Natsu was forced to admit that he needed to do less powering through his condition. Trying to power through it was what made his condition worse. He hated it. Taking everyone's overbearing concerns to heart, telling Mira she was working him too hard making him carry two plates at once, and going into a back room with Gray after lunch to run through all the lame exercises from Porylusica's suggested therapy. He even hated having to take his good tasting tea twice a day, and an extra time if he felt tired. It was emotionally exhausting, giving in so thoroughly. But the physical exhaustion if he didn't was too much, and having been found by Gray in such a pitiful state the day after his diagnosis was simply humiliating.

It paid off. Even if he hated it, it paid off. Three weeks after Gray carried him home, he finally got Gray to admit that not only did he seem to be doing better, but he no longer needed an escort in case anything went wrong.

"You still shouldn't run," Gray had tacked on to the end of that admission, which killed any joy Natsu might have felt over being allowed the freedom of walking to the guild on his own again. He knew he still wore himself out too fast running. It was just plain mean of Gray not to let him take a moment to enjoy that he was on the mend.

But even if he was still sick, even if he still couldn't run or fight, Natsu couldn't help but grin the next morning when he woke up, thinking of how he would be able to do something all on his own again for the first time in almost a month.

He slipped out his hammock quietly, careful not to wake Happy, and made himself breakfast in a hurry. He remembered the all-important note to leave for his buddy, explaining that he was going on ahead because he finally could, and almost forgot to brew his tea.

He'd woken up earlier than he'd thought, he realized as he stepped out onto the dirt path that led up to his house. Gray had been getting up even earlier, so that he would never have to wait to go when he was ready. Natsu would have been grateful, except he knew Gray did that less out of courtesy and more out of a lack of faith in Natsu's patience. And it was such a nice morning that he doubted Gray suffered in getting up and coming out at the crack of dawn.

The guild wasn't too rowdy yet when Natsu arrived. Most everyone was still getting ready to head out, if not still in bed. Makarov had opened up the building for the morning, but Mira had yet to arrive. Without her to assign him work and no bar fights to make Natsu's heart ache as he had to watch from a distance rather than get in on the action, he seized the opportunity to peek at what jobs were open.

"You're off active duty," Makarov called out to him as he stopped in front of the bulletin board.

"I know. I know." He waved dismissively to the guild master. "I'm just looking."

He was getting better. Soon, hopefully in the next month or two, he might be able to take a job again. Erza, Lucy, and Wendy had been going off as a three man team to take care of their expenses, and there had been one or two occasions where Gray had taken a quick job, leaving his escort duties to Mira for the day.

Now that he didn't need someone standing by all the time, Natsu realized, those four could go back to working together, and he would be the only one missing from the team. He hoped they didn't do anything too fun while he was out of commission.

Even if he couldn't fight, he wanted to be there…

"Natsu, is it alright for you to stand so long?" Makarov asked.

"Of course it is!" Natsu huffed. "I've only been here a few minutes."

"Working for Mira, you'll be on your feet much longer. Take a moment to rest."

"I'm fine," Natsu declared. Gray had been right. That was a word that he'd come to say so many times that everyone, himself included, was getting sick of hearing it.

"Sit, Natsu."

Grumbling, Natsu sat down on the floor and stared up at the board. Suddenly, being able to take jobs again felt much further off. He bit his lip, trying to think of some way he could get back with his team before then. Even if they still spent time with him at the guild, it didn't feel the same when he couldn't go out and travel with them.

"Hey, Gramps?"

"Is something wrong?"

"No. Would it be okay if I went along with someone on a job?" Natsu asked. "Not to work. I would only watch."

Makarov scowled, thinking over the implications. A job nearby might be possible. Natsu could walk to his house without concern now, but he certainly couldn't go on a long hike shadowing someone else at work. They hadn't tested putting him on transportation since the diagnosis, and there was the risk of his motion sickness aggravating his condition too. Not to mention the high odds that Natsu might give in to temptation and attempt to join a serious fight if he was allowed to go out with someone else on their job.

"I'll consider it."

Natsu's eyes lit up. "Really?"

"You'll have to prove you can handle it first. I won't have you running off only to collapse again. And I would want to approve which jobs you can follow along with others for."

"Haha! Thanks, Gramps." Natsu stood. "Mira should be here soon, right? I can get started with all the breakfast supplies."

Makarov nodded, avoiding eye contact. It felt wrong not to voice all of his concerns when Natsu so clearly wanted to get out of the guild hall. For as irritated as Natsu always was with people worrying about his health, for as excited as he'd been the previous evening, hearing Gray say he'd probably recovered enough to walk around town on his own again, Makarov hadn't the heart to remind Natsu of Porylusicas prediction. He might be able to recover somewhat, but likely not enough return to active duty.

It would have been rude to say it, but it wouldn't be fair to the other guild members to have Natsu come along when, in all likelihood, he would only be a load. And it would have been cruel to tell Natsu he couldn't even watch others do the work he missed.

But then it might just be cruel to let Natsu go along on a mission, and to continue to fantasize about work he wouldn't ever do again.

-o-

For the first time in far too long, Gray slept in.

When he'd first declared Natsu unfit to walk to the guild on his own, he'd been playing it safe. Natsu hadn't collapsed going to or from home. He'd made it all the way to his destination before opting to take a break. It was only because everyone at the guild was so worried about him that Gray had decided that an escort wouldn't hurt. And maybe his own memory of watching Natsu collapse without warning had made him a little cautious too, but he hadn't expected Natsu to ever face any incident should he try to get anywhere on his own.

Seeing Natsu on the ground the next gay had chilled him in a way he hadn't known he could be. It had only been two days since Natsu had collapsed in the middle of enemy territory, and thinking that his team mate had suffered another attack so soon had made Gray feel physically ill.

At least it was in Magnolia, he'd told himself. At least it was near the guild. They could get him help immediately. There would be no looking over to see some enemy about to take advantage of Natsu's weakness. No fighting to pull him from the fray. No horribly stress, putting him in a vehicle when he was already weak and hoping that the hours that ticked by getting him safely home weren't going to make whatever had made him pass out all the harder to get taken care of.

That relief upon seeing that Natsu had only fallen over had quickly faded and sent another chill through him. How sad was it that someone falling and being unable to get back to their feet could be considered a good thing? How could Natsu be so careless with himself when he could very well have died on that last mission, had Gray not turned around and seen him in time? How could Natsu be so careless with himself back home as to let himself collapse in the middle of the street?

Even though Natsu had behaved himself ever since being carried home, Gray had been sure to be up well before the sun every morning. Natsu couldn't be trusted with himself, and looking after him was within Gray's capabilities. If he chose to leave Natsu on his own and something happened, Gray wouldn't have been able to forgive himself.

But after three weeks, Happy had cornered him, insisting that Natsu was getting better, and that he needed everyone to relax around him because he was getting fed up with all the coddling. Fed up Natsu was likely to act out. Natsu acting out was likely to involve magic. Using magic was likely to trigger another attack. It made Gray anxious to leave Natsu on his own, but he was getting better, and it beat making Natsu feel the need to rebel.

He had been up late after bringing Natsu home one last time. Worry over what might happen without him there kept him awake well into the night, and it was almost noon by the time he finally woke up.

Purely out of habit, Gray went to check Natsu's first. The dragon slayer and his cat were both gone. If Natsu had collapsed anywhere, Happy would have brought him in. Most likely. With that concern temporarily resolved, Gray went back home and dressed. After a quick brunch, he then set out for the guild.

It was business as normal when he arrived. The new normal. Their team was split, trying not to notice that one of their members wasn't with them. Erza and Cana were talking about boys, Lucy and Levy talking about boys with much less confidence, and Wendy actually talking to a boy, although the way she and Romeo chatted, she didn't seem to be thinking about boys. Natsu was carrying lunch orders.

Gray sighed. Even if Natsu had started smiling again once everyone stopped asking him if he was alright, it was depressing to see him handling such a dull task. But at least he'd made it to the guild alright on his own.

He seemed especially cheerful that day. Almost as happy as he'd been before being forced to go off of active duty. Gray had just eaten, but when he took a seat at a table with Gajeel and Juvia, and Kinana stopped by to see if he wanted to order anything, he asked for a salad knowing that Mira would send his food out with Natsu.

"Gray! Gray!" Juvia waved her hand in front of him, trying to draw his attention from the roset who tripped carrying Droy's lunch, but managed to catch himself before he fell. "Juvia thinks this is a good time for us to go on a job together. Now that you don't need to stay in town, there must be something that we can do at the beach."

"No."

Going to the ocean with Juvia was an idea that gave him goose bumps. He didn't doubt for one second that getting into the water would get him secretly felt up by her. And he still had to help the flame brain with his physical therapy. Granted, he could easily pass the task on to someone else, but Gray wanted to stay and keep an eye on Natsu, if he could.

Juvia was still begging him to reconsider when Natsu brought his salad out.

"You look good today," Gray said as Natsu set the plate in front of him. "Feeling better? Or did something happen?"

Natsu's grin widened. "Both. Gramps says I might get to go on jobs again soon."

Gray felt the blood drain from his face.

"O-oh. Not… um…" Natsu's face fell, seeing Gray's horror. "I'm not supposed to do any actual work still, but he was going to think about letting me tag along and watch. I miss being out with everyone."

That was… not as worrisome, but Gray still felt nervous imagining Natsu out by a battlefield. He was recovering from his last attack. He could walk just fine. But could he run without falling? If someone saw him watching from the sidelines and attacked, could he get himself to safety without making his condition worse again?

Natsu watched for some sign of Gray's approval, until it occurred to him that he didn't need Gray's approval. If he'd had the strength too, he would have fought Gray over that stupid mandate that he have an escort, and if Gray wasn't on board with him tagging along on jobs, then too bad. He wasn't the one whose world had been confined to home, the guild, and the road between the two for the past month.

Granted, Gray's approval to go with Gray on missions was still kind of important. He needed it if he wanted the whole team back together.

"Good for you," Gray finally forced out. "Don't get yourself so worked up thinking about it that you can't go along when the time comes."

Natsu stuck his tongue out at Gray, then turned and stormed back to the kitchen.

"Do ya need to remind him constantly?" Gajeel asked. "Seems like a good way to make him throw a fit."

"You've hardly interacted with him at all since we found out, so you wouldn't know. Trust me. Without the reminder, he'll forget."

Watching Natsu handle everyone's lunches, Gray felt like, maybe, Natsu could do with a few more reminders. The idiot was practically running around getting orders delivered at first. Even when he finally slowed, probably because the energy drain caught up with him, he kept going without break. For anyone else, Gray might expect a little more than that. From Natsu, Gray wanted less. Even if it grated on Natsu's nerves to have to stop and rest, Gray felt a cold, twisting dread in his gut every time Natsu did more than Porlyusica's instructions had advised.

Granted, it had been a few weeks, and Natsu's health had improved. Maybe it was time to have Porlyusica assess him again. Surely Makarov would think to have that happen before letting Natsu follow along on someone else's job.

Gray poked at his salad, but didn't think to take a bite until Natsu disappeared into the kitchen one last time and didn't come back out. Good. That meant Mira had convinced him to take a break. Or at least switched him to a task where he would be less active. Inactive Natsu was still something Gray was adjusting too, but it beat Natsu passed out in pain.

Natsu had only said that Makarov was thinking of letting him tag along on other people's jobs. Hopefully, Makarov would think better of letting Natsu risk himself like that.

-o-

Makarov was still thinking about it, and leaning towards giving his approval, when he pulled Gray aside shortly after lunch and asked that he fetch Porlyusica.

"Natsu's doing better, don't you think?" Makarov asked. "I'm sure he needs some changes to his therapy to reflect that. And it wouldn't hurt to have her assess what he is and isn't capable of at this point."

Unless Porlyusica's assessment wasn't exactly the same as Gray's, he expected it to hurt an awful lot. Either Natsu was going to be crushed upon hearing he couldn't do as much as they'd first thought, or she would give the go ahead for him to do more, which would stress Gray out to no end. For as much as he wanted Natsu to recover and be back to his old, obnoxiously hyperactive self, whenever he remembered seeing him crouched over on the side of the street, crying, unable to stand and afraid of triggering another attack…

But orders were orders, and he needed to trust that Porlyusica knew more about how to handle Natsu's condition than he did. Gray went out and brought her back to the guild, and to both their annoyance, Natsu was asleep when they returned.

"He was excited today," Mira told them. "I had to bully him into taking a break. It finally caught up with him about ten minutes ago."

The suggestion that they wake him was on Gray's lips when he remembered why that wasn't a good idea.

"Has he been taking his tea?" Porlyusica asked.

"I don't know about today, but he's had it every other morning," Gray assured her.

"And I've made sure he has it with his lunch," Mira added.

"Is there any left over from today's lunch?"

"We have enough to last a few more days."

"Heat a mug for him," Porylusica ordered. "He should be able to stay awake all day, if he's taking care not to overwork himself. So long as he can, he needs to have a regular sleep schedule. Get him up, give him the tea, and give him five minutes to fully wake up. If he has the energy for it, I'll see how he's doing. If he doesn't, then he isn't doing well, but do try to keep him awake until he's had dinner."

Mira went to reheat the tea while Lucy went back into the infirmary to wake Natsu. After a few failed attempts, she called Gray in. Natsu stirred a little when shaken violently, but even when Gray succeeded in waking him, he only muttered something that sounded like it was probably a request to be left alone and went back to sleep.

Giving up, Gray picked Natsu up princess style and carried him out to the main guildhall, setting him on one of the tables.

He hadn't shaken Natsu as hard as he could have. Ever since Natsu had been diagnosed, Gray had been afraid to get rough with him. He was more than a little shocked when, upon hisl laying Natsu gently on the table top, Porlyusica whacked Natsu in the face with a broom.

"Gah!" Natsu catapulted up into a sitting position, only to fall back down when his hand slipped out from under him. He hissed in pain, clutching the back of his head where he'd hid the table, and rolled over onto his side.

"Is… is it alright to do that?" Gray asked.

"Not so hard that it makes physical activity more difficult for him," Porlyusica said. "Are you awake?"

"Ow… yeah…"

"Stand."

Reluctantly, Natsu slid to his feet and stood, one hand still on the table for support. His legs, Gray noticed, shook slightly.

Porlyusica noticed as well. "You pushed yourself too much today. Can you recognize the signs that you're in danger of an attack?"

"Yeah."

"Do you feel any warning signs."

Natsu glanced away, then looked back, not meeting her eye this time. "Yeah, but it's not that strong yet."

Gray grimaced. Someone should have reigned him in earlier. What was Mira thinking, letting him work like that?

"We might want to do this tomorrow, then," Porlyusica said with a sigh.

"Do what?"

"Assess you, you stupid child." She pointed to a table two rows away. "Walk to that table. We can at least see how well you can hold up for the rest of the day."

Finally catching on to the situation, Natsu drew himself up, let go of the table, and walked unsteadily across the room. When he reached his destination, he sat. His mouth was drawn in a tight line. Everyone watching could already guess what Porlyusica would say.

Mira returned with his tea, and the older woman held off on giving her verdict until Natsu drank it.

"Gray, you've been escorting Natsu to and from the guild, correct? You said this only stopped this morning?"

Gray nodded.

"I was here when he arrived," Nab, who had been at the request board all day, called across the room. "There was nothing wrong with him when he got here."

Porlyusica considered this a moment. "Very well. I'll come back early tomorrow to see how he's doing before he can wear himself out. So long as nothing happens, he should be fine to come here on his own, but if he can't get through the day without wearing himself out, then that's that. Gray, until I say otherwise, continue to help Natsu with the return home."

"Yes, ma'am!" He said it loudly, so as to drown out Natsu's protest.

"Be back tomorrow," she told Natsu. "When you arrive, sit. Wait for me. You're already wasting my time making me come a second day. Don't make me come three times."

Natsu glared down at his feet and grumbled an affirmative.

She turned and left then, and everyone who had been hovering, watching, or who had sat at their tables and pretended not to watch resumed what they had been doing before she arrived.

With everyone's attention off the two of them, Gray took a seat beside Natsu, who scowled at him before returning to glaring it his feet. Like it was there fault he couldn't walk steadily or something.

"It's not that bad."

"I should be able to walk that distance on my own."

"You can. You made it on your own this morning," Gray reminded him. "That's an improvement. You're getting better. You might not be recovering as fast as you'd like, but you're recovering. So cheer up. You're already doing better."

"Doing better?" Natsu looked back up at Gray. "My legs almost gave out under me walking ten feet. Because I tried to deliver meals without taking a break between orders. I'm not going to feel any better until I can punch you as hard you deserve for thinking that's better."

-x-

STA: I have a really distinct memory of my Natsu shimeji sitting down and looking displeased with me when I wrote that broom scene.

Other than that, I don't have anything particular to comment on. I suppose I could mention that I'm honestly empathize more with Gray, however the two come across in this fic. Working as a caregiver myself, I've had my share of patients who do stuff that's too dangerous our counter intuitive to their already declining health. Reasons vary from dementia to caring more about pleasure than well being to trying to maintain independence. It's stressful as all hell to be responsible for the safety of someone who falls whenever they stand, but who never calls you for help because they always want to try and stand on their own.

Daygon Yuuki and Ryu: Thanks! I hope you continue to enjoy the story.