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Rayleigh really shouldn't have been surprised that it was Garp who was following him. After all, few other ships had the gall to enter this far into the Calm Belt.
The ship was just a schooner, which was how he knew that the marine was here on unofficial business. Otherwise, he would've brought a warship and been trying to blast his ass into Skypiea.
He sat on the deck of his little caravel and waited for the ship to draw alongside him. When it did, he raised a hand in greeting.
"Silvers. I thought I'd find you out here."
"Well, I don't have many places to go otherwise. Are you here to arrest me?"
Garp laughed at the joke, but got serious again a bit too quickly. "No. Actually, I'm here to tell you something."
"Oh?" Rayleigh took a swig of his beer bottle, looking at him inquiringly over the top.
Garp hesitated a moment, then his mouth spread into a huge grin.
"Gol D Ace."
Rayleigh froze, bottle half raised to his lips.
Then a matching grin spread across his own face. "A boy, then?"
"Yep."
"Healthy?"
"As a damn sea king!"
"Well, I'll be damned." Rayleigh shook his head, smiling. "A little Roger in diapers."
Then something seemed to occur to him, and he narrowed his eyes at the marine. "A Roger in diapers," he reiterated pointedly.
Garp nodded in understanding. "Don't worry. I'm taking him somewhere where he'll be safe. He'll grow up without having anyone know about his parentage, or any of the discrimination that would come with it."
Rayleigh frowned. "You're not going to tell him?"
Garp quickly shook his head. "No. He has that right, at least."
Rayleigh nodded. "Good." He took a contemplative sip of his beer. "…And what about Rouge?"
A heavy silence fell over the glassy waters.
"…She's dead."
Rayleigh stared out at the sea for a few moments. So she had made the ultimate sacrifice a mother could make, in the end, hadn't she?
He sighed and raised his bottle slightly.
"The good ones always are."