Author's Note: I love this story, and last night I couldn't sleep and had a bagillion thoughts racing through my mind – thanks a lot Bipolar Disorder! Anyways, it turned out to be all good, because I had a thousand ideas for this story. I realized how much I love writing this, and how I don't want it to be over yet; so just so you know, this is far from over!

Chapter Twenty-Five

Two months later...

Clare sat down on the couch next to Eli. He was watching is favorite movie, The Dark Knight – eyes completely glued to the screen. Clare could still remember how, after they first saw it together, he wouldn't, and couldn't, stop talking about how brilliant Christopher Nolan was. Eli loved how Nolan could take old elements from years gone by, and make them new again by adding his own personal touches, and presenting them through his own eyes.

Clare had tried not to grow frustrated with him as he talked on and on for days about The Dark Knight. He had also been fascinated with Heath Ledger's portrayal of The Joker. The Joker was one of Eli's favorite villains, and he had been absolutely enthralled.

"Are you actually going to watch with me?" Eli peeled his eyes off of the TV just long enough to notice the stack of papers on Clare's lap, "More grading?"

"Yes," Clare sighed and clicked open her red pen, "When do you ever get all of your grading done?"

"Didn't you know, Clare? That's my superpower – stealth grading skills."

Clare rolled her eyes, "Eli Goldsworthy: Teacher, Playwright, Ninja."

"I like the sound of that," Eli turned back towards the television screen, "You seem to be settling in well. Sure you don't mind teaching tenth graders?"

"I wasn't sure at first," Clare admitted, nibbling on the end of the pen, "When you first came to me and told me that Degrassi had, once again, rezoned and was in need of a few extra teachers, I was apprehensive. I am used to my NYU students, not Degrassi students. It's a whole entire different dynamic I am teaching to."

"But you don't mind, do you?" Eli paused the movie and glanced back at Clare, worry etching across his face, "I just…I know the NYU job meant so much to you, and now you're stuck living here with me, and taking on the extra classes I couldn't possibly teach myself and…"

"Eli," Clare reached over and placed her hand on his, "I love teaching at Degrassi. It's fun to be back, and I don't mind teaching high school at all. It's not NYU, but you know what? I wouldn't want it to be. And don't even think for a moment that I regret moving here and living with you, alright? Moving home, moving in with you, taking on the job as an add-on English teacher…those were some of the best decisions I have ever made. I wouldn't trade those decisions for anything."

Eli smiled, brought her hand to his lips, and lightly caressed her wrist, "Mean it?"

"Of course," Clare let a small blush veil her cheeks, "Now, stop being so romantic, and let me get started on grading. You're such a distraction!"

"Am I now?" Eli raised a teasing eyebrow, earning himself a shove with her foot, "Alright, alright. Enjoy your grading while I watch the most epic movie ever made!"

Clare laughed, and returned to her papers. She had been teaching for just about three weeks now, and was currently loving each moment of it. It had been a tough transition at first – from college students in one of the top schools, to high schoolers with attitude problems. However, she saw them as they had all once been – ten years ago.

In her classes, there was a girl who wore too much mascara, loved the color pink a little too much, and craved drama like it was chocolate. There was one boy in her class who seemed to be channeling 90s gothic/punk attire, and who was in severe need of an attitude adjustment. One girl was an over-achiever – shy, but when coaxed out of her bubble could be the life of the party. Clare loved getting to know them. At NYU, she had so many students, and barely enough time to learn their names!

Clare turned her attention back to the papers. The prompt had been to write about a life-changing event. Some of them talked about deaths of families and friends. Some of them talked about moving away. One talked about her brother's transition from female to male. Clare dropped the papers as if they were hot coals, and could barely move.

"What's wrong?" Eli paused the movie for a second time, "Clare?" He noticed the papers on the floor, "Are you okay, honey?"

"No," Clare shook her head, "It's just…one girl wrote about her brother…and his transition. It just…it made me miss Adam."

"Oh Clare," Eli pulled her into a hug.

"The girl mentioned finding her – at the time – sister burning herself with a hairclip she had heated with a lighter. Adam…Gracie…used to do that. I found her one time at the picnic tables, and she was in the middle of burning herself. I made her stop…and I don't know if she ever did that again."

Eli held her tighter, "I had no idea," Eli shook his head.

"The scars were very mild," Clare explained, "It would have been hard to notice."

Eli swallowed the lump that formed in his throat, "We were there for Gracie, though Clare. And we are here for Adam. We helped Gracie through everything, and we helped Adam through everything – and will continue to do so."

"I just miss having him around," Clare admitted, "Even though I had moved away, we would email a bunch. He was always there for me, Eli."

"He was always there for everyone," Eli reminded her, "And that's why we are all there for him now. It's been awhile…do you want to go see him tomorrow?"

"I'd like that," Clare nodded, "Eli…I am so proud of you."

"Why?" Eli scoffed.

"Because you're holding it together so much better than I am."

"Clare, I wish I was holding it together, but I'm not. You haven't seen me lose it in a while because I try to keep that part hidden from you. I am supposed to be strong for you, Clare."

"Eli…you don't have to be strong for me. Don't try to pretend for me, alright? If you're hurting, let me know and we can help each other through this."

"I just feel like…I feel like I lost my brother, Clare," Eli confessed, rubbing his hand across his face trying to gather himself, "I miss him…I miss him a bunch."

"These papers can wait," Clare knelt down to the floor and stacked them together before placing them on the coffee table, "For now, I am going to fix us a big bowl of popcorn and we are going to watch The Dark Knight."

"Thank you."

That night Clare and Eli fell asleep together in his bed. When she had first moved in, Eli had allowed Clare to put her stuff in the guest bedroom, but she hadn't used the bed once. There was something about falling asleep together in each other's arms that they both craved, and vowed never to take for granted. Eli loved having her back in his life, and being table to hold her as if he'd never let go meant the world to him.

When his alarm sounded, Eli groggily hopped out of bed and padded off towards the kitchen. It was Saturday, and he loved surprising Clare with breakfast in bed on Saturdays. They both had to leave early in the mornings for school, and breakfast usually consisted of a bagel with blueberries and cream cheese before rushing out the door. Saturdays were the days Eli could afford to spoil her a bit, which he absolutely loved getting to do.

With Clare back in his life, he felt like there was so much to make up for. Even though they had both agreed their pasts were water under the bridge, Eli still felt compelled to temporarily (keyword being temporarily) neglect his hard-exterior, and be a romantic goofball. Breakfast in bed was just one of the numerous ways Eli chose to express his love for Clare.

Though they hadn't voiced those words in years, Eli knew he wasn't the only one that had never stopped. He could tell Clare loved him, but they were both too frightened to say it; so Eli took to saying it in other ways – such as making breakfast. This morning, he decided on waffles, scrambled eggs, chicken apple sausage, and OJ. He wasn't the most excellent of cooks, but he had learned shortly after Clare had moved in. In fact, it had been a huge surprise – she had come home from choosing to stay late at school, to find candlelight and homemade chicken cordon blu.

After fixing breakfast, Eli arranged everything upon a tray and carried it into the bedroom. He took just a moment – maybe less than fifteen seconds – to admire how angelic Clare looked as she slept. She snored every-so-slightly, and he treasured every noise, every movement.

"Hey there, sleeping beauty," Eli sat the tray down on the nightstand, and placed a hand on Clare's shoulder. She stirred slightly, and yawned, her eyes blinking, focusing on the man standing before her.

"Hey there, yourself," a sleepy smile crawled across her lips.

"It's Saturday, beautiful."

Clare's eyes dropped towards the tray on the stand, "Eli," her voice was groggy and gravely with sleep, "You spoil me too much."

"No more than you deserve," Eli grinned adamantly as Clare scooted so that she was sitting up, allowing Eli room to sit down next to her, and sat the tray on their laps, "How did you sleep?"

"You stole the blankets," Clare pouted.

"I am not responsible for the actions I commit in my slumber," Eli raised an eyebrow.

"Oh hush," Clare rolled her eyes, "I nearly froze!"

"When you're cold you snuggle up closer to me," Eli explained, "Am I cruel for that?"

"Hmm," Clare thought it over, eyeing her waffle with hungry eyes, "Breakfast makes up for it. What time do you want to go to the hospital?"

"Whenever you want, beautiful. What did I say about Saturdays when you first moved back?"

"That they're our days," Clare remembered, cutting into her waffle.

Eli had told her when she had first moved back, that Saturdays would be their special day to just hang out and do whatever together. Even though they taught at the same school, they didn't have much time together to just be…together. Eli had suggested the idea in order to get to know each other again.

Clare bit her lip at the memory. Eli was so sweet, and so perfect. All of the sweetness and perfection were so fragile though. One slip up, and everything could be crushed. It had been two months, and Eli seemed stable. He was on his pills regularly, and was seemingly controlling himself very well. Clare still was nervous though. She was worried that if she pushed too far, or got too close, that everything would end. It was an irrational fear, or so she told herself, but the fear still plagued her.

"Yup," Eli cut off a bite of the waffle and popped it into his mouth, "So whenever you'd like."

"How about after breakfast?" Clare suggested, taking a bite of eggs for herself, "If that's okay?"

"That's more than okay, Edwards," Eli smiled down at her, "It'll be good to see him again."

"Have you talked to Audra or Drew lately?" Clare inquired.

"No…Drew is in Chicago I think for a piece, and Bianca – from what I heard – is still crashing at his place. Audra…Cece said she'd try to give Audra a call sometime this coming week to touch base."

"You know," Clare's eyes lit up, and Eli groaned, "What?"

"Nothing," Eli growled, taking a sip of OJ.

"You totally knew what I was going to say," Clare pointed a teasingly accusing finger at him.

"What? That you have yet to see my mother after being back here for two months? Yeah, you've been pestering me about it for a few weeks now."

"When do I get to see them, Eli?" Clare begged, and Eli wished – for half a second – that she wasn't so damn adorable.

"I don't know," Eli shrugged, "We've all been busy…"

"We could have CeCe and Bullfrog over for dinner one night," Clare suggested, "We could cook this delicious meal and…what's wrong, Eli? Don't they want to see me?" The smile on her face fell, and a shadow of sadness was cast over in its place.

"Of course they do," Eli tugged softly at one of the messy auburn curls, "Cece's been buggin' me about it since I told her that you were back for good. It's just…I don't want them to ruin anything. I like how we are now."

"What do you mean?" Clare's brow furrowed as she tried to follow.

"Having you see them again makes this…it makes this real."

"Is it not real already?" Clare's voice was laced with worry, and Eli was quick to reply.

"Of course it's real! It's so very real! But…I just…I don't want to curse this. I don't want to do anything that would damage us."

"Your parents would not damage us," Clare rolled her eyes.

"But it'd make this…official. And if it's official, it's damageable. Breakable."

"What, exactly, is this?" Clare asked, bringing up their relationship status for the first time.

"Some undeserving jackass who, for some odd reason, has been given the second chance at having the most amazing woman in the world be in his life once again," Eli raised an eyebrow, waiting nervously for her reply.

Clare nodded solemnly, "Okay, well that's all very well and good…except for one thing."

"Hmm?"

"You're not a jackass, and you are not underserving," Clare reached up and placed a hand on his cheek, giving him a chaste kiss to the lips, "You are Eli, and I am Clare. That's what we are."

"I like that," Eli twisted a curl gently around his finger.

"You know what?" Clare smiled into his eyes, "Me too."

When they arrived at the hospital, they headed towards Adam's room. He had been removed from ICU to his own private room in a special ward for coma and unresponsive patients. When they had first seen the room, everyone was amazed at how "normal" it had seemed. Adam's hospital bed and machines were in the middle, but there were two couches, several chairs, a big screen TV, and a bathroom for guests attached. There was a small kitchenette area, with a sink separate from the medical sink next to the bed, and a small microwave.

As the elevator dinged, and the doors open, Clare first noticed how hectic the ward seemed. Nurses and doctors were rushing about, trying to remain calm but walking as though they had fire under their heels.

"What's going on?"

"I don't know," Eli ran a hand through his hair, "Um…nurse," Eli stopped a heavy-set woman as she was about to scurry past, "We're here to see Adam Torres…"

"Oh thank goodness! We've been trying to contact his closest relative…"

"What happened?" Clare's eyes were as wide as saucers, and Eli's hand slipped protectively around hers.

"Mr. Torres has woken up," the nurse explained.

"Oh my god," Clare gripped Eli's hand, "How is he? Is everything okay? When did he…"

"Ma'am, I'm sorry," the nursed held up her hand, "Try and calm down, alright? Mr. Torres seems healthy, but we are calling the neurologist to come have a peek at him. He's…he's functioning but he's confused. I think someone familiar would do him good. Here, I'll take you."

"Adam's awake!" Clare turned to Eli, a huge grin on her face. Eli's face, however, was more stoic.

"Confused?" Eli asked, following behind the nurse.

"You'll see what I mean," the nurse pushed open Adam's door and headed inside, "Hello," she said softly to the man in the bed, "I am Nurse Angela, remember me?" The man nodded, and Eli and Clare had to do all they could to keep from rushing to his side.

The bandage that had once adorned his head for numerous weeks was long-shed. In its place, a few little tufts of blonde hair. His eyes and cheeks seemed hollow, but there was a faint trace of a smile when he saw that he had company. It wasn't the smile Eli and Clare had hoped for; this smile was lost. It was a smile that said: The nurse came. She smiled at me, I am supposed to smile back. Mechanical, forced, scripted.

"Some friends of yours came to see you," Nurse Angela turned to Clare and Eli.

"Hi!" A huge grin broke out across Eli's face, "It's good to see you, bud."

"Adam!" Clare hurried over to the edge of the bed, and Eli tagged behind, "You have no idea how happy I am to see you again!"

Confusion etched across his face, crinkling his forehead, and casting a shadow across his eyes. He turned to his guests, and titled his head, as if trying to memorize their facial features.

"I am going to place a few calls," the nurse turned to leave, "If you need anything, just press the buzzer."

Eli nodded and turned back to Adam, "Man, you really scared me there. How…how do you feel?"

The man groaned, and Eli thought he could see a shadow of his friend, his brother, creep through the shell that was currently lying in the bed

"Well...I have a massive headache," Adam touched his IV pierced hand to his forehead.

"I think that's normal with everything you've been through," Clare smiled at him, and Adam in turn, smiled back - that same mechanical, scripted smile that he had given the nurse.

"Other than the headache," Eli raised an eyebrow, "How are you?"

"Um…I have a question," Adam winced, and Clare thought she could hear embarrassment season his voice.

"Shoot, buddy," Eli pulled up a chair and tried to keep the tears brimming in his eyes from falling. Adam's back! Adam's awake! Everything is fine! Everything is going to be fine! Adam's awake!

"Um…" he winced again before asking, "Who's Adam?"