Lucy missed Natsu, a lot. He had been gone for a week, which meant she still had four more weeks without him. Happy almost never left her side. He was either in her arms or flying by her side. But who she really wanted was Natsu. "Lushee, do you need anything?" They were sitting in the guild and Lucy had tears in her eyes.
"No Happy. I am fine. I just miss Natsu." She pulled the cat into her arms and snuggled hum. "Let's head home, I wanna read more of that book Crux gave me." She was getting ready to stand up.
"I got you Bunny girl." Gajeel lifter her gently and she blushed.
"Gajeel, I can walk!" she protested, this was getting out of hand.
"Nope, Shrimp said we were coming with and that you shouldn't be on your feet for extended periods of time." He said matter-of-factly.
"I haven't been on my feet at all today!" she complained "You guys can come with, but I am walking on my own." The dragon slayer was about to protest. "I am walking on my own or there will be a Gajeel shaped hole in the wall, so help me!" the fiery blonde threatened. The man gulped and set the pregnant woman on her feet.
"Lu-chan, ready to go?" Levy waved by the door, as if her best friend hadn't just threatened to send her fiancé through a wall.
"Coming!" Lucy called back with a smile.
The whole was Gajeel shadowed the girls, ready to pounce at any sign of trouble. They were almost home when Lucy winced and place a hand on her stomach. She bent over a bit from the pain.
"Woah Bunny!" Gajeel placed a hand on her shoulder to steady her.
"Lu-chan, are you okay!" the script mage fluttered around the blonde. Lucy straightened a bit.
"Yeah, I am fine. It was just a passing pai. . . ahh!" she folded over again as the pain shot through her abdomen.
"Happy! Go get Porlyursica and meet us at the guild!" Levy ordered.
"Aye sir!" the blue cat flew off as fast as he could.
"Gajeel, grab Lu. We need to get back to the guild." The dark mage grunted in agreement and cradled the blonde in his arms.
"Hang in there, Bunny." The three mages burst into the guild causing quite a bit of chaos.
"I want Natsu!" Lucy groaned, clutching her baby bump. They laid her down in the infirmary and tried to make her comfortable.
"I know Lu-chan, but he isn't here right now. Just hold on a little longer, until Master and Porlyursica arrive." The small mage wiped Lucy's brow with a cold rag.
"Where is the human?" the older woman walked into the room, took in the scene, and got to work. A couple hours later everything had calmed down and Lucy was asleep on her side, Happy curled around her stomach.
"Will Lucy be alright?" Makarov asked quietly, looking over at the girl he thought of as a daughter.
"She'll be fine. It was a false labor. Like a test run for her body. She should be okay, but another doctor's opinion wouldn't hurt anything." The older woman walked away after Makarov nodded his understanding. The small, older man walked over to the sleeping mage and placed a hand on her warm forehead. What am I gonna do with all of you brats? He thought as he pulled the blankets to cover her more fully.
Lucy stayed overnight in the infirmary. The next day Dr. Marshall came in to check up on her. "Okay, sweetheart, everything seems to be in order. We just had a false alarm. I imagine there might be a couple more before the actual day comes." The doctor finished her notes up. Lucy winced at the thought of going through that ordeal one more time, let alone several more times. That hurt. "Next time, give me a call and we can tell how far apart the contractions are. If they get too close or if your water breaks you should come in." the doctor finished up her exam and let Lucy get dressed.
Three and a half weeks later and Lucy knew she was going insane. A week ago she had another false alarm in the middle of the guild and now she couldn't get a moment by herself. She knew that Happy was a given, but everyone else seemed to take up guard duty. They wouldn't let her walk anywhere outside, which was horribly embarrassing.
"Can I at least walk to the bathroom?" she screamed. The blonde had stood up and Elfman, Gajeel, Laxus, and Grey had all stopped what they were doing, fighting, and rushed over to carry her. "Mavis, I can't even pee anymore without someone in the same room! I am going to the bathroom and if anyone follows me they had better hope Wendy is nearby." She waddled off in a huff, leaving the guild silent behind her.
"I guess Blondie wants us to back off a bit." Laxus shrugged and went back to his table in the corner. Lucy came back, looking a little embarrassed about her outburst. When no one came to bether her, she shrugged and went back to her spot to read her book.
"Hey Lu-chan, does that book have any relevant info?" Levy asked, while leaning on the table. Lucy smiled brightly.
"It is really interesting. But, it is technically about dragons, not dragon slayers. So, I am not sure how much will be relevant." She sighed closing the book.
"You would be surprised, Bunny. When we learned our magic a lot about us changed to become more like the dragons we learned from." Gajeel supplied, sliding in next to his mate.
"What have you learned, so far, from the book?" the bluenette was curious for multiple reasons.
"Well, the mother dragon will gain the father's magic, so that the child has a chance at both." Lucy started.
"We already knew that" the smaller bookworm pointed out, thinking about Lucy setting the guild on fire a couple days ago.
"True, hmm. . . oh yeah. This was interesting. 'If the mated pair is true, they will be able to communicate without words after the birth of the offspring.' I wonder if that means telepathically or what. I am not sure if I should be happy about Natsu being in my head, or the other way around." Lucy shook her head at the thought.
"Woah, that would be super helpful in battle though. How long does it last?" Lucy looked at the passage in the book again.
"Indefinitely? I think." Lucy shrugged. She wasn't sure if it would happen at all.
"Was there anything about the birth process?" Levy leaned in, completely engrossed now. So, she noticed when Lucy flinched at the question.
"Yeah, and I really hope it only applies to dragons." The blonde sighed and continued. "Apparently a dragon's labor lasts for an average of four days. The process is fairly painful and, from what I have read, no pain medicine will be helpful because the type of magic involved. I will just burn it off with my high body temperature." Levy was silent.
"Tough break Blondie." Laxus was the one to break the silence that laid over the guild. I didn't realize everyone was listening.
"Wll, I am going home." There was a cacophony of chairs being slid back as everyone stood. "ALONE! So that I can take a shower, ALONE!" Lucy eyed everyone, daring them to protest. Nobody did. Smart people. "Come on Happy, let's go home!"
The blue cat jumped up. "Aye sir!" he hadn't been sure that he was allowed to come along at first. Lucy walked home slowly with Happy in her arms. The blonde was wandering around when she felt familiar electricity flow over her skin. She froze.
"Happy, go get Laxus! Now!" she threw the cat in the air and got ready to fight.
"Lucy, my dear, you know you shouldn't fight me. It will only increase your pain." Kali stepped out in front of her. Without looking Lucy knew that she was surrounded by mages.
"How did you get away from the Rune Knights?" Lucy faced off with the evil doctor. I just have to keep her talking until Laxus gets here.
"I have my ways, but that is none of your concern. You should really worry about yourself right now."
"I won't be taken twice." The spirit mage growled out, her hand inching toward her whip.
"Taken? Ha. I don't want you or the damned child. That was Mara's fascination. I am here for revenge, my dear, me and my companions hold a grudge against Fairy Tail. And killing their token Celestial Mage will send the perfect message." The electrical mage cackled and the surrounding wizards joined in. From the sound of the laughter there had to be around fifty enemies. If I could just stall a little longer. "Get her!" the group surged toward the blonde.
"NO!" All of her anger, pain, and fear went into that scream. She didn't put any thought into the magic that she used, she just put all of her feelings into it. Flames shot out from her hands and quickly surrounded her. The flames expanded quickly and with a force that knocked over everyone and everything in a square block. She opened her eyes and saw that all of the mages around her had been knocked out and scorched.
"Woah Blondie! You didn't even save any for me" Laxus looked around at the destruction. "Remind me not to get on your bad side."
"Laxus, shove. . ." she had the intention to tell him what she thought, but the world suddenly tilted and then went black.