FicWad

No one really knew how to tell Nana about what had happened, so they opted not to say anything in the end. Law wasn't sure if her PTSD would affect her memory, figuring that she may not even remember at all. Still, the thought of having to break the news that her granddaughter had been sexually assaulted wasn't a pleasant one, and even Law, who'd witnessed worse things, decided it best that the older woman never knew. He would leave that decision up to Lexi herself, who still only left her room to go to the bathroom and accept meals from Bepo.

They'd learned quickly that the only person, or bear rather, allowed to interact with her at the moment was Bepo, since she refused to open the door to anyone but him. Several times, she'd asked for him to spend some time just sitting with her up there, and he was too concerned about her to refuse.

Shachi and Penguin would ask how she was doing once he came out again, but he'd only shake his head and shrug. This wasn't a satisfactory answer for the two engineers, who was worried sick about their host and friend.

"She doesn't want to talk about it." He'd respond, and that was the end of that. Law suspected that if Lexi had said something to Bepo while they were alone, he wouldn't repeat it anyways, simply out of courtesy for her. After all, Bepo was a very noble creature, a trait often times overlooked because of his sensitivity.

"Leave it be." Law input on one such occasion, drawing the attention of his subordinates.

"But, Captain, Lexi's been up there for days! What if she's not ok?" Penguin had cried in desperation. He missed his friend, especially knowing that everything wasn't alright. One stern look from Law stopped him short, however.

"Lexi-ya will come out when she is ready. Give her time." They shut up and looked away begrudgingly, knowing their leader was right. But all this worry wasn't doing them any good.

Law was having a hard time following his own advice, catching himself unconsciously gaze towards the top of the stairs, waiting to hear the gentle creak of her door open and see her walk down to greet them. Long periods of time in isolation wasn't recommended, or especially healthy for a broken mind, but he supposed there was nothing for him to do about it anyways. Lexi was strong. She'd cope with her damaged psyche as she saw fit.

He hoped before too long. Having to rely on an older woman with an even more damaged psyche for their meals night after night was extremely stressful.

And he supposed he was worried about Lexi as well. Though he would only admit that once.

But it would seem that today would be the start of things moving forward, since Law heard Lexi's footsteps approach her door upstairs. Glancing up from his position on the couch, he saw the edge of her door as it creaked open. Everyone's attention was drawn to the sound, and they watched as a very rumpled and exhausted Lexi moved to stand at the top of the stairs.

Her tired eyes surveyed the living room, slowly scanning it to rest on each person for a few seconds, before moving to the next thing. No one said anything for a long time, as Lexi just stood there and watched. Penguin moved to stand, the first one to recover.

"Lexi-" He started, but she cut him off.

"Is Nana alright?" She asked, her voice rather hoarse. The question was directed at Law, since her gaze wouldn't leave his. After a moment of thought, he nodded silently. She returned the gesture, more to reassure herself than anything, and turned around without another word.

Law feared she would simply return to her room to wallow in her own sorrow some more, but was pleased to hear the bathroom door close instead. The lock turned and the sound of the shower turning on followed a moment later. It seemed after days of not bathing, she was getting herself cleaned up a bit.

Out of the corner of his eye, Law watched as Shachi and Penguin gave gentle sighs and a shared glance. Obviously they were relieved that Lexi seemed to be feeling better, though Law's expert medical eye was doubtful she was up to her regular self quite yet.

She hadn't smiled, and he doubted it would be easy for that to happen for a little while longer.

A half hour later, the water turned off and Lexi stepped out in a towel, heading immediately to her room to change. The hot water had felt amazing against her greasy hair and oily skin, and she felt refreshed and a little bit more positive for the first time in several days. Hopefully it would help her get over this depression she'd sunk into.

Three days, that's how long she'd given herself to grieve about what had happened. Brittany had been there, metaphorically, with constant text messages asking if she was still alive and if there was anything she could do to help. Having to constantly reassure her friend that she was still breathing was almost as exhausting as the lack of sleep and continuous silent crying.

Bepo had helped as well, allowing her to cry into his thick, soft fur as he hugged her close. He even took off his boiler suit so she could curl up more into his soft belly and weep. His warm body and even breathing had helped ease her mind. During the times she did sleep, sometimes there would be nightmares of hands touching all over her body, whispering scary things in her ears. She was afraid to close her eyes, worried she'd feel violated over and over again in her sleep.

But Lexi wasn't one to pity herself, for too long at least. Three days was much too long to be completely out of it, and it was time to turn things around. She'd be damned if that smug bastard would win over her. His actions would not break her.

Changing into something comfy yet cute, then throwing on a little makeup to look more put together, she blow-dried her hair as she forced herself to take steady breaths.

In. Out. In. Out. Just focus on one things at a time. One small step at a time, and that will turn into a few more. Her mental pep talk distracted her enough to finish getting ready. Brushing out the tangled mess, she contemplated leaving it down for once. Then, always a creature of habit, grabbed a hair tie and threw it up in a ponytail. Inspecting it a moment, she noticed that the end reached further down her back than she remembered. Pleased to see it growing longer, she took one more deep breath before turning back to the door

As soon as she stepped out of her room, she was assaulted by two engineers staring at her from the top of the stairs. Her eyebrows raised, seeing their teary-eyed expressions of worry. They looked about ready to cry from either excitement, fear, sorrow, or all three.

"Umm…" She started, but was interrupted by four arms being wrapped around her small frame.

"Lexi-chan!" Two voices cried, buried somewhere in her shoulders as Shachi and Penguin squeezed her tightly. "We're so happy you're alright!"

Tensing herself up at the unexpected but only slightly unwanted closeness of the two pirates, she bared her teeth at the force of their hugs. They were a lot stronger than they looked. "Uh, t-thanks…guys." She managed to force out, the very life being constricted out of her.

"Oi, enough." Law said from downstairs, probably noticing a distressed Lexi being bear hugged by two emotional engineers. Reluctantly, they slowly let her go. It was then she noticed they'd actually lifted her off the ground from the force of their hug, as she felt her feet land once more on the carpeted floor.

With a deep breath, she regained the ability to breathe, before brushing the front of her shirt off. "Glad to see you too…" She muttered, coughing a bit from pain.

They sniffed, wiping at their noses. "We were so worried about you." Shachi said first, followed by a quick nod from Penguin.

"Yeah, we'll take down that son-of-a-bitch who did this to you!" He pounded his fist in his other hand for good measure, demonstrating that he was prepared for a fight. With a tiny smile, Lexi patted their shoulders.

"Sounds great, but I think the first thing in order is to eat some really good food." Instantly, they high-fived.

"Alright!"

Ignoring their celebration, Lexi passed by them and began to descend the stairs. Bepo stepped out from the kitchen, smiling widely upon seeing Lexi coming downstairs.

"Hi Lexi!" He called, and Lexi waved timidly.

"Finally decided to come down?" Law questioned, raising a brow at her. She rolled her eyes, thankful that he didn't mention the party or that night at all. At least he wouldn't make her deal with her problems when she would rather just distract herself for the time being.

"Well, I swear I could hear those two's stomach growling from all the way up there, so I decided in order to spare you guys the horrors of starving, we can go out and eat something." She tried sounding as jovial and sarcastic as she could, but saw the recognition flash in the pirate captain's eyes as he figured she was avoiding anything to do with the subject at hand.

The engineers, on the other hand, were simply oblivious and sped down the stairs at yet another mention of food. They both had one hand on the front door, looking expectantly at her.

"We're ready to go!" They shouted, and she chuckled a little.

"Alright, let me get my purse." She turned back around and went to grab her bag from her room, already feeling a bit better. Perhaps having the pirates around was a better thing than she would have thought.

"Can we go to that place we did before?" Shachi questioned from the back seat of the truck. Glancing back in the rearview mirror, she spotted the two pirates in the back practically drooling over the thought of food, and she grinned a tiny bit.

"Even better. Do you guys have steakhouses where you're from?" She questioned Law.

"We do have restaurants and eating establishments, you know. We're not completely primitive." He jabbed, thinking that perhaps she viewed them as neanderthals compared to all of the technology her world seemed to boast. She only nodded, her eyes locked on the road.

"Well, I didn't end up spending all of my money Nana gave me, so I figured we would treat ourselves for once. So, Longhorn Steakhouse it is!"

"Hi, table for four?" The hostess asked, watched as Lexi and the three pirates walked in. Lexi nodded and the woman took out four menus from a holder on the wall. They waited as she seemed to look for an available table on her board, then she turned and gestured them over. "Right this way."

They followed the woman, gazing around at the other patrons of the restaurant. Shachi and Penguin, instead, were eyeing the rather large portions of food at every table, anticipating their own meals.

A short trek to the back of the building later, the woman showed them to an empty table, cutlery and napkins preset in each seat. "Will this be alright for you tonight?"

"Yes, thank you." Lexi responded, taking up the seat by the wall. The others filed in turn: Law directly next to Lexi and the engineers facing the two of them. Law was surprised Lexi didn't glare in his direction when he smirked at her, hoping to annoy her just a little. When she only continued to place her purse on the back of her seat, he sighed inaudibly. So much for getting on her nerves that night.

A man approached a moment later, dressed in the black apron of a server, holding a little notepad and pencil.

"How are you folks tonight? My name is Cameron, I'll be your server this evening. Can I start you off with some drinks? We have Coke products, tea, coffee, tap and draft…" He trailed off, waiting for Lexi to start them off since she looked to be the only one with any knowledge of beverages available in her world.

"I'll have a coke." She said, turning her head to Law, indicating he was next. Glancing at her, he turned back to the server.

"I will have one as well." The man nodded and wrote that on his notepad, turning to the other two at the table. They shared a glance, nodding in unison.

"Us too!"

Cameron nodded, looking back up with a smile. "I'll have these out to you in just a moment." Then he turned and scurried off towards the kitchen to put in their order, leaving the table to themselves. Lexi opted to open the menu and look at what options there were. She hadn't been to a steakhouse in awhile and so she wasn't quite sure what she wanted. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the others do the same. For a moment, the only noise was the murmur of people talking at tables nearby. But that quickly changed.

"What is a coke, anyways?" Penguin questioned, putting down the menu and turning towards Lexi with a tilt of his head. She shook hers in exasperation.

"Why would you order something if you don't even know what it is?"

"Well, it must be good, because you got one." Shachi supplied. She couldn't really argue with that, so she simply shrugged, opening her menu up again.

"It's soda. You guys have heard of soda, right?" With much more clarity than before, they nodded in understanding. Lexi rolled her eyes again, silently thankful she wouldn't have to explain what soda was. They all returned to the menus, searching for an entree they'd like.

Cameron came back at that moment, a tray of four drinks in one hand. "Here you are, four cokes." He placed each one in front of the respective person, before tucking the tray under the same arm and pulling out the notepad. "Now, has everyone decided what they'd like?"

Like before, Lexi started them off. "I'll have a 6oz. sirloin, cooked medium, with a baked potato, everything on it." She closed her menu proudly, happy that she wouldn't have to be asked countless questions on her order. Cameron wrote all that down and took her menu from her.

The others ordered what they thought would be good, meaning just Law, who ordered like a normal person. As soon as it came to Shachi and Penguin, however, things got a little complicated.

"I'll have…wait, no…hold on, where'd it go…Ah! Yeah, I'll get a 12oz. ribeye, and I want it medium well. Wait! No, actually make it medium rare." Shachi thumbed through the pages, looking for the other part of his order. "Then, I'll have an order of macaroni and cheese, french fried, a baked potato, and onion rings! Oh, and also coleslaw!"

Before Cameron could say anything, Penguin was already starting on his.

"Ok, I'd like a 12oz. t-bone steak, and that'll be…well done." He finally decided after a long pause. "And then I'll have two orders of french fries, two orders of coleslaw, and-"

"Guys!" Lexi interrupted, saving the frazzled-looking server from writing all these things down on his pretty small notepad. She was willing to bet he was running out of room. "You can have the steaks but only one other thing. Got it?" She scolded, giving them a look. They had the grace to look ashamed.

"Hmm…coleslaw." Shachi decided, giving him menu to Cameron who spent more time than necessary scratching out everything else he'd written on the order.

"French fries." Penguin answered, also handing over his menu with a pout. Cameron quickly took the menus and hurried off without saying anything else, most likely afraid they'd start adding to their orders again if he didn't leave quick enough.

"Seriously?" Lexi asked in exasperation once the server left.

"What? We're hungry." Shachi said, tying the napkin around his neck in anticipation of the food already. Sighing deeply, Lexi leaned her cheek on her hand, an elbow balanced on the edge of the table.

"Maybe we should have gone to McDonalds after all…" She muttered, loud enough for only Law to hear. He smirked, hopeful that perhaps his engineers would annoy Lexi for him.

By the time they'd eaten and left the restaurant, Lexi was hiding her face under her hands and keeping her head low, hoping no one she recognized would see her.

"Keep walking." She scolded, digging her keys out from her purse while still keeping an eye on the stuffed engineers.

"Lexi-chan, that place was so good! Let's go again sometime!"

She sighed, hoping to just go home and forget the day ever happened. Unfortunately, it seemed that Law wouldn't let that happen. He leaned in with a smirk.

"Quite an eventful dinner, don't you think?" His sarcastic comment made her glare up at him.

Eventful, indeed.

Before they'd even gotten their food, Shachi and Penguin had tasted Coca-Cola for the first time, announcing loudly that it was like nothing they'd ever tasted before. Lexi had noticed right off the bat the angry glances and unamused whispers of the people seated near to them. Though, at this point, there wasn't much she could do to reign in the personalities of the pirates.

Then, once the food had actually arrived, they ate as they normally did. Which meant as they were talking, causing some piece of food to escape as they chewed. One such piece seemed to fly out of Penguin's mouth and directly onto Lexi's potato, which she had been aiming her fork at to take another bite. The piece of meat wedged itself directly in the center, and she paused midway through the air, staring at the offending piece of food that now contaminated her dinner. While Shachi laughed at him for it, which set off another round of bickering, Lexi silently pushed the potato away from the rest of her steak, hoping that no more fly-away from Penguin's mouth would come near her. It didn't help that she could almost feel Law laughing at her from beside her.

Thankfully, Lexi had come prepared for an expensive dinner. Once Cameron brought the table the check, making sure to avoid talk or eye contact with the engineers entirely, Lexi took a look at the bill and her eyes widened at first. But then she remembered that she could indeed pay for it, as well as the tip, which would be more than the normal 15 percent since the server /did/ have to put up with the pirates all night.

After they paid, they were out the door as quick as possible, hoping that no one recognized her face.

"Yeah, not planning to do this again in the future. Besides, we've gotta figure a way to get you guys home, remember?" She reminded, walking a little faster in hopes of ending the conversation.

Law allowed her to widen the distance between them, his mind suddenly occupied with thoughts of home. He was surprised to realize that he was a little sad at the idea of leaving Lexi's world. There was so much to learn and explore, but rationally, he did have to return to the rest of his crew soon.

He just wondered if he'd ever forget about Lexi when he did. She was such an interesting and mysterious creature, after all. It would be a shame if he couldn't study her further.