Found & Forgotten

Chapter 7

Natsu caused quite the panic when he charged into the guild carrying an unconscious Lucy.

"What's happened to her?"

"Where have you been?

"Is she alright?"

"Why isn't she in the infirmary?"

"She's not dead, is she?"

"Someone call the doctor!"

"Natsu, I am going to kill you!" An enraged Levy rushed at him.

Seeing that Natsu was currently unable to form a defence against either physical or verbal attack, Gray, who until now had been sat quietly at a table, slowly drinking an iced tea, and contemplating the world, got up and stood next to Natsu.

"Leave the guy alone." He said, firmly but quietly, forcing the guild to shut up so they could hear him. "Can't you see Natsu is suffering as much as, if not more than, the rest of us?"

This caused even Levy, who'd been prevented from getting to Natsu thanks to Gajeel grabbing the back of her dress, to quiet down and move aside to let Natsu, still carrying Lucy, through to the infirmary. Gray gently guided Natsu through, with Mirajane following and shutting the door behind them.

"Put her on the bed," Mirajane instructed Natsu.

Natsu obliged, placing Lucy's duffel bag by her bedside table, but was unwilling to let go of her completely, so wound up standing next to the bed and holding her hand.

"Here," Gray murmurmed, placing a chair beside him.

"Arigato," Natsu mumbled, sinking into it.

"Hey, Natsu," Gray knelt next to him, forcing Natsu to look at him. "She's strong, she'll recover. Don't worry about Lucy; she can handle herself."

"But that's not the Lucy we know," Natsu told him. "She's different. She doesn't remember anything!"

"We'll get Lucy's memories back," Gray replied, confidently. "We're her nakama; we won't let her down!"

"But what if we can't?" Natsu cried desperately. "What if she has permanently lost her memories?"

"Then," Gray answered simply, "we'll remember them for her."

Natsu blinked at him.

"Cheer up," Gray continued. "The Lucy we know wouldn't want to see you like this."

"Hai." Natsu agreed, straightening out of the slumped position he had been in. "We need to be strong, for Lucy."

Gray, seeing Natsu was, if not his normal self, at least somewhat closer to that than he had been a few minutes before, smiled slightly and turned to leave.

"Gray," Mirajane called.

Gray glanced back over his shoulder at her.

"Make sure Levy is alright, will you?" Mirajane asked.

Gray nodded and walked out of the room, dodging round the doctor who was coming in. The doctor hurried over to Lucy's side.

"What happened?" he asked, hurriedly checking her pulse and temperature before pulling out a stethoscope.

"She wanted to visit her apartment, so Levy took her," Natsu explained. "I was with her on the way back and she just...fainted."

"Did she hit her head again? Any other part of her body?" the doctor placed the stethoscope on Lucy's chest.

"No, I caught her." Natsu replied.

The doctor looked sharply at him. "Well, your quick reflexes may just have saved her life."