Hi guys! Clary here. Here's the new chapter for Mercy! And a shout-out to all the amazing people who faved/followed my story. This is my first fanfic, so I really appreciate your support! :) Thanks, you guys. You're the best!

skelekc - To answer your question, you have to wait and see to find out. ;)

Disclaimer : I do not own Fairy Tail. It belongs to the almighty Hiro Mashima. The plot of this story is also based on Jodi Picoult's Mercy.

Chapter 1

When Lucy Heartfilia was in high school, she was not the most popular girl in her class. (Although she could have been, if she wasn't so 'into books and good grades', like they say.) She was nowhere even close.

That honor belonged to Lisannna Strauss, the sister of the part-time model – Mirajane Strauss, who had a cute, platinum blonde pixie-cut hairstyle, and not to mention her dazzling sapphire blue eyes that captured the hearts of nearly every male in school.

But her good looks did nothing to help her overly-inflated ego and stuck-up attitude, though. She was the ultimate stereotype for cheerleaders all across the globe – beyond gorgeous on the outside, but rotten to the core.

How rotten? Well, rotten enough to stuff someone's locker with cow dung. And, also low enough to trash someone's English homework which she worked on days end for, thank you very much.

Unfortunately, she had the hots for the school's heart-throb, Natsu Dragneel who happens to be Lucy's crush for the longest time. And what's even more unfortunate is that rumor has it that he felt the same for her. Her, referring to Lisanna.

And so, it was no great surprise when Lisanna Strauss became Natsu's steady girlfriend in the fall of 1997, although Natsu was a high school senior and Lisanna was a freshman. They were both undeniably beautiful, Lisanna in a collectible doll sort of way, and Natsu towering over nearly everyone else in the school, his wide, strong shoulders and bright shock of hair always easy to spot.

Funny how it was his hair that she fell in love with first. She used to sit in the school library bent over a slim volume of Kemu Zaleon's poetry, waiting for him to come through the hall. He came in every day during the period she worked at the counter with her best friend, Levy.

She'd straighten the shelves behind the spot where he was sitting down, imagining her fingers weaving through that ridiculous – yet very attractive – pink hair. And at the end of the period, she would pick up the books the he'd left behind and tuck them in their Dewey decimal places, trying to hold on to the heat Natsu's hands had placed on the covers.

As much as Lucy would like to believe that he'd come in at that very period, when she was working, was just to see her; the truth was that Natsu Dragneel did not know Lucy Heartfilia existed for most of the time they had lived in the same neighborhood. She was far too quiet, far too plain to attract his attention.

But, who cares? Looking back to the present, poor little Lucy who used to get picked last in gym class is now one of Ishgar's most well-known authors, and is currently married to high-school crush and Magnolia's one-and-only Police Chief – yes, you guessed right – Natsu Dragneel.

Snapping herself back to reality, she continued her way to Natsu's office at the police station. It didn't take long for her to reach the lobby of the station, seeing as the flower shop that she opened was only a few blocks away. Yes, you saw that right, in addition to being a renowned author, she's a florist too.

Peeking through the window separating his office and the lobby, she saw that he was in, not out on patrol, and decided now was as good as any to bring him the new arrangement of flowers she made. Absently, she ran her fingers over the sweet chestnut and barberry foliage that made up the greens in the piece she would give to Natsu.

Lucy knew the language of flowers – the idea that every bloom stands for some quality of human nature. Bouquets sent from the shop for the arrival of a baby were stuffed with daisies, for innocence; and moss, for maternal love. Valentine's arrangements had roses, of course, but also lilies for purity, heliotrope for devotion, and forget-me-nots for true love.

To Natsu, she often sent designs that were full of messages she knew he would not understand. She eyed her latest work critically, nodding over the bulk of tulips which made up the bulk of the piece.

In Persia, a man would give a tulip to his beloved to show that as red as the flower was, he was on fire with his love; as black as it's center, his heart was smoldering like a coal. It would be a perfect match for her husband's fiery personality.

She filled out the vase with MIchaelmas daisies, China asters, and fire thorn. And then, as she always did for Natsu's arrangements, she added as many sprigs of purple clover as she could without making the lines of the flowers seem overblown. Clover, if you're wondering, simply meant, remember me.

Walking through the sliding glass door, she smiled warmly at Erza, who was on the telephone. Erza Scarlet was the head secretary of the Magnolia Police Department and was also a close friend of Lucy's. Erza was normally on a good mood – though Natsu and the rest of the crew would strongly deny that she was never on a good mood – but today the redhead seemed irritated. By the caller, Lucy presumed.

Waving her hand distractedly at Lucy to tell her he wasn't in a meeting, Erza clenched her teeth, 'No,' she was saying firmly to the caller. 'We don't have any animals to give out for adoption at all. That would be the animal shelter downtown.'

Lucy tried to hide her giggles through her hand as she looked at Erza's exasperated expression. She set the tall vase in the center of the main desk, where Erza was currently seated and still trying to convince the caller that no, they did not sell dog food either, and then walked to Natsu's office.

She gave a quick knock and pushed the door open with her shoulder. He was asleep, his head pillowed on his arms on top of his desk. Smiling, Lucy crept around his chair, running her fingers through the hair at the back of his neck.

Natsu let out a content sigh and leaned his head towards her fingers. She bent close to his ear to whisper. 'While justice sleeps,' she teased.

One of his eye's lazily cracked open, a smile playing at his lips as he enveloped himself in his wife's warm and soothing presence, breathing in her flowery scent. 'Hey,' he greeted, not wanting this moment to end too soon.

Sure, he loves the times they spend teasing and just having fun, but this was what he loves most about them – being able to be comfortable with each other without speaking, being able to just lie there knowing that what they have is always enough, more than enough.

Lucy smiled. 'I brought you flowers.'

Natsu raised his head, groaning. 'I thought I told you you don't have to do that.'

'I like to.'

Natsu snorted. 'This is a police station, not a hotel lobby,' he pointed out. 'People who are arrested aren't much interested in interior design. They won't even notice.'

Immediately, Lucy tried not to flinch.

At the same time, Natsu was internally punching himself for making that mistake. He knew better than anybody that Lucy's dad was arrested for covering up his daughter's crime (which Natsu firmly denies since she wasn't aware of what she did) when she was only eight. His last words to Lucy before he was taken away were, 'Don't forget my flowers.'

Jude Heartfilia was sentenced to death a few months later for the accused murder of his wife, Layla Heartfilia. He never pleaded not-guilty, never asked for another re-trial.

He was a policeman. And very much like Natsu, he fell in love with Lucy's mother in a flower shop. He would always bring flowers to decorate the very police station Natsu was in, claiming that it would be the last source of joy for the criminals they put away. He was the sun Lucy's life revolved around, and the day he was sentenced had ultimately been the last straw for Lucy.

Only a few years older than her, Natsu – who was ten – had watched from the sidelines of the court with his own father (who was Jude's loyal confidant), watching as the girl with the golden smile broke into a million pieces.

Still silently berating himself for slipping up and reminding Lucy of her dead father, he noticed that Lucy was staring at him worriedly. He froze up, enraptured by her chocolate, doe-like eyes. He could feel the silence wrapping around the both of them, slowly suffocating him.

That is, until the silence was broken by Erza, who was still on the phone.

'I said this is not an animal shelter! No, we don't sell burgers – Ugh!'

Her statement was promptly followed by the sound of a phone being slammed against the table.

Then they both burst out laughing. The tense atmosphere vanished; the conversation forgotten as the couple laughed their worries away.

He soon realized that he never got to say sorry. She'd forgiven him without blinking an eye. She was an angel with a glass heart that was already broken once.

And he swore that he would never let her heart get broken again.

So...what do you think? I know it's pretty confusing with Lucy's past and stuff but all will be revealed soon. ;) By the way, I'll try my best to update as soon as possible during the holidays, since I will be pretty busy as soon as school starts in January.

Just to clear a few things up : When Lucy was eight, a crime involving her and her mother, happened. Her mother died in this incident and Lucy's dad - Jude - tried to cover up this crime, since Lucy happened to be a big part of how Layla died. And so, Jude was convicted of murder and was sentenced to death. You'll find out the rest soon. :)

Feel free to leave a review! Thanks!