I've had family from Mexico come up to visit and we all the way east to Disneyland in Anaheim, California (my birthplace) and spent an amazing Christmas together. I wasn't planning on doing anything until after New Years, but I thought I would be nice at the very end of 2014. Hope you like this. I do not own Fairy Tail.

Lucy's POV

I felt a shift by my side. There was a lukewarm cloth over my eyes and forehead. My legs were elevated to promote blood flow to my brain. After a few seconds of consciousness I felt that my wrappings were taken away, along with my cloak and top.

I ripped the cloth away from my face and released my legs from their elevation. I sat up, gripping the blanket to my chest. I startled Kane, his eyes snapping wide open from my sudden panic. I instantly relaxed upon seeing him, my guards falling back down and my fear deflating. I was in an adjoined hospital room, a heavy white curtain giving the patient next to me privacy.

He shifted slightly and picked up a clear full glass of water from the nightstand and handed it to me. "I know how much you hate plastic particles in you're liquids so I told them to pour it in this," he said as I gulped it all down. I didn't stop until there were only a few drops spilling onto my tongue. I handed the glass back and made sure the blanket didn't slip.

"Thanks. How long was I out?" I asked, not remembering anything after those big chocolate eyes.

"About an hour, everyone was panicked about you fainted and rushed you to the Dr. Grandeur. She said that your blood sugar was low from not eating any breakfast and performing the spell after that last memory and the shock of seeing Nashi only made it worse," he explained. There was a seriousness in his eyes, and he leveled his dark eyes on mine. "You can't keep doing that, Lucy. You knew that you were pushing it and your body needed a break. It's my fault," he said, pausing to brush his fingers through his brown hair. It was getting longer and he kept saying that he would cut it, but I rather liked his hair long. He was also able to pull off the right amount of stubble on his face. "I should have tried harder to convince you to wait or I stayed with you when you left on your own earlier." He didn't bother to ask my to never do it again, he knew better than that. I would just say no. I never knew when I would need to push my body to its limit or run off on my own to get something done.

"They were all my decisions to make, Kane," I said, covering his hand that was on my knee with my own, careful to keep the blanket up with the other. "You know me, run first think later." My joke fell flat and my pathetic excuse for laughter died as soon as it left my mouth. I ran through my mind to think of something else to talk about. "Where are the others?"

"They went to the castle to have an audience with the king," he said. "They'll be back in a few hours."

"So where's this Dr. Grandeur I keep hearing about? I heard from a guy named Sting that they were keeping an eye on Lucy Ashley. And why am I naked from the waist up?"

Kane's almond skin burst out in red from my last question. But before he could answer, the doors opened and in came this world's Kane and the doctor. My eyes could have popped from their sockets from my surprise. In came a very mature looking women, taller, longer hair, and more going on upstairs than I remember. "Wendy?" I asked out in shock.

"I am the doctor,"she said, flipping through the chart in her hands. She wore a lab coat and heels. She seemed very intent at keeping her eyes on the paper, so I switched over to Kane. He looked at me was intense interest, so much interest that my Kane stood up and blocked me from his view. But before he disappeared from my view I saw two small white lines along with nine red ones on his left cheek, Kane had not made any paint for his age since we first arrived in Hakari. If I remember correctly then that meant that this Kane was also nineteen. But my Kane was a bit older looking than the other. Edolas Kane was clean shaven and not as well built as my brother. "It appears as if you just had a sudden tumble that can very easily be remedied with food and ridding yourself of those ridiculous pieces of gauze." At least that explains why those are missing. "There are more suitable clothes for you to wear on the nightstand, and for your shyness you can dress behind the changing curtain."

She hung the chart at the end of the bed and rolled out the curtain into front of me to give me some privacy. I picked up the midriff white vest from the nightstand and pulled my arms through them, and zipped it up. It fit perfectly, flattening down my chest just so, but not enough to leave me flat chested, I looked like I had somewhere between a B or C cup. I pulled on the dark blue tank top and rolled the curtain away from me. I sat back down to tug on my socks and shoes.

"I heard Ashley was ill, is she in this hospital?" I asked, standing up once again. The room went silent. I looked up as I pulled my head through my cloak. "What?"

"I'm not sure this is a good idea," said Wendy to the both Kanes

"She'll find out eventually, believe me she'll be furious at all of us for not telling her sooner," said my Kane.

"What's going on," I demanded, angry that they would talk about me as if I wasn't in the same room as them.

They all looked at each other and as if by silent agreement, Wendy stepped up and explained the situation. "There have been an increase of weather anomalies lately and just two days ago was the worst one," she said. I nodded, having heard something similar from Sting. "Our Lucy and a member of another guild, Sabertooth, were on a conjoined job during one. They tried to take cover but the storm was on them fast, there was a nearby dug in and Lucy pushed the other in, getting sucked up by the storm." I sat back down again, afraid of another fainting spell. So that's what Sting and the other man, Rouge, were discussing while I was hiding from them.

"Is she..." I couldn't form the words.

"She's still very much alive but she's holding on very tightly." I got off the hospital cot and made my way to the other side of the room. I knew she was there but I simply thought she was sick and and just sleeping. She shallowness of her breathing and the ominous drops of the IV, it all made sense now. I threw the curtain aside and covered my mouth with both hands, keeping a sob at bay.

This twenty-nine-year-old version of me was struggling for life in a very unflattering hospital gown. Her hair was still cropped, just like in my memories. There were scratches all over her face, neck, arms, and dark shadows under her eyes. I could only imagine how bad the rest of her was. Her skin varied in paleness, fading bruises decorated her face, and the colored skin of her tattoo was chapped. The tubes ran from the crook of her left arm, the needles stuck in her, and a few plastic bracelets around her thinning wrist. On the very end of her hand, an elegant ring graced her fourth finger.

"When the storm finally settled, she was found with her right hip impaled. They tried to cut as much as they could, but to fully remove it requires surgery, but the hospital is out of AB at the moment," explained Edolas Kane. I had just now grasped that this Kane and Ashley probably had the same brother-sister relationship as me and my Kane. The pain on his face and in his voice was very evident.

"I'm type AB," I mumbled to myself. Instantaneously I came alive. "Take some of mine!" I yelled, grasping the doctor by the shoulders and shaking her. "Give her some of mine!"

"That's exactly as Kane suggested," she motioned to Edolas Kane, "but your brother and I wanted to wait until you were fully conscious to make the decision yourself."

"What are you waiting for then?" I asked angrily. I swept my cloak aside and offered up my arm. "Take as much as you need."

She patted my arm with a smile. "We only need a pint. We'll draw the blood in another room and start prepping Lucy for surgery. Afterwards, you'll need to eat something." She turned to both Kanes, "Tell the others to start preparing. Now." They both darted from the room and went off in different directions upon exiting the room. She then turned to me, "Follow me and we'll begin." She walked over to the door and waited for me.

I bent over Ashley's hand, grasping it in both of mine and kneeing down. "It's my turn to help you now," I said to her. "You're going to be alright." I squeezed her hand and went over to Wendy. I remember all of Ashley's help when me and my friends were in Edolas and this was a chance to pay her back. The next I saw her I hoped her eyes were open.

I was in the cafeteria, eating my lunch and drinking as much orange juice as I could. Wendy had already taken all the necessary blood required for the Ashley's surgery and put a cotton swap and surgical tape over a vein on my left arm. Just as the forked strings of spaghetti were about to reach my mouth, my nose picked up on something interesting behind me.

I panicked, not knowing what to expect from the two of them. Kane was them, he and Natsu talking in low tones with Nashi's small footsteps with them, but I picked up on the gist of the situation. "Don't freak her out again." Kane knew that I knew they were there, but still he chose to come over first and properly announce their arrival. He could probably sense my stiff back even though it was hidden by my cloak over the back of the chair. I ignored him as he sat down across the table from me, knowing full well that I was not ready for this.

I stared at him as I gulped down my second glass of orange juice. I wanted so badly to yell at him, but making a scene in the hospital's cafeteria wasn't a good thing to do in front of Ashley's daughter. As gently as I was able, I set the glass back down on the table top, picking up the fork again, hoping that Kane would get the hint and leave me alone. But I knew that he would stay there as long as he needed to for me to tell him directly.

I set the fork down and put my elbows on the table, holding my head in my hands. I concentrated on my breathing, wondering if I could force myself into another memory so I could avoid all of this for a few more minutes, but since Paz wasn't here and I never wanted to go through those alone again. I could feel Natsu's stare at the back of my head, I could only imagine how little he thought of me in this weak state. I wonder if Earth Land Natsu would also think of me as weak.

Kane cleared his throat, taking away my attention after what felt like hours of inner-dialogue. I looked up at him without moving my head from my hands. "What do you want me to say?" I asked quietly. "I passed out at the sight of the two of them before. You know very well how I feel about all this, I don't think I can handle this version of Natsu. And to make matters more stressful, I find out that the two of them have a daughter." I shook my head, taking deeper breaths. "None of this makes sense. This dimension and Earth Land are both connected, why is it that the two of them are together and there's a child in all of this. This didn't happen in Earth Land, so how could it have happened here?"

A few moments of silence and he spoke, reaching out to lower my hands and hold them in his. "This probably would have happened back home is we hadn't fallen through the portal. There would have probably been events leading up to this in Earth Land if you had never taken that job in the first place." He said the last part in a whisper, guilt dripping from his voice. I snapped my head up and straightened in my chair to glare at him, forgetting my own confusion and despair.

"Don't you dare say something like that ever again, do you hear me," I snapped at him. "I do not regret what happened that day. I would never have met you or the others. If I didn't go that day, you would have been all alone. I'll chose this life every time than to have never met you." I gripped one of his hands. "You, Happy, and the others are my family. I'll just have to be patient to meet the rest." I gave him a smile, moisture gathering at the corners of my eyes. He nodded in understanding and squeezed my hands. I sighed. "Can you give me a few minutes alone, it's time that I meet Ashley's family now." He nodded again and got out of his chair to give the go-ahead to my visitors.

I swallowed hard, my body filling with anticipation. I pushed my plate away and rubbed my palms nervously on my white washed leather pants. My ears picked up on their approach and when they came into view I saw that Natsu was also nervous. His face was so mature looking, handsome. He had changed a lot from the scared, skittish person I briefly met all those years ago. To me it was only about five or so years since I last last him, but I remembered that to him it has been twice as long. He was taller, more confident with himself, and got rid of his jumpsuit. He wore simple jeans and a button-up black shirt with red trimmings.

My eyes left him, lowering themselves to the little girl at his side her left hand in her father's. She looked at me with her head tilted and with one of her thumbs in her mouth. I wondered how much of a difference she noticed between me and her mother, but I guess deep down Ashley and I were the same. She was absolutely adorable with her rosy cheeks and long lashes. I noticed that she was wearing a baby blue turtle-neck sweater with black tights and white strap sandals. Her hair wasn't the exact same shade as her father's though, somewhere between pink and blonde. She had it tied up how me and Ashley do, held up by a cute little blue ribbon. The both of them stopped by the edge of the table and I shifted in my chair to get a better look at her.

I smiled at her, hopefully it looked kind and not nervous. "You look just like you father," I told the girl. I pondered over the fact that Nashi's counterpart from Earth Land didn't exist. Or maybe she did, Natsu and I had never... reproduced, but that didn't mean that Nashi could not exist on Earth Land... from a different mother. I was still stuck in my head when the little girl popped her thumb out of her mouth to say something.

"I look like you too, Mommy," she said. "Daddy and Uncle Kane always say that I have your eyes." She then stuck her thumb back her mouth after she finished talking. I flinched at her words, I tried to figure out how to make my next words sting the less amount to this little girl.

"Listen, Nashi," I started, "I'm not your actual mother." Her thumb popped out of her mouth in surprise. "Your mother is going to get better soon, I promise. My bother, a different Kane, and I aren't-" She came over to me then, crawling her way into my lap, making my words stop flowing.

"Is your name Lucy," she asked, her voice like music in my ears. I nodded, opening my mouth to try to explain the situation again. But she shook her head and put the little hand that held her father's over my mouth. "Then Lucy is Lucy, your just a different mommy." I shook my head sadly at her.

"It doesn't work that way, sweetheart," I said gently. "Your mother is a completely separate person from myself."

"She calls me "sweetheart" too," she said, trying once again. I sighed and look to Natsu for help, but he stood there with a smile on his face, he shrugged his shoulders. Universal-Natsu language for "what can you do?" and I wondered how he could just stand there and let his daughter call Ashley and me "Mother." Even in this world he was a bit scatter-brained I guess.

"Would you like some juice, Nashi," I asked, avoiding the nickname that Ashley used for her daughter. I hoped that this would distract the little girl and give me some more time to figure out how to explain this at a later time, perhaps when Ashley was awake and well. I poured some more juice in the glass and handed it over to Nashi. She gladly took it but didn't move from her place on my lap. I didn't want to upset her anymore than I already have, so I just left her there.

I motioned for Natsu to take Kane's emptied seat across from me. Once he was seated I decided to do a little digging. "So when did you and Ashley get married?" I asked, leaning my chin forward on my right hand. The look on his face was priceless, all red and embarrassed. "I saw the ring on her finger earlier, very beautiful, congratulations." I then saw a simple silver band on his own ring finger.

He rubbed the back of his neck with his hand and tried to sit straighter in his seat. "Lucy and I got married five years ago and Nashi was born two years and two months later," he answered. I did the last bit of math in my head and figured out that Nashi was born eight months after Kane, Happy, and I have been in Hakari, making the time spent away from Earth Land a grand total of three years and four months now.

"How did you propose?" I asked, raising my eyebrows and leaning in really close. Another endearing shade of red crossed his face, making me smile.

"W-well, um, funny story actually," he stuttered, "we had already known each other so many years and dated a year before I asked her and... Lucy was the one to give me her ring and said that she wouldn't say yes unless I asked in the most spontaneous way possible, giving me only one chance to do it right." I didn't bother to hide my laughter and Natsu grinned at my amusement.

"Can't wait to hear the rest of the story," I commented.

"I thought and thought about it the entire day I was working and then it hit me. Lucky for me I was doing the last few experiments to get my cruiser working. Like everything all those years ago it ran on lacrima power, and I was able to get it to work the exact same day she gave me the ring. I asked her and everyone else to come witness not only the new working mode of transportation in Edolas, but to see our engagement. I asked Lucy to be in the front seat with me and I purposefully undid a screw to make it malfunction. I then asked Lucy to get in the front seat and I would see what the problem was under the hood. I fixed the problem, shut the hood, and moved to the driver's side of the car. She didn't seem to suspect anything when I got down on my knee next to her. I said I wanted her to be the one to turn the key and she did and the engine roared to life, then she felt something very familiar on the end of it. Your could imagine her surprise when she saw the ring hanging on the end of it." I was full on smiling and excited to hear the the rest of the story. "I unhooked the ring from the chain and asked her if she would marry me and if this was spontaneous enough for her to say yes to. There was so much emotion on her face and the only thing she could do was nod her head. I felt very accomplished as I slid the ring on her finger."

I smiled harder, ignoring the pain in my cheeks, and closed my eyes to picture the happy image. I opened my eyes to see a prideful and grinning Natsu. I would imagine the surprise radiating from her, she expecting to just give the ring to Natsu and to wait a while for him to come up with something amazing in order to ask her, but to be asked the very same day. Now that was something to remember for always. "That was a very momentous thing you did, Natsu. Wish I could have been there to have seen that miracle."

He chuckled to himself shook his head as if he couldn't believe it himself. "So how did your Natsu propose to you?" he asked. The smile instantly fell from me face and I couldn't hold his gaze anymore. "Did I say something wrong?" The teasing was gone from his voice and he sobered up, wondering what he done.

I tried to shake my head, he had done nothing wrong. "I don't know how much Kane or the others have told you about our situation but I haven't seen him or anyone else from Earth Land in over three years. I haven't asked Father anything more than if they're all alive."

"Why don't you ask for more information?" he asked, leaning in closer. I brushed back Nashi's hair to distract myself. She smelled like clear rain and roses.

"I don't need anything more than to know that they continue to be a family." I looked him back in the eyes now. "But one day I will be able to ask them about all the events I've missed, My memory is still a little shaky from all the time I've been with them all, but I will remember everything, one day. And when that day comes, I hope that everyone I love will be there, alive and well."

I hope you liked it, because it's all you're gonna get until a few days after New Years.