"Ari! Ari! Ari..., where are you!?" Marco of the Whitebeard Pirates 1st division commander, called out, looking for the newly recruited member of the crew.

"She's still sleeping in Ace's room. I overheard that she and Ace had a lot of fun late last night." Izo chuckled and blushed through his geisha makeup.

"Ace is so lucky! He gets a beautiful girl like Ari. I mean, come on, Ace can be kind of an idiot sometimes. I just don't get how she be with someone like that!" Macho continued to complain.

"That's because she likes me more than any of you sorry lots."

The crew turned to see Ace finally coming from his room. His black hair messier then it usually was.

"That's just mean Ace. Is the sleepyhead still in your room?"

"Yeah, she was... a bit of a handful last night."

The entire crew burst out laughing. They all love their little Ari. She was someone special to everyone, but to Ace, she had a special place in his heart. Rhodes D. Ariana had joined the Whitebeard Pirates completely by accent. She was running from some really bad people. They wanted her for some reason. A reason she didn't know. Thinking she was never going to get away, she noticed a ship at the docs and decided to jump aboard. That's when Ariana noticed that it was no ordinary ship.

"Ace...," A soft sleepy voice suddenly came from behind the shirtless male pirate. Her messy long white hair was all over the place and she was wearing along white button down shirt. The sleeves where way too long for her, so she had them rolled up to her elbows. She had a sick look about her, like she wasn't feeling well.

"Ari, are you feeling alright? It looks like you might be getting sick." Ace placed the back of his hand on Ariana's forehead to check her temperature, which was funny since he was known as "Fire-Fist Ace".

"I-I'm fine. I-I'm just..." With the movement of the ship, Ariana suddenly staggered over but was caught by Ace. Everyone on deck rushed to see if the Whitebeard Princess was alright.

"Ari, if you're not feeling well, there's no reason for you to strain yourself. I can treat you, I'm a doctor after all." Marco patted Ariana on the head.

"I-I'm fine, really. I just..."

Ace suddenly snatched Ariana up in a princess carrying style.

"Ace!? There's no need for this! I'm fine, really."

"No, you're not! If you were fine then you wouldn't be so off balanced. I'm taking you back to our room!" Ace turned and went back to the room he had just walked out of. Ariana clung to Ace's shoulders as she saw all the worried looks on everyone's faces. She just smiled at them, like she was saying not to worry and that everything will be alright.

When Ace got to the bed he carefully placed Ariana down on top of the white sheets. The long shirt she was wearing went slightly askew, revealing her lightly tanned colored upper thighs. Light kiss marks were scattered across her skin and the sight of them made ace blush.

"Ace, I really am fine. Just a little dizzy, that's all."

"You're not fooling me Ari. You have a fever, and it's a high one too. You need some more rest, so just sleep." Ace covered Ariana with the thin sheets that they shared the night before. It only took seconds for Ariana to fall back asleep.

With a heavy sigh, Ace sat at the end of the bed. The crew had a doctor, Maco, so why didn't Ariana come to them for help. As Ace was thinking about what to do, there was a knock on the door. He stood up and opened to see Macro standing on the other side. There was a look on his face like he had something to say.

"Ace, is she alright?"

"She fine. Sleeping now. Is there something you need to talk to me about?"

"Actually, there is."

After Ace's talk with Marco, he gathered some of his things and was getting ready to head out on the Striker, a one-man, yellow raft shaped like a crescent moon. Before jumping down into the water, his captain Edward Newgate went to see him off.

"Ace, heading out to find Blackbeard again?"

"No captain, Ari has caught another fever. I'm going to get something to help her out. I'll pick up on Blackbeard's trail after she's feeling better."

Newgate nodded and Ace jumped down onto the Striker. Using the power of the Flame-Flame fruit to power its engine.

The entire crew watched until Ace was no longer in sight. Things were getting complicated. With Blackbeard on the loose, the world government coming after him, the failing health of their captain and now Ariana getting ill once again, Ace seemed to be spread thin.

"I wonder if the boy even realizes what day it is." Newgate said to himself softly outload.

"What do you mean Captain?" Marco asked since he was the one who overheard.

"Oh, it's nothing. Just talking to myself."

It had been around two hours since Ace set sail on the Striker. Was wasn't going towards lad like one may think, but instead heading farther out to sea, He seemed to be looking for something,

"He should be around here somewhere. He's been making such a ruckus lately, and the last time I heard from him, he was heading I should be running into him pretty soon." Ace continued on looking out over the water. Looking for any signs of white sails breaking out of the sky. Suddenly, he saw some sail coming up over the horizon. He didn't get too excited, not wanting to get his hopes up if it wasn't the one he was looking for. Once he saw the Jolly Roger swaying in the wind, Ace's hear jumped with joy. It was his handful of a younger brother after all.

"There he his!" Ace pumped up the power to the Striker. When he was close enough Ace fired a stream of fire up into the air. Hoping someone on his brother's ship noticed it.

Meanwhile, on the Thousand Sunny, Luffy was sitting on the lionhead that looked out to the sea. With a fishing pole in his hand, he sat there impatiently. He wanted something to eat, but Sanji wouldn't make him anything unless Luffy caught something himself since there was an accident with the aquarium they kept their live fish in. Curtesy of Luffy himself.

"Stupid fish. It's like they know I'm hungry and they won't let me catch them on purpose. Damn you fish!! Gum-Gum..." Luffy stretched his arm over his head and pointed it down towards the water. "I'll show you!" He was just about to shoot his arm down into the water when he noticed something flash a bright yellowish-orange. Luffy looked out to see that someone was coming.

Luffy wasn't the only one who noticed the sudden blast of fire that was shot up into the sky. Gol D. Erika was getting some alone time up in the crow's nest when she noticed it. Taking the telescope that the crew kept in the crow's nest. She looked out over the horizon to see the cause of the flame. When she caught sight of the sources her heart jumped for joy. Seeing Ace, her cousin, after such a long time is always a great treat.

"Luffy! It's Ace, he's the one who shot the fireball! He's heading this way!" Erika yelled and jumped down from the crow's nest.

"Ace?! Really!!'

When Erika reached the deck of the Thousand Sunny she raced over to Luffy and handed him the telescope, so he could see for himself.

"It really is him! Ace!!" Luffy let out an excited yelp after seeing hi adopted brother.

When Ace jumped aboard the Thousand Sunny he was greeted by Luffy's entire crew: Roronoa Zoro, Nami, Usopp, Sanji, Tony Tony Chopper, Nico Robin, Franky, Brook, Gol D. Erika, Lockser D. Feray, Snow, Lefèvre D. Zara and Nguyen D. Taher. His brother's crew had grown since the last time he had seen them.

"Ace! What are you doing here?!" Luffy jumped into his brother's arms, wrapping his rubber body around Ace in a tight embrace.

"Ace, it's so great to see you. How have you been?" Erika too ran up to Ace and wrapped her arms around his well toned body. Looking up at him, Ace ruffled Erika's long scarlet red hair.

"It's nice to see you too, all of you, and it looks like you've gained a few more people since I last saw you Luffy. But I'm afraid that I can't stay long. I've come to ask you for a favor Luffy."

"A favor?"

"I need to borrow your doctor." Ace averted his eyes over to the tiny reindeer who was standing near Usopp and by a girl with long white hair and pale skin.

"Chopper? You need to borrow Chopper? Why?" Luffy looked to Chopper and then back to Ace.

Ace explained to Luffy and the rest of the Straw Hats about Ariana, and that their own doctor had been doing all he could, but nothing seemed to be working anymore. And all that happened before he came out looking for Luffy, except the details about the night before. That would be embarrassing.

"Ah, so she's really sick. Looks like we're taking a detour!" Luffy was in his normal over excited self at the thought of a new adventure. He had caused the Marines so much trouble that doing something small, like helping his brother's girlfriend was a breath of fresh air.

"Next stop, the Moby Dick, main ship of the Whitebeard Pirates!" Luffy pointed foreword , in the direction of where Ace had come from.

Ace leaned up against the edge of the Thousand sunny, observing Luffy and all his crew. His brother can really pick'em when it came to crewmembers.

"So, how important is this girl to you?" Zoro suddenly came up next to Ace and shared the railing with him.

"She's really important. She's made things a bit brighter then they originally were. But what about you? How important is my cousin to you?"

A light blush of red splattered itself across Zoro's face as he looked at Ace with wide eyes.

"I-I don't..."

"It's alright. I won't say anything, but I can tell from the short times I've been around you guys, Erika likes you. She can try and hide it, but Erika isn't good at it."

The blush on Zoro's face got even worse. He then pushed himself off the railing and made his way to his weight room. Ace couldn't help but smile slightly and gave a chuckle. He watched Zoro rush pass Erika, not giving her a chance to talk to him. This puzzled Erika, so she went over to talk to Ace.

"Did something happen with Zoro, Ace? He didn't even stop when I tried talking to him." Erika asked as she leaned against the same railing as Ace.

"It's nothing. I think I just embarrassed him a little bit."

"Zoro... embarrassed? What on earth could you have said that would embarrass him?"

Ace smiled and leaned in close to Erika's ear. Whispering what he and Zoro were talking about. I took only a few seconds for Erika's face to turn bright red. She gave Ace a nudge and looked up at him with a pissed off look on her face, but at the same time, there was a look of humor in her eyes. If Zoro got flustered just by the mention of Erika liking him, that could only mean that there was a possibility that he liked her as well.

There was a good amount of silence between the two before Ace started up another conversation. Clearing his throat with a cough and scratched the back of his head.

"So... it may not be none of my business, but do you like Zoro in that way?'

Erika looked up at Ace with a surprise look on her face. She honestly didn't really know if she did like Zoro that way or not.

"I don't know. Zoro doesn't seem like the type who would settle down and start a family. But what about you Ace? This Ariana person we're helping, she seems to be very important to you. Are you two at that level yet?"

It was Ace's turn to blush this time. His face turned a bright red that would if you didn't know, would've explained the meaning of his nickname, Fire-Fist Ace. Erika smiled, she couldn't help but feel a little accomplished for embarrassing her cousin.

"I'll take that as a yes by how you're acting. That's great though Ace. Everyone deserves somebody to love. By the way," Erika reached into her coat pocket and took something out and handed it to Ace.

"What's this?"

"Just open it stupid."

Ace took the lip off the box to find a small pin shaped like a dragon scale. He looked at Erika with a surprised look on his face. Still not understanding what this was for.

"It's a pin I made out of one of the scales from the handle of my ax. My father always mentioned how much he regretted for not being able to be there for you, since we're family after all. Anyway... what I'm trying to say is... happy birthday Ace," Erika wrapped her arms around Ace's waist, causing him to blush. He looked down with a smile and patted Erika's head before taking his orange hat off his head and pined his gift onto it.

"There we go, now it's with the others and thank you Erika for gift. You're the first person to say something."

"Really!?!" Erika suddenly ran over to Luffy. Ace couldn't hear what she was saying yo Luffy, but he could tell that she was lecturing Luffy.

Ace suddenly found himself wrapped in Luffy's rubber arms. Tears and snot running down his face.

"Ace..." Luffy started babbling. "Ace...I'm sorry...I'm so sorry I forgot..."

"Is that's what this is about? It's alright Luffy. To be honest... I forgot what today was as well. It wasn't until Erika said something that I remembered."

"You remembered Erika?"

"Of course. I know when all your birthdays are, so you better be ready." Erika gave an evil smile and when she had that look, it usually isn't good.

"Sanji..." Luffy looked to his cook with pleading eyes.

With a heavy sigh, Sanji gave up on his punishment that he was putting Luffy through.

"Fine. Since your brother is here and it's going to take some time before Franky is done fixing the damage you caused, I'll make you something. Just give me some time."

"Thank you!! I'm so hungry!! You're going to love Sanji's cooking Ace. He's the best." Luffy dragged Ace with him towards the dining hall of the Thousand Sunny.

Ace was happy to see that Luffy and Erika were both doing so well. He just hopes that Ariana will be able to enjoy these kind of days in the future as well.

Meanwhile, back on the Moby Dick, Ariana's fever seemed to have gotten worse. Her breathing became really heavy and beads of sweat were dripping down all over her body. Marco was sitting at her bedside, taking care of her the best he could with his Phoenix Devil Fruit healing ability while Ace was away.

"A...A-Ace..." Ariana managed to whisper through her pants of breaths.

"Don't worry Ari. Ace will be back with some help soon. Just hang in there, alright." Marco replaced the now bone dry cloth that was on her forehead.

"Ace... ha-happy...birth---" She was unable to finish her sentence before falling silent.

Marco sat there in silences for a moment. A slight shocked look on his face.

"Is this what the captain was talking about?"

Marco's eyes saddened. Ariana really cares about Ace. He was the one who got her to talk after joining the crew. It was because of Ace that Ariana has gotten so far.

"A-Ace..." Ariana whispered once again. Her teeth started to chatter as if she was ice cold, when she was actually burning up. Marco pulled Ariana's covers up to cover her revealed skin. She needed to sweat it out, to get better.

"Don't worry Ari, Ace will be back soon, and he'll bring someone who can help you. I've done all I can for you and I'm sorry I couldn't do more. I've failed you as a doctor and a friend." Marco placed a new wet towel on Ariana;s forehead. The cool water streamed down the rim of her neck, causing her to slightly shiver.

"Sorry about that Ari." Marco wiped away the loose water that was streaming down her neck. Slowly Ariana's eyes started to open. They gave a look like she was in pain.

"M-Marco?"

"Hey Ari. How are you feeling?"

"Ace? Where's Ace?"

"He's fine. He's gone to get you some help since I can't do anymore for you. I'm sorry Ari." Marco moved aside a piece of stray hair that had fallen in her face.

"H-he worries too much. Th-this happens all the time. It's no big deal, and you've done all you could for me Marco. I don't blame you." Ariana managed to huff out in between breaths.

"I think he worries just the right amount. After you joined the crew, Ace... there's something different about him. You lit up something deep inside that knucklehead."

With a weak smile Ariana lightly laughed a little. Just then, the two hears excitement steering up on deck.

"What's going on?" Marco called out as he opened the door.

"Ace is back, and he has the Strawhats with him." One of the crew members explained in excitement.

"Hear that Ari?! Ace is back!" Marco turned back to Ariana to see she was trying to get out of bed. "Ari!? What are you doing?!"

"I-I want to see him. I want to see Ace."

Marco walked over and helped Ariana to her feet. Slowly the two walked out onto the deck of the Moby Dick. When she saw Ace, she wanted to run to him, but her legs wouldn't let her. When Ace saw her, there was a slight look of worry on his face. He made his way over and took her from Marco. Wrapping his arms around her and lifted her off the deck floor.

"What are you doing out of bed Ari?"

"I-I wanted to see you, I have something I want to tell you before the day..." Ariana's body suddenly felt heavy, like she had gone boneless.

"Ari?" Ace looked down to see Ariana passed out again. Her face was red, and her body felt like it was on fire.

"Luffy, bring your doctor this way. She's the patient who needs to be looked at."

"You got it Ace. Well, you heard him Chopper."

"I'll do my best Luffy!" Chopper followed Ace back into the room.

Those of the Whitebeard Pirates who hadn't seen the rest of the Strawhats were in shock to see that the doctor that Ace went to get was a reindeer. Many laughed at the sight, but none dared to make a comment.

I had been awhile since Chopper had disappeared behind the door of Ace and Ariana's room. All were wondering what was going on with their white haired angel.

"I wonder what's going on in there. Does that reindeer even know what he's doing?" One crew members whispered to another.

"Chopper knows what he's doing! Don't underestimate him just because he's different!" Snow yelled at the two Whitebeard Pirates.

"Calm down Snow. They're just not use to seeing someone like Chopper. He's unique after all." Erika quickly stepped in to calm the young girl.

"Please excuse Snow. She's a big believer in Chopper's abilities. She's just a little sensitive about how people talk about him." Erika apologized for Snow's behavior to the Whitebeard Pirates. "Snow, why don't you go cool off next to Usopp."

Snow let out a snort as she slowly walked away. Suddenly there was a slight puff of smoke were Snow stood. When the smoke cleared a white reindeer replaced the young girl that once stood there. She looked back at the pirates to see the shocked look on their faces. Snow had a look of satisfaction on her face. When people usually find out that she's really a reindeer with Devil Fruit abilities, she's come to love the reactions that they would give.

"Snow."

Snow looked towards the voice that said her name. Erika gave the white reindeer a stern look that read that all of that was unnecessary. Snow flipped her tail and continued to walk towards Usopp. She sat down next to the crews snipper and placed her head in his lap. Usopp patted Snow's head and continued to work on a new advection he'd been working on for a while now.

Inside the cabin, Chopper was just finishing up with Ariana's exam. With a heavy sigh, the blue nosed reindeer pulled away the medical mask he had over his face.

"What's wrong? What's wrong wit Ari!" Ace asked the reindeer.

"I'm sorry Luffy's brother, but what's wrong with her isn't something I can fix. She has Primary Immune Deficiency, or PID."

"What's that?"

"It's a diseases cause by an inherited genetic defect that interferes with the immune system normal development. This is something that you need to keep an eye on. Keeping her comfortable is the only thing you can do for her."

Ace let out a heavy sigh as he too Ariana's hand. She was shivering, and her breathing was heavy but was starting to even out.

"Thank you for everything. I'm sorry for dragging you all the way out here for nothing. I'll let Luffy know you all can go." Ace stood up and made his way to the upper deck to meet with the rest of the crew and with Luffy. Chopper quickly followed after him.

When Ace arrived on deck everyone rushed over to hear the news on Ariana. Ace let Chopper explain everything, thinking he would be able to do so a lot easier then he could. When Chopper finished, there was a blanket of sadness that washed over all of them. There was nothing they could do for Ariana.

"I'm sorry everyone that I couldn't do more for your friend. There are even somethings I can't fix as a doctor." Chopper apologized to the Whitebeard crew.

"It's alright Chopper, you did your best." Nami comfort the Reindeer doctor as light tears filled his eyes.

"So, there really is nothing we can do for Ari?" Marco questioned.

"All you can do is make her comfortable and make sure she has little contact with people. That's all you can do for her." Chopper gave instructions to the Whitebeard crew of what to do if this happened again.

Doing all he could do for Ariana, Chopper returned to the Thousand Sunny and the rest of the Strawhats followed shortly after. Erika gave Ace one last hug before heading back to her ship, leaving Luffy to have some alone time with his big brother.

"I'll see you later Luffy. You be careful out there."

"You too Ace, and I hope your lady friend feels better."

With his final words to hid brother, Luffy stretched his rubber arm to the lion head of his ship and took off flying. Ace couldn't help but laugh at his goofy younger brother. Watching his brother's ship sail off into the distance. Ace turned and headed back to his room to be with Ariana. No one said a word to him, not even his captain. They had to give him time. In a way, they all needed it.

Quietly Ace opened the door and made his way over to the bed. Ariana was still sleeping soundly. With a heavy heart Ace sat next to Ariana's bedside. He really wanted to have been able to do something for her, but there was one good thing that came out of all of this. At least he now knows what's wrong with her.

"I'm sorry Ari. I really thought I could've found someone to help you. But it looks like I couldn't even do that."

Ace hung his head as he thought about his failure. Unknown to him, Ariana slowly started to come to. Her blue eyes looked sleepily over to Ace. A weak smile formed on her lips and she tiredly reached her hand out and lightly grazed Ace's. He felt the light tickling touch and looked up to see Ariana looking at him.

"Ari! Are you feeling alright?" Ace tightly took Ariana's hand in his.

"Y-yes. I'm fine, but, Ace, what's wrong with me isn't your fault. I knew along time ago that what's wrong with me can't be cured. I didn't want you or the crew to treat me any different if you all knew. I didn't want to... didn't want to..." Ariana suddenly chocked on the words she was trying to say. She couldn't finish her sentence, but Ace seemed to understand what Ariana was saying.

"It's alright Ari. I understand, and you don't have to worry about being treated different. You'll always be one of us, and I'll always love you. Sick or not."

Her smile seemed to brighten from Ace's words. She reached up and wrapped her arms around Ace's neck.

"Thank you Ace, and there's something I want to say to you."

"What is it Ari?"

Ariana pulled herself up off the bed. Her lips inches away from Ace's ear.

"Happy Birthday Ace."