Bedrest:
"Good job Fairy Tail!"
"You're the pride of Magnolia!"
"12 years as number one!"
Lucy smiled as she walked, hand-in-hand with Natsu, Layla in the crook of her arm, Nashi skipping ahead of them. As expected, Fairy Tail had won the Grand Magic Games, and now the whole Guild was walking through Main Street as the citizens lined the road, cheering, and waving, and throwing confetti and candy. Nashi's hands, pockets, even socks, were stuffed with sweets. Lucy sighed. They'd have to make sure to put those up somewhere out of her reach so that she wouldn't eat them all at once and go ballistic on a sugar high.
Layla was simply turning her head from one side to the other, cooing in curiosity at the sights and sounds around her.
"Whatcha seeing, baby girl?" Lucy asked.
A party popper went of nearby, causing Layla to jump. Lucy feared she'd start crying.
"Oh, sh, sh, sh, it's okay."
Layla stared wide-eyed as a shower of confetti sprinkled over her. Then her mouth curled up into a smile and she giggled, waving her arms and grasping with her chubby hands at the bright, glittering paper pieces. Lucy smiled as well, watching her baby play and enjoy herself.
"You havin' fun, sweetie?" Natsu asked, reaching over and tickling her tummy, making her laugh again. Lucy giggling at them as Natsu took Layla into his arms, blowing raspberries against her neck, making her laugh even more and kick her tiny legs with fun. Nashi came skipping back towards them, a pinwheel in her hands.
"Mommy! Daddy! Look what Aunt Wendy got me!" she cheered.
"Hey, look at that," Natsu said, kneeling down to her level. Lucy smiled all the more at them.
A sharp pang penetrated her side. Lucy placed a hand to her stomach. What was that? Her abdomen began aching. Lucy grunted in pain, then feel to her knees.
"Ouch!" she cried. Her stomach cramps got worse, and worse.
Oh, no! She thought, horror washing over her. Oh, no, no, no, no! Please, no! Not this! Please, please no!
"Natsu!" she cried.
Natsu turned away from Nashi, who he'd been talking to, eyes growing wide in fear as he raced to her side, Layla still in his arms. "Lucy, what's wrong?" he asked.
Tears were pouring down her face. Not from pain, though, but from fear. "Natsu!" she cried. "It hurts. Oh, ouch, it hurts! Natsu, please! The baby! Save our baby, please!"
Natsu's eyes widened all the more. He looked around wildly then stood and raced to Laxus, who was taking up the rear of the procession with the rest of his family.
"Laxus, take care of the girls, okay?" he said, passing Layla to the new Guild Master.
"Look aft-wait, what?" Laxus asked as Layla was all but dumped in his arms, crying in fear, sensing somethign was wrong.
Natsu ran back to Lucy, scooped her up, and raced towards the guild hall. Porlyusica, despite hating humans, had enough decency to come out and congratualte the Fairy Tail on their victory. She was standing at the doorway when Natsu and Lucy got there.
"Porlyusica, help!" Natsu shouted as he ran to her side.
"What wrong now?" the old woman grumbled.
"Lucy...baby...somethin' wrong…" he stuttered as Porlyusica led them to the healing ward. Natsu set Lucy on a bed and the old healer began to check her out.
"So you're pregnant again, are you?" she asked in an irritated voice.
Lucy nodded, tears still streaming down her face. "My stomach...it hurts...Porlyusica, please, do something!"
The old woman placed both hands on Lucy's belly, feeling around, brow furrowed in concentration. Natsu took one of Lucy's hands in both of his. Lucy looked up at him, eyes full of fear. Despite his worry, he managed to smile comfortingly at her.
"It's gonna be okay, Luce."
Porlyusica nodded her head slowly as she finished her examination. "Good news. You're not having a miscarriage."
Both parents sighed in relief.
"Yet."
A horrid silence fell over the room.
"What do you mean yet?" Lucy asked.
"You've just had a baby, you pair of young idiots!" the old woman huffed. "Your body hasn't had time to fully heal! That pain your feeling are your muscles screaming at you because they're still weak from the last birth. Now they've got to go through all that trouble all over again."
Lucy's bottom lip quivered as she placed a hand over her abdomen. "So you're saying my body's still too weak to carry this child full term…"
"Is there anythign we can do?" Natsu asked.
Porlyusica nodded. "Yes, there is. I'm putting you to bedrest."
Lucy blinked. "For how long?"
"Until the baby gets here," Porlyusica stated as she began rumaging through her bag. "Unless told otherwise I don't want you getting up except to use the restroom and occasionally take a bath. Here," she handed a pamphelt to Natsu and began rumaging through her bag again. "These are some excercises she can do while lying down. Don't go crazy though, just doing them lightly throughout the day so she doesn't completely waste away. And this-" she handed him another pamphlet. "Is a high calcium and protein diet I'm putting her on to give her body an extra boost. Study it. With her down for the next few months you'll have to prepare all the meals."
Oh, this is not going to end well...Natsu thought to himself as Porlyusica turned back to Lucy.
"I'll be coming by your place once a week until a month out from the delivery. Then I'll be coming everday. It's too early to tell now, but depending on how hard this pregnancy is going to be on your body and how much muscle you'll lose on bedrest we may have to perform a c-section."
A small squeak of fear escaped Lucy's throat. Erza had told her that recovering from her c-section with the triplets, even after being unconcious for the first week was absolute hell. If Erza, the toughest person she knew, still cringed at the thought of it, Lucy shuddered to think how painful it would be for her.
"You two can go home now," Porlyusica waved them away before pointing a warning finger to Natsu. "Be gentle!"
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
"Lucy!"
The chorus of voices shocked Natsu so much he almost dropped his wife. He didn't though. Instead he, and Lucy, got stampeded by the dozens of people waiting in their livingroom for them.
"Are you okay?"
"Are you guys really having another baby? Already!"
"Is the baby alright?"
"What on Earth-land happened!"
"Gimmee a minute!" Natsu shouted over the concussive sound of over ten voices shouting questions at once. "Let me put her down and then I'll explain everything, okay?"
He charged through the crowd towards their bedroom.
"Good to know they care, I guess," Lucy said as he set her on the mattress and tucked her in.
"Yeah, I suppose," he leaned down and kissed her stomach. "Don't you scare us like that kid!"
Lucy chuckled softly as Natsu pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead.
"And you, stay put!" he ordered, poking her on the nose with his finger, making her giggle. "I'll take care of them," he gestured his thumb to their bedroom door, indicating their guildmates outside.
"Alright," Lucy nodded sullen-faced.
"Hey, it's going to be okay."
"I know, I'm just not exactly thrilled about being confined to bed for an entire pregnancy."
"I know," Natsu sighed. "We'll work it out, though."
Lucy nodded, setting her hand behind his head. "Yeah, we will," she gently pulled him towards her, kissing him, smiling as he reciporicated, stroking her cheek with the back of his fingers.
"Call me if you need anything," he whispered as they parted, standing to his feet and heading back to the livingroom to explain everything.
Levy was the first to race towards him.
"Is Lu-Lu okay?" she asked.
"She'll be fine," Natsu nodded.
"Then what the heck happened back there?" Gajeel asked, a twin on either hip.
"Well…" Natsu rubbed the back of his head awkwardly.
"Is she really pregnant?" Erza asked, Minette and Eva in her arms.
"Yes," Natsu answered.
Erza nodded, handing the two girls to Jellal, who was already holding Von. "One moment, Love," she said.
"Wai-Erza, how am I-oh…" Jellal grumbled as he found himself holding all three triplets. They all looked up at their father, cooing and babbling in unison.
"Well, now all we need is Roman," Jellal said.
"Daddy!" Roman jumped up from over the couch and latched his arms around his father's neck, choking him.
"And...there he is…son, please let go, Daddy can't breathe!"
As Jellal struggled with all four children, Erza stormed to Natsu, whacking him over the head. "Idiot! How could you be so careless! She's barely had time to recover, and you-"
"Ouch! And judgemental much?" Natsu asked. "And besides, it's not like we were tryin' to! It just...kinda...happened…" he blushed awkwardly.
"You'd think after two kids you would have figured out how this works, flame-brain," Gray muttered from where he was sitting on the couch, Storm and Bianca seated on either of his legs. Juvia leaned her head on his shoulder, watching on in worry as her hand rested on her stomach, which was just now starting to pooch out a little bit.
"I know how it works, Ice Princess!" Natsu shouted back. "We've only done it once since Layla got here, okay?"
"Once is all it takes, you dunder-headed volcano!" Gray exclaimed.
"I know that!"
"Then why didn't you-"
"Will you two get a hold of yourselves?" Erza shouted. "Please, there are children present!"
"Daddy?" a small voice came from behind Natsu. He turned to find Nashi staring up at him, worry filling her eyes. Romeo was holding her hand, but he let go so Nashi could run to her father. Wendy stood next to him, holding a sleeping Layla in her arms.
"Is Mommy okay?" Nashi asked in a scared voice.
His heart ached at seeing her so upset. He knelt down in front of her and set his hand on top of her head. "Yeah, she's fine. She's just going to have to stay in bed for a while, okay?"
"Why?" Nashi asked, bottom lip trembling slightly.
Natsu hated seeing her cry. He stood up, lifted her into his arms, and held her out in front of him. "Well, because your Mommy's going to have another baby."
Nashi gasped, eyes lighting up as a smile broke out over her face. "Really?"
"Yup." Nashi squealed and hugged him, bouncing up and down in excitement. "But wait-" she pulled back. "Why's she gotta stay in bed? She didn't stay in bed when Layla was in her tummy."
"Well, because Mommy's body is still tired from having Layla. So she has to let it rest so it can take care of the new baby."
"Oh," Nashi nodded, seeming to understand, though Natsu could tell she'd have more questions later. She was still trying to figure things out for the moment.
"Is the baby going to be alright?" Juvia asked, finally standing to her feet, eyes full of worry.
Natsu nodded. "It'll be fine, but Porlyusica said Lucy has to be on bedrest from now until the baby's born."
Gajeel let otu a whistle of sympathy, "Man, that blows!"
"Poor Lu," Levy nodded.
"Is there anything we can do to help?" Gray asked.
"I'm sure there is, but I can't really think of anything right now," Natsu said as he set Nashi down so he could take Layla from Wendy.
"You're still just trying to process eveything, we understand," Erza nodded. "We'll get out of here and give you some time to think. We just wanted to come by and make sure everything was alright."
"Appreciate it, guys," Natsu smiled as all of their friends and their children filed out.
"Oh, by the way," Gray, who was bringing up the rear, said as he reached the door. "Laxus and Mira said to tell you they're thinking about ya. Wish they could've come, but being Guild Master and all they had to get back to the Guild Hall and check with everyone else."
"We understand. Tell 'em we said thanks," Natsu said as Gray closed the door behind him.
Natsu all but collapsed on the couch once they'd left, running one hand over his face, Layla still sleeping in the other arm.
The baby was okay. That was the important part. Sure, these next few months were going to suck, but the baby was alright. He turned and looked back down at Layla.
"Thanks for being an easy pregnancy," he said. "'Cuz neither of your siblings were. Are. Were and are. I dunno."
"Natsu…" Lucy called from their bedroom.
"Yeah?"
"Bucket…"
"Oh, shoot!"
He raced into the kitchen, grabbed a large pot, and brought it to Lucy who immediately threw up into it.
"Sorry, Love, I forgot all abou-"
"Ish okay," she mutter, puking again.
Layla began crying loudly, apparently being scared awake by the sudden movement of Natsu running and the noise of Lucy tossing her cookies.
"Oh, sorry, baby," Natsu crooned as he rocked her. "We didn't mean to scare you. There now, sh, sh, sh, sh."
Lucy groaned as she set the pot down on the floor next to her. Morning sickness and bedrest? This pregnancy was going to suck!
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
"How am I going to last until this baby's born?" Lucy grumbled as she stared at the ceiling. It had already been a week, and she was already starting to lose her mind! She never knew how quickly one could grow sick of the color yellow, until she'd been confined in her and Natsu's bedroom with it's yellow walls for a whole seven days, having nothing else to look at. There was the window, of course, she could look outside...except today it was raining so there wasn't much to look at! Well, nothing that didn't make her gloomier than she already was.
"No that's not...where is it…where'd I...AUGH!" Natsu's voice rang out from the direction of the kitchen as he was attempting to put together one of the recipes Porlyusica had given him. Bless him, he was trying! He really was! So far, though, the only two he'd managed to make with any sort of luck were the spinach and artichoke pasta dish and the raspberry, peach, and yogurt smoothie.
Now he was trying desperately to make something else so Lucy wouldn't have to eat the same meal for the seventh day in a row. Not that it mattered. Everything tasted like saw dust these days. That was if she could even keep it down.
Wwwwwhhhhhhiiiiiizzzzzzz!
"Wha-no! Nashi, what are you doing?"
Lucy lifted her head at the mention of their oldest's name.
"I'm making the smoothie that makes Mommy's tummy feel better," the little girl answered.
"You're what?"
"Did I do it right, Daddy?"
A short pause followed before Natsu answered. "Yeah, actually. That looks better than the ones I've made."
"Yay! I'm gonna put it in a cup for Mommy!"
"Might as well, seeing as this lasagna is looking more like a lasag-nope!"
Nashi giggled as Lucy heard the clinking of glasses. "Daddy, you're silly!"
"Getting shown up by my four-year-old, I'm just sad," Natsu muttered.
"Why you sad, Daddy?" Nashi asked.
"No, I'm not. I didn't...It's just a figure of speech, kiddo."
"What's that?"
"It...eh...go ask your mother when you bring her that smoothie."
"Okay!"
A pitter-patter of tiny feet came towards the bedroom and Nashi appeared by Lucy's bedside.
"I made you a smoothie for your tummy, Mommy," she said, holding it up.
Lucy smiled faintly as she took it from her. She really wasn't feeling like eating anything, but she knew she had to. If not for her's and the baby's sake, for Nashi's.
"Thanks, sweetie," Lucy said as she kissed her forehead and took a sip.
"Is your tummy feeling better?" Nashi asked, concern in her eyes.
"Afraid not," Lucy sighed, gulping down the slushie. It did actually taste better than the ones Natsu had made, though only slightly given how this pregnancy decided to kill her taste buds.
"I'm sorry, Mommy," Nashi said.
"It's alright," Lucy replied.
"Mommy?"
"Mm-hmm?"
"What's a figure of speech."
"It's when you say something in an exaggerated way."
"What's exaggerated mean?"
"Making something sound worse than it actually is?"
"Like how?"
"Like when you're Daddy says he's starving when he's actually just really hungry."
"Isn't starving meaning really hungry?"
"'Doesn't' starving mean you're really hungry," Lucy corrected. "And, no, starving doesn't mean just really hungry. It means you're so hungry you could die if you don't eat soon."
Nashi gasped. "Has Daddy ever been that hungry?" she asked, worried.
Lucy chuckled. "No, honey. Though he might have thought so a few times because he's a big baby."
"I heard that!" Natsu called from the kitchen, making both Nashi and Lucy chuckle.
Poof!
"Oh, what the heck!"
"Daddy, did you forget you left something in the crack-pot again?" Nashi asked.
"Crock-pot, sweetie," Natsu corrected, pausing before answering. "And, yes, I did."
Nashi rolled her eyes. "You only supposed to leave it for ten minutes, Daddy! Geez! Didn't you read it first?"
"Hey, just because I messed up doesn't mean you can roll your eyes at me, kiddo."
"You can't even see me!" Nashi exclaimed. "How you know I'm rollin' my eyes!"
"Because I can feel your sass from all the way in here. Now check it before you get in trouble!"
"Hmph!" Nashi crossed her arms and stuck her bottom lip out in a pouty fashion.
Lucy chuckled at her and ruffled her hair. "Daddy's just a bit frustrated right now, Nashi. He's not exactly used to cooking."
"Obviously," Nashi rolled her eyes again. Lucy busted a gut laughing as Natsu called:
"I can still hear you, Nashi!" Natsu called.
"Can you still feel my sass, though?" she asked with as much snark as a four-year-old could possibly muster, causing Lucy to laugh again.
"Uh, yeah, I can. It's gotten bigger! Watch it!"
Nashi sighed and began plodding up to her room.
"You're four, not fourteen. I shouldn't have to be dealing with the attitude yet. It's too soon!" Natsu muttered mostly to himself as Lucy heard him clanging pots together trying to clean up heaven's knows what mess he made.
"You always said I was an early bloomer!" Nashi said from the steps in a sing-song voice. Lucy busted out laughing again.
"Nashi!" Natsu snapped before letting out a ragged breath. "Just go to your room and play with your dolls or something. Please. Daddy has a mess to clean up right now."
"Okay," Nashi trudged the rest of the way up the stairs.
Lucy couldn't help but keep chuckling.
"Stop laughing, Luce, you'll only encourage her!"
"Sorry, I can't help it!"
"Uh-huh. You knw she gets this from you, dontcha?"
"Hey, watch it," Lucy snapped. "Just because I'm stuck in this bed doesn't mean I still can't kick you to the couch."
Natsu clambered about the kitchen, cleaning up his mess for a little while longer before appearing in the doorway of their bedroom.
"So, how you feeling?"
"Oh, fine," Lucy answered. "I've just been watching how the wind changes the direction of the raindrops. Have memorized an entire article in this month's issue of Sorceror's Weekly. And I discovered that I blink anywhere from 25-47 times a minute."
"So you're bored?" Natsu asked.
"Out of my mind!"
He chuckled in sympathy as he sat down next to her then leaned down and kissed her. Lucy moaned softly, gladly welcoming this distraction, even if it was to only last a minute or so. She reached to bury her hands in the back of his hair, when she noticed something.
"How did you get cheese in your hair?"
"I wha-Oh, come on!"
"Did the crock pot explode on you, or something?"
"Luce, whatcha don't know can't hurt you."
Lucy let otu a nervous chuckled as she rubbed his arm. "I appreciate you trying, Love, but maybe it's time to ask one of the others for help."
"Yeah, I'm thinkin' it is too," Natsu sighed.
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
"Here you are!" Mirajane's voice rang out from the front room. "I made enough meals for a week. All you've got to do is heat them up."
"Thanks a million, Mira," Natsu said. "You have no idea what a life saver you are!"
"Oh, it's not big deal," Mirajane replied. "Anything else I can do let me know."
Her footsteps drew closer as she popped her head into the bedroom. Lucy smiled at her. "Hey, Mira."
"Hello, Lucy. How are you feeling?"
"Bored."
"I'm so sorry, I know you must be miserable," Mirajane smiled in sympathy.
"It's okay," Lucy said. "I just wish time would go a bit faster. I don't know how I'm going to make it another seven months like this!'
"Actually, Levy told me to ask you something before I headed out," Mirajane said.
"What's that?" Lucy asked.
"She's been thinking about starting a book club for the guild, and she wanted to know if it would be okay to hold the weekly meetings here. She says she'd understand if you said know, but she thought with you being on bedrest you'd like the distra-"
"YES!" Lucy exclaimed. "Please! Anything to break the monotony I am all down!"
"Great, I'll let her know!"
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
"Hey, Luce, you've got a visitor," Natsu called.
"Really? Who?" Lucy asked, putting her book down.
Juvia walked inside, and bag slung over her shoulder.
"Juvia!" Lucy beamed. "What a pleasant surprise!"
"How are you doing?" Juvia asked.
"Eh, as well as I can be I guess," Lucy answered honestly, using pillows to prop herself up. "What brings you here?"
Juvia beamed as she bounced up and down in place. "Oh, Gray and I went shopping for the new baby's room and we found these," she pulled two flat packages out of her bag. "The most precious paint-by-number murals to hand in the baby's room! I bought one of each, I simply couldn't chose one at the time! Of course we won't have space in the room for all of them, so I figured I'd let you have some and give you something to do while you were all laid up."
"Oh, wow, thanks!" Lucy said. "Really, I've been needing SOMETHING to do!"
Juvia nodded in sympathy. "Yes, I figured as much. If you'd like I could stay here for a little while and we could paint together, if you'd like the company that is?"
"Please?" Lucy begged, poking out her bottom lip to try to look like Nashi did when asking for something.
Juvia chuckled. "Of course, so which one would you like?" She asked while spreading all the murals on the bed.
"Hm. I'll take this one," Lucy said, picking out one with jungle animals all over it.
"So, have you asked Cana or Carla to predict the baby's gender yet?" Juvia asked.
"No," Lucy said as she began cracking her package open. "We already knew ahead of time with Nashi and Layla so we want this one to be a surprise," she smiled mischivously as she turned to Juvia and whispered: "But between you and me I've got a strong feeling that this one's a boy."
"Oh, boy's are so much fun!" Juvia cheered, placing a hand on her slightly larger than normal stomach. "We haven't had anyone predict for this one either, but I too sense it's going to be a boy."
"What does Gray think?"
Juvia giggled. "He thinks it's going to be a girl. But makr my words, it's going to be another boy."
Lucy chuckled as she screwed one of the paint cans open and dipped her brush into it.
"What about Natsu? What does he think?"
Lucy sighed, face falling downcast a bit. "I don't if he's had time to think about it. With me being out of commission he's had to take on everything himself. Cooking, cleaning, looking after the girls, going on jobs, finding someone to watch the girls while on jobs. He tries to tell me it's fine, that he can handle it, and he can. But it's wearing him out."
Juvia nodded solemnly.
"Mira's started bringing meals to heat up once a week or so, and they've been a huge blessing. But Nashi's hit a growth spurt recently so she's eating us out of house and home, which means he's still gotta come up with a meal or two a day to make the food stretch. He makes it work, though. I just wish I could pitch in instead of being cooped up in bed."
"I can understand that," Juvia said as she filled in a bubble on the under the sea mural she was painting. "And I'm sure he knows how you feel. But you needn't worry about him. He'll be fine. Afterall this is only temporary."
"I know," Lucy sighed. "But…"
"But that doesn't make it any less frustrating?"
"Exactly."
"Hm. Well," Juvia pointed to the mural in Lucy's hand. "At least you've got something to pass the time with now."
"Yeah. Thanks," Lucy smiled.
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
Lucy soon found herself getting into a sort of routine. One Mondays Mirajane would drop off some food, and would stay and talk to her for a few hours. Lucy had finally convinced Natsu to go a small jobs every Tuesdays and/or Thursdays, on which days Erza would come over to watch the girls and to keep Lucy company. She was still nervous about leaving the triplets, so she wasn't going on any jobs either. On Wednesdays Juvia would come and they'd paint their murals. Juvia suggested that they start knitting clothes and blankets when they ran out of murals, to which Lucy gladly agreed. Fridays Levy and the book club came by. Saturdays Porlyusica came to check on her. Sundays were what Lucy liked to call "nothing days." These were the days she was stuck with nothing to look forward to except lying in bed and staring out her window.
This was one of those days. Lucy was currently watching a humming bird eat out of the feeder Wendy had placed near her window so she'd have something to look at. It did help with the monotony. The little birds were actually quite amusing to watch when there was literally nothing to do. She rested her hand on her stomach. It was sticking out quite a bit but she wasn't sure how much of that was the baby and how much of it was, well, fat. Having hardly gotten out of bed in three months she was becoming as bloated as a whale. She dreaded the thought of the hours of painful workouts she'd have to do to lose the weight once the baby got here, if she even had the stregnth to. Even though she and Natsu were diligent in making sure to do the excercises Porlyusica had given her, she could still feel her muscles slipping away. It made her wonder if she'd even have the stregnth or stamina to give birth when the time came.
"Hey, Lucy!" Natsu called.
Lucy turned to find him walking in, Layla in his arms and Nashi at his heels.
"Look what Layla can do!"
Lucy propped herself up on the pillows and Natsu set the baby down at the foot of the bed.
"Alright, go to Mommy," Natsu said. Layla turned and looked up at him with her giant, onyx eyes as she sucked her thumb. "Go to Mommy," Natsu said again, pointing to Lucy.
"Layla!" Nashi cheered, bounding over to Lucy and patting her roughly on the head. "Come here, Layla!"
"I'm not a dog, Nashi, please stop patting me like that," Lucy grumbled.
Nashi obeyed, but still waved to her younger sister. "Come here, Layla!"
Layla broke out into a grin, took her thumb out of her mouth and pushed herself up onto her hands and knees. Lucy gasped.
"Oh, are you crawling?"
Layla giggled as she set one hand clumsily in front of the other, shuffling her legs along behind her.
Lucy clapped and held her arms out. "Come here, that's it!"
Layla cooed as she crawled along at a rather slow and clumsy pace, but still made it to her mother none-the-less. Lucy scooped her into her arms and held her close.
"Oh, you're getting so big!" she cheered, making Layla giggle and clap her hands.
"Yay, Layla!" Lucy beamed. "You did it!"
"She's crawling!" Nashi cheered, bouncing up and down next to the bed. "She's crawling! She's crawling!"
"Yeah, we're in trouble now," Natsu said.
Lucy continued to smile at the smiling babe, though a pang of guilt pricked at her heart. That wasn't her first time crawling she'd just witnessed. A pivotal milestone in her child's life and she had missed it! The thought tugged at her chest, and ate away at her until late that night when Natsu crawled in bed beside her.
"I'm going to miss it all, aren't I?" she asked.
"Hm?" he arched an eyebrow in confusion.
"Layla's first crawl, her first word, her first step, her first birthday. I'm going to miss it all."
"Lucy," he sighed.
"I was there for all that with Nashi, but I won't be there for Layla. That's not fair!"
"Lucy-"
"A mother should be there for all of her children. Not just one and then disappear for the second-"
"Lucy, Layla's not going to remember any of that," Natsu cut her off. "But she will remember that you did what you had to do to keep her little brother or sister alive."
"I'll remember it though," Lucy whimpered. "I'll remember not getting to see my baby girl grow up."
Natsu sighed as he wrapped his arms around her middle, placing his hands on her belly. "You're still getting to watch her grow up," he said. "It's just not in the usual way. I try to make sure you get to spend some time with the girls. If it's not enough I can make more-"
"No, no, I know you are. You've been amazing throughout all of this. Really, you have. I know this has been hard and exhausting for you, and I can never tell you how grateful I am to have you here. But I just...I just feel like I'm wasting away! I'm stuck here and the whole world is going on without me. I can't take care of my house. I can't take care of my kids. I can't help my husband. I can't do anything but lie here and get fat, and weak, and rotten!"
"You're not rotten," Natsu chuckled, kissing her cheek. "And I know you're sick of this. I'm sick of it for you. But it's what we've gotta do to keep this one safe," he rubbed small circles on her belly.
"I just wish I could do more."
"You're doing the most, Love."
"Yeah, lying here and wasting away to practically nothing!"
"Lying here and holding yourself down and back so our baby can grow safely. There ain't a lot of women out there selfless enough to actually follow through on what you're doing."
"Sure they would if they had to for their children."
"You really don't give yourself enough credit, Love."
"Still, I just wish I could at least help you out so you don't have to do everything on your own."
Natsu set his hand under her chin and tiltedher face towards his. His expression completely serious, which was rare for him, making her heart skip a beat.
"Lucy, stop. Stop worrying about me, okay? And stop feeling guilty, will ya? This is what I signed up for. When I married you I swore I would take care of you for better or worse, in sickness and in health, and I meant it. I'm just keeping my promise."
"Natsu…" she whispered, tears stinging the corners of her eyes. He leaned forward and kissed her lips, mouth moving gently, hypnotically against hers. She moaned softly as he cupped her face in his hands, using his thumbs to wipe away the tears that had spilled over without her even knowing it. He smirked into the kiss before nipping playfully at her bottom lip.
"Careful," she warned, causing the kiss to break. "That's how we got into this situation to begin with."
He chuckled as he leaned his forehead against hers, wrapping his arms around her waist, pulling her as close as he could with her baby bump.
"I love you," he whispered.
"I love you, too," she answered. They just lay there, enjoying each other's presence. Lucy absent-mindedly played with his hair, running her fingers through his pink tresses, gliding her nails across his scalp. He tangled his legs with hers as his hands rubbed up and down her back. He occassionally turn his head, stealing a kiss from her wrist, or lean forward to softly peck the tip of her nose. They had almost lulled one another into falling asleep when they both jumped and stared down at her belly.
"Was that a kick I just felt?" Natsu asked, pressing his hand against her abdomen, grinning like and idiot when he felt a thump against it.
"Yup," Lucy smiled, before letting out an "Oof!"
"Yikes! That was big one," Natsu said.
"Oof!"
"And so was that one."
"Well, at least we know he's strong-ouch!"
"Geez, kid, take it easy will you? Mommy's having a tough enough time as is!" Natsu scolded, making Lucy laugh, before he turned and looked back up at her.
"Wait, 'he?'"
"Mm-hmm," Lucy nodded, wincing as the baby kicked her again. "Didn't I tell you that this one's a boy?"
"How do you know?"
"Just do."
"That so…" Natsu grinned, leaning towards her belly. "So how about it? Is mom right?"
The baby began squirming and wiggling around inside her, though it was no longer kicking her.
"Hm...you like it when Daddy talks to you?" Lucy asked, setting a hand on her stomach.
"Oh, do you?"
"He's seemed to have calmed down. Keep it up."
"You really think it's a boy, don't you?"
"Mm-hmm."
"Hm," Natsu rubbed her stomach before pressing and kiss against it and leaning his ear to hear the baby's heatbeat. "Y'know what, Luce?"
"What?"
"I think you might be right."
Lucy chuckled. "Of course I'm right. I'm always right."
"Keep telling yourself that, Love."
Lucy playfully smacked him on the back of the head.
"Hey!" he jokingly scolded, still listening to the baby's heartbeat. "Question now is what we're going to call him if he's a boy?"
"Really?" Lucy arched an eyebrow in confusion. "I figured it was obvious."
"What was obvious?" Natsu asked.
Lucy's brow furrowed. "Don't you want to name your son after your dad?"
Natsu's throat grew tight as a hand instinctfully went to his scarf. "Igneel?"
Lucy nodded.
Natsu smiled softly, eyes stinging from tears. "Yeah. Igneel. Just need a middle name now."
"Well," Lucy rang her hands nervously. "If it's okay with you I'd kinda like him to have my dad's name too."
"Igneel Jude Dragneel. Sounds like a fine name to me."
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
The next few were the longest of Lucy's life. It felt like each day was getting longer and longer by about two to three hours. Even when Porlyusica began coming to check up on her everyday, it idn't do much to lighten her mood, despite the fact that it meant soon the baby would be here.
The good news was that at least she wasn't getting sick anymore. No, no! The baby was just kicking her until her ribs threatened to break into a hundred tiny pieces. It would be a miracle if she'd ever be able to breathe normally again.
Her headaches had gotten worse, though, which is why when Porlyusica came in for her daily check-up Lucy didn't even bother opening her eyes to greet her. The old healer went about checking her.
"Hm…"
"Is she alright?" Natsu asked from where he was standing near the door, as always. The closer the delivery day got, the more nervous he got.
"Hm…" was the only reply he got in return. Porlyuisca pulled out a measuring tape and measured Lucy's belly, then placed a hand on her belly to feel the baby kick.
"Well, good news I suppose," she finally said. "Your baby is quite healthy."
"So, what's the bad news?" Natsu asked.
This finally caught Lucy's attention. She opened her eyes and propped herself up on her elbows.
"The baby, as it turns out, is probably about two to two and a half pounds bigger than your first was."
"That puts it at nine pounds!" Lucy screeched.
"Nine!?" Natsu exclaimed.
"Well, we can't know for certain until it's born," Porlyusica rolled her eyes. "But it does appear this is going to be a big baby. Normally I'd say just tough it out and push like every other woman. But given your body's weakened state and the fact you've been on bedrest for so long I don't think that would be for the best."
"So...c-section?" Lucy gulped.
Porlyusica nodded. "I'll go get a room together at the Guild Hall. I'll be expecting you at about 8 p.m. That should be late enough that no one else will be bothering you. Your welcome. I suggest you now try to figure out what to do with your other two brats in the mean time."
"But isn't it a bit early?" Natsu asked. "We've still got three weeks!"
"Normally that would be a reason for concern, but seeing that this child is possibly already 9 pounds I'd say it's fine," Porlyusica answered before stomping out. Natsu and Lucy turned and stared at each other, not sure what to say to one another at first.
"So...I'm gonna go call your dad," Natsu finally said, going off to find the Communication Lacrima. Lucy just sat there, staring at her belly. A c-section. She'd been so desperately hoping it wouldn't have to come to this but here they are.
"Hi, Pops," Natsu's voice came from the living room.
"Hello, son!" Jude answered. "How are things going? How are Lucy and the baby?"
"Well, that's kinda why I'm calling."
"Is everything okay?"
"Yeah, everything's fine. Just turns out that the little one isn't so, well, little. Porlyusica scheduled Lucy for a c-section."
"Oh, my!" Jude gasped.
"I know it's last minute, but we need someone to stay with the girls for the night, so-"
"Say no more, I will catch the next train to Magnolia," Jude said in an assuring voice. "Winifred, a family emergency has come up. Clear everything for the next week. No! Make it the next two weeks!"
Lucy couldn't help but smile, despite her anxiety. Dropping every obligation for the next two weeks to come help them? Her father had sure come a long way!
"Pops, you're the best."
"Yes, I know. You can sing my praises when I get there."
"Okay, don't push your luck old man!"
Jude laughed. "I'll see you soon."
"'Kay. Bye."
Natsu walked back into their bedroom and began packing a bag. "Okay, outfits for you, the baby, me, toothbrushes-"
"Natsu?"
"Yeah?"
She shuddered slightly, running a hand over her belly. "It's...it's not that bad, right? Having a c-section?"
"Dunno. Never had one," he answered honestly.
She whimpered in fear, cringing at the thought of having her belly cut open-mabe she shouldn't think about it!
"Hey, it can't be worse than giving birth the usual way," Natsu suggested.
"Erza said it was," Lucy grumbled.
"Oh."
He could feel his face blanching. Having to watch Lucy give birth naturally was bad enough! Was this going to actually be worse?
"Well, yeah, but I mean she had triplets. And lots of complications, so of course her's hurt more. You'll be fine," he told Lucy as much as himself.
"I hope so," she sighed.
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
"I went ahead and put both of the girls to bed," Jude said as he helped Natsu gather up everything to head for the guild hall. "I'll be staying up, though, so keep me updated."
"Thanks, Pops," Natsu sighed as he put a few last minute items into his backpack. "You haven't told them what's happening have you? I mean, do the girls know that the baby's coming tonight?"
"No, no," Jude shook his head. "I thought it best to wait until after the fact." He chuckled. "If I'd told them now they never would have gone to sleep."
"True that," Natsu nodded, slipping his pack onto his back.
"Hey," Jude set a hand on his shoulder. "How are you feeling."
"Fine."
"Really?" the older man arched an eyebrow.
Natsu sighed. "Scared."
Jude nodded. "I'm sure it will be fine. It's not like there's a big emergency. This is just a precautionary measure taken because of the circumstance surrounding this pregnancy."
"Yeah. Right," Natsu nodded, taking a deep breath and heading towards the bedroom to get Lucy.
"Say, have I ever told you how much I appreciate you?" Jude asked.
Natsu stopped midstep and turned towards him. "What?"
"I suppose not," Jude assumed, stepping towards the younger man. "You've always been there for my daughter. You were her soft spot to lang when I wasn't there for her, though I should have been. You've been a loving and protective husband to her, making her happier than I've ever seen her, which is what every father ultimately wants for his little girl. You helped make my grandchildren, and you've been an incredible father to them. If there was ever a man I'd trust with my world, it's you. In a way," he gestured towards the bedroom where Lucy was. "I already do."
He set a hand on Natsu's shoulder. "Sorry, I know this may not be the best time to get sentimental. But I thought you might need to hear something like that tonight."
Natsu smiled and nodded. "I did. Thanks." He shook Jude's hand.
"My pleasure."
The two men gave each other a nod of respect, then Natsu went into the bedroom to collect his wife.
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
"Right here," Porlyusica pointed to a bed already made, with a tray covered in a white sheet next to it. Natsu set Lucy upon the mattress. Poor thing, she was trembling like crazy. This whole c-section thing really got her scared and worked up.
"I'm afraid you'll have to leave," Porlyusica told him once he'd set Lucy down.
"'Scuse me?!" Natsu asked.
"You don't want to watch, trust me," the old healer said. "It would do you no good. Shoo!"
"But I don't want him to leave!" Lucy whimpered. "I want him to stay with me!"
"You won't even be awake during the opperation," Porlyusica grumbled.
Well, that's good news, Natsu thought. At least she could sleep through it and not have to worry.
"Well, then, can't he stay here until I fall asleep?" Lucy asked, shaking from fear, bottom lip quivering slightly.
"'Course I'll stay," Natsu assured her, taking her hand in his. "And I'll be here when you wake up, holding out baby."
"Seriously?" Porlyusica grumbled.
"I'd like to see you try and kick me out," Natsu challenged, eyes narrowing.
"Oh, I will, but I'll at least wait until she's been put under. Don't want to add extra stress on either of the patience."
"You are extra stress," Natsu snapped, rubbing circles onto the back of Lucy's hand with his thumb. She stared up at him, still shaking, eyes full of fear as Porlyusica prepped a syringe. Natsu smiled gently at her.
"It's gonna be okay," he promised. "It'll be over before you know it."
Lucy nodded as Porlyusica pushed her sleeve up. She squeezed onto Natsu's hand as the syringe pricked her, filling her with a sleep potion. He draped his arm over her shoulders, holding her close, whispering sweet nothings to her until she drifted off to sleep. She looked so frightened while awake, but at such peace while asleep. It made his nervous heart feel just a tad better.
"Alright, she's asleep, out!" Porlyusica whacked him on the back of the head. He glowered at her. "Trust me, you're better off not knowing how this opperation works."
Natsu sighed, knowing she was right. He stood up, but didn't leave until he pressed a kiss to Lucy's forehead. "Be back soon," he promised.
"Out!"
"I'm goin'! I'm goin'!"
The door slammed behind him, creating an echo in the empty hall ways and corridors of the guild hall. Natsu leaned his forehead against the door, closing his eyes.
"Be safe. Both of you," he whsipered as the minutes began to tick away. He paced back and forth, did push-ups, parkoured his way up and down the walls of the hallway, anything to keep himself occupied until Porlyusica opened the door back up. He jumped from where he'd been siting on one of the cieling faters and landed in front of her, opening his mouth to ask how everythign went until he saw a tiny bundle in the old healer's arms.
Well, tiny wasn't quite the right word for it. Small, yes, but not tiny like his first two babies. Porlyusica handed the precious load to him.
"A fat and healthy boy. Congrats. Wife is fine, should wake up soon. I'm going home."
She turned and made her exit, leaving Natsu to stare in wonder at the bundle in his arms.
"A boy? Lucy was right?" he gasped, a grin slowly spreading over his face. "I have a son?"
The baby grunted and squirmed about, batting his chubby fists into the air.
"Hey, little guy," Natsu said, gently bouncing him. "Hey, there. Wow, you are a big boy aren't you?"
The baby grunted again. He was at least nine and a half pounds, if not bigger! Natsu gently pushed the blanket aside to get a better look at the boy's face. The hair on his head was neither pink, nor blond. It was a light, soft orange, almost an apricot color. Natsu chuckled at the deep scowl he got from his son as he continued wigglign about, trying to figure out what the heck had just happened to him. He had to have been the chubbiest baby Natsu had ever seen! He looked more like a sumo wrestler than a doll. Still, he was adorable! And despite the rolls of baby fat he had packed on him Natsu could not deny that he looked just like him! The nose, the brows, the lips. Maybe even the eyes?
Yup!
As his son cracked his eyes open he was met with a pair of onyx orbs that were identical to his.
"Ah!" the baby shouted. As if to ask "what di you do that for?"
"Not happy about getting here, bud?" Natsu asked with a chuckle. "You just weren't ready to come out were you?"
"Ah!"
"Well, you Mommy was ready for you to come out."
Natsu stroked the boy's chubby cheek. He recoiled at first, then relazed, latching onto his father's finger and instantly bringing it to his mouth to chew on it.
"Hey, that's not food," Natsu chuckled, tapping him lightly on the nose. The baby swatted at his finger.
"You tryin' to fight me already?"
The baby stretched his arms and yawned before reaching towards his foot that he'd managed to wiggle out of the blanket. Natsu chuckled as he watched the boy grab at his toes and pull his foot to his mouth to chew on.
"What are you doing, you silly boy?" he asked, shaking his head slightly.
The boy grunted at him again.
Natsu sighed contentedly as he rocked him. "I'll bet you're going to be trouble, aren't you?"
"Ah!"
"Yeah, well, you get it honest. I'm kind of a trouble maker myself." Natsu carefully pushed the door of the room open to find Lucy laying, still alseep on the bed, hands crossed on her chest. Natsu sat in the rocking chair next to her bed, rocking their son back and forth until the boy eventually fell asleep. Natsu took his son's tiny hands in his, counting all ten of his fingers, before looking at his feet and counting all ten of his toes. No matter how many times he tucked the blankets back around him, the baby just squirmed out of them.
Natsu was in the middle of redoing the swaddle yet again when Lucy awoke.
"N...Natsu?"
"I'm right here," he answered, standing and walking towards her. "And look who I've got with me."
Lucy opened her eyes, gasping as Natsu lowered the baby into her arms.
"Igneel?" she asked.
Natsu nodded. "Yup. Our boy's here, safe and sound."
"Boy?" she whispered softly, smiling faintly. "I told you it was a boy."
"That you did."
Lucy ran her hand over his hair as she examined his face. "He looks just like you!"
"Yeah, he kinda does…" Natsu nodded.
"If his personality takes as much after you as his looks do we're in trouble," she chuckled nervously.
"That we are." Natsu agreed before leaning forward and kissing her on the forehead. "Okay. He's here. He's safe. Gran said you'll be alright. We're done."
"We're done?" Lucy asked, confused as to what he meant.
"Two out of three pregnancies have ended up putting you in danger," Natsu stated, voice serious, arms crossed.
"Natsu-"
"You wanted to make sure we had a boy. We've got our boy. We're done. I'm not putting you through this again."
Lucy shook her head, leaning forward to kiss him. "You worry too much," she said.
"Maybe, but I'm serious. I don't know if I can watch you go through something like this again."
"Well, let's atleast give it a year before we-"
"No, Lucy. We're done. I'm serious," Natsu stated, shaking his head. "I love our kids, but I'm tired of watching you suffer like this. We've got two beautiful girls," he ran a hand over Ingeel's head. "We've got this handsome little fella. What do we need more kids for?"
"Well, I guess we dont' need anymore kids," Lucy said. "I just don't want you making any hasty decisions you might regret later."
"If it means keeping you safe I won't regret it," Natsu stated, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear.
Ingeel grunted and stirred around in his mother's arms.
"A little wiggle-worm, aren't you?" Lucy chuckled, kissing the top of his head. "I love you, my sweet little boy. Daddy does, too."
"You bet I do," Natsu said, stroking the baby's cheek. "And you've got two big sisters and a Pops who are going to love you to death to. Not to metion a whole guild of aunts, uncles, and cousins."
The sound of stomping footsteps came from down the hall. Natsu and Lucy both turned to find Porlyuisca trudging through the corridor.
"Thought you were going home, Gran," Natsu called.
"I was, then that Fullbuster girl's water broke. Honestly, what's an old woman gotta do to get some peace and quiet around here?"