Hi hi there, y'all! Hope you're having a lovely day! This fic has engulfed my very mind and soul and while I don't have all the details ironed out perfectly (big surprise), I know where I want this to go. Kinda. This chapter was powered by iced coffee and Glee soundtracks. Like all typical Shaymie stories, this is gonna have a fair bit of angst because I am the angst princess. Just a fair warning. Hope you lovelies enjoy! ~Shaymie

Molly

The first time she saw him was at the clinic.

She was only half paying attention as Dr. Jin explained the effects of her medication, her mind on her animals. She knew Angela had promised to keep an eye on them but she couldn't help but worry. One little chick in particular, Bell, loved to make a run for it any chance she got. Molly had to set up a small baby jail for her just to make sure she didn't run off. And Minnie, the calf... Would Angela know the proper way to brush her?

"Did you get all of that, Molly?" The doctor looked at her with a quirked eyebrow. She nodded, her face flushing. It must have been obvious that she wasn't paying attention, but it wasn't that big a deal. She was taking the exact same medicine she had on the mainland. Kasey wanted nothing to do with helping them move, still holding onto his idea that they were idiots, but he paid the insanely expensive import tax for her medicine. She'd have to find a way to pay her brother back somehow. Even though he wasn't with them, he was still looking out for them. Molly's heart grew heavy at the thought of her brother, and she distracted herself by taking the bag of medicine from Jin and picking up her trusty basket.

"Here you go!" she grinned, pulling out a napkin-covered plate and handing it to him. She wanted to do something to thank him and a little birdie told her that the doctor was a big fan of herb cookies. It took several tries to get them right since she didn't have a recipe to work from. Angela would eat anything put in front of her, so she dealt with the rejects... and the subsequent stomachache. Her skin tingled at the memory of her sister curled up on the couch, a bucket sitting near her head.

It's not the same, she had to remind herself as she stepped outside for some fresh air. Angie didn't do it on purpose.

"O-Oh... Thank you." Jin's flustered voice brought her back to the present. Molly smiled at him and put the medicine in her basket. She loved to bake for people. It was always worth it to see the smiles on their faces. Back home, she was the unofficial baker for all the birthday parties in the neighborhood. She would have been happy doing it for free but the parents had insisted on paying her for the desserts. The attention always embarrassed her.

Fifteen minutes later Molly found herself in the waiting room, sipping some juice Irene had given her. She always hated this part of doctor's appointments, where she had to wait before she could go home. Blood tests were annoying. She used to get queasy during them, but she gradually learned how to adapt to them. It became second nature to just space out during them. Angela referred to it as "going zombie."

The door to the clinic opened while she was opening the package of crackers that came with the juice. She blinked curiously at the man, who stormed over to the counter and started speaking in angry, hushed tones. She hadn't seen his face, but his hair was curly, a strawberry blond color, and sticking out at odd angles. Molly had introduced herself to everyone on the island except for one person: the chef at the Brass Bar. She hasn't been to the bar yet—she was too shy for that, and she's only 20—but her sister had mentioned not liking him.

She nibbled on the cracker and looked anywhere but the front counter. It was none of her business what he was doing here and she didn't want to accidentally eavesdrop. Not that it mattered much, since the conversation was over in a matter of seconds. With a frustrated huff, he turned away from the counter and headed for the door. Molly peeked up at him curiously and held back a gasp. His eyes, which were a beautiful shade of purple, had shadows nearly the same shade underneath them. His jaw was clenched so tightly she worried about him snapping his teeth. She felt her face grow warm when she realized how... handsome he was.

"Didn't your parents tell you it's rude to stare?"

"Stare...?" Her cheeks somehow managed to grow warmer when she realized that the man was talking to her. Oh god, was she staring? She had a terrible habit of spacing out at the most inopportune times. Luckily whatever anger he'd had didn't end up directed at her, but his face was unreadable.

"Chase, instead of bothering our patients, you should be getting some rest." Irene's voice saved her from further embarrassment. Chase raised an eyebrow and looked at Molly for a few moments more, waiting for a response. When she didn't say anything, he rolled his eyes and left the clinic. Irene sighed and turned to Molly. "I apologize for him. He likes to get under people's skin."

"It's fine..."

"If you're not feeling nauseous, you're free to go. Just take it easy."

Molly waited a few minutes before leaving, wanting to make sure there was some space between her and the chef. The last thing she wanted was to bump into him again. She thanked Jin and Irene before leaving the clinic. She had initially been scared of Irene, but the nurse was kind yet stern. She seemed to take her patients' health really seriously. Jin seemed to take after his grandmother quite a bit, but was more patient. He didn't seem bothered by Molly's constant spacing out and only waited for her to come back to reality. He was far nicer than her old doctor.

Molly pulled her sweater sleeves over her hands to warm them up. It was spring, but her hands were almost always freezing. After a while it had stopped bothering her, but she didn't want anyone asking questions about it. Nobody here knew about her... issues, and she wanted to keep it that way. The last thing she wanted was to be pitied for something that was entirely her fault.