The current situation was…awkward to say the least. Lucy was currently sitting in the passenger seat of what she figured was one of the government's many black SUVs. Her so called partner was driving and hadn't said much to her after they had been introduced other than "get in the car." He hadn't seemed so bad when they had first met but now she was beginning to think he might be a bit of a jerk.

"You know" Natsu said suddenly, breaking the silence that had formed in the car, causing Lucy to jump slightly in surprise "That was a terrible lie sweetheart."

Lucy froze in confusion at the words that had come out of Natsu's mouth before spiting back at him "Sweetheart? I don't think so."

"Ohh sorry, did I cross a line with that?" Natsu asked his tone almost distant and disinterested "Must be interrogator in me."

"And what do you mean by that?" Lucy asked deciding to brush the little sweetheart comment off.

"I just mean you aren't very good at giving a convincing lie, or smile for that matter" he answered, not taking his eyes off the road as he turned off near a river. Lucy could see the group of people by the bank of the river with blue jumpsuits on and a few police officers.

"How could you tell I was lying?" Lucy asked as she opened the car door "I thought I was pretty convincing."

"Well even if you didn't really show the normal signs of lying you didn't look me in the eyes and choose to look around my nose and mouth area to perceive that you were making eye contact. Plus your expression seemed much too strained. Plus it is kinda hard to lie to somebody who has to know when people are lying, it's kind of a part of my job" Natsu said simply as he got out of the car and slammed the door behind him.

"Oh" Lucy said simply as she followed him down towards the river.

A few of the people standing by the river looked over at them and Natsu took out what she figured was his badge and flashed it at them "FBI agent Natsu Dragneel, and the lady with me is Doctor Lacy Heartfilia-"

"It's Lucy" she said, interrupting him for a second before sending him what she hoped was an expression that said 'I don't like you.'

"Doctor Lucy Heartfilia" he said correcting himself with a small role of his eyes "We've been called in to take a look at this case and make sure it's nothing out of the ordinary. Doctor Heartfilla here is going to be getting that body you found, if you've gotten it out at least, and check over it for you. If it meets the standards of an accident and the investigation I do matches you'll get the body back and get to close the case."

"You heard the agent guys" came a voice from behind them "The FBI has this case covered for us." The man who was talking was imposing and from what Lucy could tell he was definitely one of the officers in charge. The man turned his attention away from the people crouching on the ground and focused his gaze on Lucy.

"So who exactly is she Natsu, you got some new agents in or something?" the man asked as he looked Lucy up and down causing Lucy to move slightly behind Natsu, not that she felt safe around him or anything but the guy was coming off a little bit like a pervert and a FBI agent would most likely be the safest thing to put between her and a sexual predator.

"Or something" Natsu said before hitting the man on the shoulder "And stop staring at her, your scaring her with your creepy perverted face."

"Well that's not very nice now is it Natsu?" the man asked as a pout seemed to form on his face and Lucy was beginning to wonder what she had gotten herself into.

"I'm just telling you the truth, Doctor Heartfilia here is a forensic anthropologist and she's here to look at that body you guys found" Natsu said all joking that had been in his voice earlier completely gone.

"Oooo, you're getting serious now" the man said before saying "Then the girl can look at it, we were about to zip it up and send it to whatever lab she works at. You hear that guys, you can hand over the body to Lucy here, no need to hide it anymore." Lucy turned her attention to the technicians who had been couched on the ground and saw that they had been surrounding the body.

"Can I?" she asked pointing down at the body as one of the technicians nodded before getting up and walking away. The rest soon followed and she was left looking at the corpse on the ground. It had already been put in the body bag but it hadn't been zipped up yet. Crouching down she looked over the body for a quick scan to see if anything stood out and while doing so she kind of overheard Natsu and the other man's conversation.

"So were you in on this whole little plot too Gildarts?" Natsu asked his foot tapping the ground. So now at least Lucy had a name for the guys face.

"You mean the little plot to get you to be a little more into working together with other people? Nope I had no part in it" Gildarts said, teasing obviously in his voice.

"Glad to know you were a part of this plan" Natsu said as he sighed "So can you tell me anything?"

"Well the guy that found him was a little freaked out but other than that he didn't make much of an impact on me. He said he had been walking over the bridge when he saw something floating in the water and after getting a closer look at it he saw it was a body and called 9-1-1. Nothing else much, he claims he's never seen the man before" Gildarts said before asked "So little lady, did you find anything interesting?"

Lucy jumped a little and hoped the man hadn't noticed she had been listening to them "Umm yeah, rigor mortis has already set in so that means the victim has been dead for at least six hours. The man's skin has become blue in color which means he died due to suffocating or dying due to low oxygen levels and I'm pretty positive it was because of drowning. The man has his mouth opened and there seems to be signs of a sort of white froth in his mouth which indicates that water most likely entered the victim's lungs and made contact with oxygen. Once an autopsy is done it can be confirmed whether or not there is water in the victim's lungs."

"So you're telling me the victim drowned?" Gildarts said as his face drew blank.

"All in all, yes that is exactly what I am saying" Lucy said "I'll learn more once the body has made it to a lab for me to properly look at the body."

"Well then zip up the bag and we'll send to wherever you are, which is where exactly?" Gildarts asked as he whipped out a small notebook and a pen.

"Magnolia's History Museum and Facilities" Lucy said as she zipped up the bag, covering the guy's face, she felt a little unnerved. While she was excited to actually be out in 'the field', she couldn't help shake off that there was something off about this death, it was too…..peacefully almost as if they hadn't even known what had been going on. She couldn't place her finger on what made her feel that way though so it was most likely just her imagination but she still would keep that in mind when examining the body.

"Got it" Gildarts said with a click of a pen "I'll have it sent there right away."

Lucy nodded at him before getting up from off the ground and brushing her legs, she hadn't been able to get a close look at the body since she hadn't brought gloves but there would be plenty at the lab.

"So then Heartfilia" Natsu said sliding up next to her "I take it our next stop is the History Museum."

"Who said anything about we?" Lucy asked, an edge finding her way into her voice.

"Sorry" Natsu said as he held his hands up "I just figured that since you're such a great forensic anthropologist that this would be super easy for you."

"I suppose you're right, are you sure you'll be able to handle watching me cut open a body?" Lucy asked wondering how long the guy would stick around after she had made her first cut.

"I see beat up bodies and blood on a daily basis" Natsu said with a chuckle "I think I can handle it."

"Whatever you say agent" Lucy said with a role of her eyes as she headed back to the car.

"Is that sass I sense?" Natsu asked feigning hurt "I didn't realize I had been paired up with someone who could actually match my level of sass."

"I think you're losing it actually, all the words I say are sincere" Lucy said as she tried to hold back laughter, she didn't know what but that man saying the world sass just seemed so...odd.

"There it is again" Natsu said, pointing at her as a smile crossed his face and Lucy was beginning to think that she may be able to grow fond of that bright smile "I did get partnered with someone who understands sass, I don't think you understand how gratefully I am." He placed his hand over his heart as he finished the last bit.

"You must be getting pretty desperate if you're happy to be paired up with someone with sass, normally that's a bad thing" Lucy said, her eyebrow rose as she opened the door to the car.

"Listen, I have to work with white collared federal agents who want to go by protocol every single second they breath in that place. Heck some of them probably ask the chief if they can breathe when he's talking to them. Any sarcasm and sass is welcomed especially when I can't use it at all, most of them don't get it surprisingly" Natsu said with a sign as he stared the car and closed the car door.

"Well then since you're welcoming it so openly I think you're going to be hearing it a lot" Lucy said deciding that maybe he wasn't as much of a jerk as she had first predicted. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad working with Natsu.

"At least that means there won't be too much silence" Lucy said absently, though she had a feeling she might end up falling back on those words.

"According to everyone I work with, whenever I'm in a room there's no way it's going to be quiet" Natsu said with a small chuckle as he began to drive them towards the lab. "I didn't realize there was a lab at the museum, at least not for dead bodies and investigations."

"Oh yeah" Lucy said with a nod "Though we don't get many…fresh dead bodies. Most of the bodies I've examined while I've been there have all been age old remains. But the lab is also home to a lot of other experiments, examinations and such, it's a busy place. Which is why I suggest that you might want to go back to your office or wherever" Lucy said with a curt nod as she looked out of the corner of her eye for his response which was a mere shrug.

"I already asked my friend, who's with the police, if he could run the victim's face through their system to see if they've ever arrested him or brought him in" Natsu said after he had shrugged "So it's not like I can do much until the results for that comes back or until you find something useful with the body."

"I'm sure I can find many things about the victim through his remains, but whether it'll all be useful is debatable" Lucy said as she went over what she needed to do in her head, the first thing she would do when she got the body would be to just go straight for the kill and take out the lungs and check for water to back up her drowning theory.

"Oh?" Natsu said simply as he waited for Lucy to clarify what she meant.

"Like for example, when I look at the bones I can look for remodeling in the bones that would suggest things such as broken bones and based on certain markers I can even figure out what might have caused them. But that might just tell me the victim was a soccer player in high school, so it can be iffy on those aspects. The things that will help most is a toxicology report and examine the inner organs of the body which really isn't my forte, I might need to ask someone in the lab for help" Lucy said as she tapped her chin thoughtfully, she really couldn't be the only person working on one body, she would have to ask for help occasionally, especially when it was in an area she wasn't well trained in.

"Got it" Natsu said with a small nod before asking "Hey, you hungry? Cause I know I am, and if you are we can stop and get food somewhere."

"Well yes I suppose, I haven't really had lunch yet" Lucy said realizing that her lunch break had been her going to the FBI building and meeting Natsu.

"Good, great" Natsu said as he flipped on his blinker "We're going to stop at some good ol' fast food."

"Please tell me it's not going to be McDonalds" Lucy begged as they turned and saw the well-known golden arches.

"What do you have against McDonalds?" Natsu asked as he pulled into the drive-thru.

"Well for starters it's extremely unhealthy-" Lucy began before Natsu cut her off.

"Yeah, yeah, yada, yada" Natsu said as waved his hand around before saying "I'll order you a salad how about that."

"Hey if this is the only place you're stopping I don't want their salad" Lucy said as she strained to see the menu board.

"Oh really" Natsu said slyly "I thought that everything else was too unhealthy."

"It is but that doesn't mean I can't eat it once a year" Lucy said as she dug through her pocket to find her wallet pulling out a five dollar bill she handed it to him "Order me the chicken wrap."

"Yes Heartfilia" Natsu said with a wink before taking her bill.

"Please promise me you'll never do that again" Lucy said as she shook her head, honestly she hadn't pinned him at all for a flirt but maybe the pink hair had just offset her judgment.

"What, wink at you?" Natsu asked "Sorry I'm just trying my darnest to make this atmosphere a little bit more bearable than silence."

"Oh I thought we agreed to sarcasm, not flirting?" Lucy asked.

"It was a sarcastic wink" Natsu said as he winked again.

"I didn't realize there were different types of winks" Lucy asked as she rolled her eyes.

"You have a lot to learn then Heartfilia" Natsu said as he drove forward to order their food. Lucy was defiantly beginning to get that feeling again where she felt like this was going to be a long few days.

By the time they had gotten their food, and eaten it on the ride back to the history museum (Lucy was sure there had been at least five times where she thought she was going to die right then and there) but they had arrived in one piece and now she could go and examine the body.

She sped down the hallway to the lab with Natsu close at her heels while saying offhandedly to him "You know shouldn't you at least obey the laws that the government sets?"

"Are you talking about me eating while driving?" Natsu asked before quickly rebutting it "I was hungry and we all know that everyone does it."

"That doesn't mean it's safe" Lucy said as she slid her name badge through the slot for the second time that day.

The doors were opening as Natsu argued back at her "Come on, there is no way you haven't done it either, what is with you and this seemingly need for perfection or something?"

"Or something" Lucy muttered as she walked through the doors before saying louder "I would just prefer the driver of a car with other passengers in it didn't do things that distract them."

"Okay then fine, I promise to never eat again in a car while driving" Natsu said as he followed her, holding his hands out in front of him.

"Uh-huh" Lucy said as she walked over to body that was already sitting on a lab table.

"Oh Doctor Heartfilia" said the cheerful tone of the intern, if Lucy remembered correctly her name was Yukino something "Some people dropped that off not too long ago for you, I figured I should move it to the table to make it a little easier for you."

"Thank you Yukino" Lucy said, giving the girl a little nod before walking over and unzipping the bag.

Lucy noticed the girl glance over at Natsu from the corner of her eye before the other girl said "Well I must get going, Levy might still need my help."

Lucy perked up a bit at Levy's name and remembered about the body from earlier, she would need to find Levy and find out if she had found anything else. But for now she would have to figure out the best way to check the lungs for water and the first way to start was getting the body out of the bag.

Turning to Natsu she saw he was looking around the lab almost uninterested "Can I get some help with this body?" she asked as she pointed down at the bag.

Natsu looked over at her and shrugged before saying "Yeah sure, what do you need me to do?"

"Well um put on some gloves first" Lucy said as she realized she hadn't put any one either.

"What are the gloves for? Something to do with cross contamination or something?" Natsu asked as Lucy pulled on a pair of gloves.

"Yes, exactly why we need to wear gloves" Lucy said before holding the box of gloves out to him.

"Okay" he said as he took a pair of gloves and put them on without complaint.

"Now then" Lucy said as she looked down at the body "You pick up the upper body and I'll pick up the lower half."

"Okay then, so that means I'm picking this guy up by his shoulders?" Natsu asked as he walked to the front of the body.

"Exactly" Lucy clarified as she walked down to the legs "You ready?" she asked as she glanced up to Natsu. He nodded as he placed his hands underneath the corpse's shoulders. "Okay, on three. One" Lucy said as she wrapped one hand each around the victims legs "Two" she tensed up "Three" the two of them then heaved the body up about an inch out of the bag.

"So where is he headed?" Natsu asked as he held his half of the corpse up with what looked like ease, Lucy on the other hand wasn't feeling the same way.

"To the table next to it" Lucy huffed as she gestured at the table with a nod of her head. Together, with much hassle on Lucy's part, they managed to place the body on the other table.

"Great" Lucy said, one thing done.

"So I take it you got it from here?" Natsu asked as he watched Lucy suck in air.

"Unless you want to help get his clothes off then no" Lucy said as she looked up to see that Natsu's face said it all "Good, so if you're going to stay around just promise not to break anything or touch anything without asking me first."

"Got it boss" Natsu said with a small chuckle before walking away "Hey is it okay if I touch this wall?" he asked, sarcasm dripping in his voice as he pointed at a wall.

"Of course just try not to break it" Lucy said back before turning her attention back to the body.

"No promises" Natsu said back before leaning up against the wall and taking out his phone. Lucy figured this meant he would be fine on his own. She stripped the body of its clothes before covering the lower half of the body with a sheet. She examined the body once again and again found no sign of any external damage that the naked eye could see. She checked the corpse hands and found that they didn't seem to have any scratches on it. Normally in drowning victims it was found that the hands had been damaged from the person struggling to get back up to air but that didn't mean that drowning still wasn't an option.

Lucy took a step back from the body and looked over it once again, she wouldn't need to strip the bones if she found out the cause of death had been drowning. So now she just needs to get some tissues to run a toxicology test and to figure out how to check the lungs for water.

Taking out a pair of surgical scissors she hesitantly made the first cut to the flesh, if she remembered correctly the best way to check for drugs and substances in a body was through the blood but if she couldn't get enough then she would have to get a piece of the liver. She'd managed to get lucky and was able to salvage enough blood from the area she cut to run a test.

"Can I trust you on your own for like ten minutes?" Lucy asked, looking over her shoulder at Natsu for his answer.

He continued tapping at his phone as he said "Sure, there isn't anything interesting around here."

"Okay then, I better not come back and find that the body is hanging from the ceiling" Lucy said as she turned away and began to walk out of the room.

She heard him call after her "I don't think this guy would be much of a party animal anyway." She shook her head and kept on walking right into Levy.

"Oh Lucy" Levy said once she had realized who she had bumped into "I didn't realize you had gotten back."

"Levy, you're just the person I wanted to see" Lucy said as she handed Levy the file she had dropped.

"Let me guess, you want to know if I found anything else about the body we had this morning?" Levy asked with an almost knowing smile on her face.

"Well yes" Lucy admitted, she had almost forgotten about the body from earlier that morning "But I also need to ask your advice."

"So what do want first, my advice or more info on the body from this morning?" Levy asked.

"Well I guess I'm a bit more interested in if you found anything else about the body" Lucy said kicking herself for being more interested in that body, but it's not like the one in the other room was going to get up and walk away.

"I called the original lab the body was at and asked about the bruises on the corpse's back" Levy said "I was soon told by them that during the transport of the body from their lab to our lab, the body had a misfortunate mishap where it fell down the stairs at the other lab. The person I talked to said that someone was supposed to have left a note in the file for us but it seems they had forgotten."

"So you're back to square one with the body then?" Lucy asked feeling a little bit sadden by finding out that her original theory had been wrong.

"Not exactly" Levy said "I called the police and asked them to check the scene once again to see if anything had fallen around the area the victim had been found in since we both deduced that they had been hit in the head by a square object. They soon found that a box had been missing from a shelf and they found it around the area the victim had been hit; it had slid under a piece of furniture. They found blood on it and we soon ruled the death had been accidental."

"Oh" Lucy said "Well that's good that you figured out what had happened to the victim."

"Yes I suppose you're a bit disappointed that your murderer theory was a bust" Levy said with a laugh.

"Not really" Lucy said "So the advice I need to ask you…"

"Ask me anything" Levy said

"Okay, what would you recommend as the best way to find water in the lungs of a possible drowning victim?" Lucy asked "I know you're also a registered coroner so I figured you'd be the best person to ask."

"Well" Levy said as she placed her hand on her chin "There's two ways to do it but the easiest way is to use a probe or a mini camera and send it down to the lungs, but that might be a bit much for you. If you want I can check for you, I've finished up for the day and have some spare time on my hands."

"Really Levy?" Lucy asked as the other girl nodded her head "Thank you that would be a big help."

"No problem Lucy, there's no way you can do this all by yourself" Levy said with a wave of her hand "If you need any help just ask me."

"Thanks Levy" Lucy said before hurrying off to submit the blood for testing. By the time she had dropped it off with the lab technician, Mirajane, and had made it back to where the body was, Levy was already finished checking the lungs.

When she walked back over to the body Natsu said "Some girl came by and did something with the body and then wrote something down, she said you had asked her for help."

"Oh yes, that was Levy McGarden, she's one of my coworkers" Lucy said "I asked her for help since she's more skilled in dealing with flesh bodies then me."

"Levy" she heard him mutter "I know that name from somewhere."

"Did you say something?" Lucy asked catching him slightly by surprise.

"No, just thinking out loud" Natsu said with a shrug before going back to his phone "By the way, they found a match for the victim. His name is Vincent Jeb, 23 years old, arrested three times both for disturbing the peace."

"And how was he disturbing the peace?" Lucy asked as she read over the note Levy had left.

"All three times he was high as a kite and was making a bit too much noise in the middle of the night" Natsu said with a shake of his head "I swear."

"Well good news, for us not the victim, but cause of death was most definitely drowning "Lucy said as she held up Levy's note "My friend found water in the lungs so now we have cause of death but we still don't know whether it was accidental or not."

"Will the test or whatever you're running figure that out?" Natsu asked.

"Maybe, it depends on whether it comes back clean or not" Lucy said "From there we can decide how the victim died."

"Did you find anything else interesting about the guy?" Natsu asked as he got off the wall and walked over to the body.

"Kind of, I found a tattoo on his arm" Lucy said as she gestured at the ink on the man's wrist. Natsu leaned over and looked at it. While she was cleaning up the supplies she noticed Natsu's face turning pale "Hey are you alright-"

"I know that tattoo" Natsu said wide eyed before turning around and heading towards the doors.

"Hey wait a second" Lucy called after him before giving in and hurrying after him "What do you mean by that?"