Chapter 4

While Dan is scarfing down his meal, Lucy has yet to take a single bite of the food in front of her. She is not hungry in the slightest. She has no trace of an appetite.

"This is so great, Lu Lu!" Dan praises.

She refuses to acknowledge him. After all, he has complimented her cooking skills five times already.

Dan points his fork at her untouched plate. "Hey, aren't you going to eat, too?"

Because she is still cuffed, Lucy has to move both hands in unison to grab her fork with her dominant hand. She merely pushes around the pasta, not taking a taste of it. "I'm not hungry."

"But a pregnant woman needs to eat!"

"Maybe later..."

Suddenly, Lucy's cell phone starts going off to a ringtone unlike the other two. She immediately knows it is Levy.

Dan looks at the phone that is next to the gun on the table. "Ugh, who it is now?" he groans.

"My best friend," Lucy explains, leaving out her name. "Can I talk to her?"

Dan debates for a moment. "Only if it's on speaker."

"Okay," she agrees, dropping her fork.

So Dan grabs the phone and hands it to her.

To the best of her ability, Lucy sets the phone onto the table and answers the call. She makes sure to put it on speaker. "Hey," she says calmly.

"Lu, what's going on?" Levy asks with worry. "Natsu was stranger than normal earlier. He called me to ask a question and called you Lucy and not Luce. I can't reach Gajeel at all. None of their buddies won't answer either!"

"Gajeel... ?" Dan mutters under his breath, wondering why the name sounds familiar.

"Wait, why did Natsu call you?" Lucy asks, focusing on that.

"He asked if you were babysitting Emiko."

Lucy tries to think of why he would do that. He should have known she would not be. After all, it was supposed to be their day together.

"When I told him he, he got quiet and didn't say much else before he hung up. So what is going on?"

Lucy glances at Dan for a moment, finding he is occupied with eating. "I'm, um, eating in the kitchen," she replies lamely. "With someone."

"Someone? Who is this someone?"

"Someone from high school."

"Wow, that's so specific," Levy says sarcastically.

"I bet Gajeel would know who I mean," Lucy says. Although, she can only hope her friends from high school recognized Dan when they were briefly outside.

"High school..." Things click in place for Dan. "Gajeel as in Gajeel Redfox from high school?"

Lucy inhales sharply. She purposely avoided using Levy's name, but she just messed up because of her little slip.

"Lu, who was that?" Levy asks.

"She's married to Gajeel?" Dan asks.

"She is," Lucy replies, not denying the truth.

"Hang up."

Lucy is caught off guard. "Why?"

"He's friends with Natsu," he reasons simply. "I don't like Natsu."

"What's happening?" Levy asks, sounding desperate. "Lu, are you all right?"

Dan is quick to reach over the table, snatching the phone and ending the call. Then he pockets it. "No more talking on the phone for you. Well, at least for today."

Lucy dreads spending another day with him let alone even more hours.

x-X-x (POV change) x-X-x

Gajeel just happens to be checking the time on his cell phone when he is receiving a call from Levy. "Shit."

Laxus waves a hand through the air. "Go ahead and answer."

So Gajeel takes the call and raises his phone up to his ear. "Shrimp, I–" He quickly holds the phone away from him, Levy's voice erupting from it.

"What is going on with Lu, huh?" she demands. "I need answers now! She's apparently with someone from high school, but something seems totally off! I'm not buying it!"

Natsu holds out a hand for the phone.

Gajeel gladly hands it to him, not wanting to face the wrath of his wife.

"Levy," Natsu says.

"Natsu, what is happening?" Levy seems slightly calmer now. "What's with Lu?"

He gulps. "Lucy... is in trouble. Dan Straight found out where we live."

"Dan Straight? As in Dan Straight from high school?"

"Yeah. Him."

"Why would he be with her? We haven't seen him since high school..."

"He broke into our home. She's trapped inside with him."

Levy's end of the phone is silent for a moment. "What... ?" she whispers.

Natsu swallows hard. "The bastard's holding her hostage."

Gray puts a hand on Natsu's shoulder. "We'll get her back," he assures him, wanting to be strong for his friend who can break at any given second.

"If it helps, I spoke with her a little bit ago," Levy says when she finds her voice.

Natsu is immediately interested. "Hold on." He puts the phone on speaker so the others can hear. "What did she say? I need to know exactly what was said."

"I tried asking her what was going. I mentioned that you were off when you called me, and I couldn't get a hold of anyone. She asked why you called me and I said that you asked about Emiko. We both don't know why you asked about her. Then she mentioned she was eating with someone in the kitchen. Wait, kitchen? Yes, she definitely said kitchen. Anyways, she only said it was someone from high school, no name. Then I hear another voice, I'm guessing it was Dan, asking about Gajeel because we said his name. Dan told her to hang up because he didn't like Gajeel since Gajeel was friends with Natsu back in high school. Then the call ended."

No one speaks as think about what Levy just said.

"I-I don't know if that will be much help."

"It's helpful, Shrimp," Gajeel assures her. "She mentioned they were in the kitchen. That gives us a confirmation on location."

"Unless they've moved since," Loke points out, just to voice a possibility.

"Natsu, why did you ask about Emiko earlier?" Levy asks.

"Dan's probably being delusion," Natsu begins. "From the contact we've had with him, he keeps saying that Lucy is his wife. We're guessing that he's imaging she's pregnant."

"But what about Emiko? I still don't understand why she'd be involved."

"He mentioned something about a baby, and we thought maybe Lucy had been babysitting."

"I guess that does make sense..."

"Since we learned that Emiko is safe, we're all thinking he's just thinking Lucy is pregnant."

"But now Lu's safety is priority. Is there anything I can do to help?"

Gajeel cracks a small grin because of his wife's willingness to help out.

"Let us handle this for now," Laxus says. "If you're able to contact Lucy however possible, let us know."

"Oh, I'll make sure to keep you guys in the loop. Just get Lu out of there safe and sound."

x-X-x (POV change) x-X-x

Back inside, Lucy is devising a plan so she can escape. She is fully aware that Dan still has her cell phone and the gun is within reaching distance. Since they are still in the kitchen, the front door is her best means of making it outside. If she positions herself in front of the hallway that leads to it, she will have a direct path. However, she needs to ensure that she will have a head start so Dan cannot catch her.

Lucy moves about as though everything is normal even though the gears in her mind are cranking. Pieces are coming together. She walks away from the sink and makes her way over to the cupboard that is next to the refrigerator. She opens it, grabs a plastic cup, and steps over to the refrigerator. Awkwardly using both hands, she presses the cup against the water dispenser and begins to fill it.

"The food was great!" Dan says as he pats his full stomach.

"Good to hear," she mumbles.

As Lucy moves the half filled cup away from the water dispenser, it knocks into the refrigerator. She drops it and can only watch as it falls to the ground. The water sloshes onto the floor and the cup rolls around.

"Are you okay?" Dan asks with worry, believing something is wrong.

She looks over at him, hoping he does what she is about to ask him. "Can you be a dear and pick it up for me?"

"Sure thing, Lu Lu!" While standing up, Dan grabs the gun and takes it with him.

At the right moment, Lucy turns her hip and pushes out her left leg, hitting her target with the heel of her foot. She lands the kick right on his knee in hopes to immobilize him. Then she takes off for the front door.

Once more, she has to undo the two locks before she can even open the door. She does it as fast as she can.

"G-get back here!" Dan shouts, limping towards her.

Lucy jumps when the gun fires and the bullet hits the door, just missing her. She finally undoes the last lock and grabs the handle to open the door. She makes it onto the porch, noticing all offices have their guns drawn. They cannot get a clear shot without the risk of hurting Lucy.

She makes eye contact with Natsu. He is standing by a van with Gray behind him, holding him back and keeping him at bay.

Before Lucy can make it off of the porch, Dan lunges for her and wraps an arm around her waist, pulling her back. Then he moves his arm to hold her in a headlock. He uses Lucy as a human shield as he keeps a gun to the side of her head. "Don't shoot!" he warns. "I'll kill her! I'll kill her if I don't like something happening! I swear it!"

Lucy keeps her eyes locked with Natsu's. She is somewhat relieved to see him, but she is still scared for her life and the life of her unborn child. She knows she is not out of the woods yet.

Natsu is struggling against Gray's hold on him. He has to reach Lucy. He has to protect her. He has to save her.

"Calm down, Natsu!" Gray hisses under his breath.

"Nobody wants any trouble," Laxus begins, taking charge of the situation. "Just put the gun down and release her. We can finally end this."

Dan looks around frantically and his grip around her neck tightens. "D-don't come any closer!"

Lucy makes a choking sound because of the added pressure and clings onto him even more. He is hurting her.

"Release Lucy," Laxus says. "Don't you think she has been through enough? Don't you think she deserves a break?"

"She started it!" Dan argues. "She somehow let her cop of a husband know what was happening!"

Perhaps at other time, Natsu will feel proud of what Lucy did. But for now, he can only focus on her safety.

"She was scared then and is scared now," Laxus continues.

"I-I'm scared, too!" Dan admits. "I don't want to die!"

"Then why don't we talk things over?" Laxus asks. "That doesn't sound bad, right? Just let Lucy go and we'll talk."

"You're lying!" Dan suddenly bursts.

"We can talk about anything you want," Laxus assures him. "Anything. You just have to let Lucy go. Then we can talk as much as you want."

Dan's hold on her loosens, but he still remains firm. He is wavering as he thinks things over.

"P-please," Lucy adds softly as she fights back tears. "Please let me go."

Dan reacts to the sudden arrival of more officers in their cars. His body jerks in place. "Don't move!" he warns, taking a step back and moving Lucy with him.

The arriving officers park their cars and step out.

"I said don't move!" Dan pulls the trigger and fires. The single loud sound resonates through the air.

"LUCY!" Natsu shouts with desperation, his body coming to a still.

Her body crumples to the cement porch and remains motionless.

Time seems to slow down for Natsu. He feels like he is dreaming. He must be. How can a world exist where someone took his most precious thing away from him?

The officers open fire at their target. Dan goes down, the gun slipping from his fingers.

Natsu finally breaks free of Gray's loose grip and runs for his wife. He is barely holding onto a thread of hope. "LUCY! LUCY!"

Some other officers move in to check on Dan who is not moving.

Natsu reaches her and bends down on both knees. "Lucy!" He holds her on his lap, cradling her. He does not care crimson is staining his clothes. Natsu's vision blurs because of the many tears threatening to fall. "Lucy..." he mumbles, the knot in his throat being incredibly tight.

She does not respond to him. She does not open her eyes and smiles up at me. She remains utterly still.

"Lucy..." His tears drip onto her face, and she does not flinch in reaction to the feeling. "Lucy..."

x-X-x

His wife-her lifeless body-has since been removed from the scene. Now Natsu is in a mindless daze as he manages to walk through his house that feels empty. It no longer feels like home.

Not a single officer is speaking to Natsu. They even avoid looking at him. It is like he is a ghost because no one is paying attention to him.

Natsu makes his way over to the master bedroom. He looks around at all of the photos of his wife. His heart wrenches and his stomach twists. As he passes the bathroom door, he notices something odd on the counter. His eyes grow wide as he numbly approaches, his feet dragging against the floor. He gingerly picks up the positive pregnancy test and cradles it with both hands.

In an instant, he loses himself and starts wailing. It sounds throughout the quiet house.

x-X-x

A/N: So my hands slipped... All over the keyboard... Whoops... Next chapter is the last chapter at least! :D