The Straw Hats had only been reunited for a few weeks when their joy was overshadowed. Nami had woken up that morning with a headache, attributing it to having fallen asleep at her desk the night before. She had awakened late at night and had laid down fully clothed in her bed. Accordingly, her mood wasn't particularly good.

Of course, this didn't go unnoticed. Her friends still knew her well enough after two years to know that they should steer clear when her mood reached such a low point.

Well, all of them, except for the cook. Sanji seemed to have made it his main task to sweeten her morning with his food. She saw him working in the kitchen while sitting with the rest of her crew at the table, waiting for her own breakfast to be ready. She could have told him that his food generally made her day much better, but she was curious about what he was preparing for her with extra love given that he already put so much effort into preparing her meals.

»Here you go, Nami-san!«, he exclaimed with a smile as he placed the plate in front of her. It contained a stack of heart-shaped pancakes, surrounded by individual pieces of Bell-mère's tangerines and a few strawberries. She chuckled as she looked at his expectant face.

»Thank you, Sanji-kun!«, she replied, offering him a light smile despite the headache and her bad mood. Sanji looked as if he had been struck by Cupid's arrow as he almost danced to his own seat opposite hers.

The conversations at the table continued as Nami began to nibble on one of the tangerine pieces. God, how she had missed them! It made her feel a bit closer to Cocoyashi Village, even though she was currently on the other side of the world. What was Nojiko doing right now?, she wondered.

Thoughtfully, Nami took a bite of the pancakes and stopped abruptly. What was happening? It had never happened before that she didn't like something Sanji had cooked. Yet, the dough emitted a bitterness in her mouth that stirred her stomach. Had he changed the recipe?

»Nami-san, is everything okay?«, Sanji suddenly asked, apparently noticing that her face had turned pale. Nami couldn't muster a response. She was relieved that she reacted quickly enough to rush out of the kitchen and head to the bathroom before she had to violently throw up.

She was still hunched over the toilet when the bathroom door opened. Robin slipped into the room, but behind the door, she could clearly hear the muffled voices of the others.

»Feeling better?«, Robin asked with a furrowed brow, gently brushing Nami's hair away from her forehead. The redhead frustratingly leaned her head against her arm. »No«, she replied elongated. Her stomach still felt as if it wanted to get rid of any content immediately, even though there was nothing left.

Robin moistened a small cloth with some water and placed it gently on Nami's forehead. Nami sighed contentedly as the cool moisture touched her skin. »Your forehead feels very warm. Maybe you've caught something?«, Robin murmured seriously, but Nami just shook her head. »I probably just upset my stomach. It'll probably be gone as soon as I've rested a bit«, she waved it off and staggered to her feet. If Robin hadn't supported her from one side, she would have surely fallen again. Her friend helped her to the sink, handed her a toothbrush, and then escorted her to the door to take her to their shared room.

Outside the door, the other members of their crew were gathered. Zoro was leaning against the wall with his eyes closed, but the absence of snoring indicated that he was just as concerned as the rest of the crew. Usopp and Luffy both had their arms crossed in front of their chests, looking at Nami with concern. Sanji looked as if he were about to burst into tears at any moment. Whether this was because she had thrown up after a bite of his food or because he, like the other three guys, remembered the last time she suddenly fell ill, Nami didn't know.

»I'm fine, guys, don't worry«, Nami tried to reassure them, but was not very successful. The guys stuck to her until Robin pushed her through the door to her room. Chopper was the only one who followed them into the room.

»Let me take some of your blood, Nami. Then I'll know by this afternoon how I can help you«, the ship's doctor said determinedly, and Nami just nodded because it made no sense to argue with him about medical matters. Chopper could be incredibly persistent when it came to the health of his crew members.

She barely felt the needle because she was almost asleep again. Only a few hours later, she opened her eyes again when she felt someone beside her. She looked directly into Sanji's eyes, who held a tray in his hands. A faint smile was on his face as Nami sat up. The wet cloth that Robin apparently placed on her forehead in her sleep slipped into her lap.

»I brought you tea to help with nausea. And some crackers so you have something in your stomach«, he presented the selection on his tray. Nami hadn't felt hungry after her morning outburst, but she still took one of the crackers that Sanji offered her.

What she regretted in the next moment. The same bitter taste spread on her tongue, evident from her expression. Sanji quickly handed her the bucket, which apparently had been placed next to her bed as a precaution. He held her long hair away from her face and made soothing sounds, but looked dejected as she leaned back into the pillows exhaustedly. Were those tears in his eyes?

»This isn't from your food, Sanji-kun«, she reassured him, even though that had always been the trigger for her oversensitive stomach. She imagined seeing Sanji's lower lip trembling, but he seemed to pull himself together. »How can I help you?«, he finally asked. It obviously bothered him that his food not only failed to bring her joy but actively contributed to her discomfort. »Give me the tea, please«, she mumbled and a few seconds later was satisfied to find that at least her stomach didn't object to the herbal mixture Sanji had put together for her. Unfortunately, it only moderately improved the taste in her mouth.

Sanji was still sitting on the edge of her bed, observing her. Only when she put the cup aside did she notice his intense gaze, and her stomach suddenly rumbled for a completely different reason. »Nami-san...«, he began, just as the door opened. Both were startled as Chopper tapped into the room.

»Can I talk to Nami alone?«, he asked, turning to Sanji, who then gave Nami a nervous glance. She wondered why Chopper couldn't share his diagnosis with Sanji in the room, but his serious look stifled the emerging question. The cook stood up, said a quiet goodbye, and disappeared with the tray (and also Nami's used bucket, for which she would have to thank him later) from the room.

»You look like I'm terminally ill«, Nami joked weakly, but Chopper didn't laugh. Now, with Sanji gone, he seemed rather uncomfortable. He climbed onto her bed and seemed to be searching for the right words.

»You're not sick, Nami«, he finally said, causing Nami to furrow her brow. »Then what is it?« Could it have been Sanji's food after all?

Nami had no idea how this was possible, but she could swear that Chopper blushed under his fur. »Well, you see, it's just that... you're pregnant«, he said straightforwardly. Judging by Nami's expression, it hadn't been a particularly good idea.

Her loud »WHAT?!« was surely audible throughout the Sunny's entire deck. Chopper briefly worried that she might hyperventilate, but since Nami seemed to be regaining her composure somewhat, he sighed in relief.

»I don't understand... I... how...«, she muttered uncertainly. This had to be a mistake.

Her? Pregnant? Please! She couldn't remember when she...

»But you do know how pregnancies happen, right?« Chopper asked shyly, and Nami would have given him an angry look if she hadn't been haunted by flashbacks at that moment.

The evening before she had reunited with the others.

The stranger.

The night in the hotel.

No. No. No. No.

This couldn't be true.