Chapter Five

Harvey

He opened his eyes but closed them again, putting a hand in front of his face to block out the sunlight that was pouring in to the room. It was so bright. Squinting he realised he must have forgotten to draw the curtains when he went to bed last night.

He swung his legs over the side of the bed, and placed his feet on the wooden floorboards. He noticed he was still wearing his shirt and socks. Where were his pyjamas? His neck and back were painfully stiff, and his head was pounding. He stood up from the bed feeling slightly wobbly.

As he walked over to the kitchen, with his hand up to his temple trying to massage the pain away, he glanced towards the sofa and realised he wasn't alone. Jane was curled up on her side, her eyes were closed and she was snoring. He smiled. She looked sweet he thought, but her snoring wasn't very ladylike and neither was that saliva that hung from her lip. He grabbed the blanket off his bed and placed it over her gently, trying not to disturb her. Feeling a little exposed he grabbed his grey dressing gown off the wall hook and put it on.

In the kitchen he ran the tap and filled a glass with cold water, gulped it down, and refilled it. He found some painkillers in a drawer, popped out two capsules and swallowed them washing away the bitter taste with the second glass of water. He rinsed out and then placed the empty glass upside down on the draining rack. He touched the side of his head with his fingers. He felt the dressing from last night and chuckled at the memory of Jane squirming and wondered if he could have teased her further. She really thought she was going to have to stitch him up.

He brewed a pot of coffee, thinking he needed some caffeine to face the day. He'd made such a fool of himself, and guessed he needed to make more than a few apologies. The satisfaction of punching Alex in the face more than made it worthwhile. That and he'd got the girl... well, sort of. She was in his apartment and that was a start.

He filled a cup with coffee and took a seat in the armchair opposite the sofa. Jane was snoozing. The aroma of coffee filled his nostrils, it was one of his favourite smells.

Jane

Jane woke up to the smell of coffee. She yawned, stretched, and uncurled her body from sleeping awkwardly. She felt something cold and wet on her face and used the back of her hand to wipe he drool away. 'Yuck!' she said out loud and without thinking wiped it on the sofa. She instantly regretted her actions when she realised Harvey was watching her from the armchair. His predatory green eyes were staring at her intensely over his coffee cup. Oh shit, he didn't see that did he?

'Oh! Uhh...' she exclaimed, feeling both surprised and embarrassed. She sat upright, and the blanket that had been covering her fell to one side.

'Good morning,' Harvey said behind his coffee cup, his eyes glinted with amusement.

'Morning Harvey,' she responded and then asked, 'how's your head feeling?' She folded the blanket giving her hands something to do because she felt very awkward.

'It's a little sore,' He answered shrugging his shoulders, and then placed his cup down on the table. She could see his face better. He needed a shave. His hair needed brushing, and his moustache needed a comb. She was quite amused at seeing him unkempt, but the aeroplane underpants were a bit much... especially the way he was sitting with his legs apart.

'I'm not surprised,' she said trying not to look at his silly underwear, 'you had quite the evening.'

He looked away embarrassed. 'Yeah, about that... I'm sorry. I'm really not that guy, and-

'-It's ok Harvey; you don't need to explain yourself to me.' She stood up and smoothed the ruffles out of her skirt with her hands. 'I'm just glad you're ok.' She smiled at him remembering how crazy he was last night, but she had to admit he was extremely dexterous when it came to needle work.

He offered her a coffee, but she declined telling him she'd better get back to her farm.

'I'll ...uhh... walk you to the door,' he stuttered nervously.

'The door is literally four feet away Harvey.' She laughed.

'I'd still like to walk you there, if you'll let me.' He smiled shyly, and indicated with his hand that she should walk with him. Three steps later they were there.

'I'll see you around Harvey, take care of yourself...ok?' She placed a hand to his face, remembering the loud crack his skull had made when he hit the floor.

'Wait, don't go just yet.' He grasped her hand in his and held it against his stubbly cheek. She took a step towards him, and he leaned down and planted a kissed her on the cheek. 'Jane-' he started, but she didn't let him finish his sentence. She smiled, looked in to his eyes, cupped his face with her hands and pulled him in to a deep kiss.

When she released him, he was gasping for air. He wasn't the only one who could kiss amazingly. She slipped her hand in to his dressing gown pocket, her hand gently brushed against his thigh through the material and her fingers found what they were searching for. 'Ahh,' he moaned, his mouth gaping as she stared in to his eyes.

She tossed him his inhaler and said, 'See you later Doctor.'

He couldn't seem to inhale the medicine fast enough. 'I'M BUYING YOU DINNER!' he shouted in the midst of trying to get his breath back.

Jane blew him a kiss, which he caught and planted on his cheek rather clumsily. The slap sound echoed around Harvey's apartment. That dopey drunk smile was back on his face. Jane giggled knowing he'd be thinking about her all day.

Harvey

Thinking some fresh air might do him some good Harvey went for a walk. He locked the front door, pocketed his keys and took the steps that lead up to the park.

The air was much cooler, and a few golden brown leaves danced about as they detached from the tree branches. The summer season was coming to an end. Harvey was relieved. He enjoyed the warm weather but hated the mosquitoes; they seemed to have an unquenchable thirst for his blood.

He wore his Jeans and short sleeved t-shirt instead of his usual attire. The writing on the t-shirt read Trust me I'm a pilot. If only he was a real pilot he thought, flying an aeroplane, soaring high through the clouds - that had been his childhood dream.

He saw Jas and Vincent playing on the swings together. They waved when they saw him. He loved children, they were so sweet. He smiled and waved back, happy to see them having fun. He remembered how upset Vincent had been after he'd administered his vaccinations last week, he had screamed the clinic down but brightened up when Harvey presented him with a lollypop.

Harvey carried on past the old community centre thinking it was about time someone took on the task of bringing it back to life. It had been left to years of neglect, and signs of damage from many storms were showing. The dark windows gave the building a creepy look. Ivy was growing up one side of the building, and there appeared to be a leaves growing out of the roof. Perhaps the creepiest thing was the clock on the wall that always read 12:25, the hands were rusted, frozen in time. It was like a time of death, the moment the happiness drained from the building and no one ever cared for it again.

A shiver went down Harvey's spine and he continued past the building, avoiding peering in to those windows. The thought of whom or what might peer back at him made him increase his pace a little. He followed the path north listening to the river that flowed alongside it. A few ducks floated by, probably hoping for some bread but Harvey didn't have any. They seemed to quack disappointedly when he didn't stop to feed them.

The Carpenter's shop was up ahead. He felt tired and a bit out of breath from walking up the hill, and made a mental note to walk more often. He pushed open the front door and heard a bell ding as he entered the building, alerting his presence to the carpenter.

'Good morning Dr Harvey,' Robin smiled. She was standing behind the counter at the cash register where she usual took her carpentry orders. 'Is there anything I can get you? Are you looking to buy or is this a medical visit?'

'It's a, um... social call. Is Demetrius about?' Harvey asked trying to peer round the corner.

'Yeah, he's in his lab,' Robin smiled, 'Go in, he'll be happy to see you. I'll make you a coffee.'

As Harvey walked down the hall Sebastian, Robin's son, appeared and the pair almost bumped in to one another.

'Watch where you're going idiot! Oh, I thought you were him. Sebastian appeared to be in a bad mood. 'Sorry Doc!'

'It's ok, it was probably my fault. Who did you think I was?' Harvey asked curiously, his headache was returning.

'Maru's dad, my stepfather Demetrius! The guys an ass!' Sebastian frowned, and looked back over his shoulder. 'I gotta go before I do something that gets me kicked out!'

Sebastian pushed past Harvey and slammed the front door behind him as he left the house. The door shook in its frame and Harvey felt his brain rattle in his skull. He shook his head in disapproval and sighed, 'Kids!' he said under his breath. He carried on down the hall and entered Demetrius' lab.

The room was too bright, and very white. The floor tiles were white, and the cupboard doors were white. It was a bit much for Harvey's headache and caused him to squint and shield his eyes with his hand. He couldn't focus on anything, let alone see where Demetrious was.

He heard a newspaper rustle. 'Oh, sorry Doc, let me kill the lights,' Demetrius set his newspaper down and flipped a few switches. The lights dimmed and Harvey was thankful. 'I take it you've got a bad head this morning?' He tapped the side of his own head.

'Yeah, it's pretty bad. I thought the fresh air might help.' He breathed out feeling slightly nauseous. Demetrius opened the refrigerator, took out a bottle of water and threw it to Harvey. He caught it, unscrewed the cap and downed half the bottle. 'Thanks.'

'You did quite the number on Alex's face. Poor kid's got two black eyes and won't be taking any selfies for a while.' Demetrius scratched an itch under his chin, appearing to be amused but not wanting to condone Harvey's actions.

Harvey suddenly felt terrible. He took an oath to help people, not beat them to a pulp. He looked down at the floor, and mindlessly started peeling back the dressing on the side of his head. When he realised what he was doing he stopped and pressed it back down wincing as he touched a sore spot.

'Demetrious, I just wanted to apologise for my behaviour last night. I shouldn't have gone after Alex like that.' Harvey felt his face going red, his cheeks felt warm.

'Someone was bound to give that kid a few slaps at some point. It shouldn't have been you though. You've got a reputation to uphold, and being the town doctor you can't drink like that... especially if it brings out that side of you. That was like some Mr Hyde shit or something.

'He said some things about Jane and I don't know... it hit a nerve. '

'Look, don't beat yourself up about it. Pun intended. You can't undo what's been done. Just learn from it, control your emotions, and move on. You like her... right?' Demetrious waited for Harvey to answer, but when he didn't he said, 'Come on man? You can tell me, we're buddies right?'

'I... I like her,' Harvey stammered and then added, 'and that's all I'm saying on the matter!' He couldn't look Demetrious in the eye so let his eyes wander around the lab. There were various jars and test tubes containing samples. He thought they looked like rock minerals but couldn't be sure.

'Well, offer to buy her dinner, and shave. You look like that homeless guy Linus!'

Harvey laughed, and chose not to disclose that he had in fact asked Jane out to dinner. He was about to leave when he remembered he'd seen Sebastian in an agitated state. 'I saw Sebastian when I came in. He seemed upset.' Harvey mentioned cautiously, not wanting to interfere.

'Ah, my delightful stepson! He's always upset about something or other and that something is usually to do with me. He says I make his life unfair. All I ask is that he find something meaningful to do with his life instead of playing those damn video games all the time. '

'Kids eh?' Harvey shrugged, not really knowing what to say and also not having a clue when it came to kids. 'I'd better be going.'

'Good luck!

Robin appeared with two cups of coffee, but Harvey apologised and made a quick exit.

Harvey followed the path west of Robin and Demetrious' house, not realising he'd taken the wrong route back to the clinic. His head was full of thoughts of Jane, and the way she'd kissed him in his apartment. He wondered when he'd see her again. Would he need to make up some excuse for a home visit, or maybe she would injure herself and he'd have to come to her rescue. No, that's an awful thought Harvey! He walked down some steps and through a narrow passage. Perhaps she would come to him, or maybe they would bump in to one another at Pierre's store.

'Shit!' He said through gritted teeth. Jane was feeding her chickens, throwing corn down on to the ground for them to peck at. He had somehow ended up at her farm! He froze, hoping she wouldn't notice him. She seemed happy, and was whistling a tune. Her farm appeared to be coming along well, there were lots of leafy green plants and colourful flowers. He wouldn't have a clue what they were though, he didn't know a lot about horticulture.

Jane disappeared out of view so he moved further on to her land and hid behind a barn, trying to see where she'd gone. He saw her tinkering with what looked like a sprinkler. He saw her kick it. She walked away. He moved closer, leaning around the side of the barn. She came back with a hand tool and he watched her trying to loosen a nut but failing. She lost her temper and gave the sprinkler whack with the tool. That worked! The sprinkler exploded and an enormous quantity of water sprayed out and took Jane by surprise. She fell back in to the mud. Harvey roared with laughter and instantly regretted it. His cover was blown.

'Who's there? I've got weapons and I know how to use them!' He saw Jane picking herself up from the floor, she looked wet and out for blood. She was glaring, her eyes searching towards his location. He saw her pick up the tool she'd be using on the sprinkler.' You'd better run!' she warned.

Harvey couldn't move his feet fast enough, and he tripped on a rake and lost his footing. He fell backwards and landed on a pile of buckets. Oh, for fuck sake! The metal clanging sounds were enough to alert her of his exact position. 'It's me! It's Harvey! You don't need to hurt me!' He was sitting on the ground with his hands out in a defensive posture.

Her expression changed from fight mode to confusion. 'Harvey? What... what are you doing here?' she asked. She dropped the tool and held out her hand. He took it and she helped him to his feet. She was strong, and he was impressed.

'I... umm... came to check you were still on for dinner?' He felt his neck and face heating up, and was sure he looked as red as the radishes Jane was growing.