Just a little cool down chapter, to resolve a few things, and to reveal to the team some mysteries they hadn't yet known about.The action returns very soon.

I'd like to give a shout out to my unnamed Guest reviewer(s). I'm not even sure if there are more than one. But I certainly wouldn't want to leave any of you out. Thank you for your awesome reviews. Also to Panditas and Maraman. Everyone of your feedbacks move me to get these chapters out. I'm so happy my humble story could touch you all in whatever way it did. Things are going to get pretty hectic in the coming chapters. Enjoy the calm while it lasts.

Throughout the afternoon, each member within their group of friends had given themselves a task. Loke had indeed found blood on the deck chair outside, and had taken care of it right away.

After depositing Gray into his favorite arm chair, Lyon was forced to take a power nap while Natsu and Happy set to work straightening out the dining room. For a blind, pain-wracked, intoxicated man suffering from blood loss, he'd put up an admirable struggle.

Lucy and Erza had gone to the market to stock up the dwindling groceries, Lyon never having had the chance to do so himself that week. They would be back soon with dinner, as well, of which they would force Gray to eat if they had too. It would help with his blood loss, and Wendy was insistent that he go back on his meds right away. Wendy, meanwhile, devoted all her attention on Gray.

Even though he was clearly beyond exhausted, he couldn't fall asleep. He knew the signs of encroaching insomnia, and didn't bother trying to make the short trip to the couch to lie down, as it would be a wasted effort. Fine by Wendy. If he wasn't going to sleep, then he could eat sooner, and then finally take his meds. She knew that being off sleep aids the last few days would have made his body more susceptible to them, so for at least tonight, they would help. For now, she was coaxing him to drink as much water as he could, in order to flush out whatever was left of the alcohol in his system. After learning how much he'd actually had to drink, she knew most of it would have metabolized by now.

He'd calmed down considerably in the last few hours. Joy was currently purring in his lap, while he idly sipped at his second glass of water, periodically stirring it with his finger. Though probably not very hygienic (he was just petting a cat after all), she certainly couldn't fault the comfort she knew it brought him. She studied him, trying to gauge his mental state, to anticipate how he was going to respond to what she had finally talked herself into doing. She had to do it now. If not, she thought she'd never work up the nerve again. It was just him and her. She would put out the suggestion, and let him decide. Simple as that—

SNAP*

She jumped at his sudden attention grabber. How had he known she'd been staring?

"Have you psyched yourself up yet?"

"I'm sorry, I was... I mean, yes, I was just about too... I mean—"

"Just say it," he said tiredly as he placed his glass down, shooing Joy away as well. May as well give her his undivided attention, if this was so important to her. "You've been oddly quiet since you came over here. I promise I won't fall into hysterics, whatever it is."

"That remains to be seen," she said, taking a deep breath before slowly letting it out. Here goes, "Listen, I've been working on a new spell; well, not really a new one. It's actually an upgrade to a really old spell. Remember Milky Way? It's that spell I used to contact Zirconis in that dragon grave yard. The Jade Dragon."

"I remember."

"Yes, well, I've been thinking about it for a really long time, and after working out some details and consulting with Porlyusica-san, I think I may have come up with a way to use that spell to... maybe... I mean, it's all up to you. You don't have to do it... even though I think it would really help you in the long run— not that I'm presuming to know what's best for you, and I really want you to be one hundred percent okay with it—"

She was so shocked by his tightly grabbing her hand, she almost forgot what she'd been rambling about. But apparently, he understood exactly where she was taking this, judging by the stricken look on his face.

"Don't."

"But, Gray... I really think that, if you could just be given a chance to talk with her—"

"Please!" He begged, squeezing her hand just a bit tighter. She noticed now the slight quiver to his lips, the trembling in his hand, and turned her hand over to grasp his in a silent apology. She understood. Simply thinking about his mom made his heart sink, and she could tell he was trying so hard to keep his promise of staying calm.

"Okay. I'm sorry. I won't bring it up again... But if you ever feel like you're ready to try, I'll always be willing to help you."

He simply nodded, releasing her hand and leaning away, fumbling for his discarded water and resuming his odd ritual.

Truthfully, that offer, had it come from anyone else, would have been met with anger and some kind of abusive language. Maybe even something a little more violent, depending on his disposition. He was currently using every stress reduction technique and compartmentalism skill he'd been forced to learn and develop over the last few months to keep the concept of reuniting with his mom from straying into his thoughts. He knew the very idea of it would make him go beyond breaking his promise to Wendy.

But he also trusted her, without reservation, and had found it harder and harder over time to deny her anything. So far, she's been the only female on his team that had never made him feel discomfort or fear. He knew without a doubt that she had only good intentions in her proposal, and he didn't want her feeling like she'd failed in some way. Even he could see how far she'd come in her calling as a healer.

After a moment, he gestured her nickname, just wondering if she was still eyeing him. She was.

"Yes, Gray-san?" she asked timidly.

"...Thank you."

Whether for her offer of essentially reintroducing him to the specter of his dead mom, whom he feared more than anything right now, or for backing off on that proposal, she couldn't tell. But his gratitude was sincere, and it relieved a sense of tension and awkwardness that she'd inadvertently caused.

"You're welcome."

They settled in for a wait. The food should be here soon. Wendy allowed her discomfort to ease bit by bit. It could have been much worse. She should have asked the others before springing this idea on him, but he took it better than she'd imagined he would. And, at least the idea was out there, now.

She was slightly alarmed, however, when he suddenly looked up. Was he seeing something again? Another flashback? Was her impulsive inquiry more distressing than she'd first realized, causing him to hallucinate again?

But he didn't seem nervous. He looked intrigued, calculating.

"Gray-san?"

"It's snowing."

Surprised, she looked out the window, but saw only a darkening landscape. Moments later, she was amazed to see delicate flakes gracefully falling from the sky. It was a very light snow, only the beginning, it's frequency likely to increase throughout the night. The whole town would be blanketed in a purifying white by morning. Before she could ask how he could possibly have known about it, the girls returned.

"Everyone come look! It's snowing!" yelled Lucy.

Smiles adorned a few faces as Natsu and Happy ran out like little children, dragging Lucy behind them, running around with glee, trying to catch errant flakes on their tongues. They'd probably want to have a snowball fight come morning. Erza set everything up to eat in the living room, so they could enjoy the view through the large bay windows. Lyon, now rested and brought to wakefulness when he'd sensed the falling snow, approached Gray.

"You don't seem surprised," he observed.

"How did you know it was snowing?" Wendy finally got out.

"I was listening. It was so quiet out there. So peaceful. More so than usual this time of day. It's always like this when it snows. That, and I could feel it. The cold draft coming in through the fireplace. The moisture in the air...the magic."

"The magic?"

Lyon answered for him, "Remember, Wendy. He can't absorb magic, but he can still feel it. As elemental wizards, we're greatly attuned to our specific element. Whether magical or not, we know ice when it's there."

Wendy was happy. "I'm glad you haven't lost every link to your magic."

Gray looked rather apathetic about the whole thing. Both Wendy and Lyon were disappointed by his lack of interest in the first snow of the year.

When everyone came back inside, they settled down for a quick meal of egg fried rice and vegetables. No meat, easy to consume, quick to digest. Gray wanted to shower before he took his meds, needing very badly to feel the water on his back for as long as he could, without risk of the sedatives knocking him out too soon. Wendy, still feeling guilty over having caused him distress earlier, agreed. Once more deemed a "falling hazard", due to his recent malnourishment and blood loss, Loke stood in attendance.

Meanwhile, Lyon went into the bedroom to fetch the medicines. Natsu followed out of boredom and curiosity. He didn't really make it a habit to go in there, as it was pretty spartan compared to his own tastes, and there wasn't much to look at. Lyon went into the closet, pulling a box off the top shelf. The violin case that sat next to it caught Natsu's eye, and brought him back to their previous conversation, before Virgo had interrupted them.

"He said he couldn't bring them back. That he'd never be able to bring them back," he said without preface.

Lyon understood right away what he was talking about.

"What do you think he meant?" he asked as he parceled out doses of each medicine.

"I don't know. At first, I thought maybe he was talking about his hands, cuz he also said he couldn't play anymore. But with how sad he was that night, there had to be more to it than that. I mean, you'd think his cat had died or something."

Lyon knitted his brow, thinking. Or something? Gazing back up at the violin case, his mind wandered through so many different memories, trying to pinpoint anything that could be helpful in this little mystery. He remembered Gray's cold reaction, so long ago, when he'd brought up the existence of the violin in the first place. His pleasant demeanor had taken a nose dive that evening, which they'd attributed to mood swings at the time. He next recalled that one curious detail, one which he'd thought strange and out of place, during Gray's emotional release earlier today. He was begging for It to stop singing. Why would his tormentor sing to him? Or was he angry at his real mother's singing. It was so difficult to tell with Gray, sometimes.

'He wouldn't be able to bring them back?' he thought.

His eyes widened. These past few months, he'd had enough time to really get a strong grasp on Gray's personality, his quirks and ticks, his eccentricities and mannerisms. The one truth that stood out the most among anything else in this situation was this: While he preferred to keep the things of the past firmly locked in the past, he also liked to keep a link to certain things, as it was the past that made them all who they were today. His mastery of Gesture Speak was a great example. It's easy to say he chose to keep practicing it for the practical reason of enhancing his own maker magic skills. But mastering a whole language was a great deal of effort, considering the relatively small benefit it provided towards their craft.

It wasn't the Gesture Speak itself that he was dedicated to. It was the fact that Ur had taught it to them that made mastering it such a desirable goal. If he was willing to spend years perfecting a skill, one that he'd had no reason to believe he'd ever really need, in order to keep the memory of their master alive, how much more would he be willing to do for the sake of his parents? Such as picking up a violin one day out of the blue; learning to play it as well as Lyon had no doubt he could, because Gray never half-assed anything that was important to him; and playing it so often that one could discern wear in the wood from the constant friction of the bow, and indentations along the neck from the constant fingering.

"He was talking about his parents."

Now Natsu's eyes widened, and he didn't need an involved explanation to understand how Lyon had come to that conclusion. He trusted Lyon to know what he was talking about. It made perfect sense, now that he'd started putting his own pieces together.

"Do you think we should ask him about it?"

"I'm not sure. He's had a pretty harrowing day today. But it seems like talking about his mom has brought him back to himself, and hopefully even brought him a little bit of closure, though we won't know for sure until we see how he acts in the coming days. Maybe if he was able to talk about this as well, it would help some other wounds heal. We should see what the others think, first."

So while Gray was still preoccupied, Lyon and Natsu gave the girls a quick rundown of what they'd figured out.

"I remember him saying something about a woman singing to him during one of his flashbacks," said Lucy

"He mentioned that to Porlyusica and me as well," recalled Wendy.

"But how do you think he'd react if we asked him about it?" wondered Erza, "He'd already bared his soul so much today. I'm afraid to have to require more of him tonight. It feels like we're forcing him to give more and more of himself away with every secret told."

"Please... don't be afraid to ask me..."

Everyone turned at the unexpected sound of Loke's voice, once again speaking Gray's words. Their eyes focused towards Gray, still wet from bathing, dressed only in a pair of pajama pants. He was being supported by Loke as they'd paused on their way to the dining room. He looked weak and pale, ready to faint.

"Loke, what happened?" Wendy cried as she went to support Gray from his other side.

"You made a good call. He started getting dizzy, and had trouble standing... He told me the pain's getting bad, as well," he finished quietly.

Sitting him down on the couch, Wendy retrieved the medicines from Lyon, nodding a thanks to Lucy as she handed her a glass of water as well. Gray drank half the glass, before chasing it with his familiar cocktail of pain killers and beta blockers, along with a good dose of sedatives, finishing the rest of the water before leaning back, waiting for everything to kick in. It wasn't taking long, and he started feeling a numb wooziness take hold. The pain was fading into the background, along with some of his awareness.

The drugs must have been making him a little more bold, as well, for before he would allow himself to succumb to slumber, he felt a need to have just one more regret shared, before he chanced forgetting to do so later. After everything that had happened, everything he'd said and done, every time he'd scared them recently, he had to take this chance to make amends. He clicked his tongue, knowing at least one of them would look his way, though chances were, he'd never lost any of their gazes from the beginning.

"... I'm sorry. You've all gone through so much because of me. I never wanted to push you away. And I never wanted to make things hard for you. I try... so hard to be normal, but I have trouble remembering what that means. And I can't be what you want me to be, but I can't not try. But then something happens... and I forget what the hell I'm supposed to be... And you're too afraid to tell me... And I can't blame you... because I'm scared, too. Erza and Lucy, you're both so scared that I'll break if you touch me, but I don't want you to be. I know you both feel a discomfort around me, always unsure if I even want you near. I do! I really do! I miss being able to have you near without needing to keep my guard up. I miss getting hugs from you without having to give permission first. I don't want to fear your touch. I'm so tired... of being scared. It's so exhausting, fighting these feelings all the time. I'm sorry I can't control how I feel, or how I react, but this is what I've become... I'm sorry—"

His hands were gathered into Natsu's, preventing him from talking any further. He felt the cushions sink, and his tension rose just slightly when he realized Lucy and Erza had both taken positions at his sides. He closed his eyes, a stray tear squeezing out as he held his breath for a moment, letting it out slowly, before opening his eyes and waiting. Natsu released his hands, but stayed kneeling before him, ready to intervene if the girls' closeness proved to be too much. So far, so good. Gray had yet to inch his trembling hand towards the tally marks. Always a win.

Lyon spoke up. "Gray, you've done nothing to warrant an apology. I know you feel like it's an easy out, using your condition as an excuse for your behavior, but in your case, it's entirely justified. You just said so yourself; you can't control how you feel, or how you react to certain things. We'd never hold those things against you, and you shouldn't either. You're not a burden. You never have been. Nothing you say or do will ever change that. And there is nothing we wouldn't be willing to go through for you. We choose to do so. You'd do the same for us, have done the same for us. I understand that certain things within your mind cause you to doubt the sincerity of my words, or to forget our true feelings towards you. So I will continue to remind you, everyday if I have to, that you are more than a friend to us. You're our brother. Always."

Gray sighed, nodding his understanding, and feeling some of his tension drain. They hoped he believed those words, and would continue to believe them. He didn't seem bothered by the girls' presence beside him now, but that could just be the drugs' doing. He slumped back more, his eyes starting to droop. He couldn't recall when it had happened, but at some point, they'd made him lie down.

Questions concerning his parents had fled their minds, his need for pain relief overriding their curiosities, and they all understood he was no longer capable of handling such an emotional subject matter in his current state. But it was enough that he had invited them to ask. They only hoped and prayed that he wouldn't come to regret such a generous offer later on.

As Wendy had predicted, the sedatives were very potent tonight, and he was already starting to succumb to sleep. He tried to resist, a primal fear, always in the back of his mind, trying to stir. What night terrors would await him this time?

They saw his struggle.

"It's okay," came Erza'a voice, seeming to echo from a distance. He vaguely felt a small, slightly calloused, but definitely feminime hand take his, but in his exhausted haze, felt no inclination to pull away. "Go to sleep. We're not going anywhere. You won't be alone."

He believed them.

That little mini-arc lasted longer than I'd planned. But amends have been made, and friendships have been reforged. Things pick back up in the next chapter.

Next Chapter: Things are returning back to normal. But why is there still such a disconnect? Also, Lucy has a bad feeling...