A/N: I still feel really weird about not having this story finished during CoLu Week (this is the first year that's ever happened!), but I'm glad you're all enjoying it and being gracious in understanding the slow updates from me.

There's an important note on my profile concerning my stories and this site, so please check it out.

Day 6: Weight

It had been three days since the protest. Erik woke up for the first time on Monday morning to find Macbeth sitting in a chair beside his bed and a man he didn't recognize with heavy metal prosthetics standing guard at his hospital room door.

What the actual fuck had happened?

"Midnight?" he rasped.

Macbeth's head shot up and his plum-painted lips pulled into a wide smile that, honestly, kind of freaked Erik out. His best friend didn't smile at him like that. Ever. Which had to mean that Erik was laid up in a hospital bed because he'd nearly fucking died.

"What happened?"

"What do you remember?" Macbeth asked instead of giving him a straight answer.

"Tartaros factory," he said softly, closing his eyes and leaning his head back against the pillow. His whole head was foggy, heavy. Must be some solid anesthesia they gave him. He didn't question whether he was in a hospital, or whether this was a fucked up dream. It made sense. It wouldn't be the first time a protest had left one of them in a hospital bed for a day or so. "Talked with Black Steel and Shortstack." He frowned slightly. "And then… Tartaros showed up."

When Erik looked at Macbeth again, he could see the concern in his friend's crimson eyes.

"Anything else?"

Was there more he was missing? Erik thought harder. Just waking up had left him confused, sure, but he could tell there was more that was missing.

"The protest," he said, looking at the orange-haired man standing at the door. That guy was watching him, but hadn't said a word. Who the fuck was he? Why was he familiar? Erik sat up slightly, groaning as he pulled on his IV. "I know you," he said. The hair, the stubble, the prosthetic arm and leg. He knew this guy, from somewhere. Sitting with a woman, who shouted at him Okay, Boomer! Where did he... "From Fairy Tail."

The man smirked. "Gildarts," he said. "What else do you remember?"

"What are you doing here?" Erik asked instead.

"Protection," Gildarts said.

"From what?!" Erik asked. He looked back to Macbeth, who was looking at a computer he'd pulled out of fucking nowhere. Was no one going to fucking tell him?

"Do you remember Lucy?" Macbeth asked.

Erik frowned again. So he was being left in the dark on that, then. Still, he couldn't forget Lucy. Sorano had doxxed her, and he'd met Gildarts in passing because of that. "That Army chick."

"Do you remember seeing her at the protest?" Macbeth asked.

Erik… couldn't rightly recall right then. He assumed maybe he had seen her, but he wasn't sure.

"Do you remember what happened to you?"

He wanted to say yes, but he didn't. He couldn't pull the information out, even though he could tell it was there, in his head. "I-I…"

"You were shot in the face," Gildarts said. Erik jumped when he walked further into the room, and the heavy metal of his prosthetic leg thumped loudly in his ears.

Erik reached up to his face with the hand that wasn't attached to an IV, his fingers trembling as he felt the bandages covering the right side of his head. This couldn't be true. He'd remember getting shot. This was a prank. Maybe this really was a dream.

"People have been posting videos from the protest all weekend," Macbeth said. "It's blown up into national news."

Weekend? How long had he been out? The protest was on Friday. "W-Weren't you recording?" Erik whimpered.

"Yeah, it's… graphic."

"Lemme see." He struggled to sit up properly, and sighed in relief when Gildarts came closer to help him do just that. He still wanted to know why he needed someone like Gildarts to stand here like some mob boss's lackey and protect him. But that could wait. Erik needed to see what happened. What he couldn't remember right then.

The sudden weight bearing down on Erik's chest was nearly too much to handle two hours after he'd started watching videos of the protest. He scrolled through one video after another, seeing the same horrific scene from different angles, with different video qualities, and different voices reacting to what they witnessed.

Erik on the ground, bleeding and holding his face. Lucy jumping into the fray and getting maced without reacting. Gildarts and other Green Berets taking him to safety with Gajeel. Lucy being tased, Sorano beaten with batons. Both women dragged to a police car.

She didn't know him. She had no reason to help him.

She'd saved his fucking life.

As it turned out, Gildarts was staying in the hospital as Erik's bodyguard because no one trusted the police anymore. They hadn't known the name of the officer who'd shot Erik until an hour after he'd woken up. Rogue called Macbeth to let him know that the officer's name and information had already been sent to the media; apparently, he'd been working nonstop to find a video with a good enough angle to slow it down and catch the officer's nametag, then searched the Magnolia databases (probably illegally, but Erik wasn't judging at this point) to get as much information as possible about the man.

"Where is she?" he breathed, scrolling through FaeSpace to see more videos.

"Last I heard from Levy, she's still in a cell," Macbeth said softly. Erik's head snapped over to him, his single visible eye narrowing. "They brought Lucy and Sorano to the hospital, but Lucy was just in shock. Sorano's ribs got broken, and it punctured a lung, so she's still here."

"What are they charging Lucy with?" Erik asked.

"Not sure," Macbeth said, shrugging. He leaned forward and clicked on another tab on the laptop. "People are protesting at the police station now to have her released. Far as I could tell, since it was the weekend, their hands were tied."

"Bullshit," Erik hissed. "There are ways to get in touch with a judge on the weekend." He closed the computer and handed it to Macbeth, then pressed the call button on the bed railing. Repeatedly. Until a flustered nurse showed up in his doorway and nearly yelled at him. "Find a doctor and get me discharged," he said. "I'll sign the forms for leaving against a doctor's suggestion, but I'm leaving in an hour, whether you want me to or not."

"Wh-What?!" she shrieked.

"Get. A. Doctor. In. Here," he snarled.

She rushed away from the room, and Macbeth put a staying hand on Erik's arm before he could move an inch. "What are you doing?" he asked. "Cobra, you need to rest."

"Fuck rest," he spat. "I'm returning a favor."

The phone on his desk beeped before his secretary's tinny voice rang through the speaker. "Mr. Draconis, there's an Erik Vivas on line 1 for you?"

Acnologia's eyebrow lifted with intrigue. "Put him through," he said. Moments later, the light on his desk phone lit up, and he picked up the receiver. "Erik, I saw the news."

"Hey, old man," Erik chuckled.

"How are you?"

"Missing an eye."

Acnologia's hand tightened on the receiver. He'd seen the videos posted all over the news, on his own FaeSpace feed, and all across the internet. He knew for a fact that it had been Erik who was injured in the protest, but to hear that he'd lost his eye was something Acnologia hadn't known. "Did you now…"

"Yeah, I'm being discharged now."

"Shouldn't you stay in the hospital?" he asked. He knew Erik well, and that he hated hospitals, but this was probably a bad idea.

"No." There was a long pause that had Acnologia frowning minutely. Erik didn't call him for anything that wasn't related to a case. And usually only for a meeting. As the District Attorney, Acnologia was usually the one opposing Erik in court. "I hope you're at your office, because I'm on my way over."

"Why?" Acnologia asked.

"Why else?" Erik laughed. "To discuss what you plan on doing about this bullshit case against my client."

And suddenly, Acnologia's eyes narrowed in suspicion. He had a great many case that his office worked on, but he had a feeling Erik was about to do what he did best. Make a goddamn scene until he got his way. "Who's your client?"

Erik chuckled then. "Major Lucy Heartfilia. I'm sure you're aware of what happened on Friday."

"I am," Acnologia said slowly. He pulled up the case file on his computer - though it wasn't too hard, since he'd already been reviewing it that morning - and looked over the details again. "Shouldn't you be resting instead of taking on new clients?"

"Not this one," Erik said. "You have no evidence for the charges. We'll talk when I get there."

Acnologia knew Erik would try to get the DA's office to drop the charges without him saying much more on the subject. Assaulting an officer, disorderly conduct, and a whole list of other offenses filled the page. All from a single afternoon. Public intoxication, as well. Interesting.

"I'll be there in ten minutes."

Acnologia smirked as the line cut off. That meant Erik was pulling up to the building already. He set down the receiver and pressed the call button for his secretary. "Sonya, it seems I'll be having company. Clear my schedule."

"But sir-"

He chuckled and stood from his rich mahogany desk, then walked to his closed office door. The son he'd given up for adoption years ago was coming for a visit. Acnologia figured he could meet Erik at the door. And he had a feeling, when he saw the bandages around Erik's face and the stone-cold look in his only visible eye, that his son was going to get his way this time around.

"Heartfilia!"

Lucy looked up through the bars of the cell she shared with several other women, not pausing in doing her push-ups even when a younger officer came to stand at the door.

"Your lawyer's here."

She frowned. Lucy didn't have a lawyer. She'd used her one phone call to call Laxus and find out what was going on. And none of her friends could afford a lawyer for her. Shit, she hadn't thought she'd need a lawyer in the first place. She hadn't done anything illegal.

She kept doing push-ups.

The cop smiled at her then, which was… slightly unnerving. Except, he wasn't leering. It seemed like a genuine smile. She glanced at his name tag. Tearm. Good to know. "Come on," he said. "Your lawyer's here to talk to you about your case."

Finally, she stood, wiped her hands on the camo pants she'd been wearing on Friday, and went to the barred door. It opened, and she waited for Officer Tearm to put handcuffs on her. Except, he didn't. What the fuck?

He walked away, pausing when she didn't follow immediately. Lucy slowly walked out of the cell and moved to stand next to him. He was only a few inches taller than her, but his strides were long and sure. "Right this way, please," he said, eventually stopping in front of a heavy metal door. He opened it and waited for her to go into the room, then closed the door behind her.

Lucy froze at the sight of him sitting in one of the uncomfortable metal chairs by a solid wooden table. She paid no mind to their surroundings, far too focused on his relaxed posture, white pressed dress shirt, and the fact that half of his face was covered in bandages.

"Major Heartfilia," he said. His voice was softer than she remembered, more professional as well. Then again, the only time she'd heard him speak was at the protest, when they'd been screaming at each other. "Please have a seat."

She blinked again, then took a seat in the chair opposite him. Was he supposed to be her lawyer?

"First, I want to thank you," Erik said. "And to introduce myself." He put a hand out for her to shake. "Erik Vivas. I've taken on your case."

She shook his hand, and stared at him. She didn't have the money for something like that.

"Pro bono, of course," he said, as though he'd read her mind. "I have a personal interest in your release, so… You get my services free of charge."

Her lips pursed slightly. "Sounds shady as fuck," she said.

He snorted out a laugh, leaning forward with his elbows on the table. "Now that I think about it, it really does," he said. "Still, you saved me, and now I'm returning the favor."

"I don't even know what they're charging me with," she said.

His brow lifted. "Did no one inform you of the charges?"

She shook her head. "Were they supposed to?"

Erik pulled out a notepad and a fancy-looking pen that made no sound when he clicked it to start writing. He paused, looked her over for a second, then smirked as their eyes met. "And you're wearing the same clothes from the protest," he said.

She blinked slowly and looked down at herself. "Yeah," she said. "I mean, it's not a big deal. I've had someone else's blood on me for more than a couple days." He laughed and shook his head while writing some more. "That sounds worse than it really is… I-"

Erik held up a hand. "I don't need specifics," he chuckled. "You were in the military, and I've heard the highlights from Gajeel and Levy about what you did overseas. I can only assume there was blood involved."

"Oh…"

He stopped writing to look at her fully. "I'm laughing because I'm going to enjoy fucking these people over."

"Who?"

"The officers at this precinct who can't seem to follow their own job description," he said with a dark grin. "Did you know that, if you're being held more than 24 hours, you're supposed to be given clean clothing to wear?"

Lucy shook her head.

"And did you get a phone call?"

"Yeah, I called my brother," she said. "It's the only number I've got memorized."

"Anything you need to tell me about your time in here?"

"No…?" She frowned. "I just wanna know when I can go home and be done with this." She shifted uncomfortably in her seat when he took a couple more notes.

"Well, fortunately for you," he said, standing up, "the charges that they had against you have all been dropped."

She blinked. And stared. "What?"

Erik grinned again. "Nepotism at its finest," he chuckled. "The DA, upon further review of your case, and my meeting with him, has decided to drop the charges. You're free to go, but I'm happy to have my firm represent you in the event that you'd like to press charges over your treatment by the police at the protest."

"Wait a second," she said, standing and stopping him from walking toward the door. "I'm free to go?"

"You are," Erik said. "Probably would have been even without my interference, to be completely honest. What you did is all over the internet. And the news. Which…" Her eyes narrowed in suspicion when he paused. She watched as he shifted from one foot to the other, discreetly. "Fair warning, news crews are surrounding the precinct."

Lucy had a feeling, as she followed Erik out of the room and down the hall to meet with an officer at a desk - a woman with bright green eyes and deep purple hair, who politely asked Lucy to sign a couple forms so her belongings could be returned to her - that this whole situation wasn't how things were supposed to go at all. She couldn't put her finger on just what was off, but there was something she'd missed. Still, she was glad to have gotten her shoelaces back. And her dogtags. And the bottle of water that she'd had in one of the pockets in her cargo pants.

Erik waited until she'd fixed her laces and put her dogtags back on, then placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. Her head tipped back to meet his indigo gaze, and it was only then that she realized how tall he was. Nearly a whole foot taller than her. "You can ignore the press outside," he said. "They'll ask for a statement, and it's your choice whether you tell them anything. Or if you'd like me to speak for you."

Her lips pursed in thought. "I can make a statement, I think," she finally said.

Lucy did have something to say about this whole ordeal, that was for sure. She wasn't sure what had been happening over the weekend out in the world, but what she did know was that she needed to have her voice heard on what had happened at the protest.

They walked through the precinct, and out the front doors. Instantly, she was blinded by the flashing lights of cameras clicking away in the afternoon sun. Taking pictures of her and Erik standing together. Probably honing in on the dried blood on her clothing.

"Miss Heartfilia!" a reporter shouted.

"Did you-"

"Have you-"

"What will-"

The questions shot at her rapidfire, so quickly that she had a hard time focusing on just one thing. She didn't know who to answer first. What she should or shouldn't say.

Erik placed a hand on her lower back, then leaned down to whisper in her ear, "You don't have to talk to them."

She'd faced countless horrors over in Alvarez, had stared down the barrel of a gun enough times that she couldn't count it on her hands. But these reporters… With her head held high and her face a mask that she'd perfected while serving in the military, Lucy ignored them all. "I'd like to go home," she told Erik.

He gave her a small, understanding smile. "We can do that," he said, then pointed to the black car parked on the street, just behind the gaggle of journalists hoping for a juicy story. She looked over at the car, watched as Levy and Natsu got out of the backseat, and suddenly her chest felt weightless. Her two best friends were there, waiting for her, watching as she broke away from Erik's side and dashed through the reporters on a zig-zagging path right for them. She ignored the commotion as they came within reach, wrapping her arms around them both.

"Lu, I'm so glad you're okay," Levy breathed into her hair. Lucy could hear the way her voice trembled with emotion.

"Luce, it's good to see you," Natsu said gently. His grip around her and Levy was nearly suffocating, but she didn't mind. "Let's get you home and cleaned up. Laxus is waiting for you at Fairy Tail."

She nodded, pulling back to smile at them. Instead of letting them go, Lucy drew Levy and Natsu into a tighter hug than before. "I'm just glad you two are safe," she said. When her eyes opened again, she finally noticed the large group of protesters across the street, cheering as they raised their signs demanding her freedom into the air. She smiled at them, then closed her eyes and basked in the comfort of Natsu and Levy's arms around her.