Chapter 38

"Well, Doctor McGarden, nothing's broken. You might have some slight swelling and pain over the next few days, but you'll be just fine." the family's doctor told her as he looked at her charts. Levy had thought he would be stationed at the mansion for easy access, but he was at the hospital this whole time. He was the doctor all Fairy Tail members saw for injuries, and would now be the only doctor she saw, herself. "I want to get some fluids and antibiotics in you, but you'll be free to leave after that." he assured her.

"Thank you, Doctor Mashima." Levy said softly. He just smiled and walked off. A nurse came in and set up an IV drip for her before leaving her alone in the room with Gajeel, who'd been watching diligently over his tiny fiancee. He was relieved that she was okay, all things considered. He'd feared something might have broken when Brain choked her. He hadn't held back at all. Dark purple bruises covered her neck, and it was obvious where his fingers had been, because of the coloration. Gajeel hated looking at it, as it made him wish there was some way they could have gotten Brain alive... so he could kill him in the most painful fashion he could think of. But he knew it was better that he was dead. Even if he deserved a much more painful end.

"Holding up okay, shrimp?" Gajeel asked softly as he moved to stand by the bed she was resting in. She looked so small and frail in the hospital gown she wore. They'd been thorough in examining her, making sure she absolutely was okay. No signs of injury anywhere aside from her head and neck, thankfully. Levy looked up at him and gave him a tiny smile.

"I will be okay." she said quietly, her voice a bit hoarse. "It's just... been a really long day." Had it really been only twenty hours since Phantom Lord took her? It seemed longer, seemed almost like a lifetime ago. But it had only been twenty hours since the attack on the mansion. Fairy Tail had acted faster than it ever had before, in its counterattack on Phantom Lord, and Levy was amazed at the family's true power.

"I feel that." Gajeel sighed softly. He ran his hand through her hair before gently cupping her face. There was a small gash and dark bruising around her left eye, and he was mindful of it. He just needed to touch her, to assure himself she was really there. Mavis, he'd thought he'd lost her, there for a bit. Surely Phantom Lord had intended to kill her; that's what they all thought, after all. Nobody expected her to have family there... or that her family was orchestrating everything. All Gajeel knew was they had a grudge against her... and he'd been terrified at the thought of finding her dead. But now she was here, she was real... she was beaten and tired, but she was alive. There was no describing his relief.

They heard a soft knock at the door, and Gajeel begrudgingly went to answer it. Probably someone wanting to visit Levy, maybe one of the girls. He answered the door, and despite his desire for some alone time with Levy, Gajeel couldn't stop himself from smiling at who the unannounced guest was. "Come on in. I know she'll be happy to see you." he chuckled, stepping aside to let the guest into the room.

Levy's eyes went wide as she saw her guest. He stood there in a hospital gown, leaning heavily on one crutch and pulling an IV system with his free hand. He looked battered, covered head to toe in bandages, but he was really alive...

"Lily!" she sobbed as the large man gave her a wide smile. "You're alive!" There was no stopping her tears. She'd thought she'd seen him die, gunned down in the mansion as he tried to protect her. But here he was, battered but alive. He walked over to her bed, and she quickly hugged him, letting happy tears pour from her eyes.

"I could say the same for you, Miss Levy." he laughed gently. "I had feared the worst, when I woke up here and was told what happened. I am so glad you are okay." he said as he gently pat her head. They stayed that way, Levy hugging him and crying, and Lily gently patting her head with his good hand... until a nurse hurried into the room, panting heavily for air like she'd been running all over.

"Sir, please, you can't just get out of bed and walk off like that." the nurse said through her heavy breathing. "You need to be resting."

"Oi, Lil, you didn't even tell anyone you were coming here?" Gajeel chuckled. Levy looked up at the big man with teary eyes.

"Lily, please go back to bed. I don't want you to push yourself, just to see me..." she sniffed softly. Lily sighed heavily but gave her a smile.

"Very well." he sighed. He looked to the nurse with an apologetic smile. "I am deeply sorry for causing trouble. Could you lead me back to my room, please?"

A few seconds later, Levy and Gajeel were alone again. Levy wiped her eyes dry, still overwhelmed with relief that Lily was okay. Gajeel checked his phone and gave a soft sigh, a small smile playing on his lips. "Gray says the girls are just fine. Juvia is being discharged. Lucy had a small fracture on her eye socket, but is otherwise doing fine." Gajeel relayed the information he saw in the text Gray sent him.

"I'm so glad everyone is okay." Levy sniffed softly as the last of her tears faded. Gajeel had told her earlier that, aside from the surprise mansion attack, they hadn't lost a single member in the attack on Phantom Lord. Phantom Lord's members were, apparently, terrible shots. They had numbers, which counted for a lot, but they were still no match for Fairy Tail's trained and experienced fighters. The worst they suffered were a handful of injuries from stray bullets, but none of them were very severe.

"Me too, shrimp." Gajeel smiled lightly. "And they're all glad you are okay. I don't think I've seen my old man worry over a woman this much since ma was alive." he chuckled gently. Levy giggled softly at this, just imagining the cold, ruthless Don fretting over the safety of a tiny woman. It was a funny thought, indeed.

Levy sighed softly as she looked in the mirror. The deep purple and yellow bruises on her neck were obvious from a fair distance. No amount of make-up could hide them. She'd resigned herself to staying mostly indoors while she healed.

With the mansion in repair and Levy no longer in immediate danger, Gajeel and Levy had moved back into the safehouse. It was nice to be away from the very loud, very busy mansion and family. The safehouse was nice and quiet, and it allowed for Levy to recover in peace. She just wished she saw more of Gajeel.

Gajeel was constantly in and out of the house, trying his best to help the whole family recover from this mess. He was taking on a lot of the Don's duties, as Metallicana was focusing on repairs and fortifications. Gajeel had taken to focusing on the business end of operations, as they still needed to keep up their source of income. He assigned jobs, took care of conflicts, and took on a larger role in the council.

He was doing quite well in stepping into the role of Don, even if that wasn't his title yet. The council had faith in his abilities, for when the Don did finally step down. Metallicana was quite proud of his son, not to mention thankful for the extra help.

But all that work made it so that Levy barely saw him anymore. He was always at the mansion, doing paperwork or resolving important issues. On top of that, there were jobs that required his particular skills, so he was doing those, too. When he came back to the safe house, it was to sleep, and it was usually after Levy had already gone to bed. He was always gone before she woke up.

She sighed again, her heart aching. She knew Gajeel was just doing his job and making sure the family would be okay, and she knew all too well how easy it was to just get lost in all the work you have to do. But was it so selfish of her to want some alone time with her fiance? Was it selfish of her to want him to forget about work for a while? She missed him, so much it hurt. But what was she to do?

Gajeel sighed as he looked at the papers before him. He knew it was such a big stack only because the war backed everything up. Still... how the hell did his old man manage to do all this paperwork along with everything else?! He made it look so easy! Thank fuck the old man made him go get a business and accounting degree or he'd be screwed. As it was, he'd already spent several weeks bringing the giant stack down to the size it was now... and there was still more to go, with more coming in every day. He was going to lose his mind, doing all this mindless pencil pushing.

Someone knocked on the door as he was working on the papers. Without looking up, he told them to come in. Whoever it was entered, then took a seat in front of his desk. When he finally looked up, he was more than surprised to see old Makarov sitting there, patiently waiting for Gajeel to spare a moment. Gajeel raised a studded brow at the old man.

"Something I can help ya with, Makarov?" he knew better than to disrespect the small but powerful man, even if he was the Don's son and his future boss. If he even lives that long, Gajeel mused before shaking that thought away. The little old man, heedless of Gajeel's internal musings, smiled kindly at him.

"I've come to offer advice, young man." Makarov told him. When Gajeel just stared at him, he continued. "I've advised your father for many years, as you know. Hence my title of Adviser."

"I know." Gajeel sighed, praying this didn't lead to a rambling lecture somehow. He had too much work to do, to be listening to this old man ramble on. As much as he admired Makarov, he was just too busy right now.

"My advice to you, and heed it well boy," Makarov said, looking him right in the eye, "focusing on the family is important. Work is important. But don't get so sucked into work that you ignore the important ones around you. It doesn't matter how much work there is to do. You are a leader in this family. Delegate tasks, take a break, and focus on what's really important." At the end of his spiel, Makarov hopped down from the chair and walked to the door. He stopped at the door and looked back at Gajeel, seeing that he was contemplating his words.

"Little Miss Levy seems awfully lonely as of late." He supplied, hoping it would help Gajeel understand. When he saw recognition flash in Gajeel's eyes, then remorse, he knew his work was done. Makarov walked off with a smile, giving Lily a wink on his way out of the mansion.

Gajeel sat there a while, thinking on his words. The old man was right. When was the last time he saw Levy? Well, last night. But awake? Mavis, too long. He'd been burying himself in his work, trying to help his father, help the family, as they recovered from the war. But what was the reason they even fought that war?! To get Levy back! And where was she now? Not with him. No, she was at the safe house. Alone. Missing the fuck out of him, he knew. Gajeel sighed, running a hang through his hair as he stared at the stack of paper again.

Didn't they have accountants in the family? Didn't they have business managers? Leaders? They did, in excess. So why the fuck was he trying to do this alone?

Gajeel huffed at his own stupidity. Of course his old man didn't do all this by himself! It was too much, even for him! Damn that old man, why didn't he tell me? Probably wanted me to figure this shit out on my own. Sounds like something he would do, Gajeel grumbled as he set about making several phone calls. Just wait a little longer, Levy. I'll make it up to ya...

Woo! Another chapter out, and kinda quickly this time too! I know this one's a bit boring, it's more of a transitional chapter, I guess. But anyways, tell me what you think so far. I'm so sad, not a lot of people are commenting! T.T I can't improve if ya'll don't tell me what you like/dislike!

Please, please say something! I take constructive criticism ya know! And I love, love, LOVE happy comments from happy readers!

AND! WHY did nobody seem to care that I supposedly killed off Lily?! Literally nobody commented on it! I mean, it was always the plan to bring him back, but I had been hoping it would have been a dramatic enough event to get a comment of some kind. I'm sad T.T

Jk.

Anywho, thanks for reading, like always!

-Everythingnerd12