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Lucy hated being the damsel in distress. She had grown so much as a wizard and was recognized as one of the toughest wizards in her guild. She was powerful, she was intelligent, and could take as many hits as possible and still be standing, but now that she was pregnant, she was back to square one - defenseless, unable to use her magic to avoid risking her babies’ health. Porlyusica had beaten it into Natsu and Lucy’s heads countless times that even the slightest use of celestial magic could hurt their unborn children.
So, Lucy hadn’t used her magic in nine months; she only saw her spirits when they used their own magic to cross into Earthland, and their visits lasted as long as they could. Loke visited the most; he would sit next to Lucy, giving her updates about her other spirits as well as the Celestial King.
Since she couldn’t use her magic or use her hand-to-hand combat skills, Lucy was left defenseless, easily captured by the dark guild that had a particular bone to pick with her husband. Apparently, Natsu had destroyed their toughest branch, scaring them off and forcing the dark guild down the ranks.
Lucy knew that, if she could, all she had to do was summon one of her spirits, maybe use her star dress to show off, and her kidnappers would be down in seconds, but all she could do was wait around on the top of the mountain her kidnappers took her on, and wait for Natsu to realize she’s been gone for way too long for a grocery run.
It took only one hour before Lucy could hear her husband screaming, demanding to know where the guild had taken her. She could also hear Gray and Erza. They were steadily making their way up the mountain. The two kidnappers who were in charge of keeping Lucy in play were shaking in their boots - literally.
So, Lucy got comfortable. She leaned against the cold mountain wall and stroked her stomach.’
‘Soon, she and her children would be safe, and they could enjoy a nice bath together with their papa. All she had to do was-’
Lucy flinched then curled in on herself. She let out a startled, pained scream. Suddenly, for no reason she could think of, Lucy felt extraordinary pain. It felt as if her body was punishing her for something.
She had noticed her body was a little stiff and uncomfortable, but she had assumed it from sitting on the rocky mountain for so long, but once the pain faded, only to come back harder than before, Lucy realized what was happening.
She was having contractions.
She was about to go into labor.
While Lucy was nine months pregnant, every doctor they had gone to predicted that the twins would come a month or so late, which wasn’t anything to be worried about - babies were born late all the time and came out perfectly healthy.
“No, no, no,” Lucy gasped, “not now, not now.”
“Lucy!” Natsu screamed. “Lucy, what are they doing to you?!” He sounded absolutely enraged. Lucy could feel the heat from Natsu’s flames even though his voice sounded so distant. “Talk to me!”
Lucy was too occupied with her pain to respond quickly. Once she could barely collect her thoughts, she thought of a silly plan Natsu had when Lucy started getting close to the due date.
He thought it’d be cool and effective to come up with a code word for Lucy to scream when she started going into labor, just so Natsu would know the second the word came out of her mouth.
Lucy had agreed because she found the idea and Natsu’s excitement cute, but now that she needed to say it, she couldn’t think of what word they had agreed on.
Something space related.
“Comet!” Lucy managed to scream.
There was a moment of silence from the others before Natsu spoke up, “Comet?!”
“Planet?! Nova?! Constellation?!”
“She’s summoning space up there,” Gray’s voice echoed from the mountain walls.
Lucy groaned loudly. She pressed her hand to the wall behind her, breathing heavily and trying to think. After excruciating seconds, something clicked in her brain, and Lucy screamed, “Milkyway!”
The second silence from her husband didn't last long before he started panicking. “The babies are coming?! Right now?! Oh, my god, right now?!”
Lucy just screamed in pain in response.
“We’re coming, Lucy!” Erza hollered. There was a glow suggesting Erza had changed into a new armor, and the sounds of fighting came back. This time, though, the sounds sounded rushed.
Lucy’s two kidnappers had fled by now, probably too cowardly to stand their ground against Fairy Tail’s strongest team. This meant Lucy was all alone, only able to experience pain and wait for someone to come to comfort her.
“Ice Make: Grappling Hook!” Gray suddenly screamed. An icy hook slammed into the edge of the cliff Lucy was on, and before she knew it, Gray was at her side, using his magic to cool down her sweaty skin. “Lucy, I’m here. It’s okay, I’m here.”
“I-” Lucy screamed, “I want- where’s-” She screamed again, tears running down her face. “Natsu!” She screamed, desperate to have her husband next to her.
“I know, I know,” Gray whispered, “he’s coming, he’s almost here, I promise.”
“Hold her hand!” Natsu yelled. “She likes when you rub her wrist!”
Gray did as he was told, though it wasn’t as comforting as it would normally be.
While Gray did his best to comfort Lucy through her contractions, Natsu and Erza had reached the thickest swarm of the dark guild, and supposedly their toughest wizards. It didn't help that they were also on the steepest part of the cliff.
Lucy was hysterical at this point, screaming at Gray even though he was doing his best. She would have to apologize once this was all done.
“Uh, Lucy,” Gray spoke up, “did you just- and I’m not judging- did you just, uh, pee… on me?”
Lucy’s eyes snapped open. She looked down between her legs, seeing a puddle of liquid on the ground, which was also staining the knees of Gray’s pants.
Her water broke.
“My water just broke,” Lucy whispered, horrified.
Then, she experienced the worst pain she’s ever felt in her entire life.
A blood-curdling scream bounced off the stone walls as the babies started coming. Lucy squeezed Gray’s hand as hard as she could, the strength she’d been building up for years doubling from sheer pain. The crack of Gray’s knuckles was drowned out by the sound of Lucy’s screaming and crying.
Finally - finally - Natsu and Erza were climbing up the edge of the cliff. While Erza made sure they weren’t being followed, Natsu raced to be at Lucy’s other side.
“Lucy, Lucy,” Natsu covered Lucy’s face in kisses, “I’m here. I’m here, baby.”
The majority of Lucy was happy to have Natsu at her side, to have her soulmate here to comfort her, but she was in so much pain that all she could do was start screaming at Natsu.
“I cannot believe I let you do this to me! Why did I agree to this?! This sucks, this sucks, this sucks so much!” She screamed. Even though she felt bad for saying these things, all her body felt was pain and anger. “You better be the best husband to grace the earth when these kids are born!”
Natsu, seemingly unphased by Lucy’s outburst, smiled. “I will, I promise Lucy; we’re gonna be the best parents, I know it.”
Erza, who had been standing at the edge of the cliff for quite some time, finally joined the group. She sat at the side of Lucy’s leg, rubbing her knee comfortingly. She wasn’t in her armor, but rather in some scrubs.
“I called Porlyusica. She said she can get the stuff you need after the babies are born, but only Wendy can get here fast enough to help deliver them. I’m sorry, Lucy, it’s the best I could do.”
Lucy could hardly care at this moment. She was dying.
Two excruciating hours later, Wendy and Carla arrived, Happy following them. The blue cat had stayed behind from this rescue mission for some reason, which really screwed the group over.
Wendy dropped a large satchel to the side. She was also dressed in scrubs, these ones more professional-looking than Erza’s, and she wore rubber gloves.
“Do you know what you’re doing?” Gray asked, surprised to see Wendy looking so serious and prepared.
“I’ve been taking courses at the community college on nursing; I know the basics about this but I know I can help.” Wendy spread Lucy’s legs, her serious expression briefly faltering into a blank one. “Why is her underwear still on?”
Gray, Natsu, and Erza blushed; they had completely forgotten.
“Nevermind,” Wendy waved them off. “Lucy, I’m going to take them off, is that okay?”
Lucy was bright red, both from pain and embarrassment. While she had months to prepare, she was still shy that someone other than her husband would be seeing this part of her, and now that it was Wendy, that humiliation was doubled.
Even so, Lucy rapidly nodded her head.
Wendy removed Lucy’s underwear carefully, tucking them underneath Lucy’s thigh so no one else could see them. Then, she went to serious business.
“Your water already broke, so we don’t need to worry about breaking it ourselves. You haven’t started crowning yet, and I can’t for sure say when you’ll start, so for now I’ll prepare the epidural. Natsu, I need you to change your position.”
Natsu instantly agreed. He followed Wendy’s instructions, now sitting behind Lucy, his wife between his legs. He rubbed her shoulders as comfortingly as he could, whispering praises and reassurances into her ear.
“Gray, Erza, grab the towel in the bag.” Once she had the towel, Wendy tucked it underneath Lucy.
She then turned her attention to the epidural. Porlyusica left the needle empty to prevent it from emptying on the way, so it was up to Wendy to do the rest.
Once it was ready, Wendy instructed Lucy to lean forward as much as she could. Wendy did a little countdown then pressed the needle into Lucy’s back, just around her spine. Natsu, despite hating needles, watched, just to make sure Lucy was okay.
“That should start working in twenty to thirty minutes. For now, let’s focus on making you as comfortable as possible.”
Wendy, Gray, and Erza worked together to create as comfortable an environment as possible, all while Natsu continued to massage and assure Lucy.
Eventually, things calmed down as much as they could; Gray and Erza continued to keep the cloth on Lucy’s forehead nice and cool while Natsu made sure every inch of Lucy’s stiff body was massaged, all while kissing her neck. Wendy made sure Lucy stayed hydrated and took the occasional bite from the sandwich she had brought.
Just as everyone (aside from Lucy) had grown rather comfortable, Lucy’s eyes snapped open and she slapped her hands onto Natsu’s knees, digging her nails into them.
“Natsu, you better get ready to have your hands crushed because these babies are coming now!”
Wendy immediately threw herself into action. She changed her clothes into fresh ones and then positioned Lucy’s legs. She ordered Erza to grab a blanket and for Gray to get a washcloth ready. Happy and Carla, who had been flying around the area to check for enemies or threats, returned, watching from the sidelines.
Just as Lucy warned, she absolutely crushed Natsu’s hands, putting strength that wasn’t going towards pushing to crush her husband’s hands. Natsu, despite the pain being quite tough, didn't dare complain; Lucy was experiencing pain 1,000x worse.
“Keep pushing, Lucy, I can see a head,” Wendy smiled comfortingly, “there you go, that’s right. Okay, okay, almost there; you have to be prepared for the second one, Lucy.”
Lucy nodded, though she hardly processed what Wendy said. She screamed loudly, sure that Natsu’s sensitive ears were ringing, and pushed one last time. The area was filled with the crying of a baby.
Despite wanting to reach out and hold her baby, Lucy instead started screaming again, as her second baby was following close by.
This one came out much faster than his (technically) older brother, and soon, Lucy was cradling two baby boys wrapped up in comfortable blankets in her arms.
“Hey, I’m your mama,” Lucy whispered, “you caught me by surprise.” Lucy tilted her head so it was pressed up against Natsu’s hair. “This is your dad.”
Natsu was in tears, his sobs mixed with laughter. “I-I look cooler than I sound, right? Oh, my god, Lucy, they’re perfect. You did so well, I’m so proud of you. Oh, my god, how is it possible to love you more?”
“I love you, too, Natsu, and what I said a few hours ago isn’t true; I’m glad we did this, I’m glad we have our babies.”
Natsu smiled brightly and kissed Lucy.
Wendy clapped her hands together to get their attention. “It’s time for some skin-to-skin contact. Take turns with which twin you’re making contact. Erza, Gray, you should probably go over there; give Lucy some privacy.”
Like they have been for the last few hours, Erza and Gray immediately followed Wendy’s instructions and walked away, keeping their backs to Natsu and Lucy, who were removing Lucy’s shirt.
Once Lucy was bare from the top, she pressed one of her twins against her skin, pressing her face against the baby's head. Natsu was doing the same, whispering words the baby couldn’t understand.
“Thank you so much for your help, Wendy,” Lucy smiled at her young friend, “we couldn’t have done this without you; you’re gonna be an amazing nurse.”
Wendy smiled brightly. “That means a lot to me, Lucy, and it’s the least I could do for my friends.”
Lucy smiled once more before turning her attention back to her baby. Her baby was fast asleep against her chest, fist pressed against his face, and when Lucy turned to check on her second baby, he was in a similar position against Natsu’s chest.
“My beautiful boys,” Lucy whispered, “I’ll love you forever, I promise.”