Gamer To Farmer
Chapter 19: Family Expansion, Again
A/N: Finally, a chapter without a personal author note! I know, I'm surprised too. As one HM fan to another, I will share with you the knowledge I hold of the future. There are actually 3 new HM games coming out! HM:DS for GameBoyDS, HM:PSP for PSP, and HM:AWL for PS2. The two for the handheld systems come out May 5, 2005. I don't know about HM:AWL's release date. HM:AWL has a few expanded features that differ from the GC version. One feature is that you can choose from more than 3 possible wives, so Lumina becomes a possible choice. I know that DS and PSP are tentative titles, but are probably the same game. They are supposed to have an entirely new town with new people. I will supply more information in my profile as soon as I learn about it. Maybe if I have this fic done by that date, I may start a new fic based on these new games…
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A lot has happened over the past season. The date today is Winter 15, and just as Elli had predicted, the baby was on its way. I was waiting in the lobby of the Clinic, patiently awaiting the arrival of the new family member. Both Stu and Neil were seated beside me. Inside the operating room, Doctor Evan, along with his wife and daughter, were working diligently, trying to deliver the child without any problems arising.
Let me tell you what has happened. The last season has been full of many small interesting events, but nothing that caused any big problems. It is very hard for me to remember everything but I will try not to miss any important details.
First off, is the matter of the band of thieves in the wilderness that had attacked me on my way back to Forget-Me-Not Valley. Mineral Town served as the head quarters for the police strike team that hunted down every single one of the bandits. Quite often, myself, along with a couple of other citizens, joined the police in tracking down the culprits.
It took us a full week, but we eventually rounded up the last one of the thieves. The police thanked Mineral Town heartily, promising that nothing like this would ever happen again. Once the path between Mineral Town and Forget-Me-Not Valley became safe, villagers from either settlement would frequently visit friends and family in the opposite town.
I received a letter from Jack that Celia had her baby. Just as he had said, Jack named the baby boy Tint. The day after I received the letter, I took the family to go visit our fellow farmers. Celia and Elli hit it off immediately, engrossing each other in boring talk about babies.
Neil, true to his nature, found a girl named Lumina. Lumina was about Neil's age, maybe a bit younger. She was obviously deeply in love with my brother. Little did she know, Neil was still dating Jessica, Evan's daughter. Elli and I were taking bets as to how Neil's plan was going to backfire. So far, he had been lucky.
The other lovers of Mineral Town were going through many different stages. Cliff had finally worked up the courage to ask Ann to marry him. She accepted. The same happened for Mary and Gray. Karen had gotten upset with Rick's obsessive protection of Popuri. The two were currently taking a break from each other, but I was sure that they would be getting back together soon.
Unfortunately, the same couldn't be said for Popuri and Kai. Kai had asked Popuri to run away and get married in the city. Popuri took some time to make up her mind, but eventually said no. Kai swore that it was over between them and that he would never be coming back to Mineral Town. Popuri had been in a very depressed mood ever since.
I had seen the Witch and the Harvest Goddess on quite a few occasions. The two were still knee deep in their competition. The blackboard had become heavily lopsided, with a couple hundred marks on the Harvest Goddess' side. That was compared to the hundred already existing marks that the Witch claimed. The only recent major marks that the Witch had added were the incidents involving Kai and Popuri, and the other problem with Rick and Karen.
Elli had quit her job with Pastor Carter and went back to the Clinic. She had been missing the medical life that she was used to. Plus, her extra help gave Evan the much needed breaks that he had been missing due to emergencies. You see, during the police versus bandits war, it wasn't uncommon for there to be a need for medical services.
Well, that about recaps the Fall season and the first half of Winter. So, there I was, waiting to no end. I was so nervous; I was jumping at the slightest noise. Somebody would walk out of the operating room and I would bother them with an endless supply of questions. Unfortunately, not one would supply any news about any changes.
One hour passed, and still no changes. A crowd had apparently gathered outside and awaited the news just as nervous as I was. A second hour went by, with no result. Hour three passed. Same for hours four and five. The day was still young, though, with the clock just striking noon.
"So, what are you going to name the boy?" Neil asked.
"How do you know that the baby is going to be a boy?" I asked Neil. I knew that Mineral Town had no form of ultrasound, so it was impossible to know if the baby was a boy or a girl.
Neil shrugged his shoulders. "Don't know. It's just that in every Harvest Moon game, the child is always a boy."
It made sense. Plus, you could take a look at our family tree. My father was an only child. He had two children, both turning out to be males. My mother's family wasn't much better. She had been the only female child born in six generations. Genetics were definitely in favor of carrying on my family name.
Stu had gotten restless from the six hours of waiting. Neil was doing everything in his power to keep the young energy source from bouncing off the walls. It didn't become any easier as hours seven and eight went by. By this time, Stu had succeeded in driving us insane. Never mind the fact that we were probably half-way there before he had even started.
It didn't take much convincing to get Neil to take Stu back to the farm. The two were gone for another two hours before they returned. Stu was completely worn out; using every ounce of energy he had left to stay on his feet.
Twelve hours of waiting had taken a toll on me as well. I no longer had any nails left to chew on. Stu had fallen asleep on top of the sleeping Neil. I couldn't blame them. The clock on the wall was slowly ticking away, teasing us with an ever slowing passing of time. It was now seven o' clock.
I'm sure that Elli was going through one hell of a rough time. She had told me that, as a nurse, she had once spent nearly two full days helping Tim deliver the child of a visiting tourist. At the time, I cringed when she mentioned that name. Just the sound of his name brought back memories of that night. The sound of the gun firing. Me without any knowledge for those few fleeting seconds about what had happened. I was afraid that I had lost Elli, just like I had lost Mage during that fateful summer. Luckily, that night turned out alright.
Hour number thirteen came and went. A couple of people had stopped by to check if the baby had come yet. "No." I told every person. Each and every one of them promised that they would be back first thing in the morning. It was, after all, now eight o' clock.
The scene didn't get any better when Jessica was dismissed from her duties. It had gotten too late for her. Evan sent word that no problems had arisen, but no progress had been made. I thanked the girl and watched as she climber the staircase up to the second floor. I was getting really, really bored.
At hour number fourteen, I was blessed with a special visit from the Harvest Goddess. Or maybe it was just a little dream or an image of my imagination from being tired. Anyway, the Harvest Goddess calmly came walking into the Clinic and sat down beside me. "Came to offer another mind clearing insight?" I asked as she crossed her legs, smiling at some unknown plot that she was scheming up.
"It would have been a lot easier if you had just worked all day and showed up at this time." She stated matter-of-factly.
"Tell me about it. I never knew that this entire birthing thing took so long." I yawned slightly. Maybe I could take a little nap…
The Harvest Goddess gave me a rude push, waking me up fully. "I think you've waited long enough. I've been postponing the entire thing while I set some traps for my sister. I always like to be present for the miracle of life."
I shook my head. "How many traps did you set?" I figured that the best way to communicate with the Harvest Goddess was not to attempt any sign of seriousness. She had a very weird way with people.
"Only one. Wait for it." The Goddess held up a finger to silence me. I listened intently for whatever it was that she had planned. Sure enough, a set of amplified footsteps approached the door to the clinic. A surprised scream filled the air, followed by the sound of something heavy falling from the roof. I could only imagine what it was that the Harvest Goddess had done.
"If you will excuse me, I must go see how well my trap worked." The Harvest Goddess got up from her seat and headed out the door. This event was not too far out of the ordinary. The Witch and Harvest Goddess had been focusing their efforts on each other lately.
"Hey Tint, wake up!" A voice called out to me. Sure enough, I had fallen asleep. These dreams were getting more and more messed up. I sat up and looked straight into the face of Doctor Evan. "You can go in now."
"You mean…" I started. Evan nodded his head. Only now did I hear the ever so unmistakable sound of a baby crying.
"You're going to be pleasantly surprised." Evan said as he ushered me towards the operating room. I looked at him, confused at what he meant by that. What could it be that was going to surprise me?
I swallowed nervously, stopping before the curtain. I looked over at the clock on the wall. Twenty hours had passed, as the clock now claimed the time to be three o' clock in the morning. I reached out for the curtain, but pulled my hand back. I was too nervous.
"You're making this entire thing too dramatic." I told myself. I had to go in there sooner or later. I might as well get it over with. I grabbed hold of the curtain and quickly ducked inside. I was stunned at the sight that I saw.
Elli was sitting upright in her bed. She was smiling brightly as she looked at the two gorgeous babies that she had cradled in her arms. "Twins." I exclaimed.
The young mother looked up into my eyes. Her smile brightened even more when she saw me. "A boy and a girl." She stated, very proud. Take that, genetics!
I walked up beside her and placed an arm around her shoulders. With my other hand, I ran my fingers through the small tuff of hair that topped the head of the baby in the pink blanket. The baby boy looked at me with his big beady brown eyes. The two of them had their mother's eyes. "What should we name them?" I asked.
"I was thinking of naming the boy Jack." Elli said as she placed a gentle kiss on the forehead of the boy.
I nodded my head in agreement. "After all, Jack did name his child after me. It's only appropriate that I do the same."
Elli's smile grew even brighter. "Do you like that name, little Jack?" She asked the boy. The baby reached up and gave what equaled a thumbs up sign. "I think he likes it." I commented.
"What about the girl?" Elli inquired.
There was a name that I had been considering. I didn't know if Elli would really like the name. But, I had to ask. "Elli, there is a name that I thought of, but I don't know."
"I know what you want to call her. Go ahead. I don't mind." Elli placed the baby girl into my arms.
The little girl looked up at me expectantly. I stared back into the brown eyes that reflected her peaceful nature. "A beautiful girl deserves a beautiful name. You're going to be living a wonderful life, Mage."
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A/N: There you go. Hopefully, nobody is upset that I skipped ahead through so much. I'm running a little short on ideas for this story. I may have to end this story in the near future. Don't be too upset when I do reach the end.