I'm so ashamed that I haven't updated in soooo long, but my internet was down, writter's block, my pc had ton of viruses and a whole hell of other things that prevented me from even thinking of stories. I have a few chapters on my computer that are almost ready to upload, but I can't assure that they'll be here too soon.
Those of you who stuck around, THANK YOU!! I LOVE YOU ALL!! (Not in the creepy way, though XD) And those who didn't but just found themselves here, put it on alert so you can check it out soon! lol
Disclaimer: I don't own anything but their thoughts for the story.
After a nice and simple snack, every worry and stress over the farming was forgotten. Alex had offered to take a break from it all, but she insisted on checking out the mountains. He was more than happy to walk her around, of course.
Somehow, while they walked they seemed to have a conversation that led them to an argument quickly, by the time they were at the bridge on the south of the farm. After a few minutes, the small chaos seemed to calm down.
"Very well…" Alex sighed at some point of the conversation. "You can come to the clinic every once in a while to talk."
"Oh no, I want to help! I'm good at other things besides talking, I'm sure I can help around." She crossed her arms, faking irritation. "Or what, you don't think I can?"
That seemed to tense up the poor man. "Don't take this the wrong way, but you need much more experience!"
"Aw, but I let you work on my farm! It's not fair that I can't return the favor!"
Alex stopped right on track and looked at her seriously. "Claire, this isn't something that you can just go and do. You need many years of study, years of practice and-"
The blonde just lowered her view in slight disappointment. "It's okay… let's just go back to the farm. I want to go back to… to my not-as-important job."
"Claire! Don't take it like that!" That man waved his hands from side to side, giving her an apologic look. "I just meant that you need more than just good will and… stop pouting, please."
She sighed and smiled weakly, knowing that he was about to say yes. "Just forget I wanted to help you out, it's okay. I guess I can find something else to do…"
He raised an eyebrow. "You just got here, why don't you check out the stores and buildings?"
"I…" She thought of an excuse. She looked at his questioning gaze and sighed, admitting why shyly. "I was hoping to spend more time with you. I really like your company."
He smiled slightly, noticing that she was blushing a little. "Thanks. I like spending time with you too, but I have to get to work."
"I'm not telling you to stop working! I just wanted to stop by and help." She said, and then shrugged softly. "But really, it's okay. I get the hint, I'd just get in the way."
Alex noticed that she was trying miserably to hide a smirk. He rolled his eyes slightly and smiled. "Fine, fine; you can help. But you have to follow all of my instructions, do you understand?"
"Yes!" She smiled, her sad act disappearing. He just chuckled and led the way to the mountains, finding the atmosphere a bit too hot for the beginning of spring.
"Hey, Claire…" He scrunched up his nose, as if smelling something. His tone changed to a low and serious one, almost worried. "Do you smell that?"
The farmer joined in the sniffing, catching the stench quickly. "Smoke?"
They made a run for the source of the smell, finding smoke clouds not too far away. It was near the lake, on the base of the mountain. Alex dashed as fast as he could, following the black thin clouds that seemed to thicken by the second.
The red flames seemed to be spreading quickly, burning down the lawn in search of trees and bushes. It was relatively under control, as if it had started a bit ago. Alex couldn't exactly tell where he was, though he knew that the fire couldn't be too far.
Claire had stayed back, not being able to run as fast with the smoke all around. She didn't know that path as well as Alex did, so she was in a pretty helpless position.
"Hello!? Is anyone here!?" Alex yelled frantically, looking around the lakeside. He found the fire, which luckily hadn't spread too far just yet. Immediately, he tried to put it out while keeping his eyes open for anyone hurt. A few seconds later, Claire caught up with him and helped to stop what was left of the fire with her watering can.
In around two or three hours, the fire was out and the smoke was starting to clear. Both of them ended up on different sides of the lake, checking for anything out of the ordinary. Claire wiped her sweat tiredly, blinking some burning tears away. "Al? Are you okay?"
"I'm fine." He assured, finally convinced that everything was back on order. "Do you see any-?"
"OH MY GODDESS!" Claire shrieked, scaring Alex half to death.
"What is it!?" He yelled back, looking for a way to get there. "What's wrong!?"
"There's someone here! He's out cold!"
…oOo…
The big man got dragged to the clinic with Zack's help and was treated for his injuries. The doctor had to put him to sleep for a while; he needed to regain some strength to recover.
"How did this happen, Alex?" Elli asked worriedly as soon as he walked out of the room. "Is he okay?"
"He'll be alright. Keep the antibiotics coming every six hours until his fever is gone. Change his leg bandages every once in a while too."
"Yes, sir." Elli nodded, taking notes.
"As for what happened, we'll just have to wait and ask."
"I see; I'll treat him right away." The nurse said and quickly found her way to their patient. Meanwhile, Alex was sitting on his desk, checking Gotz's records.
"It seems he hasn't come for a check-up in years… if he ever got one that is." He mumbled to himself.
How could anyone be careless about a serious matter as their health? He just couldn't think of reasons that would justify that. A knock on the door got him out of his thoughts and frustrations. "Who's there?"
"It's me, Claire. I wanted to say good bye, Al." She yelled before opening the door. "I'll be back tomorrow to see how Gotz is doing, ok?"
"Sure. Take care and remember to eat well and rest." He nodded, getting back to work. He dropped Gotz's empty records and sighed. 'I sure hope you aren't allergic to the medicines, Gotz.'
…oOo…
The next morning found Alex working on his plants and herbs. He was looking for anything that would help with the carpenter's burns and bruises. His cup of coffee was emptied for the third time, but he wasn't going to give up on his research, even if he had to work restlessly.
His eyes were bloodshot and had dark circles underneath. He knew that he wasn't in the best condition to do his research; after the fire he just took a shower and got back to work. A little rest would probably suit him well, but then he thought about Gotz and how horrible he must be feeling. That was enough to keep him working.
"Alex? What are you doing here so early? You should be resting!" Elli said as soon as she saw his messed up state. "Go up and sleep for a while, I'll take care of the clinic for the day."
"I can't let you do this on your own!" He argued, yawning involuntarily. "I feel five…"
"…What?" Elli raised an eyebrow in confusion.
"I meant fine! I can work all day… no problem… really!"
"Oh, Alex. Just go to sleep." Elli rolled her eyes and pushed him toward his room. "If anything happens, I'll call you down."
The doctor had his eyes closed in exhaustion, so he simply agreed and changed to his PJs, then dropped on the bed. Elli had closed the door and just shook her head in disapproval, and then walked down towards Gotz's temporary room.
After a few hours, Gotz groaned and looked at his surroundings. Elli was still there and noticed; she sat beside him with a clipboard. "How are you feeling?"
"I… I've been better." He weakly answered on his rough voice. "Can I go home?"
Elli smiled and checked his bandages. "I'm afraid not yet. Your flesh is still too sensitive for you to leave."
The man groaned again as he tried to sit. When he finally did, he sighed loudly. "And how am I supposed to get lumber for my job?"
"It shouldn't take long for you to recover." She assured while getting up. She walked toward the door and flashed Gotz a smile. "I'll be at the desk, call me if you need anything. Soon we'll discuss the origin of this accident, but first we'll need you all better."
He nodded and fell back again to sleep. "Sure thing, missy."
…oOo…
Hours passed by slowly with no outstanding events. It was a nice clear day, everything was quiet and calm. Elli was sitting on her desk reading a book that she borrowed from Mary, the librarian. Claire opened the front door around noon, peeking inside with a smile. She walked towards Elli, who was still covered behind the book.
"Elli?" She blinked in confusion, noticing that she really wasn't concentrating, but instead was asleep with her eyes open. She shook her shoulder gently, startling the poor nurse. "Are you okay, Elli?"
"Oh my, I'm so sorry!" The girl said nervously, blinking a few times. Claire just smiled and said that it wasn't her fault, though she asked if something was wrong. "Not exactly…"
"What do you mean?" The blonde asked, taking a chair and sitting across the desk.
"You see," Elli started; looking toward the stairs to make sure Alex wasn't there. "The doctor is overworking himself lately… he's become obsessed with finding a cure for Lillia, Jeff and now Gotz. I'm worried for him, he hardly gets a rest."
Claire's eyebrows rose slightly. "He really takes his job seriously… but for goodness sake! He's a doctor; he knows that overworking isn't good for him!"
"I've told him that, but he doesn't listen." The brunette sounded upset. "He never listens to me…"
Claire studied the girl's features; she seemed to be a bit lost in thought, but regained her posture quickly. "Anyway, Carter and I have been telling him to take it easy but gotten nowhere."
"Does it really have to be this difficult to be the doctor here? I mean, he mentioned that no one comes to the clinic."
"Not really, but that research of his will be the death of him." Elli said, shivering afterwards. "Okay, maybe that was a little too dark of a thought…"
Claire just laughed softly. "Yeah, just a bit. I was also wondering about Gotz. How is he?"
Elli explained briefly that he was getting better. After talking for a few minutes, Claire dragged Alex to the conversation again. "So, is he at his office?"
"Sorry, he's at his bedroom. I made him go to sleep." Elli giggled at the thought of him walking up the stairs half awake while arguing about how he had to work. "Apparently he didn't sleep last night, so he's resting now."
Claire nodded and smiled, looking at a small mirror that was on Elli's desk. She fixed her eyeliner slightly, and then placed it back. "Oh, before I forget, I got something for you."
"What?" Elli tilted her head to the side curiously.
Claire pulled out a small bottle of honey from her rucksack and placed it on the desk. Elli smiled brightly and picked it up. "Thank you!"
The blonde just smiled and shook her head slightly. "No problem."
Both of them could hear a sound coming from Gotz's room. Elli quickly got up and heard a 'thump'. "Gotz? What's going on there?"
"I think I dropped some bottles o' pills… they're everywhere!" He answered sheepishly, sounding a bit better than in the morning. "And the glass of water broke to lil' pieces."
"I'll be right there." The nurse said, turning to Claire. "Be back in a jiffy!"
Claire waved it off, as if saying that it was okay. "Take your time."
As soon as the brunette was in Gotz's room, Claire looked up at the stairs. 'So tempting… I really shouldn't! I can't just barge inside his room… ah, whatever.'
She made sure that Elli wouldn't see her and made a run for it. She found herself on a hallway with two doors, one next to each other. She opened the one on the left, but it was locked. Slightly disappointed, she walked toward the other door where light snoring could be heard.
Her heart started beating a bit faster from excitement and the worry of being caught. She took a deep breath and grabbed the knob, smiling as it opened the door without any sound. He was on the edge of the bed, upside-down. It took her a bit of effort not to laugh at the scene; he looked so adorable like that.
She softly walked over to the side of his bed and knelt next to him. Her heart felt as if it would jump out of her mouth in any second. 'What the heck did I get myself into!? I should just go…'
She ignored her conscience and looked at him quietly for a few seconds. Elli would notice if she was gone for too long, especially if she didn't even say goodbye. 'Maybe she'll think I just left! I should leave, but…'
Ignoring her common sense's warnings, she lowered the blanket that covered his head all the way to his chest. She smiled and pushed a strand of his hair away from his face, letting her hand rest on his cheek for a second. He yawned and moved a bit, causing her to pull her hand away and fall on her butt.
'Okay, had my peek… I'd better go. Just why am I here anyway!?' She screamed on her mind, still a bit startled from his movement. She was about to stand up, but tripped over something. It was the mirror that he wore on his head that was now on the floor.
"What…?" Alex mumbled, waking up. To his surprise, blue eyes met his as soon as he opened them. He blinked in confusion. "Claire?"
'Oh no! What do I do!? What do I say!?' She bit her lip nervously. 'This is no time to panic! Actually… it's a perfect time to panic!'
"What are you doing here?" He asked, sitting up on the bed sleepily.
"I… erm… told you, I was coming to help!" She smiled sheepishly. "Elli told me to make myself right at home."
"So… you broke into my room to feel right at home?" He still didn't understand why Claire was in his room, or how in the world Elli would let her get up the stairs. Claire didn't answer, so he stood up. "Or did Elli tell you to come get me? Is there something wrong?"
"Erm… no." She sighed, looking at the floor in shame. Her face was starting to get red, and her mind didn't seem to help either. "She told me about your bad sleeping habits… I wanted to make sure that you were okay."
He seemed mostly convinced, so he nodded. "I'm fine… I should go and check how Elli's doing now that I'm awake."
She noticed that he was on his PJs and giggled. He looked at her in confusion, yet again, not realizing what was wrong. "Claire, there's nothing funny about wanting to know the clinic's condition."
She tilted her head to the side and smiled. "You know? You look so different on your pajamas… so-"
The only words that came to her mind were adorable and cute. She just remained quiet and let the words drop back to her imaginative head, letting the sentence unfinished. Alex looked at himself and opened his mouth, his cheeks slightly getting pink.
"I apologize…" He said sheepishly, but then his expression changed to a serious one in a second. "But you're the one that got in here… so I don't think that I should be apologizing."
Claire smiled and walked to the door. "I'll apologize after you wake up from your nap."
He looked at her as if she had grown another head. "You're not making any sense. I'm awake, so why did you-"
"Silly, I'm telling you to go back to sleep. Elli's taking great care of the clinic, so relax." She said, straightening her black shirt. He seemed a little tense, so she walked over to him. "I mean it. We're all worried about you; will you do us a favor and just rest for a while?"
He sighed and looked at the stairs. "Let me work, Claire. I'll rest once everything is done and everyone will be alright."
"Everyone except for you, Al." Claire sighed, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Just rest for today, alright? Everything will be okay, I promise."
"But-"
"I'll use force if I have to!" She said a little louder than she had to, causing him to jump a bit. 'Maybe he's still half asleep…'
"Oh really…? I have no time for games." The doctor just rolled his eyes, slightly annoyed for the whole scene. But really, what would you do if a friend of yours appeared in your room just as you woke and kept insisting in you resting, preventing you to work?
"Heh… who's playing?" Claire had a strange smirk on her face as she reached for her rucksack. He just looked at her curiously, but backed up as soon as she took out her sickle. "Go. To. Sleep. NOW!"
"If you insist…" He said quickly, sitting on the bed. "Put the tool down, please. Don't do anything you might regret later!"
She laughed and placed the heavy tool on the floor. "Yeah, I knew you would agree with me. Now, since I'll be around the clinic for the day, I'll come to check on you every once in a while."
"I'm not a child!" He crossed his arms, standing up again. Claire picked up the sickle again, so he sat down with his eyes wide. "Fine."
"Have a nice nap!" She giggled, putting the sickle away. She was holding the urge to laugh, but then her act would have probably failed. Alex was glaring at her, slightly angry. She smiled and waved, then started to walk down the stairs. A creaking noise, much like the ones beds make when you get up, got her attention; when she looked back Alex was going to do that precisely.
"Ahem!" She raised an eyebrow, and the black haired man dropped, covering himself with the sheets. "I'm serious about the sickle! If you don't believe that I'll use tools against you, just ask the mayor!"
"Claire?" She turned around and came face to face with Elli. "What were you doing up there?"
"I… erm… just wanted to look around." Claire said, scratching the back of her head sheepishly. Elli still had a confused look on her face, but the blonde wasn't going to say anything else. "So, how's Gotz?"
"He's fine; you can go talk to him if you want." Elli smiled and sat down on her desk, grabbing the book. Claire started walking toward the patient's room, but the brunette stopped her. "What was all that yelling about your tools? You know, about the sickle?"
Claire gulped and smiled. "Oh nothing, I… it was nothing, really. I'll go see Gotz now, hehe…"
As soon as the blonde was gone, Elli looked up the stairs and noticed that nothing was too out of place. She was about to open Alex's door, but as soon as she got close to the door, soft snoring could be heard. 'I'd better not bother him… he must be exhausted.'
On the other side of the door, Alex was covered from the top of his head to the tip of his toes with his blanket, afraid that it might be Claire who was walking around. Once the sound was gone, he sighed and uncovered himself in annoyance.
'That girl is insane…' He thought seriously. He turned to the side and shook his head, trying to keep the sleep away. 'But… I should just go with this and rest… for a few… hours. I'm sure Elli's doing fine… I hope she is…'
He fell asleep not too long after those thoughts into a deep and dreamless state of unconsciousness. Not too far from the clinic, three friends were walking around town. The girls were Popuri, Karen and Ann. They were chatting excitedly about the upcoming festival and about whom they wanted to dance with.
"I'm not much of a dancing person, anyway." Ann sighed after explaining how she hasn't found anyone that she could feel right with. Popuri agreed, nodding sadly.
"I know what you mean… I'll have to sit on the sidelines too, Kai isn't going to be here until summer… if he comes this year."
"You two are too depressed! You can have fun without dancing with a guy!" Karen smiled, trying to cheer them up. Popuri raised her view to roll her eyes.
"At least you get to go with Rick." The pink haired girl mumbled, kicking a pebble from the road. "We'll both be practically alone at the festival."
"He doesn't know how to dance, Po. I thought you knew that!" Karen shrugged, suddenly feeling a bit down too. "Ah well, we can always dance with Duke."
The other two girls exchanged disgusted glares, and then shared them with Karen. "You can NOT be serious!"
"Of course I'm not! Gosh!" She laughed, poking her friends. "We just needed something to cheer us up. We'll figure out what to do, I'm sure of it."
"If you say so." Ann shrugged as they turned by the winery toward the inn. "It won't be much of a loss, it's just a day."
"Yeah, and we always DO dance, just well… by ourselves." Popuri said, skipping ahead a few feet. "I wonder if we'll have to put the decorations this year."
"We always do!" Karen laughed. "Besides, don't you like to?"
"I don't." Ann said, crossing her arms as she rested her back against the inn's door. "I never know if we're doing it right… it worries me."
"Well don't worry; it'll look amazing this year, just like it always does! Right, Popuri?" Karen asked, turning to her friend. She nodded and smiled.
"Yup!" She walked next to Ann, waiting for her to open the door. Karen kept walking, looking back at them quickly.
"I have to get some medicines for my dad; I'll meet you guys in a while, okay?"
"Sure, we'll keep your seat warm! So hurry!" They waved good bye and entered the inn/restaurant, leaving Karen by herself to go do her things.
…oOo…
"Hey Elli! Where does this go?" Claire asked, picking up a few grasses. The nurse looked at her direction and pointed to a small fridge.
"Put them in there, I bet they'll last longer if refrigerated."
"I've seen these at the mountain!" The blonde smiled. "Are these the grasses that you use for the Bodigizer and the Turbojolt?"
"Yes." Elli smiled, pointing at some receives. "The clinic buys the grasses from Zack, so if you ship them it'll be a great help for us."
Claire nodded and looked at the prices. "Oh my… I'll ship as much as I can to see if Zack cuts his prices at half!"
"Yeah… business isn't going too well… and the prices keep going up. It's a little frightening." The nurse said, opening the book again. "But don't you worry, we always find a way."
Before Claire could continue with the conversation, Karen opened the door with a smile. She walked toward Elli's direction and bought Jeff's medicine; she then put it away on a small basket. Before she left, she noticed that Claire was there opening a few boxes of bandages.
"Hey, it's you!" She said as she walked over to the farmer. Claire looked at her direction with curiosity, wondering if the girl was going to argue again like the first time she got there.
"Yeah, it's me." She shrugged, smiling slightly. "You need something?"
"I wanted to apologize for being so rude the other day." Karen said with a sheepish smile. "I guess I was a little disappointed that you were the farmer."
Claire raised an eyebrow. "How can that be a disappointment?"
"I was kind of hoping that it was a boy farmer, you know? The guys at this place aren't exactly too appealing, so some fresh meat would have hit the spot. You know what I mean?"
"Erm…" Claire shrugged, placing the box of bandages on a table. "I guess."
"Hey, there's a festival coming soon! Why don't you join us?" Karen smiled, explaining their tradition of putting on a dress and dancing in honor of the Harvest Goddess. "We can get you into the main dance with us if you want."
"I'm not much of the dress type of girl." She laughed, looking at her dirty clothes. "And besides, it's a dancing festival… I'm not much of a dance type either."
"Aw, come on! You'll have fun! It's just once a year, give it a shot!" Karen picked up her basket and headed for the door. "Just think about it, if you decide to go let us know!"
"Alright." Claire waved and returned to the unpacking. 'I am so not going to another party to sit and watch other people dance…'
Elli smiled behind her book. "You're going? We can hang out there together if you are."
"Nah… sorry, but I really don't think that I'll have fun." Claire sighed, wrapping her hair into a ponytail. She noticed that she was done with the boxes and dropped on a chair across the desk. Elli placed the book down and raised an eyebrow.
"Why don't you give it a shot this year? If you don't like it, then you don't have to go back next year."
"I'll think about it, okay?" Claire smiled, playing with a pen. "Oh my goodness… I forgot to water my seeds!"
Elli giggled and shook her head. "Go ahead, I doubt that there's anything else to do in this place anyway."
And with that, the farmer ran out of the clinic toward her farm. Not too long after, Alex walked down the stairs in his work clothes. Elli glared slightly, setting the book on the desk. "What are you doing?"
"Shhh!" He signaled her to keep it down, looking around in fright. "Is Claire gone?"
"Yes, doctor. She left around an hour ago."
"Good." He smiled and walked to his office. Elli just looked at him in confusion, but shrugged it off. She followed Alex all the way to his desk and gave him some papers with Gotz's progress.
"He's getting better quickly. Great, tell him that he can go home." Alex nodded, signing the papers; then he stood to go to his laboratory part of the office. "I'll give him some bottles of Bodigizer and Turbojolt soon, free of charge."
"Very well." Elli sighed. 'He keeps giving things for free… we're never going to get better this way.'
The nurse did what the doctor said and told Gotz that he could leave. The man was more than happy to hear the news; he could finally go back to his work. "You'll have to take care of yourself, Gotz."
"I know, I know." He groaned, sitting up. "All this naggin' is what stops me from comin' to this place."
"Oh," Elli looked down, slightly ashamed. "I'm sorry…"
"Don't ye' apologize for a silly thing like that." He smiled, standing up and patting her back. "I know it's true, I'll be careful 'round the fire and stuff."
"How did that disaster happen anyway?" She couldn't help but ask, helping the man regain his balance. He made a soft noise as he thought back of the events of yesterday.
"It was a bonfire that I had. I forgot to put the stone things around it to keep it from spreadin'."
By now they were on their way to his house, reaching it quickly before the night fell. Once they were at his door, they said goodbye after he swore to be more careful. "Hey missy, I wanna thank ya' for helping me and all that trouble…"
"Oh, it's just my job. It's no trouble at all."
"How would you like to go to the festival with me?" He asked in a polite manner, not wanting to sound like a perverted old man. "Just as an appreciation offer."
Elli smiled and nodded, helping him inside. "Alright then, I'll be glad to."
Erm... plz review? Tell me what you think! :3