DISCLAIMER I DO NOT OWN ONE PIECE

Aurelia watched from the port window as the Polar Tang was getting closer to their next island. She was practically bouncing in her spot seeing it. 'We're here! Aponado, the island of herbs! I wonder if I can climb the mountain this time around.'

Aponado was an island famous to many doctors in the Grand line. Despite being a winter island, it had the most abundant herbs in one place that many dreamed of visiting at least once. Even without visiting, the amount of books and studies that came from this island alone was enough to keep someone busy for years. Overall it was an island that had many visitors that made most of it's money off of doctor tourism and exports.

If there was anything that was going to keep Law in Paradise, it was going to be this island. However, due to high traffic volume of doctors and the herbs being only naturally grown, what farmers and doctors could remove was limited. Any doctor that was to visit for research purposes had to have a permit from a notable official figure or risk arrest.

Of course, she anticipated that the pirate wouldn't care for the rules. Luckily –unluckily- for him, if she was with him then it would equal less trouble. For a strategic man like Law it wouldn't be surprising if he requested her to be with him to explore the island. The two could talk about herbs and decide what to buy and with her license she had a bit more leeway to move around than him. She was the best choice for him to take. As long as no one was with them, she could easily kill him.

"Happy Aurelia?" Jean Bart walked up next to her.

"Indeed. You have no idea how much of a paradise Aponado is for someone like me."

"You've been before?" She nodded.

"Medical school loved to talk about this place. I was even allowed to study here for a short period of time as an undergraduate. Didn't ever want to leave with all the potential research ideas popping up everyday."

"Girly that sounds nice and all but the moment I was old 'nough I never looked back at school. Your enthusiasm to study is beyond me."

"Many are like that. I won't bore you with the details. Mister Trafalgar will be the one suffering from that. I'm going to get dressed in more appropriate attire. I'll see you when the submarine docks." She bowed to him to go back to her room.

The closer they got to Aponado, the colder the submarine got. She could already hear the heaters starting the run. Bundling herself up in a long, felt jacket she paired her outfit with some gloves and a hat; opting to not tie her hair in the usual braid. Double checking that her trident and doctor's license was inside her bag, she was all ready to head out.

"We're docking now. Mechanics, Crow-ya and Lia-ya come up to the upper deck." Law told everyone through the communication system.

Aurelia didn't run up since she didn't want to stand out. She did, however, walk in a fast manner and was the first one there. But it didn't take too long for the ones called out and a few of the others joined her. Opening up the main door, the winter air instantly hit them. They all happily welcomed it besides Felix who had his teeth chattering. She did know that Shachi and Penguin came from a winter island so Felix and Crow were probably not used to the weather.

Law and Bepo were already prepared outside. "Good you're all here. I'm going to tell you your jobs today since I'll be out all day. Shachi, Penguin, accompany Crow-ya in shopping for food. The two of you already did a check on the supplies so you should be aware of what you need. Get the food first though."

"Aye!" 'For a bunch of idiots they're pretty obedient to him.'

"And Lia-ya." 'Here it comes!' He took out a small sheet of paper. "Felix-ya will go shopping with you for herbs. I already came up with a list that I thought would be nice to have but you're welcome to add on what you want as well."

She took the shopping list. 'Wait. I'm being his little shopping slave! With this list anyone could have brought it! Yet he chose me for the fun of it. Now I won't be able to get him alone.'

"Is there a problem?"

"Are you going to be okay figuring your way around the island? There's a lot of people that are against pirates. Or people trying to study their plants without permission. It'll be better to have me around to reason and help find whatever it is you're looking for."

"I'd like to remind you that I'm not a child. I already read a lot about the customs here so I can find my way around. And quite frankly with our limited time here I would like us to split up our responsibilities so that we have everything we need. Understood?" Her shoulders sank a little.

"Of course. Leave the market place up to me then." He nodded, turning to the rest of the crew.

"We'll be back by nightfall. Bepo, let's go."

"Aye aye captain!" Law and Bepo were the first ones to leave. 'Looks like I have to come up with a new plan.'

"Lia, I'm going to head back to my room for a second to change. I'll be back asap."

"Take your time Mister Felix. Stands don't close until late in the evening. We have enough time to get everything." At least Felix was her partner for today. He was on the easier to handle side of the Heart pirates.

The rest of the group was left to do their own things. Some went with Felix to get warmer clothes while others to just head out the way they were. Leaving Aurelia to herself, she leaned against the railing with a sigh. The list was so long that there was no way that she'll be able to buy them all in time to follow her target.

Taking a pen out of her bag she started to make notes. Though she was pissed off she wasn't going to mess around with what she brought. The herbs were picked with care and she still had a genuine interest in them to not disregard it purely out of anger. 'Stupid Trafalgar. What would he do if I didn't join the crew? Make these idiots buy it? Yeah, right. They would have gotten the vendors mad at their lack of knowledge.'

Going through the list she continued to try to find out what Law's goal was. 'Most of these are basic. Is there something new on the mountain that I'm not aware of? No, that would have made big news. What does Trafalgar know that I don't?'

"Penny for your thoughts?" She raised her head away from the list. Felix had a dashing smile as he stood in front of her in a jacket and ski goggles. He was still wearing the usual Heart pirate suit underneath that she assumed that it was insulated for such weather.

He peered a bit at what she was writing. Without even knowing it she had filled out the whole sheet. She put the paper in her satchel as she had a good idea of what they needed to get without it. "Only a few notes. Shall we head out?"

There were many stands that were set up by the side of the road. Like Aurelia expected, it was a busy place. Medical practitioners and general visitors flooded the stands. Normally she would love this place. However, being here for the purpose of serving Law and nor being able to follow him around made her in a bad mood.

Felix, being completely unaware of her negative mood, was overwhelmed at the amount of the vendors. "Where do we even start?"

She pointed to the tops at all the booths. Each one of them was one of five tones of black to white. "We go in the order of colours. Black to white would be ideal. That'll make it easier to sort and store when we get back."

As she went around she explained the system that the vendors used. The colours were a basic show of where the herbs were retrieved from. Starting from the black tone indicated where on the island/ mountain the herb was taken from. The lighter the tone, the higher the original elevation was. This can mean multiple things such as the temperature of needed storage and possibly the price.

Studying the placement of these herbs was part of her past research. The first thing she wrote down in her notes was the location of the herbs. Annoying that Law didn't organize it that way in the first place. Like a spoiled rich kid that lists off everything they want as it comes to mind.

She knew what she needed to do that she basically only used Felix to carry the bag holding everything. He didn't say anything against it. He was a gentleman that didn't know what she was doing so what more could he have done.

It wasn't like it was difficult to buy these things. There was a lot of pride in those that live here that she's never heard of someone being scammed before. If Law had given any of the crew members this list, sure it would have taken a hell of a long time, but they would have done it eventually. She could have easily gone with him to wherever he was going.

Asking around, none of the locals could help her in figuring out what Law wanted either. Nothing new was announced and for the most part, it was a completely peaceful island. Really the only thing she could come up with is the idea that he wanted to conduct his own research here. It didn't match with his suspicious attitude towards everything. And then why wouldn't he want another doctor to help him? It wasn't like he could even go up the mountain without her anyways. Stupid idiot.

They raised their heads hearing a series of bells ring. Quickly, all the stands were being shut down and people were groaning as they went inside. Aurelia sighed in her head. "Are you hungry Mister Felix? How about a lunch break?"

"Uh sure? But what's with all the bells?" She walked into a random cafe with him rushing after her.

"An avalanche warning. It'll pass soon enough." The staff greeted them as they were used to the sudden increase of people with the bell warning. They were quickly seated and ordered a few light items.

Looking around, Felix found a lot of people were taking shelter the same as them. He placed the bag of purchased herbs on the chair next to them. "Are avalanches that common here?"

"Hmm I would say they happen, maybe, once or twice a month. It's regular enough that vendors are used to shutting down for an hour or two to let it pass and clean up. Most consider it a break for the day." She pulled out a few of the smaller jars of herbs along with the list that Law gave her.

They had barely gotten started on the list. Now because of the avalanche they would have to be out later than she wanted.

"Woah Cap' wanted a lot. Was there any that you bought for yourself?" He noted as she continued to inspect everything they had.

"I added on a portion for myself but for the most part, Mister Trafalgar had chosen the most efficient herbs that there wasn't much for me to buy without it being a waste of beri." 'Only down side to Aponado is that they don't allow bulk buying without a permit. Too bad my seal of approval won't work anymore. I could have easily used that against people.'

"I see. Is there any that I can help with? I feel like I'm holding you back from going off."

"Not at all. Though I guess I would like to ask for your opinion on this one item." She showed him the list even though it wasn't going to explain much. Pointing to one of them she could see him stiffen a bit. He held his hand up to cover up a snicker.

"What's so funny?"

"Ah nothing, you just have really bad hand writing." Her face turned a bit red seeing the different in Law's writing to her's. It didn't make a difference in her ability to fight that she really didn't care about it.

"Mister Trafalgar just writes the prescribed ingredients it needs to have. Don't look at that. Its suppose to mean eye drop lubricant. I've prescribed a few but it was based on their condition and what was available. Perhaps you have past medication that I can work off of?" She noticed his change in attitude fast.

"I-I don't- I don't know what you mean."

"Eh? I thought that this would have been for you? Am I mistaken?"

"No- it may be for me but I'm- regular eye drops should work." She watched him avoiding eye contact. She could piece it together based on him tilting his head away from her. Showing primarily his left side.

"Ahhh I see what's happening. Mister Felix I am aware of your glass eye."

He instinctively raised his hand to cover his scarred eye in panic. Accidentally hit his goggles causing him to flinch back. Regaining his composure, he leaned in as if someone was listening in. "Did captain tell you?"

'Is this a chance to make Trafalgar look bad? Probably not. He could easily deny this.' "Mister Trafalgar did not tell me. It was an assumption based on my own experiences. I apologize. I wasn't aware that this was meant to be secret."

"No no I'm-" he hesitantly lowered his hand.

Aurelia tilted her head seeing his mood go down. She's worked with a few veterans that have lost body parts. It wasn't anything new to her. But the way Felix looked now reminded her of when she told veterans that she needed to replace their body with prosthetics. It was scary to think that one part of the body was fake. Even more on the way people may look at them. That's probably what was going through his mind right now.

"Mister Felix, if you would like I won't mention this again. I can be good at keeping secrets."

"No it's not a secret. The guys already know. Kinda hard to keep it one if we all live in the same room." He gave a weak laugh. "I just didn't expect you to know from looking at me alone. Was it that obvious?"

"Not at all. The one who made your eye did so that it matches well. I have seen you on multiple occasions and have seen many more prosthetics. To anyone else, there would be no tell that it is not real."

"But you still noticed. Gosh I hate this disgusting eye." She could tell that his hands turned into a fist under the table.

It was a sensitive topic. She knew that what she said could hurt him. She never was the best at supporting her patients beyond her medical knowledge. What was done was done. She couldn't give Felix or any other person a real eye. That was a hard pill to swallow for many. Instead, all she could tell them was the truth.

"I don't think it's disgusting. I think your mindset is the problem. Fake eyes are nothing to be ashamed of. The craftsmanship that went into that perfectly reflects your other eye. To me, both are very pretty."

Felix was in shock for a second that she thought she messed up. She was going to add when he saw him blush. "T-thank you. You're- you're really good with your words."

"Thank you? I was worried there for a bit. I didn't want to say anything wrong. That would have made things awkward."

"Actually, you're the second person who's ever said something like that to me. It was kinda surprising."

"Well I'm glad that I'm not the only person who treats you with the respect you deserve. I hope that you are still in contact with such a person." He chuckled.

"The first person was captain."

'Fuck off no.' "Was he now? I assume that's why you joined his crew then?"

"Yeah. When they came to my island, mainly they wanted to buy some spare parts around the store I worked at. Captain was nowhere near as subtle about it as you were. Asked me right away if my eye was fake. I was so caught off guard that I told him no. I never did like telling people."

"So how did you end up joining?" He slowly removed his ski goggles. He wasn't looking at her, but down at them.

"This is probably a strange question but you can tell how I got these scars. Can't you?" She nodded. Though she didn't know the exact cause she could tell the difference between a weapon, animal and human caused scars.

The three lines drawn over his right eye were human made. And the amount of strength needed for that must have been out of great fear or hatred.

"I assume that they were self-caused. May I ask why such the displeasure towards it?"

"I was born without my right eye. When I was younger, I got bullied a lot for it. Disturbing, ugly, creepy, stuff like that. I thought that once I got this fake eye I would be okay. Instead I felt like, like I was the fake one. Looking in the mirror one time I got frustrated that I made these scars. One day, Captain showed up. Like I said, I denied telling him about my eye. Later on in the day, a group of thugs that were my childhood bullies came over. They kept harassing me. The same way as they always did. I took it all."

He was frowning the whole time that she didn't dare interrupt. That's when the corners of his mouth pointed slightly upwards. "All of a sudden the leader of them started screaming. Without knowing it, Captain was there. Popped their eyes out!"

Felix's mood did a 180 at the memory. "Captain said it shouldn't have hurt them so I imagine that they were screaming in fear. Scared them so bad that they ran away and hit a wall. But looking back, I think the coolest thing was that when Captain held their eyes in his hands he told them that even though theirs were real, mine were cleaner. He didn't judge nor did he pity me. He made it normal. No longer was it a fake part of me. It was just me."

Aurelia pulled her mask up a bit more. "That was a wonderful story. I've met many that hated their prosthetics. Though you don't owe it to anyone to state your story, I'm glad that you trust me enough to tell it."

She made no effort to praise Law's actions. "Thank you for taking it. You and Captain are really good doctors. The rest of the crew are in good hands."

She didn't respond as she drank more of her coffee. It was taking all of her focus to not yell out her real thoughts. Aurelia didn't consider Law to be a real doctor. Not because he didn't have a license or formal training, but his overall sense went against how doctors are expected to act. The key phrase that was drilled into her, and many others, being do no harm.

Not that she was perfect either. She realizes that even if she separated her assassin side to doctor for patients, the blood on her hands will never be erased. It was really only her license that made her feel a bit more comfortable being called a doctor. Aurelia knew that.

Seeing how quiet she got, Felix decided to continue the conversation with another topic. "Can I ask you something though? Something personal?"

"Depends. What is it?"

He shuffled a bit in his seat. "Do you like captain?"

'I hate him with every fibre of my being and will not hesitate to throw him into the sea.' "Yes I do." She took another sip of her coffee to wash away the feeling of saying she liked him.

His eyes widened. "Oh okay- well then I should mention- you know- between crew mates- as our captain- you two should keep in mind your relationship. We won't hold you back from dating but-"

She was thrown off by him suddenly mentioning dating, that she almost spat out her coffee. Quickly swallowing it she let out a cough before answering. "I meant- I meant platonically Mister Felix!"

'Me dating Trafalgar?! Ew! I'd rather get put in Impel Down for the rest of my life! Anything is better than that!'

"Ohhh so you don't like captain in that way?"

"No! Absolutely not. Why would you even think that way?" She was completely flustered at the misunderstanding that she nearly dropped her sophisticated image.

"Well you keep asking about him a bunch. You were even sad when he put you on shopping duty today. The others noticed that you do that a lot too. We just thought that you liked him a bit more than a crew member. He's always been pretty popular with the ladies. Even some not ladies." 'I think of him as the worst person I've ever met!'

"He's not my type." She hoped that would be the end of this topic. She needed to have a conversation with the rest of the crew too if this was what they thought of her relationship with Law.

First off, Law is a pirate. Nothing more than a selfish child that didn't learn how society works and floats in dreamland all day. Second, he was way too secretive. If she can't torture information out of him then what good was he? Third he was Trafalgar Law! She's spent nearly her entire life trying to kill him! The amount of crimes he's committed was enough to make up a prison's worth. No way was she ever going to think of him in a better light.

"What is your type then?" 'Not a pirate that ruined my life?'

"Hmmm, someone that is smart. Not necessarily in the medical field but in general to have a meaningful conversation. Be understanding of what my occupation entitles. Strong enough to protect themselves, I suppose. General ideas like that."

"Sooo captain?" She rolled her eyes.

"No, not like Mister Trafalgar."

"But he's everything you said. He's smart. During training you two were talking 'bout a lot of smart medicine stuff. He's literally a doctor and pirate like you so your occupation isn't that big of a deal. And he's strong. Super strong."

"You're missing the most important part though."

"And that is?"

"I don't love him in that way." 'In any way. Maybe love to see his corpse but that's different.' "Mister Trafalgar has not and will not spark that kind of reaction out of me. I can assure you of this fact. Can we please drop this now?"

"Alright. But, you know, it's nice seeing you like this."

"Like what?"

"So... Reactive? You like to keep to yourself that the guys and I were worried that we were making you feel uncomfortable. That's why captain put on that 5 hour rule a while back. But I guess even you have your moments where you let loose." He was grinning. She'll admit that Felix was the first one to get a real reaction out of her. He wasn't too annoying to handle. Minus him thinking that she romantically was interested in Law.

"Hearing you say that is a bit embarrassing. I hope the crew understands that it's not my intention to place a barrier between us." 'It's just a very easy way to make sure I don't kill them out of annoyance.'

"Don't worry, we do. I have a favour though."

"Sure?"

"Call me Felix. Mister Felix is so formal. You're a crew mate and friend before doctor." She blinked a few times. It was a force of habit to be formal with others. Being asked to drop it was going to be unusual. But if it's his request, she couldn't out right deny it. Forming a good relationship looks good on her part.

"If that's what you want Mis- Felix. I'll try my best to get used to that."

"Then I'll be in your care from now on, Lia." Aurelia was glad that she was wearing a mask. Though if it was Felix then she wouldn't completely mind if he got a positive response from her.

Getting back to the Polar Tang, Felix dropped off the bag of herbs in the medical bay for Aurelia to sort out. Since there wasn't much he could do, she sent him away to hang out with the rest of the crew. He didn't argue against it knowing that she was someone that preferred to be by herself.

Without anyone around her, she was able to sort through everything fairly quickly. And stash a bit of her more poisonous portions away from Law's eyes. 'He's practically paying for his own death. Not to mention funding my own research if I wanted.'

Done with her organizing, and hiding, of the herbs she went towards the dining hall. Majority of the crew was already there; chowing down on the hot soup that Crow made with his fresh ingredients. She went to sit next to Felix now that she was the most used to his presence.

Before she sat down, she scanned the room. "Hmmm? That's strange."

"What is?"

"Mister Trafalgar and Mister Bepo aren't back yet. Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't they say they would return by nightfall."

"Oh you're right. Are they not in their room?" She shook her head. With her observation haki, she would have easily sensed if Law was aboard. Yet there was no sign of him even returning to the submarine.

Felix stood up to grab the other's attention. "Hey guys! Anyone seen captain or Bepo?"

They were greeted by overlapping no's. The ones that were given a job this morning knew that he was supposed to be back by now. One by one they started to get concerned. It wasn't like Law to not follow his word. 'All of the stands closed for the night already. Where could he possibly be?'

"Didn't Bepo say that they were going up the mountain? Maybe they're just coming back down now?" This caught Aurelia's attention.

"Wait. Mister Ryder, they went up the mountain?"

"Yeah? Why?"

Felix and her looked at each other. "The avalanche. You don't think..."

Aurelia nodded. If they haven't gotten back and the fact that people are restricted to go up afterwards meant only one thing. "They're stuck up there."

(Aponado= Aficionado + Apothecary)