Natsu watches Gina walk into the garden back in Magnolia; slowly approaching the big tree in the center with her arms hanging limp at her sides as if paralyzed. He follows behind from a distance, just watching and wondering what she will do. He could tell when the old man died because she'd looked like she was trying not to scream inside the house. She seems to have cared for the old guy a lot, and held his body and cried for a long time.

Natsu had half expected her to cry some more on the train ride home this morning. Instead, she'd been stone faced and completely zoned out, and is now wandering around like a zombie.

"Do you think she's gonna be okay?" Happy asks in a whisper, sounding like he's going to cry himself. "Why isn't she going home?"

"I don't know," Natsu admits. He still doesn't really know her that well, but she sure doesn't seem okay.

Suddenly, Gina drops to her knees in the damp soil, bracing an arm against the tree's wide trunk. Her shoulders begin to shake, and Natsu becomes frustrated that he can't see her face from this viewpoint behind her. He also hates not knowing if he should just run to her like he would do for Lucy if she were crying. He's not sure if she'll be angry with him. She seems to get angry easily. He starts circling around, trying to get a better view while staying out of sight. A couple of random people out on the walkways this early in the morning have already begun to stare at her odd behavior.

As he circles, Gina drops further; clawing her fingers into the damp soil in front of her with both hands, and pressing her face within inches of the ground. Her teeth look clenched together hard enough to risk breaking them.

Ah hell, he thinks when he can finally see her tear-streaked face, she IS crying.

"What do we do?" Happy mumbles sadly.

"I don't know!" he spits back in a hoarse whisper, more frustrated with himself than Happy.

Suddenly, Gina shouts. It's a sound caught somewhere in between grief and anger. She sits back upright on her heels, and begins tearing one of the pretty bell sleeves off of her dress.

"What's she doing?" Happy shouts as Gina starts tearing the second sleeve off.

"Beats me…" he mumbles.

Natsu's eyes widen as Gina gets shakily to her feet and begins tearing at the entire dress itself. She grabs the collar and begins shredding, ripping it straight down the center in both the front and the back.

Holy shit! he thinks in panic. She's gonna wind up as naked as Gray in the middle of the garden!

"Gina stop!" he shouts, but she doesn't even react like she's heard him.

He starts sprinting right at her, as she lets out another strangled and angry shout. The dress has refused to tear beyond a seam just under her breasts, and she instead begins tearing at the skirt. Then she grabs the hair clip out of her hair and tosses it to the wet ground, with her beautiful black tresses spilling out haphazardly. Just before he reaches her, her voice finally chokes on a sob.

"Gina!" he shouts to her again, grabbing her wrists.

"Let me go!" she screams, not looking him in the eyes; attempting to wrench her wrists out of his hands.

"Look, I know you're upset, but this isn't a good idea," he says, trying to get through to her.

Suddenly her eyes snap open and look up to his face, as if in shock.

"Natsu?" she mumbles with a heart-wrenching tremble to her voice.

Before he can even answer her, her body collapses again as if all her strength has left her. He catches her around the waist, halfway to the ground, and tries to break her fall as much as he can. After she's plopped down onto the wet soil again he sits down gently beside her, hoping she will let him talk to her or something… anything.

Next she does something even more bizarre. She throws her arms around his neck, enveloping him in the scent of chocolate and that stupid weasel thing, and presses her face against his neck.

"Oh, Natsu…" she whispers.

Then she finally, truly breaks. She begins to wail like a woman who had lost a lover or family member. Her arms around his neck tighten as if she thinks he will be ripped away, and she has to cling with all the strength she possesses. Her wails aren't the gentle sobs he has heard from Lucy before. They are gut-wrenching, crippling screams. They remind him of the way Mirajane sounded after Lisanna's funeral. The very thought brings tears to his eyes, and with her lying there losing her mind in his arms, he doesn't care if a couple of them escape down his own cheeks.

A movement out of the corner of his eye catches his attention as a storekeeper opens his door to see what all the commotion is about. More and more people begin to stop and stare, and Natsu is overwhelmed with the need to hide her from their prying eyes.

It's none of their business… his thoughts hiss. They should just leave her alone. They don't know anything about her, or that old guy!

He scoops her up with his arms, resting his back against the thick bark of the tree, and pulling her more fully into his lap. Her screams and sobs continue as he tucks her head protectively beneath his chin and wraps his arms up behind her neck and back. He glares out at the small throng that has gathered, and a few of them are smart enough to skitter off.

"It's okay," he whispers into her ear, stroking his fingers gently through her beautiful black hair. "You know that Gina, right? You're gonna be okay."

He presses his face against her hair, and is comforted to get a whiff of her true scent for the first time in weeks. God she smells like heaven… He glances around, self-consciously, and notices her little weasel thing sitting a short distance away with what he can only assume are sad eyes. Happy paws over to Ming slowly, and reaches a paw out to place on Ming's shoulder. The small creature hangs its head.

Gina cries for what feels like hours, but Natsu is sure it's a much shorter time. Everyone always tells him he has no patience, and he wants her to feel better now. He wants to make her pain stop, but feels helpless to do anything but sit here, with water soaking up from the ground and into their clothes.

As Gina's sobs slowly begin to lessen in strength, he catches sight of Elfman standing on the edge of the crowd. The big man is standing there watching them with his fists balled at his sides; crying even worse than Lucy would be. When Natsu locks eyes with him, Elfman brushes some of the tears from his eyes, and Natsu is surprised to remember that he has a few of his own on his face. He remembers hearing something Elfman said once.

Manly men are weak to womanly tears! Elfman had proclaimed, begging Lucy to stop crying.

That makes Natsu feel slightly better about the whole thing, but he still has the overwhelming desire to hide Gina from all of them. Then he realizes she is no longer sobbing.

"Hey Gina," he says looking down at her face against his chest. "Are you…"

But she is out cold. She's cried herself to sleep right on his shoulder. Natsu feels something warm and… weird… stir inside of his chest. Her face is peaceful, despite the tears still outlined by the mascara that has run down her cheeks.

"What the hell happened?" he hears Elfman choke from up above them. Ming responds to the big man by running up his pants leg and curling up on his shoulder. "Hey there little guy."

"A friend of hers died tonight I think," Natsu tries to explain in a whisper. "I'm not really sure, but I think that's what happened."

"Man that's rough," Elfman replies in a subdued tone. "Do you think you can get her home?"

"Yeah," Natsu sighs, standing up and lifting Gina into his arms bridal-style. She is surprisingly light for her size. "I'll get her back to the apartment. She's worn out."

"Be careful with her," Elfman stresses.

Natsu carries Gina all the way back to the apartment as gently as he can manage; trying not to wake her. The feeling of her in his arms is making him feel funny. He feels savagely overprotective, as if itching for a fight, but he also feels warm and happy in a way that makes absolutely no sense at all. When he gets to Lucy's door, he nods his head to Happy, who manages to fly in through Lucy's outside window and get her apartment door open from the inside.

When the door opens, Lucy is hot on Happy's heels and looks like she was about to scream at him like normal, but one look at Gina's limp form in Natsu's arms silences her. She just stares at them in surprise with her mouth hanging open. Gray is already here apparently, sitting at Lucy's desk in just his pants. When Gray catches sight of them, he jumps to his feet.

"What the hell…" Gray asks under his breath, scrutinizing Natsu's every move.

Back off lover boy! Natsu spits inside his head, glaring at Gray. You should have been there for her if you cared so much!

He doesn't care right now that Gray doesn't even know Gina left last night. He's jealous of the relationship they share, and right now, he just wants to keep Gina's pain for himself. He protected her, not Gray. She cried on his shoulder.

Natsu walks over to the couch without a word, and gently lays Gina down as Happy pulls back the blankets that were left there from the night before. He gently cradles her head in his arm as he rests the big, fluffy pillow beneath it. She doesn't even stir as he pulls the blanket up to her chin. Then, just to spite Gray, he kisses her forehead tenderly; as if he has a right to.

"Natsu…" she mumbles softly, and he can't help the smile that breaks out across his face.

Natsu, he thought. Not Gray. She knows it's me!

He feels as giddy as a schoolboy when he turns around, and then feels like he's been doused with Juvia's water after seeing Lucy's face. She is staring at Gina with unshed tears in her eyes, biting her nails.

"What the hell is going on, Natsu?" Gray asks in a dangerous tone.

Natsu wants to scream at him, but he won't risk waking Gina. Instead, he shoves his hands in his pockets and walks out of the apartment; heading for the guild hall.

"Gray, your shirt…" Lucy whispers, and Natsu hears her grab her keys as she follows him out the door.

"Damn," Gray mutters, following suit.

Natsu walked the entire way to the guild hall without another word to Lucy and Gray. He's not sure what he should tell them. Gina didn't seem to want people to know she left last night… but then she freaked out in the middle of the garden… so what the hell am I supposed to tell everyone?

He walks up to the bar and just lets his forehead collide with the bar top, hearing Mirajane slide a drink up to him. Smells like his favorite beer. He feels suddenly exhausted.

"I'm sorry to hear about Gina, Natsu," Mira's concerned voice calls out, as he can feel her touch his shoulder gently. "Elfman told me what happened."

Oh… well that's convenient at least, he thinks with a heavy sigh.

"You have about 1 minute…" he hears Gray's voice storm up behind him after the guild hall door slams open again, "to tell me what the hell happened flame-brain!"

"Gray… hold up," Lucy says in her diplomatic voice.

Natsu's temper flares, and he spins around to face Gray.

"One minute huh, ice prince?!" he shouts back, holding up a flaming fist and itching to punch Gray; just for the sake of having something to hit. "I don't see why I have to explain anything!"

"You don't see why?!" Gray screams in disbelief. "You bring Gina home looking like that, and you don't see why we wanna know what the HELL happened?!"

"Now hold up a minute you two…" Elfman cuts in, placing himself between the two irate mages. "I think we all just need to take a minute to breathe and talk this out like men. Okay?"

"I don't have to justify myself to this loser!" Natsu objects. "If you cared about her so much, you should have been there! You went out on a job and left her here, so don't blame me for stepping up to the plate and taking care of her when you weren't around, jerk!"

Gray suddenly looks confused. "What the hell are you talking about?! What does me going on a job have to do with anything? Why…"

"SHUT UP!" Elfman finally shouts over them. "Look, I know you two hotheads care about Gina. We all do. But I saw what happened Gray, and Natsu didn't do anything wrong. And Natsu… stop being angry with Gray for wanting to know what happened."

"Natsu," Lucy chimes in with a tremble in her voice. "We just want to know what happened to her. Did someone hurt her? Please tell me if..."

"No," Natsu says, cutting her off and feeling his anger deflate. "No one hurt her. She just… was really upset."

"Being upset did that kinda damage to her clothes?" Gray scoffs.

"Actually yeah," Elfman chimes in again. "I was there, and I saw what happened. Gina came walking into the garden looking real out of it. Then she… freaked out. She was tearing everything up; her clothes, her hair, even the ground. I didn't know what could have made her so upset until Natsu told me later. The only reason she wasn't in worse shape is because Natsu ran in and stopped her. I don't know what Natsu said, but it snapped her out of her rage, and she broke down crying instead. He stepped in… like a real man… and held her until she cried herself to sleep. Then he brought her home. I came back here with Ming to tell Mira what happened."

Elfman points over to the small ferret lying on the bar top.

"Is he okay?" Lucy asks in surprise.

"I'm not sure," Elfman replies, scratching the back of his head. "Must have been hard on the little guy seeing her so upset. Animals have feelings too you know."

"And apparently binge drinking habits," Cana chimes in. "The little rat drank my beer and then passed out." She pokes him with her finger; annoyed.

"So what made her so upset?" Lucy asks, looking at Natsu expectantly.

Shit… "I, uh…" Natsu struggles with his conscience. "I don't know how much she'd want me to say. I don't think she even realizes I know. It's just… I think someone she cared about died tonight, okay? Well… I mean… someone did die tonight, and it seems an awful lot like she cared. That's as much as I think I should say."

"Oh God, that's terrible," Lucy whimpers.

"It doesn't seem like the kind of thing she wants people asking about, though," Natsu feels the need to clarify. "So we should probably just… let her handle it however she wants to."

"Of course," Mira's soft voice agrees. "Death is different for everyone."

Gray stares at the floor, and says, "Look man, I'm sorry if I…"

"It doesn't matter…" Natsu interrupts, not wanting to admit that Gray has a right to demand to know what happened to his girl. "She's home. She's safe. Lucy, you should probably give Ming a lift home. Problem solved, and I feel dead on my feet. So if you don't mind… I'm out."

"Sure thing, little buddy," Elfman says, patting him on the shoulder as he heads for the door.

Bickslow and Freed sit at a table in the far corner of the room, watching the drama unfold over at the bar.

"That woman causes trouble wherever she goes…" Freed muses.

He pulls his long green hair over his shoulder with a huff before resting his hand back on his saber. Bickslow's souls float around him and chant, "Trouble, Trouble!"

"Yeah, same old story, huh?" Bickslow laughs. "I have to admit though… I never thought anyone would see Gina freak out like that. Almost wish I'd been there. Do you think we should tell him?"

Freed rolls his eyes dramatically. "Yes, I suppose. It's our responsibility to keep Laxus informed, and this is something he would be very angry if we left out… as much as I would prefer he not be bothered with it."

"So… what do you think of the arrangement she has with the old man?" Bickslow asks.

"I think he has no idea how much trouble he's invited, then again… it is Makarov we're talking about so he's probably giddy about the idea." Freed turns to Bickslow, narrowing his eyes. "You knew didn't you?"

"Of course, I did," Bickslow barks out his rough laugh. "I see souls, remember? I knew she wasn't human from the beginning, and I told Laxus as much. He didn't care - said the perks were worth it. Of course… then when she left him and he went bananas, he suddenly demanded that I tell him everything I knew. Problem is, I didn't know what she was. I'd seen it before. Makes sense now why it was always women, but I didn't know she was a nymph. Didn't even think they were real." Bickslow chuckles again. "Go Laxus."

"Do you think he'll try to come see her?" Freed wonders, sounding slightly excited.

"Not sure," Bickslow replies with a shrug. "I don't think he's hung up on her like he used to be, but he probably wouldn't pass up the chance for some tail. He can't come here though, so it may be pointless."

"She's not always at Fairy Tail, though," Freed points out.

"Awww…" Bickslow croons falsely. "Freed, I didn't think you cared."

Gina stands in the shower, letting the water run over her skin. She's been in here for long enough that the hot water ran out a half an hour ago, but she just lets flames lap across the surface of her skin to heat it as it lands. She planned on stepping out when her tears ran dry, but that hasn't happened yet.

Ming is seated in the soap dish that hangs from the shower-head. He's been busily grooming himself and shaking out his fur again and again. He loves to play in water. Suddenly he turns to her and reaches out, placing his little paws on either side of her face. His eyes beg her to snap out of it. She hasn't left the apartment since Natsu brought her home three days ago.

"I'm sorry, Ming," she sighs. "I just… I don't know where to go from here."

Ming fluffs out his fur in frustration, waving his little arms, chittering, and gesturing out to the living room.

"Yes, I know Natsu helped me," she argues with him, once again. "I'm not saying he's not a good man. I'm saying I don't know what I want anymore. We've been through this."

Ming places his paws on either side of his face and swoons in frustration. Then he curls up in a ball and places his nose into his fur - effectively giving her the silent treatment.

Ming and his family members have been partners with her family for many generations. She has known him since he was first born. He has never agreed with the pressure her family has placed on her, and has always been more than delighted to help her stall them in whatever means was necessary. However, since the incident in the garden… Ming has been practically waving pom-poms for team Natsu Dragneel, and insisting that she give him a chance at being her Sire.

There is no WAY she is ready for that. Not now.

Ming is furious with her. He knows how sick she has become, and he knows that any lover she would take - as long as their affection was genuine - would strengthen her. But she's no longer sure she wants to keep living at all.

Living is painful.

Watching Gavin die was heartbreaking, but feeling his final energy drain from him and into her was unbearable. Then in the garden, she felt Natsu's strength leach into her even as she wanted to fade away. It was cruel irony to feel his affection for her stronger than ever when she didn't want to feel it at all. Ming watched it happen, and began rooting for Natsu the next morning; convinced that the dragon-slayer can bring her back from the illness she's fallen into. He's even more furious at her continued use of Gray to stay hidden.

The truth is… she's tired of this game. She doesn't like the idea of watching friend after friend, and lover after lover die in an endless march of time. She's always believed she wasn't cut out to be a nymph - much less a queen. She'd rather just fade away, and hope the world decides to replace her with a woman more fit to the task. Someone who can handle it better.

So what if Natsu could give me a little more life? A lot of people could. The mere fact that he's a fire mage doesn't justify seducing him into my misery so I can live off of him.

She finally shuts off the water, wraps herself in a towel, and heads for Lucy's bedroom. She mentally picks out her outfit for today - t-shirt and shorts, just like yesterday - and begins getting dressed. Ming is chattering like mad, skittering in behind her.

"What?" she asks, as he runs up and shakes water all over her and causes her to squeal. "Ugh! What was that for?"

He runs over to the bed and begins towing the blankets off it with his teeth. She decides to ignore his antics. She slips on her underclothes and tosses her towel aside after mussing it through her hair. She reaches into the dresser to pull out her t-shirt, and freezes when she sees a wide pair of black eyes staring back at her.

"Uhhh…" Natsu squeaks in apparent distress, as Ming continues pulling madly at his pink hair.

You little rat! Gina shrieks mentally, shutting her eyes and gritting her teeth. "Natsu…" she seethes.

"I… Uh…" Natsu seems to be at a complete loss for words, and just continues to stare at her.

With a sigh, she throws the t-shirt on over her head before finding the shorts and slipping them on as well. She'd forgotten that the dragon-slayer has an odd habit of sleeping in Lucy's bed whenever he feels like it. She hadn't even thought to check, but Ming obviously knew. Ming woke him up to gawk at her; apparently doing the job she refuses to. When she turns back around, Natsu's face is completely beet red, but he seems frozen in place.

She walks right up to him, and leans in to within a couple of inches of his nose, glaring intensely. She can feel lust pouring off him, but he looks mildly terrified. He backs up until his head hits the wall, and he can retreat no further.

Natsu swallows hard, "Gina I…"

"Shut up," she barks. "You utter one word about this to anyone, and I swear… you will regret it Natsu. Are we clear?"

"Yes…" he chokes, nodding intensely.

"Come here, you brat," she scolds, snatching Ming off Natsu's head and storming from the room as he chitters angrily and claws at her hand.

Holy crap… Natsu thinks with his heart racing wildly, watching Gina's gorgeous body storm out of the room with the little, smelly rat. What just happened?!

He'd stopped by to check on Gina after leaving the guild hall last night. She'd been moping around the apartment for days, and Lucy said she wasn't talking about what happened. He thought maybe he could cheer her up, but she'd been asleep by the time he got here. Lucy was out on a job with Cana and Levy - some weird casino gig that needed women-only - so he'd decided to crash in her bed instead of going all the way home.

The next thing he knew, something small and loud was tugging on his hair. When he opened his eyes, Gina was standing there dripping wet and half-naked with her back to him!

What the hell was I supposed to do?! Everything that started to come out of my mouth… Holy God. Am I awake? You're not wearing any clothes! Am I dreaming? You're fucking beautiful. Are those black lace? Wow, this is awkward. Are you mad? Ohhh….. God. If I died right now, it would SO be worth it. I know this looks bad, but… All the wrong things to say to a furious half-naked woman!

He couldn't tell who she was more mad at, him or Ming. That stupid, smelly jerk! He did that on purpose! He suspected that Ming didn't like him, but he didn't think Ming wanted him dead. Natsu face-plants into the mattress with a groan. What am I supposed to do NOW?

Casually leaving would be the coward's way out, and Natsu is no coward. Besides, the entire reason he was here was to see if she would talk to him. Maybe mad would be better than sad. Natsu sits up and tries to shake off the panic. Then he stands, adjusts his pants to keep from embarrassing himself further, and boldly heads into the living room.

Gina is sitting at the small kitchen table, eating a bowl of cereal. There appears to be a bowl set aside for him too, but there's fire in it!

"Gee thanks!" he says in total surprise, scooping up the flame and scarfing it down. "What did you light this with? It tastes amazing!"

"My coin," she mumbles.

"Oh yeah," he replies, recognizing the flavor. "So… does this mean you've decided not to kill me?"

"Don't get too excited," she says with a glare. "I meant what I said. I WILL kill you if you tell anyone. But I know Ming woke you up. He was being an ass."

"Apparently he wants me dead more than you do," Natsu laughs.

Gina freezes with the spoon halfway to her mouth. Then she just stares off into space, and Natsu realizes he just shoved his foot in his mouth.

"Oh man, I'm sorry," Natsu flounders. "I didn't mean that. I mean… I'm sorry about your friend. Do you want to talk about it?"

"What?" Gina says, turning to him with surprise written all over her face. "How do you know about that?!"

"Uhhh… I followed you," he admits.

"When?"

"When you left Magnolia that night," he says, rubbing the back of his head. "I saw someone leaving Lucy's apartment and I was worried. Turned out to be you, but then I was worried that maybe you were in some kind of trouble. Then… when you met the old geezer, Happy and I were already stuck in Mapleton until morning, so… I…"

"You FOLLOWED me?!" she screeches. "You had no right!"

"I know," Natsu admits, holding his hands up in surrender. "Look, I feel bad. But I'm being honest! I want you to know you can talk to me about it."

"You're the reason Lucy knew someone had died!" she fumes.

"Yes, but that's all I told them," he tries to clarify. "How else was I supposed to explain you freaking out like that? But I told them if they wanted to know anything else, you'd have to tell them."

Gina grinds her teeth together, and tears begin to stream down her face.

"Hey, hey.." he jumps up, rushing to comfort her.

Gina pinches her bottom lip between her teeth and begins to sob. Natsu puts his arm around her, and she presses her tear-soaked face into his neck. Her beautiful scent taunts his senses.

Man I hate to see her cry like this… he thinks, feeling that warm sensation build in his chest again. I wish I could take her pain away.

Suddenly, Gina pushes him away. "Go away, Natsu."

"But I…" he objects, confused.

Suddenly, Ming hops up on the table making all kinds of noise and looking very angry. For a second, Natsu thinks the little guy is mad at him, but he turns to Gina in surprise when he realizes the little ferret is yelling at her.

What the hell?

"You stay out of it!" Gina screeches at him.

Ming flips backwards off the table, and lands on Natsu's shoulder - the smell making Natsu instantly queasy. He shakes his little fist, and continues chattering. Gina pushes herself away from the table, and heads back to the bedroom.

"Please," she says, pausing without turning back. "Both of you. Just go."