"Um…hey, Luce?"
She didn't even move off of her pillow, groaning, "Hmmmm, what is it?"
"I…kinda lost the baby."
Now she was awake. "What the hell?" she demanded, bolting upright in their bed.
Natsu rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Yeah, I, uh, just went to get her some applesauce, and when I came back, she was gone. And I've looked for her for like, five minutes, but I can't find her anywhere. Any idea where she'd crawl off to?"
Lucy flung the covers off herself and slammed her feet onto the floor. "I don't know, Natsu! Shit, how the hell do you lose OUR CHILD?" Somewhat awkwardly, Lucy struggled to lift herself off of the bed, her heavily pregnant belly impeding her progress greatly. Natsu rushed forward to grab her arm, earning a glare from his wife. She accepted his help though, and, once upright, quickly tottered out of their bedroom. A second later, she poked her head back in and demanded, "Well, aren't you coming? You're responsible for this, you know!" Natsu scurried after her, meekly replying, "Yes, dear."
They spent the next twenty minutes frantically searching every corner of their home they could think of, calling "Nashi?" as loud as they could. Finally, Lucy collapsed in a chair at the kitchen table, buried her face in her hands, and began to cry brokenly. Natsu hesitantly came up behind her and put his hands on her shoulders. Lucy sobbed, "Oh, Nah-Natsu, where could she beee? My baby is gooone…w-what if we can't find her?" Abruptly, she spun around and grabbed her husband's waist, burying her face in his stomach as she continued to cry.
Natsu rubbed circles on her back. "Shhh, it's ok. We'll find her. She's only a baby, she can't have gone very far. I'm sure we'll-" He broke off suddenly as a shuffling noise sounded from the pantry. He peeled his wife's arms off of him, and dashed over to the pantry, yanking the door open.
Inside, their infant daughter was curled up on top of Happy, a fistful of his blue fur in one tiny hand, chocolate pudding oozing from the other. Both Exceed and child were fast asleep, seemingly worn out from their shared contraband raid. Lucy squealed, and rushed over to the pantry as fast as she could, considering her added bulk. Just before she could snatch up Nashi, Natsu stopped her. He put a finger to his lips, smiling conspiratorially. Lucy looked up at him, sniffling as she wiped the remnants of her tears from her eyes, and nodded. Carefully, Natsu reached out and picked up their baby, cradling her gently, so as not to wake her up. Hardly daring to breathe, he hoisted her up into his arms, gingerly carried her into her room, and deposited her in her crib.
As he worked his arms out from under her still-sleeping form, Lucy came up behind him and rested the side of her head on his shoulder. "Look at her, Natsu," she whispered. "She's already getting into trouble. Just like you."
Natsu turned his head, and wrinkled his nose at her. "Yeah, well, at least she's cute enough to get away with it. Just like you."
They both laughed quietly, and Natsu pressed a soft kiss to Lucy's lips. Underneath her parents, Nashi sighed quietly in her sleep, content in her happy little world.