As soon as they reached her apartment Lucy allowed the girls in, allowing them to get comfortable while she settled close to Erza, knowing that she was going to need the woman before she finished what they were demanding to know. She was surprised to see almost every girl from the guild on her floor, including Bisca, Lisanna, Evergreen, and Laki. They were all taking this more seriously than she realized, for which she was grateful.

"Lucy, what happened to your pink comforter?" Levy asked as she wrapped the new purple one around Lucy, who hadn't realized that she had been shivering.

Lucy smiled timidly, "That's actually part of the story."

The girls looked at her expectantly and, without further introduction, Lucy launched into her story explaining that seven months ago she had woken up to realize she'd missed her period four days ago. She told them how she had waited for another month before going to Porlyusica, who had told her the happy news. She'd immediately called Bickslow and they agreed to wait until they were out of the danger zone before they told anyone else. They began planning a future in secret, discussing names, where they would live, everything. They were going to take the next step forward.

"We agreed that after three months we would start telling people. I was glad when the fourth month came around because I was tired of the weight comments I was getting from Happy and Natsu. Now I could tell them the reason I was gaining weight. It was so exciting for me," Lucy smiled at the memory before her face clouded.

Erza and Bisca each took a hand. Erza because she knew what happened next, Bisca because, though Lucy hadn't said it yet, she could sense that this was going to end in heartbreak for the Celestial Spirit Mage. Lucy squeezed their hands in silent gratitude as tears pricked at her eyes.

"What happened?" Lisanna asked, not noticing how upset Lucy seemed.

Lucy took a breath and related how she'd fallen down her stairs the next day. Erza had found her a while later and wrapped her in her comforter before taking her to the hospital. She confessed that she didn't remember a lot and had to be filled in on the details later, when she learned she'd lost the baby. For a while all she could do was sit and cry.

"That's when things got rocky between us. All I wanted to do was talk about it, but Bix withdrew into himself. He didn't want to discuss it, he didn't even want to think about it. I think he blamed me for the loss," Lucy said bitterly, wrapping her arms around herself.

Lisanna berated herself silently and no one noticed when the mage left, storming back to the guild where she found Bickslow still sitting in the same spot he was before.

"You have an awful lot of nerve," She hissed at him as she sat across from him.

He looked at her, startled, "Why's that?"

"Lucy is in pain. A lot of pain! And you dump her when she needs you the most. What on earth is wrong with you?" She cried, slapping him.

The noise caused the guild to fall silent as everyone turned, looking at Lisanna in surprise.

"Sis?" Elfman asked, hesitantly. "What's wrong?"

"Ask Bickslow," She sneered. "I have a friend who needs me."

Without another word she stormed out of the guild, causing everyone to watch her leave in bewilderment.

"Sorry, Bix, I don't know what came over her," Elfman whispered to the Seith mage.

He waved a hand as he watched her leave, a thoughtful expression on his face, "Don't worry about it. I think I know. And I'm pretty sure I deserved it."

Lucy was surprised by how many of them comforted her while threatening to kill her newly made ex-boyfriend. She finally held up their hands to stop them.

"This is why I wanted to keep it quiet," She whispered. "Yes, we lost a baby, but he has to be hurting, too. Besides, if he really doesn't want to be with me, then it's good we don't have a little one that would be hurt by all of this."

The rest of the girls looked at her in awe, surprised at how good she was being about the whole thing, which only made them want to kick his ass even more. They remained silent until Juvia spoke.

"Natsu and Gray-sama will kill him if they ever find out," The water mage whispered, causing the girls to go into another round of chatter.

Lucy smiled softly, thankful that she had so many friends. She was surprised to find Bisca next to her once more, one of her arms wrapped around Lucy protectively.

"I couldn't imagine what it would be like to lose Asuka. We almost did once and it was the worst pain I've ever felt, so I can't even imagine your pain," Bisca whispered, shuddering at the thought of losing her only child.

Lucy hugged her, glad that someone was there who at least had an idea of the pain that she felt every day. She listened to the girls as they discussed possible vengeance tactics, sighing in disbelief. She knew that Bickslow did what he thought he had to do. She didn't know how he was feeling, but she knew the pain he had to be going through. After all, he had been as excited, if not more so, as she had been at the idea of their child.

Bickslow sat in quiet contemplation for a long time, serious thinking wasn't his strong suit, he preferred the happy, laid-back approach, but right now he felt it was required. Lucy had to have finally told the girls about Baby Bix. He was proud of her for finally talking to someone, even if he wasn't ready for it yet. He understood when Lissy was mad, too, but he didn't understand why no one realized that he was hurting just as much as Lucy was. That baby was going to be their future, and it had been ripped from them in an instant on the whim of some higher power.

"Bickslow, are you alright?"

He looked up to see Freed sitting down across from him, looking at him in concern.

"Sure," He grinned. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Because you broke up with Lucy. After years of waiting and wanting her and three years together and you broke up with her. I know things have been rocky, but I thought you two would pull through it. She was always so good to you and you seemed to really care for her. Not only that, but she changed you," Freed said softly.

"Change me how?" The Seith mage demanded.

Freed smiled, "You're becoming more mature. Just now I watched you sit in silence, thinking. It's a strange thing, but a good thing."

Bickslow looked down, "Yeah, well, something happened between us. Something bad, and I'm not sure I could handle being with her anymore. I should have been there for her and I wasn't."

Freed looked at him curiously, but didn't say anything. If Bickslow wanted to say more on the subject he would. Until then the Rune Mage would wait.