Yohohohohohoho! Another update! I couldn't help it-I had to write it! I put off studying English and Science, though. But it's okay if I fail them. Ahahahaha. Anyways, I apologize if you guys aren't too familiar with Mineral Town or Forget-Me-Not Valley-I tried to make it as friendly to the IoH-only players as I could.

This chapter is dedicated to TheRandomArtist, because I haven't found the inspiration to write up her request for a Graire oneshot yet, and it's been months. This one's for you, and I hope you'll forgive me for being so fail-tastic with my promise-keeping skills!

ALSO: I found Vaughn's song. It's, like, written for him. Seriously. I put a link in the top of my profile. :B

Disclaimer: I don't own Harvest Moon or any of its characters.

Enjoy!

A tall man walked out of the farmhouse and into the foggy autumn day, stopping only once to look up into the sky and sigh. This had become a habit of his for the last season or so, and, after readjusting his cap, he set off for another day of work at the forge.

He was just about to round the corner off the farm when he noticed the flag up in the mailbox—he and his wife had some mail. He slowly turned and opened the small, red box, revealing a little white envelope with no return address, dampened slightly from its travels. He eyed it quizzically for a moment, wondering who on earth could have sent this—he was expecting another festival invitation from Mayor Thomas or maybe an advertisement from one of the local shops. Frowning, he tore through the top and pulled out the sheet of paper. He read only the first line before darting back into the house, calling for his wife.

Ooo

"Chelsea…"

Claire read her daughter's letter for the umpteenth time since Gray had run it inside. She could feel a new round of warm tears on her cheeks as she got further into the note. Gray was standing behind his wife, his arms wrapped securely around her—he hated it when she cried, even if it was in happiness, as with this case—as he read over her shoulder. Finally, Claire set the letter down and turned to face her husband, burying her face in his coat.

"She's alive," Claire choked, "Gray—our baby's alive."

Gray nodded and set his chin on her head. "She's stubborn like that."

Laughing, Claire broke away and met his gaze. "She got it from you."

He rolled his eyes. "I beg to differ."

Claire smiled at him—the first real smile he'd seen from her since Chelsea's disappearance—and picked the letter back up. After studying the envelope for a minute or so, frowned slightly. "Gray, we still don't know where she is."

"I know," he sighed, walking over and gently taking the envelope, "And I can't help but feel that she did that on purpose."

"Well, what are we supposed to do now?"

"What can we do? We'll need to give her some more time, and not worry too much—And I know you have trouble with that." Gray smirked at the shorter woman standing next to him. She sniffed and wiped at her face with her sleeve, glaring up at him.

"Yeah, and you were totally not worried, right? I saw you crying that morning after we didn't find her in the forest!"

Gray flushed, pulling his hat down and scowling at Claire. "That was… different."

"Mhm," she nodded, "Sure."

"Can we please remember that we have a daughter lost on an island miles away from here?"

Claire frowned deeply, sitting down at the kitchen table. "Well, the people she described seemed pretty nice… I suppose that if she's alright after a season, she should be okay for a little longer while we figure out just where that island is… If she gets into any real trouble, I'm sure that her friends will help her, right?"

Gray felt his face twitch slightly. "I don't know about that Vaughn guy she was writing about—he sounded like the kind of guy you stay away from. I don't want Chelsea hanging around with him. He seems… dangerous."

"Oh, Gray," Claire waved him off, laughing slightly, "He sounds like you did when I first met you."

"Dear Goddess," Gray muttered, rolling his eyes, "let's hope he doesn't fall for her, for his sake."

Claire scoffed and thumped the back of her husband's head. He smirked at her and gave her a kiss, and she couldn't help but let his last comment slide.

Ooo

Vaughn sneezed into his arm as he got off his boat and walked onto the small beach of Forget-Me-Not Valley. He hurried through his work—there was always hardly anything to do here, and he was thankful. He hated this place. He was lucky that hardly any of the villagers ever acknowledged him, and most of them were all too young to know…

His work at this town lasted only about an hour and consisted of nothing but delivering feed and the occasional shipment of fertilizer to one of the farms. He always had nearly half a day to kill before his ship left for the city. Today was no different.

Sighing, he turned and started back for the beach, but he stopped abruptly as a petite woman in overalls ran straight into him. He took a step back and, seeing that she was probably old enough to be his mother, he tipped his hat to her in apology.

"Excuse me, ma'am," he mumbled, avoiding her gaze. She was old enough to remember…

"Oh! No, no—it was all my fault. Say, have you seen Celia or Marlin around here? I can't find them and I have some important news for them…" She trailed off, and he could feel her watching him as he stood there awkwardly.

He unwillingly looked up and locked eyes with her. He almost jumped back in surprise—it was Chelsea. But, no— it wasn't! This woman had blonde hair, and she was probably twice Chelsea's age. Vaughn certainly couldn't remember seeing this person before in Forget-Me-Not. She had the same eyes as Chelsea did, exactly—and their faces were so similar—what was this? Was he dreaming again? He pinched himself discreetly. Nope—he was definitely awake. But if he really was fully conscious, then who was this?

"Um… are you alright?" She asked, her eyes suddenly filled with worry. He'd seen that before, and it was unsettling.

"Yeah," he coughed, "they're at the inn, I reckon."

"Oh," she smiled, nodding in gratitude, "thank you—I'm Claire. I work the farm in Mineral Town."

Vaughn shifted uncomfortably. This woman was Chelsea's clone. There were Chelseas appearing all over the place, taking over the world. The Goddess hated him.

"I have to catch my boat."

And with that, he hurried around this 'Claire' person and high-tailed it out to the beach as fast as he could without receiving too much unnecessary attention.

Claire watched him as he left, very confused. "Did I say something wrong?"

Shrugging, she continued down the path towards the inn. She couldn't wait to let all her friends in Forget-Me-Not Valley the good news about Chelsea—and, also, to have them keep their eyes peeled for anything that may let them know where that island actually was.

Ooo

"Finally!" Chelsea exclaimed, counting her savings once more, "That's enough for a barn!"

Without wasting another second, she gathered up the money and raced down the path to Gannon's. He looked up at her in surprise as the door flew open.

"Hey, Chels," he grinned, recovering from his initial shock, "You're lookin' pretty pretty today."

Chelsea rubbed her neck in embarrassment and walked up to the counter. "Aw, jeez, Gannon. You flatter me."

"What can I help you with today?" He asked, leaning up against the counter. Chelsea smiled triumphantly and set her funds on the countertop.

"I'd like to have a barn built!"

There you go! I liked this one. Vaughn thinks he's going insane, eh? xDDD Thanks for all your ideas regarding how Chelsea should woo Vaughn! They were all magnificent and brought numerous smiles to my face. I hope you stay tuned for the next chapter-it's going to start getting good pretty soon! x3