A/N: It's Heart Pirate season! Time for new short-form fic fills from Nehs!

585 words; my brain translated this as both aid as in help but also aid as in first-aid, so here we are; my brain is also scrambled due to things so if anything's weird this time around forgive me please; as with last year, I will put down any chapter-specific warnings, but keep the fic T overall; today's warnings include obtuse mentions of typical Celestial Dragon behavior


Heart Pirates Week

Day One: Jean Bart - Aid

The large man felt awkward as he sat on the examination table in the Polar Tang's infirmary. His new captain was giving him a physical now that they had finished with their dramatic rescue of Straw Hat from Marineford. It was something that they had put off for weeks, and now that they were cruising safely in an open sea current, it was finally time to catch up.

"Are you sure they wouldn't rather have me in the boiler room or at the helm?" Jean Bart asked as Law scribbled some notes on a medical chart. He then placed the clipboard down and grabbed a light to check his crewman's ear, eyes, and throat.

"It's true you've been a big help, but this is protocol," the captain said plainly. "You've only gotten away for so long because you joined under… interesting circumstances."

"I am fine," Jean Bart insisted. "This work is nothing like I was subject to under the Celestial Dragons."

"Except that's the thing: you're still pushing yourself," Law noted. He finished writing up his report and leaned on the counter as he looked Jean Bart in the eyes. "You've been suffering from sustained starvation and dehydration that has been coupled with overwork and physical abuse. I'm sure if we sit down and go through your time there, we'd be able to pinpoint some emotional and mental abuse as well. Former slaves are sometimes worse than former prisoners when it comes to adjustment to a more normal way of life through no fault of their own—you've been a big help, but let us help you for a bit."

Jean Bart blinked in confusion. "I don't understand."

"Even though I picked you up on a whim, I now take responsibility for you like I would for anyone else," Law explained. "This means that you don't have any more duties until these infections clear up and your levels balance back out. Too much longer under those conditions and you would have likely developed diabetes, heart palpitations, anemia, blindness, and a few other conditions due to a lack of proper nutrition, considering I highly doubt that the Celestials feed their slaves balanced diets, let alone micronutrient-fortified foodstuffs."

"N… no, they do not. We were lucky to get food at all."

"Then even more so," Law decided. "I'm going to run some IV drips into you to help with your fluids and inform the kitchen rotation of your diet. You won't be confined to total bedrest, but the less you move around for the next few days the better, just until I can get some readings on your progress. Understood?"

"Yes, Captain, but…" Jean Bart trailed off, unsure of how to phrase his thoughts. "This is very kind of you."

"What kind of a doctor would I be if I didn't acknowledge that my crew's health is my success?" Law shrugged and pushed himself off the counter. "Get comfortable; I'll be back with those drips."

He left the room, the newest Heart Pirate left to contemplate his good fortunes. It felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders; how could it feel like this to be a pirate again? Had he really lost so much of himself under the Celestials? He looked at his hands, seeing the scars and damage that had been done over the years, the record of his prior treatment and lack therein, and wondered what they would do in this new life.

There was only one way to find that out.