A/N: Okay, so can I say how incredibly sorry I am that this has taken so long? My Jan Term class requires two papers a day, and a ton of reading, so I've been short on time, and the Maureen/Joanne thing at the end has been really holding me up. My muse has been messing with my head on that bit. Anywho, hope ya'll can forgive me.

Sorry if Maureen is kinda a bitch in this chapter. I just really think that this is how she would react to Mark getting a new girlfriend, cause it seems to match her personanlity. I mean, she didn't even like Joanne fussing over him. Why would she like seeing him in the arms of another woman? So…like it or leave it.

And don't forget: save a muse, leave a review!

"Tali!" Mark called as he jogged after his girlfriend. "Tali, wait!" Tali's pace slowed only slightly, her anger still fuelling her forward. Mark quickened his pace and finally caught up to her, grabbing her arm to stop her. "Tal…"

"What?" she snapped. Realizing that it was just Mark, she took a deep breath and ran a hand over her face and through her curls. There was a moment of silence as Tali gathered herself.

"Sorry."

"It's okay," Mark assured her. "Roger was being an ass." Tali nodded and smiled, sticking her hands in her back pockets. Mark put his arm around her and they started back down the street.

After a few minutes Tali sighed, leaning her head back before wrapping an arm around Mark's waist. She put her head on his shoulder as they walked. "Walk me home?"

The filmmaker smiled. "What do you think I'm doing?" Tali grinned and gave him a peck on the cheek. Somehow her boyfriend made everything seem a lot better.

Roger sat on the couch with his guitar, picking through some new sheet music for his band. Mimi had gone straight back to her place, not wanting to stick around and deal with an angry Roger. The musician barely looked up when he heard the loft door open, but when he heard Mark slam it shut with more force than was needed he was forced to face his very pissed off roommate.

"What the hell was that?" Mark asked. Roger glared at him for a moment, all of the anger that he'd been feeling since first seeing Mark with Tali coming back to him in full force.

"What the hell was that?" Roger repeated incredulously. "What the hell is with you having a girlfriend for over a month without letting anybody know?"

Mark stared at his roommate in shocked confusion. "Since when do I have to report to you about my social life?"

Roger laughed as he stood and crossed over to the filmmaker. "Well seeing as how this is the first time you've actually had a social life…" he trailed off as he poked his finger at Mark's chest. "I would have just expected that my best friend would think enough of me to let me know that he was dating someone."

"So what, you being a total ass to Tali is really about me not telling you about her in the first place?"

Roger swung his arms about in a big gesture of 'I don't know'. "All I know is this girl appears out of the blue and suddenly you're madly in love with her? Mr. 'I Can't Get My Camera Out of My Ass?' Makes me wonder what it is that she's sellin' that makes her so wonderful." Mark's look turned to one of disgust and fury. "Oh, give me a…what the hell would make you think something like that, man? You barely even know her."

"Jee, I wonder why that is? Could it be because you're so ashamed of your friends that they don't even warrant a proper introduction?"

Silence fell over the loft as Mark just stared at his best friend with his mouth hanging open.

"Roger…" Mark started, before stopping and taking a deep breath. "I never…I didn't put off telling you about Tali because I was ashamed of you. I just…" The filmmaker stopped again and ran his fingers through his hair.

"At first, Tali was just a girl. Even after we talked, I didn't think anything would come of it. And I didn't need anymore ragging about how I couldn't get a girl. Later, I just…I wanted to protect her. Until I found out about her family, I didn't want to subject her to…" Again he cut himself off, looking up and staring into Roger's eyes, holding the musician's gaze.

"I knew that she was going to get along great with you guys. And I just didn't want to subject her to the pain of watching people that she cared about die. I couldn't do that to her." Mark's voice was quiet as he dropped his gaze, and Roger found his anger ebbing away as he began to understand his friend's reasoning.

"And since then, I've just been trying to find the right time. She's actually been bugging me for weeks about meeting you guys. I wanted the timing to be right," Mark added, shrugging his shoulders slightly. He looked from the floor to Roger and waited for his roommate's reaction.

"Was that really it?" Roger asked after a moment. Mark smiled in relief and nodded.

"Yeah, man. That was it."

Roger put his hands on his hips and nodded. "Alright, bro." He closed the remaining gap between himself and Mark and shook the filmmaker's hand. "I'm sorry for being such an ass."

"I'm not the one you need to apologize to," Mark answered. Then he smiled. "Does this mean that you're gonna give Tali a second chance?"

Roger smiled sheepishly. "Yeah man. Besides, she's already got you hooked. What choice do I have?"

Maureen entered the apartment in an angry huff, throwing her hands around as she absently wandered around the living room. Joanne closed the door behind her, giving her girlfriend an exasperated look. "Can you believe that?" Maureen exclaimed. "That little…floozy waltzes in from nowhere and Mark is wrapped around her little finger!"

"Mo…" Joanne started, before Maureen cut her off again.

"And did you see the way she was all over him?"

Joanna sighed. "Baby, they were holding hands. They kissed a few times."

Maureen acted as though she hadn't even heard the other woman. "And can you believe how she acted when Angel mentioned Life Support? You'd think it was the Black Plague!"

"Honey, it's not like we ever go to those either," Joanne pointed out. She was right; Joanne was usually too busy and Maureen was entirely too self-absorbed to sit for an hour and listen to other people's stories.

"I just can't believe that Marky would fall in with someone like…that. Multi-media artist, my ass," Maureen huffed as she crossed her arms across her chest. Joanne looked at her in frustrated disbelief, realization hitting her hard.

"Mo, are you…are you jealous of this girl?" Maureen didn't say anything, but instead walked around to the kitchen, still mumbling under her breath. Joanne stared at her for a moment, mouth open, before her own rage kicked in.

"Oh, I see what's going on. You're jealous because suddenly you're not the only girl in Mark's life anymore. He's finally moving on, and you don't like it because it means he won't be dropping everything to come running when you want him for something!" Maureen still said nothing, and Joanne huffed angrily.

"You and Mark have been broken up for nearly two years now, and Mark has spent most of that time pining over you. Why can't you just let the boy be happy?" Finally out of steam, Joanne sighed. "I'm going to bed."

Maureen stood there for a long time, silently fuming and mulling things over in her head. She didn't like Tali, and after all, Mark had been her's first. Maureen had liked things the way they were, and this new girl would ruin everything. But maybe…the diva decided that there was only one thing to do. Maybe if she found out how loyal Mark still was to her…well, maybe then she could decide how she felt about this new chick.

Ah, well…that's that. Hopefully the next chapter will come easier. And hopefully I didn't just jinx myself. -crosses fingers- So, leave a review on the way out so that my muse won't abandon me again! Love ya peeps!