Chapter 5:

Even though none of the Bohemians said it, they knew that Collins would be next to go. Mark followed Roger's last dying wishes to the best of his ability. He did his very best not to mourn over his best friend's death. Benny moved into the loft with Joanne, Maureen, Collins, and Mark, and only after a few weeks, regained his old principles. Your Eyes became an immediate success that swept across the nation like a wildfire. The Bohemians agreed that they would keep only enough money to keep the power on and buy food, and donate the rest of the money that the song brought in the AIDS research.

One January, five years after Roger's death, everyone knew that the end was near for Collins. He had been in and out of the hospital for several months, and now only looked forward to being with Angel again.

"Hey sweetie," Maureen said one day as she came into Collins' room. Collins smiled weakly as Maureen sat down on the end of the bed with her legs folded neatly under her. "How are you feeling?"

"Okay I guess. Can't wait to get outta this place," Collins replied in a hoarse voice. Maureen gave him a light kiss on the cheek.

"Don't worry; you'll be going home soon." Collins shook his head.

"Mo, I'm not going back to the loft. Nobody will tell me to my face, but I know it, and I'm cool with it."

"Come on, what happened to the optimistic Thomas Collins I used to know so long ago?"

Maureen never got her answer from Collins. A machine next to the bed began to beep loudly. Several doctors rushed into the room. Maureen back away with her hands over her mouth. This couldn't be happening. She had literally just been talking to him; he couldn't be gone. Maureen felt a pair of arms around her shoulders as she stood in the doorway, and watched the doctors waste their time trying to save Collins.

"Its okay, baby," Joanne said quietly. "It's okay." Slowly, the doctor pulled the stiff white blanket over Collins' face.

"Time of death, 6:48 PM," he said as the nurses began to unhook the equipment. "I'll give you guys a moment." The doctor and nurses brushed past Maureen and Joanne, leaving them with what used to be their excited friend. Joanne stood next to the bed with her hands shoved deep into the pockets of her blazer, silent tears streaming down her face. Maureen couldn't face that her anarchist friend was really gone.

"I guess, I guess we should call Mark and Benny. They'll want to know." When Maureen didn't say anything, Joanne turned to her, and asked, "You alright baby? Maybe we should go home."

"No, I mean yes, I mean, I found another letter." Joanne crossed the room, and stood next to her lover.

"Like the ones from before" Maureen nodded as Joanne took the letter out of her clammy hands. Across the middle of the envelope was written The Bohemians of Avenue A in Collins' tiny scrawl. Joanne opened the letter, and she and Maureen began to read it over.

Hello Bitches! I am finally out of that sorry excuse of a hospital! Halleluiah! Anyway, here's what I want you to do; listen carefully, this may be hard for some of you to follow. Go down to the Life. Talk, party, get drunk (we seem to do it well). Make sure you annoy the manager for me too. Enjoy a meal without beepers going off every five minutes, and continuous AZT breaks. Go, enjoy, have fun! Oh, and make sure you keep the consequences of AIDS out there, and Maureen, remember to fight for whatever you feel is right. No day but today! -Collins

Collins awoke with a start. He was lying on the floor of the loft. Why was he here? Wasn't he supposed to be in heaven with his Angel? Outside, Collins saw two figures sitting on the fire escape, but their backs were to him, so he didn't know who they were. That didn't' matter to him at the moment though. Coming from his old room was some noise. He quietly peeked inside. There was the last person he ever expected to see again.

A/N: Please check out my behind-the-scenes on Rent fan fiction called Off-Camera. You can find the link on my profile. I'm not going to be posting a new chapter there until I get some reviews. Let me tell you, Laurel Ducky and Muffy (amongst others) are really anxious about this huge surprise I've been drawing out for 4 chapters, and am about to reveal. So, for their sanity (cause we all love them), check out the story, it's really good, and leave a review! Thanks!