A/N: Okay I made this chapter longer! Yay! I'm sorry this took so long! I was having some techincal difficulties...But here it finally is!

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the character, I just borrow them every once in a while to torture them…j/k ;)

Tom Collins wasn't having the best day. In fact, he believed it to be the worst day of his life. He and the love of his life, Angel, had gotten into the worst fight that they'd ever had. It all started the day before when Collins had gone into the Life Café where he was supposed to meet Angel only to see her sitting with some guy. The scene didn't really bother Collins at first because he knew that his love had many, many friends, he couldn't count the number of times that hey would just be out window shopping and she'd run into a whole group of friends. So that that was his first thought, that this was just one of her numerous acquaintances, then the man got up and Angel followed suit. They exchanged what looked like goodbyes, then they hugged…and he grabbed her ass to which she giggled, blushed and slapped him on the arm playfully. Needless to say, this got his attention. At first he didn't realize what he had seen, then he grasped the whole concept and he felt something that he hadn't felt in a long time. Fury. He was all of a sudden livid, he couldn't believe that Angel would…he didn't want to believe, but there it was. Now that he thought back on it, he realized that he shouldn't have been so upset, Angel was known for being oddly intimate with her friends, she and Mimi were always kissing and hugging…but that was Mimi. Mimi was a girl. This was some…guy! He didn't know what to do. Collins just stood there as he watched the two kiss each other on the cheek and the man leave. Angel sat back in her chair and looked around, she didn't see him. Collins had finally found the will to move and he took long, hard steps towards her. She turned just in time to see him coming.

"Collins, baby, hi! I was wonder-"

"How could you?" he said, his voice quiet, yet stern. He didn't shout; he didn't want to draw attention to the humiliation that was boiling inside of him.

"What?" she looked totally nonplussed. "Collins? What's going on? What are you talking about?"

"Who is he?" He was standing over her, looking down at her, his jaw set and his fists clenched.

"Who is…Tom? What. Are. You. Talking. About?" she sounded worried, like Collins had suddenly lost his sanity. She was pronouncing each syllable clearly trying to get him to make some kind of sense.

"That guy!" he had shouted. Luckily, no one seemed to have noticed. Angel did though; she flinched at the hard tone in her lover's voice. She stared at him for a couple seconds before comprehension seemed to dawn on her.

"Oh, God. Sweetie…oh you can't be serious! You thought that I was…oh good lord!" She was laughing slightly but she had a shocked look on her face. "Thomas Collins, you aren't actually assuming that I would cheat on you, are you?" She said, her tone now growing darker.

"What's there to assume? I was standing right there! I saw the way you…" He couldn't finish. He just whirled around and marched out the door. He stood out in the cold for a couple seconds. He felt tears welling in his eyes. Tears of sadness, tears of anger…He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Angel's face staring up at him. "Tom," she said, using his first name so that he would know that she was being serious, "That man you saw…it wasn't what you think. He's just a friend, he-" But Collins didn't want to hear it. He stepped back, away from her touch and held up his hands. "Don't, Angel. Don't try to justify this. I know what I saw-"

"No you don't!" she interjected. She looked like she was on the verge of tears. "God, if you would just listen to me I could explain!"

"I told you, I don't want to hear it! I've been cheated on before, Angel, I know what if feels like, I've heard the excuses and I don't want to hear them again. Especially not from you!" He stood there and looked at her for a moment. She was crying now, her mascara was leaking on her cheeks and her yes were starting to get red. He slowly started to walk away. He heard her shout his name but he didn't look back. He just kept walking.

Later that day, Mimi visited him over at his and Angel's place. Angel had apparently gone to Mimi and told her everything. And Mimi, being the great friend that she was, came to right all the wrongs. Collins had tried to protest but Mimi kept cutting him off. She told him that the guy she saw Angel with was Angel's mentor. The person who had taken her under his wing after she'd found out that she was HIV positive. His name was Carl and he taught her that life would still go one even if it was shortened a little; he taught her that there was no day but today. Collins still wasn't fully convinced. "That still doesn't explain why he was coming on to her." Mimi just laughed at that. "Oh come on!" she had said, "Angie and I do that all the time! It never bothered you before!"

"That's because you're a girl and he's a-"

"A drag queen too. He also got Angel into that. He gave Anger her first make-up kit ever. We call him-or her- Carla. He just wasn't in drag today because he had to catch a plane to go see his life partner who is currently away on business in Wisconsin." Mimi beamed, apparently proud of herself, as she watched Collins take in all of this information. Collins was…well he was shocked. And embarrassed. He was happy to find out that Angel wasn't in fact having an affair but at the same time…

"Oh…My…God…Mimi, what have I done?" He buried his face in his hands.

"What?" Mimi was a little confused. Her friend just found out that his lover wasn't cheating on him and he was…upset?

"She's gonna kill me! Angel is going to fucking kill me…How could I think…Why would she…Argh! Why would I even consider the possibility that she was having an affair? What was I thinking?" He started mentally beating the shit out of himself. Mimi tried to tell him that it would be okay. That he should just go to Angel (who was at Mimi's…hangin' with Roger…XD) and apologize and everything would be okay. Angel wasn't one to hold grudges for long.

Collins took Mimi's advice and walked over to the Loft where he found a disgruntled Roger who was nursing a sore hand which Angel had "accidentally" slammed a door on when he tried to come in to his and Mimi's room. That's where Angel was locked away. She wouldn't come out. Collins started fearing for his life. He began to go over his "please-forgive-me-baby-I'm-an-effing-idiot" speech in his head. Finally, Mimi went to the door and was let it. About five minutes later, Angel stepped out. She was in complete disarray. Her black bob wig was crooked, her makeup was totally ruined, she had taken off her shoes and she seemed to have ripped her tights. The sight gave Collin's heart a wrench, the fact that he had caused the love of his life to go into such a state made him want to jump off a balcony. He and Angel just looked at each other, Mimi and Roger just stood awkwardly in the background. "Hey," he said, just for the sake of saying something. She just stared at him. The oven was starting to look very warm and inviting to Collins. "Listen, can we talk? Please?" he was two seconds away from crawling on his hands and knees and begging for her to forgive him. She looked him in his eyes deeply for a few seconds before she nodded and led him out to the landing outside of the apartment. As soon as the door was closed he was at her feet. "Baby, please forgive me! I talked to Mimi and she told me everything about Carl, er, Carla. And about how he…she…was your mentor and-"

"Collins" She cut him off. She pulled him up and stared at him hard. He think he knew how dogs felt at dog shows, completely on the spot and awaiting judgment. Finally, after about three minutes of staring at him, Angel spoke. "Collins, you hurt me. You didn't trust me to tell you the obvious and accused me of not being faithful. Trust is a very important thing to me." She looked like she wanted to cry as she was saying this but she wanted to sound serious so she wouldn't let herself. Collins' was totally lost. Where was she going with this? Was she going to forgive him? Or was she going to end it? He found his voice and spoke, slowly, "I-I know, baby, and I apologize, it's just that," his words were beginning to pick up speed, "when I saw you with this guy and he was touching you it got me a little…" he trailed off. Angel had her eyebrow raised at him. She never did that, not to him or to anyone, she always had an abundance of patience for everyone and usually listened to people fully before being skeptical. However, this didn't seem to be the case. She was looking at him, shaking her head slowly. He started to realize that he could actually lose his Angel. He was petrified. "Angel, baby, please. You have to forgive me! I know I didn't believe the obvious! I know you would never cheat on me! I just overreacted a little! Please, baby…" Angel's head was still shaking slowly, side to side. "No, Collins. I…I don't know if I can." She was crying now. Her words were getting caught in her throat. Looking away, she wiped the away the tears on her cheek with a well-manicured hand. Collins wanted to die when he heard her say that. "No, Angel, c'mon! Don't be like this! I know now! I know you weren't cheating! Please!" he was shouting now. He couldn't help it he was panicking. "Dammit, Collins! If you didn't have the sense to listen to me or believe me then you shouldn't have listened to anyone else! You should have believed me in the first place! I would never lie to you!" her tone was icy. Collins had never seen her this angry. "B-but…" he stammered, "I love you." She closed her eyes and turned away. "Don't do that, Collins."

"What? Tell you that I love you? Its true! You know that! You love me too, I don't understand why you won't forgive me!" he was crying now too. He was trying his best to stay standing, he felt like he was going to be violently sick. "Please, Collins" she whispered, "Don't." Collins' world was crashing all around him. "So that's it then? You won't let me apologize, it's just over?" he asked through the flood of tears that was streaming out of his eyes. She turned back around to face him, "I need to think," she said "I just can't be around you right now. I have to…I have to go. D-don't follow me." With that she turned and ran. Where to, he didn't know. He stood there for God knows how long, he wanted to die. He would die without his Angel. But he was to respect her wishes, he didn't go after her.

A loud pounding at the Loft's door brought Collins back to the present time. That's where he was staying at the moment; he didn't want to risk going home. He had some clothes here and his old room so he was pretty much set. The pounding continued. "Hold on!" yelled the voice of a skinny, white, Jewish boy who was in the kitchen. "Collins are you just gonna sit there or do you wanna answer the damn do-"

"Guys, open the door!" yelled a familiar voice from the other side of the sliding metal door. "Please! It's Benny! I've got Angel!" Collins didn't remember his feet touching the floor, one minute he was laying on the couch the next he was sliding open the door. The sight that greeted him made him gasp. Benny stood there holding Angel in his arms. it didn't look like Angel thought, for one, she was not dressed in her usual attire. Apparently she had decided to go male tonight, there was something else different about her that he couldn't put his finger on. She looked worn, exhausted. Benny immediately came in and set Angel down on the couch. Mark came in from the kitchen and took in the sight before him. "Benny…what…what the hell happened?"

"I don't know" he replied, straightening himself up. "I found him like this in an alleyway while I was walking to my car."

Collins was trembling from head to foot. He looked over his lover, counting the wounds that he could see and praying that there wasn't more. A large gash on the side of his head, small scratches on his cheek, a bruise on his neck…those were what he could see. "I think we should get him to a hospital." Benny said to Collins, putting his hand on his shoulder. "He's in bad shape. When I found him he…well, the way I found him…I think he was raped." He said finally. Collins whipped his head around and stared at Benny. The words didn't seem to make sense in his mind.

"What…how…why do you think that?" he stuttered. Benny looked down, obviously uncomfortable. "Well he was lying in an alleyway with his pants pulled all the way down to his ankles and he looked dazed. Kind of…punch-drunk. And he was really out of it, every time I touched him he screamed." Mark muttered an "Oh my God" behind them. Collins looked back down at his Angel. He looked nothing like he usually did. When Angel slept he looked so peaceful. But now…it hurt to look at him. Collins felt like he was going to pass out. Benny's hand tightened on his shoulder. "Hey, it'll be okay, I don't think there's any real permanent damage. We'll just go to the hospital and get him cleaned up. I'll…I'll pay." Mark walked up next to his friend. "She'll be alright, Collins. Just keep telling yourself that. She's gonna be just fine. Now come on. Lets get to a clinic." Collins watched a Benny lifted up Angel once again and carried him out of the Loft. Mark stood next to Collins, urging him to move. "Come on, man" he gave Collins a little push and he finally started to move. He suddenly came out of the little trance he had been in. He practically ran out the door and down the five flights of stairs and into Benny's car. He jumped into the back seat with Angel. He waited for Mark to get his skinny ass down and get into the car before he looked at Benny.

"Drive."

A/N: What do you think? Good? No so good? Let me now! I'm sorry this is only one chapter but I wrote all this before school (I have to be there in thirty minutes now yeesh!) so I didn't have time to write another, I have P.E. today so I'll write new one then considering I won't be doing much else…I hate physical education…Reviews make me happy! xoxoxoxoxo