Chapter 9: Nearing the Starting Line

"Oh come on, Chopper, pleeeease", the whining female voice tried "Pretty please?"

But the little reindeer simply shook his head in denial.

"I-I'm sorry, but you'll have to stay put for at least another week", he walked over to the bed and carefully handed the navigator a small glass containing a clear liquid. Eyeing it with dismay, she raised her head, brought the container to her lips and emptied it, scowling. "And you-you need to take it easier even after that. Those were real contractions, and they were not easy to calm back down."

Nami sighed.

"We can't risk it happening again, I know…"

The young woman was visibly worried, paled, and still exhausted from the physical and mental stress of the past two hours. It had indeed taken quite some time to prevent the premature birth; and the incident had shaken all of the crewmembers to the core. Even though loud noise, chaos and havoc were certainly anything but uncommon on the small caravel, a ruckus like that just a short while ago had never been heard before. Luckily for Nami however, Chopper had been able to calm them down after a while – more or less peacefully – and shove them out of her room, so that she was now able to rest up for a while.

"A-and please remember to take these drops that I gave you", Chopper reminded her, immediately noticing the scowl on her face. "I'll come to check on you every once in a while. O-okay?"

Nami smiled at the little doctor weakly and slightly nodded.

"I think a nap wouldn't be too bad right now…" she muttered, pulling the bedcovers up to her chin.

"How is Nami-san? Is she doing better?" the cook inquired impatiently as Chopper stepped out of Nami's room and quietly closed the door behind him.

The remaining crew members were obviously thinking just the same and eyed him curiously.

The reindeer nodded.

"I-I just gave her some drops that will help her relax. She's sleeping now."

"Wooooooh---", Luffy started; yet his enthusiastic scream was soon ended when Sanji's fist met with the top of his head.

"Will you stop the ruckus and let her sleep, you dimwit?" the blond cook spat through gritted teeth.

Luffy immediately calmed down as his brain had processed Sanji's request and let his eyes sink to the floor guiltily, pursing his lips.

"Soooorry…"

"She needs to stay in bed for at least another week", Chopper added, looking at his nakama. "And it wouldn't be good if she had to get upset or worked up about anything. So try to be quiet so that she can get enough rest."

While the other crewmembers happily agreed in an almost saluting tone, Zoro smirked to himself.

That woman and staying in bed? For a whole week even? As if…

Nami sighed as she turned around once more, a huge scowl written on her face. She had only been in bed for a single day so far; yet the pain in her back was reaching levels which made it impossible to find a comfortable position. And on top of that, she was growing increasingly bored. She currently had no books that she had not read at least twice; and the one time she had tried to get up to do some work on her maps, she had been easily caught by Sanji and had been sent back to bed that same instant. Staring at the ceiling did not work well, either. It was just too quiet.

Certainly, Chopper was right. The more rest she got, the better. She was certainly not willing to risk her child, yet what bad would it do if she just went on deck for a moment? Just to check on her tangerine grove, smell the salty sea breeze and maybe even catch a glimpse of the starry sky? It wouldn't hurt, would it? Distances on the Merry were short after all.

The navigator quickly nodded to herself and, with quite some effort, pushed herself up into a sitting position. Her body, thought having rested for so long, was still tired from the day's earlier events. She sighed and quickly stepped into a pair of soft slippers.

Then, as quietly as she could, the redhead walked over to the door. Yet as soon as she had pushed it open and cautiously looked out into the corridor, she gasped in surprise.

"And what do you think you're doing?" a gruff voice inquired.

Oh that swordsman… Nami swore inwardly. When would he finally stop minding her business and get back to his own?

The navigator looked at him sternly, hands pressed into her hips.

"I was just going to the bathroom", she lied plainly, "anything wrong with that?"

Zoro smirked, raising an eyebrow.

"You mean apart from the fact that you are lying me straight in the face?"

Nami's inward cursing grew more intense; and she had to try hard to keep herself from actually voicing her thoughts.

"You are going right back to bed. I don't feel like having that shitty cook in my back for letting you sneak out."

Nami's face turned from a scowl into a pure, childlike pout which only could have been equaled by Luffy. Yet she knew that any resistance from her side would be nothing but futile. The swordsman would get his way, sooner or later; and in the state she was at the moment, she had hardly the strength left to oppose him other than verbally.

So she grudgingly made her way back inside her room and was about to sink back down onto the now uncomfortable mattress of her bed, as she noticed that the swordsman had stepped inside and was now eyeing her from the entrance.

Nami looked at him with a frown.

"What is it now?"

The swordsman shrugged indifferently.

"Just making sure you're getting back to bed."

Nami's temper instantly rose by several degrees. She tightly clenched the sheets in her fits and spat at the swordsman:

"Just what am I? A prisoner? Even sentenced murderers get the right to move whenever they want!"

Inwardly, Zoro laughed to himself. He certainly understood how she felt, yet feelings were not always the main concern. You had to sort out your priorities.

"And why were you in front of my room anyway?" she added with a glare.

Zoro shrugged once more.

"We're taking turns. Making sure you stay where you're supposed to be.", and with another shrug and a snort he added: "I can think of better things to do with my time. Why don't you just stop trying to get away? Listen to Chopper for once."

Now it was Nami's turn to let out a deep sigh. After all it was not like she did not want to listen to Chopper. She knew that he was right, that she needed all the rest she could possibly get. And she did not want to bother her nakama with watching her either. But it was just so…

"But it's just so boring…", she explained with pursed lips.

Seeing this, Zoro had a hard time trying to keep himself from bursting out into laughter. There she was, a grown up woman – a money-crazy bitch, as Zoro would have put it – pouting like a little child because she was plain bored.

"You've got brains, don't you?" was his short answer.

The navigator instantly shot him a confused look.

"Hn?"

"Use 'em. I bet there are things that you still need to sort out. You won't get time as quiet as this again for quite a while."

Thus said, he shortly nodded and closed the door behind him, leaving a flabbergasted navigator staring at the rough wood blocking her room off from the corridor.

That swordsman… No matter how hard she tried, she would never understand him. And still she had to admit that he actually was right from time to time.

There was a soft knock on the door.

Nami carefully turned away from the wall and pushed herself up.

"You can come in." she simply answered.

It did not actually matter which member of the crew was requesting to be allowed in, since they all seemed to have decided to pay her visits every once in a while. The navigator was actually wondering whether or not the swordsman might have slipped word that she was getting bored…

The door quietly opened, and Nami had to admit to herself that she was actually quite surprised as she saw who had entered. Usopp, the marksman, closed the door behind himself and slowly walked over to Nami's bed. He seemed to be quite nervous for some reason, his gaze turned to the wooden planks. He was also hiding something behind his back, obviously, Nami noticed as her long nosed nakama came closer.

"What is it, Usopp?" she started calmly, eyeing him in curiosity.

The marksman shifted uncomfortably.

"Is it your turn now?" she asked with a smirk.

Usopp frowned back at her.

"My turn? A…at what exactly?"

Now it was time for Nami to frown.

"Well, taking turns watching me, to make sure I don't sneak out, you know?"

The marksman shot her a worried look. Had she been dreaming?

"But… we're not watching you… you're no prisoner, you know?"

Shame on you, swordsman… having to lie to your own nakama…, Nami thought to herself, grinning inwardly.

"I know, Usopp, never mind that", Nami answered, "so what did you come for?"

"Well… Nami…", he started hesitantly, shifting from one foot to the other.

The navigator frowned. She had hardly seen him act that nervous towards her.

"Well…", he stuttered, still staring at the floor, "I made something for you. Ah well, I mean… for… for the baby…".

Thus said, he pulled his hands from his back and held them right in front of her face.

What the redhead saw in that moment made her stare in awe. She carefully picked the object out of his hands and studied it. The toy was an almost identical, small copy of the Going Merry. Everything was there: from the sheep's head that had turned into the captain's favorite spot, to the delicately carved tangerine groves in the back of the small caravel. The marksman had even endowed the sails with the crew's Jolly Roger.

Nami's eyes lit in delight. She had never had many toys when she had been little, since Belemere had had a hard time trying to provide for food and clothes alone. And whenever she saw cute little toys like this one, she felt like that toddler who used to spend countless hours staring at the windows of the stores, adoring all those things that were so far out of reach.

"Ano… Do you like it?" Usopp asked, finally bringing up the courage to look her in the eyes.

Nami simply nodded, still staring at the tiny caravel in awe.

Finally, Usopp's nervousness seemed to be dissolving and a victorious grin appeared on his face.

"I've rounded all of the sharp corners. And I had Chopper help me with the paint, it's 10.000 natural! It's a masterpiece, one of a kind!" he explained still beaming. Still savoring his triumph, however, he decided to leave at the peak of his fame and made for the door.

He had just touched the frame of the door when Nami's voice suddenly pulled him back out of his reveries.

"Usopp…?"

He quickly turned around to see his female nakama look at him happily.

"Thank you, Usopp. I really like it."

The marksman's grin grew even bigger, though that seemed to be impossible, and after raising his hand shortly to signal goodbye, he literally danced out of the room.

The navigator silently snickered to herself, her fingers still in a careful grip around the marvelous toy.

Hymns of Usopp the Great could be heard all across the ship that night.

That was… until a certain swordsman decided that, for the sake of his nakama's vocal cords, and, most importantly, his own, constantly rising blood pressure, it was time to call it a day.

"Nami-san…" the blond cook gently shook the navigator's shoulder, "wake up, Nami-san…"

When Sanji had come in that morning to bring his beloved navigator her freshly prepared breakfast, the young woman had been tossing and turning, still fast asleep, her brow's knitted, a painful expression written all over her face. Her forehead was damp and her hands tightly clutched her stomach. He knew what was going on.

Sanji's face lit up visibly as he noticed his Nami-san's eyes opening slowly. She looked around wearily, eyes red and puffy from tears that had obviously flown earlier.

He carefully stroked her check, wiping off the tears.

"It was just a dream, Nami-san", he quietly explained, "everything's fine. The baby's doing great."

It took quite a while until Nami's mind seemed to be registering the new information and discarding what had seemed so real just an instance ago.

He gently brushed a strand of red hair out of her face and smiled comfortingly. The dreams had become quite frequent recently. Now, with only two more weeks left until the due date, they also seemed to have intensified. Sanji would often come to her room in the morning only to find her panting and tossing herself around. Yet the more dreams she had had, the longer it took her to completely return to reality. Just two days ago, he had sat by her bed for almost an hour, simply holding the young woman who was weeping into his shoulder.

And again, tears were starting to well up in her eyes, even though it long seemed as if there could not be any left. The blond man carefully brought her into his arms again. And she accepted. It had turned into a silent agreement between the two of them. No words needed, just the comforting feeling of a loving touch. A gentle stroke on the cheek, a hand run through the hair. Until she quieted down. She would never thank him, verbally, but there was no need to. Her acceptance of his soothing touch was all it needed. When she felt better, she would simply smile at him gratefully and nothing would be left unsaid.

And so it was that day. Nami slowly pulled herself out of his arms and rested her back against the wall, smiling at her nakama.

"It's about time the little one finally gets out…" she said with a smirk, stroking her stomach.

Sanji quietly chuckled to herself, smiling to see that his Nami-san had recovered.

"It's just another two weeks, Nami-san", he said comfortingly, eyeing her stomach to then look her in the eye with a grin "Just another two weeks and hell will break lose."

Nami sighed in fake frustration.

"Mhm… things are going to change. It'll be a whole lot noisier… if that's at all possible."

The cook chuckled.

"Well, if you can handle Luffy, you can handle any kid."

Nami laughed loudly and nodded in agreement.

"Oh how true…" He really does have a point there.

Suddenly, the navigator grew serious, eyeing her nakama with a sincere look.

"Sanji-kun… I've been thinking…"

Sanji's heart skipped a beat. Thinking? About what?

"Thinking? About what, Nami-san?"

Nami laughed at his reaction, shaking her head with a grin on her face.

"Oh don't worry, Sanji-kun", she said, laughing "it's nothing to get all worried about."

The redhead took another moment to make herself stop laughing and continued.

"I've been thinking about a name."

Sanji's eyes lit, sparkling with excitement.

"Oooooooh really, Nami-swan?"

Nami shook her head, chuckling to herself.

"Now tell me, what do you think about…" her voice trailed off until the name was nothing but a mere whisper, barely audible. On this ship, even the walls happened to have ears…

Yet the blond cook had well perceived it and was now sporting a wide grin.

"Perfect, Nami-san", he complimented her with another grin "just perfect!"

Since it was now barely a week until the due date, the Going Merry had docked at a small island's port early in the morning. It had been decided that it would obviously be far too risky for Nami to attempt giving birth while in the middle of the ocean and that, since there were no pressing matters to be taken care of, there was enough time at their hands to take a break from the daily pirating business.

Yet for Usopp and Chopper, this first of all meant taking care of Merry's wounds. The poor caravel had taken quite some damage during the recent storm. And once they had accounted of all the repairs that needed to be made, it had become quite obvious that even Zoro and Sanji – despite their lack of will and enthusiasm – would have to lend Usopp a hand.

Nami however, not exactly able to be of too much help, had decided to go on a last minute shopping spree. Free time would, after all, become much rarer once the child was born. Since nobody wanted to let Nami go by herself, for the obvious reason, they had chosen Luffy to accompany her. When doing repairs, he usually did more damage than anything else really, so it was a quite handy solution.

Finally, Nami had managed to make Luffy leave a bar that he found had the greatest pork ever, and they were now picking up whatever she felt she still needed. Once they had entered the toy store, Luffy had started gaping at all the colorful little playthings that were on display. Nami had made her choice rather quickly and was at the counter, about to pay for everything she had bought; pacifiers, soft rings to bite on, rattles and various other little tools of all shapes and colors.

"Oh, my congratulations, Miss", an elderly shop assistant suddenly beamed at Nami, looking at her choices and then quickly glanced at the navigator's largely swollen stomach. "How much longer is it?" she asked friendly.

Nami smiled back, somewhat startled.

"Eh… thank you", she almost stuttered, "actually just about a week."

The woman smiled knowingly, starting to wrap up Nami's purchases, while merrily chatting on.

"With all my kids, I never even got close to the due date." She said, smiling happily, "they were all so eager…"

Nami smiled back politely, yet feeling somewhat awkward with the situation. Talking about her situation had never felt quite right, especially with strangers.

"I'm sure you didn't come here alone, did you?" the woman inquired, still busying herself with the toys. "Didn't you bring your husband with you? The baby's father?"

Nami felt her face turn to an at least four shades deeper crimson than it ever had. This was certainly nothing she wanted to talk about, especially not to somebody she did not even know, so she decided to go for the easiest way out.

"Oh, he's…"

Yet before Nami could end her sentence, Luffy came walking up to her with, childish joy written all over his face.

"This place is so much fun, Nami!" he grinned happily, "Look at what all they have!"

The shop assistant eyed the boy curiously, a bemused smile playing on her lips.

"…him?" she asked, nodding towards Luffy with a questioning look.

Oh Jesus, this just can't be happening…

Had there been a hole to jump into, she would have done it. Anything. Anything to get out of this situation. There was the elderly lady, far too concerned and curious about everything that was absolutely not her business. And of course there was her captain, looking back and forth between his nakama and the other woman – a 'nani?' practically written all over his face.

Ah, to hell… What difference does it make anyway…

"Yes, him", she stated plainly, faking a smile.

While the lady shot her a look of pity and bemusement at the same time, Nami quickly placed some money on the counter, grabbed her purchases and made for the door.

No bargaining today… Just out of here…

"Luffy, come on!" she commanded without turning around "we're leaving."

Yet Luffy, however, only followed tentatively, grudgingly. He had found his paradise; and he would make sure to return by himself soon, he thought to himself with a grin.

In front of him, Nami visibly slowed down; yet her face rapidly lost the crimson color and turned rather pale. Luffy walked up to his navigator.

"Anything wrong, Nami?" he asked, seriously concerned.

Nami shook her head and forced a grin.

"I'm fine… I… I just need a break…"

They slowly walked over to a close bench and Nami immediately sunk down onto it, leaning her head back. She was now panting heavily, her face a few shades paler than usually.

"Ne, Nami…", Luffy started, frowning at her in worry, "maybe we should go back…"

The navigator suddenly felt a warm rush, followed by a sharp, tearing pain. She bit her lips to keep herself from screaming out and thus kept the sound at a low moan.

Luffy's frown grew.

"Nami, let's go back…", he tried to urge her.

She nodded slightly, exhaling heavily after the unexpected pang of pain. She pushed herself up with much difficulty, leaning heavily against Luffy's small shoulder.

"I really think I need to go see Chopper now…"

"This is so gross…" the marksman muttered for what seemed the thousandth time in the past half hour.

Next to him stood Luffy, blinking, taking in every single detail of what was happening right before his eyes. Zoro had been instructed to keep an eye on the water and make sure that it had the right temperature, while Sanji was busying himself with dozens over dozens of towels, cushions and blankets. Luckily for all of them, Chopper had finally stopped his desperate cries demanding for a doctor, realizing that it was exactly his position upon the ship; and thus was now able to take care of the navigator.

She lay on her bed on another hundreds of towels, a doubled blanket resting on her stomach and legs. Her red hair was sweaty and clung to her forehand in thick strands. She was breathing rapidly, trying to drive away the last contraction's pain while already preparing for the next. She had surely felt pain before, but nothing had ever or would even come close to what she was feeling in that very moment. Her insides seemed to be trying to force their way out – which was not exactly wrong either – and, in the process, were tearing her open from her chest to her abdomen.

She screamed at the top of her lungs as another contraction shot through her body and made every single muscle, including many she never knew she had, tense up so much that they felt like they would simply tear apart. In an instance, it was gone again; the muscles collapsed, her head fell back into the pillows, her breath rapid and labored while Chopper seemed to try to instruct her on how to breathe properly.

Yet as soon as she had begun to actually relax and regain a bit of strength, another rush of pain surged through her body.

She only hoped it would be over soon…

7 hours later…

"This is so gross…"

Usopp was still frozen to the bone, while everybody was busying himself with making sure that Chopper, and thus Nami, had everything they might possibly need.

Another contraction, another scream. Her whole body cramped up momentarily to then completely collapse back onto the bed again. Her muscles had long turned sore; every night contraction taking more of her strength than the one before. And they were becoming much, much closer. Now there was no longer any time to catch her breath and prepare herself for the next one. It was just endurance, the pure will to make it through.

She breathed heavily, hastily, almost hyperventilating while Chopper was still trying to instruct her about the proper breathing rhythm

Heck, she did not care how she breathed as long as she was able to breathe at all…

Another 3 hours later…

Usopp had retreated to cowering in a corner, trying to avert his eyes from the events yet somehow drawn to them.

Nami felt completely drained. She had stopped counting the hours, stopped counting the contractions.

Her strength was fading, her pushes grew less powerful, her breathing more and more labored. Stars twinkled before her eyes every time the pain set in again.

She could not last much longer. There was just no more strength left.

Then again the pain resurfaced, making her scream out despite her sore throat. Yet when she felt a sudden rush of blood and a strange feeling of released pressure, an odd relaxation overcame her.

Her vision was starting to turn blurry until a tiny cry echo through the small room.

Nami instantly perked up and gazed over at Chopper, trying hard to refocus her eyes.

The little reindeer was busying himself on the other end of the bed, wrapping something into a small towel with a huge grin on her face. Beaming, he walked over to her and gently held the small bundle out to her. She took it, apprehensively, greedily, impatiently, longingly, and looked down into the cutest face she had ever seen.

"It's a girl!" Chopper announced, still beaming.

Nami still gazed at the tiny being in awe. On the top of her head, she had a thin fluff of red hair, just like her own, and her large blue eyes looked around aimlessly. The chubby nose twitched slightly as it unconsciously took in the scent of its surroundings. It was simply adorable.

The Going Merry had fallen completely silent while the whole crew had gathered around the bed, trying to catch a glimpse of the newborn.

With a pleasant smile, Nami handed the cute little bundle back to Chopper to give the others a better view of her little daughter.

"So… Nami…", Usopp's quivering voice broke the silence, "do you have a name?"

Nami nodded slightly, still smiling, her head sinking back into the pillows.

"Nyoko…"

Zoro let out a short bemused laugh.

"Nyoko… Treasure, eh?" he said with a grin, looking back and forth between Nami and her child. He seemed quite content with the choice she had made. "Sure fits!"

Luffy had started cheering for his latest nakama – he had already accepted the newborn as a valuable addition to his crew – and was now bending over the baby, introducing his toothy grin to the little girl.

"Nyo-chaaaaaan! I'm uncle Luffy!" he introduced himself, waving happily "Look at me, Nyooo-chaaaaaan!"

At this, the whole crew simply burst out laughing.

Much tension had been released in that very moment, many worries relieved, many nightmares proved wrong. And so, little Nyoko was passed around among the nakama, handled more carefully than any precious china, glass or priceless treasure had ever been.

Chopper smiled at the scene of the grown men cooing at the small baby and happily turned back around to the bed.

"Okay, Nami, now I'll have to…", he stopped as he looked at the young woman's face.

Pain and exhaustion had finally demanded their tribute; the navigator had fallen asleep.

a/n: ONE MORE CHAPTER TO GO! Wohoooooo! Happy B-day Nyo-chan! -does like Nami and simply collapses from exhaustion- How do you like the name, btw? It is a Japanese girl name meaning "treasure", which I think fits perfectly fine. Not only for the Nami's love for wealth but also as something you deeply treasure in your heart.

And I'm sorry if there are typos or anything: I wrote this whole thing in one sitting (though it's actually enough for two chapters), my vision is quite blurry right now and my beta-reader nowhere to be foundOo So please bear with me…

Neway, the next chapter will be up by the end of next week the latest. Next and last chapter will be "Chapter 10: Scenario X", and I have actually even gotten around to make a decision about the fathering question. It should leave neither Sanji nor Zoro fans disappointed (or so I hope') (though I'm not sure if it's a good decision or just a cheap way out lol)

Btw, one this story is done, I have a One Piece one shot I'll do, but after that I'm free for challenges. So if you have any, just let me know.

Also, without me noticing at all, this fic has turned into by far the longest one I have ever written. And no other story I ever wrote received this many reviews (I might even hit the 100 mark with this chapter! –knock on wood-), so thanx to all of you for your constant support!

Now a few words to my reviewers:

-Magus Black: Yes, I am evil! Muhahahaha… Thanks for your advice, that's just what I'll do!

-Omnichild: Ah, then I guess I'm glad to know that I didn't write it all wrong (despite me having no experience whatsoever). And thanx for stopping the poking.. –grins-

-mushi-azn: You got another Sanji scene (which was incredibly easy to write.. just why could that be…?), I hope you like it! I spotted quite some mistakes in the last chapter, but was too lazy to fix them.. –ahem- I'm hoping this chapter isn't too trying for your sense of grammar and orthography!

- DangerousandDemonicDevil: Ding ding ding! Yes, he was, he made a cute little toy! Sorry for scaring you, but that was my intention! –laughs evilly- The chocolate thing? Not as far as I know, but there are loads of stories like that one.

-Melinda-chan: Yes, I couldn't do any harm to the poor little thing. And thanks for your info about the ship thing.

-Zionne: Yup, she's had it now, after another extremely long chapter… Hope you liked it anyway.

-illustratedperson: Yay, I get a song! I love songs! Arigato!

-gothywolfie: I WILL watch 4kids dub to make fun of it (and decide to bomb their HQ right afterwards). Of course I'll be taking my fansubs with me, half a year without OP would be hell…

-Eiram-Chaosgodess: I know, I'm sorry for scaring everybody.. But I never really wanted to kill the baby, it just seemed like and interesting ending. But then I could never bring myself to it and rather had Nami have it, as you see. Hope you liked it!

For now, everything hurts (head, eyes, neck, behind…), I really need to take a rest… and watch some OP! Happy reading and reviewing!