Chapter Nine

Joanne Jefferson walked up to the door of the loft. She took a deep breath, ready to officially hand over her job as Maureen's production manager to Mark. She had decided she wanted to do things personally, so that she could still keep any business relationships with Mark, and not just communicate with him through Maureen. When it all came down to it, she really did like Mark. She was always just constantly pitted against him in the battle for Maureen. But this time, she was going to take things into her own hands. She was going to be friends with Mark, whether Maureen liked it or not!

She knocked on the door in her firm, lawyer-like way...and strangely enough it opened on its own. She frowned. She hadn't knocked that hard...

"Uh, hello? Sorry to just barge in like this, but the door opened when I-"That's when she heard a groan from the floor. She walked into the loft, looking around...and gasped.

"Oh my God! Mark!"Mark was laying on the floor, a huge, swollen bump on his head. He was unconscious, though he appeared to be just waking up.

"Uhhhh..."he groaned. Joanne kneeled down next to him.

"Mark? Mark can you hear me? Don't move your head!"she instructed. She looked around for a pillow, or something to put under his head...

"Hey, why's the door open?"Joanne jumped up as Maureen came walking into the loft, confused. The two women stopped, staring at each other in shock.

"Um, hi,"Joanne greeted awkwardly.

"What are you doing here?"Maureen asked.

"I came to talk to Mark, and I found him unconscious,"Joanne explained quickly. Maureen gasped.

"Oh my gosh!"She ran over quickly. "What happened to him?"

"I don't know, he was like this when I came in. It looks like he has a small concussion, probably bashed his head on something,"Joanne said, examining the bump on Mark's forehead.

"What should we do?"Maureen asked.

"We need to rest his head on something, and get some ice,"Joanne said. Maureen nodded and quickly ran over to Mark's bed, grabbing a pillow. She kneeled down next to Mark. He groaned again, trying to move his head. Joanne went to the kitchen to grab some ice, but she kept her eyes on Maureen the whole time. She could just picture Maureen grabbing Mark's head and flinging it all around, hurting him even more, bashing him on the floor...

But to her amazement, she watched Maureen softly hush the moaning Mark.

"Shh! It's okay Marky, me and Joanne are gonna take care of you!"she whispered. She very gently lifted his head and placed it on the pillow. He groaned again.

"My head..."he muttered. Maureen took his hand, stroking his forehead lightly.

"I know. It will be okay..."she assured him softly.

Joanne was completely mesmerized by this soft, sweet and gentle side of Maureen that she had never before seen. The Maureen she had always known had been rough and vulgar and hard. She couldn't help but feel a little pain that Maureen had never been able to show such compassion and caring towards her the way she could towards Mark...

"Joanne, did you get the ice?"Maureen asked suddenly, snapping Joanne out of her dreaming.

"Oh...yeah,"Joanne said, nodding. Maureen grinned, and turned back to Mark. Joanne watched for one more second...then went to get some ice.

"Okay, the ice should bring down the swelling. He'll probably fall in and out of consciousness for a bit, but then once he's up he'll be all right, except for a major headache,"Joanne explained, pacing back and forth around the loft. Maureen finally looked up at Joanne.

"Great,"she said. Joanne nodded, standing uncomfortably near the counter. Maureen stood up. "Um...thanks." Joanne frowned.

"For what?"she asked.

"For helping me take care of Mark. I mean, I know things between you guys, and between us, haven't been too great lately..."Maureen began.

"Actually, that's why I was coming over here. I wanted to talk to Mark about us still being friends. I didn't want him to feel uncomfortable coming to me if he ever needed my help as a lawyer or anything again,"Joanne explained.

"Oh. That's great! I mean, I...I never wanted things to get messed up between you guys. I don't want to be a barrier between you or anything..."Maureen said. Joanne nodded.

"That's good,"she replied. There was an awkward silence, broken when Mark let out another loud groan. Maureen ran to his side again.

"Mark, what's wrong?"she asked.

"Cold..."Mark mumbled. Maureen took the ice pack off his head for a second.

"I know it's cold, but you have to keep it on...we won't let you get hurt though. It's okay,"she hushed softly. Mark groaned a little as Maureen placed the ice back on his forehead.

"Maureen..."he barely whispered.

"I'm here Mark. It's okay,"she assured him, taking his hand again, and kissing it. "I'll always be here for you."Strangely, Joanne found herself almost brought to tears by this small sign of affection. She turned a little, taking a deep breath. She turned back to see Maureen stroking Mark's hair, gazing at him with true admiration and, as much as Joanne hated to admit it, love.

"Don't leave..."Mark groaned.

"I won't, Mark. I promise,"Maureen replied. And Mark passed out again. Maureen didn't let go of his hand, watching him carefully. Joanne walked over to the couch, sitting down.

"Do you think he'll be okay, Joanne?"Maureen asked nervously.

"He'll be fine. Concussions usually aren't too bad as long as they're taken care of," Joanne explained.

"They don't lead to anything bigger do they? Like internal bleeding or anything?" Maureen asked frantically.

"Not in this case, I don't think so,"Joanne reassured her. Maureen sighed.

"I'm sorry if I'm being a pain, I just...I don't know what I'd do if something happened to Mark,"she said, gazing at Mark sadly. Joanne could barely stand the pained feeling in her heart.

"You really love him, don't you?"she asked suddenly. Maureen turned back to Joanne immediately.

"I...I just don't want him to be hurt-"she began. Joanne sighed.

"I didn't mean it as an accusation. But it's true...you really love him?"she asked. Maureen paused.

"I don't know. I really don't know,"she admitted. Joanne leaned closer.

"Well I do. You love this boy, Maureen. I see it every time you look at him. The way you take care of him, the way you treat him...you're in love with him,"she declared.

"How can you tell?"Maureen asked.

"Because all these things you're doing for him right now...I could see myself doing for you,"Joanne replied. Maureen's jaw dropped, as she looked sadly at Joanne.

"Oh Joanne, I'm sorry-"Joanne shook her head.

"Don't be. You can't control who you fall in love with. Some of us just get luckier than others,"she replied.

"I wish things could be different. I wish they could go back to the way they were before, I really do-"

"No Maureen. It's time to move on now. Tell Mark how you feel. Don't worry about me. I'm a lawyer, I can take care of myself!"Joanne joked. Maureen grinned.

"So, we can be friends still then?"she asked.

"Looks like it,"Joanne agreed, nodding.

"Good. 'Cause I missed you pookie!"Maureen cried, hugging Joanne.

"And I missed you, honey-bear. But we should probably lay off those kinds of names considering..."Joanne motioned to Mark, laying on the floor. Maureen shrugged.

"You'll always be my pookie!"she cried. Joanne just laughed. And this time, she found herself smiling. Because the person she loved was happy. And that made her happy as well.