Infinity

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"Paige grab that please?" Riley shouts at me, he's currently got his hand inside a tigers stomach trying to fix the gunshot wound. I grab the weird shaped surgical tool next to me and hand it to him, "Thanks." He says using the tool to stop some bleeding. He does a double take at me as I'm stood there with my arms crossed and staring into space, "Still no news P?" He asks and I quickly take my phone out of my back pocket to check, I shake my head, "Shit." He says as bleeding starts again. He finally located the bullet and picks it out, I pick up a weird kidney shaped tray that's next to me and hold it out for him. He drops the bullet into it, "Will she be okay?" I ask curiously and he nods.
"Yeah I think so. Once I... there we go." The bleeding stops and he turns his head to smile at me. He quickly grabs a needle and some other equipment then stares to sew up the patient. "Thanks P. I think together we've just saved this girls life." The grins at me, "Can you help me move her into a crate?"
"Of course." We both take one end of the sheet she is laid on and lift her, she's a lot heavier than I was expecting and we struggle to move her over to the crate. Eventually we get there and lay her down gently. Riley checks all her vitals and nods, "She's fine. I wish I had caught the bastards that had done it though." He says angrily. We had been on our normal routine of driving around the reserve checking fences that morning when we heard a gunshot. We quickly drove towards it, which clearly scared whoever it was off because by the time we got there all that was left was the poor tiger and some tyre tracks in the mud. Poachers are one of the biggest threats we have to deal with at the reserve and it's one of the most devastating, I've only been here 6 months and I've seen 3 animals die from gunshot wounds due to poachers. They shoot, they take a picture and then they leave the animal to die. My phone buzzes in my pocket making me jump, "Niall? Is everything okay?" I quickly run outside so I get better signal, Riley watches me run out wiping his brow, his brown hair dampened by the sweat. "Paige can you hear me?" I hear Lana's voice and I want to cry, "I can hear you Lana! Are you okay?" I hear her sniff and then I hear a baby crying, "P, can you hear? That's your godson!" I burst into tears and jump up and down.
"Oh guys! I'm so happy for you! A boy! Congratulations!" I say ecstatic, "How are you all doing?"
"It was so painful I've never wanted so many drugs in all my life! But so worth it now he's here. We don't have a name yet Niall and I are torn between two." It's so amazing to hear her voice and I wipe the tears from my eyes.
"I will be back to meet him soon. I just need to sort some stuff here but i will be back in a few days." I say my voice quivering slightly from the emotion. "I'm excited for you to meet him P but don't rush back. I don't want you to be caught up in the drama here again."
"Don't be ridiculous I'm coming home - that was always the plan. I've been here 6 months and now I've got priorities at home. Take care of him Lana. I love you."
"Okay, we will see you soon then. We love you too." She emphasises the 'we' and it makes me smile. She hangs up and i sigh as i bring the phone down to my side. I look out into the South African countryside that I've got so used to waking up to. It's not going to be easy to adjust back to London. "Good news then Paige?" Riley says coming out of the vet barn. He looks tired, his brown hair unkept looks messy and untamed on his head. He has sweat patches under each of his arms (which i always sport too - its hots here!) on his green vest which is long enough to be a dress, his legs are perfectly tanned and you can see them on full show as he only has green shorts on with and then his feet are covered fully with full walking boots, "P?" He asks again.
"Yeah, she's had a boy." I say quietly and then the realisation creeps in, "A BOY!" I shout and run towards Riley jumping into his arms.
"That's amazing!" He says catching me and pulling me into a deep hug. "Congratulations Auntie Paige." I laugh, "Lets go get some celebratory iced tea!" He lets me out of the hug and instead takes my hand leading me back to the house. Riley has been my best friend since before i can remember and i was actually living with him when i first started working on the X Factor. He started doing labourer work so was making a fair sum of money while I struggled to build my way to the top. When I told him i was touring with the boys he was gutted because he knew that I wouldn't see him as much - something that hadn't happened for pretty much our whole lives. We were both saving to travel which, obviously, i was going to be doing with the tour but leaving my friend behind was hard. I had everything i needed on tour so the money i was making wasn't needed so i gave it to him - he went travelling - even joined us for a few shows when our schedules matched. Now he is settled here in South Africa owning his own ranch and reserve - he's finally doing what he loves and my heart is full seeing him so happy.
"Lana had a boy!" Riley shouts to the house. His friend Mike comes crashing into the room.
"That's amazing news! Rum!" He says heading to the fridge.
"It's 11am.. we were going to have iced tea." Riley says to him frowning.
"It's a celebration!" Mike says grinning and to be fair i kind of agree with him then his face drops, "Wait, that means that you're leaving soon?" Riley looks at me - the realisation crossing over his face. I nod, "Yeah." I say quietly. Riley looks down at the floor, "Sorry Ry, that was always the plan though." He gives me a sad smile.
"I know, just it's gone so fast." He sighs heavily and i put my arm around his waist to give him a side hug, "Maybe rum is a good idea!" I laugh and Mike is already pouring it into glasses.

"Ma'am? Sorry, where to?" I look at the airport assistant in front of me and back up at the board.
"Johannesburg. One ticket to Johannesburg please." I repeat. The lady nods and smiles then types into the computer as i hand over my passport, "I've got one seat available in business class."
"Okay sure," i say reaching into my bag for my purse.
"Okay perfect," she types on the computer again and looks at my passport details, "That's £890 then please." I nod again and hand over my card. I hear a couple of girls giggle excitedly behind me, i try not to look at them. The lady behind the desk looks up and i just smile at her.
"Thank you, all done, flight leaves in 5 hours. There is the business suite just upstairs to your left, just follow the signs. Have a nice flight." She smiles and hands over my card and boarding pass. "Thank you." I say turning around and coming face to face with the two girls behind me.
"You're Paige Sanderson right?" One of them ask and I nod. I look back at the lady behind the desk and she's leaning over to see what the fuss is about. "Can we have your picture and autograph?" The other girl asks.
"Oh, sure, i don't look that great right now though." I say laughing but the girls smile at me.
"You look perfect as always." The first girl says, "It's the reason Louis fell for you." She giggles, i look at them more closely and see the similar smiley face logo underneath the second girls coat. "He looked so handsome at the wedding." The other girl comments and i smile to myself. She pulls her phone out to take a picture, she holds it up so that we all squeeze together then takes it. It's actually pretty decent considering. "Thank you." She says and then rummages in her bag for something for me to sign.
"How was the wedding?" The first girl asks.
"It was beautiful." I say and she smiles, "Are you and Louis together yet?" I frown at the boldness.
"No, we aren't together. I'm single and so is he." I answer still smiling.
"So there's still a chance?" She asks.
"Wow! You are brave. We are friends." I laugh. The other girl finally pulls something out of her bag and a pen. I quickly sign two things for them and give them back to them. "I better be off. I might do some shopping before my flight. Have fun wherever you two are off to. I hope you had a good Christmas." I wave at them as i walk away, the lady behind the desk is still straining her neck to see what is going on. I head up the stairs in the direction that the lady said the business lounge was, find it, the glass doors slide open and i throw my bag to the floor collapsing into a soft chair. My head starts to get the better of me then - am i making the right choice? So i ring the one person who i know would tell me if I'm wrong or right but as the phone goes to answerphone I remember that she is up in the air herself on the way to her honeymoon in Bora Bora. Shit. So i dial another number and wait for an answer. "Paige? Are you okay?" Riley answers and i relax.
"Yeah i'm fine. You need to make up the guest room though bub. I'm coming to stay!"
"What? Are you serious?" I hear Mike in the background, "She's coming to stay. Yeah the guest room, oh for fuck sake Mike." He laughs, "Mike's excited to see you. What's happened though? Everything okay?"
"I just need to get away for a few months - 6 tops. So i can be back for the new baby." Theres silence on the other end, "Niall and Lana's baby!" And i hear him breathe a sigh of relief down the phone, I roll my eyes. "You know you're always welcome whenever and however long you want to stay."