Lucy was starting to like her time here. It's not what she was expecting exactly. She especially liked what happened in the silo the other night and is hoping to get some more during her stay at the farm. She was also getting accustomed to the early wakes as she was able to get up on her own and was on her way to join them for breakfast.
"Dad, I'm not sure what to think."
"Relax, Natsu. I'm sure it isn't all that bad with Lucy." She could hear the Dragneels talking about her. She kept herself hidden and listened in on her.
"Lucy and I had a fun time the other day." Natsu said. "Let's just say one thing might have lead to another."
"You mean a kiss, right?" Igneel said as he sounded like a suspicious parent.
"Of course." Natsu said as he tried to sound convincing so his old man wouldn't know the truth. "My point is that I don't know what to do. I think Lucy likes me, but I'm not sure if I like her the same way. We had some fun, and maybe I could like her the same. She is easy on the eyes."
"I think I get it, Natsu. Lucy is a pretty girl, but remember that it's substance over flash." Igneel said.
"But what do I do?" Natsu said.
"You're not the first man to be taken in by a pretty girl, and maybe what happened between you might have been a mistake. Until you decide what you feel about her, just try to stay strong and don't lead her on." Igneel said.
"Yeah, but she's coming on to me." Natsu said. Lucy overheard what they were saying and was finding this unbelievable.
"He's still not sure about me? After last night? What kind of man is he?" Lucy said. She was hoping to stretch this out with Natsu until she goes home, but it looks like he's still making it a challenge. If she didn't know any better, she would think he's playing hard to get.
"Anyway, can I trust that you two will behave while I'm gone?" Igneel questioned. "I'm going into town to try and get some supplies for the chicken coop."
"Dad, it's taking forever to get that thing fixed and looking nice again. You really think it can be?" Natsu said. "We hardly have the time with some of the other things that need our attention."
"We've got to try, Natsu. In the meantime, just try to watch it when you're around Lucy. She's going to be here for a while longer. As hard as it is to resist the temptation, try to do so." Igneel said as the two of them had some breakfast. Lucy didn't like what she overheard, but she thinks she can tempt Natsu again like before.
...
Later
"Okay, I'm heading into town." Igneel said as he got his truck ready. "I left both of you a list of things to do until I get back. I shouldn't be too long."
"No worries, Dad. We've got this." Natsu said as his dad hopped into the truck and backed out of there. Lucy waited until Igneel was gone and made her move.
"Well, it's just you and me." Lucy said as she grabbed him by the arm. "Maybe we should skip the work and just have some fun." She said in a seductive voice to try and tempt him again. "After what happened last night, we can certainly have some more fun. Don't tell me you're going to leave me hanging." Natsu was tempted, but he tried to will himself out of it as he pulled his arm free.
"Hold on, Lucy. First, I can't just blow off my work." Natsu said. "Second, I don't want to give you the wrong idea. I'm not saying I didn't enjoy it, but..."
"What? Are you going to try and break my heart?" Lucy said as she was throwing in puppy eyes. Natsu wasn't sure if he could resist, but he's got to try until he can sort his thoughts out. Luckily, he was saved by some crying. "What was that?!"
"Sheela!" Natsu called as he hurried over to the barn with Lucy following after him. Both of them hurried to where Sheela was and saw she was on the floor and appeared to be in pain. "Sheela!" Natsu hurried over to her and placed her head on his lap.
"Is she okay?" Lucy questioned as she was actually a little concerned.
"I think so, except... I think she's going into labor." Natsu said. "We're having ourselves a baby!" This was a crucial moment that clearly can't be ignored.
"Oh boy..." Lucy said as she wasn't sure what to think of this. "Should we give her some privacy or something?"
"No! We can't leave her alone!" Natsu said as he tried to comfort his sheep. "There's a blanket and a bucket over there! Filled the bucket with water and bring them both over here!" Lucy did what he said as she hurried over and got what they needed. Once she filled the bucket with some water, she made it back. Of course, she spotted something coming out of Sheela.
"Uh... I never experienced birth of any kind before, but is there suppose to be this much slime?!" Lucy said as she felt disgusted.
"Don't worry about that. I got it." Natsu said as he tried to move, but Sheela cried out as he tried to move. "Sheela! Language!"
"You understood that?" Lucy said.
"When she cries like that, it would usually be something that shouldn't be heard." Natsu said with Lucy finding that weird. "Lucy, if Sheela won't let me move, you'll have to deliver this baby."
"What?!" Lucy said as she didn't like the sound of this at all.
"Lucy, please! If we don't do this, it could be bad for Sheela and the baby." Natsu said. Lucy certainly didn't want that.
"Okay." Lucy said as she willed herself to do this.
"You see it coming out? Just carefully guide it out." Natsu said as he tried to help Lucy deliver this baby. Natsu was guiding through everything and helped Lucy and Sheela through this.
"Oh boy... They the miracle of birth is beautiful, but what about the process?" Lucy said as she tried to force herself to do this.
"Okay, one more push and you just need to catch it, Lucy." Natsu said. Lucy braced herself as the baby came out and she was able to catch it.
"Got it!" Lucy said as she was holding the new born baby sheep right in her arms.
"You did it!" Natsu cheered.
"I really did..." Lucy said as she was impressed with herself for she never experienced something like this, but she pulled it off. She actually helped bring a new life into this world. She didn't even care she was getting all slimy. "Wait. Why is there a leash to... Oh!" Lucy said as she realized what that really was and tried to stay happy despite how disturbed she feels.
...
Later
Once Igneel came back, Natsu and Lucy told him what happened and he took care of Sheela and the new baby. They were both resting rather well and everything seems to be going great. Lucy couldn't stop thinking about what she accomplished. As she stood near her window and saw Igneel giving the baby some milk for it, she loved what she was able to do. A sight this precious is possible since she was able to deliver that baby.
"Hey." Natsu said as he knocked on the door. "It's getting late. I'm gonna hit the hey."
"Okay. Night." Lucy said.
"You okay? You had quite a day. After what happened, you...you haven't even tried hitting on me." Natsu said.
"What can I say? I never became a part of something like that before." Lucy said. "It just has me thinking of..." She was about to say something, but she stopped because it was a little difficult for her to talk about.
"What is it?" Natsu asked, but Lucy had a hard time saying anything. "Come on. Talk to me."
"I know you think I'm probably some shallow, spoiled, arrogant, rich little girl... It's just... Seeing this..." Lucy had a hard time finding the words. Instead, she decided to show Natsu and pulled out the piece of paper she kept staring at. She sat on the bed with Natsu joining her. He got a look at it and saw it was a photo.
"A photo of yourself? That's certainly "not" self-absorbed." Natsu said.
"That's not me. It's actually my mother." Lucy said with Natsu surprised to hear about that. "People always say I'm the spitting image of her. She... She got sick when I was little and died. That had to have been the worst moment of my life."
"You lost your mother too?" Natsu said as he had no idea. That's certainly a big thing they have in common.
"Yeah... Since that day, Dad always tried to cheer me up." Lucy said as she gazed at the photo. "He gave me what I liked and...I guess I kept doing it and turned into something spoiled without even realizing it. I... I think about her all the time. Every time I do, it just hurts. Despite that, I look at her photo to remind me of her. Even when I was brought up here, I made sure to bring this with me. It hurts to think about her, but I can't stop thinking about her." Natsu got a good look at Lucy and could see tears were starting to form in her eyes. He was starting to think Lucy wasn't as bad as he thought and could see the real her.
"You think maybe you act the way you do because it's a way to distract yourself from thinking about her?" Natsu thought. "You think all the trouble, the parties, and whatever else you did in the past is really just because you miss your mother?" Lucy never really thought about it, but maybe that really is the reason. "I know what it's like not to have one around. That's why I don't want to lose this place and why I work as hard as I do. It makes me feel like she's still here."
"You really do know what it's like not having one around." Lucy said like she just realized and understood that. "On that note, I'm... I'm sorry the whole money thing bothered you."
"Don't worry about it." Natsu claimed. "It might have been bothered me, but it's really nothing to worry about. You just miss your mom, but you had ways to cope with it using money. For me, I had work to deal with my mother's parting. I just didn't have what you had." It seemed like the two of them were having a genuine nice moment since they both know what it's like to lose someone you love. It's like the two are getting a better understanding of each other and they felt a little closer. "Well, I'll see you in the morning." Natsu said as he got up and went to bed. "Night."
"Good night." Lucy said as Natsu went on ahead to bed. Sharing what they did really put things in a different perspective for Lucy. She had ways to ignore her feelings about her late mother, but Natsu doesn't have that. He knows what it's like not to have a mother, something she never really found with anyone. Knowing what she does now, she felt like she had to do something to help him and she had an idea what to do. When everyone else went to sleep, Lucy snuck out of her room. She grabbed some paint, some tools, and got straight to work on the chicken coop. For the first time, she got to work on building something with her own hands rather than having someone else do it. Not wanting Natsu to lose the feeling of still having his mother around, she did what she could to preserve that feeling.
