Gray's POV

After Mira had finally stopped crying, she boldly stated that she would kill the monster who dared to harm an innocent child like that. Once that was decided, Levy quickly left the guild to find Gajeel and Lily to let them know we needed them on our mission. Laxus and Erza went to speak to Master to let him know where we were going and everyone else began drifting away to gather things for the journey ahead of us. As I straightened from the table, where I had been leaning against as we discussed, I felt a familiar shiver down my spine.

For a moment, I thought about ignoring it and letting Juvia keep her creepy vigil. However, images of Phaedra danced through my mind's eye and I felt myself come to a stop. Closing my eyes, I let the feelings of protectiveness and affection that had been growing steadily this past month for Phaedra build up inside me. It felt crazy to admit, but I somehow had fallen for that prickly, stubborn-as-a-demon, but surprisingly fragile woman. As I allowed myself to admit that, I knew what I needed to do.

Taking a deep breath, I slowly turned around and stared right at Juvia. She was skulking behind one of the many posts on the edge of the guildhall with only an arm and her head poking out from behind it. I could see her stiffen as I stared at her and slowly made my way towards her. Honestly, I had been expecting her to run straight to me and try to smother me once she realized I was coming over to her... But surprisingly she remained where she was, watching me with hesitation in her blue eyes. Once I had crossed the hall and come face to face with her, she slowly moved out from behind the post and looked up at me with shimmering eyes.

"Can Juvia help you, Gray-sama?" she asked with a strange amount of hesitancy in her voice. I blinked at the unexpectedly low-key reaction but then nodded my head towards the entrance of the guild.

"I need to speak with you privately," I said, a little under my breath. Juvia's eyes widened in shock and she clapped her hands to her cheeks.

"Gray-sama wishes to speak with Juvia?!" she whisper-yelled with much more of her normal crazy energy. I nodded, turning away from her and marching out of the guild before she tried to wrap herself around me. Her quick footsteps followed after me and I led her to a quiet spot in the backyard of the guild. Taking another deep breath to gather my thoughts, I slowly turned around to see Juvia fidgeting nervously with a deep blush on her cheeks.

"Juvia is so happy Gray-sama wants to speak to her! Juvia has missed Gray-sama very very much!" she said shyly as she held her arms behind her back. I was grateful that she hadn't glomped me yet, but I wondered why she was acting like this. For a moment, I nearly lost my nerve. It was easy to tell myself that if Juvia would remain like this, then I could just leave things as they were... but as I looked at her blushing cheeks and thought of Phaedra's tear-stained cheeks I knew I needed to do this.

"Juvia... I know that you have feelings for me." That seemed like a bit of an understatement, but I didn't want to use the 'L' word and make her flip out. Juvia's eyes widened and I held in a groan as her entire face turned red.

"G-gray-sama DOES know! Juvia doesn't know what to say! Juvia loves Gray-sama so much!" She began to move towards me and I jumped back, holding up both my hands. To my surprise, Juvia stumbled and stopped a foot away from me, looking at my hands with a certain amount of what looked like sadness. Taking advantage of her momentary distraction I cleared my throat.

"I am grateful for your feelings, Juvia. It means a lot that you have seen all my flaws and you still like me to such an insane extent. But..." Juvia's eyes snapped up to me and I noticed that her hands were shaking slightly by her sides as she listened to me. "...I only see you as part of my family, Juvia."

"...family?" Juvia repeated in a slightly squeaky voice. Guilt rushed through me as I watched her face drop into a look of confusion and I swallowed hard.

"Yes. I know you are an awesome mage, you are a beautiful person, and really loyal, Juvia. And I am really really happy that you became a member of Fairy Tail. You've become a part of my family and I would do anything to help you if you were in trouble... but... I'm not in love with you."

There. I said it. I had been so frustrated with Juvia and her nonstop romantic advances over the last several years that at times I would forget that she really was important to me. But now that I had developed real feelings for Phaedra... feelings that I could even hesitantly call love... I knew that it wasn't right for me to let Juvia keep having her crazy stalker-crush on me.

I watched uneasily as Juvia dropped her eyes and stared at the ground for several seconds. Her trembling left hand reached up and began to rub her arm as if she had just gotten a chill and I couldn't help the feeling of guilt that was running through me.

"Gray-sama... doesn't believe he could come to love Juvia in the future?" Juvia asked in a shaky voice, looking up at me with her eyes that seemed to be holding back tears. I swallowed quickly but then shook my head firmly, not wanting her to see any hesitation on my part.

"No, Juvia. My feelings won't change," I said bluntly, although I felt like the biggest jerk in the world for doing it.

"Because of Juvia's love rival?" I blinked and took a step back in shock. As I stared blankly at her, my stomach seemed to flip over several times like a trapeze artist who had just launched themselves off their trapeze.

"Uhhhh..." My words weren't working as they should have and I quickly closed my mouth and tried to compose myself. But as I did, Juvia looked up at me with a strangely understanding expression.

"Juvia has been watching Gray-sama for a long time. Juvia can tell when Gray-sama is sad or angry or happy or... or when he's lying." My eyes widened as a single tear slid from Juvia's deep blue eyes. "After Juvia attacked the light mage, Gray-sama came and scolded Juvia. And when Juvia asked Gray-sama if he had feelings for Phaedra... Juvia could tell you were lying when you said no."

A large lump formed in my throat and I awkwardly swallowed. I wanted to tell Juvia that she was right, that I was head over heels for the girl, but fear held me back. Fear that my feelings would go unanswered. If I kept them inside me without ever voicing them, then if she did reject me when I eventually told her... maybe it wouldn't hurt as bad.

I quickly shook myself mentally, putting away my own insecurities so I could face Juvia properly. Right now I knew I was hurting her, and even though she drove me nuts... I didn't want her to be sad for any longer than she had to be.

"Who it is doesn't really matter," I said, my voice coming out gruff from repressed emotion. "What matters is that I can't respond to your feelings, Juvia. And I want you to find someone who will love you for the amazing person you are."

More tears slipped down Juvia's pale cheeks as she looked at me like I had just crushed her soul. To my surprise though, she smiled at me and took a step closer.

"Next time Juvia sees the light mage, Juvia will tell her all about Gray-sama's good side. Juvia will tell her about how you helped Juvia leave a dark guild. And how you always fight harder than anyone to protect your family. Juvia will tell her how handsome Gray-sama looks when you take off your shirt and begin fighting with all of your power. And Juvia..." Her tears were coming harder now and I could feel a lump of emotion stick in my throat that I could not seem to dislodge. "Juvia will tell her that if she doesn't love Gray-sama... that she is the stupidest woman who was ever born."

I couldn't help but laugh at that. It sounded slightly choked and wheezy from the clogged feeling in my throat, but I had to admit that it felt kind of good to know that Juvia didn't hate me for falling in love with someone else.

"You know, I could talk you up to someone too," I suggested after clearing out my throat. Juvia tilted her head, tears still running down her cheeks, as she looked at me in confusion. "Lyon is pretty lovestruck by you. If I told him you wanted to go on a date with him he'd probably be here within the hour." Juvia's cheeks got a tint of color to them and she looked away, fidgeting slightly.

"But... Juvia doesn't know Lyon. Juvia has only ever looked at Gray-sama."

"I know," I said, surprised at the gentleness coming out of my voice. "But Lyon is a good guy. A little full of himself, but I would trust him with my life."

Juvia looked at me with a mixture of sadness, pain, and what looked like a slightly contemplative look.

"Juvia will need some more time..." she said quietly after a moment.

I smiled, walked over and patted her shoulder gently. Juvia looked up at me with wide eyes and I reached out and flicked her gently on the forehead. She instantly clapped her fingers to the spot I had flicked and I couldn't help but laugh.

"I'm going to be leaving on a special job soon, but when I get back, why don't we go to Lamia Scale together and we can go out together? You can get to know Lyon better and you'll realize he's way better for you than I could ever be." A flash of trepidation went through me as I thought of the possibility that I may not actually make it back from this particular job if things went poorly, but I quickly shoved that thought aside. There was nothing that was going to keep me from bringing Phaedra back safe and sound.

Juvia regarded me with such a blatantly dubious expression I couldn't help but laugh out loud. I turned away from her, trying to calm the outburst, and when I finally looked back Juvia was giving me a strange look.

"Juvia can't remember a time when she made Gray-sama laugh before," she said quietly. I blinked in surprise at that comment but then a soft smile spread across her delicate lips. "If it would make Gray-sama happy, then Juvia will try to get to know Lyon better. But Juvia will wait until Gray-sama comes back with his special friend."

I cursed the heat that was entering my cheeks and I turned away, clearing my throat. When I looked back, Juvia's tears had stopped, although her eyes still looked a little sad. I felt bad that I couldn't have returned her feelings, but part of me was really excited to be able to just be friends with Juvia. She was a special girl, and I was sure once she lost her clingy tendencies that we could be as close as I was with Erza and Lucy.

Lucy's POV

"But you don't understand! We need to get to Caelum as fast as possible. Are you sure there is no other way to get across?" I asked desperately as the Ticketmaster shook his head firmly.

"Sorry, Miss, but the last ferry already left for the night. All of the fishing boats are on their way home and it's not the season for night fishing. You'll just have to wait until tomorrow morning."

Feeling frustrated beyond words, I left the ticket counter in defeat and walked back to the main dock of the large pier. Choosing a random wooden post to sit on, I waited for the rest of my travel companions to come back. When we had gone to ask for tickets to the ferry to cross into Caelum, the Ticketmaster had insisted we needed to fill out some special paperwork. By the time everyone had finished, the last ferry had left. Now everyone had split up to try and see if we couldn't find a faster option than waiting until morning.

A sinking feeling in my chest caused me to sigh. It had already been a full day since Laxus had spotted Phaedra. With her lightspeed magic and knowing exactly where she was going, I was getting worried that we were falling too far behind.

"Lu-chan!" I turned around and waved tiredly at Levy as she, Gajeel, and Lily all walked down the pier towards me. It never ceased to amaze me how Gajeel had unwittingly stolen my bookworm friend's heart. They had had a rough start to their relationship, what with Gajeel torturing her and her teammates to send a message to us at Fairy Tail, but Levy had been one of the first people to forgive Gajeel and welcome him into our guild. Levy's capacity to forgive and see the good in others was something that I really admired about her.

"Any luck?" I asked the small group. Lily and Levy shook their heads but Gajeel grinned menacingly.

"I might have landed a gig! Too bad I don't have my guitar with me. Gehee," Gajeel said with his signature strange laugh. Levy and Lily's faces both slackened in horror.

"They said they MAY have an opening, Gajeel. And we're only here for a day so you can't join their band," Levy argued logically. Gajeel frowned and crossed his arms.

"Their loss," Gajeel said arrogantly and I tried to hide my shudder. Gajeel's music style wasn't anything I could get behind at any time of the day, and I hadn't found anyone who disagreed with me.

"Luuuucccyyy!" I turned around and yelped when Happy flew straight into my chest, nearly knocking me backwards and into the ocean below.

"Happy! Are you trying to kill me?" I asked once I had gotten my balance back. Happy rubbed his face against me sweetly before looking up to give me a large smile.

"I just missed you! The captain we talked to was really mean. He wouldn't give me even one of his fish!" Happy said with an indignant frown. I chuckled at his antics, looking up past him to see Natsu striding towards me with Gray by his side. Not surprisingly, they looked to be in the middle of a heated argument.

Laxus and Erza, Mest and Wendy, and then finally Mira-nee and Freed all came back with similar news. No one was willing to take us across the channel to Caelum tonight. With a feeling of defeat, we all left the pier and decided to make camp down on the beach for the night. After we had all shared dinner, Mira-nee began to sing in her amazingly sweet voice and everyone closed their eyes around the campfire to listen.

Normally, I felt like I could listen to Mira-nee sing all day long. But a strange restlessness was making me antsy and halfway through her song I quietly stood up and began walking down the beach. My thoughts bounced in a million directions as I walked, but they always seemed to come back to the moment when Phaedra and I had been captured. I replayed in my mind how she, even with her hands and feet bound, had fought Dierdre until she had collapsed from exhaustion. Clenching my hands into fists I looked down at my key pouch and, after only a moment's hesitation, selected a key.

"Open Gate of the Lion, Leo!" The blue summoning circle appeared and after the doorbell sound, Loke stepped through the portal dressed in his usual black suit and turned to look at me.

"Hello, Lucy-chan. It is rare for you to summon me so late in the evening. Have you finally given in to my irresistible charms?" Loke asked while holding out his arms invitingly as if waiting for me to jump into them. I rolled my eyes at his usual antics and shook my head.

"No, Loke. I was actually hoping to ask you for a favor." Loke's lion ears twitched slightly before he lowered his arms and frowned.

"You know you never have to ask, Lucy. I will grant any wish you may have," he said in a more serious tone than I had heard in a long time.

"I want you to teach me how to fight," I blurted out. Loke's eyes widened and he blinked in obvious surprise. Suddenly his expression turned to one of remorse and he crashed down to his knees in front of me, surprising me so much that I jumped.

"This is about what happened with the kidnappers, isn't it?" Loke said in a quiet, guilt-ridden voice.

"Well, yes... but Loke stand up! Why are you..."

"Please forgive me, Lucy." Loke cut me off, grabbing my hands and bowing his forehead over them. "I should have been paying closer attention to you. I didn't realize you were in danger until Natsu had already rescued you, but I should have realized sooner. I am truly sorry."

I frowned and ripped my hands from Loke's. He blinked up at me from behind his glasses as I placed my hands angrily on my hips and glared down at him.

"Stand up and look at me, Loke. You are not my servant and I refuse to treat you as one." Loke's wide eyes blinked several times before he bowed his head and I could hear him chuckling quietly. He pushed himself back up to his feet and looked at me with a grateful smile.

"I'm sorry, Lucy-chan," he apologized with a half bow and I smiled at him.

"If I had called your name I know you would have heard me and come to help, Loke. But in the cave, I was panicked and scared for my friend's life... so I didn't. But that is exactly why I want to learn how to fight. I know you are a master of martial arts. Capricorn has been teaching me about the Star Dress power and I was hoping that you could teach me some of your moves."

Loke regarded me silently for a moment before letting out a large grin, the moonlight reflecting off of his pearly-white teeth.

"Your wish is my command, Lucy-chan. Let's do some basic training before you try my Star Dress though, okay?" Loke suggested. I nodded my head vigorously and then for the next hour I followed Loke's instructions on basic hand-to-hand combat moves.

You won't have to protect me anymore, Phaedra. I'm going to help you this time.

A/N Gahhhh these chapters are really being difficult for me! I hope you enjoyed Gray and Juvia's moment though. I thought it was really sweet, although it was probably pretty OOC. I do want to thank boredBRAIXEN for all of her help with this and the last chapter! I really appreciated your input and I hope you enjoyed seeing your influence in the story!