Disclaimer: ……………nope…. Still nothin'….

Chapter… 7! There we go. Chapter 7. I'm having trouble remembering. And I also wasn't expecting to put Jack in this. It was kind of a spur of the moment type thing. SO! Now the arrival of Jack messes up the plot and everything so I'm going to take a while with the updates now while I try to figure things out and write it.

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Last time-

This must be Jack. But that couldn't be. How could he be related to Faith? Faith was a klutz and annoying. He seemed balanced and calm. And Gwen was right. He was cute!

NO! I did not just think that! Nina shook her head to clear the thoughts, smiling when Jack came up. "How can I help you?"

"Yeah, I'll take three bags of herbs." Jack said, handing over the money. His piercing brown eyes starred intently at Nina. She felt her face go warm under the pressure.

"Here you go. Thanks and come again." Nina said shakily, handing over the seeds

"Thanks. And I'm Jack." He said, stating the obvious. "And you're Nina, correct? Yes. Faith told me all about you."

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Nina watched silently as Jack left with the seeds. He was so intimidating! Having Faith's brother working on her farm could prove to be a good thing though. The farm's profits might actually increase. But Nina didn't like the feeling she had in her stomach. She couldn't quit thinking about Jack.

Nina shook her head. No. I have Basil. Jack can have one of the prettier girls, like Eve or Katie, she thought, going to her room and lying on the bed, hands behind her head. That didn't help much either. Jack still managed to enter her thoughts. Nina needed something to distract her.

Nina got up, deciding to do random things to keep her occupied. She brushed her hair, she watered the plants out in the lobby, and she fixed herself a snack. Eventually she curled up on her bed with a book. It was her favorite classic that had been her Grandmother's at one point in time. Her grandma passed it down to her mom, and on Nina's eleventh birthday, Liz had given it to her.

Time passed and before she knew it, Liz was knocking on her door. "Nina dear, dinner's ready. Come on out."

"Ok mom!" Nina replied, jumping up and straightening her skirt, putting her book back on the shelf. She hurried out of her room and into their small kitchen, folding her legs underneath her on one of the three pillows surrounding the table.

Liz sat a bowl of hot stew in front of Nina. "There you go. Do you want anything to go with it?" Liz asked, getting herself a bowl of stew.

Nina shook her head, mouth full of the hot liquid. She swallowed and spoke, "No thanks Mom." She paused, swallowing another spoonful. "Did you see the new farmer today?"

Liz smiled and nodded. "Yes, I did actually. He was at the Sanitarium visiting Faith. We didn't talk really, just passed greetings. He seems nice enough though…why?"

Nina shrugged. "No reason. He came by today while you were out. He bought…three packs of herb seeds I think."

When they were done eating Nina got up and gathered the dishes, putting them in the sink and rinsing them off with hot water. When she was done she wiped her hands on a towel and went into her room to pass the rest of the day by reading. She only had two hours until she went to sleep anyway.

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The next morning Nina dressed and brushed her hair quickly, and then ran out into the kitchen for a quick bowl of dry cereal. Today was her day off and she was supposed to report to the inn at seven to help Gwen out. She was getting paid for her help, though she disliked the fact strongly. She offered to help herself, so she though that she shouldn't get paid, but Gwen and Doug both insisted on paying her.

Nina wore old clothes today, not her normal dress, and her hair was actually pulled back for once. Gwen had warned her that the job of cooking and cleaning got rather dirty so she should wear old clothes and pulled her hair back. The inn was only a short walk away, and nobody was out this early so the walk was rather enjoyable.

Gwen was sweeping the floors by the time Nina arrived. She was instructed to wipe the tables down first, and then they would be free until the inn opened. Nina grabbed a wet rag from the bucket in the kitchen and got to work. The tables weren't all that dirty since they were cleaned yesterday after closing time, but Gwen said that they should be cleaned from any dust that settled over the night.

When Nina was done, her hands were drier than they've ever been before. The soaps in the water took out the oils and moister in her hands, leaving them dry and peeling. Gwen instructed her to use the soap by the sink in the bathroom with warm water, and then she gave Nina some hand lotion that would also help with the dryness.

When their work was done, the two girls sat in Gwen's room, having a whole hour of free time before they got to work. Nina was trying to talk to Gwen about how much she was getting paid because she wanted it to be less as possible, but Gwen seemed to refuse to talk about it and kept changing the subject, so eventually Nina gave up.

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Nina trudged home, exhausted, around seven in the evening. They had spent an hour after closing time to clean the place up for tomorrow. Nina had been moving around all day, so she decided that when she got home she was taking a long, hot bath, and then going straight to bed. She was going to be so sore in the morning!

Liz was sitting in the kitchen, reading. She looked up when Nina walked in to get a drink. "Well, how was it?" She asked, marking her page and setting the book down.

"Hard." Nina said bluntly. "But I had fun. They paid me 1000G, the lowest they would go."

"Do you want anything to eat?" Liz asked.

"No thanks mom. I ate there. I'm taking a bath and going to bed." With that Nina rinsed her glass and turned to go to her room. She gathered her pajamas and a towel, and then headed for the bathroom.

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Faith was up before six the next morning. She was sitting up in bed, reading on of her favorite classics, when Gina came around the curtain, a smile on her face.

"Faith, we're all having breakfast out in the lobby. Care to join us?" Gina asked happily. She was such a morning person. Probably the cheeriest girl Faith knew. And by 'us' she probably meant Dia and herself.

"Sure." Faith replied, smiling back. She sat her book down on the bedside table and climbed out of bed.

Faith had been right. Dia sat out on the couch, sipping gently at a cup of what Faith thought was tea. She sat across from Dia, on a single chair. Faith was somewhat nervous around the sickly girl. Dia had a terrible temper, and she wasn't very friendly to anyone, except Kurt and Gina, though she does tend to boss the nurse around a lot.

Thinking about the nurse in glasses made Faith look around for her. Gina had come down before Faith, but the farmer never noticed where she went after that. Gina came out of the kitchen carrying a tray of pancakes and a pitcher of milk. She sat the tray on the table and then sat in the other single chair next to Faith. "Well, breakfast is served!" She said with a smile. "I hope it's alright."

Faith cut of a piece from her meal and tasted it. She chewed silently for a while before she spoke, "Gina this is delicious!"

"Really?" Gina asked, blushing from the compliment.

"Yup! It is, right Dia?" Faith turned to the girl across from her.

Dia swallowed her bite and smiled a small smile. "Yeah. She's right."

The rest of the breakfast was eaten in silence. When the three girls were done eating, Gina piled the dishes on the tray and disappeared once more into the kitchen. Faith was just about to disappear into her own room when she heard the front door open and close. She turned around and saw the last person she expected to be standing in front of her, smiling.

"H-hello Nina." Faith said slowly.

"Hey. I figured I should visit you today, since I haven't visited since…well I haven't visited in a while." Nina laughed. "Um… Where's Gina? I need to ask her something."

"She's in the kitchen." Faith replied.

"Ok. You sit down out here. I'll be right back." Nina smiled and went into the kitchen.

Faith sat down, still in shock. Why would Nina be visiting her? Was just out of pity? Maybe Gwen put her up to it…or her mom made her visit. Faith closed her eyes, listening to the voices in the kitchen. She couldn't make out what they were saying, just a few words here and there. Something about cake by the sea…

"Come on you couch potato, we've got places to go and people to see and you're not going to see them sitting on the couch all day!" Nina was back out, standing in front of Faith, bouncing from foot to foot.

"Nina, don't push her. If she starts to feel bad, bring her back immediately." Gina instructed.

"I know, I know. Now let's go!" Nina gently grabbed Faith's wrist and lugged her out of the Sanitarium.

"Were exactly are we going?" Faith asked.

"To visit a friend of yours. He's expecting you." Nina replied.

"Who?"

"What? Do you have too many guy friends that you can't keep track?" Nina joked.

"Well… there's Bob, Dan, Carl, Joe, Ku--"

"Forget it!" Nina groaned. Faith laughed.

Finally they stopped by a small building that had a cute air about it. And a delicious smelling aroma that made Faith hungry again, even though she just ate like five minutes ago. "What is this place?" She asked, looking around curiously.

"Well, while you were cooped up for the past few weeks we've had a few new building go in: Heartful Lyla, a blacksmith, and this place." Nina informed the farmer.

"That still isn't telling me anything." Faith muttered. What was with Nina's sudden mood swing? She was acting as if they were always friends. Not that Faith was complaining…

Nina laughed. "Well you'll just have to go in and find out for yourself won't you?" She opened the door and entered, followed by Faith. "Carl, I've brought you a customer."

Carl, who was wiping the counter with a wet rag, looked up. "Hey Nina, Faith."

Faith looked around the shop before going to the counter. "You did it. You opened your own café! I knew you would!"

Carl laughed. "I had help from you though. Remember?"

Faith nodded, remembering the night he walked her home from her party. The night she collapsed "Yes, I remember. How could I forget?" She smiled, hoping he wouldn't catch on to what she was talking about.

Nina rolled her eyes. "Ok you two love birds, give it a rest. We all know you like each other, but you can save that for later."

Faith turned crimson and turned her gaze to the floor. Carl only turned a very light shade of pink and laughed. "Very funny Nina," Carl said, embarrassed. "Anyway, what can I get for you two?"

"I'll have a slice of cheesecake." Nina replied.

Carl turned to Faith. She blushed, and said, "I'll have…um…" Faith was lost for words. She couldn't help but stare at his eyes, finally realizing that they were more of a honey brown than a regular brown.

"She'll have cheesecake to." Nina said hastily, easily catching the reason for Faith's loss of words.

Carl smiled, oblivious too it all. "Two slices of cheesecake coming up." He left, going back into the kitchen.

"Thank you!" Faith whispered. The small café suddenly felt like it was an oven. Faith knew her cheeks were bright red, as she could easily feel the heat rising from her.

Nina laughed. "Don't mention it."

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Nina walked home alone from the Café that afternoon. Faith had wanted to stay behind to talk to Carl some more, and Carl had promised to take her back to the Sanitarium soon. Nina could tell that they both liked each other, but Carl was to oblivious when it came to love, and Faith…well Faith was a dimwit. Nina knew that was rude to think that of the farmer, but it was true. She was just about as oblivious as Carl was when it came to stuff like romance.

Nina's thoughts instantly went to Jack from that point. She hadn't seen him since he came by the shop to buy seeds, which had only been a few days ago, but she knew he must be busy. Gwen had told her that the farm had really improved since Jack had come. He was easily giving Jamie was run for her money. It was like he was a natural farmer, born and bred.

"Oy! Nina!"

Speak of the farmer.

Nina stopped in her tracks, turning around to see Jack running towards her. "Yes?" She asked. Jack stopped in front of her, bending over to catch his breath. After a minute he straightened up, smiling.

"The fireworks festival is coming up right?" Nina nodded. Jack's smile broadened. "I was wondering if you would like to go with me?"

"Yes, I would love too!" The words had spilled out of her mouth before Nina even knew what she had said.

"Great, I'll come by your house around 5:30 tomorrow then. See ya!" Jack ran off in the opposite direction, leaving Nina behind to process what exactly had just happened.

"Oh…oh Goddess, what have I done?" Nina's hand when up to her mouth, she was shaking. Basil was going to hate her now. He hadn't even asked her yet, but they were dating, and now she was going with Jack. Nina collapsed to her knees on the spot.

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She didn't know how she did it, but somehow Nina managed to drag herself home and get to her room. She didn't bother getting dressed; she just collapsed onto her bed, tears welling up in her eyes. She didn't want to believe she had said what she did to Jack, but somehow it managed to echo in her ears, taunting her and scolding her. She didn't even move when Liz came in with a cup of hot cocoa.

Liz sat the mug on Nina's beside table and sat down on the bed beside her daughter. "Mind telling me why you're so upset?"

Nina sat up, rubbing furiously at her eyes. She hated being caught crying, especially by her mother. "I-I made a terrible mistake mom!"

"What'd you do?"

Nina took a breath, calming herself a little bit, before launching into the short story about what just happened minutes ago. Liz didn't interrupt, she just nodded every so often. "I just don't know what to do. Basil's going to hate me for sure!" Nina concluded.

"Yes, you made a mistake, it's natural. But if Basil truly does love you, he'll forgive you. I suggest you let Jack of nicely. Explain to him why you can't go with him to the festival. He should understand." Liz paused, looking thoughtful. "You hardly know Jack, but do you truly love Basil?" Without waiting for a reply, Liz stood from the bed and left the room, shutting the door with a silent click, leaving her daughter to think about what she had said.

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A/N: End of Chapter 7, and I'm sorry that I skipped around a lot. Yes, I kind of cut it short, but this ending was also a spur of the moment. I had half of this written up already when I opened the file, and after rereading my reviews for the last chapter, I just had to finish it. I'm really getting into this, and I thank all you loyal readers for sticking with me because I know my writing isn't all that good, but I'm just beginning. I have an ending though out already, I just have to type the stuff in between, and I have the end couples thought out. I even got ahead of myself and finished typing the epilogue already (and it is rather heartbreaking. Parts of it were hard for me to write). And this chapter sets me over 10,000 words!

I'll leave you to think about what Liz had said at the end, so use your own imagination. But I will say this: what Liz said does tie in with what happens in the end.

Now please review! (I also apologize. I tried to get Yuan back in here for this chapter, but he simply refused to budge. I'll try harder next time. )