Chapter 3

Lucy

I studied Natsu's face trying to decipher what he meant by that question. However, I was distracted by Levy's shouting and the goop that started to seep through my fingers. I glanced down at the mushy substance in my hands and grimaced in disgust.

"Lucy. Would you mind taking Natsu and Jellal out of the room while I handle this?" Levy asked trying to pull Gray's pants from Juvia's possessive grasp. I nodded. Standing, I meandered over to the garbage can and dumped the goo. I snatched some paper towels to wipe my hands before leading the two boys out of the room. We stood silently in the hall, waiting. Natsu muttered to himself, or to the cat, I couldn't tell. Jellal leaned against the wall, staring at the floor. Sighing, we waited patiently until a disheveled Levy threw open the door with Gray, now with his underwear back on. They walked out of the room with a heart-eyed Juvia right behind him.

"Alright, we're going to have some one-on-one time." Levy stated while straightening her clothes. "Gray, you're up first. Lucy you'll be joining us."

"What about the others?" I questioned, gesturing to the patients as Gray let out an annoyed groan.

"Don't worry, I've already paged Lyon and Elfman to watch over them," she replied as the shirtless man trudged back into the room. I nodded and began walking back inside the room. She clutched my arm before I could pass through the doorway. Turning to face her, she whispered, "Now, Lucy, Gray is very high-strung at the moment. More than usual, anyway. Once again, I apologize for all of this. Just let me do the talking. If things get out of hand," she handed me a cold, metallic object, "use this." Without even looking to see what she handed me, I nodded my affirmation. At that, Dr. McGarden continued into the room. She grabbed two chairs and placed them in front of Gray before sitting. I placed myself next to her as Gray sat across from us. Levy took a deep breath and ran her fingers through her hair to calm herself before beginning.

In unison, Levy and I raised our eyes to the trouble-maker. We audibly groaned at the sight. Could things get any more ridiculous? Before us, Gray was seated in the chair, no doubt. He balanced himself onto the rear pegs of the chair with his legs spread wide. His head lolled backwards and to the side with a string of drool hanging out of his mouth. His chest steadily rose and sank, so he must have been alright. Was he asleep? How could he have fallen asleep so quickly?!

Levy was all out of patience.

"GRAY!" Levy shouted to awaken him and probably let out some anger.

"Wha—!" he yelped while falling over in his chair.

"Gray," she began again in a calmer tone. "Now is not naptime. We need to talk about what happened earlier."

"What's to talk about?" Gray expressed while picking up the chair and promptly leaning back in it. "I wasn't the one who tried to eat paper. I mean, who does that?!"

Levy cleared her throat, trying to regain her composure. "We are not here to discuss Natsu's behavior or anyone else's—but yours. Now, Gray, I know you possess 'concerns' about certain restrictive materials worn around the body, but this is something we—"

Gray jumped to his feet, tipping the chair back over again. He aggressively pointed toward us with a scowl. "Let's get this straight, lady. I don't have any concerns about restrictive materials. I have a heightened awareness of death machines. Clothes are death machines." He began walking closer to us with a menacing demeanor. I started feeling concerned. He wouldn't hurt us—would he? I looked down to see what Levy had handed me earlier. It was a black, square box with a red button on it. That was it. No labels, no instructions, just a button. Dr. McGarden wasn't exactly hinting to me that this was getting out of hand. I guess she was testing my situation analysis skills. But after all that I've been through with these patients, could I really consider this as "out of hand"?

"And you know what else?" he whispered, now inches from Levy's face. She was unflinching. I guess she was just going to have to trust my judgment. I wiped the mechanism in front of me while standing to my feet.

"Don't make me use this, Gray," I threatened. He raised an eyebrow now looking in my direction.

"Lucy, it's—" Levy cautiously began, but Gray took a step in my direction. His abrupt movement startled me, and I reacted by pressing the button without thinking through the implications. Suddenly, something sprayed me in the face. I squealed while stumbling a few paces back. WHAT WAS THAT?! I wiped my eyes free of the substance. It didn't hurt or anything. It just shocked me. I wasn't expecting that to happen.

"Lucy," Levy began again as I blinked her back into vision, "you were pointing it the wrong way."

I looked down and noticed there was a hole pointing toward my face. I could feel my cheeks beam red in embarrassment. "Right," is all I said while flipping it around to point toward Gray.

"What is that?" Gray questioned in wonder. He took another step closer to me. In response, I clicked the button again. It shot a tunnel of clear liquid toward Gray and splashed him in the pectorals. He clutched his chest and took a step back with a shiver. "Ooooh," he expressed. Looking up at me, he smiled. "Do it again!" he demanded while spreading his arms out wide.

I side-glanced Dr. McGarden in questioning while I clicked the button again. Gray giggled as a stream of water collided with his chest. I continued pressing the button at his command. With each squirt, he began laughing harder and harder until he was rolling on the floor in a puddle of water. He clutched his clenched abdomen, unable to contain his obvious joy at being squirted.

"I can't believe that actually worked," Levy announced in denial while dusting off her shoulders.

"Can I ask what exactly is going on?" I questioned as Gray continued to roll around in sheer laughter.

Levy must have been deep in thought, because my question went right over her head. She turned around to open the door behind her. "Lyon, it actually worked!" she whispered loudly with her head peeked out. "I would say it's time for his B-A-T-H."

"Right," a male voice affirmed from outside the room. With that, a man dressed in dark blue scrubs entered the room. His white hair spiked toward the ceiling and his steely, cold eyes appeared fixed and determined. At the mere sight of him, Gray froze.

"What's this jack-head doing here?" he questioned in annoyance while propping himself up by his elbows.

"It's bath time. Let's get moving," Leon ordered. Boy, he sure got to the point.

"Oooooh!" Gray squealed while jumping up to his feet. "BATH TIME!" At that, the two of them promptly exited the room, and Gray seemed a little too excited.

After a moment, I couldn't help but ask, "What just happened?"

Levy looked to me and, unexpectedly, burst into laughter. For whatever reason, I couldn't help but start laughing myself. We desperately tried to stop, but our laughter simply built off of each other until we found ourselves clutching at our sides and crying uncontrollably. The day's tension must have finally reached its peak, having nowhere to go but to crash down all at once in a cascade of laughter. After a while, we were able to gain our composure as we wiped our tears away. I liked Dr. McGarden. I could tell that we were going to become quite close through this internship of mine.

"Well, for starters," Levy began. "I have absolutely no idea where that came from." She let out another small chuckle.

"Me neither," I agreed, "but it seems as though this place needs a little joy every now and then to keep you all sane." We both giggled at that.

"I agree. We should try to incorporate more…enjoyable activities. And maybe give ourselves a few more breaks here and there." She winked. "But that will never happen. I practically have to run this place with Erza being the way—" at that she clutched her mouth in shock. "I…I didn't mean that. I didn't say that. You won't tell her…will you?"

I chuckled lightly. "Of course not. I understand. Trust me. I saw her."

Levy rested her elbow on my shoulder. "You know, I like you. I think I'll keep you around for a while. You make things…fun around here." We exchanged a smile.

"But what was with Gray?" I inquired once again.

"Oh! Right!" Levy exclaimed while tapping herself in the forehead. "You see, Gray absolutely loves taking baths. I assume it's because, well, you know." She moved closer to whisper, as if Gray could hear even though he was long gone. "Clothes aren't exactly worn in the bath tub." She straightened herself again. "I figured that maybe if he got wet while wearing clothes, it would create the illusion that he was taking a bath and, therefore, make him forget his discomfort of wearing clothes. I can't believe it actually worked."

"That is interesting," I commented, slightly embarrassed. So him rolling around on the floor? Is that how he always takes baths? I shivered at the uncomfortable thought.

"I feel like this is a great first step for him in overcoming his fear. I wish we would have thought of it a long time ago," Levy added.

"It does seem like a step in the right direction. But the goal is to get him comfortable wearing clothes, not give him the illusion he's not wearing any. What if we start with the bath? Instead of trying to make him wear actual clothes, why don't we start him off in a towel? Or a robe? I bet he would keep that on longer than, well, you know… And then we could work him up into wearing other things until he's overcome this conceived fear of his."

Levy widened her eyes at me as her mouth went agape. "You know, I've never thought of that before. That might just actually work. I definitely think you're onto something. It sounds like a better idea than anything we've already tried."

I beamed with a smile.

"Lucy," Levy began in a serious tone.

"Yes?"

"I think you are going to make an excellent psychological therapist one day…just saying. You have a natural knack for it. Even when things get crazy, you jump in and deal with the situation head on. Not only that, but the patients absolutely adore you."

"Really?" I beamed while clutching my hands together. "You really think so?"

"Oh, I know so," Levy affirmed while nodding toward the door. I turned around to see that pink tuff of hair once again with a stuffed, blue face next to it. I chuckled. "I guess you're right."

Natsu cautiously lifted his head to look at me through the window. He breathed on the glass to create a misty fog. Before it faded away, he took his finger and quickly drew a lop-sided star. He grinned that goofy smile, and I couldn't help but mirror it back.