A/N - Not much NaLu going on in this chapter so it's a lot shorter, but I had to get this scene out of the way so, here it is ^^; [[Oh, and I forgot to mention, thank you all so much for the lovely reviews! You're all so nice! I didn't think this story was very good when I typed it up so I'm glad that some people like it ^^]]

"You gonna tell us where you been running off to every other night, Erza?" Natsu wasn't the only one who'd been around less and less lately. Gray could care less about that, but Erza disappearing wasn't something that was going to be left unquestioned, not if he had anything to say about it. Lucy thought it was best to never question anything Erza did, but was secretly curious about where she'd been going as well. If Gray wants to sacrifice himself, she thought, good news for me, that means I don't have to be the one who asks her!

Erza had been drinking a beer, but for some reason at that moment decided to guzzle the entire thing before answering him. "I've told you. Solo missions. Confidential. Direct orders from Master."

Natsu and Happy were opposite Erza and Gray at their table, along with Lucy, "How come the old man didn't give ME any solo missions? Erza gets to go on top secret jobs and I don't? What a crock of shit! I'm just as strong as you! I can handle it! Ain't that right, Happy?"

"Aye!"

"I'll tell you why, Natsu. Because those confidential solo missions don't exist. I asked." Gray had turned his entire body to look straight at her. She hadn't lifted her gaze from her empty pint, completely stoic except for the occasional twitch of an eyebrow. "And you know what else? Wakaba was on a job real early one morning and says he saw you coming out of Lamydia Forest, northeast. And I think we all know what's just beyond that fore—"

"The magic council! The prison!" Lucy blurted out. As soon as those words left her lips she squeaked and covered her mouth, wanting to crawl into a hole somewhere and die.

Both of Erza's fists collided with the tabletop. "Enough." Lucy braced herself for an ass-beating. "I was trying to protect you by keeping it a secret, but it seems I underestimated your deductive reasoning skills." She took a long breath. "I was indeed coming from the prison. I have… been going to see Jellal."

Natsu nearly choked on his beer. "YOU'VE BEEN VISITING JEL-MRMPH."

Lucy quickly muffled him with her hand. "THIS IS EXACTLY WHY SHE DIDN'T WANT TO TELL US ANYTHING, YOU IDIOT."

"Well, partially. What I am doing is very illegal, and very dangerous. The less people who know about this the better, the last thing I need is for you all to get mixed up in all this."

"Erza," Gray began, "you should have said something. At least now we'll be able to cover for you if something goes wrong."

"Yea, or come save you when you get caught~!" added Natsu once he was un-muzzled.

"In the rare event that I am captured I should be able to handle it myself," Erza replied with a scoff.

"Hey, Erza?" Happy flew across the table to her. "Gray said that Wakaba said he saw you coming back in the morning."

"Correct."

"What were you doing there all night?"

"Actually, that's a good question," added Gray, placing a hand to his chin.

"Whaddaya do, read him bedtime stories or something?"

Lucy had never seen Erza so pale. "That's no concern of yours and the three of you would do well not to pre…"

As intrigued as she was by these new developments and the inevitable Erza ass-kicking that would soon befall those three, her attention was diverted to the bar. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Lisanna and Mirajane talking. Lisanna was visibly upset, but it was impossible to make out what she was saying from where Lucy was sitting. After a few moments of hesitation, her curiosity for Lisanna's situation outweighed that of Erza's. "I'm gonna go grab a drink." She didn't bother to wait around for a response and quickly made her way to the bar, bringing a book with her.

Luckily for Lucy, Mirajane didn't notice her approach and continued to discourse with Lisanna several barstools away. ". . . that's all you have to remember. I'm sure it's not anything against you personally. You know how he can be. Just… oh, please don't cry, Lisanna." Lucy had her eyes glued to her book, fixated on one particular spot and clearly not reading it, as she listened.

"It's just… he promised… we would be a family…"

"You are a family! He loves you just as much as he would any flesh and blood—" Lucy heard her stop abruptly and her eyes began to dart across the pages of her book. Damnit! "Let me go take care of Lucy, I'll be back," she added, giving her sister a loving squeeze on the arm. "Lucy~! What can I get you?"

"Hey, Mirajane." Lucy attempted to look as genuinely cheery as Mirajane always was. "Just came over to grab a pint."

"Hmm, I think we might be tapped out. I'll have to run to the back to restock. It'll be a few minutes, that okay?"

"Of course! Take your time, no rush." Without thinking, she glanced over in Lisanna's direction, locking eyes with her for just a moment before hurriedly turning back to her book. Oh God oh god oh god what should I do? Should I try to talk to her? I'd probably make her feel worse! What if she asks me about Natsu? What would she expect me to say? I can—

"Hi, Lucy."

"Lisanna! Hi! Are you… I mean, you seem upset…"

"Sorry for keeping your teammate hostage these past few weeks," she began, smiling through her tears. "I just wanted to spend some time with him. But, he's all yours again, I'm sure your team just wasn't the same without him," she added as she took a seat next to Lucy.

"Oh, please don't apologize! I completely understand. Besides, it was a nice little Natsu-free vacation for us. And I'm sure he was just as excited to be spending time with you as well, and… Lisanna? Are you… oh no, no, don't cry, please! Did I say something wrong? Do you need some tissue?" Oh, God, Mirajane is gonna think I made her cry and she is totally going to turn all scary-psycho-demon-lady on me, Lucy thought with a quivering lip.

"He wouldn't stop… he couldn't stop talking about you…" Both hands were clenched into fists, head down as tears fell upon the bartop.

"Oh, you mean the team? I bet he was just excited to tell you about everything you missed, you know how he—"

"No," she said suddenly, in a tone that Lucy had never heard Lisanna use before. It was deliberate, though not harsh, and with a hint of exasperation. "You. He could not stop talking about you, Lucy." She finally looked up and managed to smile once more. "I think I may know more about you from the past couple weeks than you've learned about me since we first met. Funny, ne?"

Lucy was completely frozen aside from her shaky hands. "Lisanna, I… I don't…"

"It's okay. Really. A long time ago he promised we'd be a family, so now it's my job to make sure he's safe, happy and supported. It may not be the kind of family I had in mind, but it's family all the same." She took a breath, wiping some of her tears away. "Could you tell Mira-nee that I'll see her back at home?" Lucy nodded in silence as she watched her leave the guild.

"Whew! Sorry about that, Lucy. That took a lot longer than I thought it would! We seem to be running pretty low on spirits since Cana and Master decided to have another drinking competition earlier this afternoon." Mirajane finally emerged from the back room with a pint that wasn't quite full. "Looks like you nabbed the last—" She stopped as she noticed Lisanna's seat empty, placing Lucy's glass down. "Hm, did you happen to see where Lisanna went to? Did she still seem… upset? I really hope she hasn't run off to do something irrational…"

"She um… told me to tell you she'd meet you at home. She was a bit upset but she seemed… okay."

"Sounds like she'll be fine for now. I'll have to catch up with her later… Oh, Lucy? Are you feeling well, dear?"

"Pardon?"

"Well, it's just you look a bit clammy… and your hands are shaking. I'll fetch you some water."

Once Mirajane turned to leave Lucy took a hold of her pint and downed the entire thing in all of six seconds before slamming it back down on the bar.