Paige had made a big mistake. She realized that as soon as she got back to her dorm. Why had she done that? Left Craig after he said something so wonderful to her? Even if she wasn't sure she felt the same way, running out on him hadn't been the right thing to do. She sighed and fell back onto her bed. Her roommate was out partying as usual and most likely wouldn't be home until the next morning. For once she was thankful as it gave her time to think. And call Craig to apologize.
She didn't even realize she had fallen asleep until she felt the warm rays of the sun on her face. She opened her eyes a crack then groaned. She rolled over to look at her alarm clock. It was nine o'clock. She was already late for class.
Paige grabbed her books and hurried to class, hoping she hadn't missed anything important. She went through the day impatiently waiting until she could finally go and visit Craig.
But wait, what am I telling him exactly? She thought as she trudged up the stairs to her dorm room. Do I love him? Paige didn't think so. Then again, how would she know? She had changed so much since her relationship with Spinner that, looking back, she realized that wasn't true love. But was this? She knew it was different but love? And even if it was love, did she even want that right now? She was dealing with a whole new life, she wasn't sure if she needed a relationship to complicate things further. Especially with someone going through something so serious.
Paige was so caught up in her thoughts that she realized she had passed her floor and was now on the fifth floor. Conscious of the people behind her, she casually walked down the hall to the other staircase then went down to her own room. She heard strains of someone practicing guitar as she unlocked her door. She froze, remembering when Craig had told her how scared he was that he would never be able to play again. Then she looked down at the pile of text books in her hands. She had a ton of work and it didn't seem to be changing anytime soon.
Paige thought for a second, before throwing her books on her bed and hurrying out of her room. She still didn't know what she doing but she knew that she had to get to the hospital right away. She had a feeling she would know when she saw Craig again.
Craig wasn't sure he could take anymore. They had been working on his arm for almost an hour straight and every bone in his body ached. And he didn't even have seeing Paige to look forward to, to get him through things as usual.
"Come on, just one more," Mary, his therapist urged him on. "You can do one more."
Craig shook his head, panting as he tried to lift the weight strapped around his arm. "I-I can't."
"You've done a lot more than this before," Mary told him raising an eyebrow. "Is something wrong?"
"Yeah," Craig replied forcefully. He unstrapped the weight letting it drop to the floor. "This isn't working and I'm sick of it. I just want to have one day where I don't have to do this crap." He knew he shouldn't be lashing out at Mary who had been nothing but nice to him. But right now, he wanted to just lie in his bed and sleep forever.
Mary looked at the weight lying on the floor for a second before nodding slowly. "Okay, Craig. You're right, you do deserve a break. I'll take you upstairs." She waited for him to get into the wheelchair but he shook his head.
"I can walk. My legs aren't what got damaged. I don't need my arm to walk."
"Sorry Craig it's policy."
"Fine." Craig sat down angrily in the chair and allowed himself to be wheeled to his room. As soon as they reached it, he stood and climbed into bed without a word.
Mary bit her lip and was silent for a moment. "Whatever it is, you shouldn't let it bother you so much. You were making a lot of progress and I'd hate to see you ruin all that." With that, she turned and left.
Craig sighed. He hadn't meant to take out his frustration on Mary. But it was hard to keep everything inside. If Paige hadn't left, things would be different. He could talk to her about everything that was going on in his mind. Let everything out.
Before he knew it, dinner had come and gone and he was being wheeled into the exam room to get poked with the needle for the thousandth time. He sat on the exam table, watching dully as they set up the equipment and scribbled various items down on his chart. He'd seen them do it a million times before and the routine was no different tonight.
"Hello, Craig," Dr. Mill stood in the doorway, smiling slightly. "Are you all ready?"
Craig nodded.
"Ok. I hope you don't mind that someone wants to sit in on our session." Dr Mill moved out of the doorway to reveal Paige standing behind him. She looked a bit terrified but also happy.
"Paige? Wh-what are you doing here?" he asked, completely confused. After she had run out on him the night before he wasn't expecting to see her again, let alone so soon.
"I told you I was going to be here for you. And I am. All the way." She came to stand beside him. "I'm so sorry about last night. I didn't...I mean, I was just..." She sighed and took his hand in her's. "I'm sorry."
Craig nodded slowly. "It's okay. I know I kinda freaked you out. I was just trying to be honest."
"I know you were. And I appreciate it. And that doesn't mean I don't want to be with you anymore. That is, if you still want to be with me." Paige smiled and shrugged. "Who knows where things will go?"
Craig smiled back at her, feeling a bit better. Although it still hurt to know that Paige didn't feel the same way he did, he was glad she still wanted to be with him. "Yeah that sounds good."
Dr. Mill cleared his throat hesitantly. "We're all set up, Craig."
"Go ahead, do your thing, doc," he told him.
The nurse rubbed down his shoulder with some type of alcohol. Paige squeezed his hand as the doctor picked up the needle and touched it against Craig's shoulder. Craig looked at the screen, still feeling a tiny bit of hope after all these weeks. Still, the line didn't move at all.
Paige rubbed his arm soothingly. Craig looked at her with a sad smile then glanced back at the screen. His heart skipped a beat. Was that his imagination? He could have sworn the blue line across the screen had moved. He looked at Dr. Mill who was staring intently at the screen. He lifted the needle then pressed it against Craig's shoulder again. This time, there was no denying it. The line jumped, slight as it was, Craig saw it. He had spent so much time staring at an unmoving line, he had no doubt that it had moved.
"Did it just–?" Paige asked, looking at Craig wonderingly.
Craig looked at Dr. Mill, afraid that his heart was going to beat right out of his chest.
Dr. Mill was facing the screen, frowning intently. Then he turned and Craig saw the smile on his face.
Paige's arms were around Craig before he could even react. He let out a shout of joy, grasping Paige tightly. His nerve was healing. He was going to be able to use his hand again. To play guitar, take pictures, write...
"Congratulations," Paige whispered.
He leaned forward to kiss Paige hard on the lips. He didn't care that the doctor and nurse were around, that they were in an exam room, about the hard road he still had ahead of him. The only thing in the world was Paige.
When they finally drew away, Paige still had her eyes closed, looking dazed. After a moment, she slowly opened her eyes. Then to Craig's surprise she sighed. "Okay, fine," she said. "You forced it out of me." She rolled her eyes with fake exasperation. "God, you always do that."
Craig had never been so confused.
A smile started to play on Paige's lips. "I love you."
It took a second for Craig to register what she said. Then he grinned too. "I told you not to do that to me anymore."
"And I told you that everything was going to be okay," Paige reminded him.
Craig nodded, still smiling. As much as he hated that phrase, for the first time in his life, he believed it.
Thanks for reading this fic. I hope you enjoyed it because I enjoyed writing it. I've got plenty more Degrassi stuff up my sleeve so look out for a new fanfic soon.