Bima - Yes, fucked up life they've had. Is he really married? I had to find some sort of twist… they got together too soon.
Jada91 - Yeah, the first jail term was for the hijacks. The second term was for the whole gun incident.
Takerlover21 - He's married sobs Things will look up for Letty and Casey. No worries. Team will be in… soon. I hope.
AllAboutAngel - You don't have to review every chapter, especially with the lengthiness in one review. Your reviews (along with everybody's) are much appreciated. Especially when they make a point.

0xx0xx0xx0xx0xx0xx0

"Where's dad?" Casey asked as she walked back into the kitchen. I looked up at her slowly and smiled a little. She smiled back but then it dropped. She was dressed in a guy's long sleeve flannel shirt and it was so long you could barely see the shorts underneath. I wondered whose shirt it was. Her hair was pulled back into a bun that was near the top of her head.

"He went home." I said softly. She nodded and made her way to the table. She dropped a box in front of me and I looked up at her. "What's that?" I pointed to the box and she shrugged a little.

"Lynn and JJ are asleep, taking an afternoon nap. They'll be up in about an hour. I wanted to show this box. I was hoping that we could talk." I nodded and she motioned to the box.

"Let's go sit on the couch. This chair is starting to hurt my ass." I stood and she laughed a little. I smiled and put an arm around her shoulders. She picked up the box and we walked into the living room. I flopped down on the couch and she sat beside me. I set with my legs cross and my back against the arm of the couch. Casey sat the box on my lap and looked at it for a minute.

"You're killing me here." She said. I chuckled and took the lid off the box. The box was filled with pictures and other little things. I pulled out a picture and Casey moved closer to me. "Lynn when she was a baby."

"She's a cutie." I set the picture down in front of me and pulled out another one. "JJ?" She looked over and nodded. "He's a stud." She laughed. "They look a lot like you when you were a baby."

"Yeah, they do, don't they?" She reached into the box and flipped through a few pictures holding up one of me. I gasped and snatched it from her. "Chris gave it to me the day before I had Lynn. I was really scared."

"I was scared when I had you." She nodded a little. "And at least you got to see Lynn right after she was born. When you were born, they took you right away. I didn't get to see you till you were two."

"I remember that day. It was rainy; grandma almost crashed the car because I wouldn't stop crying. I was so sick and she still insisted on taking me to see my mother." Casey said smiling at the memory. I reached into the box and pulled out a locket. I gave it to her on her tenth birthday. "It broke."

"Oh, how'd it break?" I questioned sadly.

"I don't know, the chain just broke." I nodded a little and she frowned. "I didn't want to lose it so I put it in there. Only my most prized possessions are in that box." I nodded and smiled a little.

"I'll get you a new chain when I get some money." She looked at me and cocked her head to the side.

"You don't have to do that."

"I want to." She smiled and I smiled back, reaching my hand into the box again. I pulled out another picture and looked at it. It was Casey and an older guy. I flashed the picture to her and she bit her lip. "Who's that?" She shrugged and I pulled out another picture, the same guy but in this picture, they were kissing. "Aww, Casey, you two look cute together." She reached over and snatched the picture. I jumped at the quickness.

"Don't."

"He means something to you. Talk." I insisted. She rolled her eyes and looked down at the picture. Her eyes slowly made their way up to meet mine with a sigh. "Come on, Case."

"That's Jack. Lynn's dad." I nodded a little and reached back into the box. I pulled out something black and fuzzy feeling. I looked down at my hand and screamed tossing the fuzzy thing away from me. It landed on Casey's lap and she slowly looked down, having the same reaction I did. The fuzzy thing landed on my lap again and I tossed it over and side of the couch. "Eww!"

"Eww. Yeah, eww." We both laughed and I stood. "I'm washing my hands." She laughed and followed me into the kitchen. I walked to the sink and leaned over it. "So what happened with you and Jack?" She shrugged and I poured dish soap into my hands. It was better than nothing. "Something happened."

"He asked me to marry him." My jaw dropped and I looked at her. "I was too young. I couldn't say yes. It wouldn't have been right. He loved his daughter and claimed that he'd always stay here for her and for me if I needed him. I love him. He loved me."

"Loved?" I questioned turning off the water. I moved to the side and looked for something to dry my hands with. She nodded and moved to the sink to wash her hands.

"Yeah. He left about a week after he proposed. Chris was too drunk to do anything, cook anything, so I sent him out to get food with twenty bucks, he never came back." She shook her hands and turned off the water. She tried her hands on her shirt and looked at me. "I haven't heard from him since. It's been three and a half years."

"Casey, I didn't know that." She nodded.

"I didn't tell you."

"Why not?"

"You wouldn't have understood."

"Yes I would. I've been proposed to…" I counted silently in my head while Casey stared at me. "Five times." She rolled her eyes and I shrugged. "Casey, I would have understood."

"Craig proposed to you five times?" I shook my head and she raised an eyebrow at me. "Who proposed to you?"

"Craig never proposed because he would never want to get married. Never." I said harder. "Your dad, believe it or not, proposed to me five times." She gave me a look that asked all sorts of questions. "Four out of the five times, he was drunk. The last time, he really meant it. I just couldn't get married."

"Were you already married?" She said sarcastically. I hit her shoulder and she laughed. "I was just joking." I smiled and nodded. "Just making sure you knew."

"I knew." She nodded.

"So, why didn't you two get married?"

"The same reason you didn't marry Jack I guess."

"You guess?" I nodded and she rolled her eyes. "What's the real reason?"

"I wasn't ready." I thought about it and grinned. "But we had good sex later that day." I thought harder when she made a disgusted face. "That might even be the day you were created." Her jaw dropped and her eyes squeezed closed.

"TMI!" She whimpered.

"TMI?"

"Too much info. Sheesh, keep up, mom." I laughed and shook my head. "You are old." I mock laughed and she looked at me.

"I'm thirty six. I'm not old." She sighed and shrugged. There was a knock on the back door. Casey smiled and looked at it. "That better not be one of your fuck buddies. He's not coming in." I walked to the door and opened it. He was a neatly dressed young man, close to Casey's age. He was about seventeen. That was better than twenty-three.

"Hello." He seemed charming.

"Hey. Who are you and why are you knocking on my back door instead of the front?" He lost the smile and looked around, shoving his hands in his pockets nervously. "I'm Letty." I said sticking a hand out toward him. He seemed thrown off by it; I had to admit that I was as well. He pulled a hand out of his pocket and shook mine. "You still have to answer my questions, hun."

"Oh. Um, I'm Jason. I'm Casey's friend. You know Casey, right?" He said quietly. I nodded and he smiled a little. "How do you know her? Aunt? I've never seen you around before."

"I'm her mom." His jaw dropped and I smiled a little.

"I thought Casey's mom was in jail."

"She was. She got home earlier this week." Casey said stepping up behind me. I looked at her and she smiled at me. "Mom, this is my best friend, Jason." I nodded and she smiled brightly.

"Come in." I said. I moved to the side and Jason squeezed in the door beside me. I closed the door and leaned against it. "You still haven't told me what your doing here." He turned and looked at me.

"I was going to see if Casey wanted to go bowling with me."

"I can't. Kids and I don't have any money." They both seemed real let down. I sighed and they both looked at me.

"I can give you twenty bucks and I'll watch the kids." Casey raised an eyebrow and looked at her friend then back at me. "Take it or leave it." I pulled out some money and held up a twenty. I shoved the rest of the money into my pocket and she reached for the twenty. I pulled it just out of her reach and our eyes met. "It is six o'clock." She nodded and looked at the clock. I looked over at Jason and he stood up straight. "Feed her. Have her back by ten." He smiled and nodded. "Okay?"

"Okay." He said clearly. I nodded.

"No sex and I mean that. I don't want any more grandkids for a long time. Okay?"

"Come on, mom. It's Jason." She said pointing at him and making a disgusted face. I shook my head and Jason looked at me.

"That's her way of saying that we're just friends. I'm not attracted to your daughter in that way, Ms. Ramirez." I could tell in his eyes that he was lying, but Casey wasn't aware of that. Casey didn't know he liked her. I smiled and nodded at him.

"You can call me Letty. Unless of course I'm yelling at you… then you call me Ms. Ramirez. And thanks for not saying Mrs." He nodded.

"So, I'll have her back and fed by ten."

"If she's late, I'm holding you responsible." He nodded and smiled a little. "Have a good night." I said handing the twenty to Casey. She took it and leaned forward kissing my cheek. "You might want to get dressed." She looked down and took off for the stairs.

"She's my best friend."

"Okay." I said with a smile. "Just don't hurt her and we're cool." He looked around the kitchen nervously. "What are you driving?"

"My uncles old Charger."

"Nice car. Is it in good condition?" He nodded. I smiled. "You like Casey, don't you?" He looked at me, shocked that I'd ask that. "While in jail, I learned to read peoples actions."

"Casey and I are just friends."

"Yes, I know you're friends. That doesn't mean you can't have feelings for her." He shook his head and I nodded a little. Casey came back into the kitchen. She was now dressed in a pair of jeans and a tank top. She had on black boots and I shrugged it off. "Have fun, Case."

"I will." She walked over and kissed my cheek. I smiled and watched her walk out the back door with Jason. I sighed and waited until I heard the car leave the driveway. I walked to the phone and picked it up. I pressed 69 and pressed it to my ear. The same woman I talked to earlier picked up the phone.

"Hello?" She asked. Her voice quickly annoyed me.

"Is Dom there?" I asked. She was quiet for a minute then spoke.

"Dominic. Yes he's here."

"Can I talk to him?" I asked slowly.

"Yes. Hold on." I took a deep breath and waited. My heart was beating so fast it was insane. I tried breathing deeply but it wasn't helping any. My heart was going crazy.

"Hello?"

"Dom?" I asked.

"Let?" I sighed in response. "How'd you get this number? Why are you calling? I thought you were pissed as hell at me."

"I am pissed as hell at you. I just thought we could talk. I pressed star sixty-nine from when she called this morning." He sighed. "Can you come over?"

"I don't know." I sighed.

"Okay. Sorry I bothered you." I didn't wait for an answer. I put the phone back down on the hook and made my way back into the living room, flopping down on top of the box. I whimpered as it poked my back. I fished it out and set it on the coffee table. The phone rang. There was a phone on one of the end tables. I looked at it and stared. I reached over and picked it up. "Hello?" I curled myself up on the couch and sighed.

"I'm sorry. Do you still want me to come over?" He asked.

"Only if you want to." I hit the end button and set it on the coffee table. I knew better than to get my hopes up. He wouldn't be here. No way.

0xx0xx0xx0xx0xx0xx0