Chapter Two

It had been another week on the farm in Mineral Town. Claire had been following the instructions from the Doctor, not working too hard and eating enough food each day. She hadn't seen him since that day either; she knew it was just a silly little crush and wouldn't go too far, but still thought about him every day.

"Come on, Claire," She said to herself while collecting some berries on the path near her farm. "Don't get too attached to this guy! You're here to work, aren't you? You only ever saw him once anyway!" She stopped talking when she saw Gotz, the woodcutter that lived by the path, staring at her a bit strangely as he returned from his morning hike.

One day she received a check in the mail from her parents. She remembered calling her mom the day she was in the hospital, telling her of the whole encounter. Her mom suggested that they send her a check to help recover hospital costs, and while Claire had told them not to worry about it (they'd even helped her with buying the farm), the didn't listen to her and sent the money anyway. It was much more than the hospital costs too, so Claire put most of it away and kept out a bit for herself.

With her extra money, she decided to make use of it and visit Doug's Inn, a warm restaurant/bar that many of the villagers went to. Her stomach churned when she thought of having a greasy cheeseburger, knowing she couldn't and had to eat something healthy. She sat on the edge of the bar with a cold glass of water and a plate of grilled fish and veggies. A few of the townsfolk smiled and said hello to her, but for the most part she ate alone.

"Hiya Doug, I'll have the usual." Harris, the tall and thin policeman, sat down on the barstool next to her. He exhaled heavily, looking over at Claire and tipping his hat at her. She smiled back, mouth full of food. Doug returned with a glass of foamy beer and some sausages. Claire tried hard not to be too jealous as he gulped down the frothy liquid.

"Whats new around town, Harris?" Doug asked, cleaning out some empty glasses with an old rag.

"The usual, I suppose. It's hard to be a policeman in a town that's perfect, you know. No crime anywhere!" Harris took another drink. "I love what I do though. Mineral Town is just the nicest place to settle. Don't you think so, Claire?" The two grown men looked over at her expectantly, and she nodded quickly, mouth stuffed yet again.

Doug finished cleaning glasses and leaned against the counter, his bulky arms bulging against his starch white shirt. "Ann's been a bit under the weather lately. I took her to the Clinic, and Trent said that she's just got a bit of a cold." He rubbed a thick hand in his red hair, always concerned about his daughter (who was about her age). "Such a nice young man, that Trent."

Trent? Who's that? Claire thought to herself. Is that the Doctor? She found herself eavesdropping a bit harder, now.

"How old do you suppose he is, anyway?" Doug went back to wiping off more dishes.

"Last time I checked he was only 24. Elli told me he graduated medical school early from being so intelligent." Harris said. He gulped down the last of his drink and Doug immediately went to pour him another one.

"Bright young man, huh? I wish Ann would find herself a guy like that, but she's so head over heels with that Cliff boy."

Harris shook his head. "It wouldn't matter anyway. From what I've seen, Elli's been trying to go after him for years now. He's as dense as a brick wall, Trent is. Seems to be fully minded in his research and all of that."

"How long has he been working here?" Claire found herself asking, then felt her face go red.

Doug smiled, coming to fill up her water. "Maybe two years now? The doctor before him was quite old and ready to retire. Trent's much more educated than that old guy anyway."

She nodded, pondering over this. He was only 24? The townspeople seemed to think rather highly of him, too.

"He cares so much about our town, too. Always researching new types of medicine to help out with our elderly people and those who are quite sick. He works extremely hard, you know." Doug stroked his handlebar mustache, smirking a little. "In fact, you remind me of him, Claire. Always working hard. I respect both of you for that."

Claire gave off a bit of a grin, reaching in her pants pocket to pay her bill, then set off towards home. His name was Trent, huh? That was such a nice name for a guy. The way Doug and Harris seemed to look up to him... What if all of the people around town saw him that way, too? He was so highly respected and everything, but they also said he was dense when it came to those romantic pursuits from Elli. No matter how much she thought about him, she kept telling herself not to get too hopeful. There was no way he'd ever fall for a girl like her.

The next morning, Claire got her basket and walked on the trail behind her house. While Zack had been giving her a good amount of money for her crops and eggs, she still tried to rake in a bit of extra cash by collecting berries, mushrooms, bamboo shoots, and herbs. She took in a big breath of air, the morning sun pouring over her long blonde hair. It truly was a beautiful place.

A bit closer to the lake, she noticed an article of clothing laying folded up on the grass. She walked up to it, seeing that it was the same medical coat that the Doctor had worn before! Claire picked up her head, looking around for more signs of him.

"Claire?" A familiar voice behind her called out. The was standing with his arms full of colorful herbs, wearing a clean, white button down shirt and some black dress pants. He wasn't wearing the mirror on his head anymore, his face looking even more gorgeous now that she could see it in the sunlight, "Oh that's right, you live right up that path, don't you?"

"Right…" Claire looked down at her feet. Why did she have to be wearing such grubby clothes? "W-what are you doing here, Doctor?"

"Oh," He looked down at all of the herbs in his arms. "Well, sometimes I come out here before work to collect some herbs for medicine and research. There's a lot around so I make use of them when I can." The tall, lean Doctor smiled a bit, looking at her basket full of herbs, too. His face fell harshly. "You collect these to make money, too, don't you?"

Claire knew how red her face was getting from all of this, ignoring his last comment. "You know, I pick up the herbs around here every day, but there's also a lot of things around here I can ship off, too. I don't need them as much as you do, Doctor. I could always give the ones I find to you, since I'm out here all of the time anyway." She thought quickly about the conversation between Doug and Harris. He really was hard working, wasn't he? Going around before work just to find stuff for his own medicine… what a great guy. She wanted to do whatever she could to help him. "You must be really busy, and I know how hard to balance finding all of these herbs and research and work on top of that… I could always swing by and drop them off for you, you know."

Doctor widened his eyes, looking extremely stunned. "Really? Do you mean it?" She gave a quick nod. "Wow… I mean… wow! Claire, I would feel so bad taking some of your income, you'll have to let me pay you for this."

She waved her hand shyly. "Please! I'm out here all of the time, collecting these herbs anyway. You need them more than me. I'd love to do it for you." She was avoiding his eyes, now that he looked so overjoyed. In the back of her mind, all Claire could think of was how she'd get to see him every day now!