Found & Forgotten

Chapter 10

Natsu stood outside the door to Lucy's hospital room. They'd done some sort of operation to remove the...whatever it was in her brain. Natsu had never been very good with medical words. Having finally been told he could see Lucy, he'd rushed to her room. And now, he was stood outside, breathing heavily, not wanting to go in.

He didn't want to see Lucy covered in bandages. That was always him. He was the one that always got beaten up whenever they went on jobs together. Lucy was smarter than him and stayed out of trouble. How was it that this one time he hadn't managed to protect her?

He didn't want to see Lucy helpless. She was strong. She was one of those people who always carried on, no matter what happened to them. He made a big deal of motivational speeches about nakama; it had always been his thing to spur on his comrades, but it was Lucy who'd kept him going, with that special smile of hers that she reserved purely for Natsu.

"Are you alright, sensei?" asked a passing nurse.

"Hai," Natsu replied.

The nurse nodded and continued on his way, used to seeing family and friends fighting internal struggles, and knowing that it was usually best to leave them to themselves.

What he really didn't want, Natsu admitted to himself, leaning his forehead against the door, was to see the Lucy who had forgotten half her life, who had forgotten her time at Fairy Tail, who had forgotten him. He couldn't deal with that, wouldn't deal with that, shouldn't have to deal with that.

But it was because of his failure to save her that Lucy was in this situation now, so it was his responsibility to stick by her and support her through this. Not, he added, collecting his thoughts, that he would have it any other way. Lucy was his to look after.

Taking a deep breath, he pushed open the door and entered the room. Without looking at Lucy he set her bag down, shut the door and slowly turned around.

Lucy was lying asleep on the bed. The covers were tucked right up under her chin and one of her arms was resting on top of the duvet. Her mouth was slightly open and she looked completely peaceful. Or she would have done, had she not had a crisp, white bandage wrapped around her head.

Slowly, quietly, trying his hardest not to wake her, Natsu walked forward and sat in the chair by her bed. He propped his elbows on her bed, gently, and rested his chin on his hands, studying Lucy.

She looked completely at peace. The lines on her forehead that had been almost permanent for the last few days had smoothed out and her mouth, as opposed to being tensed and wary, was relaxed and slightly open. A few strands of her hair had fallen by the corner of her mouth and rustled every time she breathed out. It looked ticklish.

Before he knew what he was doing, Natsu had reached out and brushed the strands of hair away from Lucy's mouth. Lucy, having felt this, frowned a little as she slowly woke up. Natsu hastily pulled his hand away and sat up straighter in his chair. Blinking, Lucy looked blearily around the room, eventually focusing her eyes on Natsu.

"Natsu-san?" Her voice was thick was sleep and, probably, the remnants of whatever painkiller she'd been under.

"Hai, it's me." He replied, nodding.

"Why am I in a hospital?" Lucy asked him, after a slightly awkward pause. It was not what Natsu had been expecting her to ask, but then Lucy had always been smarter than him, and had probably worked out where she was the moment she'd opened her eyes.

"I remember leaving my apartment," Lucy continued, when it became apparent that Natsu wasn't going to answer without some prompting, "but I don't remember reaching Fairy Tail."

"You didn't," Natsu replied. Lucy's brow furrowed, and then she let out a huge yawn. "Are you OK, Luce?" Natsu asked, worried.

"Hai, I'm just tired..." Lucy mumbled. "It must be that the anaesthetic or whatever hasn't worn off yet. Go on."

"Hai, if you're sure." Natsu scrutinised her closely. "You collapsed on the way back to the guild. I took you back, we called the doctor, they brought you here. Apparently you had a brain hem...haem..." Natsu struggled to recall what it was the doctor had said. His recollection of the journey to hospital was all blurred beneath his worry for Lucy.

"Haemorrhage?" Lucy supplied, smiling a little.

"Hai, one of those." Natsu returned Lucy's smile enthusiastically. "Anyway..." - Natsu pulled himself back to his story - "they operated on you, and apparently it's all gone, so you should start getting better..." Natsu trailed off.

"But?" Lucy prompted. "I can tell there's a 'but' waiting somewhere."

"You're too perceptive for your own good, Luce." Natsu muttered.

Lucy, lying in the crisp hospital bed, with a bandage wrapped tightly around her head, felt a small shivering sensation, completely at odds to how she should feel, pass through her as Natsu said 'Luce'. Coming to her senses a few moments later, she realised she had been staring at Natsu's mouth moving, but had not taken in a single word.

"Gomensai," Lucy blushed, "could you please repeat that?"

Natsu rolled his eyes. "I said, they don't know if your memory will come back at all, it's a matter of waiting and hoping." He said this in a slightly exasperated tone, but it was tinged with an amused hopefulness. He hadn't missed Lucy's reaction; even if it had only been for a few seconds she had reacted the way she used to when he called her Luce.

Lucy had lapsed into silence. Natsu, she hoped, would assume she was tired again. In reality, she was just thinking extremely hard about said boy. Why had she reacted like that to his nickname for her? Luce wasn't that unusual a nickname for Lucy, was it? And yet, she couldn't remember anyone except Natsu calling her that...

It seemed right, somehow, that Natsu would have his own special nickname for her.

It was the fact that she couldn't remember why it felt right that scared her.

Ohayo, minna-san!

It's Monday again! So, we're back to NaLu this chapter...I feel it's been slightly overdue :3

I've just run out of the chapters I had in reserve. It's a little bit nerve-wracking...I don't have a back-up plan for if I don't find time to write during the week now. Especially with the holidays now over. Hopefully I'll fit some writing in around my school work!

So what do you think? Is Lucy completely better now (aside from her memory, of course), meaning she'll be able to leave the hospital for good soon? Or is there going to be some other obstacle for her to overcome first? And from last chapter, how do you think the makeshift Team Natsu are doing? Did they find the Tosho Sekai? Or did Erza get them all lost?

Please comment and tell me what you think! Also, arigato!!! This story has over 500 reads! When I saw that I spent the rest of the day with a huge smile on my face...and it's all thanks to you guys, so I'd love to hear from you all!

Matta ne!