Well guys, I did it! I wrote another chapter! Granted, some of this has been done for a while, but the important thing is...it's done! lol Anyway, so sorry for the long wait. If you want to hear the reasons why I've been MIA, check the last chapter of Shattered. I really don't want to get into it again. But thanks for sticking by me, guys. I've always said I had the best readers, and that's the absolute truth. You guys always make me feel great.

I hope you'll find this chapter acceptable, possibly even good. But if it's not, you can totally blame Littleprincessnana - she told me it was good lol

As always, remember Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail.

CHAPTER 31: WAKING DREAM

He was beautiful. Every single part of him absolutely perfect - right down to his delicate little fingers and toes. As Lucy looked down at the baby in her arms, she couldn't help but cry. He'd stolen her heart completely, and there was no hope of ever getting it back. She brought her hand up to the sprinkling of hair on his tiny head and sniffled. "He's so perfect."

"Just like his mama."

She lifted her head to find Gajeel leaning in, his own eyes bright with unshed tears as his hand reached out to cover hers. "Hey little man. It's Daddy."

His voice was quiet and shaky, parked somewhere between disbelief and awe. It was precisely how Lucy felt. She couldn't quite believe this tiny human was hers, that she'd helped create him with the man she loved more than life itself. She'd never imagined she could feel so much for someone she'd just technically met, and yet, as she lay there with his body held close to her chest, she could feel that love growing into something unfathomable.

Tears pricked her eyes again. She couldn't remember ever feeling this way. Her heart was so full. How could one person be so happy? How could one body hold so much love? She felt like she was close to bursting. It was the single most incredible sensation she'd ever experienced, and looking at Gajeel and her sweet baby boy, she knew she'd be feeling that way for years to come.

The dream faded away softly, pushing Lucy from sleep with a contented smile on her face. Opening her eyes though, she found herself lying in her bed, once more completely alone. Instantly, that blissful feeling she'd had upon awakening was gone, replaced with a desperate need to go back. She shut her eyes, burrowing down under her covers and willing herself to drift back off to sleep. It had all felt so real, and the longer she lay there, the more empty her arms felt.

She wanted her baby back, more than she'd wanted anything else in her life. Now that she'd gotten a taste of the life she could have with both Gajeel and their child, she didn't know how to go back to this one where she had neither.

Minutes ticked by with her eyes tightly shut, but no matter what she did, she couldn't force herself back into slumber. Her body refused, and the longer she lay there, the more heartbroken she felt. Why couldn't she have this? Just a few more moments there, with the family she'd always wanted? Her chest ached, and she felt that old familiar tightening in her throat.

She was going to cry. She couldn't help it. It had been such a beautiful dream, and it had teased her with everything she'd ever longed for. And then, it was gone. That fast, it was just gone, and she had no way of knowing if she'd ever have it again.

It was ridiculous, getting this worked up over a dream. In her head, she knew that, but knowing that didn't eliminate how she felt. And she felt like she'd lost something precious. What if she never got to see that beautiful little face again? What if she never got to hold him in her arms? Logically, she knew that child didn't exist. The baby she'd loved so deeply in her dream wasn't real. She understood that, but at the same time, it had felt impossibly real. Her love for that sweet little boy had been so all consuming, and she wanted it back!

Finally, when she could take no more, she pushed the covers back and climbed to her feet. She went through the motions of getting dressed, her mind still full and her chest hollow. She felt so fragile in that moment, so empty.

She moved from her room, not knowing what else to do and headed for the kitchen. Both Lily and Gajeel were undoubtedly still fast asleep; there was still an hour or more before sunrise.

She kept her steps light as she moved down the hallway, past Lily's bedroom and then Gajeel's, but only steps away from the surly dragon slayer's door, she heard a sound. She froze in place, worried she'd somehow woken him up, but as the seconds slipped by with no further noise, she assumed she'd imagined it.

Breathing a sigh of relief, she resumed her trek down the hall, her mind returning to her dream. She'd made it no more than a fraction of the distance when she heard it again, a low groan. Her head spun back in the direction she'd come, her eyes unerringly finding their way back to Gajeel's room. Was he dreaming?

She shuffled back down the hall, rising up on her tiptoes to keep her steps silent, and stopped just in front of his door. She drew in a deep breath and leaned in, and moments later, the noise came again. This time louder and more urgent. Her brow wrinkled. He didn't sound so good. Could he be having a nightmare?

Moving gingerly, she took the last step and pressed her ear to the door. She waited there, frozen in place, her breath trapped inside her lungs for fear of making even a peep.

She didn't have long to wait.

Just a fraction of a second later, his voice came again, this time no more than a whimper. "No…"

She frowned. He sounded scared, nothing like the Gajeel she knew.

His voice cracked then, "No...please!"

Her heart clenched inside her, and before she could consider the wisdom of her actions, she'd reached for the doorknob. She stilled instantly at the coldness of the metal, wondering what she was doing. What in the world was she thinking? There wasn't a chance in hell he'd welcome her interference. She shook her head and lifted her hand before pausing.

Could she really just leave him like this? He was clearly distressed, and it seemed to be getting worse. She wondered what he was dreaming about, what could put that edge of fear in his voice. She'd never heard him sound that way, and everything inside her rebelled against it.

Biting her lip, she considered waking Lily. He'd have a better chance of waking Gajeel without making the situation worse. Yes, that would probably be smarter. Best not give him even more reason to be angry at her.

Before she could make a move towards Lily's room, another sound filtered through the door, a sound she knew very well. But it couldn't be that. She drew in a quick breath and leaned back in, certain she was wrong. But when the soft keening sound came again, she knew she hadn't misheard. He was crying.

Instant tears sprang to her eyes, and that fast, her decision was made. She reached for the knob and pushed into the room, only to come to an abrupt stop at the sight of Gajeel's body listing back and forth on his bed. His face was etched with pain, his eyelids clenched together as if to shut it out even in sleep.

It broke her heart to see him this way. Stifling a cry, she gently pushed the door shut and hurried to his side. She knelt by the bed and reached for him, her hand dropping lightly on his arm. "Gajeel…"

She kept her voice to a whisper, not wanting to startle him, but another few seconds passed with no change in his demeanor. Again, she called his name, adding a gentle shake of his shoulder.

Nothing.

She bit her lip as he whimpered, then rose to her feet and eased her weight onto the bed beside him. Giving him a little push, she raised her voice, "Gajeel? Gajeel, wake up."

But it was like he was trapped in his dream. He continued to shake beside her, and she couldn't take it anymore. She moved closer, her hip touching his quaking leg, and reached for his face. She leaned her face in next to his ear and called for him again. "Gajeel…" Tears sprang to her eyes as he shuddered against her. She moved closer, pressing a desperate kiss to his cheek. "Come on Gajeel, wake up. It's just a-"

He bolted upright with a gasp, his eyes wild, and she instantly dropped her hands from his face. She braced herself, wondering what he would do once he realized who was sitting next to him. But as his gaze fell on her, she could see he still wasn't entirely awake. He blinked once, his breath still frantic. "Where is he?"

He spun in bed, his eyes making a hasty scan of the room before coming back to her. "Where the fuck is he?"

Lucy wasn't sure what was happening, who he was looking for, but if the level of his distress was anything to go by, it was someone important. "Who, Gajeel? Who are you looking for?"

Breathing heavily, Gajeel made another quick circuit of the room and shook his head. "They took him. They broke in and took him." He swallowed hard, his voice cracking as he faced her again. "I can't…"

"Gaj…talk to me," she pleaded, reaching out to grab his arm. Maybe it wasn't the best idea considering his less than welcoming attitude toward her lately, but she couldn't stand seeing him so upset. "Who did they take?"

His gaze dropped to her hand gripping his arm, and Lucy nearly let go, worried he'd take it badly. But the next instant, he was moving - yanking her forward into his arms. He shook as he held her, his face tucked into her neck, quietly murmuring, "I can't find him, Lucy...I can't find him."

God, she didn't know what to do. Clearly, he was still thinking about his dream, about this person he was looking for, and it was obviously disturbing him greatly. But what was she supposed to do about it?

Having him reach for her in any way, especially for comfort, was amazing, but Lucy wasn't naive. He might act like this now, but later, it would be an entirely different story. He'd be angry, blame her for the lapse in his judgment. On the other hand, she was tired of fighting with him, and for once, it felt like he actually needed her.

Tentatively, she wrapped her arms around him. She was so afraid of doing the wrong thing, of pushing him too far, but she was so far out of her depth. Drawing in a shaky breath, she settled herself in place, but the moment her hands stole across the heated skin of his bare back, he suddenly jerked out of her embrace.

Her arms fell instantly, her heart following a second later. Had he finally figured it all out? Was he now going to yell at her for coming into his room? For touching him without permission?

But his lips dropping roughly onto hers shoved her fears right out of her head. He was almost desperate in his touch, his hands shooting up to hold her face in place as he plundered her mouth. For a moment, Lucy was lost, her body swaying hard into his. She could feel her inhibitions ebbing away as her need for him arose. But it wasn't right. Doing this with him now wouldn't be right.

He seemed so out of it. She could still feel the tears on his cheeks and the shakiness in his touch. She couldn't do that to him, no matter how much she wanted to climb in there beside him.

Gently, she pushed back, opening her mouth to explain to him what was wrong. But his hands caught her elbows and pulled her back in. "Stay…"

Her stomach clenched as he leaned back in, pressing hot lips to the pulse in her neck. He couldn't mean that. Not really. He'd never once asked her not to leave. In fact, he was usually demanding she do so. Biting her lip against the moan that was steadily rising up her throat, she grabbed for his shoulders and pushed him back. "Gajeel, stop."

He looked across the distance at her, his eyes still hazed with sleep, and Lucy found herself sniffling. How foolish she felt right then, letting even a small part of her hope he was doing this of his own accord. "You're not...you're not even awake."

He made a sound and reached clumsily for her again, but Lucy was too quick this time. She drew herself up to her full height and sighed, "It's okay, Gajeel; it was just a dream. Go back to sleep."

Gajeel watched as she slipped silently through the door, the fog inside his mind starting to clear and allowing him to remember just what he'd said and done. He shook his head in disbelief. What the fuck was wrong with him, grabbing her like that? And what the fuck was that dream?

He sat there in the quiet trying to remember the dream that had made him so desperate for her in the first place. It was a struggle at first, almost as if the fog that had so clouded his mind had corralled the dream for him and now that he was fully awake, it had been released. Drawing in a sharp breath, he fell back onto his bed, his hands coming up to scrub his face.

His movements came to an abrupt halt the moment his fingers touched his cheeks, and it took him a second to realize what he was feeling. Tears. He'd been fucking crying.

Pulling his hands away, he stared at them, feeling completely dumbfounded at the wetness coating his fingertips. Why the fuck would he be crying?

The answer came to him in a rush that had him gasping for air. The dream. It had been so real, so unbelievably real. A son. He had a son. No...they had a son. Him and Lucy, and he'd loved that fucking kid.

His throat tightened. He'd loved her too. They'd been so goddamn happy in that dream with that tiny little baby between them, and then he was just gone. His son had disappeared, stolen away by faceless, nameless people. He'd looked everywhere in his dream, searched like a madman to find the people who'd taken away their child, but it was like he'd never existed. He was just...gone.

Gajeel felt a hitch in his chest, and it took everything inside him to draw in a steady breath.

It wasn't real. None of it was real. Not their family. Not his son. It was all a figment of his stupid fucking imagination.

Only it hadn't felt like that. And waking up to find Lucy right there comforting him had made it seem even more real. So real, it had him getting everything mixed up - both his dream and reality.

God, she probably thought he was fucking pussy, crying like that. He sat up with a growl. "Son of a bitch!" What a fucking disaster! She'd be up his ass for sure now. He dropped his head in his hands. Wasn't enough he'd fucked her in the kitchen - twice. Now he had to cry in front of her too?

Of course, he'd tried to fuck her again too. Couldn't forget that. And how the hell his deranged mind had thought that was a good idea was beyond him. Especially considering he'd just been snotting all over the damn place. Thank fucking Mavis she'd shot him down or they'd have been going at it like fucking rabbits right now. And in his damn bed too. God, he was a fucking idiot.

It was weird feeling grateful to her. Usually, he felt like she was intentionally trying to make his life hard, but tonight, she'd stopped him. He thought back to the way she'd kissed him, the way she'd leaned into his chest, and he knew. She'd wanted him, but she'd stopped cause he wasn't completely awake yet.

He wasn't sure what to do with that. Was he supposed to thank her? She could have had him right then. He'd have stripped her clothes off and fucked her right there in his bed if she hadn't said a word, but she'd pushed him away before things had gotten out of hand. And he couldn't reason out why.

Maybe she was trying to give him a choice, but...so far, it hadn't seemed like she gave a shit about his choice. Fate had already screwed him over, so why wasn't she getting her own screw out of him too? She sure as shit hadn't had a problem fucking him before. Was it just because he was half-asleep?

A horrible thought occurred to him then. A thought that had him cringing and gritting his teeth. Had she walked out on a perfectly good fuck because he'd been crying like a little bitch?

"Son of a bitch!" He shot from his bed, fists clenched at his sides. He didn't know why the whole thing was pissing him off. He should be happy they hadn't fucked again, but the thought of her seeing him like that grated his damn nerves. And the fact that she rejected him because of it? God, it had him fucking livid.

He'd never felt so emasculated before. He was a fucking man! No one had ever seen him as anything but that! No one would fucking dare!

Now that she'd seen him fucking cry, she didn't want him? Was he less of a man now in her eyes? Well fuck that and fuck her!

Furious, he stormed out of his room and down the hall to her door. He didn't even bother knocking, just shoved the door open and stomped in. Only she wasn't there. He snarled his irritation before turning on his heel and going out the way he'd come.

Where the fuck was she? He hurtled down the hall and into the kitchen, certain he'd find her perched at one of the stools, but once again, there was no sign of her. He shot through the rest of the house in a matter of moments and was quickly becoming more incensed at the fact he couldn't find her.

Had she left? This whole damn time, he'd wanted her gone, all but fucking begged her to go, and she'd stubbornly stayed. There'd been nothing he could say or do to make her leave, but this? This was all it took for her to walk out?

He'd never been more pissed in his life. He wasn't even sure what he was going to do once he found her, but he'd be damned if she was leaving thinking he was a fucking bitch.

Distantly, he registered a sound outside, a quiet little thing he almost missed, but the moment it caught his attention, he was already moving toward it. He ripped the door open with a growl and clambered out onto the porch, finding Lucy sitting on picnic table with her back turned to the house.

She looked so relaxed, and it instantly set his teeth on edge. "What the fuck is your problem?!"

Lucy turned with a start, her eyes going wide and her hand flying up to her chest. "G-Gajeel!"

"You think you can just come into my room like that-" he began only for her to stop him.

She stood to her feet, facing him now, and shook her head. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that. I didn't mean to-"

He shot forward, getting in her face before she could even register he was moving. "You're damn right you shouldn't have! You have no fucking right!"

Lucy nodded her head, her face contrite. "You're right, and I'm sorry. I never meant to cross the line. That's why I-"

"Cross the line? You fucking blew past it like it didn't exist!" he roared, smacking his hand on his chest. "I'm a fucking man! You think you can dismiss me like that?"

Brow wrinkling, Lucy stopped him again with a wave of her hand. "Wait...what? You're a man? What are you talking about?"

Gajeel nearly lost it then. "Did you seriously just question my masculinity? Again?!"

"Question your…" Lucy blinked wildly. "Gajeel, I don't understand-"

"What fucking right do you have?! You come into my room, invade my privacy, and suddenly I'm less of a man?" He snarled at her, venom coating each and every word. Everything he'd been feeling came pouring out, and he shot it at her. "Suddenly, I'm not good enough to fuck?"

The blonde stumbled back at his vehemence. "Not good enough to...what in the world are you talking about?"

He invaded her personal space, pushing his body right into the front of hers. "You didn't have a problem fucking me before you saw me cry, and now I'm not good enough? Fuck you!"

Lucy's breath stuttered at his words, and before she could catch herself, she laughed. "Wait...you think I don't want to sleep with you because I saw you cry?" Gajeel's face went red with fury, and she quickly shook her head. "Sorry! I'm not laughing at you, I swear! I just…" She bit her lip to keep from grinning. "I just can't believe you thought-"

"Stop fucking laughing at me!"

"I'm not," she assured, though she could tell he didn't believe her. "I'm serious, Gajeel. I'm not laughing at you. It's just...it's cute." It was obviously the wrong thing to say because he immediately turned around and started walking away. She reached out, snagging his arm and pulled him to a stop. "Gajeel, don't go. Please, just...let me explain what I mean."

He stood rigidly with her hand on his arm, refusing to turn to face her. She supposed she deserved that. This apparently meant a lot to him. Then again, pride usually meant a great deal to most men, and she'd somehow managed to injure his. Though she couldn't help but think it would be a very different story if he knew what she really felt for him.

Still, this wasn't going to be an easy conversation. How did she convince him his tears hadn't deterred her from wanting him without showing him just how badly she wanted him?

"Gajeel, I don't not want to sleep with you." She rolled her eyes. She couldn't have come up with something better than that? "What I mean is…"

Mavis, what in the world was she going to tell him? She wanted him so bad she could taste it? That she thought about him night and day? That her body ached with an almost constant need that only he could fulfill? She snorted softly. That would go over well.

The dark-haired man before her went impossible tense, his back straightening in a way that had to be painful, and Lucy knew she was about to lose him to this. "Look, the thing is...I do want you." She winced as the words came, scared it would do nothing but push him away, but what choice did she have? She couldn't let him walk away believing she no longer saw him as a man. What chance would she have of gaining his affection then? "Seeing you cry, it didn't change that. At all."

There was a pause, and she thought maybe she'd convinced him. But then he shook off her hand and started walking back to the house.

"Gajeel, wait!" She drew in a shaky breath, fear clogging her throat as he reached for the door. "Please. I...I don't care that you cried. In fact, I loved being able to be there for you, being able to comfort you when you were hurting. And I...I wanted to be with you. It was so hard to stop, but...I just…" She stepped forward, pleading with him to understand. "I didn't want you to regret it. You always seem to...regret being with me."

Just like that, the tension in his shoulders was gone, and she thought for once, she'd gotten through to him. But she should have known it wouldn't be that easy. Because not even a second later, his walls went back up. "I do."