A/N: Here's another chapter for you, people. As always, thankyou for all the wonderful feedback you've been giving me - it really means alot to see that you appreciate what I do. Anyway, on with the fic!
"Leon – stop that! Le – will you sit still?" Letty sighed heavily, fighting to get to his head. He was having none of it, his hands constantly seeking out her stomach, his head ducking down to drop errant kisses across the smooth skin that peeked out from below her tank top. Blood oozed sluggishly from a cut above his eyebrow still, but he wasn't letting her near it. He was still too fascinated by the concept of his child being tucked away inside her.
Unable to stay angry at him, Letty threw her head back and laughed when he blew a raspberry on her stomach.
"Leon!" She squealed, jumping away from him. His hands followed her, the sparkle in his eye brighter than she'd ever seen it. The only way to describe his reaction to her being pregnant was overjoyed.
He smiled, reaching for her. "Alright, alright. I'll be good."
Letty grinned, stepping closer again. This time he kept his hands out of the way, simply holding onto her hips and staring straight ahead at her naval.
"Would it be here?" he brushed his thumb over her belly button. Letty took his hand and slid it lower over her pelvis and then went back to cleaning up the cut on his head.
He waited until she had fastened the cut with a couple of butterfly bandaids and had wiped his face clean of any blood before he leaned forward and pressed an open mouthed kiss over her skin.
She felt him mouth the words 'I love you' over her belly and tears pricked at her eyes. Her hands tangled in his hair as his nimble fingers turned the hem of her top up to rest over her ribs. When his face pressed against her abdomen, Letty almost slid to her knees. She could feel the love radiating off him in waves. She gave the shoulder of his shirt a tug and started to walk backward.
"Come to bed, baby."
He stood slowly, carefully. His head ached like nobody's business. "My head, Let.."
She nodded, taking his hand and elbow firmly. "I've got you, Le. I'm not gunna let you go down."
His nose crinkled adorably, confused. "But I like going down.."
"If you weren't concussed, Leon Michael – I'd give you a good beating."
He grinned, tripping over the rug. "You can still do it if you like."
Letty started to giggle at his boyish tone, leading him along the landing to the bedroom. She steadied him a few more times then sat him down on the edge of the bed to take his clothes off.
"You wouldn't be able to handle me right now, Le." She unbuttoned the collar of his shirt and tugged it over his head. He blinked at her dolefully. Letty's heart jumped into her throat at that look. "What's the matter?"
He rubbed his throat, looking down. "Nothing. Just tired." His fingers carefully unbuckled his belt and the fly of his jeans, then he held his hands out for her to help him up.
Letty did so willingly, hiding her surprise at him openly asking for her help. Her hand curled around his back, stroking his warm skin gently. She could see the discolouration in some places from where Dom's meaty fists had landed, the skin darker already. Some of the patches were slightly swollen.
"Do your ribs hurt, Le?"
He nodded against her shoulder, listlessly kicking his jeans off. He was so quiet.
"Sweetheart – I might just strap you up before you lay down, alright?" She sat him back down and bent to pick up his jeans. "I'll be right back."
He nodded, rubbing his side.
Walking back down the hall to the bathroom, Letty dumped Leon's jeans in the laundry chute as she passed it, then padded into the brightly lit room. The bandages were easy enough to find as they had kept a few extras around after Vince's accident before Rory was born. Grabbing up a couple of them, she walked back down to the bedroom and stopped in the doorway.
Leon was laying on his side with his back to her, feet still on the floor, hugging his ribs. Rolling her eyes Letty crawled across the bed, her free hand reaching out to touch his back. She stopped short, leaning in a little closer.
"What the.." she ran her fingers over a slightly raised spot on his flank. She had never noticed that before. Her eyes narrowed. Looking closer there were more of the little marks, some minuscule, some a little larger, quarter of an inch maybe. Her hand smoothed over the area, not feeling anything out of the ordinary. They were obviously scars but judging by how invisible they were unless you were right on him, they were old. Looking down at him, Letty couldn't help but wonder what he could have done to get them.
He stirred under her touch, eyes blinking open just a touch. "Teesh?"
Letty smiled. He was the only one who called her by that name until Rory was old enough to speak. She kissed his jaw just below his ear. "I need you to sit up for me, Le."
He did as he was told, slowly pushing himself upright. Once he was vertical, he blinked at her. His arms automatically lifted slightly and it was then she knew he had done this before.
"Baby?"
He gave her a look that implored her to go on.
"Where did those come from?" she ran a finger over his side, over the scars. She could feel the muscles beneath his skin twitch and flutter underneath her hands.
"I fell into a cabinet when I was younger." He said softly, watching her reach around him. He winced almost inaudibly at the pressure on his tender ribs. Five minutes later he was all strapped up and he allowed Letty to ease him back onto the bed. He wrapped his fingers around her wrist.
"I'm sorry for everything, Let."
Letty worked his fingers loose and crawled up to sit by his head, pulling him into her lap. Her legs wrapped around his sides and her feet rested on his chest. Leon's hands came up to stroke her ankles, his head resting against her belly.
"None of tonight was your fault Leon, so don't you apologise for that pig." Her tone darkened when she thought of Dominic. How dare he suggest I get rid of my baby! Her thumbs stroked circles over Leon's temples.
He groaned, nestling back into her. "I love you, Let." He mumbled, eyes drooping shut. "Always have.."
Battling her tears, Letty bent to kiss his forehead. "You know – I think I always loved you too."
Beside her, Vince was tossing and turning, murmuring under his breath in his sleep. Tala ran a soothing hand down his side and he calmed, the only sign of his bad dreams that remained being the crease across his forehead. She ran her fingers over it, whispering to him. She pulled her hand away a short while after he fell quiet and started to drift back to sleep. That's when the screaming started.
She had never heard a scream filled with so much terror before. Vince was sitting up, eyes wide open and screaming, but he was still asleep. He started rambling, something about a truck and dying.
"Vince?" She knelt beside him, gingerly touching his shoulder. He turned toward her but stared right through her, unseeing. He was shaking, his face wet from tears and his breath hitched in his chest. "Shh.. It's alright. Come on baby, come back to me." She cooed in his ear, holding his head close to her heart. In sleep, he tried to move his bad arm toward her. Pain immediately registered on his face and he cried out.
"He left me there.." he whimpered against her, still sleeping. "Didn't care.. Truck.. It burns."
Tala stroked his neck, cuddling him to her. Vaguely, she recalled him having a minor burn on his back from resting so close to the speeding tyre, the heat it produced scalding his back. It had healed fairly quickly compared to the rest of his injuries and the scar had faded away long ago. The only lingering hint that there was ever any damage to his back was the slightest discolouration on his right shoulder blade, only visible during the cooler months when his tan faded.
Her hand brushed over the spot, gently stroking the perfect skin there. "Baby wake up," she said firmly against his ear, rocking him slightly. He had been having nightmares for the past eight nights, ever since Dom had shown up at the races.
He didn't wake, but instead calmed, nestling closer to her. Tala rolled her eyes heavenward, mouthing 'thankyou'. In the other room Aurora started to cry. Vince's screams had woken her no doubt.
In an instant Vince was on his feet before he was even awake. He blinked when he realised he was standing up.
"What-?" his head cocked to the side and he nodded to himself, shuffling out the bedroom door. Tala grinned. He still hadn't noticed she was already awake. He was like that when it came to Rory. If he could see to her himself he was more than happy to, in fact he often rushed off before Tala had the chance to even contemplate standing up. At first it had annoyed her having to fight with him to hold her own baby – but then she realised what he was doing. Vince was desperately afraid of screwing up and did everything he could to keep from doing so.
She smiled at him as he walked back in, Aurora snuggled against his chest, her head tucked beneath his chin. Vince climbed back into bed, gently easing the little girl into the gap between himself and Tala.
Tala stroked Aurora's arm first, then Vince's face. "You were having a nightmare."
He frowned. "I was?"
She nodded. "How long, Vince?" she demanded gently, laying on her side and facing him. Rory lay between them, oblivious to the tension in the air.
"I don't know what you-"
"I will take her to my mothers." Tala knew it wasn't just a random event. He had been way too restless lately to be sleeping normally.
Vince's denial died on his tongue. "A month." He ran the pad of his thumb over Rory's tiny palm. "I didn't want you to worry."
Tala curled around Rory and against him, loving the weight of his arm draped over her side. There was a time when he couldn't even contemplate throwing his right arm over her or wrapping her in a proper hug. Now that he could he did it as much as possible, always touching her in some way or fashion. She beckoned him closer with a curl of the finger. She brushed her nose to his in an eskimo kiss.
"It's my wifely duty to worry about your well being, Vincent."
He had the grace to look ashamed for not telling her and he fell quiet. Perspiration still edged his hair, beading on his skin in tiny little droplets. Tala's fingers ran through his thick hair, effectively relaxing him to the point of dozing. He was just about asleep when there was a knock at the door. His eyes popped open instantly and he lifted himself to his shoulder.
"Who would come here at three in the morning?" he asked quietly, his voice nothing more than a low, soft murmur.
Tala urged him back onto his side and sat up, reaching for her robe. She didn't think answering the door naked would be a good idea. She could feel Vince's eyes burning into her as she pulled the dark green silk over her skin and knotted the belt around her waist. She looked back over her shoulder at him only to find him watching her hungrily. He gazed at her so intently that she felt as though she were the only woman alive.
His expression was soft when he spoke. "I don't want you answering that door without knowing who's out there. Remember to-"
"Baby, go back to sleep. Look, Rory's got the right idea." She nodded toward the sleeping five month old cuddled into her daddy's chest, her tiny hand loosely fisted and pressed to his skin.
Vince looked down at her, the barest of smiles coming to his lips. He nodded mutely and relaxed back into the bedding, tugging the blankets up to his waist.
Tala rolled her eyes when there was another knock, a little heavier this time. As she neared the door, "Who's there?"
There was some muffled sound. "Police Ma'am." A voice called back politely. She leaned forward and looked through the peephole, then satisfied they were telling the truth she unhooked the chain on the door and unlocked it, righting her robe before she opened the door.
She looked up at the two officers, curious. "Can I help you?" Worry started to gnaw at her. Had Leon or Letty had an accident? Her parents?
The first officer nodded lightly. "Sorry to intrude, Ma'am, but we got reports of a man's screaming coming from this address."
A sigh of relief whooshed out of Tala's lungs and her hand pressed to her chest, her heartbeat rapid beneath her fingers.
"That was my husband." She told them politely. At their curious looks, "He has nightmares. He was screaming in his sleep."
The officer looked sceptical. "Must have been some nightmare."
Tala nodded. "If you'd like to have a look around, by all means." She made a sweeping motion with her hand, inviting them in.
The taller of the two held a hand up. "That's not necessary, Ma'am. We're just relieved that it was nothing serious."
She nodded tiredly. "Thankyou for your concern officers, but everything's fine. I just had to wake him up. He's fine now."
"Alright, Ma'am. Sorry to disturb your rest."
Tala waved them off. "I've got a five month old child – rest is foreign to me." She bid them a polite farewell and closed the door, resetting the locks. When she got back to the bedroom, Vince was waiting for her return.
He looked up at her sleepily from his pillow. "Well?"
Crawling into bed, "It was the police. Someone heard you screaming and called them."
"I was screaming?" He asked softly, his cheeks flushing a shade of pink. Tala nodded, running her fingers through his hair again. He immediately started to drop off.
"Sweet dreams, Vincent." She bent to kiss his lips then sat back, prepared for her all night vigil. At the first sign of another nightmare she would wake him, but for now she just wanted to watch her husband and daughter sleep.