Lucy woke with a start, sitting up and quickly looking around her bedroom to see what had caused to her wake up so suddenly. She noticed Aiden curled to her right, still slumbering quietly but Natsu to her left was grumbling something before his onyx eyes opened slowly to look up at her, "Lucy, what's wrong?"

She had to hold back a giggle at the sound of his sleep-riddled mumblings but felt it again, felt whatever it was that woke her up in the first place. It was a strong pull, she couldn't describe it any other way. Lucy placed her palm upon her chest, feeling the steady increase of her heartbeat. Her breathing becoming haggard, Natsu finally sat up with her, sensing these changes quite quickly with his superior senses, "Lucy, what's wrong?"

Lucy shook her head, wanting to deny this sensation but knew what it was, "He's calling for me."

Natsu's jaw clenched, "Lucy…"

The blonde gulped, her hand clenching tightly against her chest, wrinkling her shirt from yesterday, "He's…Natsu, I can't…"

"Lucy you can," despite the anger that burned in his dark eyes, the desperation in his voice did not go unnoticed to his blonde companion, "Fight it, Lucy. You have to."

The blonde gulped but almost moaned in pain as another wave hit her, "He's stronger than me, I'm losing fast…"

Natsu couldn't stand this, roughly gripping Lucy's shoulders and shoving her back down onto the bed, "You will fight this Lucy. You have to. Gajeel is not going to win this one Lucy."

The blonde felt tears stream down her cheeks as she stared back up at Natsu. His eyes pleaded with her to be strong, to fight this, but the constant and more rapid waves of Gajeel's pull on their connection was starting to get under her skin, control her again as it did before, "Natsu…I.."

The pink haired vampire growled but something caught his eyes and Natsu turned to see and his eyes widened at the sight of their son still sleeping peacefully on the other side of the bed. Having no other option at this point, Natsu's mind reeled as he looked back down at Lucy, "Lucy, do this for Aiden. Fight this. He needs you, you can't keep going off whenever Gajeel wants you."

He ignored the fact that his voice cracked near the end there but his heart went out to this woman below her. Lucy hadn't asked for any of this and again, Natsu couldn't protect her. It was breaking him to watch her absolutely lose control of her own mind and body at every beck and call the older vampire desired. Fed up with feeling pathetic and useless, Natsu came up with one last attempt to keep his mate with him, "Lucy, I need you."

Natsu leaned down, still roughly holding her shoulders down, connecting their lips and gaining Lucy's attention as he kissed her. Her lips were frozen at first but something about feeling his physical touch against her grabbed her attention as she responded to the tenderness of his lips on hers. Natsu reached over with his hand and wiped a few of her tears away, cradling her cheek with his palm before he finally pulled on their connection. Realizing he was losing his power over her with Gajeel tugging her on the other end, Natsu finally decided it was high time to tug back. The image of both vampires pulling the blonde back and forth by her arms popped into his mind but he ignored the childish metaphor as he soothed her through their connection. He hoped it was working when Lucy's arms wrapped around his neck, pulling him closer against herself. Natsu felt himself groan in response and tilted his head in order to deepen their kiss.

It wasn't noticeable at first, but when Lucy felt Natsu's tongue plunge into her lips, she noticed that she no longer felt Gajeel's call; almost as if he had given up all together. Lucy squeezed Natsu one last time before letting go of his lips to catch her breath, "He's gone."

Natsu leaned forward and placed his forehead atop hers and let out a sigh of relief, "I'm going to kill him."

Lucy sighed and hugged Natsu before finding herself falling asleep once more, exhausted from the emotional turmoil she had went through. Natsu slid to her side once more, pulling her into him more and allowed the blonde to get comfortable against him. After noticing that she had finally fell asleep again, Natsu sighed and frowned.

They needed to end this connection and get rid of Gajeel fast before this became a regular thing. Lucy didn't deserve to feel this way, struggle this way.


"Oh I'm so glad, Levy," Lucy beamed, "this is such great news!"

Levy giggled at her friend who was sitting across from her, both girls still enjoying their first morning's coffee while the boys of the house, Aiden and Natsu, worked together to wash and put away the dishes they all used for breakfast. It had been a lovely domestic Saturday morning and they all enjoyed the slowness and routine of it all. As the bluenette overheard Aiden instructing Natsu as to where the plates went, Levy replied to Lucy, "Yes, the doctor said I made a really fast recovery but I'm not questioning it. I'm just so glad I don't have to wear that hideous neck break anymore!"

Lucy chuckled, watching her best friend roll her neck around and stretch. Taking a sip of her coffee, she asked, "What are your plans for the day then?"

Levy sighed, instantly feeling her good mood damper, "I've got work this afternoon and now that I'm up and running again, I really should finally put in a good shift."

"Just as long as you don't push yourself," Lucy warned.

"Yes, mother," Levy sent her a look before standing up and making her way to give Aiden her cup, "Thanks guys!"

Aiden smiled, "It's our turn to clean, you're always cleaning up after me, auntie Lev."

Levy pouted and teared up mockingly as she wrapped her arms around Aiden, squeezing him tight and tossling his hair affectionately, "Oh you kid, are the cutest most adorably polite kid in the entire world! How'd you get to be so cute, mister?"

Aiden was outright laughing as he tried to get the tiny blue haired woman off of him, his cheeks turning bright pink, "Auntie Levy, stop it!"

Natsu and Lucy joined in the laughter at the simple moment of affection between the pair before Levy finally surrendered and stopped her glomping, "Okay, I should get cleaned up and ready. Hour or so before I need to head into work. What about you guys? Any plans?"

Levy pretended to ignore the look Lucy sent Natsu's way before the blonde answered, "Not too much, just hanging out."

Levy shrugged, "Suit yourself, I'll be back later."

As the tiny woman left the kitchen, Natsu felt himself squirm under Lucy's thoughtful gaze before Aiden dropped something into the sink for him to rinse. Using this as a chance to change the subject, Natsu quickly asked Aiden where the dish was meant to go and the two boys went about finishing up the dishes. Unfortunately for Natsu, that chore wouldn't take them much longer and much too soon, the older man found Aiden making his escape and running to his room to play while Natsu was left with Lucy, who still sat right where he had left her, coffee cup still in her hands, empty, "So uhh, Lucy, what are we going to do today?"

There was a pause before Lucy finally confessed part of what was on her mind, "Don't think I didn't forget you weren't planning on telling me how you know Mirajane."

Natsu froze, suddenly realizing that in the thick of it all yesterday, he had forgotten is offhanded promise he had made to his favorite blonde, "Ah right."

Lucy narrowed her eyes warningly, "Don't you try getting out of this, Natsu."

The man raised his hands up defensively, "No no, I wouldn't dream of it."

She held his gaze a moment longer before sighing, seeming to have gathered all she needed to know from his promise, "Okay good, cause I don't need to remind you that she was pretty adamant that I shouldn't be with you or even near you. Mirajane's not the type to just come out and say that about someone."

Natsu frowned, dropping his arms in defeat, "No, she's not, if she's anything like her mother."

She raised an eyebrow, "Her mother?"

The pink haired man sighed, making his way over to a chair and plopping down next to Lucy, "Yea her mother and I used to be pretty good friends."

Lucy could almost feel the hurt rolling off of Natsu as he began to tell her yet another piece of his history. Reaching out, she placed her hand on his thigh, "Tell me about her."

"She," Natsu began and took a deep breath, "her name is—was—Lisanna."

Lucy remembered years ago, back when she had her first unfortunate encounter with an angry Gray who blabbered on about a Lisanna and the blonde was beginning to wonder how deep Natsu's connection had been with the woman, "What happened to her?" She asked, knowing that Mirajane had divulged to her that she no longer had a mother, having passed away early on in the woman's life.

"She died," Natsu turned to look at Lucy, his eyes showing the hurt and suffering that he still obviously suffered because of this, "I killed her."

The blonde gasped, eyes widening, "What?" she couldn't help how quiet her voice had become, as if speaking too loudly would mean breaking the man sitting next to her, "Natsu I…"

"It wasn't with my own hands," and as if to prove his point, his palms turn and opened upwards, clean and still a bit wrinkled from the amount of water they soaked in from the dishes, "but it might as well have been."

She didn't know what to say so silence filled the room, only the distant sound of Aiden spilling some toys over in his bedroom down the hall and Levy getting ready could be heard in the house. Lucy didn't want to believe it but she had to remind herself that Natsu hadn't exactly been a pleasant person when she had first met him. He had his moments of endearment that kept Lucy around but in the beginning she had seen what was probably only the tip of the ice burg of what Natsu was capable of, "Natsu, tell me what happened. How did she die?"

Natsu closed his eyes, his hands clenching as the memories flooded back to him, "Lisanna and I had been friends, maybe even closer than friends," he felt a small smile pull his lips up thinking about it, "she was the first human who had ever really befriended me. She was kind, sweet, and thoughtful. I met her during a time in my life where things were hard, I was…I wasn't in a good place."

Lucy could only imagine what Natsu's life could have possibly been like back then but decided that would have to be left for another time, "How did you meet her?"

"It was an accident. A car accident," Natsu elaborated, "It was some wintery night years ago, but I had witnessed the collision and…there had been a lot of blood so I wasn't too far away."

She gulped and understand the meaning behind his words: blood meant plenty to feed off of for the vampire, "And?"

"It was late," Natsu remembered, "when I went to check it out, I found her still alive, barely holding on." The man clenched his hands tighter then, "I don't know what it was that made me do it, but I saved her. I gave her my blood and it brought her back to life."

"Wait, that works?" Lucy frowned.

Natsu nodded, "Yes. A vampire's blood can either turn you into a vampire, but that's only if you die for real. If you give blood to someone who hasn't quite died yet, it can heal. It's what I did for you technically when I found you after Gajeel…"

He faded off but Lucy realized what he wasn't saying. It had not only been to finish off the mating ceremony but to heal her after being beating up by Gajeel after he had found her only a few days or so ago; really, it felt like a lifetime ago for the blonde, "So your blood can heal."

"Yes, and I managed to save Lisanna and get her out of there and to a hospital," he nodded, "I don't even know why I did it; a moment of humanity? Who knows. Either way, she was alive and I was without a meal."

Lucy gulped at the vulgarity but kept listening, "So then what happened?"

"I don't know," he shrugged, "I remember she found me watching her one evening outside of her home. For some reason, I had the bright idea of keeping an eye on her afterwards to make sure if she was, you know, alive and safe."

"That was sweet of you," Lucy offered but Natsu wasn't having it.

"It's not like I saved humans on the regular," he explained, "I didn't even know if it would work, I was going off of instinct at the time cause no one was ever around to teach me this vampire shit." Lucy blinked in confusion but wasn't able to ask questions before Natsu was continuing on again with his story, "So she saw me and talked to me and eventually it lead to a weird friendship, a messed up one but a friendship nonetheless. She was one of the kindest humans I had ever met and taught me so much," Natsu's eyes glimmered and glazed over with memories of her before his mouth weighed and a scowl covered his face, "That is until someone found out about our relationship and decided it wasn't okay."

"Not okay? Who found out?"

"Vampires and humans, many of us vampires have decided it is below us to be caught interacting with humans. Many of our kind see humans as a lesser species, merely a source of food," Natsu spit out, the very thought of it leaving a disgusting taste in his mouth, "It was one of these vampires who discovered us and decided it was better for all vampire kind to end her and save me the trouble of dealing with the backlash I would get from others; better to end it quick and quietly before rumor or word got out, you know?"

Lucy could not only hear but feel the rage emitting from her pink haired companion as the words twisted out of his fanged mouth, "Natsu, I'm so sorry…I…"

"It's all in the past, Lucy," He sighed sadly, his shoulders slouching and baring all the weight of his guilt."

"So then how does her dying relate to Mirajane?" Lucy asked, "Did she know you? Did she…" her eyes widened as understanding dawned on her, "Did she know? Does she think you killed….?"

Natsu shrugged, "To be honest, I don't know how much she knows. I—"

"Hey guys," Levy poked her head into the kitchen, "I'm off to work now, call me if you-"

Both Natsu and Lucy had jumped at the sound of Levy's voice interrupting the serious air that had come over them, still sitting at the kitchen table where she left them. Instantly reading the tense atmosphere, Levy frowned and furrowed her eyebrows, trying to gauge what was happening but Lucy quickly sent her roommate a beaming smile and called out, "We'll call you if we need anything, see you after work, Lev."

Levy stared at her friend for a few extra seconds before sighing in defeat, knowing she didn't have the time to drag the truth out of Lucy so instead she smiled back and said her goodbyes before leaving the pair to themselves once more.

Natsu and Lucy sighed, feeling all at once adrenaline leaving their systems as well as the lifting of their previous discussion off of their shoulders. Natsu took one last deep breath before he continued to finish his story, "I don't know how much Mirajane knows buts he knows enough to realize that I was involved. She saw me walking Aiden to school yesterday and just by the look she gave me, I knew she remembered me. Now, that doesn't tell me much of what she knows, but she at least gets that I was involved."

Lucy nodded, finally putting the pieces together, "Yea that makes sense, because it was later in the day when she called me and warned me about you. I doubt she knows how much I know at all but she knows enough to know you're a potential danger to me in her eyes."

"Man, it's crazy to see her now after all these years," Natsu exhaled, leaning his head backwards against the back of the chair, "Pretty sure she was younger than Aiden back then."

Both shared a few extra moments of silence together, deep in their own thoughts, before Aiden came barreling into the kitchen with a toy car. Lucy and Natsu both found themselves caught off guard once again to the sounds of their five year old son running around the room pulling off 'sick jumps' and 'wheelies' with his small toy car, completely lost in his own little world. Lucy chuckled as Natsu watched with pure fascination as Aiden made his way around the countertops before looping back around and exiting the kitchen as if he hadn't even noticed his parents finishing off a serious conversation, "Well, that explains a lot but how about I tidy up some of the house and do some much needed laundry and you go play with your son."

Lucy stood while Natsu frowned at the blonde, "How is that fair? You clean and I play?"

The blonde shrugged, "Who said I'm getting the easier way out? You haven't played with your son yet, have you?"

And as she left the kitchen, Natsu felt a certain dread fill him as he heard their son running up and down the hall screaming out something that sounded like a gerbil meeting its sad end.

Natsu gulped.


"I'm home!" Levy cried as she tumbled in through the front door, purse tossed to the side with a sigh of fatigue. It had been a long full shift at work after so long of not being able to endure the physicality of it all given her recovering and all. Reaching for her shoes to take them off, the tiny bluenette rolled her shoulders and entered her home.

But just before she reached the kitchen, in came Aiden racing down the hallway headed her way with Natsu close on his tail. Both boys held a tiny toy car in their hands and were currently racing them along the walls of the hallway. Eyes widening in terror, Levy had just enough warning to jump out of the way as two pink haired racers came barreling past her, both shrieking out claims that they would be the winning racer and kick the others butt. Levy was only left behind in a trail of imaginary dust, watching the two run around the house. She had always taken Natsu to me much more subdued than this and yet seeing the crazy in his eyes as his son looped him once more in their race, Levy realized this seemed to be the real Natsu she was witnessing for the first time.

"Yea sorry about them," came Lucy's voice, "they've been at it all day."

Levy almost laughed at how tired her best friend looked, ironically more tired than even herself who had actually worked a shift, "Hanging in there?"

Lucy gave a tired laugh before shrugging, "How was work?"

It was Levy's turn to shrug, "Eh, it was work. Anything ready for dinner?"

Levy watched with amusement as Lucy smacked her forehead, "I knew I forgot something!"

The tiner woman only laughed, "Oh it's fine, let's whip up something quick together while those boys use up some of that energy."

"Don't hold your breath," Lucy answered as the girls made their way into the kitchen and managed to make a simple dinner for them all to share and soon enough the four of them were all gathered around the table once more that day, to enjoy the evening meal.

As Natsu and Aiden argued over the results of their final race, Lucy only shook her head and told them to keep it down and eat. Levy only laughed, finding the interactions of this newly reunited family with a warm heart. The bluenette knew that their hell wasn't quite over yet, but she planned to soak up this moment and make it last for as long as she could.


A/N: Kind of a chill chapter, but it's got a bit of substance and I was in the mood for another lighter chapter so here you are. Hope you enjoy! The action will be back next chapter! Thanks so so much for all who follow, read, and review. It literally means the world to me and encourages me to keep writing! I'll also try to make the next few chapters longer...this one is kinda average sized but the next part I wanted to add would've made this chapter too long for me and I wanted to get it up and out of my hair so here you go! R&R! xxxx