AN: Woah! Over 30 followers?! You guys are amazing and I'm so happy that lots of you are enjoying the story! Thank you to everyone that reviewed, and to aliciacevbra, I'm going to try not to give anything away, so you'll just have to keep reading to find out ;D. I wasn't really as happy with this chapter as I would have liked, but tell me what you guys think!

Lucy was startled awake by a pouncing mass of corded muscle, limbs, and fur. The literal breath was forced out of her lungs as Coal hopped on top of her bed, nosing at her face and pulling at the covers she was comfortably cocooned in.

She groaned and pushed at his muzzle as far as her arm dared to travel from her warm nest of blankets. "Let me sleep, you crazy wolf."

When the insistent prodding ceased, Lucy smiled and made to fall back to sleep in contentment until she felt her body begin to roll across bed. She didn't have time to catch herself before she fell over the edge and to the wooden floor below in a tangled heap. A wet nose rifled through the covers as strong jaws pulled at the blanket with harsh pulls. Not wanting her favorite comforter to be ripped to shreds, Lucy assisted the wolf in untangling herself. She was reluctant to fully escape the warmth of her sheets but Coal decided for her and ripped the covers away from her body before she could brace herself.

Clad in only a tank top and sleep shorts, Lucy shivered as goosebumps traveled up her legs and across her arms. She glared at Coal who stared back innocently, blanket still gripped in his teeth. "Don't even try to act innocent. You better put that back up on the bed." She told him, sternly. Hopping to her feet, Lucy hurried across her room to the connected bathroom to change.

It'd been a month since Coal had unexpectedly decided to extend his stay. After trying to 'release' him into the wild before making her way to work, the black wolf had merely ignored and followed her instead. He would lay behind the front desk with Plue and take to walking around the building when he grew restless, but he never left. Not like that first time. At the end of the day, Coal would walk her back after work, stay the night, and the whole process would repeat itself the following day.

What had also become a unique tradition was his insistence that she play her violin for him every night before she went to bed. Before he had stumbled upon her life, Lucy would find herself playing when she was feeling particularly nostalgic or upset; now, she looked forward to these small moments to express her song for someone besides herself, even if he was a wolf.

Smiling to herself, Lucy finished dressing and exited in a brown turtleneck and dark jeans. She looked to find that her pink comforter had been thrown haphazardly across the bed while Coal impatiently paced back and forth across the room. Hearing the door open, his ears perked cutely before he swiveled to face her, panting happily. She sighed and smiled softly in his direction before fixing her bed properly. Once finished, she headed down to the kitchen, Coal skipping at her heels.

Living with the wolf had taught her that Coal's diet didn't seem to rely too heavily on a normal wolf diet of a variety of raw meats. In fact, he seemed to prefer cooked (even burnt) foods over delicacies that were more…fresh.

Placing a plate piled with eggs and bacon in front of the wolf, she scolded him for putting his paws on the table before sitting down herself with a cup of coffee. Coal was tall enough when sitting down to reach the top of her low dining table with ease. He was definitely a part of a larger breed of wolves, she suspected a familial connection to the massive wolves that dwelled further north. How he fit through Plue's doggie door not once but twice since she had met him continued to elude her.

Silencing her trivial thoughts she looked over to regard the wolf. "So, it's my day off today. Want to do anything?"

Coal stopped eating momentarily to stare at her quizzically. Maybe she was a little crazy to question him with something that required words to answer. She was just about to say to forget what she had said when Coal turned his black-furred head to peer out the kitchen window. Lucy turned in her chair to look outside as well. The snow storm that had plagued Magnolia seemed to be at a standstill for now. The ground was packed with mounds of white snow, more of the snowy substance dragging the branches of the forest's trees down under their collective weight. Looked like a good enough day for a Snow Day.

"We can go out after breakfast if you want." She said. Coal didn't turn to acknowledge her words before digging back into his breakfast, but he ate with more gusto than usual. Lucy was already getting back up to get him seconds before he even finished.

After clearing the table and washing the dishes, Lucy pulled on her olive green, fur-lined parka over her turtleneck and a pair of dark winter gloves. She moved back to the kitchen to see Coal fidgeting in place beside the back door, waiting for her.

"You could always try going through the doggie door again." She joked. Coal gave her a deadpan look before going back to shuffling in barely contained excitement. She laughed at his impatience and went to unlock the door. He was gone before she had even fully opened it. Coal was a black blur zipping across the expanse of the white snow. Lucy didn't even think she would have been able to keep track of him if it weren't for the white background being such a large contrast to his dark form. He would be racing across the snowy clearing and a minute later be jumping off the side of a tree to pivot and race to the other side. Many times when he seemed to head toward the tree line, her heart would seize up in fear that he would take the chance to leave for good, but he only skirted along the edge before coming right back.

Lucy shook her head at herself in exasperation before sitting down on the back door steps and cracking open a book she brought outside to keep herself occupied. She was being ridiculous. Coal wasn't going to stay with her forever, he was just…rehabilitating. Lucy knew there would be a point in time where she would one day have to say goodbye, but….

She peered over the edge of the pages of her book to see the wolf….doing flips? Lucy watched as Coal jumped and kicked off the side of a tree trunk to flip in the air in a graceful spiral. He was a black blur once more before he even fully met the ground. Lucy was happy to see him so energetic. Being cooped up in the house and at the veterinary for most of the day didn't leave Coal much time to get out and stretch his legs. Seeing him in his element was so breathtaking and she made a mental note to let him out to run around more often.

...for now, she wouldn't dwell on the 'what if's'. She would live in the now and try to enjoy every second of it.

Natsu couldn't remember the last time he had an opportunity to properly stretch his legs out. Staying with Lucy had its perks - she was almost a good a cook as Mira - but it never gave him a lot of time for himself, particularly his wolf. He was getting so antsy not being able to do anything but nap and laze around all day. He was getting anxious.

After running around the clearing, attempting to re-build up his speed and agility by jumping, pivoting, and flipping off the surrounding trees, he felt decently warmed up. He half-wished Gray was here so he had someone to spar with. Not like the ice-bastard would be a challenge for him.

Natsu smiled at the thought of beating on the other dark-haired werewolf and he turned to head to Fairy Tail and exact his challenge when he remembered where he was. Glancing at the seated blonde, she was too enthralled with her book to see his split second hesitation and he felt guilty of thinking of ditching her so suddenly. But he was so bored!

He perked up and smirked. Before he lost the element of surprise, Natsu raced back towards the back porch, eyes zeroed in on his target. Before the blonde could blink, he swooped in and captured his prize. Running out to the clearing once more, he turned to see the blonde seething as he held her captured book in his mouth.

"Coal! Bring that back!" He jumped side-to-side on his front paws, prodding her to enact the chase. Lucy let out an aggravated sigh before making her way towards him to retrieve her reading material. When she was only five feet away he danced further out of reach.

She was getting really irritated now, huffing in anger before speed walking after him. "I swear, Coal I'm going to-"

He let her come within grabbing distance before he skirted away once more, highly amused when she stomped her foot reminiscent to a child committing a temper tantrum. "That's it!" She ran after him.

Natsu laughed around the book in his mouth and continued the chase, making sure to not go too fast. He didn't want her to give up the chase, yet.

Lucy chased him around the yard, stomping through the thick snow in her boots as she yelled at him. "Coal! Give that back! I swear, I'm going to make you into a carpet when I get my hands on you!"

The chase continued for another few minutes before she gave up. Out of breath, Lucy gasped for air and gave him another angry glare before marching back towards the house. He stopped running and released a disappointed whine. She was probably just going to go back in and get another book.

Not wanting the fun to end, Natsu ran at Lucy full throttle and head-butted her in the back. As expected, she gave a yelp before toppling face first into the snow. He pranced around where she lay in amusement until he realized she wasn't moving. Fear spiked through his heart and he stopped parading around in favor of nudging at her hair and face with his nose. He wasn't prepared for her to suddenly spring up and throw her arms around his neck to tackle him to the ground.

They went down with a thud, Lucy on top of him, and he playfully rolled them around as she laughed in glee. When he ended up on top again, he released his hold on his body and flopped his entire weight on top of her. She released a grunt under the sudden pressure and let out a muffled yell. "Coal, you fat ass! Get off! You're squishing me!"

He made an insulted noise but granted her request and rolled off. Lucy remained laying in the snow, laughing softly. Natsu, happy to be the cause of the twinkling sound, shook out his fur of all the excess snow, and moved to deposit her book on the back porch. He was just returning from his short trip when a white projectile hit the side of his head. Lucy was armed with two more snowballs, one in each hand, a gleeful look on her face.

She laughed at his surprised expression and threw back her arm to throw another at him. Dodging to the side, he saw Lucy's expression morph from surprised to panicked before she took off running. Natsu laughed and pushed his legs faster. He was tackling her to the floor in no time at all and they rolled around in the snow once more, lost in their own world of laughter and glee.

It was dark out when Lucy joined him on the back porch steps, a cup of hot chocolate in hand. When sitting down, she was so tiny in comparison to him, about a half-foot shorter when he was in wolf form. At this angle she looked so...fragile.

Howling echoes from deep within the forest in a song of mixed voices. Natsu perks at the sound and his chest aches at the familiarity of the melody. Embedded in their song, he hears his name called, and the words of the seemingly senseless howling begin to decode within his mind: a wordless song only a werewolf could decrypt.

'Natsu! Where are you? Here - we're here. Miss you.'

Tilting his head back to reply, he can feel his howl vibrating through his chest in a deep tenor. He pleads with them to understand.

'I'm fine - don't worry. Don't come.'

His brethren soon cease in their song, but not before a howl, almost equally as deep as his own calls back.

'Fire-breath, bastard! Stop keeping us waiting. We have a score to settle!'

Natsu smiles and he swears that when he strained his ears he was able to hear the deep howl sputter into a pained yelp. A certain redhead was probably responsible for the cut off sound. Serves that ice-freak right.

"You don't have to force yourself to stay here, you know."

He turns to his present companion and is surprised to see the frown that mars her face. Lucy continues when Natsu opts to remain silent, "They must miss you, calling for you every night. You can go back to them." She turns to him with a strained smile. "You're good to go whenever you want to. Unless, you need a doctor's note." She jokes lamely.

It was true, Natsu could leave whenever he really wanted to. Lucy never did anything to prevent him from doing otherwise. But...his reasoning for sticking by her had morphed over the month they had spent together. At first, it was to keep an eye on her magical prowess, to see if she proved to be a possible threat. Nothing about her gave off any sort of threatening vibe, and he trusted his instincts. He didn't think she even knew she was a witch. She was just...lonely.

Bending over, Natsu laid his chin on her shoulder and nuzzled her neck in what he hoped was a comforting manner. He couldn't stay forever but he didn't have to leave today. Not today.

Lucy lifted her hand to caress the side of his face. Her touch was comforting, and he leaned his head further into her hand hoping she'd catch on to his silent request. She did and proceeded to scratch behind his ears. A deep purr rumbled through his chest.

"You're like a giant cat." She laughed. Natsu playfully pulled at her hair for the unnecessary jab at his pride.

She leaned her head against his own and released a deep breath. "Not today." she whispered.

They stayed out for a little while longer before deciding to retire for bed. Natsu eagerly bounding up the stairs for Lucy's room. He bounced into the room and onto the mattress to take his claimed spot at the foot of the bed. The blonde arrived soon after him, gently taking out her violin from its case on top of her desk. The room had been cleared of its randomly scattered papers of music and art since the first time he was here. They were all now either neatly tacked to the walls or organized and stored away. She hadn't trusted him to not chew on any of the important pieces of art.

Violin and bow in hand, Lucy sat down on the edge of her bed, bringing one leg up in a half crisscross while the other remained dangling over the edge. He lowered his head to rest atop the covers, readying himself for her soothing lullaby.

Properly positioning the violin on her shoulder, Lucy glanced at him before starting. "You sure you're not tired of this song yet?" He huffed in impatience and she giggled before clearing her throat. Placing the bow upon the violin's strings, she began her piece. And as her voice, paired with the soft accompaniment of the violin, echoed throughout the small room, Natsu welcomed the feeling of the warm caress that flowed through his body. Troubled thoughts of Fairy Tail and Zeref were washed away until all that he could comprehend was his being and Lucy's voice.

He had been contemplating this matter for a while, but he was almost positive that Lucy was a Healer, like Wendy. Her magic didn't feel quite the same, though. Whenever Wendy used magic it felt like a cooling balm washing over his body, soothing the aches and burns of his wounds. With Lucy, it was like a warm embrace washing over him, easing the tension from his body. As he watched the young witch finish her song, he swore to himself that he wouldn't allow her to be exposed to the dangers the supernatural world had to offer. She was too pure to be tainted by them: his world. The thought both pained and enforced his resolve.

Natsu shivered as Lucy's magic receded from the room and left it that much colder. He was just about to jump off her bed and head down to the couch in the foyer when her voice stopped him. "Could you stay? Just for tonight?"

Her eyes pleaded with him not to leave, loneliness clouding their usual vibrant color. He stayed put. Satisfied when he didn't move, she got up to put away the string instrument before grabbing a shirt and sweats to change into. Natsu patiently waited as she disappeared into the bathroom and reemerged in her pajamas.

He leapt down from the bed so she could shuffle under the covers, leaping up to situate himself on top when she was settled. There wasn't a lot of room for him to lay and Natsu was forced to lay parallel to Lucy, on his belly, to make as much room as possible, and to hopefully not squish and suffocate the blonde by accident. A pale arm wrapped itself over his back and Lucy pulled herself closer so she could cuddle to his side, her head resting near where his shoulder met his neck.

"Thank you…for not leaving me, too." She whispered into his fur, light breathing followed soon after. He curled his neck around so that his head could cradle her own on the pillow. Natsu inhaled, the scent of fresh pine and lavender washing over him before, he too, fell blissfully asleep. You're welcome.

Natsu forged ahead on the path to Magnolia. The snow had built up during the past night and had become difficult to trudge through. While he could have easily glided across the top of the snow with ease, Lucy wouldn't have been able to with her heavy footfalls. Digging a paw into the ground with each step he took, Natsu created a path of densely packed snow for her to walk across. He looked back and peered through the dark to see the blonde doctor still a good distance behind and stopped forging his path to trot back to her.

Even with the path he had left for her, Lucy still struggled to free her boots when she sunk into the ground. Looking up at his approach, he raised his chin up and exaggerated his trot across the surface of the snow in a gallant fashion.

"Show off." Lucy's scoff became a yelp when she sunk into the snow once more, waving her hands in the air to keep from falling over. Natsu dived to where her body was leaning forward to become her anchor. The blonde caught herself on his shoulder and thanked him before continuing her journey into town. He remained by her side for the rest of the way and thought back on Lucy's determination to leave way before the sun had even attempted to rise, saying she didn't want to make her patients wait on her account.

When they finally made it to town, Lucy was slightly out of breath at his side but that didn't stop her from smiling and waving greetings to everyone they came across on the way. People even called out to him, some offering selections of food they thought he might like. Hearing their names being called, children began running up to greet him and he was already lowering himself down so the smaller ones were able to climb on his back for a short ride. The older kids walked at his side, reaching out to pat at his side and head.

Macy tugged on his ear from her position at the very front of his back. "Go faster, Coal. Faster!" The rest of the children yelled in combined agreement, and after a stern warning to be careful from Lucy, he was jogging off down the sidewalk. Macy and the two others upon his back squealed their excitement while the rest attempted to race beside him, saying they were going to beat him this time for sure. The veterinary was coming up from down the road and he teasingly sped up a bit before slowing down in an elaborate show of exhaustion. The kids raced ahead of him, tagging the sidewalk in front of the building before jumping up and down in delighted excitement. Macy pat him on the top of the head in sympathy.

"Next time, Coal. You'll get faster for sure! That was your bestest time yet!" Natsu lowered himself to the ground to deposit the kids and nuzzled at their cheeks and faces. The rest came up to surround him, giving him final pats and scratches before running back home. He sat and watched them go as Lucy came up to join him.

"Remember the first time you were bombarded by the little rascals?" She asked jokingly.

He remembered. He'd been cautious walking back into town. A wounded and seemingly disabled wolf was one thing, but Natsu knew he was a lot bigger than most average-seen wolves. There wasn't any reason for the townspeople to not think of him as a dangerous animal; yet, parents allowed their children to walk up and greet him, although they stood a safe distance away. Still, the people in this town were like Lucy, too trusting of anything unknown to them. Or perhaps it was Lucy's judgement that they trusted. Either way, he had grown to adore the tiny pups.

Lucy opened the door to the veterinary and held it open for him. "Ready?" He strolled in without a second thought, inhaling with a deep refreshing breath as he did. Natsu didn't care what people might have thought of his actions, this was the nicest smelling hospital he had ever been to. The entire area seemed to be imbued with traces of Lucy and her magic.

Lucy walked off with the head veterinary nurse, Aries, and left him to his own devices. He padded over to behind the desk to greet Plue and the old dog raised his head in greeting before going back to his nap. Slightly disappointed that Plue didn't wish to hold a conversation with him, Natsu walked back out to the waiting room to greet the patients and guests.

A voice called his name from the end of the room. Mrs. Peterson possessed a short, frail stature that forced many people to look down to make eye contact. Her hair had long since greyed out and was wrapped up in a neat bun at the top of her head. In her lap, rested a light brown cat. Snuffles.

If Mrs. Peterson was the kindest old lady he had ever met, Snuffles was as vile as the abominations from the depths of Tartaros. Snuffles was a, 'Selkirk Rex' Lucy had said. And he was fat. Natsu made sure to sit a safe distance away so the cat wouldn't jump and attempt to scratch his eyeballs out like last time. Lucy would by cross with him if he ate one of her patients.

It was while he was enduring another one of Mrs. Peterson's many stories of when she was thirty years younger that a flier on the hospital's tack board caught his eye. Interrupting the middle of Mrs. Peterson's speaking, Natsu walked up to the board and felt his heart drop to his stomach. 'Lost' was printed across the top of the page in large, bold letters, below it was a picture of a familiar looking black wolf and at the bottom was a phone number.

(324) 791-8245

Fairy Tail's emergency number for the human world.

"Oh, that." Mrs. Peterson said, glancing at what had enraptured his attention. "Yes, I saw the sign up this morning. I was going to tell Dr. Heartfilia about it during Snuffles appointment. I'm sorry to see you going so soon, honey. You've become a large part of Dr. Heartfilia's life now, you know. But you must be excited to be heading home soon, no?"

He couldn't hear her. Not yet. It was too soon. He didn't want to leave yet. After everything that-

Thank you…for not leaving me, too.

It was too soon. Reaching up, he ripped the poster from the board and raced to behind the lobby desk to trash it.

"Coal? What's wrong?" Shit. Natsu skidded to a stop before he could crash into the object of his inner turmoil. Lucy frowned down at him and eyed the paper in his possession. "What is that?"

Cornered, he did the only thing he could think of: he ate the paper. "Coal! Stop that!" She was immediately kneeling in front of him to pry his jaws open. Natsu refused to open his mouth for her to find the lost poster, giving in only when he was finished swallowing.

Frowning at his empty mouth, Lucy released him. "You're going to give yourself indigestion, Coal." He ignored her and stepped forward to lean his head on top of and over her shoulder. She didn't question his actions and hugged him in return. "It's okay. Whatever's bothering you, we'll get through it together, okay?" He dug his head deeper into her hair, breathing in her comforting scent.

A minute longer and Lucy was already releasing her hold from around him, much to his disappointment. Wiping imaginary dust from the lapels of her doctor's coat she said, "Now, how about we go greet Mr. Snuffles for his appointment?" He gagged.

Coal was acting weirder than normal. He was constantly tense and had become glued to her side everywhere she went, more than usually. On the way home, he walked so close to her side that she could feel his fur brush against her hip every so often, he didn't bother to scout ahead once. Even now, as she played her song for him, he was staring at her so intently and deeply that she felt her voice accidently crack on a note in embarrassment. But not even that deterred his fixated look.

He stayed in her bed that night, though he was much more tense than the previous time, and she hugged him to herself tighter, wishing she could understand what was on his mind. It was only as Lucy was drifting off to a fitful sleep that she felt him finally move. A wet nose nudged at the hair draped over her forehead and Coal shifted his body in her hold to cuddle more closely, whining softly. She wanted to whisper assurances to him, to comfort him, but sleep had taken its hold on her and was dragging her deeper into unconsciousness. She succumbed to its embrace.

The following morning, rather than Coal pouncing her awake, Lucy was roused from sleep by hard knocking on the front door. She made to get out of bed when something obstructed her from leaving. Coal laid curled up in a tight ball, head resting on her waist above the covers. His heavy snoring had Lucy clamping a hand over her mouth to smother her giggles, not wanting to wake him. Controlling herself, Lucy gently lifted Coal's head and snuck out from underneath him. The pounding on the door sounded more insistently and Lucy deposited the wolf's head back upon the bed softly before heading down to answer the door.

She was fully expecting Loke to be behind the door and was surprised when, instead, a petite woman with slightly wavy blue hair held back by an orange bandana stood before her, a slip of poster paper in hand. Before Lucy could get a word out, the young woman was thrusting the paper into her face, a familiar wolf decorating the page.

"Have you seen this wolf anywhere?"

AN: So, I have a challenge for any of you that are interested :D. If any of you can guess what Fairy Tail's emergency number stands for, I'll PM you a sneak peak of the next chapter. Hope you enjoyed this chapter! See you next week!