25 July, 13:00
Lucy sighed as she took the last spoonful of her ice-cream, her craving still not satisfied. She'd been nearly craving-free during majority of this final trimester, but she'd been unable to resist ice-cream or spicy foods lately. It didn't help that Natsu and Happy had already eaten half the carton, and now she'll have to go get more...
"Get up..."
Natsu mumbled something from where he laid half asleep and curled around her stomach. They'd been watching a movie, but Natsu doze off less than a quarter into it after cuddling with the baby bump.
"Natsu..." Lucy whined, shoving him softly. "I wanna get more ice-cream..."
"I can get you more ice-cream!" Happy perked up from where he laid curled up on Lucy's leg, opposite to Natsu.
She narrowed her eyes at the cat and used her spoon to point at him accusingly. "So you can eat most of it before you give it to me? No thanks, I'll just get it myself."
Natsu sat up, blinking the fog out of his eyes. "You should stay in bed. Haven't your feet been hurting real bad?"
"And your back!" Happy chirped
"Yeah, and you've been having those Brax-something contractions.
"Braxton Hicks contractions."
"Yeah, those. So just stay in bed and we'll get it, and we promise not to eat any." Natsu ran his finger over her belly as he awaited her response.
"Hmm... well, I've been trying to walk around more often. I hear it'll make the delivery easier." She pouted when he snickered at her. "It's just one flight of stairs to the kitchen, babe."
"Yeah, and I wanna do it." Natsu shrugged as he rolled off of her completely. "If you say so." He helped her off the bed and smiled as she waddled out of the room.
Lucy stretched as she walked down the stairs, taking a little break when she felt a contraction coming. She was 41 weeks, over 2 weeks past her due date, and she was starting to get restless. They're excited to finally meet the baby, but Lucy was definitely ready to have her old, pregnant-free body again.
"Hey there!" Igneel was in the dining hall, eating what looked like an entire turkey. Lucy smiled at him, he visited 2 weeks ago and decided to stay well after he'd plan to in hopes to be there for the birth, and Lucy found it endearing. Igneel was always so sweet, a little rough around the edges, but still sweet.
"Hey. I'm just getting some ice-cream."
"Ice-cream? I'll get it." The dragon went into the kitchen and started rustling through the freezer. "You shouldn't be doing any heavy lifting."
Lucy was confused for a minute until she saw he was going to pull out an entire tub of ice-cream. "Wait, I'm only going to get the smaller, personal cartons. They're about 4 quarts and a single serving..."
"...Really? And you think that's enough?"
"Well, yeah..." She chuckled as she thought about it. "It's definitely a lot, especially during one sitting."
"I don't know how you can eat so little and still be satisfied." He handed her the smaller carton as he went back to his meal. "Don't let Natsu get any. He'll end up eating all of it."
"Don't I know it." Lucy shook her head, Natsu's infamous diet definitely being well-known.
"You really shouldn't be eating so much unhealthy food." Aquarius was in the hallway, leaning against the wall and watching Lucy as she passed by. "And what are you wearing?"
Lucy looked down at herself, she had on one of Natsu's t-shirts and some really small shorts that made it seem like she was pantless. "It's comfortable." She shrugged. "And I'm only indulging right now because I can't shake these cravings. I even tried eating ice instead, but no, the baby will only accept chocolate chip peppermint swirl and no less."
"How haven't you gone into labor yet? Weren't you due like... a month ago? Maybe you'll need to be induced.
"Well, it's only been a little less than 3 weeks, I don't think it's anything to worry about. But I'm honestly over the whole pregnancy thing for now." Lucy sighed heavily. It was thrilling for a while, but after dealing with unnatural hormones, food cravings and aches and sores, she started to feel less like she was glowing and more like she was always exhausted all the time.
"And what will you do if you go into labor in the middle of the night, in your bedroom?"
She narrowed her eyes at Aquarius' hypothetical question. Usually by now she'd just be insulting her, but the water bearer seemed genuinely concerned.
"Well... I'm having the baby in the castle anyway, so we'll just go to infirmary."
"The infirmary is on the other side of the castle. What if you can't wait and have to push immediately? You think you're up for having the baby in the middle of the hall?"
Lucy gaped at her and rubbed her belly nervously. "Uh... what, you think I should be waiting in the infirmary?"
"Maybe. Have you already been getting contractions?"
"...Yes, but I don't think-"
"Has your back been hurting, and you can't seem to get to sleep?"
"Uh... Yes..."
Aquarius' gaze was intense as she stared into Lucy's eyes. She seemed to be thinking hard for a few silent moments, resting her full weight on the wall and crossing her arms. She was distracted when Igneel walked over to them, though.
"Aw, c'mon. Don't try to scare the poor girl..." Igneel patted Lucy on the shoulder. "Don't think about it too much. There's enough help in this castle that no matter how soon you go into labor, everything will be fine."
"I wasn't trying to scare her, I just want her to be anticipating every possibility. I'm a little scarred from Layla's labor and delivery, so..." She trailed off, shuddering slightly as she remembered how Lucy was born.
"My mom's? You mean, when she was born, or when she had me?"
"When she had you. Layla felt nearly no signs of labor until one day her water just broke. We were in the middle of a car, and it was just me, her, and your father. I was the one to deliver you, that's why I became your godmother." Lucy joined Aquarius in shuddering. That sounded pretty scary, and it made her admire her mother that much more.
"Well, it won't be so bad. You'll be in your room with access to help all around you. My room's not too far, I could hear you if you need to call for someone. I'm sure the delivery won't be so bad, just a few minutes of pain before it's over." Igneel grinned down at Lucy, his eyes just too innocent.
Lucy had to chuckle at his ignorance, he really didn't know a thing about what labor could be like. Though, she was grateful for his attempt to ease her nerves. "Thanks, Igneel."
"Please, call me Dad." Igneel's grin widened. "Or maybe 'Grandpa' once the baby's here..." His eyes shined as he thought of being addressed in such a way. Ignia's kin weren't as domestic as he knew Natsu's would be, and he was excited to actually be a grandpa.
Lucy giggled, patting the dragon back. "Ok, Dad." It was nice to have someone who actually felt like a parent to her. Despite his dragon habits making relating to him a little difficult, Igneel really did always try to be there for Lucy in the same way he was there for Natsu. She was glad to have him as a father-in-law, and he'd already been more of a dad than Jude had ever been.
"I should probably get back upstairs before Natsu comes down here, thinking I've gotten lost or something." She continued down the hall, Aquarius making a point to remind her, "Just be weary, now."
As she opened her room door, Lucy had to stare for a minute to process what was going on. Natsu and Happy were sitting on the bed, surrounding a little white Nikola that seemed to be dancing in the center of it.
"What're you two doing to my dog?" She sat on the edge of the bed and put the ice-cream on the nightstand to free her hands so she could pick the dog-spirit up.
"He just started trying to tell us something, and then he got on the bed and started busting a move! Little guy's got some pep in 'em!" Natsu and Happy chuckled.
"He probably wasn't actually dancing, but was trying to talk to you with hand signals." She cooed at the little spirit. "What is it you wanna say, Plue?"
"Pun! Puuun!" Plue shook as he rested his paws on Lucy's bump. "Puun!"
"The baby? Are you excited about the baby?" Lucy couldn't understand him at all, but he seemed too serious for her to not try and comprehend.
He lifted his arms excitedly a few times before ultimately shimmying out of her hold and scurrying away somewhere out of the room, Lucy simply shrugging. "It probably wasn't anything too important." She laid on the bed and dug into her ice-cream.
"Can the spirits sense something we can't?" Natsu asked, his eyes locked on the door where Plue left through.
"Yes, but I don't know exactly how it works. I think they can sense souls..?" He nodded slowly as he laid back down on Lucy's stomach, earning a groan.
"Why do you insist on laying on me like that?" She grumbled through bites of ice-cream.
"I like laying like this. It's comforting, also, I can hear the baby's heartbeat when I listen closely..."
"I can kinda hear it too!" Happy joined Natsu in laying on Lucy's stomach.
"I'll stop if it makes you uncomfortable..." As the boys looked at her with big puppy-dog eyes, Lucy couldn't stay annoyed. "...I'll let you lay on me if you rub my feet!"
Natsu groaned dramatically, shaking his head. "No way."
"I can rub your feetsies, Lushi!" Happy crawled down to her feet and began kneading them with his little paws.
"Hm, at least you still care about me, Happy." Natsu rolled his eyes at her, but raised a brow when her cheeks puffed out.
Lucy fell into a fit of laughter, tears leaking from her eyes as she squirmed. "S-stop!" She gasped between laughs.
Happy had attacked, ruthlessly tickling the soles of her feet. "This is for making me eat broccoli..!" He laughed evilly, Natsu looking on in amusement.
"Gah! That was one time!" Lucy cried, kicking her feet to try and get him off. "Stop! I'm gonna pee!"
"Promise that you won't make me eat nasty veggies again!"
"Alright, I promise!"
Happy ceased his torment, his face returning to its innocent appearance. "Okay!"
Lucy sighed dramatically and threw her head back. "I just can't trust anyone anymore!" She exclaimed, pretending to cry.
"You're so weird." Natsu grumbled as he reached down and started rubbing her ankles and feet, shaking his head when Happy snickered at him.
Lucy ignored the subtle insult and sighed happily, all traces of her exaggerated despair gone. "Thanks, my love."
~
25 July, 19:00
Natsu set the plate of noodles on the nightstand before leaning over the bed and rubbing circles into his fiance's back. "You think you'll be able to eat something?"
Lucy sniffled and wiped at her damp cheeks, shaking her head. "I don't know... probably not right now..."
Natsu sighed as he looked over her puffy eyes and pained expression. She'd woken up from a nap with back pain so bad that she had to skip out on dinner to stay in bed. Natsu only went down to tell everyone what was happening and pick up something to eat, and she'd gotten worked up while he was gone. "Do you think you can sit up? Where is it hurting?"
Lucy rubbed at a spot on her back, groaning when Natsu moved to rub circles in the exact spot. "I don't think I can sit up..."
Natsu turned to give her a tissue before continuing to rub her back. He sighed heavily when realized how bad this was. "Do you wanna go to the infirmary?"
"...Can you just call the nurse in here?" She let her head fall onto the bed as she held in another groan. She placed a pillow between her knees to try and ease the pressure on her back. "I've had pain like this before... maybe it's nothing serious..."
Natsu kissed her forehead before leaving to get the nurse, hoping she'd be able to find some relief for his princess. Everyone eating dinner downstairs must've already alerted the medical staff, there was a doctor and a nurse already waiting outside the door.
"Does Lady Lucy need any assistance?"
He nodded as he let them in the room. "She's in a lot of pain right now." He frowned as he watched the doctor look her over, Lucy visibly struggling to stop crying and breathing hard.
"How long has it been hurting this bad?" The doctor used a tissue to wipe the sweat from Lucy's face.
"Since I woke up... like, 20 minutes ago..."
"I'm going to check how dilated you are, okay..?" The doctor used a gloved hand to check her cervix, speaking with the nurse after a few minutes.
The two medical staff gave Lucy a wane smile. "You're only about 1 centimeter dilated, so there's no reason to worry about that just yet. This is likely just pain from the way you slept or if the baby shifted drastically and started putting more pressure on you than usual." The doctor turned to Natsu. "You can try to give her a heated massage to alleviate some of the pain."
Natsu nodded, thanking the staff as they left and laying next to Lucy to rub her back with his heated hands. "What about dinner? Aren't you hungry..?" Lucy whimpered but relaxed into his touch.
"I couldn't care less about dinner right now. Just try and relax, maybe you can get back to sleep and this will pass..."
She nodded silently. Though she didn't expect this to be anything serious, it was a little disappointing to know that she wasn't close to being in labor. She'd had pain before, but this was a lot worse than usual.
~
26 July, 3:00
Natsu's eyes snapped open when he felt movement. He rubbed them to steady his vision, sitting up when he realized Lucy had gotten out of bed. "Where are you goin'..?"
"I wanna take a warm bath..." Lucy tried to undress quickly before waddling to the washroom. She hadn't gotten much sleep as a sharp rush of pain would wake her every half-hour or so, and it started getting worse.
"Want me to help you..?" Natsu was already getting up to run the bath for her.
"You should go back to sleep, I don't wanna bother you..." He sighed as he helped her into the tub.
"I really don't mind. I could rub your back again if you want."
"It's okay..." Lucy splashed some of the water in her face and leaned against the wall of the tub, debating if she should've chosen a shower instead.
Natsu decided not to pester as he left the washroom. He'd give her some space if that's what she wanted, but he'd wait outside the door in case she needed anything.
He waited for a while, deciding to pick up his phone to keep him awake. Lucy had been able to eat some food before falling asleep, and everyone in the castle were on their feet worrying about her. The Zodiac had decided to stay up late in case anything happened, but after Lucy was checked again and still only 1 cm dilated, they decided to call it a night.
"Natsu..." Lucy's voice was quiet, but Natsu nearly ripped the door off its hinges when he rushed in to see her.
"Yes..?"
"I... I think my water just broke..."
Lucy stared down at herself with wide eyes before looking up at Natsu, both of them sharing the same shocked expression.
"Are you sure!? What do we do now?" Natsu kneeled to be level with her, watching as she tried to get out of the bath before giving up, her face distorting in pain.
She gripped his forearm harshly and tried to breathe, keeping her eyes shut tightly until the pain subsided after about a minute. "Oh my gods... these have been real contractions this whole time..."
Natsu felt like his eyes would pop out of their sockets. She seemed unreasonably calm for some reason, and he didn't know what to do exactly. "Do you want me to go get someone?"
Lucy looked up to answer, but dropped her head back onto the tiled wall as another contraction came. She realized they were pretty close together now, which means she was likely very dilated right now...
She took deep breaths and looked up at Natsu, trying not to panic. "How long was that? A minute..?"
"Uh, I think so... Does this mean you're in labor?"
"Yes, um... I should try getting out of the tub first..."
"Are you sure? Maybe you should stay there and I'll get the medics..."
Lucy grabbed onto him once more as she began contracting again, trying her best to time it. It felt like forever before it ended, but it was definitely about a minute. She couldn't help but freak out a bit. "P-please don't leave me..."
Natsu nodded slowly, now even more lost. She definitely needed help, but he wouldn't leave her if she didn't want him to. The panic began settling in as he watched her calmness slowly fade. "...One sec, I'll just go get my phone from the room and be right back."
Lucy nodded and shifted so she was practically on her hands and knees, bracing herself for the next wave of pain. Natsu rushed to grab his phone and open his contacts, calling Anna as he came back to Lucy's side.
When she didn't answer, it dawned on him that it was 3:00, everyone had already gone to sleep. "Luce... I think I'll have to run out and wake someone up..."
Lucy was just coming out of a contraction, now leaning over the side of the tub and holding onto Natsu's arm again. "The... bracelets..."
He ran his hands through her hair and down her back, trying to comfort her and stop himself from losing his composure. "What bracelets, baby..?"
"My Zodiac bracelets... gimme Virgo's..."
Natsu acted fast, rushing back into the room and looking through Lucy's jewelry closet. He had no idea which one was Virgo's, so he grabbed them all and rushed back into the bathroom. Lucy was using his phone to try and call a couple more people in the building, sighing when no one picked up.
"They really are asleep... fuck..." She groaned, unconsciously tapping her head on the surface of the tub as a more powerful contraction started. Her back ached like hell and there was an undeniable pressure on her pelvis, and Lucy realized she wouldn't be able to go on much longer. When she came out of the painful episode, Natsu was holding her head up and looking at her with the most worry she'd ever seen in his eyes.
She picked the bracelets up from where he'd set them on the floor and decided to activate all of them, better safe than sorry.
It only took about a minute for their door to open and someone to peak into the bathroom, just the maiden Lucy had expected.
"Princess..." Virgo stared at the scene in front of her before walking in and kneeling next to the tub. She reached underneath Lucy's body, feeling around for a moment before her eyes widened. "You're having a baby."
"Yeah, no shit- could you please get help?" Lucy felt bad about her rudeness as she bit her cheek to stop herself from cursing or crying out. Virgo stood to grab some towels and handed them to Natsu, talking slowly as she said, "You're 10 centimeters dilated."
Lucy squawked and reached down to feel for herself, though she wasn't sure what to feel for exactly, she gasped loudly. "Oh shit..."
"...Does this mean I have to push now!?"
"If you feel compelled to, yes. Your body will know what to do."
Natsu was still a little frozen in shock, looking back and forth between Virgo and Lucy. The maiden stood to leave the washroom. "I'll get help, but do not wait for me to come back."
She left them, Natsu now full on having an internal breakdown. Lucy rested her head on his shoulder, making quiet groans of pain. "I think I'm gonna start pushing soon..."
Natsu decided to freak out later, she needed him now. "Okay... Don't panic..."
"I'm not." She huffed, holding onto him tightly. "This hurts like a bitch, though."
"You're so much more calmer than I expected..." He waited patiently for her to respond as she adjusted her position and caught her breath.
"I'm... more excited... than anything..." She groaned again, meeting his eyes. "...I'm gonna push..."
Lucy didn't hesitate at all, tucking her chin in and pushing as hard as she could. She wasn't exactly sure how long she did that for, but she knew she needed to take a rest in-between. She wished there was a midwife or birthing coach or literally any trained professional here to help, but she was glad Natsu was by her side.
"Talk to me..." She breathed, looking up at him with glossy eyes.
"Oh, uh... you got this!"
"Nevermind..." She giggled, Natsu was clearly too focused on not having a heart attack. Her face scrunched up again as she began to push, using more strength than before.
Natsu held her so that she didn't drop her head on the tub again, watching her stomach clench as she pushed. He was amazed and terrified and excited all at once. "Ow..." Lucy began to tear up before reaching down to feel.
"I think it's... the head..." She panted, fully resting her weight on Natsu.
"Oh my gods..." He mumbled.
"'Oh my gods,' indeed." She mumbled back, shifting her body so her back was to him and her legs were spread in the water. "I'm gonna... try like this..."
She pushed again, this time trying to keep her eyes open watch the baby emerge. The head came, and she used her hands to hold them as the rest of the body slowly slipped out, almost not processing that the pain was over.
"Oh my-" It happened so fast, Natsu couldn't fathom that she was already done. "You did it!"
"I did... I did it..." Lucy teared up as the baby cried upon reaching the surface. She held them to her chest, her breathing ragged and her eyes agape. "I really just did that..."
The baby wailed loudly, and Lucy wasn't exactly sure what to do as she rested there with the umbilical cord still attached. She held them out a little to get a good look, their light pink hair immediately becoming her favorite colour. "Hi, baby..." Lucy couldn't help but cry, her baby was the most perfect being she'd ever seen.
"A girl..." Natsu had leaned over the tub and Lucy's shoulder so he could look as well. "I have a daughter..." He cried too, unable to take his eyes off of her.
They were too distracted to hear the door opening and several people come in. Medics rushed to Lucy's side, assessing her and the baby. Natsu got to cut the cord, and soon their daughter was wrapped in a towel and taken into the room to be further examined.
"Oh my goodness, I can't believe you did that! And it happened so fast!" Anna was completely flabbergasted with the entire ordeal. "I can't believe I fell asleep and missed it!"
"It's okay, this was so sudden, but in hindsight, I should've known..." Lucy took a few minutes to catch her bearings before she had to get up and out of the tub. "It really did happen so fast..."
"I'm glad you're okay, I've never heard of a first-time mom having such a speedy delivery! Well, besides your mother... maybe it's a Heartfilia thing." Anna grabbed a bathrobe to wrap around Lucy as she slowly got out of the tub with Natsu's help. They brought her back into the bed, only a few medics in the room as well.
Lucy got situated as Natsu went to watch what was happening with the baby, her adrenaline rushing off. She really just gave birth, it almost didn't feel real. She really should've listened to Aquarius... and maybe Plue, if that's what he was warning them about.
"Is it a girl?" Anna whispered from where she stood beside her.
"Yeah... and she's got the pinkest hair ever..."
They both held in aw's as they watched Natsu carry the swaddled baby over to the bed, kneeling next to Lucy.
"She's so... small..." He looked down at her in awe, this was so much different than any other time he'd held a baby, or even when he met August. She was his, a product of his and Lucy's love, and she was just so perfect...
"I wanna hold her forever."
Lucy giggled, though it didn't seem like he was joking. She was fine with letting him hold the baby as she leaned into his side and ran her finger along her pudgy cheeks and her swaddled body, utterly mesmerized.
Anna left them to join the crowd of people outside their room, everyone anxious, excited, and upset that they'd all been asleep. They'd get to meet the baby soon, but Lucy needed to rest up and there was still a few medical issues to handle, and the little family needed their privacy.
"...Could you get Happy? I want him to be here..." Lucy whispered to one of the nurses, the woman opening the door and filtering through the people in the hall. Happy zipped into the room quickly, but he hesitated before joining them on the bed.
"C'mere, buddy." Natsu quietly motioned him closer, the exceed snuggling into his shoulder to look over the bundle in his arms.
"This is our daughter..."
The baby was sound asleep, her skin still flushed and her cheeks still damp from her crying.
"She's cute..." Happy whispered, afraid of getting too excited and waking her. "Too bad she looks so much like Lushi, though."
"Shut up, you damned cat."