Pregnant

Neo hummed at Law's fingers trailing through her long blue, slightly damp hair. Her breath fanned over his bare chest when she sighed. She tilted her eyes to him, resting her chin on his chest and smiled while he continued to dance his fingers through her hair with a relaxed smile of his own. She said, "You're right. That was very relaxing."

"I'm glad you approve," Law said. He put his free hand behind his head and just watched her. He ran his fingertips from the tip of her roots to the very ends of her strands, noticing for the first time that her hair had grown longer over the past months that they've been away from the sub. It now fell to her hips and was fanned out over her back and draped over both their sides. He wondered when that had happened. He didn't feel surprised at the length, he just felt a bit surprised that he didn't notice it before. He was usually more attentive to her than that.

Pulling his fingers from her hair, he brushed them across her arm. He noticed that both of their bodies were completely relaxed and humming with soft warmth from their recent relation and the close contact of their skin. Their skin also shared a light sheen of sweat that made her skin feel silky smooth while he trailed his fingers across it. His fingers brushed across a small bulge of her beast that was peaking out from her hair. He gave her a sheepish grin and continued to stroke her softly, earning a pulse-increasing groan from her.

His eyes drifted away from hers when he heard a distant scream from two of the Straw Hats followed by another scream and a muffled string of curses that could have been from anyone on the ship. A frown caused the corner of his lips to dip down. Despite the Straw Hats saying they would stay away, there was still a chance that they could come busting into this room for any given reason. Jealousy and heat bubbled up in his chest at the mere thought of another man catching a glimpse of his naked lover. Whether intentional or not, he knew that he would kill them without a second thought if they did see her.

Neo giggled when Law returned his hand to her hair and clutch it in that possessive way that he has done so many times before, even when they weren't in a romantic relationship. It was that possessive touch that meant she belonged to him and only him. She reached up and tenderly stroked his cheek in an attempt to bring his attention back to her, but his eyes remained glaring harshly at the door. Her heart skittered inside of her chest at his actions. She knew he felt it too with how close they were laying and with their bond. But he was far too distracted of what might possibly happen to even notice. With another giggle, she said, "You are so insanely cute when you get jealous and possessive of me. I really love it."

Another moment passed before Law finally returned his attention to her. He said, "We should get up now."

Neo frowned. "What for? What about our nap?"

"We're still taking it. I just want us both clothed while we do," Law said. He lifted a strand of her hair to his lips and kissed it. He let himself breath in her familiar sweet, intoxicating scent. He lowered her hair from his nose and just stared at it. His brain working on the differences of becoming intoxicating from her scent and from whatever it was that happened before, twice. He lowered her hair from his face even more and looked at her. "How were you able to control me like you did?"

"Control you?" Neo tilted her head. "What are you talking about? Do you mean when I work your hair? Or when you breathe in my scent?"

"No, it wasn't either of those," Law replied. He studied her eyes. Her sweet, innocent eyes that clearly had no clue what he was talking about.

"Then what is it?" Neo asked. She kneaded her eyebrows when she noticed Law's thoughts were distant from her. "Is something wrong? You're not really blocking your thoughts from me, but your not really sharing them either."

"Sorry, love. There's nothing wrong," Law replied. He leaned up and kissed her forehead before sitting up with her. "Come on. Let's get our clothes back on then sleep. I think we could both use some rest."

"Law?" Neo asked. Her electric orbs filling with concern as she looked at him. "Are you sure nothing's wrong?"

"I'm sure. Everything's just fine," Law said. He pecked her lips then guided her off the bed. He picked up her clothes and handed them to her, his eyes catching a glimpse of the slightly torn leaves and discarded protection. "We really need to burn those too."

Neo nodded. Summoning her crystals, she used her winds to dry their bodies off before they pulled on their clothes. She then carefully rolled up the leaves, keeping the tied up protection inside of it, and flaring up a fire crystal to completely incinerate the items. She sucked the smoke back into her fire crystal then used a wind crystal to disperse any smoke that might be still in the room. She sniffed the air. "Think it's gone?"

"Yes. You did great." Law pecked her temple before grabbing the covers. He slid in first then held up the covers for her. "Come on."

Neo crawled onto the bed. Instead of lying down, she knelt next to Law and pressed her hands onto his shoulders and pushed him down to the bed with a mischievous smile. She reclaimed her spot on his chest. "I'm not done with laying on your body like this."

"You know you can lay on me however you want," Law said.

"I know. I just love hearing you say I can," Neo replied.

Law chuckled. He kissed her forehead. "Sleep now, my love."

"Okay." Neo laid her cheek against his chest and shifted until she was comfortable. "But you know I'm not going to be able to sleep."

Law waited patently while she adjusted herself until she was comfortable enough. Once she settled down, he placed his right hand on her back and started rubbing soothing strokes over her. He chuckled when he felt her body relax completely with just a half a minute of rubbing. "Sure you weren't going to fall asleep easily."

Law kept his right hand on her back while placing his left hand behind his head. He closed his eyes in an attempt to sleep himself. But sleep wouldn't come so easily for him as it did for her. His mind refused to stop thinking about how she, somehow, was able to control him like she did. He reopened his eyes and stared up at the ceiling. His fingers clenched and unclenched the fabric of her shirt.

He continued with that repetitive motion until his hand started to cramp up. He then realized he had been doing that for twenty minutes. Not wanting to wake her up for his lack of concentration, he forced himself to release her shirt. He wrapped his arms around her, supporting her back and head, before carefully rolled them over onto their sides, making sure Neo was on her right side. He propped up on his elbow and let her snuggle back into his chest. Resting his head in his left hand, he started fiddling with her hair in his other hand. His mind started going over every strange event that's been happening with his love. I know I didn't imagine what she did. Is it possible that this is a new type of magic she's developing? Maybe a new skill? Or is her magic still messing up? Is that why she got sick today? It couldn't have been because she was playing with the Straw Hats. She's played and trained a lot harder with the crew than that. And on hotter days than today. It was also strange that she threw up like she did. She has no food allergies and never gets sea sick. And there's also that strange food craving she had yesterday. She's never eaten peppers, pizza sauce, and honey together like that.

Law pinched the bridge of his nose and chuckled. "Unexplained sickness, strange food cravings…it sounds like a human pregnant-"

Law shot his eyes back down to Neo. His eyes dropping right to her stomach. With an unsure, shaky hand, he reached out and stroked her stomach. "It…it can't be. No. It's not possible. I've been careful to monitor her cycle and each time we've used protection. It's just a coincident, a false alarm."

Law looked down to the foot of the bed at his discarded sword. Doing an x-ray with his powers was tempting, but he quickly shot it down. He turned his attention back to her and tucked her hair behind her ear. He brushed his thumb over her cheek, earning a smile from her. He smiled back then slipped his arms back around her and laid down. He pressed his lips to her forehead before nuzzling his nose in her hair. Drifting off, he whispered, "You're not pregnant. It's not possible. I don't know what's actually going on with you, but I'm sure you are not pregnant. This just has to be an elemental sickness. Once we're back on the sub, I'll figure out what's going on with you. Just wait a little longer, my love. I'll get you back home. I promise."

"You really should relax, Chopper," Nami said. Her eyes, plus Robin and Sanji were locked onto the small animal. Their small group was gathered around the table and chairs while the rest of their crew had disappeared into various parts of the Sunny to find something to entertain themselves with. The only other ones on the deck were Kin'emon and Momonosuke. Those two were still sitting in the same exact spot they sat down at when they finished breakfast. Both had fallen asleep. Momonosuke was laying on his dad's leg while Kin'emon was sitting up with his arms crossed over his chest.

Chopper had his chin propped up on the table and his face held a very depressed and worried expression. He sighed then said, "I'm sorry. I just can't help but worry about her. She just got sick all of a sudden for no reason at all."

"Well, you all were playing pretty hard today," Nami offered. "And it is pretty warm today too."

"But she's nature." Chopper turned his eyes to the orange haired woman. "The weather doesn't bother her like that."

Sanji pinched his cigarette and exchanged a glance with Robin.

Nami thought for a minute before speaking again. "Well, she's been having trouble with her crystals. Maybe this is just part of that. It might just be an elemental type flu or something."

"That's something else that I'm worried about. I don't know anything about elemental medicine or crystals or biology," Chopper said. He grabbed his hat and pulled it lower over his eyes. Tears pooled in his worried orbs. "I can't do anything to help her. I know that Law has studied on this subject when they were back on her home island, but he seems a bit confused over everything. I get the feeling that whatever's happening to her, he doesn't know anything about it. I'm just so worried."

Sanji sighed. He pulled his cigarette from his mouth. He breathed out the smoke before saying, "There's no need for you to worry about her like that. She's fine."

"But Sanji," Chopper said. He turned his eyes to the cook.

"Sanji?" Robin asked.

"We might as well tell them," Sanji said. He looked at the raven haired woman. "If we don't, Chopper's going to worry himself sick."

"I suppose you are correct. Out of us all, he is the most attached to her," Robin replied. "And it would be good to have our own doctor aware of her condition."

"Condition?" Nami asked. "What are you two talking about?"

Sanji looked behind him. He scanned his eyes over the deck. No one else had come back out onto the deck yet. He leaned over the table to Nami and Chopper. As he whispered to them, a strong gust of wind blew across the sea. The salty flavor of the wind vanished as each word Sanji spoke penetrated their ears and their brains.

Nami and Chopper's eyes widened in shock with each word Sanji spoke. Once the blonde haired man stopped speaking, their voices bubbled to the surface with a sharp, "What?!"

"Are you serious?!" Chopper asked.

"Yeah." Sanji nodded.

"Why haven't you said anything to them?!" Nami asked. She leaped up to her feet and slammed her hands on the table, rattling the ice in their glasses.

"We're not sure that's the best idea right now," Robin said. She closed her eyes and crossed her arms.

"But we can't just keep this from them. They have a right to know," Nami said.

"Are you going to tell them?" Sanji asked. Nami opened her mouth to reply, but shut it instead. "Law is far too concerned about his plans. And Neo…well, you've all seen how she is. This could really shock her. We don't want to put either of them under a stressor like this before heading into Dressrosa."

"Does anyone else know?" Chopper asked.

"No. Robin and I are the only ones who have figured it out so far," Sanji said. "We really weren't planning on telling anyone else, but since you were so worried, I figured letting you know would be fine."

"I see." Chopper nodded. "I think Luffy and Zoro should know. They're two of our strongest fighters. They'll be able to help."

"We're not telling Luffy," Sanji said, flatly. "He'd go and blab to every single person on the ship. Probably even the whole entire planet."

"Well, that's true," Nami said with a nod. She sat back down and crossed her arms over the table. "It would be best if we didn't tell him."

"Tell who what?" Luffy asked.

"What?!" Nami screamed. She punched Luffy in the face. "Don't sneak up on us like that!"

Luffy's body shot across the deck. He slammed into the wall, startling the sleeping samurai and his son. He picked himself up from the dust and rubbed his sore cheek. "Hey! What the heck was that for?!"

"We've told you a million times, Luffy! Don't sneak up on us like that!" Nami growled. "It's rude! We're having a private conversation here!"

"Hey! I'm the captain! I should be in on these conversations then!" Luffy protested.

"No, you should not!" Nami marched over to Luffy. She grabbed his ear and started griping at him about butting in to conversations that were none of his business.

"Sanji, are you sure about not telling them?" Chopper asked. "I mean, I can understand not telling Neo, but surely it would be best if Law knew."

"Perhaps," Sanji replied. "But, for now, we're not telling him. He doesn't even notice. At least, he doesn't notice yet. If he starts noticing, I'll talk to him about it. Will you be all right with that?"

"Yeah. I guess that will be fine, at least for the moment." Chopper rested his chin back down on the table. He stared at his refection in his glass. "I still can't believe it."

Law shifted the box he was holding in his arms. He was walking down the halls of the sub with Bepo beside him. Both smiled when they heard Neo's sweet chiming laughter ring out from a room they passed. She flew out of that room and kissed them before flying down the halls of the sub and disappearing around a corner.

"She so cute," Bepo said with a chuckle.

Law smiled and entered into his and Neo's room. He walked over to some other boxes full of books that had already been brought in here. He sat the box he was holding down and opened it.

"Hey, Captain?" Bepo asked.

"What is it?" Law asked.

"Are you and Neo planning on having kids?" Bepo asked.

"No. Why would you even ask that?" Law narrowed his eyebrows at the bear.

"You have a whole box here on elemental pregnancies, health care, child care and such." Bepo waved the book in his paw. He was squatting down over the open box before him.

Law shoved the book he was holding into the bookshelf then walked over to his navigator. He took the book from the bear and opened it. The pages landed on a list of pregnancy symptoms elemental women went through. Being the doctor he was, he couldn't stop his eyes from running over the list.

Early pregnancy signs:

Desire for more affection from husband, family and friends.

Wind Elementals or royals will have the addiction of flying upside down: sometimes for hours and to the point of making themselves sick due to all the blood rushing to their head.

Spontaneous outbursts of emotions: Some of which can be extreme and last for hours.

Low-grade fever.

Shivers.

Playfulness.

Fatigue to the point of being unable to use crystals properly.

Sleeplessness. Sometimes for days, if this occurs seek help from a healer for some sleeping powder to relax the expectant mother.

Law closed the book with an annoyed huff. "That healer woman. I told her we were not having kids. She must have snuck them in here without my knowledge."

"Law?" Neo asked.

Law looked up from his desk. His gaze crossed the room and his face contorted with confusion. Over in the corner, directly across from their bed, was a crib. Walking away from the crib, was Neo. She was wearing one of her white dresses she brought back from Luminous. He rubbed his eyes and took another look. No. It wasn't one of her Luminous dresses. This one was different. This one was a bit snug around her chest and flowed loosely over her stomach. He narrowed his eyes in on her stomach. The fabric around her stomach was rounded. It didn't flow straight down like it normally did. In fact, this looked very similar to how his mother looked when she was pregnant with his sister. His eyes shot to Neo's. "Neo…are you…you can't be…we weren't trying to…"

"Law," Neo called softly. She walked over to him and took his hands in hers. "It's going to be okay."

"But this can't be happening. How could it happen? I was being so careful with you," Law said.

"We're not perfect, Law," Neo said. "But you have to realize that this is happening."

"It can't be," Law said.

"It is. You know it is, my love. All the clues are there. You've known for a while now. You've just been far too distracted with your plans." Neo took his hands and placed them on her rounded stomach. "And you're in denial. It's time you faced the truth. I'm going to need you more than ever now."

"I don't know if I can do this," Law whispered. He stroked his thumb over stomach.

"I know, Law." Neo reached up and brushed the back of her fingers over his cheek. "I'm scared too. But we still have each other. We have the crew, we have Godfather, and we have the Straw Hats."

Tears shimmered in his eyes. He said, "I'm not ready for this."

"I know." Neo nodded. "But it's already here."

Law blinked. The room around him changed again. Neo was sitting in a rocking chair beside the baby crib. She had a blanket over her lap and was sleeping. Soft cries floated into the room from the crib. His heart pounded wildly in his chest as his feet somehow managed to carry him over closer to the soft cries. He glanced down into the crib. His chest flooded with warmth at the beautiful, small eyes that were staring back at him. The small eyes that looked exactly like…

Law opened his eyes. Light panic settled into his mind when he noticed they were in an unfamiliar room. Before he could sound any alarms, his brain cleared and he remembered they were on the Straw Hats' ship and in the women's bedroom. He settled back down in the bed and pulled Neo closer to him. He buried his nose in her hair and breathed in her scent. He fiddled with her hair while his eyelids fell closed.

The image of Neo pressing his hands to her rounded stomach caused him to reopen his eyes. He pulled away from her a bit. His eyes locked onto her stomach. It was still flat as it always was. Just to be sure, Law ran his fingertips over her stomach, once over the fabric then once under the fabric. He retracted his hand from her shirt and pitched the bridge of his nose. "Dream. It was just a stupid dream. She's not pregnant. I've been careful with her. She's not pregnant. She's not."

Law sighed. He laid his head back down on the pillow and snuggled back into her. He closed his eyes and tried to let himself drift back off to sleep. But he couldn't. His dream wouldn't leave his mind. He then realized that part of his dream actually happened. Part of it wasn't a dream at all. He scratched his head in confusion. "Why in the world would I dream about that? That healer sent those books with us. I read part of one of them, but what did it say?"

Law closed his eyes and simultaneously tried to remember what the book had said and fall asleep.

"Pregnant women are often tired."

Iron. Blood. Sounds of a battle. These scents and sounds swirled around in the darkness. Neo stood alone in the darkness. Or she thought it was darkness. It was dark, but she could still see. There was just nothing for her to see. A bunch of nothing surrounded her, but for the smell of blood and the sounds of battle. She shifted on her feet and felt something under her skin. She looked down to find there was something else in the darkness. There was a stone pathway beneath her feet. "Huh? Where am I? What's going on?"

A light fell down upon her. She looked up, but couldn't find where the light was coming from. The light stretched out ahead of her, lighting up more of the stone path. Without thinking, she followed the light. With each step she took the stronger to smell of blood and sounds of battle became stronger. Her eyes dropped to the path when she spotted a small drop of blood on it. She continued walking and noticed another drop of blood about four feet from the last one. Six more feet was two drops of blood.

"What's going on?" Neo asked. Her right arm began to ache. She rubbed her hand on it and walked passed the two drops of blood. Two more drops of blood passed by. Then three drops of blood, then six drops, and then the blood drops started to get bigger at the same time Neo's arm started to hurt more. She paused and stared down at a small pool of blood. As she stared into it, sharp stabs of pain shot through her arm. "It hurts. Where's my solar crystal?"

Neo tried to summon her solar crystal, but it wouldn't come. She narrowed her eyebrows in confusion and tried again to summon her crystals. None of them would come out at her command. She cried out when an unbearable sharp pain shot through her upper arm. Her heart skipped a beat when her arm when limp at her side. Her knees buckled under her and she dropped to the ground. "What…what's happening?! I'm scared! Law! Law, where are you?!"

Neo then sensed Law nearby. She pushed herself back up to her feet and, holding her lifelessly arm to her side, she ran down the stone path towards him. "Law!"

Neo's eyes dropped back down to the stone path. The blood drops kept growing. Her heart pounded in her head while worry grew inside of her as realization dawned on her. "No…Law's hurt! Law!"

Neo started to run faster. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she frantically searched for Law. The darkness passed by her, but she felt like she was getting nowhere. Soon Neo felt Law's presence finally growing closer to her. She felt relief when she finally saw him. His body was mostly covered in shadows, but he was there. "Law! Law! Something's wrong! My arm hurts! I can't move it! And my crystals won't come out!" Neo ran up to him. She paused when he didn't move or respond to her. "Law? Law, what's wrong? Why won't you talk to me?"

Neo took a step around to his right side. The light followed her movements and lit his body up. She gasped. Covering her mouth with her one workable hand, she gagged and took a step back from him. Law's right arm was missing. Blood was pouring out of the wound. Her eyes followed the blood flowing from his wound. The blood was on the stone pathway. The blood was on the stone pathway that she had walked down. She was following Law's blood.

Suddenly, a distant familiar laugh rang out from the darkness. It was followed by a voice that Neo has heard before, but couldn't place where. "You can't save him! He's dead! And he's not coming back!"

"No! He's not dead! I would know if he was!" Neo shouted back. She jumped when three shots rang out from the darkness and three different stinging hot, familiar, pain burned through her torso. Stumbling back to Law, she pressed into his body. She looked up at him. His expression was blank and his eyes were whited out. Using her working left hand, she grabbed his shirt. Pressing against him, she could feel something warm and wet seeping onto her shirt, but didn't both to look and see what it was. "Law, wake up. I'm scared. I want to go home. Please, take me home. Law?"

"He can't hear you!" the voice said. "He's dead! I killed him!"

"No! He's not!" Neo shouted. Tears spilled down her cheeks. "He's not dead! Please, Law! Let's just go!"

"Look at him, Princess!" the voice said. "Take a close look at him! I killed him!"

Neo tried to not let herself look. But her eyes turned down to Law's chest. She screamed and took a step back from him. There were three holes in his torso. Her eyes then dropped down to her own body. Her own torso held three bullet wounds in it just like Law did. Her blood was spilling out and mixing with Law's blood that was on her shirt. "No…No! No! Law!"

"No…" Neo whimpered in her sleep. She curled into herself to try and get away from her nightmare before shooting up in bed. She screamed. "No! No! Stop it! Leave him alone! Law!"

Law's eyes snapped open. He sat up and instantly pulled her into his arms. He tightened his hold when she tried to pull away from him. He said, "Neo, it's okay. You're safe. It's just a nightmare. Wake up now."

"No! Law! Where are you?!" Neo screamed.

"I'm right here. Neo, I order you to wake up," Law said. "Wake up now."

Neo stopped struggling against him. Now awake, she darted her eyes around the slightly unfamiliar room. Through her pants, she asked, "Where…where are we?"

"We're on the Straw Hats' ship," Law replied.

She turned her eyes back to him. Her nightmare pounded her head again. She grabbed onto the front of his shirt. Her breaths came in sharp, short gasps, causing her the inability to speak clearly. "Law…arm…hurt…blood…"

Unable to make sense of her words, Law cupped her cheek and pressed his forehead to hers. "I order you to calm down, my love. Show me what you dreamed. Take a deep breath and let me see."

Obeying his commands, she drew in a deep breath. Slowly letting it out while she passed her nightmare to him.

"I wonder how long they're going to sleep for," Nami murmured. She turned her eyes to her and Robin's shared room. "They've been in there for hours. We'll arrive at Dressrosa before too much longer."

"We should let them sleep as long as they can," Sanji said.

"Neo will probably be hungry when she wakes up," Chopper said. He looked up at Sanji. "We should make her something light to eat. Maybe something like broth? Later on we can get her something else if we think she can handle it."

"That's a good idea. Something with lots of protein would be beneficial for her. And it'll be quick to make. I'll do that whe-" Sanji's voice was cut off when Neo's scream filtered out through the women's bedroom. "What the heck?"

"Something happened! Neo!" Chopper cried out. He jumped from his chair and ran towards the women's bedroom.

"Chopper! Wait for me!" Nami shouted, following after him.

"Wait a second!" Sanji said. He followed after them, leaving Robin the only one left at the table.

Calmly, Robin just watched Nami, Chopper, and Sanji run up the stairs and bust into the bedroom. She looked up when Zoro poked his head out of the Crow's Nest. He asked, "Did someone scream?"
"It was just Neo. I believe she might have had a nightmare," Robin replied.

"Oh. All right," Zoro said before disappearing back into the Crow's Nest.

"What is it?! What's going on?!" Chopper asked once he busted through the bedroom door of the women's bedroom.

"Did something happen?! Are we under attack?!" Nami asked. She had her staff already out and in her hands. She looked around the room for a possible threat.

"Sorry. They jumped before I could stop them," Sanji said. He looked right at Neo and Law.

Law still had his forehead to Neo's when the Straw Hats came busting in. He pulled back from Neo. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her to his chest, and looked at the other pirate crew.

"Neo! Neo, what happened?!" Chopper asked. He jumped up on the bed and placed his hooves on her arm. His eyes were filled with concerned tears. "Why are you crying?! Please, talk to me!"

"She's all right, Tony," Law said. He moved his left arm to her shoulders while his right hand rubbed soothing circles over her back. "She just had a nightmare."

"It must have been serious if she screamed that loud," Nami replied. She relaxed and put up her staff. "I about jumped out of my skin."

"Well, they did tell us that she can have severe nightmares," Sanji said. He took a puff on his cigarette then blew the smoke back out the door. He then let his cigarette hang by his side.

Law nodded. From the corner of his eye he caught the cook's odd movements, but didn't say anything.

"Pregnant women should not smoke and should not be around second hand smoke."

"What was she dreaming about?" Chopper asked. "You look worried about something."

"She was dreaming about me. I apparently lost my right arm and had three bullet holes in my torso," Law replied. He glanced back down at Neo when she shifted her position. She was now resting her head on his shoulder, she had released his shirt, but she wasn't looking at anyone yet. His eyes drifted down to her stomach. Somehow, at some point, his hand had placed itself on her stomach.

"Parents can be fiercely protective of their child even when the child has not yet been born."

"Shut up. Neo's not pregnant."

Sanji carefully watched the warlord's face. His eyebrows lifted high upon his forehead as he watched a silent battle waging in Law's eyes. He watched as Law's confusion shift into a determination that bordered on denial then switched to concern about something different. His eyes followed Law's hand quickly slide from Neo's stomach to her hip. Looks like he's figuring it out, but is in denial. Looks like I might have to tell him after all. It really won't be good if his focus is divided.

"And that's what's got you so worried? It was just a bad dream after all," Chopper said. He looked from Neo to Law. He kneaded his own eyebrows at Law's seriously concerned expression.

"Neo's dreams on occasion have come true," Law mumbled.

"What?" Chopper asked.

"I believe she's mentioned her nightmares before," Nami said thoughtfully. "Do you think that this one will come true?"

"I don't know," Law mumbled quietly. "She could just be stressed. Going into Dressrosa and facing Doflamingo like we're doing could have just influenced her dreams."

"We'll I hope that's all this is then," Nami said. "Does she need anything? Water?"

"No. She just needs a minute to come back to reality," Law replied. "She's still a bit out of it."

"Neo?" Chopper asked. He laid his fuzzy cheek on her arm and glanced up at her with a sweet expression.

Neo looked down at him. A small, tired smile pulled across her lips. She said, "Hey."

"Are you feeling better now?" Chopper asked, still worried.

"Yeah." Neo nodded. She stroked the reindeer's cheek a couple of times. Her stomach rumbled. She then looked back at Law. "Law, I'm hungry."

Law nodded, feeling her hunger. "We'll get you something to eat then."

"I'll get right on that," Sanji said. He turned towards the door. "Since you got sick earlier, I'm going to make you some broth. That'll be easy on your stomach. Later on if you feel like something stronger, you can eat something else. Would that be fine?"

"That would be just fine," Law answered for her.

"Thank you, Sanji," Neo said in a low tone.

"You're very welcome," Sanji said. He flashed her a warm smile before leaving the room. Nami followed after him without a word to anyone.

"What are you going to do now?" Chopper asked. "We should be getting close to Dressrosa by now."

"I don't feel like sleeping anymore," Neo said. She turned her pleading eyes to Law. "Can we just go sit out on the deck? I promise I'll relax. I won't get excited or play or-"

"Neo, it's fine," Law said, cutting her off. He gave her hip a squeeze. "You don't have to go back to sleep now."

"Thank you," Neo murmured. She laid her head back on his shoulder with a tired sigh.

A rush of silence fell over them. Chopper looked from Neo to Law then back to Neo then back to Law. Neo still looked a bit dazed from her nightmare and Law was watching her intently. Chopper suddenly got the feeling he should leave them alone. Slowly, he backed off the bed. "I'll just go see if Sanji needs any help. Just come on back outside when you're ready."

"Right." Law nodded. He watched the reindeer leave and closed the door behind him on the way out before turning his full attention back to the woman in his arms. "Neo, talk to me."

Neo's mood darkened. Her left hand reached up and clenched the front of his shirt. He instantly knew she was scared. He didn't need their bond to tell him that. But he still needed her to talk about it. It would help her.

"What is it, love?" Law asked. He cupped her cheek and brought her eyes back to his. "Talk to me."

"Law, I'm scared. And I'm worried. We're getting ready to set foot into his kingdom. I just want you to be safe. And keep a cool, clear head," Neo whispered. She leaned into his touch. Her eyes were pleading with him. A tear dripped from the corner of her eyes. "I know what that man can do to you. And that's when you're miles apart from each other. Now, we're going to be in the same country as him. We're going to be right in front of him. You've already angered him. I just…I just don't want anything to happen to us here. I want us both to return home safely. I want to go home."

"Don't worry, my love. Everything is going to be all right," Law said. He brushed away her tears then placed his forehead against hers. When he lowered his hand back down, it went right to her stomach. "You know we're just handing over Caesar as a distraction. I have no plans of fighting Doflamingo."

Neo gave him a pointed look accompanied with an "I know you're lying" frown.

Law flinched. Clearing his throat, he said, "Okay, I want to fight him. But I promise that I'll do everything that I can to avoid it. Deal?"

"Fine," Neo said. "Though I'm not happy about this whole thing. And I won't be happy if we die here. I want to see our crew again."

"I know, love." Law nodded.

"Good. Now that that is settled, I want some cheese and crackers. Pizza sounds good too." Neo turned her eyes to the door. "I wonder if Sanji has any chocolate. Pickles sound nice as well. So do some green peppers."

Law started to chuckle, but stopped when her cravings passed to him. They were intense. He felt like if he didn't get them he would rip someone's head off. His eyes then dropped down to her stomach, again. A quizzical look spread over his face as he stared at his hand. He wondered when he put his hand there. It's not possible. She's not pregnant. She's not. She's only hungry. It makes sense considering she got sick earlier. Food cravings are part of life. It's not because she's…

"Pregnant women have food cravings, Law."

"Shut up! She's not pregnant! Who the heck are you anyway?"

"Someone who cares about all three of you."

"Law?" Neo asked.

"Yes?" Law forced himself to pull his eyes and his hand from her stomach. "What is it?"

"I was going to ask you that." Neo tilted her head. "You had this really weird, quizzical look on your face."

"It's nothing. I was just caught of guard a bit by your food cravings. Despite that, you're not getting any of it," Law said.

"Aw, Law." Neo pouted.

"Don't give me that look, little girl." Law tapped her nose with his finger. "You got sick earlier. You're eating the broth for now. Later, if you can handle it, then you can eat something a little strong. And that's an order."

"Oh! Fine!" Neo stuck her tongue out at him. She crossed her arms in a huffed then started to crawl away from him. But that was stopped when an unstoppable urge to poke him in the ribs over took her. She giggled and poked her finger into his ribs.

"Hey. What was that for?" Law protested with a smirk.

"I felt like it." Neo poked him two more times. "What are you going to do about it, pirate boy?"

"Just this." Law grabbed her and pushed her down on the bed. He then poked his own fingers into her sides and tickled her.

"Ah! Ha! Ha ha! S-stop!" Neo laughed. Her bells rang out as she tried to pry Law's hands off of her.

"You started it. You've been poking me a lot like that here lately," Law said as he continued with his assault. "You should have known that I would retaliate at some point if you kept that up. You've been a bad little girl. This is your punishment."

"Ah ha! Ha ha! O-okay! Ok-ay!" Neo kicked her feet and tried to crawl away from him. She didn't get very far. He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her back to him, pinning her wrists to the bed above her head with one hand while returning his free hand to her stomach and resumed tickling her. Her cheeks and sides ached as she sucked in multiple breaths to try and get herself under control. "I…I'll b-behave!"

"Promise?" Law asked. His hand stopped.

"P-promise!" Neo smiled up at him. She sucked in a deep breath and released it. "Promise. Now kiss me."

Law chuckled. He released his hold on her hand. Pressing the majority of his weight onto his left arm, he pressed a kiss to her forehead then trailed kisses down the bridge of her nose until he placed a light kiss on her lips. He placed another light kiss on her before sucking her bottom lip into his mouth. He smirked when she moaned and tugged on a strand of his hair impatiently. He drug his tongue over her lip before slipping it into her mouth. He elicited a pleasurable groan from her and deepened their kiss. She wrapped her left arm around his neck and trailed her fingers through his black mane while he ran his hand up and down her side. He broke the kiss a minute later to let her breath. "If Blackleg wasn't already making you something to eat, I would take you again."

"You still can," Neo breathed. She placed her hands on his shoulders and pushed him onto his back. Her long hair fell over her shoulders. She raked her fingers through her hair, pulling it back behind her shoulders before leaning down and capturing his lips. In an attempt to entice him in another round of sexual intimacy, she grind herself into his body, making his breath hitch in his chest and his pulse thump wildly under his skin. She smirked at making him writhe beneath her for a change.

"Mmm. It's not like you to be so sexually aggressive," Law murmured against her lips.

"You are the one making me like this. I just want you so bad right now," Neo replied, grinding herself into his body again to prove her point.

"Sex drive increases in some pregnant women."

"She's not pregnant! Shut up!"

"Okay, okay. I get it. And I really want you again now too. But we really can't do this right now," Law said as she trailed kisses away from his lips to his neck. He about caved to her when she lightly bit down on his soft spot. He bit back a groan only to release it a second later when she sucked hard on his neck. "Geez, Neo. You really are aggressive right now."

Neo pulled back from him. She stared down into his eyes, a light touch of worry she had some something wrong. The worry vanished when he fed her his thoughts on how much he really like what she was doing. She sighed when he also fed her his thoughts on how they really couldn't do this right now.

"I'm sorry, love." Law rubbed his hands on her arms. "If we were back on the sub, we could do this at any point and time we wanted. But we're not. We're guests on another ship."

"This sucks."

"Neo," Law warned.

"I'm sorry." Neo fluttered her eyelashes at him.

"It's fine. I know you're just frustrated." Law sat up, causing her to slide down to his thighs. He pecked her lips. "I promise, once we get back to the sub we can do that whenever you wish."

"You're such a good boy." Neo wrapped her arms around his neck and nuzzled his nose.

"Let's get up now," Law said.

"Okay! But I'm taking your hat!" Neo reached over to where his hat was abandoned, and almost forgotten, on the bed. She snatched it up, placed it on her head, and then jumped off the bed. She spun on her toes a couple times before striking a cute pose with her hands behind her head, her right knee was bent slightly and she wore a wink. "I love your hat! It looks so much cuter on me than you, don't you think?! But I really, really miss your hoodies! I should have brought one with me!"

"Yes, you are far more cuter than I am in my hat. And you'll dive back into wearing my wardrobe when we get back to the sub." Law chuckled and shook his head at her childlike nature before crawling off the bed himself. An out of place surge of playfulness over took him. He rushed over to her and scooped her into his arms. They both laughed as he spun them around a couple times.

"Elemental women become playful when pregnant."

"It's just a coincident. She's always had a playful side to her."

"Well, you're certainly out of character," Neo noted when he stopped spinning.

"It's your fault. You're sharing your playfulness," Law said. He pecked her nose.

"Sorry. I just feel really good right now." Neo tightened her arms around his neck.

"Well, I'm glad you're feeling better," Law said. He sat her feet down on the floor and slipped his arm around her waist and pulled her towards the door. "I was worried that nightmare was going to bother you."

"It does. I just also feel really good too," Neo replied. "I'm hoping it was just a dream. Like you said, you're going to try and avoid fighting. And I'm there to back you up. I won't let him hurt you. I'll use every single one of my crystals and every single animal I can call upon to attack him if I have to."

"A pregnant elemental's crystals protects the child so she can fight."

"Will you just stop it already? She's not pregnant. We were careful."

"And you say I'm protective," Law said, feeling Neo's anger burbling inside of her. He walked back over to the bed, grabbed his sword, then stepped back over to Neo. With his arm around her waist, she grabbed the handle and pushed the door open for them.

"Hey, Neo!" Luffy greeted when the two Heart Pirates stepped out of the bedroom. He swung down from the mast and landed on the railing right in front of them with a bright grin. "How are you feeling? Are you feeling better?"

"I am," Neo replied with a nod.

"That's great!" Luffy said. He reached out and patted Neo on her shoulder. "I wouldn't like it if my favorite blue haired girl was getting sick! We have a lot of fun ahead of us in Dressrosa!"

Neo giggled when Law growled at Luffy touching her. She said, "Thanks, Luffy. But I doubt we're going to have time for fun. We have a mission to complete there after all."

"Of course we're going to have some fun! You'll see! We're going to explore Dressrosa together!" Luffy threw his arms up into the air.

"She is not going anywhere with you, Straw Hat!" Law snapped. He glared at the young man with sharp eyes.

"What?! Of course she will! How can we have fun if we're not together?!" Luffy said. "She's going with me!"

"No! She's! Not!" Law growled. A strong, overwhelming possessive desire caused him to tighten his hold on her so hard that she squeaked in pain. Feeling her pain and hearing her whimper, he quickly loosened his hold on her. He cursed under his breath. "I'm so sorry, Neo. I didn't mean to hurt you."

"It's okay, Law." Neo rubbed her side where Law's arm bit into her. She examined Law's terrified and confused face before taking his cheeks in her hands. "Law, really, it's okay. You just get possessive like that."

"But I've never hurt you before," Law muttered. His eyes dropped from her eyes to her stomach.

"She's pregnant, Law."

"No, she's not. We were careful."

"You're human, Law. You made a mistake. Just think back to Punk Hazard."

"Hey!" Sanji's voice broke into Law's thoughts. Both the warlord and Neo looked down at the cook. He was standing by the small table with a bowl of streaming broth and two glasses of what Neo assumed was filled with her favorite drink for her and Law. "Your meals are prepared! Come on down!"

"Thanks, Sanji. We'll be right down," Neo replied just as Luffy jumped down to the deck. The straw hatted man ran over to Sanji and tried to steal some of the food. Sanji pushed him away, but Neo turned her eyes back to Law so she didn't see what else happened. "Law, you have nothing to feel guilty about. It was an accident. I'm fine. Okay?"

"Accident or not I shouldn't have hurt you," Law said. "I'm sorry."

"Law, you're already forgiven. Now stop this," Neo said in a warning tone. She poked him in the ribs as a warning to let this go instead of being playful. "Do you understand me? I order you to let this go."

"Yes, ma'am." Law nodded.

"Good. Now, I don't want to hear anymore about this," Neo said. She grabbed Law's hand and pulled him down the stairs. When they reached the table, Sanji pulled out a chair for Neo, she smiled, thanked him, and sat down. She watched as Law sat down, propping his sword upon the table, beside her before picking up her spoon and taking a sip of her broth. "Mmm. So good! I love the ginger!"

"Well, it looks like you're feeling better," Robin said as she and Nami walked over to them. The two women sat down in the two empty chairs and smiled at Neo.

"I am," Neo replied before going back to her broth. She took a couple more sips while listening to Robin and Nami talk.

Law half listened to the three women discuss whatever topic popped into their heads. Mostly, Neo was asking more questioned of the Straw Hats past adventures. At the moment, Nami was talking about her sister. He tried to focus his thoughts on what the women were saying, but his mind and eyes kept drifting down to Neo's stomach. He tried to distract himself by looking around the deck. Some of the Straw Hats were still missing, but most remained on the deck. Along with the two women, Luffy, Sanji, Chopper and Brook were still on the deck. The Straw Hat captain was talking with Kin'emon and Momonosuke while Sanji and Chopper stood near the table with him and the women while the skeleton was off by himself filling the air with a relaxing melody from his violin.

Law crossed his arms and legs. He sighed when he found that his eyes were once again locked on Neo's stomach. He mentally growled at himself and forced his eyes closed. He took a deep breath and slowly released it. He let the song that the Straw Hat musician was playing lull him into a very relax state. The world around him faded and was replaced with another world.

Law blinked and looked around the field he was in. The grass was bright green and was mixed with many colorful flowers. Hills rolled over the far side of the field while the area he was in was flat. "What's going on?"

"That's exactly what I want to know," a familiar voice said.

Law's eyes widened at the voice. He slowly turned around. His eyes grew even more at the tall blonde man standing before him. "C-Cora?"

"You know, it's really getting old that I have to keep interfering in your life like this," Corazon said. He was leaning against a tree with a cigarette hanging lazily, and unlit, in his mouth. His hands were in his pockets and his body held a very relaxed position. "I'm supposed to be relaxing now. Not still babysitting you."

"But why are you here?" Law asked.

"Because you are in some serious denial," Corazon replied. "I can't willingly let you go into Dressrosa and face my brother without you accepting the truth."

"Accepting what truth?" Law asked.

"Come on, Law. You're smarter than this," Corazon said. "You know what I'm talking about. I'm talking about Neo. I'm talking about the child she's carrying."

"Cora, she's not pregnant," Law said, annoyed.

"You know she is. You just have to come to terms with it," Corazon said. "You know what that book said back on the sub when you all left her home island."

"Book?" Law narrowed his eyebrows.

"You keep trying to suppress the memories, but they're still there," Corazon said. He walked over to Law and placed his hand on the young man's shoulder. "It'll be all right, Law. Or it will be when you finally admit and accept the truth."

"But she's not. She can't be," Law whispered. "I was so careful."

"Best laid plans, Law. No matter how hard we try, humans are not perfect and they never will be," Corazon said. "And that clearly includes elementals."

"But she can't handle this." Law rubbed hand on his face. "I didn't prepare her for it."

"You can still do that now."

"She's going to be so scared."

"She's going to be fine. You both are going to be just fine. Trust me, Law."

"No! She's not!" Law snapped. He narrowed his eyes at Corazon and pushed the man's hand off his shoulder.

"Law, stop being so stubborn! You know she is! And it's time you woke up!" Corazon grabbed the front of Law's shirt. "Now, wake up!"

"No! She's not pre-" Law snapped. He jumped to his feet and slammed his hands on the table, startling everyone. His sword rattled and slid off the table and onto the floor. His voice cut off when his eyes landed on Neo's confused and concerned face.

"Is everything all right, Law?" Neo asked.

Sanji took a slow puff on his cigarette. His brain instantly finished the sentence that Law didn't. His eyes drifted from the Warlord to the archeologist. He could see that Robin came to the same conclusion he did. When she looked at him, he nodded at her.

"I'm sorry. It's nothing," Law said. He picked up his sword. He rested it on his shoulder, shoved his other hand in his pocket, and walked away.

"Law." Neo stood up. She paused when he stopped walking and turned his head towards her. Shadows were cast over his eyes. It made her more concerned for him.

"I'm all right, Neo. I just need a minute," Law replied. He started walking again.

"Well, okay then," Neo said. She reluctantly lowered herself back down into her chair. Her eyes remained locked onto Law until he disappeared into the bathroom underneath the stairs.

"Hey, Neo," Robin said, drawing the younger woman's attention. "I was about to head up to the crow's nest. There's a really nice view from up there. I think you'll like it. Why don't you join me?"

"Uh." Neo looked back over to the room where Law had retreated too. She started at it for a while before looking back at Robin. "I guess so."

"Great." Robin smiled. "Let's go."

Law cupped his hands underneath the running water. Filling his hands, he splashed the cold water onto his face multiple times as if it would erase the truth from him. Panting slightly, he placed his hands on the sides of the sink and started at himself in the mirror. Everything was hammering his head. His dream about Neo back in the sub, the list he read in that stupid book after leaving Luminous, Neo's behavior, everything that Corazon had said to him, his own behavior. "It can't be true. She can't be."

With a heavy sigh, Law turned off the water. He grabbed the towel off the rack and dabbed his face before returning it. He snatched his sword and turned to the door. He paused before finally forcing himself to leave the small room. He opened the door. His eyebrows lifted when he found Sanji standing there, clearly waiting for him.

"We need to talk," Sanji said. "Don't worry about Neo. She's up in the crow's nest with Robin."

Law's eyes wandered up to the round room hovering over the deck. He sensed her there. Safe. And…

"Come on," Sanji said.

Law didn't argue. He didn't protest. He didn't even want to follow the blonde haired man, but his feet didn't listen to him. He followed. Quietly, he followed the cook all the way to the library. Once in the room, he allowed himself to fall onto the couch and let his sword slide from his hands. The clank of his sword on the floor didn't even reach his ears. He ran his hands through his hair with aggravation. "Please, don't say it."

"You don't want me to say it yet you followed me in here anyway," Sanji stated bluntly. "You know what the truth is, Law. You just need to finally admit it."

"I can't. It's not possible. She's not," Law growled. He glared harshly at the cook. "Now back off."

Sanji wasn't going to back down. He knew this needed to happen. He knew Law needed to acknowledge the truth. "Say it, Law. You can't keep denying it. You already know it's true."

Law turned his eyes to the floor. He pressed his elbows to his knees and closed his eyes.

"Say it, Law," Sanji said.

Law growled. He closed his eyes while clenching his teeth and his fists.

"Say it," Sanji pushed.

Law rubbed his hands over his face before dragging them through his hair again. His mouth went dry. His throat tightened around his voice. He wasn't sure what was pounding harder, his head or his heart. His stomach and head spun. It took everything he had to keep Neo from reading his thoughts, from sensing his feelings, from learning the truth.

"Say. It." Sanji stressed.

Law flinched. He knew he couldn't deny it any longer. The signs were there. The truth was there. Despite wanting to fight them, despite wanting to keep the words inside forever, the words rolled effortlessly off his tongue. "Neo's pregnant."

Author's Notes: I hope this chapter was fine. I had no clue how to handle Law there at the end. Wasn't sure what to name the chapter either. Nothing seemed to fit. :/

Inazumame1997: You're right. It did happen a little bit later in the original. I decided to move it up a bit.

Loveanimation4life: Figures. I don't have a phone connected to the internet so I can't help ya with that. Sorry. I think we'll get more Neo controlling Law later on.

Rodinaashraf: It might have something to do with her pregnancy. I'm working on the pendant thing. I hope people like what's planned. I read other peoples comments too. I'm curious on what they say.

Apple Bloom: Thanks. More chapters coming. We're almost in the 90s. O.O

SilverHerron: Thanks. I PMed you some stuff. Ignore the last part. Clearly I decided on it.

Miss Sakurako: Glad you like it. It might have something to do with her pregnancy.