I'm being mean and giving you a total shocker and then a cliffy *smiles evilly* :) YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

Disclaimer: I don't own Harvest Moon or any of its characters.

Sickening

The next morning I woke up sprawled across my bed, still in my dress. My shoes and shawl were strewn out around the door, and the supper dishes were still on the table. As I got up, I realized I was still wearing the diamond necklace Vaughn had given me. I took it off gently, making sure it wasn't broke in any way. When I saw it was unharmed, I sighed a breath of relief and put it on my bedside table.

My dress was a mess. The skirt was all aloof and the belt was falling down. I tore the thing off and laid it down on my bed, making a mental note to fix it later. I changed into some comfy sweats and set to work cleaning my house up.

I put my shoes and shawl where they belonged, then cleared the table and stuck the dishes in the sink. How I dreamed of having a dishwasher someday, so Cascade Complete can clean the dishes, not me. I turned the water on hot, and filled the sink with Dawn soap.

Grabbing the yellow sponge from beside the sink, I began scrubbing mercilessly at the dishes.

"Die, stuck-on food, die!" I screamed into the soapy water. I must have looked like a lunatic, screaming at plates.

When the dishes were finally clean, I put on my coat and winter boots to go look after Ella. Poor girl was freezing. No wonder, too. She was a little baby cow, stuck in an empty barn in the winter. After I fed and brushed her, I covered her in an old wool blanket, and made her a little cozy bed out of straw, towels, and a big comforter with a hole in it. She seemed happier.

Back inside my house, I began "fixing" my dress. I had to put it on, though. I took the belt off and began separating the skirts, laying them back on each other carefully. Once the skirt was fixed, I put the belt back on, took the dress off, and hung it in my closet.

I then flounced over to Mirabelle's shop to ask Julia how her night with Elliot went. When I opened the door, the shop was empty.

"Hello?" I called silently through the empty space. I walked slowly inside, my Uggs making a scuffling noise. "Mirabelle? Julia? Vaughn?"

No one answered.

"Jonathon?" I asked as a last resort. "Is anyone here?"

I stood near the doorway to Mirabelle's shop for a while, listening for someone. Nothing. All I heard was the ticking of Mirabelle's old grandfather clock.

"Chelsea!" Suddenly, Jonathon and Vaughn popped out from around the corner. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to see Julia," I said.

"She's still asleep," Jonathon said. "She was up really late last night."

"Oh," I said quietly. "Did she tell you how her date with Elliot went?"

Both brothers looked at each, and Vaughn shook his head slightly.

"Uh," Jonathon said. "She said it went great..." Vaughn nodded his head in agreement.

"Ok," I said. "Can you tell her I want to see her when she wakes up?"

"Sure," Vaughn said, and the two men walked back down the hall.

As I was walking back home, I ran into Natalie.

"Hi, Natalie," I said cheerily, stopping. "How was last night with Pierre?"

"Fantastic!" Natalie cheered. "He made the most delicious meal! I had the best time! How about you and Vaughn?"

"Wonderful," I said.

"I didn't see you guys on the mountain top," Natalie observed. "But, then again, there were so many people..."

"We went to the meadow," I said. "Vaughn knew there would be so many people and he doesn't like crowds..."

"Ah," Natalie said.

"Did your brother say anything about how his night with Julia went?" I asked.

"Nope," Natalie told me. "He got home really late, like two in the morning. Mom made me stay up for him... Ugh. He just threw off his shoes and coat and went to bed."

I nodded. "What do you think they did to make them so late?" I asked.

Natalie got this really freaky look on her face. She crossed her arms over her chest and stared at me with her eyebrows raised.

I got what she was saying. "Oh, Natalie!" I cried. "No! They wouldn't! Oh, no, no... Where would they do it?"

"The hotel..." Natalie mumbled, playing with her nail.

"No," I said. "They would never do that. Never!"

"I don't know..." Natalie said.

"Please," I scoffed. "You're being ridiculous!" With that said, I stalked away.

At three pm, I went down to see if Julia had woken up. I figured she had, considering it was almost supper time. When I walked through the door, I saw Julia curled up on the couch in the living room with a book. Mirabelle had her back turned from me, counting the inventory. Her two nephews were nowhere to be seen.

"Hi," I said softly to Mirabelle, who turned around and smiled at me.

"Hello, Chelsea, dear," she said. "Julia's in the living room reading..."

I nodded my thanks and hurried to the living room.

"Hey, Jules," I said walking through the small door.

Julia looked up from her book. Her eyes looked tired and her face was pale. "Hi, Chelsea," she said. Her usually strong voice sounded weak and empty.

"You don't sound so good," I said, sitting beside her. "You feel ok?"

"Meh," Julia muttered, shifting positions on the couch. "I've been better."

"So..." I said softly. "How was last night?"

"Great," Julia said, smiling slightly. "I had the best time!"

I smiled at her. "I did too..." I told her. "What did you and Elliot do that made you so late?"

Julia's grey cheeks became flustered with colour. "We... got lost..." she said quietly. "In the forest."

"Oh no!" I gasped. "How? I mean, you've lived here long enough!"

"Well, it was... dark," Julia said.

"Oh..." I muttered. I thought about whether I should tell her what Natalie thought they did, but decided against it.

"Well, I have to go," I said, getting up. "Spring's coming, and I still have a lot to do."

"Ok," Julia said, opening her book again. "Bye."

"Bye,"

Two days later, Vaughn knocked on my door and seven in the morning.

"Hi, Vaughn," I said cheerily, gingerly kissing him on the cheek. "What do you need?"

"Uh..." Vaughn said, as if he suddenly forgot his reason for being here. "Julia wants to see you..."

"Well, why didn't she come here?" I asked, pointing to the floor.

"She... can't." Vaughn said.

"Why not?" I asked him, confused.

"She just... can't." He repeated. "Now come on."

"O-Ok," I mumbled, grabbing my coat and boots.

We walked in silence to Mirabelle's house. Vaughn seemed worried and nervous about something. I tried asking him what was wrong, but all he would say was "You'll see."

When we walked into the shop, we were greeted by Jonathon.

"They're here!" he screamed as loud as possible.

"Oh, good," I heard Mirabelle say from down the hall. Her voice was followed by slow, easing footsteps. About a minute later, Mirabelle and Julia appeared in the room. Julia looked even worse than when I saw her yesterday. Her hair was a mess, her normally bright blue eyes were darkened and full of terror, and her face was pale and greying.

"Julia!" I gasped out, and ran to my friend's aid.

"I was getting ready to take her to the city to the hospital but she wouldn't leave without you," Mirabelle sighed. "Heavens knows why, but just wouldn't move without you."

I nodded, and grabbed Julia's other arm. Vaughn took Mirabelle's side, and we slowly helped Julia down to the ferry. We passed Elliot, who turned ghostly pale when he saw Julia. It looked like he was about to pass out.

About two hours later, Vaughn, Jonathon, and I found ourselves in a hospital waiting room. It was the very hospital I had stayed in during my coma. Lots of the doctors and nurses who passed waved at me and said, "Good to see you," and "How are you, Ms. Smith?" It was weird because I didn't know who half those people were.

After half an hour of sitting, waiting, and being greeted by complete strangers, Julia and Mirabelle emerged from the hall into the waiting room.

Julia looked much better, so they must have given her some medication, but she was white and walking like she had just been given a death sentence.

"What's wrong Julia?" I asked, getting up and walking over to her.

She looked around a bit, then up at me. Her eyes were full of tears and she looked horribly distressed.

"I-I'm pregnant." She whispered.

Me: :O Aren't I a big meany? MUHAHAHAHAHA! Go me, go me, go me... Ok, I originally planned for Chelsea to be the one to get pregnant but... I decided against it. So now you now what Julia and Elliot were doing. NAUGHTY! Tsk, tsk... Have you noticed how Skye (Jonathon) has managed to wriggle his way into Vaughn's family? It's heartwarming, isn't it? What do you think will happened next? o_O Hmmmmm...? Review and tell me! :D *nods*