Chapter 8

Tears stung Roger's eyes as he looked down at the lifeless body of the woman he loved.

"Mimi," he whispered in despair as he dropped his head and a tear meandered its way down his cheek.

The room was silent save his laboured breaths.

Mark stood up then and walked towards his broken, best friend.

"Roger," he said clapping a hand lightly down on his shoulder. "We should leave her."

"No." Roger shrugged off Mark's touch. "I'm not going to."

He searched her face again.

Mimi, he thought, I love you so much Mimi. I'll miss you.

Her small hand lay limp off the table. Roger collected it in his and raised it to his mouth to kiss her knuckles.

Her fingers twitched.

Roger dropped the hand in shock, staring down at Mimi's features desperate for another sign.

"Come on Mimi," he whispered to her. "Come on, baby, you can do it."

"Roger -?"

The rest of the bohemians were confused.

"Shhh," he hushed them, his eyes never leaving Mimi's face. "She moved."

"Roger," Joanne said softly, "sometimes when a person has, um, passed away, their nerves are still active and they'll often twitch or give some sign that they aren't really dead when they actually are."

"No," Roger cut her off harshly. "She's coming back, I can feel it."

Her face wasn't as pale as it had been, some colour was flooding back into her cheeks.

Mark looked down at the severely ill girl lying on the table in front of him.

"Um, guys?" He looked towards the rest of the group. "I think he's right."

There was an outburst of chatter all at once - everybody trying to figure out how something like this could actually happen. Roger tuned them all out, focusing all of his attention on Mimi.

"You're almost here baby," he kissed her forehead, noticing that it wasn't as hot as it had been five minutes ago. "You're almost home."

Her eyelid flickered and she took in a deep breath before her eyes snapped open, looking lost.

Noticing Roger, and everybody else, looking at her in concern, Mimi sat up quickly and pushed the blanket they had used to cover her away.

"I was heading," she said in a hoarse voice, "towards a bright light."

Roger, Mark, Collins, Maureen and Joanne listened in astonishment as Mimi retold her story. That she had seen Angel and she had told her to turn around and listen to Roger sing.

"I wrote it for you," Roger admitted to her now conscious form as he held her close to him. "I'm so sorry for leaving you. I'll never do it again. I know now that you're more important to me then a song."

Mimi smiled weakly.

"I believe you," she whispered to him. "But I wont hold you back. You can go back to Santa Fe and finish your recording."

"I'm not leaving you again," he swore vehemently.

"I'll come with you," Mimi smiled.

"I like that idea."

Then Roger leaned in and captured her lips with his own. The two of them were oblivious to the fact that the other four people in the room all had tears in their eyes after witnessing what was said between them and their embrace. The only reason they pulled apart was that the paramedics had come to check on Mimi.

After checking her vitals and noting everything down, the paramedics announced that Mimi should really stay in the hospital overnight for observations.

Mimi winced into Roger's chest when she heard that and he quickly wrapped his arms protectively around her.

"She's staying here," Roger told them.

"She really should go to the hospital though, Mr Davis."

"She's. Staying. Here." Roger glared at the other man for upsetting his girlfriend.

"Urr," Mark interfered in the argument between the two men. "We can promise that she'll receive all the rest she needs."

Mark walked the two paramedics over to the door.

"She's not going to leave Roger, and Roger doesn't want her to go," he said in a quieter voice. "So I think you should just leave them be."

The paramedic looked torn in his decision.

"All right," he finally agreed. "But bring her in for a check up in two days time."

"Will do."

The medical services left and Mark turned around to see Roger and Mimi still held in each other's embrace, talking in hushed tones. Maureen and Joanne had wandered over to the kitchen and Collins had gone out onto the fire escape, probably for a joint.

"Roger," Mark called to him. "Maybe you and Mimi should get some sleep? It's been a long day for the both of you."

Roger smiled at his friend's way of putting things into perspective. The day certainly had been long. Mimi had died and come back again.

"I think you're right," Roger agreed, standing up and scooping Mimi into his arms as he did so.

"Roger!" She cried. "I can walk."

"Just let me do this," He pecked her lips. "It's been too long since I've gotten the chance to hold you."

Mimi relented and let herself be carried into her boyfriend's room.

-------

He couldn't sleep. Mimi had fallen asleep a long time ago and Roger lay awake, smoothing back her long hair.

He had missed her so much.

He kissed her on the forehead again and left her embrace to go out into the kitchen.

Joanne and Maureen had decided to spend the night on the couch, it seemed. He couldn't see Collins but Mark was sitting at the kitchen counter, staring thoughtfully into the distance.

"Mark?" Roger whispered.

Mark broke out of his daze and focused his attention on Roger.

"Hey, man," he whispered back, fearful of waking the girls. "When are you suppose to go back to Santa Fe?"

"Another week, maybe?" Roger admitted, not really wanting to leave the loft again.

Mark nodded and looked down at the counter top.

"What's up?" Roger asked. "You look kind of … put out."

"Nothing," he sighed. "It's just that, in all the commotion, no one had time to watch my film."

Roger laughed loudly, fortunately not waking anybody.

"I'm sorry," he said to his best friend. "I wont take any more attention away from you and I promise we'll watch it, well, later on today."

"It wasn't just you," Mark murmured. "It was Mimi too."

This time Roger's laughter woke up everybody else in the loft.