"Oh my god Alex. I'm so sorry sweetie." Hannah said leaning over ot hug Alexandra who was crying.
"I don't know what to do. She's even more determined to finish the album and have it contain all duets with her and Roger. She wants him to have something to remember her by." she cried wiping her eyes.
"Did you expect anything less? She's Roger's daughter." Hannah said looking over at her.
"No, I guess not. I just wish she wanted to rest and not run herself down. Instead, she and Roger are down in the studio all hours of the day and night recording that damn cd." she cried looking over at her.
"That damn cd is what she wants to do with her life. She wants to leave her mark on the world." Hannah said looking over at her.
"I know. I just don't want her helping this damn disease take her from us." she said getting up from the chair and pacing around the kitchen.
"Alex, do you wish you could sing with her?" Hanna asked looking up at her.
"Of course I do. She's my little girl and I want to have something to remember her by too." she cried looking down at her.
"Oh Sweetie, she's gonna be OK. You have to believe that." she said looking up at her.
"I wanted to believe that she would outlive me and Roger and be able to have a life, an education, a love like mine and Roger's. We wanted all of that for her and now she's gonna be robbed of it." she cried looking over at her.
"I know honey, but you have to just let her live the way she wants to. The way you and Roger taught her to." she said looking over at her.
"I know, I just hate that she's never gonna have all that." she said turning around to look outside.
"Mom, can I wear this, please?" Cassandra asked going through Alexandra's closet. She came across a black body suit and black jeans.
"Oh my lord. Where did you find that?" she asked laughing.
"It was in the back of your closet. So can I? It's really hot." she asked as Alexandra walked over to her.
"I wore this the night your dad and I started dating." she smiled taking the body suit from her.
"You did?" she asked looking over at her.
"Mhm. The day he came to Aunt Jo's office he was flirting with me and stuff, and he was really bad at it by the way, he invited me to go see him perform and when I approached the club, he was standing outside smoking a cigarette outside by himself. I fell on him that night." she laughed looking down at the jeans.
"What do you mean you fell on him?" Cassandra asked curious.
"I was wearing these new sandals I bought. They were really high and hard to maneuver in. He knelt down against the wall while we were talking and when I knelt down next to him, I fell right on top of him. I was so embarrassed, but he just laughed and teased me. I'll never forget that night for the rest of my life." she smiled remembering that night.
"Alexandra." Roger said as she approached the club. He was standing outside smoking a cigarette. She was wearing tight black jeans and a black body suit. Her long blond hair was half up in a sloppy pony tail she had strands of hair hanging around her face.
"Hi Roger, what are you doing out here?" she asked looking up at him. He was wearing dark blue jeans and a tight white tank top. She could see his muscles flex each time he lifted the cigarette to his perfect lips for a drag.
"Smoking. I like to relax out here by myself before I go up there, you know." he answered holding his cigarette up.
"Oh OK. I'll go inside then." she said looking up at him.
"No, that's not what I meant. I'm sorry. It's just, once I get up there, I'm not me. I'm this guy who always says the right thing and and always knows what to do next. You know, A minor then G. But here, I'm totally lost, you know. I mean, everybody's looking at me when I'm up there and I'm not that guy. I don't like people looking at me and seeing me." he said leaning against the wall.
"I'm sorry Roger. I, um I didn't know. So why do you do it?" she asked looking at him sympathetically.
"I do it because I love the music. But the guy I am up there is totally not who I really am. I'm a mess." he said looking down.
"You don't look like such a mess to me." Alexandra said smiling up at him.
"I'm sorry. I don't know why I told you that. It's just, before shows, I always feel...I don't know." he said throwing his cigarette in the street.
"Roger, it's OK. Everybody needs to talk sometimes. How come you don't talk to your friends?" she asked as he leaned back against the wall and slid down.
"I don't know. I never told anyone that before." he said looking up at her.
"Roger, you are incredibly talented. At least that's what Joanne tells me, but you're also a human being. You're allowed to feel overwhelmed sometimes by the world." she said crouching next to him. She struggled because of her high heeled sandals. She leaned a little too much to her right because she nearly fell right on him. He reached out and caught her. She knocked him to the ground too and they sat there laughing.
"Are you OK?" he asked smiling at her.
"Yeah, I'm so sorry Roger. These are new sandals and they're really hard to maneuver in." she said laughing as she got herself back to her feet.
"That's OK. Are you OK though? Did you hurt your ankle or your foot or something?" he asked looking down at her.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little embarrassed." she said laughing as she tried to stand up.
"Here, let me help you. I wouldn't want you to actually succeed in killing yourself." he laughed as he got up and held his hand out to her.
"Thank you. Did I hurt you?" she said smiling up at him.
"Nah, just landed on my ass. Luckily, I can actually perform without it." he said as they stood in front of each other smiling as the door opened. It was Mark.
"Roger, you're on in 5 minutes." he said as Roger directed his attention away from Alexandra.
"Sure. Thanks Mark. Um, this is Alexandra. She works with Joanne. Alexandra, this is my roommate Mark." Roger said introducing them.
"Hi Mark. You work at Buzzline, right?" she said smiling at him.
"Yeah, it's nice to meet you Alexandra." Mark said shaking her hand.
"I gotta go in and do this. Are you hanging out afterwards?" Roger asked looking down at her.
"Yeah, I can. Good luck." she said smiling at him as they went into the club.
"Hey Alexandra, I was afraid you weren't gonna make it." Joanne said as Roger rushed onto the stage and Alexandra went to the bar.
"I got here a little while ago, but I saw Roger outside and we were just talking before he went on." she said smiling at her as Maureen handed her a beer.
"Well, we're glad you can make it. Roger really knows how to put on a show." she said smiling at her.
"Thank you Maureen." Alexandra said smiling at them before directing her attention to Roger who was strapping his guitar on staring at her from the stage.
"Hey, how's everyone doing tonight?" he asked as everyone cheered for him. As Roger began playing, Alexandra couldn't help but keep her eyes glued to him. He had a such a presence on stage. He looked so confident and so sure of himself. Little did the other people in the room know, he as a far different person while he was off stage. He smiled at her through out the whole show. When the show ended he took his guitar off and jumped off of the stage.
"Roger, that was really good." she said as he approached he bar.
"Thanks. Do you wanna come outside with me? I need a cigarette." he said before taking a long sip of his beer.
"Sure." she said smiling up at him as they walked out of the club.
"So you liked the show?" he asked taking a cigarette out.
"Yeah. Joanne told me you were good, but she didn't say you were that good. I don't understand why you are so unsure of yourself." she said looking up at him.
"I've been through a lot and I don't know, I'm just trying to move past it." he said looking down at her.
"I understand." she said looking down at the ground.
"Do you wanna get out of here? We could go for a walk." he suggested smiling down at her.
"Yeah, I'd really like that." she said smiling at him as they went inside so Roger could get his guitar and tell everyone they were leaving. They walked around the Village and talked. She told him about her abusive ex boyfriend and he told her about losing Mimi. Before they knew it the sun came up.
"I can't believe we've been walking and talking all night." he said sitting on a bench in Tompkin Square Park.
"I know. It's funny. I feel like I can tell you anything." she said smiling at him as she held her sandals in her hands.
"Me too. Um, Alex I have something I have to tell you." he said turning to face her.
"OK. Hit me." she said smiling at him.
"Um, I'm HIV positive. I should have told you before, but I don't know... I was scared." he said as he looked down.
"Roger, it's OK. I knew." she said quietly as she moved closer.
"You did? Why didn't you..." he said looking up at her.
"Because it's not a big deal to me. I like you Roger." she told him leaning in to him.
"I like you too Alex." he said putting his hand on her face as they leaned in to kiss each other.
"Earth to mom, come in mom." Cassandra teased waving her hand in front of Alexandra's face.
"Sorry sweetie. Your dad and I have had some great times. I just wish you could have that too." she said looking up at her with tears in her eyes.
"Mom, it's OK. I came to peace with it a long time ago. Watching you and dad has been so amazing. Nothing I experience could ever compare to it anyway. You and dad set the bar so high for me, no man would ever be good enough." she laughed trying to lighten the mood.
"Oh sweetie, daddy and I love you so much. We have from the moment we set eyes on you." Alexandra told her bringing her into a hug.
"I know mom. You and dad are the greatest parents a kid could ever ask for." she whispered holding back tears.
"All we did was work with what we had." Alexandra smiled pulling back to caress her daughters cheek.
"Mom, I'm sorry I never got the chance to sing with you. Daddy played me your old tapes a long time ago and you were really good." she said looking into her mothers sad blue eyes.
"Yeah well, I'm just glad I got to be your mother. Nothing could ever compare to that." she smiled leaning in to kiss her daughters forehead.
"Mom, I'm sorry I can't have more time with you and dad." she said looking over at her.
"Me too sweetie. But the time we did have was the greatest gift in the world to us." Alexandra told her holding back tears before holding her daughter tight.
"Cassandra, you look so beautiful." Roger smiled as Cassandra came out of the dressing room on the set of the talk show.
"Thanks dad. Mom let me borrow some of her old clothes." she smiled looking down at the jeans and the body suit.
"That's why that looks so familiar. Your mom was wearing that the night we started dating." he smiled looking down at her. "You look just like her." he smiled looking down at her fighting tears.
"Yeah, I guess for a kid who's adopted, I got lucky to look like both of my parents." she laughed reaching up to hug him.
"You were never like an adopted kid to us." Roger told her holding her tight.
"I know daddy. And you and mom never treated me like I was adopted either." she smiled fighting her own tears.
"Cassandra Elizabeth Davis, you are the greatest thing to happen to me and your mom. We cherish every second we have with you." he told her intently holding her face in his hands.
"I know daddy. You always made sure I knew that." she reassured him before giving him a little smile as he leaned in to kiss her head.
"Are you ready to do this princess?" he asked smiling down at her.
"Yeah dad. I'm ready." she smiled back looking up into his green eyes. "Um dad." she said as they let go of one another.
"Yeah princess." he asked looking over at her.
"I just wanted to say I love you and thanks for making me who I am." she smiled looking up at him.
"Princess Cassie, I love you so much. You and your mom have always been my world." he smiled looking over at her.
"I know dad. We both do." she smiled as they walked to the back stage area.
"And now, to perform their new duet, I Learned from You, please welcome Roger and Cassie Davis." the talk show host announced as the audience erupted into loud applause. All of the bohos and their families were there to cheer Cassandra and Roger on.
[Cassie
Ooooo
Yeah
I didn't wanna listen to what you were sayin'
I thought that I knew all I need to know
I didn't realize that somewhere inside me
I knew you were right but I couldn't say so
I can take care of myself, yeah, you taught me well
[Chorus: (Cassie)
I learned from you that I do not crumble
I learned that strength is something you choose
All of the reasons to keep on believin'
There's no question, that's a lesson, that I learned from you
[Roger
We always don't agree on
What is the best way
To get to the place that we're going from here
But I can really trust you, and give you the distance,
to make your decisions without any fear
[Both
I'm grateful for all of the times
You opened my eyes
[Chorus: (Both)
I learned from you that I do not crumble
I learned that strength is something you choose
All of the reasons to keep on believin',
There's no question, that's a lesson
I learned from you
[Both
You taught me to stand on my own
[Cassie and I thank you for that
[Both
You saved me, you made me,
and now that I'm looking back
[Cassie I can say
[Both woooaaahhhh!
[Cassie Hmmmm... Hmmmm... Yeah!
[Both
I learned from you that
[Cassie I learned from you
[Both
I do not crumble
I learned that strength is something you choose
[Cassie something you choose
[Both
All of the reasons to keep on believin',
[Cassie keep on believin'
There's no question, that's a lesson that I learned from you
[Cassie
Woooaaahhhh!
I learned from yoooouuu
I learned that strength is something you choose
[Roger something you choose
[Both
All of the reasons to keep on believin',
There's no question, that's a lesson that I learned from you
[Cassie yeah!
[Both
I learned from you
"I love you daddy." Cassie whispered looking up at him as the audience applauded.
"I love you too princess." he smiled through his tears before leaning over to kiss his daughter's head.
A/N: This is the end of LA Dreams. I wanted to end it with Roger and Cassie performing together. The song is I Learned From You by Billy Ray and Miley Cyrus. I chose that song because it fit Roger and Cassie so well. I felt the older Cassie got the more her relationship with Roger emulated that of real life father and daughter Billy Ray and Miley Cyrus from Disney Channel's Hannah Montana. I know, I let my 12 year old influence me way too much, but it's a great family show and being a parent, you gotta take what you can get in this day and age with 7th Heaven off the air and all. I hope you enjoyed this story. Writing it was great. The last couple of chapters were really hard, but I felt it was the only way to end it without having Roger or Cassie on their death beds, while still being realistic Thank you for reading this story and please don't forget to review. Also, don't forget to read my other stories. Thanks again. I appreciate everyone's support.
Renthead621