Since Chopper had administered the promised medication for nausea, Nami felt worlds better. And without the constant feeling of having to throw up, she even began to enjoy the early stages of her pregnancy.

Except for Robin, Chopper, and Luffy, the crew still wasn't informed. Nami didn't really have a reason to keep it hidden any longer, after all, the others would have to find out sooner or later. But for now, it was still her little sweet secret that she carried beneath her heart. And somehow, she wanted to keep it that way for as long as possible.

The weeks on the Sunny passed like a breeze after those turbulent days. Robin had given Nami a book about the development and changes during pregnancy (this woman really had a book for every topic!), which Nami occasionally flipped through with curiosity.

She had almost left behind the critical period mentioned in the books. Twelve weeks in.

The book spoke of the baby being a real little person by now. She had been feeling the changes for a while, as her previously slender body no longer fit into her favorite pants. She had switched to more comfortable shorts and temporarily abandoned the crop tops. They no longer fit over her bust anyway.

From one day to the next, a small bump had appeared, causing Nami to fall back onto her bed in surprise. With wide eyes, she observed it in the mirror. Probably not even noticeable to unknowing eyes, but unmistakably there for her.

»Robin, look!«, she exclaimed excitedly, positioning her hands to highlight her belly a bit. Her friend smiled broadly upon seeing Nami's radiant face.

»What does the book say?«, she asked, interested.

»It already has fingernails«, Nami gushed, without even realizing it. A real, perfect little human. »Is it weird that I keep referring to it as 'it' when talking about the baby?«

Robin shrugged. »No. But if it bothers you, you can choose a pronoun. What do you feel? Boy or girl?«

Nami thought about it. She had been waiting for weeks for her body to give her a sign or for her to wake up one morning and just know. But that hadn't happened yet.

»A girl. Maybe?" she pondered aloud. When she imagined the baby, she saw a girl. Perhaps it was influenced by her own childhood with Nojiko, being raised by Bell-mère. When she thought of her little family, she saw the two women. So, wouldn't it be logical for her to give birth to a girl herself?

»Well, there you go. Now you can refer to her as a girl and be done with it«, Robin replied satisfied.

»And what if it turns out to be a boy?«

Robin opened the book she had pulled from the shelf. »I'm sure your baby won't remember how you addressed them before they were born«, she said, without looking up from her book. And Nami couldn't really disagree with her.

»Naaaaaami-saaaaan! Roooooobin-chaaaaan! Breakfast is ready!«, Sanji's voice floated from the deck. Nami quickly pulled her shirt down, hiding the slight bump. Her stomach rumbled at the thought of breakfast, demanding attention.

With a speed that would rival Luffy's, she rushed out of the room and onto the deck. The door swung open, and Nami froze in place.

Something was wrong.

She blinked in the bright sun. Her vision blurred, and her ears started ringing. She heard concerned voices in the distance as her legs gave way beneath her. The last thing she saw was the approaching wooden floor as her eyes fluttered closed.

The next time she opened her eyes, she was on a bed. A glance to the side brought Chopper into her field of view, staring intently at a piece of paper and occasionally documenting something on it. Something tickled her arm, and looking in that direction revealed the tube attached to her wrist. A transparent liquid flowed from a bag over her head into her body.

She sat up abruptly, only to see stars in the next moment due to the rapid movement.

»Hey!«, Chopper protested, trying to push her back into a lying position with his hooves. »Not so fast, Nami!«

»What happened?« She groaned and wiped her face with the hand not attached to the drip. Concern overwhelmed her. Was something wrong with the baby?

»You had a circulatory collapse«, Chopper explained calmly. »It's not uncommon for pregnant women... but you should still be careful and avoid rapid movements. And you need to drink enough!« He pointed to the drip on her arm. »You were dehydrated.«

Nami blinked. Oh, wow. She hadn't thought that a little dehydration and a too-fast movement could knock her off her feet. »And the baby? Is she okay?«

Chopper nodded. »You were lucky Sanji was nearby and caught you. A fall like that could have caused significant harm to both you and the baby.«

Ah, yes. Nami remembered someone carrying her. Based on the smell of cigarettes, she should have realized it was Sanji, but at that moment, she was still in a daze.

»Where is he now?«, she asked. She vividly recalled the last time the cook had harassed Chopper for information about her health. It was almost surprising that he wasn't here now.

»In the kitchen«, Chopper replied. »He wanted to stay, even after I assured him that you're fine. He only left when Luffy demanded his breakfast.«

Nami chuckled. She could imagine that Luffy hadn't asked for food as innocently as Chopper casually mentioned. The ship's doctor filed her document into a thin folder and closed it. Nami could see her name written on the back as Chopper returned it to a shelf with other folders bearing the names of their crew members.

Next, he took a clear glass from the adjacent cabinet, where he kept a few colorful capsules. »Here«, he said, handing her one of the colorful pills. Nami took it curiously. »These are supplements for you. To keep both of you healthy.«

He smiled at her, and she returned it. »Thank you, Chopper.«

After the crew gathered in the kitchen and dug into the prepared breakfast, Sanji, for once, left the room first. In his hands, he held a plate he had prepared for Nami. He had almost choked with worry for her as she lay motionless in his arms. When Chopper came back to the kitchen without Nami, announcing that she wanted to rest a bit longer, his concerns only grew.

It bothered him that since their reunion, she seemed to be unwell repeatedly. First, her upset stomach, and now this...

Perhaps breakfast would help her feel better soon. He had made French toast for her, dusted with powdered sugar in heart shapes. He had also placed a tangerine, already segmented, on the side. That always seemed to instantly cheer her up.

Gently, he knocked on the door to the sickbay and, after a moment of silence, pushed it open cautiously. Nami was in the bed, sleeping, her hands folded over her belly and her face turned away from him. Her fiery hair, which she now wore long after the two years of separation, spread across the pillow like a fan around her head.

She was so beautiful.

Sanji swallowed hard.

He would never survive if something happened to this woman. He was already almost dying with worry because no one told him what was wrong with her. Maybe he could somehow help her if he knew what was going on...

His common sense warned him against pursuing the plan forming in his head. But concern for Nami simply outweighed everything in that moment. And it wasn't like she would find out that he placed her breakfast on the small bedside table and then carefully pulled out the file that Chopper had prepared for her.

Quietly, so as not to wake Nami, he flipped to the ship doctor's last entry.

Dehydration and circulatory collapse, it said. Sanji breathed a sigh of relief.

Nothing that would harm her in the long run. At least not if Chopper treated her in time. He glanced at Nami again, watching the drip on her arm. The liquid in it was almost empty. She looked peaceful. She would probably be feeling better soon.

Sanji should put away her file and go back to the others. But concern (and admittedly, curiosity) overwhelmed him again, leading him to flip to Chopper's second-to-last entry.

Maybe he could figure out what had caused her upset stomach back then? He would ban the dish from the ship for all eternity, that was for sure.

Except there was nothing about an upset stomach. Chopper had documented it as morning sickness.

What?

Sanji felt his fingers begin to tremble. His eyes were glued to the document in front of him, unable to look away.

Results of the blood test:
Patient is pregnant, approximately 5 weeks
Health status otherwise very good

It was a miracle that Sanji didn't just drop the file, considering how much those words hit him. He turned halfway to Nami, looking at her in shock. The way she wrapped her arms around her own midsection...

Sanji felt a lump forming in his throat. With mechanical movements, he closed the file and quickly slid it back to where it had been before. Then he retreated quickly from the room, not to return to the kitchen. His path took him to Nami's tangerine trees above the deck, far away from the other members of his crew.

His Nami was pregnant.

No, not his Nami.

During all their adventures, he had never been foolish enough to call her his. He had always adored her, and she had never given him more than simply gestures of friendship.

Which was okay. Because a part of him had hoped that the two years of separation would awaken feelings in her too.

Which seemed to have happened. Only they were apparently not feelings for him, but for another man.

Nami had not mentioned a man in her life in all the weeks since their reunion. It seemed to be a serious matter if she was expecting a child from him.

Something in him shattered when he thought about how distorted he had been in the two years after her. And all that time, she had loved another man.

She probably hadn't given him a second thought.

He angrily wiped his damp eyes before anyone from the crew saw him crying among the tangerine trees. The last thing he needed was for that dumb swordsman to see him and tease him for having harbored hopes for years that had been in vain from the start.

With a final sniffle, he shoved his hands into his pockets and slowly walked back to the deck. As he passed the door to the sickbay, he resisted the urge to peek into the room again.

Instead, he went back to the rest of the crew, who were still enjoying their breakfast, oblivious to the fact that his whole world had just fallen apart.