Her Home

Rebecca woke up to someone pounding on her door. She ignored it and rolled back over. As she started to slip back under, she heard her door open and voices.

"Is she really still sleeping?" She heard Rosalina ask. She put an arm over her face. She wasn't ready for what she was sure was coming.

"She can't still be asleep," Joni answered. Sighing again, she pushed herself up on her bed. She knew they wouldn't let her sleep, so she would just bite the bullet and get up. "Becs," Joni called up the stairs. "Are you decent?"

"Yeah. Yeah. Hang on. I'm coming down," she answered her best friend. Joni had just gotten back last week from her month-long honeymoon. After everything that had happened with Vincent, Joni had allowed Rebecca to take Tobin as her date to the wedding. She told her she understood that it was too soon to try and move on since it was only two weeks after he had left her standing at her door. "Why are you two here so early?"

"Why are you so grumpy?" Joni shot back at her.

"Her date must have gone badly," Rosalina said as she gave Rebecca a pitying look. Rebecca glared at her friends and walked to the kitchen to make herself coffee.

"Another one?" Joni whined. "That's number four in a week. Maybe you should take a break. Focus on the clinic." Joni was worried about Rebecca. She had decided to open a free clinic for low-income families, which was great, but she had also decided to throw herself into the dating scene at the same time. Trying to get over someone you loved couldn't be easy, and she felt for her best friend, but she was pretty sure that it was just making her more depressed.

Joni also knew exactly what was going on with Rebecca's dates. Rebecca had figured it out and told her all about it after the second date ran out of the restaurant without saying anything to her and she saw the big burly man that followed him out. It had been one of Vincent's men. She was sure that the man had said something to him, and probably the one before that that had gone to get them drinks in the bar before she saw him running for the front door two minutes later.

"You're probably right," Rebecca shrugged as she walked to the couch with her coffee and sat down. She knew that the best idea was probably to give up trying to date, at least until Vincent got bored being a weird stalker and moved on. Plus, she should really focus on getting the clinic going. There was still a lot to do.

"Anyway, we are here because Ros decided to knock on my door early, on the one day I have the shop closed," Joni glared at Rosalina. "Saying she has something big to tell us." Joni swept her arm out in front of her, "You have the floor, my dear Rosalina."

"Why thank you, Queen pain in my ass," Rosalina rolled her eyes. Rebecca laughed and shook her head. "Okay, so my news is that," she paused and looked between her friends. Taking a breath, she continued, "Dom asked me to marry him," she announced. Her voice rising with every word until she was squealing.

"Oh my God!" Both Rebecca and Joni shouted and jumped up from their seats. Rebecca spit her coffee out at her, but she didn't care as she still hugged her best friend. Domenico and Rosalina had been dating while she stayed with him for protection. Everyone knew that they liked each other, but no one knew how much until Rebecca had gone home. It was obvious to Rebecca that her friend was happier than she had seen her in a long time, and she found out why when she showed up for Joni's wedding with Domenico as her date. Rebecca had sucked it up and had given them her blessing. She would never deny her friends' happiness just because she was heartbroken.

"I want you both to help with everything. Rebecca, you are my maid of honor, and Joni, you'll be my matron of honor," Rosalina stated instead of asking. Rosalina didn't have girlfriends besides the two of them, and she only had one girl cousin that her mother would insist on her asking to be a bridesmaid. Both women nodded their heads. Neither expected anything less.

"Do you have a date yet?" Joni asked when they all calmed down a little.

"Dom says as soon as possible." Rosalina sang. She was so excited. She never thought this would happen in all her life. "We are having the engagement party in two weeks. We wanted to do it sooner but, Dom wants to wait for Teo and other members of his family from Italy to be able to be here, you know?" She said, not thinking about what she was saying.

Rebecca tried not to make it noticeable, but Joni heard her intake of breath. "It will be okay," she whispered in her ear. "You don't have to talk to him. I will be a buffer, okay?" she reassured her. Nodding, Rebecca forced herself to regain normal breathing and smiled at Rosalina as she rambled on about her ideas for the wedding.

Two hours later, the girls had talked about nearly every idea that Rosalina had for the wedding and planned to go shopping for dresses the next week. Rebecca and Joni said goodbye to Rosalina as she headed to meet Domenico. They sat down, and there was another knock on the door. Rebecca groaned so, Joni jumped up to answer the door. "It's just T," she said, walking back to the couch and flopping down.

"Wow. Thanks," Tobin said, taking a seat in the chair closest to Rebecca. "Did you hear the news yet?" He asked them with slight hesitation. They each nodded. Joni was smiling wide, and Rebecca was still thinking about what the wedding meant for her.

"What?" she asked her two friends when she noticed they both were looking at her.

"What's wrong?" Tobin asked.

"I don't know. I mean, I'm guessing this means that I am going to see him, huh?" Tobin nodded his head.

"I mean, he is the best man, so, I guess, yeah." Rebecca felt a huge lump in her throat. As much as she wanted to say different, she wasn't over Vincent yet. She loved him, and she was still comparing him to every guy she went out with. Which is why she wasn't too upset when Vincent's men ran them off. She would have done the same eventually, too. Just without the threat of bodily harm.

"You know, maybe this is your second chance with him," Joni shrugged with a huge smile. She really did think that Rebecca was meant to be with Vincent, but she had kept her mouth shut. She had held Rebecca while she broke down and cried for the first two days, calling Vincent every name she could think of until she finally got her friend to smile just a little bit. After that, Rebecca had asked for him not to be brought up and started focusing on work. Joni was proud of what she had achieved, but she could still see the sadness in her best friend's eyes every day. She looked at her friend now, who was glaring, but the flash of hope in her eyes was not missed.

"Why don't we all go to lunch? We haven't done that in a while," Tobin suggested.

"Yes. Lunch is a great idea," Joni clapped his hands. "Let me go get dressed," she paused and pointed at Rebecca, "Make sure she showers," she scrunched up her nose. Tobin laughed and Rebecca glared.

When Joni had left, he turned to her. He tried to not let her see the sad face he was wearing, knowing how she hated people pitying her. "How are you really doing, knowing you'll be seeing him?" Rebecca shrugged.

"It's not like I have much say in it. I mean, he is Dom's cousin and best man. I guess I will suck it up." She felt like crying, she really did. She wasn't stupid, and she knew that it would be hard. He would look good and most likely have a date... She groaned at the realization.

"What is it?"

"Is he... He didn't...?" Rebecca couldn't bring herself to ask the question she was dying to know. She flopped herself on the couch and ran her hands through her hair. Tobin had guessed where she was going and sat down beside her.

"You basically forbade us to talk about him since it happened, you know," he pointed out to her and earned a nod. "If I had been able to, I would have told you how he is more miserable than he has ever been. He also hasn't been with anyone else." Tobin sent her a big smile when her head snapped in his direction. "I wouldn't lie to you just to make you feel better. You know this about me." Rebecca felt her smile grow the more she thought about the fact that Vincent maybe didn't move on. Her smile fell when she realized that she had tried so hard to do just that.

"I'm going to get ready," she said standing up. She had to force herself not to cry. That's what showers were for.

The three friends went to lunch, where Joni rehashed every detail of her honeymoon while they pretended like they were hearing it for the first time. After they ate, Tobin had to go back to work. He made sure not to mention that Vincent was the one who asked him to come in.

"You want to go shopping? I have a couple of hours before Isaac will be home from work," Joni asked Rebecca, who nodded. Joni told Rebecca about a dinner she had to attend with Isaac later in the week, and she wanted help finding something to wear. It was almost two hours before she finally found something she liked and allowed Rebecca to drag her home.

"Thanks for your help, Becs," Joni smiled at her friend. She bit her lip and wondered if she should say what she was thinking.

"Out with it," Rebecca sighed at her. She was pretty sure she knew what she was going to say, but she would allow her friend to say what she felt she needed to say. Joni reached for the handle on her front door before whipping around to look at Rebecca.

"I just am worried about the party. Are you going to be okay? What if he shows up with someone? You still love him, right?" Joni rushed out. Rebecca laughed.

"Joni, I love you, and I am so thankful that you are worried. But you don't need to be. I will be fine. If he shows up with someone, I will just have to deal with it," She shrugged. She hadn't thought about the fact that Vincent might not be alone at the party. She couldn't show that she was starting to panic at that thought. She had told her that she would be fine, but she was already not okay with it. "Look. I'm tired, and I have a meeting early with some investors tomorrow," she told Joni as she turned to her door and walked to it. She quickly unlocked it and flew inside. As soon as the door shut, she slid down the door and broke down in tears. This time she was alone, but it was what she needed. No one could know just how much she loved Vincent or just how much she missed him. They would all think she was insane if they knew that she thought of him nearly all day most days. She would allow herself this breakdown, and then she would pick herself up and focus on being Rosalina's maid of honor.

She went to her room and took a shower before throwing on some fuzzy pajamas and heading to the kitchen, where she pulled out a tub of ice cream. She planned to eat all of it while curled up on the couch watching movies guaranteed to make her cry. "Just one more night. Then he gets no more of my tears," she told herself.

Vincent sighed for what seemed like the billionth time in the last hour as Roco explained to him his new ideas for the club. It wasn't that he wasn't interested in hearing his brother's ideas, they were after all, really good. He was just tired. His father was nearly ready to step down so he had been spending a lot of time reviewing things with him so that Francesco felt completely comfortable leaving the family in his hands. Vincent welcomed the extra focus needed for work because it made it much easier to not think about Rebecca. The problem had been when his mother, Nadia, expected his father home for dinner. The first night, Vincent had gone home to cook dinner. He had finished cooking dinner and went to tell Rebecca to come and eat before he remembered she wasn't there anymore. He had thrown all the food out and went to bed where he tossed and turned most of the night. Catching her scent that was on the pillow, she had used when she had slept with him every night, he gave up and sat up on the bed. It was only eleven o'clock, so he dressed in his best suit and went to the club. And that is what he's been doing every night since.

"Vince. Are you listening to me?" Roco asked, waking him up.

"Sorry, yes. Look, Roco. I honestly gave you the run of the place because I trust your opinion. I appreciate you running things past me, but it's not necessary. Just bring the paperwork I need to sign and I will." Vincent ran his hands over his face. He was really feeling the exhaustion. He wasn't sure how much longer he could go on like this, but, he couldn't stand the thought of going home and her not being there.

Vincent noticed the smile that grew on his brothers face and he was glad that he was able to give him that. Roco was just never interested in the lifestyle that came with being an active part of the family so Vincent was happy to help him do something he enjoyed.

A knock came to the door and Domenico, Ant, and Gio, walked in after Vincent shouted a "come in."

"Hey boss," Ant smiled mockingly at him as he took a seat on the couch that was against the wall beside the door. Ant had decided that he didn't want to be in charge in Italy anymore so he had given Teo the run of the place and stayed behind with Vincent's approval. He hadn't called anyone boss in nearly ten years, so he found it fun to call Vincent that whenever he was around. Vincent had told him over and over that he didn't need to. They were cousins and he was happy to have him there to help him transition into being the boss.

"Ant," Vincent nodded his head toward the men. He turned to the pile of papers he had in front of him and started looking them over, signing what needed to.

"How are the wedding plans going?" Roco asked Domenico.

"Great," he answered before launching into complaining about how Rosalina almost had the whole thing planned with Vincent's mom. Domenico had been able to convince her to wait long enough for the engagement party so Teo and more of the family could make it from Italy, but other than that, she hadn't wanted any help from him. Instead, she had enlisted the help of Nadia who of course jumped at the chance to plan a wedding for one of her children.

"Who is your date for the party, Vince?" Ant asked when there was a pause in Domenico's complaining.

Vincent sighed and threw the pen that he had been writing with, on the desk. "No one," he answered in a 'duh' tone.

"Why not?" Gio asks. Vincent shrugged.

"Because... I don't want to." Roco looked at each of the other men in the room wondering if he should ask what is on all of their minds. Finally feeling the nerve, he turns to his brother.

"Is it because of... Rebecca?" He tried to say her name quickly and quietly hoping that Vincent didn't hear him. Apparently, he heard him because the glare that he gave in response to the question would have killed him if that was possible. Rocco felt a hand on his shoulder, pulling him from his chair. He looked to see it was Gio as a low growl came from Vincent. Rocco decided that following Gio out of the room was the best idea.

"Vince," Domenico said his name loudly to get his attention. "You need to calm down. You better have your emotions under control before the party. Hearing her name is going to be nothing when it comes to the wedding stuff," he watched as his cousins' eyes glazed over. He sighed, "I want you to be my best man, but if it is going to be too much for you, let me know," he clapped him on the shoulder before walking out of the room.

Vincent stands up and walks to the window that overlooks the dance floor of the club. He watches as people bump and grind on each other. He wished he could be as carefree as them.

"Why aren't you with Rebecca?" Ant asked from behind him. Vincent had forgotten that he was still there. He clenched his fists before turning to look at him. He didn't want to snap Domenico was right, he needed to get his emotions under control before he had to see Rebecca again.

"I need to protect her," he answered the question. He walked to the couch and sat down beside Ant. He ran his hands through his hair several times. "If people know that she was with me, she would have multiple targets on her. Look what happened with Enzo." Ant nodded.

"I can understand that. In fact, I have been there." Vincent looked at him with large eyes. "I felt the same way with my wife. She was as innocent as she was beautiful when I met her." Vincent watched as Ant stared at nothing on the wall as if he was remembering something. "I fell in love with her so fast that I didn't even get a chance to think about how much danger she was in because of me. I tried to push her away so many times. Even went as far as almost cheating on her so she would find out and leave. But she always argued with me and would give me list after list of why we were meant to be and how she knew that I would protect her. And after a while, I realized she was right." Ant looked at Vincent and gave him a little smirk, "She was safer with me, then she was not being with me."

Vincent sighed and looked at Ant he looked like he had tears in his eyes and he knew that there was more to the story. He remembered going to their wedding, but about a year and a half later Vincent didn't hear any more about her. "Can I ask. If she was safer with you. Why isn't she with you now?"

"Cancer." Vincent knew his eyes widened. Ant let out a laugh, "can you believe it. All the danger and cancer's what took her from me. I at least got a whole good year with her before she was diagnosed. It was too far along to fight it. I miss her every day, but the only thing I regret is that I spent so long pushing her away."

"I just can't imagine living in a world without her being okay," Vincent told Ant with a deep breath. "I miss her, but she deserves to be safe and happy."

"Didn't I hear you had your men scare a couple of guys she went on dates with?" Vincent's head shot up. He opened and closed his mouth. He knew he didn't really have an excuse so he shrugged and put his head down. Ant stood up and buttoned his suit jacket. Vincent stood up and offered his hand to shake. Ant pulled him into a bro hug, "Think about it. Do you really want to spend the rest of your life screwing up her dates and missing her? One day she will find someone that won't run away. Then you will have to watch her move on fully," he patted him on the back before leaving Vincent to think about what he said.

Vincent threw himself back on the couch with a huff. Leaning his head on the back of the couch, he thought about what Ant and Domenico said. He hated missing Rebecca and he knew that messing up her chance at happiness was selfish. He hated himself for it, but couldn't help smiling every time one of the men guarding her reported that they had run off a guy and drove her home so she was safe. Sighing, he decided that he would try to get some sleep. No matter what he decided to do about Rebecca, he wanted to look his best when she saw him again.

He made sure to stop at Rocco's office to let him know that he was leaving. "Hold on," Rocco said when Vincent turned to leave. He stopped and turned back to face him. "I wanted to say I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked you that. I know that you miss her and that was a cheap shot."

Vincent nodded, "You weren't that far off though. If I showed up with someone that would be like telling her that she meant nothing and that is the farthest thing from the truth. I love her and no matter what, she is it for me." Rocco's nodded with a sad expression. "I'll see you," Vincent said and turned to leave.

"Take care of yourself," Rocco called after himself.

When Vincent got home, he took a look around his place and sighed. It was big and quiet. Ant had stayed with him and Rebecca when he was just visiting, but as soon as he decided to stay, Vincent gave him his own place in the building. He was kind of regretting that now. He took himself to his room and showered before crawling into bed and closing his eyes. Luckily, he was so tired he was asleep before he could imagine Rebecca beside him in bed.