A/N: Hello, my wonderful peoples! I'm so sorry for the delay in updating; this chapter has been giving me a fit. I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas, and if you celebrate something else, then Happy Whatever. I'm now enthralled over my gift of a digital camera, which takes photos and video, so I can now wander around with it feeling like an upgraded Tali or Mark.

Chapter notes: Ummm…not sure that there's really anything too important to explain. In case I didn't say it before, I will be referring to Angel as a 'she' throughout the fic, just to cut down on my confusion. In regards to the bar where Tali works, think the bar from Coyote Ugly. It's that kind of place. Other than that…I don't know. If you have questions, let me know.

Many thanks to my wonderful reviewers and readers. The response on this story has been better than any other story I've ever done. But guys, I cannot beg enough for more reviews. Even if you don't like what I'm doing, please let me know what you think. It take ten seconds, and it makes my muse happy. Cause really guys, 19 reviews with 889 hits is a little depressing. Now, after that shameless begging…

Disclaimer: They're not $#& mine! Only Tali and Caleb and my other OCs are mine, and you can't have them! So there…

I swear that I had already thought of this title before DaybyDay posted her (?) story 'Death Support'. You may not believe, but I just had to throw that in.

Now, on with the show!

Chapter 4: They Should Call It Death Support

Tali sat on the worn-out couch in her living room, wondering how the hell things had gone so wrong. The evening had started out great. She'd gone to work, and had overheard Deirdre begging their boss Dani for Thursday off. Thursday happened to be Tali's semi-regular night off, so she offered to switch with Irish redhead, on the condition that she work tonight for Tali. After that, Tali had gone to Mark's loft to surprise him.

Okay, so that might have been a mistake. Tali had been completely shocked when Collins opened the door. She knew that she really shouldn't have been so surprised; from the way Mark talked, his friends were a major part of his life. But he hadn't mentioned all of them having any plans for that evening, so Tali had assumed that he would be by himself. Boy, had she been wrong…

But even that seemed to work itself out. She had been dying to meet Mark's friends, and since he'd been having a hard time coming up with the right time, it appeared that fate had stepped in. Most everyone had been really nice, and they all went to the Life Café to celebrate her and Mark's 'new' relationship. Of course, that had been when things really started to go wrong.

Earlier that Evening

"So then Mark starts freaking out, comes running out of his bedroom in his boxers jumping all over the place shaking himself off like he's got the cooties or something," Collins laughed as he finished telling yet another embarrassing story about Mark. As best Tali could tell, this one involved something about the winter that several mice had decided to make the loft their temporary home, and Mark waking up to find one on his chest, and a few more in his bed. The entire table laughed at the filmmaker's expense, who only ducked his head and blushed as he tried to just wave off the humiliation. Tali couldn't help but laugh along with the others, not just at the stories but at her boyfriend's reaction. She patted his arm in support, grinning broadly.

"So Tali," Angel crooned once the laughter had died down. "What do you do when you're not going out seducing filmmakers?"

Mark snorted into his drink and Tali laughed before answering Angel's question. "Well, I'm an aspiring multi-media artist, which means that I wander around the city taking pictures of things and then take the pictures and combine them with other mediums. Other than that, I work at the Wolf Pack bar just outside the Village at night as a bartender."

"Isn't that the place where they dance on the bar and stuff?" Mimi asked excitedly. Tali nodded.

"Yeah. It's actually a lot of fun," she replied. With that question answered, various conversations began to sprout up as Mimi asked Tali some more questions about her job. Collins laughed at something Angel said, and Mark tried to ignore the fact that Roger was still giving Tali the evil eye and Maureen was flat out glaring at how comfortable Tali appeared to be with her ex. Angel happened to glance at her watch and tugged Collins's sleeve.

"Ooo, guys, we'd better get going if we're gonna catch Life Support," she said. Most everyone else started either looking at clocks or gathering their things. At the mention of Life Support, Tali shot Mark a skittish look. He tried to look reassuring, but wasn't didn't think that he'd succeeded. This was what he'd been afraid of when it came to introducing Tali to his friends.

"Hey Tali, are you gonna come?" Angel asked, putting the young woman on the spot. Tali looked at Mark with a look of fear, and her delayed response and reaction caused her to become the spotlight attraction of the group. Well aware that everyone was staring at her, Tali turned to Mark and directed her response to him.

"I think I'm gonna take some food to Caleb; make sure he eats something. I'll catch up with you later?" Mark nodded; he knew her past, and understood why Life Support was somewhat of a scary thing for his girlfriend. He was just afraid of his friends' reactions.

"What, you got a problem with people with AIDS or something?" Roger asked bluntly, looking a little angry. He'd spent most of the evening studying his roommate and the new girl, trying to figure out why he was so put off by her. Her reaction to Life Support was just adding fuel to the fire.

Tali turned to Roger, her eyes turning to ice. "If I did, then I wouldn't be here, now would I?" she answered with a smile colder than a Bohemian winter. Picking up her box of leftovers, she turned back to Mark.

"I'll see you later," she said softly, giving him a peck on the cheek. With that, she shouldered her bag and walked out of the restaurant, paying for her meal on the way out. Mark stared after her for a moment, before turning his gaze to Roger. His roommate was glaring at him, and everyone else was standing around in an awkward silence. After a moment, everyone started moving again, and they slowly filtered out, paying for their meals and splitting up outside. Maureen and Joanne headed for home, Joanne saying that she had to be in court the next morning. The rest of them headed for the community center.

"Jewel of a girl you've got there, Mark," Roger said sarcastically as they walked to Life Support. Collins, Angel, and Mimi held back slightly, allowing the roommates some room. Mark stopped abruptly, glaring at Roger angrily.

"You don't know anything about her, okay? Life Support meetings happen to be a tough topic with Tali," he answered before stalking off again. Roger rolled his eyes and followed the filmmaker up the steps to the community center.

Now Tali sat in her living room, trying vainly to figure out what she was going to do. She didn't want to go to the Life Support meeting; the very thought brought up too many well hidden memories. But she also knew that the meetings were important to Mark and his friends. Somehow Tali had a feeling that if she couldn't show her support in this area of their lives, she would never truly be accepted by Mark's adopted family.

With a heavy sigh, the Jewish girl shoved herself off of the couch and grabbed her coat. She knew what she was going to do; putting it off wasn't going to make it any easier. Tali walked across the small apartment as she put on her coat and knocked on her older brother's bedroom door.

"Caleb?" she called. After a moment, the door creaked open and a pair of bleary brown eyes peered out at her. "I'll be back in a little bit. Food's in the fridge; make sure you eat, okay? And don't forget to take your AZT." With a nod, Caleb murmured a response before shutting the door again. Tali sighed and shook her head before heading out of the apartment.

Mark stood back from the small circle of Life Support members, observing them through his camera. Even though his first documentary was finished, he still enjoyed filming the meetings, if only as a way to preserve the memory of people who only had a limited time to live. He circled the back part of the group slowly till he was facing the door before he paused again to get more footage. Mark grinned as Sue said something that caused the group to laugh.

With the group distracted by the humorous moment, no one but Mark noticed as the back door opened and a lone figure slipped. The filmmaker smiled proudly as Tali quietly entered the room, meeting his gaze with a shy smile of her own. She sat in the end chair of the second row of chairs that were set up behind the circle, her presence going unnoticed by several members of the group for a few minutes. Those with their backs to her turned when they noticed others looking at the newcomer, but no one said anything. Some offered her welcoming smiles, and Paul gave her a friendly smile when he noticed her. Not wanting to interrupt the meeting, he simply continued, allowing Tali to go unannounced.

About fifteen minutes later, the meeting broke up, everyone standing and saying their goodbyes. Mark started to head over to Tali when he noticed Paul going to her. The filmmaker hung back, opting instead to pack up his camera and give his girlfriend a few moments with the group leader before saying anything.

Paul approached Tali with a big smile on his face. "Tali," he greeted, warmly shaking her hand. "I'm so glad to see you again."

Tali grinned shyly and ducked her head. "Yeah…well…"

"I was worried when you and Caleb didn't return to the group after…well, after the funeral. I've missed you guys being here."

"Yeah," Tali stammered again. "Well…I've missed it too."

Paul's expression turned to one of concern. "How's Caleb doing?"

Tali took a deep breath, straightening her shoulders as she looked up at the soft-spoken man. "He's…hanging in there. You know how it goes; he has his good days and his bad days. We lost Sean a few months back; he's been worse since then, but…he's hanging in there."

Paul gave her an encouraging smile. "Well good. Maybe you can get him to start coming back to the group." He paused as he noticed Mark slowly approaching from behind Tali. His first thought was that Mark needed something from him, but understanding quickly clicked as Tali turned and smiled at the filmmaker.

"Hey," she said softly.

"Hey," he answered, nodding to Paul as well. Mark took Tali hand and gestured to where their friends were gathered. "You almost ready?"

Tali glanced back at Paul, giving him a smile. "Yeah, I think so. It was good to see you again, Paul."

"You too Tali. Hope to see you again soon." Paul answered, waving a goodbye. With a quick look to Mark, she looked back at Paul with a more confident smile.

"I think you will," she said softly, allowing Mark to lead her back to their friends.

Angel, Mimi, and Collins greeted Tali enthusiastically, excited to see their new friend at the Life Support meeting. Roger held back from the others slightly, his arms crossed against his chest. The group started to leave, talking and laughing as the others congratulated Tali's change of heart.

Once outside, Roger got up beside Tali and Mark. "So why the big about-face?" he asked somewhat rudely. "I mean, I thought that the whole idea of Life Support made you uncomfortable." Tali looked at him, her expression a mixture of anger and shock. She stopped walking, causing the others to stop as well. Angel, Collins, and Mimi held back to observe what was happening, while Mark stood slightly behind Tali wondering what the hell his girlfriend was about to do.

Tali released Mark's hand and stepped up to Roger, pointing her finger at him. The sight was a little funny, as Tali barely came up to Roger's shoulder. "Let me tell you something," she started, her words seething with anger. "Until a couple of years ago, my brother Caleb and I attended these meetings every week with our mom. For three years we came here with her. They didn't help her deal with life any better; hell, all she did was try to drown her problems even more. But we still came, even on days when she was too strung out to make it. Practically everyone that we'd started with died in the time period that we came. Then she died too, and we didn't really see the point in coming back. Even after Caleb was diagnosed. So yeah, I guess the idea of Life Support does make me a little uncomfortable. Cause for me, it doesn't represent life at all." Her angry rant finished, Tali took a deep breath and started to stalk down the street.

Mark glared at his roommate, who was standing there in a semi-state of shock, before jogging down the street after his girlfriend. He'd hoped that Tali's appearance at Life Support would help the tensions with Roger, but instead, Mark just had a feeling that he would having a very serious discussion with his roommate when they got home that night.

There you go guys. Next chapter: fireworks! Various attitudes will be explained…and who knows what will happen. I should have the next chapter done soon, but I'm not making any promises. Till then, save a muse, send a review!