A MILLION thanks to: Rue Dawn (Don't apologize! I appreciate all reviews regardless of length! :]) Mrz Letty Ortiz-Toretto (I'm sorry about your dog :( I'm glad it made you happy!), Violet201, Magenta Stone (Thanks for the luck! I'm gonna need it! Hehe), and xsparklesthemagicalunicornx!

Disclaimer: I own nothing but Alex, Mickey, Ronnie, Adri, Mattias, and the lovely twins

The title comes from another song by the Script which I also don't own. Well, I have the song, but I don't own the rights to it. ;)

This chapter was very difficult to write…just sayin'. :\

Diamond in the Rough

Chapter 50: Dead Man Walking

By: LoveInk

A week later…

Michaela smiled when she saw Leon sitting on the floor with little Mattias between his legs. The girls all went shopping earlier that day before Ronnie surprised the twins with tickets to the newest musical in LA. When Adri and Alex had admitted they wanted to see it too, the five of them decided to go leaving Mickey and Leon home to babysit Mattias.

The small boy was wheeling cars up and down Leon's jean clad legs, talking to him excitedly about each one. Leon was paying close attention to his nephew, teaching him different car names as they played.

She cleared her throat to catch their attention. "Bedtime, cutie," she said when Mattias' green eyes looked up at her.

The little boy dutifully got up and toddled towards her. She swept him up in her arms, kissing his chubby cheek. "I go pjs?" he asked as they headed to the bedroom.

"Yeah pumpkin," she said, helping him into his tiny boxers and sleep tank. She tucked him into their bed, ruffling his hair as she did so. Mattias and his family were staying at Ronnie's house a few blocks down since Ronnie had taken to sleeping next to Alex and wasn't in need of such a huge house. But until his Mom got back, Mia's bed would have to do. "Good night, Matti," she murmured kissing his cheek.

He wrapped his little arms around her neck and pressed a kiss to her cheek. "Night Tia Mickey," he murmured. "I yove you."

"I love you too, sweetheart. Goodnight," she said brushing her hand over his Mowhawked hair one more time before leaving him to sleep.

She smiled before heading back to the living room where Leon was sitting on the couch watching basketball highlights. She sat down next to him, cuddling into his side. "He asleep?" he asked, his eyes never leaving the screen.

"Out like a light," she said with a happy sigh. "He said he loved me."

"You seem to have that affect on Donati men," Leon commented with a chuckle.

"Hey Lee?"

"Mm?" he asked, not quite paying attention to her.

"Do you want kids?"

She watched as he clenched his jaw, his whole body tensing. He knew that this was one of those make it or break it conversations. If he admitted he didn't want kids, she might leave him. "I don't know."

Michaela sat up slightly. "Yes you do. Do you want kids or not?"

He ran a hand over his face and shrugged a shoulder. "Not particularly," he muttered honestly.

"Why not?"

"I just…don't. I wouldn't make a good father," he lied. He knew fatherhood was something he could handle, but it just wasn't something he wanted.

Michaela frowned and shook her head. "Lee, you'd be an awesome dad. Look how you are with Matti and the twins! They love you!"

"Being an Uncle is one thing. I don't have to discipline them or yell at them. I just get to relax. Do whatever. Being a parent is difficult. It's not all fun and games."

She smiled at him, her hand gently scratching at the hair at the base of his neck. "I still think you'd be great at it."

"Hmm," he said, his eyes back on the television.

Michaela knew that was it then. Knew that if she pushed anymore he'd get angry or frustrated with her. It didn't matter anyway. It wasn't like she was pregnant. It did hurt a little, she had to admit. She wanted kids, wanted them badly, and she wanted to have them with Leon.

She hadn't realized how much it had hurt until she was alone in her room and the tears came. What if ten years from now they were still stuck in the same rut? Not married, no kids, just stuck. She didn't want that. She wanted what her brother and Alex had. They were so happy about everything. There was no question about their love for each other or where they were going.

She heard Leon's footsteps down the hall and wiped at her eyes feeling stupid for crying about it. He had never said anything about not wanting to marry her; in fact, he avoided that topic all together. She was being silly. Before he entered, she lay down and pretended she was asleep. He slid in next to her, wrapping his arm around her torso as he cuddled up behind her.

He placed a kiss to her shoulder, his goatee gently scratching against the soft skin there. She felt another tear slip down her face when he whispered, "I love you."

The next day at dinner was when the shit hit the fan. Everything had been fine earlier that day. Alex and Mia went to work while the remaining group went to Disneyland for the day since Ron and Alex both had season passes. They all came home happy and exhausted. The three pizzas Adri ordered were currently being devoured by everyone except Mattias who was passed out on the couch.

There were a lot of conversations going on at the table but they all stopped short when Leah said, "Tio Leo, I like Mickey. Are you going to marry her so she can be my real aunt?"

"Yeah!" Hope agreed. "That'd be awesome!"

Adri mentally smacked herself in the head. She loved both her daughters very much, but they both had a tendency of sticking their feet in their mouths at the wrong time. She looked at Alex who was sitting very still, her eyes wide. Mia had gone pale. Michaela's clear blue eyes were zeroed in on Leon's face, patiently expecting an answer.

Leon's mouth hung open for a moment. "Uh…um…I'm not…I don't…" he stuttered, trying to find a good answer.

Michaela squeezed her eyes shut, shaking her head in disappointment. She quietly excused herself, pushing back from the table and walking as quickly as she could to her bedroom. Leon was up in seconds, chasing after her. "Princess wait!" he said, catching her wrist.

"Let go of me, Leon," she said through clenched teeth as she walked into their room. Leon shut the door behind him. Michaela's eyes were shiny with tears when she looked back at him. "You don't want to marry me?"

"Michaela, let me explain."

She shook her head, knowing he was just going to make up some lame excuse. "No, Leon. Answer me right now. Do you want to get married or not? Because I do. I want a family. I want what my brother and Lex have. I don't want to be stuck in neutral for the rest of my life."

"I don't know what I want, Michaela."

She felt as though she'd been stabbed straight through the chest. She breathed in sharply as tears slipped down her face. "That's great," she said, her arms held out at her sides. "Now what?"

"Michaela, I just…I need time."

"Time? For what?" she asked, wiping at her eyes. "Time to decide if you want to be with me for the rest of your life? Time to decide if you love me?"

Leon ran a hand through his hair. "That's not what I meant," he said, his tone low. "I know I love you."

She scoffed, rolling her eyes at him. "So what is your problem?"

"I don't know!" he shouted at her, suddenly frustrated. "I don't know what I want! Right now I don't want to be married, I don't want kids, I just want to have fun!"

"Fun?" Michaela replied her eyes widened in shock. "Leon, you want to have fun? Are you serious?"

He shrugged his shoulders. In his head, he had a million better explanations but not a single one made it to his mouth. Instead he murmured, "You don't get it."

She shook her head, completely furious with his response. Crossing her arms over her chest, she narrowed her eyes at him, fixing him with an icy glare. "You're right. I don't get it," she spat, venom dripping from each word. "If you want to have fun, you know what you don't need?"

"What?"

"A girlfriend," she shot back, her voice deathly serious. She turned and started throwing whatever she could into the bag she'd originally taken over to Alex's place. "I'm done. Let me know when you find out what you want, Leon, because what we have isn't working for me."

Leon went to grab the bag from her but she held fast. "Michaela, stop."

She shook her head, fresh tears in her eyes. She was so angry and frustrated with him, all she wanted to do was hit him and then cry her eyes out. "Lee, I love you. I really do, but I can't be in this in between place. It's one way or another. You don't have to marry me today or tomorrow but I just want you to say that it's in the future…that we're headed for something."

"Michaela, I can't…I can't guarantee you that. I don't know what the future will bring. Neither do you."

"Good observation, dumbass," she retorted, fighting the urge to beat the crap out of him. "I may not be able to see the future, but I know what I'd like to see happen in the future and you seem to…not."

He held out his arms to the side. "What do you want me to say, Michaela?"

"I don't know," she said, frustrated beyond belief.

"You want me to lie to you? I can lie to you," he said, his tone borderline angry. "I want to get married and have 2.5 kids and live in a perfect house with a fucking white picket fence. There. You happy?"

Michaela gritted her teeth together. "Fuck you, Leon."

"Oh yeah, fuck me," he shot back at her sarcastically. "Sorry, I'm the only person who won't give you what you want, Princess."

She slapped him then. One good hard slap. She usually loved when he called her Princess, but the way he said it this time gave it a significantly different meaning. "You're an asshole, Leon," she seethed. She grabbed her car keys off the dresser. "I'm over this. You can have all the fun you want, but I want no part of it."

With that, she left, slamming the door shut behind her. Leon stared at the bare white door, his fists clenching and unclenching at his sides. There were so many different emotions battling inside of him. He grabbed the closest thing he could and with a growl, launched it at the door.

Adrienne took the girls back to Ronnie's house immediately after Leon and Michaela had stormed off, saving the girls from hearing the argument, but Mia and Alex heard it all. Their eyes followed Michaela as she stormed out the door, slamming it behind her so that the picture frames hanging on the wall rattled.

Mia stood up first and headed toward the front door. "I got Mickey."

Alex nodded watching Mia leave. She waited for a few minutes until she heard a crash. Wincing, she stood and headed back into the room. She was instantly hit with the smell of Michaela's perfume. Her eyes fell on the wet spot on the wall before she spotted the shards of glass beneath it. Leon was pacing the floor in front of it, muttering to himself under his breath. She rapped her knuckles against the doorjamb to catch his attention.

"What?" he growled at her, his green eyes dark with anger. She lifted her eyebrows in surprise, but didn't comment on his outburst. When he saw it was her, he relaxed a little. "You hear?"

She nodded, leaning against the doorjamb, arms crossed over her chest. "You knew it was going to happen sooner or later, Lee."

"I fuckin' know," he muttered, starting his pacing again. "Fuck! She's just…infuriating! Why can't she understand that I don't know what the fuck I want! She's only 21! Why the hell is she thinking about getting fuckin' married and having kids?"

"It's me and Vince's fault," Alex answered honestly. "She'd never admit it but, she looks up to Vince. She wants what we have because she sees how happy it makes him. Never mind that there's a bit of an age difference. She wants what we have and she wants it now. She's not the most patient person on the planet. We both know that."

He glared at her. "Well fuck you then."

"Hey! That's not fair!"

Leon clenched his jaw before exhaling. "I know, sorry," he muttered. "God, why does she have to be so fucking stubborn?"

She gave him a sympathetic smile. "It's a Catella thing. Her brother's even worse. You know that. Being stubborn is part of who they are."

"Yeah, well, it's my least favorite part," he grumbled.

All Jesse could see was bright light. He felt nothing. Everything was white, like the room in the Matrix. Holding his hand up to his face he saw it was clean, there was no dirt under his fingernails or grease stains on his hand. It looked strange to him, he'd hadn't had clean fingernails in a long time. A laugh distracted him from his study. He knew that laugh. He spun around looking for its owner.

She was leaning against the white wall, her tattooed arms crossed over her chest and that cocky smirk on her face. Pushing off the wall, she made her way towards him, her thick biker boots clunking with every step. "Hey Blondie," she greeted, waggling her fingers at him. She was wearing her fingerless, leather biker gloves.

His breath caught in his throat. "Essie," he managed to say. He stood frozen in place, blinking to see if she would disappear. She didn't.

She was standing in front of him wearing the same clothes she had been wearing the last time he saw her. Jeans with a single rip in the knee. A rip she'd gotten when her jeans got caught on the corner of his toolbox. She was wearing the olive green t-shirt she'd stolen from him and altered, cutting the neck so it slipped off her shoulder revealing her black bra strap.

Her fingers gently touched the planes of his face as though she was making sure he was real too. "God, you look so grown up, Jess," she breathed, her green eyes shiny with tears. She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him close for a hug.

Jesse held onto her tightly, his hand gently smoothing over her jet black hair. He buried his face into her neck, placing a kiss over her pulse as he always had. He pulled away, moving a stray hair from her face. "You look…the same," he said, in complete awe of her. It had been years since he'd last seen her. Since he'd last been able to touch her. He found himself reaching out for her hand. Her tan skin seemed to glow against his white skin.

Her rough voice brought his eyes back up to her face. Her brow was furrowed in concern, the characteristic wrinkle forming between them. "What are you doing here, kiddo? You're not supposed to be here yet."

He didn't let go of her hand, but his eyes left her face for a brief moment to take in the expanse of white space around them. "Where are we? Is this the Matrix?"

She laughed. "No, it's not the fuckin' Matrix," Esperanza replied, rolling her grass green eyes at him. She used her free hand to brush a hair out of his face. "Don't worry about where we are because you need to go back. They need you."

Jesse didn't understand what she was talking about. Did she want him to leave her? "Go back…Ess, I just got here."

She smiled at his confusion. "I know, Blondie, but it's not your time yet."

"But…"

"Look, Jess," she started, cutting off his thought before he could finish it. "Lee and Mickey are going insane down there. They fuckin' need you."

"Mickey…how do you know her?"

Essie gave him that proud smile he loved so much. "I have my ways," she said vaguely. "Lee fucked up real bad and he needs you to set him straight. Lex is trying her hardest but she doesn't know them like you do. That and she's got a shitload of other things to worry about."

"If I go back…I won't be able to see you again."

"Not for awhile, Jess. But I'll always be there. Watching you all is like watching a fucking soap opera," she joked, rolling her eyes. "I'm fuckin' addicted."

Jesse had to smile at her mouth. He'd forgotten how much she swore. It was something Leon had always gotten on her case about. "We're crazy, huh?"

Esperanza nodded. He watched as her brilliant green eyes filled with tears. She pulled him in for another hug, squeezing him tightly. "Don't do anymore crazy shit, Blondie. I can't handle it," she whispered into his ear. She kissed his cheek as she pulled away. "Go back and sort things out with Lee and Mickey. Tell that Lex girl to be strong and that everything will work out and thank her for keeping my brother sane. Give Adri and the kids my love. Tell Lee to get his head out of his fucking ass and smarten up before he loses Mickey forever. She's perfect for him and he needs to stop being fuckin' selfish and make a damn decision. You can tell him I love his stupid ass too. And that I miss him."

He chuckled, smiling at her ramblings. Same old Essie. Once she started, she couldn't stop. "I'll let them know," he said on a nod.

She sighed and kissed his forehead. "I love you, Jess, but you know that," she said with another smile and a wink. "Now go fix things."

Leaning forward she pressed her soft lips against his. He savored the kiss for a brief second before everything went dark again. Pain starting spreading through his body, slowly radiating from two points; one on his shoulder and one on his side. His eyelids felt heavy, too heavy to open, but he tried anyway. A bright light seeped in and he blinked against it. He took a deep breath and smiled, his lips still tingling from her kiss.

Changed it a little bit. Someone pointed out how off it was in a review and I realized they were right! It makes more sense to me now, and I hope you all like the change!

~Love Ink