Yeah! I got this chapter out pretty quick, and the plot thickens now. Read, Enjoy, and Review!

Chapter 6

Discovery!

The group had increased by one now as they stood at the train station waiting for Sherry's train to come. Lucy was holding Lector as Lucinas was holding Happy next to Jerio. The two of them didn't seem to like each other very much, so it was making Sting and Lucy watch them carefully. As the train's whistle was heard they saw it pull in and the pink hair girl walk off after a minute.

"Sherry!" Lucy called to get her attention. "Over here!"

"Lucy! Sting! It's been so long since we've seen each other!" She ran up to Lucy and hugged her tightly, but whispered this into Lucy's ear. "It's so boring there, why do you and idiot get to go out and play?" She pulled away with a sweet smile on her face before Lucy had time to respond. "How is my favorite sweet cousin?"

Lucy blinked twice and laughed a little, "I'm fine Sherry, but thank you so much for agreeing to bring back Jerio with you when you go back to the council to work!"

"No problem!" Sherry gave Lucy a thumbs up as she walked up to Jerio with a smile. "My name is Sherry, I'm a cousin to Lucy here. It's nice to meet you." She held out her hand to shake.

He took her hand and brought it up to his mouth and kissed it gently, "The pleasure is all mine beautiful Sherry. My name is Jerio and I will be under you care for a while, and I do hope we get along well."

Sherry blushed bright red and looked at Lucy, 'Are you sure? He seems so nice.' she asked through their telepathic link they all had.

'There isn't something right with him, we've been watching him carefully but we haven't been able to pinpoint it. He just seems to calm for my liking.' Stings voice interrupted as he sighed to himself. "Well Jerio, it was nice to meet you but we have other things we have to do. And the train is leaving soon so we'll keep in touch."

Jerio nodded and soon boarded the train with Sherry and the three watched as they rode away after a few minutes. Lucy looked at Sting, "So shall we head back to the guild?"

"Wait… are we going to your guild that you were talking about?!" Lucinas asked as stars appeared in her eyes.

"Well not really. Right now I'm part of a different guild but I can ask Happy to bring you there if you want to join them now."

"No! I want to be with Lu-chan!" She dropped Happy and clung onto Lucy's arm with tears in the corner of her eyes. "I don't want to separated from you Lu-chan! Who knows what dangers we might face while separated?"

Lucy sweat dropped a little but glared at Sting when she heard him chuckle amused, 'Shut up, it's not funny.' She told him telepathically before she looked back at Lucinas. "It's fine, you can come join the guild we're in currently… though the apartment might become a little crowded…"

"She can sleep on the couch like a dog." Sting barked with a smirk on his face.

"No! I want to sleep with Lu-chan!"

"You act like a dog, so you will be treated like a dog."

Lucinas puffed her cheeks as she glared daggers at him. "I am not a dog! My name is Lucinas! I am 16 years old!"

"You could have fooled me." Sting grinned now as he crossed his arms over his chest. "You cling onto her like a dog, that's why I said that."

She stomped her foot down and pointed at him. "I don't like you blondie! Why do you have to be partnered to Lu-chan!"

"It wasn't my choice… but live with it." He sighed as he walked away to go buy the tickets that they would need to get back to Bara. 'Can it get any worse?' he thought to himself because he knew he would have a constant headache now.

The trip back to Bara wasn't boring for any of them, Lucinas kept annoying Sting on purpose while Lucy read one of the books she had bought while in the last town. When they had arrived in Bara Lucinas's eyes widened at all the flowers that loitered all over town. "Oh wow! So pretty!" She smiled as she twirled around and raised her hands up in the air. "I've never seen so many colorful flowers!"

"Well this town is named after flowers after all so is the guild here. It's called Bloody Rose or some people call it Blood Rose." Lucy walked up to her and placed a hand on her head since she was older than Lucinas. "But we'll go there tomorrow, for now I just want to get back to the apartment and rest." Lucy looked over her shoulder at Sting. "I'm going on ahead, so do whatever you want. Happy, Lector you can stay with him or come with me."

"Coming!" Happy jumped up onto Lucy's shoulder with a grin on his face.

"Ah! Sting, can I go?" Lector looked up at his partner, and with a nod he smiled and ran after them. "I'm coming!"

Sting stood there as he watched them walk away. He narrowed his eyes as he sniffed the air, what had worried him is since he had met Lucinas… he hadn't been able smell any type of scent from her. "Who wouldn't have a scent." He brought a hand up to his chin as his eyes narrowed. He was in such deep thought that he didn't hear girls squeal in delight when they noticed it was him. But a scent did catch his nose as he twirled around to find Salamander standing there.

"Why are you here?" Natsu asked as his eyes narrowed, he had been following Lucy's scent since he had seen Happy last and had smelt another male mixed along with it. But now that he stood in front of Sting he finally realized where he knew the scent from. "Why do I smell you and Lucy!"

Sting smirked now as he stretched, "Because I am her partner now."

"What?"

"You heard me Salamander… I am her partner now. Not you. I've been with her since we've met up. She said that she didn't want to go back to Fairy Tail." He laughed as he shrugged because this was going to get good for him soon. He had been itching for a real fight for a while and it seems that this would be one hell of a fight.

Flames danced along Natsu's body as the images of Lucy and him floated in his mind. "Lucy is my partner! Not yours!" He growled inhuman as his eyes narrowed.

"But I heard you threw her away for the one that came back for the dead." He said in a mocking voice.

Another growl passed his lips as fire now danced around his feet charring the flowers around him. "I did NOT throw her away!" He roared loudly as he took a step forwards. The towns people were scared of what was going to happen between these two men. They didn't want their town to be destroyed.

Right before the two of them charged at each other a foot collided with Natsu's head. "You idiot! Don't destroy this town!" Lucy's voice was heard booming throughout the center of town. She sounded mad, "This is a beautiful town and if you do any more damage I won't forgive you!"

"Lucy…" Natsu held his head as he looked at Lucy with a small tear in one eye. "LUCY!" He yelled and tried to hug her but got round house kicked away. "What?" He laid on the ground looking up at the sky confused. "Lucy?" He slowly sat up as he looked at her with wide eyes.

She stood there with her hands on her hips and a pissed expression on her face. "What in the world are you doing here Natsu? I thought you'd of been with Lisanna." She then crossed her hands over her chest as she glanced over her shoulder at Sting. "And you! I thought I told you no fighting in this town! This is our guild's home town! If we start a ruckus then we'll be kicked out!"

Natsu's eyes widened even more when he heard her. Sting snorted a bit before he shrugged. "I didn't start it so whatever. I'm going back to the guild, see you back there or whatnot." He waved and walked off, a smirk on his face now.

"What do you mean this is your guild's town? You're in Fairy Tail Lucy…" Natsu's voice was low as he wasn't sure what was going on now.

The blonde turned back to face him and sighed. She shook her head as she walked up to him and grabbed his collar as she began to drag him out of town. She didn't want this talk to get out all over town or it might be bad for her in the long run.

As they made it to the edge of town where no one ever comes she dropped him and took a few steps forwards still mad. "Why are you here?" She asked him simply.

"I'm here because I've been looking for you!" He sat up and crossed his legs as he looked at her back. He had noticed another guild symbol on her as she had dragged him and it didn't sit well with him at all. "Why are you here Lucy? You should be back with everyone in the guild!"

"I'm not part of that guild anymore Natsu." She twirled around and showed him her hand, the hand that still held her guild mark but it was covered by the stuff that Lahar had given her. "I quit Fairy Tail because none of you cared about me! Understand! I'm not going back! I have a new guild!" she turned to let Natsu see the guild symbol. "I am Lucy of the guild Bloody Rose! And Sting is my partner!"

His eyes went sure wide and felt his heart fall, "I refuse to believe it!" He stood up and walked over to her. "I do not believe it!" He repeated as he pulled her into a tight hug. "Lucy please tell me this isn't real…" He whispered into her ear as he shook a little. "Please…"

She went stiff in his hold and she felt tears prick at the corner of her eyes because she had wanted to be held like this for so long but not like this. After a minute she placed her hands on his chest and pushed away, her head down so he couldn't see her face. "I'm sorry Natsu… But this is the cruel world. You pushed me away so I left, I left so you could be happy with her. I deserve happiness too right Natsu?" She felt the tears beginning to fall, the ones she had desperately fought to hold in. "Don't I?"

Natsu was at a loss of what to do because he always panicked when Lucy cried. But the way Lucy was saying these things, it was like she had given up almost. "Lucy…" He whispered low when she took a few steps back from him. "Lucy please don't go back to that guild! We can work this out! I swear!"

She stood there, her bangs covered her eyes as she listened to Natsu. It was true though, she deserved to be happy. Even if it wasn't with Natsu, but she knew she would never be happy without him. He completed her, she knew that but his heart wasn't hers. So why should she fight for something she would never get. "I'm sorry Natsu, it was pointless to come here. I am not going back, so please just leave. If you want Happy I'll have him go back, but I'm not going to force him too if he doesn't want too."

"Lucy please listen to me!" He yelled now which he saw she cringed in a bit of fear, "I won't go back! Not without you! If I have to beat up this guild to prove to you that Fairy Tail is better than I will!"

"DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH ANY PERSON IN MY GUILD!" She now screamed at him and looked up straight into her eyes. Her tears stopped, though they still remained in the corner of her eyes. Her fists were clenched so tight now she felt blood trickling down her palms. "How dare you say you'd hurt my family! They may not be as friendly as Fairy Tail, but they didn't care that I was once part of your guild! They didn't judge me when I told them I left because I was feeling ignored! They didn't judge me when I asked to join them either!" She hit his chest a few times as her body shook. "I'd hate you forever if you did that!"

He stood there with wide eyes, the last sentence she yelled rang through his head and he instantly regretted what he had said. "I'm sorry." He whispered as he looked down at the ground. "I'm sorry Lucy, I guess it was wrong of me to come here… It seems all I do is cause you harm now. I'm sorry, I just wanted you back with me. We are partners right?"

"Were partners Natsu." She corrected him as she hugged herself now. "We can't be partner if we aren't in the same guild anymore."

"Oh yah, that's right." He laughed as he gave her a forced grin and scratched the back of his head. "I've lost both my partners… It feels weird to be alone again Lucy."

She blinked as she looked at him confused, "What do you mean alone? You have Lisanna."

"Well yeah, but it isn't the same as you or Happy."

She felt a small blush creep onto her face when he said that but shook her head to calm herself down. "Well you still have Team Natsu right?"

"No we disbanded not too long ago. Erza is gone on a long S-Class mission while Gray and Juvia are out on their own mission."

"Oh… but you've been doing missions right? With Lisanna?" She didn't like seeing Natsu depressed. "You've asked her out haven't you?" With every question she asked, she felt her heart break more and more.

He paused for a moment before he nodded, "Yeah, but it still isn't the same." He sighed and looked at her now. "Well, can I at least visit you and happy sometime?" He gave her a small toothy grin.

"Sure, but you have to give me a heads up before you show up alright." She smiled back at him a little bit. Even if he did cause her heart to break, his smile always warmed her soul. "But I have to get back or Lucinas might be hunting me down."

"Lucinas?"

"Uh huh, she was sent to try to capture the man I had been guarding… well I defeated her and she now is sticking to me like glue." She decided not to tell him the part that she was their target too for her safety and Lucinas's.

Natsu's eyes widened at this information. "Lucy! What kind of mission did master send you on?"

"I can't tell you Natsu… so just head back alright." She pointed towards the direction of the train. "Go I'll even buy you the ticket."

He turned a little green at the thought of a train, "I don't want to ride a train Lucy!" He was instantly attached her legs not wanting to go. "I'll walk!"

"It'll take too long to walk Natsu! Come on!" She grabbed his collar and somehow drug him all the way to the train station with him still clutching into one leg.

After what seemed like forever, Lucy had gotten Natsu back on the train and was watching as it pulled away from the station. She looked down at her shoes trying to decide if what she did was the right move or not but she couldn't put the whole mission on jeopardy because of her feelings. "I'm sorry Natsu." She whispered as she turned around and began to walk back to her apartment.

"Is Natsu gone?" Happy asked out of nowhere as he floated down onto Lucy's shoulder sad.

She gave him a small smile, "Yes he is Natsu, I'm sorry about running off on you all. Did you get back to the apartment alright?"

He smiled and gave her a thumbs up, "Lucinas is sleeping in your bed with Lector so it's all right. But I smelled Natsu so I came back here."

"Happy I told you before you don't have to stay. Natsu is sad without you, he even said so." She picked up the exceed from her shoulder and held him in her arms in front of her as she walked. "He was worried about you, and I told him that it was your choice what you wanted to do. You are a grown exceed that can make his own decisions."

He laughed a bit as a yawn escaped him. "Mmm… I want to stay with you Lucy." He then quickly fell asleep which made Lucy smile genuinely for once.

"Alright…" She whispered and walked through the streets. When she got back to her apartment she placed him next to the other two and walked out of her room. Her fight with Natsu had woken her up so she wasn't tired. But she saw Sting on the couch watching her. "Sting… why did you try to get Natsu to fight you earlier?"

He raised an eyebrow at her sudden question. "Why? It was simple, I was purposely pissing him off. I wanted him to realize his mistake, so I did it the only way I knew it would make him react."

"You still didn't have to have him that mad. He burnt some of the flowers in that area… I told the shop keeper I'd pay for the damages." She shook her head and brought her hand up to her face but stopped when she saw dried blood. "Oh yeah, I forgot." She whispered and went to the bathroom to find medical stuff, though she left the door open so she could continue to talk to him.

He chuckled, "Do you realize what he feels Lucy?" When he heard a slight pause in movements, he knew she probably knew now. "You do know that when a dragon has feelings for another they won't ever get over them?"

"He doesn't like me like that though Sting." She came out of the bathroom after a minute with wrapped fists. "He even said we were just partners…"

Sting put a hand over his face, how dense could this couple get. "Lucy, partners to a dragon slayer is much more than what it would mean to just a plain human." He got up and walked over to her. "You smell is mixed with his to ward off any other male that would try to approach you, his anger you saw earlier from finally finding me who your smell if beginning to mix with as well…" A smirk came to his face as he invaded her personal space which caused Lucy to quickly back up into the wall. "You get uncomfortable around most other guys when they are this close but not him." He saw a blush on her cheeks now knowing he hit the mark. "And also…" Though he fell silent not sure if he should say the last part.

"What?" She asked still on the defensive from Sting's movements. The blush didn't go away but what he was about to say intrigued her more than anything. "And also what?"

"I don't feel like telling you." He sighed as he pulled away and walked back to the couch.

"Tell me!" She whined as she didn't move from her spot, not trusting her legs at the moment. She didn't want to believe anything he had said, but she knew it was all true.

He smirked, "You and the salamander are also going to be expecting soon."

"Huh?" She looked totally confused at that because she didn't get it. "Wait, what… expectin-" She fell silent as she got it as her whole face turned bright red. "No! that can't be right! I've never had sex with him before! If I did I'd of remembered it!" She flailed her arms around as she finally brought them up to her hair. Tears of worry running down her face now. "no! You're lying!"

Sting tapped his nose, "I smelt it since I first met you in the council. Though you're still not too far along, the smell is still there."

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Lucy yelled not caring if she woke the others up, but her eyes widened when she remembered how her cloths hadn't fit a while ago. A blue tint hit her face as she began to cry silently. 'This can't be happening to me now!' she cried to herself over and over again.

'Lucy is everything alright?' Hibiki's voice came over their link.

'NO!' she quickly yelled back. 'This isn't going to help me at all!'

There was a pause before he spoke again, 'What isn't?'

A few mental cried came along the telepathic communication, 'Sting said I'm pregnant!'

'WHAT!' came two voices, both Hibiki's and Sherry's.

'WAAAHHH! I can't be pregnant!' Lucy continued to cry out in the mental link and real life.

"Sting, what's wrong with Lucy?" Lector asked as he walked out rubbing his eyes.

Sting only smirked as he watched Lucy having a mental break down in the corner. "oh it's nothing Lector, it's just something between the two of us. So just go back to bed with the others."

"Ok." He yawned loudly before he walked back into the room to leave the two alone.

"It can't be true…" She whispered under her breath before she quickly got up and ran to her room. She threw open her door and rushed to the bathroom, "It can't be true!"

Happy came floating into the bathroom half asleep, "Lucy… why are you yelling?" He sat down on the toilet as he rubbed his eyes.

Lucy looked at him with tears in her eyes, "Sting… Sting said I'm pregnant!"

There was a slight pause before Happy began to laugh, "Don't kid Lucy." When he saw the tears not stopping Happy's eyes widened. "Oh really! Who is the daddy?!"

"N-natsu…"

Happy gasped low as he brought his paws over his mouth at this news. "Oh! Then that makes me a big brother!"

That made Lucy laugh a little but then her eyes widened. Wait, maybe that was why she was being targeted. But how would people know before she did? Unless she had been watched the whole time since being back, but that thought just made a chill go down her spine. "Happy, no matter what you do, do not tell anyone."

"Aye! Can I tell Natsu?"

"No." Lucy stated firmly. "You can't tell anyone, not even Natsu… "

He pouted a bit but then nodded a bit, "Ok."

"I have to figure out when this happened. It doesn't make sense, I don't remember doing anything with Natsu… yet how did I end up pregnant?" Lucy put a hand over her face as she tried to rethink the last couple months since then. But everything came up blank.

Happy watched her and clapped his paws to get her attention, "Well maybe it was at her welcome back party we had two days after she came back! Everyone was drinking, I think you drank too Lucy. So maybe that's why you don't remember anything."

She fell silent as she stared hard at the tile on the floor, it made sense but she'd have to look more into it. "Happy, I'm going to go crazy if the kid is like Natsu."

"Aye! I want a little brother like Natsu!" He laughed which only brought another sigh from Lucy. She knew Sting wouldn't lie to her, but it still didn't settle well with her. She'd have to go get a doctors checkup just to be safe. "Happy, would you come with me tomorrow as I search for a doctor?"

"Aye!" He repeated himself.

Unknown to them, Lucinas was lying in the bed listening to them because Lucy had forgotten to close the bathroom door.