Be Strong

Don't do it…

Don't do it…

Please don't do it…

Dammit!

Natsu harshly wiped the tear away from his cheek. He didn't want to cry. Everything was going to be okay. There was no reason for him to cry. Lucy's a trooper. She's been through so much more than this. Giving birth should be nothing for her. So why did he feel so scared? He didn't want to lose her. He couldn't lose her. She's his whole world. If her lost her, he didn't know what he would do…

She's losing too much blood… I'm sorry, Natsu-san…

Another tear ran down his cheek. He growled and rubbed it away. Don't do it, he said to himself. Lucy's gonna be fine. Don't cry in front of Nashi. She's nervous enough as it is. Natsu stole a glance at his daughter. She was sitting beside him, her hands fidgeting in her lap. Clenching, unclenching, her fingers messing with the hem of her dress, tapping together, clenching, unclenching. She was worried. She always got twitchy with her hands when she was worried. He'd seen it several times when Lucy didn't come home from a mission when she said she was supposed to. Nashi would sit on the couch, and do exactly what she was doing right now.

Coil her hands into fists, relax them, pick at the seams of her clothes, tap her fingers together, and then repeat. She wouldn't talk, she wouldn't show any emotion. Just sit there, fidgeting. Natsu sighed and turned his head away, hanging it over his lap. His knee was bouncing with impatience, and his fingers were knitted together, his thumbs fiddling against each other. He scoffed lightly. Guess he figured out where Nashi's fidgeting came from. He closed his eyes tight, trying desperately to hold back the tears. The action made his eyes burn.

They've been waiting for an hour. A long, agonizing hour. At first, Natsu had barely moved a muscle. The shock and confusion had been so overwhelming that his body just shut down. Everything went silent, everything was a blur. But now, he couldn't sit still, the shock replaced with panic and fear. No – it was more like terror. He couldn't stop moving. His knees were bouncing, his hands didn't stay in the same place for longer than a couple of seconds, he kept shifting in his seat, and his eyes were constantly drifting to the clock on the wall. It would feel like they'd been sitting there forever, but when he would look at the clock the next time, it would only be three minutes later. It was the longest hour of his life.

And there was still no news.

The tears were really persistent, much to his chagrin. He could feel them biting at his eyelids, and it stung, making it hard to ignore. They wanted to reach the surface, he knew, but he wouldn't let them. He couldn't let them. But they did, squeezing through and running down his face. But this time, he made no move to wipe them away.

He jumped lightly when he felt something touch his hand. He looked up to see Nashi staring intently at him, her small hand grasping his. "It's okay, Daddy," she said softly, squeezing his hand. "Mama will be alright." Natsu smiled gently at her words and nodded, his vision obscuring briefly as his eyes were filled to the brim with more tears. Nashi reached forward and grabbed his scarf, using it to dry his eyes. "Don't cry, Daddy. Be strong for Mama." After she finished drying his eyes, she crawled onto his lap and wrapped her thin arms around his neck. Natsu swallowed hard. How was she so calm?

He slowly lifted his arms to return the hug, trying with all his might to keep himself from crying. Don't do it… Don't do it… Again, a tear cascaded down his cheek without his consent. But, again, he made no move to wipe it away. He tightened his hold around his daughter, pressing her to his chest. He never knew he could love someone like this. His girls were precious to him, and he couldn't bear to lose one. What would he be without Lucy? More tears flowed from his eyes, his arms tightening even more around Nashi. He rested his head on her shoulder and sniffled, nuzzling into her hair.

"Daddy…" Nashi whispered, burrowing her face into the crook of his neck. Her voice cracked. "Please don't cry."

"I'm sorry," he muttered, finally wiping his eyes. He glanced up at the clock on the wall. 9:24 PM, just four minutes from the last he looked. Please… he begged. Please let her be okay. Three minutes later, the door opened and Mirajane stepped out. She didn't say anything to Natsu as she ran passed him, but he didn't miss the look on her face. Wendy came out next. Natsu stood up, holding Nashi up with one arm. "Is she okay?" he asked softly, his heart pounding beneath his chest. Wendy smiled.

"She's fine, Natsu-san," she assured. Natsu sighed and fell back down onto the chair.

"Thank Mavis…" he said under his breath.

"She's asleep," the girl continued, "but she's alright." Nashi looked up at her.

"What about my brother?" she asked quickly. "Is Ryū okay?"

Wendy nodded. "He's as healthy as can be. And I'm pretty sure you both want to meet him." Nashi leapt from her father's lap, a blinding grin set upon her face. Natsu followed close behind, an identical smile on his lips. As soon as he stepped into the room, Porlyusica carefully handed the baby to him.

"Here you are," she said. She gestured to Lucy, who was reclining on the bed at the other side of the room, sleeping. "Don't let her do anything strenuous for the next couple of days. Make sure she gets a lot of rest and drinks plenty of water." Natsu nodded.

"Yes, ma'am."

"Take care of him," Porlyusica said, pointing to the child in the Dragon Slayer's arms.

"Of course."

"I shall be leaving now," she declared, brushing passed him and toward the door.

"Thank you, Porlyusica," he said before she could leave. "For saving her." The old woman stopped and looked at him from over her shoulder. She nodded wordlessly, and left. Natsu grinned and looked down at his son, wrapped in a blanket and asleep in his arms. He had pink hair among his head as well, although his wasn't as vivid as Nashi's. He walked over to sit in the chair beside Lucy's bed, allowing Nashi to get a look at her brother's face. She leaned over the armrest and tilted her head.

"Is that him?" she asked cutely.

"Yup," he answered quietly, so as not to wake up Lucy. Nashi's lips curled into a half smile.

"He's so small."

Natsu chuckled. "He's bigger than you were."

She looked up at him with wide eyes. "Really? I was smaller than him?"

He nodded. "You were tiny." He looked her over, and reached a hand out to tousle her hair. "You still are." The little girl pouted and yawned. He smiled and cupped her cheek. "Get some sleep, amai," he whispered. "It's been a long day." He looked at the clock. 9:32 PM. "It's passed your bedtime, too." Nashi nodded and rubbed her eyes. She pushed herself onto her toes and placed a kiss to her father's cheek.

"Goodnight, Daddy."

"Night, kiddo."

The girl bent over and gently kissed Ryū's forehead. "Goodnight, otōto-chan." She crawled onto Lucy's bed to kiss her cheek as well. "Goodnight, Mama." She slipped beneath the blanket and pulled it up to her chin, resting her head on Lucy's chest. Within seconds, she was asleep. Natsu smiled warmly and switched his attention to Ryū. He truly was a beauty, even more so when not covered in blood and crying his eyes out. He looked back at Lucy, adjusting Ryū's weight so he could reach over and grab her hand, giving it a light squeeze.

"You did good, Luce," he said softly. "Again." Subconsciously, his hand trailed up to her wrist, his fingers pressing down to feel for a pulse. Her heart was beating. His eyes wandered to her chest, which was steadily rising and falling. She was breathing. She was alive. And the fact made a tear of relief spill from his eye. He scoffed and wiped it away. "Look at what you do to me, Lucy," he said softly, his fangs poking his bottom lip as he smiled. "You're turning me to mush." He paused. A gentle laugh found its way up his throat as he shook his head. "What would Igneel say if he saw me like this? He'd never let me live this down." He continued to chuckle, looking down at the boy in his arms.

Ryū shifted in his sleep, gurgling as he instinctively moved closer to his father's chest. Natsu grinned, using his free hand to adjust the blanket around him, gently grazing his fingers down his chubby baby cheeks. "Hopefully you'll be able to meet Grandpa Igneel one day, little buddy," he whispered, stroking the boy's head. The grin gradually fell from his face, and his voice dropped to an even quieter tone. "One day…"

Lucy sighed when she realized she was awake, but opted to keep her eyes closed. She just felt too comfortable. She shifted slightly, and she noticed the presence at her side. Finally deciding to peel her eyes open, she glanced down and saw Nashi sleeping peacefully beside her, her head resting on her chest. She smiled and lifted her hand, brushing stray strands of hair out of her daughter's tanned face. She looked over to the other side and saw Natsu sitting in a chair beside her bed, his forearms shrouding his face as his head lay on the mattress, his shoulders rising and falling with his steady breathing. And behind him was a glass case, and in that glass case lay a baby, blissfully asleep and wrapped up in a blue blanket.

"Ryū…" she breathed, seeing the pink hair on his head. Her son… She was looking at her son. A goofy smile graced her features when she noticed Happy curled up beside Ryū, asleep as well. Her chocolate eyes drifted down to Natsu as he shifted in his sleep, a soft moan escaping his lips. She giggled and placed her hand on his head, sifting her fingers into his hair. He woke instantly, lifting his head with a small gasp of surprise. Her looked up at her, his charcoal eyes wide and alert. They softened the instant they connected with hers.

"Luce…" he muttered. She smiled.

"Hey, you," she cooed, stroking his hair. Before she could say anything else, Natsu was on his feet and leaning over her, kissing her hard. He pulled away, leaning his forehead against hers.

"Never scare me like that again," he demanded gently. "Understand?" Lucy laughed and arched her neck, pressing her lips to his.

"Completely."

"Good." Lucy pulled away, reaching her hands out toward Ryū.

"Let me hold my baby," she said. Natsu laughed lightly and carefully lifted the boy up into his arms, handing him to her. "Hey, Natsu?" she said, smiling lovingly at the still sleeping child.

"Hm?"

"On a scale of one to ten, how scared were you that I was going to die?"

"Hm… a four," he answered casually. Lucy looked up at him.

"A four?" she repeated, incredulous. He nodded. "A four?"

"Yup."

"I don't believe you."

"He's lying," said Happy, rubbing his eyes with his blue paw. He yawned. "He was at least an eight." The Dragon Slayer scoffed and folded his arms.

"Nuh uh," he retorted childishly. Happy rolled his eyes.

"You were crying, Natsu."

"No, I wasn't."

"It's true," Nashi piped up, her eyes still closed as she adjusted her head onto Lucy's shoulder. "He was crying." Natsu's jaw slackened. His whole family was going against him? This isn't fair… Lucy laughed at his expression, leaning down to press a kiss to Ryū's forehead.

Author's Note: of course Lucy's alright! I wouldn't kill her! I would feel bad… Thank you guys so much for reviewing! I'm glad you guys enjoyed last chapter's cliffhanger. I loved reading all of your freakouts. But you can rest calmly now, knowing our beloved Lucy Heartfilia is alright.

Keep the reviews coming! We're almost at 300!