Disclaimer- Rent was created by the late great Jonathon Larson and is owned by his estate and many other people who were not me. Relax and enjoy the ride.

Santa Fe

By A Guy Named Goo

"Collins, honey?"

The voice was soft. Collins almost thought he'd imagined it, or dreamt it. But his eyes opened anyway, and he glanced over in the bed. Sure enough, Angel was awake, his breathing labored. He leaned forward and took his hand, looking him in the eye.

"Are you all right? Do you need anything?" Collins asked urgently. "Do you need me to get a nurse?" Angel usually didn't wake up Collins unless he needed anything, after all.

Angel shook his head and swallowed. Collins lifted up the plastic cup of water on his bedside and held the straw to his lips, but when he tried to take a drink he choked a little. Collins put the cup aside and climbed into the bed with him as he had so many times before, pulling him into his arms and patting his back until he finished coughing.

Angel lifted his head as much as he could to look up at Collins, the look in his eyes one of pleading. "Just talk to me? Please?"

Collins began to pet him lightly, afraid he would hurt his fragile body more that it already was. "Talk about what?" he asked him, his own voice suddenly quiet.

Angel shook his head slightly, then rested his head just underneath Collin's chin, on his collarbone. "I don't know. I just want to hear you talk to me." He smiled weakly. "How about Santa Fe?"

Collins swallowed and began to rock Angel a little in his arms. "Santa Fe?"

Angel nodded again. "Tell me about when I finally get out of here, honey. Tell me about when we move to Santa Fe."

"Santa Fe..." Collins parroted. Angel laughed, but didn't comment on the fact that it was the only thing he'd said thus far. He didn't have to. "When you get out of here, you and I are gonna get a car. Or a van, since I don't think a car will hold all of your clothes. And we'll pack up everything we own, and we'll drive out west to Santa Fe."

Angel coughed a little. "And how will we get this van?"

Collins smiled, hoping that the tears in his eyes didn't spill onto the top of Angel's head. "I'll hack into an ATM. I'll change the code, so all I have to do is punch it in and get all the money we need. I'll change the code to something I'll never forget: A-N-G-E-L. And we'll buy the biggest, nicest van that money can buy."

"And what about when we get to Santa Fe?" Angel further prompted.

"I'll hit every ATM I see on the way out west, and get all the money we need to rent an apartment and buy a restaurant. Nothing fancy. We'll get some old shithole everyone's forgotten about, and we'll get to work. You'll make the place look fabulous, of course. People will want to come from far and wide to see the job you did on it."

"And you?"

"I'm not going to take the spotlight off of you, baby."

"But it's your idea, too."

"Then I'll stand next to you and greet people when they come in. I'll hand out menus, and I'll chat with the customers as they come in. We'll have the most popular restaurant in all of Santa Fe. People will ask you about what the next great fashion will be, since you always know before the designers even know, and you'll play the drums and entertain the guests through dinner. And the menu will be full of your charm and wit with every item's description."

Angel was breathing heavier now, and Collins' voice dropped even lower as he continued to weave their fantasy. "And eventually, all of our friends will come out to see us, too. Roger and Mimi will be together, and Mark will have finished his documentary, and Maureen and Joanne will have worked out their problems, too. Even Benny will have gotten the stick out of his ass, and when he shows up, we'll bring him to the nicest table and serve him the best meal on the house. That'll show him what a shithead he's been."

Collins tried to laugh at his own comment, but it morphed into a sob. "Everyone will be together and happy, and we won't worry about anything anymore. We'll just drink and eat and laugh and have fun. Roger will finish his song, and we'll let him perform it at the restaurant, so when he gets famous we'll get even more popular than we were. We'll let Mark show all of his movies, and Maureen hold her performances, and Bohemia will live again in Santa Fe. You'll see. And we'll always let Bohemians come in, even if they can't pay, and let them push the tables together, and let them perform and express themselves."

Angel wasn't moving anymore, and Collins slid his hand away from his hair to his neck. Sure enough, he couldn't find a pulse. He sobbed again, and continued to talk. "And we'll always be together, Angel. Happy and healthy and always together. You and me, and eventually all of our friends." He kissed the top of his head. "I love you so much."

Still sobbing, he reached behind him and hit the button to summon the nurse.