Chapter Text
“So uh, doctor…I have a favor to ask ya.”
Mayor Lewis stood in the entryway of Dr. Harvey’s small apartment.
“I’m not sure if you’ve heard, but the new farmer is arriving tomorrow afternoon.”
Of course he’d heard. That’s all anyone in town had been talking about for weeks. Speculation on what she looked like, would she be single, staying for the long haul or just fixing the place up before selling. It was too much chatter for Harvey. Even if one or two of those questions had crossed his mind.
“Yes mayor, I do seem to remember hearing something about that. What can I do for you?”
“Ah, yes, well….I had wondered if you wouldn’t mind making a little welcome package for her. Some bandages, pain pills, peroxide, anything you think she might need for a minor, around the farm kind of incident. You could package it up and introduce yourself. Save your receipts and I’ll cover the charges.”
Harvey hesitated for a moment but then agreed with a halfhearted smile.
“Sure mayor, I can do that.”
Honestly it sounded a little awkward to him. Now if she was going to pick it up at the clinic then he’d be fine. He was self assured and confident….when he was in his element. Showing up to a woman’s home who he’d never met, uninvited on top of that, sounded like a situation he’d very much like nothing to do with.
“Fantastic! Well that’s one worry off my mind. Robin is meeting her at the bus stop around 4pm. You can meet them there too if that works for you. I’m heading over a little later to see how she’s settling in. Join anytime,” he finished with a smile.
Harvey nodded slowly, trying to determine which scenario sounded worse.
“Alrighty, see ya tomorrow.” The mayor paused, hand on the doorknob. He turned, giving Harvey one final smile, then was gone.
Harvey let out a deep sigh. He stretched his legs that were feeling a little cramped under his desk. The desk sat at a window that faced the direction of the bus stop. He squinted and could just make out the entrance to the farm. “Bus stop, farmhouse. Bus stop, farmhouse…” he weighed the options in his head. Finally, he gave up and started taking note of all the items that may be useful for the welcome package.
///////////
Harvey was able to find most of what he needed in the clinic the next morning, but there was one item he still needed to find. And he didn’t even know what it was. While writing out the list he’d started to think about the new farmer and why she needed these things. She was alone with no one to help her or look out for her. She was planning to farm and had never done it before. And the event that caused her to be here in the first place was the death of her grandfather. He imagined how overwhelming that must feel and felt sorry for her. And that’s how he found himself standing in the middle of Pierre’s shop, looking for some small item that might be of comfort.
“Gum?” he thought to himself. “No. That’s stupid. A cookie? No, those are terrible for you. Hmmm….flowers? That seems a bit too personal….what should it be?”
“Ohhhh good morning, doctor! What brings you into the shop today?”
Harvey turned to see Evelyn hunched by his shoulder.
“Good morning Mrs. Evelyn. I’m just getting a welcome package together for…um….the new arrival. Actually, would you happen to know her name?”
“Of course I do, dear. It’s Jane….Janet. Or was it Margaret…”
“It’s Jenny!”
The voice of Caroline suddenly rang out from somewhere in the store.
“Thank you!” Harvey yelled back. “Well Mrs. Evelyn, I’ve got to-“
“Are you excited to meet her? I don’t believe you were in the valley the last time she came to visit. She was just a little thing back then.”
“Uh, no ma’am. I don’t think we’ve met. I’m sure she’ll enjoy seeing some familiar faces around town. I’ve got to get going, but I’ll see you later for your appointment.” He gave her a friendly smile and continued his search for the final piece of the welcome package.
///////////
“Ok, it’s almost 3pm. I’ll lock up and head over to the bus stop.” Harvey had decided that meeting at the bus stop would be less awkward than the farmhouse. He could make himself useful by offering to carry some of her bags, then once they were at the house he could deliver the welcome gift and head out. Perfect.
“Hey Doc.”
Harvey’s head snapped up. Sebastian and Robin were standing at the counter. The former was holding a rag to his forearm.
“I was working on my bike and got a little scratched up. It’s not that bad, she’s just overre-“
“He needs stitches, Harvey.”
“Mom, I don’t need stitches. It’ll close up on its own.”
“Show the doctor your arm.”
Sebastian sighed and removed the rag from his arm. There was a gash about an inch long, steadily oozing blood.
“You need stitches,” Harvey said matter of factly. He stood to lead Sebastian to the back room.
“Damn.”
“Thanks Harvey! Sorry to catch you right at close.” Robin was already backing towards the door. “I’m going to head out to meet Jenny. See you after you finish up.” She waved and was gone.
Gone too was Harvey’s plan.
He cleaned and numbed the wound. Sebastian needed 6 stitches in total.
Harvey checked the clock as he entered his tiny apartment. 5:25pm. He leaned his head back and ran a hand through his wavy, chestnut hair.
“Well, what now…” he thought to himself. He decided to wait a bit before heading over. He didn’t want to interrupt the mayor’s introduction. He had enough time for a quick shower. Once clean, he picked up the bag and headed for the farm.
On his way, he passed Robin. She and the mayor had already finished.
///////////
“Bye Robin! It was so nice to meet you, and thanks again for getting that porch light working!” Jenny waved until Robin’s form dissolved into darkness. She shut the door and turned to face her new home.
She walked carefully across the room to stand beside the fireplace. Her eyes roamed the walls as memories started flooding back. Pictures, the same she remembered from all those years ago still hung in exactly the same place. Pictures of her mom at various stages of her life. One of her going to prom. That one senior picture all women have wearing that silly black velvet drape. Her and dad on their wedding day. Jenny was up there too. Her dimpled face smiling back at her from half a dozen frames. Her eating her first birthday cake. Chasing chickens in the field. Sitting with Grandpa in his favorite chair.
She looked away guiltily, her eyes taking in the disrepair. The kitchen hadn’t been used in some time. It looked as though he had moved from his master bedroom to a small bed in the living room. “I’m sure it made things easier to maintain.” Robin’s voice came back to her mind. “At his age you need less room. Especially being on your own.”
Jenny touched her hand to the headboard of her grandfather’s bed. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. Her mouth was dry, and she felt a tightness in her throat as she tried to hold her tears back.
-Knock knock knock-
She took a moment to compose herself, then went to open the door.
No one was there. Just darkness and the smell of….soap? She looked down and saw a small bag at her feet. Something fuzzy was poking out at the top. She reached in and pulled out a small, stuffed pelican wearing a shirt that said “Pelican Town” across the front. She stared for a moment. Then she brought it to her chest and let the tears fall.
///////////
Harvey’s eyes drooped as he stared towards the clinic door. He had no appointments scheduled for that day and had woken to find the coffee maker broken. Possibly a short in the wire. Or maybe the old friend had decided to retire after several years of faithful service. The lack of coffee and work was making it hard to stay awake. He stood and stretched his arms behind his back. “Got to get the blood flowing,” he thought as he shook himself awake. Harvey glanced at the clock. “12:40pm. Ok not too much longer. You can do this.” Despite his efforts, he could feel the sleepiness already creeping back in. He turned to the coffee pot in desperation and jammed the on button. Nothing happened.
“Come on, please?” He patted the lid hoping that would win it over. “Just one more cup? To make it through the day?” He was losing it. He was so tired he could actually smell coffee.
“Um, sorry to bother you. Are you Dr. Harvey?”
His shoulders jerked at the unexpected voice behind him. He turned.
There she was, standing just a few steps back from the counter. Her long, dark hair was pulled to one side, and she was staring at him with an expectant smile. Slight dimples pulled at her cheeks. “Wow…she’s beautiful,” thought Harvey. Her eyebrows slid a little further up. “Oh right, she asked me a question.”
“Yes.” he cleared his throat to bring it back down to its normal octave. “Yes, I’m Dr. Harvey. Or just Harvey. Either one is fine really.”
He felt his face color. This was a new patient. His new patient. He needed to calm down.
“And you must be Jenny. It’s a pleasure to meet you. What brings you in today?”
“Actually, I came to thank you.” She took a few steps closer to the counter and smiled up at him. “It was so kind of you to bring me that first aid kit. And I loved the pelican.”
Her dimples grew more pronounced as her smile widened. Well that was a relief. He was worried she might find a stuffed animal too juvenile.
“I wanted to bring you something to thank you. I talked to Gus and he suggested this.”
She held out her hands to offer him a large cup of coffee.
“Coffee?! You brought that for me?”
“Of course! It’s not much, but I wanted to thank you for making my first night here a little easier.”
He took the cup from her gratefully.
“You have no idea how badly I needed this. My coffee pot died this morning and I’ve been running on fumes all day.” He popped the lid and took a drink. “You didn’t have to go through all this trouble. I’m sure you’ve got so much going on it being your first day.”
“Well actually….I planted parsnips! Or at least I hope I did. I won’t know for sure I did it right until something starts growing. But, I have a crop! Now people can actually ask me ‘hey how’s your crop?’.”
Harvey had to smile at her enthusiasm. “Well congratulations. You got those in quick. You’ve not been here 24 hours and already you’re a real farmer.”
She beamed back at him. It took a few seconds for Harvey to remember how to breathe.
“Well, since you’re here would you like to go ahead and get your new patient appointment out of the way?”
“I would, but I think I need to head out soon. I’m supposed to go to Robin’s house to meet her daughter. She’s going to show me where I can shower until Robin gets the hot water heater going. I think I’ll ask her if she knows where I can do laundry too because, as you can see,” she said, gesturing to her pants. “Planting parsnips is dirty work.” Harvey looked down and noticed she had dirt stains all around her knees.
“Maru works here part time manning the front desk. I’m sure she’ll get you squared away. Is there anything I can help you with before you go?”
“Actually…” she bit her bottom lip, deciding whether she should continue. “If it’s not too much trouble, could you point me in the direction of Robin’s house? If you’re too busy though I completely understand!”
“Of course. That’s no trouble at all. I’ll be right there.”
He exited the front office and reappeared through the double doors. He held the front door open and followed her into the square. They walked past Pierre’s and came to a stop near some stairs.
“So take those stairs over there and just follow the path up the hill. Robin’s house is the only one along the way so you can’t miss it.”
“Thank you! I really appreciate it.”
“No problem. You be careful out there, farmer,” he said with a small smile.
Jenny started slowly walking backwards.
“I’ll be careful, doctor.” She returned his smile, and backed right into Pam.
“Oh, I’m so sorry! I should have been watching where I was going.”
Pam glowered at her in response and then continued on towards the saloon.
Jenny turned and headed for the stairs when suddenly Harvey thought of something.
“Jenny!” He jogged a few paces till they were beside each other again. “I know you’ve probably got a lot to do to settle in, but if you have time please drop by next week. I can give you some new patient paperwork to fill out and we can schedule a day for your appointment.”
“I’ll be there.”
She made a show of looking both ways to ensure she didn’t bump into anyone else, then waved and continued up the stairs.
Harvey waved after her and watched till she was out of sight.
“New patient?”
How long had Elliot been standing there?
“Uh, yes. That was Jenny. Have you met her yet, Elliot?” Harvey could feel the color threatening to burn in his cheeks.
“No, I’ve not yet had the pleasure.” He eyed Harvey. “She seems….friendly.”
“Yes, very friendly. I think she’ll fit in just fine here. You should have said hi.”
“Oh I didn’t wish to intrude.” Elliot removed a notepad from his pocket, scribbled something, then gave Harvey a sly smile.
“See you around…doctor.”