A/N: Thanks for all the reviews! I see there are a couple people who have this as an alert who have never reviewed. I ask that you please do. The comments really help me understand how you guys feel about the story and where I should take this. Thanks in advance!

This chapter took a while to get done because it was very hard to write. This sets in motion the events that will lead to the end of the story. Don't worry though! I've got a whole lot more story to tell before then.

Chapter 22: Midwinter Emotions

The days after the Dog Race Festival led up to the Winter Thanksgiving Festival. It was officially the middle of winter. It was hard not to notice. The temperature dropped even further and the snow was beginning to pile up on the fields and roads of Mineral Town.

Jack was beginning to get nervous about the Thanksgiving Festival. In the spring he had baked cookies for all the girls in Ann's kitchen. It was a friendly gesture. This holiday felt different though. It felt as if it should be romantic.

The assumption could be because the festival happened in the middle of winter, the same as the Valentine's Day holiday that was celebrated in the city. Jack had never spent a Valentine's Day with anyone special and was nervous about the upcoming holiday because he was afraid he would spend it alone too.

He hadn't been romantically involved with anyone in the town since Popuri. There was that one moment with Karen, but that was all it was, just a moment. A moment did not equate into involvement and Jack had to learn that the hard way.

Jack still thought about Karen often, especially after he saw her at the Dog Race. He couldn't get that scene out of his head. He was hugging Ann, looking over her shoulder, and there was Karen. She appeared to be crying. He instinctively wanted to run over and comfort her, but he remembered that he was just a mistake and continued to congratulate Ann for her winning bets.

That particular day Jack finished taking care of his animals fairly early. He wandered into the back woods and took out his axe. Winter was the perfect time to chop wood. He had tons of free time and he was beginning to plan his second home extension. A larger home was like a symbol of success to Jack.

Jack began to whack away at the tree stumps with his axe. His thoughts were full of the Winter Thanksgiving Festival that was just a few days away. He wondered if he should bother sticking around the farm that day just in case someone stopped by. He didn't think anyone would, but it was probably worth a shot.

His thoughts were suddenly interrupted when he heard a sound. He wasn't sure what it was at first. It seemed distant. He tried to ignore it but it slowly grew louder. Jack finally figured out what it was. It was the sound of someone crying.

Jack set his axe down and looked around. It was still early in the day so nobody was around. Gotz was still up the mountain on his daily patrol. He followed the sound up the hill towards the hot spring.

When Jack got to the top he froze. Sitting by the edge of the pond was a young woman with light brown hair. It was Karen. She was bundled up in a heavy green jacket. Her hair was a mess. Karen turned to look to see who had approached her. Her face was stained with tears. When she realized who it was she covered her face with her hand.

"I didn't think anyone would be here this early," she said.

"You were sobbing so loud I could hear you from Gotz's house." There was silence for a few moments and she turned away. Jack finally broke the silence, "do you want to talk about it?"

Karen shook her head. "I don't know why you would want to speak with me after what I did to you."

Jack sat down next to the young woman and turned to look at her. She finally looked back at him. She looked horrible. Her eyes were bloodshot from all the crying. There were dark circles under her eyes and her hair was matted. She looked thinner than normal. Karen looked as if she hadn't seen in a mirror in weeks.

Any anger he felt towards Karen or what had happened between them completely disappeared when he realized the condition she was in. All the negative emotions were quickly replaced with worry. His eyes concentrated on her, and she looked back at him.

"You did hurt me, but forget that now. What happened to you Karen? Why are you so upset?"

"You don't want to hear it," was her only reply.

He shook his head. "Yes I do. We used to be friends, remember? We still can be."

Karen looked down then began to speak. "Okay, but please don't judge me."

"You used to trust me."

"I still do. I just thought that after…" her voice trailed off. "Never mind."

Karen looked up again but didn't look directly at Jack. She seemed to be trying to figure out where to start. Jack didn't interrupt and patiently waited for her to begin speaking again.

"You know how Lillia is really sick right?" Jack nodded. "Well, she still needs around the clock care. With Rick working all day with the chickens I'm left to do all the work around the house and take care of Lilia. He's even traveling now to hand deliver the chickens he sells himself and on those days I have to take care of everything including the chickens! I'm just exhausted."

"That's a lot of work," Jack commented. He was still trying to get her to look at him but she would not.

Karen nodded. "Lillia's medicine is also very expensive. With Rick's income supporting three people now it's been really tough." Tears began to form in her eyes again. "And I'm so embarrassed to say this, but yesterday I took my savings and bet everything at the Dog Race. I was hoping to win some money back so we could afford the medicine." She started to cry now. "I lost all of it! All my savings from working at the grocery store! It's all gone!"

During their talk it had begun to snow, and the wind was picking up. Karen was shivering. Jack instinctively pulled her close to him. She cried into his shoulder.

"Come on; let's get out of this cold." Jack helped Karen up.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"Back to my house. I'll get a fire started and you can warm up."

Back at Jack's house he started a fire and handed Karen a blanket. She took it and sat down in front of the fireplace. The fire slowly got larger and she was shivering less.

"I didn't know you got an upgrade on your house. It's like a real house now," Karen commented.

"It's nice to finally have a kitchen." Jack moved around in the kitchen but stopped once he remembered that he didn't have a pot. "I was going to make you tea but I don't have anything to boil water with."

"It's okay. You should sit next to me." Jack walked around the kitchen counter and sat down next to Karen by the fire. She slid over closer to him and leaned against his body. He hadn't realized how much he missed her until then.

"Thanks for talking with me Jack."

"It's not a big deal." He put his arm around her and they sat in silence while watching the fire crackle.

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Two days later Karen was walking through the streets of Mineral Town early in the morning. She wanted to get out before Lillia woke up and needed care. Karen needed to do some shopping at the grocery store for ingredients to make Rick a Thanksgiving cake, and she needed to pick up Lillia's medicine at the hospital.

Her first stop was the hospital. Inside Elli was smiling cheerfully as she always did. Karen couldn't help but smile too. She was feeling better since her talk with Jack. Elli saw Karen enter and her smile became even brighter. She set the medicine out on the table.

"Here you are Karen."

Karen walked over and picked it up, putting the bottles into her pocket. "How much do I owe you?"

Elli giggled a bit. "Nothing."

Karen frowned. "What do you mean nothing? We're going to run the hospital right out of business if you keep not charging us for this stuff."

"A nice young man came in here yesterday and paid for it. You don't owe us anything."

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It was finally the day of the Winter Thanksgiving Festival. Jack's moral was high after rekindling his friendship with Karen. He felt as if nothing could ruin his good mood. He didn't even care if none of the girls came by with chocolate for him. He decided to stick around his home anyways though, just in case.

After all the animals were taken care of for the day Jack returned to his house. But before he could go inside he heard a quiet voice call out his name. He turned and there was Elli, coming up the walkway towards him.

"Hello Jack! Good morning!" She was smiling. There was never a time when she wasn't cheerful.

"Morning Elli. What are you doing down this way?" Jack asked.

She laughed a bit. "You know what day it is right?" He nodded. "Well I brought you some chocolate to have. You did give me cookies in the Spring and I wanted to return the favor."

Elli approached Jack and handed him a bar of chocolate. "Now don't eat too much at one time. Oh! Don't forget to brush your teeth afterwards."

It was Jack's turn to laugh. The doctor's young assistant was always looking out for everyone's health. He thanked her and she was on her way back to the hospital.

Jack went back into his house and spent the next hour or so cleaning and watching TV. He was suddenly interrupted by a knock at his door. Right afterwards he heard a voice that made him laugh.

"Hey! Open up! It's cold out here!!"

Jack opened his door and the fiery redhead came bursting in. "I can't stand out there all day you know." Her eyes widened when she noticed Jack's new kitchen. "Oh wow! Is that it?" She walked over and began to examine it.

"Hello to you too."

"Your only utensil is a mixer."

"Good observation!" He teased her. Ann put her hand on her hip and Jack laughed. "I can only purchase one item a week. I haven't had the kitchen that long."

"I see." Ann was examining all the counter tops. She stopped and laughed, looking a bit embarrassed. "Your kitchen distracted me. I came to give you this." She pulled out of her pocket a half melted bar of chocolate. "Happy Thanksgiving!"

"Thanks Ann." Unsure of what to do with the chocolate, Jack set it down on the counter.

"I wanted to bake cakes for everyone but we were so busy at the Inn that I didn't have time." She frowned.

"It's okay Ann."

"But it's not really. I wanted to bake my father a cake. He doesn't have anyone to share this holiday with so I wanted to do something nice for him."

"Oh."

"Yeah…" Ann looked at the time. "Well, I better get going. I hope I'll see you at the Inn soon?"

"Of course Ann, you always do."

Ann left and Jack was back to doing what he was doing before she came. He flipped around on the TV. There was no real way to channel surf since there were only four channels. There was never much to watch either.

After some time there was a gentle knock on Jack's door. It was so quiet he didn't hear it the first time. The person on the other side knocked again.

"Jack?" There was a pause. "Are you there?"

The voice was quiet, and Jack recognized it right away. It was Mary. He jumped up and opened the door. He looked down once he noticed she was holding something. In her hand she had a chocolate cake.

"Happy Thanksgiving Jack." She handed him the cake and he smiled.

"Thanks Mary! I love cake. Especially chocolate."

His comment made her giggle and blush a little. "Good I'm glad." She looked inside. "May I?"

"Of course!" Jack moved aside so that Mary could enter. He closed the door and set the cake down on his table. She sat down at the table and he took a seat across from her.

That was where they spent most of the day, talking and laughing together.

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That night Jack was getting ready for bed when he heard another knock at his door. "Who's there?" he called out. He wasn't expecting anyone at this hour. Nobody answered. He opened the door and nobody was there. On the ground in front of the door was a cake.

Or something that resembled a cake.