Ugh, freaking Fanfiction just had a spasm and deleted my A/N. Basically, here's the next chapter. It's a bit shorter than the last few, and for that I apologize. I didn't realize until a reviewer mentioned it that the last chapter ended on a bit of a cliffhanger, and I didn't want that, so... here you go!

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On with the chapter!

CHAPTER STATS

Word Count (excluding A/N): 1311

Date Updated: 1-3-11

Current Review Count: 139

(Woah, look at the word count and the date o.O)

"Mirabelle probably needs my help," Vaughn muttered, turning away from Chelsea, "see y'around."

"Oh… okay," Chelsea nodded, pursing her lips. "Bye."

She watched as Vaughn made his way down the path. Her brow furrowed as he slowed slightly, hesitating at the exit. He turned his head to the side and said over his shoulder, "Stay inside."

Chelsea raised an eyebrow—she knew better than to go out in a snowstorm. They happened all the time back in Mineral Town. Did he really think she was stupid enough to go skipping around in a blizzard? She rolled her eyes but nodded anyway and Vaughn continued down the hill.

Ooo

Vaughn could hear the wind howling from inside of Mirabelle's guest room later that night. The snow beat against the side of the building in the dark. Sighing, Vaughn glanced at the clock on the bedside table. It was still only two o'clock? He was never going to get any decent sleep—he knew that much. It seemed like every time he shut his eyes he saw that damn Chelsea stuck, frozen in a pile of snow outside. He just knew that she would find some way to get in trouble, and it was eating away at the corner of his mind. He wasn't obsessing over it, though. Nope, he didn't care that much… It was just occupying the back of his mind, and he didn't exactly enjoy it. It made him just uncomfortable enough to lose some sleep.

It wasn't like it mattered to him.

Vaughn grimaced into the darkness. Damn, he hated it when he lied to himself.

Ooo

Chelsea sat up quickly, startled out of her troubled sleep. Her shutters were rattling and banging against the outside of her house in the winds of the storm, causing such a loud racket that she just couldn't fall back asleep. Yawning, she glanced around the room. She could barely make out the outlines of her few pieces of furniture. The clock on her nightstand read two o'clock in the morning. Chelsea let out a small groan—she just wanted to sleep through this storm. She wasn't even sure when it was supposed to blow over. For all she knew, it would continue on until Friday.

Yawning once more, Chelsea sunk back into her bed and pulled the covers up close to her face. She brought her knees up to her chest and curled up, trying to absorb all the warmth that she could. Her house was like a freezer in this blizzard.

She drifted off to sleep again, thinking about the last snowstorm she'd been in at home. The one raging outside her old farmhouse one was a lot colder than she remembered others being.

Ooo

The snow being pelted at the wall next to Chelsea's bed served as a better alarm than any clock she'd ever had. Sitting up slowly, the farmer let out a long, tired yawn and reached her hands into the air, stretching her back out. Her clock said that it was almost eight-thirty in the morning—she'd overslept. But did that really matter? It wasn't like she could do anything today. Besides, she'd agreed to stay inside when Vaughn told her to, and she had no intention to go freeze her butt off in that storm. But with a quick glance around her dimly-lit room, Chelsea realized that she really didn't have a lot to do indoors. As a matter of fact, she had nothing. No television, no books, no cooking utensils, no paper…

She sighed, pushing her covers off. The frosty air bit at her face, arms, and feet—she was happy that her pajama bottoms were long and covered her legs. With those and Vaughn's coat, she'd be warm enough. Now, if only she could figure out something to do all day. She swing her feet over the side of the bed and winced as her feet made contact with the icy floor. She scurried over to the table and grabbed Vaughn's coat, then ran back over to sit on her bed as she pulled her arms through the black sleeves.

She didn't have any crops to worry about in the wintertime. Even if she did, it wasn't like she would be able to do anything about them in this storm. And she'd made sure yesterday before the storm that Daisy was safe and sound inside the warm barn. There was no way that she could wonder outside, and Chelsea had made sure to tell her what was going to happen so that she wouldn't be afraid. Chelsea'd thought of everything and done it. She didn't have anything to worry about—except…

Chelsea's eyes widened and her jaw went slack. "Oh, crap."

She didn't give Daisy any extra fodder for today. Daisy didn't have any food. She was going to starve her calf! Chelsea glanced around. What was she supposed to do? She stood up and flew over to her dresser, peeling off her warm pajamas and wrestling into her cold work clothes. It wasn't that long of a walk to the barn. She'd be able to get there in no time—she'd been out in a blizzard before. It wasn't exactly something she'd been wanting to do again, but her only animal—her only new family—was waiting for her, counting on her.

She pulled her boots on, sighing at her exposed knees. It couldn't be helped—she didn't have anything warmer except her pajamas, but she didn't want those to be all soaking wet for when she got back. Chelsea marched over to her door, stopping for a moment to calm herself down and figure out the quickest route to the barn. The wind beating on the walls around her didn't help her concentration much. With a lame shrug, she gritted her teeth and pulled open her door, jumping back as a small pile of snow poured inside. She stepped over it and into the fierce wind, cringing as the snow whipped across her legs and face, biting her. Holding one hand up to shield her eyes, Chelsea yanked the door shut and turned in the direction her barn was.

The wind was screaming in her ears and her entire farm seemed to be a world of blurry white. She kept her focus on her feet, making sure not to trip on any branches of boulders. She was sure glad she'd walked to and from the barn so often—she had the path memorized and made it to the small building in less than five minutes. She pushed through the doors and hurried inside, shutting them behind her. Her body melted in the sudden warmth and a small smile fell upon her face. Maybe she should just stay in the barn all day.

She turned around and saw that Daisy was still asleep, so she quietly made her way over to the feed dispenser. She reached her hands inside to pick up a pile of fodder, but she couldn't feel anything. Her brow furrowed. Why couldn't she feel the hay? She bent down, glancing into the bin. It took her several seconds to process what she saw, but when she did, she could have screamed.

"Why is there no fodder?" She asked herself, her eyes wide as she frantically felt around the small dispenser. It was no use, though. She'd run out yesterday and didn't even realize it. Letting out a little whimper, she turned and sunk to the floor, her back against the wall. Daisy was still sleeping peacefully. Chelsea's heart ached—she had to feed Daisy. If she didn't, the calf might get sick and hate her. She was Chelsea's only family now. Something had to be done.

So Chelsea stood up and marched back into the storm, ignoring the cold as it slapped her. She had some feed to buy.

Hm. This is actually kind of a cliffhanger, too, huh? I didn't mean to - honest. I just couldn't fit the next scene in without adding like another thousand words! Ah, well. It'll be updated soon enough, yeah? Yeah. Thanks for your wonderful reviews, guys. They get me writing better than anything else I know of. You all are the best inspiration out there :D