Sorry this took so long. Blame school. And stupid ear infections (Which I blame on Kristen.)

Pasteles - this...Puerto Rican dish. Catherine told me about them and apparently Lilian likes them. They're like...brown...things with Spanish filling in them. They don't look good at all, to me at least. LMFAO (They aren't cakes. Well, they are in other Spanish cultures, but in Puerto Rico they're...not.)
Viejo - old man

Lilian jumped out of her seat when John finally reemerged from the guys' locker room. She rushed over to him and placed her hands on either side of his face.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he muttered, starting to walk for the exit.

She bit her lip and followed. "Are you sure? You did fall pretty hard from the cage."

His only response was a nod as he pushed open the door, heading for the rental.

"John, something's wrong, what is it?"

"I'm just tired, okay? And I have my movie premiere tomorrow."

She bit her lip, starting to push more but she stopped herself. Instead she placed her hand on the small of his back, following him out to the car.

The ride back was made in an uncomfortable silence, Lilian focusing on something out the window while John focused on the road ahead of them. Once they had settled in their room, John was the first to break the silence.

"Someone was a little excited to introduce that lingerie match."

His attempt at a joke was met with a simple nod before the blonde slipped into the bathroom. A few minutes later she reemerged and crawled up into the bed, her body stiffening some when John's arms came around her.

"What's wrong Lily?"

She didn't look up at him; instead, she tossed back when he had told her a little earlier. "I'm just tired, okay?"

He frowned and sat up. "Oh c'mon, Lilian, that isn't fair."

She turned and sat up as well. "How is that not fair? I have things to do tomorrow as well, you aren't the only one."

"Did you wrestle in a steel cage tonight? Do you have to fly out to California tomorrow?"

Her eyes narrowed. "No, but I do have to fly to South Carolina to do an interview with a newspaper."

He rolled his eyes. "Oh, how hard, I hope you don't over-exert yourself."

She rolled her eyes and climbed to her feet.

"Where are you going?"

"What does it matter? I mean, you need your rest John. Don't worry about lil' ol' me. I promise I won't get lost or anything." She leaned over, grabbing her robe from the chair and slipped it on, before walking out of the room the door slamming behind her.

John groaned and threw himself back against the bed. "I don't have time to deal with this." He tried his best to force himself to sleep, but when a half hour had passed and she still didn't return, he gave up on the silent battle with himself. Instead, he climbed to his feet and left the room to go find her.

Lilian leaned against the wall, trying to decide on where she could go where it wouldn't be considered weird to be wearing a robe. She frowned and had decided to go back in the room when the door opened.

"What are you doing out here?" he asked softly.

She shrugged and looked away. "Shouldn't you be sleeping since you have such a rough day planned for tomorrow?"

"Lil, c'mon, why do you have to be like this?" He stepped closer to her, using his hand to turn her face to his.

"Why'd you have to be so rude to me? I was only worried about you, but you bit my head off!"

He dropped his hands from her face, instead wrapping them around her waist, a small sigh of relief falling from his lips when she didn't object. "Can we talk about this inside?"

"Sure, why not." She allowed him to lead her inside before she pulled away and walked over to the bed. "I'm listening."

"Look, I know I was acting like an ass before, I just didn't want you to worry."

She arched a brow, her stubborn Spanish side kicking in. "So you acted like I did something wrong? Don't you think that would have just made things worse?"

He ducked his head, knowing she was right. "I was kind of desperate at the time."

"Desperate for what!" she asked loudly. "Were you desperate for me to get mad? Were you desperate for a fight?"

He sat down at the foot of the bed. "No, I was…I just didn't want you to think I needed your help. I feel like such a little wimp nowadays. I thought I was going to die after that TLC match, and you took care of me. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad you did. You made me hurt a lot less."

She took a step closer and allowed him to take her hands into his. "So you're tired of me making sure you aren't in any sort of pain?"

"No," he said quickly, "I'm tired of always hurting and needing you. Wait, that came out wrong. I mean, I should be the one taking care of you, not the other way around."

She laughed lightly and looked him over. "You're not going to turn into the type of guy who wants me barefoot and pregnant...are you?"

He gently pulled her into his arms. "Of course not, but at the same time, I don't want you to feel like you need a more manly man. Does that sound stupid?"

"Not at all. But at the same time, I don't want you worrying about that, John. I'm content with what I have, and I personally like taking care of you."

"Why?" he asked curiously.

"Because, everyone sees this tough, balls to the wall kind of guy and I get to see the other side of you. The side that has actual feelings and other emotions."

"Oh, so you like seeing the weaker side of me? The wounded animal side, if you will."

She giggled and nodded. "Yes, pretty much."

He pushed out his lower lip into an over exaggerated frown. "That hurts, Lil, it does."

She laughed and pushed him lightly. "And I get to see the dorky side apparently!"

"You know, I'm not the only one who gets to see a different side of someone. You're not exactly that innocent girl everyone things. How would your fans like to know just how wild you can be?"

Her jaw dropped. "Uh…it's time for bed isn't it? We both have a very long day ahead of us."

"Okay, topic changer, I'll let it slide this time." He moved against the pillows, opening his arms so that she could get comfortable against him.

"Don't forget, we're having dinner with my parents on Wednesday."

"We are?"

"Yes John, we are. Don't tell me you're nervous about it, you've spent plenty of time around them."

"I know, but your dad still gives me a look like he wants to kill me."

"That's because he does," she murmured playfully. "Now, goodnight."

After John's premiere was over, he hopped on the next plane that was flying out to Columbia, South Carolina. Lilian and her parents picked him up from the airport.

"Hello John," Lilian's dad greeted.

"Hello Osvaldo," John said, shaking the older man's hand.

Lilian's mom ran up to John, hugging him tightly and kissing both cheeks. "How are you?"

"I'm great, Nitza, how are you?"

"Fantastic!"

Lilian smiled and stepped forward. "Mom's been making pastels all day today."

John grinned and wrapped his arms around Lilian, sending her mom a smile. "You girls spoil me too much."

"That's because we love you," Lilian replied, leaning up to give him a quick kiss on the lips. "Now let's get out of here before a crowd forms."

"So...how was the premier?"

John arched a brow and laughed. "Do you even need to ask? You had Maria on the phone most of the night. Not to mention, Candice made sure Kelly stayed away unless we had to be together."

Lilian flashed him an innocent smile. "I have no clue what you're talking about, though I should still thank them on Monday."

John pulled his shirt off and sat down on her bed. "How'd your interview go?"

Lilian stretched and pulled her hair up into a pony tail. "I don't know, I guess we'll find out tomorrow morning when the paper gets here."

He nodded and went into the bathroom that was connected to her bedroom. He quickly brushed his teeth and came back out. "I think your dad wanted to stab me with his fork at dinner."

"Probably," she agreed, and then began to laugh.

"Oh thanks Lil, I really appreciate it! How long are we staying here again?"

She smirked. "Till the show on Monday. Don't worry, you'll be protected."

"I knew you loved me."

"Me? I was talking about my mom." Her eyes widened as he came back into the room, playfully tossing her down on the bed. "What do you think you're doing!"

"What does it look like I'm doing?" He sent her a grin, his lips moving to her neck.

The two jumped when someone behind them loudly cleared their throat. "Please tell me that's your Mom..."

"Sorry babe." She gently pushed him off of her and sat up. "Yeah Dad?"

"Your mother wanted to know if you two would come down for a little bit so she could talk to you." Her father sent a glare in John's direction. "You might want to put a shirt on," he replied before walking away.

John groaned and looked up at Lilian. "Told you he hated me."

"But at least my mom loves you!" She nudged him and laughed. "Come on, she probably wants to talk about the wedding more."

"Of course," he mumbled, pulling his shirt back on.

The two headed down stairs to the living room and took a seat on one of the couches. Lilian's mom smiled and turned the TV off, moving to face them. Her dad followed suit and took a seat next to his wife.

"What'd you need to talk about?" Lilian's hand found John's and she laced their fingers together.

John looked elsewhere when he saw the menacing look Osvaldo was sending his way.

"Well, I was wondering if you two had decided on a date for the wedding, or even a place."

Lilian shook her head. "Not really." She turned to John, "what do you think?"

John turned his attention back to Lilian and shook his head. "Not yet, we've pretty much only decided on the little details."

Lilian nodded her head. "I think we're going to wait until next year at least, maybe around January."

Nitza smiled over at them. "That'll give you enough time to prepare, but still have that winter wedding you always dreamed of."

Her father finally stood up, his eyes finding John's. "What do you think about that?"

Knowing it was her father's way of testing him, John simply smiled over at Lilian. "I want whatever makes her happy. Honestly sir, we could get married in the middle of nowhere, as long as we were together, I'd be happy."

Lilian beamed and leaned over, kissing his cheek.

"Oh would you sit down?" Nitza grabbed his hand and pulled him back to the couch. "Honestly, you aren't scaring anybody, you viejo."

Osvaldo scowled and looked at his daughter. "If he makes you happy," he paused, "Then I'm happy for you, Lilianita."

The ring announcer grinned and ran over to hug her dad. "Aw, thank you, Daddy!" He returned the hug and Lilian went back to her seat. "Do you know if Dahlia's coming to visit too?"

"I have no idea," her mother answered. "She could be, you should call her tomorrow though and tell her you're here."

"I'll give her a call in the morning."

Nitza smiled over at them and nodded. "Alright you two, go on back upstairs. I promise your father won't bother you anymore."

Lilian laughed softly, walking over to give her parents a final hug. "Thanks mom."

John exchanged a hug with Nitza before turning his attention to Osvaldo. The older man surprised them all by giving John a hug, murmuring loud enough for everyone to hear. "You hurt her, I'll have to kill you. But welcome to the family, John."

"You have my word sir, I'll never hurt her." He made his way back to his fiancée's side, taking her hand in his as he led her back to their room.

"He's really warming up to you," Lilian whispered once they were settled in the bed.

"Thank God, I was starting to think he never would."

"Oh no, he's into the tough love. You should have seen him with Dahlia's husband. It took until the birth of Maria before he warmed up to him, you lucked out. Now you must be worn out from all the flying, let's get some rest."

John nodded his head, tightening his hold on her. "Night Lil."