A/N: I've had this idea in my head for a while now...it was probably my first RENT idea and I started writing it, but I was never satisfied with it. So I'm going to try again. Wish me luck!

Disclaimer: Don't own Mark or Roger. I own Kate, however. I do not own her name; I used my best friend's name with her permission lol. Anything non-RENT is mine, though.

Waking up should've been Roger's favorite part of the day. Being HIV, he never knew, even as healthy as he was, if he'd wake up the next morning.

But it definitely wasn't his favorite part of the day. Roger was a man who did not, nor ever did take sleep for granted. Yet after a night of tossing and turning, he finally decided to wake up surprisingly early that morning.

He slowly pushed himself out of his 'bed', which was really a mattress with a few sheets and a pillow. The wooden floor beneath him was cold and he immediately wished he had a pair of socks that weren't completely destroyed from overuse. Making his way to the 'kitchen portion' of the loft he shared with his roommate, Mark, he noticed something fairly odd.

And she was lying on their couch.

---

Mark was never a late sleeper. He always figured it was because he realized the earlier he woke up, the more moments he could capture on his beloved camera.

So when he did wake up that morning and saw Roger, sitting next to the couch, staring at something, he was instantly shocked...and a little confused.

"Roger, why are you awake this early?" He asked, looking at the clock that read 9:06 AM. Of course, he was never sure if that was the right time. Mostly, Roger and Mark just assumed.

"Couldn't sleep." He answered, never taking his eyes off the couch. "Who's this?" Roger pointed to the scrawny woman asleep on the couch.

Mark's confused only grew. Who?

Inching closer, he reached forward and pushed the girl's long auburn hair out of her face.

"Oh my God..." he whispered. "Kate?"

Mark gently shook her until she stirred, looking up groggily at the two men. She gave a weak smile. "Hey Marky."

Roger smirked. "Marky..."

Mark ignored his roommate and focused on the young woman. "What are you doing here?"

"You said if I ever needed help, if things got too harsh, to take the spare key and come find you. After last night, I decided to take your advice."

Mark paused, almost afraid to ask the question on his mind. "Uncle Richard, again?"

Roger froze. Uncle?

The woman nodded. "I don't want to talk about it. I'm not even sure what I did to make him so angry. But for some reason, I deserved to be punished. And I was. When I came to and remembered what happened, I decided I couldn't do this anymore. So I came here."

Roger was stunned. Was this woman Mark's cousin? And how could Mark not tell him about this?

Why didn't Mark do anything?

"You can stay here for however long you need. Is that okay with you, Rog?"

Roger just nodded. I deserved to be punished.

No one deserved that. Especially not a woman.

Roger, of all people, knew that no one deserved to be abused.

He knew.