"Mom, is dad OK?" Michelle asked as Charlie came out of hers and Roger's room shutting the door behind her.
"Shh." she said quietly as she brought Michelle down the stairs. "He's finally asleep. He's been shivering and achy all night." Charlie said sitting on the couch putting her head back.
"What's wrong with him?" Michelle asked sitting next to her.
"He's got pneumonia sweetie." Charlie said quietly looking up at her.
"Then why isn't he in the hospital?" Michelle asked looking at her scared.
"He wants to be home with us. That man is so damn stubborn. He has been since the day we met." Charlie said getting up. She was frustrated and upset.
"Mom, he loves us. He always has." Michelle said looking up at her.
"I know, but I wish he would change his mind." she said starting to cry.
"Mom, you know how dad is. He doesn't want to die in a hospital bed like Angel did. He wants to be in his own bed with us around him." Michelle said approaching her.
"Yeah, I know how he is. He's a royal pain in the ass and has been since the minute we met." she yelled frustrated as Roger laughed from the bedroom doorway.
"And you fell in love with me anyway." Roger said smiling at her.
"Roger what are you doing up?" Charlie asked wiping her eyes as she rushed up the stairs.
"My ears were burning." he said smiling at her as he started going down the stairs.
"I'm sorry Roger. Michelle and I were just talking." Charlie said helping him down the stairs.
"Are you OK daddy?" Michelle asked going to him.
"Yeah Babygirl, I'm fine." he said struggling to get down the stairs.
"Dad, why won't you go to the hospital? They can help you there." Michelle said looking up at him as he held on to Charlie, who was helping him to the couch.
"Because, I don't need anyone telling me when I can see my girls." he said sitting on the couch.
"Dad, I really think you should go. They can make you more comfortable there." she said sitting next to him. He could see the worry on her face.
"Michelle, I want to spend my last moments with my girls. Not wasting away in some hospital bed drugged up. Please understand." he said looking over at her.
"I do dad. But what can we do to make you more comfortable?" Michelle asked looking over at him.
"Nothing Babygirl. I just want to be with you." he said reaching up to caress her face.
"OK daddy, whatever you want." she said smiling at him.
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"Uncle Collins, Uncle Mark. What are you guys doing here? Is dad OK?" Michelle asked worried as she entered the apartment.
"Yeah shorty, he's fine. He's sleeping. Aunt Maureen and Aunt Joanne just thought your mom needed some time out of the apartment." Mark said looking up at her.
"Yeah, she's been glued to dad's side for the last 2 and a half months. Ever since he started getting sick." Michelle said sitting on the couch.
"How are you holding up sweetie?" Collins asked putting his arm around her.
"I'm OK, I guess. I mean, my dad's dying and I'm not ready." she said starting to cry.
"I know, we all feel so helpless. But just know he loves you. He always has and always will." Collins told her holding her close to him.
"I know. He's the best dad I could have ever asked for." she said crying into his chest.
"I'm gonna go make some tea." Mark said going to the kitchen, not sure what he should do.
"I'm sorry Uncle Mark. It's just, I can't talk to my mom about how I feel because she's having a hard time with dad being sick too." she said looking up at him.
"Never be sorry shorty. We're your family. We'll always be there for you." he said smiling at her.
"I know. Thanks Uncle Mark." Michelle said smiling up at him.
"No problem." Mark said smiling at him.
"I'm gonna go check on dad, OK?" Michelle said wiping her eyes.
"OK sweetie. I love you, kiddo." Collins said kissing her head.
"I love you guys too." Michelle said smiling up at them.
"We know shorty." Mark said as Michelle got up and went up to Roger and Charlie's room. When she opened the door to the bedroom, she looked over at the bed. Roger was laying there sleeping. He looked so small and helpless. It upset her seeing him like that. Her father was strong and full of life. The man in the bed looked so weak and pale.
"Michelle." he called out quietly seeing her standing by the door.
"Hi daddy. How do you feel?" she asked equally as quiet as she made her way to the bed.
"I'm OK Babygirl. Come sit with me. I want to hear all about your day." he said struggling to sit up.
"Dad, I was in school. How exciting could it be?" she said smiling at him as she sat in the bed next to him.
"Why don't you tell me about it and I'll be the judge?" he asked looking up at her.
"Well, this guy Jason in my music appreciation class asked me to go for coffee with him at the Life Cafe." she said looking down at her.
"Now this sounds interesting. I wanna hear more." he said smiling up at her.
"Dad, it's no big deal." Michelle said smiling back at him.
"If it's not a big deal, why didn't you go?" he asked looking up at her.
"Dad, he's a musician. Remember what you used to tell me about musicians?" she said laughing a little.
"That's when you were 15 years old. And I was right about Justin, wasn't? He was a jerk." he said laughing with her. "But it sounds like this Jason guy wants to date you." he said looking up at her.
"I'm not in a mood to date anyone right now. There's a lot going on and I just need to concentrate on school and you." she said as tears stung her eyes.
"Babygirl, you don't have to take care of me, you know? Your mom has plenty of help between your aunts and uncles. You should have a life. You deserve to have a life." Roger told her as she started to cry.
"But daddy, I don't want to be away from you any longer than I have to. What if you die and I'm not here?" she asked as tears filled his eyes.
"Babygirl, come here." he cried as Michelle laid down and put her head on his chest.
"I'm sorry dad." she said as he caressed her hair.
"I know Babygirl. Me too." he whispered kissing her head. He just lay there and comforted his 20 year old daughter.
"Daddy, I love you." she said looking up at him.
"I love you too Michelle. More than you could ever imagine." he said wiping her tears with his thumbs like he had done so many times before. But this time her tears were because of him. He didn't want to leave her anymore than she wanted him to, but there was nothing he could do. He had thought about going into the hospital so she and Charlie didn't have to take care of him anymore, but he didn't want to miss out on any time with them. He loved his girls so much that leaving them was painful enough without having them fear that he would die in the hospital in the middle of the night when they were at home. Before long they were both asleep. When Charlie came home she went into the bedroom to check on Roger and saw them sleeping. She quietly went into her dresser drawer and took a picture. She didn't know if they wanted a picture of them sleeping while Roger was sick, but they looked so beautiful together. Charlie couldn't believe how close they were, even now that Michelle was 20. She worshipped him and he lived for her. The flash from the camera woke Roger up. He looked just looked up at her and smiled. "Hey Baby." he whispered careful not to wake Michelle.
"Hi." she whispered smiling at him from the doorway. "You two always did look so beautiful together." she said walking over to the bed.
"She came in to check on me. How was your day out with Maureen and Joanne?" he asked as Charlie sat on the bed next to him.
"It was OK. They brought me to Life Support. They thought it would be a good idea if I had people outside the family to talk to." she said caressing his face.
"I think that's a very good idea. Maybe next time you can bring Michelle along. She's having a really hard time Baby." he said fighting back tears.
"I know. They told me about a support group for children of HIV positive parents. I mean, she's not exactly a little girl anymore, but I think it would really help her." she said as he took her hand in his.
"I love you Charlie. From that first night, I knew I was gonna love you for the rest of my life." he said as tears escaped his eyes.
"Even though I had shit taste in music?" she asked quietly laughing as tears filled her eyes.
"Yeah." he said as Charlie buried her face in his neck crying.
"I love you too Roger." she said as he leaned his head on hers.
