Hello Everyone!

Sorry for such the long wait. I've been preparing to go to Setsucon and also having some school work along with it. Also I hope you all enjoyed the holidays and hope yours turned out as well as mine, if not even better! Alright enough of me and let's move onto the chapter you all have been patiently waiting for.

~wolvesfinalden

Fairy Tail: What Brings Us Together

Chapter 15: I'm Still Here Lucy

A few days later Lucy and Natsu were at the guild with everyone. Though Lucy had her mind on something else rather than the guild. She knew she was never on good terms with her father but she still wanted to make things right between them. After all he did have the right to know he was going to have a grandchild as well right?

This brings to what Lucy was doing at the moment, or well at least tried to. When she arrived at her apartment, her land lady was standing at the door, demanding that she pay her seven years-worth of rent. Lucy of course didn't have that kind of money, so she wouldn't let her inside her apartment. Now she decided to finally see her father once again, after thinking about Cana and her father, she felt bad about not talking to him for so long. Not to mention the bad note they had left on years ago.

Lucy walked ahead before she was stopped by none other than Natsu and Happy. She looked at them in shock seeing how angry and upset they were.

"What's wrong with you two?" She asked them.

"Someone trashed our damn house!" Natsu yelled.

"Yeah they took all our food and money we had saved up. So now we have to start from scratch." Happy added.

Natsu then looked over to Lucy with a more serious look. This caught Lucy off guard, making her give him a questioning look.

"What about you?" he asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Your apartment. I heard the other girls living on Fairy Hill had a lot of back rent to pay, I'm assuming you do too don't you?" he asked her.

Lucy sighed and slowly brought her face to meet her mate's.

"Yeah seven years of rent basically. Which is nearly impossible to pay. So the land lady won't let me into my apartment until I pay it in full." Lucy sighed.

Natsu was irritated, his mate needed a place to sleep and he knew hers would be more comfortable for her. Now she has nowhere for the time being, until they can figure out some kind of plan. He then came to a decision.

"Luce, you'll stay with us until you can, if that's what you're worried about." He told her.

"I know that Natsu. After all I didn't think you would let me and the baby too far from you."

Natsu smirked at that, he liked that his mate knew him so well. Though he did sense that she was still worried about something and he didn't know what.

"Luce, what's bothering you?" he finally asked.

Lucy didn't want to answer that. She was still wondering if she should go or not, whether her father would even want to see her after so long. The girl was so conflicted that she was scaring herself.

"Luce, I'm your mate, you can tell me anything." Natsu tried to encourage her.

The blonde then sighed, he was right, this was something that she needed him here for.

"I'm going to see my father. It's just something I have to do. It's been seven years and I don't want the last thing I say to him was that I basically wanted nothing to do with him." Lucy said.

Natsu nodded and saw the worry in her eyes. He then moved to her and snaked his arms around her. Bringing her into his embrace. He felt her sigh as she wrapped her arms around him.

"It'll be alright Luce. We'll go with you." He whispered to her.

"Thank you Natsu." She answered back.

The two then pulled apart and Natsu motioned for her to lead the way. The trio then walked together as Natsu tried to cheer her up along the way. They talked about how they were going to bring Fairy Tail on top once again. Then of course Happy asked about what the two would do once their child was born. At that note Lucy didn't know how to answer, so Natsu answered for them.

"What kind of question is that Happy? We'll raise them to be a Fairy Tail wizard." Natsu said with a grin.

Lucy couldn't help but smile at him. His answer was so obvious she didn't know how she didn't really see that coming. Natsu was always going to be Natsu no matter what.

The group then reached the guild called Love and Lucky. Lucy smiled as she saw the name. She paused for a moment before she entered. Something told her not to go in and she didn't understand why. Luckily Natsu noticed this and placed his hand on her shoulder. The girl quickly turned to see Natsu looking at her.

"Luce, you'll never know if you don't go in. Everything will be alright you'll see." He said to her.

"Alright Natsu."

"Lucy do you want us to go in with you?" Happy asked her.

"You two wait out here. I'll come out to get you when I see him." She told them.

They both nodded and watched the blonde enter. Once she was inside Happy looked over to Natsu.

"Natsu why do I have a bad feeling about all of this?" He asked him.

"I feel it too buddy and I don't like it one bit." Natsu said almost too seriously.

"Well shouldn't we go in after her?" Happy asked.

Natsu thought about it for a moment but then decided against it.

"No, we'll wait for Lucy. She'll be fine buddy." Natsu said confident in his mate.

'I just hope that I'm wrong.' He thought.

Lucy walked into the guild and noticed the reception desk. The blonde only paused for a second before finally deciding to go up to the lady working at the desk. When she approached the lady smiled at her.

"Hello can I help you?" she asked.

"Yes I'm looking for Jude Heartfillia. My name is Lucy." Lucy told her.

What surprised Lucy wasn't what she said next but the reaction she got once she spoke her and her father's name. The girl's eyes widened and she could see the tears forming in her eyes.

"Are you his daughter Lucy Heartfillia?" she asked.

"Yes I am. Can I please speak to him?"

"I'm afraid not." She finally said to her.

Lucy was shocked when the lady told her this. After all she knew that her and her father weren't on the best of terms but to not even ask him to speak to her? Something was wrong here.

"Look I know I haven't spoken to him in a long time but that's why I came here today. I just want to make things right again." She said.

The lady then got up and walked around her desk only stopping when she was directly in front of Lucy.

"Honey, I'm so sorry but your father, he passed away just a few months ago. I'm so sorry." The girl sadly told her.

Lucy's heart almost stopped when she heard this. How could this have happened? When she finally wanted to make thing right again, he's gone. The blonde waited for tears to fall down her face but they never really came.

"I see, thank you for telling me."

Lucy then left the guild and as soon as she opened the door she heard Natsu and Happy.

"See Natsu Lucy's okay." Happy said with a big smile.

Though Natsu wasn't easily fooled. He noticed the look on her face and immediately walked over to his mate. He put his arm around her and whispered to her.

"Let's go home Luce."

She only nodded and led the way home. About half way home Lucy began to feel exhausted and could feel the baby inside her acting up as well. Natsu was quick to notice this and moved her over to the nearby bench. The two sat down on the bench and Natsu slowly had Lucy lay down on his lap.

Happy quickly joined them and laid on Lucy's stomach.

"Do you feel like talking about it now Luce?" he asked her.

"Yeah I guess." She said.

The girl tried to sit up but Natsu held her down. Shaking his head at her. Lucy gave up and remained where she was.

"When I went in and asked to see him, they told me I couldn't." Lucy began.

"Why wouldn't they let you see him Lucy?" Happy asked.

Natsu held up his hand at his exceed. Letting him know to let her finish. The dragon slayer knew there was more to his mate's story.

"I asked her why and she told me that, he had passed away a few months ago…." She said.

"Luce…" he whispered.

Lucy then got up and this time Natsu let her. Once she was up she looked to the now setting sun. Natsu and Happy got up as well and both held a sad look as they looked at the blonde. As they stood their Natsu heard two voices coming from behind them. They were just teenage girls so he was doing his best to block them out but once they brought up the fact that they wanted their father's to drop dead, Natsu lost it.

"Hey!" he growled.

The girls stopped and looked back at the now angered dragon slayer. They were frightened at the look he had in his eyes and it showed just how pissed off he was. Natsu knew how upset his mate was even though she really wasn't showing it. He could tell that the mention of these girls wanting their own father to drop dead made her upset and angry at the same time.

"What's your problem?" the one girl was brave enough to ask.

"You should be lucky you even have your father. You don't know what you have until you've lost it." He finally said.

Natsu then took Lucy by the hand and began walking.

"Come on Happy we're leaving."

"Aye sir!" Happy called after him.

Natsu had enough of the two girls. It wasn't just the fact that Lucy had just lost her own father but also because he too has lost his father. Yes he was still alive out there somewhere but it's just as hard to live with as one dying. At least you could except the fact that they weren't coming back, though with him he was forever in doubt that he would ever see Igneel again. Though he didn't want to lose hope.

Once they entered back into Magnolia, Lucy looked over to Natsu.

"Natsu do you mind if we go see my father's grave?" Lucy asked him.

"No Luce come on."

Luckily they weren't too far from the graveyard. Lucy walked over to her father's grave. Natsu gave her some space so she could speak to her deceased father alone. Though he could still hear her. So he listened to her tell her own father about their own child. He heard her apologize for not being there and why she had been gone for seven years. Finally she was done and she said her goodbyes and returned to Happy and Natsu.

Natsu held out his arms for her and she embraced him. Time after time Natsu reminded Lucy just why she fell in love with him. No matter what happened he showed he cared and knew exactly what to do for her.

"Come on let's head home." Natsu said.

"I guess back to your house, though I wish she would at least let me in to grab what I left in there." She said.

"Well then come on." Natsu said walking towards her apartment.

"Natsu I told you what she said."

"Yeah but she didn't talk to me, so that's going to change." Natsu said with a little anger, which was towards her land lady.

The three made it to Lucy's apartment and instead of trying the window like he had done in the past, he went through the door. Only because he wanted to give that lady a piece of his mind, or light her on fire while Lucy and Happy grabbed everything while she was distracted, whatever came first.

As they entered inside of course they were greeted by the lady herself but this time she looked a tad bit afraid when she saw Natsu's angry look.

"What are you here for?" she asked.

"Let Lucy into her apartment. She deserves the right to her stuff." Natsu managed to say calmly which was shocking to everyone including himself.

"Alright fine. Go ahead then." She said.

With that the group entered into the apartment. Natsu and Happy walked around the apartment while Lucy was trying to remember what all she needed. While she was looking around, Natsu had come across something that shocked him. There was exactly seven presents on the table in her living room. Not only was there presents but there was also a note there as well.

"Luce come here." He called to her.

Lucy heard him and came into the room. She was surprised to see the presents and looked over to her mate but Natsu just looked as confused as she was. Natsu then grabbed the note and handed it to her. She read over the letter and as she did, the tears that didn't want to come out finally ran down her cheeks once she read the letter.

Natsu saw this and quickly went to her side and skimmed the note. It was her father telling her that he wanted the same thing she did and that he knew she was somewhere far from home and hoped that she would come home soon. That he wanted to see her again as well but knew he had not a lot of time left. At the end of the note it said that in the envelope on the table was a check for the years-worth of rent she had owed plus a few months, hoping that she would return in that amount of time. It also said there was another check for any other expenses she may need.

Natsu held Lucy as she cried after reading what her father had done over the years. The fire mage felt more useless than he ever did. He could do nothing but comfort her. Nothing else could be done at the moment. Time would have to do the rest.

"Happy." Natsu called for him as he managed to open the envelope and found the right check for the landlady. "Give this to the land lady." He told him.

Through her sobs she heard Natsu and when she heard him tell Happy to give the check to the landlady. She saw the cat fly away with the check and then heard the land lady squeal in excitement at the check.

"You alright Luce?" he asked her.

"I feel like everyone in my life leaves me. At some point you'll be gone too Natsu." She told him.

Natsu looked at her sadly and put his hand on the side of her face, causing his mate to look him in the eyes.

"I'm still here Luce. That's never going to change." He promised her.

"How can you be so sure?" she asked him.

He paused. Igneel had told him that before that he was there for him and he wouldn't leave him alone. Only to go against his word and leave him all alone in the world. He shook the thought from his mind.

"Because I know what it's like to be left all alone. You, our child, even Happy, are the most important people in my life. I would be damned if something happened to you or if I wasn't there for you all. Luce, I'm not going anywhere, I guarantee that." He said to her.

Lucy smiled and brought Natsu into a deep kiss, lasting only for a few moments before they parted for breath.

"I love you Luce."

"Natsu, I love you too, thank you for making me feel better."

Happy ran over and gave Lucy a hug as well.

"Come on we've all had a long day. Especially you two." Natsu said looking at Lucy.

"Yeah your right."

"Come on off to bed." He said.

They walked into the bedroom and noticed the dust around the room.

"Maybe not." Lucy grumbled.

"Luce, Happy and I got it, you go ahead and get a bath. That's what you wanted too right?" he asked her.

"You sure about that?" Lucy asked him.

"Yeah go ahead. It's the least we could do. Plus you need some kind of rest." He told her.

Lucy nodded and walked into the bathroom, leaving the boys to their work.

"You sure about this Natsu?" Happy asked him.

"Yes Happy, come on won't be that bad."

So the two cleaned up all of the bedroom and managed to get the main parts of the rest of the apartment. Leaving the boys tired and ready for a well-deserved sleep. They walked in to find Lucy about to crawl into the now clean bed.

Smiling Natsu jumped in after her, with Happy following close behind. Natsu wrapped his arms around his mate. He noticed that she fell asleep right away and he looked over her sleeping form. She was tired alright and not once did she ever say a word. His hands came around the bump she now had from the baby, causing a warmth inside the dragon slayer. He could feel the small heartbeat coming from his child. Natsu then kissed Lucy's forehead before he finally closed his eyes, with one last thought before he drifted off into sleep.

'I'm still here Lucy…I always will be."

That's all for this chapter. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and again I'm sorry for the wait but thank you all for waiting patiently and for those who have started to follow or even favorite this story. Thank you guys so much it means a lot to me. Anyway please leave me a review and if you haven't yet and you enjoy the story please fav/follow. Until next chapter guys!

~wolvesfinalden