Chapter 4

The sun slowly crept through the old glass, illuminating the floor boards one at a time. The light made it's way towards the occupied bed. Silver hair made it's presence known by shining in the sunlight. As the light made it's way to his eyes, they slowly opened, revealing the hidden amethyst gems. He stirred slightly, but his movements were light, careful as to not wake the sleeping girl in his arms. Sometime during the night, she had turned over in her sleep, her face against his chest, with a hand raised to rest against it. Vaughn gave a light smile, enjoying the serene mood. He let his mind wander towards the future and what possibilities lie ahead. He envisioned a field full of towering crops, animals grazing in the grass, everything the polar
opposite of reality. He saw himself and Chelsea, who was holding in her arms what will be their child, standing together, admiring the hard work they had done. After all, at one point, work had been everything to Vaughn. He looked down at her peaceful face, watching as her cerulean orbs slowly fluttered open.

"Mornin'" He spoke in a tender, soft, Southern drawl. She smiled as she felt the vibrations of his deep voice flow through his chest.

"Good Morning" Chelsea spoke through a yawn. She lifted her hand and pushed back the silver bangs hanging in front of his face, revealing his gorgeous eyes. She loved the feeling of his hair, soft, light, never dirty. That was one thing she had loved about him. Vaughn was one of the neatest men she had ever met, but then again, anyone in his line of work would choose to smell fresh rather than of animal piss.

"You feelin' alright this mornin'?" He asked her, remembering about the morning sickness that normally occurs.

"So far so good." She spoke, still waking up from her slumber. Vaughn scanned the room for a wall clock, but there was none in sight. He stretched his arms out, taking a deep breath. He would have gave anything to stay in bed all day with Chelsea, but Mirabelle was expecting them. He got up out of bed and went over to his bag. Unfortunately for them, they didn't have a bathroom, where the two could freshen up for the day. He slipped on his trademark black outfit and grabbed his boots and a pair of clean socks. As he sat on the bed to change the socks,

Chelsea came over and put her arms around his neck whispering into his ear "Oh, Vaughn. Have I ever told you how sexy you are? You're like a marble statue, perfectly carved into this absolutely breath-taking form."

He felt his cheeks heat up, not only by her words, but by the way her breath tickled his ear. Chelsea began to massage his broad, strong shoulders, her fingers dancing over his muscles. Vaughn couldn't resist, he WANTED her to touch him. She slowly pulled him back, planting a deep kiss on his perfect lips. His eyes began to close, but realization snapped them back open. He gently pushed her away, standing up from the bed.
"Chels, that's the exact reason why we're in this situation. You're too young, I'M too young. We should have waited."

Tears began to form in her eyes. "You don't care about me anymore?" She asked him before the tears ran down her face. He sighed, remembering how Trent explained to him that her hormones would be out of whack, and that anything could turn her on, off, anger her, make her cry, delight her. He also said that it was probably the worst thing that a man had to deal with and had no way of preventing it.

"Chels, you know that ain't true. It's just that... Aunt Mura-belle's waitin' for us." He sat on the bed and pulled her close to him.

"I'll make you a deal. When we come home for the night, we'll...continue." He would do anything as long as the outcome made her happy. The sniveling stopped as she snuggled into his shirt. He stroked her chestnut brown hair until she finally pulled away. Vaughn's black shirt had a wet spot on it now, but it didn't matter to him.

Chelsea quickly got dressed and the two walked hand in hand out of the house, arriving at Mirabelle's within ten minutes. He glanced at the wall clock across from the door he had just opened. 7:24 it read.

"Oh mamma, they're here!" Julia squealed as she ran over to the couple.

"Vaughn, you gotta wet spot on your shirt, ya know." She informed her cousin, inspecting his shirt. Vaughn growled, however Julia stuck her tongue out at him instead of backing away like most people.

"You're so grumpy, Vaughn. How did a nasty old man like you land a sweet girl like Chelsea?" She teased him, a smirk neatly placed across her face.

"Might I remind you that you're older than me, Julia? So if I'm old, I'm guessin' that makes you ancient." He shot back at her, the corners of her mouth turning down. She glared at him, he glared at her, until eventually Mirabelle broke them apart.

"Will y'all quit fightin' with each other? My goodness, y'all 'er adults, if ya didn't know."

"Yes'um" The two spoke simultaneously in their Southern accents. Mirabelle took a hold of Chelsea's arm and led her into the kitchen.

"Now, if ya start to feel sick, the bathroom is in the back. However, you can't skip any meals. It's very important that you an' the little one eat healthy, and well, eat in general" She spoke to her lightly. Julia still knew nothing of her cousin's unborn child. Mirabelle felt it was best to wait, seeing as how blabber mouth Julia would tell the island residents, leaving them to wonder exactly who were expecting a child.

After sitting Chelsea down at the table, Mirabelle opened the windows to let fresh, Spring air in, so the smell of cooking food wouldn't bother Chelsea's sensitive nose. After their delicious meal, and surprisingly Chelsea hadn't gotten sick, Julia insisted on taking them around to meet the residents.

"Not 'till you git dressed for the day." Vaughn said, looking at the belly shirt and short skirt Julia was wearing. Julia glared at her cousin again.

"Ain't nuttin' wrong with my outfit!" She barked back at him.

Vaughn scowled at his cousin. "That ain't the proper way for a lady to dress. Now change your clothes!"

Julia fumed at Vaughn, but knew that he wasn't going to let her out of the house until she put on a different outfit. Chelsea knew that Julia was upset, but she knew that Vaughn was too
much of a gentleman to let a relative of his walk around like a tramp. She admired him for this. Julia came back out, wearing a short sleeved shirt and a pair of jeans.

"You have no say when it comes to Summer time. You don't even git hot in them black clothes of yours, which I find impossible." She pointed a finger at him.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*

Their first stop was the black house that belonged to the island merchant, Chen. The dark haired man who's eyes always looked closed seemed to be from an eastern country.

"Hey Chen!" Julia said as she walked through the store door. Chen gave a light smile before noticing the two behind her.

"Chen, this is my cousin Vaughn and his wife, Chelsea!" Julia moved to the side to let Chelsea and Vaughn greet the man.

"How do you do?" Chelsea asked the man, while Vaughn tipped his hat at the man.

"Ahh, you must be the 'pretty lady' with the cowboy for a boyfriend. My son Charlie has been talking about you two nonstop." The man spoke with a light accent.

"DAD, THAT'S THE COWBOY I WAS TELLING YOU ABOUT." The energetic young boy ran out from behind the store counter.

"Mr. Cowboy, can I see your gun?" Charlie asked Vaughn.

"Ain't that kinda cowboy." He sighed, disliking the fact that he called himself a cowboy. Charlie frowned at him.

"Do you at least know how to use a gun? Can you teach me?" He suddenly became excited from his questions.

"Yes, and no, I ain't teachin' no boy how to shoot no gun. Too dangerous." Vaughn crossed his arms, becoming annoyed at the child's questioning. How he hated socializing with people.
Once again the young boy frowned, turning his attention towards Chelsea.

"You're boyfriend's grumpy." Chelsea chuckled, Julia snorted, and Vaughn pretended not to have heard anything.

"He's gotta learn to be nicer if you ever decided to have babies with him. Whoever heard of a mean daddy?" Both Julia's and Chelsea's faces fell, turning to look at Vaughn's. His eyes had widened and his mouth had become smaller, as if what the little boy had said affected him. Had it? (Think of the embarrassed face he makes when you give him Porridge.)
Chen, although his eyes looked closed, took notice of their faces, realizing that his son had said something wrong.

"Charlie, that's enough. Why don't you go into the backroom for a little while."

Charlie wanted to complain, but did as he was told. The room quickly filled with awkward silence. Chen opened his mouth to apologize to Vaughn about his son's statement, but the cowboy turned around and walked out the door. Chelsea gave Chen a small smile and followed after Vaughn, hoping she could make him feel better.

"I am sorry." Chen said to Julia.

Julia sighed before speaking. "It's alright. Vaughn is a grump, but he has his reasons. Let's just say that no child should experience what he went through."

Chelsea caught up with Vaughn, who was walking towards Taro's house. She grabbed his hand and tugged on it, stopping dead in her tracks.

"Lemme go, Chels."

"Vaughn, we need to talk."

"Ain't nothin' to talk 'bout." His voice was harsh, just as it had sounded when she first spoke to him. His tone stung her heart, but she held back the tears.

"Vaughn.." She softly spoke in a tender, loving voice. He sighed aloud, adjusting his hand in Chelsea's grip, lacing his fingers with hers.

"Come on, Chels. Let's go to the next house."

He didn't want to talk about it, but she knew he would eventually want to. It was one of the reasons why he fell in love with her, someone who would listen and care about what he had to say.

A woman of about Mirabelle's age answered the door. She had pink, braided hair, and wore a brown dress with a yellow apron.

"Why, hello. Come in, come in." She had a comforting smile and a sweet voice, causing anyone to feel at ease. The small house had two rooms, one which had four beds, the other a
kitchen. Against the wall, near the door, there were many wooden crates, barely small enough to fit through the door.

"Natalie! Elliot! The new rancher family is here!" The woman called towards the bedroom.

A girl about Chelsea's height and a boy about a few inches taller came out. They both had pink hair and resembled each other. The girl wore a green, short sleeved turtle-neck sweater and a pair of bell bottom blue jeans, covered by a yellow apron. Her short, pink hair was held back by a red headband. She walked upright, as if she owned the world. The boy next to her wore round rimmed glasses, a blue polo shirt, light blue cuffed jeans, and a green apron. He seemed to be clumsy, and bore a small frown on his troubled face.

The woman turned back towards the couple. "My name is Felicia. My father had mentioned you, but he didn't say how cute you too were together."

Vaughn and Chelsea lightly flushed, still holding each other's hands.

"This is my daughter, Natalie,"She motioned to the proud girl, "And my son, Elliot." She gestured to the wimpy boy.

"The name's Vaughn. This here's my wife, Chelsea." He tipped his hat, speaking in his icy cold voice. Chelsea shook their hands, while Vaughn folded his arms.

"You're Mirabelle's nephew?" Felicia asked.

Vaughn shook his head yes.

Natalie snorted, and jabbed Elliot in the arm. "Better watch out! Julia's got a big, bad cousin that'll get you!"

Elliot flushed and immediately excused himself.

"Now Natalie, we have guests." She said, following after her son to help his low self esteem.

Vaughn raised a silver eyebrow at the girl in front of him. She took notice and explained herself.

"He's got a crush on her. It's pretty obvious. But she's too much of a babe for him. I'm sad to say it, but my big brother is a nerd."

Vaughn smirked at her statement. This girl wasn't half bad. The door slowly opened with Julia behind it.

"Speak of the devil, and he doth appear." Vaughn spoke, causing Natalie to giggle.

Julia said hello to them and headed straight to Elliot to talk with him.

"Well, it was nice meeting you. I'm sure you have others to meet, and it looks like your tour guide found another job." Natalie spoke, referring to Julia giggling about something Elliot had said to her.

Vaughn tipped his hat at her and headed out the door. "Well, I guess I will see you later!" Chelsea lightly exclaimed, forcing Natalie to give a small smile. She nodded her head and closed
the door as Chelsea walked out, trying once again to catch up to Vaughn.

"I like to cook!"

"Really, never woulda guessed that." Vaughn mumbled as the purple gourmet turned to walk towards his kitchen. The young looking boy, who surprisingly was about 22 years old, began to ramble on about his 'amazing kitchen.'

"What does yours look like?" He asked, snapping Chelsea back into reality.

"Huh?" She said, having no clue as to what he was talking about.

"Your kitchen? What does it look like?" Pierre questioned her.

"Oh, we don't have one yet, surprisingly."

Pierre looked as if he saw a horrible accident. He stared at the couple with wide eyes and a look of disbelief.

"No kitchen? That's...Unthinkable! How can you live? Well, until you get your own, you are always welcome to use mine, however, I might end up taking over whatever you decide to whip up."

"Oh, well thank you, Pierre!" Chelsea exclaimed, however she knew she probably wouldn't take him up on his offer.

After introducing themselves to Kirk, the man who brings people to the other islands with his boat, and enjoying lunch at the week old cafe, the two made their way to greet the three residents on Sprout Island. As the passed over the bridge, they saw an extremely large man constructing a large building all by himself.

"Hello!" Chelsea's chipper voice called to the man who's back was facing the couple. The large man turned around. His face was rather frightening, especially since he had nails between his lips and a large hammer in his hands. He brought a beefy hand up to his mouth, removing the nails, and instantly his expression changed to a softer one.

" 'ello dere. The name's Gannon." He went to offer his hand to shake theirs, but he refrained, seeing as how they both held objects.

"I'm Chelsea. My husband, Vaughn, and I just moved into the old ranch." Vaughn tipped his hat to the gentle giant.

"Nice to meet youz. I'm the contractor fer these islands. Right now I'm buildin' an Inn so tourists can come 'ere. Hopefully it'll make the islands more lively."

Chelsea smiled at him. As rough as he looked, he truly was a gentle spirit. Kinda like a certain someone she knew...

"Oh, lemme introduce my daughter." Gannon told them, as he turned.

"ELIZAAAAA!!!!!" He bellowed in a voice that shook the island. Vaughn and Chelsea turned to face the direction the Gannon had been facing. A young girl came out of a house that the two guessed belonged to the contractor.

"Hi daddy! Who are these people?" Chelsea and Vaughn couldn't believe their eyes. This girl, who could had been mistaken for a real life Goldilocks, was absolutely adorable, with her orange dress and bow, and her pretty, green eyes. She definitely did not look as if Gannon was her father, in fact, could have been possible that her mother had an affair with another man?

"Eliza, they're new residents who took over the abandoned ranch."

The young girl looked at Chelsea. "You're almost as pretty as me!" She said with a smile.

"Heheh, thanks?" Chelsea replied in a confused tone. Eliza then looked at Vaughn and let out a huge gasp.

"Finally! My handsome prince has come to rescue me off this island!"

"What the hel-" He began, but was caught off guard when the young girl wrapped her arms around his legs. She barely came up to his waist.

"Bring me to your castle! I don't want to live here anymore!" She said to him.

Vaughn scowled at her, while Chelsea and Gannon gave out a small laugh.

"Eliza, I hate to tell ya, sweetheart, but yer 'prince charming'"

"Oh, he's 'charming,' alright." Chelsea sarcastically interrupted Gannon, rolling her eyes.

"Already found his princess." He finished.

The young girl still clung onto the cowboy's legs.

"So?" She replied.

Vaughn let out an exasperated sigh. He had enough for one day. Suddenly, young Charlie walked over the bridge and saw Eliza holding on to Vaughn.

"Eliza!?! What are you doing?" He yelled, jealous that she was holding onto the cowboy.

Eliza stuck her tongue out at Charlie and quickly replied "I don't need you anymore, my handsome prince has come to rescue me!"

Charlie's eyebrows met in the center, slanting downwards. "Fine, don't expect to see your doll ever again!" He waved the small doll in the air and ran back towards his father's shop.

"Wait! No! Give me back my dolly!!!" Eliza pushed through Vaughn's legs and quickly ran after the young boy who was holding her doll hostage.

Gannon smiled at the couple as they turned their attention back to the gentle giant. "Sorry 'bout that."

"S'Alright." Vaughn grunted as he folded his arms across his chest.

"Well, there's one more resident on this island. If you keep walkin' down this pathway, you'll see his house. It's on the beach." Gannon informed them before turning his attention back to his work.

-*-*-*-*-*

Chelsea let out a yawn as the two walked towards the small shack.

"You alright?" Vaughn questioned the young girl, taking a swig out of his silver flask. It had been quite a scary day for our favorite, anti-social cowboy, alcohol being one of the few remedies.

She nodded her head before answering. "Yeah, it's just been a long day. I can't wait to hit the sack."

Vaughn gave a slight smirk and mentally agreed with they had reached the shack, Vaughn rapped on the door with his knuckles, waiting for the owner to come out. The door started to open, revealing the owner to the young couple. Vaughn and Chelsea looked at the man, utterly confused. He had a friendly smile planted on his tanned face, with curly locks hanging down and a purple bandana covering the top of his head. He wore a black tank top, with a towel around his shoulders and a shark tooth necklace around the neck. He also had light blue jeans, with the bottoms stuffed into his matching rubber boots. Around his waist, he wore a purple flannel button up shirt, and on his shoulder sat a round, black bird...thing.

"Hi! How can I help you guys?" The man said in a voice that obviously showed that he was a cheerful person, perhaps too cheerful.

"Uh, my name's Chelsea, my husband Vaughn and I just moved into the ranch here. We wanted to introduce ourselves" Chelsea said to the dark skinned man as she tried to gather her thoughts.

"Oh! Well, My name's Denny, and this is my pet bird, Popper."

The said black...bird, greeted the couple as well. "Kuu. Kuu!"

Chelsea smiled at the strange, but incredibly cute creature. The way the bird stayed with Denny reminded her of how her friend, Cliff, had a pet hawk that would perch on his arm.

Denny noticed that Vaughn had a small scowl on his face.

"If you don't mind me asking, but why do you seem aggravated?" He questioned the silver haired man standing in front of him.

Vaughn raised an eyebrow at Denny and proceeded to answer 'It's none your business.' Before Chelsea interrupted him.

"Oh, he's anti-social. Today was like his worst nightmare, having to meet people and actually talk to them." She stated.

Denny gave out a small chuckle. "Well, I'd be grumpy too if I was forced to do something I hated."

Chelsea gave out a small laugh too, while Vaughn rolled his eyes.

"Whatever." Vaughn mumbled as he pulled down the rim of his hat.

"Well, I'll let you guys go. It was nice meeting you, and if you ever wanna hang out, just tell me!" Denny told them.

"Thanks! We will!" Chelsea replied.

Vaughn gave a small grunt.

Denny closed his door, and the two proceeded to walk off the beach.

"...Was it me, or did he look almost exactly like Kai?"


Sorry that this took so long. I actually only had to finish the Denny part, and could have had it up last week, but I've been so busy!!!!

Please Review!

And thank you to those who have reviewed!

It makes me happy to see the little email notification and to read what you guys think!

Next chapter will deal a bit with the incident at Chen's shop.

By the way, keep Vaughn's silver flask in mind.

Let's just say that Chelsea only knows a part of Vaughn's childhood.....