ONE WEEK—19

A/N:

Thanks go to Eponine54, Kelby, and elodie for reviewing the last chapter. 33

Elodie: I don't know why I thought Mark went to Brown University. Perhaps because I've read it other places, or on the net somewhere. Thank you for pointing that out. ;)

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THE FOLLOWING FRIDAY

MARCH 7

AFTERNOON OF ROGER'S GIG

I begin to feel cold
my hands are shaking from fear,
white from clutching my pride,
red from cutting you,
and blue from telling lies

Jackie's sneakers pounded the pavement as she ran through the East Village. Had it been one mile, or two? She couldn't remember as she jogged up the building stairs and dug the key out from under the mat. Mark was at work, Mimi downstairs with Collins, and Roger working in his room. Entering the loft, she kicked off her sneakers and pulled off her sweatshirt, making her way into the kitchen. She'd be back in work on Monday, so she figured she might as well enjoy the quiet time she had to herself, which wasn't much, considering everyone came and went when they pleased.

She had just fixed herself a salad and was about to sit down at the table to eat it when the lights dimmed and the heater on the wall started buzzing. She thought nothing of it and took a bite of her salad, when the lights completely went out and the heater shut off and made a loud popping noise, a cloud of smoke erupting from it.

Roger poked his head out and cursed loudly. "What the fuck was that?"

Jackie stood up and walked over to the heater, pointing at it. "I think it's dead."

"This is just fucking wonderful. A real fucking picnic," he yelled. The lights came back on, and Roger went around opening the windows, trying to get the smoke out of the apartment. Jackie shivered as the wind whipped through the living room, grabbing her sweatshirt from the couch and putting it on.

"So what do we do now? This place is freezing even with the heater working," she protested. Roger ran back in his room and brought out two pairs of sweatpants and an extra blanket. He handed her the sweatpants and took the other pair and threw it on over his jeans before wrapping the blanket around his shoulders.

"I have enough for Mimi and Mark. Lisa too, when she gets back from the hospital with Benny,"  he smirked.

Jackie rolled her eyes and laughed. "Somebody's jealous."

"No, he's just an asshole," Roger smirked, plopping himself down on the couch.

"We're doing nothing about the lack of heat? Do you have a brain in there?"

"Well, yes and no. Can't do anything until we get money, which we're sorely lacking. Until then, we'll just wear about fifteen layers and pray."

"Roger Davis, pray?"

"It was just a phrase…"

At that very moment, Mark strolled into the apartment, loosening his tie in one hand and placing a bunch of papers on the coffee table. "Holy shit it's cold in here. Roger, is that thing on?"

"No."

"What do you mean no? You're gonna get sick!" Mark argued with him.

"It exploded," Jackie laughed, rushing up to give Mark a kiss. "I missed you."

"I missed you too. I guess somebody's mood improved, huh?" he teased, struggling with his tie. "Can you get that off for me?"

"Sure." Jackie unknotted the tie with ease and handed it back to him while Roger made kissing noises from the couch.

"Sickos," he muttered, running a hand through his hair.

"At least we wait until we get into the bedroom to have sex and not do it halfway on the couch like you do," Jackie said, as Mark blushed.

"Sorry, I do it when it's-- yeah—you know what! Mimi likes it, okay?"

"Mimi likes what?" Mimi asked, closing the apartment door behind her. "Jesus Christ it's cold in here," she said, wrapping her arms around herself. She walked over to Roger and stole the blanket from him before curling up in his lap.

"How do you feel?" he asked, kissing her neck.

"Better. Second trimester starts today," she beamed, winking at Roger. "Guess what that means?"

"Uhhh…less puking and less complaining?" Roger asked.

"Baby I don't complain. Do I complain Mark?" she asked, pouting a little bit.

"I'm staying out of this," Mark laughed. Jackie was standing in front of him and he had his arms wrapped around her and resting on her stomach.

"So what does that mean?" Roger asked again, winking suggestively. "Yeah I knew it! You ready for some competition next door Cohen?"

"We aren't competing," Mark said in a final tone.

"And we're changing the subject. So why is it so cold in here?" Mimi asked again.

"The heater's busted," Roger answered for her.

"Great. So what are we going to do now?"

"I guess we're going to need to buy a new heater," Mark said. "Maybe we could find a cheap one or something."

"I'll pay for it," Jackie suggested. "I mean, considering I live here and all."

"No," Mimi added. "We'll all chip in. I got my final paycheck from the club today. $500."

"Yeah, but you need that for the baby," Jackie said.

"Look, why don't we just go tomorrow?" Mark said. Roger turned and looked at him with 'duh' written all over his face.

"Tomorrow we're going to Scarsdale, or did you forget already?"

"Oh yeah. Shit. So maybe we could get one there and just bring it back with us. This way we'll only have to spend a night up here in the cold. Maybe we could all huddle together or something."

"Yeah, that could work. What time are we leaving tomorrow?" Mimi asked.

"Around 8. Gotta beat the weekend traffic on the parkway," Roger answered.

"Whose house are we going to first?" Jackie chimed in, still resting against Mark.

"Yours," Mark and Roger answered at the same time.

"Well, we're going to have to go to both of them anyway. I told Christina I'm taking off Monday," Mark added. "She said it was fine that you took off Monday too."

"Okay," Jackie smiled.

Roger shrugged. "No offense or anything, and it's not like I'm thrilled to be going back to my house, but I don't think I can handle your mother screeching in my ear that early," Roger laughed.

"My mom isn't that bad," Mark grinned.

"Yes she is," Lisa chimed in, taking of her coat and shutting the door. "My god, it's cold—"

"WE KNOW!" Everyone shouted together.

"Sorry, should I ask what happened?"

"For the last time, the heater is broken," Roger said finally, hoping that no one else would come in and ask the same question.

"So what about mom?" Lisa questioned, her hair falling across her shoulders.

"We're just talking about tomorrow. We're going to Roger's house first, then getting his sister to help her move into her apartment. After that we're probably going to have dinner with them. Sunday we'll head over to mom's, do the whole meet and greet deal, probably get conned into going to temple, then have a good Cohen family dinner, complete with Aunt Fran's motzah ball soup," Mark finished.

Mimi stuck out her tongue. "I don't even want to think about that."

"Neither do I," Roger agreed.

"I guess we'll crash there for the night, then leave that night or Monday morning."

"That sounds fine." Mimi yawned and snuggled against Roger a little.

"National Lampoon's Scarsdale Vacation from Hell," he smirked. "What a way to spend a weekend."

"I can't find my shirt."

Jackie silently laid in the bed, the sheet still draped over her bare torso. So many things were running through her head that she was beginning to feel a little dizzy. Natalie. Harvey. Ballet. Josh. Bruises. Hospitals. Sydney. God how much she wanted to go back there.

"Jac?" Mark asked, staring at her in concern. "What's wrong? Did I do…did I hurt you or anything?"

She shook her head and sat up, tossing Mark his shirt and in turn grabbed her own. "No, it's not that."

"Then what is it? You know you can tell me anything, right?" he said, coming over to sit next to her.

"What did I do to deserve you, Mark?" she whispered, her green eyes reflecting the dim light in the room. "Why would anyone want to be with me?"

"Jackie, I'm—I'm falling in love with you, you know that, right?" he said timidly. "I've never felt this way about anyone before. I've always been too reserved—always holding out, never wanting to give one hundred percent. After Maureen, I barely dated anyone. Then you came along, and I figured I never had a chance—you were too perfect."

"I'm not perfect. There's so much you don't know about me. I'm afraid if I tell you…you'll leave," she added, a tear dripping down her cheek. Mark sighed and pulled her closer to him.

"Never that," he quietly replied in her ear. "I know—I know everything is really hard for you right now and you think that nothing is going right, but I just want you to know that I want to be that one thing that makes you happy at the end of the day and what you wake up for in the morning. I  hope that doesn't sound selfish."

"No, it doesn't. Thank you," she said, resting her head on his shoulder. "I don't know what I would have done by now if you weren't here."

"I know. Just talk to me. Don't ever think I won't be here to listen," he smiled. Jackie traced her fingers along his cheekbones and closed her eyes, her head resuming the position on his chest.

"It's cold."

"I know. I swear we're going to buy that heater this weekend."

"I hope so. I really don't want to move from this spot. You're keeping me so warm," she giggled, running her hands up and down his chest. Mark softly kissed her and laced his fingers through hers.

"Do you still want to go tonight?" he asked.

"I'd feel pretty bad about missing Roger's gig. I know how much it means to him. We could always leave a little early," she suggested. "I don't feel particularly like drinking tonight."

"Neither do I. I kind of want to spend tonight with you." Mark yawned and pulled his jeans on as Jackie crawled off his lap. She did the same, running her brush through her hair.

"I know. I don't think we'll have much time to ourselves this weekend." She put her earrings in and applied some makeup before rejoining him on the bed.

"Are you comfortable with meeting my parents? I know we haven't been together that long," he said quickly.

"Of course, as long as you're comfortable with me meeting them."

"I'm fine. I just don't—there's too much drama in my family," he laughed.  Jackie managed a small smile.

"What do you think about going to Sydney with me?" she asked, curling up against him once more.

"Well, when do you want to go?" he asked, glancing into her eyes.

"Not right away. Eventually, I guess. Before Mimi has her baby. I'd have to really think about it. Maybe April or May?"

"Whenever you want to go, I'll go with you."

"Thank you."

"Stop thanking me," he laughed. Jackie shrugged.

"You know what? I'd really like to take everyone with us. Maybe not the first time, but I think we'd all have a really good time."

"We'd party it up with the kangaroos," Mark joked. "It's almost 9. We probably should start rounding everyone up to get going."

"Yeah, we should."

"I promise we won't be out too late," he said, grabbing his jacket from the closet.

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"What time does he go on?"

"Soon, I think. God, he looks so nervous," Mimi laughed, taking a sip of water. Mark, Jackie, and Mimi were crowded around a small table in the center of the club, the smoke consuming every square inch of the room. It was almost too thick to breathe, but the atmosphere was enjoyable all the same. "Is Lisa coming?"

"No, she said she wanted to lay down." Mark wrapped his arm protectively around Jackie's shoulder, and she relaxed a bit against him. The club was practically bursting at the seams with people, and as the minutes grew closer to eleven, the doors were still opening and closing with ease.

"Jesus, how many people can fit in here?" Mimi questioned, brushing a stray curl out of her eye. She had opted to ditch the sweatpants for the night and was wearing a casual black mesh long sleeve shirt and a calf length dark denim skirt with black knee high boots underneath. Even though her clothes were tighter than usual, since she was so small, you could barely tell she was pregnant or see her small belly in the dim club setting.

"Probably around 300, I guess," Jackie answered, stretching and standing up. "I'm gonna run to the bathroom." Mark nodded and scanned the club for anyone he knew. Maureen had left for California, but was supposed to be back this weekend to collect some more of her things. Collins and Dan were spending the night at an art seminar in Brooklyn and were supposed to go out with some friends afterwards. He had sent his sincere apologies to Roger a few days before and promised to make it up to him.

Jackie pushed her way through the crowds of people and down the hall to where she assumed the bathroom was. However when she got there, she was greeted by a most unwelcome face. Josh. She quickly entered the ladies room and locked herself in a stall, breathing heavily. She hoped he hadn't seen her. When she heard the ladies room door open again, she knew she had been caught.

"Jacqueline Ferrell, nice to see you again," he muttered sarcastically. Groaning, she unlocked the stall and walked out near the sinks, where he was perched casually against the wall.

"Unfortunately I can't say the same for you," she said, rolling her eyes and inching towards the door. Josh ran over to her and grabbed her arm.

"Where do you think you're going?" he said, breathing into her ear.

"Away from you. With my friends."

Josh shook his head. "You actually have some of those? I saw who you walked in with. It's a shame, you had me and now you feel you have to whore yourself to low life, East Village trash," he smirked.

"Mark's not trash. You don't know him. He's treated me better in the month I've been with him than you ever did in the two years we were together!" she shouted at him.

"Look, I just wanted to say I'm sorry, and maybe we could—"

"No, we can't! Don't you understand? I'll never be yours again, not after what you've done to me. I got so fed up with the screaming, and the fights, and you sending me to the hospital! Never again," she whispered, pushing her way past him.

He threw his hands up in disgust. "Don't say I didn't warn you, however. It's such a shame you fell down the stairs that one time. We could have started a family together."

"Don't you dare even bring that up! You threw me down them! And I'm warning you, not the other way around. The court date's set for the 1st of April, so I wouldn't try anything smart before them. You're already facing jail time," she spat bitterly.

"I'm sorry to hear about Natalie, by the way, but have it your way, bitch. Never say never." He departed, the door swinging shut loudly behind him. Jackie sighed and walked over to the sink, splashing some water on her blotchy face. She made her way through the crowd of people to find Roger's opening act already set up on stage and tuning their instruments. Jackie huffily sat down and stirred her drink in frustration.

"Whoa, you okay?" Mark asked, rubbing her lower back.

"I'm fine. Just had a little run in with Josh near the bathrooms," she shrugged.

"Jackie…"

"Don't start Mark. I'm fine. Can I just enjoy myself this one time without having to think about how fucked up my life is?" she said angrily, focusing on the petite brunette the was testing the microphone on stage.

"Sorry." Mark shook his head and focused away from her. Jackie sighed and rested her head against his chest.

"I'm sorry. I don't mean to take it out on you, I really don't. I just can't handle everything all at once," she said sincerely.

"I know."

"Hey guys," Roger greeted, leaning against their table. He bent down and gave Mimi a quick kiss. "Hi baby."

"Hey," she responded, running her hands up his back. "Nervous?"

"Nah, not really. You look, wow, you look great," he smirked.

"Thanks. I tried. Didn't know what kind of luck I was gonna have. My feet really hurt," she smiled. "What time are you getting home tonight?"

"Probably around 1:30 or 2. It's gonna suck getting up tomorrow," he groaned. "Okay, well Wes is waving at me from the stage, so I gotta go. I'll see you later?"

"You bet."

"Break a leg," Mark said sarcastically.

"Ha ha. You're funny, Cohen." Roger flipped him off and walked away.

The tiny brunette introducted herself as Lauren, and she held down the place for a good twenty minutes before the reformed Well Hungarians came onstage. Everybody was dancing, and crowdsurfing, and Jackie eventually conned Mark into dancing with her, even though he claimed he had two left feet.

"I'm sure you aren't that bad," she laughed, grinding against him a little.

"Oh, I assure you that I really am," he answered, kissing her forehead. Mimi was waving at them from the table and winking.

"Yeah Mark, get some!" she hollered out as his cheeks reddened a little.

"I don't think it's possible to grind to this song."

"Mark, you're so hopeless," Jackie teased, wrapping her arms around his neck.

Breathlessly, they returned to the table a few minutes later. Roger had wrapped up the last song, and was now strumming out the chords to "Your Eyes." Mimi's eyes widened and she shakily started playing with her water glass, running her fingers up and down the sides.

"Mimi, this is for you baby," Roger smiled into the mike, dedicating the song to her.

Jackie leaned over to Mark and started whispering in his ear. "You don't think he's going to propose to her right now, is he?" she asked, noting how Roger looked a little nervous onstage.

Mark shrugged. "I don't know. I mean, chances are he would have said something, and I definitely know he doesn't have a ring, but he's Roger and he can be spontaneous and unpredictable so I wouldn't be completely surprised if he had something like this up his sleeve. He probably would have at least mentioned something to me though…"

"Maybe he thinks you have a big mouth and would let it slip," she joked.

"Thanks," Mark chuckled. "I think it's running through her head too. Look how she's watching him and playing with her hands. She always does that when she's nervous."

"Yeah. It would be so sweet if he did that."

"I wish he would already. I know that he'll probably do it before the baby is born, I mean, it's gotta be a given, right? I know she wants it too. I think that's what depressing her the most is the fact that he hasn't asked her to marry him yet and that he's getting really busy with the band," Mark added.

"If I was in that position I would be too," Jackie replied, sipping her long island ice tea. "I guess whenever he's ready."

"God, that could take forever."

Roger finished up the song and smiled a final time in Mimi's direction. She smiled back, but her face automatically fell afterwards when the band continued playing over the applause. Mark noticed and sighed.

"You okay Meems?"

"Oh yeah, I'm fine. I just thought, well never mind," she answered, tapping her foot against the table.

Mark and Jackie shared an "I told you so" glance and smiled.

"I just figured that he was going to propose…"

"Yeah, we were thinking the same thing," Jackie said sympathetically.

"Just give him time. You know how he gets," Mark added.

"I know." Mimi shrugged it off and attempted a small smile. "Eventually."

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It was close to twelve thirty when The Well Hungarians finished their set.

"Thanks for coming out everyone. Be sure to check us out next Friday, same time, same place," Wes shouted into the mic.

"You guys fuckin' rock," Roger added, playing with the strings on his guitar.

"Figures he would add something like that," Mark laughed. Jackie smirked and stood up, stretching.

"Should we go, or should we wait around?" she yawned.

"Go. I think I've inhaled more than enough second hand smoke tonight. I'm really trying to get Roger to quit," Mimi added tentitavely. Mark nodded and stood up, and together they tried to make their way past the crowds of people trying to squeeze through the door. "You think everyone would realize that they can't all possibly get through two doors at the same time."

"What, is that like a pregnant pet peeve?" Mark joked. Mimi stared him down for a second before cracking a smile.

"Yeah, guess so. Shit, I don't see him anywhere," she complained as they finally made it onto the sidewalks and headed back in the direction towards the loft.

"He'll come home eventually. How did you like it?" Jackie asked, her hands resting in her pockets.

"It was okay. I'm proud of him."

Jackie didn't press the question any further. They finally arrived at the loft around one, and everyone pathetically tried to undress without falling asleep. Lisa was curled up on the beaten old couch, two blankets wrapped around her and her dark hair making a fan around her head. She looked so peaceful that Mark didn't want to wake her, but he knew that she would freeze out in the living room without any heat.

"Lisa. Lisa, wake up and come sleep with everyone in Roger's room. It's too cold out here," Mark whispered in her ear, shaking her a little. She opened one eye groggily and sat up.

"What time is it?"

"Around 1. C'mon, we dragged another mattress into Roger's room so we can all fit and crowd around the two shitty space heaters." Lisa yawned and took the blankets with her. She dropped onto Roger's bed and curled up on the end of it, wrapping the blankets she had brought with her around her chin. Within a minute she was asleep again. Mark shook his head and stepped over her, ending up on the bed next to her and staring off into space. Jackie was brushing her teeth in the bathroom, and Mimi was pulling her hair back into a messy twist in front of the mirror.

"Are those things up as high as they can go?" Mimi asked, pulling a pair of Roger's boxers on over her tiny shorts.

"Yeah, pretty much," Mark sighed. "We have enough blankets though. Did you set the alarm?"

"No. Let Roger do it when he gets in. I'm too lazy."

"So am I."

Jackie appeared in the doorway, rolling her pajama pants down around her hips a little. She crawled over Lisa and ended up on Mark's other side, resting her chest against him, Mark pulling the sheets over them. Mimi shut the lights off, and soon enough she was in bed with them too.

"Well, this is kind of cozy."

"Yeah, it is," Mark said sleepily, shutting his eyes. Jackie's breathing was starting to even out, and Mark knew she was already lightly sleeping. He kissed her forehead gently and started to drift of to sleep himself.

Mimi, however, couldn't sleep. She had gotten so used to sleeping with Roger—at the same time as Roger—that it felt so empty without his arms around her and his breathing echoing in her ear. She flipped over towards the digital clock and noted the time. 2:05 AM.

"Come home, Roger," she whispered to no one in particular before falling into a restless sleep.

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Roger entered the loft twenty minutes later, slipping his leather jacket and boots off silently before heading towards the bedroom. He knew he reeked of smoke and beer, but frankly he didn't care, because he was so exhausted he felt as if he were going to fall down. He yawned and tousled his blonde hair before entering the room.

Mimi sat up as soon as he entered. "Hey."

"Hey. Wait a minute, what the hell is this? Gilligan's Island? Why's everyone in our bed?" he asked, stripping off his shirt and pants, ending up in just his boxers.

"I don't know. This is just kind of where we all ended up," Mimi said. Roger slipped into bed next to her and kissed her heavily. Soon enough the were mid makeout, Roger running his hands under Mimi's shirt.

"Roger, we've gotta get some sleep. I don't exactly want to have sex in front of three other people," Mimi laughed.

"Yeah, but it's not like they're watching anyway," he joked. "You're right. It would be really uncomfortable since Mark's foot is practically wedged in my ass."

"What?" Mark mumbled. Roger laughed and shook his head.

"Nothing. Go back to sleep."

"Yep." Mark started snoring again, and Roger moved off of Mimi, instead wrapping his arms around her.

"What a story to tell the baby," Mimi smiled. "Hey, Daddy couldn't have sex with Mommy because you're Uncle's foot was in the way."

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The alarm clock started blaring at 7 AM the next morning. Roger and Mimi slept right through it, but Mark bolted up and shut if off. Jackie briefly stirred next to him, then turned over and fell right back asleep.

"Roger get up," Mark said. He couldn't even find Roger, the sheets were so far up over his head. "Roger, up. NOW."

Roger moved the sheets off his face and squinted at him. "What?"

"We've gotta leave in an hour," Mark reminded him, crawling over everyone to stand up. Roger groaned and sat up, rubbing his eyes. Mark left and returned with Roger's pills and handed them to him with a glass of water.

"Thanks. FYI, your foot was in my ass last night," Roger laughed.

"Sorry. You were practically drooling on me."

"Was not," he protested, standing up. "I gotta go hit the shower. I smell."

"Mmm lovely," Mark gloated as Roger headed towards the bathroom. He had just started the pot of coffee when Jackie sleepily walked into the kitchen.

"Morning," she yawned. "Nervous?"

Mark shrugged and pulled out a few coffee mugs and set them on the counter. "Kind of. I haven't exactly seen my parents for a few months. I know Roger's real nervous about seeing his dad again."

"I thought his dad was there last time he went to Scarsdale?"

"Nope. I mean, he was, but he avoided Roger the whole time."

"Wow."

"Yeah. Roger's not exactly too thrilled to see him either."

"I wouldn't be," Jackie added in. "What time do we have to leave?"

"By 8. Roger hates driving against traffic. He gets pissed off," Mark laughed, pouring the coffee into the set of coffee mugs set on the table.

"Do um, do his parents know he's sick?"

"No. His sister does though, but by accident. She found his pills last time he was there. They were sitting in the bathroom or something," Mark replied, swallowing his coffee and clearing his throat. "I hope he's going to tell them this time."

"Roger up yet?" Mimi asked, coming into the kitchen. She reached for a cup of coffee, half asleep.

"Yup. He's in the shower." Mark passed the sugar down the table.

"My back is killing me," she complained, trying to rub her back with one hand and drink her coffee with the other.

"So is mine," Lisa added. She was fully dressed in jeans and a hoodie, wide awake. "That was so uncomfortable."

"Hey, no one said any of you had to crowd into my bed," Roger smirked, coming into the kitchen with a towel on his waist. "Mark was all over the place last night, and somebody was drooling on my arm."

"At least it was warm. Unfortunately it's about thirty degrees in here," Mark laughed.

Twenty minutes later, everyone was dressed and dragging their duffel bags out into the living room.

"Too bad this can't be a trip to…the beach or something," Roger added, kicking his bag closer to the door.

"Shut up. You're going to Hawaii in two weeks. What are you complaining about?" Lisa added, brushing her hair.

"Yeah, stuff it," Mark said pathetically. "You have the numbers to the hospital, right?"

"Yep. I just got off the phone with them. They said Noah's doing great. He gained another ounce and a half. They're pretty surprised actually. I just wish I could stay here and be a little closer to him," Lisa yawned.

"You could, if you wanted."

"I know, but Mom's gonna be a pain in the ass about it if I end up not showing up. I don't need her mad at me anymore than she already is."

"So what are you going to tell her when she asked what happened?" Mark questioned, waiting on Lisa's answer. She shrugged, avoiding the question.

"Maybe she won't ask. It's not really her business anyway."

"Okay, I'm really not getting into an argument with you right now, but you seriously need to tell me what happened. I still don't know," Mark said defensively.

"Fuck you and what you don't know," Lisa said quietly, getting up to go sit in her bedroom.

"Oookay."

"That was pretty harsh," Mimi said, leaning over the kitchen counter to get her pills from the cabinet.

"Tell me about it. Everything loaded up Rog?" Mark called out into the hall.

"What? Yeah. Good thing Maureen left her car behind."

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