Joanne's POV:

The phone rang. Maureen went to answer it. Joanne stayed in the kitchen, making up some sandwichs and pretending not to listen. All the sudden, Maureen came running in.

"Get a jacket on! Something happened to Mark!"

Mimi's POV:

Mimi put the phone down and looked around her apartment. Roger sat by the window, looking out. Going over, she sat across from him and put a small hand on his knee. Glancing over, he gave her a sad smile and covered her hand with his own.

When they had returned from the Life Support meeting, they had planned to all hang at Mimi's, to give Mark a little more time to cool off. But Roger had ducked out, saying that with how the filmaker had been lately, he'd rather go check up on him. So, leaving Collins to return to Mimi's apartment solo, Roger had retired to his own flat.

When Collins came back, he and Mimi had sat around talking. But soon, they'd heard the unmistakable sound of shouting coming from above their heads. Collins had offered to go check up on their friends, but Mimi was just as worried, and had decided to join him.

Once they topped the flight of stairs, they were startled to discover Roger just coming out of the door. There were tears in his eyes. He had managed to choke out just enough of the story to give Mimi chills. Mouth set in a grim line, Collins had entered the apartment to see what he could do for Mark as Mimi took Roger down to her own.

That had been about half an hour ago. Roger hadn't said a word since then, and Mimi knew that he felt awful for running out on Mark just when he'd needed him most.

"Hey?" Mimi said soothingly, running a hand up and down his arm, "You wanna talk?"

Roger shook his head and turned back to the window, but not before Mimi saw a tear roll down his cheek. Silently, she continued rubbing his arm, joining him in his examination of the world outside.

Five minutes later, there was a knock on the door. Mimi stood to answer it, and let Maureen and Joanne in.

Responding to their questions, she quickly told them all that she knew of what had happened. When she had finished, all that Joanne could say was "Oh my God." Maureen had started crying.

Mimi was startled when Roger suddenly stood up. "I'm going up there."

Joanne nodded, and Maureen said thickly, "So am I." So the four of them made their way somberly to the apartment above. Standing outside the door, it appeared that Roger suddenly lost his nerve. He stared at the closed door with fear. Wordlessly, Mimi put a hand on his shoulder. Wordlessly, he responded, touching her hand briefly before entering the flat.

Roger's POV:

Entering the apartment, the first thing Roger saw was Collins, sitting on the sofa with his head in his hands. He lifted it up when they entered. He'd been crying.

He walked to Roger and swept him up in a hug, which Roger returned. He then turned to face the rest of the group.

"Boy really did a number on himself." He said, his voice husky, "I only just now managed to calm him down a bit. He's asleep right now, exhausted. I... managed to get a little bit out of him... I..." Collins hesitated, seeming unwilling to go on.

"What?" asked Mimi, her voice sounding soothing and sweet. God, but Roger loved that girl. "What did he say?"

"He said...well." Collins turned toward Roger, his voice breaking. "I'm sorry, man. Jesus, I'm so sorry. He said... He's HIV positive, Roger."

The effect of these words was immediate. Joanne gasped, then put her arm around Maureen as the other woman dropped onto the couch with a strangled sob. Tears instantly filled Miimi's large brown eyes.

Roger said nothing, afraid of what would happen if he opened his mouth. He stared at Collins in disbelief. "Impossible." He said faintly.

Collins reached out a hand to him, but Roger pulled away and ran to Mark's door.

There lay Mark, curled up in a ball on his bed with his glasses still on his face, looking as though he'd simply fallen asleep after a long day. Slowly, Roger approached the bed, trembling slightly. He heard someone stop in the doorway behind him, but didn't turn to look. Gently, he removed Mark's glasses, putting them carefully on the table beside him. The man moaned faintly, his brow furrowing as he moved restlessly in the grip of a bad dream.

Roger sat on the edge of the bed and slowly stroked Mark's arm until he relaxed, mirroring the movement Mimi had used on him minutes ago. Looking up, he saw the others watching him from the doorway.