*A/N- Thank for all the support last chapter- it was all so sweet and completely unexpected! Anyway, here's the next chapter. I hope you like it! :) *

Half an hour later, Wendy was sitting on the train to Hargeon with the other members of Team Fairy Tail A. Natsu, as expected, was lying face first on a bench, groaning, while Gray slumbered lazily on the other. Across the aisle, Wendy held Carla and looked out the window at the forests and fields of Fiore rushing by. Lucy sat next to her, petting Plue repetitively as she stared into space. On the opposite bench, Erza sat with her back to the window reading a book, the nature of which she would not allow Wendy to see.

Wendy usually loved the train- the scenery flashing by, the click of the wheels on the track, the rush of the speed at which they hurtled forward- but today, she hated the train more than anything. The blurry scenes outside her window made her feel disoriented, the clicking of the wheels hurt her head, and the speed of the train made her feel nauseous. Whatever pain she had been feeling that morning came back twice as strong as the world spun around her. She was sweating and breathing heavily and couldn't seem to get a grip on reality. The next thing she knew she was vomiting off the back of the train.

The wind whipped her hair into her face and stuck to her tear-stained cheeks as she threw up over the rail continuously. Once there was nothing left of Mirajane's breakfast left her stomach, she sank down to the platform and leaned her back against the iron bars, her hands balled into fists. Carla was talking to her but the words were stolen away by the wind. She closed her eyes.

When she opened them again she was lying flat on her back inside the train car, the faces of her friends looming over her. Carla stood beside her, holding her hand and calling her name frantically. It sounded like she was crying.

She took a second to get a grip on her surroundings, blinking hard in an effort to clear her vision. She tried to sit up but was overcome with another wave of nausea and laid back down again. "What happened?" she asked finally.

"You vomited and fainted," Carla cried. "I knew you we're sick! I knew we shouldn't have come! As soon as we get to Hargeon we're getting on the first train back to Magnolia!"

"What? No!" Wendy protested. "I'm…"

"Don't you dare tell me you're fine because that is clearly not the case!" She stamped a foot decisively.

Ignoring the nausea, Wendy sat up and put her back against the bench behind her. "But I am fine, Carla," she huffed with annoyance. "Just…motion sick."

A groan of agreement from Natsu.

"But you don't get motion sickness!" Carla argued.

"Apparently I do now. But I feel okay now. I think that actually helped me feel better; I needed a little air."

Carla crossed her arms and scrutinized Wendy's pale, tired face. "At least have something to drink," she said with a sigh of defeat. "You must be dehydrated now."

The exceed left to find Wendy some water while Lucy helped her back to her seat. She turned her back to the window and closed her eyes, hoping not to repeat the incident.

"Can you cast troia on yourself?" Lucy asked innocently.

"Unfortunately no. Self-healing magic is completely different from sky magic. I can't use it on myself."

"Oh," Lucy said apologetically. "I'm sorry you're not feeling well. Is there anything I can do to help?"

Wendy smiled at her friend's kindness and shook her head. "No, I don't think so. I just want to go to sleep now."

To Wendy's surprise, Lucy scooted a bit closer on the seat and patted her shoulder. "Take a nap. I won't let Carla wake you," she said with a wink.

"Are you sure?" She didn't want to take advantage of her friend's good nature.

"Of course. Besides, I think I'm going to nap too. We can sleep together."

Somewhat cautiously, Wendy laid her head down on Lucy's warm, soft shoulder. The rhythmic clicking of the train coupled with Lucy's breathing lulled her into a state of deep relaxation. Just before she slipped away, she felt Lucy shift a bit beneath her weight and ever so gently slip an arm around her. She fell asleep with a smile on her face.

It as Erza who finally woke Wendy up from her deep sleep. Over the course of the train ride, she had slowly slid down Lucy's side until her head rested in her lap and her back pressed against the bench. When she awoke, she was staring up into Lucy's sleeping face, curled up into a tight ball beside her. Erza roused them both softly, saying that they were twenty minutes away from Hargeon Station.

Lucy yawned and stretched and very nearly smacked Wendy in the face as she sat up, for which she apologized profusely. Her stomach and head both still hurt but the nausea had gone away, and she found immense comfort in knowing that she would soon be allowed off the train. Erza gathered their luggage for them as the train slowed to a stop and Natsu slowly came back to life. Now too hot to wear the light jacket she had brought, Wendy took it off and tied it around her waist. Her hand lingered on her stomach for just a second, the heat helping to calm her twisting gut.

Since they were in the last car of the train they were also the last to exit, which Natsu found to be a great inconvenience as it stood between him and food. As soon as they stepped onto the platform, the boys headed straight for the many stands lined up along the street and began devouring the freshly cooked delicacies. Wendy stood there for a moment, squinting through the sunlight at the bustling port. Fishermen with their catches on their shoulders moved about the about the market, where vendors called out to the passing travelers. Spying a bathhouse, she made a beeline in the opposite direction from Natsu and Gray without bothering to see if she was followed. Her face was still streaked from the tears and her mouth tasted like vomit; she badly needed to get inside and wash up.

Though the port itself was busy, the bathhouse was empty. It was still early and not many tourists were coming through yet, so she had no trouble finding an vacant stall and locking herself inside. She pressed her forehead against the metal wall, reveling in the feeling of coolness that spread across her face and calmed her. The room was not well lit and gave her eyes a break from the harsh sunlight outside, which her raging headache thanked her for. Slowly she started to feel somewhat normal again and stopped leaning on the wall. She untied the jacket from her waist and hung it up on the back of the door.

Her eyes went wide as she stared at the stain that had spread across the back of her jacket, turning the light blue denim a deep red color. Confused, she twisted around and saw that the entire back of her dress had been stained completely red as well, as had her upper thighs. As she stood there, flooded with panic, a trickle of blood ran down her leg and dripped onto the floor.

Completely unsure of what else to do, she tried to find where the blood was coming from. Even when she thought she located the source, however, she couldn't seem to make it stop no matter what she did. She sat down on the toilet with her bloodied dress bunched around her torso and started to cry.

I'm dying, she thought to herself. I threw up before and I didn't listen to Carla and now I'm dying.

"Wendy?" a voice called gently from outside the stall. She quickly closed her mouth and tried to stop sobbing, instead making strangled hiccupping sounds. "Wendy is that you?" the voice called again.

She gathered herself as best she could and took a deep breath. "Lucy-san, is that you?" she asked in the most normal voice she could manage, praying that it would be.

"No," the voice said. "It's Erza. Wendy, are you alright?"

She started to cry again. She didn't know what to do and she had a feeling that Lucy would know. But Erza? She didn't know Erza all that well, at least not as well as she knew Lucy.

Suddenly, a memory flashed through her mind; the memory of Erza consoling her when Cait Shelter had disappeared. Erza had been there for her then. She could trust her. She would help.

"Is Carla with you?" Wendy asked, her voice shaking once again.

"No, she's with the others in the market. She thought you wanted space."

"So it's just you?"

"It's just me."

She stood up and smoothed down her dress, but she knew she couldn't leave the bathhouse in such a condition; she had to trust that Erza would help her. Slowly, she moved towards the door and unlocked the latch.

Erza slipped into the stall and locked the door behind her, keeping her back to Wendy. "Can I turn around?" she asked.

"Please help me," Wendy cried softly. "Erza I don't know what's going on. I can't go out there like this."

She tried to make herself look as small as possible as Erza spun around and took in the sight of her bloody hands and dress. She hated looking so weak around Erza; she was so strong and collected and would never make such a fool of herself.

"What the…" Erza stared at her for a second, panic flashing across her face. "Are you hurt? Where is the blood coming from?" She grabbed one of Wendy's slender arms and looked it up and down, searching for some sort of injury.

"Erza, no" Wendy said softly, her eyes cast downward and her cheeks burning. "That's not… that's not where it's coming from."

Erza dropped Wendy's arm and squinted at her. "What do you mean? If you're not hurt, then…" She trailed off as her eyes went wide with understanding. Wendy started to cry again despite her best effort.

"Oh Wendy. It's going to be alright. You're okay," she said, sinking to her knees and enveloping the distraught girl in a hug. Wendy cried into Erza's arm and shook uncontrollably as Erza rubbed her back gently. "Is this your first time?" she asked. Wendy pulled away and hiccupped as she tried to stop crying.

"My first time? What do you mean?" she asked, confused by Erza's question. Erza looked at her incredulously.

"Oh no…" she said quietly. "Carla never told you about this?"

Wendy shook her head and looked down again. "I'm sorry that you're seeing me like this, but I don't know what to do," she sniffled, struggling to wipe her tears away. Erza reached out and wiped them away with her thumb before rising to her feet.

"It's okay," she said, helping Wendy off of the floor. "You don't need to worry, this is all normal. I promise that I'll tell you what's going on, but we should wait until we get to the resort."

Wendy nodded and tried to smile. Although she was thankful for Erza's help, she was incredibly embarrassed. "How am I supposed to go outside like this?" she asked, turning around so Erza could see the extent of the damage.

"You can put this back around your waist for now," she said, holding up the jacket. "The stain isn't too bad. But let's get you cleaned up first." She left the stall momentarily and returned with a stack of wet paper towels. She knelt down and began wiping the blood from Wendy's legs, although it continued to drip down onto the floor. "Here," she said, handing Wendy the paper towels. "Can you finish cleaning your legs while I get something to stop the bleeding?"

Wendy nodded and took the towels from her, doing her best to clean up the mess as Erza carefully folded a significant want of toilet paper. "Put this in your underwear," she said, handing it to Wendy and throwing the paper towels into the toilet. "It'll help for now until I can get you something better."

Once Wendy was cleaned up and had stopped crying, Erza ushered her out of the stall. She had tied the jacket around her waist which covered the back of her dress but left the stain on the jacket quite visible. Erza promised to walk behind her so no one would notice, at least until she could change her clothes.

"We'll talk about this later, okay? With Lucy," Erza promised as they washed their hands.

Wendy nodded in agreement. "But please don't tell Carla."

"If that's what you want."

She washed her mouth out and they left the bathhouse, Erza's hands on Wendy's shoulders as they walked together through the marketplace.