A/N: Da-da-da-DAAAAAA!

I know, I know... It's been, like, 2, maybe almost three weeks since I've updated ANYTHING. But as some of you may be aware, and experiencing, school is back, and it's weight is bearing down heavier than ever. It's my final year of high school, and I am planning on going to university, so I do have to get my nose to the grindstone, so if you'd all continue to be so patient as you have been, I would love you all FOREVER. Honest.

And I really am glad you've all been so patient. And I know so many of you are looking forward to "Freak Show", as I am, but this story will be finished first before I get to that one. And if you haven't already looked into the prologue for it, I highly recommend it. "Freak Show" will be such a promising horror One Piece story, and I really can't wait to start writing it.

But still, my greatest apologies. I'll have a one-shot out soon in "Of Dreams, Clouds and Mikans" sometime soon. Maybe I'll even throw together a Brooke-shot :O

Anyway, here's the long awaited chapter, one that you've been waiting for for a month and a half, maybe two months for.

And I REALLY hope you enjoy it :3

Chapter 7

Three weeks later

I felt like I was being held against my will.

And by that, I meant that no one was letting me do anything. I was locked away in my room the moment someone brushed their fingers against their weapon half a kilometer away, whether the intention to draw it –let alone use it –was there or not.

The further I got in my pregnancy, the more cautious everyone was. I wanted to go out, drink and join them in a fight, but the only time they let me walk on an island was after everyone had finished gathering needed materials for the next voyage, and I was never alone. They'd make me walk with three of them. Zoro was always one of them. Nami was also there most of the time. The third was basically whoever had free time.

I was hardly showing, and they really weren't inconspicuous. I really think they drew more attention this way, especially with Zoro glaring at anyone who accidentally bumped into me.

Nami, Harumi and Chopper understood my angst, but no one else seemed to. They insisted, and since we all usually went to the bar, they said it was okay to go as a group.

Maybe I was over thinking things. It didn't matter.

I needed a break.

Standing in the bathroom, I crossed my arms in front of me, producing a full replica of me. I don't know why I didn't think of this earlier. The second me walked out of the bathroom, and out the door. I watched through her eyes, listened through her ears as I led her up to the kitchen, up the ladder and into the library. I made her pick out a random book and sit on the bench.

Zoro came in a short while later, sitting beside the duplicate and laying on her lap without saying anything. Through her body, I stroked his hair with one hand while with the other I held the book.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Good," I replied.

"Good," he told me. He leaned down and kissed me, and I felt the pressure on my own lips. I inhaled gently as I stepped out of the bathroom and into my bedroom. Through my eyes situated around the ship, I was able to keep a look out for the rest of my nakama as I slipped out of the room and to the railing on the deck.

I jumped over the railing, landing on the dock below, and hurrying into the town and away from the ship. When I was a safe distance away, I dissipated all the eyes, leaving just my duplicate up in the library with Zoro. He was the one I feared the most and the least at the same time when it came to slipping out. While I didn't think he'd be completely angry at me, I think he'd be angrier at himself.

I sighed as I strolled through the town. In the ship, Zoro was playing with the tips of my hair while my duplicate continued to read. The feelings made me wish that I was there with him –because it wasn't that I enjoyed time like that with him. I did, a lot. But there was so much smothering a person could take.

And I had long since reached my limit.

Nami

Luffy and I sat there, watching her as she walked away.

"Is this really okay?" Luffy asked me, frowning deeply.

"We'll be watching over her," I shrugged. "She needs time to herself sometimes. And that's what we're giving her."

"Nami –" he began, but I interrupted him.

"Luffy, go, before we lose her," I pushed him forward, following closely behind him.

"Mm," he said, any argument disappearing.

We followed her, ducking into the shadows whenever she glanced back. If she saw us, she gave no sign.

"I'm hungry," Luffy complained after a while.

"If you stay with me, I'll make you something myself," I told him.

"Eh? But you can't cook," he pouted. He was teasing me, but I still hit him over the head.

I turned back just in time to see a little boy trip in front of Robin. She looked surprised for a moment before kneeling down and helping him back up onto his feet. He was crying, and his knee was scraped, but Robin comforted him until he was laughing and smiling again.

"She's going to be a great mother," Luffy said, crouching down in front of me as we watched the scene.

"Mm," I agreed.

"We should have a kid, Nami," he leaned his head back to look up at me.

"Maybe when you're older, Luffy," I told him, blushing, although I doubted he even knew the process of making a child, let alone raising one. Besides, from what I knew he had a pretty abnormal childhood. He'd probably set our child on an island to fend for itself before he or she could even walk.

"Shishishi," he laughed, "Promise?"

"Promise," I said, yanking his hat over his eyes to keep him from looking at me. "Now come on, she's on the move again."

Robin

"Thank you, onee-chan," the little boy said as he ran off towards his mother.

I continued crouching there for a moment, watching as he waved before taking his mother's hand and walking away.

As I stood up, I placed my hand on my stomach. I couldn't help but wonder if I were going to have a sweet little boy like him, or an adorable little girl. I didn't know which I wanted. I would be happy with either. Was Zoro the same? I'd have to ask him when I got back.

While I could have asked him with my duplicate being there, I felt it was best to ask in person. Just like I wouldn't get too intimate with Zoro when he was handling my duplicate –it was simply one of those lines that you don't cross.

Now that I was out and about, I realized something. There was no where for me to go. Even when I was being smothered, they still took me to the book store, and we still walked around. The only difference was that I was alone. But I was enjoying the solitude. It was as I had hoped it to be.

Refreshing.

Nami

"There," I pointed to this burly looking guy that was stalking Robin in a similar matter that we were. "Go take care of him, and I'll keep an eye on Robin."

"Mm," Luffy nodded, before shooting across the street the moment Robin's back was turned. He hit the guy hard, knocking him through a wall, and I slipped out of the alley and into the shop doorway as Robin continued on.

"Nami?" A voice asked behind me, from inside the shop I stood just inside of. I turned to see Harumi –dressed as a man, of course. "What are you doing?"

I glanced over my shoulder to see Robin turn a corner. I ducked out of the shop, calling out, "I'll explain later."

Even with that being said, I could still hear Harumi following after me as I turned the corner. Thankfully Robin wasn't all that far away. I let out a breath of relief.

"Is that Robin?" Harumi asked. "What's going on?"

"She has the right to roam free on her own once in a while," I told her. "She was being stifled by our constant attention. And there's such a thing as being over-protective."

"And this isn't being over-protective?" she asked. "You're stalking her."

"We're protecting her from a distance. And Luffy already beat up some pirate that was heading her way," I shrugged. "It's all good. She feels like she's gotten her freedom, but we feel better knowing that she's safe."

"I'm surprised Zoro let this happen," she commented as she continued to follow me.

"He… I don't think he knows," I told her.

"But –"

"It's better this way, Harumi. This way Robin gets her fill of solitude, but she's still protected. Even if Zoro gets angry that Luffy and I let this happen, we were watching over her the entire time. It's fine."

"I'm not so sure," Harumi murmured.

"Harumi, you know how you feel when you're surrounded by guys for a long, long period of time?" I asked, keeping my eyes on Robin as we moved forward.

"Mm, I feel uncomfortable," she replied quietly.

"And you probably want to get out and take a breather, especially if you have to be with them for an even longer duration, right?" I continued when she was silent, "This is Robin's breather. She's just taking a short break, because she knows that if her duplicate is found out by Zoro, then she's never going to have any alone time, ever."

"Would it be the same for you if you were in her position?" she asked suddenly.

"No," I smiled, stealing a glance at my man-hating companion, "Because I would have been out of the ship on my own ages ago. As much as I love my crew –our crew –I love my freedom. And no matter the circumstances, I'll do whatever it takes to keep it."

"Even if you were pregnant and it was dangerous?"

"It's always dangerous, even now. But I'll grow strong, and Luffy will grow strong, so that we never have to worry about danger bearing down on our children."

I turned back to Robin. "And Robin will become strong too. She may look relaxed and easy-going, but she's probably more aware of her surroundings more than anyone. Hell, she probably knows that we're here. I think she's happy just having a few extra feet of space away from us, where we're not constantly by her side and making sure she's okay."

I sighed as I watched Robin semi-turn towards us, surely acknowledging our presence without inviting us to her side.

I smiled.

Yeah, Robin was going to become stronger.