The Life I Live

Sweet Dreams and Sour Awakenings

        The small window on the infirmary door was crowded with faces trying to see inside. Shachi and Penguin pushed and shoved against each other to get a better view.

        "Get out of the way! I wanna see!" Shachi leaned closer and glared at his friend.

        "I want to see her too! I'm just as worried as you are!" Penguin pushed Shachi's face away, causing him to fall backwards.

        "I'm more worried about her than you are, idiot! I should get to see her first." Penguin tried to peer into the open space but his collar was yanked and he found himself pulled onto the ground and caught in a hold by the angry engineer.

        "No way! I'm way more worried than you could ever be! Besides, you're the one who knocked her unconscious in the first place! Who says she even wants to see you?"

        "She said she understood! I was forgiven!" The two continued to wrestle on the ground, completely forgetting that they wanted to be the first ones to see the injured girl. Bepo, who was standing passively nearby, stared calmly at the men's impromptu wrestling match in slight confusion. He really couldn't understand why they were arguing. Everyone was worried about Summer, and the noise probably wasn't good for her rest.

        Law, to the surprise of the crew, had returned from getting some fresh air with Summer in his arms. After the initial cheer of relief, they noticed the dozens of red scratches covering her small body. Instantly, that happiness had turned into worry.

        Their mother henning, as Law would have described it, was no help to Summer's recovery. He set her down on one of the infirmary beds (the same one she had used before) and immediately set to treating her injuries.

        Despite the crew's desire to see her, Law ordered them out of the infirmary on the grounds that their 'incessant noise would prevent him from working properly.' They understood that peace and quiet was important at this point. So, being the good men they all were, they retired to their own sleeping quarters for the night to wait patiently for her to awaken in the morning.

        Shachi and Penguin were not skilled at waiting patiently.

        Both men and bear looked up as the door to the infirmary swung open, nearly hitting Penguin square in the face if he hadn't have rolled away from it in time. There stood Law. A very angry Law at that. Frowning in irritation, he held his nodachi tightly in his left hand and gripped the door frame with his right. His eyes were narrowed and he said nothing.

        The engineers took on a deer-in-headlights expression, scared into silence. Bepo looked on with a blank stare.

        "I believe I told you before to keep it down." He said quietly after a long pause, the threat quite evident in his low tone. Both men nodded vigorously, scrambling to their feet and saluting hastily.

        "Aye, Captain." They said in unison. Immediately, they ran away as quietly as they could manage in the halls leaving Bepo and Law standing there alone.

        Law sighed deeply and turned back to the infirmary. He left the door open, a silent invitation for Bepo to follow. Closing the door softly behind him, the bear looked over at the sleeping girl.

        Still wearing the Kuja attire, her arms, legs, and torso were wrapped in bandages and stitches were visible along the right side of her jaw line. Her breathing was relatively normal, if not a little fast. Her expression was one of pain, not peaceful like the bear had hoped it to be. Bepo eyebrows furrowed in worry, and he turned to Law who stood beside him.