AN: I don't own any of the TFATF characters. I do own any other characters mentioned and the story written. The story will have a M rating at some point and the reader will be warned of it.
Enjoy reading and I welcome feedback; so without further muttering - Read on! The first chapter is to set up the OC so will be slightly unfamiliar - fear not the Team is here and are doing well...for now.
Six months after
It had been six months since Brian handed his Toyota Supra RZ (JZA80) keys to Dom; the day Brian gave up being a cop and the day Dom had been truly thankful for another chance. Brian returned to LA with his best friend, Chris in tow. Brian had the team's records expunged as a favour from Sergeant Bilkins; in return agreeing to do the occasional assignment for them. Dom had sent Mia some money from racing in Mexico; unfortunately the racing scene in Baja wasn't exactly something to write home about. She had on several occasions of speaking to him, begged him to return, but he declined for fear of going to jail again. Mia knew that wouldn't happen but couldn't disclose this fact without telling him Brian was back. Jesse's funeral happened two weeks after the last heist; Johnny Tran was dead and his cousin Lance swore to avenge his death after being released from jail.
Mia was manning the store as she usually did, however, with the absence of Dom, Letty and Leon; her work had turned into a nightmare. She was working on some papers in the back, sorting out the financial chaos Dom had left her and Vince with, when she heard the familiar roar of a car pulling up to the store's front. It was lunch time so she expected some company. She saw who entered the store; as she predicted by the sound of the car, she got up from the chair and walked out to the front.
"Hey Chris, where's Brian and Vince?" Mia asked the now familiar woman. Chris was her friend and had helped her through a lot of the trouble Dom had left her with.
"They're on their way, when'd you hear of Bri and V not to eat." Chris retorted as she lifted herself on the counter and sat in the stool. "What you doin'?" she asked as she nodded towards the papers on the desk.
"I've been workin' on the store's expenditure and sales, it's not lookin' good." Mia sighed as she gently shook her head in exhaustion.
"Mi, it'll be alright, Bri and I told you we'll get this place back to the usual Torretto's and we will." Chris said reassuringly.
"What can I get you?" Mia asked as she stood waiting for Chris' lunch order, hands on hips.
"What you got?" was Chris' casual response.
"Chris." Mia said with a tilt of the head. Chris knew exactly what they had, the usual crap they always had; she always asked Mia what she had as if by some miracle Mia would make a gourmet dish appear. She smiled. "Well we got tuna sandwiches…coffee…" Mia tried to rattle off what they had to serve when she was interrupted.
"Got a corona? I need a drink." Chris said smiling.
"A corona?" Mia quizzed, surprised by Chris's need for alcohol at twelve in the afternoon. "Sure. Any reason for it?" Mia walked over to the fridge, pulled out a corona and flipped off the top as she questioned Chris's reasons for 'needing' one.
"Do you need me to say more than Bri and V?" Chris said jokingly. Mia laughed; her first genuine laugh in a few months.
"What 'bout us?" Vince asked as he entered the store, kissed Chris on the cheek and sat next to her. Brian entered and walked around the counter and gave Mia a kiss before she could speak.
"Hey, we didn't hear you come." Mia said as she pulled away from the kiss.
"We walked; V needs the exercise for his leg." Brian said as he hugged Mia from behind and gave a playful glance at Vince. "By the looks of it he definitely needs more."
"Shut up O'Conner." Vince said dejected.
"Ah, don't worry V, it's nothing I can't fix." Chris said as she gave him a playful wink.
"What's for lunch, I gotta eat." Vince questioned Mia but kept his gaze on Chris. He rolled is eyes at her and nudged her with his shoulder. "Did Chris take my last corona again?" he asked as he looked at the empty beer bottle on the counter.
"Yeah, I did." Chris said defiantly. They laughed and Mia set Brian and Vince's sandwiches in front of them. They took no time to dig in. Mia and Chris simply looked on as the two men stuffed their faces. The guys finished their meals and downed their soda's before they got up.
"Alright, we gotta get back, DT's ain't gonna run itself." Brian addressed Chris and Vince as he patted his now full stomach and kissed Mia on the cheek. "Thanks Mi. I'll see you tonight."
"Yeah, you better get your ass in gear and finish the Nissan." Vince said towards Chris implying that she'd been slacking.
"I'll do that when you finish the job on the week old Honda Civic of yours." Chris quipped knowing that Vince hadn't had the chance to touch it yet.
"Alright kids, play nice." Mia said in a motherly tone. She knew from the moment Chris arrived, Vince and Chris were close. They had similar personalities and loved being in each other's company. Chris was also the one who could keep Vince in check; a feat never accomplished before. Vince simply scowled before grabbing Chris around the waist, hoisted her over his shoulder and carried her to her car.
"Put me down you ass!" Chris jokingly growled as she slapped his back. She was a strong woman but Vince and Brian always managed to literally drag her somewhere.
"Hey Chris wait!" Mia yelled from inside the store before running out. Vince and Chris went silent and Vince turned around to face Mia.
"She was talkin' to me V." Chris said from behind Vince, she was now facing the opposite direction. "Put me down." She commanded and without hesitation Vince complied. He knew what happened when Chris had to tell people twice. "What's up?" Chris asked Mia walking towards her.
"Can I just talk to you in private for a minute?" Mia asked in a low soft tone.
"Sure." Chris turned to the guys. "You guys take the car; Mia'll drop me in a few minutes." Chris said as she threw the keys through the air to Vince. He caught them and smiled; he didn't want to 'exercise' anymore. The guys drove off and left Mia and Chris to talk inside.
"I talked to Dom." Mia said as she sat on the stool. Chris copied her actions. "I told him to come home and of course like every other time he said no, not yet." Mia shook her head at the stupidity of the situation.
"Mi, he'll come home, you know he can't cope without you and neither can Letty or Leon. Just give it time, besides they have no idea what awaits them here. They still think they're being hunted by the cops." Chris reassured Mia by giving her a hug. "Are they okay?"
"They're fine. I just wish they'll come home soon. There's so much to tell them." Mia said with a sigh, referring to the fact that Brian was back and all the things that came with him, including Chris herself.
"Can you give me a lift back?" Chris asked with a smile knowing it was stupid of her to let the guys go when Mia's conversation lasted about two minutes.
"Yeah of course. Get in." Mia grabbed her keys from the back, locked up the store and preceded to her Acura Integra. They got in and Mia reversed out of the parking space, driving towards DT's. "So what you doin' tonight?" Mia asked with a slight hint of there being more that she wanted to ask Chris.
"I dunno. Do you and Bri want us out of the house?" Chris said with a knowing smile; she knew they wanted to be alone whenever Mia asked that question. Mia nodded. "Well, I guess I could take V clubbing, teach him some skills, and maybe even coach him 'a la charm school'." Chris laughed.
"I owe you." Mia said as she turned into the driveway at DT's.
"Yeah, you do." Chris joked as she exited the car and saw the two guys already hard at work. Mia stayed in the car. "We'll be out around 7:30pm. Where you off to?"
"I'm gonna do some shopping." Mia said with a sly smile; if there was one thing she knew how to do well, that was shopping.
"Alright, take care." Chris said as she closed the passenger door and walked into the garage. Mia pulled away and drove off. As soon as Chris entered the garage Brian approached her with the look he normally gave her when he wanted to ask her a favour. She knew what that favour was; to leave him and Mia alone tonight. Before he could open his mouth Chris gave him a knowing glance. "Hey V! You wanna go clubbing with me tonight?" she asked and Brian smiled in relief before nodding a thanks.
"Yeah, where we goin'?" Vince yelled in response form underneath the Honda he had obviously started as soon as he returned from Torretto's.
"Wherever you want V." Chris said as she put on her coverall and tied the arms around her waist. She wheeled herself underneath the Nissan she was working on and continued to work.
"Is Lana comin'?" Vince asked.
"No, do you want her to come?" Chris retorted.
"Nah, just wanna know. Never met her; you always go with her." Vince said as he smiled a wry smile to himself. He always had fun with Chris, she showed him that not all women are deceitful and conniving; all women bar Letty and Mia of course.
The three of them continued with the respective jobs and before they knew it, it was 5pm. "Okay guys, I'm goin'." Brian asked as he wiped his hands clean from grease on his t-shirt.
"What time is it?" Vince asked as he wheeled himself out from underneath the Honda.
"5:10pm." Brian said as he grabbed his keys and got in the Evo he got in Miami. "See you guys at the house." He said before slamming the door and driving off.
"Hey Chris, you wanna help me with the Maxima tomorrow? I gotta do some major wrench work on it." Vince asked.
"Yeah sure." She said as she wheeled herself out from under the Nissan, got up and wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her forearm. "You wanna leave your car here and ride home with me?" Chris asked as she wiped her greased hands on her white wife beater.
"Yeah 'kay." Vince said as he walked up behind her and wiped his hands on the back of her wife beater.
"Hey! You better watch it!" Chris quipped as she turned around.
"Oh yeah, or what?" Vince asked in a sarcastic tone before cocking an eyebrow at her.
"Or…" She put her hands on her hips representing a mother telling off a child. "…I'll…" Chris found herself to be a blank, she either hit Vince when he was being an ass or got him into a headlock. She saw she had no advantage over him and simply threw a greased cloth at his face and ran towards the exit laughing. Vince was quick; he threw the cloth off of his face and chased after Chris. Realising she forgot her keys, she ran back dodging him, grabbed her keys from the table and played cat and mouse with him around the parked Honda.
"You better run." Vince scowled. He loved Chris' energy and playfulness. Chris took a firm stance and scowled at him, imitating a western stand off. She faked going left and raced toward her car to the right. Vince chased her but to no avail; she got into her Mazda RX-8 and locked the door. She laughed as he stood by the door with his hands placed on the roof. "You gotta take me home." He said smiling defeated.
"Yeah you gotta lock up first." Chris said as she rolled down the window slightly and sat back waiting for him. He turned and proceeded to lock up DT's. He returned and opened the passenger door and got in. They sat in silence as he watched her playing a racing game on her phone.
"That took you long enough, no wonder you couldn't catch me." Chris joked. Vince smiled and grabbed her cell phone; he continued to play her game. "Hey!"
"You're driving us home." Vince said slyly mocking the fact that she'd rather play a racing game than drive for real. With that Chris started the car and went home.
Copyright © JL69 author.
Please read and review. Tell me if you like it and if possible what exactly e.g. characters/relationships etc. I welcome constructive criticism. Next few chapters are ready for posting, but it's not worth it if you don't like it.
xBx
