Chapter 4
St. Asclepius Medical Center is considered as one of the leading medical facilities across the continent of Fiore. Its renown cannot be overlooked as it is one of the most prestigious hospitals around.
The reason?
Public records state that it is currently spending millions of jewels on their Research and Development Agencies, making a groundbreaking breakthrough in rediscovering the Lost Magic of Healing. Aside from that, various media outlets - evidently including that of her former boss, Jason - have speculated that St. Asclepius is on the cusp of combining different Healing Magic Spells for greater efficiency.
This did not mean that the traditional ways of Health and Mana Potions, Herbology, and other Apothecaries are products of bygone eras. It just so happened that the current Hospital Director is focusing on innovating new and improved ways for Medi-Mages to administer medical treatment as fast and careful as possible.
Lucy sighed, remembering her late mother. If only St. Asclepius was as advanced as then...perhaps her mother would have lived for many years. This hospital has been her mother's go-to medical center whenever she suffered symptoms from her Magic Deficiency Disease. That being said, Lucy decided not to dwell too much on the past.
As soon as the carriage stopped near the receiving area of the hospital, Laxus practically bolted out towards the front desk in the lobby. Lucy took out some jewels from her pocket and handed it to their coachman through the sliding window.
She has been doing a lot of these lately...paying for others, that is.
"Thank you," she mustered a smile before running through the rain, holding Laxus' coat over her head to prevent herself from getting drenched again.
When she reached the entrance, she slid the coat over her body properly to cover her bikini clad self. She took the ribbons tying her hair and fastened them like a makeshift belt to prevent the coat from being blown open. At that moment, she felt like she just came out of a winter magazine. Later, once she has recovered a bit of her Magic Power, she will summon and ask Virgo to bring her another set of regular-looking, dry clothes.
"Room 343," she heard the nurse on the front desk. Immediately, Laxus sprinted towards a nearby elevator, only pausing to look at the directory before pushing the buttons repeatedly. Lucy followed him silently.
Tap. Tap. Tap
Laxus tapped his foot impatiently, grunting as he glared at the screen showing which floor the elevator cabin currently is. He crossed his arms over his chest, and drummed his fingers along his arm, muttering, "tch" every now and then. He looked at the screen again, his jaw set in annoyance.
Ding! The metal doors opened, and out swarmed a mass of people.
"Move!" Laxus barked, a threat evident in his venom-laced voice. Immediately, the passengers, both coming out and joining in, scurried off. This left him and her boarding the cabin in their lonesome.
Lucy was the one to press the button, earning her a questioning look from the man beside her. She merely shook her head, and looked up at the screen indicating the floor. The screen showed an upward arrow, and the cabin hummed to life. She felt the familiar mini-somersault sensation in her stomach.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Ding! The doors opened again, prompting Laxus to run again into the hallways of the third floor.
"Wait, Laxus," she called out hoarsely. The man stopped in his tracks to look at her, a miffed expression evident on his face. "This way," Lucy instructed, pointing her fingers in the other direction.
"How-"
"Come on," Lucy began walking, faintly hearing their footsteps echoing in the sickly-lit empty hall.
337. Lucy looked at the row on the left side, and began counting
339.
341.
343!
She stopped, waiting for Laxus to join her. "Here," she pointed to the white-painted door numbered 343.
Laxus shot her another look of confusion. She just placed her hand on his shoulders, nudging him to go inside. "Go. I'll just be here."
He grunted in response, hands gripping the doorknob, and opened the door.
Laxus' sensitive nose was bombarded with a noxious bitter smell combined with undertones of artificial scents from soaps, cleaners, bleaches, and alcohols. His nostrils flared in revulsion.
Shitty antiseptic, he wants to spit out.
Laxus covered his nose with his hands before looking at the hospital bed. There lies his sleeping father, Ivan Dreyar, Fairy Tail's greatest betrayer. Laxus shot the man a look of scorn.
Ivan's normally healthy body has now withered into this pathetic shadow of himself. The man's formerly brutal arms have now devolved into pale-yellow skin barely hanging on feeble bones. Green veins snaked beneath the almost translucent skin. His frame is smaller, as the hospital gown seems to drown the betrayer in crisp white clothing, the blanket only burying him further into the bed.
Laxus felt his eye twitching as he once again looked at Ivan's face. Gone were his hair and mustache, along with most of his facial muscle. His cheekbones protruded like a steep cliff. His eye sockets were hollowed out by dark circles, as wrinkles formed around his face. His body is connected to several tubes fed into different Medical Lacrimas.
One. Two. Three. Laxus stopped counting.
"What did the bastard do now?" He finally faced the doctor silently waiting for him.
It was Dr. Medella again, the Magical Diseases Specialist handling Ivan's case. She was staring at him with as much indifference, as if this was but another uneventful day for her.
Laxus gritted his teeth in annoyance. He returned her harsh stare with one of his own. Looking at Dr. Medella, he was reminded of his own grandmother - Fairy Tail's Medical Advisor.
Death stare. Check
No nonsense attitude. Check
Frown that further emphasizes how close to the grave she actually is. Check
Dr. Medella was as wrinkly of an old bat as Porlyusica. Finally, the doctor sighed before rearranging her thick-rimmed glasses and finishing some of her notes on her clipboard.
"I see that you've decided to return," she observed.
Laxus grunted in response.
Taking that as a sign to continue, Dr. Medella relayed, "not much has changed since your visit yesterday. He woke up last night, and asked for you, though. I called you since his Mana dropped dangerously low this morning. We administered some emergency Ethernano shots."
"Tch," Laxus looked back at Ivan's sleeping figure again, crinkling his nose in distaste. Belatedly, he released an incredulous scoff.
"I take it that you're also here to settle some of his medical documents," Dr. Medella pointed out. She had the interns call Laxus a while ago to update him about his father's condition that morning. She did not expect him to actuallt make a sudden personal visit considering the obvious estranged relationship between the father-son relationship.
Laxus felt his body flinching, but kept his silence. He was still staring at the patient.
Beep. Beep. Beep. It was the steady sound of the Medical Monitor Lacrima, making itself known amid the silence that descended among the occupants of the relatively small, sickly-lit hospital room.
Laxus willed himself to speak but kept his mouth shut as he himself cannot form words much less utter them.
And so, the silence…the deafening silence in the room continued to stretch on for what seems to be an eternity.
Huff. Huff. Huff, came the deep breaths of Ivan, muffled by the tube taped to his mouth, and nasal cannula that slid inside his nostrils.
"..." Laxus made a move to speak, getting the attention of Dr. Medella. The old doctor waited for him to say anything.
No words.
"Thanks," the blond man said after a while.
The doctor sighed, features softening for a brief moment. She looked at her wristwatch. "Young man, I will be making my daily rounds now. If you have time, I will be available for consultation around after one in the afternoon today," she bid him with a smile before exiting the room.
That left Laxus standing in the middle of the room, looming over the unconscious body of Ivan.
Pitter-Patter. Pitter-Patter. Pitter-Patter.
Pitter-Patter. Pitter-Patter. Pitter-Patter.
Pitter-Patter. Pitter-Patter. Pitter-Patter.
Laxus stared at the huge window beside the bed, and only now did he realize the storm howling heavily and noisily against the darkness outside.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
The door gently clicked open. "Laxus, may I enter?"
"Yeah," he croaked after a few seconds.
The door clicked shut, and Laxus felt Lucy standing beside him. She stared at him, her eyes curious, searching and probing for an explanation.
Lucy noticed that Laxus offered a weak smile, shaking his head as if to signal that now is not a good time for words. She nodded, but took out her hand to clasp his arm firmly, rubbing circles on his skin as if to comfort him. His other hand held onto hers, patting her knuckles in a nonverbal expression of gratitude.
Laxus began to move, walking slowly towards the cushioned chair, almost as if guiding Lucy to sit down. Lucy noticed how Laxus never shook her arms away. She sat, thankful that she had finally found a more pleasant resting area. The corridor floor is not really a comfortable place to sit. It was too hard, and too cold. And she does not really prefer the vibes from this hospital.
"Coffee? Tea?" Laxus began walking towards, and kneeling in front of the minifridge, his broad shoulders and hefty back covering Lucy's eyes from inspecting what was inside the small box.
Clink.
Clink.
Clink.
Ah, there must be a good amount of beer bottles inside. And Lucy would like to avoid alcoholic drinks in this cold of a weather. "Tea would be nice."
"Tea it is," Laxus agreed, rising to his full height, towering over her, and blocking the already dim light from the fluorescent Lacrima. His smile was awkward, as if his lips were caught in between a wicked smirk and a grimace. Lucy noticed how the edges of Laxus' lips began twitching.
Lucy wanted to facepalm. 'Nice. What makes you think that Laxus could brew proper tea? Much less own tea?' she chastised herself.
"Anything's fine," she tried to remedy the situation but Laxus was already outside the door, walking away from her line of sight.
Lucy sighed again, surveying the small room until she found the comfort room. She willed to manifest a Golden key.
"Virgo," Lucy whispered, afraid that she might wake up Laxus' father. Soft golden-light flickered beside her, revealing the Celestial Spirit of the Maiden, Virgo. The pink-haired expressionless maid held a bunch of folded clothes. On top lies a white bath towel, and a few toiletries.
Nimbly, Lucy grabbed her things, and made a dash towards the comfort room. She might as well take a bath…and quickly because would it not be a trite happenstance if Laxus enters the room just as she exited the comfort room in all of her half-decent glory?
However, before she can close the door, she asks Virgo to go back to the Celestial Spirit World to get Laxus a set of his own, and to just place them neatly on top of the cushioned seat. The Spirit followed her instructions religiously before bowing to disappear once again.
Lucy clicked the comfort room's door lock before shedding herself of Laxus' coat. The cloth still feels relatively pelted with rainwater, but somewhat okay. She evaporated the water from the cloth using her Magic before deactivating her Star Dress: Aquarius Form, finding herself back to her former get-up.
It was cold, the wet cloth plastering itself onto her skin. The cold from the other room's air conditioning system did not help at all. Immediately, Lucy took off her clothes, turned the shower heater on, and bathed.
As this was just an emergency sort of thing, she made sure to quickly rinse her body off of soap suds. Perhaps she will just have to retake a bath at the inn, where there is no threat of exposing herself. She took out her towel and immediately dried off before rummaging through the clothes given by Virgo.
Surprisingly, the selection was more normal than what Lucy expected it to be. She was actually quite prepared to be dressed in fantastical fashion as if to strut her way towards the Celestial Spirit World runway.
Thankfully, it was more on the comfortable side. The underwear was flush and snug against the contours of her body. The white linen pajama-style beach pants provide breathability without compromising temperature discomfort. The large beige knitted fabric sweater was like a blanket of safety against the harsh weather.
Meanwhile, Lucy wrapped the damp towel on her head to further dry out her hair. Then, she looked down to see the simple brown cushioned sandals. She slid them on, as she unlocked the door to exit, making sure to grab Laxus' coat.
Outside the comfort room stood Laxus. He was rummaging and taking out some food and other supplies from a set of wet brown paper bags. There were instant cup noodles, a few bottled beverages, and other necessities. Noticing her presence, he looked up.
His eyes widened a fraction, just enough for Lucy to notice it. She nodded stiffly before walking towards the chair, carefully folding Laxus' signature coat. She placed it down the cushion.
"Ummm…Laxus," she said, finding her voice meek. Just what was wrong with her? She could feel her voice cracking.
"Yah?" His voice was deep.
Lucy took Laxus' set of clothes and toiletries, and quietly handed it to him,
"Thanks," he said as he moved towards the comfort room to bathe.
Lucy nodded silently. Once she heard that the lock clicked, she glanced again at the sleeping figure that is Ivan Dreyar, Laxus' father. Her brows knit together in deep thought, worriedly muttering to herself, "Oh, Laxus…"