No Day But Today
DISCLAIMER: I do not own RENT or anything affiliated with it.
Mark sat in the hospital bed shivering. "You'll be fine," Maureen assured him.
"It's surgery, Maureen."
"Mark, it'll be okay," she told him. She took his hand and squeezed it. "You'll be out before you know it."
"Just promise me you'll be there when I wake up," he said. She smiled at him.
"Of course I will be, Pookie. I wouldn't dream of being anywhere else," she said. He just nodded. An orderly came into the room, and Maureen kissed Mark's forehead. "I'll be there, I promise," she said. The orderly took Mark off to surgery and Maureen made her way to the waiting room.
"Hey Pookie," Maureen said, pushing the hair out of Mark's face. He opened his eyes and smiled at her.
"Hey Mo." He closed his eyes again and grimaced. His shoulder hurt.
"It hurts?" she asked. He nodded. "Do you want me to go get a nurse?"
"No, just stay," he said. He reached up and took her hand. "Just be here." Maureen nodded and watched as he fell asleep.
Benny waited outside the hospital doors. Maureen had called him to come pick her and Mark up. He felt bad about the fact that Mark hadn't felt like he could share what was going on in his life, but Benny understood. He (meaning Benny) hadn't been the best of friends to any of the Bohemians lately. It felt like the only time he could show them any kindness was during a tragedy. And then only because he could bail them out.
Finally, a nurse wheeled Mark out the front door, with Maureen in tow. "Hey guys," he said, smiling. The nurse stopped the chair and helped Mark stand up. Benny immediately moved to help him. Mark shook his head.
"I've got it," he said, motioning for Benny to give him room. Benny obliged, even though he never let himself get too far away. Mark finally managed to get into the backseat of the Range Rover and Benny shut his door.
"Thank you," Maureen told him. He just nodded.
"Any time." The two got into the car and Benny drove back to the loft. Mark was asleep when they arrived, so Maureen called Roger to come down so they wouldn't have to wake him. Just before Roger walked out, Benny turned to Maureen. "Keep me posted, okay?" She nodded, and the three proceeded to carry Mark up the stairs and put him in his bed.
Mark opened his eyes and looked around. He was in his room, although he wasn't sure how he'd gotten there. The last thing he remembered was being in the back of Benny's car. He got up and walked out of the room and into the main part of the loft. Roger was sitting next to the windows, strumming his guitar aimlessly. He smiled when he saw Mark.
"Hey," he said.
"Hey." Roger watched as Mark made his way to the kitchen.
"You need something?" he asked.
"I've got it," Mark replied. He refused to become dependent on his friends, at least for now. Roger watched as Mark filled a coffee cup with water and then made his way to sit next to the windows as well. "You aren't working tonight?"
"I took off. Collins had to stay late talking to some of his students, and I didn't want to leave you and Liz alone," Roger replied. "Just in case."
"Thanks. Where is she?" Mark asked.
"She went back to her place. She didn't want to disturb you tonight. Said she'd come by tomorrow after work," Roger told him. He nodded.
"I really need to go talk to them tomorrow," Mark said. Roger stared out the window.
"Hey, what you told Collins the other day… did I really do that?" Roger asked. Mark nodded. Roger sighed. "It's okay, Mark. I'm not going to hold you to it or anything."
"I know," Mark replied. He turned to look out the window as well.
"It'll be okay," Roger said. Mark smiled.
"Yeah, it will," he replied.
Mark stared up at the camera. He'd set it up so he could face it directly as he spoke. "My name is Mark, and I have a year to live," he began. "I don't know how to do this… normally I'm the one behind the camera, narrating. I wanted to do this for my friends… because this is probably my last chance to record what life is like in Alphabet City. I live in an industrial loft with three roommates… I'm the only one who isn't HIV-positive.
"Roger's been clean for almost three years now… he doesn't know how proud I am of him for quitting heroin. Mimi's only been clean for a year, but I know she'll stay that way… she loves Roger too much to go back to that life. And Collins… I'm not sure if he's ever even been on anything, other than the occasional joint." Mark smiled. "There used to be seven of us Bohemians. Angel died about 18 months ago. Mimi almost went next, but I guess it'll be me now." He turned towards his window. "Maureen and Joanne don't live here… Joanne's a lawyer, so they have a pretty nice place in another part of town. Maureen left me for Jo. It hurt, but I'm over it… we've needed Joanne a lot more than she'd ever realize.
"We also used to have Benny, but he married rich… he still comes around some. He owns the building, and most of the block, so I guess he has a right to. We usually only see him when things get fucked up… right after Angel died, when Mimi was sick… He showed up for me the other day." Mark stopped. "Liz is the newest… I guess you couldn't really call her a Bohemian. She lives her some times, but she still has an apartment across town. She's my girlfriend, I guess… we haven't really discussed it or anything, but I love her. I guess that would count, right?" He sighed and turned back to the camera. "This is our life." He reached up and turned off the camera, before turning back to the window. He kept simply staring for a while, until he heard someone come in. He got up and went to see who it was, desperate for the company.
A/n: Congratulations to Siofra22 for getting my question… The answers were Wilson Jermaine Heredia (Nocturne – he played Evan) and Anthony Rapp (Bound – he played Matt Spevak). Several people put Tracie Thoms – she wasn't OBC, and she wasn't on SVU, but she did appear in an episode of L&O, as did Taye Diggs. And as far as I can tell, Adam Pascal has never appeared in any of the L&O franchises. Thanks to everyone who reviewed with an answer. Maybe I'll put up another trivia question in a few chapters…