Chapter 7:

Maureen back away from the door; her eyes wide with fear. Dan slapped her and sent her flying to the ground.

"You thought that I wouldn't find you, didn't you?" he growled as he kicked Maureen in the stomach several times. The diva let out a cry of pain, getting Mark's attention.

"Mo?" he asked. "You okay?" in a flash, Dan had his gun out. Maureen jumped up and grabbed Dan. The gun went off. Mark grabbed his upper arm and stumbled backwards.

"Leave Mark out of this" Maureen cried. Dan punched her and threw her to the ground. He heard Mimi coming down from the roof and panicked. He kicked Maureen's face and torso and shot the diva in the stomach.

Mimi bolted down the stairs when she heard the second gunshot. Now, she was sure that the shots were coming from the loft. Mimi entered the lost in time to see a man running down the fire escape. Mimi rushed to Mark's side. The filmmaker was leaning against the wall, holding his arm.

"Mark! What happened?" Mimi exclaimed.

"Call 911, and go check on Maureen. Hurry!" commanded Mark. Mimi got to her feet and grabbed the phone. She quickly dialed 911.

"My friends, my friends have been shot!" she cried. She gave the operator the address to the loft and rushed to Maureen's side. The diva had a large bump on her head and was bleeding the worst from her stomach.

"Keep pressure on the wound," Mark directed as he slid across the floor towards Maureen and Mimi. The dancer followed his directions.

"What about you?"
"I just got grazed. Focus on Mo." Mimi nodded and continued to keep pressure on Maureen's bleeding wound.

Time seemed to crawl by for Mimi. She could hear Maureen struggle for each and every breath. Finally, the paramedics arrived. Maureen was still unconscious. Much to Mark's dismay, he had to be carried down to the ambulance on a stretcher. Mimi followed Maureen's stretcher down to the street. Just as they loaded Maureen into an ambulance, Joanne came running down the street.

"What the hell happened!?" she exclaimed.

"Dan shot Mark and Maureen," Mimi replied. Joanne's hand flew to her mouth.

"Are they okay?"

"Yeah, Mark's okay, but Maureen…" Mimi trailed off. A tear slid down Joanne's cheek. "They're taking her to the hospital right now. I'll ride with Mark." Joanne slipped past Mimi and climbed into the back of the ambulance.

The paramedics ripped open Maureen's shirt and tended to the gunshot wound. They worked with such grace and ease in the back of a moving vehicle. All Joanne did was hold Maureen's frail hand and silently prayed that she'd make it through this.

The second the ambulance got to the Emergency Room, Maureen was whisked away to surgery. Joanne went down to the waiting room to wait for Mimi to arrive. The lawyer buried her face in her hands and cried softly. After a few minutes, she felt someone wrap their arms around her.

"Roger, Collins and Angel are on their way," Mimi told the lawyer. Joanne nodded. She was too shocked to say anything. "Don't worry, Maureen's a fighter." Joanne leaned against Mimi and continued to cry. All this seemed like one horrible dream.

Roger, Angel and Collins all came rushing into the waiting room half an hour later. Angel immediately wrapped her arms around Joanne.

"Where's Mark?" Roger asked.

"Getting some stitches. He sent me out here to wait for him," Mimi replied. She still looked slightly dazed about the whole thing. Roger sat down next to the dancer and pulled her onto his lap.

"Is Maureen okay?" Collins asked.

"She's in surgery," Joanne said through tears. "She's really beat up. Why would anyone want to hurt her?" The Bohemians looked at each other.

"Joanne, honey, Maureen's been at the loft for the past week because Dan beat the shit out of her," Mimi said.

"You all knew that he beat her!? Why didn't anyone tell me this?" Joanne cried. Angel rubbed the distraught lawyer's back to calm her down.

"Maureen begged us not to tell you," Mimi replied. "She was going to tell you tonight. She thought that you didn't care anymore though."

"But I do care about her! And now I may never get a chance to tell her that!"
"Shh, shh, calm down," Angel said as she continued to rub Joanne's back in hopes of calming her down at least a little.

An hour later, Mark entered the room was a bandage around his bicep and in a sling. All the Bohemians gave the filmmaker a hug. Everyone was relieved that he was alright.

"I'm fine you guys, really," Mark insisted. "How's Maureen?"

"She's still in surgery," Roger replied. Mark sighed. How had this happened? Maureen was in critical condition, because she was shot by her abusive boyfriend. Things were starting to get out of hand. The Bohemians all sat down and did the only thing they could do…wait.

Time seemed to crawl by for Joanne. She sat next to Angel on the couch with her head resting on the drag queen's shoulder. At long last, a nurse came into the waiting room.

"Is there anyone here for Ms. Johnson?" she asked. Joanne stood up and nodded.

"Yeah, I am," she replied.

"Okay, follow me." Joanne glanced over her shoulder at her friends and followed the nurse. Standing out in the hallway was the doctor. He was a Hispanic man in his thirties.

"Dr. Garcia," he said as he extended his hand. Joanne shook it.

"Joanne Jefferson. Is Maureen going to be alright?" Dr. Garcia began to lead Joanne down the hallway.

"It's touch and go right now. Unfortunately, she has slipped into a coma." A tear slid down Joanne's cheek. "It doesn't look like she'll be in a coma for long. In addition to the gunshot wound, Ms. Johnson was two broken ribs a fractured nose and extreme sexual trauma. It appears like sexual abuse and rape that's been going on for a while. Do you know anything about that?" Joanne shook her head. Dr. Garcia stopped outside Maureen's room. "Ms. Jefferson, there's more. Ms. Johnson is severely underweight. There are also multiple self-inflicted cuts on her arms." Joanne began to shake her head.

"That' can't be right. Her friend killed herself by slitting her wrists a few years ago. Maureen wouldn't do anything like that." Joanne stopped. "Oh God, she tried to kill herself!"

"A person who cuts could also be craving for attention or trying to feel emotions. We'll have someone come and try to talk to her. Right now, I think that you should go see her. The police are going to want to talk to you at some point too." Joanne nodded.

"Thank you." Dr. Garcia shook Joanne's hand and left. Taking a deep breath, the lawyer entered Maureen's room.

Joanne barely recognized Maureen. Most of her exposed skin was black and blue. Joanne sat in the chair next to Maureen's bed and held the diva's hand. She couldn't help but look at Maureen's forearm. There were many cuts on her arm. Some were covered with gauze pads. The bed seemed to swallow up Maureen. Her hair was ratty and un-brushed, and her face was swollen in some parts and hollow in others. Joanne kissed Maureen's hand and rested her head on the bed next to the diva's frail form.