Chapter Three

Jane

Jane saw Harvey leaning against the fountain. He was looking in to the distance, eyes transfixed on something or nothing. He was in a daze.

Smiling she walked over and took a seat next to him on the wall that ran in a circle around the fountain. The water bubbled and gave the grassy park area a feeling of tranquillity. Birds chattered overhead, and a gentle breeze blew through the tree leaves. It was a very peaceful location to spend an afternoon.

'Oh hello,' he said startled by her sudden appearance. 'I didn't see you there.'

'Yeah, I know. You were away with those fairies again.' She giggled and nudged him in the ribs with her elbow.'

Harvey's face went a little pink from embarrassment. He was clearly uncomfortable with her teasing. He brushed his hair off his face with his fingers and cleared his throat. 'Shouldn't you be busy with farmer work, plants and stuff?'

'Shouldn't you be busy with doctor work, patients and stuff?' She responded with a smirk. She eyed him up, wondering if he only owned green suit jackets as that's all she'd ever seen him wear. She had to admit the green jacket did match his eye colour well.

'Touché,' he clapped his hands together as if she'd won an award.

'I had a free moment and thought I'd go for a walk, and do a bit of foraging.' Jane leaned down and pulled off her work boots. Her feet were so hot she thought she'd soak them in the fountain. Just taking her boots off was a relief; they were sore and sweaty from wearing them all day. After rolling up the legs of her dungarees she swivelled round on her backside and plunged her bare feet in to the cold water. 'Oh that's so good! Come on Harvey take your shoes off, get some air to those feet.'

'I don't think you are meant to do that,' he frowned disapprovingly at her.

'Do what?' she grinned whilst wiggling her toes.

'Put your feet in the water.'

'Oh well if Dr Harvey orders it, then I must be a good patient and do as I'm told,' she laughed and splashed him with water.

'No you aren't meant to put your feet in!' He growled in frustration. His green eyes had narrowed and his brow dipped in to a frown.

She could see he was getting wound up so she said, 'Oh lighten up Doctor!' She exaggerated her smile to encourage him to smile back but he just frowned even more. He really needed to loosen up she thought.

'It's so refreshing,' she splashed him again wetting his clothes, 'and so soothing after wearing my work boots all day.'

'It's unhygienic!' He said looking down and her feet. He pulled a face.

'Bloody hell, prescribe yourself a chill pill!' She'd never known anyone to be such a stickler for the rules. She scooped up a handful of water and threw it at him. It hit him right in the face, wetting his hair and eye glasses. Water droplets must have obscured his vision as he removed his glasses to wipe them. The colour of his green eyes seemed to intensify, but perhaps it was because he looked pissed off.

'Please don't do that!'

'Do what?' She asked amused by her childish game.

'Splash me with water!' He growled.

She could not resist, and well... he'd practically told her to do it. She scooped up another handful of water but as she moved to throw it as her she lost her footing and slipped off the wall sideways.

Before she hit the water Harvey's hand shot out and caught hers. She smiled thinking, phew that was close but then he made a sound, 'uhh ooh ahh,' when he lost his balance and her weight pulled him off the wall. There was a huge splash as a tidal wave of fountain water went over wall. He landed on top of her, taking the wind out of her lungs.

'Ow! Bloody hell you weigh a tonne,' Jane complained beneath him. They were both drenched, their clothing clinging to their skin. The water was no longer pleasant, it was freezing. The bird chatter sounded like laughter, and she was pretty sure her nipples were showing through her top.

His face was inches from hers. Droplets of water trickled down the bridge of his nose and dripped on to her cheek. He was looking in to her eyes with such intensity and suddenly she didn't feel so brave. She swallowed nervously, waiting for him to get off her, for him to say something.

He leaned in towards her, his wet lips found hers and he kissed her. It felt like electricity was running through her body, every inch of her skin tingled. She kissed him back, her hands on his shirt collar pulling him in for a deeper kiss. She gasped as he pulled away, but moaned with pleasure when he kissed her again. The kiss had taken her completely by surprise. There was a fire in his eyes. His breathing was rapid, she could feel his chest rising and falling against her own. Through her clothing she could feel his erection pressing in to her thigh, hard and hungry for her. She arched her hips up towards his hardness, but realised what she was doing and remembered where they were.

'DOCTOR HARVEY!' she broke free of his mouth. He stopped kissing her, and was panting heavily. 'You need to get off me!' He looked confused, and then his expression changed to worry.

'I'm so sorry,' he sat back on his heels and pulled her in to a seating position. She could hear his wheeze again. He stood up with her. 'Forgive me. I uh... don't know what came over me. I'm sorry – let me apologise properly by uhh... by uhh buying you dinner.' He was quite breathless so his words were stammered.

They stepped out of the fountain on to the grass, both shivering. Luckily there was no one around, because Jane felt so embarrassed. Her face felt flush – Not only were her nipples poking through her wet top, she'd also received the best kiss she'd ever had... from the town doctor!

She tucked her t-shirt back in to her dungarees as it had come loose. She caught herself staring at his crotch and quickly looked away. He was still hard, and that was some bulge in his pants!

'I don't think so Dr Harvey.' She couldn't look him in the eyes, so she looked at the fountain behind him. 'If that was meant to be CPR, you'd better brush up on your skills.' She joked nervously. He was an amazing kisser!

'Advice noted,' he coughed to clear his throat, clearly trying to hide his amusement at her joke. 'And umm... just call me Harvey.'

'Harvey,' she smiled. 'I'll see you around, ok? Take care of yourself.' She thumbed the straps on her dungarees and headed home, leaving Harvey standing alone.

Back at the farm she threw herself on to the sofa. What the hell had happened! She got up and poured herself a large glass of brandy and sat back on the sofa, letting the cushions swallow her up.

Harvey

'Ouch Doc, that's really tight!' Alex complained, 'can you loosen it off a bit?'

'Sorry Alex,' he undid the Velcro cuff on the blood pressure device, which made a loud ripping sound. He looked at the reading on the screen, 'it's fine.' Alex had come in for a health check.

'Is something on your mind Doc?' Alex asked chewing loudly on a piece of gum. Alex was a very athletic guy, strong and muscular, and very popular with the ladies. Harvey felt he could never compete with the men in Pelican Town. Alex was a Jock, Elliot was a romantic Adonis chiselled from stone, and Shane was mean and moody – a characteristic that a lot of women seemed to find attractive. Harvey attended weekly fitness classes with some of the female townsfolk to keep himself fit and healthy, but his asthma kept him from doing anything more strenuous.

'No,' Harvey lied, not wanting to share any of his personal life with Alex. 'Your test result came back from the lab. You'll be pleased to hear the findings were negative for sexually transmitted diseases. You really must be careful Alex. I can't stress enough how important it is for both you and your sexual partners to use protection,' he said changing the subject.

'Woah Doc, less of the lecturing – you're starting to sound like my grandparents,' Alex laughed, clearly not taking things seriously. The sound of Alex's chew had started to annoy Harvey. Slurp, shoop, slurp, shoop, slurp, shoop.

Harvey sighed, not wanting to get in to it with Alex. 'Do you require contraception – Condoms?' Harvey asked his voice monotone, and his mind elsewhere. Jane's perfect lips.

'Sure thing Doc, I could do with some. You still got my size... right? Extra large.' Alex laughed. Harvey rolled his eyes. Cocky bastard.

'Okay, well I think we are done here,' Harvey typed up some notes on his computer, updating Alex's medical details. 'See Maru for those condoms.'

'Will do Doc, will do.' He made a gun shape with his hand and fired an imaginary bullet at Harvey.

Harvey sighed. He could not get her out of his head. Her smell, her taste, and the way her body felt beneath him. He felt himself going hard and tried to think of something else.

He knew he shouldn't have kissed her, it was wrong. He hardly knew her and she didn't even like him. He just couldn't help himself. He could smell her scent, her shower cream, her fruity lip balm, and he just had to taste those lips. She tasted of strawberries. He felt himself growing harder.

'That was the last patient Dr Harvey,' Maru said surprising him. He had been too busy thinking about Jane to notice Maru enter the room. He jumped up from his chair in surprise and banged himself on the desk in front of him. That was one way of getting rid of it. Somehow he managed to hold in the scream, but his face showed his pain. Luckily Maru left the office as quickly as she'd entered it so didn't see him in pain.

'Fuck!' he hissed under his breath. Once the pain had subsided, which took about five minutes, Harvey grabbed his jacket off the peg and put it on. He went in to the reception where Maru was getting ready to leave for the day. He decided it was now or never... he was going to ask her out for a drink. Kissing Jane had given him the confidence he needed, and he was fed up of being alone.

'Hey Maru,' the words got caught in his throat.

She looked up from her desk. She was pulling on her sneakers; she'd changed out of her work heels.

'Do you need something Doc? Is it about overtime tomorrow?' She was such a happy person, always smiling.

'Umm, I just wondered... doyouwannagetadrinkatthebar? He blurted the last bit out so fast the look on her face showed she didn't catch a word of it so he tried again. 'I'll buy you a drink at the bar.'

'At Gus' place? I'm actually heading out to meet some girlfriends, but my mom and dad should be there if you want to catch a drink with them.' Maru grabbed her jacket off the coat hook. 'I'll see you on Monday, or tomorrow if you want me to do some overtime.' She waved him goodbye and left him standing alone in the hallway. He sighed heavily and headed for the bar.

'The usual Doc?' Gus asked reaching for a clean coffee mug. He was a portly fellow, which Harvey assessed was probably from drinking a lot of beer.

'No, actually I'll have a beer please.' He hopped up on to his favourite bar stool.

'Here you go.' Gus passed him a cold one from the refrigerator.

Harvey took a swig from the bottle. It was ice cold and his throat was soothed. He downed the drink in one and let out a belch.

'I'll have another beer.' He asked sliding the empty bottle across the bar towards Gus. Gus handed him another and Harvey thanked him with a salute.

As he drank his second beer he thought about his life, and how since moving to Pelican Town he'd not ventured out anywhere. He should book a holiday and visit a beach or another town or city. He'd have to travel by bus or hire a car though, as going on a plane was not an option. Maybe he'd meet a nice girl on his travels and she'd actually like him back. 'Another beer,' he waved to Gus.

'Steady on there Doc,' Gus warned but still passed Harvey a third beer. 'Maybe have a coffee next.'

Harvey ignored his comment and took a drink of his beer. He took his inhaler out of his jacket pocket and had two puffs on it. He held his breath as he counted out the seconds and then released it, putting his inhaler on the bar. He played with it, taking the canister out and twisting it between his fingers. He'd had a letter arrive in the mail from his own doctor requesting he make an asthma review appointment but he'd thrown it in a drawer. He was fine, and he didn't need to make an appointment he thought. He could do all the checks at his own clinic if he wanted to, what was the point of going to see another doctor. He would be his own doctor.

He heard laughter coming from a table in the corner or the room. He glanced over his right shoulder and saw Jane sat chatting to Alex. Harvey let out a groan. Alex!He couldn't hear what they were saying but Jane's laugh indicated she was enjoying Alex's company. Jane looked pretty tonight; she wasn't wearing her usual farm clothes. She had worn a frilly white blouse and what looked like a pink skirt with a pattern on it. He'd not seen her wearing anything other than her overalls so this look was new to him. He forced himself to turn back towards the bar. He took another mouthful of his beer, starting to feel the affect of the alcohol.

'Two more beers please Gus,' he heard Alex order as he appeared next to him at the bar.

Harvey didn't bother to look up from his drink.

'Hey Doc. Can I buy you a beer?' Alex asked grinning from ear to ear. Harvey shook his head to say no. 'Oh, go on Doc. You look like you need one. Gus, a beer for the Doc.'

Harvey knew he shouldn't but he accepted the beer and said, 'thanks.' He watched Alex return with his beers to their table. Were they on a date? He finished his beer and started on the new one Alex had ordered for him. He couldn't help but glance Jane's way. She looked amazing. Her red hair was loosely flowing over her shoulders. He wished he could run his fingers through it, and smell her shampoo again. She caught him looking, and he held her gaze for a few seconds before turning back to his beer. He didn't drink very often. He usually stuck to coffee but he felt he needed the numbness he got from drinking, the calming affect he had right now.

He felt a hand on his shoulder. 'Harvey are you ok?' It was Jane. She had a look of concern on her face.

'Yes, I'm perfectly fine.' He slurred, trying to keep his composure. 'How's your date going?'

She looked confused. 'Date?' She looked more than pretty, she looked beautiful. He could smell her floral perfume, and breathed it in which sent him in to a coughing fit. It burned his lungs.

He took another two puffs on his inhaler and fumbled trying to return in to his pocket. 'You're sitting with Alex, and he's buying you drinks. My assessment is... you are on a date.'

Jane took it from his hand and tucked it away in his pocket. 'Have a coffee Harvey; you look like you need one.'

He chose to ignore her advice; instead he tapped the empty bottle in front him indicating to Gus he wanted another.

'It's your choice; you're the doctor so I guess you know best.' She went to sit back down with Alex.

'Hey Doc, maybe you should ease up on the beer. Take the ladies advice and have a coffee.'

'Uhh, I need to urinate.' He got up and went to men's rest room.

Just as he was zipping his pants up, the door to the rest room flew open and Alex came sauntering in. He had a huge grin on his face.

'Hey Doc, how's it hanging.' He joked, as he winked and grabbed his crotch. Perfectly fine - thanks, thought Harvey. Harvey said nothing. He was drunk and felt like he was in slow motion.

As he was leaving Alex flashed the strip of condoms he'd received from the clinic. 'Thanks for these Doc, I think I'll be using all of these tonight. In fact I might need to pop by in the morning for a refill.' He winked, laughing to himself.

Harvey made his way back to his bar stool not really having taken in what Alex was suggesting. He sat down, took a large glug of beer and then it came to him.

'YOU COCKY BASTARD!' Harvey stood up so clumsily that his stool fell over and clattered to the floor. Everyone looked up shocked at hearing Dr Harvey shouting.

Gus put a hand on Harvey's wrist trying to coax him in to returning to his seat. 'Come on now Doc how about that coffee?'

'YOU THINK YOU CAN HAVE ANY WOMAN YOU WANT!' Harvey was enraged, and drunkenly made his way over to Jane's table. Alex had stood up, hands in front of him.

'Woah, woah. Calm down old man. What's your prob-' He didn't have a chance to finish. Harvey punched him dead in the face knocking him back a few steps. 'Joba! What the fuck! You lunat-'

Smack! Harvey punched him again, and again.

'HARVEY STOP!' Jane shouted at him, which caused him to turn towards her. Even her shout was beautiful. He smiled drunkenly at her. He was too busy looking at Jane to notice the bar stool that came crashing down across his back. 'HARVEY!'

Everything went dark.