This is based on something Vaughn says when you talk to him when he has a yellow heart. I have no idea how I got all this from those two lines, but I did. I'm quite proud of myself for it, though, as this is my longest one. Hehehe. Enjoy!
"Vaughn?" Chelsea said softly, placing her utensil down on the table.
Glancing up from his food, Vaughn looked at her curiously. "What?"
She hesitated, fingering the edge of her plate and averting her eyes. "Do you…" she began slowly, "do you…have any…family?"
He nearly choked on his food, placing his own utensil down and trying to clear his throat. Honestly, he knew that that sort of question was coming, but he didn't expect her to ask so soon.
Over the past week, the initial awkwardness of their new relationship had somehow dissipated, and things felt almost as when they were first getting to know each other. Chelsea returned to the lively farmer who was never afraid to approach him, and Vaughn continued his quiet, withdrawn behavior.
It wasn't exactly the same, of course. They spent significantly more time with each other whenever they could. And they were very open about their relationship (whatever people wanted to call it). Like this moment, for example, as they sat at a table in Luke's Diner, eating an early dinner and talking, not caring who saw them together. Things were progressing well between them, and he was comfortable being around her.
Except moments like this, when she turned the focus onto him and asked him something he preferred not to talk about. He knew she was bound to ask about it, but he hoped the topic would be put off for a while longer.
He could feel her staring at him, boring the question into him with her eyes. He avoided her gaze, though, as he cleared his throat again and retrieved his utensil. "No," he replied calmly, hoping that she'd leave it at that.
She didn't, of course. "None at all?"
Sighing inwardly, he shook his head. "I live alone."
She frowned, and he could feel her sorrow for him. "That must be hard."
He shrugged, taking a bite of his food. "It's the only way to run a successful business."
"Really?" she asked, her head cocked to the side. "You think so?"
"Yeah." He risked a glance at her. "Why?"
The girl frowned, looking down at her plate and playing with her food. "Well, it's just…I live alone too. And I always thought it'd be nice to have a little help."
He watched her for a moment, noticing the change from her normally cheery behavior. "I thought Mark came to help you sometimes," he said.
She nodded, resting her chin in her palm. "He does, and it's nice. But I don't just mean help with the farm work. I mean help with…everything. It's just nice to have someone there to look out for you, y'know?"
He frowned a little. Truthfully, he didn't understand. For as long as he could remember, he had no one to look out for him but himself. He never really cared, though, and just became used to being alone. It was also simpler for him to travel, which made his work much easier. He just never needed help with anything before. So he couldn't help but wonder what she meant.
They finished their meal in silence, and Vaughn placed some money on the table for the bill. Then, after he gently took the girl's hand, they slowly made their way back to her ranch.
When they arrived, he was surprised to see her animals out and around; the horse and cow were peacefully grazing in the field while her dog playfully chased the chicken. Turning toward her, he finally broke the stillness between them and asked, "You let your animals out?"
She smiled a little. "It was such a nice day today," she replied. "Too nice to let them stay cooped up inside the whole time."
He looked up at the early evening sky; the lingering streams of sunset color dimmed by the looming night. "You shouldn't let them stay out when it gets dark," he cautioned. "Especially at this time of year, when it gets colder at night."
"I know. I was going to put them back in now anyway." She glanced up at him. "Wanna help?"
Turning to her, he shrugged. "Fine." Then he smirked. "But only because I don't want your animals getting sick or anything."
She rolled her eyes, playfully hitting his shoulder before turning to the field and whistling loudly. Her dog, Button, looked up from her game of chase, and barked happily as she spotted the rancher. Then the canine began chasing the chicken again, herding the poultry toward the girl.
Peep clucked frantically as the dog chased her, and when she was close enough she jumped into the girl's arms. Chelsea held her carefully, stroking the bird's feathers to calm her down as Button sat at her feet, looking very proud.
Turning to Vaughn, the girl pointed to the building with the blue roof. "That's the barn," she said. "Could you put Haru inside?"
Glancing at the cow, he nodded. As she went to put her chicken back in the coop, he led the cow back to the barn. When he opened the barn door, the cow slowly walked inside by itself.
He lingered a moment, watching as the cow carefully lay down on the ground. He approached it slowly, kneeling down beside it and lightly stroking its back. The cow mooed, its tail flicking back and forth.
He smiled a little. "You're happy here, aren't you?" he asked softly.
Haru looked at him and mooed again, as though in affirmation.
With a small chuckle, he nodded and rose to his feet. It was easy to see that the girl took such good care of her animals, which was why he was usually surprised when she'd lose an animal festival. But with the kind of care she gave them, he knew it was only a matter of time until she won.
Exiting the barn, he made sure to shut the door securely so Haru couldn't get out. As he did so, he saw Chelsea coming out of the chicken coop. She approached him with a smile. "How's Haru doing?" she asked.
Turning to her, he nodded. "She seems fine."
The girl returned the nod, playing with her hands. "I'm excited for the Cow Festival that's coming up. I think Haru and I actually have a chance this year."
"You entered last year, right?" he asked as they headed down the field.
"Yeah. But at the time, I didn't have Haru for very long, so we were still getting to know each other when I entered." She shrugged. "It was probably a bad time to be in the competition, but it was still fun. Plus, I got to see what it takes to actually win one."
They stood by the stable, and Chelsea gave another loud whistle. This time, both Button and the horse, Rin, approached them. Bending down, the girl took the canine in her arms and adjusted the handkerchief around its neck.
"What's that for?" Vaughn wondered as he gently stroked the horse's neck.
The girl shrugged again. "Beats me. Button was already wearing it when we found her, and she wouldn't let me take it off. So I left it there. It looks good on her, though."
They brought the two animals back into the stable, and the canine jumped out of the girl's arms, curling up and settling down on the ground to sleep.
"Who's 'we'?" he asked.
Reaching into her rucksack, she pulled out an animal brush. "Me and Mirabelle," she replied, placing her bag on the ground and walking up to him. "Last winter, it was snowing and I was heading into the forest when Mirabelle found me. She said that she heard about a dog wearing a handkerchief around its neck, and asked me to look for it with her." She looked at the sleeping dog. "The poor thing was soaking wet when we found it, and Mirabelle said that it was already well-trained."
"It used to have an owner," Vaughn said softly, folding his arms over his torso. He hated the idea that anyone could abandon their pet like that.
"That's what Mirabelle said too. And she didn't wanna leave her in the forest all by herself. So she asked if I would take her." Looking at him, she smiled a little. "And really, how could I say no to a face like that?"
Glancing at the dog, he chuckled. "Yeah, I can see how it'd get you."
With a smile, she held up the animal brush. "Here," she said. "You wanna brush Rin?"
"Why me?" he asked, even as he took it from her.
"Because Rin likes you," she replied with a pouty tone. "She hasn't seen you since the Horse Festival, and she's missed you." She patted the horse on the side. "Isn't that right?"
Rin nickered softly, gently nudging the cowboy on the shoulder.
Smiling smugly, she placed her hands on her hips. "See?"
Vaughn rolled his eyes. He didn't really mind, but it was pretty interesting to see the rancher getting back-up from her horse. It further showed how close she was to her animals, and he admired that about her. So without another word, he gently stroked the brush along the mare's short fur as the girl fed the horse grain by hand.
When they were finished, they left the stable and he handed the brush back to her. She took it from him, and as she stuck it back in her rucksack, she looked up at her field. "Darn it…" she sighed.
He followed her gaze curiously. "What's wrong?"
With another sigh, she walked over to a patch of soil where a few small plants seemed to wilt. "My eggplants are dying."
He stepped closer, though still kept a small distance from the soil. "I thought you were better than that," he teased.
She glared at him, kneeling down in the dirt. "It's not my fault!" she protested. "It's been cloudy and rainy for the past two weeks! They can't grow very well without sunlight, but how I was I supposed to know there'd be no sun?" With a frustrated huff, she tried pulling out the failing plants like weeds.
He had to suppress a chuckle as he watched the difficulty she had. "Wouldn't that be easier with a tool?" he suggested.
She sighed, brushing her hands and rising to her feet. "Yeah…" She looked toward him. "Do you think you could get my hoe? It's in the toolbox right by the door."
He opened his mouth to protest, but under the moonlight he could see her batting her eyelashes with a small pout on her lips. With a small scoff, he turned and headed into her house.
As he opened the door to her house, he glanced around until he found the toolbox she mentioned. He hesitated, however, since he didn't really know which tool she was asking for. He didn't care for farming, so he wasn't familiar with the equipment. Scratching the back of his head, he went back outside to ask her.
"Chelsea…" he said softly, slowly approaching the field. But then he stopped in his tracks, his eyes narrowing when he realized that something wasn't right. Though Chelsea still stood by the patch of cultivated soil, her back was to him as she stared out at something across the pasture. And even in the dark, he could see that her body was tense.
"Chelsea…?" he repeated, taking a step closer to the field.
A low snarl suddenly caught his attention, and he looked up towards the field. His eyes widened and his heart seemed to stop when he saw the large wild dog stooped beside a boulder, its sharp teeth gleaming in the moonlight. Its black fur stood on end as it slowly skulked closer, and its eyes flashed dangerously, as though calculating its next move.
"Vaughn…" he heard the farmer whisper, snapping him out of his shock. Looking toward her, he then glanced back at the canine…and his blood ran cold when he realized the wild dog was targeting her.
"Chelsea," he hissed, moving toward her so agonizingly slowly so he wouldn't attract the dog's attention. "Chelsea, don't make any sudden movements…just try to back up…"
"I-I can't…" she whimpered, and he could hear the fearful edge in her voice.
He cursed under his breath; he didn't blame her for being scared, but now was not the time to freeze up. He continued stepping towards her, but the distance between them seemed to stretch on forever. All the while, he kept his eyes on the wild dog, watching it carefully. But despite all his diligence, what happened next passed so quickly that he almost missed it.
The wild dog growled viciously, crouching down before leaping through the air towards Chelsea. He reacted in an instant; Vaughn charged forward and grabbed the girl, protecting her just as the canine landed on top of them both. He winced as they landed – he was trapped between an animal much larger than he was and the ground, trying to keep himself from crushing the girl beneath him.
"Vaughn…!" she exclaimed.
He could feel the heat from the beast's jaws as it snapped at him. Somehow adjusting his weight, he managed to flip the dog off him so he could roll off Chelsea. But the wild dog growled and pounced on him again, pinning him to the ground and biting at him. He blocked with one arm to protect his head, clenching his jaw as the razor teeth sank into his flesh. With his other arm he wrestled against the dog, trying to keep the larger animal from crushing him completely. He tried to throw the dog off him again, but the hold it had on his arm gave it the greater advantage.
Even amidst the struggle, he could hear a light barking echoing throughout the ranch, and he vaguely wondered if Chelsea at least escaped to her house, just in case this dog's pack was joining it on the hunt. But unexpectedly a small blur rammed into the wild dog's side, sending it sprawling a few feet away with a yelp.
Breathing heavily, Vaughn propped himself up on the elbow of his good arm and sat up slowly to see Button crouched in front of him defensively, positioned between him and the wild dog. Button barked fiercely at the intruder, which responded with a low snarl. The two canines stood and stared each other down, waiting for the other to lower its guard. But after a moment, the wild dog slowly turned and walked away with its tail between its legs, disappearing into the night.
With a groan, Vaughn sat up completely and clutched his injured arm to his chest as Chelsea ran up and knelt beside him.
"Vaughn!" she said, her hands gently gripping his good arm. "Vaughn…! Oh Goddess…!"
He shook her off, trying to ignore the ache that spread to his shoulder as he did so. "I'm fine," he retorted, though the pain sharpened his tone.
Shaking her head, the girl pushed his hand away. "Let me see it," she said, carefully taking his injured arm. Carefully she rolled up the tattered black sleeve, revealing the blood-stained skin. She squinted a bit, then shook her head and removed her red bandanna, pressing it to his arm.
"Here," she said, taking his free hand and placing it on his arm. "We need to put some pressure on it to slow the bleeding."
Doing as he was told, he looked up at her and managed a small smirk. "You a doctor too?" he muttered.
Despite the situation, she gave a small laugh. "If I tried treating you, I'd probably make it worse." Taking his arm, she cautiously helped him to his feet and let him lean on her a little as they walked slowly towards her house while Button followed along behind them.
She helped him over to the bed, easing him to sit down. "Do you need anything?" she asked softly.
He shook his head, avoiding her eyes by watching Button curl up near his feet.
Hesitating for a moment, Chelsea then walked to where the telephone rested, picking the receiver from its cradle and quickly dialing a number. He watched her curiously as she stood, her foot tapping anxiously as she waited.
Her demeanor brightened slightly as she fidgeted with the phone cord. "Hello," she said, fighting to keep the tremble from her voice, "may I speak to Dr. Trent please?"
Vaughn watched as she listened for a moment, then she turned so her back was facing him. "Dr. Trent?" The strain from her body dwindled slightly…but not completely. "Hi, Doctor. This is Chelsea, from Sunny Island…Yes, it's good to hear from you again too."
There was a pause, and he watched as the girl squirm restlessly. "No, I'm all right, but…my boyfriend was in an accident…"
He felt heat rush to his cheeks; though they understood the extent of their relationship, they'd never voiced it out loud to anyone before, not even themselves. It was always just implicitly acknowledged. Just a little self-conscious, he reached up to pull his hat lower over his head…only to discover his hat was missing.
Chelsea's voice once again drew him in to the one-sided conversation. "Oh really?" She sighed softly. "No, I understand…Yes, okay. Thank you. Bye." Shaking her head, she hung up the phone and turned to him. "Dr. Trent can't make it here until tomorrow morning," she said with a helpless shrug.
"It's fine," Vaughn said, wiping some of the blood from his arm with the girl's bandanna; it was ruined anyway. "It's not too bad, really."
She bit her bottom lip, silently watching him for a moment. Then her face lit up suddenly. "Oh!" she exclaimed, snapping her fingers. He looked at her inquiringly as she hurried to the door.
Pausing for a moment, she looked at him. "Just stay here, okay? I'll be back in a few minutes."
He blinked. "Okay…"
She nodded, then called for her dog. Button looked up and barked, jumping to its paws and swiftly following after her. The door closed behind them, leaving him alone in the girl's house.
Glancing around the dwelling, Vaughn then closed his eyes to prevent his curiosity from getting the better of him. Instead he inhaled deeply and released it slowly to calm himself. Despite what he said to Chelsea, his arm actually did hurt. He opened his eyes again and lifted the bandanna from his arm. The cloth soaked up most of the blood, but he could see the wild dog's teeth marks quickly filling with the thick red liquid, and he pressed the bandanna to his arm again.
He wasn't sure how long he sat there, but he jumped slightly when the door was thrown open, and he watched puzzled as Denny followed Chelsea inside.
"Hey," the fisherman said as he walked up to him. "You okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine…" Vaughn paused, staring at the other man for a moment. "What are you doing here?"
Denny knelt in front of him, removing the bandanna to get a look at his arm. "Chelsea asked me to come," he replied with a shrug.
Vaughn looked up at the girl skeptically, but she just shrugged before looking at the fisherman. "You think you can do something?" she wondered.
Denny thought for a moment, studying the injury before rising to his feet again. "I guess so," he replied, turning to her. "But you wouldn't happen to have any bandages, would you?"
Chelsea shook her head slightly, and Denny folded his arms across his chest as he thought again. "Well…" he said slowly, "I think Chen might have some. At least that's where I usually buy some. Would you mind heading down there?"
"Is Chen's store open right now?" the girl asked.
Denny shrugged. "Dunno. But if you tell him what happened, I'm sure he'd give you some."
Hesitating for a moment, the girl then looked at Vaughn, who shrugged a little. He really had no idea what was going on, but motioned for her to go anyway. Then she nodded and ran out again without a word.
When she was gone, Denny glanced around the house until his sights rested on the kitchen. Turning back to Vaughn, he said, "In the meantime, we should probably clean that out." He gestured towards the kitchen sink.
Vaughn nodded, slowly standing and following the fisherman. Denny turned the water on and let it run for a moment, testing it a few times before deeming it the right temperature. He motioned for Vaughn to put his arm under the stream, and the cowboy complied, though somewhat begrudgingly. He grimaced as the hot water filled the puncture wounds, sending an upsurge of pain through his arm.
Looking at the fisherman, Vaughn couldn't help but ask, "So why are you here?"
Denny gave a lopsided grin, scratching the back of his head. "Well, Chelsea came down to the beach and asked me to help you. She told me that you were bitten by a wild dog, and she remembered how I told her about the time I was bitten by a shark…"
Vaughn rolled his eyes a bit as he removed his fingerless gloves and threw them on the counter.
"So she asked if there was anything I could do to help. It's kinda the same I guess, now that I think about it…" Glancing at Vaughn's injured arm, Denny then looked up at him. "Does it hurt a lot?"
Vaughn shrugged. "I've had worse."
Denny blinked. "You've had worse?"
The cowboy nodded, carefully cleaning the dirt and dried blood from his arm. "When you transport animals on a boat, some of them get seasick or nervous. That can lead to aggression and they might be prone to attack."
Denny gave a low whistle. "You get bitten a lot?"
"Comes with the job," Vaughn replied calmly.
A silence settled between them, but it only lasted for a moment before Denny cleared his throat to speak again. "So…what happened anyway? I mean, Chelsea told me that a wild dog attacked you, but…"
Vaughn frowned. "Chelsea was working in her field, and I was helping her out. I guess it was out hunting, and it decided that Chelsea was prey."
Denny's eyes widened. "Really?"
"Yeah." Vaughn sighed, shaking his head. "When it tried to attack her, I stepped in and it got me instead."
Denny's brow furrowed in uncharacteristic solemnity, his gaze focused on the bite marks along the other's arm. Then he nodded and sighed. "Well, that's good."
The cowboy glanced up. "Why's that?"
Denny looked at him, rubbing the back of his neck. "Don't get me wrong, Vaughn," he said. "I didn't mean anything bad by it, and it sucks that you got hurt and everything." He hesitated briefly, avoiding the other's gaze as he grabbed a nearby dishtowel. "But I was just thinking about what could've happened if you hadn't been here tonight. I mean, I can't really imagine Chelsea fighting off a wild dog, y'know?"
The full force of the words hit Vaughn instantly, and he felt his heart leap into his throat. He didn't even consider that. What would have happened if he hadn't been with her tonight? If she'd been all alone on her farm, and the wild dog attacked…He knew Chelsea was strong, but…she'd been so scared when it showed up that she couldn't move… Could she fight off a wild dog?
And if she couldn't, what would have happened if the wild dog came? All alone, in an area so remote from the town…no one would have heard her. No one would have known until the next morning…when it would be too late…
The grisly image was jerked from Vaughn's mind when the door opened again, and he and Denny looked up to see Chelsea return. The cowboy watched as she placed his hat on the table before approaching them.
"Here," she said, handing the bandages to Denny. "Is this enough?"
Denny shut the water off and handed the dishtowel to Vaughn, who took it and dried his arm. "Yeah, this should be good." He unrolled the gauze and tore off a sizeable piece. As Vaughn carefully removed the towel, Denny replaced it with the bandage; wrapping it around the trader's arm firmly enough to slow the blood flow.
When he finished tying it up, Denny took a step back. "That should do for now," he said, "but you should probably have a doctor look at it."
"I already called Dr. Trent," Chelsea offered. "He said he'd come on the first ferry in the morning."
Denny nodded. "Sounds good."
The girl gave him a small smile. "Thanks for all your help, Denny," she said.
Vaughn nodded in agreement. "Thanks, Denny."
The fisherman grinned slightly. "No problem." With a bow of the head, he made his way to the door. "Take it easy," he added, closing the door behind him.
Vaughn and Chelsea lingered in the kitchen for a moment, avoiding the other's eyes as they stood in silence. Then, grabbing his fingerless gloves, Vaughn said, "I should be going too."
She looked up at him, her eyes wide. "You're leaving now?"
"It's getting late," he replied, flexing his arm experimentally and wincing as his muscles protested. "I should probably get back to the Inn."
She grabbed his good arm. "You don't have to go. Why don't you just stay here tonight?"
He frowned. "Here?" It seemed a little awkward somehow. There was only one bed, after all, and that either meant that someone would sleep on the floor, or they would share it… Truthfully, though, he didn't mind the idea.
Chelsea nodded vigorously. "I don't mind, really. And like you said, it's getting late…" Her words trailed off into a whisper as she looked away.
Realization finally dawned on him, and he sighed. "You don't have to worry, Chelsea," he assured her. "It's gone."
"But what if it comes back?" she asked, looking up at him again with tear-filled eyes. "What if more come? You can't protect yourself with your arm like that! Please…" She sniffled, wiping the tears that started streaming down her face.
Vaughn's body stiffened, his eyes widening as he stared at the girl. He'd never seen her cry before, not like that, and for some reason his heart seemed to break for her. As if by instinct, he wrapped his good arm around and pulled her to him, holding her trembling body as she buried her face into his chest.
"I was so scared…!" she murmured, clutching his shirt tightly. "When it attacked, I just…I was terrified…!"
"It's okay now," he soothed. "I wasn't gonna let it hurt you, you know that."
She shook her head, looking up at him. "That's not what I mean. When I saw it there, yes I was frightened. But when it attacked, I was scared for you."
Vaughn frowned. "For me?"
"Of course!" She rested her head on his shoulder, her tears dripping to the floor. "When it attacked, and you protected me…I was so afraid that you were going to get seriously hurt, and I didn't know what to do…I thought it was going to kill you…!"
Vaughn held her steady as she broke down into sobs, a puzzled frown on his lips. He was used to caring for himself, after all, and lately had grown used to worrying about this girl as well. But this was the first in a long time that someone was so worried about him.
A gentle tapping sound roused Vaughn from his light sleep, and with a small groan he rubbed his eyes and sat up. As he did so, he winced when his sore arm began to throb, painfully reminding him of the events that took place the night before. Stifling back a yawn, he glanced around a little before realizing that he was sitting on Chelsea's bed.
Just as he began to wonder where Chelsea was, he found the girl sitting on the floor leaning against the bed, her arms cushioning her head as she slept. He frowned and gently brushed her bangs from her face. Had she been like that all night?
A knock once again drew his attention, and he realized it was coming from the front door. He hesitated, a little unsure of what to do; he didn't want to wake the girl, but her position prevented him from getting up and answering the door himself. With a sigh, he gently shook her.
"Hey, Chelsea," he said softly. "Wake up."
With a small murmur, the farmer slowly sat up and stretched her arms over her head. She looked up at him sleepily, but before she could say anything the knocking on the door grew louder and caught her notice. She frowned for a moment, puzzled; then her face lit up with remembrance and she jumped to her feet, hurrying to answer the door.
"Dr. Trent," she said, letting in the young-looking doctor.
"I'm sorry," Trent said as he slowly entered, "did I wake you?"
Chelsea nodded, rubbing the lingering sleep from her eyes. "It's okay. I probably should've been up already anyway." Clearing her throat, she led Trent to the bed where Vaughn sat. "Dr. Trent, this is Vaughn. Vaughn, this is Dr. Trent from Mineral Town."
The two men shook hands, regarding each other silently for a brief moment. "Yes, I believe I saw you around while I was vacationing here in the summer," Trent remarked.
Vaughn nodded, recalling seeing the raven-haired man around Sunny Island during the summer. He had no idea that the man was a doctor, though.
Placing his medical bag on the floor, Trent then pulled up a chair and sat in front of Vaughn. "Chelsea said you'd been in an accident," he said. "Could you tell me what happened?"
Vaughn described what happened that night, explaining in as much detail as he could. Trent listened silently with a thoughtful expression on his face, and he could almost see the doctor's mind working.
When he finished, Trent nodded to himself, reaching for something in his bag. "I'll need you to remove your shirt," he finally said, rising to his feet.
Vaughn sighed and rolled his eyes but did as he was told, slowly unbuttoning his black shirt and shrugging out of it. Glancing up, he smirked in slight satisfaction as Chelsea blushed and glanced away.
Sliding to the side of the bed, Vaughn turned slightly so the doctor could examine his back. He winced when Trent pressed a particularly tender spot on his shoulder.
"Well, there's a lot of bruising, but it doesn't look too bad," Trent commented. "It should clear up in a few days." Coming back around front, he carefully took Vaughn's injured arm, unwrapped the soiled bandages to inspect the slowly-bleeding wounds. "You cleaned this up last night?"
"Yeah," Chelsea replied softly. "A friend came by last night and helped us take care of it."
"Hmm…" Trent paused for a moment, then reached for a clear bottle of pink liquid and a cotton ball resting on the chair. Unscrewing the cap to the bottle, he delicately poured some of the pink fluid onto the cotton.
"Was…that okay?" the girl asked apprehensively. "Or should we have just waited for you?"
"Actually, it's a good thing you did," the doctor replied, gently dabbing the soaked cotton ball on Vaughn's arm; the cowboy flinched as the wounds began to sting. "Otherwise, things would probably be a lot worse right now."
"How's that?" Vaughn hissed as the medicine began to burn.
Trent carefully cleaned up some of the excess liquid with a clean cloth, as well as any trickling blood. "The puncture marks are pretty deep," he explained, retrieving some bandages from his bag. "If you hadn't taken care of it right away, there's a chance your arm could've been critically infected."
Vaughn and Chelsea exchanged stunned expressions.
"The infection would've taken much longer for your arm to heal," Trent continued, wrapping the gauze around Vaughn's arm. "And even the healing process could've been affected, depending on the severity of the infection. Outcomes can range from loss of controlled movement of the infected limb…or even loss of the limb itself."
Vaughn brow rose skeptically. "Really?"
When Trent finished wrapping the bandage, he rose to his feet. "Well, it's hard to say, really," he replied. "That's the worst that could happen, and thankfully it's not a risk at the moment. I recommend you change the bandage once a day, and try not to put too much strain your arm. If it feels any worse, you're free to get in touch with me, or see another doctor to have it taken care of."
With a sigh, Vaughn pulled his shirt back on. "Fine…"
"Thank you, Dr. Trent," Chelsea said softly. "I'm sorry I had to ask you to come all the way out here."
"It's no problem," Trent assured with a friendly smile. "If anything else ever happens, don't hesitate to call me."
She nodded as the doctor headed for the door, closing it behind him. Then she turned to Vaughn.
"I guess it was a good thing you got Denny last night," he said softly, buttoning up his shirt.
"I'm just glad you're okay," she replied. She stood silently for a moment, watching him pull his boots on. "You're leaving?"
He nodded, rising to his feet. "I still have some work to do with Mirabelle, and I should probably head back to my room at the Inn and get cleaned up."
The girl frowned. "Dr. Trent said you shouldn't strain your arm…"
"And I won't," he said, walking to the table where the rest of his affects rested. "But I still need to work."
She hesitated for a moment, glancing towards the door before nodding. "All right," she conceded. "Just gimme a few minutes before you go."
He watched as she headed towards the door, briefly pausing by the tool box and pulling something out before leaving. Then he returned to his things; slipping on his vest and belt, tying the handkerchief around his neck, putting on his fingerless gloves, and placing his hat back on his head. Then, as he stood and waited for the girl to return, he unrolled his torn sleeve to check the damages. Unfortunately, the sleeve didn't look salvageable, and he knew there were some rips in the back. It didn't feel right throwing the shirt out, though…maybe he could use it as a rag for something else.
He heard footsteps approach, and he looked up to see Chelsea return, carrying a canister of milk. She smiled softly as she walked up to him, holding out the flask to him.
"Here…" she said softly. "To keep your strength up."
He smiled gratefully, taking the silver can from her. "Thanks," he replied. Then, with a last tip of his hat, he moved past her and left her house.
"See you later," Chelsea called after him, and he knew that she meant she was going to check on him and see how his arm was doing.
But he didn't really mind. He was beginning to understand just what she was trying to tell him back at the diner; about having someone there just to look out for you. Even after discovering how much he cared for her – how much he worried for her safety – he hadn't realized that those feelings could run both ways. He didn't realize that anyone could be concerned for him, or would take the time just to make sure he was okay. He didn't know how nice it was just having someone there for you, no matter the reason.
But now…he wanted nothing more than to be cared for by that girl…and to be the one to care for her…always…
There are no such thing as rabies in Harvest Moon, so we're not gonna worry about that. Heehee...
Anyway, I have to admit that this is the last one-shot I have for this collection. Like I said before, these were written a long time ago, back when I was first playing the game, and I haven't touched it in a while. There was so many scenes that I planned to write, but somehow I just never got around to them. It's weird, though, because after posting all of these up and reading through them again, I kind of had an itch to start writing for Harvest Moon again. Though I don't know if I want to continue these or start up a brand new chapter story that crosses this game over with another Harvest Moon game. What do you guys think? Let me know.
