Helpless Joy

Natsu had never imagined not being able to help Lucy. They had been through so much together, literally gone through hell and back, together, that not being able to help her in this moment made him feel…helpless. Over the years, they had fought countless battles together, sometimes side-by-side, sometimes working on opposite sides of the battlefield from one another, but always together. There had never been a time, before now, that he was not able to help her in some fashion. He had saved her life thousands of times, and she had saved him in more ways than one innumerable times…

She was there when he had fought an insane demon flute, providing him with the strength he needed just by being there. Together they had taken down a fellow dragon slayer, her providing the fire he needed when he was faltering. She had single-handedly taken out a crazed, powerful guild member during the Battle of Fairy Tail while he had taken out that member's leader. Together they had fought on Tenrou Island, stood together as an enemy the likes of which they had never seen had tried to wipe them out. She had been there and watched as her future self died, held her in her arms as the life left her. She had been there when his father had been torn from his life right in front of his eyes… There were more instances, he knew, of how she had always been there, from the very first moment he saw her in Hargeon.

But now…now this was a foe he couldn't help her face. He couldn't assist her. He could do nothing and it was killing him inside. Every gasp she took, every pained groan, every tear that rolled down her face…there was nothing he could do about them. He had never, never felt more helpless than he did in that moment, watching the girl he had fallen in love with, practically the minute he laid eyes on her, fighting alone and in such pain.

He watched her with a somewhat panicked gaze. There was sweat all along her brow, her bangs sticking to her face and the rest of her hair to the back of her neck as she pushed her body to its limits. Her eyes were sunken and surrounded by dark circles, her lips were cracked and dry. Her chest heaved with every intake of breath, her body shuddered from the pain, but still she fought on. It was physically painful to watch her fight so hard and know there was nothing he could do, and he could not help the fear that entered his heart as he watched his Lucy.

Gildarts had been the first to really teach Natsu about fear. Before Gildarts, Natsu had never really thought about what it meant to be fearful. He was certain he had probably felt it at some point, but Gildarts, his mentor, had been the one to really make him understand it. Fear was not weakness, as Natsu had once believed. It was the acknowledgement of one's weakness, and knowing that you may or may not win. He had learned that fear was, if not healthy, at least beneficial, because it helped you to learn. It had helped him on Tenrou Island and beyond. He had learned to, if not accept, at least acknowledge his weaknesses and do his best to move past them.

He had never felt this kind of fear though, and he was unsure how to move past it. Usually, he could find a way to move past his fear because of her. She was his strength, his light, his absolute everything, and he could not handle the thought of possibly losing her to this fight. He knew, they both knew, that there was a chance she could lose this battle and the very thought shook him to his core. He could feel his lungs constricting as the thought hit him hard. He could lose her in this moment and he didn't know how he could possibly live on if he did.

"Natsu," he heard her suddenly say in a pained gasp. Shocked, his eyes met hers, and he thought his heart might burst at what he saw there. He saw the pain she was feeling, the strain he knew she was feeling, the sheer exhaustion, but that wasn't what shook him. It was the pure, unadulterated love he saw. Even in the middle of all of this, in the middle of this battle, she still loved him. She still cared for him and she still thought enough of him to try and calm his fears. His heart swelled at the very sight, and he gave her his signature smile, even if it was a bit forced.

"It's always more fun when we're together," she gasped out as another wave of pain hit her, her back arching as she struggled to stay upright in the position she was supposed to be in. The shakiness of her tone is what struck him most in that moment. He was here, honestly panicking about losing her, and she was trying to reassure him even through her pain. He could not believe the strength she possessed and he kissed her temple as she held on tightly to his hand, staring into his eyes with love.

"Lucy!" they both startled a bit, having been lost in the moment with one another, as a sharp voice reprimanded the blonde haired woman. "You need to focus!" With a pained sigh, Lucy nodded and closed her eyes tight as she started paying attention to her breathing, making sure she breathed in and out the way she was taught.

"You've got this," Natsu whispered to her as she tried her hardest to crush his hand again with a groan. She nodded even as a few more tears leaked out from her shut eyes. He wanted to shut his eyes, too, to keep himself from staring at her and falling back into that fear he had been feeling moments earlier, but he wouldn't let himself. If she could be strong for him, even now, then he would be damned if he wasn't strong for her; he wouldn't let that fear grip his heart any longer. If there was anyone, anyone, strong enough to get through this, it would be his Luce.

"Just a little more, Lucy!" he heard Wendy's voice chirp out encouragingly. He turned to her and gave her a grateful smile, to which she smiled shyly before turning away again to grab the warm blanket to be prepared.

"One more, Lucy!" Lucy gasped as Porlyusica let her know they were so close, and with one final cry, all was silent except her panting. Natsu waited with bated breath for the one sound, the one sound, they had been waiting to hear. He prayed to every god there might be that they would hear it and then a shrill cry split the air.

"Oh my god," Lucy cried as they finally heard the wails. Porlyusica, looking almost as exhausted as Lucy, handed off the small bundle to Wendy to clean up and gave the two a rare, thin-lipped smile.

"Congratulations," the older woman said as she eyed the two, who were watching Wendy with awe in their gazes, "You have a beautiful little girl."

"A g-girl?" Natsu stuttered as Lucy let out a delighted gasp. She turned to look at him with love and adoration in her gaze.

"We have a daughter, Natsu," she whispered as she reached up to pull him down to her, planting a chaste kiss upon his lips, "A daughter…" Her voice was full of wonder as Wendy finally made her way over to them with the largest grin they had ever seen on her face.

"Care to meet your baby girl?" the blue-haired maiden asked with a shy smile as she held out the baby bundled up in a red blanket. Carefully, Lucy sat up, positioning herself so that she would be able to hold her baby easily. As Wendy placed their child in her arms, tears of joy leaked out from Lucy's eyes.

"I love you," she murmured as she placed a kiss on the top of her daughter's head, a hiccupping laugh erupting from her lips as tears of joy ran down her face. Natsu looked at his wife and daughter with pride and joy clear in his eyes. Lucy was the one who had carried their baby girl for ten long months, who had endured labor for the past fifteen hours, and who had brought this child, their child, into this world safely. He couldn't believe his luck, and couldn't stop the elated chuckle that escaped his lips. They had literally made it threw hell and innumerable awful situations to reach this point and he could not be happier.

"So…have you picked out any names yet?" Wendy asked with a smile as she walked closer to the bed where the Dragneel family was congregated.

"We have," Lucy whispered as she looked up to Natsu before motioning to him to lean down. "Take her," she said with a smile as Natsu looked at her in surprise, "She's your daughter too." With a huge grin overtaking his face, he very carefully scooped the little girl out of his wife's arms.

As Natsu looked at his baby girl, he could not help the few joyous tears that escaped his eyes. He had never known such overwhelming joy and love that he felt in this moment, looking at her. She had her mother's nose and chin, the shape of his eyes and mouth, and very light pink fuzz on the top of her head. He could not wait to see her open her eyes so that he could know just what color they were, if they were his or if they were Lucy's.

"Welcome to the family, Nashi."

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Yay fluff! That is literally all this little one-shot is, pure fluff, although because of that I had the hardest time coming up with a title and am not fully satisfied with it to be honest… But anyway, I hope everyone enjoys it! I own nothing of Fairy Tail. :)

AUTHOR'S NOTE 2.0: To my guest reviewer, I am so glad you enjoyed this! Truthfully I am. :) However I do need to point out that a majority of women carry their babies for 40 weeks, which equates to 10 months total (4 weeks in a month, with the occasional 5 week month which then throws off the "month" count). Most women don't count the first 4 weeks because they don't even know they are pregnant at that point, so it seems like only 9 months. :) Just something I learned when I became an aunt, because my sister was furious no one had told her before she got pregnant that "9 months" wasn't truly accurate lol and instead to go by weeks, since for every woman that time varies :).