Author's Note: Hey guys, thank you so much for your awesome reviews. It made me feel better since my week hasn't been going very well. Apparently there is a possibility of a few people being laid off at my job. I've been depressed about that and, frankly, a bit scared that I'll get laid off. I am not happy about that, but reading these reviews really lifts my spirits. At least I know I'm good at something.

Thank you guys so much for reading and staying with this story. Sorry this chapter is so short.

Chapter Fifteen:

Benny stood in the hospital parking lot, leaning against the side of his Range Rover, unsure of what to do. On his way over, he had seen Roger walking down the street. He wasn't able to stop because of traffic, but something told him that what he saw was just a small bit of something far bigger and he knew he was going to confront it if he stepped into that hospital.

Joanne had called him and told him that Mark was awake. That fact alone made him feel relieved, happy, like a large weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He had told Alison that he had to go to the hospital, making sure that his father-in-law knew that he had more pressing matters to attend to than a few building plans.

What do I do? He asked himself as he tapped his fingers against the side of his car. He didn't know if he was ready to walk in there, simply because he knew that Roger was no longer there. God, if he walked out on his best friend… Benny didn't even know how to finish the thought.

Now or never, Benny told himself with a deep breath before heading into the hospital. He had been there enough in the past few days to know his way to Mark's room without having to ask for directions. As he approached his destination, he saw that Mimi was talking to Joanne. By the sounds of their voices, it wasn't a happy conversation.

"I don't know where he went off to," Joanne said with a sigh, crossing her arms, "Sometimes I don't understand him at all!"

"It's not his fault!" Mimi's voice was defensive, "He doesn't know how to react in situations like this. He's just scared."

"Don't you think we are too?" the lawyer retorted, "He has no right to just walk out without an explanation."

"I don't think this yelling is going to help Mark any," Benny spoke up as he stopped beside the two women.

Joanne sighed, "Then it's a good thing he's asleep."

"What happened?" Benny asked, not knowing what to say now that he was standing in an area filled with tension.

"Roger walked out," the lawyer answered, "After I told him not to do that to Mark again. Santa Fe wasn't bad because he said goodbye and we knew he had his reasons, but this… this is just unbelievable."

And Mimi didn't say anything in Roger's defense as she sat down on one of the chairs in the hall.

Benny shook his head and turned to Joanne, "Do you think Mark is up for a visitor?"

"I think we should let him sleep," the lawyer said, "I'm no doctor, but… he was really distressed when he woke up and it took a long time to calm him down."

"What happened?"

Joanne ran a hand through her hair, her eyes squeezing shut as she spoke, "He thinks he's a failure for not being able to commit suicide correctly."

"What?" Benny asked in disbelief, "He can't possibly think that."

"He does. It's like he doesn't understand that we need him or that we're here for him."

"Well, Mark's never really asked for any help in the past," Benny said, "He's always been about the people around him and if he doesn't know how to help them or support them, he'll feel as if he's done something wrong. His empathy…"

"…is his worst enemy." Mimi said softly.

The others turned to her, questioningly.

"He's always so caught up in our problems he forgets about himself and when he does think about himself, he thinks that it's wrong," Mimi explained, "And when we see him worrying about himself for once, we don't process it as that. We think he shouldn't be being selfish…"

Joanne tried to protest, "I don't--"

"No, we do!" the dancer exclaimed, "Don't you dare lie and tell me you've never pushed his problems aside when you needed him to be there for you or Maureen."

"You may have told him to swallow his own problems, but I've actually told him he could come to me when he wants to talk!" Joanne shot back, "I have never seen you do the same!"

Standing there, between the two, Benny could almost sense why the argument was happening. The two had a differing opinion, but it was Mimi's argument that struck him most. Had they all really been so selfish? Benny hadn't been around much lately, but he knew things couldn't have been that bad. At least he hoped that no one had taken Mark for granted.

"I-I just…" Mimi couldn't get the words out and it hit Benny like a train.

Mimi felt guilty.

What are you doing? Roger asked himself as he stood at the street corner, wondering if he should head back to the hospital or not. He knew he would encounter Joanne's wrath for walking away when she told him to not do so. But he didn't know how to face the problem.

He was Mark's best friend. He liked Mark, but he knew most of it was platonic. It was in a brotherly way. Sure, there was that crush at the very beginning, but it meant nothing now, especially since he had Mimi. He loved Mimi and there was no way he was going to deny that. But that fact alone made him realize that no matter what, he'd be breaking Mark's heart.

I don't love him, Roger told himself. How the hell do you break that to someone?

Then there was the suicide attempt. He didn't know if Mark did it because of him or not. He had made the filmmaker drag up painful memories and even more painful emotions. He had walked out on Mark, possibly hurting him in the process. He didn't know if he could face Mark if he was going to be told that he was the cause of the problem.

But I can't just avoid him forever! Roger gave a frustrated sigh before slowly walking back the way he came. With ever step, dread filled him more and more. Maybe I should just wait until he gets better. Maybe wait until he's out of the hospital. That seems reasonable…

Stopping in his tracks, Roger contemplated what to do. Then, pulling his jacket tighter around himself, head back toward the loft.

"He's not here?" Collins asked, "Where'd he go?"

"I don't know," Benny said, "But he hasn't been back for a while. I don't know where he could have run off. Joanne said he looked determined to get away."

"That boy is not making this any easier," the professor said, leaning against the wall, "I hope he knows that."

"He probably doesn't," Benny said with a shake of his head, "He's a little dense."

"Obviously."

The two gave a soft laugh before lapsing into silence again. Benny was about to say something when the sound of footsteps, heavy footsteps headed their way. He looked down the hall to a sight he would not believe.

Maureen was walking down the hall with five teenagers in tow.

The second they got close enough, Benny, in almost disbelief asked, "What are you doing?"

The diva rolled her eyes, "I was getting sick of their messages on my answering machine. 'Mrs. Jefferson, is Mark there?' or 'Mrs. Jefferson, have you seen Mark lately? He hasn't called us and we're getting worried' and 'Mrs. Jefferson, you guys haven't taken Mark to Mexico and buried him in the desert have you?' It was getting annoying!"

"So you decided to bring them here?" Benny asked, his voice going up a pitch or two. He could hear Collins laughing behind him.

"Well, they insisted that I bring them here after I told them what happened," Maureen explained, "You try talking to five teenagers!"

"We're right here!" one of the boys said, "We can hear you!"

"Jason, shut up!" a pink haired girl said, smacking the teen over the head.

"How come you never smack Adrian when he does things like that?" Jason asked, pointing to the blue haired boy that stood next to him.

"Hey, leave me out of this," Adrian raised his hands defensively.

"Alright kids, you're going to have to keep your voices down," Collins was the one that finally spoke up, "Or we're not going to let you see Mark."

The one called Jason actually pouted.

Author's Note: And that was that chapter. Hopefully the next chapter will be longer. And yes, the teens do finally make a reappearance, but I don't think their reappearance might be as good as it should be... who knows, maybe I'm messing with you. Maybe I'm not going to make the next chapter angst filled... maybe I'm just teasing. Now I'm just being mean.

Thank you guys again for reading and please leave a review. Tell me how your day was (I do enjoy reading those) or whatever.