A/N: Hi! Sorry for the month-long wait. End of the semester sucks. But it's over now, yay! So I now present the tenth chapter. Another Mimi/Adrienne chapter. I'm pretty sure the next one will have Joanne talking to Benny about the divorce, but you never know.

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Mimi stood in front of the glowing neon words. The Catscratch Club. It had been a long time. Mimi wasn't sure exactly how many years, but she had not returned to her job after marrying Roger, and she was pretty sure she'd never even visited. As Roger was fond of reminding her, they were above that kind of living now.

It was different to go in the front door, instead of the alley entrance to the dressing rooms. For half a second, Mimi thought about just creeping in that way. If anyone saw her, someone would surely recognize her. But then they might think that after nearly twenty years, she was coming back to work. Roger was right. She didn't belong backstage anymore, at least not at the Club. She was a patron, and would enter through the front doors. Which she quickly did, before she could back out.

As usual, the smoky room was packed, and stunk of smoke, alcohol, and sickly sweet perfume. Waitresses balancing trays scurried every which way, bearing drinks and disappearing into the back rooms. One of them hurried up to Mimi, her fiery red hair lying lank across her flushed face.

"Hi. Party of one? Just gimme a minute, and I'll find you a place." Distractedly, the woman swept a few glasses off a nearby table into a brown plastic tub.

"Jessie?" Mimi asked incredulously, recognition filling her face.

Jessie looked up, shocked. "Mimi?" she exclaimed suddenly. She let the tub fall on the table, flinging her arms around her old friend. "Hey! Wow, it's been what…fifteen, sixteen years?"

Mimi laughed. "About nineteen, actually."

"That long?" Jessie stepped back to get a better look. "You don't look a day over twenty, Mimi."

"I'm thirty-nine," Mimi confessed.

"Well, I'm almost forty-seven, so that ain't nothing to be ashamed of," Jessie shook her head wonderingly. "Thirty-nine…wow."

Mimi smiled. Jessie had been her first friend at the Club when she'd started at sixteen. A young, gorgeous, twenty-four year old, Jessie was the lead dancer until she was promoted to assistant manger. Mimi, the best dancer despite her youth, had been boosted up to the top. Jessie had taken a liking to Mimi after only a few days. Three-and-a-half years later, the year when Mimi quit, that relationship had cemented into an easy friendship.

"You don't look so bad yourself," Mimi said truthfully.

Jessie chuckled. "Thanks. I'm manager now, you know. Have been for going on ten years. If I wasn't, I'd have been long gone by now."

"That's great!" Mimi congratulated.

"Not as great as owning your own dance studio. Don't ask - I do get out, you know," Jessie said, fielding off Mimi's questioning look. "So what brings you here tonight? If you haven't come back in two decades, I doubt tonight was just for kicks."

Mimi hesitated. "Actually, I'm here to see one of your dancers. Adrienne?"

Jessie raised her eyebrows. "Addy? That's what we call her here." She added. "Bizarre girl. Totally sweet," she added quickly, "And one heck of a dancer! But she's very…lonely. Did you know she was an orphan, and she grew up in the orphanage? Never got adopted."

"I did know that," Mimi replied.

Jessie frowned. "How do you know her?"

"Um…we just…met, one day at the drugstore," Mimi said lamely.

Jessie looked unconvinced, but since Mimi was an old friend, she let it pass. "Well, Addy comes on in about seven minutes, so let's get you a front row seat, shall we, ma'am?"

Mimi giggled and allowed Jessie to show her to a table right next to the stage. The smell was even worse up here, and the closeness was uncomfortable. Mimi couldn't remember why she'd ever put up with this life. She ignored a few men nearby who were eying her appreciatively and fixed her eyes on the stage as the lights dimmed.

An hour later, Mimi met Adrienne at the stage door. Adrienne had put a long purple coat on over her costume, and she wasn't laughing or talking like the other dancers. She wore a rather brooding expression, but when she saw Mimi her whole face lit up.

"Mimi!" she bounced over, elated. "You came!"

"Of course I came," Mimi said, "I said I would, didn't I?"

"Come on, let's go sit somewhere more private," Adrienne suggested, pushing her way through the crowd to an empty table in the corner. "Do you want anything to drink?"

"No, thanks," Mimi shook her head. "I had something during the show."

They both sat down, and an awkward silence filled the space. Then Mimi cleared her throat.

"So – I guess you have a ton of questions you want to ask me."

Adrienne shrugged. "Yes. But they may not be the kind of questions you expect."

"Oh?" Mimi arched an eyebrow.

"Yeah. I don't want to know more about why you left me or anything like that. I know, and I understand. I want to know more about the people."

"The people?" Mimi asked.

"You, and your family and friends. What are they like?"

Mimi bit her lip. "Well, I don't really know where to begin! There's me – I love to dance, and sometimes I cook. One of my best friends taught me how to make a mean enchilada."

"You have a cooking friend?" Adrienne asked, looking genuinely interested.

Mimi's smile faded. "Well…no. I had a friend…She died of AIDS over twenty years ago."

"Oh."

Mimi sighed. "Maybe I'd better start at the beginning." And she did. She told Adrienne everything, all about Angel, and Roger, Mark, Collins, Maureen, Joanne, Benny, Angie, Rachael, and Ben. Everything leading right up to the meeting at the apartment the day before.

Adrienne listened intently, never interrupting, and laughing or crying at all the right places. She seemed excited upon learning she not only had a half-sister, but a half-brother as well.

"Dad's a real jerk, isn't he?" she laughed when the story was finally finished.

"Sometimes." Mimi admitted, snorting, "No matter what, we never seem to be able to get rid of him. But he's going through a hard divorce right now, so I try to lighten up on him a little."

"It's so amazing that you have such a close-knit group. Like a big family."

"We are a big family," Mimi corrected, putting her hand over Adrienne's. "And you're a part of it, too."

Hope flared in the younger woman's eyes for a split second, but then her face fell. "I'd like to be," she muttered.

"But…?" Mimi pressed.

"But – you never told your husband about me. How will he react when he finds out, if he already hates Dad so much? Something tells me I won't be welcomed with open arms."

Mimi silently knew Adrienne had a point. "Let me deal with Roger," she insisted. "You're my daughter, Adrienne. Roger will understand how important this is to me, in time. Don't take it personally if he's a little cold at first – sometimes he gets like that. But I promise that you are welcome anytime. You're family."

Adrienne studied Mimi's face. "I've never had a family before."

"You do now." Mimi glanced at her watch and started. "It's one-thirty already? Oh, Adrienne, I've got to go! I'm so sorry!" she jumped up and slung her purse across her shoulder.

"That's okay." Adrienne said, standing, "I should go, too."

"It was really great talking to you. Next time, make sure you get a word in about yourself," Mimi joked.

There was another moment of awkwardness, and then Adrienne stepped forward and embraced her mother. Mimi responded warmly.

"Thanks. For everything," Adrienne said, wiping her eyes.

"I'll see you soon." Mimi promised, "I'll come back."

"Okay. Bye…Mom." Adrienne flushed, and disappeared before Mimi could react.

Mimi felt her spirits soar as she headed into the dark streets. Mom.

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A/N: I'm really bad at endings...oh, well, review!