Author's Note: Raw file as always! Thank you so much for waiting! Heads up for typos and errors.

She was ten years old back then. Her chocolate brown eyes happily traced the children playing under the somberly beautiful winter. Can I play with them? Erza asked herself, wanting to join the crowd. She nodded and swathed herself with a few layers of clothes before she hastily ran down. She was about to open the door and stepped out to the winter sunshine but was interrupted when she heard him cleared his throat.

"Where do you think you're going?" he asked before crossing his legs.

"Ca-can I play with them uncle?" she cringed after hearing herself stutter before him.

"Play? Make me a coffee first…"

"Yes, thank you!" she clasped her hands in delight.

After a few minutes, Erza arrived with his coffee. He took a sip as she watched her eagerly wait for his permission. His face was distorted as the bitterness sprung to his mouth. Erza froze as the hot coffee spilled on him.

"What the!"

Her bright ambiance melted as his gaze set her ablaze. She shivered and begged for an apology, but he didn't care. He grabbed her scarlet hair and dragged her to the dark and dusty attic. Erza wailed as he locked the door. Her breath hitched as the horrible, filthy walls greeted her. He didn't mind her and went to his room to change his clothes. Erza hugged her knees as she whispered to herself. It's o-okay, you're okay with this, Erza. At the very least, he didn't beat us this time 'round. I'm with you, don't worry. She nodded and tried to calm herself. What she thought a blessing turns out a can of worms. She was locked up and starved for two days. Erza began to feel the death's clutches and smiled weakly, wanting to give up. For her, there is no way out, and there is no hope of escaping it.

"Erza!" he burst into the room without knocking, causing Irene to turn her back to him.

Jellal's eyes widened, seeing her unconscious form. He fell to his knees as cold tears burned his eyes. He was shaking uncontrollably as he gently clutched her feeble hands. Irene let out a weary sigh and talked to Ellen. Leaving him alone with her, he cried desperately as the mild and unceasing pain flooded his heart. He brought her limp hand to his cheeks.

"Who had done this to you?" he asked in a shaky voice as he stared at her bruised face.

You have no idea how worst could be my worst is, Jellal… her words resounded in his mind. I have no idea how hard you've been going through lately but please, stay with me. He pleaded with tears in his eyes. A few minutes later, the door creaked, and Ellen entered. She tapped his shoulders and kneeled next to him.

"Let's go home," she said.

"She needs me. I want to be near here when she woke up." He stated, never letting go of her hand.

"Please, listen to mom. Let's leave Erza to Irene for now. You can always visit her when Irene says so."

"Bu-but"

She shook her head and pleaded with him. Irene needs to be with her daughter. She said to herself, remembering her promise to her. Please keep this a secret between us. I don't want them to know about her yet. She placed her words.

"Fine… But I want to see that person first,"

"You know him well," Irene said.

"Claude," Ellen added, appalling him.

"Clytie's dad?" he raised his brows in disbelief.

"Ask her herself. She was the one who reported the incident," Irene added as she sat at the bedside.

Fumed with anger, Jellal exited the room. His hands balled into fists as he heard the news. Ellen was having a hard time keeping up with his long steps. I'll make him pay. How could he do something like that to her?

"Erza," Irene's impassive façade broke as they left the room.

Suddenly buried in the immense silence, she gasped as she felt a sudden pang in her heart. Her delicately, weak hands slowly made their way to her languid ones. My Erza. She thought as tears soon sapped her.

"What a terrible mother am I? I almost lost you twice."

"Jellal, will you please calm down?" Ellen said as she pushed him in the car.

"How can I calm down mom? He had almost beaten Erza to death. He deserves more than that!" he irritably answered as he entered their car.

"He already had lost his tooth for that punch."

"I want to kill him. How dare he!" he smashed his fists on the seat before him as he released his anger.

"Irene," a surprisingly strong baritone voice said as the door burst open.

"Da-dad?" she greeted in an unexpected unemotional tone.

He took a deep breath seeing her sitting at the bedside instead of lying on the hospital quick feathery footsteps soon resonated as he rushed to her side. He placed his slightly calloused hand on her forehead.

"I'm fine," she said before shifting her gaze to Erza.

"Julius told me that you had a breakdown. So, I rushed all the way here yet why-" he paused as his eyes fixated on her.

"Who is she?" he staggered a step backward as he saw her great semblance to Irene.

"Here," Irene extended her arms to grab the papers on the table.

"What? I-it can't be!" he exclaimed.

"She-she's my daughter, dad…" Irene said before tears swarmed her eyes.

"How is it even possible?" he stared at Erza's sleeping form in disbelief.

"Nienhart's still investigating about this,"

"Then how did you know? I already told you that you have to stop concerning yourself over her."

"I learned it from Nienhart. She had her swaddle blanket like the ones that I had personally crafted for her. I don't know. I can't stop myself from worrying about her. Maybe my heart had already recognized her that's why. A maternal instinct, I guess..."

"So, in the end, you never listened to me."

Irene remained silent as she kissed Erza's hands before uttering, "Can we just talk about that later, dad? Please, I just wanna stay by her side and wait for her to regain consciousness."

He clenched his jaws as he saw Erza's bruises and injuries. Who had done this to her? How could someone do something so terrible like this to my granddaughter! He thought to himself. He sat beside Irene and rubbed her back.

"It's okay, now. You'll never lose her again. I swear, I'm here."

A few hours later, a knock on the door had perturbed Irene's sleep. Ellen smiled as she entered with her butler.

"Did you already have your lunch?" Ellen asked as the butler exited after placing the lunchbox on the table.

"Not yet,"

"Great, I made some for you…"

"Thank you but what's with the plushie?" Irene asked as Ellen placed the plushie on the sofa.

"Oh, Jellal asked me to return this to her,"

"Ah, so that was her gift… I see." She said before leaving Erza's side.

"How's Erza?" Ellen asked as Irene sat on the opposite chair.

"Still unconscious… The test results said she's fine but somehow it worries me that she's still unconscious,"

"You should also rest y'know that. Here, I made chicken soup for you."

"I-I can't forgive myself, Ellen. I feel so guilty about it," Irene said before she covered her face with her palm.

"About what?" she asked as she moved next to her.

"Ugh, how can I tell her the truth? What if she'll hate me for abandoning her? What if she'll feel that way?"

"You never abandoned her. Remember? After the fire broke out, you ran all the way to the NICU to save her despite your condition.

You've done everything that you can to save her,"

Ellen hugged her as she started weeping. Her heart-rending cries soon sounded feeble. After eating her lunch, Irene fell asleep on the couch. Ellen sighed as she gently tucked the blanket on her. I can't imagine how painful it could be for her knowing that Erza's still alive all these years. Yet, she hadn't even had a chance to hold her in her arms.

"Erza?" Ellen said as she reached her bed.

"If the time will come for her to tell you the truth, please don't hate Irene. You had no idea how much love she has for you. She had even valued you more than her life," she said as she gently held her hand.

"I want to see her bright smile again. Y'know, like the ones that she had back when she's still carrying you in her womb. I want you to fill her life with warmth again like how you filled the longing in my son's eyes. Life may have been hard on you but please hold on, you'll surely see the silver lining soon."

The next morning…

"You don't really have to be bothered about it. I'm fine besides dad will surely send me lunch later,"

"I asked uncle not to. Lemme just repay you with this. Please, Ren"

"Alright then, thank you… And also thank you for staying the night here," Irene said as Ellen packed her things.

"Anytime. I'll be here by lunch, 'kay?" she smiled as she stepped out of the room.

"By the way, you can tag Jellal along with you for lunch,"

"Re-really?"

"Yes,"

"Great. I'll get going then," she waved her hand as they exited.

Irene let out a long, exasperated sigh as she walked to the window. She slightly raised the blinds as she tried to lit up the somewhat gloomy atmosphere around the room. She forcibly urged her lips to smile as she stared at her.

"Erza?" Irene rushed to her side as she noticed her fingers move.

Erza groaned as she groggily opened her eyes. She blinked twice as she tried to clear her vision. Irene held her hands and smiled as she looked at her. Lady Irene? Erza thought as her pale face met her eyes. She then hastily let go of her hand and hid under the blanket. Perplexed at her sudden action, Irene cleared her throat as she sat beside her sitting form.

"It's okay, Erza. Remember, you don't need to fret when I'm with you," she reassured.

"Um," she took a gentle peek as she looked at her.

"It's okay, Erza," she reiterated. Is she ashamed of her current state? Irene asked herself as she gently smiled at her.

Her eyes lit up as she saw Irene's harmless smile. She beamed and introduced herself, "Hi, lady Irene… Y'know what, I'm really excited about meeting you!"

"Huh?" Irene's smile wore off as she saw her act like a toddler.

"Uh-oh, I'm sorry… I forgot to introduce myself. Ahem, I'm Elsie, Erza's older sister. I'm 8 years old."

Irene's blood ran cold as she apprehended her situation. An alter? DID? She has DID? Her breath hitched, and hot briny tears soon swelled in her eyes. What on earth had happened in your childhood for you to have this?

"Are you alright, La-lady Irene? Um, you don't have any bruises or wounds so why are you crying? Do-does it hurt? Did someone had secretly beaten you? Ah, don't cry, please. E-Elsie's here for you. Don't worry, I'm good at comforting people. You can cry in my arms," She hugged Irene and rubbed her back.

"Tell me. How rough was your childhood, Erza?" Irene fumbled her words as she whimpered in agony.

Erza was a survivor of chronic childhood abuse. Her alter must've protected her from those painful memories. But no matter how hard she tried masking those feelings and memories with a soft smile, they'll always find their way to leave traces from behind. Her childhood had been a living nightmare of her innocent soul. No matter how much she denies it, she is still a prisoner of her childhood. Still, a poor child attempting to create a new life as she reencounters those traumas.

"The security in here's tighter than I'd imagined," Jellal shook his head as the guards checked their belongings.

"Shhh, keep going… We're almost late." Ellen said as he slacked off from behind, carrying those lunch boxes.

"Mom, wait!" he exclaimed as Ellen opened the door.

Soft and short mirthful laughter greeted them. Jellal's eyes widened as soon as he saw her hugging Jelly. Erza? He thought and hastily rushed to her side. She gasped and hid behind Irene. Covered with the blanket, Jelllal's heart aches as he remembered the scene on his birthday.

"Why did-didn't you tell me-me that he'll be visiting?" Elsie asked Irene, causing him to freeze in his spot.

He was about to walk back to his mom, but her talking in a toddler's tone made him looked back at her. He was about to ask her something, but Irene signaled him to listen.

"La-lady Irene, Erza will surely get mad at me,"

Ellen and Jellal gasped as they heard her talk like a child again. They heard it loud and clear. They did not imagine anything. Irene gritted her teeth as she held back her tears.

"She doesn't want Jellal to know that she has me. She's afraid that he'll say that Erza's possessed by a demon or something,"

"An alter?" Jellal gasped in disbelief.

"She's fine with others judging her but she can't take it if it was him. She loves him more than Elsie. She was even willing to let him go because Erza's afraid if he'll leave if he'll learn about Elsie,"

Jellal felt his heart shattered into pieces. It was hard for him to hear those words from her alter. All he knows is that he's in pain. All he felt was desperation. He tried to cry out and hug her but he can't. All he can do for now is listen to her heart-rending confession.

"No-no one will listen to us. No matter how loud we cry, no-no one will believe in us. All those gentle smiles feign disgust in it. Everyone will think of Erza as crazy if they'll learn about Elsie. That's why she broke up with him. She had already planned to end everything after his birthday. She had already decided to die. Yet, when she looks around her, then she sees him and she felt so bad-"

Elsie's eyes widened as she felt numerous arms wrapped around her. She was not interested in seeing them. Instead, she tightened her grip on Jelly. Are they going to choke me? She asked herself.

"We believed in you," they said as their tears slipped their eyes.

"Lies," Elsie said before she burst into tears.

Her whole body throbbed as she cried in agony. She tried to recall those expressions from their faces. Their kind words towards her is an irony of subtle sarcasm. Elsie removed the blanket to drive them away, but she froze as she saw them crying too. When was the last time I saw someone looking at us with sincere concern in their eyes? She asked herself before she allowed herself to faint before them.

"Erza!" they cried.

If people would only look at her closely, they could see the little girl in her inside out—an innocent child deprived of the sunshine of her childhood years. To survive her tumultuous childhood, Erza created Elsie, a consoler and a companion. She was the one who took away her hurts, fears, and questions and kept them safe even until now.

Settled in a profound sleep, Irene gently tucked her blanket. Her eyes traveled downward focusing on the young man's sight. Jellal? She thought as she saw Ellen comfort him. She somewhat felt ashamed of herself knowing that he knew Erza more than she knows.

"I never thought that the strongest person that I know was the most vulnerable one. I-I am so ashamed of myself, mom. I keep on leaning on her when she's already silently collapsing by herself. I had never once noticed those horrors that she had buried deep inside those gentle smiles of hers."

You should never be ashamed of being yourself, y'know. People will always judge us no matter what but despite those criticisms, we must learn how to cope up with them and remain true to ourselves. I believe in you, Jellal. Jellal remembered her words and an intolerable sharp pain soon pierced his heart as he realized that she had helped him first even though she already had a lot on her plate.

"The wounded can recognize the wounded, Jellal. Maybe that's the reason why she chose to help you first. Now that she needs our help, you have to be strong. All we can do for now is to make her feel loved despite her condition," Irene said as she patted his shoulder.

"Ye-yes, Lady Irene," he said before sniffing away all his tears.

Irene smiles softly before intertwining her hands back on Erza's. Her eyes widened as she felt her clasp her hands. "Erza?" she asked as she rose from her seat. No, it's Elsie.

"Elsie's hungry, La-lady Irene," she said as their eyes met.

"I'll buy you a food," Jellal and Irene answered in sync.

Elsie smiled and clung to Irene's arms. She whispered something to her and she beamed as Irene reached for Jelly.

"Thank you," she said before giggling.

She then rolled to her side while cuddling him close. Irene instructed him to buy her food but before he took a single step away from her. Elsie said, "It doesn't mean that Elsie already likes you. I just don't want La-lady Irene to le-leave me. But Elsie will not drive you away because she's not a meanie. Elsie can't like someone Erza loves, 'kay? You got it, right? But we can be friends though."

"Yes, I got it. Thank you," Jellal said as he happily smiled.

"Yey, Elsie already made new friends, Jelly. Do you hear that? Elsie has friends now,"

Irene cleared her throat as Ellen and Jellal exited the room. Elsie turned around to see if they had already left after the door creaked. Irene kneeled before her and asked, "What about me?"

"Lady Irene can't be Elsie's friend. She doesn't want that," she furiously shook her head.

"Am I mean? That's why you don't want me to become your friend?"

"Nope," she said lightheartedly as she played with Jelly's ears.

"Then why can't I become your friend?" she asked as she patted her head.

"I-I want you to become our mo-mom. Um, Erza and Elsie never had a mom before so can Elsie call you mom? You are not our fake mom but our mom by heart. Elsie never experienced a mo-mother's love before so she wanted to-to just feel warm a mom's embrace-"

"Like this" Irene asked as she wrapped her arms around her.

Elsie's eyes burned as she felt her heartbeat on hers. So, this is how it feels like? "Mom, you're so warm," Elsie said before wrapping her arms around her.

"So you are," Irene said as she held her tears.

Mom? I never thought that hearing her calling me 'mom' could be that sweet and comforting. Can we stay like this forever?

"Don't let go yet, 'kay?" Elsie said as she snuggled close to her.

"I love you, Sie"

"I love you too, mom!"

The next morning. Erza opened her eyes as soon as the brilliant rays of sunshine peeked through the blinds, streaking her face. Irene and Jellal smiled brightly as they greeted her.

"Good morning, Sie! How are you?" they asked.

"Sie? What?" Erza felt her heart sank.

"Did you al-already- ugggh, no!" she cried before hugging her knees.

Jellal's here. He already knew about Sie? Why? She asked herself as she felt the world turning dark.

"Erza?" Jellal hugged her as she wept.

"No, leave me! Jellal, please!" she yelled as she pushed him away.

Despite her force, he stayed there as he strengthened her resolve. He gently held her shoulder and made her look into his eyes. She was shaking while staring at him. It was her greatest nightmare. She melted under his soft gaze.

"Tell me. Erza, what do you see? Look at me in the eyes," he begged.

There was no contempt in his eyes. Her throbbing heart relaxed as she saw his sincere concern. She was sure it was not pity. The voices of doubt resonating in her head ceased as he held her. For the first time in her life, she felt safe and secured under someone's gaze.

"I don't care how many alters are there quarantined with you. I will accept and love you wholly. My heart is already quarantined with yours. I'm not pitying you. Erza, I believe in you just like how you'd believed in me back then. I love you no matter what or who you are. I'll stay here. We will stay here. You have me, Lady Irene, and mom. We believe in you."

She was terrified of being constantly judged by others but for once in her life, she had finally realized that this time… She was not alone and she had Jellal to believe in her. Not only him but Irene and Ellen. She sniffed as she spoke.

"You do?"

"We do believe in you," they said as they wrapped their arms around her.

Author's Note: So yeah, my heart's breaking! That's why it's entitled "Quarantined with You" and I do hope that you're no longer upset. O_O Thank you so much for reviewing, namely, Guest, Mikasa-Chan, SkarltHart, and Somnnolent Sushi Roll.

To Somnnolent Sushi Roll, I'm sorry… Ahahaha, I'm never good at making titles though I'm very happy that you gave this a shot.

~Adios amigos!

~Yoshi