A/N: Hello my friends. It's hard to believe its been 2 years since I last updated. As always, a lot has been going on in my life – can you believe that I am about to graduate from uni already? I know I can't. People say it gets easier after high school, and it did in some ways. Uni was great but I won't miss it. I am so not ready for real life to smack me in the face yet though haha.

Here is the next, long awaited chapter. I hope you enjoy it.

Last Time:

"The rest of the story can wait. Lucy is about to pass-out." Just as Nox said, Natsu could see Lucy's already pale face whiten further, could feel Lucy's body turned to jelly in his arms and her legs give out as she did exactly as the Slayer had predicted. Both Nox and Lukas stepped forward, coming closer to Lucy, but Natsu growled again, lifted his Celestial mage in his arms and took her away, back to the infirmary. Let the rest of the guild handle those two. For now, anyway.

And Now:

Weeks had passed since they had sat down to talk with Lukas and Nox, weeks in which Lucy had begun to show some signs of recovery. The removal of the marks which had connected the two newer Dragon-Slayers to Lucy seemed to be like a light weight lifted from her shoulders; colour had returned to her cheeks, though she was still very pale. The casts supporting the healing of her bones had been removed with Porlyusica's approval, as the bones had begun knitting back together at an accelerated rate thanks to Wendy's almost daily check-ups. Everyone at the guild had done their best to provide support whenever they could, being as gentle as they could be. All the men kept a respectful distance, out of consideration to her trauma as much as from Natsu's dominating presence.

Due to her injuries and fragile state, Porlyusica and the Master had deemed it best that Lucy be kept at the guild hall where she could be tended to as needed and be surrounded by her nakama. Not once had she complained about needing to stay, nor had she once requested leave to return home to her apartment along the canal. It was worrying, considering her love of the place and her preference for private space – not that anyone at the guild understood such concepts as 'privacy' or 'space'.

Natsu was content with the arrangement though, as it meant continued access to whatever medical services his Celestial mage needed, as well as having the entire guild to help him defend what was his. Not once had he left her side during those weeks of recovery, except for her to be taken to the bath house with the other girls; she needed the time to re-bond with the women who were trusted friends and family, who could slowly help her recover slivers of emotional normalcy. Being around him still caused her discomfort, both because he was a man and a Dragon-Slayer, facts which pained Lucy because of her physical trauma and because of the Clans markings still scarring her flesh. It infuriated Natsu to no end that they couldn't remove the other marks or stop Lucy's pain. All he wanted was to whisk her away to a place no one could ever harm her again, but he knew that that wasn't what was best for her in her current condition. So, he bore the anger quietly, only allowing it to surface the few times Lucy slept peacefully, was taken for cleansing, or during her physical check-ups with the strange, idiosyncratic healer from the forest. It was during those times that Natsu went to the training yard or forest, taking out his black hatred on dummies and trees, preparing himself for the moment he would exact vengeance upon the bastards that dared to harm his Luce. It was during those times that the guild gave the pinkette the widest berth, as even the air surrounding him radiated with heat hot enough to singe the hair right off of someone's head. Nab had already suffered this, not having moved fast enough out of Natsu's path while staring blankly at the empty job board.

All work had been post-poned for the guild to consolidate and focus their efforts in locating the Clan so justice could be dealt. However, the search had proved less fruitful than hoped. Even with the entirety of the guild out searching every town, forest, hillside, and ruins, no one had seemed to be able to track down the Clan's den. Fairy Tales' Dragon-Slayers would have been the most useful mages to use, though Gajeel and Laxus had vanished shortly after Lucy's return suspiciously alongside the disappearances of Levy and Mira, and Wendy was needed for medical support.

That he himself couldn't go out hunting the filth that called themselves Dragon-Slayers was even more maddening, as he wanted nothing more than to pulverise them and their godforsaken territory. No matter how much Salamander wanted that though, there was no way he could pull himself away from Luce for more than an or two, and even that was hard enough without his instincts kicking in and screaming at him that it was wrong to leave his mate. Though he had yet to do anything to seal that bond, their years of friendship and general affection had solidified enough of a connection that his inner beast already believed her to be his.

Why didn't I do anything sooner? He thought as he pummelled yet another training dummy into ash and dirt in the guilds training yard.

Why wasn't I brave enough to have claimed her before? A fist slammed into the dummy's head.

Why did I let her get so far from the Team? A knee crashed into a straw abdomen.

Why hadn't I been there? Claws slashed through the lightly plated chest cavity, igniting the perishable materials, burning away the place where his enemy's heart should have been. Seconds later the whole dummy was aflame. Natsu let it fall and watched as it burned away to nothing.

I should have been there… Darker thoughts continued swirling through his mind, shaming him, despairing him, filling him with hate. A different feeling started niggling at the back of his mind, enough to draw his thoughts away from the blackened violence which threatened to bleed over everything in his mind. His spine went rigid as the feeling consolidated into an understanding, some unknown intuition something wasn't right.

Natsu stormed off without another glance at the scorched remains of his rage and exercise. Bypassing the main hall and bar, he strode through the guild's halls and shoved passed Lisanna, who squeaked with shock and mild outrage, almost knocking down the door to Fairy Tales' private women's bath house as he opened it with enough force to practically rip it from its hinges. Steam berated him from all sides, blurring vision and soddening his workout pants, hissing as it drifted across his unnaturally, magically heated flesh.

Lisanna stormed in after him. "Natsu! You can't be in here. This is the girl's side!"

He stopped, and without looking back, barked "Get. Out."

The Take-Over mage took a step back, stunned at the hostility of the demand. The fact that it was Lucy in the baths ahead did not escape Lisanna; Natsu could not and would not be stopped when it came to anything relating to the Celestial mage. She turned and quietly left without another word.

Vigorous splashing and faint panting could be heard at a panicked rhythm, and Natsu picked up his pace, advancing through the columned space to the bathing pools at the back of the extensive room. The closer he got, the thicker the steam became, until it parted enough for him to see a blonde figure forcefully scrubbing her flesh with terrified abandon. Without pause, Natsu waded into the warm bathing pool until the water reached his bare stomach and he was able to reach out and take Lucy's hands. She struggled for a moment, mumbling incoherently under her breath, eyes unfocused yet filled with terror and disgust.

"Luce, you need to stop." She flinched, face lightly grimacing as she continued breathing laboriously. "Lucy?" He whispered softly, pulling her wrists firmly between them and capturing her attention. She panted and continued mumbling, a desperate sound, fists clenching sporadically around the ragged sponge in her hand.

Dark eyes stared into unfocused brown ones before his gaze raked over her trembling, nude form. Her breasts bounced heavily with her laboured breathing, and her knees shook unsteadily. Her normally smooth, creamy complexion had been completely rubbed raw, with the places of the clans marks so raw blood had begun beading along the surface of what skin was left. Natsu's eyes darkened as he growled low in his chest. Lucy continued pulling weakly at her arms, trembling and beginning to sob. "I need to be clean…. Can't get clean…." She whimpered.

He gently pulled her closer, the growl changing to a softer and more comforting lull that reverberated through his bare chest. His eyes remained on Lucy's as he watched her panic slowly subside to hiccuping sobs. He released her wrists in favour of holding her shoulders, stopping her tremors.

"You don't need to do this Luce, you're already clean. You are just hurting yourself."

"No." She her head, blonde locks plastered to her face and neck, water dripping in rivulets over her shoulders and down her body. She clutched the sponge tightly to her heaving chest, arms hiding her large breasts. "No…. I can't…. Can't get clean. So much dirt, and nastiness, and so many…. So many hands…. And claws…." She began to shake violently.

"Lucy!" He didn't shout, but she froze at the command in his voice. He shook her gently. "You are fine, you are clean. You need to stop now, ok?"

"How!? I'm so dirty, and tainted…. How can you be touching me? Why would you want to touch someone as disgusting as me?" She whimpered, sobbing harder.

He gathered her to him, tucking her into his chest and resting his chin on the crown of her wet, golden hair as his muscled arms embraced her shuddering frame. "There is nothing wrong with you, Luce. You aren't dirty, or disgusting. None of what happened is your fault."

"I'm still tainted…. Never be the same…."

"That doesn't matter to me Lucy." She pulled back and looked at him, tears and anguish deepening the chocolate of her eyes. Dark orbs bored into her eyes with a level of seriousness that others had only ever witnessed in combat. "Me loving you hasn't changed, and I still have every intention of making you mine." He leaned his forehead into hers. "You are my partner, my nakama, my Luce. I promise you that, because I will never stop wanting you to be by my side. I just need you to focus on getting well, first."

The tears came faster then, and her body collapsed into his. Natsu poured all his focus into comforting her, trying to ignore his body's response to her naked body pressing into his. He held her tightly, slowly pulling her with him into the heated bath water and onto his lap. And he continued to hold his Celestial mage afloat while she cried and cried and cried….

A/N: I know its not the epic fight scene you were all hoping for, but that will be coming up soon enough. Don't forget to R&R plz !