Disclaimer: Rent was created by Jonathan Larson. Someone else now has the rights to it; I'm not sure who, but not me. I'm only having a bit of fun. Please don't sue me... pretty please?

Roger stood in the kitchen, gnawing his thumbnail. He had been cooking, but now everything was finished. Mark should be home soon. Roger glanced into the living room. He would glance outside, but he didn't like going near the window. What if someone saw him? Nobody knew where he was, and Roger liked things that way.

Mark sat at his desk putting the finishing touches on a report. The afternoon had passed quickly and his last three patients had cancelled, freeing him to catch up on some paperwork. He was almost finished and was planning to go home early, when he heard a knock on his door. "Come in," he called.

David entered office. "I hope this is a good time. I had some cancellations and I wanted to speak to you about Roger."

Mark nodded. "I had some cancellations myself. How did the session go with Roger?"

"To be honest, it wasn't all that productive. He was reluctant to talk to me and was really on edge the entire time he was with me. I'm actually surprised he didn't bolt earlier."

"I'm worried. While he was in the bathroom he scratched his wrists so badly that I needed to use butterfly closures. He's very tense and he doesn't want to leave the house. Plus the trial is next week, and he's expected to testify."

David furrowed his brow. "That's awfully soon. Did Roger seem willing to continue with therapy?"

Mark nodded. "I asked him if he wanted to stay with you or find someone else. He's willing to continue with you but wants to include me in the sessions. Is that alright?"

"It's unusual, but I'm willing to do so. When he's ready, you can stop coming. It may be good for him to have another session soon."

"He's really reluctant to leave the house. You're free now, right?" David nodded. "Would you mind coming to my house to work with Roger today?"

"No, I don't mind. I'll just follow you in my car."

The two doctors set off and soon pulled into Mark's driveway.

Roger had taken off the sling while he cooked. Surely Mark didn't mean he had to wear it all the time. How could he expect Roger to keep the house clean and have food ready, with only one arm? So Roger supposed Mark just wanted to see Roger wearing the sling. He set the table and set out the food--pot roast, asparagus and mashed potatoes. He loved cooking for Mark, because Mark seemed to love being cooked for.

When he heard the car in the driveway, Roger quickly put his left arm in the sling. Then he hurried into the laundry room. If whoever had come wasn't Mark, Roger could lock himself in there and be safe.

Mark opened the door and invited David inside. "Let me take your coat. Have a seat in the living room. I'll go find Roger." Mark was a little surprised that Roger hadn't met him at the door, so he decided to check the rooms of the house. He wasn't in the kitchen, so he climbed the stairs and checked the bedrooms and bathroom without any luck.

"Roger?" he called. "Roger, where are you?"

Roger unlocked the door and crept out of the laundry room when he heard Mark's voice. He smiled slightly. "Hi, Mark." This was one of his favorite times of day. Mark was home. Then he noticed David. "H-hi, D-dr. Solomon," he said, unconsciously backing up.

David smiled at the younger man. "Hello, Roger. How are you today?"

Roger rubbed his bad arm and he glanced around. "W-where's Mark?" He took another step back and his butt hit the wall. He yelped.

David looked at Roger in concern. Was he always this edgy? "He went upstairs, looking for you. I'm sure he'll be down in a minute."

Roger glanced around again. He saw Mark's coat and briefcase, but no Mark. Mark had intentionally left him alone with David. In the house. "I-I-I'd r-really like to t-t-talk to Mark." Mark had promised to stay with him in therapy. Hadn't he?

David decided to give Roger some space and walked over to the couch. "That's fine. As I said, he's looking for you upstairs." He sat down. "I'll wait for you two down here."

"Mark!" Roger yelped. He fled upstairs, trembling, and peered into all of the rooms until he saw Mark.

Mark was just about to leave the last bedroom when Roger came flying into it. He reached out and gathered him into a hug. "There you are, Roger. Are you OK?"

Roger clung to Mark with his good hand, shaking against him. "S-s-somebody's downstairs," he said.

Mark tried to soothe Roger by rubbing his back. "I know. David had some free time this afternoon so I invited him over here. He's here with my permission. He wants to talk to you again, and since I knew you wanted to stay home for a few days, I asked if he'd mind coming here."

Roger's trembling lessened. Still, he was disturbed. Mark brought David here? But he was trying to help. "Oh. Th-thanks. He c-can have dinner w-with us."

"Do you want us to eat first, then talk?" he asked.

Roger nodded. "E-everything's ready. I just need to set a third place."

"Go on and do that, then. I'd like to talk to David for a minute and let him know about the plan." They walked down the stairs together and Roger disappeared into the kitchen. He went over to David and sat next to him on the couch. "Roger's already prepared dinner and would like you to join us."

David nodded. "He told me he liked cooking. I take it we'll be doing a session after dinner?"

"Yes. I already told Roger that we'd talk together once dinner was over. I hope this doesn't interfere with any plans."

David shook his head. His partner, Jeff was out of town for a convention so he was actually glad he didn't have to return to an empty condo so soon.

"Good. Let's join Roger in the kitchen." Mark led the way.

Roger had managed to set an extra place at the table with one hand, so when Mark and David came in everything looked neat. He had even set out glasses of water, not knowing what everyone wanted to drink. He knew Mark had beer, but he didn't like to think about that, especially didn't want to suggest it. After all, there was milk, too.

Roger sat half a second after Mark and David. He tried to be as small as possible.

Mark started eating right away. The food was especially good and Mark could tell that Roger had put in a lot of effort on the meal. "This is excellent, Roger. You've really outdone yourself."

"It's very good," commented David.

Roger blushed, pleased but at first uncomfortable. Usually whenever Robert complimented Roger he wanted sex. Or he was making up for something. "Thank you," he said.

"How was your day today?" asked Mark in an effort to start up a conversation.

"Good," Roger replied. "I did the laundry... and w-watched some cartoons," he added. He supposed Mark would eventually find out, it was better to own up to it at first.

Mark smiled. "Which ones? I used to love cartoons."

Roger blinked. He wasn't in trouble? Mark wasn't mad? Maybe this was a trick. "The Simpsons," Roger said softly.

David spoke up. "Oh I love that show. It's so funny. Did you see the one where the kids went to Kamp Krusty?" he asked Roger.

Roger smiled. "I like that episode," he said. "Today I saw the one where Homer gets that hair solution and..." he trailed off, realizing that David didn't have a whole lot of hair. "Um... and he has the creepy assistant."

David laughed. "Oh I remember that one. Jeff teased me mercilessly when it first aired. I told him I didn't need any hair loss treatments as baldness is a sign of virility."

Roger's smile grew less nervous. He was starting to like David, if just a tiny bit. "I-is Jeff your..." But he didn't know what the proper word would be. David seemed a little too settled for someone with a boyfriend. Roger glanced at his fingers, trying to subtly see if he wore a ring.

David noticed this behavior and showed his left hand. He and Jeff did wear rings ever since their commitment ceremony in the spring. "Yes, he's my partner. We've been together for eight years now."

"Oh." Roger toyed idly with his food. "That's a long time. Good for you. What does he do?"

"He's a graphic designer for an advertising firm. He's away this week going to some expo on incorporating computer images in ads. I don't entirely understand it, but he's really excited about it."

"That's really interesting." He didn't understand much about it, either. He tried to eat something but he felt uncomfortable with David there. He sucked traces of potato off his fork. "You must be lonely."

David nodded. "It's not so bad when I'm working or visiting friends, but I feel it when I get home and he's not there. The place seems too quiet. Luckily he'll be back soon and he doesn't leave me alone all that often."

Roger was suddenly very glad Mark was there. He would probably panic if Mark left; he barely made it through the day. But then, normal people, he supposed, didn't panic when left alone. "How did you meet him?"

"My secretary introduced us. She and Jeff lived in the same residence hall at college and were close friends. When he came out to her, she thought we'd get along well. She was right."

Mark smiled at that. "I hope you gave her a raise or something."

David chuckled. "The union rules wouldn't let me, but I make sure to give her flowers every six months on the anniversary of when she introduced us."

"I guess... kind of the same thing happened to you," Roger said to Mark.

"How is that, Roger?" He didn't understand exactly.

"Well, you wouldn't've met me if it wasn't for Robert," he said, then he blushed. Maybe Mark didn't want to be with him for so long. That wasn't something Roger had thought about before.

"No, I wouldn't have." Mark thought for a minute. "I can't say I'm happy that he tore up your arm like that, but I am happy we met."

"I am, too," Roger agreed. He glanced at the others at the table. "Are you through? I'll clear." He took his plate to the sink, then returned and took his glass. Clearing that table with one hand wasn't easy.

David nodded. "Can I give you a hand?" he asked. He suspected that Roger wouldn't react well if he had started to help without asking.

"You don't have to," Roger replied quickly. He was taking Mark's plate. "But... I guess if you want to, that's okay. Right?" he asked Mark. It was Mark's house, after all.

Mark stood up. "I'll help, too. Between the three of us we can get everything done quickly." Mark let David and Roger clear the dishes away and he started wiping down the table.

"Do you mind drying?" Roger asked. He turned on the sink and started scrubbing the plates. He used the rough side of the sponge, going for intensity where he lacked dexterity.

"No, not at all. You'll just have to tell me where everything goes though," said David. They made short work of the dishes and in a few minutes the kitchen was clean.

Roger gnawed on his thumb. He had to go to therapy now, didn't he? He looked at Mark. "I can leave you two to talk," he offered softly, hoping they had other patients in common.

Mark shook his head. "I don't think so Roger. I'll be with you this time. David isn't going to bite and if you don't feel comfortable talking about something you have the right to say so."

He sighed. So much for Plan A. But this time he would have Mark, and Mark would make sure nothing bad happened. "No going to the bathroom?" he asked, smiling.

Mark came over and ruffled Roger's hair. "Not unless I go with you," he teased.

Roger was surprised that he was still smiling. "Living room?" he suggested. The kitchen seemed an awkward place for therapy.

This time David answered. "Wherever you feel the most comfortable."

That was the bedroom or the laundry room, but Roger didn't want David in those places. "Living room," he repeated.

Mark followed Roger into the living room and sat beside him on the couch. David took the chair across from them. Mark could sense Roger's tension so he slipped an arm around him and slowly rubbed his back in small circles.

David got out a notepad and pen and watched the interaction. He noted that Roger seemed calmer now and sat in a more open position. In the previous session he had his arms crossed and tried to make himself smaller. He wasn't sure if it was Mark's presence or the setting that made such a difference. "OK. Roger, let's start. Is there anything that you want to talk about in particular today?"

Roger shook his head. He appreciated everything Mark had done, and he knew that he should participate as much as possible. He relaxed and focused on the feeling of Mark's hand on his back. "Anything you think will help," he said. He didn't know how to make himself better. Hopefully this man could help. He was a professional. That was his job. Right?

David gave him a gentle smile. "Let's go back to the beginning. Tell me about your family."

"Okay. Um. My dad... he's a lawyer. And my mom is a psychiatrist. She works with children. When we were little she always took our toys into work. I have two sisters, Sarah -- she's fourteen, I think -- and Sasha, who's my age, and my older brother, Adam." Roger hoped that was what David wanted. Those were the people in his family.

David marked the names down for future reference. "Did you get along?"

Roger nodded. "I was never very close with Sarah," he admitted. "I guess she must have been kind of lonely. Adam liked to beat me up and call me a mutant but... he... he did it in a loving way."

David smiled at that. "My brother and I were like that, too. How about your parents? Did you get along with them?"

"I guess so. We fought a lot when I was dating Robert, though," he said. "They didn't like him. With good reason."

"Before you started dating Robert, would you say you were close to your parents?"

"Sure. I would've gone to them with anything. Then I met Robert, and I knew they wouldn't approve..." Roger sighed. "Things got bad."

"What do you mean by bad?"

Roger sighed once more. "Everyone hated me," he said. "We were fighting all the time. Finally, my dad kicked me out."

"Tell me what happened. What did everyone say to you?"

"Just... that wasn't being a family player, that I was being selfish. I just wanted my own space and identity. They didn't like him, so they changed my curfew and forbade me from going out if I didn't have A's in all my classes. Adam's the one who always held the family together, so he was really upset with me. I messed everything up."

"What did your dad say when he kicked you out?"

Roger blushed. He glanced at Mark. "I... can't tell you."

Mark gave him a little smile and continued to rub his back. David made a note and then asked a different question. "That's fair enough, I won't push you, but could you tell me why you can't say it?"

"I'm not allowed to." Roger had no problem with rules. In fact, even this little one made him feel safer.

As soon as Roger said that. Mark understood what Roger meant when he looked over at him. "He called you that word, didn't he?" he asked Roger softly. At his nod, Mark explained. "When I was first accepted to Med School, I had a prof that was severely homophobic. He constantly ridiculed me because of my sexuality. It was so bad I had to go to the university ethics committee and only the threat of a harassment suit got him to stop. He kept using that f-word and made me constantly feel inferior. When Roger used that word to describe himself yesterday, I banned it from the house."

David made a note of this and said, "I understand. Did your father say anything else to you?"

"Yeah. He said I could come home if I behaved myself," Roger said. He didn't want anyone thinking bad things about his family, not even David, who he was to his surprise beginning to trust.

David also made a note of that. "What do you think he means by behaving yourself?"

"Not dating a forty-year-old demented f-- um, toning down my homosexuality," Roger said.

"Sounds like something my own father would have said," commented David. "But he died before I admitted to myself that I was gay." He sat for a minute. "How do your father's comments make you feel?"

"Pissed off, I guess. It was the first time I was in... not love, but... I thought I was in love. Do you understand?"

David nodded. "I know exactly what you mean. Do you think you could ever go back home?"

Roger shook his head. "Probably not. I couldn't live with my parents' restrictions and all the questions. They would want to know about... things... the last few years. And I really don't want them to."

David nodded and made a few more notes. "What kind of things happened with Robert, Roger?" He needed to know how much Roger was willing to talk about.

Roger hesitated. He opened his mouth, closed it, then he said, "J... just... things," he replied

Since Roger wasn't ready to talk about it, he decided to change the focus to the trial. "What do you think about the trial date being so close?" he asked.

"I don't know," he whispered. He brought his knuckles up to his mouth. Honestly, he was nervous--very, extremely nervous. "I think I'll screw it up."

"Screw it up? How?"

"By not testifying right. Saying the wrong stuff, or..."

"Or what?"

He sighed. "Robert didn't do anything wrong," he said.

"But that's for Judge and Jury to decide, Roger. Not you. What scares you about testifying?"

"I'll do it wrong and everyone will get upset with me."

"That is a big problem. How do you think you could make sure you do it right?"

"I don't know. That's a problem. I don't... I mean... I know what happened, but I don't know how I can make people understand."

"Have you thought about practicing for the courtroom?"

Roger shook his head. "You mean rehearsing what I would say?" he asked.

David nodded. "Lots of people do that. Their lawyers go over the testimony before the trial so there are not surprises. Most trials are pretty straightforward and a good lawyer can usually anticipate what the other side is going to ask as well."

"That sounds helpful," he agreed. "I'm just afraid they'll make Robert look like a bad guy. He isn't."

"Maybe you could tell me a little bit about him," David suggested. "Where did you meet?"

"At an ice cream place. I used to go there after judo. I ran into Robert and we started talking in line. Then we started getting really close, and not just meeting there.'

"Where did you guys go? What did you do together?"

"We walked a lot. We went to the park. We just... talked. That's all."

"What did you talk about?"

"Things. He asked me about myself and told me about his job, and some people at work who really bothered him." Roger hoped they didn't realize this mostly meant Mark.

"So what did you like about him? What made you fall almost in love with him?"

"He... seemed nice. He seemed to care about me," Roger explained. "He did care about me."

"And you cared about him, too, right?"

Roger nodded. "Yeah. I really did."

"When did you realize you were becoming more than friends?" David almost cringed at his use of that expression, but since he was dealing with a teenager, it seemed appropriate.

That one was easy. "When he kissed me," Roger replied. In spite of everything, he remembered it as a good kiss.

"How long would you say that was from the time you first met?"

"About a month, I think," he said.

"After he kissed you did your relationship change? Did you do different things or go to different places?"

Roger nodded. "I went to his house sometimes. We... um. We kissed." Obviously they did more, but Roger wasn't ready to discuss it.

"So how much were you spending with him after you started...kissing." David decided to use the euphemism, but kind of stressed the word to let Roger know it meant more.

"Probably two hours or so on Tuesdays and Thursdays, three or more on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. If my parents weren't home on the weekends I went to see him then, too."

"How long did it take before your parents started to get upset?"

"I guess... when the school called them, when I started missing classes."

"Did you miss a lot of classes?"

He nodded. "Especially morning classes. I'd go over to Robert's instead and sleep with him for an hour or so. I had PE zero period, I missed that the most... but you would've missed it, too, I was out at school and the other kids were... not nice. Then I'd miss afternoon classes. Sometimes fourth or fifth, around lunch."

David also made note of the unpleasantness at school. He admired kids who had the strength to be themselves from a young age. "Tell me a bit about school. Were you bullied a lot?"

"Not... bullied," he said, "exactly. Kids just said nasty things, tripped me in the halls. Well. Okay. They did whatever they could get away with," Roger admitted heavily. He hadn't enjoyed school. "They also graffiti'ed my locker."

"Did any of the teachers see? Did they try to stop it?"

"No. At first I thought they didn't know, but they did."

David was saddened to hear this. He occasionally did awareness seminars for teachers about social justice. "How long did it take you to stop going to school altogether?"

"I finished one semester of ninth grade. I moved in with Robert at the end of eighth. He... didn't feel things were working, with me in school." He hadn't exactly forbidden Roger from attending school, but he hadn't hidden his feelings, either. But then he never did. "And I wanted to quit, anyway. I hated it, and I'm not that smart."

"After you moved in with Robert, did you go anywhere besides school? I mean on your own?"

"Running, sometimes," he said. He'd been very involved in sports at that age, but he had quit judo since the classes cost money he didn't have.

"Did he take you other places?"

"The market, sometimes, and the ice cream place. But after a while he stopped taking me. He left me at home."

"When did he stop? Six months after you moved in? A year?"

"A few months," Roger said. "I really stopped going places after I quit school."

"Was that your choice or his?"

"I didn't want to go to school. Robert just let me make my own choice."

David realized that Roger was a lot more relaxed than he was the previous day, so he tried getting some more information about his life at Robert's. "So can you tell me what it was like at Robert's house? Did he have a lot of rules like your parents?"

"It was... different," Roger said. He considered his parents' rules: curfew, eating your vegetables, passing your classes. None of those were particularly important to Robert, since Roger never left the apartment. "Rules, yes. Not bad, though."

"What kind of rules did he have?"

"Normal things. I'm sure you and Jeff have your own rules. It's just, you're mature people who understand them without saying them out loud."

David accepted the answer. He knew that Roger would likely be resistant to talking about the specifics of the relationship in their first true session. He was glad he got as much out of Roger as he did. He decided to push Roger a little further.

"Now I'd like to jump ahead a bit. Mark told me he met you when he treated you in his office. How did your arm get hurt?" He made sure he didn't say "How did you hurt yourself," because he knew Roger did not cause the injury. He wanted to see if Roger trusted him enough to tell the truth.

Roger didn't. He gave the answer Robert told him to give--it was what Robert told him to say if anyone asked him about his arm. "I fell down outside the library," he explained.

David put on his best confused face. "But you said you stopped going places after you quit school?" He knew Roger needed to be called on the lie, but he didn't want him to feel threatened.

Roger cursed silently. Idiot. He should have come up with a better lie, like maybe saying he fell down in the shower. "He let me go this time. He was busy and the books had to go back."

Dave knew that Roger was about at his limit. He just looked at him and said "Roger..." in a warning tone and waited to see what Roger would do.

Roger shivered. He dipped his head, letting hair fall forward over his eyes. "I wanna go upstairs," he said softly. His breathing was shallow. "Can I go upstairs, please?"

Mark looked at David who gave an almost imperceptible nod. Mark was the one to dismiss Roger. "I'll meet you there in a few moments. I'll see David out, Ok?"

"'k." Roger bolted upstairs. He sat down on the bed, then stood. He scratched at his hurt arm.

David waited a moment and stood up. "That went a lot better than I expected. He's got a lot of issues and he's not really able to process what happened to him yet. I wish this trial was later."

Mark nodded. "He's going to have to testify. I got hold of the District Attorney when I was at work and she's going to take a couple of hours to walk Roger through his testimony, but he can't lie like that in court. Can I do anything to help him prepare?"

David thought for a minute. "Just support him, explain about the legal system a little, and offer to help him practice some of his answers, especially about the arm and about sex. I may be able to read his body language, but a transcript of the courts will not."

Mark went and got David his coat. "Thank you for coming here. I know it made it easier for him."

David smiled. "We got a lot further than we would have at the office. Thanks for the meal. Tell Roger I think he's a wonderful cook. Have a good night." With that, David put on his coat and stepped out of the house.

to be continued!

Reviews would be very much appreciated... please?