"... not to force it."

Sebastian turned the corner right as Dr. Harvey was removing a blood pressure cuff from the arm of the stranger. He felt his heart start pounding as he realized that she was not only conscious, but seemingly very alert.

"Ah! You did make it back!" Dr. Harvey looked up with a smile and waved for Sebastian to step into the room. "Come say hello!"

The young man shuffled awkwardly over to the bedside, hands shoved into the front pocket of his hoodie as he stared into her red tinged eyes. Had she been…. Crying?

"H-hey," he mumbled. "I'm Sebastian. You uh… You woke up, huh?"

He flinched inwardly at his clunky greeting, but it was already out there. He couldn't take it back now. Why couldn't he talk to people like… A normal person?

"Yeah," she nodded, clearing her throat before looking at Dr. Harvey. "It's uh… It's nice to meet you. I'd introduce myself, but…"

Sebastian could practically see dark clouds gathering in the man's eyes as the doctor took a deep breath before explaining, "I believe our mysterious friend might be suffering from a severe case of dissociative amnesia. We've been talking for about half an hour, and it seems that she can't remember a lot about herself. Including her name."

"Oh," Sebastian's stomach sank, not for himself, but for her. How awful feeling lost like that must be. "Sorry. That's… really hard."

"It's okay," she gave a soft smile. "At least I'm not dead, right? Dr. Harvey says you found me out in the snow…"

"Yeah," he breathed. It wasn't happening very quickly, but speaking to her was getting easier. "You were in pretty rough shape. I had to-" he stopped very suddenly, giving a sideways glance at Dr. Harvey. "I had to drag you through the snow at first, so sorry if you have any injuries from that…"

"She's alright," the doctor seemed to understand the embarrassment Sebastian felt at the idea of admitting he'd performed CPR, as he didn't mention it or bring it up. "As I told you last night, you saved her life, and that's the important thing."

The stranger nodded in agreement and an awkward silence fell over the room. Just when Sebastian was about to excuse himself, Harvey beat him to it.

"I'm sure you're hungry. I'll go see what I can find for you to eat while you visit with Sebastian."

And just like that, he was left alone with her, both of them staring at the floor.

"What's it like in Pelican Town?" she asked after a few moments.

"It's alright," Sebastian shrugged, avoiding meeting her gaze. "It's a nice place to live, I guess, but there isn't a lot going on and not much to do around here…"

"Oh…"

Silence.

"You have a decent cat," was all he could come up with to say.

"Right. Dr. Harvey mentioned that there was a cat and dog with me," she bit her lip. "I'd say thanks, but to be honest, I'm not sure I can claim them as mine. Not that I don't think they are mine, it's just… I don't remember. Maybe they just came across me while I was passed out, ya know?"

"I guess that's true."

More silence.

"Uhm… Do you by any chance know what you're going to do from here?" Sebastian asked cautiously, not wanting to cause too much stress but also wanting to satisfy his curiosity.

She shook her head, "Dr. Harvey and I just barely determined that I really don't know anything about myself before you walked in. I'm not even sure what to do with the information. I'd say it's like being given a clean slate, but to be honest… I can't really remember anything before today, and even though I know I existed before now it's… Hard to explain."

"Like your memories have been written in invisible ink that you can't read? The page is full but it still feels… empty?"

"That's… Exactly how it feels…" she seemed almost touched by his statement. "It's there. I know it's all there, but I can't read it."

"That sounds frustrating."

"I suppose it is."

They let silence settle between them once more. This time, it didn't feel as awkward and Sebastian didn't feel the need to feel the emptiness. They were both content to just… exist in the same space for a while. It was in that moment that he was able to finally look up and take everything in.

She was wearing a hospital gown, which caused his cheeks to warm slightly. He could never be a doctor like Harvey was. The idea of undressing and redressing an unconscious person made his stomach squirm… He'd never be comfortable enough to do it. He could only admire the doctor's dedication to his career. Other than that, she had her hair cut in a way that almost seemed… Accidental rather than something she had styled on purpose. There was something… odd about it.

"Maybe there's someone out there looking for me," she said with a soft whisper suddenly, reminding Sebastian that she may not be as comfortable sitting with her own thoughts as he was. Especially not when there didn't seem to be much that she could ponder on as far as herself was concerned.

"I'm sure there is," he nodded. "And they'll be able to help fill in those gaps for you."

"Yeah," that seemed to cheer her up a little. "And then I won't be in your hair anymore."

Sebastian paused, struck by how she seemed to feel something he was intimately familiar with, living in his own family, "You aren't an annoyance or anything, so it doesn't matter one way or the other to me."

"Nor I," Dr. Harvey turned the corner, a tray in his hands. "Sorry that took a bit longer than I expected. I was trying to find something that wouldn't trigger any common allergies, since we don't know much about your health history."

"That's very kind," she smiled. "I'm certainly not picky."

"Well, maybe not yet," Dr. Harvey smiled. "You may find there are many things that you do not like as time goes on."

She took the tray from him and slowly began eating the rice bowl that had been provided for her. It was one of those frozen convenience meals, so it probably wouldn't be very filling.

"We'll let you eat in peace," the doctor turned to hold the door open and motioned for the young man to follow him. "Sebastian, can I talk to you outside?"

Sebastian shrugged and left, hoping that the girl didn't feel anxious about the doctor wanting to talk to him in private. He certainly felt anxious.

"She'll probably be okay to leave tomorrow," Dr. Harvey started once the door was closed, filling out paperwork as he talked. "I don't mind her staying here at the clinic until we can figure out how to get her back home, but it really isn't the most comfortable place for her to stay. I think I have a solution, but you'll need to talk to your mom."

"I guess," Sebastian folded his arms. "What do you need?"

"Well, Mayor Lewis has been looking for someone to manage the old farm for awhile…"


Harvey could only hope that what he was doing was the best thing for his unexpected patient.

"Please do your best not to overwhelm her," he instructed Mayor Lewis as he led him inside the clinic. "I'm sure what she's going through isn't the easiest thing in the world and her mind is coping with enough strain as is…"

She looked up as they entered, and Harvey noticed that she had been reading the book that he'd left sitting on the chair. The rice bowl was cleaned out, along with the glass of water he'd brought her.

"Hey, this is Mayor Lewis. I brought him over to talk to you about checking you out of the clinic and into somewhere more comfortable," he felt bad. He didn't want her to think he was kicking her out or anything. He'd actually almost kept his idea to himself and offered her a semi-permanent residency in the clinic… But staying in a medical building all day probably wasn't in her best interest.

"Hello!" the mayor grinned. "Quite sudden of you to drop in on us like that, but we're all very excited to have you here in Pelican Town! You've come at just the right time! Spring will be upon us soon, and it just so happens that we're in need of a farmer!"

"Farmer?" she asked, tilting her head.

"Yes, you see… There's an abandoned farm just west of here. The owner died a while back and the family that he willed the farm to… They just sold it back to the town. We haven't been able to find anyone to maintain or run it and it has fallen a little bit into disrepair. Harvey here was thinking that while you are unable to return home, you might want to stay there," Lewis grinned wide, his enthusiasm enough for all three of them.

"You want me to… run a farm for you?" she asked quizzically.

"You don't have to," Harvey jumped in. "You're more than welcome to stay here. I just thought you might feel better somewhere that seems a little more… Permanent."

And just in case you end up having to stay longer… If we can't find someone or your memories don't come back… he added silently to himself.

She thought for a moment before slowly nodding her head, "That might be nice. I don't know much about farming though…"

"Oh, don't worry!" the mayor encouraged her. "I'm sure the first couple weeks will be spent clearing trees and boulders anyway! If you can take care of the farm, patch it up a bit… The town will thank you by allowing you to stay there free of charge. You can even keep the money you make from selling any crops or products. It's enough that someone is working the land instead of letting it go to waste."

"I can't make any promises, but I can certainly give it my best effort…" she gave a soft smile. "It's really kind of you to agree to help a complete stranger out. I'll do my best to remember everything and get out of your hair as soon as possible."

"Now don't you worry about that now," the mayor chuckled. "You won't be a nuisance since you'll be helping us out. We're happy to have you."

"Then it's settled," Harvey nodded, trying to ignore the oncoming sadness that was accompanied by her pending departure. "Robin already agreed to patch up the old cabin so it's at least livable. Sebastian will introduce you to her tomorrow and she'll show you where you'll be living…"

"Thank you…" came the soft response.

Harvey cleared his throat, finally speaking some of his more personal thoughts, "But feel free to stop by the clinic any time. I'm not a psychologist, but it wouldn't hurt to come around in a week or so just so I can make sure you're fully recovered physically. If you're still around, that is. And take it easy for the first little while. It's going to feel super overwhelming when you see the work you have ahead of you, but remember that there's no deadline or time limit on this…"

She nodded.

"Well then, Farmer," Mayor Lewis beamed. "Welcome to Pelican Town! I'll see you tomorrow to get you all settled in!"

Once the mayor had excused himself, Harvey could sense her exhaustion. He looked down at the book that was still in her lap and gave her a sympathetic smile, "You're probably really tired. I'll let you get some rest. Feel free to keep the book. I have another copy upstairs in my apartment."

"That's… Thank you," her voice was growing quieter by the minute. He wasn't sure if it was from fatigue or emotion. He suddenly feared she was going to cry again, just as she had when she hadn't been able to remember her name or any other information to his personal questions.

He panicked and left quickly with a simple nod. Once he was upstairs in his apartment, he started mentally kicking himself. Should he have stayed? Of course, he'd always struggled as a doctor to put aside his personal feelings. Others in his profession could numb the world out when tragedy struck their patients, or whenever the physical battles turned emotional… He... He had never been good at that.

Maybe that's why his past failure had hit him so hard.

The thought was barely born before he squashed it. No. It was better that he had left. He had to maintain a very distinct boundary. She was a patient. Nothing more. Not even a friend.

He looked at the puppy, a sadness welling inside him. That was just the way it had to be. For his sake.

So why did it feel so wrong that they were now facing their individual griefs, alone?