Finally finding an empty compartment, Lucy set her bag onto the seat before tucking herself into the corner as she usually did. The train was unusually crowded that day. Lucy couldn't remember the last time she'd seen a train heading to Clover with that many people on it. And while she didn't necessarily mind it, Lucy was already glad that it was only a short trip to Clover. The trains were always way too stuffy and hot, and that day, the added noise from all the extra travellers was just going to make everything a bit too much.

She resisted the urge to unzip her boots as Natsu and Happy piled in after her. She almost wondered if she'd be able to run home, change her shoes, and then make it for the next train.

"Is it hot in here?" Lucy asked, exhaling and fanning her face with her hands. "It feels really hot in here."

"Mm, no, don't think so," Natsu said.

Lucy tried not to roll her eyes at her own stupidity. Because asking a fire Dragon Slayer if he was hot was a brilliant idea.

Considering it was officially autumn and they were in the low twenties that week, Lucy didn't know why she was so warm. It was getting a bit annoying at that point, though perhaps that was more for Bickslow than for her since she usually ended up flinging the blanket back over his face in the middle of the night when she got too hot.

She stood up to tug on the small window, trying to get the pane to slide across. "Stupid… old… trains," she grumbled, tugging on the handle to try and get it to budge in the track. "How hard is it to do a little maintenance? Jeez…" Finally, she got the window unstuck right as the train finally began to roll out of the station, the sudden motion only forcing her back into her seat with a shriek.

At least the window was open, though.

Natsu's face was green and he was in her lap the second the train started moving. "Why do we always take the train?" he groaned, grimacing as he felt the vibrations from the train coming through the uncomfortable seat.

"Because it's convenient," Lucy answered. "And it's faster."

"Why don't we walk more?"

"Because Lushy is lazy!" Happy snickered.

Lucy resisted throwing her bag at the stupid cat. "I am not!" Well, she was lately, and she'd had her moments beforehand, but really, there were lazier people. If it wasn't so hot and her feet didn't hurt so much, Lucy would be quite happy walking that day. It would take them longer to get there, but Lucy had never really minded that much. It was only when they ended up dragging themselves towards trouble that she cared.

Natsu jolted upright, nearly knocking Lucy out in the process. "Jeez, watch it, will you?" she grumbled. She hadn't even known Natsu was capable of moving that quickly on a train. Lucy almost didn't want to know what had him sniffing the air and looking down the carriage so intently.

But when he kept doing it, his eyes focused and searching down the aisle, Lucy did grow a little wary. "Natsu?" she said. "What is—"

"Get down!"

She didn't get a chance to react before Natsu turned on her, pulling her down from the seat and covering her body in the cramped space between the seats with his own. She heard the carnage before she felt the heat and the fire lick her arms. The sounds of screams filled her ears, and the train brakes screeching in the distance.

Natsu engulfed as much as he could, swallowing up all the flames within reach. Lucy could feel them rushing past her head, and she swore she could just make out the smell of her hair being singed. But she stayed still, taking up as little space as possible and covering as much of her bare skin as she could under the Dragon Slayer.

"Happy!" Natsu shouted. He sat up, his belly full of flames, and looked around the small compartment before focusing on the window Lucy had opened up earlier. Probably flew out before. He looked back down to Lucy, climbing off to help her to her feet. "Come on."

"I—okay." Lucy was unsteady on her feet as she let Natsu pull her down the wreck of the carriage and towards the exit, covering her nose and mouth with one hand. She couldn't help but notice the burnt figures slumped in the other seats.

Bickslow was frozen in place. He wasn't sure what he was seeing was real life. It couldn't be. "This isn't... It's not real." He was too aware of the babies hovering above him anxiously; they wanted to go see Lucy, find out if she was okay, but his own uncertainty was keeping them there.

There were people screaming and crying in the crowd gathered at the end of the platform, some hugging each other and others murmuring between themselves about what had happened—all too willing to watch from afar.

"I… I'm seeing things. That didn't just—the train… Lucy…" he whispered. Bickslow didn't know what to think.

"Bicks, come on. We gotta go," Laxus said. He grabbed Bickslow's arm, tugging away from the back of the crowd and out of his daze. He knew what was going through Bickslow's head. He didn't blame him for not believing it had happened, either. Even Laxus wasn't quite sure it had happened. But he knew he had work to do, and he had better places to be right then. Laxus wasn't one for standing around in a crowd and watching like some kind of idiot, and neither was Bickslow.

Bickslow looked away from the dark smoke billowing from the train, and he nodded, swallowing the lump in this throat. "I… I know. Right." Laxus was right. There was no point of him being there right then. He needed to be over there, finding Lucy, making sure she was alright. "Shit, babies!"

He stepped onto the totems as they lined up just before him, quickly carrying him away from the platform and towards the wreckage. There was a tiny voice in his head, telling him that Lucy was fine, that Natsu would've protected her, but it was drowned out by the thought of getting there and finding out it was too late.

Laxus was there before him, already pushing into the closest carriage. Bickslow didn't even know where to begin. He couldn't remember what car Lucy had gone in. Even then, Bickslow had no idea where she'd ended up once the train had started moving.

People were rushing out of their own carriages, some even coming out windows they'd smashed to break free of the chaos. Most were running as far away as possible, back to the arms of their loved ones, while others stayed and played the hero, setting up triage areas out of the way for those that had been hurt. There were a few mages among them, Bickslow suspected, but none that could really make much of a difference.

"Bicks! Here!"

Bickslow turned as he heard Laxus shout. He could hardly tell what way it had come from amidst the shouting. He ran alongside the burnt carriages until Pippi pulled away from the rest and Bickslow followed with the rest of the babies, letting the totem lead him to the where Laxus was. Bickslow got there just as he pulled off his coat, laying it on the dry grass and scooping Lucy up to set her down on top of it.

"Will you just fucking sit down already?" Laxus snapped, swatting Lucy's hands away when she struggled, only to grab her shoulders gently and stop her from trying to get up again.

Bickslow had never been so relieved to see his wife pouting and being her stubborn self.

"But the people—"

"Don't argue, Blondie."

Bickslow wrapped his arms around her as soon as he was close enough to do so, pulling back just as quickly when she winced and hissed in pain. "Shit. Are you good? How bad is it?" He looked over her quickly to assess her injuries. She really didn't look so bad. Her clothes a little burnt and black, a ends of her hair a little singed in places, and angry, red burns along her arms and her legs. It was still enough for Bickslow to want to shove Lucy in some kind of protective bubble for the rest of her life, but she was at least breathing and he considered that the most important part right then. "What happened?"

Lucy smiled softly, leaning into Bickslow's hand on her cheek. "I'm okay," she said softly. Granted, nearly being set on fire wasn't exactly her idea of a fun time, but she felt like she'd been through worse. She'd grudgingly admit that spending so much time around Natsu had its upsides, too—fire wasn't quite as terrifying as it had been a few years earlier. Still, a few burns? Lucy could handle that.

"Fuck. You scared the shit out of me, you know that? I thought I'd lost you." He had half a mind to tell her that he'd been right about some crazy shit like that happening, but he decided against it.

"Sorry," Lucy replied sheepishly.

Laxus stood back up, almost reminding Bickslow that he wasn't just in his own little bubble with Lucy. "Alright. Go on. You should get out of here. Bicks, go and find Wendy and Porly or some shit," Laxus said. He scanned the area, eyes narrowed. Things were already beginning to be taken care of—the last of the carriage fires put out, a few people getting their wounds taken care of already—but something still didn't seem right to Laxus and he wasn't sure what it was. There was something too familiar, a heavy feeling of dread in the area, and Laxus didn't like it. "Where's Natsu?" he asked, looking back down to Lucy.

"I don't know," Lucy mumbled. "I… I didn't see what way he went after I got out." She certainly hadn't appreciated it at the time, just having Natsu run off on her like that. He'd gotten her out of the train, and even ushered a few others out, and the second Lucy turned around, he'd disappeared somewhere and Lucy had no idea where. But Lucy knew there was something else going on there. First on the train, and then with him just rushing off somewhere—which, granted, Lucy supposed she should've been used to. But she knew there was something she didn't know there.

"It's fine. I'll find him. Go."

Bickslow only watched Laxus wander off for a few seconds before he was focused back on Lucy, crouching back down at her side and debating the best way to get her back up. "Right. Come on, let's get you out of here."

Lucy shrugged away quickly. "No. I'm not leaving."

"Baby, come on. We need to get you to Wendy and get you healed up."

"No." She swatted Bickslow's hands away when he tried to pick her back up. "I'm fine. I don't need to see Wendy. Not right now." She'd probably gotten worse burns cooking. She could see Wendy later.

"Lucy—"

"Bickslow, no," Lucy said firmly. She couldn't tell if her husband was more hurt or confused in that moment, and for a second, Lucy just didn't care which. "I want to stay. I can help here. I can… I can help make sure everyone is able to get out. I can point the healers in the right direction when they get here… I can—"

"I know. I know you want to stay and you want to help. I get that," Bickslow said, finally able to get more than a few words in. He loved that about her, though. How even then when she had her own injuries to be taking care of, all Lucy cared about was helping others. Right then though, it was driving Bickslow insane. "But right now, you are the only thing I care about, okay? Every other person could've burnt to a crisp in there and I wouldn't have cared a single bit."

"That's horrible!"

Bickslow knew that. But he didn't have it in him to particularly care. He could feel guilty later, and Bickslow would accept that then. For the time being though, he meant what he said: Lucy was the priority, and until he was convinced she was fine, that was all Bickslow cared about. "Yeah, I know. But I mean it. All I care about is making sure you're okay and that you're not going to get hurt more. So I really need you to help me right now, and let me take you home."

Maybe… Lucy did just need to back down for a change. She'd never really been able to sit by and not lend a hand, so why should right then be any different? She wasn't that badly injured. She could still walk, and feel all her fingers and toes, which she considered a pretty solid bar for being okay.

"Alright. You win," Lucy murmured. She supposed there wasn't really anything wrong with letting her husband worry about her and fuss over her like he wanted to. She didn't indulge that part of him very often—she was too stubborn for it—but perhaps she needed to. Still, looking around briefly, Lucy wasn't sure she'd be of any help to anyone after all. There were plenty of people there already doing more than she could probably manage right then, and she hadn't the slightest idea where Natsu and Laxus disappeared, either. But maybe that just wasn't her concern anymore.

Bickslow didn't even bother hiding his relief. He knew Lucy could argue with him all day if she really wanted to, but Bickslow wasn't sure what he would've done if she hadn't agreed to leave.

Bickslow still thought he needed to be taking Lucy directly to Wendy or someone, but he was smart enough to pick his battles and dragging her to any kind of healer right then was just not going to happen. He trusted Lucy's judgement still, at least to some extent, and Bickslow had to believe that Lucy wouldn't think twice about going to see Wendy or Porlyusica if she thought she actually needed them. All Bickslow needed to do was get her home. He could Wendy around later if he really needed to.

With Bickslow not instantly sweeping her off the ground and into his arms, Lucy quickly realised that getting up and moving might not end up being the easiest task in the world. Bickslow obviously didn't want to grab hold of her just to have her scream out in pain because he was holding onto her burnt limbs, and, well, Lucy didn't fault him for that.

Briefly, Lucy even considered if she could just walk home and save her husband the trouble of trying to figure out how to get her there by causing as little pain as possible. But it was a fleeting though, because hobbling down the paths really wasn't Lucy's idea of pain-free anyway. Pain was guaranteed, it seemed.

"Just… Like you usually do," Lucy said, sitting up slightly and trying to get into a better position. "Come on. Before I change my mind and go walk into the fire again."

Bickslow knew she was just messing with him, but still, the twisted thought in the back of his head that maybe she wasn't joking did make him finally move a little. "Right. Just don't wanna like, hurt you," he mumbled, carefully getting his arms under her knees and behind her back. "You sure this is fine?" he asked quickly, just loosely holding her first.

"It's fine. Promise."

He was half convinced she was lying. He even considered the possibility of just letting Lucy go back on her own with the babies, but the last thing Bickslow wanted to do was leave her, even if it was just with the babies.

He made sure to grab Laxus's cloak with her, hoping the soft lining would cushion her in his grip. Knowing his luck, Bickslow half expected the buttons on his shirt to irritate her. He doubted the coat was much better, constantly rubbing on Lucy's burnt skin, but it had to be better than hard plastic.

"Are you sure—"

"I'm fine," Lucy insisted, before Bickslow could even ask her yet again. "Stop asking me."

Bickslow frowned, but stepped up onto the babies as they lined up in front of him anyway.

He was slower, taking more care on his route home. He wanted Lucy back as soon as possible, but he wasn't taking any risks that time, only going as high as necessary to clear the tops of the trees and the buildings nearby. They were barely few metres above the train and Bickslow had trouble making out all the people they'd just been surrounded by, not through the thick, smoky haze that filled the area. He hadn't noticed it on the ground. Maybe he'd been distracted.

Laxus was easy to spot through the smoke. The obnoxiously bright bolts of lightning were pretty hard to miss. Bickslow was curious, though. Laxus was careful with his magic, at least most of the time. Bickslow had been at the receiving end of Laxus's lightning enough times to know what it looked like, too, and even through the smoke, Bickslow knew there was a reason Laxus was down there right then.

None of it it had been an accident. Someone had caused it.

He was already heading back towards Laxus and through the smoke before Bickslow even realised he'd been doing it. He couldn't tell if the babies had done it on their own or if he'd told them subconsciously. Lucy didn't seem to mind the detour, if she even noticed. Her head was still tucked against his chest to shield her face from the smoke. He supposed Lucy had other things on her mind right then anyway. He knew she was in pain, even if she was too proud and stubborn to admit it. But a few second detour wasn't going to hurt anyone, surely.

He spotted Natsu soon after. It took Bickslow a moment to realise he was chasing someone, and another moment to see who it was between Laxus's and Natsu's bombardment of attacks, squinting to see through the smoke that still lingered. But then Bickslow saw their face, and for a second he thought his eyes were playing tricks on him. He'd seen that face. He'd stared right at that face; had nightmares about it for months. Bickslow knew that face anywhere.

The babies would've fallen out of the sky by then had he been actively controlling them. But he rarely needed to those days—they were getting so good at doing their own thing—so they held steady that time. Bickslow just wasn't really sure what to do.

Lucy only became aware of anything when Bickslow's fingers started digging in painfully. "H-Hey, you mind, uh… letting go a little bit? Kind of hurting now… Bicks?"

She tried pulling herself up, lifting her head from Bickslow's chest. He was stuck staring at something below them, eyes narrowed and gaze unwavering. But she'd seen that look before, even if just for a few moments—that darkness and anger that almost terrified her when she remembered it still existed deep within him. Part of Lucy didn't want to know what was beneath them. For a second, Lucy hoped it was really just shock and fear from the thought of almost losing her, but she knew it wasn't that.

So Lucy glanced down, watching as Natsu got slammed into the dirt, skidding back until he hit a tree not too far away, then as Laxus almost went flying through the air in the opposite direction. And then, she saw that manic grin. A sick feeling settled in her stomach; a memory of pain lingering in her bones.

She knew that face anywhere, the one that shouldn't have been there. But Thorne being there couldn't have been a mistake.

Lucy looked back up, grabbing Bickslow's shoulders to try and pull herself up again. He was still staring down at them all, watching Natsu and Laxus and Thorne, and his hands were still squeezing her far too tight for comfort. She took his face, pulling to try and force him to look away from them and to her instead. "Bicks? Bicks, it's fine. Just look at me now, okay? Everything is fine. Natsu and Laxus… They're fine," she said. She almost wanted to slap Bickslow to try and drag him out of whatever daze he was in. But he turned, finally, slowly, and looked down at her instead. "I know. I know, okay? I know what you're thinking, and it's okay. You don't need to do anything."

What am I thinking? Bickslow wasn't even sure. But he knew what Lucy expected him to be thinking. He was supposed to be angry, probably on the verge of some kind of murderous rampage. He was supposed to be wanting to be down there, in Natsu and Laxus's place, making sure he got some kind of justice, or even revenge.

And Bickslow did want to be down there, in their place. He wanted to destroy Thorne, and anyone else who was even remotely close to him for that matter. He wanted to make sure that Thorne ended up in the deepest, darkest, and vilest pit of hell there could possibly be, just to make sure he didn't harm another soul again. Or at least, there was a part of him that wanted all of that; to give in to the burning hatred and regret that had been hidden deep inside of him since the last time Bickslow had seen him.

Bickslow couldn't do that, though. Even as he watched, frozen in time, imagining how it would feel to crush Thorne's soul into a million tiny pieces, Bickslow knew he couldn't do it.

"It's okay. Everything is fine. I'm fine. We can go home," Lucy whispered.

And, Bickslow was okay with that. He didn't even look back over his shoulder when the babies moved of their own volition, turning away from Thorne and Natsu and Laxus. It was the right thing.

He wasn't as fearless as he used to be; plenty scared him enough to keep him up at night. But he was older (slightly), and he liked to think he was wiser, and he had a family of his own and Bickslow knew that the only place he needed to be right then was with Lucy. He didn't need to be throwing himself at someone who'd already just about killed him, because the further they got from the train station, the more Bickslow wondered what it would have even achieved.

Maybe he would've gotten to do what he'd wanted to do for years, and watch Thorne's soul burn and disintegrate and finally get that peace. But maybe he wouldn't have. And then what? He would've traded in the opportunity to watch his kids grow and be happy, all for what exactly?

A few years ago, Bickslow wouldn't have cared about any of it—the what ifs and the missed opportunities. But that was the point to all of it, wasn't it? That it was different, and that he was different, and that it was mostly all because of Lucy anyway.

It took the doorbell chiming for Bickslow to leave his post. Even then he was hesitant to do so. Somewhere at the back of his mind he half expected some crazy psychopath to jump through his bedroom window and snatch Lucy away the second he turned his back.

They knocked on the door when Bickslow took his time. He crept down the hallway, the old floorboards creaking under him quietly. He winced. Now he couldn't just pretend he wasn't home; the person at the door no doubt would've heard him sneaking around his own home. But Lucy hadn't wanted to get the floorboards replaced, at least the ones that hadn't needed to be. She'd said they gave the house character. Bickslow still wasn't sure how a building could have character.

"Bicks, I can hear you. I know you're home."

Bickslow stopped for a moment, straightening up as he stared at the door in the dim hallway. Of course it was just Laxus. A psychopath wouldn't knock, and neither would Lucy's team. But Laxus had nearly walked in on them enough times to knock at least most of the time. With a sigh, Bickslow dragged a hand down his tired face and unlocked the door for his friend.

"Took you long enough," Laxus complained, pushing through the open door and into the hallway. He frowned as he watched Bickslow glance up and down the dark street. Paranoia had never been Bickslow's thing. "There's no one else out there, Bicks."

"I… I know that." He crossed his arms after locking the door firmly behind him. "What are you, uh… What are you doing here?" Bickslow asked.

"Wanted to check up on Blondie. And you."

"Oh, well, you know… Some jackass who I thought was locked up tried to kill my wife, so I'd say things are pretty fucking peachy. Did you want a drink or something, by the way? Because I do."

Laxus didn't think it was the time to bring up the man's drinking habits. He followed Bickslow into the dining room, watching with just mild concern as he grabbed a bottle of bourbon from the liquor cabinet and filled a glass almost to the top. "And Lucy?" Laxus asked, a little warily. He hadn't heard much of anything since he'd last seen Bickslow and Lucy at the train, right before he'd gone off to find Natsu. "She okay?"

Bickslow sighed again, nodding as he put the stopper back in the glass bottle. "Yeah. She's, uh… She's good," Bickslow said. Aside from being a little sore and a little banged up and a little tired, Lucy was perfectly fine. She was so perfectly okay that Bickslow was probably going to kiss Natsu the next time he saw him. He wouldn't know where he'd be if it weren't for that hot-headed moron. He'd be a widower for certain, though.

"That's good. Wendy come fix her up?"

"Yeah, eventually." Bickslow pulled a chair out from the table, slumping down in it. "Had to actually talk Cosplayer into letting Wendy do it though."

Laxus scoffed. "'Course you did. Still stubborn as ever."

"Yeah…"

It was quiet in the house. Too quiet. Bickslow hated it. The noise was one of the things he loved most about that place. The birds in the garden and in the neighbour's tree in the morning. The kids running down the street and playing in the small park behind the house. Lucy's horrible humming to the stereo as she dusted and folded laundry. He'd just gotten so used to it all that he couldn't stand not hearing any of it. All he could think about was how close he'd been to losing all of it, if he'd given in to that dark part of him that had wanted the one to be down there with Thorne.

There'd be no more humming as he helped with chores. No more kids outside as he sat and read in the afternoon. No birds as he stayed curled up in bed on those lazy Sunday mornings.

And there'd be no screaming newborn at three in the morning pulling him from his sleep. Or an infant squealing and giggling in the living room at playtime. Or the sound of a toddler who'd just learned how to run up and down the hallway all day long. Perhaps that was what frightened Bickslow the most—losing the sounds he couldn't even wait to hear.

"She's pregnant," Bickslow announced. He looked up after a second. He'd never really thought that saying it out loud to someone else would feel so good, but it did.

"Shit, really?"

"Yeah." Bickslow couldn't even help but smile. "She's, uh… ten weeks now? Eleven? Fuck, I don't know. Something like that." He'd tried keeping up with it, but all the days had blurred into weeks and he hardly knew what the date was half the time.

"Well, fuck. Congrats, man." Laxus briefly considered walking around the table to give Bickslow a hug. "Fuck it. I might have that drink anyway."

Bickslow grabbed a new glass and poured the liquid in, sliding the beverage across gently for Laxus to pick up and raise. "To finally getting her knocked up," Laxus toasted.

Bickslow tried not to shake his head.

There was a ring on the veneer from where his glass had been. He wiped it away with his palm. Lucy was always telling him to use a coaster.

"I wanted to tell you today," Bickslow said. "Earlier, I mean. Lucy wanted to start telling people, so… So she was going to tell Natsu, and I was… I was going to tell you, and Ever and Freed too, when I saw them, but then… Well, you know." He took a drink. "I almost lost her today, Laxus."

"But you didn't."

"What if Natsu hadn't been there?"

"He was. That's all that matters."

"Bullshit, that's all that matters," Bickslow snapped. He almost wondered how Laxus could sit there and practically tell him to just move on and forget everything. Had it been anyone else, even Freed or Evergreen, Bickslow knew Laxus would be playing an entirely different tune. "Thorne fucking knew she was there. You tell me how the fuck that was even possible."

Laxus knew better than to take it personally. He got it, too—how angry Bickslow had to be right then. Laxus was sure he'd be feeling something similar if it were him. Still, Laxus wasn't the friend who could sit back and let Bickslow dish his anger out on him. "Oi, I'm not your enemy here. Don't you take this shit out on me," he challenged. "You think I wasn't wondering how the fuck he was there as well?"

"I… I know. You're right. And I'm sorry. I just—"

"I know," Laxus said, watching Bickslow across the table, dropping his head and pulling his hands through his hair. "You're fine."

Bickslow couldn't help it. He knew Laxus was right. But Bickslow still just didn't understand it. How could Thorne have even been there? Bickslow was smart enough to realise that knowing it wouldn't be helping him sleep at all for the next month, but he couldn't just sit and wonder either.

"So, uh… What happened then? Did he… Did he escape? Did he get released? What—what was the deal?" Bickslow asked.

"Cuffs failed. Practically walked out, I imagine. No doubt had everyone too busy dealing with imaginary dragons and god knows what else." The rune knights hadn't said much, even with half the guild threatening them. Laxus supposed it was fair, though. He wouldn't be too willing to share the details of a fuck up involving a prisoner in his care either.

Bickslow nodded. "And now, then?"

"What are you asking, Bicks?"

"I'm asking if this shit is over with. For good. Or do I need to move out to the middle of nowhere to make sure no one can find us?"

"Something tells me Lucy wouldn't like that idea very much."

"Laxus, I mean it."

He knew that. He knew what Bickslow was asking, too. But he didn't have the answer Bickslow wanted and for once, Laxus hated it. "No," he said.

"No?"

"He's back with the council. They didn't say what their plan was."

"The council," Bickslow repeated. He almost wanted to laugh. "The same fuckwits that let him go in the first place. What the fuck, Laxus."

"It's not like I had a say in where he went."

"You could have ended this—all of this," Bickslow snapped. "You had one fucking job."

Laxus leaned across the table, slamming his hand down on the top. "And I fucking wanted to," he hissed. It had been the perfect opportunity, but Laxus hadn't been able to do it. Not in front of all those people. Not even Natsu had been dumb enough to take the fall. "But I wasn't going to throw my life away for that asshole. I have a kid, Bicks. I can't do shit like this anymore."

Bickslow wasn't sure he'd have been able to make the same call if it had come down to it. But maybe Laxus had a point anyway. It wasn't that long ago that Laxus wouldn't have hesitated. None of them would have. But they all had lives, and families, and things to live for. Maybe it had been the right call.

"Suppose that's a fair point," Bickslow mumbled.

"Of course it fucking is." Laxus sat back up. He took another drink. "If it makes you feel any better," he continued, "I went with them when they took him back. Watched them lock him up again."

"It doesn't."

Laxus expected as much.

"Guess I should get out of here." Laxus stood, finishing his drink. He'd only planned on stopping by, and it was late as it was. "Demon's probably wondering where the fuck I am. Shit, probably thinks I got locked up or something." Laxus almost thought it would've been better.

Bickslow scoffed, a half-hearted sound. "Probably, yeah."

In the silence, Laxus wasn't sure if he'd made the right decision, not telling Bickslow the whole truth. At the door, he only squeezed Bickslow's shoulder, offering an attempt of a smile. "Everything is sorted. It's done."

Lucy didn't move when she first woke up, just taking a few moments to breathe deeply and enjoy the comfort and warmth of her bed before willing her stiff limbs to move and roll over. Wendy had healed her burns easily, at least once Bickslow had talked her into letting Wendy do so, but there was still a faint tingling along her arms and her legs that Lucy didn't quite think was just from laying on them all night.

Her hand was numb and fingers swollen, although that much Lucy knew was just from leaning on them. In her foggy and tired daze, Lucy couldn't tell what hurt more between the pins and needles in the tips of her fingers, or her rings just beginning to dig into her finger. She could live with her boots being too tight for the next few months, but she'd really been hoping her hands wouldn't fall victim to the annoying growing spawn.

Still, she valued having all of her fingers and toes in place, so perhaps she'd just have to live without her jewellery for the next few months, too.

It took Lucy until she finally turned behind her to notice she was alone in the bed, Bickslow's side barely touched with his pillows still stacked neatly against the headboard. She didn't need to look far to find him though, quickly spotting him tucked into the armchair and struggling to stay awake with his head in his palm.

Seeing Lucy was awake seemed to perk him up though, sitting up quickly and rubbing his face. "Hey, good morning," Bickslow said softly. "How are you feeling?"

"Mmm, good. A little sore, still a little tired, but nothing I can't handle," she murmured. She already knew Bickslow was on the verge of pestering her and asking if she really was okay, or if she needed Wendy or even Porlyusica to come by. She was almost convinced that if he worried any more then the wrinkles in his forehead would be there forever. "I'm still okay. Promise."

"Are you sure?"

"You know, now that I think about, since you're asking me again, I don't think I am." She feigned a grimace, pushing herself to sit up against the pillows. Bickslow rushed over from the chair, kneeling by her side on the empty side of the bed. "I just… I think I—"

"What? What is it? Are you in pain?" He panicked, roving his hands just above her as he tried to figure out what it was she needed. He didn't want to touch her if she was hurting. "Are you… Are you dizzy? Hungry? Thirsty? Do you want me to get you some water? Is it the baby? Fuck, do you think there's something—"

"Come 'ere." Bickslow stared at her, brows furrowed as he tentatively inched forward. That wasn't quite far enough though, and Lucy rolled her eyes and reached out to tug on his shirt a little. "Come on, closer," she said.

Bickslow was, admittedly, confused as all hell. He had a feeling he was missing something, but he indulged his wife regardless, carefully laying himself down just beside her. He still didn't want to touch her just in case she was still hurting. But apparently that was the wrong move on his part and he found himself even more confused when Lucy groaned, kicked the confining blanket back in a huff, and pressed herself up against her husband, quickly pressing a kiss to his lips before resting her head on the pillow with his.

"Now I'm okay."

Bickslow stared at her, a mostly blank look on his face as Lucy smiled up at him. "You're… fine?"

"Perfect," Lucy said.

He still felt like he was missing something, but for a moment, Bickslow was just too tired to care what it was. He closed his eyes, letting out a deep sigh and feeling his heart slowly stop hammering away in his chest. Between the warm bed and Lucy gently combing her fingers through his hair, Bickslow was worried he might actually fall asleep.

"You should get some rest," Lucy said softly, as if she was hearing his thoughts. "At least a few hours. I'll be fine. The babies can keep me company."

She wasn't a fool. She knew how her husband's brain worked. And it was a little sweet, if she was honest; that he was so worried about keeping her safe that he would sit there keeping watch and sacrifice his own sleep, even to the point where he could hardly keep his eyes open. Still, Lucy didn't think it was necessary. She knew better than to push it, though. He was scared, and Lucy didn't entirely blame him for it.

"Mm, maybe just for a little while," Bickslow mumbled. Oh, he was so close. Even the babies were telling him to just sleep. He trusted them to watch Lucy while he was out, because of course he did, but it just wasn't quite the same. They couldn't do much to protect her on their own. Not really. But… Maybe an hour or two of sleep wouldn't be the end of the world. It was barely past sunrise as it was, last he'd checked. The babies could handle an hour or two.

Bickslow had never particularly enjoyed waking up in a dark and quiet house, not since Lucy had first started staying over when they'd started dating. It had just never felt quite right. When he'd slept late and Lucy hadn't needed to rush out anywhere else, he'd gotten used to the constant noise of just having someone else there—the humming in the shower, the mindless conversations with the babies as they followed her around everywhere, and the clang of pots and pans as she washed the dishes for the fourth time that day because apparently it calmed her down after her team had done something stupid again.

But it was quiet when Bickslow woke up then, and it was dark, too, which was only somewhat panic inducing when he reached out and felt cold, tousled sheets.

"Babies?" he mumbled, switching on the lamp beside him as he sat up in amongst tangled sheets. He winced in the light, blinking and looking around.

It was odd for the babies to not respond. He could still sense them though, the pull of them on his magic, so he ventured out of the bedroom and into the dim house.

It didn't take long to find light—a soft glow emanating from the living room. "Lucy?" Bickslow called out. His fingers trailed along the wall as he rounded the corner. In some dark, twisted corner of his mind, all he could think about was walking in and finding his wife sitting there in a pool of her own blood, probably decapitated and dismembered in some sick display. "You in here?"

Hearing the quite hum and watching Lucy give him a soft smile from where she sat on the couch had Bickslow stopping for a moment, just to question what the fuck was wrong with him to have him automatically assume Lucy had been murdered.

"Hey," Lucy said softly. "Did you sleep well?"

Bickslow sighed as he collapsed down into the lounge, moving a pillow out from behind him as Lucy laid her legs on his lap. The babies were tucked into the pillows around Lucy, wiggling and purring and Bickslow just tried not to shake his head at them. "Yeah. Yeah, I did." Bickslow wasn't even sure he'd dreamed about anything, he'd just been that tired that morning. But unless there'd been some freak storm or weird eclipse, Bickslow knew he'd slept a lot longer than just a few hours. "I feel like I could just go back to bed, though. Just so fucking exhausted."

"Why don't you go back to bed then? You obviously need the sleep."

"We'll see. Maybe when you go to sleep." He rubbed his face, trying hard not to just lean his head back and close his eyes again. "What time is it anyway?"

Lucy set her book down to reach out for her keys on the coffee table, fingering over the keys until she rested on the right one. "Just a little after seven. I don't think I'll be up for much longer anyway. I'm already starting to feel tired."

"Good. You're the one who actually needs the sleep."

"Mm-hmm, sure I do."

Bickslow couldn't ignore the smirk and the sass, and he supposed he deserved it. Between the pregnancy and all the shit he'd given her the day before about resting and healing, he had no doubts that Lucy was sick of him smothering her. But he wasn't really sure what else he was supposed to do. Even seeing her then with just the few tiny bandages left on her legs and on her arms, Bickslow was having a hard time not carrying her back to their bed and somehow making her stay there until she was healed, or even until their kid was born.

But he knew it was crazy and that it was overkill and that Lucy would probably leave him if he even tried it.

"Are you sure you're okay, though?" Bickslow asked after a while. He knew Lucy had to be sick of hearing it but Bickslow still just felt like he couldn't be sure. At that point, Bickslow had a feeling he was more bothered by the entire train incident than she was, and he wasn't entirely proud of that fact.

"I'm fine. I promise," Lucy whispered. She gave a small shrug, taking a deep breath as well. "And, you know, I think it'd be best to just put it behind us."

"…Right."

Lucy closed her book, marking her page and setting it aside. She'd had a lot of time to think that day, and it had mostly been all she thought about. But she knew Bickslow would have a hard time letting his anger go if she didn't give him that push he needed to do so, and Lucy just didn't want him to get stuck on what had happened with the train and Thorne.

And the way Bickslow looked at her then, like she was proposing something completely blasphemous, it was as exactly as Lucy had expected him to. And yet, she couldn't help but feel like she should wait, and maybe give Bickslow just an extra day or two to fuss over and her and do whatever it was he needed to do to make himself feel better.

But Lucy just didn't want to do that. She didn't want Bickslow to keep stressing himself over something so comparatively meaningless.

"I just… I just mean that I think we should focus on what's ahead of us," she said, twisting her fingers together on the pillow. "And, I mean, I know I almost died, like, yesterday, but I just… I don't want to think about that. I don't want you to think about that."

"Are you even hearing yourself right now?" Bickslow didn't think he needed to point out just how absurd his wife sounded.

"I am. I know what I sound like."

"Do you? Because you just asked me not to think about the fact that you almost died yesterday. How the fuck do you expect me to do that, Lucy?"

Lucy winced, looking down as Bickslow got up and walked around the back of the lounge. She'd expected him to take the idea badly, but she hadn't thought they'd end up yelling and arguing about it.

She waited for a moment, letting Bickslow pace himself into calming down slightly before she spoke again. "We're having a baby, Bicks," she said softly. "I want to think about that. And I want to think about what colour we'll paint their room, or what we'll name them, and if we're both going to be able to keep working once they're born, and everything else that's still ahead of us. I don't… I don't want to keep worrying about things behind us. And I really need you to not want to because you don't sleep when you're worried about something happening to me and you're going to need your sleep at some point."

Bickslow couldn't help but chuckle. She had a point about the sleep. But he hated the rest of it, the part where he was supposed to just forget the fact he'd almost watched her die. He hadn't even told Lucy about what had happened with Thorne after they'd left. He doubted anyone from the guild had stopped by to tell her either.

"You really want to just forget about all of it?" he asked. He stood at the end of the lounge, rubbing his arm anxiously. Maybe Lucy's idea was for the best though. Bickslow knew he wasn't going to able to just stop worrying about her, or stop being terrified of something disastrous happening to her, but maybe… Maybe he could worry less.

"I do."

"And… Thorne? You just… You don't care about him? At all?"

Lucy shrugged. Somewhere at the back of her mind she was curious, but that was it. She had no interest in constantly looking over her shoulder and wondering if something tragic was going to happen any moment. "No, I don't."

Bickslow didn't know how Lucy could care so little about it, but he didn't entirely hate it. Part of him hadn't been sure if knowing where Thorne had ended up at the end of the day was the best idea, but in hindsight he was glad to know it, even if it hadn't done much to put his mind at ease about just how he was supposed to protect his family in the future. But Lucy not wanting to know was almost a good thing, mostly because Bickslow just didn't want to tell her any of it. The last thing he wanted was for Lucy to worry or be frightened.

So Bickslow decided he was okay with it all and forget about it. Or at least, he'd have to make an effort to. He refused to be the guy that controls his wife, telling her what to do and refusing to let her leave the house, even if it was all a small part of him could think about because he was just that terrified of losing her. "I guess I can try to not think about that son of a bitch," he muttered.

"That's all I ask," Lucy said. "Although, really, you should only be thinking about me. I mean, come on." Bickslow shook his head at her but she still caught the tired smirk before it faded. "Come here," she said, scooting over slightly to the edge of the seat cushions and patting the pillow on her lap.

He made himself cosy in the narrow space between her and the back of the lounge, resting his head on the pillow.

"You're still going to worry, aren't you?" Lucy asked softly, gently carding her fingers through her husband's hair. She knew Bickslow would still try, but she still knew him too well.

"It's my job," he mumbled into the pillow.

"I know."

"I was thinking, though…"

"Mm?" He couldn't help but arch slightly when the babies all settled along his spine, the first one startling him almost. He could help but relax too much when Lucy let him lay on her.

"Maybe we should actually go on a kind of honeymoon," Lucy suggested.

Bickslow scoffed. "Bit late, isn't it?"

"Well, no… But, I don't know, think of it as just a trip then. We could go anywhere."

"Uh-huh. Sure. So are you going to tell me what's caused the sudden interest in going somewhere then?" Because Bickslow wasn't an idiot. They'd decided not to go on a honeymoon already, and Bickslow wasn't convinced that Lucy was just changing her mind less than a month later just because she felt like going on a vacation.

Lucy shrugged. "What, am I not allowed to want to travel with my husband and not have to go take care of some job right in the middle of it?"

"Cosplayer." He lifted his head to see the telling pink on Lucy's face and the embarrassed glance away. "Come on. Just admit being knocked up has made you super horny and you just really want to jump me in some fancy hotel somewhere."

It wasn't like he was wrong. "Well, maybe," Lucy admitted. "But I—oh, shut up." She crossed her arms, pouting as Bickslow just cackled at her. She hoped his amusement was just because she hadn't wanted to admit that was part of it, not so much that he'd been right. "I just thought it might help you take take your mind off things—"

"Oh, it'll take my mind off things."

Lucy resisted slapping him across the back of the head. She figured he realised that when he grinned and stuck his tongue out at her. "That, and it might be the only time we can just go on a holiday together for a while," Lucy added. "I mean, I don't want to be trying to squeeze in some last minute vacation when I'm seven months pregnant. And, you know, the morning sickness isn't too bad right now so I figured why not just make the most of this window before it's too late."

Bickslow supposed it wasn't a bad idea. He'd loved the few trips they'd taken together, the ones that hadn't involved any kind of work, at least. The job trips had been nice enough, but the handful they'd gone on together had been so tiring that Bickslow hardly counted them as trips. He'd been just a little disappointed when the honeymoon plans had fallen through, at least until he had realised why they had. Admittedly, it had been hard to care about much else after Lucy had first told him they were going to have a baby.

Still though, with Lucy bringing up the whole honeymoon idea again, Bickslow really couldn't help but get just a little excited about it. The problem, though, was that Bickslow wasn't sure just how serious Lucy was about this trip. "So… Are we thinking just a week or two, travelling around Fiore, or—"

A week or two? "Oh, no. I wasn't kidding when I said make the most of this time," Lucy said. A couple of weeks going around Fiore felt like a waste. Bickslow had gone all around Fiore at least twice with the Raijinshuu, and Lucy wasn't that far behind. "No, I mean at least a month. Probably two. Maybe three. And I definitely want to go to Caelum. And Minstrel."

"What about Sin?"

"Sure, why not."

Bickslow sat up quickly. The babies sat up on the back of the lounge instead. A trip around Ishgar? Bickslow could get behind that. He wasn't sure his team would like him very much for being gone for a few months, but he was sure they'd survive without him. He'd just have to make sure to bring them back gifts or something.

"You sure about this?" Bickslow asked. "I mean, are you sure you want to be gone for that long? What about the house? And… And the bills, and—"

"Our friends can stop by and check on the place every couple of days, and I'm sure Levy or Freed or someone wouldn't mind paying anything that comes in if we just leave them the money to do so. We have the money, Bicks."

It occurred to Bickslow that Lucy had actually put some thought into it—all of it. It wasn't something she'd just spent a few minutes considering, which might as well have been all he'd done. But as efficient as Lucy was, Bickslow didn't think it was just a one day plan either. "Just how long have you been thinking about this?" he asked.

Lucy shrugged again. "A few days. A week, maybe."

It wasn't as if she hadn't wanted to go on a honeymoon in the first place. It was just that the last time they'd talked about it, she still hadn't even told Bickslow she was pregnant, and she hadn't the slightest idea how she'd be feeling after the wedding. But they'd been married nearly a month and Lucy liked to think the worst of the pregnancy effects had passed, now that she was almost into the eleventh week, and she really just couldn't think of a better time to go and travel around the continent. Nearly dying to some psychopathic mage had really been the final straw though, and if it took a trip around Ishgar to get her husband to stop worrying that she was doing to die on him, then Lucy was more than happy to oblige.

A/N: Yeah, so, look. I didn't mean to let this go over a year without an update. Life has been chaotic and I just could not for the life of me get anything written whatsoever. This chapter got rewritten more than a few times, and for the most part, it sat on about 50% written for the better part of a year. I just couldn't find it in me to write.

Anyway, I am incredibly sorry that this chapter took so long. I sincerely hope you enjoyed it, comments are always appreciated, and I promise I won't make you wait another year for the final two chapters (or like, my other stories, like APS, which also has just a few chapters remaining).