Sorry it took me awhile, I was trying to figure out how to speed things up a bit! :) This chapter is half filler half…not(?) does that make sense? ;)

Thank you, thank you, thank you to: xsparklesthemagicalunicornx, Mrz Letty Ortiz-Toretto, Violet 201, Rue Dawn (This chapter is extra long, just for you ;) Congrats on putting on offer down! Hope it works out!), VincesDirtyGirl, 33, littleone999, matthotty101 (Wow, you're comment made my day! :D), and RzSpeeder (I've been thinking of how to work Brian in…we'll see if I can pull it off…)

Disclaimer: I own nothing but Alex, Mickey, and Ronnie.

Diamond in the Rough

Chapter 58: Freedom

By: LoveInk

Michaela watched Jem as he drove. His tan elbow hung out the open window while his long, rough fingers were draped haphazardly over the wheel as though he didn't know where else to put it. He looked bored. She frowned, Leon's hands were always busy when he drove. One would be tapping a beat on the wheel while the other caressed the stick shift. She loved how much he cared about his Skyline. It was never dirty or smelly. It was always pristine. Looking at the floor of Jem's car, she wrinkled her nose at the dirty contents; a mixture of hay and dirt covered the floor and an empty beer bottle was rolling around by her feet.

"Do you like driving, Jem?" Michaela asked curiously.

Jem shrugged a shoulder lazily. "Not particularly. Gets me where I need to go which is nice."

"What's the fastest you've driven?" she questioned, turning in her seat to face him.

He shrugged again. "Dunno. Maybe 80 or somethin'. I don't speed. You know me, sugar, I'm slow as a turtle. What about you? How fast have you gone?"

"Over 80, that's for sure," she mumbled, running a hand through her hair. "I've raced my car before."

"Is that so?" he asked, a smirk lifting up the corner of his lips. "Huh. You're a regular Speed devil, ain't ya?"

Michaela shrugged one shoulder. "Oh yeah," she said with a wicked smile. "Maybe I'll show you some time."

Jem nodded, though he didn't seem so enthused by the suggestion. He pulled into a parking spot in front of the mall and got out. Instead of going to open her door for her, he waited for her by the truck bed. She skipped around and took the arm he offered.

They sauntered into the busy mall, passing by different shops and stopping at some. She was standing at the pretzel stand waiting in line for one when Jem tapped her shoulder. "Ain't that your friend over there?" he asked nodding his head in the direction of the Disney store.

Michaela turned to find Ronnie with Alex's little sister, Cappie, and Leon looking at the stuffed animals there. Leon had one arm draped protectively around Cappie's shoulder, a stuffed Mickey Mouse in his hand.

"Yeah, that's Ronnie," she said, distractedly. She couldn't take her eyes off of Leon. It was startling to see him there, his green eyes shining with excitement as he picked different stuffed characters off the shelves and presented them to the thirteen year old girl.

"Is that Miss Allie's baby daddy he's with?"

She shook her head infinitesimally. Her eyes widened when she realized that Jem didn't know about Vince. Didn't know Vince even existed, let alone that he was her brother. "No. That's her brother," she answered. Before it'd been weird to refer to Leon and Alex as brother and sister, now it came naturally as though it were true.

"Well, we should go say hi," Jem stated.

He was off before she could stop him. She had to jog to catch up with him. "Jem, we should let them be. They're probably just having fun by themselves, they do that. C'mon, let's just go get a pretzel, I'm hungry," she said pulling on his arm.

But it was too late. He was already approaching Ronnie, a big friendly smile on his face. "Hey Ron," he exclaimed, clapping the other man on the shoulder.

Ronnie turned around and smiled. "Jeremiah! What a surprise! How's it going, cowboy?" They shook hands before Ron turned to Leon and Cappie. "This is Leon and Cappie, they're Lex's siblings. Guys, this is Jem, Mickey's boyfriend."

Michaela didn't miss the look that went between Ronnie and Leon. She fought the urge to kick Ronnie's shin; the last thing she wanted was for Jem to be at all suspicious of her relationship with Leon. Jem shook each of their hands in turn. "Cappie. That's an odd name for a young lady."

Cappie glanced at Michaela, a look on her face that asked 'is this guy for real?'. Michaela shrugged in response and the young girl sighed. "Cappie is short for my real name."

"Capriana," Ronnie put in, knowing the question was coming next. Cappie kicked him hard in the shin; she hated her full name. He shrugged a shoulder in response. "What? That's your name!"

"I think it's a beautiful name, sweetheart," he said, giving her a wink.

Michaela glanced at Leon, watching him as he carried on a semi-decent conversation with Jem and Ron. His whole body was tight as he stood there, hands in his pockets, jaw working up and down on the toothpick in his mouth. He didn't add much to the conversation, just nodded along as though he was listening. She caught his eye briefly and felt her stomach flip flop at his dark, almost possessive look.

Cappie looked bored as hell. Her green eyes travelled over the merchandise as if searching for something, anything to distract her. Her posture was the same as Leon's except she was chewing a piece of gum instead of a toothpick. It was easy to believe they were related, even if they weren't. "Hey Lee?" Cappie asked, tugging on his arm. "Can we go now?"

"Am I boring you, Miss Cappie?" Jem asked, a teasing smile on his face.

She looked at him and nodded. "Actually…" she started making Michaela wince. Cappie was a younger version of herself, and she knew what'd she say in a situation like that. "You are, Mr. Rhinestone Cowboy. What are you playing at with that cowboy hat? You're in the heart of Los Angeles, how much of a ranch can you really have?"

Leon smirked proudly, not bothering to hide his smile while Ronnie looked like he was fighting back a laugh as he chastized the younger girl. "Cappie! You can't say those things!" he exclaimed.

"Sorry," she replied flatly, the look on her face anything but apologetic."Lee, can we go to the music store or something?"

A shit-eating grin spread across Leon's face as he nodded. "Sure. Let's go, Cap."

"Nice meeting you, Leon," Jem called out to him before he could walk away.

Leon gave him a brief nod before turning away and slinging an arm around Cappie's shoulders. She looked up at him and said, "You're a hell of a lot better than him, bro."

His hearty chuckle in response made Michaela's heart skip a beat. Jem took his eyes off of Ronnie and gave her a look that meant they'd talk about it later. Sighing, she waved goodbye to Leon and Cappie. Ronnie gave Jem an apologetic look. "Sorry about that. She has no censor."

Jem waved off his apology. "She's a pistol that one," he commented on a laugh.

"You're telling me," Ronnie replied with a chuckle. The three stood there in an awkward silence for while before he clapped his hands together. "I should go catch up with them. Nice seeing you two."

Michaela and Jem said goodbye. Once he was out of sight, Jem turned to her, one eyebrow raised. "What was that about?" he asked.

"Not a clue," she said with an innocent shrug of her shoulders. "Cappie's a little kid. She doesn't know what she's talking about."

"She called me Rhinestone Cowboy, she ain't dumb, pumpkin," he said, shaking his head. "In fact, I'd venture to say she's pretty bright to pull an old school reference like that out of her little behind."

Michaela fought the urge to tell him not to call her that. She wasn't a big fan of food nicknames like "pumpkin" and "cupcake", though Jem used them pretty frequently. "I didn't say she was dumb," she denied, folding her arms across her chest. "I said she didn't know what she was talking about. C'mon, let's go get a pretzel. I'm hungry."

Jem gave her a look that said he didn't believe her, but he let it slide anyway. "All righty. Let's go."

Leon was still chuckling at Cappie's comments as they walked away. He ruffled her hair lovingly. "That was awesome, Cap."

Cappie grinned up at him, her eyes shining with adoration; it hadn't taken her long to warm up to Leon. She'd heard about him countless times from her older sister, so when she actually met him, it was like meeting a long lost family member. "What? I was right," she said with an arrogant shrug that was so like her older sister's, it was scary. "I mean, are there any ranches here?"

"There's at least one. His," Leon answered on a frown.

"Really?" She almost looked disappointed. "Well, he doesn't have to go around dressed the part. How lame is that? My sister surfs and she doesn't go around wearing pucca shells and saying "dude" all the time."

"Good point."

Cappie chewed on her bubble gum pensively. "So where's Vince?"

"Lex didn't tell you?" he questioned, slightly surprised.

She shrugged a shoulder nonchalantly. "I'm scared to ask her. I heard her crying on the phone a few times with the padres. I don't like hearing her cry so I haven't asked her and she knows it makes her cry and I don't like it, so she hasn't told me. We respect each other like that." (Parents)

He laughed at her logic and nodded. "Vince is…he's in jail right now."

"Why?"

"Cause he did something bad," Leon replied vaguely. "I'm surprised your parents haven't freaked out yet."

"Why would they freak out? My sister Lena married a poor filmmaker who's been in jail a few times because he got caught with drugs. My dad paid to put him in rehab. Now Rem's clean, he's making buttloads of money by directing music videos, and he's paid my dad back every cent. Dad's big into second chances."

"Why'd he do it?"

"Lena brought Remy around when they first started dating and Daddy liked him. He always goes with his gut instinct so he got him some help and Remy turned out to be awesome," she explained. "When we went to the Giants game over here, Daddy got real close to Vince. He likes him, so unless V royally messes something up like hits Lex or abandons her or something huge, Vince is good."

He nodded. "Cool."

"So what's Jesse's deal?" Cappie asked, changing the subject.

Leon grinned and shook his head at her. He knew the younger girl had a crush on his best friend. That question sealed it. Ruffling her hair, he chuckled. "You're too young for him, kid," he said with a smirk. "He doesn't deserve you anyway."

The next day...

Alex watched her Mom and Mia from her place at the kitchen table. They were running around the backyard decorating it in pink, blue, and green for the baby shower that was starting in a few hours. Her loneliness started to seep in. Sure, she was surrounded by people who loved her, but a part of her was missing and it made her feel lonely. She sniffed, trying to keep herself together. As if sensing her distress, the baby in her belly gave her a small kick. She laughed slightly, wiping at her eyes. "I know, Grem. It's silly to be sad. Papi will be home soon," she said, speaking softly to her unborn baby.

Michaela rushed through the kitchen, rifling through her purse as she went. Alex raised an eyebrow at her. "Where are you going?" she asked.

"If I have to put up one more streamer, I'm going to hang myself with them," Michaela replied on a frustrated sigh. "And because of this, Mia's sending me on an alcohol run. Want to join?"

Alex smirked. "Nah, I'm pretty sure there's something wrong about a pregnant woman going on an alcohol run."

"True, true," Michaela said, leaning over and kissing her temple. "Do you have the keys to the Maxima? My car's check engine light came on when I drove over here and I really don't want to drive it."

"Just take the Jeep," she replied, waving a hand at her. "I don't mind."

"Lex, I hate that freakin' Jeep. I can't drive it, you know that. Just give me the keys to the Max. My brother won't mind, I swear," Michaela pushed, wrinkling her nose in distaste.

Sighing, Alex pushed back from the table and grabbed her keys. "If you so much as scratch his car, I will kill you."

"Yeah, yeah, don't worry about it. I've driven his car plenty of times," she assured her friend as she headed to the door. "Be good while I'm gone, 'kay?"

Alex nodded and waved. "See ya," she said as she sat down again at the table, a sad look on her face.

Michaela felt her heart drop when she saw how sad her friend looked. Frowning, she headed toward Vince's car. As she was messing with the seat, she locked eyes with Leon who was grabbing a bottle of vodka out of his backseat. The corner of his mouth lifted in a sexy smirk, creating a stampede of butterflies in her stomach. "Escaping?" he asked, strutting over to her car.

During the past couple of weeks, they had started talking again. It was easy to fall into being friend again…friends who occasionally slept with each other despite the fact that she had a boyfriend. "Something like that," she replied with a shrug. "Don't bring that in. I told Lex I was going on an alcohol run. I don't want her getting suspicious since she's on house arrest."

Leon nodded. "Fair enough. How's she doing?"

"She's moping."

"Mmm," he grunted with a frown.

The concern in his eyes made her heart flip-flop. Before, his relationship with Alex had bugged her; she'd even been jealous for awhile, but now…she loved seeing the way he took care of her. "Aren't Angie and the kids comin' in today?"

"They'll be here in time for the shower," he replied, nodding his head. "Aren't guys not supposed to come to these things?"

Michaela grinned. "Yeah, but Alex said all her best friends were guys so it was either let them come or no baby shower. You should've heard Mia complain."

"I'm glad I didn't," he said on a chuckle. "I better get in there and help out. Be careful with that car. I can't believe Shorty gave you the keys."

"I'm very persuasive," Michaela said waggling her eyebrows at him suggestively.

He snorted. "Whatever. The gearbox is shot so watch out."

"I will. Bye, Lee."

"Bye, Micks. Be safe."

She nodded, a lump forming in her throat as she drove off. Be safe. He'd said those words to her just before the heists. Before everything went to hell. Tears streamed down her face as she drove down the highway. She missed him. Missed him more than anything. What she was doing to Jem wasn't fair. He didn't deserve to be cheated on. He was such a nice, genuine guy. He was getting suspicious though. More than once, he'd questioned where she was going when she left his house after a date as though he knew she wasn't going home.

Sighing, she pressed on the gas just a little faster. Most of the time, she'd been able to convince him she was going to her house, but the night before, he hadn't been convinced. Luckily, she'd seen his huge truck following her and drove to the shop to visit Mia instead of to the garage to hook up with Leon. She'd parked, stormed out of the car, and chewed him out for it. It'd been their first and only fight.

And he hadn't even fought her! He'd just backed down and admitted he was wrong, even when she was screaming her head off at him. Leon would never have stood for that. He would've yelled right back, not let her walk right all over him. She needed someone who would stand up for herself, that she knew. She'd been told that her entire life. Mr. Toretto used to shake his head at her and mumble, "Whatever man settles down with you, Tesoro, must have a back bone made of iron and balls of steel or you'll kill him." (Treasure in Spanish)

Michaela stopped abruptly in front of the big cement building and frowned; she didn't want to kill Jem. Her eyes scanned the parking lot before they fell on a scruffy figure leaning against a lamp post looking anything but happy. "Hey brother," she said, stepping out of the car, a sheepish look on her face.

"You're late," Vince grunted as he headed towards her, a frown on his face. The frown was gone as soon as she was within arm's reach. "How you doin', pretty girl?" he asked, wrapping his arms around her.

She sighed as she squeezed him back. Tears filled her eyes as she buried her face into his strong chest. She hadn't realized just how much she missed him. "I'm good," she sniffled, pulling back to look up at his scruffy face. "How you doing?"

He gave her a smile and shrugged a shoulder. "It's good to be out. Let's go see my girl."

Did you love it? Hate it? Let me know! I love love LOVE your feedback! Good OR bad!:)

~Love Ink