Chapter 4: Getting accustomed
"Luffy, Usopp! Stop fooling around and help me get the supplies into the storage!" Sanji commanded dryly upon jumping onto the deck of the Going Merry.
"Hai!" the former two crewmembers echoed in unison. They quickly picked up some of the bags the cook had put down and followed him in the direction of the storage room inside the small pirate ship.
"Poor devil", Zoro thought, looking at where his nakama had just disappeared to. "Hasn't spoken a single word apart from those orders ever since we got back."
During all that time, the blond man hat not only avoided conversations but also any sort of eye contact with his nakama. After they had talked to Chopper at the doctor's, he had calmly walked back into town, picked up his previously chosen supplies and then had quietly returned to the ship.
Certainly, Zoro knew very well what Sanji had to be feeling at this very time. He even had to admit that these sorts emotions were trying to grab control of him as well. Yet so far, he had been able to suppress them. For a foggy thought, a vague feeling had somehow formed in his mind. Well, time would provide him with an answer, the swordsman though, and he was able to wait.
Accompanied by the clanking of his katana sheaths meeting the wooden planks, he sat down on the deck, resting his back against the strong mast. He was about to drift off into deep slumber as the clicking sound of high heeled shoes tore him back into a wake state. There was no need for him to turn into the direction of the sound to figure out who its origin was.
"Oi, Nami", Zoro greeted her calmly.
The footsteps stopped abruptly. The navigator had obviously mistaken him for being asleep and thus had felt unwatched.
"Oh, Zoro…" she said, her voice almost falling into a stutter. "I didn't know you were back already…"
Zoro leaned his head back against the mast and half closed his eyes.
"We got back a bit ago. The rest's in the storage taking care of the supplies."
As if on cue, a loud rumbling sound erupted from the inside of the ship. It was followed, only seconds later, by angry yells from the cook directed at his clumsy crewmates. Still they didn't seem like the 'normal' tantrums Sanji was known to give anybody who messed with either the food or the kitchen. The navigator seemed to recognize the difference and frowned.
"He's been a bit off… since we got back, you know." Zoro explained, looking toward the source of the previous commotion.
Upon hearing those words, Nami let out a small sigh and, looking intently at her feet, absent-mindedly put her hand to her stomach with a pained expression.
"Anything wrong?" Zoro asked, noticing her motion. It seemed as though he was actually concerned. "Does it hurt?"
Nami looked up at him for a moment, only to then resume staring at her naked feet.
"Actually… I…" she started, and for a moment she seemed to be considering whether to go on or not. Yet she never had to make that decision.
"You didn't do it." Zoro stated plainly. Apart from its form, what he had said was no question.
Nami looked him in the eyes, somewhat shocked, yet, with a deep sigh, returned her gaze towards the wooden planks below her, her hand still resting on her stomach.
"I couldn't…" she confessed heavily, slowly shaking her head. With a sigh, she rested her back against the door to the inside of the Going Merry. "When I was at the doctor's and she started talking about the baby, how it would be developing and what stage it is at right now, I just couldn't do it anymore."
There was a short silence and the two nakama exchanged looks.
"I'm sorry…" Nami whispered.
The swordsman got to his feet, took a step toward her and – however much it was unlike him – gently lay his large hand on her shoulder.
"It's all right", he said in his deep voice, nodding slowly, "It was your decision. No need to say sorry."
Nami blinked up at her tall companion in surprise. She had obviously expected him to react differently. Still, she was grateful for his understanding, or at least acceptance.
"But I guess I should tell the others now, huh?" Nami said, a rueful smile playing on her lips. "It wouldn't be fair to keep it a secret from them."
Zoro shook his head.
"No, you just go and rest. We need our navigator in perfect condition. I'll take care of the rest."
"H…Hai", Nami replied, still rather surprised at Zoro's reaction to the whole situation. With a grateful half-smile, however, she looked at her nakama for an instance before turning around, opening the door and walking off toward her room.
So his feeling had proven to be right, Zoro thought to himself, smirking contently. Certainly, the situation was now again far from simple and ideal, yet maybe this was for the better. And he was positive that none of the other crewmembers would condemn their navigator for her decision.
Either way, he would find out very soon.
His heavy boots hammering on the planks, he made his way into the kitchen where the others were currently stocking the last shelves with the food that had been acquired in town. As Zoro entered, Usopp and Luffy turned toward him, the captain's mouth stuffed with approximately four apples, as far as you could tell from the bulges in his cheeks.
"Yo, Zoro, t'was a quick nap", Usopp commented with a frown. Once Zoro had gone to sleep, it usually meant he would be out for a couple of hours.
The swordsman quietly walked up to the bench and sat down.
"I wasn't taking a nap", he said calmly "I was talking to Nami."
The ship's cook stopped dead in his tracks, one hand around the sugar pot he had just set onto the top shelf, the other still clutching his cigarette.
"How is she?" Usopp asked carefully, voicing Luffy's thoughts, who was still trying to swallow his apples, all at once.
Zoro leaned back against the wall, resting his head on his arms and closed his eyes.
"Pretty much just like before."
Sanji finally awoke from his trance and turned around to face his nakama.
"So she's not in pain or anything, hm?" he exhaled slightly and closed his eyes. "At least some good news."
In the other corner of the small room where piles of medical equipment had been arranged, Chopper stared intently at a wooden plank right in front of him; his inner struggle reflected in his anxious eyes.
Zoro cracked one eye open and looked at the small reindeer. Figures…
"She told you." He started calmly.
Chopper jerked up, immediately coming to his feet. Yet as soon as the shock of being caught went by, he sank back onto the floor and resumed staring at the planks.
"Told him what?" Sanji inquired, hardly being able to control his flaming temper when it came to people keeping secrets from him that concerned his lovely Nami-san.
Zoro looked him directly into the eyes for an instance then returned to leaning back and closing his eyes.
"Told him that she's keeping the baby", he said, and added, to ease understanding for a flabbergasted Sanji "She never had the abortion. Couldn't do it."
"That's… that's…" Sanji gaped, at a complete loss of words and literally dropped onto a chair.
Usopp was sharing Sanji's surprise, only the captain was grinning widely, finally have finished off his fruits.
"Nami will have the baby now? We'll have a cute little baby to play with?" the optimistic head of the crew was ready to start bouncing up and down ecstatically.
"That's what it looks like", Zoro answered, nodding.
"Woohoo, cooooool, a baby to play with, a baby to play with", Luffy repeated over and over again in a sing song.
And while Usopp had already recovered enough to be arguing with his captain that babies were not something you could play with whenever and however you wanted, Sanji was still frozen to the spot.
"Then… what should we do now? She'll need someone by her side now", the cook jumped up and was about to start walking to the door when a strong hand got a grip around his arm. Zoro had stood up and was now holding him back.
"No, not now. Give her some time to herself, she needs to sort things out." Zoro commanded in a strong voice.
"Idiot, let go off me. Just that you don't have any feelings whatsoever for what could possibly be your child and the woman who is bearing it does not mean others don't!" Sanji yelled, yanking his arm free from the other man's grip.
"You should be careful about what you say", Zoro said calmly, his eyes, however, glaring at the cook threateningly. "Don't dare me… Leave her alone, for her sake. Showering her with mushy compliments would do her no good."
Thus said, he stopped glaring at the cook and turned around to return to the deck to finally have the nap he had intended to have earlier. When he had reached the door and was just about to open it, he stopped once more, and without turning around, directed on last sentence at his nakama.
"And, Sanji… different people might actually handle feelings differently."
Nami closed the tab to stop the flow of hot water and exhaled heavily. She inwardly thanked Chopper for the great piece of advice. This morning when she had woken up from a short sleep, the nausea and dizziness had been extremely bad and kept her from taking in any food whatsoever. So Chopper, naturally worried about his patient, had advised her to take a long, hot bath.
And that was exactly where she was now: in the Going Merry's small bathroom, buried deep into the foam and hot water she had filled into the bathtub. The warmth was incredibly relaxing and even after this short time already relieving the unpleasant side effects of her pregnancy.
The pregnancy… She sighed heavily and let her hands and gaze travel down to her stomach. It was still perfectly flat, not yet showing any sigh whatsoever of the changes which were currently going on inside of her. If it hadn't been for the nausea, it would be as if nothing of that had ever happened; that she had never gotten pregnant after a drunken night by one of her nakama. Sure, if she had had the abortion the day before like she had intended to in the beginning, it would have all returned to normal. At least on the surface. But she had decided against it. When she had heard the doctor talk about the small life growing inside of her, how it would develop, when it would start moving, when it would first open its eyes, when it would start sucking its thumb even in the womb… She just hadn't been able to do it. All of a sudden she had felt a strong connection to the tiny being inside of her.
And still it was all so unreal. No signs that, superficially, indicated anything else than a simple stomach flu. She had tried to deny it, in the beginning; had tried to make herself believe that she would be all right after a week of rest and some pills. Chopper of course might have simply made a mistake. Those things happened. But not this time. Examining her, he had made no mistake. She had confirmation now. In just a little more than another six months, she, Nami, the Going Merry's navigator, a young woman of barely 19, would be a mother.
But still she had no idea. Not only that she was entirely inexperienced in dealing with children, and the thought of a young life completely entrusted into her care and her responsibility scared her out of her wits. Even worse: she did not even have the slightest idea how to get that far at all. Would she be able to get through the whole pregnancy? Would she at all be able to give birth at her young age? At least, however, she had the comfort that her nakama would stay by her side no matter what would happen. And Chopper, the ship's doctor, would take care of any medical problem they might encounter in the progress.
Still hundreds and thousands of doubts and questions remained. Nami sank deeper into the hot, calming liquid and closed her eyes. She dearly hoped she would be able to find answers to all those questions in time. Many things would have to be sorted out, plans had to be made. Where would she give birth, and how? Would she be able to continue traveling with her nakama or would she have to be left behind? Would she have to endure it all alone or would the child's father stand by her side? So many questions, so little simple answers. If she had had the abortion the day before, none of these problems would have needed to be solved. Despite them all, however, she did not regret her choice.
She would make it through, one way or another, with or without help, with friends or by herself. She would find her way. With the first genuine, even if small, smile in many days, she slid deeper into the hot water and enjoyed the ease and tranquility of the moment.
Nami into the kitchen, drying her hair with a towel. The morning baths had become a daily ritual since Chopper had given her the advice a few days ago. And they luckily did a good job at easing the annoying side effects she had to endure.
"Good morning, Nami-san! Please take your seat, I have already prepared you a delicious breakfast!" Sanji greeted her, smiling warmly and placed a nicely decorated plate of food at her place on the table.
Luffy, busy inhaling yet another bowl of what looked like cereals, gave her a slight wave to say "hi". Usopp and Chopper had already finished their meals and were working with some of the doctor's equipment. The two of them shot her smiles, chirped "Good Morning, Nami" in unison and went instantly back to their work. Zoro, still at the table, had already gone back to sleep and was now snoring soundly.
Just like any other ordinary day. As if nothing had ever happened…
Zoro was his usual self, apart from the fact that he always seemed to be having an eye on her. Luffy was constantly excited about the baby and kept asking her and Chopper all sorts of strange questions, some none of them could answer. Usopp and Chopper behaved more or less normally. Sanji, though showering her with the usual amount of compliments and always making sure that everything was just as she wished, reacted incredibly irritable towards their nakama. There were now daily outbreaks of his extreme temper; anything could set them off. And today, Usopp was to be the first victim of hurricane Sanji. And it was all triggered by a simple question.
"Sanji? Could you borrow me one of those knives of yours? Mine isn't sharp enough."
Thus hurricane Sanji took off without the slightest forewarning and erupted into loud thunder that shook the small ship.
"How DARE you even think of using my precious, exquisite knives for your low work? Someone like you would not even be able to handle them properly! Excuse me, but I need some fresh air!"
As suddenly as it had started, Sanji was out of the door and left his startled nakama. Usopp however, the target of the cook's wrath merely chuckled to himself and returned to his work.
"What the heck was that?" Nami asked no one in particular, blinking at where Sanji had just left. She had witnessed his recent outbreaks, yet they actually seemed to be increasing in strength.
Usopp was still chuckling to himself and smirked. "Well, that's what withdrawal does to you…" she said, rather to himself than in answer to Nami's question.
"Withdrawal?" the navigator asked, frowning at the sharpshooter. "What withdrawal?"
"Haven't you noticed?" Usopp looked at her for a moment before turning back to his equipment. "Sanji's given up smoking. He quit the night he found out you were keeping the baby. And he hasn't touched a single cigarette since."
Nami was startled. Strangely, she somehow must have overlooked Sanji letting go of his habit. Just like she had never actually noticed Sanji smoking since it was such a natural part of him, she had never noticed him quitting. Smoking calmed him, he'd told her once. When he felt stressed out or unnerved, he would smoke a cigarette and relax from whatever bothered him. And now he was giving it up, for her; or actually for the baby she was carrying.
It was a really nice thing to do, Nami though to herself and smiling, took a sip of her freshly made orange juice. Yes, she would find her way. With nakama like hers, anything was possible.
Hurricane Sanji had calmed down after a few minutes and now, on the deck bathing in the warm sun of the late afternoon, he was serving small refreshments for everybody. Usopp was once more telling Luffy and Chopper once of his many adventure stories; and with every exaggeration, his audience grew more and more eager for him to go on. Today's story seemed to somehow involve Santa Claus, a huge sky train and thousands of fairies riding on red and white sugar canes. At least that was what Nami had overheard. For she was not concentrating on the long-nosed sharpshooter's tale but on a recent newspaper. It proved, however, less interesting as she had hoped, for half of its articles were pure gossip with about as much truth in it as Usopp's Christmas-themed story. With a sigh, she folded it back up and placed it on the small table beside her.
Leaning back in her chair she lazily looked around the deck. To her right, Zoro was engage in single-fingered pushups, heavy weights resting on both his shoulder blades. His tanned, muscular body was glistening in the sun with tiny pearls of sweat. The rhythmic up-and-down movements of his upper body felt hypnotizing.
Nami suddenly let out a gasp of surprise. Zoro's rhythmic motion stopped as he looked at her.
"Anything wrong?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
Nami shrugged. "I don't know. This just felt sorta weird." She said and put a hand to her stomach.
This gained her the attention of all her nakama. Chopper, after all the ship's doctor, walked up to her and looked at her curiously.
"Where was it, and what did it feel like?" he inquired.
Nami moved her hand and looked at Chopper, thinking. "It felt like… like a fluttering, I'd say."
"What is it? Is there anything wrong?" Sanji asked, rushing up to Chopper.
The little reindeer smiled and shook his head.
"No, no, not at all. She's just feeling the baby's first tiny movements, that's all."
Nami looked at Chopper, frowning, slightly surprised. So this was what it felt like?
"It moves? Cooooooooooll I wanna feel!" was what Nami heard before her captain's head suddenly appeared on her stomach, neck stretched out.
Nami was so surprised by his sudden move that she was not sure how to react. Usually, she would just smack him upside the head, but she guessed that this time, she would be just a little more patient than usually and let her captain enjoy the spectacle.
His head lay completely, ear pressed up against her shirt, until Nami let out another tiny gasp and Luffy's smile broadened.
"There it was again", Nami commented.
"This is sooooooo cool, Nami", Luffy said, his head snatching back onto his body, looking at his navigator happily. "Now you need to eat much much more meat so the baby can be strong and kick harder, so you can really feel it!"
Nami sweatdropped. "I don't exactly know if that's what I want…"
Chopper chuckled at his captain.
"The baby is still tiny, so you can't feel the movements that well. But once it grows, it will become stronger and eventually you'll even be able to see when it kicks."
While Luffy was cheering at the prospect of what he would be able to observe, Nami face-faulted.
"Now that sure sounds like found…" she commented sarcastically and sighed.
"Can I… can I feel it, too?" a soft voice from her left rang to her ear. It was Sanji. Never had he dared to just touch her like Luffy had, no matter how much he wished to be able to do so.
"Sanji-kun…", Nami said, and smiled at him, "of course. This should be a moment for the potential fathers, too, right?" she grinned.
Sanji nodded, smiling happily and carefully placed a hand on her stomach.
"Nee, Zoro… what about you?" she asked, turning to the right and looking at the swordsman.
"I…" he gulped, not exactly comfortable with the situation. Yet he knew that Nami allowed no denial. So he, as well, carefully placed his hand on Nami's perfectly flat stomach, just next to Sanji's. He would never have admitted it, but he had never before in his life been more nervous than in this very situation.
"There goes another one…" Nami announced.
The two men involuntarily tensed up as a slight, fluttering movement ran thought the skin, barely strong enough to feel it.
Sanji's face grew into a smile, his eyes wide in surprise. He really could feel it. The first signs of the small life inside his nakama. Even Zoro could not help but grin to himself. This was truly amazing. Both men were so lost in their thoughts about what had just happened that they completely forgot their hands still placed on her stomach.
"Guys… that's enough…", Nami stated plainly and sent her fists swinging.
With a loud clank, fists met heads and Zoro and Sanji fell to the ground on the sides of her chair.
Luffy immediately broke out into laughter, as usually enjoying every sort of commotion that went on onboard the ship.
Usopp and Chopper, however, backed away quietly in unison, fear painted across their faces.
"Still our good old Nami, huh?" Usopp mumbled, sweatdropping.
a/n: Finally a new chapter. I can't believe it really took me two months to get my behind up to get working… And to think I actually typed this chapter in a couple of hours divided onto two days… I'm so sorry to have kept you waiting for so long! I promise I'll try to be faster with the next one. After all, I'm on semester break now and thus hoping to get some more work done'
Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter. It is probably not the most original stuff I've ever written… I added in a very few funny parts, too, since I did not want to have the serious situation completely take over. I know most characters are actually OOC, but I'm trying my best in a situation like this'
Please, if you want to do me a favor, review! I really live off of them (creatively and motivationwise speaking)
Now a few words to my previous reviewers:
-Runespirit: Yes, this is a triangle. I think you could call it that. And yes, I am intending to bring in more ZxN and already have some nice scenes in mind for that. I have already tried to add more Zoro in this chapter, but with Sanji always jumping in and showering Nami with his compliments, any man showing his feelings less obviously just turns somewhat invisible'
-nikuwadoko: Oh thank you so much I just love those compliments Even if I'm worse at dealing with them than Chopper '
-Magus Black: Think long and hard, definitely. As Nami points out, there are still many plans that have to be made and many questions to be answered.
-mushi-azn: I think that is exactly the essence of One Piece, nakama. I agree with you. It's like a family, just not quite the same (me loves the Family chara song) And thank you for the compliment about portraying their emotions: it really is the most important part for me, so I am very critical with it.
-Namibean: I just can't see it, a little kid crawling around the ship… But as I said, ways can be found. Some of them may even lie beyond the Going Merry in the end… About the Sanji and Zoro trying to catch her part: so true… I almost felt like I was betraying them when I wrote it, even though I know how it would end… I just can't help but feel with the charas…
-CelticCrimson: about the question who should be the father: well, in the beginning I had my mind set, but now I am completely open minded again, so at the moment I am just as clueless as all of youOo (does that make me a bad writer? Oo) Btw, you don't have to apologize for writing long reviews, I really love them
-Elnora: Thanks for complementing my writing, but English isn't my first language, honestly. I'm just trying my best;)
-kittyluver: Have I decided? Nope, not yet, I'm sorry I'm almost sure that I will let you know in the end, but that's still quite a way to go, so we'll both have to wait for the solution lol
To all other reviewers that I could not name here due to the lack of time: Thank you so much for reading and giving me your opinion. You guys and your nice reviews are what keeps me writing!