The next day when Gray asked for his cousin to visit so they could settle their fight, the moment the white haired man stepped inside the hall and saw the couple standing next to the other, he noticed a different air around them and he sighed in defeat.

"Great. I tell you to do one thing and you go ahead and consummate the marriage, making it almost impossible to annul it."

"How does he know?" Juvia whispered to Gray, her face turning red and Gray ignored her words, choosing instead to talk to his cousin.

"I am the Duke, Lyon. My wife is the Duchess and we are not going anywhere." Gray raised his chin. "I don't care if there is someone out there who would rather see me married to a Winter girl: I already have a wife and my people need to understand she's staying for a long time."

"Juvia is not afraid, Lyon-sama." The blunette smiled to her cousin-in-law when Gray put an arm around her waist. "This... this is Juvia's home. Perhaps one day the people will learn how to accept Juvia as their Duchess."

Lyon passed a hand through his hair and walked in circles for a few moments. "Alright. If you two want to be stubborn, it's fine. Just... be careful. I ran away from being Duke for years, I'd like to never have the opportunity of being one again, aye? Gray does a good job but that's not for me." Lyon smiled, tiredly, towards the couple. "If you two could stay alive for a couple of decades and have about ten children so there's no need to even bring my name up ever again, I'd appreciate it."

Gray snorted and Juvia smiled. "We intend to stay alive for a while, Lyon-sama."

"That's a relief." Lyon smiled to her and then looked to his cousin. "If you ever need anything, I will be at Snow Storm Castle, living my life like I've always wanted."

Juvia elbowed her husband on the stomach and he said: "If you'd like to stay here at Avalanche Castle for a few days, you'd be welcomed." He scowled. "My wife is a true believer that family must stay together."

Lyon grinned. "Lady Juvia is a smart woman: we need time to bury the past and move on." He stopped. "How about I do that in a couple of months? I just came into your house and tried to steal your wife and lands. Maybe a little time apart would be wise?"

As much as he tried to contain it, Gray laughed and Juvia never heard a more beautiful sound. "Yes, Lyon, time apart might be wise."

"Especially when you and your wife need time to enjoy married life." The white haired man winked at his cousin and Juvia's face warmed up. "I will be going tomorrow. I will let you know when I intend to come back."

"Or when we send you an invitation." Juvia offered and even with Gray rolling his eyes, Lyon nodded at how generous she was. "Stay for lunch today, at least."

"Thank you, Lady Juvia." He smiled and walked to where they were. He took her hand and kissed it. "Just remember that if you ever need to run away from my cousin, my Castle is open for you to go-"

Gray removed his cousin's hand from his wife's and put himself between them. "Alright, don't make me regret it my decision to overlook my want to kill you because Juvia asked me to."

The men continued their bickering while Juvia watched, her arm twined to her husband's and she felt happy, knowing that even though their relationship was far from being fully mended, it was a step towards the right path for it.

#

If she were true to herself, Juvia absolutely loved the new intimacy she discovered with Gray and how good it felt when he kissed her, took away her nightgown and touched all the ways she never knew she'd wanted to be touched.

When it was time for Gray to consummate their bedding, Juvia didn't mind at all (even though her aya had told her it would be close to unbearable) and actually enjoyed to be close to her husband, especially when he'd bring her to rest her head on his chest and caress her back in such tender way, she just didn't think it could get any better.

As it turned out, it could.

A little over a month after their first night at his office, Juvia decided to visit her husband, knowing that by the time she arrived there, his meeting would most likely be over and she could ask him to set a date for them to go out with their horses once again: surely she wouldn't fall down in a river again.

Just as the Duchess predicted, when she was arriving at his office, her husband's advisors were exiting the premises and all of them smiled and bowed at her, while Juvia just nodded their way. At the office's door, Juvia smiled at Loke before she got inside.

Gray was looking at some papers that were on his desk and he seemed worried, but when he heard the heavy door close behind her, he looked up and grinned when he saw her.

"What are you doing here?" He watched as she walked his way. "I thought you went out with Lucy to pick out some clothes for her child at the village."

"We did." Juvia smiled at her husband. Even though he didn't want to have Juvia out Avalanche Castle because of the threats against her life, she managed to convince him when both Natsu and Gajeel informed they were going to escort the women and they, plus Loke, were the ones Gray trusted the most regarding her life. Plus, she couldn't stay a prisoner inside her own house and even if he didn't like it, she was right about that. "Juvia thinks that we won't be needing to go pick more for a while."

Gray chuckled. "She has what? Two more months to go? That kid already has more clothes than I do." He put his hands on her hips once she was close enough.

"That might as well be true." Juvia tip toed and gave her husband a peck on the lips. "Natsu-san is so excited."

"To be fair, Natsu gets excited about everything." Gray smirked when Juvia giggled. "So you decided to come and visit me after your outing?"

"Yes." The blunette wrapped her arms around his shoulders. "Juvia wondered if she could interest you in going out on a ride with our horses soon. Juvia misses that." She felt his body tense under her hands; he was probably remembering about the incident a couple of months before. "Don't worry. Juvia will be more careful this time."

Gray pulled her a bit closer. "I feel that when you go out of the Castle you put yourself at harm's way. You almost drowned and froze to death, then that man with the crossbow."

With a smile, Juvia put a hand at the back of Gray's head and caressed his hair there, just as she knew he liked it. "You know that if Juvia doesn't go out, people won't know her and they might as well hate her. After all, who likes a faceless Duchess? It's a chance we have to take. But what Juvia really wants is to spend some time with her husband during the day. You've been so busy that we barely have lunch together." She pouted.

"I give you enough attention." His worries were momentarily forgotten as he pushed his wife back until she hit the desk and he pulled her from the floor with a squeal of surprise from her, to put her seated on the corner of the desk. He leaned and whispered into her ear: "Just last night you didn't seem to think I wasn't giving you attention." He kissed the spot just under her ear, the spot he knew made her melt for him.

Juvia gasped, suspecting where he was going with that kiss and pushed him away just enough she could see him and the Duchess just knew with her face red in embarrassment. "Gray-sama!" She whispered-shouted. "It's... It's the middle of the afternoon!"

"Yes, it is." He agreed with a shrug and before she could answer, he kissed her on the lips and suddenly, Juvia was no longer capable of forming thoughts. Gray's kisses always made her dizzy; before, he kissed her as if afraid she would pull away, but ever since they took the next step and consummated their marriage, he kissed her as if he couldn't have enough of her and it made the Duchess' mind turn into mud.

Gray pushed her heavy dark blue coat away from her shoulders and Juvia helped him, still panting from his kisses. The coat was pushed down to the desk when Gray kissed his wife once again, this time Juvia tried her best to unbutton his own coat and she groaned in frustration when a particular button seemed to be stubborn. Gray stopped kissing her just for a second to finish the button and shrug off his coat, letting it fall on the ground.

"We should only do this at night." Juvia said, while her husband pulled her legs apart so he could settle between them more comfortably. The Duchess realized then, why he had put her over his desk: the height was just right so she could feel the growing bulge on his pants right where she could feel herself start to throb in want for him.

"Who told you that?" Gray pecked on her lips, his hands behind her back trying to undo the bow that fastened her dress.

"My aya." While her husband dealt with her dress, she busied herself with kissing his jaw and neck. "She said it should happen at night, lights off..."

"You really shouldn't listen to that old bat. The good thing about being married is that we get to do this whenever we want." Gray finished with the bow and her dress loosened. He groaned when he noticed the buttons in front of her simple blue dress, but began to undo them. "And it's going to be very unusual for me to get a break during an afternoon, so I intend to take my time today." Gray kissed her, deep, informing her that he really meant it and she melt for him once more. Well, if her husband said it was alright to do that during the day, he was probably right. Both froze in place when they heart a knock on the door, Gray groaned as he stopped kissing his wife and Juvia could see him battling with himself if it would be wise or not to go and open the door. Another couple of knocks, louder that time, made him scowl in frustration and even if Juvia found his expression amusing, she also felt very frustrated with whomever was interrupting them. Gray stared at her, his face serious, and said: "Don't. You. Move."

Juvia nodded so hard her curls bounced. Gray groaned as stepped away from his wife and didn't even bothered to put his coat back – it would come off in a few minutes anyway – his shirt was nice enough. He put his 'Duke façade' on, walked towards the door, and got out, meeting an old man who had some papers in hand.

"Oh, Duke Fullbuster." The man bowed slightly. "I could've come in; you didn't need to come out. We just need to discuss a few topics..."

Clearly in no mood, Gray interrupted the older man, with an icy voice. "Kashina. Is this urgent?"

Kashina looked taken aback for a second. "Well, no..."

"Is anyone going to die if I don't see the papers right now?" The Duke asked.

"No, but..." The older man tried, but Gray waved him off.

"So, it can be done tomorrow."

"Yes, but..."

Gray narrowed his eyes. "So, it will be done tomorrow. The meeting was finished twenty minutes ago and just now you appear with matters for me to overlook? Your job is to help me care for this Duchy and you missing a meeting is not helpful at all. And just as you said, it is not urgent and it will be dealt with tomorrow, perhaps you can arrive on time then." Gray was about to return inside his office, but thought about his wife's request earlier about them going out with their horses. She was so happy when they had done it the first time, it wouldn't hurt to do it again. "Forget that. Cancel the meeting tomorrow. I'm taking the day off to spend it with my wife."

Kashina looked appalled. "You can't take a day off..."

"Yes I can. I am the Duke and I haven't had a single day off since I took over this Duchy, so tomorrow, I'm gonna disappear to all of you. Is that clear enough for you?"

"Sir, I..." The old man tried once again, but Gray was having none of it: his wife was almost naked in the room behind him and he'd rather return to her other than deal with Kashina.

"Loke!" Gray said without taking his eyes from Kashina, who shrank at the Duke's mean eyes.

His guard, who looked extremely amused, said by his usual place by the door. "Yes?"

"Guard this door. If someone even tries to bother me with anything that is not life-death related for the rest of the day and tomorrow, kill him. Got it?"

"Yes, sir." Loke grinned and put himself between the Duke and Kashina, his hand on the handle of his sword and a meaningful look to the old man, who took a step back.

"Good." Gray turned around and returned to the office, closing the door behind him, and locking it for good measure. When he lifted his eyes back to his desk, where he left his wife, his breath got caught in his throat and all his blood ran down to his groin.

Juvia was sitting on his desk, her blue hair falling over her shoulders and she looked like an angel with her legs perfectly closed, her hands on her knees just like a proper lady. Or it would be like a proper lady if she had been wearing anything other than her long white socks and her shoes.

"You moved." He managed to say, still glued in place, looking at her with wide eyes.

"Sorry." Juvia shrugged and her smile told him she was not sorry at all.

"Don't be. It'll cut my work in half."

#

Gray was kissing her breasts while his fingers worked inside her – she knew what was coming, as they had done that a few times and the result had been great. He kissed her and she made a sound of frustration when he removed his fingers away, robbing her the pleasure she knew he could bring her. Instead, she felt the now familiar nudge of his manhood and when he slid inside her, Juvia's nails dug into Gray's back as she moaned.

"Are you alright?" Gray asked, stilling inside her like he always did – he was still afraid of hurting her, the sweet man.

"Yes." Juvia nodded, pulling him to kiss her. The moment he started moving inside her, the blunette tried to contain a squeak because whole body seemed to lit up – it was different than before, especially since she had never been seated while they made love. It was even better than when he used his fingers to please her.

"Gods, Juvia." Gray said once he stopped kissing her lips and busied himself with kissing her jaw and down to her neck without stopping moving inside her. "I want to be inside you all day long."

"No complain from me." Juvia panted, one of her hands moving so her fingers dug into his thick black hair, urging him down towards her cleavage and Gray took the hint quickly and the moment he took a nipple in his mouth and sucked, Juvia arched her back and gasped. "Gray-sama!"

Juvia lost track of the time the moment Gray slid a hand between their bodies and touched her at the bundle of nerves and she couldn't keep the loud moan that escaped her mouth even if she tried. She felt Gray's hand tangle itself in her hair, pulling it back a bit and her body was bent to his discretion, her legs crossed at his back.

Sometime later, Juvia felt her lower abdomen boil, it was familiar as Gray had brought her to pleasure before, but that time was much more intense and she didn't know what to do with that.

"Gray-sama... I..." Juvia panted. "Oh, I..."

"Come on, Juvia." Gray groaned, his thrusts and touch against the bundle of nerves became harder and it made Juvia moan in response of how good it felt. "Let go. Come on." With a final thrust, Juvia felt the ball of intensity in her and suddenly, it exploded; her vision turned white, her veins seemed to be carrying fire and every part of her body felt pleasure like never before.

Between her amazing cloud of happiness, she heard Gray groan and felt him release himself inside her and they stayed hung at each other, both panting for air. It took Gray a couple of minutes to exit her and when he did, Juvia whimpered at the loss. Gray chuckled and kissed her lips and she returned it lazily, still a bit dazed about what happened.

"Juvia?" Gray asked.

"Hm?" Juvia rested her forehead on his shoulder.

"You got yourself a ride with our horses tomorrow, by the way." Gray reached for her coat behind Juvia and put them around her shoulders – the thin layer of sweat that covered her body would soon make her cold.

Juvia giggled and wrapped her arms around his waist, looking up at him. "All Juvia had to do was to take off her clothes and sit on your desk? She will take note about that for whenever she needs something."

"I can guarantee you will have my full attention to whatever you request of me." Gray smiled back at her. "At least now, whenever I am at a boring meeting, I can think of what we did today on it." He laughed when her cheeks became red and she hid her face on her chest.

#

It was almost two months after that afternoon when a loud knock on the door in the middle of the night awoke the couple and Juvia tried to ignore it the best she could, choosing instead to snuggle closer to her husband and trying to get better advantage of his warmth. The second knock made Gray groan.

"Damn it." He whispered and Juvia finally opened her eyes when he tried to untangle their bodies without waking her up. "Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you."

"You didn't." Juvia watched as he pushed the blankets away to get up and he pulled it back over her body, knowing that she still wasn't used to the cold temperatures at night, especially when she was naked underneath. "What is happening?"

"No idea." He grabbed his pants from the floor, where he had thrown away when they had gone to bed. Juvia took a moment to look at his naked form and she smiled at how handsome her husband was and how much they enjoyed each other a few times that night. Another knock came and he said, while putting his pants back: "Just a minute."

Juvia saw him put his shirt back on and stayed in bed while her husband went to answer the door. When she tried to listen what was being said, but couldn't, the Duchess gave up and waited for Gray to come back to tell her what happened.

A couple of minutes after he left their bedroom, Gray returned, a grim expression on his face. "An avalanche hit a village." Juvia sat on the bed and gasped. "We don't know how many are hurt or dead, but I am taking most of my guard there to look for survivors."

"Oh, gods." Juvia got up, a sheet wrapped around her body. "What are the odds...?"

"I don't know." He sighed. "The faster we get there the faster we can find survivors." Gray opened their wardrobe and put on a sweater and then a thick coat over it. "I will be over there for a couple of days, trying to find everyone; dead or alive."

"Can I do something?" Juvia asked, trying to blink the tears away. How many people were trapped under snow as they spoke?

Gray stepped closer to her and kissed her. "Just... don't get yourself in trouble while I'm away, please?" He tried to smile. "It would help me a lot."

"Alright." Juvia put a hand on his cheek and caressed it. Gray kissed the palm and went to look for his boots and Juvia watched him put them on. Once he seemed to be ready, Juvia hugged him and wished him good luck.

"Try to go back to sleep." He told her before he left their bedroom and Juvia was left just with a sheet around her body, thinking that she couldn't possible return to sleep.

#

Once dawn broke, Juvia got herself ready for the day and went downstairs, she hadn't been able to sleep from the moment she heard the news and by the look of the Castle's staff, neither could they. It was such a grim cloud that was over the household, that Juvia declined breakfast that morning – the thought of food was making her stomach turn.

Juvia sat at the library, close to the fire, feeling completely hopeless, but what could she do? She had no idea how to deal with a disaster such as an avalanche. It was her first experience with the subject, yet, she wanted to help.

A young girl with dark hair came in the library holding some pieces of wood to put on the fire and when she kneeled in front of the fireplace, Juvia noticed she was crying. Juvia fished through her memory looking for the girl's name and remembered what she was called.

"Mallory?" The Duchess called softly. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Lady Juvia." The girl tried to dry her tears. "Don't worry about me."

Juvia just couldn't ignore the poor girl, she was only a couple of years younger than the Duchess herself. "Do you have anyone at the village?"

Mallory nodded and more tears fell down. "Yes. My intended." She sobbed and Juvia kneeled on the floor next to her. "He lives there with his parents, but after we get married, he's coming to live here. He's going to try to have a job at the Castle's stables and now I don't even know if he is alive." Juvia put her arms around Mallory, who hugged her back.

"I am sure he is fine, sweetheart." The blunette tried and the girl nodded.

"I hope so, Milady." A moment after she spoke, Mallory gasped and tried to get away from the Duchess. "By the gods, Milady, I am so sorry! Get up from the floor, please. I shouldn't have..."

"It's fine." Juvia tried to ease the girl. "You needed a hug and I was glad to give it to you. Now, come up." Juvia got up and offered Mallory a hand, which she accepted shyly, not sure she should be having that moment with the Duchess of their land. "I have been feeling so very helpless ever since we got the news." Juvia sighed. "I get worried if they are getting the warmth they need after such disaster, but-" Juvia stopped mid-sentence while her mind worked and a plan formed in her mind.

"Milady?" Mallory asked when the Duchess had been quiet for too long. Juvia offered the girl a reassuring smile and told her to come along.

Five minutes later, they were at the Castle's kitchen, where most of the staff still was having breakfast as it was too early for both the Duke and Duchess to be up in a normal morning. To say that it was a surprise to see Juvia in there was an understatement, some of the servants almost chocked on their food, but everyone got up as soon as she was there.

"I am so very sorry to interrupt your breakfast, but as you all know, a village near here was hit by an avalanche tonight. And I think many of you have family or people you know around that area." Juvia saw many sad faces and it was exactly what gave her the strength to push forward with her plan. "My husband left in search for survivors in the middle of the night and I have faith that by now he has encountered many, but what worries me is that they left in a haste to find survivors and had the equipment for it." She raised her chin. "What I think they didn't remember about, was what to do to the survivors once they are rescued.

"I fell into a frozen river once and I know that it's a horrible feeling. I want to help our people and for that, I will need the help of every one of you." She saw the staff's eyes turn from sad to eager to help. She looked to the housemaids. "I need you to take every blanket we have to spare; leave one in each room, but take all the rest. Plus, all the coats. Mine too, just leave the thick dark blue one." The maids looked surprised, but nodded before leaving to accomplish their tasks. Juvia turned to the kitchen staff. "I need you to sort out what we will need for about two days here at the Castle for food. Everything else, we are going to take to the village. If we could spare big pans so we can make soup, that would be the best." The cooks went to work. Juvia looked at Mallory and a couple of boys and three girls who were left. "You, go on and take as much dry wood we have in storage: we will need to make fires." Mallory smiled and urged the others to go. "We are going to need at least three carriages, the larger, the better." She looked to where the men who took care of the stables were and they nodded. They were about to leave the kitchen when Juvia spoke once again. "Oh, Mr. Guynes? Prepare Honey as well, I'll be going too."

#

After arguing with Lucy that even though she really wanted to go and help, she couldn't because she was about to give birth at any minute and it would be unwise to leave the castle, Juvia had to promise her friend to be careful and to watch out for her husband – Natsu had left with Gray hours before and just like Juvia, Lucy hadn't been able to sleep again.

Gajeel, who was left behind with the sole purpose of watching after Juvia entered in a big fight with her when they were about to leave, after all, his job was to keep her safe and not to let her get on her horse and ride to the site of an avalanche.

"You were charged to keep Juvia safe, not to make her a prisoner." She said, buttoning her thick dark blue coat and pulling the hood over her head and at the Great Hall of the Castle, many of her staff finishing doing what the Duchess had requested and everyone fell silent once they heard the usually quiet monarch almost yell at her guard. "My people are freezing and hurt out there, you can either do your job and protect me outside or you can stay here by yourself, because Juvia can tell you one things: she is going." She narrowed her blue eyes at him. "Just try to stop me."

The dark haired man actually looked surprised for a moment before he smirked. "Well, well, well.... Look who just found her claws."

"Shut up." Juvia's cheeks pinked and she put her gloves on. "Are you coming or staying?"

"And miss seeing the fit your husband is going to have once he sees you there? Not a chance in hell I'm staying here." Gajeel laughed and put on his thicker coat. Of course he was going because he was her guard and she knew it. Juvia thought about what he said about her claws and she wondered why she yelled at her friend; she certainly didn't need to, he would go with her either way.

Maybe she did find the claws she never knew she had. And oh, she loved the feeling.

#

It was an hour and a half on the road before Juvia and her party arrived at the village and Juvia's heart broke at the sight: some houses were spared, some were under a heavy layer of snow but most houses were destroyed and god knows how many people were still alive under that destruction.

"Who are you?" A woman that seemed to be leading at the moment, stepped in front of Juvia's horse – she seemed to be around forty, long dark hair in a thick braid, a bandage on her forehead and she seemed to be wearing a little more than her nightgown. Yet, her dark eyes were strong. There were some younger women around her, all at the same state as the leader.

Juvia got down from her horse and so did the four guards she brought with her. "I am Juvia, Duchess of Winter." Juvia tilted her head at them.

The group of women gasped and bowed at Juvia, who felt incredibly uncomfortable. "Milady, I'm sorry for being rude."

"It's of no consequence." Juvia assured them. "What can I call you?"

"I am Rose, Milady." The leader spoke and then pointed to the women behind her. "And these are Gerta, Tamara and Sara."

"Nice meeting you, even though is under such circumstances." Juvia nodded at them. "My husband came here last night."

"And he has been very helpful, Milady." Rose told Juvia. "With his help, we were able to rescue twenty people so far."

Juvia sighed. "That's a relief. Either way, this morning it occurred to me that you would need blankets, coats and food." Juvia pointed to the three carriages. "We had to act fast and brought what we could at such short notice. There are not much clothes for children, but if the mothers put them on and put the child in with them, it's going to be fine. Or two children. There are blankets as well. We also brought some dry wood for fire..." Juvia watched the women look at each other in surprise.

"You... what?" Rose seemed surprised.

"It's not much and we had to hurry, but if you need more, I'm sure we could come up with some. But I guarantee that there are food for a couple of days if we make soup." Juvia saw the women's eyes water and she panicked. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you..."

"Milady, we are not upset. Not at all." Rose was clearly crying but trying to hide. "We lost all of our food and clothes tonight and ever since it happened, we were wondering what we would do to feed our children, what we would make them wear when it gets colder tonight." Rose smiled to Juvia. "We are crying of joy, Milady, because we can feed our children and keep them warm." The woman stepped closer to Juvia and hugged her. "Thank you."

Juvia's eyes watered as she hugged the woman back. "Well then." She tried to hide her own tears – she had been very emotional that morning. "You should pick up some of those coats and then pass them on." Gerta went inside of the houses that was still in one piece and a moment later, about twenty people came out, all poorly dressed for the weather and all of their expressions turned happier when they saw the coats and food.

"Milady?" Juvia looked at Rose. "Now that you are here, are you taking over the arrangements?"

"Oh, no." The blunette shook her head. "I know nothing of what to do in situations like this one, I was born elsewhere. You do know what to do, Rose. I am here to help in whichever you need me to, but the control is all yours. I am the Duchess, but this is your village, if you want me to go to the kitchen and help with the potatoes, that's where I'll be."

Rose looked at her with even more respect than before she nodded in agreement. "If you could help with the distribution of the coats, I'd appreciate it, Milady."

"Of course." Juvia grabbed Rose's hand. "You will get through this."

"We always do." Rose squeezed Juvia's hand back and raised her head up high, just as a true Winter woman.

#

Three hours in the village and Juvia had yet to see her husband or anyone from the Castle, but there was so much to do that she didn't even realized until she was helping to serve soup for the villagers. She was told to eat, but her stomach still hadn't settled, especially when she saw three men get carried inside a house that was being used as a makeshift hospital. They were bloodied and if she had eaten anything that day, she would've thrown up.

Gajeel had left with a few men in a search party by Juvia's request: they had found someone and needed strong men to lift whatever was trapping the person and after Juvia tell him a thousand of times that none at that village would try to harm her in any way while they had their own tragedy going on, he left with the other guards Juvia brought with her.

At the middle of the day, Juvia had a few free minutes and decided to take a walk a bit away from the houses to see if she could have a glimpse of her husband, but didn't want to get too far away and the path was difficult with all the snow and pieces of wood.

There were so many dead and missing yet and she was told the night was going to get even colder. She sighed and decided she needed to go back, her whole body ached, but she needed to keep helping her people

She took two steps back when a sound made her stop on her tracks. She turned around and tried to make herself hear better and then she hear it once more: a cry of a baby.

Juvia yelled for help two times before she tried to pin point exactly where the sound came from. "Come on, baby, cry for Juvia so she can find you." She whispered to herself while walking slowly between the destruction. "Come on, sweetheart." Juvia closed her eyes so if the child cried, she could know better which way and when she heard it, she ran to her left.

"Help! There's someone here!" She yelled over her shoulder, and, without waiting for an answer, she followed the sound and started to pull away the pieces of wood in her way. She yelled for help again and finally heard people moving her way, but she already had a way in and by the way the cry became louder, she was getting closer.

She moved one last piece of wood and saw a woman, unconscious, and a baby that didn't seem to be moving. Was she too late? Hadn't he been crying a few seconds ago? What if she only had a few minutes to save that baby? She looked over her shoulder and saw that help was still too far away and she would never forgive herself if she let a child die because she was a coward.

It took her a second to decide to get in between the wreckage and try to reach for the child without falling in. She tried for almost a minute before she was finally able to touch the baby's coat and pull it up as gently as she could so not to hurt the baby. Gently, she managed to get the child by its arm and then put both her hands under the baby's armpits and even then she could feel how cold he was.

'Please, let me not be too late.' Juvia thought and felt people grab her by the legs and pull her back up.

"Milady! What were you thinking?" One of the men, Juvia couldn't remember his name, was speaking to her, but Juvia's focus was on the child in her arms, eyes closed, skin way paler than it should and no movements at all.

"I heard him crying."

There was a silence from the people around her. "Milady, I... I think he is dead." A woman said, sadly and putting a hand on Juvia's shoulder and the Duchess' eyes watered. It couldn't be. She heard a cry, she knew she heard it.

Juvia put a hand over the baby's tiny chest as a few tears fell from her eyes and she was about to sob when she felt it underneath her palm... a heartbeat. It was slow, but it was there.

"He's alive!" Juvia said and looked at the people around her before she put a finger under the baby's nose and felt the slightest gush of air. "He is alive! But he is so cold..." An idea struck her mind and she got up from the ground and gave the child to the woman of the group, who checked the same way Juvia did and also felt the baby's breath. Meanwhile, Juvia had opened her coat and started to undo the front buttons of her dress – the men of the group gasped when they noticed what she was doing and turned around – it wasn't as if she was naked under there, she had a thin underdress.

"Milady!" The woman – was her name Willa?, Juvia couldn't remember – gasped in horror, but Juvia didn't care, she just took the baby back and gently put him on her chest, the underdress and the child's clothing the only thing between them and then she closed the coat above the child.

"Body heat! My husband taught me that. He might live!" Juvia told them. "His mother is under there, maybe she can live as well! Juvia is going to take him to see a doctor."

She left them confused and appalled at her attitude, but she couldn't care. She needed to take that baby to safety.

"Juvia? Juvia! What the hell...?" Her mind to go to the doctor was so set that she didn't even notice that her husband was going to where she had called for help – he was dirty, looked deadly tired and she would love to stop to talk to him, but she had more pressing matters.

"I can't stay. There's a baby in my coat! Go where Willa is, his mother is trapped in there and she could be alive still!" Juvia didn't stop walking. "Go! Juvia will be at the doctor."

Gray nodded, frowning, but asked: "Who the hell is Willa?"

#

Two hours later, Juvia was sitting on the floor of the makeshift hospital, still holding the baby. The village doctor said he couldn't do anything for the child Juvia wasn't already doing and it was all up to see if the baby would wake up. They had taken off the boy's clothes, changed his diaper and then he returned to Juvia's chest.

His color was much better and he started to move, as if dreaming and all Juvia could do was to hold him and talk to him. She must've fallen asleep for a second, because the moment she opened her eyes and looked at the child, she was rewarded with a pair of crystal blue eyes looking back at her.

Juvia smiled, her eyes filling with tears knowing that he was probably going to be alright. "Hello, darling." She whispered. "You gave me quite a scare." The boy yawned and Juvia laughed. "I bet you are tired, you had quite an adventure today."

"Is he awake?" Rose asked, kneeling in front of the Duchess and the boy peeked through the top of Juvia' coat. "Oh, there he is. You are a very lucky boy." Rose was delighted. "His name is Oscar, by the way. They got his mother out, her name is Jessica. Just like him, she has hypothermia, but the doctor was hopeful that she will wake up, just like this little one did."

"Good." Juvia sighed in relief and Rose helped her up from the floor. "What about his father?"

"He had been searching for them at their house at the opposite side of the village. Where you found them, was Jessica's parents' house. They didn't make it. He is with Jessica now, but will soon be here to pick up his son."

"No rush." The blunette smiled. "I rather enjoy having a baby in my arms, never got the chance before."

"Practicing for your own?" Rose looked pointedly at Juvia, who smiled.

"Maybe in a couple of years."

The dark haired woman frowned. "Really? It's unusual for me to be mistaken, then. My family comes from a long line of healers and I've never been wrong about things like this."

It was Juvia's time to frown. "You thought Juvia was pregnant? Why?"

"As I said, long line of healers." Rose shrugged. "If I might ask, when was the last time you had your bleeding days, milady?"

Juvia took her time thinking. She sure had them a couple of weeks after Lyon visited, but after that, she couldn't remember when. With wide eyes, she looked at Rose. "The last time... maybe two months ago?"

Rose smiled. "Have you been feeling too hungry in the mornings, sick or with no appetite at all?" Juvia nodded, thinking back all the mornings she didn't eat because her stomach felt a little queasy. "Breasts tender?" Juvia blushed at the memory of her and Gray being intimate a few days before when she almost reached her pleasure with him playing with his breasts. "By your blush, I will say yes."

"I can't be." Juvia's heart was beating faster. Could she really be expecting a child?

"Come with me." Rose took Juvia's hand and lead her to another room of the house and Juvia tried not to look at the people who were losing blood, it made her stomach upset. "At a room where an old woman, well in her eighties was finishing treating a man with a broken leg. "Grandmother? Can I have a moment?"

The old woman had the same thick hair in a braid as Rose, but her hair was all white and even though she was very wrinkled, Juvia could see she had strong hands and the moment she met the woman's eyes, she saw the same strength Juvia saw in Rose.

"Of course, my dear."

"Grandmother, this is the Duchess, Lady Juvia." Rose introduced Juvia, who bowed her head lightly. The old woman looked at Juvia and when the blunette bowed, she saw the baby sleeping inside her coat.

"Oh, you are the one who found Oscar." Juvia was surprised to hear the woman say that with just a glimpse of the child. "I remember every baby I delivered, child." She chuckled.

"Lady Juvia, my Grandmother Nina." Rose introduced.

"Nice to meet you." Juvia smiled, but looked at Rose in question.

"Grandmother, I told Lady Juvia I think she is with child and she seems to think there's no way." Rose was amused and the older woman smiled, just like her granddaughter.

"Come closer, child." Nina asked and Juvia took a step in her direction. With firm hands, Nina cupped Juvia's face and looked deeply in her eyes. "I heard you were the only one who thought Oscar was alive."

Not the question she was expecting, but Juvia answered. "I... I heard a cry of a baby. It came at the direction of where he was." She looked down to the sleeping child and then back to the older woman. "I don't know why no one else could hear it."

Nina narrowed her eyes. "You are the same woman who fell on the river a few months ago, weren't you?" Juvia nodded and Nina brought Juvia's face even closer to hers, looking for something in her eyes. "You were tested, my child." Nina released Juvia and grinned.

"Tested?" Juvia was confused.

"My family comes from a long line of healers, but our family also comes from magic. And this land is full of magic. There are people who belong here because they were born here and that's all fine, but there are ones who are not born here and the land feels the need to test them. To see it if they are strong enough to be here, to be ours." Nina put a hand over Juvia's shoulder. "You had your tests, and you passed. I can see it that you are a Winter woman."

"I never thought otherwise from the moment I met her." Rose smiled to Juvia.

"That's not possible." Juvia whispered.

"Well, when you can explain why only you could hear a child crying while said child was clearly not awake, I'd love to hear." Nina chuckled. "Oh, and by the way, your child will also be as strong as you and your husband. It will make you proud."

Juvia's eyes widened. "My..." Still holding Oscar with one arm, Juvia put a hand over her stomach and tried to think at every reason why she couldn't be pregnant and came up empty. She had her lest bleeding months before and she has always been on time. And both her and her husband had been more than enthusiastic about intimacy ever since that first night. "By the gods... I am." Juvia smiled and then she stopped. "Am I allowed to be happy? It's been a day so full of sadness..."

"Sadness, yes, but also miracles." Nina put a hand over Oscar's head. "We need something happy today, child. And nothing could make us happier than to know that even with all the probations we had today and will keep having for a long time, there are still hope and happiness. You are allowed to be happy, just like we are for you."

"Thank you so much." She could feel tears in her eyes and she realized why she had been crying so much – oh, she would freak out her husband so much with the tears.

"No, thank you, Lady Juvia, to have come to our aid when we needed." Nina grabbed one of Juvia's hands. "If you ever need anything, we are here for you."

#

"There you are." Gray finally found her – it was dark and cold outside, but he had found a spot for them to rest for the night at one of the houses alongside with the guards they brought and the cooks who volunteered to come. Gray earned a smile from her as he put an arm around her waist and watched as his wife carefully took a baby from inside her coat and gave him to a man.

"The doctor said to keep him as warm as you can for a while." Juvia told the man.

"Trust me, Milady, I don't think my Jessica is letting go of him until he is ten after the scare of today." The man smiled as he looked at the boy even as his eyes watered. "My wife asked if you could go see her before you leave for the Castle, Milady. To thank you." Juvia nodded. "Thank you for finding them, Milady. I thought I had lost them both. Bless you, Milady." The man looked at Gray. "And you, Milord."

"Blesses to you and yours too." Gray said, he was so tired that he was even considering pushing away his fight with Juvia about her leaving the Castle for the next day – but it was going to be hard to be mad at her when she had been amazing and brought what the people needed plus saved a baby and his mother.

They watched the man leave and a woman with dark hair stepped in front of them – Gray recognized her as Rose, she had introduced herself when he arrived.

"Are you sure there's nothing we could do?" Juvia asked.

"Milady, I can see you are about to drop from how tired you are. There's nothing else to be done, trust me. You need to rest." Rose looked at Gray. "Milord, make sure she eats before sleeping? I noticed she didn't eat at lunch and then with the Oscar situation happening, she also skipped dinner. I would hate to see someone who helped us so much"

"I will make sure of it, Rose, don't worry." Gray looked at his wife and she shrank like a little girl who got caught doing what she shouldn't. "Good night, see you in the morning."

"Good night." Rose said and Juvia echoed.

Gray pulled her from inside the house and they walked in silent for a few seconds. "How exactly can I be angry with you for leaving the Castle when you were so great today?" He asked and she giggled.

"You'll find a way once you rest. I bet you are awfully tired." She stopped walking and he did the same.

He groaned and dropped his head on her shoulder. "You have no idea. At least we found more people alive than dead. Not the best outcome, but better than the alternative."

Juvia hummed in agreement and when Gray tried to walk towards the house they would spend the night in, Juvia didn't let him. She was biting down her lip. "Juvia needs to tell you something she found out today."

Gray frowned and stepped closer to her, putting his arms around her waist. "What is it?"

"Well, aside from being chosen – Juvia will tell that story later, don't worry – today, even between all this devastation, we got good news. Before you get mad at Juvia for coming here, just know that she had no idea until two hours ago."

"Alright."

Juvia reached for one of his hands and slowly put it over her still flat stomach, her own hand over his. She waited for him to get the hint, but apparently he was so tired, his brain wasn't working anymore because he looked at her in confusion. "We will have to change the decoration of the nursery back at Avalanche Castle, too dark for this little one and I have solid information we are going to be very proud of it."

Gray blinked two times before he finally understood her words. "Are you saying that...?"

"We are having a little Duke or Duchess in a few months? Yes."

All tiredness left Gray's expression and happiness filled in, his hand still over her stomach he kissed her. "Are you sure?"

"Very sure, but we should see a doctor when we get home." Juvia smiled, feeling happy at how excited her husband clearly was.

"Of course!" Gray grinned. "I can't believe it! Natsu keeps rubbing on my face that he got a baby on the way, but now look at who's also have one on the way!" Juvia chuckled and Gray hugged her. "I am very happy, Juvia."

"Me too."

"You do know that now we have to have the outside wedding before you start to show too much, right?"

Juvia gasped. "I had forgotten about that!"

"Yeah. I know many women had it while pregnant, but I don't think they were showing too much." He shrugged.

"We'll get it done, somehow." Juvia smiled and kissed his lips. "Now, can we go and eat something? I really forgot to earlier today."

After that, Gray started to tell her how careless she was by going there and not sending the supplies alone, and telling her that when he told her to stay at the Castle, she should stay at the Castle, especially now that they knew she was expecting, but Juvia didn't feel as if she was getting scolded; she only heard her husband telling how much he cared for her and now their new addition to the family.

#

AN: So, I wanted to show Juvia's transition from being the wife of the Duke to her becoming The Duchess. I hope I did it alright. LOL