A/N: This is my first Fairy Tail Fanfiction so I hope you guys like it. I'm a huge NaLu fan!

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any of the characters.

Natsu watched as Lucy fainted right before his very eyes. His body seemed to move on its own at that moment as he ran to catch her falling body. He managed to catch her just in time, but wasn't prepared for the small shock that went through him and the warmth that spread through him at holding her. He was no stranger to heat, he was after all the fire dragon slayer, but this was somehow different. It didn't hurt, as a matter of fact it was so intensely amazing he actually moaned from it. The noise catching him off guard. Than he heard Lucy sigh and remembered why he was on the ground holding her.

"Luce? Please wake up." Natsu whispered in her ear. Still he got no response. It seemed like other than that sigh, his Lucy was out. He needed to find a healer. He looked over to find he had a small audience from the comotion him and Loke had made.

"Can any of you tell me where to find a healer please? I need to get her to one immediately." Natsu shouted to the crowd in front of the restaurant. One girl seemed to come forward. She looked to be no older than Wendy. She had green hair and matching green eyes. It looked like she worked in the restaurant judging by the apron and uniform she wore.

"I can show you to her, if you follow me. Do you need someone to help you with her?" The little girl nodded to Lucy.

"No, I can carry her." Natsu told her trying not to growl at the thought of anyone else touching Lucy but him right now. His mate was weak and vulnerable right now, and he'd be damned if he would let some other bastard looking to cop a feel touch her.

With that said, she took off running in the direction that Lucy had taken to the post office. Natsu followed behind her, but his thoughts weren't with him. He was thinking of what had lead to all this.

How could I have been so stupid to think that making Lucy jealous was a good idea! What will I do if I lose her? I can't lose her! I can't live without her! He would do everything within his power to bring her back, and keep her safe from now on. Nothing will ever hurt her again, not even him. He would do whatever she asked of him, just to make her happy.

They made it to the healer's hut. Once inside a semi-old lady met them, hugging the little girl.

"Grandma, this man needs help. His mate fainted in front of the cafe about twenty minutes ago. Can you help him?" the little girl told her. Now things made sense to Natsu with why the girl was so willing to help him. The healer was her grandmother. Upon closer look, you could see the resemblance. He didn't have time to really ponder that thought though, he needed this old woman to help him fix Lucy.

"Please help her. I'll do anything, just please save her." Natsu begged the old woman. She walked over to a room and gestured to the bed in the middle. Natsu carefully set Lucy down, and forced himself to step back so the woman could examine Lucy.

"Tell me young man, have you begun the mating ritual?" The old lady asked him. This only confused Natsu. What did that have to do with anything?

"No ma'am. She only just found out about being my mate this morning outside the restaurant." Natsu answered, still unsure of her line of questioning.

"How long has it been since your dragon chose her as your mate?" The healer questioned further. Now Natsu really was getting confused, but he was also getting embarrassed. How did this little old lady know so much about mating for dragon slayers anyway.

"For almost a year now." Natsu answered, blushing profusely. Embarrassed or not though, he was starting to get angry at the fact that the lady was sitting here asking him these stupid questions about his personal business instead of fixing Lucy.

"I see. Well there is nothing I can do for her." The woman told him. Natsu lost it at that point.

"WHAT?! ALL THAT ABOUT MY MATE AND I AND NOW YOU CAN'T HELP HER!" Natsu shouted. He was so close to seeing red.

"Calm yourself young man. I said there was nothing I could do for her, but you can." She said, sighing at how over dramatic dragon slayers could be. She could see the instant confusion in his eyes at this, and had to swallow a laugh. Dragon slayers could change emotions so quickly, and they never hid them very well.

"What can I do?" Natsu was so lost. His beautiful Lucy lay there unconcious, and now this lady was standing here telling him that he had to save her. How in Igneel's name was he suppose to do that?

"What your mate is under is called the sleep of acceptance. I'm sure you went through something similar but don't remember it too well. This is where she will play through her memories, and slowly come to accept that she was chosen as your mate. Once she has done that, then and only then will she instinctively fight her way back to you. I would suggest you be near when she does." Natsu listened, but didn't quite understand any of this. He never went to sleep. He watched as she slowly walked to a bookshelf and pulled out a book to hand to him. "Here take this, and read it. It will tell you all you need to know about what you and your mate are going through, and will have to look forward to. Now go and take her home, or wherever you are staying in town." She said almost as if dismissing him.

"Wait! What if I can't be there when she wakes up?" Natsu thought back to the fact that Lucy was on a job without him, and most of all she had left. He doubted she wanted him anywhere near her. Plus from her words, he could guess she wouldn't believe him or his feelings.

"I'm not going to question why, but it won't be a bad thing if you're not. She will be very confused, and probably very emotional. Much like yourself lately I'm sure." She said laughing out right this time.

An idea came to his head so he proceeded to just nod. He grabbed Lucy, grabbed the book, gave his thanks, and bid them farewell. Once outside he headed toward the Dalesworth manor. He may not have been there for her lately, but he'd be damned if he wasn't there now.

"Hey Loke, if you can hear me through that damn key. I'm sorry. I will need….your….help….p..p..please?" Natsu gritted out the last sentence. He hated that he would need help taking care of his mate, but once they were fully mated, that would never happen again. He would make sure of it. Suddenly he saw a golden light shine, and there was Loke in front of him, scowling.

(With Lucy)

After everything had gone black, she saw Natsu's face. Not her Natsu now, but the one from the day they met. He was smiling because he thought he had finally found Igneel. He had broken the spell on her. Of course at the time she had no idea how he had done so by just looking at him, but he did. Now she knew. A true charm was broken by your one true love. They had gone to get food next. She couldn't believe how animal like he ate, but somehow it was cute to her. Little did she know at the time that he was in the guild she wanted to be in most.

Suddenly everything shifted and she wasn't in Hargeon anymore. She was standing in the guild hall showing Natsu her guild mark. It had irked her that he couldn't remember her name anymore, or that he suddenly had no interest in her. After Romeo had a fit he had even just walked out on her, not even caring that she had no one else there. So she had followed him, she wanted to prove to him that he made the right choice by bringing her to Fairy Tail. She thought his motion sickness was so adorable. Here was this big strong dragon slayer, but he couldn't handle transportation. What really made her start to fall was his dedication to his guild mates. When he included her as his friend, she found herself in awe. She didn't know at the time that it was love she was starting to feel, but now she saw it for what it was. Even still she felt so unworthy at the time.

The image shifted again. She was in her house back in Magnolia. She had just finished in the bath and walked into her bedroom to find Natsu and Happy eating her food. She was beyond embarrassed. She had never even kissed a guy and now here she was scantily dressed in a towel in front of one. So she pulled a typical Lucy and used anger to cover up for her embarrassment. It hurt though when not only did he not remember her name again, but he seemed to not care about her magic either. He seemed very unimpressed. He certainly maid up for it by asking her to be a part of his team though, or it had until she realized he needed her for the job he wanted to take. Suddenly it showed them at the mansion, in the basement. She was astonished that Natsu had passed through the spirit world with Virgo, but then again that man was a constant surprise. After fighting together he made me feel like I belonged with just a few words, Sure they weren't the sweetest, but they were just what I needed to hear.

More and more scenes came and went. Each one was of her and Natsu. Some had others in them, but every single one centered on the two of them. Until suddenly she was looking at the scene from this morning. As she watched herself faint and everything went black, she heard his voice.

"I'm sorry Lucy. I'm sorry for all the pain I've caused you, for all the tears I've made you cry, and for all the heartbreak you've felt because of me. I want you to know that I will never hurt you again. I will protect you for the rest of our lives. I know we will need to talk and work on things, but the main thing I need you to know right now if you can hear me is, I love you Lucy Heartfilia. I always have and I always will."