TRIGGER WARNINGS: Description of wounds, mention of rape, lots of emotional turmoil

Hiya! Here's an early 20!

I just want to let you know here, this chapter is packed heavily with drama and information. I didn't want to get too graphic with descriptions because it's too messed up even for me. Just head in there carefully and take the time you need to read through it without putting yourselves in a dark place.

Take care, and happy reading!

Natsu was glad for Lucy's presence as he stood in front of the one-way mirror for the sixth time that day. The lights were dimmed, making it harder to see the perp's features, but he only needed to hear their voices. The first five had been all the men's, and Natsu had had no issue pointing out the ones that were arrested at the scene, only based on their voices and silhouette. This one, however, was for the woman, and he hadn't heard or seen her much – only when she had called for help and briefly when she had been instructed to go to the pool. He had seen her face, but he couldn't remember it well enough to ask for visual cues.

The most unnerving part of it was Jude Heartfilia standing a few paces behind him. There was a part of him that wanted to whirl around, and sucker punch the permanent smug look out of his face. Mostly because he could feel Lucy's hand shaking on his arm. He knew she was there to make sure he wouldn't try to attack her father, since they were both convinced he was behind the kidnapping

"When you're ready, Natsu," the detective told him. He nodded. "Number 1." He shook his head. "Number 2." Another shake. "Number 3."

"That's her," Natsu declared without hesitation, feeling relieved. It had been easier than he had thought.

"Are you sure you don't need to hear the others?" Gildarts asked, as he had with every other ones.

"I never forget a voice," he stated – though he often forgot whose voice belonged to who. "It's her." He glanced at Jude Heartfilia over his shoulder and smirked when he noticed the dark glint of anger in his eyes. The light came up and the girl staring back at the one-way mirror looked positively furious when number 4 wasn't called. "So what now?"

"You've positively identified everyone we apprehended at the scene. Once they meet with their lawyer, we'll know if they choose to appeal, in which case it will go to court," Detective Cuberios explained.

"At any rate, you are free to go home now," Gildarts told the teenagers. "I can give you a ride back."

"I would like to talk with Lucy first," Jude demanded.

"I have nothing to tell you," she snapped. "I can't prove it, but I know you were behind this!"

"Don't be ridiculous," he sighed. "Please, just a minute."

"She said no," Natsu growled.

"Alright, let's go," Gildarts stepped in, ushering them outside with a nasty look toward Jude.

"Gildarts," Lucy spoke again once they were in his car. "How good is Detective Cuberios?"

"She's one of my best. Don't worry. They can appeal the decision, but there is evidence that they were tied to this. The woman might just be charged with accessory, but Natsu's identification should have sealed her fate."

"I want to press charge against my father," she declared and Gildarts paused, placing the vehicle on Park again and turned around to look at her.

"You won't be able to prove that he was involved."

"I know," she nodded. "That's not what I want to press charge for."

"Why?"

"If I do it now, will I be discredited for the timing?" she asked instead.

"He might try, but you could argue it was an incentive. Lucy, what did he do?" Natsu was looking at her too. She didn't know if she could say it in front of him. She still felt ashamed. Still loathed herself for it. Still didn't know if she could live through the trauma again to talk about it. But it seemed that Gildarts understood the words she couldn't quite voice. He reached for her shoulder, squeezing it gently. "I know it's hard," he whispered softly, "but if you want to press charge, you will have to say it."

Tears spilled on Lucy cheeks. She saw Natsu looking at her. He looked down at his wrists, remembering how Lucy had had similar injuries that had taken weeks to go away. Remembered how wary of him she had been, while being comfortable with women she had never met. 'I freaked out. I don't… I never want to have anyone sitting on top of me again,' she had told him. The pieces he had refused to put together before snapped in place with painful clarity. He was out of the car before Lucy or Gildarts had time to react. Gildarts scrambled out, followed by Lucy.

"Where are you going?" he called, following him.

"I'm going to kill him," Natsu growled. A moment later, he yelled in pain when he got tackled to the ground. He struggled, despite his injuries and the pain, despite the warm wetness spreading around his abdomen as the stiches ripped. "Let go of me!" he yelled.

"You need to calm down," Gildarts groaned, pinning him firmly, while still trying to avoid hurting him anymore. "It won't do any good if you go to jail."

"I don't care! I can't let him get away with it! Let go of me!" He managed to free his arm and rolled on his side, where he had more leverage and was able to push him back and get to his feet. He turned around and ran directly into Lucy. He barely managed to stay on his feet and keep her upright too. "Luce…" She wrapped her arms around him and he stopped fighting, holding her to his chest. She could feel him shake with anger. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "I never… I didn't want to think…"

She realized with shock that it wasn't anger that made him shake. He was crying. For her. "Don't be sorry," she whispered. "You did nothing wrong."

"I should have figured it out sooner, but I didn't want to… How could he…" He growled. "I wasn't kidding, Luce. Just say the word and I'll…"

"Don't," she cut him off, slowly pushing him away. "Natsu…"

"I won't," he nodded, wiping his eyes. "We'll do this the right way." Death would be too easy was what he really wanted to say. "You're not alone, Luce." He took her hands. "Whatever you need, I'm with you." Lucy couldn't describe the way he looked at her. There was none of the pity she had expected, though she could see compassion as well as rage and care.

"I need to know you won't act up like that again," she demanded.

"I swear I won't." There was no hesitation in his voice. Lucy allowed herself to relax for a second, her eyes dropping.

"Oh god," she breathed. "We need to go to the hospital."

"What? But we just left!" Natsu argued, confused.

"You're bleeding," she pointed out, dragging him back to the car. Natsu looked down, first noticing the faint stain on Lucy's blue top, then finding the one spreading on his white shirt and he swore.

Gildarts hurried behind the wheel and out of the parking while Lucy helped Natsu out of his shirt to apply it to the wound. She didn't know how bad it really was, but it had seeped through all the bandages fairly fast and that couldn't be good.

...

"What the hell happened?" Natsu flinched when Mavis stormed the room.

"They ripped," he replied.

"I stitched to you up myself, Natsu! They didn't just rip. What the hell did you do?" Natsu looked away, staying quiet.

"He found out about my father," Lucy explained in a small voice. "Gildarts had to tackle him down." Mavis expression went from angry to sympathetic.

"I would have killed him," Natsu mumbled in a blank voice, the idea not sitting well with him. He wasn't looking at either of them, his fingers grabbing the sheets with enough strength for his knuckles to whiten, but there was no hiding the slight tremor of his hands – the rage that still simmered in him. "If he hadn't stopped me… I would have killed him or died trying."

Mavis sighed. "Let me see." Natsu pried his fingers off the sheets and threw his legs off the side to allow room for Mavis to take the bandages off and inspect the new stitching and the torn skin. Lucy had to look away. Seeing Natsu injured so badly was unbearable, even if he still played it off as no big deal. "The scar is going to look much worse now," Mavis announced in a voice trained to deliver bad news, starting to wrap it again. "It will take at least an extra week to heal, and you will need to be even more careful."

Natsu listened but avoided eye contact while Mavis lectured him on the do's and don'ts to care for his injury. "I wanna go home," he said a while after she was done.

"I'm warning you, Natsu, if you do anything reckless again, I will keep you in here until you heal, even if I have to tie you down."

"I won't," he muttered. He sounded so defeated. She studied him for a moment.

"Lucy, can you give us a moment," Mavis requested. "Here, I brought this," she added, giving her a clean shirt. Lucy realized Natsu's blood still stained hers.

"Uh… yeah, sure. I'll go get changed." She left the room and Mavis took her chair.

"Talk to me, Natsu," she demanded after a moment.

"I have nothing to say," he murmured, faltering under Mavis's relentless stare. "I just… I lost it. I took her pain, and I made it about me. How am I supposed to ask her to trust me when I react like this?"

"You care for her a lot, Natsu. It's normal for you to be angry after learning what she's been through."

"She didn't want me to know," he whispered, his eyes cast down. "I could tell she didn't want to say it in front of me, and with how I reacted, I can't even blame her. I can't believe I was so dense I couldn't even see it. I… I still don't want to believe it. Her own father… How could anyone do this to their own child? And I feel like I can't say anything because she's suffered so much and how I feel about it is irrelevant. I want to be there for her, but I don't know how…"

"It's normal to feel the way you do, Natsu. It's normal to be at a loss as of what to say. I understand that you're trying to take it in without making it about you and it's very commendable. It would be easier to focus on your anger rather than her pain, and it's normal that you feel helpless because it's not something you can just fix. But Natsu, you've been there for her for months. You've helped her in so many ways. And I'm sure she needs you to keep doing what you've been doing since she's been with you. Right now, she's probably worried of what you might think of her."

Natsu's eyes finally snapped up to hers. "What?"

"It's common for assault victims to feel like they are to blame for what happened to them. That's one of the reasons why so many never talk about it. It's common to feel like they're less lovable, or to be ashamed because they couldn't stop it. I can't speak for Lucy, but that's what I've seen."

"I don't want her to feel that way," he argued. "It's not her fault."

"It might take time, but she's come a long way already. She's strong. The trial will be hard on her, it's going to be really important for all of us to support her through all of it." Natsu nodded as she stood. "I brought you a new shirt, too," she added, pulling it out of her purse.

"Thanks. I'm gonna go find Lucy." He hissed in pain when he stretched too far to pull his shirt on, but still bounced off the bed like it was nothing.

"I was being serious about keeping you here, Natsu!" Mavis warned, following behind.

"Yeah, I know," he replied, still hurrying down the hall. Mavis often wondered if he experienced pain like the rest of them.

Lucy had barely seen him before he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her in a tight embrace. "Natsu?" she exclaimed in surprise.

"I'm no good with words," he admitted, "but I'll do anything to help you. You know that, right?"

"I do," she whispered.

"I swear I won't lash out again. I won't make it about me. Anything you need. Just say the word, Luce." He pulled away, his eyes shining with the same fierce determination he had when he swore that her father wouldn't get her back and when he had promised he would keep her safe.

"Let's go home," she smiled.

"I'll give you a ride," Mavis offered, catching up

...

Natsu found it extremely hard to sit through Lucy telling him about what had happened, not once but thrice, each time with added information. He couldn't help the rage. Couldn't help wanting to smash something. Couldn't help wanting to hold her and make the hurt go away. He would do anything to see it go away.

The first time, she had told him and Mavis about it after they had gotten home. It had taken all of his self-restraint to keep his temper under control. Took everything he had to simply hold her hand through hearing about her suffering, knowing he couldn't do anything to take it away.

The second time had been that same evening, when Lucy had called her friends over to tell them, because she wanted them to know before the story got out. Natsu stood behind her as her friends listened and watched their inner turmoil before their sympathy took over. They didn't really know how to react either, he realized. Cana was boiling with rage just as he was. Even if she had known for some time, hearing the details was still hard on her. He deemed better to give them some space after and went to the store, blasting loud music through his headphones. He wanted to run to get the pent-up energy out of his system, but the stitches in his side didn't agree. He came back with strawberry cheesecake, Lucy's favourite.

The third time was the next day, while he sat next to her as she told her story to Detective Cuberios and the lawyer they had procured her, a woman by the name of Evergreen Raijin. This time, though he was still angry, his sympathy for Lucy was at the forefront of his mind. Lucy had wanted him by her side for support, and he didn't want to disappoint her or to cause her any trouble by showing aggression. She had told him multiple times already that if he did, her father would try to use it against them. Not that he needed the reminder.

There was questioning after. They had separated them to ask some of the same questions. Impersonal and personal questions. Questions trying to destabilize her – Lucy knew that the entire trial would be trying to discredit her, and she had to be ready for it. Questions about why it took her so long to come forward, and questions about why she had chosen to live with a man after what she had been through, about the friendship she had built with him. Questions for Natsu about what he knew, what he thought, his reasons. Questions about their relationship, their time together.

They were both weary when they left, and glad for Cana giving them a ride home while they questioned Mavis, and Levy, and Juvia, and then Cana when she came back. Lucy didn't know if it was worth it, but she had asked them to call Madam Spetto to take her account and see if she had kept the sheets for evidence. Lucy didn't want to think about the poor housekeeper learning the truth about the man that had employed her for almost thirty years.

...

The next morning, Lucy got a call from Loke asking that she stayed home and found out why pretty early on when she saw that the new had already made it to the outside world. Cana had been the one calling to say there was an article in the paper about it and that it had been on the news as well. Even if she lost the trial, her father's reputation would be ruined, but she couldn't feel sorry for him. Not after everything he had done.

Lucy was an anxious mess all day, grateful for Natsu staying by her side, doing his best to help her. Cana called them back later. "Insider info, but apparently he agreed to a press conference to respond to the charges before the trial begins." And so she had come to pick them up because Lucy didn't dare to walk down the street with her face in the papers and on TV, and even then she had used one of Natsu's hat – not that she ever saw him wearing one before – to hide her hair and her face as she walked to Cana's car. She didn't let herself relax until they were inside of Cana's home. Lucy accepted hugs from her friends who had already gathered there, and from Gildarts before he left to the conference.

They all anxiously watched until Jude finally appeared on television. Lucy could tell he had been drinking again by his ashy skin tone and the bags under his eyes, though he seemed sober enough as he stood in front of the camera. The journalists were clamouring for a moment before everything finally settled.

"Mr. Heartfilia," one of them said from behind the camera. "Is it true that your own daughter started a lawsuit against you?"

"It is," he replied flatly. He sounded sober enough too. Lucy reached for Natsu's hand, her breath shaking.

"The lawsuit is on allegation of domestic violence and sexual abuse, correct?" another asked.

"It is indeed," Jude replied again.

"What do you have to say about these allegations?" another voice asked, this time a woman. Jude was quiet for a moment.

"My daughter and I have been through many hardships since her mother passed away," Jude explained, and Lucy thought she might just yell. She knew what he was doing. Trying to get sympathy from the public. "I fear I have grown rather distant in my grief."

"You didn't answer the question," the woman insisted. "Are you saying those are baseless accusations enacted by a rebellious teen to get your attention?" Lucy didn't know who the woman was, but she loved her. For calling him out on not answering outright. For forcing him into a yes or no question where there would be no beating around the bush. For reminding the world watching that she was barely more than a teen. She was fighting against the sympathy that Jude was trying to get. And Jude knew it too.

They held their breath when he remained silent. "This is not what I'm saying," he finally answered, and Lucy's heart skipped. "I've wronged her over and over. I failed her miserably after she lost her mother. I lost myself in liquor and I've hurt her countless times, both emotionally and physically." Lucy couldn't believe it. "A trial could go on for a while, but it wouldn't do either of us any good. She is saying the truth. What I did is my greatest shame, and I can't even begin to hope for forgiveness. Lucy, if you're watching this. I am so, so very sorry for everything. I won't put you through another hell. Whatever retribution you want is yours. I won't ask for you forgiveness, I know I don't deserve it. I hope you can find happiness again." He motioned to someone in the crowd and Gildarts stepped up a moment later, cuffing him live on TV and taking him away.

Lucy thought she forgot how to breathe. They were all quiet in Cana's living room, staring at the screen even as it went to commercials. Slowly, they all turned to Lucy.

"Did I… did he…?" she muttered.

"He confessed," Cana said, turning it off.

"I don't get it," Levy argued. "Why call a press conference? He could have confessed at the station."

"Who cares?" Natsu exclaimed. "She won't have to go through the trials. That's great!"

"And she won't have to face him," Juvia added.

Lucy bounced to her feet, gripping her hair as she started pacing. Natsu tried to stand, but with his injuries, Cana beat him to it, jumping in Lucy's path and taking her arms, forcing her to stop. Tears were streaming down her face.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"I hate him!" Lucy snapped. "That manipulative bastard! I hate his guts!" Natsu was relieved to see that Juvia and Cana seemed as confused as he was.

"He confessed, Lu," Cana pointed out. "He's going to jail."

"He… he…" Lucy yelled in frustration. She was too flustered to say what she wanted to say.

"He's trying to get a reduced sentence," Levy understood. "By confessing publicly, by admitting being an alcoholic, and by expressing regret. He has to have known he wouldn't win a trial, and by cooperating, he's hoping for sympathy from a jury."

"Thank you!" Lucy exclaimed, relieved that one of her friends understood her frustration.

"But even so, Lu," Levy continued, pushing herself up. "He's still going to jail. His career won't recover from this. Even if he gets a reduced sentence, he's done for. He won't be able to practice anymore. After such a public admission of guilt, I doubt he will be able to find work when he comes out."

"He said whatever retribution you want, Luce," Natsu stepped in, finally standing up.

"I don't want his money!" she snapped, regretting her tone even as the words left her mouth.

"I know you don't," he replied, not even taking offense in her aggression. A dangerous expression was on Natsu's face. "Ask him to admit to taking me hostage. Whatever reduced sentence he would have got, that's gonna go away when he has to confess that he planned for someone to get kidnapped and beaten to try to force you to come home." Lucy stared at him in shock. It could work. She had pressed charge because she couldn't prove he had been involved, but now she could get justice for both of them.

"I never thought I'd say that, but Natsu's right," Cana whistled.

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, not so bright anymore, are we?" Cana teased. Before Natsu had a chance to argue, Lucy started laughing. This could work. Even if it didn't, she could still ask for ridiculous money and donate it to a domestic violence shelter. But for the first time since that fateful day, she finally felt like she could move forward.

Honestly, I was planning to write out a trial when I started the story, but first, I don't know anything about trials except from movies, and honestly did not feel like going through the inner turmoil of putting myself through it too. Plus, as you may remember, Mavis did perform a rape kit. As a lawyer, Jude would have known that his chances in a trial were slim to none, and no jury would feel sympathy for him. Not only that, but guilt would have been eating him alive. I don't think he would have gone as far as he has if it hadn't been the case.

Also, when I originally wrote this story, I honestly thought this would be a good place to end it. I left it alone for a few days, but I came here to see them get together, and I'll be damned if I don't see it through. So, there is more, but if you want to hop out, there is closure here!

What did you think of this chapter? What did you think of Natsu's reaction and Jude's admission of guilt? I'm sure it was unexpected for many, but did you like the way things turned out? Do you think Natsu's plan will pan out? Stay tuned to find out!

Valerioux: They're a cute pair, that's for sure :) Hope this chapter answered your questions

Copperreign12: Technically, the boss was Brain (Natsu would have recognized Jude's voice), but at this point, we all know who hired them. I hope Jude being arrested live on TV satisfied your hatred for the guy ;)

Bookwork129: I think this chapter answered everything. Poor Natsu could not even wrap his head around it (can you blame him, his dad was awesome). I'm glad to hear you're looking forward to it! There is still 30 more chapters planned out :D