CHAPTER 37

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TWO WEEKS LATER

"I'm leaving now!" Mimi shouted, grabbing her purse from the couch.

"Are you sure you don't want me to go with you?" Jackie asked from the kitchen.

Mimi shook her head. "Nah, it's only a doctor's appointment. I should be back in an hour or two. If Roger calls—"

Mark laughed and rolled his eyes. "We know. Tell him that you love him, that the baby's fine, and that you miss him. Anything else, princess?"

Mimi smiled. "You're my own personal answering machine now, so deal with it. And don't let Roger hear you talking to me like that."

"Oh, I'm scared." Mark made a face and wrapped his arm around Jackie's shoulder. "Really."

Jackie shook her head and kissed Mark on the cheek. "Stop it, both of you. I don't know how much more of this I can take."

Mimi laughed and opened the loft door. "See ya in a few hours."

"I want pictures of the ultrasound!" Jackie hollered after her as she closed the door.

Mark yawned and rested his head on the kitchen table. "I got no sleep last night. I'm running on empty. I'm 25 years old and I'm being sucked into corporate America."

She ran her fingers through his hair and laughed. "Poor baby. You better catch up on all your sleep right now, because when this baby is born you are so taking over the early morning shifts."

Mark grinned and kissed her. "Mom's coming next weekend," he groaned.

"Oh yeah, I forgot."

"I wish I had."

"Stop it." Jackie stood up and grabbed another cup of coffee. "Mark."

He turned around and looked at her. "Yeah?"

"I'm getting a belly," she said, running her hand over her stomach.

He stood up and placed his hand over hers. "Yeah, but it's a sexy belly."

"Wow, please don't start talking dirty in Mimi and Roger's kitchen," she joked. "We really need to go shopping. Or at least start too."

Mark nodded. "Speaking of shopping, Mo's having Mimi's surprise baby shower the week after 4th of July."

"So what is that? Three weeks from now?"

"Something like that," he shrugged. "When do we get to find out what ours is?"

Jackie checked the calendar. "July 21st. I'll be a little over 21 weeks then."

"I love you," he reminded her, leaning in to give her a kiss.

"Mmm I love you too," she said, her hand drifting down to the waistband of his jeans.

"Hello! I'm here!" Maureen yelled out, dropping her suitcase on the floor.

Mark groaned and kissed Jackie's neck a final time. "She has the worst timing ever."

Mimi placed the ultrasound pictures in her purse and headed towards the subway station, smiling to herself. She only had about eleven more weeks to go until Jaylynn was born, and another week and a half until Roger finally came home.

She pulled out her metro card and shoved it into the machine and passed through the turn style. It was a tight fit, considering she was seven months pregnant, but she made it. She stepped onto the platform and crossed her arms over her chest, waiting impatiently for the train to arrive.

God, was she hungry. Maybe she'd pick up a burger from the Life on the way back to the loft?

"Excuse me."

Mimi turned around and looked at the man who had drawn her attention. He was about Roger's height and build with red hair. "Yeah?"

He stepped closer to her. "Stay away from Jackie."

Mimi stared at him and took a deep breath. "Excuse me?"

The man grabbed her arm tightly. "Look bitch, just stay away. I already went after her boyfriend—don't make me go after yours as well."

Mimi pulled her arm away roughly. "He's not my boyfriend—he's my husband, asshole. Don't threaten me, you piece of shit. Bastardo. Get the fuck out of here."

"Keep your fucking mouth shut," he warned. "Hubby's not here to protect you now, is he?"

Mimi glared at him. "Don't you—" She was cut off by the man's fist connecting with her jaw. She stumbled back and reached her hand to her lip, tasting blood in the process. "Get your head examined, you fucking nut job. Get over yourself Josh. Jackie doesn't want to be with you."

"She wants to be with that dork instead, huh? Listen to me, cutie pie. You don't know who I know. You already saw what I did to your friend Mark, so I'd watch it if I were you." He grabbed her again and pulled her towards him.

Mimi's eyes darted around the practically empty platform. There were only a few people on the other ends, but it was worth a shot. She could cry wolf right now and somebody was bound to here her. "HELP! SOMEBODY HELP ME!" she screamed out.

Josh slammed her against the wall, her head connecting roughly with the concrete. "Here's a little message from me to you. Tell your friends to watch their backs or you'll get it worse next time." He shoved her roughly to the side and she fell backwards, landing on her side.

The subway train had just pulled up and people were filing off in front of her eyes. She pulled herself to her feet slowly. "Jesus," she whispered.

"Are you okay?" A tall woman with straight black hair pulled back into a ponytail had approached her.

Mimi nodded and wiped at her lip again. "Yeah, I'm fine."

The woman shook her head. "I'm an ER nurse at the NYU Med Center. I'm just about to start my shift, so why don't you just come and get checked out? Seriously, I'd feel terrible about just leaving you here, and in your condition and everything. You should just really make sure everything's okay."

Mimi shrugged and the woman handed her a tissue. "Yeah. Thanks."

"No problem." The train thundered to a stop and they shuffled on and took seats in an unoccupied corner. "I'm Julia."

"Mimi."

Julia nodded. "How old are you?"

"21 on the 30th. You?"

"28. That's a really nice wedding band," she smiled, looking down at Mimi's hand. "Your husband has great taste."

"Thanks," Mimi smiled. "I just got married about a month ago."

"Oh, congratulations. I remember that newlywed phase. Before the kids and everything," Julia laughed. "Enjoy it while it lasts."

"Believe me I know. Do you have any kids?"

She nodded. "I have two. Ryan, he's five and Diana, she's two. Then there's my husband, Dylan, who's the biggest kid ever."

The train pulled to a stop again and Julia helped Mimi up. "Let's get you checked out."

"That's probably a good idea."

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"Do you have any twos?"

Dan shook his head. "Go fish."

Jackie sighed and pulled a card from the pile.

"Any fives?" Maureen asked, looking to Collins.

"Nope. Go fish."

"Any threes?" Jackie shook her head at Mark.

"This game is rigged," Dan said, tossing his cards on the table. "Where's Mimi? Shouldn't she have been back by now?"

Mark looked at the clock. "Oh shit! We've been playing for over an hour, and she left about three hours ago."

Collins and Dan glanced at each other. "She did say she was just going to the doctor's, right?"

"Yeah."

Jackie stood up and walked over to the phone and scanned down the list of numbers. "I'll call her OBGYN and see if she's still there." She punched in the numbers and waited for someone to pick up. "Hi, I'm just wondering if Mimi Davis is still at the office? No, there's no problem. I'm sure she just went shopping then. Okay, thanks. Bye."

"And?" Maureen asked.

Jackie shook her head. "She left over two hours ago."

"Maybe she went to go and get something to eat? You know how those cravings can get," Dan joked, trying to lighten the mood.

Mark nodded. "Yeah, maybe."

Collins cleared his throat. "I'm sure she would have called if there was a problem. Let's just give her another hour to get here and if she doesn't, then we'll make a few phone calls and see what's up."

Before anyone could say anything in response, the phone started ringing. Jackie reached for it. "Hello? Yes. Is she okay? All right, we'll be there. Thank you."

Mark and Maureen practically pounced on her. "What? What happened?"

"She's at NYU Med Center. She checked herself in."

"Did they say what happened?" Mark asked, heading for the door.

"No, just that she's in the ER and asked to call here."

Collins nodded. "I'll stay here and try to get a hold of Roger."

"I'll stay too," Dan added.

Maureen grabbed her purse. "I'll get the cab, Pookie."

"Call my cell if you get a hold of Roger," Jackie said, grabbing Mark's hand and taking off out the door with him.

"Will do."

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"Is there anything else I can get you Mimi?" Julia asked, checking Mimi's IV bag.

Mimi shook her head. "No thanks. They should be on—"

Just then, Mark, Jackie, and Maureen rushed into her room, breathlessly.

"Their way," she finished lamely.

Julia smiled and nodded, leaving the room with Mimi's chart. "Just buzz me if you need anything."

"Are you okay Meems?" Mark asked.

"What the hell happened?" Maureen asked, taking in Mimi's appearance.

Mimi blew out a long breath of air. "Jackie, you might want to sit down for this."

Jackie raised an eyebrow at her and nodded. "Okay." She sat down on the edge of Mimi's bed.

"I was waiting for the train home, from my doctor's appointment, and out of nowhere Josh—"

"Josh?" Jackie said angrily.

Mimi nodded. "He came out of nowhere, Jac, and threatened me a few times. Punched me in my jaw and slammed me against the wall—"

"Oh my god," Maureen voiced. "This guy is a fucking lunatic!"

"No shit," Mark said sarcastically. "I guess the thought of life in prison doesn't phase him."

"I met a nurse, Julia, at the subway station, and she convinced me to come here without heading home because of the baby, but the doctor came in and checked everything—hooked me up to every fetal monitor possible—and I'm fine and the baby's fine. My jaw's bruised, and I have a little bit of a concussion, but I'm okay. They're holding me until the get some of the results back from the labs."

Mark started pacing around the room. "We need to get on the phone with the cops. This guy is supposed to be out on bail—he shouldn't be pulling shit like this. He probably was stalking you—or all of us."

"I really don't want to think about that," Jackie sighed. "I'm so sorry Mimi. I had no idea. I'm just causing trouble for everyone lately."

Mimi shook her head. "I just want to know why the fuck there was no restraining order placed on this guy."

Mark came over and wrapped his arms around Jackie's waist. "I don't know."

Jackie's phone started ringing, and Mark dug it out of his pocket, where it had ended up. "Hello? Yeah. She's fine. Tell him she's fine. Jesus, tell him to stop yelling. Okay. Five minutes. Got it."

Mimi looked up. "Who was that?"

Mark turned off the phone and shoved it back in his pocket. "Collins. Roger came home early to surprise you—he got the weekend off, and Collins told him that you were here and he started flipping out, naturally. The two of them and Dan are about two blocks away."

Jackie looked up at Mark and started crying. "He's gonna kill me, oh my god, he's gonna kill me, because it's my fault. Jesus Mark, he's gonna kill me," she said hysterically.

Mark rubbed her back and shook his head. "No he's not. I promise."

Mimi laughed and squeezed Jackie's hand. "Nobody's killing anyone here. Roger's just upset."

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"You swear she's okay, Collins?"

Collins looked at Dan and sighed. "The doctor said she's okay." The walked through the double doors and approached the front desk.

"Can I help you?"

"Mimi Davis?" Roger asked, tapping his fingers impatiently against the admit desk.

The nurse looked at the board behind her and pointed to the left. "Exam Three."

Roger brushed past the nurse, Collins and Dan hot on his heels. When he entered Mimi's room, Mark and Jackie were sitting in two chairs in the corner and Mimi was propped up, drinking a cup of water and watching the TV. "Hey," she greeted him.

Mark stood up automatically, but Jackie remained in her seat, staring at her hands. "Roger, we—"

Roger ignored him and walked to Mimi's bedside. "Hey," he replied softly, planting a kiss on her forehead and running his other hand over her stomach. "What happened?" He pressed his fingers against her jaw and she winced slightly.

"Josh." Mark said quietly.

"That bastard did this?" Roger said, angrily slamming his fist against the nightstand. Nothing was said for a few minutes. Roger sat on the edge of Mimi's bed and gripped her hand, Dan and Collins slipped away to the cafeteria, and Mark and Jackie resumed their conversation.

Out of nowhere, Roger spoke again. "You—" he pointed at Jackie. "Get the fuck out of the apartment."

Mimi rubbed his arm gently. "Rog, I'm okay—"

"What is it gonna take for you to realize that this guy is dangerous? He fucking shot Mark, and now he attacked Mimi! He's after you, and he'll take down whoever the hell is in the way. Get out. Mimi's not going home until you're out of the loft."

Mark stood up in front of Jackie and glared at Roger. "Stop talking out of your ass. You're not kicking anyone out." He looked back at her. "No one is going anywhere."

Roger shook his head. "Then you get out with her."

Mark's mouth dropped open. "You don't make the fucking rules around here. We fucking split the rent. That was the deal from the beginning when you moved in."

"I don't give a shit! Her psycho boyfriend is running around New York City stalking us. He shot you! He attacked her! Mimi—who's fucking pregnant!" Roger shouted at him, dropping Mimi's hand and advancing towards him.

"Jackie's pregnant too!" Mark argued back at him. "You're not the only one who's trying to be protective here!"

Roger shook his head once again. "That's not the point!"

"Then what is it?"

"She's been trouble the fucking second she walked through the door! She's got more baggage than I do, and Christ, that's saying something. She's a fucking drama queen. Don't you get it Mark? She's been using you. I wouldn't even be surprised if that kid she claims she's pregnant with is Josh's—or someone else's," he finished bitterly.

Jackie looked like she had been slapped. She stood up and grabbed her purse, walking out of the room without saying a word to anyone.

"Jackie—" Mark called after her. "Fuck you Roger. Fuck. You."

Julia poked her head in the room again. "Is there a problem in here?" she asked politely.

Mark shrugged. "No, we're done now."

Julia slipped out, and Mark turned back to face Roger. "Enjoy your rich and famous lifestyle. You always thought you were better than everyone else, anyway." He slipped out of the door and down the hall.

Roger frustratedly ran his hand through his hair and sat back down on Mimi's bed. "Why am I such an asshole?"

Mimi smiled sympathetically and wrapped her arms around his chest, resting her chin on his shoulder. "You're not an asshole. You're just a little hot tempered," she said softly. "But sometimes you need to be."

"It's just that I'm really pissed about this guy. I don't understand why he won't just give it up. He's facing a good twenty to thirty years in jail. You'd think that would be enough." He wrapped his arm around Mimi and pulled her close.

"That's exactly what Mark said. I don't know, there's not much else we can do. I filed the report with the police."

"Yeah." He kissed her. "I don't know what to do anymore."

"I know," she said, stroking his hair. "Everyone just needs to calm down."

Julia walked back in again with Mimi's chart. "I'm really sorry to bother you and your husband, Mimi, but Dr. Carraway just discharged you. He just said to take it easy for the next few days and stay off your feet. And also to let your OB/GYN know what's going on."

"Thanks Julia," Mimi smiled in her direction. "You hear that baby? Everything's okay. Let's just go home and sit around for the rest of the night."

Roger nodded and handed her the tank top and loose cotton skirt she had worn that day from the chair. "I love you Mimi. You know that right?"

She nodded and kissed him. "I know."

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"One scoop or two?"

Mimi looked up from the couch, where she was flipping through a magazine with one hand and icing her jaw with the other. "Two. With chocolate syrup, whipped cream, and sprinkles."

Roger laughed, brought her the bowl and sat down next to her. "How's that look?"


Mimi took the ice away and moved her head to the side so he could see. "I don't know. You tell me."

"It looks better. Not as swollen."

She shrugged and took a spoonful of ice cream and shoved it in her mouth. "Oh my god, this is so good. Here, have some."

He looked down and made a face. "I don't like peanut butter."

"What the hell is wrong with you? Peanut butter is the best shit ever. Here." Roger opened his mouth and swallowed the spoonful of ice cream.

"It's okay," he grinned at her.

"I will have you hooked on peanut butter everything by next week," she laughed, propping her feet up in his lap.

"When did your feet get so swollen?" he asked, rubbing her ankles.

She shrugged. "I don't know. Around the same time my back started hurting."

He laughed and handed the ice cream bowl back to her. "We should work on the nursery tomorrow."

"Yeah. It's not even painted yet, and we have to run out and get a ton of things."

"So we're going with pink?"

Mimi shook her head. "White walls with light pink trim. Then some sort of border. I don't know, let's think about it."

"Yeah."

She placed the bowl back on the coffee table and looked at him. "So what were you doing home early?"

He shrugged and grinned. "We were pretty much wrapped up in LA, so I took an early flight home. I didn't want to miss your birthday or anything, and I wanted to surprise you. I just have to go to the studio with the band on Monday and Tuesday and we should be finished."

"Good," she said. "Because I really missed you."

"I missed you too. You have no idea. I think the fact that Wes had his wife there really made me regret not taking you with me."

"Yeah."

"I feel really bad about Mark and Jackie."

Mimi nodded. "So let's go to bed and you can talk to them in the morning? They're already back—on their side of the apartment."

"When?"

"They both slipped in when you were in the shower. They haven't come out since."

Roger nodded and helped her up and into their bedroom. "I'm such a shitty friend."

"No, you're not. Things are just really crazy right now, that's all," she reminded him as she climbed into bed. He stripped down to his boxers and slipped in, wrapping his arms around her.

"Night," he yawned, turning off the lamp.

"Night baby. I love you."

"Love you too."

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"Jac? You almost done in there?" Mark called over to her. He was lying under the sheets propped up on one elbow.

"Yeah," she called over. She came out and pulled her blonde hair up into a messy twist and set the glass of water she had been drinking out of on the nightstand. "I'm so uncomfortable."

He looked at her and smiled. The tank top she was wearing stretched against her small stomach that she had gained over the past four months. She was wearing a pair of his old blue checked boxers, which now fit a lot more snugly then they did before she had found out she was pregnant. "Do you want a pair of my pajama pants instead?"

She shook her head and climbed in next to him. "Nah, I'll be too hot. Did you touch the AC?"

"Nope. It's set on 70."

"God it's hot in here." She rested her head on his chest and he started playing with her hair.

"You're still upset about what happened before aren't you?"

She nodded. "Yeah, kind of. Roger really went off on me."

"He shouldn't have done that."

"Yeah."

Mark looked at her and kissed her. "It'll be okay, I promise. I'll talk to him."

"Don't make promises you can't keep," she grumbled, kicking the sheets off of her. "I'm so fucking hot Mark."

"I'm sorry," he said, kissing her on the cheek. "Do you want something?"

"I'm buying a fan tomorrow."

"Whatever you want," he laughed. "Want to go in the morning?"

"Oh yeah, you're not working. I don't care."

"Okay. Well—night then."

She kissed him and snuggled into him again. "G'night."

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