Here's another short chapter (sorry!), but I didn't want to add it onto the one before and it doesn't fit in well with the second one…I also love it by itself. So my apologies for it being short, but the next will be up soon! :)

Thanks so much to my wonderful reviewers: Rue Dawn, Mrz Letty Ortiz-Toretto (I'm glad you like her!), xsparklesthemagicalunicornx, tfatfreak207,and Miss. Lori MacManus! Your reviews are all so sweet and inspiring! Thank you! :D

I normally don't put songs in my posts, but I listened to these three on repeat when I wrote this (and most of the other Alex and Vince scenes too) ;):

"The Light" by Sara Bareilles, "

Walk Away" by The Script

"Marry Me" by Train.

They are all AMAZING songs and I highly recommend them. :)

Disclaimer: I own nothing but Mickey and Alex

Diamond in the Rough

Chapter 35: Much Better

By: LoveInk

Alex walked into the hospital, her heart beating hard against her ribs. She slowed down at the desk, approaching it nervously. She was a few minutes past visiting hours. The older nurse at the desk recognized her and grinned. "Oh I just knew something good was going to happen today," she said, standing from her chair and walking around the front desk.

"Umm is it too late to visit him?"

The nurse waved her off. "No, sweetheart, that boy's been waiting on you a long time, honey. Who am I to deny him a happy reunion? C'mon now, follow me."

She smiled gratefully at the nurse and followed after her, listening while she talked. "I'm Dory, Vince's nurse. He's a tough one, that boy."

"I know," Alex replied softly.

"And man, does he love you. I only recognized you because that fool has this picture of you he's always lookin' at. His sister found it in some gossip magazine. Did you know you were in those?"

She'd seen the paparazzi snapping pictures two days before, but didn't even consider the fact that Vince might see one. "Those suckers are fast."

Dory laughed as she nodded. "He loves you something fierce, that man. You did the right thing coming back."

Alex let out a long breath feeling more confident with her choice with every word Dory said. "Thanks Dory."

"Mm-hmm, think nothing of it," she replied as they came upon the door. Alex just stared at the metal handle, shifting nervously. Dory nodded to the green door. "Go ahead."

Every insecurity she was feeling before came rushing back in front of that ugly green door. What if he didn't want her back? What if he was so angry with her for leaving that he rejected her? What if she got there and couldn't think of what to say? "I don't know what to say…"

Dory set a warm hand on her shoulder. "Sure you do. It's right in here," she said, pointing at her heart. "You love him, honey. I know that, he knows that, you know that. Just go in there and make things right. I have faith in you. Plus, that little one is going to need his father."

Alex looked at her with wide eyes. How could Dory know about that? She didn't even know for sure yet! "I'm not…"

"Shush, child," Dory said, winking at her. "Go ahead. Get in there."

Sucking in a deep breath, Alex pushed on the handle of the door and took one step into the room. There he was, scowling at his dinner plate. He hadn't heard her come in, so she took a moment to study him. He looked a little better than she'd left him He was scruffier though, his hair a lot longer and shaggier and he was skinnier too. With a grunt, he pushed the small table with his dinner on it away before he grabbed the remote. She took a few more steps, her flip flops slapping loudly on the linoleum.

His eyes fell on her, widening in disbelief. She smiled sheepishly. "Hi," she greeted softly.

Vince swallowed hard. She was there. She'd come back to him, just like Leon had said she would. His stomach did a flip flop. "You came back," he said on a breath.

She nodded slowly as she approached the bed. "I never should've left," she admitted, sitting down on the edge of his mattress. Her hand reached out to gently stroke his face. "How are you feeling, big guy?"

"A hell of a lot better now," he admitted, his good hand resting atop of hers to make sure it was real. He found her small hand to be warm underneath his own, yes this was real. She'd really come back to him. "Why?"

Alex shrugged a shoulder. "Because I love you. No matter how stupid you act sometimes."

He smiled before shaking his head at her. "Tiny, I'm not good enough…"

"Shut up," she cut him off, her green eyes sharp as they glared at him. She lifted her hand from his cheek to unlatch her necklace. She slipped the ring off of it before sliding it back onto her finger.

His eyes widened a little more. Not only had she come back to him, but she'd put the ring back on. She was agreeing to marry him again. To spend the rest of her life with him despite everything he'd done. "You shouldn't want to…"

"Stop talking, Vince," she interrupted. Then a thought drifted into her mind. She'd put the ring on assuming the offer was still there…she'd never thought to ask him if he still wanted to marry her. "Unless you don't want to…"

He took her hand in hers, weaving their fingers together before squeezing it. "No, no, I want to. I'm just surprised you still do, too."

Alex leaned forward and caught his lips in a sweet, soft kiss. "I do."

Vince smiled, his fingertips gently tracing over her cheek. "This isn't the right place for those words," he stated, smiling when she giggled before pulling her in for another kiss. As they kissed, she crawled on the bed to get closer to him. His hand buried itself in her hair as his tongue darted into her mouth. He'd forgotten just how good she tasted. "I love you," he mumbled against her lips.

"Mmm," she hummed in silent agreement. She sat back on her feet, putting enough space between them so she could really look at his face. She wanted to see his reaction when she asked her next question. "Do you trust me?"

This time, he didn't even flinch before he answered. "Yes, Tiny. I trust you. Marry me."

She rolled her eyes at him, a small laugh escaping her lips. She leant forward and caught his lips in another quick kiss. "I already put the ring back on, fool," she teased, stretching out next to him, her head resting against his shoulder.

His good hand idly played with her hair. "I know, it's just…I've been planning on saying that to you for days now. Leon told me to think of a good apology to win you back."

"A week and that's all you came up with?" she teased, her slender fingers tracing designs on the front of his hospital gown.

He chuckled and shrugged a shoulder. "Some more groveling was involved. A shitload of sorry's that you would've hated…you know standard stuff. That line was the closer, of course."

She laughed, the laugh vibrating through him and making him laugh too. "It's a good one."

"Yeah, you kind of ruined it," he joked, chuckling when she playfully hit his chest.

Rolling her eyes at him, she sat up and pulled the table with his food on it towards them. "What'd you get?"

Vince smiled as he slid his good arm around her waist, his thumb gently grazing her hip under her shirt. "Crap," he answered, leaning his chin on her shoulder. "Green Jell-o."

"Yum," she said grabbing the small bowl and spooning a little into her mouth. She got another spoonful and held it up to his mouth. "Eat, skinny."

He raised an eyebrow at her but took the bite anyway. "Skinny?"

"Uh-huh," she said around another mouthful of jell-o. "You've lost some weight, don't think I didn't notice."

Vince sighed before pressing a kiss to her shoulder. Her reappearance still bothered him though. If he'd been her, he would've walked away a long time ago and not have thought twice about. "Why didn't you just walk away?"

She sighed, she knew the question would come up eventually and she'd been thinking about good answers to it. At the moment, she couldn't remember any of them, so she went with the first thing that came to her mind. "I couldn't," she answered honestly. She took in a deep breath as she shrugged. "I thought I'd try, you know? Go to my parents', hang out with Ronnie, and try and forget everything. I just couldn't. You're a part of me, big guy. Without you, I don't feel…right."

He chuckled as she rambled; she was no poet but her point came across loud and clear. "Do you feel better now?"

"Yeah," she answered on a sigh, leaning into his chest. For the first time since she'd left, she felt whole and unbelievably happy. It was like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She turned her head to kiss his cheek. "Much better."

Did you like it? Was it too cheesy? Let me know in a review! :D

~Love Ink