Normal Family… Sort Of

Inhale.

Exhale.

Inhale.

Exhale.

It was a never ending cycle, and he'd been watching it happen for the past week and a half. Natsu tapped his foot against the tiled floor of the infirmary ward, shifting nervously in his seat. It happened while she was on a mission. He'd been filled in by Erza and Gray, and from what Wendy said, she was going to make a full recovery. It was Porlyusica's idea to keep Lucy in a comatose state for a week or two, just to be sure. He understood the old woman's reasoning to do so, but… it was killing him, seeing his beloved like this.

She had bandages wrapped around her forehead, down her arms and legs, a couple of patches on her face, chest, and abdomen. Her face wasn't relaxed or scrunched in pain; it was just blank. The first two days she'd been in the infirmary, her skin had been significantly paler than normal, and it made his stomach churn. He didn't eat much the first couple of days because of it. After a while, she'd begun to regain her color, but still looked pretty white. He really wanted to stay with her all day, every day, but he had another priority: Nashi. He had to be at home with her for most of the day, playing with her, feeding her. And taking her to see her mother, of course.

Natsu made sure to bring in Nashi daily. Being the incredibly smart child that she was, she could tell that Lucy was hurt, and knew it would be better if she didn't touch her. She was pretty concerned about seeing her mother so still, though, and she would begin to cry when he said it was time to go home. Getting her to go to sleep was difficult the past few days. Thankfully Happy slept in her crib, or otherwise he would've ever been able to get her to bed.

Happy was currently sitting on the bed beside her, resting his chin on her shoulder. Natsu couldn't look anywhere but at her chest as it slowly rose and fell.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Her breathing wasn't nearly as raspy as it had been when she first got to the infirmary. She sounded like she had pneumonia. But now it was just like she was sleeping, steady and smooth. The distraught Dragon Slayer exhaled sharply and gently grabbed her hand, squeezing it in his. She wasn't as cold as she was before either, much to his relief. She seemed perfectly fine, more or less, considering the bandages. He took in a shaky breath, stroking the back of her hand with his thumb. He just wanted her to wake up. He wanted to see her chocolate eyes, hear her velvety voice, hear her say his name.

Just… something.

"Natsu…" Happy spoke softly, knowing all too well that the man he was addressing could hear him. The wizard turned to look at his Exceed, and started a little at the sight of tears in his eyes. "Why won't she wake up?" Natsu felt his heart drop into his stomach like a rock.

"Happy, we've been over this. Wendy and Porlyusica are keeping her asleep to make sure she heals properly."

"I know, but…" He trailed off, a tear trailing through his blue fur. "I… I don't like seeing Lucy like this… I want her to wake up already. I miss her weirdness." Despite himself, Natsu chuckled, reaching over to pat Happy's head.

"I know, buddy."

"Well, fortunately, she will be waking today." The voice caused both boys to jump and spin around to face the door. There stood Wendy with her hands clasped behind her back, her long blue hair tied back in a braid. Charle was perched on her shoulder, her white tail flicking behind her. Natsu stood from his chair.

"Wendy. So Lucy's waking up today?" The younger Dragon Slayer smiled and nodded.

"I just got permission from Porlyusica to allow Lucy to wake up. I haven't cast the spell on her since last night, so she should be waking up in an hour or so. I was just coming to tell you." Natsu breathed a sigh of relief, his shoulders slumping like a heavy weight had just been lifted off of them.

"Thank you, Wendy." The petite teenager nodded again and turned to leave the room.

Forty-five minutes later

Lucy groaned as she opened her eyes. The room was bright, so she clenched them closed. Ugh, she felt terrible. Her whole body was heavy, like lead. She briefly fisted her hands, and immediately noted how soft the fabric was. Only then did she realize that she was on a very soft bed. Where was she?

"Lucy?" The celestial wizard wriggled at the sound of her name. Who said that? "Luce?" Her nickname… He was the only one who called her that.

"Natsu…?" she rasped, trying to pry her eyes open, but they were just too heavy and the room was too bright. "Natsu, where are you?" She felt him grasp her left hand and squeeze.

"I'm right here, Luce." She turned her head to the sound of his voice, and used all the strength she could muster to open her eyes. But the white lights of the infirmary made it seem like she was looking into the sun.

"Natsu… it's too bright…" She felt him shift.

"Happy, turn off the lights." There was a soft click and the light behind her eyelids suddenly vanished, and the burning strain on her eyes melted away. He stroked her hand. "Is that better?" As a response, Lucy finally managed to get her eyes open, but her vision was incredibly blurry. She could faintly see her husband's silhouette leaning over her, and she blinked a few times to clear her sight. After a moment, she could finally begin to make out his features. She could see the color of his hair, the outline of his eyes, his scarf. She wiggled her hand out from underneath his and lifted it to his face, cupping his cheek. She felt him smile, and he lifted his own hand and placed it over hers, repositioning it slightly so he could plant a kiss to her palm.

"Natsu, where am I?" she asked slowly, trying to ignore the goose bumps erupting down her arm from his kiss.

"The infirmary."

"What… what happened?"

"Well, uh… You were on a mission with Erza and Gray. He said all three of you got beaten pretty bad, but you took a hard hit to the head."

"I guess that explains why it's hard to see." Natsu chuckled, pressing her hand to his face. "So we lost?" He shook his head.

"No, no, no! After you were knocked cold, Erza pretty much beat the guy to an unrecognizable pulp."

"I'll have to thank her, then," Lucy mused, a small sound coming from her throat, and Natsu assumed it was supposed to be a laugh. But it came out more like a wheezing cough, and it made him cringe. Feeling an undeniable feeling of guilt rising in his chest, he clasped her hand, squeezing it gently.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there…" he said softly. Lucy pulled her hand away and slapped him. Not hard, but hard enough to make it sting a little. Stunned, he looked down at his wife. Her eyes were fully open, and she was pointing to him, her brows furrowed slightly, something she did when she was serious.

"Don't you start that with me, Natsu," she said firmly. He opened his mouth to speak, but she slapped him again. "No. You listen to me. I am not in the infirmary because of you. This," she gestured to the bandages on her body, "is not your fault. Don't blame yourself for something you didn't do." The Dragon Slayer looked down at his lap. He couldn't look her in the eye when she was mad at him. Noticing him avoiding her gaze, Lucy lowered her voice. "Look at me." When he didn't listen to her, she cupped his chin and lifted his head. "Baby, look at me." She waited to speak until he reconnected his gaze with hers. "Don't avoid my eyes," she said softly. "I'm not mad at you, Natsu. I just don't like it when you make yourself feel guilty about something you had nothing to do with."

The blonde pushed herself up into a sitting position, the blanket pooling around her waist. She reached a hand out to him and touched the side of his neck. "I hate seeing you like this, Natsu. I can't stand it when you beat yourself up because of something you had no control over. Especially when it concerns me." Before he could speak, she pulled his head forward, capturing his lips in a sweet kiss. And before he could recover from the surprise and kiss her back, the door swung open, and Happy flew in, carrying a delighted Nashi in his paws. He set the giggling child on the mattress, at Lucy's feet. When her eyes spotted her mother, she fell silent, her brown eyes widening with worry.

"Ah," she uttered, crawling into Lucy's lap. "Ah."

"Hi, baby girl," the celestial wizard cooed, setting her daughter on her thigh as she crossed her legs beneath the blanket. Nashi splayed her hand on Lucy's chest, touching one of her bandages. She looked up into her mother's eyes before leaning into her breasts, trying to hug her. Lucy smiled fondly and placed a dainty hand on her back.

"She was pretty worried about you," Happy said from his spot on Natsu's shoulder.

"Really?"

"Yeah," Natsu replied, nodding his head with a small smile. "Whenever I brought her in, she would just sit next to you on the bed, staring at you. She would cry every time we went home." Lucy looked down at the child in her arms, who was looking up at her again, her big brown eyes glassy, like she was about to cry. She leaned down and kissed Nashi's head.

"I'm sorry I scared you, sweetheart." She touched Nashi's cheek, looking up at Natsu as he sat himself down on the bed beside her. He kissed Lucy's temple and stroked his daughter's vibrant pink hair, reveling at how soft it was beneath his skin. Happy switched from Natsu's shoulder to Lucy's and nuzzled into her hair, purring gently. The novelist turned to the feline and kissed his fuzzy cheek. She switched her gaze to her husband, and then to her daughter.

Who said you had to be normal to have a normal family?

Author's Note: Ne, mina! Whoa! Two chapters in one day? This should happen more often, no?

Thanks to 0Tenshi-no-Tsubasa0 for the inspiration for this chapter. I hope I did okay! Please let me know what you guys thought in a review! :D