Disclaimer: I never said Harvest Moon was mine so don't even try suing me.
Author's Note: Those of you who have been waiting for this chapter, I'm deeply sorry. I could give you excusing why it took me so long, I could promise to update quicker, or I could just be bluntly honest and tell you all that I'm lazy. I write at the rate of a snail, so there. Read the ending note…Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this chapter:
Chapter IV: Finally
The morning light glared into the white room where Scarlet had begun to toss and turn, trying to go back to sleep. It never really mattered what time she went to bed, for her body had an internal clock that would wake her up just as the sun would rise.
Determined to go back to sleep, Scarlet calmly tried to convince her body that it needed more sleep. 'You're on vacation. Just because the sun is up doesn't mean you have to be…the sun feels really warm though…this is nice.'
As Scarlet lay among the ruffled cover of the hospital bed, she heard voices coming from the other room. "How late were you up last night, Tim?"
"Only until midnight. Why? Were you waiting for me?" The innocent comment made Scarlet's mind wander to things she didn't want to think about, and mentally cursed Tim for causing it.
"No, but I was hoping you'd come back before I fell asleep." Scarlet sighed out of frustration, and slowly sat up. There was no way she would be able to sleep with that kind of talk.
Elli had a look of innocence on her face as Tim caressed her cheek. Scarlet took this opportunity to speak up, "Good morning, love birds. Where's the bathroom again?" The doctor swiftly removed his hand from his wife's face as a deep shade of red slowly manifested onto his cheeks.
"It's upstairs at the end of the hall." Elli explained unfazed by Scarlet's comment, but highly amused with her husbands reaction.
Quickly, Scarlet climbed up the stairs into the bland white hallway. The sun glared though the window in front of her. Unable to adjust her eyes to the brightness, she scanned the walls with her fingers, feeling her way to the door, but as she passed the first door it opened. Her eyes had just adjusted enough to see the groggy, three-year-old rubbing his eyes.
"Oh, good morning…What's your name?" The little boy looked up at Scarlet and just yawned. It took him a couple of seconds to register that she had just asked him a question. He had only seen her briefly the day before so he was a little shy of the woman that stood before him.
"…Shawn." Scarlet gave him a warm smile and knelt down to his eye level.
"Hello Shawn, I'm Scarlet. Do you want me to take you downstairs to your mom and dad?" Shawn was a little hesitant but her inviting smile made him nod.
Scarlet held out her hand to the boy, but surprisingly, he reached out his arms wanting to be picked up, so she scooped him up and went to the stairs.
On the way down, Scarlet hopped down the steps one at a time, making "dun dun" noises to entertain the boy. Shawn smiled and when they had finally reached the bottom he chanted, "Again, again."
Elli was waiting for them, and greeted them with a wide grin. Shawn saw his mother and reached out to her. Scarlet gladly handed over the bubbly little boy.
All Elli's attention was on Shawn as he energetically asked a stream of questions. "Where's dad? What's for breakfast? Is Stu coming over today? What are these?"
It took Scarlet everything she had not to burst into laughter. Elli's face was beet red as she put her son down. She couldn't believe what her son just asked her. There was no way she was going to tell him that those were called breasts. He would only ask more questions about them; besides, Scarlet was still witnessing this event.
"Uh…go ask your dad. He's in the office." Shawn rushed out of the room, leaving the flustered Elli behind. Scarlet couldn't hold it back any longer, and busted out in laughter.
"I'm sorry, Elli. It's just so cute how innocent he is…I'll be right back. I still have to go to the bathroom." As Scarlet ran back up the stairs, Elli couldn't help but smile at her comment. The embarrassment had been minimized by her words, and it was just the kind of comment that Jack might have said. She reminded Elli so much of her brother that she already felt at ease around her.
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After Scarlet finished in the bathroom, she walked down the stairs to find Tim, Elli, and Shawn hanging out in the office. This gave her the opportunity to slip past their field of vision to her room so she could change. So she quickly ran back to the patients' room, and shut the door.
Looking around the room, Scarlet realized that there weren't any mirrors hanging on the walls. Normally, she would pick out her clothes and observe what the outfit looked like, but for now, she wouldn't be able to do that.
Sighing, Scarlet searched through her luggage for a comfortable outfit. She ended up picking out her long sleeved cream shirt that she rolled the sleeves up to her elbows, her red and brown scarf, and black jeans. Satisfied with her outfit, she left the room and headed for the office.
Tim and his family was still all in the office when Scarlet arrived. Tim was attempting to keep Shawn entertained as he filled out his paper work and Elli was organizing the medicine within the cabinets.
Sitting down in the armchair next to the desk, Scarlet opened her mouth to ask the doctor more about how to take care of her nose. "Is there anything special I have to do for my nose to make sure it heals properly?"
The doctor placed his pin on his desk, picked Shawn up, set him on his lap, and gave him the toy airplane that had been sitting on the desk before answering, "Come visit the clinic for a check up one a week for the next month."
"Thank you…this is kind of a random question, but what did you think of my brother when he first arrived here?" Tim pondered over the question as Elli sat in the chair next to Scarlet, finally finished with the medicine.
"When he arrived, I regarded him only as another patient. It wasn't till about fall of that year before we started to become friends." His face was completely serious, but his eyes shimmered as Tim thought back to those days. Back then, he was jealous of how Jack could talk to Elli so easily, but now it was amusing to think that he used to be worried about something as simple as talking to her.
"You and Jack seem to be very close." Elli stated, looking at her son in the corner of her eyes to make sure he was behaving.
"I like to think we still are. We've kept in contact through letters for the last five years so there's obviously some things he wouldn't tell me about, but it's nice to see that he's doing well." The more Scarlet talked about her brother the more she realized how much she had actually missed him. She felt a little embarrassed for not noticing this until now.
The room quickly went silent. Alarmed by the family's reaction, Scarlet asked, "Is there something wrong?"
"Well…" Elli spoke up, "Jack's having a difficult time with a good friend of his for a while. It's not something that can be easily solved either."
Curious to know about her brother's troubles, Scarlet questioned, "What is the problem?"
"Jack married the woman his friend was in love with." Tim answered bluntly. Secretly, he was thankful that he wasn't in Gray's situation.
"Mary? What's this guy's name?" Scarlet stated surprised that her brother didn't tell her something this serious.
"You actually have already met him. He was the one who escorted you here. He's name is Gray." Elli said as she snatched a coffee cup off the desk and slowly sipped it.
"Him?" Scarlet gawked as she absorbed the information. "I would've never guess him. I mean, I'm Jack's sister. He showed me nothing but kindness. Why would he be kind to me if I'm related to the guy who stole his girl?"
Before anyone could answer, Shawn cried out, "Mommy, I have to go potty." Elli smiled at her 'big boy' and set her cup down on the desk.
"Then put your toy down and come on." Elli stated as lifted herself up from her seat.
Shawn set his airplane on the desk, and hopped down from his dad's lap to the floor. Walking over to his mother, Elli then picked him up and walked out of the room.
Pulling his eyes away from the empty doorway, Tim faced Scarlet and explained, "Jack is Gray's best friend. This problem has been going on between them for a couple of years now, and they're still friends; however, Gray has changed. I can't blame him…"
The smile Scarlet had seen on Gray's face replayed in her mind as she pondered over the situation. It was depressing for her to think that the smile she had seen held so much angry, resentment, and hurt behind it. She wanted to see this true smile. "Okay, I get the picture. Can we change the subject? I don't like to feel depressed so early in the morning."
"You're more blunt than your brother," Tim chuckled at her comment, and quickly thought up another topic, "Since we're done with treating your nose, you won't be needing to stay at the clinic. There's an inn you can stay at that you can see from the front door. Elli can show you where it is."
"That sounds like a plan. I'll gather my luggage. Could you have her meet me by the front door?" Scarlet energetically exclaimed, jumping up from her seat and rushing out of the office.
Tim leaned back in his comfortable black chair, and stared at the paper work in front of him, contemplating whether he would be able to quickly finish his paperwork before Scarlet was ready to leave. Knowing he would have to delay his work, Tim sighed and got onto his feet. He walked out of the eerily silent office and up the stairs.
Reaching the door at the end of the hall, Tim knocked and called, "Elli?"
IMPORTANT ENDING NOTE: This story is going to be discontinued from here. I thought long and hard about this, and I've concluded that this story reminds me a lot of Elpitha. The idea of making a character for the person that's would remain 'forever single' in the game was fun and all, but this story isn't creative enough for me to keep putting my energy into. I'm so sorry for not only updating little to never, but also dropping it. I'm going to focus my efforts on my other Harvest Moon story, Promise Me. I can't thank you all enough for your support.