Hello again!

A lot of you have requested another chapter, so here it is! I hope you all enjoy it. It's kind of cheesy at the end and I hope it isn't too rushed. I wrote this a while ago and added the second scene today. I honestly couldn't remember where I was going with this chapter, but I came up with something. I'm probably not going to write another chapter, unless you all really want it.

Please Review!

Life hasn't exactly been easy for Jellal.

Jellal never stuck around Fairy Tail for long, not wanting to use the Mystogan disguise too much, but now he had no choice. He had a lot to do in Fairy Tail. No matter who the mother, he would never abandon a child that is clearly his. Lucy wasn't the richest person, either, so he really wanted to make sure his child was cared for. Aside from the baby, he had one more reason to stay. He needed to work twice as hard to try to keep what he had before with Erza, even though that wasn't much, since he was still working up to a relationship- very slowly. Every time he finally got a chance to be alone with the redhead, something would come up.

One good thing came out of the whole thing. Sorcerer Weekly covered the story of Lucy and "Mystogan's" baby a few times, so the Magic Council has no doubt been informed. That meant that he no longer needed to keep the disguise. Aside from going on missions, it was no longer suspicious to dress in regular clothes.

So, dressed in jeans and a tight T-shirt, Jellal scanned the guild from the farthest seat of the bar. Mira was cleaning dishes, Lisanna and Natsu were sitting at a table with Happy eating a fish between them, and Gray was trying to avoid Juvia. Everything would be completely normal if it wasn't for Lucy, Gajeel, and Levy sitting with Layla, who was only a month old, not too many tables away.

Groaning, Jellal turned and drank his mug in one shot. He turned to Mira. "Can I have another one?" he asked, trying to sound nice. His tone sounded more annoyed than grateful.

"Don't look so gloom, Jellal," Mira said sympathetically, handing him a glass. "You should be happy!"

"How can I be?" Jellal asked in exasperation. He let out a heavy sigh. "How can I be? I have to watch the girl I love be sad every day because I was extremely drunk one night. Ever since I was little, I always dreamed of starting a family. Now it's happened but with the wrong girl." He had never openly talked to anyone about his feelings towards the situation, but it was surprisingly easy to talk to the barmaid. That was probably how she managed to always know what was happening in everyone's lives, he figured.

"What exactly have you worked out with Lucy?" Mira asked. "How are you settling this?"

"For now I'm just staying at an apartment in town. It's not like Layla realizes she doesn't have a father at home." He glanced over to Lucy when he heard an especially loud giggle from his daughter. "I took an S-class mission last week to give her money, and I'll probably have to go on another one soon. I know everyone is helping out, but I'm still the father."

"That's very sweet of you," Mira said with a light smile. "It's just a shame that this had to happen. You came up for a party that Erza invited you to, and nine months later you come back to support a friend, and then it turns out that it's your child. I can't imagine how hard it is for you."

"I just don't know if anything can go how I want it to now," Jellal said sadly.

"What do you mean?" Mira asked.

Jellal looked straight at Mira. "I love Erza."

Mira's eyes widened. "Uh, Jellal," she tried to warn him.

Jellal didn't even hear her. "All my dreams have been crushed. I can't marry Erza because that would leave Lucy and Layla all alone. I can't have children with Erza because of Lucy and Layla. I can't do anything I have always dreamed of because of Layla. I already told you this."

"Excuse me," came a sour mutter from behind him.

Jellal moved aside to let the person grab the napkin dispenser. When a waft of strawberry reached his nose, he gasped and spun around Lucy was standing there not looking happy. "I'm sorry that I'm such a burden," Lucy said with a shaky voice, tears brimming in her eyes. She went back to her table, set the napkins down so Levy could clean up Layla, then stormed out of the guildhall.

"Shit," Jellal cursed. He didn't even bother drinking the rest of his beer. He slammed a couple Jewels on the table and ran after the blonde.

Considering she had a baby only a month before, Lucy hadn't gone far. Jellal found her sitting on a bench at the park. He sat down beside her and looked up at the sky. There wasn't a cloud in the sky. He looked to the blonde, feeling an intense glare piercing him.

"I'm sorry you had to hear that," he apologized. His face turned almost angry. "I don't know what you want from me. Up until recently I was a wanted mage. The only reason I'm not still on-the-run is Layla." He sighed heavily, dragging a hand down his face. "You have to know how I feel towards Erza; everyone does but her. I've been in love with her since we were children. Having a kid to her best friend isn't exactly easy. I have to look at Layla every day and see the life I can never have. I have to look at Erza every day and see so much sadness. I hurt her again, all because of one night."

Lucy stood up aggressively. Her hands were firmly on her hips. "Do you think this is easy for me? Huh? I had to put my whole life on hold! I spent nine months carrying her, wondering who on Earthland the father could be. And for it to be you! I still get dirty looks from everyone!" She let out a noise from the back of her throat that sounded like a moan and a scream all at once. "Do you think you're the only person that loves someone? Have you ever considered that maybe, maybe, it is possible for someone else to have an unrequited love? Erza's sad, great. What about my love life? He won't even look at me! He hasn't even held Layla once! Erza is at least taking an interest in you. I lost my whole life, too, all because you couldn't keep it in your pants!"

Jellal's eyes narrowed. "Me? Why am I automatically at fault?" He stood up to tower over her. "Why couldn't you be the one to provoke this? For all we know Lisanna could have looked at Natsu sideways and you grabbed the first dick you could find!"

Lucy gasped. "Excuse me?" she shrieked. "I am not a whore in any way! Don't ever imply that I go sleep with whoever when I get jealous!"

"Well it sure seems that way! Or did you forget that you have a kid sitting back at the guild? That baby fat didn't show up overnight!" He wasn't sure what was wrong with him, but he couldn't seem to stop talking.

She gasped and wrapped her arms around her stomach.

Jellal chuckled, running a hand through his hair. "Actually, you're right. You're not a whore. You didn't get jealous and sleep with the first person you saw. How silly of me! You obviously just locked yourself in your apartment and ate everything in your kitchen. I've always thought you looked like you did that."

Lucy's eyes stung as her mouth opened in a silent gasp. She had always been proud of her body, but hearing such words from a man who had seen her wholly, whether he remembered it or not, was an incredible feeling. It felt like someone grabbed a dagger and jammed it into her stomach and twisted it.

Jellal's eyes widened when he saw a tear slip down her cheeks. He hadn't realized how far he went. "Lucy," he whispered, reaching a hand out. She flinched back. "I didn't mean that."

Lucy ducked her head and ran off towards her apartment.

Jellal cursed, running after her. He just hoped someone was going to watching Layla until they got back.

X

Jellal sighed as he leaned back against Lucy's bathroom door. The girl had locked herself in hours ago and hadn't stopped crying since.

To his surprise, she opened the door. Her eyes were puffy and red, her nose running. He jumped to his feet and used his sleeve to wipe her nose, a gesture she laughed about.

"I'm sorry, Lucy," Jellal said, moving his arm back to his side.

"Me, too," Lucy agreed.

"No, you don't have to be sorry about anything," he said, shaking his head. "I was being unreasonable. I have a family and I'm worried about Erza."

Lucy blushed when he said "family."

"Layla is beautiful and seeing her makes me wonder what I'd do without her, what I'd do without you. I may have loved Erza for my life, but I have a lot longer to learn to love you." He flashed a charming smile. "Can we give that a try? For Layla?"

Lucy smiled and nodded. She reached up and kissed his cheek. "I'd love that."

Jellal laced his fingers with hers. "Is this okay?" he asked.

Lucy nodded. "Let's go get Layla," she said.

Jellal closed the door as they left the apartment, seeing a very bright future ahead of him.