Vigil

Characters: Law, Shachi, Penguin, Jean Bart. Rating: T. Warnings: Blood, major character injury

Law's hands were trembling. He stared down at them numbly, unable to see anything past the blood that painted them. He'd kept it together for the operation, somehow, but the moment he allowed his Room to fall, reluctantly aware that there was nothing more he could do, the shaking began. Rationally, he knew it should be okay. His patient was strong, and with his abilities he could create medical miracles. The blown-out stomach was repaired, the flesh stitched back together leaving nothing more than the neat row of thread to betray its presence beneath the bandages.

It had been the worst operation of his life. The challenge presented by Mugiwara-ya's destroyed chest two years ago had been the most difficult, but then he'd had no emotional investment. He'd seen a potential rival, an insane captain willing to punch out a tenryubito, and been intrigued. After that, it had merely been his pride as a doctor at stake as he'd patched up the younger captain. Just his pride.

Shachi's ever-present hat and customary shades were absent. He looked smaller without them, his vibrantly ginger hair splayed out on the pillow as if he were just sleeping. It would have been easier to believe without the steady beep beep of equipment in the corner recording his heartrate, or the various tubes running from his too-still form in every direction. The breathing mask, fogging up evenly yet slowly with every breath, was just the icing on the metaphorical cake.

The other side of the bed, slumped in a chair and almost as wrongly still, was Penguin. His hat had long since been lost, and his hair was mussed from earlier frantic hands, needing something to occupy themselves with as he waited for his captain's instructions. Those hands were now clutching one of Shachi's tightly, holding it against his chest as if he hoped Shachi would feel his heartbeat and wake.

One of them needed to be in the control room. Bepo, bless the poor mink, had taken over control of the ship to get them somewhere safe, but he was no leader. Law was the captain, and in his absence, it was always Penguin or Shachi to take the reins. But Shachi was unconscious, half-dead from a blow meant for his nakama, and Penguin was numb to the world, even more so than Law himself. The two had grown up together. Law had been their nakama for thirteen years, but the two had been inseparable even back then.

Law couldn't ask Penguin to leave, which left the task of running the ship to him, as it should. He was the captain, after all. Except, he couldn't tear himself from Shachi's side, either. While clutching his hand like a lifeline was not in Law's character, it didn't stop him from wanting, needing, to wait by his side until he woke.

A large hand rested on his shoulder, jerking him out of his thoughts to look up at his largest crewmember, and most recent recruit, two years ago thought it had been.

"You're needed here," Jean Bart rumbled quietly, making an effort to avoid disturbing the stillness in the air. From the way Penguin didn't even stir, it was successful enough. Law felt compelled to protest; as the captain, he should be leading his crew. Their morale was down, and he couldn't leave them to flounder. "You're the doctor," the larger man reminded him, the large hand guiding him into a nearby chair. Law barely noticed. "We're okay."

He said nothing else, leaving in silence. Law didn't move, unsure what to do. His sluggish mind failed to comprehend Jean Bart's meaning, until he felt the engines of the Polar Tang once again roar to life, the room slowly heating as the submarine began its smooth descent beneath the waves.

Eventually, he gathered the presence of mind to remove the latex gloves, carelessly bundling them up and discarding them in a nearby bin. The blood now gone, leaving Law instead staring at tattooed fingers before his attention flicked to his nakama, he began his silent vigil in earnest.

He trusted Jean Bart and Bepo to make the right decisions.

Thanks for reading!

Tsari