Sickness
After fixing up everyone's injuries Sanji let Fox nap in the kitchen while they left Little Garden, leaving a plate of select treats next to her while he prepared some nibbles for the men and some special delicacies for Nami and Vivi, who were both out on deck. He had seen the white-haired woman wear herself out healing the shitty moss-head's injuries, so the precious lady was more than deserving of a little rest. She woke up just as he had finished cooking the mundane stuff.
"Are these for me?" she asked, pointing at the large plate beside her.
"Of course, Fox-chan!" he exclaimed. "A treasure such as you deserves only the very best."
Fox put one in her mouth and Sanji's efforts were rewarded with a blissful moan. The white-haired woman actually closed her eyes as she savoured the treat. "Mmmm! How is even possible to make food taste this good?"
"Anything for you, Fox-chan!" Sanji cooed, fluttering around her in transports of delight. This was why he'd become a chef; so he could bring joy to beautiful women.
Fox slowly devoured the plate of goodies he'd made for her as he set about making petit fours for the two girls on deck, her happy moans and delighted humming as she savoured her food a perfect accompaniment to his efforts. Once she had finished she slumped back against the wall.
"I suggest you find somewhere more out of the way to nap in, Fox-chan," Sanji recommended, "as Luffy is going to notice I've been cooking soon and come in for his share."
"Good point," Fox agreed, levering herself to her feet and rolling her shoulders with a yawn. "I'll be in the forward cannon deck if anyone needs me." She stumbled out of the kitchen. Sanji hoped she wouldn't be needed; she was an absolute bear first thing in the morning and even worse if you woke her when she was napping. The chef would never admit it, but he was grateful that the shitty swordsman could calm her down when that happened. If looks could kill…
When Vivi exclaimed that Nami had collapsed Sanji knew what to do: wake Fox up. She was the only one other than Nami who knew anything about medical matters and she could heal, so she was their best bet. Unfortunately, waking Fox up was about as safe as shooting a cannonball at a Sea King as it produced similar results.
"Fox is asleep, marimo," he said aloud as Zoro picked up Nami from the deck. The swordsman paused for a moment, then handed the navigator to the chef.
"I'll wake her up, dumbass cook," Zoro grumbled, walking towards the forward cannon deck. Sanji did not respond to the insult, sensible of the sacrifice the mossball was making on their behalf. As he descended the stairs with Nami in his arms there was a grunt, a thud and a loud bang that indicated someone had just been thrown into a wall. Behind him, Vivi winced.
"What just happened?" she asked.
"Ah, Vivi-chan, Fox-chan dislikes being woken from her beauty sleep," Sanji explained. "She is also very energetic in expressing said dislike."
"Meaning she'll punt you into the furthest wall, pick up a knife and threaten to skin you alive," Usopp muttered as he helped Vivi set out the bed in the women's quarters for Nami to lie on.
"Or tie you in knots around the cannons," Luffy added cheerfully. Sanji hadn't witnessed that one. Perhaps it had been that time the captain had been late to lunch…
Laying Nami down on the bed, Sanji left the navigator in Vivi's care while he hurried back up to the kitchen to prepare some food. Food always made Fox less homicidal. He was however waylaid just outside the kitchen by a rumpled and very grumpy white-haired woman who looked half-an-inch away from a killing spree.
"What's wrong with Nami?" she demanded.
"We don't really know yet, Fox," he admitted carefully.
Fox growled. "Symptoms?"
"Very high fever?"
Fox growled again, stomped over to the side of the Merry and threw herself off. Sanji dashed to the edge of the ship just in time to see the woman vanish down a hatch in a wooden deck floating barely above sea level.
"That must be her ship," came Zoro's voice from behind him.
"Ship?" Sanji turned. "She has a-" he stopped, taking in the marimo's black eye and slight limp. The swordsman scowled.
"What's your problem, shitty cook?"
"Sanji!" Fox' sharp tones rose from the floating deck. "Take this, will you?"
The chef sneered at the swordsman then leant over the side of the Merry to accept the large wooden case Fox had hauled up through the hatch. Both men watched with interest as Fox closed the hatch and jumped back on board. The deck promptly sank beneath the waves once more.
"Your ship?" Zoro said.
"I did say it was around," Fox muttered, grabbing the case from Sanji's hand and stomping down the steps towards the women's quarters.
Down below it was clear that Nami was very sick indeed.
"Is Nami going to die?" Sanji whimpered to Vivi as Fox leant over the unconscious navigator, her examination punctuated with a steady stream of quiet profanity. While Vivi explained the health implications of deciding to sail the Grand Line Sanji kept his eyes on the only person on board with any medical experience whatsoever. He really hoped Fox could do something.
"Well?" he asked eventually.
Fox growled. "She's sick; a tropical fever of some kind rather than a climate-induced one. She probably caught it on Little Garden." The white-haired woman seemed frustrated. "I can mend broken bones, close bleeding wounds and regenerate organ damage but I can't even cure a common cold! This is completely outside my abilities."
"Oh, I'm sure she'll get better if she just eats some meat!" Luffy said brightly, prompting Sanji to explain the difference between nursing and actually curing someone.
"If you get me a few glasses and some fresh water I can grow some suitable herbs for a febrifuge," Fox offered as the chef finished his explanation, "but I'll also need some nutritious food, preferably something bland and quick to prepare, so I can get to work quickly. Nami will need broth to replace the fluids she's sweating out but nothing else. It's actually dangerous to eat too much when you're feverish, as it distracts the body from fighting off the illness." She opened her case. "I also have some reasonably fresh willow bark you can make into tea for her, which should help."
Given something to do that might actually be helpful, the chef leapt into action.
Sanji returned below with the willow bark tea, a bowl of sweetened porridge and a jug of water to the sound of an argument going on between Nami, Vivi and Luffy over a newspaper. Fox interrupted the discussion as soon as she spotted him.
"Nami, drink this," she ordered briskly, handing the navigator the teacup, "and put on something warm. Just because you feel warm right now doesn't mean you can't catch a chill. The tea won't taste remotely good but it'll bring your fever down."
Nami obediently threw the tea down her throat and made a face. "Bleh. That's the nastiest thing you've ever made me, Sanji." She put the cup down. "Thanks for worrying about me."
As she walked out of the cabin Sanji handed Fox the porridge and water jug. "Is she really alright?" he asked.
Fox snorted. "Not even close. Usopp, follow her out so there's someone to catch her when she keels over, please?" the sniper left the room. "Luffy, whatever Nami says she needs to get to a doctor as quickly as possible. Tropical fevers are very dangerous; it really could kill her."
"Really?" Luffy wasn't smiling anymore.
"Yes, especially since I don't have the training to determine which type of fever it is, so I can't administer a proper cure. I can pour fever reducers down her neck for a few days and make sure she drinks enough broth to avoid dehydration, but that'll just keep her alive a little longer. I can't fix her." Luffy nodded seriously and hurried up on deck.
"Can I help at all?" Sanji asked.
"Make sure everyone remembers to eat and sleep, make broth for me and Vivi to pour down Nami's throat and keep the noise down," Fox requested before starting her porridge. "Oh, and make sure Zoro never, ever gets left in charge of our heading," she added at angry voices drifted down from the deck. "He can get lost on a straight road so I hate to think where we'd end up sailing to."
Sanji hurried up on deck to help change their course as Zoro shouted down Nami's instructions, making sure not to step on Vivi who was still kneeling on the cabin floor, staring at the newspaper.
After their close call with the cyclone Nami collapsed again and was hurried back to bed. Sanji left Usopp in charge of navigating after they had determined which direction was south –Fox helped– all but forced Vivi and Luffy to get some sleep and left the swordsman to keep an eye on the ship's healer, who was growing plants from seed in the water jug with her Devil Fruit Powers. The subtle but steady drop in air temperature prompted the chef to cook warming winter meals to keep everyone's strength up in addition to the broth for Nami.
As he was descending the stairs with the food he heard Zoro and Fox talking and their words prompted him to pause just outside the cabin to listen.
"-there is an island we can reach in this direction?" the swordsman asked.
"If our speed and heading remain constant we should reach an island in about two days time," Fox replied. "Hopefully they'll still have a decent doctor living there."
"What's the island called?"
"Haven't the foggiest. I just remember it being cold: very, very cold with lots of snow."
The conversation ended there, so Sanji opened the door and walked in. "Here's your dinner, Fox-chan," he said with a suave smile, "and Nami's broth. Oh and I brought food for the moss-head, too."
"Ero-cook," the swordsman muttered, accepting the tray.
"What about your meal, Sanji?" Fox asked. "You should join us."
"I'll stay on deck with Usopp to help him stay awake," Sanji said. "Remember to sleep, Fox-chan."
"Uh-huh," Fox hummed, her eyes fixed on her work. There were three distinct baby plants sticking out of the jug now. Zoro rolled his eyes, scooped up some of her meal with a spoon and shoved it in her partly open mouth.
"Eat your dinner, snowball."
Fox frowned at the swordsman, but chewed and swallowed the food. "I'm not-" the swordsman smirked, having shoved another spoonful into her mouth while she was trying to talk. Fox put the plants aside, snatched both plate and spoon from his hands and set about eating properly.
Sanji left, pondering as he did so the peculiar relationship shared by the two individuals watching over the navigator and Fox' familiarity with the Grand Line. Surely Nami would have asked Fox for all the details she could get? And considering Fox had a ship of her own, surely she had charts as well?
Sanji is Sanji, and nowhere near as idiotic as he sometimes seems.