A/N: Hello friends! So, some of you wanted a fic involving Jerza children since I didn't include any in the last one.

As a result...

People wanting a Jerza baby...HERE YOU GO! I hope this satisfies you xD This was a weird and fun one to write.

Title: Threads of Violet
Rating: K+
Summary: The Fernandes home would now be filled with the pitter patter of small footsteps.

"Her hair was always covered with flowers and I swear you could almost see the sunrise from the corner of her eyes." - R.M. Drake

Threads of Violet

It was strange carrying out a job alone after so many years of having Erza alongside him. The scrape of her luggage cart against the gravel, her musical laughter, irritated sighs whenever they ended up taking a wrong turn—they were all absent. Instead, it was quiet, no other sound aside from those of his own footsteps making their way along the path.

He missed her presence.

Erza was halfway through her ninth month of pregnancy. Of course, being Erza, she had still insisted of being perfectly capable of completing jobs because not even a child growing inside of her could stop the mighty Titania from righting the wrongs of other people.

That was until she entered the stage where she could no longer squeeze into any of her armours. A tender smile tugged on his lips as he recalled the disappointment etched onto her face the day she woke up, all excited for another job, only to find that her armour had betrayed her by being unable to stretch over the swell of her body.

The sun was setting low into the distant hills now, the sky a glorious orange colour. Jellal trudged along the cobblestone path, exhausted after completing a solo mission and wanting nothing more than to collapse on his bed and sleep for the next century or so.

But of course, that would mean missing the birth of his first child and that was one thing he absolutely couldn't afford to miss, for Erza's sake and for his own.

As he switched shoulders to carry his rucksack on, he suddenly felt a searing pain in his front, knocking the breath out of him. Jellal fell to his knees, his face contorted in pain and confusion as his hands flew to his stomach which was now clenching and cramping with such intensity, he thought his insides would burst.

What was this horrific pain? Where had it come from so suddenly?

He felt tremors shoot up his spine as his back spasmed, and the pressure building up in his lower half was almost too much to bear. It was as though he had been kicked in the balls a hundred times over, the pain was so intense, and for a brief moment, he worried that the name his guild mates had so fondly assigned him all those years ago, 'blue balls', may just become a reality because he was on the ground now, writhing in agony.

But then his eyes spotted a pink band laced around his right wrist. A pink band he had no trouble recognising. This pain was a result of one of Meredy's sensory links which meant that this feeling wasn't his own—it was someone else's.

What was going on? Who was being subdued to this medieval torture?! His mind conjured up all sorts of theories, sending his thoughts into a panic as he imagined one of his loved ones dying, screaming out in torment while he himself was miles away, useless.

This had to be Meredy's way of informing Jellal of what was going on. It was a signal of some sort.

As the pain slowly faded away along with the pink band on his wrist, realisation dawned on him.

THE SIGNAL.

THIS WAS THE SIGNAL OF ERZA GOING INTO LABOUR.

What he had felt momentarily was Erza's pain whilst giving birth.

The colour drained from his face as he sprung to his feet, running as fast as his legs could possibly carry him.

"Jellal, I have something to give you…" Her voice was light, teasing as she sauntered over to him, hands laced behind her back and a beaming smile stretching across her lips.

He was leaning against the kitchen counter, his tie undone and draped loosely around his shoulders, and a mug of steaming coffee in his hands. He arched a brow at her playfully. "Are we talking something pleasurable or painful?"

Erza rolled her eyes, shoving him affectionately before handing him a white card with loopy blue writing inscribed on it. "Here. Take it."

Jellal eyed her suspiciously, holding her gaze as he set aside the coffee mug and took the card into his hands. "Hmm…"

"Well, open it!"

He flashed a smile in her direction before scanning the note. "'You are hereby invited to attend…'" The smile was quickly replaced by a flat look. "Have you agreed to perform in another one of those Onibus Town theatre plays organised by that Rabian man?"

"Not this time, no!" She could barely contain her anticipation as she stared at him with childlike excitement. "Stop assuming things and carry on reading!"

Jellal shook his head at her fondly before casting his eyes down to read aloud again. "'You are hereby invited to attend…'" His voice cut off as the next words sunk in.

He looked up at his wife incredulously.

You are hereby invited to attend the birth of your first child.

"Erza, you're pregnant?" he asked softly, though it was more of a statement than a question.

She laughed, throwing her arms around his neck as his face broke out into a warm smile.

He and Erza were going to be parents.

He was going to be a father.

Arms hooking underneath her, he swung her round and round the kitchen, their laughter being the only sound filling the room.

"Where were you?!" a furious Meredy raged as he neared the front entrance of the hospital, his breathing ragged and his legs ready to give way any second now.

"You're aware of where I was! I was out on a job!" he choked out, shooting her an indignant glare of his own.

She folded her arms, staring at him coldly before scrunching her hand up in the hood of his coat and dragging him along the corridor, practically knocking everyone else out of the way. An angry Meredy was not one to trifle with, he knew. "What if you missed the birth of your first child? Honestly, after she even went to the trouble of inviting you to the birth! You know she only did that because you're late to everything, right? I mean it, Jellal—if you've missed the birth, first Erza will kill you and then I'll resurrect you just to kill you again. And then—"

"Well, there's no need for any of that. I'm here now, aren't I?"

"Yes, after I had to interfere with my sensory link magic! Erza was at the guild when the contractions started taking place and then—"

Jellal freed himself from her grasp, shuddering with the memory of the agony she inflicted on him. "And then she was overcome with unimaginable pain…"

"Yes."

He shot her an accusing look. "I'm familiar with the feeling, thank you for that."

Meredy turned to look back at him and Jellal was pretty sure she was fighting back a giggle. Of course she'd take amusement from his suffering. Didn't his whole guild do the same?

"Consider it the start of your punishment for being late to the birth of your child!" she reprimanded him sternly.

Jellal sighed, approaching the main desk of the hospital. A weak smile crossed his face as he regarded the small lady with owlish eyes and round glasses. "I'm an awful husband who is late to his own child's birth. Can you please tell me where I might find my suffering wife?"

They were sat at the kitchen table, surrounded by stacks of books filled with acres and acres of baby name suggestions.

Mushette, Scarlignia, Zazzoo…these names were atrocious. Just where did Levy find these books?

Tired of flicking through endless pages, Erza sighed and shut the book, propping her chin on her hands and tilting her head to the side to smile at him, eyes twinkling with ideas. "What about Strawberry Fernandes?"

Jellal looked up from the book he was reading to shoot her a sceptical look. "Do you hate our child, Erza? Do you want our child to be teased throughout their entire life?"

Erza looked appalled. "Of course not! Strawberry is a wonderful name! And besides, the idea of our child being bullied is preposterous. Our child could take on any challenger!"

"Well, you're right about that," he said, closing his own book and grinning at her. "Alright. Maybe if it's a girl and she happens to inherit your scarlet hair, perhaps we can consider Strawberry as a contender for names."

She eyed him momentarily. "Hmm…I suppose that seems fair."

"And what if it's a boy?" he mused.

Erza squinted. "Strawberry happens to be a unisex name."

Jellal ran a hand through his blue hair before rubbing the back of his neck and exhaling a deep sigh. "Strawberry Fernandes…my, oh my…"

Bursting through the doors, the first thing Jellal Fernandes' eyes darted to was Erza, sitting up in bed with her hair dishevelled, locks of red matted to her face, skin glistening with sweat and her face contorted in pain.

Oh Mavis.

Her head flicked towards him just as he ran to her, quickly falling to her side and taking her hand in his. Seeing her like this was excruciatingly difficult, but nothing compared to what she was going through, he knew as much. That feeling of sheer helplessness filled him as she grunted and pushed but all he could do was provide support, which he tried his very best to do.

"Erza, I'm so sorry," he started, wincing as her grip on his hand tightened with bone-crushing pressure. "As soon as Meredy managed to reach me, I ran over here as fast as my legs could carry me—"

Erza attempted to smile faintly at him but instead only managed to reply between ragged breaths. "It's—it's alright. You're just in time. It's—fine."

Time passed as it does, but of course, in these circumstances, time was slower than usual, each second seemingly getting longer and longer as Erza cried out in pain and Jellal encouraged her on, despite having lost all feeling in his hand quite some time ago.

When a small cry echoed throughout the room, Erza's head fell back on the pillow, relief spreading across her face. She closed her eyes, letting herself enjoy that sound filling her ears. Then, she squeezed her husband's hand once more before holding it loosely in her own.

Jellal leaned forward, brushing the hair out of her eyes and stroking her cheek softly as he smiled down at her. "So, is it going to be Strawberry Fernandes or Strawberry Fernandes?"

Erza mustered up a small laugh and he couldn't help but think her smile was radiant even in this condition.

"You were great, Erza. Truly," he said in a quiet voice, pressing a light kiss to her forehead.

"It's a beautiful little girl!" The nurse beamed, making her way over to them with a small bundle in her arms. "My, her hair is such a lovely shade…"

Jellal chuckled, though his voice came out quite broken.

He was a father.

He couldn't believe it.

"Red like her mother's, I presume," he mused, locking eyes with Erza who returned his gaze with a weak smile.

"Maybe blue like her father's," she said with a light laugh.

Jellal gently took the bundle of blankets into his arms before perching on the bed beside Erza, placing their daughter on her chest. Tears threatened to well up in his eyes and he couldn't contain the happiness that was spreading throughout his entire being because this was it. He and Erza were actually parents.

He couldn't believe how tiny she was, how fragile and awe inspiring. All the moments of pain from before melted away because their daughter was born healthy and she was with them, safe and sound.

Her eyes blinked open to reveal a soft brown and when she looked at him, he swore he was filled with a light he never knew existed in the world before now.

Slowly reaching out with gentle fingers, he stroked her cheek. She was so small and delicate, like a little doll. Their daughter wriggled underneath his touch, causing the blankets to shuffle over half her face but Jellal simply laughed once more, his voice filled with raw emotion as he pulled back the blanket to reveal her hair.

A tuft of purple hair.

They gasped.

"Her hair…it's violet," he noted, incredulous.

"Violet," Erza mused, gently stroking her fingers through the wisps of hair. "A beautiful name, wouldn't you agree?"

Jellal smiled, both arms wrapped around his small but loved family. "I agree."

It was the colour of her hair.

A/N continued: What do you think of blue and red coming together to form purple? I'd love for this to actually happen! Mashima, pls.

Well, I hope this story was to your liking...because the stuff I came across while researching how childbirth feels...traumatising. Haha...hahaha...*eye twitches*

Poor Erza (and poor Jellal for having to experience it for a few fleeting moments xD)

Anyway, enough of my rambling. I'd appreciate any comments you may have, thanks for reading :)