AN: The characters came out ooc again in this chapter so please no flames about how out of character they are.

Also thank you for following, putting on your favorite list and the positive comments. I honestly thought this story wouldn't get that much reads. I was wrong.

Dreams and flashbacks are in italics.

Lucy Heartfilia's dream was to always be part of a family. It was a silly dream, and a silly notion. Natsu Dragneel wanted to be a S-Class mage. Gray wanted to better his rival, Natsu. Erza Scarlet wanted to eat more strawberry cake and have her peace to enjoy her snack. And she also wanted to be with her boyfriend, Jellal Fernandez. Happy wanted to eat all the fish in the ocean. Wendy and Carla wanted to travel the world.

So Lucy's dream felt insignificant compared to their dreams. Watching as her team members were bickering and enjoying their food and drinks at their usual spot in the middle of the Fairy Tail guild, Lucy smiled. They had each other.

She was grateful they included her in their fun, but the blond celestial mage couldn't help but feel something was missing. The feeling had been growing within her lately that she felt like she was drifting away from the others. She was zoning out, looking for excuses to be on her own and when she was with them, she felt more like she was witnessing their friendly banter.

"You ice popsicle! You can never beat me in a million years!" Natsu shouted at Gray. He raised his fist in the air in challenge.

"You want to try me, lame flame?" The ice mage questioned him. "I'll beat you any day!"

Natsu instantly rose to his feet. "Bring it!"

Gray followed his action. "Okay, you asked for it."

The pink haired boy quickly averted his eyes to the blond girl. "Hey Luce, who do you think is going to win?"

She blinked her brown eyes at the sound of her name.

"Luce?"

"Lucy?" Wendy said.

The celestial mage blinked her eyes again. She felt everyone's gaze on her.

She inhaled a deep a breath. "Whatever you say Natsu." Being his partner, she tried her best to support him.

The others stared at her strangely.

"Lucy, did you hear what we were saying?" Gray asked her.

She shrugged her shoulders, feigning nonchalance. "Whose going to win?"

They nodded their heads, their concern fading from their faces. "You see ice princess? She has more faith in me than you."

She took another deep breath, feeling relieved that she momentarily tricked them. But when she looked at each of them, her lips barely stretching across her face, dark brown eyes remained on her. Wendy was very observant for her age, more than what the other guild members thought. Lucy realized she couldn't hide her emotions from the young girl so she opted to stare at the ceiling. She blinked her eyes. The urge to suddenly run from her friends forced her into an upright position. Her friends stopped their banter to watch her.

"Is something wrong, Lucy?" The requip mage asked.

"I just realized I have a story idea," the blond answered. "I should write it down before I forget it. You know how it is for writers," she laughed nervously while scratching the back of her head.

"Okay," Gray said with uncertainty.

The others nodded their heads. Getting permission to leave, Lucy rose from her seat and briskly walked away from them. She could have sworn though, she heard a little of their whispers.

"Is she okay? That is so unlike her."

"I know. She's not smiling as much anymore."

"She needs to eat more fish."

"No Happy. She needs to go on another mission. That always perks her up. She'll have rent money for this month."

"I don't think so." Everyone hushed and looked at the youngest member in their group.

"Wendy?" The scarlet haired woman partially questioned.

The blue haired girl put a fist to her chest. "I just get this feeling that Lucy is not herself."

"What do you mean?" Gray asked.

"We all lost something after the dark guild attacked us."

They all nodded their heads while momentarily remaining quiet.

"We talked about what we lost but not Lucy." Every member of Team Natsu went rigid.

"We tried talking to her..." the raven-haired mage said.

"She said there's nothing to worry about and after we got back together, her worries were put to rest," Erza finished.

"But that's what I'm talking about. What if she didn't get over her problems? What if she putting on a brave face for us? This is not the first time she put us over herself."

The others couldn't think of a reply. Natsu got out his seat. "That does sound like Luce."

He made a move to follow her when Happy's white wings appeared on his small back. "Natsu, I'm going."

It was Erza who raised her hand to haul the blue cat back. "No, let him talk to her alone."

"But..." the blue cat said with a worried face. "She's my friend too."

Sometimes Happy could be sweet. The woman smiled. "I'll order you some fish."

His little ears perked up. "Really?"

"Yes."

Happy's thought of trying to help his friend vanished. They all returned to eating normal.

Someone watched with sad eyes as the celestial mage hurriedly walked out of Fairy Tail. He had seen the anxiety building up within her. Since Fairy Tail got back together from the Tartaros event, Lucy seemed distant. He was meaning to talk to her as he did with his other children but something held the old man back.

She had gone through so much. Natsu told him that Lucy was the reason Fairy Tail got back together. She kept tab on most of the members during their disbandment and the ones who didn't want to be found, they tracked them down.

But seeing her unhappy even when everyone got together, he couldn't help but wonder if she remembered her past. Master Makarov knew when his children were troubled and Lucy looked as if she had the world weighing down her on her slim shoulders.

His eyes flickered back to Team Natsu. They were all looking at the guild doors, their whispers filling his ears. They were worried for her. If only Lucy was aware how she affected people.

"Master, is everything okay?" Mirajane asked him, breaking his mull.

"Yes," he answered. Glancing down at his cup, his drink was gone. A big grin spread across his face. "Keep the drinks coming."

"You got it."

Another drink was put into his awaiting hands. "Thanks," he murmured before drinking. The bitter alcohol reminded him of the last visit he paid to his old friend, Garp. He shook his head. Lucy, with her ties to people, could move mountains. She just didn't realize it yet.

The blond girl walked quietly along the riverside. Her head was down but her eyes weren't focusing on her footsteps. She was so wrapped in her thoughts that she made a midstep and then her arms were flailing in the air.

A muscled arm deftly wrapped around her waist and steadied her against a chest. Blinking, Lucy found herself looking at obsidian eyes of her partner. "Natsu?"

"You should be careful, Luce," he said, almost in a reprimand.

Her cheeks colored out of mortification. How many times had she heard him say those words on her missions?

"I-I just have a lot on my mind," she responded, deciding to be honest with him.

"I noticed."

She blinked at him. Natsu was rarely perceptive. If he was, he mostly played it off with a big grin and a line of being all fired up.

"Oh." He pulled her away from the river ledge, creating a small distance between them.

"What's wrong Luce?"

She inhaled a deep breath. She could tell him nothing was wrong but again, honesty won. Lucy didn't like to lie to her teammates. But when she did, she liked to think she did it for good reasons. "I don't know."

She sat down on the ledge. Her hands went limp on her lap as she lowered her head. Her long blond hair fell over her shoulders. "I just don't know, Natsu."

"What do you mean, Luce?" Natsu lowered himself before her, trying to look into her brown orbs. It wasn't often that fire dragon slayer had a serious expression on his face.

She diverted her attention, unable to bring herself to face her friend. Instead her gaze settled on the slight ripples of the water. She could dip her fingers into the coolness of the liquid and let her magic soar. The water would calm her.

"Lucy?"

She shook her head to clear her mind.

"Luce?" She heard him, his tone louder, more audible.

"I've been having dreams," she began while her long eyelashes swept down, concealing the sorrow in her brown eyes. She twined her fingers on her lap, her thumbs rubbing together.

"What kind of dreams?" he asked in more gentle tone.

She bit her lip, unsure if should share private details. But then she remembered Natsu's grief in losing his father figure, Igneel, on that tragic day when she lost Aquarius.

"I'm a little girl. I think I'm six or seven, I'm not sure." She blinked her eyes. "And I'm in bar with scary men. I'm talking about big, hairy, stinky men with missing teeth. Only I am not afraid because they're there. They won't let anyone hurt me."

"Who are 'they'?" Natsu emphasized the last word.

Her hands stilled. "I don't know," she whispered. Her head slightly moved side-to-side in disbelief and then she laughed. "I don't know who they are. But I remember one of them has a short temper. He gets into so much trouble. And the other one, he's always grinning and walking around with a straw hat."

A small smile tugged on her lips. "Whenever the both of them gets into fights, they would pat my head and tell me there's nothing to worry about. One of the boys always gives me his straw hat to hold for safekeeping."

A tear trickled down her face. She covered her face with both of her hands. "Why am I crying? I feel like... I'm missing them."

The fire dragon slayer put strong hands on her shoulders. "Luce, how long have been having the dream?"

Lucy peered at him through the space of her fingers. "Since Fairy Tail got together."

"And you never told anyone until now?"

"I couldn't," she replied quickly. She removed her hands from her face as tears slipped from her eyes. "I just couldn't because my feelings couldn't compare to what you or the others in Team Natsu endured during Tartaros."

"Lucy," Natsu said in his stern way. His dark eyes narrowed on her, making her fidget. His grim appearance reminded her of his more dangerous fights, when he realized there was more at stake than just himself.

"I'm sorry Natsu," she said with shame lacing her tone. She should have known better. They were partners and best friends. They had been through thick and thin the past three years. "I didn't think the dream mattered until I started to feel anxiety whenever I had it. And then I get this feeling in my chest and my head hurts."

More tears rolled down her cheeks as a pain pinched the band of her forehead. "Like right now."

She cradled her head in her hands. She began to massage her temples as the pain got sharper. "Ouch," she whimpered.

The fire dragon slayer shocked her with his next move. He hugged her. "You should have said something sooner, Luce," he whispered harshly against her ear.

"You're right," she whispered back. "I just didn't want to worry you."

"Staying quiet or pretending that everything is okay, you think we wouldn't notice?" She was wrong. She couldn't fool them. She pulled back and forced a smile on her face.

"I guess I need some time."

"Then we'll go on a mission tomorrow so you can get everything off your mind."

"Uh..."

"Don't you need to pay rent?"

She simply nodded her head, realizing there was no point in arguing with him. He was going to make sure Erza, and the others were to going haul her on the mission.

"Okay, let's go." He stood up. He waited for her to get up.

"Go where?"

"You need to go home." She blinked. He was going to walk her home?

"I can go myself."

He gave her a skeptical look.

"I promise I'm all right." She brushed her hand through her golden hair as a gesture to reassure him. It usually didn't take much to persuade him.

He studied her, in a so unlike Natsu way before a big grin appeared on his face. The blond girl sighed in relief.

"If you say so, Luce." Then he turned around and began walking away, the opposite direction from her house. If he decided to accompany her home, she didn't know what she would do. She needed time for herself.

The moment he disappeared, Lucy made her way home. Closing the door behind her at her apartment, she only had enough energy to remove her shoes before she fell on the bed and went to sleep.

A little blond girl was walking through the streets with a dark-haired boy next to her. They had come to Sally Point because... Lucy wasn't sure.

"Why are we here?" the girl asked the boy next to her.

He shrugged his shoulders while his eyes brightly took in the differently dressed people, the colorful stalls, the small homes and rich assortment of goods on the little island.

"Come on. You have to know why." She paused in her stroll and put her hands on her hips.

"No, I don't. Grandpa didn't say why." The boy stopped a little away from her. "But we can get some food."

She smiled while shaking her head. "That's all you think about."

"That and making sure..." He looked around him and scratched the back of his head. A look of confusion clouded his boyish face.

"We're lost again," the blond said while slapping her forehead lightly with her fingers. It wasn't the first time they were lost. Her brother had the tendency at being bad with directions. "Grandpa said we will meet Fray here..." Her eyebrows knitted together. "Somewhere."

Her brother shrugged his shoulders again. Then he patted his belly. "I'm hungry Lucy. Let's get something to eat."

Her head moved side-to-side. "Brother, we can't. We have no money."

"Shucks! I'm really hungry!" he whined.

Lucy was about to console her brother when another person roughly bumped into her. She fell on the ground at her brother's feet.

"Hey, watch where you're going!" her brother called out.

Black eyes, seething with rage, turned on them and the little blond girl froze in fear. Even her brother's eyes widened. The other boy wasn't much taller than her brother but there was something in his aura that frightened her. With intense eyes staring at them, she could see the maturity, the knowledge in one as young as them. Then her brother stepped in front of her, protecting her from the stranger.

"You watch where you're going," he said with a dark tone. Lucy gulped, her fingers wrapping around her brother's ankle. She became frightened for him.

After some time, she heard her brother exhale and then he knelt before her to help her up on her feet. "He's gone."

"Who is he?" The small girl wondered out loud. Surely, he wouldn't escape people's notice on the little island.

"I don't know, Lucy," he replied. Looking around her, she observed the folks pretended not to see them. She frowned.

She took her brother's hand. "Luffy, I hope we don't meet him again. He's scary."

"We won't," he said and a big smile overtook his face. "Let's get some food, now."

Lucy let out a long breath in defeat before laughing. "But we have no money."

The celestial mage woke up with a start. Her breathing coming out in gasps. Her skin was pale and sweaty. Her muscles were taunt. She had a dream, except this was one different. Unlike the first dream, she saw the same boys and said a name.

"Luffy," she whispered. She frowned at her question, "How is he my brother?"

AN: And well, that's the end for Chapter 1. The next one should be about the same length if not longer. Thank you. Please, no flames.