With heavy lids, Lucy slowly opens her eyes. She feels disoriented as she gathers her bearings, and her body feels weighted down. Taking in her surroundings, she discovers that she is in a hospital room. The air is sterile, and beeping is coming from a nearby machine.

Familiar voices catch her attention and she slowly moves her head over to her left. Natsu and Gray are sitting next to each other on the cushioned bench under the window. The duo looks haggard, but relieved all at the same time. They are keeping their voices low as to not disturb Lucy. Although, she is no longer slumbering.

"N-Natsu?" she murmurs, finding her voice.

He almost gives himself whiplash from moving his head too quickly. He makes eye contact with her and relief washes over him. "Luce!" In the blink of an eye, Natsu rushes over to her side and holds onto her left hand with both of his. "I'm glad you're awake, sleepy head."

Lucy's mind is trying to process what happened. "I'm alive?"

His expression softens as he nods. "Definitely."

"I'm not dreaming?"

He gently squeezes her hand. "It's real."

Since the married couple has had their little reunion, Gray makes his way over and stands at the foot of the bed. He views Lucy as a sister and wants to see her awake as well. "You're in the clear."

"Am I?" Lucy asks.

Natsu slightly tilts his head to one side. "You don't remember... ?"

"Remember what?"

"Do you remember what happened with Dan?" Gray asks.

She is completely drawing a blank so she shakes her head.

The guys exchange a glance.

"When I was asleep, I had a dream where"-she gulps-"he shot me." Obviously, that moment had not been real.

Natsu's face ashens at the very idea of that being a reality. Gray seems disturbed by the idea of that being the real outcome.

Lucy recalls what happened towards the end of her dream. "You guys took him down after that. While"-she decides against using the term body-"I was being zipped up, you both and the team went into the house. Natsu went into our bathroom and–" She cuts herself off. Does he know what she left in that room?

"What?" Natsu asks after a moment. "What's wrong? Don't remember what happened next?"

Lucy ends up shaking her head. "I guess not..."

"Hey, why don't you ask for water for Lucy?" Gray suggests. "I think she'll like that."

Natsu is eager to keep his wife comfortable. "I'll be back," he says, gingerly smooching her head. "So sit tight."

"All right," she says.

Natsu waves goodbye before he leaves the room and disappears from sight.

"So I'm going to get you in the loop of something certain," Gray says, speaking softly so he is not overheard. "Flame Brain doesn't know about the pregnancy test."

Her eyes grow wide with surprise. "You know?"

Gray looks somewhat smug with himself. "Flame Brain was with you the entire time while me and some others searched your home. I was the one who stumbled across the pregnancy test. I called the hospital before you arrived and told them about your condition. I made it clear that they didn't mention a word to Flame Brain or anyone else that didn't need to know."

"That was quick thinking on your part. Good thing even."

"I figured you wanted to be the one to break the ice to him." Then he grins at her. "Congratulations by the way."

She softly smiles. "Thank you."

"I just hope the kid takes after you," Gray chuckles. "Could be horrible if anything like Flame Brain."

Lucy bears a striking resemblance to her mother, and she hopes her child will look more like Natsu than herself. Although, she can do without some of traits. Especially his loud and always itching for a fight traits. "Maybe it won't be all that bad..." she muses.

"I'm baaack!" Natsu announces as he carries a pitcher and cups. He easily pours her a glass and hands it over to her. "There you go."

"Thank you." Her first sip is quite refreshing, but she takes it easy. She rests the cup on her lap and stares at it. Only now does she notice her wrists are bruised from the handcuffs she had on. The hospital band on her right wrist sort of helps hide the fact for at least one set of the bruises. "Hey..." she says slowly. "What did really happen?"

Natsu and Gray exchange glances. "Are you sure you want to know?" Gray asks.

She looks up and nods.

Taking a small moment, Natsu sets down the pitcher and extra cups. "What do you remember up to?" he inquires.

"I'm not sure what's real or not," she admits. "I guess some parts of my dream were real, but obviously not everything was."

"You escaped from Dan a second time and he had you on the front porch," Gray begins. "You were still cuffed and he had you in a headlock."

"He had the gun aimed at your head, but he moved it away to... to his," Natsu continues solemnly. "Then he pulled the trigger."

Lucy's stomach drops and churns. She shivers a little. Perhaps she should be grateful she does not recall that moment.

"It all happened so fast," Gray adds.

"But you're okay," Natsu points out, trying to keep things positive. "You're okay."

He is right. She is okay. The baby will be okay as well. Well, at least she is under that assumption. Gray never did mention anything negative about the baby. Although, she supposes it is probably way too soon to tell anything.

"You're okay," Natsu says for a third time. Now it is like he is assuring himself that she really is.

She looks at him with a small smile. "I'm okay."

Natsu's eyes glass over and he sniffles back tears. He does not want to cry. "You're okay..."

Keeping a hold of her cup with her left hand, Lucy reaches for him with her free hand. She gives his left hand a firm squeeze. "I'm really okay."

Natsu finally has his break down moment. He is a blubbering mess full of relief and happiness. "I was s-so worried about you!" he wails, going in to hug her.

Gray is quick to grab the cup from Lucy so it does not spill on her.

Natsu holds her tightly, clamping his eyes shut. He buries his face in the crook of her neck and inhales her scent, reassuring himself that she is real and still alive. His heart squeezes tightly. "Y-you're okay. You're safe. You're alive."

Lucy gets misty eyed herself. "Everything worked out in the end all because of you."

Gray blinks back tears as he moves to set the cup down on a nearby table. Then he leaves the room without a word, closing the door softly behind him.

"I n-never wanna hear you say there's another m-moose in the greenhouse," he sobs. "I don't wanna go th-through that again." He shudders. "I dunno if I can..."

"I hope that I never have to say that either," she admits wholeheartedly. "Although, that phrase let you know that I was in trouble. It saved my life."

Natsu shakily pulls his head back to look at her. "I love you. I love you so much."

She rubs her nose against his for an eskimo kiss. "I love you, too."

He gets lost in her beautiful brown eyes for a moment before his lips seek hers. The last time he kissed her was right before he left to go to the station. At one point, he did fear that could have been their last kiss ever. The moment seems so long ago now. So far back in the past.

Making it last, Natsu kisses her long and deep. Lucy completely melts into the kiss. She is more than positive her knees would be buckling if she happened to be standing. His right hand moves to cup her left cheek, his thumb gingerly brushing against her smooth skin. She slightly tilts her head to make the kiss better.

Natsu is the first to pull back so he can breathe. Then he gently presses his forehead against hers. "I love you," he whispers.

"I love you, too," she breathes.

x-X-x

It is late and the major source of light in the room is coming from underneath the hospital bed. The door to the room is closed and some light is shining through the crack at the bottom. The married duo is making due with sharing the hospital bed together. It is somewhat of a tight fit as they face each other, Lucy tucked under Natsu's chin. She will be released tomorrow, and he has refused to go home without his wife.

"I can't wait for you to get outta here," Natsu says, his chest rumbling as he speaks.

"Is that so?" she teases.

He smooches the top of her head. "Very much so." He gives her a gentle squeeze. "And I love you very much so."

"So much, huh?"

"So much that... I don't wanna waste any time with you. I wanna make the most of everything with you. You're my best friend and wife."

He is getting her right in the feels with his sweet words. She is getting somewhat misty eyed. "Natsu..." she murmurs.

"Family. I want to add to our family. And I'm not talking about adopting a cat. Although, maybe we can do that... Gah, I'm getting off track now. I know we've tried in the past with the results we didn't want, but let's keep trying."

"What if we don't have to try... ?" Lucy hints.

"I mean, adoption is a thing I s'pose."

She giggles.

"What's so funny?" Natsu asks, feeling as though he is not understanding something.

Lucy moves her head back to look at him, able to make out his features. She has decided it is time to get him in the loop. She is ready to see his reaction to the news. "I'm pregnant," she whispers.

Natsu stops breathing. Her words echo through his mind. "Wh-what... ?" he breathes when he finally finds his voice.

"I'm pregnant," she affirms.

He is taking everything in when something finally clicks. "The baby..."

"The baby is fine." Well, at least she believes that is the case.

"That's not what I meant. I mean, that's great and all, but the baby. Is that what he was referring to earlier?" Natsu avoids using Dan's name, just in case it triggers something in his wife. "By killing you, he'd kill the baby, too. Two birds, one stone."

"I told him because I thought that he might go easy on me," Lucy admits. "I didn't want to get hurt in case that endangered the baby."

"That was smart thinking on your part."

"Wait, what did you think he meant when he said it?" She starts remembering what Levy told her when they spoke on the phone. She wonders if there is a connection.

"Lug Nuts and I thought he was talking about Emiko. Like, Levy had dropped her off at the house sometime after I had left or something. So I called Levy to confirm and found out it wasn't the case. Then we all reasoned he was being delusional and thinking you were pregnant with his baby. After all, he was saying you were his wife. But he meant our baby..."

Lucy bites her lower lip. "I'm sorry you weren't the first person I told..."

"No, no," he coos gently, cupping her left cheek with his right hand. "Don't be sorry. You did it to protect yourself and the baby. Like I said, smart thinking on your part."

She raises her left hand to put it over his hand.

"Wait, when did you find out?" Natsu asks, feeling giddy about the topic.

"I took a test after you left for the station," she explains. "I was going off of a feeling, and wanted to know before you got home."

"That musta been a great feeling," he muses.

"And plenty more to come from being pregnant."

"I'll be there to hold back your hair," he jokes.

"Ugh, don't remind me."

"But it'll be worth it."

"I'm going to be the one doing all of the heavy lifting," she points out.

"And I'll be there to pamper you along the way. Taking those two in the morning trips to get something for your cravings. Being your personal, good-looking massager whenever you need one."

"Not to mention the mood swings."

"I'm sure I'll be able to handle whatever you throw at me. And if you do throw something at me, I'll just dodge or catch it."

"Don't go pushing my buttons or I just might," she teases.

Natsu gasps in delight, overwhelmed with emotions. "A baby! We're gonna have a baby!"

She smiles at his reaction. "I'm excited."

"Names! We're gonna hafta think of names!" He lowers his voice a little, realizing he is getting loud. "Oh, what are you hoping for?"

Lucy thinks for a moment. "Hmm, maybe a boy to start with. That doesn't seem too bad. A boy like you, but not as loud."

"Oh, if he takes after me, we're so screwed. We'll have our hands full with a mini me."

She laughs. "I'm sure we'll be able to handle."

"You're right. We're a good team after all."

"A great team," she corrects.

"Just the bestest team around!" His tone softens. "And we're gonna be great parents."

"Oh, you can count on that."

Something comes to Natsu's mind. "Oh, Happy!"

"I'm happy, too."

"No, Happy. For a name."

One of Lucy's eyes twitches. "We're not naming any of our kids that..."

"But I like that name."

"Maybe we can name that cat you were talking about Happy," she suggests.

"Oo, I'd like that!" Then Natsu snuggles up to Lucy. "By the way, you do make me happy, Luce. You make me really happy."

"You make me really happy, too."

"I think it's time we go to bed," he says before yawning.

Only now does she notice how drowsy she is. "That sounds like a good idea."

"We have tomorrow to look forward to at least."

"More like the rest of our lives."

Natsu smiles and smooches the top of her head yet again. "That, too."

x-X-x

Ten months later, it is a rainy June day outside, and Lucy is driving home. She had been hanging out with Levy and Juvia, but she is more than eager to return home to her family. She smiles when her house comes into view, knowing who is inside.

She pulls into the garage, parks her car, and shuts off the engine. She pushes a button to close the garage door before she grabs her purse and shopping bags from the passenger seat. Lucy gets out of her car and makes her way over to the door. She slowly opens it, just in case Natsu is inside the laundry room since she does not want to hit him.

Much to her surprise, Lucy discovers that the house is pretty much silent except for the rain hitting against it. "Natsu?" she calls out, shutting the door behind her with a foot.

There is no answer in reply.

She steps out of the laundry room and into the kitchen, looking around. She spots a familiar head of pink hair in the family room and makes her way over.

Lucy's heart melts at the sight before her.

Snoring softly, Natsu is reclined back on his favorite chair. Two bundles of joy, one furrier than the other, are asleep on his chest and tucked under his strong arms.

Precious and adorable Luna Joy Dragneel is on her left side, her head above his heart. Even now it looks like she does not have much hair because of her blonde locks. Her eyes are still blue and have yet to change into their real color.

Taking up the other half of Natsu is Happy the cat who is only a couple of years old. He is best friends with Luna and does not like being separated from her. He is like her own furry guardian.

Happiness swells inside of her. "I love you." Lucy bends down to kiss all of them on their heads. "All of you." 

x-X-x

A/N Part 1: Pfft, as if I could write a sad ending for NaLu work... Although, it was fun to write something that wasn't fluff or romance related (excluded this chapter)! I hope y'all liked it! Thanks for reading :D

A/N Part 2: Little eater eggs I had... Joy is a synonym for happy. Natsu totally gave Luna her middle name. In a way, he kinda sorta got away with naming a kid Happy XD And I chose Luna over Nashi just because I liked the ring of better with Joy. But Luna is Lucy and Natsu together so it still works! The title Just a Dream stems from the fact what y'all thought happened (Lucy dying and all) was JUST A DREAM! :D Although, I did try mentioning dream/nightmare in the earlier chapters. Cruel and clever I think XD So good job to those who figured that out!

A/N Part 3: Once last time for this work, if y'all could PM pucksabrinadaphne on FFnet to place your vote for Cute as Fuck as The Favorite Fairy Tail Fanfiction 2016 story, that would be wonderful :D And a huge thank to those of you who already have :D CAF is in Primary Round, but I'm curious to see how far it can go!