UPDATED TO ADD: Helena did NOT cheat on Zoro. Chopper believes she did because he is unaware that they saw each other before the crew reunited at Saobody. The conversation they have, the two of them are completely misunderstanding what the other is insisting should happen. Helena thinks Chopper is insisting that she tell Zoro about her intention to commit suicide. For more clarification, see Chapters 33 and 34. I'd like to think I wrote this all clearly enough to make sense, but I also recognize there have been months and even years between updates, so I figured a clarifying author's note would not go amiss.

A/N: Hey there. Been a while. I kinda had another baby. - a sweet lil girl. I promise, this story will get somewhere eventually. The husband and I were talking through some of the upcoming scenes. I am so excited to show you what I've been planning all these years. Stick with me, I think the payoff will be worth it. In the meantime, I hope the fluff and seemingly small side shenanigans don't feel like a slog.

Ch. 47 - Sunlight and Seabrine

Sunlight and seabrine. Helena felt it keenly, sharp and fresh against her senses as she stepped back aboard the Thousand Sunny. She had regained her strength and her health in a way she hadn't thought possible. The remaining months she had to live didn't seem as miserable a sentence as she had hitherto thought.

Especially when she saw the cabin that the crew had built for her little family.

Zoro stood behind her in the doorway, watching her as she gazed about the cozy room. It wrapped around the main mast, allowing for a queen sized bed on one side of it, and closet space on the other. Above the bed stood a loft for Kuina to call her own, with a small staircase she had already started clambering up to get inside it.

Helena peaked into the loft after her, but didn't go in. It had a low ceiling that she and Zoro would have to crouch to get inside. There was just enough space for a toddler bed, set into the floor. The unmade bed sported a green comforter covered in daisies, which Kuina eagerly wrapped herself in crying, "Yook, Mama! Uncle Fwanky make me!"

Presumably she spoke of the loft itself, as Helena couldn't imagine the cyborg sewing a blanket. Then again, the crew was full of surprises. – Foxy stood guard on Kuina's pillow askew, his single button eye gleaming in the light of Kuina's own personal porthole. She had clearly already settled into the room while Helena slept, though Helena doubted that Kuina stayed in her own bed for long. Not if her past behavior aboard the Sunny was any indication.

Helena backed down out of the loft, taking in the rest of the sunlit room. The bed was just big enough for two people Helena and Zoro's size, and sported a simple blanket and pillows. Nothing to her huge, fancy bed back in Ilium, but it warmed her to know they could be together now.

Something caught her eye on one of the walls, and she rushed over to it. A picture of baby Kuina, modestly framed.

"Zoro, how did you get this?" she breathed, gently lifting it from its hook. She turned to look at him in time to catch the cheeky grin on his face

"Stole it," he told her unapologetically. "Last time I was in Ilium."

"It's the only picture ever taken of her as a baby," Helena reproached. "I would have panicked about it going missing, given the chance."

"Pops knew I had it," he said with an unapologetic shrug. "He'd have told you. I stole our wedding picture too. I took whatever I wanted on that trip, as you may recall."

He raised a brow at her and she blushed, chuckling.

Turning back to hang Kuina's picture up, she noticed that, sure enough, the frame hanging beside it held a picture from their wedding day. Helena's fingers trailed over it. It felt like an eternity had passed since then.

It was surreal. Not just that the pictures were here when she thought they'd been destroyed, but that Zoro would want to keep a memento of their marriage. He didn't seem like the sentimental type.

But then, he'd thought he wouldn't be seeing her and Kuina for a while, and now here they both were.

"Hey, speaking of Pops," Zoro went on, and Helena's eyes alighted on the family wanted posters that had also been hung and framed with obvious pride. Displayed with hers, Zoro's and Kuina's, she saw …

"Father has a bounty?" She gasped, and then, "Hector too? They broke out of Impel Down?!"

"Papers say he literally talked their way out," Zoro chortled, coming to stand beside her.

Helena laughed. "That sounds like him!"

The laugh brought tears to her eyes. The tears threatened to fall in earnest and she hid her face in her hands. She had given up her father and Hector and all the rest for dead. How could this be possible?

"Yeah, I wanted to cry a little too when I saw his bounty," Zoro remarked.

She blinked at him, then caught sight of what he meant when she turned to see her father's poster again.

"HOW IN HADES IS HE WORTH HALF A BILLION?!"

Zoro smirked. "We're going to have to work hard to catch up to him."

"I'll say! He's worth more than both of us combined!"

They laughed. Zoro seemed so pleased. With having her here. With their cabin. With everything. Helena put her arms around him, pulling in close.

"Thank you," she murmured, resting her head on his shoulder as he returned her affection. "Everything is perfect."

Before long she felt a smaller pair of arms around her knees, and she glanced down to see Kuina had joined in the embrace.

Helena wanted to bend to pick Kuina up, but then remembered she hadn't yet been cleared by Chopper to lift anything. Her hand trailed in her daughter's green curls before her eyes alighted on some additional furniture in the room.

A rocking chair and a bassinet.

The warmth of emotion inside of her froze as she remembered this happiness had a time limit.

Zoro followed her gaze. "Oh, yeah. Franky made those," he said. "Guess he's dropping a hint or something." Zoro caught sight of her hardened expression. "What's wrong? There's no rush to have another one or anything. It was just easier to store that stuff here I guess."

Helena blinked out of her cold reverie. "Huh?" she tried to process what he said. She had told him they were expecting, right? What did he mean there was no rush?

A knock on the door interrupted any further discussion.

"Helena?" Chopper called. "Ramzez is back. He's waiting here in the ship's infirmary."

Chopper watched as the X-Ray man bent over Helena with his goggles off, examining her now haki free abdomen.

"Ten fingerz, ten toez," he said, smiling, "Healthy heart, kidney, and lungz. Do you want to know the gender, bzzz bzzz?"

"It's a boy," Helena informed him. The bee man chuckled:

"You're right. Lucky guezz!"

"Not luck. A little death god told me," Helena informed him. "Now if everything looks good am I clear to exercise and have my swords back?"

Chopper's teeth clenched of their own volition. He had to consciously unstick them to speak. "Exercise, yes," he told her. "But you can't have your swords back until…"

He stopped short, glancing at Ramzez. The X-ray man had put his goggles back on and rubbed his temples in obvious pain.

"What's wrong?" Chopper and Helena asked at once.

Ramzez glanced up at them. "It'z nothing," he buzzed. "Thiz iz pretty normal for me. Do you have a dark room that I could zit in for a bit?"

After finding the bee man a painkiller, Chopper walked Ramzez out onto the deck. Robin happened to be walking by, and the doctor soon had her looking after him before returning to his patient.

"Chopper," Helena asked pensively when he'd closed the door behind himself. "Does Zoro know that I'm pregnant?"

"No," Chopper replied, brow furrowing.

"I did tell him though, right?" Helena asked, "I distinctly recall…"

"He didn't understand," Chopper sighed.

"And you didn't clarify?"

Chopper fought down the anger. It was everything he could do not to transform into heavy point so he could tower over her in a rage. "No!" he snapped. "You thought you could just tell it like that and leave me to tell the rest? I'm not delivering that kind of news! This is between you and him!"

Zoro was dense sometimes, but had he understood that Helena was pregnant he would have done the math right? He'd have known the child couldn't possibly be his…

Helena looked at him beseechingly. "Do I have to tell him everything now?" She pleaded. "Can't I just let him…let us all be happy for a moment?"

Chopper had seen how pleased she was with her family's new home, and how pleased Zoro was to have been a part of building that for her. The man had seemed so patient while she slept, but the moment she'd awoken, he had pestered Chopper non-stop to let her come home.

The doctor sighed. "Do what you want," he said.

"Thank you," she said, standing and going for the door.

Something occurred to him before she left. "Helena," he called and went on when she turned. "You're still not cleared for hanky panky," he told her. "Not til…not til…"

"Not til what?"

"Not til you tell him," he said in a rush.

She pinned a glare on him with royal disdain. "So I'm now healthy enough, but you think it's your job to manage Zoro's and my relationship?" she seethed.

Chopper flushed, but with embarrassment or rage, he wasn't sure. He had to make sure she didn't try to lie to Zoro though. What if she wanted to pretend she wasn't as far along as she was?

"N-no," he stammered, "He just…he should know you're pregnant before he…"

"Is that why you're keeping my swords from me too? To manage my life?" she cut him off. "I am well enough to lift them now, but you think it's your job to stop me from hurting myself? – I am NOT going to end my life before this baby arrives, but even if I was, this is not your place. You overstep your bounds as my doctor!"

"And YOU overstep your bounds as my friend's wife," he snapped back at her, tears streaming out of his eyes. His self control finally cracked, his emotion pushing him unintentionally into heavy point, but the queen swordsman didn't flinch at his sudden altitude."You've put me in a hard enough position as it is, asking me to maintain doctor-patient privilege when it's my friend's heart that's on the line."

Her expression softened, but only just. She steadied herself with a deep breath through the nose, then said with more diplomatic grace. "I am sorry to have put you in this position, Chopper. Truly," she said. "It isn't fair to either of us. I will tell him everything soon. Just…let us be happy. Please. I know I don't deserve it, but he does."

"It's not real happiness if it's all based on a lie," Chopper grumbled.

Helena opened her mouth to respond, but clearly didn't have any retort for this. She left without another word.

"Mz. Robin, Franky, Uzopp…you are all uncommonly kind, thank you."

Robin smiled gently at the Ryubokuuan's gratitude. Up until that moment, he'd been in too much pain to speak. She was confused that Chopper would send him away, but perhaps he'd needed the infirmary for Helena.

She had taken him below decks, to Franky's Factory, away from the midmorning sunlight. Franky currently sat at his desk, a frown on his kind face as he observed the bee man's plight. He'd stopped mid project to kill the lights and accommodate him.

"We are happy to help, Ramzez," Usopp replied. He'd been at work in his own workshop, but at Robin's request had stopped the noise for Ramzez' sake. "These kinds of migraines happen to you a lot you say?"

"Yez, juzt a zide effect of the X-Ray X-ray fruit," he buzzed, rubbing his temples. "It'z a power I can't turn off, you zee."

Franky cocked his head to one side, "So that's how you see through those superrr dark goggles," he said. "Can you see us all now, even in the dark?"

"Yez," Ramzez replied. "Nothing fully turnz off my eyezight becauze I can zee through my eyelids. It made it hard to zleep when I firzt ate it. The gogglez help, becauze they add an extra layer to look through, but even zo, I ztill zee through more than I want to. It bringz on the occazional migraine. They hit particularly hard when I've been out to zea for a while. Bright light iz not my friend."

"Huh. That sounds unlucky," Usopp put in. "I never realized that devil fruits could have side effects other than taking away the ability to swim. Does your devil fruit do anything like that, Robin?"

"I've had it for so long I'm not sure," Robin shrugged. "Pain can be amplified for me if one of my actual limbs is injured and I duplicate it, but that isn't something that plagues me if I'm not using my powers."

"It's also possible your general sense of zen comes from your devil fruit," Helena's voice put in from the stairwell.

They'd left the door open to allow in just a hint of light and hadn't noticed her descending the stairs.

"The Captain's playful nature may also have been amplified through his," she went on pensively. "Remember what Akainu told me about Troy? They gave him the Ink Ink Fruit knowing it would magnify his darkest obsessions."

The ex-queen turned to Ramzez. "There may be a way to help you. Can you wait here for a moment, please?"

"I really zhould get going," Ramzez said, lifting his goggles and rubbing his eyes for the little good it seemed to do him. "We found the zourze of the Calm. Zome poor fool and hiz pet znake. He needz medical treatment. If Chopper iz done helping you, we could really uze hiz help."

"I'll be quick," Helena insisted, then disappeared back up the stairwell. They could hear her saying something in passing to Nami at the top of the stairs before the navigator herself descended.

"What's the hold up?" She demanded. "Robin, I sent Helena down to find you. With Helena on her feet again it's time to go shopping!"

"And you need Helena to shop because…?" Usopp raised a brow at her.

"She's a celebrity here! We are going to get the best discounts having her along!"

"And she needs to replenish her own wardrobe," Robin added with a chuckle. Not that she had begrudged Helena a few of her clothes, but the jeans she had leant her had ended up in tatters.

Usopp turned the attention back to Ramzez. "Don't they have other medical staff to attend to this Calm survivor you found?" He asked, patting the bee man's shoulder. "You don't seem to be in any condition to help at the moment."

"Yeah," Franky added. "Anyway, you're an EMT, not a doctor, right?"

Ramzez dug his fists into his eyes, wincing in obvious distress. "I am, but we've been underztaffed for yearz. The firzt plaze the Zhipyard Queen attacked waz the hospital branch."

"That's awful!" Nami exclaimed.

"Yeah, a lot of people died, including...including zomeone zpecial to me…" Ramzez stood, still wincing as he fixed his opaque goggles over his eyes. "You can zee why everyone iz zo grateful to Mz. Helena. And while I'm zure zhe'z trying to help, I really zhould get going. That patient needz me. Zend her my thankz for her kindnezz."

But Helena already stood in the stairwell, a long necklace gleaming between her fingers in the dim light.

"Give it a chance," she chided, tossing the necklace over his head.

Ramzez stumbled a moment, grabbing onto the railing of the stairwell for balance.

"What did you do to me?" he demanded, trying to find his footing. He ripped his goggles off of his eyes. "You ztole my powerz, bzzz bzzz! I can…I can zee!"

"You can see normally now, correct?" Helena asked.

"I…yez…I can, but…"

"Don't worry, it's not a permanent change." Helena plucked the necklace from about his neck and held it up. "Your X-Ray vision is back again now, right?"

He rubbed his eyes and nodded.

"How…?"

"These are my chains of office," she told him, "The stones set into it are sea prism porcelain."

The stones in question looked like white opals, gleaming with a smattered prism in the dim light.

Helena turned to the others. "Troy used to wear a little ring of sea prism porcelain when he wanted to turn off his powers. It's actually what we used to make those types of rings for." She sighed. "It's too bad he didn't wear it more often. Maybe it would have helped with the obsessions too."

She turned back to Ramzez. "In this more brittle state it is less potent for devil fruit users, but it can still turn off one's powers. And if you use only a little bit it shouldn't weaken you too much either. The full necklace made you lose your balance. Maybe we can just use one or two of the stones…?"

She turned this idea over to Franky and Usopp, who both nodded excitedly at the prospect. They took the necklace from Helena and set to work on it, ignoring Nami's weak protests:

"You can't just destroy your chains of office! They're too valuable!"

"I don't need them anymore. Besides," Helena smiled at Ramzez. "It's the least I can do to repay you for the medical treatment."

It wasn't long before Usopp and Franky had a pair of ear studs fashioned from the necklace. They handed them to Ramzez in a small velvet bag.

"Oh, oops, only one of your ears is pierced, right?" Usopp observed to Ramzez. "Whelp, you have a spare in case you lose one I guess."

Reverently, the X-Ray man took the proffered pair of earrings and replaced the diamond stud in his ear. He gazed about the room in awe, his migraine long forgotten:

"I haven't zeen color like thiz in yearz," he breathed. "And to actually be able to zee people, not their bones…Why, Mz. Robin you're az lovely as your voize zoundz!"

She laughed in good humor as the bee man flushed. Robin noticed that his eyes hadn't lost their X pupils, despite the change. His powers remained, just locked dormant as if by sea water. What an interesting thing to be able to turn one's powers on and off! She had no reason to do it herself, but the whole concept had her attention.

The bee man noticed her studying him, and decided to be bold. "I don't suppose I could interezt you in a coffee, Mz. Robin?"

Coffee with an interesting man who could see people's bones? Well, why not?

"I'd love to," she replied.

"Hey!" Nami interjected. "Didn't you have a patient to get to?"

Ramzez blinked over at her, then seemed to remember what she was talking about. "Bzzz!" It came out almost like a curse and he bolted up the stairs, calling out to Chopper.

Even in his panic, he apparently couldn't help his joy at his newfound freedom. "Have you ever zeen a zky zo blue?" He called to no one in particular, then his voice disappeared as he went on his way.

"Aw, he seems like a good guy. You couldn't just let him and Robin grab a coffee?" Usopp put in. Nami raised an eyebrow at him.

"Sisters before misters. They can get coffee later," she huffed. "Now are we going shopping or what?"

The shopping district resided atop of one of the mid to higher branches of Ryubokuu. To reach it they had to take a finely carved cariole or palanquin from the dock.

Helena wasn't too keen on this mode of transport. After all, the vehicles were each carried by up to four bees, depending on size. Their other options were a winding staircase from the bottom that would have taken all day to hike, and a tram system, which apparently also ran on bee power though said bees moved the pulley system from inside the tree.

However, the fastest way up the mountainous tree, per Nami's advice, were the palanquins. They also cost the most to use, but the moment the beekeepers saw Helena, they excitedly offered her and her party free transport.

They took the largest palanquin, which allowed for up to sixteen passengers. Plenty of room for the entire crew, who had decided to join them at least as far as the business district branch. Sanji and Nami, who at one point showed reticence toward the bees now seemed used to them. Others, like Luffy, Usopp and Robin, gave one of their bees a friendly scritch behind the antennae on their way into the palanquin.

Helena forced a smile for the sake of the kindly beekeepers. Hopefully they couldn't see how Zoro had to practically drag her by the hand to keep her moving forward until she got inside the glass walls of the palanquin.

When they were out of earshot of the beemen, Zoro whispered to her: "You good?"

"Fine," Helena hissed back.

"Oh, yeah? For a second there I thought you were afraid of bugs or something."

"Shut it, you!."

"Can I have my hand back? I need those fingers intact."

Helena shot him a scowl and released his now potentially bruised fingers. The palanquin had a padded bench that ran along the walls and sides of the interior. Zoro flopped down on it, lounging comfortably as Kuina jumped from bench to bench, and Straw Hat to Straw Hat, with glee.

Without thinking about it, Helena seated herself more regally, her back stiff and upright, a polite distance between herself and anyone next to her, including Zoro. He shot her a look.

"What are you doing so far away?" he asked.

Helena didn't have an answer for this. She scooted a bit closer to him, and he slung an arm around her. She flushed, and allowed herself to relax against him.

Through the thick, soundproof windows of the palanquin they watched the bees flutter their wings in preparation for take off. Helena would have drawn the available curtains to cover the windows, given the chance, but she knew she wouldn't be able to get away with it without showing the entire crew how much she disliked insects. Anyway, it might offend their hosts.

As it turned out, leaving the curtain drawn had its advantages. The bees soon had the palanquin airborne, giving a breathtaking view of the journey upward.

Helena had only seen the great tree by starlight, and so hadn't realized until just this morning that it didn't have many visible green leaves. Instead its branches sported cascades of gigantic, blue-violet trumpet flowers, similar to the smaller Juliets the locals had given the Straw Hats to put them to sleep over a month ago. – The bees seemed to love the giant blooms, both to snack on and nap in.

"Wait, are those bees all in comas?" Helena asked no one in particular.

Chopper had flown directly to the hospital branch with Ramzez and Sphinkz rather than join them on their shopping excursion. Zoro answered for him:

"Chopper says the bigger the bloom, the less potent it is," he said with a shrug. "I had the same question. Anyway, it's the nectar that can put you to sleep, not the petals."

"I thought it was weird that the bees eat the flower itself, not just the nectar," Usopp added. "Guess they need more sustenance than regular sized bees. – Oh, and they live inside the tree, not in a hive persay, but with more of a community mentality than normal sized carpenter bees."

"There are some complex bee highways inside parts of the tree," Franky added. "The way they are constantly moving through tunnels inside the tree triggers the pulleys on the tram. It's superrr interesting. – And they've figured out how to use the heat produced by the bees' constant motion to warm their water supply. Has anyone here been to the bee heated hotspring yet?"

Everyone shook their heads. Nami chimed in excitedly, "We should go today! With Helena here they'll give us a great rate. Anyway, I wanted to check it out before we leave!"

"Oh, I…" Helena started. Depending on the temperature of the water, she probably couldn't hit a bath house with the pregnancy. With all eyes now on her, she realized she didn't want to tell Zoro in front of everyone. He should know first. "I suppose…that would be…fine," she finished lamely.

The conversation soon started up again. Zoro leaned over to her.

"What was that about?" he asked in a low voice.

Helena blinked at him, still lost in thought. "Hmm?"

"You know you don't have to be embarrassed about your scars in front of them, right?" he went on softly, nodding his head toward Nami and Robin. "They're not going to judge you or anything."

"Huh?" Helena stared at him a moment, confused. "Oh." She flushed, realizing he'd misinterpreted her reticence. It was a reasonable assumption for him to have made, though. "Thanks, that's reassuring. Not sure I can go in any case. Someone needs to watch Kuina."

"I can," Zoro said. "You should go."

Helena couldn't help the smile that spread across her face, remembering how overwhelmed he'd been the first time he'd been asked to watch Kuina back in Ilium. He seemed far more comfortable in his parenthood now. Well, he'd been playing the role of single father while she slept. Hopefully the crew had helped him out some, but either way, he didn't seem the worse for wear for it.

Single father…

"How are we paying for all this anyway?" Helena asked, avoiding the uncomfortable thought that had just entered her mind. "As I recall, you all aren't the pillaging type."

"Well, when we don't have a rich princess paying us reparations," Zoro bumped an eyebrow at her, "We take on odd jobs now and again. Particularly when we're stuck in one place for a while."

"Yeah, Brook put on a concert our first week here and made bank," Usopp put in, jabbing a thumb at the skeleton.

Brook smiled a toothy smile and strummed a chord or two on his guitar. "I wrote a song about you, Helena-San," he said. "I'll have to let you hear it sometime. That was the crowd favorite to be sure."

Helena flushed. "Glad I've done something useful," she muttered. "What have the rest of you been up to?"

"Franky and I have been helping the mayor bolster Ryubokuu's defenses," Usopp gestured to the Cyborg. "They need something to keep them safe now that the Shipyard Queen isn't around anymore."

"I went to work in a restaurant to learn some Ryubokuuan recipes," Sanji added, smiling. "They have some unusual ingredients here. Never thought I'd be cooking with giant flying squirrel meat."

"It's not as bad as it sounds," Franky chuckled as Helena made a face. "Anyway, Sanji tweaked a few of their recipes and now it's the most superrr spot in town."

"Debatable," Zoro put in, and Helena elbowed him in the ribs.

"Well, what have you been doing then?" she asked her husband.

"Oh, Luffy and I got into pest control," he said with a shrug.

Helena's brow furrowed. "How's that been going?" Try as she might, she just couldn't picture the two of them going door to door successfully selling anything, but she didn't want to let on as much.

"Eh, we were a little too good at it, right Luffy?"

Luffy chuckled. "Put ourselves out of the job," he agreed.

"They had this giant termite problem near the roots of the tree," Usopp explained in response to Helena's confused expression. "Not nearly as big as the Shipyard Queen, but big enough to do real damage to the island without her there to keep their population in check"

"Luffy and I were paid per head," Zoro said with a shrug. "Let's just say they don't have a termite problem anymore."

"Are all the bugs and animals around here larger than life?" Helena asked, her nose crinkling in disgust.

"A lot of them, yeah," Zoro said. "The termites were half the size of the bees. Flying squirrels are about the size of a St. Bernard. No one keeps them as pets though. They're mean little buggers."

"Taste pretty good though," Luffy chuckled.

Soon they reached their destination. The bees hovered over a specially cleared space on one of the higher branches and landed with finesse. Again Helena marveled at what a smooth ride it was.

Soon they had disembarked on Ryubokuu's Shopping District Branch. The bee port was close enough to the edge that they could still see the still ocean between the foliage. It reflected the bluish purple flowers of the giant tree back at them with almost mirror perfection.

The great tree buzzed with life, bee traffic carrying humans from branch to branch in palanquins and single rider saddles and carioles. Ryuuboku had a population similar to Mycanae, and just as many artisans. From way up here they could just make out the bustling docks below from whence they'd come. The forest of masts, left behind from salvaged ships, still had the eerie look of a far off graveyard, made the more visible by the mirror like surface of the Calm. Large blooms from the tree dotting the surface of the water seemed like bouquets left out of respect for the dead.

By the time Helena and the crew had walked over to the center of the branch, their view of the still ocean became hindered by rows of shops lining either side. Hand crafted items made from the Juliet flowers, blue bee fuzz, and carved from the dark wood of the tree stood proudly on display. Even a few items made from what looked suspiciously like giant flying squirrel fur.

Before they had gotten too far, Zoro pulled Helena aside. "You're going out with Nami and Robin, right?" he asked as the crew started to disperse.

She nodded.

He smirked. "So you spend your first day back on your feet hanging out with the girls?" he teased.

Helena grimaced apologetically. "Hey, everyone is impatient to get on our way," she put in defensively. "I figured it's important to get my shopping done so we can leave as soon as the Calm is over."

"It's fine," Zoro said. "Just promise me you won't let Nami buy you anything."

"Huh?"

"Trust me on this one," he insisted, placing a wallet into her hands. "I've earned more than enough to get you and Kuina some clothes and things. You don't want to end up in debt to Nami."

"Ok," Helena accepted the wallet uncomfortably.

"What's that look for?" Zoro asked.

Helena glanced askance. "I guess I'm used to being able to treat other people, not being treated. I wouldn't let Nami buy me anything either. It feels weird enough taking money from you!"

Zoro glared at her. "I'm your husband," he said. "What's weird about it?"

Helena just shrugged, then reached a hand out to Kuina. "Come on, Kuina Bee! Girl time!"

"Ok, Mama!" Kuina burbled. She toddled over to her mother's side. "We go paygownd?"

Helena glanced at Zoro. "What did she say?"

"The playground," he translated. "There's one in the middle of the shopping district."

"And you take her there?" she asked.

"Yeah. She gets kinda stir crazy on the ship," Zoro said with a shrug. "She's made a few friends with the local kids there."

"Oh…" Helena had been about to go walk toward Nami and Robin, who stood chatting across the way, waiting for her. Kuina had already started toddling over to them, but Helena paused.

"What did you expect? She's a friendly kid."

"I know, it's just…" Helena sighed and looked at Kuina as she reached up to Robin, who was more than happy to pick her up. "She's never going to have a normal childhood, is she?"

"Did any of us?" Zoro asked with a raised brow.

"Maybe…maybe we just need to give her a playmate." Helena's heart started to pound. This was the moment.

Zoro's brow furrowed. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

"I mean, yeah. What would you think about having another kid aboard the Sunny?"

Zoro sighed. "Helena…" he shook his head. "I already thought of that, but it doesn't sit right with me…"

Her heart sank.

"I mean," he went on, "I know we're pirates, but we can't just go kidnapping a kid to hang out with our daughter."

Helena stared at him in disbelief, then started to laugh. "Why on earth would you even consider that? What is wrong with you?" She chuffed. "I meant HAVE another child. You and me!"

"Have another…?" a smile snaked its way across his face. He leaned in close and looked her straight in the eye. "Has Chopper cleared you for that sort of thing?"

"Uh, do you mean, has he said it's safe for 'Hanky Panky'?" she made air quotes, flushing from head to toe at the feral look in his eye. "Yes. He has. Sort of. But…"

That was all Zoro needed to hear. He scooped her onto his shoulder and started walking away from the rest of the party, calling. "Have fun with your aunties, Kuina! See you in an hour!"

Nami tried to protest, but a chortling Robin already had Kuina on her hip. "Come on, little one. Let's go to the playground."

"Wait, Zoro," Helena protested weakly, "We've got stuff to do today! We're not going all the way back to the Sunny…!"

"Nope, there's a Bed and Breakfast right around the corner, and I'm havin' both."