Stop & Go

Summary: When Mimi's health declines, Roger takes it upon himself to nurse her back to health, putting a strain on their relationship. When a beautiful stranger is added into the mix, confusion, fear, and a longing to hold onto the past dominates.

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, they're Jonathan Larson's.

Author's Note: This is pretty much the same story as a previous story I started (Without You). I've decided to take a slightly different direction with it, and the way to do that was to start from scratch. Hopefully this one will work better for me. Please review!

Prologue

January 1, 1997

"Tall vanilla bean latté."

"Coming up."

Mark smiled at her response. He loved hearing her voice, even if it was just for the smallest reply. Every time she spoke he tried desperately to remember exactly how she said it, hoping that it might just drown out the sounds of Maureen's shrill voice and Mimi's incessant coughing. He had been hearing a lot of that lately.

Coming up.

He swallowed the last gulp of his coffee and pushed himself away from the small café table. Standing up, Mark wound his scarf around his neck again and removed his coat from the back of the chair. He put it on and picked up the ceramic mug from the table before walking over and placing it on top of the granite counter. The young woman bustling around behind it whirled around quickly at the sound and smiled when she saw Mark.

"See you tomorrow," she told him, wiping her hands on her green apron.

"Bye," he managed to force out, grinning stupidly. Smooth…

She waved and laughed, then spun back around to work, her blonde hair being tossed over her shoulder in the process.

Mark wandered to the entrance of the small café and pushed the glass door open, stepping back outside into the cold January weather. He turned left and journeyed along the sidewalk to Collins' apartment. He, Collins and Maureen had been spending a lot of time there lately.

It had been one week since Mimi's near death experience when Maureen and Joanne found her in the park on Christmas Eve, and her health was definitely not looking up. She had taken to bed and rarely left it. She didn't go outside anymore, never feeling physically strong enough to do so. Mimi was fading fast and everybody around her knew it, save for Roger who constantly tried to block those kinds of thoughts from his mind. He and Mimi had moved back into the loft of the top floor rather than remain in Mimi's place, hoping that if Roger was ever out, it would be easier for Mark to watch her. Mark, however, would usually try to escape the building, hoping he wouldn't have to help out with Mimi. He hadn't seen her in a long time and was afraid to see what was happening, though he'd never admit that to anybody.

Every morning, Mark would make his way over to Collins' apartment where he'd meet Collins and Maureen. They'd spend the day together, talking, joking around, and playing video games on the system that Angel had begged Collins to buy her when she was still around. Then in the afternoon if Collins had a class, Mark and Maureen would hang around in his apartment, catching up and telling each other things they hadn't ever told anybody. They found themselves becoming better friends this way. Later in the evening, Collins would come home and the three friends would eat dinner before returning to their respective homes, which in Mark's case meant going back to the loft and locking himself up in his room, watching old footage of his circle of friends. He felt bad for ditching his friend that way, but he could deal with any of that right now.