Was that Manny?

Craig didn't know how he had wound up at the hospital to see JT and Liberty's baby. He really wasn't close to either of them and they all had barely exchanged words except for at Spike and Snake's wedding and the stripper and everything. He did have that one awkward moment when in the locker room his towel fell down and…yeah.

He knew this was Liberty's room and that girl walking out had to be Manny. At least now he had an excuse to be there. He could say that he was comforting her because he knew that this was a very emotional moment for both of them. In fact it seemed like she had been crying as she fled from that room. Liberty was probably holding the baby and smiling, or maybe JT had walked in or something. He definitely didn't want to ruin that moment.

Why am I even here?

Maybe it was just because he was curious. If he had his way he would be a teenage father too, at least that what he thought two years ago when he found out Manny was pregnant. At first he thought that she had done the worst thing she could've ever done. Now it just seemed like she was young and almost had no choice. He and everyone around the school know that her father had kicked her out. What would he have done if he found out she was pregnant? Then he knew she probably couldn't move in with him and Joey, seeing that they already had enough on their hands. She would feel like she had nowhere to go.

It seemed like every time Manny was doing something good she had to go and screw things up. She was in that movie and then she expected to be this big actress with an agent and lots of money. She went to that party, got junk, and then got herself a little video. She was kicked off of the Spirit Squad, thanks to one of her friends Chante. She almost lost Emma although Craig knew that something more was up. When he first saw the video he knew that she didn't want that to happen. No matter what Manny had always been a good person, especially when it came to him. He was one of the guys who ruined her, and crushed her self-esteem big time.

He knew that it all wasn't his fault. He had a lot going on in his life, and everything with Manny was just so tempting. Everything had been so fun. With Ashley everything had been so serious and musical. She was never that silly and she almost never spoke of her dreams. All he had to do was choose one at that moment that Manny had asked and then chances were that he would have someone. Now he was alone.

Of course if he had chosen Ashley they still probably would've broken up after Manny revealed that she was pregnant. After all, they had sex long before, the night of Paige's birthday party. No matter what people said, he hadn't cheated on Ashley that night. He thought that they had broken up for good. She had said that he had conned her, and that he didn't love her when he did. Then Manny ran after him and made everything feel better. She had been like a mother who was giving her child a Band-Aid. She did the right things and said the right things, and then everything happened. He thought that she was on birth control. She was telling him that it was okay to go on.

Nine weeks later they were back together. Manny only had seven more months to go and then he would've been a father. In only three more months they would've knew what they were having. He was so excited about it, but he knew that if Joey heard him talking he would've realized that maybe Craig was bipolar. He was lucky that Joey didn't have to find out about it, although Snake probably knew about everything that had happened, seeing he was a teacher there.

At this moment he felt like Manny had done the right thing with the abortion, although she probably was going to feel guilty for the rest of her life. She was always going to remember that baby that she lost, that she had terminated. She always had to remember how it felt to be lying on that hospital bed. She had given them both chances at life though. Craig had to admit that if it weren't for her, he never would've done a lot of the things that he did. That they both accomplished. She never would've starred in that movie with Kevin Smith, and he never would've gotten close to Ellie. She probably never would've gone out with JT and Spinner, and he wouldn't have gotten that chance to record demo. Of course he had to ruin that because he was so afraid of hurting Ash's feelings. Then he knew that he would've hated himself if he had given the child bipolar, seeing that it can be genetic.

Ashley helped cause us this pain.

Manny ran out of the cafeteria after Ashley made her sickening announcement. In a way it was Ashley's fault they Manny had an abortion. She needed more time. She needed to be able to sort things out in her head, how she was going to manage. She realized too quickly that she wouldn't feel comfortable with everyone knowing that she was pregnant, and seeing her with her stomach out. Maybe if she had been given some more time it would've been too late for her to have an abortion. She would've had to have the baby, and she might've at least given it up for adoption. An open adoption would've been good. They both would've had a chance to see their baby.

It didn't stop Craig from loving Ashley though. He was still crazy about her. He wrote that song for her that earned him some cool points. He ran out of that recording studio for her, and that almost ruined his friendship with Marco and Spinner. Of course it was all about her. When he proposed to her she said no, and then yes (at least in his eyes), and then changed her mind about that. Then she had to go away to London and do what he figured she would do. He didn't want her to leave because he knew that she was going to meet another guy. Well she did, and everyone knew about it except for him. Even Spinner did, and they weren't friends. Although Spinner did work to get them that spot for his party. At least he was there, and Ashley wasn't.

Someone's coming.

Craig could hear the footsteps coming from the nursery area where all of the other babies had been. He was still standing in the same spot when he had stopped and saw Manny leave the room. He knew that it was Manny. He was never going to forget that short hairstyle. A lot of girls changed their hair after they broke up with someone. Manny had broken up with Spinner before summer was over.

Emma had developed a crush on that Peter guy. That was the kid that had recorded Manny.

"You can sell this for a million bucks because I am gonna be famous."

He couldn't be thinking about Manny. Getting back with her would only lead to trouble. Besides, it looked like he was going to have a relationship with Ellie. They were getting so much closer. She was even the drummer in his band. Ashley not only hurt him, but staying in London left Ellie best friendless. She hadn't had Paige and Hazel as much as she thought she did. He couldn't just push her feelings aside so that he could be with someone he didn't want, and who didn't want him. They already that their moment.

"Craig?"

Looking up he was staring directly into her eyes. She was surprised to see him. Even she knew that he had no reason to be there.