Okay! So, first off, I want to thank Mrs. James Norrington for actually reading and reviewing Chapter 4. I was losing hope for this story, and she encouraged me and actually convinced me to get off my lazy ass and write up a new chapter. So, thank you for the reviews! XD They meant a lot to me.
Disclaimer: I do not own Rent. Jonathan Larson owns all, minus baby and whacked out girl. Read, please review and tell me what you think!, and I hope you enjoy this. :)
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Roger stood outside the loft during Mark's confession to Maureen
Roger stood outside the loft during Mark's confession to Maureen. In an attempt to hear through the thick sliding door, Roger held his ear against it. Nothing. Straining to hear the slightest of noise after not being able to hear anything at all, he pressed his whole body against it, listening close.
"I can't believe you! You...you fucking pig!"
Maureen was closer to the door than Roger had thought, and jumped back in just enough time. Maureen stormed out of the loft, red in the face and very angry looking. She slammed the loft door shut with such a force, Roger could feel the floor shake beneath his feet. As Maureen hurried down the hall and stairs, Roger stood there, his eyebrows so high on his face, they were almost lost in his mess of wavy curls. He kept his eyes in the direction Maureen had gone. This was not how he'd expected her to react at all. He thought she'd have at least some understanding. After all, this was Mark's first – and only – mess-up in their relationship. He thought she'd accept it and forgive him, especially since she was always out sleeping with other men behind Mark's back.
Roger was dragged out of his thoughts when he heard an annoying, loud cry come from inside the loft. He didn't need to press himself up against the door to hear it.
Roger opened the loft door quickly and looked at Mark, who was now kneeling in front of the wailing baby, frantically trying to quiet it down. Roger walked over next to Mark, and looked down at the screaming pink bundle, eyes wide.
"What happened?!" Roger asked Mark loudly over the baby's wails.
"Maureen woke it up by slamming the door! Shh...be quiet, please!...Shh!" he said, getting more and more frantic as the baby grew louder and louder.
Roger sighed. They were screwed. Absolutely screwed. What did they know about babies? Nothing! They didn't know how to feed it – or what to feed it, even. The thought of taking care of a baby scared him. Hell, they didn't even know how to change a diaper!
And then it hit him.
"Uhh...Mark?" he asked, hesitantly but loudly, louder than before, over the baby.
"Shh! Please! Please be qui – what, Rog? Shh!" Mark asked, getting obviously frustrated on not knowing how to quiet the baby.
"How are we going to change its diapers? I mean...we don't even know if it's a boy or a girl..." he pretty much shouted, the baby was so loud now.
Mark turned to face Roger. He had lost it and given up on trying to shush the baby. His eyes were red, his face was flushed, and he had tears falling down his cheeks.
"Oh yeah," Roger thought while looking at his best friend, "He's definitely not ready for this yet." Mark looked so helpless and scared. He never meant for anything like this to happen!
"I don't know!" he shouted, putting his hands over his ears to block out the cries.
"Oh god, what now?!" Roger thought, panicking slightly. Just then he got a thought.
"Here." he said, picking up the crying baby under its arms, placing it carefully against his broad chest, holding its head like he had seen mothers do in movies. He bounced it gently, not really knowing why or how this would help, but knowing it would. Mark looked up at him, confused.
"What are you – " he started to ask, but was interrupted by Roger shouting at him.
"Go look in that folder she gave you. Maybe there's some sort of birth certificate or something that can give us more information."
Mark nodded in agreement, and quickly got off the floor and went over to the metal table where they had put the folder when they brought the baby inside. Roger gently bounced the baby, shushing it every now and then. After a few minutes, Roger had quieted the baby down a considerable amount. The only noise coming out of the baby now was a soft whine.
"Aha!" Mark exclaimed after a few more minutes of searching through the contents of the thick folder.
"Well?" Roger asked, still bouncing the baby.
Mark quietly scanned over the birth certificate he found. After reading it, he sighed and walked over to Roger. He placed his hand on the baby's back. It was so small, his hand and fingers could took up its whole back easily. He could feel its shallow breaths as it quieted down its crying.
"Well? What is it?" Roger asked, getting annoyed, while looking at the silent film maker.
Mark looked at the baby, a look of sadness and pure bliss both etched onto his face.
"I have a little baby girl." he said quietly, stroking her soft, strawberry-blonde hair – a stunning combination of both her parent's hair colors.
"Oh, Mark." Roger said smiling, looking down at the baby. She had stopped crying completely, and was now smiling and cooing.
"Her name's Annalise. Annalise Cynthia Cohen." he said fondly. Roger furrowed his brow in confusion and looked up at Mark.
"'Cohen'? You can't just go changing her name now that that girl just dumped her on your doorstep!" he told Mark sternly.
"No!" Mark defended himself quickly. "That's what it says on her birth certificate! 'Annalise Cynthia Cohen'!" Mark held up the paper in front of Roger to prove it. After Roger read it over, he raised his eyebrows and looked at Mark.
"She's only two weeks old." he said.
"That explains why she's so tiny."
Both men were silent. Mark continued to stoke her light hair, and Roger just looked at Mark, who was adapting to, or at least beginning to, his new child. Roger looked back down at Annalise, who yawned and turned her head to look at Mark.
"Umm...Roger?" Mark asked timidly.
"Mmm?" he answered, looking back up at Mark.
"Do you think I could...you know...?" he asked, extending his arms slightly.
Roger smiled. "Yeah, man, it's your kid!" he chuckled and carefully transferred her from his arms to Mark's awaiting arms.
Mark took her and cradled her in his arms. He sat down on the couch and looked at the little life drifting off to sleep in his arms. She yawned again and nuzzled her head into Mark's crest.
"Wow..." Mark whispered, and stroked her hair with his right hand. "Just...wow..."
Roger smiled at the sight before him.
Thinking Mark would like this time alone with his new daughter, Roger crossed the loft to his room. Taking one more glance back at Mark, he could hear him whisper, "Shh...it's alright now...you're alright now...Daddy's here...shh..." As Mark leaned down and softly kissed the sleeping infant's forehead, Roger smiled to himself and quietly shut the door.
Maybe he was wrong. Maybe Mark was ready to try this Dad thing after all.
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So, what did you think? I thought it was pretty good, espcially for writing it at 3AM during a thunder/lightning storm. But, I find storms (that aren't deadly - lol Swinners) quite calming. I hope you enjoyed it! Please review and tell me what you think. :D
OH! And before I go - I thought I'd share why I chose the name 'Annalise Cynthia' for the baby:
- Honestly, the first name was chosen because sometimes when I don't pay attention, I tend to hear things differently than what they really are. This one time I was listening to "I'll Cover You" and I thought that, instead of Angel and Collins singing, "A new lease, you are my love!", I thought they said, "Annalise, you are my love!", and I got utterly confused for a second there. So, I thought it'd be nice to stick to my own silly mistake. XP
- As for Cynthia, no, I did not name it after Mark's sister (even though it's a nice coincidence!) I named her Cynthia after my aunt, who passed away this past winter. I loved her very much, and I don't think it was very fair that she had to leave us so early in her life. She pretty much introduced me to Broadway when I was very young (her brother was actually on BWay for a few years, as the Phantom! XD) so, I thought it'd be nice to name the baby after her. :) RIP Aunty Cindy!
ANYWHO! R+R and ENJOY! D
-EB91
A/N 8.6.08 - I deleted this chapter only to edit the age of Annalise. I looked up 3-month olds, and honestly, that's not how I pictured Annalise at all. I pictured her much smaller - a newborn. Sooo...instead of her being 3 months old, I changed it to two weeks old. That's the only difference from before. I hope you enjoy. :)
