Disclaimer: Not mine. Still not mine. Wish it was.

Notes: I've been RPing way to much. Not that it's a bad thing… trust me. Right Lael? Okay, so it took me forever to get this out, but it's here now. I don't mean to take forever between updates, but it seems to end up that way. Creative block. The inspired zone of my brain has atrophied (been listening to NYTW to much lately too).

Enjoy!

Chapter 5 - To Close To The End

A week had gone by, and I still hadn't called my mom. She called quite a few more times since then too. Roger called his mother back that same night, and his mom was very supportive of our decision. My mom on the other hand was going to be much more difficult to convince.

"Hello?"

"Mom. Hi."

"Mark Cohen why didn't you call me sooner? I've been worried sick about you. How come you didn't tell me what you've been planning? I had to hear it from your sister."

"Mom… mom." It's so hard to get a word in edgewise with her. "Mom, I didn't tell you because I was worried about what you'd think."

"What I think? I'll tell you what I think. I think you should have talked to me about it before making such a big decision. I'm just glad you finally came to your senses and decided to get back together with Maureen. You two will make wonderful parents. But don't you think you should get married first? I don't want my grandbaby to be a bastard child."

"Mom? Mom, you're not listening… mom." Urgh! Why does she always have to do this?

She kept going on and on about how Maureen and I should get married. "Marky honey, I'm only looking out for you. If you and Maureen get married, it'll be good for the baby, so he or she will have both parents."

"Mom, no you're not listening to me. Maureen and I aren't getting married."

"Well why not? She'll make a wonderful wife, and a wonderful mother."

I sighed. She was never one to 'listen' to others. At least, not until she got her point out first. And she wasn't finished getting her point across.

"Yes mom, I'm sure Maureen would make a great wife, just not my wife. Mom, she's still with Joanne."

She continued on as if she just didn't hear me, or chose to ignore me. "Marky honey, will Maureen's parents be paying for this wedding? Oh, I have so many ideas for the wedding. Do you think her parents would mind if I helped? Of course they wouldn't mind. What am I thinking?"

"Mom… MOM!"

"Mark Cohen, don't yell at your mother."

"I'm sorry mom, but you're just not listening to me. Maureen and I are not getting married. And we're not raising the baby together either. Roger and I are."

"What? You're not serious Mark. You and Roger can't raise a child together. It's… It's… No."

"Mom, it's not up for discussion. Roger and I are going to raise this child together. Roger'll make a great dad…"

"How can he Mark? He could die at any given moment, leaving you with all the responsibilities. Not to mention, how does he plan on caring for a child in his condition?"

"Mom, Roger's fine right now. He's been taking his AZT everyday, and on time, and his T-cell count is at an all time high. He's fine. We can do this."

Her voice softened. Concerned. "Mark, I'm only trying to look out for you. I love you honey. You're my baby boy, and I don't want to see you get hurt."

"Mom, Roger loves me, and I love him. I wish you'd understand that."

"Understand that you love a man? I don't want to hear it Mark. I told you already I don't approve of it, and now you want to bring a child into your little… well I don't know what to call it."

"Our relationship mom. Roger and I have a relationship. I know you don't approve, but that's what it is mom."

"No Mark. It's not a relationship. It's a sin. It's…"

"It's love, mom."

I then heard the phone click. She hung up on me. I sighed heavily, and hung up my phone. I walked into the bedroom where Roger was napping, and laid beside him, wrapping my arm around his back. I kissed the back of his neck softly, and he turned around to face me, and kissed my lips.

"I heard you talking to your mom."

"Yeah. She was telling me I should marry Maureen before the baby's born."

He snorted. "You and Mo? Married?" He burst into laughter.

"Hey, it's not funny."

"Yeah it is, and you know it."

I gave in and chuckled. "Yeah it is. God, can you see that wedding day?" I shuddered at the thought. "She'd probably make me wear the dress."

"Yeah, but you'd look so pretty in it."

I grabbed the pillow from under my head and whack him with it. He snickered. "Well it's true, you would."

"I would not, Roger."

"You so would." He paused and just stared at me as if he were actually picturing me in that dress. He must have, 'cause he suddenly burst into an hysterical fit.

I glared hard at him, but he continued to laugh. "You're such an ass, Roger Davis."

"Yeah, but what're you gonna do about it?"

"I can refuse you." I smirked, thinking I had the upper hand. He proved me wrong of course, when he pulled me by the collar and crushed his lips to mine. I melted immediately. He always knew how to get to me.

"That wasn't fair Rog." I said after a few moments of being lost in his kiss.

He grinned cheekily. "I know. But you have to admit, you loved it."

"That's beside the point Rog."

"MARKY!" Maureen screeched from the front door, waking me from a nice dream. I nearly fell off the bed before I realized what happened. I grabbed my glasses from the milk crate nightstand, and ran out into the living room. Roger just covered his head with the pillow, whining.

"What the fuck? What is it Maureen?"

"Marky, I hate this. I feel so bloated and fat." She walked over to me, hugging me, laying her head on my shoulder, and whined.

"Maureen, you're not fat. You're still not even showing." Wait for a few more months.

"I can feel it Mark. I can feel my body getting fatter. I don't wanna be pregnant anymore."

"Maureen, it's to late to change your mind now. You're not even three months along."

"It's not fair. Why do I have to carry this? Why can't you be the one to carry this?"

I just gave her a look. I couldn't, even if I wanted to. "Calm down, Mo. Getting flustered isn't gonna make it any easier."

"Getting flustered? Who's getting flustered?" Her mood swings were becoming annoying, but I just consoled her as I always did.

"Where's Joanne?"

"She's at work. She's got a big case she's working on, and has no time for me."

That explains why you're always over here. "So why don't you go do something? Maybe start up another protest."

"Hmm…" That seemed to cheer her up slightly. "I could do that. I'll protest how women shouldn't have to be the only ones to carry babies. Yeah, and you can put on one of those fake stomachs, and be my model for the protest."

"I don't think so Maureen. I've got a lot of work that needs to get done."

She suddenly cupped her hand over her mouth, and ran to the bathroom. Morning sickness. I tried to tune out the sound of her vomiting, but there was really no way of doing so. Roger stepped out of the bedroom cringing.

"Is that how I sound?"

"Pretty much. How are you feeling?"

"Weak."

"Have you taken your AZT today?"

"Yeah, I took it before taking my nap."

Maureen finished, and stepped out. "I hate this. I hate it, I hate it, I hate it. Next time you two decide you want something like this, don't ask me. I'm going home. I'm tired."

Before either of us could say another word, she was out the door. We glanced at each other, and I shrugged. "It's Maureen, what can I say?"

Roger fell to the floor in an instant, and I was by his side just as quickly. "Roger, are you okay?"

He closed his eyes, then nodded. "I will be. Just give me a minute." He held on to my shoulder quite tightly to hold himself up.

"Roger, I've got you." I held on to him as best I could. He wasn't that much bigger than me, but I still wasn't all that strong either, and could barely hold him up. He's lost a lot of weight since I've known him. Mainly due to his illness.

I carefully helped him to the couch, and sat him down. "Roger, what's wrong?"

"I just got dizzy. I'm fine." He flashed me a smile, though I could tell he wasn't doing to well.

"Roger, if something's wrong…"

"I'm fine. Really."

"Maybe I should take you to the hospital…"

"No. We can't afford it anyway. Besides, I'm fine." I could hear in his voice he wanted me to drop it. He hated hospitals. Especially when he found out he was HIV positive. He said he always felt helpless, and that was the one thing he hated more than anything else, feeling helpless.

"Alright Roger." If that's what you really want. I sighed heavily, and he shot me a nasty look.

"I said, I'm fine." He snarled at me. Fuck, I went and pissed him off.

"Okay, if you say so." I practically whispered the words. I watched him storm off into the bedroom, as he always had, whenever he didn't want to face his problems. I felt the tears pricking at my eyelids. I blinked them away, I didn't want to cry. I wanted to save my tears for a more appropriate time, which I dreaded constantly. With that in mind, I stood up, and made my way to the bedroom.

"Roger," I opened the door slowly. "Roger, I'm sorry."

He turned to look at me. There were tears in his eyes. Completely unexpected. "Roger, why are you crying?"

"'Cause you're right. 'Cause you're always right. I should go to the hospital, but I just don't… we can't afford it. Not while we're trying to save for this… this family we want." He sat up on the bed, patted the space beside him, urging me to sit. I sat, right next to him, enfolding my arms around his shoulders, comforting him.

"Mark, I'm dying."

My heart broke hearing those words slide off his lips, as if it was just another sentence. One with absolutely no meaning, but this one had meaning. This one meant that Roger would be gone soon.

"Roger, don't say. Please don't say that. You're not dying, not yet." The waterworks made their official appearance.

"Mark, it's only a matter of time." We switched positions in comfort. He lifted my chin to meet his eyes, then gently wiped away my tears. "Don't cry, Mark. It's not a pretty sight."

I smiled bitterly. "Very funny, Roger."

"Eh, I try."

"Roger, this is serious. You are dying, and that means I'm losing you."

"But you haven't lost me yet. Just remember that. We still have time together." His voice soft, reassuring. He wiped more of my tears away.

"Kiss me. I need to feel you."

He did. A beautiful, passionate kiss. One the world would be jealous of, and it was all mine.

"Idle hands spend time at the genitals. And you know how much god hates that." Something Roger would so say to Mark. Just thought I'd share that. Thank you Aqua Teen Hunger Force!