Author: Moon Roses or Moony
Rating: R for language
Disclaimer: Don't own anything.
Feedback: Not necessary but greatly appreciated.
Recap: Mia shook her head swiftly and reached for a half empty bottle of water. Although she still looked sickly she had a little color returning to her cheeks. If Shorty had to guess, she'd say Mia was feeling a little better. "I want to, but honestly, I'm not really feeling Vegas anymore. I just want to go home and rest up for classes on Tuesday. I'm going to keep sleeping and maybe I'll be better by morning."

Chapter Twenty Five

With Mia's previous warnings in her head she ushered Letty out the door and they meandered their way to Excalibur for the show. She had always wanted to go to this kind of thing when she was a kid but hadn't made it. Maybe it was a show suited to a younger audience, but in all honesty she was really looking forward to it. Live entertainment and eating with your hands sounded too good to pass up. Shorty was grinning to herself as she descended the stairs into the arena and thought of how hilarious the boys would be, had they been there. She could just imagine them belligerently hollering at the actors and venomously supporting their country.

Their tickets led them to the country of Russia and they sat themselves two rows up from the tournament field. They quickly ordered a bucket of Corona's and sat back to relax while the other attendee's filtered in slowly. When the lights went down, and a Merlin clad figure introduced the storyline, servers placed their meals in front of them. Shorty ate with fervour and screamed her approval as the Russian knight cheated his way to victory before falling. By the time the show ended she was hoarse from screaming and Letty was laughing at her expense.

Both girls had sobered up considerably in their enthusiasm for the tournament. After they finished their bucket of Corona's they hadn't bothered ordering another one. As they wandered through the Excalibur casino they chatted about how two grown women could have enjoyed themselves that much. When they found themselves back on the strip they decided to check out the Bellagio fountain show.

Night had settled over the city bringing with it the partygoers. Shorty wasn't dressed to go to a club and didn't really want to make the effort to make herself somewhat acceptable. So, they decided their best course of action was just finding a local pub to relax in after the fountain show.

The water burst from the eight acre pool and danced across the surface in tune with the Celine Dion song issuing from the speakers. Shorty was awed by the spectacle and for the first time that weekend wished she'd had Leon beside her. She wasn't a romantic girl but the couples around her were holding each other tight and she couldn't help but feel just a little jealous. Shaking thoughts of Leon from her head she focused on the show instead of the people around her.

As the jets of water receded and the crowd dispersed Shorty looped her arm in Letty's. "Let's go find some pot and then get some nachos."

Letty laughed in response but allowed Shorty to tug her down the strip in search of both. Unsure of where to acquire something of the sort they slipped into a small rundown convenient store and bought two beers. Shorty eyed the male cashier before deciding he might have connections. "Hey, you know where we can get some pot?" she asked the man.

He blinked at her no nonsense approach and nodded, "Yeah man, there's a guy in the Hawaiian Marketplace. His name's Donny, usually wears a flowered shirt, has a tattoo on his neck. You can't miss him."

"Thanks man," Shorty grinned. She took the beers from the counter and handed one to Letty as they moved through the small shop back to the strip.

She looked up the strip to a large sign reading Polo Towers Hawaiian Marketplace and pointed it out to Letty. They let the hustle and bustle of the crowd carry them in the direction they wanted, chatting about the tournament and whether they could convince the men to come back for a showing. Shorty figured it wouldn't be hard to convince them; all they had to do was explain about the beer wenches in tiny outfits. They'd be out the door before bags were packed.

Shorty and Letty walked into the open outdoor mall and perused the small carts. She bought a few small things for the boys back home but kept an open eye for the man they were looking for. She had thought they would never find him when she spotted him coming around the end of a cart selling necklaces. He was wearing an overly large bright Hawaiian button down and baggy cargo shorts. His feet were laced into sturdy black combat boots and he had his wavy brunette hair tied into a tiny ponytail at the back of his head. The pinup model tattooed on his neck disappeared into his shirt and he scratched absently at his chest.

She nudged Letty and walked towards the man. "You Donny?" she asked when she stopped beside him and gazed at the necklaces on the cart.

"Yeah, what's it to you?"

"Easy, Sketchy. We're just here to score a joint," Shorty answered.

He turned his head to the side in thought and Shorty and Letty waited for him to make a decision. She took the time to get a better look at the tattoo on his neck and wondered whether a neck tattoo would suit her. Hector would probably kill her though if she ever got ink done, but maybe if she got something small in a place he'd never see. She was wondering where she could hide it when he turned and locked eyes with her. "Yeah, follow me then. You just want one?"

They followed the man to the back of the marketplace and into the parking lot. Stopping between two cars he turned and faced them. "That'll be thirty bucks," he said, fidgeting in his oversized pockets before pulling out a joint.

"Thirty bucks? Is it dipped in fuckin' gold?" Shorty asked, as she fished her wallet out of her bag. She pulled thirty dollars from her wallet and handed it to man.

He licked his thumb and flipped through the ten dollar bills, counting to make sure they were all there. When he was satisfied she had given him all thirty dollars he placed the joint in her hand, "Pleasure doing business with you." He grinned at her as he reached into his baggy cargo pocket pulling a metal bracelet out and slapping it on her wrist, "You're both under arrest for drug possession."

The van parked three spaces down sprang to life and two men emerged wearing flack vests and stalked towards them. Shorty's flexed her jaw in annoyance and growled at Donny as he pushed her roughly against the car and pulled her other wrist into the handcuffs. She was hauled off the car just as Letty was pushed against it and handcuffed as well. Surprisingly Letty was quiet, most likely too upset with Shorty to speak. "You're seriously arresting us? The hardcore criminals who bought one joint? There's a crack whore thirty feet away sucking your partner off for a dime bag and you're worried about getting us off the street?"

She glanced back at Letty as she was escorted to the van and found her friend grinning back at her. Shorty was shocked to see her finding amusement in their situation but she grinned back despite the trouble they were in. The officers buckled them into the back seats and Shorty leaned forward to glare at the policeman who had sold them the drugs. "Hey esé, can I get my thirty bucks back?"

"No," he answered calmly, without turning around.

"It's fucking extortion. You pigs are gonna pocket that and buy a couple dozen donuts aye?"

"Shut up."

"Whoa, what happened to your manners?"

"Stop fucking talking," he snarled back at her.

"Oink, oink," Shorty laughed, as she saw his shoulders tense in anger. She turned to Letty and rolled her eyes before grinning obnoxiously, "Is it weird that these cuffs are making me horny? Hey fella's, wanna do me a favour?"

Letty snickered as the tips of Donny's ears burned bright. Shorty wasn't sure if it was from anger or embarrassment or maybe a little of both. Sure, he had only been doing his job, but arresting them for buying one joint? In L.A. a cop would have slapped them on the wrist and let them go with a "word of warning". She'd never have thought she'd get arrested in Vegas, especially on such a trumped up charge of pot possession. Frankly, she hadn't thought there were any police officers in Vegas. And if prostitution was legal how could a little marijuana be illegal?

She fell back in her seat and frowned, "You know, Dom is really going to shit bricks over this."

Letty's laughter ebbed away slowly as realization dawned on her. True, it was hilarious they'd been arrested, but Shorty was sure Letty was thinking the same thing she was. It would be safer for them to stay in jail. The women inside were nothing compared to the fuming Italian. "Esa vena en la cabeza finalmente se va a soplar. Sabes que bulges cuando él está cabreado? Me pregunto si Mia sabe algo acerca del aneurisma aún," she wondered aloud. (That vein in his head is finally gonna blow. You know the one that bulges when he's pissed? I wonder if Mia knows anything about aneurysms yet.)

"Aye, let's hope so," Shorty replied softly.

The car lapsed into silence until it pulled up in front of the police station. The officers in the front slid out, Donny hauling Letty from the car and the other cop pulling her out roughly. "Easy on the merchandise," she snarled, as he yanked her towards the door and into processing. The paperwork was drawn up quickly and within an hour she was sitting next to Letty on a cot in a tiny cell. The blankets smelt like day old urine, and the stains in the toilet released a pungent odour.

"Only you would get us arrested. In Vegas," Letty smiled as she leaned against the wall. "What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. Yeah?"

"Babe, I'm not about to tell Hector or Dom."

"You know, even though this cot smells like piss I'm having a great time."

"Well, you know what they say girl; a good friend will bail you out of jail but a best friend will be beside you saying, "that was fun, let's do it again"."

Letty shoved her playfully, shaking her head, "I'm not saying let's do it again, boo."

"Oh, hmm. Where the hell is V when I need him?" Shorty joked, her grin spreading from ear to ear. "So, since I got us into this, it's only fair you get us out." She was shoved a little more forcefully and she swiftly stood from the bed before she was pushed off the end. She knew it was her responsibility to find a way for them to bust out but it had been worth a shot trying to shoulder it onto Letty. There were few people she could count on to get them out discreetly and she really didn't want to have to place that call. If only Mia hadn't come down with food poisoning they definitely wouldn't have been sitting in a jail cell. "Hey buster, I know my rights. Give me my damn phone call," she called through the bars.

She was escorted to a pay phone near a bank of elevators and she waited until the female officer was out of earshot before dialling. It rang three times before it was answered by pounding music and loud chatter, "Hello? Hang on man, I can't hear you. Don't hang up." She could hear him breathing heavily as he pushed his way through the immense crowd she knew was surrounding him. Finally the sounds dulled and he cleared his throat, "Yeah, what's up?"

"Hey baby," she said. Now that she had him on the phone she wished she had called someone else. Maybe Mia would have been well enough to take a cab to the station and bail them out.

"Shorty? Hey Mami, I miss you."

"I miss you too," she replied instantly, her mind working double time on how to phrase her request. "Um, Leon?"

"What's wrong?" he asked sharply.

Knowing he could sense the hesitation in her voice she heaved a sigh, "I'm in jail."

"You're fucking where?" he shouted before taking a calming breath and continuing, "Where the hell is Letty?"

"She's here with me. We got arrested for buying pot. But Mia's got food poisoning, and I can't call Hector or Dom, they'll kill me. And you know V, he can't keep his trap shut," she stammered. The female officer was motioning for her to hurry up and she rushed on before she ran out of time. "Can you please come bail us out?"

"This isn't some kind of joke is it? I'm not gonna be on Punk'd or anything?" he asked softly then laughed, "You're really in jail?"

"Yeah," she answered and frowned when she heard him laughing again.

"Baby, what am I gonna do with you?" he asked.

"Spank me?"

She could hear the smile in his voice and was thankful she had such a wonderful boyfriend. "Yeah, I'll come get you. It'll take me a bit to sneak past the boys. I'll be there in a couple hours."

"Bail is set at fifteen hundred. I'll pay you back as soon as we get back home."

Shorty said her goodbyes and hung the phone up just as her escort appeared beside her. She was taken back to her cell where she found Letty lying on the cool cement with legs raised and her feet dangling through the bars. She lay down beside her friend and followed suit, shoving her booted feet through the bars. She folded her arms above her head and counted the spitballs stuck to the ceiling. She was in for a long night but she found comfort in the boredom of those before her. Had they not spent the time to spit chewed up wads of paper at the roof she'd have nothing to do to pass the time until Leon bailed them out.

She fell asleep on the floor sometime around two and was dead to the world when her feet were shoved back through the bars. She tried to control the fall but both feet hit the ground and sent pins and needles shooting up her legs painfully. The guard hit her baton against the door and snarled, "Get up you two. You made bail."

Fisting the sleep from her eyes she and Letty followed the officer to the front of the station where they found Leon leaning against the desk. He was outwardly flirting with an agent sitting behind the counter and her girlish laughter tickled her ears uncomfortably. Shorty ground her teeth but kept her silence as they were walked through the locked door into the foyer where Leon was straightening up. She shook her head at him but grinned when his eyes softened in some emotion she couldn't yet determine.

"There's my girls," he called, as he ruffled Letty's messy hair. "I'm glad you didn't keep the jumpsuit. Orange isn't your color, baby," he joked as he pulled Shorty against his chest and enveloped her in a tight hug.

Shorty grinned into his jersey and released the tension she hadn't known she was harbouring. He pulled away but entwined his fingers through hers and slung an arm around Letty's shoulder. She heard the officer scoff at his actions and turned to throw a wink over her shoulder as Leon led them from the police station.

"Thanks for coming, Leon," Letty said as she slid into the back seat of his car.

Shorty crawled in after and shifted sideways to face Leon and Letty. She could see the latter was hunched down uncomfortably trying to avoid smacking her head on the roll rage around her. Seeing Letty confined in the small backseat, and the tired droop of Leon's eyes she was eager to get back to the hotel for a couple hours of shuteye. She knew without questioning Letty that their time in Vegas was over. With Mia sick, and their last few hours spent in jail, she figured it was time to quit before while they were ahead.

They rode in comfortable silence through the still bustling strip and Shorty wished Leon hadn't been dragged into their trouble. He should have been experiencing it beside her in better circumstances; instead she had ruined that for them. He pulled to a stop in the hotel underground and they each exited the car, allowing valet to park it and hand the keys back to Leon. Like her, he would never dream of leaving his cars in such an unprotected place.

She grabbed his hand with both of hers and leaned her head against his shoulder as Letty led the way to the elevators. Pushing open the door to their room Letty disappeared into the darkness whispering, "I'll sleep in Mia's room. Thanks again, bro. Dom wouldn't have come to get us. Night, boo." She moved through the darkness and into Mia's room, shutting the door silently behind her.

Shorty yawned in the silence, pulling her shirt over her head and stepping out of her shorts. She crossed to the nightstand and the room blossomed into light as she turned on the lamp. Leon was standing near the foot of the bed watching her with his head cocked to the side. She pulled the covers back and scooted to the far side of the bed, patting the space next to her. "Can we not talk about it? I just want to crash, and I want you beside me."

"Jail? Really? You know you can't hide it from Hector forever," he replied as he let his jeans fall to the floor, his jersey joining it almost instantly. He turned off the lamp and crawled in beside her, pulling her against him.

She felt him bury his face in her hair and breathe deeply, as if the smell of her made her more real for him. "I know babe, but I wanted to tell him in my own terms, not at eleven at night. Did I mention I really appreciate you coming to get us? I didn't want to drag you away from your party."

"You didn't drag me from anywhere, I'd always come for you. You know that, right?" he whispered, as he held her tighter.

"I do now," she answered softly.

Shorty drifted off to sleep almost instantly, the rhythmic beat of Leon's heart lulling her into an undisturbed slumber. When she opened her eyes the next morning she was met with Mia's grinning face gazing at her from the opposite bed. Letty was sitting next to her, eating a bagel with a mischievous glint in her eye.

"Can you ever stay out of trouble?" Mia laughed as Shorty sat up.

"Don't you two knock?"

"You two just looked so cute. I didn't want to wake you," Letty answered through a mouth full of breakfast.

Shorty rolled her eyes and rubbed Leon's arm until he woke with a jerk. His sleepy eyes settled on hers and a wide smile graced his mouth. She nodded at Mia and Letty before he could get any ideas and crawled over him and out of bed. "You guys packed?"

Mia nodded at the bags leaning against the wall and shrugged, "We were up a couple hours ago."

"How you feeling Mia? The little lady here tells me you got food poisoning," Leon said, as he cracked his back and swung his legs off the bed.

"A little better, but I really just want to get home and relax," she said.

"You three really killed it here, didn't you?" Leon asked sarcastically, raising an eyebrow into the hair lying against his forehead. "I'm gonna shower quick and then we can head out, if we leave by eight we should be back before the boys are awake. You guys can say you missed us so much and couldn't live another day without us."

"We need a believable story, babe," Shorty laughed as she shoved her belongings in her duffle bag and pulled out clean shorts along with one of Leon's jerseys she had borrowed.

He ruffled her hair as he passed her and continued on to the bathroom shutting the door behind him. She dressed quickly and ate the bagel Letty handed her. "I'll take your car, boo? You can ride home with Lee."

Shorty nodded as she picked Leon's overnight bag off the floor and placed it against the bathroom door. She heard the door open and shut again as she fell back onto the bed. They're trip hadn't been as much of an adventure as she had been hoping for. She'd had fun, but she wasn't sure if the girls had enjoyed themselves. They probably could have had as much fun if they'd stayed home; but at least they had survived Vegas. That had to count for something.

"Alright ladies," Leon said, as he pulled open the bathroom door carrying his overnight bag. "You all ready?"

Shorty stooped and picked up her duffle bag, grabbing the few shopping bags with her purchases and followed her friends to the door. If they made it out of the city limits by eight they should be home just before Jesse dragged his ass out of bed. Soon after that Vince and Dom would follow and there would be no sneaking past them.

Mia checked them out of the hotel and Shorty handed her keys over to the valet who beamed at the chance to drive her car again. Hey baby pulled to a stop beside her just as Mia walked through the huge glass doors. She promptly slipped into her passenger seat and Shorty dropped her car keys into Letty's waiting hand. "Don't scratch her."

"Aye, Mami, would I do that?" Letty asked, sliding her dark shades down over her eyes.

Nervous dread filled Shorty as Letty buckled herself into the driver's seat and pushed the key into the ignition. The car purred to life and Letty grinned at her before peeling out of the underground lot. She'd known it was coming but she still couldn't help but groan to herself. It was a rarity that anyone was allowed to drive each other's cars and when the chance presented itself, well, it was a free for all. The allure of discovering someone else's tuning and hard work called to all of them.

She collapsed into Leon's skyline, the pout upon her lips betraying her uneasiness. "Your face'll freeze like that," Leon said, as he pulled away from the curb and followed the direction Letty had taken.

"Just catch up, or are you not a good enough driver?"

He chuckled at her sour reply but sped around the slower traffic until they were free of the city and could see the back end of her baby. Her muscles relaxed as soon as her car was in her sight and she reached forward to flick through the CD's Leon had in his ten-disc changer. Settling on something mellow she kicked her flip flops off and pulled her knees up to her chin. She turned her body in her seat to face Leon and watched him silently. A little smile tugged at his lips and she reached a hand forward and traced the corner of his mouth. With the sun beaming in and setting his tan alight he looked beautiful to her. Maybe like a God, a descendent of Zeus himself. "Did I tell you thanks?"

"You don't need to; you would have done the same for me."

She regarded him for a second and couldn't understand how someone like him would want to be with someone like her. Since she had known him she had not seen him start a fight, get arrested, or even steal anything. Apart from stealing she had been in numerous fights, been fall down drunk, let her jealousy show, and ended up in jail. He was too good; he was too laid back to be with her. Inwardly all she could think was this guy she loved so much was utterly insane. Perhaps his parents had dropped him on his head when he was a small child.

Shorty shifted in her seat and leaned towards him, placing her hands on the end of his seat to support herself and traced the edge of his ear with her tongue. She heard him drawn in a deep breath and she smirked into his hair. She knew he found it impossible not to react to soft caresses upon his ear.

"Babe, come on. Cut it out, I'm trying to concentrate."

"So concentrate," she purred in his ear, taking the tip of his ear lobe between her teeth.

He shivered in response and she walked her fingers up his thigh to rest on the button of his jeans. She manoeuvred herself in her seat onto her knees and reached her other hand to his button. She popped it open swiftly and he groaned in frustration, "Shorty."

Shorty unzipped his fly shimmying his jeans and boxers down to his thighs. "Stop babe, people will see," he said, and squirmed as she made herself as small as possible in her seat.

"So?" she breathed as she grasped him with one hand and looked into his eyes.

"So I have to shift the stick, there's no room," he answered as he looked back to the highway in front of him.

"Luckily I know how to handle stick," she said as she lowered her head and took him into her mouth. She felt him let out a haggard breath and he fisted his free hand into her messy bun as she took hold of the gearshift. She stroked her other hand in rhythm with her mouth and kept her eyes on his feet, shifting in time with his clutching. His groans echoed through the car and she felt his muscles tensing in anticipation. She worked him until a drawn out growl escaped his throat and he released himself into her mouth. His hips bucked once and he pulled the hand from the hair he had inadvertently tugged in the heat of the moment.

She sat up and stole a peek at Leon. His eyes appeared glossy and his forehead shone with sweat. She grinned at him, buttoned his pants back up and reclined in her seat, pulling her knees to her chest again, "See baby, nothing to it."

He blinked and turned to her, a brilliant smile across his lips. "You are one of a kind."

She nodded in agreement and leaned her seat back until she was watching the sky fly past. "Oh, and thanks for coming to get us," she grinned. Settling into her seat comfortably she placed her bare feet on the dash and let herself fall into the music playing. L.A. was less than a hundred and fifty kilometers away and she needed those last miles to come up with a plausible excuse to their early arrival.

A/N: Thanks to Holliday Girl, Rogue's Queen, and Violet201 for the reviews! Here's the next chapter, just for you three!

Cheers!