A/N: Glad to see that some people are enjoying themselves. Here's chapter two! And I'm warning you now, eventually this story is gonna get dark—at least for my OCs. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: If you recognize it, it's not mine. I do have claim to my OCs—if you see something that you'd like to borrow, please ask (says the chick who's basing a bunch of stuff off of other people's fics). Anywho, don't sue—I'm broke.

Rent Quote:

"Moo with me."

-Maureen

Chapter 1: What Things May Come

"Come on, Mark. You've been putting this off forever," Tali said, a pleading smile in her eyes. Mark Cohen looked at his petite green-eyed girlfriend with a look that spoke volumes to the fact that he clearly didn't want to do whatever it was she was talking about. "When do I get to meet your friends?"

Mark sighed heavily. The two were walking in the park, hand in hand, and everything was altogether too perfect for them to be having this conversation. It was a beautiful day in early fall; the sweltering heat of summer had finally faded, but winter's bitter chill had not yet arrived. The two had been seeing each other for close to a month, and for once neither one of them had become preoccupied enough to pull out their cameras and start observing the people around them; they had been quite content with each other's company…at least until Tali had brought up the question that Mark had been dodging more and more the past couple of weeks.

Tali stared at her boyfriend for a moment before rolling her eyes. "Mark. Really…you talk about them all the time. They're obviously a big part of your life." When the filmmaker still refused to meet her gaze she pulled him onto a nearby park bench. Clasping both of his hands in hers, Tali waited to make sure that he was paying attention. "Are you…are you putting this off because…you're ashamed of me?"

Whatever Mark had expected Tali to say, it hadn't been that. He looked at her sharply, something akin to desperation in his eyes. "No! No, Tali, baby…of course I'm not ashamed of you. That's crazy."

Tali looked at him with a small, sad smile. "Is it, Mark? Cause after awhile, a girl starts to wonder…"

Mark lifted one of his hands out of Tali's hold and gently cupped the side of her face, causing her to lift her gaze to meet his. "Tali, I could never be ashamed of you," he said seriously, before closing the small gap between them with a simple, sweet kiss. As they pulled apart, Tali smiled softly, lowering her eyes for a moment before beginning again.

"Mark, your friends are obviously really important to you," she started in a quiet voice. The seriousness of her tone caused Mark to stare into her eyes, a little worried about where this was going. "And they should be. It sounds like you guys are pretty much family, and I'm glad that you have so many close friends. The only thing is…" she bit her lip nervously, trying to find the right words. "I want to be important to you too. I…I definitely feel like I can see myself falling in love with you, Mark Cohen. But I can't do that, if you're going to keep this major part of your life from me. If you're so unwilling to let this happen, then it would be better for me to break this off now, while I still can. Do you understand?"

The filmmaker was quiet for a long moment. Then he nodded. "Yeah, Tali. I guess I do." Now it was Tali's turn to look nervous. He looked at her and smiled. "I…I just want the timing to be right, you know? I've been putting this off for so long, that it's gonna be kind of awkward now."

Tali laughed lightly, a bright sound to bring light into what had turned into far too serious a conversation. "Well now whose fault is that?" she asked playfully. Mark just looked at her before rolling his eyes. He stood, pulling her to her feet, and the two set out again, a little more cheerful than before. But behind his smile Mark was trying desperately to figure out what the hell he was going to do…

Mark pulled open the loft door before grabbing Tali's hand and leading her inside. He had instructed her to close her eyes, though she wasn't sure why. "Okay," he said, slamming the door shut behind them.

"Now?"

"Now." Tali opened her eyes to reveal the home of her boyfriend. She'd never been in Mark's loft before, and she stared around the large space wide-eyed, a grin playing on her face.

"You sure it's safe?" she teased as she looked around. Mark grinned back.

"Yeah. Roger's out with Mimi; I think he's spending the night at her place." After a moment he gestured over to the back wall of the living room, where he'd set up a large white sheet to serve as a screen for his projector, which was also set up and ready to go.

"What's this?" Tali asked as he gently pushed her into the couch that he'd set up just behind the projector. He shrugged as he began to get the film ready.

"You said you wanted to meet my friends," Mark said simply. It had been two days since their last conversation on that topic, and Tali eyed him suspiciously, but before she could say anything, he interrupted her.

"This is the best I can do until I figure out the best way to tell them." Tali closed her open mouth and settled back into the couch, crossing her legs as she did. This was Mark's show, after all, she had to let him do what he felt comfortable with.

Mark turned off the lights and flicked on the projector before sitting down beside Tali. The screen flickered to life, and Mark found himself immersed in memories, while Tali found herself finally putting names to faces in the film. Everyone appeared to be exactly as she had imagined them.

Nothing was said as the film rolled, and when it was over, Mark stood and turned off the projector. He walked to the wall switch to turn on the lights, and as he turned back to Tali, he saw her wiping away silent tears from her face. Catching his gaze, she smiled.

"Well?" he asked after a moment, hands in his pockets. Tali stood and walked over to him.

"They all seem like beautiful people," she said softly. Inwardly, Mark let out a sigh of relief.

"Yeah," he agreed. "They are." Tali wrapped her arms around his waist and laid her head on his chest, and they stayed like that for a few moments, before Mark kissed the top of her head, and she looked up.

"Why don't we go grab a bite to eat? We can bring it back here, if you want," he suggested. Tali smiled.

"I would love that." They pulled apart and headed out, Mark opening the door for her and closing it behind them. As they headed out, however, Tali couldn't help but ask.

"So when do I really get to meet them?"

Okay guys, it's officially my birthday, so please leave a review on your way out. My muses prefer reviews to cake…and reviews make the perfect presents!