Jellal had gotten there in a day and a half, and with that amount of time on his hands, he had been going crazy. No one had said anything about Erza except she was sick "or something, I don't know" Gah, how could they be so apathetic!
He burst into Porlyusica's house to find Erza laying on a bed. He rushed to her side, finding her asleep and looking quite peaceful. He would have been able to admire her, if it wasn't for the fact that she looked pale and weak that was sending him into a mental frenzy. What happened to her! Whoever did this would pay, there was no doubt of that. Still, he smiled, she managed to look remarkably beautiful. He heard her start to wake.
"Jellal?" she looked up at him groggily and smiled. Wow, hearing her voice again did things to his heart that he couldn't explain.
"Yeah it's me," he said with a soft smile, "Where is everyone else? Are you feeling okay?" He tried his best to not overwhelm her.
"I'm not sure, you're the first person I've seen since I got here, except for Porlyusica. She told me the others have visited, but I've been asleep whenever they were here. Speaking of, I'm still recovering, so I'm still pretty sleepy." She said with a yawn.
"Recovering? So you're doing okay then?" He asked anxiously.
"I'm doing much better, seeing you again makes me feel a bit better too." She said with a light blush.
Jellal was glad she was feeling better, and that seeing him made her happy, but it made him a bit uncomfortable that she seemed so intent on seeing him. He just wanted her to find someone worthy enough for her, someone he was incapable of being.
"It's been so long since I've seen you. I can't even remember how long it's been -" Erza started, before Jellal interrupted.
"275 days," he blurted out, before he had time to catch himself.
"Aw, Jellal, Have you been counting?" she asked, blushing.
"Well it's how I've been keeping track of what day it is," he said attempting to justify himself. Erza giggled. He face palmed himself in embarrassment. Great, I just made it sound worse. Erza yawned again.
"Jellal," Ezra said sleepily, "Can you stay here with me? I like seeing your face when I wake up" she asked before drifting off to sleep.
"I'll do anything for you," Jellal responded, even though he knew she couldn't hear him. Poor Erza, what happened to her to make her this tired?
He heard a baby's cry from the other room.
Wait, does Porlyusica have a kid or something? She didn't seem like the type.
Porlyusica walked in the room with a baby in her arms. She sighed. "Erza, still sleeping I see." She said to herself, before noticing Jellal in the room.
"Ahhhh so you must be Jellal. I must say, you really do look just like Mystogan," she noted, eying his tattoo.
"Yeah," he chuckled, rubbing the back of his head, "that's a long story."
"Well now that the father is finally here, I don't have to worry about keeping this so secretive anymore, unless you and Erza decide to." Porlyusica said with relief. "You have no idea how hard it is keeping a secret like this from those dragon slayers and their noses."
"Father? Porlyusica, I- I'm not sure I understand what you're saying." Jellal stammered.
"I'm no fool, you are the only person it could possibly be. I know much more than I let on, you know."
Jellal looked at the baby in her arms, noticing the unmistakable blue tuft of hair, with the slightest undertone of red. He gasped without realizing it, his eyes wide in surprise. That was his and Erza's? It was an accident that his weakness had caused, but an accident he was quickly enamored with. He couldn't look away.
"Porlyusica, can we come in NOOOW?" Natsu begged at the door.
Jellal stood up and looked over at Porlyusica for her judgment. She gave him a "go ahead" nod, so he opened the door.
"Jellal! Wow, how are you doing buddy! We haven't seen you in a long time!" Natsu said with a grin, before looking at Porlyusica, "How come he got to be here first," he pouted. Lucy, knowing how important he was to Erza, put her hand on Natsu's shoulder.
"Natsu, let it go, trust me," she whispered.
"Okay," he sighed in defeat, and walked into the room, along with those who had been there on the trip when she passed out.
"So Jellal, just how long have you been here, because I swear every time we've been here I've caught your scent, but I dismissed it, because it seemed kind of off." Natsu asked.
"Natsu!" Lucy scolded him.
"Actually I just arrived today" Jellal said, Did he even smell like me too? What about Erza, does he smell like her too? He silently wondered.
Natsu eyed him suspiciously, before turning to Porlyusica.
"She's doing fine, right?" he asked.
"Absolutely, her magic energy, as well as her body, has been severely drained, but give it a couple more days of rest, and she will be good enough to go on missions again. However I wouldn't count on her doing that for a while even when she does get better." She explained, confusing the group.
"Why would she stop doing missions for a while?" Gray asked, clearly puzzled.
Porlyusica went up to Jellal and gently handed the child to him. "I'll let you explain" she said quietly, leaving the room.