Disclaimer – I own nothing of RENT. Belongs to the wonderful Jonathon Larson. I do however, own my original characters and the plot. 'Nuff said.
Italics are thoughts, song lyrics and flashbacks.
A/N: I was visiting my sister when I came up with this story idea. I meant to write it down – or start writing it – but I didn't have time. It was until recently that this idea popped into my head. In this story, Angel is a boy and called Dumott.
Summary: AU: Mark, his wife Meredith and their four children, along with the Bohos, including Benny, celebrate the fourth of July. One-Shot. Rated T because I'm paranoid. Takes place in 2011.
Genre: General/None
Rating: T
The sun was shining as Mark Cohen prepared the chicken, hot dogs and hamburgers that were going on the grill later. His wife, Meredith was out in the garden, picking ripe tomatoes, pickles, cabbage and other vegetables that were to go onto the various foods. The children – fifteen-year-olds Molly and Michael and twelve-year-olds Megan and Melody – were off doing their own things. Molly was prepping her room to have the younger Boho kids in it; Michael was skateboarding on the homemade half-pipe; Megan and Melody were riding their horses.
The Cohen's lived on a twenty-acre farm that was left to Meredith when her parents died. The house had been in the family for seven generations, so it meant a lot to the Cohen's. The house was carved out of gray stone and looked absolutely beautiful. There was a large garden out back, along with the half-pipe, horse barn, chickens and a house for the cats.
Each of the Cohen's loved animals – Mark had his collection of beautiful tropical fish in a tank; Meredith had three cats named Sassafras, Cargo and Capri, who were all outdoor; Molly loved dogs and had three – a Welsh Corgi named Kiki, a Chocolate lab named Puddin Face and a blind Blue Heeler named Taco. Michael loved reptiles and had a large boa constrictor, a rare breed of frog and an exotic lizard living in his room. The girls had horses – Megan's was a black Arabian mare with a broad blaze down her face named Tally. Melody had Tally's daughter – a dapple-gray Arabian mare named Blizzard.
"Girls! Finish up riding then come inside – our guests will be here soon!" Meredith called to the girls, resting her hands on her swollen belly. She was expecting twins any day now. They – Meredith and Mark – found out they were having a boy and a girl, so they decided to name the twins M names. Meredith thought of Melvin for the boy and Mark thought of Matilda for the girl.
"Coming mom!" Melody called as she got off Blizzard and put her away. Megan, however, kept riding Tally.
"Megan Elizabeth! Get off Tally right now or I will take her away for a week." Meredith told her youngest. Megan quickly dismounted Tally and put her away as well. The girls then hugged their mom and rushed off to help Mark with last minute things before the guests arrived.
Roger, Mimi and their three-year-old daughter, Kaylee, were the first to arrive, followed by Collins, Dumott and their adopted kids – thirteen-year-old Shawn and twelve-year-old Rose.
"Hey guys! Make yourselves at home." Mark told the adults as Molly took Kaylee into her room. Rose and Shawn, along with Michael, Megan and Melody, went downstairs to play the Wii.
"Hi Cohen family! Sorry we're late!" Maureen and Joanne greeted Mark an hour later, followed by their twelve-year-old son James. James had Down's Syndrome and was terribly shy, so wherever he went, he always brought a book. This time, it was the first in the Hunger Games series.
"Hey buddy – the younger kids are downstairs, playing Wii." Mark told James, who instantly went to a quiet corner and opened his book.
A moment later, Benny and his wife, Sophie, entered. Benny had divorced Alison and had married Sophie a year ago. Sophie and Benny were expecting their first bundle of joy – a little girl – any day now. Mark and Meredith hugged Sophie and Benny and ushered them into the house.
The families sat outside to eat dinner – the kids at one picnic table and the adults at the other. Roger had Kaylee sit next to him because she was a picky eater and needed help picking out food she would like.
After dinner, Dumott, Collins, Maureen, Meredith, Joanne and Mimi did dishes while Roger and Mark caught up. Megan and Melody went back to the barn with James tagging along.
"What do you girls think about getting James a horse?" Meredith asked Maureen and Joanne. The two women looked at each other and smiled.
"That's a good idea, Mer. He actually responds really well to horses." Joanne told Meredith.
"We actually have another horse that you're welcome to look at." Meredith said.
"Really?" Maureen asked. Meredith nodded and asked Dumott, Mimi and Collins to finish up while she took the two women down to the barn.
Once they arrived, they saw James reading his book while the girls rode in the dusty indoor arena, both bareback.
"He's back here." Meredith told the women, watching where they stepped. The women followed Meredith's footsteps and stopped when she did.
"This is Dusty and I think that he would be perfect for James." Meredith said, stepping into the stall and brought out a reddish-brown horse.
"How old is he?" Joanne asked, running her hand down the horse's shoulder.
"He's about four – we found him wandering in the back paddock about two years ago. I put up flyers around town, saying we found a horse, but no one answered the flyers. The girls named him Dusty and he's been with us ever since." Meredith explained, stroking the horse's forelock out of his face, which reveled a small white star directly in the middle of his forehead.
"What kind of breed is he?" Maureen asked, gently rubbing her hands all over the horse's body.
"Quarter Horse/Thoroughbred cross." Meredith answered.
"Would it be all right if I rode him?" Joanne asked, already putting on a riding helmet. Meredith nodded and handed Dusty's lead rope to Maureen, who talked to him in a sweet, soothing voice.
A few minutes later, Meredith led Joanne into the arena. She then double-checked Joanne's cinch and stirrups, making sure that she wasn't going to fall off.
"Walk him once around the arena, then trot." Meredith instructed, walking to the middle of the arena. Joanne nodded and gently squeezed Dusty's sides. The horse sidestepped into the arena, spooking at the other horses. "Whoa, Dusty. It's okay boy."
"Is he okay?" Joanne asked, holding onto the horn. She had chosen to ride Western, as opposed to riding English.
"Yeah, he's being a big baby." Meredith said, patting Dusty's shoulder. She walked at Dusty's head, just in case the young horse decided to pull something. Maureen leaned against the rail and watched her girlfriend ride the powerful horse. Maureen had a fear of horses and was glad that Joanne volunteered to ride.
"Who's that?" James asked, setting his book aside. Maureen's mouth fell open – they had never heard James speak and wondered if he ever would.
"Honey, that's a horse we're looking at getting you. His name is Dusty." Maureen told him, putting an arm around her son's shoulders.
"He'll be mine?" James inquired. Maureen nodded feeling tears in her eyes.
"Okay, big guy. It's your turn." Joanne told her son, dismounting Dusty. James handed Maureen his book and walked to the big horse. Meredith and Joanne helped James onto Dusty's broad back and helped him settle in the saddle.
After a while of riding, Collins called everyone in for dessert. They all sat around the picnic tables outside and ate their sundaes. It was dusk and the sun was slowly setting.
Once dessert was eaten and dishes were taking care of, Roger pulled out his guitar and sang some fourth of July songs. He sang Dynamite, Firework, Amazing Grace, Independence Day and the National Anthem. He also played the instrumental Fireworks from the fifth Harry Potter movie. The kids lit sparklers and had picture upon picture taken of them. Sophie and Meredith hung out together, since they were the only pregnant women in the group.
"Wow!" Joanne gasped as the fireworks across the lake went off. Mimi took Kaylee inside because the fireworks were starting to scare her.
One by one, the Cohen's friends started leaving. Maureen, Joanne and James were the first to leave, followed by Benny and Sophie. Sophie had been complaining of stomach pains, so she and Benny would be cutting the night short.
"Honey, it was so great seeing you again!" Dumott told Meredith, giving her a hug. Meredith smiled and hugged him back just as Collins came over and gave everyone a giant squeeze. Meredith smiled and put her head on Mark's shoulder as they said goodbye to the rest of the guests.
"Hey Molly, could you get me some damp water?" Mark asked his oldest.
"Get you some what?" Molly inquired, a confused expression on her face.
"I'm sorry – could you get me some water, please?" Mark questioned, a smirk spreading across his face. Molly smiled and got her father some water. Mark kissed the top of her head and watched her go to her room.
Meredith had a hard time sleeping that night and Mark helped her get more rested. She kept complaining that her stomach and back were hurting, so Mark ran her a bath. Meredith's water broke in the tub and Mark helped her with the very difficult labor. This was the couple's third set of twins, so it was getting very difficult for Meredith to deliver babies. After this set of twins was born, Mark and Meredith decided that they weren't going to have any more kids.
Twenty-six hours later, Mark held his twins for the first time. Meredith held their son while Mark held his little girl.
"Matilda Ellie Cohen." Mark said out loud.
"Melvin Edward Cohen." Meredith said out loud.
Mark let Meredith sleep while he took care of the twins. He was watching over them when the phone rang. Mark darted out of the nursery and ran to the master bedroom.
"We had the baby." Benny's voice was on the other end.
"Congratulations! So did we." Mark told his friend.
"What did you name your baby?" Benny inquired.
"We actually had twins – we named them Matilda Ellie and Melvin Edward." Mark answered.
"We named our daughter Kathryn Adele." Benny said.
"That's a beautiful name."
"Thanks – yours are, too."
Benny and Mark talked for a little while longer before one of the twins and Kathryn made the friends get off the phone.
"Happy Fourth of July." Benny told Mark.
"Thanks, you too." Mark told Benny.
With that, the friends hung up their phones, having the best Fourth of July anyone could ask for.
Baby, you're a firework
Come on, let your colors burst
Make 'em go, oh, oh, oh
You're gonna leave 'em falling down
I throw my hands up in the air sometimes
Saying AYO
Gotta let go
I wanna celebrate and live my life
Saying AYO
Baby, let's go