When Natsu, Gray, Erza, and Happy had made it back to the guild, Layla quickly ran straight for her father. Even though the mission hadn't taken all that long, they had been gone for near a week. It was a long time for Layla to be without Natsu. And of course, Natsu gave her a huge hug the second she had run up to him.

"I brought you a present Layla." Natsu smiled as he reached into his pocket. Layla's face quickly lit up at the thought of a gift. She leaned to the side a bit as if to get a better view of what her father was going to pull out. "Close your eyes. And no peeking." Natsu chuckled as the small girl quickly shut her eyes and squeezed them tight, then covering her face with her hands. Natsu then brought out the fairy pendent necklace. He found that the chain was still pretty long compared to how big Layla was, so instead of bothering with the clasp, he simply slipped it over her head. "There."

Layla opened her eyes and looked down at the green fairy that was hanging down from her neck. She picked up the pendent and rubbed her fingers over it, turning it over once or twice to inspect it a bit. When she had finally realized what the shape was, she gave off a huge grin, that matched Natsu's usual one, and gave the pink haired mage a big hug. "Thanks daddy!"

"Of course sweet heart." Natsu said as he picked up the small blonde girl.

"How did the mission go?" Said a voice from behind him. Natsu turned and saw Lisanna.

"It was a bit of a bust actually. Just some stupid old dog going through people's yards." Natsu reported.

"That's too bad." The white haired girl laughed a bit at the thought of Natsu's team discovering that the culprit was just a dog. "Well either way, it's nice that it didn't last too long."

"Oh yeah. How was Layla? Thanks again for taking care of her." Natsu adjusted his hold on the small girl as she squirmed around, trying to get a better hold of Natsu's scarf.

"Perfect as always." The white haired girl replied before getting called by her older sister. "Pick up her stuff whenever you want to."

Natsu watched his friend walk towards the bar to meet her sister, Levy, and the ever drunk Cana. The four girls were talking about something to do with a book series they had been reading. This soon led to some friendly gossip which Natsu had decided to tune out of. He knew it was bad to snoop when it came to Fairy Tail girls. Last time he did, Erza had beaten him to a pulp. Of course that was a few years ago, and before Layla. Natsu highly doubted Erza would do anything like that to him now, but he about to challenge it.

Looking at the large clock by the bar, and seeing how it was getting pretty late, Natsu and Layla began to say their good byes to everyone else. Layla of course climbed out of Natsu's arms and gave hugs to all of the other mages before grabbing her father's hand and pulling him towards the door. Happy had been staying behind at the guild later, enjoying the company of the two other Exceeds. So Natsu and Layla went home alone.

"So then Mirajane let me sleep in her bed with her and her blankets were really warm and snugly and soft. And Elfman made me pancakes in the morning! Did you know he's a really good cook? I wanted to help him, but I couldn't reach the counter, so he let me be the taste tester and everything was really really really yummy!" Layla had been explaining her little sleepover with so much excitement, Natsu was afraid she would burst. The small blonde girl continued to hold onto her father's hand as she nearly ran, trying to keep up, even at Natsu's slowest walk. Since it was a long walk all the way across town she got tired after only a few minutes. When the fire mage noticed this, he swiftly snuck his hands to her sides, lifted up her small body, and placed her on top of his shoulders. "Woah!" Layla exclaimed when she looked at how high up she now was.

"Like it up there?" Natsu laughed as he felt his little girls hands fall onto his head.

"Yep!" Layla let out a huge smile. "Look daddy, I can touch the leaves!" She lifted one hand up to grab onto the branch from the tree that loomed above them. Natsu stopped so that Layla could pick of a handful of leaves. When the blonde girl had grabbed some, she held them down so Natsu could see them too. "See daddy?"

"That's great sweetie pie." Natsu smiled back. "Now hold on tight." After giving Layla enough time to sit back up and hold onto his head once more, Natsu broke into a run. It was slower than his normal run, but of course, he didn't want to spook Layla. But it was actually a good speed for any normal human, and needless to say, Layla was laughing the whole time.

Natsu put Layla down when they got home. He fished around his pocket for the key before unlocking it and letting the small girl run in.

"Layla." Natsu called out before she had even made it across the room. The girl stopped and turned to look at her dad. "Aren't you forgetting something?" The girl gave a bashful smile before running to the back to the door, taking off her little pink coat, and handing it to her father so he could hang it up on the nearby rack. As she turned around, she was called for once more. "Layla." This time, Natsu pointed downwards. Layla looked down at her feet and giggled. She plopped down onto the floor and pulled her shoes off one by one along with her socks, then lined them up against the wall.

"All done?" She asked, looking up from her spot on the floor.

Natsu squatted down and patted the top of his daughters head. "You bet." The two shared a grin before the Layla finally scrambled away in a fast crawl. Natsu chuckled to himself before taking off his own shoes and walking over to sit on the couch. He spent a moment just sitting back and relaxing. He figured it was getting close to diner time. After a little bit of self-encouragement, Natsu pushed himself off of the couch and made his way towards the kitchen, picking up and putting away toys and drawings that had been left on the floor by a certain little cutie. When he had finally gotten to the kitchen he looked around for something he could make. He quickly pulled out a can of corn, heat-up chicken nuggets and a bag of cheese cubes. He simply held the package of chicken nuggets in his hand, using his own flames to heat them up, while he brought out two plates and spread the corn and cheese on both, giving the plate that would be his the larger portions. Then, when he deemed the nuggets ready, he took them out of their packaging and placed them on the plates as well. Then he carried the plates over to the table and put them down before going back to get two cups of water. "Diner time!"

The sound of pattering feet filled the house as Layla ran to the table. She nearly crashed into the back of her chair before she skidded to a stop on the carpet. She pulled her chair out from table and climbed her way up and into the booster seat. When she was seated Natsu came up behind her and pushed her in.

"Thanks daddy! It looks really yummy!" She shot a huge smile down at the plate of food in front of her.

"No need to wait. Go ahead and start." Natsu patted her head before going to his own seat at the other side of the square table. He watched as the little girl took huge spoon fulls of corn, followed by bites of chicken. "Don't forget to chew." He reminded her, gaining a nod in return.

Natsu ate his own diner while he listened to the stories Layla attempted to tell him threw a mouth full of food. He found it quite easy to understand her most of the time, probably because he did the same thing himself. And when they had both finished, Natsu helped Layla out of her seat, and cleared the dishes off of the table.

"It'll be time for bed soon, so start putting some of your toys away." Natsu told Layla. Then go to the bathroom when you're done."

"Okay daddy." Layla smiled and began to pick up the few toys she had lying on the floor. She could only pick up so many at a time, so it took her several runs before all of them were safely away in the toy box. While she did this, Natsu pulled out a night gown from her dresser and placed them on her bed. He waited while she then proceeded to the bathroom where she took care of her business in the little trainer potty. When she was finished, Natsu helped her to wash her hands and brush her teeth, since she couldn't reach the sink on her own. When that was done with, Layla ran back to her room, followed by Natsu who picked up the pajamas and kneeled in front of Layla.

"Arms up sweetie pie." Natsu grinned as he grasped the bottom of Layla's dress and began to pull it up over her head. Then he helped her to get the night gown on. When this was done he walked with the little girl over to her bed, where he helped her under the blankets.

"Can you tell me a story daddy?" Layla asked as she was tucked in.

"Sure sweet heart." Natsu shrugged. This was something that Layla asked for near every night. Usually, the only times she didn't ask were when she had fallen asleep before getting home. He sat down on the side of her bed. "Which story do you want me to tell you tonight?"

"Can. Can you tell me about mommy?" The blonde girl asked with a shy look on her face.

The request came as a bit of a surprise to Natsu. Usually she wanted to hear about the many adventures he had had, or read along to one of the many picture books that were stacked up on the floor. Even though Layla was three years old, she never asked about her mother, nor did Natsu tell her too much. Of course she would come up in the stories he told. She was his partner on missions since she had joined the guild. But other than that, Natsu wasn't sure he talked about his missing love at all.

"If you like." Natsu tried to hide the slightly saddened expression that hit him. Where would he start? What did Layla want to know? Natsu took a minute to think.

"Well, her name was Lucy. Lucy Heartfillia." Natsu began. "She was just about the most amazing person in the world. She had blonde hair and brown eyes, just like you, and was the most beautiful girl I've ever met. Not to mention one of the strongest mages I've ever met. She was a celestial wizard. She had contracts with lots of spirits too."

"Like Loki?" Layla interrupted.

"Yep. Just like him. She also had Virgo, Aries, Torus, and of course, Plue." Natsu leaned back a bit, remembering all of the different spirits that he had fought beside. "Lucy was the best celestial mage you'd ever find. She loved all of her spirits with all of her heart. Just like she loved all of her friends. She would sit around at the guild with everyone and joke around and chat. She never joined in any of the fights though. Actually, she would always try and convince us to stop." Natsu took a minute to laugh to himself. He remembered the days when Lucy would get caught up in arguments and practically thrown across the room as the other mages fought.

"She was in a team with you, Uncle Gray, and Auntie Erza right?" Layla asked.

"We were a crazy group. Most people thought she didn't fit in with us, but I wouldn't have had it any other way. She was actually pretty crazy herself. She had these funny ideas and little corky things she did. And she always worried about paying off her rent. She had this house by the water way, 70,000 jewels per month. Happy and I would always be sneaking in threw the window when she wasn't there to let us in. But when we found out that we were expecting you, she sold that place and moved in here."

"Expecting me?" Layla coxed her head to the side in confusion.

"When we found out that you would be born." Natsu said, quickly coming up with an easier way for the small girl to understand him.

"Was mommy excited?" The blonde child asked, clearly interested in how she was involved.

"Of course. More than anything and anyone in the world." Natsu patted the top of Layla's head. "She was always talking about the cute clothes she had gotten you for when you were a baby, and how she couldn't wait for you to be born."

"Where's mommy now?" Layla asked innocently.

The question felt like a knife stabbing threw Natsu's heart. The smile he had faded and Natsu found himself leaning back and looking up at the ceiling, trying to hide his face. "Not here." He muttered.

Before Layla could respond or asked any further questions Natsu stood up and kissed the top of the girls head. He tucked her in once more before saying a quick good night and leaving the room, turning the light off as he left. The fire mage walked across the now quiet house to his own room. He sat down on the bed. After a few moments he turned and pulled a frame out from under his pillow. He turned it over and looked at the picture kept inside.

It was a picture of him and Lucy, right before they had gone to a magic ball for a job. Since they were doing undercover work, they were both dressed up to look their best. Natsu was wearing simple black slacks with a white button down shirt and black vest, with his ever present scarf around his neck. While Lucy wore the most beautiful cranberry dress, with a simple light pink ribbon that when around her waist. In the picture Natsu had his arm around her shoulders, both of them had held peace signs out in front of them. Each of them smiled brightly.

"Lucy."