Miracles:
A/N: Jerza angst, anyone?
Home. He was finally home.
Jellal sighed as he pushed the front door of his house open and stumbled inside. He closed the door back and leaned against it, taking in a deep breath.
Silence. It truly is golden! If I had to have listened to one more quarell between Meredy and Sorano I would have gone mental!
He took in another deep breath, relishing in the quiet. The only sound was the soft "tick, tick, tick," of the grandfather clock stuck in the corner of the living room. He glanced at it before pushing himself off the door and walking to it.
11:58 P.M. No wonder he was tired.
He yawned, turned towards the hall, stopping at the door with the name: "Roman" painted in it in blue letter. He carefully pushed it open, careful not make any noise. He then tiptoes across the floor, overstepping and avoiding stuffed animals, toy trains, and wooden sword as he creeped to the bed against the back wall. Roman was sound asleep, his blankets tucked to his chin, only his head and one arm sticking out from under it. A stuffed bear lay on the floor, underneath the one visible arm. Jellal picked it up, lifted the blanket and set the bear back under his arm. Roman stirred and subconciously drew the bear closer to him. Jellal smiled, tucked the blanket back around his son before kissing the top of his head.
Jellal tiptoed back out of the room, heading to the door at the very end. He pushed it open just as the clock began ringing twelve.
There she was. His beautiful wife Erza. She was lying on her side atop a pile of pillows to try and take pressure off her engorged stomach. He frowned slightly as he approached her. Bless her heart, she still had 10 weeks to go and she was already miserable. He watched her for a little while, trying to gage just how deeply asleep she was. If there was one thing he'd learned about Erza in their years of marriage it was that you do not, under any circumstances, startle her awake. To do so would result in broken noses, busted lips, and a lot of blood. After deciding she was good and asleep he gently lifted the blanket to look at her stomach. He frowned again. She was already the size she was the day she gave birth to Roman. Yes, he knew that second pregnancies usually resulted in bigger bellies, but he still couldn't help but worry.
He tried to brush it off. Erza would be fine. She was a strong woman who had already successfully given birth to one child. This one would be no different. He tucked the blankets back around, brushed her hair out of her face, and kissed her cheek.
"I love you," he whispered before turning, grabbing a set of pajamas and heading to their bathroom to take a quick shower before calling it a night. He'd just finished and crawled into bed next to his wife when he felt her stirring.
"Erza?" he asked softly.
"Je...Jellal?" she muttered, still groggy.
He sat up and turned towards her, smiling softly. "Hello, darling."
She slowly opened her eyes, gaxed up at him and smiled. Jellal set his hand on her face, pushing her hair back and stroking her cheek. She hummed as she leaned into his touch.
"When did you get back?"
"About thirty minutes ago," he answered. "Sorry I woke you. I tried to be quiet."
Erza shook her head. "It wasn't you."
Jellal's brow furrowed slightly. "What was it, then?"
Erza placed a hand on her lower body. "Cramps."
"Cramps? Are you alright?"
"Of course," Erza replied. "This is just what happens in the later weeks of pregnancy. I'm fine."
Jellal still frowned, but chose to believe her as he laid back down, setting his hand ontop of hers to rub her belly and try to help ease the pain. Erza sighed happily as she closed her eyes back, smiling softly as she tried to go back to sleep. Jellal smiled as he watched. Oh, how he'd missed her. As tired as he was he forced himself to stay awake so her could keep rubbing her sore belly until she fell asleep.
She didn't though. Instead she let out a loud gasp and tensed up.
"Erza?" Jellal asked. "Are you okay?"
Erza groaned in pain as she tried to sit up. She threw the blankets off herself. Jellal gasped, eyes growing wide as he spotted a red puddle growing under Erza's legs.
Erza let out a scream as she placed a hand to her belly.
"Jellal!" she shouted. "Call Porlyusica, something's wrong!"
Jellal jumpe out of the bed, running to the living room and rumaging through a draw for their communication lacrima. He started it up before running back to their bed room. Erza had already cralwed out of the bed, leaned against the nightstand, clutching her stomach.
"Erza," he said, running to her a grabbing her by the hands. "Come on, let's go."
They had just made it to the livingroom when Porlyusica finally came on the other line.
"What's the big idea? Can't an old woman sleep in peace!"
"Something's wrong!" Jellal explained as he leaned in front of the lacrima. "Erza's bleeding and cramping! There's something wrong with the baby!"
"Hmph," Porlyusica nodded. "Meet me at the guild hall."
Jellal turned back to Erza. "One minute," he said.
She nodded, biting her lip as small lines of blood streamed down her legs. Jellal ran to Roman's room, he scooped his son into his arms, blanket bear and all. He pryead the little boy wouldn't wake up as he and Erza made their way outside. Jellal put his son and his wife into a magical vehicle on their front lawn, hooked the line up to himself and took off to the guild hall.
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
The tiny silhouette of Makarov raced out of the Guild Hall as the Fernandez family pulled up. He got to the vehicle just as Jellal jumped out of the driver's seat.
"Porlyusica's already here," the old master said. "Go, go, go! I'll take care of Roman!"
Jellal nodded, scooping Erza into his arms, who had tears streaming down her face as she fought back against her screams, afraid of waking their son. He raced inside and to the healing ward. Porlyusica stood near a bed.
"Set her down, set her down," she pointed to the bed, Jellal obeyed.
Porlyusica set a horn like instrument to Erza's belly, setting her ear against the other end.
"Was there any pain before the bleeding started?" she asked.
"Some cramping," Erza nodded between ragged breaths.
Porylusica's brow furrowed as she put the instrument away. "It looks like your placenta has become detached."
"What can you do?" Jellal asked.
"I'll have to perform an emergency c-section," Porlyusica said, pulling a potion out of her bag.
"No!" Erza shouted. "I'm only thirty weeks along, it's too early!"
"We have no choice," the old healer snapped. "I don't get that baby out now and you'll both die."
Jellal's eyes widened. He felt like he was going to be sick.
"Jellal get out of here," Porlyusica said as she began stirring the potion, rumaging through her bag again for a syringe. "You don't need to watch this."
"I..what?" Jellal asked stunned. "What do you-"
"Get out of here! The longer you doddle there, the longer I'll have to wait to get on with the operation, and the more at risk your wife and child are in."
Jellal nodded, leaning down to kiss Erza's lips.
"Jellal, don't let her-"
"We have no choice," he said, squeezing her hand. "Stay strong, Erza."
"Out!" Porlyusica yelled, and Jellal turned and race out. The old healer slammed the door behind him.
Quiet engulfed him again as he leaned against the wall. Slowly the events of the night began to hit him. As his heart grew heavier he began sinking to the ground, drawing his knees to his chest and leaning his forehead against them. Tears stung the corners of his eyes.
He turned his head. There was a small trail of blood leading from the front door to the healing ward. Erza's blood.
The placenta became detached? How does that even happen? He wasn't a midwife by any stretch of the imagination but he knew that wasn't supposed to happen until the birth. That was what gave the baby food and oxygen. Just how long had it been detached? How long had their baby gone without oxygen? Was their baby even still alive?
Fears and worries raced through their minds. The only noise to distract him was the sound of Makarov pacing back and forth in the main room, still sleeping Roman propped against his shoulder. The little boy was about half the size of the old man, but that didn't stop him from carrying him.
Roman.
How was Jellal going to explain this to the little boy once he woke? How was anyone supposed to tell their two-year-old son that his mother and younger sibling were possibly dying? What if one of them did die? How was he going to handle that himself AND help Roman through it?
Erza, please, hold on! He prayed as he waited. And waited. And waited. The sun was beginning to rise by the time Porlyusica stepped out of the room. Jellal jumped to his feet.
"Is she alright? Is the baby? What took so long?"
"The c-section went well," Porlyusica said. "Unfortunately there was quite a lot of internal damage on the mother."
"Internal...damage?" Jellal asked. "What's that mean?"
"It means she was suffering from internal bleeding for a long time before she began bleeding externally," Porlyusica answered. "Which then put pressure on her organs, damaging them. It took me a little while to put her back together."
"But…" Jellal blinked to fight back tears. "But...she's okay?"
"She's alive, if that's what you mean," Porlyusica said. "In a coma, but alive."
"A coma?" Jellal felt his legs buckling and had to lean against the wall to steady himself.
"Don't worry, she should come out of it in a few days," Porlyusica said. "Actually, you may want to thank your lucky stars she's out right now. She'll sleep off the worst of the recovery now. You should be more worried about the babies."
"The ba-" Jellal stopped, slowly turning towards the old healer. "...babies?" His heart skipped a beat. "Twins?"
"No. Triplets," Porlyusica answered.
Jellal's legs went out from under him and he sunk back to the ground.
"That's probably how the placenta became detached in the first place. Too many babies and not enough room."
"Triplets?" Jellal repeated blankly. "Three?"
"Two girls and a boy," Porlyusica nodded.
"Are...are they okay?"
The old healer took in a deep sigh. "One of the girl's will be. She's the biggest of the bunch and is about as healthy as a child born this early can be. The other girl...has a good chance. She's not the worst I've seen, but could be better. If she makes it through the next week she'll most likely be alright. The boy, though…"
Even as cold as Porlyusica normally was, her face shone with sympathy. "...he's not the worst I've seen...but he doesn't look good."
The tears that had threatened to fall all night finally began to trail their way down Jellal's face. Porlyusica sighed as she set a hand on the top of his head.
"You can go see them if you want."
Jellal nodded as he stood to his feet. He walked numbly into the healing ward. Erza lay on a bed, her scarlet hair spread out on the pillow beneath her. She had a blanket covering her entire body but her head. Her chest slowly rose and fell with each breath. She was pale. So pale. Paler than she had been when they were enslaved at the tower of heaven. Jellal gently set his hand on her head. She didn't lean into it. She just laid there, breathing in, breathing out, breathing in, breathing out. He cringed at the sight of her like this as he slowly turned to the three craddles next to her.
There was a magic circle floating over each of the cradles, curiving so that they formed a lid over them, creating tiny cages to hold the tiny people lying inside them. Tendrils of healing magic slithered down from the magic circles, delivering air and energy directly to their lungs and immune systems. Jellal knelt next to them, squinting to stare through the color-changing, glowing, healing magic seperating him from his children. In the middle craddle was a tiny, tiny, TINY baby girl. Her limbs were so dainty and so thin they looked like they could have been snapped in half as easily as a tooth-pick. Still, she was bigger than the baby girl lying to her left. Both of the girls had blue hair, and a birth mark near their right eyes. The biggest of the girl's had her mark over her eye, the smaller one had her's underneath it.
In the last craddle was a boy. Jellal shuddered at the sight of him. He was teensy, teensy, tiny. He looked like her could fit in the palm of Jellal's hand. Jellal could barely see him through the numerous lines of healing magic flowing to him, trying desperately to give him what he'd need to survive.
Jellal clutched a hand to his mouth as he stared at his son. How could a person so tiny even exist? How on earth-land was this child going to make it? Could he? He was so weak!
Porlyusica walked to his side, setting a hand on his shoulder.
"The spell I've casted over them will help them breathe, give them nutrition, and monitor their body heat. The rest is up to them."
"Is there anything we can do?" Jellal asked.
"Not right now," Porlyusica answered.
Jellal shook his head as he stared at his children, heart aching. "Can I atleast hold them? Just one of them?"
"Not right now," Porlyusica said. "Their too weak right now."
Jellal's shoulders shudder as an involuntary sob escaped him. The old healer patted his shoulder, strangely comforting.
"If they make it through the night you can try giving the girl's some kangaroo care. Until then the best we can do for them is let them rest and let the magic I cast do it's work."
Jellal nodded slowly.
"My advice to you now it get some rest," Porlyusica said. "You'll need it. Your family has got a long road ahead of them."
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
"Jellal?"
Jellal opened his eyes. Apparently he had managed to doze off in the bed next to Erza's. She was the first thing he saw. Still asleep, still pale, still lifeless. He sighed as he sat up. Mirajane was standing next to his bed.
"Mira?" he asked.
"I'm sorry to wake you," she said softly. "But Roman's asking for you."
Roman.
Jellal looked back at Erza. The three magic circles were still hovering over the cradles. He stood and walked to them. The bigger girl was breathing. The smaller girl was breathing. Even the boy was breathing. They were still alive. They'd made it.
"I know you're worried about them, but Roman's really scared right now," Mirajane said. "He needs his father right now."
"Right," Jellal nodded.
"I'll stay with them. Porlyusica should be back to check on them again soon, anyways."
"Thank you, Mira," Jellal said as he stood and walked out of the healing ward.
There weren't that many people in the main room of the guild. It was still a bit early.
The Dragneels were here, though. Lucy and Natsu were seated at a table, Roman between them. Nashi was playing with her stuffed dragon to the side, oblivious of the tension in the air.
"...'s gonna be fine, kiddo," Natsu was saying to Roman.
"Mommy will be back soon, just hold tight," Lucy nodded, a hand over her large baby bump. Jellal couldn't help but stare at it. This should still be Erza. Their children should still be inside her, growing, getting stronger so they could survive in this cold, cruel world. Not lying in cradles fighting for their lives, having to depend on a magic circle to breath for them.
"Daddy?" Roman asked, spotting Jellal. He hopped off the bench and scampered to him. Natsu and Lucy gave him a sympathetic glance as he bent down and scooped his son into his arms.
"Daddy?" Roman asked as Jellal stood and held him to his chest. "Where's Mommy?"
Jellal sighed, he walked to an unoccupied table, sat down, and set his son on top of it in front of him.
"Daddy?" Roman asked again, his lower lip quivering.
Jellal sighed. "Something...happened last night," he began. "Mommy got very sick, so the healer had to do surgery to get the baby out so she could take care of Mommy."
"Is Mommy okay?" Roman asked, big tears rolling down his cheeks.
Jellal nodded. "Yes," how he hoped he hadn't just lied. "She's okay. But she's asleep right now. She's going to be asleep for a few days so she can get better."
"She wa' weally bad sick, huh?" Roman asked.
Jellal nodded.
"Wha' about de baby?"
Jellal sighed. "Well, turns out there were actually three babies-"
"T'wee babies!?" Roman's eyes lit up.
Jellal nodded, but he couldn't share his son's enthusiasm. "Yes, but they're very sick too."
"Are dey sweeping?"
Jellal nodded.
"Can I see dem?"
"No, my boy, you can't see them yet."
"Oh," Roman hung his head. "It'sh because dey might wake up, wight?"
"Yes," Jellal nodded, quickly. It may not have been a truth, but it would be better to let Roman believe that than tell him what was really happening.
"When dey gonna wake up?" Roman asked.
Jellal sighed. "I don't know. But…" he swallowed down the lump in his throat. "But I'll let you know when they do."
Roman stared at the ground, brow furrowed, deep in throught.
"What are you thinking, my boy?"
Roman's bottom lip quivered. "Ish Mommy and de babies gonna die?"
Jellal gasped, feeling his heart breaking a little bit more. He'd hoped Roman wouldn't catch on, but he was a smart one his boy. He may not have fully understood what was happening, but her knew enough to know what was at stake. Jellal swallowed back the lump in his throat again, forcing his tears to not fall. That was the one thing he couldn't afford to do. No matter what, he couldn't let Roman see him cry.
"Mommy's going to be okay," he finally answered.
"And de babies?" Roman's lip quivered again.
Jellal sighed. He wanted to lie. Not just to Roman bu to himself. But he couldn't. He just couldn't.
"I don't know."
Roman began to cry, covering his face with his tiny hands. Jellal blinked back tears as he pulled him close, hugging him. Try as he may, a few tears fell down his own face as he pictured his three other children fighting for their lives just down the hall. He hugged Roman closer so the little boy wouldn't see him wiping his face.
"Roman?" a small voice came from behind the two Fernandez men. Jellal turned to find Nashi standing there, a concerned look on his face. She climbed up onto the bench next to Jellal and set a hand on Roman's shoulder.
"Wha'a matta?"
"My...my Mommy and de babies sick!" Roman wailed. "Dey...dey...dey might die!"
"Don't cwy, Roman," Nashi reached up and wiped his tears away. "It be okay."
Roman just wailed all the more.
"We can make'a card," Nashi suggested. "Dat make 'em betta."
Roman nodded as he sniffled. "Okay."
"We can ask Auntie Miwa for paper and col'wors."
"Auntie Mirajane's with Aunt Erza and the babies right now," Jellal said.
"Oh," Nashi answered. "Den we ask Uncaw Lack'us."
Roman sniffled again as he looked about. "Where he go?"
"I dunno," Nashi shrugged. "C'mon, we'll ask Mommy."
Nashi slipped off the bench and ran to Lucy, Roman trailing behind her.
"Mommy, where Uncwa Lack'us?"
"I don't know, why you ask sweetie?" Lucy asked.
"We need him to give us paper and col'wors so we can make cards for Auntie Erza and de babies so dey'll get betta."
"Oh, that's a good idea," Lucy smiled as she stood up, holding a hand out to each of them. "Come one, let's go looking for him. He's got to be aroudn here somewhere."
As the two children and the expectant mother hurried off, Natsu stood and walked to Jellal's side.
"Hey, how you doing?" he asked.
Jellal shrugged.
"She's going to be okay," Natsu said plainly. "If anyone can pull through this it's Erza."
"I know," Jellal nodded. "But the babies-"
"Have Erza's blood in their veins," Natsu cut him off, setting a hand on his shoulder. "They'll pull through."
Jellal shook his head. "You don't know that. You didn't see them. They're all so tiny! So weak!" he covered his face in his hands.
Natsu sighed as he sat down next to him. For a minute niether of them said anything, they both just stared straight ahead, lost in thought.
"Look, I know you're scared," Natsu finally spoke. "Anyone in your position would be. But you can't lose hope. Sure, your babies have a long fight ahead of them, and it's gonna be a hard fight. That's why they need their dad believing in them right now."
"Believing in them?" Jellal sniffed. "What good will that do?"
"Jellal-"
"I want to. I want to belive they'll all make it, but...Natsu you didn't see them!"
"I know I didn't. But you did. They were still alive last you saw them, weren't they?"
Jellal sighed and nodded.
"There we go. They've made it this far. Made it through the first night. Now-"
"Stop," Jellal whispered.
"Huh?"
"Just. Stop." Jellal's breaths were heavy as he clenched his fists and closed his eyes.
"I know what you're trying to do, and I appreciate it. But…" Jellal shook his head. "There's nothing you can do. Nothing I can do. There's just…" his voice trailed off as he leaned his face into his hands.
Natsu watched him for a while before letting out a small sigh. "Sucks doesn't it?"
"What?" Jellal lifted his head slightly.
"Sucks not being able to do anything."
"Natsu, I told you, stop," Jellal sighed. "You don't know what-"
"Yeah, I do actually," Natsu cut him off. "That was pretty much the whole pregnancy with Nashi."
Jellal blinked. He'd forgotten about that whole ordeal in the midst of the chaos.
"Cana telling us there were people out there wanting to take Nashi away from us was one of the scariest moments of my life. We'd just found out Lucy was pregnant few weeks ago, now all of a sudden there was a whole dark guild trying to take my wife and baby away." Natsu clenched his fists as he though back over the memories. "And there was nothing I could do about it. We had no clue where they were, or who they were. All I could do was wait and see what would happen."
Natsu turned and looked back at Jellal. "Just like all you can do right now is sit and wait."
"Natsu-"
"I know my situation was different than the one you're in now. If anything you got a rougher deal. It was bad enough having one baby on the line, I can't imagine having three."
Jellal shuddered as he lowered his head.
"But that's why I'm tellign you don't give up hope. As hard as this might be right now it's going to be ten times worse if you're having to go through while putting yourself back together."
"Did that happen to you?" Jellal asked.
Natsu nodded. "Yeah. After Hezim showed up. I lost control of E.N.D., took Lucy, hid in the middle of nowhere and broke down. That-"
Natsu shook his head. "That's a place you don't want to go, bud."
"Hm," Jellal nodded. "So what happened after that?"
"Jura showed up and put Hezim in his place, which was a lucky break for me, because-" Natsu whistled through his teeth. "To say I was down was an understatement."
Jellal nodded again. "Thank you."
Natsu patted his shoulder. "Don't mention it."
Jellal took in a deep breath, trying to maintain his composure as Lucy came back, Laxus behind her. He had Nashi and Roman seated on either shoulder, a box full of colors, scissors, and paper in his hands.
"Here you go," he said, setting the box on the table and helping the children to their seats. "Might even be some stickers in there."
"What do you say, kids?" Lucy asked.
"T'ank you!" both of the children said as they went right to coloring.
"You're welcome," Laxus said as he began to walk off. He gave Jellal a slap on the back as he walked by, but said nothing. He didn't need to.
"Say, we've got plenty of extra room at our place," Natsu said. "We can keep Roman for you 'til everything gets straightened out."
"Would you?" Jellal asked.
"Sure!" Natsu nodded. "Nashi's gotta get used to sharing the place with another kid anyways."
"Thank you."
"No problem. You'd do the same for us."
Jellal let out a sigh of relief as he looked back at his son. Roman had a smile on his face as he colored. At least for now he was happy.
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
Jellal set the stack of get well cards on the table next to Erza's bedside. Some of her color had returned, but she was still pale. Jellal leaned down and gently kissed her forehead.
"Our Roman misses you," he whispered. "In fact, so do I."
"She's right there," Porlyusica muttered as she checked over the babies, still in their magic cages. Jellal forwned at her as he watched her work. The least she could do is not make her rude remarks to him. He was in a rough enough situation as is.
"How are they?" he asked.
"Big girl's coming along nicely," Porlyusica stated. "We'll probably be able to start weening her off the magic circle in a few days."
Jellal sighed in relief. At least one of them would make it.
"Little girl's doing about how you'd expect. She ain't out of the woods yet, but she hasn't made any wrong turns, so to speak."
"And the boy?"
Porlyusica looked down at the smallest infant and sighed. "Still sickly. He hasn't gotten worse, but he hasn't gotten better."
"So...he's okay?"
"Hardly," Porlyusica sighed. "If he doesn't start improving then he'll never be able to function on his own. My magic is helping him stay alive now, but it won't maintain him long term. Eventually he'll start resisting it, and if he isn't better by then, well…"
She didn't finish the last part, she didn't have to. Jellal's heart shattered a bit more as he looked as his tiny son.
"Is there anything we can do?"
Porlyusica shook her head. "No. I'm afraid he's too small."
"Too small? For what?" Jellal asked. "If there's anything, anything at all that might possibly help him, then-"
"Normally being able to have skin-to-skin contact with someone helps babies born as early as these. But the boy is just too small. Too delicate. If you were to hold him you could break him. Literally."
Jellal's head fell downcast. He looked back at his son, then his two daughters. Then an idea came into his mind.
"What about her?" he pointed to the biger of the two girls.
"Her?" Porlyusica asked.
"If they shared a cradle, were able to cuddle together, would that help him?"
"What are you-"
"You said she was the healthiest of the bunch. Said we could start weeing her off soon, even. Is she healthy enough now that we could move her to be with her brother. I understand that adults can't touch him, but what about her? She's small enough she wouldn't hurt him, right?"
"Hm…" Porylusica looked down at the babies. "I want to keep her monitored for now. Even though they're all stable anything could go wrong with babies like these. But if things haven't changed by tomorrow then we could try it."
Jellal smiled slightly as he nodded. "Alright."
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
The next morning came. Jellal was forced to stand behind a protective barrier as Porlyusica let down to circle guarding the biggest girl and moved her in with the boy. She herself was covered in a magic film that would keep any of her germs from reaching either of the babies. She gently laid the girl beside her brother. As soon as she was set down the girl reached a tiny arm out and draped it over the boy's back.
"Well, I'll be," Porlyusica said. "Didn't even have to coax her, she went right for it."
She put a magic circle over their cradle and then let the barrier down so that Jellal could draw near. The two babies snuggled close to each other, the girl holding her brother. Even though they were the same age she was nearly double his size. Jellal began to worry that maybe this wasn't a good idea.
"Don't worry, she won't crush him," Porlyusica said as if reading his mind. "She doesn't have the muscle build up for it yet. Now-" she waved her hand and the same protective film covering her spread over Jellal. "-Take your shirt off."
"What?" Jellal's eyes widened slightly.
Porlyusica removed to magic circle from the smaller girl's cradle.
"This one needs a bit of a boost, too. I want you to have some skin-to-skin time with her. Take off your shirt and sit down there," she pointed to a rocking chair. Jellal did as he was told. Porlyusica lifted the tiny child out of the cradle and set her against Jellal's chest. She then draped a blanket over her, tucking it under Jellal's arms so it would stay in place. Taking one of Jellal's hands, she guided it to the child's back.
"Hold her like this. Be very gentle, she's delicate."
Jellal cautiously lifted a hand and smoothed one finger across her hair, that was the same color as his. She grunted slightly, moving her tiny arms and legs as he held her. He smiled as he began to rock the chair back and forth. The little girl continued squirming, stretching her tiny limbs. Even for one so small she was quite lively. It reminded him of a name he'd come across during his last mission.
Though most parents liked giving their children names based upon how nice they sounded, Jellal preferred to look more at the meanings of names than the sounds. He and Erza had gotten quite of few odd looks when they announced Roman's name. It was quite an uncommon name. But they'd chosen it because of the meaning:
"One of stregnth."
It was their hope for him. That he'd grow up to be strong.
Now, looking at his daughter, so tiny yet still so lively, he tought back to one of the names he'd noticed while flipping through the name book he'd brought with him last mission.
"Eva," he softly whispered.
"Huh?" Porlyusica asked.
"Her name's Eva," he said. "It means 'Life.'"
"Oh," the old healer wnet back to whatever she was doing. "What about the other two? Just gonna leave them as 'big girl' and 'boy?'"
Jellal turned his head to their cradle, still holding Eva as gently as he could. He looked at the other girl, holding her brother, keeping him warm, keeping him safe, defending him as well as she could.
"Minette," he said. "It means 'Faithful Defender.'"
"And the boy?"
Jellal thought for a moment as he stared at his son. He was still so rail. The fact he was even still alive right now was a miracle. Still, Jellal hoped, prayed, his boy would pull though.
"Von. It means 'hope.'"
"Hope, eh? Well, he's gonna need a lot of it."
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
"Erm…" Erza slowly opened her eyes. All she could see was a bright light. Her entire body ached.
"Erza?"
She blinked and turned to find Jellal standing next to her, eyes wide.
"Jella-wha…"
She remembered. The pain. The blood. Porlyusica's diagnosis. She sat up straight.
"Jellal, the baby!"
"Uh…" Jellal scratched the back of his head. "Long story."
"What do you mean 'long story?' Is our child alright or not?"
"Two of them are," Jellal began explaining.
"Two? Wait, wha-"
"Erza," Jellal took her hand in his. "We had triplets."
Erza's eyes widened. "Triplets?"
"Yes."
She blinked, stuttering. "And...and they're all okay?"
Jellal sighed. "Well…"
"No," Porlyusica's voice came as the old healer appeared next to her, pointing to three cradles next to her. "You had two girls and a boy. The girls are thrriving well, but the boy…" she sighed. Even as much as she hated humans, she hated having to give bad news to parents. "He's not improved since his birth. I've done everything I can."
"What do you mean?" Erza asked.
Porlyusica sighed. "He's still alive, but he probably won't be for muhc longer."
Erza gasped as Jellal hung his head. A week. His children had been fighting for a week. Eva and Minette were winning but Von…
"No, there must be something you can do," Erza said. "Some sort of potion or spell that will stregnthen him!"
"I already said I've done what I can," Porlyusica sighed. "I'm sorry. I tried."
Erza just stared as Porlyusica walked to the cradle, dispelled the circle, picked the boy up, and carried him to his parents.
"Here," she gently placed the tiny thing in Erza's hands. He was so small he fit perfectly in them.
Tears began welling in Erza's eyes as she stared at her tiny, tiny son, whose hair was the same color as hers. He was breathing, but that was it. There was no movement. No sound. No open eyes.
"I'll let you say your good-byes," Porlyusica said. "My guess is he doesn't have much longer."
She turned and walked to a corner in the room, giving the parents some privacy.
The tears began to fall down Erza's cheeks as she stared at the baby. Jellal, too, sniffled as he wrapped an arm around Erza's shoulder, running his hand over the boy's head.
"What's his name?" Erza asked.
"Von," Jellal answered.
"Von," Erza repeated as she kissed his forehead head. "I'm so sorry, Von. I'm sorry I couldn't carry you longer."
"It's...not your...fault…" Jellal stuttered, choking on his tears.
Erza sniffled as she brought Von to her chest and began rocking him, cradling him to her face, tear rolling down her cheeks. "I love you, Von,"
"We both do," Jellal whispered as he stroked Von's tiny arm. The arm twitched. The hand opened and closed. The tiny boy began to squirm. Jellal gasped as he watched one. Von twitched and turned. A small mewing noise began to fill the air. Then a tiny, soft, but very much there, baby's cry.
"Wha-" Porlyusica raced to the bedside to look.
Van cried again, a little bit louder this time.
"I don't-" Porlyusica shook her head, before her eyes grew wide and she raced to grab a blanket. She held Erza guide Von onto her chest then draped the blanket over the.
"Whatever you're doing, keep doing it."
Erza let out a small laugh of joy as she kissed Von's head again. He squirmed against her, whimpering.
"That's it, cry," Erza encouraged. "Keep crying. Keep moving. That's it."
Von reach a teensy hand out as he wailed. Jellal gently set his hand against it.
"That's my boy," he said, happy tears rolling down his cheeks. "That's it, keep fighting."
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
"I don't understand it," Porlyusica stated later that night as she and Makarov stood just outside the healing ward. "The boy was as good as gone, but the minute she held him he perked up. I've never seen anything quite like it."
Makarov chuckled as he looked inside. Jellal and Erza were seated side by side on the bed, watching over their three miracles asleep in their cradles.
"I'm not sure why you're surprised," Makarov said. "Their the children of Jellal and Erza Fernandez, two of the hardest fighting people I've ever had the pleasure of knowing."
"Still doesn't explain how the boy went from being practically lifeless one moment to kicking and screaming the next."
"You should really spend a lot more time around humans," Makarov chuckled. "You might learn a thing or two."
"Such as?" she asked in an annoyed voice.
"Even with all the magic and all the power in the world, there are few things as magnificent nor as strong as a mother's love for her children."
"You've gotten even more foolish in your old age," Porlyusica murmured.
"Maybe so," Makarov shrugged. "Still, mother's love or not, it doesn't change the fact that those three children are miracles."
"They've still got a long ways ahead of them."
"True, but is it safe to say the worst is behind them?"
"Not quite yet," Porlyusica allowed her mouth to curl into a smile. "But soon."
"When do you think they'll be strong enough to go home?"
"Minette will probably be strong enough in three weeks time. Eva, six or seven, give or take. As for Von, it's hard to say at this point. But it won't be anytime soon."
"So long as it makes it home eventually," Makarov sighed.
"Can't make any guarantees," Porlyusica sighed. "But, after today, I'm liking his chances."
The two elder people looked back into the room. Jellal had his face nuzzled into Erza hair, holding her as tightly as she could as she stared lovingly at Eva, Minette, and Von.