AN/ I do not own one piece and rated t for gore and language.
Riza flinched at every sounding boom of a cannon or shot of a pistol as she moved through the medical bay, preparing beds. No one came. She couldn't slow her heart, no matter how much she tried. Her crew was above deck, fighting. Here she was hiding, when she could fight. She should be up there. Taking care of her crew. Doing her duty. Yet, she was in a medical bay under orders to stay.
Riza growled as she slammed a drawer shut with enough force to rattle the cabinet. She should be better than this. Back on her home island, she was the go-to person. She could save a life with a kettle and some string with her bare hands alone. Hell, she performed emergency heart surgery in a cave in the middle of the worst blizzard she's seen to date. The patient wasn't even under. She was a trauma surgeon, a certified badass who has to work under stressful situations to save patients with minimal equipment. She's been put through what most doctors consider the toughest internship for any wannabe surgeons. Riza succeeded and had many hospitals at her beck and call, wanting her on their service. She chose a difficult path because people saw it to be too difficult. To work under a pirate captain, bandaging pirate when she could be changing the face of medicine. Making a name for herself that didn't have a bounty tagged to her title.
For someone who grew up on the streets and broke barriers between the male surgeons, she was rolling over awfully too easy. For Shanks? She respected him and he was her captain. Riza considered him to be a friend as she did for most of the crew. She was never good at following orders and that bettered her as a doctor for the most part. The rebellious feeling rose, she couldn't deny it. It was her nature.
She gritted her teeth when she dropped a tray of instruments. "Sonuva-" she started. Riza stopped as a thought hit her. To disobey. To disobey her order given to her by Shanks.
A shiver ran through her spine, a pit formed in her stomach. Riza chewed her bottom lip. She knew what the consequences for disobedience would be. Shanks was laid back for a captain but even he knew that boundaries must be set. Riza weighed her odds. Her advantages to the disadvantages.
A scream ended the thought and spurred herself into action. Riza snatched up a to-go medical bag that she put together, a few months ago. Shanks was going to be furious. Riza had to do it.
Riza made her way to the door to go up top. A resounding boom rattled her to her bones as a cannon ball was flung into her medical bay. Blinding daylight consuming the artificial light of her precious bay. Riza was flung into the wooden wall of the Red Dawn. Riza flung her arm out to catch herself. Stars exploded as she heard a series of cracks. Pain took over and she screamed as she hit the floor with a thump.
Riza gasped as she stared at her crooked fingers. She gaped at them, dumbstruck. It wasn't the first time she's broken her fingers but the pain was all the same. She was duly aware at the fact that she was bleeding, elsewhere. That wasn't her concern as of now. Riza gripped one finger with a shaking hand and yanked, twisting as she did. A shrill cry escaped her lips as the finger painfully clicked into place. Riza repeated this action with the other fingers. Riza tried to flex the digits but she cried out in pain. Goldeneye Riza snatched up a syringe from her bag and stabbed it into her arm. Relief rushed through her and she forced the fingers to bend to her will, then she moved her elbow. Riza winced as she stared, definitely broken as well. She stood up, only to sway once more.
Riza forced herself to move and she shot out the room. She stumbled as entered the fray up up on deck. She pulled a scalpel out of her belt when she was greeted with the face of a snarling pirate, who was advancing on her. The man howled in pain as he stumbled away, the blade lodged in his shoulder. Nothing that would kill him, not quickly.
Riza's eyes swept the deck and spotted the nearest Red Hair, Johnny laying on the ground. He was unconscious and he was bleeding, profusely out of his chest. Riza darted from the safety of the stairs to the young Red Hair. "Johnny?" She questioned as she diagnosed him. "Can you hear me?" She saw severe swelling in his stomach, she cursed. Definitely internal bleeding. Riza stuck her hand into the wound and moved around to get a better view of what she was dealing with. She cursed once more. His organs were damaged, meaning that he was her top priority as of now.
Riza practically ripped open the her bag and pulled out a temporary dressing for the man. Keeping his organs away from infection but she couldn't move a man of his size, easily. His innards were a mess. Whatever he was shot with, it was meant to seriously mess a man up. She wasn't even sure if she could salvage most of the damaged organs. "Shanks!" She shouted. The only man who could give her the help she needed, besides Benn. Shanks was closer. She could sense that much.
The red haired man looked over at her, he was caught in his own fight against their enemy's captain. He was toying with the young pirate, this was probably the first time that crew has been in the new world. Arogant to the ways of this half of the grand line. His gaze narrowed at the doctor, he dropped his gaze to Johnny. Shank's eyes darkened.
"I need men, I need to get Johnny into surgery, asap." Riza barked at her captain.
Shanks didn't hesitate. "Rex! Matt! Do whatever the good Doc needs you to do!" He ordered, returning to his fight.
The two men came forward, both had a few scuffs but they were in good health. "Get Johnny down into the OR." Riza ordered, instructing the men on how he lifted the man. The Red Hair pirates seemed to form a barrier around the four. Moving when they moved. Protecting their ship's doctor and her patient from the attacks focused on them. The enemy were focusing on what they viewed as the weakest links. They were quickly dispatched by an annoyed and neutral Benn Beckman with a sweep of his large pistol.
The OR was a newer addition to the Red Dawn. One that Riza insisted that she have. It wasn't large, she didn't need large. It was effective and cozy, even. The operation room quickly became one of Riza's favorite places on board the Red Dawn. She would practiced newly developed techniques that she read about in her medical textbooks on whatever she could wriggle out of the ship's cook's hands.
Riza and her patient found themselves below deck and rushing as fast as she was willing to get to her OR. She ripped his shirt off as soon as he was laid on his table. "I don't need bitches who can't handle the sight of blood and guts. If you faint, I am going to castrate you if a dulled deer antler. Got it?" Riza asked with steel in her voice as she met the eyes of both men. Rex didn't hesitate to nod and Matt shivered at her threat but answered with a 'yea'. "Let's try to save this man's life, alright?"
Hours later, Riza emerged from her OR. Her hands coated in dried and fresh blood. Her pale face splattered with Johnny's blood. She felt drained. Riza knew the battle ended hours ago but hers hasn't even reached it's climax yet. Johnny has an uphill battle to fight and she didn't like his chances. Organ failure was bound if she couldn't find suitable replacements then death.
Rex and Matt stumbled out behind her. Rex going about to set up a bed for Johnny and Matt rushing for the nearest bathroom to relieve himself of his stomach contents. Riza observed a handful of crewmate bandaged and resting. Her med bay was cleaned up the best it could be until they made port. A patch made of spare boards covered the hole caused by the cannon ball. The worst off was Johnny. "Benn?" She asked the dark haired man.
"Yeah." He answered.
Riza nodded her thanks and laid her eyes on her captain. "How is Johnny-boy?" Shanks asked, seriously.
"He's not out of the woods, yet. I need a few things once we make port."
Like organs. She added, silently.
"You disobeyed an order, Riza. If I didn't know better, I'd say you have an issue with authority." Shanks said with an uplifting smile but she saw the reprimanding look in the young captain's eyes.
"I-." Riza started at Shanks but swayed. Her head felt light and her mouth dried out. Suddenly, the lights seemed too bright for her eyes as she squinted at her approaching captain. She felt sick to her stomach.
"Riza?" Benn asked. She would trace worry in the first mate's tone.
"Oh-." She didn't have a chance to tell the men what happened within her medical bay as she found herself falling. Riza felt darkness seize her as she fell into Shanks' arms.
.............☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️............
Riza stirred and she ached. Her left arm throbbed and her fingers tingled. She was laying down on one of her medical cots. Riza sensed a powerful haki signature next to her. It was obviously Shanks. She tried to utilize her voice but all that came out was a wheeze.
"Riza?" Shanks asked. "You awake, Sleepy head?"
She managed to crack an eye open to see that stupidly adorable grin her captain sported, then looked down to her cast. It was one of those annoying ones that covered her fingers as well. Good bye, research. Damn that Benn. Who else could have done the damned cast.
"Hey, Shanks." She croaked, turning her attention back to her captain. He sat to her right, in her office chair. One leg was pulled up, crossing the other leg's thigh. His old straw hat cover the bent knee. Dark eyes met hers in the gloom of medical bay.
The friendliness dropped in his gaze as worry took over. "You are the most stupidest, stubborn woman I've ever met and if you pull a stunt like that ever again..." Shanks let the threat hang in air, as he gritted his teeth. He didn't think Riza saw the jump in his jawline. "Then consider yourself at my mercy." He murmured, lowly with a wink.
"Like that's any better." Riza grinned, tiredly. The doctor blinked and watched as Shanks unfolded himself and stood. He placed his beloved straw hat on her endeared chair.
"Scoot." He ordered. "Captain's orders."
Riza laughed and it hurt. "I might need help there, cap."
"All you have to do is ask." Shanks shuffled her as gently as possible before he clambered in the bed with her. He maneuvered himself around the smaller form of his doctor. One hand propped his head up to look down at Riza. His other hand seemed to mindlessly run through her violet hair. Riza smiled, this was why she gave in to most of his orders. Moments like this.
"I wouldn't mind being at your mercy." She mumbled, sleepily as she sought comfort in his radiating warmth. She snuggled into his heat despite the ache.
"I like your cuddles." She murmured against his shirt.
Riza could, vaguely remember how these cuddles started. At a film, perhaps. Shanks turned into a big sap when it came to those moments in the films. Riza either saw to getting cuddles from either; Stormy or Shanks. It became mainly hers and Shanks' thing.
"You say that, now." Shanks whispered, he let his head drop as his arms encircled her. "Get some sleep, Goldie." He pressed a kiss to the purple crown upon her head. Shanks listened to her breathing as she was lulled into sleep and he soon followed. He was woken up by a click and flash.
"God damn it, Benn." He cursed his first mate. He glared at Benn who stood at the foot of Riza's bed with a camera.
"Have you told her that you loved her, yet?" Benn asked with that smug smirk, one that Shanks was tempted to beat it off his face. Benn was probably one of the smartest men on his ship and he enjoyed using that to his every advantage.
"I don't love her, Benn."
His first mate deadpanned at him. "Yeah, sure. Just as a fish doesn't love water." Benn scoffed.
Shanks looked down at the sleeping body in his arms. "She almost gave me a heart attack today. So, did Johnny." He admitted.
"Both for different reasons."
"Just destroy that photo, Benn."
"No." Came his simple response.
"Damnit Benn."