This is one long chapter. 11 pages. YAY! :)

I was considering cutting it in half but I figured, why not post the whole thing? I haven't uploaded in awhile and you readers are just so awesome!

Thank you, thank you, thank you to: Anonymous, Trickster707, Mrz Letty Ortiz-Toretto, Violet201, nathansprincess (I used your idea in this chapter! Hope it's to your liking!), D274 (It makes sense and will be ending soon, I promise!), xsparklesthemagicalunicornx, VincesDirtyGirl, Rue Dawn, littleone999, and . You guys are all truly amazing and I thank you for taking the time to write down your thoughts/ideas/comments, etc. :)

I'm currently trying to figure out how to work Dom, Let, and Brian back into the story. I might just wait to see if I can try and tie in the fourth movie for a third story and have those three come back…hmm…Any ideas/thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

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

Diamond in the Rough

Chapter 60: Goodbye for Now

By: LoveInk

Michaela stood next to the food table still fuming over Ronnie's little trick. Who was he to say what she was feeling? What she should do? She didn't want to go back with Leon. It wouldn't work. He'd just hurt her again. "You all right there?" a smooth voice asked.

She looked up to find Eddie staring back at her, a mildly concerned look on his face. "I'm fine,"

"What else is new?" he questioned on a chuckle. "I don't think we've formally met. I'm Eddie."

"Michaela," she said shaking his hand. "I'm Vince's sister."

"Lucky you," he muttered, his dislike for Vince showing.

Michaela raised her eyebrow at him. "Are you still bitter over that? Get over it, man. Move on."

Eddie sighed and nodded. His hazel eyes swept over the party, landing on where Alex was with Vince talking to her parents. His arm was around her shoulders and her around his waist. Every so often, she'd look up at him with an adoring look in her bright green eyes and Vince would lean over to press a kiss to the crown of her head. "I know," he breathed. "It's not easy to let someone go."

"I hear ya," Michaela murmured. She was surprised by the genuine emotion she found in Eddie's eyes. It was clear he was actually hurting from what had happened so long ago. She'd written him off as an asshole, but now she wasn't so sure. "I'm surprised you're here. Aren't you supposed to be on tour?"

"Just finished the European leg," he answered on a nod. "We're starting the American leg in a few weeks."

"Fun stuff."

He nodded in agreement. "We have a good time. It's kind of awkward with Fish since Ron and Lexi are gone. Those three are inseparable, but we make do."

"Mickey! Eddie! So glad you two have met," Fisher exclaimed cutting into the conversation as if on cue. He slung an arm around each other their necks and she could smell the alcohol on his breath. "Now, Michaela I have a question for you."

"Shoot."

"You see, I don't want to go back on tour," he started slowly, "but the group desperately needs a choreographer at all times because these boys cannot dance to save their lives. And since you're done with the whole 'Leon' thing and are running our dance studio…why don't we just switch places?"

Michaela raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "You don't do ballet."

"I do so," Fisher corrected on a nod. "I've been…"

"Classically trained in all the dance variations there is to know and I'm quite good at each one," Eddie finished in a mock British accent, his tone indicating that this was not the first time he'd heard Fisher's speech.

Fisher glared at him. "Thank you, Eduardo. Now that that's been clarified, what do you think? Do we have a deal?"

After everyone from the baby shower had gone home, Mia, Michaela, and Alex were left inside while Jesse, Ronnie, Vince, and Leon caught up over beers outside. Michaela couldn't help but smile when she caught Alex's quick glances at Vince. She couldn't keep her eyes off him. His arrival into the backyard hadn't been such a big fuss. No one really knew he'd ever been gone except Alex's family and the rest of the team. Jesse and Leon didn't make a big deal of it; just greeted him with a cold Corona and a man-hug. It was the kind of welcome Vince had wanted.

"You happy he's home?" Michaela asked, smiling when Alex looked back at her, a huge smile on her face.

"Yeah," Alex replied on a happy sigh. "Best surprise ever."

Michaela grinned. "Good. I talked to Eddie."

"He was doing a lot better than the last time I talked to him. It was almost like he was back to the old Eddie," she admitted with a soft smile. Though she'd long ago stopped loving Eddie romantically, she'd always love him like a friend. She had been happy to see that he was somewhat back to normal. His big ego had been deflated and the old Eddie was starting to shine through. "What'd he say?"

"Nothing much, but Fisher wants me to take his place on tour with them."

Mia dropped the plate in her hand. "What? Are you serious? You said no, right?"

Michaela shrugged a shoulder. "What do I got to lose? There's no reason for me to stay here. And going on tour is fun! Right, Lex?"

Alex nodded. "Of course. You travel the nation and see all sorts of stuff. It's a good escape," she explained, choosing her words wisely.

"I'm not escaping," Michaela corrected, catching Alex's meaning. "I just want something new. They leave next week."

"You'll miss the baby," Mia pointed out.

"Don't stay because of that," Alex put in quickly. "The baby will be around for a long time, Mickey. A few months isn't going to change anything. If you want to go, go."

Michaela put the last dish in the dishwasher and sat down. Her eyes drifted toward the window where she could see Leon cracking up with the boys, a cigarette hanging out the corner of his mouth. It'd be nice to be away from him for a few months and get her thoughts straightened out. "I want to go. I'm gonna go."

A week later…

"Tiny, you ready to go?" Vince asked as he rounded the corner into their room. He stopped in doorway when he saw the mess she'd made. She was lying flat on her back on the bed in just a bra and his sweats. Clothes covered every surface of the bedroom. She was supposed to have been getting ready for Michaela's going away party, but it seemed she hadn't made much progress. "You're not ready," he observed.

"I'm not going," she said stubbornly.

"Why not?"

She sighed again. "Because nothing fits me." His eyes fell on her big, round belly and he laughed. She glared at him. "Don't laugh, this is all your fault."

He raised an eyebrow, unhitching himself from the doorway to walk over to her. "My fault?" he repeated leaning over her.

"Yes," she said curtly, folding her arms across her chest as she looked up at him. "If it wasn't for you and your stupid penis, I would have clothes that fit and made me look sexy instead of like a big, huge whale."

"I believe looking sexy is what put you in this whole situation," he said with a grin as he sat down on the edge of the bed.

She pouted. "Well, I don't look sexy anymore."

He shook his head at her, scooting closer to her. "Liar," he said dropping a kiss onto her round belly. "I think you're incredibly sexy," he murmured, punctuating his words with opened mouthed kisses on her stomach.

Alex smiled at him, tangling her hands through his messy hair. "You go. I'll stay here and hang out."

"Not happening, Tiny. You're going. I need someone to keep me from punching Freddie."

Alex rolled her eyes at him. "It's Eddie. I know you know that."

He didn't answer, just rolled off the bed and stood up. He picked up a blue halter dress with paisley designs all over it off the ground. "Wear this."

She sat up and reached out an arm to grab the fabric. "I forgot I had this. Mia went on a shopping spree at the maternity store. Now find me shoes."

Vince chuckled, toeing away the clothes from the ground in an attempt to look for shoes. "Flip-flops," he said, tossing a pretty pair with jewels on them at her feet. "Done."

"I love you. You know that?"

He leant over and caught her lips in a sweet kiss, his large hand settling on her big belly. "I had a feeling." He watched as she pulled off the sweats, revealing a lacy pair of boy short underwear. Stepping up behind her, he slipped his arms around her waist, nuzzling her neck. "You're beautiful."

She giggled as he started trailing kisses down her neck, nipping at the soft skin there. It was still shocking to her that he was attracted to her even though she was huge. Leaning into him, she sighed happily. She'd be content to stay like that forever. "I have to get dressed, big guy."

Vince sighed into her neck and reluctantly stepped away from her. He watched her slip the dress over her head and pulled the ties up around her neck. Taking that as a hint, he deftly tied the strings into a bow before kissing the base of her neck.

She looked at their reflection in the mirror, studying his face. There was something off about him and she had a feeling it had to do with his sister. Reaching her arm over her shoulder, she gently stroked his scruffy cheek. "You going to be okay, Papi?"

Vince knew what she was referring to. "She's gone away for longer stretches of time," he said on a shrug. He could tell she wasn't buying it. "I just…I think she's leaving for the wrong reasons, you know? She didn't even tell Lee yet."

She blinked in disbelief, shaking her head. "She what?" she exclaimed, turning around to look at Vince. "She promised me she would!"

"Woah, there, Tiny. Calm down!"

Alex shook her head incredulously. "No! This isn't fair to Leon! If he goes to this party and finds out there, he is going to explode! Is she fucking kidding? This is ridiculous!"

"Michaela hates confrontation, Tiny. She ain't gonna tell him shit," he commented, unaware of how angry she was.

"She needs to grow the fuck up and tell him like the woman she is! She wants kids, she wants a family, and all this shit but she acts like a child!" Alex seethed, pacing the room. "This is going to break Leon! She's fucked with my brother enough!"

That put Vince on the defensive. Alex may be his wife, but no one talked about his little sister like that. "Don't talk about her like that," he said, trying his best to stay calm. "She's not perfect."

"I'm not asking her to be! How would you react if I left without telling you?" she asked, turning the tables on him.

He paused, remembering how the moment she'd walked up to his hospital bed and told him she'd be leaving. Told him she wasn't sure she'd be back. It'd hit him like a ton of bricks and hurt like hell, but it would've hurt even more if she had taken the coward's way out and left while he was sleeping. It would've made him feel like she didn't care, like she wasn't worth his time. "Not well," he answered finally.

"You think Lee will react any better?"

"Calm down, Tiny," he repeated. "Just give it a rest. He'll be fine. He's not even your real brother."

She stopped pacing and her eyes zeroed in on him, blazing with an angry green fire. "When are you people going to stop throwing that in our faces! Don't you call Dom and Mia your brother and sister? You guys aren't related, yet somehow no one ever corrects you!"

"That's different…"

"Right because Leon actually treats me like a sister. He takes care of me and didn't abandon me in my time of need and let me take responsibility for his actions like someone I know…"

Vince rubbed a hand over his face. He knew that comment was going to lead him into trouble. "Don't bring Dom into this," he said softly. "You don't know him."

"I don't want to know him!" she yelled, beyond frustrated. "And he has nothing to do with anything! I'm just saying that your sister is acting stupid and treating my brother like shit and now I have to deal with it! Do you know how hard that's going to be?"

"My sister isn't stupid!" he exclaimed, missing the point of what she said.

"She's acting like it!"

He shook his head. "Just because you don't agree with what she's doing…"

"What she's doing is wrong!" Alex insisted.

"Whatever, Alex," Vince muttered as he headed towards the door. "Let's go. We're going to be late."

She shook her head. "No. I'm not going anywhere," she stated, crossing her arms over her chest. "I'm staying here to warn Lee what he's going into!"

"He's fine! He's a big boy! Leave him alone!" he shouted, annoyed with her stubbornness. "Let's go!"

"If you want to go, go!"

"Alexandra Teresa Salvatore, if you don't come with me right now, I will…"

"Vincent Cash Catella, if you finish that sentence you're in for a world of hurt," she stated curtly.

He could feel the tension between them. They'd never really fought before, not like this. Usually when they fought, it was over something insignificant or stupid. He knew his options were to apologize or leave before he said something he'd regret later. He had too much pride to apologize, so he decided he'd get out while he still could. "Fine! I'm leaving!" he shouted, turning and stalking out of the room.

"Good! Go!" she shouted after him, grabbing the closest article of clothing and throwing it at his back. She heard the front door slam before he peeled out of the driveway and then everything was silent.

Five minutes later, Leon walked through the door to find Alex sitting on the couch, her knees pulled up to her chest, a blank look on her face. She seemed to be a million miles away as she ate from the carton of ice cream in her lap. "Hey Space cadet!"

She shook herself from her thoughts. "Hmm?"

"Shouldn't you be somewhere?"

"Yeah," she said distractedly, her head bobbing up and down. "I was waiting for you."

Leon raised an eyebrow. Now that Vince was home, it was rare the couple was ever apart. "Why?"

Alex shrugged a shoulder. "Do you know why Michaela's having a barbeque?"

He shook his head. "No idea. She just called and told me where to be."

"She's leaving, Lee," she stated softly, her green eyes studying his face. "She's taking Fisher's place on tour."

Leon blinked as he processes the words. "Fuck." He shook his head and threw himself into the seat next to her.

"Yeah," she agreed handing him the spoon and holding the carton out to him. He dove right in.

"She wasn't going to tell me?" he asked, around a bite of ice cream.

"Guess not."

He swallowed his ice cream before sighing. "Whatever. I'm so done with this shit. It's ridiculous. All of it. Maybe her leaving is the best thing for me."

Alex shrugged. "You're not mad?"

"I give up being mad. I give up trying to figure her out. This is typical Michaela bull shit. I'm not mad. I'm just...done," he explained as he angled the carton towards her so she could get a spoonful of the minty green ice cream. "I'm surprised Vince isn't here."

"We had a fight. He decided to go by himself."

Leon bobbed his head up and down. "What'd you fight about?"

She shrugged again. "I said some choice things about his sister and he threw the fact that you weren't really my brother in my face and so I told him Dom was a shitty brother and you know…stuff escalated from there."

"Huh. You still want to go to the party?"

"I probably should. I don't want problems with Mickey."

He sighed, leaning over to kiss her temple before standing from the couch. "Guess I better change then."

"Go for it."

"This fight with Vince…it's not my fault, right?"

Alex shook her head quickly. "Nah, it's mine. I shouldn't have said those things. I'm just…pregnant and I exaggerate everything. I think it's because I'm feeling for two now."

"And the baby is mad because Mickey didn't tell me?"

"Oh, most certainly. Grem loves his Uncle Leon."

Leon chuckled, shaking his head at her. "Love you too, Grem."

Mia couldn't help but stare at Ronnie's muscular shoulders. Inked across them was an intricate tattoo of the San Francisco skyline, complete with the Golden Gate Bridge. Every inch of the design fit perfectly along the planes of his upper back as though he'd been born with them. Beads of water highlighted the design, making it glisten. He turned his head and caught her eyes, giving her a wink that made her stomach flutter. "Whatcha lookin' at, minha cozinheira linda?" he asked the corner of his lips pulling up into a smirk. (My pretty cook)

She rolled her eyes at him. He was always calling her random names in Portuguese that he never explained and Alex refused to translate. It'd been so frustrating; she'd gone to a book store and purchased a Portuguese-English dictionary. So far, he'd called her a fairy, a red pencil, and a purple heart among other random things. "Nothing," she said before turning on her heel and heading back into the kitchen where Alex and Michaela were helping her cook.

"Why didn't you tell him, Mickey?" Alex asked her friend softly.

Michaela didn't need to ask who she was talking about. "Lex, I've had so much stuff on my mind, I just…forgot."

"I reminded you this morning at the studio."

"Did you? I didn't hear you, I guess," she lied. She had heard Alex's reminder and had just brushed it off knowing that if she didn't tell Leon, Alex definitely would and it would save her a lot of heartache.

"That's bullshit," Alex commented with a scowl.

Vince was relaxing with his feet in the pool as he chatted with Ronnie. Leon had brought Alex over, and she'd pulled him aside and apologized for overreacting. Everything was good. That was until Mia tapped his shoulder. "What's up, Mi?"

"Lex and Mickey are…sort of fighting inside," she explained looking a bit panicked.

He was up in seconds and sprinting towards the house. He could hear Michaela's voice as soon as he took a step inside. "You know this is all your fault right?" Michaela shouted, her finger in Alex's face. "First you take away my brother and then you steal all of Leon's attention!"

Alex blinked as the hurt and anger set in. "What the hell are you talking about?" she exclaimed, at a loss for what Michaela was implying. "I didn't steal either of them!"

"How come you were the first one he called when he left LA? How come you were the first one to hear about Lee's family? And why the fuck did he go to you for every single fucking problem he had when I was his girlfriend! He should've been talking to me! Not you!"

"That's not my fault, Michaela!"

"I bet you were fucking him too, weren't you? You sure that baby is my brother's because it could easily be Leon's!"

Alex's jaw dropped. She couldn't believe what Michaela was accusing her of. "I've never cheated on Vince! Not once and especially not with Leon!"

"Whatever you say, Lex. You two spent a lot of time alone together…"

"Fuck you!" Alex shouted, cutting of Michaela's words. "If anything you should thank me! I was the one who let you talk to him when you were in Vegas, I was the one who convinced him to come back home, and lately, I have been spending hours defending you!"

"Oh I doubt that."

"Think what you want, but I did nothing wrong," she insisted.

"Yes you did!" Michaela pushed. "Little Miss Perfect tricks my brother into falling in love with her…"

"Michaela," Vince growled as a warning.

"And then you set your sights on Leon and make him trust you so he goes to you instead of me! Meanwhile my idiot brother asks you to marry him and to put icing on the cake, he knocks you up! Now you've got the perfect fucking life and I've got nothing! And it is all. Your. Fault."

Vince was ready to step in when Alex's soft voice stopped him. "How can you say that?" she asked, on the edge of tears. She sniffled before continuing, her voice gaining confidence and strength. "I didn't trick Vince into anything, I didn't plan for him to propose, nor did I expect to be pregnant before we even got married. I never asked Leon to come to me with his problems; in fact, we never would've gotten close if it hadn't been for your phone calls and if it hadn't been for you taking Vince to the studio that day we never would've met…so it's your fault, Michaela."

Before Michaela could response, Alex continued, "But I am so glad it happened. I love your brother and I love this weird, misfit family so much so that I want to be angry at you right now, but I can't be because I understand why you feel like that and I'm sorry for it. I wish I could change it, but I can't. Sorry."

All of Michaela's anger deflated. She hated that Alex was right. That everything she said made sense and that underneath it all, it wasn't her fault. She couldn't blame anyone but herself for her failed relationship. "Fuck you for being so perfect, Lex," she said on a light laugh to show she didn't mean the insult. She wiped at her eyes that had gathered tears in them sometime during their talk. Sighing, she gave Alex an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry," she murmured, hugging the shorter girl.

Alex sighed in relief as she hugged her back. "It's all right," she said, squeezing her.

"You know I love you, right?"

She laughed in response and nodded. "Love you too," Alex replied. "Now go finish packing. Don't forget your toothbrush and to label everything!"

"Yes, Mom," Michaela said, saluting her friend as she headed out of the room.

Vince looked down at his fiancée, unsure of what just happened. "What was that?"

"She had stuff to get off her chest. I'm glad she did it before she left," Alex answered on a shrug. "Now, we can go on with our lives."

He shook his head. "I will never understand women."

Leon leant against the door jamb, watching Michaela pack. He couldn't believe she was leaving. She turned and met his gaze, her blue eyes guarded as she looked at him. "You weren't going to tell me about this?" he asked, arms crossed over his chest.

She sighed, running a hand through her messy hair. For once, she wished they were still at that awkward phase where they avoided each other and didn't talk. This friendship/friends with benefits things was totally throwing her off. "Spare me the lecture, Lee. Your sister already went through it," she replied.

His eyebrows rose in surprise. That was the first time Michaela had ever referred to Alex as his sister. "My sister?"

"Yeah. I figured if she loved you enough to chew me out like that, she's got to be your sister," Michaela said, throwing a shirt onto her bag. It was a mess. Nothing was folded or place properly, she was literally just shoving things in there.

Leon chuckled, shaking his head at her. "What happened to the cowboy?"

Michaela looked down at her pack. "I broke up with him," she mumbled. "Our whole relationship was so…wrong. I need some time to be alone and just…think."

"How long?"

"I dunno," she said on a shrug. "A few months."

"Then what?"

She shrugged again. "I don't know."

He sucked in a long breath before nodding. "Okay."

The words hung there in the quiet room that was filled with things left unsaid. A part of her wished he'd try and to convince her to stay; the other part was glad he didn't. If he had asked her to, she would stay. "Will you take care of the rest of them?"

It was a question she didn't have to ask. They were as much his family as they were hers. He would take care of each of them at all costs. He rolled his eyes and nodded in response.

"And call me when the baby is born?" she asked.

"Yeah," he replied watching as she opened the last drawer and pulled something out. It was one of his jerseys. She took a few steps closer to him as she handed him the jersey. He shook his head. "Keep it."

Michaela nodded, gently setting the jersey in her suitcase. Tears filled her eyes as she looked at the black jersey with the red numbers. It was her favorite one of his, the one she would press her face into when she missed him because as many times as she washed it, the smell didn't fade. She wondered if he'd move on in her absence; if he would find some new gorgeous girl who was okay with not having kids or getting married. "What about you?" she said, her voice choked.

"I'm not going anywhere," he said solemnly. He shifted nervously before sighing. "I guess I'll see you around…"

"Yeah."

"All right," he said on a nod. He closed the distance between them and pressed his lips to her temple. "Bye, Princess."

Another piece of her heart broke at the old nickname. It'd been so long since he'd called her that. "Goodbye, Lee."

So? Comments/thoughts/suggestions...everything is welcome! :D

Also, question: What do you readers think of Ronnie and Mia together? I'm a fan of Brian/Mia (especially after the fifth movie), but I've been toying with a Ronnie/Mia fling for awhile too...is that something you'd like see happen?

Review, review, review, please! :)

~LoveInk