»Nami!«, Chopper squeaked nervously, looking at her with concern. »Do you need a glass of water?«

Nami felt like the whole room was spinning around her. It was a good thing she was already sitting in her bed, her legs probably wouldn't have supported her. Poor Chopper started frantically waving air at her with his hooves, almost falling off her bed due to his frantic movements.

Pregnant. Nami's head was still spinning. She had never seriously thought about whether she wanted children at all. Under Arlong's tyranny, certainly not, and since joining Luffy, she had had completely different goals. Oh God, what would her other crew members say? They had just reunited and were about to embark on the journey into the New World. A baby was the last thing anyone of them needed right now. Would they drop her off on the next island and sail on without her? Should she offer that herself to not hinder her crew's dreams?

Tears burned in her eyes as she looked back at Chopper, who was still anxiously trying to calm her down. »And this is not a mistake, right? Are you absolutely sure?«, she asked. The faint hope that the result might be wrong was dashed by a shake of the doctor's head. »No, it's absolutely certain«, he replied cautiously, not wanting to upset her further. He scratched his head thoughtfully. »Four or five weeks, according to the test. I can't say exactly.«

Nami refrained from commenting that she didn't need a test calculation to know when it had happened. Instead, she now felt the tears running down her cheeks and dripping onto her blanket.

»Namiiiiii!«, he called out, lunging towards her to somehow hug her with his short arms. »Don't cry, Nami! Please.«

»I'm sorry«, she sobbed, not exactly sure what she was apologizing for. Her tears? Or for the unplanned pregnancy that would impact their entire journey? She embraced the reindeer and sniffled loudly. This had to be just a stupid dream...

Once she had calmed down a bit, she let go of Chopper. With still moist eyes, she looked at the ship's doctor. »Can you go and get Luffy?« she asked hoarsely, to which Chopper simply nodded.

If she was really pregnant, her captain had to be the first to know. Luffy would have to decide how to proceed with her.

When Chopper opened the door, three surprised men tumbled into the room. If Nami hadn't still been so agitated, she would have given each of them a decent bump for eavesdropping on her door. However, the concerned looks from Sanji, Luffy and Usopp showed that they apparently hadn't caught on to the specifics of Nami's diagnosis. They had probably only heard her sobbing, and if not, her red eyes were indication enough that she did cry.

She cleared her throat and sat up a bit straighter in her bed. »Luffy, can I talk to you?«, she asked hesitantly, quickly adding »Alone« in response to the glances from the other two.

Luffy got up and adjusted his straw hat, which had shifted during his fall into the room. »Sure«, he shrugged and sat down next to her on the mattress. Then he cast an expectant glance towards the door, which the other two closed with a disgruntled look. Nami caught Sanji's worried gaze for a tiny moment before the door was shut.

»So, what's wrong? Are you sick?«, Luffy asked. His tone was curious, but his gaze was still concerned. He didn't like it when his crew members were unhappy, and Nami's teary eyes indicated that something was bothering her.

Slowly, Nami shook her head. Oh God, how should she tell him? What would she do if he actually asked her to leave the ship?

»I'm pregnant«, she finally admitted meekly, expecting the worst.

And Luffy reacted... not at all. He blinked a few times, then he shrugged.

»And?« he replied. »Why do you look so panicked? Isn't that a good thing?«

Nami stared at him with her mouth open. »You're not angry?«

»Why should I be angry?«

»Well, because a baby won't make our journey any easier, right?«, she reminded him.

Luffy just shrugged again. »Shanks raised a child on his pirate ship«, he replied. »Why shouldn't we be able to do that, too?«

Nami could still only stare at him.

»What?«, Luffy asked when she didn't say anything.

»Is that all?«, Nami said eventually. »Is that all you have to say about it?«

A grin spread across Luffy's face. »Oh, right. Congratulations! Almost forgot. Is it going to be a boy or a girl?«

Nami felt tears welling up in her eyes again. Luffy's grin disappeared almost instantly.

»Hey, don't cry! It doesn't matter what it is, as long as it's healthy, right?«, he exclaimed somewhat desperately, gesturing wildly with his hands to get her to stop crying.

»You want me to stay on the ship?« Nami sobbed finally. Now it was Luffy's turn to stare at her wordlessly.

After a few seconds, he said, »Why, are you thinking of leaving us?«

»No!«, Nami protested immediately, shaking her head vigorously. »I just thought... with a baby...«

Luffy raised his hands and placed them surprisingly gently on her shoulders, making her look at him. His lips formed a smile. »Your baby will have the greatest adventures before it can even walk!«, he declared. »Why would you leave the crew for that? Then we'd lose two nakama at once. And besides, I need you to become the Pirate King, right?«

Now he grinned at her, but he let out a surprised »Hmpf?!« when Nami pulled him strongly towards her and wrapped her arms around him in a suffocating hug.

She had no idea how he had managed it, but Luffy – her captain, who unfortunately often acted quite foolish – had said exactly the right thing. While burying her face in his shoulder, he lightly patted her hair. He didn't seem to mind that she clung to his body like a plank, as any normal person would probably have gasped for air by now.

»Everything will be okay, Nami«, he whispered surprisingly softly when she had calmed down a bit and loosened her grip on him.

Her hair tips tickled him lightly in the face as he spoke again. »So, what's it going to be now? Boy or Girl?«

Nami pulled back and lightly slapped his shoulder. »It's way too early for that, you idiot! I can't possibly know yet«, she replied but smiled slightly.

In the short time since Chopper had informed her of her condition, she hadn't thought about it at all. A boy or a girl?

An image formed in her mind, giving her a warm feeling for the first time. Her hand went to her still very flat stomach. Hard to believe that a little person was growing there.

»I bet it'll be a boy!«, Luffy said, apparently ignoring her words. "We could make a game out of it. Whoever is wrong has to scrub the deck for a month.«

Nami rolled her eyes. »Please. If we're betting, let's bet a whole bunch of Berries«, she chuckled and didn't notice that Ruffy was looking at her with a satisfied expression because he had made her laugh.

»Okay, deal!«, he exclaimed excitedly. »I can ask the others right away what their bet is.«

»No, wait!«, she said quickly, because her captain was already on his feet again.

Now he stood still, though, and looked at her expectantly.

Nami swallowed. »Could we... well, could we keep it a secret for a while? Until I get used to the idea myself, at least?«, she asked cautiously, looking at Ruffy nervously.

After a few seconds, he just shrugged. »Okay. But then you have to come up with another excuse so the others don't worry anymore.«