Disclaimer: RENT and its characters do not belong to me.

Author's Notes: Thank you reviewers. As of now, the title is going to stay as is, but if you haven't voted and would like to, the options are back a chapter.

Any medical information I have in this chapter I tried to make relatively accurate, however I do twist things around sometimes for the purpose of the fic. Such as the way that the doctor leaves them when…well…you'll see.

Italics are the intro thingy.

December 25th 11:27 AM, Eastern Standard Time. Zoom in on Collins, holding in his arms a large brown paper bag, filled to the brim with food and drinks and whatever other items he had chosen to bring to the loft for the Christmas party that was basically a tradition. He had been planning on getting there last night, but his bus from Connecticut, where he was holding his latest teaching endeavor, had been delayed. He walks down the street a cheerful grin on his face at the prospect of seeing his friends for the first time in six months. He had left one month after Mimi passed on at the end of the five months that came after the Christmas Eve that they had found her.

He comes to a stop on a corner, his eyes traveling up to a familiar building, and widening in surprise. The building was a charred skeleton ,collapsed to the ground. After staring for a moment, he takes off.

Roger turned around as the door to Mark's hospital room opened. His face was pale and haggard, and he was encountered with a desperate need for a shave. He had been sitting next to Mark's bed in the Intensive Care Unit since they had been brought in early on Christmas Eve Day, only dozing off a bit and never truly getting rest. Bloodshot eyes encountered Collins, a concerned look on his face. "Hey." His voice was much rougher than he had imagined, though he had little to eat or drink in his time at the hospital, and his throat was still raw from the smoke.

"Hey." Collins echoed, closing the door behind him. "What's going on?" He stepped forward tentatively, as though nervous to be there. He had a right to be, seeing Mark there, hooked up to some of the same machines that Angel had been. It wasn't a pleasant thought. "I went to the loft, and…it wasn't there."

Roger nodded. "There was a fire." He turned back around watching Mark again. Mark no longer had the soot covering his body. He had been intubated, and had one arm in a sling to prevent him from moving a broken collarbone. White gauze was wrapped around his other arm, and many other places, protecting the burns Mark had acquired in the fire. These were the visual changes that could easily be seen when looking at Mark, lying in a bed that held him in a near seated position.

"I caught that part." Tom came farther into the room, around to the other side of the bed, where there was another chair. "What happened with Mark? He got trapped?"

Roger didn't speak for a minute, traveling back to the night and thinking about what had happened, trying to organize the events in his mind. "He got me out, and then he went back in. They said they found him on the third floor. They think that the stairs collapsed on him or something." He paused taking a breath. "He's got some burns…the doctor said what degree they were, but I don't remember. He broke his collarbone, and they said something about a spinal fracture…" He trailed off, not knowing what else could be said. His attention span wasn't at its best in any case. He was focused on the roommate and friend lying in front of him.

Collins followed the gaze. "Has he been up?"

"Not yet. They might have said something about a coma."

Collins knew it would be dumb to mention anything about the loft or to ask if he was OK. He could tell that Roger was going to be fine physically, but watching him, his mental status was a bit more questionable. He had a pretty fair guess that Maureen and Joanne knew nothing about this yet; Mark and Roger weren't as close with the two. They met up regularly, but not nearly as often as they had a few years ago. He knew that Roger wouldn't have taken his AZT because he wouldn't have any to take. He knew that later when he had his, he would be giving some to Roger, and made a mental note to pick up an extra prescription later.

All in all, after those few sentences there was little else to say on the matter. Collins considered explaining how that after he found the burned building he had thought to call the hospitals and that that was how he found them, yet reconsidered after the thought, deciding that the information didn't really matter to Roger.

So they didn't say anything, just focused on the frail filmmaker in front of them, listening for the constant beep that notified them of his existence. It stayed this way until the door opened once more, a young nurse entering, a small smile on her face. "How's the patient this morning?" She didn't expect an answer, and just went to Mark's bed, grabbing his chart and starting to examine his vitals. She was folding up the chart again when Roger spoke.

"Mark? You're awake."

Sure enough Mark's eyes were open, darting in every direction, trying to ascertain where he was. It had barely been a few seconds before Mark started coughing at the intrusion in his throat.

"Sir, just relax, and don't try to talk yet." The nurse began. "There's a tube down your throat to help you breathe. I'll go get the doctor so he can remove it." With this last reassurance she exited the room quickly.

Roger looked down at Mark, happy that his roommate was awake, but with more emotions flooding forward. "Do you have any idea how stupid you were?" He couldn't say how scared he had been, or how relieved he was now that Mark was awake.

"I'll go call Joanne and Maureen." Collins volunteered, catching on that it might be good for Roger to let things out with Mark. He stood and started to exit, but placed a hand on Roger's shoulder, opening his mouth to say something, but thinking better of it, he closed his mouth and left.

"Why did you go back in there?" Roger asked, knowing he couldn't get a response. "Was it for your camera Mark? Your film?" It made the most sense to Roger. The one thing that he never saw Mark without had to be what Mark would go back for. "Mark that stuff…" He trailed off, realizing that he was going to sound so emotional and so unlike him.

Luckily for him, the nurse returned at this moment, with the doctor. "Welcome back Mr. Cohen." The doctor greeted, he too had a smile on his face, as he started to detach the tube. "If you could cough please, I'll remove this." Mark did as told, and the tube was pulled out of his throat, causing him to cough a bit more. The doctor handed him a cup filled with ice chips. "These should help with that."

They went through some basic questions and short things, Mark answering in a voice that was barely above a hoarse whisper. It was after this that the doctor closed his chart. "Well, I'll leave you for a few minutes, but then you'll have to go for a few tests." The doctor left the room.

Roger opened his mouth to speak but Mark cut him off before he could even get a word out. "I went back in for your guitar." He swallowed some of the melted ice, wincing as it occurred.

"What?" Roger's semi-hard expression faded in a sudden confusion.

"I went back in to get your guitar." Mark repeated, not looking thrilled at speaking again. "Not my camera."

Roger was left in a bit of shock at the concept. Mark was his friend, his brother even, but he didn't think that Mark really cared that much. Lately every AZT reminder had been sort of tired and half-hearted as though Mark didn't care as much anymore. This was a big reminder for Roger that it was possible Mark still did.

Collins reentered the room not knowing he was interrupting. "Maureen and Joanne are on their way." He informed. "And if I'm not mistaken, I saw our favorite landlord coming up."

Roger looked over at Benny, who was in the entry way of the room, too tired to be angry and glare at his enemy. "What do you want?" Even his voice didn't show the emotion that he intended.

"I thought you should know that the fire was an electrical thing. And I heard about what happened to Mark." Benny informed, stepping into the room. "And I came to see how he's doing. Where is he?"

Collins glanced over at the empty hospital bed. "He's upstairs getting some tests done."

Benny sighed. This actually made it easier to do exactly what his investors had requested. Mark was the one that he had real ties with, it would be harder for him to do what he was planning on if the young filmmaker was there. "I'll be taking care of all of his bills from this." He informed quietly. "If he needs anything, my investors and myself will be making sure that he gets it."

Roger just accepted this with ease. He knew that would be part of Benny's visit, because this was what Benny did. He would be an ass, and then when something happened he would show up and play the money card, covering any bills he would need to, if only to cover his family's well being from any trouble.

Collins on the other hand, was better at reading people. He could tell that Benny had more to say than to just offer his money to cover the bills. "And how are your investors going to handle the problem of all the people who don't have a place to stay?"

"Well…I hate to do this to you guys. But we aren't going to be handling that. You're on your own." It wasn't hard for him to pick up on the sudden tension in the room. And he knew he should just leave. "I'll make sure that Mark is covered." And then he left.

Collins and Roger looked at each other, not knowing what to say at the news that Roger and Mark officially had nothing to their names.

That's that. I will try and have more this weekend, but I have to focus on an English project and learning my lines for the Wizard of Oz. I will post as soon as I have more.