As this story develops, you may notice that Roger is the only one in the group who has his head on straight. It may seem way out of character but you'll soon understand why I wrote him this way. Enjoy!

Chapter 10

Rachel sat on the couch and tried to read a book. Her mind was so distracted by her worries about Mark that she found herself reading the same sentence over and over again. She hadn't seen her brother in a while, and she knew that whatever he was doing in his room couldn't be good. How would she be able to get him out of there and back to living his life? She leaned her head back and closed her eyes rubbing at her temples trying to remove the tension that lingered there.

"Hi." She opened her eyes and was completely surprised to see Roger standing in front of her. "Hi."

"Can I sit down?"

"I was just about to go." Rachel stood up and tried to walk away.

"Rachel, wait." He stepped in front of her convinced that he was going to fix this before things between them got any worse. She stopped and looked at him. "Can we call a truce? Forget about what I said on the way to the funeral, let's just start over."

"How can I forget that?"

"Okay. Don't forget it. Just put it away in storage. I'd like to be friends again if it's okay. Just friends."

She thought about it then smiled. "Only if you forget about what happened on the night of the funeral."

He smiled back at her, now they were getting somewhere. "Done. So, truce?" He extended his hand out for her to shake.

"Okay, truce." She nodded her head and shook his hand.

Mark sat in his room. He'd finally been able to go in and now there seemed to be no way out. He was lost in memories and in the comfort of John's belongings. Facing reality seemed an impossible feat. It was easier to lie on John's side of the bed and take in his scent, or what was left of it.

He was alone, back to where he'd started and he didn't know what to do with himself anymore. His life had lost meaning. So he just lay there and let the time pass by.

Rachel and Roger sat on the couch. She was reading her book while he strummed on his guitar.

"I'm worried about Mark. I think I should go check on him." Rachel finally decided to voice her concern.

"He'll be fine. He's just collecting himself." Roger reassured her.

"He's been collecting himself for a week now. We don't even know if he's alive in there."

"Has it been that long? Do you want me to talk to him?"

"No. I'll do it, thanks."

Truth be told, she needed some space from him. They'd been sitting side by side for almost two hours and it was getting to be too much. He nodded and watched as she walked to Mark's room and knocked. He couldn't shake the feeling of triumph. She'd sat next to him and not run away.

"Mark?" Rachel knocked on her brother's door. "Marky, you alive in there? Can I come in?"

Mark rolled over on the bed and turned the lamp on. "Yeah, come in Rache."

Rachel walked in and saw her brother lying on John's side of the bed. She didn't know what to say to him so she sat down on the bed instead. "Hey."

"Hey."

"You haven't come out in a while. We're worried about you. Have you been eating?"

"I want to be by myself. I go out there when no one's around. I'm eating, it's okay."

"Marky." She sounded sad and he didn't like it.

"I'm okay, Rachel, really. I just want some time to adjust. I've been going through his things, remembering."

She looked at him, took in his appearance. He looked paler and much thinner and so sad. "Wouldn't it be better to be around people right now?" It had been better for her after Lena died. That was why she'd come here.

Mark shook his head. "Give me a little while longer. I'll be out soon, I promise."

She nodded and stood up. "I love you." She gave him a kiss on the cheek and got up to leave.

He gave her a weak smile. "Love you too."

Why couldn't they just let him mourn? It had only been two weeks. He couldn't pretend to be okay when he wasn't.

Roger was still strumming his guitar when she stepped back into the living room. She tried to walk by him and into her room but his words stopped her.

"How is he?"

She turned and looked at him. "I don't know. Not good. But isn't that normal? He says he'll come out when he's ready."

Roger nodded. "Then he'll come out when he's ready. Mark's strong, Rache. He's been through a lot. He can make it through this."

"I guess you're right. I just can't help worrying."

"Going in your room won't help that. Come here, sit down and hang out." He saw her hesitate looking from him to her room. "Oh come on, Rache, have a seat, relax."

She gave up her inner battle and sat down next to him. "There, was that so hard?" he asked a playful smile on his face.

"Shut up, Roger."

"There she is." He laughed out then went back to playing his guitar.

She grabbed her book and went back to reading while enjoying his music.

"Look who finally came out of her room."

Rachel and Roger were interrupted an hour later by Maureen barging in through the door. She smiled widely and wondered if they realized that she'd seen the way they were sitting together. Rachel was leaning her head on Roger's shoulder, her legs stretched out across the couch while Roger toyed with his guitar. The minute Rachel saw her she shifted her position so that she was sitting straight on the couch with her feet on the ground.

"Ever heard of knocking Mo?" Roger asked her, annoyed that Rachel had felt forced to move away from him.

"Why should I? I used to live here."

"The key word being 'used'. You should have a little respect for other people's privacy."

"Oh come on Rog, nothing private ever goes on in here anymore. Get over yourself." She walked over to the chair across the couch, plopped down on it and crossrf her legs once she was settled. "So, what's going on here?" She signaled between the two of them with her finger.

"Nothing. What's going on with you?" Roger thought it best to skirt over Maureen's not so subtle implications

"We got out of rehearsal early so I thought I'd stop by and check on Marky."

"He's not coming out of his room." Rachel said.

"I can fix that." Maureen stood up off the couch and made to go into Mark's room but Roger quickly put his guitar down and grabbed her hand.

"Stop right there Maureen."

"What?" I'm going to go cheer him up."

"I think he'd rather be alone right now." Roger insisted.

"So what are we going to do then?" Maureen threw her hands up in the air and sat back down. "I have all afternoon off."

"I don't know, hang out with Joanne?" Roger suggested.

"She's stuck working on a case all night." Maureen folded her arms over her chest and pouted.

"So call Collins." Roger rolled his eyes at her dramatics.

"I know!" she said excitedly. "Let's go out."

"What? Maureen, no." Roger was not about to go out when he could stay in with Rachel instead.

"I think that's a good idea."

"What?" Roger and Maureen looked at Rachel in shock.

"What? I could use some unwinding." She really did need a night out to forget everything that was weighing on her.

"Okay then. Let's go!" Maureen gave a little jump and clapped her hands.