(A/n) There is nothing more wonderful than romance. :) Here is the next chapter. I can't believe how much I'm churning out. XD

Thank you everyone for reviewing! I've been reading a lot of good fan fics lately, especially with Gray and Claire. I love those two as a couple. :)

Oh Brother, Happy Birthday to Me…

I felt warm, on the inside and out, and so wonderfully relaxed. I stirred softly as a sleepy yawn escaped, the arm that was wrapped possessively around my waist tightened. I felt myself being pulled closer against solid warmth and a sweet kiss pressed gently against my neck.

"Good morning…" His deep voice whispered just above my ear, he sounded as relaxed as I felt.

"Mm…" was all I could manage in reply as I snuggled deeper against his warmth and buried my head in the pillow. He chuckled softly as he kissed the spot where my pulse thumped gently. He moved his arm to run his fingers up and down along my side, the result being a giggle and a lot of squirming. He stopped caressing my skin and he studied me with a smile.

"You're ticklish?" He laughed and then proceeded to wiggle his fingers along my side. I squealed in protest and moved away from him, coming close to falling off the side of the bed.

"Trent don't!" I laughed as I held the blanket close against my chest. "That's not a nice thing to do early in the morning."

"It's not?" He was laughing still while he reached out to wrap his arms around me and pull me close. "I'm sorry but you have to admit, it's a great way to you wake up."

"I want to keep sleeping…" I mumbled, leaning forward to rest my head against his chest.

"I would love to keep you in bed all day…" He said softly and already I could hear the desire in his voice. My heart fluttered with excitement at those words, the memories of last night still fresh in my mind. "I have to get ready to open the clinic though." He sighed heavily and tilted my head up to place a kiss on the tip of my nose. "And you have to get to work."

"I know." I laughed a little before I glanced over at the clock on his nightstand. It was quarter of six in the morning and I was already going to be late. I sighed softly as I reluctantly pulled away from Trent, throwing the blanket off to get out of bed. I reached down to pick up my underclothes from the floor when I heard him climb out of bed. I blushed the moment I felt his hands on my hips and he pulled me against him, my back to his chest.

"Shower…" He muttered against my ear and I could feel my blush growing deeper when I noticed the obvious tension that held his tall form. "Now."

My clothes slipped from my slackened grip and then fell to the floor in a small heap, completely forgotten…

--

By the time I was making my way to Claire's farm, it was almost seven in the morning. The sun had not fully risen and the air was cool. I had stopped by the inn to change my clothes and grab a quick cup of coffee. I was an hour late for work and I was trying to come up with some valid excuse as to why I was late. The only excuse that came to mind was that I overslept, which was as about as truthful as I could get.

As I made my way onto the farm, I was surprised to see that the animals were not out in the pasture yet. That was weird… Claire usually had the animals fed and brought outside by this time. Well, since I always helped to do those chores I suppose she was waiting for me… Now I felt bad.

I went to the front door of her house, it was always unlocked for me so I didn't even bother to knock as I opened it. "Hey Claire, sorry I'm late, I-." I stopped short at the sight that greeted me. Claire's house was a large, one room abode that had the various living areas cut off by cleverly placed furniture. Her sleeping area was on the far right side of the house and so I had a clear view of two very sleepy eyed and naked people sitting up right in her bed. My face turned beet red as I stammered out an apology and left the house, the door slamming closed behind me. Oh my… talk about awkward. I stood outside the door for a heartbeat as what I had just seen began to register.

A tiny smile emerged and I started to laugh as I turned and made my way to the barn. Mason and Callie were there to greet me and they ran around me while I opened the doors to the barn. Well, at least I didn't feel so bad for being late this morning…

--

"Oh Goddess Annie, that was so embarrassing!"

Claire was now fully dressed and helping me to water the summer crops. Gray had been quick to get dressed after the little walk in and he had been leaving just as I was getting out of the barn. We had stared at each other for a heartbeat before his face turned a deep shade of red and he mumbled something in greeting. Then he had pulled down the brim of his hat and walked away as quickly as he could. Oh boy, I hope he wasn't going to be completely uncomfortable around me now…

Claire was not as red in the face as Gray had been but she was still embarrassed about the whole thing. She wouldn't look me in the eye for the first twenty minutes but when I started cracking jokes about Gray's chiseled arms, she started to loosen up and pretty soon we were laughing about the whole thing.

"Next time, just lock the door when you have company." I smiled at her as I set my watering can aside, tilting slightly to stretch my back.

"I was a bit distracted…" Claire laughed as she started to blush, her long blond hair was set in a braid today and it fell over one shoulder as she bent down to check the buds of a growing crop. We were silent for a moment and then a funny look flickered across her face. She glanced up at me as she straightened and placed her hands on her hips. "Why were you late this morning anyway?"

I blushed in reply and a small smile played on my lips as I started to toy with the hem of my t-shirt. "Same reason you overslept…" I muttered, finding it suddenly hard to breathe as the memories of this morning resurfaced. Showers, I found a reason to love showers even more now.

It took a moment but then the meaning finally sunk in and Claire's face turned a pretty shade of crimson. She turned those light blue eyes my way and she started to laugh. I smiled at her and I knew what she was thinking.

"We're hopeless aren't we?" She asked, reaching up to wipe a tear from her eye.

"That's love for you." I said as I reached down to pick up the watering can. "C'mon, let's finish up here and head to Doug's for lunch."

"Sounds good."

--

Later that day, when the work was done, I had decided to take Mason for a walk up to Mother's Hill. The sun was sinking toward the horizon but the heat from the summer day still hung on the humid air. It was a nice to just be alone sometimes, it gave one time to think and meditate or to simply enjoy the solitude that was.

Mason was having a ball running up and down the pathway, chasing whatever little creatures that he managed to scare up from their hiding places. I laughed as we walked passed the hot springs and the waterfall. I stopped at the intersection in the path, one that led to Claire's farm, one that led passed Gotz's house and the other led up to the waterfall. I stared at the waterfall, thinking back on everything that had happened from the moment I had first woken up in this place. So much had changed and yet I was so happy here. I wonder if the Goddess was around, I had not seen her since that day by the Spring in Forget-Me-Not Valley.

I whistled for Mason to follow as I started to climb the path that led to the waterfall and hot spring. Once I climbed the little hill, I stared at the waterfall and the river that led away from it. I glanced around the ground, spotting bunches of flowers that were growing around the banks of the pool. It would be a long shot but I figured what the hell, she just might appear if she wanted to.

I bent down to pick a few flowers and then I stood on the bank of the pool, feeling the gentle spray from the waterfall cooling my skin. I stared down at the rippling surface of the pool before I tossed the flowers in. Theyfloated on the surface for a few moments and then they disappeared. As soon as the last petal submerged, there was a blinding flash of white light and everything went completely quiet and still.

I dropped my arms and glanced around, noticing the sudden silence before I felt the eyes of someone watching me. I looked back at the waterfall and saw the Harvest Goddess floating above the pool. She looked as beautiful as before and the serene smile that played upon her lips was welcoming. She crossed her arms beneath her breasts as she tilted her head and a tinkle of laughter emerged.

"Well, well, if it isn't Annie." She smiled and floated a little closer to me. "I haven't spoken to you in quite awhile. How are you?"

I didn't reply at first, I simply stood there in awe of this ethereal being before me. A heartbeat passed and then I finally found my voice. I glanced down at my feet and gave a small nod. "I'm great… I'm-." I paused as I tried to find the words and only one word came to mind. I smiled up at her and sighed softly. "I'm happy…"

The Goddess studied me with a thoughtful expression and then her smile grew warm. "So, you've finally made your choice."

"Huh?" I blinked at that comment. "What do you mean?"

"Don't you remember?" She laughed a little as she floated closer to me and reached to place a hand over my heart. "I told you that you were going to have to make a choice at some point. It would be a difficult choice but it was something that you had to decide for yourself. After all, when you fall in love there are so many options that come into play…"

"Trent…" I understood what she meant now. Since I had fallen in love with Trent, I had decided that it was here that I wanted to spend my life. I wanted to stay here with the man that I loved and with the friends I had made. I wanted to build a life in this reality that I had never known could even exist. I made my choice and by doing so I gave up the chance of going back to the life I had lived before. It wasn't a big loss; I didn't really have anything in my reality worth staying for but… My family, I would never see them again and I knew I would miss them despite of our difficulties, especially my little brother. He had been the one I was closest to out of all of them.

"So, there was a chance that I could have found a way back to my reality?" I asked, glancing up at the Goddess as she moved away from me.

"You always had the chance to go back, you only had to ask me and I would have sent you back to your own world." The Goddess laughed a little and she held a hand over her own heart. "But I saw what was in your heart and I saw the man who held your love even before you realized it. I wanted you to find out for yourself what it was that you truly wanted. You had the choice and you decided to stay for the sake of that love."

I was silent after this, my mind whirring over the possibility that it would have been so easy to have gone back. I only had to ask her and she would have sent me back as simple as that. Of course I did not ask. I did not bother to even seek the Goddess out since that day. She was right and I found that I was extremely grateful to her for that reason.

"I guess I should say thank you…" I smiled a little as I clasped my hands behind my back. "Although I am a little sad of that fact I won't be seeing my family again… especially my brother."

The Goddess tilted her head thoughtfully, her green eyes staring at me and then through me, as if they were searching. "Well, you had made your choice…" A small smile appeared on her lips and her green eyes focused on me. "I suggest that you enjoy it."

"I will." I said, knowing that even though I wouldn't see my family, I had a new family here in Mineral Town and a man that loved me. It was the greatest feeling in the world to know that and though a part of me was sad, the rest of me was filled with nothing but happiness. "Thank you again…"

"Oh don't thank me, you should thank the Witch Princess. She had been sweet enough to bring you here in the first place." The Goddess laughed then and raised a hand in farewell before a blinding white flash obscured my vision. I threw my arm up over my eyes to block out the sudden light but it was gone as quick as it had come. When I looked at the waterfall again, the Harvest Goddess was gone. The ethereal air that had surrounded the pool was gone as well and all the sounds of the forest were filling the silence that had been.

I stared at the pool for a moment longer before I smiled to myself and turned to walk back down the path, whistling for Mason to follow. Mason's booming bark followed after me and soon he was running past me at full speed. Trent and I were going to have dinner tonight and I was planning on wearing something extra special for him. My head was already up in the clouds as Mason and I made our way back to Claire's farm, humming a little tune all the while.

--

Two weeks later…

"Will you come on?"

"Where are you taking me?

"Don't worry about it, just follow us."

I was being pulled against my will by two of my closest friends and I didn't like it one bit. Mary had a surprisingly strong grip on my right hand and Claire had my left. They were dragging me through Rose Square and on toward the beach and I had no idea why. I stubbornly planted my feet firmly in place and pulled against their grip. "I'm not going anywhere until you two tell me what is going on."

"You'll find out soon enough." Mary giggled as she released my hand and moved behind me. She pressed her small hands against my back and started to push me while Claire began to pull. They were both laughing as they pulled and pushed me down the stairs and onto the sand. They kept right on pulling me toward Kai's Snack Shack until we finally made it to the door.

"All right, please don't hate me for this." Mary smiled and then threw a hand over my eyes so that I couldn't see anything. My heart jumped as I heard Claire open the door and they walked me through. There was a moment of silence and then Mary took her hand away.

"Surprise!!"

"Happy Birthday!"

I simply stood there in shock as I looked around Kai's restaurant. It had been decorated with all kinds of colorful streamers and balloons. There was a huge white banner with big blue letters that read: HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANNIE!

It felt like everyone in town was there, everybody that I knew was crowded in the small restaurant with giant smiles on their faces. Trent stood front and center with a cake in his hands, it was covered in vanilla frosting and blue frosted flowers. He smiled at me as he walked toward me and leaned down to place a warm kiss on my stunned lips. "Happy Birthday sweetheart..."

My heart began to hammer against my breast and I felt the tears welling up in my eyes. I looked down at the cake in his hands, it read Happy Birthday and there were several unlit candles sticking up from it. I glanced up at Trent and then at Mary and Claire and everyone else in the room. I tried my best to hold back the tears but they fell anyway and I started to cry at the thoughtfulness. "I can't believe…" I laughed a little through my tears. "Thank you all so much."

"Oh Annie…" Claire laughed as she reached out to wrap an arm around my shoulders. "Don't cry about it. It's a party, you should be smiling."

"I know I'm just so surprised. I can't believe you all remembered." I laughed with my friend as I reached out to hug her. I vaguely recalled telling Claire when my birthday was sometime ago but I didn't think anyone would plan something for it. I never really celebrated my own birthday so you can imagine how shocked I was.

"Well, we can't stand here all day." Kai clapped his hands together as he went behind the counter and started pulling out glasses from underneath it. "Let's get this party started!"

There was around of cheers from the other guests as Mary and Claire went to meet with their significant others. I followed behind Trent as he went to place the cake on a table and turned to me with a charming smile. "So how does it feel to be a year older?"

I laughed a bit as I went to stand closer to him and gave a nod. "To be honest, I rather like it. I'm a year wiser now and I couldn't have hoped for a better birthday."

Trent chuckled and then took my hand in his. "C'mon, let's get some drinks and then get started on the cake." I followed willingly, my heart fluttering at the feel of his hand over mine.

It was the best birthday party that I had ever had; I was surprised at how many people actually showed up. Several people from the Valley were even there, Muffy was there with Griffin and Nami. Lumina and Celia were also there. It was so crowded in the Snack Shack that the party got moved out onto the beach. Trent had lit the candles on the cake and I blew them out with the wish that only my brother could have been here with me. He would have had so much fun…

There were a few gifts from my friends: a new outfit and a new pair of boots from Claire, a complete series of books that I had taken a liking to from Mary. What surprised me more than anything was the gift from Elli, which was a bottle of perfume. I wasn't expecting to receive anything from her and when I had gone to thank her for the gift, she only smiled and said, "I expect to get something for my birthday, all right Annie?"

The sadness wasn't in her eyes anymore and the smile that lit her face was the first true smile I had seen in quite awhile. I laughed a little as I hugged her tightly, "I won't forget Elli, thank you." She returned my hug and for the first time I felt for certain that everything was going to be all right between us.

The party went on for quite some time before Trent had taken me by the hand and pulled me away from the crowd. He pulled me along to a quiet part of the beach and stopped just at the shore. I stood beside him, my hand gripping his firmly as we watched the water. The sky was a beautiful shade of blue and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. The sun was slowly making its way toward the west while the music from the party played on in the background.

Trent glanced down at me, a sweet smile on his handsome face. The sea breeze tousled his dark hair and it danced upon his brow. I smiled as I reached up to brush his hair back from his eyes. He chuckled and took my hand, turning it over to kiss my palm before he pulled something from his pocket. He slipped it on the ring finger of my left hand and I instantly blushed at the sight of it. It was a beautiful silver ring with an oval sapphire set in it. It was cut in a way so that when the light was caught in it just right, flashes of deep blue shone back.

"Oh Trent, it's beautiful." I breathed as I stared at it. I was entranced by the beauty of the sapphire and the ring fit perfectly, as if it had been made for my finger.

"Do you really like it?" He asked as he took my hand again and pressed a gentle kiss upon it. "I thought of the design for the ring and brought it to Gray to see if he could make it. It took awhile since he had to find just the right cut of stone for the sapphire but it came out even better than I imagined." He smiled and pulled me close, wrapping his arms around my waist. "I had no idea that Gray could make jewelry like that."

"I didn't either…" I said, which I honestly meant. I didn't know that Gray had been doing so well in his training. The ring was absolutely beautiful; it was something that you would find in a high end jewelry store somewhere in the city. I was so surprised by the sight of it and I glanced up at the man that I loved so much. "You had this made for me?"

"Yes." He chuckled and pressed a warm kiss upon my lips. "Think of it as a promise…"

"A promise…" My heart soared at those words and I couldn't help but feel such happiness at the thought of it. I closed my left hand, feeling the ring tighten on my finger. I smiled up at Trent and reached up to grab the front of his shirt. I pulled him down close to my face and kissed him soundly. "I love you, you know that right?"

"I do…" He chuckled and rested his forehead against mine. "But tell me again please, I need to be reminded every so often…"

"I love you so much Trent…" I whispered to him and he closed his eyes with a sigh. His arms tightened around my waist as he held me close and it felt so right. I moved to bury my face against the solid warmth of his chest and listened to his heartbeat. This was home, this was everything that I had been missing from my life and something told me that Trent was feeling the exact same thing.

"Dr. Trent!"

Trent glanced up in surprise at the sound of Elli's voice screaming for him from across the beach. We pulled away from each other as Elli ran toward us, her hand clutching the skirt of her blue dress. She stopped in front of us and placed a hand on her chest to catch her breath. "Dr. Trent, you have to come. Someone had just washed up on shore from the ocean. Please hurry!" She said before she turned and started to run back to the large crowd that had gathered in the distance.

The look of a professional doctor fell over Trent's face as he glanced down at me and then quickly went to follow after his nurse. I followed after them, my heart beginning to pound like a drum. Someone had washed up on shore? Oh I hoped they were still breathing, who knows how long they had been floating in the ocean. I didn't have as long a stride as Trent so by the time I got to the crowd he was already performing CPR on the person. It was a young man but I could not see his face too well since Trent's form was blocking it from view.

Everyone watched with bated breath as Trent pumped the man's chest and breathed into his mouth. A few agonizing seconds later, a coughing and sputtering could be heard and there was a collective sigh of relief from everyone. The young man was gasping for air as he turned over and Trent was sitting back on his heels, studying the young man's face for any signs of trauma. The young man gasped for air and started to shiver as he looked around in surprise. "W-what happened?" He croaked, looking up at Trent and shrinking back at the sight of him.

"Easy there, you were almost a goner." Trent gave a calm smile as he reached out to touch the young man's shoulder. "Don't push yourself too much."

It was as Trent had moved out of the way that I caught sight of the young man's face. The sand beneath my feet began to teeter and suddenly the reality I had come to know so well fell away. The young man had a head of very short, curly dark hair and a pair of wide, hazel green eyes that were looking around at the crowd in shock. He was lither than I remembered but there was no mistaking that lightly tanned face as I moved to stand behind Trent. "J-Jonathan?"

Silence fell after I said this and every eye in the crowd was flicking between the young man named Jonathan and myself. A few heartbeats passed before Jonathan focused those hazel green eyes on me and then grew wide. "Annie…? Is- is that really you?"

More silence and then Trent glanced at the young man and then back up at me. "Annie, do you know this person?" He asked, the tone of his voice had gone suddenly cool and I knew what he was thinking. I gave a nod as I reached out to place a hand on his shoulder but my gaze remained firmly placed on the sight of the man that was drenched from head to toe.

"He's… he's my brother…"