Where Do We Go From Here?

By: juvia0613 (FayeValentine00)

Chapter 21

Two months after their first real fight, Gray held Juvia's hand in the hospital. She'd gone into labor a day and a half earlier and things had been progressing well. Then it all stopped, and they were almost sent back home until it started up all over again.

Juvia was in pain and exhausted but she wasn't complaining, and it made him feel useless. Now she was finally in the pushing stage and he didn't know where she found the energy to keep at it. The Water Wizard was covered in sweat, she hadn't slept properly since this all began, and she was missing Slate who was playing with the twins at Gajeel and Levy's house but still she kept going.

"Okay, Juvia. I think one more push and we'll be done." The doctor looked up at Juvia with an optimistic smile. "So just give me your best push and we should be done."

Gray felt Juvia take in a deep breath, readjusted her grip on his hand and bared down. New beads of sweat broke out on her face and although she didn't cry out, the groan of pain and effort was heart-wrenching. If Gray could have helped her, he would've but instead he just gave her encouragement and supported her back.

A few moments later, Juvia let out a huge gush of breath a second before they heard the crying. The flood of relief and exhaustion hit at once and the bluenette collapsed back onto the bed but the smile on her face was priceless.

"It's a girl!" The doctor announced the news immediately and a minute later, he placed their daughter on Juvia's chest.

The Water Wizard was crying when she wrapped her arms around the little girl. It was a mixture of relief and joy. The little girl had all her fingers and toes. She had huge eyes with heavy lashes like Juvia and although she only had a little bit of hair; it was light blue like hers. But despite having Juvia's eyes and hair, their daughter had a lot of Gray as well. Her nose, lips, ears... all her fathers. Even though it was bias, Juvia though she was the most beautiful girl in the world.

Gray hugged both his girls close. He'd never admit it to Juvia, but Gray had been terrified to have a daughter. He didn't know the first thing about little girls, but now that she was here, he wouldn't have it any other way. She was tiny, quite a bit smaller than Slate had been but she was still absolutely perfect.

About an hour later when everyone was cleaned up, and they were left alone, Gray and Juvia sat together on the bed talking.

Juvia kissed the top of their daughter's head and then kissed Gray's lips. "I love you."

"I love you too," he responded, pushing hair out of her face. "What should we name her?"

Gray asked because Juvia had openly wanted a daughter the entire pregnancy so there was no way she didn't have some sort of idea. On the other hand, his mind was completely blank, and he knew they couldn't keep calling her "the baby" forever.

Juvia's cheeks flushed instantly. It was the telltale sign that she did, in fact, have at least one idea. She looked adorably nervous about it, so he just smiled and gave her a moment to think about it. Gray sat up on the edge of her bed, one hand constantly touching their daughters back.

"Well… Juvia actually thought of two names…" Juvia began slowly, looking down at the sleeping angel in her arms. Then her eyes turned up to her husbands, and she smiled sheepishly. "If Juvia tells Gray-sama, will he choose?"

"I'll do my best," he promised, hoping the sudden panic didn't show on his face.

Slate's name had been easy. Juvia came up with it. Gray liked it. Done deal! Now there were choices, and it felt like a big responsibility.

"Aright then. Juvia is down to two names. The first name is Mika after Gray-sama's mother. … The second name is Elaine which means shining light. ... Does Gray-sama like either of those?"

The Ice Devil Slayer didn't answer at first. When Juvia suggested Mika, it'd taken Gray aback. He liked the idea of honoring his mother like that, but he wasn't sure. On the other hand, Elaine was a pretty name for a pretty girl, but Gray understood why his wife picked it. Juvia's name meant rain, and it was something that plagued her for many years. If their daughters name meant shining light, Juvia was clearly hoping that was what the future held for her.

Gray looked at Juvia. Despite nearly two days of labor, she was still the most beautiful woman in the world. Even more so because she was holding their baby. Then his eyes dropped to the little girl. He gently ran his hand over her head and when he spoke, it was to her.

"Welcome to the world, Elaine Fullbuster. We've been waiting a long time to meet you."

When his eye's met Juvia's, hers were swimming with tears but she smiled "Juvia is very blessed."

Slate loved his little sister. Anywhere Elaine was, the little boy wanted to be there too. On one hand, it made it easy to keep an eye on him but on the other hand, he was constantly underfoot.

The family fell into their routine pretty easy. With one baby, they'd been able to take Slate out on a few jobs but with two children under two, it just wasn't possible. Since Juvia was still breastfeeding, she normally stayed home with the kids while Gray took jobs either on his own or on rare occasions with Team Natsu when they could all make it work. Since everyone had children, other than Wendy, it wasn't nearly as easy to just pick up and go. Juvia really only took work when it was a job where her specific skills were requested.

That was how the family worked for the next couple of years. In that time, Gajeel and Levy had another daughter and Natsu and Lucy had a son. By the time Gray and Juvia celebrated their 5-year wedding anniversary, Fairy Tail had a fairly sizable next generation.

For the first time in over four years, Gray and Juvia were taking a trip without their kids. It was their 5th wedding anniversary and the Dragneel's gift was to watch the kids while there were away. The Redfox's gift was a trip to a remote hot spring about a day travel away. They were scheduled to be gone three nights which meant they'd be away from the kids for about five days. Neither had ever been away from the kids that long and although they didn't say it out loud, they were both nervous.

They took a train to the hot spring and were able to sit together and relax without having to keep a constant eye on little people. It was hard to adjust but once they did; it was refreshing. They sat beside each other, holding hands, Juvia resting her head on Gray's shoulder while she told him about Slate trying to learn water magic.

"Slate had been asking Juvia for days to teach him so she finally gave it. Juvia thinks Slate thought it would be easy since Ice Make Magic had come so naturally but he was really struggling. Finally Slate made enough water to drench himself from head to toe. He got so mad, he swore he'd never use water magic again and stomped into the house."

Juvia couldn't help laughing and Gray joined her. "That sounds like him."

Their son was a good kid, and he always wanted to do a good job but any time the 4-year-old struggled to learn something right away, he got frustrated and wanted to give up. Gray was the only person who Slate wasn't willing to fail in front of. For his dad, he'd try over and over until it was perfect but with Mom, he didn't mind being childish.

"It's ok. He wants to be like Gray-sama. Ice Make Magic is good for him."

They got to the hot spring and were able to fully relax for the first time. They seemed to have the whole place to themselves and it was fun to just talk, relax and enjoy each other's company. That night they ate dinner in their room and talked. They talked about the kids, the guild, jobs, their friends and a litany of other things before Gray got up from his place and came over to sit hip to hip with Juvia.

"Gray-sama?"

She knew that look in his eyes, so it wasn't surprising when he reached out and pulled her face to his, kissing her lips gently. They lingered there for a long time, their lips just barely touching, but it made her heart race. It'd been a long time since they had time. There wasn't any need to rush or hold back. They could just enjoy each other.

When he finally broke the kiss, Gray didn't move away and when he spoke, their lips were still barely brushing. "Have I told you that I love you today?" he murmured softly.

Her heart was pounding so fiercely, Juvia was sure Gray could hear it and she could barely breath out her single word answer. "Yes."

"Have I shown you how much?"

"... No."

The room was so quiet, the only sound was their breathing. She could feel his warm breath on her lips and the anticipation was equal parts exhilarating and nerve-wracking. She wanted to kiss him again, but the moment was so intense, she never wanted it to end.

It was with great reluctance when Gray pulled back enough to look into Juvia's eyes. He knew she was just as affected as him. He could tell her breathing was quicker, and she looked at him with those big hungry eyes that made him want to make love to her right then, but this was a rare opportunity to take their time and he planned to savor it.