Remember That Time I Faked Amnesia?

How it all began

{LUCY'S POV}
Using all of my pissed off pregnancy anger, I bite the hand of the gang member covering my mouth. He cries out and jerks it away.

Before either can recover from my surprise attack, I stomp on the foot of the guy who's holding me. He stumbles away, cradling his injured hand and now injured foot.

Free from his grasp, I leap for my keys. Without me having to say anything, Loke appears in a defensive crouch between me and my assailants. My spirits know about my baby, causing Loke and the rest to become extra protective.

"Run Lucy." Loke whispers, narrowed eyes never leaving the enemy.

"No way." I pull my whip from my belt. "I'm not letting these bastards get away with this!"

"I won't." Loke snaps. "But it's not just you you have to worry about."

I rub my belly. It pains me to leave a comrade behind, even though I know Loke can beat up these guys up, piece of cake.

"Okay, fine." I consent. "You better not get hurt by these losers, Loke!"

He nods, so I turn and run down the street, towards the place Natsu was headed. I have to get to him, and tell him.

I run into the gang hideout. "Natsu!"

He turns and grins at me, surrounded by the now burned and blackened of 298 of the gang members we were hired to capture. "Oi Luce, what's up?"

I tell Natsu what happened. The fact that I almost got kidnapped makes him livid. He cracks his knuckles, body on fire. "Where're the bastards?"

"Loke's taking care of them." I say. The ceiling creaks. We both look up. The building the gang was using as their home base was run down and old, on the outskirts of town. Natsu's overboard magic must have destroyed what was left supporting it, so the whole thing is coming down on top of us.

A piece of the ceiling breaks off and falls. Natsu pulls me out of the way, and it pierces the ground where I just stood. I gulp. "Thanks for the save."

"Always. Let's get out of here." Natsu reaches over and grabs my hand.

He doesn't mean anything by it except preventing me from tripping, but I blush anyway, quickly pulling my hand back. "I-I'll be fine!"

The building creaks again. More of the ceiling falls, and I can see sky from holes in the roof. I follow Natsu to the exit. About halfway there, I lose my footing and trip. Should've held Natsu's hand.

I turn midair to keep myself from landing on my baby and hurting him or her, instead landing on my side with a grunt. I struggle to get to my feet but the building falling on top of me makes it difficult.

"Luce!" I hear Natsu shout, and look up. Visibility is poor thanks to dust in the air, but I see him running back towards me.

A giant spear of ceiling impales the ground between us, blocking his path. He punches it with a flaming fist, only to have another fall in it's place.

"Happy! Get Lucy!" Natsu yells desperately at his winged companion.

"Aye sir!" Happy starts flying over, but there's too much debris to dodge it all, and his wing gets hit. Happy goes down.

I manage to get to my feet, and struggle towards the sound of Natsu's voice as he tries to get to me. The dust in the air is too thick. I double over coughing and clutch my abdomen.

Four pieces of ceiling and roof fall around me, trapping me in a square prison. A mound of shingles falls toward me, and I have nowhere to run.

"Natsu..." I murmur, regretting that I won't be able to tell him about the baby. Then I squeeze my eyes shut and curl myself protectively around my stomach as best I can.

It takes me a second to realize that I'm not squished. I dare to open my eyes a little, but it's too dark to tell where I am. It doesn't feel like I'm buried under roofing shingles.

"What happened?" I groan.

"I dug a hole and shielded Hime from the falling debris. Should I be punished?"

"Virgo!" I cry, hugging her. Wow, how could I forget about using my spirits? Virgo brings me back out of her hole and easily digs through the shingles. Once I'm out, she bows and disappears.

"Lucy! Where are ya?" I hear Natsu yelling for me, and a bunch of banging crashing like someone's digging through the rubble.

"Lushi!" Happy shouts as well. I open my mouth to reply, but all that comes out is a moan. I'm actually okay, and I know Virgo would do all she could to protect 'Little Hime' too.

Natsu heard me. "That way Happy!"

"Aye!" The shuffling and banging stops, then Happy and him fly into view.

"Luce! You're okay!" Natsu grins.

As I look at them I decide. Sorry Levy-chan, but I can't tell Natsu about the baby. I can't ruin my friendship with him.

But what do I do? My first thought is to leave. Maybe my injuries from the cave in were too severe. Internal bleeding or something, and I die overnight, only to move someplace far away.

But I nix that idea quickly. I don't want to leave Fairy Tail. It's my family. Besides, Wendy's gonna make sure I'm okay as soon as we get back, especially since she knows about the baby.

She'd know it was faked, and Fairy Tail would hunt me down. It's not like I'm a master of faking my own death, and there are four dragon slayers in the guild who could track my scent.

But what could I do?

"What's wrong Luce? You look confused. Are you okay?" Natsu asks.

While I was spacing out, he started cradling me in his arms, which I would find quite embarrassing if a light bulb didn't just go off.

Confusion. That's it! I could avoid telling Natsu about the baby by forgetting about Natsu and the baby! I could fake amnesia!

That way, I can still be at the guild, and it's not like Wendy can scan my brain and see that I'm faking it either. Really, it's ingenious!

The only hard part is going to be the pain I cause my guild mates by pretending I don't know them. I steel my resolve, and shove Natsu away.

"Who are you?" I snap. He looks hurt.

"Are you okay Lushi?" Happy asks, putting his paw on my hand in concern. Heart squeezing, stone faced, I bat it away.

"My name isn't Lu-she. It's Lucy, and I don't know you." I glare at them.

Natsu has stopped cradling me, leaving me feeling cold and alone. He's backing slowly away, his face myriad of shock, horror, confusion, pain.

He laughs. "You're joking, right Luce? You haven't actually forgotten us, have you?"

I want to scream yes, to bawl and hug him and say I'm sorry and I'm pregnant. Instead, I bottle up my feelings, not easy with rampant hormones, and scowl. "My name isn't Luce either. It's Lucy. Lucy Heartfilia. I've never seen you before in my life."

And that was how it all began.