I know you're all probably going to kill me for not having updated in months but I have been writing extremely slowly in the little time I have between all of my work and classes. I don't plan on dropping any of my currently on going stories and will do my best to update faster. Thank you for all of you patience!

Chapter 16: The truth

The yelling and fighting between the mages of her beloved guild was heartwarming. It was familiar and after months away from her family, she could not help the smile on her face or the way her hands itched to call upon her spirits to join the fight despite her argument with Sting. Lucy never had the urge to participate with the friendly competition between Fairy Tail members until now. Being away from them had such a great impact that she felt the need to catch up to everyone while she still had the chance.

Natsu was back to his old self after Lucy explained her feelings towards the White dragon slayer. He complained for a good hour and after many hugs and reassurance from his best friend, he finally moved on with a familiar toothy smile on his face. His mind no longer filled with worries over the health of the stellar mage, the fire dragon slayer then proceeded to annoy Gray until a fight broke out, which of course eventually turned into a massive brawl between the men and Cana.

A small hand held hers in place before she could summon Virgo for the first time in months. She looked down to meet a pair of brown eyes. Wendy shook her head at the spirit mage, "Lucy-san, you can't strain yourself in your condition. Using up too much of your magical energy can hurt you and the baby."

Unsure of how to thank the sky dragon slayer, Lucy smiled and watched as Wendy's lips began to tremble. "What's wrong?"

"L-Lucy-san, m-may I?" She gestured towards her belly, a blush on her cheeks. It was at that point that the fight receded, everyone's attention focused on the exchange between Lucy and the sky maiden. They watched as their celestial mage laughed but nodded. Wendy ever so gently placed her small hands over Lucy's stomach. Her eyes brightened as her glowing hands lingered over Lucy's cloth covered skin, "I can feel it. It's small but there's a different magical energy growing inside."

Before Lucy could blink away the tears that were threatening to fall from her eyes, everyone gathered around them, smiles on their faces. Natsu was at the front, his grin present on his lips. Lucy smiled back, wiping away the tears and thanked Wendy for making her day. They were all looking forward to meeting the newest addition to the Fairy Tail family in a few months.

Tonight everyone was celebrating the return of their Celestial spirit mage, as well as their future family member. They each congratulated Lucy, sober and drunk, while her celestial spirits came through the gates of their own bringing greetings and some, gifts. Lucy was more than happy just to see them once again. Their attempts before resulted in an angry white dragon slayer, especially because it was always Loke who came through the gate. Of course the lion spirit always had something flirtatious to say.

Lucy sighed, watching silently as everyone drank and fought. Gajeel was hogging the microphone after stealing it from Mirajane, who was sulking in a corner. A small smile curled on her lips, but fell into a frown after seeing Lisanna and Natsu awkwardly hold hands on a table at a far corner of the guild. She wondered if he would react the same way Sting did when other male dragon slayers were around Lucy, with Lisanna. As far as she was aware, only Sting would be able to go near the take over mage because he had already marked Lucy. Then the others would need Natsu's permission until they all found their mates. Deep down she wished things would be that way with the Sabertooth member, but it seemed too far out of reach to come true.

"You're here and yet, your mind is miles away," Laxus took a seat beside Lucy, who stood up and wrapped her arms around him. "That idiot. I should really give him a piece of my mind. It'll teach him to leave his family behind."

"No, don't worry about me. I'm just glad to see you again. I know it must have been a surprise for him, but I can manage on my own," She smiled at him, but she could not stop the tears that followed afterwards. "I just want things to be this way. I want to be with Fairy Tail without anyone fighting, but I hoped that he would be here with me."

Laxus clenched his fist in anger. He hoped that he would never have to see Lucy cry again, but Sting was an even bigger bastard that he thought. He knew Natsu and the other dragon slayers were listening, but after hearing her talk about how much she wanted things to be peaceful between the man she loves and the family she cares about, they could not bring themselves to threaten to fight the white dragon slayer.

As Lucy pulled away from the lightning dragon slayer to sit back down, her vision blurred. She tried to reach for the nearest thing she could hold but it was not long before she was enveloped in darkness.

Wendy gently moved a lock of golden hair away from Lucy's face. She was so overwhelmed with joy just thinking about having a new family member that she forgot to mention the dangers of stress during pregnancy. She felt at fault because she should have known better than to prioritize her excitement over the health of her teammate and her child.

After reassuring everyone that Lucy was going to be okay, they eventually left the stellar mage with Team Natsu to watch over her. It took Wendy plenty of convincing that she was going to be fine watching her alone. She felt responsible and inclined to watch her until she woke.

"Thanks Wendy," the sky dragon slayer was startled, to say the least, when Lucy's soft voice disturbed the silence that followed after everyone took their leave.

Immediately, Wendy made her way to her bedside, "How are you feeling?" She placed her small hand on Lucy's forehead, using a little bit of her magic energy to make certain that the soon to be mother was okay.

"You're going to make such a wonderful auntie." Her eyes widened, blush creeping on her face at the stellar mage's words. A small sniffle escaped her, as tears began to form at the corners of her eyes, while Lucy smiled, reaching out to the younger mage to ruffle her hair. "Thank you, Wendy."

"G-Gomen, Lucy-san, I should have told you to be more careful, I…"

"Don't be silly, Wendy. If it weren't for you, who knows what could have happened to me now," Again, Lucy smiled, but instantaneously fell as she felt the energy drain from her body.

"Lucy-san!" Wendy watched, horrified, as Lucy began to lose consciousness. She placed a small hand on her back and another holding her hand, keeping her upright. "It's Sting-san, isn't it? You need him right beside you. The baby's magical energy is one with yours, so you need more rest than the average mage and more than anything, you need Sting-san to be here."

The sky dragon slayer gently placed her hand on Lucy's forehead, casting a sleeping spell upon her to allow her to rest. She placed her small hands over her belly and sighed in relief as she felt the baby's heartbeat and magical energy begin to steady.

Her heart broke for her friend. It was hard enough to be separated from family for so long, and to know that she would have her own family in the future only increased the stress and pressure to meet expectations. To make things worse, the father was stubborn and Wendy could see the conflicting emotions through Lucy's eyes and her movements from the events of the day.

"She looks so peaceful. I wish there was more I can do…" The younger mage turned to look out the window. The silhouette of a figure standing just a few feet away from the overhang.

"He'll come to his senses if he knows what's good for him. A dragon should never leave his family. He should know better than anyone how it feels to lose parents." Natsu crouched down, looking at the moon. His hands clenched tightly into fists, "I will never forgive him if he runs away. After everything Lucy went through...I will not allow it."

"I don't understand and I'm probably in no position to say anything, but still… I think that things were meant to happen this way. Even if it could be avoided, that's just it. In a much later future, the same thing would have happened eventually. Neh, Natsu-san? If Lisanna-san didn't disappear, wouldn't you two have been together much sooner than now?" Wendy smiled as she watched the fire dragon slayer turn a dark shade of red. "Sting-san is much younger than Lucy-san, but we were frozen in time and during that period, he caught up to us. Maybe, it was all so he could catch up to his soulmate."

Natsu stood back up and turned to Wendy, "I think you understand more than you give yourself credit for, Wendy. Okay, we can say it's all meant to be, but it doesn't mean I still can't protect my best friend. If something happens to her or the baby, he's the only one to blame and I can forgive many things, but hurting Lucy is not one of them."

Wendy looked worriedly from the sleeping mage on the clinic bed to the fire mage, "Natsu-san, does the idea that you are no longer the one who can protect Lucy-san bother you?"

The fire dragon slayer stilled. Did the idea that Sting should be the one to protect his best friend now really bother him? He was always there for her. All those years, they were always by each other's side and not once did he fail to be there to rescue her.

"It's just not the same. I've always been there for her, but all those months that HE took her away from Fairy Tail, I couldn't do anything about it. It's like I let him take her. I let him abuse her and now, she's carrying his child and to make things worse, she's fallen in love with him. How am I suppose to just accept these things after everything he's done to her?"

There was a long silence that followed. The night was still and not a single person roamed the streets. The two dragon slayers continued to look up at the clear sky, not saying another word. Natsu looked back at the sleeping form of his best friend and smiled. If none of that happened, how would things have turned out? Would he have been able to confess to Lisanna? Could she have fallen in love with someone else? But in the end, destiny was always right around the corner. Sting and her would have found their way to each other.

Natsu stood up to leave but stopped after a few steps, "Thank you for taking care of her, Wendy. I'm going to check on Lisanna, then I'll be back before the sun rises."

Wendy nodded, reassuring him that she would call for help if anything should happen, but also ensuring that she will make sure nothing happens. The sky dragon slayer watched as the fire mage disappeared into the night.

Sighing, she turned to watch over the stellar mage, her small hands clasped together, praying that Lucy and her child would be okay. Sitting down beside her, Wendy began to hum a soft tune, one that her dragon mother used to sing to her when she was still a child.

She did not know when she fell asleep, but the sound of the window cracking open awoke the sky dragon slayer. Blinking her eyes open and alert, she stood up and positioned to attack. Her eyes were slowly adjusting to the darkness and from what she could make out, it was a silhouette of a man.

"Sting-san?"

Sting stepped into the room, the moonlight shining over him. His expression was clearly of worry, eyes never leaving the sleeping form on the bed. Quickly, he dashed towards her, hands on her forehead, to her stomach. After a few minutes, he sighed in relief. The color was already returning to her skin and her breathing was becoming comparatively steadier.

Wendy could only watch as the White dragon slayer placed the back of her hand against his lips. His eyes never leaving her face. She could see the sincerity of his affection and apology as he mouthed the words "I'm sorry" repeatedly. The female dragon slayer could not help but smile at his actions. He really did love Lucy, more than anyone gave him credit for.

Realizing that she was invading this private moment, Wendy quietly excused herself from the room, but remained by the door should anything happen to the stellar mage.

Sting held Lucy's hand tightly. As confused as he may have been about how he felt as a soon to be father, he was more than certain about his strong feelings towards the Celestial mage. He was in love with her, and she has already proven that she felt the same way, that she would not leave him no matter what he brings her way. He smiled sadly, convinced that nothing he could ever do would be enough to prove himself worthy of her love and loyalty. Above all else, he did not deserve to be a father, especially the father of her child.

Taking a deep breath, he leaned over to kiss her forehead and stood up. He was not ready to face yet. Once again, he was going to run away, until he was certain that he could be good father to their child. He turned to leave, but the grip on his hand tightened.

"Please don't leave me again," Lucy's voice was a soft, pleading whisper. When he looked down to meet her brown orbs, his heart shattered. There was so much longing and pain swirling in her eyes. "Please, Sting. I need you. We need you."

It did not take much for her to convince him to stay, because before she could beg once more, he wrapped his strong arms around her, His eyes were tearing up and the only words that escaped his lips were of apology in between sobs. "I-I'm so sorry Lucy. I put you through so much and you deserved so much better. I don't deserve any of the kindness and love you've given to me. I don't wanna run away anymore, but I'm so scared. I'm scared of losing you, and I'm scared that I'm going to be a terrible father because I mistreated you. And I regret all of it, but I'm just so afraid!"

He continued to cry, and all Lucy could do was accept his embrace and cry with him. She loved the idiot so much. She hoped that this moment would be enough for him to stay with her. "You don't have to be scared, Sting. I will never leave you, and I know you're going to be a great father. And If you really want to prove yourself, you can start by staying here. Don't run away anymore because it hurts me. I've never loved anyone like I have you, Sting. Above all else, I want to be by your side for the rest of my life."

Lucy's voice was shaking now, "Sting, I'm looking forward to this family with you because I've lost mine. I have been so undecided about which path to take knowing that when I look back, there won't be a family I can return to. Ever since my mother's death, I've been searching for that unconditional love that only I found in you. I know I have fairy tail, but when they all find their own ways, what then? I didn't want to be alone any more and these past few months have only pushed me further with you. I've learned to accept what fate had for me instead of running away, but more than that, I've found the path I want to take and that is with you, by your side."

She did not know how long they remained in each other's arms, but everything felt right at the moment. They were both sniffling, crying, and whispering exchanges of love and promises. Lucy eyes began to drift to a close, her body and mind tired from so many events happening. She was happy, and she hoped that when she woke up, the blond dragon slayer was still by her side.

It was a rushed ending because I simply wanted to finish this chapter so I can move on to the next. Gomen.

Please Review. Thank you!