Disclaimer: I don't own the Rent characters, the brilliant Jonathan Larson does. The much less brilliant me owns Elisha.
Summary: The family has dealt with a lot of "taboo" things, as we hear in La Vie Boheme. But this wasn't mentioned. Is something like this beyond the understanding of even the starving artists, the HIV , the lesbians, gays, cross dressers, and the drug addicts? We shall see.
Takes place New Year's Eve, and for the sake of the story Benny hasn't taken Mark and Roger's stuff out of the loft.
"Maureen, give me back my camera, this isn't my Bar Mitzvah!" Mark Cohen whined. Maureen giggled and played keep away from Mark as the group made their way back toward Mark, Roger, and Mimi's building. Roger walked with his arm draped around Mimi, and Collins was happy as long as his Angel was with him. Even Joanne was in too good a mood to get jealous of Maureen's flirtatious behavior with Mark.
Suddenly, Angel stopped.
"Wait, everybody quiet, hold on a second." Angel said. Surprisingly, everyone shut up briefly, at least enough for Angel to confirm to herself that she had indeed heard something coming from the nearby alley. She shuddered, remembering the state Collins had been in when she found him in that self-same alley.
"What is it baby?" Collins asked.
"Someone's hurt in the alley." Angel stated matter-of-factly as she turned and hurried toward the barely audible sound of a person moaning. The rest of the group quit their banter and quickly followed. They all stopped short behind Angel, who was crouching next to the semi-conscious body of a fairly young girl. She was small, and looked sick. It was hard to guess her age. Her clothes were dirty and ripped, but the rips were fresh looking and not the natural tatters that come from living on the streets of Alphabet City. She looked weak, but not beaten as Collins had been, though in the dark it was easy to miss the dried blood on her sleeve. Of course she could have by all means been a street child. The all gaped slightly at the pathetic sight, unsure of what to do. Finally, it was Mark who spoke up.
"Let's get her inside, we may not have heat but we can warm her up with blankets, at least enough to get her conscious and talking to us."
"Whoa, wait, hold it there," Roger interjected, looking apprehensive. "I wasn't aware I agreed to bringing in some random stray." It sounded cold and callous, but really, after April, Roger just wasn't sure he could handle another death in the apartment, even of a girl he didn't know.
Mark glared at his roommate, confused. Mimi too looked shocked at his cold-hearted behavior. Sure Roger was detached sometimes, but he wasn't a mean person.
"So you'd rather leave her here to die? I don't know about you, but I'd rather not have that guilt." Mark countered.
Roger hesitated, then nodded, resigned. Collins lifted the girl without trouble, and with Mimi and Angel right next to him, looking concerned, he carried her all the way up the stairs to the loft.
