The next chapter is here. Haha Kentucky was great (even though you didn't ask I thought I would put it out there for ya'll) The mountains reminded me of Garmon Mines while I was there. And the many herds of cattle? Horn Ranch of course! Not to mention the big crops of Marimba Farm. The small stores of Harmonica Town. The big bridge into Fugue Forest...In short Harvest Moon was on my mind the ENTIRE time. I'm really a die-hard fan.
Shout out to my reviewers!
Jaspers-Girl-and-u-no-it: Thanks for the review. It was encouraging to hear that you thought it was clever. It was also great to see a fresh face review on my work and I also love your story Free To Grow and your oneshot Immaculate Conception. So thanks again!
MagicalSquaresOfDarkness: What can I say to this one? "You're crazy" would be too simple and "Psychotic." doesn't begin to describe it. "You're abso-freakin-lutely, out of this universe, no-way anyone else can top this, astoundingly flat-out RANDOM!" Is probably the closest I can come with words to describe your review. I might think of something later. But in all seriousness, thanks for the suggestion, I'll be sure to use it. 3
I think I spent more page with the shout-outs this time so I'll just have to make up for it with a ridiculously long chapter. SO HERE WE GO!
~Chase's POV~
"JIN!" I busted through the doors of the clinic, nearly knocking them off the hinges.
'Whoa. A liiiiiittle bit too aggressive there Chase.'
Jin turned to me with surprise painted vividly on his face. Irene's stone-faced expression turned to one filled with unimaginable rage and while I was usually fear stricken when she got that expression, I didn't care at all right now. I strode into the clinic and laid Molly down on a bed.
"She needs immediate help, please!" I more demanded than asked.
Irene turned from me to Jin, her anger having died down at the sight of the unconscious Molly and she shook her head dismissively. Jin's face turned to that of a stoic expression and without a word, he calmy came over to where I was sitting, watching Molly intently. He gave me a pat on the shoulder, reassuring me like the doctor (and friend) he was.
Jin and I went back all the way to the first time I came to the island to study under Yolanda. Yolanda was gone and her granddaughter, Maya, was left alone with me in the kitchen. Maya had been eyeing the cooking utensils that I was using with such intensity that I automatically assumed (with her being Yolanda's descendant and all) that she was critiquing my skills. Being as confident as I was, I took my masterpiece off the stove top and handed it to her stating "Give it a try." I remember Maya chewing it thoughtfully and complimenting my "More than superb." cooking skills.
And then...she offered to give me a sample of her self-made dish.
Of course, at the time, I thought I was in for a treat. Again, legendary chef's granddaughter cooking for me. Yippee!...Not! As soon as I consumed it, I was rushed over to the clinic by Yolanda who came in a moment too late to stop me from digesting the culinary disaster!
I awoke with an oxygen mask on my face and none other than Doctor Jin standing beside me with a table chart in hand and my medical chart on my bedside table. He stated that he was having to mark me as another victim for I was now a statistic in the common sickness caused by consumers of Maya's cooking. I was shocked, I mean, wouldn't anyone be if someone's cooking almost killed them? Needless to say, Jin told me to stay clear of her food from then on, it seemed I had the worst reaction out of everyone who experienced the catastrophe that was her dishes. That started a joking conversation between us and from then on he was one of my closest friends.
"Chase!" Jin's voice brought me back from my reminiscing.
"Y-Yeah?" I muttered in response.
"How long has Molly had this bruise?"
I looked over to see Molly's top had been cut off of her. Jin had told me once that it was procedure to do that so you wouldn't irritate anything else on the patient, a just-in-case measure.
I stared blatantly at Molly's bruising right side. But it wasn't long before my gaze was cast over the rest of her torso as well. Her coke-bottle shape was evident now that nothing but her bra was covering her. Her skin wasn't pale, it was a lightly sun-kissed tan. She either tanned out on the beach often or it was her natural skin color. Her arms were slightly toned as well, obviously from work on the farm. I wonder how her clumsiness didn't affect her field work.
Jin snapped a finger in front of my face and he seemed slightly amused by my behavior.
"Okay. I get it. Pretty girl with a sexy body automatically makes a tuned-out Chase. Just don't gawk at her like that for too long or else she'll wake up and find you to be a huge pervert." Jin said.
"Oh! I'M the pervert! So it's not considered perverted when a certain doctor I know stares wistfully at the back of a patient as she slowly removes her jacket. Then gently she slips her skirt off and takes the patient scrubs and slips them on, sliding her elegant-"
A pen bounced off my skull followed by a slap to the back of my head.
"Shut the hell up..." Jin could only mumble.
"It's true though." I smirked.
"Just answer the question already. "
"She's had it since yesterday afternoon. I'd say around 4 to 5 is when she got it." Jin raised an eyebrow.
"And she's just now here because...?"
"Well, for one reason she's passed out from some sickness she must've developed after she ran off from me. The second reason is because of the fact she ran off from me, I didn't get a chance to actually take her here." Jin looked at me skeptically.
"She ran off from you because...?"
I sighed and told Jin the previous events from yesterday and he looked at me with a face that said "you hopeless bastard." Which is the usual look I get from him when I screw up because of my impulsive behavior.
"Is that why you weren't at work yesterday? I stopped by to pick up an order and Colleen had to make it."
I flushed. "Well...no...and yes." I couldn't just tell him I was afraid to see Molly if she had gone to the bar that night.
Jin kept staring at me.
"I know. I screwed up. But that's why I went to check on her this morning and after her friends finally left I got her to tell me the truth...right before she passed out."
"And she just passed out? She seems to only have a fever, not even a strong one so I find it difficult to believe that she just passed out. Now it could've been induced from the fever and stress. But where would the stress have come from I wonder...Chase?"
I shrugged.
"I dunno."
"Mmhmm...sure I believe you."
"You should. I didn't do anything..."
"You damned liar. What did you do to her?" Jin looked at me as he got some lotion and gauze down from a cabinet.
"I just told her to lift her shirt up."
"And when she didn't?"
"Well, you see, I was just trying to check her bruise. Don't you dare say anything about "playing doctor" because knowing you, Jin you would! So, when she didn't I closed in on her to try to, well, lift her shirt up to see it." I mumbled.
"Moving a little too fast there. I thought you were supposed to take them out for dinner first."
"Dammit Jin, not like that!"
I rubbed my head out of frustration. Not many people knew it, in fact I'm sure I was the only one out of maybe one other, that knew Jin was actually a really perverse guy when he wanted to be.
"Well...that could have been the cause. But..." Jin went to put plastic gloves on.
"But?"
"But, there would be no reason for her to have such a reaction. Unless, of course, she was traumatized. And I doubt that something like that could traumatize her. You've gotten close to her before and that time, you said she got flustered right? She also didn't accept your offer for support. And now that I think about it, she fidgets uncontrollably around all the males. Her past check-ups, I recall her having a problem with biting her lip when she became unsure about questions I would ask her such as sexual activities, contact with the opposite sex in any way form or fashion-"
"That would make any girl uncomfortable Jin..."
"I suppose it would..." Jin put the lotion on his gloved hands.
"What's that?" I asked.
"It's a type of lotion mixed with herbs and pontata roots. It seeps into the body and helps heal bruises among other things."
He began to gently rub it into Molly's injured side, all the way from her bruised arm, down to her bruised waist and hip. I must have been focusing a little too hard because Jin looked at me and said,"You wanna rub it on her?"
"WHAT?"
"You're the one who was staring."
"I was just making sure you didn't rub too hard!"
Jin smirked innocently at me as he wrapped the gauze around Molly's frail body where she had been injured.
"I've never seen you get so worked up over a girl like this before...it's not like you."
I felt my face grow hot. I folded my arms and couldn't think of anything else to do but look away.
"Whatever." I muttered.
Then I suddenly remembered something and with a sigh, I stood up.
"Where are you headed off too?" Jin asked, still tending to Molly, now with an ice pack to nurse her fever.
"I have something I need to do. I'll catch you later Jin."
I exited the clinic and headed over to the farmland.
~Third Person
Calvin and Luke entered the bar after they ran into each other near the mines. Calvin was in a heated debate with Phoebe about one of her dangerous inventions and upon seeing Luke, Calvin told Phoebe not to touch anything until he came back tomorrow and followed Luke to the bar.
"I hope Molly's doing okay." Calvin said as they took a seat.
"Yeah, I bet Chase left her by now." Luke responded.
Kathy sauntered over to them, Luke could tell that her hips were sashaying for Owen and not for them. Calvin and Luke were always the guys she came to when she needed to make Owen overly jealous. She leaned on their table, kicking her right leg out by a bit and resting her chest a little on the table which issued a few whistles from the out of town guys at the bar that night.
"Way to look natural Kat..." Luke snickered.
Kathy rolled her eyes and asked for the two's order.
"You know what we want." Calvin said and Kathy gave a chuckle.
"I have to look like I actually took your order Calvin. Or else "you-know-who" will be on to my game." Kathy whispered.
"I'm sure he'd rather "be on" something else." Luke mumbled quietly which caused Kathy to stomp on his foot. Though Calvin got a good laugh out of it.
"I swear Luke if you don't shut your mouth I'll take that axe of yours and cut-"
"Woah there Kathy. Let's not be rash here." Calvin came to his defense. Kathy gave a "humph" and turned on her heel to get their orders.
When she came back she had a weird look on her face.
"Hey you guys. Have you seen Chase around? Colleen's in the kitchen as his replacement right now."
Calvin and Luke looked at Kathy.
"You think he's still at Molly's?" Calvin asked.
"I doubt he'd want to stay with her for this long." Kathy said.
"She should be okay by herself right now. I mean, she told Chase that she went to Jin's and he gave her some medicine." Luke chimed in.
"Yeah...Wait. When'd she say that?" Kathy asked.
"When Chase asked her if she went to see Jin."
"But didn't she tell us that she hadn't gone yet when we asked her?" Calvin added.
The three of them stared at each other blank-faced. Blinked a couple times. Looked around. Stared back at each other.
"HOW THE HELL DID NONE OF US CATCH THAT?" Kathy yelled, seething with rage.
"You're right! Not to mention...how did Chase of all people know that Molly was sick?" Luke, again, added.
Another few moments of silence.
"Wait...Molly didn't come to bar night yesterday..."
"Congratulations Sherlock you just solved another Da Vinci's Code. WHAT ELSE IS NEW?"
"Wait, Kathy...let him go I think he's on to something." Calvin calmed Kathy down for Luke to finish his thought process.
"Well...Molly didn't come to bar night and if I recall correctly...did anyone see Chase here yesterday either?"
"Now that you mention it...Our usual ill-tempered chef wasn't complaining about our late night discussion yesterday." Calvin said.
"Hey dad! Was Chase here yesterday?" Kathy called to Hayden.
"Huh? No, he called in sick last night. I gave him some time to recover so he won't come back till tomorrow."
"So Chase and Molly both happened to be absent from their usual places on the same night? Chase also came to check on Molly and asked her had she been to the clinic and Molly said yes to him..."
There was only one thing that they were all thinking at the time.
"OH MY GODDESS! CHASE KNOCKED-" Kathy and Calvin clamped a hand over Luke's mouth while all the other customers looked at them with confusion.
"Yeah. Chase knocked that glass off the table that one time. And he calls us clumsy! Ahahahahaha!" Kathy said loudly to cover up Luke's outburst.
"Chase knocked up Molly." Luke whispered.
"We can't jump to that conclusion yet Luke! If that was so, then what would the pills be for?"
"DHA pills." Calvin stated, stunned.
"What kind of pills are those?" Luke asked.
"They're pills that pregnant women take to help the baby inside with brain development."
"Isn't that the pill that has the Omega 3 crap in it? Like the fish oil?" Kathy stuck her tongue out in distaste.
"Yeah. She could've meant those pills."
"Well...I know what we have to do now..." Kathy said.
"What?"
Kathy looked at her friends with an ominous smile. "Who wants to take a trip to Molly's house?"
~Meanwhile...~
"Dammit! That farmer girl is still alive!" The little flicker of light in the foggy night hissed at the image it saw.
"She should have died from falling into the river! I worked hard to make it rage so violently against Ben's protection."
Another image came to the creature.
"This person! If it wasn't for him, she would be gone by now! I was only told to get rid of the farmer girls...but one more wouldn't hurt..."
An image of Chase getting finished with Molly's chores and heading to the Garmon Mine district was playing in the little thing's vision.
"Hey! You!"
The light turned to see a livid harvest sprite staring at it.
"You're the Rogue Sprite, aren't you! You almost killed Molly! Who sent you?" The orange sprite glowered at the light before it.
The light emitted a horrible laughter and started to fade.
"Come back here!" Finn called out to it but it was already gone.
"Ooooh...I gotta tell the Harvest Goddess about this!"
Well I hope this satisfies you guys for now. We have the story, the romance, and apparently a pregnant Molly. Let me know how you like this chapter. Also let me know if you like the perverted Jin. XDDD I always thought it would be funny if he was perverted in a way.