Craig didn't know how long he'd been staring at himself in the mirror, it could have been minutes or hours, it could even have been days, time seemed to have escaped him.

But still he continued to stare at the reflection of the face he knew so well. He tilted his head around looking deeply into his own eyes, running a hand across his cheek and then through his hair, but no matter how hard he looked he just couldn't put his finger on what was wrong. He just knew that something was.

As he stared Craig let his mind begin to wander.

His first thought went to Sarah.

Just when he had reconciled himself to the fact that he would never win her back there she was, back in his arms again. Her lips hot against his, her body pressed against him in that familiar and achingly tantalising way that she had.

She'd said that she still loved him, he'd said it back, and then spent a while showing her how much, his hands retracing the soft bare flesh that he thought he'd never get to touch again.

At last things were going back to the way they were before, they way they should be.

As he thought of Sarah, of holding her, of kissing her and of making love to her Craig continued to observe his reflection until finally he realised what was wrong with it, he could see what was missing.

Where was the smile?

Somehow he had managed to win back the love of his life, so why was there no joy in his eyes?

Stepping closer to the mirror Craig whispered to himself, "What's wrong with you?"

Why was there still that look of loss in his eyes that look of regret?

Craig shook his head with a sigh, and as he did another thought came to his mind, another face that he knew almost as well as his own… John Paul.

Craig gasped against a sudden pain that the memory of his friend awoke, a sharp wounding pain that left behind a dull lingering ache. Or had that ache been there all the time, had he just grown accustomed to the feel of loss?

How was it that the joy of getting Sarah back in his life was negated by the knowledge that he had still lost his friend?

Craig ran a fingertip unconsciously across his lips, watching the motion in the mirror as if observing another person.

That's when Craig came to the second realisation that day.

As he touched the softness of his mouth he realised that it wasn't Sarah's kiss he was remembering there but rather it was John Paul's.

His third realisation came quickly after the second.

Craig's reflection disappeared from the mirror as he grabbed his coat and left the room.

It wasn't just John Paul's friendship he had lost, it was the potential for something much more, and he had to do everything he could to win it back.