"Oh, Goddess, why did I let her buy all of those seeds? I knew she was going to be stupid about planting them!" Karen sobbed. She was on the verge of hysterics as she shook the young woman, unaware that Cliff had left their side. "Wake up!" Tears spilled out of Karen's eyes as she squeezed her friend and pressed her lips to her forehead; she was terrified that Claire wasn't reacting at all. "Oh, Goddess!" She cried out several times to the sky, half in prayer and half in anger at the deity for letting this happen.

This was all her fault, the grocer's daughter scolded herself; she was the one who had told the farmer to hold off planting her seeds until after Beach Day. She should have known Claire would be stubborn and try to make up for lost time; the blonde had picked up a worker bee mentality as of late…

Cliff had returned as silently as he had left. The young man's hands swiftly passed over the farmer's flushed face, assessing the situation. His fingers deftly worked at the top couple of buttons on Claire's shirt as he touched her neck with a slight frown.

"She's not sweating. Heat exhaustion." His voice was calm, but his friend thought she saw a brief flash of worry pass through his features.

Karen's mind began to race. The worst medical emergency she had witnessed was a bee sting on Popuri's finger when they were children and Lillia looking a little dizzy sometimes, but she had never seen someone unconscious before. What if they couldn't wake Claire up? What kind of damage had been done to her body already, and was it going to get worse if they couldn't get her to respond? She didn't know what else to do; Karen sobbed uncontrollably, squeezing the farmer.

She was startled from her lamenting as she got splattered by a few drops of water. She looked up through tear-blurred vision as her friend sprinkled the watering can over the farmer's blonde head; it seemed he had filled it up at the watering hole while Karen remained at Claire's side. The young woman stirred slightly at the cold wetness.

Karen let out a jagged cry and bawled harder in relief; she had been terrified that nothing would make her friend move, and in her panic she had allowed herself to fear the worst.

"There we go," Cliff murmured soothingly to both females. He patted Karen on the shoulder as she continued to cry, gently nudging his way between them to carefully pry the brunette off of her friend. "L-Let's get you cooled down, Claire…" He scooped up the unconscious woman, ignoring Karen's possessive reaches for the blonde; the grocer's daughter was in no condition to help, and she seemed confused that he was separating them. He shuffled Claire in his arms as he expertly choked down his own emotion, blocking out Karen's sobs. "Come on, Claire," He muttered more to himself than to his unconscious friend, holding her to his chest as he stepped into the stream. It wasn't a very deep river, but once he got to the middle of the water, it reached chest level. He sunk down into the stream until it reached Claire's shoulders and she snapped back into awareness.

Blurred colors and shapes swam before her eyes; the world was spinning. She could hear the muffled sound of sobbing somewhere. The sudden churning of her stomach and the throbbing of her head were too much to bear; she could feel herself vomiting. Where was she? Had she fallen asleep? Was she still dreaming? She felt herself moving through the water. Was she doing this of her own accord, or was she being pulled?

"It's okay… She'll be fine…" Claire recognized Cliff's voice. She heard a soft whisper in her ear. "You're going to be alright. You've got us here now. Let's cool down." Why was his voice so calm if she could hear Karen crying in the background?

Everything was blurry; she tiredly blinked, failing to focus her vision as she reached in Cliff's direction and groped for his shoulders, clinging to him. "It's alright," He repeated quietly, shifting his hold on her. "Lean back; I've got you." Claire allowed herself go limp and was tugged a bit more back into consciousness when she felt the chill of the stream on her scalp. Cliff untied the handkerchief that Claire had around her forehead and used it to wipe down her face. The young woman's eyes began to focus properly as she looked around her, but her mind was still a step behind; she wasn't sure what was going on.

She heard a splash accompanied by Karen's voice, calling the farmer's name, sobbing, praising the Goddess and cursing the blonde all in great succession.

"Try sipping at the water slowly," The young man suggested, gently dabbing her face with the wet cloth.

Her mouth was dry and acidic; she was eager to get the taste of vomit out of it. The farmer weakly leaned forward and attempted to drink, but she ended up choking on the liquid instead of swallowing it properly. She was given a soft pat on the back in response. Claire felt another arm around her.

"Don't you ever do something that stupid again!" Karen's words were piercing and Claire found herself shrinking back. "Well, don't stop!" The young woman pouted. "Keep drinking!"

The farmer didn't need to be told twice; she fought the instinct to chug the water and found it very difficult. She was slowly coming back to life. Her eyes came back into clear focus. Karen fussed over her and covered her face in kisses, squeezing both of her friends and choking on her sobs. The friends stood like that in the water for several moments.

"I-I wanna go un-under…" Claire murmured. She held her breath as her friends gently lowered her into the water for a few seconds. She regained her sense of reality and the hazy film over her consciousness lifted significantly. The three of them were in the stream to the south of her fields. Karen, who was visibly shaken, was finally starting to calm down, but she kept a protective hold on Claire. The farmer moved her eyes to Cliff as he silently watched over both of his friends, an arm around each.

"I think I'm okay," Claire said weakly, realizing they must both must have been worried sick.

The brunette woman shook her head. "We are still taking you to the clinic, though," Karen replied with authority, kissing Claire's forehead.

The young woman gave a silent nod as she continued sipping water. She didn't want to leave the coolness of the stream just yet.

Karen turned toward Cliff and planted a kiss on his cheek. "Thank you for staying so calm. I'm glad she's okay."

"Me, too…" He never took his eyes off of the farmer. He swallowed the emotion that was starting to build up in him again; not now, and not here…

The young man was distracted from his friend's exclamation. "I love you both so much!" Karen hugged them both so hard all of their foreheads knocked together. She laughed.

Claire closed her eyes, relishing the moment. With those words, Karen had made her feel better than the cool water ever could have.

0o0o0o0

For a brief moment, Claire thought that going to the clinic was unnecessary; the water had revived her. However, after feeling the strong pull of gravity as she returned to land, she realized how weak she still was. The blonde slumped to the ground, and her friends each grabbed one end of her and started carrying her to the clinic without a word on the matter. The farmer bit back protests and apologies; she knew that neither of these things was helpful to her friends at the moment.

They quietly walked through town; Cliff had silently volunteered to walk backward and scooped Claire up under the arms. Karen was carrying the farmer's feet and walking forward. They were about halfway there when the reality of the situation finally hit Claire and she started to cry. She had caused everyone so much trouble and worry, not to mention she had ruined their afternoon outing. The young woman was too dehydrated to produce many tears, but her chest wracked with dry sobs. Karen avoided looking down at the blonde.

"Don't you start crying, or you'll get me crying again, too." The brunette smiled, blinking away tears that started to form.

The farmer didn't realize how scared she was until she saw the wetness in her friend's eyes. "I'm so… glad you g-guys came to check on me," Claire managed to say as she choked on a sob, and she felt a hug around her chest from Cliff in response. She weakly rested her hands on his and felt them quiver a bit.

The grocer's daughter had tears running down her face and she sniffed. "Dammit, Claire, I said stop it," Karen laughed it off.

Elli jumped up from her desk and opened the door for them as they made their way inside the clinic.

"What happened?" Trent was already at their side, ushering them into his office.

"We found her passed out on her farm." The young man's voice was steady. Karen observed him curiously for a moment; it was almost as if Cliff had forgotten his last experience in this building and he had no apprehension around the physician.

"She's very dehydrated. Heat exhaustion." Doctor Trent repeated the young man's diagnosis as he quickly took Claire's temperature and ordered the nurse to prepare her a cool bath. The blonde let out a sigh in relief as she heard Elli turn on the tap; she was already starting to feel too warm again. The physician pulled Claire behind a privacy screen and her friends followed her. Elli fought with the laces on Claire's boots and Karen began unbuttoning Claire's overalls, and Cliff realized it was time for him to leave.

"I'll… be waiting on the other side…" He looked frustrated that it wasn't socially acceptable for him to help any further. He gave the young woman a sad smile and headed to the lobby, unable to hide his eyebrows furrowed with worry.

Claire felt a rush of guilt for making her friend feel this way, but she was distracted as the women tugged at her garments. The farmer let the nurse and Karen struggle with peeling off her clammy clothes; she was too tired to be embarrassed at her nudity. Trent brought her some juice and Elli helped him lower her into the tub.

"You need to take better care of your body," He started right away, wiping her face with a wet cloth. His words were harsh, but there was loving care in his hands. She had briefly imagined she would be flustered at a man seeing her in this condition, but he was so businesslike that she realized she didn't care.

His comment was still cutting, though. Claire stared at the water, avoiding his sharp gaze. She was embarrassed that she had caused everyone so much trouble, not to mention the fact that she had angered the physician. She felt like crying again.

"Summer heat can be hard on everyone, especially those who work outside," Elli offered kindly, giving the doctor a severe glance. She often felt like she had to apologize on his behalf. "We just want you to be healthy."

"Drink." Trent handed her a bottle, and Claire obediently took a sip of the juice, eager to be an agreeable patient. It tasted terrible; it must have been a special formula for dehydration the doc created himself. The farmer gagged slightly, but she was relieved that it had mostly washed her mouth of the flavor of stomach acid; it seemed she could name something that tasted worse than the concoction.

Karen crouched down by her friend, placing a protective hand on the edge of the tub. "I-Is she going to be okay?" There was a tremor in her voice despite her brave face.

"She'll be fine," the doctor replied, standing back up, "But I want her to rest here for the remainder of the day. And stay out of the sun for the next few days unless you want to be visiting me again soon." He cocked an eyebrow at her as he spun on his heel and left the room to retrieve his paperwork from his office.

The nurse noticed the distraught look on the patient's face. The doctor was often doing that, Elli realized with a sigh. He was so caught up in healing his patients that he had a tendency to come off as cold and unfeeling, although deep down he was the complete opposite. "Trent just means that your body needs a chance to recover from what it has been through. He's not mad at you, Claire." Elli gave her a kind smile and gently poured cool water over Claire's head.

"If she's staying here overnight, then I am, too," Karen stated, daring Elli to defy her. She was determined to camp out on the floor if she had to; after all, she couldn't shake her guilt over how the whole situation turned out. She just wanted her friend to buy a lot of seeds and get a good start on the season…

Elli sprinkled more water over the farmer's blonde hair. The young woman let out a tired sigh and leaned back in the water. "I don't think that's really necessary, as she will mostly be sleeping."

"I don't care!" Karen snapped. She looked up at the startled nurse. There she was, losing her temper again… She furrowed her brows and gave the young woman an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, Elli…. I just feel like I'm partly to blame. I saw all those seeds she bought and I didn't stop her…"

Claire's eyes snapped open and she turned to face the pair. She hated that they were talking like she wasn't in the room. She was an adult and she had made the decision to overwork herself in the heat. "I-I was the one that was stupid," She admitted with a tremulous voice. "I j-just wanted to get everything in the ground right away... I was the one that pushed myself too far." She locked eyes with the grocer's daughter as she said this final line.

Elli was familiar with this situation; the patient and her friend needed a bit of time alone to talk things out. The nurse quietly excused herself from the room to fetch Claire a nightgown and towel.

She had hardly left when the grocer's daughter started right into her friend. "Why didn't you stagger the crops? Why did you have to do it all at once? Dammit, Claire!" Tears ran down Karen's face as she clenched her fists in frustration.

The farmer didn't meet her friend's gaze. "I'm really sorry. I was just trying to…." She didn't finish her sentence; she didn't want to make Karen feel worse.

They both knew what she was going to say anyway. The brunette wasn't flattered, but rather, hurt. The fact that her friend had put herself in harm's way in order to impress her had made Karen feel guilty instead of proud. "Don't you ever do that again!" Karen scolded, impatiently wiping her burning cheeks. "Don't stop drinking that juice," She added, folding her arms across her chest.

Claire sighed and took another sip. They sat in silence for a long time.

The blonde sunk down in the water. Karen hated her, and now she was indebted to her. Surely her best friend now saw her as incapable. All Claire had wanted to do was improve her farm and show the young woman what she was capable of. The grocer's daughter was so sure of who she was: she was strong and independent; she didn't need to rely on others, and if anyone pushed her, she always pushed back. Claire wished she could be more like her friend, but surely she wanted nothing to do with her anymore. And here Claire sat, pathetic and naked in front of Karen; she was too embarrassed to look up at her.

The brunette couldn't handle the tension any longer. She took a seat on the edge of the tub and playfully splashed her friend in the face. "Hey, I'm sorry for yelling. If anything ever happened to you, I would never forgive myself…"

Claire's heart did a somersault. "K-Karen…" It was a new feeling; she never had friends like this in the city…

"I've always wanted to have a sister," Karen admitted with a sniff. She dipped her fingers in the tub and watched the ripples that formed on the surface of the water. The young woman's lips turned up into a shy smile. "I've lived in this town my whole life longing for a close girl-friend... Don't get me wrong, I get along well with most of the people here, and I'm pretty close with Popuri, b-but when I met you…"

Claire smiled, and she felt a warm sensation in her chest. The fact that Karen genuinely cared about her was almost too much for her to take; she felt like crying once again. They sat quietly for a couple of minutes, and the nurse returned to the room.

Elli drained the tub and helped Claire stand up, gently drying her off with the towel. "We can set up a cot by her bed tonight for you, Karen," Elli gave her a kind smile. She turned toward her patient and helped her into her nightgown. "I hope you understand that you are very lucky to have friends like Karen and Cliff."

Claire nodded, blinking her dry eyes.

Elli led her to the bed and helped her in. "I can put them down as your two main emergency contacts if that's okay with you."

The young woman nodded silently; she trusted the two of them more than ever after today.

"Trent ordered me to set you up with an IV to help hydrate you," Elli explained as she set up the medical equipment. "Keep sipping at the juice, and I'll take care of the rest."

The grocer's daughter was suddenly aware of how uncomfortable wet denim felt against her skin. "I'm going to go home to change," Karen announced. "I'll be right back with my overnight things."

The young woman headed back to the waiting room, and noticed a silent Cliff staring down at the floor. During all of the commotion in the patient's room, Karen had forgotten that their friend was still waiting for them. They must have been at least an hour back there. She felt a wave of guilt; he looked like a nervous wreck, and he was doing a horrible job of hiding it at this point. It seemed his calm demeanor had been worn away. He heard her footsteps and looked up at her with wide eyes.

"They said she will be fine; she just needs rest. They want her to stay the night, and I'll be here with her." She explained quickly. "I'm going home to change." She realized he had been sitting in damp clothing as well, but he didn't seem uncomfortable at all; perhaps his worry had distracted him, too.

"Okay. D-do you think I can go b-back there now?" He bit his lip and ran his fingers through his now dry hair in a feeble attempt to look a little less disheveled. He stood up and smoothed out his cotton shirt, wringing his hands nervously.

"Hey, Elli! Is Claire decent?" Karen yelled over the cloth privacy screen. "Cliff wants to visit!"

"He can come on back," Elli answered.

At this moment, Karen realized how apparent it was that he had probably heard everything that had been said in the last hour or so. She played off her embarrassment. "She's lucky she has us, huh?" she winked at her friend, gave him a slap on the shoulder, and left.

Cliff wasted no time hurrying into the patient's room; Elli was brushing Claire's wet hair when he arrived.

His deep blue eyes traveled over her meticulously; the wait in the lobby had felt like an eternity, and he craved nothing more than to see his friend conscious and well. He gathered the last shreds of his composure together before he approached her. "H-How are you feeling?" He asked, hurrying to her bedside.

"A lot better," she admitted.

Cliff continued to study his friend. Her skin was a lot less flushed, but she still looked pretty weak.

She saw the concern on her friend's face and gave him a faint apologetic smile. "I think I threw up on you earlier. I'm sorry," she tried to lighten the mood.

"That's the least of my concerns right now," he replied, and Claire fell silent. He took her hand and gave it a squeeze. "I'm just… really glad that you're feeling better." His eyes remained focused on their hands and were hidden beneath his bangs. The blonde noticed his eyelashes moving a lot and saw him gulp before he looked up at her with upturned lips, but the expression in his eyes was anything but playful.

The farmer understood that he was probably just as concerned about her as Karen was. Elli excused herself as she left the room to get the IV.

"I'm sorry about today. I didn't mean to make everyone fuss over me and cause so much hassle." She could feel her eyes yearning to well up with tears even though they weren't capable of doing so, and she silently cursed herself for being so emotional.

Cliff swallowed the lump in his throat and willed his facial expressions to relax. "Don't apologize," he returned, kneeling down by her bed, "You just got carried away. No one is upset with you; we just all care about you and want you to feel better." He saw that her eyelids were getting heavy; surely, she was beyond exhausted. He wanted to spend more time with her, but he felt it was selfish to keep her awake for any longer than she needed to be. "Rest well, and I will see you tomorrow." He gave her shoulder a friendly pat and hesitated before he took her hand and softly brushed his lips against it.

Warmth came to her face; it was a different heat than what the sun had given her and it made her mind feel muddled. "Alright… Tomorrow." Claire turned toward her juice. "Thank you for all your help." She gave him a small smile; he really was sweet and had a kind heart...

"Any time."

He turned around to leave, and a rather pink Elli stood in the doorway. "Thank you for helping bring her to us, Cliff," She managed to squeak out as she wheeled some medical equipment into the room.

"Of course. I know you will take good care of her." He stood up and bowed politely to the nurse before leaving.

"Such a gentleman…" The nurse watched him go, not without a bit of jealousy. She wished her coworker showed warmth like that more often. Her brown eyes moved to the patient, who was busy sipping her juice. "Alright, Claire. I'm going to hook you up to this IV. You just rest and I'll bring you some more juice in a bit."

Claire was an obedient patient, and Elli was a swift nurse, making the process as painless as possible.

By the time Karen returned to check on her friend, Claire was sleeping soundly. Karen scooted a chair by her friend's bed and watched her.

Claire was sensitive, polite, hardworking and kind. Karen sighed and wished she could be more like her friend. Claire had an air about her that attracted people, yet she was painfully unaware of it herself. Karen sighed. She wished she could be gentler like Claire. She shouldn't have scolded her friend like that. That's what Karen always did when she got upset; she would lash out. She had trouble controlling her emotions. That was why she and Rick bickered, why she would get in shouting matches with Gray, and why Cliff remained so timid around her. She looked at her friend's sleeping figure and wished she hadn't sounded so cross with her.

Elli came into the room with another jug of juice and set it by Claire's bedside. Karen snapped out of her reverie.

The nurse curiously looked at her patient. "P-Pardon my asking, but are Claire and Cliff…?"

"Oh, no," Karen laughed, adjusting Claire's blankets. "They're just both really sweet. Cute, aren't they?"

Elli blushed. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to be rude."

Karen shrugged. "I didn't take it as rude."

Elli smiled and pulled up a chair beside the brunette. "I hope you didn't feel like I was trying to keep you from staying here tonight... I just wanted you to know we were going to take good care of her, and honestly, she looks mostly better already." She wanted the young woman to know that her friend was in good hands.

Karen nodded. "I know. I just feel responsible for her." Her throat tightened as she watched her friend sleep.

She was startled by the nurse's soft voice. "You're a really good friend to her, Karen."

It was Karen's turn to blush. "I try, anyway. Do you have any idea how hard it is going to be to get her to take it easy for a few days?" She laughed.

"Her crops are going to have to wait," Elli replied soberly. "She can't keep up at that pace."

Pete probably could, but the farmer of Forget-Me-Not Valley seemed to possess superhuman qualities. Karen shook her head. "Tell me about it. I'll probably need to keep my eye on her tomorrow to make sure she doesn't do anything stupid. She's polite enough, but she sure can be stubborn sometimes."

Elli laughed, and Karen knew why; the grocer's daughter wasn't exactly known for backing down easily either. She moved her gaze to the ceiling, masking her embarrassment.

"I know it's a little early, but I think I'm going to turn in, too." Karen announced. She wasn't in the mood for dwelling on her own faults any more tonight; it was an emotionally exhausting day.

"I'll bring you a cot," Elli replied with a kind smile. "I hope you feel comfortable here, and please know that you can knock on my door if you need anything."

"Thanks, Elli."

As the nurse took her leave, Karen's eyes drifted back to the sleeping farmer. She stood up and walked over to the bed, brushing the young woman's bangs out of her eyes. She couldn't help but realize that in the short time she had known the farmer she had already grown smitten with her, despite the fact that they had so many differences. Perhaps that was one of the reasons she liked her so much, Karen reasoned. "Sweet dreams, Claire… You silly, stubborn, wonderful girl."

0o0o0o0

Author's Note: Quintessential first summer in Mineral Town for new players: buy too many seeds, don't eat enough power berries, and send yourself on a trip to the clinic. No reset button here, though, folks.

I've been doing this for the whole story so far, but I feel like I need to make a note of this somewhere. Although the game has seasons that last one month, my story has three-month long seasons to make it a little more like real life. Hopefully I've written it naturally enough that it wasn't glaringly obvious, but nonetheless, I felt the need to jot it down.

I tried to channel my own memories with my brush of heat exhaustion in this, but I'm shivering and bundled up; it's a very chilly day today… Anyway, thanks for reading, as always! :)