A/N: I was bored. XD Hope you like this. R&R please!
Roger Davis sat on the tattered couch at the loft, strumming some chords on his guitar. He liked to get away; escape from the world through his music...well, what he wanted to be music. Inspiration just hadn't been coming to him since April had died.
He had been lost in thought until the sliding door to the loft opened, breaking his concentration.
He abruptly looked up to see his girlfriend, Mimi Marquez, standing at the doorway. Her eyes were red and puffy; she'd clearly been crying. Which could only mean that she had come from visiting Angel at the hospital that day.
But still, Roger asked, "Where've you been?" just to start some kind of conversation. He and Mimi had been arguing on-and-off for quite some time. Some days they'd talk, some days they'd barely say a word to each other. Sometimes Mimi would leave the loft and not come back for hours, not even telling Roger where she'd been.
Roger could only think of three things Mimi would possibly be doing during those nights: working at the Cat-Scratch Club, getting herself some smack, or visiting Angel.
"Where do you think I've been?" was Mimi's reply. "I've been with Angel all this time." She walked over to the couch and sat down beside Roger, burying her face into her hands.
Roger sighed. "How is he?"
Mimi looked up at him, her big brown eyes filled with sadness, and replied, "Not good. She won't admit it, but, hell, Roger, it takes all her strength just to freakin' blink...It'll be a miracle if she hangs on another couple of days." She took a shaky breath, and then continued, "Angel has always been strong for me...I'm trying to be strong for her. But I just...I just can't..."
Next thing he knew, Roger was pulling Mimi into his arms and stroking her hair, whispering that everything would be okay. Mimi was shaking uncontrollably, clutching his shirt. Roger was upset, too, though he didn't dare show it. Angel had been the one who'd held the entire group of friends together. Losing her would just tear everyone apart.
"Roger..." Mimi muttered through her sobs, "...You're the only one who hasn't gone to see her alone...she wants to...see you..."
Roger blinked. Angel had actually requested to see him? Sure, he had visited her, but he had always been with Mark or Mimi or Maureen and Joanne...never alone. He felt awkward being alone in situations like that.
Mimi let out a little cry and looked up at him. "Roger...please? She'll be gone soon. She wants to see you...I think she wants to say goodbye, even though she won't really say it in words...Angel loves you just as much as she loves all of us...She's not...she's not gonna leave without saying goodbye to all of us..."
Roger nodded. "Yeah...Yeah, I'll go see him...her tomorrow...Shh, it's okay..." He leaned down to give her a kiss on the lips.
Mimi was right. Angel didn't have much time left. Hell, none of them had a lot of time left, but Angel...
"Roger?"
Roger laced his fingers with Mimi's. "Yeah?"
"Bring your guitar. Play her a song."
Trying not to disturb Angel in case she was asleep, Roger creaked the door that led to her room open as quietly as possible. He peeked his head through to see Angel sitting up in bed reading a magazine. Hearing the door open, Angel looked up from her magazine and smiled brightly.
"Hi, Roger!" she said. Her voice was hoarse and her skin looked pale, but she never let go of that smile of hers.
Roger cleared his throat awkwardly and stepped into the room. "Where's Collins?" he asked.
"Getting something to eat in the cafeteria, but—" Angel cut herself off by breaking into a fit of coughing for about thirty seconds, and then continued, "...But that's only because I literally had to force him out of the room. He doesn't want to leave me alone even for a minute...Ooh! You brought your guitar?"
Roger nodded. "Uh-huh."
Angel clapped her hands excitedly, gesturing towards the chair beside the bed that Collins usually sat in when he wasn't lying on the bed next to her. "Sit down. Collins won't be back for a while. I told him to do a bunch of errands for me...to keep him busy, you know?"
He did as he was told. "What do you want me to play?"
"Anything," replied Angel, "I just love the way you play. It wouldn't matter to me."
Roger decided to play a song he'd written years ago for his band. It was slow, but not too slow. He picked up his guitar, glanced at a very excited Angel, and began to play. He let the music take him away once again, singing along to his guitar softly.
When he'd finished, he looked over at Angel. She clearly had tears in her eyes.
Shit...I didn't mean to make him cry... Roger thought.
Angel closed her eyes and let out a sigh. "That was beautiful..." she muttered.
"Thanks..." Roger replied. At least she'd liked what he'd played. Why she was crying, though, he wasn't quite sure of.
Angel wiped the tears from her eyes. "Sorry. It's just...that's probably the last time I'd ever hear you play again." She smiled weakly.
And that was when Roger completely let himself go. He picked up his guitar once more, and belted out another song. Then another. He wanted Angel to enjoy her last moments...and if she wanted him to play his music for her, that was what he'd do. Whenever he'd glance over at Angel, she would be staring right at him, completely intrigued, or closing her eyes, smiling while listening to the music.
Finally, after finishing his third song, Roger looked up to find Angel asleep. Her breathing was slow and deep, her features relaxed. He sighed, got up out of the chair, and headed towards the door.
"Roger..."
He looked back to see Angel looking at him, her eyelids fluttering open and closed. "...Take care of Mimi...She...loves you."
"Yeah...Yeah, I will..." Roger muttered, looking away from Angel.
She smiled. "Good."
He was about to walk away once more, when she called his name again. "Roger..."
"Yeah?"
"...'Bye."
Roger knew that the goodbye meant a lot more than a simple 'see-ya-later'. A lump formed in his throat.
"Bye," he choked.
Roger ran into Collins while walking down the hallway towards the elevator.
"Hey, Rog," Collins said, pulling Roger into a friendly hug.
"Hey," muttered Roger, looking down at the floor.
"You went to see her, huh?"
"Yeah..."
Collins glanced down at Roger's guitar. "You play for her?"
Roger nodded.
"That's all she wanted." Collins sighed heavily, and gave Roger a pat on the back before walking away.
Take care of Mimi...She loves you...
"I'll try, Angel," Roger muttered as he walked into the brisk autumn air, "I'll try."