A/N: Hello everyone! It's been a very long time since I've written anything, and to be honest, it's because I've been having a tough time in real life. However, thanks to the never-ending support of my best friend, Ayamari, and her amazing editing skillz, I have been able to produce this one-shot (my very first... wow).

This is dedicated to the chat. I would never have been able to muster my courage enough to face the girl I liked without you guys. Here's to everyone who helped me in chat!

Spontaneity

"Fate!" she yelled. The scream tore into the night, painfully and wildly, and the tense atmosphere turned into an even more nerve-wrecking one, making the hairs on the back of everyone's neck stand up.

There was desperation in Nanoha's voice, and she, Fate Testarossa Harlaown, was the cause of it. Never had she heard Nanoha scream like that before - it scared and shook her to the core, causing an immense guilt stab into her heart. That guilt hurt Fate more than the blade struck through her abdomen, a wound any ordinary person would have already died from.

The sound of blood dripping to the floor filled the sudden silence.

"Nanoha," she gasped, with every breath laboriously taken. "I'm sorry."

She was sorry for trapping the two Takamachis behind a barrier, leaving her alone to deal with the enemies. She was sorry that she wasn't going to leave this situation alive, that she wouldn't be able to help Nanoha raise Vivio. She'd miss the experience of seeing her daughter grow up, be absent when she first falls in love. Most of all, she would never be able to keep her promise: to protect Nanoha forever.

Images of the past flashed through her mind, as well as scenes of the future that had yet to pass.

If she needed to sacrifice her future to save her loved ones' lives, then so be it.

Bracing herself, she gripped the handle of the sword and pulled. A loud squelching sound accompanied the motion, followed by a sharp gasp. Without the sword, her blood flowed freely from the immense wound, rapidly staining her clothes and the ground with red. She knew that Nanoha's eyes had probably widened in shock.

Ignoring the furious pain in her body, she held the weapon up and growled, "Back off."

Their attackers, masked and dressed entirely in black, seemed to be taken aback by the ferociousness of the bleeding woman in front of them. The shortest of the five glanced at his dark companions and nervously stammered, "Guys, I didn't sign up for killing people!"

Two of the others nodded and agreed, their knees shaking; the bulkiest one of them turned around and snarled.

"We've already gone this far. Look, she's half dead! Let's just kill her and leave that woman and child behind that barrier. They can't get out anyways. We can loot in peace afterwards," he growled. The last of the five, a rather tall man, nodded and pulled out a gun to show his support. The three other henchmen looked at one another, conversed among themselves, and then reluctantly nodded their heads.

"Fine, but you do it. I'm not getting blood on my hands," the shortest said. He seemed uncomfortable at the sight of Fate's blood.

The one with the gun chuckled. "Literally or figuratively?" he asked.

Not giving the tiny man time to respond, he cocked his gun and fired a bullet. Fate screamed in pain as blood poured down her arm. He had hit her right shoulder.

"Damn. Looks like my marksmanship is a bit rusty. Let's try again, shall we?" he chuckled.

"How about you try some of this?" a harsh voice rang out. All of a sudden, the man found himself on the ground and knocked unconscious from a vicious blow to the head. His accomplices cried out in surprise. A little girl walked into view a moment afterward, brandishing a hammer in her hands.

"V-Vita?" Fate weakly asked. After seeing her short red-haired friend nod in response, she dropped the sword and sank to her knees, relieved. A second later, her muscles gave out completely, and she fell to the ground in a daze of pain.

Much to her surprise, she saw the short thug fly across the room, hitting the wall with a smack and collapsing in a heap on the ground. Appearing after him was Hayate, armed in all her mage glory.

The bulky man raised his arms up in a ready position, eyes scanning the area in panic. He stood no chance though, as a flash of pink pounded him into the ground. Signum stepped on him, making sure he was down. The other two had held onto each other and curled up into an awkward ball, making it rather easy for Zafira and Tea to apprehend them. This was good; her friends had shown up and taken care of the thieves. She could rest, while Nanoha and Vivio would be safe.

The last thing she saw was her barrier falling, as she had lost the remaining energy needed to maintain it. Almost immediately afterward, her family was running towards her, and she felt her mouth curl into a smile. They were definitely safe.

"Ugh…" Fate groaned. Her right shoulder throbbed with pain, and her stomach felt like it had been gutted open, yet she couldn't remember why she hurt so much. She tried to fall back asleep, but after a particularly painful throb, she gave up. Slowly opening her eyes, she was blinded by a white ceiling.

It slowly dawned on her that she was in the hospital. As she clutched her head, she tried to remember how she had gotten here. In a flash, the events of the night hit her like a train.

"Nanoha! Vivio!" she yelled, quickly trying to get up. Hurried footsteps made their way to her door as she struggled to get up, twisting frantically against the blankets trapping her down. The door sprung open to reveal Shamal, alarmed with the sudden yelling.

"Oh my-" the healer started.

"Shamal! Nanoha-" she gasped with pain. "Vivio…" Another gasp.

The doctor was immediately by her side, trying to hold her down. "Fate! Fate, please relax. Please!" she commanded.

Fate went limp, too exhausted to continue struggling.

Shamal sighed in relief. "They're fine, Fate. Well, they've been worried to death about you, but they are physically well," she stated.

The memory of them running to her after her barrier fell briefly flickered through her mind.

"They're alright," she repeated. "Thank god, they're alright."

Shamal sighed again. "You almost died. Please be a little more concerned with that fact."

Fate said nothing in reply.

"Well, in any case, I'm glad that you're alive," she remarked. "I'm also amazed at how far you went to protect them, though I must say I'm not surprised that you did so." She laughed softly.

"You know Nanoha was magically exhausted from her assignment earlier. Nanoha didn't have Raising Heart either, and Bardiche was upstairs. I left him with my uniform after changing."

"I see," she replied. The doctor glared intently at her patient. "Before you go thrashing around again, I'll tell you this: You tear that wound on your stomach open, and you will regret it for the rest of your life. The same goes for your shoulder. Got it?"

Fate reluctantly nodded, muttering darkly under her breath. Shamal sighed for the third time.

"I swear you give me a heart attack every time you show up here. Anyways, I'll go wake Nanoha and Vivio up. They fell asleep waiting for you last night, and now they're camped out in the hallway. I'm sure you want to see them, as much as they want to see you, right?"

She left the room, leaving Fate to her own thoughts.

Everything had happened so suddenly, almost like a nightmare. The three of them were just eating dinner after a particularly exhausting day, when a flash of light interrupted their meal. Fate sprung up from her chair immediately and saw five men standing behind her. The fact that they had somehow teleported into her home instantly crossed her mind, alerting her that these men were not to be taken lightly. She had cursed herself for leaving Bardiche upstairs. In a split-second decision, she formed a barrier around Nanoha and Vivio, ignoring their cries of protest.

There was no way she would allow them to fight; Nanoha was magically exhausted from her mission earlier that day, and Raising Heart was being repaired. Vivo was still only a child, and Fate would never put her in harm's way if she could help it.

The man with a sword had approached her, telling her to bring him her valuables if she valued her life and to have some fun with them after she did so, waving the sword around in a threatening manner. The combat mage gritted her teeth, knowing that she had no choice but to fight her way out of this. She lunged for the man's face with her fist and aimed a kick at his groin. He was down and out in seconds.

A flash of movement out of the corner of her eyes revealed the tall man pulling out a guy from his holster. Fate quickly grabbed the unconscious man and used him as a meat shield, not wanting to waste energy from forming a barrier around herself.

Instead of shooting at her, however, he aimed his gun at the barrier and fired. The gun must have been magically enhanced, because the barrier fell within four bullets. She remembered feeling an overwhelming dread in the pit of her stomach.

"NO!" Her scream echoed inside her mind.

Nanoha covered Vivio up with her body in an attempt to shield her from oncoming harm. Fate panicked, and she dropped the man in favor of forming a new barrier around her loved ones.

However, the first man had already awoken from the gun shots. In Fate's moment of weakness, he got up and thrust his sword through the front of Fate's body, letting out a laugh of satisfaction as he watched the woman bleed.

It had all happened so quickly, and so violently, that she felt nothing for the first few seconds. Then a wave of agony passed through her almost immediately afterward, and she let out a scream. The searing pain was never-ending and burned her senses to a crisp; never had anything hurt her like this before. Not even her mother's whipping had hurt her so intensely.

The sound of Nanoha screaming out her name pierced her skull. Amidst it all, Vivio was crying into her mother's shoulder, sparing herself the image of her other mother being stabbed.

Staring up at the hospital ceiling, she remembered it all and felt her wounds tingle with ghost-like pain, the sounds of the night reverberating in her head.

Suddenly, the door burst open, snapping her out of her thoughts. The slam of the door almost gave her a heart attack.

"Fate-mama!" Vivio cried. The little girl sprinted to the bed and immediately clasped her small hands around her mother's. The warmth of her daughter's hands instantly chased away the pain emanating from her wounds.

"Vivio-chan," she smiled. However, much to her surprise, she saw Vivio's mismatched eyes pouring out a steady stream of tears. She watched as the small droplets fell onto her hand.

"Vivio? Vivio, please… don't cry," she gently comforted. "Everything's alright."

The child hiccupped and rubbed her eyes a few times, sniffling all the while. Fate gently raised her good arm to run her hand through her child's hair; she was never very good at comforting crying people.

Without warning, an incredulous voice spoke through the sobs and interrupted the tender moment. "Everything's alright?" Nanoha choked out.

The injured woman looked behind Vivio and stiffened up.

There stood Nanoha, whose hair was a mess, to say the least. Her eyes were red and puffy, indicating that she had spent the better part of the night and, quite possibly, some of the morning crying.

However, her face was set in a heavy scowl, and she looked angry enough to take on an entire army of mages, even without Raising Heart by her side. Fate gulped.

"Fate," she started, "Testarrosa. Harlaown."

The blonde found herself sweating bullets. "Yes?" she meekly answered.

Vivio, perhaps sensing the darkening mood, began to sniffle again. The sound seemed to catch Nanoha off guard, her eyes widening as if she had just remembered that her daughter was there.

"Vivio…" she said, her voice ten times softer than it had been only moments ago. Walking slowly forward, she crouched down next to the small blonde, putting her arms around her in a hug. The instructor sighed heavily and comforted her daughter, seeming to forget that she was emanating a vicious aura at Fate.

"Shhh, Vivio, it's okay," she soothed, allowing her daughter's tears to completely soak the front of her shirt. The girl's shoulders shook as she cried her heart out, while she continued to clutch Fate's hand and Nanoha's shirt. Fate stared at her daughter's fragile form and felt an oncoming wave of guilt that threatened to overwhelm her senses.

She felt terrible for reducing her daughter into a crying, worrying mess.

After a few minutes of sobbing, Vivio fell silent and her breathing evened out. Her grip on Fate's hand loosened, and it soon became apparent that the small girl had fallen asleep. It seemed that she really had spent a better part of the night awake, possibly crying, and was now thoroughly exhausted.

Fate's guilt only intensified.

Nanoha picked her daughter up, placed her sleeping form on a chair, and, after making sure she wouldn't fall, kissed her forehead gently and brushed the bangs away from her eyes. The enforcer watched the affectionate gestures quietly, unconsciously clenching her hand that had held Vivio's warmth.

Slowly, Nanoha turned around and faced her. Slate blue eyes met burgundy, and silence reigned over the room.

"Fate," she called. Without continuing, she strode over to the side of the hospital bed and stopped, the connection between their eyes never breaking.

"Fate," she repeated. This time she opened her mouth as if to say more, but stopped. She turned her head to the floor, breaking eye contact. Her face was now blocked from view by her bangs.

Fate was currently nervous enough to want to crawl under a rock and never come out. When Nanoha was at a loss for words, it meant that she was essentially angry enough to Starlight Breaker anything within firing range; firing range being anywhere on the planet.

The injured woman gulped.

"Y-Yes?" she finally replied. Afraid, her burgundy eyes watched as Nanoha's left hand grabbed her own left hand, and she willed herself not to shake.

"Nanoha?" she meekly spoke. "Nanoha, what-"

She gasped in surprise as a pair of lips crashed onto her own, filled with desperation and neediness. Instinctively, she responded, groaning at the familiar taste and ignoring the growing pain in her stomach. Breathing heavily, Nanoha pulled away and rested her forehead on her lover's.

Fate blinked in surprise as she felt tears fall onto her cheeks. Slate blue eyes darkened as they gazed into each other's eyes.

"Fate, you idiot. I can't believe you!" she cried, letting go of the blonde's hand and throwing her arms onto Fate's chest. She gripped the hospital gown forcefully, her hands shaking with her shoulders.

"Eh?" Fate squeaked, still utterly baffled by Nanoha's behavior.

The brunette buried her face into the blonde's neck, soaking the gown with tears. Her body shook with her sobs as she continued to cry on her lover.

Wanting to comfort her girlfriend, Fate brought her good hand up and stroked the brunette's hair gently, just as she had done for Vivio before. Gradually, the sobs died down, and quiet sniffling replaced it.

Once she had calmed down enough, Nanoha breathed in deeply, trying to relax while taking in Fate's familiar scent.

"By the time I realized what was going on, you were being stabbed, Fate. Stabbed! Do you have any idea what it feels like to see the person you love being stabbed and then watching them pull the weapon out as well?" she quietly described. "Your blood… there was so much blood…"

She hiccuped as she began to tear up again. The instructor buried her face even deeper into the crook of her lover's neck. Her muffled voice spoke out, "Fate… I thought you were going to die."

Burgundy eyes widened.

Nanoha continued on. "I… don't know what I would have done if you had died. I felt so powerless and useless, especially since you trapped me behind that barrier."

A sob escaped from the brunette's throat.

"I remember thinking, 'Why do I have to be powerless now of all times?' and 'Please kill me, not Fate or Vivio'," she whispered. "It's not fair for you to die. You deserve a happy life after all you've been through."

The statement shocked Fate, and she immediately stopped stroking her hair to push Nanoha up.

"Look at me," she commanded. Cupping her lover's chin, she brought her face close to her own and gazed into blue. "I could never be happy if you or Vivio died. Never, do you hear me?"

The brunette shook her head and glared defiantly into burgundy.

"That doesn't mean you should let yourself die, either!" she yelled. Fate said nothing in return.

An awkward silence filled the room.

Finally, Nanoha heaved a heavy sigh. "I'm sorry for yelling like that. I just… I wish you had spared yourself a little more thought last night," she explained, her eyes piercing into Fate's.

The blonde averted her gaze, asking, "What could I have done?"

"Maybe you could have been in the barrier with us? I don't know. You could have at least done something to protect yourself!" she countered. She heaved another sigh and shook her head.

"This is getting us nowhere. What's done is done, I suppose," she spoke, catching Fate's eyes again. The taller woman felt a new wave of guilt hit her.

"I'm sorry."

This time, Nanoha cupped Fate's chin and kissed her gently. They separated with half-lidded eyes, drinking in each other's presence, while their faces stayed within inches of each other.

"Just… Can you promise me one thing?" she breathed out.

Fate struggled to concentrate on forming words, distracted by their close proximity. She managed to force out a "Yeah?" before her lips were captured again.

"Don't ever leave me alone," she requested, once they were able to breathe again.

"I promise," she affirmed. She seemed to think for a second before continuing. "While I was bleeding on the floor-"

She felt Nanoha stiffen.

"-I realized something."

She breathed in deeply and steadied herself.

"I haven't proposed to you yet, even after all these years, and that probably would have been my biggest regret in this life," she finished, blushing heavily. Nanoha's eyes widened.

"What-"

Fate cut her off. "So I'm going to fix that fact now. I know that I'm not exactly the ideal person for you. I'm not overly smart, good-looking, rich, or important, nor am I powerful enough to even protect you when it counts. I also know that I can never give you what a man could: a stable and happy life. People will look at us and think it's unnatural to be together the way we are now," she rambled.

"I know this isn't exactly the best time to be doing this, and I don't even have a ring, but… before I lose all my courage and never get around to doing this…"

She choked up.

"If you'll take me for who I am, then will you marry me?"

She closed her eyes and prepared for the worst.

'Oh God, what was I thinking? Why did I just propose now of all times?' she thought.

Much to her surprise, she felt familiar lips on her own, a giggle escaping from the attacking pair.

She hesitantly opened her eyes.

Fresh tears were pouring from Nanoha's eyes, but she was smiling the most radiant smile she had ever seen.

Needless to say, the blonde started to panic. "Nanoha, I'm so sorry. I made you cry again, didn't I? I know this really isn't the right time or place to ask- I, uh, take everything back mmmph-!"

Again, her lips were taken, effectively cutting the rambling off.

"Silly," the brunette giggled. "Do you really take everything back?"

The enforcer let out a dazed "Eh?" before being kissed again.

After they parted this time, the mischievous one of the pair was shaking with laughter. She was laughing so hard that she found it hard to breathe.

Fate glared at her partner. "You're teasing me, aren't you?" she pouted.

"Yes. And yes to the question before," the instructor answered.

"Geez, Nanoha, you're so mean- Wait, what?" the enforcer gasped.

The brunette grinned before indulging herself in Fate again.

Unbeknownst to the two, Nanoha's yelling had woken their daughter up, and Vivio had been silently watching the exchange from that point. Afraid of interrupting something important, she had kept silent, even though she hated to see her mama cry. However, when they both started smiling again, she felt that she could speak up, without disrupting her mamas.

"Nanoha-mama, Fate-mama, what are you doing?" she innocently questioned.

The two froze. Slowly, they turned to where their daughter had been sleeping and immediately separated in a panic.

"V-V-V-V-Vivio-chan!" Fate squealed. She was tomato-red and out of breath, while her hair was heavily disheveled.

The little girl noticed this and became concerned. "Fate-mama, are you sick? You're very red."

Nanoha, who also turned an interesting shade of red, gulped and tried to answer. "Yeah, Vivio-chan. Fate-mama is very sick, so why don't we, uh, let her rest for awhile?"

The girl nodded. "Okay. But Nanoha-mama, what was Nanoha-mama doing with Fate-mama on the bed?"

The two mothers looked at one another, asking for help.

'Tell her something, anything! Just not the truth!' Fate telepathically communicated.

'What should I say?' Nanoha asked.

'I don't know!'

Hesitantly, the brunette stepped forward and picked her daughter up into her arms.

"Erm, it's a secret! You'll learn when you're older Vivio-chan. Come on, let's give Fate-mama some peace and quiet now," she explained, hurrying out of the room.

As the door slammed shut behind the mother and daughter, the injured patient stared blankly ahead.

"They just left me..." Fate whined. She merely sighed and leaned back in the bed, quietly thinking about the past couple of hours and wincing when her wounds began to throb again. After a moment of reflection, her jaw slowly dropped as she seemed to remember something. "Wait... Does this mean I'm getting married?"

A/N: So how was it? Leave me a review?

I believe I owe you all some explanations. First of all, do not ask about what Nanoha's assignment was. It's irrelevant. Second, do not ask about how the 5 guys got into their home and what happened to them after their butt-kicking. Third, yes, they did kiss many times. Don't ask me why I made them do so, it just came to me.

Interesting back-story: I was going to have Fate-die and fill this thing with angst, but then I had the talk with girl I liked, and it ended fairly well, so I had no angsty feelings to write down. So I let her propose! Yay!