It's been almost 3 months…but here I am with the next installation. I'm so sorry for being such a flake, but there's been a whole lot of shit going on these past 2 months, it's been TOTALLY crazy. Thanks y'all for being here still. You don't know how much I appreciate it.

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Letty didn't hesitate, "No."

And he looked more than just a little stunned, "Excuse me?"

"I said no. I can't marry you Dom. No." She was looking right into his soulful eyes, and it hurt so much to see the wounded look they held.

"But…why?" Dom said. He was hurt and angry, Letty was having his child and she was still being as stubborn as ever.

"Because marrying me won't erase the past. It won't fix anything. Yes I love you, yes I'm having your child, but that doesn't change who I am, who I've become. You still have no idea what has happened these past two years, you have no idea what it's been like, to be completely alone in a city you thought you knew, but actually didn't. You don't know what I've had to do to get where I am right now. There's a lot more to this than you think there is," she let out a long sigh when she was finished, and sank back into her bed.

Dom shook his head angrily, and then looked at her levelly, "I have all the time in the world Letty, all the time in the world." She rolled her eyes, but he continued, "You're the one who refuses to tell me what's happened, you're the one who keeps making lame excuses just to distance yourself from me. You keep saying you're a different person now, well you know what? That's bullshit. You will always be the Letty I knew in California. Even if it's really deep down inside, even if you've managed to bury it so deep you don't even know it's there anymore, I know it's there, I can see it, I see it every time I look into your eyes. And no matter how hard you try to hide it from me, I know. So don't even start with your whole 'I've changed' crap, you have, I'm not saying you haven't. But we all change, it's inevitable; we just have to accept it and deal. I don't like some of the ways you've changed, but I can't change you, only you can change you, so I accept you no matter what, because I love you. And I'll be damned if that's not enough."

She had a deadpan look on her face, "Are you finished?"

He glared at her, "I guess so."

She sighed, "You're right Dom." Letty saw the look of surprise and victory on his face, so she continued to clear things up, "Yes…you're right--for the most part. But it's just that I…I'm just not…I can't marry you Dom. That's what it boils down to, it doesn't matter whether I've changed or not. It doesn't matter whether you can see the old me in my eyes. It doesn't matter whether I tell you everything that's happened the last two years or not, because I still can't marry you. I'm not ready to be in that type of relationship. Not ready…afraid…unwilling…I don't know, one of those…or all of those, but I know I can't marry you. I have to get my own shit together first. Maybe I will marry you, a few weeks, a few months, a few years down the line…it depends on how long it takes me to get myself together."

"I understand…" Dom replied quietly. He laid his head on her stomach gently and sighed into the bed sheets. "So…what now?"

"Now…we sleep," Letty smiled, and brought her hand to rub his head playfully.

Dom smiled too, "Yes, sleep sounds like a very good thing right now."

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Do you have any idea how sorry I am? Well…a million billion gazillion times over. It's been so long, y'all have every right to be royally pissed off. And I know this was like super short, but I needed to give you at least a little taste. I will have the next chapter up on Thursday night, DEFINITELY. I have a lot to do, but I'm going to make time for this. Because first off it's not fair to you, and second off, I've been writing this story for more than a year, it's about damn time I got my ass to work and finished it. Once again I apologize for my irresponsibility.

-Zuleyka