One Man, Two Lives Destroyed

Summary: AU She can think of many reasons to explain to her daughter why her fathers not around – just none of them are the truth. MCxMJ MMxRD JJxOC ADSxTC

Authors' Note: Thanks for the reviews! I love you all! Sorry for the long delay! This is my worst chapter I swear! It's so rushed and I didn't know what to put in it! I'm sorry so if it's horrible! I wanted to finish this story for you guys so I tried to make this story into 25 chapters. So I hope you enjoy it! Please if it's horrible, no flames! I'll update as soon as possible!

Editor and Co-writer: xI'll Cover Youx

Disclaimer: WE DO NOT OWN RENT!

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Chapter 23

Natasha's POV

I was eight years old and I had been living without my dad for all my life. I had never met him, but I had asked my mother multiple times if she would tell me about him. She had always refused too and said that it would be too complicated for me. So I didn't ask for many years until I was eight. I asked and she finally gave in saying that I was old enough to know and that I should brace myself because the truth wasn't pretty.

"Okay, okay I'll tell you."

"Tell me his name please."

"Mark… Mark Cohen."

--

Normal POV

"Wait… I don't get it." Mark said and Natasha shook her head.

"I knew it wasn't a good idea to start telling you. Mom will get mad at me." She fumbled with her jacket and stood up, "I should go."

"No Natasha, it's okay, you can tell me."

"It's not okay Mark! It'll never be okay because you're never going to remember it and you're never going to be my father again! I can't believe I ever trusted that you would come back to us. You left us twice! I can't just keep thinking that you're going to come back when you're not. I'm leaving and don't follow me." She ran out the door with tears falling down her face. Marley walked into the room and placed her hands on Mark's desk.

"Do you need anything Mister Cohen?"

"No, I just need to talk to Maureen."

"Should I call her?"

"No, I can do it."

"Alright."

--

Mary-Grace was curious when her big sister walked through the apartment door crying and leaning against the wall for support. She walked over to Natasha and patted her arm.

"You crying?" She questioned and Natasha shook her head.

"No Gracie, I'm not crying. I just had something in my eye." Natasha said and Mary-Grace nodded her head. Natasha took her hand led her to her room. "Stay here while I go find mom."

"Okay Nat." She said and she sat down on the floor and played with her dolls. Natasha walked into the living room where Maureen sat there flipping through channels. Everybody that had been there early in the morning had left and they were the only three in the apartment.

"Mom?"

"Hey Nati, how are you?" Maureen questioned and Natasha ran to sit next to her. Maureen watched as she fell into her shoulder and started to cry. "What happened Nat?"

"I went to go visit dad."

"You did what?"

"I went to go visit him. I left this morning."

"That's why I couldn't find you. I thought that you had just gone to sleep somewhere and that you would wake up – oh god Nat, why?"

"Because I wanted him to remember."

"Shhh babe, we all want him to remember, but sometimes we can't have what we want." Maureen said and wiped at the tears in her daughters eyes. "We just have to stay strong and maybe someday he will…"

"But what about James? Aren't you guys getting married?"

Maureen shook her head, "No honey, he broke it off…" Natasha looked up to her mother and she nodded in reassurance. "He said it just wasn't what he wanted when clearly I was still in love with your father."

"But now what are we suppose to do mom? Wait for him to remember us and wait for him to just love us again?"

"What else can we do honey?"

"I have no idea."

--

Mark was confused.

He hadn't been anymore confused in his whole entire life. He looked through his bags and finally found what he was looking for. It was a video camera that he had tossed aside at first but now was so interested in it he had to watch what was on it. He quickly turned in it on and started to watch it. He was pretty sure that this was the most amazing thing ever – he watched the screen carefully. It was him and Maureen and Natasha when she was still in Maureen.

What was this, why hadn't he noticed that this was his camera and not somebody else's? He had just pushed it away without it ever having a chance to show him what lay in it. He shook his head. He saw himself and Maureen talking to the camera but no words were sounded. He couldn't hear anything for some reason. All he could focus on was Maureen and how beautiful she looked. He couldn't believe it. He saw these images in front of him and he wanted so badly to remember them.

But he couldn't.

--

Mark knocked on Maureen's door the next weekend after he found the camera. Maureen opened the door and smiled softly at Mark. " Mark, I didn't' know you were coming."

"I didn't either."

"Uh… Well come in, you might as well." Maureen said and pushed open the door wider so he could pass her. He walked into the apartment and didn't recognize anything. He had no idea if he had ever been in here before but he wanted to remember it.

"Where's Natasha?"

"She's over her friends' house. I think she's at Jennifer's, but I can't keep track anymore. Mimi and Roger took her over with Gracie…"

"Gracie?"

"Mary-Grace, my other girl."

"I didn't know that we had two daughters."

Maureen laughed slightly, "No we only have one."

"That means-"

"Gracie was adopted." Maureen said and Mark nodded in agreement. He could understand that. Maureen walked around the kitchen and looked at Mark who was still standing in the foyer. "Come in Mark, I wouldn't want you just standing there. Sit down at the bar I'll get you something to eat."

"No it's alright, you don't have to go to any trouble-"

"It's no trouble at all Mark, you don't have to worry." Maureen smiled slightly and placed a tray into the oven. She stood there with her hands on her hips for a second before she walked over to a kitchen chair and placed her apron and gloves on the chair. She walked back to the bar and sat down next to Mark. "So what have you been up too lately?"

"Nothing really, just looking at some old videos… Did you know that I use to film?"

"Of course, sometimes we thought that you were so much in love with your camera you would of never gotten a girlfriend." Maureen said and laughed. "Sorry, just some old memories that I forgot about."

"It's alright; I didn't know that I was that… Weird."

"Well I don't think you were yourself then."

"Myself?"

"Long story." Maureen said and waved away the thought. " Natasha told me she went over to your house and that…"

"Yeah, we had a fight."

"That's not good…" Maureen trailed off and Mark looked over at her.

"I don't get it. I just can't remember and I really want too for all of us."

"I know Mark, but what can we do?"

"Nothing and that scares me."

"It scares me too."

--

Maureen sat on the couch with her legs crossed beneath her. Mark sat at the other end of the couch. He sipped at the coffee and then set it down against the coffee table.

"Okay so tell me about Kirsten." Maureen said and flipped through the book in her lap causally. "I want to know what she's like because I never even gave her a chance."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah I'm pretty sure."

"Well she's just like a pain in the neck most of the time. She's always asking me to stop looking for the truth behind my past and all that stuff."

"That's stupid, if you want to find out something why can't you just find it out for yourself? I hate people who are like that."

"Yeah I know, that's why I've decided to leave her."

"What?" Maureen questioned and her eyes widened.

"Maureen, I really want to be a part in Natasha's life, Mary-Grace's life, and your life. Please give me that chance. Maybe you can help me remember." Mark pleaded and Maureen nodded her head, her eyes still widened.

"Are you sure Mark? Is this what you really want?"

"Of course it's what I want."

"Okay, we'll start tomorrow…" Maureen closed her book and unfolded her legs, "Do you want to stay the night? The guest bedroom is open."

"That would be nice."

"Good night Mark."

"Good night Maureen."

And then they both just sat there for a second before leaning forward and just gently they locked eyes before closing the distant between them with their lips touching softly. Maureen leaned back in a couple of seconds and grabbed her book. She ran to her room without another word.

Maureen leaned against her door, "Too soon." She cried, "Too soon."

End of Chapter 23

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Ending Note: Okay I know it was horrible so you don't have to tell me that. So please leave me a comment! I would like to hear what you think about it! Please be nice though! Okay well thanks for reading this chapter and next chapter will be up soon so don't worry!

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