---Chapter 1: Stepping Up----

Letty opened her eyes slowly, blinking a few times trying clear her vision, and immediately feeling pain, she groaned in distress.

"It's okay Charlotte, you're okay, but you need to tell us how your pain is on a scale of 1 to 10, ten is the worst pain you've ever felt…" a voice called out from beyond her blurry vision. She struggled to make sense of the words, barely recognizing her own name, before replying,

"nine…" she croaked, everything inside of felt as if it were on fire and had just been hit by a car. She saw figures buzzing around her making comments about this and that, someone pushed morphine in to her IV and she felt some relief,

"How bout now?" the voice again, this time she could make out the nurses face, kind and attentive.

"Like… a seven," she pushed her head back in to the pillow. A second dose of morphine entered her veins tending to her screaming nerves, calming them, easing her a bit. They rolled her into recovery and she waited for what seemed like an eternity.

"Hey baby girl how you doin?" a raspy voice entered her ear, she instantly recognized it.

"Leon!" her voice was raspy too, hoarse, she was still woozy and not completely lucid. He walked to the side of her bed, bent, and kissed her forehead; he pulled a chair closer to the bed, and sat down holding her hand.

"Where's Dom?"

"He had to go…" he looked her straight in the eye, jaw clenching as as a toothpick stuck out between his lips.

The look on her face almost broke his heart, anguish, abandonment, she squeezed her eyes shut tight, and tears started to roll down her face, her body was wracked with pain and misery and she shook. She knew he had to go, she knew where he was headed, but it hurt just the same.

"Hey now, ma, its okay, it wasn't safe for him here… you know, he's okay though… he's worried sick about you…" Leon knew his words offered her no comfort, she wanted Dominic, she wanted her lover to climb in the bed next to her and hold her tight, although at this point not too tight. "Don't cry, everything is going to be fine I promise," he stood and wiped her cheek clean with his thumb, he went to the other side of the bed to avoid getting tangled in medical cords and scooted her over enough to fit himself beside her; she wasn't his, he wasn't hers, but he knew she wanted to be held, and she was grateful for the comfort of his body. He was careful not to touch anywhere near her stomach for fear of causing anymore agonizing pain to her body. After a few moments, when she stopped shaking and had calmed down, she broke their silence.

"I don't even remember what happened…"

"You just passed out when we got back to the house, just fainted, you hit the floor like a brick… so I took you here and they rushed you into surgery, they said you had massive internal bleeding or some shit…" he trailed off, his mind wandering to thoughts of Jesse, his best friend who had probably died not ten minutes after he had left to take to the hospital. He squeezed her in his arms… she didn't even know yet.

"What about Vince?" things were beginning to come back to her, remembering the shitty events that had evidently landed her in the hospital.

"I'm not sure really, he's out of surgery, still in ICU, they haven't had to cut off his arm yet… so that's gotta be good…" he felt her tense in his arms.

"They were gonna cut off his arm?" she spoke in a dead tone as she felt a wave of nausea pass over her.

"He got fucked up pretty bad on that big-rig… he lost a lost of blood and his arm was pretty torn up from the cable… you were both in pretty bad fuckin shape…"

"Where's everybody else?"

"Uhh… I put Mia up in a hotel down the street so she could get some rest"

"Why didn't she just go to the house?"

He searched his mind for a believable lie, he didn't want to tell her that Mia didn't want to go home because Jesse's blood was still splattered on the pavement and she couldn't bear to look at it.

"She just wanted to be close, in case anything happened…" he hated to lie, but it wasn't a good idea for her to know everything just yet, she just woke up

"What about Jesse?" I thought he would be here bouncing off the walls or something…" she chuckled at the thought of her goofy friend. Leon just tried not to sob like a twelve year old girl. His prayers were answered when his cell phone rang in his pocket loudly, breaking his train of thought.

"yeah" he answered gruffly, "no, the jury's still out on that one… they wont tell me shit, I cant even visit him right now… yeah she's out… she's awake, feels like shit though.. I don't fuckin know I think they removed something… hold on," he turned to Letty and gave her the phone, she already knew who it was, "it's for you…" he climbed out of the bed with her, suddenly feeling awkward, he returned to the chair he had previously occupied.

"Hey baby," Dominic's voice was amorous and comforting on the other end of the phone.

"Hey," Letty replied to him, still a bit hoarse, but thrilled to hear his voice.

"How ya feelin'? They takin' good care of you?"

"Yeah… everything hurts… but I get drugs… so it's less… I miss you…"

"I miss you too baby, I wish I could be there… I'm so sorry I left, I just…" she cut him off

"I know you had to go Dom, its okay I understand, I just miss you like hell that's all…"

"I love you baby"

"I love you,"

"Put Leon back on the phone," she sighed, pissed off, but she did what he asked, she was not in a condition to fight with him. Leon grabbed the phone again, disappointed in the brevity of their conversation.

"Yeah,"

"Did you tell her about Jesse yet?"

"No, I figured I'd wait on that one…" Leon stood and exited the room, Letty was still too drugged to question why he left; she sunk back into the bed.

"Good, I don't want her to be upset so soon after her surgery, I don't want… I just don't want her to hurt…"

"Well it's a little fuckin late for that don't cha think?" Leon snapped into the phone, instantly realizing that was probably a mistake.

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean, don't start shit right now!" Dom was yelling into the phone and Leon was glad he could hold the phone away from his face… but still hear. "I know you're pissed off and grieving and carrying the whole damn team right now, but don't turn on me… I need your help…" Dom had stopped yelling and was pleading, he was begging Leon to just stow it, even though he thought he deserved every ounce of shit that was coming his way.

"Sorry… everything's just fucked right now…" Leon knew he had to step up to the plate, he had to be Dominic, he had to be the one everyone leaned on, he just prayed for strength.

"Yeah… I'm sorry… I fucked everything up… but I can fix it, I'm gonna get shit running down south and you guys can come down when things are better… I gotta keep movin though, I'll call you later… take care of Letty… take care of all of them." Dom hung up the phone.

Leon processed for a moment, but was interrupted by a nurse telling him visiting hours were over and he had to get out. He argued with her for a moment, and then he tried to charm her… even though she was probably 85. Letty could see him interacting with the nurse through her window; she watched him and smiled as she knew exactly was he was saying to her. He finally gave up; he shook his head and shrugged his arms at his side, pointing to Letty's room. The nurse nodded at whatever he had said to her. As she turned to walk away he grabbed his crotch and popped his hips in her direction. Letty laughed at his crudity. Then he returned to her side.

"The motherfuckas are kicken me out!" he smiled warmly at her, she needed every reminder of anything good and kind, "I'm sorry I gotta go… but I'll be back first thing in the morning…"

"It's ok, I'm tired as fuck anyways"

"You rest up… hey they got cable here… so enjoy!" he teased and then gently kissed her on the cheek. She hugged him tightly.

"Tell everyone I said what up," she smiled tiredly. He cleared his throat.

"Sleep well," he walked out the door without another word.

When he got down the stairs he immediately reached for the cigarettes in his pocket. He lit one up and took a long deep drag, closing his eyes and enjoying the pleasure it brought him. The smoke stung and burned all the way down to the deepest part of his lungs, and he exhaled, loving every second of it. He made his way across the highway to the hotel where Mia was and where their cars were parked. He opened the door to the room he had rented and saw Mia passed out on one of the beds. She was flopped, face down, legs sprawled on top of the duvet. He stood in the doorway and smirked at her laying there. He was glad to see her finally at rest though; she had been balling all day. He moved silently into the room and left a note on the hotel paper on the night stand that separated the beds: Stopped by didn't want to wake you love Leon. He jumped into his car and roared out of the parking lot.

Leon finally wound up at the Toretto's house; he pulled into the driveway and parked. He walked to the sidewalk where Jesse had been slain so recently and paused. Upon the sight of the blood on the pavement he immediately puked his guts out, not that there was much to expel because he hadn't eaten all day, but he wrenched all the same. It took a moment to collect himself, but finally he pushed past the gore on the cement and went into the house.

Whiskey was the only thing on his mind, so he opened a handle from the cabinet and chugged straight out of the bottle. When he finally stopped, he grimaced against the sting in his throat. He blankly stared into nothing as he took a few more slow pulls off the bottle. He'd almost finished half the bottle by the time he put it down. Leon went to the garage filled a big bucket with water and a little bleach, and then walked out to the blood spattered sidewalk with the bucket in one hand and a sponge-mop in the other. Pouring some of the contents of the bucket on the stained cement he watched some of it wash away. Tears came to his eyes. His best friend, his brother, had died right there at that very spot, he had bled out on to the cold cement in mere minutes. No one got to say goodbye. Leon hadn't even known until hours after it had happened. He gritted his teeth in his clenched jaw, then picked up the mop and scrubbed a little at the spot adding water as needed until he couldn't see it any more. It was almost dark as he stood there watching the water evaporate like Jesse's life had, just disappearing into thin air. He looked into the front passenger window of the Jetta that was parked by his side; one of Jesse's sweatshirts was on the front seat. He resisted the urge to put his fist through the window. With mop and bucket in hand he headed back into the empty house and right back to the bottle.

Mia woke with a jolt as visions of Jesse bleeding to death in her arms haunted her dreams. She took a few deep breaths to slow the heart that raced beneath her chest. Her pulse was still pounding in her ears when she sat up to shake it off. She wondered where Leon was, he said he would be back, then she noticed the paper on the night stand with his scratchy writing on it. It was dark out now and she knew the hospital wouldn't have let him stay that late. He must have gone to the house. Her stomach jumped into her throat as the thought crossed her mind, almost making her vomit on the spot. But she didn't want to be alone, not with her thoughts, not with those thoughts, Jesse, Brian, Dom, Letty, Vince, every one was fucked up. But Leon had consoled her earlier, he stood strong, never wavering or cracking into a teary-eyed mess. He just held her, rocked her, kissed her, she had pounded on his chest out of pain, and he never got mad or pushed her away. She was so grateful in that moment. She just didn't want to be left to her own thoughts, she knew what would happen. Mia grabbed her keys and stepped out of the hotel. A cools breeze passed through the air, she breathed deep, enjoying it for just a moment before she got in her car. It took her a half hour to muster up the strength to actually drive to her house.

Leon had almost drained the bottle of whiskey when he heard a car pull up to the house. That better not be the fucking cops… he thought as he walked to the window to see who had arrived. He saw the Brian jumping out of his red truck. Leon trudged to the front door, fully drunk, as Brian made his way to the door. The men locked eyes and Leon scowled at the other man, he wanted to pummel his face in, but he just stood there.

"Hey Leon," Brian tried to sound normal, like nothing had happened. Leon just nodded his head at Brian, "I thought you were gone…" Leon shrugged in response, "is Dom around?"

"Dom's long gone you know that… what the fuck do you want?" Leon didn't yell; he didn't need to.

"Look, I know you probably just wanna put a bullet in my head right now but… I'm sorry… don't ask how but I took care of things for you and the others, not Dom, the cops are still after his ass but they'll leave you guys alone as long as you don't cause any problems, or try to start it up again…" Brian was sincere in his tone, and what he was saying blew Leon's Mind. No wonder the cops hadn't arrested him at the hospital when he brought Letty in. He looked at Brian and hated him for what he had done. He had completely betrayed the whole team, but in the end he had saved Vince's life, twice, and saved them all from being tossed. He was so angry, livid, but couldn't help but feel gratitude. "There's one more thing… you can't keep it."

"Keep what?"

"The money, their watching it, any withdrawals or transfers and none of you will see the light of day again."

"Thanks…" Leon rasped out the word, almost choking on it. Brian was surprised to hear that word; he was mostly expecting an ass kicking. They stood on the porch for a moment, both silent.

"Tell Mia I'm sorry…" Brian turned to go.

"Don't you think she deserves to hear that from you?"

Brian knew that she did, but he couldn't bring himself to respond to Leon. He wanted to get the hell out of there. He shook his head at the question and got back in his truck.

"Fuckin pussy…" Leon spoke softly to himself. Still drunk out of his mind, he felt his stomach get queasy; he darted to the restroom. He hurled into the toilet the entire contents of his stomach until he dry heaved. "Haven't done that in awhile…" he shook his head and then saw the vomit that had gotten on to his jersey, "shit…" he peeled off the shirt and tossed it into the hallway. He needed to brush his teeth so he grabbed the tooth-brush on the counter not caring whose it was. When his mouth was frothed up with minty tooth paste he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror. Staring at the reflection, tears began to well up so he spit in the sink and cleaned his mouth up. Soon, looking at the man in the mirror became too much for him and a tear rolled down his face. Anger surged through his body and without thinking he tore the towel bar and its fixtures off the wall. He then proceeded to shove it right back in to the wall, it went through the dry wall like it was paper, his fist followed, and then his foot. "Fuck…"

His train of thought was broken by another car pulling up to the house.

Mia was terrified to see the sidewalk in front of the house. But as she neared it, it looked clean and out of curiosity she quickly ran over to it, it was blood-stain-free. She pondered it for a moment, thinking Leon must have cleaned it up. His car was there so she knew he would be home, and she made her way into the house.

Leon got to the bottom of the stairs as the door shut behind Mia. She immediately hugged him tightly, he did the same. They were both glad to have another person around.

"How you feelin girl?" his rough voice whispered in her ear, and they let go of each other.

"Ok I guess… I just didn't want to be alone…" her voice trailed off

He nodded in agreement, he didn't particularly want to be alone either, considering that in the time he had been left to his own devices he had consumed a handle of whiskey, fucked up the bathroom, and puked his guts out.

"I want a drink,"

He laughed a little, "Yeah, come on…"

They both went in to the kitchen. Leon poured the remainder of his bottle in to a glass and added ice and water. Then he lit up a cigarette and ashed in the sink. Mia took out a bottle of vodka from the cabinet, and noticed that Leon's bottle was empty. Then she noticed his body, tight and hard, tattoos strewn on his chest and washboard abs. She quickly turned her attention back to her drink, making a stiff screw driver for herself. She winced at how strong it was, but continued to drink it down. She was on her third glass when the liquor hit her like a slug to the chest. Leon noticed how fast she was putting it away and knew exactly where that was headed. But he would never take a drink out of her hand, or tell to stop, that wasn't his place, he wasn't her brother.

"You want some thing to eat with that?" he smiled at her warmly, trying to suggest an alternative to the vomiting he had already experienced. She stopped drinking and looked at him, then smiled.

"Probably a good idea…"

"PB and J?" She giggled at him and then nodded, it would due. "I'm a pro at PB&J ya know, you're gonna fuckin cream you pants this is gonna be so gooood" he was trying to keep the mood light; he wasn't quite prepared for a cry fest at that moment.

She giggled at him again, and then noticed his back muscles ripple as he was reaching for the peanut butter. Her eyes traced the muscles down his back to his boxers that were clearly visible because his pants were half way off his hips. She licked her bottom lip, and then realized what she was thinking, and shook her head to rid her mind of such thoughts. He kept talking and making jokes, but she wasn't listening to him. She thought about how odd it was for him and her to be in such close contact. They had never really been alone together. They had talked and were plenty comfortable with each other, but this situation went beyond their normal interactions. She gawked at his body again and realized she hadn't really seen him without a shirt very often. He turned around when he was done with the sandwich.

"What?" he noticed her staring. She walked up to him and threw her arms around his neck, pulling him tightly to her. He returned the embrace and kissed her cheek. She felt his rough stubble on the side of her face and it sent a shiver down her spine. She pulled her face off his chest and looked up into his dazzling green eyes that she was noticing for the first time. She was totally entranced by him. Mia pushed up on her tippy-toes and let her lips gently graze over his.

Every muscle in Leon's body went stiff, and his eyes fell shut. She proceeded to kiss him tenderly on the mouth, sucking gently on his bottom lip. He couldn't resist, she was right there in his arms rubbing against him with her mouth open and ready for the taking. He kissed her back, soft and sweet not forcing anything, letting her taste him, he softly darted his tongue in her mouth, caressing hers. He tasted like mint and cigarettes, and his grizzly stubble scratched at her face a little, but she didn't mind, it reminded her of Brian. He had one hand on the back of her head tangled in her hair, and the other one drifted down and grabbed a handful of her ass.

At the feel of his hand grabbing her, she deepened the kiss. Her tongue crept into his mouth and her lips pressed hard against his, sucking and biting at him. She lost herself in his arms, and everything in her head became swimmy. She ground her hips into him begging for more.

Get your greasy mitts off of her! You're supposed to be taking care of her, not taking her! But it feels so…

Leon thought as his mind was losing this battle to his body. He felt her grabbing the back of his head, the other hand on his chest tickling him as her hand dropped lower, she stuck her four fingers down the front of his boxers. If he didn't stop this now, he knew he wouldn't be able to.

This is your best friend's sister, and your other best friend is in LOVE with her! Stop! Just stop!

He grabbed the hand out of the front of his pants and the hand in her hair pulled her head back from his but her body still clung to his and he couldn't abstain from one more taste. He kissed her throat and neck down to her collar bone, blazing a trail down her skin; she felt electrified by his touch.

"Ohhhh Leon" she moaned deep and throaty. Immediately upon hearing her reaction Leon grabbed her by the shoulders and pried her off of his body.

"Mia," his voice was a whisper and his eyes were still closed. She was still grabbing for him, "Mia!" he grunted as his eyes popped open and instantly connected with hers. They were piercing, and she felt like he could see into her soul with that gaze. "We can't do this… you don't want this,"

Mia suddenly realized what she had been doing, "Oh my god… Leon… I'm so…" he cut her off,

"Stop, no worries…ok? Just not a good idea."

She nodded. Then her eyes glazed over with tears. Leon had no idea what to do or what she was crying about this time: Dom, Brian, Jesse, HIM?

"I miss him!" she sobbed

"Um… which one?"

"All of them damn it!"

"Ok, its ok" he grabbed her and hugged her tightly, "you should really eat… I think you'll feel a little better."

She sighed and nodded. They sat at the table in silence and she munched up her sandwich. They eventually moved to the living room and passed out on the sofa with the TV on. Leon only dozed off for a bit, most of the night he tumbled thoughts over in his head trying to figure out where exactly things went wrong and where to go from there.