If you're anything like me and don't bother checking the chapter number, just go to the last chapter when there's an update… this one was a double update, so 37 is new as well. If you've already finished 37, go right ahead and read (and hopefully enjoy) this one :)

xxx

The day so far had been a long one for Zack – Wednesdays always were, bringing endless shipments of medicinal herbs to the doctor – but it was slightly unusual for him to be quite so worn out by eleven in the morning. And the day was far from over, he admitted to himself with a groan.

Hoisting two large boxes up, both containing supplies for the supermarket, Zack nodded to Won and used his shoulder to shove the front door open. Squinting in the glaring winter sunlight, he could barely register where he was going until he collided with someone a good deal smaller than him rather heavily at the entrance to Rose Square.

"Crap," he muttered in despair as the boxes hit the ground and countless packets of rice, chocolate, flour... a rather peculiar mix... hit the ground and scattered. There was a tiny apologetic gasp from whoever he'd crashed into, and he glanced down. His jaw dropped open.

"I'm so sorry," the red haired girl was insisting in a musical voice, flashing her brilliant white teeth in an apologetic smile and clasping both hands in front of her. "I wasn't watching where I was going..."

"That's, uh... great... fine," he mumbled, slightly dazed. The girl in front of him was one of the most beautiful things he'd seen in his life – dark blue eyes, framed by thick, dark lashes... flawless skin, immaculate loose curls in her red hair. He was cruelly torn from his reverie at the disheartening sound of a masculine laugh behind them.

"Veronica," Jack scolded in an amused voice, walking up to the pair. "Look what you've done. Sorry about her, Zack. She's generally co-ordinated, but on occasion, she'll show about the same level of motor skills as Jill."

"That's, uh... yeah." Giving up any idea of stringing together an understandable sentence, he quickly ducked and began stacking the undamaged goods back into boxes. Veronica and Jack joined in, playfully teasing each-other the whole time. Finally, everything was cleaned up and sorted out. Zack nodded immediately and walked away without another word, still blushing.

"My Goddess, Veronica," Jack smiled, shaking his head. "The way you have all men wrapped around your little finger is almost supernatural. If we could bottle that talent..."

"Oh, stop," she blushed. "It's a bit of a burden, to tell you the truth. I wouldn't call myself lucky because of that." Jack smirked, and she narrowed her eyes at him, playing with a strand of her hair. "So... what are you doing here?"

"I'm on my way to the library," he answered, looking as if he was very interested in something happening over her shoulder. Veronica's eyes widened and she clapped her hands together in excitement.

"That cute little librarian? And you?"

"It's not exactly like that. Besides, she would kill you if she knew you'd called her cute. And I happen to like fine literature, thank you."

"You also happen to like fine women –" she flinched instinctively, expecting Jack to hit her. As it were, he fixed her with an unamused glare. "Oh, come on. Give me some credit. It's not often I can shut you down. I want to make the most of this moment."

"Moment over."

"Hey, that's not fair. I –" Veronica cut herself off mid-sentence, biting her bottom lip as she noticed something behind Jack. "You're-right-moment-over-I-have-to-go-bye." She rushed her words out in an almost unintelligible blur, and then dashed out of Rose Square as fast as her painful looking shoes would allow her to.

"What the –" Jack muttered, wondering what on earth could have made his sister bail out on him like that.

"J-a-ack!" A shrill, all too familiar voice called excitedly. Jack felt a tug at his stomach as he slowly rotated, hoping if he took enough time, the person in question would vanish. No such luck.

Manna.

"Hi," he choked with a weak smile, knowing all too well what he was in for. Just the idea of the earache he would no doubt have the next day made him wince. "How are you?" No! No, you idiot! Never ask that! NEVER ask that! Do you WANT to be here until the New Year? He mentally slapped himself as Manna set out on a verbal storm.

"– price of fish!" she announced a good few minutes later. "It's absolutely ridiculous, but yes, apart from those things, I'm quite well. And you? Oh, but you don't need to answer that," she said with a wink. "I remember that new love-struck feeling perfectly well. Nothing in the whole world could faze me, and I'm sure it's the same for you isn't that right? Of course, Mary is a lovely girl – too quiet, a little plain, truth be told, but if a handsome young man like you likes her, I'm thrilled. Now, tell me truthfully Jack, because you know you can trust me to keep a lid on it until you're ready to announce... what's really going on there?" She finished with a beaming smile, and Jack seemed to struggle with returning it.

"I... can't answer that," he said eventually. "I don't know what Mary would want me to tell you... if you wanted a straight answer, you'd have to ask her."

"Oh, I certainly will," she said, looking positively thrilled that she hadn't received a flat-out refusal that there was anything going on. "I was just saying to my Duke the other day that you were a nice young boy, and I said, 'All boys like him deserve a good woman to take care of them.' At the time, I was thinking maybe Popuri, or Elli – though she's in a relationship with the good Doctor, isn't she? And Popuri is still so hung up on Kai, the darling – speaking of which, did you hear that Kai isn't coming back for a few years? And the other day, Sasha told me that Anna told her that Basil told her that Saibara told him that... well, someone told him that Kai's gone off to join the army. The army, I was amazed. Never seemed like the type, and –"

Jack snorted, amused by the idea of the carefree traveller taking strict orders and living under such discipline. He was fairly certain that Manna dreamed up most of these scenarios, and convinced herself that the information was real. She was still speaking, but Jack cut her off eventually. "I'm going to the library," he said, hoping to pacify her with the information. Sure enough, her eyes lit up.

"Oh! I'll let you go, then, you've just reminded me that I have something to do as well. Take care, darling." She rushed off in front of him, mumbling to herself about telling Anna something. Cringing as he anticipated the interested glances he would be receiving from the town gossips over the next few days, he ducked into the inn as a quick detour before the library.

"Annnnnn..." he dragged the redhead's name out, walking over to where she was speaking to her father in a low voice, looking reasonably annoyed. Doug glanced up, eyes twinkling with something like amusement when he recognized Jack.

"Jack! Good to see you! You don't come around here enough, you know. You're disappointing my daughter, staying away like this." Ann's jaw clenched and she balled her fists, the expression on her face showing that she was just about ready to knock her own father unconscious.

"Dad," she warned, her teeth still clenched tightly. "Seriously, I only have slight reservations about breaking your face."

"Okay, okay," Doug chuckled, holding his hands up defensively. "I'll leave you kids alone. And incidentally Ann, I don't think you're going to find a man who isn't a masochist that's brave enough to date you when you have that attitude."

"Have we not just discussed my views on dating?" she asked, her face – not reddening, more like purple-ing. He rolled his eyes, winked at the two of them, and hurried into the kitchen, probably beginning to realise how genuine Ann's threats were. Jack looked a little scared, and he raised an eyebrow at the waitress.

"Should I come back wearing a protective helmet?"

"Shut up," she mumbled, sitting down at the bar and looking remarkably similar to the depressed drunks who sat there nightly, pouring out their problems. "I'm just... Goddess-damn it to hell, I'm so confused!"

"Jeez, calm down," he begged, looking genuinely worried. "Do you need a drink? Or, like... drugs?"

"Yes please," she sighed. Her hands were clenched on the bench-top in front of her, and she bowed her head to rest on them wearily. "I just... I can talk to you, right?" Jack nodded at her wordlessly, and she sighed. "I... don't know what to do about Cliff. I mean, half the time... fine, three-quarters of the time, I just want to strangle him for no reason at all. He doesn't provoke me. For heaven's sake, he doesn't do anything!" Her face softened suddenly. "And then, that's half the reason I fell for him... and occasionally, I'll just be blown away by what a sweet guy he is. And it is driving me crazy. I've never... you know, I'm not the relationship-y type, and... ugh. Your sister's making things worse, by the way, but she doesn't realise. She thinks I've got feelings for you."

"Right," Jack snorted. "Don't stress. You know Jill. She thinks that she's good at helping other people's relationships, but struggles with her own... in reality, she fails no matter who she's trying to help out." He managed a small grin out of Ann at least, then he tilted his head to the side. "So what's going on with your dad?"

"Oh, him," she growled. "He thinks the whole freaking thing is absolutely hilarious. I actually tried to talk to him about Cliff, tried to explain it, and he just laughed and muttered something about wishing Mom was here. So do I, truthfully – maybe another, older woman could help me make some sense out of it."

"Well, as long as you know that Manna's always willing to lend a helping hand," Jack grinned. The look he received in return was one of reluctant amusement. "Look, I'd... give you advice myself, but I'm just like Jill when it comes to this. I always manage to stuff things up, and the only difference between us is that I realise it; she doesn't. Truth be told, your dilemma isn't totally clear to me. I mean... what do you have to make a choice between? Killing him and not killing him?"

"I don't know whether I want to try a proper relationship," she admitted, blushing slightly. She hesitated for a few moments, then her eyes widened in horror. "Goddess, I thought I'd be dead before I came to you about relationship problems." She stood up abruptly. "I have to work, and I'm sure you have somewhere to be, Mister Popularity."

"I do, actually," he admitted. "I just came in here as a detour, hoping to smooth-talk my way into a free drink, and instead I get your life's sob story. Gosh. Is there no justice in the world?"

"Leave, or there'll be no Jack Evans' in the world," she warned. Jack shot her a final grin, nodded in an attempt at 'gentleman-like' and ducked out the door.

xxx

He truly didn't know how he got so sidetracked. It had been about eleven-thirty that he'd set out for the library, and it was now... he checked his watch. One o'clock. After his meeting with Ann, he'd literally run into Veronica again, making her fall and hurt her ankle. He'd carried her to the clinic and waited with her until Tim gave her the all clear. She was fine now – walking perfectly – but, no matter how little she weighed, carrying her all the way from the inn to the clinic was tiring. And now he was standing in front of the library's door, just about ready to fall asleep on the spot. He wearily shoved the door with his left arm.

"... Can't see why you're not putting in more effort, I –" Mary cleared her throat loudly and her mother stopped talking, spinning on the spot. Jack waved weakly.

"Good afternoon, Jack," Anna said with a wide smile. "I was just leaving. You two be good." She rushed out the door, the smile still on her face, and Jack turned back to Mary.

He swallowed nervously. She had been sitting at her desk with a blank expression and her hands folded neatly in front of her; now she stood up and walked directly in front of him, arms crossed over her chest.

"Jack Evans."

"Why is everyone using my last name today?" he whined. Mary raised an eyebrow, daring him to interrupt her again. He abruptly shut up. She looked quite literally dangerous, her dark eyes flashing.

"How," she began slowly, "Am I meant to go home tonight?"

"... I'm too scared to be sarcastic."

"My so-called mother," the librarian spat, "Is over there, planning my wedding."

"Oh. Cool. You know, Jill's going to have a hissy fit if she isn't the maid of honor." He trailed off meekly, staring at his hands. Mary took a deep breath, teeth gritted together.

"If you truly don't realize that now is not the time…"

"Okay, okay," he cut in, holding both hands up defensively. "Don't have a heart-attack on me. I didn't do anything. Manna confronted me and asked what was going on between us. I told her to ask you."

"Why would you do that?"

"I didn't know what you would want me to say."

"You should have denied it!"

The look on Jack's face shocked her – genuine hurt. He raised both eyebrows. "You don't think there's anything going on here?"

If possible, his question shocked her more than his reaction. She glanced to the side, blushing and not quite sure how this had turned around to put her in a difficult situation. Goddess, she didn't know what to say. Talk about being put on the spot. "W-well, I –" she cut off thankfully as the front door opened and ducked around Jack to greet whoever had saved her. While she bit her lip as she recognized her visitor, she smiled nevertheless. "Good afternoon, Tom."

Tom looked a little confused, no doubt due to the fact that she was suddenly greeting him on her own terms after two weeks of forced conversation. He grinned back. "Hey, Mary. What's up?"

"I'm happy to see you here," she said, actually being truthful. "Can I help you get a book?" Please? She added mentally. Get me away from this situation. The thrilled expression on Tom's face showed how unexpected this sudden attention was, and that he really didn't mind it. A low, indignant noise sounded in Jack's throat and he firmly took Mary's elbow.

"Can I talk to you?" he asked, obviously not caring what her answer was as he wheeled her to the other side of the library. She flinched at the livid expression on his face. "What are you doing? Do you have any idea how low that scumbag is?"

"Jack, I have to help out my customers," she muttered, trying to step around him, to no avail. He placed his hands firmly on her shoulders and inclined his head to her level, maintaining intense eye-contact.

"It is not a customer. It is the devil in a customer's body."

"He's a customer," she exhaled, growing impatient at his over-the-top attitude. "Let go of me." Jack regretfully obeyed, watching with a deep scowl on his face as she walked back to Tom, more than a little flustered. "Uh… you had a book yesterday, didn't you? Would you like that one again?"

"No thank you," he said with a charming grin that showed off all of his perfect teeth. "I think I'd like to try something else. Maybe one with a larger basis on historical events?"

"I've got some that might meet your requirements," Mary said quietly, turning to face away from him. She glanced up the shelves, her eye landing on some books right up the top. Dragging a step ladder over, she cautiously climbed up onto it and started gathering books in her arms. Jack was taking slow breaths, trying to calm himself down after his inexplicable loss of temper. His eyes fixed on the dark-haired man for just a few moments.

Tom had an eyebrow raised and an admiring smirk on his face, tilting his head to the left ever so slightly as he watched the librarian with her back to him, his eyes fixed rather lower than could be deemed appropriate by anyone's standards. He was vaguely aware of a low sound; almost a growl… from somewhere near him… before he found himself roughly pinned against the back wall by a furious farmer.

"You son of a bitch," Jack hissed, wrenching on Tom's collar. "What in the Goddess's name gives you the freaking right… how dare you even dream of looking at her like that? I'll show you –"

"Goddess, Jack!" Mary called sharply, quickly dropping the books on the floor and running to his side, ineffectively tugging on his arm. "Jack, let go of him this second!"

"Apologize to her right now!" he roared, ignoring the librarian and shoving Tom again. That man was going to have one hell of a bruise in the morning.

"Jack, come on! Outside, please!" The tearful note in her voice seemed to break through his rage and he blinked down at her. "Let go of him – come outside – I'm begging you, Jack…"

He slowly dropped Tom who immediately began massaging his neck, breathing heavily. Jack shot him a look of pure hatred before following Mary outside.

"What the hell was that?" she asked as soon as the library door had closed behind them, her usually composed voice bordering on hysterics. "I can't believe what you just did!"

"He was looking at you like you were –"

"That is my problem, not yours," she whispered dangerously. "I never want to see you do that again, do you understand?"

"I'm not going to stand by and –"

"This is my work!" she burst out. "This library is all I have! My independence, my… my escape! Not some… boxing ring to display your manly pride, or whatever the heck that was in there! If you can't promise me that you'll never do that again, I… I have to ask you not to come to the library anymore. Promise me." Her eyes behind her glasses were very nearly overflowing with tears, and she stared at him beseechingly. Jack stared back, taking deep breaths. He slowly shook his head.

"No."

Mary's face fell even further, and a single tear spilled down her cheek. "W-what?"

"No. I won't promise you that. The only thing I can promise is that if that –" he spat an expletive that made the librarian wince, "– looks at you like that even once more, I'll impair his vision so seriously that he'll never see you again."

She stared at him for a few minutes – a long time, really – before slowly biting her lip and glancing at the ground. "Then… I have to ask you not to come back."

"Don't be –"

"Jack. Don't. Until you promise, I don't want you here."

He glanced at the sky, laughing bitterly for a moment before fixing his gaze firmly on her. "Fine." He turned on his heel and walked away quickly, leaving the librarian in the doorway, resting her head in one hand wearily.

xxx

Veronica bit her lip cautiously, throwing a glance down the narrow stairway once again. That idiot brother of hers… he'd clumsily knocked her down, she'd hurt her ankle, and now… walking wasn't the most simple thing in the world. Stairs were a lot worse. She couldn't be mad at Jack; he'd stayed with her at the clinic for over an hour… but foot injuries were so inconvenient. It was kind of looking like she was stuck upstairs for the day.

"Are you okay?" a puzzled male voice asked from behind her. Straining her neck to see who it was without moving her body, she smiled radiantly at Gray.

"Oh, hey. Yeah, I'm okay. Just trying to figure out how to get downstairs." She laughed softly. "I'm not seeing a practical solution."

She received an apprehensive look, as Gray struggled with her words. "Uh… wouldn't you… you know, walk down?"

His words set the redhead into a fit of giggles. "Riiiight. Sorry, I didn't explain that properly. I hurt my ankle earlier, so…" the blacksmith's eyes travelled from her bandaged foot, not taking any weight, to her right arm braced against the wall for support. He nodded, blushing slightly.

"I… yeah, that makes sense. Ah – do you need help?"

Her eyebrows went up as she contemplated his offer. "That might work. I'm fine getting up stairs, and I can walk on level ground, but for some reason… going downstairs is almost impossible. Could you just…" she held out one arm and he slowly walked over, taking it and guiding her down the first stair. "Goddess," she muttered immediately, shaking her head. "Sorry… it's not going to work. I just… can't walk downstairs on it. I'll have to…" she trailed off, staring at Gray in contemplation. He stared back suspiciously.

"What?"

"I'm just thinking…" she ducked her head, a blush seemingly crossing her perfect face. "It's… oh, but I can't ask. Never mind."

"Veronica."

She hesitated, before grinning and shaking her head in disbelief. "I… was just wondering if it would be too weird for me to ask you to carry me down. I would ask Tom, but Heaven knows where he is…"

Completely silent, Gray could only frown. "It might be weird, yeah."

"Oh," she said immediately, voice and smile faltering. "Yeah, of course. Don't worry. I'll just –" she attempted to take another step and cringed, crumpling slightly. Cursing under his breath, Gray moved closer and wordlessly lifted her bridal-style. She laughed, embarrassed. "You don't have to…"

He grunted in reply, his face redder than should humanly be possible. As he made his way down, he hazily realized that twenty stairs had never seemed so long. Goddess, did they go on forever? He abruptly put her down as soon as he reached the bottom stair, perhaps a little more roughly than necessary. She simply laughed again, hobbling over to a nearby table and still managing to look graceful as she did it.

"Come on," she giggled, waving him over. He halfheartedly walked to stand near her, not sitting down, when the sound of the door being pushed open caught his attention. He turned quickly to see Jill in the doorway. She gave him a quick, tired wave and crossed the room to say something to Ann in a low voice. The waitress immediately looked concerned, but Jill shook her head, obviously trying to stay composed.

"Hold on," he muttered to Veronica, who looked rather sulky as he walked over to Jill. "Hey. What's going on?"

"Hey," Jill said warmly, standing on her tiptoes to kiss him and falling miserably short. He chuckled and slipped his arms around her waist, ducking down so Jill could actually reach his lips.

Ann made a gagging noise, forcing them to break apart and glare at her. Gray turned back to Jill, his forehead creased. "Everything fine?"

"Oh… yeah, I guess… it's just Jack," she admitted. "He just came home in the most terrible mood… nearly ripped the door off its hinges, and he wouldn't talk to me about whatever was wrong. I've hardly ever seen him in a really bad mood, and he's not the most fun person to be around when it happens."

"He was here," Ann said, shaking her head, "But he was fine. Maybe something went wrong on the farm that you don't know about?"

"Maybe," she shrugged, rubbing her eyes. "Gosh, I'm so tired. I've got this… guilty feeling constantly, but I don't think I've done anything wrong."

"Better hope not," Gray joked, kissing the top of her hair lightly. She scowled playfully, but her scowl turned into a real one and she rolled her eyes at the sight of her sister, watching them in interest from across the room. Veronica smiled at her, and Jill glanced away determinedly. "Jill," Gray said quietly, witnessing the exchange and shaking his head.

"What?" she replied defensively, crossing her arms over her chest. Ann placed a hand on Jill's shoulder in a show of support.

"Besides, it isn't like she's ignoring her," Ann said slyly. "She just, uh… didn't see her."

"Jill. Jill? Jill? Jill!" Veronica called, trying valiantly to gain her sister's attention and apparently remaining oblivious to the fact that she was being snubbed. The blonde, gritting her teeth, finally turned around as her sister became louder and louder.

"What do you want?"

"Come here, please?" Jill unfolded her arms and stormed over, crossing them again and standing defiantly in front of Veronica.

"Do you think everything's fine between us?" Jill asked suddenly, before her sister could begin speaking. "Because, just to warn you, it's not. So if you called me over here to make small talk, you can think again. I don't like you, okay?"

The redhead bit her lip and glanced at the table, her eyes bright. "Okay."

"Do you still need to say something?" Veronica shook her head meekly and her sister snorted, beginning to walk off, before she suddenly stood up.

"Actually, yes. I do have something to say."

Sighing again, Jill turned around. "What."

"I think you're the one in the wrong," she said, her voice trembling the slightest bit. "I think you're… making me out to be the bad guy, when I'm the one who's at least trying to make this better. And… you know, I think you're being a hypocrite."

"Excuse me?" the blonde hissed, a sharp edge to her voice. "If you can honestly think for one second that what you did doesn't deserve –"

"That's the thing, though," she replied simply. "You're so mad at me for taking Tom… when we both know that it would be no holds barred if you got the chance to take him back." Without a word, Jill stepped towards her sister aggressively. Gray reflexively pulled her back, his arms wrapped around her waist.

"Come on," he mumbled, turning her to lead her away. Her whole body was shaking with fury, her face bright red as she stared at Veronica.

"Gray," Ann interrupted, running up to him and tapping his arm. "Let me go outside with Jill. You're a lot more patient than I am – you leave me here, and I'll probably end up punching that little brat. Can I…?"

"Yeah," he shrugged wearily, watching as Ann and Jill stormed out together. He turned back to Veronica who was sitting down again and looking rather pale.

"I can't control my damn mouth," she mumbled, digging the nails of her left hand into the palm of her right hand. Gray glowered at her, and she raised two pleading eyebrows. "I'm sorry."

"Don't say that to me," he said coldly. "Jill's the one you owe an apology to."

"She frustrates me, though! You must see how difficult she can be –"

"If you're expecting me to say anything against her, you're going to be sorely disappointed."

She sighed. "Yeah, okay. Fair enough."

"I'm going to go check if Jill's okay," he said, still distant. He turned to walk out the front door, but Veronica reached out and grabbed his hand.

"Hey, can you… tell her I'm sorry for what I said," she asked, giving his hand a squeeze. Gray shot her a doubtful look, but nodded sharply before walking away.

She sighed and rested her head in her hands. She… wasn't truly sorry for what she'd said to Jill, although Tom was going to have something to say about it once he found out. She didn't want Gray thinking any less of her – and that wasn't exactly logical, when in perspective, he had nothing to do with anything.

xxx

From the moment Veronica and Tom had showed up in Mineral Town, it was inevitable that things were going to change.

But… perhaps nobody realized just how big a difference their actions were going to make in the coming weeks.

xxx

xD… let me know what you thought. I'll do my best to get the next one up soon enough.

By the way, I'm just wondering if you guys have a… detailed impression of Tom, in terms of appearance. I have a very solid idea in my mind, but I think I've kind of left it up to interpretation… haven't described it all that clearly. Hmm.