Author's Notes: Sorry it took so dang long to update, they've been working me like a slave at my job. I haven't been coming home at a decent hour since I started the dang thing. Coming home at 11 or almost 12am ain't fun. Hope you like this chapter. Thank you to all of you who keep up with this story, I really appreciate it!
I OWN NOTHING (only add-ons).
Please read, review and enjoy!
Chapter Eleven
Petra was gone and Angel had no idea. The tired drag queen rubbed her forehead just wanting to get out of the bus so she could see her new niece.
"Are we almost there Tom?" Angel said fidgeting in her seat.
Collins looked from the window to his lover. "Yes Ang, we're almost there."
Satisfied with his answer Angel laid her head against Collins' broad shoulder sighing. "I wonder what she looks like. I bet you she has Miguel's nose, no one can escape a Schunard nose."
The professor chuckled as he played with Angel's hand. "I think your nose is cute."
Angel looked up at Collins grinning from ear to ear. "I swear Tom Collins, you can say anything and I'll jump right out of my panties."
A wave of embarrassment came upon Collins' face and he hushed Angel. "Uh, come on Ang, this is our stop."
As the two walked up toward the hospital they spotted Miguel sitting with the tiniest bundle in his arms. His gaze was forlorn and distant, a way that Angel had never seen her brother. Panic immediately set in for Angel. "Miguel! Miguel what happened!" Angel asked.
Miguel looked up at this brother and looked back at the tiny baby that began to stir in his arms. "She's gone."
Angel buried her face in her hands almost collapsing onto the floor; luckily Collins was there as always to keep her steady. Miguel looked down at his weeping brother. "Angel, it's okay. I'd rather her be happy wherever she is, than be here and have to put up with the shit she was putting up with."
Tears silently fell down Angel's face as she began to regain some kind of composure. Collins held his lover by the waist whispering and cooing into her ear for support. Angel smeared her make-up as she wiped her eyes. "How's my girl?"
Turning his attention back to his brand new daughter, Miguel faintly smiled. "She's great. Her eyes are purple."
"Like Abuelita's!" Angel happily exclaimed.
"Yep, just like Abuelita. Do you want to hold her?"
Angel slowly walked up to her brother, gently grabbing the tiny little baby and rocking her into her arms. Cooing and moving her head around, Baby Angel opened her eyes slightly to reveal the purple gems Miguel was talking about. Collins watched the beautiful site that Angel was holding a baby and sighed. "You were right about the nose."
Angel giggled and held the baby closer to her heart as she began to cry. "Shh, it's alright. Tia Angel is here."
"I've got all of the baby's things at home, so I better get going. They're taking Petra's body down to a place where we live. Her mother is hysterical."
This worried Angel a bit, if Petra's family had anything to do with it, Miguel or anyone in his family would never see the little girl again. "Do you think that we'll be able to see her?" Angel asked looking at the baby.
Miguel walked over to his brother who was now taller than him with the heels. "Of course Angel, I'll be bringing her up here to see you guys. Don't worry. I won't let them take her away from me."
Angel beamed, that was just one of the many things that her brother and herself had in common. A fighting spirit. "Okay, we'll look forward to it."
As Miguel started to load of the car with the little things that he did have, he found that Petra had placed the car seat into the backseat of the car. "Oh my God."
Angel and Collins looked over toward the man who cupped his mouth with his hand. "Petra packed the car seat. Do you think she knew?"
Collins walked over to the distraught man and placed his hand on his back. "We don't know man; I don't think we ever will. Let's get you home."
Nodding solemnly, Miguel climbed into the as Angel placed the baby into the car seat. "You're going to have a great life Miss Dee, I promise."
After a trying and exhausting day, Angel sat down at the kitchen table drinking a cup of tea and sketching her last memory of Petra. Collins turned from his place on the couch and looked toward Angel who was in a world of her own. Pushing the essays that he regretted assigning aside, the professor got up and walked toward his lover placing a loving hand on his back. "What are you sketching baby?"
Angel finished a detail quickly and spoke finally after several moments. "Petra."
Since this would be the first time that Collins had experience a death with Angel, he was prepared for pretty much anything. Grabbing a chair on the opposite side of the table, Collins took a seat close to Angel still rubbing her back. "Need to talk love?"
The drag queen never looked up from the sketch. "No."
Not wanting to push, Collins fixed the chair and walked over to the answering machine that was blinking. "Look Ang, you seem to have fans that need to talk to you."
"Hi Angel! Hi Collins! It's Joanne, I'm at work right now on my lunch break and I wanted to know how everything went with the school. Did my portfolio do its job? What did they say about financial aid? Remember, I've got some links to some places that give out scholarships so please let me know! Well I better get going, talk to you guys soon and I hope everything went really well. Love you guys."
The professor glanced over at Angel who didn't even move a muscle.
"Hi Collins! Angel-Chica! What the hell happened girl! Why aren't you calling me right now! Let me know what happened! Tell Miguel and Petra I said hi. Te Amo!"
When Angel heard Petra's name, he grabbed his things and walked toward the bedroom. "Tom, I didn't ask you to play any messages."
Pressing the pause button on the machine, Collins looked up at a weeping Angel. "I'd really appreciate it if you just helped me out a little bit. My fucking sister-in-law just died today."
A confused looked took Collins' face over. "Woah, wait a minute Ang. I've been trying to get you to talk to me for the past hour. What else do you expect me to do babe? Since you didn't talk to me I figured I'd give you some time and then you'd talk to me."
"What the hell do you mean! You haven't even tried!"
Collins began to walk toward Angel who was slowly backing up toward the bedroom. "I have tried Angel and you know it. You have been ignoring me when I'm trying to talk to you."
"No you haven't! No gives a shit about me! No one!" Angel fumed.
The professor realized that Angel was getting really upset and when she got like this he needed to take a different approach with her. "Ang, baby just sit down and we can talk. Is that what you want love?"
"No! I want…" Angel looked about her, looking for an answer. She never did handle death very well. Becoming overwhelmed with the days events, the drag queen ran into the bedroom that they shared and slammed the door. Collins walked over to the bedroom door and knocked hoping Angel wouldn't lock herself in there. "Angel. Angel come on baby girl open up the door."
"Fuck off!" Angel yelled from the other side.
"How do you expect to heal when you keep your grief inside Ang!" Nothing was heard on the other side. "Let me in Angel."
"No I said! Fuck off!"
"I want to help you Angel. Do you think that because you held in your anger and your sadness about Abuelita that it helped you! It destroyed you Angel. Don't let this be the same scenario. Don't you think that Petra would be kicking your ass right now?"
Angel got up from the bed and opened the door just so her face could poke through. "I didn't hold my anger or my sadness in Tom; you are not my fucking therapist so I'd appreciate it if you didn't act like one!"
Collins felt insulted and hurt when Angel slammed the door in his face. Was she really going to act like this when they got into fights? Slamming doors? Screaming curse words? Collins was an adult just as much as Angel, and he wasn't going to stand for being treated like a parent whose teenager is angry for taking away his telephone. "Angel, stop acting like a child. I don't know who you were with before and I don't care, but I'm not going to have us fighting like this. I love you and I want you to be happy. But if you say you need me and push me away, how the hell do you think that makes me feel?"
Angel continued to weep on the other side of the door as she listened to Collins' words. "You're my life Angel and I'm going to do whatever I can to make you happy." When the professor couldn't get an answer out of Angel for another ten minutes he finally gave up and went back to his work that would be given back the next day. It wasn't until midnight that Collins realized that he would be sleeping on the couch tonight. After making sure the door was locked and the house was secure, Collins went into the linen closet for a few blankets and a spare pillow they had tucked in there. Removing his pants and shirt, the professor laid down for an uncomfortable night of sleep that awaited him.
The bed was cold without Collins; the world was cold without Collins. Angel tried her best to snuggle next to Collins' pillow but it wasn't the same. She felt stupid for what she had said and how she had acted.
Collins must think I'm an immature child. He's probably left, just like everyone else.
But to Angel's surprise she could hear the faint snoring of her lover as he slept in a rather contorted position on the couch. The street drummer grimaced when she saw him laying there because she knew how enormously uncomfortable that couch was. Padding over to her sleeping lover, Angel sat next to him slowly trying not to wake him. He was out cold. Leaning over to kiss him, Angel didn't realize that Collins' arms were slowly starting to surround her. Angel placed her right arm carefully underneath his as she leaned in finally reaching his lips in a soft peck. Collins took this as his cue and embraced Angel in a passionate kiss which Angel obliged in.
Finally breaking the kiss, Angel sheepishly looked down truly upset with herself. "Tom, I am so sorry. I don't know why the hell I act that way and it was wrong of me to treat you that way. You've completely turned my life around and I owe you so much. I'm just…so, so sorry lover."
Collins looked at his lover with a smile that seemed to brighten the room they were in. "That's alright baby girl. Just know that I'm here for you alright? There's no me without you."
Angel smiled and hugged her boyfriend. "Let's go to bed. I'm sure you don't want to sleep on this old couch anymore than I want to sit on it."
Helping Collins up, the two walked hand in hand into the bedroom, determined to get some sleep. "Hold on Ang, I'll be right back."
After relieving himself in the bathroom, Collins was just about to go back into the bedroom until he saw the light blinking for the answering machine.
"Hi Angel, this is Patricia Ollry and I'm your financial aid advisor. We met earlier today and went over a ton of papers that I am so sorry you had to go through. Anyway, the reason why I'm calling is to let you know that the school has granted you a full scholarship to New York Arts. All we would need is your signature. Congratulations! I see that you have another appointment up here with your admissions counselor anyway so we could just kill two birds with one stone. I know you'll be doing some fantastic things here, I've seen your work. They put one of them up already! Give me a call, you have my card. Take care and see you soon!"
Hearing this news, Collins ran back into the room screaming and yelling until Angel joined him. As they hugged, kissed and jumped around, Angel knew that Petra had something to do with it. Even though she had her Abuelita up there watching, she had another angel watching her that wouldn't let any harm come her way.