Carmelita's POV
As the van flew through the time portal, Carmelita started to feel her stomach lurch. She knew that she had been experiencing morning sickness often, so she tried to hold it in as long as possible. Finally, the van landed in the cabin of a pirate ship. She didn't know who's ship the gang had landed on, but she knew that she needed to throw up. She opened the door to the van and threw her head out the small window that was directly next to where the van landed. Murray jumped out of the van to comfort her as Bentley looked on confused. After her wave of nausea passed, Carmelita sat down for a minute to gather her bearings. "Okay, so do we know where we are," Carmelita asked Bentley. "No, I don't know as of yet. I am going to send out my RC chopper to get a look. We need to stay hidden until we can decipher whether this ship contains friends or foes." "In the meantime, I will slip out and take a peek to see if I recognize anyone on the ship," Carmelita said. Bentley looked worried for a minute but finally sighed and said, "Be careful. You have your earpiece if you need to contact us. I would try your best not be spotted. We don't know how the crew will react to there being a woman on board. They weren't always friendly back in day, calling it bad luck for a woman to be found on a pirate ship. You don't want to get thrown overboard to the sharks." Carmelita nodded and saluted before slipping out the door.
She quickly made her way down the hall, not seeing anyone. As she made her way to the first door, she saw many men sleeping on cots. She assumed that the area was the bunkers. Not wanting to wake anyone, she continued forward, finding another door with a racoon face on it. She whispered, "Jackpot," before slowly opening the door. A knife was thrown at wall directly next to the door as Carmelita went to enter the room. "Who goes there," a voice said from inside the room. "I'm sorry. I was just looking for someone. Are you Henriette Cooper?" "You know my name," a female racoon said opening the door and ripping the knife from the wall, "And I assume I know yours. You came here looking for someone. Is that right?" Carmelita nodded and said, "I came here looking for Sly Cooper. I'm Carmelita Montoya Fox. Please, tell me that you know where he is." The woman motioned for Carmelita to follow as she walked out of the room. "I can show you where the lad is sleeping. He has told me a lot about you, you know? Heart like a Cooper, yet the first fox to ever enter the bloodline. I wonder what the result will be." "Wait, does he know?" "He doesn't. But a woman can tell when another is hiding something. I can see that you have been holding your hands over your stomach since the start of this conversation. You are worried about the life that you carry inside. Don't worry. I won't hurt you or your friends. We have been expecting you three since Sly won't shut up about the lot of you. I hoped you would get my message." Carmelita realized that Sly had not added the words to the Thievius Racoonus, but his ancestor had. "I don't think that I can thank you enough for helping me find him. I… we all have been lost without him," Carmelita responded.
The woman came to the first door that Carmelita had looked into. She walked directly to the cot in the back corner of the room and let out a curse as she found it empty. "That racoon. Already almost took one beating tonight. I should lash him for his disobedience in not getting some rest!" She walked back out of the room and towards the stairs to the deck. Carmelita followed her, knowing that the woman knew exactly where to find Sly. As she made it to the deck, she hollered out, "Cooper! Why are you not asleep?" That's when Carmelita saw Sly at the wheel of the ship. "Sorry, Captain. Was just worried about big bird catching up and there being no one up here to defend the deck!" Henriette started, "Well someone is here to see you," but was promptly cut off as Carmelita pushed past her and ran towards her love. "Carmelita," he said, as she threw herself at him, holding onto him for dear life. "Please tell me this is real and not a dream. That I am actually with you," Carmelita said as she was too afraid to look up in case he disappeared as he had in her nightmares over the past weeks. Sly pulled her face up to his and said, "I can't believe you found me. I missed you so much." He pulled Carmelita in for a kiss, wrapping his arms around her tight. Then he realized something felt different. He placed a hand against Carmelita's front. As soon as their lips parted, Carmelita said, "You are going to be a dad." With those words, Sly knelt in front of her and placed his head against her stomach. "I… I can't believe it. I've missed out on this for weeks because of La Paradox. Please tell me he is either dead or behind bars." "He is in solitary confinement for thirty to life. Now, come on. The gang is waiting below deck for us. And, I am ready to get off this pirate ship. I may just throw up again if we wait any longer." As Sly got off his knees, he pulled Carmelita in for one more kiss. "I didn't get to say it before on the blimp, but I am saying it now. I love you so much. More than life itself. You are the air I breathe, my home. I can't imagine my life without you. And that's why I want to ask you, Carmelita Montoya Fox, will you marry me?" Sly pulled out a gorgeous ring that was made of gold with a large diamond in the center. Carmelita teared up and nodded her head. Sly slipped the ring on her finger and was happy to find that it fit perfectly. Carmelita then said with a laugh through the tears in her eyes, "I love you and all, but you reek. You need at least three showers and a bath before I will enjoy your smell again." Henriette let out a laugh at the vixen's words. Carmelita walked up to the woman and said, "Thank you for keeping him safe. I truly will always appreciate you keeping the father of my child and the love of my life safe." "Don't worry about it, lass. I thought he was a fake at first, but he has proven to me that he is a real Cooper. Now, get yourselves home and off my ship before I have any more explaining to do." With that, Sly and Carmelita made their way back to the van below deck.
When Sly and Carmelita arrived at the van, Bentley and Murray rushed over to hug Sly. Bentley then turned with a look on his face that made Carmelita realize she was caught red-handed. "You saw everything, didn't you?" "How could you time travel without knowing whether it could put the baby at risk? I can't believe you would make such an impulsive decision. I knew that something was up, but I ignored that part of my brain that kept telling me that. I was like, 'She will speak to us when she is ready.' If I had known you were pregnant, I would never have let you in the van!" Carmelita defended herself, saying, "I wanted to tell Sly first. Then, Murray found out, but that was literally like an hour or two ago when you were preparing the van. You know that I go where Sly goes and now that I have him back, I am never letting him go again. Let's just go home." Carmelita made her way into the van. Sly said, "She is pregnant. I'm going to be a father. And, we are going to get married. I still can't believe it. Let's get home. I am mentally and physically exhausted after everything I have been through. And, as Carmelita already said, I really need to bathe." "We are just glad to have you, buddy! Come on, hop in," Murray said. "Also, I call the rights to being the cool uncle." The four hopped in the van, Bentley programmed the GPS to send them home, Murray hit the gas, and then they were on their way home.