A/N: This story is based off of Karen’s black heart event in the DS version. I added a little to it to fill it out a bit. I hope everyone likes it!

Disclaimer: Nope not mine!

Visiting a Friend

Jack walked out of his farmhouse and over to the large red barn just off to the right of the house. He pushed the wooden door open and walked inside. He headed over to a white metal cabinet and opened the door. A quick glance inside confirmed the farmer’s thoughts.

“Hmm, I need to head over to Vesta’s and pick up some more seeds,” he mused silently before closing the cabinet door. A quick turn on his heels and the brown haired young man headed out of the barn and towards the pathway to the village.

The walk took just 15 minutes. Jack smiled as he approached Vesta’s farm. In many ways the work that Vesta, along with Marlin and Celia, did on their farm inspired Jack to do the best that he could on his own farm.

The brown haired young man approached the door and after giving a quick knock, walked inside. There he was greeted by Vesta.

“Hello Jack. What can I do for you today?” the large farmer asked curiously.

“Well, I needed to buy some corn seeds,” Jack replied. As he walked over to the seed bins he looked around curiously.

Vesta took notice of the farmer. “Are you looking for something special?” She asked curiously.

“Oh, no I’m not,” Jack quickly answered. “But I was just wondering where Celia is? She’s usually down here to help you during the day.”

“She’s up in her room,” Vesta responded. “She wasn’t feeling well earlier. Add to that Karen’s visiting her today as well.”

“Karen’s here,” Jack replied sounding a bit unsure.

“Is something wrong with Karen being here?” Vesta questioned.

“No, it’s nothing like that,” Jack answered. “I just don’t know her very well, that’s all.”

“Ah, I see,” the large woman replied. “I’m sure Celia would like it if you went up and said hi to her,” she added with a big smile.

A smile filled Jack’s face. “I think I’ll do just that!” he said happily.

“That sounds good. I’m sure that will make her happy,” Vesta said as she watched the brown haired young man head up the stairs towards Celia’s room.

Jack ascended the steps to the brown haired girl’s room quickly. He paused briefly at the door before reaching out and giving it a couple of light raps.

“Who’s there?” was the soft reply from inside the room.

“It’s me, Jack,” the farmer responded.

After a few moments of silence Celia’s voice was heard. “Please come in Jack.”

Jack reached out and turned the metal doorknob and pushed the door open. Stepping inside the farmer noticed that Celia was sitting in her bed and Karen on a chair off to her right side.

“Hello Jack!” Celia greeted in a raspy but cheerful tone. “What brings you here today?” she asked curiously.

“Hello Celia,” Jack replied. “I had to buy some corn seeds and Vesta told me that you weren’t feeling well. So I thought I’d come up and see how you are doing.” he added with a grin.

A smile filled the farm girl’s face; and her cheeks turned a slight shade of red. “That’s very thoughtful of you, Jack.”

“Hey, Jack,” Karen chirped. “That was nice of you to stop by and check up on her like that.”

“Thank you, Karen,” Jack replied. “How have you been? We really don’t get to see one another very much.”

“I’m alright,” the blonde haired girl replied.

Jack walked over and took a seat in the chair next to Celia’s bed. A look of concern appeared on the farmer’s face as he looked at the brown haired girl sitting in the bed.

“So, how are you feeling?” Jack asked in a concerned voice.

“I’m doing fine,” The brown haired girl replied. But a moment later she began to cough violently. The coughing spell only lasted a few minutes and a slightly embarrassed Celia looked over at Jack.

“That’s a rough cough you have,” Jack noted. “Make sure you drink some soothing fluids like tea. My mom always told me to do that when my throat was sore.”

Celia smiled and nodded in understanding. “I’ll ask Vesta to make me some green tea later.” She was about to say something else to Jack when another bout of coughing leaves the brown haired girl slightly out of breath.

“You just rest a little,” Karen said as she stood up. “Jack, can I talk to you for a moment in the hall?”

“I suppose so,” Jack replied as he stood as well. “It was nice to see you Celia. I hope you feel better really soon!”

“Thank you, Jack. I mean for taking the time to stop by and see me and all.” Celia said with a tiny giggle. “Thank you too, Karen.” she added with a grin.

“You’re welcome Celia. I’ll see you next week,” The blonde haired girl said as she opened the door.

Jack followed Karen out into the hallway and turned to face her once she closed the door. “So what did you want to say?” the farmer asked curiously.

“I just wanted to thank you for being nice enough to stop by and check on her,” Karen replied. “May I tell you something?” she asked curiously.

“Um, sure, I suppose it’s alright,” Jack answered after a slight hesitation.

“Before I tell you, please promise that you won’t say anything to Celia about it,” Karen began.

Jack looked intently at the girl standing in front of him and nodded affirmatively. “What’s up?”

“As you know, I’m Celia’s best friend. But I think that she just might have a small crush on you,” she explained. “I noticed that when you walked in she started to blush.”

“Really? Do you think so?” Jack asked in a slightly shocked tone.

“Yep,” Karen replied simply. “I just wanted you to know that.”

Jack smiled. “Thanks, Karen.”

“Sure thing Jack. She’s my friend after all and I just want to see her happy,” the Mineral Town girl said. “Well, I’m going to go back in and spend a little longer with her. I’ll see you later!” She added before giving Jack a quick wave and heading back into Celia’s room, closing the door behind her.

Jack smiled as he headed back down the stairs and over to where Vesta stood.

“You look happy, Jack,” the large woman said as he approached.

“I am,” he replied simply. “Celia seems to be doing well and that makes me happy.” he added, not wanting to say exactly why he was smiling like he was.

“Here are the corn seeds you asked for,” Vesta said, handing the farmer a brown burlap bag.

“Thank you, Vesta,” Jack said as he accepted the bag. “I’ll probably stop by again tomorrow to see if Celia is feeling better.”

“I’m sure she’d like that Jack,” the older woman replied.

The brown haired farmer whistled a tune as he headed back to his farm. He was happy that he could help make Celia feel better. And while he still didn’t know Karen that well, he thought that she was a good friend to Celia, for coming to check up on her.

And done! I hope everyone liked this little story. I had a lot of fun writing it. Please take a moment and leave me your thoughts and comments in a review. Ja ne!