Disclaimer: Not mine

"So when are you going to introduce me to your parents?" Mimi asked her boyfriend as they laid in bed one night.

"Never," came Roger's reply.

She glanced up at him, hurt in her dark brown eyes. "Why not?"

"You don't want to meet them."

"Tell me about them."

Roger tried to ignore her.

"What was your dad like?" she pried.

"I don't have a dad."

"Everyone has a dad."

"I don't." He rolled over to face the wall.

"Well, you didn't just hatch from an egg," Mimi sat up. "Just tell me, baby. What was he like?"

"I don't know," he answered. "He died when I was four. His voice was cold.

Mimi felt bad for prying. "I'm sorry," she gently touched his arm.

He shook his head. "You didn't know, it's okay."

She nodded. "What happened?" Curiosity was getting the best of her.

"He was murdered. Shot. He got caught in the middle of a gang war when he was buying his smack. I was sitting in our apartment at the window watching him go down. Then I saw some guys come out of the alley where his dealer was. I started screaming and my mom tried to get me away, but it was too late. I watched my father die. And my mom couldn't tell me that Daddy was a junkie. No, she told me he was taking a short cut to the store to buy me candy. I thought it was my fault that Daddy died." His lip began to quiver as he choked back his tears. "She told me the real story when I was twelve. But I was already too fucked up. A few years later, I picked up his bad habits and here I am."

"Oh my god," she whispered. "Roger, I'm so sorry." She wrapped her skinny arms around him.

He nodded, leaning into her touch. "Your turn. What was your dad like?"

Mimi shrugged. "He drank a lot. I mostly avoided him. He's the reason I left. When I was thirteen, he started beating me and my sisters. When I was fifteen, I just couldn't take it anymore, so I left." She rolled up her pajama sleeve to reveal a long scar on the underside of her arm. "That was the final straw."

Roger touched the jagged line softly. He had seen the scar a million times, but thought nothing of it. After you're clean for a while, all the scars and track marks just seem to fade together, why should that scar be any different? He kissed her softly, his hand drifting down to the growing lump on Mimi's stomach.

Mimi rested her hand on top of his. "I'm glad I don't have to worry about that."

"Worry about that?" Roger laid down, pulling Mimi close.

"Our baby having an abusive and unloving father," she replied, resting her head on his chest.

Roger smiled. "Not a chance in the world." He kissed her softly before closing his eyes. Even though Roger knew he wouldn't be with his baby forever, the time they had would be time well spent.

Fin