Roger entered Emily's apartment to find it completely deserted. The only one there was Wenceslas, who immediately came up to nuzzle Roger's leg.

"Hey, boy," Roger smiled, patting the small black pig's side. "Is Emily around?" It was then that Roger noticed the door to Emily's bathroom was closed and he froze in shock, the memories coming back in a terrible jolt. No. She wouldn't do that. Would she? As soon as that possibility crossed his mind, two different sentences came back to him.

I thought you were my friend, Emily!

I said before that I'm not asking to be forgiven, and I'm not. I just wanted you to know that I thought I was doing the right thing.

"Emily, no!" Roger whispered, feeling a wave of fear as he leapt for the bathroom door. The door flew open without effort, and the steam from the running shower poured out of the bathroom. "EMILY!" Roger yelled in a panic. A second later, to Roger's immense relief, Emily poked her head through the shower curtain, holding it up to cover herself. She flinched upon seeing Roger.

"You must be pretty desperate to yell at me again, since you're willing to intrude on someone taking a shower," She mumbled morosely.

"Sorry. I just… was afraid that you'd… follow her example." Emily grimaced, clearly realizing what Roger was getting at.

"You seriously assumed I'd up and leave Penny alone, after all I went through to make her my daughter? Even if I'd do… that… I don't see why you would care. It's clear you don't want anything to do with me."

"You're wrong. I don't want to loose any of my friends." Emily seemed to study Roger's face for a moment before ducking back behind the shower curtain to turn off the water. Roger waited patiently as Emily reached out to grab the towel hanging on a nearby peg to wrap up. Moments later, Emily stepped out, holding the towel up to ensure it wouldn't come undone.

"I thought you said…"

"I didn't mean what I said," Roger insisted, placing his hands on Emily's shoulders. "I was angry, and confused. I wish I could take back what I said this afternoon. If I'd known then what I know now, how you took care of April, and offered to help raise Musetta…." Emily chuckled in spite of herself.

"You've… read the journal."

"I did."

"Then you must know how I failed to help her. If I had gone up to be with her, then perhaps she'd never…"

"I read about how you did everything you could to help her, Emily. I read about how you were there for her, and did what you could to cheer her up whenever the opportunity arose. You said in your letter that you weren't asking to be forgiven, remember?"

"Yes. And I'm not expecting to be."

"Good. Because I'm not forgiving you. Because, to use your own words, there's nothing to forgive." This made Emily look up in surprise.

"But… I…. she…"

"Emily, did you know that I only decided to quit smack after she had died? If she'd never died, I'd probably still be a junkie. Besides, it was because of her death that I never left the Loft. If I had, I'd never have met Mimi. So, in a way, it was probably for the best that you weren't able to save her. Because you weren't able to save April, you were able to indirectly save me, and, in a way, Mimi as well." Emily remained quiet for a moment.

"Life for a life," Emily nodded. "It's rather funny, actually, once you think about it. And I mean funny strange, not funny haha. She used to talk about introducing me to you and the others one day. Do you think… Perhaps she was the one who made Mark crash his bike outside the Center, to try and make up for never getting that chance."

"Who can say? But, whatever the reason, I'm not sorry that we met and became friends, Emily. I never could be." Roger placed a brotherly kiss on Emily's forehead.

"Thanks, Roger. Now, if you don't mind, could you, maybe, step outside so I can dry off and get dressed?"

"Sure," Roger chucked. "Just head upstairs to get us once you're done, okay? We still got to finish helping you move in."

"Count on it," Emily grinned.

AN: So, I only intend there to be one more chapter after this. Then it's on to the next sequel. Hope you enjoyed reading this story, and stay tuned for the conclusion. Until next time...