Sebastian had never seen a glowing frog before.
He knew a lot about the amphibians. Probably more than most people would consider a healthy amount of knowledge without having gone into some sort of secondary schooling. Yet, there it was... A glowing frog hopping around in the dead of night, seizing him with the desire to catch and study the strange phenomenon.
As odd as it was, things like this happened often in Stardew Valley. It was something he had come to appreciate about the area, though he still longed to leave for Zuzu City the first chance he got. Life was never boring when there were monsters living in the mines near your house or strange men living in towers in Cindersnap Forest.
The frog was making its way towards the mountain pass that led to a recently abandoned farm. Sebastian didn't know much about it, other than the fact that the previous owner had passed away and his relatives had all refused to take on the responsibility of running the place. Instead, they'd sold it off to Pelican Town. Not that Sebastian could blame them. Farm life seemed like it would be a miserable hell. Unfortunately, Mayor Lewis didn't really seem to know what to do with the place either, and it was starting to fall apart.
He shouldn't have followed the frog. It was late at night. He should have been going to bed. Robin would be upset, and worse, Demetrius would never let it go if something bad were to happen... But Sebastian couldn't turn away for another reason.
It was the dead of winter.
It was freezing outside, and the ground was covered in snow, and yet... There was that frog, hopping like it wasn't a cold-blooded creature. It should have been hibernating.
Careful to keep his distance, he put the cigarette that he had been nursing out and began to follow the soft glow of the amphibian. He didn't realize how far he'd gone until he almost ran into the old abandoned cabin that stood over the rest of the overrun farmland. Luckily, he looked up just in time to stop himself from tripping over the porch. The frog hopped on, stopping to rest upon a large snowdrift.
Now was his chance.
Sebastian edged forward slowly and quietly, ready to pounce at a moments notice. Just as he was gathering his strength and took the leap, he was startled by the nearby sound of a dog barking and the frog decided to do the same. Instead of grabbing the slimy critter, Sebastian ended up diving face first into the snow.
Once he had brushed the powder out of his bangs, the carpenter's son looked around in dismay, noting that the frog had entirely disappeared. However, he also quickly noticed that he was not alone anymore. Sitting not too far away was a small dog, whimpering and barking softly. Initially irritated, he shushed the dog and tried to shoo it away with his hands. Fortunately, the pup persisted, until finally, Sebastian asked, "What do you want from me!?"
The dog took off, bounding through the snow, turning back every now and then to make sure the young man was still following. They hadn't gone far when Sebastian could make out a figure lying on the ground by the light of the full moon. Another small animal seemed to be curled up near the individual as the puppy sat in front of them, wagging its tail.
"Erm... Hello?" Sebastian cleared his throat, feeling awkward. He didn't much like talking to people, and he couldn't imagine which resident of Pelican Town was out this late at night.
No answer.
It was clearly the figure of a person, so Sebastian stepped closer, "Are... Are you okay?"
When the figure remained still, he crept closer, his heart starting to pound. What if it was a dead body?
It was only after he was almost on top of the person that he realized a few things all at once. First, he did not recognize this individual. He had lived in Pelican Town for quite some time, practically his whole life, but this was a new face. Second, she (it was definitely a girl) was not wearing shoes or socks, or any winter gear for that matter. Third, she was breathing but unconscious. Probably freezing to death. Fourth, it was probably the cat and dog, both of which were now curled up against her body, that had saved her life up to this point.
Oh. Oh no.
Sebastian started to panic. He had never been faced with a situation like this before, and what was he supposed to do? No one in Pelican Town had cell phones, since the reception was non-existent anyway. Just another reason he preferred the city. There wasn't any way for him to call for help, but he couldn't just sit out there until morning and wait for the sun to come up.
"Shoot," he froze for a minute, unsure of what to do. Finally, he seized the figure underneath the arms and attempted to hoist her into a carrying position, but was ultimately unsuccessful. She wasn't terribly heavy. He was just out of shape.
He ended up dragging her towards the shack as best he could, but even though it was only a short distance, his lungs began to burn almost immediately. It was a sad consequence of his bad habit. He knew he needed to quit, but it wasn't until this moment that he realized how it easily turned a bad situation into a desperate one.
He had never been so relieved as he was when he finally reached the door and was able to open it. The cabin wasn't much warmer, since the power to it had been turned off, but it was better insulated than the outside air. Even more convenient was the fact that both animals seemed content to follow him as he rescued the individual who was most likely their owner. They'd be safe in the building while he figured out his next steps.
He could run to town or home and get some help, but the idea of waking his parents made him inwardly cringe, and after using his lighter to access the stranger's condition, he could tell he probably didn't have enough time to get there and back. She wasn't breathing and he couldn't make out a pulse..
"Okay, stay calm," he instructed himself with a quivering voice. "You know how to administer CPR. Mom had you take that stupid medical class for this reason..."
But pretending to do CPR on a mannequin and doing it on a person, especially one you don't know, were very different.
"Chest compressions first," he breathed after making sure her head was tilted back. "One... two... three..."
Once he reached thirty, he took a deep breath and without even thinking about it, he placed his mouth over hers, breathing in and watching as her chest rose. That meant she wasn't choking, which was good. He did it one more time before resuming chest compressions.
Another thirty. Breathe. Breathe.
He repeated this three times before he finally saw some signs of life. He let out a relieved sigh and sat back. She was breathing on her own. He had actually done it! He had succeeded!
It was only then he really noticed how pretty she was. She had a calm, serene expression that reflected an inner peace he had never known. A blush started to creep up on his face, but he shoved the thought away quickly. This wasn't over yet. She was still very much in danger of freezing to death, and he couldn't leave her alone to get help. She might stop breathing again.
He'd have to carry her with him.
It was easier to pull her onto his back now that they weren't in the snow, and it was much better as far as his lungs were concerned. He gave one final look at the two animals, both of which looked at him with begging eyes before he closed the door behind him with a firm click.
"I'll do my best," he muttered under his breath. "But I wouldn't count on me too much. Getting her breathing was probably a fluke. I'm not known for being successful."
Harvey probably would have woken to the loud pounding and shouting coming from the clinic entrance if he had been sleeping in the first place. Instead, he was lying awake in bed and staring at the ceiling, mind filled with thoughts of his past when the commotion started. The potential for providing medical assistance was a welcome interruption until he opened the door.
It was the carpenter's son standing on his doorstep. He was wheezing and clearly struggling to breathe as he looked up at Harvey with desperate eyes, burdened by the body he was carrying.
"Please help..."
Panicked, Harvey ushered him into the clinic, barely getting a look at the patient and yet still understanding this was an extreme emergency. He guided the younger man to one of the rooms with a hospital bed before relieving him of his burden. Free from the weight and responsibility of the dying individual, Sebastian collapsed into a chair, gasping.
Harvey's work, however, was just beginning.
"Who is she? I don't recognize her," the doctor asked, dutifully checking the vital signs of the stranger while all thoughts of sleep fled.
"I don't know," Sebastian shook his head, cheeks red from exertion and cold. "I just stumbled on her while walking around."
"At this hour?" Harvey checked her temperature. It was extremely low. Definitely hypothermia.
Sebastian rolled his eyes, "What are you, my step-father?"
"Heavens no," Harvey shook his head. "Honestly, I was awake too, but I don't go traipsing around in the snow every time insomnia strikes."
He thought he could hear Sebastian mutter something about a frog under his breath, but figured he must have been mistaken. All the frogs in Stardew were currently hibernating, and he knew the only frogs allowed in Robin's house were strictly for research purposes only.
"From the looks of her, she wasn't prepared in the least bit to be running around in this weather either," the young doctor picked up some scissors with a sigh. "At least she's still breathing. That's a good sign."
"Yeah..." Sebastian's face turned a little red, causing Harvey to pause. "I uh- I had to give her CPR because she stopped breathing shortly after I found her."
Surprisingly, this warmed Harvey's heart. Providing Pelican Town with a CPR clinic had been one of the first things he'd done once he moved here. He was glad to hear it had helped.
"Fantastic! You probably saved her life!" the doctor looked down at his patient, his hand brushing her pant leg to check the fabric. "I'm sorry to do this, but I'm going to have to ask you to leave for her privacy. You did a wonderful job keeping her safe, but I've got it from here. If you could just hand me a stack of blankets in that cupboard over there..." he gestured behind Sebastian. "I'm going to have to cut her wet clothes off and get her warmed up as soon as possible."
Sebastian's eyes widened and his face went from red to a deep shade of crimson. He didn't have to be told twice. The young man quickly handed Harvey the stack of blankets before bidding him a quick, quiet farewell.
"Oh! And Sebastian..."
"Hm?"
"Maybe take it easy on the smoking? Start to come off it a little more?"
"Yeah. Sure."
Harvey nodded, and Sebastian disappeared out the door, leaving the doctor alone with his patient. He had spoken calmly, but the truth was that his hands were shaking like crazy. He hadn't had a patient in this serious of condition since-
No. Don't think about that.
He forced the thoughts away from his head as he struggled to take a deep breath to calm his nerves before he began cutting. Hopefully her clothing held no sentimental value, though it looked more like sleepwear than anything else. A tank top coupled with a pair of sweats.
He made quick work of getting her under the dry blankets, doing his best to keep her modest. He had seen many patients naked as a doctor, but he had known them. They had been expecting it. This felt different... like he was trespassing where he was not welcome.
But, if it meant saving a life, he had to do it.
Once that was done, he set her up with a breathing mask pumping warm air and a warm salt water IV. It was definitely the worse case of hypothermia he had ever seen. He could have run her blood through a dialysis machine in an attempt to warm it up if he had one. He didn't. Other than that, he had done most everything else he could. She was covered from head to toe in a cotton cocoon. All he could do was wait and see if her condition improved.
And if it doesn't?
Harvey froze, the thought paralyzing him. He stood there for what seemed like an eternity until more knocking on the clinic door broke the trance.
He hurried to the entrance, opening it and half expecting another emergency. Instead, he saw Sebastian again, this time with two bundles of fur.
"Sorry," the young adult mumbled. "I didn't want to leave them in the cold cabin alone. I can take the cat, she'll be quiet enough my parents won't know. The dog though... she likes to bark and I don't think they get along very well. Can you take her for the time being? Please..."
Harvey was immediately touched by the concern of the usually emotionally distant kid, "Sure. I'm sure the owner will be glad to know they were well taken care of." He paused, "Uhm..."
Sebastian held the dog out with a questioning look.
"Did she have anything else on her? Some form of ID? A medical card perhaps? She might have pre-existing conditions that I need to know about..."
Sebastian shook his head, "Just her and the animals."
"Great," Harvey sighed. "Let's hope she wakes up soon, then. And in the meantime, let's both get some sleep."
Sebastian nodded wearily before moving to head home.
"Wait, Sebastian?"
"Yeah?"
"Let's keep this between us until we get more information."
The carpenter's son nodded his head in agreement and disappeared into the night once more, the Tonkinese cat snuggled in his arm.
Harvey looked down at the dog, a black and tan miniature dachshund, in his arms, "Well... I suppose you're just as desperate for a warm bed as much as I am. You can sleep on mine tonight. I don't take up too much room, I promise."
The puppy wagged her tail as he climbed the stairs to his apartment above the clinic. He'd check on the patient first thing in the morning. For now, he needed sleep, and this time it didn't avoid him. The moment his head touched the pillow, he was out like a light.
