(A/N) Wow! Thank you for all the wonderful reviews! I've never gotten so many in such a short time! I'm going to try something different in this story. I'm going to thank everyone who reviewed. If you didn't review or you just wanna get to the story, scroll down. The crisis is in this chappy. Thanks again everyone! You keep me going!)

annon thanks for being the first to review! I was surprised to get one only 10 mins after posting.

lesley Thanks, hopefully I can really get going on this one. Some of my others have died off.

Nicoley117 Aww, I'm sorry I made you cry! I'll update as much as possible!

YoThank you! I've been in a creative writing class lately, so I'm hoping my skills are getting a bit better.

EverAfter89 I totally planned on her name being your middle name...lol...just kidding. Thanks for the great review!

OverThexMOON I like to be different. Think outside the box...I try anyway. Hee!

Iheartyou153 It should be pretty good. It's turning out to be one of my favorites. Thx!

cameragirl Yes it is. Lol, thanks!

Elphie Marky Sorry to have made you cry! Thx for the review.

SammyBlack80 Yes, it should be quite interesting. Thanks!

BohoGirl I've never been much of an angst writer. The first chappy was just kinda backstory I guess. Hope you enjoy the crisis! Lol, thanks!

disclaimer: don't own it. rent it.

CHAPTER TWO

"Eva Davis! You've been in that bathroom for two hours," I said, banging on the door. "You're going to be late to school, and I'm going to be late to work!" We had moved into a new house a few weeks ago, it had a yard and three bedrooms, but it only came with one bathroom.

"I can't come out Uncle Mark." she sobbed.

"What! Why not?" I demanded, becoming more and more frusterated every moment.

"I just can't! You wouldn't understand!"

"Eva, seriously, we need to go."

"I can't!" she said again. I took a deep breath and rested my head on the door frame.

"Don't make me break down this door, young lady." I threatned.

"Can you call auntie Maureen or auntie Joanne please?" she begged through tears.

"Okay! Alright! I'll call Maureen!" I said, yanking my cellphone out of my pocket.

"Hello?" Maureen said.

"Maureen, it's Mark. Your niece is having a crisis." I told her. "She's locked herself in the bathroom and she won't come out."

"I'll be right over." Maureen said before the line went dead. While I waited, I downed a few cups of coffee and paced back and forth. I was going to be late. I was going to lose my job. My life would be over because of a thirteen year old girl. The door opened and Maureen rushed in and pushed past me, making coffee spill down my front. Collin, now eight years old, was with her.

"How the hell did you get here so fast?" I asked after gasping from the scalding liquid that was running down my neck. Maureen ignored my question.

"Eva honey," Maureen crooned from outside the door. "It's auntie Maureen. Can you let me in?" As if by magic, the door slowly creaked open, just enough for Maureen to slide in sideways.

"Uncle Mark," Collin said after I had changed my shirt. "I have to go to the bathroom."

"You'll just have to wait until Eva comes out." I told him.

"But I can't wait that long! I have to go now!" He said, doing the infamous "potty-dance".

"Well, what do you want me to do?" I asked.

"I dunno." he said. I glanced around, desperate for a solution. Then I picked the kid up and carried him outside, over my shoulder. With nod and a wave to our neighbor man, I took Collin behind the house and sat him down behind a hedge.

"Okay, go." I told him.

"I can't go outside." he said.

"Yes you can." I said. "Just do it." He looked at me like I was insane, then shook his head and unzipped his jeans.

"I can't go when someone's watching." he said with a glare. I rolled my eyes and turned so that my back was to him.

When we came back, Maureen was coming out of the bathroom again with a proud, smug look on her face.

"Well?" I asked. Maureen pressed her hands together against her mouth and took me by the arm.

"Well..." she began, pausing for emphasis. "Our little girl is now a young woman." She said dramatically as usual.

"You mean she--oh good Lord." I stuttered.

"Marky, you'll need to stop by the drugstore and buy her some things. I gave her enough to last her for today." Maureen explained, getting ready to leave. My stomach dropped.

"Wait--no, no, no, no...I have to buy--" my voice dropped to a whisper. "Feminine hygiene products?"

"Yes, Mark, you do." She said. "Don't be such a drama queen."

"How hypocritical of you." I muttered as Eva finally came out of the bathroom, her eyes puffy from crying.

"Are you gonna be alright, princess?" Maureen asked, pulling Eva into a hug. Eva nodded. "Call me whenever you need something. Your uncle Mark is a good guy. He just doesn't understand everything we women have to go through." There was the understatement of the year, I thought. "Oh, by the way, Marky, would you mind taking Collin to school for me? I'm going to be late if I don't get going." Maureen added.

"Sure. No problem" I mumbled. I could almost hear Roger making his "whipped" noises at me again.


Needless to say, the kids were late to school and I was late to work. Eva was silent the entire way, staring out the window.

"A penny for your thoughts?" I asked after dropping Collin off at the elementary school. She sighed.

"I wish my mom was here right now."

"I wish your mom was here right now too." I said. "And your dad."

"Are you mad at them, Uncle Mark?" she asked.

"Mad at them for what?"

"Well, they knew they were dying, didn't they?"

"Well, yeah. Sure they did."

"So they had me even though they knew they wouldn't be around to raise me and that you would get stuck with me?" she said. "And they knew that I would grow up without parents. It's just selfish, I think." I looked forward, hands on the steering wheel and thought about that for a moment. Was I angry with Roger and Mimi for forcing me into raising their daughter? No, of course not. I would have done anything for my two friends.

"Eva, they didn't force me to raise you. I did it because I love you and I love your parents. I could never be angry with them for bringing you into my life. Hell, I fought with Maureen and Joanne over who would get custody of you when your dad died."

"You did?" she asked, truly shocked.

"Yeah, I did." I told her. "We were all mad at Mimi and Roger when they told us they were having you. You're right, it was selfish of them--very selfish--to bring a child into the world when there was such a high chance of you having AIDS. But you were born healthy, thank God. And Maureen, Joanne and I couldn't be happier that you are a part of our lives. You're all we have left of Mimi and Roger, Eva."

"They abandoned me." she whispered.

"They loved you more than they'd ever loved anything."

"My mom didn't even know me!" she said. "She died when I was a month old."

"Oh she knew you, Eva." I said, remembering the way Mimi had been before she died. "She used to cuddle up with you in bed. She'd tickle you and and she'd sing to you in Spanish. Oh! And when you were really little, you used to bob your head up and down so that you looked like a little babyturtle. She'd call you "Evita mi Tortugita"." Eva laughed at this and then went back to staring out her window. I reachedover and stroked her long, curly dark hair that reminded me so much of Mimi's. "Everyone makes mistakes, Evita mi Tortugita. They made their mistakes. That's what took them away from you. All we can do is learn from theirs so we don't make our own. And, if we do make our own-well- someone will learn from ours then, right?" She nodded as I pulled up in front of the middle school.

"I don't want to go to school today." she said. I looked at the clock. There was reallyno point in going to work anymore.

"You want to play hooky with me?" I asked.

"Really?"

"Yeah, really. We'll go out to lunch to celebrate your becoming a--"I stopped. Admitting that this little girl was growing up was admitting that I, Mark Cohen, was getting old.

"A woman, Uncle Mark." she finished for me.

Well. At least I didn't have to say it.

(so? you likey? you likey you get plot bunny cookie! Push that button ladies and gents! Next stop: The Life Cafe and the Loft. Including the return of the infamous Fender! WOOT!)