Chapter 17
14 months later

Lyanna exited the small bakery and sat on the bench outside to munch on the freshly baked roll she had bought. The island she was on, Dymar, was temperate, and she had already managed to find transport to her next location. It was a merchant crew that she was going to travel with, and they had agreed on a fair price. She was getting a bit low on money, but her next location had a client that always paid her well, so she'd be okay. They wouldn't be leaving for two days, so she had already gotten some accommodation until they departed. It had been kind of nice to stay in one place for a while, and she'd enjoyed the tasty food and lovely scenery on Dymar.

Conveniently, one of her connections was meeting her here on the island, and they'd planned to meet up while they were both here. They ran into each other a few times a year. They always shared what they had since he usually got good information about Navy routes, and Lyanna had better information about pirate crews, including which were allied and which were hostile.

Suddenly, she heard a familiar voice yelling her name and spun her head to the right where the sound was coming from.

"Bepo?!" She said incredulously, but it wasn't loud enough for him to hear.

The large mink, clad in the easily recognisable orange boiler suit, was jogging towards her with a big grin on his face. Shachi was on his left, smiling widely but walking at an average pace. The rest of the crew were trailing behind but further back. Bepo must have been ahead already or spotted her earlier than the rest. Penguin sped up, too, and she saw Ikkaku a few paces behind with a smirk. The two girls had gotten along well while she was on board the Polar Tang, and she was pleased to see her again. She could see Uni, Clione, and even Hakugan. There were a few that she didn't recognise, but it had been a long time since she'd seen them after all. Jean Bart wasn't in sight, so maybe he was back at the ship.

Everyone was heading towards her, where the market and tavern were. They must have been stopping off to get some supplies, and she didn't know how long they'd been on the island for. She had been here for two nights already and was staying another two before she would be moving on. The island wasn't huge, so it would have been hard to miss them so far if they'd been here as long as she had.

When Bepo reached her a few seconds later, he hugged her tight and spun her around, lifting her feet off the ground. She laughed loudly and vaguely recalled Law divulging that Bepo was only fast when he wanted to be. Clearly, this was one of those times.

"Hi Bepo!" She said cheerily, returning his hug, although she couldn't fully reach her arms around him.

Shachi hugged her after Bepo finally put her down, and Penguin did the same. After a moment, Ikkaku and the rest of the group reached them, but Lyanna couldn't see their Captain. Ikkaku gave her a warm hug, making her smile, and whispered softly to her.

"He's in a shop, getting some medical supplies," Ikkaku said and tapped on her right shoulder, indicating he would come out from that direction.

"Uh, thank you," Lyanna replied just as softly. She thought she'd been more subtle looking for him, but apparently not enough for Ikkaku not to notice.

"Fancy seeing you here!" Ikkaku piped up louder as she pulled back from the hug, concealing their whispering.

"It's quite a surprise that I would run into you guys again. I'm clearly in much better shape now than I was when we first met, though." She gestured to her being vertical instead of out cold on the ground.

"Yeah, you are conscious." Shachi teased cheekily.

She was introduced to a few new crew members and did her best to memorise their names. Thankfully, there were only four of them, so it would be pretty easy. Two of them were back on the sub with Jean Bart, so she could meet them later.

"Did you guys just arrive here?" Lyanna asked curiously.

"Yeah, we needed to stop for supplies. Maybe we can stay longer since we've run into you, though." Bepo suggested, and Penguin nodded in agreement. Ikkaku's suggestive eyebrow raise was subtle enough that only Lyanna had seen it.

"The Captain's coming. We can ask him. We were going to eat at the tavern, then stock up on supplies." Shachi looked over his shoulder, pointing his thumb at the Heart Pirate Captain, who was walking over to meet them.

The Surgeon of Death didn't look any different besides his clothing. His giant sword was resting on his shoulder, and the expression on his face was just as composed and guarded as ever. Even though it was hard to tell from this distance, she could have sworn his eyes widened, and he smiled when he noticed her chatting with his crew. He came to stand next to Shachi and Bepo and gave her a single nod in greeting.

"Long time, no see." She declared with a smile.

Although his response was no more than a grunt of agreement, she could see that he carefully raked his eyes over her. She couldn't tell whether it was to check her for injuries or if it was a little more flirtatious. Maybe it was both.

"Get everything you need, Captain?" Penguin asked, and Law nodded.

"They'll get all of it ready for us to pick up after we eat." He answered but didn't look away from Lyanna.

"Come and eat with us!" Ikkaku linked her arm through Lyanna's and didn't waste any time pulling her along in the direction they were already heading.

The crew all went inside the tavern and grabbed a few tables to spread out over. Lyanna had already had the roll from the bakery, but she wouldn't deny having a meal with her friends that she hadn't seen in so long. It was fantastic to run into the Heart Pirates, and although she had kept in touch with them, seeing them in person was much better than talking to them on the Den Den Mushi. Most of the time she spoke to them, she would have a brief conversation to catch up, and that was about it. Sometimes, she'd chat with Ikkaku for an hour or so, but they rarely got a chance to do so. She'd talked with Law several times and given him some intel, but they certainly hadn't been intimate conversations.

It had been over a year since they'd found her half-dead and in the depths of despair and grief, unconscious on whatever island she'd ended up on. Most of her time before that had been spent drunk and sleep-deprived. Every time she'd tried to sleep, all she would dream about was seeing Whitebeard's death broadcasted from Marineford in the 'War of the Best'. The old man had been her reason for living; without him, she'd completely lost her way. Losing Ace and not knowing if the rest of the crew, her family, were alive or dead had just finished her off. She'd ended up a hopeless mess and had been more than happy to let herself die.

The Heart Pirates had put a stop to her self-destructive cycle. Specifically, their Captain had somehow managed to combine treatment with blunt and sarcastic comments and provided her a safe space to grieve in. Despite being part of the 'Worst Generation' and having the 'Surgeon of Death' moniker, he had set her on the right path to heal her heart and help her cope with the grief. He didn't shame her for feeling like she had nothing left to live for, tell her that she was wrong, or that other people had it worse. His dry sense of humour, suggestive comments, and doctorly advice had somehow broken down her walls. Their bargain had forced her to face the reality that there were still good people in the world and people who cared. The compassion of the crew, who had likely all experienced loss and grief in their own lives, understood very well what she was going through and had used kindness as a light on her sorrow. Eventually, she began to feel like more than an animated corpse during her stay. She came to terms with her grief, and although it would never go away, she felt like she could get through her day without breaking down.

She was indebted to them for saving her life, but that wouldn't have stuck if not for their warmth that showed her she could still find a reason to live and reminded her that the rest of Whitebeard's crew shouldn't have to lose her, too. Her desire to just disappear into nonexistence had faded entirely now, and she'd occupied her time doing what she was best at and trying to find traces of intel about her surrogate family. There had been a few bits and pieces of descriptions matching a few members that she'd been looking into. They must have been doing a good job hiding or simply didn't want to be found, but she was determined. Once she tracked down one of them, locating the rest would be much easier.

Smiling as they chatted with her to catch her up on everything that had happened since she'd last spoken to them, she could feel Law's eyes on her from his spot at two tables to her right. She was seated with her back to the wall, and he was sitting on the opposite side of his table, giving him a perfect angle to watch her from. He seemed to be taking full advantage of this, so she gave him a smirk and a not-so-subtle wink before she got up to help Bepo and Penguin order everyone's drinks. They brought them to the table in several lots, and the staff brought food over shortly after.

It was lots of fun; everyone was talking and laughing, and the atmosphere was just what Lyanna wanted. Being alone was relatively easy when she was busy, but it got a little lonely when she had to stop for a while. She was so happy to have run into them, and the crew begged Law for them to stay here for at least one night to spend some more time with her before moving on.

Lyanna got the impression that he didn't want to relent to their request too easily. Still, he did eventually agree with a roll of his eyes and a single nod. They all cheered, Lyanna included, and once everyone had eaten, they did their best to not leave a huge mess, piling their plates and glasses up, and Bepo paid their colossal tab. Clione carried some food to take back for the guys guarding the sub, and they all left the tavern and headed back to the market to get their supplies.

Shachi offered to go and grab the medical supplies that Law had requested, and Lyanna decided to trail along with him so they could chat a little more. They picked up the bags from the shop and headed back to the market, where they could join up with the group.

"I'm surprised the Captain didn't tell me to go with the group so you could go with him." He said with a suggestively raised eyebrow.

"What do you mean?" Lyanna asked as they walked side by side.

"Well, it's not like we didn't know about you guys." His bland tone made her snort in laughter.

"Yeah…we weren't exactly quiet. But we're not dating or anything." She replied while pushing some hair behind her ears.

"Oh."

"Oh?" She copied him but with a questioning inflection.

"We thought you might have been. You're the first woman the Captain has slept with more than once." Shachi answered with a half-shrug.

"I think being cooped up on the sub for a few months may have contributed to that," Lyanna admitted with a faint blush, trying to tell herself that she didn't need to be happy to hear that.

"Still, he's usually only bothered with a one-night stand when we've docked somewhere overnight. We've all had our forays, but he usually stays on his own."

"What are you saying, Shachi?" She asked somewhat bluntly, wondering where he was going with this.

"I think he at least has some feelings for you." He suggested with a thoughtful expression.

"Oh." It was Lyanna's turn to be surprised, and she stared at the ground moving beneath her feet as they walked.

"What about you?" Shachi asked as he eyed her closely to watch her reaction.

"Well, I certainly don't dislike him…"

"Got it. Ah, I can hear them. They're down here." Shachi said pointedly, likely sensing Lyanna's reservations about voicing her feelings.

"Good. You're not the best wingman, Shachi." She narrowed her eyes at him, but he just laughed.

"The Captain doesn't need my help anyway. You'd know." He nudged her with his elbow.

"Shut up…" She said with a low tone in mock-anger, but that just made him laugh more.

They went on deck, headed straight to the treatment room and unpacked the medical supplies. Since Lyanna was here last, nothing had been moved, so she could help efficiently. The rest of the crew were all over the sub, getting things ready for them to eat and drink above deck. Lyanna didn't want them to go to any fuss, but they all seemed intent on partying with her for the night they would be together.

Once they'd finished their task, Shachi and Lyanna headed outside and helped set up some chairs and tables. There was perfect weather, so they could enjoy the afternoon sun while they caught up.

Law was lying down, his hat over his eyes and looking like he was dozing idly. However, he lifted the hat just enough to look at her before letting it cover him once again. Since it was only shielding his eyes, she could clearly see his mischievous smirk before she turned her back to him and went to help Ikkaku and Clione in the kitchen.

Everyone talked, joked, laughed and even danced as the sun went down...