"Mimi!" Roger knocked on the bathroom door. "Come on, baby! We're all waiting for you here!"
"Roger, don't rush me!" Mimi's voice responded. "I'll be out in just a moment." Roger sighed and looked back at the other Bohemians who were all waiting in the Loft for Mimi to be done in the bathroom. The dancer finally emerged three minutes later.
"Meems, I'm getting real worried about you," Roger frowned. "You've been spending an awful lot of time in the bathroom lately. You don't feel like you're getting sick or something, do you?"
"It's nothing, Roger," Mimi insisted. "I feel fine. Really. It must be just something I drank. That's all. I'll be able to control my peeing again soon, so just relax." At that moment, Emily made a rather strange noise behind them. Glancing over, they saw Emily was now giving Mimi a penetrating, calculating look. "What is it, Emily?" Mimi asked.
"Nothing." Emily shook her head. "Just…. Something you said made me think about… Forget it. It's not important." Mimi and Roger let it drop there, but Emily continued to cast wary glances over at Mimi.
"Well, now that Mimi's out of the bathroom," Joanne stated. "We can all get going." On that note, the Bohemians made their way out of the Loft.
Down at Marble Cemetery, the Bohemians were gathered at Angel's grave, paying their respects to their friend, each one placing a red rose at the base of the stone, with the exception of Emily, who had brought a white rose instead. While she hadn't known Angel personally, the others frequently told her the stories, and she was able to sympathize and relate to their loss. After a moment of meditation and silence, the friends slowly began to leave. But when Roger glanced back, he noticed Mark and Emily lagging behind.
"Hey, Mark, Emily," Roger called. "You two coming?"
"You go ahead, Roger," Mark waved, taking hold of Emily's hand. "I promised Emily I'd go with her to visit Zack. We'll catch up to you guys, later." Roger stayed where he was for a moment, watching his friends make their way to the other side of the cemetery, remembering how they'd all learned how Emily's beloved older brother, Zack, had been taken from her the same way they'd lost Angel. For the briefest moment, he wondered who would be the next one to go. Would it be Collins, Mimi, or even him?
The musician's thoughts were interrupted by the feel of a small hand taking hold of his own. He looked down and smiled instantly at the sight of Mimi's shining brown eyes.
"Come on, Roger," she beamed brightly. "The others are waiting."
"Yeah, okay. I'm coming," Roger relented, allowing her to lead him out of the cemetery.
"Hi, Zack," Emily smiled down at her brother's grave. "I hope you're enjoying yourself right now. Of course, how could you not? It's Heaven, after all. When you see Mom and Dad, tell them I'm doing alright, like always. Nana's doing fine, too, even though she's the same as always, completely wrapped up in her superstitions and omens. And Penny's going to be starting fifth grade soon. The funny thing is, I still sometimes picture her as that little newborn girl who entered my life ten years ago. Is that how you felt every time I started a new school year?
"I brought someone else to come visit you today. You remember how I told you about Mark on my last visit, right? Well, he said he wanted to come with me today, so he could talk to you, too." Emily looked back at Mark with a smile, stepping to the side so Mark could take her place in front of Zack's tombstone.
"Hello, Zack," Mark began. "Well, I'm sure that you're aware of me being your sister's boyfriend. And I know that it should be your job to be the protective older brother in matters like this. But I want you to know that I really love your sister, and I'd never do anything to hurt her. I promise you, Zack. You might not be around to protect her, but I'll do anything in my power to do that for you. And that goes double for being good enough for her. Yeah, I know that brothers usually feel that their little sister deserves the best. But in your sister's case, I really believe that's true." At Mark's concluding words, Emily stepped up to the grave, placing two roses at the bace of the gravestone.
"I love you, Big Brother," Emily smiled, patting the stone lovingly. "I'll come back and see you soon." With that, Emily and Mark walked off, hand-in-hand. As they walked, Emily brought her head down to rest on Mark's shoulder.
"Hey," she grinned up at him. "What ever made you think you weren't good enough, Mark? You seriously think I would settle for anyone I didn't find worth my time?"
"Well, you gotta admit you're too good for me."
"Oh, please. What gave you a silly idea like that?"
"Where do IT start? You're compassionate, caring, and put all your time and energy into making sure everyone else is okay, not giving a thought to yourself. You were like that when you worked at the Center, and you're like that now. I think you'd give up your left lung if any of us needed one."
"Well, maybe that's because you're my best friends, and before I met you guys, it was just me. Well, me and Penny, but you get the idea," Emily replied. "But you're much better then you're giving yourself credit for. For starters, you're loyal, always being there when it counts, even in the bad times, and you always know just what to say without being insincere. You're great with Penny, and she really likes you. You're sweet, and kind, and nice, and ... I just like being with you."
"Is that what you said to Karl?" Mark asked with a raised eyebrow. The mention of her ex-boyfriend made Emily roll her eyes.
"Listen, mister. Do I hold your history with Maureen over your head?"
"Okay, okay. Touché." Chuckling softly, they came together for a kiss.
"So, you think we should go and try to catch up with the others?" Emily asked. "I mean, before they hire a search party to come look for us."
"Yeah, suppose we should," Mark agreed, draping an arm around Emily and kissing her temple. "I love you."
"I love you, too. And just so you know," Emily grinned as they left the cemetery together. "I never took Karl with me to visit Zack. You're the first guy who I did that with."
AN: At the moment, it might seem like this story has no actual plot, but it will pick up very soon. I don't think I can update again until Saturday, because I forgot by plan outline at school. Anyway, I hope you're enjoying it so far, and I'll have the next chapter up as soon as I can. Until next time...
