"Manny, I um…"

"What are you doing here?" she asked him. Her tone of voice sounded like she wanted it to be stronger then it was, but she came off as very vulnerable. They were feet away from each other, but then they seemed so close. The hospital faded from their minds and all they saw were each other. Craig Manning and Manny Santos. They held so many firsts together. They had their first real slow dance, their first date, they lost their virginity to one another, and they would've had their first child together if fate had called for it. Of course that was what everything was about, their unborn child.

Craig thought for a moment. Once again his mind went blank. He didn't know why he was there. Maybe he did really come to comfort Manny. Somehow in his subconscious mind he knew that he had to see her.

"To see um…you and…"

Manny closed her eyes and took a deep breath before opening them back up. Now she was realizing how tired she was. School had ended about forty-five minutes ago and she hadn't gotten any sleep during that time. JT had left for a while to get her and Liberty some McDonalds before he came back. Manny had taken hers to the cafeteria so that the new parents could spend some time alone and then she had stopped by the nursery to glance at the babies longingly. Then her eyes watered once again and she started to cry. She was going to run back into the birthing suite to get her purse and jacket and then she was going to go home. Well, it wasn't really her home. She was basically seeking refuge with the Nelson/Simpson household.

"I was about to leave," she said, "but I'm sure you can come in to see the baby."

Finally Craig managed to say more than a few words. "I didn't come to see…the baby. I guess I came to see you and to see how…you were holding up."

"I'm holding up just fine," Manny replied stubbornly, turning her head so that she wouldn't be looking at him again. She couldn't bear looking at his face. He had caused her so much pain. Even amnesia wasn't going to help her forget about him. She couldn't stop thinking about everything, and then when he said that being her was a mistake she really felt like crumbling. She hated him so much, and then he had the nerve to show up here. These were her friends. She didn't need him anymore.

"You can't push me away this time," Craig told her. "I know that you feel horrible right now. I can already tell that you were crying."

"It doesn't matter," Manny said, "because we can't go back in time. Of course, even if we could I wouldn't."

"I know you don't regret what you did. I mean I know you don't regret having the… abortion. You made what you feel were the right decision. I would've loved to be in the child's life, but I mean if your dad kicked you out now—"

"Why can't you mind your own business?" Manny asked him.

"I'm just…I don't know. I guess I still care about you."

"Everyone at that stupid school is just so…ugh. They are so nosy and they use gossip to entertain themselves. That is so shallow, and I used to think you were above that. I bet you just loved hearing about how my life has just been crashing down huh? You were so glad that you got rid of me before it ruined your reputation too."

Craig didn't say anything in response. He hated it when everyone talked about her. He hated it when Jimmy told him to check his email only to see Degrassi Girls Gone Wild, starring Manny Santos. He almost couldn't watch it, but hey, he was a guy. All guys were perves and just a little bit curious. It wasn't as if he was seeing anything new.

Finally Manny started walking towards Liberty's room so that she could get going. She didn't understand why Emma had decided on not coming. It was just so weird how when everyone had good things going for them, they had to screw it all up. Manny had the movie, but she had to make her own. Paige's life would've been considered perfect if it existed, but she had to screw with weed. Liberty could've been the first female president, but she had to get knocked up. Maybe there was a curse of some kind going on. It seemed like people were using their lives for their own entertainment. They were writing the scripts and showing it on TV all over the world. It was something to think about, but of course it wasn't possible. Haha, that's what you think (-:

Of course as she passed him he grabbed her arm. "Stop walking away from me," he demanded.

Manny stopped and he released her arm before she turned to him. "Why do you even want to be around me right now? Don't you have other places to be? Go hang out with your friends in your garage or something. Practice with your band. Hook up with another random girl, but please just leave me alone." At first she sounded angry and pissed, but suddenly it seemed like she was pleading with him to stay away from her.

"Manny, I just want to help you feel better. You used to always comfort me, but when I had my opportunity I just turned my back on you."

Manny looked up and stared at him. She was searching for something. She was trying to make sure that he was being sincere and not just toying with her. She wouldn't be able to take it if he was. So many people no longer cared for her. Her own father practically hated her and her mother was probably disappointed. She didn't want them to be ashamed of her. She had done so many things to try and make them proud, but sometimes she had to put herself first.

Finally she found what she was looking for and she just broke down and cried. "My life…something just happened to it."

Craig's eyes widened as she wrapped her arms around him and sobbed into her chest. This was just what he wanted, but now he didn't know how to react. Should he just let her cry? Should he talk to her?

Manny couldn't believe that she was crying. Was it because her life was now in shambles or was it because she was envious of JT and Liberty and their newfound joy? She felt like a mess, but her tears were making her feel better. At least she wasn't cutting herself, throwing up, or doing drugs. Crying wasn't causing her any harm.

But being with Craig was.

Manny dried her eyes. "I really have to go. Emma and everyone wanted me to bring them the news and everything so I really have to go."

"Manny please—"

"Craig…"

"Don't go. Not yet anyway. I want to talk to you and to…apologize to you."

"Apologize for what?"

"Last year. I really have to. Last year I had said that I wished two years ago didn't happen and all of that. I didn't mean it like how it sounded. Manny, you're really great and you're a great person. I was just saying that I wish I could've spared us our pain. I'm being honest when I say this too. I really was going to choose you."

Then Craig turned to walk away. Manny kept her eyes on him and she was speechless. Craig always knew exactly what to say and how to say it. He had always been so special to her, but when the time called for it, she was able to harden her heart against him. She never gave him the chance to win her back, as if he had ever wanted to. She couldn't understand why Ashley had done him so wrong. She couldn't understand why Ashley had decided to break his heart and to stay in Europe. It was rumored that she had met another guy, and that was what Manny had chose to believe, but she knew that almost everyone at Degrassi fed on rumors and that was what kept them going. She didn't want to live like that.

Meanwhile Craig had made a stop at the nursery and he was looking at the babies. Most of them were asleep, although there were about three of them that were screaming their eyes out. One of the nurses was rocking a set of twins as if they were hers. All of them were wearing caps of either pink or blue, with matching booties. There definitely had been a lot of babies born because he knew that there were even more in rooms with their parents, such as JT and Liberty's baby boy that he still hadn't seen.

Somehow the thought of Ashley managed to pop into his head. He had convinced Ellie to let him read the email that Ashley had sent her announcing her plans to stay in Europe. He had felt like lifting the computer and smashing it to the wall, but he didn't want to prove Ashley right. She had been so afraid that he was going to have an "episode" so he regained his composure. He really wanted to meet that Alistair guy and tell him something. He had no right to steal his girlfriend. He had brainwashed Ashley into thinking that she wanted to stay in London and helped her forget all about her crazy boyfriend in Toronto. This wasn't Ashley's fault. Ashley was faithful and perfect. She was an angel on earth.

Or at least that's what he used to think. Now he didn't even know who his old girlfriend was. His old girlfriend never would've given up on him as soon as she did. Ashley had really loved him. Nothing like being bipolar and having to take medication was going to stop them from being together. She had really pulled out his heart and flushed it down the toilet. He regretted fighting for her parent's approval. He regretted sleeping with her and proposing to her only to be rejected. She had caused him as much pain as he had caused her.

Craig almost jumped when he felt someone's hand touch him, but then he looked and saw Manny standing next to him. He took a deep breath and stared at the babies in the nursery. "It's not good to sneak up on people like that."

How cheesy. You are such a loser Craig Manning.

"It was really nice of you to…you know, come and all. Thanks for apologizing too. It really made a lot of things easier for me," she said. She pushed a loose strand of brown hair behind her ear.

Craig nodded. "I just keep remembering how you had ran off and—"

"If I could I would run from a lot of things," she told him.

"Yeah, me too."

Manny slowly nodded. "You have a lot of memories here don't you?"

"What?"

"You know, with your dad working at the hospital and then when Jimmy was here."

"Yeah and there's even another one."

"Oh," she said, not even thinking about what he had just said.

"That's why Ash left me. She wanted to get away from me and my 'illness.'"

"What?" Manny asked, looking at him.

"I found out I was bipolar at the end of summer. When I had went missing was because Ashley had left and I stopped taking my meds. No big deal."

"It's not a good reason to leave someone," Manny replied. "That was so cold. Did she say that was why she left?"

"She implied it."

Manny nodded, and bit her bottom lip. "I guess we're both screw ups then, huh? I wonder what our kid would've been like if we had it."

"Probably a mess," Craig said.

"If it was a girl it probably would've looked like her," Manny said, pointing at a baby wrapped in a pink blanket that was crying so muchthat herface had red blotches. It looked the closest to both of them with a lot of curly dark brown hair and a lighter version of Manny's complexion.

"She does look sort of like us, huh?" Craig asked.

Manny nodded and smiled. "She looks so much like us I feel like I'm in a dream. This doesn't even feel real. I never would've imagined I would be standing with you looking in the nursery and picking out our baby. What's next? Wedding announcements?"

She hadn't meant for it to roll off her tongue so casually so when it did she brought her hand to her mouth and covered it. Craig looked at her with a surprised look on his face too.

"It was just a…joke," Manny said. "That was not a fantasy or anything. I just said it and I shouldn't play like that. I wasn't thinking."

"It's okay. Sometimes I do that too."

"What?"

"You know…say stuff without thinking and you wind up with your foot in your mouth. Trust me, I am a pro."

Feeling comfortable Manny sighed. She was slowly making her way back into his web without even realizing it, but she even if she noticed she wouldn't care.

R&R