Author's Note: Hey guys! The reviews I have been getting is so encouraging! As promised, every 5 reviews from a Sunday to Sunday week, will get updates! Keep reviewing and I'll keep updating as much as I can!

Also, I just realized you can put a cover photo for the story! So I wanted to ask if anyone, who is now a fan and maybe was inspired by this story so far, wanted to make a fan art to put as a cover photo for this story. I would give you full credit of course and would use it as the cover photo. If not, that is alright too, just thought I would ask that of anyone who might be interested.. Anyway just let me know by email of Bulmachick05 .

Anyway the song choice for this chapter is "This Heart" by Mary Lambert. Enjoy!

I Give Up, I Give In

~Chapter Nine~

Once Lucy was a safe distance, Happy landed them both.

"Please, Please go get him Happy! I'll get the boat ready!" Lucy begged him. Happy gave an eager nod as he agreed.

"Aye! Hurry Lucy!" he quickly flew up to get his partner. Lucy had no time to dwell on what was said as their survival depended on getting off this island in one piece. She had the boat ready and a short while later, Happy landed with an unconscious and beaten down Natsu. He had deep gashes and bruises from being outnumbered by the zodiacs. They got him into the boat as Lucy used her first aid kit to start patching him up as Happy used his wings to speed boat them back towards the mainland.

~Magnolia~

Natsu woke up to the ending of a train ride. He was bandaged up in various areas on his body by the first aid kit Lucy had on the boat. As he started to realize where he was, he spotted her curled up in the opposite seat looking out the window.

"Lucy..." he groaned in sickly pain.

"Try not to move alright?" she spoke gently. She moved to his seat and helped him to sit up. Happy gave him some water to sip on. He looked up to the concerned Lucy.

"It will take a few days but you will heal up. I am going to get you to the guild and then I am going to get Loke back." she spoke as she looked him over to make sure his injuries weren't too bad or that he wasn't bleeding through the bandages.

"Like hell you are. You have a baby inside you Lucy. You need to stay away from him. They are dangerous."

"Loke is the man that I love Natsu. He would fight to get me back; am I not willing to do the same? I don't expect you to get it, but I demand that you respect it. I am not having this baby without him. He would never forgive himself if he wasn't a part of our lives. Something happened and this is my issue to fix. I am going to bring my family home; all of them." Natsu continued to glare at her as he heard Lucy but would not care of her thoughts. Lucy was in the wrong on this one.

"Luce, I love you but you are not doing this alone; especially in your condition. You want to talk about Loke not forgiving himself if he is not a part of your lives; I know he won't forgive himself if anything happened to you or his child. I think we both know what he would say about this and he is stupid for letting himself be turned like that! He should have been stronger and known better and for what he did; I won't forgive him." Natsu wouldn't budge.

"That is not your decision to make." Lucy crossed her arms as she took her seat back. Already she didn't have enough energy to fight the stubborn dragon slayer. She glared out the window not caring any longer if he said something or not.

"No it isn't, but you are not going out there alone to get Loke back. This is a Fairy Tail matter and it concerns all of us." Natsu grumbled. Lucy did not dignify him with a response as she clearly made up her mind to shut him out and the result was annoyed with him.

"What? Not going to talk to me now?" Natsu egged on

"Natsu..." Happy touched his father figure's leg and looked up at him pleadingly. Natsu scoff as he curled back up.

"Just you wait." was all he said as he gave her his back when he laid back down and curled up. The rest of the ride was in silence. They got their belongings after they got off the train and Natsu walked Lucy back to her apartment.

"Get some real rest Natsu." Lucy spoke softly as she didn't bother to look at him; her tone however was kind. He gave a nod and she turned to go into the building with her bag, but a hand shot out and grabbed her wrist. Lucy continued to did not look back at him as she kept her bravest face still on.

"I will be back later to check on you. Don't do anything stupid." he warned.

"Can I go now?" she tried to quickly end this conversation. Sensing she was shutting down now, Natsu let her go.

"Yeah." he replied. Lucy entered her building and softly closed the door behind her. Natsu and Happy stared at it for a few moments and then left. With a heavy heart, Lucy walked up to her apartment. After the sound of the soft click of her apartment door locking, Lucy could only gaze around to the empty space. Her face scrunched up as a soft sob escaped her, but her tears all poured out for the moment. The pain in her chest was too much to bear. her hands gripped over her heart as she hyperventilated. Loke would never step to this place again. She wouldn't come home and see his smile; not feel him hold her from behind. But what really hurt her the most was that he would never look at her with those eyes full of love, and call her 'Beautiful' in that tone that he reserved just for her. This apartment had everything about her but when she looked toward their bed and; that is was it for her. It was her safe haven as she kicked off her boots and didn't bother to pick up her clothing she took off. She stopped at the edge side of the bed and took out her pig tails; She stood there only in her underwear as her body was trembling from the loss of the man she loved more than her own existence. The bed had the faint scent of sandalwood and vanilla still within and it only ached her heart more as she was never going to have the potent scent ever again.

Without realizing it, she was hyperventilating worse as the sobs wracked her body in painful spasms as she got into the bedding and wrapped herself deeply into it. She grabbed his pillow and pressed it to her face as she couldn't stop the shaking. Her sobs grew louder as she began to feel the tears, she thought were gone, exceedingly overflow. The news weighed down on her as the past couple days playing out in her mind in a repeated reel she couldn't escape from. All her spirits, her family that she had loved more than anything in the world, were changed and did not remember her. What's worse is they saw her as a slave owner and Loke...her Leo...how could he?

"Th-this is just a bad dream..." she cried as she desperately tried to convince herself to hang onto a sliver of sanity. She dug her nails into the pillow as she clung to it; it was as if it was Loke, and if she could just hold him a little bit more, then he would stay with her. She was drowning in tears and she didn't care anymore about wanting to live. The cold, hateful gaze of this new Loke haunted her. Her once tiny apartment seemed so much emptier without him there and all she had left of him was the key around her neck. Sleep overtook the celestial mage to a dreamless plane of empty darkness. She was lost into the abyss and she did not care to ever awaken again.

~Unknown Time Later~

She was, however, not granted her wish. A cool cloth being applied to her forehead had awoken her. She slowly came back to reality she now despised with her very being. Why couldn't she stay in that place where nothing, not even her, existed. She much preferred that reality than the current one. She looked up to see Mirajane tending over her and her minor injuries as she sat at the edge of the bed. Smell waived through the apartment as Erza cooked while Levy and the Master were having a discussion quietly.

"Lucy, are you awake?" Mira asked softly. All those in the room stopped what they were doing and turned towards the injured wizard. Tears trickled down the corners of her eyes. It seemed all Lucy had in her were just tears. The expression she was giving Mira would break even the coldest of hearts; she felt so broken in. Looking next to her she saw Loke's pillow. She pulled it to her and turned away from everyone. She didn't care if they saw her in this state. She didn't know how they got in, and didn't care what they knew or didn't know. All that mattered was the scent of her beloved. She felt a presence behind her but didn't bother to move.

"Lu-chan." Levy spoke comforting. She took Mira's place as she gently rubbed her friend's back. Mira went to assist Erza in finishing the meal. There were the three talking in hushed whispers and she couldn't make out what they were saying; not that she cared. It was until the word 'Loke' was spoken that she decided to just ignore them fully. Her back was continuing to be rubbed until Levy kicked off her shoes and climbed in behind her, and held Lucy. Lucy's soft cries made her body tremble once more as Levy held her friend.

"L-Leo..." was all that Lucy could manage to say.

"I know Lu, I know." Levy comforted. At that moment there was a knock at the door that silenced Makarov the master. Mira went and answered the door to reveal Parlyusica. Her stern face glanced at the room around her.

"I am here to see Lucy." she coldly spoke. The master got up from his seat and approached her.

"One of my children is not doing well, please remember that." he spoke softly but firmly. He signaled for everyone to step out of the room with him except Mirajane; whom was still tending to the food. The healer entered the apartment and closed the door behind her. she approached the trembling figure on the bed.

"Come child, let me have a look at you." she spoke sternly but her features soften.

"Please go away...all of you..." Lucy hiccupped.

"That is not an option. You aren't going to deny the health of two Fairy Tail members." she sat her bag down and Lucy made herself sit up. Her eyes were puffy, her skin tight, deep bags of worry under her eyes, and her hair was a mess. Somehow she found she was in her pajamas but didn't dare question who put them on her. Parlyusica made quick work of her materials as she tested and checked on the expectant mother.

"So a celestial babe? I am afraid my knowledge is limited on hybrids but we will do our best to see a healthy birth won't we?" she used a threatening undertone and patted Lucy's leg. Lucy stared at her trembling hands.

"How did you know..." she asked softly.

"Does it matter?" Parlyusica gathered her things as she cleaned up. "From what I can tell and felt, is that the baby feels stable for now; so there shouldn't be any trauma from the past events. Eat and sleep properly. No more job requests until I give you clearance. This is a very critical time of development for any child and it is especially true in this delicate situation. I have been told that Fairy Tail will be handling any of your expenses." She picked up her things and left.

Lucy curled back into the bed as the answer to her question was clear; everyone knew. There were a few words exchanged outside her door and then silence. What Lucy would give to be left alone to grieve. Along with the others that had come back into the apartment; Natsu, Wendy, and Gray were among them. Her apartment became even smaller with the group of people there. Mira approached Lucy with a tray of food that was finished being made. She had Lucy sit back up and placed it on her lap.

"It's your favorite Lucy." she gave an angelic smile. Lucy just stared at the tray on her lap unmoving. She made no indication to even move. An uneasy tension fell over everyone as all eyes were on her. Erza stepped forward and Mira looked at her nodding. Erza took Mira's place so she could serve the others.

"You need your strength Lucy." she put the tray on the nightstand and took the bowl off of it into her hands. She stirred the stew and grabbed a spoonful. She brought it to Lucy and made her eat.

"Everyone knows..." Lucy whispered. Shame and embarrassment filled her the well of emotions within her.

"Natsu came barging into Fairy Tail when you both returned from your trip. He explained to the master everything. You have been asleep for three days Lucy. Natsu came to check on you that night and you hadn't woken up; that is when we intervened."

"Loud mouth..." Lucy sighed unhappily.

"You are not to leave Magnolia for any reason. No jobs are to be taken unless they are local ones; once you have been given access to take jobs once more. These jobs are to be stress free. Mira has been instructed strictly to not allow you to have any access to anything the Master doesn't approve of specifically." Erza firmly told her.

"I feel like a prisoner..." Lucy kept her eyes on her lap.

"We have all agreed to take turns to either staying with you here or by guarding over you and your apartment should the celestial spirits and try to harm you." Erza continued as she chose to ignore Lucy's distain.

"You know I am a person and I am sitting right here. If I want to leave, I'll leave." she glared over. Erza gave her one of her own and went to say something but the Master clearing his own throat beside Lucy's bedside stopped any protests being exchanged. Both women looked at the shorter man. He held a gentle gaze on Lucy, but it was one of sadness.

"We lost one of our own today Lucy. As a Father; one is one too many. I hate to lose one child and see the other suffer. We are doing all we can to research and to return them back to you; especially our Loke. But what he needs from you most right now, what we all do, is for you to eat, sleep, and smile. A child cannot grow properly when their mother cannot manage that much." he spoke kindly to her.

"I-I want him back Master...Please...bring him back." she whispered softly.

"We all do and we will get them back." he assured her.

"But how?" she felt the void inside her pulse as she knew it was her Loke missing.

"We are all working on this together Lucy. For now you will need to be looked after. We are your family; your support system. Don't push us away." Erza continued to feed her. Makarov pat her hand once more and then removed himself as let Erza finish helping the blonde mother-to-be. It was decided for the first night that Erza would take care of her along with Levy. Mira and Wendy cleaned up as Lucy laid back down. She curled up in a ball within Loke's sheets. Under the safety of the blankets and away from the prying eyes, she clung to Loke's key around her neck. She fell to a short sleep only to come back to everyone starting to leave. She sat up as Erza approached her. She was rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. She spotted Levy at the clean table with a stack of books using her gale glasses as she was reading and taking notes.

"A bath would do you some good while I change your sheets." Erza suggested.

"No. I don't want to lose his scent." Lucy refused.

"I think I can help with that Lucy. Just trust us okay?" Levy smiled over at her.

"Promise?" Lucy cautioned. .

"Promise. Now go take a bath. We can smell you from here." Levy encouraged jokingly. Gingerly, Lucy got up and headed towards the bathroom to bathe. Erza put Loke's second pair of fresh sheets on the bed as she collected the laundry to do for later. Lucy emerged after a soak in the tub. Milk was ready and waiting for her as Levy was by her side. Lucy drank it and forced herself to not break into tears once more. The faint memory of Loke handing that milk that night made the void grow and hurt just that much more.

"Ready Luce?" Levy smiled as she tried to drag her friend out of the abyss she was tittering on. "I worked on this for you and I hope you don't mind." Levy shyly pulled out her light pen. She turned towards Lucy's bed and said " Solid Script Magic! Loke!" Loke's name was above the bed and small golden crystals of the color of his hair rained down on the bed as his scent embedded into the sheets. It smelled just like him and, although it relieved Lucy, it hurt to be reminded that this was just a substitute over the real version. The name disappeared after a moment and Erza helped the girl in. Lucy laid back and his pillows against her. Levy and Erza sat on opposite sides of the bed.

"Thank you Levy. This really does make it easier." Lucy forced a smile in an effort to show she was trying but her gratitude shined right through.

"You don't have to try around us Lucy." Erza said gently.

"Though I have one request..." Levy asked slyly. Lucy raised an eyebrow.

"What is it?"

"C-can we feel your belly?" Levy boldly asked. Lucy almost gave a laugh.

"You won't feel much, but sure." Lucy shrugged as she didn't see the harm. She reached down and pulled back her top to expose a harden belly that was slightly protruding out. Both women placed their hand and felt the place where something so perfect was nestling.

"Lucy...this is amazing. This is where your baby is; yours and Loke's." Levy breathed. Lucy finished her milk and set it aside.

"I was kinda hoping this would be a girl." she admitted sadly. "Though now that this is going on, I wouldn't mind a miniature Loke...He is going to be a great father when he comes back. I bet I won't get a moments peace though." Lucy let her sadness shown through as she looked down at the hands over her belly to the little one resting. Her heart ached.

"What name had you thought of yet?" Erza asked as they removed her hands. Lucy pulled down her top. She was once again covered back up as she got back to being comfortable.

"I haven't really thought that far yet...I don't want to do this without him...I don't want to choose any names until he knows..." She tried to keep her bravest face on, but already it was cracked and tarnished. She couldn't hide from them; not at this moment in time. "And...and if he doesn't..." she whimpered at the thought

"Not going to happen. if I have to drag him in his new form, kicking and screaming, just so he can witness it; then I'll gladly do it. I promise you this Lucy, your child will be loved." Erza pulled her troubled friend into a hug.

"We will love the little one twice as much to make up for him missing until he returns." Levy also comforted Lucy.

"Thanks you two..." Lucy hugged them both. Erza removed herself first and tucked Lucy back into the bedding. Levy got up from the bed and went back to researching at the table.

"Just take it easy for now. Your only concern should be that baby." Erza ordered as she let Lucy curl up with Loke's pillow and scent. It didn't take long until Lucy found herself back into the dreamless sleep.

For the next couple of weeks, Lucy's home had been a revolving door with different members of Fairy Tail coming and going as they helped to pitch in, in the little ways they did. One of Lucy's favorite visits were of Bisca, Alzack, and their daughter Asuka. Asuka had rubbed and felt Lucy's belly as she talked to it as if it were a new friend. She had asked Lucy to hurry up so she could meet her new best friend soon. Somehow, that melted Lucy's heart as the eager little one would have new playmates soon. Bisca was an even greater help as she had given Lucy some tips on morning sickness and some help with relaxing. After that visit, Lucy stocked up on lollipops and ginger tea; both these things really did help with the nausea she was feeling.

Levy would stopped by at least twice a day to keep her informed with new information the guild had gathered on the situation. It brought much comfort to Lucy when she heard or found out something new about Loke, the spirits, and especially information that might help aid them in being able to explain this bizarre weather and restoring order again in the celestial world. Natsu patrolled her house with Gray in the evening as Erza stayed with Lucy more than anyone of the guild. Wendy would visit with Carla to help aid Lucy when the morning sickness was too much and the home remedies didn't help as effectively.

Soon Parlyusica had come for another check up. This time Erza was with Lucy instead of Mirajane. Lucy complied to whatever the healer woman demanded of her. She laid on her back as the healer did a throughout check up on her. They checked for any abnormalities and checked her overall health. Parlyusica was feeling Lucy's abdomen when suddenly a surprised look crossed her features

"What is it?" Lucy asked.

"Well that is rather interesting." she murmured at the discovery.

"Ma'am?" asked Erza.

"Lucy, you are having twins." Parlyusica spoke as Lucy's eyes widen.