"Dad, can I ask you something?" Michelle asked in a serious tone as she came down the stairs.
"No you can't wear that shirt." he said barely looking up from his guitar.
"No, not that. I wanted to ask about you and mom." she asked sitting on the couch.
"What is it Babygirl?" he asked putting the guitar down.
"How come you never had a kid of your own?" she asked looking at him.
"Babygirl, you are our kid." he siad smiling up at her.
"You know what I mean. How come you never had a baby together?" she asked staring down at her hands that were folded in front of her.
"Michelle, come here." he said reaching out for her sit next to him. "You know your mom and I love you, right?" he asked putting his arm around her shoulders.
"Yeah I know." she said looking up at him.
"Well, when we got that phone call from you, we were in the middle of fighting over our wedding. We fought a lot back then. Well your mom wanted a big, Cinderella wedding and I just wanted a casual wedding. And then you called and we forgot all about it. Do you know why?" he asked smiling over at her.
"Why?" she asked looking up at him.
"Because we wanted to be your parents. When your mom had to give you up, she was 16 and couldn't take care of you and it hurt her really badly. She thought about you all the time. She loved you even though she didn't know you and I loved you because you were her child. And then you called and we wanted to run right down and get you. You are our own kid and I don't ever want you to forget it." he said leaning over to kiss her head.
"I know dad and even though you're not my real dad, you are my real dad. I just always wondered why you and mom never had a baby?" she asked looking down.
"We never talked about it Babygirl. I mean we have you and your the best kid any parents could ever ask for. And I guess I was worried because of the HIV and you'd have to ask mom why she never wanted to." Roger told her looking down at her.
"I'm sorry dad, I didn't mean to..." she started before Roger cut her off.
"Michelle, don't ever be sorry for asking me anything. I love you you know." he told her lifting her chin up to look at him.
"I know dad. I love you too." she said reaching over to hug him.
"I know Babygirl and I thank God everyday for sending you to us." he said kissing her head.
"Me too dad. You're the best dad a girl could have. Even though you're over protective sometimes." she said laughing.
"I'm not over protective, I just don't want anything to happen to my little girl." he told her smiling at her.
"I know. I like being your little girl. I feel like nothing could ever hurt me." she said smiling up at him.
"As long as I'm here, I'll always protect you Michelle. No one messes with my Babygirl." he said kissing her head.
"I know. I just wish I could protect you too dad." she said as tears came to her eyes.
"Listen to me Babygirl, you're the kid and I'm parent. I don't want you to worry about stuff like that. I'm healthy and I'm here. And I intend on being here in 6 months when my beautiful, smart daughter is valedictorian at her high school graduation. I'm gonna be the proudest parent there." he told her pulling her away to look at her.
"I know dad. I'm just scared sometimes." she said as Roger wiped her tears.
"Michelle, you should be worrying about applying to colleges, not about me being sick." he said pulling her into another hug.
"You're right. I'm sorry." she said hugging him tight.
"Don't be sorry Michelle. I love you." he said smiling over at her.
"I love you too dad." she said smiling back at him.
"I know Babygirl. Do you wanna hear my new song?" he asked trying to lighten the mood.
"I would love to daddy." she said sitting back as he picked up his guitar.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"Roger, are you OK?" Charlie asked as Roger sat in the bedroom crying.
"Um... yeah. I'm fine." he said wiping his eyes.
"You're not fine, Roger talk to me." she asked sitting next to him on the bed.
"Michelle came down this morning asking why we never had a kid of our own." he said holding back tears.
"Oh Honey, I'm sorry." she said hugging him.
"She didn't mean it that way. I mean, I explained to her that she is our own kid and that I love her more than anything in the world. And then she told me that she wishes she could protect me because she's scared of losing me." he told her starting to cry again.
"Roger, you know you're her world. I don't know if she could handle losing you, or Collins for that matter." Charlie told him caressing his head.
"I know. I hate that she has to deal with this shit." he told her crying into her shoulder.
"Roger, she would rather have you and lose you then not to have you at all. And so would I." she said starting to cry herself.
"But the thought of hurting that little girl kills me Charlie." he said looking at her as he cried more.
"I know Honey, but she's not a little girl anymore. She's a young woman who is almost all grown up." she told him wiping her eyes.
"She's always gonna be my little girl." Roger told her starting to smile.
"And you know she loves being your little girl. No one else could love and protect her as much as you do. You're her father Roger. Nothing could make her regret that." she said as he caressed her face.
"I know Baby. Thank you for letting me be her father." he said leaning in to kiss her.
"Thank you for wanting to be her father. You're the greatest father I could have ever asked for for my daughter." she said holding him tight.
"Well you gave me the greatest daughter a father could ask for, so I guess we're even." he told her kissing her head.