And I am back with the last chapter of 'Always'

Disclaimer: All Oda's

Warning: The constant confusion between Anne and Ace is fully intended

Enjoy!

The next morning came sooner than Anne had expected. And it came in the form of Reji nearly knocking the door to Marco's cabin down. "Damn it, captain. Open the door!" Anne rubbed her eyes and sat up. Looking beside her, she saw that Marco was still asleep. As she was technically his second in command, she decided that she could let him sleep.

"Reji. Stop that… Marco's still asleep. Gimme a minute." The knocking stopped. Anne was sure that Reji had started pacing in front of the door. She looked around the room, grabbing fresh underwear from one of her bags, shoving the old one under the bed. She would collect it later. She was still fastening the lace of her dress when she opened the door and stepped out of the cabin.

Anne was pretty sure that her hair was a mess, but that couldn't explain the shocked look on Reji's face. "What's wrong?" Still rather shocked, her second in command pointed at her neck. Placing a hand there, she looked at him questioning. "I'd advice you get a scarf or something…" A memory from the night flashed up before her inner eye and it downed on her, what the issue might be. If she was right, she could easily get rid of it. But somehow she didn't want to. She leaned back into the room, grabbing a scarf from a chair and wrapped it around her neck. "Better..?"

Reji nodded and lead her up the stairs to the main deck. Half the crew was standing on one side of the deck, staring intensely at a dark point on the horizon. "A ship?" Anne asked, walking over to a former Spade pirate. Grabbing the spyglass her nakama held in hands, she aimed it what turned out to be a Marine ship.

"Ok, now we do need to wake the captain. Everyone, ready for battle. Haki users to the front, devil fruits in the second row." She turned to Reji and handed him the spyglass. "I go and get Marco." With this she run below deck and back to the cabin. She opened the door, slamming it against the wall. "Marco!"

The phoenix sat up and looked at her with a slightly disorientated look. "What's the thing with the scarf, yoi?" For a moment, Anne didn't know what the hell her captain was talking about. Then she realized and shook her head. "Doesn't matter now. There's a Marine ship at the horizon, coming in our direction at full speed."

Minutes later Marco was dressed and hasted along the corridor. He stepped onto the main deck, Anne close behind him. The crew had done as Anne had asked them and stood at the railing, ready for battle. The phoenix raised an eyebrow at the commander. She just shrugged. The captain then let his eyes wander briefly over the crew and nodded approvingly.

Reji handed him the spyglass. In the few minutes Anne had needed to bring Marco above deck, the ship had gotten closer and was now clearly recognizable as a Marine galore. The captain raised an eyebrow and passed the spyglass to his first commander. Slightly confused, Anne took it and aimed for the ship once more.

A deep frown showed on her face, feeling rather unsure. "This is Grandpa's ship... right?" Marco nodded. Looking up and down her feminine body, Anne sighed. May Davy Jones have mercy on her. "He can't know I'm alive, right? So what does he want?" The blond had no idea so he just shrugged.

Though Marco was rather sure the old Marine hero wouldn't do anything to harm them, he kept his crew on high alert. They were still out of reach and therefore Marco and Anne decided to go and grab a coffee and something to eat. Fighting was always easier with a full stomach. And besides waiting, there was nothing they could do at the moment.

Standing in the kitchen, Marco turned to his first commander. "So Anne, and now please explain me why you're wearing a scarf?" The woman tugged the scarf down and showed Marco the hickey. "Guess…" She murmured, a soft blush on her cheeks. He raised an eyebrow. "You could get rid of it easily, yoi. We both know that." The blush deepened and Anne stared at her cup.

"I… kind of don't want to." Marco crossed the distance between them and put his free hand around her waist. "I can easily get you another one tonight. But I guess Garp's gonna be difficult enough to handle without you showing obvious signs of what happened yesterday." Hesitantly she took off the scarf. A small flame erupted along her neck and the hickey was gone.

Marco placed a soft kiss on her temple. "Let's go back to the main deck. We should be up there when Garp and his crew get within reach. I doubt that he will attack us. But you never know." He put his empty cup down and left the kitchen. Anne followed him hesitantly. If there was one man she feared to face in her new form, then it was her grandfather.

Anne grabbed for Marco's hand while they walked along the corridor. The blond looked at their entangled fingers. He gave them a soft squeeze and opened the door. Izou turned around, analyzing the picture he saw within the blink of an eye. His eyes wandered over their locked hands to Anne's ears and smirked.

Marco rolled his eyes, watching the crew. They were still ready for attack, their backs tensed. Walking up to the railing, the blond never let go of Anne's slender hand. The two of them just stood there and waited. Soon Garp was clearly visible on the bow. Marco felt Anne tense beside him.

Finally letting go, Marco raised his voice and shouted across the water between them. "Garp! What do you want?" The old hero didn't answer for a while. Marco was pretty sure the Marine was holding a spyglass. He could see the sun reflecting on the glass. Gritting his teeth, he pulled Anne a little closer. Would Garp recognize her? He knew Rouge…

"I wondered what happened with my grandsons. I know what Luffy did. I'm curious what you did with Ace. Have you… Have you buried him?" Anne gasped at this. Marco guessed that she had probably never thought about her family and all her friends out there. They all believed Ace was dead.

"Promise me you'll not attack my ship and I'll tell you about Ace, yoi." Marco didn't need to scream anymore. The Marine galore had crossed some more distance and was now close enough for them to make out Garp's laughing face. "So you're the new captain of this crew now? That will push your bounty some more." Marco snorted. As if he would give a shit about his bounty.

"Do I need to get rid of your cute little boat or can we have a decent discussion without it?" Garp smirked. "We'll not attack you. Happy now?" Marco gave the Marine an evil grin. "Jump over." He shooed the some of the crew out of the way and waited. Obviously Garp wanted something from him, so Marco would be the one to set the rules.

He heard the Marine hero grumble but he jumped nevertheless. Marco smirked and took a step to the side. Garp had of course aimed to land on the spot where the captain stood with his first division commander. "So, now tell me. Where can I find the grave?"

"No need for it, Grandpa. Except if you plan to visit Whitebeard, and I somehow dare to doubt that." Garp's head flew around and he faced Anne. He stared at her wide-eyes, searching her face and appearance for anything he knew. "Ace?" "Alive and kicking…" The old man's eyes wandered over the female body and then back to Marco. "You got a little disagreement with Ivankov?"

Marco smirked and shook his head. Garp stepped over to the fist division commander, pulling her in a crushing embrace. He'd never been one to show his loving feelings to people, and certainly not to his grandson. But seeing Ace here, alive… His body trembled under the suppressed sobs.

"Hey old man, calm down. And let go of me, otherwise I'll soon be dead nevertheless." With a snarl his grandfather released her and regained his normal behavior. "I'll leave you all in peace this time. The next time our paths cross, I'll get your head." He pointed a finger at Marco, looking really serious.

"Whatever Garp. As you're already here, mind spreading the news that I'm captain of this crew and Gol D. Anne is leading the first division? Thanks." The smirk on Marco's face was as evil as the one on Garps, the two of them measuring each other with cold eyes.

The phoenix hadn't forgotten who had prevented him from reaching Ace back in Marine Fort. He wouldn't forgive Garp. No matter how much he liked to play Mr. Nice Guy, no matter how close or not he was to Ace. Marco would never forgive the Marine for what he'd done. Davy Jones knew what would have happened if they had reached their nakama earlier.

"Leave now, Garp." He felt Anne's worried look in his back, but ignored her. He was the captain of this ship and he wouldn't tolerate the Marine on it any longer. He had granted a look on Anne because he wanted the older man to know that his grandson was alive and save. But that was also the end of the line. The phoenix didn't want anything to do with the Marin, now even less than before. Anne took a quick step in Garp's direction but Marco held out an arm, shooting her a warning glance. She sighed and gave him a barley visible nod. "Leave."

The old Marine nodded and turned around. "I'm glad you're alive, Anne." And with this he jumped back to his galore. Only day's later the new wanted posters were out. Ace's with new photo and name, Marco's with higher bounty. But for the moment, the captain's biggest worry was much more critical. It had a name and that name was Izou.

The feminine looking commander stepped forth while Marco's nakama dispersed over the boat, going back to their daily routine. Izou came to a halt in front of Anne and poked at her earlobes. "So he finally gave them to you." Anne's eyes flickered over to her captain and back to her fellow commander. "You knew?" "Found out by accident. Better keep a good hold on our captain or I might come around to get him."

"Izou!" Marco stepped in, hissing at his fifteenth commander. The other just laughed and walked back to Haruta to discuss the inventory list. The phoenix hid his face in his hand and sighed. Then he heard Anne chuckle and look at her. "Get used to it… Though I guess most people will be jealous of you. If I'm not mistaken a few of our nakama have a certain interest in Anne."

Marco looked at her with a slightly unsure look. "Do they have a reason for being jealous?" Anne tilted her head and laughed. "Why not?" Hesitantly he took a step closer to her, reaching out his fingers, lightly touching her arm. Meeting her eyes he searched for something that would answer his questions.

She smiled up at him, the playful glint in her eyes giving away Ace's personality within the female body. "We're pirates. We usually just take what we want and don't give it back again. So why the question?" He smirked.

"Because a certain commander just showed that she is not playing by my rules?" Her smile changed to a lopsided smirk. "Sorry. I know I shouldn't have done this. But he's my stupid Grandpa and deep down I know that he loves me, even as the pirate I became. It wasn't easy for him, you know."

Marco shook his head, a shadow lying on his features. "If any of us would have been in his position we would have done everything to protect you. We put everything we had and were on the table to save you. He didn't." Anne knew he was right. But she also knew Garp. It was ok for her, somehow. "He stayed loyal to the person he is and to what he believes is the right thing. He put everything on the table too. He just chose another path."

The phoenix stepped over to the railing, watching the Marine ship disappear slowly on the horizon. "Where are we now, Anne." He didn't really ask her. He formulated the question, speaking it out loud, letting the wind and water hear it. The fact that she was standing beside him could have been a coincidence.

"I love you." She said with a shrug, invisible to him, as he had his back turned to her. Anne (or rather Ace) knew that beating around the bush was nothing that would make any of them feel better. And it would only lead to misunderstandings. Marco stared at the sea some more, then he turned around to face her again.

The wind tugged at her hair and dress, sunlight let her eyes shine. A small smile played at her lips and for a moment she looked so much like Rouge that the phoenix almost forgot who was standing in front of him. "You look so much like her…"

Anne just waited. She had to, because this was probably her only chance to find out something about her mother. Marco walked over to the stairs that lead to the cabins and disappeared. Frowning she looked around and checked if all her nakamas were ok before she followed him. Upon disappearing downstairs she gave Reji a sign to make sure that really everything was ok.

Marco waited in his cabin. He didn't really know if he wanted to share this story with Anne, but somehow he felt that he had to. And when the raven-haired woman stepped into the room and closed the door behind her, he started.

He told her about the day Rouge had come to the Moby Dick, told her about all that happened before she left and all that happened after. "I never knew why she wanted me to fly to this island." The phoenix stared into nothingness, remembering the strange events from the past. "It was the only way to find an island without leaving a trace the Marine could connect with Roger. It gave her time to cover for me." Marco stared at his first division commander wide-eyed. "Grandpa told me."

And suddenly everything fell in place and Marco felt how something in him fit again. He had always mused if he could have saved her if he had brought her somewhere else. Only now he realized that she had asked him to do the only thing that could save her child from the AbsoluteJusticethat ruled the world they were living in. "Thank you, Anne." The woman smiled up at him. "Always." Then someone from the corridor shouted Anne's name and captain and commander somehow lost sight of each other for the rest of the day.

When Marco stepped into the kitchen in the evening, Anne was engaged in a vivid discussion with Reji and three other members of the first division. Some former Spade pirates had gathered around them, as well as a few members of other division, enjoying the spectacle. "Like hell I'll take them off. It's not like I could get hurt if someone rips them out." The phoenix recognized Anne's snarl out of the noise, a tone only Ace had edging at her words. "Commander, if you plan to participate in the Haki training, those will be out, or you can find someone else to help you with your underdeveloped abilities." That was Reji. Marco slowly began to understand what the point was and chose to ignore it. He would discuss this later.

Yawning he sat down at the table of the fifteenth division, looking at Izou. "How long has this been going on already?" The feminine looking commander laughed. "Several minutes. She doesn't want to take the earrings out for training and Reji will not give her any training if she keeps them in." Marco nodded.

"How's the inventory?" "Perfectly fine. We can last a few more weeks. We'll soon be short on booze but we could technically have an extra boat for it and it wouldn't last long enough anyway, so…" The phoenix laughed and finished his dinner. "I'm up in the crow's nest until midnight, just if she remembers me and would like to know where I am."

With this he left and stepped out to the main deck. Climbing the rigging he smiled. Once up, he looked up at the stars and murmured. "You were right. Ace is someone special. I'm sure we'll somehow manage to go on without you. And we will get the traitor, sooner or later. Don't worry, Thatch, Oyaji. We will clean the name of Whitebeard and carry your dreams to the future."

A sad smiled lingered on his features. He missed his best friend and his father even more at the moment. He wished they could have seen how happy Ace was now. But in the end, their death wouldn't keep him from living his life and somehow find happiness. That's what Oyaji always wanted for his sons. Anne's words ghosted through his thoughts. His smile changed and now a broadly grinning captain sat in the crow's nest, glancing up at the stars.

His first division commander joined him up there a few minutes later, still slightly angry. "Will you take them out?" She snarled. "I have to, otherwise he won't teach me." Getting up, Marco stepped closer to the dark haired woman. "I'm glad you like them. " Even in the dark night he could see the blush on her face.

"I got them from you, right?" He chuckled and nodded. "Yes you did." Taking her face between his hands he leaned in to kiss her. Just before he touched her lips he murmured. "I love you. Anne. Ace. Or whatever the name. I just love you." It was her who crossed the remaining distance, pressing her warm lips on his.

He moved his hands to rest on her waist while she flung hers across his neck. Breaking the kiss, she leaned her head on his shoulder and stared over the everlasting ocean. "Do you think the others will accept this?" "They'll have to. But in the end I guess they will be ok as long as we are happy. Some youngsters might not be too impressed though." She laughed.

"Will you let me ride on your back again?" He smirked. As if he hadn't foreseen something like this to come up at some point. With a smile he murmured. "Always."

The End!

I really loved writing this. And I got quite a thingy for Anne.

Thank you all for reading and reviewing.

I hope I'll be able to upload the fist chapter of December Fairytale on Thursday. It's Law/Kid though.. Maybe some of you will still read it.