A/N: Ah, it feels so good to update this fic! I've been missing those little tykes...anyway, this has only half of the movie in it. The next half will follow, and i PROMISE to not make you wait so long for it!

It started out with a grainy shot of a mailbox, and a wobbly voice that vaguely sounded like Mark's saying, "Testing…we are now…testing…god, this sounds stupid…" As he spoke, both the voice and the shot solidified until they were as clear and strong as anything that Mark's camera shot. Then the picture blinked away and there was static.

"I, um, wanted to make sure it was working," Mark explained, swallowing nervously. No one said anything as they waited for the static to materialize into some recognizable shape. But when it did, none of them felt that they were ready for what they saw, no matter how old the pain or how hard the shell.

Angel. The real Angel, sitting cross-legged in a hospital bed, with a tube taped to her arm and dark blue pajamas on. The real Angel, smiling at the camera as though she was smiling at each and every one of them. They had steeled themselves for it, but they had done enough. There was no enough.

Roxy and Jon were usually antsy in the beginning of movies: it was only after a few minutes that they became absorbed and still. But now it was different. Both of them watched the image on the flat white sheet, thrown up there by the projector, as though it was one giant candy bar. Their wide, shining eyes reflected Angel's face like brown and blue mirrors.

"Is it on now, Mark? Because I'm not going through some big heartwarming speech in front of a camera that might as well be pointed at the floor," Angel said, laughing a little as she spoke. Maureen wordlessly let go of Roxy and reached out to Joanne and Collins, grabbing their hands and squeezing them like Silly Putty. Joanne's was chilled; Collins's was actually shaking. She managed to tear her eyes away from the screen long enough to see that Mark, Mimi, and Roger were also linked by hands.

"Yeah, it's on," Mark assured from off-screen. Angel nodded and faced the camera head on, her eyes looking through the lens and, it seemed, right at the people who were now watching her, trying not to cry or scream.

"Okay, well…I'll start out by saying hi to those adorable little babies who are watching this right now…but I guess you won't be babies then, will you? Whatever…but anyways, hi, Roxy! And hi, Jon! How're you guys doing?" she asked, grinning at the camera and wiggling her fingers in a wave. In Joanne's lap, Jon bounced up and down.

"Hi," he said shyly, wagging his own fingers in return. They all stiffened when they heard him, but no one looked away from Angel.

"I hope you're doing okay! But it's not like I have anything to worry about, because you've got such great mommies to take care of you, right? Mo and Jo, the pair of you, I know you'll be watching this too, so I'm giving a shout out to my favorite diva and lawyer, respectively. Love you guys, and I hope that somehow, miraculously, you two are managing to not spoil your kids. But that's a little too much to expect of you, so just keep in mind that I'm willing to lower my standards." Onscreen, Angel winked and shifted her legs around, uncrossing them under the blanket and leaning back against her pillows. Off-screen and in the loft, Maureen and Joanne were both crying silently, their faces shiny with tears. Roxy and Jon didn't notice, their attention riveted on the screen; but the others noticed. Collins squeezed Maureen's hand.

"Mark, stop making that face! Of course I'm going to say hello to the future you! Hi, Marky! How's it going? You still using this amazing camera of yours? You better be, because if you're not I'm going to bug you like the world's most annoying mosquito until you get it back. But whether you have the camera or not, I hope you're still doing all right, and you know I love you to death. Jeez, I said stop with the face! Or do you have indigestion?" Angel teased, giggling at an embarrassed Mark. The real Mark squeezed his eyes shut and gave a tiny smile as he remembered that day. Roger and Mimi's hands tightened on his.

"Roger and Mimi, I have not forgotten you two, even if you're wishing I had. Roger, if you haven't found that song yet, you keep working your ass off. If you have, then it was too easy and you're in trouble, mister." Roger gave a sort of choked laugh and hung his head.

"But you know I'll always be impressed with you, honey," Angel continued, her kind face and gentle voice so achingly familiar. Roxy and Jon sat as still as statues, aware that something beyond their abilities of comprehension was taking place…and comprehending it anyway.

"Mimi, chica, you've got to be watching this, so I'm gonna assume that you and Roger aren't in one of your stupid fights. I bet you're not, because by now you've both realized how amazing each other is and you've made up, and if you haven't, then do it as soon as I stop talking. But for the moment, chica, all I can say I love you and I'm counting on you to corrupt Roxy and Jon when Maureen and Joanne aren't looking, okay? Good."

"Oh, god," Mimi suddenly rasped, her voice hoarse with emotion. She turned and buried her face in Roger's shoulder. He clasped her around the shoulders and kissed her hair as she breathed deeply and fought the tears.

"And…yeah. Mark, I'm sorry, but I have to kick you out, sweetie," Angel apologized, looking off-screen. All adult eyes flew to Collins, sure that he was as stunned as they were that there had been no greeting for him. But he was only staring at Angel, his eyes so wide that they seemed as large as the screen itself.

Onscreen, the camera jiggled as Mark adjusted it where it sat and then said something inaudible. Angel nodded and her eyes tracked him as he went to the door. There was a sound as he opened it, went through, and then a click as it closed. Somehow the picture seemed to grow smaller as Angel adjusted herself, still gazing levelly at the camera. Mimi hiccupped and clutched Roger's arm.

"Well, it's just you and me…you meaning Roxy and Jon and whoever else is watching, which I know is all of you for the moment. But there's going to be some point when only Roxy and Jon watch this, so I'll talk to them…but for the moment, all of you should listen." Angel seemed more serious now, but there was still the familiar spark of love in her eyes. Roxy and Jon, hearing their names, leaned forward. Roxy fidgeted a little, and then she slipped forward and clambered down from the couch and into Collins's lap.

"I wanna sit here," she told him, already settling down in the cup of his legs. Collins's breath caught, and he slowly nodded. Then he wrapped his large hands around her tiny tummy. She snuggled up against him and went back to watching the screen. But as the Angel on the screen began to speak, Collins closed his eyes and bowed his head, letting Roxy's fluffy hair brush against his face.

(sniffle)