Soliloquy of the Broken Soul

Escape and Pain

She set down the clipboard she was using to take notes and finished up working on Luffy, having given him an injection for his fever and the illness along with checking his vital signs. He was stable, at least.

Both nurses who had been working on Ace and, she soon learned, Sabo checked in and said they were stable as well. But all three were in dire need of food.

She sent Thatch out to make the three some sort of soup that would be light but well nurturing. Thatch was the Whitebeard Pirates head Chef so she knew he'd get it done. She had allowed Marco to stay and help keep an eye on the boys while she tended to the few stragglers that needed some first aid from the battle. She was hoping the three mystery children woke up soon, because she needed answers, and the only way she was getting them was from the boys themselves.

It was a long while before she got her wish. Evidently, all three were completely exhausted. Within five hours, only one of them managed to wake up, and it was Ace.

He noted that he was on something soft, which confused him. Why on earth would that good for nothing noble give us anything to sleep on? He wondered with his eyes still closed and half asleep. As he started waking up fully, he opened his eyes a little and white light blinded him. He blinked a few times before staring up at blurry figures.

As they came into focus, he saw the Pineapple dude and instantly remembered where he was. He sat up with a start which ended up surprising both Marco and Doctor Aria. They jumped a bit at the sudden movement.

Ace's eyes finally focused all the way and he could clearly see the medical ward he was in along with the women in the lab coat standing next to the Pineapple.

"Nice to see you awake," she greeted with a warm smile.

She walked up and held out her stethoscope as if asking permission before actually using it. Ace nodded hesitantly. The women put it on his chest and listened for a minute, when she pulled back she had a smile on her face.

"Well, good news. You're stable, but need food," she informed the raven in front of her.

At the mention of food Ace drooled a bit as he was reminded of the low ache in his stomach. He was absolutely famished. He didn't even care at this point that he was letting his guard down, he just needed to eat something.

The women laughed light heartedly and grabbed a bowl from the table beside him.

"Here ya go, we made this for you while you were out. Head chef himself saw to it you'd be able to handle it, so you can have as much as you want," she explained while handing him the bowl.

Ace took a few seconds to eye the women and then the bowl. It's smelled amazing. And the women didn't seem to have any ill will. So, he picked up the spoon, and took a sip, testing the waters.

But that was all it took to open the flood gate of starvation he and Sabo had both experienced and he downed the bowl in ten seconds flat. Both Marco and the Doctor watched amused at Ace's quick switch in demeanour, but figured they'd probably do the same thing in his circumstances.

When Ace finished he suddenly remembered that Sabo was actually on the brink of starvation. His eyes widened slightly and his eyes darted around the room worried about his brother, confusing both doctor and commander in the process.

When his eyes finally found Sabo, right next to him, he frowned at the sleeping form.

"How... Long have we been asleep?" Ace asked with a look of concern aimed towards Sabo.

The doctor thought a moment before replying, "The small one with the hat was out cold when he was on the ship, from what I hear. He has a pretty bad fever. You and the blond," she gestured to Sabo, "Have been out for at least five hours now."