Chapter 15

Since their house was close to the guild, the Dragneel family always traveled there and back on foot. Their short walk was normally filled with laughter, but on this particular day, they were somber and silent. Lucy pushed the stroller and Natsu walked beside her, while Wendy lagged behind them.

Once they got home, Lucy asked, "Natsu, will you take Nashi upstairs? I need to make a phone call."

The man nodded and proceeded to take his daughter out of her stroller and to the nursery. Wendy started to head upstairs to her bedroom when Lucy spoke, "Wendy, do you want to sit in on my call with the doctor?"

Wendy paused to think over the question. She honestly didn't know if she could be of any help, and it made her nervous to hear the doctor's reaction. Still, she knew it was the best way to learn about navigating life. She nodded shakily and headed over to the couch as Lucy folded up the stroller and put it away. Lucy took a deep breath and sat down next to Wendy, then she used her lacrima to call her OBGYN, Dr. Regina Helm.

"Hello, this is Dr. Helm's office. My name is Martha. How can I help you?" asked a soft voice. Lucy quickly placed the call on speaker, put it down on the coffee table, and responded.

"Hi Martha, this is Lucy Dragneel."

"Mrs. Dragneel, how are you?" Martha asked with delight.

"I'm good, Martha," Lucy replied, smiling softly.

"That's great. Looking at your chart—" Martha started.

"Oh, I'm not calling about myself," Lucy interrupted.

"Sorry about the assumption. Who are you calling about?" Martha asked curiously. Lucy glanced at Wendy, noticing the way she wrung her hands. Lucy softly pulled Wendy's hands apart, and held her hand in hopes of comforting her.

"I'm calling for my sister-in-law. She took a home pregnancy test, and it was positive."

"Alright, well, Mrs. Dragneel, have her call in, and we will schedule an appointment..."

At this, Wendy looked pale and was shaking with nerves. Wendy knew she couldn't do this on her own. She felt Lucy squeeze her hand, and when she turned to look at her, she knew her eyes would be filled with dread. Lucy smiled gently at her, as though to assure her that she would always be there for her. She responded with a watery smile before focusing her attention on the call.

Lucy took a deep breath. Here goes nothing. "My sister-in-law is sixteen."

Martha gasped at the news and Wendy cringed, knowing her thoughts of rejection were just confirmed. Lucy nudged her shoulder with hers and mimed taking a deep breath, which Wendy did to calm herself.

"Oh…" said Martha, the disbelief still coloring her voice, "Okay, let me check the calendar. Please hold for one moment."

As soft music began to play, Natsu walked down the stairs and entered the living room. He started to speak but stopped when he saw his wife and his sister on the phone and headed straight to the kitchen.

Just then, the music stopped, and Martha said, "Mrs. Dragneel?"

"Yes," replied Lucy.

"We have an opening tomorrow at 10:30 am. Is your sister-in-law available at this time?" Wendy looked over at Lucy and nodded.

"Yes, she is, and her name is Wendy Marvel."

"Alright, I will put her down for that time slot. See you tomorrow!"

Lucy hung up her lacrima and looked over at Wendy, who seemed to have gained some color back. "You can head upstairs if you want," Lucy said, "but I wanted to let you know that I have a friend who may be interested in adopting a child. Would it be okay if I talked to them about you? That way you have some options if you decide to choose adoption."

Wendy raised her eyebrows, her curiosity taking over. "Who is it?" she asked.

Lucy sighed but continued to explain. "I can't tell you who it is because they told me in confidence, but I want to know if I have your permission to talk to them about this. They will keep it to themselves if I ask them to."

Wendy sat in deep thought for a second. She knew Lucy had her best interest at heart and, if Lucy trusted this person, then Wendy did too. "Yeah, that should be fine."

Lucy nodded. "Great!"

Wendy smiled warmly. "Thanks for helping me, Lucy," she said, "I know you may not be happy with my situation, but I'm grateful to have your guidance, as a mother and a friend."

Lucy pulled Wendy into a hug, "You're welcome, Wendy."

After Lucy pulled away, Wendy stood up and headed upstairs. Lucy grabbed her lacrima to make her second call when Natsu exited the kitchen. "Hey, Luce," he greeted.

She looked over at him and said, "Hi, Natsu."

"I put Nashi down, and I was—" he started.

"Natsu, I love you, but I am busy right now," she reasoned, "I don't want to give you only part of my attention." She walked over to give Natsu a kiss on the cheek and said, "Give me about half an hour, and I'll be able to give you my full attention. Okay?"

"Alright, Luce. I'm gonna go upstairs. Let me know when you're done!" he said with a grin, before heading up the stairs.

With the newfound privacy in mind, Lucy called her friend.

"Hello?" answered a feminine voice.

"Hey Yukino, how are you?" Lucy replied.

"Hi Lucy, I'm good. How are you?"

"I'm doing great!" she said happily, before adopting a more serious tone, "I wish I called just to chat, but I wanted to talk to you about something more sensitive."

"Alright, what do you wanna talk about?"

Lucy frowned. This was hard to bring up, especially without hurting her feelings. "I know you and Sting have been trying. How is that going?" she asked softly, her tone apologetic. Sting and Yukino have been trying for a baby for almost two years, but for all their efforts, they were left with broken hearts. In the last two years, Yukino has had four miscarriages and a stillbirth.

Yukino sighed. This was a sensitive subject, but she knew Lucy wouldn't bring it up unless she had a reason. "Not well. We haven't been trying as much as we used to. We've lost hope that we will ever be able to have a child of our own, but we are still trying."

"Have you considered other options?" Lucy asked inquisitively.

Yukino sighed again. "Not really. I mean, fertility treatments are too expensive, so are surrogates, and I'm not sure I want to adopt."

Lucy frowned. This wasn't what she hoped to hear. "What's wrong with adoption?"

"Well, first of all, we would have to find someone willing to do that. Second, the mother could back out. Third, we really want a child that is biologically ours."

Lucy sighed. "How open are you to adoption?" she asked.

"Lucy, I know you mean well, but why are you asking?" Yukino replied, giving into her curiosity.

"I can't tell you until you answer my question," Lucy stated.

"Around 60%."

Lucy could work with that. "Alright. I will tell you why I am asking all these questions, but it has to stay between us until more decisions are made."

"Alright, I can agree to that," Yukino promised.

"Wendy is pregnant with her boyfriend's child."

"What?" Exclaimed Yukino.

"She hasn't made any decisions yet, but I don't see her keeping this baby. She knows you, and she might be more likely to give the baby up if she knows who it is going to. I even asked if she was okay with me broaching the subject with someone interested in adopting, and she agreed," said Lucy, "I didn't use your name, so don't worry. I think you and Sting should discuss this because if she decides to put the baby up for adoption, I think you would be a great choice for parents."

Yukino didn't know how to respond. "I don't know, Lucy," she said, "Sting and I will need a while to talk about this. I will get back to you in a few weeks."

"Alright, that's all I ask," said Lucy.

"Bye, Lucy."

"Bye, Yukino."