Dislcaimer: I do not own the Total Drama series or anything else copyrighted.

"Are you ready to get your cast off today?"

Duncan nodded. He said to the Doctor, "I am. How long will this take?"

The Doctor shrugged. He explained, "Less than ten minutes, I would say."

"Oh, that's not bad," Duncan said, nodding. He turned to his girlfriend, who was browsing through a magazine. He asked her, "Not going to watch, darling?"

"He's just sawing off your cast," Courtney murmured, not looking up from her magazine. "I had one removed when I was four."

"I didn't know you had one before," he muttered.

"I fell out of a tree," she explained, a blush forming on her cheeks when her boyfriend began to laugh. She murmured, "Shut up and watch your cast being taken off."

He turned his head and, indeed, the doctor was beginning the process of removing his cast. He didn't even hear the saw or feel his cast being cut open. He knew he couldn't move while the process was being happened, and he was itching to move his leg just a tiny bit to see what would happen. He didn't want to get injured again, though, so he let out a small sigh and continued watching the saw slowly cut a line through his cast.

Within ten minutes, the whole process was over. When the doctor opened the cast, Duncan couldn't help but crinkle his nose and make a disgusted face. The smell that surfaced, probably from both the cast and his leg, was not pleasant. He also couldn't help but ask, "Can we please open up a window?" He glanced over and saw that his girlfriend, who was still reading her magazine, was also making a disgusted face.

The Doctor laughed and opened the window. "It's normal for a smell like this to emerge," he said.

Duncan nodded and looked down at his now non-injured leg. Something was off, though. It seemed like his injured leg, his left one, was smaller than the right one. "Did this cast deform my leg?"

The Doctor chuckled, shaking his head. "No. The cast was bound against your leg, which wasn't used very much. You had to use your other leg for things instead. So, that creates a weight and or muscle loss in your previously injured leg."

Duncan nodded, relaxed a bit more. "Cool."

"You'll have to start physical therapy soon," the Doctor continued on. "Has anyone talked to you about that yet?" When Duncan shook his head, the Doctor said, "Okay, well, because you didn't use your leg for so long, you'll have to start physical therapy to regain muscle and basically learn how to use your leg again. You can try walking and such now if you'd like, but you'll see how difficult the task will be..."

Duncan made a soft humming noise. He was wondering how much it would hurt to try and really walk with his left leg. True, it was slightly uncomfortable to stand up, but it was only truly painful if he put pressure onto his injured leg. He looked over and saw that Courtney was carefully watching him. He shrugged and said, "Let's give this a shot."

What a big mistake that was.

He decided to jump onto the ground off the bed, and upon landing, shots of pain traveled up and down his healing leg. He let out a grunt as he held onto the bed. "Shit," he groaned. He wearily smirked at the Doctor and said, "I'm not gonna try and walk after that. I don't think I can move my leg anyway."

"Just try a couple of steps," the Doctor said, softly smiling.

Duncan nodded. He took a deep breath before shakily and slowly moving his left leg forward. It was hard, but he did it. He did that a few more times before letting out a loud sigh and saying, "I'm done for now, Doc."

The Doctor nodded, smiling. "You did a good job, actually. Now, let's get you out of here..."

"How are you feeling, honey?"

"My leg's kinda sore."

"That doesn't sound good."

"I've been doing some exercises to help it improve faster."

"Don't stress it out, sweetie."

"I know, Ma."

Suzie turned around and smiled at her son. They were currently at Duncan's apartment. She wanted to visit her son after his cast removal, and, as much as she loved Courtney, was glad the young lady was gone so she could spend some one-on-one time with her son. She was currently making simple spaghetti dish for the two of them, since he claimed he was starving when she had arrived. She asked, "How is Courtney doing?"

Duncan shrugged. "She's doing fine, I guess."

"Just...fine?"

He rolled his eyes. He explained to her, "She's the same ol' Courtney. She's nervous about starting University, and she's stressed out at work..."

"Poor thing..."

"Oh, she'll be fine."

Suzie furrowed her eyebrows, staring at her middle child. She bluntly said to him, "It sounds like you don't care about her all that much, Duncan."

Duncan stared at his Ma for a few seconds before harshly responding, "I care about her, Ma. A lot. Sorry that I'm not so understanding about school or work."

"I figured you cared about her, Duncan. Your tone of voice just sounded like you were bored and didn't care. Do you act like this around her?"

"Kind of," he muttered. "But she knows I don't care about school. I let her rant about her worries and qualms, and I try to help her, but like I said, she knows I'm not the best support system for things related to school."

"I don't see why you aren't going to college..."

"I have no idea what kind of career I'm going to have."

"You could always be undecided..."

"I may never decide what I'm going to do." Duncan sighed. "Are you ashamed that I haven't-"

"No!" Suzie exclaimed. She immediately ran over to her son and sat down next to him. "I could never be ashamed of you. I just... I wish you were at least going to some type of school, whether it be University or... or the Academy-"

"I am never becoming a police officer." He paused for a moment before muttering, "No offense."

"None taken." She softly smiled at him. "You know what I mean."

"I do." He returned the small smile before saying, "Just lay off, okay? I'm also stressed out..."

She immediately frowned. "What are you stressed out about?"

He let out a sigh before saying, "I didn't realize I still wouldn't be able to use my leg after having the cast taken off. I don't have a job, and I don't like using the money I won. And Courtney being stressed out is making me stressed out..."

Suzie reached forward and gently rubbed his arm. "You two need a day off."

Duncan furrowed his eyebrows. "I already have plenty of those."

"Well, maybe after you get a job... but before Courtney starts school."

"I doubt that's going to happen, unless my leg heals overnight."

"Okay, then just hang around the apartment all day. Don't worry about money or school or work or anything."

He nodded. "We'll see if we can do that." Courtney started school in ten days, and she worked every day until then. Hopefully she would be able to take some time off.

The mother and son duo continued to sit at the table for a while, even after eating. His Ma ended up mostly talking about work, which he didn't mind hearing about. They sat there for a good hour and a half before the front door opened. As Duncan looked over with the smallest smile on her face, Suzie couldn't help but smile. She knew her son loved her very much, but she knew he was happy to see his girlfriend home. She softly said, "Go say 'hello' to her. I'll clean up."

He nodded, giving his Ma a small smile before standing up and slowly making his way out of the kitchen and into the living room, where he found his girlfriend texting on her phone. He asked her, "How was tonight?"

She shrugged, looking at her boyfriend. "It was alright..." She let out a sigh and looked down.

Duncan furrowed his eyebrows, sensing that something was wrong. He softly asked, "What happened?"

Courtney stepped closer to him. She looked up at him and whispered, "I'll tell you when your Mom leaves."

"You better put on a happy face before she pries everything outta you."

She let out a few laughs, smiling. She leaned up and gave him a quick kiss before saying, "I love you."

"I love you," he said, giving her another quick kiss before taking her hands and walking back into the kitchen. "Ma, look who's home..."

Suzie turned slightly and smiled. "Hello, dearie. I'd give you a hug, but, as you can see..."

Courtney smiled at the older woman. "I can see. I hope you two had a good time together tonight."

"Oh, we always do," Suzie said, laughing.

Duncan chuckled, softly rubbing Courtney's back. He could feel her tense back, and was very curious about what happened with her parents that night.

Suzie wiped her hands off a towel and turned around, asking, "How was your night out? Who did you see again?"

"Oh, I just saw my Mom tonight," Courtney explained. "And it went well, thank you."

"How is your Mom doing?" Suzie inquired, leaning against the counter.

Courtney slowly nodded as she said, "She's doing well..."

Suzie slowly nodded, watching the young girl. There was more to that statement than what was said, and she could tell by just everything - the tone of the girl's voice, the way she was standing, even the way Duncan was curiously looking away in thought... She wasn't going to question the young girl, though. No, it wasn't her place to ask. She did say, "That's good." She glanced over the at the clock and instantly her eyes widened. "It's already 8:30? Oh, goodness, I should've left thirty minutes ago. I have an early morning..."

"How early?" Duncan questioned, smirking as his Ma quickly got her belongings together.

"5:30 early," Suzie said. She walked over to her son and gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "You be good, okay? And call me if you need anything."

"Yeah, yeah," Duncan murmured, rolling his eyes. He wrapped his arms around his Ma in a gentle embrace and muttered, "Say 'hello' to everyone for me..."

"I will... Oh! Your Dad told me your Nonna wants you to visit her. Somebody misses her grandson..."

"I'll visit her soon."

"Good." She turned to Courtney and gave the young girl a hug. "Take care of yourself, sweetie."

Courtney smiled, giving the older woman a hug. "Thank you. You, too."

"Oh, I will."

Courtney and Duncan stayed side-by-side as they all said their good-bye's. As soon as his Ma shut the door, he turned to his girlfriend, but she was already escaping his embrace. He asked her, "Where are you going?"

"To the bedroom," she explained. "I want to get comfortable before we talk."

He nodded and followed her. He was surprised to see her just walk over to the bed and lay down on it. He softly asked, "You're not gonna change?"

"I changed my mind," she quietly said, staring up at the ceiling.

He walked over to the bed and laid down next to her. He turned onto his side and stared at her. He quietly asked, "What happened tonight?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. I thought things were going well, but I go to the bathroom and she... she went through my purse."

"What did she find?"

"She found a condom, then she found my birth control, which she forgot she continues to purchase for me for reasons... well, not for reasons that have to do for my sex life..."

"So she found a condom and freaked?"

"Oh, yeah. She seemed mad, but she was upset at the same time." She paused, tapping her fingers along her stomach. "I don't get it. She said she saw my purse was open and was about to shut it when she found the condom..."

"At least she didn't find a dildo or some lube or anything in there."

Courtney let out a few giggles. "I wouldn't carry lubricant anywhere outside of the apartment, and I don't even own a dildo."

"You don't?" Duncan asked, slightly shocked.

She raised an eyebrow and turned to her boyfriend. "Why did you think I owned one?"

"I dunno. I just thought you did."

She nodded. She smiled when he rested his head on her shoulder and wrapped an arm around her back. She wrapped an arm around his back and rested her head on top of his. She quietly said, "She thought I was cheating on you."

"Really?" he asked, looking up at her.

She nodded. "Really. She thought that, after dinner, I was going to meet up with someone and have sex with them." She let out an irritated sigh before saying, "She's so infuriating sometimes. I understand why she doesn't like you, but I wish she would just stop talking about it."

"She still talks about how much she doesn't like me?"

"Sometimes, and it's very irritating."

He nodded, rubbing small circles around her back. He then furrowed his eyebrows. "Your Mom thought you were going to have sex with someone else? Last time I checked she thought I was going to 'steal your virginity'..."

"Yeah, I don't know what my Mom is thinking about a lot of the time."

A/N: Yep... There's really no explanation for my lack of updates lately. I have been working my butt off at least five to six days a week, which causes me to not really think about my stories too much... and I've got other life-stuff going on. I do hope to update the next chapter soon! (I will also be putting up another chapter of BotR tonight, so look out for that!) Thank you all for the reviews! Please continue them! And remember - suggestions are always welcome. I hope you enjoyed this chapter!