Loki delicately laid Lucy down on the clean bed in the infirmary. Slowly he turned to the Makarov looking as if he had been beaten within an inch of his life. Without hestitation he told the old guild master everything that had happened during Lucy's capture, not even bothering to acknowledge Wendy as she silently entered the room or the horde of guild members gathering at the doorway. Makarov felt tears gather at the corners of his eyes. No once had a member of his guild had to endure anything close to what Lucy had. Part way through the explanation Jet and Porlyusica arrived in the room. The old healer made quick work of shooing everyone from the room except Loki, Makarov and Wendy.
"She begged me not to leave her side! If she wakes she'll freak out!" Gajeel protested he didn't want a repeat of last night. "She will not be waking for a long time boy, I will sedate her until I'm satisfied that she's been healed enough that moments of hysteria will not make mundane wounds life threatening." She looked Gajeel directly in the eyes, never flinching from his hard glare. "The only other person I will allow in this room besides these three," She said gesturing towards Loki, Makarov and Wendy who never looked up from healing Lucy's right wrist, "is the pink haired one." She said before turning to Wendy and asking for a detailed explanation of Lucy's injures. Loki looked at the iron mage "Tell Natsu he's welcome to come up." Loki said before turning back to the Master to continue his de-briefing on Lucy's capture.
Reluctantly Gajeel descended the stairs to meet every eye of the guild. Ignoring everyone's questioning stares Gajeel made his way to Natsu. The pink haired man sat at the bar nursing a strong glass of whiskey, Gajeel could smell the salt radiating off of Natsu from across the room indicating Natsu was once more silently crying. The younger dragon slayer didn't even look up as Gajeel seated himself beside him. "Loki said you could go up to her." Gajeel whispered, not wanting the prying eyes of the guild to hear or question why the usually untameable Natsu need permission from Loki to be beside Lucy. Natsu only shrugged his shoulders and downed the last gulp of spirits in the glass as Happy stared at him with an apprehensive look. He motioned to Mira for another and patiently waited for his glass to be refilled. Gajeel felt himself begin boil but tried again, "Natsu, I think it'd be good for your face to be the first she sees when she wakes up." Gajeel was struggling to remain calm, as he watched Mirajane refill Natsu's glass.
"It's not my job to be by her side anymore." Was all Natsu said before he drunk the whiskey in his glass before grabbing the bottle Mira had left behind and left the guild. "Natsu?" Happy's small voice called after his friend only to be met with silence. Tears spring to his eyes as he looked up to Gajeel. "Do you think Loki would let me stay with her?" Happy asked, a small amount of hope slipping into his voice. Gajeel looked away from the doors down to the little blue cat. "It's the hag you've got to get permission from." Gajeel got up from his seat to comfort his bookworm who was sobbing in the corner as people questioned her about Lucy's condition. He pulled her out of the crowd and glared at them all. Unwillingly everyone looked away and Gajeel scooped the small woman up and moved her to a secluded table.
Happy floated from his place on the bar counter and made his way up the stairs. Loki sat on a chair beside Lucy's bed and watched Wendy work on healing Lucy's legs, the master sat beside him, not wanting to go downstairs to explain Lucy's ordeal to the family. Porlyusica looked up from placing herbs on the carvings to see Happy standing in the doorway. "I thought I said the pink haired one, not the cat." She said, sounding tired. Everyone looked up from the damaged girl to look over to the Exceed. "Natsu couldn't come. I was wondering, could stay in his place?" Even though it wasn't entirely true Happy did want to be beside Lucy for Natsu as well as himself. Until Natsu could forgive himself enough to be beside her, he would do his best to be with her all the time as he protector. Loki allowed himself a small smile, even though Happy was asking it came out more like a command.
The old healer snorted at Happy and found herself smiling. This girl had been through hell but if any guild- no family could repair her, Fairy Tail was the one the small cat just proved it. "Don't get in my way and you can do whatever you want kitty." She said turning back to the job at hand. Wendy smiled gently at Happy before returning her magic to heal Lucy's bones. Happy walked over to the bed, unsure where to place himself. He desperately wanted to curl up next to Lucy as he was suppose to do last night before he lost his nerve, but he didn't want to be in the way of Porlyusica and Wendy. Loki looked at Happy and sensed the cat's concern. He bent over and gently picked the cat up, placing him on his lap. "When their done, sleep next to her. It'll help with nightmares. At least it did when Plue did it last night." Loki said tenderly patting Happy's head.
It was quiet for a few more minutes until Porlyusica suddenly asked Loki be for she began to heal the carvings, "Before I begin to work on these, where was the girl during the eclipse today?" Wendy looked confused at the sudden statement, Happy forgot she wasn't there when Gajeel explained the Umbraphiles but he also felt slightly confused, weren't they just carvings? "In the Spirit World. I made sure she wasn't there during the eclipse." Loki said his face stern. Porlyusica visibly relaxed and Makarov raised a brow. Why was that important? "The carvings," The old healer began, "as to amplify the spirit blood Celestial mages have during a solar eclipse. It brings out the immortally in their system. Also it makes it transferable, if an Umbraphile went through the ritual," it seemed that the healer also didn't want to be the one to tell Wendy about the sacrifice and… feast, "Without the carvings, or without a solar eclipse, they would be poisoned and die."
"So you're saying," Makarov said, worried his assumption would be correct. "If Lucy had been on Earthland during the eclipse she would be immortally right now." Makarov said, thankful for Loki. Porlyusica looked at the old man, her gaze harder than he had seen for years. "No, not completely. She would no longer be human her heart would be poisoned, that's what the clan leader must eat to grant immortally to the tribe, and she would be stuck between life and death, stuck between the worlds, Earthland and the Spirit World. Lucy would be drained from this body and something else would awaken." Porlyusica turned back to her work, while everyone but Loki turned a little green at the thought of sweet Lucy becoming a lifeless monster. But after her treatment, Maybe that was how she wuld awaken anyway? Especially without Natsu, Loki and Makarov found themselves thinking.
Natsu didn't want to go home, he didn't want to be at the guild, he certainly didn't want to be near Gajeel, Erza or Gray, Lisanna or Levy heck he even didn't want to be around Happy right now. He just wanted to curl up next to Lucy. To wrap his arms around her and sleep with her coiled in his embrace. Tears began to build at the corner of Natsu's eyes once more. He'd never felt so empty, not since Igneel left. Natsu wandered the streets of Magnolia, whiskey bottle in hand taking occasionally swigs of the foul tasting spirit. He never really drank and he certainly never drank straight whiskey. He felt his sight getting blurry and his feet felt heavy.
Around him the town's people whispered and stared at the young mage with worried eyes. "Missing.", "Partner died.", "Left him", "Killed herself." The whispers were malicious and just hearing them burned Natsu's ears. So no one but the guild knew Lucy was back yet, he guessed that was a good thing for Lucy. Natsu looked up from the pavement to find himself outside Lucy's. He sighed as he jumped into the window. He hadn't been here in months, neither had Lucy but her scent was still lingering in the small apartment. Natsu plonked himself down on her soft bed and found it difficult not to burry himself in the sweet smelling sheets. "Lucy," He sighed longing filled his chest. "I'm so sorry."
He placed the whiskey bottle down on her bed side table and wandered around the apartment. A thin layer of dust covered everything and he felt the strange need to clean the house before Lucy came home. She would hate to see the usually pristine rooms in this state. Natsu in his drunken state still knew the house like the back of his hand, it was practically his home. He usual spent more time here than at his own home. He couldn't sleep without Lucy, or at least her scent near him. So quite often he found himself sneaking into her bed when she slept and leaving before she woke. Happy teased the hell out of him when he found out.
Natsu began to clean the house. Cleaning was a new experience for him. Natsu had very little idea how to clean, but he felt as if he was doing an alright job of it. He reached Lucy's desk, intending to wipe the dust off her writing but his eyes felt drawn to a certain piece that a blue haired bookworm had discovered two months before. Natsu's eyes scanned the page and his heart sunk. He may not be the smartest person alive, but he knew enough to know that this was not Lucy's usual fiction. It was written for addressed to him.
Natsu drank the last of the bottle, hoping to numb the pain the paper brought. He felt everything slipping away and the world spin. His heart was shattered and now the shards were mere dust. The one person who could fix it was the person who needs fixing the most and he wouldn't be the one to do. He would never allow himself to be able to even have the chance to cause her pain again, He would never allow him to look at the love of his life again.