I'm Home

Summary: Mike is finally coming home to Graceland, but things can't ever be the same.

Disclaimer: I own nothing; Graceland belongs to Jeff Eastin and USA.

A/n: I have too many ideas to write, along with everything else that I have to get done… but I'm going to go ahead and throw this up here for everyone to enjoy, while I try to prioritize what gets written next…

Paige shifted around in her bed, trying to get comfortable. While she was thankful that the doctor in the ER hadn't found anything to be concerned about other than the fact that she was dehydrated, Paige wasn't a fan of the fact that the woman had instructed her to rest for the weekend – an instruction that Johnny had taken to mean she was supposed to stay in bed. She sighed as Johnny came into her bedroom, bringing a class of water and a bowl of soup.

"Johnny… I swear to God, if you try to stay here all weekend and treat me like an invalid, I will kick your ass," Paige commented.

"Seriously? You're going to threaten someone bringing you food?"

"It's canned soup…"

"You don't want me to try to actually cook something, do you? I mean, you've got enough stress right now without me setting off your fire alarm…" Paige sighed, closing her eyes and shaking her head as she sat herself up in bed. "You heard Dr. Harrison… you're exhausted, and you've been dehydrated, so you need to rest this weekend."

"And I can do that just fine without you having to babysit me, Johnny," Paige replied. "I know you just want to help, but all you're really doing is stressing me out. I don't like being treated like I'm fragile…"

"You want me to go, and leave you alone?" Johnny asked.

"Please… I'm fine."

"And if you get sick again, you'll call one of us, right?"

Paige closed her eyes, sighing. "I promise… if I need you, I'll call."

"I don't like it…" Johnny began.

"Damn it, Johnny… go home."

"Eat the soup, Paige."

Paige sighed, taking the bowl and spoon so that Johnny would leave. She ate a few spoonfuls slowly, before setting the bowl back on the nightstand and leaning back in the bed and closing her eyes again. She knew that she needed to eat, especially after Johnny had gone through the trouble to make sure she had something to eat, but nothing really sounded good and even that small amount of food was still turning her stomach despite the fact that Dr. Harrison had increased the dosage on her nausea medicine.

The phone ringing in the bed next to her woke Paige up a few minutes later, making her groan as she opened her eyes and went to answer it. "Hello?"

"Paige? What did the doctor say? Is everything okay?"

Paige smiled slightly as she recognized Mike's voice on the other end of the line. She'd forgotten to send him a text when she'd finally been sent home from the ER, and she could hear that he'd started to panic when he didn't hear anything. "I'm sorry I didn't call you… I was half-asleep when they sent me home…"

"But you're okay?"

"I'm fine," Paige replied. "They're increasing the dosage on my nausea medicine, to see if that'll stop me from getting sick…"

"You're still having problems?"

"A little," Paige admitted, sighing. "I'm not losing weight or anything, but I also haven't started gaining much yet, and I've been dehydrated…"

"But they're taking care of all of that, right? You and the baby are both okay?"

"We're fine… the baby's heartbeat is really strong, and they just think they need to keep an eye on everything else for right now."

"So there's nothing to worry about?"

"Nothing. Trust me, Mike… if there was anything worth worrying about, I would let you know," Paige replied. "Just relax, okay? Worry about taking care of yourself, not me."

"I can't help worrying about you… having to deal with all of this on your own…"

Paige sighed. "It's not like we have a lot of choice here… but it's not like I'm the first woman to ever go through this. And I know that you would be here taking care of me if you could."

"I don't want to miss everything…"

"You won't. You're going to finish the bone marrow transplant, you're going to get your strength back, and then you'll get to come home," Paige replied.

"But I may not be there when the baby is born…"

"And if you aren't, then you aren't. It isn't as if we have a choice in this… you have to do what you have to do to get healthy, period. That's more important than whether or not you're here when the baby is born. I would rather have to be by myself through the whole pregnancy rather than have to raise this baby without you."

There was a moment of silence before Mike responded. "You know that's still going to be a possibility…"

"But it isn't definite… not unless you give up…"

"You know I'm not giving up… I have too much to live for."

"I know." Paige put her hand over her stomach, sighing. "I'm just reminding you of what you're fighting for."

"I know."

"How do we keep getting to this conversation? How is it that this is the only conversation we ever seem to have any more?"

"I don't know…" Paige sighed, shaking her head. "I do love you…"

"I know. And I love you, too."

"But?"

"But I feel like our relationship has become about nothing but the baby and cancer. I don't… that isn't a good place to be in…"

"You don't have to stay…"

"I want to stay, Mike. I want to be with you, and I want this baby…" Paige began. "I just… we can't make everything about that."

"Maybe we should just take a step back…"

"We are not breaking up over this…"

"No… but you're right, all we ever talk about is health stuff. That isn't fair to you, and you deserve to be able to enjoy all of this…"

Paige could feel the tears starting to slide down her face as the man spoke. "What are you trying to say, Mike?"

"I don't know."

"What do you want?"

"I want you to be happy…" Paige closed her eyes, shaking her head. "I want to have a real relationship with you… I don't want you to feel like everything we have has to be because of the baby or because I'm sick…"

"But what do you want, Mike? Because this can't just be all about me…"

"I don't know…"

"You need to figure that out…" Paige reached up, wiping away the tears from her face. "Look… I'm not really in a good place to talk about this right now. I need to get some sleep. I'll call you later tonight, okay?"

"Okay."

"I really do love you, Mike."

"I love you, too."