Sorry it took me awhile! This chapter was tricky. A lot of editing/changes/massive deletes were involved! Luckily, I got the FastFive DVD and it kind of "unstuck" me. ;)

Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who took the time to review!: Violet201, D274, Mrz Letty Ortiz-Toretto, Trickster707, bizchelc(LOVE the Star Wars reference! I'm all for Essie being a new-aged Yoda! ;) ) VincesDirtyGirl (Good luck with your story! If you ever need help, send me a message! :]), GallagherGirl4Evah, Rue Dawn, xsparklesthemagicalunicornx, and nathansprincess! You all are superb!

Disclaimer: I own nothing but Alex and Michaela. :)

Diamond in the Rough

Chapter 64: Damaged

By: LoveInk

Michaela's stomach was in knots as she unlocked the front door to her house. She wanted a few minutes to get changed and to pull her thoughts together before going to see Leon. After a long, hot shower, she quickly got dressed and headed to her Celica.

Moments later, she stood in front of the large brick building that housed DT automotive. She didn't know what made her go to the garage before going to the hospital, but there she was, looking at the dirty metal door. Sighing, she opened it and stepped inside. Sunlight filtered into the bay though the dirty windows, illuminating the one car that seemed to be having work done on and a larger shape lurking in the corner. The one car being worked on still had its hood propped open with tools spilled on the floor around it, a tool box tipped over its side nearby. She saw the ashtray sitting by it and toed it absentmindedly. He'd been here.

She saw the large mass in the corner covered by a sheet and hesitantly walked toward it. Slowly, she lifted the corner of the sheet, her heart lurching in her chest when she realized what it was. It was the Skyline. A small gasp left her lips as the sheet fell aside revealing ruined car. "No," she whispered, her hand covering her mouth.

Her eyes fell on the door first, his door. It was bent in the middle and hanging open. Glass littered the floor of the driver's seat. Red glass. She closed her eyes. No, of course it wasn't red glass it was glass covered in blood…his blood. She felt sick to her stomach.

"God, Lee," she breathed as she brushed her fingers over the damaged decal on the side. Why hadn't he just waited to call her? He didn't have to call her on his way! He should've waited until he got to the hospital!

"What the hell happened to it?" a familiar voice questioned from behind her.

Michaela turned to find Letty walking towards her, a concerned look on her tan face. "Letty!" she exclaimed, rushing towards her and pulling her into a hug. "What are you doing here?"

Letty shrugged a shoulder as if her reappearance wasn't that big of a deal. "Lookin' for Dom."

"He never met up with you?" she questioned, eyes wide with shock. The plan had been for Dom to meet her in Mexico. For Dom to skip out on her like that what crazy! How could he? He loved her more than anything, why would he just leave her there?

"No," Letty replied her voice rough and sad. "You guys hear from him?"

Michaela shook her head. "Not a word."

"Huh," she grunted pensively. Her dark eyes travelled to the Skyline, a sad look in them. "Shit. What happened to the Skyline?"

"He crashed it running through a red light."

Letty furrowed her brows. If Leon crashed the Skyline, why the hell was Michaela there and not at the hospital? Was the outcome worse than Letty had assumed? Was Leon gone too? "And you're here because…Is he…"

"No!" Michaela exclaimed loudly. "No, he's fine, I think. He's alive. I'm here because…well, you missed a lot, Letty."

"I called Lee awhile back," she admitted, her eyes focused on her feet. She had a feeling Michaela would not be happy about that. "He told me about Lex and Vince heard about Lex being pregnant and about Vince goin' to jail. He said Jess was awake…all that shit."

Michaela tried to get over the hurt she felt at not being called. Why did no one ever think to call her? And why hadn't Leon mentioned her when he talked to Letty? "Oh."

"Mickey, I didn't call you because I got a new phone and didn't have your number. Lee had written his down for me before he left. I'm sorry."

" 's all right," she said on a shrug. "Um. Me and Lee broke up and then I went on tour with Alex's ex's band which is why I'm here and not…there. I just got home and I needed to…think before heading over there."

Letty sighed and shook her head. Things weren't supposed to fall apart like this. Michaela and Leon were supposed to stay together like Alex and Vince. She wasn't supposed to have to worry about her because she had Leon! "You gonna get back together?"

She shrugged a shoulder. "I dunno yet, Let. I just got here."

"Huh. That thing is fuckin' depressing," the other girl stated, nodding her head towards the heap of metal that was the Skyline. "Such a waste. Let's get outta here and go see your man."

Michaela rolled her eyes at Letty's statement. "You know, Lex had the baby," she stated as they walked towards their cars together.

"No shit!" Letty exclaimed, her face sad for a split second before she smiled. "So that's where everyone is! Between Alex and Lee, everyone is at the hospital! Let's go meet the little monster."

"Hey Let?" Michaela asked, stopping her friend in her tracks.

"Mm?"

"We've always been on the same cycle and that day…I was pregnant and I miscarried and…"

Letty's smile faltered, her head dipping down sadly. "Yeah, me too."

Michaela kicked at her tire and sighed. "It sucks, huh?"

She shrugged in response as she unlocked the door to her car, an old beat up Chevelle. "Shit happens for a reason, Micks. What would I do with a kid now? I couldn't hunt down Dom, that's for sure. I'd be stuck. It's a blessing in disguise."

"That's what Vince said."

"Sometimes the Coyote's got good stuff to say. Other times, not so much. It ain't like we can't have 'em in the future, right?"

Michaela sighed sadly. "Leon doesn't want 'em."

"I don't want 'em," Letty admitted softly. "Not now, anyway. You can't fault him on that. C'mon, Mickey, let go see the new addition to our family."

"Look at that, he didn't come out ugly," Leon teased as he held baby Maxi in his arms. "Who do you look like, Grem? Neither of your parents is very good looking."

Alex smirked at him from her place at the foot of his bed. "Shut up, Leon," she scoffed. Their eyes met for a brief moment and she frowned. "Lee, what were you thinking? You were driving way too fast to be one the phone! Who the hell were you calling?"

He sighed, rocking Maxi slightly. "I was calling Mickey. I promised I'd call her when the baby came and the baby was comin' so I called…or I tried to."

"You couldn't have waited 'til you got here, Lee? I was in labor for like eight hours, you coulda called her then!"

"Eight hours?" he exclaimed before letting out a low whistle. "Shit, Shorty. That's gotta hurt."

Alex smiled, reaching out to touch her son's head. "He was worth it."

"I'm sorry, Lex."

She gave him a confused look. "For what? You didn't do anything."

"It was supposed to be your day. You had the baby, you're supposed to get all the attention," he explained.

"Yes, because I love attention," Alex said sarcastically. She hated being fussed and fawned over. The only person who's attention she loved was Vince's, and even then, she wasn't that demanding. Not like Letty was with Dom or how Michaela had been with him.

He caught her biting her lip and smirked. "Spare me the lecture, Shorty. Whatever drugs they gave me were so fuckin' strong, I saw Essie and she gave me a lecture that would put all other lectures to shame."

Alex gave him a warm smile. "You saw Essie?"

Leon nodded. "Said she likes you 'cause you take care of me and tell me when I mess up. Then she said the Gremlin was so cute, I'd want kids."

She was happy to hear that Leon's drug induced vision of his sister liked her and thought she was doing a good job in her role, but she was interested in the "kid issue". "And?"

"He's pretty fuckin' cute."

"But you still don't want kids," she finished for him, taking Maxi from his arms when Leon handed him over. "No matter how cute my son is."

Sighing, he ran a hand through his hair. "I dunno, Lex," he said on a breath. "I don't want them now, that's for sure."

Alex grinned. "But you're considering it."

"I dunno," he repeated. "Maybe."

She frowned, it wasn't a definite answer but it was better than nothing. She was sure Michaela could deal with a "maybe" better than a "no". "What are you gonna do when Mickey gets here?"

"Pretend I'm asleep," he said, laying his head back on the pillow lazily, his eyes already closing.

She laughed as she shook her head at him. "Uncle Lee is silly," she cooed to her baby. "He's got to learn to deal with his problems."

"I deal with them!" Leon scoffed defensively. "Shouldn't you be at your room?"

"See? He's avoiding his problems," she said to Maxi before looking up at Leon. "Today's my last day in here and Vince is sleeping so as long as the nurses don't catch me, I should be good."

"How's baby daddy doing?"

Alex knew he was trying to avoid talking about Michaela and for the time being, she'd let it slide. "I love that man," she replied simply.

Leon smiled sadly at her. He wished love was as easy and effortless as Alex and Vince made it look. They never seemed to question each other or fight. They just loved each other unconditionally. He had no doubt the two would make awesome parents. Maxi was one of the luckiest kids in the world to have them. "He better treat you right or I'll kick his ass."

She giggled at that thought. "Seems like Uncle Lee really does have brain damage if he thinks he can kick your daddy's butt," she cooed at Maxi.

Thoughts? Questions? Suggestions? I'm open to anything and everything! :)

Does anyone have any good song-writing inspiration songs? My "inspirational" playlist for this story is so...over played and I'm always looking for new stuff! :D

~Love Ink