Author's Note: Originally meant to be a oneshot, it became something bigger that eventually acts as a mini prelude to another, bigger Harvest Moon project I'm planning. There are four chapters, three of them are finished and ready to be published. The main character, Charlotte, was only a plot tool while writing my other story, "All Hatched Up" but while on vacation I started writing this and couldn't stop. I really enjoyed writing this and I hope you enjoy reading it.


Chapter One:
Never a Number


No one wants to be a number in the unemployment rate, especially not one who spent a good eight years of her life in school training to become a medical doctor. No one despised being a number more than Charlotte Winter. She had a falling out with her boss about a patient's insurance policy—namely he didn't have one. Charlotte argued they should monitor him for one night, for goodness sake he had a heart attack, but her boss knew he couldn't afford it, the hospital was on the brink of foreclosure, and they had already saved the man's life let him leave with the minimum debt. It ended with Charlotte's resignation.

She was in her apartment, packing her things and wondering how long she could live in her moving truck before she could find a new place. She refused every offer that was given to her for a place to stay: her sister Chelsea had recently married, no way was she disrupting that, her brother Chester was restarting his life in a new town as he recovered a divorce, let him settle his problems before he worried about hers, and her parents certainly wouldn't allow her back home "figure it out" they said.

Charlotte sighed and looked around; most of her boxes were already in the truck, ready to be taken to the home Charlotte hadn't found yet. She grabbed her final box full of CDs and headed towards the door when her landlord appeared.

"So you're finally moving out?" he asked.

Charlotte nodded, too somber to speak.

"You found a place to stay yet, shorty?" The man liked to tease her about her tiny stature.

"Sure…" she lied.

"You got someone on the line downstairs."

She nodded and squeezed past him, betting that Chelsea was calling to check up on her again.

"Ello!" she spoke into the receiver, recovering her usual enthusiasm.

"Charlotte?" asked the other end. It was a male's voice—couldn't be her younger sister.

"Speaking."

"Oh, I'm glad I reached you. It's Dr. Trent."

"Wow, Trent, I haven't heard from you since… gosh last Summer," she said, truly surprised to hear the good man's name. She had met him on a visit to Sunny Island to see her sister while he was on vacation. The two became quick friends after learning they unknowingly went to the same medical school.

"Yes, well I heard from Chelsea that you lost your job."

"I quit, actually."

"Either way, with the way things are in the city I doubt you've found a job already."

She wasn't happy to admit he was right.

"So?" she asked, "I'll find one eventually."

"In the meantime why not come work for me? You can live with Elli and me. We could always use the extra pair of hands."

"In Mineral Town?"

"Yes."

Charlotte rolled her eyes. The doctor was lying through his teeth. Mineral Town hardly needed one doctor let alone two.

"Don't worry, Trent. I'll be fine, but thanks for the offer," she said, not willing to take the bone he was throwing.

"It isn't an offer. Chester's outside your apartment ready to drive you to town," Trent said with no nonsense.

Charlotte's eyes widened and she turned around to look out the window and saw her brother and his red head of hair leaning on her rented moving truck. He waved when he saw her looking.

"You dog," was all she could muster returning to the phone. She was smiling; amused that Trent would pull such a trick.

"See you soon, Charlotte," he said.

"Yeah, real soon," she said before hanging up.

Mineral Town was tiny—just as she expected. But she didn't expect the similarities of the town and Sunny Island. Both had that country charm with little technology and a farm at the center of its economy's welfare. She could see why Trent loved it, and she knew she'd grow to love it too, despite being a city girl at heart.

Most of her things were sent to storage, seeing as the extra room Trent was offering was the cellar where they kept their medical supplies. All she really had with her was some of her clothes, a portable CD player (because she liked the vintage charm) and a box full of her favorite CD's. The cot in the room was the same as the ones upstairs in the examining room. The very room Trent said she would be working.

"You can help me with the examinations. We get a few people in here every day checking up on their health," Trent told her upon her arrival.

While showing her around, Charlotte had a bite to eat at the Inn, and fell in love with Doug's cooking and the atmosphere inside. She could imagine throwing a grand party in its walls but felt it better than to mention that to the owner or to Trent. However, back to the food, it was like eating mother's home cooking again…if mother ever did cook. She laughed at the thought, making Ann a little uncomfortable and Trent and Elli slightly embarrassed.

Trent also showed her around, the store, library, winery, and the church.

"It's lovely," Charlotte said when Trent showed her the house of worship.

"Yes, Carter takes good care of it."

"He's a very kind person," Elli mentioned, she had tagged along, eager to meet her new housemate.

"I'll have to visit later," Charlotte said, thinking that perhaps finding religion wouldn't be such a bad thing, just look at how her sister faired—she's married, running a successful farm, and hoping for a child soon. A little prayer here and there might do the unemployed gal some good.

The next day, after an expected slow day at the clinic, Charlotte somehow found her way back to the church, and officially met the father.

"Why hello, you're a new face," Carter said. Immediately she could tell the man was good natured.

"Hi. Yup, I'm new. But I don't plan to stay for long…" she admitted, "Just staying till I can find another job."

"Oh yes, Elli was talking about allowing a friend to live with her. Well, however long your stay, welcome."

"Thanks."

"So what can I do for you?"

"Well, recently my life's been down in the dumps. I was hoping the Harvest Goddess could change that."

"Well, you really should look into yourself for that kind of salvation…" Carter began saying, but after seeing the woman's intense gaze, he tried a different approach, "Er…but we could always start with a confession."

"Cool! Let's do that."

The situation wasn't as profound as she had hoped. She was thoroughly happy that she had made a friend though. She said her goodbye to Carter, and even Cliff, whom she had met once on Sunny Island and apparently, spent plenty of time at the church. She was disappointed that the first male she had connected with in a long while was dedicated to the Harvest Goddess (he defiantly wasn't interested in marriage) and that Cliff was already married as well. That seemed to happen to her a lot.

She was looking back, feeling sorry for herself when she felt something hard run into her and was knocked to the ground. That wouldn't have been so bad if rotten turnips hadn't fallen and stained her skirt.

When she realized what had happened she moaned, "Ewwww."

"Oh, crap! I'm so sorry, are you okay?" asked a voice in front of her. She looked up and saw a tall man in overalls. He looked worried and flustered—which was an odd expression for him because he was tanned and toned. It made her laugh.

"Are…are you okay?" he asked bewildered.

"I'm…I'm fine," she said between giggles, "I'm sorry," she said composing herself.

The man chuckled and helped her up, "I should be sorry, I ran into you."

"But I wasn't looking."

"But look at what I did to your clothes."

"But look at what I did to your turnips!" she said, waving to the mess on the floor. They were browner than white and it looked like a massacre had occurred before the church.

"Well, it wouldn't have been so bad if I were better at farming crops," The man laughed, "And, I'm Jack."

"Charlotte—Dr. Charlotte," she said, proud of her title (despite not having a job to back it up), "Nice to meet you, Jack, you must be the guy who runs the farm."

"That'd be me. So you're Dr. Trent's friend. From the city?"

"Yup!"

"Cool…you know I'm real sorry about your skirt. Can I make it up to you?"

Charlotte saw an opportunity. She grinned and smiled, "You can always take me out to dinner," she said.

Jack blushed, "Like…a date?"

"Well, duh! Give me an hour to change and I'll meet you in front of the clinic, kay?"

"Kay," he agreed, stunned.

"Sweet! See you later, Jack," she waved goodbye and skipped off.

Back at the clinic, she told Elli what had happened as she prepared supper for her husband.

"A date with Jack? That's wonderful!" she said, smiling, "He's a sweet man."

"I hope so, I don't think I can handle dating another jerk!" she laughed. There was a knock at the door and Jack stepped inside.

"Sorry, I'm early I know…" he said, his face red.

Charlotte couldn't believe how adorable the farmer was she took his hand and lead him inside, "Not to worry! I'm actually glad you're here."

"Huh? Why?"

"Because I can introduce you to my parents!" Charlotte joked, taking him closer to Elli.

Elli giggled and wiped her hands on her apron, "Hi, Jack."

"Hey Elli, how's Dr. Trent?"

"Same as always, I suppose."

"Aw! Play along guys," Charlotte whined.

Trying to keep in a laugh, Jack nodded, "So, what time should I have her back, ma'am?"

"Oh, you seem like a nice young man, bring her back whenever you see fit," Elli said, stifling a giggle or two.

"Yay! Thanks 'Mom,' let's go Jack," she said, leading him back out.

At the Inn, Jack and Charlotte had fun talking about their jobs and family. And even though Charlotte had invited him, he had insisted on paying for their dinner, which she eventually accepted, thanking him and thinking that maybe she had hit the jack-pot with this country boy.

"So what are your plans, now that you're living at the clinic?" Jack asked after idle chit-chat.

Charlotte giggled darkly and stirred her drink, "I think I'll just continue working with Trent for a season, relax. I haven't done that for a while. Maybe do a few odd jobs here and there around town. If Trent and Elli are okay with it."

"So, are you planning on staying here long?"

"If I don't find a good job in the city, I think I'll try looking closer to Town, like in the valley."

"I'm pretty sure Dr. Hardy's ready to retire; you can always take over for him."

She wondered about that, and figured she'd have to think about it.
"I'll consider it," she said, "I'll admit though I don't think I can always live with Trent and Elli. They can get…loud."

"Do they fight a lot?"

Charlotte laughed and shook her head, "I doubt that's what they're doing!"
Jack paused to think about it, and Charlotte watched his face grow red. She burst out laughing again and leaned across the table to pinch his cheeks, "You're adorable," she told him.

He blubbered, trying to get something suave out but couldn't succeed.

Charlotte sat back and stared at Jack as he tried to change the subject, thinking that something wonderful may happen with Jack.

He dropped her off in front of the Clinic later that night. They walked the dark streets next to each other, hands at their sides. Jack, no doubt, must have been thinking whether he could take her hand, and Charlotte of course was trying to force him to with sheer mind power; that wasn't working very well.

"So, um, I hope you had fun tonight, Charlotte," Jack said, stopping in front of the Clinic door.

"Loads of fun, Jack," she said, grinning wide.

"Um, well I hope that we can, uh, do this again…sometime?"

"A second date? Well of course! Just come and get me anytime."

"R-really? Okay, tomorrow good?" Jack seemed surprised that she actually said yes.

"Can't wait, see you then," she said, she turned to open the door, but just as she was about to step inside, an idea struck. She spun around to see Jack turning to leave; she tapped his shoulder and kissed his cheek before he knew what was going on. "Thanks for dinner, good night."

A hand on his cheek, Jack turned back to return home with a stunned look on his face, a look that Charlotte blushed for. She went back inside, knowing the perfect CD to define her night, and she was eager to listen.

They had been dating for little over two weeks and Charlotte was growing more and more attached to the farmer and the town, but doubts still formed in her head. She decided it would be best to talk with Elli about Jack.

"Oh, that man is just the sweetest. Nicest person I've ever met," Elli said, sipping at a cup of tea on their day off at the Inn.

"He seems like it. Real nice…" Charlotte said, happy with her opinion, "But what's wrong with him?"

"Huh?'

"You know—the guys rich, has the farm, handsome, kind, and he wassingle when I met him. Impossible!"

"Well…I would say he's just too kind."

"What do you mean?"

"He…he…well, at a time he dated Ann. But he realized how much Cliff liked her so he let her go for him. Then he tried dating Karen, but he saw that Rick would love her more. Same thing happened with Popuri and Kai and Gray and Mary."

"Oh…"

"Even with the Dr. and me. He cares too much about other people he tends to forget about himself."

Charlotte sighed. She knew how that worked. She was fired—she quit—because she was thinking about her ailing patient more than she was thinking about herself.

"Charlotte, that shouldn't stop you from dating him," Elli eventually said. Charlotte blinked, confused by her statement.

"I'm not breaking up with him! I like him, a lot. I was just curious…" she said, no flaw could keep her away from Jack at that point.

By the end of the season Charlotte had received an offer to work in a far off city at a big time hospital, but by then, she couldn't force herself to leave the quiet town. She had fallen in love with the people, the atmosphere, and most of all she was head over heels in love with the farmer.

She decided to keep the offer to herself, she wasn't ready to leave but she was ready to work—really work. She loved her job and she was missing it all—the sterile instruments, the relief her patients showed the gratitude they expressed. She missed being helpful, being significant. She knew she couldn't go much longer without a job.

She was re-reading the offer in the clinic when Trent entered. She wasn't paying attention so he was able to loom over her and read the letter as well.

"Why haven't you said anything, Charlotte?" he asked after reading its content.

Charlotte jumped and turned to see him, "Don't do that!" she said.

"Don't change the subject."

She sighed and looked back at the letter, "I don't want to move."

"Is it Jack?"

She laughed; she thought it funny that she was so obvious, "Yup, love that guy. I never thought I could fall for someone so quickly but…he made it easy."

Trent sighed and took a seat next to his medical colleague and friend, "Love can do that."

"I just wish he felt the same way."

"He does."

"Right, and I can grow wings and fly."

"Why do you think he comes to the clinic so often?"

"He worries about his health."

Trent laughed, "Nope, he just loves you."

"I still don't think I can tell him about the offer though."

"He'll force you to go,' he realized.

"He'll think it's better for me and let me go for," she began, and brought her hands up for air quotes, "My own good."

"Then what're you going to do?"

"Propose?"

He smirked, "You ready for that?"

"I'm almost thirty, Trent. I need to settle down."

"But you want to find a job first?"

"Yes."

"I'll see what I can do."

Trent got up and left before the woman could ask what he meant by that.

Dr. Trent hadn't said anything about her job or her predicament since that night he found her reading that job offer.

"I just wouldn't take that job," was all he would say.