Returning

Neo sighed as she stared out at the horizon. It was warm day. The boys were fishing while she was sitting on the deck with Bepo. Bepo, laying on his back right beside her, was napping. Something Neo wanted to do herself. But every time she closed her eyes she saw him, she had nightmares about him.

"Aye, aye, Captain! Right…away," Bepo called out in his sleep. Neo looked down at him. She always found it cute how loyal, even in his sleep, Bepo was to Law.

She reached over and began to pet his forehead. The movement on his soft fur caused her to drift into sleep. Into another painful nightmare about Law never coming home. She jerked awake at the nightmare with a startling cry. "Neo, calm down. It was just another dream."

It took her a few seconds for her brain to register reality again. When she did she found Penguin kneeling beside her with his hands on her shoulders. "Penguin…"

"You really should go lay down an-"

"No," Neo cut him off with the wave of her hand.

"Neo," Penguin said in a parental tone. "The captain would not like you trying to force yourself to stay awake like this. You are completely incoherent. If we have to go into battle you'll end up getting hurt. He won't like that."

She dropped her eyes down. "I know."

"Come on," Penguin coaxed as he took her hands and pulled her up off the deck floor. "You are going to bed, right now. In your own bed, not the couch."

"I can't," Neo protested by trying to pull away from him. Being as worn out as she was it was completely futile and he wasn't going to have any of that anyway. Penguin easily pulled her into the sub, with the rest of the crew casting concerned glances at them.

She didn't protest anymore as he guided her throughout the sub and into the medical bay. "What are we doing here?"

"For this," Penguin said as he filter through the medicine draws. He pulled out a familiar brown bottle that Law has used before on her.

"Law told you to give me that if something like this happened, didn't he?" Neo asked with tears coming to her eyes.

"He gave me a whole list on what to do in several situations," Penguin chuckled. "I'm surprised he didn't write an entire novel on how to care for you in his absents."

She could easily see Law doing just that. Her tears shifted into sobs as she thought about the missing man. She rubbed her hands in her eyes to try and stop the tears. It was useless. Penguin gave her a sympathetic look then poured the liquid into a spoon and placed it near her lips. She didn't protest at all. She was too tired to. He took her hand once again, after putting everything back in its places, and led her out of the room.

He kept her hand in his as he guided her to where she should be sleeping. The closer they got to the room the more her hand trembled in his. He gave her a comforting squeeze. When they got to the room he guided her to the bed, pulling the covers back for her. "There you go. Lay down now."

She did. She laid down on her stomach and hugged Law's pillow tightly. She buried her tear streaked face in it and took in his lingering scent. Penguin pulled the covers over her and sat on the edge of the bed. "That's a good girl. You rest now. I'll come check on you later."

He rubbed her back until the medicine had forced her to sleep. He made sure the blanket was snug around her before leaving the room, leaving the door cracked open.

…

Neo hummed when her body tensed at the pressure his fingers and palm gave her as he worked her back. Her body continued to tense at his touch as she twisted until she was laying on her back. His hand never moved from her as she changed her position. When she settled on her back he pushed her shirt tail up. A cool sweep of air brushed over her stomach followed by a pair of soft lips.

She moaned then opened her eyes slightly when he kissed her stomach again.

She gasped when the familiarity of his touch finally filtered into her wakening senses. She shot up and came face to face with him. She blinked several times then rubbed the remaining sleep out of her eyes. When she looked at him again he smiled softly at her. "Hey, princess."

"La-" Neo's voice cut of when she moved her hand to reach for him. Her hand brushed across the bandage he was wearing on his right arm. He didn't stop her as she unwrapped his bandaged arm. Tears pooled into her eyes. As she touched his arm with one hand, her other hand raised to cover her mouth. "Y-You got hurt."

He gave her hip a squeeze. "I'm all right."

Neo summoned her solar crystal as she bit her lip. The glow radiated from the crystal, helping Law's body heal and restoring some of his energy. "Did…Did you get shot?"

"Why would you ask something like that?" Law questioned softly, also slightly confused.

Neo took a deep breath before locking eyes with him. "Law, I need you to be honest with me. Did you?"

"I did," He sighed as he removed his hand from her side. He lifted off his shirt and let it dropped to the floor. Neo stared teary eyed at his wounded torso. She leaned forward and pressed her forehead to his chest. He stroked her hair as she sob quietly. "It's okay, love. I'm okay."

"I had a nightmare. You got shot. I knew you were hurt. I was so scared that you weren't ever going to come home," Neo said softly through her tears as she wrapped her arms around him.

Law kissed into her hair and held her tighter to him. He was a little surprised that she had felt his pain from such distance. He felt guilty. He didn't mean to hurt her like that. "I'm so sorry, my love. I didn't mean to put you through that. I didn't mean to scare you. I'm sorry I hurt you. I'm here now. It's over. Doflamingo is finished. Now…"

Law gently lifted her up from his chest. He brushed away her tears before placing multiple kisses on her cheeks, forehead, lips and neck. He spoke to her between each kiss. "…I'm going to make you happy again. I will bring your smile back."

Neo let her eyelid drift closed as he continued to kiss her. When he kissed her lips again she kissed back, locking their lips together in a much need kiss. She snaked her arms around his neck as his hands wondered over her body. She could tell from the way he was touching her that he was refreshing his memory of how she felt, the curves of her body, the softness of her skin, the way she always tensed when he touched her in the right places. His touching also told her that he had missed her as much as she missed him.

He tugged on the shirt she was wear. She broke their kiss so he could lift it off of her. Once it was out of the way, she locked their lips back together. Holding the kiss, she leaned back, pulling him with her to lay down on the bed.

Knowing she needed air, he trailed kisses away from her lips to the soft spot on her neck, making her hum and arch her back as he kissed and touched her. She panted softly as she slid her arms from his neck, running her hands over his bare chest and stomach, then gently raking her fingernails over his back.

…

"Think they've made up yet?" A crew mate asked.

"I'm sure they did more than that," Another one chuckled. Penguin shot them a warning glance and they fell into silence for a while.

"When do you think we should head back?" A third one questioned.

"Some time tomorrow. Let them have their space for now. They really need it," Penguin said while looking up at the stars. "Besides, it's such a nice night tonight. It would be a shame to waste it hiding inside."

"Yeah," Shachi nodded. "How about a couple rounds of cards?"

"I'm in."

"Same."

"Deal me in."

Penguin looked over at the sub. He stared at it with a light smile. He knew with their captain back now it wouldn't be much longer until they saw her smile again. He couldn't wait to see it and hear her bell filled laughter. His thoughts were broken when Shachi called him. "Hey, Pen, you in?"

"Yeah, I'm in."

…

Neo sighed contently as she watched her love sleeping soundly. She had her right hand on his chest and her chin rested upon that. Her left hand was in his hair, the corner of his lips twitching into a smile whenever she fiddled with it. Her body rose and fell with his chest each time he took a breath. His lips were slightly parted as he sucked air in and blew it out.

She tilted her head, laying her cheek on her hand. Her eyes landing on the scar he now wore on his right arm. She pull her left hand from his hair and began to trace the injury with her finger tips. It was obvious they had a tough time taking down Doflamingo. She knew that from her nightmare.

She could only guess at how he had acquired each and every one of these new scars that decorated his body. She didn't really want to know. If he told her, fine. If he didn't tell her, fine. It was bad enough being separated from him. She really didn't care if he ever told her what happened with the fight or not. He was finally back by her side, they were safe and that's all she cared about.

A deep inhale and exhale signaled to her that he was waking up. She placed her chin back on her hand and watched as he stirred. When he finally was awake he placed a hand behind his head and looked at her. She greeted him with a smile. He reached out with his other hand and brushed his finger tips over her bangs. "There's my princess's sweet smile…What time is it?"

"A little passed one. I was starting to wondering if you were ever going to wake up," She teased with a raspy voice. When he frown at her she tilted her head. "What is it?"

"You're hoarse," She blinked a few times. She hadn't even register her voice until he mentioned it. "I was too rough on you last night. I apologize."

"Law," She reached up and tugged a piece of his hair just hard enough to make him wince. "Don't. We both deserved last night after being apart for so long."

Law smiled then lift his head to kiss her forehead. He cut the kiss short and frowned. "You have a fever."

"I don't feel sick."

Law sighed as he pulled the covers up around her bare shoulders. He then wrapped his arms around her, holding her tight. "We should have waited. I should have given you an exam before w-"

"Law!" Neo tugged again on his hair. "Stop with the guilt trips. If I am getting sick last night had nothing to do with it. Okay?"

"Okay," He stroked her hair and kissed her forehead again, mostly to register her temperature but also to let her know he won't hold onto his guilt. Neo laid her head back down on his chest as he danced his fingers in her hair. They remained in that position until noises from the crew filtered in through the walls, alerting the couple to their return. "I guess they finally decided to come back."

"Well, considering last night, wouldn't you say it was best they decided to stay away?" Neo looked back up at him with an eyebrow raised. Law couldn't stop his sheepish grin and a blush as it spread across his face. She then finally rolled off of him and stretched out her stiff body as he got up to dress.

He paused after pulling his jeans on. He turned and crawled back onto the bed. She was sitting up until his nose touched hers. She let out a surprised squeak as she fell back onto the bed, clenching the covers to her chest. Law planted a hand on each side of her and looked down at her with a stern expression. "You, my sick little princess, are staying right here."

"Oh?" She placed her hands on his bare chest then dragged them over his skin before snaked them over his shoulders and locking her fingers behind his neck. "Is that an order from my captain? Or from my husband?"

Law chuckled. "Your captain."

"Oh," She pooched out her lips, looking as cute as she possibly could. "And here I thought my husband decided he was going to stay in bed with me all day."

The two chuckled. When Neo's smile faded away Law gave her a questioning look. She sighed and fiddled with his hair. "You will stay with me though, right?"

"Of course I will. I will stay right by your side for as long as you need me to," Law brushed his hands over her arms. He leaned down and nipped at her neck making her giggle. "I just have to talk to the crew. I'll be back soon and bring you some soup. I want you better as soon as possible. No more worrying now."

"Aye, aye, Captain," Neo teased. He chuckled again before placing a kiss on her warm forehead then pushed off the bed to continue getting dressed to leave the room. She stretch again, trying to release some more of her stiffness. She rolled onto her side and snuggled into the covers. A little while after Law had left she finally pulled herself from the bed so she could get dressed herself.

While she moved around the room she found that Law was indeed right. She was getting sick. She shivered at the sick chill that spread through her and grumbled at the lousy timing. She pulled one of Law's hoodies over her already clothed body then laid back down and easily fell asleep. She remained there until Law had returned with a tray of soup, orange juice, medicine and a newspaper tucked under his arm. He gently woke her. "Think you can eat?"

"Uh huh," She replied goggly as she sat up. He placed extra pillows behind her, which she gladly accepted. When she was situated, he place the tray of soup and medicine, on her lap and sat down beside her.

As she sipped her soup, she occasionally glancing over at the paper he was reading. Once she was done with her light meal she placed the tray on the bed beside her. She sat there quietly for a while before tapping Law's elbow. He dutifully obeyed her silent request and held up his arm. As she leaned into him, her hand snaked up his shirt, she clenched ahold of it.

He knew this move very well. She only did it when she was feeling scared or venerable and really needed his full attention. He laid the paper down and wrapped her in a secure embrace. She trembled and as she spoke her voice cracked. "Don't ever leave me like that again. I don't think I could…"

"Shh," Law mumbled into her hair as they clung to each other. "I'm here, love. I won't do it again. I promise."

…

Author's Notes: Well…*Ahem*….Ah Law's finally home. Neo will be happy again.

Mei: Hi! Welcome back! :) Hope your exams went well. They can be a pain.

sarge1130: Hi and Welcome back too! :) And you're right. It won't follow the Zou arc. I don't know much about that yet. :/ I'm working on getting the manga. Though it might be fun to one day do a rewrite and follow along with the actual One Piece story line. But for now I shall continued with this one. ^.^ We have a long way to go.