"I'm pretty sure you've done enough, princess."

Hawk's words were like a jab to her gut when she visited Miguel at the hospital, and she peered into the room then, watching as Hawk brushed past her to greet Miguel enthusiastically. She turned away, letting them be, but his words echoed in her mind. As harsh as they were, part of her had to admit he had a point. Her chest had been weighing with guilt over what happened for a while now, and it all came to the surface once she saw him in the hospital bed.

She decided then that this wouldn't be the last time she came to visit him. She had to make things right some way, and the least she could do was be there to support him before his surgery.

So she came back the next day after school, her laptop in tow. She hesitated outside his door for a moment, suddenly feeling nervous, but she pushed her feelings aside. He was more important right now.

"Hey," she greeted shyly as she stepped in, and Miguel turned his head, his expression perking up almost instantly.

"Hey," he said to her, a smile forming on his face. "You're back."

"Yeah," she replied, clutching her computer. "I hope that's okay."

"Yeah," he assured her, and she smiled. He nodded to her laptop. "Why do you have your computer?"

"Um..." She made her way around to the side of his bed. "I thought maybe we could watch a movie, or something."

"A movie?"

"Unless you're busy," she retreated, "or wanna be alone. I totally understand." She moved to take a step back.

"No, no," he responded fast, grabbing her wrist to stop her. She glanced at where his hand touched hers, and he removed it just as quickly.

"I mean, yeah," he cleared his throat. "I'm not busy. A movie sounds cool." She pressed her lips together into a smile.

"Okay," she nodded, before glancing around the room for a chair, and with her luck, there wasn't. She sucked her teeth.

"Maybe there's a chair outside," she said. "Let me go check-"

"Or you could just sit here." He gestured to a spot on the bed beside him, and she met his gaze, her expression slightly surprised. He realized how his suggestion might have sounded, and he shook his head.

"Only if you're comfortable with that," he added, "it doesn't really matter."

"Are you comfortable with that?" He looked at her and saw she was more concerned than anything, realizing she was talking about his physical situation instead.

"It's fine," he assured her, "really." She was still hesitant, but caved eventually, moving carefully to sit by him on the bed. He shifted a little, as much as he could using just his upper body, giving her more room. Once they were settled, she leaned back against the headboard, placing her laptop onto her lap and turning it on.

"So what movie are we watching?" he asked her then.

"Do you have something in mind?"

"Anything would be better than the soaps that play on the TV here," he told her, and she laughed.

"I think I have an idea," she said then, queuing something up, and the opener began.

"Thor Ragnarok?" He turned to face her. "You're into Marvel?"

"Yeah," she responded like it was obvious. "Who isn't?" He raised his eyebrows.

"Wow, okay," he said, leaning back. "Why this one?"

"Well..."

"Let me guess. Chris Hemsworth?" She gave him a cheeky grin, and he rolled his eyes.

"Gotcha." Nonetheless, he was happy to watch any Marvel movie. But if he was being honest, it wouldn't have mattered what movie she picked. He was just happy she was there.

Sam showed up the next day, around the same time, and by the look on Miguel's face when she came into his room, she could tell he was happy to see her.

"What movie are we watching today?" he asked once she came over to the side of his bed. She grinned as she took her backpack off, zipping it open.

"I brought a game instead," she responded, and he raised his eyebrows. She pulled out a chessboard, and she laughed as his eyes widened.

"Dude," he shook his head, "I'm the king of chess, okay? You don't know what you're walking into." He cleared his little table, and she placed the board on top of it.

"Oh, really?" she challenged, settling by the foot of his bed to face him and crossing her legs in a pretzel formation. "Well maybe you're just saying that because you've never had me as an opponent. I happen to be pretty good myself."

"I don't know, Sam, I think you'll be surprised. My Yaya is the actual goat at chess, and she taught me all her moves." She chuckled as they set the pieces up.

"I guess we'll find out, then." They met each other's gazes, and she sent him a playful wink.

Miguel scoffed. "Oh, it's on."

The following day, she didn't bring her laptop or a game, and Miguel groaned when she began pulling out her notebooks. Sam laughed.

"I have a test tomorrow, okay?" she told him. "Help me study." Miguel scoffed.

"Yeah, like you need my help to study."

"Are you kidding? I wouldn't have passed that test on pig anatomy if it weren't for you." He smiled then, reminiscing on the first time they ever really spoke to each other.

"Fine," he gave in, "let's help you study for-" he snatched the book from her hands, making a face of disgust once he read the label, "-AP bio? That's gross, Sam." She snatched her notebook back, slapping it playfully against his arm, and he raised his hands defensively.

After spending what they deemed a substantial amount of time studying, the two had gotten distracted, and began playing drawing games in Sam's notebook instead. Her pages were covered in tic-tac-toe grids and several rounds of hangman, and now she held her notebook close to her face as he did the same with another one of her books. They were drawing each other.

"Ta-da," she said then, turning her finished project in his direction. It was important to note then that neither of them were artists whatsoever. He laughed, grabbing the drawing to take a closer look.

"Wow," he responded. "Okay, wait, my chin isn't that long."

"I might have gotten a little carried away," she admitted then, and he chuckled. "But honestly-" she took the drawing back, holding it beside his face, "-I think it's pretty spot on." He narrowed his eyebrows.

"Should I be offended?"

"Maybe." And they both laughed.

"Let me see yours." She leaned forward to take his drawing from his hands, and she peered at it closely.

"Miguel."

"Yes?"

"Why do I have ten arms and two heads?"

"What?" She moved to show him what she was referring to. "No, that's Señor Octopus. You're holding him." She furrowed her eyebrows.

"Look," he pointed, "that's his head. And those are his tentacles." Her confused expression slowly changed to one of understanding as she raised her eyebrows.

"Oh," she said then, "I think I see it."

"It's so obvious," he defended. She tilted her head.

"That's debatable," and he shook his head, chuckling.

"But I'll give you points for including Señor Octopus," she offered. "Nice touch."

"Right? Thank you." She laughed before peering out the window, seeing that the sun had started to set.

"I should probably get going," she said then, standing up. Miguel sighed.

"Yeah, it's getting late," he agreed, watching as she packed her bag and slung it over her shoulder. "Same time tomorrow?" She met his gaze with a smile, nodding.

Sam continued to visit him everyday, bringing something to do each time. Some days they'd watch a show or movie, other days she'd bring a game to play. Sometimes they'd simply pass the time talking, and Miguel enjoyed each and every one of her visits.

This time, she seated herself beside him on the bed, and they leaned back against the headboard as she logged onto her laptop.

"What are we watching?" he asked her.

"You can pick," she offered, moving the screen towards him. He pondered for a moment, before settling on The Office.

"I love The Office!" she exclaimed as he began an episode. "I've watched the whole series like three times."

"Probably the best show of all time, if I'm being honest," he told her, and she hummed in agreement. They watched several episodes to pass the time, speaking minimally, but it was comfortable as they enjoyed each other's company. After a while, their eyelids began to flutter, and Sam yawned. Soon enough, they drifted to sleep, and Sam's head fell onto his shoulder, while his cheek rested against her hair. The two remained in that position for a while, as the show continued to play quietly on her laptop. Neither would realize how much time had passed until they woke up.

Later, the nurse walked in with her tools to measure Miguel's vital signs, and Sam began to stir awake.

"Sorry, honey," the nurse apologized gently. "Visiting hours are over. You can come back tomorrow." Sam squinted at her for a moment, her eyes still heavy with sleep, before taking a glance around the room, remembering where she was. Her eyes widened once she peered out the window and saw it was completely dark out. She lifted her wrist to glance at her watch, only to see that it was almost 10pm, and she had a dozen missed calls from her mom.

"Shit," she mumbled under her breath, and she felt Miguel begin to stir awake against her. That's when she realized the position they were in, and she quickly but gently lifted her head from his shoulder, getting up from the bed.

"Sam," he spoke then, his voice raspy with sleep. "What time is it?"

"Late," she whispered simply, hastily tucking her laptop into her bag. She felt her heart fluttering a little more than usual, and she wondered if he'd realized how they were sleeping before she got up. The nurse approached Miguel then, preparing her tools as he rubbed his eye.

"I'll be back tomorrow," she told him then, slinging her bag over her shoulder. "You should rest." She gave the nurse a faint smile before walking over to the door.

"Sam," he called to her, and she turned around.

"Goodnight," he said simply, and she smiled.

"Goodnight."

As she made her way out the door, she vaguely heard the nurse mention to him how soon his surgery was, and that's when it hit her: Miguel was going to have surgery in two days. Where had the time gone? She knew it was soon, but she hadn't realized how soon. Everything felt different then, and she started to feel nervous. What if something went wrong? What if it didn't work?

She shut her eyes tightly as soon as the thought entered her mind, shaking her head as she stepped into her car. She couldn't be thinking like that. Or at least, she couldn't let him know she was thinking like that. She wanted to be strong for him; she was supposed to be his support right now, not the other way around.

As nervous as she was, she'd have to pretend she wasn't.

She came by late Thursday afternoon right after school, as per usual, and she mustered up a smile before coming into his room.

"Hey- oh," she let out once she saw he wasn't alone. Miguel was surrounded by his mom and grandmother, and she counted three other people in medical uniforms as well. They all turned to her.

"I'm sorry," she apologized quickly, stepping out. "I'll come back later." His mom gave her a faint smile to which she returned, but Miguel barely glanced in her direction. His eyebrows were knitted together, expressing concern, as his gaze remained fixated on the floor. She frowned slightly, but shut the door behind her, moving to sit in a chair nearby outside his room.

Sam let out a long breath she didn't realize she was holding until then, leaning forward in her chair to prop her elbow up on her knee, her chin resting against her fist. She thought about the looks on the faces of all those people in his room, wondering what had him so worried. Was something wrong?

She only let the thought float in her head for a moment before blinking it away. They were probably just preparing him for the surgery tomorrow. Nothing to worry about.

She glanced around her surroundings then, taking note of all the other people in the hallway she was in. Nurses were flowing in and out of different rooms, pushing carts full of tools she couldn't name half of. She saw there were other people sitting outside rooms, too, people like her, she imagined. But then she noticed one girl in particular, who just ran out of the hospital room she was in, before sinking to the floor. She was crying intensely, and another woman came out of that room soon after her, crouching to the ground to hold her as she crumbled emotionally. Sam felt her heart break at the sight, not wanting to imagine what must've happened to earn such a reaction out of her.

She couldn't help but think about Miguel then: the state he was in, the stakes of the surgery, how he got to this point, and how maybe if she'd done certain things differently, this wouldn't have happened, and before she knew it, her cheeks were wet, tears spilling down her face. She covered her face in her hands, letting herself cry for this moment she had alone.

She must've stayed like that for a while, because she didn't realize when the doctors left his room, and soon after, his mom and grandmother. She felt a hand on her shoulder then, and she looked up to see Miguel's mom. She hastily wiped her tears away, while his mom sat in the chair beside her. Sam turned to face her, and she could tell she was trying to appear strong for the both of them when in reality, she was even more worried about the surgery than Sam was. Still, his mom placed a comforting hand on her knee.

"It's going to be okay, honey," Carmen told her, and Sam shook her head.

"I'm so sorry, Ms. Diaz," Sam apologized through a sob.

"Don't worry, it's not your fault."

"It is," she responded. "If it wasn't because of me, he wouldn't be in this mess to begin with." Carmen pressed her lips together before making Sam face her.

"I would never put the blame on you for what happened, Samantha," she told her sternly. "And neither would Miguel."

"I wouldn't blame him if he did."

"Are you kidding? You've been the one person that's been able to make him feel the closest to his old self throughout all this. Before you started visiting him, he didn't even want to wake up for breakfast. You gave him something to look forward to. All he talks about is you and how much fun you guys have. I'm so grateful that I got to get a glimpse of my son again, in spite of the circumstances. And it's because of you." Sam listened intently, and she felt like her heart could soar.

"Really?" she breathed, feeling at a loss for words. Carmen nodded.

"Is he okay?" Sam asked then. "He seemed off when I stepped in earlier."

"He's just worried, as we all are," she explained, "but also frustrated. He wouldn't talk much today, or eat much of his food. I think he's just afraid of, well, you know..." Carmen looked away then, trying to control her emotions that threatened to rise to the surface.

"I'm worried, too," Sam admitted then. "But I told him before: if anyone were to beat the odds, it's him." Carmen returned her gaze, pressing her lips together in a tight smile.

"You can see him now," Carmen told her then. "The doctors left."

"Are you sure he doesn't want to be alone?" Sam asked her, and Carmen shook her head.

"He's been waiting to see you all day." She gestured towards his room then, and Sam felt herself blush slightly, a smile forming on her face. She mouthed a thank you to Carmen, to which she returned with a smile, before standing up from her chair.

Sam made the few steps over towards his door, pausing briefly to make sure she'd wiped her tears away and to take a deep breath. She felt more nervous now than before, knowing that Miguel had told his mom about her. She didn't know exactly where they stood following the school fight, but what she did know, was that at this very moment, she wanted to be with him.

"Hey," she greeted him simply as she stepped in, shutting the door carefully behind her. He looked up to meet her eyes, giving her a tired smile before glancing back down to his lap. She bit her bottom lip nervously then, wondering how she should approach him. As she hesitatingly walked over to the side of his bed, she fiddled with her fingertips out of nervousness. She stopped once she reached his bedside.

"Sorry, I'm not really in the mood to watch a movie or anything right now," he told her, not moving his gaze from his lap. "You don't have to stay." But she knew from the way he spoke that he needed someone right now, he just didn't want to give it away.

She crawled into his bed then, much to his surprise, curling up into his side and resting her head against the front of his shoulder. He lifted his arm slightly to give her more room, but she gently pulled it back down, curling her hand around his bicep. She felt him tense up beside her, so she started rubbing circles against the skin of his arm, and gradually his breathing evened out, eventually falling in sync with her own. They remained in comfortable silence for a while, finding peace in each other's presence, until Miguel finally spoke.

"I'm scared, Sam," he admitted in almost a whisper.

"It's gonna be okay," she told him, repeating his mom's words. "They got you one of the best doctors in the country. And you're the strongest person I know. Nothing can go wrong."

"But what if it doesn't work?" he asked her. "What if I can never walk again?"

"It will work," she argued, then whispered more to herself, "it has to." He stopped responding then, and she thought that was all he'd say to her, until he spoke again.

"I just wish it never came to this." She felt her heart sink.

"I'm sorry," she whimpered, "if I could go back in time, I would." He paused as he pondered her words.

"I don't blame you for this," he told her then, reading her mind.

"I don't understand why," she replied anyway. "If I didn't kiss you, Tory would've never gotten angry, and the fight wouldn't have even happened."

"I guess it did set her off," he responded after a moment, "but now that I think about it, I think she was just waiting for a reason to blame you for something. She'd been acting jealous all along, and I'm to blame for that. I mean, the whole reason we got together in the first place was so I could get over you." She sucked in a breath, feeling her heart start to race.

"Do you regret it?" she asked then, quietly.

"Regret what?"

"What happened at the party." He paused for a moment, thinking.

"Our timing was off," he admitted. "But no. I don't regret it." It was like her heart had stopped beating for a second, and she wondered if he could feel the effect he had on her. He couldn't see it, but a blush appeared across her cheeks. She turned slightly to look at him, and his gaze on her was tense but soft at the same time. She didn't realize when she started leaning in, their eyes on each other refusing to tear away, until he caved and glanced down at her lips, swallowing nervously. She was close enough then for their noses to be brushing slightly, and her eyes fluttered shut as she slowly closed the gap between them in a tender kiss.

It was a barely a kiss compared to the ones they've shared before. Their lips just grazed each other's, molding together for a short but sweet moment. But it still held so much more meaning than the rest, to the both of them. With everything that they'd gone through, and everything on the line, they each needed the other, and they felt that as they lay together in his hospital bed.

She pulled back slowly, just enough so that she could see him, and their eyelids fluttered open. His expression was soft as he gazed at her longingly, and the corners of her mouth tilted up in a smile.

"No one saw us this time, right?" he spoke lowly, and she laughed, hiding her face in his chest.

"Miguel!" He chuckled.

"Just checking," he joked, and glanced around the room for effect, "okay, I think we're good." She lifted her head, shaking it at him disapprovingly, before moving back to his side, laying against his shoulder. She took his hand that rested on his leg in her own, holding his fingers.

"I know you're scared for tomorrow," she said then. "But you don't need to be. Everything will be fine, and I'll be right here to see you when you're done." He smiled thoughtfully at her words, grazing his thumb over the back of her palm.

And she was there. Just like she said she would be.