Thatch carried a box of streamers to the deck. He was obviously worried.

Actually, everyone was.

But Shirahoshi, Jewel's crew mate, insisted that the party should go on, saying that her captain had been planning this for weeks and didn't want to blow off her hard work for nothing.

And so there they were on the deck, putting up streamers and balloons for a party that was sure to be depressing. Because if they couldn't cheer up the celebrant, then the whole atmosphere would be ruined.

He stopped and set the box down, scanned the area and frowned upon noticing that they were missing a certain someone.

"Where's Ace?"

~~*~~

Jenna hadn't left the bedroom after hearing the distressing news last night. She wasn't eating, drinking, or even moving. She just sat there on the bed with her arms hugging her knees to her chest.

"Sis..." She muttered quietly, casting a glance at the bedside table, where a picture of her and her sister in Thriller Bark, was sitting.

The two hadn't spent time together in a while, with her being so busy with life as a Whitebeard pirate and her husband constantly fussing over the baby.

She sighed heavily. Nothing could be worse than losing someone.

Taking a quick glance at her belly, she couldn't even smile.

Jenna rested a hand on it and rubbed it softly, whispering a lullaby to her unborn child.

She stayed like that until nightfall came. Crew members passed by the room, casting a glance as they heard her soft singing from the other side of the door.

Her voice was low and mournful.

"Will she be alright?"

The crew merely shrugged in response. Hopefully this night would turn out okay.

~~*~~

"Come on, Jenna, please?"

Thatch begged. He was down on his knees and his hands clasped together as he pleaded.

But the girl simply shook her head in response, not wanting to leave the comforts of the room and the soft bed under her.

It was moments like these that Thatch wished Ace were here. He knew ways to get her out that others didn't.

Which leads him to the question he had been asking himself since earlier that morning.

Where is Ace?

The man had been missing almost the entire day, which was pretty rare since he almost never leaves Jenna's side. He was the overprotective husband kind of guy, really.

"Jenna, you can't be like this forever-yoi." Marco stated rather bluntly. He folded his arms and gazed at the girl seriously. "Jewel wouldn't want you to-yoi."

A frown immediately took over her lips at the mention of that name. As much as she didn't want to, Marco was right.

She sighed and nodded, allowing herself to finally giving in to the persistent request of her crew mates to leave the room.

Thatch smiled and held her hand as they all walked to the deck.

Her eyes widened a bit from the sight. The many different pirate crews that have joined to celebrate popped out the confettis and yelled,

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY JENNA!!!"

Round tables littered the deck of the Moby with the crew grouped to fit in each one. Above her head looked like millions of glowing fireflies, but were actually lit candles placed inside glass jars and hung on with strings. Colorful streamers were wrapped around the masts, giving it an aurora-like appearance under the glow of the lights.

Jenna let out a breath in awe, before looking over the smiling faces of each of her friends.

From the crowd Sanji walked forward, a fifteen tier cake in his hands, and held it out with a smile. Fifteen candles were lit at the top layer, so she had to be given a ladder just to reach it.

"Make a wish, beautiful!"

She stared at the frosting words of her name written in cursive and decided what to wish for.

After a minute, she looked up at the sky and frowned.

I wish...

And then she blew out her candles, receiving an applause and congratulations from everyone as she climbed back down.

Luffy, who had to be restrained so he would not eat all the food on the ship and the cake, grinned up at her.

"Oi, Jenna, what did you wish for?"

She looked over at him and smiled sadly.

"If I told you then it wouldn't come true, not like it would anyway..."

~~*~~

Everyone was having a good time after just three hours later. Thatch came running excitedly to Jenna, who was sitting with Akatsuki and engaging in a personal conversation.

She looked up at the fourth commander and forced out a smile.

"It's time to open your presents!"

He announced, holding a small gift box to her with a grin.

Jenna took it and looked it over with her face expressionless. When she tore the wrapping off, she had in her hands a silver locket with her initials engraved at the front.

She smiled at Thatch and hugged him.

"Thanks..."

She whispered before letting go.

One by one, Jenna opened gift after gift as numerous friends lined up to give theirs to her.

She had received perfume from Nico Robin, a bottle of some sort of Japanese liquor from Zoro, a black kimono from Izo, a leather jacket from Kid, and many more.

She had gotten a gift from everyone except one who wasn't present the entire day. Scanning the crowd, she searched for any sign of an orange cowboy hat but to no avail.

Just as she was about to think that Ace decided not to celebrate her birthday with her, she heard his voice from amidst the crowd and loud chattering.

"Jenna! Over here!"

Ace laughed as he bounded over to the girl and hugged her tightly.

"You're late." She replied with a huff.

"Sorry, sorry!" He laughed again, before pulling back and looking into her eyes.

"I was late because I had to pick up my gift."

She tilted her head in confusion, seeing no gifts in his hands.

Before she could ask, a familiar voice spoke from behind her, "Am I late for the party?"

Jenna turned slowly. Eyes turning glassy with tears as she stared at the girl covered in bandages stood behind her.

A girl with short brown hair,

Black ears and a tail,

Warm brown eyes,

And a smile that she thought she would never see again.

"Happy birthday, imouto-chan..."