A/N Hey guys sorry for the wait on this chapter, all is explained on my fan fiction page. I hope you enjoy this update!

If any of you are interested in finding other good fairy tail fan fiction stories, I'd highly recommend liking this page on Facebook - SomeFTFanFic

They post some amazing stories.

"She's unconscious but alive. She just appeared washed up on the beach? How strange." Erza's voice was stern, but you could clearly tell she was trying to hide the concern she was feeling at the sudden appearance of their missing celestial mage.

She gently tapped the back of Natsu's head and gestured towards Lucy who was tucked safely in his arms. He was holding her like he was afraid she was going to disappear again. Erza really couldn't blame him for being frightened, whenever he loved something, it was ripped away from him.

It was rare that they actually returned. She very much doubted he was going to ever let her out of his sight ever again.

Natsu gaze lifted from Lucy's sleeping face and gazed at Erza. "She's really back? I'm not dreaming am I?" As he allowed his rough hand to slowly caress Lucy's cheek. His eyes fell shut and a huge grin appeared on his face.

"I've constantly dreamt about this moment for the past four weeks and she has never felt this warm in my arms. This is real."

"Okay cheese ball, hurry up and get back to the carriage." Gray was smirking as he gently pushed the dragon slayer forward. "The sooner we get back on the road, the sooner we'll be back home in Magnolia." Pulling out his lacrima out of his pocket, he nodded for Natsu to go on ahead without him.

"I've sent Libra back to Yukino so she should be back in the town's center by now. She had Sting and Rogue accompany her so she'll be fine. I'll call back to the guild and let them know what's going on."

Natsu nodded his head and made his way back to their ride home. Once they were safely inside the carriage, he placed Lucy's body gently onto the seat and stared down at her. She didn't look any worse for wear, no cuts or bruises anywhere he could see. No bones were broken. There wasn't a hair on her head that was out of place.

'Where the hell have you been all this time Lucy.'

He was curious to say the least.

Erza and Gray climbed into the compartment and tapped on the drivers window, indicating that they were ready to leave. The feeling of extreme sickness flooded Natsu's body, his one and only weakness.

'Dammit, forgot about that.'

He let his body slowly sink down onto the long cushioned seat next to Lucy as he felt all of his strength melt away.

Feeling her warmth and inhaling her scent made the journey back to Magnolia seem way too short for his liking. He could have stayed like that all day.

As his eyes scanned down her body, they were drawn to a sliver of her stomach that was showing, something brightly colored that was standing out against her otherwise pale skin caught his attention.

He checked to make sure Gray and Erza weren't looking at him, otherwise they would think he was being perverted but it was mere curiosity that caused his fingers to trail down her body and slightly lift up the material. His eyes widened at the large tattoo that was inked into her skin.

"What the fuck is that." Natsu murmured as he let the material fall back against her body. He had too many questions and he didn't feel like he had enough time to ask them.

Pressing his nose into the crook of her neck, he inhaled deeply and tried to calm himself down but it only made the awful feeling of dread in his stomach grow bigger. Her scent was deeply mingled with someone else's. A males.

"Ace." Lucy gasped out and reached her arm out to feel for him,except he wasn't there. Her stomach dropped as she started desperately fumbling around the bed she was lying in.

'Where is he? Please tell me it was all a nasty dream and I didn't actually get sucked back though the tear.'

Her eyes scanned the room for him but struggled to see anything through the inky darkness.

A flame appeared at the far end of the room, illuminating a man's face. She felt a flutter of hope but it was soon extinguished when she saw that it was not her captain. It was someone she was intending to abandon, someone who had given a home at his guild and in his heart. Natsu's eyes were glaring through the flame he had created, the intense stare gave Lucy the chills.

'It wasn't a dream. I'm back.'

"Where have you been Luce?" Her mouth was opening and closing as she tried to think of something to say. Anything. Tears were building in her eyes as the raw emotions she was feeling began to overflow and spill over.

At the sight of her tears, his bad mood fully dissipated and he rushed over to her side to comfort her. Pulling Lucy tightly against his body, he tried to silence her gut wrenching cries with soothing words.

"Hey, I'm sorry Luce, don't cry. You're home now. This whole nightmare is over, I won't ever let you out of my sight again."

His words only seemed to make her cry harder.

Two Weeks Later

"Hey Luce, wanna go on a mission with me and Happy?" Natsu and Happy's eager faces almost made her feel guilty for turning them down all the time, almost.

She shook her head from side to side and pushed away from the guild's bar, where she had made a regular seat for herself to sit in every night, instead of at a table with Natsu and everyone else.

She still wanted to return to Ace and her crew but she just needed to find out a way to make the journey there permanent, Grandpa Crux had told her that the tear would remain there forever but she could not keep travelling through it, there was no guarantee that she would arrive there in one piece.

The journey there put a huge strain on her body so it was extremely dangerous to keep making it.

She could probably do the journey once or twice more before the time rip would begin to destroy her body.

Until the time came when she would return, she had been distancing herself from everyone in the guild, she succeeded in keeping everyone away from her, except Natsu.

It seemed that he wasn't planning to leave her side any time soon, not while he was still alive and breathing. No matter what she said to him or how she treated him, he would always come back with a smile on his face and a skip in his step. A true friend.

Lucy would only abandon this life if it did not impact others like it had before but Natsu was making it impossible.

"Natsu, I don't feel up to going on missions yet. Sorry. I might come on the next one with you." He pulled a glum face and nudged Happy forward, hoping that the cute blue exceed could possibly change her mind. Happy pouted at her and pressed his paws together, praying that she might change her mind.

"Please Lucy, it's no fun without having to save you all the time. This mission is for 200,000 Jewels, I know you like money."

Lucy flicked Happy in between the eyes and walked past her old partner. In the past, the mention of that amount of money would of had her running out of the guild hall with them but not anymore. She was a completely different person now, money did not interest her. She wouldn't need jewels where she was going.

"Sorry guys, enjoy the reward money though. I've got enough savings to not work for a bit longer. Maybe ask Lisanna or Elfman if they want to go with you, I know they're free today." She made it through the guild doors, all the while unaware that the fire dragon slayer was following closely behind, hot on her heels.

Grabbing her shoulder, Natsu spun Lucy around to face him and pinned her against the guild doors. His eyes burnt holes through hers as he glared at her shocked face. His touch was soft even though his demeanor was not.

"Why are you acting like this? I thought you were just going through a bit of a tough time since you've been through so much recently but you've been like this for two weeks. What have I done?" His thumb wiped along her cheek and settled behind her ear.

"I already lost you once, I can't lose you again. Not when you're right in front of me. Please Luce. I feel like you're getting further and further out of my reach." His voice cracked as tears started to drip down onto Lucy's cheek. Covering his face from sight, he vigorously wiped at his leaking eyes and tried to compose himself.

"Shit, I just can't deal with this anymore Luce. You won't tell me anything so how am I supposed to help you? I just want to help you."

'How can I do this to him? Is leaving really the right thing to do? I'm destroying him. I don't know what to do.'

At times like this, she would often write a letter to her mother, somehow it seemed to help her think, writing to her deceased mother was a habit that she had done since she was a small child, her own way of dealing with the loss.

If she was struggling with a decision or a life choice, she would write to her mother and like Layla could hear her words, the answer would just pop into her head. Clearly she needed to have a bit more time thinking about the situation as she had miscalculated how much Natsu had actually missed her.

Being ripped away from Ace was an indescribable pain but what if she had made Natsu feel that pain? It wasn't fair to cure her own pain by making someone else suffer from that same feeling.

Nobody had ever cared for her quite as strongly as Natsu did at this moment in time. Maybe if she had been able to stay in that strange land, Ace may have been able to but how could she leave someone who clearly thought the world of her?

Natsu had changed since she had been been gone, his childish nature was a thing of the past, replaced by this caring, sensitive man who just wanted to spend time with Lucy and she had been pushing him away.

"Natsu." She said softly as she pulled his hand away from his eyes. His gaze stayed fixed on the ground as she spoke.

"I'm so sorry for causing you so much pain. I really can't go on that mission with you tomorrow but how about when you guys are done with it, you can come over to my house and I'll cook you both some food? Fire chicken for you and grilled fish for Happy? We can talk about everything then."

Natsu tears disappeared as he wrapped his arms around Lucy's shoulders and squeezed. "Okay. That sounds great, I missed you and your cooking."

Her eyes twinkled as she stared over Natsu's shoulders at the crescent moon that was shining in the darkened sky. Maybe staying in Fiore for a little bit longer would be okay, wouldn't it?

"Ace, it's been two weeks. She's not coming back. Just get your ass out here, we need our captain back." Samson was gently tapping on Ace's bedroom door that had been firmly shut ever since Lucy's disappearance.

He would only speak to Samson and that would never be face to face but through the door instead. His answers would always be short and to the point, as if he didn't see the point in talking to anyone.

"We're staying in these coordinates until she comes back. This isn't a discussion Sam." Ace's voice was dull and lifeless.

"Fuck this." Samson muttered and kicked the door open, the wood splintered under the force of his booted foot and fell to the floor. Ace didn't seem phased at the sudden intrusion and stayed seated on the floor of his bedroom, wrapped tightly in a small blanket.

Samson was in shock as he stared at his captain. Usually Ace tried to be stupidly strong and ignore anything that was wrong but losing Lucy had hurt him more than he had expected.

"Pull yourself together Ace for fuck sake." Grabbing the blanket, he yanked it from his body and whipped the bare flesh of Ace's torso. That got a small reaction out of the fearsome fire fist. Bringing his arms up to defend himself from the onslaught from his best friend, Ace cringed as he tried to get to his feet.

After being in that same position for the past few days, his legs were protesting at the weight they were being made to hold up now.

A lot of his muscle mass had disappeared and his cargo shorts were hanging from his waist. He had eaten only when his stomach was screaming at him to, otherwise he would starve.

His mind was filled with nothing but images and memories of that crazy blonde girl that had appeared in his life and disappeared just as fast.

Ignoring the painful twist of his heart at the thought of her, Ace glared at his first mate and cleared his throat. "Stop whipping me, it reminds me of her except you aren't half as good at it as she was."

Samson looked at the twisted material in his hands and smiled. "She did teach me how to properly use a whip, she had a crazy good technique. I never quite got the hang of it."

The pair looked at the floor, lost in their own thoughts. Lucy had affected both of their lives in such a positive way that suddenly not having her there anymore made them feel a little bit lost.

"She's a mage Ace and a good one at that, if she ever does come back, I'm sure she'll be able to find us." Samson placed his hand on his friend's shoulder and let out a sigh.

"We can't stay docked here in the middle of the ocean forever. Some of the crew members are becoming restless. They don't understand what's going on."

Ace punched the floor below him, leaving behind a large singed hole from his flaming fist. "If I let us leave, that means I'm giving up. That I'm giving up on her ever coming back." He stared into Samson's eyes, pleading with him. "I don't want to give up on her, she wanted to stay. I can't let this be over."

"If you don't give up on her, your crew will give up on you. She would want you to continue to make the Spade's strong so when she does return to us, her crew will be one of the most feared band of pirates sailing the seas."

This was why he didn't want to talk to Samson, he knew that he would be able to change his mind. Samson was always the voice of reason and that was why he was his first mate and best friend. He trusted him with his life.

Ace knew that his duty was to his crew and to his ship. As much as it pained him, Samson was right. They had to continue on their journey to becoming one of the most fearsome pirate crews in the east blue and they could only do that if they actually got back out onto the sea and started getting their name known.

They were already well known but not anywhere near enough to reach his goal of getting the one piece. Samson cleared his throat and held out Ace's signature hat for him to take. Pulling a sad smile, Ace took the hat and placed it on top of his messy head of hair. "Okay Sam, you win. Let's go be pirates. For Lucy."

Samson grinned as he pulled Ace up to his feet and wrapped his arm around his shoulder. "Hell yes buddy, for Lucy."