Chapter 14


Tick. Tick. Tick.

Went the clock on the wall. One cursed clunk after another, then another. If it carried on, Natsu was going to smack the damned thing into Edolas, that was for sure. His fists were just itching to punch something. His emotions, high and flying, were an ugly concoction of confusion, anger and frustration.

What the hell had happened today?

After being welcomed home in such a delightful manner from his long and tedious three week solo mission, he had been looking forward to spending the day relaxing at home with his small family. Little did he know that he'd actually be sitting in the infirmary, dwelling over what a shit show it'd all been and how he felt entirely responsible for it. It pissed him off every time he tried to make sense it and if he wasn't careful he was going to blow a fuse. Where was Gray when you needed him?

When he busted through the guild doors, he'd been surprised to find it practically empty, even Porlyusica had gone home, but luckily they'd caught Wendy just before she was about to leave. He felt a little disappointed that no one was around, the hot tempered fire mage had been hoping for a distraction. A distraction from the thoughts that plagued his mind, from the guilt and mental torment he was subjecting himself to.

But alas, there really was no getting away from it and Natsu knew that, even if he were to use Gray as his punching bag. In fact, he'd even let Erza beat him into next week if he knew it would make a difference, but things were never as easy as that. His mind would just return to the events of the day, his grief would resurface and begin to torture him all over again.

He felt so awful about it all. Never in a million years would he ever intentionally hurt Lucy. The sight of her laying in his arms, hissing and groaning from the excruciating pain of her singed flesh was an image that wouldn't be leaving his mind any time soon. If only he'd listened in the first place and took heed of her pleas to stop, then they wouldn't be in this mess. She now laid there on a bed with her mangled clothes discarded, while Wendy did her best to heal the nasty burns that embellished her skin.

And that was just Lucy; Haru was an entirely different story. With the blonde out of commission, Natsu had been tasked with the sole responsibility for calming the baby down and after being set on fire, it was no wonder he was reluctant to do anything but scream. However, Mira had offered to use her sleeping spell and after agreeing, the little boy had finally snuggled down into his fathers arms, seemingly at peace with the world.

A welcomed relief to his ringing ears perhaps, but it still hadn't helped Natsu feel any better. Every time he peered down at the infant, swaddled in his white scarf, he couldn't help the regret that followed. The ever present red tint of Haru's cheeks or his swollen, darkened eyes, gained from rubbing them incessantly, were a constant reminder of the fire mages ignorance.

The longer he dwelled on the subject, the more he felt his blood begin to boil. The growing temperature of the room was enough to put any sauna to shame and it didn't go unnoticed by the other occupants, including the little one in his lap.

It took a small, clammy hand to wrap around the young fathers finger to make him stop in his tracks and cool off again. The touch of Haru's squishy skin brought a welcomed relief that instantly dissipated the smoke emanating from Natsu's body. It sobered his muddled mind just enough to put him at ease, bringing about those familiar feelings of the love he had for the infant snoring away and with a strained squint, the beginnings of a smile could be seen teasing the man's lips, albeit briefly.

"There you go, Lucy, all done. Sorry it took so long, some of the wounds were pretty deep, but they're all gone now." Wendy smiled at the blonde, wiping the sweat away from her brow. "Make sure to take it easy for a while, you were wounded pretty badly and your body seems quite fatigued, but I'm sure Natsu will look after you."

"Thank you, Wendy. I really appreciate it." Lucy sat herself up and covered her exposed chest with the blanket from the bed. Wendy was right, she was tired, just that mere movement was a physical struggle, her body felt heavy and sluggish.

"I'll be back soon to check on you." Wendy stood from her chair and with Carla flying along behind her, they left the infirmary.

That left the trio alone for the first time since the incident and Lucy, for once, wasn't sure what to say to the dragon slayer. She felt so guilty for what she'd done. Natsu had tried his best to help Haru and all she'd accomplished was to get in the way. She was so stupid sometimes! If she hadn't intervened, they wouldn't be in this mess and Haru could've been cured by now.

It was that very thought that got to her the most, her selfishness had taken the attention away from the baby and for what? It'd only caused more pain than good. Natsu had told her to believe in him and she'd said she did, yet even after being told to stay back, her legs had carried her forwards. The image of Haru screaming at the top of his lungs whilst encased in Natsu's flames was something that would surely bring her nightmares. The look of Natsu's heart broken face when he saw her all burnt and in pain; the disappointment and grief clear in his eyes made it hard for her to even look at him.

What if Natsu was angry? She didn't know if she could handle him being angry right now and by the feels of it, he was fuming. The temperature of the room kept rising and falling and his expression was so serious. Her nerves just couldn't cope and her heart was going like the clappers. She didn't know how to approach the situation; should she just confront him and beg for forgiveness? Or stay quiet and wait for him to speak first?

Lowering her head, she really had no choice, there was no other option but to implore his forgiveness. "N-Natsu, I-I, er…" The fire mage whipped his head to hers, the serious expression still present on his face and it made her think carefully about how to approach this. Tears welled in her eyes, intensifying the horrible throb from behind her sockets. "I-I'm so sorry!" The tears fell in streams, she didn't expect to gain his sympathy through crying but she couldn't stop them from falling. "I didn't mean to cause such trouble… I-I should have listened to you… I should have stayed back… You weren't hurting him and I knew that, but I just couldn't listen to him cry any longer… h-he sounded so distressed… Please forgive me! I don't want you to be angry-"

A pair of warm, soft lips pressed urgently against hers, effectively silencing the rambles that were flooding out of her mouth. Surprising her at first, but she caved almost immediately. His scent lulled her into a sense of calm and contentment, his heat burning onto her tongue and seeping down into her belly. It was like he could read her mind sometimes, this was exactly what she'd needed and it made her feel better. She could tell their lip locking was having the same effect on him, judging by his unwillingness to separate so soon, claiming them for a second time and then a third as if he were starved of her.

Once he'd sufficiently had his fill, he pulled his head away enough to focus on her glossy, chocolate irises, unshed tears still puddling near the corners. His breath was heavy after such an intense moment between them, fanning against her chin and cheeks, cooling the wet streaks that remained on her blotchy skin. She stared at him, waiting with bated breath for something, anything to come out of his mouth.

"How could I be angry at you, Lucy? You did nothing wrong…" Natsu spoke softly, confused by her apology. "I'm actually glad you intervened. I should have stopped and listened when you told me to but I didn't and then you…" With his eyes half lidded and directed below her chin, he sighed, Lucy's burnt body flashing through his mind. He reached his hand up to her collar bone and trailed his fingers over where the wounds had been. "Sorry it took you getting hurt like that for me to stop, I never meant to cause you such pain."

Too focused on the delicate skin of her neck and chest, he hadn't noticed the smile that edged it's way onto Lucy's lips. She'd come to the realisation that they'd both been sat there blaming themselves for what went down, when really neither were at fault, not really. Lucy had been healed, it was in the past and it was time to move forward and focus on what was important: Haru.

"What a day it's been, huh?" She chuckled, attempting to make light of the situation.

The fire mages eyes flickered upwards to where that sweet sound had escaped from and caught sight of that beautiful, unwavering smile of hers, mirroring it with his own lopsided quirk. Natsu tipped his head slightly so he had full access to her enticing lips again, desperate to taste her just one more time. His hand circled the base of her neck and around to her hairline. Pressing his mouth to the corners of hers, he gently kissed his way over the curvature of her smile until their lips meshed perfectly in the middle.

Tangling her hands into his hair, she'd completely forgotten about her blanket and mindlessly let it fall, exposing her large pert chest to all that were present, which luckily, was only Natsu. Taking full advantage of the moment, his hand slowly ventured down towards the form of her breast, trailing his fingers lightly over the soft mound, headed dangerously close to her erect nipple when the door swung open…

"Natsu! Lucy! We came as quickly as we… h-heard… Oh my!" Erza's face went as red as her hair, eyes like saucers and mouth hanging down by the floor.

"Aargh, jeez! There are children present, have some decency!" Gray turned away, a rather dark blush painted his face, giving away his embarrassment. He quickly covered Wendy's face so that she couldn't see anything either.

Natsu and Lucy's heads snapped to where their team stood by the door, all red faced and wide-eyed like they'd just seen a ghost. Lucy squealed and forced herself away from Natsu to regain some level of decorum, quickly covering her chest once again and hiding her face along with it.

Not really caring about being caught, Natsu gave an exaggerated huff and slumped back into his chair, revealing his disappointment through a childish pout. Just a few more minutes, that's all he wanted. It'd felt so good to kiss Lucy and lose himself in the moment, finally finding that distraction and here they were ruining it! He knew there were bigger things to deal with right now, but a few minutes alone with his blonde partner wasn't going to do any harm.

"Why can't you guys ever knock before barging in?" Lucy found it ironic that Natsu of all people, could say that with such a straight face.

"You think this is bad? Try living with them, they're always at it! I never know what I'm gonna find." Happy shivered at the very thought as he made his way over to the bed that Lucy was sat on. "In fact, it was just this morning that they-"

"Not another word, cat! What have I told you about saying stuff like that out loud?!" Lucy growled at him, shoving her hand against his mouth to stop anything else from leaking out.

"Gross! I feel for ya, Happy, that must be rough!" Gray said, trying to wind the fire mage up.

"Gross?! There's nothin' gross about it, Lucy's beautiful! You and Juvia though… That's the stuff of nightmares." Natsu smirked, like what he was saying was comedy gold.

"Hey! You wanna say that again- Ow!" Gray clutched at the back of his head where Erza had just smacked him, grimacing at the pain whilst Natsu sniggered at his misfortune.

"We're deeply sorry for intrusion, but we came as soon as Wendy told us what happened." Erza, ever the dramatist, bowed at the pair as she apologised, making things even more awkward.

"That's very sweet, but could you maybe knock next time? I'm not exactly decent…" A small blush covered Lucy's cheeks as she subconsciously adjusted the blanket around her chest.

"Can't you just use one of your star dresses? They're made to fit you, right?" Happy asked, watching Lucy's face light up at the idea and then drop just as quickly.

"Well, I guess I could… But they're not self sustaining and I'm not sure how long I'll need it for, they can be quite draining." Lucy explained as she looked down at herself, eyes like fried eggs when she noticed her still very erect nipples peaking through the translucent fabric. "But what the hell! I'll just have to put up with it."

Too embarrassed to care, Lucy jumped up onto her still shaky legs and pulled a random gold key from the bunch; Virgo. One of her stronger spirits indeed, but it didn't matter, not any more. In a flash of light the maids attire adorned Lucy's body and she could feel the pull on her magic power instantly, fatiguing her further than before. Brushing off the feeling though, she went to sit back down when a wave of nausea hit her.

Her eyes widened a little, shocked by the sudden rush of queasiness that took over her form, fearing if she opened her mouth to speak, something else might spurt out instead. She placed a hand on her stomach and inhaled a deep breath, hoping the feeling would subside.

"Is everything alright, Luce? 'Cause you're not looking so good. Does your stomach hurt or something?" Natsu asked, concern filling his features as he watched her finally straighten herself up and smile at him like it was nothing.

"No, Natsu, I'm sure it's nothing to worry about. I said this morning I haven't had much sleep and this week has really taken it out of me." Lucy dismissed it a little too readily for Natsu's liking and he wasn't overly convinced with her reasoning either; he'd been tired plenty of times whilst using magic but never had it made him feel unwell. "It's gone now anyway, let's just concentrate on Haru, he's more important."

Grunting his disapproval, Natsu reluctantly relented. He'd wanted to press her further but at the same time knew she was right; Haru was more important right now and needed their fullest attention. However, that didn't mean Natsu was just gonna leave it, he'd definitely be keeping his eye on her for any more funny turns and he'd almost certainly be questioning her about it later.

"If you needed clothes, Lucy, I have plenty for you to chose from. What form of dress would you like?" Erza asked, as she began to summon her entire inventory for Lucy to pick from.

Amidst all of the wedding dresses, armour and skimpy lingerie, there were some normal looking clothes as well. Lucy was impressed by the sheer amount of clothing Erza had the ability to summon, and it just kept coming. It was baffling really… If she could bring forth all of this, then one might question why she always insisted on taking that huge wagon with her on jobs?

"I'll take these, Erza, they look cute!" Lucy said, picking a cute little pink and white top and pleated mini skirt with black boots, quickly putting them on behind Natsu. As soon as she was done, she released the star dress and the pull on her magic eased off. "Thanks, that's much better!"

"Happy to be of service, Lucy!" Erza beamed, dispelling the other items of clothing that swamped the room.

The atmosphere slowly relaxed again, everyone took a seat around the baby, who was now cosily laying against his mothers chest, and made themselves comfortable. Mindlessly rocking side to side, Lucy thought it was sweet that they'd all come to check on them. But regardless of who was there, they were still no closer to treating Haru's sickness.

Both her and Natsu were opposed to the idea of letting someone else try their magic on Haru. If Natsu's hadn't worked then she highly doubted anyone else's would do the trick. It really left them stumped for answers; what else could they do to help the little one? And what would happen if they left him for too long?

Above all of that though, there was one thing that really puzzled Lucy and she was surprised that no one else had mentioned it yet. If anything it was a question that they all should've been asking; why hadn't Natsu's magic worked? Haru had definitely been scared enough, she distinctly remembered his shrieks of terror, yet it had triggered nothing.

It was utterly baffling, the stellar mage just couldn't make any sense of it and with no clear path to follow now, where did that leave them? Had they done something wrong? Or was there something more at play here? Whatever the reason, it didn't sit right with the anxious mother and it was starting to make her feel uneasy to say the least.

"Whatcha thinkin'? You're looking kinda sad, Luce, are you still not feeling well?" Natsu asked, brushing his shoulder against hers to gain her attention.

"Oh, no, it's nothing like that, Natsu. I'm just unsure of how to help Haru that's all. I mean, even with Porlyusica's advice, we're still no closer than we were this morning." The blonde sighed; why did it have to be so complicated?

"You've got a point there, what are you guys gonna do?" Gray asked, finding this all a bit bizarre. "Would someone else's magic do the trick?"

"Hell no! I'm not letting you chuck your ice at him! You can forget that idea!" Natsu asserted himself, shutting it down immediately. There was just no way he could bring himself to do it, to watch Haru suffer like that over and over again. Once was enough.

Holding his hands up, Gray submitted, not wanting to get into a real fight with the tenacious dragon slayer. "Alright, hot head, don't blow a gasket! It was just a suggestion."

"Enough you two! Now is not the time for fighting!" Erza boomed over the pair, silencing them before they started anything. She glanced towards Lucy who looked to be in deep thought and softened her expression. "Lucy, why don't you tell everyone what's on your mind, something seems to be troubling you?"

"Oh, er, I-I was just thinking about earlier actually." Caught off guard, the girl in question looked up from the spot that she'd been concentrating on and noticed all eyes were on her, waiting for her to speak. "I just don't understand why Natsu's magic didn't work? We did exactly what Porlyusica asked of us and it did nothing."

"Yeah… You're right, that is a little strange now you mention it. Being enveloped in flames, even harmless one's, would scare any child." Gray answered, scratching his head.

"Is it possible that he was using magic to protect himself anyway and we just weren't aware of it?" Erza asked, placing her thumb and index finger to her chin, head faced towards the ground in deep thought.

"I don't think so. If that were true, he wouldn't still be sick." Wendy replied, mindlessly stroking Carla's head. "Although, I think I've worked out the reason why it didn't."

"You have?!" Both Natsu and Lucy spoke in unison, eyes snapping to the young slayer with wild looks on their faces.

"Er… Yeah… Well, it's just a theory, but I believe it might have something to do with the magic used. It's possible that he didn't feel threatened by it." The slayer explained, earning confused looks all around.

"What do you mean? He was terrified of them!" Lucy replied, wondering what the young girl was getting at.

"Being terrified isn't the same as being in danger. If that were the case you could make him jump and expel the magic that way, but because there's no real threat, there's no real danger. The same goes for Natsu's fire."

"But I thought my flames were threatening?" Natsu had specifically volunteered for that very reason, because fire was dangerous, everyone knew that.

"That is true, Natsu, for most people, but not necessarily for Haru. Ever since you brought him home, he has been witness to your insatiable urge to set things on fire, every chance you get." Erza explained, stepping in to help Wendy explain it better. "He may have found it scary when they got too close because they've never done that before. But fire is something he's familiar with, it's associated with you, his father, the person that protects him, he doesn't understand how dangerous it can be."

"But, that means trying again with someone else's magic. But who's?" Natsu's heightened senses picked up on the sudden rapid heart beat of his partner as the prospect of having to do that all over again was becoming more and more real. Turning to her, he could see her eyes begin to fill with worry and panic, her grip on the infant grew just that little bit tighter and her breathing fell out of it's steady rhythm, replaced with a more uneven tempo.

"What other option do we have? It's that or nothing and who knows what'll happen if you keep Haru waiting too long?" Gray reinforced, he knew they were worried but he also knew that if they didn't get a move on, Haru was going to just keep getting worse and none of them wanted to find out what that would lead to.

"I get that, Gray, believe me, but I can't just make that decision on my own. Luce and I are a team and she needs to be on board with this too, or it doesn't happen." Natsu bit back, feeling the frustration from earlier rear its ugly head.

With Gray giving ultimatums to something the fire mage was already fully aware of, wasn't helping the situation. He had to take Lucy into consideration too, or they'd end up in the exact same predicament.

Gray tsked and looked away, annoyed that they weren't already outside giving it another go. "And how long will that take? Haru needs attention now, Natsu, or he's gonna keep getting worse!"

"It'll take as long as Lucy needs it to take! Last time didn't end so well, so pipe down already!" Natsu's voice raised slightly in volume. He wanted to get on it just as much as Gray did, but he would never go against his partner like that and whether Gray liked it or not, it wasn't his shot to call.

"No! Haru is the one who's sick here, he needs to be seen to now, fire breath!" Gray shot back, working himself up. He knew he shouldn't be feeling so wound up over it, but his patience was wearing thin having wasted enough time already.

"Since when were you so clued up on what to do? Last time I checked, you didn't have any kids!" Natsu spat back sarcastically, he didn't care how he was coming across at this point. He wanted Gray to back off, he'd enough to deal with already.

Lucy watched as the pairs squabbling continued, the constant back and forth over Haru, slowly turning more and more violent. Not even Erza had tried to stop them this time, which was rare. Either way, Lucy knew that Gray was right and that Natsu probably agreed with him too, but felt torn on the situation.

Her fear and worry was now causing friction between her friends; the very friends that had come out of their way to support them. She was stronger than this, she knew that and if what Wendy was saying was true, then they just needed to pick a magic that Haru was unfamiliar with, one he would find threatening and could definitely be considered dangerous.

"I'll do it…"

Stopping in their tracks, all heads veered towards the quiet, timid voice coming from the bed. Natsu's eyes were wide and his mouth open in shock, he hadn't expected Lucy to ever agree to such a thing again, let alone volunteer for it.

"Lucy?" Natsu released the ice mages collar from his grip and let his arms go limp as he took a step towards her. Tilting his head, he wasn't sure what to make of her proposal, feeling Gray's words may have gotten to her more than he realised. "You don't have to do this if you don't want to, we'll find another way."

"There is no other way. Porlyusica told us that and for a while I didn't want to believe her, but it's been hours and we've not come up with anything better." Taking a huge breath in, Lucy turned her attentions to the baby laying against her chest. She could feel his rising temperature and knew that it was only a matter of time before he woke up. What would they do then? "Gray's right and I know you agree with him too. The longer we sit here, the worse Haru will get and I don't wanna see that either."

"Are you sure, Lucy? We'll do it, if you don't feel able?" Erza asked, just in case Lucy were to change her mind.

"Thanks Erza, but as his mother, I'm the one that should do it." Lucy stood up, putting on a brave face for them all and carried herself towards the door.

Feeling all eyes watching her leave, she could barely contain her chaotic nerves. Her body was tingling, like pins and needles and the once throbbing headache from behind her eyes, returned in full force as she shakily took herself up the stairs and out of the hall. Walking a little ways from the guild, she found the same tree stump from earlier, deciding it the best place to carry out her plan.

"Luce, wait!" Natsu shouted from behind as he caught up to her. "You don't have to do this alone!"

Turning towards him, she didn't know what to make of his words, "Natsu… Do you trust me?" Her eyes were conflicted and strained with mixed emotions. Reiterating the same question he'd asked her before, however, this time it held a different meaning. It wasn't so much a question of reaffirming his faith in her, but rather to restore her own belief in herself, belief she desperately sort.

"With my life, Lucy—always." The fire mage answered without any hesitation. He moved his hand up to her cheek and tenderly caressed the plump skin there, smiling fondly at her. "You can do this, I know you can." He whispered, closing in on her mouth. And with a gentle lingering kiss on her smooth lips, he stepped back, allowing her to take centre stage.

The blonde could feel the blood thumping in her ears as she turned back to the stump and crouched down beside it. "Haru…" She said in a soft whisper, coaxing the little one on her shoulder to rouse from his sleep. "Come on, baby, Mama needs you to wake up."

Haru began to open his groggy eyes, stretching his chubby arms above his head and bending his chunky body back whilst pulling the cutest, scrunched up face. After giving them a good rub with his balled fists, he opened his bleary eyes fully, adjusting to the dim, evening glow, focusing on the person holding him.

The anxious mother smiled brightly at her son, she didn't want him to see her so forlorn especially when it was obvious he was still feeling so sickly, if his constant whines and grumbles were anything to go by. Before he could get too upset, she placed him upon the tree stump and stood up, her smile fading and quickly turning before the sorrowful look in his eyes got to her any more than it already had. She saw the others standing there, with Natsu just that bit closer to her, waiting for her to reveal her plan.

With one last look at her partner, who's eyes conveyed every ounce of trust he had in her, she summoned the star dress she was going to use and returned her attention to Haru. Sagittarius' magic wasn't one she used all that often, but it was good for long range attack and that's exactly what she needed right now. Everything went silent. She could almost taste the shock on her friends faces behind her; as they digested her tactics.

"Is Lucy really going to-" Wendy whispered.

"Hmm… I'm sure she has a plan in mind." Erza reassured.

"I have to admit, I wasn't expecting that!" Gray admitted.

"I never thought she'd go to such lengths!" Carla exclaimed.

"What's she tryna' do, kill him?" Happy freaked.

"Quiet! You're putting her off! Trust in Lucy, she knows what she's doing!" Natsu butted in before Lucy lost her resolve completely. He could see her hands trembling and resolve waver. If this was going to work, she needed to focus and as scary as it looked, he had faith she would succeed. "Remember, Lucy, you can do this, believe in yourself like I do."

His words were gentle, but she heard them loud and clear. With her left foot placed in front of the other and her left hand outstretched in front of her. She summoned the intricately designed celestial bow and nocked one of the energy arrows, ready to take aim. The tip of the arrow was where all the magic was concentrated, giving off a dazzling show of light, like a firework ready to explode.

Haru could barely see as the blazing light in front blinded him. He'd never seen such a thing before and it was enough to make his bottom lip quiver in fear. It blocked out his vision of everyone standing behind it. No longer able to see his parents, it forced the first few tears to drop from his eyes.

Without any hesitation, Lucy took aim and fired her first shot, summoning another arrow instantly in its place. The bright projectile appeared to be headed straight for the child and everyone around gasped as they watched the arrow shoot forwards. The beaming light shot passed Haru's head, missing him by mere inches and at such immense speed, the little one was too slow to react to it in time before it made contact with a tree behind him, exploding on impact.

The sudden wails filled the air and it made Lucy's stomach churn, she hated that she had to do this, but if it could create a sense of danger then her plan might not all be in vain. She had to keep her resolve, her focus, but that was becoming increasingly hard with a body that was so exhausted and a stomach that wanted to spew it's contents the longer she used her magic for. In fact, it was a similar feeling to when she summoned her Virgo star dress before. She didn't understand what was wrong with her, but in that moment, the headaches, the nausea, the fatigue, they meant nothing, not until Haru was well again and with that, she summoned the strength to fire another shot.

This time the arrow made contact with the ground not far from the tree stump, exploding on impact and making the ground rumble. Little Haru shook with the tremors and screamed even louder. He was frantic, his eyes were blood shot and his voice had begun to crack as it tore through his throat.

The noise that the little one was making was the most distressing thing any of them had ever heard, but none of them could truly feel the pain it was causing the two parents having to bare witness to this, not only once, but twice. It was killing Natsu inside to stand there and watch, now understanding why Lucy had been so fearful when he'd used his fire. It was heart breaking, in any other situation he would have gone absolutely berserk at the idea of someone using their magic on Haru, but this wasn't one of those times and as much as he wanted to comfort and soothe his baby boy, he had to be patient and trust in Lucy's plan.

Lucy, however, was now struggling in a different way, with her body slowly giving up, she could barely keep her star dress from fading. Her face was drenched in sweat and her breathing was so heavy, it was taking all of her effort to catch it. As she forced herself to summon another arrow, her trembling legs gave out, plunging her to the floor.

"Shit! Lucy, what's wrong? Are you okay?" Natsu yelled out, sprinting over to her as fast as he could.

"Stay back!" She shouted back at him, halting his footsteps. "P-Please, I'm fine… J-Just… Stay back and let me finish this." She panted, her focus pixelating and her head began to spin. What was happening to her? She'd never felt like this before! Inwardly cursing herself, she was so damned close, just one more arrow, that's all she needed.

The little one was in such a state, he'd cried so hard his throat sounded sore and his eyes and cheeks looked so red and swollen. His head darted from side to side, searching for his mommy and daddy to appear and save him like last time but no one came. He could neither hear nor see them, only the scary bright light ahead, leaving him feeling alone and vulnerable.

Lucy attempted to stand up again, but her body resisted, unable to move the heavy dead weight of herself and collapsed back onto the floor. Her knees thudded against the cold, hard dirt and in anger, she smacked the ground with her fist. Frustrated that they'd come so close and her body just wouldn't cooperate with her brain for those last few minutes. Tears fell from her eyes, the realisation that she couldn't go on any longer meant Haru would have to suffer this again and again until they got it right. It wasn't fair! She'd been so certain it was going to work and now she could barely even see straight.

"I'm sorry, Haru. You deserve better than this. I've failed you yet again." With little wet droplets pouring onto the floor in front of her, she let the guilt and dread punch through her gut full force, winding her as she hunched over. "What kind of mother am I?"

"A silly one if you believe all that!" Eyes widening, she felt Natsu's presence surround her as he crouched down behind and whispered softly into her ear. Placing one hand on her shoulder and the other on her upper arm, she let his warmth encase her entire body. "Lucy, you're a great mom, but being great doesn't mean you can't accept help." He said, gently lifting her back up onto her feet and nuzzled his head against hers. "We're in this together, right? So let's finish this once and for all!"

As he uttered those final words, Natsu straightened Lucy's arm back out, placing his underneath for support whilst holding the bow still from her shaking. Using his other hand he did the same with the arrow, allowing Lucy to use him to steady herself, his strong muscular arms mimicking hers as she once again took aim. She leaned into him, finding comfort in his warm body and focused all of her remaining magic into her attack.

"You ready?" Taking a steady breath, the blonde nodded at the fire mage behind her and with shaky hands, let go of the arrow and collapsed back into Natsu's waiting arms.

Everything seemed to go by in slow motion, their breath hitched simultaneously as soon as the arrow left the clutches of Lucy's hand and fired directly at the little one. Her heart was hammering against her rib cage and she could feel Natsu's doing the same against her back.

They watched with bated breath to gauge what might happen. With the magic being so bright, it was hard to see past it, they listened carefully to the horrific sound of Haru's crying, hoping and praying that their plan would work, until suddenly… it stopped. Silence befell them all for a moment, lulling them into a false sense of calm. Frozen in place, they waited, none of them knowing what to expect.

With a ferocious roar, an enormous golden magical spiral blasted itself towards the clouds above them. They watched in awe as the turbulent vortex grew larger and larger until it could be seen for miles around. Much like a tornado, it swayed and swirled with the gust it created, lightning zapped around the exterior, making loud crackling sounds. Lucy held onto Natsu's jacket for dear life as the gale force winds nearly swept them both off of their feet. Like a rampaging storm of pure magical power it surged upwards, shining a warm, sun like glow as it gradually dissipated into the sky, becoming one with the atmosphere once more.

"Is everyone okay?" Erza asked as they all came running over to Natsu and Lucy.

"That was some expulsion!" Gray could barely believe his eyes. All that from one small child.

"Haru…" Lucy had one thing in mind once the sky turned blue again and that was to get Haru. "We need to find him!"

"Don't worry I'll get him, Luce, wait here!"

Leaving Lucy with the others, Natsu ran into the dust cloud that had been left behind and used his sense of smell to guide him through the thick fog, towards the little boy. His scent was all over the place, making it hard to pin point his location exactly. Closing his eyes, the fire mage homed in on any noise that sounded remotely like a baby and ran in that direction, hoping to see some kind of movement.

Observing the once pristine woodland, Natsu could barely believe the amount of destruction one small child could cause. The grass was laid flat and the nearby trees no longer stood straight, if at all. It looked like a bomb had gone off and Gramps, for sure, was gonna kick the fire mages ass when he found out.

But he didn't care about all that, because in the distance, he caught sight a small shaped object on the floor that looked uncannily like a chunky baby, playing in the mud, not too far from the, now destroyed, tree stump he'd been sat on. Pure relief washed over Natsu, Haru was alive, and well, and apparently completely unfazed by what he'd just done.

"Hey there, little guy! I've been looking all over for you!" Haru's little ears perked up at the sound of his fathers voice and looked over to where it was coming from. Catching sight of that familiar pink spiky hair and lopsided grin, the infant let out the sweetest little squeal and began to crawl as fast as his little arms and legs would carry. "Come on fella, Dada's waiting!"

Kneeling down, Natsu watched in pure delight as his son so happily made his way to him, climbing up into his lap to be held and cuddled against his Daddy's chest. Natsu felt every single ounce of anxiety wash away now that he had his son back in his arms, looking like his normal self again. Jumping up to his feet, the fire mage tightened his hold on the boy who snuggled down against his broad shoulder.

"Dada!" The baby yelled excitedly, making Natsu chuckle.

"That's right, buddy! And guess who else is waiting to see you?" Natsu waited to see if the child would answer as he made his way back to the group waiting for them. They continued their little conversation until Lucy and the others came into view, both grinning at the group who cheered them.

Lucy, who was barely able to keep her eyes open, found the strength from whatever unknown force and darted right for the two she'd been so desperate to see. Springing into Natsu's arms, making him fall back and onto the floor. She cried tears of joy when she saw the baby, smiling and gurgling away, happy to see his Mama too.

"Mama was so worried about you! Are you feeling better now?" She asked, receiving a cute babble as a reply.

"That was one heck of a show you put on there, kid! I didn't know you had so much magic in you!" Gray exclaimed, smiling at Natsu as a way of apologising for earlier. "You're gonna be one heck of a mage when you grow up!"

"Yes, it was quite a show, maybe as he gets older, Natsu and Lucy will teach him how to control that immense power." Erza said, smiling at the little family huddled together on the ground.

"Oh, I'm so happy it all worked out. Haru's looking as good as new!" Wendy beamed, mirroring Erza's smile.

"Unlike Lucy… She's looking more like death warmed up!" Happy giggled into his paw, earning a glare from the very tired blonde.

"That's very rude, Happy! Lucy has had to put her needs aside for Haru while he was sick, maybe you should try doing the same for once." Carla berated the blue tom cat, not impressed with his lack of sensitivity.

"Sorry. I was only saying she looked super sick…" Happy's eyes looked down like a child being told off by its parent.

"Actually Luce, I've been meaning to ask you about that-" Natsu stopped as he looked down into his lap, both mother and baby had fallen fast asleep in his arms, looking heart meltingly cute all cuddled together. "I guess it'll have to wait." He said as he picked the pair up. "I'm better get these two home, they've had it pretty rough today. Catch ya later guys!" He said his good byes and began his journey home with Happy flying alongside him to keep him company.


Hi again!

My apologies for the really late update. I think I rewrote this chapter maybe 11 or 12 times in the end, I was just so unhappy with it. I got to the point where I wanted to just abandon the story altogether, but it all worked out eventually. I was also super nervous about posting this chapter because there are a few different things I wanted the reader to concentrate on and I hope I conveyed that well enough? (By which I mean Lucy not feeling well) I'll be exploring more of those 'things' in the next chapters. That's it for the angst though, I don't think my heart could take much more. I only ever want these guys to be happy!

Thank you for reading!