Thank you, thank you, thank you to: Violet 201, xsparklesthemagicalunicornx, Mrz Letty Ortiz-Toretto, matthotty101, GallagherGirl4Evah, Rue Dawn (Don't apologize! I love your reviews regardless of length!:) Good luck at school!), Bindie, xXBXx, littleone999 (Cappie was really fun to write, I'm glad you liked her!), nathansprincess (LOVED your suggestion…you just might see that coming up soon!), and RzSpeeder! Ya'll are totally awesome!

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

Diamond in the Rough

Chapter 59: Coming Home

By: LoveInk

Michaela studied her brother as he readjusted the driver's seat of the Maxima. After fifteen minutes, he seemed to have gotten it just right. Vince started the car and the engine came to life with a roar. Sighing happily, his shoulders relaxed as he sunk back into his bucket seat. "I missed you, girl," he murmured to his car, his long fingers stroking over the wheel before he reached for the gear stick.

He pulled out with a squeal of his tires and took off down the highway. "Transmission's messed up," he muttered to himself. "Tiny been driving her a lot?"

She nodded. "Yeah. Sometimes I catch her just sitting in here. I think she likes that it smells like you. Lee already ordered new parts."

"How's he doing?"

"I dunno," she answered on a shrug. "Fine, I guess."

Vince shook his head, hiding a laugh. "That was a really fucked up thing you did to him."

"Let us not talk about fucked up, Mr. I-don't-give-my-pregnant-fiancée-visiting-rights. She cried for months, V. Months."

He ran a hand through his hair, a guilty look on his face. "I would never have gotten out early if she came to visit, Mickey. It was hard enough to deal with guys sayin' shit about Mia without kickin' their asses. Imagine if they'd said it about my fiancée. I would've killed someone. Then I'd be in there for a hell of a lot longer."

"Fair enough, but on top of that, your letters sucked too. Were you trying to make her cry?"

"I didn't do it on purpose," he muttered. "I just didn't know what to say. How's the Gremlin?"

Michaela shrugged a shoulder. "Fine. It kicks which is weird. I'm sure Mia has shown you the sonograms and stuff. It looks less like an alien every day."

He chuckled. "That's good to hear. We know if it's a boy or a girl yet?"

"Are you kidding?" she asked, her eyebrows raised. "Hell no! Mia and Alex spend hours fighting over it. Mia wants to know, but Alex doesn't think its right to find out without you there and then Mia insists that you're not even going to be here when it's born so it doesn't matter, which just makes Lex cry and it's this whole big fiasco.

"Well, I'm going to be there with more than enough time to see it."

Michaela smirked mischievously. "You're going to scare the shit out of her."

Vince nodded, excitement coursing through his veins as their surroundings started to become familiar. His heart was in overdrive by the time they finally reached Alex's house. He got out of the car and just stared at the familiar beachside house. "Welcome home," Michaela said, stretching her arms out. "Party's in the back. That's where she'll be." He didn't move to follow her. "You comin'?" she questioned, turning around to face him.

Shrugging a shoulder, he mumbled, "Guess so." He didn't want to walk into the huge crowd that was sure to be in the backyard. He didn't care about them. There was only one person he wanted to see at the moment.

He paused in the kitchen, watching Michaela as she headed out into the crowd of people. His eyes scanned the party, observing the familiar faces and the newer ones. Mia was by the drinks, giving Ronnie a flirtatious grin as he gestured wildly around him. Leon had a huge squirt gun in his arms and a little mo-hawked boy clinging to his back. It was clear they were chasing after the two pre-teen girls and Alex's little sister, Cappie, each girl equipped with equally big squirt guns. Michaela was watching the interactions secretively while she stood next to a man in a cowboy hat that Vince had never seen before. There was no mistaking what the look in her eyes meant; that look of love was one Vince had only seen when she looked at Leon. He spotted Alex's dad standing next to three women he assumed were her older sisters and her mother, though he had yet to meet them.

And then he found her. He remembered her being beautiful, but not like this. She looked radiant. Brightly colored ribbons were woven into her dark hair which was plaited in an intricate French-braid that hung down her back, something he was sure Mia had done. She was wearing a long, flowing tie-dyed lime green, blue, and white dress that just barely hit the top of her bare feet and showed off just enough of her larger chest. Before he'd left, it'd been almost impossible to tell she was pregnant, now she was huge. She was talking to Fisher, a sad look in her eyes that did not match the fake smile on her face.

Alex scanned the crowd. She could feel his presence. She didn't know what it was or how, but she could feel him there. It was an absurd thing, considering he was miles away in prison, but she could feel him there as if he was standing right behind her. Shaking her head, she mentally laughed at herself for being silly. Of course he wasn't there, he had six months left. She blamed the feeling on her hormones, as she always did.

"Phone, Lex," Michaela said, holding the house phone out to her.

"Thanks," Alex murmured taking the phone. She smiled despite her sad mood; she knew what phone calls to the house phone usually meant. Maybe that's why she'd sensed his presence before, because he was on the phone. "Hello?"

"Hey Tiny," Vince's gruff voice answered in response, sending shivers down her spine. "How's the shower? You havin' fun?"

Tears clouded her vision as they usually did when he called. Fisher took this as his cue to leave. He gave her a quick peck on the cheek before heading towards her parents. Wiping at her eyes she shrugged a shoulder. "Mia went over the top on this one, big guy. You should see it."

"She got balloons in your favorite colors…and pink."

"Mm-hmm. Jeep green and Maxima blue. The pink is for the girl she insists we're having," she answered, wondering how he knew. She rubbed her hand over her belly. "God, baby, I look like a whale."

He chuckled in response. "You're beautiful."

Alex raised an eyebrow, surveying the party once again. He sounded so sure, like he could see her. "Thanks, but you would say that if I was wearing a paper bag."

"Nah, tie dye looks good on you, Tiny."

"How do you…did Mia tell you?"

His light laugh was her only response. "You might want to put shoes on though. I know barefoot and pregnant is a saying but it's not a rule."

She looked down at her bare feet, wriggling them against the wood of the deck. Her green eyes swept over the party one final time, looking for him. How could he know so much? "I'm not bare foot," she lied easily.

"Liar. You got green nail polish on 'em. It's cute."

Alex was really confused now. How much detail had Mia gone into the last time she saw him? Meandering into the house, she saw the front door swing shut. Curiously, she wandered toward it, wondering who was trying to escape early. "Leon painted them, actually, since I can't reach now," she said with a laugh. "He's getting pretty good at it."

Vince laughed loudly at that one, so loud she swore she could hear it. As she stepped onto the front porch, her eyes swept over the front yard, stopping when she saw the Maxima. Then she saw him, leaning against the passenger door as though he'd never left. She let the phone fall out of her hand before she rushed at him.

He pushed off the car and caught her just as she launched herself at him, lifting her feet off the ground and spinning her around. She buried her face into his neck, clinging to him as tightly as she could with her baby bump between them. He could feel hot tears against his skin and squeezed her tighter. "You're here," she finally managed to choke out. "You're really here."

He turned his nose into her hair, inhaling her warm, summery scent. God, he'd missed her. Pressing a kiss to her temple, he set her back down on her feet. She grabbed his face in her hands, rolling up on the balls of her feet to press a soft, sweet kiss to his lips. He deepened the kiss, hungry for more, his hands tangling in her hair as he did so.

Alex giggled as she pulled away, her thumbs stroking over his scruffy cheeks. "How…" she asked, her eyes sparkling with happy tears.

Vince cut her off with a quick kiss. "Surprise."

She hit him lightly, trying to scowl but failing miserably; she could not stop smiling. "How come you didn't tell me!"

"I wanted to surprise you, Tiny," he said on a laugh. His long, calloused fingers gently brushed away her tears before he leant forward and caught her lips in another kiss. After spending almost six months without her kisses, he couldn't get enough of them. His hands settled on her pregnant belly. "You're beautiful," he breathed, dipping his head to kiss her once more.

A light blush colored her cheeks as she looped her arms around his neck. "And you're…huge!" she exclaimed, her hands sliding down his muscular arms. He'd always had big muscles, but now they seemed even larger.

He grinned bashfully. "Not much to do in there but lift weights," he explained on a shrug. "And miss you and the baby of course."

"We've missed you too," she replied with a bright smile. Once again she pushed up on her toes and caught his lips in a kiss.

Michaela watched them from the window of the living room. She had to get away from Jem who was currently deep in conversation with Eddie, a combination she could not stand. As she watched the couple, she felt she was intruding on a private moment. It was obvious just how much they loved each other. They couldn't keep their hands off each other in a way that was more sweet than sexual. Alex would touch his face, Vince would gently caress her belly, and she would stand on her toes just to kiss him mid-sentence. And the smiles. Their smiles were huge; bigger than Michaela had ever seen on either of their faces.

She sighed longingly. That was what she wanted. She wanted to be so loved by someone that they couldn't bear to be away from her. That they felt it necessary to touch her in some way at all times.

Leon had been like that. When they were together, he'd always find innocent ways to touch her. Whether it was a hand on the small of her back while they talked, the times she'd feel his ankle grazing against hers under the dinner table, or her favorite: when he would hook his pink around hers as they walked. She loved that.

She turned and walked back towards the backyard. Maybe she'd been wrong about her dream. Maybe her dream wasn't to get married and have kids. Maybe her dream was just Leon. Plain and simple. It was becoming clear that she couldn't be without him, so any relationship she had would always be untrue to herself and unfair to the guy. There would always be something missing.

"Thinking about him?" a voice questioned, interrupting her thoughts.

Michaela spun around to find Ronnie leaning against the fridge, a Corona dangling from his tan fingers. "No, why would I be thinking about Leon?" she asked defensively.

He smirked. "Funny thing is…I wasn't asking about Lee."

Her eyes widened; she'd been caught. "Fuck."

Shrugging his shoulders like it was no big deal, Ronnie stated, "The heart wants what it wants."

"I don't want Leon," she denied quickly. "I'm over it. He can't give me what I want."

"Can Jem? I mean, don't get me wrong, he's cool and all but…he's no Leon."

She narrowed her eyes at him. Damn him for saying what she was thinking. "He's fine. I'm happy with him."

He snorted derisively. "What a joke! I know you want Leon, Michaela. I've heard you sneaking into his bedroom. You're not a very good sneaker. You love him."

"Do not. I like Jem now."

"But you don't love him."

"Shut the fuck up, Ronnie."

He shrugged off her insult. "Look. You have two choices. Jem or Leon. Let's flip a coin, all right? Heads, you stay with Jem, tails you get your head out of your ass and go for Leon."

"Don't be stupid."

"Hey, just trust, all right?" he said with a smirk. He tossed the coin in the air, catching it gracefully in his other hand just before it hit the ground and slapping it on top of his hand.

Michaela raised an eyebrow. "Well?"

"What side are you hoping for?" he asked, a cheeky grin on his face as her eyes narrowed in response. "There's your answer, girly."

She punched his arm hard. "Fuck you, Ronnie. What the hell do you know?" she cursed at him before heading to the party.

Ronnie watched her go while he rubbed at his arm, a scowl on his face. "That worked a hell of a lot better with Alex," he mused to himself.

"Take a shower, big guy," Alex said, squeezing his hand. He'd taken her hand in his as they headed into the house and she hadn't let go of it yet. She was worried if she let go, he might disappear. "Relax a bit."

Vince glanced reluctantly from the bathroom to her. He wasn't ready to be away from her. "Join me?"

She smiled and shook her head. "Mia will kill me if I ruin my hair. She took forever to do it."

He leant over and kissed her quickly before going to the shower. After a fast shower, he was surprised to find her still lying on their bed, waiting for him. "You could've gone back out there, Tiny."

She sat up, playing with the end of her braid feeling slightly embarrassed about her reason for staying. "I'm scared you're going to disappear on me," she admitted quietly. "It's too good to be true. You have another six months, big guy."

He smiled proudly and shrugged a shoulder. "I was a good boy so they let me out earlier on good behavior. It was hard as hell, but I did it." He took her chin into his hand, lifting it so he could kiss her again before he headed towards the dresser. He pulled on a nice pair of jeans, a black beater, and a blue button up shirt over it. The shirt was significantly tighter around his arm than he remembered, but he could deal with that.

He started to button the shirt up, but her small fingers stopped him and unbuttoned it again. It was clear she liked it better unbuttoned. "Thank you," she said softly. Vince shrugged again, dipping his head to catch her lips in a soft kiss.

"You're welcome," he said, his gruff voice sending shivers down her spine.

Her hands reached for his, taking them and placing them on her stomach. "Grem's going crazy."

He felt a soft movement against his hand and his eyes widened. "Was that…"

"Grem wants to say hi too," she said with a small grin. "Welcome back, Papi."

He grinned at his new name. "It's good to be home."

What'd you think? I love reading your thoughts and suggestions so leave a few for me in a review! :)

~Love Ink