Heehee! Did you doubt me when I said it'd be soon? Only two weeks or so, right? But God it feels like it's been way longer. I'm done for the next week or so because I got off for Thanksgiving. I have to warn you, there won't be anything after this probably for a few more weeks. My finals end on Dec. 12th, so I probably won't do anything till after then. Try and hang on and wish me luck on the finals! :D

In other news, my next semester should be hard, but pretty awesome. Also, Happy Thanksgiving to all! Wrote this back on Tues, but didn't have time to proofread and fix until today. Hope your turkey is delicious and your stuffing isn't dry. :P

Announcer voice: Previously, on "Upside Down…"

'Oh Dear Goddess… Tina!'

From that moment, time seemed to have slowed down. 'Tina's drowning. Tina's drowning, dear Goddess, Tina's drowning,' the words looped through his head monotonously, over and over again each time he dived down into the salty waves. The water burned like fire in his eyes, but what were bloodshot eyes compared to a dead rival?

Dead. Goddess, just thinking about her being dead—it was too much. He shoved it down into some dark place in his heart. Amidst his panic, the scene refused to play. Gasping in another huge breath, he plunged into the water once more. The burning in his eyes had stopped registering in his brain at this point. How long had it been? It seemed like it'd been hours. It shouldn't take this long. 'She's just one girl…' he thought dimly as he wrestled with a patch of sea algae. Not here. Not there. He didn't need someone to tell him; time was running out, and fast.

By the time he came up again, the commotion seemed to have left the water. Spectators and participants alike were all crowding towards the water's edge as Bob, soaking wet, dragged Tina out of the sea and into his arms. Alex was running towards him, still in his swimming trunks, legs covered in sand. Without a moment to spare, Ann came stumbling full speed down the cobbled road with a black bag adorned with a white cross on it, and hoisted it over to him. Jamie swam to the beach faster than he'd ever swam in his entire life, adrenaline bursting through his veins. He cursed himself for not being one of the first there. For not being the one who found her.

Then Bob laid Tina out on the ground, and the doctor was waving the people away. Maria was sobbing into her father's shirt, and the poor mayor was torn between comforting his daughter and thinking of anything to help the doctor. As Bob took a step back, face contorted with distress, Jamie was finally able to see her.

What he saw didn't even look like Tina. Her trademark pigtails had been yanked halfway out and littered with sea trash, the ribbons untied. On her face were creases and lines that shouldn't be there until she was forty- 'If she'll live that long,' and he shudders that his own mind could conceive a comment so dark. Unlike every other day, when she's strong and shining, she's stopped. She is limp like a doll, and she is still like—like death.

But that wasn't even the worst of it all. More disturbing than anything was her skin, almost blue. From head to foot, she was so inhumanly pale. It was so wrong; she was always so bright, even if it annoyed him.

Before him, the doctor takes her pulse. Years of training and experience have drilled in him the ability to stay utterly calm, and the various medical techniques come as easily as blinking to him. A life depends on it in every emergency, and he summons the courage to abandon his own fears and instead think of nothing but how to save the breathless girl at his knees. It's difficult, because usually the patient is someone he's never met before. The patient is just a patient; it's not the sweet girl with a Cheshire grin who knows just how he and Martha like their tea.

Wasting no time, he begins CPR. It's a rigorous process of pushing on her chest, almost to a tempo, and trying to breathe air in her. Back and forth, the Doctor goes between the two and Tina's only movement is from the impact of Alex's arms pumping down on her. Having dropped to his knees at her feet since before the Doctor began, Jamie feels helpless.

Of all the things he'd ever bragged about, everything he could do perfectly, what did he know about saving anyone? The notion of needing to save someone other than himself never even seemed considerable. He knew how to take care of himself. He thought he knew how to save the Goddess, though not so much recently. Not really, since he'd met her.

Maybe she wasn't very smart. Maybe she was weak, and a crybaby. Maybe she couldn't run a ranch, much less do anything to save her life—her own life. But she knew how to save others didn't she? The Harvest Sprites, and possibly even those strange, elusive notes, the key to freeing the Goddess, flocked to her like birds. Yes, saving and helping others was a natural talent. Others saving her though… Could the same be said?

'What if she really did die?' he thought, finally letting the worry surface.

What would he do? Life before was quiet, it was simple, it made sense. She swept in and disrupted everything, but he quickly got used to the idea of having a rival. Each day was another day to compete, a goal to work towards. He had hoped that maybe someday, this rivalry would throw them in a race to revive the Goddess. He had hoped that he would have the chance of being the one to wake the beautiful deity, and lord it over Tina until who knew when. And a part of him, the tiniest part, was really hoping to know what it would be like to have someone with him in this journey, even if they weren't friends. That might not happen now. What would happen? To be totally alone was something that never scared him before. What had changed? Since the beginning, he never doubted that he disliked this strange girl.

'But you just had to be absolutely terrible to her, didn't you?' his mind seethed. 'You just had to go out of your way to insult her every chance.'

Each time she had suggested their rivalry be a good sported thing, he'd scoffed at her. How dare she undermine the seriousness of the situation?! Without fail, he'd always shot her down because it seemed so childish, so pointless to get along. If the objective was the save the Goddess, there was no use or time for making fond memories.

And it was then, when he saw her frail body in front of him that he finally understood. Sure, they could work until they woke the Goddess, and sure, they could spend every free moment constantly trying to one- up each other. For their whole lives, they could be caught in a battle of who was better. But someday—someday, when they were old and maybe senile, what would matter? What would be left? What was the point of it all? Just to be better than one person, or even the whole world, at what he did? There were bragging rights, and there was money. But bragging would get old after a while, and money was something anyone could make.

There was no point, not if there was nothing to really look back on. 'You are an idiot!' he screamed at himself.

Competing was fine. Trying to always beat the other? That was fine too. But what mattered in a rivalry was what you made of it. The things you learned about life, and how you grew. How it made you a better person, not how it made you just better. Why couldn't he see this before?

Without warning, the words he'd last said to her echoed through his mind. "Why don't you go home before you drown?" He grimaced, feeling a wave of nausea wash over him. The the cruelness of fate made him tremble in cold fear.

'I- I really said that, didn't I? What the hell is wrong with me?!' Swallowing the bitter taste of bile, he willed himself not to get sick. He couldn't leave her side, not yet.

…But he couldn't do anything, even if he wanted to, could he?

'Even if I stay here, I can't help. There's nothing I can do but sit and watch. Just like before.'

Just like before.

It all flashes in rapid succession, like a flipbook of old pictures he sees the memories. Of the Harvest Goddess's smile, her singing, her showing him the flowers in the cave. The way her wings here almost transparent. He sees her frozen form, tears blurring his eyes. He remembers, all too well, that hopeless feeling that claws at his ribcage and takes the breath from his lungs. That desperate want to speak to someone, but knowing they can't hear you.

Just like before.

It's dark. Darkness—the cave—no. It's not the cave. It's not the cave, but he's somewhere, somewhere, and they're suffering again, he wants to help, but he can't, he can't help, why can't he do anything?! Why can't they hear?! He throws his arms out, crying, screaming—

'P-!'

"Pigtails!" he gasps, the memory suddenly shattering and scattering on the wind. The darkness in his mind is fading, and he wonders if he should chase it, but he doesn't have the time to dwell on it.

Alex was still performing CPR, and the townspeople were getting even more anxious. He was almost starting to forget the sound of her voice.

'Goddess… is this some kind of punishment?' Tina was so still, so lifeless. 'Make it stop. Just move. Wake up, speak, something!'

Tears of genuine sadness welled up in his eyes for the first time since he could remember. Now he was shivering and breathing erratically, but he didn't care. Desperately, he clung to the hope that he could see those dark brown eyes one more time. Apologize, too; that would be the first thing he did. For the short time he had known her, he treated her terribly. Even if they would never be friends, he had to make things right.

'Please, Goddess… I don't know if you can hear me,' he was sobbing now, but who wasn't? 'Just don't do this, don't take her yet. Don't punish her for what I've done wrong! Spare her, give me one more chance. Please!'

Almost instantaneously, she gave a wet gasp. The tension in the air fizzled out immediately as the crowed sighed, and Alex thrust her upright. Tina coughed and spluttered, retching up what seemed to be liters of ocean water.

Relief came crashing down on Jamie so hard he had to fight the urge to faint right then and there. "Thank you," he whispered into the hands over his face. "Thank you so much!"

She was still pale, but looked so much better than just moments before. Those eyes, 'Those dark brown eyes!' locked with his. Jamie had never been happier to see them, and crawled to her side so she wouldn't look away, not even for a moment.

"Tina!" was all he could manage through his panting. He meant to say, "Thank Goddess you're alright!" or "I thought you were dead! I was so worried!" but the words wouldn't come out. She knew what he meant though; he could see it in her eyes. Just like always, she smiled. It was a small, weak smile, but somehow he knew she'd be okay the moment he saw it.

"My… name…" she rasped. The Doctor laid a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"Tina, don't exert yourself! Rest for now, you can talk to him later, okay? Let's get you to the clinic now—"

But she would have none of his protests. Tina was that kind of girl; she'd say what she wanted, when she wanted. Shakily, she raised her hand up. Jamie immediately grasped it, searching her face with baited breath.

"What…?"

"You said… my name. You've—never… done that be… before…"

A final tear spilled over his cheek, this time a relieved one.

"Y-you idiot…" he muttered.

Slowly, she blinked and turned to the sky.

"Tired…" she mumbled, and curled up into the Doctor's arms.

"Well, I guess you would be tired, you almost drowned!" Alex cried.

Giving up, as she was already asleep, he rose to his feet.

"Jamie, can you give me a hand? Wrap her up in some towels, make sure she's warm. And Bob, I don't think I can carry her all the way to the clinic, can you?"

Ann, who had quickly become Tina's best friend, wrung her hands beside Bob, the look on her face explaining what words couldn't. Alex sighed, and waved her over as Jamie busied himself with wrapping Tina up behind him.

"Ann, you're going to follow us anyway I assume, so just come along and talk to Tina and keep her company when she wakes."

The redhead beamed, and ran right to Bob's side. "I can do that! Thanks so much, Alex!"

Jamie sensed a shadow looming over him, and looked up to see Bob's beefy figure obscuring the sun.

"Don't sweat it Jamie, I've got her now."

For a moment, he thought about not giving her to him. What if something happened to her again?

"Why don't you go home before you drown?"

Without another second of hesitation, he handed her over to the shipper. Shame, and worst of all guilt, crept into him. He didn't deserve the responsibility of taking care of her. Bob was the one who found her. And who was he? He was the one who told her she could drown for all he cared.

Whoo! Well, that was a doozy. Wasn't too happy with how it started, but I liked it more as it went on. Hopefully you guys will too. This story arc isn't quite over yet, Tina still hasn't recovered. Even after that, this will still affect the story for a long time. You can expect it to get to everyone, though Jamie and Tina will still be the main focus.

I hope you guys liked the name thing, too. I wanted the first time he called her by name be a big deal. Did you like the heaps and heaps of irony?

Shoutout to all my reviewers: AshRB, WooliesRfluffy, PurpleSweets13, DanicaMcGee, Miss Delirium, and last but not least, PINKDIAMOND4000. You guys have been so supportive! Thanks a ton. :D