Rent Next Generation

Disclaimer: As always I do not own Rent. But I respect Jonathon Larson…who did write Rent.

Chapter 17: No day but today

Roger sat in the ally, holding the needle in his hand. What difference did it make now? Maybe it would be better if he just gave in to the AIDS. Randi and Donna would be taken care of; Mark's raised three kids, well now he was going to raise Mitchel and Allan as well. It seemed unfair to just hand Mark his children, but Mark wouldn't give them away, he'd take care of them. Randi and Donna…even Donna might not believe it at first, but Randi would believe Roger abandon them. It was better they hated him, then if one day they do find him where ever in the country, he'd be either dead or close to it. And Mimi…Mimi was already dead, waiting for him somewhere. It took almost 8 months for drugs to affect Mimi; he'd need to do it faster than that. He knew his family would come looking for him, they wouldn't just sleep tight well they knew he was on a street somewhere, doing god knows what. He really should have left town before shooting himself up for the first time in 20 years. But he did have to start this as soon as possible; once it started there was no going back. He tied it around his arm, and hit his vein, now only one step left…He put the needle against his arm, ready to inject it.

"Over here Cameron! Hurry!" Randi screamed, she remembered the place where Roger and April use to shoot heroin. When Randi was learning about drugs in health, that was when Roger and Mimi told her about their addictions, but the consequences that came from them. Randi remembered feeling embarrassed and uncomfortable after that chat, now she could only hope she could save Roger in time to have a thousand more chats like that one. Only Randi would be the one lecturing.

"Dad?" She called out, as she entered the dark ally with Cameron following. She stopped as she saw Roger, and the needle against his arm, he was really going to do it. She started running over to her Dad.

"Dad!" She screamed, Roger looked up. At first glance he thought it was Mimi running towards him. Had he died of some unknown cause before he could do it himself? Then he realized, it wasn't Mimi, it was his daughter…Miranda Davis.

"Randi?" Roger asked. Roger dropped the needle Randi feel to her knees and wrapped her arms around him, sobbing as he held her. He untied his arm, releasing the circulation in his arm. And then hugged Randi. Randi pulled away wiping tears from her eyes.

"What were you thinking?" Randi asked.

"I couldn't live without her…" Roger said. "I tried but it was too much."

"What about Me and Donna?" Randi asked. "Were living on…"

"You two don't have AIDS; you're expected to have long lives." Roger told her. "I only have a few years."

"Your expected to live a few years, but Dad, you've been expect to live a few years for about 18 years now. But your still here and you have two daughters who spent all night looking for you, along with your daughter's trusted love slave." Randi said.

"Hey!" Cameron shouted. "Cameron Roger Cohen is no one's love slave."

"But my point is Dad, today HIV isn't a death sentence anymore, neither is AIDS." Randi said. "And besides, when you first quit drugs, we're you quitting for me, Donna, and Mom?"

"I didn't even know your Mom then." Roger admitted.

"Exactly, you quit for yourself… You should live life if not for me and Donna, but for yourself." Roger smiled. Maybe things weren't completely alright, but he had a feeling they would be.

"God, Randi your right, what was I thinking?" Roger asked.

"Well, thanks to your emotional ways, you weren't thinking." Randi said. "Dad, I'll help you heal, if you help me, Okay?" Roger nodded.

"We'll help each other." Randi helped Roger up.

"Let's go find everyone else and go home." Randi said. "Come along love slave!"

"Randi, this joke is going to get really old, really fast." Cameron said, but you could here the laughter in his voice.

Things continued for the bohemian family. Brooke and Mark planned for their extremely small wedding, Mitchel and Allan spent time with the entire family, and seem to be slowly working their way in. And Roger goes out for walks. But Randi's always by his side. Roger didn't think of it as a walk where she was watching him, but more as a walk as Father and Daughter.

"So you and Cameron are pretty close, huh?" Roger asked, well they were walking.

"Yeah." Randi responded.

"So, when will there be wedding bells for you two?" Randi pushed Roger.

"Dad! For god sakes, we're only seventeen!" She shouted.

"A lot of people think that's not young enough." Roger said. "But seriously, you think he's the one?"

"I don't know…I mean I can't see myself with anyone else, but Cameron and me…we have this bond where we're more than just boyfriend and girlfriend…we're best friends." Randi said. "And it seems weird to marry your best friend."

"Honey, one day your going to realize, a lot of people Marry their best friends, just because there your best friends. That's what a good marriage is based on…trust, love, compromise, and teamwork. All the things best friends do for each other." Roger told her. "And I know you're scared, because you'd still want Cameron to be your friend if things didn't work out…Cameron's not the kind of person to hold grudges or hate someone. Maybe he'll avoid you for a few days, but Cameron will always be your friend…just Like I'm always going to be your Father, and Donna will always be your sister." Randi smiled, maybe he didn't rid her of all her bad feelings, but she felt just a little more confident that Cameron and her would last. Roger looked at his watch.

"We have to hurry home! My concerts in two hours!" Roger said, Randi and Roger ran home. Later that night Roger was performing on a bar stage. He finished his song "Your eyes" In honor of Mimi. Everyone was cheering and clapping.

"Rock on Roger!" Brooke, Maureen, and Joanne screamed. Roger adjusted the mic.

"Maureen, sit down before you embarrass yourself!" Roger said.

"How come they don't have to sit down?" Maureen asked.

"Because I'm not embarrassed by them." Roger said, everyone laughed. Harris who was right next to his Mother leaned in.

"You just got your ass fried Mom." Harris said.

"You're grounded." Maureen said sitting down. When the laughing stopped, Roger continued.

"For my next song, I'm going to need my daughter's Randi and Donna up here." Everyone clapped as Donna and Randi joined Roger on stage. "Ready, one, two, three." Roger started playing the guitar, it sounded like another day, with more rock in it.

"Who do you think you are? Barging in, on me and my guitar, little girl hey, the door is that way. You better go, you know the fire is out anyway." Roger started to sing, Randi and Donna started singing Backup.

"Take your powder!" "Take your powder."

"Take your candle!" "That bright candle!"

"Your sweet whisper I just can't handle." "Can't handle your whisper!"

"Well take your hair and the moon light…your brown eyes goodbye good night!" Roger stopped as Donna took the mic.

"I should tell you, I should tell you, I should tell you…I should..." Randi cut her off.

"No! Another time, another place. Our temperature would rise. There'd be a long embrace. We'd do another dance…It'd be another play. Looking for Romance…come back another day!" Randi sang.

"Another day!" Roger and Randi sang together. Donna took the mic again.

"The heart may freeze…or it can burn…the pain will ease…if I can learn…There is no Future. There is no past. I live each moment as….My last…." Donna sang. "There's only us, there's only this, forget regret. Of life is yours to miss, no other road, no other way, No day but today!" Roger cut in again.

"Excuse me if I'm off track, but if you're so wise then tell me! Why do you need smack?" Randi and him started singing together. "Take your needle, take your fancy prayer, and don't forget get the moon light out of your hair. Long ago you might have lit up my heart, But the fires dead and never ever gonna start!" Randi and Donna did backup again.

"Another time, another place." "A different place!"

"The words would only rhyme." "They'd only rhyme!"

"We'd be outer space." "It be a different place."

"It'd be another song!" "Another song."

"We'd sing another way!" "A different way."

They sang together again.

"You wanna prove me wrong, come back another day….Another day…" Donna took the mic once again.

"There's only us, only tonight! We must let go, to know what's right, no other road, no other way. No day but today…." They all sang together.

"I can't control….My destiny….I trust my soul…My only goal is just….to be!" Roger sang again.

"Just let me be." They sang together again.

"There's only now, there's only here, give in to love, or live in fear, No other path, no other way…." Donna stepped forward and sang.

"No day but today!"

"The fires out anyway!" Roger sang. Randi joined Donna.

"No day but today!"

"Take your powder…Take your candle..."

"No day but today..."

"Take your brown eyes, your pretty smile, your silhouette."

"No day but today."

"Another time, another place, another rhyme, a warm embrace!" Roger joined them for the last line.

"No day but today…" The guitar stopped. Everyone in the room stood up and cheered. Randi grabbed Donna's hand as they bowed. Roger put his guitar down and hugged both the girls. When he stopped the held hands and bowed to the crowd. Randi herd whistling, she saw Cameron smiling at her. She smiled back. If last Christmas, you asked her if she thought she'd be with Cameron, she would have said no. But now, she couldn't imagine her life without Cameron…or Roger, Donna, Mark, Reese, Fay, Joanne, Maureen, Harris, Gina, Collins, Isabella, Beckon, or….Mimi. But something's she couldn't prevent. Something's she couldn't help…Like how Mimi died…Or how she would die without Cameron…Or How the past year she had been through hell, heaven, and earth like a crazy roller coaster. And who knows what the next years, months, or even days might bring. She knew one thing…..She would not regret any day because there was indeed…No day but today.

The end

Well this is the final chapter of Rent: Next Generation…But I've already started a sequel called Rent: Next Season. Here's a preview for it.

(It's the beginning of a new year, and if you thought this year was hectic, wait till you read about this year. As Cameron, Randi, and Isabella enter their senior year of school. Of all of them are trying to get scholarships for the New York state College of arts. However first they have to get in, before they can worry about how their going to pay. Harris and Fay start writing a play, but when things get tough, they blame each other. Fay thinks Harris is cheating on her with other girls, well Harris thinks Fay is cheating on him with Danny Coffin! Reese has troubles getting along with Brooke's daughter Mitchel, but what happens when he realizes it's more than simple loathing he feels for Mitchel? And when Donna and Atticus have dance class together, what happens when the newly found Goth Donna, falls for the strict and well to do Atticus. Cameron and Randi are more in love then ever, but what happens when they contemplate taking their relationship to the next level? And of course Roger, realizing that in a year, Randi will be off to college, decides that maybe what the Bohemian family needs…is another baby. Roger thinks that he should adopt a baby, but what happens when Mark and Brooke feel the same way? And finally Isabella's the only teenager in the group without a boyfriend or girlfriend…but that changes when she meets and falls in love with an eighteen year old boy from the street who just happens to be HIV positive? Will the family remain strong? Or will this be the end of the Bohemian family? You'll have to read to find out.

I would also like to note, that we owe a great thanks to Jonathon Larson. Who put his heart and sole into writing Rent, but never got to see what a success it became. So thank you Jonathon Larson and may you rest in peace.