I decided this will be the last chapter for the story :'( It's getting really long and by the time I actually feel the whole plot is done, there'd be almost 50 chapters. So, I'm making a seqeaul called "Walking in the Devasted Area". It might not be up for a while though, as I decided to take a small break from writing and read.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harvest Moon or any of its characters.

P.S. I got the idea for the title from a song by Every Avenue called "Happy the Hard Way".

Happy the Hard Way

My dad died the next day. I was there, in my wheelchair, when they pulled the plug. He didn't even try to breath. He just let himself die. I wish I hadn't gone... No one should ever watch their father die.

It seemed that since I heard about Mom's death, it was impossible for me to walk. My legs turned to jell-o whenever I tried, and I fell to the floor.

A nurse pushed me back to my room, as Jill had decided to stay at grandma's cottage. She didn't want to see daddy die. I couldn't blame her. When I was wheeled into my room, I was surprised to see Vaughn sitting in a chair.

"Vaughn?" I asked when I saw him. The nurse left, closing the door behind her, so I wheeled myself over to where he was sitting.

"What happened?" Vaughn asked, noticing that I was in a wheelchair and that my eyes were red and puffy.

"I... just watch my dad die..." I muttered, looking at my hands.

Vaughn stared at me. "Oh, Chelsea," he said, and wrapped his arms around me in a hug. I began bawling into Vaughn's shoulder, remembering the conversation I had had with my dad just yesterday.

"He was in a car crash..." I whispered. "My mother died too..."

"I'm so sorry..." Vaughn whispered, and pulled slowly away from me. He looked down at the wheelchair. "Why can't you walk?"

I shrugged. "Ever since I heard of my mom's death, I just couldn't walk..." I said.

Vaughn nodded. "I really am sorry about your parents." He said.

I slowly nodded my head. "I just can't believe they're gone..." I said, my voice wavering. I then burst into tears, and Vaughn grabbed me in a hug again. I was so glad he was there...

"I know how you feel," he said. I knew I could believe him, not like everyone else who had said they knew how I felt. How could they? Did they ask their dying father to tell their mother they loved them? Did they watch their father die right before their eyes? No, I don't think so.

I wrapped my arms around Vaughn and cried into his shoulder again. He stroked my hair and held me tight. It made me feel protected to know that Vaughn would be there for me...

Vaughn pulled away and looked at me with those purple eyes of his. I looked up at him, tears still streaming down my face. He lifted one of his hands and gently wiped a tear away.

I managed to get myself out of my wheelchair and onto the seat next to him. I rested my hand on his shoulder, and kept crying. I never even got to say good-bye to my mother. She died knowing that her daughter would never see her again...

I eventually fell asleep, because when I opened my eyes I was lying in the hospital bed. It was late at night as the room was dark. Vaughn was sound asleep in one of the chairs, and head propped against his arm. I had stopped crying, and told myself not to.

Crying wouldn't get me anywhere. There was no point in crying. Nothing gets done by mopping around, as Denny used to say.

I took a deep breath and snuggled closer to the pillow.

The reporter was coming back tomorrow. Those people are so nosy. They need to know EVERYTHING.

Groaning, I closed my eyes and went back to sleep.

The reporter did come back the next day, and he was surprised to see Vaughn there. He thought I was lying!

"And this is Vaughn?" he asked, walking in with his whole crew.

"Yep," I nodded proudly.

"So, were you really in the house collapse, like Ms. Smith says?" the reporter asked Vaughn, who nodded. "How come nobody found you?"

"They all thought I was in the city, at my job," Vaughn said.

"Why weren't you?" the man asked.

Vaughn was looking a bit annoyed. He has such a short temper, and people who ask about his life just piss him off.

"I got fired," Vaughn said coolly, though I could tell he was trying hard not to snap.

"Why were you fired?" the man asked. Don't ask any more questions... Come talk to me! I won't murder you! Come over here! He's gonna kill you! Come. Over. HERE!

Vaughn shrugged. "I don't know," he said through gritted teeth.

"Interesting," the man said, and turned to me. Good. Don't go back to him. He has a very short temper and will literally kill you if you ask him any more questions.

"So, Ms. Smith, how did find this young man?" he asked.

"I went into the jungle, seeing how the bridge there had been fixed, and I got trapped in a net. It was set by the two natives that lived in that jungle. According to Vaughn, one of the natives, Shea, found him buried beneath the rubble and took him in," I said.

The reporter looked back at Vaughn. "Why didn't you return to civilization after you could?" he asked.

Again, Vaughn shrugged. "I had been living in the jungle for a year by the time the bridge was fixed, so I just decided to stay," he said.

The man looked back at me. "How did you convince him to come back?" he asked.

"I just told him how everyone missed him and thought he was dead, and how that wasn't his life; that he belonged outside the jungle." I said.

He nodded and began asking more questions, which Vaughn and I answered as un-detailed as possible. After about an hour and a half, he left.

"Those reporters need to get their own lives," Vaughn muttered after they had left.

I nodded in agreement.

We sat there in silence for a while, neither of us knowing what to say.

"I'm leaving the hospital soon," I said.

Vaughn looked at me. "Can you walk?" he asked.

"Sort of," I said.

"Try," he said. "I'll help you."

He helped me down from the bed, and onto the ground. My legs turned to Jell-O again, and I fell back onto the bed.

"Don't worry," Vaughn said. "I won't let you fall."

I nodded, and got off the bed again. Vaughn held onto me tightly, and I slowly took one step. Then another. And another. And another, until I had completely walked around the room.

We walked around, Vaughn supporting me the whole time, a bit more until I was ready to try it on my own. Vaughn stayed close by in case I did fall. After about an hour of taking small, baby steps, I could walk all around the room.

It was actually kind of funny. I was twenty-three years old, and learned how to walk again.

I didn't need the wheelchair anymore. Vaughn had help teach me how to walk again. Why had I forgotten? I don't know, and probably never will know.

I was so happy after I walked around by myself that I started jumping up and down and screaming for joy.

Without thinking, I jumped into Vaughn's arms and kissed him.

The collapse had definitely changed my life. I wasn't the same person I was before. Sure, the ruins still remained, and it would take a while to pick up the pieces, but right then I was happy.

Me: *screams* OH MY GOD! VAUGHN IS HERE! *screams louder*

Vaughn: *looks at with weird expression*

Me: Ohmigod, ohmigod, ohmigod... *takes deep breath* Hello, and welcome to Ruins Talk Show.

Vaughn: Uh... Hi?

Me: *giggles madly* As you can see, our guest today is VAUGHN! *calms down... clears throat* So, Vaughn, who told you to come here?

Vaughn: Julia's been nagging me for the past TWO MONTHS to come here, so I finally decided to.

Me: *takes deep breaths* Cool. So, did you like the story?

Vaughn: ... Yeah, I guess...

Me: *smiles super huge* Great! Will you read the seqeaul?

Vaugh: ...Ok...

Me: *smile gets wider* YAY! Who do you like better, Sabrina or Chelsea?

Vaughn: o_O I'm not gonna answer that because you freak me out... A LOT.

Me: Meh... People tell me that all the time!

Vaughn: Mhmmmm... *slowly inches away*

Me: Bye Vaughn! *waves arm frantically as Vaughn runs away* He's so sweet, isn't he? Well, I'll see you in the seqeaul, "Walking in the Devasted Area"! Until then, remember to review!