A/N: This is the last of the pre-written chapters, so from here on out updates will be every second week. Thank you so much for all your kind reviews and I apologize if I haven't responded to you privately.


"So Princess, I was thinking that you should formally sign a contract with Gray and summon him whenever. He's already taken over our job of protecting you." Loke stated nonchalantly as he fiddled with the metal bars of the newly constructed cage, but his words held no real ill intent.

"Ha ha, very funny. If you'd just done your job, I wouldn't have had to sock the brat in the face." Gray muttered sourly from beside the spirit of the lion. They were helping Ed and Lucy put the finishing touches on the cage before taking it for a test run and Loke was poking fun at Gray every opportunity he got.

"Ah, but then I wouldn't have gotten to see you cradle Lucy in your arms! And we both know that you wanted to hit him sooo bad." Loke laughed and adjusted his glasses on his nose, making his rings gleam in the sparse sunlight in the cells. Gray muttered something under his breath that only Loke caught, which only made the spirit laugh harder.

"He's not that much younger than you." Lucy pointed out and narrowed her eyes at the piece of paper she was clutching in her hand. The runes she had chosen to apply to the cage were flowing together in front of her eyes. She had developed a headache the previous day, which had only gotten worse and now she was starting to feel sick on top of everything. She walked away from her working boys and tried to find a spot with more light so that she could see her writing better.

"Funny, he sure acts like a brat." Gray replied dryly and tightened some of the bolts he could spot along the grid. The cage was simple enough in its entity, but Ed had somehow constructed it so it worked like a puzzle. Certain bolts and handles needed to be pulled into their proper places to open it.

"You're just jealous of him. That's why you hate his guts." Loke teased and started moving his hands along the metal cage, infusing it with his magic and welding it together at the joints for more stability. When Gray remained quiet for more than a few seconds, Loke stopped what he was doing and turned to his guildmate, gaping.

"Seriously?" He asked incredulously, but remembered to lower his voice so Lucy didn't hear him.

"Of course not, and shut up. I'm trying to work here." Gray rolled his eyes irritably and focused his attention to a screw that needed to be pushed farther in.

"Dude, what is going on? I thought you and Lucy had a thing?" The lion spirit whispered and his eyes bore into Gray's head. If the ice mage was playing with Lucy, there would be hell to pay and Leo would personally ensure that the ice mage suffered as much as possible.

"Yeah. No. Ugh, whatever." Gray sighed and threw up his hands in defeat. The damn screw was stuck and he didn't want to apply even more force and possibly break the structure and Loke's nosiness wasn't helping at all.

"What does that even mean?" The lion's eyes flashed dangerously and his voice took on an edge that Gray hadn't heard in a long time. He knew Loke was serious and wanted to shut down the issue before the spirit got too riled up and Lucy heard them.

"Look, I don't know what to tell you. It feels like there is something between us, but I can't very well ask her when she was just attacked." Gray snapped at him and sighed in irritation. This whole mission was getting on his nerves. He had been delayed by weeks and was potentially dealing with angry mermaids on a mission he just happened to stumble in on. He still hadn't found the object he had been asked to retrieve, partly because he hadn't really paid it much thought since becoming closer with Lucy. And then there was that aching in his chest whenever they were together that kept distracting him and made his insides go all gooey.

Glancing in her direction, Gray could feel warmth spread in his chest at the sight of his blonde teammate studying the inscription on the paper. Her hair fell over her shoulder and her eyes were focused, but the light caught them just right and made them sparkle. She was absolutely stunning and he knew it, but there was something that wasn't quite right with the way she was holding the paper so close to her face.

"Why not?" Loke hadn't missed the way his friend's eyes searched for his princess, but he only saw admiration in Gray's eyes when he looked back at the spirit of the lion. The ice mage smiled ruefully and was about to elaborate when the blonde returned, mumbling about her handwriting being incomprehensible.

"Are you almost done? I'd like to finish the cage as soon as possible." Lucy looked up at them when she neared the cage that loomed over her. Since they didn't know the size of the mermaids, they had made it pretty spacious to accommodate them.

"In a second, Princess." Loke's usual goofiness returned without skipping a beat, but Gray didn't miss the pointed look he received. Their conversation wasn't over and he knew how persistent the lion spirit was when it came to his owner and her safety.

"Stop calling me that." Lucy mumbled absently as she passed her spirit. Her eyes were trained on the points of the grid she had chosen as the pillars to her runes, so she didn't see the smirk that crept onto his face.

"Oh, right. You go by Sweetcheeks now." He snickered and very wisely dispelled himself when Lucy whirled around with murderous intent oozing from her. Her eyes narrowed to slits as she sought her target and she felt the faint hum of magic coursing under her skin.

"Gray!" She hissed menacingly and slowly approached the ice mage, who far too late realized the danger he was in.


A few bruises later, Gray was almost done finishing the cage with Ed and Kai, who had returned just in time to save him from being pummeled by an angry, blonde mage. She still glared at Gray every now and then for letting the nickname reach her spirits, but she figured they would have found out sooner or later anyway.

"You can start now, Lucy." Gray called and stepped back to give her some more working space. He had briefly told the pirates of what she intended to do, so they were also standing next to him, watching in fascination when magic started flowing from her fingertips.

Gray observed Lucy when she started working and for the umpteenth time found himself admiring her skill. She was amazing. Lucy was a fantastic strategist and a surprisingly strong fighter, who possessed a will of steel as a result of many years of friendship with a certain dragon slayer. She was completely calm and focused as she started working on the first set of runes and her hand moved swiftly along the metal grid, inscribing symbols as she went. Gray's eyes moved from her slender arms over the curve of her back and up at her long pony tail that swished with her every movement. He knew it was wrong to just stare at her while she worked, but he couldn't help himself. She was captivating and he was slowly becoming more trapped in the mess that was his feelings.

"Blimey." Ed whistled and muttered something to Kai, who nodded eagerly in return.

"She's amazing, right?" Gray swelled with pride when the two pirates made agreeing sounds, their eyes glued to his teammate, who was bathed in a greenish light from the runes. They watched silently for the remaining time and only stepped closer when the runes glowed brightly all at once and then stopped emitting light.

"Lass, is there anything ye can't do?" Ed put a hand on her shoulder and nervously looked up at the cage. The runes had been etched onto the surface and were barely visible at a distance of a few meters.

"I don't know how to wield a sword." Lucy grinned cheekily after a moment's consideration, secretly happy and proud that she was receiving praise from the bandana wearing pirate.

"And people used'ta believe birds were witches and brought bad luck." Kai shook his head and crossed his arms over his chest dramatically.

When he did, he looked so much like his older brother that Gray had to remind himself that he actually liked this pirate and not glower at him like he would at his brother. Speaking of which, the older of the Twin Blades hadn't been around much since the previous evening. Gray wondered if Mateo was purposely putting distance between him and Lucy or was keeping to himself because the other pirates shunned him.

"I'll teach ye how to wield a sword. Then you'll be invincible!" Excitement got the better of Kai and he flailed his arms around too wildly and accidentally smacked Ed on the arm. Seeing regret and fear wash over his features, Gray and Lucy watched as he sprinted for his life with the older pirate barreling down the room and after him.

"Are you okay Lucy?" The ice mage finally addressed his teammate who let down her façade with a pained expression. He had watched as her brows had furrowed in concentration while she worked and had noticed that she seemed to overexert herself. She had poured too much magic into writing the runes, which in retrospect might be a blessing that they had been strengthened, but right now it was taking a toll on his teammate.

"I don't feel so good…" She admitted, which was unusual of her to do. Normally, she would insist that she was fine, but Gray remembered that she had been feeling kind of woozy since the previous day and it didn't help his growing concern for her.

"Maybe you should lie down for a while. Do you feel ill?" He asked and checked her temperature by putting his hand on her forehead. Sweat had formed along her hairline and made her hair stick to her face uncomfortably.

"My head hurts. I think I just need some air." The headache had returned full force once Lucy started writing the runes. Her throat had stopped hurting, but the pounding of her head had made it hard to focus on the runes. It felt like she was losing all of her energy and a deep aching settled into her bones.

"Let's go back to the cabin first." Gray suggested and put an arm around her waist, helping her walk. They hadn't walked too far before Lucy started wobbling on her feet and clutched onto his arm for support.

"Lucy?" Gray asked urgently and watched as her eyes started drooping, but he wasted no time waiting for her to faint. He put an arm under her legs and one behind her back and picked her up like she weighed nothing. Getting up the stairs took a little longer than expected, but by the time they were up on deck Lucy's head lolled to the side and her body went limp.

Fueled by adrenaline Gray rushed forwards and climbed up the last couple of stairs, yelling for someone to get a doctor. He made it to the cabin and set Lucy down gingerly while the resident doctor came rushing in. Gray hadn't expected Romano to show up with sleeves rolled back, all but sprinting over to where Lucy was lying motionless in her hammock. Ed and the two brothers had also entered the cabin and were waiting anxiously in the background.

"What happened to her?" The cook asked and knelt down in front of the blonde, opening her eyes one by one and calling her names a few times. When she didn't respond he tried shaking her shoulders – not too hard what with Gray and the other pirates breathing down his neck. Putting a hand on her forehead merely confirmed his suspicion of a fever.

"She told me her head hurt and couldn't walk straight, and then she passed out when I carried her out." Gray explained and ran a hand through his hair. His heart was still beating hard and he tried his best to calm down enough to be of help to the cook.

"Now that I think about it, she hasn't been feeling like herself for a few days, but it worsened overnight." The ice mage added as an afterthought. She had been cold a lot lately, was easily distracted and seemed unfocused at times, which was very unlike his Lucy.

"Maybe lassie overworked 'erself? She's been constantly planning and preparing for attacks." Ed suggested and watched as Romano felt her forehead with a grim expression.

"She's been using up a lot of her magic reserves too." Gray remembered her daily training sessions as well as experimenting with Solid Script and felt renewed worry gnawing at his stomach. How could he had been so careless and not noticed how much Lucy had been pushing herself?

"Will Lucy be alright?" Kai asked fearfully and knelt down next to the blonde to grab her hand. It felt clammy in his hand and for a brief moment images of his deceased sister flashed behind his eyes.

"I don't think it is hypothermia since her temperature hasn't dropped, but I want to keep her warm just in case." Romano mumbled and reached for the blanket at the end of her hammock, tucking it around her. Gray responded right away and grabbed the blankets from his own bed to add on top of her own. Mateo also darted out of the cabin and went to fetch even more blankets for her while Ed left to inform the captain of Lucy's sickness.

"In any case, we should try to wake her up and keep her covered." Romano told them and tried calling her name again.

Covered by additional layers of blankets, Lucy looked impossibly small in her bed. With her eyes closed and slight panting, she looked incredibly fragile and Gray felt a stab in his gut every time her face contorted with pain.

"Sweetcheeks!" Bart came hurrying in followed by Ed and came to a halt next to the bed. Watching the blonde mage lying completely still in her hammock made the captain anxious and he yearned to watch her walking about deck with a big smile on her face. He took a moment to school his features back into a neutral expression before addressing the others in the room.

"How long has she been like this?" He asked and straightened up. He had to maintain a calm appearance for his youngest crew member who was gripping Lucy's hand tightly and looked close to tears. Bart only had to glance at him to see that the nipper was reliving the loss of his sister and mother. The boy had really gotten attached to Lucy ever since their journey began and seemed greatly affected by the situation, so Bart didn't want to panic and make matters worse for him.

"It's been almost twenty minutes." Romano replied over his shoulder and started rummaging around in a satchel he had brought with him when he had been summoned. Gray hadn't even seen where Romano pulled out the satchel from and wondered if his perception was off.

Looking behind him, Bart noticed that Mateo's face was set in a grim expression while his hands clenched and unclenched at his sides. Ed looked worried and was glancing between Romano and Lucy every few seconds, but Gray looked calm now. His posture was a little tense, but his demeanor was relaxed and attentive. Bart knew how much Lucy meant to him and was surprised to see him calm and collected instead of distressed.

The only explanation the captain of the Empress could think of was that he was putting up a brave face and was keeping his worry at bay by being useful and seeing to Lucy's needs. Every once in a while the ice mage would pinch the bridge of his nose and exhale through his nose, before returning to his calmer state of mind. Lucy's health was of utmost importance right now and Gray seemed to be acutely aware of the situation.

"Nipper go fetch me mortar and pestle." Romano had pulled out a wooden block and some herbs that he was starting to chop up when he addressed the young pirate. Kai started to rise, but was stopped by the cook's words.

"Not you, the other Nipper." He said without looking up from his makeshift workbench. He was preparing a foul mixture and he needed to grind some dried leaves from gynostemma and mix them with borage seed oil to hopefully break Lucy's fever and target flu like symptoms. Mateo left without complaint to retrieve the items he had been asked for.

"What are ye doing?" Ed asked with a hint of nervousness in his voice. He had once fallen victim to hypothermia and would rather go fishing for the Kraken than endure any more medical treatment from Romano.

"Lucy has a fever. Borage oil fights inflammation and the flowers are used to treat fever or lung infections. Since she's most likely suffering from fatigue I'm adding gynostemma leaves to strengthen her body and immune system. A little bit of dandelion won't hurt either, 's pretty good for detoxifying and then we add a handful other herbs for fun and giggles." The cook explained humorlessly as he worked with nimble fingers.

"Dandelion. It's also called fairy clock." Gray muttered and ran a hand through his hair. He faintly remembered Wendy telling him and the rest of Team Natsu about it months ago and found the irony of the name bittersweet. The clock was ticking for Lucy and every moment she stayed unconscious meant she was in increasing danger.

"Aye." Romano looked up a little and regarded the ice mage for a moment. He wasn't panicking, but worry lines were etched onto his face. The cook made a mental note to make some calming chamomile tea for both of the mages later.

Mateo returned carrying a granite mortar in his arms and with a grunt set it down in front of Romano, who wasted no time grinding up the dried leaves he had taken out of a small vial. A pained moan sounded from Lucy's hammock which only motivated the cook to complete his remedy even faster. Adding a dash of vanilla to mask the rancid smell of the mixture and Romano was ready to feed it to the blonde.

"Gray, we might have to force it down her throat, but I guarantee you Sweetcheeks will feel better afterwards. I added water to make it easier on her, but she might not be able to swallow it on her own." Romano hesitated before approaching the sleeping beauty in her bed and waited for her teammate to give his approval. Gray nodded once and walked over to where Lucy's head was resting on her pillow.

"Kai, keep her arms down." Gray mumbled as he carefully placed his hand under her head and elevated her torso to make the process easier. The blankets fell down to her middle and Lucy started shivering when she was hit with the cool air around her.

Gray carefully opened her mouth and waited for Romano to feed her the watery substance. Keeping one hand under her jaw, the ice mage watched as the cook tipped the small vial over Lucy's lips and tried his best angle her head so it would go down her throat which was a lot harder than he had thought. He managed to make her down a pretty decent amount, but some of the mixture spilled from her mouth onto her chin and Gray suppressed the urge to gag from the scent alone. Poor Lucy. Just as he had finished the thought, Lucy's eyes shot open and she started to trash about violently, coughing and sputtering.

"Make her drink it!" Romano yelled and grabbed her legs before she could start kicking. Gray reacted instantly and kept her mouth shut by force. Kai had gotten to his feet and was doing his best at restraining her arms, but let out a string of curses when she resisted. Ed and Bart rushed to the end of her bed and called her name urgently, hoping that she would recognize them and not think she was being forced to drink poison.

"Lucy just keep it down!" Gray hissed as he tried not to accidentally strangle her. Luckily, she seemed to have heard them and swallowed the remedy painfully. It couldn't have been easy being force fed something when she had just been injured the previous day. A whimper escaped her and tears sprung to her eyes once the horrible tasting substance had been downed.

"I'm sorry Lucy. I'm sorry." Gray apologized and let go of her jaw to take her face in his hands. His thumbs wiped away the stray tears that escaped her eyes and he stayed right in front of her, apologizing over and over. Sitting down on the edge of the hammock, he pulled the blonde closer and felt her clutch his shirt in her hands as she hid her face in his chest. He felt horrible for having scared her and each ragged breath she took pained him greatly. Loke was going to kill him.

"Sweetcheeks are you okay?" Kai's obvious worry made Lucy pull away from Gray and she realized the amount of people just staring at her.

"Lucy?" This time Bart called out to her and hesitantly reached out a hand. She was still shivering from the cold, which Gray noticed and pulled the blankets up around her again, but she was awake.

"What happened?" She asked hoarsely and winced when she could taste the medicine again. Bile rose in her throat and she gratefully accepted the glass of water Romano had procured out of nowhere and handed to her. Behind them, the pirates all exchanged glances and silently agreed they let the ice mage handle this part of the conversation.

"Do you remember passing out?" Gray asked gently and lowered her back down in her hammock when she was done drinking water. Her fever was still high and she was panting lightly, but that was leagues better than still being unconscious.

"I think so?" Lucy looked confused as she tried to recall the past hour. The headache still hadn't gone away completely, but was now reduced to a dull throbbing that annoyed her and made it hard to focus.

"Well, Sweetcheeks, ye're on bed rest for two days, so plenty of time to think about it." Romano declared as he rummaged around in his bag for more medicine. He grabbed a bottle of pills and started counting them out into a smaller glass bottle that he placed on Lucy's desk.

"Lucy, I forbid you from leaving this room until Romano says so. Ye scared me half to death!" Bart chastised and readjusted his hat that had been knocked askew in the frenzy. Lucy apologized and furrowed further down into the blankets. She was exhausted and suddenly very hungry. Looking up, Lucy made eye contact with Gray who was observing her intently and she smiled at him the best she could. Satisfied, the ice mage got up from the hammock, making it swing a little more.

"I didn't know you were a doctor?" Gray finally allowed himself to ask the cook now that Lucy seemed okay. Romano looked up at him with a smirk on his face and took his sweet time arranging the different supplements he wanted Lucy to take to keep her energy up.

"I'm not. Me family owned an apothecary so my knowledge of medicinal plants and common medicines comes in handy." He winked at Lucy, glad to see her smiling back weakly.

"Why, did you think I wouldn't have someone to care for my crew?" Bart chuckled at Gray's stunned expression. The captain turned to Ed who was pointedly looking away and keeping his mouth shut lest he remind Romano that he had been neglecting his health.

"Not everyone has a dragon slayer who knows healing magic on their team, Gray." Lucy pointed out from her position in her hammock. Lying down when everyone was still standing up made it hard to participate in the conversation around her.

"A dragon slayer?!" Kai gasped in awe and looked at the mages with stars twinkling in his eyes. He looked from Lucy to Gray in disbelief and waited for them to elaborate.

"Her name is Wendy and she's a couple years younger than you." Gray told the pirate who was practically bouncing from excitement and started asking rapid fire questions about her magic.

"Calm down Nipper, yer givin' me a headache!" Ed smacked Kai on the back of his head to make him shut up. He was happy the nipper was excited, but there was a sick person in the room and he needed to be more considerate. Looking over at Lucy, who looked relieved, just enforced the thought that Kai was too loud.

"Sorry." He apologized sheepishly. His brother, who still hadn't said much, appeared next to him and whispered something in his ear that made him flush with embarrassment.

"I- er- we better get going! Lots of stuff to do! Right, Mateo? I'll check on you later Lucy!" Kai chattered nervously, only now realizing that Lucy needed peace and quiet after having Mateo point it out to him.

"Aye. Rest up Sweetcheeks." Mateo addressed the blonde before turning and heading out of the cabin. Kai followed at a slower pace and turned to wave at Lucy before making his exit.

"Come along Ed, let the lass rest." Bart put a hand on Ed's shoulder to start steering him out. The bandana wearing pirate was very fond of Lucy and was having a hard time not worrying about her.

"Right cap'n. I'll see ye later Sweetcheeks. Holler if you need me. Or get Gray to it." He snickered and headed to the door while the captain took Lucy's hand and gave it a squeeze, before telling Gray to look after her. Romano was the last to leave and gave Lucy a long look.

"You don't have to push yourself so hard, Lucy." He simply stated before turning to explain what medicine he wanted her to take at different intervals.

His explanation fell on deaf ears as Lucy was busy trying to remember what had happened the past hour. She faintly heard him say that he would be back with some food later and made an agreeing sound. It was only when the door closed and she heard a chair scrape along the floor that she looked up to see Gray sitting next to her.

"How are you feeling?" He asked her gently, running a hand over her hair and down her cheek. Lucy found herself sinking into his touch and suspected that he was trying to cool her fever down. His palms radiated cold and she desperately wanted her fever to break.

"Been better." She mumbled and felt her eyelids droop. She had no idea what had been in the medicine Romano gave her, but it tasted foul and she could still feel it burning her throat.

"Do you know why you passed out?" Gray's voice was soft and his hand caressing her cheek made her sleepy. She willed herself to stay awake and answer him, but she was fighting a losing battle and she knew it.

"Why?" Rubbing her eyes, Lucy turned onto her side to better look at her teammate. Gray's expression was completely neutral, but he reached for her hand before saying more.

"Overexertion. You used up too much magic." His words were delivered without any malice, but to Lucy he might as well have laughed in her face. It was embarrassing to have fainted due to using too much magic and Lucy closed her eyes to avoid looking at Gray. She felt him squeeze her hand and sucked in a breath before looking at him again.


I honestly hadn't planned this portion when I developed the plot, but I like the idea of Romano being more than a cook. Also, I am by no means medically trained, but I tried to do my research before writing. I assume (based on personal experience) that you start coughing and gagging if you are forced to drink something while unconscious, but it is also possible that you simply don't react, so please don't take offense to anything I've written. Until next time (=w=)/