As the days went by, the tension between Zoro and me became noticeable. I spent more time with Cheasle and Nami while Zoro spent more time with the boys. Nami entered the room to check on me and touched my shoulder tenderly. "Hey, are you holding up? How's little Henry?"
I sighed. "Henry's doing alright. I can tell that he was scared during this ordeal. I'm not great. I can't seem to though Zoro anymore. I know he blames himself heavily. I don't know what to do anymore, Nami. Henry needs his father, and I need the man I love back."
Cheasle had joined us a few moments later and, like Nami, saw the hurt in my eyes. There was a fire in her that made her turn heel and walk out, stopping with her hand on the handle. "Nami, stay with Kat. I'll make Zoro see reason."
Nami nodded. "Right."
Chealse made her way to the mess hall where the guys were laughing and joking. "DAMMIT ZORO, WHAT'S WRONG YOU!"
Zoro turned his head. "What's got your tail in a knot, Cheals?"
Chelase grabbed him by the shirt. "I don't know what crawled up your ass and died. But your coldness toward Kat needs to end. You have a 4-day-old son that you need to think of. You need to get out of your way and go see the woman you love and your son. It's breaking Kat's heart all because of your attitude towards her."
Zoro blinked for a moment before throwing Chealse off him. "WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT WHAT'S GOING ON? DO YOU OR NAMI KNOW THE GUILT I CARRY? I COULD HAVE KILLED PRETTY KITTY." He paused for a second. "Cheasle, do you think that she wants to see me?"
Chealse brushed the dirt off her outfit. "Of course, she wants to see you. Zoro, she loves you. I'm not here to chastise you, but just to let you know that Kat needs you more than ever. When she gets her full strength back, she's gonna have to lean on you." She opened to door to the mess hall and closed it behind her."
Usopp blinked. "What was that all about?"
Sanji looked at him. "Is it obvious? Kat hardly sees Zoro anymore because of what happened back on Assassin's Isle. You heard Chelase."
Usopp nodded. "Yeah, I heard her, but I didn't think it would last for four days."
Back in the recovery room, I looked down at my hands. "Nami? Do you think that Zoro and I will ever get back to how we were?"
Nami nodded. "Of course you will. I know right now it's hard, but he loves you and Henry. Just give him time to collect his thoughts."
Chealse opened the door and smiled at Nami. "I think I made Zoro see sense."
Nami looked at her. "Finally, someone was able to knock some into that thick skull of his."
The door opened again, and Zoro entered the room. He could see the hurt on my face for what seemed clearly for the first time. Not for the scar on my chest, but because of his recent coldness. He walked over to the crib that Henry was sleeping in, brushing tuffs of blonde hair out of his face. "I'm here, buddy. I failed both you and your mother. I'm not gonna do that again." Zoro went over to Nami and Chealse. "Do you think you both could give Pretty Kitty a moment alone?"
Nami and Chealse both nodded and left the room.
Zoro fell to his knees while tears started filling his eyes. He laid his head on my lap, by not saying anything for a while. He couldn't look me in the eyes, knowing that this could make or break everything we had.
I ran my fingers through his hair. "Zoro, look at me."
"I'm sorry, Pretty Kitty. For everything. I failed you and our son." Zoro was finally able to look at me.
I brushed the tears away from his cheeks and kissed him. "Don't think like that. You haven't failed us. This family has grown stronger from all this." I placed a hand over his heart. "You are still here, Henry is still here, and I am still here."
Zoro pulled me into a hug. "I'll never leave your side again. I can fix this."
I blushed. "I know you can."
Chopper opened the door to see how things were going. The little reindeer couldn't help but smile and started making some medicine for me to take. "I don't like to interrupt this tender moment, but Kat needs to take her meds."
I smiled and took the pills and the cup of water. "Thanks, Chopper, that's very sweet of you."
Chopper blushed. "Aww, you're making me blush. It's my job as the family doctor to make sure that you get your strength back." He paused. "Zoro? What are you doing here? I didn't know that Kat had any visitors."
Zoro smiled and held my hand. "It's ok, Chopper. I wanted to make sure that Henry and Pretty Kitty were doing ok."
Chopper nodded. "Kat's gonna need all the strength she can muster the next time we land."
A few hours later, with Zoro and Nami's help, I was able to join the others on deck. Luffy smiled big, seeing me on my feet again. Sanji came over with a smoothie that he had recently made for Nami and me. Usopp paused on what he was working on, noticing that Zoro had his arms around my waist.
I leaned my head against Zoro's shoulder with my eyes closed, listening to the wind and the call of the gulls. This was what I wanted. Just be in the arms of the man I love. I opened my eyes after a while of being lost in my thoughts.
"What were you thinking about, Pretty Kitty?"
I smiled. "Nothing really. Just listening to the wind and the seagulls." I turned my head, noticing that Luffy was allowing Henry to crawl over him. "Looks like someone found his favorite uncle."
Zoro chuckled. "I guess so." He kissed my neck. "Did I ever tell you how sexy you look lately?"
I blushed. "Stop it. You're making me blush, not to mention turning me on."
"Is that so, Momma. I think Henry is in good hands. I trust Luffy with him. Why don't we have a little fun?"
I looked at Luffy, who was making Henry laugh by showing him that he stretched far. "Luff, you think you could keep an eye on Henry for me."
Luffy looked up. "Yeah, I got you." Before turning his attention back to his nephew to make sure that he wasn't hurt.