Hello, my lovely readers. I am back with another chapter. I want to thank all of you for your amazing reviews. I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint. Next chapter, I plan on updating in a couple of weeks depending on how fast my brain works, I do know what I'm going to put, I just need to know how to write it, so it makes sense lol.
Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail. Hiro Mashima does.
Previously on Rescue Me:
Lucy looks at Natsu, "I need to find my son in this house." Natsu looks at Lucy with sadness, leaving the blond confused. Then he speaks up "Lucy… Gajeel, Levy, and Juvia are in this house somewhere."
Lucy's eyes widen "What!? They got captured too!? Do you know where they are!?" The blonde bombarded him with questions and Natsu shook his head at the last one. Natsu walks to the door and opens it to check if the coast is clear and when he saw it was safe, he gestures for Lucy to come to follow him out the door. Lucy closes the door behind them and stops Natsu from walking. "We need to call the police, there could be a chance that people are guarding them with guns, we can't go against that." Natsu looks down, clenching his fists, he knows that what she said is the truth.
Before he utters a word, his phone vibrated. Natsu didn't even notice it was still in his pocket; he chuckles as he realizes that every criminal makes mistakes leading to their downfall. Natsu picks up his phone while Lucy questions how can her dad make such a big mistake.
"Natsu, the police are heading to where you are, okay. Please, for once listen and stay hidden." Grandeeney informs him. Natsu reluctantly replies, "Fine, mom I'll listen. When will they be here?" Grandeeney answers him "Soon."
Natsu was going to hang up when a sudden realization hits him, he never told his mom about Jude kidnapping him and his friends; he never had the chance to. "Mom, how did you know that I'm here." Grandeeney hesitates before answering, she never told her son that she installed a tracking device in his phone. "Mother's intuition… Stay safe and listen to me! Love you." She hangs up the phone.
Natsu eyes his phone, and mutters to himself "Mother's intuition my butt, she put a freaking tracking chip in my phone." Lucy looks out the window and sees the S.W.A.T team arrive. She reached for Natsu, getting his attention to the window. One member of the S.W.A.T sees Lucy and performs sign language, asking if anyone is near her and Natsu. Lucy wonders how they knew she knows sign language but she shrugs it off and replies saying that no one is nearby. Natsu looks in astonishment that his girlfriend knows sign language.
The S.W.A.T officer turns to talk to two other officers, then they run towards the window. Lucy struggles to open the window for them to come in, Natsu comes up beside her and helps her open it. The officer helps Lucy and Natsu out the window. "My friends are still in that house." Natsu informs them, "My son is in there, as well." Lucy adds on.
"Ms. Heartfilia, your son is safe at the hospital and we will get your friends out of there. Now both of you head to the man in the… Hawaiian shirt." The officer sighs. Both teens eye him, but they obeyed anyways. The closer they got to the man, Natsu realizes who he is, "Silver?" Lucy looks over at Natsu, "You know him?" The pink haired teen nods his head. "That's Grey's father." Lucy looks back over at Silver, at once seeing the resemblance.
'What is the irony that a cop's son sexually harassed me.' Lucy thought to herself. "Natsu. Lucy." Silver calls out their names motioning them to hurry up. As they come closer Silver begins to talk "Lucy, your son is in the hospital doing fine, I will take you to him. We will save your friends and bring them safely to you at the hospital; as you can see, they're already on it." Both teens turn around, watching the S.W.A.T officers rushing into the building. "Do you want to go see your son right now?" Lucy hesitates, she really does want to see her son but she wants to wait for her friends as well, even though it maybe take a while, knowing that Jude's henchman will put up a fight. They most likely use one of them as a hostage. The thought of that sends cold shivers down Lucy's spine. She takes a deep breath and turns to face silver. "Take me to my son, but please… please save my friends! All of them!"
Silver smiles and pats her head. "Of course, they will all come back safely. Shoot, my son would try to kill me if I don't, he is head over heels in love with Juvia, my goodness…" Natsu and Lucy's ears both twitch at what he just said. Both of them were thinking the same thing but non-spoke a word…
They enter the car. Silver continues to ramble on "Then my girlfriend will kill me if her daughter's friends are hurt…" Natsu didn't know that Silver had a girlfriend. "Who's your girlfriend?" Natsu asks. Silver inwardly gulps as he realizes that he was talking about Lucy's mother. He turns around to face them, as he came to a stop at a red light, "A very special woman who helped me when I needed help the most. She is a nurse at the hospital we are going to. When I was badly injured in one of my cases, she was my nurse and not only did she heal me physically but emotionally as well. There was no way I could ever let such a precious woman go. I fell in love with her and now Iwantto be the one who helps her." Lucy lets out an 'aww' and Natsu grumbles because Silver avoided giving him the answer that he wanted. The blonde saw his heartwarming smile and his eyes were filled with love, 'Must be an amazing woman.' Lucy thought to herself.
They arrive at the hospital, Lucy runs out of the car with Natsu and Silver following right behind her. "Oh, my goodness she runs fast." Silver mumbles to himself and Natsu chuckled "Yea, that's my girl."
The blonde runs up to the front desk, "What room is Ezekiel Heartfilia in? What room is my son in!?" She asks desperately but the woman refused to answer her until she saw Silver coming in giving her a nod of approval, "Room 408."
All three of them enter the elevator, Lucy and Natsu are standing beside each other and Silver is leaning against the rail on the opposite side of them. Natsu decides to hold Lucy's hand, and the blonde notices so she intertwines her hand with his. Silver looks at the young couple and smiles softly to himself then he stares at Lucy, 'How is she going to react when she sees her mother?' He wonders to himself. They reach the destined floor, all of them walk towards the room and Silver shows the guards standing by the door his badge and they let them in.
"Ezekiel baby, mommy's here," Lucy exclaims before rushing to her son's side and hugging him tightly. He hugs her back tightly and burst into tears "I missed you so much!" He cries out. Lucy cries softly "I'm so sorry, I should've been there for you, I'm sorry I let you get hurt, my baby. I love you so much; I'm so sorry, my love." Ezekiel pets her head "You don't have to be sorry, I'm sorry I should have been stronger. I'm sorry." Lucy chuckles softly, "You don't have to be stronger, your already strong enough. I heard of how you escaped that house yourself and you got those big scary men. You are an incredible little boy." Ezekiel calms down, still sniffling and cracks a smile of his own, "I promise when I get older, I will be strong enough to defend myself better and to protect you." Lucy felt her heartstrings being tugged, as her son made that promise to her.
Layla walks into the room, watching her daughter and grandson having a heartwarming moment. She takes a deep breath before she greets Lucy, "Hey there, Lucy." Lucy turns around and sees her mom standing before her. Her eyes widen and she became overwhelmed with many emotions: Shock, anger, sadness, bitterness, confusion, and hatred. Lucy opens her mouth but nothing comes out, she tries a couple more times but nothing was coming out; she felt like her emotions are blocking the words that want to come out.
Layla took the initiative, "I'm sorry-" Those two words were enough to make the emotions move out the way for those words spill. "You're sorry?" Lucy scoffs, looking at her with cold, broken, hurt eyes. "Let's talk somewhere else." Lucy didn't want her son to see what she is about to unleash.
Layla nods her head as she follows Lucy out the door, the guys stared at them as they left the room. "You're sorry!?" Lucy repeats, her face showing disbelief. Layla couldn't look her daughter in the eye, she knew that her daughter wasn't going to welcome her with open arms, she knew that her daughter was going to act that way, she knew that her relationship with her daughter isn't going to be as perfect as she wants it to.
"Oh, so you're sorry for abandoning me right!? Well sorry doesn't change anything! Sorry doesn't change anything… Sorry doesn't change the fact that you left me… Sorry doesn't change the fact that my father, that you knew was a twisted man, had beat and raped me! Sorry doesn't change the fact that I had been bullied throughout my life… Sorry doesn't change the fact that I wanted to end my life… The only light in my life that kept me going is my son, who I took care of by myself." Lucy lips were quivering as she chokes out the next words "I hate you so much for leaving me." Tears are rolling down her cheeks, "Why did you leave me?"
Her mother is a loss for words, she wants to embrace her daughter but she knows that Lucy would only reject her. Layla couldn't control the tears that were spilling from her eyes, she fell on her knees, the overwhelming guilt consuming her, hearing the pain and hurt wrapped around her daughter's words just torn her heart apart. The next words that came out of her daughter's mouth just crushed her.
"I must admit that you did help me become a better mother to my child…" Lucy glares at her mother "Because I won't ever dare abandon my son… Unlike you, I care too much to ever let him feel such betrayal and hardship." Lucy looks down on her mom as if she was an insect, something that she wants to crush and abandon.
Layla got up weakly, she looks Lucy in the eyes. "I love you… I know you hate me, I don't blame you. I was weak, but that is no excuse for the way I left you. Yes, sorry doesn't fix anything…" She walks slowly closer to Lucy, "But, I can change the present, I promise I will never abandon you ever again; I'm stronger now, I can support you, I can be there when you need me. I will help you take care of Ezekiel. Lucy, I'm here for you now, I'm not going anywhere." Layla stops walking forward as her daughter took a step back.
"I have Grandeeney and Igneel now, they are my parents now. They have watched over me and Ezekiel, with much care and love. I don't need you in my life, you can just stay away." Lucy wasn't going to waver, she refused too, but she knows that deep in her heart what her mother said struck home with her, that she always wanted her mom to show affection and care for her.
Layla runs up and hugs Lucy, refusing to let go. "Didn't I say that I'm not leaving you again, Lucy. You can refuse me, but sweetie I'm going to take care of you; whether it be up close or from a distance but I will watch over you. I love you so much, so so so so much." Layla looks into Lucy's watery eyes "I promise, never again will I leave you." giving her a sweet, soft smile.
"I can't bring myself to trust you, I can't-" Layal cuts her off, "I know, I plan on earning it." The determination in her eyes and a warm-hearted smiled on her lips. The teen couldn't understand how her mom is being solicitous about her, how can she say this stuff still when all Lucy did was show hatred and bitterness. Despite her confusion, she keeps up the strong front, "Earn it? Just try, but it's not going to be easy. I really want you to feel the suffering that I've been through, I want you to suffer and then try coming back to me, and still expect me to love you." Lucy pushes Layla off gently, "Now I'm going back to my son."
The teen walks into the hospital room with her mother following right behind her. Lucy walks straight over next to Ezekiel and Natsu.
Layla walks over to Silver and he greets her with a kiss. "It's not going to be easy, at all," Layla whispers playfully even though on the inside, she feels defeated, torn, rejected, and she knew that these emotions must be what Lucy has felt but a thousand times worse. Silver knew that his girlfriend is just smiling off her problems, she tends to do that quite often. He embraces her gently, "It's going to be okay, one day she will smile at you, and love you." Layla wanted to burst into tears but instead nuzzled her head on his shoulder for comfort.
Lucy and Natsu look at them in shock, both never would've thought that Silver's girlfriend was Layla. Lucy thought back to what silver said in the car, "A very special woman who helped me when I needed help the most. She is a nurse at the hospital we are going to. When I was badly injured in one of my cases, she was my nurse and not only did she heal me physically but emotionally as well. There was no way I could ever let such a precious woman go. I fell in love with her and now I want to be the one who helps her." The blonde never fathom that he would be talking about her mother. To Lucy, her mother is selfish and despicable for leaving a ten-year-old child, but to Silver, she is an angelic selfless person who saved him from his despairs. Can she really trust that her mother won't do something to hurt her like she did in the past? No, not anytime soon but she knows that she can see herself possibly trusting Layla in the future.
Although, there is something that Lucy wanted to make sure of, "Hey Silver, can I ask you a quick question outside?" Silver nods his head and heads out the door first as Lucy follows after. Silver quickly dismisses the guards, "What is it, kid?" He asks. Lucy heaves a big breath, "You know how earlier in the car, you were saying all those nice things about my mom..." Silver nods his head, "... When you said you want to help her, you sounded like you were thinking of something specific, what is it that you want to help her with?" Silver didn't expect that to be her question but he was happy that she asked. "I want to help her win your love." He grins widely. Lucy didn't know how to feel, she wants to feel happy, but it's like the hurt and hatred are pushing the happiness back. Wouldn't any abandoned child want to feel the love from their parents? Possibly… Lucy knows that she did and now that she is receiving it, she doesn't know how to accept it or trust that it will last. Lucy gives a weak smile, "Thanks."
There was an awkward silence among them until Grey walks up. Lucy notices Grey and she steps back, reflectively. Silver took notice, now wondering why she did so. Grey also notice and guilt washed in as he realizes that he never made amends with her. "H-Hey, Lucy." Grey greets, awkwardly. Lucy gives him a small wave, not being able to make eye contact. It then clicks in Silver's head what might've happened, he remembered that his son was suspended for forcing himself on a girl… 'Oh, man. Don't tell me it's Lucy.' Silver sighs as he walks back in the room, leaving them alone, one thing he knows best about his son is that he learns from his mistakes, just not quick enough.
Lucy and Grey watched as Silver leaves them alone. The blonde felt anxiety attacking; she reached for the door handle and Grey grabs her arm, stopping her. Lucy snatches her arm away, causing Grey to flinch. He recomposed himself quickly and starts speaking before Lucy went for the door again, "Lucy, I know that you don't want anything to do with me, but please just hear me out. I'm sorry…" Lucy rolls her eyes, just how many times is she going to hear sorry from those her hurt her, why now!? When everything crazy and hectic is happening around her, these people want to make amends with her? "Sorry." Lucy scoffs, feeling tired of everything, "Now you're sorry, is it cause Juvia is my friend and if you don't make nice with me, you can't win her love back. You know since, you are in love with her now when it is too late!" Lucy snaps. Grey was taken aback by her sudden outburst, "Lucy, I'm serious. I'm truly sorry for molesting you, I know that was a horrible thing to do, I don't know what possessed me to just continue when you were crying out. Lucy, I'm not asking for your forgiveness for Juvia's sake. Right here and now, I truly want to make amends, I'm truly sorry for what I did." Grey eyes start to water, "Please, Lucy. Please, forgive me. I'm not asking for us to be friends, even though I would be happy if we do become friends; I'm not expecting to be close to you or gain your trust. This is just me sincerely, apologizing to you, and begging for your forgiveness."
Lucy couldn't find it in her to forgive him. She feels so much built up negative emotions caused by her mother and now him. The joy, happiness, and forgiveness are imprisoned by her negative feelings towards them. The teen sees the guilt and plead in his eyes, she heard the sincerity in his tone, she knows that he meant his apology, but she just can't free the positive emotions, they are just stuck there.
Lucy's eyes began brimming with tears, not being able to speak a word, her heart feels heavy, it feels like it's going to explode from all the emotions. Grey takes a step closer to try to comfort her but, she steps back. "Don't come near me, please." Her voice cracks as she pleads. "I don't know what to think anymore! My hatred runs deep for you, but seeing you so sincere and honest truthfully makes me want to forgive you… I just can't… Grey, I just can't…" Lucy looks down.
Grey looks at her with understanding, of course, he knew that it wasn't going to be easy; he believes that hopefully one day, she will forgive him. "Lucy, I know a lot is going on right now and I have the worse timing to apologize, but I just want you to remember from now on, that I'm not proud of what I did and that I won't ever do that again. I will apologize to you again, sometime in the near future when things have calmed down." Lucy looks at him with her red watery eyes, and he gives her a friendly smile before turning around to leave. The blonde stares at Grey as he walks away, she can see that he has gotten more mature.
Lucy walks over to a vending machine and buys a soda, she heads towards a bench in the wall and sits down, looking up at the ceiling. She takes a sip of her soda and sighs; at this very moment, she decides to forget everything and calm down. For once today, she is able to think clearly. The phrase 'Forgive and Forget' is not as easy as people make it sound. As a matter of fact, it's extremely difficult but… it's not impossible.
I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, it's hard to write about something I never experienced but I tried my best. So, I hope this is good. Love you guys.