A/N Okay, to answer a few concerns that have been posted.

1 – There is a logical conclusion, and we are quickly working toward it. However, it's necessary to cover something to show the passages of time as well as how everyone's lives have changed and developed.

2- True Roger does still have AIDS and life is not always so blissful. Hold on and you'll see what happens. I have a plan.

So anyway, thanks to everyone still reading and reviewing. While it saddens me to know this is quickly working towards an end, I'm excited at the same time to see something of this magnitude completed. Thanks to all of you for being part of it!

Kelby

Chapter 92

Roger could hear the clicking and slowly opened his eyes. Cass was sitting in the chair by his bed typing away. She hadn't realized he had woken up. He watched her work. She looked tired. Her forehead was all crinkled up and she was chewing on the earpiece of her glasses. "Hey Baby." He yawned reaching a hand out to her.

"Hey. Did I wake you? I'm sorry." She put her glasses back on and kissed him, closing the laptop.


"No. This crap makes me sleepy." He smacked his hand at the IV tubing. "Plus I'm bored out of my mind."

"Well, better it makes you sleepy then makes you puke." She told him.


"Great." He said, sounding pissed.

"How do you feel?"

"I feel fine. I don't need to be here. I'm not really sick!"

"Roger…"

"No damn it! I don't need to be here! I'm not that sick! I should be at home!" He sat up on the edge of the bed.

"Then why did your doctor put you in the hospital?" She was tired of this argument. They had danced around it for going on three days now.

"Because he's a pain in the ass! I know what people that are sick look like! I've seen them! I don't look like that!"

Cass had had enough. "No you know what people who are dying look like, and you're not dying! Not now! You've got a slight infection damn it! You're in the hospital so it doesn't get bad! You're in the hospital because you have good enough insurance that the doctor can put you in here when you sneeze! So you don't get really sick. So you don't just end up here when you really are sick and they can't do anything else. So stop being difficult and get you ass the rest of the way back into that bed!" She stood there, hands on her hips daring him to defy her and move the wrong way.

He knew she was right. He also knew he wasn't going to win or go anywhere but back into the bed. He put his hands on her hips and pulled her over, between his knees, resting his head against her shoulder. "It's his friggin birthday." He said, sounding defeated. "He shouldn't be turning four sitting in a hospital."

"Roger he doesn't care where he is for his birthday. He just wants to see you. He wants to know when you're coming home. And you can't till you're all better." She hugged him.

"But it's still his birthday. I don't want him to remember turning four sitting in a hospital."

Cass moved back some to look at him. "Roger do you remember your fourth birthday?"

"No. I guess not." He shrugged.

"Neither do I." She smiled. "And in a few weeks neither will he. He'll remember a party, he'll remember it was his birthday, and he'll remember his presents. That's all."

"No, he'll remember the cake too." Roger got a slight grin.

"Right." Cass smiled. "He'll definitely remember the cake. For a few weeks. That's all. He doesn't care where his birthday is as long as he gets one. And as soon as you get home, nothing else will matter." She reached up running her fingers through his hair.

"Nothing huh?"

"Roger, he worships you. Do you hear me? Worships you. You know when he found out you weren't coming home the other night, he got a hold of a marker and got it all over the back of his hand. When I tried to wash it off that night in the bath he threw a fit. Do you know what he told me?"

"What?"

"That it was a tattoo. Just like Daddy's. When it washed off the next day, he made Jason re-do it for him."

"Oh."

"So now I have a four year old running around with a Magic Marker tattoo of a cross between his thumb and finger. Do you understand now? Why you have to sit in this damn hospital?"

Roger pulled her close again. "Yes. I'm sorry. I love you Baby."

"I love you too." She started kissing him only stopping when they heard someone at the door.

"Sorry to interrupt." The nurse said stepping into the room. "I need to hook up a new IV bag Roger."

"Yeah, whatever." He let Cass go, leaning back in the bed.

"Roger." Cass scolded.

"It's okay. If he wasn't grumpy I'd think something was wrong." She winked at Cass to let her know she was kidding.

Cass stifled a laugh. "I know exactly what you mean."

"Oh great, gang up on me."

The nurse hung the new IV up. "So that little cutie still coming tonight?"

"Yep. It's his birthday." Roger told her.


"And trust me, he'll tell you that too." Cass told her.

"Yeah? We'll have to see what we can find around here for him. His cute uncle coming too? The one with the camera?"

"You mean the one with the possibly psychotic wife?" Cass laughed. "Yeah he'll be here. And a few others."

"Well let me know when and I'll open up day room for you. You want to change shirts or anything before I re-hook your hep lock? So you don't have to slide the bag through the sleeve again?"

"Yeah. Good idea." He laughed, pulling on the shirt Cass handed him.

She finished up and took his vitals. "Okay. You're all set for another couple of hours. Just let me know when you want that room opened. And save me some cake."

"Sure. Thanks Barb." Cass told her, smiling as she left. "Well that'll be good. More room. And more chairs."

"So when are they getting here?"

"Well Jason is picking the kiddo up, then Collins. They're going for something to eat."

"Any chance they're bringing me any food?"

"Um, the three of them are eating at Mr. Pizza's Play Place."

"Ewww. I think I'd rather have hospital food. Okay, I'll pass. Call Mark, he'll bring food."

Cass smiled. "Well, Mo's getting his cake, but I don't know where Mark is. He said he had errands to run. That's why Jason's picking him up."

Roger got a sly grin. "Yeah Mark's taking care of something for me."

"What?"

"You'll have to wait and see." He teased her.

"Okay now I'm scared."

"Don't worry."

"It better not be an animal Roger. And Mickey better not show up with anything else either. Between Pookie the disappearing hamster, Pookie the salamander that ran under the fridge, and the goldfish,"


"Pookie One and Pookie Two." Roger cut her off, laughing.

"Exactly. We don't have a very good track record. We keep this up and somebody's going to call the humane society on us."

"Why does he name them all Pookie anyway?"

"Because he's four. And probably because when he was little Maureen taught him to call Mark Uncle Pookie and Mark spent all that time getting him to stop."

Roger laughed. "Well at least he's got the one goldfish left."

"Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you about that."

"What happened to Mark the goldfish?"

"Well, Mark the uncle took him to school this morning and found Mark the fish in his pocket. Turns out he was bringing him along to see you tonight."

"Ewww!" Roger laughed. "How much you want to bet Mark bought a new one today and dumped it in the bowl?"

"Probably." She climbed up on the bed next to him, stretching out, letting him wrap his arms around her. She lay there for a few minutes, listening to him breath as he played with her hair. "Roger we need to talk about something."

"What's up Baby?" He said softly, still stroking her hair.

"I heard from that school. He got in."

"That's good right?"

"Yes. I mean it's a smart kid school, not just a rich kid school."

"Well, he's a smart kid. He can read and count and everything."

"Yes, and I don't exactly want him going to East Village PS whatever."

"Okay. So what's the problem?"

"Well, it's really kind of expensive."

"Can we afford it? You want me to work at the bar more?"

Cass smiled up at him. "Um, it's not exactly one extra shift at the Iguana expensive, more like every shift at the Iguana plus some expensive. Every year. For twelve years."

"Oh. Well, can we afford it?"

"Yes. Basically." She paused. "But I was thinking of something else."

"What? Robbing a bank?" He joked.

"No, but that could be more appealing." She gave a nervous laugh. "Call Carlton. Let him pay for it."

"Your dad? You think he would?"

"Yes. It's amazing what guilt will make you pay for."

"But?"

"Well, I guess now that he's four, mentioning Collin's existence to Carlton might not be too bad an idea."

"Do you think he'll want to see him or anything?"

"No. I mean I don't know what Carlton wants, but his won't make him an instant grandfather or anything. He can find out about him. I'll even give him a few pictures maybe, but that's it. He doesn't get to meet him or anything. But he does need to know about him. That way, Collin is guaranteed a fair share of 'family' money."

"Okay Baby. If that's what you want. I guess he's due that. You too." He kissed her ear. "So he got into the smart kid school huh? Not surprising. He's as brilliant as his mother."

"I was smart enough to marry you." She kissed him. "You want to take a nap before they get here?"

"Sure." He held her tight till they both feel asleep.

"Hey! Loser! Wake up!"

Roger opened his eyes as Cass started to move. "Hey."

"Here I brought you food." Mark sat the bag down on the nightstand. "You better get moving. Everybody will be here soon."

Cass sat up as Roger stretched, reaching for the food. "Thanks." He looked up at Mark. "So? Did you get it?"

"Yes. And you owe me." Mark laughed. "It was really hard to wrap." He pointed at the triangle shaped box, wrapped in birthday paper, leaning against the wall.

"Cool!" Roger said excitedly, pulling the food out of the bag.


"What is it?"

"You'll see. Here eat." He handed her a sandwich. The three of them sat around talking until Maureen showed up baring cake, balloons and presents. She had just finished her sandwich when the door opened again.

"Daddy!" Collin yelled, rushing the bed and started to climb up.

"Hey Buddy!" Roger hugged him as Mark lifted him up onto the bed.

"Know what? Today's my birthday!"

"I know." Roger laughed at him. Collin rambled on about school, and his goldfish Mark and the cupcakes Aunt Jen made for him to take to school for his birthday. Roger and everybody laughed and tried to follow what he was saying.

Mark and Jason moved the cake and presents down to the day room as Collin continued on, pushing Roger's IV pole. He was still eyeing his cake and presents when the door opened and Joanie and Larry walked in.

"Grandma!" He yelled out mid sentence, launching himself into her arms. Once there he recapped for her most of the conversation he'd been having with everyone else.


"Okay, I suppose we should let you open your presents now huh?" Cass asked him.

"Uh huh!" He shook his head vigorously, while eyeing the stack of gifts.

"I don't know, that's a lot of stuff for somebody who's only three." Collins teased him.

"I'm not three! I'm four!"

"Oh excuse me!" Collins laughed. "Then I guess we should give you this." He handed him his present.

Paper, ribbons and bows went flying as Collin dove right in. Eventually everything in the pile was opened and they ate the chocolate cake.

"Collin you're a mess!" Joanie told him, wiping off his face.


"You have a good birthday?" Roger asked him.

"Uh huh." He nodded.


"You open all your presents?"

"Uh huh."

"What's that?" Roger asked him after Mark pulled the triangle shaped box out from behind the chair he had hidden it behind earlier.

Collin hopped down and ran over to it as Mark set it in the middle of the room. In seconds the paper was shredded and Jason was helping him lift the cardboard cover off the box.

Mark took his picture as his mouth fell open and his eyes went wide. "Is it all mine?" He asked Roger.


"Yup. All yours." Roger laughed at him as Collin picked the small acoustic guitar up out of the box.

"Oh my God." Cass said, shaking her head.


"Where did you ever find a guitar that little?" Maureen asked.


"It wasn't easy. Trust me." Mark laughed.

"Wow your very own guitar." Joanie said to him.

"Now you don't ever need to touch Daddy's." Cass said, glancing at Roger.

"Yeah well." He grinned. "I figured he'd like it. Plus that no touching my Fender idea doesn't hurt any either."

Soon Joanie and Larry took off for Scarsdale, with promises to pick him up tomorrow to spend the weekend with them. Aunt Shelly and Uncle Patrick were taking him to the Bronx Zoo on Saturday. Cass made her promise he wouldn't return with any fish or animals from Uncle Mickey either.

They gave cake to the nurses as Jason and Collins packed up all the presents except the guitar and along with Maureen headed back to Avenue B.

They had moved back to Roger's room. Collin lay in the bed with Roger as he helped him get his fingers on the right strings. Eventually, while Mark, Cass and Roger talked, Collin fell asleep, holding the guitar.

"Okay, we need to go. He's got school tomorrow."

"Okay." Roger handed the guitar to Mark who put it back in the box. "Collin Buddy wake up." Roger shook him as he sat up. "I'll see you tomorrow. Before you go to Grandma's."

He lay back down and hugged Roger. "Daddy when are you coming home?"

"Pretty soon. Maybe a couple more days. Okay?" Collin nodded. "Okay. Love you Buddy. Happy birthday."

"Bye Daddy." He said sleepily as Mark lifted him up to carry him out.

"Bye Baby." She kissed him goodbye. "I'll see you later. Love you."

"Love you too."

"I'll talk to you tomorrow Rog." Mark said, holding Collin as he put an arm around Cass, leading her out of the room.

Roger gave a small wave as they walked out the door. He couldn't help but think how good they looked together. His wife. His kid. His best friend. Mark could have had all that and he knew it. Mark loved Cass and he stepped aside for him and Cass to be together. Sure Mark had Maureen, but that didn't mean he didn't love Cass. For as much as Roger loved the fact he knew Mark would always be there for them, he hated it too. Hated it because he knew he wouldn't and sitting in that hospital bed just drove that point home. Sitting there with the IV dripping into his veins, he saw the irony of the whole situation. This whole mess started with something in his veins. He reached over and dialed the phone, calling Cass' cell.

"Hello?"

"Hey."

"What's the matter?" She asked, alarmed from the cab.

"Nothing. I just, I love you Baby. I really, really love you. I'll see you tomorrow. Night." He hung up the phone before she had a chance to say anything else.

*******************

Cass heard the bedroom door open and rolled over as Collin came in, dragging his blanket behind him.

"Mommy?"

"What are you doing up? You don't have to up for another twenty minutes." She smiled at him as she slid over some and pulled back the covers for him to crawl in next to her. "Come here." She patted the bed. He crawled in next to her, snuggling up close and yawning. "Did you have fun this weekend at Grandma's?"


He nodded. "How about the zoo with Uncle Patrick and Aunt Shelly?" He nodded again. "What's the matter?" She whispered to him.

"Can Daddy come home today?" He asked, looking up with big sad eyes.

Cass grinned. "You know what? I know you had a good time this weekend because when Uncle Patrick brought you home last night you were sound asleep. You never even woke up when he brought you upstairs or when I put you in bed." Collin didn't say anything, just looked at her. "Know what that means?" He shook his head. "It means you didn't know who was here last night when you got home!" She smiled at him. "Listen." Cass put a finger to his lips to tell him to be quiet. As they lay there she watched his eyes widen and a big smile cross his face as he heard Roger snore.

Collin sat up, climbing over Cass. "Daddy!" He yelled, throwing himself on Roger.

Roger's eyes flew open and he let out a grunt as Collin landed on his stomach.

"Hey! Be careful. Daddy's still sort of sick."

"I'm not sick. I just have a monster jumping on my stomach!" He hugged Collin. "Told you I'd be home in a couple of days."

Collin threw his arms around his neck, lying on his chest. "I'm glad you're home Daddy."

"Me too Buddy. Me too." He hugged him back.


"Well considering we're all up, how about breakfast? And coffee?"

"Sounds good." Roger told her smiling.

"Okay, I'll start the coffee, then you need to get dressed for school kiddo." Cass told them getting up and heading into the kitchen as Collin and started to tell Roger all about his trip to the zoo. When Cass came back in a few minutes later Roger whispered into Collin's ear. Cass watched his face light up and knew she was in trouble.

"Can I stay home from school today? With Daddy? Pleeeeeeeeease Mommy?" He gave her the puppy dog eyes.

"Yeah pleeeeeeease Mommy?" Roger asked, giving her his own version of the puppy dog eyes.

She chewed on her lip, pretending to think about it. "I don't know. I've got a lot of work to do today."

"We'll be good. We promise. We'll be quiet." Collin shook his head.


"Oh right!" Cass laughed. "You two are never quiet!"

"We could be." Roger told her. "If we're not here. We could go to breakfast. And go see the dinosaurs at the museum for awhile. And have lunch."

"Yeah!"

"You want to skip pre-school to do that?" She teased him.

"Uh huh!" He jumped up and down.

"I don't know if letting you two loose on New York is such a great idea."

"We can take Uncle Mark." Collin told her, still trying to convince her.

"Yeah, we can take Uncle Mark." Roger teased.

"Oh you think Uncle Mark has nothing better to do than just hang out with you two?" Cass laughed.

"Actually yeah." Roger laughed. "So? Please?"

"I suppose." Cass smiled at them.

"Yeah!" Collin jumped up and down on the bed.

"Okay." Roger told him, sitting up and setting Collin on the floor. "Go brush your teeth and find some clothes."

"Okay." He grabbed his blanket and took off for his room.

Cass watched him go before turning back to Roger. "Why do I feel like I just got set up?"

"No idea Baby." He stood up and kissed her as he headed towards the bathroom. "No idea."