SUDDEN THOUGHTS

CHAPTER THREE

Five days and she had only gotten five pages into the spell. The first ten were a letter so someone Metalicana called short beloved one. Knowing it was written by Metalicana didn't help. The only reference she had was Gajeel and the only time she had to work on it was when he was sleeping. It was true that she was starting to get the way the dragon spoke but the problem was his horrible penmanship. This was more of a study on dragon handwriting than a punishment or lesson for Gajeel.

"Oh my god Levy, you have to come now!" Her best friend said very excited. Levy cover her mouth looking back to see the kids were asleep. No one stirred. She sighed pushing Lucy out the door. "You have to come see."

Five minutes. All she wanted five minutes to think about everything. The note to Gajeel had been followed by a letter for instructions to the "short beloved one". This was to be a lesson to Gajeel and his mate. If they could handle the lesson they would be strong enough to bare a child together. It was true it was trying by Levy knew no matter what happened Gajeel was her future.

Before setting foot on the main floor Levy could feel the magic. Some had pulled out Metalicana's book. "Shit, shit no." Levy expected to see Natsu as a child. Why now? Natsu was curious and careless enough. The only one not effected was Wendy. Probably because she was born a long time after the book was written.

"Natsu what did you do?!" Levy yelled. Natsu was five. Sting and Rogue even smaller, perhaps two. Eric, somewhere in between. Looking over to Mira she held an infant. Cooing and smiling at it. The blonde tuff of hair gave away who it was.

"The fuck Flame Brain?" Gajeel was at her hip. The two boys launched themselves at each other.

"Gajeel, don't start please." Levy sighed. Gajeel sighed leaving the fight so the sake of his love. "Why didn't effect, Wendy?"

"Wendy's a girl." Natsu said. "The spell says it only works on male slayers." Levy walked towards the book and the army of children slayers. Gajeel refused to move from her path. What else could happen because of this book? He just got Levy to himself. What if she read something she wasn't supposed to?

She fell to her knees in front of him. Eyes filled with concern. "Don't read that book, Shrimp." Looking at all the women flocked around the young slayers Gajeel realized it was the all the mates. "Why did you call the First Mates' Club?"

"You two really do think a like." Mira said trying to hush a crying Laxus. "Gajeel, Levy didn't call them. I did. She needed more help so she could get back to the book. I thought we could take turns looking after you."

"No, I want my Levy." She frowned. "Not bunny girl. Not you demon. Not even my sister in law, Minerva. I only want Levy to look after me." Even Gajeel was amazed at how much of a child he was sounding. "We're not mated but she is the only one I trust."

"Okay, how about this. You and Lily start home. Levy will get her things and meet you there once we make a plan for the rest of the boys." Minerva suggested.

Gajeel stood still hands on his hips. "Where she, goes I go." Levy sighed. "What if something is in there that effects you next?"

"Nothing in there effects girls, Metal head." Before they started Levy wrote jail in the air. Suddenly both slayers were in different metal cages.

"Levy?" The woman in question glared at her slayer. "What the hell?"

"Two minute time out for fighting." Levy turned back to Mira. "I'm dropping from the club." That was when everyone felt the water. It was raining indoors? All of team Gear Head turned to Juvia crying over in corner. "Juvia?"

"Levy, thinks we have another problem." Juvia said holding a water lock with a peanut sized fetus inside. "This is Gray-sama." Gray had reverted back to pre-birth. "He is so little." Gajeel turned to his friend. The love of her life could die. All because of that stupid book.

"But he is not a dragon slayer." Lucy gasped.

"No, he is a demon slayer. The magic seems to work on slayers." Levy said examining the globe.

"I don't know what to do." Juvia looked to her best friend. "He is so little. Gajeel, he could die. I don't know how to help him."

"Levy." The script mage dropped the spell so that Gajeel could comfort his distraught friend. This was getting to be too much. How was Levy going to fix this? Levy felt tight. Gray could die if she didn't figure this out. Death has only been a real outcome once. For that she didn't sleep for nearly a week. Gajeel felt the tension in his Shrimp. Her arms held tight against her side. Head down, hands in fists, and the overwhelming feeling like she was going to turn to stone or break.

"Levy, relax. We mates are all in this together." Minerva said. "We will take our slayers home or to the closest hotel. When you have the translation we can meet you back here." Levy nodded.

Levy turned back to Juvia whom now had Bisca and Alzack with her. Gajeel stood up running to Levy's hip. "My Shrimp, could be that small." He said to Lily. Levy fell to her knees to hold her slayer for comfort.

"Listen to me, Gajeel. Nothing will harm me. I don't read anything I read out loud. The spell has to be spoken. That is how your father wrote it. I'm as safe as I can make it."

"What if-" Gajeel was showing more comfort in talking to her about his fears.

"We are mages. The unknown is what drives us." She tried to smile as her mind raced. He had seen that look once. When they were going to attack Avatar. This was not the time to have her stress out. He needed to get her to relax.

"I won't be able to survive if you die." She smiled.

"I won't die. I have my mighty Iron Dragon Slayer to protect me." She kissed his forehead. "Can we just go home now? I have a lot more people counting on me."

Lily took Gajeel into the bath, when they got home. Levy made supper. Gajeel felt the water on his tender skin and screamed. When Levy popped her frantic head in the bath a nude little Gajeel berated Lily for making the water too hot. "Tag out."

"Jellal was never this loud." Levy nodded. "You are the goddess of patience." She smiled to Lily. As soon as the Exceed was gone brown eyes glared at Gajeel. He knew better than to provoke that look from her.

"You are not the only one annoyed by this situation, Gajeel. Lily doesn't know what to do with you. He is used to being annoyed by your grown up self. He doesn't know how to deal with baby you." Gajeel glared back at his Shrimp. She just sighed falling to her knees. "You can't be spoiled now, Gajeel. You will break me. All the other slayers are counting on me, too. I can't be all yours now."

"Break you?"

"Yes Gajeel." His mind snapped to the day they met. "Some how I feel like this is my fault. If you act like the child you look, not even Lil and I'll be able to stand you." She spoke so softly, he had to take her seriously. "I need you to be the grown up, I know is still in there. Please for my sake." Gajeel brushed her tears away.

"Sorry, Levy. I will attempt to be easier on you." To his surprise she burst out laughing. "What?"

"You are naked. I can't take you seriously. " Gajeel looked down suddenly embarrassed. "The tub should be cooler. Do you want me to bath with you?"

"Not like I can do anything if you did." Levy blushed. "Go help Lil. I'll be fine." Levy kissed his forehead. "Can you make me clothes?" She cast her magic and mini versions of his grown up clothes filled the room. "Thank you Levy."

"Call if you need me." She left the room. Once outside she gave Lily a thumbs up. The Exceed sighed.

After supper Levy moved to Gejeel's office. During his time with the council he built himself a library of law books and a desk to work at while he was home. Levy now used it to work on the translation. He could only watch her from the side lines. Levy made faces, spoke to herself. The Rune knights that didn't know her, as well as he did, thought she was crazy. Crazy, yes, but not the way they all thought she was. Levy finally sat back in her chair. Sighing. Over the last year that was how she stopped to think when she got frustrated. Gajeel took this moment to get her a beer from the fridge and climb on her lap to see her progress.

"Excellent for a woman learning from books." Gajeel flipped though. "Do you plan on doing the spell in common or in Draconic?"

"Common. Your father's instructions for me were unclear. I have not seen any thing stating I have to speak the language. Besides you read your part in common." Gajeel nodded. "You know it well enough why am I doing this?"

"Cuz you feel guilty I felt the need to help?"

"Maybe." She sighed. "With Gray's life on the line I kinda need to hurry."

"Understandable. Gray is one of your oldest friends." He frown at a line. Looking back at the book he noticed she got an accent wrong. "This line is wrong." Levy groaned. "This is lokaal gein." She tried repeating it. Gajeel made her repeat it until she pronounced well enough. "It mean loved one, not sacred one." Levy blushed. "This should read, 'by the beloved shrimp." He reread that. Seriously his father knew he would fall in love with Levy?

"Gajeel, did your father write a naughty book? Like Erza has?" She teased but he didn't take the bait. He was sudden exhausted. "Okay little man time for bed."

"I think you're right." He just sat back in her arms. "When I was this age the first time Dad used to sing softly the songs of dragons."

"Guess maybe tomorrow I will look for some. But thought how about I sing you the one my mom used to sing to me?" Gajeel nodded. As Levy sang songs of lost loves and heroes, he felt his eyes get heavier. What was she not good at?

He felt light as air on the edge of sleep. When he landed in a cloud he heard an angel. "Some day I would really like a little one to sit on my lap. Someone we can sing to."

Morning came to ache bones. His clothes seemed tighter too. On the edge of the bed a blue mop of hair still holding a pen almost fell to the floor due to the angle she was still in the chair over the bed. Her cheeks bore streaks. Why had Levy been crying?

Whatever she did last night worked. He was older. Thinner and more awkward then Romeo but just a few years older than him by how long Gejeel's legs were. The child's clothes falling apart as he moved off the far side of the bed.

"I'll put her in the spare room." Lily said.

"No. Just let me lay her down here." Careful not to disturb her sleep he laid her on his pillow. "How long was she up working?"

"I found her in here at five. She said you were having a nightmare and that you stopped crying when she was next to you." Nightmare? The same one he had every night he shared a room with her. The night she proved more than a victim. The night he tried to pull her soul from her body. Only to find it was as hard as steel.

"So since dawn. Okay, let's head to the guild. We need to get out of town for a few days. It should give her time to rest. She will need it for the next little while."

"Why is that?" Gajeel took one last look at her sleeping form. He could feel the urges come over him. He would not use her. Not like when he was a teenager. He needed to love her as a man, ready to make a commitment.

"As a teenager I was horny. Since she is my chosen mate being at this age is not going to help us."

"It might. You haven't even told her you have feelings." The Exceed scowled.

"She's smart. Levy figured it out during the ball at the Grand magic Games. She asked to mind my business." Brushing away the hair from her face. "I could hear her screaming my name though the city during the fight with Rogue. I know she has feelings for me. I just can't deal with them responsibly when all I want to do is fuck her brains out."

"That is very mature." The Exceed crossed his arms over his chest.

"She rubbed off on me over this last year." Off they went.

Levy woke up to silence. For Gajeel and Lily that was unheard of. To her left was a note on Gejeel's pillow. Written in Exceed script Lily had told her that they were off to fight some hormones. She had to smile at that. The spell had worked. It had taken all her energy but she got it to work. Only three more passages.

First off to Fairy Hills. Gray could use some years. Even if he matched Natsu in age she could breath easier. Juvia had taken the man to the bath. Bisca had told her to keep Gray warm. As her body was not fit to hold him she spent most of her time in the communal bathroom.

The moment Juvia saw Levy she was going to cry. "Just wait." Levy smiled. Casting the counter spell they watched his body stretch. The small unborn peanut to a five year old child. Juvia hugged Levy so tight the mage couldn't breath. "Gajeel picked a great mate." Juvia said.

"Juvia?" The small boy blushed. "What happened? Why am I naked? Why are you?"

"I missed your voice, Gray." He reached for her. That was cue for Levy to leave. It worked. Great. Two down five more slayers to go. Levy smiled at herself. If the Dragon was right this was going to bring more problems.