"Aunt Maureen, Aunt Joanne, what are you doing here? Where's mom?" RJ asked entering the loft.
"Your mom's in her room Roger." Maureen asked as Joanne looked at him with puffy eyes.
"What's wrong?" he asked dropping his book bag before rushing into Marty's room where she was sitting on the bed with Mark and Julia.
"Hi Roger." Julia said with a weak smile.
"Mom, why is Aunt Maureen and Aunt Joanne here? What's going on?" he asked rushing over to her bed.
"Roger, my t-cells are really low sweetie." she told him calmly as Mark and Julia looked down at the bed.
"How low mom?" he asked as tears stung his eyes.
"Really low baby boy. The doctor said I have 3 months, maybe." she said taking his hands in hers.
"Are they sure?" he asked starting to cry.
"I'm afraid so. But I'm not going to the hospital. I wanna stay here with you guys. Around daddy." she said as tears formed in her own eyes despite her mental objection.
"Are you sure? I mean, maybe they can do something for you." he said looking at her.
"Roger, all they can do is keep me in the hospital longer and I don't want that. I want to stay here." she said reaching up for his face.
"But mom, it's something." he said leaning in to her.
"It's not what I want sweetie. I want to be here with my family and daddy and this is where I feel him the most." she said hugging him tight.
"What's gonna happen to me?" he asked looking up at her.
"Me and Uncle Mark are gonna take care of you. Mom and dad asked us years ago to do it and we wouldn't have it any other way." Julia said looking at him. Her face was tear stained and her eyes were red from crying.
"Yeah bud, this is your home and it always will be." Mark said his face also tear stained.
"Mom, did you do this on purpose to be with dad?" he asked sitting up straight.
"No. Oh my God Roger of course not. What would make you think I would?" she asked looking up at him.
"Well you want to be with dad so bad, I wouldn't be surprised." he said getting up feeling rage building inside of him.
"Roger, I would never do that to you. I've always taken my meds. The last thing I ever wanted to do since the day we found out we were gonna have you was leave you. I worry about it ever day of your life." she said looking up at him as tears rolled down her face.
"Yeah right. I have to get out of here." he said rushing out of the loft.
"Roger, wait." she yelled getting out of the bed to go after him, but he was running too fast.
"What happened?" Maureen asked going to the door.
"He thinks I did it on purpose to be with Roger." Marty said collapsing into Maureens arms as Mark rushed out of the bedroom.
"It's OK sweetie, come on. It's another way he's his father's son. He'll be fine. He just needs time." Mark said holding her in his arms as he led her to the couch.
"Marky, how could he think that? How could he think I'd leave him on purpose?" she cried burying her face into his shoulder.
"He's scared right now. He needs to process it all. He'll be back." Mark said caressing her hair as he rocked her back and forth.
"I did not do this on purpose. I've been taking my meds everyday. I have never wanted to leave him." she said crying harder.
"I know sweetie. I know. You need to calm down. I'll go look for him." Mark said kissing her head as the women looked on.
"You need to find my little boy Marky before he does something stupid. You know him." she said looking up at him.
"I will." he said holding her face in his hands.
"Are you OK?" she asked looking into her blue eyes.
"Yeah, go. Please. Look in the alley. He's been going there a lot since Roger died." she said looking at him.
"I know sweetie. I will. Mo, you got her?" he asked looking at Maureen.
"Yeah I got her Mark. Go get him." she said holding Marty in her arms.
"I'm gonna find him and bring him home." Mark said putting his jacket on and rushing out of the loft.
"He has to find him." she said crying into Maureens shoulder.
"He will. You know he will. He's gonna be OK." she said kissing her head as Joanne and Julia looked on crying.
"Roger." Mark called out hearing a soft wimper coming from the alley where Roger found Marty.
"Uncle Mark." he cried looking up.
"Yeah buddy. I'm here." he said kneeling down in front of him.
"She's been wanting to be with him since he died. Well she's getting her wish." he cried as Mark reached out for him.
"Roger, let me tell you something. Your mom has loved you since the second she found out about you. Her whole pregnancy all she did was worry about leaving you. Her and your dad. How could you think she would want to die on purpose?" Mark told him quietly taking the boy into his arms.
"Because she's been wanting to be with him since he died." he said wrapping his arms around Mark.
"Listen to me Roger Aaron Davis Jr., I understand you're angry and scared of losing your mother, but you have to know she would never do anything to hurt you." he said pulling away from him to look at him.
"But Uncle Mark..." he started before Mark interrupted him.
"No. Now you march right back up there and you spend every minute you can with your mother. You're angry and scared. I'm angry and scared too. I don't want to lose her either. I just lost my brother and now I'm gonna lose my sister. But you see, you and I have what your mother doesn't have. Time." Mark said breaking down.
"I know Uncle Mark." he said getting up to hug Mark again as they cried together.
"We have to go upstairs now. Your mother is worried sick about you." he said pulling away wiping his eyes violently.
"This is where my dad found her, right?" RJ asked looking at him.
"Yeah. Somewhere around here. I was upstairs editing film when he came in with her in his arms. You know your dad used to come down here and cry after they found out she was positive." he said looking around.
"I know. Dad used to tell me." he said as tears continued to fall. "I miss him so much Uncle Mark." he said looking at him.
"I know Roger. I do too. Everyday. Especially at times like these. He always took care of your mom. Him and Uncle Collins. I remember the day they found out she was positive. Me and Uncle Collins were waiting anxiously. We were so scared. And then they came in and your they told us. I wasn't gonna film it, but your mom made me. She wanted it in the documentary. And your dad blamed himself. After he went into their room with her and she had got it out, she laid down and me and Uncle Collins were out in the living room crying about it and he came out and started crying in Uncle Collins chest. He was talking about how he wanted to marry her and he could have hurt her. She heard him and laid into us. She didn't want her mortality thrown in her face every time she looked at us. She just wanted to live her life." he said remembering that day.
"She yelled at dad?" he asked faintly smiling at him.
"Oh yeah. She yelled at him most of all. It shocked the hell out of all of us. Your mom never yelled at your dad. They were each other's lives. That is until you came along. They still lived for each other, but you were the sun and the moon to them. Your dad was so excited from the first moment he found out about you. Your mom was scared to death you were gonna be positive. The day they found out you were negative, you should have seen the blow out we had. Oh my God. We celebrated like there was a cure for HIV or something. Your mom was the happiest I'd ever seen her. Now the day you were born, that was the happiest I'd ever seen your dad. And I've known your dad a lot longer then anyone except Uncle Collins." he told him reaching out for the boy. "You are truly a miracle Roger. Never forget that. Your mom used to cry in her room when you were in the living room with me and Uncle Collins because she was so scared of leaving you. She would never do it on purpose." he said pulling him to him again.
"OK. I'm sorry I ran out. Mom needs me and I left her." he cried into Mark's shoulder.
"That's understandable Roger. Now what you have to do is go up there and be there for her now. We can mourn when she's gone." he whispered kissing the boys head.
"OK." he said pulling away to wipe his eyes.
"And me and Aunt Julia meant what we said. The loft is always your home. We will always be here for you." he said holding the back of RJ's neck.
"I know Uncle Mark. Thank you." he said hugging him again before they turned to go upstairs.