Hey, hey, hey! This chapter took me forever to edit, so be thankful I did it at all! Somehow I managed to end up with 'His when talk eyebrows'. .
I'm a fail child.
Anyways, dedicating. I'm going to have a few down on the bottom, but I have two very important ones: Rachel, my anti-pookie. I love that chick so much. And Gimpy. My poor failure pig.

R&R&R-But not! She's mine!
R&R. Seriously.

Roger's POV

There is a cat on the couch.

I stopped dead on the threshold of the living room. "Why'd you stop?" Mark grumbled from behind me.

"There is a cat on the couch."

"Don't complain. You missed the mouse in the toilet." He said as he shoved past me, yawning. I just stared after him for a moment. Until I heard him say, "Hi Pookie."

"Is someone missing Maureen?" I asked, my mood darkening. It was Mark's turn to stare at me--in horror.

"Maureen named it!" I simply looked at him. He held his hands up in surrender. "She convinced Joanne to buy the cat for Fae, okay?" His eyebrows tugged up in that adorable expression he so often wore when explaining something to me.

The twins--Mark said their names were something like Arty and Andy--came out and immediately the cat lept up and out of the room. The boys chased after it. Fae came out, stretching, her mouth wide open in a yawn. Seeing the boys, she shook her head. "Adam! Anthony!" Oh. "Stop chasing the poor cat!" They ignored her, but she didn't seem to mind. Instead, she made her way to the kitchen.

"If you're looking for something to eat, you're not going to find it." I said. The only acknowledgment I received was a glare. And I did not get my ass out of bed before two to be glared at by a fucking teenager. As she rummaged in a cabinet, I came up behind her, pushing the cabinet door closed along my way. I didn't move my hand as she tried to reopen it, and Fae turned to find that she was trapped in the corner of the kitchen.

"I don't know what the hell your problem is," I started, snarling down at her, "But I'm sick of your shit--"

"Roger! Stop trying to spread your AIDS everywhere you go!" Maureen had arrived, Joanne behind her, mouthing something. Too bad I can't read lips, Joanne.

I pushed off the cabinet. "What the hell are you doing here?" Usually Maureen and Joanne didn't come until after Joanne had come back from work.

"I convinced Pookie to take the day off, so we could take Fae on a Girl's Night Out!"

"Maureen..." Mark had come in. "It's ten o'clock in the morning."

That's about the time Fae came alive once again. She had frozen after Maureen had come in. "You have AIDS..." Her voice was a forced calm, "And you're fucking my UNCLE?" Okay, considerably less calm towards the end. I opened my mouth to speak, but she cut me off, rounding on Mark. "No, more importantly, you said my brothers could live here? What if Roger got cut and there was blood on the ground that wasn't cleaned up?" She was practically screeching now. "My brothers are too young to be exposed to a whore disease!"

"I heard that!" That lovely Spanish accent calmed me, despite the anger in her voice. "Just because I'm a stripper, doesn't mean I'm a whore!" And Collins, with his impeccable timing, walked in, a joint hanging loosely from his lips.

"Damn, I am so baked right now bitches."

Fae was seething. "You invite my six year old brother to live with you...When your boyfriend has AIDS," She took a step forward, towards Mark, "A stripper lives downstairs," Another step," Your ex-girlfriend and her girlfriend come romping into the house like they live here, and...and..." She faltered, both in walking towards him, and speaking, "THAT GUY!"

My blood started to boil. No one talked to Mark like that. No one.

"Hey," Again, Collins has such incendiary wit as to speak again, "She does know that Rog isn't the only HIV positive bitch here, right?"

Fae was frozen for only a second. "WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING? MY BRO--" She was cut off as I shoved her out of Mark's face. Her body hit against the counter rather hard. Hm, must have hit her too harder then I thought. Woops.

"I can't believe what a ungrateful little bitch your being after everything we've done for you." I grabbed the collar of her shirt, pulling her close to me as I spoke.

"Grateful for what?" She snarled back at me.

"Try taking you three in when we can hardly afford to keep ourselves alive. Much less two wild toddlers, and an ungrateful, pissing, obnoxious little bitch who doesn't stop to consider how much we're trying to do for you."

"Oh, so I'm supposed be grateful because Mark decided he felt obligated to take care of us now that dad and Cindy are dead? Because he felt that twinge of guilt?"

"This might be news to you," I leaned in closer, our noses almost touching at this point. "But Mark had nothing to do with the decision for you to live with us when your mom and dad died. I told your grandmother you could live here."

She stared at me for a moment, and I became aware of everyone around us. Even Maureen was silent, staring at the two of us. Collins' joint was in danger of falling out of his mouth, and Mimi and Joanne just stared. Finally, Fae pushed my hand away roughly, and stalked back to her room, the door slamming shut behind her.

Fae's POV

It was hours and hours before I left the bedroom again. I couldn't help it, I had to go out. I was hungry, damn it. Again, my brothers were asleep when I entered the room. But this night, everyone was still in the loft. I went to the refrigerator and found some milk. Taking the jug out, I searched for the cups. The black woman next to Maureen looked at me. "Are you feeling better?" For some reason, it got to me.

I slammed he jug back on the counter. "Where's April? I actually liked April." As soon as her name left me lips, everyone went silent. Roger got up and went into his and Mark's bedroom, the door slamming shut behind him. Mark stared after him. The look of hurt on his face made even my heart wrench, and I almost stepped forward to comfort him. Instead, he got up and went into another bedroom, slamming the door behind him. Almost mirroring Roger.

Collins got up, his face more serious then I'd ever seen it. "Fae...April's been dead for three years." My body locked.

"How?" The word was whispered in horror.

"She...found out that they-Roger and her-had AIDS and she...well...she slit her wrists."

I saw the car pull into the drive. Uncle Mark was surprised by it, and he went outside. The girl getting out of the passenger side smiled at him and nearly fell out of the car as her foot got caught (impossibly) in the seat belt. When she extracted herself from the car, she ran to Mark, throwing her arms around him. "Mark!" The man getting out from the driver's side, and, leaning against the door, grinning.

"April! Roger! What are you two doing here?" Uncle Mark looked happier then he had since he arrived.

"April thought a visit might cheer you up."

"Plus!" The girl-April-interrupted, "I wanted to have a girl's night out with Fae." She smiled and winked at me. "What'd you say? Wanna catch a movie tonight?"

Forcefully I shoved these thoughts away. Now I knew why Roger had gotten upset. I had to talk to him.

The jug and glass were forgotten as I moved towards where Roger had shut himself up. A number of voices rose behind me to tell me not to go in--He wanted to be alone, he was violent when he was angry, don't go in there when he's messed...I ignored the chorus of voices and knocked softly before easing in, closing the door behind me.

"What? Come to throw more knives?" He asked, his voice a snarl. He was sitting facing the wall, the few possessions in the room were strewn across the floor. My heart twisted.

"I'm sorry." My words were whispered as I stared at his shaking back. Even watching his every movement, I hadn't realized he was moving towards me until I was shoved into the door, his hands roughly pinning me there.

"Sorry? You're sorry? Oh, well as long as you're sorry, I can forget about the girl I love and Mark isn't--" He ranted, his eyes half-crazed.

My fingers closed on his arm. "It's not your fault." I whispered, my face upturned to his, my eyes sincere. My words drew him short. Then he shoved against me, but kept his hands on my shoulders, so I was still pinned.

"You know nothing about what happened."

"You never would have tried to hurt her." Roger started to...almost wilt. He backed away and sat on the bare mattress that took up most of the small room. Tentatively, I sat down next to him. "I saw how much you loved her. It isn't your fault." He looked at me, our eyes locking. It's cheesy, but there was some...understanding that passed between us.

"You're a lot like our uncle, you know that?" His seaweed green eyes were intent on mine.

"Don't say that." His lips tightened.

"It was meant as a compliment."

"It wasn't taken that way." I paused, regretting having snapped back like that. "I know. Just...please don't compare me to him." I could tell that there wasn't a lot of things Roger and I would disagree with, but the Uncle who was not my uncle was one thing. A big one.

OOC

My final dedications for the story thus far are to crzyRENThead, who is probably my favorite reveiwer. Can you beat her? Huh? Well, can yah?
And also all to all the people who have added this story to your alerts list--No matter if you reveiwed or not. You also gave me that push I needed to keep writing. Now I have about 4 chapters to get up!
But I'm sure you guys would have left helpful reveiws. Hint, hint