Jo's POV

It was around 6:00 am when we arrived in Forget-Me-Not Valley, so it was still dark. "We're here, Jo," my mother said softly. I opened the door and climbed out of the car. "Are you going to be alright?"

"I think so," I responded, not entirely sure if I would be.

"I'm going to leave now. Just call me if you ever need anything, okay?" I nodded, walked around to my mom's side of the car, and pecked her on the cheek.

"Bye mom." My mom smiled and drove away. Once she was out of sight, I turned around and walked to my farm. When I got there it was deathly silent. I walked into my house first. I could immediately tell that no one had been inside it since I had left. The place was covered in dust and spider webs. A couple mice scurried across the floor. "It'll take some cleaning up, but it's good to be home," I whispered. Closing the door, I walked to the barn and entered it. Stardust and Buttercup were both there, clearly healthy and happy. But there was also a bull and a calf. Had someone else been living on my farm? No. Marlin wouldn't have let them take care of my animals. And no one had been in the house since I had left. It was then I noticed Marlin refilling the water trough at the back of the barn. I smiled, glad that he was the first person I could see again. "Hi Marlin."

Marlin's POV

I was filling the water trough and didn't notice the barn's front door open. "Hi Marlin," someone said. It sounded like a girl, a very sick girl. I turned around to see a young woman I did not recognize. She had a very sickly air. She was extremely thin with wiry, un-cared for hair. There were bags under her eyes, and her eyes were tired, like she hadn't slept in weeks. "You can't be here," I said firmly. I hadn't allowed anyone on Jo's farm since she had left.

"Marlin…" Wait. How did she know my name?

"Listen, I don't know who you are or how you know my name, but you need to leave." When the girl didn't move I started walking towards her.

Jo's POV

When Marlin started walking towards me, I realized he didn't recognize me. I should have realized it when he said I shouldn't be in my barn. "Marlin," I repeated. I wanted to say 'it's me, Jo,' but couldn't before I got dizzy. I felt myself losing balance and then fall over. I blacked out on my way to the ground.

Marlin's POV

The girl started swaying on the spot. She looked like she was going to fall over any second. I was right. She stopped swaying and fell. I caught her before she could hit the ground and lifted her up. "She needs a doctor," I said to myself. I realized it was Tuesday and that meant that Doctor was in from Mineral Town. I somehow managed to get out of the barn and rushed off Jo's property and to what had before been Dr. Hardy's clinic. I knocked on the door and waited a few moments. A sleepy-eyed doctor answered.

"What can I do for you?" he asked.

"Doctor, she just passed out. I don't know what's wrong." Doctor looked at the girl in my arms and his eyes widened.

"Bring her in." Doctor moved aside and I walked in. At Doctor's instruction, I laid her down on the hospital bed across the room from Doctor's bed. Doctor examined her for a while. I sat in a comfy armchair while I waited to find out what had happened. Doctor soon turned around to face me. "I'm pretty sure she passed out from exhaustion and lack of needed nutrients." I walked over to the bed she was lying on and looked at her face.

"That's horrible. How does someone end up like that?" I studied the girl for a couple moments. "She seems almost familiar somehow."

"Doctor?" someone asked. Doctor and I turned to see Hugh standing in the door. Doctor smiled.

"What can I do for you, Hugh?" he asked kindly.

"Mom wanted me to come pick up some bodigizer and turbojolt. We're running low."

"Alright. I'll grab you some right now." Doctor turned around and opened his cupboard, looking through the various medicines. Hugh noticed the girl on the bed and walked over.

"Who's this?"

"I don't know, Hugh," I replied. "She showed up today and passed out. Doctor says she hasn't been getting enough sleep or nutrients."

"Wow…" Hugh stared at the girl for a short while. Doctor walked up to us, two bottles in his hands.

"Here you are, Hugh," he said.

"Thanks." Hugh didn't take his eyes off the girl as he accepted the bottles from Doctor. "Marlin, it's Jo."

"What?" I exclaimed.

"It's Jo. Can't you recognize her?"

"No, it can't be Jo. Jo never wrote to me that she would be coming back. And Jo didn't ever look like this…"

"Marlin, it's her." I studied the girl for a couple moments more.

"No… it can't be…"

"I have to go." Hugh turned and walked out of the clinic to head home. The girl stirred and slowly opened her eyes.

"What… what's going on?" she asked sleepily.

"You passed out," I replied. "Doctor here says you passed out because you haven't been getting enough sleep or nutrients."

"He's right. Did you bring me over here?"

"Yeah."

"Thanks, Marlin." She smiled at me.

"How do you-?" I stopped mid sentence. I knew her smile. Hugh was right. The woman I was looking at really was Jo. "Jo?" Her smile widened.

"It's me, Marlin." She pushed herself up into a sitting position and wrapped her arms around me. I sat down and hugged her back.

Jo's POV

It felt so good to be in Marlin's arms once again. I didn't want to let go of him ever. "Jo," the doctor said. "You shouldn't sit up. You've suffered from extreme exhaustion and a bad case of malnutrition."

"I know." I let go of Marlin and lay back down. Marlin just gazed at me. "You want to introduce me, Marlin?"

"Of course," Marlin replied. "Jo, this is Doctor. He's in from Mineral Town a couple days a week to fill in for Dr. Hardy. Doctor, this is Jo."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Jo," Doctor said.

"How come you haven't been getting enough sleep or food, Jo?"

"It's kind of a long story," I replied, "but I'll try to keep it short. I left Forget-Me-Not Valley to spend some time away from things that would remind me of Kyle. But the more time I spent in the city, the more Kyle haunted my dreams. I became afraid to sleep. I didn't want to see him anymore. Then I lost my appetite entirely. I ended up myself in the hospital for a long while. When I got out, I decided I needed to move back here."

"I'm really glad you did. And I'll do everything I can to help you eat and sleep properly once again." I smiled at Marlin. He was amazing and I was happier than I had been in a long, long while.