"H-hello, Irene." Candace said one early morning, which was not unlike the others that she spent in Choral Clinic. She found the place to be peaceful and calm and the company of the elderly nurse was just as relaxing. They usually spoke about herbal remedies and business as of late.

However, today the young tailor was surprised to see that Irene's desk chair was vacant this morning. She felt a blush creep upon her cheeks as she realized that her greeting had not been heard.

Suddenly, a loud crash sounded from upstairs.

Candace's eyes grew wide as she trekked up the stairway and peeked into each room until she found the source.

It was the carpenter's son, Luke. He was currently holding onto the bedside table for support as he attempted to lift himself up.

"O-oh, let me help you," Candace rushed to his side and aided him in his quest to stand.

The boy gave a disgruntled sigh. She helped him sit up on the bed and eventually sorted the pillows so that he could lie down comfortably. "Thanks," he said, not sounding quite sincere, eyeing her from head to toe. "Candace, right?"

"Y-yes," she replied, studying the injured carpenter apprentice. He had a cast on his left leg with a few names scribbled onto it. A pretty, cursive name was printed in a bold pink color. Selena. "W-what were you doing out of bed?" She immediately regretted asking as he shot her a pointed look. "I-I mean if you d-don't mind me asking, of c-course…"

His lips quirked upwards at her obvious discomfort and he motioned for her to lean forward. She hesitantly did so. He put his lips up to her ear and whispered, "I was trying to make a run for it."

"Y-you don't look like you're in a c-condition to run," she noted, again her eyes magnetically drawn to the islanders name on the cast. An odd feeling settled in her stomach. She couldn't quite identify it.

Luke laughed his usual cheery, contagious laugh. "No kidding, huh? But if that old hag," Candace winced. "Would just give me some crutches, I could be on my merry way."

"You n-need some rest," Candace tried to assure him, "And Irene is a l-lovely lady. You s-shouldn't call her that."

She made to leave, allowing him his time to rest, but his voice stopped her. "Huh. What are you doing here anyway? Don't you work at the clothing store?"

Candace turned to look at him and nodded slightly. "I do, but I come here on my days off to visit I-Irene." Again, his lips twitched. "You wouldn't happen to k-know where she is, would you?"

"I'll tell you if you help me get out of here."

"N-no!"

He folded his arms over his chest and shut his eyes, "Then I guess I won't tell ya."

"O-okay." Candace again, turned to leave, but was stopped.

"I was bluffing! Couldn't you tell?" He sounded exasperated; she could picture his shiny eyes glowing with mirth at her quick defeat.

She faced him again. "W-what?"

"Help me out of here!" He shouted, "I can't stand it! Puh-lease!" If he could've, he surely would have been on his knees, begging. But if that were the case, he'd surely be able to just walk right out of the clinic.

Candace sighed to herself. "I-I'm sorry. B-but you need your rest. If Irene said you have to s-stay in bed, then I'm afraid you have to."

"They don't even feed me!" She eyed him skeptically. "Well." He added, somewhat reluctantly. "C'mon," he said, desperately. "Just find me a pair of crutches and help a fella out."

She wanted to laugh at his use of the word 'fella', it sounded so foreign in his voice. Instead, she crossed her own arms, determinedly. "I-Irene said-"

"Irene this, Irene that," Luke spat out in annoyance. "Can't you think for yourself?" Noting her affronted look, he reconsidered his words. "Okay, look, I'm sorry. But I've already been here for two days and I'm going insane. Please?"

Giving her the widest eyes that Candace had ever seen, he whimpered. "She even confiscated my bandana…"

Candace didn't know why she had agreed to this. It was insane and dangerous. He could seriously hurt himself…

She eyed the boy who was struggling with his crutches to get down the staircase. "Do you need help?" She asked, a hint of smugness in her usually passive tone. She had warned him that this would be a problem.

Stubborn as he was, he persisted that he could handle it with ease. But the look on his face at the moment suggested otherwise. "No," he said through gritted teeth. "I'm good."

Her baby blue eyes twinkled with only a bit of concern as he reached the bottom of the flight. "There," he said, apparently proud of himself. "I did it! See! I told you I could!"

He sounded so much like a child that she found it hard not to smile. He held his fist out in a gesture.

She didn't know what to do.

"Pump my fist," he suggested.

"What?" She asked, bewildered.

However, the front doors of the clinic suddenly opened to reveal a rather peeved looking Irene. This put the conversation momentarily on hold.

"Where do you think you're going?" The nurse asked, cynically, eyeing Luke with distaste, as his own golden eyes widened in disbelief.

"Aw c'mon!"

"And you!" Irene rounded on Candace with a terribly disappointed look. "I'd have thought you had better judgment than this, Candace…"

Candace bowed her head in shame. A feeling of regret washing over her, she hated to disappoint her friends, and Irene surely would put their weekly visits to an end.

"Hey," Luke said, loudly, from his place in bed. "It's not her fault. I was going crazy here! She was just trying to help!"

Candace looked up, shyly, somewhat flattered that he'd bothered to stick up for her. "T-that's okay, you don't h-have to d-do that… I k-know what I did was wrong…I'm so sorry, Irene."

Luke's temper flared. After being chewed up by the old hag…nurse. He wasn't in the mood to see the only person that had attempted to help him be berated as well. "You didn't do anything wrong, stop apologizing!"

Irene shot him a sparing glance. "You, hush." He flopped back onto the bed, adorning an angry expression. "Candace, dear. Whatever possessed you to do such a thing?"

Candace flushed bright pink, recalling that his desperate expression had enabled her to do 'such a thing'. She frowned at her own actions. It was actually ridiculous, looking back. "I don't k-know."

"Leave her alone," Luke spat from his position, his fiercely colored eyes narrowed at Irene. "If you're going to be mad at anyone, it should be me. Even though, that's a stupid idea, too!"

Irene rubbed her forehead, feeling a headache coming on. He was most definitely her least favorite patient. She muttered something that sounded like, "Can't wait until Jin returns…" Louder, she said, "I've told you many times that bed rest was the quickest way to recovery, haven't I?"

"Maybe," he retorted.

"Haven't I?" She repeated, performing her role as nurse perfectly.

He glared up at her. "Yes."

Irene smiled, satisfied. "Now stay in bed." She looked at Candace, almost sympathetically. "I shouldn't trust you to do this…" She sighed, "But I have nobody else and I have errands to run. Please watch him carefully this time."

Candace nodded, determined not to let her down again.

Luke smiled charmingly at the girl, the one that never faltered to make girls weak in the knees. "Please?" He asked, sweetly.

"N-no," she said, blushing. "Not after what happened last time. J-just go to sleep."

"I'm not tired," he whined, flapping his arms around wildly, as if to prove his point. His messy blue hair drifted in all different directions and without a bandana to hide it, Candace found it surprisingly attractive.

But she wouldn't admit it, not even to herself, and especially not to him.

He pursed his lips together, eyeing the girl with almost admiration. It had been about an hour since Irene had left, and she hadn't budged. Yet. "I like your dress," he said, laying it on thick.

"T-thank you," she said feeling a bit flustered at the sudden change of conversation.

"Where'd ya get it?"

She stared at him, incredulously. Could someone be that oblivious? She lived at a tailoring shop! "U-uh. I m-made it."

He nodded, as if this made sense. As if he couldn't have possibly known that himself. "Right…" He shot her that grin again. "Why are you dressed so nicely if you were just coming to visit…her?"

"It's n-nothing…s-special," she murmured softly, watching her shoes with great interest.

"Today's my birthday, y'know," he said, suddenly.

"O-oh. Happy Birthday."

"Thanks. Now let me out."

She sighed. This was going to be very difficult.

Candace couldn't believe that she had fallen for it again. But here she was, helping him along the streets of Harmonica Town. He grinned at her, when she adjusted his crutches for him. "Thanks!"

She didn't respond, she just nodded politely, and held his shoulder to help him keep his balance as they treaded towards the mine cart near the church.

"Well?" He asked, already seated comfortably in the mine cart. "Are you getting in?"

"I d-don't," she stammered. She wouldn't tell him, but she was terrified of that mine cart, always afraid that the track below just might…break. "N-no. You'll be o-okay, won't you?"

Luke wiggled his eyebrows. "But there's plenty of room."

Her blue eyes examined the mine cart with great disdain. "N-no, I think I'll p-pass."

"But I could get hurt," he said, feigning a frightened expression. "Y'know, without somebody as tough as you to protect me." He couldn't maintain the act and burst out laughing.

Candace giggled despite herself.

"Get in," he suggested, moving so there was enough room for her to sit in the back.

She shook her baby blue curls wildly. "N-no. R-really, that's…That's okay."

"C'mon," he said, giving her that look that she really needed to learn to resist.

Candace grimaced to herself as she slid in behind him and blushed as he pulled her arms around his waist. "Just safety precautions," he muttered, quietly.

Yeah, sure.

"What the hell's wrong with you, boy?" Dale asked, furiously, as Luke rolled his eyes carelessly. "You could have gotten injured more seriously!"

"But I didn't," Luke poked his tongue out at Bo who was staring between the two, still stunned.

Candace stood in the corner feeling extremely uncomfortable with the given circumstances. She had this terrible feeling that she was going to be the next precipitant of Dale's anger. She waited and waited but it never came.

Instead she glanced up to find that Dale was hugging his son closely. A look that was torn between anguish and relief. "You could've gotten hurt…" He said, this time, softly.

"I'm fine," Luke said, uncomfortably.

He caught Candace's eye and shrugged against his father's shoulders. Parents will be parents…

She smiled.

They were attending Molly's home warming party. Together. She still couldn't help the blush that spread across her cheeks every time he reached for her hand. He would just grin smugly and say, "I've still got it."

That's how they entered the house, which was; well let's face it, a little more than roughed up. There were gaping holes in the roof, but Molly seemed perfectly content, smiling at them as she opened the door.

"Hey guys!" The brunette greeted them, excitedly.

Candace sometimes wondered why Luke was with her when he could've had somebody as bubbly and outgoing as Molly. But every time she voiced this, he would roll his eyes and call her out on her insecurity.

"I don't want anybody else," he would say simply.

And the small, tiny sacrifice of her weekly Choral Clinic visits was a small price to pay for the handsome boy who held her hand.

AN: More Luke/Candace goodness, since some of you seemed to like my last one :D It's a little less intense and more fluffy. Hope you enjoy!