In this chapter you'll get to see more about Lucy and see what's up with her.

Please Review!

Lucy sat alone in the cold hospital room. She looked around, taking in the surroundings more familiar than her own bedroom. She had a standard hospital bed in corner of the room, a chest at the base with hospital gowns stored inside. A large bench was at wall where her head would be, many different vials, meters, bottles, and other medical supplies were lined up. The other side of the room had a bookshelf and a beanbag chair on the floor. She had a couple shelves hanging on the walls filled with picture frames, flowers, and different important mementos from her childhood. Her "normal" clothes were stored in the small closet beside her bookshelf.

She knew there was something she wasn't being told. Being pulled out of school was a big red flag for her. She had been experiencing side-effects because of her condition that she's never had before, which could have been the reason, though she couldn't be sure. She was worried how her little outburst affected everyone and what they were saying about it. Laxus was probably being asked all sort of questions at that exact moment. Then again, school may be over. She didn't have any windows or clocks in her room. Time passed by aimlessly in there.

"Miss Lucy?" Aries asked, poking her head into the room. She was one of the nurses at the hospital, only a few years older than Lucy. She had been taking care of the blonde since she began her position as a nurse three years prior. The two quickly became good friends. "I brought your dinner."

"Thank you," Lucy said, unable to even fake a smile.

Aries brought in a tray with mashed potatoes, corn, and a small piece of steak. She set up a collapsible table and set the tray down, along with a cup of milk. "Dr. Simon said that the steak should help your blood count. I hope this meal is acceptable."

"It's fine," Lucy said, blankly staring at her food. "Can you tell me what's going on? No one is telling me anything. I know something is happening."

Aries pursed her lips. "I don't know much more than you do." She sighed and stood up. "I'm not allowed to tell you what's happening, but I will say that we are all working hard to help you get better. My shift is over, so another nurse will be getting your dishes later in the evening."

Once Aries had left, Lucy pushed the table away and laid down on her bed. How could she eat in a time like this?

X

Jellal woke up around five, surprised to find that he was in his own bed. He remembered feeling lightheaded in school. Erza must have brought him home. That didn't explain why the house was oddly quiet, though.

Getting up, with shaky legs and a hot head, he made his way downstairs. He was simply wearing a pair of sweatpants. It would have been good idea for him to put clothes on, since he was sick, but he didn't really have the energy to care.

He found his family in the dining room. There were two pizza boxes and a case of soda on the table. Everyone was sitting down, eating and chatting happily. Even the girls looked like they were all better. Evergreen probably gave them the good medicine that he couldn't afford. Erza was feeding Carla, who was giggling happy about her purified peas.

"Jellal!" Wendy squealed happily, jumping out of her seat to run over to her brother.

"I'm glad you finally woke up," Erza said. Her cheek color rivaling her hair. Why hadn't she put a shirt on him again? It was embarrassing enough to have to change him out of his school uniform and into sweatpants. She stood up from her chair. "I brought some soup over. I'll go heat it up for you." She began walking to the kitchen, but Jellal stopped her.

"Don't worry," he said. "I'm actually leaving."

"What?" Levy gasped. "You're sick! You can't go anywhere!"

"That's right," Erza agreed. She went over to Jellal and began pushing him back up the stairs. "There's no way I'm letting you go anywhere. You've been working yourself way too hard lately. You'll be lucky if I let you go to school tomorrow!"

Jellal rolled his eyes as they entered his bedroom. He went over to his dresser to pull out a pair of jeans and a shirt. He slipped the shirt over his head. "I have somewhere I need to go," he said. He pulled off his pants, causing Erza to blush on a whole other level, which he didn't notice. He just put his jeans on and grabbed a coat. "I appreciate you taking care of dinner and everything, but I really have to go."

"Jellal!" Erza snapped, grabbing his arm before he could leave the room. He looked over his shoulder at her. "Can't you see that I'm trying to help you? You're always being the hero and it's effecting you. Every day I have to watch you keep everything running smoothly at home and school. You refuse to let anyone help you, even though everyone wants to. I know that you're going through a hard time, but you have to let us help you. You have to let me help you."

She hadn't realized that she was crying until her tears were wiped from her cheeks. "I know what you're all trying to do," he admitted. "I just want to be strong enough to this all on my own."

"We all know you're strong," she said, her voice cracking through her tears. "You don't have to prove anything to me or anyone else."

When Lucy had cried in the hallway, Jellal had remembered the moment his father told him to kiss a girl if they were crying. Erza was crying right in front of him and the thought never crossed his mind. The only thing he was thinking about was getting to Lucy to see what was happening.

All he could do for Erza was apologize and walk away.

X

Laxus walked down the hallway, his destination being Lucy's room. When he got close he heard yelling. He started running, swinging the door open forcefully when he got there. Lucy was on her bed, a nurse holding her down while another tried to force-feed her. Anger boiled inside him. "Leave!" he yelled. The nurses were all afraid of him, so they wasted no time in leaving.

"Laxus," Lucy choked out, tears rolling down her face. He sat beside her. Her arms wove around his neck and she moved to sit on his lap. "I want to go home. I hate this room. They make me eat and do things I don't want to do."

"Why aren't you eating?" His eyebrows were crunched together in worry and thought. It would be awful if she didn't eat, since her body had enough issues with her properly taking care of herself. Denying her body of it's necessary nutrients would have a disastrous effect.

Lucy didn't speak for a couple minutes. She didn't know if she could tell Laxus. How exactly could she say that she's incredibly sad because of something he's making her do? She wasn't exactly sure what Jellal was to her. That didn't matter, though. Whatever he was to her, she wasn't about to give up on what they had together. "I don't want to leave everything," she finally admitted.

"I know you don't." He started to soothingly rub her back. He hated seeing her so upset. Sadly, she's cried in his arms too many times to count. "You just have to trust us. Dr. Simon is going to make you all better. We're going to figure out a way to make your life normal like everyone else's. You'll be able to do everything anyone else can."

Lucy was about to go on about how that could never happen, but someone knocked on her door. She detached herself from her brother and went to see who it was.

She certainly didn't expect to see the person she was going to miss the most.