Wooh, got time! Lemme put it here quickly, lol

…oOo…

The days passed by and things seemed to be getting better. Alex had made a bit of progress on his research, Gotz was finally recovered from his burns, Lillia hadn't been feeling so weak in the past few days and Jeff's stomach aches seemed to be under control.

The clinic was running smoothly, and Alex had finally caught up with his sleep. He, with much insistence from Elli, Claire and Carter, had finally realized that if he didn't get a good rest then things would be tougher on work. Of course, as a doctor he knew that and even recommended rest to everyone, but as a person he had never applied the rule.

The town itself seemed to be more cheerful every day; everyone was excited to attend to the Harvest Goddess's festival. It was a great celebration where everyone got together and had a great time. Alex had mentioned a few times that too much partying around would lead to trouble, but after a long talk with Carter, he realized that it was a celebration not only for a good time but also held religious reasons.

Overall, the joy was spreading like a disease and so was the top theme of conversation: who was going with whom to the festival? Manna, Sasha and Anna got together at earlier times just to talk about the possibilities of people going together, or who would go alone. It was a little busier on Mineral Town on this occasion than many others, but that's the way everyone liked it.

"This year's festival is going to be beautiful, don't you agree?" Carter asked his friend Cliff, who just sat on the front row of the church.

The shy man looked up and nodded, smiling a bit. "It's always a nice festival."

The priest smiled back and closed his eyes, simply to enjoy the quietness of the church. It was suddenly interrupted by a knock on the front door that echoed into the big area. He tilted his head to the side slightly, and smiled sweetly when he noticed a blonde farmer that entered.

"Good morning, Carter." Claire smiled, giving the man a flower. "How are you today?"

"I'm pretty good, child." He took the flower while nodding, changing his view from the girl to the poor Cliff that seemed to become uncomfortable with someone else on the same room. "Claire, do you mind doing me a little favor?"

"Sure, anything." She looked at him with big curious eyes. "What do you need?"

"You see that man over there?" He asked, and she nodded. "I want you to introduce yourself and try to talk to him."

"What…?"

"You see… he's not very social; I really don't like to see him so depressed. Maybe a little conversation will cheer him up!"

Claire looked at him and then at herself. "No offence… but do I look approachable to you?"

Carter chuckled under his breath and petted the girl's head. "I know you have your reasons to dress like you do… but just try?"

"I'll try…" Claire shrugged slightly and walked over to Cliff. "Hey! I'm Claire, who are you?"

"I… erm… Cliff." The man backed away a bit, looking at the floor. She just looked at him, noticing that she had seen him but never actually talked to him. "What do you want? Is there something on my face or what?"

"No." She raised an eyebrow. "Why do you ask that?"

"What's it to you? Just go away and leave me alone."

"Jeez, talk about rude." Her look hardened in a glare, and then she turned to Carter. "I gotta go, I don't feel very well."

Cliff felt bad and wanted to apologize, but she had already left the church. He looked at Carter with a questioning look, who just shrugged sheepishly.

Claire walked around town and wanted to go to the clinic, but after checking her watch she knew that it was still too early for their opening time. She sighed and kept walking slowly, thinking that maybe she could be a bother for them if she went to visit so often.

She sat on the bench between the store and the hospital, simply enjoying the sound of nature and how it mixed with the busy little town that she now lived in. Not long after, she entered the supermarket to see what she could afford, her mood not in its best state.

"Good morning, Jeff." She said in a not-so-jolly tone; that guy really put her happiness down. He nodded to show that he acknowledged her presence as he continued to work on some papers behind the register. "I'll take the rucksack…"

"It'll be 3000g, Miss Claire." He looked up and took the money. "Come again soon."

"…Alright." The farmer walked out with a larger rucksack and a smaller wallet. Sure, things at the farm had been going well, but she still felt as if something wasn't right. She felt like everything had fallen into a monotone lifestyle and it was something that she definitely didn't like.

"Maybe I should get some animals for this place… a chicken perhaps." She sighed once she entered her farm. It looked quite empty, especially now that most of the stones and branches were gone. Her little dog welcomed her home by jumping and running around, rolling on the dirt to get her attention. She cracked a smile and picked him up, scratching behind his ear.

"You're a little too happy, you know that?" She placed the little fur ball on the ground again and walked inside her house, sitting on the couch afterwards. She turned on the TV without much enthusiasm, ready to kill the rest of the hours that she had by herself. "Things aren't exactly what I expected… maybe I should go back."

She took a deep breath and sat back as 'Life on the Farm' started. She knew that she hadn't been in Mineral Town for more than a week, so maybe a few days there wouldn't be bad. She just had to get adapted to the place and to the people. She needed to like something besides her own farm… and besides the clinic, they were probably sick of her by now.

She didn't like those thoughts, but they didn't seem to get out of her mind. She couldn't shake off the thought that maybe by hanging out with her friends so often won't make them closer, but instead pushed them away. She wanted to be careful, friends like Elli and Alex don't simply grow on trees and they aren't exactly easy to find.

After the show was over, she realized that it was still relatively early. Without much thinking, she stood up and headed to the woods to pass time. "Maybe I'll take a good look at that mine that Zack told me about…"

On the other side of town, both Elli and Alex were wondering why Claire hadn't show up yet. Elli was at his office, helping him put away some old records while talking about it. "Maybe she's mad?"

"Mad? Why would she be mad?" He frowned, shrugging. "I even went to sleep when she told me to, for goddess's sake. That can't be it."

"Well, maybe not mad… maybe it's more like upset, or disappointed."

Alex just stared at her blankly; trying to understand what would she be disappointed about. Elli rolled her eyes and smiled, placing a hand on his shoulder. "You know that the Harvest Goddess festival is tomorrow, don't you?"

"Of course I do. Who doesn't with Manna around?" He chuckled. "But what does that have to do with this?"

"You really are special, aren't you? She might want to go to the festival." Elli tried to put it out as simple as she could, yet the black haired doctor didn't understand. He could be so smart for some things, but so clueless for others…

"She told us she wasn't going! You're really not making any sense." Alex seemed to be getting annoyed since he didn't really understand his brunette nurse.

"Look Alex, I can't say this any simpler. She wants to go to the festival, just not alone."

"And why would she be disappointed in me for?" He sat down and scratched his head, slightly frustrated.

"Figure it out by yourself. You're smart." She sighed, placing the last file on the cabinet. "I'm going to grandma's house now, see you later!"

"Wait! Tell me first!" He groaned, rubbing his aching head. Elli ignored him and walked outside, rolling her eyes at the ignorance of her partner.

He shrugged the matter off and once it was around five he closed the clinic. Slightly worried about what could be wrong with Claire, he went to her farm to talk it all out. She wasn't there so he kept searching. The afternoon was soon turning into night, the sky changing colors from blue to orange and pink.

He went through the woods and didn't see her; the faint light of a post barely reached the tree filled area. "Claire?"

The blonde farmer was sitting on the Harvest Goddess's pond, listening to the waterfall on the small pool on the bottom. She had heard many legends of the Goddess being real and that it only appeared if you made an offering, but she doubted that the Goddess would want any junk ore that she had on her rucksack so she didn't even bother.

She was thinking about how everything had changed lately for her, how her life had taken such a big turn. She used to be the vice president of a huge company in New York, and now she was a down to earth farmer, with nothing but her crops and products to keep her going. So the life there wasn't as threatening as the life in the city, so there wasn't as much excitement and parties all around the corner. So what? She liked it that way, nice, quiet, and with people who wouldn't hurt you for anything in the world; it was almost a perfect life.

"Claire? Are you here?" Alex walked through the path that led to the pond, spotting the girl not too far away. He sighed in relief and approached her. "Oh, here you are!"

"Doctor? What are you doing here?" She stood up and dusted herself, then turned her attention to him in confusion.

He talked to her worriedly about how he thought that she was mad at him. She laughed and shook her head, letting him know that everything was fine. He walked under the waterfall; the shadow of his body got messed up by the liquid crystals that continued to fall. He peeked through the clear curtain and signaled her to get closer with his finger, smiling unsurely and perhaps a bit worriedly.

She walked after him and smiled near the edge of the waterfall, watching the whole Goddess's pond from a whole new perspective. With the shadows of the night dancing with the wind, the place looked a lot different.

He looked at her sweetly, admiring her beauty on the moonlight. She looked like an angel that fell from heaven, only slightly adapted to the human life. As a friend, she was the best thing that happened to him lately, and he wouldn't let himself lose a friendship because of a simple misunderstanding, if that was the reason anyway. He didn't know what had her upset, but it didn't matter, he'd try to cheer her up.

After much assurance from her part that she wasn't mad at him, he couldn't help but wonder what exactly Elli meant with her being 'disappointed in him'. When she reached his side on the slippery rocks, he looked at her with curious eyes. He couldn't just ask her directly what Elli meant to say, so he just covered the matter by indirectly asking if she wanted to go to the festival at all.

"So Claire… you know the Goddess festival is coming up soon, right?"

"Festival…? Yeah! It's tomorrow, right?" Claire nodded, a little seed of excitement growing in the pit of her stomach. "Gotz gave me a dress for the occasion, apparently it was supposed to be his daughter's… but I haven't made up my mind yet."

"Why not?" Alex sat down on the grass near the cave and petted the wet ground beside him. "It'll be fun."

She sat down and sighed, looking at him in slight sadness. It was mixed with a bit of embarrassment too; she didn't know what to say exactly. "I… I don't know how to dance."

Alex blinked and smiled. "Is that why? Oh, you should have told me!"

"Why would I tell you that?" She smiled back, picking out a few grass leaves. "It's not something to be proud of…"

"Come here." He stood up softly and looked down at her. She looked like a lost child when she frowned in confusion, but he bent down and grabbed her hand to make her feel better on an awkward situation like that. "I'll teach you."

"But… there's no music." She looked down shyly with a smile after she stood up, trying to look anywhere but him.

He smiled a bit more as he walked toward a bigger space and wrapped his arm around her waist gently, grabbing her hand at the same time. She looked at his eyes, a pink blush covering her cheeks. "You don't need music to dance, just close your eyes and follow my lead."

She obediently did so, a gasp escaping her lips as his grip around her tightened a bit. He laughed under his breath, tickling her ear with his warm breath. He then moved to the left, making the first move on their dance. "Don't worry; I'm not going to do anything inappropriate to you."

Her cheeks felt like if they were on fire; she had never been this close to anyone, let alone someone as sweet and hansom as Alex. She felt safe on his arms, yet nervous and worried of letting him down on something as simple as dancing. With a deep breath, she moved to the left too, following his lead like he had said and smiled when he kept moving around as a sign of approval.

Lost on his scent, her eyes seemed to enjoy being closed as her mind drifted off. It was almost as if she was moving automatically, her thoughts and mind being somewhere different, but with Alex to guide her along the way. She had a bit more confidence now, so she placed the hand that was on his shoulder on his chest, not opening her eyes for even a brief moment.

He didn't seem to mind, in fact, he smiled as a small blush crossed his pale cheeks as well. He closed his eyes and just moved around, holding Claire tightly, assuring her that there was nothing to be ashamed of. After all, dancing is moving at the beat of your soul, and apparently their souls had a beautiful rhythm that together made the best combination imaginable.

It was almost as if time had stopped just for them to dance under the faint light of the moon, with the only rhythm being the songs of the crickets and the beat of their hearts. The cloudless sky seemed to fit the mood, helping the big white orb of the sky share its light with the two young strangers who were beginning to feel things they never had before. A simple dance was all it took for the faint fire of their insides to start, both being new to the feeling and unable to tell it apart from a beautiful close friendship.

"You're doing fine, Claire." He smiled after she had finally gotten the hang of the movements. She smiled and rested her head on his shoulder, continuing to dance to the soundless music that wrapped them both under the light of the moon that had its reflection on the silky waters of the Goddess's pond. "Do you… do you want to go to the festival with me?"

She opened her eyes and looked at him, a smile appearing of a sudden as she noticed a sparkle in his eyes. "I'd love to, doctor Al!"

"Listen to me. I don't want you to call me like that." He said in a serious tone that frightened her a bit; he even stopped dancing. The chill of the night made her feel very cold, yet by still being close to him she felt better. The way he said those words made all of the warmness of his company disappear, leaving her for a brief moment on the cold air of the spring's night alone.

She closed her eyes again, this time with a heavy heart; ready for him to tell her what was wrong. Maybe she did something wrong? She didn't know, but she had the feeling that he'd just push her away and go back to the clinic alone, never to speak to her again. Instead, she got the biggest surprise when warm lips caressed her cheek without hesitation. "You call me Al."