Chapter 5

When Roger arrived at home that night, it was a cheerful party that greeted him. Collins was halfway through a bottle of Stoli and a novel by Heighdegger. Kirsten was curled up in Mark's lap with a book of her own. She wasn't reading, but smiling over the rim of her book at Danni and some boy who were talking at the kitchen table. Her eyes flicked over to Roger. "Hey Roger man." She greeted him. "Where've you been all day?"

Roger shook his head and met Mark's blue eyes. "Let me put Lizette to bed and then I'll explain." He raised an eyebrow at Danni as he walked by. The teenager sucked in a breath at the sad look in her father's eyes.

She turned to Tobias. "You should probably leave before my dad comes back out here. I need to talk to him about you before he has a chance to get upset."

Tobias nodded. "That sounds like a good idea. I wouldn't want to piss Roger Davis off." He got up and kissed Danni on the cheek. "So I'll see you tomorrow right?"

"Count on it." She replied.

Roger emerged from the girls' room just as Tobias closed the front door behind himself. "Who was that?" the musician asked as he sat across from Danni at the table.

"Tobias from the Life Café." She mumbled back quickly. "What's your news Dad?"

Her father sighed and found Mark's eyes again. "Lizette's sick." he told them.

"What do you mean sick?" Collins asked. "Like she has the flu or something?"

"She has HIV Col." Roger explained. "She's had it since birth. A couple of months ago she caught a cold and now her immune system is shot to hell."

"Damn." Kirsten swore.

"What's going to happen?" Mark wanted to know.

"We were just at the hospital with Dr. Wilson and he said that she will have to double up on her medication for a while."

"I can imagine that the good Dr. Wilson wanted Lizette to stay at the hospital rather than coming back here." Collins remarked dryly.

"Yeah, well he can suck it." Kirsten spoke up. Roger stared at her in surprise. "What?" she asked him. "I know how much you guys all hate the hospital."

Mark wrapped his arms around his girlfriend and they both looked at Danni who had been mostly silent for the conversation. Roger followed their gaze. "Danni?" he prompted. "You okay?"

The girl's face was pale and she was shaking. "Do. Not. Let. My. Sister. Die." She growled out. "You had better know what you're doing Dad. Lizette's too young to suffer."

Roger smiled slightly. "Trust me Danielle; you are now in a home full of people who that understand how to handle this situation due to years of experience. I promise that I won't let anything happen to Lizette."

"Well you've already condemned her to die by just being her father." Danielle snapped. "I doubt there is anything more you can do to screw her over." She stomped out of the room and into her and her sister's bedroom.

Roger winced as the door slammed. "It never gets easier does it?" he asked.

"She's a teenager Rog." Kirsten soothed. "Worse, she's a teenage girl with no mother. It's not supposed to be easy."

"Sometimes I wonder if I did the right thing by bringing her here." Roger mused.

"Of course you did." Mark assured him. "As much as she may hate it, you are her father and she needs you."

"I guess."

"She does." Kirsten added. "And she respects you." Roger looked skeptical so Kirsten elaborated. "That guy who was here? Tobias? She likes him a lot and he likes her. But before she lets anything happen she's going to talk to you about it." The young woman looked at the clock and groaned. "Fuck, I need to get the out of here. I've got to be at work at eight tomorrow."

Collins rose from the couch. "I'll accompany you former pupil of my mine. I need to get home to my woman."

Once they were gone, Mark turned to his best friend. "How are you holding up?"

"I'm fine." Roger lied. The bespectacled man raised an eyebrow and Roger sighed and slumped over at the table. "Okay so, I'm not fine. I'm fucking miserable."

Mark smiled sympathetically and patted the couch cushion next to him. "Come here." He ordered.

Roger obeyed and flopped on the couch. "Mark this is all my fault, I don't know what I'll do if Lizette doesn't make it. And on top of it all, Danni hates me. I-I don't know if I can handle all this. I'm not responsible enough to be a fucking parent."

"Yes you are." Mark disagreed. "You've been doing a good job so far. You can handle this Roger. I know you can." He was silent for a second. Then, "What are you going to tell Lizette?"

The musician buried his head in his hands. "I don't know." He wailed. "How do you explain the concept of HIV to a six year old?"

Mark shrugged. "I've never had the experience. Maybe you should talk to Angel about it. I bet she'd know what to say."

Roger nodded. "I'll call her tomorrow." He got up and headed towards his room. As an afterthought, he turned back to face his friend. "Mark, you don't think it's going to be as bad for Liz as it was for Mimi, do you?"

"Of course it won't." Mark replied fervently. "Liz is young and we've all learned from Mimi's mistakes. She'll get through this.