Sebastian was rudely awoken by the rough tongue of a small furball scraping across his cheek. He grumpily pushed it away, and the darn thing just kept coming back.

Stupid cat.

...

Wait.

Sebastian sat up quickly, causing the animal to tumble of the top of his body and onto the bed. She gave him an indignant look and then hopped down on the floor, letting out a soft mew. Sebastian shook his head and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. It hadn't been a dream after all.

"Shhh... I can't let my step-dad know you're here," Sebastian reached down and pat the cat's head. "He'll take any reason he can to berate me, including smuggling strange animals into the house. Stay here. I'll see what I can find to feed you."

He felt a little silly talking to the cat. Of course it couldn't understand him, but for whatever reason, it seemed to calm his nerves as he quietly ascended the stairs of his basement room and emerged into the main living area of the house. He checked quickly to make sure the coast was clear before tip-toeing into the kitchen and opening the fridge, which was bound to have fish in it to feed the cat.

"Sebby?"

He spun around, almost dropping the plate of bass he was holding. Robin, his mom, was still in her pajamas and rubbing sleep from her eyes. She was clearly confused as to why there was another person awake during the ungodly hours of the morning.

"Just grabbing some food," Sebastian muttered, trying to be as nonchalant as possible.

"You were up before I was."

"Going back to bed right now," he held the plate up as he ducked around her and headed once more for the basement.

"Food stays in the kitchen."

Sebastian froze, his jaw already clenching from the sound of his step-father's voice. He resisted the urge to throw the plate against the ground as he turned to face the scientist, "Not that you really care, but what I do in my room is none of your business."

"You're living in my house, under my roof-" Demetrius started.

"Our house," Robin interrupted. "Goodness Sebby, didn't you sleep at all last night? Look at those dark circles…" She quickly walked over and began walking her son to his bedroom, a comforting hand on his back. Once they turned the corner, Sebastian shrugged it off angrily.

"I don't need you to step in and defend me against him."

"I'm not defending you," Robin said meekly. "I'm just concerned about your well-being…"

"Yeah. Sure."

"Sebby-"

"Have a good day, Mom," Sebastian descended the stairs without looking back. Unfortunately, even his closed door didn't shut out the sounds of Demetrius arguing with his mother. Every time she did that, his step-dad would go off on a tirade about being a united front when it came to dealing with the kid.

The kid. Not the kids. Singular. Kid.

Must be nice to be Maru…

The cat must have smelled the fish, because the moment he walked in, she started going crazy and meowing like it had been weeks since her last meal. Sebastian had to quickly put the plate on the ground to get her to quiet down. Not that Demetrius and Robin could hear her over their arguing anyway.

He did try to go back to sleep. The stranger's cat even settled down next to him and purred softly, something that was oddly comforting… But try as he might, he just couldn't fall asleep. Next, he tried to get some work done. He may as well if he was going to be awake anyway. Unfortunately, he couldn't concentrate on that either. Finally, after hours of wandering his dungeon bedroom with the cat's eyes following him as he paced from his computer to his bed, he had to face reality.

He wasn't going to be able to focus until he checked on the strange girl and knew whether she was doing better or not.

"Guess I'm going to go see how your human is doing," he said softly to the kitten, rubbing her head as she began purring once more. "Stay out of trouble while I'm gone, okay?"

He made sure the basement door was firmly shut before heading for the front door. He didn't even hear what his mom said as he left, pulling his hood over his head and stepping out into the cold without even glancing her way.


Harvey got up every hour to check on her, as was his duty. By the time 9am rolled around, he was starting to feel the lack of restful sleep. Usually, on a Saturday, he'd head over to the museum, but until he knew what was going on…

Her temperature had stabilized, and he was able to do away with the breathing machine, and excessive blankets. The IV though… He replaced the salt water with a parenteral fluid. She probably didn't need to be given nourishment, but it was a precaution. He was concerned that she hadn't woken yet and was beginning to fear a coma wasn't out of the question.

Without the blankets and the breathing mask, she almost looked normal. Healthy. Whatever accident had led to her being stranded in the snow, there were no outward signs of extreme trauma other than those caused by the exposure to the cold weather and a few cuts and scrapes that he had already patched up.

One odd thing he did notice, however, was the state of her hair. Perhaps it was a style choice. He wasn't exactly up on what was trending, especially not in women's fashion… But her hair was cut extremely short, and extremely uneven… Though it framed her face almost perfectly.

The morning hours crawled by slowly. Other than taking the stranger's puppy out every now and then, Harvey wasn't sure what to do with himself. Without something to occupy his mind, he found that he kept walking back to the back room to check on his patient… Every. Five. Minutes. Thoughts of what would happen should the girl wake up in a strange place without someone to explain the situation...

Finally, he opted to return to his apartment and grab a book. It was something to occupy his mind, but something he might be able to share with the stranger who had been placed in his care. That way he could be productive, and keep an eye on her. Maybe then he wouldn't feel so anxious about being around when the girl woke up… The puppy was curled up on his bed, fast asleep. No doubt she was also exhausted from the previous night's events. It would be alright if he left her alone for a bit...

The book was one of his favorites. The cover was worn out long ago, a testament to the many times he had opened it to devour the pages within. It was a true story about a man's journey to become a pilot… Something Harvey had dreamed of since he was a child. Something he had never shared before…

But this was different. She wasn't actually present. She couldn't hear him. There was a warmth that came with that. It was… Safe.

His warm voice filled the room as he started on the first page, speaking the words that he had read so many times, out loud. Time started to pass at a normal rate once more, and it was a couple hours before he remembered to look up.

Oh.

He met her gaze, and his heart started to pound. Her eyes. They were so bright. So full of curiosity…

"I-I'm so sorry," he stammered. "How long have you been awake?"

"Peter felt his earthly tethers snap as the wheels of his plane left the ground and for the first time, nothing was holding him down…" she whispered softly.

Harvey looked down at his book, his face turning red. Peter's first flight had been two chapters ago. She had been awake for at least half an hour, and he hadn't even noticed.

"I- uh…" he cleared his throat, standing up to introduce himself. "I'm Harvey. Uh, Dr. Harvey. You, uhm… You seem to have been in some sort of accident."

"A car accident?"

"Well," he rubbed the back of his neck, suddenly feeling extremely self-conscious. "We aren't entirely sure. We were hoping you'd be able to tell us when you woke up."

"We?"

"Sorry, I meant myself and the young man who found you lying in the snow last night. I sent him home to get some rest, but he might come by to check on you later…"

"Snow?"

"You had an extreme case of hypothermia."

"Where am I?"

"Pelican Town."

She showed no recognition of the name.

"It's nestled in Stardew Valley?"

Nothing.

"Near Zuzu City?"

She looked at him like a child who was trying to comprehend the destruction of her home after a natural disaster… Harvey started to panic when the silence between them started to drag on.

"Anyway, you didn't have any form of I.D. on you. I'm afraid I don't know your name or where you might be from…" Harvey tried his best not to stumble over his words. "We did manage to round up your cat and dog though. They're safe for the time being, so you don't need to worry about them. Just focus on getting better…"

Her vacant stare was starting to unnerve him.

"Er… Do you mind if I ask you your name? Maybe I can request your medical records from your primary care doctor?"

"My name?" she asked softly.

Harvey nodded, a knot forming in his throat. He was afraid he knew the answer, before it even passed over her lips.

"I-" she stopped suddenly, confusion clouding her eyes. "My name is-"

"It's okay," he said soothingly.

She looked at him, panic replacing the puzzlement, "Dr. Harvey?"

"Yes?"

"Why can't I remember my name?"