Our New Home

Chapter 16 (Revised)

Thatch grinned, "Ah pops you really shouldn't have! Me as the first choice? You'll make me start to think that I'm the favorite."

Whitebeard laughed as all the commanders started answering in protest, "You all know that I hold no favorites here. Teach himself requested you join him."

Thatch grinned, "Teach is this a proposition? If you wanted to get little ol' me alone you could have just asked. No need for this mission at all."

"Now now Commander Thatch you'll make me blush. I merely requested your presence for your cooking knowledge. My family would absolutely adore you," Teach reasoned.

Thatch dramatically gasped as all the commanders and the captain started laughing.

"For my cooking? Is that all you people see in me?"

Once the laughter died down Whitebeard grinned at all his children, "You'll leave tomorrow morning and be back in two days. Before leaving and upon your arrival, you'll report to me directly and Thatch will submit an official report with Marco. While I would love to give you more time Teach I see that it is best you come back sooner rather than later. Thatch has a very important role on this ship as head of the kitchens with not many having the same important knowledge on the many different allergies and steps needed to ensure all runs smoothly from meal to meal. Besides, you've been leaving so often this past month we've begun to miss you."

Teach nodded in agreement and was dismissed from the meeting now that his part in it concluded. Thatch watched him get up and leave as he contemplated what the three kids told him. Is Teach truly capable of commandeering a whole slave trade? In that moment, Teach returned the look and gave a toothy grin. Thatch smiled and turned his attention back to the meeting.

When the meeting concluded, he got up making jokes and sharing laughs. Since he didn't want to capture the attention of the others, it took Thatch a few extra minutes to be able to excuse himself to continue his original goal of getting some food and something to help stop the bruising of Ace's cheek.

A part of him wanted to go to his father and explain what was happening with the children. Seeing as how they have yet to fully agree on whether they should stay or be placed somewhere safe this matter was far greater than himself. However, Thatch was the 4th division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates and he didn't get his title from doing nothing. He's a respectable pirate that knows the importance of the consequences of one's actions. What if Ace, Sabo, and Luffy got the wrong man and he convinced everyone that Marshall D. Teach was not the brother they thought he was? As much as Thatch adored them, he had to be reasonable and absolutely sure when it came to betrayal in the family. They just came from the trauma that is slavery and the Whitebeard Pirates are lucky they're reacting as well as they are which means that maybe they're showing signs of paranoia?

Thatch grinned as he greeted a couple of his division members making jokes along the way about how feeding the bottomless pits that are the three brothers was a full time job. When he made it to the kitchen he grabbed a cart typically used for taking food to the infirmary and got to work filling it with plates of food and a bucket of ice for the bruising.

When that was done he took it back to the old second division commander's room acting as nonchalant as possible. He succeeded with no one sparing him more than a smile and a quick hello.

Once there he kicked the door with his foot, "Oi! It's Thatch now let me in."

Sabo pulled open the door a crack and when seeing Thatch yanked it open. Luffy and Ace were seated on the bed with the former talking the other's ear off on something he learned when talking to Fossa, a different commander, on carnivorous plants. Ace was nodding along even though Thatch could see he was anything, but attentive to the stories of an 8 year old who really needed to describe things with more words rather than chomping noises.