In order to read this, you need to go read J.B. first. Mkay? Have fun.

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"Layla, what's going on?"

She didn't look to his eyes, but he knew she was fully aware of his hands on her shoulders. He wouldn't let her go without an answer. "Whose trying to hurt my girl?"

It was a demand that made her both whimper helplessly, and smile at the same time. He pulled her in tightly, wrapping an arm around her waist before placing his hand behind her head.

"It's nobody."

"Lay, that's a lie. Gimme the truth." Her lips covered his quickly, and he couldn't fight the moan at the back of his throat when her fingers found themselves at the edge of his pants. "No." Pulling away, he twirled a digit through her red hair, tugging it lightly so that her pale neck was exposed. His eyes drifted there for a moment, smirking at the old bruises his mouth had made hours - days ago. "Tell me."

"It's…not important. C'mon, can't you get past this?"

"Baby…" He began, stroking her cheek, seeing his reflection in her eyes. Gentle as he could possibly go, his lips feathered over hers, in a teasing way as he continued. "Baby please. You know I'll protect you. Just tell me who it is and he's gone."

"That's the problem." She whispered, her body shaking in his hold. "You'll hurt him."

"Layla, he's hurt you. I know he's got to have. Now tell me who it is before you have to leave. Please." His quiet begging made her sigh, looking down to his neck at his adam's apple. "I've got to protect you."

"It's Jagger." He waited. There was more. "And he hasn't hurt me much… He wants me."

His eyes went dark. "I'll kill'im."

"You see! You see, this is what I was trying to avoid!" Layla whispered hysterically, hitting his chest. "Don't you do it! They'll pick you out like a fox in a henhouse!"

He chuckled low, pressing her against the stone wall to kiss her deeply. "I love you." He mumbled past her mouth, feeling a hand grip his hair as their lips moved slowly. He loved her way of saying things. "So much, Layla Williams."

"You best stop calling me that. I'm not going to be a Williams' in another week or so, you know." She whispered, placing her arms around his neck.

"If anything, everyone here knows you're a Livingston already." He kissed her again, a hand running up her torso to rest just below her right breast. "Already mine forever."

"Lash, I want you to promise me you won't hurt that new boy. He doesn't know any better."

"He needs to learn a lesson." He growled, his body sliding closer and closer to hers with each word. Layla's fingers hooked themselves into his belt loops as her head hit his shoulder, kissing the scent of man mixed with sweat. Her man. "And I'm going to teach him." Lash was her man. And she was his girl.

"Lash…" She began hopelessly, running her fingers through his hair. Her face lifted to watch his own lean up to the ceiling. He released a relieved sigh. This made him feel so…so…

"You are mine." He growled playfully, biting the skin on her neck before tossing her onto his bed. "Only mine."

"Only mine." She echoed, already pulling off his shirt as he shoved her beneath him and the covers.

--

He noticed at once that his beautiful redhead wasn't in the cafeteria. Leg bouncing, his eyes ran across the tops of people's heads, trying to find her. "Where is she." He demanded low, standing to his feet.

It was then that he saw the empty seat at the newbies' table. A growl left his lips, and he immediately knew what had happened.

--

"Quit it!" Layla snarled, the echo of a slap hitting Lash's ears. "Lemme go, you asshole!"

"Never, Layla." Jagger's voice drifted into hearing distance, and he picked up pace in his steps to get to her cell. "I want you to be mine."

"You're too damn late! And even if you weren't, I still would disregard you." Her voice was low and menacing, and Lash glared down at his wrist - the fucking power-neutralizer wasn't going to let him reach her any faster.

"Oh, but girl, you know I can take care of you. Honey choose me."

No, Layla, no. Lash thought angrily, turning a corner. He let a breath into his lungs as his hand had clipped the bars of her cage.

"Lash…" She cried, tears brimming on the edge of her eyes. She had seen him. The rage building inside him only made it boil over tenfold, as he saw Jagger above his fiancée, holding her hands above her head, his knees digging into her legs. But he was thankful that Jagger hadn't taken a notice to him just yet.

"Lash isn't here to save you, baby." He had whispered, rubbing his grubby face into her collarbone, making her scream with horror.

"Yes he is. Get the fuck away from her." Lash snarled, jumping into her cell to grab a hold of Jagger's shoulders, squeezing hard as he slammed him to the ground. With one swift move, Lash held the young man down with such a force that he saw him actually bite back a scream. "Now don't you ever, ever think about touching my girl - so help me I'll kill you myself." Lifting the man's shoulders once, he shoved them back down, listening to the golden sound of skull hitting floor. "Do you understand me?"

"Ye…ye…"

"DO YOU?"

"Yes, sir! Never touch her, got it."

"Good." He growled, getting to his feet and turning to Layla, shaking on her bed. Running a hand through his shaggy hair, he climbed into her arms, his eyes glaring daggers to the man on the cement. "Now leave before I change my mind and kill you now."

They watched him sprint from the cell, never turning back to get a second glance.

"Four years…" Layla sniffed.

"And we've never had this problem. Damned kid needs his eyes and ears checked." Layla sniggered, kissing his jawbone. "We are no one's but our own." His face turned to her, and his eyes were blazing with fury, but sitting next to it was apprehension. "He didn't hurt you?"

"No - I'm okay. You're with me now."

He smirked, picking out her left hand from its resting place on his scalp. Layla tilted her head in curiosity, but sighed, smiling as he entwined her fingers with his, palms together so that he could marvel at the diamond on her third finger. His lips touched each knuckle on her hand before he placed a kiss upon the rock, and Lash gave it a sad smile.

"What is it?"

"I'd have gotten a bigger one for you but they wouldn't allow it." He continued to look at it, lifting his body slightly to bring his other hand up. "This is too small."

"It's perfect, Lash. There's no need for showy things."

"Not from a Livingston." He muttered, laying his head down upon her chest. Her heart was fluttering, so he brought her hand to his mouth, leaving it there to exhale slowly. "The world needs to know who you are."

She laughed, and he wrapped an arm around the waist beneath him. She was so frail - but so beautiful. "Lash, our marriage is going to be the first at Supers Jail. Think we'll be fine without the extra knowledge that half the country knows the Livingston's."

"I'm getting you a really…really big one, Lay. With or without your consent."

"It's big enough as it is!" She cried, eyes wide. "You could have proposed with a damned string loop -" He 'pshted'her. "- I wouldn't have cared. I still would have said yes."

He held her a bit tighter, sighing into her white shirt. There was no other place he'd rather be at that moment, than with her. Sure, a new change of scenery would be fantastic, but for right now, they were both serving a reasonable amount of time in jail. And considering the fact that Layla was joining his family and taking his name, they were allowed out at the same time. So that left them only about 10 more years. Yes, Layla's time was shortened. Lots of persuasion.

Ah - she was taking his name. It makes Lash smile every time he thinks about it. Layla Livingston. Layla Livingston. Hell it sounded a whole lot better than Layla Williams. Fuck - far better than Layla Stronghold could have been.

Lifting his eyes to watch the calm breaths leave her lips, Lash couldn't help but wonder what she was thinking. And that got him thinking - when they got out, would she want kids? Did she want kids at all? He did. It was a weird thought, but he wanted one. A little girl, maybe. So he could see why all those fathers were so protective over them whenever Lash had taken them from their homes to date. Or maybe a boy - where he could spend most of his Friday nights at a baseball game somewhere, teaching him how to catch foul balls.

He wasn't sure. But he knew he was ready. With Layla, he was ready for anything.

And he couldn't even remember a time before Layla any more. She was his life, and it didn't confuse him at all like the simplest things used to. Back to that first day in the control room - God, the times were so different now. He was so different now. Back then, back then he was always the asshole. You never wanted to mess with him. Touch his stuff, and you're dead.

Well some parts of him still thrived that way.

But his attitude towards Layla was totally different than the attitude he had towards the rest of the world - only because to him, she was the world. To him, Layla was the only thing that mattered in this place. Screw all the other inmates. Screw the shitty food, the bullshit guards. Layla was always there.

And there was a point where it all confused him to no end. It was the point where when Layla had gone missing for a day, he panicked. There was no sign of her anywhere, and all he craved was her arms around him. It was then, that when they reunited that night in the nurses' station (she had fallen and sprained her wrist), all he wanted to do was hold her.

He realized at that moment - two years ago, that he loved her.

"I can spend all of eternity with you." Lash whispered, his eyes slowly coming out of focus.

Her lips touched his forehead, and she softly stroked his cheek, smiling up at him from beneath. "That's the plan…"

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