A/N- I'm baaaack! My vacation was wonderful. And I wrote this toward the end. I thought it was a very good alternate universe idea, since I haven't done one of those yet. Because there was no internet up in the mountains, I wrote and wrote and wrote. I've got all of them done except for Angel, Benny, and Joanne. I've got Joanne figured out but Angel and Benny is sort of getting to me. This is where you come in. I need your help for ideas.
Anyway, this idea is basically what would happen to the eight main characters, had RENT not happened. Just, in my mind. Hope you enjoy!

"Order up!" Collins said loudly, ringing a bell from behind a counter. He smiled at the waitress as she took the plate away toward a table full of rowdy teenagers. Collins didn't mind them though. They made each day worth it. He pulled his apron off and sat it down on a chair.

"Adelle, I'm heading home. Close up for me will you?"

"Sure thing, boss."

Collins smiled and walked out the back way, out into the balmy weather of Santa Fe. He looked up at the setting sun and wiped a bit of sweat away from his brow. Santa Fe was wonderful. His restaurant was doing great. Even on the slow months he managed.

And to think, he'd wanted to go to New York and get a job there.

He was happy he'd given up teaching a few years after college. Going to Santa Fe was the best decision he'd ever made. After a couple of days, he realized it was going to be his new home. It only took a few months for him to open up a restaurant, with a helpful loan from his mother.

Collins had a few friends. Mostly the people he worked with, like Adelle. She was an older woman, who had a few kids and went from boyfriend to boyfriend. Since she always managed to run the restaurant whenever he wasn't around, Collins never felt guilty slipping her extra in her paycheck.

Then there was Bernie. He delivered the ice every Monday. Collins would always give him a free plate of food, and the relationship grew from there. Every Monday they would sit out back with coffee and talk about what was happening in town.

When he reached the small apartment he was staying in, he smiled and unlocked the door. As soon as he was inside, he grabbed a book and sat down on the couch. He was happy, healthy, and definitely not lonely.

He laughed as he thought of how easily he could've given it all up.