Chapter 14
"Lucy" said Natsu in a mildly serious voice getting her attention. "Why were you crying? I won't ask what you and Erza talked about. I can respect that. I just want to make sure you're alright"( Fairy tail main theme slow version) Looking down, she said "because I was shown the truth and needed to see it for myself. I'll never sing again and I just need to accept that" "Lucy, you don't" she put a hand to his mouth stopping him as she looked at him with an enlightened smile. "Please don't try to give me false hope Natsu. That's just going to bring more pain on both of us" she told him quietly as he took her hand away and kissed her ( End song) They got lost in the moment as he cupped her cheek as she reached her hands up to his face. The world was lost to them as Lucy felt Natsu's love and passion through his kiss. Finally they released as Lucy said "you are so handsome" He chuckled as he shook his head and put a hand to her head. "your still warm you weirdo" he laughed as he saw her eyes were still slightly loopy. "Nooo" she said in a kid like voice. "Oh yes you are." He said highly amused. "But youuu are handsome…and strong" "And see that's how I know you still have alcohol in your system because you don't say stuff like that out loud but I appreciate the compliment." She smiled a big kid like grin as Natsu very lightly said "get some sleep Luce. Gray should be back soon and then we can get you out of those grimy clothes" "That would be great" she said loosely as she closed her eyes. "Lucy?" he heard small snoring sounds from her as he smirked. "that didn't take long..get some sleep baby. I'll be here when you wake up" he said quietly.
A few hours went by as Gray came back after she had been long asleep. Handing Natsu the bag, he said "thanks Gray. Really appreciate it" "No problem. Just hope she doesn't mind what's in there" said Gray completely serious as Natsu raised an eyebrow. "ha , relax Natsu. I'm joking. There's nothing bad. Just a few tshirts and pants along with some undergarments" "Hmph, very funny" sniped Natsu. "Have you gotten any sleep?" asked Gray. "Nahh, but it's fine" "You need to get some sleep soon" said Gray. "Thanks dad" said Natsu with sarcasm. "tch, I'm not trying to be an ass here dude. I'm saying if you don't get some soon then your going to crash and burn then you won't be help to anyone , least of all your wife" Narrowing his eyes, Natsu said "watch it" as he stood up. "Don't forget, brother or not. I am still your leader and you will respect that" Gray nodded his head respectfully. "I know , sorry"
Relaxing his face, he said "your good" Walking over to Lucy, he gently nudged her and whispered " Lucy, time to wake up baby. Come on" Very sleepily she rubbed her eyes and slowly opened them. "Natsu" she said quietly as she smiled. "I'm here. Just like I said" he said happily. He picked up the bag and put in her lap. "Change of clothes Luce. courtesy of Gray" said Natsu. "Thanks Gray….could you leave so I can change please" "Oh, sure" Gray said quickly feeling stupid for not realizing that sooner stepping out the door closing it. Lifting her shirt, Natsu helped lift up over her head and unhooked her bra for her as she reached into the bag and pulled out a shirt and another bra. Hooking it up, she put the shirt on as she went for her pants and under next as she threw those to the floor, "Damn Lucy, do you hate your clothes?" he said amused. "No, they just stink" she replied. Finishing up with her socks, she got back onto the bed as Natsu opened the door letting Gray back in. "So how long you think you'll have to be here?" asked Gray "I don't know to be honest" she answered. "Wendy!" Natsu yelled out as she came running. "What's up?" she asked "We"" Wait, Lucy, when did you change your clothes?" Wendy said cutting Natsu right off irritating him.
Clearing his throat loudly, he got Wendy's attention. "First off, why didn't you have anyone down here to check on her?" he said very annoyed." I'm sorry Lucy, I had other patients, One of them I had to do an operation on. I deeply apologize" "It's alright Wendy" said Lucy. "No it isn't. Wendy, I walked in here and she was covered in her own puke" he said factually. Wendy's eyes got big as she looked over at Lucy. "I am so sorry" she said "Look I understand you have other patients because you aren't just the mafia doctor and that you're an actual doctor. I respect that but god damn it Wendy, why didn't you have someone down here to check on her? At the very least, to see if she needed anything" said Natsu. Shaking her head, Wendy looked at him apologetically " "I swear I was coming to check on her but your right and I should have been here sooner. I'm sorry Natsu…but is there a reason Gray got my attention?" "Yes, when do you think Lucy can go home?" he asked calmly less irritated. "Tomorrow, I want to keep her overnight, make sure all the alcohol is gone and I need to look at her throat. Make sure nothing has gotten in there and that she hasn't damaged it more" explained Wendy. Sound reasonable?" Natsu questioned looking at Lucy who nodded her head. Wendy quietly walked over and kindly said "Lucy, I need to look under the bandages and make sure everything is alright. Are you okay if I do that?" "Yes" whispered Lucy. Carefully, she unwrapped the bandage around Lucy's throat as Lucy grabbed Natsu's hand quickly and squeezed. "Your alright Luce, I'm right here" he said reassuring her as Gray put a hand on her shoulder as he gave her a slight grin. Wendy removed the last bandage revealing the cut. It was still tender and dried blood was around it.
"I'm going to have to clean this" she told them as Lucy's breath suddenly tightened. "I promise I will go as gently as I can" swore Wendy. She turned and went to a cabinet to grab a cloth and cleaning stuff. She walked back over as Wendy poured it onto the towel and delicately started cleaning as Lucy trembled slightly. "Your okay Lucy." Said Natsu caringly. She nodded slightly having heard him. "There" said Wendy after a few minutes. "Alright, I'm going to wrap it back up now" she said as she went and grabbed fresh bandages. As she wrapped the wound back up, she looked at Lucy with a serious but not mean face and said "I'm sure you already know this but no more alcohol. Not while your healing or its just going to make the healing five times slower." "Believe me..i know all too well the effects alcohol has on me" Lucy said quietly. "Huh?" "It's nothing" she replied as Gray and Natsu glanced at her with a knowing look. "Okay, now that that is done, I need you to open Lucy so I can see if there's any damage" Doing what she said , Lucy opened her mouth and Wendy shined a flashlight down her throat. "Minus some inflammation, there doesn't appear to be anything else." "Anything that can help?" asked Natsu. "teas, coffee, soft foods, ice cream, soup. Nothing too hard. Last thing she needs is trouble swallowing foods." Wendy said plainly.
"Alright, that's no problem" Natsu said lightly. "Okay, is there anything else at all that you guys need? Because if not, I need to go back upstairs" she told them as Natsu and Gray shook their heads. "Luce,? , did you need Wendy for anything? He asked her. "No" she croaked. "Alright, I promise I'll be back to check on her before I leave for the night" Wendy assured as she left. "Well now what?" said Gray. "You can go if you want Gray, you have done more than enough" said Natsu. "I don't mind staying" "Gray, I mean it, go home" Natsu said with a smile. "Spend time with Juvia, I'm sure she misses you." "Ha, the woman always misses me. Even if I'm gone for five minutes let alone a couple hours." Gray joked making Natsu chuckle. " As I said a while ago, you'd be amazed what your willing to put up with for the woman you love" "You said it and now I understand what you mean. Clingy as she is, I love her. Don't know what I'd do without her. Just like Lucy" Natsu nodded positively in agreement and understanding. "Well then I will go home .Hit me up if you need me to bring you guys anything." Natsu and Lucy nodded happily as Gray gave them a hand wave and left. Natsu went to sit in a chair next to her as he laid his head down on the bed as Lucy ran her fingers through his hair.
"You need sleep too Natsu" "Ughhh, you too" groaned Natsu. "Gray said something, now you" "Well then maybe you should listen" Natsu planted his face in the middle of the bed. "Alright fine" he complained muffled as he turned his head to the side. Glancing up at her, he said "you too. Your throat needs time to heal without you talking" said Natsu. "Okay" she replied quietly but happily as she smiled at him as he closed his eyes then she closed hers. The rest of the day, Natsu didn't go anywhere as he helped Lucy with drinking water and having her keep talking to a minimum. "Are you hungry?" he asked later that evening as she shook her head yes. "Okay, I'll order us some food. Soup it is for you" he said with a chuckle as he dialed and placed an order to a local restaurant. "There, now just to wait" "Natsu?, I wanted to say thank you" she said in a quiet sincere voice. "For what?" "You know, for always taking my crap when I get drink on the times I actually drink. Your always there to take it even though I treated you like shit in the past and then just recently." "Lucy, stop baby" he said holding his hands in front of him. "Baby, I already told you I'm not going anywhere. If I wanted to run away or leave you because of that, I would have left back when we were in high school Luce" he said lightly. "Really, you don't have to thank me. Now stop, we will talk about all of this when we get home, I promise. "Okay" said Lucy agreeing.
The food came as Natsu gave Lucy her soup. "Take it easy Luce, the last thing we need is for you to burn your throat even more" he cautioned as he handed her the spoon. "Yes dad" she joked. "Yeah yeah, joke all you want Luce, but if I have to treat you like Layla to make sure you don't injure yourself further then that is what I will do" Natsu said with a hint of seriousness. "I hear you, I won't make this hard on you" she said with a guilted expression. Natsu hit his face with his hand "that's not." He said slightly agitated as he clenched and unclenched his jaw. Taking his hand from his face in a calm voice he said "Luce, I did not say that to demean you or say that you are a child. You haven't made thing's hard" "That's a lie" she cut him sharply. "Lucy, stop. Your turning this into something it doesn't need to be." "Am I? your telling me this has been easy on you?" she looked over as she sipped her soup to see Natsu's hand starting to slightly shake as she looked up at his face as he tried to maintain a calm demeaner. "Lucy, I'm asking you now to stop..please" "Okay" she answered knowing he was struggling to not get mad. Breathing a small sigh of relief, he said "thank you" "Sorry" she apologized. "Just eat your soup you goof" he said lightly as he ate his sandwich. After they were done eating, they brushed their teeth as Lucy got settled for the night. Wendy popped her head in.
"Everything alright down here?" she asked. "Yup. It's all good here" said Natsu. "I'm glad" she said sweetly. "You look exhausted Wendy" said Lucy noticing the bags under her eyes and stuff on her clothes. "You alright?" asked Natsu. "Oh I'm good guys, this is a normal thing for me. I'll be good once I get home and get some shuteye so if you guys don't need me for anything else" "Nope, your free to go home" said Natsu. "Alright, before you guys leave in the morning, I just want to take a last look in her throat then you'll be free to go" said Wendy. "Sound's good. See you in the morning" said Natsu and Lucy as she nodded her head and left. "Can we call Erza?. Layla's bed time should be coming up soon. I want to say goodnight" asked Lucy. "Sure" he replied happily as he got onto the bed next to her as she snuggled up to him making him chuckle. He pulled out his phone and clicked the video chat button as it started ringing as Erza picked it up a few seconds later. "Hey guys!" Erza greeted happy as Jellal waved. "Is she in bed yet?" asked Lucy. "Nope , you made it in time" pointed out Erza as she called Layla over. They watched on the screen as she came running. "Mommy!,mommy,mommy!" Layla said elated with joy as she jumped up and down. "Hi baby" Lucy cooed softly. "Are you feeling better?. You don't look sad anymore" said Layla curious. "I'm getting there" answered Lucy as honestly as she could. "Hey Layla" Natsu greeted with a grin. "Daddy, hi!" answered Layla with a big smile. "Are you behaving?" "Ummm,well…" she said stuttering. "Layla…?" Natsu questioned seriously as Layla lifted her head up with a bright big grin as her and Erza started laughing. "Just kidding!" she yelled at her parents as they rolled their eyes. "She's been great" answered Erza still laughing. "That's wonderful" answered Lucy with a warm smile. "When are you coming home mommy?" "I'll be home tomorrow baby girl" Lucy replied "Yay!" Layla said excited. "Alright baby dragon, calm down." Natsu said lightly.
"It's time for you to go to bed" "Okay daddy, I love youuuu!. I love you mommy" she yelled. "Love you too baby" they replied in unison as they made kissy faces at her as Erza laughed lightly and said "goodnight you guys. Get some sleep. Talk to you tomorrow" "Goodnight" they said as they hung up. "Full of energy as always huh?" teased Natsu. "Yes she is but she's also six so" "True, okay, let's get some sleep" he insisted as Lucy moved over some letting him lay down with her as she laid her head on his chest as he put his arms around her. "I love you Natsu" she said quietly. "I love you too Lucy" he replied kissing her head as she blushed, and they closed their eyes. They woke up the next morning as Lucy stretched her arms out and let out a yawn. "Ha, so did you get some sleep then?" asked Natsu amused. "Yep I did. Did you?" she said feeling good. "I did surprisingly considering it's a small bed" said Natsu. "So how long before we get to go home?" she asked eagerly. "Woah slow down their Luce. We have to make sure there's nothing else going on with your throat first" Calming herself, she said "okay, okay ,fine" crossing her arms making a pout face at him. Cracking up laughing, he said "don't be like that. We'll be home soon" as he uncrossed her arms and looked at her lovingly making her smile. A knock came to the door as Wendy stepped in. "How are we feeling this morning?" "Good and ready to go home" Lucy answered chipper. " I see" said Wendy with amusement. "I need to check your throat one more time though before you so open up" Wendy said nicely as Lucy opened her mouth letting Wendy see into it.
"Good, the inflammation has gone down" she observed as she turned the flashlight off and looked at them. "You still need to be careful Lucy. Your throat is still vulnerable to being reopened so take care to watch that" Wendy advised looking straight at Natsu. "Nothing will happen to her" he answered seriously. "I know it wont..or else I'll have to kill you" she said with completely straight face as Natsu and Lucy didn't know if she meant it. "Just kidding" she answered cheerfully. Natsu and Lucy laughed nervously not fully believing her. "Alright well it looks like everything is good for now. I'll be calling to check in for the first couple weeks just to make sure it's healing properly" "Sounds good "said Natsu as Lucy nodded in agreement. "Well time for my shift to start, see you later guys" she said as she waved to them. "Let's go" said Lucy excited ,her voice still slightly hoarse. "Well get changed you goof, come on" Natsu teased as Lucy got up and changed her clothes.
"Ready to go?" he asked a few minutes later as she stood up straight with a smile and said "yep" "Then let's go" he said holding the door open with a smirk as she walked by him. "Man, do I love her" Natsu thought to himself as he grabbed her hand and they walked out as Lucy welcomed the sunshine on her face. "Sunlight..it feels great" she said quietly appreciative. "Come on Luce, let's get you home" he said softly as she giggled and nodded as they got into the car and went home. Getting home, Lucy immediately went for the couch and laid on her stomach as she grabbed at the pillows. "Sooooo happy to be home" she said delightfully as Natsu just lightly shook his head. He smirked at her as he went to the kitchen. "Natsu?" Lucy questioned as he was quiet. Reaching into the fridge, he pulled out some water and walked back over to sit in a chair across from her with his head down. "Natsu? your making me nervous" said Lucy. Lifting his head up, he said " we need to talk Luce"