A New Family

Chapter 11

Another Step in Life

The next morning was a slow start. Everyone was tired from all of the fun from their little "baby shower," but they didn't regret a thing. The first one awake was Lucy. She silently climbed out of bed and made her way to the backyard. From now on, that was her favorite spot in the entire house. Nothing could make her feel better than hearing her first spirit say she loves her and that all of this time was not for nothing. She looked out to the horizon and smiled.

"Good morning." She turned around to see the other two sleepy heads rubbing their eyes with messy hair.

"Good morning Lucy-san," Wendy said with a yawn. Lucy couldn't help but laugh.

"What? Did we say something funny?"

"Of course not. You guys are just funny." She walked over to them and pulled them in for a group. At that moment, the squeeze of her hug woke them as their eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. "Good morning to you too."

"Lucy, you're killing us." She completely ignored their comment. She kept on going until she felt it was a good enough hug.

After their early morning scuffle, they got ready and headed into town. They realized that they didn't spend a lot of time around the guild anymore, but then again, they had a reason not to be there. However, they decided that today would be a good day for that. With no purpose in mind and no motivation to go on a job, they five of them walked to the guild, ready to spend some time with everyone else.

When they arrived, everyone welcomed them with open arms just like old times. Natsu made his way through the building when a special someone came running right at him with her arms wide open. He crouched down and opened up arms as well. She jumped into his arms and he swung her around and around until he got dizzy once that was done, he threw her over his shoulders and smiled.

"Hey Asuca, long time no see. How've you been?"

"Good. My shooting skills have gotten a lot better thanks to mommy and daddy."

"Oh, is that true?" She nodded. "Well, it looks as though we have to have a shoot-out to see who the better shooter is."

"You're on." Without wasting any more time, Natsu ran out of the building where the two of them prepared a little shoot-out. On the other hand, Lucy found herself taking a seat next to Bisca and surprisingly, Alzack wasn't there with her.

"Hey Lucy, congratulations. I know you've been hearing that a lot, but I am really happy for you two."

"Aw, thank you. It still kind of feels weird."

"Haha, don't worry about it. You'll get used to it." There was a slight paused in their conversation before one of them spoke up again. "I totally forgot how good Natsu was with kids. All that stuff that happened before this made me forget. He's such a family man." At that moment, a thought came to mind.

"Hey Bisca, would you mind if I asked you a question?"

"Sure, what's up?"

"Um, don't spread this around, I'm begging you."

"Don't worry. I know when not to say anything." She looked her in the eyes and knew that she was telling the truth.

"Okay." She took a deep breath and spoke her mind. "I'm pregnant." Right as she said that, Bisca nearly went crazy if not to for Lucy covering her mouth in desperation. "I thought I told you to be quiet." She squirmed around a bit more before finally calming down.

"Sorry, it's just that you don't hear that often around here. Wow, really?" Lucy nodded her head. "That's incredible."

"Yeah, it is. I just wanted to ask you about how you handled carrying Asuca." Lucy knew she was asking the right person. Bisca was a great mom and she was pretty much the only one in the guild who experienced childbirth.

"I'll be honest, it's really difficult, especially in the final stretch. You really have to know your limits when it comes to that time. Be sure to eat healthy because it'll really help once it's all over. No alcohol, but then again, you don't even drink so you have nothing worry about." The two of them laughed. "But this is the most important part. Having a child will cause you to experience some changes in behavior. This is only temporary, but if Natsu ever asks to help you with something, allow him to help you. That's the most your partner can do for you."

"I see. Thank you, for answering my question."

"Of course. We're all family so there's no trouble in asking a simple question like that. All I can say now is good luck."

"Yeah, that's true." Lucy couldn't help but feel a little nervous. She didn't know much about pregnancy, but she did know that this was going to be a big bump in the road. However, she knew that if she had Natsu by her side, things would go pretty well. At that moment, the door swung open and Natsu and Asuca barged through with loud voices as always.

"Hey everyone, Natsu-san sucks at shooting!"

"Shut it! You just got lucky that I had an off-day."

"Haha." With her gun in hand, she skipped over to Bisca and told her all about it. The story brought a smile on everyone's faces as everyone else ridiculed Natsu for his little failure. He did his best to keep his cool while he made his way over to Lucy. By the time, he got there, Asuca already left. He kissed Lucy on the cheek and sat down next to her.

"So word on the street said that you got your butt kicked? Haha!"

"Oh, come one. Not you too."

"I'm sorry. It was just the spur of the moment." Natsu sighed, but Lucy figured something was up so she pulled him by the arm and whispered in his ear. "Did you do it on purpose?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Don't you remember the last time you and Asuca had a shoot-out? You totally faked it." Natsu suddenly smiled.

"Oh yeah, I totally remember that now. She's still young though. She's got time."

"You're so bad," she said as she pushed him away.

End of Chapter 11