Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail nor it's character's. This is purely fan-made and it's not, in any way, associated with the canon stuff and what not.
Author's Note: I'm so sorry that I updated this story sooo late. Most of this story will have long chapters (besides it's bonus chapters), so the process of making these are somewhat long. That and top that off with few bits and pieces of writer's block here and there.
If you noticed, I've also added the Bonus Chapter which includes both the Eulogy and Funeral for the character I killed off.
At the end of this chapter, I'm hoping you, the reader, can answer a question that has been lingering inside my head.
Anyways, I will now shut up and let you all read now, so story time…
"Why shouldn't I shoot, doctor?" The crimson haired fellow now pointed his gun towards the doctor who was supposed to help him, whether she complied or he forced her. "Even after you almost stabbed me, give me a good reason why I shouldn't blow your damn brains, guts or limbs off!?"
"..." Erza held her breath, thinking of what to say to the man.
"Tell me!" He yelled at her once more, this time holding the gun near her face.
She could no longer hold her tears and a stream of them rolled down both cheeks. "I-" She sobbed, rubbing away the tears that signified her fear. "I… I'm pregnant!"
Six Months Later After the Funeral…
It had been half a year since their dear friend, Macao, died in the line of duty. The same explosion that killed Macao, had rendered Natsu into Physical Therapy. Even through the harshness of losing a loved one, it didn't stop Natsu from continuing to push himself back into physical shape.
"He's doing pretty well so far, Ms. Scarlet," a short bluenette female doctor sat across from Erza as both women enjoyed their evening eating lunch. "Or would you like me to call you, Mrs. Dragneel?"
"Enough of the formalities, Levy, just call me Erza." Erza lightly chuckled as her fellow colleague kept referring to her by surname.
"I'm sorry, Erza," she quickly apologized for ascertaining with either or. "It's just I never had a patient, or client as you will, that is married to a doctor as well."
"Just treat me and Natsu as friends," her friendship with the Physician took them back into High-school Years. Levy was the typical bookworm. As shy as she may look, the bluenette was rather straightforward whenever it came down to whatever she sets her eyesight to. "Besides, whatever you're making Natsu do, it's working very well."
"Well, I wouldn't be a physician if it didn't," she chuckled at her remark, continuing to munch on her sandwich she had made and brought to lunch. "And how do you know that the training has been working well?"
"Oh, I just know," Erza hid her small smile. "He's been quite energetic in the-"
"Bed department?" Levy finished her sentence. Erza's cheeks were as pink as ever, but deflected with her continuous laughter. Both women continued to lightly chuckle throughout their conversation.
"So, how are things with your boyfriend?" Erza now reversed their roles of their relationships.
"It's pretty serious at the moment." Levy jugged down the last remaining of water in her bottle.
"Who would've thought that you and the biker boy would've made it this far," Erza did the same action as Levy, although not finishing her drink in one gulp. "Ah- What was his name again? Ca-hoot?"
"His name is Gajeel," Levy corrected. She was right however, her relationship with the biker was as long as Erza's and Natsu's, since High-School as well. "And just because he's a biker and I'm a bookworm, doesn't mean it wasn't going that far." She quipped back.
"True," Erza took back her remark. "I'm surprised that finger still doesn't have an engagement ring." She glanced right over to Levy's left hand, on her fourth finger.
"Not every couple needs to wear a ring to be eternally happy," Levy put her left hand in front of her face. She let out a faint sigh, contradicting her earlier statement. "But an engagement ring would be rather nice."
"Don't worry, I'm sure Gajeel would eventually come around to it," Erza gave her colleague a reassuring smile. "I am very sure of it."
"Thanks Erza," Levy returned the smile. Suddenly, Erza's face turned green and quickly grabbed the nearest bag she found. "Erza, are you okay?" Levy's immediate reaction was to be at her friends side, luckily she was only a few feet away from her.
"Yeah I'm ok-HURGH!" Erza continued to gargle up her lunch onto the brown bag.
"That doesn't sound okay to me." Levy held Erza's hair up, helping her vomit the bits and pieces of her lunch.
"Okay..." Erza, exhausted at her constant vomiting, said as she threw the bag containing her half processed food into a trash bin close to their table. "I think... I think I'm good."
"Are you sure?" Levy asked her.
"Yeah," Erza wiped away some dirty saliva off her bottom lip with a napkin. She could still taste the awful food refuge from her mouth, so in an effort to take the stench off, she poured down the remaining water she had. "This has been happening for the past week already."
"The past week?!" A certain level of concern was hinted in Levy's tone.
"Yeah," Erza said once more. "I'm just sick, that's all."
"Erza, do you honestly believe that?" Levy crossed her arms around her chest. As a doctor, she would've thought her friend was more aware of her symptoms than most.
Erza didn't answer. She was now in her thoughts, carefully realising what her symptoms were telling her. From having nauseating mornings to having random epidemics of mood swings and through many hours of having her breasts tender, her eyes widened. "But that's impossible..." She said lowly to herself.
"What's impossible?" As much as Levy wanted to read her brain, she was stuck reading her expressions.
"I can't be pregnant," Erza started to heavily breath, touching the specific spot where most babies would be located. "Me and Natsu have been super careful!"
"Are you sure?" Levy raised an eyebrow, wondering what her definition of super careful meant to her.
"He wears a condom, and I am on the pill!" Erza explained. "How much more careful can we be!?"
"I take it that's a rhetorical question," Levy didn't bother to answer, except give her philosophy to her scarlet haired friend. "Maybe it was-"
"I swear to God, Levy, if you tell me that 'It was destiny,' mumbo jumbo, I would tear that head of yours and shove it up your ass!" Erza cut her sentence.
As capable as Erza can be, Levy didn't read to much into her sudden threat. "Either that's one of your sudden mood swings or you slept on the wrong side of the bed." Levy said.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say that..." And there it was once again, another quick change in her emotions.
"It's alright." Levy didn't hold it against her friend.
"I need to do a pregnancy test, just to be sure." Erza quickly got up from her chair and got her purse.
"I have a few in my office, I could go right now and get them for you, if you like." Levy informed her.
Considering Levy was a physician and all, Erza didn't seem to question why she would have any. She simply nodded up and down, accepting the generous offer her friend gave her.
"All right, I'll be right back." Levy then soon rushed back into the building, leaving Erza by herself at their table.
Several minutes passed and Levy finally returned with a small bag. "How many did you bring?" Erza questioned as she came closer.
"About 5," Levy weakly smiled. "Just to be sure about it."
"Levy, you are a life saver!" Erza instantly hugged Levy and gave her a small friendly peck on the cheek. She then took the bag of the bluenette's hands and soon walked away, going back home.
"You're welcome." Levy waved a goodbye to her colleague.
...
After driving around the city in her car, she finally made it back home to her apartment.
She parked her car in the same place, which was a few buildings over to the nearest parking lot. She soon walked the rest, making her way to the apartment complex main door.
It had been almost 2 months since the main building's lobby room was redecorated and refurnished. It was the same gray colored wall except it's style was now that of small rectangular textiles. She made her way to the elevator, waiting for it to come down to the main floor.
"Hello there, Mrs. Dragneel," Rufus, the newest Security Guard that roamed the building, greeted Erza as she waited for the elevator. "How was your morning?"
"It has been rather interesting, so far." As much as she wanted to spew the news of her being pregnant, she first still had to confirm whether she was or not.
"How interesting, ma'am?" He wanted her to specify a bit more.
"It's a bit personal." She said. She looked at the numbers above the elevator's door; more than halfway down already.
"Ah, okay, I won't push you for more then, ma'am." He didn't pressure her anymore with the questions.
She waited several more seconds until finally the doors opened, signifying it's arrival. "Nice chatting with you, Rufus." She gave him a faint smile just as she entered the elevator.
"Oh, Mr. Dragneel is already here, just for the heads up." He told her.
She then put herself in between the elevator doors. "What?" She was hoping she misheard what the guard told her.
"I said, Mr. Dragneel is already here," he could see her expression turn rather south as he repeated his information. "Is there a problem ma'am?"
"Ugh, no, no problem at all Rufus." She entered the elevator, now disconnecting their conversation.
As the elevator went up to her apartment floor, she couldn't help but go back into her deep thoughts. Crap, he's supposed to be back at his job today, her plans of checking whether she was pregnant while being discreet were now being halted by her husband's presence. Why is he home so early?
Her curiosity of being pregnant however, won over her curiosity of Natsu's current presence in the apartment.
The elevator finally made it to her floor and slowly walked out of the small container and into the hall. As she approached her apartment, she stood in front of the door and mustered up the strength to go in.
She reached into her purse, where she had her keys and her pregnancy tests hidden there. She soon inserted they key, twisting the doorknob and entering the apartment. "Natsu, are you home?" She called out as she closed the door behind her and locked it.
"Hey Erza!" The loud pinkette called out from the kitchen. "Ow!"
She heard a loud bang coming from the kitchen, prompting her to quickly check what Natsu was doing. "Natsu, are you okay?" She saw the man pulling his upper half-body from out under the sink. "What are you doing?"
"To answer your first question, yes, I'm alright," he rubbed the aching part of his head where it had collided with one of the sink's pipes. He got up from the floor now. "To answer your second question, I'm fixing the leaking pipe."
"Today was your first day back at work ever since the attack, why aren't you down at the fire station?" She crossed her arms around her chest.
"They sent me back, something about insurance and what not," Natsu wiped away a small drop of sweat running down his forehead. From what Erza can discern, Natsu had already sweat extensively seeing as his tank top was mostly wet. He had a few dirty stains here and there around his arms and face. "So, how was the visit with my doctor?"
"Oh it was alright," from the corner of her right eye awaited the bathroom for the privacy it provided. "Levy said that you should be good by now."
"That's good," Natsu said. "Well, I'm almost done fixing the pipe here, maybe after I'm done, we could just watch some movies and eat popcorn?" He suggested.
"That's fine by me but first, let me use the bathroom," she walked right over to it. "Be right out."
"O-" The door's loud slam cut his sentence in half. "-Kay. Geez, what's up with her?"
Back inside the bathroom, she took out the bag that contained the pregnancy tests. It took her at least under a minute to read the instructions on all boxes. So I have to wait at least 5 minutes after I do my thing then, huh? She raised an eyebrow but nonetheless, she did what she had to do to get her answers.
After a few minutes of doing her business and what not, she finally found her answer. In all five pregnancy tests, they all had two horizontal lines, confirming that she indeed was pregnant. Any chance all of these are false positives…? She mentally chuckled.
"Oi, Erza, is everything okay in there?" Natsu loudly knocked on the door, bringing Erza out of the depths of her thoughts.
"Ugh," she quickly put the tests back into the bag along with their small boxes and into her purse. She didn't take any chances in throwing them into the small trash bin they had. "Ugh, yeah, everything is alright." As much as she wanted to tell him that she's carrying his offspring, Erza simply held her tongue until she felt it was the right time.
"You sure?" Natsu put his right ear to the door, trying to discern what his lovely wife was doing. "You're taking an awful long time. You still puking?"
He quickly took his ear off as soon as she opened the door. "I said I'm fine, Natsu." She reassured the pinkette.
He instantly put his right hand over her forehead. "You sure? You told me a few days ago that you might've been sick."
She removed his hand from her forehead. "As much as I love your concerns, I told you, I am totally fine."
"If you say so," he didn't bother with the questions anymore, instead he diverted her attention back to the sink. "Ah, check this out." He quickly headed to the sink.
"You finally fixed it?" She asked him.
"Yup!" He turned the faucet, letting the water pour down. Both of them looked down at the bottom part. "You see, no more leaky pipe."
"That's great!" She congratulated him.
"Yeah," Natsu closed the bottom cabinet's doors and clapped his hands to shake off both dust and dirt on his hands. "Well, I'm going to hop in the shower, then we'll just watch movies afterwards. Sound alright?"
"Yeah," she nodded, agreeing with what he said. "But instead of popcorn, can we just skip that and go straight to the ice cream?" Must've been the cravings she's experiencing at the moment.
"I guess." He scratched his head.
"Great then!"
After 20 minutes or so of scrubbing off the dirt and dust Natsu accumulated as he fixed the leaky pipe, he came out of the bathroom in his sleepwear; matching blue and white striped matching buttoned up long sleeved shirt and pants.
He looked to his right where a digital clock hanged next to the window was located. 5:47 P.M. He read in his mind. He continued to walk straight from the bathroom, through the kitchen and into the living room. "Hey Er- WHAT THE HELL!?"
On the coffee table, he saw the newly bought mint chocolate chip ice cream and French vanilla ice cream buckets were empty. "I could explain this!" Erza said, still having small amounts of both ice cream flavors on her lips.
"You could've told me you were hungry…" He lightly groaned at the sight of both empty ice cream buckets.
"I'm sorry," wearing her usual pink pajamas, Erza got up from her seated position on the couch and walked towards her husband. "If it makes you feel any better, you can take the remaining ice cream I have from my lips." Flirting, she placed both her index and middle fingers on Natsu's lips while closing the gap between both of their bodies.
He slowly made a smile towards her. "Hmm, I can't stay mad at you." Taking her advice, Natsu gently moved both his arms around her waist as Erza moved hers to the back of his neck. His lips met hers, tasting the flavors of the ice cream that lingered on her lips.
Their lungs gasping for air, both of them ended their rather intimate kiss. "Now that that's been dealt with, how about we order some Pizza, and make it a large sized, I'm still rather hungry." She quickly went back onto the couch.
"What!?" Natsu jaw dropped, shocked to hear that Erza was still hungry. "You just ate both buckets of ice cream, by yourself. How in the world are you still hungry!?"
"I just am," she chuckled. "Besides, what harm can it do to me?"
"You're the damn doctor!" He remarked. "I'm just the Firefighter."
"My firefighter," she corrected him. "Now are you going to order the pizza or not?"
…
The evening went by really quickly. After 4 almost 5 hours of watching 2 scary movies, 1 romance movie and 1 humor movie, it was finally time for the pair to hit the hay.
After brushing her teeth, Erza was the first to hop into bed. "Naaaatttttssssuuuuu!" In the most seductive tone, she called out to Natsu, who was still brushing his own teeth in the bathroom.
He spit out the dirty toothpaste from his mouth. "I'll be right there!" He took the remaining water he had in his cup and put it inside his mouth. Moving the water with his tongue for several seconds, he then spat it out into the bathroom's sink. "I'm coming now!"
Suddenly, as he was about to walk out, Erza came running right back to the bathroom, this time to the toilet. "HURGH!" She hurled into the toilet.
Natsu slowly walked right behind her, now standing next to her, holding her hair to prevent it from getting vomit. "There, there now."
"Is this the part where you tell me, 'I told you so?'" She asked.
"I'm a bigger man than that, Erz," he held her hair with one hand while the other took it's comfort place on her left shoulder. "You know that."
"I… I'm so glad to have you!" Erza now sobbed as she continued to spew out most of the junk she had eaten today. Must be the mood swings going at it again. "HURGH!"
"Shh, there, there Erza." Natsu continued to care for her.
"I think…". She panted, exhausted at the forced activity. "I think I'm done."
"Here," he gave her two tissues. One for her red swollen eyes from crying, the other for her to wipe away the dirty saliva that lingered on her lips. "I'm going to get you some water, be right back."
As he went to go get her a glass of water, Erza got one more napkin, this time to blow away the mucus that accumulated in her nose when she sobbed. Natsu came back in. "Here," he gave her the glass. "How are you feeling?" He went on his knees, going on the same level as Erza.
"I feel like shit at the moment…" She truthfully told him.
"Do you want me to carry you to the bed?" He asked her, tread fully moving his fingers through her red hair.
"… If it's not too much to ask for." She nodded at his request.
"For you, there's nothing too much to ask for." He smiled. Natsu got up and like at their wedding, he carried Erza bridal style. With his foot, he flushed the toilet and now walked back to their room.
He laid her on her side of the bed, tugging her in like a parent would do with their child. He then took his place on the bed, hugging and cuddling her from behind. "Are you still going to work tomorrow?" Natsu asked her as he petted her head.
"Yeah," she said. "Why?"
"Considering you're sick and all, wouldn't you be contagious to your patients?" He told her.
"What I have isn't contagious per say…" She rolled her eyes without him noticing it. While it's true that pregnancy isn't some type of sickness, Erza continued to resort with her little white lie.
"Is that why I haven't gotten sick yet?" He continued to ask her questions. She could feel his warm breath near her neck as he spoke.
"Definitely." She assured him of that.
"Oh, okay then," he stopped petting her head. "We should sleep now."
"Yeah, don't want neither of us to be late for work tomorrow." She turned to her other side, now facing his face.
"Goodnight then." Natsu gently kissed her forehead.
She smiled and returned the favor. "Goodnight."
…
The time between now and morning came by quickly. Erza had already dropped Natsu at work and by now, she was headed back to the hospital. Unlike most days, the streets weren't filled with cars and other vehicles thus was easy for Erza to maneuver around the streets and make it to work in no time.
Like always, she parked her car in her parking slot in the hospital's parking lot and made her way into the building.
As she neared the parking lot's elevator, Erza noticed a familiar physician getting off a motorbike's passenger side and leaving her be, waving goodbye at her ride. "Hey Levy!" Erza greeted her.
"Oh, hey Erza," Levy waited for her scarlet haired friend to be next to her so they can walk side by side. "So, anything you want to tell me?" Levy gave her a rather funny look.
"Gee, it's barely morning and already you're asking about the you know what." Erza retorted back at the bluenette.
"At this point, I can't tell whether that's actually how you're feeling or the pregnancy talking." Levy, with a discerning look on her face, said.
"A little bit of both," although it wasn't a question, Erza still answered. "And yeah, it's official." She sighed. "All of the pregnancy tests came back positive."
"Congratulations then!" She instantly gave her a hug but from the looks of it, Erza had a somewhat troubling face. "Why are you so down about it?" Levy knew Erza well enough to know that she always wanted kids, so the question had some merit to it so to speak. "You always told me that you wanted kids, so why are you down about it?"
"My hate for the unexpected is unnervingly higher than my love for kids," Erza explained as both walked into the elevator. "I've always been one or two steps ahead of everything, you know? But ever since the explosion, I haven't been able be a step ahead until now. Everything was getting back to normal, or at least becoming steady once more."
"And because you're suddenly pregnant, you feel as if everything is going to be too unpredictable to the point you can't do nothing about it, correct?" Levy added to Erza's statement.
Erza pressed the designated floor level. "Correct."
"Maybe this change isn't so bad, you know?" Like she's done in High school, Levy tried to open minded about this.
"How so?" Erza looked at Levy, hoping to hear what she meant by that.
"Well, unlike the other unfortunate event, this can turn out to be something good," Levy continued. "A baby can certainly make yours and Natsu's life certainly better if you keep your heads up through it all."
"I guess you're right," along with her back, she placed her head on the elevator's wall. "I was so busy with getting things back to the way it was that had forgotten what it meant for the future. Thanks for your input Levy."
"No problem, just one question." Levy asked.
"Yeah?" The elevator finally came to a stop and opened it's doors.
"Did you finally muster up your strength and tell Natsu that you are pregnant?" She asked.
"You're pregnant!?" A third familiar male voice coming from the hospital's main lobby joined in.
Both women turned away from each other and looked at the third person. "Jellal?" "Boss?" Both women said at the exact same time.
"No." "Yes." Both women answered but with far different answers.
In a state of confusion, the Dean of Medicine first glanced at Erza, to the right, then to Levy, to the left. "Okay, I'm confused now," he said. He looked back at Erza. "You're telling me that you're not pregnant but she's telling me that you are, so which is it?"
"I-" Before finishing her sentence, Erza looked back at the physician.
"Sorry Erza but you're on your own." And in a swift move, Levy had left her dust impression behind, leaving Erza to deal with Jellal.
"I'm waiting." He continued to stand in between the elevator's door, blocking both paths of escape.
"Okay fine," she surrendered. "Yes, I'm pregnant. Dunno how long though."
"Well congratulations," Jellal was now the second person to know that she was pregnant. "I take it from Dr. McGarden's earlier question is that you haven't told your husband yet, correct?"
"It's not that I don't want him to know, it's just-"
"You're having trouble finding the right time to tell him," Jellal finished her sentence. In his voice, Erza knew that Jellal had somehow had been in this type of situation before. "Correct? I know, I have been in Natsu's shoes before."
"Really?" She asked him, hoping to hear her boss's input in this.
"Between you and me though," Jellal entered the elevator and pressed a number to the floor. "I think you should've told him right away."
"I wanted to but, I guess you can say I'm a bit scared." She truthfully told him.
"In what? His reaction?" Jellal looked at her but Erza's eyesight was looking down on the floor. "You'd be surprise how happy a man can be when he finds out his lover is pregnant with his child, I was too."
"That's actually quite reassuring Jellal, thanks!" She took her gaze off the floor and looked back at the male bluenette. "That made me feel a lot better." She gave him a small smile. "And I never knew you had a kid."
"Oh about that…" He a small sweat drop came down his cheek as he lightly chuckled.
"You just lied, didn't you?" Her smile quickly turned to that of an annoyed smirk.
"Ah no," he scratched his cheek. "I found out that my girl cheated on me and my best friend was actually the father."
"Oh…" She put her hand over her mouth, covering her shock in the twist of the plot. "I am very sorry about that, I'm sure you would've been a great father."
"Probably, can't say the same to my friend though," Jellal bit his under lip. The elevator stopped and opened its doors to the doctors. "And I hope you take my advice."
"I will," Erza pressed the button back to the main lobby as soon as Jellal left. "I will tell him after work!"
"Oh and Erza." Jellal placed his arm in between the elevator's doors.
"Yeah?" She asked.
"You should probably get an ultrasound, just to see if that embryo is healthy." Jellal told her.
"I have thought about, maybe I'll pay a visit to our friendly Technician." The doors finally closed, finally letting her be by herself.
Erza's day was going by steadily. Before her lunch even started, she had already finished up at least 10 patient file reports, has sent more than 15 patients back home after they got well and so far have had no problems whatsoever, whether it be with a patient, a nurse, a doctor or her assistants, all in the span of 5 hours.
As her lunch approached, with her phone, she quickly made an appointment with an acquainted Sonographer.
"Hey there Porlyusica," Erza greeted who seemed to be the eldest person in the whole building. "I'm here for my scheduled appointment."
"My, my, Erza, it's been too long," the elder woman greatly shook hands with the scarlet haired doctor. "How have you been?"
"I've been good, and you?" Erza followed her into room. She took a seat on the patient table, unbuttoning her white coat and pulling up her black undershirt, revealing her tummy.
"I've been good too, just recently on Valentine's Day, my husband and I took a trip to the Shiari Islands and spent the most fantastic weekend?" The Shiari Islands is equivalent to that of Hawaii and the surrounding islands around it and is a very good resort to enjoy yourself.
"That sounds very romantic and I guess by your tone, you more than enjoyed yourself." Erza felt the technician put Vaseline around her womb area.
"I did, what did you and Natsu do on Valentine's Day?" Porlyusica asked as she placed imagine device on her stomach.
"I guess you can say we tried new naughty things." Erza chuckled as she could still remember that particular day. From the car to their bedroom and to even their bathtub, she and Natsu explored each other in ways many that'll leave many people, especially couples very jealous. It was clear to her that she and Natsu, from their couple days in high school to their very wedding, were very much in love with each other, even to this day.
"You still read those erotic stories?" The elder woman asked, trying to clear the image on the screen.
"Every once in awhile." Erza looked up at the screen and what she saw made her smile in delight.
"There you go," Porlyusica finally got a clearer image of the little Natsu inside of Erza. "Well would you look at that, that is quite a healthy embryo you have carrying there, Erza."
"It's beautiful," despite it being in black and white, Erza couldn't help herself but to think about how her and Natsu's baby looked like, which made her continue to smile in delight. "Can you tell whether it's a boy or a girl, yet?"
"No at the moment, this little fellow here is barely 2 to 3 weeks old," Porlyusica said, moving the device around Erza's stomach to get a better angle on the embryo. "At least another 3-4 weeks to discern it's gender."
"Oh, that's alright." Erza stared intently at the screen, imagining in her head what kind of parents she and Natsu would be.
"I envy you a bit Erza." Porlyusica had a fragile smile across her face.
"Why is that?" She asked the elder woman.
"I could never have a kid of my own." The older woman looked down at the ground, slowly turning the smile she had on to that of a sad one.
"Why?" Erza now raised an eyebrow. She wondered what made the older pinkette woman not have any children.
"I had infertility problems," she continued to tell her. "No matter what my husband and I did, I could never get pregnant, even in our earlier years."
"That's… pretty sad…" Erza now felt a slight guilty emotion loom over her. "What happened next?" She said, hoping the woman's story got any better.
"Eventually, I got depressed. My depression got the better of me and for days I wouldn't want to move away from the bed," the elder woman deeply sighed. "As I got older I knew that the infertility problems were going to get worse, and my depression would soon have left me in a bigger hole…"
"How did you cope with it?" Erza couldn't imagine how Porlyusica felt much less wonder how she would feel if she had the same problems as her.
"Eventually, my husband had the idea of adopting a child," a small tear rolled down her wrinkly cheek. "And I followed his lead on it. So the next day, we went to an orphanage and…" She stopped. Erza could see that the old woman couldn't help but smile, even as to chuckle lightly.
"What happened next?" Erza wanted to know the rest of the story, intrigued.
"The little rugrats were all so cute and adorable," a bright joy in her voice replaced the sudden sad emotions she had. "And right there and then, I tell him, 'I want to take all of them home, hug them, kiss them and nurture their little hearts!' You wouldn't believe the look on his face when I told him that." She laughed, she could still remember the face of shock her husband had to this day.
"And did you?" Erza couldn't help but add her small chuckles as well.
"As much as I wanted to, he told me I can pick four." Porlyusica said.
"Four!?" Erza now imagined herself and Natsu in the old woman's place. To think that they would have a full household like that would be the day.
"Yes, four," she further explained. "We wanted a big family."
"Which four did you pick?" Erza now asked.
"2 boys and 2 girls," she looked up at the ceiling, remembering the day like it was yesterday. "The 2 boys were Timothy and Jason. The 2 girls were Sam and Ellie. I didn't really care about their race and color, all I knew is that I was going to be their mother." She happily sighed.
"One can assume that you'd be a great mother," Erza agreed with her last sentence. "Where are they now?"
"Ah, Tim now teaches at a University, still hasn't found the right girl yet. Jason is a Veterinarian, and has 2 kids with a lovely wife. Sam owns her own restaurant, lost her husband a few years ago but is still strong about it. And Ellie…" Her tone quickly changed to back of that of a sad one once she mentioned her second daughter.
"What happened to Ellie?" Erza continued with the questions. Something must have happened to the girl if Porlyusica shuts her mouth once she mentions her.
"Ellie… She became ill. She had a tumor in her brain that not even the best surgeons can remove," her voice became hoarse, holding back her tears. "At the age of 16, we were told that she only had 4 months to live. Could you imagine, as a parent, not see your child do the things you've ever done as a teenager? Never experiencing your first kiss? Your first date? Wanting to dance at the High School prom?"
"Must've been very painful to see her in that state of way…" A small tear slowly escaped Erza's eye, slowly streaming down her cheek. No parent should ever see their kid die before them.
"On her birthday, we all come together and go visit her grave-site, we stand there and wait until the sun sets…" Porlyusica finally stopped speaking for a bit. She then turned her attention back to Erza, quickly wiping away the streams that went down her cheeks. "I'm sorry about my rambling Erza."
"No, it's okay," Erza gave her a weak but gentle smile. "You must've loved her very much. I can't imagine losing a kid of my own, much less watch them die in front of my eyes."
"Take my advice Erza, no matter what, always love your children. They may make a mess, break your stuff, drive you crazy and even break your heart every once in awhile but always love them unconditionally," Porlyusica gave her pieces of towels to use to wipe away the Vaseline. "Life is too short and precious, so make the most of it happy for yourself, Natsu and your children."
"Thank you," Erza cleaned herself, pulled her shirt back down and buttoned up her coat. "Don't worry, I'll take your advice with great consideration."
"Alright, now run along now, you must have other things to do other than hear me yapper about." She pushed Erza out of the room and waved goodbye.
"Bye now." Erza waved goodbye, now returning to her duties.
After a few minutes of running around the hospital, jogging in between patients and whatnot, Erza finally made it to her sanctuary; her office. She sat back on her chair, taking in small, steady breathes, relaxing and enjoying her few minutes of solace.
She took one last breathe in before straightening her back on her chair. She took a small glance at her computer screen then turned a few inches to the right where a picture of her and Natsu was framed. Telling him right now is the best choice… She picked up the picture, bringing it closer to her face.
She sat there in silence and finally made a decision. Erza put her picture back on the desk where it stood and smiled. She now reached into her phone and quickly dialed a number.
"Hey Erza," a distinctive male voice said, quickly identifying her. "What's up?"
"Nothing much Natsu," Erza leaned back onto her chair once more. "Do you have a minute to spare?"
"Well, nothing has happened so far," she could hear a small squishy sound coming from his side. "I'm just cleaning the Fire Truck with Juvia, so yeah I can spare the minute."
"I have to tell you something very important." She took in a deep breath, now gathering her thoughts and right words to say to him.
"Shoot." He told her.
"I-" Suddenly, while finally addressing her news, an argument between what seemed to be a disgruntled patient and a doctor seemed to have gotten loud enough to the point it raised a concern from outside her office.
"Erza? Who's that with you?" Natsu can also hear the argument from his side of the line.
"I don't know…" She got up from her chair, still having the phone near her ear and threaded carefully to her door.
BANG! BANG! Multiple gun shots were now fired, which prompt Erza to take cover near her wall and away from her door.
"Erza? ERZA!?" Natsu called out to her, trying not to fear the worse of what's happening. "What the hell is going on over there!? I just heard gun fire! Are you okay!?"
"I'm fine," her voice was well enough for him to be reassured for the moment. "Something's happening. I'm going to go and check it out."
"Erza wai-" She hung up, now investigating the cause of the shooting.
"YOU TOLD ME THAT YOU COULD DO THE BEST YOU CAN!" A tanned crimson haired man yelled, waving around a small gray pistol said. The shots fired earlier were aimed at the ceiling, trying not to actually use the bullets on the people in the floor.
"I'm sorry!" A nurse in pink scrubs tried apologizing, but it wasn't enough.
Erza continued to observe while trying to be hidden behind a cart. She could see the man wasn't a patient, so he had to be some type of a visitor. The hall they were was similar to that of an ICU, except the patients weren't in need of emergency care.
Doctors and other nurse knelt where they stood, covering their heads with their arms. A few guards were there but the situation was too risky for them, considering the man held the nurse he was yelling at gunpoint while standing next a patient she was treating or trying.
"My wife is dying! And all you can muster up is a damn 'Sorry'!?" He had the gun near face, intimidating her. As if his small scar over his eye wasn't enough. "Where's your goddamn boss!?"
From what Erza can discern in her hidden position, the patient the two were standing next to was a female with a distinguishable purple hair. She couldn't tell what the woman had but guessing from the desperate man's pleas, Erza knew that the woman was dying.
"I don't know…" She told him.
"I'll ask again," the crimson haired man now pulled the pistol's hammer, readying to pull the trigger. "WHERE THE FUCK IS YOUR BOSS?!"
"I wouldn't do that if I were you!" The guard said. Although a Taser gun isn't as threatening as an actual gun, he was still armed with it, ready to use it in anyway he can.
"I'm the one with a hostage, back off!" He warned him.
"He…" The nurse couldn't hold her tears no more and two streams went down her cheeks.
"He's right here!" The Dean of Medicine suddenly appeared, astonishing everyone in the large hall.
"I've got a bone to pick with you!" As much as the man wanted to point his gun at the bluenette, he didn't. He still had his sights on the nurse.
"So I've heard Mr. Cobra." Jellal, with his arms stretched above his head, slowly walked towards the armed man.
"Just call me Erik!" He continued to hold the gun near the Nurse's head.
"Easy now, why don't you just point the gun at me?" Erza couldn't discern whether Jellal was being a dumbass or not. "Don't worry, the guard won't shoot you."
"Like hell I will!" The guard didn't seem to pleased with what Jellal said.
Like a human traffic light, Jellal extended his arm towards the cop, halting him from doing anything rash. "Stand back! The taser would mostly likely pull a muscle and unintentionally make him shoot!" He told the guard.
"But-"
"No buts, I got this! Go wait for the cops to show up instead!" Jellal yelled, instructing the guard to obey his order.
No words came out of the guard. He lowered his taser gun and in a glimpse of a second, hurried his way through the hospital and to the main lobby.
Jellal now looked at the other guards that were nearby. "Put some of the patients inside rooms along with both staff and visitors." He ordered them.
And with that, the guards did as they were told; moving the patients and escorting civilians and staff alike to a different nonlethal part of the hospital.
"Good, we could use the alone time!" Erik mustered up a small smirk. The floor was going to be his and the Dean of Medicine.
"Would you like them to take your wife?" Jellal asked, slowly dragging his feet more closer to Erik.
"No!" His gun was pointed at the nurse but his eyes glared back at Jellal. "You're going to stay and diagnose her right! Then give her the proper medicine she needs to recuperate!"
"Proper? Are you saying that she was misdiagnosed?" Jellal raised an eyebrow at the sound of the word. Was the man really hoping that one of their doctors mistakenly gave her the wrong diagnoses of her symptoms.
"Yeah!"
From having a hall filled with patients and such, their current surroundings were now empty, besides the man's wife on the bed, the nurse at gunpoint, him and the secretly hiding Erza.
"Tell me, what was the diagnoses that our doctor told you?" As Jellal stalled, the information was quite intriguing to him.
"..." The man didn't speak. A sign that it must be a pretty bad diagnoses if it left the man speechless. He cleared his throat and now gathered the words missing from his tongue. "... Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease..."
"Oh," A small gasp escaped from Jellal's mouth. Wasn't very often that he had a patient come down with an incurable disease walk right down to his hospital. "I'm... very sorry."
"Don't give me your damn pity!" Erik yelled once more. He clearly was in denial and him holding down the hospital's 7th floor was a clear sign of that. "I want you to give me an accurate diagnoses! So that way you can treat it and save my wife!"
Jellal's brows furrowed. Doing this for the man could stall him long enough for the police to get here and arrest him but any sudden hints of stalling or lying at that could render him bullets to his body. He continued to think it through.
Is he actually going to do it? Erza glanced over at the bluenette, hiding behind the cart that continued to conceal her. He's probably thinking through the risks... Waiting too long to give a new diagnoses would raise suspicions but also giving him the wrong diagnoses could lead to the same thing... Is he really-
"One condition." Jellal finally spoke, attracting Erza's eyes back to him.
"What's that?" Erik asked.
"I want to switch places with the nurse." Erza's eyes widened as Jellal said his one and only requirement.
"Deal," Erik now turned the gun's barrel at Jellal. "Scram lady!"
Having her hands underneath her eye sockets, the nurse quickly dash out of the dire situation, finally out of Death's site.
"Alright, I'll go w-"
"Wait!" Erza jumped out of from behind the cart, alarming both men of her presence.
"Who the hell are you!?" Erik's eyes glanced over by the cart she was hiding behind, same as Jellal.
"Erza! What the hell are you doing here!?" As much as Jellal was surprised, he knew he was supposed to expect something like this.
"As much as I respect the Dean of Medicine here, I think I'm your best option at giving the patient a better diagnosis." She said, slowly walking towards the pair with her arms above her waist.
"What's she talking about?" Cobra wanted Jellal to elaborate on what Erza just said.
"Yeah Jellal, please tell the man here that I'm your best doctor in this hospital." Erza continued say.
"…" Jellal held his tongue. He knew what Erza was doing and that was trying to switch places with him. Has she gone mad!? He gulped down the ball of saliva he gathered in his mouth. Staying quiet would only raise suspicion but what was he supposed to say?
"Come on, let me switch places with him." Erza now offered the gunman her life for her boss.
"Erza, don't!" Jellal finally stopped his silence, only to try to stop what the scarlet haired doctor was doing.
"Now why would I do that?" Erik wasn't easily convinced to what Erza offered him. "He's the boss man, shouldn't he already be the better doctor?"
"The man literally has sat behind a desk for more than 2 years, while I continued to work and make my patients better, what more of a better reason do you want?" She said, hopefully her reasoning was enough for the switch.
"That true?" Jellal could feel the warm barrel of the gun right on his back.
"It's true to some extent…" Jellal sighed, telling him the truth.
"Then that's good enough for me, go, run along to the cops while the lovely doctor over here takes care of my wife!" Cobra made up his mind, telling Jellal to scram.
"I was afraid you were going to say that…" Jellal walked towards Erza. "I really hope you know what you're doing…" He whispered to her.
"I know what I'm doing." Erza whispered back.
"You're life isn't just on the line, what about that baby you're carrying around as well? And what if you're raging baby hormones kick in!?" Jellal slightly elevated his tone but was still inaudible to the gunman.
"I got it covered." Erza tried to assure him of that.
"HEY! What's the hold up!?" Cobra yelled out to them.
"You just got to trust me!" Erza told Jellal, departing now.
…
Back in the main lobby of the hospital, a group of cops with standard bulletproof vests were standing huddled up, thinking of ways to approach the gunman in the seventh floor.
"Ah, Chief Laxus." Jellal had made it down in a nick of time, greeting the officer.
"Your guard told me the situation, is the nurse alright?" Laxus shook his hand. It's been a while since he last saw the good doctor.
"She's alright, you got bigger problems now." Jellal sighed, not sure to tell him the new situation at hand.
"Bigger? What happened?" Lexus asked.
"The man's wife is dying, that may have triggered the whole thing with the gun." Jellal told him.
"So the man is under stress, figured much, but I take that's not the only problem." Laxus could see that Jellal was holding something back.
"I managed to convince the gunman to take me instead of the nurse…" His voice trailed off.
"Wait why are you here then?" Laxus didn't like where this was going.
"Because Erza manager to convince the gunman to take her instead!" Jellal brushed his hair with his hand in one sweep, showing his stress.
"Why am I not surprised at that…?" Laxus cocked his head around.
"Sir?" Laxus' small radio called out to him.
"Yeah?" He pressed the side button and answered back.
"I got a view on our target and he's moving the patient and the doctor to a secure room."
"Who's that?" Jellal asked.
"Our sniper, in case the gunman doesn't want to negotiate and/or goes nuts," Laxus told him. He pressed the button once more and radioed back. "Copy that."
"You're going to go in?" Jellal asked once more.
"Yeah," Laxus said. "We'll see if he needs anything, if he doesn't want to negotiate we might have to go in loud."
"Flashbang or smoke grenade?" He continued to ask his questions.
"Why does that concern you?" Laxus raised an eyebrow.
"Because either two would hurt both Erza and the patient." Jellal exclaimed.
"It would not endanger Erza unless she's pregnant or something." Laxus assured him of that.
Jellal was covered in silence which made Laxus slightly nervous.
"… She's pregnant?" Laxus had to assume considering the doctor did not want to say.
"Yeah." Jellal truthfully answered.
"Dammit!" Laxus turned to look at his team. "Change of plans guys, a new piece of information came in and it looks like our gunman is holding a pregnant hostage. No flashbangs or smoke grenades of any kind now."
"Yes sir!" His trio said in unison.
"I SAID LET ME THROUGH!" A loud voice said from within the crowd. Suddenly one of the cops holding back the people with the crime scene tape was thrown into the lobby.
"GET HIM!" One of the other cops said as the man with a distinguishable pink set of hair came in, barging into the hospital.
"Natsu?" Both Laxus and Jellal said at the same time when they realized who was barging in.
"Whoa, hold your positions men, I know this fellow." Like trained hound dogs, the cops stood back in their positions.
"The hell are you doing here, Natsu?" Jellal asked as he helped back up on his feet.
"I was on the phone with Erza when she and I heard the gun shots," Natsu wiped away the dirt from his clothing. "Where is she? Is she okay?"
"Unfortunately, Erza is now a hostage taken by the gunman." Laxus told him of the current situation.
"She went with him on her own free will." Jellal added.
"Oh for God's sake, why on Earth would she do that!?" Natsu walked around in circles, more concerned of Erza's safety than ever.
"Don't worry, my men and I are on their way now." Laxus told him.
"Then what the hell are you still loafing around here then!?"
…
Back to Erza, she, Cobra and his wife who is known as Kinana, have moved into a patient room. She started to reconnect and hook some of the cables and such back on to the ill woman. "So doctor, have you come up with any other diagnoses other than…CJD?"
"Could possibly be Parkinson's disease, but Alzheimer's, Pick's and Huntington's diseases are also top contenders." Erza now looked at the Clipboard which hanged at the end of the bed, looking for viable information.
"Are any of those… slightly better than what she currently has?" As Cobra continued on with the conversation, he looked outside the window where patrol cars were out in the front parked.
"Define better." She skimmed through Kinana's family history, hoping either side of her family tree had similar diseases.
"I don't know? Curable? Manageable?" Cobra wiped away sweat that dripped down from the side of his face. "I'm not a doctor, you know. I'm just the man with the gun."
"None of them are curable," she continued to turn the pages, going from medical history to high school and career history. "All of them are manageable but 2 out of the four will always end in death, to say the least."
"Which are the manageable ones?" His concerns were more worried about which ones that don't cause death than the ones that do, even though all of them are equally as bad to get.
"Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, they both have higher rates of death." She said, finally putting down the clipboard.
"Find anything that helps you make a better diagnosis?" He asked. The excruciating wait was indeed killing his curiosity.
"Neither paternal or maternal sides of the family have exhibited any of the diseases mentioned so the disease is not hereditary." She stood at the end side of the bed, focusing her eyes on the patient, hoping to see anything that could help her.
"What about the X-Ray's? The MRI's and MRA's? Did those not help you!?" More distress than ever, Cobra was ready to snap unless Erza can give him a different answer.
"All of the scans confirm that it is indeed CJD," She hears the gun clip. Is her death near? Her options are to either give the man a good lie or somehow convince him that he's in denial, but either two will lead with someone dying. And outcome does not weigh on him dying. "But…" She notices a syringe that is filled with chloral hydrate on the counter next to the patient. A nurse must've forgotten it.
"But what?" Though the gun seemed ready to be in used, Cobra hasn't raised it to her yet.
In quick sudden movements, she reached for the syringe, getting Cobra off-guard and almost jabbing the knockout sedative right into his neck. "But this!" As fast as she was though, Cobra quickly reacted holding Erza's arm from stabbing him.
"You bitch!" And with that, he kicked her right in her stomach area, knocking her right at the end of the bed while the weapon she had fell from her hand.
"Ah!" She yelped. From her forced seated position, she saw Cobra kick away the syringe, breaking it on the wall. "Guess that plan didn't workout after all…"
"That's it!" He now has his murderous intentions in him.
"Don't shoot me, please!" Sounding like the nurse from before, Erza now begged for her life as the tip of the barrel of the gun was now the last thing she might see.
"Why shouldn't I shoot, doctor?" The crimson haired fellow now pointed his gun towards the doctor who was supposed to help him, whether she complied or he forced her. "Even after you almost stabbed me, give me a good reason why I shouldn't blow your damn brains, guts or limbs off!?"
"..." Erza held her breath, thinking of what to say to the man.
"Tell me!" He yelled at her once more, this time holding the gun near her face.
She could no longer hold her tears and a stream of them rolled down both cheeks. "I-" She sobbed, rubbing away the tears that signified her fear. "I… I'm pregnant!"
"You're… You're pregnant?" Cobra's hand now shook, was it fear that he was going to kill a soon to be mother? Or was his murderous intentions were now clouded with a conscious?
"Y-Yes…" She weakly said, continuing to sob into her hands.
"Oh fuck…" He lowered the gun and walked towards Erza. "I-I kicked you in the stomach for God's sakes, did I hurt you bad? Is your baby OK?"
"W-What?" Erza was now confused at the current predicament. Was the man that was about to kill her asking whether she and her 3 week old fetus growing in her uterus OK? Or did he kick her hard enough for her to knockout and this was some sort of dream?
"I am terribly sorry, I really had no intentions of hurting anyone!" His concerns were real. "I just reacted! I'm truly sorry, ma'am!"
"I'm sorry for trying to stab you, I was just scared…" She rubbed her red puffed up eyes.
"I completely understand, here let me help you up." He offered her his hand and he helped her back up on her feet.
"Thank you…" She weakly said.
"Erik? Are you there? Why is it dark here?" Kinana finally awoke from her slumber.
"Kinana!" He went to her bedside. He placed the gun on the bed, holding her left hand with both of his hands. "I'm right here baby!"
"I can't see you!" She hardened her grip onto his hands, frightened.
"What do you mean? The lights aren't on but the sunset still provides the necessary light." Cobra's worries worsened.
"Oh no…" Erza covered her mouth, hiding the small gasp that almost escaped.
"Who's that?" Kinana could hear Erza but could not see her.
"That's the new doctor," Cobra answered her. "She standing on the right side of the bed."
"Doctor, what's wrong with me!?" Kinana's voice was hinted with a small cry.
Erza just stood, trying to discern the new symptom the woman developed. "Doctor?" Cobra now asked.
"The other doctor…" Erza finally said something. "The other doctor… how time did he tell you, you had Mrs. Cobra?"
"Is something the matter?" Kinana asked her.
"Just answer my question!"
"He told us at least 4 months, 6 if she was lucky." Erik answered for her.
"This can't be right…Mrs. Cobra, can you move your limbs?" Erza asked her.
"I can't feel my legs, and I can barely move my right arm." Kinana felt the numbness all throughout her body.
"How about a memory? Can you think back to a time when you were a little girl?" Erza now gave her a new task.
"I can't. I don't remember anything, all I can think of are vague memories…" Kinana continued to answer Erza's questions. "Thinking just makes my head hurt."
"No…" Erza said underneath her breathe.
"Doctor, please tell us what you told her to do was all about?" Erza couldn't risk Erik losing control again as he did earlier.
Blankness. Her mind came to a blank. No more ideas or any type of thinking can stall the inevitable that could help her. Either she came clean with the truth she has concluded or risk having another episode from the man.
"I-"
Just as she was about to speak, their door was suddenly slammed in, breaking the door's handle and the top hinge, banging loudly on to the wall. "MCPD! Drop your weapon!"
Thinking she was finally saved, Erza was about to move until something from the corner of her eye stopped her from moving: Erik once again pointing the gun at her.
"Sir, I'm not going to ask again! Put the gun down!" The blonde cop with a similar striking scar on his face repeated loudly once more.
"I will shoot her!" Erik threatened.
"Don't do it man! You shoot her and we'll shoot back! I don't want this to end in a bloodshed, do you?" The cop tried to re-elevate the man's stress levels.
Erza stared from right to left from where she stood. On the right, she she's four heavily armed men ready to shoot if the man doesn't comply with what they tell him and on the left, she sees a man who's scared to death. Not by the cops with bigger guns but by the fear of losing his loved one. "Erik." Erza called out to him.
"Erza…" Laxus turns his head a few degrees to look at the scarlet haired doctor. "What are you doing?"
"Just give me a minute!" Not having many options to go around, Laxus simply nodded to her request. "Erik."
"What doctor!?" Cobra loudly answered to his call.
"Do you remember why you were doing this in the first place?" Erza asked, hoping that reminding him of his clear task.
"I…" He stopped mid sentence but his finger hasn't left the trigger. "I wanted answers for my wife."
"Yes," Erza turned to look at Kinana. From the way Kinana's eyes shook, she was clearly lost in her thoughts not even knowing what is currently going on. "I have your answers, but they're not good."
"Don't tell me that they're not good!" His slight action by gripping the gun with both hands was alarming but the 4 cops didn't react.
"You have to listen to me!" Erza raised her voice. "The disease, it's still CJD! I know you don't want to hear it, but it's true!" She gulped down a bit of saliva that hanged around her mouth. "All of the symptoms point to that!"
"No, no, no!" Cobra continued to chanter the word No. He's becoming more distressed and soon both Erza and Laxus were going to have to deal with what the man was going to do.
"Erik!" Erza still continued their conversation. "Please put the gun down!"
No longer pointing the gun at her, he used his arm to cover the emotional tears that streamed along his cheeks. "…"
With a nod, Laxus signaled his team to advance slowly, hoping for a quick take down with brute force. Just as they neared, instead of pointing the gun at Erza, he now pointed the gun near his temporal. "Stand back! I will shoot myself!"
"Whoa now, take it easy Mr. Cobra." Laxus, along with his squad, took a few steps back.
"Erik!" Erza called out to him once more. "Why are you going to kill yourself!?"
"My wife is dying! I don't deserve to live a life without her next to me!" His hand shook with every second that pass by as he held the gun that would end his life.
"Would you really want her to have the last image of you like this!?" Erza exclaimed back. Losing a loved one is pain enduring yes, but having the last image of the loved one dying in front of you is also emotional scarring.
"She won't remember this in q couple of days anyways!" He yelled back.
"She doesn't have long! Her symptoms are worsening and if she's lucky, she'll live 'til the end of the week!" Erza now fully told him the truth. The six months that they thought she was going to live was now shortened to that of a week, maybe even less. "This will be the last memory she'll ever have of you! Do you really want her to have this last image of you carried to her grave!?"
Erik froze up. His hand no longer shook and his tears stopped as his eyes widened as he heard the news. "W-What?"
"You heard me," she lowered her tone to match his. "She doesn't have long, she needs you to be by her side! Don't let her last image be you committing suicide or rotting in a prison cell as she dies herself! She would want her loved to live on!" Her voice became a bit hoarse but a small cough fixed that. "So put the gun down, and be with her. Please."
He didn't want to believe the words that came out of the doctor's mouth. But what if the things she was saying about his wife true? Did she really only have a few days to live? Would this be how he would be remembered? But still he continued not to listen.
"Erik, honey?" But the soothing voice of his wife was back.
"Kinana, I'm so sorry…" His voice broke once again with two streams of tears following it.
"Erik, whatever happens to me, I just want you to know that I'll never hold anything against you," her eyesight was gone but her hearing was enough for her to face her lover. "All those dreams and wishes we both wanted to do, we can do in the next life. I'll even have a boombox on my shoulder, playing our song so you would know it's me."
"Kinana…" He still had the gun to his head but his finger was no longer on the gun's trigger: a sign of devaluation of stress.
"Mr. Cobra, please put the gun down," Laxus asked once more, hoping this time some compliance from him. "I'll make sure the both of aren't separated, does that sound good?"
And the compliance that both Erza and Laxus long waited: Erik dropped the gun and kicked it aside. He soon went on his knees and placed his hands on the back of his head.
With a nod, Laxus sent one of his men to cuff him. "Kinana, baby, I love you!" He told her as his hands were placed on his lower back. The cuffs were cold but he simply disregarded them.
"I love you too, even if I can't see you anymore." She said back to him. That's all he wanted to hear at the moment.
"Boss, what do we do now?" One of his men asked, lowering his assault rifle.
"I…" Laxus didn't know until a certain scarlet haired doctor lightly punched his shoulder.
"You promised him that he can be with his wife, so are you going to make that happen or what!?" Erza asked him in the most infuriating tone. She had hoped the Chief of Police would at least give the man that, to spend the rest of his days with his wife before being sent to jail.
Laxus gave out a big and heavy sigh. He looked at Erza once more and then went to his walkie-talkie. "10-15, I repeat, suspect is in custody."
"10-4, would transport be needed?" The other person on the other line said.
"Negative, find me a sympathetic judge instead, tell them that the suspect's wife is dying and he wants to be with her 'til the end." He told them.
"Affirmative." The other line now hung up.
"Thank you." Erza gave the Chief a small smile. Laxus simply returned the gesture.
…
Everything was sort of back to normal. The room that held Kinana was now under surveillance and the halls of the hospital were once again filled with both patient and doctors alike.
"Are you sure nothing happened to you?" A certain pinkette followed the scarlet haired doctor who was taking him some place in the hospital.
"I'm fine Natsu, remember earlier in our cell phone conversation that I needed to tell you something?" Erza recollected as she continued to lead the way.
"Yeah, before the whole gunshots and whatnot," Nat's scratched his head as he thought about it. "What were you going to tell me that was so important at the time?"
"Instead of telling you, why don't I just show you instead," she said. She finally stopped in front of a room she was in earlier. "Here we are." She opened the room.
To Natsu's surprise, the room had no doctor in it. Just a TV monitor, an old type of ultrasound scanner, a patient's standard seat like bed, a computer monitor, and drawers and cabinets like in a corner. "Erz, what is this place?" Natsu asked.
Erza took the bugger seat. "Come, take the computer chair and sit next to me." She asked of him to do so.
A bit skeptical at what he and his wife were doing here but he didn't argue with any of it yet. As she requested, he did as he was told and brought the chair next to her, taking the seat. "Ok, what now?"
"Just wait patiently." She grabbed the Vaseline gel, opened it and lifted her shirt.
"Whoa, why do you have a bruise near your stomach?" Natsu looked at the small but distinguishable dark purple spot on her stomach.
"I may have had an altercation with Mr. Cobra." Erza left out that small detail from their earlier conversation.
"Did he gut-punch you or kick you in the stomach!?" He was mad that his wife kept this from him.
"Kick, but he said he was sorry, didn't mean to do it. Said it was just a sudden reaction." Erza told him.
"Oh, I'll give him a sudden reaction!" By the sound of his voice, Natsu wanted to return the favor.
"Natsu, please. What I'm about to show you is important, Ok?" She said, holding and gripping his hand tighter.
"Okay, I'm sorry." He apologized for his sudden temper, even though it was justifiable.
Erza let out a ball of air. She turned the TV monitor and grabbed the transducer from the sonogram that was next to them. She then turned the machine on and placed the transducer on her stomach part that had Vaseline. "Look at the screen now."
Natsu looked up and saw a jaw dropping, eye widening, sound waves picture of a small embryo, if that was the exact word he can remember from his college days. He couldn't believe it. He got up from his chair and looked closer at the screen.
"Natsu?" Erza was slightly worried. What if his reaction wasn't what she expected from him? No. She mentally slapped herself for that. She knew that Natsu was excited as her whenever they had the talks for a baby.
She could hear him breath in and out loudly. "Erza…" He faintly said.
"Yes?" She answered. Her heart beat faster than before now. It was the moment she was now expecting.
"How old is it?" He asked her.
"About to be 3 weeks…" Erza responded.
"When did you find out that you were pregnant?" He asked her another question.
Annoyed at his questions, she couldn't help but answer. "Yesterday, when I was in the bathroom."
"When you took an awful-"
"Yes!" She answered before he was able to finish his sentence. She wanted to know how he really felt about this. About a mini Natsu growing in her. "Natsu, enough with the questions baby. I want to know how you actually feel."
Natsu turned around. Erza could see the stream of tears that went down his cheeks. "I'm so freaking happy!" He ran to her side once again, getting her off guard with a kiss.
A passionate kiss at that. The two finally stopped their kissing when their lungs begged for air. "I'm glad." Erza now let her tears of joy fall.
"Erza, do you know what this means!?" An enthusiastic tone come out of Natsu's mouth.
"You're going to be a dad and I'm going to be a mom?" She guessed.
"Yeah! I'm going to be something my own father never was to me." Natsu said, turning back to look at the screen where his soon to be child was shown.
"You're going to be a great father." Erza added to his sentence.
"Guess that'll finally make Igneel a great-grandfather, huh?" He giggled but Erza's giggles quickly joined his.
"The question is though," Erza looked at the screen before finishing her sentence. "Is it a male or female?"
"Female." Natsu quickly jumped the gun.
"Oh really?" Erza raised an eyebrow at his sudden assumption. "What makes you say that?"
"I just know it," Natsu smiled. He looked at Erza. "And that'll mean I'll have two queens in my life."
And with his compliment, Erza pecked her lips with his once more, liking the sound of what he just said. "Now the bigger question is, what shall we name her?"
A sudden silence loomed over at Natsu like a cloud. "Crap."
Author's Note: I guess by now, you would know exactly what I'm going to ask you and that is, name suggestions.
I'm really thinking of making their baby's gender female, so girl names I'll take. You can leave it in your review or you could PM the names. So far, the name Ashley is a good name but I'm open for more name suggestions before making my final decision.
Anyways, hope you like the chapter! And I'll really appreciate any good girl names for their baby. See you next time