Riza was forbidden to work. She couldn't work with her hands. She had been banned from even side glancing towards her OR. So, she ordered Benn around. The inventor had the steadiest hands on the Red Dawn, side from herself. She considered the crew lucky to have the smartest man of the East Blue on their ship. Riza could tell him what to do and why and he comprehended the task and did it. Far better than any medical intern she has had under her.
Johnny was rough, his vitals dipped and fluctuated. They would be making port, soon enough. That was what Stormy told her. It wasn't soon enough for Riza. The longer she left him in his state, the worse off he was. His chances of recovery were slowly dropping.
Riza was punished by Benn in the end. Funny how things could turn around and bite you? He was the one who banned her from surgery. Benn Beckman had even forbidden her from her own Medical Bay. It drove her up a wall. A surgeon was meant to do surgery. Surgeons were highly qualified assholes that had an itch for the adrenaline of a blade. Surgery was life. It kept their blood pumping. Riza was dead, right now. Her heart wasn't pumping, she hasn't held a scalpel in a day. Surgery was to her what alcohol was to Shanks. She needed it. It was her sweet addiction.
She felt her hand twitched at the thought of a complex brain tumor, Riza shivered in delight.
"I would shoot myself to get my hands on a scalpel." Riza muttered, envisioning the removal of the imaginative tumor. What blade she would use and where would she enter.
Riza muttered in the galley, she paused and rephrased her statement. "I would shoot you if it meant I could hold a scalpel." She stared, directly into the eye of her best friend. Stormy. Showing how serious she was. "Maybe, I could remove your appendix?" She asked as her foot tapped on the floor. Goldeneye Riza felt hyperaware of everything. Every brush of cloth against her skin, everything. She needed to do something.
The table stared at Riza. Stormy scooted away from her. "I thank whatever God is out there that you don't carry a gun." She said. "You have a serious problem." Rex nodded his dark cropped head in agreement, his dark grey eyes laced with worry.
Riza shrugged. "I am a surgeon, I do surgery." She stabbed at her food. Riza glared at it, then looked to where Benn sat with Yasopp and Shanks and glared. Shanks noticed this and frowned. Mistaking the glare for himself. A spoon grasped between his teeth as they maintained a steady eye contact. Benn caught onto his captain's puzzled gaze and turned to meet the fury in her eyes. Benn chuckled and if she had her scalpels, she'd try to make sure he could never try to procreate ever again.
He turned back to the two men and explained what that was about. Shanks and Yasopp had the audacity to laugh. Shanks' gaze met hers and he looked away. Feeling her intent to do him bodily harm. Yasopp at least was smart enough to know not to look. Riza glowered and took great delight in adding a mental note to make their checkups, painful. Benn's would be torture, Riza would make sure of it. A slightly sadistic grin spread across her face as she turned back to her own food.
Riza eyed the knife in Rex's scarred hands. She could do something with that. "I'm not getting in trouble because of you, Riz'." He drawled in a heavily accented voice.
Damnit. Riza's lips drew into a silent snarl. "I would watch my back from now on, Rexxie." Riza said, sickly sweet as she sneered at the engineer. Her silky words dripping in candy coated poison. So should you, Benn.
Rex shivered.
"Nat, you speak crazy." Rex began. "Calm her down."
That redheaded, soulless woman laughed and held up her hands. Her heart shaped face alight with the idea of causing mischief. "That's out of the area of even my expertise." Her soft, hazel eyes rimmed with mirth. "But, I can tell you what I can do for you. Riz'."
Riza paused from eating the piece of meat on her fork. "Hn?" Riza questioned. "Do you have thoracic aortic dissection repair?"
Natalia blinked, caught off by the odd question. "No? What the hell is that?"
"Heart surgery." Riza said, dumbing it down, not wanting to get hyped up for a figmentive surgery. She slumped into her seat, pouting. Why couldn't anyone understand her need of a scalpel?
"No. You could help me with weapon's maintenance."
Riza perked. Weapon's maintenance was no thoracic aortic dissection repair or a deadly brain tumor but it was something. "I love you. Marry me. When are we going?" She rushed out.
"I love you too. No, you're not my type. After-"
"You are conducting weapon's maintenance after lunch, Nat. Riza is not." Benn called to her table.
"Killjoy." Riza growled.
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Riza offered to clean dishes after lunch, only to be shooed away by the ship's cooks. Benn hadn't cared to tell her that she wasn't allowed to do anything around the ship, at all. She wanted to do something, anything. She needed to do something. So, she tucked herself in the crow's nest with a book. It wasn't a medical textbook or even one of her books on devil fruits. It was a romance novel. One of Stormy's. As much as the woman claimed to not care for the romance of a relationship, Stormy was a hopeless romantic. Riza hoped to lose herself in a fictional world for a few hours.
All she could hear was Benn Beckman, a few hours later. A muscle in her brow twitched. "Aaron?" She asked the singer as he stayed as lookout.
"Yeah, Doctor?"
"Could you sing for me?" Riza asked the adorable rookie as she shut the novel. He was tall and thin. Rosey cheeks and bright green eyes. He and Johnny joined the crew around the sametime. A couple months ago, after herself. That was the reason why he hadn't told Benn where she was.
"What would you like?"
"A love song?" She requested as her head fell back to rest on the side. The novel put her in the mood for a song about passion and commitment. Riza closed her soft golden eyes and took in the warmth of the sun as it bathed her in afternoon light. Her muscles relaxed, unwinding in the burnt orange light. She never got moments like these on her snowy wasteland of an island.
Riza could hear the blush in his face as he said, shakily. "Alright." She listened to his smooth tenor voice wrap around her. Pulling her into a trance that lulled her to sleep with his jazzy chords and soft notes.
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Shanks had to laugh at Riza's predicament. She was the only person on his crew that had that strong of a work ethic besides Benn. A drive for something. Benn took that away from her and now, she was going stir crazy. Most of the crew would enjoy time off, not Riza. Shanks knew with all his heart that she would rather take brig time than her current hell. This situation could be resolved with a simple word. He knew Riza knew that word but the woman was far too proud to admit it. She would try to drag it out until she or Benn gave in. That was one of the many reasons-. Shanks stopped himself, he would not say that even in jest. Not about her. Shanks shook his head, trying to rid himself of his thoughts.
"Stormy?" Shanks called to the midnight haired woman, he couldn't find his doctor in the Galley. In fact, he hasn't seen Riza all day. "Where's Riza?"
"Uh-?" Stormy responded, confused as she stared at the red haired man. "She's probably reading somewhere, Captain. I wouldn't worry." A smirk tugged at her lips, Shanks shot Stormy an unamused look. Shanks didn't give in and dignified a response.
Was everyone in his crew in with Benn? Shanks wondered. Traitors.
"She doesn't look after herself, someone needs to do it for her." Shanks said and walked out of the galley in search for his doctor. "Riza!" He shouted, once he hit the cool night air. his sandals clacked on the deserted deck. Everyone had already turned inside for the night.
"Captian?" A male voice answered. Shanks' brow furrowed as he look up at the source. That wasn't his doctor.
"Hey, Aaron!" Shanks called up with a smile. "Have you seen my doctor?"
"She's with me." The newest Red Hair called back.
"Oh?" He questioned, a faux tone of anger in his voice.
The young man stuttered as he tried to backtrack. "Doctor Goldeneye came up to read and she fell asleep. That's it!"
Shanks bellowed a loud chuckle. He knew what the boy meant. Hell, he didn't even think that Riza has ever been intimate with anyone in her life. He hoped not. His stomach dropped at the thought of any man.., he growled at himself, she was her own woman and she could do whatever she wanted with her body. And if any man tried to force themselves on her... they'd better hope he never finds them.
Shanks put those thoughts aside. "I'm coming up, you two better be decent!" He teased as he climbed. Ignoring the sharp pull in his chest.
Shanks peered down at a sleeping Riza. A worn paperback rested on her chest. She looked peaceful in her sleep. No lines of stress and worry. Her long purple hair framed her pale face. Shanks stared and wondered how in the world did she get up here with that cast. He wouldn't allow his mind to think about anything else. Not how nice her lips looked, slightly parted or how good she looked in those shorts. Damnit.
"I'll put her to bed." Shanks told Aaron, "Stormy will relieve you, shortly." His lips curved in a smirk. Serves the sharpshooter right for poking at her captain.
"Stormy?" Aaron asked with a slight frown.
"Ah." Shanks nodded, stooping down to sweep Riza up in his arms, adjusting the lightweight woman to rest over his shoulder. The woman stirred but did not wake. "Get something to drink, Aaron." He said as he began his descent with one hand holding her in place.
"You can be quite troublesome, Riz'." Shanks murmured. His feet hit the deck and he was off to the women's quarters. Of course, after he readjusted her body. She was now being held in both of his arms. He grinned when he spotted Stormy. She opened her mouth at the sight of Riza. "Go relieve Aaron." He ordered. Shanks laughed at her dumbfounded face, he felt a jolt of satisfaction.
"Aye, Captain." Stormy sighed and left Shanks to enter the women's quarters. Most of the time, men aren't allowed inside. He was the captain and that gave him a free pass. He respected the privacy of the few women on his crew and only entered when given no other choice.
Shanks made his way past several messy beds to the only one with some semblance of order. This was Riza's. He knew of the medical textbooks stacked on the shared nightstand. He chuckled as he settled her down and brushed a kiss to the soft flesh of her temple. A blush settled on his cheeks when he pulled away. "Goodnight, Riza." She was forgiven as soon as she went against his will. Not that she needed to know, much less Benn.
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Riza was slowly losing ground. She needed something to do. She sat on the deck, leaning against the railing. Sunbathing. Her skilled fingers drummed a repetitive beat. She really wanted to hurt Benn. Hurt someone. Maybe then she could get into her medical bay, she thought with excitement.
"Oi~!"
Riza blinked up at Stormy. The tall, tanned beauty sat herself on the railing. The men ogled at the way her much larger chest jiggled. Stormy threw them a wink and one spurted out blood. Riza glared at the offending chest. She sighed, another reason to hate her life.
"Yea?"
"You alright?"
"Peachy keen." Riza growled. She started to tap her foot, again.
Stormy laughed. "I have something to make you feel a little better." She pulled out a scalpel. Riza shivered in delight, she opened her hand to take it but Stormy didn't relent it, yet. "I have a rule."
"Anything." Riza promised, hope shined in her golden eyes.
"You don't target them when I'm near." Stormy said.
"Okay. Gimme!" Riza opened her palm as Stormy dropped it. A hand snatched it in midair. Riza didn't need to know who, she knew. "Fuck off, Benn!" She snarled.
"No scalpels, Riza." Benn ordered, stuffing the blade in his pockets and lit a cigarette. "Captain's orders."
"Those can kill you." Riza pointed out. She glared at the first mate. He towered over both, Stormy and Riza.
Benn shrugged. "My life." Stormy chose to flee back to her job. Benn turned to leave Riza to the lack of her own devices. Riza narrowed her eyes at the man, she reached forward and wrapped her good arm around his leg.
Benn sighed. "Riza, this is getting ridiculous..."
First, she tried to break into his quarters to retrieve her medical equipment. That was last night after Shanks tucked her in. Benn smirked. The two caught her, red handed. Riza was not skilled in breaking and entering. Not to mention that she was drunk off her ass, Benn knew Nat did that. The root to any mischief on the ship was normally her. Shanks dragged her back to the women's quarters, aspirated with Yasopp as help. Then, this morning she tried to ambush him with a hangover. Again, it didn't end well for the ship's doctor.
"I'm not giving up." Riza mumbled as she wrapped her legs around his.
"You have the maturity of a three year old." Benn sighed and started walking, taking Riza with him. She clung to his leg as he went about his business. She made smart ass comments at him and crew. She gave her two cents for everything and anything. Benn's lips curved into a smile. He would take her to Shanks to decide what to do with their doctor.