Chapter 12: Digital Love (Daft Punk)
A/N: Well this chapter is the basic back-story of what happened to Casey, the mother of Craig's child. I know that I said that I wouldn't be doing any more flashback chapters but my friend Jenny whom I've been throwing ideas off of kinda forced me to write this chapter because she wanted me to give her character some closure and some time to shine. I know I've been vague what happened to her, I did this because until I started brainstorming for this chapter I had no freaking clue what I was going to do. But I think I came up with a plausible story for her exit from the story. I hope you like the story so far, and please feel free to review my story; I really want feedback to make this better.
As Craig and Ashley walk outside towards Craig's car, she notices a hint of pain in Craig's face, she doesn't know what to make of it, and she thinks to herself "wow, did she hurt him, did she leave him, is she dead? I want to ask him but I don't know if he wants to answer it." As soon as she sees his car, she knew that it would probably be better to change the subject.
She looks up to him and says "wow Craig, this is a really nice car."
Craig puts the key into the lock and says "Umm... yea thanks. I think it's been Joey's influence, I mean he always loved classic cars, like father like son I guess. "
Craig gets into the car and shuts the door. He swings over and unlocks the passenger's side door, and Ashley gets in. As soon as Ashley gets in and puts on her safety belt as Craig turns on the ignition. As they wait for the car to warm up Craig puts his hands on Ashley's lap and rub her legs a bit.
Craig then looks up and says, "You can ask if you want."
Ashley looks dumbfounded, she looks over to Craig and says "Ask what?"
"About Joey's mom, you deserve to know" responses Craig
"Alright, what happened to her? Why aren't you guys together?" asks Ashley
Craig sees that the car has warmed up so he puts the car into drive and pulls out of the driveway. As he soon as he gets to the first stoplight he lets out a big sigh, Ashley had given him the address to her apartment building before they left, it was about 20 minutes away, so he knew that he had sometime to answer her question properly.
He looks over to her and says "It's better if I start at the beginning so you know everything. Well when I was in the hospital after we broke up I met her, she was my primary nurse. She took care of me until I was released"
Ashley a little hurt by the statement, figuring that he probably hooked up with her the first moment he could. She looks over to him and says, "Ok, so did you guys know each other a long time or what?"
Craig winces at her statement and looks over to her and says "I didn't get with her for a really long time, I really wasn't looking for a relationship, and she was there for me at a time when I needed someone who didn't know about our past. Please don't ever think that I moved so quickly and just started banging some random girl, because that wasn't what happened."
Ashley tells him "I know, I shouldn't have said anything. I have no right, I really hurt you and I couldn't expect you to stay after what I did. If we could just get past it and continue with the story."
"Alright, well she was such a beautiful girl, not just physical but mentally. Casey was such an upbeat person that it was infectious, she is basically the reason why I am the way I am today. She was the person that made me want to grow up and she really forced me to become a man. She was such a humble person and I remember when she told me about her past, it was really inspiring." Says Craig
Craig and Casey decided that their second date would be at a local coffee shop, Casey's one addiction was Caffeine, and the coffee shop was across the street from Sean and Ellie's apartment so it made perfect sense. They met around 9:30, Craig of course was late, but Casey didn't mind she just smiled and he entered the coffee shop, she just stood up and kissed him on the lips. She was already on her second cup of mocha caramel latte; Craig ordered an orange juice and a bagel. They sat down and started to drink; Craig looked up to meet her smile big smile, Craig started to laugh, Casey looked dumbfounded, Craig motioned Casey to rub off the whip cream mustache that she was sporting. Casey started to touch underneath her nose when her fingers and saw portion of whip cream come off, so she grabbed a napkin and cleaned it off.
"Very funny Craig, do you take some sort of sick pleasure from this?" asks Casey
"Actually I do, thank you very much. But at least you took it like a champ, and didn't hit me" responses Craig
"Whatever; look Craig I need to tell me more about yourself. Tell me about your past, about what led you here to this exact moment in time" ask Casey with a hopeful smile on her face.
Craig really did not want to tell her, hell he had trouble talking about his experiences with the people he knew the best. But he knew that she deserved to know; that it's wasn't her fault that everything turned out the way it did. He thought to himself that maybe if he told her she could give him a new perspective on everything, maybe it would help him heal mentally, because she had already helped him heal physically. As he told her about his life as a child, his father beating his mother to the point where she left them, he told Casey about the abuse he suffered once she left she could see a slight of amount of pain resonate in his voice. He told her how his Mother met Joey, and about Angie, that his mother had died so young, and left so many. He told her how he came to live with Joey and Angie; how for first the time he felt a part of a loving family. He told her about the last day he saw his father, and the aftermath of his death. He told her about his life at Degrassi, how he met his friends, how he met Ashley; he really didn't want to bring it up but he always felt that his life story would be incomplete without her, he also told her about Manny, and Ellie. As Craig was telling her everything he noticed that she wasn't judging him, she was just listening intently he didn't know what to make of it. Then he finally told her about him being Bi-polar and being a recovering drug addict, he felt out of breathe as if he was getting 19 years of pain out of him, he just put his head down waiting for her reaction. She started to stroke his head and let out a little sigh, and then she lifted his chin and kissed him on the lips.
Craig was shocked that was not the reaction he thought he would get from her and then met eyes and she asked, "Do you still think about it?"
"Think about what?" responses Craig
"About doing coke, I mean do you still think about doing cocaine?" asks Casey
Craig was kinda relieved that she didn't bring up Ashley, that's the one subject he didn't even want to touch. He just looks at her and says, "No, I haven't done it in so long, it doesn't even cross my mind anymore. I came to the realization that I did it not because it felt good, I did it because for a long time I felt empty and when I started to see how I hurt those around me I knew I needed to quit. So to reanswer your question, no I don't use anymore nor do I think about it anymore; but being Bi-polar is always in the back of my mind."
She just smiles and rubs his hands; they meet eyes and she says, "thank you, not many people would be so honest with someone that they are barely getting to know. It shows what kind of person you are that you are still standing here even after everything that has happened to you"
As Craig pulls up to Ashley apartment building there is a bit of awkwardness between them, Ashley doesn't know what to think of everything, that he would be so honest with someone he barely knew. But at the same time, she was glad that he had someone he could talk to and the way that Craig spoke about her she thought to herself that she would like to have met her. Ashley didn't want to push it but she really did want to know where she is, but she guessed that Craig was right that you had to know everything about her for the story to make sense. As she opened the door and went inside Craig looked around and noticed the world that Ashley had made for herself over the last 12 years. He just smiles to himself, Ashley notices this and punches him in the arm; she wraps her arms around him and leans in for a kiss; for the two of them every time that they touch a rush of emotions surges through them.
Ashley whispers into his ears and says, "I love you."
"I love you back; now go get your things, huh?"
"Alright, but you have to continue telling what happened, ok?" responses Ashley
"Ok? Your welcome, I mean I'm nothing special. Tell me about yourself, tell me about your life" responses Craig
Casey looks at him with a hopeful smile and says "Alright, well I grew up in the Brooklyn all my life, life long Dodger's fan; I blame that on my grandpa, he use to tell me stories about Jackie Robinson. I am the youngest of four, two brothers and a sister; but I always felt that everyone looked to me to be the strong one; I guess I'm too much like my mom. My parents emigrated from El Salvador in the 70's; they were trying to escape the guerrillas who were trying to take over the country. My dad was a mechanic for like 30 years then he retired. My mom worked for social services, she always loved kids."
Craig detects a bit of sadness as she talks about her mom, he says, "are you okay? I mean you don't have to tell me if you don't want to?"
Casey wipes the tear underneath her eyes and says "I kinda want to; I mean you told me everything about yourself and I feel that I owe you the same. My mom died when I was young, I was about 5 when it happened. She was trying to get a kid out of an abusive house and she got injured when the mother attacked her. While she was in the hospital she got an infection and died. It was so hard on my dad; he loved her so much that he shut himself off from the world. My siblings and I had to pick up the slack; my older brother dropped out of school and got himself a couple of jobs. My sister and I did all the housework we cook and cleaned. I mean my dad loved us but it was hard for him and we understood that, we never went hungry; we always had a roof over our head. I always believed that I became a nurse because of what happened to my mom, I guess she instilled that sense of duty in me, even at a young age, like helping people is what I was always meant to do."
"Wow, your mom must have been an extraordinary woman; it would have been nice to meet her." Responses Craig
"Yea, I bet that she would have loved you," says Casey
They had talked all day, they got lost in their own little world, by the time they exited to the coffee shop it was around 4 in the afternoon.
Craig was sitting at the edge of Ashley's bed and watching Ashley gather some of her things together; some clothes and all of her legal briefs. She had just finished taking a shower and put on some jeans and a Craig Manning t-shirt, Craig looked it at and just laughed. She had picked out a nice dress suit, Craig just smile and wondered what she would look like in it. Ashley noticed Craig is just staring at her, she finishes up and goes to sit on his lap, she starts to mess with his hair, she laugh as his starts to tickle her. He lifts her up and tosses her on the bed. He goes in and starts to brush her cheek with his hand; he moves his fingers over her lips, Ashley just smiles and playfully tries to bite them. She starts to rip off his shirt and they start to make out. But right as they were getting more into it they are stopped by the phone, they both let out a big grunt. Ashley rolls over and grabs the phone and sees that it's her mom on the other end.
She presses the talk button and says "Hi, mom. What's going on?"
"I just wanted to see how everything went, I called but you weren't picking up" responses Ms. Kerwin
"Everything is great mom. I just had my phone off, I hope I didn't scare you" responses Ashley
Craig gets up and says, "Tell Kate I said hi" as he walks into the living room.
"Umm, Craig says hi. I was with him last night, I can't talk right now, but I'll tell you everything later," says Ashley.
"Wow, well tell him I said hi. So are you guys together or something," asks Ms. Kerwin
Ashley has a big grin on her face and says "yea mom were together, he asked me to spend the weekend so I could get to know his son. Look I have to go, I'll talk to you later, bye mom."
Before she could response Ashley had already hung up the phone
Craig looks over to her and just smiles, and crouches down and picks up her stuff. Ashley somewhat runs over to him, she grabs her keys from the table and they walk out the door. Ashley turns off the light and closes the door behind her. As they walk down the hall towards the elevator there is a silence between them but it's not awkward, it's more somewhat of a nervous one. They don't need to talk they already know what's going on, Craig knew that Ashley was trying to register everything, that she was fearful of what Craig's son might say and if he would allow her to be a part of his life. Ashley knew that Craig was thinking about the past, for someone so impulsive he lived so much of his life in the past. As they reached the elevator, Ashley pressed the down button and began to rub Craig's back; he in turn leaned back and kissed her on the cheeks. While they were in the elevator Craig spent the entire time looking off to the side, Ashley noticed this she turned to face him.
She lifted his chin and looked in his eyes, and saw the look on his face; he had his sad puppy dog face on. She rested her face on his, the pain on his face was radiating off of him, but her presence seems to relax him and get him out of funk. They stay like this for a little bit, even as people enter and leave the elevator. Craig snaps out of it just as they reach the underground car structure. As they reach the car Craig puts Ashley's stuff in the trunk, and then comes up behind Ashley and wraps his arms around his waist and places his head on her neck as if he is trying to find his way back to reality. He lets out a big sigh, which Ashley took as a good sign and she places her arms over his and closes her eyes as they loose themselves in the moment. After a couple minutes they separate themselves and Ashley turns around and places a kiss on his lips. Craig opens up the passenger side door and Ashley gets in, he walks over to the other side and enters the car as well.
As Craig turns on the ignition, he says "I was in L.A recording the third album, when I found out that Casey was pregnant, she called me early in the morning and told me to rush home, by that time we were living together"
A/N: The flashback is going to jump a bit in time from the conversion that Craig and Casey had in the coffee shop till much later in their relationship. So this part of the flashback is the conclusion of the flashback at the end of chapter 5. I felt if you read what I've written so far than you know that part of the story.
Craig got into JFK around midday, as he got into the cab and told the cabbie where he was going he felt a sense of worry over took him, he did know what was going on, Casey had been so vague over the phone, he didn't know what to make of it. He had always known Casey to such an honest person, that her not being honest with him made him worry. Was it good news? Was it bad news? Why didn't she tell him over the phone, the entire range of possible answers run through his head, and all of them but one seemed like a death sentence. As he paid the cabbie and got out of the cab he let out a big sigh, as he entered their apartment building, he saw Ellie and Sean waiting for the elevator.
"Hey guys what are you guys doing here?" said a dumbfounded Craig
"Hey Craig" said Ellie as she gave him a huge hug. "Umm Casey called us and told us that she had something she wanted to talk to us about" responded Sean as took one of Craig's bags off of him and gave him a pat on the back.
"Oh, do you guys have any clue as to what the hell is going on because she wouldn't tell me anything, she just told me that I had to come home" responded Craig as he pressed the up button on the elevator. As they got to the door, with Craig in the middle with Ellie on his left and Sean on his right, he began to unlock the door Casey had opened the door wildly and jump into the Craig's arms and places kisses all over his face, Sean and looked at each other and shrugged. Casey had jumped down from her position and started to step back a bit.
Craig looked befuddled and tilted his head to the side and said "Oooookay?"
They entered the apartment, they saw that Casey had made some lunch for everyone, as Craig and Sean placed his stuff on the couch Ellie had walked over to Casey and gave her a quick hug.
They walked over to the girls and Craig wrapped his arms around Casey and gave her a kiss. They met eyes and Craig said "look babe, why are we all here? You know that I love you but I think we all we want to know what the hell is going on."
"Geez, love you too Craig. Look I thought the two people that have always been closes to us should be here when I told you this. Craig actually you might want to sit down when I tell what going on" said Casey
"Casey whatever you have to tell me just tell, I'm ready for anything, I just don't like it when you're vague about things," responded Craig
"Alright Craig, look I'm pregnant, we are going to be parents," said Casey with a huge grin on her face
"Holy shit, oh my god. I'm going to be a dad," Said Craig and he wraps his arms around her and pick her up in the air. Sean and Ellie are speechless; they just smile at the happy couple.
Casey looks over to them and said "well are you guys going to say something and are you guys just going to stand there with those looks on your faces."
They walk over to Craig and Casey and start to congratulate the couple; everyone smiled as they ate lunch. Craig had spent the entire day with his little makeshift family, they weren't related by blood, but they were connected by love. Craig had the dubious distinction of having to call Joey and Angie to tell them the good news, they knew that they would make perfect parents, that Casey had such a calming affect on Craig, they knew that she would make such a great mom, and in turn Craig would be a great father, over the next few weeks the news broke among their friends; Marco, Jimmy, his wife Trina, Hazel, Spinner, his girlfriend Jane, and Paige all call to congratulate them. Ellie made sure that the news didn't reach Ashley; she thought it would be best that they keep their lives as separate as possible. Over the course of the pregnancy Craig split time between New York and L.A, he always made sure that he came back for all of Casey's checkups, and he made Ellie and Sean promise him that they would constantly check up on Casey. By the time that Craig had finished recording the album it was three weeks before her due date. Craig always said that he found his inspiration in recording that album from that little bundle of joy that was growing inside of Casey's stomach. When her water broke, Craig went straight in panic mode; he was lucky that Casey had already given him strict instructions on what to do. Craig called the doctor, had called the cab company, and grabbed her pregnancy bag. While they were in the cab Craig called everyone who he wanted to be there Sean, Ellie, Jimmy, Marco, Angie, and Joey along with Casey's family. She was only in Labor for about 4 hours, out came a 6 pound 7 ounce baby boy, everyone was openly weeping. It was definitely a joyous day for everyone involved. A few days later they came home to a house full of gifts that were given to Casey during the baby shower. Craig along with Sean's help had set up the crib; their first night home as a family Craig and Casey had spent the entire night looking down on him, looking at their beautiful son sleeping. Over the next few months Joey keeping on getting bigger and bigger; it surprised the both of them but Joey was such a quite child yet he was still very much energetic, he was such a happy baby to the point where he hardly cried. It pained Craig but he had to spend more time in L.A than he wanted to but he had to finalize everything for the upcoming tour. The whole process made Craig realize that he was a father now and that he would have to make concessions in his life, he would have to cut back on the time he was away from his family, he promised himself that the next album he record would be in New York with his family, he would have to cut back on personal appearances, and the tours would have to be cut back a bit on time so that he could be home, he didn't want to bring his family the road with him, he has seen the life and didn't want his kid to raise that way. This only pissed off his manager but there was no way around, he was not going to let his kid to be raised fatherless. This only made Casey happy, but the problem was that she wanted to go back to work. So they made an arrangement that at least someone would be home with Joey all the time whether it was Casey, Craig, Ellie, Sean or Angie who would come down from Toronto during her breaks from school. The next year or so was great watching Joey grow and grow, his first words were at 10 months he said "Daddy", that was one of the proudest moments of Craig's life. He began to crawl and stand up on his own; of course everything was recorded on film and video. They spent Joey's first birthday in Toronto; Casey said that Toronto was so beautiful that it would be the ideal place to raise a family. Angie and Ellie had set up the entire party, it was the first time that most of Craig's friends had seen Joey, Jimmy pointed out that Joey looked like Craig but with Casey's complexion. It was more of a reunion than anything else since the only children at the party were Joey and Scotty who was born 5 months previously.
Hazel had gone up to Marco and gave him a hug. They smiled at each other, Hazel leaned in and said "Hey Marco can I talk to you outside." Marco nodded and led the way out to the front lawn.
"What do you want to talk about Haze?" asked Marco
"Do you feel a little odd being her" responded Hazel
Marco tilted his head to the left and said "what? Why would you say that?"
"Look, I like Casey she such a cool girl and Craig seems really happy but don't you think it should be Ashley here and not her. I mean isn't that they way it was suppose to be." Said Hazel
Marco looked at her and said "yeah honestly I thought it would have turned out with Craig and Ashley being here together. But Ashley fucked it up, that is the simplest way to put it, she turned him down when Craig asked her to marry her and then she went to screw some other guy. As much as I love Ashley and as much as I wanted them to be together, life isn't always the way you want it to turns out. She always runs away from him, she is always afraid of the unexpected. And have you seen the change in Craig since they've been together, Craig is actually happy, he has grown up into the man we all knew he would be, he is no longer that immature kid that we all knew in high school. Is it the ideal situation? No, but it has turned out to the best situation, yes. Now Hazel I'm a little hungry so let's go inside."
"Alright but I'm still staying true to my belief, Craig and Ashley should be together" said Hazel
"Ever the romantic Hazel" responded Marco
As soon as they got back to New York, Craig had to leave to go on the second leg of the tour; the tour consisted of 20 major European cities over the course of 31 days, with the last date being in Wembley stadium. As Craig toured Europe he consistently wrote, in those 31 days he had written over 50 songs that reflected his new outlook on life. The third album had been called by critics and fans alike as a mix of modern song writing to the background of guitar rifts that were reminiscent of classic rock from the late 60's early 70's, it was the number one album for seven straight weeks and ended up staying in the top five for more than a year. It had sold a little over 7 million records in North America and 10 million overall, he cleaned up most of the major music awards. During the writing process the thought of Ashley had crossed his mind, he quietly knew that those memories he had of her would never fade out, that they would never leave him. But he knew that his present and future were with Casey and their son, he conceded that it would be best never to bring her up, that it wasn't fair to Casey to compare her to Ashley, and it wasn't fair to Ashley to be compared to the mother of his child. Throughout the next year Craig had spent time in the studio recording what would become the fourth album, Craig had always viewed that album as the signal that not only would he be able to make a life out of being a musician but also had finally found that sense of happiness he had always longed for.
As Ashley listened to Craig describe this period of his life it answered a lot of question that she had. Back when that Album came out she listened to it and questioned the lyrics, she asked herself whether or not any of those songs had anything to do with her.
Craig saw the look on her face and said, "as much as those lyrics were about my son and the life I had made for myself, I will never be able to write without thinking of you. You are the love of my life, and that even though it has pained me considerably it has always been what makes me want to get up in the morning. The love that we share has never left me and it makes me a better man. So even though I have loved another, you make me walk on water, okay?"
Ashley didn't say anything, she was wearing a giant grin on her face, and Craig knew what her answer was. At a stoplight Ashley leaned in and kissed him and rested her head on his shoulder. Craig let out a happy sigh and continued on.
"Umm a little after Joey's second birthday, Casey was offered a position with a team of Doctors and Nurses who were sent to Kenya to help those infected with AIDS. I'm not going to lie to you I didn't originally want her to go," said Craig
"Craig I have to do this, it is such an honor to be chosen for something like this," answered Casey
"Why do you have to go? You have a family here that needs you. I'm not trying to selfish but 8 months is a long time to be away from us," responded Craig
"I know my place is here with my family. But Craig you have to understand that so many people are dying from AIDS, am I supposed stand idly by and do nothing? 8 months is not that long, I'll be back before you know it. Do you love me Craig?" asked Casey
Craig looked at her dumbfounded and responded "Of course I love you Casey, what does that have to do with anything?"
"It has to do with everything Craig. If you love me than you know that I have to do this, you know that I'm going to do everything in my power to help those that have worse than I do. I have the perfect life, I have the perfect boyfriend, and we have the perfect child. But my life will have no meaning what so ever if I don't use my talents to help make this world a better place. I know that it's going to so hard to be away from you and Joey but this is something I need to do," answered Casey
Craig sighed in defeat, as much fear as he had it was only surpassed by his pride in her. He knew that she was right, she would never be happy if she weren't out there helping people. Craig never believed in superheroes but always thought that Casey was the closes he would ever get to meeting one. He just stood there and gave her a weak smile and said, "You know I hate when you're right."
Casey grinned as she wrapped her arms around Craig and said "does that mean that you always hate me."
Craig just shook his head and rubbed his teeth with his tongue. He looked at her and said "oh really, I see how it is," then he picked her up in the air and took her into the bedroom and made love to her. Afterwards both were struggling for air, as both looked up towards the ceiling with Casey resting her head on his chest you could sense the happiness radiating off of them. The next day Casey had called the program director and told her that she was in; Casey was told that she would be leaving in a month so she had some time to make all the preparations.
Two days before she left they had a going away party; Craig had gone to the kitchen to get the cake when Sean came up to him.
"Dude, I know we haven't talked about it much but how are you feeling about everything?" asked Sean
"You know I should be feeling depressed about the whole situation but I'm not it's only eight months and as tough as it's going to be without her I have you guys and I know she'll come back to us. She's too smart to risk her life because they're too much at risk." Responded Craig
"You're probably right," answered Sean
The entire no one thought about her leaving they just enjoyed being a family, a huge extended family. Jimmy had only a few month prior began to walk on his own without any help, the doctors had started a series of stem cell implants that accelerated the healing process, so it surprised everyone that during the party he spent the entire dancing with Hazel, everyone including Trina who just cheered him on. Spinner spent the entire night having an argument/discussion with Jane and Angie about whether or not children should be let to watch violent cartoons. Joey of course was playing the role of grandfather and just carried his namesake around. The main event of the evening was a performance of the group's resident rock star; it was his gift to his beautiful girlfriend.
"Alright guys, I dedicate this song to a very special person in the crowd. She knows what she means to everyone and I'm going to counting down the clock till she comes back home. I wrote this song just for this special occasion and I hope she loves it" said Craig
"What, she is your personal groupie Craig?" yelled Spinner
Everyone shot Spinner an evil look and threw whatever they had in their hands at him. Casey just smiled and said "damn straight spin, there better not be any other one while I'm gone, Ellie I trust you with that duty." Craig just shook his head while Ellie nodded her head in approval, which made everyone laugh. Craig put his lips to the mic and began strumming away at his guitar.
Last night I had a dream about you
In this dream I'm dancing right beside you
And it looked like everyone was having fun
The kind of feeling I've waited so long
Don't stop come a little closer
As we jam the rhythm gets stronger
There's nothing wrong with just a little little fun
We were dancing all night long
The time is right to put my arms around you
You're feeling right
You wrap your arms around too
But suddenly I feel the shining sun
Before I knew it this dream was all gone
Ooh I don't know what to do
About this dream and you
I wish this dream comes true
Ooh I don't know what to do
About this dream and you
We'll make this dream come true
Why don't you play the game?
Why don't you play the game?
As he finished the song everyone cheered and clapped, Casey just stood there blushing. She ran up to him and started smothering him with kisses. Casey's last day in New York was spent visiting all of her favorite places, Craig didn't like to use his superstar status to get anything but he used it to made sure that Casey got whatever she wanted. Because the time change her flight was in the afternoon the next so that she could arrive in Kenya in the morning. The morning of her flight they spent having breakfast at Sean and Ellie's place, afterwards everyone took the long and quite ride to JFK, the only noises in the cab were of the sounds of the radio dispatcher and Joey playing a little toy car. As they got to the airport everyone exited as Craig paid the cabbie and Sean pulled all the suitcases out of the trunk. As they walked through the terminal to the checkpoint Casey carried Joey in one hand and held Craig's other hand with hers. As they got the security checkpoint, everyone said they're goodbyes.
Craig placed his forehead on hers and said "I love you, Joey loves you, please don't ever forget that. Please be safe and come home safe."
Casey smiled as she kissed Joey on the forehead and gave him to Craig. She looked at the two most important men in her life and said "I will always have you, you are the reason I'm doing this. And don't worry I'll be back before you know it and I'll make sure to call every chance I get." Casey hugged Sean and Ellie then moved back to Craig and laid the most passionate kiss she could muster. As she moved through the line she kept on looking back at her family, and she exited the metal detectors and grabbed her things she looked back and blew a kiss at Craig and Joey. As they exited the airport Ellie looked at Craig and said "it's okay to be sad but have faith Craig, and pray for the best." Craig looked at Joey then moved his eyes to Ellie and gave her a weak smile.
The next couple of months went by fast, packages were sent by Casey on a regular basis with pictures of everything there was to see in Kenya and letters that tell the story of each picture. She twice a week, every time Craig talked to her he could sense how happy she was, she would always praise the people she worked with, the stories of the people who she helped treat. Of course she would ask about how Joey was doing, Craig would place the phone to his ear and let him talk to his mom. The conversations would only be about 15 minutes, which was all that was allowed. Craig would have a calendar placed up in their bedroom and everyday he would cross out another day praying for her return. One week he got worried because she hadn't called but those fears were subsided when she called the following explaining that she and another nurse were sent to pick up medicine from another village. The fears that Craig originally had subsided, Ellie and Sean made it a point of emphasis to either come over everyday or host Craig and Joey for dinner. The entire experience made Craig more appreciative of how much Casey meant to him and Joey but at the same time it was a learning process that made Craig a better father.
A/N: The story jumps forward to six months after Casey had left.
Craig and Joey had gone to the store to buy groceries, and as Craig had put away everything and put Joey down for his afternoon nap when he heard a knock on the door. As he opened the door he saw a Woman he had never seen before, she was a white woman who looked to be in her early 50's and was wearing a business suit.
"Hello, Mr. Manning?" said the woman
"Umm yes, can I help you?" responded Craig
"Umm, my name is Leticia Carmichael, the director for the New York branch of Doctors without Boarders," answered the woman
"Please come in, it really nice to meet you, Casey spoke highly of you," said Craig as he led the way to the living room.
"That's kinda of why I'm here. There is something I need to tell you," responded Mrs. Carmichael
"Of course, would you like some coffee?" asked Craig
Mrs. Carmichael gave Craig a sad look and said "Umm no, Mr. Manning there is no easy way to say this so I'm going to come out with it. Casey died Sunday morning."
Craig looked back at her and if she a figment of his imagination. He looked down for a second then met eyes with her and said "what, what are you talking about I just talked to her on Thursday night."
She let out a huge sigh and noticed that Craig was openly weeping, she walked over to where Craig was sitting and started to pat him on the back and said "She along with a doctor and another Nurse had traveled to the capital to do some sight seeing, on their way back to the village the driver lost control of the wheel and they crashed into a ditch. She survived the initial impact but a few day she lost her life due to complications from her injuries."
Craig slowly let his head fall to the floor, he began to breath heavily. He began to feel like time was coming slowly to a stop, Mrs. Carmichael was talking to him but he could hear her, it sounded like a light buzz off in the distance. He looked up a picture near the door of Casey after birth holding Joey in her arms, not only did he lose the woman he loves but also the mother of his child, Joey would not have her around. He came back to reality and asked her a question, "did she suffer?"
Mrs. Carmichael rubbed his back and said, "No, we made sure that she didn't feel a thing, her body just shut down. She did leave a message though, she told us to tell you that she will always love you and your son and she will be looking down on from Heaven."
Craig looked back at her with a sad smile on his face, even in her final thoughts they were about him and their son. He looked over to Joey's bedroom and said, "What's next? I mean what happens now?"
"Umm, well her body is being prepared so she can be returned to you. So right now it would be best if you started to make all the funeral arrangements. Let me know if there is anything I can do for you and your son, your girlfriend was an amazing woman, I truly wish that there were people in the world like her, she saved so many lives," answered Mrs. Carmichael
"Umm, thank you. She was definitely one of a kind, I'm gonna call her family right now," responded Craig
"Of course, I'll be on my way. My heart weeps for you and your family," said Mrs. Carmichael
After Craig had shown her out the door he called Casey's sister, who lived in L.A with her husband. Her screams where inaudible, she said she was on the next flight out, she told him that she would talk to the rest of her family. His next call was to Ellie and Sean who came right over, the spent the next couple of hours consoling him. The next week few weeks were especially hard for Craig, Ellie and Casey's sister took over everything and made all the preparations. The funeral came and went, it was obvious that Craig was about to break down but something in him forced him not to, like Casey's spirit was holding him up, making him strong enough to be there for their son. All of his friends and family came down, the general consensus was that she died way too young, and she would live on through her son and the memories everyone had of her. The first couple of months Craig couldn't even sleep in their bed, her scent radiated off of the pillows, it agonized Craig for so long that he donated the entire bed set to goodwill. Before she left Casey's sister had taken all of her stuff leaving behind various pictures and a couple of awards that she had accumulated over the years. Six months after Casey's passing Craig and Joey moved out of their apartment. Craig did not want to be there anymore; everywhere he looked he had a memory of her. At first Casey's family objective to the situation but Craig promised that they would get to see Joey as much as possible. Ellie and Sean understood, and felt that it would best if Craig had a fresh start; they decided if they moved as well, they felt that it would be best to move back to Toronto. Craig and Joey bounced around a bit, until Joey was 5 they lived in Los Angeles. But living in L.A soured on Craig, so he decided that they should move to Vancouver so that Joey could have a safe environment to go to school, and Craig could freely record his next album. During this period of his life he recorded another album, which topped the charts yet again, in one of the darkest periods of his life his professional life was at an all time high. But he understood that enough though he was in a dark place that his son could never see him that way, he went out of his way to ensure that he would always be strong in front of his son. Every now and again he would have fleeting thoughts about Casey, but as time went on he had few and fewer of them.
As they sat in the car outside of Ellie and Sean's house Ashley stared at Craig while he told her the story she could see the pain in his eyes. He spent the entire time looking outside the windows when he finished he looked at her and said "she was buried at Holy Cross cemetery in Brooklyn, Me and Joey visit her grave every year on her Birthday and Christmas. When he would ask where she was I would always tell her that she was with the angels and that she would always look down on him for protection. He used to ask me so many questions about her, I tired the best I could to answer all of them, at first it was hard but as time went on I got better at it. Ash, every time I see him smile I see the same light that I used to see in her. That sparkle in his eyes he gets from her, he is so much like her, his compassion, his loving nature, his intelligence those are all qualities he got from her. Look I know it's a lot to take in, so I'll understand if you need time to register everything."
Ashley moved over to be closer to Craig, she reached up and kissed him on the cheek, she used her other hand to move his head to meet hers and said "Yea, you're right it a lot to take in. But so is what you had to suffer through, and I'm not going anywhere. I've done all the running away from you that I'm ever going to do. I can never replace Joey's mother but I would love to be there to support him in anyway I can."
Craig returned her the smile she gave him and said, "You never have to try, just be yourself and Joey will love just like I do. Casey will always be special to me but so are you. You are the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with, you are the woman I want to wake up to every morning and go to sleep with every night."
As Craig finished his declaration of his love for her, she embraces him and starts to lay passionate kisses on him. As she releases him she says, "that exactly how I feel."
"Well then I think there is someone that you need to be properly introduced to," responses Craig
As Craig and Ashley exit the car the walk hand and hand to the front door. Craig notices how nervous she is, he gives her a look that reassures her that everything will be okay. As Craig knocks on the door he gives Ashley a giant smile, which Ashley returns.
Ellie opens the door and the first thing that she notices is Craig and Ashley's hand connected, she looks up at them and says "Ash, what are you doing here?"
"Hi, Ellie. It's been awhile hasn't?" responded Ashley
"Umm, Ellie I guess there's some questions that need to be answered" responded Craig
"Yea, I guess so," answered Ellie