Fanfic- Expectant Time Chapter 4
3 Months
“Woman, cover yourself up!”
Tashigi looked up as Smoker entered the room through the open door. She sat behind the desk, nursing Suzume with one arm and checking over paperwork with other. “Sir, the baby had pushed it off.”
Smoker was slightly red and looking just over his second-in-command’s head. “You are supposed to lock the door then!”
Tashigi sighed and responded, “I tried sir. But Vice Admiral Garp managed to break through.”
“Bwahahaha~! You need to appreciate nursing woman’s full beauty while it lasts!”
Smoker looked vaguely disgusted as he turned to see the retired Vice Admiral sitting on the small office couch, laughing heartily with tea and rice crackers set beside him. He glared and asked, “What are you doing here unannounced?”
Garp laughed again and responded, “We were in the area and Coby and Helmeppo wanted to come see the baby! They ran off when they saw the kid was feeding! Didn’t appreciate the natural beauty! Bwahahaha~!”
Tashigi set down her pen and used that hand to rub the spot just above her eye that had just begun twitching. She turned to the side, adjusted the now-sleeping baby, and began readjusting her clothes. “Now that Rear Admiral Smoker is here, maybe you can be about your business, Vice Admiral Garp?”
“That’s a good idea! Come with me, Smoker. We’ve got a few things to discuss!”
Tashigi breathed a sigh of relief as the Vice Admiral left the office. She set the baby in the bassinette by her desk. Maybe she could get some work done this afternoon. Then she heard a voice from the hallway.
“Lieutenant Tashigi? Is it safe to come in now?”
“Yes, Coby. Come in.”
The young Warrant Officer came in followed by Helmeppo. They had both grown since she had seen them the previous year.
“Sorry about the interruption earlier… the Vice Admiral doesn’t really pay attention to things like locked doors…”
“That’s okay. I know it’s not your fault. Please don’t talk too loudly… Suzume just fell asleep.”
“Ahhh… we’ll try to be quiet.”
Both young men came to look inside the bassinette. Suzume was sprawled out on her back with her arms and legs spread out haphazardly. She was dressed in a little blue dress with a matching bow in her dark blue peach fuzzy hair. She has a little scowl on her face as she slept.
“She’s very beautiful, ma’am,” said Coby, leaning forward to get a closer look. Helmeppo echoed his sentiments from a little farther away.
“Thank you,” responded Tashigi smiling. “What brings all of you here? We didn’t hear anything of this trip before you got here.”
Coby and Helmeppo exchanged a look and Coby seemed to draw the shortest straw. He sighed and spoke. “Vice Admiral Garp has a lot of time on his hands now that he has no official duties and seems to have decided that Rear Admiral Smoker needs… training.”
Tashigi couldn’t keep the amused look from her face. “Really?”
Helmeppo chimed in, “He’s been telling us all about it the entire trip here!”
“I’m not sure how that will go over…”
That was when they heard a loud “BOOM” and loud laughter coming from the direction of the training ground. Coby and Helmeppo took on looks of admiring embarrassment and Tashigi could only snort as she began rubbing the her forehead again.
Coby took that moment to speak again. “We’re here officially to observe training on the base… but, I think, if you don’t mind, that the Vice Admiral would like for us to train with you while we are here.”
Tashigi smiled at the younger men. “That would be nice… I’ve been slacking on my training lately.”
Month 4
The base had learned to endure Vice Admiral Garp’s training methods for their CO. These methods seemed to be something like “Attack him at every possible opportunity until he developed haki to defend from Iron Fist.” The results were very mixed; the CO crankier than normal and the base had many more potholes and broken walls than it had the previous month.
Tashigi was enjoying her return to hard training. Between rededicating herself to leading the base’s soldiers’ training and daily sessions with Coby and Helmeppo, she had quickly regained the fighting level she’d had before getting pregnant. It was even fun to train with the two young men. She had many things to teach them and they, in turn, began teaching her some of the techniques that they had learned under Vice Admiral Garp.
All in all, training was enjoyable. Unless Smoker was ambushed in the office.
“Dammit, Garp! I have work to do!” Boom!
Month 5
Two months into their stay, Tashigi, Coby, and Helmeppo were training on a grassy area just behind the base. Coby was once again trying to teach Tashigi the technique for Soru. It was a day without the regular babysitter so Suzume was with them, lying on a blanket next to Helmeppo. He decided to try to hold her. She had taken to Coby almost instantly but every time he tried…
“Ma’am! She spat up on me again!”
Month 6
“Thank God they are gone!”
Smoker and Tashigi were at the Marine port watching Garp’s ship sail into the distance. Tashigi adjusted Suzume in her sling to move her little arm in a wave.
“But, we’re both stronger now, sir.”
“Hmph… we’ll see about that the next pirate ship we meet.”
Tashigi nodded with determination. Then she shook her head. “Thank goodness I don’t have to listen to any more parenting advice! Who would leave their child in the jungle?”
Smoker shook his head in response. “I almost feel pity for Strawhat.”
Month 7
At home, Tashigi was finally giving in to all of the baby book advice and moving Suzume into the crib in her own room. The room was nice. Some of the men from base had decorated it for her. It was purple and gray with little swords and seagulls decorating the walls. She thought it was sweet that they had put that much in to decorating it. It was a nice room… she just felt lonely sleeping in hers without Suzume’s breathing nearby. She found herself waking in the night just to go check on the baby and watch her sleep. How had she slept before she had her?
Month 9
When Suzume began crawling and then cruising, Tashigi felt like she couldn’t let go of her without her disappearing. She also squirmed a lot when she was being held or in the baby sling. Play-yards only worked when she was where they were. It caused Tashigi a lot of stress whenever she had the baby anywhere other than home, the babysitter’s, or the office.
Smoker had noticed her distress and had taken to carrying Suzume in smoke whenever the three were together. This happened to be Suzume’s favorite activity and she giggled uncontrollably as she bounced around in the cloud. She would reach for Smoker whenever she saw him and started asking for “Mo-mo” very soon after she started asking for “Ma-ma.”
The men had developed a habit of stopping whatever they were doing to watch whenever they had heard the giggling pass them.
Month 12
Tashigi hadn’t been planning a very elaborate birthday party for Suzume. Just a few people at home with a cake and a few refreshments. When the men surprised her with a party for Suzume, she was touched (and a little embarrassed.)
Month 15
Lieutenant Tashigi gasped out loud when the priority mail carrier bird dropped off the news. The Strawhats had reformed and had departed Sabaody Archipelago for the New World! Not even stopping to read more, she rushed in to Smoker’s office to show him the news.
“Rear Admiral! They’re back!”
Smoker smiled. “Send out orders to the fleet. We’re gonna be ready when they get here!”
Tashigi nodded and headed to the communications room. ‘I’ll see you soon, Roronoa.’
……………………………
Author’s Note: A busy week at work and a sick baby kept this one from being written sooner. It was fun to write. It was hard not to put everything Garp says in capslock. I want to show more of what is going on when Tashigi is not around… I think I may do a 50 sentence challenge set for this fic after I actually finish it. Hmmm… Thank you so much to gure for beta reading this… I made it hard this time.