disclaimer: I borrowed the Fast and the Furious characters for bit. I don't own them. They belong to Universal et al.
a/n: Special thanks to duchessduchie, without whom these plot bunnies would not have been born, and the ladies of the Dotty forum.
Marisol Martinez parked her red convertible on the street near DT's auto shop. She fluffed out her curly brown hair, freshened her lip-gloss, and stepped out. As she walked toward the open garage door, she noted where everyone was and what they were doing. Vince and Leon were busy with a green car in one corner. Jesse was tapping away furiously at his laptop. There was a guy in the office, which was usually Mia's domain. Letty was shoulder deep in a blue car in the far corner. Dom was sitting in a rocking chair with his eyes closed and a three-month old baby.
"Hey Dom. I didn't know you had a kid," Marisol said.
One brown eye cracked open, followed slowly by the other. "She's my sister's kid. Hello, Marisol," Dom said.
Letty looked up when she heard Marisol's voice. She was about to go over when Brian walked up to her holding a set of new spark plugs.
"Hey, your invoice said you needed these," he said, handing them to her.
"Yeah, thanks," Letty answered distractedly. She continued to watch the interaction between Dom and Marisol.
"Who is she?" Brian asked.
"Marisol Martinez," Letty sneered. "She and Dom used to hook up. She continues to come around, she says, because we're the only shop she trusts with her car."
"Yeah, but we all know it's because she wants to ogle Dom," Jesse chimed in from the computer station. Letty gave him the finger.
"Is it the red convertible at the curb?" Brian asked Letty.
"Yeah, that's the one," she answered absently. "I wish Dom would let me lay her out, but he says it's bad for business. 'It's not like either of us here for her maintenance check, babe,'" Letty says in what is actually a fair Dom impersonation.
"Wait, there's a day when you two aren't here?" Brian joked. "When is that?"
"It's our only day off. Every eight weeks, like clockwork," Letty said, opening the package of spark plugs. "Mia planned it so that it would always be her maintenance day."
"So why is she here now?" he asked.
"I don't know, but I hope she isn't staying much longer. Your kid looks like she's getting fussy."
Margot Grace O'Connor was getting fussy. She'd had enough of the strange voice, and was beginning to squirm. Dom finally stood up, and began to bounce lightly.
"Marisol," he said. "There is nothing wrong with your car. It was just in here last week. Vince did the whole nine yards. You're good for another month and a half."
"Ok, so maybe I'm not being completely truthful," Marisol started, making a moue. "I need a favor."
Margot started making baby in distress noises. That horrible sound just did not stop.
"What kind of favor?" Dom asked as calmly as possible, flicking his gaze between Marisol and Margot. He didn't know what was upsetting his niece, but her squirming was getting out of hand.
"Here, let me take her," Letty said, walking up behind Dom and totally ignoring Marisol. She lifted baby Margot from Dom's arms and walked back to Brian.
"How is Tia's little girl doing?" Letty cooed to Margot. The further from Marisol Margot got, the calmer she became. "Was that weird hag making the baby upset?"
Marisol glared at the back of Letty's head before turning back to Dom.
"My cousin is getting married next month, and I want you to be my date," she told him, reaching out to run a hand down his arm. "It's black tie, so we'll need to get you a tux."
"I don't think so, Marisol. My social calendar is pretty full," Dom hedged.
He really did not want to be having this conversation or any conversation with Marisol. He'd jumped for joy, inside of course, when Mia began scheduling a day off for him and Letty and designated it Marisol's maintenance day. Letty, on the other hand, had no problem giving Marisol a straight answer. She handed Margot off to her father and went to sit in the rocking chair.
"Sorry, Marisol, but Dom isn't going anywhere with you. Ever," she said, beginning to rock slowly.
"Don't you think that should be up to Dom?" Marisol asked archly.
"What are we in high school?" Letty snorted. She stood from the rocking chair. "Look, Marisol. You insist on bringing your car to us, and that's fine. I have no problem taking your money. And since I never work on your car, you have nothing to worry about. It will always be in working condition. You, however, will not be if you keep throwing yourself at my man. I put up with your shit Saturday nights, but this is getting ridiculous. Get over it or I will flatten you."
Marisol was speechless, but quickly recovered. "I don't know who you think you are, but you can't talk to me that way." She put her one hand her hip. "Dominic, please, put a leash on your pit-bull."
"OK, that's it," Letty said, turning to Dom. "I don't care how bad for business it is, she does not get to call me a bitch in my own shop."
With a speed that even Dom didn't know she possessed, Letty slapped Marisol so hard that she stumbled back a few steps. The boys gathered in the garage bay. Vince and Leon wore huge, shit-eating grins. Brian was gently bouncing Margot. Jess stood off to the side with is hands in his pockets. Dom stood with his arms crossed. There was a glint of amusement in his eyes.
"Your face isn't worth the skin on my knuckles and not being able to hold my niece for the rest of the day," Letty sneered, walking towards Marisol. She reached inside her oil-stained tank top and pulled out her chain. On it was a gold band with three embedded diamonds and a silver medallion with "por siempre" engraved on the front and "5/24" engraved on the back. She dangled it in front of Marisol's face, making sure that Marisol read both sides of the medallion.
"By the way, I think I'm his wife, and I will talk to you any way I damn well please. Your next maintenance check is in a month and a half. Now get off my property."
Marisol held her hand to her cheek. She looked at Dom, but he just shrugged.
"You should go," he said quietly.
Marisol squared her shoulders, got into her car, and sped off. Letty calmly walked back into the garage, and was almost to the car she was working on when Dom grabbed her and pulled her into the office. He sat her on the desk.
"Seriously," Letty exclaimed.
She would have continued, but Dom slanted his mouth across hers. She stiffened from surprise, but soon sank into the kiss. She brought her arms around his neck and pulled him closer. He pulled back after a minute.
"That was the hottest thing I've ever seen," he whispered.
"You see it every Saturday night at the races," she panted. Dom trailed kisses across her cheek and down her neck.
"It's been a while since you had to follow through on a threat," he said.
Letty brought her hand between them and pushed him back just enough so that he could see the ring and medallion that was still on display.
"It is my right." She smirked and pulled him back in for more kisses.