A/N: Sorry this took so long. I'll talk at the end.

Gold Nami Fullbuster had died a week before the four month mark.

He'd had issues from conception. He'd been slowly dying since being given life. Even if Wendy and Porlyusica had been able to figure out what the problem was, there wouldn't have been anything they could do, but that didn't stop especially Wendy from feeling incredibly guilty, apologetic, and overall a mess. She had refused to do anything involving her healing magic because she'd lost trust in herself and her abilities. The guild hadn't known what to do or how to comfort her. Not even Carla had been able to get through to the young adult, but then they had seen Juvia pull her aside and talk to her. Nobody but those two knew what had transpired, but it had seemed to work, because Wendy was back to confidence within the day. If anything good came from this experience, it was that Juvia and Wendy had gotten incredibly close.

Gold had been literally sapping the life out of Juvia. It's why she had been essentially bedridden. The baby had been taking more of her magic than her body could handle. The week before the appointment, when Juvia had been feeling especially bad and fatigued, had been Gold's last attempts at clinging on to life through his rapid deterioration. That's when Juvia's body had decided that enough was enough and cut the baby off. It was why Juvia had suddenly felt great and was able to use her magic again. She could've died herself if her body hadn't stopped giving nutrients and magic to Gold.

It took a week, but Gray and Juvia did come back to the guild happy. Solemn, subdued, and still grieving, but happy. They'd talked about what they were going to do in reference to their family. They both still wanted a child so very badly, but they couldn't stand the thought of another miscarriage. They would definitely be waiting a while before trying to have children again. The room that had been meant as Gold's nursery hadn't been touched yet, either, in the whole month since they found out about the loss. The sheets, the toys, the mobile, everything... it simply sat in the room behind a closed door.

Lucy was overjoyed that the couple weren't bitter or indifferent to Layla. Lucy'd been so worried about how they would act around the baby and had psyched herself into believing they would shun her daughter. But the loss of Gold almost made Juvia and Gray love the grinning, pink-haired, little baby even more. It seemed to Lucy that they were filling a void.

It also appeared for right now that Layla was going to be the sole baby in the guild, since Gray and Juvia as well as Gajeel and Levy were both waiting now to have children and no one else from their little group had settled into a marriage. The youngest besides her was Zachary, Alzack and Bisca's second child who was already three. Despite having no kids to grow up with, though, Layla certainly seemed like she was the most-loved baby in all of Earthland. The guild members of their group all conceded that they refused to let her live her childhood in pain and without parents. She was going to have her parents as well as her bunches of aunts and uncles. Layla would never be an orphan, lost and without a place in the world.

Natsu collapsed on the bed next to Lucy, who was reading a book, after getting Layla down for the night. It was the day of his confrontation of Gray. He scratched his neck, still not quite used to his scarf missing, but it was currently swaddled around Layla. It made for a perfect swaddle for the tiny baby, and the fire dragon scales it was made from guaranteed its warmth. But he wasn't thinking about that right now. He had something else on his mind. Lucy was quick to realize something was off with her husband when he didn't start pestering and cuddling her.

"Natsu?" Lucy asked in a concerned tone. "What are you thinking about?" She put her book down on the nightstand as she looked to her husband, who was currently on the bed face down, his arms folded behind his head and his legs sprawled out.

Natsu groaned, then turned so he was sprawled face up. "I just..." He sighed. "I just can't stop thinking about if we were like Gray and Juvia."

"Yeah," Lucy agreed. "That's tough to think about."

"What if we had miscarried Layla? What if Layla had been sick like Gold the whole time and she ended up killing you? What if you'd died!?" Natsu was obviously distressed.

"Natsu, you can't worry about the what-ifs. It's not like you." Lucy cuddled into his side as a way to show him that she was here and she was alive.

"I know, it's just..." Natsu sighed again. "You didn't see Gray. He was... He was broken, Luce. That's the only way I can describe it. He's strong, but this just tore him up. I've never seen him like he was."

"Yeah, it has to be tough. That's why I don't even want to think about the what-if of us losing Layla. I love her too much to imagine it." Lucy pressed a kiss to his jaw.

"Lucy, I was mad at Gray for leaving his family like that, but I... How would I have reacted? I couldn't handle it when... when Igneel died, and I ran off for an entire year and left you behind. But if our daughter had died..." Natsu gulped. "I just don't know how I would've handled it, Luce."

Lucy sighed thoughtfully. "I don't know either. I don't how you would've reacted and I don't know how I would've reacted. You might have tried to just run from it all like Gray or like with Igneel. Hopefully we won't ever have to find out. But you were there to help Gray and I'm sure Gray would be there to help you."

Natsu gave a small smile. "Yeah. We're there to knock some sense into each other." He turned towards Lucy and gave her a kiss. "I love you, Lucy. And I'm gonna make sure I never have to run away." He kissed her again and then again. Lucy could tell he was still frantic. "I love you so damn much. I just can't stand the thought of you getting hurt. Or Layla." Lucy swore she heard Natsu growl. "I'm not letting anyone hurt my family. If anyone lays a finger on either of you, I swear..."

Lucy rubbed a hand soothingly along the side of Natsu's face. "Natsu, I know. You've said all this before. A thousand times before."

"It's just..." Lucy waited patiently as Natsu struggled to find the words he needed to say. "It's different now. I just never really realized-" Natsu sighed again, still having trouble organizing his new thoughts and anxieties. "I can punch a bad guy, Luce. If someone threatens to hurt you, I can just fire dragon iron fist them in the face. But I can't punch a disease. I can't burn a medical problem to ashes. There's just so many ways you guys could get hurt that I wouldn't be able to do anything about!"

Lucy kissed him. "Listen, Natsu. I'm not hurt. Layla's not hurt. If a medical issue comes up, then we'll deal with it. You can't worry about that stuff, Natsu, or you'll miss out on the important things. You'll miss out on Layla laughing for the first time and getting her first tooth and saying her first word and growing up. And you'll miss out on me," Lucy pressed her lips against his again. "Kissing you and loving you and being here for you. You don't think I worry about you? You went on jobs for months without me while I was pregnant with Layla and I worried about you not coming back home every time you left. But you're here and I'm here and we're here together. So please don't let this worry cloud over everything else."

"Yeah," Natsu nodded as he kissed her again. "I just love you so much."

"Yeah," Lucy replied, eagerly returning his kiss. "I know you do."

A/N: I might not be uploading for a while. I talked a bit on tumblr about some of the shit going on right now, if you're curious, but I don't really wanna repeat myself. Same name on tumblr, btw. I don't post fanfiction there, but I have art and fandom stuff.

Anyways, this isn't a plug. I'm just letting you guys know that I'm not exactly in the mood to write.

When I do though, then don't worry :) These past few chapters have been sad, but I'm gonna make sure this next one is happy.

See you eventually.