm then paused, looking indecisive. Frowning slightly Paulie folded his arms across his chest, still leaning on the door. "I'll be fine…" She said finally, looking down at the floor. "Thank you for your concern but I don't need any help."

'Well at least I understand her enough to guess this would be her reaction…' The blond let out a sigh, it was entirely possible he was going to have to guard her all day. "You don't want help." He said firmly. "You need it though, and I told you last night, I'm not letting you leave this city."

Instantly she was glaring at him again…it appeared the beautiful woman was not very patient. Paulie couldn't help it…he smirked at her angry expression…Which, of course, only made her more furious.

"You…!" She didn't even know what to say. "You stubborn, arrogant, idiotic…!!!" She continued shouting abuse at him for several more minutes but when she began repeating herself he pushed himself off from the door, stepping closer until they were practically touching and she had to look up to glare at him.

"I told you that I'm not letting you leave…and I don't care if you're happy with me or not about it, it's for your safety, which you don't seem to care about." The last part was said with frustration. "You can't be caught and killed if you don't put yourself in danger in the first place."

She opened her mouth, probably to continue her verbal attack, but he continued before she could.

"I don't care Nami." He said firmly. "I'm not letting that happen, and if it means I can't let you out of my sight until you accept it then that's what's gonna happen."

Apparently she was speechless with anger again. "You are…!!" He saw her fists clench again and he wondered briefly if she was contemplating hitting him. "I do not need help!!" She shouted. "How the hell do you think I was able to collect 93 million beri, huh?! One night of bad luck and suddenly you're-" She cut herself off, eyes widening as a thought occurred to her. Then a smirk of her own settled on her face.

"So you're not gonna let me out of your sight, huh?" She said challengingly. "But I seem to recall you have a job to go to…And I doubt they'd let you drag me along. You-"

"I would really hate…" He cut in. "To get fired, but if that's what it takes…" He trailed off and shrugged, taking a gamble. He was betting she would give in because she didn't want to cause him trouble…and losing his livelihood would count as serious trouble.

Nami blinked. "You wouldn't!!?" She gasped.

Looked like she was taking him seriously then. "You know that for a fact, do you?" He met her eyes again and knew she was trying to see if he was kidding or exaggerating…

…Finally she lowered her eyes back to the floor. "Idiot…" He heard her mutter, but her voice wasn't furious like it had been, it was filled with confusion. "You're an absolute idiot…"

Paulie shrugged. She'd probably be calling him that for a while, but she'd get used to him eventually…he hoped. "Is that all settled then?" He asked calmly. "Weren't we going to go get your stuff?"

Ignoring her squawk of protest he turned back to the door, pulling the apartment keys out of his jacket pocket as he did. "Well? Let's go."

The blond hid a smile as he looked over his shoulder and saw her fuming, seeming to not know what to say, before she stomped after him angrily.

'He's insane.' The copper haired woman told herself. 'He's mentally challenged. Damaged in the head.' She had been silently insulting the carpenter for several minutes as she walked with him, hopefully to her hotel.

'I think it's pretty sweet actually…'

Nami huffed, not wanting to fight with herself again. 'Like I care what you think! Where the hell did you come from anyway?! And why don't you go back there and leave me the hell alone?!'

The voice sounded almost amused. 'No can do sweetheart. Once I'm out I'm here for good.' Nami glared down at the pavement as they walked. She didn't want to talk to Paulie right now and she didn't want to talk to the intruder voice in her head. 'Great. Now I'm going nuts on top of everything else!'

The voice sighed, this time sounding exasperated. 'I'm not an invader…' It told her in a patronizing tone. 'I'm just one of your own emotions…one you never noticed, because the emotion that I represent wasn't ever given a chance before.'

She looked around again, but when nothing looked familiar she went back to glaring at the sidewalk. She was not going to encourage random voices in her head to talk to her…especially when they talked back.

'Hmmm…' The voice suddenly snickered. 'You just don't like that I'm winning.'

'You are not!' The thief bit the inside of her cheek angrily. How did one go about ignoring a voice that could hear their every thought?!

'Aren't you the least bit curious about my purpose?'

'NO. I don't give a damn about you and whatever emotion you "represent." You can piss off!' She thought viciously.

'I suppose I can leave you alone…God knows you're not very good company when you're being too stubborn to listen…But let me just remind you…' The voice paused and the tone seemed somehow gentler. 'That man might be pissing you off right now, but he's doing it because he cares. Who, besides Nojiko, would even notice if you died? No one. Don't hate Paulie for caring about you.'

Despite her best efforts the thief could feel a slight blush rise into her cheeks. 'He doesn't…He's just…' Her inner denial trailed off. She didn't know. There was just no reason for a stranger to suddenly act this way!! Going so far as deliberately losing his job?! Her anger rose up again, replacing her confusion.

'This is blackmail! I should just let him lose his job! It would serve him right!' But it wouldn't…He didn't deserve any of the bad luck that followed her to fall on him. She'd known him less than a day and already he might be in trouble…

Nami's eyes widened. Of course she knew in her rational mind that it had been less than a day…hell it wasn't even 12 hours ago that she had met him! So why…'Why is he so…familiar?'

Blackmailing her he might be, but the entire confrontation in his kitchen should have been filled with confusing doubt and hostility. They were still strangers to each other! The scene that had happened back there belonged to people who knew each other and were close…

Nami pushed aside her anger, momentarily, trying to figure it out.

Pretty much since she had met him she had been treating him, on some level, like he was her best friend. And while she didn't know how he usually acted with strangers she was pretty sure the situation was the same for him…

And even when she reminded herself they were strangers, as she had just been doing, it didn't change the feeling of familiarity. Her anger at him didn't erase the camaraderie. She still trusted him in spite of the completely unprecedented things he did, like holding her hostage because he didn't want her to get hurt.

That thought should have brought her anger all back, but it didn't. In fact, Nami found that a small smile had wormed its way onto her face. He might not have tied her up or thrown her in jail but he certainly was holding her hostage…and part of her was okay with that.

This was big trouble.

All the reasons she had given herself why she shouldn't involve him were becoming harder and harder to hold onto. It had just been such a long time since she had…

"Nami?"

"Eh?" The copper haired woman looked up, realizing they were in front of the hotel Anselmo. "Oh, right…" She needed to stop being so distracted!!

She walked towards the building, this time the carpenter following her.

AN: If anyone can guess where the name 'Anselmo' comes form...Uh...I'm make you cookies? It's a lot harder to promise something over the internet I've noticed. If you can guess than...I'll write any one shot of your choice...which isn't that great a prize, but it's all I've got in virtual space. :P