CHAPTER EIGHT
(chapter title – There's Only Now, There's Only Here)

"Okay, Rog. Which one of these do you like the best?" Mark asked. It was a month later and both Roger and Mark had the day off from work. Sara, Christopher and Jennifer were with Maureen and Tiffany at Coney Island for the day. Joanne, unfortunately, was stuck at work, buried in paperwork.

"I don't know, Mark. They all look the same to me." Roger told him in a bored voice. They had been looking at wedding bands for the past hour and couldn't find one that either of them liked. Sighing, Mark put the wedding band magazine away and took a sip of his beer. Roger took a sip of iced tea and pinned Mark on the couch. Mark ended up spilling beer on his shirtfront.

"Shit Roger. Pay better attention next time!" Mark told him, shoving Roger off of him and going to get a paper towel to get the stain out.

"I'm sorry, Mark." Roger apologized, getting up from the couch and standing in front of Mark. He slipped his hands up Mark's shirt and lifted it off of him.

"I'll just put this in the pile to be washed." Roger told him, walking over to the dirty laundry basket and putting Mark's shirt in it. He then walked back over to Mark and wrapped his arms around Mark's waist and drew him close to him. Mark smiled and unbuttoned Roger's shirt. Slipping it off, he kissed Roger's chest all over. Roger led him over to the couch and put Mark on top of him. He then slipped off Mark's jeans as he kicked off his own jeans and threw them on the floor.

After twenty minutes, both men were completely naked, one lying on top of the other. They breathed heavily after two hours of intense love making.

"Did you like that?" Roger asked after a while.

"Yeah." Mark responded, kissing Roger's chest as he sat up.

"What?" Roger inquired, confused.

"I thought I heard someone at the door." Mark told him, scrambling around for his jeans and a clean shirt. Roger jumped up from the couch and quickly put on his jeans and his shirt.

"Hey boys!" Maureen chirped as she, Tiffany, Christopher, Sara and Jennifer walked in the door. Sara was carrying a large purple snake and wearing a gold crown. Jennifer was sporting a huge blue bear and an inflatable bat. Christopher and Tiffany had come home empty handed.

"How was Coney Island?" Mark asked, slipping an arm around Roger's waist.

"Good – we went on that new ride – The Terminator. It was awesome!" Tiffany told them, excited. Roger smiled as everyone filed into the loft. Sara looked like she was going to be sick.

"C'mere sweetie." Roger said, patting his lap. She smiled weakly and walked over to Roger. He stroked her hair and rubbed her back. Suddenly, Sara got up from his lap and went to the bathroom, dropping her snake as she ran. Roger followed her and stood outside the door.

"Sara? You okay?" Roger asked. Soon, there was a sound of retching. He opened the door and walked over to her side. Kneeling down beside her, he held her hair out of the way as she threw up. After a few minutes, she stood up and brushed her teeth. Roger walked out of the bathroom and out to the living area.

"Maureen, what rides did Sara go on?" Roger inquired.

"She went on The Terminator, the Carousel, the Ferris Wheel and the Scrambler. That's it." Maureen told him.

"Maureen! You know she doesn't like rides that spin! They make her sick!" Roger was furious at Maureen for forgetting about Sara's sensitive stomach.

"It wasn't my fault, Rog. She wanted to go on them – I didn't make her." Maureen argued, grabbing Tiffany's arm and stormed out of the loft. Roger sighed and sat back down on the couch.

"Rog, honey? You okay?" Mark wanted to know. Roger nodded, feeling the sting of tears come to his eyes. He had probably chased away their closest friends from their lives forever.

"I'm gonna go to bed. I'll see you guys in the morning." Without another word, Roger got up from the couch and went to his room. At that moment, Sara had emerged from the bathroom wearing peach-colored Princess Jasmine pajamas.

"Did dad go to bed, uncle Mark?" she asked sleepily.

"Yeah, he did, sweetie. Go to bed and I'll be there to tuck you in soon, okay?" Mark told her. Sara nodded sleepily as Mark got Jennifer and Christopher in their rooms and ready for bed. Earlier that day, Mark had moved all his stuff in with Roger's things so that Christopher could have a room in the loft.

Mark now had Jennifer and Christopher settled for the night and was now going to check on Sara. Opening the bedroom door, he made his way into the room and sat down upon Sara's bed. He watched her sleep for a moment, holding her Princess Jasmine stuffed doll close to her as she slept. Mark rubbed her back in a circular motion as he looked around her room. She had every single Orlando Bloom and Johnny Depp movie poster that you could imagine plastered all over her walls. On the back wall hung a bulletin board filled with pictures of Mimi, Angel, Collins, Roger, Mark, Maureen, Benny and Joanne. There were even some movie stubs that she had saved from she went to movies with someone. Model horses of every shape, size and color paraded around the windowsills. A hammock hung up in the far corner of the room contained Sara's stuffed animals.

Mark's favorite thing about her room was the picture that sat on her bedside table – it was a picture of Roger and Mimi when Mimi had been about eight months pregnant with Sara. Mimi was dressed all in black and sitting in front of Roger. Roger was dressed in a dark blue shirt and jeans. They were sitting on the couch in the loft; Mimi had her head on Roger's shoulder. All four of their hands were on Mimi's belly – Roger's on Mimi's.

The stirring of Sara in her sleep snapped Mark back to reality. He looked over at her, kissed her forehead, stood up and put on Sara's instrumental CD that always helped her sleep. He then slipped out the door and made his way to the room that he and Roger shared. He stripped out of his shirt, jeans and shoes before climbing in next to Roger. He then removed his glasses and put them on the bedside table next to the bed and turned off the lamp. In the dark, he thought about what Katie, Mimi, Angel and Collins were doing up in heaven.

"Hey Katie." Mark whispered, looking up at the ceiling. "I know it's been a long time since I talked to you, but a lot has been going on, sweetie. Roger and I are 'engaged', which I know you wouldn't be too thrilled about." He looked over at Roger. "But it's something I've wanted to do for as long as I can remember. Well, honey, I better get to sleep. Jennifer says 'hi' and she misses you. You should see her now – she's a spitting image of you." A loud yawn escaped his lips. "Kate, I gotta go babe. I love you." Mark pulled the blankets to his chin and fell asleep, Roger's arm around his waist.

"Without you, the ground thaws, the rain falls, the grass grows.
Without you, the seeds root, the flowers bloom,
The children play. The stars gleam, the poets dream, the eagles fly, without you.
The earth turns, the sun burns, but I die, without you.
Without you, the breeze warms, the girl smiles, the cloud moves.
Without you, the tides change, the boys run, the oceans crash.
The crowds roar, the days soar, the babies cry, without you.
The moon glows, the river flows, but I die, without you.

The world revives,
Colors renew,

But I know blue, only blue, lonely blue, within me blue

Without you. Without you the hand gropes, the ear hears, the pulse beats.

Without you, the eyes gaze, the legs walk, the lungs breathe.

The mind churns!
The mind churns!
The heart yearns!
The heart yearns!

The tears dry, without you.
Life goes on, but I'm gone.
'Cause I die, without you.

Without you.
Without you.
Without you" the song came to Roger's head as he slept. Quickly sitting up, he turned on his bedside lamp and quickly wrote down the song lyrics. After he was done with writing the lyrics down, he looked over at Mark – he was on his stomach, fast asleep. He kissed the middle of Mark's back before turning the lamp off and falling back asleep.

A/N: don't own the lyrics to Without You. belongs to the respected owner. 'nuff said