Paige had never been so impatient in her life. And she wasn't exactly a patient person.
After a few hours of tortured waiting, most of which she spent pacing the waiting area, , a doctor finally came out to talk to her and Lou. He started speaking in medical terms none of which Paige understood. Finally he began saying things that sounded like English to her. He told them surgery had gone well and they had managed to extract the bullet but that Craig had lost a lot of blood.
"So is he going to be okay?" Paige burst out, finally, unable to control herself any longer.
The doctor finally smiled. "Yes it looks like he'll make a full recovery."
Paige let out a squeal of delight and hugged Lou who was grinning broadly. "Oh thank God. Thank you so much," she said to the doctor.
"Don't forget, though it's going to take a time for him to recover completely. He's going to need a lot of support and–"
"PAIGE!"
They all jumped and turned to see Joey running towards them.
"You're Paige, right? What's going on? What's happening? You didn't call," he said breathlessly. "I-I thought–"
"I know, we just found out now. He's okay. Craig's going to be fine," Paige told him smiling.
Joey turned to the doctor as though to confirm. When the doctor nodded, Paige thought Joey was going to faint with relief.
"Oh thank heavens." He grabbed the doctor's hand, pumping it heavily. "Thank you so much."
"Your welcome," the doctor replied, obviously trying to suppress a grin. "And you are?"
"Oh, I'm Craig's step father. Sorry, I just got a call and I panicked and managed to get to the airport just in time for a flight here...can I see him?"
The doctor held up his hand. "In a little while. They're taking him into recovery right now. Why don't you all just relax, sit down and I'll let you know when they're ready for visitors. There will be some paperwork you'll have to fill out but we'll get to that later." He left and the others looked at each other, unsure of what to say or do.
"I think I'd better get down to the police station. They want a report and they'll be wanting to speak to you and Craig eventually," Lou said. "But I'll tell them it'll be a little while."
Paige smiled gratefully at him. "Thanks."
She and Joey sat down in the waiting area as Lou left. There was an awkward silence then Paige and Joey began to speak at once.
"Thanks–"Joey began.
"I'm–" Paige started.
They both paused.
"You go ahead," Paige said quickly.
"I just wanted to say thank you for calling me and everything. I really appreciate you being here," Joey told her earnestly.
"Oh don't even worry about it," Paige replied. "I was just about to say how glad I am that Craig's going to be okay."
"Oh, were you two good friends?" Joey asked.
Paige shrugged and smiled slightly. "Well this experience sure brought us closer together."
They made small talk for a while before the doctor came out and said that said that they could each visit Craig one at a time. Joey politely asked Paige if she wanted to go first, but hurried off the instant she said she could wait. Paige wandered over to the magazine rack and picked one out. She flipped through it but didn't really take in anything on the pages. Now that she knew Craig was going to be okay, she started thinking about that kiss. She wasn't sure if it had happened just because of the moment and circumstances or if he really felt something for her. She wasn't even sure how she felt. She knew she had feelings for him, that was for sure. But how strong were those feelings?
Just as she was contemplating this, Joey came walking towards her. She stood up, tossing the magazine aside and he smiled reassuringly.
"You can go on in there now, Paige. He doesn't look too bad." He held up his cell phone. "I've got to call my wife."
"Thanks." Paige wiped her sweaty palms on her jeans as she slowly walked down the hall. It was time to find out just how strong her feelings were.