Author's Note: I'M GOING TO RENT TODAY ON STAGE! Anyway, in light of said celebration :) I thought I'd post another chapter for all of you. Please let me know if you see any grammar errors in my stories. I have a beta in my Stargate Atlantis fandom, but nothing here so I'm trying to associate what I do there here. So hopefully it's readable. Anyway enjoy the chapter :).
Chapter Two
January 10th, 1991
"Cohen!" Kate Webber called, looking absolutely radiant from where she sat at the table. "Come here!" she waved the young filmmaker over.
Mark blushed slightly at the attention as he made his way over to the table, where Mary, another woman Mark didn't know and Kate sat. He took a seat between Kate and Mary, "You obviously know Mary, but this is my dear friend Kelli Cadman, Kel, this is Mark Cohen," introduced Kate.
"Fresh meat," grinned the boisterous younger woman as she held out her hand, "Welcome to the Tribune Mark, Kate tells me you ran into her this morning," that caused Mark's cheeks to flare bright red, leading to further giggling from the girls, "Don't worry Mark, all the lies Kate told you about me, they're all true."
Mark forced a shy smile, rapidly deciding the woman was a cross between Joanne and Maureen, "What do you do here?" Mark had met roughly a hundred people today that worked at the TV station, and he'd decided he would only remember a few for now. Kate had been very helpful, but she'd disappeared an hour ago to leave Mark talking with one of the other camera guys.
Taking a sip of her diet coke, Kelli smiled, "Well by day I'm the weather reporter here, and sometimes on the scene reporter. By night I'm an EMT."
"Wow, really—that's pretty cool," Mark offered.
"Don't scare the new boy off Cadman!" Ordered Frank Sheppard as he took a seat between Kate and Kelli; the woman he spoke to, only responded with a cocky grin.
"I'm just informing him Frank."
Frank chuckled and glanced over to Mark, "How ya doin' son?"
"Little overwhelmed," admitted the young man.
"You'll be fine. You've got Katie Mae watching out for you," he spoke as though he were a proud father.
"Katie Mae?" Mark questioned looking to his newly acquired crush.
"Frank has nicknames for most of his employees here, terms of endearment I suppose. Don't fight it Mark," Mary joked as she gently squeezed her friend's hand.
"So Mark, tell us how you got involved in filmmaking. Frank here says you're really good."
Mark shrugged at Kelli's request, "I've had a camera in my hand since the time I was three years old, and they've just gotten more realistic and expensive as I grew up. By the time I as a freshman in high school most of my school knew me as the kid with the camera."
"Well you've worked hard at it, obviously. Your work certainly shows," Frank commended.
o0o
January 15th, 1991
"OH! Mark Look!" cried Kate with glee as she ran over to the used forest green jeep. Mark simply rolled his eyes; Kate, Mary, Kelli had drug Mark to several lots over the course of the day, going through various cars, they'd finally come to one where Mark was sure he'd find something he liked. Every since then the girls had been trying to get him into all these different cars.
"No way Kate, I can't afford that, and why would I need a jeep anyway?" He refused as he continued to look at the light blue Pontiac he'd been eyeing since their arrival nearly two hours ago.
"Mary likes the jeep, don't ya Mare," Kate called grinning from ear to ear.
"I think it'll fit you're personality Mark," agreed Mary as she watched the commentary between the two. Her eyes traveled to Mark's and she had to hide her smile; his eyes were solely frozen on Kate, as though she were an angel from heaven.
"What would I use all that space for?"
"Well you're a camera man, what if we don't always have the van; we can drive around in this, with style! Plus—you're going to get married someday right?" She paused, hoping she hadn't just treaded a dangerous line, "When you have children you can fit car seats in the back and everything!" she declared with glee all over her face.
"I don't know Kate, its expensive—"
"Relax honey, I knowthe owner of this store is an old friend of mine, if you want the jeep, I'm sure they can work something out," Mary spoke with a soft smile.
"Marky, you have to buy it!" Kate pressed, reminding him of Maureen, only this time it wasn't begging to get something, but begging for him to get something.
"Guys—"
"Mark, you need to buy a car eventually, this car is beautiful!" Kelli said as she gently patted the forest green jeep.
After nearly an hour and twenty minutes, Mark had not only been convinced to get the car, but to buy it, and drive it home. It had been a war that Mark knew he wouldn't possibly win.
o0o
Mark was just getting back to the apartment that night with groceries when a young man, roughly his age stopped and was nice enough to open the door for him. "You must be the new tenant."
"Yeah I am," Mark said as he walked down the hallway towards the stairs.
"You want some help; I'm sorry my name's Rodney Taylor," the man spoke taking a bag from Mark and holding out his hand.
Mark smiled lightly and accepted the handshake, "Mark Cohen, just moved in yesterday."
"Cool, I live in 313," he offered as they headed up the stairs.
"Wow, really I'm 314, I'm right across the hall," Mark continued.
"So what brought you here?"
Mark grinned; unable to hide the fact the he was thrilled about making new friends, "A job, and the desire to find a future. I'm a filmmaker, I work for the Tribune."
"Really, that's great, I'm a cop actually," he replied.
"That's comforting," laughed Mark as he pushed the door open to his apartment and carried the bags into the kitchen. Rodney followed with a grin.
"Yeah well, you're not the first to think that. I have to go, my shift starts in half an hour, let me know if you ever need anything."
"I will, and thanks again Rodney."
"Call me Taylor, I hate that name Rodney, sounds so—on cop like, take it easy Mark," with that the young officer hurried out the door.
o0o
January 23rd, 1991
The ringing of the phone woke him up on the Saturday morning, he groaned, rolling over he looked at the clock before reaching for the phone. He'd told Taylor he'd go out running with the cop later tonight. "Hello?"
"Mark?"
"Hey Joanne, what's wrong?"
"Nothing, just wanted to call you and let you know that Roger is starting his band up again. He just left to go on tour—we haven't told him anything yet, he thinks you're with your parents."
"Oh okay…" Mark replied, half paying attention to where his clothes had disappeared to, and half to Joanne.
"MARKY!" the voice in the hallway drew Mark from his phone conversation.
"What the, Jo, can you hang on a minute?" Mark threw a pair of pants on.
"Sure sweetie," Jo replied over the phone.
Mark hurried to the door, unlocking and opening it, to reveal a very desperate looking Kate standing there. She wore a hoody that hung loosely around her shoulders, her face blotchy and red as though she'd been crying. "My god, what happened?"
"I—Oh Mark," she suddenly buried her head in his shoulder. Mark didn't know how to reply so he simply wrapped his arms around her shoulders and held her.
"Shh, it's okay, here have a seat on the couch, I'll be right back," he led her over to his old sofa, sitting her down he hurried back to the dinning room, "Jo, can I call you back?" he asked as he slipped into the kitchen to get her some coffee.
"Is everything all right?"
"Uh—not at the moment, I'll call you back later this week, okay I promise, long conversation," he offered; his mind focused as he poured a little rum in the coffee to calm her down.
"Okay, take care of yourself honey," Jo offered.
"I will, tell everyone I said hi. Yeah love you guys too. Bye." Hanging up the phone he tossed it on the counter top as he brought the coffee into the living room.
Kate was curled up on one side of the couch, clutching her legs to her chest as she looked up at him, "I'm so sorry," she cried softly as she buried her head in her arms.
"Hey, what do you possibly have to be sorry for, here this is coffee, and I put some rum in it to calm you down a little; that's what my friend Collins used to do when I got angry. Do you need anything?" He asked gently running his hand down the side of her face.
"I—no, thank you Mark—you know the Kevin that Kelli is always talking about?" questioned Kate as she referred to her closest friend. Mark simply nodded, knowing she needed to get this off her chest. "Yes well there's a very valid reason she hates him."
"Did he hit you? Are you all right," Mark asked taking her face in both hands, looking her over to make sure she was all right.
"He's always been abusive, but no matter how often I try—" she paused breaking down again.
Mark sighed and pulled her close, just holding her as she sobbed against his shoulder, "Shh, it's okay; we'll get this straightened out—don't you worry about a thing," he whispered as he ran his hand through her hair.
"I'm trying Mark, I've been trying to break up with him ever since the new year—every time I try, I'm so scared he'll beat me or kill me."
"No, no," Mark shook his head as he gently pulled away from her, "Kate, I promise, he won't touch you. Okay, now you're going to stay here or with Kelli until we've got this straightened out. I've got a few lawyer friends, I'm sure I can come up with something, okay?"
"I'm sorry I didn't mean to dump this in your lap: I just didn't know where else to go, and you're the closest to me and—" she just shook her head in denial.
"You're always welcome here Katie," he whispered. "Want me to call Kelli, see if she can't come over here for awhile?"
"Can I take a shower—I feel so…"
"Go ahead, there are towels in the closet by the bathroom," he whispered.
She nodded and headed into the bathroom, he smiled sadly as he watched her go. His heart going out to the pain she was going through. He moved into the kitchen and opened up the fridge. "I'm a typical bachelor," reaching out he grabbed the phone and dialed Kelli's number, "Hey Kel, its Mark—No, everything…well actually Kate came over here a few minutes ago, I think we've got a problem. Anyway she's cleaning up, could you bring her some clothes and possibly something for breakfast? Thanks see you soon Kelli."
o0o
Markwas sitting at the table, sipping his coffee and reading the newspaper when Kate came out dressed in one of his sweatshirts and a pair of sweats, he grinned at how much smaller she looked in his clothes. "I didn't think I was that tall," he chuckled as she wandered over to the table and took a seat. "I called Kelli, she's on her way, and we're going out to breakfast if you're up for it."
Kate nodded as she shoved a strand of damp hair behind her ears, "Kay," she whispered softly.
Mark sighed and slid his cup of coffee over to her, "Drink this it'll calm you down. Wanna talk about it?"
"I'm not a bad person Mark. I'm not some stupid little hick that came to the big city and went wrong."
"I never said you were Katie."
"I had a mom, a dad and an older brother—my parents made sure we had the best education and knew how to work for a dollar. My father is a fireman, my mother is a doctor. My brother's a cop and I became a TV newscaster because I loved the limelight. God I feel like such an idiot!" she slammed her hand against the table, "My father hated him, my dad hasn't hated any boyfriend I've had since Peter Dawson in the tenth grade!"
Mark smiled lightly, "Makes you feel better my parents never liked any of my girlfriends. All of the two; I've ever really had."
Kate chuckled at the joke, shaking her head, "Ooh, I've had a whole three. We're such geeks." she giggled.
"Yes but we're stylish geeks," chimed Mark.
"Thanks Mark, for taking me in—I'm sure I'm not the most stable person in the world…"
"Kate, I know a lot of unstable people, trust me you are far better off than any of them. Just like you, I grew up with a mom and a dad an older sister. Father's an accountant, mom was just a stay at home mother, and Cindy is a teacher, married with two small children. I'm a failure in their eyes."
"Why?" Kate was surprised.
"Because I never amounted anything important, I was always hiding behind my camera."
"Mark, why did you leave New York?" It was an honest and fair question.
Mark glanced up into her beautiful eyes and gave a short smile, "To get away—to run away from something I was hiding from. My best friend said I was always hiding behind my camera, so I forced myself to move on. He had AIDS, in fact I have four friends who had AIDS, two are already dead, and the others have HIV. So I left…selfishly so that I could move on later once they were gone."
"You're not selfish Mark," she reached out taking his hand.
"I doubt they see it that way, but thanks," he smiled as he turned his hand so he could grasp hers. "I'll help you get rid of Kevin."
Their eyes got caught staring into the others, Kate smiled, and she could get lost in his baby blue eyes. She leaned in slightly, but was snapped out of her trance when there was a knock on the door.
Mark forced a smirk, "That would be Kelli," he whispered as he headed over to the door.
"Trust her to have perfect timing as always," mumbled Kate as she turned, still in Mark's clothes to look at her best friend.
"Is that a new fashion statement honey?" Kelli asked hurrying over to her best friend's side to offer her a warm and friendly hug.
"You weren't here yet," retuned Kate as she took the clothes from her best friend, then slipped into Mark's bedroom to change.
Kelli smiled then turned to Mark, "If you hurt her, I swear to all that is holy—"
"Kel, I'm not going to hurt her, I would never hurt Kate. Besides we're not like that."
Kelli didn't get a chance to reply, she just raised an eye brow, before the door to the room opened and Kate came out, dressed in her own clothes again. "There, all better—so what about that breakfast?" she said grinning widely.
o0o
February 7th, 1991
"Hey Frank?" Mark knocked on his bosses' door, the gray eyes glanced up at the young filmmaker and offered a short smirk before waving him in and signing off on another piece of paper.
"What can I do for you Marcus?"
Mark cocked a smile, Frank had a nickname for every member of his staff, and Marcus was his. From anyone else it would drive him crazy, but from Frank he considered it to be almost a fatherly endearment. The entire station was like one large family.
"I have a—kind of a strange question."
"That doesn't sound good."
Mark sighed; they'd cleared up the Kevin problem less than three weeks ago with a little help from Taylor. Kate was doing great now on her own, Kevin had been placed in jail for five weeks for spousal abuse and attempted rape, to get a point across more than anything. He also had a restraining order on him. Mark was just happy that Kate was happy.
"Uh oh, this is about Katie isn't it?"
Mark's blue eyes shot up to his friend, "How…yeah it is. I need advice."
"Such as?" Frank asked hisglasses down on the bridge of his nose as he studied his best cameraman.
"How can you tell if someone's interested?"
"Marcus, trust me that girl is very interested. Granted she doesn't see it yet, but everyone else certainly does around this place. Although, a good way to find out is continue you're lunches with her and spending time with her. It's obvious she trusts you. Tell you what; we're all going to the bar tomorrow night for our weekly celebration. Invite her to go, neither one of you have gotten to go since you've been here. It could do you both good."
"I'm not a big fan of bars Frank."
"Marcus you asked for my help and advice, that's my advice. Take it one step at a time. It's obvious that you've both been through rough relationships. Just start out slow; you're in no hurry. Now I believe you have an interview to go shoot, get moving."
Mark stood up and headed towards the door, pausing just before he stepped outside, "Frank, thanks," he whispered before slipping out.
Frank shook his head, "No kid, thank you for lighting up that girl's life again."
Mark found them all sitting around one of the doughnut tables laughing, it was Christine, Kelli, Kate, Shelly and Amanda. When he walked in all eyes were on him; "Hey Marky!" greeted Kate as she looped an arm around his shoulder.
Mark felt his knees go numb, how could she possibly have so much control over him, "Hey, can I speak with you for a minute?"
"Sure thing, I'll be right back guys," she allowed Mark to lead her into the hallway and waited for him to talk first. When it was obvious nothing was forthcoming, she chose to prod a little, "Mark, are you all right?"
"Huh, oh I'm fine—what are you doin' tomorrow night?"
"Uh, at the moment, sitting at home with a big bowl of ice cream and contemplating the number forty-two," she joked.
Mark's frown turned into a grin at the sight of her beaming face, "Uh—the gang gets together every couple weeks at this bar…"
"Dusty's?"
"Yeah," he replied softly, suddenly feeling his heart slamming against the side of his chest. He couldn't do this, he wasn't made to ask women out, and he didn't know what to do.
"Kate, you gonna join us for dinner and a trip to Dusty's tomorrow night?" Amanda, a cute blonde, asked sticking her head through the doorway.
"I'll pass, I've got me a date to Dusty's already," she replied grinning widely.
Amanda disappeared back into the room, leaving Mark speechless, "You—you have a date?" he croaked.
"Uh, well I assumed that's what you were trying to ask me…wasn't it?" she asked suddenly unsure.
"Yeah, yeah…" he grinned, "I'll pick you up around eight?"
"Sounds great! See you then Marky," she dipped back into the room with the girls, leaving Mark with his erratic heart beat.
o0o
"Nervousness doesn't beseech you," joked Taylor from where he sat on the couch in Mark's apartment as the filmmaker wandered back and forth across the floor. His hands shaking.
"You're not helping Taylor!" hissed Mark.
"Neither are you, that floor's gonna have a groove by the time you're finished," Taylor was Mark's next door neighbor in the apartments; they'd met a week ago at some function for the leasers. They'd hit it off right away.
"I don't know the first thing about dating—my last girlfriend; don't even get me started on her," he grumbled, causing Taylor to grin and shake his head.
"Man, you just gotta be cool, you meet her like this and she's gonna see you for the geek you are my man."
"Thank you so much Taylor," grunted Mark as he reached into the fridge, pulling out a single red rose.
"Oh that's just fucking cute!" grinned Taylor from where he sat on the couch.
Mark shot a glare at the man, he was very similar to Roger, with longer blonde hair, bright green eyes, "Seriously, I will kill you," Mark warned him.
Taylor laughed out loud, "I'd like to see you try dude!" Taylor paused to look up at the clock and smiled, "Okay my man, it's time to go pick your date up, now remember don't do anything I wouldn't do."
Mark shook his head, "Half of those things you wouldn't do…you wouldn't do them because they're illegal and it'd leave a small spot on your police record."
"That's harsh man," Taylor returned.
"I look okay?"
Taylor chuckled, "You're kidding right, dude you're gonna knock her dead! And if you don't; you're modesty will. Now go, and call me as soon as you get home!"
"You're a sick man who needs a girl friend very badly," Mark muttered as he locked the door to his apartment.
Taylor chuckled, shrugging his shoulders, "I live vicariously through you buddy, go get her," without another word his friend opened the door to his own apartment and slipped inside.
Mark smiled, thankful that he'd had such an easy time making these friends. The filmmaker took a step down the stairs when Taylor's door opened again, "Marky Poo," Taylor called.
Turning the younger man smiled, "What?"
"Tell her she looks beautiful," Taylor replied seriously.
Mark felt a smile grace his lips as he thought of what she would look like, "How is it you haven't had a date since your senior year in college?"
"Oh just lucky I guess—have a great time Mark."
"Thanks man, night," with that he made his way down the stairs and to his car. As he pulled out of his apartment parking lot, he couldn't help but realize that in twenty-three years he'd never been to a bar and that this was the first time he'd enjoy it.
