~PREVIOUSLY ON THE LAST CHAPTER~

"As you say."

"I love you," And with those simple words he would kiss her senseless. "I love you more."

Natsu clutched Gray's front shirt, his eyes wide and his expression showing that he was horrified, Gray gulping at his friend's reaction. "What if Nashi doesn't come out of Lucy? What will happen?" Natsu asked, Gray trying to shove him off but it felt like Natsu's hand was glued to his front shirt. "Geez, calm down, you're being paranoid!" Sting yanked Natsu off Gray who sighed in relief, Juvia soothing his back. Natsu now clutched Sting's shirt, his eyes still wide with fear. "What if she dies? What if my poor Nashi suffocates or something? What if my precious Lucy—"Sting grabbed fistfuls of Natsu's shirt, yanking him dangerously close. "I dare you to finish that sentence."

Lucy was about to go into labor, Natsu being forced to be in the waiting room while the doctors were getting Lucy ready for the birth of Nashi. She wasn't screaming yet but he knew she was in lots of pain since she was panting when she got to the hospital.

The Dragneel's had called friends and family over to witness the small child be born today, most of the friends and family arriving as soon as they got the call.

Now Natsu was outside freaking out as all the bad ideas swirled in his head, Gray being one of the victims to be ambushed by the panicked Natsu. Sting, who cared a lot about Lucy, came and was about to murder Natsu for putting bad thoughts into his head, Rogue and Yukino behind him as they looked at them worryingly.

"She's going to be alright. Think positive thoughts, you idiot!"

"I can't! I just can't, I'm nervous and I feel like I'm going to faint or something."

"Stop being such a pansy, it's not you're going into birth."

"Shut it, tin-can!" Natsu hissed, his eyes narrowing to the black-haired male who just grunted in response, Levy trying to calm him down. "Look, your wife is in there about to give birth to your daughter so you better man up and become positive or I'll kick your ass to the next country." Sting hissed in Natsu's face, snapping him into reality.

Natsu shoved Sting away and took in a deep breath, looking determine now. He looked at Sting and gave him a hard straight face, nodding. "You're right; I need to be strong and positive about this."

"Good because if anything happens to Lucy in there while giving birth I'm blaming you." Sting spat, pointing it at Natsu. Natsu shot him a glare, fully aware that Sting did have strong feelings for Lucy such as a little sister but it wasn't really unnecessary to have an 'older brother' threaten him continuously.

Now he was thankful Lucy didn't have any siblings.

Suddenly an ear-shattering scream echoed through the waiting room, startling everyone that was in there. "It started . . ." Grandine said making everyone look at her in fear, Wendy being squeezed in her arms. "Is Lucy-Nee going to be alright?"

"Yes, of course she is." Grandine gave Wendy's back a soothing pat, the blue-haired Dragneel relaxing.

She tensed once again when she heard the cry of her future-sister-in-law, screaming in pain.

"Natsu, you should go in and—where'd he go?" Igneel started to say but stopped as soon as he noticed his son was gone. The group pointed towards the doors of the room, Igneel nodding in conformation.

He shouldn't worry about anything—his son is responsible and he knew he loved Lucy so no matter what happens Natsu would find a way to keep them both safe.

"Lucy, I'm here, please—stay strong!" Natsu shouted as Lucy cried out in pain once more, the pink-haired male trying his best not to run out of the room. Her screams were making his ears hurt, her death grip is hurting his hand, and the small of blood was too strong. He might as well scream with the woman if it wasn't for Lucy who was crying and depending on him.

Lucy let out another scream and that made her grip tighten, Natsu whimpering a slight bit as he knew his hand would fall off sometime soon. He returned the squeeze and looked into her pain struck eyes.

"Luce, just listen to the doctor, everything will be fine."

"I—it hurts!"

"I know but stay strong, I'm here for you."

"Sir, we'll be starting now." Natsu turned his head to look at the doctor, nodding at his direction. "Now Luce we're going to start—"Natsu opened his mouth to say but as soon as he heard the scream ringing in his ear, he knew she knew what was going to happen.

~X~

After 6 agonizing hours of going into labor Natsu felt like he was going to pass out. His hands were in pain, his ears were ringing loud and clear, his heart was thumping, and sweat was pouring down his forehead as if he ran a marathon.

But he wasn't as bad as Lucy was.

Lucy was crying, sweating, screaming, and he knew she'll be tired as hell later when the baby is born. She only looked at him and at the doctor, everything around her disappearing. Natsu whispered encouraging words to her when she was screaming and crying and when they took breaks he stayed by her side all the time.

When as this going to end? Thought Natsu, his breathing ragged as he rested his head on his hands.

He looked down at the sheets as he clutched Lucy's hands tightly in his hands, never pulling away. He squeezed her hands as Lucy screamed again, her grip tightening even more when she pushed.

With one final scream everything stopped.

All Natsu could hear are the footsteps that ran around the room frantically searching for things, his wife's heavy breathing and his precious baby girl's small cries. He lifted his head up, his eyes widen as he saw the small baby that was being wrapped around a pink blanket coming closer to him along with a nurse that held the small child. Natsu felt Lucy's grip loosen and a proud smile on her lips, urging him to hold the baby in his sore arms. Natsu gulped as he extended his arms out to the nurse who held the baby towards him, his heart beat increasing with each second.

"Congratulations sir, it's a healthy baby girl."

"T—Thank you." Natsu choked out, his eyes burning a slight bit. He wanted to cry but all that came out was a chuckle. The baby was adorable—too adorable in his eyes. He couldn't see her eyes yet but he could definitely see the small pink hairs that were on top of her small head.

"L—Luce, look . . . Nashi, she's here." Natsu said as he came closer to Lucy who looked at him lovingly. Natsu grinned and held her out towards Lucy who brushed the blankets away to see her daughter's face. As soon as Lucy touched her, Nashi opened her eyes. She had the same eyes Natsu had, the onyx eyes she loved so much. "She has your eyes . . ."

"And my hair," Natsu chuckled, a sniffle following after. Lucy smiled and looked up at Natsu, clutching his arm. "Go show everyone . . . I'll be reeled into my room soon, come visit, okay?"

"Of course . . . I'll see you soon." Natsu leaned in to kiss her forehead, stepping back to allow the nurse and doctor do things to her.

Natsu looked down at his daughter and grinned immediately, his eyes feeling as if they were glued onto the girl. Natsu turned towards the doors, knowing that everyone was waiting for him to come out and tell them the news. He took in a deep breath and reached for his daughter, her hand popping out to grip his small finger. Natsu just chuckled, walking out the doorway.

As soon as he came out into the bright hallways, everyone turned to look at him. Grandine and Layla were looking shocked, their eyes full of tears as they ran to him, Levy and Yukino following after. The girls all surrounded Natsu, the boys lingering in the back to take a sneak peek at the newborn.

"Guys, I want you to meet Nashi Dragneel."

"She's so cute!" The girls all coursed together, his grin never faulting. He handed Nashi off to his mother who cradled her, cooing at her with the rest of the ladies. Gray and Gajeel came up to him, giving him a hard pat on the back while grinning. "Congratulations, flame-head. You're finally a father."

"I know," Natsu laughed, whipping his eyes with the back of his hand. Sting and Rogue came up, the two smiling widely at their cousins. "Congratz, Natsu."

"Thanks,"

"I never thought I'll see you as a father." Natsu laughed at this, too tired to even consider it as an insult. "Me neither . . ."

"Natsu, I'm so proud of you." Igneel said, coming over to give his son a big hug. When he pulled away he noticed he was crying, Natsu's eyes widening. "Why are you crying?"

"The baby . . . she's so beautiful . . . it reminds me when I first got you," Igneel said, putting a hand on his shoulder to give it a gentle squeeze. Natsu grinned at his father, returning the gesture. He went on over to where the ladies were, seeing that Lucy's mother was the one cradling little Nashi now. Layla looked up as she noticed Natsu was staring at them with a huge smile on his face, her arms extending to hand Nashi over. "Oh Natsu . . . she's beautiful."

"She looks a lot like Lucy, doesn't she?"

"Yes, except for her eyes and hair—they're just like yours."

"Yeah, they are." Natsu nodded, holding the child close to his chest. He looked down and smiled even wider, cradling his daughter in his arms. "So beautiful . . ."

"Lucy!" The woman all shouted as they entered the room, Natsu immediately shoving them all out of the room as they entered. He gently closed the door behind him and shot everyone a glare, hissing at his friends and family. "She's asleep and Nashi is too so you better keep your voices low if you're know what's good for you."

"Whoa, pinky's got an attitude."

"What can you blame? He's a father now,"

"Shut it." Natsu snapped at his friends, the two of them shrugging at his direction. Natsu looked at everyone tiredly but angrily, everyone nodding at his directions. Natsu took in a deep breath and turned around, opening the door to the room once again.

He entered and looked at Lucy and Nashi, seeing if they're still asleep or not. Once he saw they still were, he let them enter.

"How long since they've been sleeping?" Levy asked, walking towards Nashi's bed then to Lucy's, her voice low. "Luce has been sleeping since she's been reeled inside here—Nashi soon following after." Natsu said, sitting down where he normally was, sighing a bit. He was so tired but he wanted to stay awake to keep an eye on Nashi and Lucy. "Natsu, don't you think you should sleep some? You look exhausted."

"Nah . . . I'm fine. I want to keep an eye on them," Natsu said as he held Lucy's hand, leaning against the edge. No matter what he did, his eyes always stayed wide open. "Wah, she's even cuter asleep!" Wendy said peering over the small bed Nashi lay asleep. The girls agreed, giggling a bit. Natsu glanced on over to them, seeing that the guys were surrounding the bed where Nashi laid, his mother and father also over there admiring the child. He looked back at Lucy and saw that Layla was by her side, smiling at her sleeping daughter. "Thank you, Natsu."

"For what?"

"For taking care of Lucy . . . loving her . . . showing her a good time," Layla whispered, her eyes never leaving her daughter's face. She reached over to brush the blonde stray of hair away from her face, Natsu watching her every movement. "No need to thank me. I should be the one thanking you."

"Thanking me?" Layla asked, now looking at the pink-haired male who smiled. "Thank you for bringing such a wonderful woman into the world . . ." Natsu whispered, looking at Lucy. He fell deeper in love with her and he was certain he wants to spend his whole life with her. He looked at Layla and saw that she was tearing up, his eyes widening. "Ah! I didn't—"

"Thank you so much!"

"M—mother," Natsu sweat-dropped, watching the blonde cry. He somehow felt like this was Lucy standing in front of him, doing all this. No wonder he was so weak around Layla, they were almost like twins. "Please, take care of Lucy."

"No need to ask because no matter what happens, I'll always be there for my woman."

A/N: I'm ending it here, folks! Sorry for not updating in a while, you know the drill. Blah, blah, excuses, excused! Please feel free to punch me!
Anyways, here is the next chapter to She will be mine! The baby is born, yay! Nashi, oh beautiful Nashi. :'D
Thank you for reading and being so patient! Please review.~