*Peeks head out of hiding spot* Is it safe to come out now?

As always Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima

Chapter 24

Sacrifice

Makarov was sitting in his train compartment, enjoying a beer on his way home. He sighed and looked out his window up at the night sky, at the stars shining so bright, and smiled to himself. My brats are growing up fast, I just wish my idiot of a grandson would propose already. He sighed and took another sip of his beer, glancing again at the stars. Hmm... That's strange... Its like they dimmed a bit. I hope Lucy is alright... Makarov shrugged and went back to his beer.

Lucy watched, wide eyed and terrified, as Laxus crumpled lifeless before her.

"Nooooooo!" Her scream ripped out her throat as she fell to her knees beside him. "No, no, no, no, no, nooo!" Lucy looked at him as she screamed, his red blood covered everything. One dagger had hit him between his right shoulder and neck, the other had hit in the lower left part of his abdomen. Carefully she pulled the daggers out of him and tossed them aside, not listening to the man across the clearing laughing.

Lucy remembered Wendy once saying that you had to apply pressure to wounds, so she pressed both her hands over the one by his neck, blood seeping between her fingers.

"No! Laxus! You can't leave me! Not now!" She yelled at him, hoping for a response, and felt her tears fall freely from her eyes as she leaned over him. "You can't leave when you're finally going to be a father." She said quietly as she removed her hands to brush at her tears, not caring where she got blood.

"Please... don't leave me... please... I love you so much..." She sobbed, closing her eyes, only to have them fly open as she felt something brush her cheek.

"Laxus!" Lucy looked down and saw him gazing up at her, his hand hovering by her cheek.

"I'm... a father..." She nodded and he smiled up at her.

"Yes... So you can't leave me..." Tears flowed freely down her face, and he tried to brush them away again.

"Don't... Cry... Lucy..." As Laxus said her name his hand fell limply to the ground. Faintly, Lucy remembered, not even a month ago, when she asked Laxus to quit calling her Blondie, and what his answer was. "Only when I die." He had said it as a joke then, but now it was all too real.

"No..." Lucy stared at him, hoping it was all a dream. "NOOOO!" She tore and pounded at the ground in front of her, lost in her grief. She looked over at the man who caused all this pain, and saw him laughing as humanoid figures started to form from the shadows around him.

Frantically, Lucy grabbed for her keys, bringing them in front of her. "Help me!" She cried to them. "Please! Help me!" She laid her head on Laxus's chest, closed her eyes, and waited. From behind her closed lids she could see flashed of light, and after the last flash she opened her eyes to see all twelve of her Zodiac spirits around her.

"Help me..." Lucy begged of them. "Please..." As her eyes closed again she could hear the man screaming, and then heard it cut short. She felt something draped over her and inhaled a familiar scent, Laxus's coat.

"Leo!" She heard someone, Aquarius, yell. "Get Lucy back to Fairy Tail! Now!"

No... what about Laxus? Lucy thought, she was too numb to speak.

"Call Pegasus! I'll deal with everything here! Just go!" Lucy had never heard Aquarius so protective before. The next thing Lucy knew she was being lifted bridal style and soon she was flying.

"Laxus..." She murmured weakly.

"Its okay, My Princess. They are doing everything they can for him." It was Leo holding her.

"Child..." She whispered softly.

"What child?"

"I'm... pregnant..." The news must have shocked him, she could feel his arms tighten around her.

"Everything is going to be okay, I promise. For now, just rest." He told her as they flew as fast as they could to Fairy Tail.

Nami was on top of the Guild building, acting as lookout as everyone got ready for the party. Laxus had decided that he was going to propose today, and wanted to surprise Lucy with a party when they got back. Mira was beyond excited, she kept muttering about blond babies. Everyone else in Fairy Tail was excited too, they had all been wondering when he was going to ask her.

Nami sighed and looked at the night sky, the stars had been bothering her. They had went from very bright, to very dim in a matter of seconds, and after they dimmed Nami had counted twelve shooting stars in less than a second. The breeze picked up and she smiled as she caught Lucy's scent, and she was about to call down to everyone when she noticed something was very, very wrong.

"No..." She whispered as she saw something flying very fast towards the Guild. She could smell Lucy alright, and two of her spirits, but Laxus's scent was very faint, and she could smell blood, his blood.

"No!" Nami yelled as she jumped from the top of the building, landing on her feet in front of the main doors and rushed inside. "All the decorations have to come down! Now!"

"Why?" Mira asked glancing at Nami's horrified face.

"Because Lucy is bac-"

"Why should we take them down is she's ba-" Mira stopped and looked on in horror as the rest of Fairy Tail watched in horror as Leo walked in from the back of the Guild, Lucy in his arms. Lucy was covered in blood, but not her own, on her face, her hands, her clothes, and she was wrapped in Laxus's trademark coat.

"Because Laxus isn't with her..." Nami numbly answered her.

Makarov was happily walking back to Fairy Tail, he had gotten word from Mira on the train that Laxus was planning on proposing to Lucy tonight, that there was going to be a party for the two. He hummed as he neared the Guild, only to stop as she noticed the absence of noise.

He walked into Fairy Tail with a big smile on his face. "What's wrong? Where's the par..." He trailed off and his face fell at the scene before him, the scene was almost too painful, it reminded him of when they had all though Lisanna died.

There was no party going on, there was no smiles, no laughter. On the second floor Demon Mira was guarding the infirmary door as Freed, Bickslow, and Evergreen argued with her. Gajeel and Nami were guarding the stairs, keeping anyone from going up as Gray and Natsu leaned numbly against the railing, for once they weren't even trying to fight. Erza, Wendy, and Levy were nowhere to be seen.

Makarov looked around his Guild to see many tear streaked faces.

"What. Has. Happened." He asked his numb Guild.

"M-Master." He looked up to see Gajeel looking at him.

"What happened here!?" He demanded to know.

"Its Laxus..." Gajeel answered as Makarov walked up the stairs towards him.

"And what has my idiot of a grandson done now? What did he do to make the Guild like this?" He walked past Gajeel and Nami, past the Thunder God Tribe, straight past Mira and into the infirmary, where he found Erza, Wendy, and to his surprise, Leo, gathered around a bed.

"I asked, what did my idiot grandson do now!?" The group jumped in shock, and seeing Makarov, they parted, revealing Lucy curled up in Laxus's coat on the bed, her head resting in Levy's lap, Levy soothingly patting her head while she cried.

Levy looked at Makarov, tears streaming down her face, and answered. "Laxus sacrificed himself to protect her..."

"No..." Makarov whispered as he fell to his knees, tears starting to fall, and looked up as Erza knelt next to him, tears, too, streaming from her eyes.

"I'm so sorry, Master." Erza sobbed.

As Lucy laid there, hearing everyone around her express their grief, she knew in her heart that he was alive. Leo had said that they were doing everything they could for him, she just had to believe in her spirits. Faintly, she whispered, so low that the dragon slayers outside couldn't hear her.

"Come back to me..."