Home Again
Part Two
Distant chuckles from the crew and the soft hums of the sub's engines barely registered in both Neo and Law's ears as the latter carried his love through the warm sub halls. Slowly, but surely, the two managed to make their way up to the medical bay of their sub. Each step of the way, Neo pecked Law's lips or other parts of his skin with tender kisses. Law chuckled when she started nipping and licking his neck like a puppy. It gave him the strong desire to warp them back down to their room and warp all of her clothes off and take her for as long as he possibly could. But he knew she was just being playful at the moment. And he really did need to preform an ultrasound on her. There would be plenty of time for sexual relations with her later. He also knew she had a lot to talk about with the crew and she still had plans to cook a big meal for them. He knew she would take her time with both of those. So he was going to have to be patient until he could have her later that night. It was going to be hard, since they haven't had time alone in their own bed for months, but it would be worth the wait.
"Excuse me for interrupting," the familiar voice of the healer now on board said, breaking both Neo and Law from their thoughts.
"Healer Zinnia," Neo said upon turning her eyes to the relaxed healer. "What's up?"
"Not much," Healer Zinnia replied, shifting her hands in her pockets. "I've got my own medical room set up now. I knew you two were coming up here at some point so I've been waiting for you."
"Oh?" Neo tilted her head.
"I'm going to be removing my monitoring crystals from you," Healer Zinnia said. "You've had some minor blood pressure spikes while they've been on. Though I know they're only because of events that have taken place today. I haven't seen anything that should warrant concern for the time being. So I think you're going to be fine without me watching you ever second of everyday. But if anything comes up, I'll put them back on immediately."
"All right then," Neo said. "You're the healer. Are you staying to watch the ultrasound?"
"You can if you want to," Law said when he noticed the older woman hesitating.
"I think I might stay for a moment," Healer Zinnia said. "I'd like to familiarize myself with human equipment just in case."
"Let's get to it then," Law said.
"Follow us!" Neo called as Law walked them passed the smiling healer.
With Law's arms full, Healer Zinnia had to turn on the lights for them. With the small room now full of light, Law walked Neo over to the exam table and laid her down. He pecked her lips real quickly before reaching to turn on the ultrasound machine. "So what do I have to do? Just roll up my shirt, correct?"
"Just roll it up and lay there," Law said. He pulled the chair over and sat down on it. He watched her tentatively as she rolled up both their favorite hoodie before resting against the pillow. He smiled softly when he felt her anxiety level rise a bit. He placed his hand over hers and squeezed gently. "Are you ready for this?"
"Yeah, I'm just a little nervous," Neo said. Her eyes wandered up to the machine sitting beside the exam table. She felt slightly daunted by the machine with all its attachments and buttons but knew it was just a machine that basically took pictures. "We're going to actually get to see our baby through this machine. I'm a bit conflicted I guess. I'm still not completely comfortable with this."
"You don't have to look," Law said, brushing his thumb over her skin. "Just take your time and look when you're ready. One step at a time just like we always do when introducing you to something new. Okay?"
"Yeah, I can do that," Neo said. "Just like always. One step at a time and breath slowly."
"That's my girl." Law smiled.
"Let me get those crystals off you. Go ahead and take the ones off your chest," Healer Zinnia then said. She stepped closer to Neo and plucked the crystals off her stomach while Neo removed the ones from her chest.
"Here you go," Neo said, holding out the crystals.
"Thank you, Princess," Healer Zinnia said.
Neo began breathing in slowly as she watched Healer Zinnia tuck the crystals into her pocket before walking to the other side of the exam table to watch Law preform the ultrasound. When Law reached for the gel she watched him squirt it onto her rounding stomach with no problems at all. The gel was cold and caused her to shiver at bit. But when he put that up and reached for the ultrasound's transducer, she had to look away. Closing her eyes, she kept herself calm by drawing in slow breaths and releasing them just as slowly. A small uncontrollable flinch left her body when the transducer touched the gel in her skin. Feeling a bit silly with how she was reacting to the touch, she giggled then relaxed while Law slowly moved the transducer over her stomach. Then a tiny heartbeat filled the silent room. The sound made her own heart jump with anxiety and excitement. It also caused comforting warmth to fill her chest.
"Hmmm." Law hummed while staring at the screen.
"What is it?" Healer Zinnia asked.
"Neo's a little farther along than I thought," Law said. "I thought she was eleven weeks, but she's really twelve weeks. I guess the shock of her pregnancy made me miscalculate her last cycle and date of conception."
"It looks like everything's fine then," Healer Zinnia said. She leaned in closer to the screen and studied what she saw. "The baby looks to be the correct size, the heartbeat still sounds good."
"It is," Law said with a nod. "From what I can tell from human pregnancies everything is as it should be. I'm still working on elemental pregnancies though. But from what I've read so far everything seem to be progressing nicely."
"Indeed," Healer Zinnia said. "Everything looks to be in correct order. But she still needs to increase her food intake. From this point on the baby is going to be growing rather rapidly. Their development is quicker than a human baby."
"That's why they only last seven months instead of nine?" Law asked.
"That's correct," Healer Zinnia said. "This point in time it the most important and delicate time in an elemental's pregnancy because the baby's magic is developing. After that it's all about physical development."
When Law didn't say anything after that, Neo slowly turned her eyes to him. She found him staring at the screen with a soft expression on his face. She could feel, both with and without their bond, that he was already developing stronger feelings for their baby. Her eyes then flickered over to Healer Zinnia. She noticed the older woman's eyes were misty as she too stared at the screen that held the picture of her and Law's baby. She wondered if the baby would cause her to get just as emotional. She wanted to look. She wanted to see what their baby looked like at that point. Finally, she looked. She turned her eyes towards the fuzzy black and white screen that had already captured both Law and Healer Zinnia's attention. A small gasp escaped her lips when she saw their baby there on the screen. "That's… that's our baby."
"It is," Law said.
"What is it?" Neo asked. "Are we having a boy or a girl?"
"Unfortunately, we can't tell at this point," Law said.
"You should be able to sense it soon," Healer Zinnia said.
"What do you mean?" Law asked. He looked over at the woman standing behind him. "How can she sense it?"
"She'll just be able to," Healer Zinnia said. "We don't really put much into finding out about the baby's gender through our crystals because the mother is usually correct about the sex. Only about five percent of the time does a mother get it wrong."
"I guess I haven't gotten that far in the books yet," Law said.
"It's really not that big of a deal," Healer Zinnia said, her eyes drifting to Neo who was staring at the screen with such innocent curiosity. "Most elementals don't really care if they have a boy or a girl as long as their baby is healthy. So no one really ever asks to know the sex of their baby."
"Law," Neo said. She placed her trembling hand on his wrist. "That's our baby. That's really our baby."
"Yes, love," Law said. He repositioned the transducer when the picture faded a bit. "That's our baby."
"Our baby's so tiny," Neo said. With her free hand, she hesitantly reached out and touched her fingers to the screen. "And that's really… our baby is really inside of me. Growing every second. It's weird. I want to hold our baby and, yet I'm terrified of thinking about holding our baby. I'm scared, Law."
"I know how you feel," Law said. "The time will pass by quickly. And soon our baby will be here with us outside of your womb. We'll be able to hold our baby then."
Neo hummed softly as she continued to watch their baby on the black and white screen. She caught movement from the corner of her eyes, but didn't look to see what it was. She was too transfixed by the sight of their baby to move her eyes off the screen. She had no idea how long she had been staring at the screen, but soon she felt tiredness in Law's wrist from holding the transducer in same place for so long. She rubbed her hand over his. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to stare so long. It's okay. You can stop now."
"Are you sure?" Law asked.
"Yeah, I know your arm is tired," Neo said. Despite meaning what she said, her heart still ached a little when the picture faded from her view. "Our baby's gone."
"I know it feels that way," Law said. He grabbed a cloth and wiped the gel off her stomach. He tossed the cloth into the basket for washing later then placed his hand on her stomach. "But our baby is still there. And while we're waiting for your next ultrasound, you can look at this."
"Huh?" Neo blinked when Law handed her a picture of their baby that had been on the screen before. "Our baby?"
"This is our baby's first picture," Law said. "I printed it off when you were staring at the screen."
"I guess I was a bit out of it," Neo said, unable to take her eyes off the black and white picture of their baby.
"You have been out of it," Law said. "You haven't even noticed the healer woman is gone."
"I guess I didn't," Neo said. She quickly looked around the room before her eyes dropped back down to the picture in her hand.
"Come on, love," Law said. He lifted her up into a sitting position and rolled his hoodie back down over her stomach. "You can't sit in here all day and stare at the picture."
"But I want to," Neo said. "It's so… I'm not really sure how to describe it. Amazing doesn't really seem to fit. But we did this. We created this baby. And it's inside of me just growing and growing. I'm feeling scared again, Law."
"I know." Law sat down beside her. He put his arm around her and pulled her to his chest. He chuckled lightly when she continued to keep her eyes on the picture. "It'll be all right though. Would you like to put this in your Luminous shelf until we find a book to put it in?"
"A book?" Neo asked. Finally taking her eyes way from the picture, she looked up at Law. "What do you mean?"
"It's actually called a baby book," Law explained. "Some parents keep a baby book to record important milestones of their baby. This picture of our baby is our baby's first picture ever. If you want, we can put it in a baby book when we get one. Or we could make one with the supplies we have on the ship. We have what we need to do that."
"That sounds like fun," Neo said. "I think I'd rather make one than buy one. It will be more special. And I want you to make it with me. You'll do that with me, won't you?"
"I would love to," Law said.
"Can we do it now?" Neo asked. "Or are you too busy studying? I know I've taken you away from your studies on elementals pregnancies to do this ultrasound."
"It's fine, love," Law said. "I believe Bepo might have some papers we can use to-"
"Let's go then!" Neo grabbed Law's wrist before jumping off the exam table. With happy bell filled giggles, she pulled him out of the room.
"Slow down, love," Law said. "You need to be careful and not slip."
"Don't worry," Neo said. She glanced over her shoulder and smiled at him. She then summoned her wings and two wind crystals. "I'll keep my wings and crystals out when I run. That way I can easily catch myself with them and my wind crystals."
Law sighed but smiled. Slowly but surely, he could tell that Neo was becoming more and more accepting of their child. It sent a flood of warmth flowing through his chest. He really couldn't wait to see his love holding their baby in her arms. The thought brought back his own dream of their baby and Neo, mostly he thought about the rocking chair and crib. At some point they were going to have to move the rocking chair and baby crib into their room. He wondered when a good time for that would be. Giving it a few minutes of thought, he decided it would be best to wait until Neo suggested moving it into their room. For now, he'd leave them down in the storage room where they currently were.
"Penguin!" Neo squealed when her brother came into her view. Releasing Law's wrist, she jumped and wrapped her arms around Penguin before shoving their baby's picture in his face. "Look! It's our baby!"
"Huh?" Penguin blinked at the picture right against his nose.
"Neo, you're holding it too close to him," Law said, crossing his arms over his chest. "Be a good girl now. Release him and show him the picture properly."
"I am?" Neo looked back at Law before releasing Penguin and stepping back. "Sorry. I was just excited I guess. Would you like to see our baby's first picture?"
"You've already had your first ultrasound? That's so cool," Penguin said. He glanced down at the picture when Neo held the picture back up to him. "Wow. It's so tiny. I guess now I can say congratulations to you two. You're starting to get a little excited about this, aren't you?"
"I guess I am," Neo said. She turned the picture back to her eyes and blushed lightly.
"That's great to hear. Since you're so happy I take it that everything is fine with your baby?" Penguin said.
"Yes." Neo nodded then turned to Law. "Correct?"
"Yes, our baby is developing just fine," Law said. "The healer was even in the room and said the same thing."
"That's so good to hear. I'm so glad that everything's okay and that you, my dear little sister, are getting back to normal. So where were you two headed?" Penguin said.
"I'm glad too. And Law just told me about baby books," Neo said. "We're heading to the navigation room. Bepo might have a book we can use. I want to make one with Law instead of buying one."
"That sounds like a fun idea to do. It'll be a good way for you two to bond over the baby," Penguin said. "Be sure to show it to me when you've got it done. I'd really like to see it."
"You know I will," Neo said.
"Well, I'm off now," Penguin said.
"Where are you going?" Neo asked.
"A few members of the crew have been fishing for a while out on the deck," Penguin said. "I'm going to head out and join them for a while. Unless there's something you two need me for."
"No, you can go," Law said.
"Be sure to catch a lot of fish!" Neo said. "I want to make Law's favorite!"
"You got it." Penguin pecked Neo's cheek before skirting around her and Law. "See you later."
"Bye!" Neo waved. Once her brother was gone, she reclaimed Law's wrist and continued to pull him towards Bepo's navigation room. Like they thought they would, they found their bear friend inside. He was standing over the table in the middle of the room going over the route to Wano.
"Oh, is something wrong, Captain?" Bepo asked upon realizing the company he had.
"Look, Bepo! It's our baby!" Neo exclaimed. She held up the picture for him. "We have our baby's first picture!"
"That's great," Bepo said. "I take it that everything is healthy and fine with the baby?"
"Yes." Law nodded.
"I'm glad to hear that," Bepo said. "The rest of the crew will be too."
"So what exactly do we do in making the baby's book?" Neo asked.
"You could create one from scratch," Bepo said. He walked over to his desk and pulled open the top draw. "I have plenty of paper you can use. Or I have some books already made up with the paper inside of them. All you have to do is add whatever you feel like."
"Hm." Neo hummed. She glanced into the drawer full of paper. "I'm not really sure what I want to do. Using a book that's already made sounds so impersonal. If we make one from scratch then we could make it any size. I think I'd like that." She glanced over her shoulder at Law. "What do you think?"
"Either will suit me just fine," Law said. He walked over to her and kissed her forehead. "I'm here for you. If you want to make one from scratch then we can."
"I do, but you still have to study," Neo said with a little pout.
"I can study later while you're cooking," Law said. "Besides, we're most likely not going to finish the thing any time soon. For now we need to talk about the size and how you would like to decorate it."
"I guess that makes sense," Neo said.
"How are you going to decorate it?" Bepo asked.
"What do you mean?" Neo looked at the bear.
"You don't know yet if you're having a boy or a girl, correct?" Bepo pointed to Neo's stomach. "Often people go by that when decorating something for their baby."
"Oh," Neo said. She moved her arms behind her back and tapped her toes on the floor. "So most likely they use a lot of pinks for girls and blues for boys. I don't really care much about that. I'm so use to dressing like a boy anyway. We can just use colors I'm use to wearing. Black and yellow are going to be at the top of the list." She tugged on the hoodie she was wearing with a bright smile. "Those are Law's favorite colors after all. And the book is going to have our Jolly Roger on it too. But what can we use to decorate the pages with?"
"You're welcome to my paints," Kailen said.
"Paints?" Neo looked over to the door of the room and found her brother walking in.
"I didn't mean to ease drop on you all. I just thought you might like to use them. I brought some with me from Luminous," Kailen said.
"Don't worry about ease dropping," Law said. "You're part of the crew so you can come and go as you please in here."
"Thanks," Kailen said.
"But we might use them all up," Neo said. "I'm still not sure what I want to do exactly."
"Don't worry about using all of my paints. I can easily make more," Kailen said.
"That's so sweet of you!" Neo squealed before wrapping her brother in a hug. "I'm so glad you're here!"
"I'm glad to be here," Kailen said. "I kind of regret not coming with you from the beginning. I've missed so much. I'm not going to let that happen again."
"It's fine," Neo said. She smiled up at him with teary eyes. While she spoke, her words were taken over by a mood swing and she clung onto him like he would disappear if she let him go. "You're here now. That's what counts. And I'm never letting you go again, either. You're stuck here from now on. Do you understand me? This is your captain, your sister, and your princess speaking. You're not allowed to ever leave me again! Never again! You belong here with me! I'm ordering you to stay!"
"It's all right, Neo," Kailen said. He rubbed her back in an attempt to calm her down. "I'm not going anywhere."
"Promise?" Still looked up at him, she narrowed her eyebrows.
"I promise," Kailen replied. He then wiped her tears away. "So no more tears."
"I'm sorry," Neo said. "I can't control it. I didn't mean to cry."
"It's fine," Kailen said.
"Thanks for the use of your paints," Neo said. "We'll use them later. For now I'd like to think a little more on what we'd like to do with the baby book."
"You can get them anytime," Kailen said as he headed back out the door. "They're in my top dresser drawer."
"You're not staying?" Neo asked.
"No, a couple of the others are going to teach me how to play poker," Kailen said. "See you later."
"Okay." Neo waved as her brother disappeared from her sights. She turned back to the table to see that Law had already sat down. She smiled and walked over to him when he patted his lap for her to come to him. She sat down with a peck to his cheek. Her eyes then went to the table where he had supplies already laying out for them. "The lighter book cover will probably better, don't you think? That way we can decorate it with our baby's name, a picture, or something else? Oh, this is going to be so hard to decide what to do."
"Why don't we just make some sketches for now?" Law said. "That way we won't make a mistake when we work on the book itself."
"That sounds like a good idea," Neo said. "I think I'd like each member of the crew to add something in the book as well. Maybe a little doodle of their own or maybe a piece of advice for our baby when he get's old enough to read it. What do you think, Law?"
"I think that sounds like a great idea," Law said.
"Yeah. They could write something occasionally in the book when they get an idea," Neo said. She pulled a piece of paper closer to her and started scribbling different ideas and doodles to see how she would like something. "I'll have to talk to them soon about this. Now what shall we do now? Baby ducklings will be cute to have swimming around the pages. Polar bears too. Bepo inspires those. Kitties, puppies, maybe even some birdies? Or maybe a little doodle of the sub? That would be cute too."
"She's so cute when she's indecisive," Bepo said. He too was now sitting down at the table. Only he had his elbows on the table and was resting his chin in his paws as he watched Neo babble on about what she could possibly do with the baby book.
Law nodded. "I think this book is going to take a lot longer than I thought it would be. She might even make more than one."
"At least she pretty much back to her normal self now," Bepo said. "She really had us worried there for a while."
Law nodded again. He agreed wholeheartedly with his navigator before giving Neo his undivided attention. And for the next couple of hours the couple talked and made sketches on several pieces of paper. They ended up decided on making the cover of the book a light blue color. Mostly because of Neo's hair and eyes but also because it would fit a boy and a girl. And most of their sketches revolved around their pirate lives and Neo's love of animals.
"I'm starting to get hungry," Neo said when her stomach rumbled. With tape on their baby's first picture, she pressed it onto the first page of the book then allowed Law to write down all of the information he gathered from their first ultrasound.
"You should get something to eat then," Law said. "You haven't had much today."
"I wonder if the crew has caught any fish yet," Neo said. She summoned an earth crystal and formed her an apple. She hummed in delight when she sunk her teeth into the delicious red skin of the apple. The juice flowed through her teeth and over her taste buds. "So yummy. I think I'm going to go check on them then start on lunch. Do either of you have any requests to add to my menu of Law's favorite? I'm going to make pies too."
"Fish sounds good to me," Bepo said. "Lots and lots of fish."
"Of course." Neo giggled. "What about you, Law?"
"You know I'm good with whatever you make," Law said.
"Okay. I'm going to take this with me. I want to show the crew our baby's first picture." Neo gathered up the sketches they had been working on and shoved them into the back of their baby book. She then turned to Law. "You'll be in our room, correct?"
"I will be. Just call for me if you need me for anything," Law said, sensing her desire to know where he was going to be despite their ability to sense each other.
"I'll see you later then," Neo said. She pressed her lips to his in a slow, lingering kiss before slowly parting from him. She then stood up, hugging the book to her chest, and walked out of the room. She kept the book tightly to her chest as she walked through the halls of the sub. She smiled when a few of their crewmembers appeared. "Hey, guys."
"What's up, Neo?" Shachi asked. "What's with the book?"
"It's our baby book," Neo said. She pulled it away from her chest and opened it up to show them their baby's first picture. "It's still a work in progress, but we've already put our baby's first picture inside of it. See?"
"Wow," they exclaimed.
"That's so cool. You've had your first ultrasound," Shachi said. "That's exciting."
"Yeah." Neo nodded. "Law and I are making this book for our baby. We also want the crew to add some things into at some point. Something like little doodles, or maybe some advice at certain points that will help our child in life. Stuff like that. Would you all do that for me?"
"Of course we will," Shachi said with the others nodding behind him. "Just let us know when you want us to do that."
"You seem a lot happier now," Jean Bart noted.
"I am," Neo said. "Thank you all for being so patient with me. I'm still not completely at a hundred percent. But I am feeling a lot better now that we're home and I have you all and Kailen here with me. It's really helped that he brought those things of our mother's to me. So where were you all heading?"
"We were going to see if the others caught anymore fish," Jean Bart said. "We're just coming back from delivering fifteen fish to Basil."
"He's in the galley then?" Neo asked.
"Yeah." Shachi nodded. "He's already cleaning the fish as we speak. He's probably waiting for you before starting on lunch fully. I think he's actually been in that room since we got back to the sub."
"I was heading there right now," Neo said. "I was getting hungry. Besides, it's about time to start lunch anyway."
"I can't wait for it," Shachi said. "We've really missed your cooking."
"Are you going to make cookies?" Jean Bart asked.
"Of course," Neo said. "I plan on making everyone's favorite."
"Not all at once I hope," Shachi said, slightly panicked. "Even with the help of your crystals that would be a lot for you to take on. You need to take care of yourself now. Your baby's depending on you."
"Don't worry, Shachi," Neo said hugging the book back to her chest. "I'm still learning about having baby, but I know not to over do it. I won't do anything that will harm our child. And I won't cook everything at once. I'll just do a little at a time. For now I'll just start with everyone's top favorites. I'll have plenty of time for cooking more later."
"That's good to hear. Well, we're heading back out to the deck," Shachi said as he and Jean Bart continued on around Neo.
"Wait! I'm coming with you!" Neo ran to catch up with them. "Penguin's still out there, isn't he?"
"He is," Jean Bart said, looking down at the girl beside them.
"I really want to show him our baby's picture book," Neo said.
"He'll really love that," Shachi said. "He was talking about what your baby's going to be like when we were out there before."
"I think our baby's going to a lot like Law," Neo said just before a warm breeze blew through the open door of the sub. With it came the salt from the sea and the smell of fish, which made her even hungrier. Summoning her earth crystal again she formed herself a banana, offered one to the two men she was walking with- which they turned down- before they all stepped out onto the deck. Few of the men were sitting on the railing while others were standing with their arms resting on the railing. Lucky for her, Penguin was one of the ones standing. She ran over to him. "Penguin! Look! Look!"
"What's up, Princess?" Penguin asked just as Neo all but tackled him. He held his fishing pole as far away from her as he possible could so he wouldn't poke her with it. "Easy now."
"Look! Our baby's first baby book!" Neo cooed. She flipped open the book and showed the picture to all six of the crewmembers who were fishing. She happily, and excitingly, showed them their baby's first picture when they gathered around her with their own excitement. She listened as they cooed happily and took in the black and white picture in the book. She then told them what they were doing with the book. They all agreed that it was a good idea and loved it before she turned and headed back inside of the sub. Each time she passed a crewmember in the hall, she would stop them and show them the book. Slowly, she made her way through the sub and into the rec. room where the Straw Hats, Wano warriors, and a couple of her own crewmates were talking, playing poker, or reading. She paused upon seeing the three warriors from Wano. They were sitting off in the corner talking amongst themselves. None of them seem to notice she was standing there so she took a moment to just observe the strangers in her home. She wondered how long it would bother her to have them here.
"And I thought Neo had her childish moments," Tero said when Neo finally entered into the room fully. She found him and Zoro sitting at the table with Kailen and two other Heart Pirates. They had cards scattered around the table and, from the looks of it, was still teaching Kailen the game of poker.
"Hey," Neo protested.
"Just speaking the truth, Princess," Tero said with a wink.
"Yeah, I guess I can't deny that," Neo said. "But what exactly are you talking about?"
"You and Luffy," Zoro said. "And how childish you two can be. But I must say that Luffy is way more childish then you are or at least on a normal day. When you're in your playful mood swings I think you can top him."
"Now that's going to be something to look forward to," Tero said. "Zoro told me what you did to him in Dressrosa."
"Oh, that wasn't my fault. It's not like I can control it. Besides, you love me and you know it," Neo said. She walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his neck, placing a kiss on his cheek much to his dismay. But the man didn't pull away from her and allowed her to keep her arms around him. "I'm not surprised you two are getting along so well. And so quickly."
"We both find you annoying," Tero said with a smirk. "We bonded over that."
"I'm going to ignore that," Neo said, pinching his cheek slightly. "I'm in too good of a mood for you to bother me. I know you love me anyway."
Tero rolled his eyes but smiled. They all knew he did love Neo, but in his own way.
"We're going to spar later," Zoro said.
"Be careful then," Neo said. "I won't be happy if you two hurt each other."
"Don't worry," Tero said. "We'll be fine."
"So how's the poker going?" Neo then asked Kailen.
"Not too good," Kailen said. "I think I'm getting the hang of it, but I'm not going to be any good."
"Don't say that," Neo said. She loosened her hold on Tero, but kept her arms around his shoulders. "You're going to be fine."
"Well, at least he doesn't have the luck that you do," Tero said. "So that's a good thing."
"They've told me how you would wipe them clean if Law allowed you to play with money," Kailen said with a proud smile. "I know who to turn to if they take me for everything I have."
"They won't do that," Neo said. "I won't allow them."
"So you come to share your first baby picture?" Kailen then asked.
"Baby picture?" Robin asked. She lowered the book she was reading to her lap.
"You didn't tell them?" Neo asked Kailen.
"I thought you'd want to do that," Kailen said.
"Thanks." Neo opened her book as they all, but the warriors from Wano gathered around her.
"That's super," Franky said.
"It never seizes to amaze me that we all start out so small," Usopp said.
"Congratulations, Neo," Robin said. "This is wonderful."
"Thanks," Neo said before explaining the baby book idea to them.
"Thank sounds like a fun idea," Robin said.
"Yeah." Neo nodded. "So how are you all doing? Are you comfortable enough?"
"We sure are," Usopp said. He held up the book he had in his hand. "We're settling in nicely. I even found a book that I'm enjoying reading."
"I bet you like that one because it has a sniper in it," Neo said.
"Guilty." Usopp smiled.
"I'm impressed with the craftsmanship of this sub," Franky said. "I'd love to know who built it. It must have cost a fortune."
"You'll have to discuss that with Law," Neo said. "It was designed to his liking because of all his medical equipment so it did cost a lot." She looked over to the three warriors in the corner of the room before walking over to them. "And how are you three doing?"
"We're just fine, Lady Neo," Kin'emon said.
"Yes, we are indeed fine," Kanjuro said with Raizo nodding beside him.
"Would you like to see our baby?" Neo opened the book for them.
"Yes, sure a strong looking child," Kin'emon said. "Thank you for showing us. You did not have to do that."
"It's fine," Neo said, hugging the book to her chest. "I wanted to."
"I'm glad that you are feeling better," Kin'emon said. "You look a lot prettier when you smile."
"Thank you," Neo said. "I'm heading off to the galley now. Are there any specific food concerns I need to know about? Are you all allergic to anything?"
"No, Lady Neo," Kin'emon said. "We have no food allergies."
"We will be grateful for whatever you wish to make us," Raizo said. "And if there is anything you'd like for us to do, do not hesitate to ask."
"Thank you. But it's not necessary. Just relax. You're going to have a tough battle in Wano when we get there," Neo said. She waved to everyone before leaving that room and finally headed directly to the galley. She smiled again when she found Basil inside where he always was. He didn't notice her as she bustled around the room getting things ready for lunch. His skin and clothes were speckled with fish scales. It gave him a rainbow look when the light reflected off of them. "You're always like your own personal beehive in here."
"You're one to talk, Lil Lady," Basil said with a smile of his own.
Neo couldn't hold back her squeal of delight anymore. Rushing into the room, she hugged him. "We can finally cook together again!"
"I've missed it as much as you have," Basil said, hugging her back.
"Before we start I have something to show you," Neo said. She pulled away from him and opened the book once more.
"Wow," Basil exclaimed. "Your first picture of your baby. I take it everything went find with the ultrasound?"
"Yeah." Neo nodded. "Both Law and Healer Zinnia said our baby is doing just fine. Though I think Healer Zinnia wants me to eat more for the development of our baby. She said she was going to make me a menu for that."
"I see," Basil said. "She's right. You have to eat enough to give both yourself and your baby all the nutrition you both need for the pregnancy and birth."
"I know," Neo said. "I'll do what I need to. It's still kind of scary though. I'm just really glad to be home. It's going to make things a lot easier. I know I can be a lot calmer being home with my family."
"Of course. Shall we get cooking now?" Basil asked.
"Absolutely!" Neo squealed with delight again.
"Let's put your baby book up here in the shelf so we don't get it dirty," Basil said. He walked over to the cabinet and opened the top shelf.
Neo, despite not really feeling like putting the book down yet, placed the book in the shelf before grabbing her apron out of a lower drawer. She tied it securely around her rounded waist before she started pulling out several kitchen utensils. The two Heart Pirate cooks then set out to do one of the things they did best, cook. Soon the galley was filled with warmth of the fire, tantalizing smells of the spices and foods they were cooking, and several crewmembers who kept trying to sneak a bite before it was all ready. Each time someone tried to sneak into the galley to steal some food either she or Basil would run him or her off and say, "It's almost ready. You can wait a little longer."
"They all seem very fond of your cooking," Robin said from one of the tables as she watched Neo and Basil move around the galley.
"Yeah." Neo nodded with pink cheeks. "But they can still wait. It won't be much longer now."
"It all smell so good," Usopp said as he and Franky walked into the room. "Sanji would be proud."
Neo's smile faded upon hearing the blonde man's name. She lowered the mixing bowl she was holding to the counter with a heavy sigh.
"I'm sorry, Neo," Usopp said. "I didn't mean to upset you."
"You didn't," Neo said. She took a deep breath before giving the sniper a smile. "It was just a small mood swing. I know Sanji is going to be fine. If he wasn't, then my nightmare would have been a lot worse that it was."
"I guess that's true," Usopp said. "Still, your nightmare sounded pretty bad as it was."
"They seem a lot worse after I have them," Neo said. "But once Nami and the others told us why he left then it all made more sense and wasn't as scary. Still, it's pretty scary to think he's in the hands of an emperor and is being blackmailed into this wedding. I wonder what his suppose to be bride is like. What will happen if he falls in love with her and decides to marry her for real? He won't be a part of your crew anymore and I'll never see him again."
"That won't happen," Robin said. She walked up to Neo and placed her hands on her friend's shoulders. "Sanji's not really the type to fall in love that easily."
"Yeah, he's more into puppy love, Usopp said. "He never takes his crushes seriously."
"Sanji's loyal to the Straw Hats," Franky added. "He won't leave. And Luffy won't let him leave. Luffy will drag him back to the Sunny himself if he has to."
"Maybe," Neo said with a smile. "But I don't really see Luffy doing that."
"You're correct," Franky said. "Still, he won't leave Whole Cake Island without Sanji."
"I wonder how long it's going to take them to ruin the wedding," Neo said. "They have to deal with all of Big Mom's subordinates. And that includes one of the super novas, Capone. I wonder why he joined up with Big Mom in the first place. In all honestly, he doesn't strike me as the type to join up with an emperor. None of the super novas do. I could be wrong though. I don't know the rest all that well. And I don't believe any of them are strong enough, on their own, to take down an emperor." She tapped her wooden spoon on the edge of her mixing bowl. "Oh dear. I've got to stop. I'm starting to worry about Godfather again. That won't do at all. All right! Back to cooking now! Cooking's a fun distraction!" She picked up her bowl and started mixing her cookie dough.
"It's like her emotions are spinning on a top," Usopp said.
"At least she's in control," Robin said. "I'd be worried if she wasn't."
"She does seem a lot happier now that she's back home," Franky noted. "It's good to see her smiling again."
"It is." Robin nodded. She led her two crewmates back over to the table and sat down to watch the two Heart Pirate cooks dance around the galley.
"There you are," Healer Zinnia said a few minutes later.
"Hello, Healer Zinnia," Neo said with a smile. "Is anything wrong?"
"Not at all," Healer Zinnia said. She then held up a piece of paper. "I've got your diet plan right here. I didn't know whether you would want it in here or in your room. Tero said that you were in here so I brought it to you."
"Thanks a lot. You can just set it down on the counter for now," Neo said. "I'm sure Law will want to memorize it later. He'll most likely have me memorize it too."
"He probably will." Healer Zinnia laid the paper down at the end of the counter so it wouldn't get in the way or get dirty. "It smells so good in here. You two must work well together."
"We sure do," Basil said. "It was a bit rocky at first since I was the interloper."
"It wasn't that bad," Neo said with pink cheeks.
"Then why are you blushing?" Usopp asked.
"Oh! Hush!" Neo said. "Fine! It wasn't the best thing in the world! But that was only at the time! I've come to really love Basil just like I love everyone else on the crew!"
"And I've come to love you just as much as well," Basil said before pecking Neo's still pink cheek.
"Well, I for one can't wait to see how everything tastes," Usopp said.
"Same here. It smells really good," Robin said.
"It's super," Franky added.
"Law!" Neo said just before Law entered into the galley. She rushed over to him and hugged him. "You're here! I've missed you!"
"I will never get use to how they can sense each other," Usopp said.
"I've missed you too," Law said, mostly to humor her, but it was also true.
"Well, you're right on time," Neo said, pulling back from him a bit. "Lunch is all ready."
"I figured as much," Law said. "I told Bepo to gather the crew. They should be here soon."
"Great. Oh, yeah, Healer Zinnia has my diet plan all ready." Neo took Law's hand in hers and pulled him over to the counter where the paper was still laying. "I figured you'd want to memorize it."
"I do. And I want you to memorize it as well." Law picked up the paper with a nod. He lifted an eyebrow when everyone in the room chuckled. "What?"
"Nothing. I just knew you'd say that," Neo said. "I'll memorize it."
"This is double what humans eat during a pregnancy," Law said before turning his eyes to the healer.
"Indeed. Pregnant elementals require a lot of nutrients for both themselves and their baby," Healer Zinnia said.
"Why's that?" Usopp asked.
"Because they're not only supplying nutrients for their bodies. They have to also supply nutrients to their magic as well," Healer Zinnia explained. "Remember we elementals are nature. Our magic is connected to nature. And nature needs to be nourished, correct?"
"I think I understand. It's like with my ammo for my Kabuto," Usopp said. Digging into his bag, he pulled out a few for the healer to see. "I use these pop greens for my weapons. They wouldn't grow if I didn't water and take care of them."
"That correct," Healer Zinnia said. "Along with eating this much, the princess will also have to drink a lot to keep hydrated, and she'll be taking a lot of naps."
"More naps?" Neo asked. She tightened her arms around Law's. "I'm not use to napping as it is."
"You'll get use to it," Healer Zinnia said. "Pregnant elementals nap on and off during the day. The naps can last anywhere between just an hour or three."
"One hour to three," Neo mumbled.
"For unknown reasons, an elemental will develop their own napping pattern," Healer Zinnia said. "You should know soon what you're is going to be like."
"I see," Neo said. "I'm still not liking it though. I hope it doesn't interfere with sleeping at night."
"It shouldn't," Healer Zinnia said. "If it does, I can give you something that'll help you sleep."
"Is it safe for our baby?" Neo asked.
"Of course it will be," Healer Zinnia said. "All of our treatments are safe for both mother and baby."
"I know. I just got worried," Neo said. "I'm sorry."
"No need to apologize." Healer Zinnia smiled. "It's fine if you need to be reminded of something."
"Yeah. That's probably going to happen a lot," Neo said just before the crew and company started filing into the galley. Soon the room was filled with people talking about the good smells and foods that were in the room. Everyone filled their plates, sat down, and enjoyed their first home cooked meal from their favorite cooks. Once everyone was pretty much done eat, she started filling them in on what all had happened while they were way. Most were still shocked that their precious little girl walked through Dressrosa on her own and Penguin became furious when she told them about almost getting taken advantage of by one of Caesar's men. It took them almost an hour, and several death threats to the already dead man, to calm him back down. Then, while everyone was talking, she crossed her arms over the table, rested her head on them, and fell asleep.
"Ah, she fell asleep," Bepo said. He laid his chin on the table, since he was sitting across from her, and watched her sleep. "So cute."
"And so it has started," Healer Zinnia said. "Start getting use to her doing that. It'll happen randomly."
"I won't happen when she's walking or flying, will it?" Penguin asked.
"She'll get tired, but she won't just immediately fall asleep," Healer Zinnia said.
"That's good," Penguin said.
…
Neo was staring at herself in their bathroom mirror when Law finally walked in the room. He asked, "You feeling okay?"
"Yeah, just a little tired," Neo said. She watched Law pulled off his shirt and then his jeans from the mirror. Her eyes ran hungrily over the sculpted muscles of his body. She was divided in wanting to go to bed and wanting sexual intimacy from him. "I didn't expect to be this tired after sleeping for two hours after lunch. I guess I'm just tired from all of the excitement of being home."
"Most likely that's it. You were constantly on the go with the exception of your nap. At least that excitement is over. I don't want you to do that again," Law said. He tossed his clothes into the clothes hamper before turning and smiling at her. "Do you enjoy the show?"
Neo felt her cheeks heat up. "Oh, hush. You watched me earlier. Now was just my turn."
Law chuckled. He stepped over to her and kissed her. "You're so cute when you blush."
"Just hurry up," Neo said. "I want to cuddle with you."
"Yes, love," Law said while he reached for his toothbrush.
Neo pressed her lips to Law's back before stepping out of the bathroom. She walked over to their closet and opened it. Her eyes went right to the three shirts that belonged to her mother. She ran her fingers over them before pulling off Law's hoodie. One by one, she tried them on. The first one was pure white with no other decorations on it. She wondered if it was made for her mother because she was carrying a royal within her or if it was just a coincidence. The second one she tried on was a sky blue one with several small orange flowers embroidered on the bottom left side. The third and final one was a yellow one with black dots decorating the ruffles at the bottom. She couldn't help but smile. Yellow and black were Law's favorite colors. It's weird how certain things work out. It's almost like my mother knew that I would end up with Law. But I know that's not possible. Still, I can't help but feel that way. I guess it doesn't matter. I'm just glad Kailen brought these back for me.
"A little too soon for those," Law said, breaking Neo from her thoughts.
"I know. I can stuff another entire person in this shirt with me." Neo giggled as she pulled the belly of the shirt away from her. She paused to take in Law's finely sculpted body as he leaned against the door frame of the bathroom. "I was just trying them on for the fun of it. It also makes me feel a bit closer to my mother."
"Well, you know you can wear them anytime you wish not just when you get big enough to wear them," Law said. "If you get that big, I mean. I don't think you will though. You can always have Topaz take them in for you."
"No." Neo shook her head as she removed the shirt from her body. With great care, she folded the shirt and hugged it against her chest. "I want them to stay just like they are. I don't care that they might be too big for me." She then turned back and placed it on the shelf she had gotten it from. She looked up when Law's Room appeared around her. Before she could ask what he was doing, she vanished from the closet and found herself lying on their bed completely in the nude. "What are… you doing?"
"I've waited long enough to have you in our bed again," Law said as he climbed on the bed and straddled over her in all of his own naked glory. He leaned down and pressed his lips to the rapid pulse in her neck. "And I'm going to take you nice and slow for as long as I can, my love."
Neo hummed in pleasure at Law's warm breath washing over her neck. She ran her hands down his arms, her heart skipping a small beat when she went over the area of his scar. But the thought quickly left her mind when Law sucked hard on the soft spot on her neck. She hummed again and arched into him. "L-Law…"
Law positioned himself. Ready to take her in every sensual way possible.
"Wait!" Neo gasped.
"What's wrong?" Law asked, pausing.
"Nothing's wrong," Neo said.
"Then there's no reason to stop," Law said. He leaned into capture her lips.
"Law! I'm pregnant!" Neo said, pulling back from him a bit.
"I've noticed," Law said leaning back into kiss her again.
"Our baby-"
"Will be fine," Law said. He placed his hand on her stomach and caressed her gently. "You're worried about having sex while pregnant?"
"Yeah." Neo nodded.
"You don't have to be. Your womb is protecting our baby. And so are your crystals. It's perfectly fine for us to have sex. Besides, I'm not that long," Law said.
"Oh." Neo blinked several times. "I guess I forgot that or something."
"I'm still going to be gentle with you," Law said, rubbing his hands up and down her sides.
"I know you are." Neo wrapped her arms around his neck just as he connected with her. She arched against him again when he hit her spot. "I want it slow and steady like you said. I want to feel you for as long as I can."
"If that's what you want, then that's what you'll get," Law said, trailing kisses all over her skin. He trailed his hands along her sides before guiding them up her arms until he laced their fingers together.
...
Neo hummed softly while Law trailed his hand over her soft hair. She was lying on his stomach like always, tired from their recent activity. Resting her chin on his chest, she turned her eyes up to him. Her eyes sparkled at him until a thought crossed through her mind that caused the sparkle to die.
"What is it, love?" Law asked upon seeing the light dim a bit in her beautiful eyes.
"I'm not going to be able to lay on you like his for much longer, am I?" Neo said. She could easily feel lying on Law's stomach like this felt different than it has before. "Our baby's growing. My stomach is only going to get bigger."
"That's true," Law said. He moved his hand from her hair and trailed the back of his fingers down her arm. "But it won't be for long. You only have four more months until our baby is born. You'll be back to your normal size before you know it. Besides, there's a chance that you won't even want sex once you get farther along."
"Not want sex?" Neo asked, alarmed. "Tell me you're joke."
"I'm afraid not," Law said. "Your body is going to go through some rapid changes and sex can make you feel very uncomfortable."
"I guess so. But what about you? You'll still want sex," Neo said. "How can I deny you that?"
"I'll still want it, but I won't force you to do it if it hurts you," Law said. He brushed her bangs out of the way before they fell stubbornly back into place. "You know that."
"This whole pregnancy thing sound so one sided and selfish," Neo said. "I'm the one carrying our baby, dealing with the mood swings, the cravings, the morning sickness, the dizziness, and my body is going to refuse sex… and you're stuck on the receiving end of my craziness while feeling what I do because of our bond. I'm sorry."
"I suppose in several ways it does seem a bit one sided," Law said. "But that's just how it is. You're the woman so you have the burden of carrying our child. If I could do it, I would. It's just not possible."
"I'll try not to get so sensitive about things," Neo said.
"Don't worry about that," Law said. "You just feel what you feel. Besides, I'm right beside you the entire way. I'm going to feel what you do and not just because of our bond. If you're not feeling well then I'm not going to feel that good either. You know I don't like it when you're sick or hurt. So don't worry about my needs and me. This is all about you and our baby. You must do what makes you comfortable. Do you understand?"
"Yes." Neo nodded. "Even though I don't really like it."
"That's fine," Law said. "We can work things out as we go along."
Neo nodded. She closed her eyes and enjoyed Law's touch as he started stroking her hair again. After a few minutes, she reopened her eyes and looked at him. "Hey, Law?"
"Hm?"
"What do you want?"
"What do you mean?"
"Our baby… do you want a boy or a girl?"
Law's eyebrows lifted on his forehead. He honestly never put much thought into whether or not he wanted a boy or a girl. On one hand, he thought that a boy would be better suited to their lives as pirates. But he also knew that some girls could be tough enough to survive on the seas. A smile pulled across his lips when the answer came to him. "I want a healthy baby. And for the both of you to remain safe and unharmed."
"We're having a boy," Neo then stated out of the blue.
"Oh? Are we now?" Law asked with a smirk.
"We are." Neo nodded firmly. "And we're going to name him after Corazon."
"Cora?" Law blinked in surprised. "Are you serious?"
"Law, I know you miss him," Neo said. She reached up and cupped his face, brushing her thumb over his skin. "I miss him too. I wish he could always be here with us and not just visit us occasionally through our dreams or whatever they are. I think this will let both of us feel like he's closer to us. And you want to name our child after him, don't you? I know how much he means to you. You love him. He was like another dad to you. And he's come to mean a lot to me as well. In a way, if it wasn't for him we might never have gotten to this point."
While thinking about her words, Law's mind snapped back to earlier that day on what Healer Zinnia said about elementals begin able to sense if they were having a boy or a girl. Then, for whatever reason, his mind instantly recalled the dream that he had, the fact that Neo has in fact called their baby a boy before, and the fact that in her dreams the baby she kept seeing looked just like him. It seemed that they were really going to have a boy. Still, he had to ask, "What if it's a girl?"
"We're still calling our baby Cora," Neo said. "Trafalgar Rosinante Corazon."
"Even if we have a girl instead?" Law asked again.
"We're having a boy," Neo said firmly. "But, yes, even if our baby turns out to be a girl, we're still naming her after Corazon. And that's how it's going to be. Just say it already."
"You're a spoiled brat," Law said.
"Hey! I am not!" Neo tugged on a strand of his hair with a smile. "You wouldn't allow me to be!"
Law chuckled. "You're not a brat at all. But you are still very much spoiled because I love you so much."
"Well, I can argue with that," Neo said. "And now I want you to love me again."
"Again? It wasn't enough?" Law asked.
"It was, but I still want it again," Neo said as she placed kisses on Law's chest in an attempt to arouse him again. "I guess my sex drive is up again. Or maybe I just want it because I might not want it later? Or maybe it's because-Hm?"
Law hooked his arm around her and rolled Neo over on her back, cutting her off. "All right, all right. You get what you want. Again."
"You're such a good boy," Neo said. She took Law's face in her hands and pulled him down into a kiss.
…
Neo and Law are now caught up to the manga so we have no choice but to go on hiatus here. I will be fixing issues with past chapters and adding some things in and possibly even a few extra chapters to smooth things out like on Luminous since I didn't give much on that, unless an overwhelming number of people object to that. But few often object to more chapters. So they'll be there for you to read if you want. No major chances will be added in. I'll be taking it slow on those updates so I don't mess up the chapters.
I don't know when the canon story will continued since I tend to favor following the anime over the manga. We'll just have to see. I'll also be taking a break, at least a week maybe week and a half. Then I'll be back posting on my other stories. I think I'll keep posting on the same days that I have been, but a couple stories I might post on other days. Thanks all for reading, reviewing, and liking this story. Can't wait for more info to continue.
Sarge1130: It hasn't been shown how Law and company left Zou. I just did that on my own since I don't think Oda will actually show that part. He might, but I doubt it. The idea on Zunisha dying just came to me since animals do that. I loved it and put it in. I've also wondered about the sub. They didn't show it in the manga or anime so I just assumed they lifted it upon Zunisha with their pulley system. But that doesn't answer how the crew got up there. I'm glad I had the Elementals there for that. I did leave out Raizo trying to win their favor on purpose. That was a long chapter and we all know what happened there so I thought it wasn't necessary to put in. Thanks for reading and reviewing. Bummed we're going on hiatus, but at least now I can get caught up on my other fics.
Apple Bloom: Not much happened here. I think I might have pushed the baby reveal too fast. I'm divided on that despite having Neo reveal it like this in the original. But I'm glad I did make this two parts. Thanks for reading and reviewing. Now my break then onto my other stories.
