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Meeting Families and Angels

A white light . . .

It was beautiful . . .

Was she dead?

No. No, she couldn't be dead . . .

They needed her . . .

"Josephine."

Wait . . . who was that?

A figure appeared.

"Jo."

The light dimmed and in front of her stood a beautiful drag queen. She knew this person. She had seen pictures and film . . .

"Angel?"

Angel smiled, "Hello Honey." She said, hugging Jo.

"Am I . . .?"

"No, Honey. Not yet." Angel reassured, "I just wanted to meet you and tell you how good you are doing. I've never seen Mark so happy." Angel placed her arm around Jo and walked with her.

Jo smiled.

"Collins misses you." She said, walking in pace with Angel.

"I know, but he's doing a good job without me. Tom hasn't left your side yet. The doctors are telling him what's going on."

Jo cocked her head, "What is going on?"

Angel smiled, "You're in a semi-coma. The doctors have stopped the bleeding and patched you up. Your body's healing, and that's why you're here."

Jo nodded, thinking. "And Mark?"

"Beginning withdrawal and calling for you." Angel said sadly, "Roger's taking care of him and helping him ride it out without methadone." She sighed, "He's not doing well."

Tears threatened to fall from Jo's eyes, "And Ray?"

"Dead. You got him; single bullet to the head. He killed a lot of girls while he was alive; a lot of innocents. I'm glad you fought back chica." Angel hugged Jo again.

Jo smiled behind her tears. "Me too."

RENTRENTRENTRENTRENTRENTRENTRENTRENTRENTRENTRENTRENT

"Jo!" Mark fought and flailed, trying to escape Roger's hold around his torso.

"Mark, calm down! She's okay!" Roger tried to reassure his sweating, shaking friend.

"Then why can't I see her?!" Mark desperately pried at Roger's hands.

"Because she hasn't woken up yet, and you're being difficult." Benny said, entering the room, crossing his arms and scowling at Mark.

Mark scowled back, winter-blue eyes hard behind scraggly blonde hair.

"Your family's here." Benny said as Roger plopped Mark down on the hospital bed.

"No." Mark was visibly shaking, "No, I don't want them here." He was obviously upset.

"I can't send them away." Benny replied, "They're here with Jo's family."

Mark's eyes got wide. "What?"

Roger placed a hand on Mark's shoulder. "Mark, she told them her name. She's Josephine May again."

Mark breathed shakily. He remembered her expressing a wish to let her family know she was alive but he didn't expect it to be this soon.

His hospital door opened to reveal Martha, Jacob and Cindy Cohen.

"NO!" Mark struggled to get out of the bed. "I want them gone! Tell them to go! Leave me ALONE!"

"Mark . . ." Martha tried to communicate with her son.

"No!" I don't want you here!" Mark spat out harshly, shocking his mother and sister and visibly testing his father's temper.

"Mark!" Roger held down the trashing blonde, "Mark listen to me!" But, being stubborn and uncooperative, he refused. "Mark, would you fucking CALM DOWN!" Roger's throaty voice boomed. Mark stopped struggling out of shock. "I know you don't want them here but you need to calm down! Jo wouldn't want you to be like this. Now, she may not be here right now but she will be and she'll throw a fucking bitch fit if you don't cool it! And you know she will!" Mark watched Roger carefully, still shaking. "She's going to be in a bitchy mood when she wakes up anyway so it would be a good idea to cool it for her so she doesn't go off on you and you'll both be pissy." Benny and the Cohen family watched Roger communicate with Mark. "I know withdrawal hurts. Trust me, I've been through it. But it's not the end of the world. You've got a family backing you up. And we're not going anywhere, okay?" Mark had calmed down significantly. He looked into Roger's emerald eyes and nodded.

"Okay . . ."

RENTRENTRENTRENTRENTRENTRENTRENTRENTRENTRENTRENTRENT

Collins sat next to Jo in her hospital room. Maureen, Joanne and Mimi sat in the bluish-green hospital chairs around Jo's bed, waiting for the May family to come and see their long-lost daughter.

"She's gonna be okay, right?" Maureen choked out, looking expectantly at Collins.

"I don't know." Collins replied weakly.

"Honey-bear, I'm sure she'll pull through. She's strong." Joanne tried to comfort her lover.

"I know, but what if . . .?"

"Reena," Mimi took the diva's hand, "Don't think about 'what ifs'. Think about today. No day but today, right?"

Maureen watched Mimi for a moment before squeezing her hand, "No day but today."

"Josephine?" A maternal voice asked. Immediately, the Bohos turned to find a man, a woman and a child standing in the doorway.

Collins immediately saw the resemblance between these people and Jo.

"Mr. and Mrs. May?" He asked, slowly standing up to face Jo's family.

"Yes?" Margaret looked upset. But of course, why wouldn't she be?

Collins walked towards the family, "My name is Tom Collins. This is Mimi Marquez, Maureen Johnson and Joanne Jefferson. We're some of Jo's friends."

"Jo?" Jo's father, Thomas, asked.

"Your daughter," Joanne clarified. "She's been going by Jo for the past 10 years. I'm going to be representing her in court."

"Court? Why does she need to go to court?" Thomas quietly demanded.

Collins looked at the Mays and sighed, "Mr. May, Jo . . . Killed the man who kidnapped her all those years ago."

"What?!"

"Mr. and Mrs. May, she won't go to jail." Joanne hastily explained, "It was self-defense. He took Mark to emotionally break Jo but they both had the same plan for when they met. They shot each other but Jo survived."

"Mark was taken?"

"And forced to become addicted to heroin," Mimi finished, "That's why Mark's here going through withdrawal."

"Momma?" Little Emma asked, ocean-blue eyes gazing at her sister. "Wha's goin' on?"

Maureen spotted Emma and gasped. Margaret crouched down to Emma's level, "Emma, that's your big sister." She motioned to the bed where Jo was.

"Sister?" Emma looked at her mother curiously.

"Sister?!" The Bohos were shocked.

Margaret nodded to Emma. "Yes, Emma; that's your sister. Her name is Josephine."

Emma's gaze returned to Jo. "Wha's wring wit her?"

Margaret started to cry. She didn't want to break Emma's innocence by telling her the truth but she didn't want to lie to the child either. "She's . . . Josie's . . . Josie got hurt by a bad man and she's here to get better." Margaret tried to compromise.

"Does she need a kiss to make it better?"

"No Emma, a kiss won't do a lot for her." Thomas said, picking up his little girl and taking her over to her sister. "But it might help if you introduce yourself to her. She's been away for a long time so she doesn't know you just yet.

The Bohos and the Mays watched as Emma climbed down from her Daddy's arms and walked up next to Jo.

"Josie?" she asked, watching to see if her long lost sister would do anything. When Jo did not move, Emma tried again, "Josie? Are ya sleepin'?" Emma took Jo's hand, her small hand contrasting with Jo's grown one.

Mimi stood up and made her way towards Emma. "Emma?" she addressed the 5 year old. "My name is Mimi, I'm one of Jo's best friends." Emma looked up to Mimi, acknowledging her presence. "Jo's going to be asleep for a while. She needs to get better and sleeping will help."

"Is she gonna wake up?" Emma's ocean-blue eyes looked hopefully into Mimi's chocolate-brown ones.

Mimi smiled, "I think so. She's really strong."

Emma turned back to Jo. "Yeah . . ."

RENTRENTRENTRENTRENTRENTRENTRENTRENTRENTRENTRENTRENT

Amber, Ella, Lena and Kaila ran through the winding hallways of Mercy Hospital, desperately trying to find Jo's room: number 371. Their flight from San Francisco to
New York had taken longer than they wanted. And now they were trying to navigate their way to Jo's hospital room. Amber was in hysterics. Naturally, Kaila was comforting her while Ella and Lena argued about which way to go. They were getting closer when they passed by a room that caught Amber's eye.

"Wait . . ." She croaked out, halting her companions.

"What?" Lena snapped irritably.

Amber pointed into the room. "Mark," She stated simply. Four pairs of eyes peered into the room to find Mark asleep on the hospital bed, shaking. In a chair next to Mark was a fit young man with scraggly, dirty blonde hair. He looked asleep. Kaila entered the room, careful not to wake its inhabitants and looked at Mark's chart that hung at the end of his bed. What she read shocked her. Diagnosis: Heroin Withdrawal.

"Oh god," She uttered. Suddenly, the man in the chair started to stir.

"Kaila!" Ella whispered harshly, "Get back here!" Kaila tried to quickly and quietly put the clipboard back but failed and dropped it, making a bang on the floor.

Roger jumped up out of his chair, now fully awake. He immediately noticed the intruders.

"Who are you and why are you here?" He demanded quietly so as not to disturb the heavily medicated blonde.

"We're . . . um . . ." Kaila was speechless.

"We're Jo's friends from San Fran." Ella spoke for Kaila, "We've met Mark before when Amber had her accident."

Roger immediately calmed down. "You're looking for Jo, right?" The girls nodded, "She's a few rooms down. She hasn't woken up yet but I think Collins is there with the girls."

"And you are?" Lena was hinting the need for an introduction.

"Roger Davis: Mark's best friend and roommate and Mimi's boyfriend."

"Lena Winchester, Ella Burgess, Amber Maguire and Kaila Nallia; we're Jo's best friends and roommates." Kaila replied.

"What happened to Mark?" Amber studied the pale, shaking figure in the bed.

Roger sighed, "Have Collins tell you . . . I can't . . ." he went back to his chair, picked up his guitar and started playing Mussetta's Waltz softly.

The girls took this as their cue to leave.

Hope you all liked this chapter . . . and remember: Review and I shall update!!